kitchen nightmares

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

• At 8, ABC has a new Supernanny, then new episodes of Shark Tank and 20/20.
• CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Medium and Numb3rs.
• FOX has the series finale of Dollhouse at 8, then the season premiere of Kitchen Nightmares.
• The CW has a new Smallville at 8.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• Also at 8: Nickelodeon has a new iCarly, followed by a new Big Time Rush.
• At 8:30, Disney has a new Suite Life on Deck.
• Cartoon Network has a new Ben 10: Alien Force at 8:30, followed by a new episode of The Clone Wars.
• At 9, NBC has a new Dateline, then a new Jay Leno Show.
• Syfy has a new Caprica at 9.
• At 10, STARZ has a new Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
• TLC has Miss America: Behind the Curtain.
• Food Network has a new episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate at 10.
• There's a new episode of The Soup on E! at 10.
• BBC America has a new Friday Night with Jonathan Ross at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

It's strange that not only is it almost 2010 but it's the end of the decade.

The end of a year also means that it's time for the midseason shows to make their appearance. We already know that Chuck and Lost are coming back (January and February, respectively) and now FOX has announced their midseason schedule. After the jump, full details on when we'll see the return of Jack Bauer, Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay, reality shows, new shows, and special episodes of your favorites.

Fox's master foodie is at it again. Gordon Ramsay has conjured up a new show called MasterChef, only it's not really his idea. See, it's already been done in England and Australia, but Gordon will put his spin on this show. So for all intents and purposes, it's another Gordon Ramsay project. (Like the Alan Parsons Project without Alan Parsons and a small 'p').

In MasterChef, amateur chefs will compete to master the perfect dish. These will be everyday people, not sous chefs or short order cooks, but backyard grillers and homemakers who have a specialty at which they excel. Sounds to me a bit like the Food Network Challenge shows in which people try to make the best chili or the definitive hamburger.

As if Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares weren't enough, Gordon Ramsay will be hosting another television show called Gordon Ramsay, At Your Service. Only this time, the show will be stop-motion animation by the same team that brought you Celebrity Deathmatch on MTV, Cuppa Coffee Studios.

This idea is reminiscent of those Saturday morning cartoons that would involve a fictional world surrounding a particular celebrity, usually Jackie Chan or Mr. T. or someone like that. Will Gordon Ramsay moonlight as a chef by day and solve crimes at night? Will he fight food-based super-villains? Will his kitchen be his high-tech headquarters where everything is operated by ladle? Will he face down with other celebrity chefs like Emeril or Rachael Ray?

Given his penchant for strong language, I suspect either this will be shopped to one of the channels of more adult content (HBO, Showtime, etc.) or every word coming out of Ramsay's clay mouth would be a beep.

If you think this image of french fries looks delicious and appetizing, this post is for you.

There are so many cooking shows and food competition shows, everything from Hell's Kitchen to Top Chef to Man v. Food, but there's a new one that started up recently that I'm really, really enjoying. Maybe because it's just about the joy of eating! Whatever the reason, The Best Thing I Ever Ate is a winner.

While reading Joel's account of the Fox media panel, I was curious about the announcement of a new special called Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live. It sounds like a variation on Food Network's Emeril Live or Paula's Party, but hopefully, it'll be a lot better. And perhaps we'll get to see the Gordon Ramsay Fox has not revealed up to now.

Unless you've been living in a cave the past five years or so, you know that celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has emerged as one of the biggest stars on TV. But if you only watch Gordon on his Fox TV shows -- Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares -- you've only seen one side of the bellicose chef. On those shows, he's a screaming, cursing, demanding, hard-driving taskmaster. He's compelling, but you wouldn't want to be on the other side of one of his verbal tongue-lashings.

One thing I'd like to see on certain TV shows are follow-ups to stories. Specifically I'm talking about real-life shows like Cops or design shows. Another show I'd add to the list is Kitchen Nightmares, the FOX (and Channel 4) show that has Gordon Ramsay going into restaurants and helping them get their act together.

Some episodes of the show feature Ramsay visiting the place weeks or a few months later, but I'd like to see the restaurants a year or two later, to see if they're still doing things Ramsay's way or not (and if they're still in business).

Fox showed some surprising stability in its schedule (our network is growing up) for the 2009-2010 season. But they are bringing in four new comedies, two dramas and a late night Saturday show.

Returning Summer: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Don't Forget the Lyrics!, So You Think You Can Dance

Returning Fall/Winter: 24, American Dad, American Idol, Bones, Dollhouse,, Family Guy, Fringe, House, Kitchen Nightmares, Lie to Me, The Simpsons, 'Til Death (for some reason), So You Think You Can Dance (yeah, two separate seasons summer and fall)

Gone: Do Not Disturb, King of the Hill (though there's still episodes in the can which will air sometime next year), Prison Break (a 2-hour film is being produced that may air next year), Sit Down Shut Up, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

New: Brothers, The Cleveland Show, Glee (sneak peek tomorrow), Human Target, Past Life, Sons of Tucson, The Wanda Sykes Show (late night Saturdays)

The schedule and some details on the new shows after the jump.

I love British chef Gordon Ramsay. I love watching him on TV, whether it's his Fox shows -- Hell's Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares -- or the ones that have turned up on BBC America like Ramsay's Boiling Point and the most recent show, The F Word. The F stands for food, by the way. Much as I love him, though, I don't think I want him as a teacher.

Well, that's what he's going to be doing next. The Simon Cowell of cooking is plotting something new for the network. Ramsay's doing a special cooking show for Fox in the Julia Child tradition, teaching how to do what he does. The idea is for Gordon to create a three-course dinner while giving home viewers instructions about how to do it with him.

• At 8:00, the major networks and the news channels will have President Bush's address to the nation.
• The CW has new episodes of Smallville and Supernatural starting at 8.
  
• Discovery has a new HowStuffWorks at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has The Naked City.
• At 8:30, NBC has a new episodes of My Name Is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock, and ER.
• At 9, ABC has a new Grey's Anatomy, followed by a new Private Practice.
• FOX has a new Kitchen Nightmares at 9.
  
• Hallmark has the movie Ladies of the House at 9.
• There's a new TNA Impact! on Spike at 9.
• At 9:15, CBS has a new CSI, then a new Eleventh Hour.
• At 10, A&E has the series premiere of The Beast.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• VH-1 has the series premiere of Sober House at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show s.

I was reading AOL TV's "TV's 50 Hottest Hunks - Ever," and I was struck by two thoughts: "Ugh, can people really use the term, 'hunk' without shuddering?" and, "David Boreanaz? Seriously?"

I get it. Television is populated with pretty people and there are just some guys who are objectively hot (hellooooo, Jon Hamm). Generally speaking though, I'm not drawn to the Luke Perrys and Mario Lopezes of the world. I like quirky guys, and so while most of the dudes on this list aren't going to make it into the People magazine "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, they keep me tuning in every week (heh, that sounded totally dirty).

Follow me after the jump for the undercover hotties: ten guys on TV I secretly love.

The name Jordan Belfi might not mean much to you, but if you watch Entourage, you absolutely know Adam Davies. And, if Belfi's done his job right, you probably really hate the guy.

As the best-dressed nemesis on TV, Davies is the super-agent foil to most of Ari Gold's (Jeremy Piven) plans and schemes. And in a particularly conniving episode (airing Sun., Sept. 21 at 10PM), the Davies/Gold smack down reaches new heights. Or lows, depending on how you see it.

Belfi talked to us about his character's underhanded ways, his most devoted fans and why watching Gordon Ramsay vomit means must-see-TV in his house.

Get ready for more bleeps and blurs on FOX.

FOX is so impressed with Gordon Ramsay and the ratings for both Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares that they've given the green light for a third series from the chef. And if I understand the concept for this series, then I think this is the start of Ramsay's demise.

The new show is going to be based on a British show that Ramsay does called Man Camp, which I've never seen but is described as "a boot camp for men whose ladies are slightly concerned about how feminine they're becoming." Seriously? That's the premise of the show? Maybe if the men are becoming too feminine it's the women who should be sent to the boot camp.

• At 8, FOX has a new Hole in the Wall, then a new Kitchen Nightmares.
• CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
• Discovery has a new Some Assembly Required at 8.
• At 8:30, HGTV has a new Myles of Style.
• At 9, TLC has a new American Chopper.
  
• Cartoon Network has a new Total Drama Island at 9.
• BBC America has a new Dragon's Den at 9.
• At 10, CBS has a new Flashpoint.
• USA has a new Burn Notice at 10.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• Spike has a new TNA Impact at 10.
• Also at 10: MTV has the premiere of Top Pop Group.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• It's the last night of the Republican National Convention, and the news channels, some PBS stations, and CSPAN will have all-night coverage. The networks join in at 10.
• NBC has football at 7, the Redskins vs. the Giants.
• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• FOX has the two-hour season premiere of Kitchen Nightmares at 8.
• USA finishes their coverage of the U.S. Open at 8.
• Discovery Channel has two new episodes of Some Assembly Required at 8, then a new Destroyed in Seconds.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new Gong Show, followed by a new Reality Bites Back.
• Sundance Channel has a new Live From Abbey Road at 10.
• Also at 10: Spike has a new TNA Impact.

Check your local TV listings for more.