To follow up on this post I did over at Slashfood, I just got through watching Celebrity Poker Showdown (the one where David Cross won and gave bananas to the whole audience - you'd have to see it to understand), and right after the show ended, the NBC reality series from a couple of years ago, The Restaurant, came on.

Huh? Why is Bravo showing this again? I thought it was a low-rated embarrassment that the network (and Rocco DiSpirito) would want to put behind them. I know that CNBC was showing the show on a regular basis, but...well, that's CNBC, and they need all the programming they can get. Is Bravo so hard up for programming that they have to show a reality show that not many people cared for in the first place, and show it in the middle of the day to boot?

Weird.

In case you've missed it -- perhaps you were busy trying to figure out the difference between Heist, Thief, and Hustle  -- here are some highlights from the last week at TV Squad:



Chef "returns" to South Park!

• Comedy Central puts episode highlights online.
• Review of the episode "The Return of Chef!"
• "Trapped In The Closet" episode available on YouTube.
• Adam previews Chef's return.
• Fox News reporter says Isaac Hayes had a stroke and did not quit SP.

American Idol coverage

• Was Paula Abdul almost canned last month?
• Cingular will offer ring tones of the previous episodes' performances.
• Kevin's gone! Finally!
• The Wynn resort in Vegas releases AI odds.
• Lacy gets payback for making fun of everybody's "sick" excuses.
• You, too, can dress like the Idol contestants!
• AI website soliciting butt-kissing videos to air during show.
• Did Chris Daughtry steal his unique style from someone else?
  

Breaking News

• Buck Owens of Hee Haw dead at 76.
• Huffington apologizes for fake Clooney blog entry, but not to Clooney.
• American Dad comes back on April 23.
• Bones renewed for a second season.
• Dancing champ Lachey gets gig on Miss USA Pagent.
• Patricia Heaton may get her own talk show.
• 60 Minutes to air web-exclusive content on Yahoo.
• Goodbye, Love Monkey: Cavanagh signs for new pilot.
• The Simpsons to use British live-action opening... tonight!
• Veronica Mars moving to Tuesdays.
• WB website has uncut version of Bedford Diaries pilot.
• Fred Savage and his wife are going to have a baby.
• Speculation abounds that Nancy Grace will replace Larry King.
• Jon Stewart named host of the Peabody Awards.
• The kid from Love Monkey releases a new CD.
• Colbert gets a book deal.
• NBC mercifully yanks Four Kings.
• The Simpsons, King of the Hill get renewed.

Discussions

• Listen to the seventh APB podcast.
• Listen to the fourth Grey's Anatomy podcast.
• Can Spike TV get any more manly without taking steroids?
• What would Aaron Brown be like as a game show host?
• Bob wants to know what happened on The Loop.
• Is Melrose's Amanda the source of all office bitchery?
• What are the best Simpsons guest stars?
• Who is the sexiest actor on Lost?
• Are The Shield's characters unlikable? And does it matter?
• I interview Mindy Kaling of The Office.
• Which shows died before their time?

The Five

• Shows Bob would like to see combined.
• Shows that should never be on the big screen.
• Guest stars the Jonathan actually liked seeing.
  

Opinions

• Bob finds out who the hottie in the Mercury commercials is.
• Bob wants to know why his NewsRadio DVD seems edited.
• Rich discusses Gideon's Crossing.
• Here's the TVS Birthday Contest winner!
• I want to know why weather forecasters act surprised by the weather.

Episode Reviews

• My Name Is Earl: "Y2K"
• American Inventor: Open Casting Call Part 2
• Criminal Minds: "A Real Rain"
• Lost: "The Whole Truth"
• Heist: "Pilot"
• The Shield: "Postpartum"
• The Surreal Life: Premiere
• How I Met Your Mother: "Life Among The Gorillas"
• Prison Break: "The Rat"

Comedy Central has put a 'best of' Chef compilation of clips on the Motherload section of its website. If you're wondering why, read this and this. I'm assuming it includes the classic "Chocolate Salty Balls" song, but I can only speculate because Comedy Central's website doesn't like my Mac. Grrr.

Speaking of Chef and Scientology and all things wacky... South Park fans have launched a campaign to boycott this summer's release of Mission: Impossible III, starring Tom Cruise.

[Via Pop Candy]

[This episode review contains spoilers]

Isaac Hayes' time spent on South Park was no accident. He was the always the first and only choice to play Chef, and creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone worked hard to convince him their silly little cartoon would be worth doing. Over the better part of a decade, Hayes seemed to really embrace both the character and the show's brutal satire.

And until a few days ago, everything remained seemingly copacetic. Suddenly, however, Hayes left the show over its jabs at religion, leading many, including the show's creators, to believe he had actually left the show over the "Trapped in the Closet" episode which made fun of Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology, of which Hayes is also a member.

There has been a lot of uproar over the 'Come out of the Closet' episode of South Park from both Isaac Hayes (allegedly) and from Tom Cruise lately. Maybe you're getting sick of hearing about it. Or, maybe you're wishing you'd seen it when it aired a few months ago. I think it's pretty safe to assume the episode-in-question is never going to see the light of day again on Comedy Central, but the cool cats over at YouTube have been kind enough to post the ENTIRE EPISODE on their website.

They also have clips from a hilarious bit on Jimmy Kimmel where Isaac Hayes' new job is to do all the voiceover for Tom Cruise.

[Via The Superficial]

The new season of South Park kicks off tomorrow evening, and if you've been watching the promos, you might have noticed the newest episode will supposedly focus on Chef's return to South Park.

But wait, didn't Isaac Hayes, the man who plays Chef, leave the show over its satirical jabs at religion (*cough* Scientology *cough*)? Yes, in fact, he did, which is leading to some speculation as to exactly how his character will be used and whether Parker and Stone plan to use the episode to make fun of Hayes and the whole Scientology debacle. Of course, some are speculating there's more to Hayes' departure than we realize. Remember that since South Park is created on computers it's easy to throw together an episode at the last minute, and possibly that's what happened here. According to a network synopsis of the episode, Chef returns to South Park, but with noticeable changes in his personality, and the boys try to help him get back to normal. Seems like even if the show turns out not to be about the recent rhubarb, its creators are using it to get people intrigued about the new episode.

A huge disappointment for South Park fans everywhere: Isaac Hayes has quit his role as Chef. It's no big shock that, as a Scientologist, Hayes was offended by November's "Trapped In The Closet" episode. However, many, including the South Park creators, are shocked that Hayes chose now to stand up against the cartoon's disrespect toward religion. To back out of the job and say that the material is personally offensive is one matter, but to scold the show for making fun of religions after doing season after season of jokes about Christians, Mormons, Buddhists, Hindus, and everything else under the sun, is downright preposterous (and it takes a hell of a lot to make me use "preposterous"). Frankly, I am saddened by both Hayes' decision and his reasoning.

Chef has always been one of my favorite characters... I'm too distraught to even make a chocolate salty balls joke.

Gordon Ramsay will unleash more of his fury on wanna-be chefs this summer when Hell's Kitchen returns to FOX. Once again, twelve contestants will sweat, cry and cower under the anger that is Ramsay. They'll learn all sorts of tricks of the trade and the best executive chef will win a position at a luxury restaurant in the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Las Vegas, which is not on the strip.

Hell's Kitchen did pretty well for FOX last year, winning the coveted 18-49 demographic in its time slot. New episodes begin June 12. Will you watch?

It's not as well-known as some of the other shows on the Food Network, but lately I've been finding myself drawn to Paula's Home Cooking with Paula Deen. Rachel Ray and Emeril each have their shtick, but Paula's show reminds me of the old cooking shows on PBS when the host wasn't so much a "celebrity" as they were a"chef with a camera pointing at them." In other words, their inexperience in front of the camera would sometimes show, which simply meant they spent more time perfecting their craft than trying to put on a big show. Paula Deen is not a natural in front of the camera, but she can't hide her genuine Southern charm. Actually, she suffered from agoraphobia for twenty years of her life, so the fact that she's in front of the camera at all is impressive. Perhaps it's more of a show for old folks who used to get excited about watching The Victory Garden, but I don't think TV always has to grab me by the lapels and shake me around. I enjoy those quiet moments sometimes, too.