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Drama

Brewers Vs. Cubs Spills Over Onto The Small Screen

With the division race in the National League Central still up for grabs, the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are taking their rivalry to a new venue: television. You might remember that, back in June, four Brewers — shortstop J.J. Hardy, center fielder Bill Hall and pitchers Chris Capuano and Jeff Suppan — appeared in an episode of The Young and the Restless. (If you don’t remember, here it is. By the way, does she still think Chris Capuano is the “best left-handed pitcher in the entire league” at 5-12 with a 5.21 ERA?) Well, tomorrow, while his teammates take […]

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TV News & Program Updates

Bad Study Habits

The first week back to school is always tough, trying to get back into that whole studying routine. So it’s probably no surprise that it’s also been sort of tough on some of the contestants on FOX’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, which aired its second show of the season last night. What is surprising, though, are the questions that these adults — who should have at least picked up a lot of this knowledge through osmosis simply by living as long as they have — are missing. Granted, I got into my seat about 20 minutes after […]

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Reality TV

Who’s Gonna Lose Their “Tan”?

Well, I suppose it’s my duty as the unofficial chronicler of E!’s Sunset Tan around here to let you know the latest on the addictively inane goings-on at the titular purveyor of all that is bronze. When the season finale rolls around September 30 at 10:30pm ET/PT, someone is going to be gone. In what could be a page right out of one of a very tanned John Le Carre’s novels, it turns out that someone is leaking the business secrets of Sunset Tan (maybe the New England Patriots were just videotaping them; and what kind of top-secret info does […]

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Sports

Pugilism Pay-Per-Postponement

Usually when we promote a Pay-Per-View boxing event in Channel Guide Magazine, we have an office pool to see who picks the date closest to when the fight gets canceled. (OK, we don’t. But we probably should.) Boxing’s highly anticipated fall schedule has gotten off to a rocky — no pun intended — start. First, the Sept. 15 Fernando Vargas vs. Ricardo Mayorga PPV fight was scrapped when Vargas was found to have anemia. And last Friday, the Sept. 8 “Fireworks” card featuring Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Rocky Juarez got dumped when Marquez developed an infection in a cut on […]

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Family

High School Musical vs. The World

Alexander the Great couldn’t pull it off. Napoleon failed. Hitler — close, but no cigar. All of these would-be-world conquerors have nothing on the phenomenon that is High School Musical, which has pretty quickly, and rather insidiously, enveloped the planet. Its latest sequel, High School Musical 2, recently shattered cable records in America and now looks to take over other international markets. Just in case you feel you have not fully lived the High School Musical experience — even though you have seen the films, attended the concerts, read the books, watched the ice show, continue to dab a little […]

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TV News & Program Updates

“A Nice Big Whiff Of Some Ryan Seacrest”

Hey, maybe there is a reason to tune in to the Emmy Awards after all! FOX, which will be carrying the ceremony live on September 16 at 8pm ET (tape-delayed in Pacific Time), announced that two of its most familiar network stars will be making a guest appearance on the broadcast. Stewie and Brian of Family Guy will be doing one of their trademark musical numbers to honor the year in TV as they “magically appear on the Emmy stage,” in the words of Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the awards telecast. The process by which the animated duo will […]

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TV News & Program Updates

Better Late Than Never! — Fall Preview Updates

Well, wouldn’t you know it, but those crazy TV networks went and changed a few dates for their programming premieres for this upcoming fall season — and right after we went to print with our special Fall Preview edition of Channel Guide magazine. Ah, the perils of the TV magazine biz … But they haven’t totally thwarted us. We’re here with their late-breaking updates to make sure that you have all of the pertinent information ammunition that you need to make this upcoming fall season your best viewing one yet: * Nip/Tuck — The fifth season premiere of the hit […]

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TV News & Program Updates

GSN “Grand Slam” Marathon And Finale Update

GSN made some changes to its game-show tournament Grand Slam schedule after Channel Guide Magazine went to press (GSN messed with the wrong people). Because the changes affect the last episodes of the season, we thought we’d let you know about them. And because we love you, too. So here’s the revised Grand Slam schedule: Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7pm ET Featuring semifinal matches: Jennings-Harris winner vs. Kitt-Carpenter winner & Rutter-Ogas winner vs. Pawlowicz-Legler winner Encore showings Sept. 1 at 10pm ET, Sept. 5 at 8pm ET and Sept. 6 at 10pm ET. Saturday, Sept. 8 at 12pm ET GRAND […]

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Reality TV

“Fore Inventors Only” Taps In For Par

GOLF CHANNEL’s reality competition series Fore Inventors Only has its live finale Sept. 4 at 10pm ET, and only one of the five remaining contestants’ inventions will win a marketing deal with GOLF CHANNEL and have their winning product sold in golf retail shops. Viewers will decide who wins by voting online and can do so right up to the fourth segment of the finale. Comedian George Lopez, who seemingly spends every waking moment at celebrity golf tournaments, will cohost the finale with GOLF CHANNEL’s Rich Lerner. Here are the five products which made it to the finale: Hill Shot […]

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TV News & Program Updates

No “Sunset” For “Tan”

* The hit — and hysterical — E! reality series Sunset Tan returns with oh-so-superficial new episodes on August 19 at 10:30pm ET/PT, right after the equally fluffy Girls Next Door. In these six episodes, tanning salon masterminds Jeff Bozz and Devin Haman meet with George Maloof (frankly, all of these names sound phony) to begin work on a new salon at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. Of course, the Olly Girls — the only women who could possibly make the Girls Next Door look like intellectuals by comparison — are back, and are ridiculously asked to start taking […]