Blog: TV Watchers - Mergedigital.com

ISO Teens for hit reality TV show

A local promotions company is seeking teens for the Country Music Television show “World’s Strictest Parents,” from the producers of “SuperNanny.” For the show, teens will live for a week with another set of parents.

The casting team is looking for teenagers from every type of background and personality — savvy teens, hippies, urbanite, slobs, etc.

Interested teens should come on Sunday to Club Revive, an under-21 dance at the Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. The weekly event, which promotes an alcohol-free lifestyle for teens, is 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Sunday. Admission is $10 before 9:30 p.m.; $12 after.

Those interested will be interviewed and photographed. If chosen, teens will meet with candidates next Friday. For more information, go to www.clubrevive.com, e-mail clubrevive@yahoo.com or call 610-564-9525.

They can call it ... Royal Burns

Or is that just what happens when you've spent too much time in the Florida sun?

Regardless, fans of USA Network originals Royal Pains and Burn Notice could eventually see a crossover episode from the combined Thursday night juggernaut, an idea that has been tossed around the web like a hot block of C-4 and picked up steam this week after Paulo Costanzo jumped on the idea during a conference call.

Said Costanzo, who plays Evan Lawson (brother to main character Hank Lawson) on Royal Pains:

"What I would love is a crossover between Royal Pains and Burn Notice, that we could be involved in some sort of gun play intrigue. ... I would really love that because we have no guns. We have nowhere near enough explosions and guns on the set.'

Costanzo went on to add, "Imagine if we showed up in the episode of Burn Notice, and in the episode directly afterwards he (Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen) showed up in ours."

Both shows, airing back-to-back on Thursday nights beginning at 9pm ET, have helped USA to its highest ever 2nd quarter among adults 25-54 (1.47 million), 18-49 (1.37 million), total viewers (3.17 million) and households (2.37 million).

Fans, would you want to see a crossover between these shows? Leave your comments below!

Your web destination for lazy summer days

Calling all couch potatoes! (And those of you surfing the web at work. Admit it, you're guilty.)

NBC.com is bound and determined to help you enjoy the summer with full episodes of new NBC summer shows and favorite programs from seasons past.

For the first time in its history, “America’s Got Talent” is streaming on NBC.com, joining other summer programs “The Philanthropist,” “Merlin," “The Listener,” and “The Great American Road Trip."

NBC.com also has all-new full episodes of “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” And then there are the retro-thrills of NBC.com’s Classic TV, with favorites such as “Miami Vice," “A-Team" and yes, even "Charles in Charge."

Come inside for your links to full episodes:

NBC Summer Roundup: Fan Favorites and Staff Picks

http://www.nbc.com/summer-roundup/

Summer Shows Full Episodes:

· America’s Got Talent: http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/video/

· The Listener: http://www.nbc.com/the-listener/video/

· Merlin: http://www.nbc.com/merlin/video/

· The Philanthropist: http://www.nbc.com/the-philanthropist/video/

· The Great American Road Trip: http://www.nbc.com/great-american-road-trip/video/

Late Night Full Episodes:

· The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien: http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/

· Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/

Current NBC Shows Full Episodes:

· 30 Rock: http://www.nbc.com/30_Rock/video/

· The Biggest Loser: http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/video/

· The Chopping Block: http://www.nbc.com/chopping-block/video/

· Chuck: http://www.nbc.com/Chuck/video/

· Crusoe: http://www.nbc.com/Crusoe/video/

· ER: http://www.nbc.com/ER/video/

· Friday Night Lights: http://www.nbc.com/Friday_Night_Lights/video/

· Heroes: http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/video/

· Kath & Kim: http://www.nbc.com/Kath_and_Kim/video/

· Kings: http://www.nbc.com/Kings/video/

· Knight Rider: http://www.nbc.com/Knight_Rider/video/

· Life: http://www.nbc.com/Life/video/

· Lipstick Jungle: http://www.nbc.com/Lipstick_Jungle/video/

· My Name is Earl: http://www.nbc.com/My_Name_Is_Earl/video/

· My Own Worst Enemy: http://www.nbc.com/My_Own_Worst_Enemy/video/

· The Office: http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/

· Parks and Recreation: http://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation/video/

· Southland: http://www.nbc.com/southland/video/

Classic TV Full Episodes:

· The A-Team: http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/a-team/video/

· The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/the-alfred-hitchcock-hour/video/

· Battlestar Galactica: http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/battlestar-galactica/video/

· Buck Rogers: http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/buck-rogers/video/

· Charles in Charge: http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/charles-in-charge/video/

· Emergency: http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/emergency/video

· Knight Rider (Original): http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/knight-rider-original/video

· Miami Vice: http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/miami-vice/video

· Quantum Leap : http://www.nbc.com/classic-tv/quantum-leap/video

CHESTNUT ROASTING -- AS IN, JOEY WAS ON FIRE

American Joey Chestnut from San Jose, Calif., chomped his way to a third consecutive championship this afternoon in the 2009 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island, N.Y.

The competition was super -- and Chestnut set a new world record with 68 dogs and buns in 10 minutes to whip arch-rival Kobayashi of Japan, who downed 64 ½ to also beat Chestnut’s record of 59 set last year.

But the over-the-top commentary by the emcee (George Shea) and TV announcers (Paul Page, Rich Shea and Rob Stone on ESPN) was even better.

A sampling:

-- “His stomach is a cauldron in which food is cooked by the heat of his liver.” -- The emcee when introducing a competitor.

-- The David Blaine of the Bowel – The emcee when introducing another competitor.

-- The leader of the Four Horsemen of the Esophagus. – The emcee when introducing competitor Sonya Thomas.

-- “Once in every 10 generations a hero arises to lead a broken nation to victory.” -- The emcee when introducing Chestnut.

-- “We are on consecrated ground.” – The emcee when standing next to Chestnut on stage.

-- "Bite for bite, swallow for swallow.” – TV in describing the competition.

-- “This is Lakers-Celtics. I’d put it up there with Borg vs. Connors.” – TV in referring to Chestnut-Kobayashi.

-- “This is the golden age of competitive eating” – TV in another reference to the Chestnut-Kobayashi rivalry.

-- “Look at Kobayashi chewing on the right side of the jaw, that side is no longer weak.” – TV (paraphrasing) in a reference to Kobayashi’s recovery from jaw arthritis that supposedly limited his performance two years ago at the Nathan’s contest.

-- “Chestnut is a blue collar eater, a power eater. Kobayashi is like watching ballet, he’s so smooth.” – TV.

-- “Others might relax (in the final 60 seconds) but not Chestnut. He will push through it, with a sense of urgency.” – TV (paraphrasing) on the final minute of the contest.

-- “The Bill Belichick of the belly, this kid. He just banged three titles in short order.” – TV on Chestnut.

But there was much more enjoyable about the contest and show, including:

-- The nicknames such as Eater X, Wing Kong and the Italian Scallion.

-- The Mustard Yellow Belt that goes to the champion.

-- Some of the TV commercials that played off competitive eating. One of them used this phrase: “Gustatory athletes.”

-- How sideline reporter Stone was stationed on stage in the “spit pit” or “spray zone.” (Stone said he would be cleaning his shoes at the end of the day.)

-- How TV compared Kobe Bryant with Kobayashi using a full-screen graphic tale-of-the-tape (Superstar vs. Supper Star) of the two. The graphic compared age, height, weight, annual earnings and titles (NBA vs. Nathan’s).

-- How they swore in the judges, having them raise their right hands in taking the “Oath of Judgeship.”

-- How TV compared last year’s dramatic dog-off between Chestnut and Kobayashi (a six-year champion) to some of the great overtimes in history (such as the Stanley Cup playoffs and the 2000 U.S. presidential election.)

-- “Ready for Some Mixed Martial Eats” – an on-screen promo as ESPN went to commercial after the competitor intros.

-- The “Chew View” Camera, slammed right up to the face of competitor Micah “Wing Kong” Collins of Drexel Hill near Philadelphia.

-- How the TV commentator got very emotional afterward about how an American has now won the title three years in a row on the Fourth of July.

-- How, like at the Olympics, the National Anthem was played after Chestnut received his winning hardware.

-- How tonight, Chestnut said, he would celebrate by eating a cobb salad with ranch dressing.

So, ESPN, Nathan’s and the gastro-athletes themselves – and like how I like my burgers and hot dogs – well done.

Time to eat.

-- Bill Kline

(Note: This entry also appears in The Morning Call's SportsTalk blog.)

Local magician scores on 'America's Got Talent'

Former Valley resident and 2003 Kutztown grad Jay Mattioli performed two illusions on the Tuesday night episode of “America’s Got Talent” and won over judges David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne to make it through to the next round in Las Vegas.

Mattioli leviatated a microphone stand and stuffed himself into a custom box for his second illusion.

Judge Sharon Osbourne called the minute-and-a-half performance “modern, with a bit of rock ‘n’ roll ... you made it interesting”.

Mattioli now lives in Manassas, Va., but comes back to the area to perform at Mayfair and other festivals. The 27-year-old calls Pocono Lake, near Blakeslee, home.

Mattioli says it’s the biggest thing he’s ever done.

Viewers can watch complete episodes of the show at www.nbc.com/americasgottalent. There’s even a Facebook group called “Support Jay Mattioli on ‘America’s Got Talent’”.

Jon & Kate divorce episode/ BET Jackson tribute draw record audiences

Apparently bad news is good for ratings. Monday's episode of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" in which the Berks County couple announced they were filing for a divorce drew a record 10.6 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research.

It easily beat out the first episode of the fifth season of the TLC reality series which drew a then-record 9.8 million viewers. The huge numbers were double the previous year's rating and were buoyed by rumors of infidelity and marital problems that had landed the couple on the covers of news magazines and tabloids. The show already was TLC’s most popular show and although the show has gone on hiatus until Aug. 2 while Jon and Kate sort things out, you can be sure, with numbers like that, TLC won't be letting it go any time soon.

Surprisingly those ratings did not make Jon & Kate top dog in the ratings war. The TLC show came in second to another cable show that was fuled by a different news-making tragedy.

The death of Michael Jackson rocketed Sunday's BET Awards, which turned into a tribute to
the Thriller singer when everybody and their brother turned into a Jackson fan, to the top. The show drew 10.7 million viewers making it the most-watched program on a cable network this year. The audience for the awards show was easily the largest in the history of the event, which began in 2001. The previous highest viewership was 6.6 million viewers in 2006.

Both shows had larger audiences than all but two prime-time programs on broadcast television.

Also racking up amazing numbers was The Disney Channel’s Demi Lovato vehicle “Princess Protection Program” movie which debuted Friday to 8.5 million viewers. Teen queen Lovato performed regionally last Monday at the Wachovia Center in Wilkes-Barre.

Two Valley residents to cruise with Trebek

Two Lehigh Valley residents are among 25 winners of a cruise to the Galapagos Islands with “Jeopardy!” game show host Alex Trebek.

Karen Yellin, 58, of Bethlehem, and Dennis King, 60, of Shoemakersville, Berks County, will travel with Trebek Oct. 16-25 aboard the National Geographic Endeavor.

The contest, "Win a Galapagos Adventure with Alex Trebek," was launched to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ABC's “Jeopardy!” To enter, viewers had to watch the show and submit that day's Final Jeopardy! category online. One winner was chosen each day of the contest, March 30-May 1. Yellin, her husband Stanley and 25-year-old son Michael Willey entered the sweepstakes every day.

"We watch almost every night and we thought we'd all try," says Yellin, who has been watching the show for 30 years. King also entered every day.

King says he was notified that he won on the third day of the contest, but continued to enter the sweepstakes every day because he was in disbelief. More than 2.2. million entries were submitted by over 350,000 viewers.

Neither Yellin nor King have appeared as contestants on the show. Yellin's husband tried out online, but was unable to attend the regional auditions.

The cruise is the first-ever travel expedition with Trebek. Each winner is allowed to bring one guest. Yellin says she will take her son; King will take his wife, Beverly.

"I'm looking forward to sharing this spectacular exploration of natural history with some of our ‘Jeopardy' fans," says Trebek.

Billy Mays sells it to Conan

Pennsylvanian pitchman Billy Mays, who passed away on Saturday night, was on Conan with "Pitchmen" co-star Andrew Sullivan and was nothing short of awesome. A highlight is Mays talking about how he used to hawk stuff on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. I love that neither salesman takes themselves or their products very seriously. RIP, you loud selling-machine of a man.

Discovery is airing a marathon of "Pitchmen" on Wednesday starting at 11 a.m.

'Princess Protection Program' is short on sound of music

The people who usually need a protection program are those involved in a crime.

The Disney Channel movie “Princess Protection Program,” which premiered Friday (it’s repeated at 8 tonight and 7 p.m. Sunday) isn’t that bad. But it’s not destination viewing, either, unless you’re a big fan of Demi Lovato or Selena Gomez.

And that covers about half the television-watching public.

The movie’s message is a simple: Don’t judge a book by its cover, and all people are basically equal. The plot that delivers you to those messages is a little more convoluted.

Lovato plays Rosie, the princess in the small country of Costa Luna, where her father has died and she is about to take over the throne when the military general ruler of a neighboring country stages a (really, really) bloodless coup – oh, if only Iraq would have been this simple.

Rosie flees to an international “princess protection program” that establishes new identities for young royalty: in Lovato’s case, in the Louisiana home of Carter Mason (Gomez), whose single father (Tom Verica) is secretly Lovato’s security guard.

Of course, the princess must learn to live as a commoner, but predictably attracts the attention of Gomez’s boy crush Donny (Robert Adamson), becomes popular at her new school and incurs the wrath of the (always, in Disney’s world) mean “in crowd.”

When both Lovato and Gomez are nominated as homecoming queen, Lovato’s identity is revealed when a classmate sees her picture in People magazine. Some disguise, huh? I mean, after all, she is living with her security guard!

Will Gomez and Lovato battle over the homecoming title or band to win out over the evil ruler. This is Disney, what do you think?

The thin plot and Disney-TV-level acting aren’t surprising and, frankly, that's why people watch Disney. The real disappointment is how little of Lovato’s music is in the movie. This is no “Camp Rock” when it comes to tunes: There’s a duet with Gomez called "One And The Same" and the ending features her “Two Worlds Collide.”

That’s hardly fitting for a teen princess.

The extended-version DVD for the movie is to be released Tuesday.

Is 'Raising Sextuplets' better than 'Jon & Kate Plus 8'?

Will Bryan and Jenny replace Jon and Kate in the hearts of reality-TV viewers who are longing for wholesome, slice-of-life, family entertainment?

Bryan and Jenny Masche are the stars of WE-TV's new reality show, "Raising Sextuplets," which airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. Their instant family -- instant meaning they went from 0 to 6 in nine months -- are six adorable toddlers: Savannah, Molli, Bailey, Grant, Cole and Blake, born June 11, 2007.

The new series is a spin-off of a successful WE-TV special. Six episodes were filmed, following Jenny, Bryan and the babies over the course of half a year, starting when the now 2-year-old sextuplets were 16 months old.

Bryan's a pharmaceutical salesman who, during the filming, also is going to the University of Phoenix to earn his MBA. Jenny goes back to work as a physician's assistant in the E.R. at a nearby medical center, so they bring in a nanny to help with the kids while she's gone.

The show takes you inside the lives of the Masches, who were a typical American couple with diverse interests until the sextuplets turned their lives upside down ... in a good way. Sound familiar?

Although the Masches are shy a set of twins,"Raising Sextuplets" has alll the cuteness TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8" has (or had) and more. You see Jenny attempt to cope with the almost impossible task of taking six little ones along to her doctor appointment. And you watch Bryan try to carve a pumpkin as toddlers climb all over him and get into mischief while he's preoccupied.

But unlike the battling Gosselins, Jenny and Bryan have an apparently happy marriage with a lot of love going around. It's almost like stepping back in time when Jon and Kate, now facing a divorce, lived a seemingly idyllic life centered around their children.

On camera, Jenny and Bryan have disagreements, but they work it out. Bryan's not a pushover who buckles to Jenny's demands. When he's not on the same page as she is, he tells her so. And Jenny doesn't belittle him for being him. When a problem escalates, they sit down and talk about it to keep their "team" emotionally healthy.

"Raising Sextuplets" also has family -- both Jenny's and Bryan's -- actively involved in their lives. Bryan's dad and brothers are building a much needed 500-square-foot addition onto to the couple's Lake Havasu City, Arizona, home. Jenny's mom comes over to help with the kids. Her grandmother drops in regularly to do the laundry. Cousins come over to play. Did you ever wonder where Jon's and Kate's families were?

There's no denying Jenny and Bryan have a lot in common with Jon and Kate. In one of the initial episodes, Jenny even goes for a tummy tuck, just like Kate.

And the best thing about "Raising Sextuplets" is everyone is happy, except for a crying toddler every now and then. When was the last time you saw everyone happy on "Jon & Kate Plus 8'?

Would you pay $28,000 for some "Crooked Houses"?

Besides being a surprisingly apt metaphor for the Gosselins' relationship, the Kids Crooked Houses donated to the family of eight by the Maine-based company were some of the most expensive kid playthings I've ever seen.

The pint-size wood playhouses are built with odd angles and fanciful colors. The Gosselin brood received four houses that they helped design -- a pirate ship, a vet clinic, a garden shop and a haunted house -- which are estimated to cost about $7,000 a piece. Here's some perspective: my editor told me he paid $43,000 for his first house.

Kids Crooked Houses has built about 500 playhouses since 2005. The houses were comped but the company was rewarded with priceless product placement: 10 million viewers tuned in to the episode and the company's website has received half a million visitors.

According to the Crooked Houses site, one single room unpainted and unassembled house costs around $1,200. And that's before delivery costs.

Of course, this kind of freebie-ed expense doesn't much matter to a family whose divorce agreement -- kids stay in the Wernersville house and Jon and Kate switch off residences -- essentially requires the family to have three homes.

The children were delighted with the houses while Jon and Kate had a frosty argument about where to put the new playthings.

What do you think of the Crooked Houses? Cute but costly or totally worth it? Sound off in the comments.

'Jon & Kate Plus 9'?

Well this will be awkward. According to Gatecrasher, when the show returns in Aug., Jon Gosselin's paramour Deanna Hummel will join the cast. Hummel is a Reading area teacher and she and Jon met in a Reading club called Chill. She is 23 years old. Jon and Deanna were spotted in Park City, Utah around June 15. Deanna's brother has told the media that she is Jon's "mistress".

TLC says that it will be focusing on how Jon and Kate share time and responsibilities with their family.

TLC has made the decision to put "Jon & Kate Plus 8" on hiatus while the Gosselins start divorce proceedings. According to Bloomberg News, the highly rated show -- last night episode garnered 10.6 million viewers -- will be replaced with a retrospective show on June 29 and will be off the air until Aug. 3.

The decision was made by the network and not the family. Though it may seem an altruistic move on the surface, with the turmoil of the Gosselin's marriage, production may have not had enough footage for new episodes. Sources inside the production team say the episode are being finished at the very last minute, sometimes the day the show airs.

Oddly enough, since the divorce announcement, the family -- Jon, Kate and the brood -- have all been living in the Wernersville home.

Could you be the next Food Network Star?

Food Network has ordered up a sixth season of its highest-rated reality series, The Next Food Network Star, the network announced today. With the current season going strong on-air, the cabler is already looking for outstanding chefs and home cooks to compete for the opportunity to win his or her own Food Network series during the 2010 season.

The network is set to conduct a nationwide talent search and encourages both professional and amateur chefs to apply. Open-call auditions will be held around the country throughout July and August. Contestant hopefuls should bring an application, photograph, and resume and/or bio to the auditions, which will allow them to meet with network casting directors. Interested candidates unable to attend an open casting call may submit a three-minute audition video explaining why he or she should be Food Network’s newest star. For applications, contest rules, and submission instructions simply visit www.FoodNetwork.com/Star.

To see the casting locations, including one in nearby New York City, come inside...

Casting locations will include:

Phoenix, AZ – Wednesday, July 8, 2009 from 10am-4pm
Embassy Suites Phoenix/Scottsdale
4415 East Paradise Village Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85032

Chicago, IL – Sunday, July 12, 2009 from 10am-4pm
Affinia Chicago Hotel
166 East Superio, Chicago, IL 60611

Austin, TX – Friday, July 17, 2009 from 10am-4pm
Hyatt Regency Downtown
208 Barton Springs Road, Austin, TX 78704

San Francisco, CA – Sunday, July 26, 2009 from 10am-4pm
W San Francisco
181 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

New York, NY – Friday, July 31, 2009 from 10am-4pm
CBS
530 W. 57th Street, New York, NY 10019

Los Angeles, CA – Monday, August 10, 2009 from 10am-4pm
Saddle Ranch
8371 West Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

San Diego, CA – Monday, August 17, 2009 from 12pm – 5pm
W San Diego
421 W. B Street, San Diego, CA 92101

Atlanta, GA – Monday, August 24, 2009 from 10am-4pm
W Atlanta Midtown
188 14th St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30361

The Next Food Network Star is television’s most challenging food fight, providing 10 hopeful TV chefs the chance to compete for the ultimate dream job: his or her own Food Network show. Season five is currently underway and airs Sundays at 9pm ET/PT.

'Jon & Kate' placed on hold

The children will remain in the Wernersville home with Jon and Kate switching between residences. TLC has aired six episodes of the 40 ordered for the fifth season.

In a statement, the network said:

"TLC continues to support the Gosselin family and will work closely with them to determine the best way to continue to tell their story as they navigate through this difficult time."

Ed McMahon's Allentown and Philly connections

Ed McMahon, who died Tuesday at the age of 86, visited Allentown during his extensive career and had strong roots in Philadelphia.

McMahon, who spent a short time in Philadelphia while growing up, moved to the city on Sept. 12, 1954, to host variety and cooking shows at WCAU-TV and radio for $75 a week. He was the announcer for network’s radio show, “The Ol’ Night Owl, Powers Gouraud” and co-hosted “Home Highlights” with Jean Corbet’s “Action in the Afternoon,” according to broadcastpioneers.com. He also hosted “Two for the Money” on Channel 10 and carted the film out of the vault to introduce the “Million Dollar Movie.”

While in Philadelphia, McMahon and his wife, Alyce Ferrill, whom he married in 1949, and the couple’s four children family lived in Drexel Hill. For a while he and Dick Clark, who at the time was an announcer on Channel 6, were neighbors in a complex called Drexelbrook. Later, in the 1990s, McMahon and Clark paired up to host the ... network show, “Bloopers and Practical Jokes.”

With the legendary John Facenda and announcer Harry K. Smith, McMahon also visited Allentown in the 1950s to introduce a Christmas book at Hess’s.

In 1954, as clown for the nationally televised “Big Top”show on CBS-TV, a program that originated on WCAU-TV, he was invited to be announcer at the Allentown Fair.

In the summer of 1967, McMahon, best known for his stint as Johnny Carson's sidekick on "The Tonight Show," introduced Carson on The Allentown Fair’s grandstand stage with his trademark phrase, “Heeeeeere’s Johnny!”
During the 1960s, he returned to Allentown to be grand marshal of city’s St. Patrick's Parade with his first wife, Ferrill. Their 27-year marriage ended in 1976.

Jon and Kate: Is divorce really best for the kids?

Jon and Kate kept saying on last night's episode that the decision to divorce is better for the kids. The couple released statement about the split after the show. Via People:

Kate's statement:
"Over the course of this weekend, Jon's activities have left me no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect myself and our children," Kate said in a statement Monday night. "While there are reasons why it was appropriate and necessary for me to initiate this proceeding, I do not wish to discuss those reasons at this time, in the hope that all issues will be resolved amicably between Jon and myself. As always, my first priority remains our children."

Jon's statement:
"This afternoon, Kate filed for divorce. Our kids are still my number one priority. I love them and want to make sure they stay happy, healthy and safe. My job is being the best, most supportive and loving father that I can be to my kids, and not being married to Kate doesn't change that."

Do you think Jon and Kate are really divorcing for the kids? They could walk away from the show to enter therapy (although a whopping 40 episodes have been ordered for the fifth season). Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Jon & Kate heading for divorce

Jon and Kate Gosselin announced Monday on their TLC show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" that they have decided to separate and filed legal proceedings Monday to dissolve their ten-year marriage, or in other words, get a divorce.

On a special one-hour episode touted by TLC as containing a "big announcement" from the Berks County couple, Jon and Kate were visibly upset as they talked about their disintegrating relationship.

"It's been so stressful," said Jon tersely. "This has been the hardest episode ever to shoot."

Jon was the one who broke the news 3/4 of the way through the episode that they would separate during one of the solo interviews that have become commonplace on the once cozy show.

The couple said they planned to continue filming the show and would take turns living in their Wernersville home with the kids.

"The show must go on," Kate said grimly. "We've always done the show for the kids to be able to provide for them."

Earlier in the episode, the couple bickered about where to build playhouses for the twins and sextuplets for much of the episode with Kate saying that any disagreement now turns into a "huge blow-up."

"Jon has a lot of anger towards me," she said. "We can't go back. I'm tired of smiling on the outside and crying on the inside."

She said the breakdown of the marriage was a "slow progression," that wasn't brought on by the show.

Calling the marriage "a roller coaster ride that went off the tracks," Jon said he finally stood up after letting Kate "rule the roost."

"We don't have anything now," he said. "We're just two people who happen to live here."

Both said they don't hate the other and that it was best for the kids for them to be apart.

"It's not good for the kids for us to be arguing in front of them," Jon said.
Kate also admitted she doesn't want to be alone and it appears she will fight for as much time with the children as possible.
"I've told them I will never not see my kids on a holiday," she said.

Jon and Kate file for divorce

It looks like the slow-moving tragedy train of Jon and Kate Gosselin's marriage has come to a lurching halt. According to People, the couple filed divorce papers this afternoon in a Doylestown courthouse.

The Gosselins are set to make a "big announcement" tonight on their TLC show. Many have speculated that the Wernersville couple would make the split official.

Both Jon and Kate have dealt with accusations of cheating and rarely, if ever, interview together on the fifth season of their highly rated TLC show.

Hanks, Spielberg reunite for HBO's The Pacific

Fans of the HBO blockbuster Band of Brothers were left drooling Sunday night as HBO released a more in-depth second trailer to the upcoming WWII miniseries "The Pacific."

You can see the trailer below:

The latest Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg miniseries will follow the lives of three United States Marines -- John Basilone (played by Jon Seda, "Kevin Hill," "Homicide"), Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale, "24," "The Black Donnellys") and Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello, "Jurassic Park," "Simon Birch") -- from their first days of the war to their return home following V-J Day.

"The Pacific" is slated to debut in March of 2010.

Do you think Jon & Kate will announce a divorce?

The rumor mill is in overdrive as viewers anticipate the "major announcement" from Jon and Kate Gosselin on tonight's one-hour special of the TLC show "Jon & Kate Plus 8." For many viewers who have watched the Berks County couple drift farther and farther apart both on and off the show, divorce or at least a separation seems inevitable.

In a promotional video posted by TLC hyping the special, Kate Gosselin says, “Recently, we’ve made some life-changing decisions ones that we hope will bring each of us some peace.”

“Very swiftly we turned into two different people,” Kate said on the fifth-season premiere last month, which attracted nearly 10 million viewers. Subsequent episodes have had less than half that
viewership. Now TLC is banking on the promise of a major announcement to woo viewers back. The show is scheduled to air at 9 p.m.
Besides being on the covers of tabloids and news magazines, the couple is now facing allegations of overworking their sextuplets and twins and Pennsylvania’s Labor Department has opened an investigation into whether the show’s production is complying with state child labor laws. TLC has said it “fully complies” with state laws and regulations.

So what's next for Jon and Kate. Is this the end of their marriage? Or is this just another publicity ploy to keep viewers tuning into TLC's hottest show? Let us know what you think.