Skipping commercials has become a lifestyle choice now that DVRs sit comfortably in the homes of millions upon millions of Americans. But neglecting the ad spots during TV shows can often mean missing out on some of the best programming.

Case in point: I skipped through most of the commercials during Oprah's coveted, world exclusive interview with Lance Armstrong. This probably wouldn't please advertisers, considering that 30-second spots were running upwards of $250,000 for the interview special. But hey, I've got DVR, so screw it -- let's blow past these cumbersome commercials and get to the nitty-gritty, revelatory details and watch Armstrong rub his mouth some more in agony.

Anyway, I forgot to fast-forward through commercials at one point during my recording and stumbled across this gem of a local ad for Rancho Simi Insurance. As a native Angeleno, I have a special place in my heart for local commercials. (The commercial for Westside Mexican food joint Tito's Tacos may be my favorite.) Rancho Simi Insurance commercial has the kind of actors that are either employees, or aspiring thesps who are related to the employees. The acoustic guitar accompaniment adds a dramatic touch. Again, all great. Until we reach the "Call now!" imperative.

A phone number is plastered across the screen..."Call now!"...except...

No area code.

A little bit of googling shows that by dialing "805" before the company phone number, you'll reach the office of Rancho Simi Insurance. But dialing the seven digits show on the commercial will get you nothing but a dead, beeping line, along with a dose of '90s nostalgia.

We'll never know whether this local biz shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars for this ad spot during Oprah's interview with Lance Armstrong only to realize they didn't insert an area code into the commercial to make its phone number viable. But we do know one thing...

Wait, is that an Emmy on the fireplace mantle?!

NBC.com isn't rolling out webisodes for fantasy-procedural drama "Grimm" till January 18, but Variety has your exclusive first look at episode 1 in the online series.

As detailed last week in Daily Variety, "Grimm" has tasked junior scribes from its writers' room to handle the skein's digital content. Nicholas Peet, a writer's assistant on "Grimm," penned and helmed the drama's webisodes that center on fan fave character Monroe in the Spice Shop.

Webisodes keep fans of the series engaged while "Grimm" is in a quiet period between seasons. Skein will return to NBC in March.

Find out more about NBC's digital initiatives here, and be sure to check out the first episode of "Grimm's" web series now:

The one item left in my notebook from last night's Golden Globe madness was my favorite moment on the carpet -- a few precious minutes of quality time with Mandy Patinkin and his wife, thesp Kathryn Grody.

A conversation with Patinkin isn't easily digested into pithy soundbites.

Patinkin had a wide smile underneath his bushy Sal Berenson beard as he and Grody made their way down the press line. And what's not to be happy about? He's doing what he feels is important work on "Homeland." "I've never gotten more reaction to anything I've ever done," he asserted. Really? After all that time on stage and screen? Yes, he said. "I'm humbled by the recognition." He loves the ambiguity of the good vs. evil questions that "Homeland" tackles -- "it's the ambiguity that keeps people tuning in, I'm convinced of it. It makes you think."

As far as the all-important question of what happens to his beard during "Homeland's" hiatus -- well, it's staying, for now. Patinkin started working on a movie -- Fisher Stevens' adaptation of Philip Roth's "American Pastoral" -- even before "Homeland" wrapped.

"I told them if they wanted me they had to buy the beard," he joked. So the salt-and-pepper stays at least until the movie wraps, if not longer, Patinkin said.

Patinkin was also full of excitement because he and Grody are heading off this week (or if not this week soon) to Fairbanks, Alaska to experience the Northern Lights. Their eagerness about the trip was palpable, not only because the astral spectacle only happens once every dozen years or so, but because they are also off to visit their son. He works in Alaska with a program that takes at-risk kids into wilderness settings in an effort to help them see a different side of life. Patinkin's pride as he talked up his son's work was infectious, reminding us that "Dad" is one of his many job descriptions.

As two of the hottest comedic actors around, Rob Riggle and JB Smoove are impressive names to add to any cast. So when they join forces to star and executive produce a series, that's worth noting. And when the show in question just happens to be exclusive to YouTube, that's even more notable.

Riggle and Smoove are the leads in "Coogan Auto," a scripted short-form series launching today on Loud, a YouTube-funded channel from Electus devoted to pop culture. Produced by Electus and Principato-Young Entertainment and written by Riggle, "Coogan" features the duo as loudmouth car salesmen working at a dealership with employees even dumber than they are. Judging from the first episode, it's profane, silly and pretty funny.

Even apart, Riggle and Smoove have the juice to command their own TV series. That they've come together to do a show on YouTube only makes "Coogan" all the more interesting. If YouTube-based programming is to get the buzz necessary to draw significant audiences or advertising dollars, getting premium talent on board may be more effective than anything else.

"Coogan" might seem to send a message to a network like Comedy Central, which could have just as easily aired a series like this. But what may look like a competitive threat today could very well end up on its air tomorrow, either in a second window akin to how Showtime previously aired Lisa Kudrow's "Web Therapy" or maybe even as first-window home for future seasons.

By: AJ Marechal

When I sat down with Mark Burnett a few months back to discuss "The Voice," he emphasized that the strength of the show's format comes from the superstar judges acting as coaches and mentors to aspiring singers. To him, this relationship between celeb coach and unknown contestant tapped into the topic of the "99%" and "1%" in American society, since part of "The Voice" involves superstars (the 1%) pleading for virtual nobodies (the 99%) to be on their team.

This theme of muli-millionaires engaging with average Americans has seeded itself deeply into today's reality TV landscape at a time when you cannot turn on the news without hearing phrases like "unemployment rate," "small businesses" and "layoffs." Biz makeover shows like "Tabatha's Salon Takeover," which launched in 2008 on Bravo, have spawned a slew of copycat shows where savvy, entrepreneurial folk take to small, struggling companies in various industries to offer business makeovers.

Each net seems to have its own brand of this unscripted programming: This week, TNT announced a more broad-appealing version of this subgenre, "Save Our Business"; CNBC has also added a business makeover show to its new unscripted lineup, "The Big Fix"; Travel Channel has "Hotel Impossible," Food Network has "Restaurant Impossible"; Spike TV is entering its third season of "Bar Rescue," and has announced "Tattoo Rescue" for this year. And CBS's "Undercover Boss" most explicity emphasized the 1%'s crossover into 99% territory, and resounded with auds.

For the "Sharks" on ABC's hit reality skein "Shark Tank," the success of shows with entrepreneurial spirit should come as no surprise, given today's economic climate. "Shark Tank" stands as Friday's number 1 TV show, and surprisingly has become family programming, with tykes and adults alike tuning in to see what apsiring entrepreneur will have their business invested in by established tycoons.

"Think about America today," said Kevin O'Leary, one of the panelists/Sharks on the show. "The path today is becoming an entrepreneur. It's about taking control. That situation found this show, and that's why 'Shark Tank' is on fire."

Clay Newbill, who serves as exec producer on "Shark Tank" with Mark Burnett, chimed in: "We're having an impact on the entrepreneurs of today, but also tomorrow. Kids who watch the show today are picking up business ideas they can use in the future, and learning the power of the human spirit."

The "situation" of today's economy has, it seems, driven viewers to a brand of unscripted content that differs from what was popular several years ago. While "Real Housewives" is still drawing viewers, gone are the shows like VH1's "Fabulous Life Of," and MTV's "Super Sweet 16." The new wave of reality TV that is making a mark on the cable space focuses on aspirational, light-hearted, Americana content like "Duck Dynasty" (which focuses on rednecks who amassed a fortune from a duck calling biz) and, yes, even "Honey Boo Boo." Even in the singing competition space, the intimate quality of NBC's "The Voice" may be what helped the show edge out Fox's "The X Factor," which lacked that mentorship facet.

Burnett emphasized to me that with shows like "The Voice" and "Shark Tank," reality TV can be positive, and not based on loud and crude dramatics.

Newbill echoed those sentiments: "We are creating jobs on 'Shark Tank'...This has a shot to be reality TV at its best. Thank god ABC and Sony stuck with it long enough. Why do I want to watch a show about business? It embodies the American dream, and shows that entrepreneurism is alive and well in this country."

"Shark Tank" airs Fridays on ABC.

Is there nothing Bryan Cranston can't do?

The man of the moment (pictured left in "Breaking Bad") in film and TV has landed a Directors Guild Award nom for the "Modern Family" seg he directed last season, "Election Day." 'Twas a good one.

Another surprise name on the DGA's small-screen list was Alejandro Inarritu, for the work he did on an Anonymous Content blurb for a blurb for Procter and Gamble.

Greg Berlanti also got props from the helmers guild for his work on USA's "Political Animal."

The complete list of DGA TV nominees follows after the jump:

When it comes to keeping a show relevant, NBC has all its ducks in a row with season fourteen of "The Biggest Loser."

Weight loss competish show from Shine America, which premieres tonight at 9 p.m., arrives less than one week into the new year, when diet and fitness resolutions are fresh on the minds of TV auds. And, per usual, the health spectrum in the consumer industry remains a powerhouse money-maker, with a new miracle diet book published practically every week and fitness crazes popping up in every major metropolitan city.

So, while timing plays to "Biggest Loser's" favor along with consumer interest, the real relevance of season fourteen lies in a format change that focuses on childhood obesity, a topic spearheaded most notably by Michelle Obama, who launched health campaign "Let's Move" last year. This "Biggest Loser" spotlight on childhood obesity is critical, as one third of Americans age 2-19 are overweight.

For the first time in the show's run, "Biggest Loser" will integrate tykes. Two kids and one teen -- Lindsay, Biingo and Sunny -- will join the adults at the ranch, though they will not live there nor will they partake in weigh-ins. Instead, they will be encouraged to lead a healthier lifestyle and take fitness tests to gauge their progress.

The return of uber-coach Jillian Michaels for season fourteen, then, is especially timely since Michaels herself battled obesity when she was young.

"I was about 50 pounds overweight at my heaviest," Michaels told journos at "Biggest Loser's" TCA panel. She got in shape when her mother introduced her to martial arts. "[Being overweight], it was soul-crushing. It is soul-crushing for any kid...It takes all the innocence and joy out of being a child."

Fellow trainer Bob Harper dubbed the kids of this season "the heroes of our show."

"You won't see them compete to be in the house," Harper explained. "It's about uplifting them and getting the parents involved. We really do believe it starts at home, and what better show than 'The Biggest Loser' to bring this topic into homes every week?"

Show's theme for its fourteenth cycle, beyond childhood obesity, is "Challenge America," which has led to the launch of Biggestloser.com where TV auds can partake in health challenges each week. 

Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, "Biggest Loser's" Child Obesity Expert/Pediatrician, is confident in the show's focus this year: "We're not going to sit back silently as our children literally eat themselves to death."

Check out a teaser of season fourteen of "The Biggest Loser" here:

Those tired of the unscripted genre should grab their remotes and tune into Spike Tuesday night for the preem of "The Joe Schmo Show," a reality skein that may just be the most unique and fresh concept on TV today.

Show format essentially subverts the reality genre as a whole: one guy with a heart of gold is placed into an environment where he honestly believes he is filming a new unscripted show. In actuality, the show is a hoax, our "Joe Schmo" is surrounded by actors, and the whole shebang is set up to elicit reactions from him in ridiculous situations.

Project itself is a house of cards, as one slip up from the actors or one suspicion on the part of our Joe can blow the whole operation and essentially collapse the production of the "The Joe Schmo Show" entirely. The stakes are, in other words, high for the shingle behind the show, Zoo Prods., and Spike, in a way not seen with other reality skeins that simply hope to capture lightning in a bottle and launch a ratings juggernaut into the TV space.

"The Joe Schmo Show" is, then, a study in human behavior and manipulation, which makes the program both hilarious and fascinating. What's more, as this season's hoax show is a bounty hunter competish, it capitalizes on the trends in reality TV and the stereotypes that emerge in a show's casting process. (Actors on the this season of "Joe Schmo" fulfill the roles of "token black guy," "the asshole," etc.) While most shows have to go the scripted route to satirize the reality genre, "Joe Schmo" manages to do it while still residing in the nonfiction space.

Now, here's the rub: the beauty of "Joe Schmo" is that our Joe often goes through the entire production not suspecting that it's all a ruse. But, that, in a way, relies on "Joe Schmo's" obscurity within the TV space. The first season of "Joe Schmo" debuted ten years ago, and the second cycle followed in 2004. Since then, it's been radio silence from the series, mostly due to low ratings. Ironically, that played to the show's favor, since the more that the program is out of the cable limelight, the less likely the selected Joe will know about it and suspect he's on it.

Skeins that rely on hoax elements or deception often run into this problem. Take MTV's "Punk'd," for example. Early seasons of the show were remarkably successful in scaring the hell out of big name celebs. After awhile, however, stars began to catch on -- Rob Dydrek, for one, could tell he was being punked. Celebs began to anticipate the hoax because "Punk'd" had become such a part of pop culture vernacular.

Similarly, those featured on "To Catch a Predator" can sometimes sense when they are walking into the show's trap.

For a program like "The Joe Schmo Show," its low ratings almost a decade back were, in a way, a blessing in disguise since it seeded the perfect pop culture environment for "Joe Schmo's" latest iteration -- one where not many people have heard of the series, so our Joe goes in virtually blind. This is a bittersweet reality for an entertaining, unique skein that I'd love to see more seasons of; the continuation of the format, unfortunately, benefits from the show's weak ratings.

Since the program is fleeting (Spike has no plans to renew it for a fourth season yet), viewers will simply have to tune in this month to "The Joe Schmo Show" and revel in every ridiculous moment, since TV like this literally only comes around every decade.

Check out the trailer for season three of "The Joe Schmo Show" here:

Last night, TV viewers (and TV critics) were able to lay their eyes for the first time upon MTV's newest iteration of trashy reality TV, "Buckwild."

Show follows a handful of young, Southern adults spending spring/summer in West Virginia, their home. The unscripted program stirred up controversy before its January bow when a senator for West Virginia condemned the show and demanded that MTV not air it, arguing that it portrayed West Virginians in a negative light.

(Sound familiar? Similar controversy emerged during the "guido"-filled early episodes of "Jersey Shore," as Italian-American groups slammed the series as disrespectful to them and their heritage. The Jersey Shore wasn't pleased by the show, either.)

MTV's goal with "Buckwild," while not explicitly stated, was to fill the large programming hole left in the wake of "Jersey Shore's" end in late 2012. Many anticipated "Buckwild" to be a combo of "Duck Dynasty" and "Jersey Shore," two powerhouse reality skeins, but, unfortunately for the show and MTV, it was neither.

In fact, it was awful.

Not that MTV didn't give "Buckwild" all of the proper reality cues in hopes of capturing lightning in a bottle once more, in the same way that the cabler did with "Jersey Shore," even airing the show in "Shore's" former timeslot.

The opening of "Buckwild's" preem episode was enough to trigger any "Shore" fan's subconcious memories, as it featured the Southern college students driving to each other's houses to pick them up for a trip back home to a small West Virginia town. ("Shore" opened each season typically with the cast members picking one another up for a road trip to the Jersey Shore.)

But what occurred on screen after this opening segment was, bluntly put, reckless programming.

"Buckwild" starts each episode with a disclaimer in the same vein as "Jackass," warning viewers to not attempt what they are about to see at home. (When was the last time you saw that in a follow-around docuseries?) As it turns out, about half -- if not more -- of "Buckwild" is the cast members doing downright dangerous stuff, from setting cars on fire, to riding in the back of a pick up truck (while drinking) and roaring through ditches of mud, to swimming in water running off from a nearby power plant, to jumping off the roof of a house. At one point, two of the male cast members clutched the back of a dump truck as it dropped tons of dirt out, and they both laughed, "We could die!"

Aside from the occassional "Oh shit!" reaction from "Buckwild" that "Jackass" often summoned from viewers, these incidents were enough to make the guy I was watching the show with, who has his own history of being a hoodlum, say, "What idiots." And what separates "Buckwild" from "Jackass" is that on "Jackass," there was a notion that these wild, adrenaline-addicted men were not like normal people. They were profressionals in the world of reckless behavior. "Buckwild," however, features average young adults doing dangerous things in average settings. Suddenly, this kind of behavior feels far more accessible, possible and real.

Plot was scant throughout the back-to-back episodes, save a narrative about Cara, one of the female cast members, being the apple of pretty much all the redneck males' eyes. Alcohol is rampant throughout, though the ages of the cast is never revealed (and they all look truly young). What's more, one of the central cast members, Shain, who spearheads a majority of the dangerous activities, has a southern drawl so thick it called for subtitles throughout. This, in turn, hints at the scripted nature of his interview lines, which feature polysyllabic words and complete, comprehensible sentences.

Suddenly, that West Virginia senator's comments don't seem so out of line. Also, I suddenly understood why MTV didn't provide screeners for the press before the show's premiere.

The social media community was largely not amused by the show, nor were (surprise, surprise) many West Virginia natives. Could you blame them? While "Jersey Shore's" cast consistently danced upon the line separating the entertaining and the offensive, "Shore's" "GTL" messaging was, for the most part, positive and fun. It should also be noted that the majority of the "Shore" cast's activities echoed the activities of college students and twenty-somethings, helping the show resound with that demo.

"Buckwild" brings barely anything uplifting to the programming, save perhaps the ingenuity of turning a dump truck into a makeshift swimming pool. A drunken fight between a cast member and a West Virginia resident who simply wanted a "Buckwild" party to be quieter was enough to make even this reality TV viewing vet (yours truly) cringe.

Additionally, "Buckwild" highlights the fact that "Shore" managed to cast young adults with true star and branding power. They were entertaining to watch, over the top in behavior and garb. It was fun, even though the show jumped the shark once the cast's fame skyrocketed. They went on to rep fashion and beauty lines, land major sponsorship deals, spinoff shows, and more. The cast of "Buckwild" lack that entertaining -- and thus branding -- power.

I remember my first time watching "Jersey Shore." I had MTV blaring in the background while I studied for final exams in college. I'd said I wouldn't watch the show, it looked too trashy, but as a marathon aired while I studied, I became enthralled. My mother threw shade at "Jersey Shore" before watching and episode and becoming addicted to the program, herself. While not intellectual programming, "Jersey Shore" was fun to watch.

"Buckwild" was neither fun nor addicting, though I'm sure viewers will tune in nevertheless for the shock value of the backwoods stunts and constant hookups. But, to think that "Buckwild" is MTV's new "Jersey Shore"?

Well, that's about as naive as thinking setting a car on fire is a good idea, if you know what I mean.

Ever been disappointed with the ending of a TV episode?

After you're done screaming "YES" and thinking about the season two finale of "Homeland," rest assured that social media pioneers have crafted a solution that doles out a level of power to viewers when it comes to, as of now, CBS's "Hawaii Five-0."

During Jan. 14's broadcast of the primetime drama, viewers will be able to choose the ending of the episode in real time by voting on CBS.com or Twitter during both the East and West coast airings of the show.

Viewers can choose either #theBoss, #theTA or #theStudent as the culprit who committed the crime explored in the episode. Viewer interaction via social media is common in unscripted programming where, on "Ink Master" for example, auds could vote in real time during the East Coast feed for the contestant that would be given a guest spot on next season's competition. However, this level of social media integration into scripted fare as seen with 'Five-0' is a TV first.

“I've always felt the most fun aspect of watching a mystery is trying to figure out whodunit,” said Executive Producer Peter Lenkov.  “Now the 'Hawaii Five-0' viewers will actually get the chance to tell us who they think committed the crime and we will listen.  I love that our dedicated and attentive fans will actually play a part in resolving our story.”

Of course, the fate of your viewing experience rests in the hands -- and second screen devices -- of your fellow viewers, so there will still be plenty of people to blame if the ending doesn't suit your tastes.

Don't worry, though: CBS will make all three endings available online after the broadcasts. Here's hoping you gain the episodic closure you have always craved.

Very glad to see that the Producers Guild included Ken Burns' incredible PBS docu "The Dust Bowl" among its nominees for longform TV programming.

The Brit series "Sherlock" also made the longform cut for the PGA. The rest of the TV nom pack was pretty predictable, which doesn't mean unworthy. "Mad Men" folks can rest assured that the snub by Golden Globe voters was not repeated by PGA members. It's in the drama hunt along with "Breaking Bad," "Downton Abbey," "Game of Thrones" and "Homeland."

Comedy contenders are: "30 Rock," "The Big Bang Theory," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Louie" and "Modern Family."

Here's the full list of the PGA's TV nominees, after the jump:

AMC has renewed “The Walking Dead” for a fourth season but will move forward into that campaign without exec producer Glen Mazzara.

Mazzara succeeded Frank Darabont as the showrunner of “Walking Dead” following the show’s first season.

“The two parties have mutually decided to part ways,” AMC and Mazzara said in a joint statement. “Glen guided the series creatively for seasons 2 and 3.  AMC is grateful for his hard work.  We are both proud of our shared success.

“Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways.  This decision is amicable and Glen will remain on for post-production on season 3B as showrunner and executive producer.”

Subsequently, Mazzara issued his own statement.

“My time as showrunner on ‘The Walking Dead’ has been an amazing experience but after I finish season three, it’s time to move on,” he said. “I have told the stories I wanted to tell and connected with our fans on a level that I never imagined. It doesn’t get much better than that. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey.”

Said fellow exec producer Gale Anne Hurd in her statement: “I am appreciative and grateful to Glen for his hard work on ‘The Walking Dead.’ I am supportive of AMC and Glen’s decision and know that the series is in great hands with one of the most talented and dedicated casts and crews in the business. I look forward to the show’s continued success.”

The Dec. 2 midseason finale of “Walking” drew 6.9 million adults 18-49 (a 5.5 national rating in the demo) and 10.5 million viewers overall, becoming TV’s highest-rated entertainment series in adults 18-49, including broadcast.

AMC has renewed “The Walking Dead” for a fourth season but will move forward into that campaign without exec producer Glen Mazzara.

Mazzara succeeded Frank Darabont as the showrunner of “Walking Dead” following the show’s first season.

“The two parties have mutually decided to part ways,” AMC and Mazzara said in a joint statement. “Glen guided the series creatively for seasons 2 and 3.  AMC is grateful for his hard work.  We are both proud of our shared success.

“Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways.  This decision is amicable and Glen will remain on for post-production on season 3B as showrunner and executive producer.”

Subsequently, Mazzara then issued his own statement.

“My time as showrunner on ‘The Walking Dead’ has been an amazing experience but after I finish season three, it’s time to move on,” he said. “I have told the stories I wanted to tell and connected with our fans on a level that I never imagined. It doesn’t get much better than that. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey.”

Said fellow exec producer Gale Anne Hurd in her own statement: “I am appreciative and grateful to Glen for his hard work on ‘The Walking Dead.’ I am supportive of AMC and Glen’s decision and know that the series is in great hands with one of the most talented and dedicated casts and crews in the business. I look forward to the show’s continued success.”

The Dec. 2 midseason finale of “Walking” drew 6.9 million adults 18-49 (a 5.5 national rating in the demo) and 10.5 million viewers overall, becoming TV’s highest-rated entertainment series in adults 18-49, including broadcast.

More to come ...

This year it's a "Family Guy" theme. Very funny, a little edgy, as usual. Gary Newman and Dana Walden fit right in with the Griffin clan.

Showtime has released a combined trailer for forthcoming dramas "Ray Donovan" and "Masters of Sex" and will tease the new series on Sunday, Dec. 9 and Sunday, Dec. 16 during the paybler's powerhouse dramas "Homeland" and "Dexter."

"Ray Donovan" centers on the go-to man in LA who can make the scandalous problems of the city's important players disappear. Period piece "Masters of Sex" portrays the real-life pioneers in the science of human sexuality. Showtime has yet to announce a preem date for both series but plans to bow them next year. Check out the trailer here:

The strength of MTV's new hit series "Catfish" may just lead to the show's demise.

Show, created and produced by RelativityREAL, is a spin-off of 2010 documentary "Catfish." Here's what makes "Catfish: The TV Show" so utterly compelling: in each episode, Nev Schulman (of "Catfish" doc) links up with a person who is in love with someone they met online. Schulman and his camera-toting buddy Max Joseph chat with the person (let's call them the "Believer" for the sake of clarity) about their online relationship and how the Believer has always wanted to meet their love (Internet Love, let's call 'em) in real life. Some have carried on these telecommunicative relationships for years without Skyping, much less meeting.

(Schulman noted during the show's TCA panel that many folk who live outside of major metropolitan areas don't have webcams, high speed internet and the like, though that doesn't stop the Believer's friends from doing everything short of choking Believer and yelling "What do you mean, you haven't even Skyped?!")

Now, this is where it gets messy. Schulman and Joseph inevitably find damning evidence online about the Believer's love, with the help of an advanced, exclusive technological sleuthing system known as Google. Facebook photos are traced back to another person's profile, modeling schools don't actually exist, employers are nowhere to be found, you get the idea.

Schulman and Joseph present the evidence to the Believer, the Believer freaks out but then, like a child who saw Mommy taking a bite out of "Santa's" cookie in the middle of the night, the Believer defaults back into buying into Internet Love's story and moves forward with meeting them in person.

You can guess what happens next: Believer and Internet Love rendez-vous in real life, and -- no shit! -- Internet Love is a different person than their Facebook or Myspace profile led Believer to, well, believe. In some episodes of "Catfish," Internet Love is a different gender altogether, leading Believer to enter a tailspin of embarrassment and anger.

Cut to viewers, glued to their TV screens: jaws hanging open.

The moment when Believer knocks on Internet Love's door is undoubtedly one of the most suspenseful reveals on reality TV right now as both auds, Schulman, Joseph and the subject of the show have no clue who is about to walk out. The lead up to the reveal is powerful as Believer details his or her deep connection with this internet-stranger ("They are my soul mate," many note). And after the reveal, Internet Love often undergoes a heavy, emotional catharsis about why they felt the need to deceive Believer online. (Answer: in many episodes so far, it's from insecurity and fear that Believer would never like them for who they really are.)

So, with that in mind, "Catfish" ranks as one of the most raw reality shows on TV today. Yet, as I watched last night's episode, I couldn't help but wonder how much longer this show could sustain itself on what is essentially a gimmick.

Yes, the reveal is suspenseful and jarring and jam-packed with a variety of emotions, but it is a gimmick nonetheless. Auds are hooked upon their first viewing of "Catfish" because of how shocking this reveal is, but then, upon further episode viewing, auds come to expect the reveal, the gimmick.

Like a drug, they need more to feel that initial high.

How does "Catfish" continue to compel viewers past a first season when auds come to expect a surprise ending? And does relying on a shocking reveal undermine the emotional core of the show, transforming it from a program centered on the nature of online relationships to a show geared towards the "oh shit!" effect?

Currently, "Catfish" uses a cut and dry formula for each episode that builds to the eventual meet up between the two parties in a relationship. For the show to sustain its frenetic, suspenseful energy, it will need to break out of this reliance on the reveal. (As of now, each episode even opens with a teaser of the Believer/Internet Love meet up, underscoring the importance of that element.) While the reveal is of course a darkly entertaining part of the show, "Catfish's" true strength is not in the Facebook-infused money-shot. Rather, it's in the stories of the people engaged in these relationships, and their motivations.

"Catfish" is only a handful of episodes into its frosh run on MTV, but it has already pulled strong numbers in its late night timeslot on Mondays. I, for one, hope the show sees a second season. But unless it evolves its formula, "Catfish" may prove to be a one-hit wonder for the cabler as it cannibalizes the very surprise ending that attracted viewers in the first place.

With every public appearance Dan Harmon makes, the more can be gleaned about the circumstances surrounding his departure from the series he created, NBC's "Community." Though he made a keynote address at Seattle's XOXO Festival in September, video of the address wasn't available until last week. Those who could make it through the first 20 minutes of his rambling but still fascinating speech about Internet culture would have seen him directly address his falling out with Sony Pictures Television. Here's what he had to say (skip to 24:19 in video above or go to this link):

"I really want to put forth the fact that I was fired for money. My contract was up. My right hand man, writer Chris McKenna's contract was up at the same time as the executive producers beneath me, Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan's contracts were up. And one of my best writers, Megan Ganz's contract  was up. Sony was looking at a helluva negotiation for 13 final episdoes that NBC was burying on Friday at 8:30 p.m. Instead of either promoting or just killing, why not promote it? Why not just kill it? Money. And why for those final 13 episodes, why not renegotiate a deal with someone who doesn't have a contract, who created the show, who's indispensible? Money. It really had nothing to do with anything else."

There is something cinematic about the trailer for season 2 of HBO's 20-something-themed dramedy "Girls." It reads like the indie film that would garner positive reviews at Sundance, and, if the clip is any reflection of the entire season, Lena Dunham and her team of scribes have honed the voice of the show to embrace the giant question mark that is being in your early twenties.

Highly-anticipated second season delves into all of the relationships that blossomed and decayed in season 1 (the return of creepy artist guy, finally!). Season 2 of "Girls" bows on Jan. 13. Check out the noteworthy trailer here:

For better or for worse, redneck reality TV is far from hitting the hay.

In fact, MTV is dipping its toes in the mud with its latest reality series, "Buckwild."

Skein has an aura of "'Duck Dynasty' meets 'Jersey Shore'," as young adults drunkenly scream with southern drawls about relationship foibles in a backwoods environment peppered with four-wheelers and red Solo cups. And, in case you were wondering, yes there is a moment when someone rolls down a grassy hill in a giant tractor tire after eating "about 14 hot wings."

This is not the first time MTV has experimented with a docudrama placed in a rural southern environment, as the cabler aired a special "True Life" edition titled "The Theriot Family," that some viewers dubbed "the Kardashians gone country." Spesh centered on a family in the Louisiana Bayou family and -- you guessed it! -- all the relationship drama surrounding the teen kids.

As for other programs within the hillbilly genre, "Duck Dynasty" just pulled a whopping 4.9 million viewers in last night's 10:30pm episode.

MTV will debut "Buckwild" on Thursday, Jan. 3 (the former night of "Jersey Shore"...coincidence? I think not!). If you're ready for some drunken mud-slingin', peep the trailer for "Buckwild" here:

The “Two and a Half Men” creator has found his hit CBS sitcom enveloped in controversy all over again with the release Monday of a YouTube video in which 19-year-old cast member Angus T. Jones slammed the show as “filth” inconsistent with his Christian beliefs. He made clear he does not want to continue with the program, though he himself acknowledges in his videotaped comments that he is under contract. More details here.

While Jones may be positioning himself as the moral diametric opposite of Sheen, both of them essentially did the same thing: make self-destructive career moves. Still, it's not too late for Jones to walk this one back before his situation gets as out of control as Sheen's did. As eye-popping a headline as this is providing today, if the controversy is managed properly, it won’t be remembered by next month.

Neither Lorre, CBS or studio Warner Bros. TV wants this kind of headache, certainly not after weathering the storm of Sheen’s highly publicized departure. No doubt they are asking themselves the same question Jones seems to have already answered for himself: whether he should continue on the series.

As juicy as this might be for tabloid fodder, the reality is Jones’ comments don’t do much damage to the show. You could even argue given the truism "there’s no such thing as bad press" that any attention for the show represents a good thing. So all interested parties may not be agonizing over this nearly as much as they did when Sheen aired his issues with the series.

That said, were this happening to “Men” star Jon Cryer instead of Jones, this would be an incredibly serious development. That’s a reflection of the fact that though Jones has proved himself to be a precocious performer over the years playing the incorrigible Jake Harper, the truth is his “Half” status makes him less central to the show as the “Two Men,” Cryer and Ashton Kutcher, and therefore more dispensible.

Lorre, the studio and network could very well be huddling to figure out whether there is a way to write the character out of the show. And they may do that less out of concern for whatever negative attention his remarks bring to the series but out of genuine concern for Jones’ well-being. Ultimately, how this plays out may reflect a balance of the creative impact his departure would make on the show and responsibility toward a valued longtime employee.

Jones’ situation could escalate to a pressing concern if he actually has the temerity to step up his attacks. If his contract penalizes him for disparaging the show, there's legal leverage that can be brought to bear.

Odds are he’s being asked to issue a statement that effectively minimizes or withdraws his previous remarks, or at least he’ll give producers credible assurance that he’ll discontinue his public condemnations for the show.

In all likelihood, all involved already knew full well of Jones’ beliefs. If they have already been creating tensions on the set of the series, this could mark the end of the road for the actor.

It’s not as if producers can do anything creatively to the series to make it more suitable for Jones’ highminded concerns. The truth is, “Men” is filth, albeit of the clever, well-written variety. To clean up the show’s act is to produce something quite different than what it is, which just isn’t going to happen.

Keep in mind it’s quite possible the studio is already planning the end game for the series, which would surprise no one if the current season was made its last. Having Jones pack it in early could end up a nail in the series’ coffin, though it would be a shame if he couldn’t find a place in the finale.

It’s worth noting though that Jones’ youth is a major issue here. This is a teenager who has lived in the bubble of this TV show since childhood. His comments represent someone trying to get a grasp on his identity like any kid his age but with the additional pressures that come with being very well-paid talent in the public eye.

As calculating as his attack of the show might seem, he truly may not have understood the implications of his actions, a reality that has already come crashing down on him.

But considering he is a teenager, what might seem to him a deeply held religious conviction today may not be as important to him tomorrow. If Jones is lucky, CBS/WBTV/Lorre will give him time to figure that out.

While most consumers are busily prepping for the onslaught of this year's holiday season, NBC is prepping one of its Christmas speshes -- for next year.

In a conference call with journos this ayem, NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt teased the net's live broadcast of "Sound of Music," which is targeted to air around Christmastime in 2013.

"We are close to finding our Maria," Greenblatt said. "As soon as we have that in place, we will announce her with great fanfare." Extensive casting and development time for the live show plays to Peacock's favor, since, according to Greenblatt, "we don't want to do this without the right person...It's going to be live, we have to make sure we've got the right star. If it all falls into place, we will be on track for this time next year."

"Smash" producing team of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are already locked down to bring "Sound of Music" to life on the small screen. Net is optimistic that the live musical will draw auds in for real-time viewing as seen with skeins like "The Voice" and alternative programming like football that tend to discourage DVR use.

Greenblatt also discused plans for "Revolution," which sees its frosh season finale this coming Monday, and said Peacock is looking for a way to showcase the first 13 episodes during the quiet period between seasons. ("Revolution" is set to return to NBC on March 25.)

"We're in the process of coming up with a whole plan to keep that show alive [during the breakl]," Greenblatt explained. "There's some original content that may find its way on to digital platforms. It's in the early stages, but I think it's important not to let it completely go [off fan's radar] and then start from scratch again in March."

"SNL" shrewdly pointed out over the weekend that when it comes to breaking political scandal, lack of B-roll footage can turn a cable news broadcast into an endless loop of the same clip, like a high-definition GIF.

As the David Petreaus affair news continued to unfold last week, segment producers were left with little more than a handful of photos and a single video clip to accompany any and all commentary regarding Jill Kelley, key whistleblower in the scandal.

While lack of B-roll isn't as irksome for halfhour news broadcasts like "NBC Nightly News," cable networks like CNN and Fox News are often left filling in the news gaps with photos, video and speculative ramblings while waiting for the story's next plot point.

Here, Jason Sudeikis spoofs CNN and Wolf Blitzer's coverage of Jill Kelley. Questions that remain when it comes to the Petraeus scandal and TV in general: Is Aaron Sorkin toiling away over a Petraeus "Newsroom" script? And is "Wolf Blitzer" the greatest news anchor name of all time?

Or is it "Dallas Raines"?

Netflix has released the first trailer for the streaming service's forthcoming original series "House of Cards."

From Media Rights Capital, digital skein is toplined by Kevin Spacey with David Fincher bringing the iconic look of "Social Network" and "Fight Club" to "Cards." Series marks Netflix's first serious foray in the original series realm after Norwegian-American series "Lilyhammer" provided some precedent earlier this year.

"House of Cards" debuts on Netflix on Feb. 1, right after the presidential inauguration (note the first scene in the trailer for parallels). Netflix will put all 13 episodes out at once at the start of February. For more info, read about Netflix's preem strategy. And check out the trailer here:

Craig Ferguson is finally getting a house band. Sort of, for a week.

Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi fame will have a weeklong stint on CBS' "Late Late Show" from Dec. 3-7 to tubthump his new album, "Aftermath of the Lowdown." Ferguson has often lamented on air about how much he'd like to have a house band, so he hailed Sambora's guest shot as a step in the right direction. And he made it clear he's not picky about what Sambora chooses to do on the show.

“I thought it would be great if you could be the house band on the show, but not necessarily play the guitar. Just you, naked, playing a tiny little harp," Ferguson quipped.

Sambora said no to the naked harp-playing, but he is determined to get Craig behind the drum kit again for a jam. Before the whole comedy thing took off, Ferguson was a journeyman drummer for 1980s punk and new wave bands in Blighty.

(Full disclosure, I was there for the taping of the Sambora "Late Late Show" announcement, to air on Friday, because I'm also guesting on Ferguson that night to mercilessly plug my new book.)

Of all the questions pertaining to the uncertain future of post-election America, one stands head and shoulders above them all: Whither Nate Silver?

Silver became a bona fide pop-culture sensation for his data-driven political prognostication, culminating in accurately predicting election results in all 50 states. There may be nothing more improbable than a stardom earned for calculating probabilities, but that's what the 34-year-old statistician has achieved.

Which makes it all the weirder to think that Silver has essentially outlived his usefulness now that a winner has been named, leaving him with nothing to do but perhaps hibernate until the midterm elections.

But even if Silver himself is pining to return to his low-profile existence, don't bet on it. How's this for a projection: Odds are he's going to become a media fixture outside of just election season. 

Just watch the style of projection he's applied to politics become a prism through which a broader palette of TV and online news can be filtered, from sports--where he already has experience--to science.

Between commanding one-fifth of all traffic to NYTimes.com, which hosts his blog, FiveThirtyEight, and a book, "The Signal and the Noise," currently No. 2 on Amazon's list of top selling books, the success he's experiencing ensures his post-election vacation will be a short one. He's now just as much a brand as he is a man, an alchemy that has turned Silver into the gold standard. 

As he blanketed the airwaves in recent weeks from "The Colbert Report" to "The Rachel Maddow Show" to plug his book, it undoubtedly gave the TV industry a chance to see whether could sustain a regular on-air vehicle of his own. That may not seem likely given Silver comes off with all the polish of the 34-year-old statistician he is, but his geeky charm has its possibilities. A news network could take the half-step of making him a contributor, injecting him into stories that culminate in some kind of prognostication. 

Done right, it's a fine extension of the Silver brand. Done wrong, he's going to come off like Carnac the Magnificent. It's all in the execution.

Silver might deem this a deplorable prospect. Maybe he just isn't comfortable extrapolating his calculations to areas outside of elections and feels it would dilute the integrity of his work.

But no producer with half a brain could have watched the Silver phenomenon without wondering how to steal some wind from his sails. Which isn't to say that the man himself is even necessary to capitalize on the prognostication he popularized, but networks or websites that want to try to give this a go will want to attach themselves to him to get a veneer of credibility.

Still, in calculating his own career possibilities, here's a variable Silver should consider: If he doesn't do it, someone else will. 

HBO's Twitter account unleashed a slew of hashtags and retweets in social-media celebration of the paybler's 40th anniversary yesterday. Brand launched on Nov. 8, 1972, and those manning the Twitter post at the company used hashtag #ithappenedonHBO to emphasize HBO's presence at the forefront of not only TV culture, but pop culture as well.

One tweet said "Inspiring @Time magazine to ask 'is Feminism dead?' #ithappenedonHBO (Turns out, it just needed a martini.)" and featured a photo of the "Sex and the City" cast.

"SATC," arguably the most iconic femme-forward series of all time, came to a close on the paybler in 2004, though debates about the show's implications regarding women's perception of themselves, pop culture and, yes, feminism, remain.

This year, HBO launched "Girls," a comedy that was bound to draw comparisons to "SATC": four females living in New York, exploring their relationships, the lead is a writer. While the outline of "Girls" bore stark resemblance to "SATC," the series itself breathed a different tone from the millenial Carrie Bradshaw hit.

"Girls," for one thing, is a rawer, more awkward look at the lives of today's post-grad femmes and lacks the glamour that glowed around each scene in "SATC." The four lead women on "Girls" also defy clean characterization, swaying between moments of conservatism and wild exploration of their sexuality. (Samantha on "SATC," however, remained defiantly sexual throughout the skein.)

But like "SATC," "Girls" has inspired conversation about what it means to be a woman in today's world, and with that conversation comes the weight of being the exemplar for femmes in modern culture. Season one episodes of "Girls" covered topics from HPV, to abortions, from bisexuality, to struggling to pay rent. And viewers flocked to the show, hailing it as one of the most relatable series in recent memory. Instead of dubbing themselves a "Carrie" or "Samantha," young women tweeted "#iamsolikeHannah."

HBO wisely took to youth-skewing Twitter to market the series, launching the @girlsHBO Twitter and conceiving hashtags that fans began using on their own social media sites. #GIRLSATHON was tagged during multiple-episode airings of the skein, and #TeamAdam showed support for the sexually deviant yet lovable romantic interest of Hannah.

One hashtag, #mistakesGIRLSmake, became such a hit with fans that HBO launched merchandise like t-shirts featuring the phrase.

#mistakesGIRLSmake initially showed up on Twitter as a light-hearted recap of the leads' foibles in each episode of "Girls," mimicing the self-deprecating tone of the characters themselves. But, the hashtag eventually led to Twitter users tweeting their own stories with #mistakesGIRLSmake attached to them.

"I accidentally brought a pair of worn underwear to work...mixing your work bag with your travel bag #mistakesGIRLSmake," tweeted one fan of the show. "Eating ice cream and Doritos after working out #mistakesGIRLSmake" tweeted another.

The @girlsHBO handle doles out "mistakes" from the show along with real-life examples: "I have been dating someone who treats my heart like it's monkey meat. -Hannah #mistakesGIRLSmake," tweeted @girlsHBO. "Forgetting to shave both legs" was another tweet with the hashtag attached from the show's Twitter account.

Even @HBO jumped on board the hashtag, asking users what #mistakesGIRLSmake viewers would like to see in season 2 of the show. "Mistakes" is now a word commonly used by HBO's social media team when discussing "Girls" content.

One of the brilliant elements of "Girls" is the self-deprecating, realitistic tone maintained throughout each episode. The characters' bodies are not Hollywood-perfect, their habits are flawed, and their relationships are blurred and frustrating in the same way the relationships of many average 20-somethings are.

The #mistakesGIRLSmake hashtag, though, has transformed the acceptance that the show inspires to something less positive by dubbing these relatable on screen instances, well, "mistakes."

Hannah's late night binges or dubious moves with Adam led viewers to feel their lives -- and consequently their foibles -- were finally being displayed on TV, and in a non-pejorative manner. It created an implicit sisterhood of sorts that the @girlsHBO handle was able to bank on. While the hashtag and social media efforts are by all means well-intentioned and have been warmly welcomed by femme fans on Twitter, #mistakesGIRLSmake highlights a crucial difference between "Girls" and its predecessor skein "SATC."

While "SATC" raised questions about how it portrayed women -- how can Carrie afford rent when she buys designer duds? Is her pandering to Big a slap in the face to her supposed independence? -- the show never stamped Carrie or the other lead characters' decisions with the "mistake" mark. What's more, the show never tried to capitalize on the poor decision making with a marketing campaign shaped by a slogan about the said "mistakes."

HBO's main Twitter was right: "SATC" did not signal the end of feminism as Time Magazine once suggested. And though it displayed requisite drama with boyfriends and style and gal pals, it was not a slap in the face to the socio-political progress made by women throughout the '80s and '90s. Instead, it shifted commonly held notions about what it meant to be a thirty-something female.

And "Girls," without a doubt, displays a revolution in terms of how twenty-something women are portrayed on TV.

But with a hashtag that adds momentum to female stereotypes (even if done in a comical manner), that revolution can feel uncertain. Perhaps we will reach a point as viewers where a character's questionable decisions and debatable relationships are not seen as mistakes, but rather as something far more simple -- just life.

Until then, HBO will be able to add another marker to its 40th anniversary hashtag.

Undercutting a skein's progressive tone through social media? #ithappenedonHBO.

With all of the talk of education providing opportunity during the apex of the presidential campaign, it seems fitting that today mark the start of a weeklong "Television 101" seminar hosted by the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences Foundation for select educators around the nation.

5-day retreat and seminar in Los Angeles features some of the TV industry's best and brightest providing insight and behind-the-scenes know-how to upper level teachers who specialize in television and media studies. Teachers attending the 2012 Faculty Seminar hail from universities like University of Notre Dame, Penn State and Northwestern.

Now in its 25th year, this year's Faculty Seminar will include industry members like Cynthia Cidre ("Dallas"), DeAnn Heline ("The Middle"), R.J. Cutler ("Nashville"), Michael Goi ("American Horror story"), and Kelley Dixon ("Breaking Bad"). Major broadcast nets are also lending their execs for off-the-record panels.

"In order to shape the television executives of tomorrow, we must first begin with knowledgeable educators today," said Norma Provencio Pichardo, executive director of the Television Academy Foundation.  "The Television Academy Foundation's Faculty Seminar serves as an invaluable resource for the advancement of television studies.  We're so grateful that the TV producers, executives and digital professionals who are shaping and changing our industry have embraced our program and are so generously giving their time and expertise."

 20 educators total will take part in the TV Acad Foundation's Faculty Seminar. Event runs through the end of the week.

Saturday’s 8th Annual Pink Party for Cedars-Sinai Women’s Cancer Program raised over $1.6 million, but for fete host Michelle Pfeiffer, the event had a personal edge.

“I wanted to honor one of my best friends for being an inspiration and striving to live and outsmart the inisidious nature of ovarian cancer,” Pfeiffer told Variety. “I hope my participation in the Pink Party will help raise awareness to early detection of all women’s cancers, but specifically ovarian cancer.”

Since the party’s inception in 2005, event, founded by fashion stylist and buyer Elyse Walker, has raised almost $8 million total.

“I first met Elyse and her team 13 years ago when her boutique opened,” Pfeiffer said. "Over the years I’ve watched the Pink Party grow from a little in store event in Pacific Palisades where I used to live to one of Cedars-Sinai’s biggest women’s cancer fundraisers. Elyse asked for my participation because we both share a common bond of having someone close to us with ovarian cancer. I was happy to lend my support to the research of Dr. Beth Karlan.”

Walker herself is surrounded by a celeb support system more than willing to join the Pink Party fundraising efforts.

“I always ask my celebrity clientele from the store if they would help participate,” Walker told Variety. “Everyone of them has been touched by cancer and they want to give back -- they realize the importance of philanthropy and doing something good within the community.”

Dr. Beth Karlan, Elyse Walker

This year’s event in Santa Monica brought out famous femme faces including Leslie Mann, Marcia Cross, Maria Menounos and Olivia Munn, but men of the showbiz world made appearances too, including JJ Abrams, Judd Apatow and Pfeiffer’s husband, David E. Kelly. Fashion-foward event included a runway show featuring designers like Chloe, J.Mendel, Valentino, and Stella McCartney.

“The Pink Party is a celebration of life!” Pfeiffer remarked, emphasizing it as a stand out event compared to the bounty of other fundraising dinners sprinkled throughout the year. “It isn’t a sit down dinner with speeches but more of a party with a great fashion show. It combines fashion, friendship and philanthropy in a casual, fun setting.”

Stylin' fun aside, Pfeiffer hopes the event will keep cancer detection in the forefront of women's minds moving foward: "So many women today still do not know the early symptoms. I am just trying to help spread the word and educate women," she said.

For more info on the Cedars-Sinai WCP, click here.

It's often said that truth is scarier than fiction, and cablers are spring boarding off that mentality with a slate of spooky (and silly) unscripted programming for Halloween season. Your channel lineup can be a horrifyingly vast pile of shows to sort through, but rest assured, we're making your DVR experience less frightening and more simple -- here is a roundup of some of the Halloween-themed nonfiction shows coming up:

THE QUIRKY

"The Haunting Of" (Bio) - "Who Do You Think You Are?" meets "Paranormal Activity" as psychic-medium Kim Russo syncs up with celebs who have had their lives changed by paranormal events. Folks like Regis Philbin, Eric Mabius and Gina Gershon return to the site of their spooky experience to gain some closure...and, well, some exposure too. Premieres Saturday, Oct. 27 at 10pm.

"Long Island Medium" Extended Episodes (TLC) - What's better than Theresa Caputo? More Theresa Caputo. Catch extended runs of select "Long Island Medium" episodes where Caputo channels the voices of the dead in between manicures and hairspray touch ups. While you may not see dead people, you may end up eyeing a Caputo-themed Halloween costume. Practice your Long Island drawl now. Premieres Monday, Oct. 29 at 8pm.

THE CREEPY-CRAWLY

Nat Geo Wild's Monster Bash - On the Sunday before Halloween, Nat Geo Wild is boasting a marathon of psychotic animal programming to the tune of "Zombie Sea Lions," "Hogzilla," and "Freaks & Creeps: Weirdest Monkey Alive." I mean...how could you not tune in? "Antzilla," people. "Antzilla." Sunday, Oct. 28 from 12pm till 10pm.

Nat Geo Wild's Spider Stack - Arachnophobes should completely avoid Nat Geo Wild on Halloween as the channel is slapping a four-hour programming block of only spider shows in one creepy as hell place. Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7pm.

THE FUNNY

Comedy Central's Boo-Ha-Ha - Sweating fear-induced bullets not your thing? Don't worry, Comedy Central isn't about that either. Get your LOL on with a full day of hilarious Halloween programming including stand up speshes like "Jeff Dunham: Minding the Monsters." Wednesday, Oct. 31 from 10am till 9:30pm.

"Toddlers & Tiaras", "Halloween Bash" (TLC) - Not enough kids showing up for candy on Halloween? Get your fill of pint-sized costumes during this Halloween special of "Toddlers & Tiaras" that centers on a glitzed-out Halloween pageant in Oklahoma City. (Wonder what Alana Honey-Boo-Boo will dress up as?) Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 2pm.

THE EDUCATIONAL

"Mythbusters," "Fright Night" (Discovery) - "Fright Night" marks "Mythbusters' first-ever Halloween spesh. Tackled myths include: can a certain frequency of sound convince people of paranormal activity? Is moving a dead body easy? Can you smell fear? No word yet on ultimate "Fright Night" question: what's living in Jamie Hyneman's beard? Sunday, Oct. 28 at 10pm.

THE "AW HELLLLL NAW"

"The Dark" (Discovery) - Are you into wading through crocodile-filled rivers and shark-infested waters? Or getting up close and personal with vampire bats? What if all under darkness? No? Well fine, luckily there are wildlife experts to bear that cross in Discovery's "The Dark." Two-hour spesh uses state of the art technology to delve into the rarely-seen lives of animals once the sun sets. Saturday, Oct. 27 at 9pm.

"Monsters Inside Me," "My Daughter is Losing Her Mind" (Animal Planet) - Forget movies about possession -- the real horror existing in the world (and our bodies) are parasites. Animal Planet's "Monsters Inside Me" manages to tap into everyone's primal "GET IT OUT" instincts. While you may have missed the "My Face-eating Parasite" spesh from last week (catch it on reruns!), this episode focuses on parasites in the brain, leg muscles, etc., etc., never drink shady-looking water again, etc. Friday, Oct. 26 at 8pm.

In the grand scheme of the CNN global money-making machine, $20 million may amount to a rounding error. But it's not an insignificant sum  considering the cost of the in-depth investigative efforts that should be the hallmark of any serious news organization.

So when CNN spent $20 million to acquire the news personalization service Zite last year, it's reasonable to expect it make a meaningful contribution to the business. Which makes Zite's deployment on CNN.com this week something of a head-scratcher.

Zite is powering CNN Trends, a new "news discovery dashboard," and dashboard is a term used in the loosest, most charitable sense of the word. CNN Trends is essentially a single page that compiles the top 10 stories "trending" on social media, and automatically aggregates for each story a collection of stories from outside the website to accompany CNN's own take.

This isn't going where you think it is. Sure, the most obvious question that comes to mind when it comes to an aggregation strategy like this is, why offer users an alternative to your own content when that risks pulling them away from your own site?

But that's not what's questionable about CNN's integration of Zite (which continues to function as a freestanding app). What CNN is doing is acknowledging the reality that its users typically graze across the Internet for different versions of the stories that interest them most--a notion hopefully supported by user data than mere presumption.

Rather than let its users leave CNN.com to let a search engine enable that habit, the website is smart to step in and attempt to establish itself as a starting--and ending--point for consumers' diversified news diets.

CNN should be commended for taking such a counterintuitive, dare I say disruptive, approach to its business. But just about every other element of how Zite has been integrated into CNN.com doesn't make as much sense.

For starters, the true power of Zite is in its ability to personalize the news to each reader's individual interests, not a collective interest that speaks to no one in particular. The stories that are going to prompt me to want to read multiple versions are going to be the ones most relevant to me, not the masses.

As for the ability to read multiple versions, that's nice but not exactly the most compelling value-add that would keep me from going back to Google News to get identical service. It would have been better to get some sense of qualitative judgment of the stories being culled instead of what seems to be a random sampling. Most of the multiple versions that pop up are purely duplicative of CNN's own story, offering nothing new.

Trust me, you've read one "Drake Graduates From High School" story, you've read them all.

Better yet, CNN/Zite, go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to make aggregation a one-page experience that eliminates the risk of me leaving CNN.com and truly distills differentiated information from each story into one uber-story. It probably takes a human curator to make it happen, but perhaps for high-interest stories, that's a justified expenditure.

What Zite should do is give me a door into CNN that is reading me as much as I am reading the site, collecting information about my interests and presenting me with a version of the site that reflects those interests. And Zite would be better off as a button that appears alongside every story on CNN.com than in a sequestered dashboard.

Surely CNN Trends is just the first step in what will become a more sophisticated product over time. But the way Zite is utilized here is so embryonic compared to what it could conceivably deliver that it's worth asking what's the point of CNN taking it to market at this early stage.

This week, NBC announced that "Whitney" would replace recently-canned "Animal Practice" in its Wednesday night lineup starting Nov. 14. Announcement comes after the Oct. 19 preems of "Whitney" and "Community" were delayed earlier this month due to the Peacock's marketing resources being poured into its Monday and Wednesday night skeds.

So, with "Whitney" now comfortably settled into a premiere date, fans of cult comedy "Community" are left wondering: What the hell, NBC?! Where's our premiere date?

The laffer's new showrunners, David Guarascio and Moses Port, have taken to Twitter over the last several weeks to transform that sentiment into something fittingly more comedic.

Notably present in the short vid is Chevy Chase, who last month dubbed doing "Community" a "big mistake" during an interview with Huffington Post UK.

Guess that assertion doesn't apply to YouTube clips.

With the wind finally beneath the Peacock's wings thanks to "The Voice" and "Revolution," the network might be tempted to shrug off Thursday's cancellation of "Animal Practice" as just another casualty, the kind of loss every broadcaster will inevitably suffer every fall season. But "Practice" isn't just another sitcom for NBC.

"Animal Practice" was something of a sneak peek at the new creative direction NBC wanted to take with its comedies, as entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt first laid out in his presentation the TV Critics Assn. press tour in July. With comedies like "30 Rock" and "Community" winning over critics but few others given their meager ratings, he signaled a transition in development to "broader" comedies that appealed to a wider audience.

With the misadventures inside a animal hospital as its silly premise, "Practice" was tailor-made to play to the cheap seats instead of the Emmy crowd. When a monkey attracts more attention than any human in the cast, you have the kind of show that plays better in Peoria than either coast. Same goes for its Wednesday 8 p.m. hour mate "Guys With Kids," which isn't faring much better in the ratings.

The comedy's failure could be cited as a rejection of NBC's new direction. But that would be a mistake.

This is the trouble that sometimes comes with repositioning a network's programming. Even a decent comedy like "Practice" may have been doomed from the start for little other reason than fans of broad comedies have been conditioned by NBC for years not to expect shows targeted to appeal to them.

Sure, "Practice" could have exploded into a huge hit off the bat and singlehandedly accelerated NBC's broader approach. But just because that didn't happen doesn't mean NBC should run back to its comedic comfort zone: narrowly appealing half-hours that really belong on a cable network happy to get the kind of audience that just doesn't cut it on broadcast.

Consequently, it's going to take more than a few cracks at a new crowd-pleasing style of comedy for NBC before it can be seen again as the place for viewers to perceive the network as a home for the kind of broad laffers that NBC made its specialty in decades past, including "The Cosby Show."

But the fact that the memory of "Cosby" et al still linger in the brand DNA of NBC is partly what enables the network to mine this territory again. The failure of "Practice" shouldn't discourage the network from staying the course on its new comedy direction. 

Showtime's late night skein "Gigolos" certainly blurs the line between reality television and softcore porn as it follows a handful of male escorts in Las Vegas.

Similarly, "Gigolos" cast member Nick Hawk's music video for his single "Gigolow" (see what he did there?!) blurs the line between horrible and brilliant as he slings poetic verses like "I make a big entrance/I like to be naked." Another Nick, this time of the "Cannon" variety, once rapped about being a "gigolo, spending lots of dough," but Hawk's take on the lifestyle (bred from personal experience) far exceeds Cannon's Top 40 hit.

Kudos to Hawk, though, for issuing credit where credit is due. Whilst flanked by women gyrating around and wielding champagne, Hawk proclaims, "People know the part I'm playing/And it's my time to show/It's Showtime, time to let the cameras roll/It's way too late, I made a deal and sold my soul."

That's some reality skein contract.

Check out the quote-worthy music vid here:

One fond memory I have from summer TCAs (now, now, that's not an oxymoron!) is watching a cast member from Nat Geo's "Doomsday Preppers" explain what's in his survival kit to a bewildered member of the press in a random hallway of the Beverly Hilton. "It'll get you through three days," the cast member earnestly said, unloading items like canned food and flashlights from his pack. This was well after the reality show's panel had wrapped up, well after Nat Geo introduced other show panels, and made me realize: holy crap, these people weren't in character, they really do this! And now they want this journalist to survive the apocalypse too!

"Doomsday Preppers," a reality show that is either perfect or terrible for the paranoid at heart, is Nat Geo's highest-rated series and centers on average American families milling about their daily lives while preparing for the end of the world. Viewers are introduced to the "prepper community," "bug out bags," and secret locations like caves or underground shelters where one can do the ultimate duck and cover during calamitous events. In short, they will put your child's school earthquake kits to shame.

Michael Cascio, exec veep of programming for the cabler, admits that while some of the show's preppers seem extreme, "after hearing each one's story and reasons for prepping, we are all guilty of checking our own pantries to see if we are prepared to survive a catastrophic event." Nat Geo also boasts an impressive shopping page for the series, where viewers can buy branded items along with field radios and deluxe Swiss army knives.

The second season of "Doomsday Preppers" features folks prepping for events like global economic collapse, earthquakes, and terrorist small-pox epidemics. Can't wait for the Nov. 13 premiere? Peep this exclusive sneak peek footage and start counting your canned goods. The Mayan apocalypse is a mere handful of weeks away, after all...

The heyday of the circus sideshow act exists in the 21st century as a distant memory, usually preserved by grainy sepia photos and folklore that rarely impresses today's historical skeptics. Yet, the sentiments that drove average citizens to these sideshow acts a century ago are persistent in the psyches of modern Americans...except, instead of being coralled inside circus tents, people are now coralled in front of television sets as they ogle the bizarre on reality TV.

These TV shows, of course, provide a far more humane edge to deformities, birth defects and strange talents than did their predecessor freak show format. Many specials highlight the need for medical research within the rare diseases and disability spectrum, and prompt outreach and donations to those in need. But whether seen as purely exploitive or educational content, cable docuseries and specials not only capitalize on Americans' love of the odd, they also document the same anomalies that commoners gawked at in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Never has there been a time when the strange was so accessible to an audience craving abnormal fare, whether with series like TLC's familial series "Little People, Big World," Nat Geo's docuseries "Taboo," or campy yakkers like "Maury." Here, I collect some of the parallels:

Vintage sideshow act: The Tattooed Man or Lady. Circus attendees enjoyed seeing an extreme feat of body art. Performers, often former servicemen or tattoo artists sporting their own work, would strip down, exposing fully body suits of inked traditional tattoo designs.

Modern reality TV: "Miami Ink," "LA Ink," and "Ink Masters" are just a few examples of the tattoo-themed reality shows that have saturated the cable TV market. Unscripted skeins offer perspective into tat culture and, of course, allow viewers to peep some seriously intense body art.

Vintage sideshow act: The Fattest Woman on Earth. "Mrs. Pete Robinson" performed at circus sideshows and reportedly topped out at over 600 lbs. 

Modern reality TV: Robinson's weight pales in comparison to the subjects of today's docu specials including TLC's recent crime mystery "Half-Ton Killer?", featuring Mayra Rosales who topped out at 1,000 lbs. Extreme weight specials have become a staple for cablers like TLC over the last several years, sometimes spotlighting the dating lives of the morbidly obese.

Vintage sideshow act: The Big-Footed Woman. Spectators gathered to see women like Fanny Mills, whose legs were swollen to gargantuan proportions. Mills may have had Millroy disease, though people with a similar disease, elephantitis, were also frequently put on display at sideshow acts.

Modern reality TV: "The Woman With Giant Legs" on TLC chronicled the struggles of Mandy Sellars and shocked viewers who screencapped scenes from the program and uploaded them online.

Vintage sideshow act: The Fiji Mermaid. Barnum of Barnum & Bailey Circus attached the skeleton of a monkey with the lower half of a large fish and voila! Mythical sea creature that folks paid money to lay their eyes on.

Modern reality TV: Discovery Channel aired "Mermaid: The Body Found," a special whose broadcast looked suspiciously like a documentary with grainy "cellphone" footage and interviews with purported scientists. The spectacle turned out to be a 2-hour scifi spesh, though, unbeknownst to many viewers who took to the internet with questions about the mermaid after buying into "The Body Found."

Vintage sideshow act: Hottentot Venus or other native acts. Europeans and Americans alike maintained a fascination with exotic natives from foreign lands who were imprisoned and put on display at freak shows.

Modern reality TV: Nat Geo has frequently aired specials and series like the "Tribal Odyssey" series that center on tribes and their rituals in undeveloped lands. While this nonfiction TV fare is widely considered to be educational, the appetite for footage of obscure and unreachable lands and the people that inhabit them has remained strong over several decades.

Vintage sideshow act: Conjoined twins. Siamese twins were a staple at most freak shows, featuring both children and adults attached at one body part or another.

Modern reality TV: TLC has chronicled the lives of conjoined twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel from their childhood to their experience as twenty-somethings searching for jobs in 2012 series "Abby & Brittany." The twins have appeared on "Oprah," UK-based specials and on additional specials that aired on both Discovery and TLC.

Vintage sideshow act: Tom Jack, The Ice King. Jack was born in 1884 with severe albinism and joined the sideshow circuit, showing off his pigmentless skin and magic tricks inspired by Houdini.  

Modern reality TV: "True Life: I'm An Albino" documented the lives of three young people as they pursue college and careers while living with albinism. Sections of the episode included cast members auditioning for films, learning how to drive and dealing with onlookers who dubbed them "Casper" and other derogatory names.

Vintage sideshow act: The Human Blockhead and other ostensibly masochistic acts. Performers would hammer objects into their nose, lie on a bed of nails, eat fire, pierce themselves, swallow swords or staple items to their bodies while spectators watched.

Modern reality TV: MTV's "Jackass" franchise has proven that viewers -- particularly within the young male demo -- will tune in to watch others purposefully injure themselves. The reality show originally aired on MTV from 2000-2002 and has since spawned spinoffs including "Wildboyz," "Viva La Bam" and several feature films.

Adult Swim is without a doubt the nuttiest channel in all of TV, but it topped even itself last night by airing "The Greatest Event in Television History." Which goes without saying is a shot-by-shot remake of the forgotten CBS series "Simon & Simon." Jon Hamm and Adam Scott play the titular Simons, Paul Rudd is their demanding director, and Jeff Probst, Kathryn Hahn, Megan Mullaly and Paul Scheer (who wrote the sketch) also appear, proving some of Hollywood's funniest people have way too much time on their hands.

A rock documentary from local station KABC-TV will be available to auds worldwide after the L.A. b'caster nabbed streaming rights to the doc.

"Legends of Laurel Canyon" centers on the famed rock and roll artists of the '60s and '70s who lived in the Angeleno hills. Musical greats residing in the Laurel Canyon area included Jimi Hendrix, Jim

Joni Mitchell, David Crosby and Eric Clapton in Laurel Canyon. Credit: Henry Diltz.

Hourlong "Eye on L.A." doc has been KABC-TV reporter Tina Malave's project for the last year. She worked closely with rock historian Harvey Kubernik, who authored "Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon" to bring the area's history to the docu spesh. In a post on website "On The Red Carpet," Malave said:

About a year and a half ago, I was doing a story on the legendary Houdini Estate that I had often driven past while cruising over Laurel Canyon, a woodsy, mountainous area in Los Angeles that connects the San Fernando Valley on one side of the hill, to the Sunset Strip on the other.

While I was interviewing the caretaker of the estate, she started telling me that Laurel Canyon had a really cool musical history. That Frank Zappa once lived across the street, Jim Morrison just down the street and Mama Cass Elliot even lived in the basement of the popular Laurel Canyon Country Store, a small market just across from Jim Morrison's pad. And that began my journey into the magical world of Laurel Canyon circa 1960s-70s.

There's that moment in just about every episode of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" when the comedic tone of the show fades away and the deeply serious outrage that fuels its humor is plainly heard in Stewart's voice. 

Perhaps no target is on the receiving end of that outrage than Fox News Channel, and Wednesday's episode was no exception. As Stewart brilliantly pilloried the network's bizarre attempt to take down the incumbent president with what's been called the Obama "race" video, his indignation over a "bullshit video" made plainly clear that deep down he felt there was nothing funny about it.

To fans of "Daily," Stewart's outrage is no surprise. The Emmy-winning show and its companion "The Colbert Report" spend so much airtime counterspinning Fox News that Comedy Central is arguably just as much of an arch rival to the right-wing news network than the ostensibly left-leaning MSNBC. Fox News is no mere foil to Stewart; ridiculing the network is clearly a moral imperative.

But as both searing and hilarious as Stewart's takedown was on Oct. 3, I felt it strange when just moments later he segued into a segment that plugged his pay-per-view debate Saturday with Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly. For just $4.95, fans of both on-air personalities can watch these TV titans duke it out in an online stunt dubbed "The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium."

Something clicked in my head by watching the juxtaposition of these "Daily" segments: Stewart feels Fox News is reprehensible, but not so bad that he can't team up with the network's star attraction to make a little money on the side? He has no business being in business with O'Reilly, who didn't make me feel any less queasy when he stopped by "Daily" the following night to plug his new book and the debate.

Yes, half the proceeds of the "Rumble" are going to charity, but the other half makes clear this is a business venture plain and simple. So when Stewart justifies this production, as he did recently in an interview with The Huffington Post thusly, "This idea that somehow people whose viewpoints you can't quite wrap your head around are not worthy of engagement strikes me as bizarre"--it rings a tad hollow.

Don't get me wrong, my objection isn't about Stewart stooping to dignify a viewpoint he doesn't share. To the contrary, there's something commendable about two guys on either side of the aisle sitting down at the same table even just to squabble in this polarized political climate.

It's one thing to offer a counterargument to an idea you disagree with, but quite another when you partner up with the source of those ideas to make money or market yourself. In that sense, "Rumble" isn't an isolated incident, but more the culmination of a cozy cross-promotional relationship Stewart and O'Reilly have long enjoyed that includes appearances on each other's shows.

That symbiosis seemed OK from the distance of each other's anchor desks, when one defined himself in opposition to the other. But it crosses the line when Stewart goes halfsies with O'Reilly. Don't be in cahoots with someone you hold in contempt.

The "Rumble" is also beneath Stewart because it plays like a rather cynical marketing ploy. As in gangsta rap or pro wrestling, there's nothing like a good rivalry to give enemies a mutual interest. But Stewart might want to hold himself to a higher standard than 50 Cent or Triple H.

Or maybe Stewart is no different than those luminaries; he might argue he's just an entertainer or a comedian. But that's as bullshit as the Obama "race" video. The essence of Stewart's humor is derived from his ability to hold himself above others. It undercuts his comedy when the moral high ground doesn't seem so high after all.

As controversy surrounding TLC's latest reality show "Breaking Amish" grows, so does the skein's ratings. 

"Breaking Amish" bowed on September 9 during TLC's 10 p.m. time slot on Sundays and pulled impressive numbers. 3.1 million total viewers tuned in to watch four young Amish people and one Mennonite venture outside of their secluded communities towards Gotham and the "English" lifestyle. "Breaking Amish's" debut turned out to be one of the strongest premieres on TLC in years.

During "Breaking Amish's" second and third episodes, however, total viewership dipped to around 2.8 million -- still impressive numbers for the cabler, but a decline nevertheless.

Allegations churned in the news and online during this period, though, claiming that the reality show wasn't exactly what was meeting viewers' eyes. Photos and anecdotes surfaced purporting that cast members had left the Amish community well before the production of "Breaking Amish." Some had kids. Some had been married. Some had been divorced.TLC issued a statement, saying that many allegations were either false or would be explained in upcoming episodes. Major news outlets reported on the controversy, offering increased exposure for the program during its third week on the air.

The result?

Episode four of "Breaking Amish" bounced back, landing 3 million total viewers and stunning spikes in key demos. Adults 18-49 surged 19% from episode three to four, and in key female demos, viewership spiked 50%.

The exact cause of the "Breaking Amish" ratings boost cannot be precisely determined, but one cannot ignore the fact that numbers boomed after the show became embroiled in controversy. Ratings over the four week period seem to point to an initial interest in the show followed by a tapering off during weeks two and three. As word of the program's questionable cast spread, however, week four numbers shot up.

Should this ratings increase continue, it will certainly hush nay-sayers who anticipated TLC pulling the show in the wake of the damning photos and allegations.

TLC has taken advantage of the ratings increase as well, broadcasting previously aired episodes with extended scenes and allowing the Hot Snakes exec producers to live-tweet during the Sunday night broadcast of "Breaking Amish" on the cabler's Twitter.

Disappointment is something every actor learns quickly comes with the territory. But for the cast of "Downwardly Mobile," a sitcom starring Roseanne that NBC passed on for the 2012-13 season, rejection is just the premise for their next project.

Five supporting "Mobile" thespians have banded together for "Bitter, Party of 5," their own YouTube talk show that starts with them huddled around a phone to purportedly find out whether the show was getting picked up or not. As if none of them have agents who can find out for them, they decide to call NBC Entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt's office, where an assistant tells them they didn't make the cut. Sadness ensues.

So now the Failed Five press on with "Bitter," where they interview celebrities like Rachael Harris and Stephen Root. No doubt an agent will see them do this very soon, ABC stations will cancel "The View" to make room for "Bitter," will which will restore them to the greatness NBC denied them.

The "Bitter" bunch are Jason Antoon, Mary Birdsong, Greg Cromer, Tricia O'Kelley and Romy Rosemont. Maybe Roseanne was busy.

There's still two weeks until the third-season premiere of the AMC hit series "The Walking Dead." If reruns can't tide you over until then, try a new season of webisodes on AMCTV.com from Greg Nicotero, the series' special effects maven. As he did last year, he's produced and directed a quartet of vignettes set in the same post-apocalyptic world of "Walking Dead" but somewhat tangential to the story. Nicotero has brought plenty of zombies with him to the webisodes, so if you think he's saving the gore for primetime, think again.

Last night's "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" preem managed to do what the finale several months ago did: serve as a cross-platform promo machine for Dean Winters.

Winters landed a recurring role on the procedural cop drama in 2000 as Detective Brian Cassidy, but his "SVU" role was only revisited this year as Cassidy went undercover doing security for a high-ranking Gotham pimp. 

Aside from his "SVU" stint, Winters may be known best for his spot on Allstate commercials as the conniving "Mayhem" guy leading to various home and auto calamities.

So, when NBC ran memorable Allstate commercials featuring Winters sandwiched between finale and premiere "SVU" episodes with Winters as a recurring role, viewers were left wondering, "Wait, isn't he-- wasn't that-- is this the Twilight Zone?"

Winters's disorienting appearances on both episodes of "SVU" and the skein's commercial breaks are not the first example of NBC's bizarre ad choices during "SVU."

Last season, after Chris Meloni abruptly ankled his longstanding lead role as Detective Elliot Stabler on "Special Victims Unit," NBC ran promos for HBO's "True Blood" during "SVU" -- promos that featured a recently cast Meloni in, well, some very detective-like garb (save the fangs).

Meloni joined the "True Blood" cast as a blood sucking, suit sporting, 500 year old vampire named Roman. Seeing him in "True Blood" commercials during "SVU" episodes that are still adjusting to his departure makes you wonder: what is NBC thinking? And is Stabler now a vampire?

Whether tuning "SVU," "True Blood" or Allstate spots, viewers can bet they're watching "The Twilight Zone" on NBC thanks to these strange ad placements.

The 2012 presidential election, otherwise known as the chest-puffing Olympics for many political commentators, continues to highlight the divisive nature of cable news nets in American society. As a member of Generation Y (or something like that), this is, for the most part, the only TV and radio aesthetic I've been exposed to. I've come of age in a time where revealing you're a Republican in a room full of liberals is a risky move, and Rush Limbaugh calls women "sluts." It's a weird time, but it's all I know. Yet, my mother and father, both Baby Boomers, tell me after each political confab and subsequent flurry of on-air yak-seshes that "It didn't always used to be like this...once, there was a sense of respect."

Vet journalist Ted Koppel took on what NBC dubbed "truthsayers," or the loud voices in political news that have established themselves through argumentative, alienating programming. The segment, which aired on "Rock Center" Thursday night, features Koppel asking anchors including Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and Bill Maher about the growing trend of emphasizing an "us versus them" attitude in newscasts, and if they believe it is harmful to society.

With many in the American TV audience eagerly anticipating the Oct. 6 Jon Stewart vs. Bill O'Reilly pay per view debate and political yakking saturating the TV marketplace with the approaching election, Koppel's segment is not only timely, but crucial when it comes to understanding the implications of modern political news -- and how we might be able to change it.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

For as many "mehs" as "Saturday Night Live" may have accumulated over recent years, certainly one of the September 15 preem highlights for any TV biz member would be Seth McFarlane impersonating Ryan Lochte. "Lochte," adorned with Olympic medals, discusses the fresh shows bowing this fall with Seth Meyers and struggles through interviews in a way that is reminiscent of, well, most of Lochte's interviews. Shoddy wig aside, the segment garnered laughs from me, but maybe I'm jaded by all the press releases I'm buried under regarding premiere dates and times. Peep the segment below:

Psyched for the return of "Saturday Night Live" tonight. Gonna be real interesting to feel the vibe of a Wiig/Samberg-less cast.

Executive producer Lorne Michaels probably had to give Jason Sudeikis several Brinks trucks to stay with the show through January. It was crucial not only because of his Romney/Biden impressions, but to provide a stabilizing force during a transition year for the cast, having lost three and gained three new players in the offseason. The election year also puts "SNL" in a brighter spotlight than a normal year, which makes it all the more important to keep a star vet around a little bit longer.

Truth be told, Sudeikis doesn't offer that much more given he never truly established breakout characters on the show. He's actually one of the rare "SNL" products that will likely do better as a comedic actor outside "SNL," as his extensive movie credits can already attest.

The absence of all these vets clears the way for a new "SNL" alpha dog: Bill Hader. In truth, it felt like he already took top billing last season with his incredible versatility but Wiig's shadow stole some of his shine. Bet everything you will see one of his best impressions get used in tonight's season opener: Clint Eastwood. It's a slightly moldy target given the DNC was weeks ago but there's not a juicier parody possibility out there right now (though I'm also guessing "The Voice"/"The X Factor" will get some ribbing too).

But there's a bigger political parody to watch out for tonight: Michaels is reassigning Obama from Fred Armisen to Jay Pharoah, according to The New York Times. It's an exciting idea considering Armisen's Obama was serviceable at best, and Pharoah is capable of brilliance in the imitation department. But if Pharoah fails, there will be lots of grumbling.

As for why this transition is even happening, it makes sense considering given that in the event 0bama is re-elected, Armisen isn't likely to stick around for four more years atop the 10 he's already clocked at "SNL." Might as well make the change now than in the middle of a second term.

My guess is "SNL" won't just make a switch without calling attention to the switch itself; look for a skit that somehow calls for two Obamas. Maybe a mirror will be involved.

Also looking forward to another political impression that will likely get unveiled tonight: Taran Killam as VP contender Paul Ryan. It'll be tough to pull off but keep your eye on Killam this season. He showed real growth last season, the kind that can mean he's a breakout talent in the making.

A question: Will "SNL Digital Short" continue without Andy Samberg? And if it does, what IS and "SNL Digital Short" without Samberg?

There's also a small chance some of the new recruits being brought in for this season will make their debut tonight, which can be exciting. Its nice to have that memory when you lay eyes for the first time on someone who turns out down the line to be the next Will Ferrell or Gilda Radner.

Michaels should be so lucky...

One of the many ways media companies can demonstrate that most virtuous of corporate virtues--synergy--is when a TV network buys a series from the studio with which they share a corporate parent. All four of the broadcast networks have sister studios that provide varying amounts of their total programming volume, which helps keep the profits from a hit show to be confined to one conglomerate.

That's why the percentage of shows sold internally is a statistic of note to analysts like Nomura Securities, which tallied that 56% of this season’s new programs and 66% returning series will air on the sibling broadcast networks. That figure is slightly down from the past few years, but still well above the 50% low hit back in 2006.

But maybe this isn't the best statistic to gauge just how useful a studio is being to a network. In other words, maybe it's less about the quantity of programming being sold and more about the quality of the time slots in which these series are placed. Which makes the 2012-13 season a sorry state of affairs.

There may be no more important determinant of a show’s success than its lead-in. Doesn’t matter how good a series is, if it doesn’t have good lead-in support, its chances at survival are challenged.

So if a conglom really wanted to put all its weight behind a series in which it could partake of 100% of profits, there's no better move to make then giving said series the best time slots, right?

Take a look at the four coziest time slots available this coming season, based on the total audience generated by their lead-ins. (The list doesn't include higher rated series like "American Idol" that don't serve as a lead-in to anything):

1. Monday, 10 p.m., after NBC’s “The Voice”
2. Thursday, 8:30 p.m., after CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory”
3. Wednesday, 9:30 p.m., after ABC’s “Modern Family”
4. Monday, 8:30 p.m., after CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother”

WBTV's new comedy “Partners” will get the “Mother” lead-in, which so effectively launched “2 Broke Girls” last season.  Its new drama “Revolution” (pictured above) is getting NBC’s best slot immediately after its reigning unscripted juggernaut.

Even WBTV’s returning shows are being shifted into new time slots following the top two-rated comedies on TV. Sophomore comedy “Suburgatory” should get a nice lift with “Modern” behind it, which should help the studio get maximum value for this half-hour in the syndication marketplace where it is currently being shopped. And veteran comedy “Two and a Half Men” made an unexpected move to Thursday where it is being paired with “Bang,” which could be just the thing to keep a series rolling that already has plenty of mileage on it.

Not sure whether this is a coincidence or WBTV Peter Roth somehow masterminded this sweep, but give the man a raise.

Showing love to outside studios wasn’t restricted to WBTV, however. Universal Television got a choice time slot for its only sale of the season outside NBC, “The Mindy Project,” with “New Girl” behind it (sixth highest-rated available lead-in). Now Fox has “Mindy” in the same Tuesday 9:30 p.m. time slot opposite what may be NBC’s own most promising comedy, “The New Normal.” They might be able to coexist, but is this worth the risk?

ABC is showing a little more sense. The fifth highest-rated available lead-in, “Once Upon A Time,” is being used as a lead-in for an ABC Studios show, “Revenge,” at 9 p.m. ABC also uses what may be its most effective lead-in property, “Dancing with the Stars,” to support its sister studio, both on Monday at 10 p.m., where ABC Studio’s “Castle” resides, and on Tuesday at 9 p.m., where as of Oct. 23, “Happy Endings,” comes in. Ownership of that comedy is split between ABC Studios and Sony Pictures Television. CBS also put new shows in behind the seventh and eighth highest-rated available time slots, "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "Person of Interest."

There will be those that argue the broadcasters should be commended for their agnostic approach to programming. They're letting the best creative get the best time slots, provenance be damned. That's all well and good, but maybe this means the sister studios should take a more targeted approach to serving their siblings’ highest-priority development needs to support their mutual financial interest. There's only so much you can do to anticipate time-slot vacancies ahead of time, but that's not entirely true when you consider, for example, that Fox has been planning a four-comedy block on Tuesdays well in advance.

What might be a more compelling counterargument is that no matter what time slot you get on the fall schedule, debuting in the fall in and of itself is a less coveted launch pad than the less crowded environs of the midseason. Let's see if the shows that get added to the schedule in the months ahead prove the broadcasters and their studios are savvier than this fall makes them appear to be.

It's been over a decade since Americans have laid eyes on "Sifl and Olly," a pair of deranged sock puppets that drew a cult following with an MTV series of their own in the late 1990s. While the network brought "Beavis 'n' Butt-head" back to its own channel, "S&O" have been freed up for YouTube, where the Happy Hour channel of top entertainment hub Machinima has revived them for "Sifl & Olly Video Game Reviews." Never mind that these aren't actual video games; the whole point is to watch inspired sock comedy.