Village Vidiot: TV

On November 3, aliens will try to take over the world.

That when ABC's "V," a remake of the old series, premieres. In the new do-over, aliens come to visit us in a pleasing form, namely as hot men and women who want to be friends with us. But they have other plans, like how to turn us into barbeque ribs - you know, To Serve Man.

Here's the first nine minutes of the pilot in case you need to know what the beginning of the end will look like.

People who have enjoyed watching NBC, Fox and ABC series online with full episodes streamed right to their computers will likely have to start paying for the priviledge, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

Right now, we've enjoyed the fun of watching great shows like "Community," "Glee," and "The Office" for free just a day after they air. Now NBC/Universal has said it will likely start charging next year for some, but not all content. Um, aren't there already commercials embedded in the streaming videos already?

And the reason we haven't seen a iPhone app for Hulu.com yet is because likely they want to charge to use that as well.

Curses! Curses you TV gods!

Also according to Entertainment Weekly, the series creator, Ryan Murphy is planning to approach "American Idol" alum Adam Lambert, who just released a new album, to appear in an episode as well. "Glee" will be paired with television's No. 1 show when it launches its new season in January.

That may sound like gold for us lovers of this fiercely original series about a high school glee club, but it also whiffs of exploitive double-dipping to me as well.

Fox Home Entertainment will be selling this set for what I would imagine will be a $30 or so price and then sell the second half of the season (the show was picked up for a full 22-episode order this season) for perhaps the same price. That's going to be a lot more than if they had released just the full season for one price.

But for those who have not hooked up with this charming  new series, I suppose it's a way to jump on board and catch up mid-season. Then again, you can do that at fox.com or hulu.com.

By the way, Wednesday night's (Oct. 21) episode, "Mash Up," about a battle for popularity in the school, was another wonderful musical surprise.

If you haven't seen this show, see it now! Catch up! It's one of the best new fall TV shows.

Hang on to your hats Joss Whedon followers. Rumor has it that his science fiction thriller, "Dollhouse," is about to close due to poor ratings.

The Fox drama starring Eliza Dushku is possibly on its last legs, according to Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello. He has heard that the show, about a secret organization of spies who are brainwashed to be like other people, will be shelved during the November sweeps and then come back in December for back-to-back episodes. And that may spell the end for the series, which is in its second season.

Guess Dushku fighting in black leather outfits just wasn't enough to excite more geeks to the show.

Utah continues to impress the country with its dancing prowess.

The top 20 performers on the new season of Fox's hit reality/competition show, "So You Think You Can Dance," were announced in tonight's (Oct. 21) episode, and there are three Utahns in the group, including the show's very first married couple competing against each other. Utah contestants have been on nearly every season of the series, which is now in its sixth season.

Here are bios on the three from Fox's press release.

"Mollee Gray, 18, [from Orem but now living in Upland, Calif.], has been dancing for 15 years and has appeared in all three “High School Musical” films. She has a hearing impairment in one ear, but doesn’t let that stand in the way of her love for dancing. Gray’s interests include singing, acting and gymnastics."

"Ashleigh Di Lello, 26, Orem, graduated from Brigham Young University in Utah with a degree in political science and served as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C. She and her husband, Ryan Di Lello, used to compete against each other in local ballroom dance competitions and became dance partners a week before they were married."

"Ryan Di Lello, 28, Orem, was first introduced to dancing by his mother, who is a dancer and dance-studio owner. When he is not dancing with his wife, Ashleigh Di Lello, he enjoys snowboarding, skiing and wakeboarding, and would love to be an action-film star."

The top 20 will dance for the first time before the judges on Oct. 20 for a two-hour show airing at 7 p.m. on KSTU Ch. 13. Two will be eliminated the next night.

Click here to see a photo shoot video of the top 20 contestants announced Wednesday night.

It's doing OK on Monday nights, it placed second after "CSI: Miami," but bested "The Jay Leno Show," but it was enough for the network to order the back half of its season.

Meanwhile in the ratings, "The Big Bang Theory" continues to be a big bang in viewers. It was the highest-rated show on Monday again, bringing in 13.1 million total viewers.

"Dancing With the Stars," which has several Utahns on it, including Donny Osmond, continues to do blockbuster numbers as well.

The success of sites like Hulu.com have Comcast and some of the cable networks finally turning to the Internet for video on demand of some popular shows.

Well, welcome to the 21st Century.

The nation's largest cable provider, which is also the biggest in Utah, is making deals to put some cable shows like HBO's "Entourage" (pictured) and AMC's "Mad Men" on the Interwebs to watch full episodes, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

There's a couple of catches though. You have to be a Comcast subscriber naturally. But you also have to subscribe to Comcast's Internet service as well (which for me is something like a combined $200 a month mind you). The cable company will verify that you pay for both their cable TV and their Internet service before allowing you access.

Meanwhile, NBC, Fox and ABC continue to use Hulu.com, and CBS has TV.com to provide most of their shows on the Web, a trend that has become increasingly popular the last few years as people watch some of their favorite series on their laptops in bed or at work (turn off that show now, you're working!).