All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Among the TV shows that will host panels at the San Diego Comic-Con in July: Chuck, Dexter, Dollhouse, Lost, MythBusters, Psych, True Blood, Supernatural and Smallville.

– There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there are free TV comedy episodes to watch while you’re noshing. Thanks to Sitcoms Online.com for the heads up about iTunes’ summer sale, which includes free episodes of Arrested Development, Reno 911! and The State, 99-cent eps of The Office, 30 Rock and The Larry Sanders Show, and, best of all, the entire five-episode first season of The State for $3.96.

– Fox has announced its fall 2009 premiere dates, kicking off its season on Sept. 16 with Glee and (another) new season of So You Think You Can Dance.

– Speaking of SYTYCD, why would Katie Holmes be performing on the show? Right? Yet, the rumor persists that she’ll be shaking her moneymaker on a July episode.

– American Idol season five vet, and one of the show’s most successful artists, Chris Daughtry, talks about his second album, which will be released on July 14.

– America’s Got Talent kicks off next week on NBC (June 23, (9PM ET), but will the show find its own Susan Boyle? Even though the Internet sensation was the runner-up on the latest season of Britain’s Got Talent, she’s reportedly earning more than $160,000 for a 12-minute performance at corporate events. In comparison, former President Bill Clinton gets between $140,000-150,000.

– NPH – Neil Patrick Harris, of course – is going to be a villain called The Music Meister in a fall episode of Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Wouldn’t he be great in the next big-screen Batman, too …

– Gossip Girl is the big TV nominee at this year’s Teen Choice Awards.

– Heidi Pratt says Al Roker made her cry. So does dry shampoo … in other words, what doesn’t? Did being chastised by Whoopi Goldberg also make her shed tears?

– Dave Letterman apologizes, again, for the Palin jokes on tonight’s Late Show.

– Heroes star Sendhil Ramamurthy will guest star in the upcoming “Bollywood Homicide” episode of Psych, which premieres (not soon enough) its fourth season on Aug. 7.

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• Tags: 30 Rock, Al Roker, America's Got Talent, American Idol, Arrested Development, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Chris Daughtry, Chuck, David Letterman, Dexter, Dollhouse, Fox fall premiere dates, Fox premiere dates, Glee, Gossip Girl, Heidi Pratt, Katie Holmes, Lost, MythBusters, Neil Patrick Harris, NPH, Psych, Reno 911!, San Diego Comic Con, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Smallville, So You Think You Can Dance, Supernatural, Susan Boyle, Teen Choice Awards, The Larry Sanders Show, The Office, The State, True Blood, Whoopi Goldberg

41. Psych
How cool is Psych? So cool that among its many very diverse pop culture references has been Al B. Sure!, The Peanuts Christmas pageant dance, Drew Lachey and The Mentalist, a show that, as any Psych devotee will point out, came after our beloved Psych.

42. Best Week Ever – Best Pop Culture Wrap-Up Show Ever. Almost makes me forget how much I miss the Greg Kinnear and John “Skunk Boy” Henson days of Talk Soup.

43. The Sopranos reruns on A&E
The show’s still so good and so layered that you’ll find new things you didn’t catch the first time around, and I find I’m not missing the naughtier words at all.

44. Desperate Housewives
Was good, sucked there for a season or two, then bounced back. Despite the skepticism about the jumping-five-years-ahead storyline this season, I think it works, and has managed to freshen up a show that could have jumped into jumping the shark territory quite easily.

45. Boob tube to big screen adaptations
There’s the good (The Fugitive, The Adaams Family, The Brady Bunch Movie, Starsky & Hutch and most definitely the new Star Trek flick), the bad (Wild Wild West, Bewitched, The Dukes of Hazzard, Lost in Space and Scooby-Doo) and the what the hell were they thinking (The Honeymooners), but I always get excited about a TV show being made into a movie (or vice versa) and the possibilities of how some of my faves might be reimagined.

46. VH1’s Top 20 Countdown
Relying on VH1 videos to find new music? Yep, and I don’t care if that’s unhip. The fact is, I don’t remember the last time I saw a video on MTV, and though I often hear new tunes I like during The Hills or The City or The Real World (already admitted I’m still watching it), VH1’s weekend countdown of the top 20 videos is one of the best places to not only hear, but see new bands. It’s how I first discovered the pop/rock goodness of John Mayer‘s debut CD (after he had the bad luck to release the album on September 11, 2001), and I’d argue that American Idol “loser” Chris Daughtry owes a goodly portion of the success of his debut CD to his videos’ constant presence on the VH1 countdown.

47. Pat Kiernan on NY1
Those of you outside the NYC area may be unaware of the soothing morning goodness of hearing the delightfully smooth-voiced Kiernan tell you what’s in the newspapers every day, but if every city had Kiernan reading what’s In the Papers for them, it would amount to a better start to their day. Those outside NYC may also remember him as host of VH1’s World Series of Pop Culture, and you can also catch him on Twitter.

48. Malcolm in the Middle
Loving the FX repeats, especially of the later seasons, which I’d stopped watching when the show originally aired. But in the latter years, it’s all about Reese and Dewey and Hal (the comedic genius that is Bryan Cranston), as, apparently, the writers figured out what most viewers knew all along – Malcolm was a dud. The rest of the family rocked.

49. Breaking Bad
Bryan Cranston, comedic genius (see above). Turns out he’s a damn fine dramatic actor, too.

50. Saturday Night Live
Yep, still watching it, every episode, every season, even when it’s not the must-see show during an election year. Love the Target Lady, love Kenan Thompson, love Andy Samberg‘s digital shorts, love the Justin Timberlake appearances. Most of all, love the history of the show … one of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do as a TV writer was attending a live show (last season’s Jonah Hill-hosted ep). I was sitting there the whole time thinking about how I used to sneak out of bed to watch Eddie Murphy performing on that very stage. Back when Eddie Murphy was a comedic genius. Sigh.

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• Tags: A&E, American Idol, Andy Samberg, Best Week Ever, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Chris Daughtry, Desperate Housewives, Eddie Murphy, FX, John Henson, John Mayer, Jonah Hill, Justin Timberlake, Kenan Thompson, Malcolm in the Middle, Pat Kiernan, Psych, Saturday Night Live, Star Trek, Talk Soup, The Hills, The Sopranos, TV shows to movies, VH1