The NFL... or American Football as we Brits call it... has been a big draw in this weekend's sporting calendar. Why? Well, yesterday saw a proper NFL match (i.e. NOT a showcase event... but a bona fide league fixture) being held at Wembley Stadium. This is the first time that this has ever happened on somewhere that wasn't American soil. Naturally, the highlights were on the box in the catchily titled NFL Highlights: Miami Dolphins vrs New York Giants (BBC Two, Sunday, 11pm). I sat down and watched it... and was left thinking what is all the fuss about?

It's time for me to trawl through the listings once more in an attempt to avoid you accidentally watching guff on the gogglebox! Feel free to share your weekend picks in the comments! Have a cracking weekend y'all!

Friday - Comedy Showcase: The Eejits, Channel 4, 10.30pm

Whilst everyone goes all dippy about The Armstrong and Miller Show (BBC One, 9.30pm), those in the know are getting all excited about The Eejits. Why? The Eejits is brought to us by the funny one behind Father Ted... the genius that is Arthur Mathews. Anyone who enjoyed Hippies, or who has read Mathews incredible Well Remembered Days will be panting with excitement at the prospect of an Irish pub band by the name of E-Z Feelin who are hoping to hit the big-time when a former U2 roadie gives them some of the stars' old equipment. Expect preposterous turns of fortune, silliness and superbly smart gags. Pick of the weekend.

Read over for the rest of the weekend's shows...

Broadcast, the television and radio industry resource, has revealed its winners in this year’s Creative Report with TV Scoop favourite Life on Mars crowned as the most creative show in 2007. The poll, which celebrates the best in British television, covers 16 genres and is based on performance at major industry award ceremonies over the past tear, saw the buddy-cop show total 30 points, beating Planet Earth into second place with 28 points.

Interestingly Granada soap Coronation Street came in third, helping the production company win its category with 76 points. Other shows from its impressive stable included The Street, Longford, The Royle Family: The Queen of Sheba and Granada Reports: Morecambe Bay. Talkback Thames took silver in this group, based on well-received offerings such as The Apprentice, The X Factor and Green Wing.

In my preview about Ray Mears and Ewan McGregor: Extreme Jungle (BBC Two, Wednesday, 8pm) I noted that the show "could be the dullest thing ever shown on TV... but it could also be thrilling and engrossing. We'll just have to see...". So with that, I found myself settling down with a fair bit of worry that I was going to be let down by two very amiable chaps who normally do a sterling job of avoiding my ire.

Of course, Ray Mears is an expert in survival, and thus, is given the task of baby-sitting Ewan McGregor who Ray fondly refers to as a "film star" (which is a phrase I haven't heard in years!). Deep deep deep in the Honduran Jungle searching for a lost civilisation, the pair face a gruelling task with Ewan presumably there to inject some life into the dry Mears. Did they succeed?

There is no question that Jeremy Paxman is a prickly old sod who, on a good day, is likely to cut you down with incredible ire. On a bad day, he's likely to dig up one of your relatives and shout abuse at them whilst you cry in a darkened corner... and that's just the students on University Challenge. So let's see him in action on Newsnight. Brava Paxo, brava!

Last time I reviewed Heston Blumenthal: in Search of Perfection (BBC Two, Tuesday, 8.30pm) I noted that Heston's cookery show "takes the fun out of food by treating the whole thing like an Open University science course... but that's not to say this programme is rubbish... hell no...", something it seems Blumenthal is keen to address.

For those of you who haven't seen the show, Heston strives to make the perfect example of a much loved dish. Last night, he set out to create the perfect hamburger. In previous episodes of series' past, Heston has set fire to chickens in vats of molten fat and spent hours and hours creating an oven in the ground of his car-park. Naturally, we're only supposed to gawp as he offers very little in the way of sensible tips. That would normally be a problem... but not with Heston...

The permanently bare-chested Iggy Pop has dumped the BBC in further trouble after the Corporation received complaints for the singer’s race word spoken during this year’s television coverage of the Glastonbury Festival. Interviewed after performing with his band, The Stooges, the wild man rocker discussed visiting “paki” shops in Camden, a comment that the BBC apologised for a day later. However with two complaints registered by Ofcom in the immediate aftermath, it was considered too little, too late.

Ofcom ruled that the BBC "failed in its responsibility to ensure the offence caused was justified by the context", while they have also been reprimanded for not reacting quickly enough. The BBC responded that the American musician “was probably unaware that a term commonly used 30 years ago had now passed out of polite usage" and that "Iggy Pop is one of the wildest men in rock music and, as such, he has a built-in content advisory warning." The fact that they are even defending the situation upsets me. I can’t help but wonder that if other racial slurs had been used, they would have been much quicker to condemn the star.

[via BBC Online]

I don't like Red Dwarf. However, the sci-fi comedy probably has one of the strongest cult followings of any TV show, so, with that, I'm pleased to tell all your Dwarfers (I've no idea if you're ever called that, but I want to appear friendly) that Robert Llewellyn is urging fans to get creative and review their favourite episodes on YouTube.

The actor, who played neurotic humanoid Kryten in Red Dwarf, will be challenging fans to post the most ingenious films of themselves reviewing their favourite episode, series, Dwarf DVD or DVD extra on the BBC Worldwide YouTube channel. Entrants are encouraged to be as creative as possible in their submissions, so points could be awarded for tin foil space suits, improvised holograms featuring your mum and pets dressed as GELFs. Home editing abilities are encouraged as are the use of different locations and special effects... but a well-written or blisteringly funny entry could just as easily sway the vote. But what is in it for you?

With the BBC having fallen on hard times, its newsreaders look to be jumping ship. We recently reported on Natasha Kaplinsky’s defection to Five and now her former BBC Breakfast co-presenter Dermot Murnaghan is also saying a fond farewell to the Beeb. Dermot, who has previously worked for Channel 4 and ITN, is to join Sky News after five years at the Corporation. During this stint he has not only brought happiness to people eating their cereal with his BBC Breakfast gig, but has hosted the quiz shows Eggheads and Treasure Hunt.

On his time at the BBC, Murnaghan said: "I look back proudly and fondly at the five years on BBC Breakfast and wish the team there all the best.” Sky’s head of news, John Ryley has been talking up his new acquisition, describing Murnaghan as "one of the best broadcasters in Britain. Dermot is a first-class interviewer who handles breaking news and anchors set piece events effortlessly and intelligently." Bye Dermot – breakfast just won't be the same without you.

[via BBC Online]

With 'salami slicing' cuts threatened at the BBC resulting in a net loss of 1800 posts, three unions which represent the Beeb's workers have announced that the corporation has until midday to reconsider, or they will ballot for industrial action. It seems that BBC Vision, regions and news will bear the brunt of the redundancies, should they go ahead.

But there are problems in Tellyland across the pond, too. The Writers Guild of America are currently in talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers over "residuals" - the payments a writer receives whenever his or her work is broadcast. If no settlement is reached, then the screenwriters are prepared to go on strike, meaning shows in production could be stopped in their tracks. It's thought that reality TV and hours of repeats will have to fill in the gaps while there is a lack of original work being written. [via BBC and MediaGuardian]

Once again, I found myself dumbfounded whilst watching The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (BBC Two, Thursday, 9pm). I can't help but think that this show is dwindling in popularity... if it was popular at all... and that is a crying shame as everyone is missing the blackest comedy ever shown on TV.

The subtext of ...Vyle is clearly whistleblowing. Not many shows have had the sheer bloody nerve to expose so much of TVs seedy underbelly, which has left me poring over every single prop, line and movement to try and work out who the writers of the show are having a pop at. Obviously, the big one is Jeremy Kyle. That said, one gets the impression that, whilst Kyle is the obvious target, they taking a few others down with him.

Please don’t look at where I sourced this news story from. Oh, you have now, haven’t you? So I guess I have to come clean. Yes, I was looking at the Heatworld blog. It’s not something I’m proud of, but during a news-quiet Thursday, when I can’t type due to munching on a cheese sandwich, I surfed for something non-taxing but mildly diverting. And those good people at Heat obliged me, for they have published the annual salaries of some of the Beeb’s top earners. Warning: reading on might make you feel angry, jealous, depressed [delete as applicable.]

Jonathan Ross is unsurprisingly packing a pretty hefty pay packet with his many BBC commitments earning him £6million. A YEAR! Bloody hell, I could cultivate a speech impediment, silly fop hairstyle and flirt constantly for half that amount. Further down the pecking order comes former Channel 4 lad Graham Norton, with his Lloyd Webber gigs and late night chat show raking in £2.5million. Grumpy news hound Jeremy Paxman nets £1million while everyone’s favourite trouser snake Sir Terry Wogan charges £800,000 for his services. Fellow radio 'personality' Chris Moyles brings in £630,000, while Chris Evans has to make do with £540,000. The ladies bring up the rear, with know-it-all DJ Jo Whiley settling for £250,000 while Sara Cox scrimps and saves on a budget of £200,000. Makes you feel a bit rubbish, no?

[via Heatworld]

Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Mistake. Last night, in the grand final of The Restaurant (BBC Two, Wednesday, 8pm) Jess and Laura were not chosen as winners. The anticipation in the build up to the show was almost unbearable in my house. There was pacing and jittery knees. I started turning switches on and off repeatedly. I was a nervous man. This morning? I'm all depressed.

You see, with Jeremy and Jane's win and embrace from the marvelous Raymond Blanc, I felt somehow cheated. As it turns out, it's not that I like liked everyone else better, rather, I didn't like Jeremy and Jane at all. Well done Mof, you've talked yourself out of a potential interview with them there. However, it doesn't matter. I don't know what I'd say to them that would be nice. So this morning, I'm lost in some needless grief strickery because the people I preferred didn't win. Sad ain't it?

It was only this morning Anna was telling us about the impending job losses at the Beeb and now it seems those who don't lose their jobs might not have an office to go to anyway, as the BBC Trust has finally approved the sale of the prestigious Television Centre. You know things are bad when you have to sell the family silver to make ends meet, and with the Trust asking for a "property portfolio strategy" it looks likely there's to be more cashing in on the Beeb's architectural assets before we're done.

A complex the size of Television Centre could be worth many hundreds of millions and is clearly a juicy pear ripe for the plucking in the eyes of the cash-strapped Trust, who are obviously completely unaffected by the 50 years of television history embedded in a structure that was home to Top of the Pops, Blue Peter and hundreds of other famous BBC names. The Trust's statement, released today, also includes the chilling promise to scale back investment from areas which were "not delivering enough public value." I don't care what you say, the debate about the future of the minor digital channels ain't over yet.

If you hadn't guessed after reading my many foaming at the mouth with pure unadulterated glee reviews of The Restaurant (Grand Final! Tonight on BBC Two, 8pm), I'm a bit of a fan. Sadly for me, my favourite couple from the show were voted off, a hair's breadth away from reaching the final. Of course, I'm talking about Grant and Laura, who, with their Jacques Tamson's eaterie, created dazzling grub and, more importantly, many moments of cracking TV entertainment. I caught up with the pair and talked about deep fried Mars Bars (I know, I'm a walking cliché machine), one man's last ever meal and the future...

Terry 'Hooverbag' Wogan has responded to complaints about a behemoth bulge in his trews that could be witnessed by ladies from Troon to Aberfeldy while presenting Points Of View. The DJ, appendage thrown over his shoulder, talked about the incident on his Radio 2 show, commenting: "Everybody's an expert - you can't appear on television without a crowd of idiots telling you you look like something the cat dragged in."

Wogan and his baby's arm holding a cow's heart prompted a selection of viewers to complain on BBC messageboards after the programme was screened. Wogan insisted on his radio show that the trousers he wore were his own. Viewers jumped to the presenter's defence, with one commenting: "I think the cameraman was taking the proverbial. Terry isn't usually framed that way. He probably thought it was the usual waist-up shot and wasn't giving a thought to the lunchbox."

It's just not been a good few months for the BBC, has it? Cookiegate and Crowngate have diverted attention for a while, but this has simply served to paper over the cavernous cracks of a much bigger problem - the fact that the licence fee has been settled at a rate below inflation. The Director General, Mark Thompson, has had some tough decisions to make, and, unsurprisingly, there are winners and losers. Well, more losers to be honest.

There are two sets of people that will be affected by the changes - the employees and the viewers. Let's start with the former. The biggest job losses are likely to come in BBC News, as news across all platforms and channels - radio, terrestrial bulletins, News 24 and the internet - will soon come from just one department. It's thought that around 500 people will lose their jobs as a result.

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David’s classic chuckle-fest sitcom, Seinfeld, might never have met with widespread success here in the UK (what do you expect when hidden away late at night on BBC2?), but it is a firm favourite in the home of this TV Scooper. And so, to commemorate the release of the ninth season of the saga on DVD, The Hollywood News asked fans to vote for their favourite Seinfeld episode. Coming up trumps was ‘The Soup Nazi’, the tale of a grumpy New York soup chef who famously hollers at customers that order incorrectly “no soup for you!”

This installment from season seven earned a whopping 45% of the votes, while the gang’s encounter with ‘The Bubble Boy’ picked up the silver prize with 26%. Third was ‘The Opposite’ with 11%, in which George acts against his natural instincts and finds his life improving, only for Elaine’s to deteriorate as she becomes more like George, while ‘The Chicken Roaster’ and ‘the Library’ came fourth and fifth. After years of incredible quality, making such a selection would be like choosing a favourite child and I don’t know that I would be up for such a task. That said I’m surprised not to see ‘The Puffy Shirt’, ‘The Contest’ or ‘The Rye’ make an appearance in the top five. I wonder which one Art Vandelay would opt for.

[via Digital Spy]