NBC's "Knight Rider" Promo Stills

Urgh! Now here's a show I won't be watching this fall. "Knight Rider." The 2 hours I spent sampling the backdoor pilot of the reimagined series NBC aired in February may have been my most excruciating viewing experience of the past TV season. Unless of course I take into account that reality piece of trash called "Moment of Truth" on FOX.


My good buddy Travis who watched the movie with me and agreed it was weak does think I am a little exaggerating, though.



I am hardly the target audience for this type of fare, so I suppose I am not the right person to judge. But I did think, to put it simply, the film sucked with a capital S. That however shouldn't stop me from posting promo stills of its hunky star Justin Bruening, should it now? Plus, I do looove the car.



For those of you who care, "Knight Rider" airs this fall Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC, beginning September 24 (encore telecasts will air on Saturdays).

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VIDEO: Blake Lively's Seventeen PhotoShoot

"Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively appears on the cover of the August issue of Seventeen magazine on newsstands next Tuesday, July 8. Last night Ryan Seacrest and the E! news team previewed the cover story.

Lively, who is dating co-star Penn Badgley (nobody call them Blenn, please - that's so 2007) can next be seen in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" out August 6 reprising her role along co-stars Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera and Alexis Bledel.

In the mag interview Lively speaks about her infatuation with Badgley: "Penn does these silly dance moves, and he’s very witty and quick, so it’s fun to have sharp banter with him..."



Read More on GOSSIP GIRL
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Cyndi Lauper Sings for Luke & Noah

Pop legend Cyndi Lauper made a very special appearance on today's edition of CBS' "As the World Turns" promoting her new album and singing one of her greatest classics for daytime soap's iconic gay couple Luke and Noah.

Lauper, whose older sister Ellen is gay, has been a long-time supporter of gay rights and an icon in the gay community.


The singer dedicated her signature pop ballad "True Colors" to a sad Luke who is still coming to terms over his recent break-up with Noah.

But will she help reunite the boys? We all know they'll end up together, the only question is - what year?

Kudos to Lauper for sending out a positive message while giving her new project some additional exposure in the media.



And the same goes for Procter & Gamble who own the show for securing Lauper's appearance and proving their dedication to the 'power-couple'.

Luke and Noah's portrayal has often been a little far-fetched (Army? Really? Hasn't Noah seen '60 Minutes'?), but their continuing presence in the TV landscape remains crucial.







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VIDEO: Watch "Mad Men" Pilot

AMC's brilliant Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated drama about chain-smoking and sexually-harassing ad execs of 1960s Madison Avenue and the loving women in their lives is now out on DVD. Make sure you grab a copy because I truly believe television doesn't get any better than this. Or see for yourself and enjoy the pilot episode of the classy and powerful "Mad Men" now online.

The pilot, courtesy of the AMC network, is divided into three parts, with total running time 47 minutes. The DVD released on July 1 contains all 13 episodes of season 1. Season 2 is scheduled to begin Sunday, July 27 at 10/9c on AMC.

Buy Mad Men on DVD











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New 90210: Brenda's In, Donna's Out!

Just hours after Entertainment Weekly exclusively revealed negotiations to bring Shannen Doherty (Brenda) onto The CW's revamped "90210," Tori Spelling (Donna) announced she is leaving the show 'for personal reasons'.

Those looking for a nasty behind-the-scenes bitchfight might be disappointed to hear Tori who has already filmed scenes for the pilot episode simply needs a little break as she has recently given birth to her 2nd child via C-section. Or does she?




Jennie Garth (Kelly) who is also on board the update has already released a statement confirming she has no problem with the hiring of Doherty (according to Spelling's memoir the actresses were involved in an on-set fist fight in the 1990s).

Doherty is however known for her feisty behavior that got her fired from the show after its 4th season in 1994. The original 90210 producer and Tori's father Aaron Spelling however went on to hire the actress for his WB series "Charmed."



Yesterday EW's new columnist Michael Ausiello reported, in order to come back to TV's most famous zipcode, Doherty wants to know the direction of her future storylines and demands a higher salary than the one she had already been offered.

Despite her demands and bad reputation, the producers are allegedly very eager to hire Doherty, as having 90210's 3 original ladies on the show would bring instant publicity and guaranteed early ratings.



I am personally curious to what extent the 3 ladies (Spelling says she will be back in the near future) will be involved with the redux. The show's already got a pretty big new cast and I wonder how they will gel with the old cast members.

Wouldn't the show feel just like the original series, now limping through its 18th year, after most cast members have already been replaced by a bunch of new faces? Put too many old cast members in and that just might be the case.

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Lipstick Jungle: Season 2 Spoilers

NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" returns this fall to battle ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" on Wednesday nights at 10pm. The spoilers are sparse, but there have been many candids taken on the set in New York recently.


Seven-time Emmy winner Mary Tyler Moore has joined the cast for a multi-episode guest role as Joyce, a retired high-powered executive and mother of Brooke Shields' character Wendy who will challenge he daughter's idealistic notion of "having it all." Moore's character will debut in the September 24 season premiere.



Meanwhile, despite ditching her mega-hot boyfriend Kirby Atwood in March, Kim Raver's magazine editor Nico Reilly will reunite with her flame as recent candids have indicated. The actress was spotted on the set on Tuesday playing with her son Leo whom she gave birth to last October.



Finally Lindsay Price's character fashion designer Victory Ford is coming to terms with her billionaire boyfriend's betrayal (Andrew McCarthy returns as Joe Bennett) and focuses her energy on opening a new store. Rodrigo, the hunky contractor taking care of the construction, will give Joe a run for his money.



Rodrigo will be played by Puerto Rican singer Carlos Ponce and his character promises to be antithesis of McCarthy's character. Rosie Perez will also join the show as a feisty publicist, who - what else? - is at the top of her game.



Last winter "Lipstick Jungle" did manage to win the ratings war with ABC's "Cashmere Mafia," the show everyone was comparing it to. With "Mafia" now gone for good, "Lipstick" will battle those wacky Darlings on ABC and, coincidentally, "Mafia's" star Lucy Liu who has joined "Dirty Sexy Money."



"Lipstick" which, unlike "Mafia," got a DVD release in late May was panned by TV critics for its silly plots. "Lipstick" star Brooke Shields argued the quality of those episodes was heavily impacted by the absence of the show's striking writers and the new episodes will take the show to a new level.

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"Friends" Reunion Movie?

Following success of HBO's "Sex and the City" on the big screen, Britain's Daily Mail says the cast of NBC's blockbuster comedy "Friends" is now on board a theatrical reunion project. But can Rachel really pull a Carrie? Plus, Matt LeBlanc's ex-manager wants Joey to show her the money!


According to Mail (whose stories one always needs to take with a grain of salt, I can never underline that enough), people behind one of NBC's biggest comedies ever are so eager to get their peace of 'TV Reunion on Big Screen' pie, that even Jennifer Aniston who's long been reluctant to do the project is finally on board.



Even if this really is an unsubstantiated rumor, would "Friends: The Movie" really fly? "Sex and the City" has! The 65 million movie has already surpassed all studio expectations as its current global box office gross has reached almost $315 million and may still rise somewhat in the weeks to come.



Both of these shows were signature comedies for their respective networks and they incidentally both ended in 2004 reuniting their core couples (Carrie & Big and Rachel % Ross). But I'm certain that simply copying "Sex's" movie plot by depicting complications arising from Rachel and Ross' wedding would draw some criticism.



Plus, despite being a half hour comedy "Sex and the City" was much more cinematic in its original TV format and got easily transferred onto the big screen. Doing the same with "Friends" might pose a bit of a challenge, as it was more of an old-fashioned multi-camera laugh track-laden comedy.



But nothing is impossible. You need to have the entire cast on board, come up with a really good script, and execute the movie well. The buzz will already be there since day one. The movie's basically pre-sold.

And if it worked for a 5-10 million viewer niche series on a premium cable network, why wouldn't it work for a 20-30 million viewer mass market comedy on a major broadcast network?



Besides, what has the cast done since the show ended?

Jennifer Aniston has released 5 movies, 3 of which bombed at the box office (she has another 6 in the pipeline).



Courtney Cox has had modest success with her just-canceled FX paparazzi-bashing drama "Dirt."


Lisa Kudrow works in low-profile indie projects, David Schwimmer is doing some directorial work, while Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc are keeping a low profile following the collapse of their prime-time shows "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Joey."



Speaking of LeBlanc, a judge has decided yesterday, that his ex-manager's lawsuit in which she alleges he owes her a million dollars since 2000 would not be dismissed. The manager (who worked with LeBlanc the year he was cast in 'Friends') argues that she is entitled to 15% of his 'Friends' income.


Given the fact that every cast member was earning $1 million per episode in the show's final 2003-2004 season only, the figure the ex-rep is asking actually seems a bit low to me. The again who would want to throw a mil down the drain when their highly anticipated spin-off got so unceremoniously dumped?

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Justice League to Launch Smallville: Season 8

This morning's TV Guide revealed Justice League will return to CW's top drama "Smallville" at the launch of season 8 in September. Following all the hoopla about actors leaving the show, here's a little recap now of who's leaving, who's back and who's joining the show next season.


The most notable is the departure of resident villain Lex Luthor who was played by Michael Rosenbaum since the show began in 2001.


Battlestar Galactica's Sam Witwer will become the show's new cetral villain, Doomsday, a.k.a. Davis Bloome, a charismatic Metropolis paramedic, with burgeoning darkness within.

Cassidy Freeman will also join the cast as series regular Tess Mercer, a sexy, cunning and ruthless new CEO of LuthorCorp. hired by Lex to run his empire in his absence.



Justin Hartley (Green Arrow/Oliver Queen), a recurring guest star in season 6, has become a new series regular. He will be back for at least 12 episodes, including the season premiere in which he summons Justice League to locate a missing Clark.



This time around, in addition to Green Arrow the league will comprise Aquaman (Alan Ritchson) and Black Canary (Alaina Huffman). Martian Manhunter (Phil Morris) will also make an appearance.



One of the original cast members Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang) will no longer be a series regular, but she is said to be back for several special guest appearances.



Erica Durance (Lois Lane) will be back as series regular for at least 12 episodes. Her character will take her relationship with Clark to a new level, as he finally joins "The Daily Planet" and gets to work right across her.



Following difficult contractual negotiations, Allison Mack will also be back as Chloe. She remains one of the original series regulars and gets to appear in all 22 episodes.



As for some of the more recent faces, Aaron Ashmore is said to be back as Jimmy Olsen, but Laura Vandervoort (Supergirl/Kara) will not be one of the regulars. She may however appear in a handful of episodes.



Of course, series creators Al Gough and Miles Millar have departed the show for undisclosed reasons, but the long-time producers and writers promise they will do their best to keep their voices in the new storylines.

Although it seemed at one point last spring The CW was trying to squeeze out a very disappointing 8th season and the show began to resemble a sinking ship, with all the above-mentioned talent on board for at least a part of season 8, this may very well turn out to be a solid year for "Smallville."

I'll certainly keep my mind open for the sake of all the great stories this great team has already given us.

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Vanessa Hudgens on 'Good Morning America'

19-year old "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens appeared on ABC's "Good Morning, America" this morning to talk about her upcoming second album "Identified," her August tour, big screen release of the highly-anticipated "High School Musical 3," upcoming movie with Lisa Kudrow, relationship with Zac Efron, etc. What a busy, busy girl. I knew that racy photo was the best thing that ever happened to her!



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Josh Holloway to "Stay Cool"

"Lost" hunk and Davidoff "Cool Water" fragrance spokesman Josh Holloway will "Stay Cool" as he has joined the cast of a new comedy starring Winona Ryder, Chevy Chase and Hilary Duff.


The indie movie written, directed and produced by the Polish brothers centers around a successful author who returns home and confronts his high school crush (Ryder). Holloway will play the former high school jock and ex-boyfriend to Ryder's character.



"Stay Cool" shoots this month in California and will be released at some point in 2009. After completing the movie, the actor will return to Hawaii in August to begin filming season 5 of "Lost" (17 episodes).



Most recently Holloway appeared in the 2007 thriller "Whisper" about kidnapping of a young boy gone wrong.



In addition to the Davidoff fragrance campaign, Josh Holloway - one of People Magazine's "Most Beautiful People in the World" - also endorses Magnum ice cream in Turkey.

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