Ooh Eee Ooh Killer Tofurkey!

Did anyone else catch Nickelodeon's Nicksgiving Superstuffed Nicktoons Weekend? They featured the 100 Greatest moments in Nicktoons history, a preview of new shows, and extra episodes of the new classics, Spongebob and El Tigre. It was a pretty classy way to celebrate Turkey Day. 

But the best part? They showed the first episode of every Nicktoon ever! I woke up on Thursday morning to the faint sound oh "Doo do do do do do doo do do do do." Then a tweenage boy with a sweater vest appeared and it was confirmed. DOUG! His shyness, unrequited love for Patty Mayonnaise, and beatnik sister make for 30 minutes of great TV. 

Too bad Nickelodeon couldn't keep the good stuff around. Doug, Rocko's Modern Life, CatDog. And don't get me started on Roundhouse!

TGIBF: Thank Goodness It's Black Friday

Black Friday means a few things in my house: Turkey and cranberry sandwiches, the one and only day my mother sleeps in and my earliest wake-up call of the year.

My brother and I left the house at 3:45 this morning in pursuit of TV on DVD. Between the two of us we purchased Season 2 of House, a couple copies of Weeds Season 2, Sopranos Season Six Part 2, West Wing, and Six Feet Under...the entire series.

For a TV fan, Black Friday is my birthday, Christmas, and New Years combined. If you missed it this year, your next best bet is Memorial Day weekend. Big Box retailers like to unload a lot right at summertime. Labor Day isn't bad either, but the sales are mostly CDs. If all else fails, you can always go the Amazon route.

TV-Giving

Before I sit down to my favorite meal of the year, here's what I'm thankful for, at least where TV is concerned.

• Returns to normalcy for Desperate Housewives & Prison Break. Thanks for finding your niche and settling in again. I'm glad I held out hope.
  

• The Writers Strike is a blessing in disguise. It's high time the writers get what they deserve, plus it clears the schedule for some ridiculous reality shows that I can rant and laugh at for years to come. Stay tuned for my diatribe on Clash of the Choirs.
  

• Again, I'm thankful for my DVR and iTunes for ensuring I never miss a moment despite late night meetings, boring banquets and priceless moments with friends.
  

• To Showtime & HBO for always raising the bar. The Sopranos finale made people believers again. New shows on HBO (Flight of the Conchords, Tell Me You Love Me) and dark hits on Showtime (Weeds, Dexter) are carrying the torch. They owe it to the Sopranos to continue to develop intelligent beautiful television...and they are.
  

• And before I forget, I'm thankful for all of the great blogs I ran into this year, mostly while writing for this one. Scanner, and Reality Blurred to United Hollywood and Best Week Ever. I learn and laugh my way through work everyday. Thanks for bringing up to date pop culture news to the masses.
  

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to all five of our readers, wherever they are. Here's to lots of turkey, awkward family moments, the best naps of the holiday season and great sales on TV on DVD.

Hump Day Updates!

The holiday has forced me into the kitchen for most of primetime this week. Luckily, I caught a few things that are worth mentioning:

• Never is Charlie Brown more adorable and cringe worthy as he is in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The boy makes a meal out of toast and popcorn. I also enjoyed the role reversal of Peppermint Patty and Marcy. That dinner almost turned into a scene from The L Word...not that there's anything wrong with that.
  

• Planes Trains & Automobiles is all over the TV. If you haven't seen this movie, or hell even if you have, I only have 8 words for you: I want a fucking car. Right fucking now. If that and the picture above don't inspire you, then I'm done.
  

• Grey's Anatomy is doing a special episode tomorrow night where the doctors face their scariest crisis ever: their ratings! I kid! I think an ambulance crashes into them or something.
  

• Project Runway was fun again! I've purchased clothes from Sarah Jessica Parker's line before and the tonight's winner doesn't have me running to the store. In fact, it makes me want to run into H&M. And I am kind of over the entire cast constantly saying, "Make it work!" Sweet P must have done it 15 times. That's a sentence I never thought I'd write.
  

My Favorite Thing Is The Screaming!

Oprah gave away a jillion dollars in gifts today on her annual Favorite Things episode. She traveled to Macon, Georgia for the special. Apparently, Macon boasts the largest concentrated Oprah viewership. At 4 PM everyday, 45% of TV sets in the city are tuned to that giant talking head.

But my opinions about Oprah aside, the woman knows how to throw a celebration. The most exciting part was the reveal. Have you seen hundreds of women and one sharp-dressed man go ape-shit nuts? I have.

Nothing says Christmas to me like loafing around eating baked goods. I'm glad Oprah finally figured that out.

Blood Sugar Sex Lawsuits

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are suing Showtime over the name of their new show Californication. The David Duchovny vehicle is about a writer with issues. It also features a character named Dani California, a Chili Peppers song in its own right.

The show's creator, Tom Kapinos, alleges he saw the phrase on a bumper sticker. Even if it were true, he had to know the band would come after him at some point. And Dani California? That's just too much of a coincidence. This would have been relatively easy to avoid if he had just worked with the band from the beginning. They seem like pretty chill guys and it would be a nice cross promotion. It would be easy to soundtrack a show with Chili Peppers songs and covers.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Celebrity Apprentice Lacks Celebrities!

The list of Z-List celebrities Donald Trump gathered to appear on his umpteenth installment of the The Apprentice is out! For the full list click here.

My favorite selections are:

• Stephan Baldwin: Loved him on Celebrity Mole! Stars without scruples are the best kind. He'd pick a fight for a roast beef sandwich.

• Gene Simmons: The only person on the show with actual street cred. His ego is bigger than Trump's so it should be a nice clash of the titans...and the bad haircuts.
  

• Omarosa: She's famous for appearing on the first season of The Apprentice. Not only was she a huge bitch but she acted like she almost died when a piece of drywall fell on her head. I can't wait to see her lose her shit when she drops a very important file folder.

Is anyone actually going to watch this? Is the novelty great enough to give it a chance? If nothing else it will be nice to see Trump again. He kind of needs this season to be a hit. Otherwise, he can always go back to his true calling at Donald Trump's House of Wings.

I'm Never Trying New Things Again

With my favorite shows out of episodes because of the Writers Strike or Fall Finales and my parents not investing in a DVR (sometimes I think I'm adopted) I have come to realize that my TV patterns may be doing more harm than good. Instead of sticking to the basics, I decided to try and watch new shows today. I didn't get very far. Here's what I tried:

• Young & The Restless: My brother stopped over for lunch and insisted on watching this daytime classic. Supposedly he became a convert after his ex got him hooked, but I refuse to believe it. He tried to catch me up but he lost me at " This woman had three babies die and now she's pregnant again but she could die...and this baby could die too, but they'll both probably live." Things I never realized 1. My brother is not as articulate as he appears 2. Soaps are why people hate TV.

• Emeril Live: I've seen it before but that husky torso shoved into that little chef's coat combined with all of the yelling and spices freaks me out a little. I tried it again this evening. Turns out it's exactly how I remember, except this time he made disturbing noises while molesting a turkey with butter and rosemary.
  

• My First Place: HGTV follows one super annoying young professor while she tours 40 or 50 houses out of her price range before finally picking a mediocre townhose and has it poorly decorated. It's not exactly ripped from the headlines but this is pretty much what that show is. To double your pain, the network is starting a new show Property Virgins, which is essentially the same thing. Who knew watching people go into escrow was the new black?

Am I just looking in the wrong places? There has to be better TV out there? What is everyone else watching?

CNN Airport: Sucks - Old Movies: Don't

I flew home for Thanksgiving yesterday. For how much love and happiness you can find at the airport, at night, it can be the loneliest place on earth. People are tired, frustrated, smelly, tired of overpriced food and literally bent out of shape.

These sluggish masses of people eventually sit down at their gates and wait for the plane. What is the only consolation? The big TVs are on. You can just let familiarity wash over you. Only one thing: It's always the news. I understand that the news is important. People need to stay abreast of weather, trauma, sports scores, etc. But last night on CNN Airport (most ridiculous channel ever by the way) they were broadcasting the Democratic Presidential Debate. Again, I understand that it's really important, but COME ON! I am tired, my head hurts and I hate the sound of wheelchairs. I'm not going to like anything anyone has to say, let alone Bill Richardson.

So what do I purpose? They can't put other TV shows on. Too many families, too many debates over what to show. But they can show old movies! Imagine how improved your airport experience would be if you got to the gate and got to watch Ferris Bueller or Willy Wonka (not the frakish Tim Burton version)? Different gates could show different movies. A ticker with weather, headlines and stock quotes could run at the bottom. Think about this!

This thought alone got me through what felt like the longest 90 minute layover in my life.

Writers Strike: Days 13 & 14

Well I feel guilty, but I won't back down. The blog, Get Back In That Room, is compiling a list of people who have lost their job thanks to the strike. Remember, these aren't writers who are not working out of principle. These are casualties of that strike. It's a long list that probably grows everyday.

It's a sad side effect but ultimately it just needs to happen. If not now, when? I trust that these people will get their jobs back when the shows begin, however, they still have to make it through the holiday season.

Let's just hope this meeting on the 26th goes well.

Writers Strike: Day 12

The WGA and the studios agreed to return to the table for negotiations.

This is big! It probably won't end anything, but talking is a great start. The meeting is set for November 26.

What a great day. Let's hope for the best.

Almost As Good As Stonehenge!

And I thought he peaked in This is Spinal Tap. (He just might have. You be the judge.)

Harry Shearer is amazing. An actor since childhood. Comedian. Writer. Voice of several characters on The Simpson's (Mr. Burns, Smithers, Reverend Lovejoy etc.).

Now he's on to bigger things: TV News. Shearer is exposing what happens behind the scenes of big network newscasts. From debating the validity of stories to popped collars, Shearer catches it all (with the help of several crafty employees who sneak him the tapes).

Here's the video of his latest target: Katie Couric. It's almost shocking. How can someone be even more annoying in real life than they are on TV? It's like she tones it down a notch when they're recording.