Now regular Squad hoppers know I'm no drooling American Idol watcher, so maybe you think my opinions on this show are worth less than the U.S. dollar injected with swine flu.

But this move to bring in Ellen DeGeneres, a talk show host, actress and comedian, screams of another move in the world of TV commentating. A move that seemed well reasoned enough but went down in a glorious ball of blue and orange flames on live television.

Comedian and long time TV fixture Dennis Miller's very short stint as the color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football screams of similarities louder than that guy in the Edvard Munch painting watching the Orson Welles sex tape. Great, Miller's voice is back in my head again. Thanks cha cha, I mean, Ellen.

There are some big names on the bill for Ellen DeGeneres's variety show, Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show, which airs June 27 on TBS. Kanye West will be a big part of it, and magician David Blaine and comedian Nick Cannon will also appear.

Even the Chicago Cubs will make an appearance, as DeGeneres tapes a segment at Wrigley Field, singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch June 16 (the rest of the show will be taped June 17 at the Chicago Theatre).

But the thing DeGeneres seems most excited about is comedian Joe Wong, whom we first wrote about in April when he made his network television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman. She'd love to see more comedians like Wong on television.

Even though The Late Show and The Late Late Show are in reruns, the company that produces them, Worldwide Pants, is continuing to pay their staff. The announcement came from the offices of WWP and went on to say that the writers (Update: the entire staff is being paid) for both shows in New York and in Los Angeles will continue to earn a salary, at least through the end of the year.

Worldwide Pants is owned by David Letterman who, as a writer for his talk show is in a precarious position. As a member of the WGA, Letterman is forbidden to do any writing for the show but as an executive producer he is still involved in the day to day decisions regarding the show.