Perhaps you've heard that 'Desperate Housewives' exile Nicollette Sheridan has filed a whopper of a lawsuit against ABC and Marc Cherry, the creator of the show. Her claim is that she was not only wrongfully terminated, but that Cherry struck her in September 2008 when she asked him about something in the script.

Officially, the suit covers even more than those two charges. There are seven in all: wrongful termination, assault and battery, gender violence, discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and age, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Sheridan is seeking $20 million in compensation.

Violence against women -- or men for that matter -- is a serious charge, and it would be naive to think that this could not have happened. That said, it does seem like something right out of a 'Desperate Housewives' script. Would Marc Cherry have been so upset with Sheridan to strike her? Wouldn't it have been witnessed by other people on the set? Perhaps that will come out in the case.

For a group that has the word "television" in their name, they sure do seem to have a lot of problems with it.

The Parents Television Council is calling for advertisers to boycott Dexter, saying that CBS didn't do enough editing of the show when they broadcast the Showtime drama on its own network last Sunday night. The PTC says that CBS broke their promise when they said they were going to edit the show to network standards and that "depictions of violence were barely altered from the Showtime network original format."

This Tuesday, February 6 at 10 p.m., HBO will air a documentary that attempts to chronicle the history of gangs and gang violence in Los Angeles. Bastards of the Party, directed by former gang member Cle "Bone" Sloan, pinpoints the origin of gang formations as far back as the 1940s, when blacks began moving from the south into mostly white areas of Los Angeles, a fact unknown to many who assumed it was the turbulent '60s and '70s that gave rise to the gang culture. Of course, that era will also be chronicled in the documentary, along with the escalation in violence that continued throughout the '80s and '90s.

Sloan, who now works in the film business, became a member of the Bloods at the age of 12 and learned about the history of the gangs from older gang members, and also read about that history while in jail. This isn't the first documentary to cover this subject, and it certainly won't be the last, but what will make it worth checking out is seeing it through the eyes of someone who actually lived it.

Ever watch a steamy or somewhat violent network promo during the 8:00 hour, or see something particularly risqué at that time and wonder "didn't there used to be a family hour?" Well, Steven Spielberg is wondering the same thing. He told an audience at the International Emmys board of directors meeting that networks need to be more mindful of what they show during times when children may be watching, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

During his on-stage interview, he cited promos for CSI that showed a lot of blood and dissections. Even his favorite new show of the season, Heroes, showed a scene of someone being cut in half. And, since it was during the 9 PM time period, his kids were still awake; he had to send them out of the room.

Basic cable channel A&E bought the syndication rights to The Sopranos, and now the network is busy trying to clean up the show for its audience. What can and can't they air? It's a fine line that basically says blood is okay but brain spatter is not. Case in point: the last episode of season one has Jimmy Altieri getting whacked with one bullet to the back of his head. When the episode aired on HBO, the audience saw blood spatter on the wall and chunks of brain slide down the wall. A&E's audience won't see the brains. There are about one hundred other instances where executives have to make similar decisions about violence, language and nudity. The newly edited versions of The Sopranos air on A&E in January.

I'm wondering if it's even worth the effort. A&E bought the right to air all 85 episodes of The Sopranos... for a staggering $2.5 million per episode. But how much fun is it really going to be without all the naughty stuff?

[Via TV Tattle]

You know things have gotten really bad in Iraq when the chosen form of respite for those living in the area is to watch Dr. Phil on television. It seems that some Iraqis have been watching the show to escape, if only for awhile, the fighting and conflict that still envelopes the country. I don't know how much this actually has to do with Dr. Phil personally, I would think watching anything on television that has nothing to do with war and murder would be a welcome escape for the people living in that country. I'm sure if they showed reruns of Hee Haw they'd tune in to that once a week just to get their minds off the dark reality they face every day. Then again, maybe reruns of Hee Haw would actually result in more fighting. You never really can predict these things.

If you haven't caught the occasional airings of the Korgoth of Barbaria pilot on Adult Swim, click on over to Adult Swim Fix right now to check it out. If you're one of those people tired of all the fifteen-minute minimalist weirdness and want something more substantive and in the same vein as Venture Bros., you'll probably dig Korgoth. The series was created by SpongeBob SquarePants' Aaron Springer, and also features the talents of Genndy Tartakovsky and Ren and Stimpy and Mad Magazine artist Bill Wray. If they remove it from the Fix before you have a chance to check it out, you can still catch it this Sunday at 10 pm, and again on Saturday the 16th at 11:30. The series focuses on a barbarian living in a post-apocalyptic world who brutal maims bad guys and anyone else he doesn't like. Hopefully it will get picked up as a full series.

(S01E14) If you can believe it, this particular episode is perhaps the strangest of the entire series. It arguably is one of the most famous as well, because it is so different from the rest.

When watching it, you might be interested to know that CBS did not air it originally back in the late sixties, apparently due to some anti-war sentiment expressed by the episode. Whether this is actually true or not is open to debate, but just the same, it makes for interesting viewing.

I don't really follow sports, and I definitely don't keep track of what's going on as far as the World Cup is concerned, but a couple blogs are mentioning a recent scuffle between Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi that culminated in Zidane headbutting Materazzi and sending him flailing to the ground. If you look at the lovely GIF of the incident, it looks as if Materazzi is actually being headbutted in the chin and neck, which means Zidane's aim isn't very good. Speculation is abound over just what set Zidane off, but apparently it had something to do with a racist comment that was made by Materazzi. All I know is that I've never understood headbutting as a form of fighting, as it would seem to do just as much damage to you as your opponent. This is why soccer players should carry knives ... wait, no.

The sixth and final season of HBO's prison melodrama Oz will be out on DVD on September 5, and all I can say is, "it's about damn time." The series aired during my college and post college years when my access to HBO was intermittent at best. Nevertheless, I was able to catch most of the episodes. One very important episode I never saw, however, was the final one. In other words, I've been waiting all this time to find out how the series ended. Attempts to get my hands on that episode proved fruitless, so I finally gave up, assuming they'd eventually have to release it on DVD. I figure I've waited this long to find out what happens, what's another three months? While the show wasn't flawless, I think it was one of the best original series to air on HBO. Or maybe I just like naked guys stabbing each other with screwdrivers. My first step is learning to love that part of myself.

(S01E07) Bill Henrickson wasn't kidding when he told his first wife Barb in bed at the end of last night's episode, "Everything is spinning out of control." Talk about an understatement!

His other two wives Nikki and Margene are indulging in behavior that Barb feels will draw unwanted scrutiny to their family unit. Margene seems to be increasingly desperate for attention and her very-forward neighbor Pam is showing up any time, anywhere. (Think Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond.)

Nikki is battling with her own issues, including her mounting credit card debt ($58,000 and counting) and her jealousy over Barb getting the most attention from Bill. It also appears that her religious beliefs are being called into question, whether from some very annoying missionaries (who would even allow these knuckleheads onto their property a second time?) or her own father, the cunning Roman Grant.

Speaking of Roman, his battle with Bill over his expected "tithing" from the Home Plus stores is getting nastier and could explode into violence before long. Roman's minions end up bulldozing the homes of Bill's family, and they end up in a fleabag motel. To top things off, if Bill's brother Joey ends up going off the deep end, his wife Wanda is going to hold Bill responsible.