dirt

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then a new Big Brother.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, then a new Extreme Makeover, the series premiere of Oprah's Big Give, and a new Here Come The Newlyweds.
• NBC has a new, two hour Dateline at 7, followed by a new Deal Or No Deal.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, then new episodes of King of the Hill and Family Guy, and then the series premiere of Unhitched.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris at 8, followed by a new Aliens in America.
• There's a new Challenge on Food Network at 8, then new episodes of Ultimate Recipe Showdown and Iron Chef America.
• At 9, Lifetime has the new movie The Perfect Assistant.
• HBO has a new episode of The Wire at 9, then a new Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam.
• Showtime has a new L Word at 9.
• Sundance has a new Shameless at 9.
• At 10, CBS has an episode of Dexter.
• AMC has a new Breaking Bad at 10.
• Also at 10: FX has the season premiere of Dirt.
• At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force, followed by new episodes of Squidbillies and Frisky Dingo.

Check your local TV listings for more.

With the season two premiere of FX's Dirt just around the corner (this coming Sunday, March 2nd, at 10:00PM), you may have noticed that the ad campaign is in full effect. The image to the right has been adorning everything from billboards in Times Square to magazine pages.

For those that weren't familiar with season one, you might have thought that this was an entirely new show altogether. If you recall the ad campaign for season one, at first glance the show looked much more darker, and it was. The ads depicted Courtney Cox (as ruthless tabloid editor Lucy Spiller) pale faced, in a blood red dress, overlooking Hollywood -- the breeding ground for her next headline. Not the case this season as you can see by the much more jovial, comic book feel of the new ads. As much as I loved the first season, it was nothing that I expected it to be. Trust me when I say that season two very quickly makes up for that deception.

I've now had the chance to screen the first two episodes and even got the opportunity to sit in on a conference call with Cox last week. Read on for my thoughts on season two, some quotes from the mouth of the woman who plays Lucy Spiller, and a sneak peek of the premiere episode. Be warned though -- this does contain spoilers.

Ever since we heard that the writers' strike is close to being settled, we started wondering whether networks were going to restart production on all the shows that stopped or if they were going to call it a season and wait until next year. In the case of FX, at least, we know the answer: they're going to call it a season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, FX's spring series Dirt and The Riches will both have shortened second seasons, airing only the seven episodes each series made before running out of scripts. The network is citing economic realities in the decision; I'd imagine rebuilding sets and getting new permits, etc. is a pretty expensive thing to do, especially for a cable network.

The giveaways continue today! Not only are we giving away five copies Aqua Teen Hunger Force volume five on DVD, we've also got five copies of Dirt season one for five lucky, random commenters. The set is available in stores now.

To enter, simply leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, February 1, simply telling us why you'd like to own the set. As always, we'll randomly choose five winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 3
• Big Love - Season 2
• Dirt - Season 1
• Disneyland - Secrets, Stories, & Magic
• Frasier - Season 10
• Gomer Pyle, USMC - Season 3
• High School Musical 2
• Lost - Season 3
• Masters of Horror - Season 1, Vol. 4 and The V Word
• Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Collection 5

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at 917-421-9477 (NY) - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Bones, Desperate Housewives, Dexter, Dirt, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, Lost, Moonlight, Prison Break, Samantha Who? and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

ER's Doug and Carol together again? Don't hold your breath unless you can do so for at least three more years.

Julianna Margulies, who's starring in the FOX mid-season replacement Canterbury's Law, says that she'd love to do another project with former ER love interest George Clooney. But the actress,who left the hospital drama in 2000, wants there to be a full decade in between projects so that fans won't think of them as lovebirds.

Alas, the reunion won't likely take place at Country General, either.

The folks over at iTunes have created this handy list for people who want to spend some time this summer catching up on the television shows that don't get as much buzz (anything that's not Lost, Grey's Anatomy, 24). The list includes full seasons of Friday Night Lights, Jericho, 30 Rock, The Shield, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, The Riches, Dirt and Eureka. Also? You can bask in the glory of hastily canceled shows like Andy Barker, P.I., Veronica Mars, and The Black Donnellys. Oh, and Studio 60 is on there, but I wouldn't call that a "hastily" canceled show. (The current--and final--season of The Loop is also on iTunes, though it's not on the 'Missed' list)

This is a great idea. Many of the shows listed get a lot of buzz on sites like ours (because our readers know good television), but the general population doesn't seem to catch on. If only How I Met Your Mother would get on iTunes... it could definitely use some more fans as it heads into season 3.

It's official. FX has ordered second seasons of Dirt and The Riches, something Joel already said was likely to happen. With multiple showings during the week, both Dirt and The Riches are getting upwards of 5-6 million viewers per week. Those numbers are comparable to The Shield and Rescue Me.

Plus, FX has suddenly changed its mind about Rescue Me's placement on the schedule. This weekend, I told you that the premiere date was set for Tuesday, June 12th. Well, as of today that premiere has been bumped back to Wednesday, June 13th and Rescue Me will air on Wednesdays at 10 pm through the summer.

Glenn Close's new drama, Damages, will take the Tuesday night 10 pm slot starting July 24th.

In case you're keeping track, that brings FX to six original dramas, more than any other cable network.

It's amazing to me how different the standards of success are for cable and broadcast TV, even within the same company. Take FOX, for example: they just decided to cancel Drive, after what they saw as dismal ratings on their broadcast network. But on their cable network, FX, two shows that have gotten so-so ratings and very little critical buzz -- The Riches and Dirt -- are likely to be renewed, according to MediaWeek.

Speaking before a screening for their new Glen Close series, Damages, network president John Landgraf told the trade paper, "We're really happy with the performance of Dirt and The Riches, and I expect them to return." Apparently, the cumulative ratings garnered by multiple airings of each show's episodes put it on the same audience levels as the network's more established shows. Huh. Go figure.

(S01E13) That was... interesting. The writers definitely kicked it up a notch with this episode as things certainly felt more dramatic than they have throughout most of the freshman season of Dirt. A lot of that feel was do in part to simple things that were used very effectively. Numerous times in the episode, the power of silence coupled with the rhythmic sounds of a beating heart helped to cut together some very cool scenes unlike anything this show has tried before.

Add to that a rather off-beat cameo from Jennifer Aniston as well as the proper outcome for some of the show's minor characters, and we had ourselves a pretty decent finale. Savor it though, because unless FX is feeling brave (Starved and Over*There tells me they aren't), then I don't think we'll find out what happens next. Dirt may very well be the latest FX one-hit wonder.

Sanjaya has turned American Idol into a hair competition with himself. Many people have used the term mohawk but Sanjaya actually resembled more of a fighting Trojan. If anyone can find a comparable picture to prove this please send my way. Sanjaya cannot get all the attention for looney television moments, so we will move on to other TV's Top 5! moments.

Last night, Tori "I want to be Jessica Simpson" Spelling talked about how she thought she killed her baby after rough sex with her husband Dean McDermott on Tori and Dean: Inn Love. The baby stopped kicking after their antics and this worried the inheritance disabled Spelling. Regardless of how worried she truly was, it stop her from entertaining an encore performance. Where do these reality show actresses come up with this stuff?

Jennifer Aniston, you may have lost Brad and Vince, but you can alway be Dirt-y with Cox...

When I was watching The Riches on Monday night, FX had ads for the season finale of Dirt on fairly heavy rotation. Of course, the big promotional point of the ad was that Jennifer Aniston was going to guest star on her Friends buddy Courteney Cox's show... and they were going to kiss! In fact, not only did FX make a huge deal out of this kiss, but tabloid entertainment shows and morning news shows all over the country breathlessly touted "Courteney and Jennifer's lesbian kiss!" for weeks leading up to the episode.

What About Brian (Mon., 10PM ET, ABC) 2nd season finale
Or should I say, series finale? The future's not looking bright for this much-improved but little-watched show. It came as a surprise last year when ABC renewed it despite lackluster ratings and dull storylines. This season, it made good creative adjustments, like getting rid of the tiresome triangle and firming up the friendships. Unfortunately, the second chance hasn't won over more viewers, so it's likely buh-bye Brian. In the finale, Dave and Deena plan to renew their vows, Brian and Adam run into babysitting troubles and Nic has her hands full at the cupcake store.

Dirt (Tue., 10PM ET, FX) 1st season finale
Dude, Monica and Rachel make out! Well, that seems to be how FX is selling the season finale of new drama. Jennifer Aniston guest stars as a rival editor who's gunning for Lucy's job. She's not the only one: little Willa craves top-dog status, too. And Lucy's in for a big surprise when she finally learns her stalker's identity. If Dirt returns for a second season, the show needs some serious retooling. Courteney Cox should get a better love interest and the magazine needs a real rival. The battle to scoop the competition is boring when Dirt wins every week.

(S01E12) Not bad. Not bad at all. Actually, it's unfortunate. Last week was a great episode and so was this one. Now the finale is next week. Why do shows always seem to get better when there's fewer episodes left?

Lots of stuff going on, especially the leak of the Julia/Johnny sex tape. It was bound to happen, but I truly didn't see it turning out the way it did. I suppose all signs pointed to Julia being behind the leak. When I first considered that it could have been her, it felt too convenient and I let the idea pass. Had me fooled.