(ALL TIMES ET)

10PM, SUN | NGC
George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview – Previously unseen video footage and other exclusive materials from the George W. Bush Presidential Library are included in this rare chat with the former President – in fact, the only interview he granted to mark the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 – as he talks about his personal experiences on 9/11 and the days immediately following the terrorist attacks.

11:30AM, SAT | FOOD NETWORK – SERIES PREMIERE
The Pioneer Woman – Ree Drummond, the city girl-turned-country wife and Pioneer Woman blogger, comes to TV. In the first ep, she whips up some hearty comfort food, including country fried steak and mashed potatoes.

9PM, SAT | BBCA
Doctor Who – The show’s back with new episodes, starting with “Let’s Kill Hitler,” in which The Doctor meets up with Adolf Hitler in 1930s Berlin.

9PM, SUN | MTV
MTV Video Music Awards – Lady Gaga opens the 28th annual VMAs, where Britney Spears is getting a special honor and Adele, Beyonce and Bruno Mars are scheduled to perform. There’s also no host this year, which could be fun, or could be a disaster. Either way, the VMAs feel underwhelming as a pop culture event this year, no? Here’s hoping Gaga does something entertaining, meaning more interesting than a meat dress and more compelling than yet another copycat of something Madonna did in the ’80s.

10PM, SUN | AMC
Breaking Bad – In the final scene of Sunday’s fantastic episode (yeah, I know, they’re always fantastic), you’ll see why Dean Norris, as Walt’s bro-in-law Hank, MUST be a contender for the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Emmy next year. Must. Be.

10PM, SUN | HBO
Curb Your Enthusiasm – In “Car Periscope,” Larry and Jeff consider a new investment opportunity. Yep … this was a Kramer idea.

10PM, SUN | BRAVO
Real Housewives of New Jersey – The opening of Lauren‘s cosmetic shop brings Jacqueline and the ever-bratty Ashley together, while Teresa gets a surprise when her brother comes to her book signing.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– Gail counsels Laura, an 18-year-old who’s already racked up credit card debt on Princess (Sat., 10PM, CNBC);
– The Ronnie/Situation throwdown continues on Jersey Shore (Sun., 7PM, MTV);
– Eviction nominees are revealed on Big Brother (Sun., 8PM, CBS);
– The bakers whip up surfing-themed goodies on Cupcake Wars (Sun., 8PM, Food Network);
– On Bridezillas (Sun., 9PM, WE), one ‘zilla thinks her bridesmaid is trying to steal the groom, while another fights with her fam and then smashes her groom’s video game system;
– Patti Stanger guest stars as Teri’s high school enemy on Drop Dead Diva (Sun., 9PM, Lifetime);
– Tony and Lisa spread the ashes of a deceased fellow driver along the Dalton on Ice Road Truckers (Sun., 9PM, History);
– Sterling asks Nate and the gang to swipe a nuclear reactor from a skyscraper in Dubai on Leverage (Sun., 9PM, TNT);
– On True Blood (Sun., 9PM, HBO), Sookie has to rescue Bill, leading Marnie to rethink her big plan;
– An ex of Callie’s arrives with a big surprise on The Glades (Sun., 10PM, A&E);
– Ari gets some unsettling news from his divorce attorney on Entourage (Sun., 10:30PM, HBO).

• No Comments
• Filed in Award shows, Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Real Housewives
• Tags: Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Doctor Who, George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview, MTV Video Music Awards, Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Pioneer Woman

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Tonight’s big premiere: Michael and Michael Have Issues (10:30PM ET, Comedy Central), a great new comedy about comedians/The State alums/real-life pals Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter and their sometimes prickly relationship. In the premiere, the two, who co-star in a show-within-the-show sketch series, get into a little war over the attention of a reporter – a high school newspaper reporter – who’s an intern at the show and wants to write a feature on them. I’ve seen the first two episodes, and I think it’s my favorite new comedy since I discovered the joy of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

– Mad Men season two is out on DVD today, and Jezebel.com has a great list of 15 feminist moments from the show.

– Does Simon Cowell have plans to become the new Walt Disney?

– Russell Brand is returning as host of the MTV Video Music Awards, which are returning to New York City, on Sept. 13.

– So many TV shows are headed to the big screen, but TBS is bringing a sitcom version of the Ice Cube flick Are We There Yet? to the tube next June.

– Hapless photographer Jo (Daphne Zuniga) – really, she had some of the worst luck of any female on the show – will return to Melrose Place when the remake hits The CW this fall.

– Jennifer Garner has a new development deal with ABC, though it does not, unfortunately, involve her sharing the screen with Vaughn, Marshall, Dixon, Sloane, Weiss or Papa Bristow.

– FX is filming a new semi-improvised sitcom called The League, about a group of thirtysomething dudes and their fantasy football league. The show co-stars comedians Nick Kroll and Paul Sheer, as well as Popular‘s Leslie Bibb and My Name Is Earl‘s Nadine Velazquez.

– NBC Universal Digital has released the first three episodes of its latest online sitcom, CTRL, which features the always delightful Tony Hale, a.k.a. Arrested Development‘s Buster and Chuck‘s Buy More associate, Emmett.

– Eliza Couple, one of the best additions to Scrubs last season as intern Denise/Jo, has been upgraded to regular status for next season.

– That mediocre, at best, Entourage season premiere scored big ratings, more than doubling the number of viewers who tuned in for the previous season premiere. In fact, HBO’s whole Sunday night line-up, which includes the red hot True Blood and new dramedy Hung, saw a ratings increase on Sunday.

– And tonight in primetime:

– A 58-year-old grandma is among the contenders on Wipeout (8PM ET, ABC)
– The Travel Channel turns its cameras on Extreme Barhopping (8PM), including a bar that serves a $10,000 drink
– Mariah Carey‘s new video “Obsessed” (the one where she dresses like a dude and reportedly makes fun of Eminem) premieres on America’s Got Talent (9PM, NBC), which is hosted, natch, by her hubby, Nick Cannon
– Timothy Hutton returns with his merry band of Robin Hood-ish con men for the second season premiere of Leverage (9PM, TNT)
– CNBC examines Porn: The Business of Pleasure (9PM)
– The Practice star Dylan McDermott makes primetime a lot prettier as he returns to the tube in the new Jerry Bruckheimer undercover cop drama Dark Blue (10PM, TNT)
– Season two of Verminators premieres at 10PM (Discovery)
– Bravo has a new ep of Top Chef Masters (10PM)
– E! premieres a new True Hollywood Story on the late Natasha Richardson (10PM)
– On The Real World: Cancun (10PM, MTV), everybody’s trying to get laid. So, it’s like every other episode of RW
– It’s the aforementioned premiere of Comedy Central’s Michael and Michael Have Issues at 10:30PM
– And, it’s not quite primetime, but you at least have to set the TiVo for Paul McCartney‘s first trip to The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS), and his first return to the Ed Sullivan Theater since he and The Beatles made their American debut there 45 years ago

• No Comments
• Filed in TV News
• Tags: Are We There Yet? TV show, CTRL, Daphne Zuniga, Eliza Couple, Entourage, Jennifer Garner, Mad Men, Melrose Place, Michael and Michael Have Issues, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, MTV Video Music Awards, Russell Brand, The League FX, Tony Hale