If the Parents Television Council didn't exist, the networks might have to invent it.

The latest outburst of manufactured outrage by the TV watchdog group concerns the Nov. 9 episode of the CW's 'Gossip Girl' and the much-touted threesome (among characters yet to be named) that will supposedly be the episode's steamy highlight. The PTC has sent a letter to CW affiliates threatening them with FCC indecency fines should they air the offending episode, which no one at the PTC has actually seen.

Not that any CW affiliate is likely to pull the episode, not at the height of November's ratings sweeps period. Still, this predictable pantomime seems like a win-win for everyone

Amid controversy and the threat of certain world leaders boycotting the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the word came out yesterday that President George W. Bush would attend the opening ceremonies. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this is good news for NBC, and the companies that have bought advertising for the Games.

While I can see how a boycott based on human rights abuses in China and Tibet would be a serious problem for the network -- and it still may lose viewers who choose to individually tune out rather than give positive sanction to China's misdeeds by watching -- I don't see how NBC can think a Bush appearance will bolster ratings.

This year's awards season, barely a month old now, has not been a good one for Hollywood. First, the Golden Globes ceremony was reduced to an Access Hollywood special after members of the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild boycotted the show. Now, it looks like the Grammy Awards ceremony may also be in trouble.

It is being reported that the striking guild will probably bar its members from working on the February 10th Grammys telecast. Grammy organizers have yet to ask for a waiver allowing for writers to work on the show. However, according to a WGA spokesperson, a waiver grant would be unlikely. There is no word if the WGA will picket the ceremony. If it does, then SAG members will not cross the picket line. This potentially means another exciting 1-hour infotainment special.

I'm sure members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are sweating a bit now.

Blogger Shmuel Tennenhaus, the guy who created an unauthorized profile of American Media editorial director Bonnie Fuller to increase his chances of making it on reality television and who has made his mark on YouTube as one of its most watched talking heads, is calling for a boycott of The Apprentice: Los Angeles.

What's his reasoning? It pretty much boils down to the Don's prickish behavior following Rosie O'Donnell's "snake oil salesman" comments on The View. Tennenhaus points out the Martha Stewart and The Amish are already on board with the boycott so, really, there's no reason for you not to sign on. Personally, I remember the days when the satirical Spy Magazine regularly referred to Trump as the "short-fingered vulgarian." In the 80s, Trump was a national joke because of his greed and extravagance. Today, he's passing down his business philosophies like they're the Sermon on the Mount. Just goes to show you that the worm does turn - until, of course, Shmuel Tennenhaus calls for a boycott.

If you've been following the Michael Richards apology tour, you know that the actor made an appearance on the Reverend Jesse Jackson's Keep Hope Alive radio program in which he claimed to be "shattered" by his own remarks. That wasn't good enough for the Rev. The day after Richards' appearance, Jackson called for a boycott of the recent seventh season Seinfeld DVD release to punish the actor where it really hurts - the pocketbook.

How boycotting the Seinfeld DVD set would actually hurt Richards is beyond me. Between syndication points and a series-run as Kramer, I think Richards is pretty set financially. As a symbolic act or even one motivated by publicity, I suppose a boycott makes a bit more sense -- but not much seeing as Richards' words were spewed without the consent of the entire cast and crew of Seinfeld. (I've linked to it in the past, but if you want a better reason to hold Seinfeld suspect, check out hip-hop artist Danny Hoch's monologue about his scheduled appearance on the show.)

These people are starting to make Christians look like they don't have a sense of humor. The same group that yelled and screamed about The Book of Daniel's pill-popping priest who conversed with Jesus is now hollering about Will and Grace. It's not the homosexual characters on the show that they're taking issue with, or the constant feeling-up of characters, or the references to alcoholism and pill-popping. They're all upset over the plans for a Britney Spears cameo in which she plays a Christian chef. They don't like that her character has a cooking segment called Cruci-fixins. The group, called The American Family Association, accuses NBC of mocking Christ's crucifixion and says the network will "further denegrate Christianity" by airing the episode the night before Good Friday. On its website, this group is urging NBC affiliates to boycott the episode, just like it got some affiliates to do for Daniel. NBC has already started back-peddling, saying that the episode isn't even written yet so the name of the cooking segment isn't exactly set in stone.

God, I'd love to see NBC stick to its guns and stay with Cruci-fixins. That's funny, y'all. Plus, it'll probably help the floundering show's ratings as it ends its run on NBC this spring.