TVSquad

If this report is true, that Michael Jackson's kids are indeed going to star in the new Jackson family reality show on A&E, then I guess I have to revise my view on who are the sane members of the family and who aren't.

US says that Prince, Paris, and Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson will costar in The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, which will premiere in December. The magazine says that Janet Jackson gave the thumbs up to the kids appearing in the show. I always thought she would be one who would say no to something like this. Older sister Rebbie doesn't want the kids to appear in the show and won't appear in the show herself.

This was actually a reality show that was already in the works at A&E way before Michael Jackson died in June. They filmed a one-hour special and they were hoping that a reunion concert with Michael would happen in the last episode.

There's no official word yet, but sources say A&E is going to do the series after all, and it will focus a lot on how the brothers are coping with Michael's death. Will you watch it?

• Nickelodeon has a SpongeBob SquarePants marathon all night.
• At 8, NBC has a new Kings.
• ESPN has World Cup Softball at 8, the U.S. vs. Japan at 8.
• Versus has Tour de France coverage at 8.
• HGTV has a new Divine Design at 8.
• At 8:30, FOX has a new Cops, then a new America's Most Wanted.
• At 9, CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show.
• BBC America has a new Primeval at 9.
• VH-1 has the movie The Jacksons: An American Dream at 9.
• TBS has the season premiere of The Bill Engvall Show at 9 (two episodes).
• At 10, ABC has a new Dirty Sexy Money.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has two new episodes of Bleach.

Check your local TV listings for more.

It's weird to look back at the Michael Jackson Pepsi ad from 1984 (the one that actually aired) and think that it caused so many problems in his life. US Weekly got hold of the footage that never aired, of Jackson's scalp catching on fire, causing second and third degree burns to his scalp and face. The magazine claims that this accident is what led to MJ's addiction to both painkillers and plastic surgery.

This is surreal footage, and at first I thought it was footage from the TV movie made about Jackson's life, but it's real. That's Miko Brando in the hat helping Jackson. Brando has been on Larry King Live many times recently. After the jump, the ad that aired. It's worth noting that Jackson went on to do other Pepsi ads after this.

It seems that everyone had an animated series in the 1970s (like Gilligan's Island), and the Jackson 5 were no exception. Here's the opening of their cartoon, The Jackson 5ive, which ran on ABC for a couple of years starting in 1971. Not sure how many series actually show the cast of the show, one by one, twice. It's also odd how dancing mice and a wacky snake show up in the middle, BUT IT WAS THE 70S DUDE. This was done by Rankin/Bass, who did all those Christmas specials.

Late last week we reported that The Jackson family, sans Michael and Janet, were developing their own American Idol-style reality program titled Pop Dynasty. Now it turns out that another musical group is returning for an, um, American Idol-style reality program. Does anyone have an original thought in their minds out there?

The group is Menudo. You remember them, don't you? They were the 80's boy band that introduced the world to Ricky Martin. They were also famous for rotating their band members out when they got older or their voices changed. Kind of like a pop-rock Logan's Run. The old members of the band aren't reuniting. Instead, according to USA Today, seven boys are being picked from around the country to star in the new series The Road to Menudo. Hey, wasn't that the last Bing Crosby-Bob Hope road film?

Candidates are being judged by Johnny Wright, who managed the mega-boy bands New Kids on the Block, 'NSync and the Backstreet Boys, as well Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough. The show will begin airing next month on MTV Tr3s, MTV's bilingual Latin-American channel.