dogthebountyhunter

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Help Me, Help You and Boston Legal.
• CBS has repeats of NCIS, The Unit, and Criminal Minds
• NBC has a new Friday Night Lights at 8, followed by repeats of Law and Order: CI and Law and Order: SVU.
• FOX has another World Series game at 8.
• The CW has a new Gilmore Girls at 8, followed by a new Veronica Mars.
• MSNBC has a special "Decision 2006" episode of Countdown with Keith Olbermann at 8, followed by a Decision 2006 special and a "Decision 2006" Scarbourough Country. Got that?
• ABC Family has the new scary movie The Initiation of Sarah at 8.
• Also at 8: HBO has the new movie Elizabeth, with Helen Mirren.
• At 9, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter.
• ESPN has two eps of The World Series of Poker, starting at 9.
• At 9:30, Food Network has a new Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels, followed by a new Road Tasted.
• At 10, Bravo has a new standup special, Joan Rivers: Before Melissa Pulls The Plug.
• FX has a new Nip/Tuck at 10.
• TLC has a new Miami Ink at 10.
• Also at 10: Spike has a new ECW.

The Mexican federal government has halted their case against Duane "Dog" Chapman until more evidence and witness testimonies can be collected. Chapman, star of the popular A&E series Dog the Bounty Hunter, was arrested by Mexican authorities in 2003 after apprehending Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, who was later convicted of rape and sentenced to prison. Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico, but after posting bail Dog headed back to the US with his son Leland and his work partner Tim Chapman on the advice of Dog's lawyer in Mexico, who told the bounty hunter it wasn't necessary to return for a scheduled court hearing. That decision came back to haunt them, however, when federal agents arrested the three men back in September. Since then, they've been awaiting an extradition hearing to determine whether they'll be sent back to Mexico to face charges. Fans of the series, as well as some members of congress, have rallied around the famed bounty hunter. Dog has been under house arrest, but a judge recently allowed his monitoring bracelet to be removed.

Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, who was arrested in 2003 on charges of illegal detention after his 2003 capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster that eventually led to the A&E series Dog the Bounty Hunter has been released from federal prison along with his son Leland and his partner Tim after posting bail (Dog's bail was $300,000 whereas Tim and Leland's was $100,000 each). The three have had charges pending against them for posting bail but never returning for their court date. A judge has ordered the men to wear monitoring bracelets, not to possess any firearms and to remain in Hawaii until they return to court for extradition hearings which will determine whether they'll go to trial in Mexico. If convicted, Chapman could face six months to four years in prison.

A crowd of supporters gathered at the court house, and A&E filmed the event for the next season of the TV show.

This season's premiere of Dog the Bounty Hunter had Dog and his crew flying to San Francisco to capture a suspected drug dealer named Samu Savea who had been eluding them for years. He was rumored to be playing on a semi-professional football team called the Daly City Renegades. Dog's team staked out the practice field, and spotted one player who they thought was Savea, but was actually Simaile "Cisco" Lutu, a nightclub promoter. Dog's son Leland was the first to approach Lutu, but it was soon revealed he wasn't the man they were after. Now Lutu has filed a lawsuit against Dog and his bail bonds company. He claims he was handcuffed and held at gunpoint by police officers on two separate occasions following his encounter with Dog.

I actually saw the episode in question, and what puzzles me is that the lawsuit claims Lutu asked not to have his image shown on television. That may be true, but during the scene on the practice field he was doing everything he could to be seen on camera, and so did many of his teammates. At the time, it appeared that he was absolutely enthralled with the idea of being the center of attention on a popular reality program. Dog also says that Lutu called him after the show aired and thanked him because all the girls loved seeing him. It will be interesting to see if this lawsuit actually goes anywhere.

[via TV Filter]