Tuned In: What’s Hot In The World Of TV

Fresh off his third-place finish on ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ Jesse James‘ new show ‘Jesse James Is A Dead Man‘ broke network ratings records for unscripted series with its premiere Sunday night on Spike TV. Two million viewers tuned in to watch him test out the dangerous Nitro Bike, with almost half of those viewers in Spike’s coveted 18-49 male demo.

Tuesday Highlights:

It wouldn’t be a Tuesday night without some Housewives shenanigans, courtesy of Bravo. And while it’s taken me awhile to warm up to the Jersey girls, I may finally be on board after last night’s episode. The truly scary Danielle was nearly brought to her knees by the triumvirate of sisters Dina and Caroline and their friend Teresa. The “Mean Girls” found out that Danielle has a bit of a rocky past, with rumors of kidnapping and Colombian drug cartels that were referenced in a book. Needless to say, Danielle wasn’t happy about this old news coming to light, and cleared the air with her one remaining friend and confidante Jacqueline (Caroline & Dina’s sister-in-law). Caroline claimed that she was digging into Danielle’s past “for safety reasons,” particularly for her children. Things are finally starting to get juicy on this show, just please give us a Danielle-Dina catfight before the end of the season, or at the reunion maybe!

Meanwhile, over on MTV, season 2 of ‘Paris Hilton’s My New BFF‘ premiered with the usual mix of vapid, fame-hungry bitchtastic girls (and the token gay guy). One pleasant surprise was the appearance of season 1’s Onch (”Onchy”) as Paris’s permanent pet. He/She will be guiding the wannabes along this season as they strive to replace Nicole Richie. Two girls were sent packing, and poor Stephen was left in tears when the challenge involved stripping down to their swimsuits and hopping on a stripper pole. Stephen broke down and couldn’t do it, which almost got him eliminated, but was spared by the skin of his teeth.

And on NBC, we got an up-close-and-personal view of the Obama White House, courtesy of Brian Williams and about 100 NBC cameras. Part 1 of this special (the second part airs tonight) was truly great, with fascinating snippets on the Prez’s “body man” - Reggie Love, whose job it is to hold President Obama’s personal effects- blackberries, Sharpies, etc - and even the President’s personal secretary. All that and we even got to see Obama go on an impromptu visit off the grounds to pick up some burgers. Now that’s a President for the people.

Wednesday Sizzlers:

More on These Topics: Jesse James | Jesse James Is A Dead Man | Paris Hilton's My New BFF | Real Housewives of New Jersey | So You Think You Can Dance