Baseball is celebrating the 100th anniversary of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” this summer. The cultural milestone was written by Jack Norworth, a Philadelphia anchor who had never been to a game, on a New York City subway ride — he was inspired by a sign that read “Baseball Today, Polo Grounds — and paired with a melody by Albert Von Tilzer, a show salesman. The song, traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch, was an instant hit — No. 1 on the charts for seven weeks. It has been recorded by Haydn Quartet, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin… and Donald Duck.

Are you as tired of watching CSI:NY reruns as me? Here are some dates and times for the fall 2008-09 TV Sched. Shows marked in BLUE are NEW this season.

TUESDAY, AUG. 26
“Greek” (ABC Family), 9 p.m.

MONDAY, SEPT. 1
“Gossip Girl” (CW), 8 p.m.
“Prison Break” (FOX), 8 p.m., two-hour premiere
“One Tree Hill” (CW), 9 p.m.
“Raising the Bar” (TNT), 10 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 2
“90210” (CW), 8 p.m., two-hour premiere
“The Shield” (FX), 10 p.m. Continue Reading »

Deeper and Darker

“Dexter” has gone from cult show to mainstream success in two seasons. Showtime’s dark drama about a Miami serial killer who works for the police, was rewarded with 2008 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Actor (the brilliant Michael C. Hall). CBS, which owns Showtime, repeated Season 1 for a network audience. Season 2, now out on DVD, is a riveting follow-up to the sensational debut season. Dexter’s stash of dead bodies turns up, and the FBI, led by special agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) and assisted by dirty-talking but adorable sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter), is on the case. Suspicious Sgt. Dokes (Erik King) is also on Dexter’s trail. Lila, a sexy and dangerous British babe (neatly played by Jaime Murray), drives Dexter to the breaking point. All in all, great writing, solid acting, bright South Florida colors, another killer season. You will race through the 12 episodes. But don’t look for any cool DVD extras; there aren’t any, just episodes of other Showtime series. Season 3 begins Sept. 28. Jimmy Smits joins the cast as an assistant district attorney. A trailer is up on the website.

JoyHog would just like to take a moment to give snaps, props and whatever Facebook gifts are in vogue to the cast of Lively Productions & Métropole Ink’s “Paper Dolls.” The show was recognized at Sunday’s awards ceremony under a swelteringly toasty tent at South Street Seaport in Manhattan. JP was there to cheer on the troops, but the photos are entirely too sloppy, so we won’t be putting those up anytime soon. Well done, thespians!

BBC America
Premieres tonight at 8:40pm ET

Perhaps you caught wind that we really dig this show when you saw it mentioned on The Awesome List, but just for proper cheerleading, let us review:

This show has been collecting the comedy awards in the UK, now it’s time for the U.S. bow. Gavin & Stacey met on the telephone. He’s in Essex, England and she’s in Wales. After getting their flirt on for several months, the agree to meet in London, where they immediately fall in love. From that point on, it’s the brilliant antics of families and best mates, planning the wedding, getting to know each other and all the other hot messes young lovers fall into. Like ‘The Office,’ NBC is going to be formatting this show for the US audiences. Until then, we can enjoy the 13 episodes (UK seasons 1 and 2) and the funny, deadpan and overall endearing cast that has been assembled. Matthew Horne as Gavin is as close as we’ll get to an Everyman for this show (they’re all pretty kooky - in a good way). He’s complimented by Joanna Page as Stacey. She can be a smidge on the neurotic side, but so are most female leads in sitcoms. The true standouts of the series (and the reason we could watch it for days) are the best mates in the wings. Ruth Jones as Nessa is to the point, crass, like a bear with a toothache. God bless her. And lastly there’s James Corden as Smithy on the other side (he won the BAFTA for this show). So it’s a great group to watch, and I for one, am eager (and more than slightly terrified) to see what the Americans will to to this gem of a comedy. It’s love at first sight, I’m tellin’ ya.

When ever this commercial comes on I just can’t take my eyes off the screen! Perhaps it’s this ‘America’s Best So You Think You Can Step-Up Musical Crew’ phenomenon that has altered my taste for catchy advertisements. But more likely, its this catchy electric/bongo-ish tune. If you are interesting in downloading this little diddy, just type ‘Enur - Calabria 2007‘ into your iTunes store search.

“The House Bunny” was an unexpected box office smash in its first weekend (No. 2 behind “Tropic Thunder”), and Anna Faris may be headed for mainstream success. The cover of Playboy won’t hurt either. Faris isn’t naked but she is candid as she answers the mag’s 20 Questions.

“It’s such an iconic magazine. What I love so much about Playboy and the idea of Playboy is that it injects that playful, innocent sexuality I think that girls and guys can now appreciate and love. It releases that old sexual guilt a lot of women can feel. So to be in the magazine is truly a thrill and an honor. I am so happy and proud. I’m as proud of this as anything else I’ve ever accomplished. It’s a badge of honor.”