TV Squad

MONDAY, AUGUST 16
'The Big C' (10:30PM, Showtime) series premiere
It's a somber topic, of course, which is why the presence of a great, likable actress like Laura Linney is key. Linney is unhappy Minneapolis housewife and teacher Cathy Jamison, whose outlook on life takes a turn when she's diagnosed with stage four cancer. The devastating news leads Cathy to commit to finding the happiness and humor in her life, which means kicking out childish hubby Paul (Oliver Platt) and trying to shape son Adam (the fantastic Gabriel Basso) into a good person in the little time she has left. Cathy also tries to reconnect with her homeless (on purpose) brother Sean (scene stealer John Benjamin Hickey), make friends with her crabby neighbor Marlene (Phyllis Somerville) and help one of her students, the sassy, overweight Andrea (Gabourey Sidibe), lose weight, while also connecting with her flirty doctor ('My Boys' star Reid Scott). We've seen the first three eps, and the show just keeps getting better, and sweeter and funnier, and that doesn't even include upcoming guest appearances by 'The Wire's' Idris Elba as Cathy's love interest, Brian Cox as her dad, Cynthia Nixon as a friend of Cathy's and Liam Neeson as a holistic healer. In other words, go ahead and give 'The Big C' a season pass on the DVR.

'Bachelor Pad' – The contestants get the chance to bring out their "inner artists" before another person is sent packing. PS - After watching the finale, who else thinks every dude in the house should be really, really afraid of Elizabeth K.? She's scary in that bunny-boiling-in-the-pot kinda way ... (8PM, ABC)

'Huge' – Happy Birthday, Chloe and Alistair! Well, birthday, anyway ... it isn't necessarily going to be a happy one for the campers (9PM, ABC Family)

'Aftermath with William Shatner' – Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau talk with the Shat about their scandalous past and how they're now living -- with their two daughters -- as husband and wife (10PM, Bio)

'The Hard Times of RJ Berger' – RJ asks Lily to the winter formal, and then finds out Jenny and Max have broken up (10PM, MTV)

'Hardcore Pawn' – The Harrisons of 'Pawn Stars' have some company in primetime with this new series, which chronicles the Detroit pawn shop owned by the Gold family (10PM, truTV) series premiere

'Weeds' – Remember how last season ended? With Pilar's murder. Which is why Nancy and the fam are on the lam this season, which will also feature the return of Alanis Morissette and Jennifer Jason Leigh, as well as new guest stars Richard Dreyfuss, Linda Hamilton and Mark-Paul Gosselaar (10PM, Showtime) season 6 premiere

'It's Always Sunny on Philadelphia' – No matter how many times you've already seen, it just gets better with each new viewing: 'The Nightman Cometh' (10:30PM, Comedy Central)

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Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

* = Series/Season Premiere
** = Series/Season Finale

7:00 to 8:00
CBS: '60 Minutes'
NBC: 'Dateline'

8:00 to 9:00
CBS: 'Big Brother'
Disney: 'Good Luck Charlie' -- 8:30 start
Nick: 'Dora the Explorer' -- It's Dora's big birthday adventure as she turns 10-years-old
TLC: 'Hoarding: Buried Alive'
TBS: 'My Boys'

The rest of the schedule after the jump.

In our continuing effort to get you ready for the upcoming fall season, we're previewing pilots that were sent to critics earlier this summer.

Keep in mind that in each case, our opinions are based on a pilot that could be completely recast and reworked between now and the fall. This is one of those shows that's radically changed since its original pilot.

Show: 'The Whole Truth'
Network: ABC
Timeslot: Wednesdays, 10PM ET (Premieres September 22)

The lowdown: Essentially, in this show viewers see the story of a criminal trial from both sides of the aisle. As we switch back and forth between the prosecuting and defense teams, we see how they operate to work the system to their side's advantage. On the defense side is Jimmy Brogan (Rob Morrow), who grew up in Hell's Kitchen and has a bit of an unorthodox style. Kathryn Peale (Maura Tierney) is a law-and-order prosecutor from New England. As the cases progress, the two lawyers, friends from their Yale Law School days, meet and talk about the law, justice, and the case at hand.

Earlier this week, Bill O'Reilly deemed Jennifer Aniston "destructive to our society" because of comments she made regarding single motherhood. Now, the 41-year-old actress is firing back.

"Of course, the ideal scenario for parenting is obviously two parents of a mature age. Parenting is one of the hardest jobs on earth," Aniston told PEOPLE.

"And, of course, many women dream of finding Prince Charming (with fatherly instincts), but for those who've not yet found their Bill O'Reilly, I'm just glad science has provided a few other options."

While promoting her new movie, 'The Switch,' earlier this week, Aniston told reporters that women don't need to settle to start a family.

It's hard to keep up with everything on the Internet -- trust us, we know. In an effort to simplify your lives, we're presenting you with the best Web finds of the week all in one convenient place: this post!

This week in Internet fun: war against cupcake shows, movie stars pondering GTL and more.

• Do you love cupcakes? No? Well, you're not the only one. Slate writer Troy Patterson reviews three cupcake shows and hopes for a "cupcake downturn."

• Most television shows don't last very long, so Cracked.com came up with this handy chart detailing the lifespan of almost every show ever made.

• Looks like the stars of 'Eat Pray Love' are quite unaware of another popular mantra, "Gym Tan Laundry." An MTV News reporter asked cast members if they knew what the catchphrase meant and, not surprisingly, few had the correct answer.

• Penn Badgley of 'Gossip Girl' may want to stick to his day job. In a recent photo shoot for Bullett Magazine, Badgley discussed his love for music and took a seat at the piano. While his playing skills weren't too bad, his voice is a bit warbly. Don't believe me? Judge for yourself here.

• There's something that's always sexy about a bad boy, or girl, and what can be more bad than a little bit of criminal activity? Check out the 10 sexiest celebrity stoners according the Nerve.com

• Chelsea Handler may be thought of as a fine wine, as she's someone who is still considered hot at the age of 35. But, it turns out that Ms. Handler has been hot her whole life -- what a bitch. Take a look at the evidence here.

(S04E06) With one of 'Eureka's' strongest outings of the season, 'Momstrosity' managed to make me fall even more in love with Deputy Andy. It also showed a side of this whole alternate reality situation I hadn't even considered, which is perhaps even more tragic than everything Jo has had to endure so far.

This week, it was all about the robots and a great statement on just how reliant we've become on them. While not as heavy-handed in its approach as 'The Terminator' or 'Battlestar Galactica,' it was still a pretty dangerous situation when artificial intelligence got out of hand.

While one romance appeared to end, another one began ... and it's probably one of the most unique relationships in the history of television.

In our continuing effort to get you ready for the upcoming fall season, we're previewing pilots that were sent to critics earlier this summer.

Keep in mind that in each case, our opinions are based on a pilot that could be completely recast and reworked between now and the fall. Some of those changes have already been announced.

Show: 'Body of Proof'
Network: ABC
Timeslot: Fridays, 9PM ET

The lowdown: Four years after a horrific auto accident derailed her career, neurosurgeon Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) has found a new role in the Philadelphia medical examiner's office. Tough and driven, she's always put her career first, which is why she is divorced and not a big part of her daughter's life. But in her new role, she's determined to let the body she's examining tell the entire story of how that person died, much to the annoyance of the cops she works with. She's constantly being told where her boundaries are by her partner, investigator Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop), a former cop. Her boss, De. Kate Murphy (Jeri Ryan) tries to keep Hunt in line while admiring her new hire's determination and the fact that she gets results.

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

* = Series/Season Premiere
** = Series/Season Finale

If the list of new shows seems a bit dull to you, you can always tune into Discovery Health where tonight is 'Sexed Up Saturday,' featuring shows on cybersex addiction and four women who have Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome. Ah, Saturday!

8:00 to 9:00
NBC: 'Gymnastics: Visa Championships' -- Two hours
Univision: 'Sabado Gigante' -- Three hours
Animal Planet: 'Last Chance Highway'
DIY: 'Dream House' -- 8:30 start
G4: 'Ninja Warrior' -- Two episodes
Style: 'How Do I Look?'
TLC: 'Dateline: Real Life Mysteries'

9:00 to 10:00
FOX: 'America's Most Wanted'
BBC America: 'Being Human'
Bio: 'Celebrity Ghost Stories'
CNBC: 'The Suze Orman Show'
G4: 'Ninja Warrior' -- Two episodes
Hallmark: 'Class' -- A law student helps a single mom find a job with benefits as part of his public advocacy class; two hours
HGTV: 'Curb Appeal: The Block' -- 9:30 start
Style: 'Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?'
We: 'The Cupcake Girls'* -- Two episodes

10:00 to 11:00
Animal Planet: 'Pit Boss'
Bio: 'My Ghost Story'
HGTV: Color Splash: Miami'
Style: 'The Dish'

We gave one lucky fan the chance of a lifetime -- VIP access to the 'So You Think You Can Dance' season finale -- and boy what a performance that was.

Check out Heather "Nikki" D.'s account of her thrilling experience meeting her favorite dancers, the famous judges and seeing the exhilarating finale unfold live.

(Be sure to check out our interview with the winning dancer here.)

Welcome to the Soap Round-Up, our weekly recap of all the soap action this past week. Each week, we sum up all the best stories from each and every soap, from 'All My Children' to 'The Young and the Restless.'

If you don't want to know what aired already, consider this a SPOILER ALERT. ... Oh, one last thing, please comment and join the conversation.

For instance, what do think of the shocker ending on Friday's 'The Bold and the Beautiful' when Liam stopped Ridge from punching him in the face by declaring that he's his son? What? Really?

'The Bold and the Beautiful'
Stephanie slapped Brooke, standing up for Hope. Ridge refused to rehire Steffy despite her ownership stake in Forrester. Bridget and Owen bonded over their baby kicking. Brooke was upset that Donna sold her Forrester stock to Bill. Bill told Steffy he could clear her name with Ridge. Stephanie learned Liam was involved in altering the Brooke video.

Want to know what's going on with your favorite TV stars when the cameras aren't rolling? Check out the latest celebrity news from our friends at PopEater.com.

• Elisabeth Moss, Fred Armisen separate after 10 months of marriage

• Zac Efron wants to follow in Will Ferrell's steps and take on the 'Man Vs. Wild' challenge. Bear Grylls says bring it!

• Let's all say it together now: Ricky Gervais won't be replacing Steve Carell on 'The Office'! OK?! Instead, he's taking 'The Office' to China.

• According to a friend, Dina Lohan is upset and feels "ambushed" by how Matt Lauer treated her on 'Today'

• A celebrity posting naked pictures of herself is guaranteed to cause a stir, yet Teri Hatcher claims to be "surprised" by the hubbub she's created

They've gone and done it again. They ended the 'Big Brother 12' live show with an HoH competition underway, yet not completed. They're either out of ideas for short competitions or, by leaving viewers with a cliffhanger, they're hoping to increase the ratings for Sunday night's show.

While it would be a hoot if the hamsters all got so tangled up in their ropes that they were still struggling by Sunday night, we all know that's not the case. The competition is over and there's a new Head of Household in place. Plus, that HoH has chosen three people to be Have Nots. You can wait until Sunday night when it airs on television or ... you can keep on reading.

Beware -- extreme spoilers ahead!

Unfortunately, 'Party Down' is still dead, but it is getting a new digital life, just minus new episodes.

The critically-acclaimed yet ratings-challenged comedy about a catering company will be available for download on iTunes, Amazon and Xbox starting Aug. 24. Yes, soon you can relive the wonderful final season of one of the best comedies to grace TV screens in a long while. Episodes will have a suggested price of $1.99.

"It's the earliest we've ever gone out [for sale] with a show," Marc DeBevoise, senior vice president of digital media at Starz, told Vulture. "Our goal is to get out there as fast as possible to the rabid fans."

The show disappeared off Netflix's instant streaming service in what many thought was a wicked move by Starz, but it will return near the end of the year. Season 2 of 'Party Down' will be out on DVD Sept. 28. Could Starz be hoping to grow 'Party Down' into an even bigger cult-hit?

In other TV news ...

• Mandy Moore will return to 'Grey's Anatomy.' The singer/actress' character, Mary, last seen in the season 6 finale, will check back into Seattle Grace in the sixth episode of season 7. [TV Guide]

• 'Friday Night Lights' star Michael B. Jordan will guest on NBC's 'Parenthood.' Jordan will play the new love interest of Haddie and is currently signed for two episodes, but he could make more appearances down the road. [TV Guide]

The season finale 'The Next Food Network' airs Sunday at 9PM ET, and if you've been watching since the first episode, you know that it's been a good competition. All the three finalists -- Aarti Sequeira, Herb Mesa, and Tom Pizzica -- seem to have a good shot at winning the top prize.

We have our own thoughts about who would excel with his or her own Food Network television show, but if you've studied the judges' reaction, one candidate seems to have the inside track to victory.

Check out our analysis of who will be 'The Next Food Network Star,' starting with the chef most likely to win ...

Now that I've been back from California for a few days, and have fought off the jet lag (it gets worse as you get older, kids), I've been able to look back and digest what I learned at the TCA tour.

Besides the fact that I've learned my limits to eating salmon and chicken for lunch every day, there were a few things, at least from a TV perspective, that have stuck in my brain since I've gotten back:

1. The networks are relying on procedural dramas more than ever. Perhaps they got scared off by the flame out of 'FlashForward,' or the downward spiral to cancellation by 'Heroes.' But there only seemed to be a couple of new dramas on the networks' fall slates that had any kind of beefy continuing storyline. NBC's 'The Event' is probably the most serialized of the new shows, followed closely by FOX's 'Lone Star.' CBS's 'Blue Bloods' has a serialized element, but as we're finding out, there's an on-set disagreement as to how much that should be emphasized.

The rest of the dramatic slate leans heavily on the procedural, and as I said the other day, they are starting to blend together in my mind. Want evidence of this? Jerry Bruckheimer (pictured above) now has shows on three of the four networks this fall.