TVSquad

To drive ratings up -- and to drive devoted pro wrestling fans up a wall -- Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment recently began welcoming guest hosts to take over Monday Night Raw -- the WWE's flagship show -- every week.

So far, everyone from the NBA's Shaq to Entourage's Jeremy Piven to ZZ Top has taken over the live two-hour wrestling show.

It seems that when the show producers can't find a celeb to fit the bill, they bring in a wrestling star from the past -- like The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase or Sergeant Slaughter.

That didn't take long.

The storyline featuring Donald Trump "buying" Monday Night Raw from World Wrestling Entertainment's Vince McMahon lasted all of one week. On Monday's commercial-free Raw from Green Bay, Wisc., McMahon bought the show back from Trump for "double the original price." Trump took the deal and smacked McMahaon across the chops for his trouble.

The show capped a day-long publicity festival for the WWE in which local network news affiliates flocked to the Green Bay airport to shoot Trump arriving and to hear speeches from him and McMahon. It was the first time any media set foot in that airport without Brett Favre being involved.

Monday, WWE Raw will be celebrating 15 years with a special three-hour episode. On the eve of this celebration, Reuters tells us that the wrestling program's contract has been extended another two years, guaranteeing more chair smashing, smack talking through 2010. The overall deal includes a continuation of the twice yearly NBC Saturday night specials, the A.M. Raw weekend USA show, as well as a Spanish-language edition for the growing Telemundo networks.

After fifteen years, Raw remains one of cable's strongest programs, currently averaging 5.1 million viewers weekly. And since it doesn't go into reruns, that's strong programming year-round, which at this time has to look pretty enticing to the network. If things continue with the strike, we might even see more WWE programming come to NBC proper.

(E03) So, I thought that last night's Tin Man was a vast improvement from the first night. Sunday night felt like a Sci-Fi Channel rip-off of the original story -- slightly modernized with scarier special effects (scarier in comparison to the overall-wearing lollipop-holding munchkins).

By contrast, Monday night proved that Tin Man had its own story to tell. This was a story that would use the Wizard of Oz as a jumping off point and rethink the classic.

(E02) After reading the comments about last night's part one of Tin Man, I'm a bit skeptical about how many people will (or won't for that matter) tune in tonight. Sure, plenty of people found it entertaining but those who hated it seemed to really loathe it.

For myself, I thought it was pretty good but I like the original story enough to find almost any variation of it amusing. I also know not to expect much from a Sci-Fi channel miniseries. So, I fully anticipated that the special effects would be inconsistent and the dialogue would be insipid.

Nevertheless, the actors were good, great even. Alan Cumming is a genius and Neal McDonough is good enough as the embittered ex-Tin Man. I didn't think that Zooey Deschanel was that bad either--so many people complained about her. She does have an abrupt delivery though (which doesn't work well with some of her mediocre lines).

(E01) Like many people, I am a big fan of The Wizard of Oz. For a little warm fuzzy nostalgia, I'll put on the original movie with Judy Garland. I've read Gregory Maguire's The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (and loved that version too). I even own the soundtrack to Wicked (although I've yet to see the show). And who can forget The Wiz?

I guess it was only a matter of time until the Sci-Fi channel added their version to the ever-evolving list of stories about Dorothy and her journey through Oz. Tin Man aired last night on the Sci-Fi channel from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT and will continue tonight and tomorrow night (same channel, same time).

We began last night with D.G., the Midwestern waitress who speeds to work on her motorcycle, has weird dreams, and believes there's something more to life than waiting tables and windy prairies. D.G., unlike the gentler Dorothy, is a little too tough at times. I don't mind her talking back to everyone but I do mind her going after longcoats with a stick when she sees the men beating up Tin Man's family.

The weekly basic cable ratings, by number of viewers.

1. NBA All-Star Game (TNT)
2. NBA All-Star Tip-Off (TNT)
3. NBA All-Star Sat Night (TNT)
4. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
5. Fairly Odd Parents (Nickelodeon)
6. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
7. Fairly Odd Parents (Nickelodeon)
8. WWE Thursday RAW (USA)
9. Ned Declassified (Nickelodeon)
10. Fairly Odd Parents (Nickelodeon)

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Men In Trees.
• CBS has a new Survivor, then new episodes of CSI and Shark.
• NBC has new episodes of My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, 30 Rock, and ER.
• There's a new 'Til Death on FOX at 8, then new eps of The War at Home and The O.C.
• The CW has new eps of Smallville and Supernatural.
• USA has a special Thursday Night RAW at 8.
• At 9, Nickelodeon's Growing Pains marathon continues.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Sarah Silverman Program, while Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes.

Check your local TV listings for more.

I was one of the millions who were completely obsessed with Dancing with The Stars this past summer. I remember seeing the previews and thinking "This is the worst idea in the history of ideas," but much like my current obsession with Skating with Celebrities, I was hooked after only an episode. That said, I haven't watched a single episode this season. I mean, it's on on Thursday nights! I've got Smallville, Survivor, The O.C., and Everybody Hates Chris. What was ABC thinking? Well, they were apparently in their right minds, because the ratings have been going through the roof considering the stiff competition. As with Kelly Monaco last season, there's been a huge breakout star so far this year, and her name is Stacy Keibler.