TVSquad

(S02E16) This was probably the most sitcomesque episode of Moral Orel so far; I think it could have played on network television without any issues, which is saying something for a series that has been challenged by the censors on more than one occasion.

But let's not confuse "sitcomesque" with "formulaic," because even if a plot centering on a school pageant has been done before, it hasn't been done in the super-pious town of Moralton, where everyone loves Jesus, and Christian folk bands tell folks to think with their heart and "put a motorboard on your aorta."

CBS has plans for two new reality/game shows, one about real people who make announcements via huge dance numbers, and a new improv/sketch comedy game show (hosted by Craig Ferguson) of which no significant details have been released just yet. Both shows have been greenlit by the network.

Life as a Song, is a reality program in which people can make big announcements or ask questions (I predict we'll see a few marriage proposals) through an elaborate song and dance number. The series comes from the producers behind Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

CBS and three of the lesser members of the Jackson family (LaToya, Jermaine and Tito) have teamed up for an American Idol-like competition called Pop Dynasty to find the next family of pop stars. Jamie Foxx, Marcus King and Greg Shelton are also attached to the project, which is still in the early stages of development. As of this writing, CBS is planning on producing at least eight episodes.

According to Variety, CBS was impressed with LaToya in Armed and Famous, even though the series itself didn't quite garner a large audience. The show will focus not only on the musical talent of the families, but also on how they interact with one another. I'm assuming members of the Jackson family will be teaching the patriarchs how to sufficiently beat their children into top-selling pop sensations.

When I first typed that headline I accidentally typed "Everybody HITS Chris." Then I couldn't help but imagine a sitcom where every episode revolved around the main character being slapped around by everyone else. Sorry, I'm just really amused by my mistakes.

So anyway, Vincent Martella, who plays Chris' best friend Greg on the series, is also a musician. You can listen to one of his original songs on his MySpace page. The song, "Closest Thing to Heaven," probably won't blow the lid off popular music as we know it, but I sure as hell wasn't writing songs like that when I was his age, and the fact that he's performing his own music and not just singing some other person's songs is pretty cool. If you want to hear more of Vin Man's singing, click here for his rendition of some popular tunes. If his music doesn't quite do it for you, step outside, find the nearest junior high girl, and have her listen to it, because this music is really for them and not for you.

The album is available on iTunes.

Heidi Klum has a really weird holiday music video that looks like it was directed by the same person who does David Hasselhoff's videos. Best Week Ever characterized it as a karaoke video, which is pretty accurate. It's extremely cheerful and starry, with lots of snow and children. Plus, it has cheesy lyrics like the chorus: "Wonderland, wonderland. Shining Stars. Jingle Bells." Try getting that out of your head after you hear it!

Video is after the jump:

Paul Goebel mentioned this David Hasselhoff video on his podcast, and I must say it really continues the singer's long-standing tradition of pushing greenscreen effects to their very limits. The song is called "Get In My Car" and it uses the same "let's cram an entire conversation into a song rather than write lyrics" approach to songwriting that earlier brought us such gems as Meatloaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light." Hasselhoff has never been above a bit of self-deprecation, and this video makes references to both Knigt Rider (he drives KITT throughout the video) and Baywatch. Also, his backup singers call him "gay," a rumor I wasn't aware of, but apparently he wants that spread around, so you know, everybody get on that. The song really does sound like it's being made up as they go along. I'm guessing it could have been a ten-minute epic if they allowed, eventually devolving into Hasselhoff and his passenger talking about mundane things like air freshneners and unopened packets of ketchup in the ashtray. Watch the video after the jump.

Kelsey Grammer has won a voice-over Emmy for his work on The Simpsons episode "The Italian Bob." The voice-over Emmy is a tad different than other categories since winners are determined by a jury rather than a nomination process. Either way, I'd say the award is richly deserved, since I really couldn't imagine anyone else playing Bart's poofy-haired nemesis, Sideshow Bob. That particular episode was also a great showcase of his voice talent, since he got to not only speak but also perform opera. Other cartoons also received awards, including Robot Chicken and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

You know how The Brady Bunch was a decent enough show, but then they pushed their luck a little too far with that Brady Bunch Variety Hour nonsense? Even diehard fans had to say, "Okay, seriously people, that's enough." Well, that was sorta my response to Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak, which aired as part of the Adult Swim block and lasted for only two episodes in 2000, placing it chronologically between two much better series featuring Brak: Cartoon Planet and The Brak Show (not to be confused with Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak). The show utilized Brak's singing "talent" quite a bit, just as Cartoon Planet had, but it essentially felt like a gussied up version of Cartoon Planet (although we did get to finally see the lower half of his body, which was always obscured on Cartoon Planet). Of course, I say this as a huge fan of the nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness ramblings that Brak so gleefully delved into, but Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak, much like its title, seemed to cross the line from goofy to just superfluous.

Even when he played Aidan on Sex and the City, John Corbett has always been a little bit country. That's why he gave up acting in 2005, headed to Nashville, and grew out his chops. He spent the last year writing and composing songs for a country album with guitarist/friend Tara Novick. Now he has a self-titled album and a video, which you can see on AOL. The video is for a song called Good to Go, and it features your usual country stuff: hay bales, horses, tractors, and dirt. Oh yeah, and it also has a few cameos by Bo Derek, John's real-life girlfriend. You can hear samples of all the songs on his debut album over at his official website. Corbett isn't signed on with a record label because he didn't like their recommendation of waiting a year to create a "marketing strategy" for his album. It's his first album, but it's also a life-long dream for him, so he probably wanted to start the country music part of his life as soon as possible. Even if you don't like the style of music, you've got to admire the guy for walking away from it all to pursue his dream.

[Via Pop Candy]

"I thought he was a flower, but I found out he's a weed."

Damn girl, that's deep. Wait, no it isn't. That's a line from Nicole Richie's new single, "Dandelion" yet another attempt by someone who isn't famous for any reason to break into the music biz. Hell, Paris and K-Fed did it, so why shouldn't Nicole get her chance to sing through her nose to pre-recorded audio tracks? Actually, the production values on the song are pretty good, and like most pop songs there's enough filtering and vocal modulation to make it sound decent, or at the very least it blends nicely into the ignorable white noise that is mainstream pop music.

I suppose a piece about my favorite songs from Sesame Street wouldn't be complete without an initial shout out to the late Joe Raposo (pictured on the right), who composed a majority of the songs for the show, including the theme song. You might not know who he is, but he's the man responsible for planting a lot of those childhood tunes in your synapses. Let's kick it: