All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Farrah Fawcett‘s death has seemingly taken a backseat to Michael Jackson coverage in the media, but TV Land will air the first two episodes of the late Charlie’s Angels star’s 2005 celebreality series Chasing Farrah on June 27 at 9PM ET. NBC will re-air Farrah’s Story, the recent two-hour documentary that followed her battle against cancer, tonight at 9PM, while the Bio Channel will air Bio Remembers: Farrah Fawcett June 29 at 10PM.

– The deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson apparently sparked some Internet pranksters to start rumors about the deaths of Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Jeff Goldblum and Harrison Ford. Weird, random totally untrue.

– The Sarah Palin hubbub helped David Letterman best The Tonight Show in the ratings for the first time in more than three years.

– It’s a go: Noah Wyle will star in Steven Spielberg‘s alien-invasion pilot for TNT.

– The Scientologists are taking to the airwaves again with a new series of TV commercials, including one that aired Wednesday night during 360 with Anderson Cooper on CNN.

– Privileged star Joanna Garcia will pop up on the new season of Gossip Girl as Bree Buckley, a nasty Southerner who’s rumored to have a little somethin’-somethin’ going with Chace Crawford‘s Nate.

– NBC has announced its fall schedule premiere dates, including the premiere of The Jay Leno Show on Sept. 14 and the Sept. 17 premiere of Community, the best new sitcom to hit the tube since 30 Rock (which, by the way, returns to the network’s line-up on Oct. 15).

– If American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert doesn’t drop a great debut album, it won’t be because of a lack of talented collaborators. Among those writing and performing with Lambert on his disc are One Republic‘s Ryan Tedder and Idol judge/songwriter Kara DioGuardi, but also musicians who’ve worked with Evanescence, David Archuleta, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Jason Mraz and Britney Spears.

– Jeri Ryan will play a new con woman on TNT’s Leverage.

– The U.S Postal Service is releasing a new series of stamps that will honor classic TV stars and shows. The Aug. 11 release will find stamps featuring Groucho Marx, Rod Serling, Howdy Doody, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy.

– And, a Fraggle Rock comic book?! Yep, it’s happening.

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• Filed in Celebreality, Reality, TV News
• Tags: Adam Lambert, American Idol, Chace Crawford, Charlie's Angels, David Letterman, Farrah Fawcett, Fraggle Rock, Gossip Girl, Groucho Marx, Howdy Doody, I Love Lucy, Jeff Goldblum, Jeri Ryan, Joanna Garcia, Kara DioGuardi, Lassie, Leverage, NBC Community, Noah Wyle, One Republic, Rod Serling, Ryan Tedder, Scientologists, Scientology, Steven Spielberg, The Honeymooners, The Jay Leno Show, The Lone Ranger, The Tonight Show

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– I was skeptical about Scrubs returning next season with most of the cast MIA, but the show’s radical makeover, which will shift much of the action from the hospital to the classroom as Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and Turk (Donald Faison) become medical school professors, will finally give the oh-so-Emmy-worthy McGinley a chance to get the leading man props he deserves.

– All these guessing games, but really, what else could the big Jon & Kate Plus 8 announcement be on tonight’s episode (9PM ET, TLC)? It’s gotta be a separation/divorce confirmation of some sort, doncha think?

– Here’s a story I hope is just conjecture: Legendary TV news man Walter Cronkite is reportedly “terribly ill.”

– Dancing with the Stars pro Julianne Hough will star opposite People mag’s Hottest Bachelor, Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford, in the upcoming Footloose remake, though rumor has it that producers are hoping she’ll improve her acting skills before filming begins.

– In addition to the cast of Seinfeld, Meg Ryan will also guest star on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

– Ryan Seacrest confirms via Twitter that he is talking to Lindsay Lohan about starring in a reality show he would produce. Seems like her best option for making some cash these days, as her personal life and professional reputation seems to continue on the downward spiral.

– Simon Cowell has ‘fessed up to making some mistakes as a judge and producer in a lengthy mea culpa published in the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday.

– The West Wing‘s Bradley Whitford and Malcolm in the Middle and Raising the Bar‘s Jane Kaczmarek: one of the most surprising celeb divorces in a long time.

– And free wireless Internet access in New York City is just one of Sci Fi’s promos for its campaign to rebrand itself as the Syfy network.

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• Filed in TV News
• Tags: Bradley Whitford, Chace Crawford, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Donald Faison, Footloose, Jane Kaczmarek, John C. McGinley, Jon & Kate Plus 8 divorce, Julianne Hough, Lindsay Lohan reality show, Meg Ryan, Ryan Seacrest, Scrubs, Simon Cowell, Syfy, Walter Cronkite

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– At least Ryan Seacrest warned viewers last night to put extra time at the end of their TiVos for tonight’s American Idol season finale, but isn’t it still ridiculous that an episode that really boils down to one 30-second announcement of who the winner is, is instead so bloated that it can’t even be contained into a two-hour block?

– By the way, DiaIdol.com predicts last night’s Adam vs. Kris showdown is too close to call. People, did you not hear Adam sing “A Change Is Gonna Come”? It really should not be this close.

– The New York Times jokes, I think, that Jimmy Kimmel might not have a job today after the naughty, but hilarious, riffs on NBC, Fox and his own network at yesterday’s ABC Upfront presentation.

– And Kimmel’s remarks about the new Jay Leno primetime series apparently weren’t that far off from what some at NBC might have thought. Leno, it turns out, was NBC’s third choice to host a nightly primetime show, after Oprah and David Letterman.

– Can’t wait for the remake of Footloose with Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford as Ren McCormack.

– In case you missed the premiere of Glee last night, you can catch the episode at Hulu today.

– Lifetime.com, pegged to the June 7 season three premiere of Army Wives, has produced more than a dozen videos, collected as Homecoming: Real Army Wives, that pay homage to real-life Army wives, whose husbands have been deployed for 15 months or more in Iraq.

– Check out clips from ABC’s new comedies, including Modern Family, the mockumentary-ish family comedy starring Ed “Al Bundy” O’Neill.

– Even the most devoted Trekkies may find the new “video-based encyclopedia” of behind-the-scenes Star Trek info a bit daunting.

– Next up: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

– My Name Is Earl star Ethan Suplee is taking it to Twitter to try to rally fans for a save-the-show campaign. To get onboard, follow the “EarlTwitition.”

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• Filed in American Idol, Comedy, Drama, TV News
• Tags: A Change Is Gonna Come, Adam Lambert, American Idol, Army Wives, Chace Crawford, David Letterman, Ed O'Neill, Ethan Suplee, finale, Footloose, Glee, Gossip Girl, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Kris Allen, Lifetime, My Name Is Earl, Oprah, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Star Trek, Upfront

Courtesy of BizBash.com, a round-up of some of the celebs attending the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday. Who do you think landed the coolest guests? Gotta love TV faves like Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl) and Glenn Close (Damages), not to mention NBC’s line-up of cool cats Colin Firth, Denis Leary, Jason Bateman and Samuel L. Jackson, but I have to give it to the New York Daily News for choosing Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who’s responsible for what remains the best feel-good story of the year so far.

– BBC: Sir Howard Stringer, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ellen Burstyn and Phil Gordon

– Fox News: Chace Crawford, Todd Palin, Matthew Modine, Greta Van Susteren, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Bret Baier and Chris Wallace

– National Music Publishers’ Association: Kara DioGuardi

– CNN: Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Val Kilmer, Kyra Sedgwick, Brad Cooper and Tyra Banks

– ABC News: Jon and Dorothea Bon Jovi, Kate Walsh, Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel

– New York Daily News: Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

– Fortune: George Lucas and Glenn Close

– People: Sting and Trudie Styler, Miranda Cosgrove, Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Jon Hamm, Eva Longoria Parker, Ludacris and Brooke Shields

– Glamour: Narciso Rodriguez, Alicia Keys, Kenneth Cole and Kerry Washington

– USA Today: Tim Daly, Justin Long and Richard Belzer

– Atlantic Magazine: Ed Westwick

– Newsweek: Natalie Portman and Owen Wilson

– NBC: Colin Firth, Jimmy Fallon, Mariska Hargitay, Mike Myers, William H. Macy, Jason Bateman, Natasha Bedingfeld, Connie Britton, Kyle Chandler, John Cusack, Ari Emanuel, Whoopi Goldberg, Felicity Huffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Denis Leary, B.J. Novak, Brian Williams, David Gregory, Al Roker, Ann Curry, Luke Russert, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Jim Cramer

– CBS: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brad Hall, Colin Powell, Bob Schieffer and Brad Paisley

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• Filed in TV News
• Tags: Brooke Shields, Chace Crawford, Chesley Sully Sullenberger, Colin Firth, Damges, Denis Leary, Ed Westwick, Gossip Girl, Jason Bateman, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Whoopi Goldberg