All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Ed McMahon, TV land’s greatest sidekick as Johnny Carson‘s announcer on The Tonight Show, has died at age 86. The Hollywood veteran had reportedly been battling bone cancer, among other illnesses.

– Yes, it’s true, we sadly haven’t seen the last of Jessica Simpson on reality TV. Simpson will star in The Price of Beauty for VH-1, where she’ll travel around the world and “study the local fashions, dietary fads and beauty regimes and even participate in some of the extreme practices she discovers.”

– Jon and Kate Gosselin confirmed that they’re separating on last night’s Jon & Kate Plus 8 (as if People.com’s confirmation that they’d filed divorce papers earlier in the day didn’t make their announcement moot), and now the speculation is already starting about a possible custody battle.

– Producer/writer Bryan Fuller has left Heroes again, which means there’s little chance of the tired show returning to its first-season glory.

– The View co-host, and Celiac disease book author, Elisabeth Hasselbeck is being sued by another Celiac disease book author, who claims E.H. stole her idea.

– Bravo is launching a new series in which host Andy Cohen will talk about … other Bravo series.

– And tonight in primetime:

– The fourth season premiere of America’s Got Talent (9PM ET, NBC), with newbie host Nick Cannon
– The series premiere of NYC Prep (10PM, Bravo)
– The Real Housewives of New Jersey Watch What Happens Reunion (9PM, Bravo)
– The second season premiere of The Cleaner (10PM, A&E)
– The premiere of the Battle of the Network Stars-ish The Superstars (8PM, ABC)
– Cloris Leachman and Theo Huxtable, a.k.a. Malcolm-Jamal Warner guest star on HawthoRNe (9PM, TNT)
– The finale of Life After People on History Channel (10PM)
– Rescue Me‘s creative resurgence continues on FX (10PM)
– And Ted learns about Phil and Lem’s fight club – make that a medieval fight club, in the Veridian basement – in a hilarious new episode of Better Off Ted (9:30PM, ABC)

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• Tags: America's Got Talent, Andy Cohen, Better Off Ted, Bravo, Bryan Fuller, Cloris Leachman, Ed McMahon, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Hawthorne, Heroes, Jessica Simpson, Jon and Kate Gosselin divorce, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Nick Cannon, NYC Prep, Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion, Rescue Me, The Cleaner, The Price of Beauty

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Did AT&T help Kris Allen win American Idol? Allegedly so.

– Everyone loves a good case of schadenfreude, but it makes you wonder just how insufferable Jon and Kate Gosselin are that no one seems to be coming to their defense these days, don’t it? BTW, nearly 10 million viewers watched the season five premiere of Jon & Kate Plus 8 … again, schadenfreude. I wonder how far that number will drop for next week’s new episode, especially since the premiere made it pretty clear that the Gosselins can barely stand to sit next to each other on a couch.

– As the New York Daily News points out, the Gosselins are hardly the only exploiting their children for reality TV dollars.

– Jessica Simpson just isn’t going to go away, and TV may be helping that.

– Whoa … Is Susan Boyle really a potty mouth?

– If you doubt The Big O’s influence, tune in Thursday night for CNBC’s The Oprah Effect (9PM ET), a special that delves into how just a mention on her show can mean the difference between a business thriving and filing for bankruptcy.

– Hoo-ah! Al Pacino‘s headed to the tube, playing suicide doc Jack Kevorkian in an upcoming HBO movie.

– 24, which begins production on season eight today (yay!), has added another pair of new cast members, including Kissing Jessica Stein star (and girlfriend of Mad Men star Jon Hamm) Jennifer Westfeldt.

– And, there’s plenty of serious TV business to talk about today, but for some comic relief, and just plain old fun summer TV watchin’, you can’t beat tonight’s return of Wipeout (ABC, 8PM ET) and The Big Red Balls.

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• Filed in 24, American Idol, Celebreality, Comedy, Drama, TV News
• Tags: 24, Al Pacino, American Idol, AT&T, big red balls, controversy, Gosselins, HBO, Jack Kevorkian, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jessica Simpson, Jon, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Jon Hamm, Kate, Kris Allen, Mad Men, Oprah, Oprah Winfrey, scandal, Summer TV, Susan Boyle, The Oprah Effect, Wipeout