TVSquad

• At 8, FOX has a new American Idol.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 8.
• On Food Network at 8, Sam Choy guest stars on a new Emeril Live.
• FX has the movie Paparazzi at 8, followed by (appropriately enough) a new episode of Dirt.
• Also at 8: TCM has 1951's Detective Story, followed by 1948's The Naked City.
• At 9, ABC has a new Primetime.
• The CW has a new Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For The Next Doll at 9.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9.
• At 10, TLC has a new Miami Ink.
• Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Orange County at 10.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.
• Also at 10: HBO has a new Costas NOW.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E06) This was a bit of a departure for the freshman drama. It's the first episode in which Lucy and her team weren't focused on digging up the story behind a celebrity. The target was a murdered high-school cheerleader and Lucy was convinced that there had to be more to it. After all, she was murdered for a reason.

The story itself didn't impress me too much. It felt very much like something you'd see on an episode of Law & Order: SVU. However, it brought in another spectacular cameo to round out the episode. Last week, Wayne Brady stole the show as Tweety McDaniel's trusted enforcer and this time around Paul Reubens stepped in as washed up criminal reporter Chuck Lafoon. Reubens really is a terrific actor. He's got lots of range and really has played some varied roles. Blow comes to mind and even just last week he was hilarious in 30 Rock. His Dirt persona was fantastic though. I'd love to see him around for the rest of the season.

(S01E02) I think people need to appreciate this show for what it is. Similar to CSI: Miami, Dirt is over the top. It's cheesy and campy. Drama is played up for maximum effect. It's supposed to be like that. Dirt is definitely not a program for people who like to nit-pick about how true to life or realistic a show is. This is the TV version of a gossip rag. You don't take those things seriously, do you? It's fun to not care for an hour once a week. This show is a good excuse for doing just that.

One of the things I'm loving about the show is how real celebrity stories that we're all familiar with are being used to fuel the storylines of Dirt's celeb-fakes. The show is drawing from the antics of Britney Spears, Denise Richards, and numerous other recognizable names. It's not exactly a revolutionary idea but it's funny stuff.

Recently some pictures of Britney Spears were shown on this blog. Web surfers, never needing much provocation to become livid over something that doesn't really affect them personally, were up in arms over Brit's total disregard for her son's safety, who you can see is resting on his mom's lap and not in a car seat. Apparently the pictures made the rounds on some news programs, prompting Spears to release a statement where she explained that she sped off in a hurry to avoid what she considered a dangerous situation brought on by aggressive paparazzi. She claims a similar incident with photographers trapped her in her car without her baby. My speculation is that her mother instinct kicked in and she made a split-second decision, that's all. Or maybe she really is just a vacuous scatterbrain with no regard for her child's safety. I don't necessarily believe it, but it does make for a more entertaining story.