Heather Mills Hopes Her Leg Stays On

Posted by Corina Zappia at 3:01 PM, February 28, 2007

You knew this was coming. A British website (via TV Tattle) covers Heather's leg-detaching fears as an upcoming contestant on Dancing with the Stars:

"Mills, who lost her leg in a collision with a police motorcycle, tells US news show EXTRA, "I'm quite happy to be thrown around and hopefully my leg will stay on. It's very unlikely my leg is going to fly off, although it would be quite funny. I'll have a strap on, which I wouldn't normally in every day life."

You'll recall reader, that Mills' leg became detached in public in an infamous 2005 PETA protest-turned-scuffle at Jennifer Lopez's New York offices.

Short & Sweet: 'Black Donnellys'

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:07 PM, February 27, 2007

NBC.com

Airs: Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC

Premise: A group of Irish-American brothers fall into a life of organized crime.

Press-release sell: "Academy Award winners Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco (both for "Crash") are the creators and executive producers of "The Black Donnellys," a gritty new drama series filmed in New York City and loosely based on Moresco's background."

Highlights: The inner struggle and fall from grace of the brightest of the brothers, Tommy, is a fascinating watch; he sacrifices an honest life and—could it be?—the love of a good woman? (Olivia Wilde, last seen as Mischa Barton's toe dip in the lesbian pool.) With the exception of brother Jimmy, all boys have the fresh pretty faces of CW superstars.

Low points: All the boys have the fresh pretty faces of CW superstars. Organized crime, really? The other brothers' characters are not very fleshed out, and all episodes are told from the standpoint of a cartoonish, ancillary character named Joey Ice Cream.

Final verdict: Donnellys is "loosely based on Moresco's background," when the Westies (Irish-American gang in Hell's Kitchen) still ruled. Those days are over, as Zap2it points out. We're going to put that aside and keep watching, as long as the Tommy character still keeps our interest.

Oscars: The Awards That Should've Been

Posted by Corina Zappia at 9:18 AM, February 26, 2007

Fresh Prince spawn.

The very brief Academy Awards last night had some weak moments (James Taylor and Celine Dion); expected moments (Forest Whitaker for Best Actor), and very, very long moments (I think I need to sit through one more film montage). Scorcese was finally thrown his bone; Peter O'Toole may never be. And as usual, a few awards were not officially announced, even though their presence was made quite clear.

The envelope, please:

Montage most likely to be mistaken for an eHarmony commercial: Errol Morris' opening tribute to the nominees.

Hottest new asshole accessory to make you look like even more of an asshole: Jack Nicholson, hot and bald! Goes swell with the sunglasses.

Best moment for our TV to experience a thirty-second power outtage, which unfortunately did not happen and thus we saw: Ryan Seacrest unveilng his underwear on the red carpet.

Patricia Field shout-out that no one but the Academy understands: Didn't we all agree, months ago, that the clothes for Devil Wears Prada sucked?

Best free porn: The winner of the Dove creme body wash commerical contest. Was Dove paying to take you into a stranger's shower?

Best screenwriting: Forget the speeches. The descriptions of the award winners when they took the stage killed: "Alan Arkin says he originally didn't get the part because the producers claimed he was "too virile"; "Michael Arndt had to give up his job as assistant to Matthew Broderick to write Little Miss Sunshine."

Best dressed: Gwyneth Paltrow and her light orange Zac Posen frock; Maggie Gylenhall's blue-and-black Proenza Schouler; Nicole Kidman's bowed Balenciaga stunner.

Gowns we thought were unextraordinary but we are always wrong: Beyonce's unflattering mint-green Armani with the weird sea-monster beading across the shoulder; J Lo's figure-obscuring Marchesa with built in bling.

Worst-dressed: Kirsten Dunst's pale blue Chanel number suffered from an identity crisis: prim schoolgirl up top, shiny fish in the middle, flowing into . . .hello, what's this? Feathers? Only Tracy Edmunds in her special skank surprise could have upstaged this one.

Hardest working dress in America: Jennifer Hudson's red number during her Dreamgirls performance with Beyonce. One of those Oscar-winning ta-tas was about to take the plunge.

"I can't hate you even when your joke is that lame" award: Ellen DeGeneres. I'm sorry. I just can't.

Worst fashion disaster that Andre Leon Talley did not stop despite being there for the fitting: Glad you associated your name with this one, bud. Can you make a bolero jacket out of Reynold's Wrap?

Ongoing joke that we did not love quite as much as the Academy did: Poor Peter O'Toole.

Actor most likely to pummel you with his "sexy smolder": Daniel Craig.

Child actor most likely to hit rehab by the golden age of nine: Fresh Prince spawn Jaden Smith.

Best Marky Mark dis: Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and John C. Reilly's broadway musical. Too bad-ass to touch.

Best indication you're four hours closer to death thanks to the Academy Awards: Chris Connelly's unveiling of his handmade wooden horserace indicator to track what movies had the most awards. You've got to be kidding me.

Song most likely to greet Ennio Morricone in Hell: "I Knew I Loved You," by Celine Dion.

Almost-president whose praise could have be reduced to one blow job instead of about 800 and thus this show could have ended that much earlier: Al Gore.

Week in Review: 'O.C.' Gone, Abu Ghraib Doc

Posted by Corina Zappia at 1:29 PM, February 24, 2007

Clockwise from top left:

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes: PBS doc on Tuesday looked into a taboo topic in hip hop: misogyny and hip hop. Asked viewers the question, Hip hop is a man's world . . . but does it have to be?

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib: Rory Kennedy's (yes, of the Kennedy clan) doc interviewed prisoners and officers at the prison to find out how this tragedy could have occurred.

American Idol: Opens an Idol performance camp. The machine must be fed.

Lost: Continues to lose viewers.

Clockwise from top left:

Anna Nicole Smith: After a legal tug of war, the deceased's body will (hopefully) find a final resting place in the Bahamas, next to her son.

The O.C.: Came to an end. Seth and Summer marry, the Cohens move back to Berkeley, Julie Cooper stays single and gets her diploma, everybody gets pregnant.

Grey's Anatomy: Meredith comes back to life after her Tony Soprano visit to the other side. Wouldn't you know it: Speaks immediately, with no brain damage!

Grey's Anatomy Spin-off: The franchise expands, with the show set to have a spin-off starring Addison Shepherd (Kate Walsh).

Finke: Oscar Spoilers

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:30 PM, February 23, 2007

Don't like surprises? Want to know which of your favorite Scientologist Actors are presenting, what director big wigs are expected to take the stage, who will perform songs?

Deadline Hollywood Daily knows.

To Watch: Stewie & Brian's Talk Show

Posted by Corina Zappia at 11:56 AM, February 23, 2007

We'd say set your DVRs, but this one's actually on MySpace. This Sunday at 8 p.m., Stewie Griffin and Brian will do a 10 minute talk-show parody to introduce former Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry and his new show on Fox, The Loser. Pretty brave going head to head with the Oscars, but those who don't see it then can always check it out later. [Via TV Tattle]

'The O.C.': Where Are They Now?

Posted by Corina Zappia at 2:46 PM, February 22, 2007

So the O.C. will air its final episode tonight. Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall has a fantastic interview with the show creator, who talks bluntly about some stories were wound up so quickly, why some plots sucked, why characters never came back, and whatever happened to the Kaitlin spin-off (which would have been great, by the way). It was a little more interesting than the many "what the O.C. has given us" articles floating about.

So what are the O.C. stars' forthcoming projects now that they've been "relieved"? To IMDB, Batman:

Kaitlin Cooper (Willa Holland): Will star in some movie called The Garden Party. (Note: She is Brian De Palma's stepdaughter, so don't expect her to be delivering your pizza anytime soon.)

Taylor Townsend (Autumn Reeser): In Palo Alto, a teen comedy flick with . . . Ben Savage.

Kirsten Cohen (Kelly Rowan): Jack & Jill vs. the World, a movie starring eternal teenager Freddie Prinze, Jr.

Julie Cooper (Melinda Clarke): Starring opposite LL Cool J in CBS pilot The Man, where LL plays an undercover LAPD officer who juggles work and family.

Seth Cohen (Adam Brody): A movie called Smiley Face with Anna Faris. Plot: "After a young actress (Faris) unknowingly eats her roommate's pot brownies, her day becomes a series of misadventures." Brody will be playing "Steve, the Dealer."

Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson): A thriller with Samuel Jackson and Hayden Christensen called Jumper. Plot: "A teenager from an abusive household discovers he can teleport from one place to another. He uses this ability to search for the man he believes is responsible for the death of his mother."

Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie): 88 minutes, a crime thriller starring Al Pacino. Plot: "A thriller about a college professor who, while moonlighting as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI, receives a death threat telling him that he has only 88 minutes to live."

Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher): Nothing current listed.

Viacom Snubs YouTube for Joost

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:30 PM, February 21, 2007

(techtree.com)

Hollywood Reporter writes today that after Viacom forced YouTube to remove 100,000 clips from their site, the MTV & Friends juggernaut has now worked out a deal with Joost, an Internet video site still in its beta stage. (Joost was founded by Skype creators Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom.) Under the agreement, "The company will provide new and old television programming on the site, with shows like "Real World," "Flavor of Love," and "Beavis and Butthead," along with full-length feature films from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics." And yes, it's apparently all for free. No details on the agreement or exactly why they chose to go with Joost instead of work out something with YouTube, although it's no secret that MTV and YouTube have been playing this back-and-forth copyrights game for some time—and then there is that whole competitor situation.

What to Watch: PBS Doc About Hip-Hop's Homophobia

Posted by Corina Zappia at 5:36 PM, February 20, 2007

itvs.com

Yes, it's The O.C. finale week, but we find what's far more interesting is the show airing on PBS tonight: "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes." The Washington Post did an extensive review of the documentary, which interviews major rappers about a major taboo: homophobia and misogyny within hip hop.

Check out this excerpt:

When filmmaker Byron Hurt asks Busta [Rhymes] about homophobia in hip-hop, the rapper goes quiet. "I can't partake in that conversation," he demurs. "With all due respect, I ain't trying to offend nobody. . . . What I represent culturally doesn't condone [homosexuality] whatsoever." When asked if a gay rapper could ever be accepted in hip-hop culture, Busta walks out of the room. It's one of the most telling scenes in Hurt's first documentary for PBS, "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes" . . .

Introducing "America's Next Top Sucker"

Posted by Corina Zappia at 10:42 AM, February 20, 2007

Todd Oldham from Top Design (Bravo.com)

We learn via Variety today that the makers of Project Runway and Top Chef have started pre-production on the next new widget: America's Next Top Producer. Interesting thing is that it will not be on Bravo or the CW, but on the TV Guide Channel. TV Guide Channel, you say? Yes, it's the channel with the TV Guide schedule on bottom and currently a looped infomercial for Hip Hop Abs. (To order call 1-800-237-5520.)

Methinks Bravo finally knew when to pull the plug on this concept—if Top Design is any indication. And remember, reality superfans, we have yet to know the joys of Top Hair.

Week in Review: Colbert Ice Cream, '24' Torture

Posted by Corina Zappia at 5:32 PM, February 16, 2007

Clockwise from top left:

The Grammys: Timberlake films himself and the broadcast is telecast on TV. Why did this trend ever start?

The Simpsons: Bart makes out with an older woman.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Gets the axe. Later episodes to be shown "at a date not yet determined."

Ben and Jerry's: Name an ice cream after Stephen Colbert. Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle pieces and caramel.

Clockwise from top left:

Beauty & the Geek: The finale. Harvard student Scooter and a Playboy Playmate Megan won over bitchy Cecille and faux-geek Nate.

The O.C.: With the earthquake over, Taylor (pictured) and Summer protect themselves from looters with a flare gun, while Julie and Kaitlin get trapped in the ice cream store. The final episode can't come quick enough.

24: The producers will be cutting back on the torture scenes, but only because they want to.

Grey's Anatomy: Meredith Grey drowns, goes blue, and croaks. Will magically be brought back to life next week.

Calling All: Who Want to Spend Oprah's $$

Posted by Corina Zappia at 2:57 AM, February 16, 2007

msnbc.com

Usually, we post a weekly casting call that is creepy. This does not really qualify as such, but it is for Oprah, and Oprah supercedes all. P.S.: Abbreviated for space.

Company: Profiles Television Productions and Harpo Productions
Description:

“THE BIG GIVE”
***OPEN CALLS****

Are you America’s Greatest Unknown Philanthropist?
If so, be sure to meet us in a city near you!

Are you America’s Greatest Unknown Philanthropist?
Are you the type of person who makes things happen and will do what ever it takes?
Do you have a big personality and lots of charisma? Are ready to pay it forward?

Harpo Productions, Inc. is pleased to announce our first primetime network series, “The Big Give”. This show is all about inspiring people around the country to do good for others. “The Big Give” will challenge contestants to dream up creative and innovative ways to help others. Contestants travel through the US completing tasks based around the communities’ needs and changing the lives within them. A new, positive twist to primetime television created in the spirit of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

See you at our Open Calls 9:00AM SHARP!
Los Angeles- Feb. 22, 2007
Nashville- Feb. 26, 2007
Chicago- March 2, 2007
NYC- March 7, 2007

****Only respond if you are 18 years or older, a legal U.S. Resident, willing to take part in a primetime television series that will be taped in the spring of 2007 and broadcast nationally on network television, and willing and able to spend up to six weeks away from home on a full time basis. ****

[Via RealityWanted.com]

'24' Lays Off the Torture

Posted by Corina Zappia at 4:02 PM, February 15, 2007

So the producers of 24 made the decision to cut down on the torture scenes, but they claim it is not, repeat not, because of recent pressures from the military or human rights activists. (In case you haven't read it, here's the recent New Yorker article detailing the personal visit General Patrick Finnegan, dean of the US Military Academy at West Point, paid to the 24 producers to ask them to tone it down. Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily had her own opinion: stop watching the show. This is perhaps all a little moot now that they've decided to cut back on the torture, a move head writer Howard Gordon said was "driven by creativity":

In its sixth season, 24 has become so torture-heavy that it borders on cliche, he says . . . "It's not something that we, as writers, want to use as a crutch."

What do you think, reader?

R.I.P. 'Studio 60'

Posted by Corina Zappia at 4:56 PM, February 14, 2007

All five fans are crying into their Chandler Bing shirts right now. The show will be shelved, following the next episode, for Paul Haggis' new TV series Black Donnellys. Later Studio 60 episodes are to air later this season "on a date to be determined," which TV Guru Alan Sepinwall sweetly translates as "if Haggis' show does significantly better, get ready for a bunch of unaired episodes on the 'Studio 60' DVD set."

Here, Sepinwall's visit to the set of Studio 60, where Sorkin does not exactly love on the many critics who dislike the show.

Crocodile Hunter Toy Line

Posted by Corina Zappia at 2:02 PM, February 14, 2007

wildliferepublic.com

On March 15, Wild Republic toy manufacturers will launch the Steve Irwin Wildlife Adventure Series, a 38-piece line of toys that looks to include many of the same animals that Steve Irwin discussed on his show Crocodile Hunter. (Admittedly, the stuffed animals are pretty cute: the stuffed dingo, the cockatoo, the baby cheetah.) A "portion of the proceeds" are to go to the animal conservation programs at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, but we're always skeptical of the phrase "a portion," particular when the ad postcard we just received in the mail from them is so very subtle: "Wild Republic helps continue Steve Irwin's legacy! We're unveiling some of our hottest products ever!"
The Steve Irwin Talking Action Figure says 10 phrases, and is naturally quite familiar with the word "Crikey."

Bizarre Boob: Guy Proposes Via 'Veronica Mars' Commercial

Posted by Corina Zappia at 8:14 PM, February 13, 2007

CNN.com recently reported that Seattle resident Rand Fishkin proposed to his girlfriend with a $3,000 local commercial he paid for during the airing of her favorite show, Veronica Mars:

VV to Heroes Cheerleader: Expect Lame V-Day

Posted by Corina Zappia at 4:30 PM, February 13, 2007

After learning from TMZ that hot Heroes cheerleader Hayden Panettiere will be sending her Valentine's Day with true love boyfriend, Stephen Coletti, i.e., Kristen's castoff from Laguna Beach, we reached back into the old memory and recalled that not too long ago, last Valentine's Day in fact, we had interviewed the Laguna stud for the print edition of the Village Voice about both this special day and his opinions on l'amour. An excerpt:

What is your favorite romantic song and/or movie? Romantic song—"Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak. Romantic movie—'Garden State'. I don't think they're the "most," just some favorites that came to mind. Although I think no one can deny that the most romantic movie of late is easily 'The Notebook.'

Twenty bucks the cheerleader's smeared in chocolate body slut paint by dinner.

Timberlake Schnoz And Other Vital Grammy Highlights

Posted by Corina Zappia at 5:33 PM, February 12, 2007

JT films his own face, a move about as cool as when Bono did it for Zooropa twenty years back.

Anthony, grow out the magic locks. We need another hit.

More Grammy photos, here.

Eye's TV Week in Review

Posted by Corina Zappia at 2:29 PM, February 9, 2007

Clockwise from top left:

Super Bowl Halftime: Prince gave one of the finest performances ever (and wisely removed the do-rag).

Super Bowl Snickers Commercial: God, I hate it when my Snickers makes me turn gay. The comments from NFL players on the Snickerssatisfies.com website did not help.

Lost Survival Guide: Part commercial, part helping hand to the show's waning ratings—which didn't help much.

Lost: The show had its lowest ratings of the season. It's time to rescue Gilligan and the Skipper.

Clockwise from top left:

Survivor Fiji: The new season premieres. Does every man get a boob wax before coming on this show?

Survivor Fiji (again): . . .The answer is yes.

Ace of Cakes: One happy couple wanted to commemorate their life in Baltimore—with a rat coming out of a manhole. Touché.

Anna Nicole: R.I.P.

Calling All: Gay Fatties

Posted by Corina Zappia at 6:07 PM, February 8, 2007

Every week, Eye will post a real TV casting call that is creepy.

Now Casting Untitled Reality Project

Description:
TV REALITY PROGRAM in search of openly gay male (age 21-34). Must be quick-witted, able to think fast on your feet, fun-loving, a bit of a prima-donna and, most important, YOU MUST BE VERY OUT OF SHAPE. The heavier the better.
If you’re a big-bellied gay man, we love you!
Principal photography will take place on Saturday & Sunday (February 10th & 11th). There is pay.
Please e-mail your headshot/photo (more than one photo is preferred) Kindly include a description of yourself as well as the reason why you would like to participate in this program.
We look forward to hearing from you.

[Via RealityWanted.com]

Wikipedia Responds: Anna Nicole Smith

Posted by Corina Zappia at 4:15 PM, February 8, 2007

CNN.com

Faster than a speeding bullet (or a newspaper obit):

Wikipedia already changed Anna Nicole Smith's bio to read dead "in February 2007." And have an entry for it. Who are these people?

'Rolling Stone' Reality Star Disses Show

Posted by Corina Zappia at 2:39 PM, February 8, 2007

You knew this was coming. Colin Stutz, the shaggy-haired indie rock reporter on the MTV reality show I'm From Rolling Stone, hankers to bite the hand that feeds (he's the rightmost person in the photo above). In the newspaper of the University of Southern California, where Stutz is currently a student, he admits: "There were days where I would hide my face from the cameras, thinking to myself, 'This is going to ruin my life.'" (Stutz also talks about it on the website bookmobile.net.)

But the question becomes, if you feared you were going to be a caricature, why do it? Granted, it's near impossible to break into journalism/music internships without the lofty college network or the resume-pass via friends. On the other hand, somebody needed to spend less time philosophizing about the Corporate Machine and more time watching Maui Fever to see how this was going to play out.

[Via TV Tattle]

Plus: Former Rolling Stone music editor Ben Fong-Torres (who assigned Cameron Crowe his first piece at age 15) writes a criticism for SF Chronicle.

Snickers Commercials: View's Hasselbeck Speaks

Posted by Corina Zappia at 1:30 PM, February 7, 2007

By the way, here's The View clip about the Snickers' Super Bowl debacle, wherein Elisabeth Hasselbeck throws in her dumb-ass commentary. I'm not a super Rosie fan, but you can see why the woman would get frustrated at being the The View's Gay Police if she has to regularly guide Hasselbeck to the river of knowledge and beg her to take a sip. Which brings us to another question: Why is Hasselbeck still on this show? Why does she represent the "youth vote"? She has the IQ of a small tree stump.

Snickers' Super Bowl SNAFU

Posted by Corina Zappia at 1:26 PM, February 7, 2007

In case you missed Rosie talking about this yesterday on The View,GLAAD declared the commentary from NFL players about the Snickers' Super Bowl ad (with the two mechanics kissing) as blatantly homophobic. Um, you can kind of see why. Snickers had posted the commercial (and three other alternate endings) along with clips of the NFL players' reactions on its site Snickerssatisfies.com, but have since ripped the site down at the request of GLAAD. In case you want to see, the clips are still on YouTube and I've posted them below. Check it out:

Follow-up: Elisabeth Hasselbeck from the View's incisive commentary on the debacle.

[Via TV Tattle]

Industry Watch: Strange Case of NBC's Jeff Zucker

Posted by Corina Zappia at 11:52 AM, February 7, 2007

TV critics and industry insiders have been scratching their heads for weeks now, awaiting the bizarro confirmation that Jeff Zucker will be the new CEO of NBC Universal. Well effective yesterday, Zucker replaces Bob Wright, 63, who successfully steered the company through trying times: the merger with Vivendi, the onslaught of Internet and cable. But under Zucker's watch as CEO of NBC's television programming and distribution, the network dropped in ratings from the first to the fourth most-watched network during primetime (never able to recover after Friends went off the air in '04). "Yes," the site FireJeffZucker.com cries, "Zucker who doesn't really like the online medium is now going to lead the company into the future of new media." Good choice. How does a guy with a record this lame rise to the top?

Short of vaguely mentioning that he has "critics among the press and competitors," no newspaper seems to be addressing this at length right now. (Perhaps everyone is a little stumped on this one.) But Nikki Finke does have this to offer: Explain to me, please, how Teflon Jeff, who for years has shrugged off responsibility for everything bad about NBC, gets away now with credit for anything good? Then again, at the worst of NBC's fall, I was told this about Zucker's ability to massage his bosses: "He is one of the most incredible people in the room about spinning a tale in the way he can talk about a negative situation and make it into a positive situation." He'll need to do that even more now.  

Bizarre Boob: Colbert on 'Law & Order'

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:25 PM, February 6, 2007

Two weeks ago we were rolling into our third straight hour Law & Order, this one a Criminal Intent (yeah, yeah..pussie Law & Order). But what to our wondering eyes: This particular episode from 2004 cast special guest star Stephen Colbert in a serious turn as the bad guy. Have you seen it? As Colbert can't really pull off "dude who rips someone's throat out through their left nostril" he got the manly role of "diabolical genius forger who still lives with his mom" instead. He does kills off Louise Napolitano, an old lady, with a lye balloon. Weird. The whole plot line's a little too convoluted to relay right here—go here for a brief synopsis. Here's a clip:

'TV Guide' Pulls Off Headline of the Week

Posted by Corina Zappia at 11:46 AM, February 6, 2007

A little off topic, but we were cruising over to TV Guide's site today and clicked on a brief tidbit about Anne Hathaway's former depression.

And then we hit on the type of choice writing unseen since Barbara WaWa's Angelina/Brad ode:

"Prada Star Was Once Dressed to Be Depressed"

Happy Tuesday, folks.

This Week: 'Lost' Returns, The Grammys

Posted by Corina Zappia at 6:58 PM, February 5, 2007

Tuesday

Dateline's To Catch a Predator: Part II of an investigation into internet pedophiles. 8 p.m. on NBC

Bastards of the Party: A documentary that looks at L.A. gang warfare since the 1940s, with special attention paid to the Bloods and Crips. 10 p.m. on HBO

Wednesday

The Supreme Court: A Nation of Liberties; the Rehnquist Revolution : One of a four-part PBS documentary tracing the role of the Supreme Court in history. "A Nation of Liberties" continues on from the 1940s. 9 p.m. on Channel 13 (PBS)

Lost: The series returns this week with 16 new episodes "and no repeats." You promised. 9 p.m. on ABC

Thursday

Survivor: The reality show with every-waning ratings has a new season in the Fiji Islands. Contestants include a Miss USA pageant coach and a construction worker named "Boo." 8 p.m. on CBS

Forgotten Genius: Nova discusses the scientific accomplishments of Percy Julian. Part of WLIW21's Black History programming. 8 p.m. on WLIW21.

Saturday

A Charlie Brown Valentine: Charlie Brown wants to invite the lovely Peanut only known as "the little red-haired girl" to a Valentine's Day dance. 8 p.m. on ABC

Sunday

The Grammys: Timberlake hosts the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. SexyBack is up for Album of the Year, natch. Against John Mayer. 8 p.m. on CBS

New 'Top Model' Contestants Revealed

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:45 PM, February 5, 2007

Who are the new top models? A Bay Area blog post offers photos and basic bios of the new contestants for cycle 8. What a hoochfest.

[Via TV Tattle]

Eye's TV Week in Review

Posted by Corina Zappia at 11:42 AM, February 3, 2007

Clockwise from top left:

Rome: Brutus has a Jesus moment. And there is more male nudity than you can shake a stick at, so to speak.

SAG Awards: Chandra Wilson declares it's about all her fellow actors "and that one in rehab." Hmm.

Daily Show: Bill Gates shills Windows Vista and gives Jon the lame pr interview.

Dateline's To Catch a Predator: What a 13-year-old girl really looks like.

Clockwise from top left:

Top Chef: Ilan won. Shocker.

Top Design: Todd Oldham hosts. His mug looks a little tighter since those House of Style days.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Oh man. A guerrila promotion goes haywire when the city of Boston mistakes it for a bomb threat. Adult Swim issues an apology before airing its show.

The Sarah Silverman Program: Sarah gets high off cough syrup and meets the Loch-Ness monster. And yes, he thinks she's cute.

Best Super Bowl Commercials Ever: The Clips

Posted by Corina Zappia at 11:52 AM, February 2, 2007

CNNMoney reports that Super Bowl commerical madness reached its zenith this year, with CBS charging as high as $2.6 million for a precious 30-second spot. (Cost in 1987: about $600,000.) Annheiser-Busch is the big spender this year, with a total of nine commercials during the game. You do the math.

Let's take it back to more humbler, cheaper times with ESPN's write-up of the best Super Bowl commercials. I fished out a few of the finest full commercials off YouTube. The Monster.com and Bird/Jordan ones are just as awesome as they were then:

Monster.com (1999)

More clips after the jump.

Larry Bird vs. Michael Jordan (1993)

Introducing the Apple (1984)

Cat herding (2000)

Budweiser frogs' first appearance (1995)

Cedric the Entertainer's bad date (2001)

'Aqua Teen' Causes Bomb Scare?

Posted by Corina Zappia at 11:34 AM, February 1, 2007

Bostonherald.com

What a SNAFU. Perhaps you have heard by now, reader, how all hell broke loose in Boston yesteray when a guerrilla ad campaign for Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force was mistaken for a real bomb scare. Adult Swim had positioned the LED lights throughout most major cities in the U.S., including New York and LA, as a promotion for the popular Aqua Teen short, set for its own movie offshoot this fall. For its part, Adult Swim has now issued an apology on its site—although how you mistake a Mooninite for a bomb threat is beyond us. Man, the money that could have been saved if they'd consulted just one 15-year-old pothead.

[Via TV Tattle]

Male Nudity in 'Rome'

Posted by Corina Zappia at 10:01 AM, February 1, 2007

Ahh, ancient Rome. Ahh, BBC reenactments of Rome. Ahh, James Purefoy, gift that keeps on giving.

Rare the show that gives up as much—if not more—male nudity. Last week the boys of Rome tipped the scales—between Purefoy's Mark Antony disrobing for a leisurely bath and Brutus' bizarre Jesus moment in the lake. The week's half over, Eye's already looking forward to Sunday. She needs some recompense after sitting through another damn Super Bowl.

More photos, below. (A little on the chaste side, admittedly. My DVR sucks.)

Hallelujah, Brutus

James Purefoy butt