billy crystal

• Kim Kardashian is my new favorite source of embarrassingly stupid news.
  
• Billy Crystal won't be taking over Conan's time slot, but that doesn't mean he won't be hosting a late-night talk show.
  
• Clay Aiken will be appearing on Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? to raise money for a charity.
  

It seems that Billy Crystal's life of rafting down the Mississippi, white-washing fences, fighting knights in Medieval times, piloting riverboats and getting lost in caves has finally garnered him the award he deserves: the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Seriously, though, Bill Crystal is receiving the Mark Twain Prize in a ceremony to be broadcast on PBS October 11. Other folks who have received the Mark Twain Prize include Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Simon and Steve Martin.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

No matter how much TV I watch, I can't seem to get over the first rule of television programming; if it doesn't get the numbers, it doesn't get renewed. I have watched many a beloved show get yanked from the schedule due to low ratings, even though critics and fans alike all raved about it.

Here are some examples of shows that were too good for the small screen.

Pasadena
The potential for greatness was here, sadly Fox didn't promote the show and nobody watched. I was lucky enough to watch the entire season on and finally get answers to some really nagging questions.I also got see favorites like Mark Valley & Dana Delaney really chew the scenery.

The Bob Newhart Show (the variety show on NBC)
This show won a Peabody award, but was clearly ahead of its time. It's pretty hard to find these days, but Tv icons like Ken Berry and Joe Flynn were regulars and the comedy was superb.

I thought Jon Stewart did a fine job as Oscar host, but I can understand them wanting to go with a more "traditional" choice. And with Ellen, I think the mainstream people get someone who they can enjoy (her daytime talk show is a hit) and the people who want their humor a little more wiseass will get their way too (people forget Ellen can be quite clever).

In this interview with TV Guide, DeGeneres promises not to suck, and also says that she's not going to copy what people in the past have done. Meaning, she's not going to put on the dance shows and dance a la Billy Crystal. She does say that it's going to be a little more fun and casual than most years.

And her favorite Oscars host was Johnny Carson, so that's a good sign.

• At 8, ABC has college football, California at USC.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 8.
• FOX has a new Cops at 8, a repeat episode, then a new America's Most Wanted.
• There are two new eps of Little People, Big World on TLC at 8, followed by a new Flip That House.
• Cartoon Network has a new episode of Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes at 8.
• At 9, HBO has Comic Relief 2006, with Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Maher, George Lopez, and more.
• Cartoon Network has four new episodes of Naruto, starting at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
• TLC has a new Trading Spaces at 10.
• Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 10.
• Also at 10: HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.

Why in the hell did a comedy competition that started on October 11 get posted on Turner Network's press page just today? That's twelve kinds of messed up, that's what that is, Maynard. Well anyway, TBS and MySpace have this online challenge going where they're asking unknown comedians to submit videos to the "Stand Up Or Sit Down Comedy Challenge" through the competition's MySpace page. Right now you can vote on the fifteen comics who remains, and the top five will appear on TBS, November 17 at 10 pm, in a special hosted by George Lopez. The following night, during TBS's simulcast of Comic Relief, a winner will be announced and given a development deal plus $50,000.

Speaking of Comic Relief, is anyone looking forward to it? I have to say, the comedy powers of Williams, Goldberg and Crystal just don't quite work on me like they did when I was much younger and couldn't change the channel because the knob was broken and the vice grips my father placed on the TV were too cumbersome for me to get a hold of.

Our good friends over at Cinematical are reporting that the Oscars, rejected by everyone from Chris Rock (well, to be fair, he wasn't actually asked to host) to Billy Crystal (too busy) to Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg, may finally have a real live host....The Daily Show's Jon Stewart! Okay, it hasn't actually technically been confirmed yet, but we knew you'd be as excited as we are to hear this rumor, and since it was started by the LA Times "The Envelope", it has some cred. This is even better than getting William Shatner to host!  Stewart, with his political snarkiness and awesome comedic timing, is the perfect choice to host the Oscars (and I don't say that just because he's my secret TV boyfriend, either). Now for the real question -- will he work in Steven Colbert interviewing Oscar nominees? Oh please oh please oh please!

I still like the idea of a reality show to pick next year's Oscar host, though.

[ via Defamer ]