ty pennington

Singer Katy Perry was very poor when she was growing up. She still remembers being so broke that she had to borrow clothes in order to go out at night. Which might help to explain her actions on the premiere of 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' (Sun., 7PM ET on ABC).

The goal tonight for Ty Pennington and his crew is to build a new house for seven young women. These girls are scholars who have been accepted into 'Boys Hope Girls Hope' -- a Baltimore program that accepts gifted students who come from difficult backgrounds.

The boys in the program already have their own housing, but due to the economic crisis, the girls have been waiting three years to get their own residence hall. Katy and other celebs show up to talk to the girls while their new home is being built.

'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' host Ty Pennington is reportedly eying a daytime show.

According to Deadline Hollywood, the former 'Trading Spaces' carpenter is under contract with ABC until 2012, but that hasn't stopped Pennington and his management team from preparing a new program.

Pennington is looking at other networks besides ABC and considering striking up syndication and cable partnerships for his new show. Team Pennington is also said to be in discussions with some major sponsors, with alternative revenue streams as a big component to the series.

One of Pennington's managers, Bill Stankey, helped Joy Behar get her own primetime show while maintaining her 'View' post, so their hope could be that Pennington will do the same.

• 'Family Guy' creator Seth McFarlane is recording an album. According to Vulture, McFarlane told Jay Leno that his album will be a mix of big band songs and swing arrangements of classics.

• Jane Badler, Diana on the original 'V' miniseries has been tapped to play Anna's mother on ABC's 'V.' According to TV Guide Magazine, Badler will play a new incarnation of Diana on the sci-fi series. Look for Badler to appear on a recurring basis.

The real life inspiration for the film 'The Blind Side' appeared on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' (Sun., 8PM ET on ABC). Leigh Anne Tuohy -- the woman who was portrayed by Sandra Bullock in the movie -- is an actual interior designer. So you would think that the home makeover show would be a natural fit for her. But surprisingly, Tuohy expresses some frustration with the whole process.

Tuohy gets into some trouble with a construction worker and member of the team. She gives him some flack because she doesn't feel he's doing his job correctly. "I have an extremely domineering personality," she says. "It's type-A, is what they call it."

"When things go wrong on the sidelines, I just want to go out there and just -- you know -- smack somebody," Tuohy adds. Huh. On the other hand, as shown in 'The Blind Side,' when Leigh Anne gets involved and takes control, good stuff usually happens. So maybe it's a good thing.

Singer Sheryl Crow appeared on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' (Sun., 8PM ET on ABC). On the show, the singer helped Ty Pennington rebuild a home for Toen and Amy Starkweather. Ethan, the family's youngest son, is suffering from Prader-Willi syndrome. This is a rare disorder that can cause low muscle tone, speech difficulties and behavior problems.

Crow helped rebuild the family house, and then sang her song 'Everyday Is a Winding Road.' Ethan seemed to especially enjoy the music, and got up and began to dance, while mother Amy watched. Crow had this to say: "I grew up with my parents telling me there was nothing I couldn't do. ...I look at Amy and Ethan and I think -- here's a mom who's saying the exact same thing."

The Beach family got more than they ever dreamed or hoped for on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' (Sun., 8PM ET on ABC). Imagine getting your dream wedding complete with a Cinderella carriage and your dad to give you away.

"When I first got married, my dad didn't get to walk me down the aisle," said Melissa. "I think the most important thing that I lost at that time was when your dad gets to give you away." Happily, that wish finally came true.

Watch the video after the jump.

Biography: Tiger Woods - Thursday April 1, 8 pm, Biography Channel

When illustrious personages reach a certain age or notoriety, it is common practice in the media to have an obituary ready and written in case of sudden death. I imagine Michael Jackson falls into this category, and I know when I was at a magazine, a certain low-voiced newsman was our main worry. I would suspect the Biography Channel's eponymous show works the same way so I'm surprised it took this long to get a Tiger Woods episode on the air. Interviews with himself, his late father, Wayne Gretzky, Lance Armstrong and Michael Jordan pepper the episode, and is timed perfectly for Woods' return at the Masters this April.

'The Bachelorette' Jillian Harris jumped reality shows to help out on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' (Sun., 8PM ET on ABC).

In fact, she proved to be pretty good at breaking windows, which sort of freaked out Brian and Audra Skaggs, the couple whose window she was breaking. No, they weren't there; they were on the other end of Ty Pennington's phone call, listening in on the destruction.

Hopefully, Harris won't need that window-smashing skill in her, uh, personal life. But hey, if she does, at least she'll be prepared.

Watch the video after the jump.

Last night's 'Extreme Makeover' profiled Clara and her daughter, Cynthia, who run a daycare center that provides for children in their Pennsylvania neighborhood.

Their open hearts and open doors caught the attention of both the show and singer Mary J. Blige, who paid a special visit in the episode.

Watch this extremely heartwarming scene from 'Extreme Makeover' after the jump.

This Sunday at 7 PM, you can tune in to Ty's Great British Adventure on ABC. In it, Ty Pennington, the host of ABC's popular Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, heads to the UK to do what he does on EM for a sleepy town in the UK. Except that this episode, which is being aired as a one hour special, was a six episode series in Britain. In fact, the series has had three seasons already; this one is from a year ago.

Ty said the biggest challenge for him was how polite and laid back the Brits are; he could barely get them motivated to get things done in his one week time frame. "Let's sit down to tea and talk about this," they'd say instead.

I know it's been out for a couple of weeks or so now, but the latest ABC House promo got my attention, so I went back and watched it. I remember networks used to do things like this; having characters from different shows interact, and I've always had a thing for crossovers. Hell, I watched Laff-a-Lympics growing up just because of the crossover aspect.

Of course, the primary difference with this one is the McSteamy v. Hurley ending; which I completely agree with. These kinds of creative initiatives help give the network an identity and give fans something to keep the shows in their minds through the summer. And there's so much more potential available here, and even on other networks to play with similar ideas. How about a game show with Dr. House competing against Dr. Bishop (Fringe)?

The Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards -- affectionately known as the Shmemmys to Kathy Griffin fans -- has at least one more viewer this year. I will be watching the other Emmy presentation, the awards that come before the Primetime Emmys. The big one with all the major categories, musical numbers, clip montages and near-mandatory attendance by the nominees is the Emmys. The other one is the technical awards. But I will be watching for a very good reason: Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Chalke will be co-hosting the Creative Arts Emmys this year on the E! channel, September 20.

Neil, an Emmy nominee for How I Met Your Mother, and Sarah, who is also a guest/semi-regular on Mother as well as a permanent regular on Scrubs, are a great choice for this gig. They're smart, funny, quick, attractive and maybe even unpredictable.

I mean, wouldn't it be a hoot if Neil came on stage in his Dr. Horrible gear and asked Sarah if her Hanes undies were riding up or doing their job? She should then counter and ask him about that smell, you know ... the Old Spice? Hey, maybe they should get Bruce Campbell to confront Neil about the Old Spice deal -- that was Bruce's commercial before Neil took over!

The makeover/lifestyle program has a unique niche in the Reality Revolution. Where other reality programs abide by the phrase "Only the Strong Survive," makeover shows are normally an individual or group effort. It comes from the shows themselves, of course, as they are intent in making life just a little bit better for the participants.

It may be redesigning a room in a neighbor's home, making over one's wardrobe, losing weight, controlling one's family or even turning someone from an ugly duckling into a swan. Granted, the hosts of these shows may show a bit of arrogance toward those trying to make a better life for themselves or others, but that just makes those wanting the makeover or lifestyle change even more interesting to the viewer. Plus, it doesn't hurt the star status of the hosts themselves.

The other interesting thing about this genre of reality program is, save for a handful of shows on the five major networks, the bulk of these programs are broadcast over the cable airwaves. Perhaps that's done to counteract some of the more sleazy reality programming that the cable networks produce. Or, maybe it's the fact that many of the channels that cater to the self-improvement set are on cable themselves. Either way, it is a genre that is quite popular and continues to grow year after year.

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When I look at some of the people who have emerged as today's biggest stars on TV, I scratch my head and wonder, "how did that happen?" There are a few stars who have completely exceeded my expectations -- and I bet yours, too. In fact, after you read my five (no cell phone pun intended), I'm betting that you'll have a few more overachievers to add to the list.

1) Ty Pennington
I'm not ashamed to admit that for a couple of years I was hooking on TLC's Trading Spaces. It may have been the perky Paige Davis, the home improvement on a $1,000, the cool things that the designers did in just 24 hours -- whatever it was, I was a regular viewer. Oh, yes, there was also a carpenter on the show named Ty Pennington.
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Car enthusiasts, take note: The British series all about cars, Top Gear, is coming to America. That's been previously announced, but today we can share the news that Adam Carolla, Tanner Foust and Eric Stromer will be teaming up to host the new NBC incarnation of Top Gear. It just so happens that I was watching Top Gear on BBC America yesterday and it's a fun show; it's not too techie-car show, it's more about the chemistry among the three hosts and the fun, goofy challenges they do that involve cars.

Yesterday's show, for instance, pitted a one host in a Mercedes Benz SUV driving from London the the airport versus one host on a super bicycle, another in a speed boat on the Thames, and The Stig -- an anonymous test driver -- making the trek via public transportation. It was pretty funny, especially since the car lost!

Just when you thought awards shows couldn't get any longer, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced that reality show hosts are eligible to receive Emmys. This year's 60th Annual Emmy Awards will include a category called Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program.

The academy named popular hosts like Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron, Samantha Harris, and Howie Mandel as possible nominees. Ty Pennington, Tyra Banks, and Jeff Foxworthy are also eligible. I'm not surprised that reality hosts are getting this opportunity. The Emmys have had categories for Outstanding Reality Program and Reality-Competition Program since 2001 and 2003, respectively.