Go Memphis

It’s time for the annual “Treehouse of Horror” special featuring the Simpsons. This year’s edition, number XIX, is like going trick-or-treating and getting a huge candy bar and two apples. There’s nothing wrong with apples. It’s just the other offering is much sweeter. Full story »

The freshman CBS comedy “Worst Week” (Mondays, 8:30 p.m., WREG-TV Channel 3) may be the closest thing to pure slapstick that prime time has seen since “Perfect Strangers” two decades ago. But the show’s zestiest flavor is provided by its star, Kyle Bornheimer, as the hapless Sam. With his manic stop-and-start rhythm, the way his thoughts trample over each other, Bornheimer is like Woody Allen on a case of Red Bull. Full story »

Bravo isn’t letting a court battle over “Project Runway” diminish its fashion sense. The cable channel said Thursday it has ordered a design-competition series called “The Fashion Show,” in which viewers pick the winner and the prize includes a retail deal. Casting calls will be held starting next month and are set for Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and New York. Full story »

On a film sound stage here, a tense scene was unfolding, with the actor Lou Diamond Phillips, playing a rogue cop, holding a gun aimed at the head of another actor, who stood tall, unflinching, his face and frame thinner than in his glory days, but still handsome, his hair concealed under a tight-fitting black beret. Full story »

Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth first stormed onto the scene as a contestant on “The Apprentice” nearly five years ago, and quickly drew attention for being assertive and aggressive and some other, more colorful words. Now she’s written a book about how women can get what they want in the workplace. It’s called “The Bitch Switch: Knowing How To Turn It On and Off.” Full story »

Rachel Maddow, a woman who does not own a television set, has done something that is virtually unheard of: She has doubled the audience for a cable news channel’s 9 p.m. hour in a matter of days. More important for her bosses at MSNBC is that “The Rachel Maddow Show,” her left-leaning news and commentary program, has averaged a higher rating among 25-to-54-year-olds than “Larry King Live” on CNN for 13 of the 25 nights she has been host. Full story »

Bromance is in the airwaves. The newly named phenomenon, describing men who have close, nonsexual relationships of the type that usually occur between two women, has been pushing its way onto television for years. Think back to Chandler and Joey’s awkward expressions of love that “Friends” mined for laughs or even George Costanza’s man-crushes on “Seinfeld.” ( Full story »

A florist named Bella Bloom? Seriously? When it comes to naming characters, CBS’ new series “The Ex List” has hit a new level of literalism. Elizabeth Reaser’s protagonist’s name also telegraphs what the show is about: A pretty woman’s search for a love that can quickly fade. And if your head hurts right now, it’s because of that sledgehammer banging into it. We understand how tempting it must be to name a TV character expressively. Full story »

Shock jock Howard Stern has embraced tradition. The radio talk show host known for hosting porn stars married his longtime girlfriend, Beth Ostrosky, on Friday. Full story »

Dogs were the first animals that human beings domesticated. The evolution of that 15,000-year record of canine loyalty and hard work, intelligence and intuition somehow has led to the competitive reality show, "The Greatest American Dog," which made its debut July 10 on CBS. Full story »