What’s happening in the world of television? Keep reading…

• USA network has renewed White Collar, Royal Pains, and Psych for new seasons. Which USA shows have episodes that you can watch online?

• The OC star Rachel Bilson is re-teaming up with OC creator Josh Schwartz (also the man behind Chuck and Gossip Girl) for a new pilot for NBC. The pilot is for an hour long supernatural comedy, Ghost Angeles, which is rumored to center around a girl who can speak to the dead. I love Bilson and I’d be happy to see her back as a regular on TV. Maybe they can even find a way to get Adam Brody to guest star.

• Out with the old and in with the… weird. American Idol has announced its two new judges that will join Randy Jackson in the show’s 10th season, they are none other than Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Does anyone else think that this combo is completely bizarre? Watch the train wreck unfold in January.

• The Fox con man drama Lone Star is the first canceled show of the new season.  While it was a critic’s darling, the show barely showed up in the ratings department in its two airings. I guess this will free up stars James Wolk, Adrianne Palicki, and Jon Voight to move onto other shows. Did anyone actually take the time to watch the show? Did it deserve such a quick demise?

• Boardwalk Empire made its premiere last week, and I have to admit, I dug it. It had a small drop off in ratings in its second airing, but HBO is confident enough in the series to give it a second season.

• I’m not sure how I missed it, but there was a five episode Chuck related webseries, Buy Hard: The Story of Jeff and Lester. The series focuses Jeff and Lester after last season’s finale, as they adjust to living life on the lam after they are suspected of burning down the Buy More.

Last night, Lee DeWyze was named the winner of the 9th American Idol competition… wait, didn’t he win the past two years? Oh, sorry, that was Kris Allen and David Cook. Some times I mix up people when they look and sound identical.

I think the real question here is if Idol is even able to choose someone different anymore. I have nothing against Lee, Kris, or David, but they are completely interchangeable and cookie cutter.

I think it is time for American Idol to take a break between competitions, maybe a year or two, and then come back fresh. This could give a crop of new singers that haven’t tried out for the show every year for the past few, could give time for people to forget about the recently retired Simon, and could maybe, just maybe produce a winner that is not identical to the past few years. In the very least, it might give past winners the time to grow as artists and not be over shadowed by the next season of the competition.

Have Cook and Allen even released albums? Oh, I blinked and missed them?

Sorry about the slow updates. There really hasn’t been much to talk about and I’ve been distracted by the returns to two of my favorite shows, Lost and Chuck. In fact, if you haven’t yet, you should really watch the first 6 (awesome) episodes of the new Chuck season! (Note: See the previous article for a link to the new Lost episodes)

• Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol? Sure, Stern has been in radio for as long as I can rememeber and is just as mean as Cowell, but would you call him a music genius? Or even an expert? He is not a record producer, he hasn’t ushered into countless talents. If they choose him, the show is becoming even more of a joke than when they announced Ellen replacing Paula. When will this show end? With X-Factor coming, is it really needed?

• The Super Bowl is on tonight, and that means there is another Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet! ABC brings us a Modern Family marathon (with reruns of Cougar Town and The Middle thrown into the mix). Fox has reruns of their usual Sunday toons. And CBS is following the big game with the new reality show, Undercover Boss.

• Over at Marvel Comics, the Avengers are changing things up again and relaunching with a new #1. Who has been revealed on the new team so far? We have Captain America (looks like it’s the Bucky version), Jessica Drew the Spider-Woman, Iron-Man, the recently revived Hawkeye, and the soon to be a big motion picture Thor! None of these guys are unexpected, but it shows that Marvel is getting away from the “Dark Marvel” age and bringing back the traditional “Hero” aspect of their universe.

• Looking for a fun online Hollywood simulation game? Give Hollywood the Game a try!

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #32 hit stands earlier this week. This is part 1 of “Twilight”, the story that will finally reveal the identity of Season 8’s “big bad”.

Yeah, I know… American Idol returns tonight.  I could do an article about it and get a lot more visitors than writing about Better Off Ted and Scrubs, two great shows that are on the blink of cancellation. But I’ll say it, I hate Idol.  I’ve caught two whole seasons, and I think it is completely overhyped and filled with fake buzz. The seasons act as advertisements for the Idol tour and record deals.

Anyway, back to Better Off Ted and Scrubs. Tonight at 8pm on ABC we start with an old Scrubs, followed by a new Ted, new Scrubs, and a second new Ted.  It seems like ABC is just burning off episodes of both shows, but if enough people watch them, maybe we can get additional episodes. We can hope, can’t we?

Also on tonight:

8PM

• CBS: NCIS (Crime Drama)
• NBC: Biggest Loser: Couples (Reality)
• MNT: Are Your Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Game Show)
• SPIKE: UFC Unleashed (Fighting)

9PM

• CBS: NCIS: Los Angeles (Crime Drama)

10PM

• ABC: The Forgotten (Crime Drama)
• CBS: The Good Wife (Legal Drama)
• NBC: Jay Leno Show (Talk/Sketch Comedy)
• SYFY: ECW (Wrestling)

Welcome to the weekly recap for the past week (8/24 through 8/31). Here is a list (by section) of some of the news that we covered, just incase you missed something.

Film News

• Robert Downey Jr., from Hero to Villain? Master Mind
• She’ll Be Back? Hopefully! Terminator 4 News
• Maniac Cop 4??? Hell Yeah!
• Another Grease Sequel? Tell Me More!
• John Lennon, the Nowhere Boy

TV News

• Details on Smallville’s 8th Season and New Pictures
• American Idol Adds a Fourth Judge!
• Another Nathan Fillion Show Gets Picked Up, Castle
• The Countdown to the New 90210
• Gossip Girl, First 5 Minutes of Season 2 is Online!

Book News

• Being a Scot, a Book by Sean Connery
• Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer, Book Trailer

Filmmaking Resources

• Make-Up: How to Create the Two-Face Look, Batman
• Affordable Web Hosting, Powweb
• Helpful Book: Film and Video Budgeting

Trailers (Movies, Video Games)

• New Max Payne Trailer!
• Everybody Wants to Be Italian, Movie Trailer
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Video Game Teaser
• MadWorld, Video Game Trailer

Reviews

• DVD Review: Superman Doomsday
• Book to Film: Atonement (Archived)
• Book to Film: The Kite Runner (Archived)
  

Best Thing Ever

• Kermit the Frog and Christian Bale are the same person!

The Associated Press is reporting that “American Idol” is adding a fourth judge to its eighth season.  Who will be joining Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson? That honor goes to Kara DioGuardi, a song writer who has penned tunes for Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, and Carrie Underwood, among many others.

Mike Darnell, the president of alternative programming at Fox, commented that this move adds “a lot more `girl power’ on the show,” and Simon Fuller, the show’s executive producer/creator adds that DioGuardi “is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”

Personally, I’m not so sure about this move. While it will add a fresh element to the show, I think it was also slow it down. Now we’ll have to wait trough another judge’s opinions before getting to the actual heart of the show, the singing.