TV on HuffingtonPost.com

Cassandra Scrimgeour: 2 Broke Girls: The Good, the Bad and the Hope of Love

Cassandra Scrimgeour — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:05:52 EST

I've never written about 2 Broke Girls before, but with one of my usual shows, Once Upon A Time in repeats and with some particular bees in my bonnet, I have decided today's the day.

I was a little late getting into 2 Broke Girls; my serious love for Kat Dennings finally drew me in. The show has a lot of good things going for it -- the chemistry between Max and Caroline is good and getting better, Oleg, Earl and Han are particularly clever and funny members of the diner. Despite the recent controversy, I think the cast has a good chemistry and the dialogue is particularly clever. I also liked that eventually they found a proper home for the horse, Chestnut -- although it was really cute to have him pop his head in from outside in the backyard all the time.

But I have a few growing concerns about where the show itself is headed. One of which is the money totaled we see at the end of each episode; is it accurate? I realize the diner money may not always be attributed to the total for their cupcake business, but is any of it? What about Max's babysitting job? Where does the money from that go? And how can they be selling Max's "homemade cupcakes" when she has confessed to using two kinds of name brand cake mix? Couldn't they get sued or something?

Also, what's going on with that babysitting job? I didn't particularly like the character of Peach or Max's interactions with her. But that said, it's supposed to be Max's much-needed full-time day job -- where's the consistency? Perhaps this situation is getting a much needed rejigging if others feel the way about Peach, but just this week Max and Caroline auditioned for jobs as cleaners in Sophie (Jennifer Coolidge's) cleaning business. How could Max do that and babysit at the same time? All of this could be simply rectified by saying she'd quit or been fired, some sort of resolution. Why haven't we gotten it yet?

I have to admit I was intrigued when I heard Jennifer Coolidge would be guest starring on the show, but I'm not loving it. When her character, Sophie, first appeared two weeks ago, she came with a strained attempt at a Polish accent, which made me cringe. Why couldn't they have just let her speak in her usual way? Then she went on about all of the "horrible horrible" this and that, I was so sick of listening to her. This week, I liked Sophie's character slightly better. Her interaction with Oleg was very well done, but I'm still not warming to her as a character nor her attempts to thwart Max away from Caroline. She only just met them; where does she come off? And what was with the bizarre Caroline punching the overdosed model in the stomach? As much as I wanted to believe she actually poured peroxide down his throat and gave him a few heaves back to life, the whole thing came off as extremely unrealistic and fake to me.

But I criticize because I love, and I really do love things about this show. What have I loved the most so far? One word: Johnny. Recently I re-watched the Johnny/Max episodes and I just loved them. Nick Zano and Kat Dennings have crazy chemistry! Their potential romance had me hooked and things were left open ended so I really hope we see Nick Zano back as Johnny. We also need a man for Caroline, we only had a brief glimpse of her ex-boyfriend, who she didn't end up even speaking to -- I think the girl, and the fans, need more than that. These girls are in serious need of love interests!

So how long will we be stuck with Sophie? Do you guys want to see more of Peach? Or are we done with her? Would you like to see Johnny back? A boyfriend for Caroline? Leave your comments below!

'Parks & Rec': Everything You Want To Know About Season 4

Maureen Ryan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:33:06 EST

"Parks and Recreation" has told a season-long story about Leslie Knope's campaign for public office, so it's only fitting that the show will be paying homage to "The West Wing" in a few weeks.

The Huffington Post can exclusively reveal that in an upcoming episode of the NBC comedy, Bradley Whitford, who played Josh Lyman on "The West Wing," will play the departing Pawnee city councilman whose seat Leslie and Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) are running for.

According to "Parks and Recreation" co-creator and executive producer Michael Schur, the name of the March episode ("Live Ammo") came from a "West Wing" episode, in which the character Ainsley Hayes wrote a position paper that got the president to quickly change his mind on an issue. She's shocked at the speed of the switch and the pace of the White House, and as Schur recalled, Sam Seaborn said to her, "Look, this is the White House, we play with live ammo around here."

The "Parks and Recreation" episode doesn't have the same story line as 'The West Wing' episode, "but we kept referring to that line and that idea that if Leslie were to winâ¦ when she's on City Council, her decisions have a much wider impact," Schur said in an interview on the set of the show. "So we actually have Bradley Whitford say to [Leslie] at a point in the episode, 'Look, this is City Council, we play with live ammo.'"

Though Schur hadn't seen the finished episode yet, he said there were several small "West Wing" homages in it, and he told the director if there was room for a "West Wing"-style walk-and-talk with Amy Poehler and Bradley Whitford, he "wouldn't complain." But don't look for a mini-"West Wing" reunion in Pawnee: Rob Lowe, who played Seaborn, did not share a scene with his "West Wing" castmate Whitford.

Schur said that viewers will learn who wins the race for that city council seat in the Season 4 finale of the show and it might surprise "Parks and Rec" fans to find out that Schur and the writers only decided who the victor would be a few weeks ago. They certainly didn't start out the season with a pre-determined winner in mind.

"Since we came up with the idea to have [Leslie] run, weâve spent a part of every single week discussing the pros and cons of having her winning and her losing," Schur said. "And there are many to both situations. And so weâve chosen a path that I think maximizes the pros and minimizes the cons." One important point to keep in mind is that working for the Pawnee city council is only a part-time job.

"If youâre really high up in the government, you canât hold two jobs. But you can if youâre in Leslieâs position," said Schur, who'd spoken to a high-ranking Indiana state official for research. "So that option is open to us. Iâm not saying thatâs what weâre going to take, but it was good to know."

When I expressed reservations about Leslie losing -- wouldn't a loss go against the can-do, optimistic spirit of the show? -- Schur explained that the writers spent a long time thinking about how they could depict that situation without it seeming "like a sad bummer at the end of the year."

"Winning the election isnât the only way for her to be happy in her career," he noted. "There could be other possibilities -- people offering her different things that would be better than being a city councillor. That's where losing the election might actually be a good thing or a blessing in disguise or something. Obviously, if she wins, that would be very much in keeping with the tone of the show and with a character who is so driven and passionate about what she does, and is very successful in what she does."

One big plus of having Leslie win would be that she had even more reason to interact with the many other city departments and employees we've previously seen on the show, Schur noted. But the win would change Leslie's life, and the challenge was to alter her circumstances without changing the DNA of the show too much.

As Schur put it, the writers thought a lot about how they would "make sure if she won that we didnât feel like we were watching a new show in Season 5â¦ Thereâs a certain amount of familiarity thatâs necessary, and weâre doing certain things to kind of reassure people at the end of the year that itâs not all going to be different" in a potential fifth season, if Leslie wins.

In a few weeks, I'll post another piece with thoughts from Schur and other members of the cast on Leslie's run for public office, but I thought I'd offer a quick rundown of what will transpire the rest of the season. But before we get to that, I asked Schur if Tom (Aziz Ansari) and Ann (Rashida Jones) will be dating for a while.

They will be, but Schur described their relationship as comedically driven and "roller-coaster-y."

"We have two very serious, heartfelt, soulmate relationships on our show in Leslie and Ben and Andy and April, and we wanted to do one that was just a comedy relationship," Schur said. "There's no staring deep into each otherâs eyes and mooning over each other."

Ann has already dated a lot of the Pawnee guys in her age range, as Schur pointed out, and Tom is "a ridiculous person, but heâs got some very good qualities. Heâs funny and heâs stylish and heâs interesting. Heâs ambitious and he knows a lot about music. The reality is at some point, you would try it. â¦ Obviously, Tom is way more into Ann than Ann is into Tom at the beginning, but itâs very casual and played almost entirely for comedy through the end of the year."

Also this season:

Adam Scott says that Ben doesn't get a new job any time soon. "Right now, [his focus] is the campaign and he's not really thinking about what job will be next. He wants [Leslie] to win, but I think he also thinks she deserves to win and Bobby Newport does not deserve to win. It's become this mission he has to accomplish -- he cannot let this happen."

Retta (Donna) said that she's still hearing from people, on Twitter and in real life, who love her and Tom's catchphrase, "Treat yo self!" "I accept it. It's my 'Dynomite!'" Also, later this season, viewers will "find out who one of her relatives is, and Tom is very impressed by it."

Chris Pratt said there's an episode coming up in which Andy's band, Mouse Rat, "comes up with a good campaign song."

In an upcoming episode, according to Nick Offerman, Ron Swanson spends some time with Chris Trager and "takes a walk in his world." And though he confirmed that there is no significant Tammy time in the remainder of Season 4, he was cagey about any potential romances for Pawnee's most eligible bachelor. "He may be kissed, and he may not be," Offerman said of his character. He added that he occasionally reminds the writers that it's been two years since we've gotten a Duke Silver appearance, but he says he doesn't press the matter, given the many other story lines the show is juggling at the moment. (Offerman answered many fan questions in my interview with him; look for that piece over the next two weeks).

Episode 15, "Dave Returns" (Feb. 16)

Leslie's old flame, former Pawnee cop Dave (Louis C.K.), returns and she and Dave end up going out to dinner with her current boyfriend, Ben. It turns out to be one of the most awkward meals in the history of dining.

As Adam Scott pointed out, Ben has an unfortunate history with police officers, who make him very nervous. And neither Ben nor Dave is socially adept. "Dave is an incredibly awkward guy," Scott noted. "What a nightmare for Leslie to have to sit between those two guys."

Scott said that after that dinner, the trio heads to a retirement party for the Pawnee chief of police, whose endorsement Leslie wants. "His retirement party is just a bar full of cops," Scott said. "So after all of the awkwardness that happens at the dinner between Ben and [Dave], then they have to go to a bar thatâs full of cops in uniform and it just doesnât go well."

Episode 16, "Jerry's Sweet Sixteen" (Feb. 23)

Leslie throws Jerry a party after she realizes everyone forgot his birthday. "As much as there's a lot of putting [Jerry] down, there's a lot of rallying to be there for him," according to Jim O'Heir, who plays Jerry. But what does the "Sixteen" refer to? He couldn't say.

Episode 17, "Campaign Shake-up" (March 1)

Kathryn Hahn starts a multi-episode arc as the campaign advisor to Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd). Comedy legend Carl Reiner also guests as a power broker in Pawnee's senior community, an important voting bloc. "He's the Godfather of the old folks," Schur said.

"We have to kind of woo [the seniors] to try to get their votes," said Scott. He was especially excited about working with Reiner, who signed his poster from the movie "The Jerk." "An original 'Jerk' poster from 1981. For me, that is huge to have that."

Episode 18, "Lucky"

Sean Hayes guest stars as Buddy Wood, a journalist who is the "Barbara Walters of Indianapolis," according to Schur. Wood selects Leslie as one of the local candidates who he profiles in an annual special.

"He's very popular, and we find out all five people that he profiled last year won their elections, in no small part because of the bump they got from him," Schur said. "So the episode is about her having this huge interview with this guy and he's just incredibly cocky. Even though he's a human interest, local news guy from Indianapolis, he acts as if he is Charlie Rose or Barbara Walters or someone of that level of importance."

The episode was written by Nick Offerman, who said it was "incredibly fun and really hard ... It's a very collaborative process, writing for any TV show, because we have a whole staff of writers. But you ultimately you have to go off and write a script on your own. Mostly it was really fun, because Mike and the writers have created such well-defined characters and we know their voices so well that it was mostly just really fun coming up with things for everyone to say. As far as writing for myself, I just really tried hard not to be too self-indulgent. When I suddenly had a page-and-a-half monologue, I was like, 'This is not going to look good.' But it was really fun writing for Ron."

Episode 19, "Live Ammo"

Bradley Whitford guest stars as the city council member whose seat Leslie is running for. "I know everyone here is a big 'West Wing' fan, so we got to work out our 'West Wing' fantasies," Scott said.

As for Whitford and Lowe not working together on the episode, Schur seemed to think it was for the best. "There's nothing worse than that moment in the show where [actors who worked together on a different show meet]. 'Don't I know you from somewhere?'"

Episode 20, "The Debate"

This episode was written and directed by Amy Poehler, and Paul Rudd is among the guest stars (Rudd will also appear in Episode 21, and they're hoping to have him in the season finale as well). Rudd was always the first choice for the character because, among other things, "he plays blank so well," as Schur put it.

"To put a good comedic spin on Leslie's situation, the guy has to kind of be a doofus," Schur noted. "If he's really sharp and competent, well, who wants to watch two sharp, competent people debate? What you want to watch is one sharp, competent person debate a total moron who's very likable, who people love and who has every advantage in the world. He's the richest person in town, he's good-looking, he's charming."

Episode 21 of the season is called "Bus Tour," and the season finale is set on Election Day, which is when fans will find out whether Leslie defeated the doofus.

Tamar Abrams: British Actor Tom Payne Rides HBO's Luck

Tamar Abrams — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:44:17 EST

It would be way too easy to use the word "lucky" in describing how British actor Tom Payne was cast in the new HBO hit series Luck. And yet that's how he talks about it: "It was the easiest casting process ever." Payne plays Cajun jockey Leon "Bug Boy" Micheaux in the series, the very definition of "lucky" considering the only states he had visited were New York and California and had only a passing familiarity with horses.

Once he was cast, Tom Payne spent several weeks in Eunice, Louisiana getting to know the Cajun culture. "I spent time with people, grilling out, learning what it's like to come from that area," he recalls. "They thought I was quite amusing." He sampled the local cuisine and particularly enjoyed boudin, a type of sausage that is a specialty of southern Louisiana. When you hear him speak in Luck, you would be hard pressed to believe he was born and reared in southern England. Payne says he worked very hard on the accent. "I have done accents before, and we did study American accents in drama school. But I had to hold back a little bit on the Cajun accent so people can understand me. It doesn't sound American at all."

Nailing the accent of an unfamiliar culture was one thing, but Payne also has to embody a character who grew up in Louisiana and is now a jockey in Southern California. "I didn't just have to become comfortable with horse riding," he says, "because being a jockey is a different discipline. The stirrups are in a different place, there is a tiny saddle, and we ride real racehorses." Luckily, he has not had any spills.

The show revolves around activities at a California racetrack and there is plenty of star power, including Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Jill Hennessy and Dennis Farina. The show is complicated, the characters move in and out of the story arc, and the photography is stunning. It has just been renewed for a second season and, according to Payne, shooting begins in a few weeks. He couldn't be more delighted to be a part of the ensemble cast. "It never felt like a TV show. We weren't shooting fast, and time is taken to hone it to perfection," Tom Payne says admiringly. "We work with a great group of actors and directors and a great story line. I'm feeling very...(wait for it)...fortunate."

You might recognize Payne from his role in the lovely film Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with Amy Adams and Frances McDormand. Or from one of the many British TV programs in which he has appeared, including Skins, Miss Marple and Waterloo Road. Or, if you live in Los Angeles, you may have seen him driving around the area with his girlfriend, exploring new places. On the day we spoke, he was making his second visit to Manhattan Beach where he intends to take up surfing.

After many years in London, the 29-year old is happily settling into life in LA. He says, "The weather here is fabulous and people have more of a can-do attitude than in England where they are more cynical." He certainly sounds like a man who is happy, and even his aspiration is low-key: "Ten years from now, I want to be one of those safe guys in movies who people enjoy seeing. Likeability and acceptance are more important than being world famous."

Scott M. Campbell: Long Trip, Short Week: NFL's Thursday Problem

Scott M. Campbell — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:33:00 EST

Seemingly lost amidst the Super Bowl hoopla over the last week was Roger Goodell's announcement of a scheduling shift that will significantly alter the NFL landscape beginning in the 2012 season. What began six years ago as a late-season treat will now be a routine occurrence -- Thursday games will be featured in all but the final two weeks of the regular season.

The big boost in NFL Network's Thursday Night Football offerings -- to 13 games, up from seven in 2011 -- was no surprise. But as the league eyes another TV ratings goldmine, it also needs to take important steps to level the Thursday playing field.

It's tough enough for teams to rest and prepare to compete again during a short week. But the NFL has shown a troubling willingness to make the visiting team travel across the country for a Thursday matchup, and that has created a competitive imbalance that threatens to become much more prevalent with the expansion of Thursday football.

Consider that the 49ers and Eagles each made a trek of at least 2,300 miles for a Thursday game in 2011, to Baltimore and Seattle, respectively. They lost by a combined 27 points. Perhaps even more unsettling, the Jets were tasked with playing in Denver (roughly 1,600 miles away) after playing on Sunday Night Football at home four days earlier. New York lost 17-13.

In the last four years, visiting teams logged at least a 1,300-mile journey to play on Thursday Night Football seven times. Those teams went a collective 0-7 and lost by an average of 13.3 points. The three teams in that span that endured a 2,000-plus mile trek lost by an average score of 32-13.

Even without extending Thursday games throughout the season, the lengthy travel in condensed weeks was something the NFL needed to promptly address. But now, with the need to schedule 16 Thursday games beginning in Week 2 (including three Thanksgiving games), travel has become a glaring equity issue. The league needn't look far for a viable solution. In 2006, NFL Network's debut season, the five Thursday Night Football games all were intradivision battles.

Simply put, the NFL needs to put a premium on scheduling regional matchups on Thursdays -- a decision that would lessen the competitive disadvantage for the visiting team. Divisional games would be a natural fit in many cases, although St. Louis, Dallas and Miami are among those geographically isolated from their divisional rivals.

Some pundits have suggested making a Thursday Night Football appearance follow a team's bye week to allow ample time for rest and preparation. But given that the bye weeks haven't started earlier than Week 4 or ended later than Week 11 in the last five years, that solution would require a drastic schedule overhaul.

The NFL has already created a tough enough scheduling challenge by guaranteeing that each team will make at least one prime-time appearance in 2012. But in order to avert a competitive inequity, the league needs to take care to eliminate strenuous travel so the Thursday visitor isn't fighting even more of an uphill battle.

Bob Burnett: The GOP Problem: 'It's Halftime in America'

Bob Burnett — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:22:00 EST

This year's Super Bowl program contained a commercial "It's Halftime in America", featuring Clint Eastwood. Initially this seemed to be a public service pep talk for the nation, then a promo for Detroit, and it turned out to be a Chrysler ad. The commercial outraged Republicans. It's an indication of their core problems in the 2012 presidential contest.

In the ad Eastwood observed that it was halftime in the football game and "It's halftime in America, too. People are out of work and they're hurting. And they're all wondering what they're going to do to make a comeback. And we're all scared, because this isn't a game." He acknowledged Detroit had been through a lot. "I've seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life. And, times when we didn't understand each other. It seems like we've lost our heart at times. When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that's what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can't find a way, then we'll make one. All that matters now is what's ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And, how do we win?"

Republicans reacted as if they had been sucker punched. Karl Rove went on Fox News decried the ad and accused Obama of "Chicago-style politics." (By the way, Clint Eastwood is an Independent who supported McCain in 2008.)

"It's Halftime in America" contained three themes that promoted Obama's message. The first was the game is not over, America's best days are not over. Eastwood said, "The people of Detroit... almost lost everything. But we all pulled together, now Motor City is fighting again... Detroit's showing us it can be done."

In his State of the Union address, President Obama used a similar frame, "Think about the America within our reach... An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded. We can do this. I know we can, because we've done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known."

The second theme was that progress has been made. In Eastwood's case he said, "Motor City is fighting again." The government bailouts of the auto industry saved 1.4 million jobs and the big three companies are again making a profit.

In his State of the Union remarks, Obama made the same point:

In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly 4 million jobs. And we lost another 4 million before our policies were in full effect. Those are the facts. But so are these: In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than 3 million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s.

After the speech, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that 243,000 jobs had been added in January.

The third theme was the American people have to work together. Eastwood observed, "...after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that's what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can't find a way, then we'll make one."

In his State of the Union remarks, Obama echoed this:

No one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we built it together. This nation is great because we worked as a team... And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, and our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.

Republicans are angry about the "It's Halftime in America" ad because it flies in the face of their negative themes: Obama has failed; America has gone in the toilet; and the only way to dig ourselves out of this hole is to place our faith in corporate America. Republicans will have an uphill battle selling this to voters.

Whether or not they have seen the Eastwood ad, Americans don't believe the Republican message. They don't believe that Obama has failed; they feel he has done as much as he could to clean up the mess Bush left him, considering Republican obstruction. Further, Americans don't believe that the U.S. economy is in the toilet. They identify with the people of Detroit who fought back. We believe it's halftime for America and our best days lie ahead.

Finally, voters don't believe that the solution to our problems is to do what Republican suggest: place our faith in the 1 percent. Americans agree with Obama: "As long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, and our future is hopeful."

WATCH: Hilarious Miscommunication On 'Jeopardy!'

Katla McGlynn — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:13:57 EST

The most awkward part of "Jeopardy!" is undoubtedly the mini-interviews Alex Trebek has to conduct mid-show, especially when a contestant has a quirky hobby to share with the world.

Duke senior Greer Mackebe was lucky enough to be one of those folks recently when he competed on the College version of the show. For his 30-second autobiography, he told Alex Trebek about his competitive concrete canoe making club. Trebek feigned interested as usual, but Mackebe's answer to one of his follow-up questions caused the seasoned host to stop the interview completely and vent his frustrations to the audience.

Hear Mackebe's answer and Trebek's hilarious reaction in the video above.

Via Buzzfeed

'Survivor' Producer Accused Of Murdering His Wife Hopes To Avoid Trial: Lawyers

AP — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:09:37 EST

CANCUN, Mexico -- Lawyers for a U.S. reality television producer facing trial for allegedly murdering his wife at a Mexican resort said Thursday they hope to persuade a judge to drop the charges and free their client.

Jaime Cancino Leon, an attorney for former "Survivor" producer Bruce Beresford-Redman, said he had found inconsistencies in the prosecution case, but did not elaborate.

Beresford-Redman appeared for a preliminary hearing, where a judge read the homicide charge filed against him. He did not immediately enter a plea.

The producer spoke briefly and complained he didn't have a consular representative when investigators questioned him after the April 2010 murder in the Caribbean coast resort of Cancun.

Behind bars in an office room, Beresford-Redman said he was accused of a crime he did not commit. He said he lost his wife, Monica, who he loved very much, and lost the custody of his children and his freedom.

Cancino Leon said the defense will ask for an additional three days to make their case for dismissal, which would extend to a total of six days the time that the judge has to either dismiss the charges or order a trial.

Carlos Grajales Betancourt, another defense lawyer, said the defense team also will present evidence in his client's favor.

The Quintana Roo state attorney general, Gaspar Armando Garcia Torres, said he expects the judge to order the case to go to trial.

The sister of the victim, Jeanne Burgos, attended the hearing. One of her family's two Mexican attorneys, Tomas Flores Allende told reporters that the defense's strategy is to shield the defendant in a "shroud of injustice."

"It's been a long journey and we finally reached this important moment, where he is subject of the Mexican justice system. The man will be punished under our laws," Flores Allende said.

The body of Monica Beresford-Redman was found in a sewer cistern at a swank resort during a family vacation. The couple had gone there with their young children in an attempt to save their marriage after she learned her husband was cheating on her.

He was flown in to Cancun early Thursday escorted by nearly a dozen Mexican agents.

The U.S. Marshals Service turned the Emmy-nominated producer over to Mexican federal police Wednesday, roughly two weeks after State Department officials signed a warrant clearing his extradition.

Beresford-Redman opted in December not to appeal a U.S. court ruling upholding his extradition.

Part of the evidence in the case includes statements from hotel guests who said they heard loud arguing and cries of distress coming from the couple's room on the night Monica Beresford-Redman went missing.

The producer's lawyers have said the noises came from Beresford-Redman and his children playing loud games throughout the night and say there isn't any forensic evidence that he killed his wife.

10 Things You Probably Didnât Know About Zombies

TheFW.com — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:38:52 EST

The zombies that we know and presumably love/fear may have infiltrated popular culture through books like H.P. Lovecraft's 'Herbert West: Re-Animator,' films such as George Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead' and TV shows like AMC's The Walking Dead (which returns Sunday, February 12th).

But their existence isn't just limited to the page or the screen. Turns out, they walk among us. They have always walked among us. In fact, they are one of us.

WATCH: Jennifer Lopez Tells Ellen She And Marc Anthony Still 'Laugh A Lot'

Cindy Y. Rodriguez — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:27:48 EST

Though newly divorced, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony seem to be quite the dynamic duo on their new show Q'Viva! The Chosen, and to prove it they went on The Ellen Degeneres Show to talk about just that.

"The dynamic between you two it's just so much fun because you know I love you both individually, and I just love watching you on camera, regardless of anything," says Ellen says to J-Lo and Marc Anthony, who were joined by director/choreographer Jamie King.

"We laugh a lot," Jen said, before being interrupted by director/choreographer Jamie King.

"Not always. I find myself in the middle refereeing sometimes. It's fantastic," King said.

Then, they moved on to more important matters: Lopez slapping Marc Anthony on the back of the head on Q'Viva!

"All I did was this [touches Marcâs head]," she said. "She canât help herself," Marc jokingly added.

Lopez claims the producers added a "sound effect" in the new show's video clip to exaggerate the sound of the slap in question. And, then to reiterate, she jokingly slaps Marc Anthony again on the back of the head to show the audience it was merely a friendly gesture. Thanks for clarifying that, J-Lo.

The interview with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony on 'Ellen' airs Monday, February 13th.

TV Shows That Last Too Long

Jaimie Etkin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:13:08 EST

After eight seasons, "House" is coming to an end. It was announced this week that this current season will be the last.

"A true original, on the page and amazingly brought to life by Hugh Laurie, there is only one Dr. House," Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at Fox, said in a statement. "The entire 'House' team has given us -- and fans around the world -- some of the most compelling characters and affecting stories ever seen on television. They have been creatively tenacious and collaborative throughout this incredible run, and they are amongst the most superior talents in the business. For all the above, we wholeheartedly thank them, and the fans who have supported the show."

Though it's never easy -- for fans, cast and crew -- when a show starts to sacrifice quality for quantity, series should do the right thing and say goodbye.

From another long-running medical drama to the current teen favorite that just won't quit, click through the slideshow below to see which shows overstayed their welcome on the small screen.

Kyle Dyer Recovering After Dog Bite On Face During Segment

AP — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:58:17 EST

By Associated Press

DENVER -- A television anchor who was bitten in the face by an 85-pound Argentine Mastiff during a live broadcast was released from a hospital on Thursday.

Kyle Dyer of KUSA-TV was bitten Wednesday while doing a story about the dog's rescue from an icy pond by a firefighter in suburban Lakewood.

Dyer was interviewing firefighter Tyler Sugaski and the dog's owner, Michael Robinson, when the dog, named Max, bit her on the face. Sugaski tended to Dyer in the studio until paramedics arrived and took her to the hospital.

KUSA reported Thursday (http://on9news.tv/wPZXRg) that Dyer was released from Denver Health Medical Center, where she had reconstructive surgery to her lip.

Robinson was cited with failure to have his dog on a leash â