Welcome to CraveOnline's Idiot Box Updates, where we run down all the latest TV news and separate the facts from the rumors and nonsense on and about the small screen.

Here's a list of the top 20 prime-time network shows by viewership numbers, compiled by Nielsen Media Research for October 26 through November 1:

1. World Series Game 4, Fox, 22.76 million viewers.

2. World Series Game 1, Fox, 19.51 million viewers.

3. World Series Game 2, Fox, 18.90 million viewers.

4. World Series Pre-Game, Game 4, Fox, 17.82 million viewers.

5. "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 17.38 million viewers.

6. "NCIS," CBS, 16.70 million viewers.

7. "The OT," Fox, 16.61 million viewers.

8. "The Mentalist," CBS, 15.53 million viewers.

9. World Series Game 3, Fox, 15.40 million viewers.

10. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 15.24 million viewers.

11. "Dancing With the Stars Results," ABC, 15.20 million viewers.

12. "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 14.08 million viewers.

13. "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 13.74 million viewers.

14. "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.94 million viewers.

15. "Survivor: Samoa," CBS, 12.19 million viewers.

16. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 11.52 million viewers.

17. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 11.41 million viewers.

18. "Amazing Race 15," CBS, 11.22 million viewers.

19. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 11.09 million viewers.

The company who owns the rights to the Terminator franchise, Halcyon Co., has filed for bankruptcy. That means the rights to the well-known sci-fi franchise are now officially on the auction block, and the opening bid is making news. The man behind the bid is none other than Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and  Dollhouse. According to the LA Times, The Halcyon Co. hopes to have the Terminator rights sold off by January, 2o1o, looking to recoup a bit of their losses on this summer’s failed Terminator Salvation. Rich guys from the private sector “…have expressed strong interest” said Kevin Shultz, senior managing director of FTI, Halcyon’s hired financial advisors. Joss Whedon is one of those, who posted a measly $10,000 bid for the Terminator rights on fan site whedonesque.com, sparking off a tidal wave of rumors. Sellers are asking for $70 million, however, so the offer falls a little short.

Since that announcement, Whedon has explained his out-of-left-field bid to Entertainment Weekly:

“Here’s the thing: It’s not a slam on The Terminator. I love The Terminator. That part’s totally true. I was thinking to myself, ‘Not since they auctioned off frames from The Little Mermaid have I wished I had more money this much. So you know what, never hurts to ask.’ I loved the movies, even the later movies. I loved the mythology. I loved the TV show [The Sarah Connor Chronicles]–like, really loved. Not for pretend. And not just because of [star] Summer [Glau].”

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will share hosting duties at the 82nd Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday. Telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman said Martin and Baldwin are "the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars."

"In the modern television era, this is the first time there will be two co-hosts on the same stage," academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger said Tuesday. Martin has hosted the show twice before, in 2001 and 2003, and has appeared as a presenter several times. Baldwin is a first-timer as Oscar host, but was a co-presenter in 2004. Baldwin, 51, who stars on NBC's "30 Rock," called the Oscar gig "the opportunity of a lifetime." Martin, the funnyman that he is, said that he is "happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin." The 64-year-old entertainer is currently on tour in support of his latest banjo album. He and Baldwin co-star in Nancy Meyers' film "It's Complicated," due in theaters next month.

Is "Flight of the Conchords" coming to an end? According to star Jemaine Clement, it's very possible that the offbeat HBO comedy series may not continue for a third season because it requires so much work.  A final decision will be made within a month, but Clement told Reuters that he needs to discuss the future of the show with his co-star, Bret McKenzie, and with the director of the series, James Bobin.

"It very likely might not" return for a third season, Clement said."It could come back in a shorter season or like a special," he added.

Clement, whose solo career took flight last week with his new movie "Gentleman Broncos," said he and McKenzie are challenged to keep up with the work required for the show.

"We've got to write the series, but we've also got to write the songs, and just dividing your time into those two writing tasks is really tricky," he said.

 Ugh. As if the state of our economy and the vanishing middle class weren't bad enough, a new reality show from E! and Ryan Seacrest's production company "gives ordinary people the chance to beg for money" from rich celebrities and moguls. The chance. To beg.

"Come on, you can beg better than that..."

In "Bank of Hollywood," a panel of high-profile names takes pitches from average Americans in need of cash. The proposals range from a do-gooder raising money for charity to a grad student who can't afford a ring to propose to his girlfriend.

"The idea's simple," said Seacrest, who will not host. "We are giving away tons of money to everyday people to alleviate the stress of today's climate and have fun." Oh, and we're making a public mockery of the suffering millions and millions of Americans are facing every day. Let's not forget that.

I used to think that this whole reality-show obsession would end once an entire cast of a show committed mass suicide on the "live finale," outlining the whorish soullessness of feeding on other people's private misery for entertainment... but I think that would only up the ante on the extremes the shows are willing to go to. God help us all, in the name of Ryan Seacrest.

The first interview with Rihanna about Chris Brown's abusive ways debuts on ABC this week. The pop star's interview with Diane Sawyer will air Thursday and Friday on "Good Morning America" and Friday evening on the news show "20/20."

Brown's attack on his then-girlfriend in February was reportedly only one of  "8 or 9" incidents, according to Rihanna. He was sentenced in August to five years' probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling after he pleaded guilty to felony assault.

Rihanna's ABC interview coincides with the debut of her new single, "Russian Roulette," from her upcoming album, "Rated R." In the interview, Rihanna admits that she regrets going back to the abusive piece of plankton sh*t. 

TNT has rescued the failed NBC cop drama "Southland" and plans to bring it back in the new year. Beginning Jan. 12, TNT will broadcast all six episodes that were shot by NBC for its amputated second season, as well as  seven episodes from the first season. "Southland" won good reviews but not-so-good ratings when it premiered last spring on NBC. It was renewed for this fall, but NBC cancelled it before its October return, like the teasing whores they are.

Comedy Central favorite Nick Swardson, who played lovable gay male hooker Terry Bernadino on "Reno 911!" and was featured doing horribly vomit-inducing sex acts with an old lady in Grandma's Boy, has received his own sketch comedy series.

The weekly, half-hour sketch show will premiere in 2010 and will include digital shorts, man-on-the-street segments and animation inspired by the online character Gay Robot. But what about Terry!??

Colin Hanks is headed for TV with "Jack and Dan," Matt Nix's new 13-episode hourlong series for Fox which Tom's son will star in.

The project, which also stars Bradley Whitford, is produced by Fox TV Studios under the company's international co-production model. It focuses on Jack (Hanks), a hardline detective whose habit of sabotaging himself has resulted in a dead-end position at the Los Angeles Police Department. His partner Dan (Whitford) is a drunken, unpredictable cop who hangs onto his job only because of a heroic act years before.

Filming on the show, an action comedy in the tone of Nix's USA Network series "Burn Notice," is slated to begin early next year. Hanks recently did a character arc on AMC's "Mad Men," and his feature credits include comedy "The House Bunny," "Untraceable" and "The Great Buck Howard."

Comedian Stephen Colbert and his fans will back the U.S. Speedskating team at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the talk show host  announced Monday on his show. 

U.S. Speedskating needed a backer after this month's collapse of DSB Bank, a Dutch company that had sponsored the athletes, and Colbert wanted to help the team compete at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, which are just over three months away.

"We must ensure that it is America's 38-inch thighs on that medal platform," Colbert said in a statement on Tuesday.

During Monday's show, Colbert signed a document on his desk making The Colbert Nation sponsors of the team as his in-studio audience cheered. An image was then shown of a U.S. skater with The Colbert Nation logo on his outfit. Colbert is asking his fans to donate to the cause online through his website, colbertnation.com.