I loved Jimmy Smits in NYPD Blue. I also loved him in West Wing. I didn’t care for the show LA Law. I was excited to hear that Jimmy is returning to television, although it is to a show I am unfamiliar with. Smits has joined the cast of Dexter, a series on the premium channel Showtime. He’ll be portraying a criminal prosecutor. Apparently this will be Dexter’s third season. I hope that Showtime does some better advertising going forward. If I hadn’t read about this online I never would have known because I’ve never heard of the show. Have any of you seen Dexter? How is it?

I used to love watching the Partridge Family. I thought David Cassidy was the cutest. I didn’t hear about any of the Partridge Family stars much until the past year or so. For some reason I seem to remember hearing some time back that Danny Bonaduce was broke and having all of these problems. I know he did the tv show Breaking Bonaduce and that he had a radio show at some point but I had the impression money was an issue. Not so much apparently. The actor’s divorce has now been finalized and he’ll pay his now ex Gretchen $16,000 a month in support for her and their two children. Apparently he’s not too broken up over the divorce, since he’s already planning his next television show “The Next Mrs. Bonaduce.”

Everywhere I clicked today I saw stories that Jennifer Aniston was pregnant with John Mayer’s baby. Before you know it the tabloids will show her pushing a Maclaren stroller like pink and brown Techno XLR which comes with all sortsof good stuff like a coordinating head suppor, reversible seat line, raincover and a removable, washable seat.

I took a break from the computer this afternoon and decided to check out Oprah, who had the Olson twins on the show. These girls still look like they’re undernourished and sick. Their big discussion was on what they had for breakfast (bagels and eggs) and living apart. Lots of chatter but no substance. Don’t television shows check ahead of time what guests are planning on talking about?

Did you ever notice that when we see pictures of actors and actresses they always look like they’ve got terrific skin? I’m guessing that in a number of cases makeup and airbrushing is responsible for that. But did you ever wonder how they go about making a character in a movie or tv show look like they have acne? I’m sure it’s done in makeup, but I wondered how they do it. I mean, how does one construct a fake pimple?

Actress Estelle Getty passed away this morning at the age of 84. If you’re my age you probably remember the comedy series Golden Girls that was on in the second half of the 1980s. Estelle Getty portrayed Sophia, the mother of Bea Arthur’s character, on the successful series for more than seven years and won an Emmy for her role. I always thought she was adorable and that they gave her the funniest lines. Goodbye Estelle, you’ll be missed.

Me and hubby watch all three of the Law and Order shows. It’s not always easy to say which is our favorite because we like different aspects about all three. It was announced today that Chris Noth will be leaving Law and Order CI at the end of this season. I would never have guessed in a hundred years the actor that they’ve signed on to fill the spot that will be open with Noth gone. It’s Jeff Goldblum! Yes, the Jeff Goldblum that was in Independence Day and Jarassic Park Jeff Goldblum. He’ll share the lead actor spotlight with Vincent Donofrio just like Chris Noth did. I’m so curious to see how they write his character.

This Saturday NBC will be rebroadcasting the first episode of Saturday Night Live this Saturday in tribute to George Carlin. The episode will be shown on Saturday 06/28/08 and will be shown in its entirety. George Carlin, who died this past weekend, hosted the first episode of SNL back in 1975. The episode includes 3 monologues from Carlin. This is the episode of SNL that introduced the viewers to the Not Ready for Primetime Players, which included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner. A special performance from Andy Kaufman was also part of the show.

Comedian George Carlin passed away yesterday in Los Angeles from heart failure at the age of 71. George was well known for speaking his mind. Many comedians considered him to be revolutionary, blazing a trail for other comics after him. He had 23 comedy albums and wrote three books, and also appeared in several movies. It was just recently announced that the comedian was to be awarded the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will now be given posthumously. George Carlin is one of the first comedians I remember hearing. I loved his old material, such as A Place For My Stuff.  Goodbye George. We’ll miss you.

Emma Watson, the teenage actress known worldwide for her portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, has apparently signed a deal with Chanel.  It’s being reported that she’ll get about $6 million dollars for a two year gig as the face of the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. Wow! Hermione’s accumulating quite the pile of cash there, with the movies and now this. I hope she has someone trustworthy managing it, because if she does she’ll never want for anything.

Sometimes when I watch television I realize there’s a good product placement opportunity. Here’s an example. On a number of entertainment shows the hosts try their best to keep the public in the know concerning certain events in the lives of celebrities. For example, many people are fascinated by celebrity pregnancy and childbirth. As soon as someone is expecting it’s announced. As soon as people are seen shopping the sex of the baby is speculated. As soon as the due date nears we often hear news about a baby shower, which is what brought me to my realization. I’m sure there’s many people out there that would try and fashion a baby shower after one a celebrity had. So, a smart company might try and get a product placement on an entertainment show so when they tell the viewers about a celeb baby shower they can show viewers one of the baby shower invitations. I bet people will go out and buy them like crazy.