During his lengthy press conference yesterday to announce that he's still not running for President, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie answered dozens of questions from reporters on a variety of topics.

He even addressed how he's become such a figure of fun for late night TV hosts.

Saying "it's not news flash to me that I'm overweight," Christie said making jokes about his girth is "fair game" for late night TV hosts, but only if their jokes about it are good.

Get ready for a 'Wicked Summah' on TruTV.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, 'Summah,' which is being described as an unofficial spinoff of MTV's runaway hit, 'Jersey Shore,' is in the "very early stages of development" at TruTV, according to a network spokesperson.

Filming will be set on Cape Cod, though no word on when the series will actually hit the airwaves.

Doron Ofir Casting, the company behind 'Shore,' is casting the show. (For a taste of who might wind up on the show, check out its casting website.)

And speaking of 'Jersey Shore,' MTV recently announced that the show, which will be filming in Miami and Jersey, will return for a second season on Jul. 29.

It is with a heavy heart that I write the following: the cast of MTV's 'Jersey Shore' will be returning to New Jersey (my home, incidentally) to film the remaining segments of the second season of that monstrosity. Fans of the show get to watch Snooki and the rest of them frolic in debauchery for the last part of the season from the actual Jersey Shore rather than the beaches of Miami which sadly decided not to keep them.

A casting notice was also put up for additions to the cast. It's sort of like the second season of 'The Transformers' cartoon in which a bunch of new robots were added to the cast in an effort to sell more action figures.

In this case, the casting notice is likely just in case the existing cast decides to move on to bigger and better projects, like 'Celebrity Apprentice' or the next generation of 'Fear Factor.'

The 'Hawaii Five-O' pilot just got a bit more interesting. Tough guy actor Scott Caan has been cast as Danno, joining Alex O'Loughlin as Steve McGarrett. What makes it interesting is that in the original series, McGarrett was the older member of the squad, the leader based on experience if not seniority. Danny Williams was a younger guy, with McGarrett as sort of his mentor.

O'Loughlin and Caan are the same age. That would mean that they'll be more like partners. Like Sam and Callen on 'NCIS: Los Angeles,' which is reminiscent of 'Starsky and Hutch.'

Well, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not exactly the original, is it? It's a new version of 'Hawaii Five-O' and, apparently, that's the point. Like the updated 'Star Trek' movie, which coincidentally, was written by the same guys, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are doing the pilot.

So while this show will focus on an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police with McGarrett and Danno, it's not the same old CBS franchise.

Repeat after me, "I want my Food Network, I want my HGTV!" That's what the disgruntled Cablevision subscribers might be shouting soon if Scripps Networks and Cablevision don't reach a deal on fees.

As of 12:01 on New Year's Day, three million TV subscribers in suburban New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were shocked that Food Network and DIY and HGTV and all the Scripps networks were off Cablevision.

I don't know how the corporate folks feel about this kind of negotiation, but as a TV viewer I think it sucks. I used to live in that market and if I was expecting to watch Food Network, I would expect to see it.

As much as I loved The Real Housewives of New Jersey, I knew that I was loving it for all the wrong reasons. I'm New Jersey all the way: born here, went to college here, have lived here all my life. About ten percent of the people I've met fit the yelling, lunkheaded Jersey stereotypes we've seen on TV since The Sopranos; what I don't understand is where reality TV's recent fascination has been with the louder residents of the Garden State.

First it was Housewives. Then it was Cake Boss, where Buddy Valastro and his crew scream and gesture so much it's a wonder how their cakes don't collapse in the oven. Even TLC's relatively gentle Masters of Reception seemed to highlight the more "Jersey" aspects of my home state.

Now we have Jersey Shore, an MTV reality series premiering December 3. It documents goings on last summer in a shore house with the "hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos," according to this particularly annoying promo:

The other day I wrote about watching Mercy during a mini-marathon that aired last Saturday on Bravo. Is it possible that someone at NBC Universal was reading my plaudits for the company using Bravo to promote an NBC drama series? I think so, because today comes to the news that two of the Real Housewives of New Jersey will guest on Mercy.

That's right; you didn't read it wrong. Teresa Giudice and Jacqueline Laurita, the two who were having babies in season one of the show, will appear as themselves on the NBC medical drama, according to the Ausiello Files.

There will be no reprieve from the governor, no last minute miracle save. No, the end is approaching and Guiding Light will stop filming the week of August 3. The CBS soap opera will air its last show on September 18, 2009, and the 72-year-long run of America's most enduring daytime drama will officially wrap.

Fans have been hoping that somehow, someway Guiding Light would find a new home, but neither CBS nor Procter and Gamble have been able to save the show. Soapcentral.com has reported that efforts have been made to no avail. "We have not been able to secure an outlet to carry the show moving forward. We are extremely disappointed with this outcome, but we are confident we have exhausted every possible option," said TeleNext Media SVP Brian T. Cahill.

American Idol fans might remember Alexis Cohen, who auditioned for the show twice. She was hit and killed by a car a few days ago and the police have arrested the driver for reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. Here's video of one of her auditions and her blow up after being rejected by Simon, Paula, and Randy. I thought she had a pretty good voice. Maybe not for Idol but for a rock band.

This news actually made my day. Apparently, in order to appear as "celebrities" on the television show The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the housewives themselves were not paid and in some cases owed the producers some of their non-television related income.

This is brilliant! This solves the issue of declining profits for television. Want your own reality show? Then pay for the privilege. It's like buying commercial time without anything definitive to promote. If any of them start their own business as a result of their undeserved fame (like a line of clothing or something), will they owe that income to the producers as well?

No matter how much I loathe reality television, I loathe The Real Housewives of New Jersey just a little bit more. I applaud any opportunity to stick them with a fine for having the viewer subjected to them. The punchline to this joke would be if they all signed the same contract for their upcoming second season.

If I go to Hell after I die, I'm quite certain that part of my eternal punishment would be sitting in a room with all the Real Housewives of New Jersey for all eternity. Therefore the following piece of news is about as close to Hell on Earth as I can get: popular rumor has it that Bravo has renewed The Real Housewives of New Jersey for a second season.

I was born and bred in New Jersey (those of you offering condolences can shut it right now. I like New Jersey). As a result of sharing my humble abode with someone of the female persuasion, I have been subjected to this program. I can personally attest that very few people in New Jersey actually act like these "housewives". If you're planning a vacation, please don't let the behaviors of these women put you off from visiting the Garden State.

However, to give credit, the program did lead to a funny sketch on Chelsea Lately. The video of that is after the jump.

There's no way that the creator/executive producer of a new series walking away from the show before the season premiere can be a good thing. In fact, it's down right ominous. Therefore, the news that Diane Ruggiero has walked off The Ex List before the October 3rd premiere does not bode well for the comedy-drama. It's not like the prospect of succeeding in the dreaded Friday at 9 P.M. ET on CBS (the place where Moonlight died) was a sign of good things to come, but having seen the pilot, I was keeping my fingers crossed. Now, I'm worried.

Reportedly, Ruggiero unexpectedly quit The Ex List on Friday morning. Rick Eid, executive producer of the show, will continue on in her place as showrunner. However, the writing staff will have to continue without their guiding light because make no mistake, the heart and soul of the main character -- Bella Bloom -- was a reflection of Diane Ruggiero. She's a strong writer with a distinct voice, one she lent to her other success (with Rob Thomas) Veronica Mars.

(S01E11) "My family will be the death of me."

What an opening act! What a set up! This seemed to be the first of the two-part finale for season one, and in this penultimate episode, the writers really delivered a knockout. I think we're finally getting that clash of Mary's personal and professional life that's been building from the pilot when Brandi showed up.

The abduction of Mary was well done because they chloroformed her. If she weren't drugged, she would have not been overpowered. As it was, she nearly got away. Of course, they thought they were grabbing Brandi so why did they need to knock her out? Also -- continuity error -- Russell said they grabbed the first hot blonde that came out of the house. That's not where Mary was snatched; she was in the alley outside the theater.

Some actors from The Sopranos have won awards, Emmys, Golden Globes, et. al. At least one has achieved another kind of infamy. Federico Castelluccio, who played the Italian hit man Furio, has sold a painting inspired by the show for $175,000. The image, a variation on the famous 15th century dual portrait, Duke and Duchess of Urbino, is called The Duke and Duchess of North Caldwell. That would be Tony and Carmela Soprano of Caldwell, New Jersey.

Federico, who has no less that eight film roles to his credit for release this year, doesn't need to paint to pay the rent. He paints because he's an artist and -- clearly -- a good one. This original work was created after his appearance on the show. As Furio Giunta, the Italian made the mistake of becoming a wee bit too enamored with his boss's wife. Rather than stay in Jersey and potentially have an affair with Carmela, Furio returned to Italy and never came back -- as far as we know. David Chase may have a whole other story that was written and never filmed involving Furio. Chase is funny that way.