TV with MeeVee

Lunchtime Links! Almost As Good As A Nooner!

Big, big Thursday night, lots of news and insights today...

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• William Baldwin spills the beans - "Dirty Sexy Money" will move to Thursdays next year. (Televisionista)
• Correctly pointing out what's so much fun about this year's blindside-intensive "Survivor" - Cirie! (TV Squad)
• Detailed exigesis of last night's bedeviling "Lost." (TV Squad)
• Recap of "CSI's" comedy episode. (Buddy TV)
• Ditto "My Name Is Earl," which actually is a comedy. (Buddy TV)
• Dreadlocks Boy talks about getting punted from "American Idol." (TVG)
• A less successful "American Idol" reject gets busted for pervy online chats with kids. (NYDN)
• Univision is a big deal in the ratings, si? (TV By The Numbers)
• Sex scandal at the Weather Channel? Is it legal to use "sex" and "Weather Channel" in the same sentence? (TSG)

Lunchtime Linkage Loves You Too

• Another reason to hope that "Cashmere Mafia" gets the axe: If it does, Lucy Liu will jump to the far superior "Dirty Sexy Money." (Hollywood Reporter)
• Want to know which "Gossip Girl" character is gay? (Brightcove)
• That hilarious Chippendales sketch on "SNL" was one of the things that killed Chris Farley (right), his pal Chris Rock reveals. That, and heroin. And cocaine. And heart disease. And not using the buddy system when shooting up his patented heroin/cocaine/gravy speedballs. (Defamer)
• "Project Runway" favorite Jay McCarroll is the subject of a 103-minute-long documentary called "11 Minutes," showing soon at independent film festivals. (Boston IFF)
• Who wants "Dexter" spoilers? Come get 'em. (Veidt)

Morning reads

• Picking the order of finish of the remaining contestants on "American Idol" is no task for the faint of heart, but they get it mostly right. I am hoping, however, that rocker David Cook can overtake cutie pie David Archuleta. (Buddy TV)
• A "Dirty Sexy Money" departure. (Buddy TV and Televisionista)
• Reflecting on plans for a "Children of Men" series. (TV Addict)
• Lindsay Lohan is cast as one of the "Manson Girls." I believe this is our "Write Your Own Joke"© item of the day. I've posted the mugshots at right to aid you in your writing. (TV Guide)
• There are only six scripted shows among the Prime-Time Top 20 for viewers 18-49. SIX. (TV By The Numbers)
• I thought that guy Teller was supposed to be really smart. Not. (AP)
• Updating those changes on "Gossip Girl." (GMMR)
• Are you ready for some "Tudors?" (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC Finally Spills Spring Plans For "Desperate Housewives" And The Rest

ABC has finally unveiled its spring, post-strike debut schedule. The bad news is that "Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money" won't return until next season. The good news is that they will return. "Desperate Housewives" returns to the scheduled April 13 with seven hours of new episodes including a two-hour season finale. Also returning with new episodes: "Boston Legal," "Brothers & Sisters," "Grey's Anatomy," "Samantha Who?" and "Ugly Betty." "Grey's" returns April 24, when "Lost" switches to 10 p.m. Thursdays. The full release with all the details is after the jump.

Late Afternoon Reading: "American Idol" Malaise?

• In what might be an ominous sign when viewed alongside this season's ratings slippage, I've started to read a few "What's wrong with..." and "How to fix..." posts about "American Idol." Here's the best one I've read so far. (TV Squad)
• Meanwhile, in the scripted world, producers are already starting to figure out what shows are worth putting back into production for half a dozen or so episodes this season if the strike gets settled soon. Hint: It's the hits. (Reuters)
• Thus, you won't be surprised to hear that FX's middling "Dirt" and its quite excellent but under-watched "The Riches" will be making do with the seven episodes each has already filmed this season. (Hollywood Reporter)
• But it appears that the three remaining episodes of ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" will be held over until September. (Televisionista)
• Bill Petersen is talking about leaving "CSI" again. (Buddy TV)
• And there may be bad news for "Friday Night Lights" fans. (Televisionista)
• First non-pilot pickup for next season under NBC's new business regimen? Sitcom "Kath and Kim," starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV Critics Love "Pushing Daisies," Hate "Cavemen"

(Begin pointless personal digression.) I have a soft spot for the semi-annual TV Week Critics Poll. (Read the story here and results here.) Back when the magazine was called Electronic Media, I used to be in the poll all the time, and I started talking to the people over there - we were all in Chicago at the time - and I ended up getting hired as assistant managing editor. While I worked there I ran the poll a couple of times, too, which gave me lots of time to talk to my critic friends who I only got to see on press tour otherwise. So this poll is like an old pal. (End pointless personal digression.)

But seriously, "Pushing Daisies" is better than "Mad Men"??? I don't think so. Better than "House" or "The Office"?? Really? Uh, no.

Ten Best Series
1. Pushing Daisies
2. Mad Men
3. Dexter
4. 30 Rock
5. Friday Night Lights
6. Damages
7. House
8. The Office (tie)
8. Ugly Betty (tie)
10. Californication

Worst after the jump...

A couple of afternoon reads

• Last night's ratings for new and returning shows were a mixed bag. ABC did good with "Dancing With The Stars," and "Private Practice" won its timeslot - but not by much over NBC's "Bionic Woman." NBC's "Life" lost a bunch of viewers halfway through. And things don't look so hot for CW's "Gossip Girl." (Televisionista, TVSquad, and real numbers at The Futon Critic)
• On the brighter side, with the return of "The Office" tonight, we also get the return of "The Office Thursday on GMMR." If you're giddy with anticipation over Jim and Pam's dinner date, this is the place for you.

Review: "Dirty Sexy Money" Makes Dysfunction Funny

CBS' new "Cane" treats its multi-generational family soap with deadly seriousness. ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money," debuting tonight, goes in the other direction. It treats the super-rich Darling clan rather like the Munsters as seen by TMZ.com. It's not great, but it will make you laugh, and if you enjoyed the campier moments of "Dallas" or "Dynasty," this is the 21st century version, complete with a running joke about Blackberry ringtones.

Peter Krause of "Six Feet Under" stars as Nick George, an outwardly idealistic young attorney in Manhattan. When his father, also a lawyer, dies in a mysterious plane crash, Nick is wooed to replace him as retainer to the Darlings. It's a fraught decision, as Nick grew up in the shadow of this powerful family and the job broke up his parents' marriage. But he's won over by the offer of a $10 million-a-year charitable foundation in his dad's name from patriarch Tripp Darling, played with menacing restraint by Donald Sutherland. So Nick plunges in to the family's many, many, many troubles.

This leads to a moment when he tells one of the Darling sons, "You're going to be a senator. Don't you as a U.S. senator have to have enough courage to walk into a hotel room and give a tranny hooker a check?"

Fall TV Night-By-Night: Wednesday

YIKES. More talked-about new shows hit the airwaves on Wednesdays than any other night of the week, including the new "Bionic Woman" (left).

ABC unveils its critic's pet series "Pushing Daisies" on 8 p.m. on Oct. 3, and I'm waiting to hear whether it makes a huge splash or a tiny little cult-audience plink. This is the dreamy, sweet, weird series about a guy (Lee Pace) who can revive the dead with a touch - but his second touch kills them for good. This gets a little tricky when he revives his childhood sweetheart (Anna Friel). Barry Sonnenfeld's gentle weirdness is all over this show, but I'm not sure if audiences will go for it.

Audiences will be all over "Private Practice," the "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff ABC debuts at 9 on Sept. 26. Kate Walsh's Addison moves to a new clinic where her co-workers include Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Amy Brenneman, Paul Adelstein and Audra McDonald. The question is whether "Grey's" fans will love the new crew or find them lacking. And that will likely spell success or failure for the show with the season's best title, "Dirty Sexy Money," debuting at 10 on Sept. 26. Peter Krause of "Six Feet Under" stars as the new retainer to a powerful, rich, lunactic family headed by Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh.

"Dirty Sexy Money:" Can't You Give A Hooker A Check?

"You are going to be a United States Senator. You're gonna occupy one of the highest offices in the land. Don't you as a US Senator have to have at least enough courage, enough integrity, to walk into a hotel room and give a hooker a check?"
"She's not a... yeah, you're right."

Perez Hilton Loves "Dirty Sexy Money"

To promote its fall series "Dirty Sexy Money," ABC bought a mock blog post on Perez Hilton today going all bitchy on one of the show's characters. The post was  labeled an advertisement but offered Perez-ilicious gossip about wayward rich girl Juliet Darling, played by Samaire Armstrong in the show. It's not ABC's first "unconventional" ad for the series, and certainly not their most clever: that would be the time they flew a plane around Los Angeles during one of Paris Hilton's court battles, towing a banner proclaiming the fictional Darling family's support for the, um, wayward rich girl. Alas, Paris is not fictional.

BuzzSugar Loves "Dirty Sexy Money"

BuzzSugar has a preview of the pilot for this fall's "Dirty Sexy Money," and they say it's incredible. It's not just because they think star Peter Krause ("Six Feet Under") is hot. The reviewer particularly likes the way the pilot manages to avoid too much heavy-handed explanation. For example, star lawyer Nick (Peter Krause) has an appropriately revealing ring tone set for each member of the Darling family. Turning a ring tone into a character note? Brilliant. Here's a clip: