TV Squad

It's no secret: I miss 'Lost.' A lot. So when I heard star Jorge Garcia would be visiting 'How I Met Your Mother,' I knew I had to get my fix. I hit the set to find out what he's up to with the 'HIMYM' gang, what his character has in common with Hurley and the question he's asked most often since 'Lost' ended.

I also catch up with the TVN Team from 'Storm Chasers' to get up close and personal with The Dominator, their indestructible beast of a car. That thing has some insane added features! If you're a fan, sound off in the comments for a chance to win Reed Timmer's new book 'Into the Storm.'

Then I chat with Tracy Morgan about his HBO stand-up special 'Tracy Morgan: Black and Blue.' His hilarious, subject-hopping, bleep-filled tirades taught me one thing: don't ever ask him if he's just like his '30 Rock' character Tracy Jordan.

Got questions? E-mail me TV questions at TheTVShowGirl@aol.com and I'll try to get you answers on the show. -- By Maggie Furlong

When news landed a few weeks ago that Fox had optioned an animated series based on the quirky genius of 'Napoleon Dynamite,' it wasn't much of a surprise.

First of all, Fox has found the most success in the animation department and if they gave one more show to Seth MacFarlane, they'd have to just give him control of the entire network. It's cheaper that way.

Most importantly, 'Napoleon Dynamite' is a comedy that screams to be animated. The larger-than-life characters of the original 2004 comedy seemed like a cartoon to begin with, so it's a natural transition for the uncomfortable, quirky comedy about the most awkward high school teenager since my pimply-faced days as a high school dork. (Seriously, I had a face that could have caused the government to legally prohibit me from swimming in the Gulf for fear of a widespread oil spill.)

But it's not the only comedy that would work in animation. Here are five other classic comedies that would look good after an ink-and-paint makeover.

'Friday Night Lights' star Connie Britton is in talks to join NBC's freshman drama 'The Event.'

According to Deadline Hollywood, producers are actively wooing the Emmy-nominated star. The recurring role in development is that of a senator's wife who sets out to prove herself worthy of his seat when he unexpectedly dies.

Britton is the first choice for the role. The actress spent five years as Tami Taylor on the critically-acclaimed 'Friday Night Lights.'

In other TV news ...

• Larry Wilmore may be going from senior black correspondent on 'The Daily Show' to sitcom star. Wilmore has sold a pitch to NBC that would see him as the father of a family who become the subjects of a British documentary. [Live Feed]

• Prep your ears for Disney's 'Madison High,' it's bringing more singing teens to TV. The comedy project about tweens and teens who are working toward producing an original theater production based on their lives is from Lester Lewis and Paul Hoen. It's expected to go to pilot. [Deadline Hollywood]

• TLC ordered a new reality series called 'Bama Belles.' The one-hour series will premiere Dec. 6 and follow the everyday activities of rural Alabama women. [Variety]

Playing the lead in Disney Channel's newest movie, 'Avalon High,' was like a mini vacation for Britt Robertson. Compared to her day job -- playing a foster child who reunites with her birth parents after 16 years in the system on The CW's 'Life Unexpected' -- the modern-day take on the Camelot legend was a whole lot more lighthearted, to say the least.

"['Avalon High'] was really very different," Robertson told TV Squad yesterday. "I've never done anything for Disney before. The genre in general is not something I'm typically pinned for. It's sort of like a realistic fantasy type movie -- it's a little more action-packed than I'm used to; it's a little more fun and playful. I started shooting after season 1 [of 'Life Unexpected'], so it was nice to be able to do something fun after that."

In the movie, which premieres tonight at 8PM ET on the Disney Channel, Robertson stars as a teenage girl who discovers that her new classmates at Avalon High are reincarnated versions of King Arthur and his court. She has to unravel the mystery of why, exactly, this is happening and stop Mordred, the traitor who killed Arthur (according to legend, that is), from doing it again.

The folks at TVByTheNumbers.com do a bang-up job of compiling overnight and weekly ratings numbers and presenting them in an easy-to-read format. But sometimes visiting their site is just depressing.

Not because of anything they did, of course. It gets depressing when you go there and see overnight results like Thursday's. While the site pointed out that all of NBC's comedies were up from the previous week's levels, it still was disheartening to see that 'Outsourced' scored higher in all three categories listed -- 18-49 rating, 18-49 share, and Millions of Viewers Live + Same Day -- than both 'Community' and '30 Rock.'

In fact, 'Outsourced' is doing so well -- at least by NBC standards -- the Peacock picked it up for a full season last month.

All of this leads to the question of why people seem to be watching 'Outsourced,' which can be kindly classified as a show that's still trying to find its comedic legs, over its more established and creatively-solid schedule-mates. There are a few theories:

Put on your jelly bracelets, and your cool graffiti coat -- it's time for another very special Robin Sparkles episode of 'How I Met Your Mother.'

Whether she's singing about going to the mall or building sandcastles (where else? In the sand people!), Robin Scherbatsky's '80s Canadian popstar self is a huge 'HIMYM' fan favorite. And how could she not be with lyrics like "You're good at pull-ups and have radical hair" and pals like Tiffany and a sassy robot.

I caught up Cobie Smulders, Robin Scherbatsky herself, to find out what Robin Sparkles is up to in this week's flashback episode (Monday, 8PM ET on CBS). Here's a hint: it involves the return of an '80s TV icon (who also happens to be Canadian), a Pussycat Doll and outerspace.

OK, now that's rad.

It's tough being a Winchester; no matter how careful you are, or how white your picket fence is -- chances are you're going to get bitten by vampires, mauled by werewolves, impersonated by shapeshifters, possessed by demons and sent to hell more times than you can count.

The good news is, even if you take a trip to the fiery pit downstairs, it's a safe bet that you won't stay there for long. The bad news is, depending on who drags you out of the frying pan, you might come back missing a few ... essentials.

Such is the case for poor Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) who found himself unceremoniously resurrected without his soul by the demon Crowley (Mark Sheppard) -- a fairly major oversight, we must say, which has rendered Sam more than a little scary this season.

'House' creator David Shore's life would have been very different had he never left the law firm where he worked as a municipal and corporate lawyer for six years and had never followed his best friends from the firm to Los Angeles.

And imagine if he had returned to the firm after having never found success writing for shows like 'Due South,' 'The Practice,' 'Law & Order' and 'Hack'? Ironically -- as Shore told the large audience at a Q&A session at Toronto's York University -- had he never become a lawyer, he may never have created 'House' at all.

['Fringe' - '6995 Mhz']

Last week, the real Olivia Dunham finally put the pieces together of who she is and how she doesn't belong over there. Over here, Fauxlivia has always known exactly what she's doing and even why. But at her core she is in many ways the same as our Olivia.

So how can she reconcile her conscience with the work she's doing for Walternate in this world? It's far easier to declare the genocide of an entire planet of people when you're not living among them.

Plus, I kind of think she's got the sweets on Peter just a little bit.

You know when you're watching 'Jersey Shore' and you start thinking to yourself, "This is highly entertaining, but what I really want to hear is a spoken-word rap single featuring the show's most annoying personality"?

Oh, wait, that is not something that has crossed anybody's mind, ever, because it is a terrible idea. Yet today we have for you a 52-second preview of Angelina Pivarnick's rap single, "I'm Hot."

While it is probably the most heinous thing to assault your eardrums since this morning's release of 'Glee''s "Umbrella/Singin' In the Rain" mashup, it's also pretty hilarious because of the nonsensical "lyrics" ("lyrics" are in quotes because if we don't use them, then this "song" gets an air of legitimacy that it just does not deserve).

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by e-mailing us at tvsquad@gmail.com. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have spoilers for: '90210,' 'Bones,' 'Brothers & Sisters,' 'Castle,' 'Cougar Town,' 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Fringe,' 'Glee,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'NCIS,' and 'Private Practice.'

So Conan O'Brien is done with his first week. How'd he do?

While it's probably good that Conan's most loyal fans get to see him on television again, it's not really a show to go out of your way to watch.

It's probably not fair to judge a talk show after watching one episode or even one week -- especially since that format lends itself drastic changes -- but it's fair in Conan's case. He's been doing a talk show (actually, three!) for close to 20 years, and what we've seen from Conan this week is probably what we're going to see a year from now.

The ratings for 'Conan's first week followed early predictions.

MTV2 is taking the drama of high school footballers and wrapping it into a reality show.

'The Ride' (Nov. 13, 11PM on MTV2), follows eight unknown high schoolers as they compete for a roster spot in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January. The drama unfolds over eight 30-minute episodes.

In the exclusive clip below, check out Ashton Broyld, a quarterback from Henrietta, NY, Travis Champion from Moreno Valley, CA practice their passing.

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
# = New Day/Time

7:00 to 8:00
Cartoon Network: 'Batman: The Brave and the Bold' and 'Ben 10: Ultimate Alien'

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Supernanny'
CBS: 'Medium'
CW: 'Smallville'
NBC: 'School Pride'
PBS: 'Washington Week With Gwen Ifill' and 'Need to Know'
Cartoon Network: 'Sym-Bionic Titan' and 'Generator Rex'
Disney Channel: 'Avalon High' -- (105 minutes)
DIY: 'Man Caves'
ID: 'Main Street Mysteries'
MLB Network: 'Studio 42 With Bob Costas'
NatGeo: 'Dog Whisperer'
SyFy: 'WWE Friday Night Smackdown!' -- (120 minutes)

The rest of the schedule and the late night talk shows after the jump.

Now that we've had a full week of 'Conan,' it's time to assess the late-night battlefield.

Life & Style and AOL TV want to know: What's your favorite late-night talk show? Are you a 'Chelsea Lately' kind of person? Maybe you prefer the 'Daily Show.' Late-night presents something for everyone.

Vote in the poll below and let us know what's your favorite program. Results will appear in an upcoming issue of Life & Style.