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Hey, What’s That Don Draper Doll Doing With Barbie?!?!

Didja hear about the Mad Men Barbies? To coincide with the Emmy-winning AMC series’ fourth season premiere in July, Mattel is releasing a set of Mad Men-themed dolls, featuring Barbie dolls in the likenesses of Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Betty Draper (January Jones), Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks). The dolls will cost $74.95 each, and no, they won’t come with accessories like cigarettes and tiny glasses of vodka for those 10AM meetings with Ken, Barbie and Skipper.

The Mad Men dolls are the latest in Barbie’s pop culture line, which also includes dolls that pay homage to Heidi Klum, Cyndi Lauper, Charlie’s Angels, Elvis in Jailhouse Rock, the Twilight gang, Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland, Star Trek, I Love Lucy, Goldie Hawn from Laugh-In, Diahann Carroll as Julia, Barbra Streisand, and my fave, the Carol Burnett Barbie, which honors one of her most famous Carol Burnett Show sketches, the “Went With the Wind” skit in which her Scarlett makes a dress out of curtains (and leaves the curtain rod in!).

A few suggestions for other TV dolls Mattel might consider adding to the collection:

- Lost I personally want a Hurley doll, because he remains the coolest of the island castaways, but show fans could create their own love triangle with Barbie versions of Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Optional accessories: Dharma-brand chocolate bars, a hatch to replace the Barbie Dream House and an Oceanic Airlines plane (which can be split in half, of course).

- 24 This Jack Bauer doll would come with an audio chip, allowing Jack to utter phrases like “Damnit!” “Chloe, I need the location now!” and “I’m gonna need a hacksaw.” Jack would come with his magic Jack bag, filled with cell phone, laptop and CTU badge, while Tony Almeida, David Palmer, Chloe O’Brian and Kim Bauer dolls would also round out the set, and yes, the Kim doll would come with a plastic mountain lion.

- American Idol Actually, only a Simon Cowell doll. He’ll come with a week’s worth of black Armani t-shirts and the ability to roll his eyes at the other dolls.

- Big Love Let’s have Barbie versions of Bill Henrickson and his three wives. But warning to the other female dolls in your collection: Now that Bill’s gone public with his polygamy, he could be looking to add to his brood. Run, Barbies, run!

- Classic female TV stars Nothing snarky here. Mattel has Barbie versions of Lucy and her chocolate factory adventure, Goldie Hawn on Laugh-In and Carol Burnett and the curtain dress, but where’s the Mary Tyler Moore doll, with the little beret she tosses up in the air? And the Betty White doll, both Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls versions? Tina Fey as Liz Lemon and from her Saturday Night Live news co-anchor stint … Bea Arthur, Golden Girls and Maude versions … Roseanne as Roseanne? What other TV or pop culture stars would you like to see immortalized in the Barbie universe?

Channel Surfing – March 9, 2010

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- At last: Betty White confirms she’ll host Saturday Night Live this season, though details remain scarce. A Betty-hosted SNL would make a great season 35 finale for the show, doncha think?

- More late night news: Andy Richter filled in for Reeg on this morning’s Live with Regis & Kelly, and he minced no words while sharing his take on the Conan/NBC/Leno mess. He also confirmed, sorta, that a Conan live tour is happening. Check out the video here.

- More Conan news: ABC’s underrated Castle – starring the always awesome Nathan Fillionwill spoof the recent NBC late-night debacle, which, on Castle, will end with a murder!

- Intentional pun ahead: HBO is having lots of luck with its upcoming drama Luck. Not only will Dustin Hoffman star, but Oscar nominee Nick Nolte is reportedly in talks to join the cast of the gambling drama.

- More great casting news: 24/Samantha Who?/Frasier/Designing Women star Jean Smart will play the governor of Hawaii in CBS’ Hawaii Five-O remake (the character was male in the original series), while Ed star and Scrubs guest star Tom Cavanagh has signed on for the ABC drama pilot Edgar Floats, about a police psychologist-turned-bounty hunter.

- And still more Oscar-caliber talent in primetime: Kathy Bates, who’s been playing the new Dunder-Mifflin owner as a guest star on The Office this season, will play a cranky attorney in David E. Kelley’s NBC legal drama pilot, Kindreds.

- Another new primetime lawyer: Felicity and The Unit star Scott Foley (who recently guest starred as Courteney Cox’s love interest on Cougar Town), who’ll play an ADA in ABC’s crime drama True Blue.

- Brooke Burke, the season seven winner of Dancing With the Stars, has officially been signed as the new co-host for DWTS when it premieres its 10th season on March 22.

- Good news Fringe fans: You won’t have to wait around to see if your show will be on the bubble when Fox announces its fall scheduled in May. The show has already been renewed.

- Also renewed for next season: Brothers & Sisters.

- And, who do fans most want to see playing Captain America on the big screen? The Office star John Krasinski. He’s one of my fave TV dudes, but I’m bummed that Ryan McPartlin isn’t on the list. Chuck’s “Captain Awesome” would make a perfect Captain America.

Channel Surfing – March 5, 2010

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- Baby Halpert has arrived! The Office’s Jim and Pam had their baby in last night’s ep, and People.com has scoop on the inspiration for baby Cecelia’s name.

- More from The Office: There’s a new series of Webisodes, featuring poor receptionist Erin being mentored in accounting by Angela.

- Dancing With the Stars is sooooo yesterday; now it’s all about Ice Dancing With the Stars.

- Ocean’s Eleven star Scott Cahn has been cast as Danny Williams, as in “Book ‘en, Danno,” on CBS’ Hawaii Five-O remake.

- Good news, Smallville-ians: The CW show will be back for a 10th season.

- Neil Patrick Harris will play the lead Smurf in the upcoming big-screen Smurfs flick, and pop star (and awesome American Idol guest judge) Katy Perry is in talks to voice Smurfette.

- More NPH news: His Glee guest gig has been confirmed; he’ll play a former high school glee club rival of Matthew Morrison’s Will.

- Ratings-wise, who’s the Queen of Daytime TV? Oprah? Nah. Ellen? Nope. It’s Judge Judy.

- So far, no takers on that reality series Sarah Palin is pitching.

- An Alt-Emmys show? Why not? There are only ten gazillion awards shows that honor what amounts to a handful of movies every year, so why not more than one show honoring the scores of great TV shows that hit the airwaves every season?

- Drea de Matteo is definitely leaving Desperate Housewives at the end of the season, but is another Wisteria Lane resident moving out, too?

- Will & Grace and The Starter Wife star Debra Messing may be back in primetime with a new sitcom this fall.

- And, please let this happen: Rob Lowe is rumored to be joining the cast of Parks and Recreation, the show that has only gotten better in its sophomore season.

Channel Surfing – March 3, 2010

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- Whatever you’re expecting from tonight’s Nip/Tuck series finale (10PM ET, FX), the actual episode is much tamer. But after seven season of outrageous storylines, the show wraps up on a positive note that’s fitting for all the characters.

- No doubt due largely to the Betty White fever that’s sweeping Hollywood, TV Land has sped up production of its upcoming sitcom Hot in Cleveland, in which White co-stars, to get it ready for a summer premiere (it had originally been planned for fall).

- Among the presenters for Sunday night’s Oscars (8PM ET, ABC), which will be hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin: Tina Fey, Robert Downey Jr., Sacha Baron Cohen, Steve Carell, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Kathy Bates, Charlize Theron, Queen Latifah, Jason Bateman and Sean Penn.

- One thing, sadly, that will be MIA from the Oscars telecast: a planned Avatar spoof by Ben Stiller and Sacha Baron Cohen. Producers were reportedly worried that Avatar director James Cameron and his massive ego would be offended by the bit.

- Ellen DeGeneres: comedienne, sitcom star, talk show host, American Idol judge and, soon, comic book star.

- In the market for a new TiVo? How ’bout one that will scan through 30 seconds of commercials (or, even better, reality host filler, American Idol!) in just one second?

- History Channel is going all CSI on its hit show Pawn Stars, planning spin-offs that will make stars of pawn shop proprietors in Miami and New York. Wonder if I Love New York contestant Johnny “White Boy” Gallander, whose fam owns a pawn shop in Miami, will throw his hat in the ring?

- The Sopranos‘ Christophuh, Michael Imperioli, has signed on to star as a cop in ABC’s drama pilot 187 Detroit. The show will be filmed in a mockumentary format, a la The Office and Modern Family.

- And, as Christophuh might say, fans of ABC’s The Forgotten should fuhghettabout the show, which is almost certainly going to be canceled, considering the network has pulled a couple of episodes from its line-up and scheduled the March 9 ep as the show’s season (series?) finale.

- Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien producer Lorne Michaels, who was key in pushing former SNL writer O’Brien into late night, says he thinks O’Brien will survive his brief Tonight Show stint just fine.

- Michaels also confirms he’s in talks with Betty White re: hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live.

- BTW, Coco fans remain a loyal bunch; they bombarded a Tonight Show forum with pro-Conan sentiments.

- When you hear the new Mercedes-Benz commercial during the Oscar telecast, yes, that is Mad Men star Jon Hamm’s voice.

- Miss Piggy is going GagaLady Gaga – in the upcoming Muppet flick, The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made.

- Don’t forget to record The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, because the Comedy Central shows will no longer be available on Hulu.

- And, just how cool is it going to be to see Dustin Hoffman in HBO’s drama series Luck? More names to get excited about: David Milch wrote the pilot, Michael Mann is directing, Milch and Mann are producing the show, and Dennis Farina and The Job’s John Ortiz co-star.

Channel Surfing – March 1, 2010

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- He’s back: Jay Leno hosts his first Tonight Show since the Conan O’Brien debacle tonight, with guests Jamie Foxx, Brad Paisley and Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn.

- Sorry, Joe Flanigan fans; the star of The Rockford Files remake has been cast, and it’s big-screen vet Dermot Mulroney. Not a name I ever would have thought of for the show, but an interesting choice, no?

- Rumors say Anderson Cooper may be headed to CBS, but his “people” say it’s not true that he’ll replace Katie Couric as the CBS evening news anchor.

- During tonight’s season finale of The Bachelor (8PM ET), ABC will announce the cast of the next Dancing With the Stars season, which premieres on March 22. I may actually have to watch if it’s true that Beverly Hills 90210 diva Shannen Doherty is among the new D-list hoofers.

- Snoop Dogg on One Life to Live, James Franco on General Hospital and now, Julianne Moore may make an appearance on As the World Turns, the show that helped launch her career, before the CBS soap ends next fall.

- The cast of Glee is indeed embarking on that rumored concert tour, with stops in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Phoenix.

- The Office funny guy Craig Robinson will be the new host of Last Comic Standing when it returns to NBC this summer.

- Marcia, Marcia, Marcia … because she and Jan, a.k.a. Brady Bunch stars Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb, are still fighting, a planned Bunch reunion that was scheduled to happen this week is a no-go.

- American Idol season five alum Elliott Yamin – my all-time fave AI contestant – has been updating via Twitter about his experience being trapped in Chile after last Saturday’s earthquake.

- A Lost-themed amusement park attraction? It might actually happen.

- More Lost news: John Locke and creepy Ben as hit men? It’s a brilliant idea that Lost Emmy winner Terry O’Quinn is shopping, a drama about a pair of hit men who live in the suburbs. The show would star O’Quinn and fellow Lostie (and fellow Emmy winner) Michael Emerson, a duo that’s been responsible for a big chunk of Lost’s most memorable moments in the last few seasons.

- Zooey Deschanel is joining her Bones sister Emily Deschanel as a primetime star. Zooey will star in HBO’s series adaptation of Pamela Des Barres‘ famous band groupie memoir I’m With the Band.

- The new Doctor Who – with Matt Smith as the new Doctor – will debut on BBC America on April 17.

- Will Johnny Depp make a cameo in the upcoming 21 Jump Street movie? He tells Entertainment Weekly he hopes to, which just adds some points to his already full cup o’ coolness.

- Saturday Night Live hosts and musical guests for March: Zach Galifianakis and Vampire Weekend on March 6, and Jude Law and Pearl Jam on March 13.

- George Lopez is starring in a big-screen, live-action/CGI SpeedyGonzalez movie , and he says it won’t feature the stereotype-projecting Speedy of the original 1950s cartoons.

- And, though viewers seem to love the guilty pleasure aspects of kiddie beauty pageant shows like Little Miss Perfect and Toddlers & Tiaras, not so much for grown-up beauty contests: the Miss America pageant has yet again found itself homeless, as TLC has dropped the annual event from its primetime plans.

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