knight rider

BEST

1. Mad Men. The best show on TV.
2. 30 Rock. The funniest show on TV.
3. Lost. Just when I started to drift away from this show they pull off an amazing year.
4. Chuck. I really hope NBC sticks with this show. One of the more entertaining hours on television.
5. The Colbert Report. Both Colbert and Jon Stewart handled the election well this year, but Colbert did something special.
6. The Mentalist. My favorite new show and one that deserves all the ratings.
7. Burn Notice. With 30 Rock and The Office, Thursday is a great night of TV again.
8. The Late Show with David Letterman. Dave is always great, but he got involved in the election too and really shined.
9, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Sure, she may look like Palin, but that doesn't mean her impression would be automatic. Fey became a pop culture phenom this year.
10. Whatever, Martha. Really odd idea for a show, but it works.

• TBS has a Tyler Perry's House of Payne marathon all night.
• Sci-Fi has a marathon of the original Twilight Zone all night.
• Disney has a Totally New Year's Eve marathon.
• HBO2 has a True Blood marathon.
• Comedy Central is showing South Park all night.
• Food Network has a new Next Food Network Star marathon all night.
• At 8, NBC has a new Knight Rider.
• PBS has a new Live From Lincoln Center New Year's Eve concert at 8.
• At 10, ABC has Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest (whew!).
• NBC has New Year's Eve with Carson Daly at 10.
• CNN is covering New Year's Eve too, with a special Anderson Cooper 360 at 10.
• At 11, FOX has New Year's Eve Live.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

NBC had planned to bring the popular BBC and BBC America car show Top Gear to us yanks. Instead, NBC has decided to cut its brake cables in the middle of a brilliant power slide.

The official Top Gear blog announced that NBC won't air their US version of the show as a mid-season replacement in 2009.

This means the show and their hosts, Adam Carolla, Eric Stromer and Tanner Foust, are up to grabs for the highest bidder like a drug dealer's impounded Cadillac Escalade at a municipal car auction.

... Eleven babes worth watchin'

Oh sure, there may be 12 shows a stinkin', but there's still reason to tune in. See just like advertisers, show-runners and TV executives know that sex sells. And hot chicks sell. And hot chicks selling their sexuality sell like hotcakes ... or chicks ... I never can get that right. But just being hot and sexy isn't enough. To really sell it, they need to be as close to naked as legally allowed on the airwaves. We're talking "Oops, sorry to barge in on you standing there in your underwear bending over the bed pulling on your fishnet stockings. Nice rack."

Sometimes near-nudity, and even nudity, legitimately serves the plot. Let's face it, Anna Paquin had to bang that vampire on True Blood so she was going to have to get naked. It's a necessity. But Yvonne Strahovski on Chuck? Does she have to be in her underwear that often to protect the Intersect? Was it required by Simon Elder that Karen Darling be in her underwear in order to talk to him? Of course not. But it's hot and that's the way we like it. Hell, they made Catalina a stripper on My Name is Earl.

... Twelve shows a stinkin'

That aroma tickling your nose is not one from an oven full of fresh gingerbread cookies. No, it's from a television full of burned-out ideas and gutted hulks of viewers who can't take the crap that is heaped upon them. That's because, more than ever, there is a lot of stink on the television landscape. Most of it is due to inordinate amounts of reality programming which has flooded the market. The rest is due to the lack of new ideas for an industry that is rapidly changing.

In order to start our annual Festivus countdown we have compiled a scientifically proven list of 12 shows just stinking up the flat screen. And, when I say 'scientifically proven' I mean I just asked a bunch of people off the street about shows they disliked. So, it's as accurate as it possibly can be. Nevertheless, I'm sure you'll have opinions, one way or another, on these shows and others not on the list. So, if you have your nose plugs, let's begin.

It's looking like yet another new series is going to quietly fade away. The new Knight Rider show has halted production in what is likely the beginning of the end for the sequel of the 80's series of the same name.

The number of shows ordered by NBC has been ordered has been lowered from 21 to 17. The creators probably won't even have time to change the scripts, so I predict the season (and likely series) finale will end on an awkward note.

I'm sure at one point or another in every little kid's life, he or she has wanted to have a robot BFF. All the potential for wacky fun and scientific misadventures would make up for the inevitable human/binary language barrier, and, when I think about it, I still totally want a robot buddy. I mean, from my time on this Earth, of two things I am sure: Lists are fun and robots are awesome. So, despite the fact that my age numerically suggests I shouldn't be thinking about this sort of stuff, I am all over this list.

I should also note that, upon completion of this depressingly nerdy post, I am legally obligated to punch myself in the face for a solid fifteen minutes and then steal my own lunch money. Let's just get this over with, shall we? Here are the top eleven robot buddies from TV, in no particular order, because each robot is special in its own way. Also, I don't want any readers to kill me for not ranking to their liking.

• At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, then new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has a new Old Christine, followed by new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of Knight Rider, Life, and Law & Order.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then a new Stylista.
• PBS has a new installment of Monarchy at 8.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8, followed by new episodes of Mythbusters and Prototype This!
• Also at 8: History Channel has a new Modern Marvels.
• At 9, Lifetime has the movie The Tenth Circle.
• Food Network has the special Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving Desserts at 9.
• Spike has a new UFC Unleashed at 9, followed by a new Ultimate Fighter.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10, then a new Chocolate News.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• FX has a new Sons of Anarchy at 10.
• A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has The CMA Awards.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, followed by new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of Knight Rider, Life, and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8, then a new Stylista.
• PBS has a new installment of Monarchy at 8.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8, followed by new episodes of Mythbusters and Prototype This!
• Also at 8: TCM has Pat and Mike, then Strangers on a Train.
• At 9, Showtime has a new Inside The NFL.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9, followed by the series premieres of Estate of Panic and Man vs. Mansion.
• At 10, Bravo has the season premiere of Top Chef.
• FX has a new Sons of Anarchy at 10.
• Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10, then a new Chocolate News.
• Also at 10: A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

Everything about the new Knight Rider is about to change.

Well, OK, almost everything. It's not like they're going to get rid of the car and change the show to a musical/variety hour featuring dancers and puppets. But they are getting rid of three of the stars of the show and changing the plot around to be more like the old version of the show.

Stars Bruce Davison, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and Yancey Arias will no longer be on the show after the first 13 episodes. Also, the producers are getting rid of the stories where our hero fights professional bad guys and instead goes around and helps everyday Joes (plumbers and otherwise). Supposedly this will bring the show more in line with the other dramas on the NBC Wednesday lineup, Life and Law and Order. Though I don't think either of those shows feature a talking car.

The cringe-inducing piece of news is that they plan to do more "stunt-casting." Big name guest stars can be OK, but it's odd to announce "yes, now we are going to do more stunt-casting."

If they really want to make the show more like the old one they should bring back William Daniels.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of Knight Rider, Life, and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8, followed by a new Stylista.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Mythbusters, then a new Prototype This!
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new Inside the NFL.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, followed by a new Chocolate News.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• Bravo has the season finale of Top Design at 10.
• A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars starting at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

Has anyone else noticed the lack of hair trigger cancellations thus far this season? We're a good month or more in now and only Opportunity Knocks and Do Not Disturb have had the plug pulled. And believe me those needed to happen. By now, though, your high quality shows that have underperformed like Pushing Daisies usually would be doing just that ... pushing up daisies. But, for some reason, not this year. At least not yet.

Hell, ratings-challenged shows like Knight Rider and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are even getting full season pick-ups. And that's FOX giving Sarah Connor a chance to find an audience! FOX!! I think what we're seeing is the continuing fallout from the Writer's Strike last year. Remember when the execs were talking about how they were going to rethink their approach to television, ordering fewer pilots and possibly even altering the landscape of television in regards to seasons and sweeps? Well, the fall season started up pretty much like it always has, but I do believe there are far fewer shows waiting in the wings to replace this season's failures.

• At 8, FOX has the first game of The World Series.
• ABC has a new Pushing Daisies at 8, then new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has new episodes of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds (with Wil Wheaton!), and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Knight Rider at 8, followed by new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Lipstick Jungle.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then the series premiere of Stylista.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Wrap at 8, followed by new episodes of Mythbusters and Prototype This!
• At 9, PBS has a new Independent Lens.
• There's a new Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi at 9.
• Fine Living has a new Whatever, Martha at 9.
• History Channel has a new MonsterQuest at 9.
• At 9:30, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, then new episodes of Criss Angel and Parking Wars.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, followed by a new Chocolate News.
• FX has a new Sons of Anarchy at 10.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• TCM has Citizen Kane at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Top Design.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

Okay, the other day I applauded Fox for giving Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles a pick up for the remainder of the 2008-2009 season. Even though the critics have been expecting more from the sci-fi series, Fox chose to stick with the show and give it a chance to evolve. Good for them!

That said, the news today that NBC has given Knight Rider a full season order leaves me cold. That's an order for nine more episodes, and it strikes me as throwing good money after bad. Knight Rider has been struggling in the ratings and generally dissed by the critics. It hasn't earned a pick up to be perfectly frank.

So why would NBC give this remake of the 1980's action drama a vote of confidence? Well, it could be that it's considered one of NBC programming chief Ben Silverman's pet projects.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

The complete series sets seem to be coming fast and furious these days, though there really isn't anything here that I want to spend the cash on (already have The Outer Limits). I have the first Man From U.N.C.L.E. complete series set that Time-Life did several months ago (this one is from Warner). The Starlost? Maybe as a curiosity, but I doubt it. The Incredible Hulk? Eh. Knight Rider? God no.

• According To Jim - Season 1
• Ben 10: Alien Force - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Dynasty - Season 3, Vol. 2
• Family Guy - Vol. 6, Freakin' Sweet Party Pack, and Total World Domination Collection sets
• The Incredible Hulk - Complete Series and Season 5
• Knight Rider - Complete Series
• The L Word - Season 5
• Looney Tunes - Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Vol. 6 and Spotlight Collection, Vol. 6
• The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - Complete Series
• The Naked Brothers Band - Season 2
• The Outer Limits (Original Series) - Complete Series
• Route 66 - Season 2
• The Starlost - Complete Series
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 2, Vol. 2