Because David Cassidy is on Oprah at 4 PM ET today, promoting his new album: "David Cassidy Dance Party Remix." 

Obviously.

Let's have a look at the record company's promo materials, shall we?

Timeless idol David Cassidy and producer-mixer Craig J (Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson) present club-rocking remixes of Partridge Family classics! These cutting-edge versions of "Come On Get Happy," "I Think I Love You" and "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat," among other gems, are a unique gift from the singer to his fans. "To do brand new dance versions of these iconic tunes was an amazing experience," says Cassidy. "It's so cool!"

Um.  First of all, I'll give them "idol," but Cassidy hasn't aged gracefully -- think hairplugs and an aggressive facelift that's placed him squarely in Christian Slater territory.  Second of all, this is at least the third repurposing of "I Think I Love You" (remember that pappy adult-contempo version he was croaking during his Behind The Music episode?), and it's not that I don't like the P. Fam (I have a ton of their songs on my iPod, and I watch Breaking Bonaduce, for God's sake), or that the concept of remixing those songs isn't a good one, in theory.  I have to admit, I'd like to hear the songs.  But it's kind of unseemly the way he's still dragging buckets out of that well almost 40 years later -- if I'm not mistaken, he's written two memoirs of his days as a teen heartthrob (neither one of which provides a credible defense for those moose-knuckle overalls he wore onstage), and he just keeps remixing and rerecording the big PF hits, like, dude: find something else to do.  Find something else to work on; find something else you're good at.  Learn to type.  Law school.  Fund-raising.  Something

Doesn't it seem like everything we've been hearing lately about the news business makes it seem really grim and depressing and makes you question the validity, accuracy, and straight-up newsworthiness of whatever stories actually do somehow trickle down to you? How budgets are being cut all over the place even as the sheer volume of coverage available just keeps going up? And how the internet keeps making inroads into what used to be the domain of real, trained journalists? Well, CNN just made things worse.

Sarah and I have a complex relationship with old Dr. P. Because we enjoy judging strangers, we like it when he rakes his guests over the coals. We are less fond of his Christian-y insistence on trying to save every marriage (y'all, some people just need to get divorced), and his hoary generalizations about what men and women are like. Over the years, too, the show has gotten a lot less must-see; there's the whole "Dr. Phil Now" thing he does where he responds to the news, and the Dr. Phil house, and other gimmicky shit. Also, the increasing participation of Mrs. Phil is not something I signed off on. And this latest business with Britney hasn't covered him with glory.

Look, I understand that the networks were getting desperate for programming. I get that they may have considered the successes of imports like Ugly Betty, The Office, and Survivor and thought that Canada was due an opportunity to make a cultural gift to America's strike-ravaged TV schedules. And I get that people will watch just about any damn thing when it's packaged into a reality show. But Rockstar Curling? Really? They think they might get Bruce Springsteen Or Jon Bon Jovi to host it? REALLY?! I mean, Richie Sambora, maybe. But even Clarence Clemmons wouldn't touch that shit. And I can (kind of) see something like this getting off the ground in Canada (proposed contestants: Gord Downie, Lee Aaron, and obviously Céline Dion), but do Americans even know what curling is? If they didn't get on board with bull riding, this shit is going to be an even tougher sell.

"Over" is in sight for the writers' strike; that doesn't mean it's a done deal, at all.  Check Deadline Hollywood Daily.com, and particularly this post, for a sense of what has to happen for a deal to get done.  Joss Whedon's take is up on United Hollywood.com, and you can also find it in the comments section of the piece I linked to just now.  My own quick take, not knowing the issues as intimately as those on the front lines: a speedy resolution is in everyone's interests...unless it's not in the WGA's, and I urge everyone involved to read the fine print, repeatedly.  Everyone's exhausted and possibly running out of money and wants this over with, but if what this boils down to on the conglomerates' side is wanting to avoid the embarrassment of a 28-minute Oscars ceremony, well, that has a price.

Fingers crossed.

Well, the WGA agreed not to picket, but is that reason enough for you to watch the Grammys? Good question! Fortunately, New York magazine's Vulture blog has a flow chart to help you figure out the answer that's right for you.

I have been really surprised by how fast I got addicted to In Treatment. Normally, my administration has had a strict policy against primetime shows that require you to commit to watching on multiple nights a week (American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Big Brother except when I'm getting paid for it), but In Treatment has a couple of advantages: (a) being on HBO; (b) being on during a writers' strike. And it's also pretty good.

A marginally less disappointing crop of commercials than previous years', overall; Keckler reviews the standouts, after the jump.

As you may have read elsewhere, it looks like the WGA and the producers have gotten quite a bit closer to hammering out a deal.  What that means for the remainder of the '07-'08 scripted season isn't clear, but it's a good sign for next year's programming -- like, that we will see some -- and of course for all the folks on the picket lines (and elsewhere in the industry) who can look forward to going back to work.

Knocking wood, of course.

I feel Diddy, and witty, and gaaaaaaaaaay!  Making The Band 4 is back for another confusingly-numbered season (I think it's MTB 4:2, in which the "4" is the number of bands the show has made and the "2" is the...season number?  Sorry, I lost my slide rule and can't figure this shit out).

And I am STOKED, people.  I don't know why I love the show, but I do, and I love it EVEN MORE now that it is the province of one Sean Combs, and I will tell you why: a show this superfluous must take itself with the utmost seriousness, otherwise there isn't any point to watching.  It's kind of the same concept that allows Wile E. Coyote to keep running even when he's already over the cliff -- he believes he's on solid ground, and as long as he believes that, he's okay.  It's only when he looks down that it all goes pear-shaped...and so it is with Diddy, who never looks down.  (Or, based on that ridonkulous lynx/leather jacket contraption he had on last Monday, in a mirror.  Eddie Murphy called; he'd like the area rug from his Raw dressing room back.)

If you're not watching, you should start.  You really don't have to have watched a single minute of the show before, or of any television really, because everything is mercilessly recapped for you every five minutes, usually by my second-best MTB Girlfriend, Aundrea.  Why should you watch?

1. My very best MTB Girlfriend, Aubrey (shown above with the Aubreytones, and either girlfriend had some work done or Miami Beach is clean out of double-sided pageant tape).  I used to like her back in the day because she seemed fun and fashion-y, and was the underdog.  I like her now because she's turned into kind of a preying mantis, or a preying blonde-weave-is, or whatever; she's all arrogant and aggressively trampy, and it's kind of rad.  Rumor has it she and Diddy had a thing, which is why he's in her face all the time, and I would kill for confirmation of that.  Still, now she's the bad girl, AND she's set her mantis sights on Donnie.  Watching the two of them make out in the season preview is like watching Predator eat one of the baby penguins from Surf's Up: "Awwww.  [crrrrunch]  ...Oh my GOD!"

2. Diddy's one-on-ones with the camera where he's all Red-Bulled out, throwing the hook-'em horns, whipping his sunglasses off to wink at you and there's a little "ting!" sound effect.  Takes himself more seriously than the UN.  Hilarious.

3. Qwanell and his hats.

4. Brian gives the impression of viewing the goings-on with the same gossipy glee that I do, and also he's cute.

I even like the music pretty well (I downloaded a couple of Danity Kane songs shut up), but really, I'm just fascinated by how the kids react to Kim Jong Diddy and his reign of terror.  Remember last season when Donnie said, "Really?" all mouthy when Diddy said he couldn't dance?  Remember how the entire house of guys had to run five or ten miles as a result?  Of course you don't; they didn't tell us that even happened until last week.  Why would you put up with this?

Same reason I watch the show -- you kind of can't believe Diddy is for real. 

If you watch Idol, don't act like you're too good for the Diddles, people.  Watch the show.