Brooklyn, Conn., resident Rudy Pauls, 31, an engineer, will be one of the new overweight folks in the cast of "The Biggest Loser" starting Sept. 15 on NBC.

Deal or No Deal auditions will be in the Grand Ballroom at Foxwoods on August 20 from 1 to 5 p.m.

Cox Communications says it has upgraded its On-Demand TV section to make navigation quicker and easier. Good, since it was balky and frustrating, and prone to freezing oup.
"The upgrade includes several new features including horizontal scrolling through menus, a ‘skip’ function enabling users to fast forward and rewind quicker, and a new ‘Instant Replay’ function. Cox will also add more choices to FreeZone, more HD content, and more movies available On Demand," Cox says.

TNT has added two episodes to the summer run of its hit series LEVERAGE, starring Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People), Gina Bellman (Coupling), Christian Kane (TNT’s Into the West), Beth Riesgraf (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and Aldis Hodge (Friday Night Lights). The summer finale, guest-starring Star Trek: Voyager’s Jeri Ryan in a new recurring role as Tara, a grifter who helps the team out, will air Wednesday, Sept. 9.



TNT has added two episodes of the entertaining show "Leverage" to the current run: “The Ice Man Job” – Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 9 p.m.; and the Summer Finale: “The Lost Heir Job” – Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 9 p.m.

Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC has announced the launch today of Wedding Central (www.wedcentral.com), a new multiplatform, interactive programming service devoted to weddings, dating and romance. The new channel is available to subscribers of Cablevision’s iO digital cable package.

Anything-but-music channel MTV has a new night of bizarro programming: Premiering Thursday, August 27th at 9 p.m., MTV’s ‘See You Thursday’ programming includes second seasons of “Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory,” “Bully Beatdown,” “Nitro Circus,” and the new “Pranked.” Oh, boy.

The NHL has announced its upcoming TV schedule, not that most of the populace cares. Gams will be on NBC, VERSUS, CBC, TSN and RDS. (Yeah, exactly...) Top-interest game will be the opener, in Fenway Park, on New Year's Day, Boston vs. Philly. It will be the first time ol' Fenway is that lily-white since... the last Bosox game.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Glenn Beck's Operation
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/26/lz1c26cusato234322-tv-news-job-was-great-now-its-t/?uniontribTV

I haven't been blogging lately, and a bunch of stuff went down. Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, Walter Cronkite all died. Shelly Sindland filed a sex and age bias complaint vs. WTIC-61. And the Sci Fi Channel changed its name, to Syfy. I'll address only the latter this time: It's pretty dumb looking. Syfy? Why not SighFigh? Or SayeFaye? Or SFi? Or SkyFi? Or StyintheEye? Anything but Syfy!

from old friend John Severino in California:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqUkUjeF4-c

WVIT-30 this week became the first local station to broadcast its news in high-definition.
Of course, that must have made the affable Gerry Brooks very nervous, as it would me.
But it's the future, and now WVIT can showcase local products in high-def, the station points out.
Oh, and the news will be served too, somehow.
What's interesting about the rebuild there in West Hartford is how they used parts of the old building (which was a dump by modern standards) and tried to make a "green" building.
Says a WVIT release, "The new Media Center features a state-of-the-art studio, with 1080i HD production, allowing greater flexibility in news presentation. The entire facility is wired for on-air locations, enabling camera set-ups throughout the building. In addition, the Media Center no longer uses videotape, enabling all video to be gathered, edited, and broadcast from a server-based system, resulting in the cleanest, most vivid video presentation possible across multiple media platforms."

Jon & Kate's expected split announcement was yet another jolt in the train wreck that is this series about a family of eight children. A short flirtation with fame can mess up a family, but this long series, complete with many material benefits to the couple (home, trips, toys, hair plugs, makeovers) has totally messed with the family dynamic.

Sasha Pasulka, head writer and founder of celebrity entertainment website Evil Beet Gossip, said, "The show last night was heart-breaking. The storyline revolved around the children getting play houses from a company called Kids Crooked House. The play houses are literally crooked, as though they're on the brink of collapse. I can't imagine the producers at the show didn't recognize -- or intentionally involve -- the symbolism. It was difficult to watch these children delight in their new toys as their parents take turns interviewing to the camera about the demise of their marriage. It was distasteful that the majority of the show -- hyped for a week now -- was primarily a commercial for a toy company. The whole thing didn't sit well at all with me, and I'd imagine audiences feel the same."

“How does the show go on?” said Kate. “The show MUST go on!”

Of course, for money reasons. There's no other point, unless you enjoy your suffering going out to a national audience weekly.

Jon wants privacy now? You mean the privacy you and the former missus never afforded your own kids?

As I said in a previous post, this is a classic deal with the devil for fame and fortune. And they keep telling us they did it all for the kids. Those kids would be happier if their parents weren't splitting. Now Jon & Kate are saying it probably would have happened with or without TV's involvement. But that's what they have to say so they can keep the gtavy train rolling out a few more toys and paychecks.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Long Island Wants to Secede
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June 16, 1959: George Reeves was found shot to death in his home. The official finding was suicide.

“The Beast,” a police drama that starred the ailing Patrick Swayze, has been axed after one season, A&E announced this week.

http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=229761

Unlike the clowns that Colbert parodies, Colbert is a real supporter of U.S. troops and the job they've done overseas (and at home). Check it out; it's pretty wild. And funny.

From Fox

KATEE SACKHOFF, FREDDIE PRINZE JR., MYKELTI WILLIAMSON,

JOHN BOYD, CHRIS DIAMANTOPOULOS AND JENNIFER WESTFELDT

JOIN THE CAST OF “24” FOR SEASON EIGHT

Katee Sackhoff, Freddie Prinze Jr., Mykelti Williamson, John Boyd, Jennifer Westfeldt and Chris Diamantopoulos have joined the cast of 24 for the series’ eighth season. The Emmy Award-winning drama starring Kiefer Sutherland returns for its next astonishing day with a two-night, four-hour premiere beginning Sunday, Jan. 17 (9:00-11:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

From Nickelodeon:


NEW YORK, June 8, 2009 – Numerous research studies indicate that American families today are staying home more frequently and more than ever are looking for entertainment they can watch together. In response, beginning Sunday, July 5, Nickelodeon will permanently move the 9 p.m. start time of its Nick at Nite block to 8 pm (Sundays-Thursdays, ET/PT), providing contemporary families an additional hour of great programming. Marking the change, the award-winning series Malcolm in the Middle will join the Nick at Nite schedule on July 5 at 8 p.m. Nickelodeon has acquired the complete seven-season library (151 episodes) of the series from Twentieth Television.
"Malcolm" joins George Lopez, The Nanny and Everybody Hates Chris in the Nick at Nite lineup.

Changes in ABC’s Wednesday and Friday lineups:

· (Lousy shows) “Surviving Suburbia” and “The Goode Family” are moving to Fridays at 8:00 and 8:30 p.m., respectively, as of June 12


· Two original episodes of “Wipeout” will air on June 10 at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m.


· “I Survived a Japanese Game Show” will air Wednesdays from 9:00-10:00 p.m., premiering June 17.

Very powerful programming, eh?

From ABC:
ABC’s Airing of the “2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee” Grows by 5.1 Million Viewers Throughout its Telecast, as 9.9 Million Tune in to the End of the Competition

During its Final Segment, as the Winner is Determined, the “Scripps National Spelling Bee” Ranks as the No. 1 Program on TV in Viewers and All the Key Women Demos

“2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee” is Up by 1.2 Million Viewers
and by 42% in Adults 18-49 over the Prior Year

Kavya Shivashankar, a 13-year-old from Olathe, Kansas, won:

Seductive, powerful TV was the mistress that drove a wedge between Jon and Kate Gosselin, the Pennsylvania couple who have spent a goodly portion of their married lives on cable.

Having opened up their personal lives and their kids to a national audience, the unhappy couple profited materially. They enjoyed the fruits of such a deal with the devil over showing their family's "reality," but with success breeding another season and a cottage industry of products, there was no bowing out (even if they want to now probably).

So now the series is airing the train wreck of a marriage on the rocks, as the two are trapped in an embarrassing purgatory. The cable channel can't be displeased, with a huge tune-in on Memorial Day as Jon talked of remorse even as he denied having an affair. The overly coiffed Kate and the hair-plugs recipient Jon avoided each other coldly in scenes taped just weeks ago.

TLC will undoubtedly try to keep the golden goose producing, offering up marriage counselors and other "constructive" solutions to a family show gone sour. The kids, of course, will be victims in the long run. Here's a revelation for you: Fancy digs do not a happy family make. These children are in the unenviable position of possibly watching their parents' ugly breakup play out on prime-time TV. (One of the sextuplets pleads with her father at one point Monday, "Daddy, I don't want you to leave anymore." Here's hoping he doesn't.) How's that for a DVD keeper to show your psychiatrist some day?

You can blame the press (specifically the tabloids and paparazzi, who are like the legit news media's sleazy second-cousins) if you want, and neocons frequently use this misdirection, but it was the network and the merchandising/promotion arms of the big companies that led a willing Kate away on her business trips instead of watching all those kids. I mean, if you have sextuplets, you probably should stick pretty close to them while they're young instead of flying off without them for promotional purposes. Same goes for Jon.

"I have a lot of anger," Kate says in the episode. Maybe it's all a ruse, all I ratings-grabber that will end happily. But it looked a little too real to viewers.