TV on Tap: Bebe Neuwirth Joins "The Good Wife," the Case Against "Dance Moms" and The Most Ridiculous Sci-Fi in Soap Operas

It's finally here. Let the revolt begin.

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I'm sure you can think of a few additions to this list of The Most Ridiculous Science Fiction Plots From Soap Operas. Surely, you can't have a list of ridiculous soap opera storylines without a mention of Santa Barbara... or all that time travel on One Life to Live.

The casting director at The Good Wife has been busy lately. The acclaimed drama has grabbed Bebe Neuwirth to take on a recurring role as one of the drama's memorable judges.

Gay-faves Mike O'Malley and producer John Wells (who recently gave us Shameless and Southland) have sold a pilot to Fox. Prodigy Bully follows a boy genius who uses his intellect to push people around.

With The Martha Stewart Show ending soon, Hallmark is talking with Marie Osmond to host a new talk show that will air in the fall.

I think I'm going to stop watching Drop Dead Diva.

While I'm discussing bad news about Lifetime, the channel is developing a figure skating spin-off, Ice Moms. That comes in addition to the other spin-off Dance Moms: Miami.

Along those lines, Andy Dehnart asks an interesting question. Why did the media freak out over the well-being of the participants of Kid Nation but is just fine about reality shows like Dance Moms and Toddlers and Tiaras, which are worse in how they treat their child participants? He hits the nail on the head to why I find the very idea of those shows uncomfortable.

To brighten things up, have you seen the latest Tumblr TV meme? Hey Girl, It's Rachel Maddow gives a sapphic take on that Ryan Gosling meme. I'm off to add captions to pictures of Matt Bomer.

CBS has ordered three drama pilots, including a series about a hacker working with a police officer in Oakland from Ilene Chaiken, the creator of The L-Word, a period drama about Vegas crime, and an adaptation of the Mommy Track Mysteries books.

Every year, the premiere of American Idol brings speculation that this might be the year that it loses its status as TV's top show, but could this be the year another show takes the top spot? Right now, that looks like a possibility unless the final cast includes someone as exciting as Adam Lambert.

Friday's Listings

The Talk (CBS) Check local listings
Tori Spelling wraps up her guest-hosting gig as Louis Van Amstel visits to discuss his workout DVD,

Days of Our Lives (NBC) Check local listings
Today is a busy day for Will – as he attends a party E.J. is throwing, gets into another fight with Sami, and gets a few more encouraging (but vague) words from Sonny.

Great Performances (PBS) Check local listings
Great Performances looks at the recording of Tony Bennett's Duets II album, including Bennett's performances with Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, k.d. lang and Willie Nelson.

Chuck (NBC) 8:00 PM ET
For the big finale Chuck has to get the help of his entire family (and, yes, that means Linda Hamilton is  back) to stop Nicholas Quinn one final time. Expect plenty of nostalgia for the past five seasons before the Nerd Herd crew says goodbye.

Primetime: What Would You Do? (ABC) 9:00 PM ET
The hidden cameras capture how diners react when a man proposes to his boyfriend and one table isn't quiet in expressing their disgust at the idea.

Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys (Sundance) 9:00 PM ET
For the season finale, Tenisha decides to go forward and self-publish her novel, while attending his mother's funeral gets Brent to rethink the way he looks at life.

Merlin (Syfy) 10:00 PM ET
A mysterious man arrives in Camelot with a key to a tomb that may house the very last dragon egg. I thought Dany got them all to hatch, already. No, wait, that's a different fantasy show with dragon eggs.

Spartacus: Vengeance (Starz) 10:00 PM ET
The second season picks up with Spartacus as the leader of the freed slaves as they seek vengeance on the Romans. With the first season and the prequel out of the way, this series can finally get to being the gory cousin of Revenge.

Portlandia (IFC) 10:00 PM ET
This week we meet parents worried about ensuring their child has a bright future, animal advocates who can't handle the dog park and people trying to get away from the exploding population of DJs.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (IFC) 10:30 PM ET
A miserable Todd goes to a local bar to drown his sorrows but ends up walking into a wild bachelorette party.