SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

Name two things that might mean you’re a geek.

If you said being a mechanical engineering student AND a member of the U.C. Berkeley Rubberband club, cue up the winner’s ring-a-ding-ding.

Josh has been named as one of the geeks who will be taking lessons in social graces from a non-intellectual chic when the latest round of “Beauty and the Geek” starts up on Sept. 18.

JOSH FROM OAKLAND

The Oakland native says everyone who knew him, and saw the show, thought he should try out for it.

“The Oakland-Berkeley area has so many different and interesting people and that’s what they want on TV,” Josh, 21, says. “I was hoping to learn the skills of this show teaches like social skills with people, women in particular. That skill was the one I needed the most and the one area where I gained the most confidence.”

Now perhaps the Oakland Tech grad will share that same bravado as another famous alum, Clint Eastwood.

“Well, both my parents have Phd’s and encourage education and analytical thought, but I think I may be the geekiest person to come out of my family. I have three younger siblings who told me I needed to go on this show,” Josh says. “I’ll have to wait until after the show airs to see if I’ll have the star power of Clint, but I believe I have a long way to go.”

By the way, if you were wondering what the Rubberband Club does, it is a club devoted to shooting rubber bands and playing rubber band-based games.

Like that surprises you.

Yep, it had to happen.

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” never, ever, claimed to be a real news show. But it has spurred more interest in real news than Couric, Williams and Gibson combined.

FAKE LOCATION

REAL LOCATION…CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE?

Most of the fake news has gone on fake locations. But this week, “The Daily Show” actually took us to Iraq with comic Rob Riggle. Code name: Operation Fluffy Bunny.

Turns out all the good adjectives/noun combinations had been used.

If you didn’t catch it last week, here’s a quick rundown of what you missed click here

Wayne Newton? Really. That’s what you could come up with as a stellar draw to the new season of “Dancing with the Stars”’?

The new crop of stars, which includes Marie Osmond, Jane Seymour, Mark Cuban and Helio Castroneves sounds closer to “Whatever Happened To” and “Who the heck is that?”

Still, it’s nice to see that Scary Spice can still kick up her heels.

In a “Dancing” first, there will be 12, count ’em, 12 celebrities attempting to tango their way into your hearts when the hit series returns at 8 p.m. Sept. 24 on ABC.

Here’s a rundown of the celebs ready to put on their dancing shoes:

MELANIE BROWN
“Mel B.,” a.k.a. “Scary Spice,” is best known as a member of the Spice Girls, which begins a world tour this December. Brown is also Eddie Murphy’s baby mama.
She is partnered with MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY, who returns for his fourth season.

SABRINA BRYAN
You know her as one of “The Cheetah Girls.”
Sabrina is partnered with newcomer MARK BALLAS.

HELIO CASTRONEVES
The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion began the celebratory tradition of climbing the racetrack fence in 2001, racing for Team Penske. The Brazilian native should be able to dance. Castroneves teams with reigning champ JULIANNE HOUGH, who returns for her sophomore season.

MARK CUBAN
Shameless hype man Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team. He also founded HDNet, Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions. Cuban has a good sense of humor, so he should be fun.
He is partnered with KYM JOHNSON, who returns for her third season.

JENNIE GARTH
We first saw her on “Beverly Hills: 90210,” then she starred in the little seen WB sitcom “What I Like About You” for four seasons. She’s kept busying starring in several made-for-TV movies.
Garth’s partner is newcomer DEREK HOUGH, brother of Season Four winner Julianne Hough.

JOSIE MARAN
You probably know model/actress Josie Maran from her Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue or maybe you became a fan after she appeared in “The Aviator” or “Van Helsing.” She’s now hawking her eco-chic cosmetic line, Josie Maran Cosmetics.
Maran is paired with Season One winner ALEC MAZO, who makes his third appearance.

CAMERON MATHISON
Mathison joined the cast of “All My Children” in January 1989 as Ryan Lavery.
Mathison’s partner is EDYTA SLIWINSKA, the only professional dancer to appear in all five seasons.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER
“Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather is a six-time world champion in five different weight classes and the current RING and World Boxing Council Welterweight Champion of the World.
He teams with KARINA SMIRNOFF, who returns for her third season.

WAYNE NEWTON
Mr. Las Vegas himself.
He is partnered with two-time champ CHERYL BURKE.

MARIE OSMOND
Our little Marie has grown up before our eyes.
Osmond will be led by JONATHAN ROBERTS, who returns for his fourth season.

ALBERT REED
Abercrombie & Fitch, Diesel Clothing, Arrow Clothing, Rayban and Reebok…need we say more about this model boy?
He teams up with ANNA TREBUNSKAYA, who returns for her second season.

JANE SEYMOUR
Actress/artist/author/activist/designer and Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning British born Bond girl who became America’s sweetheart on “Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman.”
Seymour is paired with TONY DOVOLANI, who returns for his fourth season.

The competition begins with a three-night event on Sept. 24 with the six women performing either the Foxtrot or the Cha Cha Cha. The men will then showcase their routines on Sept. 25, performing the same dances as the women.

The team with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes from Monday and Tuesday night will be eliminated from the competition on the first results show on Sept. 26.

Dolly Parton hits the stage on Sept. 26, performing “Better Get to Livin’” from her latest album, “Backwoods Barbie,” and the classic hit, “9 to 5,” accompanied by the professional dancers.

Other singers set to perform on the show are Avril Lavigne and Gloria Estefan.

Apparently, I’ve been remiss in mentioning how great USA’s “Burn Notice” enough times for at least one very important blog poster.

If you haven’t seen this campy drama about a secret agent who is trying to figure out why he got ousted from service – and who is out to get him – you are really missing out on a treat.

When spies get fired, they don’t get a letter from human resources, they get a “burn notice.” Jeffrey Donovan (“Touching Evil,” “Hitch”) stars as Michael Westen, a spy who has been burned and is investigating who did it to him and why.

Gabrielle Anwar (“The Tudors,” “Scent of A Woman”) stars as his ex-lover and IRA spy Fiona, Bruce Campbell (“Evil Dead,” Army of Darkness”) as Michael’s only friend and former spy himself, Sam, and Sharon Gless (“Queer as Folk,” “Cagney & Lacey”) as Madeline, Michael’s hypochondriac mother.

Stuck in his hometown of Miami, a place he never wanted to return to, Michael Westen is unable to utilize his normal contacts. He needs to stay under the spy network radar, so he puts his Special Ops training to use to help those who the police can’t or won’t, in order to fund his ongoing personal investigation.

TRAILER FOR “BURN NOTICE”

My favorite character is Sam, played by Bruce Campbell, who has wowed us over the years with his films , but especially his starring role in “The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.” That series was produced by Carlton Cuse, who now helps head up a little series called “Lost.”’

But back to “Burn Notice,” which airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays on USA. Yes it’s been renewed for a second season and will be coming back summer of 08.

Season 1 ends with a two-hour season finale on September 20th starting at 9 p.m. on USA.

NICE CLIP FROM THE SHOW WITH MICHAEL AND FIONA

Yep, it’s all over for the perky little reality series “Anchorwoman” about former WWE diva and bikini model Lauren Jones’ new career as a news anchor for a Texas TV station.

After just a single airing, Fox took a look at the dismal ratings the day after and shuttled the show off its schedule.

WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT A SERIOUS JOURNALIST LIKE LAUREN?

At 2.7 million viewers on Wednesday, the series brought in less than a third of the viewers who had been watching “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Jones seemed an unlikely anchor, even for the small town of Tyler, Texas, given her background. In addition to her WWE credit, she also served as a Barker Beauty on “The Price Is Right” and wore the crown of Miss New York.

For those three of you who happened to like the show, Fox won’t let you down _ as long as you have an internet connection. Unaired episodes of “Anchorwoman” will be available on Fox’s website through Fox on Demand.

OK, maybe we won’t be totally mocking the models. But we can’t wait until the new season starts on Sept. 19 on the CW.

Here’s the rundown on the latest ladies of the runway:

Name: Ambreal

Occupation: College Student

Age: 19

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Name: Bianca

Occupation: College Student

Age: 18

Hometown: Queens, New York

Name: Ebony

Occupation: Nursing Student

Age: 20

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Name: Chantal

Occupation: Student

Age: 19

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Name: Heather

Occupation: College Student

Age: 21

Hometown: Valparaiso, Indiana

Name: Janet

Occupation: Aesthetician

Age: 22

Hometown: Bainbridge, Georgia

Name: Jenah

Occupation: Student

Age: 18

Hometown: Farmington, Connecticut

Name: Kimberly

Occupation: College Student

Age: 20

Hometown: Ocala, Florida

Name: Lisa

Occupation: Dancer

Age: 20

Hometown: Jersey City, New Jersey

Name: Mila

Occupation: Recent College Graduate

Age: 20

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Name: Saleisha

Occupation: Receptionist

Age: 21

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Name: Sarah

Occupation: College Student

Age: 20

Hometown: Heath, Massachusetts

Name: Victoria

Occupation: College Student

Age: 20

Hometown: New Haven, Connecticut

Once is never enough, so tune in to another showing of “High School Musical 2” at 8 p.m. Thursday on the Disney Channel.

And maybe this time you’ll spot the special cameo by “Hannah Montana” herself, Miley Cyrus.

Miley’s in the finale musical number. Her role was a result of a poll at DisneyChannel.com, where viewers cast a total of 45 million votes that determined certain elements of the “High School Musical 2.”

The questions included, “Which ‘Hannah Montana” star would you like to see in the movie?”

Like that would be a hard one to predict…

MILEY, WHERE ARE YOU?

And here’s an added bonus: A short interview that Knoxville News TV writer Terry Morrow did with Zac Efron in July:

Coming to a country near you soon: The cast of “Heroes.”

Starting on Sunday, “Heroes” tries its boldest exploit yet when a dozen cast members travel to eight countries around the world in eight days celebrating the launch of “Heroes” Season One DVD and HD DVD on Aug. 28 and hyping the second season premiere on Sept. 24.

“The message of ‘Heroes’ has always been about our world being a completely inter-connected place and this world tour is a celebration of that spirit,” says Pittsburg native and “Heroes” creator Tim Kring. “We’re all very excited to embark on this adventure next week and eager to hear from fans everywhere.”

TIM KRING

The tour has been split into three legs with four cast members traveling to each destination. Here you go:

EUROPE
-Munich (8/26-8/27
-Paris (8/28-8/29)
-London (8/30-9/2)
Cast Members: Jack Coleman (“H.R.G.”), Hayden Panettiere (“Claire”), Adrian Pasdar (“Nathan”), and Milo Ventimiglia (“Peter”) with executive producer Dennis Hammer

ASIA
-Tokyo (8/26-8/28)
-Hong Kong (8/29-8/30)
-Singapore (8/31-9/2)
Cast members: Greg Grunberg (“Matt”), Ali Larter (“Niki), Masi Oka
(“Hiro”), and Sendhil Ramamurthy (“Mohinder”)

NORTH AMERICA-
-New York City (8/27-8/29)
– Toronto (8/30-9/1)
Cast members: Noah Gray-Cabey (“Micah”), James Kyson Lee
(“Ando”), Zachary Quinto (“Sylar”), and Dania Ramirez (“Maya”) with co-executive producer/writer Jeph Loeb and acclaimed graphic novel artist Tim Sale (“Batman: The Long Halloween”)

Pictured: (l-r) Tim Kring, Zachary Quinto, Greg Grunberg, Milo Ventimiglia, Sendhil Ramamurthy — NBC Photo: Chris Haston

One highlight of the North American leg will be the appearance of cast members Gray-Cabey, Lee, Quinto and Ramirez along with artist Sale and co-executive producer Loeb at the NBC Experience Store in New York City on August 28, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Fans can visit the store and participate in signings of the “Heroes” Season One DVD and HD DVDs and other show merchandise on the floor.

Later on Aug. 28, Loeb and Sale will also appear at Midtown Comics Times Square, a popular local comic book and collectibles store, at 4-6 p.m. for a special autograph session for fans.

The “Heroes” Season One DVD will be an elaborate seven-disc set loaded with bonus features, including 50 deleted scenes and the 73-minute never-aired version of the pilot episode.

The HD DVD offers a web-enabled Download Center that allows
users unique access to exclusive online content, as well as other
groundbreaking features such as the Heroes Abilities Test, The Helix Revealed, Character Connections and Picture-in-Picture Commentary.

Immediately following the autograph session, the stars will join with
The Conservation Fund in a ceremonial tree planting to highlight the carbon zero “Heroes World Tour.”

Next spring, the fund will plant 188 trees in a Texas wildlife refuge to offset the tour’s carbon footprint, including the emissions that will result from the air and auto travel, as well as hotel stays. As the trees grow, the new forest will safeguard the habitat for wildlife and trap more than 250 tons of carbon dioxide.

The green message of the “Heroes World Tour” will be an important aspect of the campaign. Special limited edition green t-shirts, featuring art by Tim Sale, have been created for the “Heroes World Tour” and 50 percent of the sales proceeds will be donated to The Conservation Fund.

Ten percent of all “Heroes” merchandise sold at the NBC Experience
Store on Aug. 28 will also be donated to The Conservation Fund.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, STAR TV is sponsoring a “Heroes: Save the World Party” in conjunction with the World Tour to honor local heroes tied into their local CoolChange Green initiative.

How about a little sunshine in Berkeley?

It’s only three more weeks before the third season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” pops back on the FX schedule on Sept. 13, so to get you revved up the interactive tour bus featuring all things sunny will stop by from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the University of California, Berkeley at Caltopia in the Spieker Plaza.

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: Cast: Clockwise from Top Right: Glenn Howerton as Dennis, Charlie Day as Charlie, Danny DeVito as Frank, Kaitlin Olson as Sweet Dee and Rob McElhenney as Mac. CR: Jay Silverman / FX

Some of the cool stuff includes a screen test where fans can memorize lines and act out a scene in front of a green screen, which looks like Paddy’s bar. The would-be stars get a DVD of their test, plus a big screen outside will let everyone check out their test.

Events will also include a “Meet the Cast” display featuring cast pictures and bios, along with a large screen displaying behind the scenes videos, trailers for season three and exclusive scenes. Visitors can also enjoy the Paddy’s beverage bar and get their hands on Sunny giveaways.

There’s a chicken farmer, a school lunch lady and even a professional poker play, but for once there isn’t a single “Survivor” castaway from the Bay Area.

CBS announced today the 16 new castaways who will compete in “Survivor: China” when the 15th installment premieres Thursday, Sept. 20 on CBS-Channel 5.

“Survivor: China” begins not on an island, but in urban Shanghai before moving to HuangPu Mountain’s Mi Tuo Temple for a Buddhist ceremony where they will be instructed to leave all of their worldly possessions behind.

The castaways will then be marooned with the clothes on their back at two separate islands on Zhelin Lake (translation: the Land of 1,000 Lakes) located in the Jiangxi Province. They will split into two tribes, Fei Long (translation: Flying Dragon) and Zhan Hu (translation: Fighting Tiger), and will each be given a copy of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War for tribe motivation and assistance throughout the game.

This time there will be a not-so-Hidden Immunity Idol which may save someone from elimination at a future Tribal Council. The idols will be in plain sight, although the castaways won’t realize it at first.

Each week, the winning tribe of the Reward Challenge will be allowed to kidnap someone from the losing tribe. The person who is kidnapped will receive a note from host Jeff Probst before departing for the enemy camp and will be instructed to give it to one member of the enemy tribe (the kidnapped victim will decide who receives it) in private.

The clue will inform this person of the Hidden Immunity Idol located somewhere at their camp. This person must then decide if they wish to share the information with their tribe or keep it to themselves. The kidnapped victim will return to their original tribe at the following Immunity Challenge.

The castaways are:

JEAN-ROBERT BELLANDE

36

Las Vegas (originally from Long Island, N.Y.)

Professional Poker Player

JAMES CLEMENT

30

Lafayette, La.

Grave Digger

DAVE CRUSER

37

Simi Valley, Calif.

Former Model

JAIME DUGAN

22

Columbia, S.C. (originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)

Student

TODD HERZOG

22

Pleasant Grove, Utah

Flight Attendant

ERIK HUFFMAN

26

Nashville, Tenn. (originally from Greenville, S.C.)

Musician

AMANDA KIMMEL

23

Los Angeles (originally from Kalispell, Mont.)

Hiking Guide

PEIH-GEE LAW

29

Marina Del Rey, Calif. (born in Hong Kong)

Jeweler

SHEREA LLOYD

26

Atlanta (originally from Pontiac, Mich.)

Elementary Teacher

DENISE MARTIN

40

Douglas, Mass. (originally from Revere, Mass.)

School Lunch Lady

ASHLEY MASSARO

28

East Northport, N.Y.

Professional WWE Wrestler

CHICKEN MORRIS

47

Marion, Va.

Chicken Farmer

LESLIE NEASE

38

Tega Cay, S.C.

Christian Radio Talk Show Host

AARON REISBERGER

32

Venice, Calif. (originally from Belmont County, Ohio)

Surfing Instructor

COURTNEY YATES

26

New York City (originally from Boston)

Waitress

FROSTI ZERNOW

20

Chicago (originally from Traverse City, Mich.)

Parkour Athlete/Student