Here are some of the best commercial spots from the 2010 Super Bowl. What were your favorites? Comment below.

According to a rep from the site, the company submitted the ad on January 18, and when they checked in again on January 22, they were told that the ad had not yet been approved and that all the spots were sold out. ManCrunch then requested that the ad still be considered, in case a place opened up.

According to Fox News, a CBS representative told Pop Tarts that spots were still open, so the situation is rather murky.

“Although the CBS Sales rep told us that it typically takes 24 to 48, hours it’s been 11 days and although we follow up with CBS every day they keep telling us they’re still reviewing it,” said a ManCrunch rep. Officials from the dating site say that they think the process is taking so long because CBS does not want to air the ad, yet the network doesn’t want to reject it outright for fear of backlash from gay and lesbian advocacy groups.

Such an ad airing during the Super Bowl would be a big coup for the site, “At no other time during the year can you reach men at the same point in time,” said the rep. “Plus, we knew our ad was going to be one of the more memorable ads that the media and public would talk about well after the big game.”

The rep still anticipates that CBS will accept the ad, but expressed distress that the process was taking such a long time. “We do wonder how long it took for them to approve the Pro-Life ad,” he said when asked about Tim Tebow’s hotly debated spot, “[but] regardless of whether or not you agree with CBS’ decision to accept the Pro-Life ad, we do applaud them for allowing freedom of expression and hope they treat our commercial the same.”

Still, unlike the Tebow spot, the ad is currently all over the Internet, and is likely to become more and more visible as the days go by. In fact, the ManCrunch rep said that he believes that it is sure to go viral. So perhaps the controversy will make the commercial more ubiquitous than a Super Bowl showing would.

mashable.com

The year 2010 has barely begun, but we beat the heck out of some phrases in 2009 that we should leave them behind in the old year. So, in no particular order, here are the phrases we shall not utter in 2010:

Engagement. Marketing isn't combat, or marriage. Stop trying to tell me I need to propose to every single potential customer who comes to my site.

Twitterverse. Just. Don't. Say. It.

Tweeple. You KNOW you've got a winning media platform when you can generate two hated terms in the same year.

New media. Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME? This term is back again? Bury it. Forever.

Social media. So prevalent that I have to use it in training and sales presentations, even though mouthing the phrase sends jolts of nausea through me.

Tiger Woods. Ah, crap. I just said it.

Change. No political agenda here - totally behind Obama. But for all the other millions of wannabe politicians, writers, gurus, experts, authors and whatever: I swear I will tune up your car with a claw hammer if you use the term again.

Guru. Actually, it's OK if someone else calls you a guru. But when you call yourself a guru, you fail on a scale not seen since "read my lips: no new taxes". You're crowning yourself a genius. It's artificial, and it stinks.

Crowdsourcing. Also known as stupidsourcing. You get to replicate your mistakes a thousandfold via tons of people who have no zero accountability. Actually, I kinda like the concept. But it terrifies me, too. Sort of like nanotechnology: Cool but likely to wipe us all out in Crichton-esque fashion.

Twilight. Yes, the series of books and movies is now a phrase to me. It represents the destruction of every cool vampire mythology ever created. Bram Stoker is going to rise from his grave and start devouring the entire cast.

Green. Green factories. Green toilet paper. Green TV sets. This color is now splashed across every thing we consume. That's supposed to help us ignore the fact that all this 'green' stuff is being built by contaminated underpaid workers 1000s of miles away. See - we're greener. Didn't say anything about anyone else.

ROI. Oh God. Spare me. Even I've beaten this one to death. Why do we have to tell people what we're doing will help you make money? How is that even a question?

SEO expert. I think this is more a translation problem. In some other language, it seems to mean "I built a web site in Dreamweaver, and know how to use SubmitEase." Like guru, above, it only seems to go horribly wrong when people apply it to themselves.

Content marketing. Another translation problem. Seems to mean "Write drivel. Publish to my site. Repeat."

Conversation. Dammit, I stole this from the ClueTrain Manifesto first. The rest of you slackers quit copying my theft.

Free. "Free" is not the new "money"! Don't believe me? Go to McDonalds and try to buy a burger with a blog post. It doesn't work.

Posted by the Mindless Man

The team of 17-year-old Bae Yeong Ho and 18-year-old Ha Mok Min went thumb-to-thumb against competitors from a dozen countries to win the title in a competition Thursday in New York City.

The LG Mobile World Cup challenged nimble-fingered youths on both speed and accuracy. The winning team took home a $100,000 prize.

Second place and $20,000 went to the U.S. contestants – 16-year-old Kate Moore of Des Moines, Iowa, who is the 2009 U.S. National Texting Champion, and 14-year-old Morgan Dynda of Pooler, Ga., the 2009 runner-up. An Argentinian team came in third and the Brazilians took fourth.

With many languages at play, English was the texting language of the U.S. competitors and those from Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Other nations represented were Indonesia, Portugal, Russia, Mexico and Spain. Interpreters were hired for non-texting communication.

"My thumbs are up for the challenge," Moore announced hours before the afternoon start time.

But inside Manhattan's Gotham Hall, with the pressure on to text for about two intense minutes at a stretch, she and Dynda fell behind the Koreans by 20 seconds after a good hour of competition dubbed "Race of Death."

"New York sure is an active, lively city!" said Bae, the Korean national champion for 2008 and 2009, basking with his teammate in a crush of admirers.

The drill of the third annual Mobile World Cup was simple: Copying words and phrases in one's native language off a monitor correctly, with no typos or abbreviations, and as fast as possible with the required capitalization and punctuation. Some words were intentionally misspelled to test alertness.

Privately, Moore averages 12,000 texts per month, entering up to 3.5 characters per second.

As in mainstream sports, the event drew vocal fans who offered fever-pitch cheers for their favorites – amid peals of laughter.

"USA, USA!" yelled a front-row crowd.

The winners were showered with confetti as they held up mammoth checks representing their earnings.

The event is sponsored by LG Electronics Inc.'s mobile-phone division, a company based in Seoul, South Korea, that supplies its latest handsets for the contest.

Moore said that although she's almost always "carrying on a conversation with someone, texting, "the habit doesn't detract from face-to-face social life. "I can talk and text at the same time, without looking at the phone."

Her friends all do it too; anyone who doesn't is socially ostracized. "When you see someone who doesn't have unlimited texting, it's like, 'What's wrong with you?'"

But there's one thing the teen stopped doing: texting in class. A teacher took her phone away, and her parents were asked to accompany her to the vice principal's office to retrieve it.

The 26 finalists who made it to the World Cup were chosen from more than 200,000 wannabes in a global text-off that began in May. Before they even got to New York, female texters had the advantage – hands down, Moore said.

"Girls are faster 'cause their hands are smaller," she said, adding, "I have perfect hands for texting – thin, long fingers. And fast, of course."

www.huffingtonpost.com

So here we are - one week into 2010 and time to check in on those New Year's resolutions. Did you make any resolutions? Are you keeping them?

A recent study of people aged 18-66, uncovered some interesting findings about our start of the year resolve. It seems most people make several resolutions (67% made 3 or more). People also tend to make a commitment to start or increase a behavior (84%) than to stop or decrease something (16%).

The most interesting thing to me: Only 65% made their resolutions between Dec. 28 and New Year's Day. The rest made pledges they considered to be New Year's resolutions as early as May and as late as the end of January.

Also interesting: Persistence pays off... Of those who successfully achieved their top resolution, only 40% of them did so on the first attempt. The rest made multiple tries, with 17% finally succeeding after more than 6 attempts.

The most common resolutions, according to the study, are to begin or Increase exercise; be more conscientious about work or school; diet or develop better eating habits; and to stop smoking, drinking, or using drugs (including caffeine).

My resolve in 2010 is to reach out and do more things that impact others and are not self-focused.

I want to keep in better touch with my friends and not simply by Facebook, Twitter and texts. I actually want to use a phone and call distant friends to talk and catch up on life. I also want to be more aware of the events to celebrate or support in the lives of friends and family.

I resolve also to be more consistent in blogging and updating this site. My goal is to provide new posts or content at least three times each week.

My last resolution is for my puppy Fitch to make sure I reduce his exposure to harmful chemicals in the home (Go Green!) and to not feed him people food!

What are your resolutions for 2010? Share in the comment area below. The last item from that study said that 60% of people believe by sharing their resolve with friends and family they are more likely to achieve their goal!

Posted by the Mindless Man

Just like with my 2009 movie recap - the 2009 TV list isn't a "best of" the programming on the tube this year. Instead these shows struck a chord for their storytelling, humor, and daring. And, of course, Glee made the list

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) For a while there, the phrase "traditional comedy" was starting to sound like an insult. And over the past decade or so, too many multi-camera comedies have trafficked in predictable writing and lazy characterization. Then along came Big Bang Theory, which proved that excellent acting and a smart approach can make even the most traditional network comedies deeply satisfying. Consistency can indeed be overrated, but it's hard to come by in the comedy realm, and The Big Bang Theory gets major points for managing to induce smiles on a weekly basis.

Modern Family (ABC) Modern Family took one of the most tired TV genres -- the family sitcom -- and updated it with the hip "mock-umentary" format that shows like The Office made popular. But what makes Modern Family work is solid execution of the comedy basics. The characters feel real and lived-in, the performances by the top-notch cast are razor-sharp and the stories the show tells are inventive without being overly broad. Most important of all, this show has a heart as big as Fizbo the clown's shoes. This is a modern gem with old-fashioned appeal.

True Blood (HBO) If this show were a fashion ensemble, Tim Gunn would call it a hot mess. Still, despite its flaws and its occasional forays into true ridiculousness, True Blood proved impossible to resist. It offered charismatic performances from Michelle Forbes, Nelsan Ellis, Ryan Kwanten, Allan Hyde and Alexander Skarsgård, among others, and it took all the old-fashioned pleasures of a melodramatic serial and sexed them up, Bon Temps-style.

Glee (FOX) Glee is a silly, smart and delicious parody of all high school movies, including "High School Musical," with charming musical numbers and two standouts: Jane Lynch as the totalitarian cheerleading coach and Lea Michele as the talented and monstrously ambitious self-promoting star singer of the glee club.

Big Love (HBO) The hook that gets you in the door of this series is polygamy: the Henricksons' efforts to live as man and wife and wife and wife in Salt Lake City, and the fascinating subculture of the dangerous religious compound that Bill (Bill Paxton) escaped. But really, the show is about community: Can this strange - but strangely functional - family exist as its own unit, not fully contained by either secular society, mainstream Mormonism or Bill's fundamentalist roots?

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo) Wait, is K-Griff technically still D-list now that she has two Emmys? Actually, who cares when this ballsy redhead's self-promoting ways are so freaking funny to watch? The cameras capture bits of her stand-up gigs and the inner workings of her support group (known as Team Griffin). But most of her time is spent shamelessly attempting to become an even bigger celeb.

Cake Boss (TLC) While Cake Boss isn't a replacement for all time favorite Ace of Cakes, the show clearly displays a happy family business. Even with the complaints and screaming, they all come together as one big happy Italian family. Also, I love the way that Buddy pronounces "Fondant."

Royal Pains (USA) The summer series starring Mark Feuerstein as Hank Lawson, M.D., a doctor who is on-call to some of the most demanding patients around, the richie-riches who live in the fashionable Hamptons of Long Island was a blast of fun and sunshine.

Honorable mentions -- Top Chef (Bravo), Brothers & Sisters (ABC), Castle (ABC), So You Think You Can Dance (FOX), Entourage (HBO)

Posted by the Mindless Man

NEW YORK — Peculiar things have been happening this season on "The Real Housewives of Orange County."

Gretchen Rossi had a garage sale, Jeana Keough went shopping with her daughter at H&M and Tamra Barney is now doing her own housework.

What?

This is a dramatic turn from season three when Barney's husband gave her a diamond Rolex for her 40th birthday, Vicky Gunvalson debated over buying a yacht (she decided against it) and Rossi's fiance gave her a Harley.

"All of them have been very much affected by the economic situation," explains the show's executive producer, Douglas Ross.

This means the downsizing we're seeing on camera is not just for show. A number of the cast members were involved in real estate that's been on a downslide the past two years. And this season, we'll see Lynne Curtin's family get evicted from their Laguna Beach home.

"We try to treat it as gently but as honestly as we can," Ross says. "We happened to have been there with our cameras ... as part of our normal schedule when they were served the eviction notice. It's one of those great reality TV moments that happened to be caught because we were in the right place at the right time."

Money is a sensitive subject and some people – even reality TV stars – may not want to expose their financial struggles to millions of people. But the housewives don't seem to mind sharing – they even fancy themselves as an inspiration to others in similar situations.

"It helps people across the nation because they realize it's not just them," says Keough.

Barney says the exposure is just her being honest.

"I'm pretty open. ... There's not too much I'll hide. It was difficult for my husband ... but the world's in this place right now and I think people are going to relate to it," she says.

So far it looks like Barney is right. Ratings for the fifth season have been strong and average about 2 million viewers an episode.

This could partly be due to the popularity of the "Real Housewives" franchise in general, which has taken off thanks to over-the-top versions of wig-pulling, table flipping and incredulous statements from women in Atlanta, New Jersey and New York, like, "I'm up here, you're down here." Their actions make viewers ask, "Are they for real?"

Perhaps this season we're finally getting the answer: Yes, they are.

While "The Real Housewives" are compensated for appearing on the show, Keough says it's not enough to support a family. "It's so minimal. It's not enough to make your house payments. It's more like a location fee to keep your house clean."

Keough only filmed three episodes of season 5 and then opted out of the rest – she said she wanted to focus on her real estate career and her family.

Not all the Orange County ladies are having a hard time paying their bills, though. Self-professed workaholic Gunvalson says her insurance business is doing better than ever. And she proudly reveals she's 42 and on target to retire comfortably at age 55.

"When I first started (on the show), I was working out of the house with two employees and now I have a huge office with 10 employees, 700 agents out in the field," she says.

Then there's new cast member Alexis Bellino, 32, who has three children and two nannies. On a recent episode, her husband gave her a 7 carat diamond necklace, just because.

This season, there have been some inconsistencies to the ladies' money woes. Curtin allowed herself to be filmed getting a face lift while her daughter got a nose job. Her husband, Frank, acknowledged the cost of the procedures on camera but said his family's happiness was more important.

Despite the eviction, Lynne Curtin says her finances are improving and predicts her family will be able to build a house next year.

"My husband is a builder in Southern California. It's not like he doesn't try. He's not sitting at home watching TV. He is going out and making an effort. ... I've been married for 20 years. ... We've had the high life we've had the low life. It's just reality."

www.huffingtonpost.com

UPDATE: January 8, 2010

Tamra Barney's husband Simon filed for divorce on Wednesday, charging his wife with infidelity.

In the bombshell divorce papers Simon Barney wrote: "Petitioner contends that Respondent has been verbally abusive and has committed acts of disloyalty and infidelity."

"The Real Housewives of Orange County" star moved out of their million dollar home earlier this week and into a two-bedroom apartment.

Their marital problems have been shown on the reality show this season. In fact, a promo for this week's episode shows Tamra crying to her mother about their marriage and how it may be heading for divorce.

Yes, it is another year end list. This one capturing the movies that touched or inspired me during the last 12 months. Of course, I didn't see every film that came out in 2009, so I am not claiming these as the "best" but they are pretty darn good in my opinion.

The Hurt Locker "War is a drug," the opening title informs us, and in one of the best war movies ever, Jeremy Renner plays an expert member of an elite bomb disposal unit in Iraq. Somewhat guarded by a protective suit, he handles delicate mechanisms designed to outwit him. It's like chess. He's very good at his job, but is that what drives him to put his life on the line hundreds of times? Not pro-war, not anti-war, not about the war in Iraq, but about the minds of dedicated combat soldiers.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire The heart-rending story of an overweight, abused young teenager and the support she finds from a teacher and a social worker, who both glimpse her potential. What a sure and brave lead performance by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, and what a powerful one by Mo'Nique, as her heartless mother. She, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton and Sherri Shepherd are all but unrecognizable as they disappear into key supporting roles.

(500) Days of Summer An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her. The story is presented in a non-chronological format, each scene being introduced by which of the 500 days it is.

Funny People Judd Apatow's third film could have simply been a fascinating folly-a naval-gazing exploration of the neuroses specific to middle-aged comedians. Instead it's one of the richest and most ambitious Hollywood films of the year. A human comedy that takes its characters seriously and follows an unpredictable narrative path, the movie was criticized for its excesses-but that's exactly what makes it special.

Up The animated tale of a cantankerous old man who sets out on an incredible adventure in the twilight of his life to fulfill a lifelong promise to his deceased wife. The movie, like all Pixar films, has plenty of humor, but also has moments that will have you blinking back tears.

The Hangover Two buddies (and one soon to be brother-in-law) take their friend Doug to Las Vegas for his bachelor party. As often happens in Vegas (even in real life) things get quickly out of hand and after a night of debauchery the sorry crew wakes up and discovers they've lost their friend. Unable to recall what happened they must try and retrace their steps from the previous night to try and find Doug and get him home in time for his wedding.

Star Trek The series has been completely reinvented. It is darker, more violent and grittier than any of the previous installments. This film is actually a prequel to the others, and follows the adventures of a young James Kirk, detailing how he came to the academy, met Spock, Bones, Scotty and the rest of the crew, and eventually came to captain the Starship Enterprise.

Julie and Julia Julia Child and Julie Powell - both of whom wrote memoirs - find their lives intertwined. Though separated by time and space, both women are at loose ends... until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible.

posted by The Mindless Man

Between pranks, sports, tech, video games, singing, dancing, and television— there was a lot to choose from. These are the top 100 videos that became famous on the web in 2009, all in less than three minutes.

• The Top 100 Broken Down One-by-One:
• 1. The Amazing Beat-box Kid
• 2. Elephant Sneezing
• 3. Surprised Kitty
• 4. Weird Animal Gets Tickled
• 5. Cat Kicked By Breakdancer
• 6. Mambo Dog
• 7. Two Dogs, One Cockroach
• 8. So Your Cat Wants a Massage?
• 9. The Horrifying Sleeping Dog
• 10. Baby Does Beyonce's "Single Ladies"
• 11. David After Denist
• 12. Baby Jack-In-The-Box
• 13. Little Girl Flushes Fish
• 14. Talkative Baby
• 15. The Stay-at-Home Dad Workout
• 16. Dog Freaks Out Upon Soldier's Return
• 17. Sad Giants Fan
• 18. The Matrix in Legos
• 19. NES Game Cartridge
• 20. Soccer Gutar Hero
• 21. Post-It Note Animation
• 22. Cardboard Animation
• 23. 20-Foot Front Flip
• 24. The Tree Bike Trick
• 25. Bruce Lee Plays Ping Pong
• 26. Man and His Exercise Ball
• 27. This Guy is Good at Everything
• 28. Human Mattress Dominoes
• 29. Little Kid Break Dances on Ellen
• 30. Glow-in-the-Dark Dancers
• 31. Choreographed Wedding Entrance
• 32. Fat Kid Gets Served
• 33. The Crazy Shirtless Man Dance
• 34. Insane Japanese Backpack Commercial
• 35. Ghostbusters A Cappella
• 36. Great Mascot Dance
• 37. Smoking and Singing in the Shower
• 38. Ping Pong Celebration
• 39. Amazing JumboTron Performance
• 40. The Breakfast Song
• 41. Close Call With a Bus
• 42. Man Defies Death Twice
• 43. Woman Passes Out In Front of Train
• 44. Kick to the Face #1
• 45. Snooki Gets Punched
• 46. Russian Prank Gone Right
• 47. Accigone
• 48. WoW Freakout
• 49. Bad UPS Man
• 50. Butt Acrobatics
• 51. Bat Prank
• 52. Saving Private Ryan Prank
• 53. Be a Smart Bully
• 54. Fat Kid Sings About Being Fat
• 55. Vanilla Ice Says Sorry
• 56. Extreme Faith
• 57. Jesus Pwn3d U
• 58. Jesus Christ Bail Bonds
• 59. Vince With Slap Chop
• 60. Shamwow Guy in Jail
• 61. Take U to the Movies
• 62. OK GO - WTF
• 63. Billy Mays Re-Dub
• 64. Fat Kid Loves Bacon
• 65. Balloon Boy Pukes
• 66. 80s Video Dating
• 67. Chicken Tetrazzini
• 68. Phillies Fan Ruins News
• 69. The Problem With Live News
• 70. Giant Seagull Ruins News
• 71. Will Ferrell Crashes Newscast
• 72. Students Define Grinding
• 73. Crazy Georgia Fan
• 74. Susan Boyle
• 75. Sharon Osbourne Vs. Charm School's Megan
• 76. Jimmy Kimmel Vs. Melissa Joan Hart
• 77. Frisky Ewoks on Today
• 78. Kittens! Inspired by Kittens
• 79. Kanye's Imma Let You Finish
• 80. Mad Men's Lawnmower Fiasco
• 81. Wrecking Ball Vs. Mini Van
• 82. Conan Hits His Head
• 83. Hot Water Floor Prank
• 84. Terrible Singers, Great Production Value
• 85. Sleepwalking Dog
• 86. Japanese Sniper Prank
• 87. Unbelievable Baseball Catch
• 88. Baseball Spin Swing
• 89. Impossible Baseketball Shot
• 90. Double Bicycle Kick
• 91. Fantasy Football Players Show Off
• 92. 9-Year-Old's Amazing Hockey Goal
• 93. Oops, Wrong Tackle
• 94. Taco Explodes in Slow Motion
• 95. Crazy Soccer Girl Fight
• 96. Redhead Kid Dances
• 97. Strange Kid Sings
• 98. The Most Drunk Guy Ever
• 99. Risky Business Fail
• 100. Keyboard Cat

The author of this post can be contacted at tips@gawker.tv

tv.gawker.com

(From thrfeed.com) Golden Globes nominations were announced Tuesday morning with Fox's first-year series "Glee" earning the most honors of any program, garnering four nods including best comedy series.

"Glee" led more seasoned favorites such as NBC's "30 Rock," AMC's "Mad Men," FX's "Damages" and Showtime's "Dexter," all of which earned three nominations each. In addition to best comedy series, "Glee" also received nominations for actors Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch.

“We are the little train that could over here at ‘Glee,'" Michele said. "I think this show makes people happy. I’m thankful and grateful that the HFPA has accepted our show so early in the game."

ABC's acclaimed freshman comedy "Modern Family" broke into the series category too, though didn't score any acting nominations.

Though cable networks have ruled awards season in recent years, broadcast made comeback -- four out of five comedies nominated for best series were from the major networks. The other comedies rounding out the category were NBC's "30 Rock" and "The Office," and HBO's "Entourage." Only two broadcast comedies made the category during each of the previous two years.

On the drama side, there were few surprises, with HBO's "Big Love," Showtime's "Dexter," Fox's "House," AMC's "Mad Men," HBO's "True Blood" earning honors.

David Shore was going to join the writers and "have some champagne in the office" to celebrate "House's" third best drama Golden Globe nomination."It means a little more because we're in our sixth season," Shore said. "We worked very hard to try not to have the show get tired and to keep it fresh."

HBO led the list as usual with 17 nominations, followed by Fox and Showtime with six each and NBC with five.CBS dramas made gains, with Simon Baker enjoying his first Globes nomination for his starring role in CBS' hit crime drama "The Mentalist" (joining Jon Hamm, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, Bill Paxton) and Julianna Margulies earning a nod for freshman legal drama "The Good Wife" (alongside Glenn Close, January Jones, Anna Paquin and Kyra Sedgwick).

ABC's "Cougar Town" star Courteney Cox and HBO's "Hung" lead Thomas Jane were also recognized. John Lithgow received a supporting nomination for his riveting performance as a serial killer on Showtime's "Dexter."

Among the longform categories, most titles were familiar to those who watched this year's Emmys, with HBO's "Grey Gardens," "Taking Chance" and "Into the Storm" joining PBS' "Little Dorrit" and Lifetime's "George O'Keeffe." The O'Keeffe project's multiple nominations along with Sigourney Weaver earning a nod for "Prayers for Bobby" gave Lifetime a total of four nominations -- the most in the network's history and putting the channel at the forefront among basic cable nominations.

Snubs include FX's "Sons of Anarchy," which many thought would earn a nomination or two. Jim Parsons was overlooked for "Big Bang Theory," and the series itself was squeezed out of the comedy category. "Breaking Bad" and star Bryan Cranston were left out despite Cranston winning the Emmy this year. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" didn't receive any Globes love, though this season was widely praised ("Curb" could still earn a nomination next year since the Globes eligibility period started before the bulk of its season aired).

HBO led the list as usual with 17 nominations, followed by Fox and Showtime with six each and NBC with five.

www.thrfeed.com

It's been less than a week since Glee aired its fall finale and I'm already feeling the pangs of withdrawal. My smile doesn't surface as often, I don't tap my toes as much and I break out into song less frequently -- although that last one is probably better for everyone around me.

The good news is we'll all be able to relive New Directions' Road to Sectionals on Dec. 29, when the first 13 episodes of Glee are released on DVD. It not only includes all the episodes as they aired, but the original unedited pilot that includes Will's performance of "Leaving on a Jet Plane."

The thing about Glee is that it came along at the right time.

Network prime time television is filled with about-to-be-canceled programs that never establish viewership, a few standby dramas and reality show after reality show. Enter Glee.

A cross between The Breakfast Club and  Grease? Maybe not, but Glee is a combination of teen angst, musical theater and soap opera-worthy love triangles ready for prime time.

The show centers on a collection of high-school misfits participating in their school's glee club. Each week, the popular kids help the misfits and then humiliate them. The Glee kids are bright, talented, and funny; however, for various reasons, they would also be the first to tell you it would be social suicide to be their friends.

Wednesday's episode is the end of Glee's first act. The show is taking a four-month break. But the show's fans, known as Gleeks, will have plenty of the show's music to sustain them through the winter break.

Three months into the 2009-10 TV season, Glee has drawn weekly audiences of 8.6 million viewers to Fox. TV shows are expected to generate ratings, but Glee has generated much more to satisfy the Gleeks.

Gleeks have bought more than two million tunes sung by the show's cast on iTunes. Glee: The Music, Volume 1, the show's first soundtrack, made its debut at No. 4 on Billboard's 200 chart the first week of November, selling 113,000 copies. Glee: The Music, Volume 2 just hit stores this week.

This isn't the first television show to base each episode around a big production number. Fame and Cop Rock both tried and failed at carrying the musical format. So why has Glee beem successful? Glee's songs and productions numbers are done with purpose.

"A song is never sung for no reason," show star Jane Lynch told CNN. "There's always deep psychological or emotional impetus for the song, and it's usually uplifting or tragic, and I think people love that, especially bringing that out through music."

Glee will return April 13, and gleeks can revel in some big-name love: An all-Madonna episode is ready to go, and Barry Manilow will be a guest star. Also, Jane Lynch, who plays Will Schuster's hilarious nemesis, Sue Sylvester, will put a few of her tirades to song.

posted by The Mindless Man