I came across this clip the other day and I had good intentions of writing about it.

I planned on embedding the clip and saying “What a bastard Jay Leno is! Least funny person ever!”

You know, same old routine.

I would also bring up Jeff Whitty’s remarks from two years ago (which, by the way, I blogged about because this blog is over two years old — holy crap!) where he called Jay out on his easy and (more importantly) unfunny habit of demeaning gay people for laughs.

However, it appears that Whitty himself has beaten me to the punch. He’s reignited his feud with Leno, (rightfully) taking issue with the host’s continual habit of taking cheap shots at gay folks for the least common denominator laughs it will inevitably garner.

Here’s an excerpt:

Not everyone can stomach you, I fear, so for those who can’t, I’ll do a little transcription. You were interviewing Ryan Phillippe, whose first acting job was as a gay teenager on One Life to Live. So naturally you homed in on how WEIRD and HILARIOUS it was that he played a GAY PERSON — while Phillippe reasonably tried to shift the conversation to the larger issue of how weird it was to be on a soap opera.

But you couldn’t be stopped! You went for the comedy gold!

JAY: Can you give me like — say that camera is your gay lover — number two –

PHILLIPPE: Wait a second. Wait a second.

JAY: Can you give me your gayest look? Say that — say that camera is Billy Bob — Billy Bob has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming.

(Your sycophantic audience hoots with laughter at the idea of a strapping lad like Phillippe giving a “gay look.”)

PHILLIPPE: Wow. That is so something I don’t want to do. Are you just going to embarrass me tonight, or –

JAY: No, I got more stuff. This is the least of it.

Read the rest of Whitty’s letter here, along with a picture of him with a flipped bird. It’s good to know that someone is trying to hold Leno accountable for a) his cheap antics at the expense of a certain group of people; b) his awful schtick.

• Expect plenty of scenes of Angela from the Office sitting at her desk and hiding behind office equipment
• 30 Rock visits MILF island
• Watch a press conference with the stars of Battlestar Galactica
• For no reason: Battlestar Galactica Simpsonized
• Watch all episodes of South Park online, free, and legally right here
• After the smashing success of Fox News’ comedy program, CNN says “me too!”
• Milo from Heroes has a Youtube posse
• What will the Beeper King’s new moniker be on 30 Rock?
• 10 TV shows that changed the world
• Britney helps How I Met Your Mother get it’s highest ratings this season
• Up to 8 Buffyverse actors are being considered for roles on Dollhouse
• E! Kristin has gossip on 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies, HIMYM, FNL and more!

The Washington Post came out with a rather horrifying profile of Ryan Seacrest yesterday, portraying him as the determined and energetic heir to the Dick Clark dynasty — a fact that he admits to in no minced words (“I had a total, 100 percent strategy to be the Dick Clark for our generation,” he says, “to be the Merv Griffin for our generation, to be the Larry King for our generation.”).

Eww…

Meanwhile, who wants to be the Larry King of any generation?

Normally, when people get on TV it’s because they are really committed to a craft. Even if you think they suck. For instance, you couldn’t pay me enough to listen to a Carrie Underwood album, but you know that she got there because she was once a barefoot eight-year-old singing into a hairbrush in front of her bathroom mirror. But she got good at something and parlayed that into a (hugely) successful career — and now millions of people love her.

But the way Shales breaks it down, Seacrest was making mix tapes in the hopes of becoming Casey Kasem. And not only did he want to be Casey Kasem, he wanted to be every talent monger. Here’s the scariest paragraph of them all:

Although “Seacrest” might sound like a waterfront retirement village, there’s nothing remotely sleepy about him. It’s not that he’s multi-talented; he’s anti-talented, not a performer but a professional “personality,” the latest variation on a type as old as broadcasting: the guy who stands there and introduces the acts. He’s a low-key cheerleader who keeps the show moving and, with the judges as natural foils, allies himself with the audience and the contestants, never threatening to upstage the performers, even if he could.

The article details the psychotic organization, bordering on megalomania, with which Seacrest has built his empire (and, yes, it is a fucking empire). The radio kingdom, American Idol, the New Year’s Eve gig, being on E! 25 hours a day, etc.

I think the article wouldn’t be so disturbing if Seacrest were trying to become a real estate mogul. If he was just out to be the richest, most powerful, Trumpiest Trump that ever Trumped, then who would really care? But the fact is that he wants to hijack pop culture. And his vehicle toward success is mediocrity, accessibility and, above all, familiarity.

My gripe is that every place that Seacrest pops up is somewhere someone interesting won’t pop up. No more Kathy Griffin on the red carpet because Seacrest is there to blandly schmooze it up.  They could recruit a journalist to host E!, but sadly no. Seacrest’s malleable, vanilla “hostiness” can fill a thousand different roles and he’s taking up more than his fair share.  After all was anybody actually excited when they found out he was going to host the Emmys?

The fact of the matter is that Ryan Seacrest is not going away. Like a chicken pox scar or a traumatizing memory from 7th grade gym class, he’s just something we’re going to have to live with the rest of our lives.

Jezebel James is cancelled.

Already.

• RIP Jezebel James
• Savino from The Wire got stabbed in Baltimore
• Katee Sackhoff doesn’t think she’ll reprise the role of Starbuck once shooting of season 4 has completed
• Scrubs is making new episodes for NBC… or ABC
• Prison Break will be back for a fourth season
• Fred Savage and Amy Smart to star in different CBS shows
• A talk with Kelsey Grammar’s daughter about the new season of Greek
• Read how Tim Gunn saved Parsons and how he plans to save Liz Claiborne
• Check out the cast of Battlestar Galactica doing David Letterman’s Top Ten list
• A brief roundup of the Buffy reunion

Hey everybody, just a quick note. I wanted to non-ironically implore you to watch the second season premiere of Greek tonight on ABC Family. This show not only exceeds the (very low) expectations of the ABC Family network, it absolutely destroys them with wit and genuine good feeling.

I know I sound like an ABC Family intern right now, but I’m serious. Shows about college are hard, because college kids are a self-absorbed, lazy lot (come on, admit it), but this one manages to nail it. And I’ve never even been to an actual frat or sorority house.

Here lies Danielle Rousseau.

Like all the best French things, she was strange, mysterious and, most likely, smelly. Last week’s episode found her joining Mr. Eko’s “Well I Guess That Character Is Dead Now Club” of Lost folks who have experienced untimely and unceremonious demises.

Did anyone else feel like this was an unsatisfying end for a reasonably interesting character?  Especially since she’s been around since (pretty much) the beginning. I suppose half the point of killing her off so suddenly was the fact that it caught us all off guard, but for someone who’s been around so long I think I would have liked a little bit more hullabaloo.  When they killed Charlie, it was a whole half-season long arc and a final excruciating drowning scene. And Ana Lucia and Libby’s deaths were a hundred times more shocking because we never thought they were in danger to begin with.

In any case, Danielle.  We’ll miss you.  Your dirty hair. Your strange disappearances and resurfacings. Your mannish posture.

Au revoir.

I know I’ve already done a (few) music posts recently, but I feel like I should get this out there while it’s still bouncing around in my head.

The other night I was out (way past my bedtime) to see the Most Serene Republic — a band I’ve posted about and doted upon before. I didn’t know much about the openers (although my concert buddy was a fan), so I was really surprised when I found that Liam Finn pretty much blew me away.

Finn is a New Zealand native (who was born in 1983, according to Wikipedia — this makes me feel incredibly depressed and ancient) whose dad was in that band Crowded House. His live show is amazing, even though it’s just him and a supporting female vocalist. He uses a loop pedal to create a huge band sound — then walks over to the drum kit and just bashes out a beat as if that were his primary instrument. It’s incredible.

Apparently he was on Letterman last month. Who knew? Check out his performance and make sure you watch it til the end if you watch it at all. And if he is coming to your area, for God’s sake, see him.

(Pssst… and you didn’t hear it from me, but CultureBully has an mp3 of the performance here)

I totally saw Andrew and Mark from Top Chef 4 hanging out together in SOHO!

• That was quick: Jericho cancelled again
• Oh snap! Oprah accused of stealing idea for Big Give. Unrelated, expect Jennifer Aniston to make an appearance in the finale
• Will Buffy live on as a musical?
• Check out some clips of Britney on How I Met Your Mother
• An interview with the quitter from Survivor
• Tori Spelling wants to appear in the 90210 spinoff
• A brief chat with the producer of Friday Night Lights
• Expect an A-Team movie in 2009
• For shits and giggles, how would Gilmore Girls work in a reference to indie band Vampire Weekend?

• Buzz tried her hand at casting the spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210. (BuzzSugar)
• This week, we interviewed Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver about Season 2 of The Riches on FX. (Daemon’s TV)
• Mikey’s dreams for a weekly dose of Judy Greer finally came true, and if Miss Guided’s momentum doesn’t slow down, it may even be worthy of her talents. (Mikey Likes TV)
• Marcia lists her five favorite TV characters of the moment. Naturally, Barney takes the top spot. (Pop Vultures)
• Much like Eli Stone, Scooter was followed around by a George Michael song this past Thursday. (Scooter McGavin’s 9th Green)
• Vance loves Judy Greer! Likes Miss Guided (Tapeworthy)
• This week, Jace was all about the Paley Festival (his fifth!) where he attended events for Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Judd Apatow, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion. (Televisionary)
• Dan pondered Battlestar Galactica’s Jamie Bamber and House’s Hugh Laurie in an effort to figure out which English actor does the best American accent. (TiFaux)
• We list the 5 Shows you should be watching! [the TV Addict]
• Kate would have cut the entire bottom three (plus Erik) on Top Chef (TV Filter)