TVSquad

Here's how you know that Leno isn't very funny: he puts himself into his sketches.

Now, this sketch below, which parodies cop/doctor/lawyer shows, isn't that funny to begin with. It's one of those ideas that's funnier on paper than actually executed. But it's made more unfunny by Leno putting himself in the sketch -- in not one but two different roles. It takes you right out of the sketch.

Oh, and I'm sure fans of TV drama won't be laughing at all, since Leno takes up the time slot in which a lot of NBC dramas could be airing.

Leno has heard all of the complaints (many of them from YOU, the one reading this right now) about how he is taking away the 10PM slot that could go to one-hour dramas, and he doesn't want to hear about it anymore.

The comic and Jay Leno Show host says that he is not only employing 22 Writers Guild members on his show, he says that if he didn't do this show then there's no guarantee that NBC would put dramas in that slot because most of them fail and they could just put in reality shows like The Biggest Loser or news shows like Dateline in the slot.

Would you like to see more nudity and profanity on network television?

It's no secret that the networks are losing ground to the cable channels when it comes to original scripted programming, especially dramas. Just take a look at the Emmy nominations for Best Drama this year and you see that three of the six nominated are from cable: Mad Men, Damages, and Dexter). And the three that are from the networks are shows that have been a while and are (arguably) on the back nine when it comes to their life: Boston Legal, Lost, and House. While the network shows obviously get more viewers than cable, cable (and online) is the place to go for more creative content and buzz.

Wired's Epicenter blog has a piece about how the more free world of cable television is hurting network TV.

9:16am: Head on over to AOL for more coverage, photos, and a complete list of all the nominees.

9:15am: I learned two things doing this liveblog. One, the internet can act funny sometimes, and two, I really did need that caffeine.

9:10am: Fans of Lost, Dexter, and Friday Night Lights probably aren't happy this morning.

9:06am: Interesting that Felicity Huffman was nominated, but no one else from Desperate Housewives was, and the show was overlooked.

9:04am: Yes, I'm surprised that Studio 60 didn't at least get some nod, you know?

8:59am: Notes...24 wasn't nominated, though I guess that didn't surprise too many people.

8:48am: Best Comedy: Entourage, The Office, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men, Ugly Betty

8:47am: Lead Actress, Comedy: America Ferrera, Tina Fey, Felicity Huffman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mary Louise Parker.

8:46am: Lead Actor, Comedy: Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, Ricky Gervais, Tony Shalhoub, Charlie Sheen

8:45am: Best Reality Show: Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef.

8:44am: Lead Actress, Drama: Minnie Driver, Edie Falco, Sally Field, Kyra Sedgwick, Mariska Hargitay, Patricia Arquette (six nominees this year? Interesting...)

8:43am: Lead Actor, Drama: James Gandolfini, Denis Leary, James Spader, Kiefer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie

8:42am: Best Drama: Heroes, House, Boston Legal (is this a comedy or drama?), Grey's Anatomy, The Sopranos

You know, I really want to like Chuck Klosterman. He's probably the only person in the world who takes pop culture more seriously than I do, and he often has some interesting things to say. But more often than not he's simply maddening. And you know what else? The guy is just incredibly wrong, time and time again.

Case in point: in the new Esquire, he calls Lost "the best network drama in the history of television." Sorry Chuck, but you are sadly mistaken.

Writer Paul Davidson is taking a break from bumping into random celebrities to write this little ditty to the TV industry, An Open Letter To Producers Who Continue To Use James Blunt Over and Over and Over Again.

"I know that you sat watching that sequence with your female lead contemplating her life and the problems she's faced and the tough road she's traversed to get to this point in the episode you're currently in post production on... And I know that when you watched that sequence you thought to yourself how beautiful that character looked and how if you could just find a song that could communicate just how beautiful she was in that moment that it would further hit home the point to the audience... But do you really need to use James Blunt's song "You're Beautiful" to do it? Are we really that stupid that we will hear that song, listen to the words, and think to ourselves how beautiful said character is even though she's faced such tough problems throughout her life?"