Did you hear that? Maybe not -- It's the sound of millions of Americans falling asleep peacefully with the TV on, then not waking up with a start when an obnoxiously loud commercial assaults their ears.

That's because Congress finally passed the bill that will make it illegal for companies to jack up the volume in their commercials, the AP reports. Senate already passed the bill in September, so it only needs President Obama's signature before it becomes law.

In other TV news ...

• Caitlin Sanchez, the 14-year-old who voiced the main character on 'Dora the Explorer,' withdrew her lawsuit against Nickelodeon. She previously alleged that she was forced to sign an "unconscionable" contract without an experienced lawyer. [THR, Esq.]

• Anna Chlumsky has signed on to play the chief of staff of Julia Louis-Dreyfus's vice president in 'Veep.' Also landing pilot leads were Dorian Brown ('Wilfred') and 'The O.C.''s Kelly Rowan ('Perception'). [Deadline]

• The Oprah Winfrey Network got its first promo spots. The commercials star Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am and Oprah herself. [NY Times]

The 14-year-old actress who voiced the popular character 'Dora the Explorer' is suing Nickelodeon for allegedly cheating her out of millions of dollars.

Caitlin Sanchez, who became the voice of the adventurous cartoon character in 2007, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday claiming Nickelodeon and its parent companies exploited her with a dubious contract that made millions for the network, but little for her.

In an official statement, a Nickelodeon spokesperson said that the claims were baseless.

Here's tonight's TV lineup (all times Eastern).

• At 7, ABC has Figure Skating, followed by new episodes of 'Extreme Makeover' and 'Desperate Housewives' and the series premiere of 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.'
• CBS has a new '60 Minutes' at 7, then new episodes of 'The Amazing Race,' 'Undercover Boss,' and 'Cold Case.'
• NBC has a new 'Dateline' at 7, followed by new episodes of 'Minute To Win It,' and 'The Celebrity Apprentice.'
• FOX has two new episodes of 'Til Death' at 7, then new episodes of 'The Simpsons,' 'The Cleveland Show,' 'Family Guy,' and 'Sons of Tucson.'
• At 8, Food Network has a new 'Challenge,' followed by new episodes of 'Ultimate Recipe Showdown' and 'Iron Chef America.'
• Discovery, Animal Planet, Green, and TLC have the series premiere (two episodes) of 'Life' starting at 8.
• Nickelodeon has a new 'Dora the Explorer' at 8.
• Style has a new 'Ruby' at 8.
• At 9, A&E has the season premiere of 'Gene Simmons' Family Jewels,' then the series premiere of 'Kirstie Alley's Big Life.'
• HBO has a new episode of 'The Pacific' at 9, followed by a new 'How To Make It In America.'
• At 10, AMC has the season premiere of 'Breaking Bad.'
• History Channel has a new 'Ax Men' at 10.
• At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force.'
• At 12:30AM, Cartoon Network has a new 'Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job.'

Check your local TV listings for more.

Got a burning TV question? Ask The Show Girl! This week I give an early look at the most promising new fall TV shows and answer fan questions about 'The Jay Leno Show' and some CBS cancellations.

I also stir up some trouble, getting nice guy Ted Allen to dish about his love-him-or-hate-him 'Top Chef' replacement Toby Young and getting 'Handy Manny' himself, Wilmer Valderrama, to handicap Manny's chances against 'Dora the Explorer' sidekick Diego. (Watch your backpack, Diego.)

To get your questions answered on The Show Girl, just email me at TheTVShowGirl@aol.com. And -- drumroll, please! -- if you like what you see, you can now subscribe to The Show Girl video podcast on iTunes. (Just don't forget to give us a 5-star rating too, of course.)

Now watch, enjoy and come back next week for more. Until then, happy TV watching! -- By Maggie Furlong

It looks like Nickelodeon is getting a little further into the games business by releasing both SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly and Dora The Explorer learning games for the iPhone. They will be available later this year.

My question is this: do children of that age really use the iPhone or iPod Touch that much? Most of the people I know who own one or the other are adults or at least teenagers. While I can see some market for SpongeBob SquarePants (which has some adult crossover appeal), I just don't see the grown-ups buying iCarly or Dora.

Via Toon Zone comes news that Noggin and its evening version, The N, will be splitting into two separate, twenty four-hour networks on December 31.

Noggin will continue with programming aimed at the preschool set with programs like Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, Oobi, Jack's Big Music Show, and Nick Jr. properties like Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues and The Backyardigans.

The N, originally the evening version of Noggin aimed at teens (and "tweens" to use a meaningless marketing term), will expand to 24 hours with TEENick programming during the day (All That, The Amanda Show, etc) and original programming at night: Degrassi: The Next Generation, South of Nowhere, and Beyond the Break. The N also acquired rights to air reruns of That '70s Show starting June 2008.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Baa Baa Black Sheep - Vol. 2
• Batfink - Complete Series
• Chancer - Series 1
• Degrassi: The Next Generation - Season 5
• Dora The Explorer - Summer Explorer
• Eureka - Season 1
• George Lopez: America's Mexican (HBO standup special)
• Ghostbusters - Vol. 2
• Kate & Allie - Season 4 (Canada)
• Slings & Arrows - Season 4
• WWE - One Night Stand

We've all heard about Alec Baldwin's angry message to his daughter, and like most of you, I didn't give it much thought.

However, while poking around our parent company AOL's news site, I found a link to this video (embedded below) in which Dora the Explorer, the bilingual chick who loves learning, receives a call from a very irate Alec Baldwin. I must say, Dora seems to take it pretty well. In fact, it's almost as if she's so preoccupied she has no idea what's being said to her.

Really, though, I can't blame Baldwin for getting upset. I'd be upset too if someone decided they'd rather hunt for treasure with their mother and a monkey than talk to me on the phone. I would suggest setting up an intervention with the Backyardigans; I'm pretty sure their credentials match Dr. Phil's.

It's almost hard to believe that SpongeBob SquarePants has been around for eight years, but it has. If any of you were afraid the eternally-optimistic invertebrate might be going away, don't fret: Nick has ordered up thirteen new episodes of the series for the 2008 season.

I was a big fan of SpongeBob from the very beginning (I actually have a SpongeBob mug with water in it sitting next to me at this very moment), but I'll admit I don't tune in as much as I used to. I'll still Tivo the show on occasion, though, and it still makes me laugh.

I've never seen an episode of Nickelodeon's Dora The Explorer. My Nickelodeon viewing is limited to The Fairly Odd Parents and maybe SpongeBob SquarePants once in a while. What is the show about, exactly? Is it one of those shows that's animated but is really for adults more than the younger set? Does Dora work for the vice squad or maybe an escort service?

The reason I ask is because of this, the Dora The Explorer Aquapet, from Wild Planet Toys. Oh, it's wild alright, if wild means offensive. And please note that it says that the toy is "fun for all" and "interacts with you." Frankly, it looks like something that a woman would buy at Spencer's Gifts, or, as one of the reviewers says on the Amazon page, "maybe as a prank for a bachelorette party." Did the company realize what they had when the product was done, or even at the drawing board stage?

In the free time I have between watching TV, reviewing TV shows, previewing upcoming shows on DVD, and posting articles about television in general, my thoughts tend to wander . . . to television. And women (because, you know, I'm a man and men are pigs). During these wanderings I've come to question a few things about what we see on the magic picture box that I can't seem to find any answers for. So, I come to you, the smart and beautiful readers of TV Squad, for answers to five of the queries that have come to mind.

1. How can Dora the Explorer walk upright with such a huge head? Have you ever seen a picture of her? Her oval-shaped head is enormous! I'm surprised that it doesn't wobble uncontrollably like a bobble-head doll. I guess the reason she wears that talking backpack all of the time is for ballast. If she doesn't wear it she probably ends up toppling over to one side or the other.

As part of the split between them and Viacom, CBS will drop the Saturday morning block of programming airing under the "Nick Jr. on CBS" banner. That means no more repurposing of Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer or any other Nick properties. Come fall CBS will partner with DIC Entertainment for a three-hour block of programs that - and this is the important part - fulfill FCC requirements for kids shows. DIC currently does this exact same sort of thing for other networks such as Fox and Tribune Entertainment. Some of the shows included in the block will be Strawberry Shortcake, Trollz and others. The programming block will not be re-branded with DIC's name as it was with Nick Jr.