scott baio

I'm getting a strong vibe that when Scott Baio is 45...and Single returns to VH1 it's not going to be named Scott Baio is 45...and Single. If the title remains the same then new viewers are going to be awfully confused when they see the former Happy Days star in a committed relationship raising his brand new daughter.

A daughter that arrived a bit early. Instead of entering the world in December, Baio's daughter arrived on November 2nd, a good five weeks early according to reports. Despite the early arrival Baio's daughter weighed 5lbs. 10oz. at birth. Both the daughter and mother, Baio's long-time girlfriend (now fiance) Renee Sloan are doing fine.

The name of Baio's daughter has yet to be released. Therefore, we get to speculate. Erin? Joanie? Pam? Chachiella?

This week I got a great letter that brought back some fond memories.

Curtis Smith writes:
"I'm sure you hear this all the time, but for the last couple of years i have been trying to remember a short lived TV show that I saw in the mid to late 80's. It was about a kid who's dad was a secret agent and the kid some how got involved with the government. the only episode i can sort of remember is him trying to hide an attractive spy from his mom. Any help you have would be great. "

Remember when VH1 was home to videos that MTV would no longer play as well as shows like Behind the Music? Not anymore, it isn't. Today, VH1 is home to reality shows featuring many of your favorite (or not so favorite) 70's and 80's personalities. Recent shows have starred such icons as Christopher Knight, Danny Bonaduce and Dustin Diamond, who is sooo not Screech.

The most recent addition to this 'blast from the past' line-up was Scott Baio is 45 . . . and Single, which starred former Charles in Charge and Happy Days heartthrob Scott Baio. The show focused on Baio's issues with commitment and the lengths he went through to get past them all. Well, the show garnered enough attention (1 million adult viewers each week) that VH1 has decided to renew the show for a second 9-episode season. Production of this new season, which will comprise 6 half-hour and three hour-long episodes, will begin in the fall.

Slight spoilers after the jump. Don't blame me if you read them.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• James Callahan: He played the grandfather on Charles In Charge. He had appearances on several shows over the years, including Medium, ER, Promised Land, Cybill, Caroline in the City, Picket Fences, Golden Girls, M*A*S*H, Adam-12, The Invanders, Route 66, The Time Tunnel, My Favorite Martian, Dennis The Menace, and dozens of others. He died of cancer at age 76.

• At 7, NBC has a new Dateline.
• At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother.
• Lifetime has a new Side Order of Life at 8, then new episodes of State of Mind and Army Wives.
• Also at 8: Disney has a new Hannah Montana, then a new Cory in the House.
• At 9, PBS has a new Mystery!
• There's a new 4400 on USA at 9, followed by a new episode of The Dead Zone.
• A&E has two new episodes of Gene Simmons' Family Jewels starting at 9. Then it's two new episodes of The Two Coreys.
• HGTV has a new Design Star at 9.
• Food Network has a new Iron Chef America at 9.
• Spike has a new Kill Point at 9 (repeated at 10).
• VH-1 has a bunch of reality shows starting at 9: Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, Hogan Knows Best, and Scott Baio is 45...and Single.
• HBO has a new John From Cincinnati at 9, then new eps of Entourage and Flight of the Conchords.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new Mind of Mencia, then a new American Body Shop.

Check your local TV listings for more.

This week I got a trivia question from a reader named Len Maurer from St. Louis MO.

Len writes, "On Charles in Charge what was the last name of Scott Baio's character, Charles?"

I actually get this question quite often, and the answer is he didn't have one. Now some of you may insist that he did have a last name that was never mentioned on the show. However, according to a conversation I once had with Al Burton, executive producer of C in C, Charles was never given a last name ... ever.

Thanks for the question Len.

Now for this week's stumper...

• Scott Baio filmed a reality show about helping him find a meaningful relationship... while he was in one with his ex's stunt double. Yeah, it's complicated.
  
• Criss Angel of Mindfreak is having relationship issues too.
  
• The Simpsons Movie is responsible for turning your local 7-Eleven into a real-life Kwik-E-Mart.
  

Scott Baio has a new reality show coming to VH-1 called Scott Baio Is 45...and Single. The only problem is, Scott Baio isn't really single. This story says that the former Happy Days actor is actually in a long-term relationship with former Playboy Playmate Renee Sloan.

Baio has supposedly been dating Sloan for a couple of years, including during the filming of the reality show. Sloan also used to be Pam Anderson's stunt double on Baywatch. Baio dated Anderson too. It all gets kinda tricky. Was Sloane Anderson's stunt double in her private life too?

Do you miss Ben Stein? Of course you do. Well, the former Nixon speech writer, former host of Win Ben Stein's Money, and former guy who said "Bueller?" is returning to television as the host of America's Most Smartest Model, a series that will determine if being beautiful also means you have the cognitive ability of a lump of Play-Doh. The competition series, co-hosted by Mary Alice Stephenson, pits seven male models and seven female models against one another to determine who's the most intelligent. The winner gets $100,000.

Guest stars. Think of them as spiking the punch. Sure, it's bright red, tasty, and fun to drink already. But dump in that flask of rum and it gets even better. Of course, the type of rum makes all the difference. You start playing around with the cheap stuff that comes in the non-descript plastic container and costs less than a gallon of milk, then you're begging for a headache and hangover. But if you suck it up, mortgage the house a second time, and fork over the newly acquired funds for a juice-box sized bottle of the spiced stuff from an unpronounceable coastal Puerto Rican village... well, you're gonna have a good night.

That being said, five guest stars who didn't give me a headache and a hangover:

1.) Bob Saget [Himself, Entourage] - Saget guested as one of Vince's new neighbors midway through the second season. If we're to believe that Saget's part as himself was true to life, then he's a woman-loving, sex-crazed, brothel addict. As Turtle so wisely put it, nothing is more embarrassing than being "cock-blocked by Bob Saget".