But as you know so well, I fall for the bait every time! :)

"The San Jose Mercury News is actually ......."

Actually f44, even out here in the sticks we all know about this paper, and read them on-line, where do you live? ROFLOL.......

BTW; as for Variety, who are they(?), BUT now I'm kidding too.... ;-)

Have a good one.............

ABC Sports NBA Finals Schedule

Thurs., June 9 8:30 PM ET Game 1
Sun., June 12 8:30 PM ET Game 2
Tues., June 14 8:30 PM ET Game 3
Thurs., June 16 8:30 PM ET Game 4
Sun., June 19 8:30 PM ET Game 5*
Tues., June 21 8:30 PM ET Game 6*
Thurs., June 23 8:30 PM ET Game 7*
(*If necessary)
All game of the Finals and select playoff games are available in HDTV

Last week’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted in Latest News, the first item in this thread.

Last week’s top five and bottom five network prime-time programs, by network, have been posted near the top of Latest News, the first item in this thread.

'American Idol' Is Fast Shifting Into Idle
By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Wednesday, April 20, 2005; Page C07

"American Idol" switched to autopilot last night when the judges finally ran out of things to say. The contestants were okay, each trying, with varying success, to perform a '70s dance tune. Constantine Maroulis kicked things off with a Bee Gees number that he sang in a white satin jacket and, it appeared, a hint of mascara. Great look.

Carrie Underwood went for the Head Cheerleader on Dress-Up Friday look and sang "MacArthur Park," which she said afterward was "a great song despite the words." She described it as a tune about a cake and "some old guy playing Chinese checkers," adding that she really didn't understand it but picked it because of Donna Summers or something to that effect.

We stopped listening at the "checkers" part because it was too painful.

Scott Savol -- you know, the one who was in the news for the alleged confrontation he had with the mother of his child that led to his arrest, according to news reports -- continued his Anger Tour. This week his song of choice was "Everlasting Love." Yes, Scott, we get the irony. Then he wished his mom a happy birthday. Anthony Fedorov, who promised to shake his bootay, didn't. Vonzell Solomon picked "I'm Every Woman" but got drowned by All Those Other Women singing backup.

Anwar Robinson, the only contestant who attempted a couple of dance steps during his performance, continued to get lost in the shuffle. And Bo Bice, who added dancing to the growing list of things he can't do, continued working on dragging his microphone stand around the stage, the international sign for "I'm actually a rocker, stuck in a '70s dance tune."

Meanwhile, the judges -- Randy "It Started a Little Pitchy" Jackson, Pixilated Paula Abdul and Simon "I Know Karaoke and You, Sir, Are No Karaoke Singer" Cowell -- continued to sound like broken records, which seems like a pretty bad thing for judges in a, hello, singing competition.

Randy, Paula and Simon clearly have come to think this show is all about them -- big mistake. Last night, they several times began to joke about each other, giving short shrift to the contestant who had just performed, not to mention the viewer at home. At the end of the show, when host Ryan Seacrest asked each of them, based on the performances they'd just seen, which contestant would probably go home this week, Randy said "Simon Cowell," Paula gushed that she loved them all, and Simon said "Ryan Seacrest."

These guys need a new act, and fast.

As a Ratings Edge Narrows, NBC Fires Its 'Today' Producer

By BILL CARTER The New York Times April 20, 2005

NBC dismissed the executive producer of its morning news program "Today" yesterday, acknowledging that it was concerned about its rapidly diminishing ratings advantage in the lucrative area of morning television.

A senior NBC News executive said NBC dismissed the producer, Tom Touchet, who had held the post since November 2002. He is the third executive producer forced off the show since January 2001. In those years, the program's once-dominant lead over its morning news rival on ABC, "Good Morning America," has shrunk to 350,000 viewers in the last week measured from a high point of over 2 million viewers.

The NBC News executive, who asked not to be identified because no official announcement will be made until today, said: "Let's be honest, we don't like to see numbers that are that low. We don't like that the gap is getting smaller."

Mr. Touchet had left the office yesterday and could not be reached.

The "Today" show's command of the morning news ratings is crucial to NBC because it is by far the most profitable show in television, bringing as much as $250 million a year.

The network will name a successor today. One name that has emerged is Jim Bell, who has been a producer in NBC Sports. He may work as executive producer under Phil Griffin, now a news executive at MSNBC, as the executive in charge of the broadcast.

Mr. Touchet joined NBC from ABC where he had been a producer for "Good Morning America." He succeeded Jonathan Wald, who lasted 16 months in the "Today" position. Michael Bass had a six-month tryout before he was passed over for Mr. Wald.

None of the three was able to measure up to the record posted by Jeff Zucker, who, during two tenures on the broadcast, led it to its biggest ratings leadership and profits. Mr. Zucker is now the president of NBC-Universal Television.

New day dawns for NBC ayem
Griffin gets top job as of 'Today'

By MICHAEL LEARMONTH variety.com

NEW YORK -- NBC removed "Today Show" executive producer Tom Touchet on Tuesday after watching its most profitable program lose ground against ABC's "Good Morning America."

Phil Griffin, VP of primetime programming at MSNBC, will become VP and executive-in-charge of "Today." NBC sports producer Jim Bell will be executive producer of the show. Touchet will stay at NBC. "After (he takes) some well earned time off, I'll be talking to him about other opportunities at NBC News," NBC News prexy Neal Shapiro said.

Numerous published reports in recent months have indicated "Today Show" host Katie Couric and Touchet didn't see eye-to-eye, although the Peacock has always brushed off such claims. While Touchet has his base of support, some insiders have also faulted him for his leadership skills, noting that Griffin, by contrast, is well-loved by people at MSNBC.

Touchet has held the job since November 2002. All of "Today's" marquee talent -- Couric, Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Ann Curry -- is expected to remain. The show has held the morning-news crown for the past nine years, but recent ratings trends have headed in the wrong direction. Its lead over "GMA" has narrowed to an average of 662,000 viewers this season, down from 1.3 million a year ago. Two weeks ago, the gap had shrunk to 350,000 viewers.

"Today" is said to be a volatile place backstage. One gossip column report a few weeks ago had Touchet slamming a glass door there with such force it shattered.

NBC Universal Television Group prexy Jeff Zucker is a former executive producer of "Today."

"GMA" has had help from ABC's resurgent primetime this season. Cast from the net's hit "Desperate Housewives" made regular appearances on the show on Mondays during February sweeps.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Sweeps: Fox will always have Paris
Net putting 'Simple' up against 'Apprentice'

By JOSEF ADALIAN, MICHAEL SCHNEIDER variety.com

Fox is hoping Paris Hilton can trump the Donald during May sweeps, while CBS is putting its Martha Stewart telepic on hold until next fall.

As the nets continue to make last-minute sweeps sked shuffles, Fox has opted to put original episodes of Hilton's hybrid laffer "The Simple Life" on Thursday nights for three weeks, starting April 28. Original segs will air at 9 p.m., with repeats at 9:30 p.m.

Move pits "Simple Life" against the final episodes of Trump's "The Apprentice," not to mention CBS' top-rated "CSI." It also means the remaining die-hard fans of "Tru Calling" will have to wait a while longer for the show's series finale, since Fox is cutting short "Tru's" six-episode run by one week.

Fox plans to air an "American Idol" special on the final Thursday of sweeps (May 19). Hour will feature the "best" of the worst singers from various international incarnations of "Idol."

CBS, meanwhile, has shuffled two of its highly anticipated May sweeps longforms: "Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution" will now air Wednesday, May 25, opposite the season finales of "American Idol" and "Lost."
A tall order -- but Eye execs figured the movie would fare better there than in its original slot (Sunday, May 22, against the season ender of "Desperate Housewives").

The "Amber Frey" shift knocks out the unauthorized Martha Stewart telepic, "Martha: Behind Bars," which was originally slated for May 25 (Daily Variety, April 15). CBS will save "Martha: Behind Bars" for fall, when the net hopes to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the launch of Stewart's daytime talker and her edition of "The Apprentice."

As for May 22, CBS will stand down opposite what will likely be a hugely rated "Housewives" finale, airing repeats of "CSI" and "CSI: NY."

Tuesday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News, the first item in this thread.

About the Idol article,

I normally watch Idol, but the judges last night were just no good. I guess I'll keep watching, but I agree with the critics, when night even Simon could say who should go home, it just put a miserable coda on the show.

I think AI needs to change up the order of the judges each week, rotate them, shuffle, something.

It goes like this:

Randy: "What's up dawg, welcome back."
Paula: "I want to hug you."
Simon: Boos drown out whatever he says as Paula interrupts him.

Paul

Save Our Shows

(Marc Berman’s Mr. TV Column at Mediaweek.com)

As we inch closer to upfront season and the fall 2005 prime-time schedule announcements, busy network executives may want to change their e-mail addresses as worried fans campaign to save their favorite "on the fence" series. Just last week, Mr. TV was flooded with e-mails from concerned viewers, which included comments such as: "Will NBC renew my favorite show, American Dreams, for a fourth season?" "Is there hope for Joan of Arcadia?" "Do you think HBO will pick up Arrested Development if Fox cancels it?" "Can we start a campaign to save 8 Simple Rules?" "Why did Fox bury Bernie Mac on Friday, and now remove it from the schedule?" "Please tell me Veronica Mars is coming back. It's the best show on television- even better than Buffy!"

"Is there anything you can do to help, Mr. TV?" pleaded one concerned reader. "You should really start putting your influence to better use," suggested another.

While I certainly don't have the power to renew, or cancel, any series (one angry network executive did actually accuse me once of trying to kill one of his shows), the one thing I can do is offer some advice should one of your favorite small-screen pastimes face the chopping block. Considering that shows like Baywatch, Fame, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, It's a Living, Too Close for Comfort, Punky Brewster and The Paper Chase proved there is first-run life after network cancellation, it can't hurt to think about alternatives.

Here is one suggestion, from freelance New York Post and Advocate columnist Michael Giltz, on how to save NBC's American Dreams:

"Wouldn't it be great if American Dreams was picked up by cable network BET and the emphasis of the show shifted? One of the great strengths of American Dreams is the Walker family, arguably one of the most complex, rich and well-acted depictions of an African American family ever seen on television. I don't have to point out how rare black roles are in prime time outside of neutered authority figures. For the first time in history, we could see a drama from the other side, with the secondary characters suddenly taking center stage and the main characters, the Pryors, continuing on with their lives in supporting roles."

Although my first thought for the female-skewing American Dreams was either Lifetime, The Hallmark Channel or, perhaps, Oxygen or WE, BET could certainly make noise with this little show that never could on NBC.

BET would also be a good home for Bernie Mac, which in four seasons on Fox has aired on four nights (and a staggering 16 different time periods)—if it had the programming funds needed to keep it alive. The same could be said for UPN's Kevin Hill with Taye Diggs. That's a big if, unfortunately.

Another feel-good drama that is getting bad numbers is CBS' Joan of Arcadia, which even God alone may not be able to save at this point. Since the audience is mainly female, Lifetime seems like the ideal fit. If not Lifetime, then the older-skewing Hallmark Channel should consider stepping up to the plate.

Although the concept of first-run weeklies is becoming extinct, a core favorite like the WB's Summerland could be just the show syndication needs to rejuvenate the once-prosperous genre. Remember how well the similar Baywatch did after NBC canceled it after one season in 1989-90? Not only did it survive, it lasted for another decade.

Sadly for some, more than two dozen off-network comedies grasping for an audience in syndication means that keeping modest-performing comedies like 8 Simple Rules and Less Than Perfect alive in first-run syndication is unlikely. There is simply no room. But to the readers worried about Veronica Mars, you can relax. UPN has renewed the critically acclaimed but low-rated freshman drama for the 2005-06 season.

As for Fox's universally acclaimed𠅋ut minimally sampled𠅊rrested Development, assuming HBO will stick with its own original concepts, Comedy Central is the next best thing. In the world of network series, it isn't necessarily over after the first ax swings.

For 'House,' 'Idol's quite the remedy
Cranky doctor mystery up 30 percent since March
By Diego Vasquez medialifemagazine.com

When Fox’s “House” launched earlier this year, it had the unenviable task of leading out of the bomb “The Rebel Billionaire.” Accordingly, the show averaged just a 1.7 rating among viewers 18-49 over its first seven episodes.

Then “House” acquired “American Idol” as its lead-in and started to climb. Tuesday night it maintained its peak, averaging a 6.5 overnight 18-49 rating. That’s a full 30 percent higher than the 5.0 the show averaged the first time it followed “Idol,” back on March 15.

Tuesday night’s average is also 38.3 percent higher than its previous season-to-date average, a 4.7, which includes a few low-rated reruns.

The show’s average last night was slightly lower than the 6.6 rating it averaged last week, but not significantly. “Idol” has done a good job of helping “House” find and build an audience, and it appears the show will settle in that mid-6.0 range.

Last week the show was No. 8 among viewers 18-49.

This is almost too ridiculous to comment on, If ESPN passes its cost of Monday Night Football to cable and stellite and back to the subscribers, well you know where they can shove their box.

TV Guide: “Tru Calling” Pulled
TVGuide.com--- TRU BLUE: As if those crazy Tru Calling fans haven't suffered enough at the hands of Fox, the network has decided to pull the serial thriller off the air after this Thursday's episode — effectively cheating them out of seeing the show's sixth and final original installment. Adding insult to injury, Fox is replacing next week's Tru finale with The Simple Life: Interns! I'm beginning to think someone at Fox really hates Eliza Dushku.

I'm never sure if I should reply here, or in new topic specific threads....

ESPN $$$:
I'm not a sports fan, so what I'm forced to pay for ESPN bugs me. I assume ESPN would never allow themselves to be sold a-la-cart. I have no idea how far it would have to go before anyone becomes brave enough to drop them (didn't Charlie Ergen come close once?).

Joan of Arcadia: Enjoyed the first season, am bored by the 2nd. Used to be about God's strange requests to Joan and the rippels created. Now it's an adolescent Joan/Adam soap opra. If they can't get it back to it's roots, let it die.

Kevin Hill: I'll miss it if it goes.

Enterprise: The Xindi season was great. This season is back to unconnected fluff. I'm ready to let it die too.

Tru Calling: Why the heck did they bother putting it back on? Couldn't they at least show the finale during some late night hours (or do they then have to pay the actors)?

I'm a little confuesed by the "Upscale Viewer Ratings". NBC looks great. "American Dreams" is #16. If this actually translated into $$$, why is it on the chopping block?

Feel free to post here, David.
Over the past eight months we have covered all these topics from time to time.

I agree with you on ESPN: it seems to me that if you don't watch the ESPN channels you shouldn't be forced to pay for them.

You and I agree entirely on Joan.

I haven't seen Kevin Hill.

I am not a sci-fi fan, so I rarely have seen Stark Trek: Enterprise.

And knowing the number of Tru Calling episodes had been cut back drastically, (and the show's premiere delayed for six months) I never bothered to watch. No sense in getting attacked to something after the plug has been pulled.

Regarding the upscale viewers: Sadly, even though "American Dreams" ranks relatively well, the pure number of viewers is pretty low. And its overall rating tends to hurt NBC both in lead-in terms, and in total weekly viewership.

"As if those crazy Tru Calling fans haven't suffered enough at the hands of Fox, the network has decided to pull the serial thriller off the air after this Thursday's episode......"

This sucks the big one! None the less thanks for the truth on this issue, I was expecting all six (6) shows (put to D-VHS) full well knowing it was over, Guess I'll wait for them (FOX) to relase the DVD box set of all six shows! NOT! I read you don't like SciFi, that is all OK by me, as I can't stand any ball sports! Like most other thing YMMV.

Again thanks for the heads up!

YMMV indeed, mikey p.
And just because I am not a sci fi fan doesn't mean I won't post info regarding sci fi shows here.

Some cable ratings:

thefutoncritic.com-- KOJAK (USA)/ THE SHIELD (FX) - 3.26 million viewers watched "Kojak's" most recent installment on Sunday, including a solid 1.2 rating/3 share in adults 18-49. Meanwhile, "The Shield" served up 2.95 million viewers for its Tuesday, April 12 airing with a 1.4 rating/4 share among adults 18-49.

Originally posted by mikey p
"As if those crazy Tru Calling fans haven't suffered enough at the hands of Fox, the network has decided to pull the serial thriller off the air after this Thursday's episode......"

This sucks the big one! None the less thanks for the truth on this issue, I was expecting all six (6) shows (put to D-VHS) full well knowing it was over, Guess I'll wait for them (FOX) to relase the DVD box set of all six shows! NOT! I read you don't like SciFi, that is all OK by me, as I can't stand any ball sports! Like most other thing YMMV.

Again thanks for the heads up!

It seems like they might show the final one after May sweeps, but who knows. They also pulled the "season finale" of Kelsey Grammer Presents The Sketch Show for a rerun of Stacked. The "season finale" of Sketch wasn't even the last episode; it was episode 5 of 6. Ugh, FOX.

Abdul says odd behavior not drug-related
By César G. Soriano, USA TODAY

American Idol judge Paula Abdul, responding to questions about her erratic behavior on the hit Fox talent show, says she is suffering from a rare neurological disorder and does not have a drug problem.

"Drugs? I'm not addicted to pills of any kind," Abdul says in the new issue of People magazine (on newsstands Friday).

Abdul, 42, says she has been battling chronic pain that began after a cheerleading accident at age 17 left here with an injured disc in her neck.

The pain got worse after "a couple of car accidents" in the 1980s and a plane crash in 1992, which led to seizures, bulimia and depression, she says. In search of relief, Abdul had 12 operations and used medications she says left her so "loopy" that she chose to live with the pain.

The turning point came last summer, she says, when she began taking Enbrel, an anti-inflammatory drug normally used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

A spokeswoman for the drug says it does not have psychological side effects.

In November, Abdul says, she was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (aka Complex Regional Pain syndrome), a chronic neurological disorder that causes severe, debilitating pain. It affects 500,000 to 1 million Americans and is more prevalent in women, according to the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association.

The disease is treatable and usually involves physical and sometimes psychological therapy, says Norman Harden, director of the Center for Pain Studies at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. "People can do well and get on with their lives."

Abdul says she kept her condition secret from her fellow Idol judges but decided to go public after reading message boards about her behavior on and off the set.

"Between getting up and dancing at the drop of a hat, and her refusal to let Simon (Cowell) finish a sentence ... she's become both distracting and annoying," says Idol fan Steve Walker of Memphis.

Abdul says she is now pain-free, and her happy-go-lucky demeanor is proof of how good she feels.

"If people only knew what I've gone through with pain and pills. I'm dancing for joy at the fact that not even a year ago I was in so much pain I could barely get up," she tells People.

Last month, she was sentenced to two years' probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of hit-and-run driving.

Idol producers and her castmates declined to comment on Wednesday.

"It was getting ugly with the lies people were saying," Abdul tells Entertainment Tonight in an interview airing today and Friday. "It was time to set the record straight. I want America to know that I have never been addicted to anything, no chemical dependency, nothing for recreational purposes."

The Hollywood Reporter Dialogue: Dawn Ostroff
president, UPN

The Hollywood Reporter: You've had an eventful season, with more critical acclaim than ever before for new dramas "Veronica Mars" and "Kevin Hill," but you've had a hard time drawing viewers to them. Has that affected your approach to development this year?
Dawn Ostroff: What we've tried to do is find things, first and foremost, that are quality material. We always let the material drive us. We look for a whole range of things -- some things that feel different and fresh, some things that feel down the middle but with some unique twist to it, some things that feel very commercial but with a unique flavor to it. We cover our bases in all different directions. First and foremost, we want to appeal to 18- to 34-year-olds with a skew toward women.

THR: What do you think is appealing to that demo right now?
Ostroff: You never know what's going to strike a chord. There are certain traits that we look for. We make a point to listen to our viewers to find out what our young audience is excited by, what they are interested in. You never know what you're going to hit on. As much as we try to make (development) a science, you always know it's unpredictable. It's always a combination of quality, working with great talent and having brave executives and all people on the project be A-plus. At the end of the day, a lot of it is about luck, having all the development stars and the series stars all aligned in the right place.

THR: After a year of shake-ups at the networks, you're now the longest-serving programming chief among the six broadcast nets. What do you think are your biggest accomplishments of the past three years?
Ostroff: Working on the brand. Bringing in the talent and the quality of the projects that we have. And for the (creative community), the fact that we are very focused on who we are and who we're going after is very good. People always tell us that it's nice to have clarity and to know what we're looking for.

THR: Has it been harder to attract top talent this year with "Mars" and "Hill" struggling? Was it hard to see those shows get off to slow starts after the kind reception they got from critics?

Ostroff: It is hard. We're realistic, and we understand that there are certain expectations that have to be managed. When CBS was starting to turn the network around, "(Everybody Loves) Raymond" didn't open big. "Seinfeld" didn't open big. We're building this network brick by brick. It's not going to happen overnight. It's very important for us to have laid the groundwork to show that we can do quality programming here. Now it's just about standing strong, adding to that list of shows, and eventually viewers are going to come. People (in the industry) take us much more seriously. Our brand is focused, our flow is better -- we're going to get there. Hopefully, with some of these pilots we can really solidify what we've got here. Also, we don't make a lot of pilots. You've got better odds of getting on the air if you develop with us. All of our focus is on these few things. That's what worked for us this past year.

THR: How many new shows do you expect to pick up?
Ostroff: We don't really know yet. We've announced that "Star Trek: Enterprise" is not coming back. That's at least one hour that we'll need to fill. That's part of why we have such a wide range of development this year.

THR: Are you considering any major changes on Monday? You've long had comedies on that night, but they've all taken a big ratings hit this season.
Ostroff: It's too early to tell. Clearly, Monday is a night that has really worked for us in the past. This year we were shocked. We've never seen an entire night where all the shows are down by the same percentage. Clearly something is going on. We're still proud of our Monday night block. We're still happy with the creative direction of the shows. As far as the ratings, we really do believe it's (partly) a Nielsen issue, and we're working with them to understand what's going on.

Published April 13, 2005

Revealing starts, stops
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

•Ratings revelation. NBC got some sorely needed good news with the premiere of supernatural religion thriller Revelations, which averaged 15.6 million viewers Wednesday, a 40% jump from the season average of The West Wing in that time slot. Better yet, Law & Order (16.9 million) built on that momentum, earning its best numbers since September's season opener.

•Will Stacked stick? Another late starter, Pamela Anderson's Stacked, opened with a just-OK 8.3 million viewers; after the credits rolled, Fox tripled that audience for its American Idol results show.

•Grey matter. ABC's Grey's Anatomy continued its climb, setting a new record with 19.2 million viewers Sunday, and retaining 76% of the big 25.3 million tune-in for Desperate Housewives.

•Extreme rip-off. NBC's Home Intervention special Sunday averaged a piddling 4.1 million viewers, a third of the audience for a repeat of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

•Bluths bow out. The season finale of Fox's Arrested Development drew 6 million viewers, a modest uptick from recent weeks but only slightly ahead of its season average.

•Ending on a low note. Finales for two more comedies with uncertain futures were less encouraging: Friday's farewells for ABC's 8 Simple Rules (5.3 million) and Less than Perfect (4.7 million) marked series lows for both.

•Ugly numbers. NBC's Miss USA beauty pageant Monday tumbled 38% from last year, to 8.1 million viewers. That's the smallest turnout since CBS' final year with the pageant, 2002, when it aired on less-viewed Fridays.

•Music couldn't be saved. VH1's Save the Music, an all-star benefit, sank with just 727,000 viewers Sunday. Sibling channel Country Music Television did better with its own CMT Music Awards special Monday, averaging 2.9 million viewers.

•Evil weed. Pay-cable's Showtime can't catch a break: On the heels of Fat Actress' ratings tumble, a lavish musical adaptation of cult anti-pot propaganda film Reefer Madness was snuffed out Saturday with a measly 163,000 viewers.

FWIW, I watch Kevin Hill and think its pretty decent. And I guess I don't understand what UPN is going to have in the pipeline that'll do better. Kevin Hill is in a brutal time slot. Why was it left there to duke it out with other "adult-oriented" fare like West Wing, Jack & Bobby and -- as of January -- American Idol and Alias?

I realize that none of those shows besides Idol is a blockbuster, but to the extent Kevin Hill was going to be the breakout hit that UPN wanted, it was going to have to build a slightly sophisticated audience -- the show has comic moments, but it's a bona fide drama -- and that audience had returning shows (even if they aren't what they were) in West Wing and Alias and a new thinking-person's show in Jack & Bobby. Add in the mega-juggernaut Idol and of course people aren't watching.

It's not like any other show is being watched on UPN for people to even know about what they're showing. It seems worthy of renewal and maybe being paired on the same night as Veronica Mars. Call it "The Night UPN Puts on Shows That are Actually Good and You Might Want to Watch Us" and promote the damn thing on CBS or MTV or one of you're many fellow corporate properties.

Originally posted by f44
Revealing starts, stops
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

�Evil weed. Pay-cable's Showtime can't catch a break: On the heels of Fat Actress' ratings tumble, a lavish musical adaptation of cult anti-pot propaganda film Reefer Madness was snuffed out Saturday with a measly 163,000 viewers.

Was this that bad? I think our local access channel gets more viewers...:D

Still would have liked to see the final episode of Tru....

Paul

Originally posted by rogo
It's not like any other show is being watched on UPN for people to even know about what they're showing. It seems worthy of renewal and maybe being paired on the same night as Veronica Mars. Call it "The Night UPN Puts on Shows That are Actually Good and You Might Want to Watch Us" and promote the damn thing on CBS or MTV or one of you're many fellow corporate properties.

I agree. My SM and I talk all the time about Kevin Hill and VM's ratings. We both believe it's a time-slot issue with both shows. If I called the shots, I would have scrapped the Monday Night Comedies and put KH and VM on Monday.

Even better, I'd put them on Sunday nights.

Edit:
To be more specific, I think Veronica Mars would do well going up against Cold Case. And Kevin Hill would do good against Boston Legal. Hmmm, got an hour to fill in-between.

Wednesday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

The WB in May: Programming Items of Note

With the start of the May sweep just one week away, here is what you will be seeing on the WB:

Season Finales:
Jack & BobbyWednesday, May 11, 9 p.m. ET (could be the series ender)
Gilmore GirlsTuesday, May 17, 8 p.m. ET
SmallvilleWednesday, May 18, 8 p.m. ET (90-minutes, and featuring 8-minutes of footage from upcoming theatrical, Batman Begins.
What I Like About You: Friday, May 20, 8 p.m. ET (could be the series ender)
Reba: Friday, May 20, 9 p.m. ET
Charmed: Sunday, May 22, 8 p.m. ET
7th Heaven: Monday, May 23, 8 p.m. ET
Everwood: Monday, May 23, 9 p.m. ET
One Tree Hill: Tuesday, May 24 (two hours)

Big slump for NBC's 'Revelations'
End-of-days miniseries fades in second outing
medialifemagazine.com

Last week, for part one of NBC’s “Revelations,” 15.6 million total viewers tuned in as the show grabbed a 10.1 household rating, No. 13 on broadcast for the week. The show was also No. 12 for the week among 18-49s, with a 5.2 rating and 6.7 million viewers, pretty good considering it went head-to-head with a super-sized version of Fox’s “American Idol” results show.

On Wednesday night NBC aired part two of the miniseries and witnessed significant slippage. The hour-long episode averaged 11.5 million viewers in its 9 p.m. timeslot, down 26.3 percent versus last week’s viewer total. It also posted a 7.6 household rating, according to Nielsen overnights, down 24.8 percent compared to last week, and a 4.5 rating among 18-49s, a 13.5 percent tumble.

Making the matter more concerning for NBC is the fact that Fox’s “Idol” results show was only 30 minutes long last night, with the poorly reviewed “Life on a Stick” following at 9:30 p.m.

Originally posted by fredfa
On Wednesday night NBC aired part two of the miniseries and witnessed significant slippage. The hour-long episode averaged 11.5 million viewers in its 9 p.m. timeslot, down 26.3 percent versus last week’s viewer total.

Having the first 15-20 minutes in windowboxed SD didn't help any. Had the HD not been restored at the first commercial break, I was prepared to pass on the rest of the mini series. This is one of those shows that I would pass on, if not for the TiVo.

Deloitte: TV Nets Obsolete
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

It was only a couple of days ago that Sam Donaldson told a National Association of Broadcasters crowd that network news is dead. Now it seems that the whole network model may be pushing up digital daisies.

TV networks are threatened with extension if they don't evolve quickly into something else.
That is the conclusion of the technology, media and telecommunications group of consulting firm Deloitte in a report released Thursday.

"The model of a few dominant network channels – funded by advertising – is disappearing," the report concludes, though it also says networks can adapt by evolving into "a multi-dimensional, highly adaptable, customer-focused model."

What that means is extending the brand into areas including interactivity and on-demand offerings and new distribution channels like wired and wireless networks.

That suggestion mirrored one by a Magna Global study Wednesday that pointed to the increasing delivery of TV via peer-to-peer computer networks internationally and advised that distributors need to tap into that change rather than take a purely defensive stance against it through lawsuits and court challenges.

Broadcasters have countered that they need to find better ways to protect billions of dollars worth of digital content before they start launching their livelihoods into the digital stream.

The report's suggestions include:

** Offer content across a variety of channels and platforms..
** Re-package and market content as services as well as products.
** Extend content lifespan by offering more digital content that can be easily packaged and sold or rented as DVD, VHS, memory cards, and wired and wireless electronic downloads.

That repackaging could take the form of:
** On-demand –Warehousing audio and video for web-casts, radio, mobile phones, and Video-on-Demand.
** Interactivity – Voting, purchasing, news, games, polls, comment/questions, and web-based chat.
** Events – Tie-in events like the American Idol concert series.

In essence, the report is saying, start looking more like your broadband competition or risk being buried by it.

Inside Move: ABC aiming directly at 'Idol'
ABC looks to knock hit series off pedestal
By JOSEF ADALIAN variety.com

Just in time for May sweeps, ABC News' "Primetime Live" is working on a potentially explosive expose on the Fox phenom "American Idol.”

Exact details of the report are still in flux, since Alphabet staffers are still in the process of reporting the story and vetting details. It's believed, however, that the report -- in the works for several months now -- will take a hard look at the relationship between "Idol" judges and contestants.

Depending on the final results of the investigation, insiders said ABC may air the report as a special single-topic edition of "Primetime" and make it a key, heavily hyped sweeps event. Special could air outside the show usual ultracompetitive timeslot of 10 p.m. Thursdays -- perhaps on a Wednesday night at 10.

Insiders confirm that Fox and "Idol's" producers have been contacted by ABC News reps, who've said the net is working on a story about the show. ABC hasn't asked Fox or the producers to respond to any allegations, the insiders said.

Though it may seem odd that an ABC newsmag would devote serious resources to a competing net's crown jewel, the huge ratings for "Idol" have made it fodder for numerous newsmag stories on other nets over the years. Indeed, in past seasons, "Primetime" has devoted entire hours to very flattering portraits of "Idol" contestants.

An ABC News spokesman refused comment.

Originally posted by HDTVChallenged
Having the first 15-20 minutes in windowboxed SD didn't help any. Had the HD not been restored at the first commercial break, I was prepared to pass on the rest of the mini series. This is one of those shows that I would pass on, if not for the TiVo.

I was also prepared to abandon the series if HD didn't come on after the first commercial break. But even if everyone with HD sets abandoned the series, that would have been an extremely small contribution to the lost viewership. You may not want to accept it, but HD is still a very small minority of television viewers.

Originally posted by fredfa
TV Guide: “Tru Calling” Pulled
TVGuide.com--- TRU BLUE: As if those crazy Tru Calling fans haven't suffered enough at the hands of Fox, the network has decided to pull the serial thriller off the air after this Thursday's episode — effectively cheating them out of seeing the show's sixth and final original installment. Adding insult to injury, Fox is replacing next week's Tru finale with The Simple Life: Interns! I'm beginning to think someone at Fox really hates Eliza Dushku.

Bad enough that they are pulling the last episode. But replacing it with "The Simple Life: Interns!" Well, I guess the overpaid execs at FOX must know what they are doing. Apparently, they must have market data that shows the IQ of the average FOX viewer is around 65.

Originally posted by Jerry G
HD is still a very small minority of television viewers.

Agreed, but completely beside the point I was making :D

Originally posted by fredfa
Deloitte: TV Nets Obsolete
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

In essence, the report is saying, start looking more like your broadband competition or risk being buried by it.

Gee, what a concept. I couldn't agree more with this. You want to continue to play the game? Then learn the new rules instead of having your "big brother"(govt) bully everyone else to play it your way.

Originally posted by Spit
Bad enough that they are pulling the last episode. But replacing it with "The Simple Life: Interns!" Well, I guess the overpaid execs at FOX must know what they are doing. Apparently, they must have market data that shows the IQ of the average FOX viewer is around 65.

Don't know about IQ level, but they do have ratings info:

59 Simple Life 3 FOX 6.45
...
86 Tru Calling FOX 4.26

Time Warner Cable and Comcast to Acquire Assets of Adelphia Communications
April 21, 2005

Companies Also to Swap Certain Cable Systems and Unwind Comcast's Interests in Time Warner Cable and Time Warner Entertainment Company

Transactions to Expand Both Companies' Cable Footprints and Enhance Their Geographic Subscriber Clusters, Speeding the Delivery of New Products in Areas Currently Served by Adelphia

NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA - Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) and Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:CMCSA, CMCSK) today announced that they have reached definitive agreements to acquire substantially all the assets of Adelphia Communications Corporation (OTC: ADELQ) for a total of $12.7 billion in cash and 16% of the common stock of Time Warner's cable subsidiary, Time Warner Cable Inc. Time Warner Cable and Comcast also will swap certain cable systems. In addition, Time Warner Cable will redeem Comcast's interests of 17.9% in Time Warner Cable and 4.7% in Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. (TWE) (together an effective 21% economic ownership of Time Warner Cable) in an efficient and mutually beneficial way.

http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1052294,00.html

Originally posted by Spit
Apparently, they must have market data that shows the IQ of the average FOX viewer is around 65.

You've seen FOX's lineup, right?

NBC: Pax 'Abandoning' Net Programming
By John M. Higgins Broadcasting & Cable

Ailing Pax TV will virtually cease entertainment programming and instead load its schedule with infomercials, which is drawing protests from 32%-owner NBC Universal. Paxson Communications Corp. said in a securities filing that it plans to "substantially reduce or eliminate our sales of spot advertisements that are based on audience ratings."

The company added, "We are not currently investing substantial additional amounts in new entertainment programming and are evaluating other programming strategies and opportunities that might be available to us that could improve our cash flow." The company plans to subsist primarily on infomercials, direct response and other paid programming.

That annoyed NBC, which is responsible for selling advertising on Pax TV stations in markets where they both have outlets.

"Paxson apparently intends to abandon network programming and rely primarily on infomercials, direct-response advertising and paid programming as revenue sources," NBC said in a statement.

Paxson cut approximately 50 staffers in February, with the majority of job losses coming in the Pax TV network programming side. Paxson recently lost a big fight when the FCC decided not to grant multicasting must-carry to local TV stations (Paxson has challenged that decision).

Paxson wanted the FCC to require cable companies to carry all of the programming that TV stations can offer via their new digital spectrum. That would increase the value of Paxson's mostly-UHF stations, which are widely believed to have been on the block, or near it, for some time. --John Eggerton contributed to this report.

Pax, what a disaster. It's basically a shopping network... :(

And cable and satellite companies are forced to carry those 52 stations.
Ugh.

It's still interesting to me that networks want to pit thier best shows head to head....

My Sundays are nuts with potentially 4-5 recorders running (counting HBO/Shotime). Other nights are barren. I guess they just don't want to share the pie. What if networks aired thier top shows when little else is on? Might get they a better rating and more $$$.

Can't we all just get along?

I wonder if/when PVRs will render this type of programming less effective?

Originally posted by David_Levin
I wonder if/when PVRs will render this type of programming less effective?

When the TV ratings system joins us in the 21st century;)

Nielsen promises that will be in early 2006.

Originally posted by fredfa
And cable and satellite companies are forced to carry those 52 stations.
Ugh.

That's enough to make one vomit...And Paxson is one of the guys spearheading the MC/MC thing.

Doctor dramas have a healthy prognosis
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

Medical dramas have been taken off life support. After years of failed efforts with ER the only survivor, doc dramas are back, rejoining the ranks of cop and lawyer shows — and lately, prime-time soaps — as TV staples.

Fox's House and ABC's Grey's Anatomy have become top-10 hits, ending a dry spell that followed recent-season flameouts of City of Angels, Presidio Med, MDs and Gideon's Crossing and this season's Medical Investigations and Dr. Vegas.

House and Grey's are part of a resurgence in dramas, which accounted for seven of last week's top 10 shows. And they're helped by huge lead-ins from American Idol and Desperate Housewives. But that's not the only reason for their success.

Unlike ER or onetime rival Chicago Hope, which focused on traumas at urban hospitals, House is a mystery led by a prickly doctor, and Grey's is a soap centering on the professional and personal lives of surgeons in training.

"The world of the hospital is familiar enough for everybody, but the new shows approach it from different angles than we're used to seeing," says Grey's creator, Shonda Rhimes.

Grey's medical stories serve only as a device to reflect the personal lives of the five surgical residents, she says. "Patients are almost never as important as the main characters."

House creator David Shore was interested in acerbic Gregory House, who solves diagnostic riddles while addicted to Vicodin and limping with a cane, the result of a mysterious injury.

"I knew the networks were interested in procedurals," Shore says. "But there was an awful lot (of them) out there, so we had to do almost a cop show but in a medical environment. We're looking for the bad guy, and the bad guy is a germ."

Some TV and ad executives say the pair's success is coincidence and doesn't reflect a hunger for surgical stories. "They're two good shows that worked," ABC scheduling chief Jeff Bader says. "I don't think it has anything to do with the genre."

No matter. Their success may improve chances for the four new series aiming to be tonic to lineups next season:

[B] •3 Lbs. /B] (CBS), starring Dylan McDermott as a gifted brain surgeon who might be losing his own mind.
[B] •Born & Bred /B] (Fox), about a divorced couple who remain partners in an L.A. fertility clinic.
[B] •Inconceivable /B] (NBC), another show set at a fertility clinic, starring Ming-Na Nguyen (ER).
[B] •Halley's Comet, /B] which would be WB's first medical series, described as Felicity in med school.

Why do writers like scrubs? High stakes that make viewers care about the outcome, Rhimes says. "In this career, if you have a bad day, if you screw up, you kill somebody."

CABLE NEWS RACE: WED, APRIL 20, 2005

(courtesy drudgereport.com)

FNC O'REILLY 1,995,000 [VIEWERS]
FNC HANNITY/COLMES 1,604,000
COMEDY DAILY SHOW 1,450,000
FNC GRETA 1,441,000
CNN KING 907,000
CNN AARON BROWN 652,000
MSNBC SCARBOROUGH 391,000
CNNHN NANCY GRACE 386,000
CNN ZAHN 385,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 334,000
E! JACKSON TRIAL 188,000
CNBC DENNIS MILLER 65,000

'Conan O'Brien' to Broadcast in HDTV
Starting Tuesday April 26
By Michele Greppi TVWeek.com April 21, 2005

NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" will start broadcasting in high definition starting Tuesday, April 26, when the show returns from hiatus.

"I'm really looking forward to the extra hour in the makeup chair," Mr. O'Brien joked in the announcement.

A spokesman for the show said the animation at the top of the show is being tweaked, but the change that will be most noticeable to all viewers will be the wide-screen letterbox presentation on the TV screen.

"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" made the conversion in April 1999.

I suppose Zahn and Obermann deserve props for being the only actual newscasters in this group, the rest being commentators, talk show hosts or comedians.

Originally posted by fredfa
CABLE NEWS RACE: WED, APRIL 20, 2005

(courtesy drudgereport.com)

FNC O'REILLY 1,995,000 [VIEWERS]
FNC HANNITY/COLMES 1,604,000
COMEDY DAILY SHOW 1,450,000
FNC GRETA 1,441,000
CNN KING 907,000
CNN AARON BROWN 652,000
MSNBC SCARBOROUGH 391,000
CNNHN NANCY GRACE 386,000
CNN ZAHN 385,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 334,000
E! JACKSON TRIAL 188,000
CNBC DENNIS MILLER 65,000

And there is Aaron Brown, too.

The latest on Sports technologies
http://broadcastengineering.com/newsletters/sports/20050422/#Microsoft

D'oh!

Originally posted by fredfa
And there is Aaron Brown, too.

Thursday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

(From Marc Berman’s Programming Insider column Friday, April 22nd, 2005 at Mediaweek.com)

ABC in May: Programming Notes of Interest

With the start of the May sweep just six days away, here is what you will be seeing on ABC:

Season or Series Finales:
-Supernanny - Monday, May 2, 10 p.m. ET
-Hope & Faith - Friday, May 6, 9 p.m. ET
-America's Funniest Home Videos - Friday, May 13, 8 p.m. ET (two hours)
-The Bachelor - Monday, May 16, 9 p.m. ET
-My Wife and Kids - Tuesday, May 17, 8 p.m. ET
-George Lopez - Tuesday, May 17, 8:40 p.m. ET
-According To Jim - Tuesday, May 17, 9:19 p.m. ET
-Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - Sunday, May 22, 7 and 8 p.m. ET
-Desperate Housewives - Sunday, May 22, 9 p.m. ET
-Grey's Anatomy - Sunday, May 22, 10 p.m. ET
-Lost - Wednesday, May 25, 8 p.m. ET (two hours)
-Alias - Wednesday, May 25, 10 p.m. ET

Movies:
-Sweet Home Alabama - Thursday, April 28, 8 p.m. ET
-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (R) - Saturday, April 30, 8 p.m. ET
-My Big Fat Greek Wedding (R) - Thursday, May 5, 8 p.m. ET
-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Saturday, May 7, 7 p.m. ET
-Pearl Harbor (R) - Thursday, May 12, 8 p.m. ET
-The Muppets Wizard of Oz - Friday, May 20, 8 p.m. ET
-Trump Unauthorized - Tuesday, May 24, 9 p.m. ET

Specials:
-The Bachelor: The Women Tell All - Monday, May 9, 9 p.m. ET
-Extreme Makeover: Wedding Edition - Monday, May 9, 10 p.m. ET
-Nick and Jessica's Tour of Duty - Monday, May 23, 9 p.m. ET

Sports:
-NBA Playoffs: Conference Semi-Final, Game 3 - Saturday, May 14, 8:15 p.m. ET
-NBA Playoffs: Conference Semi-Final Game (if necessary)

Guest Stars:
-Dean Cain on Hope & Faith - Friday, April 29, 9 p.m. ET
-Sonia Braga and Michael McKeon on Alias - Wednesday, May 4, 9 p.m. ET
-Bob Newhart and Lesley Ann Warren on Desperate Housewives - Sunday, May 8, 10 p.m. ET
-Stacy Keach on George Lopez - Tuesday, May 10, 8:30 p.m. ET
-Amy Irving on Alias - Wednesday, May 11, 9 p.m. ET
-Isabella Rosellini and Angela Bassett on Alias - Wednesday, May 18, 9 p.m. ET

Miscellaneous:
-According To Jim - Tuesday, May 10, 9 p.m. ET: 100th episode

Poor Dennis Miller!

Paul

Can story arc save 'Joan'?

By Bill KeveneyUSA TODAY
God has always been there for Joan of Arcadia. Whether enough viewers have been there for her show, however, is likely to determine whether it achieves TV salvation: renewal.

The CBS drama, critically praised and nominated for three Emmys in its first season, concludes its second tonight (8 ET/PT) with prospects of a third in limbo because of audience losses. The fate of Joan (Amber Tamblyn), a teen who talks to God, won't be known until mid-May, when CBS announces its fall schedule.

Creator Barbara Hall and her cast are happy with the show creatively and want a third season. Instead of wrapping up loose ends, as some shows do when renewal is uncertain, Hall last week began an ambitious story, revealing that God talks to another character, Ryan, who has dark intentions.

If the show goes forward, Joan's charge will be to battle the young man; the previous two seasons of encounters with various human-looking Gods have served as "a training camp" to prepare her for the task.

"We've learned a lot about the direction the show naturally wants to go in, a bit more dramatic, a bit more mysterious and a bit darker, because we end up dealing with issues of good and evil," Hall says.

Mary Steenburgen, who plays Joan's mother, Helen, doesn't think the new story line will dramatically alter Joan, whose appeal comes in part from her life as an average teen. "There's an excitement to what Barbara is proposing for next year, without it losing the humor and the charm," Steenburgen says.

Hall says that she isn't certain why the audience has dropped (from 10.1 million in 2003-04 to about 8 million this season) and that it's her job to write the best show she can. After learning that viewers especially liked the visits by God, Hall increased the frequency. She likes them, too.

CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler, a champion of the series, says Joan tried some small adjustments to add to its loyal core audience, such as easing off from serialized story lines. She praises Hall and the cast and expresses frustration with the ratings. A renewal decision "will come down to the wire."

Tamblyn says expectations were higher this season because of first-year acclaim. And, she says, the show veered heavily into sadness in early episodes, but now it's hitting full stride as the season ends.

"We deserve a chance for one more season," Tamblyn says. "I want it so bad I can taste it."

Encouraging words about this season
MindShare's John Spiropoulos on the year so far
By Diego Vasquez medialifemagazine.com

Out of habit, perhaps, media people are inclined to bemoan the state of broadcast television and its struggles to introduce new shows, particularly comedies, that connect with viewers. So it is interesting to read MindShare's most recent season-to-date analysis of primetime on broadcast TV. It's encouraging when it comes to this season's new shows. There's of course the success of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," but the report also notes that six of the year's top 25 shows among viewers 18-49 are new. And there's also the solid performances of such newcomers as "Boston Legal" and "House." Media Life chatted with MindShare partner and associate research director John Spiropoulos about the TV season so far, the state of broadcast TV in general, and the effect ABC will feel from losing "Monday Night Football."

Are you surprised that viewership among 18-49s is up this season?

No. Television continues to evolve and offer more niche options to the public. In addition, mass-targeted networks still deliver. What's surprising is that the broadcast networks were able to hold their year-ago audience levels, in aggregate.

Who has been the real winner this season among broadcast networks?

In terms of perception: ABC is the winner without a doubt thanks to “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost.”
However, the only network to demonstrate depth this season was CBS. ABC's success is completely tied to “Housewives” and “Lost.” Fox’s schedule without “American Idol” is limited as well. Only CBS showed near complete strength across genres and days of week. The only chink in the armor was the limited success of new series. But the network was obviously in a competitive position to get away with that for one year.

What surprised you most about your findings for the season-to-date report?

The double-digit turn-around for ABC and CBS in affluent (Household income $100K+) and younger (Head of household <35) households is surprising. This is especially the case as the majority of those gains did not come from the other broadcasters.

For the upscale viewer rankings, do you see someone overtaking NBC next season?

On a household basis (for Household income $100K+), CBS did this year (9.3 rating versus a 8.8 rating from NBC). Among affluent adults 18-49 it's a three-way race between ABC (4.2), CBS (4.1) and NBC (4.5).
Affluent viewers were the least likely to depart NBC this season. But the network is in a very vulnerable position. Short-term hopes rest completely on the success of new shows next season.
Basically, if NBC can't find a hit with new programs next fall, both ABC and CBS are in position now to take the lead.
It should be noted Fox is not competitive among affluent 18-49s (3.1 rating).

Which programs have performed above your expectations this season? Below?

“Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” were surprisingly strong given not just their fantastic debuts but mostly for their continued success during the course of the season.
The reality trio of “Amazing Race” and “Survivor” (both CBS) and Fox's “American Idol” are noteworthy. In the case of “Race,” the show finally became a hit after five editions. For “Survivor” and “Idol,” the fact that both series have maintained so much of their prior year viewers is impressive.
Also on the list: WB's fifth year turn-around success of “Gilmore Girls” and Fox’s new series “House,” which is building nicely this spring after horrible numbers pre- “Idol”.
NBC's “The Apprentice” continues to decline. ABC's “Alias” is also pretty disappointing given that it has such a strong lead-in (“Lost”). CBS’ “Joan of Arcadia” had a very disappointing season.

It looks like it will come down to Fox and CBS in the race among viewers 18-49. What does each network have to do to end the season in the top spot?

I don't really think it matters. All four networks are bunched so closely this year that it's hard to use words like "first" and "second," etc.
The important issue is whether the networks can maintain their current results through the end of the season.
Fox’s results are dependent on “Idol,” which appears to be going strong. CBS should finish well given the amount of original episodes remaining from regular series. The end result is that it will be close with marginal differences separating the networks.

How much do you think NBC’s primetime slide has affected the rest of its schedule?

For the most part the primetime slide changes perception of the network only. It really is a non-issue in all but late local news and late night. Then it becomes a 10 p.m. hour time period lead-in issue.
However, the problem this season is all broadcast dayparts outside prime on all networks, with limited exception, are experiencing general declines. It's not an NBC-only issue outside prime. Therefore, it's impossible to make such a direct corollary argument.

Why do you think dramas are so strong right now? Any comeback in the near future for comedies?

The stories in dramas simply have more emotional impact for viewers today compared to comedies.
Sitcoms became stale and dated in the '90s. Since then the networks either tried the same formula previously successful or they tried to revolutionize the genre. However, from a mass-market perspective, which is the field any BROADcaster is playing in, a third, evolutionary approach is likely best.
Also, viewer interest is cyclical. It's quite possible viewers just needed a break after the long list of sitcom successes that started in the mid-'80s. We're in the midst of a similar sitcom drought seen in the early '80's. That trough in the sitcom-cycle followed many years of success throughout the '60s and especially the '70s.
It's hard to predict a sitcom return. But it's far more difficult to think a genre that nearly defines a medium would die away. Exactly where and when, I don't know. I'm confident another sitcom hit will show up relatively soon.

As your report shows, this has been a strong year for new programs. Which do you think will continue to grow next season, and which will start to slide?

ABC's “Housewives” and “Lost” look like they'll be around for a few more years, at least. Fox’s “House” is showing signs of becoming a stand-alone hit. That will likely be tested this fall. Recent ABC debut “Grey's Anatomy” is gaining but still looks dependent on “Housewives.” CBS' “CSI: New York” is dependent on viewers not tiring of the procedural drama. NBC's “Medium” could see declines. Original episodes have been declining slightly, seasonally adjusted, this spring after a strong winter. Most importantly, it's also on a network trending down. That's not a good future indicator.

How much will losing “Monday Night Football,” and the NFL all together for that matter, hurt ABC come 2006?

The impact will obviously be felt more with male demos than among females. The network has a year to prepare, so that helps. But it should be noted that the strength of broadcast primetime is female-driven. NFL games, like most sporting events, skew roughly two-thirds male.
High-profile sporting events don't drive primetime success, directly. Has post-season baseball really helped Fox? No. Have the Olympics really helped bring viewers to NBC? Not really.
The real question: Does the NFL drive primetime success?
Look at Sunday NFL networks: Without “American Idol” Fox is, by far, fourth place this season. In fact, the NFL didn't make “Idol” a hit either. The series started in June of 2002 and has aired January through May since. That’s off-season for the NFL.
CBS is an interesting case. The network’s primetime schedule fell apart during the spring of 1995. Its rebound had already begun before NFL games returned in the late '90s. There was no causal relationship with the NFL, just coincidental timing.
As another example, NBC was a third-place network in the pre-“Seinfeld” '90s when it aired football. It also was the first place network--with a temporary setback occurring during ABC's “Millionaire” craze--until this year without football.
What is most damaging is the promotional issues ABC will face without the NFL. Unlike CBS in the '90s, however, ABC can look to corporate cousin ESPN for help.
All said, ABC will feel a pinch in the prime averages among men. Female demos will trend right along with the network's general pattern. Adult demos, therefore, will be somewhere in between.

As this season winds down, which network is looking the strongest heading into next season?

Excluding the success or failure of new series next fall: CBS, thanks to its broad-based strength.
ABC is still very dependent on “Housewives” and “Lost.” When those series are in repeats, the network drops into fourth place. Fox is in a similar position with its dependence on “Idol.” NBC, as already stated, is trending downward.

More slippage for 'The Apprentice'
Off its season average as show heads into May
By Diego Vasquez medialifemagazine.com

Martha Stewart begins her search for an apprentice this fall with a spinoff of NBC’s “The Apprentice.” But she’s not being left with much to work with in terms of momentum. Donald Trump’s version of the show continues to slide.

According to Nielsen overnights, “Apprentice” posted a 6.2 rating among viewers 18-49 Thursday night, down 6.1 percent from its previous 6.6 season-to-date average. Even though that average is solid, especially for struggling NBC, it still represents significant declines versus what the show delivered in its first two seasons.

The third season of “Apprentice” is down 14 percent from the 7.7 rating season two averaged among 18-49s, and down a steep 34.7 percent versus season one’s 10.1 average.

Last night’s 6.2 continues a downward trend for the third season of the show. It hasn’t posted a rating higher than its current season-to-date average since it brought in a 6.7 back on March 10.

It could be that people are tiring of Trump in his role as host and that Stewart will spark a revival of interest in the sliding show. But more probable, and more troubling for NBC, is that people are tiring of the concept in general, which obviously wouldn’t bode well for Martha’s incarnation of the show.

ITEM EDITED: meeting date has changed

For those of you following the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA):

According to the FCC website, there will be an open commission meeting Friday, April 29. Two of the items will deal with implementing parts of SHVERA:

- Under Item 2, "The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that initiates a prodeeding to implement new satellite broadcast carriage requirements in the noncontiguous states." (Presumably that would mean Alaska and Hawaii.)

- Under Item 4, "The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry regarding standards that allow viewers that are unserved by a digital television broadcast station to receive network programming via satellite." (Emphasis mine -- dline)

So far I haven't found any actual proposals on the FCC site.

Source: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-258326A1.pdf
___

dline posts this for information only and does not necessarily endorse any point of view contained in this post.

As we get closer to next month's fall network schedule announcements, here is a long (but fascinating) view of the future of sitcoms from Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales:

After 'Raymond,' What? The Hazy Future of Sitcoms

By Tom Shales Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, April 24, 2005; Page N01

My, what a great big tear will come rolling out of the CBS Eye on May 16. That's the night the network says goodbye to "Everybody Loves Raymond" after nine years of rollick, frolic and astronomical profit.
"Raymond" will remain a nearly bottomless oil well in syndication for years to come, of course, continuing to make Worldwide Pants chief David Letterman, star Ray Romano and "Raymond's" other producers obscenely rich.

At least we will henceforth be spared the sickening spectacle of Letterman welcoming employee Romano to Letterman's CBS "Late Show" and heaping praise on the program as if he were just an enthusiastic layman fan.

Inevitably, the demise of "Raymond" -- which is leaving mainly because Romano is tired, since its ratings are still healthy -- has to be said to signal the End of an Era. Walk the streets of Television Town these days and you are likely to be conked on the head by the remains of one ending era or another as it falls to the ground. Television is in a period of change, of massive plates shifting and realigning beneath the intricate infrastructure -- the heftiest upheaval in telecommunications since TV itself was born.

Most of the changes are technical, but content is changing too. "Everybody Loves Raymond" is the last great sitcom of its sitcom generation, the flag bearer for a style of domestic sitcom that not everybody loves anymore. It's also a form that Hollywood seems to produce with less and less inventiveness and confidence, and each year's batch of "product" is greeted by the public's extravagant shrugs. The airwaves are still full of sitcoms about funny families who live in hilarious households, but the genre has calcified -- not for the first time but perhaps, finally, for the last.

From TV's beginning, situation comedies, which had started on radio, were a mainstay if not the mainstay of prime-time programming. The classic prototype was "I Love Lucy," a weekly look at the domestic adventures of a wacky family and its subordinate satellites. In the '50s, when television overcame motion pictures as well as radio to become America's entertainment medium of choice (as well as a national boogeyman soon to be blamed for every social and political ill that came along), family-aimed sitcoms about families were the best and safest bet.

It was especially true when sponsors ran television, demanding the most innocuous and wholesome settings possible for commercials peddling soap, cereal and cigarettes. Nobody wanted shows that were "dark," at least not in this genre (the great Golden Age dramatists perpetrated plenty of brilliant darkness, but their heyday was relatively short-lived), and "edge"? Shmedge! Nobody worried about edge then.

The Nelsons and the Andersons and the Ricardos and the Cleavers lived streamlined lives uncluttered by serious woe. Father knew best, and we all remembered Mama.

Then came the '60s and the topsy-turvification of America -- and of American values reflected and shaped by television. In the '70s, the free-spirited rebelliousness and uncivil disobedience were cleverly repackaged into the safe stuff of setups and punch lines, and Norman Lear begat Archie Bunker and Archie begat Maude and Maude begat Florida, and every critic was duty-bound to write that television would never be the same -- until along came Bill Cosby and it was the same. Only different. Cosby reinvigorated the domestic sitcom by yet again reinventing it.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" is the last of its generation of pleasant domestic sitcoms, shows that depend for laughter on the audience recognizing itself, or parts of its personality, in the characters on the screen: "Oh look, that guy acts just like Uncle Harry." "Raymond" may represent not just the last of its generation, but the last generation of such shows, period, because while Ray was rolling along, a new form of television burst forth that eliminates the middlemen and lets the real people at home watch essentially real people on the screen. New kinds of images were dominating what media scholar Eric Barnouw long ago dubbed "The Image Empire." And new magical buzzwords were invented to describe this strange new TV: "unscripted," sometimes gussied up as "reality-based" or just called, with epochal inaccuracy, "reality television."

Now reality television has met the sitcom in ways that suggest neither "sit" nor "com" will ever be what it used to be again.

Reality sitcoms began auspiciously and with conspicuous cleverness in such programs as "The Larry Sanders Show," with Garry Shandling living the onstage and backstage life of a terminally needy talk show host, and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," a little bit of brilliance from "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David in which scenes are outlined and some dialogue is written in advance, while other comedy emerges through the improvisation of the stars, most notably David himself.

Both shows, conspicuously, are from HBO, whose executives encouraged the wild-eyed and the bizarre while executives of broadcast networks still demanded sitcoms basically in the traditional formats. Even those have changed, however, and "unscripted" has become a badge of comedy courage for such series as Fox's silly "Simple Life" with Paris Hilton.

You can bet that many of the funnier lines in "Simple Life" are indeed scripted -- written by a professional writer -- but the writers have been freed of the shackles of storytelling in the old, formal, beginning-and-middle-and-end sense. Every show is now free to be, in "Seinfeld's" immortal phrase, "about nothing."

More recently, Showtime introduced "Fat Actress," a reality comedy in which an enlarged Kirstie Alley stars as herself, the eponymous porker of the title who -- on the show and in parallel real life -- has turned her existence into one long infomercial extolling a weight-loss plan she's being paid to plug. Very complicated so far, and not very successful, which may be just as well considering the unsavory product-placement precedent that's being set.

Fox, oddly enough -- considering its reputation as the blue-collar home of "Married . . . With Children" and other risque vulgarities -- has occasionally in recent years come through with a truly and provocatively daring departure, the most conspicuous being that perpetual-motion machine "The Simpsons," an animated masterpiece that put yet another new face on the domestic sitcom.

In the same spirit, if hardly to the same effect, came last year's "Wonderfalls," a charming Fox comedy that folded quickly and can now be seen only on a lovingly packaged DVD collection, and a year earlier, "Arrested Development," which nobody loves but the critics and which may not be back for a third season.

We're Americans; we always want to know what's coming next. In fact that desire accelerates annually -- we must know "what's next" as soon as what was only recently "next" has come and gone, been hot and then not. What matters least is probably content; the deeper questions seem to be which avenue that content will take into American homes and heads. Cell phones are now spieling out highly abbreviated "episodes" of, say, tonight's "Desperate Housewives" -- they're promos, but they're breezily entertaining. Verizon Wireless has unveiled a cell-phone series based on the WB series "Smallville," based on the teenage Superman. Among the features: "exclusive 'Smallville' video sneak peeks" and "ring tones" of music heard on "Smallville"!
Gosh, another fabulous techno-toy that nobody needs yet thousands may crave.

Meanwhile, the omnipresent Web offers more and more opportunities for downloading TV shows as well as movies and music.

It seems a ticklish situation, this massive new distribution apparatus that could be to television what television was to the movies. Or not. Dave Chappelle, a comic skyrocket who is the most encouraging success on cable's overhyped Comedy Central channel, has been praised for the way he's used the Internet to spread the news of his show, even if that means giving large chunks of it away for free (without commercials, in other words). The theory is that the appetizers will lure viewers to the main course, and spectacular ratings for "The Dave Chappelle Show" indicate the strategy is working.

In the current Vanity Fair, critic James Wolcott, who's never seemed exactly a bundle of fun himself, laments the dearth of dazzlingly original and audacious stand-up comics on the cultural landscape. He looks in vain for a Sam Kinison (dead) or a Richard Pryor (ill) or the next Dave Chappelle, for that matter. Chris Rock, probably tied with Jerry Seinfeld as the funniest stand-up comic in the universe, spends more and more of his time making forgettable movies, so that fans have to play DVDs of his HBO specials over and over, but they're still funny the seventh or eighth time. Lewis Black is a genuinely outrageous comic and actor, a sort of Oscar Levant for the 21st century, but his output seems slight -- not enough to earn him a large spot on the laughter map.

It's logical to mention stand-ups when talking about sitcoms because nearly every stand-up who can stand up would love to land a hit sitcom of his or her own. Rare is the comedian who's not willing to risk the possible creative stasis of a sitcom rut when the reward could be the roughly half-billion dollars that both Cosby and Seinfeld are said to have raked in from syndicated reruns -- and just on the first and second passes.

One of the great things about cable is that it's multi-millennia in a Mixmaster, recorded time played back 24/7 in no particular order. As you surf from channel to channel, you also leap from year to year, decade to decade, riding a roller coaster on a Mobius strip. What the next great thing in comedy will be can't really be predicted by pulling names out of a hat, though it's always safe to look to the United Kingdom, where the BBC and the commercial networks keep creating shows that American networks then buy and try to adapt. That was the case with the gloriousness of "All in the Family" and, this year on NBC, the soggy ignominy of "The Office," which had already been available in its superior original form on the BBC America channel.

What will definitely be available virtually all the time is virtually everything -- not just TV comedy but a history of TV comedy that spills out from specialized channels and floods the streets of the city, defying attempts to categorize contemporary comedy one way or another. In their own little worlds, on small cable networks catering to female viewers, such sitcoms as "The Nanny" and "The Golden Girls" are hits again, watched avidly by viewers who may not have been born when the shows were in network first-run.
In cases like that, a dated-looking visual style or comedy style matters little; potentially almost everything old is old again.

At any given hour we can watch everything from great vaudeville clowning on Turner Classic Movies to something as cheeky and, yes, edgy as "Nighty Night," the latest thing in risky, risque British imports, all about a woman who owns a beauty parlor in the daytime and at night compulsively cheats on her husband, a man stricken with debilitating cancer. Yes, it really is a comedy.

So is life -- "the human comedy," as William Saroyan called it. Scripted or unscripted, found or lost, inspired or contrived, it -- that is, we -- will continue to be laughed at, scoffed at and shuddered at from every available angle, as the real world and the dramas reflecting it seem to grow ever darker (to the point where NBC is offering "Revelations," a superdark fantasy about the end of the world, as spooky escapist fun). We'll see us on little bitty cellular telephone screens or 70-inch living room theater screens in the near future and, in the distant future, on what's hot after what's next, via heaven-knows-what.

Don Ray, 79; Composer, Conductor Worked for CBS TV for 30 Years

From Los Angeles TimesStaff and Wire Reports


Don Ray, 79, a television composer and music supervisor who was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the series "Hawaii Five-O," died of an infection Saturday at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

Ray, a native of Santa Maria, Calif., served in the Navy during World War II and then completed a bachelor's degree in music at UCLA in 1948, becoming a teaching assistant. Three decades later, he earned a master's from Cal State Long Beach and returned to music education, creating a film-scoring program for UCLA.

From 1956 to 1986, he worked for CBS television, composing and providing music for such shows as "General Electric Theater," "Playhouse 90," "Twilight Zone," "Rawhide" and "Hawaii Five-O." He was also a staff conductor for CBS from 1959 to 1963.

In case your busy Fredfa, I checked the mediaweek site, the numbers weren't there, Zap2it though had the following article:

CBS Has Right 'Numb3rs' for Friday Win
(Saturday, April 23 08:12 AM)
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Fast National ratings for Friday, April 22, 2005
CBS came up with slightly better "Numb3rs" than NBC on Friday to win the overall ratings title, although NBC came out on top in its favorite demographic.

For the night, CBS averaged a 6.3 rating/11 share, slightly better than NBC's 6.1/11. ABC took third at 5.0/9, while FOX came in fourth with a 4.0/7. The WB's 1.9/3 was good for fifth, just beating UPN's 1.8/3.


NBC led a tightly bunched field in the adults 18-49 demo, posting a 2.6 rating in primetime. CBS, 2.4, was second, followed by ABC, 2.3, and FOX, 2.2. The WB averaged 1.2 and UPN 1.1.
"Dateline," 5.3/10, won the 8 p.m. hour for NBC over the season finale of "Joan of Arcadia," 5.2/10, on CBS. A repeat of "America's Funniest Home Videos" put ABC in third with a 4.9/9. FOX took fourth with the network premiere of the movie "Maid in Manhattan." "Star Trek: Enterprise" averaged 2.0/3 for UPN, beating "What I Like About You" and a "Reba" repeat on The WB.

CBS moved in front at 9 p.m. with "JAG," 6.5/12. "Third Watch" averaged 6.0/11 for NBC. FOX's movie improved to 4.5/8 in its second hour, taking over third place. ABC dipped to 3.6/6 with an hour's worth of "Hope & Faith." The WB moved up to fifth with "Reba" and "Living with Fran," topping an "America's Next Top Model" rerun on UPN.

At 10 p.m., CBS's "Numb3rs" scored the night's highest rating, 7.3/13. "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (6.9/12) was not far behind for NBC. ABC's "20/20" averaged 6.3/11.


Ratings information is taken from fast national data. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change.

Thanks, j_buckingham80, I slept in today.
Friday’s network prime-time program ratings have now (also) been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

We follow the network ratings on a daily basis.
But how do the cable programs do?
Here is the answer -- at least for March:

March Ratings: Top 50 Basic Cable Programs
(from cableworld.com)
Feb. 28-March 27, 2005 Ranked by Household Delivery
Rk Date Program Net Time Rating* HH(000)
1 3/20/05 Comedy Central Roast CMDY 10:00P-11:30P 4.6 4001
2 2/28/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 10:00P-11:10P 4.2 3720
3 3/8/05 Law & Order TNT 09:00P-10:00P 4.1 3610
4 2/28/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 09:00P-10:00P 4.0 3531
5 3/15/05 Law & Order TNT 09:00P-10:00P 4.0 3515
6 3/6/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:00A-10:30A 3.9 3478
7 3/21/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 10:00P-11:08P 3.9 3469
8 3/14/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 10:00P-11:09P 3.9 3449
9 3/21/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 09:00P-10:00P 3.9 3428
10 3/25/05 Kojak USA 09:00P-11:00P 3.9 3427
11 3/7/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 09:00P-10:00P 3.8 3380
12 3/19/05 Scooby-Doo (movie) NICK 08:00P-09:30P 3.8 3334
13 3/20/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.7 3317
14 3/7/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 10:00P-11:08P 3.7 3311
15 3/5/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.7 3307
16 3/14/05 WWE Entertainment SPK 09:00P-10:00P 3.7 3287
17 3/24/05 Law & Order TNT 09:00P-10:00P 3.6 3238
18 3/21/05 Mom at Sixteen LIF 09:00P-11:00P 3.6 3223
19 3/6/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.6 3217
20 3/4/05 Monk USA 10:00P-11:00P 3.6 3209
21 3/19/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.6 3182
22 3/21/05 Law & Order TNT 09:00P-10:00P 3.6 3166
23 3/20/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:00A-10:30A 3.5 3144
24 3/6/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:30A-11:00A 3.5 3137
25 3/20/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:00A-09:30A 3.5 3096
26 3/18/05 Scooby-Doo NICK 08:30P-10:00P 3.5 3095
27 3/13/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:00A-10:30A 3.5 3093
28 3/19/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:00A-10:30A 3.5 3087
29 3/19/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:30A-11:00A 3.5 3086
30 3/27/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.5 3078
31 3/12/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.5 3069
32 3/19/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30P-10:00P 3.5 3066
33 3/9/05 Law & Order: SVU USA 09:00P-10:00P 3.4 3025
34 3/26/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.4 3022
35 3/27/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:00A-10:30A 3.3 2957
36 3/5/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:00A-09:30A 3.3 2956
37 3/13/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:30A-10:00A 3.3 2954
38 3/27/05 The Mummy Returns USA 07:01P-10:00P 3.3 2947
39 3/5/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:00A-10:30A 3.3 2943
40 3/12/05 Gladiator TNT 08:00P-11:00P 3.3 2940
41 2/28/05 Law & Order TNT 09:00P-10:00P 3.3 2918
42 3/7/05 Lies My Mother Told Me LIF 09:00P-11:00P 3.3 2914
42 3/7/05 Law & Order TNT 09:00P-10:00P 3.3 2914
44 3/27/05 Law & Order TNT 08:00P-09:00P 3.3 2899
45 3/20/05 SpongeBob NICK 05:30P-06:00P 3.3 2890
46 3/11/05 Gladiator TNT 08:00P-11:00P 3.2 2886
47 3/12/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:00A-09:30A 3.2 2865
48 3/12/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:00A-10:30A 3.2 2853
49 3/19/05 SpongeBob NICK 09:00A-09:30A 3.2 2807
50 3/13/05 Fairly OddParents NICK 10:30A-11:00A 3.1 2796

Source: Turner Entertainment Research and Disney ABC Cable Networks Group, from Nielsen Media Research data.

It's time to pray for the return of `Joan'

By Maureen Ryan Chicago Tribune staff reporter April 22, 2005

It's strange to think that in a week in which the attention of the world turned to matters of faith and the election of a pope, television might lose its most spiritually focused drama.

The ratings for "Joan of Arcadia" went into a nose dive this year for reasons that are not entirely clear. Some viewers thought the drama turned too dark, but truth be told, death and tragedy were never far from the orbit of Joan Girardi (Amber Tamblyn), who had been a normal teenage girl until God began speaking to her through various human beings she encountered.

The second season of the show ends at 8 PM ET Friday on CBS, and it might not be coming back. That would be a shame.

It's true that some plots on the show have dragged this year, especially the ones involving Joan's police officer father, Will (the capable Joe Mantegna). And Joan's conversations with God, in His various human manifestations, can be alternately cutesy and cryptic. More frustratingly, the plots on the show could sometimes seem like carbon copies of one another: Joan would follow a directive from God and it wouldn't work out the way she anticipated. Like an O. Henry story, God's advice almost always contained a twist, and that in itself was pretty predictable.

Still, there's a lot to like in this worthy one-hour drama. For one thing, it doesn't always take itself seriously: "I feel like I'm in `The Exorcist,'" muttered Joan's mom, the fine Mary Steenburgen, as she unburdened her sins in a dimly lit, Gothic confessional; in another episode, a chirpy, hipster God urges Joan to take up knitting: "It's the new yoga."

More important, the show takes matters of faith seriously, and the problems faced by "Joan's" characters don't always have easy resolutions. Talking to God can be relatively easy, but, as "Joan" demonstrates, actually showing God-like forgiveness can be pretty darn hard.

Joan's mother, Helen, for example, is on a spiritual quest of her own, one that's had its shares of unexpected detours. In a recent episode, a man who had raped her 25 years before contacted her to ask for forgiveness; she told him in no uncertain terms that she hoped he'd "rot in hell." When she changed her mind and went back to see the man, who had been dying, he was already dead.

And there was no grand spiritual crisis involved when Joan's boyfriend, Adam, cheated on her, just a lot of pain. How Joan dealt with that pain and heartbreak gave the tail end of the season some welcome intensity.

Perhaps some viewers tuned out this season because the search for faith and meaning, in an often cruel and arbitrary world, is confusing and doesn't really lend itself to sexy, soapy plots, or to sweeps stunts, for that matter.

Still, the producers of the show are trying something new. Last week's episode introduced Ryan Hunter (Wentworth Miller), whom producers have compared to "a fallen angel," one who wreaks havoc on the Girardi family. In Friday's finale, Joan begins to see Hunter's true nature, and God tells her that the last two years were "spiritual boot camp," meant to prepare her for the challenges to come.

If next season is about Joan's fight with evil -- not just her struggle to be good -- the show could break through again with viewers. Let's just hope next year, if there is one, the show's soundtrack doesn't play "Sympathy for the Devil" every time Hunter appears on the screen; cheesy melodrama is not something "Joan" has indulged in very often, and now's not the time to start.

But now is the time for fans of the show to pray that CBS executives renew "Joan" for another season. Otherwise, we'll all be left wondering about the answer to the question, "What if God was one of us?"

And here are the March ratings by cable network:

Basic Cable: Prime-Time Network Ranking
Feb. 28-March 27, 2005
(from cableworld.com)
Net Cable Univ. Rating HH(000)
TNT 2.2 1978
USA 2.0 1810
NAN** 1.9 1691
TBSC 1.7 1474
LIF 1.6 1430
TOON 1.6 1425
DSNY 1.7 1407
FOXN 1.4 1256
SPK 1.4 1216
SCIF 1.2 1001
A&E 1.0 919
HIST 1.0 905
MTV 1.0 904
ESPN 1.0 883
CMDY 1.0 853
AMC 0.9 804
FAM 0.9 800
FX 0.9 767
TVLD 0.9 756
DISC 0.8 735
HGTV 0.8 734
CNN 0.8 725
CORT 0.9 720
FOOD 0.7 593
HALL 0.9 587
TLC 0.6 571
ESP2 0.6 487
APL 0.6 482
BET 0.6 443
VH1 0.5 423
LMN 0.8 362
BRAV 0.4 336
EN 0.4 336
TRAV 0.4 304
MSNB 0.3 278
TWC 0.3 276
WGNC 0.4 241
TVGC 0.3 233
HLN 0.3 232
GSN 0.4 226
NGC 0.4 220
CMT 0.3 210
SOAP 0.5 203
DHLT 0.3 197
TDSN 0.4 179
SC 0.3 174
OXYG 0.3 156
WE 0.2 137
OLN 0.2 136
MTV2 0.2 109

*Cable universe rating. **Broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.

Source: Turner Entertainment Research and Disney ABC Cable Networks Group, from Nielsen Media Research data.

Originally posted by fredfa
It's time to pray for the return of `Joan'

By Maureen Ryan Chicago Tribune staff reporter April 22, 2005

If next season is about Joan's fight with evil -- not just her struggle to be good -- the show could break through again with viewers.

Jumped the shark already ... and clearly abandons the original premise/promise of having a non religion specific Deity. This is a bad and sadly predictable route to take.

Saturday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

^^ I wont argue whether or not the show has jumped the shark or not, but I dont see the god on the show as being a religion specific deity. There is no mention of Jesus or Allah or any other various names, just "God"....theres only talk about believing in God or not, and no mention of "getting saved". If this new character was supposed to be Satan, then youd have a point, but as far as I can tell hes just some joker who has a lot of issues with God and a vendetta.

Laurie Happy Playing 'House'
By John Crook
(zap2it.com)--Hugh Laurie is a huge TV star in his native England, thanks to the runaway success of such comedy hits as "Black Adder" and "Jeeves & Wooster," among many others. As the star of "House," the medical drama that has turned into a late-blooming Tuesday hit for FOX, the 45-year-old actor has learned a belated showbiz lesson: Always read the fine print.

"I've never done that before in my life, but this is small print I would have been well-advised to read," Laurie says, alluding to the crushing work hours he is putting in as the star of a U.S. drama series. "It has come as a shock. My wife and I have been talking about where we're going to live, and we quickly came to the realization that even if everybody came to live here, it doesn't solve the problem because they still wouldn't see me for more than an hour or so a week. It's a tough business, and I'm filled with admiration for those who stick with it for a long time. I'm ready to drop, just bone-weary, although it's a great bunch of people and terrific fun to do."

From all indications, Laurie can look forward to a lot more "terrific fun" in the months to come. After a shaky start in November, when generally glowing reviews failed to draw an audience, this quirky series about a brilliant yet cranky and misanthropic physician caught fire, thanks to a powerhouse lead-in from "American Idol." Since then, the show has risen as high as No. 4 in the Nielsen Top 10.

"People don't feel we've been crammed down their throats, so to speak, thrust into their faces," Laurie says of the rapidly growing fan base. "We haven't been marketed to death, so the people who have found the show feel that they have discovered it themselves, so they own it to some degree. That's good for both of us."

Laurie modestly deflects credit for the show's success to series creator-executive producer David Shore, his team of writers, and the first-rate ensemble that includes Robert Sean Leonard, Omar Epps and Lisa Edelstein. However, it's Laurie's electrifying performance as Dr. Gregory House that drives this unpredictable series.

"Hugh simply came in and read the part far and away better than anyone else did," Shore says. "It's a really tricky, difficult role, and he could come off on-screen as just a hateful jerk. Hugh got all the nastiness -- it was all there -- yet at the same time, you came away liking him. You sympathized with him and wanted to watch him. There was a reality to it, not cartoonish."

Shore firmly felt that changing the character to reflect Laurie's British heritage would prove distracting for viewers, so the actor has had to cope with sustaining a credible American accent on top of the role's other demands.

"I feel like there is a small elf just throwing pebbles at my face, one at a time, every time I come across a word with the letter 'R' in it," Laurie says, sighing. "It's distracting and painful, and now and then, one gets me in the eye."

Still, he knows that's a small price to pay for being in a breakout hit. And in this case, success breeds more success: Multiple Emmy winner Sela Ward will appear in this season's last two episodes as a lost love from House's past and is in talks to make recurring appearances in the role next season.

Originally posted by ENDContra
If this new character was supposed to be Satan, then youd have a point, but as far as I can tell hes just some joker who has a lot of issues with God and a vendetta.

... if it walks like a duck ... :D

Sad State of Sitcoms
Raymond finale will leave big void in prime time
By Matt Roush Broadcasting & Cable

Back when the TV season started, I wrote in this space that I understood why Everybody Loves Raymond , CBS’ signature sitcom (and TV’s top-rated one), was planning to call it quits this spring. The reasoning was that it’s better to go out while the creative fires are still burning and before the masses begin howling for you to.

Now I’m not so sure. The official finale is May 16, with an hour tribute followed by, in a blessed reversal from Friends-finale bloat, one last half-hour episode. But when Raymond signs off after nine seasons—its retrospective show is prophetically titled The Last Laugh—it will be one of the most devastating nails yet to be pounded into the flimsy coffin of a once powerful and powerfully entertaining genre.

That’s because there isn’t a new commercial or critical breakthrough situation comedy on any broadcast network this season. Not one.

The polished Raymond cast and its gifted writers borrow from life to produce giant belly laughs from the most mundane- seeming of domestic family situations. Raymond is the last shining example of the classic four-camera soundstage sitcom, a throwback to TV’s earliest and most purely theatrical roots.

The simplicity and artificiality of the format (some would call it timeless; others, anachronistic) lead detractors to proclaim that the sitcom’s glory days are behind it and that a more sophisticated and jaded audience has moved on to be amused by shows with fresher approaches. Evidence: The one instant-hit comedy of any sort this season is ABC’s smart Desperate Housewives, an hour-long dark satire decked out in glossy soap-opera drag.

But if we’re to believe that viewers desire something different, how to explain the sorry predicament of the most audaciously inventive and original comedy: Fox’s loudly acclaimed but little-watched Arrested Development ? It quietly went off the air a week ago after the network reduced its episode order, seldom a sign of a long life ahead.

Then Fox, hoping to emulate or stimulate the sort of cult/fan Internet outpouring that usually greets such marginal shows, set up its own “save-the-show” Web site, asking those who visit getarrested.com to submit a pledge of loyalty. How about you first, Fox?

This, after all, is the network that recently announced the renewals of two long-in-the-tooth “youth” comedies whose clock is ticking more loudly than those digitized bumpers on 24 episodes: For no good reason, Fox is bringing back Malcolm in the Middle and That ’70s Show , a sitcom that is losing its marquee talent (Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace) to movie stardom.

Arrested Development’s predicament seems even sadder viewed against the dreadful new comedies Fox has been testing this spring. Life on a Stick is a feeble romp about slackers who peddle fast food at a mall—a sitcom that gives junk food a bad name. Then there’s Pamela Anderson in Stacked , which imagines itself to be “Cheers in a bookstore.” Of course, beautiful, buxom, cosmetically altered women can be smart, literate and funny. They also can be Pamela Anderson, who as a sitcom star is remarkably flat.

And yet, with shows like this actually on the air, Fox is still going to make us wait until May to learn if Arrested Development is spared?

Cue up that laugh track, because I feel a crying jag coming on.

Granted, Arrested Development isn’t for all tastes. But at least it has flavor.
By comparison, sit down at ABC’s sitcom buffet, if you have nothing better to do, and you’ll find it’s all the same interchangeable and irredeemable bland menu.

Arrested Development is densely plotted and layered with perversely funny gags—when, on an episode a while back, the boozy matriarch (Jessica Walter) exposed her chest, as people are wont to do on this show, the screen flashed to a ’50s test pattern. The merrily deranged Arrested Development is the litmus test for those who wish network TV could be more like HBO.

Still, few of us believe that newly installed Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori, fresh from the ballsy Petri dish of FX programming, will let the execution of Arrested Development be one of his first actions. It’s probably safe and will be allowed to struggle onward for a third year, proudly claiming title as TV’s most defiantly wacky underdog, the show viewers clamored to save.

But what of Liguori’s former colleague, Kevin Reilly, who left FX to oversee the arid wasteland of NBC’s aging, faded prime time lineup? If anyone could use some cheering up...

Having flamed out early with the costly debacle of Father of the Pride , NBC is now stuck with the brainless disappointment of Joey , the shrill & tired Will & Grace , and its own version of Arrested Development in the much admired but stubbornly low-rated hospital comedy Scrubs .

NBC’s boldest comedy move was to order a limited-run adaptation of BBC’s brilliant workplace satire The Office , hewing closely to its documentary-style look and its squirm-inducing deflation of a boob of a boss. Though miles better than last season’s botched remake of Coupling, NBC’s ambitious but woefully uneven Office lacks the nerve to be as gut-wrenchingly realistic as the British version.

Where Ricky Gervais (star and co-creator of the original), as delusional office manager David Brent, could be both shockingly obtuse and subtly, heart-rendingly pathetic, on NBC, Steve Carell (of The Daily Show) plays the lead role as a loud, obnoxiously obvious boor. He acts as if he’s in a more ordinary sitcom, hearing an imaginary laugh track in his head.

But then, you can’t really blame him. It has been a while since he has seen a good comedy on TV.

I would suggest this is not the forum to discuss religious issues -- either clearly defined or more subtle.

(I am not sure what forum is proper but I am positive that questions humans have pondered for millenia won't get answered here.)

Personally, I find it tough enough to decide if Arrested Development or American Dreams should -- or will -- get renewed for 2005-2006.

Originally posted by fredfa
I would suggest this is not the forum to discuss religious issues -- either clearly defined or more subtle.

I would agree, I was merely stating why I thought the show (Joan of A.) has veered off course.

Fair enough, HDTVChallenged.

I understand that "JAG" was never a critical favorite.
But in the early days of network HD, it regularly and consistently produced some of the most stunning pictures I have ever seen.
And for that, at least, it will be remembered -- and missed.

'JAG' Sails into the Sunset
By Kate O'Hare

(zap2it.com)--With the episode airing Friday, April 29, CBS' venerable military drama "JAG" ends its two-network, 10-season, 227-episode run. As befitting a series that served its network and fans well, the moment was prepared for.

Speaking about a week before the cancellation was announced on April 4, co-executive producer Charles Floyd Johnson says, "We wrote about three endings. I'm not sure which one's going to make it on the air. Truthfully, we have one ending that we like a lot, that I think we might go with regardless."

"JAG" -- short for the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps -- premiered on NBC in September 1995, starring Canadian actor David James Elliott as Cmdr. Harmon Rabb Jr. Forced to abandon a career as a fighter pilot because of night blindness (later corrected by surgery), he became a Navy lawyer. In season two, he was paired with lawyer Lt. Col. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie (Catherine Bell, who played a different character in a first season episode).

After one season, NBC axed the show created by Donald Bellisario, himself an ex-Marine. In swooped CBS programming chief Les Moonves, who grabbed "JAG" and installed it on Fridays as a midseason replacement in January 1997. The following fall, it moved to Tuesdays, where it stayed until the fall of 2003, when it moved back to Fridays to make room for a spinoff, "NCIS."

"In my opening days at CBS," Moonves says in a statement, "we needed to rebuild. We needed compelling, well-produced shows that would appeal to a wide audience. `JAG' was one of the first shows to fill that void. "When we moved it to Tuesday nights in 1997, it played a key role in CBS' positive sea change in the ratings war. Since then, 'JAG' has been one of the cornerstones of our schedule and a very influential part of the network's turnaround."

"We've had an amazing run," says Bellisario in the same statement, "particularly for a series that was once canceled. Over the last 10 years, we have had an opportunity to shine a spotlight on our armed forces and call attention to issues of significant importance to our country as well as the men and women who serve it. "I want to acknowledge the amazing team responsible for 'JAG,' most of whom have been with us for the entire run. The cast, writers, producers, directors, editors and crew have earned, as it is signaled in the Navy, a 'Bravo Zulu' for their outstanding work.

"We owe a special thanks to the United States Navy and Marine Corps for their cooperation, to CBS and Paramount for being great partners, and to our fans who have been waiting for nearly a decade to see if Harm and Mac get together. To them I say, 'Fair winds and following seas.'"

Regarding Harm and Mac, the same release says, "The unmistakable chemistry between them has been held at bay for professional reasons, but in the final episode, due to a bombshell dropped by Gen. Cresswell, they are forced to face those feelings once and for all."

"JAG" has experienced a ratings decline since leaving Tuesdays, where it averaged more than 13 million viewers over the 2002-03 season. At this time last year on Fridays, it averaged about 11.6 million, which dropped this year to 9.8 million. While these are not inconsiderable numbers by network terms, especially on a Friday, the difficulty for "JAG" is in who and how old these viewers are.

A good percentage of "JAG" viewers are not in the attractive 18-49 demographic -- or the even more attractive 18-34 -- that advertisers purport to love so much. Bellisario made a bid for the future and for younger viewers in March with an episode called "JAG: San Diego." It showcased a new, sunny vision for the series and the talents of recent cast addition Chris Beetem as the young hotshot Lt. Gregory Vukovic. But CBS didn't bite.

Speaking the day after shooting ended, Bell says, "If the end does come ... it's so weird. We wrapped last night, and it was sad. We were all hugging and sobbing. Last night, it was just hitting me, 'If we don't come back, how incredible.' I've spent a quarter of my life on this amazing show that did so well, a part of history. It's a great feeling.

"I actually called Les Moonves, because of how tired I was of not knowing. All the rumors started on set one day; they'd heard this and heard that. I called him, and he said, 'You know, we haven't even started looking at the new shows. We'll wait and see how they do.' If they have a ton of great new shows, then odds are we won't come back."

Only this fall's ratings will show if Moonves' gamble pays off. Fans, if they like, may now turn their attention to petitioning Paramount Studios, which produces "JAG," to put the series out on DVD. It already airs in syndication on USA Network and the Hallmark Channel.

"It's possible if the demand is great," Johnson says. "Paramount Video gets a lot of requests as well, so they know the demand for it. But whenever we send all the things over that we get from our fans, they just say, 'We're discussing it.'"

As for missing her military uniform, Bell says, "It was great wearing it, but that's one of those questions where, of course, there's mixed feelings. Of course I'll miss it. I did wear it every day for, God, nine years."

An ill-fated SOS for 'Trek'

The would-be savior of the 'Enterprise' series, who sought money for his crusade, has roiled the Trekkie universe
By Scott Collins Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 25, 2005

To some "Star Trek" fans, Tim Brazeal is an intergalactic hero, the burly, tattooed Tennessee systems administrator who has spent the past two months in a quixotic bid to save UPN's "Star Trek: Enterprise."

His website, www.trekunited.com claims to have raised $3.1 million to fund a fifth season of the science fiction series, even if Paramount Network Television, which makes the series, can't or won't. Media outlets, including Associated Press and the New York Times, have followed his quest. His only motive, Brazeal said, was to save a franchise he loved: "I've been a 'Star Trek' fan since the early '70s," he said.

And then, like a malfunctioning phaser, it all went bad. Paramount declined the funding offer. Skeptics accused Brazeal of running a scam — an allegation he vigorously denies — and heaped ridicule on his closest associates, such as "the Lobster Guy," a part-time Maryland seafood vendor who works as TrekUnited's pro bono attorney. These days, on Internet message boards, Brazeal's supporters wage nonstop verbal war with his growing legions of critics. Some are comparing TrekUnited to a cult and saying it doesn't represent the majority of Trek fans.

Now Brazeal sounds like someone who wishes he'd kept his mouth shut. "I've been taking a bashing personally on all of this," he said in a recent phone interview.

How one fan's dream ended up in this mess is a story stranger than many "Trek" episodes. But there are some larger forces at work. Some say the fundraising dust-up shows how the online world can help divide as well as unite those with shared interests.

"The Internet has definitely helped in organizing fandom," said Bonnie Malmat, manager of the fan site www.trekbbs.com who described herself as neutral in the battle over TrekUnited. But the proliferation of online forums and chats has also revealed, and sometimes aggravated, what were once passing squabbles among a few die-hards and fringe dwellers. "It's very clear there are quite a few different factions" among Trek fans, she said.

Equally important, the fate of "Enterprise" also shows how a world-famous entertainment brand can lose its cultural potency over nearly 40 years and five television series, 10 feature films that have grossed more than $1 billion and more than 650 books.

Some fans don't understand that the franchise has worn thin over time, said Brannon Braga, the executive producer of "Enterprise," who has worked on various "Trek" series for 15 years.

" 'Star Trek's' been on the air for 18 straight years, and they're disappointed to see it go," Braga said. But "it's just been around awhile, and all good things need a rest and wear out their welcome for a while."

Rallying the faithful

Brazeal's fundraising campaign started in early February, after UPN announced that it would cancel the program at the end of the season.

Brazeal, who led a similar Internet-based push last year that claimed credit in persuading the network to renew the show through this season, began assembling volunteers, many of whom he had met in online fan forums. The group's idea was to raise enough money to cover Paramount's cost of producing new episodes for a fifth season (TrekUnited estimates the studio spent about $1.6 million for each episode, although one source close to the production says the figure is closer to $2 million).

Fans opened their checkbooks. According to the group's website, more than 8,000 fans sent cash contributions totaling $144,173. TrekUnited also said it received $3 million in pledges from unidentified "investors in [the] space-flight industry."

Brazeal seemed on his way to becoming a grass-roots hero along the lines of Bjo Trimble — a sci-fi enthusiast revered to this day for helping persuade NBC executives to give the original "Star Trek" more time to build an audience back in the late 1960s.

But then opposing fans began to attack TrekUnited, and especially Brazeal, for a number of perceived missteps.

One key complaint was that Brazeal initially failed to tell followers or the media about a March 15 fax from Paramount executive vice president John Wentworth, who wrote Brazeal that "the recent decision to conclude the show's run on UPN is final. We cannot and will not be able to accept funds from viewers to produce 'Star Trek: Enterprise' or any other series."

After Paramount posted the letter on its www.startrek.com website earlier this month, Brazeal tried to explain to his fans that he hadn't mentioned the Paramount letter earlier because he had made "personal promises" that he wouldn't reveal any information about the negotiations. Brazeal didn't elaborate further and Wentworth declined to comment beyond the letter.

Brazeal's rationale unleashed a torrent of abuse on various "Trek"-related online forums, where insult and invective are fairly common. Critics poked fun at some of TrekUnited's colorful leaders, including Andrew Beardall, the attorney and sometime seafood purveyor who is perhaps best-known around Bethesda, Md., as "the Lobster Guy," and Al Vinci, a mysterious Canadian producer and publisher who said he was spearheading talks with an unidentified executive at the studio. In a phone interview last week, Vinci refused to provide details of the discussions, names of other broadcast professionals he's worked with or the titles of his recent credits.

Brazeal insisted that he was not raising the money for his personal enrichment. However, as the attacks continued he admitted in an online posting that he had been arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession in 1979 and served probation for an auto theft charge in 1983. He also confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that he filed for bankruptcy in 1998, but added that he does not believe the filing is relevant to TrekUnited's mission.

Brazeal now says he just wants his life back. "You reach a point where you have to say, 'Reality's reality.' ... Paramount is just unwilling to bring [the show] back," he said.

Gradual impact

The original "Star Trek," created by the late Gene Roddenberry, starred William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk, commander of the Starship Enterprise, and ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969. The series never earned high ratings during its first run, but later came to be seen as years ahead of its time, featuring one of the first multicultural casts in prime-time TV and paving the way for such sci-fi hits as "Star Wars."

While each of the four "Trek" TV series that followed has its partisans, many fans consider the syndicated "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-94) or "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-1999) the best of the bunch. The series that have aired on UPN — "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001) and "Enterprise" — have met with less acclaim.

Many "Trek" fans insist the franchise isn't overexposed but merely suffering a temporary creative lull.

"If something is wrong with a show, giving it a rest won't necessarily fix it," said Malmat, who blames "Trek's" problems on a "lack of originality" in the recent scripts.

UPN will air the "Enterprise" finale May 13.

Meanwhile, TrekUnited said it has already started refunding the donations, and Brazeal has conceded defeat. "Game over," he said. "We lost."

Some supporters are refusing to give up, vowing to take their complaints to the board of Viacom — which owns both Paramount and UPN — at its next meeting May 26.

But for all the conflict TrekUnited has stirred up, most fans are in accord on one point: "Star Trek" is unlikely to disappear for long. The franchise will live on in repeats and books devoted to the brand. And it's only a matter of time before Paramount will decide to resuscitate the series, veteran "Trek" watchers believe.

"It will return," Braga said. "I just don't know in what way."

Note late in the story that a mention is made the new season of “House” will begin very early – in August.
The sour can be sweet
Hugh Laurie's doctor character on "House" is no saint. That's atypical on TV — and one reason the actor kinda likes the guy
By Robert Abele Special to The Los Angeles Times April 24, 2005

On a recent Tuesday night, viewers of Fox's hit medical mystery drama "House" saw the cranky, Vicodin-popping doctor — whose diagnostic ingenuity is matched only by his breathtaking rudeness — as visibly unnerved as he's been all season long. It wasn't a convulsing patient or his bad leg rattling him. He was being thanked by a staff member for agreeing to shill for an overpriced new drug in exchange for not having to fire her or any of his staff. Horror of horrors, House had to endure someone's gratitude.

For Hugh Laurie, the British actor whose richly sour performance as infectious-disease specialist Dr. Gregory House has turned him into television's favorite mood-killing lifesaver, it's his character's wariness of sentiment that he most admires. "Quite a lot of people would like to be free of the anxiety of what the rest of the world thinks," the 6-foot-2 actor said recently over coffee in West Hollywood, on one of his rare off-times from the world of 16-hour shooting days. "I wish I could. He would be happy for a good deed to go unnoticed, and that kind of self-sufficiency is a rare thing in this age, a heroic quality."

Television heroes have rarely come more misanthropic, though, than House, and certainly in the lives-on-the-line hospital genre, where the most important surgical procedure is usually the warming of a viewer's cockles. House, meanwhile, is on the trail of killer diseases that, combined with life's messiness, become biological puzzles, so he can't help but eye any patient — when forced to actually be in the same room with one — the way a cop sees a perp: "Everybody lies" is House's deductive mantra regarding the personal information patients give. In his opinion it leaves little room for a nice bedside manner. For a show that has already done enough to jolt medical dramas out of their touchy-feely trappings, the April 12 episode saw House physically withhold a politician's breathing apparatus until he got the crucial truth about a childhood illness he needed to save the guy's life.

"Sometimes House is utterly appalling and should be put in jail," says Laurie, an admitted fan of pop culture rule-breakers like Dirty Harry. "But other times he's sort of endearing. As long as we travel both sides of the line, that's as good as treading the line." "House" also proves that there's room on television for unsympathetic grouches who don't beg for adoration. It debuted in November to tepid ratings, but when "American Idol" started up — with TV's other unrepentant truth-teller Simon Cowell — "House" jumped into the top 10 and is now Tuesday's No. 1 drama, with the kind of viewer retention that indicates it is a genuine hit beyond its hugely popular lead-in. Tuesday's show had 17.4 million viewers overall, and Fox will now push heavily for Laurie to win an Emmy.

But bring up to Laurie topics like great ratings, and a deep-set, almost House-ian suspicion rises to the surface. "They're just numbers on a page to me," says Laurie. "I never get outside of [the set] to actually find out if anybody is watching the show." OK, but what about the teenage girl who shouted excitedly, "Dr. House kicks !" during the interview with a reporter, visual and verbal proof of fan love? "She could be a plant," he says, a conspiratorial glance coming from his hypnotically large blue eyes. "Like 'The Truman Show.' "

One bit of worry the 45-year-old Laurie was right about is that when he sent an audition tape of himself to the producers, his 20 years as an icon of English comedy did him no favors. Between his goofy, thick-headed Prince George in the historical sitcom satire "Black- adder" and his pitch-perfect rendition of author P.G. Wodehouse's amiably twitty Bertie Wooster in the "Jeeves and Wooster" series, Laurie was synonymous with comic buffoonery for anyone familiar with his past. The pilot episode's director, Bryan Singer, wasn't, but creator David Shore, born in Canada — where British TV is prevalent — was. "It's as if someone had said, 'What about Barry Bonds for this part?' " recalls Shore. "I'd go, 'Yeah, fantastic baseball player. Why would you think he could do this?' Then Hugh redefined for me what was good in the role."

[B]'Reason is his religion'

What Laurie grasped was the cool-headed romanticism in being a quippy maverick who may not be happy but thrives on knowledge. "We live in an age where we place emotion above reason, perhaps too often," says Laurie, who likes that the show is pro-science in a contentious time for medicine. "Reason is his religion. The show embraces logic."

But he also understood that House's insult-laden people skills — nearly unparalleled in an American TV series protagonist — would have the right savagely witty bite as long as it had focus and wasn't simply attitude. A few weeks ago at Fox's Century City studios, Laurie could be found defending his character against random cantankerousness. The scene called for House to witheringly contradict his oncologist colleague and diplomatic sounding board Dr. James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard) over a snap diagnosis. Between takes, Laurie questioned the viability of a retort, his long, stubbly face looking as if a migraine had set in when he couldn't articulate his concern. After the scene wrapped and during a break in filming, the words came: He thought the line was the equivalent of a smart-alecky "Duh!" tone that he and the writers have worked hard to avoid.

"Every other show does that," Laurie said. "We should set ourselves apart. House can be mean, but his causticity is not a default setting."

Laurie's father was a doctor in Oxford, where Laurie was born, and though he says Dad was the "kindest, gentlest" of general practitioners and would have found House's acerbic nature "utterly alien," he believes he would have enjoyed the show. "Even he could come back at the end of a long day wound up by some patient."

It's hard not to look at Laurie's performance, then, as part homage to a man who entered medical school at age 40, after World War II ended and he had served 16 years in the Sudan as a colonial district commissioner for the British government. "It's unthinkable now, but there were so many instances after the war of people who beat Rommel in North Africa and then went back to sell insurance or completely retrain and have whole new lives."

Laurie's father was also an Olympic gold medalist in rowing, and his adoring youngest son fully intended to become an oarsman himself at Cambridge, but illness sidelined him. Instead, the young man who had always made people laugh joined the college's famed comedy club the Footlights, whose alumni include Peter Cook and John Cleese. Laurie became president and with classmates Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry created a popular touring revue show.

Fry, who has been Laurie's best friend ever since, says Laurie was a natural performer. "He had a wonderfully grave presence," Fry said by phone recently. "In terms of comedy, he had this miraculous ability to wander onstage … as if it were all a terrible mistake and he belonged somewhere else."

Laurie recalls that after one show on the south coast of England, the booker came to the dressing room afterward as everyone was removing their costumes. "He said, 'That was great! Shall we say 15 minutes?' We went, 'For what?' He said, 'The second half.' "

Laurie, who rarely exhibits self-satisfaction, is now quite proud of the frantic cobbling together of half-remembered sketches and half-forgotten songs in hardly any time.

Nevertheless, Laurie doesn't attribute his storied career in entertainment to ambition. He won't even admit to choosing show business as a profession. When his Cambridge group won the very first Perrier Comedy Award at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival — "now it's absolutely huge, a very desired thing," he says — Laurie garnered the attention of an agent who "turned up in a Rolls-Royce and with a big cigar and said, 'Do you want to do this for a living?' I said, 'Yeah, for the next month.' Here I am 25 years later. It's bizarre."

According to Fry, Laurie's English modesty is extreme. "He's absolutely brilliant but also painfully self-critical," says Fry, who then ticks off his friend's gifts: athletic prowess, command of several musical instruments and "laser-like" attention to logic and detail when the pair wrote their popular U.K. sketch series "A Bit of Fry and Laurie." "I don't think I've ever heard him say that he's pleased with anything he's done, except things to him that really matter, like friendships, parenthood, love. He's just a remarkable man to have as a friend, the wisest I have ever known."

Now that an American show eats up a good portion of Laurie's time, though, being away from his family — wife Jo and children Charlie, 16; Bill, 14; and Rebecca, 11 — is an obvious strain. ("My eldest son was one size when I left, and he's probably a cabinet minister now," he jokes.) They've visited L.A. a few times, and when he gets the occasional break he flies back to England, but contact is mostly morning phone calls from his West Hollywood apartment, a quick burst of native-accented chat before he has to reacclimatize to American-speak. In fact, talk to Laurie on a weekend and he's British, but on set he's an all-day Yank just to stay in the zone. His accent, or lack of one, has been widely praised — he initially nailed it as the dad in the "Stuart Little" movies — but it's the hardest part of his job. "The problem is one part of the brain is doing it, and the other part is listening all the time," he says. "Something like 'coronary artery' gives me a nosebleed. I have to lie down in a dark room for about 20 minutes."

The "dark room" has a metaphorical reality for Laurie, who has had a long bout with depression. "I feel it's over my shoulder, ever present, but I have more good days than bad," says Laurie, who indicates that his fouler dispositions stem from a perceived inability to play House exactly the way he hears and envisions him. "It's very tiresome for everyone else," he adds, and while he says it doesn't inform his portrayal of an obviously damaged Sherlock Holmes-ian loner, Laurie's on-screen Watson believes it does, and rightly so.

"You don't play a character like that with any kind of success unless you have some deep waters," says Leonard. "A happy person acting unhappy is unbearable to watch. He's not misery on the set, he's actually very quiet and easygoing. But it's that Peter Cook thing, misery turned into brilliance."

But Laurie has a big cure-all in his black Triumph Bonneville motorcycle, a replica of the '60s British model, which makes the only hours outside of working and sleeping — a trafficless, wind-swept commute — feel something like freedom. "I couldn't live without it. It's an exhilarating, sensual thing," he says.

It won't be going to Australia, though. Laurie was set to play Perry White in Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns" movie shooting Down Under, but his "House" schedule — with a second season filming earlier than usual so Fox can kick it off in August — put the kibosh on that. "That was a disappointment," he says. "That movie will just be huge … but it's great that we have a second season too."

We will soon meet House's long-hinted-at ex when Sela Ward joins "House" for the last two shows of this season and probably more next year. Will she help explain House? Laurie hopes not, certainly no more so than the character's chronic leg pain or love of soap operas and monster truck rallies do.

Even if he loves the irritable misfit who's taken over his life, Laurie can't help but feel tricked. "It begins with two [audition] pages, and 'Oh, that's nice, I think I'll have a little more.' Then you do a pilot and you think, 'These two weeks will be great, working with Bryan Singer.' Then it's, 'We think we're going to do six now.' 'Wow, six?' Then six became 13 episodes pretty quickly, then another five, then another four after, then whack! Twenty-two. Now it's 'Oh, my God, I'm a heroin addict and didn't even realize it!' "

Dennis Haysbert clocks back in on '24'
By Bill Keveney USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — Hail to the former chief.

24 gets a bracing shot of leadership tonight (Monday, April 25, Fox, 9PM ET) when Dennis Haysbert returns as David Palmer, a former president called back into action to advise a shaky interim commander in chief. Palmer "helps to keep things in balance and helps with tough decisions," says Haysbert, who will appear in the final six episodes of this fourth season.

The return of a decisive leader such as Palmer will be "a very welcome thing" for counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), says Haysbert. Bauer has had his frustrations this season with dithering bosses, including the weak-kneed vice president Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin), forced into the top job after the sitting president was incapacitated.

Bauer and Palmer bonded in the first season, when Palmer was a presidential candidate and foreign enemies tried to force Bauer to assassinate him. He ended up saving Palmer, and the two have worked closely — almost always over Bauer's ever-present, ever-charged cell phone — to save the world since then. "We finally get that one-two punch going again," Haysbert says.

Haysbert, whose Palmer chose not to seek a second term at the end of last season, is one of a number of past 24 regulars to return for parts of a season. "It's something we've done every single year. People grow to like these characters," executive producer Howard Gordon says. "When we can insinuate them back into the story, we love it. That familiarity is worth something."

The producers wanted to find a way to bring back Haysbert, with his tall, commanding presence and deep, authoritative voice. So they critically injured his presidential successor, John Keeler (Geoff Pierson), having him improbably survive an air-to-air missile strike and plane crash. Killing him would have been a more controversial choice and wasn't necessary to achieve the producers' goal, Gordon says.

"Dennis has been an absolute mainstay of the show. He's really one of my favorites," Gordon says. "I think he's often called Mr. President. He's even been approached to run for office." One early idea had Palmer strapping on a gun and joining Bauer in the field. "We felt that was a little far-fetched," Gordon says.

It's not as if Haysbert, 50, has been entirely gone from 24. As an Allstate spokesman, he regularly appears in commercials during the show, which is up 26% this season with an average 12.3 million viewers.

In the time away from 24, Haysbert acted in a CBS pilot, The Unit, the story of a military anti-terrorism unit being produced by The Shield's Shawn Ryan and playwright David Mamet. He also will appear in the upcoming feature film Jarhead, based on a Marine's experience in the 1991 Gulf War, and an ABC miniseries about ancient Rome, Empire.

Haysbert says he would have liked to appear for the full 24 season, but the six episodes will help Palmer "get a little closure," he says. "I still feel like a regular. It's just that I was out of the loop for a while."

Fox Likely to Win 18-49s in May Sweeps
By A.J. Frutkin Mediaweek.com April 25, 2005

On the strength of American Idol, buyers believe Fox will edge past CBS to win the adults 18-49 viewer race for the sweeps period (April 28-May 25)--and for the season as well. That could leave CBS and ABC duking it out for second place, while NBC takes fourth.

But despite Fox’s first-quarter resurgence with Idol, advertisers haven’t forgotten the network’s reliance earlier this season on a slate of unproven nonscripted shows that failed to perform. Neither have Fox executives. “The most important thing for us is to go into next fall with more pieces,” said Preston Beckman, executive vp of strategic program planning at Fox. “And I can tell you, there won’t be another unscripted show where we say, ‘Here’s a title; here’s a concept; trust me, there’s a show.’”

One of the most anticipated sweeps battles takes place on Sunday, May 15, when CBS’ three-hour Survivor: Palau finale goes up against ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. Advertisers said interest in Desperate Housewives likely would ensure a win for ABC. “There’s so much buzz around the show,” said Stacey Lynn Koerner, Initiative’s executive vp/director of global research. “No one will want to miss it, or miss talking about it the next day.”

CBS remains confident that Survivor will pull in strong numbers, especially on a night when movies have proven no match for ABC’s lineup. “We’ll have a stronger Sunday than we normally have,” said Kelly Kahl, executive vp of program planning and scheduling at CBS.

Kahl also explained the network’s decision to hold its Martha Stewart movie for the fall, tying it to her return to television next season both in syndication and in prime time on NBC’s The Apprentice. “Rather than put it at the back end of the sweeps where it won’t get a lot of attention, we decided to air it when a natural storm of media will surround her,” he said.

What will get attention at the back end of sweeps is ABC’s two-hour Lost finale taking on Fox’s two-hour Idol finale on Wednesday, May 25. Although ABC acknowledged Idol will do bigger numbers, it never thought to move Lost’s season-ender. “Lost is one of the biggest hits of the season, and it will have one of the most anticipated finales of the year, regardless of the competition,” said Jeff Bader, executive vp at ABC Entertainment.

On Thursday, May 19, advertisers predicted that CBS’ CSI finale, directed by Quentin Tarantino, will overtake NBC’s finale of The Apprentice 3. Although the Donald Trump-hosted reality show remains one of NBC’s strongest properties, its continued decline this season is indicative of the network’s overall ratings struggle.

“We’re not happy with where we are at all,” said Mitch Metcalf, NBCU’s executive vp of program planning and scheduling. But Metcalf also pointed to the small gap that divides the four networks. Through April 20, Fox led the season with a 4.1 among adults 18-49, while CBS averaged a 4.0, ABC a 3.8, and NBC a 3.6.

Sunday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Here is one critic's (very jaundiced) view of the upcoming May sweeps:

May sweeps: A full calendar

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

NBC's Revelations is right: The end time is here. No, not for the world, just for the TV season. Happily, the season ends not with a whimper, but with four weeks of May sweeps' specials, stunts and season/series finales. USA TODAY notes the most worthy of the May entries:

Friday, April 29: HD
It's taps for JAG (CBS, 9 PM ET), as the military drama ends its shockingly long run. Will Mac marry Harm? Better yet, will non-fans ever be able to remember which one of those names belonged to the girl?

Sunday, May 1: HD
Some shows die in May, others come back to life. Fox revives Family Guy (9 PM ET) and pairs it with the almost indistinguishable American Dad (9:30 PM ET ET/PT). Those of you who asked for it now have it.

Thursday, May 5: HD
Noah way! ER (NBC, 10 PM ET) loses the last of its been-there-from-the-start regulars as Noah Wyle begins his final three-episode run.

Friday, May 6: HD
The always hysterical Third Watch (NBC, 9 PM ET) ends its run with a bang as gang members attack the precinct house. Expect tears, along with the return of former regulars Michael Beach, Eddie Cibrian and Kim Raver.

Sunday, May 8: HD
What, you're wondering, can possibly be left to say about Elvis (CBS, 9 PM ET ET/PT)? Enough apparently to fill a two-part miniseries (Part II May 11, 9 PM ET) and a documentary special (May 13, 8 PM ET).

Tuesday, May 10: HD
Who killed Lilly Kane? We'll finally find out on the season finale of UPN's Veronica Mars (9 PM ET). Thanks for the answer, and thanks, UPN, for giving us more Mars next season.

Friday, May 13: HD
With some shows, the best you can say is death becomes them. UPN's Enterprise (8 PM ET) limps away, taking the Star Trek franchise with it. Don't come back until you've found someone who can do a show worthy of the original.

Sunday, May 15: HD
Light your torches and beat your island drums. The final Survivor (CBS, 8 PM ET) is named in a two-hour special — followed, as usual, by a one-hour reunion.

Monday, May 16: HD
There aren't many big, old-fashioned movie events in May, but NBC has one of the biggest and oldest: Hercules (8 PM ET), with Paul Telfer as the legendary strongman. He'll need all the strength he can muster, taking on the finale of Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS, 9 PM ET)

Tuesday, May 17: HD
What could make Fox's terrific hit House (9 PM ET) even better? Bringing on the luminous Sela Ward for two weeks. She's reason enough to skip UPN's new Britney Spears/Kevin Federline reality show (9 PM ET) — as if you needed another reason.

Wednesday, May 18: HD
Smallville (WB, 8 PM ET) fans finally get their wish, as Superboy and Batman come together for the season finale. Well, almost: The network is sticking an eight-minute preview of Batman Begins into Smallville's extended ender.

Thursday, May 19: HD
If you think it has been a gruesome season of CSI (CBS, 9 PM ET) so far, brace yourself. The finale is directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Friday, May 20: HD
On a much lighter note, ABC goes down the yellow brick road for an all-new puppet version of a children's classic, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (8 PM ET). Dorothy and Miss Piggy go over the rainbow — but no one, alas, sings the song.

Sunday, May 22: HD
The really big guns come out for the last week of the season, starting with the finale of Desperate Housewives (9 PM ET). There are mysteries to be solved, arrests to be made and, we hope, a few romances to be rekindled.

Monday, May 23: HD
Jack lost the president, but he still has two hours left to save the rest of us from nuclear attack on a special 24 (Fox, 8 PM ET). Tempus fugit, Jacko.

Tuesday, May 24: HD
When he's done saving the world, perhaps Jack could rescue us from TV addicts Rob and Amber, who apparently intend to live the rest of their lives on our screens. For their next video trick, Rob and Amber Get Married (CBS, 9 PM ET).

Wednesday, May 25: HD
Talk about your tough choices. Fox anoints the American Idol (8 PM ET); ABC counters with the must-see finales of Lost (8 PM ET) and Alias (10 PM ET). Watch ABC, tape the last 10 minutes of Idol: You just want to know who won, not listen to them sing again.

Faux 'Housewives' is no less steamy
Cobbled together recap pulls a 10.0 in 18-49s
medialifemagazine.com---The women of Wisteria Lane certainly can fake it. ABC’s supposedly new episode of “Desperate Housewives” Sunday night was merely a “Dirty Laundry” clip show that offered viewers a recap on the season to date.

Despite the fact that it offered no new material, it was broadcast’s highest-rated show of the night among viewers 18-49 with a 10.0 average. It also drew an impressive 23.7 million total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights.

ABC, which has a similar episode of “Lost” planned for this week, wasn’t quite able to fool everybody. The 10.0 rating is down a slight 3.8 percent from the show’s 10.4 season-to-date average, and down nearly 4.8 percent from the 10.5 it posted last week. The recap aired in lieu of a repeat episode of the soap, and leads into several originals scheduled for May sweeps.

Still, people just can’t get enough of the show, no matter how much of a retread the material may be.

“Housewives” remains the top-rated 18-49 drama of the year, just ahead of the 10.2 rating CBS’s “CSI” has averaged this season. And the soap is the No. 2 overall show of the year, behind Fox’s two versions of “American Idol.”

That bodes well for the “Lost” recap airing on Wednesday. Perhaps more so than the one offered by “Housewives,” the “Lost” recap will be a welcome refresher for even the show’s most loyal fans, who’ve surely lost track of some of the twists and turns by now.

A JAGged hole in CBS’ Friday lineup
JAG: Symbolic of the CBS of the past, skewing older
By Abigail Azote medialifemagazine.com
For all the buzz over the strength and stability of CBS’s schedule, it does have one problem night on its schedule: Friday. Last year the night got some buzz for the network, with the re-positioned "JAG" and new critical darling "Joan of Arcadia." This year that buzz turned to disappointment as ratings for both shows tanked.

After 10 years, "JAG's" series finale will air Friday at 9 p.m. And its exit could spark a major overhaul of the night when CBS announces its new schedule at next month's upfront. Declining ratings, an aging audience and the impending departure of star David James Elliot all contributed to the show’s cancellation.

Now when CBS looks to program the night, it will be moving away from such older-skewing dramas and toward a show more like 10 p.m.'s "Numb3rs," a modest hit that has challenged NBC's "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" at 10 p.m. It can afford to tinker, with the rest of its lineup in strong shape.

Friday's "JAG" finale probably won't draw much better than the 2.0 it has averaged among 18-49s this season, with interest failing to grow even with the series' much-publicized end upcoming. "JAG's" low ratings among 18-49s were a major part of its undoing. It averaged a 2.0 among 18-49s this year, down 17 percent from last year. And it was down among total viewers, too.

In the week ended April 17, the show averaged 9.2 million total viewers. Its season-to-date average is only slightly higher at 9.7 million viewers, a 25 percent drop from the 13 million it averaged in the 2002-2003 season, its last in the Tuesday timeslot. Among households, “JAG” averaged a 6.5 rating this year, down 12 percent from last year’s 7.4 average.

The show’s older audience, with a median age of 58.4, could also have been a factor in its demise. Another CBS show that was similarly ignored by the crucial 18-49 demo was “The Guardian.” That show was canceled last May, despite decent household ratings.

“JAG” had been canceled in 1996, after one disappointing season on NBC. CBS picked it up the following year when the network needed a show that would appeal to a wide audience. The long-shot pick did just that, growing a following on Tuesday nights and eventually becoming one of the network’s most reliable shows. During the 2002 February sweeps, “JAG” averaged a 9.1 household rating and 13.6 million total viewers.

But since being moved to Friday nights at 9, “JAG” has seen a sharp decline in viewership.

Perhaps sounding the show’s most definitive death toll was the announcement earlier this year that this season was going to be Elliot's last as Commander Harmon “Harm” Rabb. (Reports have differed over who initiated the change, the show or Elliot.) After toying with the idea of a replacement, CBS decided, as most fans would surely agree, that “JAG” simply wouldn’t be “JAG” without Elliot as the lead. He has signed a development deal with ABC.

CBS will now have to decide what to do with Friday night. With “JAG” gone, the prospect of “Joan’s” return may not have improved.

With stability on most of its other nights, CBS can afford to try out a new show or two on Friday, a low-rated night to begin with, without many ill effects. "Joan" hasn't done much to change CBS's mind.

The 8 p.m. "Joan" has fallen to a 2.1 average rating among 18-49s this year, down 22 percent from last year. Among households, it dropped 24 percent to a 5.3 average versus the 7.0 it averaged last year.

CBS’s only saving grace for the night is newcomer “Numb3rs.” Since it debuted in January, the show has been holding its own against NBC’s “Trial by Jury.” In the week ended April 17, it averaged a 6.9 rating among households, with 10.5 million total viewers.

The August start date for House is interesting, I thought Fox was looking to re-arrange it's show premiers to the beginning of the year so they don't conflict with all the sports Fox does.

CBS has announced the season finale of CSI has been expanded to two hours and will begin at 8 PM ET. Quentin Tarentino is directing the special episode.

Will & Grace Close To Renewal

thefutoncritic.com--The Peacock is expected to announce later this week it has officially renewed the veteran comedy Will & Grace for an eighth (and possibly) final season following lengthy renewal negotiations with the producers and cast.

It's understood NBC will pay roughly $4 million per episode for a fresh batch of at least 24 episodes as well as a clip show (a la "Everybody Loves Raymond's" May 16 pre-finale "The Last Laugh" special) next season, down from its current license fee of about $5 million per episode.

In addition, principal cast members Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally have all reportedly received one-year pay bumps to $600,000 per episode (up from their current estimated $400,000 per episode).

The news comes in spite of rumblings the cast would have to take a pay cut in order to come under the expected reduced license fee. It's not clear how the show's producer, NBC Universal Television, will offset the extra cost on top of its $1 million per episode fee cut.

This is information I thought you should know.

TVGuide.com has been running a poll asking for "the best TV show you watched this weekend".

I won't spoil it for you -- except to note that the last time I visited fully 2% of the respondents had answered "Locusts".

I am not kidding.

http://tvguide.com/tv/watercooler/index.asp#poll

The Survivor finale is highly unlikely to be in HD.

You wanna post that a few more times Fred? :)

Symbios, as always, you have a good point.
Additional posts have been deleted.

More details on Will & Grace.

Will & Grace Back for 8th Stint

By Cynthia Littleton and Nellie Andreeva The Hollywood Reporter April 25, 2005

After a lengthy renewal negotiation, NBC and the producers and cast of Will & Grace have clasped hands on a deal for an eighth and probably final season of the Emmy-winning comedy series.

Contrary to earlier speculation about the actors facing pay cuts, sources said the show's four key cast members -- Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally -- secured significant salary bumps in the one-year deals that were hammered out late Friday.

Each of the actors will pocket between $13 million-$15 million, or about $600,000 per episode, compared to fees estimated at $400,000 per-episode this season. NBC has ordered at least 24 episodes of the NBC Universal-produced Will & Grace plus a highlights clip show, probably in anticipation of a series finale in spring 2006. And for the first time since the series debuted in 1998, Mullally and Hayes will be brought up to full paycheck parity with Messing and McCormack, sources said.

NBC declined comment on the deal late Friday. Representatives for the actors declined comment or could not be reached during the weekend.

The actors' pay hike comes even as NBC has cut the license fee it will pay to its sibling production unit for the upcoming season to what sources said was about $4 million per episode, compared to a fee in the neighborhood of $5 million per episode this season. Will & Grace, like the rest of NBC's Thursday lineup, has taken a big hit ratingswise this season.

But overall, Will & Grace has been highly successful in syndication, and the long-term backend value of the additional episodes will more than offset the higher cast costs and anticipated production deficits next season, sources said.

The show's core cast members are among the most honored TV actors of the past decade, with Messing, McCormack, Mullally and Hayes each having earned one Emmy and a slew of nominations for their work during the past seven years. Will & Grace won the Emmy trophy for best comedy series in 2000.

NBC's renewal negotiations on the show were complicated by the litigation pending between NBC and series creator/executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. (James Burrows, another profit participant and executive producer on Will & Grace, is not involved with the suit).

Mutchnick and Kohan sued NBC in late 2003, claiming they were short-changed of potential profits in an earlier license fee renewal negotiation on the show because the studio (then NBC Studios, now NBC Universal TV Studio) was motivated to keep the show at its sibling broadcast network rather than shop it around to the highest bidder.

NBC has strongly denied cutting any sweetheart deals on Will & Grace. In court papers, NBC has maintained that its previous three-season renewal deal for Will & Grace was highly lucrative for the profit participants and in line with fees paid by NBC and other networks for comparable series.

Despite the legal wrangling and Will & Grace's ratings slide this year, NBC brass likely saw retaining the show as a crucial move at a time when it has few comedies on the air and it is struggling to stay competitive with its Big Four network rivals.

ABC turning up summer sked's heat
Web debuting four new series in June and July

By JOSEF ADALIAN variety.com


ABC will look to capitalize its regular season Nielsen momentum this summer with one of the net's most ambitious warm-weather slates in years.

Alphabet will debut no less than four new alternative skeins in June and July -- including the newly announced "Welcome to the Neighborhood" -- and bring back "Wife Swap" with up to 10 original episodes.
Net is also planning a splashy launch for its big-budget, limited-run Roman empire skein "Empire," which will unfold on Tuesday nights over five weeks.

In addition, frosh hits "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" will get new summer timeslots, while ABC will turn Saturday's "Wonderful World of Disney" franchise into a home for some of Disney's biggest theatricals, including the network premiere of "Bambi."

ABC exec veep Jeff Bader said the success of the net's regular season series allowed some shows that had been available for spring to air in the summer instead. "We definitely have some momentum, and we want to keep it going through the summer right up to the start of next season," he said.

Early start

That means skeins will start rolling out just a few weeks after the 2004-05 season wraps May 25 and the NBA playoffs get under way. Bader said ABC will use the NBA to help hype "Empire," which he believes could have strong male appeal. Limited skein will have a two-hour premiere on Tuesday, June 28, from 9-11 p.m., with the remaining four episodes running on consecutive Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

"This is actually less risky" than premiering the show in season, Bader added.
Indeed, Neil Meron, one of "Empire's" exec producers (along with partner Craig Zadan), said he's happy the long-in-the-works project will get a chance to bow away from the regular season crush.

"After all the work on this, we want to get noticed, and this is the best way for it to get the recognition we all think it deserves," he said, noting the blockbuster feel of the skein fits in well with what auds expect from summertime entertainment.

Tony Jonas, another exec producer on "Empire," called the skein "probably the most expensive show on network television, and it all shows up onscreen." Scheduling means "Empire" will get on the air two months before HBO premieres its even more expensive Roman empire drama in September.

As for the rest of ABC's summer sked:

** "Dancing With Stars," the U.S. adaptation of "Strictly Come Dancing," will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. starting June 1. Skein is a sort of mash-up of "American Idol" and "Dance Fever" (Daily Variety, Jan. 17).

** Summer season of "Wonderful World of Disney" begins June 4 with the bow of "Bambi." To help hype the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, net plans to air a slew of modern Disney hits, with celeb-hosted interstitials making note of the park's historical highlights.

** "The Scholar" -- a sort of "Who Wants to Go to College" for needy students from the superstar production team of Steve Martin, Joan Stein, Jon Murray, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner -- gets the 8 p.m. Monday slot. It premieres June 6.

** In July, ABC will bow the previously hush-hush unscripted reality skein "Welcome to the Neighborhood," on which a community decides which of seven families wins a brand new home in their neighborhood. MGM Television, New Screen Concepts and the Jay and Tony Show produced the skein, which doesn't yet have a timeslot.

** The previously announced "Brat Camp," in which unruly teens are forced to shape up when they're shipped out to a wilderness camp in Oregon (Daily Variety, Jan. 20), will also bow in July.

It's possible ABC will sked either "Brat Camp" or "Welcome to the Neighborhood" Sundays at 9 p.m., right after repeats of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Timeslot shuffle

The 9 p.m. slot will become vacant in late June or early July once ABC moves "Desperate Housewives" to a temporary 10 p.m. timeslot on Sundays. "Lost" will also get a later timeslot, Wednesdays at 10 p.m., starting June 1.

Bader said the net believes airing the shows out of their regular time period will expose them to new viewers.
ABC hasn't yet decided when or whether repeats of "Grey's Anatomy" or "Boston Legal," both of which have aired Sundays at 10, will air.

Net is also giving "Supernanny" an earlier timeslot in the summer, shifting it to Wednesdays at 8 as a lead-in to "Dancing With the Stars." In addition, "Wife Swap" is expected to get an 8 p.m. timeslot in July. There it could serve as a lead-in to a new reality show.

ABC plans a Monday movie franchise in June and July, starting June 6 with the network bow of "The Ring." Some features are also expected to air on Saturdays.

As for ABC's other summer plans, four original episodes of "Complete Savages" will air on Fridays this June, while extra original episodes of "Eyes" may be available as well. Net also has its annual "Celebration at Ford's Theater" spec planned for July and is promising more original alternative skeins for August.

Just when you thought there were enough channels......

*NBCU EYES HORROR, CRIME NETS
By Linda Moss, Multichannel News, 4/25/2005


On the back of its film and TV libraries, NBC Universal Cable is exploring the launch of a horror network and a crime channel.

The two potential networks wouldn't be much of a stretch for NBC Universal, parent of Sci Fi Channel, which has some horror fare, and USA Network, whose forte is crime and detective-oriented drama.

In addition, last year's merger of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment created a vast vault of movies and TV shows for the new combined media conglomerate, NBC Universal. Officials at the giant Peacock programmer have been investigating ways to leverage that deep well of content, which ranges from movies like The Mummy, Jurassic Park and their sequels to shows such as Columbo and The Rockford Files.

"When we did the Universal deal, they have a great TV and movie library, and we've been looking at different things," said NBC Universal Cable president David Zaslav. "One of the ones that we've been looking at hard is horror."

Horror and crime are two "of many concepts" NBC Universal Cable is looking at, according to a company spokeswoman.

Once before, USA got cold feet about creating a crime channel.

Four years ago, it announced plans to create a diginet called Crime, to be spearheaded by Cops creator John Langley. The programmer shelved it roughly a year later.

But NBC is "a company that's absolutely the synergists of all synergist," said Tim Brooks, Lifetime Television's executive vice president of research and a veteran of USA and Sci Fi Channel. "Boy, do they look at ways to leverage one property with another. The Universal library is perfectly fertile ground for this idea to take root again."

In an environment in which it's tough to launch a linear network, two independent horror services - Horror Net and Fangoria TV - are already trying to gain traction.

Another potential entrant in the horror genre is Monsters HD, part of Voom, the satellite-delivered HDTV service that will go black April 30.

Cablevision Systems Corp. has said it will analyze whether to offer the 21 networks that were part of the Voom platform, including Monsters HD, to distributors through its Rainbow Media Holdings unit.

"We continue to look at the potential options for all the channels," a Rainbow spokeswoman said last week.

Word of NBC Universal Cable's potential forays into both horror and crime surfaced last week, when the programmer and Verizon Communications Inc. announced a broad carriage deal for the telco's video service, FiOS TV.

As part of that agreement, Verizon is not only going to carry all of NBC Universal's existing cable networks, including Sci Fi Channel and USA, but has also made a commitment to carry two new cable networks from the programmer.

"As we develop a channel or two over the next couple of months, if we launch it, it will become part of this deal," Zaslav said.

Over the years, as a result of the mergers with both Vivendi and NBC, NBC Universal Cable has access to a large library of movies and TV episodes created by in-house operations such as Universal Pictures, the house of horror flicks.

The roster on the TV side includes not only Columbo and The Rockford Files, but also shows such as Magnum P.I., Dragnet, Miami Vice and Murder, She Wrote. NBC Universal also produces Monk, Law & Order and its spinoffs, and Crossing Jordan.

On the movie side, in addition to The Mummy, Universal Pictures' releases have included fare like Hulk and Van Helsing.

"The logical thing for NBC to do is a studio-based channel," said one cable-industry veteran.

It wouldn't be a novel strategy. A consortium led by Sony Corp., and including Comcast Corp., recently completed its acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. One prediction was that Comcast would launch a cable network based on MGM's film library.

Sci Fi Channel's schedule already includes some horror-oriented shows.

"We had a lot of discussions when I was there about how much horror should be on Sci Fi [Channel]," Brooks said. "It turns out that sci-fi fans like horror. There tends to a great deal of overlap between those two areas."

"Horror when it gets to be spooky, gory, as opposed to scientific and futuristic, starts to diverge. But they're both largely male audiences and they both have a lot of violence in them, generally. The true sci-fi fans tend to be more into technology and the wonder of it all."

Several years ago, Viacom Inc. chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone expressed an interest in creating a science-fiction network, exploiting his company's library, which includes the Star Trek franchise. Now, some of those show air on Viacom's Spike TV. those show air on Viacom's Spike TV.

This should be fun: there are just not too many things better – and more entertaining -- than a good, old-fashioned network cat fight.

ABC Takes Aim at Idol
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable 4/26/2005 11:03 AM
ABC’s Primetime Live is taking aim at American Idol just in time to divert attention from the Fox phenomenon's massive May sweeps finale. The news magazine will get a special Wednesday night airing in the 10 p.m. hour May 4 with co-anchor John Quiñones delivering a report titled “Fallen Idol.”

ABC says it will explore “explosive claims about behind-the-scenes activities” at Idol. Tabloid reports have circulated about a book proposal that allegedly outlines a relationship between a judge and contestant, including possible help with song choices.

Fox declined comment, and an ABC News rep would not elaborate.

The FCC has rules against aiding a contestant on a televised contest of skill. Specifically, according to section 508 of the Communications Act it is illegal for anyone "with intent to deceive the listening or viewing public," to:
"To supply to any contestant in a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge or intellectual skill any special and secret assistance whereby the outcome of such contest will be in whole or in part prearranged or predetermined."

If the allegations of a relationship between judge and contestant is true, it might have to have occurred in the phase of the contest where the judge's still directly determine the outcome to be actionable.

--John Eggerton contributed to this report.

Fox Takes Aim at ABC

Matt Drudge at his drudgereport.com is reporting the next step in the ABC-Fox "Idol" War:

FOX owner Rupert Murdoch has informed executives that ABC is attempting to maliciously 'destroy' the nation's most-watched series as it heads into the final weeks...

'We got all these ridiculous questions yesterday from an ABC producer,' a top IDOL source tells the DRUDGE REPORT. 'ABC can not beat us with programming, so they are attempting to bring us down with lies and false charges.'

Developing...
http://www.drudgereport.com/

Who's new?
Established TV dramas juggle casts and hope audiences stay with them
By Valerie Kuklenski Los Angeles Daile NewsStaff Writer

There was a time when a lead actor needing a way out of a TV series would have given writer-producer Rene Balcer a serious case of stress.

Not any more. As a writer on "Law & Order" for its first 10 years and the show-runner for four, he had seen plenty of people come and go at the New York police precinct and prosecutors' offices that are the setting of the NBC series.

So it was not such a big deal when it became obvious that Vincent D'Onofrio needed to lighten his duties at "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," the spinoff series Balcer now runs as executive producer.

"We just realized the workload was so insane that we had to come up with a solution in order to keep Vincent on without killing him," Balcer said matter-of-factly. Hourlong episodic television has a reputation as the most brutally demanding work for actors on camera.

"So we came up with this notion - it's not a new notion - of having alternating partners from week to week," Balcer said. Next fall, D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe will co-star in half the episodes, while "Law & Order" alum Christopher Noth revives his Detective Mike Logan character in the remaining episodes, opposite a woman partner whose casting has not been announced.

It's just one of many cast shuffles viewers will notice in network dramas. "Sopranos" regular Michael Imperioli has stepped into "Law & Order" as a detective so that Jesse L. Martin could take a few weeks off to film the musical "Rent." Noah Wyle will be leaving "ER" soon.

And then there's "The West Wing," which could undergo an extreme series makeover in the coming season as lame duck Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) turns over the Oval Office to a new presidential administration. Front-runners for "West Wing" stardom are Alan Alda as Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick and Jimmy Smits as Democratic Rep. Matt Santos.

Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, sees turnover among actors as a good thing for both viewers and series writers.

"With a single set of characters, in time you run out of things to do with them," Thompson said. "By the time we got to the end of 'Friends,' there was nothing to do with it. We had seen all the permutations." He said switching out characters "puts some new narrative DNA into the mix."

Balcer recalled the anxiety he and "L&O" creator Dick Wolf experienced when George Dzundza asked to be written out so he could spend more time with his family. His detective character was killed off at the end of the first season.
"The first two or three seasons, that's when the show is precarious anyway. It doesn't matter what show you're on," he said. "So any major change caused a lot of trepidation. We didn't know how the audience was going to take it. It could have been a potentially fatal blow, especially since he was in the first half of the show, and that's when people tune in." But "Law & Order" withstood the departure of Dzundza, Michael Moriarty and virtually everyone else on camera. In the fall of 2000, the series had a completely different core cast from the one it began with 10 years earlier.

Bob Gustafson, director of the Entertainment Industry Institute at California State University, Northridge, says a series' structure is key to weathering cast changes. "I think if the world of the show - the setting and the tone and the feel - if that's interesting and compelling, the residents in that world can change, and (viewers) will come back," he said. "If that world is not compelling, more than the characters in it, it won't last."

Imperioli says viewers' sticking with a series through its cast changes is a testament to the quality of the writing. He thinks dramas lend themselves to such transitions more easily than comedy series.

"Sitcoms aren't as story-driven as they are by a specific type of humor that comes from a character, whereas especially in these crime dramas, they're really more story-driven shows," Imperioli said. "So as long as the stories are interesting and you get good actors, I think people are going to be willing to try it."

Putting new faces on established shows became easier with the advent of big ensemble productions in the early '80s. "Hill Street Blues" and "St. Elsewhere" went through it, and the list of players on "Dynasty" is as long as Aaron Spelling's arm.

But in the age of network audience erosion and channel-surfing, series are desperate to hold on to their shares of viewers - particularly those on NBC, which has seen sharp ratings declines this year. It's a judgment call whether stability or change brings about that end.

Odds are in favor of a Smits presidency on "The West Wing." Alda would be 70 in the fall of 2006, when the new administration settles in. And he's a New Yorker, while the show films in Burbank. Also, John Spencer's chief of staff character, Leo McGarry, was tapped in the season finale to be Santos' running mate, increasing the likelihood that other supporting players would stay on if Smits wins.

It also would seem obvious to placate its mainly Democratic audience with another Democrat in power. A recent Zogby poll of "West Wing" viewers showed Smits beating Alda, 44 percent to 28 percent. "Well, I'm very flattered by that, and Zogby is very respected, as we all know," Smits said. "But considering the effect that polls had on the 2000 election and the more recent election, I can only put so much credence in the polls."
A politically active Democrat who spoke at his party's national convention in 2000, Smits says he is gaining insight about the way things work inside the Washington Beltway, as well as a little perspective.

"I like the fact that this season we're hearing on the show strong voices on both sides of the aisle. I think it's a good move that (executive producer John Wells) made to have a character (played by) an actor who is as appealing as Alan Alda that gives that strong Republican voice."

TV expert Thompson says shaking the show up with an Alda victory would be a good idea - if a very dangerous one. "There are no slouch characters (in the current ensemble). They've taken home a bevy of Emmy Awards, and there's a big fan base for those people. But I think it's done what it could do. It's had some memorable stories, (but) it needs to pull a 'Law & Order' now. And they've got a perfect excuse to do it because they've got it built into the narrative."

Balcer says all types of shows - legal dramas, police procedurals, hospital series - can succeed with new players.

" 'Lost' - you could kill off half your cast and no one would really notice," he said. "And 'Desperate Housewives' - I mean, you can't even get them to do a photo shoot together without clawing each other's eyes out, so who knows who could move in and out of a neighborhood?"

Balcer points out that even the 1960s sitcom "Bewitched" survived a big personnel change.
"Look, ever since they changed a Darrin (Dick York) for a Darrin (Dick Sargent), people will accept a cast change."

George Lopez's Kidney Swap

by Charlie Amter eonline.com

George Lopez has received the ultimate gift from his wife, Ann: one of her kidneys. The comedian underwent a successful kidney transplant last week, his publicist, Marleah Leslie, announced in a brief statement Monday. The organ was donated by Ann Lopez, his wife of 12 years.

George Lopez, 44, suffered from a genetic disorder that caused his kidney to deteriorate, his publicist said without elaboration. He and his wife are recuperating at their Los Angeles home, according to Leslie. Both are doing well and expected to fully recover. No further details were disclosed.

Lopez had given no public indication that he was ailing, maintaining a vigorous schedule in recent weeks.
On Apr. 17, he served as grand marshal for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, becoming the first person to say, "Gentleman, start your engines" in Spanish at a NASCAR event.

The previous week, the California-born funnyman told the New York Daily News that he expected his eponymous ABC sitcom to be reupped for a fourth season, and he was planning to take a more hands-on approach in 2005-06.

"We've already gotten the unofficial word," he said. "I don't see the show not being on the air."

The Sandra Bullock-produced sitcom, which has already wrapped for the season, has been delivering mediocre ratings since it bowed in 2002, averaging 7.6 million viewers a week this season opposite Fox ratings powerhouse American Idol.

Lopez repaid Bullock last month for her dogged support of the series (she has guest-starred on the sitcom twice and frequently plugs the show during late-night talk-show appearances), turning up for the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Mar. 24.

Four days later, he appeared in a different venue--the Santa Maria, California, courthouse--to testify in Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial.

Lopez testified he met Jackson's accuser at a comedy camp for underprivileged children in 1999. When the child became ill with cancer in 2000, Lopez said he helped out the family with small donations--$40 or $50, here and there. Soon, Lopez said, the boy's father became "pretty aggressive" about the funds.

"It seemed to me at that time that [the father] was more interested in money than he was about his son," Lopez said.

Lopez is expected to be well enough to hit the publicity circuit for his upcoming movie project, Dimension Films' The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3-D. The Robert Rodriguez-helmed feature is due in theaters June 10.

Monday’s network prime-time program ratings have been delayed. When they are available they will be posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Another SHVERA update:

The FCC moved its open commission meeting to Friday, April 29, according to its website. (The meeting had previously been scheduled for Thursday.)

Two items on the agenda deal with implementing parts of SHVERA, the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act. They remain unchanged:

- Under Item 2, "The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that initiates a prodeeding to implement new satellite broadcast carriage requirements in the noncontiguous states." (Presumably that would mean Alaska and Hawaii.)

- Under Item 4, "The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry regarding standards that allow viewers that are unserved by a digital television broadcast station to receive network programming via satellite." (Emphasis mine -- dline)

Source: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-258326A1.pdf
___

dline posts this for information only and does not necessarily endorse any point of view contained in this post.

Fredfa,

Monday's ratings have been posted up on Zap2It.

i can see Paula having an affair with a contestant :)

Anything to get rid of reality TV is a good thing:-)

Monday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Last week’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

A listing of last week’s top-five and bottom-five major network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Fox Warns ABC About Potential Legal Action

By Michele Greppi TVWeek.com

The day after ABC News announced a special edition of "primetime>live" that would air Wednesday, May 4, and would devote an hour to "explosive claims" about off-camera activities at Fox hit "American Idol," there were reports that Fox has warned ABC to beware potential legal ramifications .

Corey Clark, a contestant in the second season of "American Idol" until charges he had assaulted his sister came to light in 2003, reportedly has shopped a book proposal that alleges, among other things, he had a secret relationship with "Idol" judge Paula Abdul. The May 2 Globe supermarket tabloid made Mr. Clark's charges the cover story in its issue currently on the newsstands.

ABC News has divulged no details about the "primetime" report.

"We are working on our report for next Wednesday, and we have no further comment ," said an ABC News spokesman Tuesday.

A spokesman for Fox Broadcasting also declined to comment.

This Fox / ABC thing is starting to look just like you thought it would be Fred. I just hope ABC has got it's ducks in a row....

It's always fun to watch the fur fly when two media giants start smacking each other.

Here is the latest from Matt Drudge at http://www.drudgereport.com/

FOX LEGAL THREAT OVER ABCNEWS 'AMERICAN IDOL' EXPOSÉ

**Exclusive**

ABC has been warned in writing it could face legal fallout for airing its scathing behind-the-scenes look at FOX's AMERICAN IDOL, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

FOX owner Rupert Murdoch has informed executives that it appears ABC is attempting to maliciously "destroy" the nation's most-watched series as it heads into the final weeks.

MORE

FOX believes ABC has interviewed a half a dozen losing contestants -- contestants who will claim AMERICAN IDOL producers and judges somehow manipulate the show's outcome!

MORE

ABCNEWS is planning to air the PRIMETIME LIVE exposé next Wednesday. A May Sweeps mauling.

"We got all these ridiculous questions yesterday from an ABC producer," a top IDOL source tells the DRUDGE REPORT. "ABC can not beat us with programming, so they are attempting to bring us down with lies and false charges."

At the center of the questions, the IDOL source claims, are the actions of show judge Paula Abdul.

"[ABC] is trying to say Paula somehow cheats and picks favorite singers to nurture, in violation of some sort of network standards," the IDOL source, who demanded anonymity, explains.

Fellow Judge Simon Cowell will tell TV show EXTRA Tuesday evening: "Paula, to be fair to her, will spend more time backstage with the contestants giving encouragement and everything else. But, that’s not a bad thing!"

Developing...

Fox, CBS eye sweeps edge
Auds swarm to Eye's 'Locusts' pic

By RICK KISSELL variety.com

Fox and CBS remain in a neck-and-neck battle for the season's coveted primetime young-adults ratings crown after battling to a draw last week. The four-week May sweep, which begins Thursday, will settle matters. A nice perf by original movie "Locusts" on Sunday complemented the Eye net's usual nightly victories on Monday and Thursday last week, while Fox easily won Tuesday and Wednesday courtesy of "American Idol" and revved up Saturday with NASCAR racing action.

According to Nielsen Media Research, CBS and Fox both averaged a 3.7 rating in adults 18-49 for the April 18-24 sesh, with ABC and NBC tied for third with a 3.2. The respective strengths of the network leaders were evident at the opposite ends of the 18-49 demo, with CBS rolling to victory in adults 25-54 (4.7/12) and Fox cruising among viewers 12-34 (3.3/11).

CBS also won convincingly as usual in total viewers (12.5 million).

Both CBS and Fox are searching for their first seasonlong 18-49 title since Nielsen employed People Meters to track the demo in 1987. (CBS is the decided leader in 18-49 if you throw out sports programming, averaging a 3.9 to a 3.6 for ABC and NBC and a 3.4 for Fox.)

Race could hinge on how well Fox's "American Idol" holds up opposite finales of other shows (including ABC's "Lost" on the season's final night), and what kind of boosts CBS gets from the two-hour "Amazing Race," "Survivor" and "CSI" finales.

Overall, the week of April 18-24 was a good one for dramas set in hospitals, with ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," NBC's "ER" and Fox's "House" all among the top 10 programs in 18-49. "Grey's" cracked the top five for the first time (8.1/19), hitting a high with its fifth episode.

For CBS, Thursday drama "CSI" led the way as usual (9.2/24 in adults 18-49, 27.02 million viewers overall), standing as the week's No. 1 program in total viewers. Spinoff "CSI: Miami" (6.8/18, 20.11m) also coasted to victory on Monday, a night that included the week's top two comedies -- Eye's "Two and a Half Men" (5.5/13 in 18-49, 17.13m) and "Everybody Loves Raymond" (5.4/14, 16.96m).

CBS also posted solid second-place finishes opposite tough competish Sunday, with "Cold Case" (3.8/10 in 18-49, 16.74m) and movie "Locusts" (3.8/9, 12.68m), and Tuesday with "Amazing Race 7" (5.1/13, 12.34m).
On Friday, new drama "Numbers" continues to perform well (slot-leading 3.3/10 in 18-49, 11.50m), but "Joan of Arcadia" didn't see much of a spike with its season finale (2.0/7, 7.54m).

Over at Fox, editions of "American Idol" dominated their timeslots on Tuesday (9.8/29 in 18-49, 24.11m) and Wednesday (9.7/25, 22.68m), and Tuesday drama "House" made the top 10 (6.5/16, 17.48m). Also of note was theatrical "Maid in Manhattan" (2.2/7 in 18-49, 6.09m), which greatly improved the net's Friday fortunes, and Wednesday laffer "Stacked," which held up well in its second outing (Daily Variety, April 22).

Over the weekend, Saturday's strong showing for a NASCAR race from Phoenix (3.4/11 in 18-49, 8.76m) helped make up for Sunday's weak results for the "American Top 40 Live" music spec (1.6/4, 3.81m).

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" was the week's No. 1 program in 18-49 (10.1/23) -- even with a clips show -- and was sandwiched between dominant skeins "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (6.9/18 in 18-49, 17.11m) and "Grey's Anatomy" (8.1/19, 17.90m).

There wasn't a whole lot else happening at the Alphabet for the week, though, as modest scores dominated the other nights of the week. One standout was Friday's "20/20" (2.9/9 in 18-49, 9.19m), which built sharply on its lead-in and was the week's No. 1 newsmag in adults 25-54 (3.6/10).

NBC was paced by the Thursday tandem of "ER" and "The Apprentice 3" (6.5/17 in 18-49, 13.89m), which posted its best scores in six weeks. Donald Trump skein didn't get much help from its lead-in comedies "Will & Grace" (3.5/10 in 18-49) and "Joey" (3.0/10), with the latter establishing an all-time firstrun low for NBC in Thursday's leadoff half-hour.

Peacock was solid on Wednesday with week two of "Revelations" (4.5/12 in 18-49, 11.77m) and "Law & Order" (4.9/13, 14.33m) and placed second in adults 18-34 and male demos Sunday with a two-hour edition of boxing skein "The Contender" (2.9/7 in 18-49, 5.97m).

At the weblets, the WB inched ahead of UPN in adults 18-34 (1.4/4 vs. 1.3/4), although the former was down 13% year-to-year while the latter -- which wasn't airing top-rated series "America's Next Top Model" at this time in 2004 -- shot up by 30%.

Among adults 18-49, UPN was up vs. the same week a year ago on all five nights it programs. Even modestly rated programs like "Veronica Mars" and "Enterprise" improved their timeslots. Lifting the Frog was the return of its Tuesday tandem "Gilmore Girls" and "One Tree Hill," which placed second to Fox in persons 12-34, and a nice showing by the first original "Everwood" since February (1.6/4 in 18-49, 4.42m).

The NBA Playoffs helped TNT finish well ahead of USA (0.86 to 0.71) for the primetime cable lead in adults 18-49, with FX's "The Shield" again the week's top scripted program in the demo (1.7/5).

Muddle thickens at CBS evening news

medialifemagazine.com---Bob Schieffer will retire in two years. Then what?

Perhaps two years will be enough time for the folks at CBS News to figure out what to do with “The Evening News.” For now, they clearly don’t know.

Earlier this year, CBS head Les Moonves suggested that the news show would move to a multiple anchor format when Dan Rather retired in March. Bob Schieffer, who took Rather’s place as interim anchor last month after insisting he didn’t want the job full time, began openly considering the full-time anchor slot.

All this came, of course, after Dan Rather’s much-buzzed-about shove out the door after a report he did on “60 Minutes Wednesday” turned out to rely on false documents.

Now the latest: Schieffer says that he’s retiring in 22 months, when he turns 70. He’ll apparently stay at the anchor desk until then. Beyond that, who knows? CBS News chief Andrew Heyward tells the Boston Globe that Moonves’ multiple anchor idea is not an option.
In an interview yesterday, Heyward indicated that Schieffer would stay on as anchor until he turns 70. That’s also a reversal from what Moonves said a few months ago, when he told TV reporters during the winter press tour that CBS was searching for an anchor or anchors who could reverse the “voice of God” authoritative anchor that’s defined network news for years.

The search has apparently ended without a permanent solution. A spokesperson for CBS News told Media Life this morning that Schieffer continues to carry the interim anchor tag. She also said it was too early to speculate on the future format for the newscast.

Reports had CBS considering everything from a female anchor to possibly “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, who works for Viacom sister network Comedy Central. Stewart said a few days ago that he was happy where he was and had no interest in the job.

There have already been some changes from the show's formerly rigid news format, with Schieffer preferring to toss unscripted questions at reporters on assignment during the broadcast. Critics have given Schieffer positive buzz, as has “60 Minutes’” Mike Wallace, who was critical of Rather.

But viewers haven’t responded. “Evening News” remains mired in third place, well behind NBC and ABC, with no ratings bump since Rather’s departure. In fact, Schieffer has done worse. For the week ending April 22, “Evening News” averaged a 4.4 household rating, well off the 5.3 Rather averaged this season.

CBS’s muddle comes during a time of real turmoil for the evening news. Tom Brokaw retired last December. After he left, ABC’s newscast with Peter Jennings, the longtime No. 2, crept ever closer to NBC replacement Brian Williams.

But Jennings was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this month and has been off the air undergoing chemotherapy.

It’s uncertain when the 67-year-old Jennings will return and for how long. ABC has not announced any plans for the news in the meantime beyond saying that Elizabeth Vargas and Charlie Gibson would fill in for him.

'Primetime' Indulges Its 'Idol' Curiosity

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post
ABC News has discovered "startling" things about Fox's singing competition series "American Idol" -- just in time for the May sweeps! In a news release more breathless than even an NBC promo for "ER" (you know, the ones that scream "a bomb goes off in the ER, Thursday at 10!!" only the "bomb" turns out to be some character having a nervous breakdown during his/her shift), ABC News announced yesterday that a special hour-long "Primetime Live" report "will explore explosive claims about behind-the-scenes activities at 'American Idol,' the hit television show that became a cultural phenomenon."

And, in a bit of understatement befitting a network news division, the special edition of "Primetime Live" has been titled "Fallen Idol." ABC News had not contacted anyone at Fox with questions about "explosive claims" on "American Idol" as of presstime, according to a Fox rep. (However, ABC News has contacted public relations firm BWR, which represents the show, asking to interview the "American Idol" judges and the producers, the agency confirmed.)

The news release was unusually short and coy for a broadcast network news division, giving no indication of what these "explosive claims" are.

There have been lots of news reports lately about a book proposal from Corey Clark -- an "American Idol" contestant from a couple of editions back who was booted after the Web site the Smoking Gun posted a report saying he was due in court that month for allegedly assaulting his teenage sister and resisting arrest. Clark claims in his book proposal that he had an affair with show judge Paula Abdul, and that she promised to help him pick tunes to sing during the competition and to spend millions promoting his career.

Oh, and Clark is preparing to release his first album.

In its report this week, the Globe, which seems to have the most dope on Clark's book proposal, quotes TV critic Marc Berman saying, "If the charges are true, then this is a huge scandal that could kill 'American Idol.' If a judge and a contestant have an affair, the future of the entire show is in jeopardy."

A call placed late yesterday to Abdul's publicist had not been returned at press time.

At the end of its posting on the Globe report on Clark's book proposal, the Web site Mediabistro yesterday cleverly added the words "Twenty One," "Charles Van Doren" and "Quiz Show," in order, it said, to make sure the story shows up "on the Google search about to be conducted by every lazy cultural commentator in the country."

Now we have, too.

"Fallen Idol" is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4. "Primetime Live" normally airs on Thursday. But, of course, Wednesday is results night on "American Idol."

Ratings slump for CBS news

Peacock, Alphabet in close race

By MICHAEL LEARMONTH variety.com

NEW YORK -- CBS' "Evening News," led by interim anchor Bob Schieffer, saw its lowest viewer tally on record last week, while the sprint for first in the evening news race remained incredibly close with 150,000 viewers separating NBC and ABC.

CBS' 6.1 million average nightly viewers last week was its lowest total since record-keeping started in 1987.
Meanwhile, NBC's Brian Williams held a hair-thin margin over a Peter Jennings-less ABC. The Peacock retained the overall lead, which it has kept for 42 straight weeks, but the two newscasts tied in the 25-54 demographic on which advertising is sold.

ABC's "World News Tonight" has been without the on-air presence of Jennings for the past three weeks as he undergoes chemotherapy for lung cancer. Jennings has been in the ABC studios and contributing as managing editor of the newscast, but his voice is still too weak for him to return to the anchor chair.

Low ratings for "Evening News" are a setback for CBS, which had received plenty of critical acclaim for the Schieffer-led broadcast. Schieffer scored a notable scoop on the Minnesota school shooting story in his first week on the air, and the newscast showcased his conversational style via live Q&As with correspondents.

CBS has averaged a little more than 6.8 million viewers in Schieffer's first six weeks at the helm, down 7% from the same period last year. NBC also was down 7% in the same period from last year, while ABC was flat.

"Our focus right now is on the content of the broadcast. We realize it will take time for the audience to respond to the changes we're making," said CBS News spokeswoman Donna Dees. "The journalism is strong, the spirit is fresh, and the initial reaction has been very positive."

In cable news, Fox News Channel showed a rare weakness, slipping 6% in total audience in April from the same period a year ago, while CNN gained 11% and MSNBC 7%.

Fox averaged 825,000 viewers in a month marked by the deaths of Pope John Paul II and Terry Schiavo, compared to 531,000 for CNN, 249,000 for MSNBC and 235,000 for CNN's Headline News.

Headline News appears to have ceded third place to MSNBC after a strong start and plenty of marketing power behind its revamped "Headline Prime" lineup.

In primetime, Fox was up 1% to 1.5 million viewers, led by a 25% increase for "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren," while CNN grew 6% in prime to 893,000, led by a 37% increase for "Anderson Cooper 360."

Why May Sweeps is Important
Networks' 4-Way Dash to the Finish
Competition for 18-49 Demo Culminates in May Sweeps
By Christopher Lisotta TVWeek.com

In theory, networks shouldn't be all that concerned when it comes to sweeps.

Yes, sweeps are crucial for owned-and-operated stations and network affiliates in setting their advertising rates. And yes, strong prime-time programming can only help stations' late local news and various dayparts. But for the networks the sweeps are mostly useful for bragging rights.

This year, however, the networks' performance in May sweeps, which runs from April 28 through May 25, will decide who will take the No. 1 title in the advertiser-friendly adults 18 to 49 demographic.

As of April 17 Fox holds the season lead in adults 18 to 49 with a 4.1 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. Just one-tenth of a rating behind is CBS with a 4.0, followed by ABC (3.8), NBC (3.6) and The WB and UPN (both 1.4).

"I'd be a liar if I said the season turned out exactly as I predicted," said Mitch Metcalf, executive VP of program planning and scheduling for once dominant NBC, which at this point last season was in first place in the demo with a 4.2. "It's amazing to see where we are, where just a few tenths of a percent separate first and fourth place."

In a marketplace where the No. 1- and No. 4-rated network in adults 18 to 49 are so close in parity, sweeps scheduling takes on new meaning, since one disastrous night or one brilliant stroke of programming can make a dominant network. But for ABC, currently in third place in the demo, even being competitive this season after last season's distant fourth-place finish is a win in itself.

"We just want to continue the success we've had all season," said Jeff Bader, executive VP of ABC Entertainment. "We love our double-digit increases. Everyone's going to be close, which for us is a victory. We weren't in the game at all last year."

Preston Beckman, Fox's executive VP of strategic program planning and research, said the end-of-the-season outcome may be something never before seen since the advent of people meters-a tie between two networks, most likely Fox and CBS, for the top spot in the demo.

"We'll be duking it out with CBS for adults 18 to 49 right through May sweeps," Mr. Beckman said. "Both for CBS and us this is a major success story."

For Fox, which last week was leading the pack in the season-to-date demo average, the fact that it is competitive despite a spate of programming misfires at the beginning of the season is due to the performance of "American Idol" as well as its new medical drama "House" and the rescheduled "24" on Mondays.

"If you go back and look at the stuff that was written about us in October and November, a lot of people who write about the business wrote us off," he said.

CBS, which has touted itself for years as the dominant network in total viewers and the older-skewing demo of adults 25 to 54, is now enjoying success in adults 18 to 49.

Kelly Kahl, senior executive VP of programming operations for CBS and UPN, said gunning for first place in the demo "is a real bonus for us."

Even if Fox takes the season in adults 18 to 49, Mr. Kahl said, CBS is primed to do better when it comes to the advertiser upfronts in May.

"We certainly hope this is going to translate to a much improved position," he said. "In terms of regularly scheduled programming we are No. 1 in adults 18 to 49, and the most dominant in adults 18 to 49 with Thursday. Clearly we are hoping to see a real shift in terms of advertiser dollars."

Despite some notable special programs, including two Dr. Phil McGraw specials, an Elvis Presley miniseries and a TV movie profiling Amber Frey, who dated convicted murderer Scott Peterson, Mr. Kahl said CBS is sticking with its series.

"We tend to keep the schedule as stable as possible," he said. "You do have a little more stunting toward the end of sweeps as series conclude."

That doesn't mean CBS is averse to last-minute changes. Initially CBS was planning to run the TV movie "Martha: Behind Bars," which profiles Martha Stewart's incarceration, on Wednesday, May 25, but decided to hold "Martha" until the fall. Instead the Amber Frey biopic has been moved from Sunday, May 22, to the "Martha" spot.

Mr. Kahl chalked up the "Martha" move to the fact that Ms. Stewart will launch two shows in fall 2005, something on which CBS hopes to capitalize. "There is going to be a lot of natural attention, which will make promoting the movie a lot easier," he said.

CBS may have another reason for making the scheduling change. The network will run reruns of "CSI" and "CSI: Miami" May 22 instead, keeping the Amber Frey project clear of the "Desperate Housewives" finale, which is scheduled for the same night.

Both ABC and Fox will be relying at least partially on feature films, a sweeps staple. Although ABC has been consistently programming features on Saturdays, this sweeps the network is taking a chance by putting two female friendly movies on Thursday-"Sweet Home Alabama" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"-with the hopes of recapturing an audience of young women once addicted to NBC's former Thursday night linchpin "Friends."

"The ratings points haven't gone to other networks," Mr. Bader said of the "Friends" audience. "It's going to be interesting to see how these movies do with women who were specifically watching NBC last year."

Mr. Beckman said Fox is also taking a chance this sweeps with the relaunch of the once-canceled animated series "Family Guy." After strong sales of "Family Guy" DVDs, Fox opted to produce new episodes of the series, with the hopes of building a new television audience from fans who never watched the show when it first aired. Fox also is launching "American Dad," another animated series from "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane.

"We'll find out if we're right or wrong," he said of the May debuts. "We could be totally delusional, but we think the anticipation of new episodes [of 'Family Guy'] has gone beyond cult status at this point. I generally sleep well when we make big, wild moves, but I don't think I'm going to get a lot of sleep that night."

May Sweeps Highlights

ABC: "Sweet Home Alabama" gets its broadcast premiere April 28. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" airs April 30, while the network debut of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" airs May 7. "Extreme Makeover: Wedding Edition" walks down the aisle May 9. Jennifer Garner directs the May 11 episode of "Alias," guest starring Joel Gray and Amy Irving. An NBA playoff game airs May 14. Ashanti stars as Dorothy in "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" May 20. Alfre Woodard joins the cast of "Desperate Housewives" for the show's season finale May 22. The TV Movie "Trump Unauthorized" profiling the rise of Donald Trump premieres May 24. The castaways try to open the mysterious hatch on the season finale of "Lost" May 25.

CBS: The Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie "Riding the Bus With My Sister," starring Rosie O'Donnell, airs May 1. Dr. Phil McGraw gets prime-time specials May 4 and May 20. "Amazing Race 7" concludes May 10. The miniseries "Elvis" airs May 8 and May 11, followed by the documentary "Elvis by the Presleys" May 13. The "Survivor: Palau" finale and a live "Survivor" reunion show air May 15. A one-hour "Everybody Loves Raymond" retrospective airs on May 16 at 8 p.m., followed by "Raymond's" series finale. The Academy of Country Music Awards airs May 17, followed by the Daytime Emmys on May 20. The TV movie "Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution" premieres May 25.

NBC: Lee Majors guest stars on "Will & Grace" April 28, while Sandra Bernhard reprises her guest role as Det. Framus on "Crossing Jordan" May 1. May 3 marks "Law & Order"/ "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" crossover episodes. "Third Watch" series finale airs May 6. Three-hour TV movie "Hercules" airs May 16. "Revelations" wraps up its six-episode run on May 18. A new "Apprentice" is hired May 19, while Noah Wyle works his last shift on the "ER" season finale. On May 23, newlyweds battle it out on the "Fear Factor" season finale while Jon Bon Jovi and Gladys Knight guest star in the season finale of "Las Vegas." A final "Contender" is crowned champ May 24 in a two-hour special.

Fox: During sweeps Friday night is movie night with "Spider-Man" (April 29), "Rush Hour 2" (May 6), "X-Men" (May 13) and "Shallow Hal" (May 20). "Cops" runs its 600th episode April 30. On May 1 Fox airs the 350th episode of "The Simpsons," the return of "Family Guy" and the series premiere of the animated "American Dad." "2005 Nascar Nextel Cup" drives in May 7. Sela Ward guest stars on "House" May 17 and May 24. The special "American Idol: International Best of the Worst" airs May 19. "Star Wars: episode II: Attack of the Clones" has its broadcast premiere May 22. A new "American Idol" is crowned in a two-hour episode May 25.

UPN: On "All of Us," Paula Abdul guest stars on May 3, while Mary Hart appears as herself on May 10. Toni Braxton and "Top Model" Eva Pigford guest star on "Kevin Hill" May 4. Lilly Kane's murderer is revealed on the May 10 "Veronica Mars." "Star Trek: Enterprise" ends its voyage with a two-episode series finale May 13. Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline premiere their new reality series with a one-hour episode May 17. The fourth "America's Next Top Model" is chosen May 18. Blair Underwood guest stars on "Half & Half" May 23. Jenny McCarthy's comedy "Bad Girl's Guide" debuts May 24, while hip-hop artist Ludacris guest stars on "Eve."

The WB: "Blue Collar TV" comedian Ron White gets a half-hour comedy special April 28, followed by the one-hour renovation special "Mobile Home Disaster." Lou Diamond Phillips, Tim Robbins and Gore Vidal guest star on the May 11 season finale of "Jack & Bobby." The May 18 season finale of "Smallville" previews eight minutes of footage from the feature film "Batman Begins." Treat Williams' character Andy considers a move to Chicago in the May 23 season finale of "Everwood." The two-hour May 24 season finale of "One Tree Hill" features musical guest Jimmy Eat World.

You will often read references to the “Upfront” announcements.

Those refer to the glitzy, star-filled May meetings with advertisers where the networks announce their fall schedules as well as the advertising rates they will be charging for their shows.

Often a show’s producers don’t find out until shortly before the upfront announcements if the program will get a network commitment. For shows on the ratings bubble the wait can be particularly nerve-wracking.

Here is a schedule of when this year’s upfront announcements will be made.
(All of the sessions are in New York City.)

NBC Monday May 16 3 PM ET
Radio City Music Hall

The WB Tuesday May 17 TBA
Madison Square Garden

ABC Tuesday May 17 2 PM ET
Lincoln Center

CBS Wednesday May 18 TBA
Carnegie Hall

UPN Thursday May 19 11 AM ET
Madison Square Garden

Fox Thursday May 19 4 PM ET
City Center Theatre

From Michael Ausiello’s Entertainment News, TVGuide.com Wednesday, April 27, 2005

IDOL BOMBSHELL: ABC's American Idol exposé doesn't air until next Wednesday, but already Paula Abdul is going on the defensive. In a statement released to Access Hollywood and then passed on to TVGuide.com via an Access Hollywood publicist (phew!), a spokesperson for Abdul said, "Paula will not dignify the false statements made by [former contestant] Corey Clark with a response." Oddly enough, the rep then proceeded to dignify the so-called false statements made by Corey Clark with a response, insisting, "Mr. Clark is an admitted liar and opportunist who engages in unlawful activities. He is communicating lies about Paula Abdul in order to generate interest in a book deal." Abdul has also threatened ABC with a lawsuit if it moves ahead with the Primetime Live piece, in which Clark reportedly claims to have romanced the pint-size judge while he was a contestant on the show. Even more damaging, Abdul was allegedly sober during one of the encounters.

Tuesday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Lower the lights for NBC's 'The Office
Finale of Brit import sitcom in a ratings tumble
medialifemagazine.com---NBC had high hopes for its comedy “The Office.” The British version had become hugely popular, even here in the States, and NBC’s American version received decent reviews before it launched.

The network’s one worry was whether the show would connect with viewers used to broad humor and a predictable laugh-tracked pace.

In place of canned laughter, "The Office" provided awkward pauses and the sort of one-liners that sink in slowly and sometimes not at all.

NBC's one worry was a big one. The show did not connect with viewers, and it connected less and less over its short lifespan.

NBC aired the season finale of “Office” on Tuesday night at 9:30, and it delivered a series low 2.2 rating among viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, all but assuring the episode was also the series finale. The 2.2 is 27.2 percent lower than the already-low 3.1 rating the show had averaged in its previous five episodes.

That came against relatively weak competition. Fox’s “House” was a rerun last night at 9 p.m., and “The Office” fumbled 19 percent of lead-in “Scrubs.”

The show started off with promise, premiering on a Thursday with a 5.0 rating, equaling its “Apprentice” lead-in. But the following week “The Office” moved to its regular night, Tuesdays, and began to falter.

The show dipped to a 2.7 in its second week, jumped back to a 2.9 in week three, then leveled off at a 2.4 in weeks four and five. Than came Tuesday night’s series-low 2.2.

Though NBC is desperate for comedies, “The Office” just hasn’t shown enough signs of life to return.

A good season, with reason
By Robert Bianco USA TODAY

All good things must come to an end.

The great news is that the soon-to-conclude 2004-05 TV season truly does count as a "good thing," unlike most of its recent predecessors. After years of dedicating all their creative energy to cloning their own hits or stealing someone else's, the networks finally came up with a few new, popular ideas. Desperate Housewives alone might be enough to make the season a success — and that's not even counting the equally admirable Lost and House.

Nor was all the good news confined to new shows. Alias, 24 and Gilmore Girls bounced back from weak seasons to reclaim spots among TV's elite, while NYPD Blue showed how a classic can go out with class.
Obviously, no TV season is perfect, certainly not one that featured such reality abominations as Who's Your Daddy and The Will. The most we can ask is that the good outweigh the bad. This season, it did.

So with May on the way and the season on the way out, we pause to look at the best and worst the TV year had to offer — our picks for the High Five and the Low Five of '05.

The good

5. The revival of scripted TV Desperate Housewives and Lost didn't just revive ABC's fortunes, they also reminded viewers and networks alike of the pleasures and profits to be found in scripted television. Certainly, after years in which it seemed the only thing people wanted to talk about was who was kissing Joe Millionaire in the woods or kissing up to Donald Trump in the boardroom, it has been a joy to see the conversation turn to the sexual antics on Wisteria Lane and the hidden secrets of that mysterious island.


Like a rising tide, the success of these two breakout hits seemed to spark interest in other scripted hours. Certainly, there's no happier surprise this season than the success of House, a whip-smart drama many people (well, OK: me) feared was too adult to fit into Fox's kid-friendly lineup. As for those kids, a small but savvy group of them discovered UPN's Veronica Mars —a cult hit now, but a show that could someday attract a wider audience.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg in a broadcast season that boasts such dramatic worthies as 24, Alias, Gilmore Girls, Without a Trace, CSI, CSI: Miami, Grey's Anatomy, Eyes and Jack & Bobby. Each offers a good reason to set aside reality and bask in the age-old glow of strongly etched characters and well-told stories.

4. Basic-cable dramas In general, if you're looking for original dramas, you still need to look to the broadcast networks, Showtime or HBO. But over the past few years, a few basic-cable networks have carved out their own niche, producing shows that blend the unregulated creative freedom of premium cable with the popular appeal of broadcast hits.

The upshot this season were two of TV's best new series, FX's Rescue Me and Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica (the best space adventure since Sci Fi's own Farscape).

Granted, these series bright spots are few and far between in a cable landscape still dominated by wrestling and reruns. Still, any business that can give us Rescue Me, Battlestar and FX's Nip/Tuck is a business worth encouraging.

3. Uninterrupted runs How do you stretch 20-some episodes over a 36-week season? Sometimes, you don't.

The normal broadcast pattern is to premiere series in September and end them in May, which means networks either have to repeat episodes or replace the shows entirely for a spell. But now and then they offer us a third choice: uninterrupted, full-length runs.

The greatest beneficiaries of the twist were ABC's Alias and Fox's 24. Heavily serialized and amusingly complex, these series have stories that are best told straight through. Interruptions cause viewers to lose interest and patience and give them too much time to ponder the logic of the plot.

Economic realities mean such runs will always be the exception, not the rule. But for Alias and 24, that exception has paid creative and ratings dividends — and that's a good reason to break a rule.

2. Reality in retreat Failure could be the best thing that ever happened to reality-based TV. Last year, after all, it looked as if we all might drown in the reality tide. But that was before this season's rash of failures, a catalog of fast flops that included The Benefactor, Branson's Quest for the Best, The Next Great Champ, Wickedly Perfect and Who's Your Daddy - one of the most loathsome ideas in the genre's short, sorry history.

With any luck, this purge has taught the networks that the only way to preserve the genre for the long run is to cut back in the short run. The best shows will and should survive: TV would be a much more boring place without American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race and America's Next Top Model. But there's a limit to how many times you can recycle the exact same idea, a limit surpassed by The Starlet, BMOC, and The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott.

The worst reality ideas haven't disappeared, unfortunately. They've simply migrated down to the basic-cable nether regions occupied by A&E and E! Though come to think of it, that is sort of like disappearing.

1. Freshened faces Yes, TV creates new stars. But it also can give new life to old stars, and that can be an even greater gift. The most obvious example is Desperate Housewives, which took four fabulous women — Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria — and turned them into cover girls. Or consider Lost, which turned teen-favorite Matthew Fox into an adult leading man; or Numb3rs, which gave sitcom-killer David Krumholtz his first appealing role; or Eyes, which has provided a showcase for previously underappreciated Tim Daly.

Still, when it comes to well-earned stardom, the season's prize goes to House's brilliant star, Hugh Laurie. Even those of us who adored Laurie's work in such British comic wonders as Jeeves and Wooster and the Black Adder series never knew he had House in him. Thank goodness the producers did.

The bad

5. The sitcom drought Oh, Joey, what have you done?
Granted, the pilot for NBC's Friends spinoff Joey was no great breakthrough. But it was funny and self-assured and competent — something the show hasn't achieved since. And as Joey goes, so has the genre this season, stumbling from one horrid mess to the next. You know a genre is in trouble when the best current example of the form, Fox's Arrested Development, has a surer shot at an Emmy than at renewal.

That doesn't mean the sitcom is dead: There's no reason to think that the millions of people who made Friends the top-rated show on TV just a few years ago have suddenly deserted the genre en masse. If they're not watching sitcoms, it's because so few of them are worth watching.

How can the form be fixed? For a start, the networks might consider the success of Desperate Housewives, an hour-long comedy built around women. You remember women, don't you? They're the people who used to star in such shows as I Love Lucy, Designing Women and Roseanne, before the networks decided to consign most of them to playing smart, second-banana wives with dumb, unattractive husbands. Turns out women found that less than amusing.

Go figure.

4. Shows that will not die Far too many shows these days are forgotten but not gone. The problem is that the networks have grown so enamored of long-running hits and so afraid of development failures that they want to eke every possible season out of every TV success. Surely fear is the only reason NBC is bringing back Will & Grace, as nothing in the show this season could lead anyone to believe the writers have anything new to say or anyplace new to take these characters.

The sad truth is that most shows today outlive their welcome — tying up time, talent and money that would be better spent elsewhere. Most stories can't be stretched over a decade, and most series can't survive time-induced cast changes — a trick that works far better for a plot-driven show such as Law & Order than a character-driven show such as West Wing.

There's an art to knowing when the time has come to get off the stage. Unfortunately, at NBC these days it's a lost art.

3. Kiddie reality It takes an electronic village to raze a child.
Once content to simply make bratty kids secondary targets in shows like The Osbournes, TV has now elevated them to stardom — the worst examples being those bottom-dwelling twins, Supernanny and Nanny 911.

Never mind the drivel about "fixing" these families; these shows exist to mine entertainment out of out-of-control children. Which means parents who have failed to raise their children properly have now failed to protect those same children from public ridicule. And we all join in.

Though it pains me to say so, the same complaint goes for MTV's addictive teenage bratfest My Super Sweet 16, about overprivileged, undermannered kids bullying their submissive parents into throwing over-the-top birthday parties. The show makes a fairly compelling argument against inherited wealth; still, rich children are children. I don't know when we adults decided mocking children for fun and profit was suitable entertainment, but it's time we grew out of it.

2. TV franchisation In September, we wondered how many Law & Orders and CSIs were too many. Now we know: for L&O, four; for CSI, three.

As it turns out, it takes more than a name to make a show. You also have to come up with a few compelling characters and some workable distinction that separates the copy from the original. CSI: NY failed the first task; L&O: Trial by Jury the second.

And while we're complaining about franchise creep, it would be nice if CBS would stop trying to turn The Amazing Race into Survivor on the Go. The nasty tricks and backbiting maneuvers that work on Survivor should stay on Survivor —and the people who play on Survivor, or any other reality show, should stay off TV afterward. You people aren't franchises. You get one outlet, and then get out.

1. Time games All right, networks, repeat after me: Shows start and end on the hour or half-hour. That means, ABC, that Desperate Housewives should end at 10, not 10:02; and Alias should start at 9, not 9:01. As for NBC's long-established habit of starting ER at 9:59 — stop it. You networks keep playing these games with viewers, and someone's going to get hurt. And trust me, it's going to be you.

This Week’s Winners and Losers

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Wednesday, April 27, 2005; C07

More than half of last week's Top 10 shows were scripted series. But only two of the Top 30 were comedies ("Two and a Half Men" in ninth place and "Everybody Loves Raymond" in 11th), unless you count "Desperate Housewives" and CBS's bionic locust flick as comedies -- which we do. Here's a look at last week's grins and groans:

WINNERS

"Desperate Housewives: Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry." The ABC drama series clip job was the week's most watched show among the 18- to 49-year-olds advertisers crave. It's the show's ninth time in that top spot this season -- the most of any series.

"Grey's Anatomy." ABC's new hot-docs- in-training drama clocked 18 million viewers and landed in the Top 10 list.

"Will & Grace" posted its second smallest audience ever -- about 8 million viewers. And yet NBC is about to announce it's picking up the show for an eighth season, mostly because those 8 million viewers are very upscale.

"Stacked." Pamela Anderson: Fox's most popular duo on Wednesday nights, adding a million viewers compared with those other Fox boobs, Paris and Nicole at 8 p.m.

LOSERS

"American Top 40 Live." Fox's Ryan Seacrest-hosted, Ryan Seacrest-executive-produced homage to a Ryan Seacrest-hosted, Ryan Seacrest-executive-produced syndicated radio show attracted a measly 3.8 million viewers Sunday. It was the least watched original broadcast on any of the Big Four networks last week; only an NBC "Crossing Jordan" repeat on Saturday copped a smaller audience on the Big 4.

"Everybody Loves Raymond." After six consecutive reruns, CBS finally broadcast an original "Raymond," but fewer than 17 million fans knew it -- the outgoing sitcom's second smallest audience this season for an original episode.

"Crossing Jordan." Opposite "Grey's Anatomy" and with a sad-sack "Contender" lead-in, NBC's crime drama suffered its smallest audience ever for an original episode Sunday -- under 9 million viewers, which is about 1 million smaller than its second smallest audience on record.

"Joan of Arcadia." The season, and possibly series, finale clocked 1 million fewer viewers than last season's finale.

Originally posted by fredfa
A good season, with reason
By Robert Bianco USA TODAY

1. Time games All right, networks, repeat after me: Shows start and end on the hour or half-hour. That means, ABC, that Desperate Housewives should end at 10, not 10:02; and Alias should start at 9, not 9:01. As for NBC's long-established habit of starting ER at 9:59 — stop it. You networks keep playing these games with viewers, and someone's going to get hurt. And trust me, it's going to be you.

Robert should know that the nets do this to throw off people's Tivos that are set to record shows by time instead of by show title, which Tivos offer! I always records by a show's title,, but mishaps do occur in the case of conflicting start times.

I guess I am lucky.
My TiVo has never missed starting correctly at one of those awkward start times.
Orginally, by the way, the early ER start time was to keep folks from switching to another program.
The late endings is similar: to keep you past the start of other programs so you miss their beginnings.
Of course it seriously screws up most VCR tapings, unless people are really careful about how they set up their recordings.

Why Survivor's Janu Quit the Tribe

by Angel Cohn TVGuide.com

No season of Survivor would be complete without a few twists, and Palau has proved no different. Last Thursday, Janu Tornell was the first contestant to drop out of an immunity challenge that required the Survivors to be submerged in an underwater cage. Janu's punishment was temporary exile on another island. Surprisingly, the 39-year-old Vegas showgirl loved her solitary confinement, then voluntarily brought Jeff her torch to snuff during tribal council. Here, TVGuide.com learns why Janu called it quits.

TVGuide.com: You looked really thin toward the end. How much weight did you lose?
Janu Tornell: About 12 lbs. It took a toll. There was no water and then no food. Then [when] there was food, I would throw it up every single time. It was really rough.

TVG: How was it dealing with the rats?
Janu: At first they freaked me out. Afterward, they just became gerbils and Muppets. They are just part of the tribe. What can you do? I would sleep next to Coby and, bless his heart, he had a rat stick and he would say, "Go away, rats, and leave my sugar alone." And I would scream. They were not afraid of us.

TVG: Coby — who now sits in the jury — looked so disappointed when you quit. I think he took it harder than you did.
Janu: Possibly, or at least [equally]. He's gone, so who's going to stir it up? Now I'm gone and the only other hope is for Stephenie to stir it up. I think that is why he gave a look to Stephenie when I laid my torch down.

TVG: Any regrets about your decision?
Janu: No, none whatsoever. I got what I got out of it. I don't come from a family of wealth. If somebody were to [hold out their hands and] say to me, "Here's $1 million or here is the experience that you had," there is just no equality there. A million dollars would have been great — I'm not saying I wouldn't have liked the $1 million!

TVG: You seemed a little undecided during tribal council. What pushed you to quit?
Janu: When I started to listen to how the [tribe] was answering the questions that [host] Jeff [Probst] was asking them. I realized I'm a play piece. I am a pawn and they are moving me around. [I thought,] "Eventually, I'm going to go, and I'm ready to go now. So I'm going to go when I want to go, and it is going to make them think twice about what is happening."

TVG: So you did stir up a little more trouble.
Janu: I did. Just to their faces and not behind their backs.

TVG: Being sequestered on that island alone seemed to rejuvenate you. Would more time there have changed your decision?
Janu: No, it wouldn't have changed anything. It changed me, but I just couldn't stand being [in the game] anymore. I was able to play the game and not talk bad about anybody. [I don't understand how you] are able to change your complete personality and be this "game" person and still live with yourself. If somebody can explain that one to me, then maybe I'll have a different viewpoint. I don't see how it can be done.

TVG: Were you freaked about when you had to go to the island alone?
Janu: No. I wasn't. Absolutely not. I remember being in the cage and thinking, "I almost want to go on exile." Then Jeff started talking, asking, "Are you getting cold, Janu?"

TVG: It seemed like Jeff was trying to make you quit that challenge.
Janu: No. He knows this game better than anybody. He is very good at assessing what is happening, and good [at saying] things that are going to trigger your mind. He's not just a host. He gets in your face. He got in their faces when they were in the cage and said, "Here you are, this happy Koror tribe, and one of your members gets [exiled] by her choice, but you guys are laughing. What is this, open mic session?" That shut them up.

TVG: Katie gave you the most trouble. Was she the hardest to get along with?
Janu: Yes. She was the most difficult. Do I hate her? Absolutely not. Do I have ill feelings toward her? Absolutely not. For her, I was a piece that she could do her stand-up comedy act [about] and be on camera all the time. She's not funny. To me, she's hurtful.

TVG: Are you planning to return to your Vegas show?
Janu: I don't think so. But I don't want to close the doors because I loved working the show. They have been supportive.

Honorable discharge
"JAG," un-hip but loved in Middle America, ends its 10-year run
By Tom Jicha South Florida Sun-Sentinal April 28, 2005

"JAG" epitomizes the disconnect between Hollywood and Middle America. The military drama ends its 227-episode run Friday still a fan favorite, and still a pariah in the industry. Despite surviving 10 seasons, the series and its actors have never been even nominated for an Emmy. The only nods from the Academy have come in technical categories.

Emmys don't keep series on the air for a decade; ratings do, so creator-executive producer Don Bellisario said he took the snubs from his peers in stride. "Hollywood is a very liberal community that doesn't have a great affinity for the military. At first, it was a bit irritating, but you get used to it."

"JAG" has always been a red-state show. "It does great in Middle America," Bellisario said. "The Northeast and major cities are not as strong." Los Angeles, the capital of the entertainment business, is one of "JAG's" weakest markets.

If not for Bellisario's hit-maker reputation from Magnum, P.I. and Quantum Leap, "JAG" probably would never have made the air. As it was, NBC tried to change almost everything about Bellisario's vision. The network scotched his choice of Andrea Parker as the female lead. "They wanted a blonde with more sex appeal," he said. "They also wanted a lot more action."

Even though "JAG" was a steady, if not spectacular, ratings producer, NBC dropped it after one season. Bellisario finds it amusing that NBC replaced his series with "The Pretender" - with Andrea Parker as the female lead.

Bellisario learned of the cancellation in a curious way: He got calls from ABC and CBS, who were interested in picking up the show. ABC offered a possible Monday slot after football season. CBS tendered a definite 13-episode commitment. Bellisario went for the sure thing. By the time NBC notified him he was canceled, his series already had a new home, he said. Better yet, CBS gave him free rein to do the show as he saw fit.

Nine years later, financial rather than creative or Nielsen considerations are finally bringing an end to the series. Bellisario has known since the start of this season that his star, David James Elliott, would not be back as Harm Rabb Jr. His contract was up and the show couldn't afford the raise he was seeking.

USA and Hallmark, which own the cable rerun rights, were committed to buying only the first 10 seasons, plenty for their purposes. Without the back-end money from syndication, new episodes would result in a substantial loss, according to Bellisario.

CBS discussed ways to create a less expensive show. One possibility had Catherine Bell's Mac Mackenzie operating solo out of a JAG office in San Diego. Costs were still an issue and neither party was thrilled with the potential for such a show anyway.

While "JAG's" ratings are still equal or superior to some series that will be coming back, they are not what they used to be, a normal situation among series that have been on as long as "JAG." Moreover, the audience tends to skew beyond the age groups Madison Avenue courts.

"I don't find a lot of interest toward the military among young people," said Bellisario, a 69-year-old former Marine. "It comes from people who grew up with the military." Another problem, he acknowledged, was even those who were 49 when the show debuted -- the upper limit of TV's hottest demo -- are now 59.

As the end approaches, the big issue for fans is whether Harm and Mac finally act on the sexual tension that has been a teasing backdrop. Bellisario doesn't want to give anything away but he says, "I think all the fans will be satisfied."

"JAG" has been doing that for 10 years, so there is no reason to doubt him.

Dubya speech a sweeps nightmare

variety.com
(This article was updated at 10:45 PM PT Wednesday)

President Bush's last-minute decision to call a primetime news conference for tonight -- the first night of the May sweeps -- sent network schedulers scrambling late Wednesday to decide whether or not to broadcast the event.

CBS, NBC and even Fox all have key programs on Thursday night, and pre-empting or delaying those shows could cost the nets millions in ad revenue -- not to mention make a difference in the final tally.

CBS, which dominates the first two hours of the night, is loathe to mess with "Survivor" or "CSI," while NBC wouldn't want to touch "The Apprentice." Same for Fox and "The O.C.""The O.C."

No firm decisions had been made as of last night

Variety.com reports that Fox has renewed the reality series "Nanny 911" for a second season.

Summer stocked: NBC's sked gets a major reality check

By JOSEF ADALIAN variety.com

NBC has set a summer slate boasting at least six new reality series, including an unscripted parental switch laffer dubbed "Meet Mister Mom." Peacock plans to roll out its fresh fare in short bursts throughout the summer, with at least two skeins bowing in June, July and August. New fare will air primarily on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, keeping the lights on during two nights likely to feature significant changes come fall.

Summer sked includes several celeb-fronted reality skeins, with Tommy Lee, Kathy Hilton and attorney Roy Black all headlining series. Lineup also includes the return of Peacock hits "The Biggest Loser" and "Average Joe."

NBC scheduling topper Mitch Metcalf said the net's strategy is to make sure there's new programming rolling out every few weeks during the season. "We have six shows, and we want to roll them out in a logical way and not put everything on too early or too late," he said. "We don't want to tax our promotional resources. We also want to have some promising series start later and carry through" until the 2005-06 fall season starts in late September. "The important thing is to treat all three months seriously," Metcalf added.

'Keeping it light'

Exec said the overall theme of NBC's summer fare this year "is having fun and keeping it light. In that respect, all of them are going to fit together."

Metcalf plans to keep NBC's Monday lineup in tact, with repeats of "Law & Order"-branded skeins set to remain Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 PM On Thursdays, a double run of "Will & Grace" will air from 9-10 PM, with more comedy set to air from 8-9 PM

Two-hour "Datelines" will fill most of Friday nights, while plans for Sunday are still in flux. And on the specials front, NBC airs the Miss Universe pageant on May 30.

As for new series, barring any additional entries, NBC's summer slate is scheduled to bow Tuesday, June 21, with "I Want to Be a Hilton." Previously announced skein features 14 young contestants who want the chance to live the high life, with Paris' mom serving as mentor.

"Hilton" will have a two-hour premiere from 8-10 PM before settling into its regular 9-10 PM slot the following week.

Hey, 'Joe'

On June 28 at 8 PM, NBC premieres "Average Joe 4: The Joes Strike Back." Latest incarnation of the dating skein is expected to have a twist, though the net isn't saying just yet what that is.

A month later, on Wednesday, June 27, David E. Kelley's first reality skein, "The Law Firm," will have a two-hour premiere in a timeslot to be determined. Black guides the competish-based skein pitting real lawyers against each other.

It's expected "Law Firm" -- a Renegade 83, Kelley and 20th Century Fox TV production -- will move to 9 PM Wednesdays the next week, making room for "Meet Mister Mom" to bow on Wednesday, Aug. 3, at 8 PM.
Latter skein features two superbusy families headed by "superstar" moms, who at the start of the show are sent to a spa. The dads then get the task of running the home for a week, competing to see who can best handle the stress -- though, in the end, all is not as it seems. (In other words, there's a secret twist.)

Final two NBC originals are expected to launch on Tuesday, Aug. 9, with "Biggest Loser 2" kicking off the night with a 90-minute premiere. It's possible, but not yet certain, that "Loser" could air regularly as a 90-minute skein during the summer. New installment of "Loser" will pit men against women, with teams once again competing to shed the most pounds.

At 9:30 PM on Aug. 9, "Tommy Lee Goes to College" premieres (Daily Variety, Aug. 25, 2004). Skein has the Motley Crue star crackin' the books and cruising co-eds at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Spotlight: TiVo's most recorded shows of the week
Rank Show title Network TiVo %
1. Desperate Housewives ABC 30.9 %
2. American Idol (Tuesday) Fox 29.1 %
3. American Idol (Wednesday) Fox 22.7 %
4. The Apprentice NBC 20.7 %
5. Survivor: Palau CBS 19.5 %
6. 24 Fox 18.2 %
7. CSI CBS 18.2 %
8. Grey's Anatomy ABC 15.5 %
9. Amazing Race 7 CBS 14.6 %
10. CSI: Miami CBS 13.8 %
From USA Today
Source: Nielsen Media Research
(Based on more than 20,000 TiVo owners)

pardon my ignorance, but what is a "Skein"?

Main Entry: 1skein
Pronunciation: 'skAn
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English skeyne, from Middle French escaigne
1 or skean or skeane /'skAn/ : a loosely coiled length of yarn or thread wound on a reel
2 : something suggesting the twists or coils of a skein : TANGLE
3 : a flock of wildfowl (as geese or ducks) in flight

But that's the most bizarre usage of the word I've ever seen ...

Mojo

Originally posted by slocko
pardon my ignorance, but what is a "Skein"?
Genre, type or category.

Originally posted by fredfa
Summer stocked: NBC's sked gets a major reality check

By JOSEF ADALIAN variety.com

NBC has set a summer slate boasting at least six new reality series, including an unscripted parental switch laffer dubbed "Meet Mister Mom." Peacock plans to roll out its fresh fare in short bursts throughout the summer, with at least two skeins bowing in June, July and August. New fare will air primarily on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, keeping the lights on during two nights likely to feature significant changes come fall.

Summer sked includes several celeb-fronted reality skeins, with Tommy Lee, Kathy Hilton and attorney Roy Black all headlining series. Lineup also includes the return of Peacock hits "The Biggest Loser" and "Average Joe."

NBC scheduling topper Mitch Metcalf said the net's strategy is to make sure there's new programming rolling out every few weeks during the season. "We have six shows, and we want to roll them out in a logical way and not put everything on too early or too late," he said. "We don't want to tax our promotional resources. We also want to have some promising series start later and carry through" until the 2005-06 fall season starts in late September. "The important thing is to treat all three months seriously," Metcalf added.

'Keeping it light'

Exec said the overall theme of NBC's summer fare this year "is having fun and keeping it light. In that respect, all of them are going to fit together."

Metcalf plans to keep NBC's Monday lineup in tact, with repeats of "Law & Order"-branded skeins set to remain Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 PM On Thursdays, a double run of "Will & Grace" will air from 9-10 PM, with more comedy set to air from 8-9 PM

Two-hour "Datelines" will fill most of Friday nights, while plans for Sunday are still in flux. And on the specials front, NBC airs the Miss Universe pageant on May 30.

As for new series, barring any additional entries, NBC's summer slate is scheduled to bow Tuesday, June 21, with "I Want to Be a Hilton." Previously announced skein features 14 young contestants who want the chance to live the high life, with Paris' mom serving as mentor.

"Hilton" will have a two-hour premiere from 8-10 PM before settling into its regular 9-10 PM slot the following week.

Hey, 'Joe'

On June 28 at 8 PM, NBC premieres "Average Joe 4: The Joes Strike Back." Latest incarnation of the dating skein is expected to have a twist, though the net isn't saying just yet what that is.

A month later, on Wednesday, June 27, David E. Kelley's first reality skein, "The Law Firm," will have a two-hour premiere in a timeslot to be determined. Black guides the competish-based skein pitting real lawyers against each other.

It's expected "Law Firm" -- a Renegade 83, Kelley and 20th Century Fox TV production -- will move to 9 PM Wednesdays the next week, making room for "Meet Mister Mom" to bow on Wednesday, Aug. 3, at 8 PM.
Latter skein features two superbusy families headed by "superstar" moms, who at the start of the show are sent to a spa. The dads then get the task of running the home for a week, competing to see who can best handle the stress -- though, in the end, all is not as it seems. (In other words, there's a secret twist.)

Final two NBC originals are expected to launch on Tuesday, Aug. 9, with "Biggest Loser 2" kicking off the night with a 90-minute premiere. It's possible, but not yet certain, that "Loser" could air regularly as a 90-minute skein during the summer. New installment of "Loser" will pit men against women, with teams once again competing to shed the most pounds.

At 9:30 PM on Aug. 9, "Tommy Lee Goes to College" premieres (Daily Variety, Aug. 25, 2004). Skein has the Motley Crue star crackin' the books and cruising co-eds at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Damn, good thing for long daylight hours and warm/dry weather during the summer huh? Just when I thought FOX had the lock on the worst of the worst. Tommy Lee goes to college.... Has it really come to this? :confused:

ron

Originally posted by slocko
pardon my ignorance, but what is a "Skein"?

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=slanguage_result&slang=skein&page=Slanguage&display=skein

Slanguage Dictionary Results Find slanguage word:

ayem -- A Variety coinage meaning morning (a.m.); "Barbara Walters is producing a new ayem skein for ABC."
skein -- a TV series; "It is not known whether ABC will renew the skein for next season."

Wednesday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

'Jack and Bobby,' we hardly knew ye
Acclaimed but ratings starved: Will it survive?
By Abigail Azote medialifemagazine.com

Every year at around this time it starts—the predictions, the speculation, the rumors. The question: Which critically beloved but low-rated new TV shows will make it to next season? The WB’s presidential drama “Jack and Bobby” ranks high on the list of endangered shows.

The freshman series debuted with considerable buzz and plenty of positive reviews, only to languish at the bottom of the charts each week. With the WB’s May 17 upfront approaching, it looks like nothing short of a presidential pardon will save “Jack and Bobby.” It simply has too small an audience, and that audience appears to be shrinking.

In the week ended April 24, “Jack and Bobby” averaged a 1.4 household rating, down 12.5 percent from its 1.6 season-to-date average. The show drew 1.831 million total viewers, down 24 percent from the 2.4 million viewers it has averaged so far this season.

Among 18-49s last week, it rated a 0.7 with 920,000 viewers, behind two other freshman critical faves but rating flops, UPN’s “Kevin Hill” and “Veronica Mars.”

“Jack and Bobby” certainly looked promising when it debuted last September. Media Life critic Dan Jewel called it "a WB drama that offers a credible view of what the world will be like when its core audience is all grown up." He called it an impressive experiment for the network, "one that deserves your vote.”

“Jack and Bobby” skillfully blends the usual WB fare of good-looking teens in various configurations of love, lust and angst with a “West Wing”-like high-mindedness, showcasing a future president during his childhood.

But this Wednesday night drama clearly failed, consistently losing older viewers to heavyweights “American Idol” and “Alias” while also failing to attract enough of the WB’s usual younger viewers.

What's wrong? It could be that in straddling the divide between teen-age shows and grown-up dramas, it's lost in the limbo between, not fitting either genre or their corresponding audiences.
Further, “Jack and Bobby” has not been helped any by its move two months into the season from Sunday to its current 9 p.m. Wednesday timeslot, which only served to confuse viewers just as they were attaching themselves to the show.

The WB usually does a good job selling its shows, and “Jack and Bobby” was no exception. It benefited from a publicity effort that included a sneak preview streamed on AOL for Broadband, which was viewed an impressive 700,000 times. The network also distributed 500,000 DVDs of the debut episode with issues of Entertainment Weekly.

The show's best hope is that it's airing on the WB, a network that has a strong history of standing behind shows it believes in such as "One Tree Hill," which started poorly but has improved a lot this season.

A most ambitious summer for ABC
'Millionaire' heirs? Rolling out five new shows
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com

Six years ago, ABC pioneered network summer programming with “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.” CBS’s “Survivor,” Fox’s “American Idol” and a host of NBC reality shows soon followed. But that was then. In the time since, “Millionaire” flamed out, and so has ABC’s summer schedule. But then, with its regular season in the toilet, who was counting?

Now, with its regular-season ratings back on the rise, ABC is again taking on the summer, with plans to launch four new reality series and an original scripted series. And if they succeed, they could return next fall. But at the least, the shows stand to improve ABC's off-season losing streak. Last summer the network ranked a distant third among households and 18-49s.

Also over the summer, ABC will air original episodes of “Wife Swap” and “Supernanny” and switch timeslots for major hit “Lost” in hopes of attracting new viewers. The thinking at ABC seems to be that with this season’s success, the network can't afford to slip into idle for the summer months, even if there's some risk attached. Media people recall Fox's grand plans for last summer and how they sputtered, much to then-Fox programming chief Gail Berman's embarrassment. But in retrospect, it may have been the quality and placement of the shows and not the idea itself that was the real failure.

“ABC has gained a lot of ground this season and can ill afford to cede it,” says Karen McCallum, media director at McKee Wallwork Henderson in Albuquerque, N.M. “If they can maintain their momentum through the summer, they'll be poised for a better September launch. As we've seen in the past, summer can afford an opportunity to introduce new programs successfully.”

ABC’s most ambitious launch for this summer is “Empire,” the long-planned six-episode series set during Rome’s 44 B.C. civil war. The show, which debuts with a two-hour episode June 28 at 9 p.m. before settling Tuesdays at 10, will demand more of an investment from flighty summer viewers who were unwilling to commit to scripted shows like “The Jury” and “North Shore” last summer on Fox.

But the limited-series concept has been a success this season for ABC with “Grey’s Anatomy” and to a lesser degree NBC’s “Revelations.” Cable has shown that the right serious shows can gain a following during the summer.

“FX and USA launched limited series successfully in the summer months,” notes Shari Anne Brill, vice president and director of programming at Carat USA. “FX’s ‘Rescue Me’ started in the summer, and it has another series, ‘Over There,’ about Iraq this summer, so I think a new show at 10 p.m. might stand a chance. I think because Fox’s viewers have a younger median age, they are more likely not to be home, to be out, so 9 was too early to start a serious drama on a network like Fox. But [a show like 'Jury'] may have worked on another network if it was on at 10.”

That's likely the rationale for rescheduling “Lost,” which will move to 10 p.m. Wednesday starting June 1. ABC hopes to attract new viewers to the series with the new slot, though it may simply draw fans to the reruns who want to find clues they didn’t pick up on the first time. “ABC may do well with this strategy. Certainly they'll surpass Fox's track record last summer,” McCallum says. “When you look at ‘CSI's’ summer ratings, which were all reruns, that's a good indicator of how ‘Lost’ will do this summer.”

“Supernanny” will move to Wednesday at 8 while “Wife Swap” has not gotten a return date or timeslot.

Other new series premiering in June include Wednesday’s 9 p.m. “Dancing With the Stars,” a ballroom dance-type “American Idol,” and Monday 8 p.m.’s “The Scholar,” in which high school braniacs compete for a college scholarship. July brings “Brat Camp,” a show about misbehaving kids sent to a wilderness camp, and “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” where families compete for a new house. Neither has a start date scheduled.

thxs for the splanations :)

slocko, as others mentioned, when used by Variety (and no one else uses the term much) it always is as a synonym for "series".
I often edit some mentions of the word (to series) to save folks from having to read "skein" a dozen times in eight paragraphs.

Originally posted by fredfa
slocko, as others mentioned, when used by Variety (and no one else uses the term much) it always is as a synonym for "series".
I often edit some mentions of the word (to series) to save folks from having to read "skein" a dozen times in eight paragraphs.

Thanks, for doing that b/c the first time I saw that word, which was yesterday in something you posted, I didn't what the hell it meant. I assumed it was made up by Variety.

Also, I read the piece about the nets being undecided about airing Bush's speech tonight. Has there been any announcement from the nets since you posted the related story?

The "Big Four" are all airing it right now.

ABC announced on-air that Sweet Home Alabama is being delayed to next Thursday, and an extended Primetime Live is on the schedule after the news conference tonight.

Network websites say CBS will follow the news conference with Survivor: Palau and CSI:, while NBC will air The Apprentice and ER, and Fox will air two Simple Life: Interns episodes, delaying The O.C. until next week.

Sorry, I have been away all day -- thanks to dline for the News Conference update.

Originally posted by dline
The "Big Four" are all airing it right now.

ABC announced on-air that Sweet Home Alabama is being delayed to next Thursday, and an extended Primetime Live is on the schedule after the news conference tonight.

Network websites say CBS will follow the news conference with Survivor: Palau and CSI:, while NBC will air The Apprentice and ER, and Fox will air two Simple Life: Interns episodes, delaying The O.C. until next week.

The O.C. will air back-to-back next week with new episodes, pre-empting a new episode and rerun of The Simple Life: Interns.

For West Coast viewers this week:

NBC will show reruns of Joey and Will & Grace this week at 8pm PST.

ABC will show The Fast & The Furious (probably HD) followed by the originally scheduled 60-minute version of Primetime Live rather than the East Coast's newly scheduled
extended version.

ABC Picks Up Jim, Videos
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable
ABC's has given early-season pick-ups to sitcom According to Jim and reality vet America's Funniest Home Videos as it prepares to put together its new fall schedule. Jim, already in its fourth season (believe it or not), has been ABC's top sitcom this season in households and the key 18-49 demo.

Up against tough competition from sports overruns on CBS and Fox, ABC points out, Funniest Home Videos, now in its 15th year, is second in its Sunday 7 p.m. time period for the season, but has been first in three of the past four weeks. The pair join already renewed series Desperate Housewives, Lost, Alias, Boston Legal, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

It is getting really serious when a repeat of Real Life gets shoved aside.

It's The Simple Life 3: Interns not Real Life!

:D

Oops. I keep thinking I have to watch it, just once.
(But then my good sense takes over.)

Nets Prune Bush HDTV Plans
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

Only ABC among the Big Four networks stayed with President George W. Bush through his entire press conference Thursday night.

CBS, Fox, and NBC all cut him off in mid-Social Security question--Bush had said it was the last question--when 9 O'clock rolled around.

The White House had asked for an hour, and those networks were in a hurry to get to their regular schedules--Apprentice for NBC, Simple Life for Fox, Survivor (delayed to 9) on CBS--on the first night of the sweeps.

The President seemed to anticipate the move in labeling the last question, saying: "I don't want to cut into some of those TV shows, for the sake of the economy."

The only one who stuck around was ABC, which stayed on beyond the conference for a special report to talk about the social security issue with This Week host George Stephanopoulos, legislators, and various correspondents.

ABC should be commended for its commitment to news, and on the first night of a key ratings period for setting ad rates, no less, but it was also a canny smart programming move. Thursday is ABC's lowest-rated night of the week, so the more low-rated Thursday night programming it can exclude from its ratings book for the sweep, which, if memory serves, they can do with the "special report," the better.

Even if they have to count the report, it probably wouldn't severely underperform Extreme Makeover, which last week averaged a 1.6 rating/4 share at 9-10.

If you were a fan of the canceled ABC series "Complete Savages", the network announced Thursday that it will run the remaining four episodes on Friday nights at 8:30 PM beginning May 27.
After the four "Savages" repeats of "Eight Simple Rules" will air in that time slot.

How the President's News Conference Ended Up Live on Four Networks

By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times


n a showdown that featured inside-the-Beltway lobbying and bare-knuckle boardroom negotiating, Donald J. Trump and President Bush effectively squared off yesterday in pursuit of the same parcel of real estate - a piece of the NBC-TV prime-time lineup. And it was the president who blinked first.

But in the end, the president's aides appeared to be every bit as canny as those representing Mr. Trump. The decision by the White House to move up the starting time of its news conference by a half-hour - a move that NBC sought, at least in part to protect the starting time of Mr. Trump's "Apprentice" show - set off a chain of events that wound up garnering the president live coverage on all four major broadcast networks.

The decision, announced in the evening, had the effect of putting sufficient pressure on CBS-TV and Fox Broadcasting, to prompt them to announce that they, too, would carry the news conference live on their main networks, reversing decisions that they had announced publicly earlier in the day.

ABC had announced early in the day that it intended to carry the president live, regardless of the starting time.
The president's aides had intended to begin the session at 8:30 Eastern Daylight Time, which - had NBC covered it live - would have delayed the start of Mr. Trump's "Apprentice" show at 9 o'clock, something the network was loath to do.

After lobbying by NBC executives, the White House announced that it had agreed to move the president's starting time to 8 o'clock. That enabled NBC to show the president live while protecting Mr. Trump at 9 and the start of the highly-rated "E.R." show at 10.

For all the networks, the very selection of last night by the White House, regardless of the time, posed a dilemma. It was first night of the so-called May sweeps period, one of three main times in the year in which network ratings are closely tracked, with an eye on setting advertising rates for the next year. It was that timing, as much as the White House suggestion that Mr. Bush had no major announcement to make, that gave the networks pause about going live, several executives said.

For CBS and Fox Broadcasting, the choice, at least initially, was relatively simple. However rare the prime-time appearance may have been, neither thought that it could afford to pre-empt the popular one-hour shows that they broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. For CBS, it was "Survivor." For Fox, it was "The O.C."

Both networks announced early yesterday that they did not intend to broadcast the president's remarks live on their main networks. The calculus was relatively clear-cut for ABC, as well. It decided to pre-empt a movie, "Sweet Home Alabama" with Reese Witherspoon, to show the president, followed by an expanded edition of its newsmagazine "Prime Time Live."

Nowhere was the choice more complicated than at NBC, which is fighting mightily to avoid ending the television season that began last fall ranked fourth, at least in terms of viewers ages 18 to 49. Had it decided to carry the news conference, NBC would have had to bump, or at least delay, a comedy, "Will and Grace," at 8:30, and delay the start of "The Apprentice," among its most popular shows.

Like a game of dominoes, a delay in starting "The Apprentice" would have delayed the start of "E.R.," also among its most popular shows, and that could have then jeopardized the starts of local newscasts, at least on the East Coast. In the end, NBC decided that it could afford to pre-empt "Will and Grace," but not "The Apprentice."

At 5 p.m., the White House released this one-sentence statement: "Due to the complications of network programming, the White House is moving the time of tonight's news conference to 8:00 p.m."

In a telephone interview soon afterward, a spokeswoman for NBC, Rebecca Marks, expressed satisfaction with the change. "We had a discussion with the White House about the difficulties of scheduling an 8:30 press conference," Ms. Marks said. "And they responded by moving it to 8 o'clock."

The decision, however, posed a dilemma for CBS in particular. If ABC and NBC, its rivals among the so-called Big 3, were pre-empting their programming at 8 for the president, how could CBS not do the same? Soon after the decisions by the White House and NBC were announced, CBS said it, too, would broadcast the news conference at 8. It decided to move "Survivor" to 9, pre-empting the wildly popular "C.S.I.," which moved to 10. At least in the eastern and central time zones, a drama, "Without a Trace," usually at 10, would be bumped entirely. CBS officials declined to comment on why they changed course.

Similarly, Fox had no comment on its change. It decided to reschedule an original episode of "The O.C." to next Thursday, leaving intact the remainder of its Thursday lineup, including back-to-back episodes of "The Simple Life," starring Paris Hilton, at 9 and 9:30.

During the news conference, Mr. Bush suggested that he had some familiarity with the intricate negotiations that resulted in his four-network appearance. A minute or two before 9 p.m., he called for the "final question" and then told the assembled reporters, "I don't want to cut into any of those TV shows that are getting ready to air, for the sake of the economy."

But by then, NBC and CBS, at least, had already cut away from the White House. Their anchors, Brian Williams on NBC and Bob Schieffer on CBS, were in the process of ending the networks' coverage, so that their entertainment programming could resume, on schedule, at 9.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Elisabeth Bumiller contributed reporting for this article.)

Resurrecting dead shows: At this rate, who needs ratings?

'Family Guy' rises from the grave. Meanwhile, despite praise from its network, 'Arrested Development' is pulled.
CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK By Paul Brownfield Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 29, 2005

The whole dream of watching television, it seems to me, is that you don't have to do anything but sit there to receive it. So I'm having trouble adapting to this trend of watching TV on DVD, which feels too close to buying a cabinet at IKEA and knowing that some kind of assembly will be required.

Watching TV is supposed to promote a certain robust laziness. I can only imagine how the producers of Fox's "Arrested Development" must feel: Their show, despite the fact that it has been readily available on broadcast television, has been taken off the air and placed in limbo, while "Family Guy," the animated series Fox canceled three years ago, goes back on the schedule this month, apparently because its post-cancellation DVD sales have been so brisk.

Time was, shows like these two died with dignity (or not), but in any case they died. As with any death, you could move on, eventually. But both "Family Guy," the formerly dead show, and "Arrested Development," the low-rated show Fox loves so much they're keeping it from view, are having more convoluted journeys through what was, once upon a time, a relatively cut-and-dried process.

First, "Family Guy." Fox executives told The Times last week that the show's ratings won't matter this time around, because, upon dying, the series became a marvel of ancillary profits from off-network license fees for cable (it aired on Cartoon Network), DVDs and the sale of objets d' "Family Guy" — a book, cellphone ring tones and games.

So now they'll make more shows, although under this scenario I can't even be certain that the actual shows have to be watched. Still, in his triumphant return to network television, "Family Guy's" wunderkind creator, Seth MacFarlane, can't resist gloating.

"Everybody, I got bad news. We've been canceled," cartoon patriarch Peter Griffin tells his family in the show's cold open. Peter then ticks off all the "terrific shows" Fox has tried in recent years, a list that begins with "Dark Angel" and ends 28 show titles later at "Greg the Bunny."

MacFarlane himself voices Peter, and you can detect some of that comedy-writer anger in this very funny but also self-congratulatory scene, the young Turk who knows to his core that TV executives exist to prove that he is always right and they are always wrong. The Griffins of "Family Guy" — there's his wife, Lois; their two kids; a sophisticate dog; and their demonic baby, Stewie, who speaks in the voice of a proper Englishman — exist in fictional middle-class Quahog, R.I., and in tonight's episode Peter and Lois go on a second honeymoon to Cape Cod, only to end up in Mel Gibson's New York City hotel suite, where they steal a copy of "Passion of the Christ 2" and end up enacting a parody of "North by Northwest."

This might be why "Family Guy" became popular among college kids; it flatters their emerging pop culture reference capabilities. And if "Passion of the Christ" jokes are old now, they're at least a break from the gags about gay people and bowel movements that seem to tickle MacFarlane to no end. Die-hard fans of "Family Guy" will hail its return; the rest of us will find it amusing, even if it's not to the show's benefit that its re-emergence coincides with the 350th episode of "The Simpsons," the gold standard for prime-time animated comedy.

Where even in its cruder moments "Family Guy" has some of "The Simpsons'" cuddliness, MacFarlane's new (and I mean new) prime-time cartoon "American Dad!" is harsher and, at least once in Sunday night's episode, way out of bounds. Here, the dad is Stan Smith (again voiced by MacFarlane, who is rather prolific this way), a weapons expert at a CIA headquarters in Langley Falls, Va. His brood includes a space alien who sounds a bit like Paul Lynde, a wife, two teenage kids and a German fish named Klaus.

As with Peter Griffin, Stan Smith is drawn with a very large head, although it's blocky where Peter's is round; anyway, I take both heads to signify that MacFarlane is drawing through some issue with male authority figures. "American Dad!," which originally debuted after the Super Bowl, is a national security themed comedy. Sunday's episode has jokes about terror threat alerts and a completely tasteless bit involving a Realtor banished to Guantanamo Bay, where she finds herself seated across a cafeteria table from two imprisoned Arabs.

"The infidel has stolen my napkin," one says.

"Tonight we will cut off her lovely hands," the other responds.

Next on Al Jazeera: the image of Arabs on American TV. And yet, what am I thinking: As a network, Fox has long been an island of bad taste, though to its credit, bolder than its competitors. And then the occasional show classes things up. "Arrested Development" is supposed to be one of these gems, or at least that's what we've been lectured about since the series debuted two seasons ago and turned on the critics.

Being told to care about something is tough on the potential caregivers. "Arrested Development" is clever and intricately plotted, filmed with hand-held cameras and done without a laugh track.

It's a little IKEA-ish, in that you have to determine yourself when to laugh. If you're not watching it, consider forming a support group to discuss what you're avoiding; who knows, Fox might even cater. Because, you see, the people involved with making this show don't understand why you're not watching. It hurts them that you're not watching. It hurts creator Mitchell Hurwitz, who won an Emmy last year for best comedy writing and ended his speech by saying: "We thank you all so much. This is so huge for us. You know what? Let's watch it!"

And yet, still you don't watch, America.

Well, about 6 million viewers watch "Arrested Development," on average, which is a lot of people paying attention to you, if you think about it, and that doesn't include the trophy. Lots of good TV shows and daring TV pilots get made, their creators settling for less than 6 million people, two seasons and a trophy.

But as a mass medium, TV tends to breed a massive need for approval, and 6 million viewers aren't enough to ensure survival; sources say Fox cut back the order this year from 22 to 18 episodes in order to protect "Arrested Development" from being clobbered during May sweeps.

It's a curious if not atypical network strategy, supporting a show by removing it from the elements — like taking your gifted and talented child out of P.E. for fear he'll get hit in the head. In the meantime, the network, playing the role of the die-hard fan, began a save-the-show campaign online, at www.getarrested.com, where as of Thursday morning 86,732 people had pledged to watch the show Sunday nights at 8:30, even though it's no longer on Sunday nights at 8:30.

But then I spotted something in fine print below the pledge. "Spread the word and receive a discount offer for the 'Arrested Development' season one DVD," it says. By my calculation, that means that even if it's canceled, "Arrested Development" should be back by 2008.

Fox Bares Its Teeth in Defense of 'Idol'

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Thursday, April 28, 2005; C07

Fox and the "American Idol" machine switched into high gear yesterday, protecting the network's most important franchise, "American Idol," from claims of backstage shenanigans.

So far:

** The attorney for "Idol" judge Paula Abdul has fired off a letter to ABC News saying stern legal things re its upcoming "Primetime Live" report "Fallen Idol."

** Abdul put out a statement trying to discredit former contestant Corey Clark, who has claimed he had sex with her while he was still on the show and that she coached him and promised to launch his career.

** Fox cable cousin Fox News Channel yesterday ran a report claiming the reality series producers were "taking it in stride." The report included one executive producer dismissing all claims of manipulation on the show. The same report ran a few hours later during the late newscast on Fox-owned Channel 5 in Washington.

** Abdul's "Idol" colleagues visited various celebrity suck-up shows to come to her defense. "Paula Abdul will not dignify the false statements made by Corey Clark with a response," her rep said in a statement to "Access Hollywood."

"He is communicating lies about Paula Abdul in order to generate interest in a book deal."

Clark has been shopping around a tell-all book proposal, in the course of which he has claimed he had an affair with Abdul while a contestant on the second edition of the show, according to a report that surfaced first in the tabloid the Globe. He claims she coached him as to what to sing, wear, etc., and promised to launch his career whether he won or not.

Clark is the guy who was axed early in the competition after word got out that he'd been arrested for allegedly assaulting his teenage sister and resisting arrest.
In the report that aired yesterday on FNC, "Idol" executive producer Ken Warwick dismissed the notion that anything untoward was going on at the show. "We've had accusations thrown at us since Day One -- everything from being racist to being fattist to . . . having the phone lines fixed," Warwick said on "Fox Report With Shepard Smith."

"Why would you want to endanger the success of the show by manipulating it? You only have to get caught once and the whole show becomes worthless," he said.

"Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, who also appeared in that package, painted a rosy picture. "If you step away and think about it, you have a one-hour promo on a different network about our television show. I guess that's the way I'm looking at it right now."

Last night, local Fox-owned station WTTG ran teases for a report in its late news about the "Idol" controversy, promising "now 'Idol' sets the record straight." Near the end of its newscast, the station reran the package that had run on FNC.

Earlier this week, fellow judge Simon Cowell went on "Extra" to acknowledge that Abdul "will spend more time backstage with the contestants, giving them encouragement, but that's not a bad thing." He called Clark's claims "rubbish" and described him as "a guy who's out there to publish a book."

Randy Jackson, the third judge, stumped for Abdul on "Access Hollywood."

Abdul's lawyer, Marty Singer, sent ABC a letter about his client, the contents of which we were not privy to. But you can safely assume he's not writing to wish the network best of luck on its May ratings sweeps newsmag special, "Fallen Idol," in which ABC promises to "explore explosive claims about behind-the-scenes activities at 'American Idol.' "

At press time, Singer's office had not returned a phone call for comment on the letter, word of which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

ABC News, by the way, will still not confirm that the "Primetime Live" report will focus on Abdul. One source told The TV Column that of about a dozen questions sent by ABC News to Abdul and the "Idol" producers, almost all were about Abdul and a few dealt with how the show goes about signing finalists to contracts.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the country, about 25 million people watched "American Idol" on Tuesday night.
Although that's a walloping big number, it's about the same as the season average for Tuesday performance broadcasts of "Idol" and on par with the same broadcast of "Idol" last season. This despite the fact that the media are all atwitter over those claims by booted "Idol" contestant Clark and ABC News's upcoming look at alleged hanky-panky behind the scenes on the country's most popular television show.

You'd think that would have sent Tuesday's numbers through the roof as viewers tuned in to see: Whether Paula was there, how Paula looked, how Paula acted, what Paula said, whether the allegations were mentioned, whether the upcoming ABC News special was mentioned.

Could it be that the American public -- gulp -- does not care?

If I were a betting man (and I am), I wouldn't wager that the critics' beloved "Arrested" will come back to life as "Family Guy" did. I'm sorry, I know some of you love it but anything that has to be explained as "Ikea-ish" is not going to have key demographic nite-owls tuning in to watch it in repeats over-and-over again.

Woodruff Leaving CNN

Multichannel.com---The Associated Press reports that Cable News Network Inside Politics anchor Judy Woodruff will leave the network when her contract expires in June. Woodruff, who has been with CNN since 1993, told AP she wants to teach, write and work on long-form documentaries, and she will be a consultant and occasional contributor to the network.

She told the AP, “This gives me the opportunity to sit back, take a deep breath and think about what I want to do. I do want to stay in journalism. I'm not leaving journalism. I'm just leaving daily journalism.”

CNN offered Woodruff a new contract, but she made her decision before those discussions began, AP reported.

“We're sorry to see her go," CNN/U.S. president Jonathan Klein told AP. "She's one of the most brilliant and consistent and respected Washington journalists that there has ever been."

Personally, GregF, I agree entirely.
Of course matters of taste are simply that -- some shows we like, and some we don't.
And speaking of taste, I just watched the final episode of "The Office" on TiVo tonight. (It seems to me that it makes "Curb Your Enthusiasm" seem like "Father Knows Best".)
The Office is a very quirky show, but with obviously extremely limited mass appeal.

The “American Idol” PR machine rolls on…and on:

APRIL 28--One of the five remaining "American Idol" finalists was once arrested for felony cocaine possession, but had the charge--and a separate marijuana count--dismissed last year after completing a so-called "diversion program," The Smoking Gun has learned.

More here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0427051_bo_bice_american_idol_1.html

Skein is a horrible bit of misuse and I -- for one -- find it very, very annoying.

It has no meaning which can even be twisted or bastardized to mean "television series".

Some nutcase may have decided that a yarn is a story and a lot of yarn is a skein so a skein is a lot of stories. That kind of tortured drivel makes slang like "bling bling" seem positively Nobel Prize-worthy by contrast.

I do remain interested, by contrast is whether Kevin Hill, Jack and Bobby and Joan of Arcadia get the axe next month.

Out-Foxed

Marc Berman’s “Mr Television” column at mediaweek.com

A first look at Fox's current ratings might lead you to believe this is a net- work worthy of accolades. Season-to-date, Fox ranks first among adults 18-49 with a 4.1 rating/11 share, according to Nielsen Media Research. The network is up 2 percent from the year-ago period and one-tenth of a rating point ahead of CBS.

But let's step back to fourth quarter, prior to the arrival of American Idol (and the Super Bowl). Without the blockbuster reality competition, and with Major League Baseball present, Fox finished a disappointing fourth in households (5.6/9), total viewers (8.73 million) and adults 18-49 (3.4/9).

Since the arrival of baseball on Fox in October each year leads to endless preemptions and makes the start of any new season a considerable challenge, you obviously can't judge this network by its fourth-quarter performance. But considering Fox tried to get a jump on the competition by announcing it was launching the new season last summer (remember duds North Shore, The Casino, Method & Red, The Jury and Quintuplets?), it is fair to say that without American Idol, Fox would be a network grasping for an audience.

The recent departure of network head Gail Berman might have come a few years earlier had it not been for American Idol, which, according to a former Fox executive, she was not even interested in acquiring initially.

As admirable as it was for Fox to offer a fresh array of programming last summer, the fact is the return of the mindless The Simple Life was the best of the lot. Recent generic sitcom entries like Life on a Stick (which is clogging up the plum Idol lead-out time period on Wednesday) and Stacked with Pamela Anderson (clever title, don't you think?) only proves that cutting-edge comedies that helped put Fox on the map are no longer a priority.

For three consecutive years, American Idol has lifted the entire network from the depths of despair to a red-hot entity. For the same three years, Gail Berman—the executive who spearheaded less-than-memorable reality garbage like The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best, The Complex Malibu, The Next Great Champ, Forever Eden, Temptation Island, Love Cruise, Renovate My Family, American Juniors, Paradise Hotel, Mr. Personality, Married by America and…gulp…The Swan—managed to avoid the ax and keep her reputation intact. Although the competing networks certainly have had their share of misses, no other network—not even ABC after the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire fiasco—sunk this low. Shows of this caliber are an embarrassment.

Fortunately, there are some bright spots on Fox. Former Idol lead-out 24 is now successfully standing on its own on Monday, while replacement medical drama House on Tuesday has turned into a genuine hit. Anyone who thinks that House is surviving solely on the strength of its lead-in should realize that retention of 83 percent among adults 18-49 out of Idol in the recent April 12 telecast with no erosion in the second half hour (and opposite CBS' The Amazing Race 7) makes this show the real deal.

While you can praise Fox for having two blockbuster midseason series to rely on, you still can point the finger at a network mired in mediocrity. True, Fox did give the Emmy-winning, but low-rated Arrested Development a second season to find an audience. And, yes, The O.C. is the first scripted show on Thursday to generate any interest in the network in almost 10 years.

But other than American Idol, 24, House, The O.C. and respectably performing reality hours Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy and Nanny 911, Fox is populated with an endless list of established shows like The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Malcolm in the Middle, That '70s Show, Bernie Mac and The Simple Life, all of which have seen better days. Like NBC, which does not have a huge show to lift the entire network (sorry, Mr. Trump, but The Apprentice is sinking), Fox is a network that has not planned well for the future.

As the networks hunker down in closed door meetings planning for 2005-06, keep in mind that new entertainment president Peter Liguori has inherited a development slate from his predecessor. So, if the network remains in the doldrums next season, blame Gail Berman, not Liguori.

Next year at this time we will have a better sense of what the man who put FX Networks on the map has to offer. Without American Idol in third and fourth quarter, he certainly has his work cut out.

rogo: my guesses on your three skeins, er series, getting the axe would be no, yes and yes.
Kevin Hill might will make it to next season.
But Jack and Bobby probably won't and Joan of Arcadia won't.
(But take heart: my guesstimate track record has been on a multi-year losing streak.)

Some additional pickup/cancellation rumors:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/29/television.pickups.reut/index.html

Paul

Thursday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Why 'JAG' came to an abrupt end

By Maureen Ryan Chicago Tribune staff reporter April 29, 2005

On Friday, after 10 seasons, 227 episodes and countless salutes, the military drama "JAG" will go off the air for good.

The final episode (8 p.m., WBBM-Ch. 2) has not been preceded by the pomp and remembrance that many long-running shows leaving the airwaves receive. In fact, the show's producers had to scramble to make the season-ending episode a fitting series finale. But perhaps the low-key sendoff is appropriate for this hard-working but generally buzz-free series.

The beginning of the end for "JAG" came in February, when star David James Elliott announced he wouldn't return.

As loyal viewers know -- and "JAG" does have a fiercely loyal following of around 10 million viewers, even if the show's ratings have slipped in recent years -- in last week's episode, Marine Lt. Col. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie (Catherine Bell) was told to report to the JAG (Judge Advocate General) office in San Diego and Elliott's character, Navy Cmdr. Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr., was ordered to pack his bags for a new posting in Europe.

For years, some "JAG" fans had lobbied for Mac and Harm, both lawyers for the military's legal system, to get together, and for some, whatever resolution the finale will provide may be too little too late. Though executive producer and creator Donald P. Bellisario was cagey about the details, it's clear that in the show's last episode, the duo finally will confront their long-simmering feelings for each other.

If he'd had more time, Bellisario says, he could have set up an even more satisfying ending for "JAG" fans, but as it happened, he and his staff had to write the last batch of this season's episodes not knowing if the show would continue.

"CBS had us on the bubble, and I kept saying, `I want to take this show and go four or five episodes out, come up to [the ending slowly] and really build to a finale.'" But CBS' response, he recalls, was, "We can't tell you if that's going to be your finale. You may get picked up."

The abrupt cancellation of "JAG," which was announced a few weeks ago, caught many fans off guard. "My wife and I have been faithful viewers of this excellent TV show since it first aired 10 years ago," Mike Moisan wrote in an e-mail to me last week. "When we heard at the end of last week's episode that the series finale was in two weeks, we just looked at each other in disbelief."

Still, despite the uncertainty that hung over the finale, Bellisario says, "I think all the fans will be satisfied. I'll be satisfied, because it is an ending that still leaves something [unresolved] in the air that [fans] can debate. . . . Everyone can have their own view of what really happened."

But, as he acknowledges, 10 years is a great run for any series, especially one that was canceled after its very first season, which aired on NBC.

Bellisario said that before the news of "JAG's" NBC cancellation was announced in spring 1996, he'd already had offers from ABC and CBS to pick up the show. And by going to CBS, he says, he got to make the show he'd always wanted to make.

"[NBC] wanted action, and I wanted a mix of legal [drama] and action," Bellisario says. The show's first year on CBS, "we cast Catherine Bell, and I never heard another word from [Leslie Moonves, head of CBS] -- but he took great delight in the fact that it was part of the building block that started the CBS turnaround 10 years ago."

Though the show did well among the coveted 18-49 demographic in its first years, "JAG's" audience aged over the years, even as Moonves managed to bring down the average age of CBS' viewers.

"Over 10 years, the 49-year-olds [watching `JAG'] became 59-year-olds," Bellisario says with a chuckle.

He expects "JAG" to live on and continue to gain fans through syndication and, eventually, through DVD releases (though no DVD box sets of the show have been released yet).

"One of the reasons it will be turning up decades from now is that it is a military show with people in uniform, which quite frankly doesn't change. And I think the values of the show -- the values of honor, commitment and dedication" will continue to have appeal, Bellisario says.

Bellisario, creator of "Quantum Leap" and "Magnum, P.I.," will continue to have a show on television -- the quietly successful "NCIS," a Tuesday night crime drama that regularly places in the Nielsen top 20, above more buzzed-about fare such as "The Apprentice" and "24" -- but he sounded sad to be saying goodbye to "JAG."

"What will go away [when `JAG' leaves] is someone to speak on the other side of the aisle for the military," notes Bellisario, one of the few openly conservative producers in Hollywood. "Hollywood is a very liberal community. It doesn't have a great affinity for the military -- when the show started, `military' was almost a pejorative term. That's the reason for us not getting the awards [and recognition], and at first it's a bit irritating, but after a while, you just get used to it."

Despite its usually patriotic tone, "JAG" credibly examined both sides of tough issues, including sexism in the military, military tribunals of captured Afghan fighters, prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay and the shooting of civilians in Iraq.

"When 9/11 unfortunately happened, that gave us some impetus among people who had never seen `JAG' before to just see what the military was like," Bellisario says. "People always forget the military until there's a crisis. That's why I've always been trying to show the military and tell stories about the military. As a former Marine, [that's] close to my heart."

As noted in the link Paul Bigelow posted, The Hollywood Reporter says NBC has canceled "American Dreams".

NOOOOOO :(

Interesting article about the Nielsen rating system from the Columbia Journalism Review.

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TV In The Dark

TiVo. Digital cable. Internet television. Can Nielsen keep up with the way America watches?

By Bryan Keefer

Since the beginning of TV time, ratings from Nielsen Media Research have been the arbiter of success on the tube. They determine, in large part, how the roughly $60 billion spent on television each year is allocated — and that $60 billion has a tremendous say in what stays on the air and what doesn’t. “Nielsen is the currency by which the television ad marketplace is traded,” says David Ernst, executive vice president for the media-buying firm, Initiative. But what if that currency slips? As any economist will tell you, a currency is only as good as the faith in it of the people who use it. And when the currency falls, there goes the neighborhood.

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Full article here,

http://cjr.org/issues/2005/2/keefer-nielsen.asp
CJR March/April 2005: Voices

FCC Requests Comment On DNS And Another SHVERA Provision

The FCC announced today it is asking for comment on rules it is crafting to implement two parts of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act.

One set of rules seeks to define which viewers are eligible to receive distant network signals via satellite because they can't receive digital broadcasts from local affiliates.

The other set will require satellite services with more than five million subscribers, including Echostar (Dish Network) and DirecTV, to carry both the analog and digital signals of broadcasters in the "noncontiguous states."

In case you haven't found it already, fredfa has already started a discussion thread at:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=534986

Originally posted by fredfa
Nets Prune Bush HDTV Plans
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & CableThe White House had asked for an hour, and those networks were in a hurry to get to their regular schedules--Apprentice for NBC, Simple Life for Fox, Survivor (delayed to 9) on CBS--on the first night of the sweeps.


ABC should be commended for its commitment to news, and on the first night of a key ratings period for setting ad rates, no less, but it was also a canny smart programming move. Thursday is ABC's lowest-rated night of the week, so the more low-rated Thursday night programming it can exclude from its ratings book for the sweep, which, if memory serves, they can do with the "special report," the better.

Comment 1: How great is it that the ultra conservative Fox chose Paris Hilton over W?

Comment 2: If this was done on Sunday do you honestly think ABC would preempt Desperate Housewives for what amounted to a poor effort at saving an awful political plan? It's Thursday, nobody watches ABC Thursday. The best thing that could happen to ABC was the OC, Will & Grace and Without a Trace being pushed out a week.

Rupert is obviously a conservative, but money trumps politics every time.

What Networks Need This Fall

A night-by-night look at strengths and gaps
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable 5/2/2005
In two weeks, the broadcast networks will begin parading their new schedules in front of advertisers. But between now and May 16, when NBC starts the process by unveiling its prime time, frazzled network executives will look at dozens of pilots and decide the fate of lots of iffy series they already have on-air.

Looking at what worked and what didn’t over this past season can provide some indication of what’s likely to come. But there are always last-minute surprises.

It’s likely that two battlefield nights will be Monday and Thursday. On Monday, without Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS is vulnerable. On Thursday, where NBC’s comedy lineup is limping, ABC sees an opportunity.

As always, several critically recognized series are “on the bubble” going into the upfronts, including Arrested Development, Judging Amy, Alias, Joan of Arcadia and The Office.

Fox, meanwhile, will try to create a more stable schedule prior to baseball in October.

The WB will have to deal with problems on Sunday and Thursday nights, as well as addressing what goes into the 8:30 p.m. slot on Friday. Otherwise, it looks to be in good shape.

Urban-focused UPN, which has already picked up America’s Next Top Model, Veronica Mars and WWF Smackdown, will have to decide whether to pick up Kevin Hill Wednesdays at 9. Depending on the strength of its comedy development, all of its Monday-night comedies could come under scrutiny.

Here’s a look at the how each night of prime time shapes up:

Sunday

ABC: Mess with success? Not likely. Desperate Housewives has turned the night into a romp, and midseason medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, which was to stick around for only four weeks, has been a monster hit at 10 p.m. ABC has decided to keep it in the slot forrmerly occupied by David E. Kelley’s Boston Legal for the rest of the season.
ABC could decide to move Boston or Grey’s to a new night—launching a new series after Housewives—but the betting money is on Boston Legal’s moving. Kelley’s series could really flourish in a different time period. The network has already given it a full-season pickup for 2005-06, and, with this season’s unused episodes, it will have the unusually large number, 27, ready for fall.
ABC will also have to look at the demo performance of the two time-period contestants. Grey’s Anatomy has proved much more compatible demographically with Housewives. It’s a hit with viewers of all ages (up 180% versus the year-ago time period in adults 25-54)—the perfect lead-in for the affiliates’ late local newscasts.

CBS: CBS is unlikely to make any major changes on the night this fall. Although the CBS Sunday Movie franchise is struggling, so are most shows airing in the 9 p.m. time period.

Fox: What happens Sunday nights next season will depend in large part on what the ratings look like for the May 1 premieres of The Family Guy (returning to the schedule after enjoying DVD success) and American Dad.
A decision on the fate of the critically acclaimed Arrested Development won’t be easy. Arrested at 8:30 inherited the highest-rated lead-in on the Sunday-night schedule, The Simpsons, yet it has lost roughly a third of those viewers throughout the season. If the show does come back, it would likely turn up elsewhere on the schedule.

NBC: In 2006, NBC will become the new home of Sunday-night football; in the meantime, it has its hands full devising a short-term plan to get back into the game this fall on TV’s most highly viewed night. American Dreams and The Contender have languished in the 8 p.m. slot this season, while 10 p.m. entry Crossing Jordan has been picked apart by ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.
Despite facing erosion this season in the 9 p.m. death slot against those pesky Housewives, Law & Order: Criminal Intent should stay on the docket.

Monday

ABC: Expect programmers to aggressively tackle this night, where ABC will need to start laying the foundation for schedule stability before handing off Monday Night Football to ESPN in 2006. Even with the schedule difficulties presented by football, ABC may also be looking for opportunities to tackle NBC’s faltering Fear Factor with comedies at 8 p.m. Otherwise, there are reports that the bloom is off the Bachelor/Bachelorette reality franchise.

CBS: The sharks are circling. Without Raymond, CBS is shifting Two and a Half Men into the 9 p.m. slot. But 8:00 lead-off sitcom Still Standing is off in key demos, and Listen Up at 8:30 will probably be stepping off the schedule. CBS believes it has built a comedy franchise with Two and a Half Men to replace Raymond, but Two is sandwiched between Raymond and CSI: Miami. Next year, it will have to stand on its own.

Fox: Its Monday was helped this season by 8 p.m. entrants Trading Spouses and the renewed Nanny 911. Critical favorite 24 has a good chance of coming back at 9 p.m.

NBC: The network earned some late-season traction with the supernatural lift provided by Medium at 10 p.m., one of the few scripted series to work right out of the gate this season. But Fear Factor has lost about a quarter of its 8 p.m. audience this season. It is a certainty for renewal, but NBC would like a show there that is trending up, not down.
The network also may be eyeing comedy opportunities. Try this scenario: NBC takes the bold step of shifting Thursday-night sitcoms Joey or Will & Grace (which is likely in its final season) to Mondays, hoping to establish a safe hammock for a new comedy at 8:30.

Tuesday

ABC: There hasn’t been much to laugh at since Fox smash American Idol returned in January. ABC’s competing sitcoms ( My Wife and Kids and George Lopez) tanked. Even 9 p.m. shows are not safe on Idol Tuesdays, with According to Jim suffering from the amazingly Amazing Race on CBS.

CBS: The Amazing Race at 9 p.m. has been just that this season, exploding in popularity and boosting its ratings in the time period by 100% and 132%, respectively, for its sixth and seventh editions. It garnered a record-breaking number of viewers last week.
The rest of the news is mixed for CBS on the night. NCIS is okay at 8, but Judging Amy at 10 has been losing too much of its Amazing lead-in.

Fox: With House exploding this season behind the unstoppable American Idol, Fox should keep it in its 9 p.m. time period this fall and air reruns all summer to attract new viewers. Chances are the network will seek out a reality show or drama for the 8 p.m. time period this fall.

NBC: It has already announced the return of reality series The Biggest Loser at 8 p.m. from August to November. But NBC has really been out of the game here since Idol returned in January. Having basically abandoned the 8 p.m. hour, it saw its comedies airing from 9 to 10 suffer, including Scrubs and, more recently, midseason entries The Office and Committed.
NBC is said to be still hopeful about The Office, so it could return in the fall or midseason, perhaps in a different time period. NBC is noncommittal about Committed. At 10, strong performer Law &Order: SVU is safe.

Wednesday

ABC: The network wants bigger things on Wednesday to capitalize on its 8 p.m. wonder, Lost. Alias and Wife Swap could stay, but there’s a feeling they’ve both lost steam.

CBS: King of Queens is hurting against Idol but not enough to make it go away. Questions, however, have been raised about the future of the two shows surrounding it: 60 Minutes Wednesday is now tainted (and has bad ratings, too), and comedy Yes, Dear—brought back at midseason in the post-King 9:30 slot—has been squandering its lead-in audience.

Fox: There are lots of alternatives available. The network will likely bring back That ’70s Show to lead off the night, then decide on midseason entry Life on a Stick (which perked up last week following an appearance behind ’70s Show). Count on The Simple Life or Fox’s comedy-development slate to round out the rest of the night.

NBC: The network needs to shore up its weak 8-9 p.m. block, where it has been unable to gain much traction with anything, including a version of Dateline NBC.
At 9, expect The West Wing, which has struggled with a weak lead-in this season while doing well creatively, to move to a new night in what could be its last hurrah. New series Revelations won’t fit there because it will need time to generate new episodes. So what does NBC do with the hour? Maybe move the Donald Trump version of The Apprentice from 9 p.m. Thursday to the same hour a day earlier, with the new, Martha Stewart-fronted Apprentice on Thursday. ER will still be there.

Thursday

ABC: Schedule-setters will likely see Thursday as a blank slate. If comedy development pans out, programmers could see a huge opportunity now that NBC’s Must-See Thursdays are now pretty miss-able. At 9 p.m. at least, ABC has a chance to develop an unchallenged comedy block. Don’t expect Jake in Progress back, and ABC News’ Primetime Live is hurting at 10.

CBS: What’s there to say? From Survivor to CSI and Without a Trace, CBS rocks.

Fox: The O.C. will surely be back, having performed well at 8 against tough competition. It shot up more than 70% in adults 18-49 over last year’s occupant, Tru Calling, which is now struggling at 9.

NBC: It could move Joey or Will & Grace to give familiarity to another comedy night but doing that could damage those sitcoms, which seem fragile where they are. Much of NBC’s Thursday future rests on the strength of its comedy-development slate. The list includes All in Goody’s, a pilot set in a coffee shop in the North End of Boston that counts powerful Law & Order impresario Dick Wolf among its producers. But with the Winter Olympics, NBC gets a huge promotional platform to pump some promising sitcoms launching in the spring.

Friday

ABC: None of ABC’s comedies this night have done great. The two with the best hope for renewal are 8 Simple Rules and Less Than Perfect, if only so they can anchor new entrants.

CBS: Joan of Arcadia will need a miracle to save it. Meanwhile, the long-running JAG ended its tour of duty April 29. But Numb3rs is a surprise hit at 10.

Fox: . Depending on whether Bernie Mac returns—the star has a respiratory disease—Fox could opt for more comedies at 8 followed by a drama, or a two-hour laugh block.

NBC: The network has done decently with Dateline, Third Watch and L&O: Trial by Jury. But Third Watch ends this week, which gives NBC an opportunity to incubate a new series before moving it to a more competitive time period (think Raymond, which started on Fridays).

Saturday

ABC, CBS, NBC: Expect more of the same on the week’s lowest-rated night: movies and clever packaging of series repeats.

Fox: Those bad boys on Fox’s Cops and America’s Most Wanted are staples, at least until society goes through a massive transformation.

Apparently there is a very good made-for-TV movie on tonight.
Here's a review:
Variety’s "Warm Springs" Review

(Movie -- HBO, Sat. April 30, 8 P.M. ET/8:30 P.M. PT)

Filmed in Georgia by the Mark Gordon Co. and HBO Films. Executive producers, Gordon, Celia Costas; producer, Chrisann Verges; director, Joseph Sargent; writer, Margaret Nagle.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Kenneth Branagh
Eleanor Roosevelt - Cynthia Nixon
Sara Delano Roosevelt - Jane Alexander
Helena Mahoney - Kathy Bates
Tom Loyless - Tim Blake Nelson
Louis Howe - David Paymer
Fred Botts - Matt O'Leary

By BRIAN LOWRY, variety.com

Joseph Sargent has directed a trio of Emmy-winning HBO movies, and he delivers another contender here with this impeccably crafted look at a crucial window in the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. If the landmark miniseries "Eleanor and Franklin" focused principally on the missus, this zeroes in more squarely on the 32nd president, played with gusto by Kenneth Branagh. While it's difficult to rival that earlier masterpiece, a great longform production about the Roosevelts every 30 years hardly amounts to tapping the well too often.

The film opens as Franklin, in the midst of a promising political career, is struck with polio, rendering his legs useless and thrusting him into depression. His paralysis forces a rapprochement of sorts between Roosevelt and wife Eleanor (Cynthia Nixon), whose relationship has been fractured by the revelation of his infidelity with Lucy Mercer.

Seeking refuge as well as recuperation, Franklin moves to a spa in Warm Springs, Georgia, where the soothing mineral water creates the buoyancy that allows him to stand upon his frail, wizened legs. (These shots alone are a remarkable technical combination of prosthetics and computer imagery that seamlessly grafts what amount to pallid sticks onto Branagh's torso.)

A local newspaper article not only creates attention for the resort and its genial proprietor (Tim Blake Nelson) but also attracts others similarly afflicted, where they form a close-knit community. Meanwhile, Roosevelt aide Louis Howe (David Paymer) continues to dream of reviving Franklin's political aspirations, drawing the shy Eleanor out of her shell to keep his presence alive in the necessary circles.

Stirring and touching but seldom maudlin, Sargent's handling of Margaret Nagle's script conveys the enormous toll the disease inflicted and how the battle steeled resolve that propelled Roosevelt through more than a dozen years in the White House. "When I can walk, I'll run," he bellows at one point, those ambitions having seemingly been derailed by his humbling condition, which forces aides to carry him about as if he were a sack of potatoes.

Branagh infuses the character with considerable humanity and, despite scant physical resemblance, captures his starched voice without lapsing into caricature. It's a brilliant performance that nearly overshadows a splendid supporting cast, including Nelson, Kathy Bates as a physical therapist, the well-cast Paymer and Jane Alexander -- Eleanor in the aforementioned mini -- who turns up here as Franklin's domineering mother.

Nixon struggles a bit enunciating through Eleanor's protruding teeth (and looks even less like her), but we feel her pain over Franklin loving another woman -- an episode given relatively short shrift as the narrative quickly advances to Warm Springs, where FDR ultimately died with Mercer at his side.

Then again, by narrowly fixing on this defining period prior to Roosevelt's triumphant return to the public eye, HBO has again illuminated a fascinating but underreported bit of history, as was the case with last year's "Something the Lord Made."

Shot in some of the actual Southern locations, pic spares no expense in its trappings, from the costumes and cars (a particularly fine moment features Roosevelt proudly driving a specially rigged jalopy) to Bruce Broughton's excellent score.

For all the recent hullabaloo over where and how to present made-for-TV movie Emmys, "Warm Springs" is a welcome throwback -- recalling the days when that genre not only commanded, but deserved, its place in the spotlight.

'Warm Springs': Immersed in soothing waters

Warm Springs Saturday, HBO, 8 p.m. ET/8:30 PT
* * * * (out of four)

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

Warm all over.


There's something comforting about a movie as well-made as Warm Springs, HBO's inspirational retelling of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle to regain his strength and sense of purpose after polio left him a paraplegic. Where other HBO movies this season have challenged, Warm Springs encourages you to relax, safe in the knowledge that you're turning your evening over to people who know exactly what they're doing.
As usual with HBO, the production values shimmer, but this is a movie in which nearly everything clicks.

Stars Kenneth Branagh and Cynthia Nixon may not be physically ideal choices for Franklin and Eleanor, but they eloquently reflect what we know about America's longest-serving first couple without lapsing into caricature. Director Joseph Sargent (Something the Lord Made) never allows the pace to lag or a performance to go off pitch.


Though she's plowing much the same territory of Sunrise at Campobello, writer Margaret Nagle has found her own way into the story, creating a prime example of old-school biographical uplift that never becomes maudlin or manipulative. And although she does touch upon the darker sides of Eleanor and Franklin's relationship, she resists the revisionist temptation to cut these larger-than-life public servants down to current political size.

Warm Springs begins shortly after FDR's failed 1920 run for vice president. He is being encouraged by adviser Louis Howe (an excellent David Paymer) to pursue higher office, even though the general opinion is that FDR is a lightweight skimming the surface of life.

He's also an adulterer, which threatens to end his political career and his marriage. He and Eleanor, however, are forbidden to divorce by his formidable mother — who is played in a great nod to TV history by Eleanor and Franklin star Jane Alexander.

These early scenes set up the change that polio will bring to not only Franklin but also Eleanor and their marriage. Paralyzed and bitter, Franklin goes to Warm Springs to find a cure, a search that garners national attention. (It's a reminder that although voters in 1932 may not have known the extent of FDR's disability, they did know that he wasn't able-bodied.) He won't find his miracle, but he will learn how to stand on his own, as will Eleanor.

In condensing FDR's life into movie-size, Warm Springs does risk overstating the beneficial effects of his struggle: illness as self-improvement. The film's portrayal of his spiritual growth is often moving, but it's open to question whether he owed all of his empathy for the poor and disenfranchised to polio.

Still, Warm Springs can proudly take its place with the best of HBO's biographies.

Friday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Is Homer in charge of the episode tally?

By Noel Holston Newsday April 30, 2005

Not that it's on par with, oh, the Great Quiz Show Scandal of 1959 or the Great Bobby Ewing Death Hoax on "Dallas," but Fox's count of episodes of "The Simpsons" seems to be a little bit … suspicious.

The network has been touting Sunday night's new episode, "Don't Fear the Roofer," in which Ray Romano guest stars as a roofing contractor who's stereotypically hard to nail down, as the animated sitcom's milestone 350th. But as some hard-core "Simpsons"-ites have taken the trouble to point out, the numbers don't quite square.

What's up? A little May-sweeps math? A Fox representative said it is definitely No. 350. But if you go to the official episode guide at www.thesimpsons.com and count forward from the similarly ballyhooed 300th episode, televised Feb. 16, 2003, then Sunday's installment is No. 349.

On the other hand, if you count from the very beginning of the series, the episode Fox labeled the "300th" appears to have been the 302nd, which would make Sunday's episode No. 351. Aye, carumba!

Perhaps Stephen Hawking — who's also in Sunday's episode, explaining a bit about black holes to the Simpsons, Ned Flanders and Dr. Hibbert — could unravel this mathematical conundrum.

Then again, it just might make the great physicist go, "D'oh!"

(It is always nice to see a critic appreciate one of the programs I feel has consistently the best HD presentation and is also generally overlooked.)

NCIS: A layered crime drama
Noel Holston Newsday On Television May 1, 2005

In September 2003, most people didn't know NCIS (the acronym for Naval Criminal Investigative Service) from NBFA (National Business Forms Association) or NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology).

TV producer Don Bellisario was nervous enough about the low recognition factor that he originally gave his series the redundant title "Navy: NCIS." He also made it a running joke in the pilot that NCIS agents got puzzled looks when they announced themselves and flashed their badges.

Now, even TV watchers who can't tell you what "NCIS" stands for can tell you what the show is: a frisky crime drama that plays like a melding of "Magnum, P.I.," "JAG" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Note that the first two of those shows are also Bellisario productions. He is not above borrowing from himself. It's another way of saying he has a distinctive style.

"NCIS" (8 p.m., Tuesdays, CBS/2) is now a steady Top 20 Nielsen performer. Its secret is not its cases, which though flashy (and almost as entrail-obsessed as any "CSI" variation), tend to strain credulity. A recent episode, for instance, involved a psychopathic male-female team that attracted their victims by setting up Byzantine scams involving "fetish" Web sites.

No, the popularity of "NCIS" stems from the personalities and camaraderie of the investigative unit headed by special agent Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Harmon, a former UCLA quarterback, has developed over the years into a self-effacing leading man in the mold originated by James Garner (and previously emulated successfully by Tom "Magnum" Selleck). His agent Gibbs wears his masculinity like a well-worn windbreaker.

As was the case in "Magnum," Gibbs and his cohorts enjoy a prankish, locker-room relationship. In "NCIS," however, the bonhomie extends to gals as well as guys. Besides agent Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), the persistent ladies' man; agent Tim McGee (Sean Murray), an MIT-educated computer geek; and tweedy medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum), Gibbs' team includes former Secret Service agent Kate Todd (Sasha Alexander) and Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), a forensics specialist who dresses like a cross between a schoolgirl and a dominatrix.

The contrivance of the somebody-for-everyone character mix shows occasionally, but the actors and the writers make it work by maintaining a light tone that makes "NCIS" as much "Scooby-Doo" as "CSI."

Saturday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Matt Drudge at drudgereport.com is reporting:

**EXCLUSIVE** MSNBC TO CHANGE ITS NAME, THE DRUDGE REPORT HAS LEARNED. THE ALL-NEWS CABLE NETWORK, WHICH WAS FOUNDED AS JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN MICROSOFT AND NBC, WILL SIMPLY BECOME 'THE NBC NEWS CHANNEL'... TOP SOURCE EXPLAINS: 'THE NEW NAME IS CLEANER, LESS CONFUSING... REPRESENTS THE PROGRAMMING'... DEVELOPING...

Interesting. I remember "NBC News Channel" was what they called the Charlotte, NC outfit which produced NBC News Nightside back in the 1990s, before they dropped it and switched to overnight reruns of Leno and Conan.

It's also interesting, if Drudge is correct, that they're dropping the "MS" (Microsoft) part not long after AOL Time Warner dropped the "AOL" from their corporate name. Obviously there will be some convergence between computers and TV, but the reality is, we're still treating them as different media, and will do so for some time.

The media giants may be having 2nd thoughts about all this convergence stuff.

- Tom

Certainly Microsoft could be.
MSNBC has been draining them since 1996.

'Idol' worship gets turned upside down
Votefortheworst.com is spearheading a rogue campaign to have the show's least-deserving singers vie for champ
By Maria Elena Fernandez Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 2, 2005

For at least three weeks now, fans of "American Idol" have been pondering a deep philosophical mystery: How in the world has charisma-challenged R&B balladeer Scott Savol managed to survive this competition, jumping ahead of the magnetic Nadia Turner, the soulful Anwar Robinson and total-package Constantine Maroulis?

A group of wireless rogues thinks the answer lies with a little social experiment they began last year, one that, were it not for judge Paula Abdul's personal woes, would have qualified as this season's wildest controversy: a call for viewers to vote for the least talented contestants, in the hopes that "American Idol" producers will get stuck with marketing a lemon at the end of the season.

After noticing that his favorites kept getting voted off last year, Dave Della Terza, 22, and a group of college buddies, took matters into their own hands. They created their online campaign, votefortheworst.com to throw the competition off course. ("American Idol" votes are supposed to be cast in favor of contestants whom fans want to keep each Tuesday. Fans can call or text message as many times as they want in a two-hour period.)

"The show is less of a contest for who America picks and more of who the show's producers will influence to win," said Della Terza of Santa Clarita. "The producers and the judges tend to say, 'We like this person' ... 'This person is going to win' — and then America just tends to vote along with them. This season it's been Carrie and Bo. So we know it's going to be between Carrie and Bo. Whatever. So, we were like, 'Wouldn't it be funny if ... we pick somebody else and vote for the one [who has been told by the judges], 'You're going home, you're terrible."

To date, that person has been Savol, 28, who has drawn the ire of Simon Cowell week after week, and who last Tuesday inspired the cranky judge to tell him to pack his suitcase because of his rendition of "Dance With My Father." But on Wednesday, Savol had earned so many votes that he landed in the top three, sending the show's most popular contestant, Constantine, home to pack his bags.

"I couldn't believe it, I was floored when a friend in Oklahoma called to tell me Scott was in the top three and Constantine went home," Della Terza said. A statement issued by Fox and the producers of the show, 19 Television and Freemantle Media North America, dismissed the group's impact: "While it is unfortunate that a small group of people are so caustic that they believe it would be humorous to negatively sway the voting on 'American Idol,' the number of purported visits to the website would have no impact on voting."

But that doesn't address the increasing support for a contestant who has obviously turned off many fans with his back-talking and what comes across to many as a cold personality, not to mention the revelation of a previous domestic violence arrest. On Internet message boards and blogs, "American Idol" fans have not been shy about posting their dislike of Savol.

Della Terza, who estimates he called in between 100 to 150 votes himself this week, added a visitor counter to his site on Monday. By Sunday afternoon, 323,000-plus hits had been registered at votefortheworst.com the majority from people who pledged to keep the Savol cause alive.

Della Terza said that while Fox has not asked him to shut down the website, on Friday, Freemantle Media demanded in writing that he remove all copyrighted materials from the site.

"I've never had any idea how many people were a part of this," Della Terza said. "We started off really small, with about 10 last year. We're all shocked at how many people there are. We just thought it was a funny joke and now it's gone to something way bigger than we ever expected."

It's not just big, it's sadistic, say some who have left messages at the site, using terms such as "idiot" and "Charles Manson" to describe the site's creator. Parents have blamed Della Terza for their children crying themselves to sleep when their favorites have lost. Others accuse the website of "shattering dreams."

Fox and the "Idol" producers agree.

"Each week millions of votes are received for each contestant, and based on the tiny number of visitors this site has allegedly received, their hateful campaign will have no effect on the selection of the next American Idol," they said in the statement. "Millions of fans of 'American Idol' have voted for their favorites so far this season, and that success speaks far louder than any vicious and mean-spirited website."

The network and the producers also blame media attention for the site's sudden popularity.

And yet it all may be working to the network's advantage.

"Fox is really working the audience participation, and these kinds of controversies give the show a high news profile," said Stuart Fischoff, a media psychologist at Cal State Los Angeles. "If Fox wanted less attention to come to it, they wouldn't respond at all."

The phenomenon of votefortheworst.com Fischoff added, is a testament to an entertainment culture that is increasingly taking on an outsized role in people's emotional lives. "People are spending so much time now on show business and celebrity issues rather than what is really affecting them, like the price of gas and the environment," he said. "They don't understand why the marketplace is the way it is or why we're in Iraq, but we do understand Simon and we do understand 'American Idol,' so let me put all my mental energy there."

A recent graduate of Northern Illinois University, Della Terza said he wants to work in the television industry. In the meantime, he is "temping," he said, and managing his growing website, a job he does not intend to quit anytime soon.

In fact, on Saturday, Della Terza got in touch with his entrepreneurial side and added a store to his site, where he is selling items such as a teddy bear wearing a T-shirt declaring, "I may look cute and innocent, but I'm the ringleader behind votefortheworst.com," a mouse pad that says "voteforthe worst.com, make Paula cry" and magnets for both lovers and haters of the website.

"Out of principle," Della Terza said, "I have to see how far we can ride this now."

Cancel 'Arrested'? It would be a crime

By Gary Levin USA TODAY

Fans want Fox to get arrested for a third season. USA TODAY's eighth annual Save Our Shows poll reveals quirky comedy Arrested Development is the overwhelming favorite to escape cancellation.

Among 19 series facing uncertain fates — "on the bubble," in industry lingo —Arrested scored highest: 66% of nearly 54,000 respondents urged Fox to renew the struggling series. (Just 12% wanted it dumped, by far the lowest total of any series.)

"The writing is so clever and funny, it is like no other show out there," says Susan Schomburg of Champaign, Ill. "It is literally the only new (non-rerun) show I ever watch and often the only show I will make time for."

Other fans offered dire warnings.

"If Arrested Development gets canceled, I will go into a deep depression for several weeks," says Morgan Davies, 15, of Sudbury, Mass. "It's my favorite half-hour of the week."

Usually such effusive praise is reserved for sci-fi shows with devoted cult followings: Last year, Star Trek: Enterprise won a record 70% support and avoided the ax — for a while. Its run ends next week.

In that same 2004 poll, just 36.5% of voters sought Arrested's return. Since then, the comedy has won an Emmy and found new fans on DVD. But the ratings haven't improved.

Networks will reveal the fate of bubble shows when they unveil their fall lineups to advertisers in New York in two weeks.

The second-biggest vote-getter was CBS' Joan of Arcadia, with 40% support.
"Joan is the best show on television," says Paul Reilly of Yonkers, N.Y. "It shows a real family where religious issues are treated with openness and respect. If my daughters grow up to be like Joan, I will be thrilled."

Other shows with more supporters than naysayers: NBC's adaptation of British comedy The Office, Fox's The Bernie Mac Show and ABC's Eyes.

Supporters of NBC's Will & Grace just barely outnumbered those who want the show dropped, 35% to 31%. The sitcom's ratings have dropped this season, but it is expected to return for an eighth and probably final season.

CBS' long-running Judging Amy had equal numbers of fans and foes, while support was meager for UPN's All of Us, produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Five percent want it back and 30% want none of it.

Fox's Life on a Stick and Quintuplets had similarly anemic support: 10% or less wanted the shows to stick around, and more than 40% wanted them dropped.

On the subject of NCIS ...

This one was in my season pass list for a while, and I always enjoyed watching Mark Harmon, Pauly Perrette, and David McCallum.

But after a few too many dissected, burned, disemboweled, or otherwise displayed body parts, I just got weary of it and freed up the hard disk space. :)

Mojo

Sunday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

It's mouth to mouth for 'Trial by Jury'
Struggling 'L&O' spinoff piggybacking with 'SVU'
By Abigail Azote medialifemagazine.com

There had been a feeling, leading up to the March premiere of "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," that there was no such thing as too many "Law & Orders." NBC has since found out that four shows may be one too many. "Trial by Jury" has had a surprisingly difficult start, struggling to win its Friday 10 p.m. timeslot against CBS's "Numb3rs" and not generating any of the buzz that previous "L&O" spinoffs have inspired.

So for sweeps, NBC is hoping to infuse "Trial by Jury" with a bit of help from the current leader of the franchise, Tuesday's "Special Victims Unit," in a special crossover between the two. “SVU” will air at 9 p.m. tomorrow night, with the continuing episode of “Trial by Jury” airing immediately after at 10, in "SVU's" regular timeslot.

The idea is to bring in some loyal "SVU" viewers who may not have checked out Friday's show. Whether it will lead to a permanent bump in ratings, especially with the show hitting an all-time low in total viewers last week, is doubtful. But at the least, the stunt should give NBC a nice boost on Tuesday night, where it has really hurt this season.

During the week ended April 17, a similar crossover between "Law & Order" and "Trial by Jury" earned the latter its highest ratings since its premiere episode, a 4.7 18-49 rating and 13.2 million total viewers. The show averages a 3.6 among 18-49s. Expect “Trial by Jury” to retain “SVU’s” average 13 million viewers and 5.2 among 18-49s Tuesday for what could be the show’s best yet ratings yet.

NBC hopes that will goose another original "Trial by Jury" episode airing Friday at 10. That seems doubtful.

“Trial by Jury” has been averaging a 7.8 household rating and 11.6 million total viewers so far this season.
That puts it in last place behind top-performing “SVU” and still-strong "L&O." “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” has suffered with the arrival of Sunday heavyweight “Desperate Housewives” but is still one of NBC's top-rated shows.

"Trial by Jury" has faced surprisingly strong competition in “Numb3rs.” In the week ended April 24, “Numb3rs” posted a 4.1 18-49 rating, besting “Trial by Jury’s” 3.6. Among households, “Trial by Jury” earned a 7.0 average behind “Numb3rs’” 7.4.

Like its predecessors, “Trial by Jury” will likely take some time to build a following. “SVU” didn’t hit its stride until three seasons in and the flagship “Law & Order” became an even bigger hit when “West Wing” gave it a good lead in its 11th season.

NBC has so far done a good job of cultivating all of its “Law & Order” shows and isn't likely to abandon “Trial by Jury” just yet. Even though it's not what NBC expected, its lack of hits this season seem to ensure that even the modest "Trial by Jury" will be back in its current timeslot next season. But a poor early performance could push it off the schedule for good.

The latest from Matt Drudge at drudgereport.com on the “American Idol” expose coming from ABC News:

WILL PAULA BE BOUNCED FROM 'IDOL': ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGE TO BE AIRED

**Exclusive**

Is Paula Abdul the next person to be booted off AMERICAN IDOL?

FOX executives have declined to answer any and all questions posed by ABCNEWS regarding claims AMERICA IDOL judge Paula Abdul personally "coached" a favorite contestant and then tried to cover up the breach, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

MORE

Even though ABC has been warned by Abdul powerattorney Marty Singer that the network faces legal action if it proceeds with Wednesday night's PRIMETIME LIVE expose -- ABC lawyers are convinced the bombshell audio evidence and video material to be presented in the special will pass any legal challenge.

Late night phone calls and answering machine messages are said to tie Abdul, 42, to an inappropriate relationship with a 22 year-old contestant, sources tell DRUDGE.

ABC is preparing to play the audio, along with on-camera interviews given by former contestants who did not receive the same personal "coaching."

"I am quite surprised and disappointed ABC is devoting an hour of its prime time programming to air tabloid trash," a top FOX executive said from Los Angeles.

FOX owner Rupert Murdoch has informed executives that it appears ABC is attempting to maliciously "destroy" the nation's most-watched series as it heads into the final weeks.

Developing...

Networks Sweeping Up May

By Marc Berman mediaweek.com May 02, 2005

As the typical potpourri of season finales and series-enders—better known as the May sweeps—gets into full swing, there are a number of shows that are sure to grab a considerable amount of attention. The networks, which have been saving the big guns for this period, have special events,

made-for-TV movies and cliff-hangers that will reel in the viewers. Each network has its own strategy during sweeps month, which started on April 28 and runs through May 25.

For instance, you have to admire a growing ABC for aggressively programming opposite the season finale of American Idol. It will be Idol, of course, that wins the night, but one of ABC's strongest shows, Lost, will hold its own (I predict 29 million viewers for Idol, 21 million for Lost). CBS is actually making a play for viewers, as well, with its made-for-TV movie Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution. If that movie generates any interest, a total of 65 million to 70 million viewers will be watching network TV that night. We haven't seen those numbers since the series finale of M*A*S*H or the classic "Who Shot JR?" episode of Dallas. Keep in mind that the most-watched night of the week, Monday, averages 54.5 million viewers.

Another night of network competition comes on Thursday, May 19, when the season finales of CBS' CSI and NBC's The Apprentice 3, as well as the NBA playoffs on ABC, will air. Although CSI will have no trouble dominating with close to 30 million viewers, even a deteriorating The Apprentice is likely to garner noticeable interest.

The networks will also hype the latest crop of reality-show winners: CBS' Survivor: Palau (on May 15) and The Amazing Race 7 (May 10); ABC's The Bachelor (May 16); and America's Next Top Model (May 18) on UPN. Not only do sneaky Rob and icky-sweet Amber look like the team to beat on The Amazing Race, the nauseating lovebirds will keep their 15 minutes of fame going in Rob and Amber Get Married on CBS Tuesday, May 24. Speaking of overexposed, Britney Spears and hubby Kevin Federline kick off their UPN reality series, called, what else, Kevin and Britney, on May 17.

CBS is planning a mix of specials, miniseries and made-for-TV movies to attract audiences during this month. Although the network miniseries is certainly not the event it used to be, some subjects are definitely more compelling than others. CBS will air Elvis, a four-hour miniseries debuting on Sunday, May 8, and concluding on Wednesday, May 11. As big as Elvis is—and let's face it, it doesn't get much bigger than The King—I wish CBS well facing ABC's Desperate Housewives on that Sunday. It seems no one can stop these women.

And, although he is certainly no Elvis, Dr. Know-It-All, Phil McGraw, will be back in prime time with two new CBS Wednesday specials: Escaping Danger and Escaping Addiction. Love him or loathe him, he knows how to attract an audience.

Rosie O'Donnell, meanwhile, is traveling the made-for movie route in Hallmark Hall of Fame's Riding the Bus With My Sister, airing on CBS Sunday, May 1.

As for Desperate Housewives, not only is the blockbuster dramedy the highest-ranking new fall series since NBC's The Cosby Show in the 1984-85 season, but the golden days of the serialized May cliff-hanger—the one that kept us wondering who shot JR—is poised for a comeback. Although the mystery of why Mary Alice Young committed suicide will finally be revealed, expect several other loose ends (like the true background of Mike Delfino) to leave you hanging all summer.

We will bid adieu in the next few weeks to CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond and JAG, NBC's Third Watch and UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise. There are other shows, however, that are on the fence and may also be airing their final telecasts. Depending on how strong the pilots for next fall's series look, it could be curtains for established series like ABC's 8 Simple Rules and Less Than Perfect; CBS' Judging Amy, 60 Minutes Wednesday and Yes, Dear; NBC's American Dreams; Fox's Bernie Mac and Arrested Development (which already aired its last show of the season); and the WB's What I Like About You.

One network that seems strategy-less this season is NBC. Not only is the network suffering bad ratings erosion, one look at the May 2005 schedule leaves me wondering if the network even knew it was programming in a sweeps period. Other than the typical array of season finales—among them Will & Grace, which should be on that list of shows that are ending, but isn't because of the sad state of the network—the Peacock's feathers look noticeably tattered.

Originally posted by fredfa
The latest from Matt Drudge at drudgereport.com on the “American Idol” expose coming from ABC News:

... "I am quite surprised and disappointed ABC is devoting an hour of its prime time programming to air tabloid trash," a top FOX executive said from Los Angeles. ...


Let's see ... Isn't Fox the network which recently aired a show called Stars Without Make-Up?

Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.

Correct dline.
And who could forget (in Fox’s own words from its website) this abomination:

FOX SPECIAL: “WHO’S YOUR DADDY?”
A YOUNG WOMAN, ADOPTED AT BIRTH, AND HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER ARE REUNITED ON THE SPECIAL “WHO’S YOUR DADDY?”
MONDAY, JANUARY 3, ON FOX
After a lifetime of separation, does the bond between parent and child remain? A reunion show like no other, WHO’S YOUR DADDY? provides a woman, who was given up for adoption as an infant, with an extraordinary opportunity to meet the birth father who also has been searching for her. But wait, there’s a twist. Before meeting her dad, the young woman will be presented with eight men, all claiming to be her father, and she must determine which one really is. And to keep her real dad from revealing himself from the start, there is $100,000 at stake for his daughter. She will have opportunities to interview and observe the men, narrowing the field. If she guesses right, the prize will be hers. If she guesses wrong, the imposter will win the money. Either way, daughter and father will be reunited on the dramatic and emotional special WHO’S YOUR DADDY? airing Mon., Jan. 3 (8:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (WYD-101) (TV-PG) CC

Originally posted by dline
Let's see ... Isn't Fox the network which recently aired a show called Stars Without Make-Up?

Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.

This is too funny, Fox, the king of tabloid style programming...:rolleyes:

CBS Post Bush News Conference Schedule Changes
CBS: Price Tag Pulled for Toe Tag
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

CBS has juggled some shows in this week's May sweeps lineup.

First, it's a move from "come on down!" to six feet under on Friday night. An originally scheduled Price is Right special May 6 at 8-9 will be replaced by a repeat of forensic hit CSI: Miami.

CBS gave no reason for pulling Price, and said it has not been rescheduled. CSI: Miami, will be followed at 9 with a repeat of CSI in JAG's old spot (the series bowed out April 29).

Elsewhere, to make way for a Dr. Phil special Wednesday, May 4, on the rehab of Pat O'Brien, host of ET-spin-off Insider, CBS will drop low-rated 60 Minutes Wednesday for the night.

The Dr. Phil special will be a case of triple synergy. Phil has a syndicated show from King World, while O'Brien's show is from Paramount. CBS, King World and Paramount are all owned by Viacom.

Dr. Phil will be followed at 9 by the episode of Cold Case that was preempted by the President's press conference last Wednesday. CBS is clearing out King of Queens and Yes, Dear to make room for Cold Case.

Yes, Dear hasn't been rescheduled, but K of Q has been re-slotted for Monday, May 9, at 8-8:30, booting Still Standing.

"Dr. Phil will be followed at 9 by the episode of Cold Case that was preempted by the President's press conference last Wednesday. CBS is clearing out King of Queens and Yes, Dear to make room for Cold Case." --author should have said Without a Trace instead of Cold Case

You are correct (as usual) f44.

To clarify the B&C report posted above, the CBS Wednesday lineup will be:

8 PM ET Dr. Phil interviews Pat O'Brien
9 PM ET Without A Trace
10 PM ET CSI New York

Monday’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Since they pushed back CSI last week for the president's speech, we missed it. Is there any word on replaying that episode (Committed)?

Xesdeeni

the show won't be the same without Paula. She is the backdrop which enhances Simon's caustic remarks. She is the Ying to his Yang :)

by the way, who cares if the show is fixed, it's still entertaining and a good show to watch with the kids.

even if they manipulate the outcome, if the singer doesn't have appeal, he will not sell records, period.

Xesdeeni: keep an eye on the CBS Saturday schedule -- the rerun lots of crime procedurals there.
But just watch for CBS program changes-- I would bet they repeat that episode soon.

'American Idol,' Ready for An Unflattering Close-Up?

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Tuesday, May 3, 2005; C01

After beating back attacks by rabid fans and foes over three brilliant seasons, will Fox's "American Idol" be dragged down by the snapping teeth of ABC News and VotefortheWorst.com?

ABC is set tomorrow to run "Fallen Idol," its much-talked-of "Primetime Live" broadcast that, according to sources familiar with the situation, is mostly about "Idol" judge Paula Abdul and whether she coached contestant Corey Clark during the second season.

Fox had not, as of late yesterday, responded to any of the questions put to it by ABC News; a Fox rep declined to comment for this story.

Ditto ABC News, which continues to play coy as to what is in its report -- a strategy sure to drive about 15 percent more viewers to "Primetime," which is, you notice, not airing in its regular Thursday slot but on the night of the "Idol" results show. That's because it's the May ratings sweeps and ABC is not stupid.

But among the many bits in the broadcast is a message Abdul allegedly left on Clark's cell phone urging him not to respond to media inquiries, say sources familiar with the story, who insisted on remaining anonymous. The sources say the call was placed after syndicated gossip columnist Cindy Adams broke the story that Clark was shopping around a book proposal promising to tell all about his alleged relationship with Abdul.

Also in store for viewers is a look at Clark's telephone records, which allegedly show that he and Abdul spoke often and long while he was a contestant in the singing-competition series, according to some sources. And, as part of ABC News's deal to get Clark's cooperation, we'll get to hear a portion of his new single during the newscast, one source reported.

As of last night, Abdul was standing by last week's statement that she would not dignify the allegations with a response. Her attorney also wrote to ABC last week informing the network of possible legal action if the broadcast runs, according to news reports.

Tomorrow's "Primetime" also will include appearances by second-season "Idol" contestants who did not make it as far as Clark. They complain they did not get the same help as Clark allegedly did from Abdul, including what to sing, how to look, etc.

Nonetheless, Clark didn't make it much past the 32-contestant mark. Viewers winnowed those 32 down to 12 finalists and, after three of those were voted out, Clark got the hook because word got out that he had been arrested for allegedly assaulting his teenage sister and then resisting arrest.

The "Primetime Live" report is from producer Harry Phillips and senior producer Chris Vlasto, who also produced ABC News's report on Donald Trump's finances, which aired the same night as the Donald's NBC reality series, "The Apprentice." Vlasto is better known for producing Jackie Judd's report nailing the Monica Lewinsky blue-dress story during the Clinton days.

Tomorrow's report also will include interesting behind-the-scenes footage from "Idol." Ironically, ABC News was the invited guest of "Idol" producers during the Fox show's second season; lots of footage was shot for a profile of the show that ran on "20/20" on Jan. 31, 2003.

The "Primetime" broadcast purports to show that Clark became one of the 32 finalists without Abdul's help but their alleged relationship began almost immediately thereafter.

In "American Idol," the three judges, Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell, decide which 32 wannabes get to go to Hollywood. At that point, viewer voting takes over.

"Idol" is the most watched television show in the country; Tuesday performance broadcasts this season have averaged nearly 28 million viewers and Wednesday's results show snags an average of more than 25 million.
"Idol" is critical to the Fox network's success. Before the third season debuted in January, Fox was in fourth place among the 18- to 49-year-olds whom advertisers pay a premium to reach and the broadcast networks therefore target. After the January debut, Fox jumped to No. 1 in the key demographic group.

If the ABC report has legs, pundits forecast it is unlikely to bring down the franchise. But they speculate the show might sever its relationship with Abdul, although she always tests extremely well in focus groups because, people say, she's caring and nurturing, unlike Cowell, who's been cast as the blunt one, and Jackson, who plays the unintelligible keeper of the keys to dawg-dom.

"Idol" has been plagued each season with attacks on its credibility, launched mostly by die-hard fans who claim they cannot get through on phone lines to vote for their favorite singers. Viewers are encouraged to vote often for their fave at the conclusion of each performance show; the lowest vote getter each week is booted from the competition.

Last year the Associated Press conducted its own inquiry, assigning reporters to join the tens of millions of fans seeking to decide the talent contest's two finalists. The AP reported busy signals on more than 100 calls the team placed from Los Angeles and the home states of the three remaining contestants. The AP team was able to cast only four votes and concluded that "beleaguered phone systems, trying to slurp up a tsunami of calls with a straw, can't help but choke."

Ironically, this season there has been no outrage over the voting logjam. Instead, the producers are dealing with something more insidious, a Web site encouraging people to vote for "the worst." The Web site picked Scott Savol this season because of his lack of charisma and the kind of arrogance that should belong only to a genuine superstar, site founder Dave Della Terza told the Associated Press yesterday. Then there's Savol's background: He was arrested in 2001 on a felony domestic violence charge after a fight with the mother of his child and ultimately pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. "How do you promote the guy who threw a phone at his child's mother?" said Della Terza -- a reference to 19 Entertainment, which oversees recording and other deals for "Idol" stars.

No one was taking VotefortheWorst.com too seriously -- it's been around since last season -- until last week, when contestant Constantine Maroulis, who had never landed among the weekly bottom-three vote-getters, was axed, while perennial bottom-dweller Savol landed in the top three.

Since then, the VotefortheWorst movement has gained steam and the number of visitors to the site has increased exponentially, as "Idol"-obsessed Reporters Who Cover Television spread the word. In the past week, the Web site has been the subject of stories in the New York Post, the Los Angeles Times, Fox News Channel, "Access Hollywood," Entertainment Weekly, MSNBC, E! Online News, MTV News and a slew of blogs, among others.

Late last week, Fox responded to inquiries about VotefortheWorst with a very long statement, insisting, "While it is unfortunate that a small group of people are so caustic that they believe it would be humorous to attempt to negatively sway the voting on 'American Idol,' the number of purported visits to the website would have no impact on voting."

It continued: "Until the media started writing about this website in the past 2 days, the number of visitors was practically nonexistent," and, Fox added, some are visiting the site only to urge its creators to shut it down.

"Each week millions of votes are received for each contestant, and based on the tiny number of visitors this site has allegedly received," Fox said, "their hateful campaign will have no effect on the selection of the next American Idol."

Originally posted by Xesdeeni
Since they pushed back CSI last week for the president's speech, we missed it. Is there any word on replaying that episode (Committed)?

Xesdeeni

It has already aired in the Sacramento, CA DMA. I remember watching it a few nights ago (timeshifted, so I am not sure when it aired). So this may be one that they are leaving up to the affiliates to play when they want. I really don't know.

It aired at 10 PM ET, but at its normal time in the mountain/west.
Without a Trace was bumped by the President in the east/central, but a WAT repeat was shown in the mountain/west.

NBC, ESPN, HBO Win Five Sports Emmys


By John Consoli Mediaweek.com May 03, 2005

NBC has won seven Sports Emmy Awards, including five for its coverage of the 2004 Olympic Games, ESPN five, including two for its daily Sport Center show, and HBO also nabbed five, including two for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

The 26th annual Sports Emmys were awarded Monday night in New York City, with the winners being selected from close to 700 entries in 27 categories.

CBS won three Sports Emmys, including one for The Masters coverage, Fox was awarded three, ABC took home two, including one for Monday Night Football, ESPN2 won two, for its Wimbledon coverage, and TNT won one for its NBA coverage and the NFL Network won one for NFL Films Presents.

Bob Costas was a winner for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host, for his work on NBC and HBO. Joe Buck was a winner as Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play for his work on Fox. Chris Collingsworth won Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Analyst for his work on HBO. Joe Morgan won Outstanding Sports Personality, Sports Event Analyst for his work on ESPN baseball coverage.

Chet Simmons, former president of NBC Sports and ESPN, was given a Sports Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to sports television over four decades.

Matt Drudge is now reporting that sources tell him ABC will release some details of its "American Idol" investigation later today (Tuesday).

Originally posted by fredfa
NBC, ESPN, HBO Win Five Sports Emmys
Joe Buck was a winner as Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play for his work on Fox. Chris Collingsworth won Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Analyst for his work on HBO. They must have been uncontested in the category they each won or maybe "Outstanding" means something different to these voters.

Obviously different people have different tastes.

A recap of last week’s network prime-time program ratings has been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

NBC Tuesday officially renewed Will and Grace HD for an eighth season.

NBC Keeps Old Kentucky Home
By John M. Higgins Broadcasting & Cable

NBC has finalized a deal to keep TV rights for two of the three legs of horse racing's Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, for another five years.

The deal thwarts an attempt by ESPN to snag Preakness rights away and pair the race with ABC's carriage of the Belmont Stakes. NBC will carry the Derby and Preakness through 2010. Terms could not be immediately learned.

The drudgereport.com claims that:

ABC LAWYERS ON 'IDOL' EXPOSE: IT'S A GO!

ABCNEWS claims AMERICAN IDOL judge Paula Abdul had an 'intensive relationship' with one of the contestants, Cory Clark, and 'coached' him on his performances... Abdul and FOX have vowed legal action against ABC if the report airs....

Originally posted by fredfa
The drudgereport.com claims that:

ABC LAWYERS ON 'IDOL' EXPOSE: IT'S A GO!

ABCNEWS claims AMERICAN IDOL judge Paula Abdul had an 'intensive relationship' with one of the contestants, Cory Clark, and 'coached' him on his performances... Abdul and FOX have vowed legal action against ABC if the report airs....

This thing is getting good. Man, I wonder what will happen to the AI following if the allegations against Abdul are true? You know Fox scrambling to position themselves for the fallout.

I agree -- it is more fun to watch all the network suits scramble than it is to watch the show!

The folks at Celebrity Justice have distilled all the Paul Abdul stuff into one easy-to-digest package:

Paula Abdul Left Message for Corey Clark
celebrityjustice.warnerbros.com—The hits just keep on coming for "American Idol" host Paula Abdul. More explosive allegations are coming out suggesting there's an audiotape that proves she had an inappropriate relationship with former contestant Corey Clark.

Clark was a contestant on the second season of "Idol" -- until he was kicked out because he didn't disclose criminal charges. He is currently alleging he had a sexual relationship with Abdul while still part of the program. Clark is reportedly shopping a tell-all book that's led to tabloid and TV reports about the scandal.

On Monday, the Drudge Report website carried the headline "Will Paula Be Bounced From Idol? Answering Machine Message to be Aired." According to the website, "Late night phone calls and answering machine messages are said to tie the 42-year-old Abdul to an inappropriate relationship with a 22-year-old contestant."

"CJ" has confirmed independently that at least one taped message from Paula to Corey does exist, but we don't know the content.

We spoke with Hollywood entertainment authority Marci Koch, who observed, "This could be very damaging to Paula."

Koch told us that what Paula says will be the key: "If it's just a simple hello or a message wishing him good luck, no big deal. On the other hand, [if it] shows special relationship or that she's going out of her way to help him advance on the show, Paula could face big trouble."

According to Drudge, Wednesday's edition of "Primetime Live" will play the audiotape.

Meanwhile, Clark's attorneys are responding to the controversy this way: "In order to save Ms. Abdul further humiliation we have advised her counsel to have a candid discussion with Ms. Abdul before making any further statements regarding Mr. Clark's veracity."

http://celebrityjustice.warnerbros.com/news/0505/02a.html

The latest from drudgereport.com (and a statement from Fox) --

ABCNEWS claims AMERICAN IDOL judge Paula Abdul had an 'intensive relationship' with one of the contestants, Cory Clark, and 'coached' him on his performances... Abdul and FOX have vowed legal action against ABC if the report airs.... MORE...

ABC: She coached you?
CLARK: Right. ABC: She picked your songs?
CLARK: Yeah.
ABC: She picked your clothes?
CLARK: Right – and got my haircut for me…...

Other IDOL contestants react:

NASHEKA SIDDALL: For those who put so much work and effort into it – and someone that’s kind of getting the easy ride in? Absolutely wrong… there’s no other way to put it. No, it’s absolutely wrong…

PATRICK FORTSON: I’m very surprised…He didn’t deserve to win, because it’s not fair to everybody else who did it on their own…

GEORGE TRICE: It makes you upset because you see those twelve spots. And we were all fighting for one of those twelve spots. You know, my life will go on, my career will go on. I’ll continue to go for it. But, you know – that’s a slap in the face. It really is.

ABC received the following statement from FOX this afternoon at 5:15 PM ET:

“Disqualified IDOL contestant Corey Clark was removed from the show for failing to disclose his criminal arrest history. Despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities for contestants to raise any concerns they may have, the producers of IDOL, FreemantleMedia, 19 Entertainment and FOX were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented any evidence concerning his claims. We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive. In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine Mr. Clark’s motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with IDOL for profit and publicity.”

Complete List of Sports Emmies

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SPECIAL:
* The Masters CBS

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPORTS SERIES:
* ABC's NFL Monday Night Football ABC

OUTSTANDING LIVE EVENT TURNAROUND:
* The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad NBC

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SPECIAL:
* Ironman Triathlon World Championship NBC

OUTSTANDING SPORTS DOCUMENTARY:
* The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad: Stylianos NBC
Kryiakides, The Journey of a Warrior

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPORTS SERIES / ANTHOLOGY:
* Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel HBO

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW - WEEKLY:
THE WINNER IS:
* Inside the NFL HBO

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW - DAILY:

THE WINNER IS:
* SportsCenter ESPN

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – STUDIO HOST:
* Bob Costas NBC / HBO

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – PLAY-BY-PLAY:
\ * Joe Buck FOX

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – STUDIO ANALYST:
* Cris Collinsworth HBO

OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONALITY – SPORTS EVENT ANALYST:
* Joe Morgan ESPN

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM REMOTE:
* NASCAR on FOX FOX

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM STUDIO:
THE WINNER IS:
* The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad NBC

OUTSTANDING CAMERA WORK:
* Road to the Super Bowl XXXVIII CBS

OUTSTANDING EDITING:
* NFL Films Presents on NFL Network NFL Network

* Wimbledon on NBC NBC

THE DICK SCHAAP OUTSTANDING WRITING AWARD:
* Wimbledon on ESPN2 ESPN2
Wimbledon Reflections
Dick Enberg

OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION / DIRECTION / LYRICS:
* Favre 4-Ever FOX
NFL Films

* Nine Innings From Ground Zero HBO
MLB Productions

OUTSTANDING LIVE EVENT AUDIO / SOUND:
* Great Outdoor Games ESPN

OUTSTANDING POST PRODUCED AUDIO / SOUND:
* NBA on TNT Thursdays TNT
Opening Game, All-Star Game & Trick Daddy

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC DESIGN:
* ESPN25 ESPN

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN / ART DIRECTION:
* World Figure Skating Championships ABC

THE GEORGE WENSEL OUTSTANDING INNOVATIVE TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
* The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad NBC
Stromotion

OUTSTANDING SPORTS JOURNALISM:
* Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel HBO
Sport of Sheikhs

OUTSTANDING SHORT FEATURE:
* The Super Bowl Today CBS
NFL Quarterbacks

OUTSTANDING OPEN / TEASE:
* The Games of the XXVIII Olympiad NBC
The Games Come Home Tease

OUTSTANDING LONG FEATURE:
* SportsCenter ESPN

Fox Fires Back in Idol Flap
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable

Breaking nearly a week of silence, Fox and the producers of American Idol came out swinging Tuesday at second-season contestant Corey Clark, who took his claims of an affair with American Idol judge Paula Abdul to book publishers and, apparently, ABC’s Primetime Live.

While taking issue with Clark, Fox and the producers vowed nonetheless to check out any allegations raised by the ABC news magazine in a special airing Wednesday night.

“Disqualified American Idol contestant Corey Clark was removed from the show for failing to disclose his criminal arrest history,” a statement released to the news magazine states. “Despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities for contestants to raise any concerns they may have, the producers of American Idol, FremantleMedia, 19 Entertainment and Fox were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented any evidence concerning his claims.

“We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive. In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine Mr. Clark’s motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with American Idol for profit and publicity.”

The Fox statement comes a day after the Drudge Report said Primetime Live is preparing to play late night phone calls and answering machine messages that allegedly tie Abdul to Clark.

With Fox's latest press release, it appears that we have some damage control beginning to take place.

Fred, I looked at Fox's website and it says that Arrested Dev. will return this summer. Do you know if these eps are repeats or shows that were taped but didn't run this season?

As far as I know, AFH, there are no new Arrested Development episodes aside from the 40 which have already been aired.
So, if it returns this summer, it would be repeats.

Last week’s network prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Last week’s top five and bottom five prime-time program ratings by major network have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Tonight’s Season Finale
Judging Amy CBS HD 10 PM ET (Possible series finale)

'Idol' Bootee Details Alleged Abdul Affair for ABC

By Rick Porter

(zap2it.com)--So here's what former "American Idol" contestant Corey Clark is telling ABC News: He and "Idol" judge Paula Abdul had a physical relationship, which he claims Abdul initiated, and she helped him pick songs to sing on the show and gave him money to buy clothes. And recently, as word of Clark's claims began to surface, she called him and asked that he not go public with his allegations.

Oh, and some "Idol" contestants who didn't make it as far as Clark did in season two are upset about the alleged help he got from Abdul.

That's the nut of what ABC News will cover Wednesday night (May 4) in its "Primetime Live" special about FOX's hit show. ABC, which is calling the special "Fallen Idol," says the allegations "raise serious questions about fairness on the popular talent competition." From a partial transcript ABC released Tuesday (May 3), however, it also appears that the report doesn't contain much that hasn't already been reported on "Idol"-gate.

In the transcript, Clark details his first private phone call with Abdul for "Primetime" co-anchor John Quinones.

"She was like, 'You got to have better song choices, and I want to help you do that. I want to look out after you like -- like I'm your mom,'" Clark tells Quinones. "And then she was like, 'Well, more like your sister.' And I was like, 'Okay, cool, cool.' ... And then she was like, 'Well, maybe more like your special friend.'"

Abdul released a statement last week calling Clark a "liar" and alluding to his being booted from "American Idol" for failing to disclose an arrest (a fact ABC also acknowledges). Her attorney has reportedly sent ABC News a letter threatening legal action if it airs unsupported allegations against her. Abdul's fellow judges and a number of former contestants have also come to her defense via various showbiz-news outlets.

In a statement of its own Tuesday afternoon, FOX says Clark never mentioned his alleged relationship with Abdul to the network or the show's producers, "despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities for contestants to raise any concerns they may have."

"We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive," the statement reads. "In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine Mr. Clark's motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with 'American Idol' for profit and publicity."

Interestingly, FOX's official "Idol" site made a couple of references to Clark flirting with Abdul on-camera during his time on the show. An episode recap by "the Jaded Journalist" on the site has this to say about Clark's performance as part of a group during the post-audition Hollywood round:

"Corey and Patrick's group is next, and sure enough, Corey has forgotten his words. ... Corey's [sic] recovers by dedicating the song to Paula and then kissing her. Paula is pleased with the routine, although Simon was unimpressed."

In the semifinals, the Jaded Journalist noted that "If [Clark's] song isn't working out, he can always change the lyrics to Paula-related topics. 'Oh, Paula! You're sitting there wearing red! And you're cute! When you're sitting there. Ohhhhhhh, Paula!'"

As to why he's going public with his allegations -- which are reportedly also part of a book proposal he's been sending to publishers -- Clark tells "Primetime" it's not about getting back into the media spotlight. "I need to set the record straight for myself," he says. "And, you know, unfortunately I need to set the record straight for her too, because she was a part of it."

"Is this a publicity stunt?" Quinones asks.

"No, this is me telling the truth," Clark replies. "And, it just so happens to be a very explosive truth."

In the special, Clark also plays an answering-machine message he says is from Abdul, urging him not to go public about the alleged relationship. Former contestants George Trice, Nakesha Siddall and Patrick Fortson -- none of whom advanced to the final 12 with Clark -- say they're upset by Clark's claims.

"[W]e were all fighting for one of those 12 spots," Trice says on the special. "You know, my life will go on, my career will go on. ... But, you know -- that's a slap in the face."

An Illicit Affair on 'American Idol'?

Ex-Contestant Says He Got Coaching From,
Had Relationship With, Judge Paula Abdul

ABCNews.com---May 3, 2005 - A former "American Idol" contestant told ABC News' "Primetime Live" that Paula Abdul, one of the judges for the hit reality television show, provided him with off-camera tips and assistance while he was a contestant, even helping him select some of the songs he would sing.

"She was opening my eyes to like, 'Look, you sing this stuff. This is how you're going to get through,'" said Corey Clark, one of the 12 finalists during the Fox show's second season.

Clark, then 22, said that during the competition he had an off camera relationship with Abdul, then 40, which was at first platonic but later became sexual. He said Abdul, who was herself a chart-topping singer in the late 1980s, initially told him, "I want to look out after you like I'm your mom."

He said Abdul then quickly changed her mind and said, "Well, maybe more like your special friend."

In April 2003, Clark lost his spot among the amateur singers auditioning for the grand prize of a recording contract when producers abruptly removed him for failing to inform the show that he had been arrested after a domestic dispute with his sister in October 2002.

Abdul has issued a statement in which she says she "will not dignify the false statements made by Corey Clark with a response."

"Primetime" received the following statement from "American Idol": "Disqualified 'American Idol' contestant Corey Clark was removed from the show for failing to disclose his criminal arrest history.

"Despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities for contestants to raise any concerns they may have, the producers of 'American Idol,' FreemantleMedia, 19 Entertainment and FOX were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented any evidence concerning his claims.

"We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive. In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine Mr. Clark's motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with 'American Idol' for profit and publicity."

Claims She Helped With Clothes, Hair, Songs

Clark said Abdul helped him with his look -- even choosing a hair stylist -- and gave him prescription cough syrup, with a prescription made out in her name, to soothe his throat.

Clark said he thought Abdul was "polishing that dust off the dirty diamond and helping me shine a little bit."
He said he and Abdul were friends for a month and then it became a romantic relationship.

Clark's parents told "Primetime Live" that their son told them at the time that he was involved with Abdul and that they expressed concern about his becoming involved with a judge while the competition was ongoing.

They also told "Primetime" that they sometimes spoke to Abdul themselves when she called their home looking for Clark. Two of Clark's friends say he also told them about the relationship at the time and even brought Abdul to meet them.

An Issue of Publicity?

"Primetime Live" interviewed other losing contestants from the 2003 American Idol competition and told them about Clark's claims. They said that if Clark's allegations about receiving secret advice and coaching from Abdul are true, then they feel that the competition was unfair.

Clark is recording his first album and writing a book. News of the book proposal was leaked to the media last month. Clark said in recent phone conversations and in a recorded voice mail message that he played for "Primetime Live," Abdul implored him not to talk about her or publish his memoirs.

In her statement to "Primetime Live," Abdul 's representative said: "He is communicating lies about Paula Abdul in order to generate interest in a book deal.''

But Clark says he is making these allegations now because "I need to set the record straight for myself. "Unfortunately, I need to set the record straight for her too, because she was a part of it," he said. "This is me telling the truth. It just so happens to be a very explosive truth."

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/print?id=701186

ABC News Press Release on” PrimeTime Live: Fallen Idol”
(thefutoncritic.com)
PRIMETIME LIVE (5/4; PROGRAM CHANGE; UPDATED 2)
Air Date: 5/4/05 (WEDNESDAY) Time Slot: 10:01 PM-11:00 PM EST on ABC
Episode Title: "Fallen Idol"

"FALLEN IDOL" -- A SPECIAL EDITION OF "PRIMETIME LIVE": A FORMER CONTESTANT ALLEGES BEHIND-THE-SCENES ASSISTANCE FROM AND A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH AN "AMERICAN IDOL" JUDGE, AIRING WEDNESDAY, MAY 4 ON ABC

A special hour-long "Primetime Live" report explores explosive claims about behind-the-scenes activities at the hit television show "American Idol." The accusations - which other contestants say raise serious questions about fairness on the popular talent competition -- come from Corey Clark, one of twelve finalists during the program's second season. In an exclusive interview with "Primetime" co-anchor John Quiqones, Clark alleges that "Idol" judge Paula Abdul initiated an off-camera relationship with him while he was a contestant in which she provided him with tips and assistance, even helping him to select what he would sing. Clark also claims that Abdul worked with him to improve his "look" by giving him money to buy expensive clothing. He tells Quiqones that his relationship with Abdul, which was at first platonic, eventually became sexual. And he charges that, in recent phone conversations -- including an answering machine message that he played for "Primetime" -- Abdul implored him not to talk about her to the media or publish his memoirs. He discusses how his alleged relationship with Abdul is reflected in a new song he has recorded for an upcoming album. "Fallen Idol," a special edition of "Primetime Live," airs WEDNESDAY, MAY 4 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Clark was abruptly removed from "American Idol" during the finals when it came to light that he had failed to inform the show that he had been arrested after a domestic dispute with his sister and an ensuing scuffle with police. Clark eventually pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of "obstructing legal process"; other charges were dropped.

Abdul's representative issued a media statement last week that said Clark is a "liar" who is making false claims to generate publicity for himself.

"Primetime Live" received the following statement from "American Idol" this afternoon at 5:15 p.m., ET:
"Disqualified 'American Idol' contestant Corey Clark was removed from the show for failing to disclose his criminal arrest history. Despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities for contestants to raise any concerns they may have, the producers of 'American Idol,' FreemantleMedia, 19 Entertainment and FOX were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented any evidence concerning his claims. We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive. In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine Mr. Clark's motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with 'American Idol' for profit and publicity."

Clark's parents, Jan and Duane, tell Quiqones that their son told them at the time that he was involved with Abdul and that they disapproved of his having a relationship with a judge during the competition. They say they spoke with Abdul when she called their house looking for their son. Quiqones also interviews friends of Clark, who say he told them about the alleged relationship at the time and even brought Abdul to meet them. And other contestants from season two of "American Idol" weigh in with their reactions to Clark's surprising allegations.

'Idol' chatter or real news?”
Hit reality skein stirs net rivalry

By JOSEF ADALIAN Variety.com May 4, 2005

HOLLYWOOD -- Viewers and media critics Wednesday night will be able to judge whether ABC's much buzzed-about investigation into Fox's "American Idol" is a harsh blow against the integrity of TV's No. 1 show -- or an example of sweeps-month hype gone overboard.

Until Tuesday, ABC News had remained mostly mum about the contents of tonight's one-hour special edition of "Primetime Live," dubbed "Fallen Idol."

Then, late Tuesday afternoon, net issued a press release outlining what has long been suspected: The main focus of the report is a charge by ousted contestant Corey Clark that he had a sexual relationship with "Idol" judge Paula Abdul, and that she helped guide him through the competition.

Some media and network insiders have been speculating the ABC expose would go further than the Clark allegations, since the network is devoting an entire hour to the report.

ABC's release Tuesday, however, focused solely on the alleged Abdul-Clark relationship. An ABC News spokesman declined to say whether the "Primetime" investigation would contain other allegations of wrong-doing against the "Idol" judges or producers, instead saying only that "Good Morning America" would have further excerpts from the report Wednesday morning.

One insider from a network not associated with either "Idol" or "Primetime" said ABC News will open itself up to criticism if the "Primetime" report doesn't have substantial evidence backing up Clark's allegations. "Based on how aggressive they've been in publicizing it and in the promotion, if they don't have something with serious teeth in it, they've somewhat checked their credibility at the door. Then it would be fair to say they used another network property for their own gain," the veteran exec said. "But if they have some substantial evidence that suggests wrongdoing in how the show's produced, or that the outcome is manipulated, that's a legitimate news piece."

One thing's clear: ABC didn't rush its report to air.

Word that "Primetime" was investigating "Idol" first surfaced in early March. The newsmag contacted Fox, saying it wanted to do a story about the show's judges.

Alphabet continued its investigation through March and April, even after a Cindy Adams report came out detailing Clark's book proposal. Still, the net didn't feel ready to air the report.

On April 21, Daily Variety reported that ABC was planning a special report on "Idol," the same day the Globe hit newsstands with its story about Clark and Abdul. Rather than get the news story on the air as soon as possible, ABC held off, allowing time for a full-scale on- and off-air promo blitz.

An ABC News spokesman declined to explain why the report was held as long as it was, saying only that "Primetime" will "continue to report this story right up to airtime."

While it seems highly unlikely ABC Entertainment execs played any role in instigating the report or the timing of its airing, it's also not impossible to imagine ABC News wanting to get a large viewership for the report. Newsmags regularly time investigative reports and celeb profiles to come out at opportune times. This week's "20/20" is skedded to have a long story on ABC's "Lost" -- just two days after the show returns from a long hiatus.

It doesn't hurt that ABC Entertainment and ABC corporate execs will soon be deciding whether to bring back "Primetime Live" next season as a weekly series. Newmag's ratings have been lackluster in the very difficult 10 p.m. Thursday time period.

Abdul issued a statement last week blasting Clark's allegations, but Fox and the show's producers have maintained relative silence about the matter. The two outlets finally spoke up Tuesday in a statement released to both ABC News and the general media. Statement noted Clark was removed from the show because he failed to disclose his arrest history, and said that Clark has never contacted the network or production companies.

"We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive," the statement continued. "In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine Mr. Clark's motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with "American Idol" for profit and publicity."

One industry vet wondered why Fox hasn't issued a stronger rebuttal of the Clark charges, noting that "if an organization knows it's been wronged, it usually strikes back aggressively." Others, however, say potential litigation related to Clark's charges might be making Fox and the show's producers more cautious.

Overall, Fox insiders describe the mood of network execs as a mix of aggravation, anger and even resentment that ABC could generate huge ratings during sweeps off the strength of a Fox hit. There's also a feeling of disbelief that ABC might devote an hour to Clark's "tabloid" allegations.

An ABC News spokesman noted, however, that "Primetime" has "been reporting on 'American Idol' since it hit the air. A number of magazine pieces have aired over the years that have been flattering to that broadcast."

ABC Dishes Dirt on Fox's 'American Idol'
By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times May 4, 2005

In a rare example of one television network's turning an investigative spotlight on the entertainment programming of a rival, ABC News released excerpts last night from an interview with a former contestant on the Fox show "American Idol" who contends he received intensive coaching during the competition from one of the show's three judges, Paula Abdul.

The former contestant, Corey Clark, who made it as far as the top 12 during the 2002-3 season of "Idol," has also told ABC that he had a romantic relationship with Ms. Abdul while a contestant. He was disqualified from the program on April 1, 2003; producers said he failed to disclose that he had once been arrested and accused of assaulting a younger sister. He later pleaded no contest to a lesser charge.

To buttress Mr. Clark's claims against Ms. Abdul, ABC said that when it broadcasts the interview - during a one-hour prime-time special this evening - it will play answering machine messages it says were left for Mr. Clark by Ms. Abdul and will document several dozen telephone calls between them. Among Mr. Clark's assertions are that Ms. Abdul assisted him in picking out songs he might sing - in one instance, he tells ABC, she suggested a song that might go over well with a fellow judge, Randy Jackson - and helped select what he would wear.

A lawyer for Ms. Abdul, Martin Singer, did not immediately return a telephone call last night seeking comment on the excerpts from the ABC interview. The excerpts were released by the network just before 6 p.m. - two hours before an installment of "Idol" was broadcast, live, on Fox.

In a statement, Fox said that neither it nor the program's producers were "notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented any evidence concerning his claims."

"We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive," the network added. It then recommended that "the public carefully examine Mr. Clark's motives." ABC said that during Mr. Clark's appearance on "Primetime Live" he would discuss a coming album that contains a song about his experience with Ms. Abdul.

"Idol" is one of the most watched - and thus, most lucrative - shows on television. Earlier this year, the worldwide "Idol" franchise was sold for more than $160 million to a company controlled by Robert Sillerman, a media entrepreneur. "Idol" drew a combined 50 million viewers during two prime-time installments last week, ranking it second and third for the week, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Mr. Clark's assertions represent a threat to the show because they undercut a fundamental reason for its appeal: the notion that it offers a fair, level playing field. While producers insist that it is viewers voting by telephone who choose the winners and losers, judges like Ms. Abdul can, at the least, help make the case (or not) for a particular contestant.

"In the case of 'American Idol,' we've done a lot of research in how the fan culture operates and what people find engaging about the experience," said Stacey Lynn Koerner, executive vice president of Initiative, a media planning and buying firm that has purchased advertising time on the program. "The thing that fans say transcends everything is the concept of the real and genuine contest. If that genuine essence is at issue, it could be problematic."

Mr. Clark's accusations - versions of them have appeared in recent weeks in The New York Post, The Globe tabloid and elsewhere - have surfaced at a critical time for the program. The thousands of singers competing this season have been winnowed to five, and the winner is to be selected on May 24 and 25.

During its four years, "Idol" seems to have thrived on controversy. Its ratings have only seemed to grow, whether a contestant was disqualified for baring her breasts on the Internet (also in the second season) or a contestant quit for "personal" reasons that have yet to be disclosed (Mario Vazquez, earlier this year). In March, the producers broadcast a program that was redone after a graphics error disrupted the voting for some contestants.

The producers of "Idol," 19 Entertainment and Fremantle Media, have used contracts to discourage former contestants from discussing their backstage experiences. But now that "Idol" is wrapping up its fourth season, many of the contracts from earlier years have expired.

In a telephone interview, another finalist from the second season, Julia DeMato, said that she had seen no sign of any overt favoritism shown by Ms. Abdul to Mr. Clark. But Ms. DeMato, who was voted off the show by viewers on March 26, 2003, said that the preference shown by the producers for certain contestants was more subtle.

She said, for example, that the eventual winner and runner-up during the second season - Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken - received far more vocal coaching than she did and were given assistance with wardrobes and hairstyling that was not made available to her.

"It's very obvious behind the scenes who they gear their attention to," said Ms. DeMato, 26, who works as a singer and part-time hairstylist. "Certain people got more attention than others. Those people made it far. In that aspect, it wasn't equal."

"The stylist never styled me," she added. "Some people had custom-made outfits done. I never got that. It's not fair."

Even before ABC released the excerpts from its interview with Mr. Clark, Ms. Abdul, a former pop singer, was the subject of increasingly critical chatter on the Web. "Idol" blogs have cited her on-screen playfulness with another judge, Simon Cowell, and her sometimes over-the-top endorsements of contestants.

In something of a rebuttal, Ms. Abdul, in a first-person article heralded on the May 2 cover of People magazine, described a two-decade battle with pain and with pain pills, which, she said, made her "loopy" - a battle, she said, she won only recently.

Those combing episodes of "Idol" to find her on-camera comments about Mr. Clark would find that she was effusive - though not especially more so than she has been about other contestants.

"You were on it, Corey," she told Mr. Clark on March 25, 2003, after he sang the song "Drift Away," during one of his last performances. "You're on it when you pick songs in that beautiful upper register. And you know what? It's really refreshing."

"You're on it tonight," she added. "And you're in good voice tonight."

Tuesday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Advertising Age/Media Week’s TV expert Marc Berman’s analysis of the first week of sweeps prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Can Corey Clark Sing? Like a Canary. With an Agent
By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Wednesday, May 4, 2005; C07

Not only is former "American Idol" contestant Corey Clark shopping a tell-all book about his alleged relationship with show judge Paula Abdul, and not only is he warming up his tell-all routine on tonight's "Primetime Live" special -- which interestingly has been scheduled after "Idol" and during the May ratings derby -- but he's also written and recorded a little song about Abdul's alleged peccadillo during the second season of "Idol."

ABC News teased reporters yesterday afternoon with snippets of information about the "explosive" "Primetime Live" broadcast, because it's so much cheaper than buying ads. So here we are helping ABC News drum up a few more viewers for tonight's show -- did we mention it's airing during the May sweeps?

ABC News promises that we will hear pals of Clark who claim he told them about the alleged relationship at the time, and even brought Abdul to meet them. Clark's parents will weigh in on how much they disapproved of his having a relationship with a judge during the competition. No word from ABC News on whether the folks will weigh in on whether they disapproved of his alleged assault on his 15-year-old sister and resisting arrest in October 2002 -- shortly before his audition to become a contestant on "American Idol."

ABC News says Clark will claim that Abdul initiated their relationship and helped him select what to sing and gave him money to buy "expensive clothing." And he will discuss how his alleged relationship with Abdul is reflected in a song he has recorded for an upcoming album, the little dear. Presumably, that's the song we're going to hear a portion of in the news report. Hooray.

To really whet our interest, ABC News threw in some exchanges from the interview by reporter John Quiñones, such as this one, in which Clark is asked why he is making these allegations:

Clark: I need to set the record straight for myself. And, you know, unfortunately I need to set the record straight for her, too, because she was a part of it.

Quiñones: Is this a publicity stunt?

Clark: No, this is me telling the truth. And it just so happens to be a very explosive truth.

Clark: And, is this a publicity stunt?
Quiñones: No, this is investigative reporting . Okay, I made that last part up.

Fox and the producers of "American Idol" -- FreemantleMedia and 19 Entertainment -- put out a statement yesterday reminding us that Clark was removed from the show for failing to disclose his criminal arrest history. They also say they were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented with any evidence concerning his claims, either during or after his participation on the show.

"We will, of course, look into any evidence of improper conduct that we receive," the three parties said, adding, "In the meantime, we recommend that the public carefully examine Mr. Clark's motives, given his apparent desire to exploit his prior involvement with 'American Idol' for profit and publicity."

During tonight's "Primetime Live," ABC News promises, we will hear that Clark allegedly made his first phone call to Abdul after, he says, an Abdul associate slipped him a piece of paper with the judge's phone number.

Clark explains: "So she was like, 'You got to have better song choices, and I want to help you do that. I want to look out after you like -- like I'm your mom.' And then she was like 'well, more like your sister.' And I was like, 'Okay, cool, cool' . . . and then she was like, 'Well, maybe more like your special friend.' "

Asked why she allegedly coached him and picked his outfits, Clark responds that Abdul was "polishing off that dust -- off the dirty diamond and helping me shine a little bit."

Sorry, pookie, still dirty.

A bump for 'Zahn' and boost for CNN
Network trims the ratings gap with Fox News
By Abigail Azote medialifemagazine.com

"Paula Zahn Now" had been a major drag on CNN's primetime lineup since its 2003 launch. But recent tweaks to the show helped it to its best-ever numbers in April, and that in turn is helping CNN catch up to longtime primetime leader Fox News Channel. In April, the 8 p.m. show had its best-ever month, averaging 760,000 total viewers, up 32 percent from September 2003, its premiere month.

Among 25-54s, “Zahn” averaged 252,000 viewers last month, up 42 percent from its debut.

Now Zahn is no longer weighing down the night with her low numbers. Add that to increased ratings for 10 p.m.'s "NewsNight" after the pope's death, and CNN got a generous boost in its effort to close the primetime gap with Fox News.

In April, CNN posted gains among 25-54s compared with the same month last year while Fox News saw declines. It was the first time in months that CNN has gained while FNC fell.

In that demo, CNN cut Fox’s lead by almost half, growing 25 percent, from 222,000 in April 2004 to 277,000 last month, while Fox News suffered a 24 percent drop, from 502,000 to 383,000.

Meanwhile, CNN’s total viewers in primetime grew by 6 percent last month compared to April 2004, from 839,000 to 893,000. Fox News grew by 1 percent, to 1.5 million.

Of course, Fox News remains by far the dominant network. And while April’s ratings show CNN closing the gap, it comes after a first quarter where Fox News was well ahead of CNN, as usual.

Last month’s upsurge in ratings came as Jon Klein, the CNN chief installed last December, revamps the network. Klein wants more in-depth reporting and what he calls better storytelling.

That has included changes to the network’s primetime lineup. Aaron Brown’s “NewsNight” now favors a focus on one big story while Zahn’s show has concentrated on more personal stories.

The adjustments are working so far. Last month Brown’s 10 p.m. “NewsNight” too scored his best ratings since the height of the Iraqi war in April 2003.

In other cable ratings news for the week ending May 1:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TNT, USA, TBS, Spike, Discovery

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): TNT, USA, Nick at Nite, Lifetime, Cartoon Network

Top movie (total viewers): Lifetime’s “Where the Heart Is” (Saturday 9 p.m.) 2.83 million

Top sporting event (total viewers): Spike’s “WWE” (Monday 10 p.m.) 5.06 million

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: Spike’s “WWE” (9 and 10 p.m. editions); TBS’s “Sex and the City” (Tuesday, 9:36 p.m.); TNT’s NBA playoffs: Mavericks vs. Rockets (Thursday, 10:30 p.m.)

Show on the rise: “Nashville Star,” USA, Tuesday 10 p.m. The show’s third-season finale drew its best ratings, averaging 1.896 million viewers 25-54 and making the weekly top 10 for the first time in weeks.

Show on the decline: “Kojak,” USA, Sundays, 10 p.m. After premiering to big numbers among 25-54s in March, the show averaged just 1.2 million of them last week to rank No. 28.

A nifty ratings surge for 'Trial by Jury'
Pulls a 6.3 in18-49s, up 152 percent over Friday

medialifemagazine.com--NBC’s “Law & Order: Trial by Jury," by far the least successful of three “L&O” spinoffs, posted a series-low rating on Friday. So, this being sweeps, it made quite good sense for NBC to cook up a crossover airing with “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” complete with a shared storyline, with the idea of giving the show a boost.

It turned out to be a smart move.

According to Nielsen overnights, a special edition of “Trial by Jury,” which aired in “SVU’s” usual 10 p.m. timeslot while “SVU” aired at 9, averaged a 6.3 rating among viewers 18-49, a 152 percent increase over the disappointing 2.5 the show averaged in its regular Friday 10 p.m. slot last week.

In fact the show was the night’s third-highest-rated show in the demo, behind only Fox’s “American Idol” and “House.” It even beat its “SVU” lead-in, which averaged a 4.2.

But whether that bounce will have any lasting effect is debatable. The show has struggled going head-to-head with CBS’s “Numb3rs.” Last week it tied for No. 60 for the week.

Its ratings surge last night owed much to the fact that it held the timeslot of “SVU,” the top-rated “L&O” series among 18-49s. People no doubt tuned in thinking they’d be seeing “SVU.”

Certainly, some were sufficiently impressed to consider tuning in on Fridays, but there's little reason to think it will be a huge number.

NBC tried a similar crossover two weeks ago with the original "Law & Order" but it had no lasting effect for “Jury.” “Jury” will probably make the fall schedule, but it may not be around the entire season if it doesn’t start performing better on its own.

fredfa - Veronica Mars is on UPN, not WB - it's listed in the wrong section under season finales. Also, the show is in HD, but it's not listed that way in the renewed for 2005/6 section.

Thanks for the correction, fsugino.

Show banks on 'Idol' exposé
By Verne Gay Newsday.com May 4, 2005

The dirty little secret with network TV news magazines these days is that no one seems to be watching them. "Seems" is the operative word, but in the business of TV, where maintenance of image, illusion, smoke and mirrors are paramount, that may be the only word that counts.

Signs of decline and fall abound; "60 Minutes Wednesday," now fighting for every breath, will be pre-empted tonight for a Dr. Phil special (in which he interviews a just-out-of-rehab Pat O'Brien).

Any of NBC's "Dateline" editions were reliably top-20 programs five years ago and are now lucky to hit the top 60. But for the starkest examples of shock and awe, you'd best go to ABC, where both "Primetime Live" and "20/20" are battling for a place in the fall lineup.

"Primetime's" problems include backstage turmoil, the ouster of a top producer, preceded by ratings evaporation. And while "20/20" remains - by all accounts - a well-oiled machine, total viewership has slid this season by nearly 1.5 million without Barbara Walters at the helm. For the first time in more than a quarter century, "20/20" is not guaranteed a place on an ABC lineup, and that is shocking.

All of this is why tonight's edition of "Primetime Live," (ABC/7 at 10), "Fallen Idol," is one of those watershed moments for the news magazine world, and not just for "PTL."

"Fallen Idol" - reportedly an investigation into "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul's alleged off-screen relationship with second-season contestant Corey Clark - may indeed be a May sweeps grab for numbers and an attempt to buy a lifeline at the very moment when West Coast executives are deciding what will stay and what will go.

It's also a grab for relevance and cultural punch; "PTL" hasn't had either in years, nor, for that matter, have most news magazines.

The problems? The reality genre is news-mag enemy No. 1. Five years old this summer, reality not only muscled viewer attention away from magazines, but muscled away time slots, too. News magazines filled 12 hours of prime-time real estate a week as recently as 1999, and today they hold down six - and counting.

ABC's travails, though, are unique. Because ABC's primetime ratings have soared this season, the pressure has built on laggards to perform well. And because ABC needs to revive two of the most commercially important nights of the week - Thursday and Friday - "20/20" and "PTL" have found themselves in the crosshairs.

A network source familiar with both franchise news mags says that - ironically - morale is high but that staffers are "realistic if not fatalistic." "PTL" and "20/20," this person says, are "cheap and place holders against stronger programming on other networks, but the reality is ... if the network decides they want the time for a new reality show, or new drama, then they'll take it. That's just the way it is. Nothing is protecting us now."

Nothing, perhaps, and that's why someone named David Sloan may be the most pivotal off-screen executive at ABC these days. He's the new "PTL" boss, as well as longtime chief of "20/20," who was hurriedly brought in to put down an insurrection against "PTL's" former producer, Shelley Ross, in March. Staffers said that the show had descended into chaos, or, as one put it, "a dark depression ... People were at their wit's end." Ross' style was to tear apart the show moments before air time, which rarely engenders confidence (she couldn't be reached for comment).

Sloan's is the precise opposite. Those who know the new "PTL" leader describe a calm-in-the-eye-of-the-hurricane type who entrusts his producers to make their own decisions. One show source who did not work on the "Fallen" special says Sloan green-lit it almost immediately when he heard about it: "The story grew organically after one of our producers said, 'I've got this contact who's telling me "X" about "Idol."' It was not about 'Let's see if we can tear down "American Idol."'"

And if Sloan's intent was to get attention, he gets an A. Abdul's attorney, Martin Singer, reportedly has threatened litigation. Even though "Fallen" is based, at least in part, on reporting that has appeared elsewhere (notably supermarket tabloid Globe), "PTL" has now set itself up as a giant slayer. That's a risk, because if tonight's program turns out to be warmed-over swill, then "PTL's" fate could dim even more.

In an interview, Sloan dismissed ongoing rumors of "PTL's" or "20/20's" demise as "exaggerated" (he declined to discuss the "Fallen" hour. "We're being very, very careful about what we put out.").

"My mission here is to sharply delineate both of these shows and make the brands clear," he says. "'20/20'" is news-you-can-use self-help ... We have not branded crime" like other news mags. "PTL," he adds, will be "rebranded as a tough, edgier, more provocative show, with a lot of 'actuality,' and by that I mean storytelling that will put people inside the story."

Will both be renewed? "I think we'll know very shortly."Meanwhile, an ABC producer says the people at "'Idol' should just relax and enjoy the idea that no press is bad press. All press means you're still relevant."

The same, of course, could be said for "Primetime Live."

LOL ... please just make it stop ... It's only a TV show ... If I were a *real* conspiracy nut, I might start thinkin' that ABC and FOX have cooked up a bizzaro-world cross promotion stunt. :D

you mean you dont think that already? :)

Forget AI, I'm just glad Cameron is back on House.

Paul

Thumbs Up for Grey's Anatomy
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable

Shocking absolutely no one, ABC has officially picked up its new hit midseason medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, for next season with an order for 13 episodes. ABC will have four episodes in the can, plus the 13, and is expected to extend it to a full 22.

The Touchstone series has been a surprise hit in its 10 p.m. Sunday time period after Desperate Housewives, holding on to more of its powerhouse lead-in than Boston Legal, which it displaced.

Boston Legal is also coming back next season with a full, 22-episode, season order (plus the five episodes left from this season).

ABC has said one or both shows could move to new nights to establish new series, but it is expected the demographically compatible Grey’s will stay put.

Grey’s also joins According to Jim, Alias, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Housewives, Lost and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with early ABC fall pick ups.

I agree Paul -- we'll be enjoying Cameron for a lot longer than any of the Idol contestants.

Fred, you ever get the posting problem figured out?

Production Halted on Chappelle's Show
By Anne Becker BroadcastingCable.com

Comedy Central has halted production on Chappelle's Show.

In a terse, three-line statement, the cable channel said that it is "optimistic" production will resume "in the near future" on the third season of the show, which was scheduled to premiere May 31. No word on the reason for the abrupt move only one day after the channel buoyantly pitched its shows to advertisers.

Comedian Dave Chappelle's sketch comedy has been one of the channel's marquee shows, whose DVD sales have been cited by corporate parent Viacom with boosting the bottom line.

Chappelle re-upped for two more seasons (a total of four) back in August, with a lucrative deal that has been pegged at anywhere from $30-$50 million that was based projections of DVD and other back-end sales through the end of the fourth season.

In 2004, when season two aired, the show averaged 3.1 million total viewers (2.2 million in 18-49), which made it one of the channel's top-rated shows.

Season one DVD sales were 2.8 million units. In its most recent financial statement, Viacom pointed to a 30% increase in ancillary revenue, singling out Chappelle's Show for special mention.

From variety.com

"Grey’s Anatomy" has attracted an average of 17.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched midseason drama since 1993, when "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" launched on CBS.

Fredfa,

I noticed that my wife and my favorite show "Gilmore Girls" on WB does not show up as renewed. But this is their top rated show. Any thoughts?

Chris -- you and your wife should rest easy.
If the WB doesn't give "Gilmore Girls" a sixth season, all the TV experts will be stunned.
By the way, I assume you know that the DVD of GG Season Three was released just yesterday!
Thanks for asking -- and don't worry.
If official word doesn't come any earlier, it will come on May 17th when the WB unveils its 2005-2006 schedule at Madison Square Graden in NYC.

Monk Starts New Season July 8

thefutoncritic.com--The fourth season of USA's original series “Monk” is set to premiere on Friday, July 8 at 10:00/9:00c. Much like the past two seasons, "Monk" is expected to split its run into two separate stints with the first nine episodes in the summer and the back seven beginning in January.

'Frasier' Star Falls Off Stage

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer took a sudden spill while hosting a function at Disneyland. He was master of ceremonies at the California theme park's 50th anniversary celebration. But when he got too close to the end of the stage, he fell off the end.

The star of the long-running NBC comedy wasn't joking when he went down. In fact, he uttered a word that the censors would have bleeped. But after brushing himself off, Grammer apologized for his language and finished the end of his routine.

"I'll finish this," he said. "Then I'll take a look at what I've done to my body."

Grammer wasn't seriously hurt in the fall

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Video of Grammer’s fall is here:

http://www.thewgalchannel.com/entertainment/4448967/detail.html?rss=lan&psp=nationalnews

Originally posted by chris_h2
Fredfa,

I noticed that my wife and my favorite show "Gilmore Girls" on WB does not show up as renewed. But this is their top rated show. Any thoughts?

As Fred pointed out, it would be a stunner if GG weren't renewed. I too love the show and enjoy the hd quality. I don't know if it's the WB's top-rated show, but the critics are loving it this season.