TV News, Links, and What to Watch Tonight

Whitney Jefferson · 03/24/11 03:30PM

New details on David Brent's return to the American Office, Ed Harris will play John McCain for HBO, two more years of Futurama, American Idol's haunted mansion and Jersey Shore finishes its season tonight.

All Hail Obama's 'Kinetic Military Action' in Libya

Jim Newell · 03/24/11 03:29PM

The obsessive semantic argument over what the United States and certain U.N. allies are "doing" in Libya really needs to stop. "War," "limited military operations," "freedom fighting," "paying off the defense industry," whatever. "We are shooting targets in Libya with missiles," is what the White House should say if it doesn't want to say anything. It's phrases like these, though, that just keep the confusion alive:

The Wire Reimagined as a Victorian Novel

Brian Moylan · 03/24/11 03:23PM

Many people have likened bygone critical favorite The Wire to a Dickens novel, but Sean Michael Robinson and Joy Delyria went a step further and reimagined the series as an actual Victorian novel. The results and just as fantastic as the show itself.

Baby Hates Singing the "Happy Birthday" Song

Marisa Gladstone · 03/24/11 03:15PM

It seems like this little guy is a bit young to be upset about his birthday but hey, none of us like turning a year older...At least his older brother is getting a kick out of it!

Ben Stiller Discusses Ghost Encounters with Dave Letterman

Madeleine Davies · 03/24/11 03:10PM

Ben Stiller has lived in several haunted houses. In fact, his childhood home was occupied by a ghost baby named Stanley Benjaman. Terrifying specter or perfect scapegoat for when your dad smells pot smoke?

Gawker.TV: The Best Videos Ever of the Day

Whitney Jefferson · 03/24/11 03:00PM

Today at Gawker.TV, Jake Gyllenhaal's best male friend isn't helping the gay rumors, Trey Parker's secret 80s love ballads, Hoda Kotb's spanx-situation, Bradley Cooper has high hopes for The Hangover 2 and we take another look at Idol's Casey Abrams.

Carol Burnett on The Tonight Show: The Past Tense of Tweet is Twat

Leah Beckmann · 03/24/11 02:45PM

Carol Burnett has outdone herself. Again. She dropped by the Tonight Show last night to promote her new book, This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection, which among other things, recounts several anecdotes from her many years in the biz.

The Miz is Used to Being Booed by Crowds of People

Whitney Jefferson · 03/24/11 02:30PM

As someone who doesn't watch the WWE, I find it very hard to see Mike "The Miz" Mizanin as anyone other than that guy on The Real World: Back to New York. Regardless, he appeared on Conan and brought a lot of attitude.

American Idol: Let's Talk About Casey Abrams

Madeleine Davies · 03/24/11 02:15PM

Did you see Casey Abrams slay Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" on American Idol last night? Wasn't he rad? No? What are you trying to say? That Casey Abrams isn't that great of a singer? Wait, that's exactly what you're trying to say?

At Least One Washington Post Employee Is Making Millions

Hamilton Nolan · 03/24/11 02:00PM

In your persnickety Thursday media column: Katharine Weymouth has a sweet gig, NPR fights back on "liberal bias," dark predictions for HuffPo, Steven Brill sells out, and Jay-Z mysteriously controls The Atlantic, apparently.

Sarah Palin: 'I Am Through Whining About A Liberal Press'

Jim Newell · 03/24/11 01:55PM

Globetrotting grifter Sarah Palin sat down with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren last night to discuss Libya, her recent vacation, you name it. What she would not spend the whole interview doing is "whining" about the "liberal press," her favorite activity which she's quitting now that she's "made my point."

Steve Jobs Personally Rejects App That Measures Cell Phone Radiation

Adrian Chen · 03/24/11 01:46PM

In light of our current nuclear panic, the frenzy over cell phone radiation seems like a quaint relic of an innocent past. But it's still an issue, and software company Tawkon has been trying to release an app that measures your iPhone's radiation levels for months. After failing to get approval in Apple's App Store, Tawkon's CEO Gil Friedlander sent Steve Jobs an email at his sjobs@apple.com address asking for his blessing.

The Phony Lawyer Commercial You've Seen 100 Times

Marisa Gladstone · 03/24/11 01:45PM

I'm sure we've all seen them before. Whether it be Binder and Binder or the guys in this video, Schneidwitz, Krautbum, and Trodman, aka "The Tool Box," it pretty much always leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. They put it best when they say, "Put these tools to work, for you."