… to bring you the constant variety of television!

* In Russia, you don’t threaten South Park—South Park threatens you!

* In Thailand, they depose leaders for making dumb TV appearances.

* And the Telegraph reports that scientists have identified a cell in the brain that responds to The Simpsons. And there’s a cell in your BLANK …

I apologize for not having a fuller review of Fringe ready for you, but I’m working on other deadlines and—with the pilot having been leaked, screened and analyzed for so long now—it seems as if the show has already been on the air for months. On the other hand, Fox hasn’t sent out any subsequent episodes. Clocking in at an hour …

Submitted for your consideration, to demonstrate that:

1. Sarah Palin really has captured the pop-cultural imagination, and

2. Where SNL / Tina Fey fail to step in quickly enough, others will fill the gap…

I give you LisaNova’s Sarah Palin–

And Sara Benincasa’s–

Your pick? I give the edge to Benincasa. Veteran YouTuber …

The New York Times’ TV Decoder unearths one point from the pile of convention ratings results: two nights last week, the cable news networks, combined, beat the three broadcast networks, combined. The numbers were powered by huge ratings for Fox during the Republican convention in particular:

On the night that Senator Barack Obama

…

Entertainment Weekly (via TV Tattle) reports that we’ll get a little more of a break from Heidi Klum and company than planed, as Lifetime has pushed back Project Runway’s debut on the channel until January.

The move (from a planned launch sometime in the fall) seems to make good sense, since the original plan would have had season 6 …

By the way: does talking to Charlie Gibson mean the issue of Sarah Palin’s willingness to be interviewed is over? And if so, what does “over” mean? There are two ways you could move forward with this:

* After talking to ABC, Palin continues to do interviews, press conferences and on-the-trail media availabilities like other national …

Last week, Charles Gibson got an exclusive interview with John McCain at the Republican National Convention. This week, he’ll get an exclusive interview with Sarah Palin. Did the one influence the other? Gibson wrote in the World Newser blog last week—did you know Charlie Gibson blogs?—he decided in his McCain interview to forgo some …

Responding to what Jon Stewart described as the Lord of the Flies situation of on-air conflict and bias accusations, management at MSNBC has pulled Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from the anchor desk for its elections events. David Gregory—less memorable but also less offensive—will take over through the election, reports the New …

Note to all funny-haired, British-accented international stars who wish to influence American elections: if you want to elect your candidate by going on MTV, calling the President retarded, a vice-presidential candidate a “VILF” and calling people who disagree with you racists—you would be far more effective if you were to endorse your …

It’s a sign of—well, something—that two HBO series debuted last night and yet this morning I’m posting a Mad Men Watch instead. You’ve already heard my takes on True Blood and Entourage, so I’m curious to get yours.

Or your thoughts on the MTV Video Music Awards turning 25, which is a million in human years.