Fanning the flames of what some might call an unhealthy obsession with Neil Patrick Harris comes this new promo for his latest hosting gig: THE 64st ANNUAL PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS (airing September 20th on CBS at 8PM). Oh — and while we’re on the subject — there is absolutely no truth to the rumour that the TV Addict is not attending this year’s Emmy Ceremony as a result of some totally unsubstantiated court-ordered restraining order that doesn’t allow us within fifty feet of the actor. We’re just sayin’ Charges may-or-may-not still be pending.

Thanks to Stay In for the Tip!

Welcome to our morning round-up of big/interesting TV news that you may have missed over the past 24 hours because unlike us, there’s a fairly good chance that have a life outside of the small screen.

On the very same day Michael Ausiello breaks the news that has Chuck Bass going gay in GOSSIP GIRL’s sixth episode of the season, the CW released the above photo. Coincidence, we think not! [EW]

From his Emmy-worthy performance on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, to his extra-curricular TV Land, Tony and upcoming Emmy hosting duties comes yesterday’s news that Neil Patrick Harris was tapped by AMERICAN IDOL to guest judge during the show’s recent audition stop in Dallas. Begging the question, is their anything the legendary NPH can’t do? I mean, aside from the whole getting married thing. [LATimes]

Take that America, Paris Hilton can read! How else to explain this recent paparazzi shot snapped upon her arrival in Vancouver for an upcoming guest spot on SUPERNATURAL. [Splash News]

TV-Tie-ins 101: GREY’S ANATOMY branded Kleenex boxes just in time for the sixth season premiere. [E! Online]

No, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences did not finally come to their senses by recognizing BATTLESTAR GALACTICA with a much deserved best drama nod just yet. Rather, Variety is reporting that HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER star and serial-award show host Neil Patrick Harris (see: this year’s Tonys, TV Land and Writers Guild Awards) is in advanced talks to suit up (read: host) the 61st Annual Emmy Awards this September 20, 2009 on CBS.

Thanks to the legen… (wait for it)… news, courtesy of broadwayworld.com that Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor Neil Patrick Harris will be suiting up on Sunday June 7th to host the 63rd Annual TONY Awards®, live from Radio City Music Hall.

Knowing full well that the story of how a ridiculously talented family band together during last year’s WGA strike to create what would become the most buzzed about internet sensation of last year has been told ad nauseam, this TV Addict thought we’d take a different approach in recapping last night’s DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG panel from Paley Festival 2009. So here it goes, one or two (or fifteen) things that you may not have known about DR. HORRIBLE. Including but not limited to Nathan Fillion’s true feelings about Neil Patrick Harris, the power of Sondheim and the true power of Wonderflonium… but more on that later.

FAMILY MATTERS
Aside from changing the whole landscape of television and becoming the accidental poster-boy for do-it-yourself content on the web, one of the major driving forces behind DR. HORRIBLE was to give Joss an excuse to work with his brothers. Or as Joss explained, as only he can, “DR. HORRIBLE will bond us or break the family apart forever. It’s worth the risk.”

LITTLE KNOWN PALEY TIE-IN
If you were one of the hundreds of fans lucky enough to attend last year’s Paley Fest BUFFY reunion and was curious as to why exactly Joss was out of breath and looked like he had just run a marathon prior to the event, well… mystery solved. “The very last night of the very last shot [shooting DR. HORRIBLE] was when I snuck in the bathroom of the laundromat, changed into a suit and came here to talk to you about BUFFY,” revealed Joss.

FILLION=FUNNY
Okay, so not exactly shocking news, but when asked by the event’s fantastic moderator Matt Roush (Part-Time Whedon Fanboy, full-time critic for TVGuide Magazine) as to what his favorite part of the experience was, Fillion dead-panned, “You [looking at the Whedon Bros. and Felicia Day] did all the heavy lifting…. I’m just so happy now…. I can’t even tell you guys how much joy it brings to my heart that… Neil [Patrick Harris] couldn’t make it.”

IT PAYS TO HAVE FRIENDS
Or to be more specific, friends in high places — as Joss explained to all you aspiring filmmakers out there, “The head of production at Universal gave us the lot, the run of the whole thing, for a song, just because we worked together on Serenity and he’s a really sweet guy.”

IT ALSO PAYS TO BE A MUSICAL THEATER GEEK
Being raised listening to showtunes may not exactly scream popularity in high school, but as Zack Whedon can attest to, may in fact pave the way for a lucrative career in television and movies, “Definitely a Sondheim influence because it’s unavoidable if you’re writing something that’s good.”

FELICIA ON THE FUTURE
When she’s not starring in DR. HORRIBLE and dropping by popular television shows such as BUFFY, HOUSE and DOLLHOUSE, Felicia Day spends her time writing, directing and producing THE GUILD, one of the web’s most popular online television shows. “I basically got bored and wanted to act, but nobody would hire me,” explained Felicia, semi-seriously backpedaling, “Well, people will hire me… sometimes… whatever, I’m still here. But I got so passionate about it [THE GUILD] because I really had control of it and with DR. HORRIBLE it’s the same thing. Here we are making it, having a great time, putting our heart into it. You just don’t see that in the traditional world of television.”

JOSS’ FELICIA FASCINATION
“THE GUILD was really the first series I watched on the internet, that I was involved in and made me laugh,” explained Joss about his internet viewing habits. “And before we ever talked about Felicia being in it [DOLLHOUSE], I asked her for advice about how do I do this.”

Which as it would turn out, paid off in unexpected ways, when Felicia gave Joss’ agency and their internet gurus a lesson [or two] in online marketing, “Felicia just schooled them. They had no idea what to do with this. It was completely new, even though it was very traditional storytelling and ultimately the exact same length as an episode of TV… It was a great thing to watch. Little Felicia who had been very quiet and then started to speak and everybody else got very quiet. It was quite a BUFFY moment – the woman you aren’t paying attention to is the one who’s getting it done.”

JOSS ON TWITTER
Since it’s virtually impossible to have a conversation these days without the topic of twitter coming up, here is Joss and Jed’s take on the subject. After of course a shameless plug for theTVaddict.com’s own Twitter account (Follow us here!)

Joss: I don’t get twitter, I think it might be dirty.
Jed: You’re going to twitter tonight.
Joss: Buy me a drink first.

Note, you can now follow Joss @drhorrible and Nathan at @nathanfillion on twitter.

MORE FUN WITH FILLION
Not only did Nathan reveal that one of his part time jobs while working through university was as a Karaoke host “I could kill ‘The Rose.” Joss let us in on a little secret about actors. They always want to do whatever they’re not doing. “When we were doing Serenity, we were recording the Reavers and Nathan said, ‘I can take a run’ and of course it was the best vocal track we got.”

DR. EVIL LAB INCLUDED
One of the other ways in which Joss and Co. were able to cut costs for DR. HORRIBLE was in the set department. Where as luck would have it, Dr. Horrible’s lab wasn’t so much of a set as an actual lab, “Our Assistant Director Otto was friends with a guy who had an evil lab,” explained Joss. “All those tubes you see in the background of his blog all dispense Vodka and Jack.”

THE HORSE OF COURSE!
Who’d have thought that the most famous actor aside from Neil Patrick Harris who couldn’t attend tonight’s panel was a four legged-one. Turns out, that the horse who played “Bad Horse” is one of Whedon’s most prolific stock players, having appeared in DR. HORRIBLE, ANGEL and next week’s episode of DOLLHOUSE.

PROOF THAT YES, WHEDON’S ARE HUMAN TOO
In testing the initial DR. HORRIBLE trailer, Jed fessed up to uploading it to Vimeo and then naming it ‘Dr. Horrible,’ “Like I’m a genius…. I mean who’s going to go on the internet and find it!” Joked Nathan, “How ever did they crack your code?” Replied Jed, “Not my finest hour.”

JOSS IS A NPH FANBOY
“I’m a huge fan, I saw him do ASSASSINS. I love his voice and comedic chops,” explained Joss when asked how casting Neil Patrick Harris came about, “I know him through Amy Acker so I’ve known him for a while and actually sung with him and Amy and James Wedding. Which put me in full “Squee” mode, I was geekin’ out so hard!”

FUN WITH FILLION PART 3
“I would wear a darker outfit, to symbolize the darkness,” joked Fillion when asked what he imagines his character would go through in a DR. HORRIBLE sequel. “I would grow my hair out and do more of a pompadour. All heavy hitting character stuff. Layers upon layers of acting challenge.

AKWARD QUESTION OF THE NIGHT
Goes to the fan who asked Joss what would happen if you took all the money FOX is giving you for DOLLHOUSE and made more episodes of FIREFLY, would anyone notice?

MORE FUTURE OF THE WEB WITH FELICIA
“I love doing the web shows, but I’m not rolling in money,” admitted Felicia who it turns out was only slightly embarrassed to have discovered that she is wearing the same shirt that she wore in DR. HORRIBLE. “I haven’t bought new clothes for a year!”

CRINGEWORTHY FAN QUESTION OF THE NIGHT
As much as we cringed when a gentleman in the audience asked Felicia if she would join his World of Warcraft Guild. We kind of want to thank the man for making us feel only slightly better about our unhealthy obsession with television.

BEST QUESTION OF THE NIGHT
What will happen if Wonderflonium is bounced? “It’s too terrible to tell,” Joss says. “But I will tell you that it will cause me to Twitter.”

ACTUAL BEST QUESTION OF THE NIGHT
When one fan asked Joss why he keeps on going back to FOX after the FIREFLY fiasco and now DOLLHOUSE (not to mention, joked Joss, “Let’s not forget ALIEN RESURRECTION”) “The fact is it is eerily similar in some ways [but] very different in other ways. And the reason I went back was because of Eliza [Dushku]. And I don’t care, she’s worth it. There are different people that I’m dealing with [at FOX] and I think they’re pretty decent, honest people. Some of them have left recently but some of them are still there. The relationship has always been equitable. It’s always been [about] trying to find the show. And it’s very different than when it was with FIREFLY. But I will say that probably the worst thing I could have done right before starting DOLLHOUSE was DR. HORRIBLE. Because it just rolled off us, it just came out from our hearts. We sang and bang that was it. I mean five months total between our first sit down to stream. And then to work so hard and get so lost [on DOLLHOUSE] by a process that, you know, it wasn’t being run by bad people or mean people, it’s just that grind after the freedom of DR. HORRIBLE. It made me a much crankier person and a worse boss.”

When word leaked out that famous-for-nothing reality TV ‘stars’ such as Heidi and Spencer, Kim Kardashian and Kendra Wilkinson had signed on to guest star on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, this TV Addict was the first to admit that our excitement, for lack of a better word, could be contained.

Yet after watching last night’s installment, we would like to take this opportunity to publicly proclaim to showrunners Craig Thomas and Carter Bays: We will never doubt you again!

Not only were the trifecta of tabloid mainstays brilliantly used to skewer the pointlessness that are reality TV ‘stars’ with no discernible talent (As Marshall so eloquently put it while having an imaginary conversation with Kim Kardashian, “You’re right, woman who I don’t know but my wife assures me is famous.”) They gave Jason Segal the hilarious (and sadly, somewhat relatable) “reading a magazine” story-line that perfectly juxtaposed the poignant and surprisingly emotional realization by Barney that he is indeed in love with Robin.

Yes, it took almost four full seasons, but the ultimate ladies man has found “the one.” And boy was it fun to watch Barney squirm. So much so that this TV Addict is going to forgive Barney for his continuous and senseless destruction of televisions (Yes, even though they were now obsolete CRT’s, it still hurts!)

Needless to say, we’re not sure Neil Patrick Harris could be anymore awesome. First he kicks off the weekend by hosting SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and raises the show (not to mention everyone around him) to actual levels of funniness not seen outside of a Tina Fey/Sarah Palin/Amy Poehler impersonation. Then, graciously loses a much deserved Golden Globe on Sunday to Tom Wilkinson. Only to cap off the weekend by injecting shocking levels of vulnerability and tenderness into a character that in almost anyone else’s hands could have come off as annoying and cartoonish three seasons ago.

In a word Legen… (wait for it)… Dary and we can’t wait to see what happens next.

With yesterday’s Legen… wait for it… dary news that Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’s inaugural episode of 2009 on January 10th. This TV Addict can’t help but wonder; will Neil Patrick Harris’ monologue include:

(a) A song.
(b) A magic trick.
(c) A Britney Spears cameo.
(d) All of the above.

Post away with your prediction.

Thanks to PopCandy for the Tip!

Nominees (L to R): Jeremy Piven [ENTOURAGE], Kevin Dillon [ENTOURAGE], Neil Patrick Harris [HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER], Rainn Wilson [THE OFFICE], Jon Cryer [TWO AND A HALF MEN]

SHOULD WIN: Neil Patrick Harris
Not only does NPH deliver a Legen.. [does this ever get old?]… dary performace week-in-week-out. He more importanatly serves as a shining example to all current and future child stars — Play your cards right and you don’t have to end up like this, this or this.

WILL WIN: Jeremy Piven
Because nobody loves egomaniacal Hollywood agents like egomaniacal Hollywood Emmy voters.

SNUBBED: WEEDS stars Justin Kirk and/or Kevin Nealon.

Emmy Coverage
Outstanding Reality TV Program
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama
Outstanding Drama
Outstanding Comedy

*theTVaddict.com does not guarantee his ‘winning picks’ — Do not, I repeat, Do not ‘bet the house, kids or family pet’ on them!

Good News: THE OC’s Benjamin Mackenzie is in talks with John Wells to join the NBC ensemble drama LAPD. Bad News: Putting to rest any hope that he will be joining the Walker clan on BROTHERS & SISTERS this fall. [Source]

Good News: Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Chalke have been tapped to host the Emmys this fall. Bad News: And by Emmys, we mean the non-televised Creative Arts Emmys that we’ll be wishing we were at as we suffer through one-liners courtesy of Howie Mandel and Jeff Probst. [Source]

Good News: The TV Addict just completed DEXTER’S Psycho Therapy Test. Bad News: Turns out I may have some ‘issues’! [Find out if you need Therapy by clicking here.]

Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy as much as the next Browncoat. But does the first part of DR. HORRIBLE, Joss Whedon’s just launched internet musical featuring the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day honestly warrant such an exuberant outpouring of affection? I mean take a look at this flurry of twitter messages:

mytakeontv: I’m on my 5th viewing of Dr. Horrible. AMAZING!

DuckyDoesTV: Dr. Horrible is sheer genius!

raelee: Dr. Horrible is wrecking havoc on my schedule for the day. Can’t stop watching.

thc_jen: Dr. Horrible was AMAZING!!! Who wants to talk about with me?

thedirtycanuck: I can’t believe i’m going to miss the Whedon fan-event of the year (Dr. Horrible) because of work. boo to life.

GMMR: ‘Dr. Horrible’ is FRAKTASTIC! Act I is live and it doesn’t disappoint! Go watch..now!

justjody: NPH is made of awesome. “The world is a mess, and I just… need to rule it.” LOL!

matsie: If you haven’t watched the first episode of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog, I just don’t know what to think of you!

That’s not to say I’m not in full support of what Whedon’s trying to accomplish. In fact, I’m so in favor of Whedon’s plan to as he so eloquently put it, “Turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience,” that I went ahead and paid for the entire DR. HORRIBLE series on iTunes so that everybody involved in the project will actually get paid. I’m just not quite sure that it’s the second coming of Buffy. Okay, third if you count that time she came back from the dead.

[UPDATE:] I the overhype warranted Who knows, maybe I’m the moron? Here’s some more Twitter Posts

themarc: Boo, the internets are crashing around Dr. Horrible.

atlanticwasborn:Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog = AMAZING! I finished act 1 a while ago, and it is just AWESOME! They better release an official soundtrack!

texpatriate:Dangit! All you Whedon Dweebs get off the Dr Horrible site so I can get on!

faketwitt: My Doctor can now cut the cord since I’ve lived to see Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible!

And yes, that last one’s made up. But you get the idea.