All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- Jennifer Aniston’s latest big-screen venture, The Switch, made a poor debut at the box office last weekend, but good news on the TV front: she’ll guest star in the season two premiere of BFF and former Friends co-star Courteney Cox’s Cougar Town on Sept. 22. PS – After many a movie flop, who thinks Aniston should grab a TV series of her own? PSS – She’s also reportedly interested in a role in that Arrested Development movie (with The Switch co-star Jason Bateman) we’re all waiting (and waiting and waiting and …) for.

- Put that Behind the Music episode on American Idol alum Fantasia on your schedule for tomorrow night (9PM ET, VH1), because the timely episode includes scoop from the singer on the married man scandal that led to her recent suicide attempt.

- EW.com has a preview of Betty White guest-starring on Community in the season two premiere on Sept. 23.

- American Chopper star Paul Teutul Jr. got married last week, and no, though his father (and American Choppers: Senior vs. Junior rival) was invited, he didn’t attend. Sad.

- Modern Family season two: All about the upcoming Cam/Mitchell kiss.

- Lessons learned from last week’s Lost memorabilia auction: People love Lost a loooooot more than anyone guessed, and those Lost fans apparently have quite a bit of extra cash laying around. Among the goodies that sold at a premium: A signed script that was estimated to go for $300, but actually went for $18,000 (no, there are not too many zeroes there), and an Oceanic Airlines water bottle that was estimated to go for $200, but ultimately went for $1,680. Water bottles!

- This sounds like a must-TiVo show: Rachael Ray will launch a new show on The Cooking Channel called Week in a Day, in which she’ll show viewers how to cook a whole week of meals in just one day. The show will air on Saturday afternoons and premieres on Sept. 25.

- TMZ claims Spencer Pratt is trying to blackmail estranged wife Heidi Montag into starring in another reality show with him by threatening to release their sex tapes. Of course, as with everything involving these two, there’s also a good chance that the whole thing is a giant publicity scam. Sigh … there are no winners in this case, least of all viewers.

- Here’s how The Situation from The Jersey Shore is going to earn $5 million this year.

- And before this Sunday’s primetime Emmy telecast, the aforementioned Betty White has already snagged an Emmy for her Saturday Night Live hosting gig.

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• Filed in American Idol, Award shows, Betty White, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Lost, Saturday Night Live, TV News

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- There could never be too many interviews with Betty White, and here’s one from the New York Times, in which the Emmy-winning legend discusses, among other things, her upcoming guest stint as an anthropology professor on Community.

- Rosie O’Donnell’s coming back to talk show land, thanks (???) to Oprah and her new OWN network.

- TLC is developing a reality series that’s being called a real-life version of Big Love.

- Almost as disturbing: A reality show in which the long-feuding Ryan and Tatum O’Neal allegedly make up. When his long-time girlfriend Farrah Fawcett died, Ryan O’Neal told a story about how he almost hit on his daughter at the funeral, because he didn’t recognize her. So … these two may be more than a scosche away from an even remotely normal father-daughter relationship.

- Glee: A Michael Jackson episode? Well, if Britney’s getting one …

- All is not well on the production of CBS’ new Tom Selleck series Blue Bloods. Deadline.com reports that the series’ showrunner has quit because of “creative differences” with Selleck over the direction of the NYPD cop drama.

- And several other new shows are having pre-season problems, to the point of having to reshoot their pilots. Among them: $#*! My Dad Says, the William Shatner sitcom that’s a (terribly titled) adaptation of the Twitter feed. I’ve seen the original pilot, and it is pretty bad. Maybe one minor chuckle in the whole thing, and that only came from a joke about Shatner’s infamous speaking pattern.

- When you think of home improvement, the first name you think of is … Vanilla Ice? No, but the one-hit-wonder rapper is going to be hosting his own DIY home show, The Vanilla Ice Project, on the DIY Network, beginning Oct. 14.

- The guy who was atop the American Idol judges wish list, but who producers couldn’t nab for the show: David Geffen.

- Speaking of the Idol-ers, how painful does this sound: a cruise with former AI stars?

- The Reality Rocks reality TV show convention, however, sounds fun.

- Bret Michaels‘ comment on being named co-host of the Miss Universe pageant on NBC on Aug. 23: “What could possibly go wrong? A rock star in a room full of beautiful women is bound to be entertaining.” It should prove to be entertaining, but given the year he’s had so far, probably best not to ask what could go wrong.

- Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is also musically gifted, it turns out: He’s recording an album of show tune standards. The voice of Peter, Stewie and Brian Griffin is also hosting the Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff on Aug. 15.

- Justin Timberlake will guest star on The Cleveland Show this season, voicing a gay character who’s the love interest of Jason Sudekis‘ Terry.

- You wouldn’t think a movie about a soap box derby could lead to a brawl, but that’s just what happened to Psych star Corbin Bernsen when he was filming a movie about the All-American Soap Box Derby in Ohio.

- Mary Hart’s leaving Entertainment Tonight after her 30th season, because her pay was cut in half. Before you feel too sorry for her, consider what her salary was: $5 million a year.

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• Filed in American Idol, Betty White, Blue Bloods, TV News
• Tags: Betty White, Blue Bloods, Tom Selleck, Vanilla Ice DIY show

Best idea I’ve heard yet re: Simon’s replacement. According to The Hollywood Reporter, San Francisco crooner and actor Chris Isaak has already met twice with American Idol producers to discuss filling Simon’s currently vacant seat at the judges’ table for next season.

Here’s my pitch for why Isaak should get the job:

1 - Unlike Randy Jackson or Kara DioGuardi, who like to name check all the people they’ve worked with in the music industry, and remind us constantly of their singing/songwriting/performing experience, Isaak has experience — current experience — in all those areas.

2 - In fact, the hubby and I have tickets for an Isaak show in New York City tonight. It will be the fifth time we’ve seen him, because he’s in that very rare category of performer who knows how to put together a great show. Fantastic songs, great voice, talented band, charming stage patter and cool costume changes (including his famous mirrored suit) are part of what makes an Isaak show a sure bet, and the thing that has been sorely lacking in many AI contestants is performance skills.

“I think I have a talented band,” Isaak told an interviewer earlier this year. “I think I’m a good singer and songwriter. But there’s all kinds of people with talent. For a live show, it’s more than just talent. You have to want to entertain people.”

At last, it would be nice to have someone on the judges’ panel who could sincerely help school the contestants in this area.

3 - Think Issak is an out-of-left-field pick, with a lack of TV experience? Not at all. His 2001-04 Showtime comedy The Chris Isaak Show was a perfect example of what makes him so great. He played a slightly exaggerated version of himself, with his band co-starring, and proved what a great sense of humor he has as “TV Chris” was a little arrogant, a lot cheap and a big ladies man.

And more recently, he’s hosted Bio Channel’s The Chris Isaak Hour, where he interviewed and performed with fellow music stars like Michael Buble, Trisha Yearwood, the Smashing Pumpkins, Stevie Nicks and Glen Campbell. He’s a relaxed, funny interviewer, and those skills would transfer to Idol.

He’s also guest starred on Friends, Ed, American Dreams, in the From the Earth to the Moon miniseries on HBO and has been a correspondent on Extra and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (and, for those of us who are devoted Team Coco members, Isaac performed with Conan O’Brien’s The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour stop in San Francisco in April).

Bottom line: He has a lot of TV experience, a great sense of humor, eclectic music background, charming presence and can bring some genuine insights into critiquing American Idol contestants. Hire this guy, Fox!

By the way, THR also reports that Bret Michaels is definitely out as a potential Simon replacement, Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be under any serious consideration (despite the fact that he lobbied for the gig pretty hard) and Harry Connick Jr. is, with Issak, a top contender.

What do you think? Would you would watch AI with Chris Isaak or Harry Connick at the judges’ table? And if you had to choose between the two, who would you hire?

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• Filed in American Idol, Music on TV, TV News
• Tags: Chris Isaak, Chris Isaak American Idol judge

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- One of the things I like least about American Idol is the younger contestants, who, while they may be vocally talented, almost always lack stage presence and real performance skills. So the fact that AI producers’ first change for the first AI season that will be sans Simon Cowell is to lower the minimum age requirement to 15 … eh. They should really be putting all their efforts into finding a fantastic Simon replacement, especially since lowering the age requirement isn’t going to help distinguish them from America’s Got Talent or Simon’s new show, X Factor, and for AI to continue to be successful, producers need to give us a reason to watch it, as opposed to all the other talent-search series, no?

- Another one bites the dust, and I have to admit, it happened faster than I thought it would: Most recent Bachelor Jake and his fiancée Vienna have already broken up, and the split is getting uglier by the hour.

- Mary Steenburgen is starring in the upcoming FX drama Outlaw Country, which kinda sounds like The Sopranos, set in the world of country music.

- Starz is developing a new drama that people are also comparing to The Sopranos. Hey, if you’re gonna be a copycat, copy a great show.

- That Mad Men season four poster off to the side is pretty cool, right? Click here and take a look at a few photos from the new season (which kicks off on July 25), including one of a slightly aged Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), lending some evidence that those rumors about season four jumping ahead in time might be on the money.

- I love Burn Notice, but this collage that spoofs some of the show’s, um, recurring themes, is pretty clever.

- No stinkin’ power outage is going to keep Jimmy Kimmel or his talk show down. He shot tonight’s episode with his MacBook.

- ABC’s new medical reality drama Boston Med is going to feature a face transplant.

- NASCAR … in 3D … awesome.

- Here’s a refreshing story from a former child star: Family Matters‘ Urkel, Jaleel White, says playing his uber-geeky teen was a great experience.

- Syfy is giving viewers a chance to contribute to one of its original Saturday night cheesefest movies.

- You think you love True Blood? Not as much as Snoop Dogg.

- Wondering what happened to that Bret Michaels autobio that was supposed to come out last summer? With all the drama in his life since then, the book has been pushed to February 2011, so he has time to add chapters on recent events.

- Oz star and 30 Rock recurring guest star Dean Winters has just revealed his own health drama-plagued year.

- And, speaking of 30 Rock, Tina Fey is among the celebs who will get stars on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood this year, along with the fabulous Neil Patrick Harris, Danny DeVito (can you believe he doesn’t already have one?!), Oprah (ditto) and Married … with Children/Modern Family star (and Ohio University alum – go Bobcats!) Ed O’Neill.

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• Tags: American Idol age 15, Mad Men season 4

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- Royal Pains and Burn Notice return tonight on USA Network.

- Curb Your Enthusiasm has begun airing on the TV Guide Network (10PM ET), and even if you’ve already seen them all, or own the DVDs, these encore airings are worth checking out again, because each episode will be followed by a mini-discussion by celebs, comedians and “ethicists,” who will dissect Larry’s bad behavior from the episode, with Curb co-star Susie Essman moderating.

- If you want to pretend that that whole “sideways” aspect of Lost never happened, check out this fan’s videos, with the alt-world stuff edited out.

- Is Homer Simpson really the greatest TV and film character of the last 20 years? I’d actually rank Cosmo Kramer higher, and maybe Tony Soprano, too. And Jack Bauer at 44?! No way … should be in the top 20 (or top 10), at least.

- HBO’s upcoming comedy based on Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke keeps adding to its already fantastic cast, with Sanaa Lathan and Jason Patric the latest addition to a lineup that includes Diane Keaton, Ellen Page, Wes Bentley and Leland Orser.

- Can’t wait to the see the big-screen Smurfs movie … here’s a sneak peek of Hank Azaria in action as the evil Gargamel.

- Coco sidekick Andy Richter is going to be the host of a Pyramid revamp.

- Green Day and Glee cast members will be among the performers of the Sean Hayes-hosted Tony Awards telecast on June 13.

- The next season of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew is on hold, because producers can’t get enough celebs to sign on for the show. Not that there is a lack of celebs who need rehab, of course, but at least some of them are apparently still able to see that airing their dirty laundry on reality TV isn’t the healthiest way to get better.

- Upcoming third season of True Blood: expect lots of werewolves.

- This year’s Spike Awards (which air June 20 on the network) has a better lineup of talent than the Oscars. Among those who’ll pop in for the dude-centric awards show: George Clooney, the cast of The Hangover, Kiefer Sutherland, Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, LeBron James, Ben Affleck, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Rock, Scarlett Johansson, Charlize Theron, Sylvester Stallone, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Liotta, Ozzy Osbourne, Liam Neeson, Adrien Brody and Shaun White.

- With all the self-help-y reality shows on the air, it’s hard to believe it’s taken this long for Tony Robbins to star in one, but it’s finally happening on July 27, as the life coach hosts Breakthrough with Tony Robbins on NBC.

- Is House on the way out?

- And Bret Michaels as an American Idol judge? Great idea! And yes, he does have experience: He was already a judge on Nashville Star.

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• Filed in American Idol, Award shows, Boob Tube to Big Screen, TV News
• Tags: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Homer Simpson, Smurfs movie