In today’s television marketplace the traditional paradigm of new shows in the Fall and then reruns all Summer has gone away. Now, we get new shows almost anytime during the year with the midseason being one of the most popular.

Case in point are our friends at NBC who have several new shows for the midseason and we’ve got preview videos of some of them for you today. Some of these shows include The Marriage Ref, Minute to Win It and Who Do You Think You Are?.

For The Marriage Ref we’ve got a preview where Madonna goes head-to-head with Larry David and the panel turns again host Tom Papa Plus, Kelly Ripa and Don Rickles hand out some marriage advice. Next up is Minute To Win It where we find out just how difficult the challenges can be and get a closer look at two of the challenges with a slow motion camera.

Finally, with Who Do You Think You Are?, watch celebrities such as Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Emmitt Smith and Susan Sarandon experience very personal moments and get a preview of four of these stories as they discover their own pasts. Actually, of the three, this one looks to be the most interesting. But whatever your thoughts about these shows, be sure to check out all the previews after the break.

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I spent this weekend in my hometown of Lake Placid, New York, and it was also the weekend of the Lake Placid Film Forum.  As a college student at St. Bonaventure University, I interned at this film festival run by former New York Daily News film critic Kathleen Carroll. Working there summers in between semesters was always the highlight of my summer break until I graduated and had to move into the “real world.”  So this weekend was a nice reprieve to go back and see the familiar faces and the many people I greatly respect who run that festival.

I also saw Woody Allen’s latest film Whatever Works.

Starring Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen and Marilyn Manson’s ex-girlfriend) this stunted, half-thought out movie’s  sole highlight was just listening to Larry David talk.  I’m a Curb fan, and to be honest I could listen to Larry David talk about anything.  His cynicism and sharp comebacks are a highlight and this movie is a natural progression from his work on the HBO series. And in that sense, this film is like Woody Allen directing an episode of David’s Curb and not a Woody Allen film which happens to star Larry David.

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