TVSquad

• At 7, ESPN2 has more coverage of The U.S. Open.
• At 8, ABC, CBS, NBC, C-SPAN, and the news channels have the Presidential Address.
• FOX has the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance at 8, followed by the series premiere of Glee.
• The CW has the two-hour season premiere of America's Next Top Model.
• Cartoon Network has a new Bobb'e Says at 8, then a new Dude, What Would Happen?
• At 9, ABC has a new Wipeout, then a new Primetime: Crime.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9.
• There's a new Leverage on TNT at 9, followed by a new Dark Blue.
• Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild at 9.
• BBC America has a new Gordon Ramsay's F Word at 9.
• Showtime has a new Inside the NFL at 9.
• Also at 9: Syfy has a new Ghost Hunters.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Top Chef: Las Vegas.
• MTV has a new episode of The Real World at 10.
  
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns at 10.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• At 11, ION repeats the premiere of Durham County.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

I was a huge fan of Skins long before it came to the US. When you follow television like I do, you sometimes become aware of shows from other countries that the U.S. isn't keen to yet. Which is how I found Skins when it was first making waves in the U.K. Immediately, I was drawn to it as something I'd never seen before in a teen show.

The show worked so well because of its authenticity, achieved by having a group of real teens write the stories. All the actors were little known real teens, as well. No young-looking 35-year-olds faking it here. To keep it fresh, they rotate out virtually the entire cast every two years.

Now co-creator Bryan Elsley is looking to apply that same formula to an all new U.S.-based Skins, and after a tense bidding war, MTV has secured the rights. I am glad it's on cable, as the original has some racy content. I just hope MTV doesn't get tempted to turn it into The Real World: Scripted. Even the fake kids of Skins are more real than those bozos.

• At 8, ABC, CBS, NBC, C-SPAN, and the news channels will have President Obama's speech.
• FOX has a new, two-hour So You Think You Can Dance at 8.
• PBS has a new Time Team America at 8, then a new Ascent of Money.
• Cartoon Network has a new BrainRush at 8, followed by new episodes of Destroy Build Destroy and The Othersiders.
• At 9, ABC has a new Wipeout, followed by a new I Survived A Japanese Game Show.
• NBC has a new America's Got Talent at 9, then a new episode of The Philanthropist.
• TNT has a new Leverage at 9, followed by a new Dark Blue.
• BBC America has a new Torchwood: Children of Earth at 9.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• There's a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 9 on Food Network.
• Also at 9: Syfy has a new Ghost Hunters International.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Top Chef Masters.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Michael & Michael Have Issues.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

In a world where reality television dominates the network line-up, it should come as no surprise that eventually the owners of those shows would buy other production companies that do the same. In this case, Talpa Media (the people behind Big Brother) is in the process of acquiring Bunim/Murray, the granddaddy of American reality television and the company behind MTV's The Real World.

When you think about it, the two shows do have some superficial similarities. They're both about a bunch of people living in a house (although The Real World was never the competition that Big Brother was). Perhaps The Real World will involve more tenant evictions now as a result.

Using my completely inaccurate psychic powers, I predict that eventually all reality shows will be acquired by other production companies and in the end we'll be left with a single show having a title like Survivor: The Big Brother Real World American Idol Top Chef Dancing With The Stars or some such.

And I should add that you should be grateful that you missed this last night. My God, are the new people on The Real World: Cancun really this crazy? Remember that episode of The Real World: San Francisco where Puck put his finger in the peanut butter? This is even worse.

"Herpes on your lip! Herpes on your lip! Herpes on your lip!"

This week, reality television maintained some normalcy. The outliers in Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, and Hell's Kitchen went home. Although I'll lament the loss of Mel and Mike in The Amazing Race, I believe that all the remaining teams deserve to be there.

Speaking of teams, the Survivor Secret Alliance still has the numbers. With the merge inevitable, we'll see if one of the best alliances ever created will stick together. As long as Coach goes home, I'll be satisfied. More analysis after the jump.

Recently, MTV has announced that The Real World (and the Challenges) will be going on for at least four more seasons. With the 21st season coming to a close, it brought up the big question: Should The Real World be renewed? After watching The Real World: Brooklyn, I have to say yes.

I started watching during The Real World: Miami. There was grit, passion, and I learned life lessons from the cast. After Philadelphia's season, the show felt like there was nothing left to cover. Everyone was too attractive, and they all wanted to become famous.

A few years ago, it looked like The Real World was on its last legs, didn't it? It seemed like people had other reality shows to watch, and it wouldn't have shocked anyone if MTV got rid of it because it had been on since the early 90s. But there has been a bit of resurgence with the Brooklyn season, and MTV wants more more more. The network has renewed the Bunim-Murray show for four more seasons. Not one, not two, not three, but four.

This week in reality television was eclectic. Dancing With the Stars was happily un-complicated with the absence of Denise Richards, America's Next Top Model's most home-sick model mysteriously was on top, and no one should have watched Survivor because it was a waste of time.

This is one of those weeks where you realize that the show casts people with little-to-no chance of winning just so that the people they want to win don't mess up. Although American Idol's Michael Sarver is a great example, I'm looking mostly at Celia (right) from Top Model: she's too old. On a positive note, there was a lot of weird, memorable, and funny moments to compensate this week. More analysis after the jump.

• At 8, CBS has a new Old Christine, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Knight Rider at 8, followed by new episodes of Life and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new American Idol at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Lost, followed by a new Life on Mars.
• PBS has a new American Masters at 9.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• There's a new Spectacle on Sundance Channel at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters International at 9.
• Fine Living has a new Whatever, Martha at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Damages.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne at 10.
• A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 10.
• MTV has a new Real World at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Top Chef.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Important Things with Demetri Martin.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

• At 8, NBC has a new Knight Rider, then new episodes of Life and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new American Idol at 8, followed by a new Lie To Me.
• At 9, ABC has a new Lost, then a new Life on Mars.
• CBS has Katie Couric's All Access Grammy Special at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters International at 9.
• G4 has two new episodes of The Chaser's War on Everything at 9.
• There's a new Spectacle on Sundance at 9.
• Showtime has a new Inside The NFL at 9.
• At 10, TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
• FX has a new Damages at 10.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has a new Real World.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

I usually associate Real World cast members with drunken barfights, threeways, and tearful meltdowns--but politics? That's a first. Kevin Powell, former Real World reality star, is running for Congress in Brooklyn's 10th District. Old-timers like myself remember Kevin from the show's very first season, back when the cast members weren't equal parts hot and crazy.

Powell's post-reality career has set him apart from the typical fame-seeking MTV celebs. According to his campaign website, he's written seven books and is a successful lecturer and activist. That certainly beats stints on The Surreal Life and the Real World/Road Rules Challenge.

From the 1950s through the 1980s, reality television programming was a rarity on the schedules of the Big Three networks. It was more of a novelty that piqued the interest of the viewers for a few months or a few seasons, then was relegated back into the shadows while scripted shows dominated the airwaves. It wasn't until the very end of the 1980s, when FOX premiered COPS, that reality-based programming became a prime-time staple.

It stayed that way for several years. Then, just like that, it all changed, thanks to one show that premiered in 1992. With a simple program on a fairly new cable channel, reality programming went from television rarity to huge success. So much so that, in a few short years, it spawned various direct copies and variations of its concept on both the over-the-air and cable networks. By the early 21st century the airwaves were filled with more reality programming than scripted works, garnering the ire and the joy of many a long-time television viewer.

And, it all began on a network primarily known for its music videos and Pauly Shore.

A couple of months ago, I interviewed Lifetime president of entertainment Susanne Daniels for TV Week, asking her about Project Runway jumping from Bravo to her network.

"We know for certain that Heidi (Klum) and Tim (Gunn) are returning. We would love to see the judges back, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia...but we're working on that," she said.

She went on to say that the show will look and feel very much like it did on Bravo; it will be airing in the same time slot, the same day of the week. And she secured Kors and Garcia, so the four important Project Runway principals all will be in place.

Now comes word that in an effort to keep Project Runway as much a hit on Lifetime as it's been on Bravo, Lifetime is bringing in the veteran production team Bunim-Murray to take over as showrunners.

I'm one of the many people who laments the "channel drift" that has affected MTV. A network that started out as, well, "music television" has clearly become "anything but music television." There's even a graph now on GraphJam the depicts how The Real World caused the downfall of MTV. The graph shows how the airtime for music videos has decreased as The Real World grew in popularity. Perhaps it should also measure how the cast of The Real World became more attractive and subsequently less intelligent.

The graph posits that by 2010 music videos will be nonexistent on the channel. Also, interesting is the rise of what the graph calls simply "other crap" that coincides with the rise of shows like The Real World and Road Rules. I assume "other crap" refers to shows like The Hills, My Super Sweet Sixteen, and Made -- shows that have replaced music videos in primetime (and replaced music videos with their incessant reruns in daytime).