TVSquad

Vampires aren't scary anymore. They haven't been for a while.

Anne Rice saw to that while she was making her fortune turning vampires into the kind of delicate camp caricatures you see hosting cooking shows on Bravo. It's continued through Twilight and every Twilight clone coming down the pipe. Still, Twilight can build it's own Federal Reserve Bank now, and no one gives a cuss what I think.

Now, I've officially typed the word "Twilight" way more than I wanted to today, and I need to get to the point. So, vampires will be the cause celebre of Spike TV's 4th Annual "Scream.," Tuesday, October 27 at 10 PM ET/PT.

This is how effective this commercial is: I have no idea who Barry Switzer is (Joel tells me he's a coach that won several big games) but I still laugh every time I see it. It's a joint ad from Spike TV and Dunkin Donuts. Switzer is a crazy old man who jumps out from behind a tree and talks to two guys about taking care of footballs like a baby. Not sure if it sells Dunkin Donuts at all but it makes me remember Spike TV.

[via Adfreak]

Spike TV, the network for men who like to watch other men kick the crap out of each other, has acquired the off-network rights to HBO's Entourage.

The show will be one of the few scripted comedies airing on the network known for dudes-only "reality" fare like The Ultimate Fighter and TNA Impact.

Entourage will hit Spike in January, after season six wraps on HBO. Spike nabbed all 78-produced eps for an all-cash license fee of about $600,000 each.

One of your television's least-appreciated funnymen is getting a second wind on cable again.

The Upright Citizens Brigade's Matt Walsh and fellow founding member Trotter, er, Ian Roberts have landed their first starring roles in a show he created for Spike.

It's called Players, names after a sports bar his character runs with his brother as part of his eternal life fantasy to hit on hot waitresses and spend his days yelling at an HD television. Think of it as Cheers, but with more penis jokes and a Carla that doesn't make your eyes bleed.

Have been itching for a fix of South Park, Spongebob or Bonanza?

Well, bite down on some leather, drink plenty of fluids, and get ready for some long nights of withdrawal, because Viacom is pulling 18 channels off the air from all of Time Warner Cable's outlets in protest over their recent carriage fee raises.

That means if you're a TWC customer and a fan of anything on Comedy Central, VH1, Spike, Nickelodeon, Logo, CMT or (if you're completely blind and deaf) MTV, you're boned.

It seems that more and more cable networks want to get into the drama game. FX has certainly been on a roll with it. TNT and Brenda Leigh Johnson have shown that they know drama. And that whole Mad Men deal they have running over at AMC is a winner. The folks at Spike TV have made runs at it before, with Blade and The Kill Point, but it just never really caught on. Despite those attempts, the network is largely regarded as the Maxim of cable.

Well, they're trying it again. The network has ordered a two hour pilot, and this time the subject matter is the Irish mob. After the boss leaves his position, a battle commences for control of the streets. The interesting twist to the story isn't on the screen though, it's behind the scenes. The show is being produced by Dana White. Those of you that have ever even mistakenly clicked by Spike have probably seen his work. As the president of the UFC, White is responsible for approximately 87 percent of Spike's programming at the moment, or so it often seems. Needless to say, the success they've had with the UFC has given him some freedom with the network.

Spike TV has picked up the original, non-scripted series 1,000 Ways to Die. The title of the show says it all -- it just chronicles the many ways people leave this world. It's from Thom Beers, the same guy who produced Ice Road Truckers, The Deadliest Catch, and Ax-Men. There seems to be a theme with Beers's shows, don't you think? The show was originally a two-part special that aired in May on Spike. It performed so well that the network has order ten 30-minute episodes.

The makers of MXC are not happy with the "creative" minds behind ABC's summer hit Wipeout. Spike initially called out the Wipeout folks in a press release announcing the MXC marathon, "MXC, The Original, Not The Ripoff, Weekend." Now Larry Strawther, MXC's executive producer, is upset with ABC and YouTube for removing a video that Strawther released in order to establish Wipeout's ripoff status.

The video in question is after the jump. Strawther has also accused YouTube of "[altering] the search results algorithm to benefit ABC and punish MXC." He's right; a search using the terms "MXC" and "Wipeout" leads you to videos showing motocross wipeouts. Strange.

Spike TV is calling this holiday weekend, "MXC, The Original, Not the Ripoff, Weekend." On July 5th and 6th the network will be paying homage to Spike's original series based on a Japanese game show. Wait, so doesn't that make Spike's show the ripoff of the Japanese show? Maybe not. MXC uses real footage from the reality game show Takeshi's Castle and creates a whole new comedic storyline.

Spike TV makes sure to point out that MXC is not dubbed or a literal translation of Takeshi's Castle. The show is written and voiced by the following actors: Victor Wilson, Christopher Ranga, Mary Scheer, and John Cervenka.

Spike TV has a new cop show called Real Vice Cops Uncut. The show, which is taped in Memphis and Orlando, will rides along with real police officers involved in the world of narcotics, prostitution and gambling. It will be about undercover vice divisions and give audiences a taste of just how dangerous and unpredictable it is.

It sounds interesting, but I have to point out one thing. Isn't the mission compromised when the guy with the camera crew walks in? Just a thought.

No, it's not Adrien Brody's snarky older brother. It's David Pasquesi, one of the stars of Spike TV's first original half-hour comedy, The Factory.

Looking at Pasquesi's IMDb page, he's done a fair amount of TV and film work, but the majority of his experience comes from both theater and improv. He currently does shows and occasionally teaches at Chicago's IO (Improv Olympic). Back in the day, he honed his improv chops under the tutelage of the legendary Del Close and was part of the class that developed The Harold. An improv geek's reaction to that would be "Holy crap!" and everyone else should be thinking, "Who's Harold?" Yeah, don't worry about it. If this interests you though, check out this great interview he did back in '06, all about his work in improv.

For the first time since their roles in Kill Bill, David Carradine and Daryl Hannah will reunite for Kung Fu Killer. This two-part original movie miniseries is set to premiere on Spike TV this August. The movie is set in the late 1920s in China, before the Communist reign. Carradine will play White Crane, the orphaned son of Western missionaries who was raised by a monk to become a spiritual leader and master in martial arts.

In the first installment, White Crane will seek revenge on the mercenaries who raid his temple and murder his mentor. He infiltrates the Shanghai underworld. There he'll meet Jane Marshall, played by Daryl Hannah, a Brooklyn lounge singer who is in China on her own journey. She is trying to recover her kidnapped brother, held hostage by Kahn Xin, leader of the same mercenaries who ransacked White Crane's temple.

With our ever expanding channel lineups it is getting harder and harder for a new show, especially one tucked away on cable with no big name stars attached, to get noticed. Seeing a network release a show online before the premiere isn't new, but seeing one release a pilot on P2P networks with no DRM is a bit more original. And that is just what the folks over at Spike have done with their new show, Factory.

The network has made the show available on its website, at downloadable video stores like iTunes, and in working with the Jun group, on P2P networks. Although my first reaction at the mention of Limewire was surprise that people are still using Limewire, I do agree with their thinking behind the move. Todd Ames, marketing VP at Spike, said they went with the P2P as an acknowledgment of "what people are really doing, and the way consumers are really looking for content." He also notes that there are no plans to make any additional episodes available that way, but it's a step in the right direction that they are paying attention to the viewers.

Spike TV has ordered six episodes of Factory, a largely improvised comedy revolving around four small-town factory workers who'd rather do anything than work at their boring jobs, according to a Hollywood Reporter story. It will be the Guy Network's first original comedy series.

Set to premiere on June 29 at 10 p.m., Factory is directed, produced by, and stars Mitch Rouse (pictured), co-creator of Strangers With Candy, the short-lived TV series that ran from 1999-2000, as well as the 2005 prequel feature film by the same name.

Rouse has an interesting list of credits. In addition to numerous feature films, he played Dr. Ryan Gibson on According to Jim (come on, there must be someone out there who watches this show), Fireman #1 on Reno 911, and was a regular on Exit 57, a mid-1990s comedy-sketch show.