TVSquad

The most famous Rachel on TV today isn't the same one that made Jennifer Aniston a star. And it's Rachael with the extra "E" that's the syndicated star of a talk show that won the Emmy in 2008. But the newest Rachel on the air is MSNBC's plucky new host of her own show, Rachel Maddow. Like Aniston, Rachel Maddow's hairdoo is fashionable, and like Ray, Maddow's very personable. However, The Rachel Maddow Show is worlds apart from Friends or 30 Minute Meals/The Rachael Ray Show. Maddow is all about politics, current events and things that, by and large, are important.

In some ways, The Rachel Maddow Show is a spinoff of Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Maddow has been a regular sub for Olbermann, proving her prowess to MSNBC, and her show has a cushy spot between the first run of Countdown at 8 p.m. ET and the replay at 10 p.m. For the premiere episode, in fact, Keith appeared as Rachel's first guest -- a crossover from the end of Countdown where Rachel was interviewed in the last segment before the close. This was a smart move, sort of like a bridge from his show to hers, a bridge to somewhere if you will.

The new studio for Maddow has the quality MSNBC look, glass top desk, plasma screens, obnoxious -- but expected -- graphics on the bottom and bugs and flags reinforcing information as it's spoken.

How can a woman play one gorgeous, mature, intelligent and down-to-earth woman after another for so long and not get more attention?

That's what I keep thinking any time I see Connie Britton on screen. On Friday Night Lights, Britton plays the Tami Taylor, the sexy, no-nonsense wife of Dillon Panthers coach Eric Taylor. In episode after episode, she showed that she is not only a loving mother and a caring school counselor, but that after years of marriage, she still has passion for her husband. But she also knew that she owns her life; in the next-to-last episode of the season, she told Eric that she wasn't going to follow him to a new job in Austin because she liked her job in Dillon.

Of course, this isn't the first time Britton's played the strong, willowy type. Remember Spin City?

I'm a couple days behind on this, but I only just found out about the National Geographic special Rat Genius last night. Luckily the special will re-air this Friday at 2 pm. Perhaps I'm the only one who finds a special dedicated to the minds of these rodents fascinating and intriguing, but if you share my love of nature programs this sounds like it could be very interesting. The special will explore how rats can survive in almost any environment, and how it's actually possible for one to actually swim up through your toilet. It also examines how a rat's mind works by learning from past experiences, and how experts are trying to harness the brain power of these rodents to detect landmines in Africa and help discover diseases in human beings. That's right, not only is your home probably infested with these little creatures, but they're actually much smarter than you think. Sleep well.

I didn't spend much time around sports as a kid, and never developed much of an interest in any kind of competitive event, so ESPN is one network that I rarely watch, unless they happen to be showing one of those occasional drill team or cheerleading competitions. I always find those quite compelling. Oh yeah, and ESPN's live coverage of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is always fun to watch, also. Today from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST you can catch ESPN's coverage of the final rounds of the event. Then, flip on over to ABC from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST to watch the championship rounds. This is the first time this event has been shown in primetime on network television. Chris McKendry of SportsCenter will host the ESPN coverage along with former finalist Paul A. Loeffler. ABC newspersons Robin Roberts and Chris Connelly will also be joined by Loeffler for ABC's coverage of the final phase of the event.

Sure, I've had a lot of TV crushes in my lifetime: Valerie Bertinelli, Amy Sedaris, and David Brinkley, just to name a few, but lately I've been pining for the lovely Kelly Miyahara, part of Jeopardy's "Clue Crew" who appear in video segments to give answers to the questions (cause this is Jeopardy!, they're all backwards like that). She's both pretty and smart, which is exactly what I look for in a woman whom I will never actually meet in real life. Besides, it just gives me another reason to watch my favorite game show each week, other than looking forward to those awkward exchanges between Alex Trebek and the contestants.

(S17E19) "Honey, you're just as smart as a man. Sometimes when I'm with you I feel like I'm doing it with a dude." --Homer, to Marge

Last night's episode grew on me slowly. To quote Lisa from an early episode, it started off kind of "meh" but by the end I was drawn into its hysterical appraisal of both sexes and their inherent flaws. The Itchy and Scratchy musical at the beginning had some moments that cracked me up, but spoofing the Lion King musical seems like an idea whose time had passed long ago.