All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Tonight is the big 20/20 interview with Adam Lambert.

– The Real Housewives of New York, New Jersey, Atlanta and O.C. are guest-hosting the fourth hour of the Today Show next week. Monday, it’s Bethenny Frankel (Real Housewives of New York City), on Tuesday, Danielle Staub (Real Housewives of New Jersey), NeNe Leakes from Real Housewives of Atlanta on Wednesday and Tamra Barney from Real Housewives of Orange County on Thursday.

– MLB Network is debuting its first reality series, The Pen, on June 14 (8PM ET). The show covers the action in the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen.

– The Real World 23 will take place in Washington, D.C.

– Robert Rodriguez confirms his live-action boob tube-to-big screen Jetsons movie will begin filming next year. Moviehole thinks Danny DeVito may be too old to play Mr. Spacely, but it’s hard to picture anyone else in the role, no?

– My Name Is Earl is officially kaput, though EW.com’s Michael Ausiello says there is a cable network still interested in potentially picking up Samantha Who?.

– Heidi, of Heidi-n-Spencer infamy, will reportedly pose nekkid for Playboy. Curious how that fits in with her alleged religious beliefs …

– A line of Danny Gokey eyeglasses? Yup.

– While Stephen Baldwin is off in the jungle on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, his foreclosed home is being auctioned off.

– And signs of life from one of my favorite comedies, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which shot some scenes on location in Philly this week, under the direction of Fred Savage (yes, Wonder Years Fred Savage). And how cool is Charlie Day? He’s definitely on my dream Emmy nomination list. The show, BTW, is scheduled to return to FX for its fifth season in September, and will include an episode in which Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson) tries to emulate Octomom.

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• Filed in American Idol, Boob Tube to Big Screen, TV News
• Tags: 20/20, Adam Lambert, Charlie Day, Danielle Staub, Danny DeVito, Danny Gokey, Danny Gokey eyeglasses, Fred Savage, Get Me Out of Here, Heidi and Spencer, Heidi Montag, Heidi Pratt, I'm a Celebrity, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 5, Kaitlin Olson, MLB Network, My Name Is Earl, NeNe Leakes, Octomom, Real Housewives, Real Housewives of Atlanta, Real Housewives of New Jersey, Real Housewives of New York City, Real Housewives of Orange County, Robert Rodriguez, Samantha Who?, Stephen Baldwin, Tamra Barney, The Jetsons, The Pen, The Real World, Today Show, Wonder Years

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– New York magazine’s Vulture blog says Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins may be canceled. VH1 says: it ain’t so.

– The Adam Lambert Rolling Stone cover hits newsstands this week, and yes, he confirms it.

– Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper as Faceman? Bring on The A-Team movie!

– David Letterman is probably sticking around CBS beyond the 2009-2010 season.

– Rachael Ray will be yakking about EVOO for a few more seasons.

– And My Name Is Earl might not be done just yet, either. TBS may greenlight 13 new episodes.

– Jimmy Fallon‘s Webby acceptance speech: “Thank God Conan got promoted.” Clever.

– And you’ve got to hand it to Fallon and crew for getting Mark-Paul Gosselaar to don his Zack Morris duds. With that crazy ’90s cell phone, even!

– Who’s the adorkable kid in this photo? Ryan Seacrest. No, really.

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• Filed in Boob Tube to Big Screen, TV News
• Tags: A-Team movie, Adam Lambert, American Idol, Best Week Ever, Bradley Cooper, David Letterman, EVOO, Jimmy Fallon, Liam Neeson, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, My Name Is Earl, Paul F. Tompkins, Rachael Ray, Rolling Stone, Ryan Seacrest, Saved by the Bell, The A-Team, VH1, Zack Morris

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– The Sunday New York Times magazine has a great profile of Conan O’Brien, as he prepares to begin his stint as the new host of The Tonight Show. And yes, he too was surprised that Leno‘s getting that nightly 10PM timeslot.

– The next edition of The Real World, The Real World: Cancun, debuts on MTV on June 24. It’s the show’s 22nd season.

– Even reality TV stars are haggling for more money. The New York Post reports that the Real Housewives of New York City want more than the $50,000 per episode they received for season two (up from $5,000 per ep for season one). Whaddaya think? Are they worth it?

– Wanna keep up with all those celebrities are Tweeting about? E! will begin running a crawl of celebrities’ Twitter postings at the bottom of the screen during its programming.

– Just what every desk needs: a Jeff Probst bobblehead.

– TBS might save My Name Is Earl.

– Chuck creator Josh Schwartz says not to worry about those rumored cast cuts; he thinks we won’t even be able to tell where the budget cuts are being made when we watch the show next season.

– MacGruber, the movie, is an idea whose time should definitely come.

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• Filed in Boob Tube to Big Screen, Chuck, Comedy, Drama, Late Night, Reality, TV News
• Tags: bobblehead, Cancun, Chuck, Conan O'Brien, E!, Jay Leno, Jeff Probst, Josh Schwartz, MacGruber, MTV, My Name Is Earl, Real Housewives of New York City, Real World, Real World: Cancun, TBS, Tonight Show, Twitter

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– At least Ryan Seacrest warned viewers last night to put extra time at the end of their TiVos for tonight’s American Idol season finale, but isn’t it still ridiculous that an episode that really boils down to one 30-second announcement of who the winner is, is instead so bloated that it can’t even be contained into a two-hour block?

– By the way, DiaIdol.com predicts last night’s Adam vs. Kris showdown is too close to call. People, did you not hear Adam sing “A Change Is Gonna Come”? It really should not be this close.

– The New York Times jokes, I think, that Jimmy Kimmel might not have a job today after the naughty, but hilarious, riffs on NBC, Fox and his own network at yesterday’s ABC Upfront presentation.

– And Kimmel’s remarks about the new Jay Leno primetime series apparently weren’t that far off from what some at NBC might have thought. Leno, it turns out, was NBC’s third choice to host a nightly primetime show, after Oprah and David Letterman.

– Can’t wait for the remake of Footloose with Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford as Ren McCormack.

– In case you missed the premiere of Glee last night, you can catch the episode at Hulu today.

– Lifetime.com, pegged to the June 7 season three premiere of Army Wives, has produced more than a dozen videos, collected as Homecoming: Real Army Wives, that pay homage to real-life Army wives, whose husbands have been deployed for 15 months or more in Iraq.

– Check out clips from ABC’s new comedies, including Modern Family, the mockumentary-ish family comedy starring Ed “Al Bundy” O’Neill.

– Even the most devoted Trekkies may find the new “video-based encyclopedia” of behind-the-scenes Star Trek info a bit daunting.

– Next up: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

– My Name Is Earl star Ethan Suplee is taking it to Twitter to try to rally fans for a save-the-show campaign. To get onboard, follow the “EarlTwitition.”

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• Filed in American Idol, Comedy, Drama, TV News
• Tags: A Change Is Gonna Come, Adam Lambert, American Idol, Army Wives, Chace Crawford, David Letterman, Ed O'Neill, Ethan Suplee, finale, Footloose, Glee, Gossip Girl, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Kris Allen, Lifetime, My Name Is Earl, Oprah, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Star Trek, Upfront

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