All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– The numbers are in, and more than 31 million viewers tuned in for the Michael Jackson memorial telecast on Tuesday.

– The United States Olympic Committee is launching a cable channel that will be devoted to coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics.

– The sixth season of Top Chef will take place in Sin City. Top Chef: Las Vegas premieres on Bravo on August 26.

– Lifetime has revealed the contestants for its first season of Project Runway, which will include cameos by Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera.

– OZ star Terry Kinney has joined the cast of The Mentalist, where he’ll play a cop.

– Robin Williams will film his upcoming stand-up performance in Washington, D.C. for an HBO special that will air in December. It’s his first HBO solo show since 2002.

– Socialite Life has pics of Prison Break star Wentworth Miller guest starring on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but the interesting photos are the ones of a very muscular SVU star Christopher Meloni … those are some Incredible Hulk-ish biceps. Who knew? Meanwhile, Will & Grace star Eric McCormack has signed on to play a sugar daddy in the new season’s second episode.

– Billy Mays will live on as a TV pitchman, including new spots for the Jupiter Jack, a gadget that lets you use your cell phone hands-free in a car.

– Another Real World alum is running for Congress: Real World: New York‘s Kevin Powell ran in New York last year, and now Sean Duffy, the Real World: Boston cast member who married and has five children with Real World: San Francisco‘s Rachel Campos, has announced his candidacy in Wisconsin.

– And tonight in primetime:

– Big Brother 11 premieres on CBS (8PM ET)
– ABC has back-to-back episodes of Samantha Who? (8PM)
– More dramarama with The Real Housewives of New Jersey Lost Footage special on Bravo (9PM)
– Michael’s charged with saving the lives of his fellow spies on a new Burn Notice (9PM, USA)
– Discovery Channel premieres Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays at 9PM
– Hank plays doc to a family with a private island on Royal Pains (10PM, USA)
– The contestants have to make red carpet gowns on The Fashion Show (10PM, Bravo)
– On 16 & Pregnant (10PM, MTV), a teen and her mother are both preggers and getting on each other’s nerves in their small home
– The new season of L.A. Ink premieres on TLC at 10PM
– The women have to take part in a fitness shoot on She’s Got the Look (9PM, TV Land)
– The Science of the Movies (10PM, Science Channel) goes behind the scenes with the Muppets
– And Russ’ flirting lands him in some hot water on Southern Belles: Louisville (10PM, SoapNet)

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• Filed in Reality, TV News
• Tags: Billy Mays, Christopher Meloni, Michael Jackson memorial, Olympics cable network, Project Runway Lifetime, Real World Congress, Sean Duffy, Sean Duffy Congress, Top Chef: Las Vegas, Wentworth Miller

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Neil Patrick Harris hosting the Emmys … that should definitely happen.

– Let no angle in the Michael Jackson story go uncovered: Anderson Cooper got the scoop on Bubbles the chimp last night on CNN.

– Speaking of celeb deaths, the sad trend continues for TV stars. Streets of San Francisco star (and Oscar winner) Karl Malden got all the press yesterday, but Broadway, big screen and tube star Harve Presnell – he was Dawson’s cantankerous friend/mentor Mr. Brooks on Dawson’s Creek – died on Tuesday at age 75.

– Bravo’s premiering a second season of The Rachel Zoe Project on Aug. 25.

– Christian Slater‘s My Own Worst Enemy flopped, but the Heathers star may be headed back to the tube in ABC’s fall drama The Forgotten. Slater would play a cop-turned-private detective whose daughter was kidnapped.

– Coyote Ugly star Piper Perabo (a fellow Ohio University alum – Go Bobcats!) has signed on to star in the USA drama pilot Covert Affairs, which sounds an awful lot like Alias. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

– Prison Break star Wentworth Miller will be on the other side of the law – playing an NYPD officer – on the season premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Sept. 23, NBC).

– Lost star Michael Emerson predicts a sad ending for the show, with (more) major character deaths and what he describes as a “series finale for grown-ups.”

– Kiefer Sutherland confirms that 24 will shoot some season eight scenes at the real United Nations. Jack Bauer’s next really long day will unfold in New York City (Jan. 17, 2010).

– This certainly trumps the Flintstone vitamin in TV-related pharmacology: Homer Simpson ecstasy.

– Billy Mays‘ infomercials will continue to air, and Discovery Channel has planned a tribute to the late pitchmen for July 9. Meanwhile, the New York Times has a rundown of five memorable moments from last night’s Pitchmen season (series?) finale.

– There’s official So You Think You Can Dance confirmation that Katie Holmes will be tapping her toes – for a new dance education charity she co-founded – on the show’s 100th episode, July 23.

– And tonight in primetime:

– William Shatner stops by G4’s Attack of the Show (7PM ET) to chat about his new Tek War comic
– A military couple who has spent a lot of time apart is shipped home and given a dream wedding on TNT’s Wedding Day (8PM)
– ABC has back-to-back new eps of the sadly canceled Samantha Who? (8PM)
– Kelly Clarkson sings “I Do Not Hook Up” as the top 14 becomes the top 12 on So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, 9PM)
– A teen who wants to join the Air Force may have her dreams dashed when she becomes preggers on the latest ep of 16 & Pregnant on MTV (10PM)
– Shea becomes a full-on bridezilla on Southern Belles: Louisville on SoapNet (10PM)
– TV Land has a new installment of She’s Got the Look (10PM)
– Science Channel’s Science of the Movies examines 3-D animation (10PM)

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• Filed in Award shows, Lost, Reality, TV News
• Tags: 24 season 8, 24 United Nations, Anderson Cooper, Billy Mays, Billy Mays Pitchmen, Billy Mays tribute, Bubbles the chimp, Christian Slater The Forgotten, Emmys, Harve Presnell, Homer Simpson ecstasy, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael Emerson Lost, Michael Jackson, Neil Patrick Harris, Piper Perabo Covert Affairs, So You Think You Can Dance Katie Holmes, The Rachel Zoe Project, Wentworth Miller, William Shatner