TVSquad

Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, who died last year when a stingray's barb struck him the chest, is having a wildlife reserve in Outback Australia named after him.

Some of the animals on the reserve include quolls, a nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial; and speartooth sharks, river sharks that resemble the oceanic bull sharks (the Wenlock and Ducie rivers border the reserve). There's also a "gallery of dry vine forests," but vines don't chomp into the heads of rats and possums like quolls do, so they're not nearly as cool. Then again, maybe vines in Australia are man-eaters like Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors. That alone could convince me to fly to Australia and check it out.

Irwin's family will manage the 333,585 acre reserve. His wife Terri and daughter Bindi have continued his conservation efforts in the wake of his tragic death. Bindi can currently be seen on Bindi: The Jungle Girl on Discovery Kids.

• At 8, ABC has a new Ugly Betty, followed by new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Men In Trees.
• CBS has a new Armed & Famous at 8.
• 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 episodes of The War At Home and The O.C.
• The CW has a new Smallville at 8, followed by a new Supernatural.
• Around 8:45, HBO Family has Don Knott's in The Incredible Mr. Limpit.
• At 9, HGTV has a new Divine Design.
• Also at 9: Terri Irwin (Steve Irwin's widow) guests on CNN's Larry King Live.

Animal Planet has plans to air the final special that Steve Irwin taped entitled The Ocean's Deadliest. It was during the filming of this show that Irwin was killed when his chest was punctured by a stingray barb.

I understand that The Crocodile Hunter was loved all over the world and that his loss has been mourned by millions, but is this necessary? I'm not sure what the episode looks like, whether it's complete, or if Irwin is even in the whole thing, but it just feels like more of a ratings grab to me. If anything I just hope that Animal Planet handles the airing of the episode gracefully, gives credit where credit is due, and doesn't try to spin this as "the last minutes of a legend" or something like that.

The episode premieres on Sunday, January 21 at 8:00PM and there will be numerous repeat airings to follow.

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I could have sworn someone had already made a Steve Irwin action figure, but I guess I was wrong. A quick search on Amazon resulted in Crocodile Hunter trading cards and a Crocodile Hunter boardgame, but no figures of action. The new action figure is based on the late Steve Irwin who died last September after being stung in the heart by a stingray. The twenty-two dollar toy is decked out in Irwin's signature khaki garb and says various phrases, including "Crikey!" a phrase I still attribute more to Danger Mouse than Irwin, but what can you do? The toy will make its debut next month at the International Toy Fair in New York. Now, through the magic of imagination he'll be able to do what he could never do while alive: fight Skeletor and make out with Barbie. Or vice versa.

(Part 1 of 5) It's the time of year when we talk about what happened over the past year, and that unfortunately includes the deaths of many notable personalities. After the jump is a list of the celebrities and other TV-related people we lost in 2006, in no particular order. (Note: it's not easy to compile a list like this and I'm sure I forgot someone. Let me know in the comments and I'll try to add them.)

• Were Seth Myers and Amy Poehler stoned the other night on SNL? Dave Thomas has been investigating all weekend, and here's the evidence he's gathered.
• Over at Best Week Ever, a picture of Bill Maher dressed as Steve Irwin for Halloween.
• CBS' Early Show debuted new graphics this morning? And I missed it!
• Check out David LaChapelle's sexy Christmas commercial for a UK drugstore chain. Note: it includes a woman fisting a turkey (and I hope that's the last time I have to type the phrase "fisting a turkey.")
• Paul Davidson asks: is multiple personality disorder really a super power?

I suppose it was inevitable. The most recent episode of South Park, "Hell on Earth 2006," featured a Halloween bash thrown by Satan. When Satan finds out one of the guest has come dressed as the late Steve Irwin, who was killed last month when a stingray stung him through the heart. Satan approached the guest to tell him his costume, complete with a stingray hanging from the chest, was inappropriate and it was "too soon," but it turns out the guest is actually the Crocodile Hunter himself. Satan then kicks him out for not having a costume.

Mediawatch, a UK TV watchdog, called it "grossly insensitive." Comedy Central defended the episode, saying that fans have come to expect such things from the series, and that this is neither the first nor the last time people will be offended by the show.