Here's your Big Bang Theory trivia of the day: Long before Kaley Cuoco joined the CBS sitcom as Leonard and Sheldon's ditzy neighbor Penny, Chuck Lorre shot a pilot with unknown Canadian actress/VJ Amanda Walsh as his female lead. Walsh and her character -- a street smart gal with a sensitive core -- were both scrapped by Lorre after CBS rejected the pilot. Now, thanks to the wonder of the internet, that original episode (that even Lorre said "sucked") is available for your viewing pleasure.
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The title Bethenny Getting Married? should tell you one thing: It's exactly like Rachel Getting Married. In the first episode, the Real Housewives of New York star leaves rehab to attend her resentful sister's wedding, but her attempts to reconcile her sordid past are foiled when Debra Winger punches her in the face. I swear. OK, it's more benign than that. But I believe Debra would take a swing at Bethenny. You know?
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Now that Glee's wrapped up its freshman season, everyone wants to know what the writers have planned for season two. Executive producer Ryan Murphy has promised that the show will add three more characters to its already overstuffed cast: love interests for both Kurt and Mercedes, as well as a Christian moralist who'll go toe-to-toe with Rachel. My question is, do they really need to add new actors when some of those roles could go to its two most underserved actors?
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Don't get your hopes up, Better off Ted fans, but there is a chance that ABC will air two previously unseen episodes of the canceled series. The network has scheduled Game Seven of the NBA Finals on June 17, but if the game is not necessary, ABC will fill the 8pm time slot with the Better Off Ted installments "It's My Party and I'll Lie If I Want To" and "Swag the Dog." The underappreciated series starring Jay Harrington was officially canceled last month. [HitFix]
So You Think You Can Dance pulled an American Idol-season-eight on us last night, opting to add an extra dancer to its planned contestant count. Television gets magical that way. We're left with a pretty airtight Top 11, one that includes the right amount of contemporary, ballroom, salsa, and various performers who are always ready to cry. But only one can be the favorite going into tonight's first competition round, and we've got his/her emotional performance (You'll notice krump founder Lil' C is weeping here) after the jump.
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Dina Lohan has confirmed that her daughter is seriously contemplating joining the next season of Celebrity Apprentice because "Donald [Trump] is a friend of the family." According to the New York Post, Lindsay cannot commit until NBC agrees to shoot around her production schedule, which includes shooting the porn star biopic Inferno. Earlier this week, Linday's father Michael Lohan hinted that he was also being courted for the series. [NYP]
With Adam Sandler's comedy Grown Ups on the horizon, expect the cast to hit the late night circuit discussing their decidedly un-grown up behavior. Last night, the film's writer/producer/star kicked off the fun by talking to Jay Leno about picking his nose in the pool, playing video games and overcoming childhood nicknames. Click through for that juvenile segment and the other highlights you missed last night while working on material for the Hoff's roast.
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· The Oprah Winfrey Network has announced three new projects about -- say it with me -- personal transformation. The first pilot announced will feature former Iron Chef Cat Cora as she travels the country helping families prepare healthy meals and balance their busy lifestyles. Makeover expert Carson Kressley will shoot a "make-better show" -- whatever that is. The network has also ordered a pilot called Confrontation: The Conversation, which will follow a crime victim and offender as they try to come to an understanding. [THR]
Glee finds a literary outlet, Grey's Anatomy promotes one of its own, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Just when you thought the Comedy Central roasts couldn't get seedier, they throw a grizzled old lifeguard at us: Yep, David Hasselhoff is the network's next roast honoree. Given a ten-year span of ceremonies that has included William Shatner, Flavor Flav, and Larry the Cable Guy as guests of dishonor, the roast's selection isn't surprising, although picking Joan Rivers last year seemed like a smart about-face. Still, part of what makes Hasselhoff such a predictable choice is that the material he'll be roasted with is so expected. Here are five topics guaranteed to be brought up at the event, as well as suggestions for who should deliver the burn.
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First Kirstie Alley. Then Jason Alexander. And now Tracy Morgan? The 30 Rock star is just the latest comedic actor with an NBC hit under his belt to say suspiciously positive things about a diet program. Could Morgan be the most recent talent to sell out in the name of hawking weight-loss plans? If so, he is certainly the only one to do so while still starring in an Emmy-winning series. Click through to judge the evidence yourself.
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A few weeks ago prior to a taping of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Roots leader and NWA enthusiast Questlove enlisted guest Ice Cube to revive the rap pioneers' "Straight Outta Compton." The video of the performance only made it online late Tuesday, depicting a sanitized, Rock Center-friendly rendition of a song whose original endures as one of the most searing tracks of the '80s. I can't lie: It raises goose bumps -- and at least a few questions.
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Last night's episode of The Hills brought viewers a single week closer to The End. The installment, "The Company You Keep," proved again that Lo is the wisest of the Hills cast members, Audrina has horrific taste in men and that Brody Jenner is the perfect candidate for MTV's in-development series Misogynist Boot Camp. Click through to see who survived Stephanie Pratt's birthday party alive and which moments hit the Real/Fake Jackpot this week.
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To paraphrase The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: Cliffhangers? Glee don't need no stinkin' cliffhangers! The season finale of America's current obsession felt like a series finale with the way it neatly wrapped up all the plot strands that had accumulated throughout the season: New Directions was canceled, but then saved; Rachel and Finn got back together; Quinn had her baby and gave it away; Other Asian had a line of dialogue. Where can the show go from here?! Movieline breaks out the crystal ball and predicts what lies ahead for the denizens of William McKinley High School.
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Watch. This. Show. So You Think You Can Dance may seem like a treat for rarefied reality-watchers who know their pirouettes from their pas de bourres, but this is so much better than other summer fare. Four episodes in, we're reaching the thrilling semifinal auditions where even the most primed prima has to sharpen her skills to make the Top 20. Come on, you've been suffering leotard withdrawal ever since Nastia Liukin left Beijing.
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Sex and the City 2 just keeps on wreaking havoc, doesn't it? Now it's prompted a jealous Courteney Cox to resurrect her own bigscreen transfer. "I wish we could do that with Friends," Cox told the LAT. "The thing is, the characters from Sex and the City hopped all over Manhattan. On Friends, we were always stuck in the apartment and that coffeehouse." Then again, Sex 2 wasn't afraid to shake up its surroundings with a relocation to Abu Dhabi. Imagine the potential of ladies shedding their burqas to reveal their very own "Rachel" haircuts to an appreciative Jennifer Aniston! [LAT]
