In light of all the news about the federal appeals court's decision to throw out the FFC's $550,000 fine against CBS over the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction," we talked to Paige Gold, who helped write the Media Access Project's friend-of-the-court brief in the case.

Gold tells us that what we kinda sorta thought -- but what many media outlets missed: The ruling alone isn't much of a setback for the FCC.

"The way broadcast indecency rules are interpreted shifts according to who is in the White House. The FCC has 5 members, 3 from the party holding the White House, and 2 from the other party. If Obama is elected in November, the balance will shift, Kevin Martin will no longer be in charge, and the big issue will not be indecency, but whether the FCC should have the right to regulate cable channels," Gold says.

In other words, if Obama loses, don't expect the FCC's crusades to end.

Black Gold is a new series on TruTV that premiered last month. We finally caught an episode of it last night.

We're scratching our heads. Who is the slightest bit interested in watching a bunch of sweaty, tank top clad, beef cakes working in the secluded sun-drenched oil fields of Texas? It's just a bunch of rough necks, soaked in run-off water worried about pulling their pipe out of the ground.

Who's their target audience exactly?

We caught TSG Presents The World's Dumbest Criminals last night. They get people that we know the names of because they are dumb criminals (ie Danny Bonaduce, Gary Busey, Amy Fisher and Tonya Harding) and they get them to talk about other dumb criminals (whom we don't know the names of).

We think Tonya Harding calling you stupid is cruel, unusual and so unnecessary. It's like getting kicked out of the Special Olympics for doping and then your teammates talk trash about you on national TV.

We can't believe watching TSG got us to feel sorry for thwarted stick up guys caught on tape.

TV watchers' average age is now 50 - the oldest ever, according to a study by Magna Global's Steve Sternberg.

From Variety.com:

At ABC, youngest series was "Supernanny" (with a median age of 41), while oldest was "Women's Murder Club" (57). At CBS, youngest was "How I Met Your Mother," "Kid Nation" and the Tuesday edition of "Big Brother," tied at 45; oldest was "60 Minutes" (60). NBC's youngest show was "Scrubs" (34), and oldest was "Monk" (58).

At Fox, the youngest shows were "American Dad" and "Family Guy" (29), while the oldest was "Canterbury's Law" (55). At CW, "One Tree Hill" was youngest (26), while "Life Is Wild" was oldest (45).

Among late-night gabbers, "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" is oldest, with a median age of 54, followed by "Late Show With David Letterman" at 53. Interestingly, "Nightline" -- which should conceivably be older than those talkers, is younger, at 52. ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," meanwhile, passed the 18-49 threshold for the first time, clocking in with a median of 50. "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" is getting closer at 46.

Honey, I wish you would turn that TV off - go outside and enjoy your mid-life crisis.

We love the word "shockeroo." (We also love zowie and zoinks, but that's beside the point.) So, when Tom O'Neil told us the Top 10 contenders for best comedy and drama series Emmy awards include a few "shockeroos," we just had to read on. You should, too.

Blammo!

Last week we were kvetching about how reality television has gotten stale, predictable and LAME. We urged the gods/producers to resist the temptation to make Biggest Loser: House Pet Edition.

And here is what we found today on Craigslist:

MY DOG IS FAT AND SO ARE YOU-TV PILOT (LA) Reply to: see below Date: 2008-06-25, 10:57AM PDT

THIS IS A PILOT FOR A KNOWN CHANNEL AND PRODUCTION COMPANY

HOST-Male or Female 28-38

they should have a dog or enjoy being around dogs and have a good understanding about care and health of a dog as well as an intrests (sic) in diet/nutrition and exercise. They should be compassionate about the situation yet direct enough to help the dogs and owners reach their goal.
*I must see a hosting reel before an audition time is given. By drop off or a link to their reel. OUR email is bigdogshow@gmail.com - Edit role -

Rate: $3000 for pilot

The rest of the roles are experts and all have the rate of $1200.00 for the pilot

REAL VETERINARIAN (must be a practicing VET)
REAL- NUTRITIONIST
REAL- HUMAN PSYCHOLOGIST
REAL-DOG PSYCHOLOGIST
REAL- DOG TRAINER
REAL-PERSONAL TRAINER
PET PSYCHIC
AUTHOR OF DOG HEALTH BOOK (published)

Is there someone that works in the world of dogs that could have something to offer this show, getting the dogs and owners back in good health. Please submit them with the service that they offer for dogs and people or just one of them. Or if you have a great plan that you have been trying to get out there about overweight dogs. please send us a email to explain your plan be sure you include a picture. or get a 2-5 reel of you to the office or a link to your reel and information. YOU MUST HAVE A REEL OR A LINK OR YOU WILL NOT BE SEEN.

REPLY TO mybigdog@gmail.com

Great. The Fourth Horseman's ride has cellulite.

From AdAge.com:

To tout the coming season premiere of TBS's "The Bill Engvall Show," the network has been running a promo at the bottom of the screen during episodes of "Family Guy" that is impossible to miss. Mr. Engvall, with a remote control in hand, starts speaking over the dialogue being uttered by Stewie, Peter, Brian and other members of the animated comedy's Griffin clan.

Mr. Engvall quickly uses the remote to freeze-frame the show and continues talking. After delivering a promotional message, he lets "Family Guy" roll on, only to let the audience discover after a few seconds that the show is breaking for a commercial.

We're just going to take a stab at it and guess that those watching Family Guy are not big Bill Engvall fans. We're thinking that interrupting an episode of a dark, edgy, weird animated comedy for what is essentially a re-worked Reeba - is like promoing Desperate Housewives during NFL playoffs.

TBS. Very funny.

As we have been saying, the 'reality' genre has become totally threadbare.

So John de Mol creator of Big Brother, Fear Factor and Deal or No Deal is asking the general public for their help:

Do you have fantastic ideas for non-scripted television shows?
Do you want to earn up to $50,000 and see your format on the screen?

We're hoping that the new show isn't about trying to find a new show.

We heard watching paint dry can be riveting once in a while if given a chance.

For us, the first thing that Celebrity Circus did was jump the shark...er trapeze over it or something. We, like Mark Graham over at Defamer, were looking forward to the spectacular 80's version of Celebrity Circus where current TV stars put their lives in peril for one night of can't miss television. Instead it was a high wire version of Dancing With the Stars.

Why is it mandatory to have a British person on the panel of three judges? It's proof of cannibalism. A regurgitation of the same exhausted, beat to death, thread bare, high-fructose, witless, sappy, 'writerless' television formula.

Celebrity Circus is not the first one, it most likely won't be the last - but for us - it's the tipping point. We're officially over this genre. Hire some writers. Get some better ideas. Do some fresher shows. Not the same refried Phoning It In Idol.

And please don't make Biggest Loser: House Pet Edition. Fight the urge.