deadliest catch

The Legion of Doom has struck again! It's time to call Batman, Wonder Woman and ... Betty White!? Not really, but sort of.

The blazing hot actress is getting the comic book treatment from Bluewater Productions as part of their 'Female Force' series. According to PopCrunch, the comic was written by Patrick McCray and illustrated by Todd Tennant and will chronicle the 88-year-old's career from voiceover work to sitcoms.

White joins other icons such as Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga and Hillary Clinton in getting the comic book treatment from Bluewater. 'Female Force: Betty White' hits shelves in November.

In other TV news ...

• Josh and Jake Harris will remain on 'Deadliest Catch.' The two sons of the late Capt. Phil Harris signed a new contract with Discovery. [NY Times]

• Siblings Shawn and Aaron Ashmore have been cast on 'Fringe' as alternate versions of each other. Shawn played Iceman in the 'X-Men' films and both Shawn and Aaron had separate stints on 'Smallville.' [Zap2It]

• Think you can flip a table just as good as Teresa Giudice? She'll be the judge. 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey 'star will host a table-flipping contest in Delaware on Sept. 25 [Entertainment Weekly]

By all accounts, the sixth season of the Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch,' which follows the dangerous adventures of a group of crab fishermen in Alaska, was its most dramatic -- and most-watched -- season yet, in large part due to the sudden death of breakout star Capt. Phil Harris. Thom Beers, the show's executive producer, channeled the late Harris when he spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the grave reality of the stars' chosen profession.

"Every year five or six guys die. That's the reality. This wasn't the only heavy year. Every year is heavy," he said.

The beloved Harris died earlier this year of a massive stroke. 'Deadliest Catch' filmed his final days, giving the series more mortality than it had achieved in previous seasons.

"We carry [Harris'] loss with us, but we still have to go back to work," Beers said. Harris would no doubt agree with the comment.

Captain Phil Harris is gone, but he's not forgotten. 'Deadliest Catch' (Tue., 10PM ET on Discovery) aired a special one-hour tribute to the fallen captain, where he was remembered by his family and friends. Phil Harris died on February 9, 2010, after suffering a stroke. Now, the people who knew him best take some time to commemorate his life.

In flashbacks, we see Phil sailing the high seas, guiding his ship in search of Alaskan king crab. He describes his job as being exhausting, stressful, and "stinky." " ... And the funny part about it is," he adds, "I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Phil also expressed happiness at getting to work with his kids; which is a rare opportunity for many people. "How many people get to do this?" he said.

His fellow captains also discussed Phil's life and death. Captain Johnathan Hillstrand said that when Phil was in the hospital, the seas were rough and stormy. "[But] when Phil died," he added, "it was flat calm for like ten days out there. And all was at peace, y'know."

We all knew that it was coming to this. But it remains a bit shocking, nonetheless. Captain Phil Harris passed away on February 9, 2010. But 'Deadliest Catch' (Tue., 9PM ET on Discovery), the reality show which chronicled his exploits, has taken some time to cover his final days. This is due, of course, to the natural lag in time between real life and television production. And for the record, Captain Phil himself requested that the cameras keep on rolling -- even when he was lying in his hospital bed.

On this episode, Phil says farewell to his sons Josh and Jake Harris. Or rather -- they say goodbye to him.

While lying on his deathbed, Captain Phil apologizes to son Josh for not being a better dad. Josh simply replies that Phil could not have been a better dad, and tells his father that he loves him. Although Josh does not want to cry around his father, he eventually breaks down into tears.

Meanwhile, Phil's other son Jake has checked himself into a drug treatment center, in order to get help for substance abuse. So he is away when his father dies, and Josh has to call him with the news. "I don't know how to tell you this, Jake," he says. " ... We lost dad."

A little girl tries to help out on 'Deadliest Catch' (Tue., 9PM ET on Discovery). Captain Keith Colburn has been trying to kick a tobacco habit for 23 years now -- and he hasn't been able to do it yet. But maybe his daughter can make him stop?

Captain Keith is surrounded by handmade signs from his daughter, all of which warn him to stop chewing tobacco. But still, it's not enough. Then, his daughter calls him up and catches him red-handed, and Keith is horrified. He admits that he's been chewing. "Daddy. That's very bad,' his daughter says.

Okay, look. We're not defending the use of tobacco. But Keith is an Alaskan crab fisherman -- which is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. And he's trying to quit. He is also completely honest to his daughter during the phone conversation. So, what we're saying is, we wish the guy the best -- and we understand if he's occasionally stressed out by his work, and resorts to a bad habit. Hopefully, Keith will manage to quit eventually.

Sometimes, when you're at sea, you must feel very alone. Cut off from the land, far from your loved ones on the shore -- cut off from everything that you know. But maybe, you're not as alone as you think.

'Deadliest Catch' (Tue., 9PM ET on Discovery) chronicles the lives of crab fishermen. But this season, the show has taken a tragic turn. Partway through the season, Captain Phil Harris suffered an unexpected stroke. However, since real-life time moves faster than television time, we already know that Captain Phil sadly passed away this past February.

Back on the series, no one knows that yet. And the current episode chronicles the moment when Harris suffered his stroke. His distraught son Josh calls the other fishing captains with the news. They're separated by miles and miles of water. And yet, as the information travels from boat to boat, it's clear that Josh and his family aren't so alone, as they receive messages of condolence from the rest of the fleet. Captain Keith Colburn offers up a prayer for Harris. While choking up with tears, he says this, addressing his voice towards heaven: "Cut him some slack, big guy; cut him some slack."

Reality TV has existed in America for several decades now. But there comes a time when we have to ask -- what is appropriate for television and what isn't?

The latest episode of 'Deadliest Catch' (Tue., 9PM ET on Discovery) follows the death of Captain Phil Harris. He suffers a stroke on the show, which leads to his death a little more than a week later. The camera watches the panicked reactions of his son and the ship's crew members, as they attempt to revive him. Eventually, Phil has to be lifted off the boat in a stretcher, in order to be taken to the hospital.

We have to ask -- is this even something that should be shown on TV? Is this necessary? It all seems to be in very bad taste.

Four months after the untimely death of 'Deadliest Catch' star Captain Phil Harris, Discovery Channel has announced a series of specials that will honor the fishing boat commander.

According to Hollywood Insider, the June 22 episode of 'Deadliest Catch,' titled 'Blown Off Course,' will be the first to address Harris' death. That will be followed by a tribute to the captain on the July 13 installment of 'After the Catch.'

One week later, Discovery Channel will premiere 'Deadliest Catch: Captain Phil Harris Remembered,' featuring one-on-one interviews with Harris' sons, Josh and Jake, as well as the other fishing boat captains from the show.

There are rough seas ahead. We're on board the good ship Cornelia Marie, but things aren't going so well on 'Deadliest Catch' (Tue., 9PM ET on Discovery).

[Spoiler alert.]

Boys will be boys ... even when they grow into men.

The men of the Time Bandit have a new crew member and he needed to be initiated into the ways of the seafaring world, so on Tuesday night's edition of 'Deadliest Catch' (Tue., 9PM ET on Discovery), 25-year-old Jeremy Shelton was given his first task as a greenhorn: he had to get wrapped in aluminum foil and prance around the dock area so that the crew could "tune their radar."

We can't help laughing despite ourselves; poor Jeremy looked like a lobster wrapped up and ready to be baked on a barbecue.

On 'Deadliest Catch' (weeknights, 9PM ET on Discovery), the crew of the Time Bandit navigates through a choppy stretch of water that's a mere 12 feet deep in places, making for a harrowing return trip back to harbor.

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Dancing With the Stars' -- Results show
CBS: 'NCIS'
The CW: '90210'
FOX: 'American Idol'
NBC: 'The Biggest Loser' -- Two hours
ESPN: '30 for 30' -- A discussion on the NFL career of Ricky William
History: 'Ancient Aliens'

9:00 to 10:00
CBS: 'NCIS: Los Angeles'
FOX: 'Glee' -- This time, actually at 9:00. Set your DVRs for the next hour anyway, just so you catch the ending song
PBS: 'Frontline' -- A discussion on vaccination
Discovery: 'Deadliest Catch'
IFC: 'Food Party' -- Two 30-minute episodes
TLC: '19 Kids and Counting'

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'V'
CBS: 'The Good Wife'
NBC: 'Parenthood'
A&E: 'The Battle for Late Night'
Animal Planet: 'Inside the Perfect Predator'
BBC America: 'Survivors' -- Season finale
BET: 'Tiny & Toya'
Bravo: '9 by Design'
Discovery: 'Swamp Loggers'
FX: 'Justified'
Food Network: 'Chopped'
Sundance: 'Dinner with the Band'
LOGO: 'The Big Gay Sketch Show'
MTV: 'The Hills' and 'The City' -- Season and series premiere, respectively
National Geographic: 'Explorer'
Spike: 'Deadliest Warrior'
TLC: 'The Little Chocolatiers'
USA: 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

Starts at 8:00
TNT: NBA Playoffs

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Dancing With the Stars' -- Results show
FOX: 'American Idol'
NBC: 'The Biggest Loser' -- Two hours
History: 'Ancient Aliens'
TLC: 'Your Kid Ate What?'

9:00 to 10:00
ABC: 'Lost'
FOX: 'Glee' -- It starts at 8:58. Thanks for screwing up my DVR, FOX!
BBC America: 'Survivors'
Bravo: 'The Millionaire Matchmaker' -- Live reunion show
Discovery: 'Deadliest Catch'
Golf Channel: 'Being John Daly'
HBO: 'Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country' -- Documentary showing life inside Burma. Starts at 9:30
HGTV: 'Home Rules'
Spike: 'Deadliest Warrior'
TLC: '19 Kids and Counting'

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'V'
NBC: 'Parenthood'
BET: 'Tiny & Toya'
Bravo: '9 by Design'
Discovery: 'Construction Intervention'
Food Network: 'Chopped'
FX: 'Justified'
LOGO: 'The Big Gay Sketch Show'
MTV: '16 and Pregnant' -- Another new episode starts at 11:00
National Geographic: 'Explorer'
Spike: 'Deadliest Warrior'
TLC: 'The Little Chocolatiers'
Travel: 'Food Wars'
USA: 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

Discovery Channel unveiled its lineup for the 2010-11 season this week, and it looks like more stellar programming for the real-life stories network. You can read more about it here, but two that caught my eye are 'Engineering the Impossible,' where a team of specialists search for clues about how some of the world's most fantastic structures were built; and 'The Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero.' a documentary executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

This made me think about some of my favorite shows on the Discovery Channel, and I realized that they usually involve people in ridiculously disgusting or deadly situations. I think of these as the "real" reality shows, rather than the manufactured reality shows like 'Survivor' and 'The Amazing Race.'

Ok, we'll take Bear Grylls out of the equation, because, clearly, there's no need for him to be dropped into the wilderness and have to drink his own pee. But the others on my list are just awesome people doing death-wish jobs no one else wants to do. Follow me after the jump to see who made my top five list.

Man overboard! The 'Deadliest Catch's' Sig Hansen didn't score any points with Bonnie Hunt-- or the audience -- on Friday's edition of 'The Bonnie Hunt Show' (weekdays, syndicated).

Hunt likes the show -- "Why are we so hooked on this show? I love this show" she said. But the captain wasn't sure about his show's popularity. It's a "guy's soap opera," he said. Then he added, "We have a lot of fans who are women in their later years." Offended, Hunt said "Well I watch it all the time." Sensing he had put his foot in his mouth, the captain put it in even deeper. "You're in the younger crowd. So you're more after my brother Edgar," he said. "I get the older ones -- the ones that gravity has affected." Those were fighting words for Hunt.

Watch the video after the jump.