Another US remake of a UK series, one has to wonder why oh why, but let’s just go with the flow shall we, this time it’s “Friday Night Dinner” up for remake. Taking up the roles held in the UK version by the rather brilliant Tamsin Greig (mom Jackie) and Paul Ritter (dad Martin), will be Allison Janney and Tony Shalhoub.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent (lord knows why), with Jackie becoming Barbara and Martin becoming Gene. The fact Janney is involved in this pilot project actually makes it more interesting to me, how about you?

SyFy do love their reality series, but at least this one has a scifi slant at times. “Face Off” has managed renewal for a third season. The show follows hopefuls as they go head to head in a special FX make-up showdown.

The third season will be a 10-episode run and will get a summer premiere. Season two of “Face Off” managed some good ratings, bringing in a record-breaking 2.5 million total viewership, with ratings remaining steady and above those of the first season.

Actor Kyle Bornheimer has just been snagged to star in ABC pilot “White Van Man”. This is yet another US remake of a British series. “White Van Man” is a single-camera comedy that follows the exploits of the eponymous white van man (Bornheimer) as he takes over the family handyman business.

The term “White Van Man” is well used in the UK for pretty much anyone who drives something of the white van variety. No word on whether the name will get a change stateside, but with Bornheimer in the driving seat (pun intended), this might be one to watch, assuming it does better than his last vehicle (oh somebody stop me) “Perfect Couples”.

Heard of Andy Lewis before? No? Heard of slacklining before? No? Neither had most people until the half-time show at the Super Bowl when a frizzy haired guy in a toga came out and started bouncing around on a tightrope.

Andy Lewis featured in Madonna’s half-time show at the Super Bowl and became an overnight star after his amazing performance. Although his spot in the show only lasted 30 seconds, his jumps, flips and bounces on a tightrope, using nothing but his body was unbelievable to watch. YouTube clips of Andy show that he’s clearly an expert at slacklining and thinks nothing of walking across the line high above canyons with no safety line at all.

Expect to see more from Andy Lewis. His skills will no doubt be appearing in music videos all over the place and there’s a good chance that some of his other stunts will get noticed more also. Not bad for a 30 second spot in the biggest show in America. Just another nod that Madonna and her people still knows what it takes to be cool and wow the audience.

If you watched Smash and weren’t blown away by it’s high caliber production, outstanding talent and gripping story, then it’s a shame you missed the magic. The show feels like watching a movie and the stars are not only amazing singers and dancers, but also clearly have great acting ability.

Creator of the show Theresa Rebeck has stated that the stars of the show, Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee were always the first choice for the two main female roles in the show and thank goodness she managed to secure them both. In the show, they’re both competing to play Marilyn Monroe on Broadway and both bring a very different feel to the role. McPhee has the adorable, sweet Midwestern girl role perfected, while Hilty plays the showbiz veteran role to perfection. It’s great seeing both these actresses approach the role differently and with such a superb supporting cast, this really is a great show that could change the way TV shows are created.

Who do you think is going to win the role of Marilyn in Smash? Do you have any favorites in the show yet?

So, did you tune in to the new season of “The Voice”? What did you think? There were definitely some amazing performances on the show, with the judges pressing those buttons often and letting the contestants choose their mentor. Do you think the talent this season is better than last season so far?

There were some real standouts in the first outing of the show. One was the return to TV for former Mouseketeer Tony Lucca, who used to share the screen with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. It was clear during Tony’s performance that Christina had no idea who he was, but it was sweet to see the realisation in her face afterwards and to see her go backstage to meet him and his family. No doubt telling him that Britney had a huge crush on him was a great ego boost for Tony, who genuinely seemed like a nice guy. It will be interesting to see how he goes with Adam Levine as his mentor.

Another standout was from 17 year old RaeLynn who had the courage to sing a Miranda Lambert song in front of the singer’s hubbie, judge Blake Shelton. Thankfully for RaeLynn, the song went well and Shelton was blown away by her performance. Looks like RaeLynn will get her dream of meeting Miranda Lambert since she chose Shelton as her mentor.

It was a great start to the show, with all four judges getting some new talent to mentor and it looks like it could shape up to be a great season. Do you think you’ll watch the rest of this season of The Voice? Who’s your favourite judge?

What a surprise, someone needed to find something inappropriate about Madonna’s Super Bowl half-time show. The Parents Television Council (ugh) have accused the NFL and NBC of “enabling” obscene gestures on TV. During Madonna’s jaw-dropping half-time show – which thankfully returned the Super Bowl half-time show back to where it should be -  apparently contained an obscene gesture by MIA, who raised her middle finger. Now, maybe it’s just me, but with the completely awesome spectacle that was Madonna’s show, did anyone really have time to notice a middle finger being raised? Seems like the PTC might have been trawling the tapes looking for something to complain about.

With recent half-time Super Bowl shows being lacklustre and generally featuring a bunch of old men rocking out with their guitars, the safe route has been taken for far too long. It was great to see Madonna bring back some pizazz to the show with an amazing set and a great sequence of some of her classics. Joining her on stage were Cee Lo, Nicki Minaj, LMFAO and the aforementioned MIA, who caused so much offence.

The PTC statement said “It is unfortunate that a spectacular sporting event was overshadowed once again by broadcasting the selfish acts of a desperate performer. The NFL have come back and said that they apologise for the obscene gesture and that they didn’t blur out MIA’s raised finger because it was so fleeting on screen that their tech system couldn’t even see it. With that in mind, perhaps the PTC shouldn’t have focused so hard on trying to find a problem to complain about and simply enjoy the show and realise the ‘obscene’ gesture is nothing their kid wouldn’t see in the playground. What did you think of Madonna’s performance and did you catch MIA’s ‘obscene gesture’.

Robert De Niro’s new production “NYC 22″ is set to hit US screens from April 15 at 10 pm. The show stars Harold House Moore, Christina Frazer, Adam Goldberg and Leelee Sobieski. It centers on rookie cops in New York City, working the beat in Upper Manhattan.

What’s exciting about this series is that it was created by Richard Price, the man behind much of “The Wire”. It’s being directed by James Mangold, executive producer on “Men in Trees” and director of Angelina Jolie movie “Girl, Interrupted”.

Showtime has hit the renewals slide running, slotting in “Californication”, Shameless” and “House of Lies” for new seasons. “House of Lies” has been fantastic so far, so it’s great to see it get such an early renewal.

“Californication” and “Shameless” will see their sixth and third seasons respectively. David Duchovny must just be sitting back in a big lounger some place thinking WTF? Who seriously thought “Californication” would see out six seasons?

Great news “Army Wives” fans, the sixth season of the show arrives on screens March 4 at 9pm. The big casting news for this season is one Susan Lucci who is set to appear as Audrey, the wife of a retired Brigadier General.

The show will now act as a lead in for docuseries “Coming Home”, a show about returned service men and women springing surprise reunions on friends and family. The show will be hosted by “American Idol” vet Matt Rogers.