Pimpin' the Pants - Guests on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' This Week Jan. 8 - 12, 2007

A blog reader asked about a band she saw on the repeats during the holidays. Just in case my answer was missed as it was an older entry, here we go again - the band in question is Robert Randolph and the Family Band. It wasn't their first appearance on the show; Letterman's where I discovered them some time ago even though the band has local roots. If you like steel guitar and want to rock the house, they're the band who will do it for you. Their latest CD is Colorblind and both music and video streams are available on their site.

Who does The Dave have on his guest list this week?

• Monday, Jan. 8: David Arquette (now on the new sitcom In Case of Emergency) and American Idol ex-finalist Jennifer Hudson who's creating a lot of buzz with her role in the movie Dreamgirls.
• Tuesday, Jan. 9: Penelope Cruz (Volver), Gary Muledeer and musical guest Ben E. King. I'm already humming "Stand by Me" as I write this...
• Wednesday, Jan. 10: Peter O'Toole (Venus) and Marc Maron.
• Thursday, Jan. 11: Julianne Moore (appearing in the play The Vertical Hour) and musical guest Hold Steady whose CD is Boys and Girls in America.
• Friday, Jan. 12: John Witherspoon

Hmmm... I get the guest list from the Late Show website, but this list doesn't look all that complete at this time. While I know that Letterman thinks a lot of John Witherspoon, I doubt he's the only guest that night. If you just can't get enough of the Donald Trump/Rosie O'Donnell fiasco and missed Trump's appearance this past Friday night, there's a clip available on the show's website for you.

Mean Man Trump on Letterman Tonight

Yes, Donald Trump is going to be on The Late Show with David Letterman tonight. The Apprentice is a show I watch and write about, but Trump's latest feud with Rosie O'Donnell has really turned me off. It's one thing to mimic someone, but another to call a person fat, disgusting, a slob and more.

Bad Donald.

I found a cute little Flash Rosie/Trump fight game online, but I can't get it to embed properly here. You can play it yourself at the IGN website. I don't know. When I'm Trump, Rosie wins. When I'm Rosie, Trump wins. I guess I was meant to be neither, huh?

That could, of course, be a very good thing.

(Although I wouldn't mind my bank account being a bit like either!)

Oh, What Shows Will I Watch Tonight? Thursday, Jan. 4, 2006

Last night I checked out The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency, two new ABC sitcoms in the 9 PM ET/PT time slot. While I didn't fall absolutely in love with either show, I'll be giving both another shot. I liked how Mick Jagger actually played along in the former show and it's a WorldWide Pants (Letterman) Production headed up by ex-Late Show head writer (I believe he was in that position) Rob Burnett. Because I enjoy Letterman stuff so much, I want the show to succeed.

Tonight, Ugly Betty, a new episode, just started and I've recently found the show in repeats. It's cute for being ugly. In the 9 PM hour, I'll be watching C.S.I. - the much ballyhooed departure of Grissom. What they're not promoting in the promos is that he'll be returning to the series. At least, I believe that's the plan. William Petersen is off to do a play, if rumors are right. There's a new Shark and a new ER on at 10 PM, but I probably won't watch either show. I just can't get into Shark and I got out of ER a few seasons back. Perhaps I shouldn't admit this, but I'll probably be watching Animal Precinct on Animal Planet at that hour. Then my night will wrap up with David Letterman. His show, mind you, not Dave himself.

Oh... if you're into The O.C. - tonight is a new episode at 9 PM ET/PT and the show's been canceled. So, get it while you can!

TV Newsy Bits - Thursday, January 4, 2006

Happy Thursday to everyone! Yes, I have your TV Newsy Bits hot, or at the very least, warm off the presses. These are entertainment-related news stories I found throughout the Internet which caught my interest. And, as they caught my interest, I'm sure most will catch your interest, as well.

• This one is a hoot - CANOE -- JAM! Television: New reality show plops white rappers into South Bronx to battle for $100,000 - Ice, Ice, Baby...!
• Although casting for Big Brother 8 won't be finalized for months, the Jokers Updates site decided to take matters in their own hands and give advice to applicants. Hey, woo the Internet! No grey sweatpants everyday, no diva white robes every day. And, most importantly, don't give shout-outs to your parents while in a sexual act.
• Reality News Online has posted an interview with Rob and Kimberly from Amazing Race 10. Like others before them, they think Peter was edited to make him look worse than he really is. They liked Tom and Terry. No marriage announcements, but Rob and Kimberly are still a couple.
• Reality TV Magazine has confirmed that Jonathan Baker and Victoria Fuller will not be in the upcoming Amazing Race 11: All Stars. They mention other teams which will be on the show (previously mentioned right here).
• In other quasi-Amazing Race news, previous winner Reichen Lehmkuhl is suing blogger Perez Hilton for writing unflattering statements about him. Yipes. Isn't Reichen soooo good-looking? (Covering my bases here.)
• Reality TV Magazine has the latest scoop on what some of the past American Idol contestants are doing - Bucky now has a record deal, Mandisa is writing a book and more.

WCBS News Wishes Another to the Cornfield?

Beware - this article is regionally focused unlike most of my entries here. If you're in the NYC viewing area, you may be interested in reading on. If you're not, it may be a bunch of odd news. But, then again, it's odd news going on...

Last spring I wrote about the changes on the early pre-The Early Show news show on the local CBS affiliate - WCBS, Channel 2 out of New York City. I liked that show as it was, craziness and all, to have on in the background as I readied myself for work. I liked Shon Gables, Dave Price, Mario Bosquez, Vanessa Alfano and the others. I liked Dance Fridays and a bit of zany tomfoolery to start out my day. Ah, but WCBS had a better idea. They took anchor Maurice Dubois from the evening news, thrust him in the early morning slot and imported a woman from somewhere in the Midwest to co-anchor. They would have a proper newscast! No more tomfoolery!

While Price continued on in his The Early Show job, the others may as well have been victims of Anthony Fremont in The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" - wished to the cornfield never to be seen again. Yes, Shon Gables had an appearance on The View (which I missed). But, where oh where is Mario Bosquez? Is he still in the cornfield? Will he emerge someday to grace my television screen once again? I see Vanessa Alfano sometimes on the old UPN station, now My9 or something to that effect. But she's still in the cornfield, perhaps escaping now and then for a glimpse on my set.

In December, WCBS wished another news anchor to the cornfield - Roz Abrams, a local NYC news fixture for decades. Like Mario, supposedly she's still employed by them, but nowhere in sight. Cornfield, I say! With her disappearance, I wasn't too saddened. For me, Roz just didn't do it. I swear she sat around practicing cutesy looks instead of being a news anchor. Replacing her with Dana Tyler was a good move.

Earlier, the two co-anchors of the noon newscast vanished into the cornfield and sportscaster Chris Wragge replaced them, along with yet another import. Cindy Hsu occasionally emerges from the cornfield as a correspondent on stories, but I fear the day it will be permanent cornfield for her.

The latest to be sent to the cornfield is Audrey Puente, the meteorologist doing the weather on the early morning and noon shows. Some weather-dude from California with teeny glasses is in her place. Gak. Like the others, she's supposed to be still on contract.

But I hear all the cries from the cornfield...