BB8 | After Dark Update (8/31; contains mild spoilers)

• After a trying head of household competition last night, everyone in the house scrambled to stay off the nomination block
  • Zach is head of household
• As part of the HoH competition, the house is without hot water for seven more days; And one houseguest received a very special call from home
• The nomination ceremony was held today
• The veto competition will be held later tonight…

Happy Labor Day

Enjoy the holiday weekend. Posting around here will be limited to After Dark Updates, but I’ll be back on Tuesday with plenty of news and analysis.

CBS stands by ‘Kid Nation’

The show is being screened for advertisers in advance of its Sept. 19 debut. “We believe the issues raised about Kid Nation will be resolved when the public sees the first episode,” the network told TV Week in a statement.

Having choked up over the promo on the show’s website (and gotten a better concept of parameters of the project), I’m inclined to give the show a chance.

Sure, it probably violated the spirit if not the letter of the law regarding labor (children and adults alike, according to the unions). And of course some parents are going to be upset. (No one seems to mention in the various news reports that are swirling that each of the 40 kids was free to leave at any time.)

But you can’t un-produce the show, and while the legal ramifications play out, it’s quite possible that Kid Nation will make for captivating television.

PREVIOUSLY | Kid Nation doomed?

BB8 | After Dark Update w/ Live Show Notes (8/30; contains spoilers?)

• Before the eviction ceremony, Dick picked a fight with Zach in order to rattle him for the Head of Household competition
• At the eviction ceremony, Amber was voted out of the house by a vote of 3 to 1, receiving her only vote from Jameka
• During the Head of Household comp, the houseguests volunteered to go without hot water for eight days…
  • Zach is the new head of household for what will be a pivotal week in the Big Brother house

AND DREW CAREY REALLY IS THE NEW HOST OF THE PRICE IS RIGHT | Another reminder that the houseguests really have been living under a rock all summer, courtesy of Showtime Too. Daniele, speculating on the week to come: “I still hope that it’s Owen Wilson bringing us Christmas presents.” Zach: “Isn’t he the one with the big nose?” And the apparent suicide attempt.

NOTES FROM THE LIVE EVICTION | Julie said BB alumna Janelle will return to the house Tuesday night to host what the Chenbot called “a very special PoV competition.” And, “the houseguests don’t know it yet,” but next Thursday is the long-awaited double eviction. That’s right; we’ll be down to the final four after next Thursday’s live evictions. Does this mean that Zach gets a free pass to F4, or will he somehow be fair game for eviction? As always with BB, I suppose we’d do well to expect the unexpected.

BB8 | Controversy: the name of the game

Just minutes to go before tonight’s live eviction, but first:

AP via CNN on the fights and feuds that are keeping the show hot and getting people talking. “The producers are operating essentially two differently realities,” explains Andy Dehnart from Reality Blurred.

This is definitely an article worth reading, as it explores this season’s biggest controversies, including what you can’t see on CBS and what the media won’t be allowed to ask Amber if and when she’s evicted.

WEEDS | What rhymes with ticky?

As in, ticky-tacky. If you guessed wiki, as in the new Weeds Wiki, you’d be correct.

BB8 | After Dark Update (8/29; contains mild spoilers)

• Jessica is head of household
• Amber and Zach are nominated for eviction
• Dick and Daniele had an argument and aren’t speaking at the moment
• Eric told Zach today that he really wants Amber out of the house
• Tomorrow night is the live eviction ceremony…

‘Kid Nation’ doomed?

It’s starting to look like the show will be felled by its bad press before it even airs. There are too many articles, reports and indictments to even begin linking to, but you can put Kid Nation into Google News and get an idea of what I’m talking about.

I’m still curious to see if the show speaks for itself. I do agree, though, that the complaints from the children (and now the unions!) are compelling, and the gag order on the kids and their parents is suspicious. But to borrow a cliche, maybe the ends justify the means.

As of this writing, the show is still scheduled to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 19, on CBS.

FALL PREVIEW | The official site has a preview video, bios of the kids, and a downloadable application for Kid Nation 2

TALK | Whoopi preps for her ‘View’ debut

Whoopi Goldberg officially joins the ladies of The View this Tuesday, Sept. 4. But you can see a picture of her with the cast this very second!

The first guest for the new season is none other than Danny DeVito, who made an infamous drunken appearance on the show last winter.

So far, it seems like Barbara and the gang at The View are trying to capitalize on last year’s controversy for the new fall season. But Rosie is gone, and that era at the show is over. Will Whoopi be controversial enough to bring ratings and please producers, but not so controversial that she provokes the Fox News Channel to call for the show’s cancellation, as Rosie was wont to do?

My impression is that Whoopi has a reputation for being “controversial” or provocative that is based mostly on street cred and not reality. (I’m not trying to hate on Whoopi, either. I love the Sister Act movies!) Maybe she’ll prove me wrong and there’s some bite to her bark, but I’m guessing not.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Goldberg, necessarily, but she and Rosie are very different people and if the idea is supposed to be that Whoopi is the new Rosie, viewers aren’t going to fall for it.

NO GOAL | Rosie O’Donnell will not be playing a soccer coach on Friday Night Lights this fall

DAYTIME | Will Regis retire?

With the 20th season of his popular morning talk show set to kick off Monday, Regis Philbin hints that he may not be around much longer. There are two seasons left on his current contract, and Philbin tells USA Today that he’ll make a decision about his future within the next year.

He’s already been phasing himself out, cutting down in recent years to four shows a week and taking Fridays off (or pretaping special shows). The big question is whether the franchise will survive the loss of Regis, a prominent figure in television over the years. Kelly Ripa is certainly talented enough to hold her own, but the continued success of Michael Gelman’s coffee chat show that could all depends on who lands in Regis’ chair if and when he eventually vacates it.

Also in the USAT article: Michael Gelman reminds the world how old Regis actually is, and makes some dubious claims about his steel trap-like pop culture knowledge (Philbin sometimes seems unprepared for or unsure of what’s going on around him; he’s no Larry King, but as Gelman points out, the man is old).

HEY! REMEMBER THE ’80s? | Check out the first-ever host chat with Regis and Kathie Lee, from September 5, 1988