• Why don’t TV stars like to watch television?
• Is Jon Stewart the most trusted man in America?
• The Watcher isn’t liking The Cho Show
• An interview with CCH Pounder from The Shield
• Travel Channel to rerun Amazing Race seasons 12, 13, and possibly 14
• Download the first episode of Architecture School for free from iTunes
• Bachelorette reject becomes the next Bachelor
• Meet SNL’s newest featured player
• Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords got married
• Take the Dexter inkblot test
• This day in lists: The six best and five worst failed TV pilots

Buzz got a great interview out of the young actor Tristan Wilds on moving from The Wire’s Baltimore to 90210’s, well, 90210. (BuzzSugar)

This week, Sandie took at first look at NBC’s new show, My Own Worst Enemy. (Daemon’s TV)

My favorite comedy, The Office will be returning in just a few short long weeks. I’m passing the time by watching season 4 on DVD. You can too. GMMR is giving away a copy of Season 4 of The Office on DVD. (Give Me My Remote)

Usain Bolt: the next Flavor Flav and even more thoughts from the Beijing Olympics. (Scooter McGavin’s 9th Green)

Vance checks out the new contestants on The Amazing Race (Season 13) and makes gloriously uneducated preconceptions about all the teams. (Tapeworthy)

This week, Jace reviewed Season One of the adorable, charming, and wickedly funny British comedy Gavin & Stacey, which launches on Tuesday evening on BBC America. (Televisionary)

Is Dan overreacting? He was a bit put-off by the teaser for CBS’s The Mentalist which employs some gay stereotypes. (TiFaux)

Raoul gave you his honest take on America’s Greatest Dog…and so did Beth Joy. (TV Filter)

Happy Friday everyone. You made it.

What are you doing?  I’m probably going to go out and get my burrito on — and then play it by ear.  I went out last night too, to a big gay party at a bar.  None of the boys seemed to be interested, but several lesbians complimented me on my tie.  True story.

Oh right.  TV blog.

So there’s this show coming to CBS this fall called The Mentalist. It stars Simon Baker who you’ll probably recognize, but not realize where he’s from (the only thing I remember is that white-guy-falls-in-love-with-black-woman-and-causes-a-hubbub movie — whatever that was called).  Anyway, he’s all handsome and whatnot.  And then there’s Robin Tunney, who you might recognize as the suicidey, bald girl from Empire Records or the main girl from The Craft.

Anyway, the show is a procedural where the private investigator isn’t exactly psychic, but just has supa-acute powers of observation. It looks tolerable and forgettable, just like all of these types of shows.

There is this one crazy part in the preview, though, that I can’t believe made it through the entire way to the trailer.  And was never cut at any point. During one of the PI’s astonishing revelations, he deduces that one of the corpses on the slab at the morgue is a gay man by noticing that he was wearing clear toenail polish. It’s an astonishingly brazen and casual remark made by, presumably, a resoundingly heterosexual character.

Is anyone else a little off-put by this?  Not offended really.  But if “seriously, CBS?” were an emotion, that’s what I’d be feeling.

• No shit: John Edwards mistress was on my favorite GSN show, Lingo
• If you’re watching the Olympics you’re probably a 48 year old white female
• USA Today interviews Margaret Cho
• Julia-Louis Dryfus and Wanda Sykes tie the knot
• The Project Runway couple move in together and get matching rings
• The Naked Cowboy will host a reality competition for street performers
• LA Times is not liking Tabitha’s Salon Takeover
• Zoila’s painting from Flipping Out sold for $10,000
• RIP: Stargate Atlantis has been cancelled
• Biggest Loser is also a shitty trainer, gets sued
• This day in lists: Top 10 Olsen twin jokes from Bob Saget’s roast

I’ve spent the last half hour trying to figure out how to grab five minutes from Monday night’s broadcast from my DVR and put it here on the website (a Tifaux-to-Tifaux transfer, if you will) but, well, I can’t. And it seems no one has done it for me. So this will have to do.

Did anyone else see Bob Costas’ and Cris Collinsworth’s sassy little up-yours to an exhausted American viewing audience the other night? A little before midnight, Bob finished talking about pole vaulting (how much of a dick was the silver medalist’s coach?!) to turn earnestly to us and proclaim that he, Bob, felt our pain at staying up half the damn night for a week and half, and proceeded to offer some helpful suggestions, such as staying hydrated, wearing sunglasses, and skipping work. Thanks, guys. I actually found this kind of funny last night, but having found out what happened in the beam final from no fewer than four sources Tuesday morning, I’m kind of pissed at NBC. I wouldn’t mind the sleep deprivation quite so much if they’d shown just a few of the gymnastics event finals live in primetime so I wouldn’t have found out who won every single one by the time I finished my breakfast.

Further proof that Bob is as tired as we are: During Tuesday’s broadcast he introduced a puff piece on sprinter Sanya Richards and her fiancé, football player Aaron Ross, by crediting Ross as the “Super Bowl–winning quarterback of the New York Giants.” Bob? Honey?

Eli Manning, as your channel has been reminding us every two minutes (remember him, brother of Peyton, recent first-time toucher of a naked lady?) is the Giants’ quarterback. Ross is a defensive back. Maybe you should pop some No-Doz, Bobby; it’s only Day 12.

• Darryl from The Office is pleading guilty on those drug charges
• Supernanny is getting a more manly and less British spinoff
• What we aren’t watching: Mad Men loses over a million viewers
• Battlestar will be producing webisodes in the fall
• The Shield ends November 25th
• Is Bravo refusing to renew Workout unless Jackie gets a hot girlfriend?
• More info on Sundance’s Architecture School reality show
• Another reality show gets a gay porn star, this time it’s Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
• I was sorry to see Kelli leave Project Runway last week but at least her business in Columbus is doing well
• E! Kristin has spoilers on House, Heroes, and more
• This day in lists: The 10 greatest wrestlers from the 80s and 90s

We haven’t talked much about the current season of Project Runway. Perhaps Bravo’s contempt and disinterest in the current season has spilled over on my affection for the series, but it’s actually a much more interesting season than last time.

For one, the designers are just a lot more annoying this time around. Well, maybe just Suede and Blayne. Between the unacceptable usage of the third person (although he’s really been consistent — you’ve got to give him that) and Blayne’s desperate attempts to try to enter “–licious” into the pop culture lexicon, they’ve really given previous seasons’ annoyances (PR3’s Angela, for instance) a run for their money.

There are a couple of people I’ve found myself rooting for rather passionately.

First up, there’s Keith. Rowr.

And in case you didn’t hear that, I said “Rowr.”

Between that tattoos, the beard and the ex-mormon kink factor (which doesn’t do it for me as much as other gays I know), he’s probably the hottest designer the show has ever known. I would say — and you can quote me on this — that he completely blows Rami out of the water. And Rami was way buffer. I’m glad Keith won this last episode, even though his dress was weird and peacocky.

The other person I love is Stella. Yes, I fucking love her.

Whenever she comes on the screen, she just cracks me the hell up. The constant discussion of “leathuh,” “black leathuh” and punk rock plus the pounding and hammering she does in the work room. Sometimes I wonder whether she has a fixation or just a really specific point of view (and what’s the difference between the two in this context?).  While she hasn’t nailed it every time, she’s managed to do pretty well staying true to her aesthetic.

Anybody else have favorites or non-favorites?

• Get well soon!: To avoid getting cancer, Christina Applegate has had both of her breasts removed
• There might be a Veronica Mars movie!
• Cousin Mose from The Office is writing Amy Poehler’s new show
• Michael Chiklis talks about the final season of The Shield
• Here’s how you become an extra on Lost
• Not gay: Chris Kattan divorces from his wife
• Casting news for Pushing Daises, Scrubs, and more
• Amazing race visits Borat’s homeland this season
• Hey! It’s the Seinfeld cast done up Star Wars poster style
• If a man watches The Hills, is he no longer a man?
• This day in lists: The Fall reality schedule done up by the nice folks at Reality Blurred

It really appears as though our long national nightmare might be over. That is, the lamentable 2007-2008 television season is behind us and the 2008-2009 season is upon us.

One sign of this is the announcement of some bizarre-o casting news for a few shows — mostly ones I am not really interested in. However, the news is just odd enough to perk up my ears.

First up, Laurence Fishburn (seen here in more humbling days) is joining the cast of CSI. I suppose he hasn’t been doing anything incredibly earth-shaking over the past few years, but it still seems like he’s slumming it a little. Admittedly, CSI is an inexplicably enormous hit (the American populace loves figuring out how psychopaths murder and disfigure unwitting victims), but if Larry wanted to take some time off I figured he’d be the type to get a role on or off Broadway. That way, he keeps his actor street cred.

That said, he’s probably making a shit ton of money. So, Godspeed Laurence. Godspeed.

In other news, there’s Dave Foley from Kids in the Hall. He’ll be guest starring on an episode of Brothers and Sisters (or, as I like to call it, Gays and Old Ladies) as the love interest of an unnamed character. He’s dressed up like a woman enough on Kids in the Hall and played gay enough (KITH and Will & Grace) that it’s anyone’s guess who is going to be love interest-ing him.

Plus, you didn’t hear it from me, but he’s looking kind of old these days.  No more boyishness.  So, who knows?

Finally, Colin Hanks is going to be a priest on Mad Men.  And Sigourney Weaver is going to be Eli Stone’s therapist.

Get excited, everyone!