• Celebrity Circus [NBC]

That said, big ups (do the kids still say that?) to the 4442-year-old Stacey Dash, who looks like she hasn't aged a day since Clueless (that's more than we can say for Alicia Silverstone). Sure, our sister blog Jezebel thinks that her can-do spirit in the face of broken ribs had more to do with money than competitive desire, after watching her bungee trapeze routine, we prefer to think of her as having the heart of a champion (not to mention the body of goddess). If we didn't have such strong opposition to yet another show filled with judges with questionable qualifications —who was that lispy yet flexible French woman, anyway?— we would tune in again next week to see how she does. Speaking of judges, if you're looking to find judges to sit alongside American Anthem himself, at least have them be named Barnum and/or Bailey. And one day, when we find ourselves turned away from the pearly gates for the nefarious actions that we have committed in the name of blogs, we fully expect to see NBC shill-for-hire Joey Fatone working as a maître d' in the Seventh Circle Of Hell's karoake bar. Nevermore, quoth the elephant trainer, nevermore!

• Celebrity Circus [NBC]

Christopher Knight fractured his forearm while practicing with the German Wheel, a giant disc he failed to control. Stacey Dash cracked three ribs climbing "the silks," a length of fabric suspended 30 feet in the air.

And during a rehearsal, Olympic swimmer Janet Evans fell 15 feet from a trapeze. Evans also caused a wardrobe malfunction for her female partner when her fishnet stockings got caught on her partner's top and pulled it down. "She was completely exposed to the cast and crew," said our spy. "Janet was trying to help her. That's when she lost her balance and fell." The injured were quickly taken care of. The show, which premieres tomorrow, provides the "highest safety measures," said our insider.

Before it even has a chance to air, the casualty-count for Circus already approaches that of NBC's other Ben Silverman-championed arena bloodsport, American Gladiators. One crucial difference, however, is that the celebrity element makes it a lot trickier to simply have a director shout "Cut!" after an ill-fated contestant takes a fatal, spine-snapping fall from a high platform, their lifeless body swiftly disposed of via P.A.-manned wheelbarrow as the home audience remains blissfully none the wiser.

• CIRCUS STUNTS [Page Six]

· The Groundlings, birthers of good comedy thing Kristen Wiig, have struck a deal with Sony to produce digital comedy shorts of their sketches. [Variety]
· George W. Bush appeared on Deal or No Deal last night, and no one gave a shit. [THR]
· Sam Mendes's untitled romcom, written by Dave Eggers and his wife and starring Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, starts production in Connecticut this week, with the sublime Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara also on board. Can we get this thing a title already? A Heartwarming Love Story with Staggering Credentials? [THR]

That means the whir of the air conditioner and distant laughter of children skipping through an open fire hydrant will accompany 90-minute episodes of Talent, American Gladiators, Last Comic Standing, USA-import Nashville Star, and the greatly anticipated return to the famous-people -under- the-big -tent genre, Flying Z-Listers Celebrity Circus—the last of which is all but guaranteed to become yet another peacock feather in the cap of perfect '80s-plundering storm Ben Silverman. (That is, until a freak accident involving human cannonball Joanie Laurer launches the former Ninth Wonder of the World out the roof of their Burbank studio and into oncoming Ventura Blvd. traffic.)

• Summer comes early for NBC [THR]