All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Did Izzie and George really die in the Grey’s Anatomy season finale? Meh. I find it more interesting that series creator Shonda Rhimes is living in denial about how ridiculous much of the show has become, including this season’s “ghost sex.”

– Time magazine TV critic James Poniewozik makes an excellent point about how the best comedy on TV is not necessarily always the funniest comedy on TV, using last night’s Alan Alda gem on 30 Rock as a jumping off point. Alda’s quip that referred to the classic M*A*S*H series finale is, hands down, the best, most clever quote of the whole TV season.

– Saturday Night Live airs its 34th season finale – with host Will Ferrell and musical guest Green Day – this weekend, while Fox sketch comedy counterpart MadTV airs its series finale.

– More from SNL: Sunday night’s SNL: Just Shorts special (9PM ET, NBC), a round-up of the show’s most memorable short films, including, of course, “Dick in a Box,” and one of my early favorites, the classic synchronized swimming clip with Martin Short and Harry Shearer.

– And another series finale: tonight’s Prison Break send-off (8PM ET, Fox).

– It makes me love Jonah Hill even more that he riffed on gruesome twosome Heidi and Spencer in a new Harper’s Bazaar interview and photo spread.

– “I want to go to there” is not the only 30 Rock catchphrase that originated with Tina Fey‘s daughter Alice, apparently.

– Thanks, Neal McDonough, for spoiling the Desperate Housewives season finale. Oh, okay, the fate of his Dave character wasn’t really a surprise, though he did also confirm in his appearance on The View Thursday that the rumor of a DH spin-off with Mrs. McCluskey (Kathryn Joosten) is true.

– Farrah Fawcett‘s documentary on her battle with cancer, Farrah’s Story, is set to air tonight on NBC (9PM ET), but as the Charlie’s Angels star is reportedly on her deathbed, a producer and her on-again, off-again love Ryan O’Neal are fighting over the video.

– USA Today has a good rundown of where the networks stand as they head into Upfront Week next week. Among the shows likely to be on the air next season: The Melrose Place remake, an NCIS spin-off and the return of Scrubs, while the fates of My Name Is Earl, Chuck, Medium, The Unit, Cold Case and Without a Trace are still up in the air.

– And somehow, I doubt Jon Stewart is really worried about Jim Cramer, through Cramer seems to suggest in a new Time magazine interview that he should be.

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• Filed in 30 Rock, Celebreality, Comedy, Drama, TV News
• Tags: 30 Rock, Alan Alda, Chuck, Cold Case, Desperate Housewives, Farrah Fawcett, Green Day, Grey's Anatomy, Harry Shearer, Heidi, James Poniewozik, Jim Cramer, Jon Stewart, Jonah Hill, Kathryn Joosten, M*A*S*H, MadTV, Martin Short, Medium, Melrose Place, My Name Is Earl, NCIS, Neal McDonough, Prison Break, Ryan O'Neal, Saturday Night Live, season finale, series finale, Shonda Rhimes, SNL, Spencer, spin-off, The Unit, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Without a Trace

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Did Joan Rivers really deserve to be named Celebrity Apprentice instead of Annie Duke, who raised three times as much cash for her charity? Cast your vote at AOL TV. I think Annie should have won, though Rivers’ dedication to and affection for her charity, God’s Love We Deliver, was touching.

– Chef Jamie Oliver and Ryan Seacrest are teaming for an ABC reality series in which they’ll give the citizens of America’s unhealthiest towns nutrition and exercise makeovers. Hmmm … Maybe Seacrest isn’t aspiring to be the next Dick Clark; he’s trying to be the Dude Oprah.

– The ratings for Dollhouse‘s season finale suggests the Joss Whedon series probably won’t return to Fox next season.

– Tonight’s episode of Gossip Girl sets up what could be a spin-off series, following the life of young Lily, Serena’s wild child mama.

– More spin-off news: G4 is doing its own take on E!’s The Soup, called Web Soup, a weekly round-up of the best of/worst of viral videos.

– Loooooove 30 Rock and Tina Fey, but have to call BS on the story that last Thursday’s Mamma Mia mentions didn’t amount to a plug. It was a very, very clever tie-in, but both the show and the movie are NBC Universal properties … coincidence? I think not.

– Jon Stewart‘s producing a special on the U.S. naturalization process for the History Channel.

– Alex and Hugh are back for the third season of Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel (May 31), and they’ll be joined by the first female driver to be a full-time driver on the show.

– What a great idea: Editing Lost into a “dummies” version that would have events unfold chronologically.

– Al Bundy’s back to be a TV papa again. Ed O’Neill (a fellow alum of Ohio University – go Bobcats!) will play a dad in ABC’s fall 2009 mockumentary-ish sitcom Modern Family.

– And Chuck star Yvonne Strahovksi is certainly keeping busy while she awaits news on whether or not the show will get a third season go from NBC.

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• Filed in 30 Rock, Celebreality, Chuck, Comedy, Drama, Lost, Reality, TV News
• Tags: 30 Rock, Annie Duke, Celebrity Apprentice, Chuck, Dollhouse, Ed O'Neill, Gossip Girl, Ice Road Truckers, Jamie Oliver, Joan Rivers, Jon Stewart, Joss Whedon, Lost, Mamma Mia, Oprah, Ryan Seacrest, The Soup, Tina Fey, Yvonne Strahovski

31. Tina Fey
Funniest female on TV. I say ever, and yes, that means funnier than Lucy.

32. Special guest stars
Some people hate them, and some shows (Will & Grace, for instance) rely on them far too often. On the other hand … Alan Alda as Jack Donaghy’s dad on 30 Rock? Scott Bakula as Chuck’s dad on Chuck? Sammy Davis Jr. planting a kiss on Archie Bunker on All in the Family? Pretty much every episode of The Simpsons? A well-cast guest star can be a treat. On the other hand, sometimes they are just weird.

33. Ethan Suplee
Jason Lee and Emmy winner Jaime Pressly get all the props, but I’m still watching My Name Is Earl solely for Suplee, whose portrayal of Earl’s dimwitted brother (who occasionally pops up with a pithy observation) is sometimes over-the-top hilarious and sometimes just really sweet. I interviewed Suplee earlier in the show’s run, and he said part of the inspiration for his performance of the child-like Randy comes from simply observing his stepchildren. Really sweet indeed.

34. Jim and Pam
As with most TV couples, the road to coupledom was the best part for this Office duo, but I love how Pam has become more confident now that she’s the future Mrs. Halpert.

35. Kenneth the Page
He’s just a sweet small-town boy who loves TV, played by Jack McBrayer, a sweet, and hilarious, small-town guy who loves TV. And another of my fave interviews.

36. Reno 911!
The show that always goes there, “there” being an increasingly weirder, less politically correct and hilarious place. That’s a good thing, as is Lt. Jim Dangle’s (Thomas Lennon) short-shorts uniform, a piece of TV wardrobe that’s every bit as cool as Fonzie’s jacket, Chandler Bing’s sweater vests and June Cleaver’s pearls.

37. The Office
This season has been the show’s weakest … not as many of those watercooler moments as in seasons past. But it can still surprise with a great Michael moment, a clever prank on Dwight or some Creed weirdness. And big ups to Ed Helms, whose Andy was at first super annoying, but who has emerged – especially after his pitiful engagement to frosty Angela – to be a lovable geek.

38. Ace of Cakes
There is just something soothing about watching people make fantastic cakes, even during those Food Network Challenges when the bakers are so obviously stressed out. Maybe that’s the main appeal of the Charm City Cakes crew, from Duff (and his trademark laugh) and super-organized office manager Mary Alice to Jeff, the talented baker/designer who may be the most laidback person in the history of TV.

39. Lifetime movies
There are few things in a girl’s life better than a weekend marathon of made-for-TV movies starring Tori Spelling, Kellie Martin, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Judith Light, Meredith Baxter or anyone from the cast of Charmed. All-time best Lifetime movie title, by the way: Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?

40. The Wire
Dukie, McNulty (McNutty, as my friend Jeff calls him), Omar and his Honey Nut Cheerios … despite where he was headed when last we saw him in the series finale, I’d like to believe that Dukie ends up graduating from high school and landing a computer job. Heartbreaking show, but so worth it. The Wire: The Complete Series DVD box set is a must own, or at least, a must to Netflix.

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• Filed in I Love TV!
• Tags: 30 Rock, Ace of Cakes, Alan Alda, Charmed, Chuck, Ed Helms, Ethan Suplee, Jack McBrayer, Jaime Pressly, Jason Lee, Kenneth the Page, Lifetime, My Name Is Earl, Reno 911!, Scott Bakula, The Office, The Wire, Thomas Lennon, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Tina Fey, Tori Spelling

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Deadline Hollywood Daily says Chuck will get a third season at NBC, but the official word likely won’t be announced for another week or so. Meanwhile in NBC’s “infront” announcement today, Medium and Southland are definitely a go for next season, while new shows include two medical dramas, four comedies and a reality show starring Tony Robbins.

– Move over Dr. Phil. Jenny McCarthy is Oprah’s new BFF, signing a deal to launch her own talk show for the Big O’s Harpo production company.

– Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, together again on Weekend Update?

– So you wanna be a TV joke writer? Some people do it from the comfort of their living room sofa.

– It’s not a spoof, and it may be coming soon to a TV near you: The Homeless Real World.

– Is it just me, or does Milo Ventimiglia’s “new” series sound an awful lot like Celebrity Deathmatch?

– America’s Got Talent judge David Hasselhoff is hitting the booze – hard – again, reportedly.

– Adam Cook, the brother of American Idol David Cook, lost his battle with brain cancer on Saturday. Adam, who AI judge Simon Cowell called an “incredible guy,” made a memorable visit to the show in April 2008 to see his brother compete.

– Speaking of AI, this week’s guest mentor for Rock Week, guitarist Slash, is unsurprisingly impressed with Adam Lambert.

– The list of guest stars for the new season of Californication has grown more impressive. Joining Rick Springfield, who was announced last week, will be Gossip Girl bad boy Ed Westwick, Kathleen Turner, Diane Farr and Peter Gallagher. The show’s third season will air on Showtime later this year.

– Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show has yet to premiere, and it’s already gotten a greenlight for season two.

– A healthy cupcake? The hosts of Lifetime’s new daily series Cook Yourself Thin claim to have the secret to turning recipes for your fave foods into healthy dishes.

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• Filed in TV News
• Tags: American Idol, Chuck, Family Guy, NBC, Oprah, Tina Fey