Posted by RabbitEars
* The hit — and hysterical — E! reality series Sunset Tan returns with oh-so-superficial new episodes on August 19 at 10:30pm ET/PT, right after the equally fluffy Girls Next Door. In these six episodes, tanning salon masterminds Jeff Bozz and Devin Haman meet with George Maloof (frankly, all of these names sound phony) to begin work on a new salon at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. Of course, the Olly Girls — the only women who could possibly make the Girls Next Door look like intellectuals by comparison — are back, and are ridiculously asked to start taking tanning more seriously. But hopefully not as seriously as last season’s empty-headed client, a Hollywood mom who wanted her 10-year-old girl to get tanned and be just like Lindsay Lohan. She might be regretting that comparison right about now, or maybe not … Nick is also back, now working alongside his girlfriend at the salon, and this may not turn out to be the best thing for their relationship. Start working on your “tan walk” (as Family Guy’s Stewie calls it) and shuffle on over to E! for more bronzed banality.
* Also on the reality front, NBC has renewed America’s Got Talent for a third season, and Last Comic Standing for a sixth season. I still find it ironic that Jerry Springer and David Hasselhoff can be associated with a show that has the word “talent” in its title, while the guy behind Saved By the Bell and California Dreams can be behind a show with the word “comic” in its title. Oh, well.
* NBC is also subjecting us to at least two more years of Carson Daly, having just signed the host of Last Call to a contract extension, and stating how thrilled they are to have him as part of their “#1 late night lineup.” How long it stays #1 with the double-punch of Daly and the equally stale Jimmy Fallon, who may possibly take over Late Night when Conan O’Brien leaves for The Tonight Show, is anyone’s guess. For his part, Daly said of the contract extension, “I can’t help but think I am one lucky dude.” We couldn’t have put it better, buddy.
* SCI FI Channel has announced the return of Lucy Lawless to Battlestar Galactica for a “minimum of two e
pisodes” during the hit show’s fourth and final season, reprising her role of D’Anna Biers. On a lesser note, the network also said it had cast Sam J. Jones as a guest star on the new Flash Gordon series. In case you forgot, and you more than likely did, Jones played Flash in the 1980 film version probably best remembered for the Queen soundtrack. Jones will star in an episode called “Revelations,” in which he plays a seedy prisoner with surprising information about the fate of Flash’s long-lost father.
* Discovery Channel’s recent airing of its annual Shark Week event, the 20th anniversary, became its most successful to date. Over 27 million tuned in, marking a 40 percent increase in viewers. The network also saw a 366 percent increase in online users to the Shark Week fan site.
* GLAAD released its Network Responsibility Index, the first-of-its-kind report that maps the quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on network television. The group examined all prime-time programming, 4,693 hours, on the five major networks from June 1, 2006 through May 31, 2007. Each hour was reviewed for any onscreen major or minor LGBT representations, then an overall grade — Excellent, Good, Fair or Failing— was assigned to each network. ABC received the highest ranking (Good), and led the networks with 15 percent of its prime-time hours inclusive of LGBT representations. The CW followed with a Fair (12 percent); CBS with Fair (9 percent); NBC Fair (7 percent); and FOX received a Failing grade, with 6 percent.
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Sunset Tan: Courtesy of E! Networks
Lucy Lawless/Battlestar Galactica: © SCI FI Channel Credit: Justin Stephens
Categories: TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: Carson Daly, E!, Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Olly Girls, Sunset Tan, Sunset Tan photo
Because I wanted to see the awesomely meaningless Super Bowl XLI preseason rematch and get a sampling of ESPN’s revamped Monday Night Football team, I tuned in to last night’s Bears vs. Colts game — the first half, anyway. I’m not masochistic enough to watch the second half of a preseason game on ESPN.
FOX Sports today released its NFL on FOX broadcasting teams, as well as some changes to its FOX NFL Sunday studio show. Giving up the traveling studio show that had Joe Buck working double duty as studio host and play-by-play man, FOX NFL Sunday returns to the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles. Curt Menefee is the new full-time host, and he’s joined again by Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson, with funny guy Frank Caliendo and weather chick Jillian Barberie adding their segments.
