Eight more long days until James Franco begins his run on 'General Hospital'

There are a couple of reasons why Nov. 20 is marked on my calendar. First, it's Absurdity Day. Which segues nicely into the second reason: James Franco stars on General Hospital! Actually, as a long-lapsed viewer, I can't wait for the two-month story arc that will bring Franco to the small-screen melodrama and weave him into an organized-crime thread on the show. Judging from the promo clip below, released this week by ABC, he plays an artist, he's mysterious, he's adorable (as usual), and he's embroiled in some murder plot. Sweet! The Spider-Man, Pineapple Express and Milk co-star reportedly approached the team at GH because he wanted the challenge of cramming a couple of film scripts' worth of work into a few days of shooting, as is required for daytime TV. (Don't even think about using that TelePrompTer.) He got what he came for, he recently told New York magazine. And his TV work isn't finished yet. He has a guest-starring role coming up in 30 Rock. It's a good time to be a Francofan.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

'Gossip Girl' threesome doesn't amount to much, but the ratings soar anyway

Lots of people are talking about Gossip Girl today because a mousey character started to roar. Go Eric! Wait, there was a threesome? Judging from the blogs and message boards today, the much-hyped three-way sexcapade didn't impress fans nearly as much as the blackmailing, backstabbing and scheming of good-boy-gone-deliciously-bad Eric van der Woodsen. As for that sexual tripling—among Dan, his movie-star girlfriend Olivia and his long-suffering BFF Vanessa—is drawing comparisons to spin-the-bottle in the heat department. In other words, it was awfully PG. The run-up included tequila shots and a list of "15 things you must do before graduating college in New York," but viewers saw only a fairly chaste glimpse of the actual deed. I doubt I'm alone when I say I'm looking forward to the fallout and the flashbacks. The CW soap saw a 20 percent ratings bump over the previous week, with 2.3 million viewers tuning in. That number's likely to rise substantially when time-shifted viewing is counted. So, the network has a solid start to the November sweeps, and the Parents Television Council now has the back half of the season to go nuts about.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

John Lithgow is back in black in 'Dexter'

Even though I just got done giving Dexter's webisodes a tongue lashing, I'm still head-over-heels for the Showtime program. It's my new Lost. I can't get enough of it. Sure, there are speed bumps here and there (bad acting, some terrible subplots), but it engages me every time I watch it. Goosebumps abound! And the writing can't be beat. Season four is no exception, with the entrance of seasoned actor John Lithgow, guest starring as the Trinity Killer, a psychopathic serial killer who murders in threes. I must say, it's great to see Lithgow playing the bad guy again (even though we have to endure his 60-plus-year-old bare bottom in the first episode). He was everybody's least favorite dad in Footloose, the demented psychiatrist in Raising Cain, and a mountain climber's worst nightmare in Cliffhanger. Now, he's a twisted murderer—possibly the best bad guy role of his career. I predict an Emmy nod for this role at some point.

—Posted by Will Levith

With help from the PTC, the CW builds buzz for 'Gossip Girl' threesome

What's better than kicking off November sweeps with a boundary-testing threesome between nubile young Gossip Girl characters? Seeing the ultra-conservative Parents Television Council go apeshit over it, call for an affiliate boycott and compare the episode to a porn flick. Jackpot! Gossip Girl has been stuck in the PTC's craw for some time for its depiction of Manhattan prep schoolers gone wild. And the young-skewing network has had a bit of fun at the PTC's expense, using the watchdog group's own scathing review of the show ("mind-blowingly inappropriate") in its marketing. The current flap, which started with a protest letter from the PTC about the episode airing Monday night, has generated the kind of heat for the third-season show that can't be bought. It's golden, especially since the melodrama could use the boost, ratings- and buzz-wise. The three-way sex scene, happening between as-yet unidentified major characters, will get more exposure in next Monday's episode, via flashback. Continued controversy would be a boon. The CW to the PTC: Thank you, sirs, may we have another?

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

Disney might just learn to love this whole YouTube thing after all

Why did Disney finally sign a distribution deal with YouTube earlier this year? To post sure-to-be-viral clips like this ESPN montage of New Mexico soccer star Elizabeth Lambert. Who has to be one of the least sportsmanlike, awesomest female athletes ever. A shaky bootleg copy of this SportsCenter snippet, uploaded by someone named MidwestDrummer, has already been streamed over 17,500 times as of Friday afternoon. But ESPN's official version is sure to spread rapidly. When is the Women's World Cup again?

—Posted by Mike Shields

What kind of Oscars telecast should we expect from Adam Shankman?

I know you're all consumed with curiosity about Adam Shankman, who'll be producing the next Oscars telecast with former studio boss Bill Mechanic. Aren't you? He's the man behind the scenes who could make the difference between an unwatchable snoozefest and a show that has some spring in its step (literally), so there's cause for interest here. Trust me. And there's much to recommend in Shankman, whose curriculum vitae includes directing and producing one of the few commercially and critically successful Broadway-to-screen adaptations in 2007's Hairspray, choreographing movies for more than 15 years, and staging the star-studded Prop 8: The Musical. But he's also my favorite judge on Fox's hit competition So You Think You Can Dance. He endeared himself to legions of fans by breaking down in tears recently during an especially beautiful performance. He has promised to lighten up the notoriously stodgy Academy Awards and inject a sense of fun. That's no mean feat. There was a glimmer of that last February with host Hugh Jackman and first-time producers Bill Condon and Larry Mark, though none of that talent will be returning. (Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were just announced as next year's co-hosts, and could add some juice, too.) I'm pulling for Shankman, who brightens up an already phosphorescent reality show that's anchoring a big Fox fall season. The guy's got humanity, a rare commodity in Hollywood. The Oscars air March 7.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

The Weather Channel is going to have to learn a few things about movies

We recently wrote about how The Weather Channel is now showing movies on Friday nights, beginning with The Perfect Storm last Friday. But as Jason Kottke writes, they are going to have to learn when is a good time—and a bad time—to cut to commercial. See above.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

'Dexter' cartoons are not quite up to snuff

My latest TV obsession: Showtime's Dexter. I blew through the first two seasons on Netflix.com and have been mail-ordering season three. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Dexter is equal parts CSI: and Silence of the Lambs, following a serial killer (played by Michael C. Hall) who kills other serial killers. To counteract the bleak subject matter, the series is wrought with smart, witty writing that's true to other Showtime series such as Weeds. Not to mention that Hall is a vet of one of my all-time favorite series, HBO's Six Feet Under. Recently, Showtime launched a series of cartoon Webisodes called "Dexter: Early Cuts", as a prequel to the series. I caught the first two installments of the story line, and though it's interesting to see a comic-book-like rendering of Dexter in action, it didn't spark the fanboy fire in me. Live action will always be the best way to experience this show. The Dexter character is voiced by Hall, which is true to form, but the cartoon feels like a sorry attempt at hooking younger viewers. I might circle back when more Webisode chapters drop, but I'm not going to make it a weekly practice.

—Posted by Will Levith