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'America's Next Top Model' - 'Big Hair Day' Recap
Jason Bateman Thinks the 'Arrested Development' Movie is Still Alive. Really?
Perhaps you folks saw the tidbit from the LA Times late last week where Jason Bateman was asked to respond to David Cross, who told me in an interview last week that the 'Arrested Development' movie is "not going to happen."Bateman took pains to not only say the movie was still on, but to say that "bloggers" made way too big a deal of Cross' opinion.
"I think he was simply saying, 'Who knows?' " he told the LA TImes. "He wasn't saying anything definitive, but a lot of people with blogs and whatnot, in the interest of making a splash headline, stretched things a bit."
Yeah, those damn bloggers. Always quoting people directly and then reporting on it. How dare they!
Here's the flaw in Jason's argument: We already knew that this was just David Cross' opinion. Neither I nor any of the other "bloggers" who wrote about this presented it as anything but.
Four Cooking Channel Shows That Look Delicious
If you take your remote control and surf on over to Fine Living Network on May 31, well, it won't be there. Instead, you're going to see The Cooking Channel, Food Network's new channel devoted to food (of course), drinks, and travel. They've announced the lineup for the network's debut, and while some of the shows seem like something we could see on the parent network, there's enough quirky new stuff to grab your attention.Some are using the word "edgy" to describe the new channel too, but unless they're breaking the necks of live chickens right on television, this is still just a food channel. Oh, wait, they actually are going to break chicken necks! Alrighty.
After the jump, my picks for the four shows that look the most interesting, as well as a quick rundown on what else we're going to see on the new channel.
Five Possible Jeannies for the Big Screen 'I Dream of Jeannie'

Another week, another story from Hollywood about a beloved TV show being turned into a feature film. Last week it was 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' and this week it's ... 'I Dream of Jeannie.' Yes, yes, they've talked about this one before. But that was then and this is now and the Los Angeles Times reports that 'I Dream of Jeannie' is back on with Sheila Callaghan, one of the scribes on 'United States of Tara,' has been handed the assignment. That means whatever the writers from 'National Treasure' and 'Mulan' and 'Bend It Like Beckham' who've taken a swing at it in the past few years weren't able to make it work.
There is an essential problem with 'Jeannie,' as anyone who knows the shows realizes. How do you make the story of a love-crazed, subservient slave-like genie who lives in a bottle and calls her astronaut boyfriend master relevant. That's a tough nut to crack, but maybe casting the role of Jeannie would be a start.
'True Blood' Minisodes to Begin May 2
Can't wait until the June premiere of 'True Blood' season 3? Well, HBO's got you covered.Starting May 2, HBO will begin airing six weekly 'True Blood' minisodes (3-5 minute episodes), according to True-Blood.net. The minisodes, which will be written by creator Alan Ball, will air following the conclusion of the season 2 encore.
Will we see the identities of whoever kidnapped Bill? Will Sookie make an appearance? At this point it is unknown.
The only familiar character that will make an appearance so far is the teen vampire Jessica Hamby (played by Deborah Ann Woll). She was turned by Bill at the end of the season 1, and then had a teen romance during season 2 that didn't end well.
After that, she decided to embrace her vampire ways and was seen feeding on a truck driver during the last episode. Perhaps during the minisodes we'll be treated to one of her predatory slaughters.
This is exciting. Is it May yet?
TV 101: The NFL Can Help the Internet Grow Up
Every culture has a coming-of-age ritual. The boys of the Amazon's Satere Mawe tribe aren't considered men until they've worn a glove filled with stinging ants. Among the American Nouveau-Riche tribe, you can't enter adulthood until a minor rap star comes to your sweet sixteen and performs for you in front of MTV cameras. Among my people, the Irish Americans, you can only achieve the full rights of adulthood after you've ruined a Thanksgiving dinner by getting drunk and fighting your father.The internet is a teenager right now - you can tell because it's always angry and is totally obsessed with seeing Megan Fox naked. The internet needs to grow up with a coming-of-age ritual all its own. And, as much as I'd like to put a glove of stinging ants onto the hands of the people who call me a douche every week in the comments, there's only one real way for the internet to finally achieve adult status ...
'Smallville' Creators Sign Deal With Sony TV
'Smallville' creators Al Gough and Miles Millar have signed a two-year deal with Sony Pictures TV for the development of new programming, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The two have not been involved with 'Smallville' since 2008.The pair was also involved in a number of big-screen projects, including 'Shanghai Noon,' 'Spider-Man 2' and the tween flick 'Hannah Montana: The Movie.'
The article does not specify the type of programming they will create for Sony's TV division. If they're consistent in terms of the shows they've previously worked on, then it will likely be material aimed at the CW type of audience (or those who appreciate teen angst).
On the other hand, 'Smallville' improved in quality once the two of them departed. That time coincided with the show concentrating more on the geek factor than the teen angst (which is useful since the characters aren't of teens anymore). As a result, it's tough to say whether this deal is more a boon for Gough and Millar or Sony.
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How About 'James Bond: The TV Series?'
So MGM announced yesterday that the next James Bond movie -- number 23, if you're keeping track -- has been put on hold "indefinitely" because the studio is for sale and they have no idea what's going on with it.This is scary stuff. It reminds me of those awful years when everything was put on hold so long that Timothy Dalton said "the heck with this, yo" and left and they were without a Bond for a while. Everything turned out OK, as Pierce Brosnan was Bond for several flicks and then Daniel Craig for the reboot. Let's hope that things get settled before everyone decides to move on.
But it got me thinking: isn't it about time we had a 007 TV series? Why not?
Celebrity 'Jeopardy!' Contestants and Schedule
The game show 'Jeopardy!' has announced the semi-finalists for its Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational Tournament, in which celebrities compete for $1 Million to go to the charity of their choice. The list of celebrities and the charities they will sponsor is as follows:May 3
Pat Sajak (Vietnam Veterans of America)
Jane Curtin (U.S. Fund for UNICEF)
Harry Shearer (Common Ground Relief)
May 4
Michael McKean (International Myeloma Foundation)
Charles Shaughnessy (1736 Family Crisis Center)
Isaac Mizrahi (Good Shepherd Services)
May 5
Neil Patrick Harris (Food on Foot)
Jane Kaczmarek (Clothes Off Our Back)
Cheech Marin (Hispanic Scholarship Fund)
The winners of each round will move on to the 2-day finals, on May 6th and 7th.
It must have been easy for the studio to get Pat Sajak since both 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' are produced by Sony Pictures Studios. The line-up on May 4th isn't as interesting as the other two dates (Andy Richter had to drop out for that day due to his appearances on Conan O'Brien's tour), but the other two days pretty much rock, celebrity-wise. I'm secretly hoping that NPH wins it all but I have no idea how good each of the contestants are at 'Jeopardy!'.
Tell us: Who do you think will win?
How Will 'Lost' End? It Doesn't Matter
While it might be an unpopular stance, there are a large number of 'Lost' fans who will be satisfied with the series finale regardless of how it ends. These are the dedicated viewers who simply do not care whether or not Kate winds up with Jack or Sawyer, why Walt was special or which characters survive the last episode. Many questions and mysteries will not be addressed by or in the show's final two hours, so fans may want to prepare themselves for that outcome.
The truth is that there are thousands of 'Lost' fans who trust series co-creators and executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof to provide them with a finale consistent with the high quality of every episode leading up to it for six seasons. These are the same viewers that have enjoyed every single episode for their own reasons, even the infamous, much maligned 'Stranger in a Strange Land.'
David Hasselhoff Returning to 'The Young and the Restless'
It looks like soap opera fans are about to get another blast from the past.On the heels of Juliane Moore's cameo as Frannie Hughes on 'As the World Turns' and news that Charles Shaughnessy will be reprising his character, Shane Donovan, on 'Days of Our Lives,' EW.com is reporting that 'Knight Rider' himself, David Hasselhoff, is returning to 'The Young and the Restless' to play Dr. Snapper Foster.
From 1975-1982, David Hasselhoff was the epitome of a soap leading man on 'The Young and the Restless.' Gorgeous, hunky and hot, he wooed the ladies and was brave and committed to saving lives as a Genoa City medical man. More importantly, the character of Snapper was an integral part of the Foster family. The Fosters were the folks from the wrong side of the tracks, hard-working and self-reliant.
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Matt Smith to Appear on 'The Sarah Jane Adventures'
Matt Smith has only just taken the reigns of the title role in 'Doctor Who' and he is already slated to make a guest-appearance on the spin-off series 'The Sarah Jane Adventures,' according to the BBC Press Office. For those unaware, the spin-off follows the adventures of former 'Doctor Who' companion Sarah Jane Smith as played by Elisabeth Sladen.
Also joining them in the same episode is former 'Doctor Who' companion Jo Grant. She'll be played by Katy Manning, who is stepping into the role for the first time since 1973.
And to round out the news trifecta, the episode will be written by the creator of 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' and the man responsible for bringing 'Doctor Who' back to television, Russell T. Davies. This would mark Davies' first time writing for the character of the Doctor since he left the series (and it could be argued that it's his first time writing for Smith's Doctor).
Mind you, Davies writing was never particularly impressive on the series in terms of science fiction. Davies' strength tends to be writing about relationships, and having the Doctor in a room with two of his ex-companions (which for the Doctor would be the equivalent of ex-girlfriends) is enough reason to tune in.
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