The new fall season is slowly getting underway with the CW’s second season of Gossip Girl and their 90210 remake debuting earlier this week. NBC will be premiering many of their shows early on Hulu, prior to their showing on regular broadcast TV later this month (this doesn’t change the fact that the vast majority of them are quite bad).

One of my least favorite aspects of the fall season is the high mortality rate of new shows. As soon as I get interested in a show, its gets cancelled (see Firefly, Journeyman and Moonlight). This year, I thought it might be smart to be proactive and figure out which shows are going to be cut first so I don’t waste my time with them.  I figured it was time to make the wisdom of the crowds work for me, so I asked my Hubdub friends what they thought of most of the new fall line up.  So far, of my early favorites, Fringe seems to be doing well while Ex-List is languishing in 2nd for most likely to be cancelled first (I will likely ignore my good advice and watch it anyway. I can’t pass up a good Romantic Comedy so even a mediocre one will likely be entertaining to me).

Fall TV Death Watch: Which of these shows will be cancelled first?

Check out your favorites and see which ones are keepers, which ones to let the DVR hold on to for a while and which ones you can safely ignore.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Lindsay Lohan’s dad Michael has been doing his best to divert some of the media attention of his daughter’s lesbian relationship with Samantha Ronson by claiming he may have fathered a child with Kristi Kaufman.

After publicly renouncing Kristi’s credibility, Michael has (very publicly) agreed to a paternity test to confirm whether or not he is the father of 13-year old Ashley Kaufman. Oddly enough, ALL the tabloids seem to be keeping quiet as to whether Michael is the father…

This market is starting at a healthy 78% yes, based on Michael Lohan’s tabloid-whore compulsions. However, so far all the pundits have strangely been keeping their opinions to themselves on the dad issue - it seems too dicey to make a call on yet, so plenty of room for last minute surprises on this market!

Stay tuned for follow up on the one-family freak show that is the Lohans - so many questions left to ask: How much is Michael’s sperm worth? Is he the father? Will Michael sue if he is not the father? If Michael gets the money, will he give it to charity as claimed? Will Lindsay and Samantha get married and open up their loveshack to the public?

what is this?

Will Michael Lohan Sell His Paternity Test to the Highest Bidding Magazine?

% chance over time

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Hubdub - The News Prediction Game

Popularity: 5% [?]

Avril Lavigne fans are leading the charge to have her song Girlfriend become the ‘most watched’ vid on the Tube. It is currently only 1 million hits away from overtaking the number one clip ‘Evolution of Dance‘ in which comedian Judson Laipply smoothly demonstrates some iconic dance moves of the past decade.

However, the petite Canadian’s geeky fans are copping plenty of criticism for their shady tactics. One site, the Avril Bandaids, has created a special webpage which automatically reloads the clip every 15 seconds, adding another hit to the clip. The site has advised fans to keep the browser open all day.

This has outraged many, who believe that YouTube hits should remain legitimate representations of public interest which have previously led to such clips of brilliance as ‘Dramatic Chipmunk‘ and the Laughing baby video ‘Hahaha‘. Will Lavigne make it to number one or will site admins step in? Decide for yourself by checking out the clip…or don’t!

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what is this?

Will Avril Lavigne’s YouTube clip of Girlfriend Become the Most Watched Clip of All Time?

% chance over time

    Yes, before 28 June 2008

    Yes, between 28 June and 15 July 2008

    Yes, After 15 July 2008

    None of the Above/YouTube Admins take action

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Hubdub - The News Prediction Game

Popularity: 4% [?]

It is rumoured that Adnan Ghalib, Britney’s paparazzi ex-boyfriend, is doing the rounds with a sex tape, taken during the couple’s trip to Mexico in January. Marginally less nauseating than previous threats a sex tape of Britney and K-Fed would emerge, but still kind of gross.

The tedious details offered by the National Enquirer: “the video starts with Britney undressing…She was wearing some cheap clothes that she bought down there. The sex wasn’t particularly kinky but Britney wears a pink wig throughout.”

Hot or not?
Snore. Didn’t we see the pink bob years ago? It seems as though this story came about because Britney’s second appearance on ‘How I Met Your Mother’ was just not enough to meet the insatiable Britney quota of the tabloids.

It is totally plausible, too plausible – very easy to believe that on-again-off-again Ghalib is making one last grab for money from Brit; even easier to imagine Spears, who professed virginity until marriage while romping around in butt-skimming schoolgirl skirts, continuing to practice illicit sex on tape.

I’m starting the market at 68% due to the wide circulation of the rumours, but I predict this one will be a fizzer.

Paris v Britney: Girl on Girl
Sex tapes are celeb currency. If this rumour turns out to be true, the next market question will be “Will this sex tape outsell the classic ‘One Night in Paris’”? Sources say a Britney sex tape could go down as the highest selling porn tape of all time.

The markets are hovering with anticipation…

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Tisha (Entertainment editor)

David Archuleta has had an incredible run on American Idol, cruising through every round without threat of being voted off. He seems to have won the hearts of judges and the public.

However, Archuleta’s talent and success has been marred by his dad, Jeff, who has been a tiresome presence to contestants, producers and vocal coaches throughout the entire series. This only became public this week, when Jeff insisted that David replace some of the lyrics of his first song “Stand by Me” with a verse from Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls”. Although the producers refused permission, the lyrics were changed in David’s performance.

This caused a major stir with the song’s publishers, and American Idol had to pay up. The show’s lawyers then told Jeff that he could sit in the live audience, but he was banned from going backstage. As David is now 17, it was ruled that he doesn’t need a guardian, only a ‘teacher’. Jeff Archuleta was also banned from the set of “Star Search”, in which David competed a few years back.

Parents on reality TV: Do they make or break their children?
Pushy and deranged parents have been behind star children from Michael Jackson to Lindsay Lohan. There is a fine line between providing opportunities for a child to nurture a talent and achieve their potential, and pushing a child to emotional breaking point and creating a lot of embarrassment along the way.

Simon Cowell has often criticised parents for instilling their children with false confidence about the extent of their talents, telling the parents of an atrociously bad singer on X-Factor “You are the reason why this girl is disappointed and I have to blame you guys for encouraging her to believe she’s going to do well in something when she so obviously isn’t. You have given her false hope.”

Is David Archuleta the next American Idol?
Archuleta is the close favourite to win Season 7, according to Hubdub, the news prediction game. He would be the third male contestant to win the show.

For the winner of American Idol, winning the show is hardly the end of working hard to secure a singing career. Regardless of whether this is David Archuleta, he is stuck with Jeff Archuleta as his father, and it seems that maintaining a decent working relationship with his father will be the real battle. I hope he gets through this week’s performances successfully, and can be remembered as the cute kid with a big voice rather than the child of another crazy dad.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Paula Abdul is doing a great job at proving that she is a piece of fluff on the judging panel.

Last night, when asked to give her opinion on the contestants, she made the following comments about Jason Castro’s second song: “I felt like your usual charm was missing” and “After your two songs, I felt like you weren’t fighting hard enough to get into the top four”.

Fair comment, only problem being the contestants had only completed the first round and Castro hadn’t actually sang a second song yet.

Her response, when this was s-l-o-w-l-y pointed out to her was: “Oh my God, I thought you sang twice. You know what, this is hard”. Cowell patronisingly, but appropriately brought the judging down to her level by asking: “Paula, who was your favourite?”

I have nothing against airheads. Like, Sophie Monk greatly amuses me. But you know what is hard, is being one of the kids being judged up there in front of Mr Cowell who bluntly sorts the wheat from the chaff, not remembering what songs have been sung and coming up with an appropriate (fluffy and vague) response.

Will her gaffe affect who is voted out tonight?
How much do the judges influence who will win American Idol?

Popularity: 3% [?]

By Nigel (Chief News Junkie)

Miley Cyrus, 15 year old star of Disney franchise Hannah Montana and role model to millions of teenage girls, seems to have trouble keeping her clothes on. Recently she appeared ‘topless’ in Vanity Fair and she has previous with photos of her baring her bra and posing in her panties recently surfacing. The blogosphere is now saying Stop it Miley and you can even join the campaign to save her before she goes fully Britney.

The question obviously remains is: Can Miley Cyrus keep her clothes on until her 16th birthday? The current forecast is that there is a 40% chance that she can but that is a whole 7 months away so this could be a volatile market.

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Tisha (Entertainment editor)

Tricia Walsh-Smith’s self-styled ‘pity me the divorcee’ media bandwagon continues to roll on as we recover from our stupefication at the deranged raving lady, and eagerly anticipate a second installment.

Walsh-Smith, ever the playwright, has found a new way to tell those age-old stories: blonde golddigger marries much older, rich man; new wife battles with old children over inheritance; hurt parties of a divorce lash out and spill nasty intimate details. And here we find ourselves hooked on every juicy intimacy – or, for those loathe to admit it, merely following the story as a socioeconomic study of YouTube’s effect on contemporary divorce proceedings.

For those of you who ARE wondering, Walsh-Smith’s video actually seems to be a mean shade of precedent-setting, legal brilliance: the divorce rant is admissible in court and will only be found to be slander if her allegations are false (and, despite her looniness, who actually believes that Philip Smith doesn’t have a stash of viagra, porn and condoms?). It now rests to see what a judge will make of the freak show, and it is not certain that it will necessarily work against Walsh-Smith. Sure, there is an unabashed element of theatrics and a good deal of crazy oozing out of the video, but isn’t that just an inherent part of legal proceedings anyway? Heather Mills McCartney poured water over the opposing barrister in her divorce proceedings and she still got almost $50 million.

And seriously, when the trophy wife starts talking, what are we expecting her to say? No one believes it when they try the ‘it’s only love, and I only want what’s fair’ line. And when you imagine having to kiss or shag someone like J. Howard Marshall, Paul McCartney or Philip Smith, who is like your dad’s age, you can see that dignity is long gone when your job is that of professional golddigger. Divorce is always going to be somewhat nasty, and Walsh-Smith hasn’t hidden the fact that this is all about the money. While we are slackjawed at her crazy ranting theatrics, we’re not exactly all rooting for the husband and the kids, either. So, I guess there’s not much left to do but sit back and enjoy the show!

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Tisha (Entertainment editor)

American Idol results tonight - there’s seven kids left and it’s time to get excited: Hubdubbers are going to be put to the test as they predict who will be the American Idol winner this year.

Despite Sayesha, Brooke and Kristy Lee being stubborn Hubdub elimination favourites week after week, Michael Johns’ shock exit last week was a stark reminder that the worst singers don’t necessarily go home first (and lots of Hubdollars were lost as a result!). There’s clearly more to calculating the American Idol results than mere talent; let’s explore some of the components of this algorithm:

1. The judges: First and most obvious thing – Paula is mere decoration on this panel, her opinions are clearly irrelevant often because they are usually not opinions at all but vague niceties, cliches of encouragement or agreement with the others’ opinions. However, how do Randy and Simon influence the voter’s opinions? There’s no doubt that Simon has professional respect in the field, but his harsh words sometimes focus on the technical to the point of excluding the charisma factor of the contestants. Randy has to spend too much energy trying to validate his opinions against Simon.

2. The curse of going first: By the time the troupe has finished spinning out their songs, the first performance is long forgotten and in the case of an average performance, has nothing to recommend a vote. This has been considered Johns’ downfall.

3. Song choice: Jason Castro covering Mariah Carey is not an image that is easy to reconcile in one’s mind. However, when the singers perform songs which seem to be out of their depth, they can create memorable performances which will tend to attract the votes.

4. Gender: Girls have won 4 out of six previous idol seasons. However, the girls have been a lacklustre group this year and don’t seem to have the unique characters that this year’s boys do.

5. Sympathy Votes: David Cook’s brother, currently undergoing treatment for cancer, flew in on a specially chartered medical jet to watch his little bro perform last night. Not to undermine the tragedy of Adam Cook’s illness, but this brings into focus the public scrutiny of the entire lives and families of the performers.

The two Davids are currently close favourites on Hubdub to win the title this year. We all have our favourite personalities and singers, but when it comes down to it, there will only be one American Idol and that is the one who knows how to play the entire game. See if you can pick it!

Popularity: 3% [?]

By Ryan (Politics Category Editor)

I’m really tired, I’m worn out and I’m done! Since the end of the Reverend Wright issue last month the Dem. nomination process has taken its toll on me. For weeks all we’ve heard are back and forth arguments between Obama and Clinton. Unfortunately these arguments haven’t been on substantive issues. All they’ve been are petty blame games and tattle tale politics.

For these passing weeks all I’ve seen on the politics pundit roundup are commentators regurgitating the same thing they said a day ago. The news cycle has become so bland that turning on the TV gives me a headache. My mind now swirls in a swath of punditry gone bonkers. The reason? There exists a lack of political events to report on, which in a way is a good thing.

Americans can take a break from the polarizing campaigns to worry about more pressing issues like the dwindling economy, a bad war gone badder or hefty fuel prices. Sadly for someone like me and many other political hooligans we are addicted to the game of politics. So even though no actual events like a primary or debate have occurred a need still exists to stay in touch with election politics.

But this treachery must stop! I’m going nuts with all the useless political commentary from moderates, liberal and conservatives. Can’t we just take a break?

There is no need for much more than a whisper of punditry or commentary. All I want is to just get to Pennsylvania already. It’s been a long and agonizing wait and Pa. is only a week away now. There’s no need for any commentary. All we have are “if she wins” or “if she loses” or even more dreadful “if she wins by less that 5%.” It’s just gotten boring, we won’t know anything until the Pennsylvania primary on the 22^nd, because everything depends on that date. We can’t say “if she wins Indiana” until the judgment of the Pennsylvania electorate. So if your like me and you’ve just gotten a little sick of it all, just relax. Go watch some Battlestar Galactica for a good political melodrama or discuss something important like the rising price of rice. But for gods sake don’t watch, read or listen to the replicated nonsense of pundits until after Pennsylvania!

Things to do until Pennsylvania:

Predict who will win the Pa. primary?

Predict who will be the Dem. Nominee?

Predict who will be the next President?

Predict which Dem. candidate will win the female vote in Pa.?

Or my personal favorite, predict who’ll last longer, Robert Mugabe or Hillary Clinton?

Popularity: 4% [?]