Remakes are all the rage in the news today with talks of a new Saturday Night Fever (take one guess at who's the prime candidate for a new Tony Manero) and a film adaptation of the 1980s series The A-Team. Can't anyone think of new material these days? Even TBS is considering taking up My Name Is Earl. Read on -- it's not all that bad.

Tags: 24, Best Week Ever, Bradley Cooper, David Letterman, Katee Sackhoff, Liam Neeson, my name is earl, Saturday Night Fever, Simon Cowell, The A-Team, The late show, Timbaland, zac efron

If the previews for Raising Hope have been reminding you of My Name is Earl lately, that's because they share a creator in Greg Garcia. And like Earl, Raising Hope is a show that surprised me by being a lot better and funnier than it looked. Unfortunately it also shares the very low likelihood of me making a point of watching it every week, but that's not to say it's without merit.

Tags: Cloris Leachman, Garret Dillahunt, Greg Garcia, Larry the Cable Guy, Martha Plimpton, My Name is Earl, Raising Hope

All of this focus on overweight reality shows -- Biggest Loser, Dance Your Ass Off, More to Love -- has drawn our attention away from the original plus-size primetime stars. You know, the fictional ones? Most of the great TV shows of the modern era have included at least one character from this increasingly sizable segment of society, and nine times out of ten they ended up being our favorite character on the series. Here are ten who float to the top of our favorites list.

Tags: Andy Richter, Cheers, Gilmore Girls, Hurley, Lost, My Name is Earl, overweight, Roseanne, Seinfeld, SNL, The Drew Carey Show

Casting, casting, casting! Where a woman is a woman and a man is an Elvis impersonator! Where Harry Potter gets animated, and Tim Gunn gets even more legendary! Where a crook becomes a cop, and Ethan Embry is still alive, apparently!

Tags: Absolute Justice, Delta Blues, Hawkman, How I Met Your Mother, Jason Lee, Modern Family, My Name is Earl, Prison Break, Smallville, Tim Gunn

It's a great news day! Pushing Daisies's last episodes finally got an air date, Chuck got a third season pickup and I'm going on The Amazing Race. April Fool's! I know, it isn't nice to toy with people's emotions like that. I feel a little guilty, but that last one is sort of true... just as soon as I can scrape up the cash! Some smart person finally found a way to offer TAR travel excursions to regular people, where you bebop all over Europe and do crazy stunts... for a fee, and sadly without Phil and his eyebrows. Still -- cool, right? Now if we can just work on the networks about making those other two things happen, it really would be a banner day. In other news...

Tags: american Idol, guiding light, Josh Schwartz, my name is earl, the simpsons, Wanda Sykes

Different writers spent their ninety-day down time during the WGA strike in different ways. Our Pamie, for instance, got heavy into crafts. Whereas My Name Is Earl executive producer Greg Garcia apparently spent a month working at an unnamed fast-food restaurant. He says it helped him to get back in touch with his audience, and that he worked with great people in an impeccably clean location. So...we can probably rule out Taco Bell as his erstwhile employer, then.

Tags: greg garcia, my name is earl, pamela ribon, wga strike

My Name is Earl is a much funnier show than it should be, but even that doesn't save it from the occasional piece of crap episode. Our own Zach Oat has called out the show's worst half-hours, ruined by plot contrivances, dream sequences, coma love, and that evil little thing called stuntcasting. Get the full list here, and come back to file your own Earl grievances in the comments.

Tags: My Name is Earl

The NBC upfronts were today, leading to some news, although not the news you may be looking for. Other than that, it's been pretty quiet. You might say it's been too quiet. You might want to hunker down for a couple of days until what's coming, comes. Circle the couch cushions. Turn on CNN. Make some chocolate milk. Run silent. Run deep. The day's news briefs are after the jump.

Tags: Ben-Hur, Chuck, Fringe, Jenny McCarthy, Law & Order, Life, Mad Men, Medium, My Name is Earl