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Monday, Jan. 16 Sarah Paulson; Corey Stoll; musical performance by Nick Grant with WatchTheDuck Tuesday, Jan. 17 Billy Eichner; Mel B.; Gilbert Gottfried Wednesday, Jan. 18 Rachel Bloom; Louie Anderson Thursday, Jan. 19 Johnny Galecki, from the CBS comedy series “The Big Bang Theory”; Idina Menzel; musical performance by BASH & POP Friday, Jan. 20 Jim Gaffigan; Cristela Alonzo; musical performance by The Avett Brothers

1/16/17: John Hodgman, Eugene Mirman, Josie Long 1/17/17: Rory Scovel, Megan Gailey, Jak Knight 1/18/17: Erin Gibson, Bryan Safi, Judah Friedlander 1/19/17: Brian Posehn, Dave Anthony, Stephanie Simbari

Thursday's episode was just a black hole of unfunniness. The only amusing thing was Chris's text from his wife asking him what pegging was. (I believe Dan Savage actually coined that term.)

There was a really good segment called "White Plight" that did not make the show. (Maybe they had to cut it when the pee scandal broke?) It's on YouTube:

1/16: ACT 2 – David Fahrenthold (Political Reporter, Washington Post) ACT 3 – Bryshere Gray (Actor – promoting “Empire” & “The New Edition Story”) 1/17: John Zimmer (Co-Founder and President of Lyft) 1/18: Samantha Power (U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations) 1/19: ACT 2 - Scott Conroy (Co-creator & Executive Producer of "Embeds" on go90) ACT 3 – James McAvoy (Actor – promoting movie “Split”) 1/20: Joy Reid (MSNBC Political Analyst & Host of “AM Joy” and co-editor of book “We Are The Change We Seek”)

Also, because Miscavige is so paranoid, there's no line of succession or second-in-command. He doesn't allow anyone else to hold power because he worries they'd stab him in the back. The nominal "president" of Scientology, Heber Jentzsch, has reportedly been held prisoner in the Hole. It wouldn't surprise me if Miscavige's non-Scientology lawyers (like Monique Yingling) know a lot more about what's going on in the upper echelons, including where all those billions are being held, than anyone in the "church."

The reason Mike calls Monique Yingling "Muffins" is because on the earlier 20/20 (the one promoting Ron Miscavige's book), she brought a basket of muffins and breads "as edible proof" of how great the food is at Scientology's Gold Base. She also called it "a worker's paradise." You can see for yourself on YouTube just after the 17-minute mark.

There's strong evidence that David Miscavige is a drinker. Marty Rathbun once commented about how he drinks whiskey every night. (Here's the reference - with bonus Tom Cruise content.)

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if an cable or satellite TV channel aimed specifically at stoners launched in the not too distant future. Maybe they'll poach "Doug Benson's High Court," and buy the rights to all the Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar movies. (I actually think Doug Benson is often pretty funny on "@Midnight," it's just that he is on there WAY too often for my tastes.)

I think the show's going to stay where it is for a while, because Comedy Central obviously has no idea what else to do with the 11:30 time slot. Larry Wilmore's show didn't work out (ratings-wise, anyway), and I can't imagine Doug Benson's stoner Judge Judy act is going to be a big mainstream success. I suspect Chris will find a way to do the show no matter what else he has going on, kind of the way Joel McHale stuck with "The Soup" throughout the run of "Community" and his film roles (until E! finally pulled the plug).

My husband and I happened to watch Wednesday and Thursday's shows one right after the other, and were commenting on Chris's clean-shaven appearance on Wed. and his facial hair on Thurs. Then I happened to notice that Chris was co-hosting "Live with Kelly" (taped in N.Y.) three days this week. I'm guessing that they taped all of this week's shows well in advance, to give Chris the opportunity to do the "Live" gig and promote his OTHER game show, "The Wall." That would also explain why there weren't really any topical segments.

Really interesting piece on Tony Ortega's blog today, and it mentions the issues surrounding young Sea Org members that have come up a few times in conjunction with the Aaron Smith-Levin episode:

1/9: Susan Goldberg (Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic magazine) 1/10: Aasif Mandvi (actor – promoting Netflix series “Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events”) 1/11: Jonathan Chait (New York Magazine columnist & author – promoting book “Audacity”) 1/12: TBD

I stopped watching late-night shows for a while after the election, but I guess I'm back now. Th 1/5: Affion Crockett, Amanda Seales, Marcella Arguello Mo 1/9: Betsy Brandt, Thomas Sadoski, Dan Bakkedahl Tu 1/10: Katie O'Brien, Jen Kirkman We 1/11: Rhys Darby, Matt Kirshen Th 1/12: Jamie Lee, Brian Moses Mo 1/16: John Hodgman, Eugene Mirman, Josie Long

Th 1/5: Adam Driver, Alexa Davalos, Whitney Fr 1/6: Charlie Rose, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Maxwell Mo 1/9: Billy Joel, Josh Holloway Tu 1/10: Andrew Garfield, Erin Andrews, Cage the Elephant We 1/11: Jude Law, Gabrielle Union, Thomas L. Friedman Th 1/12: Tom Selleck, A$AP Mob Fr 1/13: Cuba Gooding Jr., Rupert Friend, Gary Gulman

There is an independent Scientology facility in Haifa, Israel, called the Dror Center, which is apparently quite successful. Tony Ortega visited last year and wrote about it. Of course, the fact that they welcomed Tony in for a tour & chat shows you that it isn't exactly a typical org...!

Leah is going to be on 20/20 tomorrow, according to Mike Rinder's blog (scroll down).

Doug Benson's show is called "The High Court." It's set to premiere next month.

I guess now that Doug Benson is getting his own show at midnight, @Midnight is going to be permanently in the 11:30 slot. Hopefully that means Doug will be a less-frequent presence on @M.

1/2: DARK! 1/3: Michael Che (comedian – promoting Netflix special “Michael Che Matters”) 1/4: Omar Saif Ghobash (Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Russia & author – promoting book “Letters To A Young Muslim”) 1/5: TBA

Rinder has a conscience -- he knows he wronged others and he's spent the past several years trying to atone for it, including his participation on Leah's show (which has led to increased harassment from the "church"). I believe DM is an out-and-out sociopath with no empathy and no conscience.

I'd also add Chris Shelton's YouTube channel - particularly his weekly "Critical Q&A" series, where he answers viewers' questions about Scientology, and his "What's Wrong with Scientology" series. Also on YouTube, Tory Christman's "escape from Scientology" series is a must-listen if you're curious to find out what finally made a loyal longtime Scientologist finally leave the church and become one of its most outspoken critics. I also recommend the in-depth "Surviving Scientology" channel with Jeffrey Augustine. Jeffrey's interviews with prominent ex-Scientologists (including Ron Miscavige and many others) can also be downloaded on iTunes, Stitcher, etc.

A story about what can happen to elderly Sea Org members was covered in the Underground Bunker just a couple of weeks ago. Warning: it's extremely disturbing, even by Scientology standards.

I strongly recommend reading Marc's memoir Blown for Good if you want more info about his experiences. I read it a couple of years ago, and it's one of the most gripping Scientology books out there (and I've read a lot of 'em). Also, if anyone is wondering why more people don't just sue the "church": read up on the Laura De Crescenzo forced abortion lawsuit on Tony Ortega's blog. Filed in 2009 and still wending its way through the courts. Scientology may have fewer & fewer members, but they still have a LOT of money to spend on lawyers.

Funnily enough, before Larry Wilmore even showed up in the montage, I was thinking about how one of the shittiest things about 2016 was the loss of "The Nightly Show."