TV with MeeVee

"Two And A Half Men," "CSI" Start The Big CBS Crossover

If "Two And A Half Men" looks different tonight, that's on purpose. The show will be full of moody blue lighting and grimly hilarious forensic animations - maybe we'll finally get the view from the miniature camera inside Charlie's penis they've joked about. Tonight's episode, "Fish In A Drawer," is the first half of the big crossover between the writing staffs of "TAAHM" and "CSI." Charlie, Alan and Jake will find themselves in the interrogation room with a Marg Helgenberger lookalike, and there's even a cameo by "CSI's" George Eads.

On Thursday, "CSI" will be jokier than usual, with the second crossover episode, called "Two And A Half Deaths." Things get even more inside, because the "CSI" episode focuses on the whacking of a sitcom diva played by Katey Sagal. Chuck Lorre, the "TAAHM" creator who proposed the crossover, has previously worked on sitcoms starring Cybill Shepherd and Roseanne. Although Lorre swears up, down and sideways that's got nothing to do with anything, not for nothing is Sagal's character named Annabelle Fundt. With an F. Right.

Oh and keep your eyes peeled for what USA Today sez is an eyeblink cameo by the TAAHM cast in the "CSI" half of the crossover. Charlie does like going to Vegas, after all. There's been some gnashing of teeth among fans of the various shows who fear the stunt will somehow hurt the shows. But myself I think it's a grand idea which ought to provide some creative fuel for both shows, which are tightly disciplined within their respective formats. And folks, you know, it's "Two And A Half Men" and "CSI," not "Twelfth Night" and "The Seventh Seal." Lighten up already.

Pix by Greg Gayne/Warner Bros. More after the jump.

"The Office," "30 Rock," "Scrubs" And NBC Scheduling Hijinks

They swear it had nothing to do with the raging controversy over "MILF Island," the acronym that dare not speak its name, but NBC has moved "30 Rock" to 9:30 for the remainder of the season, after "The Office." NBC also switched "Scrubs" to 8:30. The official word, as read in the NY Times, is that they want "30 Rock" to get the biggest possible lead-in for its remaining three episodes, capitalizing on Tina Fey's publicity for her movie "Baby Mama." And they say "30 Rock" will have to go back to 8:30 in the fall, anyway, to make room for the worst television idea of the century "Office" spinoff. Which once again suggests that if "Scrubs" airs in the fall, it will be on ABC another network, so why give it the phat "Office" lead-in now?

It's not surprising that some people are upset about "MILF Island" appearing during the so-called family hour. But is the audience really so different at 9? Like all the kids in America go to bed then? Last night, "Two And A Half Men" made about 19 references to Charlie's balls and used the word "balls." But since that's 30 minutes later, it's OK? Somebody has taken their stupid pills, I just can't decide who. But at least I get to run that awesome "MILF Island" graphic again.

"CSI: Two And A Half Men"

Oh, this is gonna be fun! Charlie Harper talks about decomposition! Gil Grissom gets laid at the beach! The planned one-episode writing-staff swap between "CSI" and "Two And A Half Men" is a go, sez TV Guide. The episodes of both CBS shows will air in May. As long rumored, the "Two And A Half Men" scribes led by Chuck Lorre will be killing off a bitchy sitcom diva - any resemblance to Lorre's previous bosses Cybill Shepherd and Rosanne definitely intended. No leaks yet on the sitcom script penned by the "CSI" writers, although I'm wondering nervously if we'll see any "CSI"-style
                                      animated views inside Charlie Harper's very busy penis.

An Evening With "Two And A Half Men"

Last night, the Academy of Television Arts And Sciences held a gala party titled "An Evening With 'Two And A Half Men.'" I can't imagine a worse way to spend an evening in Los Angeles, and believe me, I've spent some pretty horrible evenings in Los Angeles.  Angus T. Jones, below left, and Charlie Sheen, below right, represent one and a half of the men on the sitcom. Brooke Mueller, on Charlie's arm, apparently represents the sort of person who wants to make time with Charlie Sheen. Ew.

CBS Announces Post-Strike Schedule

CBS today unveiled a no-frills list of premiere dates and episode counts for its shows returning after the strike. The plans are ambitious, especially for the comedies. "How I Met Your Mother," "Big Bang Theory" and "Two And A Half Men" (left) are all set to return on March 17, producing nine more episodes for the season. That's going to call for a lot of extra Skittles in the writers' room, I'd say. Another Monday show, "CSI Miami," is due back March 24 and expected to produce eight more hourlong episodes, which is, come to think of it, almost twice as much television as nine episodes of a sitcom.

Other shows' return dates and episode counts: "Cold Case," March 30, five. "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: NY," April 2 and seven each. "CSI" and "Without A Trace," April 3 and six. "Ghost Whisperer" and "Numb3rs," April 4 and six. "NCIS," April 8 and seven. "Moonlight," April 11 and four. "Rules of Engagement," April 14 and six. "Shark," TBA and four.

CBS notes that "'The Unit,' 'Cane' and 'Shark' are on previously announced hiatus to accommodate the mid-season launches of 'Big Brother,' 'Jericho' and 'Dexter.'" What CBS doesn't explain is why "Shark" is listed as producing more episodes while "The Unit" and "Cane" aren't. Hmmm. Contrary to some reports, CBS also notes that the offbeat drama "Swingtown," which we've heard little about in recent months, will also resume production. Still no premiere date, however.

Morning Links With Skim and Strawberries

• Whopping numbers for "Samantha Who?" on Monday night. The Christina Applegate comedy beat top-rated "Two And A Half Men" and even edged out its ABC brethren "Private Practice" for the fall's highest debut. (Televisionista)
• Another midseason Fox pilot in trouble? One day after an order cut for "The Return of Jezebel James," Ausiello says "New Amsterdam" is taking a production break after eight episodes. (TV Guide)
• Today's advertising note: The Travelocity Gnome has been kidnapped. Or did it just defect to Orbitz? (TV Squad)
• "Dancing With The Stars" doesn't want any more lifting. Um, whatever. (TV Squad)
• Barnhart takes TVGuide to task for a cover spoiler. (TV Barn)
• Debra Messing and "The Starter Wife" will be back in a series version. There is no God. (Hollywood Reporter)
• "Kid Nation" parents support the show. (Buddy TV)

Fall TV Night-By-Night: Monday

A big night for all the networks, with a couple of tough head-to-head matchups.

ABC will find out if "Dancing With The Stars" remains strong. The new "Samantha Who?" got much buzz for Christina Applegate (left) as an amnesiac trying to change her screwed-up life, with Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn as her parents and Barry Watson as her boyfriend. It's not clear if repeated title changes and an Oct. 15 premiere date reflect backstage problems or just the usual Hollywood mishigas. "dancing" and "The Bachelor" bow on Sept. 24.

CBS has a lot riding on the success of its Monday-night comedies, notably the growing popularity of "How I Met Your Mother." But "Big Bang Theory" looks like a loser, with two nerds getting all hot and bothered over their new neighbor Kaley Cuoco, in a lame Internet-era version of leering "Three's Company" comedy. And no one understands why the underwhelming "Rules of Engagement" is back while "New Adventures of Old Christine" waits in the wings. Still, with "Two And A Half Men" and "CSI: Miami," CBS will likely continue to rule Mondays. All its shows roll out Sept. 24.

CW, Fox, NBC and a schedule after the jump.

2007 Emmy Predictions, Part 1: Comedy Acting

The 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out Sept. 16 in Los Angeles, live on Fox, in a ceremony hosted by Ryan Seacrest. And it seems like now is a good time to get our predictions in the major categories on the record, before fall premieres clog our bandwidth next week. Four days, 10 categories, and absolutely nothing at stake except our honor: Write your own joke. Today, we consider the four comedy-acting categories.

Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy nominees: Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama and Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold on HBO's "Entourage"; Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother"; Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute on NBC's "The Office"; Jon Cryer as Alan Harper on CBS' "Two And A Half Men."

MeeVee's take: Dillon's nod is frankly a surprise. Piven won last year and could repeat, but "Entourage" has slipped a bit. "Two And A Half Men" is TV's highest-rated comedy and Emmy loves hits, but this should come down to a race between Harris as the sparkplug of "Mother" or Wilson's insane Dwight. If "The Office" rocks, it could be  Wilson. But something tells me this is Harris'  year.