USA Network's The Dead Zone has been cleared for a fall launch into syndication.... Steve Irwin's widow, Terri, tells Access Hollywood that the lone tape of her husband's death, handed over to her last week by authorities, has been destroyed.... Among the acts performing live at the Feb. 11 Grammy Awards will be (Sur. Prise.) Beyoncé, the Dixie Chicks, Gnarls Barkley and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.... Nearly half of the short films being screened at this month's Sundance Film festival will be available for download Jan. 18, at Apple's iTunes Store.
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Aussie authorities have handed over a video of crocodile hunter Steve Irwin's fatal September face-off with a stingray to his wife, Terri, and destroyed all copies so as to prevent the grisly footage from circulating to the public, reports the AP. "It was wholly appropriate that we took all possible steps to ensure something of such a personal and tragic nature did not fall into the wrong hands," Queensland state coroner Michael Barnes said in a statement. "This is in line with the wishes of the Irwin family."
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A surprise appearance in the Oct. 25 episode of South Park by the late Steve Irwin — accompanied by the stingray that killed him (!), and attending Satan's Halloween party (!!) — has sparked a bit of controversy. (Whodathunk?) John Beyer of the U.K.'s Mediawatch, for one, tells the Associated Press that the animated cameo was "grossly insensitive." Comedy Central's Tony Fox, though, notes that series masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone are "largely free to do what they like in terms of creativity." May I, Ben, add on their behalf, that if you don't appreciate their freewheeling sense of humor, you can simply not watch and, as Cartman would say, quit breakin' their balls.
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According to the Hollywood Reporter, Steve Irwin's daughter will hold off a year before starring in her own nature series, tentatively titled Bindi, the Jungle Girl, amid outside concerns that the 8-year-old's childhood could be lost to her emulation of her father's exploits. "I can't understand what all the fuss is about," the family's manager told Aussie papers, insisting the delay has nothing to do with charges of exploiting the youngster.
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Per the Hollywood Reporter, the CW has committed to a pilot for a one-hour action-comedy from Veronica Mars executive producer Diane Ruggiero. Described as "Sex and the City meets Batman," the series centers on two very different young women who unite to fight crime after a mysterious event endows them with superpowers they can use only when they are together.... House creator David Shore and writer Peter Blake are developing an NBC drama revolving around a female cop, says Variety.... Bindi Irwin, the 8-year-old daughter of the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, will star in Bindi, the Jungle Girl, a wildlife series to air on the Discovery Kids network early next year.
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