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 …

- Is Lost star Josh Holloway stepping into the role of Jim Rockford for yet another NBC attempt to get that Rockford Files revamp going? I know lots of TVScreener readers are probably still hoping Joe Flanigan’s name will pop up again

- Everything you wanted to know about the Britney Spears episode of Glee, including the first photo from her guest appearance.

- More great guest star news: Michael J. Fox has signed on to guest as an attorney in the new season of The Good Wife, which begins its second season on Sept. 28.

- Another reason to love Stephen Colbert: On Sept. 8 and 9 (11:30PM ET), he’ll host Been There: Won That: The Returnification of the American-Do Troopscape, with the audiences for both nights made up of veterans and active duty service men and women in the studio, as well as by satellite audiences from Walter Reed Hospital, Iraq and Afghanistan.

- Is a work visa standing in the way of Piers Morgan taking over for Larry King at CNN? Could be. According to the New York Post, Morgan’s current visa only covers him for being in the U.S. to work on America’s Got Talent in the summer, and he needs a new, and difficult to get, visa to work in the country year-around.

- Spencer Pratt says he’s writing a tell-all book about his soon-to-be ex-wife, Heidi Montag. It feels like there’s very little we could possibly not already know about either of those publicity junkies.

- Teresa Giudice claims fame, the result of being on Real Housewives of New Jersey, is why she and her family are in the middle of major financial woes. Uh huh …

- More Housewives news: The Real Housewives of Atlanta, which kicks off its third season on Bravo on Oct. 4, will have a couple of new faces in the cast this season.

- Teen Mom, one of my favorite summer guilty pleasures, is the cover story on this week’s US Weekly, including interviews with Farrah, Amber, Maci and Catelynn.

- LOVE the Wall Street Journal story today about how TV writers use their pens (more like laptops) to get even with those who’ve wronged them. Fun, fun read. I asked Psych creator Steve Franks about the Ken Tucker “shout out” when I interviewed him for AOL earlier this year, and he was coy, but didn’t deny it.

- That rumored DIY Network reality show with rapper Vanilla Ice as a home renovator? Not a rumor … The Vanilla Ice Project premieres Oct. 14 and finds the “Ice, Ice Baby” singer fixing up a six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot lakefront house in Palm Beach.

- And what do the Jersey Shore doofuses get by the truckload? CVT - condoms, vodka and tanner.

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• Filed in Glee, Psych, Real Housewives, TV News, Teen Mom
• Tags: Britney Spears Glee, Josh Holloway Rockford Files, Vanilla Ice Project DIY

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- ABC is holding a live press conference, with reporters, during the Aug. 30 episode of Bachelor Pad, to announce the next cast of Dancing With the Stars. This better be soooome cast, with all that hubbub. Among the many names that have been rumored to be contestants for season 11: Betty White (who’s pretty much rumored to be cast in everything these days … wishful thinking, usually), David Hasselhoff, Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa Giudice and Danielle Staub, Richard Simmons, The Situation from Jersey Shore, Hilary Duff, Brandy, Ali Fedotowsky, Jennifer Grey, NFL vet Kurt Warner and Ryan Seacrest (where would he find the time?).

- Speaking of The Hoff, last Sunday’s Comedy Central roast of David Hasselhoff was the network’s fifth highest-rated celeb roast ever. What did you think? I loved Seth MacFarlane as host — dude should have his own talk show — but the rest of it was a little low-key. And the ending, with The Hoff singing, was just weird.

- Another big ratings winner: Showtime’s premiere of The Big C on Monday, which was the network’s highest-rated premiere in eight years.

- And, speaking of Real Housewives Jerseyites Teresa and Danielle, they both may need jobs on DWtS, or anywhere else they can get paid. One of them — Danielle — reportedly hasn’t been asked to return to RHoNJ for the show’s third season (the season two finale airs Monday, Aug. 23), while the other’s (Teresa) bankruptcy case has taken another bad turn, as the court now has proof that Giudice and her husband went on a $60,000 home furnishings shopping spree after filing for bankruptcy.

- Betty White has signed a deal to write two new autobiographies.

- “More pie, Andy?” There’s definitely more Andy, Andy, as TV Land is asking viewers to vote for their fave Andy Griffith Show episodes, which will make up a 50-episode marathon to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, in September.

- The Kids in the Hall have reunited for a miniseries, Death Comes to Town, which aired in Canada earlier this year, but debuts in the U.S. on IFC this Friday.

- The Brits love them some Glee, apparently: A new Glee FM radio station in Oxford will play only songs from the show.

- And have you seen the new Glee Slushee poster?

- Did you know Lindsay Lohan is in a movie with the Shamwow dude? Me neither. The Hollywood Reporter, uh, reports, that her appearance in Vince “Shamwow Guy” Offer’s The Underground Comedy Movie is one of the many pathetic ways people, including Lohan, will be trying to capitalize on her downward spiraling life when she gets out of rehab.

- CBS’ Undercover Boss is getting a new companion series, which will pit two employees against each other in the name of getting a promotion.

- The big Lost auction is being held in Santa Monica this weekend, and among the many, many props and other Lost goodies that are expected to fetch a pretty penny: Claire’s creepy squirrel baby.

- E! Online reports that ABC wants recent Bachelorette runner-up Chris Lambton to be the next Bachelor, but he, sanely, wants to simply return to his pre-reality TV life. That actually kinda makes him an even more appealing Bachelor, no?

- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which kicks off its new season on Sept. 13, is getting some major changes. The biggest one: no more hot seat … the contestants will now stand for the competition.

- And, this is awesome: Rapper Wale has made another album that was inspired by Seinfeld. And it turns out everything from 24 and Lost to The Dukes of Hazzard and Married … with Children have also inspired rappers.

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• Filed in Betty White, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Game shows, Glee, Real Housewives, Reality, Seinfeld, TV News
• Tags: Dancing With the Stars season 11, Lost auction, The Big C, The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town

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