I'm not at all surprised by those ranking for "Primetime" viewing. We rarely watch anything but scripted network programming during Primetime. During all other times though, we rarely watch the networks. Why would I watch HGTV during Primetime when I know I can catch any HGTV episode muliple times otherwise but can only catch the network stuff on a given day in a given timeslot? Heck, they don't even show all episodes during rerun season anymore. :)

Gee, I wonder how ESPN can afford $600 million for the #41 ranked show (16 nights a year). That would be enough to produce almost ten 22-episode seasons of the most expensive show on TV (LOST - $2.8 million {est.} per episode)

$1.1 Billion would seem even tougher to justify - but no, they should turn a profit :rolleyes:

Perhaps it is another reason Disney is so admanantly against a la carte.

Let' see, (for ESPN alone) $2.60 a month for 90 million subs = $174 million a month!

Or $2.09 billion per year.

And then there is more: ESPN2, and ESPN News, and ESPN Classic....

Critic’s Notebook
On the set of “Surface”



In this city by the sea, dubbed Hollywood East for its two-decade history in the film industry, "Surface" producers can find countless spots that will pass for coastal California, where much of the series' action takes place.
Well, I would give this a maybe, sort of...It wouldn't fool folks who live near the area portrayed in the show, but probably does for most of the country that hasn't never visited the areas. The scene on the "dock by the restaurant" where everyone was filming the sea monster coming into the "harbor" fed by the Russian River was particularly interesting as none of that area has or looks like what was portrayed in the program. I sort of wish it did though, it looked kind of nice.. :D

A Critical View:
Despite three speakers, “Nightline” lacks voice

How a trio is replacing a Koppel

By Paul Brownfield Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 12, 2005

They say "Goodnight, America" now at the end of "Nightline." All three of the new anchors say it — Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran, Martin Bashir — they trade off. They also sometimes say: "Jimmy Kimmel is next."

It is a symbolic if small shift in the post-Ted Koppel broadcast. Koppel, a guardian of the firewall between the news and entertainment divisions at his former network ABC, wouldn't tease to Kimmel, just as he didn't tease to "Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher" in the years that Maher's more compatible series followed "Nightline."

After 25 years, Koppel signed off his last broadcast, Nov. 23, saying to viewers, "You've always been very nice to me, so give this new anchor team at 'Nightline' a fair break. If you don't, the network will just put another comedy in this time slot. And then you'll be sorry."

Is two weeks a fair break? "Nightline," a slicker-looking news package piloted from Times Square in New York, isn't some end-of-the-world devolution from Koppel. But it's just a respectable if slightly overheated newsmagazine now, well produced, with good bookings.

They cover two or three or four stories where Koppel would burrow into one. The result is faster and less substantive, lacking a voice. It opts for movement from hard news into features, the involving story about female soldiers dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder gliding into the sit-down with George Clooney about his film "Syriana," McFadden asking the movie star teasingly: "Is George Clooney trying to save the world?"

It turned out he isn't.

Two weeks ago, accompanying "Nightline's" new debut, the show dispatched Moran to Baghdad to file a week of segments on whether the U.S. should stay in Iraq or pull its troops. But it did this without also delving into the renewed political heat this question has on Capitol Hill. Moran, meanwhile, did a day-in-the-life piece on U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, went on a hunt for insurgents with U.S. troops and Iraqi police in Baqubah — a policeman in a lead vehicle was killed by a roadside explosive device — and held a "town-hall" meeting in the U.S.-controlled Green Zone in Baghdad.

It was serviceable — feature stories with raw feeds, at times slightly oversold (a "historic TV gathering," "Nightline" trumpeted the town-hall meeting).

Friday night, McFadden moderated an hour with Ohio mothers of fallen soldiers. But it's hard to imagine this show reading off the names of the war dead in Iraq, as Koppel did last year, prompting the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group to pull the episode from affiliates.

"Nightline" was his show, its gestures his gestures; now, you sense, it's been returned to the network, as the departures of Jennings-Brokaw-Rather have left nightly news in a place of youth-driven flux, no longer shepherded by history-tested stewards of the public trust.

The reason to watch "Nightline," even if you could go away from it for a day or two — or 20 — was to see an old hand like Koppel fix his gaze on a political topic and root out the subtext, not letting his guest off the hook. No guest is on the new "Nightline" long enough to move much beyond a talking-points memo. "Will troops be in Iraq a year from now?" McFadden asked Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. When he estimated they would be, she asked, "Two years from now? Five years from now?"

He didn't want to guess, and you wondered who these questions were for, the anchor or the audience? Within the last few days, the story mix bounced from reports of CIA-run prisons for terror suspects in Eastern Europe, to the U.S. soldier who kept secret from his wife the valor that earned him a silver star, to the last day of freedom for Victor Conte, who was convicted of giving illegal steroids to top athletes as head of the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative.

Bashir handled that story; he'd already interviewed Conte previously, on "20/20." Now his segment was dubbed, Geraldo style, "one man's journey from success to the slammer." "I don't think I've ever seen you without your Rolex," Bashir said to Conte as he prepared to drive to prison.

Bashir, it seems, will handle such intimacies with controversial folks. He is, after all, the outsider who famously found a way to earn Michael Jackson's trust in Neverland. But "Nightline" would do well to keep the acronym "WWTD" displayed prominently somewhere: "What would Ted do?"

The loss of Koppel is the loss of a filter, a star, in a time of wider transition following the departures of Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather. ABC gave "World News Tonight" to the more telegenic Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff after it was thought the "Good Morning, America's" Charles Gibson was the front-runner, while rumors are swirling that Katie Couric will take over the "CBS Evening News." None of these are ascendancies, they're casting choices in an industry that finds itself now having to move beyond the shadows of departed giants.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-nightline12dec12,0,7927631,print.story?coll=cl-tvent

I'm not at all surprised by those ranking for "Primetime" viewing. We rarely watch anything but scripted network programming during Primetime. During all other times though, we rarely watch the networks. Why would I watch HGTV during Primetime when I know I can catch any HGTV episode muliple times otherwise but can only catch the network stuff on a given day in a given timeslot? Heck, they don't even show all episodes during rerun season anymore. :)

You can't really look at daytime shows because while they may garner a larger national rating, they likely still are not beating the local affiliate's syndicated programming. Those can't really be measured head-to-head because the timeslots and markets vary.

However, even if you disregard the local affiliate programming and included all cable programs (daytime and primetime) the only changes to the Top 100 list fredfa posted would be from #84 and below - the bottom of the list would like something like this:


80 MONK USA 3.52
81 STACKED FOX 3.46
82 HAPPY ELF NBC 3.45
83 WWE ENTERTAINMENT USA 3.21
84 SPONGEBOB NICK 3.2
85 NFL PRIME TIME L ESPN 3.05
86 FAIRLY ODD PARENTS NICK 3.0
87 KILLER INSTINCT FOX 2.92
88 EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS UPN 2.88
89 REUNION FOX 2.82
90 WWE SMACKDOWN! UPN 2.82
91 REAL WORLD XVI REUNION MTV 2.8
92 SPONGEBOB NICK 3.2
93 SPONGEBOB NICK 3.2
94 FAIRLY ODD PARENTS NICK 3.0
95 SPONGEBOB NICK 3.2
96 FELICITY AM GIRL-WB WB 2.49
97 GIRLFRIENDS UPN 2.45
98 WWE SMACKDOWN! SP- 11/29 UPN 2.36
99 AVATAR: SIEGE OF THE NORT NICK 2.29
100 ALL OF US UPN 2.26

CP:
If you include some non prime-time network programming along with syndicated shows (week of Nov 21, 2005) you get this list.
Since many of the syndicated programs run five days a week, I have also cut back the cable week day shows (like Oprah, Wheel, ET, etc) to just a single slot in this list:
# / Program / Network / Household Rating
1 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC 15.74
2 MNF: Steelers at Colts ABC 14.81
3 CSI CBS 14.49
4 GREY'S ANATOMY ABC 13.01
5 CSI: MIAMI CBS 12.92
6 LOST ABC 12.30
7 60 MINUTES CBS 11.57
8 SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA CBS 11.45
9 NCIS CBS 11.26
10 LAW AND ORDER:SVU NBC 11.15
11 TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS 10.60
12 WITHOUT A TRACE CBS 10.16
13 E.R. NBC 10.13
14 CSI: NY CBS 10.08
15 CRIMINAL MINDS CBS 9.85
16 BIGGEST LOSER 2 NBC 9.70
17 EXTREME MAKEOVER:HOME EDITION ABC 9.54
18 COLD CASE CBS 9.03
19 HOUSE FOX 9.01
20 OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT) 9.0
21 BARBARA WALTERS: 10 FASCINATING PEOPLE '05 ABC 8.96
22 COMMANDER IN CHIEF ABC 8.80
23 LAW AND ORDER NBC 8.74
24 OUT OF PRACTICE CBS 8.59
25 RUDOLPH-RED-NOSE-REINDEER CBS 8.57
26 MEDIUM NBC 8.31
27 WHEEL OF FORTUNE 8.3
28 CROSSING JORDAN NBC 8.26
29 KING OF QUEENS CBS 8.20
30 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER CBS 7.87
31 LAW AND ORDER:CRIM INTENT NBC 7.83
32 APPRENTICE 4 NBC 7.48
33 LAS VEGAS NBC 7.45
34 NBC Nightly News 7.4
35 PRISON BREAK FOX 7.22
36 JEOPARDY 6.5
37 INVASION ABC 6.39
38 CHRISTMAS-ROCKEFELLER CEN NBC 6.31
39 LAW & ORDER:SVU-SAT-RPT NBC 6.26
40 ABC World News Tonight 6.2
41 SURFACE NBC 6.13
42 EVERBODY LOVES RAYMOND-SYN 6.1
43 GHOST WHISPERER CBS 6.01
44 20/20-FRI ABC 5.95
45 CRIMINAL MINDS TUE SPC CBS 5.74
46 AMER FUNN HOME VIDEOS ABC 5.65
47-t CBS Evening News 5.6
47-t NFL RAIDERS/CHARGERS ESPN 5.60
49 WIFE SWAP ABC 5.57
50-t ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT 5.5
50-t CSI-SYN 5.5
52 AMER FUNN HM VIDEOS-12/2 ABC 5.48
53 DATELINE SUN-7PM NBC 5.47
54 GEORGE LOPEZ ABC 5.44
55 AMAZING RACE 8 CBS 5.43
56 SEINFELD (AT) 5.4
57 SIMPSONS FOX 5.39
58-t DR. PHIL SHOW 5.3
58-7 SEINFELD-WKND 5.3
60 FREDDIE ABC 5.27
61 POPE JOHN PAUL II, PART 1 CBS 5.20
62 KNOTS LANDING REUNION CBS 5.10
63 ACCORDING TO JIM ABC 5.07
64 RODNEY ABC 5.04
65 WILL & GRACE NBC 5.04
66 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP ABC 5.02
67 JUDGE JUDY 5.0
68 40TH ANNVRSRY OF THE ACMS CBS 4.89
69 JOEY NBC 4.85
70 WEST WING NBC 4.85
71 FRIENDS 4.8
72 ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON 4.8
73 MEDIUM 12/3 NBC 4.71
74 HAVE NO FEAR:LIFE-POPE J. PAUL ABC 4.62
75-t SANTA CLAUS COMIN' TO TWN ABC 4.60
75-t BONES FOX 4.60
77 PRIMETIME ABC 4.59
78 FAMILY GUY FOX 4.49
79 TRADING SPOUSES FOX 4.38
80 THAT '70S SHOW FOX 4.37
81 PRISON BREAK ENC-MON 8P FOX 4.31
82-t WAR AT HOME FOX 4.26
82-t AMW: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK FOX 4.26
84 APPRENTICE:MARTHA NBC 4.24
85 THAT 70S SHOW-MF-SYN 4.2
86 AMERICAN DAD FOX 4.00
87 EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND-WKD-SYN 4.0
88 CROSSING JORDAN 12/3 NBC 3.97
89 THREE WISHES NBC 3.97
90 COPS FOX 3.96
91 O.C. FOX 3.91
92 7TH HEAVEN - WB WB 3.88
93 KING OF THE HILL FOX 3.84
94 INTERROGATION ROOM SP FOX 3.83
95-t WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND 3.8
95-t INSIDE EDITION 3.8
97-t AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL 5 UPN 3.60
97-t Saturday Night Live NBC 3.6
98 DATELINE FRI 12/2 NBC 3.57
99 MONK USA 3.52
100 STACKED FOX 3.46

In addition, all Sunday CBS and Fox NFL broadcasts, "Good Morning America", the ABC and CBS NCAA football games, (and NBC's Notre Dame coverage) would also be included in the broadcast list.
They would drop the cable shows even farther down the ratings food chain.

Translating US TV Abroad
How do you say 'D'oh!' in Arabic?

”The Simpsons” travels to the Middle East and undergoes a few changes along the way
By Ashraf Khalil and Jailan Zayan Los Angeles Times Staff Writers December 12, 2005

CAIRO -- Bald, chubby underachiever Omar Shamshoon works each day at the local nuclear power plant owned by vulture-like millionaire Mahrooey Bey (Mr. Burned). Every evening, Omar comes home to a family that includes his blue-haired wife, Mona, hyper-smart daughter, Beesa, and troublemaking son, Badr.

Along the way, wacky high jinks invariably ensue, involving the moronic police chief, Maarmish (Crunchy) the television clown and Omar's disturbingly perfect neighbor.

Sound familiar?

This, however, may not: Omar doesn't drink beer. That is not a misprint.

Instead, he spends time with his buddies at a local coffee shop. At home, he pops open frosty cans of Duff brand juice.

"The Simpsons" fans in the Middle East reacted with skepticism when MBC, an Arabic satellite channel, announced it would begin showing culturally modified, Arabic-dubbed versions of the iconic animated show.

The Arabic dialogue laid over existing shows is actually fairly faithful to the original script. Nothing seems censored, but episodes such as those featuring Homer's gay roommate or the visit to the Duff brewery are unlikely to be chosen for translation.

And many of the more American inside jokes are simply glossed over.

Ned Flanders, the devout Christian neighbor, is now merely annoying — with no hint of religion. And needless to say, the relationship between Mr. Burns and his assistant, Smithers — make that Salmawy — has become strictly professional.

One month after the premiere of "Al Shamshoon," voiced by some of Egypt's top actors, many are asking whether this particular cultural divide can ever truly be bridged.

"They managed to make one of the funniest shows ever into something that is terribly unfunny, and one of the smartest shows around into something incredibly dumb," ranted an Egyptian blogger who goes by the name Sandmonkey and who wants the show canceled. "Us Simpson lovers can't take this abomination any longer."

Others take a kinder view. Tarek Atia and Inas Hamam have turned the nightly viewings into a family event, watching raptly with their sons, Omar, 7, and Ali, 4.

"When I first saw it ... I thought, there's no way they're going to pull this off. But now I think it might be funnier in Arabic," said Hamam, marketing manager for American University in Cairo.

Executives at Dubai-based MBC sounded a little bemused by the strong, sometimes outraged, reactions to their venture among hard-core fans. Spokesman Michel Kostandi acknowledged that they had underestimated the depth and passion of the fan base.

"We're fascinated ourselves to see how this works," he said, adding that the show's translators were "determined to keep the exact spirit and heart of 'The Simpsons.' "

Well, not quite: There's that little matter of Homer's favorite pastime.

"What's Homer without beer?" Sandmonkey told The Times, preferring to be identified by his blogger name. "This is a fundamental issue!"

The show was one of the flagships of MBC's Ramadan lineup. During the Islamic holy month, which fell mostly in October this year, television channels compete heavily for the attention of Arab families digesting huge meals after their all-day fast.

MBC spared no expense, promoting "Al Shamshoon" nonstop and recruiting A-list film stars to dub the voices. Egypt's top comedian, Mohamed Heneidy, provides the voice of Omar.

For local fans of the original "Simpsons," it's a wasted effort. The show's real appeal, they say, depends on the multilayered dialogue, the often biting takes on American society and politics.

Without an understanding of that cultural depth, what remains for the audience here is mere slapstick, said Marwan Nasher, managing director of AK Comics Inc., which produces a line of Arab superhero comic books.

"It's just a cartoon now," Nasher said. "I wasn't really impressed. You don't know if they're trying to show American culture or Arab culture. They've kind of lost the message."

Hind Radwan, a cartoon director and editor who oversees dubbings of Disney cartoons into Arabic, echoes this view. "In the U.S., when making cartoons, there is a lot of thought about the children's psychology and what is or isn't culturally appropriate for them. Here we just take those cartoons and translate them; it ends up confusing the child's identity," she said.

Radwan said it was a question of simple economics. In Egypt, cartoon production lacks the prestige it has in other parts of the world and therefore receives little money and attention, so importing cartoons for dubbing is simply easier.

"One minute of dubbing is much cheaper than one minute of production," she said.

Western programming is hardly new to the Middle East. Even before the advent of satellite channels, shows such as [B]"The Six Million Dollar Man," "Falcon Crest" and[B] "MacGyver" were staples of state television.

The explosion of Arab satellite television brought dedicated channels showing subtitled Western movies, cop shows and sitcoms — including the original "Simpsons."

"You'd be surprised by the exposure to the Western media that our audience has," said Kostandi, the MBC spokesman.

Recent attempts to adapt Western programming for a Middle East audience have met with mixed results. "Who Will Win a Million" was a huge hit, but an Arabic version of "Big Brother" was canceled last year after just one week because of protests over male and female contestants sharing a house.

Still, "Al Shamshoon" may yet find its audience.

Playing on the TV screen at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, "Al Shamshoon" set off belly-laughs from one satisfied viewer: 9-year-old Farida Hassan. Quizzed about her favorite bits, she said shyly, "I don't understand anything, but it's funny."

In Atia and Hamam's home in suburban Cairo, the whole family gathers every evening at 6:30 to watch the show.

For young Omar and Ali, it's a fun, silly cartoon about strange-looking people doing strange things to one another. Omar's favorite character: Badr, because "he's naughty." The parents, meanwhile, enjoy it on a completely different level. Both were born in Egypt, but Atia grew up in suburban Washington and Hamam in London. They dissect the translations, recall the originals and debate what jokes do or do not work in Arabic.

The two are fascinated by the dialogue translations, which are largely verbatim with subtle modifications throughout. Badr likes to shout "rewesh" (cool); Omar, in a flashback to his youth, listens to a classic song by Egyptian singer Ahmed Adawiya.

Atia, a journalist who runs the political and cultural news website cairolive.com notes the significance of the characters speaking the distinctive Egyptian dialect instead of the more stilted formal Arabic normally heard in dubbed children's cartoons. Decades of dominance of Arabic movies and films has made Egyptian slang the lingua franca of the Middle East, and Atia feels its choice is the saving grace of "Al Shamshoon."

"It's the only Arabic colloquial language that's understood by everyone and has that casual, comfortable, potentially cynical feel that's needed for this show," he said.

But some aspects still seem destined to go over the head of anyone without a knowledge of American culture and media. One "Al Shamshoon" episode contained lengthy homages to "Twilight Zone: The Movie" and the legend of the Monkey's Paw. Another centered on baseball, with Mahrooey Bey recruiting major league stars such as Darryl Strawberry and Wade Boggs for the company team.

Atia suspects a hidden pattern in the choices of which episodes to translate — a sort of subliminal America 101 course.

"They've chosen an episode about Thanksgiving, an episode about Halloween and even an episode about the writing of the Declaration of Independence," Atia said. "They seem to have chosen these episodes that really touch on Americana."

To which his wife responded: "I think they've eliminated the ones that feature Homer in a bar, and these are what's left."

But the show isn't a hit with all families. Atia remembers a recent evening with other young Egyptian couples and their kids. The group had to be persuaded to watch it — with the adults saying that cartoons were for kids.

In the end, it bombed, he said: "Even the kids didn't watch it."

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-simpsons12dec12,0,566881,print.story?coll=cl-tv-top-right

Winter Olympics Schedule

The full list of events for the XX Winter Olympics has been finalized.

(So if anyone reading this thread is looking for the final few reasons to convince a spouse that a new HDTV is a good idea this holiday season, here is some possible ammunition.)

NBC has not yet announced its broadcast schedule (but it promises massive, if not all, NBC network coverage in same-day HD ).
Here are the major scheduled events day-by-day:

Friday, Feb. 10
Opening Ceremony

Saturday, Feb. 11
Freestyle skiing
Speed skating
Men's luge
Ski jumping
Pairs figure skating

Sunday, Feb. 12
Men downhill
Speed skating
Short track speed skating
Men's luge final
Ski jumping

Monday, Feb. 13
Men's snowboard halfpipe
Speed skating
Women's luge
Pairs figure skating final

Tuesday, Feb. 14
Women's snowboard halfpipe
Speed skating
Women's luge final
Men's figure skating short program

Wednesday, Feb. 15
Women's downhill
Speed skating
Short track speed skating
Doubles luge final

Thursday, Feb. 16
Men's snowboard X
Speed skating
Men's figure skating final
Women's skeleton

Friday, Feb. 17
Women's snowboard X
Ski jumping
Ice dancing
Men's skeleton

Saturday, Feb. 18
Men's super G
Speed skating
Short track speed skating
Men's bobsled
Ski jumping
Cross country skiing

Sunday, Feb. 19
Women's super G
Speed skating
Men's bobsled
Ice dancing
Cross country skiing

Monday, Feb. 20
Men's grand slalom
Women's hockey Bronze and Gold Medal matches
Women's bobsled
Ski jumping team final
Ice dancing final

Tuesday, Feb. 21
Women's slalom
Speed skating
Women's bobsled
Women's figure skating short program
Nordic combined

Wednesday, Feb. 22
Freestyle aerials
Speed skating
Short track speed skating
Men's hockey quarterfinals

Thursday, Feb. 23
Women's curling final
Women's figure skating final

Friday, Feb. 24
Women's giant slalom
Men's curling final
Speed Skating
Four-man bobsled
Figure skating: exhibition
Men's hockey semifinals
Cross country skiing

Saturday, Feb. 25
Men's slalom
Speed skating
Men's hockey - Bronze Medal match
Four-man bobsled
Sunday, Feb. 26
Men's hockey Gold Medal match
Closing Ceremony

You can get a complete, day-by-day, full-color schedule (suitable for framing!) here:

http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/calendario_gare.pdf

The 2005-2006 TV Season
Ask Matt

(from the Ask (TV Critic) Matt (Roush) column at TVGuide.com

Question: Do you think there is some gender bias involved in the outright hatred many Lost fans have for Ana Lucia? For my money, she is the first female character to match the emotional baggage and personal flaws that the best of the male characters on that show bring to the table. People adore Locke (who is kind of unbalanced and whose actions led indirectly to the death of Boone), Sawyer (needlessly aggressive at times and a former con artist), and Sayid (has tortured people as recently as a month and a half ago), but Ana Lucia has been vilified almost from the start. I think the fact that her character is deeply flawed and has already made some huge mistakes on the island makes her an interesting character to watch: not a villain, but a compelling and captivating dramatic character. But to hear many fans talk about her, I keep hearing the word "bitch" thrown around, and I have a hard time believing the outrage would be so pointed if there was a badass new guy on the show. Am I totally off base here, or is there some truth to this? — Ryan J.

Matt Roush: Ooh, what a great love/hate debate. I was rather taken aback by how much hate mail I got about the character (much of it personally aimed at the actress, Michelle Rodriguez), and I agree that one thing Lost needed (and now has) is another female character besides Kate (another source of constant bickering) — one who can literally take prisoners and yet, for those with open minds, who may eventually be able to earn viewers' sympathy. I find her intriguing, not nearly as off-putting as so many seem to. But Ryan isn't alone.

From Karen B.: "I disagree with Jennifer C.'s comment that the Ana Lucia character is 'written and played so broadly.' Whether or not Michelle Rodriguez deserves to win an award, I've known people who were very much like her. To draw on my introductory psych course (cough), she seems to have a borderline personality disorder, and having known a couple of people who have the same, I'd say it's a fairly realistic depiction. These people tend to see things in black and white, become very angry at people who disagree with them at all, and tend to try to get what they want through rage or charm or whatever it takes, but they are also deeply unhappy people. Sound familiar? Of course, this is Lost, so what we think we know about a character now can often change after a few episodes." Well, that much is true.

From Lauren: "Sure, she had to be tough on a lot of people, but that toughness of hers just may have saved everyone's lives. So why is there so much hate directed towards her?"

From Joyce L.: "I get the feeling that a lot of the viewers are transferring their dislike of Michelle Rodriguez and the characters she's played in her movies to this character. I had no preconceived notions because I had never heard of her until they made such a big deal over her being added to the cast. Anyway, I've tried to give her a chance based on what her group of survivors have gone through since the plane crash. Someone had to step up and take the lead so the group would survive. The backstory on the next episode after "The Other 48 Days" explained her issues but didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy about the character. I think she will shake things up a bit and add something to the mix of characters we know. Not sure I'd want to be around her all the time, though. And whoever wondered why none of our people have hit back yet was right. She needs a dose of chill pills. Now, the character who does intrigue me is Mr. Eko. Can't wait until they tell us more about him. And Desmond, too. They're both really great additions to the cast."

Couldn't agree more about Eko, and it sounds like they've already started working on his backstory as well.
________________________________________
Question: Since Stephanie March is going to be on NBC's Conviction playing her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character, and since they're using old Trial by Jury sets, do you think Dick Wolf will retitle the spin-off Law & Order: Conviction? Or will he realize that a little distance from "just another Law & Order spin-off" might be necessary? Also, in last week's column, you shied away from talking about Michelle Rodriguez's dreadful character, saying you would rather focus on the good in watching Lost. Uh, isn't it your duty as a TV critic to look at the good and the bad, and "criticize" it? — D.J.

Matt Roush: To continue the Ana Lucia debate: Uh, I thought I made it clear in that column that I didn't have the problems others were having with her, and I still don't. And while it is my job to criticize, I often find I do it best by not rushing to judgments, by not nitpicking every little flaw, especially in a show I love, and certainly by not piling on. I was trying to be honest by confessing to a blind spot where Lost is concerned. Agree with it or not, at least I'm not pretending otherwise.

As for Conviction, Dick Wolf seems very determined, despite the Stephanie March casting, for this show to have a very separate identity from the other Law & Order shows. He doesn't consider this a spin-off, so I doubt we'll see those words in the title. (If those clanging between-scene transitions are missing, that will be the real test.) Because Conviction will feature much more plot-driven material about the characters' personal lives, Wolf has even coined a hideous new term to describe this show: "charactercedural." Let's hope the show is better than that sounds.
________________________________________
Question: I know CBS has won every week of the season. I bet they'll win every week until ABC's Bowl season starts. I bet they'll also win every week, with the exception of the Super Bowl week and the two weeks of the Olympics. Should CBS really celebrate this? Of course! However, once people get tired of the crime dramas, the whole schedule will collapse. I mean, they have nine procedurals on their schedule (excluding Saturday repeats of, you guessed it, more procedurals), so it's bound to happen. I hope that it does. I can't even watch CSI anymore because of how much I now hate procedurals. But to my Question: Do you think that the same thing that happened to ABC with its multiple airings of Millionaire will happen to CBS? If so, when? Because I can't wait! — Luis A.

Matt Roush: I'm not quite as bloodthirsty about the prospect as you seem to be. But to me the most depressing outcome of the season so far has not been the cancellations of promising shows like Threshold and Just Legal (most of the others deserved it), or the woes of Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential on Fox. What really irks me is the success of Criminal Minds, one of the most generic, uninspired and criminally mundane shows CBS has presented in a long while, with performances that veer from mannered (Mandy Patinkin) to wooden (just about everyone else). This is a show that reinforces the cliché that the CBS viewer will watch just about anything as long as there are dead bodies in it.

The glut of crime dramas has gotten to the point where I'm beginning to get a reputation as a curmudgeon where procedurals are concerned, and that bothers me. I still enjoy the original CSI, Without a Trace and Cold Case, I think Numbers is clever on those rare Fridays when I'm home to watch, Close to Home makes sense to me (though I don't feel the impulse to TiVo it), I'm loving Bones, and so on. But to answer your basic Question: There is a long-standing belief that everything in TV is cyclical, and when the passion cools for procedurals — an event that appears to be nowhere in sight yet — CBS will be in desperate straits unless it sees the end coming early and prepares with at least a few shows that veer from the formula. I'm especially worried about the prospects for CBS' mid-season comedy-drama Love Monkey, mainly because no one dies in it. Yet.
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Question: Hi, Matt. Great column. Some great shows have seen the ax lately, but one of my absolute favorite shows (perhaps, at this point, my overall favorite of the season) is one that doesn't come up all that frequently: NCIS — or, as I mockingly referred to it in the first season, "Navy Criminal Investigation Service." What I love about the show is the characters and the great chemistry the cast seems to have, particularly with the addition of Cote de Pablo this season. In a lineup stuffed with all-too-boring procedurals, this is the only one that can make me laugh. — Brian

Matt Roush: May I also point you towards Fox's Bones, which will soon be moving away from direct competition with NCIS? What sets both of these shows apart is a strong reliance on character-based humor amid the mysteries. NCIS has exploded in popularity this season, and we have acknowledged that with several features (and more to come) in the magazine itself. And since it doesn't appear that the shocking departure of Sasha Alexander (her choice) has had a negative impact on the show's fortunes, I'm happy to give it a plug here.
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Question: What's this talk I hear about an Alias spin-off starring the current bad guys? Do you have any intel. on this? Would Amy Acker be involved? My greatest wish would be a spin-off starring Amy Acker and David Anders, because I don't think you can get any better than Peyton and Sark working closely together to do evil. That would be hot. — Spacegirl

Matt Roush: Spacegirl? Really? Anyway, this possibility of a bad-guy spin-off (also featuring Sloane, naturally) was discussed in the Dec. 12 issue of TV Guide (on stands now), but it's awfully preliminary and, I agree, awfully tempting — though I would be honestly surprised if it gets much beyond the talking stage. ABC is flying high these days, and spinning off a show past its prime seems counterintuitive. But yes, it would be hot. And I would watch.
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Question: After watching this past week's hilarious episode of Fox's Kitchen Confidential, I am officially hooked on the show. At first, it felt raw and unfocused, with mediocre scripts, but the show has been getting better and better and the characters have become more defined and comfortable with their roles. It seems to have a lot of potential, with the interesting setting inside of a top New York restaurant, and with the zany, roguish, flawed characters and the many story possibilities that come with a new batch of patrons every night.

Sexy, edgy 30-minute comedies like this are rare, and most are just retreads of the same old idea. With Fox's announcement of the show's cancellation, is there any chance that the show will be picked up by another network or reupped if the ratings get better and the DVD sells (à la Family Guy)? Even if there isn't, I would like your take on why shows with a great premise, luxurious setting and sexy cast aren't nurtured by the networks. It seems that as Arrested Development's lead-out, Kitchen suffered the same scheduling difficulties and lack of publicity as the earlier show. Can Fox really think that it's given this show a chance, when it took at least a whole season for audiences to catch on to Seinfeld? — Albert S.

Matt Roush: I'm sure Fox doesn't believe it did all it could for Kitchen, but I'm not convinced the network really cares, either. Given the tone of most of Fox's more successful comedies, Kitchen Confidential would probably have trouble fitting in anywhere on the schedule. Kitchen might have had better luck on NBC, which has a track record with more sophisticated comedies, but the chances of anyone coming to this show's rescue are about as slim as my getting a reservation to a restaurant as hot as Jack's.
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Question: What did you think of the Knots Landing reunion? It had very much the same setup as the Dallas one, but I think this one was a lot more successful. Maybe it's because the cast seemed to genuinely like each other. Seeing the clips really made me miss it, and as much as I love Desperate Housewives, it can't compete with Knots. As crazy as the plots could sometimes get, the characters were always believable, and I think that is what put it above the rest. — Chris

Matt Roush: The Knots reunion was indeed better than the Dallas debacle, but then, the show itself was better than Dallas through most of their concurrent runs. Knots was always my favorite of the classic '80s prime-time soaps, and even when I was alone on that critical limb, I was never ashamed to declare myself a fan. It was the most consistent, the most sustained, the best acted and written and (within reason) the most realistic of the evening soaps, yet also deliciously campy when it chose to be. There's little question that Desperate Housewives owes a stylistic debt to Knots, which in its prime was also a model of clever construction and barbed dialogue, albeit not nearly as satirical or broadly comic.

On a similar theme, Adam K. writes: "I've been watching Pasadena in syndication on SoapNet, and I've quickly come to the realization that Desperate Housewives owes everything to this show. The mixture of humor, mystery, and American Beauty pathos is just teeming from this short-lived show. And Dana Delany basically channels all four Desperate Housewives women in one. Would you agree with this assertion?"

Talk about your lost treasures. If Fox had aired the full 13 episodes of Pasadena, Dana Delany would likely have another Emmy on her shelf: She was that great. Kudos to SoapNet for resurrecting this show, which got better and weirder in the episodes after Fox yanked it. That said, Pasadena's quick fade means that it probably had little to do with the genesis of Housewives, but watching it now, it clearly was ahead of its time. If it were being pitched and produced today, chances are it might actually have succeeded.
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Question: Since its premiere, Invasion has been developed in a very slow way. However, I love the show's family concept, the acting is consistent in each episode, and the story is mesmerizing (even with a slow pace). I am very worried about Invasion's chances for a second season, since it hasn't been able to capture Lost's audience, and ABC is so hot right now that it may not need Invasion around after this first year. Commander in Chief is another possible casualty beyond its first season, because House is winning the competition so far this year. ABC has so much buzz and so many good shows that I don't know if they would rather trust Invasion and Chief, or just look for bigger hits (Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives). I know it's a little early to start next year's predictions, but Invasion is not winning new viewers and Chief is losing important numbers. You were right when you predicted Invasion's full-season order, so now I am looking for some perspective on two of my favorite shows. Thanks for a great column each week. — Glenda

Matt Roush: You're welcome, and thanks for the question. It is probably too early to start worrying about renewals — both of these shows still have the second half of a full season to produce. But after a gut-check, I would be surprised if ABC doesn't renew Commander in Chief as a prestige property, unless the numbers completely collapse on American Idol on Tuesdays. As strong as ABC is these days, it can't win every ratings battle, and being a solid No. 2 or even No. 3 — counterprogramming to a different audience and demographic than those that watch House — may be enough to keep it around a while. Invasion I'm less sure about. Yes, it loses a lot of Lost's audience — almost anything would — but given ABC's track record in that time period, ABC is doing better than I ever would have expected with this quietly but increasingly unnerving series. As is often the case, much depends on the quality of ABC's development for next season. If ABC believes it has come up with a better show to pair with Lost, then Invasion could be in real trouble (or, possibly worse, shipped off to Thursday next season). If not, maybe ABC will accept Invasion for what it is. I'm hoping for a good result, but am not especially confident just yet.
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Question: I've recently discovered that I have psychic powers of prediction. Here is my prediction for March 2005: Prison Break will return on Fox. The ratings will be abysmal. Longtime viewers will get to see the end of Season 1 (thankfully) but the show will not continue. I've seen it happen before. Remember how Farscape's ratings dropped after Sci Fi pulled it off of the air for seven straight months without reruns (four episodes from the end of Season 3)? Nine-tenths of TV viewers — and it seems like ten-tenths of Nielsen families — are creatures of habit. How many people still care after a hiatus that long? The answer: only the die-hards — the ones who suffer again and again when networks pull this dren. What's your opinion on my psychic forecast? — David G.

Matt Roush: Sorry to burst your crystal ball, but I think Prison Break will do just fine when it returns. Yes, it's a long break, but not as long as initially rumored, and Fox will go all out promoting the one-two punch of a Prison Break-24 action night starting in March. Given where the story was left hanging, it won't take much to get the shows' fan bases caught up in the action. There will be a huge desire to see how the escape plan plays out, and pairing these episodes with 24 is genius. But then, I could be wrong. Maybe 24 will be a letdown this year, and that could depress the numbers for Prison Break upon its return. Not that I truly believe that for an instant. (As for how Prison Break fares in a second season — and I believe there will be one — is anyone's guess.)
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Question: I just wanted to write you a brief thank-you note. I've come to respect your opinions about television during the last few years, and I've seen you rave about the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series, as well as Veronica Mars. So within the last two months, I picked up the DVD sets containing the first seasons of each show, completely blind, and solely based on the positive buzz both these shows have attracted. I was blown away by how amazing these shows are. It really takes the sting out of losing Alias in the spring. It just goes to prove that when one door closes, another one opens. Incidentally, that might be something helpful to pass along to your readers: Don't be afraid to try new television shows. Always strive to sample what might interest you. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be watching and loving Veronica Mars and the new Battlestar Galactica this Christmas, I'd have scoffed. Don't you agree that it pays off to constantly try to sample new shows? — Michael C.

Matt Roush: I'd be fired if I said I didn't. I'm ending the column on this optimistic note because, no matter how frustrating it gets to have favorite shows canceled or jerked around, there's always the chance that another great show is right around the corner, and every so often (My Name Is Earl, Lost, The X-Files, Northern Exposure, to name a few), good things happen to those risk-taking shows that deserve it.

http://tvguide.com/tv/roush/askmatt/

The fight over a la carte gets serious
”Family Friendly” Plan Sets Cable Rift

FCC Heat Spawns Talk Of New Tier of Channels; Weighing a Financial Hit
By JOE FLINT, PETER GRANT and AMY SCHATZ Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL December 12, 2005

A split has developed within the entertainment industry as several major cable operators signaled their willingness to give in to regulatory pressure by providing a so-called family-friendly package of programming, despite resistance from many cable programmers.

The nation's two largest cable operators, Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc., indicated they are considering creating a "tier" of cable channels that would exclude channels airing risqué programs. Two smaller operators, Cox Communications Inc. and Insight Communications Co., hinted they are ready to do the same.

The cable operators' statements come after weeks of pressure from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who wants to find a way for consumers to avoid seeing television programming they find objectionable. The FCC only last month ratcheted up pressure on the cable industry by reversing its position on the pricing of pre-packaged bundles, suggesting instead that consumers may be better off buying channels individually or in themed tiers.

In showing willingness to play ball with Mr. Martin, the cable operators are breaking ranks with the major entertainment companies that own most of the country's cable and broadcast channels. The entertainment companies are concerned about the impact of a family-friendly tier on their revenue and who would determine what qualifies as a family-friendly channel. They also worry about what would happen to channels that don't meet that qualification.

The escalating tensions likely will have broad repercussions in an industry where relations between cable operators and cable channels are never easy.

Operators and entertainment companies frequently bicker over terms for carriage of TV channels: in some extreme cases, disputes lead to TV channels being taken off the air for a few days.

Entertainment companies have several concerns about a family-friendly tier. For starters, there are worries about how such a tier would hurt channels they own that are decidedly not family friendly.

Even if a few million consumers decided to drop their current cable service and sign on for only family-friendly channels, that could have big financial ramifications. Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN, for example, costs cable operators about $2.50 per-subscriber per-month. If ESPN wasn't a part of a family-friendly tier and lost three or four million of its 90 million subscribers, that could translate into tens of millions of dollars it would have to replace. An ESPN spokeswoman declined to comment.

Other cable networks would likely face similar scenarios. Cable operators could see their monthly bills drop by $10 for people who subscribe to only a family-friendly tier, added one senior executive at a major cable operator.

Another big issue is just who would decide what makes one channel family friendly and another not family friendly, said executives at several major cable programming services. Further complicating this is that there likely wouldn't be a one-size-fits-all family-friendly tier. Each cable operator would create its own package and have to negotiate with programmers, an executive at a large cable operator said.

Spokeswomen for Viacom declined to comment while a Fox Cable official didn't respond to requests for comment.

Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said the company is considering a family tier in response to consumer demand.

In recent months cable operators and the entertainment companies tried to agree on a set of voluntary decency standards to appease Mr. Martin's concerns, but talks broke down. Some of the largest cable companies were ready to adopt voluntary decency standards, people familiar with the matter say, but because of opposition from several large entertainment companies, including Viacom Inc. and News Corp.'s Fox, a consensus couldn't be reached.

The final attempt to reach an accord came late last month during a conference call involving many of the country's leading programmers that was organized by Kyle McSlarrow, chief executive of industry lobbying group the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Mr. McSlarrow has been told to come back to Capitol Hill today to provide Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R., Alaska) and other senators with a progress report of the industry's attempts to find a solution to indecency concerns.

Channel owners worry that decency standards would require them to tone down programming on cable channels. The companies also are opposed because of their experience dealing with decency standards in broadcast television, specifically with what they see as unclear regulations on what is or isn't indecent programming.

The industry talks centered on decency standards that would be similar to those already required of broadcast television stations, people involved in the talks said. Entertainment executives don't relish the idea of having to apply those same rules to cable.

What entertainment companies can do to stop cable operators creating a new tier of programming isn't clear. One possibility, industry executives said, is that network owners could contend tiers were in violation of their contracts with cable operators. In the future, large entertainment companies that own numerous networks will likely fight fiercely to get them on family tiers, using their most popular channels as leverage.

Mr. Martin put pressure on cable operators by making it clear that the family-tier issue could influence the FCC's consideration of Time Warner and Comcast's agreement to buy the assets of Adelphia Communications Corp. Last week the FCC asked Time Warner and Comcast for extensive follow-up information which some observers interpreted as a sign that the commission was considering a number of conditions to approving the deal.

An FCC official with knowledge of the staff's review, however, said the information request was routine and it's too early to speculate on what conditions, if any, the commission might require.

'Martha' settles in for second season

The Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES -- It looks like daytime is a good thing for "Martha."

NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution is set to announce Monday (December 12) that it has sold the Martha Stewart-hosted daytime show in more than 90 percent of the country for its upcoming second season.

http://channels.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?id=2005121201060002211543&dt=20051212010600&w=RTR&coview=

Sports On TV
TV poker about to reach new heights

By Michael Hiestand USA Today

In retrospect, it seems inevitable that the popularity of TV poker would lead to the erection of a Pokerdome for a new poker series in which cards will carry computer chips and the marquee event offers the winner $60 million — a payday billed as the biggest ever in sports.

Sounds like satire. But Fox Sports Net will announce Monday the creation of the Mansionpoker.net Pokerdome Series, a sort of case study in wretched excess that also seems like a promising TV property.

Take the so-called Pokerdome, which Fox will build in Las Vegas and use only for the series. It will be in a mall or hotel — not a casino — for the same reason TV poker only associates with online poker sites that don't charge and don't offer actual gambling: TV networks like to show they have scruples.

Players will be encased in one-way, mirrored glass with microphones everywhere so fans seated around the dome can hear and see everything, without being seen or heard. George Greenberg, executive vice president of FSN, made up of Fox's 20 owned or affiliated regional sports channels, says the dome "will be a Cone of Silence, as Maxwell Smart would say."

Cards will carry computer chips, so fans know what cards are discarded. And the series, starting in May, will include new "speed poker," giving players 15 seconds to act or lose immediately. That, says Greenberg, will be "poker with a shot clock."

Greenberg says sponsor Mansion, a Gibraltar-based online gambling company, also will get a big "brand awareness" show July 12 at an Australian casino, where six players put up $10 million apiece — winner take all. Greenberg says he has three entrants, whom he declined to name, and the event might be on the Fox broadcast network.

Big dance: ABC's second season of Dancing with the Stars, where celebrities waltz and fox trot with pro dancers on live TV as home viewers vote to eliminate couples, begins Jan. 5 with a lineup including George Hamilton, Tia Carrere, Jerry Rice, Tatum O'Neal, teen rap star Romeo — and ESPN's Kenny Mayne.

Your first reaction has to be that Mayne is on some sort of quest, a real-life Flashdance in which he dares to dream that his pulsing gyrations can somehow free him from a life of talking about sports on TV.

But no. He says he's worried about just making it past the first round, where he'll do the cha-cha in a costume "sort of like the puffy shirt in the Seinfeld episode" — a look that sounds hard to pull off unless you have, say, Hamilton's tan.

"I'm a terrible dancer," said Mayne, calling from an appearance Sunday at a Disney store in Manchester, N.H., where he says nobody recognized him. "In terms of 'let's go dancing,' I haven't done it since my last wedding, and I might not have done it then."

He says "it wasn't just the humiliation" that caused him to "wrestle with whether to do it." But, then, it is "found money," and it doesn't hurt to score points with ABC's entertainment division, which might remember Mayne the next time it casts a sitcom about, say, an extraterrestrial stuck in the suburbs.

Mayne has beaten long odds before. Before joining ESPN in 1994, Mayne assembled garbage cans and sold prepaid legal insurance — after he'd quit an on-air job at a Seattle TV station over creative differences. And in a society obsessed with winning, Mayne knows his toe-pointing will be about much more than scoring points: "I'll be honored just to represent my nation."

Angry: On CBS on Sunday, New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks said the team, displaced by Hurricane Katrina, was treated unfairly and "a lot of it has been swept under the rug."

He blames NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue for not visiting the team right after the storm, and says he told Tagliabue to "get the hell off the football field" at the team's so-called home opener in New York. Said CBS' Boomer Esiason about Brooks: "He's making $6.6 million. I am sympathetic to the fact they are uncomfortable. But what about those other people who are displaced?"

Spice rack: Ugueth Urbina, who has pitched 11 big-league seasons, is a free agent. But in real life he's jailed on charges of attempted murder in his native Venezuela. In a taped interview with ESPN on Sunday, Urbina said "people" accuse him of the crime "so that they can get money." Said Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, a Venezuelan: "I swear to God, I'd rather be dead than be in jail in Venezuela." ...

The Texas men's basketball team wore black jerseys, at sponsor Nike's request, in their loss to Duke on CBS on Saturday. "I don't think that's in the best interests of college basketball," said CBS' Billy Packer. "But that's where we are. Like Willie Sutton said, you rob banks because that's where the money is."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2005-12-11-hiestand-poker_x.htm

“Night Stalker” Just Won’t Die

By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable

After ABC pulled the plug last month on Night Stalker, the update of the 1970s series about a ghoul-hunting reporter, it looked like danger-seeking journalist Carl Kolchak had met his demise—done in by six low-rated episodes.

But NBC Universal’s Sci Fi Channel is expected to announce it has acquired all nine episodes produced and will air them at 7 p.m. Fridays next summer. Press reps for Sci Fi and Stalker producer Touchstone Television declined to comment last week.

Touchstone is believed to have fetched only $15,000-$50,000 per episode, and competitors think Stalker may fall on the lower end of that scale, since there were so few episodes produced and Sci Fi was its only logical cable home.

Only one of the three unaired episodes has so far appeared on iPods as part of an overall programming agreement announced in October between Disney and Apple’s iTunes. The two remaining unaired episodes are slated to be available for downloads later.

The Sci Fi sale does raise a conundrum for Touchstone: whether it will have to pay broadcast or much lower cable residuals.

Critic’s Notebook
TV critic is holiday flick collector

By Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News Posted on Mon, Dec. 12, 2005

I love Christmas like a child, but as a TV critic I've been known to get a little Scroogelike this time of year, with so many shows in reruns and bad made-for-TV movies piling up like yellow snow.

Once I've guilted my younger son - now a strapping eighth-grader - into watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" with me, I'm pretty much done for the season, professional obligations aside.

My friend (Newsday TV Columnist) Diane Werts, on the other hand, often has three or four recorders going at once in December, just so she won't miss a single one of the holiday episodes the networks start serving up the minute the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared.

She's been at it for years and estimates she's collected about 800 episodes.

"I just like them," she said last week. "I didn't even realize I had this obsession until I started taping them and the stack got so big."

The line between obsession and expertise can be a fine one, but thanks to Werts' new book, "Christmas on Television" (Praeger, $39.95), the Newsday TV columnist has made it safely over to the expert side, with a detail-rich exploration of television's long love affair with Christmas that brought back more good memories than I'd have thought some old TV shows held for me.

With commentary on everything from "The Sopranos' " Christmas episode - remember the Big Mouth Billy Bass Meadow gave Tony? - to "South Park," she's also kept faith with the Ghost of Christmas Present.

She even explains how Frank Capra's 1946 film "It's A Wonderful Life" went from box-office flop to beloved classic through the magic of a lapsed copyright that for about 20 years, starting in the mid-'70s, had "every TV station that could get its mitts on a copy" playing the Jimmy Stewart movie all the time.

Now that it's legally locked up again, NBC, she said, shows it only twice a year. (It ran this past Saturday and will air again on Christmas Eve.)

"I'd like to say it's made it a little bit special, but what made it special was that it was on all the time," Werts said. "This binge viewing has actually become a big thing, with DVDs" and cable-network marathons.

Marathons on Turner-owned stations also helped make a hit of the quirky 1983 film "A Christmas Story" - this year's 24-hour marathon on TBS starts at 8 p.m. Christmas Eve - even though when it was released, according to Werts' book, "audiences unsure what to make of this little mutt stayed away in droves."

Not even the "Christmas on Television" expert can explain, though, why most of the made-for-TV holiday movies are such dogs.

"The movies tend to be real syrup," she said. Modeled after "A Christmas Carol," "they tend to be just the greedy developer or the greedy businessman" who wants to do something bad and who's made to see the error of his ways while finding the "true" spirit of Christmas.

" 'A Christmas Carol' is really a lot harder-edged than most people think, and the hard edge is usually what's missing" in these movies, she added. "The CBS movies are the worst. God bless them for doing TV movies at all... but they do three or four Christmas movies a year and they're almost all bad."

Still, they keep making them, and showing them earlier every year.

"They've kind of gone nuts since the advent of cable," she said. And she should know, having not yet closed the book on her passion for holiday TV.

"I've got three recorders going again," she said Thursday. "And it's more than two weeks till Christmas."

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//13387234.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Sports On TV
NHL Endures Remote Outpost

Hockey is trying to get comfortable with its place on cable TV's OLN,
where being a big fish still means dealing with weak ratings

By Helene Elliott Los AngelesTimes Staff Writer December 12, 2005

The NHL, returning from a season lost to a lockout, needed a cable TV outlet that would give it star billing instead of the bit-player status it had received at ESPN.

OLN, known as a hunting-and-fishing haven during the lulls between Lance Armstrong's Tour de France triumphs, wanted to change its image from a quaint and quirky sportsman's paradise to a home for testosterone-fueled competitive sports.

And so was born an unlikely partnership between the NHL, desperate to grab a chunk of a fragmented TV audience, and OLN, known as the Outdoor Life Network when it was known at all beyond its narrowly focused, heavily male audience. So far, their alliance has had some on-air missteps and is producing feeble ratings, but neither side is measuring success by conventional standards.

Their convergence, sealed in August with a deal that's worth $135 million over two years and could last three or six years depending on a variety of options, occurred at a pivotal time in their history.

Plagued by weak TV ratings and an unappealing, defense-oriented game, the NHL had been forced to accept a profit-sharing deal for over-the-air telecasts on NBC. When ESPN declined to pick up a $60-million option for this season but suggested it might consider a profit-sharing model — and then declined to match OLN's offer — the NHL took its puck home.

League executives said they felt insulted by ESPN, which had used hockey to establish its legitimacy. They wanted ESPN's cachet but wouldn't grovel for it. Their cable package "was probably undervalued before that, and we were not prepared for further undervaluing of the product," said Bill Daly, NHL deputy commissioner.

Enter OLN, owned by cable giant Comcast, which owns a two-thirds stake of the Philadelphia Flyers. Under Gavin Harvey, a UCLA business school graduate who had a marketing background and became OLN's president in March 2004, the network had moved away from its outdoorsy roots by adding the Dakar Rally, Iditarod, America's Cup yacht race, Boston marathon and reruns of CBS' "Survivor" series.

"Our mission at that point was to start to expand the middle," Harvey said. "To get people to watch as destination, people who don't know the difference between carbon fiber and titanium as a benefit to your bike or couldn't argue entomology for fly-fishing.

"We need more men, for more minutes, more often. And they don't have to be hikers or bikers or campers or hunters. They just have to be guys. Who are the guys watching the NFC championship? Because it's a big event? I want those guys watching our programming."

The NHL gets in on the beginning of a dream, much as it did on ESPN. OLN, which plans another name change next year to reflect its wider aim, gets to piggyback on the NHL's history and mainstream status while still giving its core fans mano-a-mano battles. Instead of man vs. beast, as in its Professional Bull Riders events, or man against the sea, it's shooter against goalie.

"The evolution of OLN was a big part of what we talked about," Daly said. "The most important part was they were prepared to make us a priority, which I think they've done."

Harvey declined to say whether OLN will use the NHL as a foothold to pursue TV rights of other sports leagues, but that's not farfetched.

"We have never said that we want to take on ESPN because ESPN is a great channel. It's an institution," he said. "It's simply that we've been trying to make this channel better. Our distributors have asked for it, our advertisers have asked for it. Viewers are responding to it."

Perhaps so. But not in huge numbers. And the NHL is discovering that being a big fish in a small pond has its drawbacks.

OLN reaches 63 million homes; ESPN goes to 90 million and ESPN2 to 89 million. In addition, OLN was dropped by Cablevision for several weeks at the start of the hockey season, eliminating about 3 million homes, and OLN remains off EchoStar's Dish network because of a dispute over EchoStar's placement of OLN on a higher-priced channel package. OLN pulled its NHL telecasts because that channel isn't seen by 40% of the system's viewers, the minimum set by OLN for providing games.

OLN is delighted with its internal viewer measurements. Compared to a year ago in the same time periods, it has more than doubled impressions among its target groups of men 18 to 34, men 18 to 49 and men 25 to 54. Overall numbers, though, are small. Its first NHL telecast drew a 0.4 rating and 353,439 households and didn't return to that level until Nov. 16. Through the same period of the 2003-04 season, ESPN averaged a 0.5 rating and 476,384 households, and ESPN2 averaged a 0.2 rating and 196,000 homes.

However, ESPN2's telecasts were not exclusive, meaning they were not seen in the markets of the teams involved. OLN telecasts are seen in the local markets, which account for nearly 80% of OLN's national audience. Without the local markets, OLN's ratings would be microscopic. Through last week, they were averaging a rating of 0.24, slightly down from a 0.3 last month.

"We're getting numbers that are very comparable to ESPN last year. We anticipate the numbers will get better as we build a relationship with them and as viewers know where to look for the NHL," Daly said. "Next year they will have exclusive windows where they will have the only game. With proper lead time, we can build a schedule around our broadcast partners.

"The timing was not ideal. We signed the agreement six weeks before the season was to start and signed with a network that had never done a major sports league. It continues to be a work in progress and we're pleased with the progress Comcast and OLN are making."

Marc Fein, OLN's senior vice president for programming and production, called hockey the network's "crown jewel," adding, "On the distribution side it helps elevate OLN into a must-have network," although he said that "in a couple of months, in straight-up profit and loss terms, you can't assess" the deal's impact.

Harvey said OLN is "impatient for growth" but happy with results so far. "We're starting to see OLN is less and less the story and the NHL and the game is the story," he said. "It's a new network, and again, everybody was, 'What's it doing on that network?' They didn't quite get the connection. Hockey fans found it right away.

"I think you'll get the bigger growth as more and more people are attracted to the game and the heavy lifting the league and players have done by getting the game back on the ice. That's what we're sort of starting to see, and when the games are really good, the fans are coming. And again we're only in the first couple of months. It's just back. It's a question of people finding us, getting reconnected with their teams, getting reconnected with some of their favorite players who have moved to other teams, and a question of our distribution."

Viewers who found OLN's first few telecasts often had trouble hearing the fuzzy audio feeds. The set for the intermission shows, with ESPN recruit Bill Clement as host, looked like something assembled in a garage by a bunch of kids on a rainy day. "I couldn't figure out if I was going to go bald or gray first," Fein said of the audio woes. "It was upsetting. We felt terrible."

Harvey acknowledged that "there were definitely things we're not proud of that were going on" and attributed the technical problems to a rush to get on the air. He said the set will be improved and telecasts will be enhanced with player profiles and other efforts to "demystify" the sport and its athletes. OLN aired its first doubleheader last Monday and ventured west of the Central time zone for the first time; it plans several more doubleheaders and additional games involving West Coast teams.

"One of the issues in televising hockey is that there's so much in-arena excitement that doesn't always translate to television. Of all the majors, it's toughest to translate the speed and athleticism," Fein said.

"Fox, NBC and ESPN are all very good networks with a lot of talented people. Our hope and intention is that we can grow it to that higher level over time."

Harvey said he's sure that day will come.

"I think now we are in the good part," he said. "We definitely turned the corner."

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-sp-oln12dec12,0,4215922,print.story?coll=cl-tv-features

“Reunion” ends at a cliffhanger
...
Who killed Samantha?
...
"Reunion" fans may never know.
...
Shame on someone. But who exactly is to blame?You know, hindsight is 20:20, but am I the only one who saw this as a very real possibility before the season ever started? I said at the time that surely FOX had committed to the entire season. Surely they wouldn't create a mystery and then not solve it.

"Shame on who?" Shame on FOX.

Don't get me wrong, we watched two episodes and dumped the show. We didn't like it.

But the point is that FOX has now told us in no uncertain terms that they are willing to hook us and then screw us. Tru Calling was left hanging. But this one takes the cake.

I will remember this the next time FOX introduces anything remotely resembling a serial show...and I won't watch. I may even drop a line to FOX letting them know why I'm not even watching the pilot. And I may copy their advertisers.

Xesdeeni

Shame on FOX - however, this exact scenario was brought up to the creators when the show was picked up and they said they would accelerate the plot should this happen. If this is a case of the Reunion folks pouting - shame on them as well.

Sunday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s analysis of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

TV Ratings Finale bounce for sagging 'Survivor'

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 12, 2005, 11:28

The latest season of “Survivor” was the lowest-rated in the show’s 10-season history, but the franchise hasn’t lost its juice entirely.

Last night’s two-hour finale of “Survivor: Guatemala,” won by Danni Boatwright, averaged a 7.6 overnight rating among viewers 18-49, up 3 percent versus the 7.4 last fall’s “Survivor” finale earned.

It was also flat versus the 7.6 “Survivor” earned this spring for its two-hour finale, but even that marked a turnabout after a season of decline.

Last night’s finale bettered last December’s season-ender even though the overall season had shown a significant decline in ratings. Through mid-November, “Survivor” was averaging a 6.3 final rating among viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen Media Research, down 15 percent versus the show’s 7.4 rating through the same period a year earlier.

Presumably many former viewers who didn’t watch the regular season did come back for the finale.

Part of last night’s success came because ABC didn’t air an original episode of “Desperate Housewives” head-to-head with the “Survivor” finale as it had the previous two seasons. It instead aired a special two-hour edition of “Extreme Makeover; Home Edition.”

The one-hour “Survivor” reunion show that followed the finale was about on par with the last two. It averaged a 6.8 overnight rating among 18-49s, even with last December’s reunion show and down slightly from the 6.9 the spring season’s reunion show averaged in May.

Last night’s finale was also up in total viewers versus May, at about 21.7 million total viewers to 20 million last spring.

“Survivor” helped CBS to a rare Sunday night first-place finish among 18-49s, averaging a 7.1 rating and a 17 share. Usual winner ABC fell to second at 5.2/12, followed by Fox at 4.0/10, NBC at 2.4/6 and the WB at 0.9/2.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_1793.asp

Telco David Takes on Goliaths
California-Based Pioneer in Video Delivery Achieves 20% Penetration

By Daisy Whitney TVWeek.com

The day before Thanksgiving, a small California telephone company conducted a trial of high-definition television services, running a feed of Discovery HD Theater on two 50-inch-plus Panasonic HDTV sets side by side. One set received the channel's signal from a satellite provider and the other received it via the phone company's own Internet protocol infrastructure.

The result?

The little guy won.

The IPTV version of Discovery HD Theater delivered by Sacramento-area telephone company SureWest actually looked better than the satellite one. The picture was crisper, brighter and clearer around the edges, as judged by this reporter. The telco's engineers were pleased. After all, the delivery of video services has become a cutthroat business, with new competitors cropping up daily, threats rising from every corner of the wired world and all of the players looking to grab a slice, or even a sliver, of the potentially lucrative market for delivering entertainment services to ravenous consumers. Providers will take any edge they can get, including a slightly better HD signal.

As a smaller telco, SureWest, which has offered video for three years in the fast-growing Sacramento area and plans to add about 17 HD channels in the next few weeks, doesn't command the attention that behemoths with swagger and might, such as AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon, do in the telco TV world.

But SureWest, in its own way, is a major player.

"SureWest is by far the leader in deploying [IPTV in the U.S.]," said Jeff Heynen, an analyst for broadband and IPTV at Infonetics Research.

SureWest got started early, has been progressive with technology and has been able to capitalize on somewhat of a "feel-good" opportunity because it's the local telephone company rather than a massive regional Bell operating company, Mr. Heynen said.

By year-end, SureWest will have poured about $200 million into its fiber-optic broadband system.

And it's starting to pay off. SureWest offers 260 channels of video to nearly 85,000 customers via its fiber infrastructure and has almost 20 percent video penetration.

Those hearty numbers are indicative of the potential for smaller phone companies to battle incumbent cable and satellite operators. That 20 percent penetration is particularly powerful given some analyst estimates of take rates for all telcos. Brahm Eiley, an analyst with Convergence Consulting in Toronto, predicts that by the end of 2009 phone companies as a whole will have taken only 5 percent of the pay TV market. Cable companies, meanwhile, will capture 20 percent of the residential phone market, he said.

That makes SureWest a bit of an anomaly. But it has achieved a relatively high penetration rate for a variety of reasons, said Fred Arcuri, SureWest senior VP and chief operating officer. There's strong population growth in the region and the bundle of services is attractive, he said. Most customers opt for at least two to three services from SureWest, and the company also offers cellular, giving it a quadruple play. Customers receive a discount when they sign up for more than one service.

SureWest offers voice, video and data for about $110 a month, Mr. Arcuri said, about 15 percent less than local competitors AT&T (formerly SBC) and Comcast.

That lower price is a good selling point because the vast majority of consumers care most about the price of services rather than bells and whistles, Mr. Eiley said. "[Telcos] have to be highly competitive on prices," he said. "The truth of the matter [is that] for most consumers, what [they get] for the price is really the key to get into the market."

So SureWest is going for the pocketbook, but at the same time it is preparing for the future, when the bells and whistles will likely become more important to consumers.

Mr. Arcuri knows full well that his company can't compete right now on many advanced services. SureWest doesn't have access to CBS's 99-cent on-demand prime-time shows, which competitor Comcast will offer. Nor does it have the depth of VOD content that Comcast has with its 3,800 programs comprising 2,200 hours. SureWest's VOD library is sparse in comparison-about 400 hours, mostly consisting of movies.

If telcos do want to compete for the higher-end consumer, they still have a ways to go, said Paul Rule, president of VOD research firm Marquest Research. "A bare-bones VOD offering can hardly be expected to peel away upper-end cable subs," he said. According to a recent Marquest study, 79 percent of higher-end customers-those with digital cable and broadband-said they believe the cable company would do the best job of offering a bundled triple play of services, while only 11 percent thought the phone company would do best. The other choices were spread among Internet service providers (7 percent), satellite operators (2 percent) and the electric company (1 percent).

Mr. Arcuri acknowledged that SureWest isn't ready to play the high-end game yet. But the telco is shoring up its advanced services with HD this year and plans to offer an integrated DVR in the first quarter of 2006. Furthermore, he contends that SureWest's advantage lies in the triple play because Comcast has yet to offer IP voice service in the area.

Comcast believes it has other advantages. It offers a dual-tuner hi-def DVR, 14 HD channels, broadband, more than 250 basic and premium channels, more than 50 channels of commercial-free music, and multicultural programming, said Erica Smith, spokeswoman for Comcast in Sacramento.

SureWest has a hefty international lineup too, with 38 international channels and 24 pay-per-view international channels, as well as local Hispanic-oriented programming.

SureWest started out as Roseville Telephone in 1914, operating as a small rural telephone company until the mid-1990s when it migrated into additional services such as data.

The company entered the video market in 2002, when it purchased assets from bankrupt overbuilder WinFirst. WinFirst was among a crop of overbuilders that entered the scene earlier this decade with ambitious plans to build fresh cable plants from the ground up. But the company bit off more than it could chew and went belly-up.

SureWest landed a foothold in video with WinFirst's 20,000 "marketable" video homes. About 4,500 of those already were video customers. In three years, SureWest basically quadrupled those numbers, rising to 85,000 marketable homes and nearly 16,000 video customers.

Mr. Arcuri thinks SureWest's success is due to several factors.

First, it already had the infrastructure in place in the way of trucks, technicians, a call center and billing support.

It's also operating in the sweet spot. Sacramento is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, as San Francisco and Bay Area residents escape escalating home costs and move north, where property still approaches affordability. According to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released in June, two Sacramento-area cities were ranked among the 10 fastest-growing cities: Elk Grove was second and Roseville 10th.

That influx of people means the market opportunity increases and the cost to pass homes decreases. As new homes are built it's easier for a service provider to lay fiber in the "open trenches" instead of digging up the ground around existing homes.

Also, as customers move into new homes they are in a shopping and buying mode for services.

A recent study by home builder Lennar Communications Ventures found that half of all new home buyers upgrade and switch communications providers. They are also heavy users. About 69 percent of new home buyers are broadband users, compared with 38 percent of the general public. In addition, 38 percent of new home buyers own HD sets, compared with 13 percent nationwide. "These people's minds are open. These customers are really in play," said David Kaiserman, president of Lennar Communications Ventures in Miami.

Mr. Arcuri said SureWest has partnered with local builders to market its services.

Like many smaller telcos, SureWest has chosen to rely on a combination of equipment from various technology providers. While many large telcos have said they will use Microsoft's end-to-end solution, Microsoft isn't targeting small phone companies.

So smaller operators opt for a best-of-breed approach, which affords flexibility in architecture and pricing, said Bill DeMuth, chief technology officer for SureWest. That also means if a piece or part doesn't work it can easily be jettisoned or replaced.

That makes all the difference for a small company, because it provides leverage the company otherwise would not have.

SureWest's headend, housed inside an air-conditioned room in its headquarters, is a testament to that open philosophy, peppered with racks of equipment bearing the names of vendors such as Kasenna, Minerva, Irdeto, Big Band and Cisco.

"It is a completely open architecture," Mr. DeMuth said. "We can mix and match various pieces of a network based on our needs and what we feel is most cost-effective."

Nor does SureWest want to use the same equipment as its competitors. The set-top boxes it uses from Amino look nothing like the clunky boxes most cable customers have in their homes. The Amino boxes are the size of a thick sandwich.

SureWest has become something of a model for other telcos. Mr. DeMuth said more than 100 telephone companies internationally, including Korean Telephone and Verizon, have visited the lab in Roseville.

The lab is not glamorous. It consists mostly of plywood walls with dozens of mundane-looking pieces of equipment and boxes from various vendors. Soon that lab will be testing MPEG4 equipment. SureWest wants to start transitioning next year to MPEG4 compression, considered the next-generation TV format because it allows a service provider to deliver more channels using less bandwidth.

More bandwidth also means SureWest will be able to offer more of those increasingly important bells and whistles.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9024

This story contains details and comments on “The Survivor” finals.

If you still haven’t seen it and don’t want to know, skip by it.

I didn’t post it last evening because I suspected some of you might have TiVo’d “Survivor”.

The grace period can only last so long! :)

Critic’s Notebook
Way to give away a million bucks, Rafe!

By Maureen Ryan [B]Chicago Tribune December 11, 2005

For Stephenie LaGrossa, making it to the final round in her second "Survivor" go-round wasn’t enough.

LaGrossa, who also competed on the previous edition of the long-running CBS reality show, made a lot of enemies on her way to the final two on "Survivor: Guatemala," which broadcast its live finale Sunday.

The final competitors on "Survivor: Guatemala" were two women, LaGrossa, who was on "Survivor: Palau," and Danni Boatwright. Those on the jury, many of who had been voted out by LaGrossa and her followers, awarded the million-dollar "Survivor" prize to Boatwright.

"Your strategy was just to backstab," said Judd Sergeant as the two women defended their game-playing strategies to the members of the "Survivor" jury. Boatwright, on the other hand, was well-liked and flew under the radar for much of the game.

She was helped in her quest to win the ultimate prize by Rafe Judkins, who ended up in the final three with LaGrossa and Boatwright. Judkins and Boatwright had had a pact to go to the final two together, but Judkins released her from that promise late in the game. It was a costly decision, as Boatwright ended up taking the less liked LaGrossa to the final two.

Some other "Survivor: Guatemala" highlights:

• Rafe, what were you thinking? You released Danni from her promise to take you to the final two, then later said that you thought she was "the one person who would take me to the final two and [she] didn’t." Uh, that’s because you let her out of her promise to take you to the final two! Don’t whine about her decision if you were the one that allowed it! Sheesh.

• The final four survivors’ decision to eat the chicken that was used in a Mayan ritual at the end of the game was understandable but still a little ooky; as soon as they’d finished chowing down, the heavens opened up and the competitors were pelted with a massive thunderstorm. Then again, the one person who didn’t eat the chicken, Rafe, also made the dumbest decision in the game. Go figure.

• Stephenie was pretty dopey for helping to vote Lydia out. Why on Earth did Steph say she wasn’t sure whether the final challenge would be "mental" or "physical"? Jeez, it’s always a physical endurance thing, everyone knows that! And Steph obviously knew that Lydia wasn't a great physical competitor. Honestly, Steph. Give me a break.

• It was truly lovely to see Gary Hogeboom say that he would judge Danni and Steph based on how honest they were. How about admitting that you’re not really just a landscaper, but also a former pro football player? Nobody’s entirely honest on "Survivor," can we all just accept that and move on?

• Same thing goes for Judd, man. Don’t get all hacked off about Stephenie and her lying, man, when you lied too, man, about where the immunity idol was, man.

• By the way, I tried to count how many times Judd said "man" in his final anti-Steph tirade, but I kept losing count. I just couldn’t do it. Man.

http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/

Isn't it incredible what just a little exposure can do in a couple of weeks?
Virtually no one in the national media had covered the a la carte question at all until FCC Chairman Martin mentioned it in late November.
Then coverage turned into a flood.
In the past cable had always dismissively shrugged when asked about tiering family channels.
But, now, in just a few days, it has caved in.
And this won't be the end.
It seems to me that the simple question of "why should we pay for channels we don't watch?" has quite a bit of resonance in the media, if not yet on Capitol Hill.

Cable Ops Offer Family Tiers, Says McSlarrow
By John Eggerton & John M. Higgins Broadcasting & Cable

It was a case of tiers to head off fears.

National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow Monday outlined preliminary plans for a number of cable operators voluntarily to start selling "family tiers." The move is an attempt to head off government-mandated tiering or a la carte cable lineups.

In a Senate Commerce Committee indecency hearing Monday, McSlarrow said that operators representing over half the nation's subs are ready to offer some family-friendly tiers. They are: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Advance-Newhouse, Brennan, Insight, and Midcontinent.

He said there would be announcements from one or two of those in the next couple of weeks, and that more operators were considering similar moves. He also said first quarter 2006 is a target for launching some of these tiers, though he said there were still technical issues to be worked out.

Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said the sooner the better because Congress is under pressure from family groups to move legislation that would mandate tiering.

McSlarrow said the individual operators would define family-friendly differently, saying there would be anti-trust issues involved in coming to group decisions on those.

He said he could not say exactly what the tiers would look like, but that it would be a case of the mandatory basic service--broadcasters and public access channels--then a choice of the traditional 70 or 80 channels of expanded basic or a digital family tier, though he did not know what form that would take, or how it would be priced.

McSlarrow said he hoped that government-mandated tiers would now be off the table because he said the government would "get it wrong."

He also cautioned that the decisions by the individual operators "were not easy decisions, nor is this an easy place," he said, "because marketplace negotiations have produced the greatest single engine for diversity or compelling content in the world. That should not be lightly trod upon."

It's not clear what networks might be included in the tiers, particularly whether the most popular ones -- Nickelodeon and Disney Channel -- will be sold in small tiers that could dramatically limit their reach.

At the same hearing, former Motion Picture Association of America President Jack Valenti said he had held three meetings with industry in the past two weeks (since an earlier indecency forum), and that the conclusion was to simplify the TV ratings and give parents more information about them.

Valenti said what government mustn't do is step and try to tell people what to see and hear.

Commerce plans to hold another hearing Jan. 19 and Stevens said he hoped McSlarrow could by then be able to hold a demonstration of how the family-friendly tier would work.

Stevens thanked McSlarrow for taking what he called a "leadership position" on the issue, and Valenti for coming out of retirement to head up the ratings effort.

Minority Groups Oppose A La Carte
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

Led by the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW), 16 organizations representing minority interests have written the leadership of the House and Senate Commerce Committees opposing any attempt at a la carte cable legislation.

The issue of encouraging, or forcing, cable programmers and operators to unbundle cable channels has been roiled up by the indecency issue and brought to a boil by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's advocacy for more cable choice, including a family-friendly tier of service. One cable company, Cablevision, has already weighed in in support of such a tier.

"According to overwhelming evidence on the public record," wrote the groups "such 'pay-per-channel' regulations would likely result in price hikes for consumers while decimating minority and other new cable programmers who are now able to air programming focused on African-American and Hispanic audiences."

Among other things, they cite an FCC study that concluded that "new cable television programmers depend on their inclusion on the so-called 'expanded basic' programming tier for their very survival."

Martin has recently said that study was one-sided and erroneous. "The staff is now finalizing a report that concludes that the earlier report relied on problematic assumptions and presented incorrect and incomplete analysis," he told the Senate Commerce Committee at an indecency forum two weeks ago.

"[A] la carte pricing regulations could have devastating effects on Hispanic and African-American programmers," the groups concluded. "Were such regulations in place previously, networks such as BET, TV One, Sí-TV and others could not have survived."

The Senate Commerce Committee is holding a follow-up indecency forum Monday, Dec. 12. Former Motion Picture Association of America President Jack Valenti and National Cable Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow are the two witnesses, with a simplified TV-ratings system expected to be a topic of conversation, though a la carte and famly-friendly tiers will likely come up as well.

Among the groups signing on to the letter were the National Council of La Raza, the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council, and the Cleveland chapter of the NAACP.

Critic’s Notebook
''Survivor: Anticlimax''
By Rich Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal

There was a Christmas music concert at my church tonight, so I didn't get home until about 9, just in time to see Lydia voted out. (Thank goodness for football overruns.) The only remaining suspense involved the last immunity challenge and whom Stephenie might take with her to the final if she won immunity. But if either Rafe or Danni won, taking Stephenie seemed a no-brainer; she had enough enemies on the jury to put her at a huge disadvantage against anyone else, and it's been that way for several weeks.

So all of Danni's agonizing after she won immunity seemed pointless, and Rafe's ''I release you from your PROMISE'' gambit was transparent. The smart move was to take Stephenie. So Danni did, and it paid off for her. The jury deliberations made clear there were at least four votes against Steph that were unmoving, and only sure vote for her (Rafe's). So it was just a question of how big a blowout it could be.

Not that I let myself rest entirely. I kept waiting for one of those stunning twists where everyone goes, shoot, Stephenie played ''Survivor'' exactly the way you're supposed to play it, so why not vote for her? I think she probably did a lot to kill those votes by telling all the jurors she had outwitted them; you're supposed to let them figure that out on their own.

Also, when the solution to ''Survivor'' seems obvious to me, I start to rethink, because I am so bad at picking winners.

The fact that even I knew Danni could beat Steph -- and had sensed awhile back that Steph probably couldn't beat anyone left but Judd -- tells me that this was, finally, a disappointing series of ''Survivor.''

The ending should feel more dramatic. There should be greater doubt in the air. And Stephenie never should have come back to the show; any good will she built up on her first go-round was wiped out by her machinations and ruthlessness this time. It wasn't just the jury she ticked off. It was a lot of us viewers.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

Critic’s Notebook: Best of 2005
Culture Awards :TV

By John Leonard New York Magazine

Six Feet Under croaked, Doogie Howser was reborn (he’s the new Chandler!), and Jon Stewart kept doing what he does best, except now with an 11:30 sidekick. But this year the biggest news in TV was less about what people were watching than where they were watching it—namely, everywhere, including right beside you on the subway.

Best Drama
‘Cold Case’
Every week on this CBS drama, a brand-new ghost story haunts Philadelphia homicide detective Kathryn Morris and her police squad that actually practices teamwork. The music is superbly cued to the moment, from Bessie Smith to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. And at the end of each hour, an avenged ghost waves good-bye.

2 ‘House’
(Fox) Never mind the tedious business between ex-lovers Hugh Laurie and Sela Ward—this medical show is more about death than love. What makes it so riveting is the acting (especially Laurie), the writing (high-speed, even highbrow, with compound sentences when required), and the odd cases themselves (guaranteed to flummox everybody, including Dr. House, until the last ten minutes).

3 ‘Bones’
(Fox) I really, really like the screwball romance between forensic anthropologist Emily Deschanel and FBI homicide detective David Boreanaz—a romance made even better because neither of them is doing anything about it.

Best Comedy

‘The Daily Show’
It’s so daily you can sometimes see it five times every 24 hours on Comedy Central, with the occasional family-friendly bleep, but otherwise as intelligent, insouciant, and insolent as Jon Stewart insists on being. Nobody does incredulity better than Stewart, and he’s not bad at contempt, either.

2 ‘Weeds’
(Showtime) Getting to spend half an hour with Mary-Louise Parker every Monday night is, like the Paris of Henri IV, worth a Mass, much less this year-end vote of thanks.

3 ‘Las Vegas’
(NBC) Notice that these women working in James Caan’s casino, wearing as little as possible over their various moving parts, are nonetheless the ones with brains. This is bikini television with a smart mouth.

Best Actor

Michael Kitchen
From understatement and minimal gesture, hesitation and the slamming of a door, Kitchen—as a British detective-superintendent on Foyle’s War, under the PBS Mystery! umbrella—has for three astonishing seasons conveyed anguish, contempt, despair, and something unremitting but always tethered to a moral compass.

2 William Petersen
The CSI: Las Vegas bugman, is the gravity holding these forensic graces together, a kind of martyr to the scientific method.

3 Hugh Laurie
His line readings on House feature an accent here of Shakespeare, a seasoning there of Beckett, plus a rant of mouthy Mamet. He is our very own Philoctetes; his genius and his wound depend on each other.

Best Actress

S. Epatha Merkerson
She probably deserves it for her noble service on Law & Order, but she blew the windows off the boarding house on Lackawanna Blues on HBO. As earth mother “Nanny” Crosby, Merkerson—with her fierce loyalty, raucous humor, and supple cunning—tended to a houseful of refugees who sought sanctuary and found healing.

2 Mary-Louise Parker
As if there were ever anybody else. Well, there was, from Glenn Close in The Shield to Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars to Emily Deschanel in Bones, but I am nothing if not loyal, which I hope stops short of stalking.

3 Kyra Sedgwick
Who, on TNT’s The Closer, proved to be the best interrogator this side of Helen Mirren on Prime Suspect.

Best Nonfiction

‘Destination America’
David Grubin’s richly textured four-hour PBS documentary on immigration takes in, among many others, migrant workers from south of the border; modern dancers from Taiwan; and women who flee second-class citizenship or servitude in Guatemala, the Middle East, and even Italy. This is the sort of television that puts faces on stats, but it’s also almost elegiac: These are the doors we are bolting behind us.

2 ‘Death in Gaza’
(HBO) Award-winning documentarian James Miller and reporter Saira Shah began with the stories of three Palestinian children growing up in godforsaken Gaza, but before they got to interview a similar selection of Israeli children, Miller was shot to death by an Israeli tank. This is not the story anyone wanted to bring home, but doesn’t it bring home a story, anyway?

3 ‘Bearing Witness’
(A&E) Documentarian Barbara Kopple followed five female foreign correspondents—all of whom eventually converged on Baghdad—and who, between them, won dozens of awards and lost many relationships, several husbands, and one eye.

Best Debut

The Trampoline Bear from 'Pardon the Interruption’
That bear: We kept seeing it over and over again on Pardon the Interruption, the ESPN sports yak show. The bear escaped from either a circus or a zoo, I can’t remember which. It climbed a tree in some backyard, and they set up a trampoline under the tree, shot the bear with sedative darts, and the bear flopped down and hit the trampoline and then went up, up, and away again, but this time when the bear came down, it missed the trampoline, and the Earth shook, and Tony Kornheiser couldn’t stop laughing and Mike Wilbon pretended not to, but they must have shown the same footage a thousand times, until finally I videotaped it myself. And I am heartily ashamed.

2 Tyler James Williams
Williams is terrific in Everybody Hates Chris, not only playing Chris Rock but playing him at age 13 in a Bed-Stuy junior high.

3 Bob Schieffer
Sitting in for Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, Schieffer looked like the only person in prime time old enough to tell us what’s wrong with the world tonight.


The Short List


Best One-Liners
Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold in Entourage (HBO), whose best lines are highly quotable, if highly unprintable. His jokes aren’t funny on paper anyway, yet Piven’s turned Gold into TV’s foulest zinger machine.

Best Impromptu One-Liner
America’s Next Top Model (UPN) contestant (and New Yorker) Kim Stolz, who, after making out with one of the other female contestants on the show’s premiere, announced, “One down, eleven to go.”

Best Couple (Comedy)
Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan), on How I Met Your Mother (CBS). Cool enough to be worth hanging out with, irritating enough to be believable.

Best Couple (Melodrama)
Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), on Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), which has evolved into an addictive, high-end cross between General Hospital and ER. Okay, so they didn’t end up a couple—Shepherd decided to stick it out with his straying wife—but they should have. There’s always next season.

Best Villain
The reptilian T-Bag on Prison Break (Fox), a slippery southern pedophile who slithers around like a cross between Hannibal Lecter and Truman Capote.

Best Incredibly Complicated Plot That Hasn’t Unraveled—Yet
Prison Break’s plot details are ludicrous: The lead has the entire prison’s blueprint tattooed over his torso (hidden in a gothic pattern only he and schizophrenics can discern), and he’s so resourceful with discarded toothpaste tubes he’s like some sort of cellblock MacGyver. But against the odds, the show’s remained internally consistent—and ridiculously addictive.

Best Drawn-Out Tease
The numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42—which will mean nothing to you, unless you’ve been watching Lost (ABC), in which case this mysterious string of figures has been driving you mad for months.

Best ‘Lost’ Rip-Off
Invasion (ABC), a creepy mash-up of hurricanes and aliens, and the real standout in this season’s crop of spooky one-word-title dramas (Threshold, Surface, Supernatural).

Best Show You Probably Never Watched
Starved (F/X), a show set among an eating-disorders support group. In a year of HBO-inflected, high-concept premises (suburban marijuana dealers!), this cringe-inducing setup yielded a surprisingly sharp—and funny—comedy.

Best Programming Decision
NBC is going to move My Name Is Earl and The Office to Thursday night—while putting the dismal Joey and the foundering The Apprentice in deep freeze—in an effort to recapture the network’s must-see-TV mojo.

Best Stunt Casting
Wink-wink celebrity cameos have gotten out of hand, but drafting Scott “Chachi” Baio to replace Henry “Fonzie” Winkler as the family lawyer on Arrested Development (Fox) was absolute genius.

Best Humiliation
The four-person firing on The Apprentice (NBC). Not that they all got fired but that the quartet then had to squeeze into one cab to the airport. That’s cold.

Best On-Air Evolution
The rapidly improving The Colbert Report (Comedy Central), in which Stephen Colbert is getting comfortable enough in his blowhard persona to occasionally, and hilariously, shrug it off.

Best Encore
In a year notable for great comebacks both inevitable (Neil Patrick Harris, after a few great film cameos, on How I Met Your Mother) and shocking (90210-er Brian Austin Green on Freddie), one actor returned as the same character we fell in love with way back when: Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan, back on the beat on Law & Order (NBC).

Best Rapprochement
Oprah finally, finally, finally agrees to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS).

Best Use of Pinteresque Pauses in Television
The Office (NBC), which is starting to get the hang of the painful, prolonged silences that made the BBC original so achingly great.

Best Elegant Ending
The flash-forwards in the finale of Six Feet Under (HBO), in which we got to see how all the characters eventually expire. A perfect endnote to a vital, if at times maddening, show.

http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/cultureawards/15287/

Indeed, he's quite good, and we're lucky to have him in Northeast Ohio...

You are not kidding.

I must read 50 TV critics on a regular basis, and Rich Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal is at the very top of any list I'd make.

He is likes TV and is interested in how it works (many critics seem to look down their noses at prime-time programming) and very, very timely. His weblog frequently has stories way ahead of the more well-known writers.

He is truly a gem.

McSlarrow Says Family Tiers in Works at Six Cable Operators

By Doug Halonen TVWeek.com

In an effort to appease critics of cable's programming, six of the nation's major multiple system operators-including Comcast and Time Warner Cable-hope to roll out family-friendly programming tiers for their digital subscribers early next year.

That was the word from Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, during a public meeting with Senate Commerce Committee leaders on Monday. Mr. McSlarrow said the six cable MSO's-the others being Bresnan Communications, Advance/Newhouse Communications, Midcontinent Communciations, and Insight Communications-together serve more than half of the nation's cable TV subscribers, and that other cable MSOs are considering following suit.

Mr. McSlarrow said he was not privy to pricing plans. But under the general concept, cable customers would still have to subscribe to cable's basic tier, and then have a choice whether to subscribe to the system's enhanced basic tier or the new family-friendly one. Mr. McSlarrow also made clear that the industry is hoping that its offering of a family tier, along with ongoing industry efforts to improve awareness of TV ratings and technology enabling parents to control what their children see, will enable the industry to avoid federal regulation.

"I really hope we can take mandates off the table," Mr. McSlarrow said.

Jack Valenti, the former chief of the Motion Picture Association of America, said during the session that industry leaders have been meeting to consider ways to better educate the public about the v-chip and other technology that parents can use to control the programming that comes into their homes.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman of the committee, said that if the industry adopts a "meaningful" ratings system, he will hold off pending legislation to beef up indecency regulation while the public evaluates the voluntary efforts.

"As far as I'm concerned, none [of the pending bills to beef up indecency regulation] have enough support for us to move as long as this process is moving on," Sen. Stevens said.

Mr. Valenti said surveys have shown that while many consumers object to some TV programming, the vast majority-from 70 percent to 80 percent-don't want the government to decide what they can see and hear. "You cannot allow a few loud voices outside the Congress to try to entice the government to go where the people plainly do not want this government to go," Mr. Valenti said.

In a follow-up session with reporters, Mr. Valenti said concerns about programming were being stirred up by the Parents Television Council's L. Brent Bozell and "a few loud voices"-people, according to Mr. Valenti, "who really don't want anything on television except Bible stories."

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9026

“Daily Show” suicide

An employee of the Comedy Central program "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" has committed suicide, leading the network to suspend production of Monday night's episode of the program, a spokesman confirmed.

--The Hollywood Reporter

Am I the only one who is just a little concerned about our government listening to a guy like Jack Valenti...? The movie industry poster boy for government intervention with regards to copyright rules and protections..? Jack, just go back home and stay retired, please.

OTOH, Stevens is pretty much a Neanderthal when it comes to things digital anyways..dinosaurs travel in groups I guess...

Somehow I missed this Rick Kushman column Friday. It isn’t really dated and he makes some important points.

Critic’s Notebook
Celeb news - and what matters

By Rick Kushman Sacramento Bee TV Columnist

Thinking out loud here. A week ago, Oprah Winfrey visited David Letterman, drew about 13.5 million viewers and ended a 16-year string of avoiding "Late Show with David Letterman."

What she did not end was the Dave-Oprah feud. Because there was no feud. Winfrey said it. Letterman said it. And before last week, they'd been saying it for years. N-O F-E-U-D.

Oprah just said she didn't like the kidding she got on "Late Show." And Letterman used that to, really, make fun of himself. It's what he does. But Winfrey invited Letterman to appear on her show, and both said generous things about each other in public.

So here's the thing. If you look at the reporting before the appearance, and even after that night when they both said they never held a grudge or a feud or an anything, it was as if the entertainment media lives on its own planet.

In truth, it does, but, jeez, quote your victims accurately.

The high-decibel "Entertainment Tonight" and "Access Hollywood" shows burbled inside and out about the feud. But it wasn't just them.

Here's a headline from an early wire story from the New York Times: "Winfrey and Letterman end 16-year feud."

Here's a headline from the Associated Press: "Letterman welcomes Oprah as guest after 16-year feud."

What's the point? Well, it's not poor Dave and Oprah. They'll be just fine, seeing as they're two of the richest, most powerful forces in show business. Probably doesn't matter to them, either way.

But it matters to us, because it's a reminder of how easily information gets distorted.

Look, Dave's relationship with Oprah is spectacularly insignificant. Also, those papers, and the legitimate TV news operations, take a bit more care with genuinely serious stories. This isn't so much about mistakes.

It's about how information bells get rung in our society and stay rung. It's about how difficult it is to correct an error or a misinterpretation, particularly when the mistake is simple and sounds right. Or it sounds like something we want to believe.

That is one of the dangers of our multimedia world. There's no central gathering place, no Walter Cronkite-like presence, to put a careening story on the right path.

Would we be better off if there were? If these were the days of the three dominant news networks and a few major newspapers setting the tone? I dunno. Probably not. More voices is generally a good thing.

The problem is, in this wild media environment, it's so easy for misreadings and mistakes to get repeated and repeated, because everybody is reporting what everybody else reported - and there is just so much of it. (It's also very easy to spread lies, but that's an argument for another day.)

For what it's worth, we just saw what a few, more or less, central news focus points can do to keep stories on the right rail. During early coverage of Hurricane Katrina, it was basically CNN, Fox News and NBC/MSNBC who kept correcting mistakes and political spin. They were there in New Orleans and most of us watched.

But that was pretty rare. Day to day, whether it's on important events or lightweight subjects, our attention is spread across the wide map of TV, radio, cable and the massive Web. We tend to go to places that reaffirm our beliefs, or simply take the tones we like.

The result is that every development, nearly every utterance, is reported a thousand ways and gets near-infinite analysis. Sometimes the bulk of it - like the Letterman-Winfrey's "feud" - is wrong. It's also entirely constitutional. The First Amendment would seem to take the side of many voices and many truths.

All of this is neither complaint nor praise for this brave, ever-new media world. It's more a heads-up, or a reminder to keep our heads up.

Our country and our world are changing. There's no going back because there just isn't. Whether we are progressing or regressing is open to interpretation, but either way, technology is pushing us in new directions at light speed.

And in this complicated life, everything new comes in shades of both good and bad, and with the law of unintended consequences running wild.

My point, finally, would be this: The most important thing to understand is that no one voice says it all. And any time we get a simple, one-tone interpretation, you can bet it's incomplete and maybe flat-out wrong. We just don't work that way anymore.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/columns/kushman/v-print/story/13953890p-14788327c.html

You know, hindsight is 20:20, but am I the only one who saw this as a very real possibility before the season ever started? I said at the time that surely FOX had committed to the entire season. Surely they wouldn't create a mystery and then not solve it.

"Shame on who?" Shame on FOX.

Don't get me wrong, we watched two episodes and dumped the show. We didn't like it.

But the point is that FOX has now told us in no uncertain terms that they are willing to hook us and then screw us. Tru Calling was left hanging. But this one takes the cake.

I will remember this the next time FOX introduces anything remotely resembling a serial show...and I won't watch. I may even drop a line to FOX letting them know why I'm not even watching the pilot. And I may copy their advertisers.

Xesdeeni


Nice to see you posting again-- it has been a while -- I though we might have lost you!

Critic’s Notebook
Move over, mister; Women are rising as anchors, stars

By David Zurawik Balitmore Sun Television Critic

What was being bemoaned (seemingly endlessly) by television industry analysts and critics as the end of the anchorman era, last week may have morphed into the dawning of the age of anchorwomen.

Last Monday, Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff were named replacements for the late Peter Jennings at the anchor desk of ABC World News Tonight. A few days later, NBC held a news conference in part to squelch rumors that its leading newswoman, Katie Couric, was considering jumping networks - to be anchorwoman at CBS.

NBC's efforts convinced few. As has been widely reported, CBS determinedly is pursuing NBC's Today show co-host Couric to be solo anchor of its flagship nightly newscast, the CBS Evening News. If she accepts, her salary is expected to be $20 million annually - $10 million more than is made by anyone else in network TV news. Only syndicated talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who owns and produces her program, takes home more.

In some ways, the past year has been a banner one for women on television - even those who play fictional characters. An atypically large number of prime-time shows present women portraying strong, intelligent, often powerful characters - and many of the series are finding an audience.

Commander in Chief, which features Oscar-winner Geena Davis as the first female president of the United States, is the highest-rated new series of the year, with a weekly audience of about 15 million viewers. More important in a society where money equals power, the drama is also No. 1 in upscale households (annual incomes of $50,000-plus).

As the TV season heads into Christmas break and the networks decide which freshman shows to keep, programs featuring women dominate the list of those getting the green light. CBS recently ordered a full season for Close to Home, starring Jennifer Finnigan as a Type-A prosecutor with a perfect conviction record and a new baby. The series consistently wins its Friday night time period with an audience of 12 million viewers.

It is the same story at all four major networks and cable: Fox renewed Bones, a drama starring Emily Deschanel as a forensic anthropologist who writes best-sellers on the side. NBC is sticking with Surface, which features Lake Bell as an oceanographer and single mom. Both characters hold doctoral degrees in science and supervise teams of highly trained specialists - making them figures of authority. Ditto on cable, where Kyra Sedgwick's Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson commands an elite unit of homicide investigators on TNT's new hit, The Closer.

Despite all the developments in recent weeks, the rise of women on network TV is not an overnight event. ABC, for example, made a business decision three years ago to create series with a strong female point of view to fill what network executives saw as a programming void, according to Francie Calfo, an ABC executive vice president involved in developing Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Commander in Chief.

Desperate Housewives, with its sexually charged look at the secret lives of four suburban women, was the No. 1 show on television last week - seen by 25.4 million viewers. ABC's Grey's Anatomy, starring Ellen Pompeo as the doctor daughter of a famous female surgeon, was the fifth-highest-rated show with an audience of 20.6 million. The popularity of series like Grey's Anatomy and Commander in Chief, along with the prominence of newscasters like Vargas and Couric, is seen by some as a reflection of changing attitudes toward women.

"When we started the White House Project eight years ago, one of the things we felt is that we were moving into a period when women were going to be leading. And if you look at trends, that has actually started to happen both here and in other countries," says Marie C. Wilson, co-founder of Take Our Daughters to Work Day and president of the White House Project, a national and non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing women's leadership.

"You have real women who are being talked about as candidates for president in this country. You have women who have just run and won in Liberia and Germany. We have had eight to 12 years of women involved in foreign policy, the United Nations and national security - as secretary of state. And it's not lost on the public that there are women dying in a war. One in seven people in Iraq is a woman, and because there are no front lines in this war, everybody who is over there is a soldier."

Wilson says such social change has helped "normalize" the idea of women in nontraditional roles - women as corporate or national leaders or experts in matters of national security, economics and government. "The success of women in the last decade as governors, mayors, senators, secretaries of state and soldiers means that the country is more familiar with women in such roles and they aren't going to sit there when Elizabeth Vargas or Katie Couric reads a report about Iraq and say, 'Oh, my God, shouldn't she be talking about the weather?'"

Television both mirrors what's happening in reality and fosters further change by presenting to 15 million viewers week after week a chance to imagine women in positions of power. "It's getting more normal to see women in these empowered roles on TV, which is just what we want," Wilson says.

That's not to say that everyone agrees that real progress has been made. "I don't know about Desperate Housewives," says Marguerite Moritz, a professor of journalism at the University of Colorado who specializes in depictions of gender. "Yes, it's great that you have women in starring roles in a hit show, but look at the roles that they're playing. I mean, the show can be incredibly entertaining, and certainly the ratings reflect that. But is that somehow a breakthrough for women or a reflection that women are attaining something larger, bigger, whatever in society?"

And despite the growing ranks of powerful female detectives like Sedgwick's Deputy Chief Johnson, women are still predominantly depicted as sex objects and victims in cop dramas and police procedurals. So, there is much progress to be made.

Nonetheless, the courting of Couric and the money being offered may be a harbinger of genuine change, Moritz says.

"Fundamentally, that conversation is going on for economic reasons. There's some hard number crunching being done and executives at CBS saying, 'Look, she's been a huge success in the morning slot, maybe she can help us at night - even though we've always had a man as the face of CBS News.' I don't know if that's empowerment for women, but I'm certainly happy to see it happen. It's about time."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/bal-ae.eye11dec11,1,6876890.story?coll=bal-tv-utility

DirecTV to Pay $5 Million to Settle Probe

By Jay Sherman TVWeek.com December 12, 2005

DirecTV will pay $5 million to 22 states to settle a probe into the satellite operator's marketing and advertising practices.

The agreement, which was reached with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and announced Monday, wraps up an inquiry that began in March 2003 into a series of complaints from DirecTV subscribers. The subscribers' issues included claims of poor reception, allegations that they did not receive channels that were promised and accusations that some customers were charged for canceling services during free programming offer periods that had not yet expired.

DirecTV also agreed to pay restitution to certain customers who were charged a fee for not activating DirecTV's service in a timely way, did not receive all of the local channels they had expected to receive or were charged the cancellation fee during those free-offer periods.

In addition to New York, the states included in the settlement are Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9028

Verizon Pops Texas Six-Pack

By Linda Haugsted Multichannel.com

Parts of six more Texas communities will see the launch of Verizon Communications Inc.'s Verizon FiOS TV Monday.

The telephone company is expanding into areas of communities closest to its initial market, Keller. Areas that can order service as of Monday are northern Carrollton, eastern Coppell, central Flower Mound, northern Fort Worth, northern Irving and central Lewisville.

Verizon said it will now pass 400,000 north Texas households by the end of 2006, or 33% of its landline customers in the state.

New markets in 2006 will be Allen, Colleyville, Denton, Double Oak, Garland, Grapevine, Hebron, Highland Village, Lucas, Murphy, Parker, Plano, Rowlett, Sachse (where the rollout is governed by a local franchise negotiated before this year's passage of statewide operating authority), Southlake, St. Paul, Westlake (also locally franchised) and Wylie.

The actual launch times will be based on local completion of the telco's fiber-to-the-premises network in each community.

I made this comment today on the Grey's Anatomy thread, but perhaps it can persuade you to try a show you probably haven't heard much about. If you are looking for something new you might enjoy, try this:

"Related" (9 PM ET/PT Mondays) on the WB started off as a pale, poorly-written, shallow, PG-rated version of "Sex In The City". Critics generally savaged it., And rightly so.

But the writing has improved dramatically, and one of the recent episodes (with Dana Delany seen in flashbacks as the mother of the four sisters) was one of the best-written shows of episodic TV I have seen in years.

It has made my top-five list in recent weeks. And with a meaningless NFL game tonight, and repeats (I believe) on the other networks, at least record it. Give it a try, I think you'll enjoy it.

(And if you don't, I am pretty sure the wife/SO and/or daughters will.)

Weep a tear or two for “Three Wishes”
Friday finale for NBC good-works reality show

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 12, 2005

Buyers had high hopes for NBC and Amy Grant’s feel-good show “Three Wishes,” and for good reason. The show mimicked the formula that has worked so well for ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” mixing sad real-life stories and tear-inducing efforts to help turn lives around.

But “Three Wishes” never caught on, and most of the blame lies with its Friday timeslot, a place where families, the target viewers of such a program, would never find it.

Friday, almost a month after NBC cut its season order, “Three Wishes” went quietly off the air with a series-low rating. The series finale earned a 1.8 among viewers 18-49s, down 18 percent from the disappointing 2.2 overnight rating the show averaged over its first nine episodes.

Buyers had tabbed “Three Wishes” as a potential breakout hit since the May upfront, with several picking NBC to win Friday nights because of it. Grant hosted the show, which traveled to small towns across the country and granted three wishes at each stop.

But the timeslot simply didn’t work. The networks long ago abandoned family fare on Friday nights, with more sophisticated fare like CBS’s “Ghost Whisperer” and “Numb3rs” now the current hits.

Family-oriented shows do much better on Sundays, as seen with “Home Edition,” and Mondays, where NBC’s “Fear Factor” thrived.

NBC considered moving “Three Wishes” to Wednesday temporarily to see what sort of bump it might have, but once “E-Ring” started performing better there, the network had no reason to keep trying. With NBC’s ratings as a whole down, it made no sense to stick with a flailing program no matter what its seeming potential.

What’s perhaps most surprising out of all of this is that it took this long for a “Home Edition” knockoff to surface. Fox did air “Renovate My Family” the last two summers, and it did OK, but “Three Wishes” was the first to ape the emotional aspect of the show.

Based on its quick demise, however, another imitation may be a while away.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1786.asp

Sports on TV
Sports heroes: USC's mighty BCS save

Ratings for the Rose Bowl should be way up

By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer

Two years ago, USC nearly killed the Bowl Championship Series. Now it may have revived it.

After getting shut out of the BCS title game in 2003, despite being ranked No. 1 in one poll, USC is now poised to play in its second straight BCS title game on Jan. 4 against Texas. Spurred by excitement over strong seasons by the Trojans, Longhorns and traditional powers like Penn State and Notre Dame, college football ratings have soared this season, and BCS advertising sales also are up.

But perhaps most important, as the BCS readies to move from ABC to Fox next year, the long-maligned BCS system is no longer in question. After two years of sinking ratings for the title game, this year’s Rose Bowl could be the highest-rated in BCS history.

That sets up Fox very nicely. Already this year ABC has seen year-to-year ad rate increases of up to 6 percent, to $1.8 million, for a package of 30-second spots on the four BCS games.

With a bump in ratings this year, Fox could reap even greater pricing in 2007 after purchasing BCS rights for $330 million over four years.

NCAA football ratings were up this year on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. ABC’s 14 weeks of games averaged a 4.1 household rating, up 8 percent over last year’s 3.8 average.

ESPN rose 4 percent to 1.72 million total viewers, up from 1.65 million last year and the network’s best average in six years. ESPN2 set a season record with 928,000 average viewers, bettering last year’s 867,000.

And ratings for USC and Texas’ final regular-season games were up more than 25 percent over last year, showing just how excited people are about their impending matchup.

Last year at this time, a college football renaissance seemed unlikely. Complaints about the BCS system had reached a crescendo after an undefeated Auburn squad was left out of the national championship game, following 2003’s USC debacle. That prompted several off-season changes in how the top two teams in the country were picked.

In the end, that wasn’t necessary. USC and Texas are Division I’s only undefeated squads, ensuring their one-two rank in the BCS computers.

BCS critics have nonetheless whined all week, saying that this year’s matchup was a no-brainer, and thus we don’t need the BCS. That’s simply not true.

Those critics are forgetting that under the old system, the Pac-10 champion Trojans would have been obligated to play in the Rose Bowl against the winner of the Big 10, No. 3 Penn State.

Texas would have faced No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Notre Dame or some other team in another bowl, meaning no one-two matchup and vindicating the BCS formula.

Meanwhile, in other sports ratings for the week ended Dec. 4, ABC’s “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers was the week’s top event, averaging a 14.8 household rating. More than 22 million total viewers watched the game, the most since 2000.

CBS’s annual Army-Navy football game was up 25 percent over last year, from a 2.4 household rating to a 3.0.

On cable for the week ended Nov. 28, the New Orleans Saints-New York Jets “Sunday Night Football” game on ESPN ranked No. 1 with a 4.7 household rating. Though that was more than double the next-highest-rated program, ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” it was down 11 percent from the previous week’s Kansas City Chiefs-Houston Texans game.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1768.asp

Cablers to Offer Family Tiers

By Todd Shields MediaWeek.com DECEMBER 12, 2005 -

Operators reaching roughly half the nation's cable customers will offer a family-friendly programming tier beginning early next year, a top cable official told a congressional hearing on indecency on Monday.

Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications, said companies that are to offer the tier include Comcast, Time Warner, Advance Newhouse Communications, Insight and Midcontinent Media. The tiers are to begin early next year, following negotiations between each cable operator and its programmers, McSlarrow said.

The announcement comes as cable struggles to ward off pressure from lawmakers and others to reduce childrens’ potential exposure to rough language and sexually suggestive programming.

Suggestions have included government mandating family tiers; requiring that customers may choose only the channels they want rather than accepting broad programming packages; and applying to cable programming the indecency regulations that now affect only broadcast TV and radio.

McSlarrow said he hoped the family-friendly tiers would bring an end to calls for mandatory measures.

Stevens in remarks to reporters called the tiers a good first step, and indicated he would not seek to advance legislation while the family tiers are introduced.

The House early this year passed legislation to steeply increase fines for broadcast indecency, but there has been no action in the Senate.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001658734

Sports on TV
ESPN/ABC Uses Rose Bowl Final to Drive Ads to Other Games

By John Consoli MediaWeek.com DECEMBER 12, 2005 -

With about 10 percent of its ad inventory left to sell for ABC’s Jan. 4 prime-time Rose Bowl telecast presented by Citi, ESPN/ABC Sports will aim to maximize sales of the remaining units by packaging in-game spots with advertising across ESPN properties.
“We’re not looking to just sell in-game spots,” said Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN/ABC Sports Customer Marketing and Sales.

“The USC-Texas matchup [both teams are undefeated] could be one of the highest-rated college football games ever, so we plan to use it to help drive advertising to our other media platforms.”
Last year, the Orange Bowl was the Bowl Championship Series game and produced a household rating of 13.7—the highest-rated prime-time telecast of that week. The four BCS games totaled a 43.0 household rating. In the year prior, the Sugar Bowl was the BCS championship game and produced a 14.5 household rating, and the 2003 Fiesta Bowl BCS championship produced a 17.2 rating.

Erhardt said many of the other platforms in the packages will have synergy with the Rose Bowl. For example, ESPN The Magazine, in its Jan. 2 issue, will offer a BCS preview.

Thirty-second spots in the Rose Bowl were selling for between $1.5 million to $1.8 million per unit prior to the USC-Texas matchup being determined. Erhardt said about 70 percent of the units were sold as part of multiyear, multigame packages to the Bowl sponsors and to advertisers like Cingular and Home Depot, who bought ads across all four BCS telecasts—Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and Nokia Sugar Bowl, in addition to the Rose Bowl. Another 20 percent of the units were sold during the upfront as strips with ads in all four BCS games.

“We want advertisers to buy the entire BCS, not just one game,” Erhardt said.

One new major BCS advertiser, Erhardt said, will be Texas Instruments, which will be airing commercials touting high definition.

Erhardt said audience guarantees were given to those who bought multiyear packages or in the upfront, but no guarantees will be given to advertisers buying the remaining inventory. Given the magnitude of the Rose Bowl matchup, Erhardt said he believes ratings guarantees will be met.

In addition to the Rose Bowl, which will air at 8 p.m. on Jan. 4, the Fiesta Bowl (Ohio State vs. Notre Dame) will air at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 2; the Sugar Bowl (West Virginia vs. Georgia) will air at 8 p.m on Jan. 2; and the Orange Bowl (Penn State vs. Florida State) will
air at 8 p.m. on Jan. 3.

The BCS bowl games, while having declined in ratings, are still among the highest-rated prime-time programs during the first week in January.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001658168

Critic’s Notebook
Critic has treats for some, lumps of coal for others

By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News Posted on Mon, Dec. 12, 2005

Some thoughts, comments and (I hope) snappy one-liners as the TV world starts winding down for the holidays:

• Back in May, who would have thought that ``Grey's Anatomy'' -- which was supposed to be a four-week fill-in for ``Boston Legal'' -- would turn out to be more consistently entertaining than ``Desperate Housewives''? And have you noticed that its weekly audience is closing in on 21 million, making it a top-five show most weeks?

• At least ``Housewives'' seems to be back on track in recent weeks after a sluggish start this season. Gotta love Sister Mary Bernard (Melinda Page Hamilton) and her battle with Gabrielle (Eva Longoria). That's the kind of stuff that made the show click with viewers in Season 1.

• The only real problem I have with ``Lost'' this season is that the cast has become so large, some good characters have gone missing for big chunks of time. The series is such a terrific bit of TV that I can live with that, but other fans of the show sure are starting to complain about it.

• If it weren't for the occasional good scene from Maura Tierney, Parminder Nagra and Linda Cardellini, there would be absolutely no reason to watch ``ER'' these days. Even John Leguizamo is floundering as the new doc.

• Setting aside the anchor issue, you have to like the fact that the new, post-Peter Jennings ``World News Tonight'' will offer a live, updated version for the West Coast starting Jan. 2. The network newscasts often feel really stale by the time they hit the airwaves in our time zone.

• In the same week last month, ``Arrested Development'' and ``Kitchen Confidential'' got the ax from Fox while ABC's ``Freddie'' and CBS's ``Out of Practice'' got full seasons. Ain't no justice in that.

• I'm not sure it's going to be a big hit, but based on the pilot, CBS's new ``Love Monkey,'' which debuts Jan. 17, looks like a fun, engaging show with a terrific lead performance from Tom Cavanagh (``Ed'') as a music producer looking for romance.

• I have absolutely no conclusive evidence, but reading various tea leaves, you have to think this season of ``The West Wing'' is going to be its last. Point one: Viewership is down, way down. Point two: Rob Lowe says he is returning as Sam Seaborn for the season's final episode -- which practically screams ``The End.''

• Best new show during November sweeps? The Cartoon Network's ``The Boondocks,'' based on the Aaron McGruder comic strip. This is one funny show.

• I'm not getting involved in the ``is `Curb Your Enthusiasm' having a bad year?'' debate. Much as I admire the comedy, its tone and attitude have never been my cup of the caustic. The question may be moot anyway, since the show's recent ``season finale'' looked an awful lot like a series finale.

• My new late-night default, now that ``Nightline'' is a shadow of its former self: ``The Colbert Report'' on Comedy Central. Funny stuff and a good match with ``The Daily Show.''

• You would think that since Fox's now-canceled ``Reunion'' will remain on the air until early February, the producers could wrap up the murder mystery that is the show's main story line. But noooooo. The creators say the series was designed to go 22 episodes, not 13, and the resolution is too complex and involves too many as-yet-unintroduced characters to shoehorn into the last episode. So viewers are just going to be left hanging.

• In the six years I've been doing this job, there's never been a spectacular train wreck quite like this season's NBC schedule. Not even on ABC after the collapse of ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.''

• I can think of worse ideas than Katie Couric taking over the CBS News anchor chair once held by Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, but not many. Couric has many virtues as a broadcaster, but none of them immediately translates into the gravitas and authority needed for the anchor job.

• Although I hate to admit it, maybe the executives at the WB were right when they moved ``Smallville'' and ``Everwood'' to Thursdays -- a schedule shift that looked really, really stupid a few months back. Now, the network is actually drawing an audience on TV's most lucrative advertising night.

• Speaking of mistakes: Yeah, I was one of the few TV writers to say kind things about the WB's ``Related'' when it made its debut. What was I thinking?

• ``The O.C.'' is looking more and more like a 1 1/2-season wonder -- in Year 3. The show just hasn't had any real pop this year.

• And finally: I've probably gone to this well way too often, but . . . can we please show some love for UPN's ``Veronica Mars,'' the best series on TV too few people are watching? How about this? Everybody who can prove they tuned in this week gets a free holiday turkey. Oh, never mind. My editors say that isn't in the budget.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/columnists/charlie_mccollum/13387974.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

A Critical View:
Pure Elton is key to “Piano”

*** (out of four)

By David Bianculli New York Daily News TV Editor Monday, December 12th, 2005

"Elton John: The Red Piano," the name of both tonight's NBC special and the singer's current concert show at Caesars Palace, turns out to be a fairly accurate piece of co-star billing.

Other than Elton and his red piano, and some projected films and oversized stage props, there's not much else in the mix.

Not that there needs to be.

Oh, the band behind Elton John provides solid musical support, and even takes the highest notes on the harmony vocals, for six of the hour's eight songs.

But in NBC's one-hour version of "The Red Piano" (at 8 PM ET/PT), there's no effort to tart up the songs with Las Vegas, or even Broadway, dancers and other stage personnel.

It's a slight disappointment, for example, that during the opening "Bennie and the Jets" number, there are no imposingly tall showgirls acting out the song as visual aids, strutting in their "electric boots" and "mohair suits."

After all, this is a Vegas show.

The Vegas audience, though, seems to love every minute of it. They applaud whenever Elton stands up from his piano stool - and on one song, I swear they applaud a key change.

Reaction shots show some female audience members singing along with every word, and wiping away tears of excitement.

Then again, the same type of reaction shots were visible at last weekend's live Showtime TV concert by Eminem.

Since NBC viewers aren't paying the Caesars admission fee, it's a bit churlish to complain that all the extracurricular energy in "The Red Piano" comes from music-video-type films projected in giant wraparound screens above the pianist, or from neon lights and giant inflated legs, hot dogs and ice cream cones.

And fans can't be let down by the show's set list, which contains seven classic Elton John-Bernie Taupin collaborations and one cover ("Pinball Wizard," which Elton sang in Ken Russell's movie version of the Who rock opera "Tommy").

Outlandish fashion photographer and director David LaChapelle provides the videos accompanying most of the songs.

"Daniel" brings to the forefront the song's wounded war-veteran theme; "Rocket Man" recycles Justin Timberlake's impersonation of a young Elton, and "Candle in the Wind" uses photo-shoot footage and other outtakes to return the song to the source of its original inspiration, Marilyn Monroe.

The biggest visual effect of the night, though, comes when Elton John is upstaged by kaleidoscopic repeating images of Pamela Anderson - dressed in white boots, a boa and a few centimeters of material short of a wardrobe malfunction - pole dancing to the tune of "The Bitch is Back."

Director Dave Mallet chooses his camera angles and edits very judiciously, but leaves enough to preserve the hour's most Vegas-worthy moment.

The remaining numbers are "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and Elton's signature tune, "Your Song" - which, like "Candle in the Wind," he performs for this occasion unaccompanied by the band.

Almost all the songs come from the salad days of the 38-year collaboration between Elton and Taupin, but the audience didn't seem at all tired of them.

Neither did the man performing them, which is much more to the point - and is what makes "The Red Piano" a satisfying TV special.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/v-pfriendly/story/373916p-317879c.html

CBS Inks Content Deal With Mobile Provider Amp'd

By Jay Sherman TVWeek.com December 12, 2005

CBS said Monday that it has struck an agreement with Amp'd Mobile to distribute CBS and UPN content through the wireless provider's cellphones.

Amp'd will carry behind-the-scenes footage, previews and interviews from a number of CBS prime-time series, including "CSI: NY," "The King of Queens," "Numb3rs" and "Late Show with David Letterman." The pact also includes a number of UPN programs, including "America's Next Top Model," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Girlfriends." Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement comes on the eve of Amp'd's launch of its cellular service later this year. The company's aims to take advantage of the convergence taking place between entertainment content and broadband wireless technology and target the youth market.

Digital TV Info for all 210 Nielsen DMAs

The people at HDTV Magazine have supplied this link. (It is also listed in post 4 at the top of this thread.) It tells who in each market is broadcasting digitally, from where and with how much power:

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/programming/broadcast.php

FCC’s Martin Asked To Re-Examine Retransmission consent rules

By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

Eight members of the House energy & Commerce Committee have sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asking him to take a new look at retransmission consent as the FCC reconsiders the economics of family-friendly tiers and a la carte cable.

Martin said two weeks ago that an initial FCC study putting the kibosh on a la carte from an economic standpoint was flawed and one sided and that the commission was coming out with new one that suggests it may be bottom-line as well as family friendly.

In a letter dated Monday (Dec. 12), Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and six other members wrote of their concerns that retrans deals--in which broadcasters negotiate compensation for carriage of their TV stations on cable--have helped drive the bundling of family-friendly and unfriendly channels.

Big broadcast groups also frequently have co-owned cable nets that become part of package station/cable channel deals.

"As you know," they wrote, "the Committee on Energy & Commerce, at the request of Representative Nathan Deal, requested the initial study as a part of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004."

"The purpose of the study was to assist the Committee’s effort to better understand the costs and benefits of the current regulatory regime which governs programming and its delivery to consumers.

"In particular, claims have been made that retransmission consent agreements allow the tying of family friendly channels to those undeniably inappropriate for children and raises rates for consumers.

"We have heard that some networks mandate that to gain carriage for children’s programming often requires carriage of adult content on the same tier.

"That situation seems questionable at best and may be one of the core reasons our constituents are not satisfied with their viewing options."

"Consequently, our goal is to investigate whether today’s market structure provides consumers with the best mechanism possible to satisfy their ability to protect their families from objectionable content as well as to help control the prices they pay."

The legislators, which, according to a Deal Deputy Chief of Staff Todd Smith, also included John Shimkus (R-Ill.), Ted Strickland (D-Ohio), Charles Norwood (R-Ga.), Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.), Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.), and Charles Bass (R-N.H.) concluded: "An accurate and unbiased report from the Commission will greatly assist us in our on-going efforts."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6290746

At least they're tacking on the "pricing" argument along with the "decency" argument. Although some might say (by some, I mean me) that the way we are being gouged, for content we could care less about, is the most indecent thing about the current situation.

CP,

I think the whole argument boils down to one simple point, how much will the channels I want cost me under ala carte? I support ala carte as a concept and I lean toward supporting it in actual use, even though I think I'll have to pay more for the wide array of channels I want if I try to keep them all. I can certainly delete over half the channels I currently receive, but there is no way I'll believe that will cut my cable bill in half, and I'm not even sure it will cut it at all.

If nothing else, I think the bundling that is currently being foisted on cable/sat will lessen, if not be banned outright. Unfortunately, without full ala carte, I'm not sure that won't end up costing us more in the short term.

I'm actually willing to pay more in the short term to get ala carte off the ground because I support paying for what I want while not subsidizing what others want, and I think prices will stabilize lower over time. ESPN, cartoon networks, alternate language channels, etc., have no appeal for me, so why should I have to pay to receive them?

Dave, a question.
I was looking at the Phoenix area digital TV map and see that Channel 15 broadcasts with about 10% of the digital power of the other stations. Do you get al Phoenix stations OTA well?
Thanks.

That does seem really low for such a high RF channel.

Yup. 73 kW, when everyone else is in the 800-1,00 range seems pretty low to me.

Here in LA, KABC is something like 160, with the other O&Os 650-1,000, (and I thought my antenna has gotten misaligned whern ABC went squirelly.)

To Promote a Cable Network, a Plan to Inundate the Internet

By STUART ELLIOTT The New York Times December 12, 2005

The MSNBC cable network plans to flood the Internet this week with its largest concentrated online pitch, running advertising on hundreds of Web sites and blogs. The cost of the campaign, to promote three prime-time programs, is estimated at just under $1 million.

MSNBC, owned by Microsoft and the NBC Universal division of General Electric, will promote the shows - with their hosts, Keith Olbermann, Rita Cosby and Joe Scarborough - in ads that are to start appearing tomorrow and continue all day Wednesday. Some ads will promote segments on the shows about life online, like how marketers sponsor "viral" video clips that consumers can forward to each other.

MSNBC will take over every pixel of ad space on Wednesday on three Web sites: newsweek.com, slate.com and washingtonpost.com. It is the first time the three sites will all run ads for the same sole advertiser on the same day, said Caroline Little, chief executive and publisher at Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, part of the Washington Post Company. "Consumers will see the campaign has a lot of oomph behind it," Ms. Little said.

MSNBC is also using search engine marketing, buying keywords on Google, like "viral videos." Computer users searching for articles with such words will see ads alongside their search results with links to MSNBC.com.

"We want to find out something we haven't known before," said Frank Radice, senior vice president for the East Coast office of the NBC Agency, the internal unit that works on behalf of networks like MSNBC, NBC and Sci Fi Channel. "Can we drive traffic from the Internet to the cable channel?"

Val Nichols, vice president for the creative services group at MSNBC, estimated the campaign would get 114 million viewings in total. Among the 800 blogs that will run the ads are Adrants, Althouse, Curbed, Daily Kos, Gothamist, IndieWire, Largehearted Boy, Talking Points Memo and TV Newser. Buying ads on 800 blogs is a major commitment to that fledgling medium. Budget Rent A Car bought ads last month on 177 blogs, and Audi bought ads this summer on 286. STUART ELLIOTT

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/technology/12msnbc.html?pagewanted=print

Dave, a question.
I was looking at the Phoenix area digital TV map and see that Channel 15 broadcasts with about 10% of the digital power of the other stations. Do you get all Phoenix stations OTA well?No, I use Cox Cable, but they get all the locals via OTA and the power output doesn't seem to be a problem. Also, I think that data may be out of date, but I'm not sure. Actually, FOX gives folks more problems than ABC. You would think Phoenix would be easy for OTA, but we have a lot of multipath problems and it takes some work to get OTA in some areas, and not necessarily the areas you would think. Also, some folks right below the transmitter mountain can't get 1 or 2 stations at all. Digital is so much different than analog. I could get one more channel OTA, UPN, but they aren't doing HD yet, so I'm quite happy with cable. We have a few folks doing OTA only and of course the D* folks are eager for HD LiL. :)

CP,

I think the whole argument boils down to one simple point, how much will the channels I want cost me under ala carte? I support ala carte as a concept and I lean toward supporting it in actual use, even though I think I'll have to pay more for the wide array of channels I want if I try to keep them all. I can certainly delete over half the channels I currently receive, but there is no way I'll believe that will cut my cable bill in half, and I'm not even sure it will cut it at all.

If nothing else, I think the bundling that is currently being foisted on cable/sat will lessen, if not be banned outright. Unfortunately, without full ala carte, I'm not sure that won't end up costing us more in the short term.

I'm actually willing to pay more in the short term to get ala carte off the ground because I support paying for what I want while not subsidizing what others want, and I think prices will stabilize lower over time. ESPN, cartoon networks, alternate language channels, etc., have no appeal for me, so why should I have to pay to receive them?

There's no question that if the cable nets attempt to maintain a constant revenue, that prices will go up (per channel prices). That constant revenue assumption is what's fueling these high estimates. Even the ESPN estimate of $15, while high (and used as a scare tactic), is based on the rough estimate that 20% of subs watch ESPN - and is probably pretty accurate to maintain revenue.

However, that is a bluff number that can't stand up to any deeper scrutiny. The fact is that approx. 20% of subs watch ESPN - but that is in its current state as a "free" channel. At $15 a month, they'd be lucky to get 10% to subscribe. So theoretically, the price would be raised to $30 - and they'd then be lucky to get 5%, etc., etc., etc.

They (as well as all channels) will have to reduce expenses to match the demand, or they will have to subsidize the programming in order to build demand.

If the powers that be determine that the cable nets have been unfairly reaching into our pockets (via the MSOs) in order to extract whatever funds required to fund new programming aquisition and new channel startups - the last thing that they should do is allow the cable nets to use projections that insure that they can maintain that "unearned" revenue.

If ESPN gets their $15 from the 20% - more power to them. But don't call any restructuring "not viable" just because there's no guarantee that ESPN will be able to extract $3 billion a year from the system.

I agree.

Just like it appears the cable "concession" to allow a family tier will probably be very expensive. That, of course, will "prove" that a la carte won't work.

I am encouraged by the letter eight members of the Commerce Committee sent to FCC Chairman Martin today asking him to revisit the is of retransmission consent rules. That is where the problem began -- with the networks holding up cable companies and forcing carriage of their cable channels in exchange for the retrans consent.

Really, would any cable company have bothered with MSNBC if GE-NBC didn't force them to? (Or before that America's Talking?)

Allow maybe one channel to be tied to retrans, and if it is, there would be no payment for carriage of the network signal. Get that roadblock removed, and a la carte will come rather easily.

But I must admit, I am stunned how fast this a la carte snowfall has turned into a blizzard. Two months ago I hoped for a la carte some day, now I believe it is inevitable within the next couple of years. People just aren't going to tolerate the government, in effect, allowing the cable.dbs and telco companies to charge them for channels they don't want. And, I am convinced, the FCC won't tolerate the cable companies gouging folks who choose a la carte.

I am sure those who choose a package of many channels will pay less per channel. I feel relatively sure that my own bill might drop...slightly. But the point is to allow the consumer to make the decision best for him or her, and not to have us all subsidizing channels we don't like, or even worse, find offensive for whatever reason.

No, I use Cox Cable, but they get all the locals via OTA and the power output doesn't seem to be a problem. Also, I think that data may be out of date, but I'm not sure. Actually, FOX gives folks more problems than ABC. You would think Phoenix would be easy for OTA, but we have a lot of multipath problems and it takes some work to get OTA in some areas, and not necessarily the areas you would think. Also, some folks right below the transmitter mountain can't get 1 or 2 stations at all. Digital is so much different than analog. I could get one more channel OTA, UPN, but they aren't doing HD yet, so I'm quite happy with cable. We have a few folks doing OTA only and of course the D* folks are eager for HD LiL. :)


Thanks for the reply Dave.

The cable offer seems to be meeting with some wariness.
Here is how Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal is reporting the maneuvering:

“…It remains to be seen whether the family-friendly tier idea will be as warmly embraced by consumers and programming companies. One of toughest issues will be how to define family-friendly channels at a time when many children's channels run programming aimed at more mature viewers in the evenings.

Furthermore, cable operators will face a balancing act in how appealing to make the family package: They must include enough channels to allow their family-friendly tiers to pass muster with regulators, but they may not want to make them so appealing that consumers might opt for them over a more expensive expanded-basic programming tier.

"It has to represent value to our customers," says Tom Simmons, vice president of public policy at Midcontinent Communications, a Sioux Falls, S.D.-based cable operator with about 200,000 customers. The company is looking at essentially eliminating any channels from its expanded basic package officials that could be considered offensive to its customers. "Programmers are going to have to make a case about why they should be in a family-friendly tier."

Some consumers who want the family package will have to initially pony up a few extra dollars to take advantage of the deal, since they'll need a set-top digital cable box to receive the channels. However, their monthly bill may not rise because the family tier would cost less.

Programmers, meanwhile, aren't too thrilled at the prospect of being moved around in various tiers of service. Cable networks usually have very specific deals with the operators that carry them that dictate whether they can be offered as part of what is known as expanded basic, which is the most popular platform with about 70 channels and an average monthly cost of about $45. Operators may face having to renegotiate deals with channels that they wish to make part of a family tier.

"Anyone who doesn't discuss this is stepping on a land mine," says one senior executive at a major cable programmer, who adds moving channels without the programmers' consent would be a "mistake."

Even defining what qualifies as a family-friendly channel will be tricky. Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon channel, the No. 1 cable network among children, would seem ideally suited for such a designation, but it has drawn the ire of some conservative groups who question the sexual orientation of "SpongeBob SquarePants," one of the network's biggest cartoon stars.

Having family in your name also may not make you a family-friendly channel. Walt Disney Co.'s ABC Family Channel could be a tough sell because it carries reruns of shows that can explore controversial issues. The show "Grounded for Life" is telecast weekday afternoons and this week's episodes include "Don't Fear the Reefer," "Smoke on the Daughter" and "I Saw Daddy Hitting Santa Claus."

Another question: Must a cable channel be kid-appropriate all day long, or simply from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., when the FCC says children are generally watching TV? "There is no set standard," says Maureen Huff, a spokeswoman for Bresnan Communications, a White Plains, N.Y.-based cable operator that has committed to offering a family package to its roughly 300,000 customers.

So with all those caveats, what would be available on a family-friendly tier of about 15 channels? One cable programming executive said it would likely include channels such as Food Network, Home & Garden Television, some Discovery Communications Channels such as Animal Planet or Discovery Kids and some animation channels. Whether such a package would be appealing to lawmakers or consumers remains to be seen.

Already, the parent-advocacy groups that have argued most strongly for a la carte programming are dismissing the new family bundles. "It's not going to work. It's not the right answer. The only solution is to let parents decide what family-friendly programming is. I don't think Hollywood should decide for parents what they're family should see," says L. Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council…”

There's no way ABC "Family" will stay on a family tier for long if they keep showing stuff like Alias.

Agreed.

Perhaps ABC should have changed the name of the channel.

Critic’s Notebook
The Journey of Leo McGarry

By Rich Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal

''The West Wing'' has been about a lot of people. President Bartlet, a little-seen figure in the series pilot, has constantly stepped center-stage. Josh has had a lot of emotional moments, and I hope we haven't seen the last of Toby.

But when we sit down to write the complete history of ''The West Wing,'' Leo should be at the center.

We saw that again Sunday night, where Leo was featured not only as a vice-presidential candidate but as the ultimate Democratic party pro, always the smartest guy in the room when the issue is politics, the one man who can validate anyone and end any argument.

Yes, there is a huge fantasy at work in the show, including the idea that someone with Leo's terrible past could end up getting the vice-presidential candidate. But even that selection played off the notion that, if anyone had to hold the hand of an underdog and maverick presidential nominee in a rough campaign, then Leo was the one to do it.

Can't say I really liked Sunday's episode, and not just because I'm watching it HD, which has been brutal to Mary McCormack. Entertaining stuff here and there, including Josh's tortured expression and Barlet's phone tantrum.

And every time John Spencer, who plays Leo, gets onscreenw with Martin Sheen as Bartlet, it's just a joy to watch.

But the campaign stories are still much more interesting than anything the White House has going now; the show keeps having to pound war drums, like a real-life president trying to get attention by starting a war somewhere.

So for all the wedding business, I wanted to be back in the rooms with Josh and Santos -- and, of course, Leo.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

If anyone thinks family friendly will take off in the procedural crime drama age we live in, I have one word for you : PAX!

More details on this sad story, posted earlier today:

"Daily Show" halts production following suicide

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - An employee of the Comedy Central program "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" has committed suicide, leading the network to suspend production of Monday night's episode of the program, a spokesman confirmed.

Bill Clarey, 25, took his own life over the weekend, according to the network. A former "Daily Show" intern, Clarey also worked as a receptionist at the program's offices in New York.

"Bill Clarey, a young staff member of 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,' passed away over the weekend. He was a wonderful and dedicated employee and all of us at Comedy Central and 'The Daily Show' are devastated by his loss. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends," the network said in a statement.

Comedy Central has sent grief counselors to the "Daily Show" set to help its employees, sources said, who first learned of the suicide upon coming to work Monday. The network was scheduled to shoot a week's worth of new episodes before shutting down for the final two weeks of the year. The network will air a "Daily Show" repeat instead of the regularly scheduled episode.

http://channels.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?id=2005121218230002276547&dt=20051212182300&w=RTR&coview=

Cable Relents on Channels for the Family

By KEN BELSON and GERALDINE FABRIKANT The New York Times December 13, 2005

Yielding to pressure from regulators, lawmakers and interest groups, the country's biggest cable companies say they expect to introduce packages of family-friendly channels as early as the first quarter of 2006.

Kyle McSlarrow, the head of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, which represents cable companies and programmers, told lawmakers yesterday that at least six cable companies, including the two largest, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, were developing packages of channels that would appeal to parents who want to shield their children from potentially offensive shows.

Mr. McSlarrow said each cable company would come up with its own family-oriented packages and that they would be purchased like other bundles. He did not say how much the bundles would cost and added that cable operators still must solve some technical problems and revisit their contracts with programmers.

The move is the latest effort by cable companies to head off pending legislation that might obligate them to block certain programming or sell channels to consumers on an à la carte basis. The cable industry has long opposed efforts to regulate its offerings and has argued that technology already in place lets parents filter out unwanted shows.

The industry has also fought calls from advocacy groups that want to pay only for the channels they want to watch. Cable operators say that the amount of programming would shrink if consumers bought only a few channels, because the most popular networks effectively subsidize the less popular ones.

But in recent weeks, Kevin J. Martin, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and several congressmen have pressured the cable industry to remedy the concerns of advocacy groups that oppose sex, violence and profanity on the airwaves.

In acceding to that pressure, the cable industry may have addressed the decency debate that has percolated at least since Janet Jackson's breast was bared on national television during the halftime show at the 2004 Super Bowl. But the cable industry may have unwittingly taken a step toward offering more à la carte programming, not less.

The problem, industry analysts say, is that one home's definition of family-friendly programming can be very different from another's. One family, for instance, may want to buy a bundle of cartoons, while another may want religious programs and yet another may not want violent movies.

For now, cable companies are expected to devise a few types of family packages to appease them. But inevitably, advocacy groups and lawmakers are expected to push cable companies to give consumers even more options to pick their channels.

Yesterday's announcement was a move by the cable industry "to fend off à la carte for as long as possible and wrap itself in the flag of family friendliness," said Ford Cavallari, an analyst at Adventis, a telecommunications consultant. "But the fraying of the family-friendly package could lead to an à la carte world."

The Parents Television Council, one of the loudest voices calling for à la carte programming, yesterday called the industry's offer to introduce family-friendly tiers a "red herring." The industry would determine what is family friendly and their control would be the equivalent of "the fox guarding the henhouse," said L. Brent Bozell, council president.

Mr. Cavallari said the splintering of family packages was just one reason cable companies were likely to sell more programs on an à la carte basis in the future.

Already, major studios like Disney are selling individual programs for the Apple iPod. Yesterday, Sprint Nextel said it would start streaming full-length movies to its customers' mobile phones for $6.95 a month.

Cable operators overseas have introduced an à la carte model and found that they have not lost money and that viewers prefer it, Mr. Cavallari said.

Still, the cable industry and television channels, which have been trying for months to head off calls for à la carte programming, are unlikely to give in easily. Cable network executives say à la carte offerings would make it harder to develop niche programming because there would not be enough subscribers to pay the cost. "C-Span could not survive," said Paul Colichman, the chief executive of "Here," a subscription video-on-demand service for gays and lesbians. "It is one thing to have a gay and lesbian à la carte channel with a community that is wealthy enough to support it. But other minority groups may not be so fortunate."

Still, skeptics argue that à la carte service will not save consumers money because they will end up paying almost as much for a handful of individual channels as they would for a standard plan of 60 or 70 channels.

Other executives, including Ken Solomon, the chief executive of the Tennis Channel, say that consumers will not want to choose a few channels from a list of hundreds and will end up choosing an existing package, just as they do now.

"If consumers had to sit down and choose the channels themselves, they would end up overwhelmed and be confused about the choices," he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/13/business/media/13cable.html?pagewanted=print

A Critical View:
“Nightline”: Like Gaul, Divided in 3 Parts

By Alessandra Stanley The New York Times

It is a little painful watching Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Martin Bashir on ABC's new "Nightline." They look like Kerensky's provisional government right before the October Revolution - well meaning but doomed.

Probably sooner than later, the 11:35 slot that Ted Koppel held on to for 25 years is bound to fall to a late-night entertainment show. And now, there is no real reason to bemoan that loss.

The new "Nightline" isn't terrible, and some of the more recent segments have been quite good. But over all, the revised show is surprisingly ordinary, a flimsy, fast-moving magazine show like "20/20" that omits the kind of sustained, intelligent inquiry that turned Mr. Koppel's "Nightline" into a landmark.

Most nights, the half-hour is divided into three parts to give all three anchors a chance to be on air, which results in short, hurried segments - even on nights when one of them is off on assignment. There isn't much even Mr. Koppel could do in a five-minute interview, but his successors don't try very hard. Ms. McFadden kept looking down at what seemed to be notes during her perfunctory interview with Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In the premiere show, Ms. McFadden appeared to cling to preselected questions about a new Vatican document banning homosexuals from ordination, even when one of her guests, a gay Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Fred Daley, said, "And so, it's, I think, a sad day for the many gay priests and bishops and cardinals of the church who are struggling to live good lives."

Many gay cardinals? Really? It's the kind of remark that begs amplification, but Ms. McFadden was so wedded to her script and time limit she did not appear to even hear it.

ABC News clearly seeks security in numbers. Unable to decide on a single person with sufficient pizazz to replace Peter Jennings, who died last summer, the network settled on two anchors: Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff. It is a compliment to Mr. Koppel that his bosses figured it would take three people to replace him. But it was fuzzy math, because if Mr. Koppel proved anything it was that less is more. His was a bare-bones operation, with visual effects that were about as dazzling as radio. Yet Mr. Koppel had a gift for asking incisive questions in a conversational tone, then zeroing in on tendentious or contradictory replies with a sneaky follow-up question.

"Nightline's" new anchors are more like United Nations interpreters: they smoothly ask questions, nod knowingly at the reply, no matter how fatuous, then move onto the next topic on their scripts.

Mr. Moran, who began his first week reporting from Baghdad, tries a little harder, but not much more effectively. He recently did a portrait of the Iraqi deputy prime minister Ahmad Chalabi. Mr. Moran tried to prompt him to admit he misled the United States government about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, but lacked the time and determination to break the old pro's tough hide. Instead, he resorted to sarcasm. When Mr. Chalabi said, "We liberated Iraq," Mr. Moran snapped back: "We? You, and what army?"

Mr. Bashir, most famous for his unctuous, unsettling 2003 interview with Michael Jackson, has so far chosen to lie low, doing heartwarming feature pieces on a team of deaf football players and Christian themes in the movie "Narnia."

Some of the best reports have been from seasoned ABC correspondents. Last week, Brian Ross, ABC's chief investigative correspondent, was on "Nightline" with an exclusive look at a security-camera tape of a terrorist attack in 2004 on an American consulate in Saudi Arabia that took the lives of five consular employees. The contents of the tape and its significance could have easily filled the full half-hour.

Ms. McFadden experimented with a version of Mr. Koppel's famous town meetings, devoting last Friday's episode to "Mothers of the Fallen," a gathering of women whose sons have died in Iraq; some support the war, others do not.

There are few sights sadder than a bereaved parent, and Ms. McFadden did a good job of handling the raw emotion in the room, but she didn't quite match Mr. Koppel's skill at eliciting debate as well as feeling.

It is of course a bit churlish to compare newcomers to a revered predecessor; a bit like Mrs. Danvers snakily reminding the heroine of "Rebecca" that she is not at all like "the first Mrs. de Winter." But at its best, "Nightline" was different from all other shows. Now, it is too much like everything else.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/13/arts/television/13stan.html?pagewanted=print

TV critic Rich Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal needs our input. Please email him with your suggestions.

(Personally, I'd ,love it if you would let him know you get to read him [and pretty regularly!] here at "Hot Off The Press".)

If you'd also send him the url, that would be really nice of you:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=440744

Now, enough with the plugs, here is his blog note asking for help:

Critic’s Notebook
Great Team Players

By Rich Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal TV blog

I'm working on a list of great supporting performers on TV shows. Feel free to contribute in the comment section below. (And hello to everyone who has linked over from TV Tattle.)

Here are the rules. I'm not interested in lead characters, but supporting ones. So, if a show is called ''Everybody Hates Chris,'' don't suggest the guy who plays Chris.

I'm only interested in characters/actors on shows that premiered this year (for example, Neil Patrick Harris on ''How I Met Your Mother'') or brand-new characters in returning shows (example: Charisma Carpenter on ''Veronica Mars''). Although the people should work well in an ensemble, they get extra points if you're watching a show for them instead of for the lead.

Among the people I've been thinking about are Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold, who play Chris's parents on ''Everybody Hates Chris,'' Ethan Suplee and Jaime Pressly on ''My Name Is Earl,'' Harris, Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan on ''How I Met Your Mother'' and Carpenter on ''Veronica Mars.'' Also, everyone on ''Kitchen Confidential'' except Bradley Cooper -- not that he's bad, just that he's the lead.

And yes, I know that there's a ''Buffy'' all-supporting squad there, with Hannigan, Carpenter and Nicholas Brendon from ''KC.'' You might even throw in David Boreanaz, who is very good on ''Bones,'' but is kind of a co-lead (prominently pictured in ''Bones'' promotional material). I'd give more consideration to Michaela Conlin, Eric Millegan and T.J. Thyne on the show.

You can either endorse some of those choices in your comments, or offer suggestions of your own. Please include why you're making your picks. I may then use some of your comments in the story -- duly credited, of course. You can also e-mail ideas to me at rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

Its time again for my periodic reminder of something I think you will really find interesting:

Check It Out!

If you haven’t yet heard AVS Radio, which offers two new shows a week, what are you waiting for?

It is produced by The HTGuys for AVS Forum and offers news, interviews, and HT topics that are sure to make you a weekly listener.

This week show is described by AVS Founder David Bott:

"We have talked a lot about our desire to store our media content on a central server and deliver it to other areas of the home. Solutions exist that can get the job done but they are usually very expensive. Today we highlight four reasonably priced products that claim to be able play audio and video from a network connected PC (or Mac)."

So now that your interest has hopefully been piqued, grab the headphones, sit back and click here to listen:

http://www.htguys.com/audio/2005/HDTV-2005-12-12.mp3

Critic’s Notebook
Midseason's greetings!

By Marisa Guthrie The New York Daily News Monday, December 12th, 2005

It's midseason, and the broadcast networks are gearing up for their second acts - good news for viewers, because it brings relief from the scourge of reruns that can clog the winter months.

The midseason is when networks pull tired series, rest the strong ones for later in the year and try shows to anchor next fall.

Here's a sample of what's ahead:

A B C
• "Dancing With the Stars," Jan. 5, 8 p.m. Despite producers' promises of A-list talent, the contestants for the second cycle of this show are suspiciously similar in pedigree to those of the first season. This time we'll watch Tatum O'Neal, Jerry Rice, George Hamilton, Tia Carrere, Nick Lachey's younger brother Drew, Lisa Rinna, Giselle Fernandez, the WWE's Stacy Keibler, ESPN's Kenny Mayne and rap star Romeo.

• "Crumbs," Jan. 12, 9:30 p.m. Jane Curtin and William Devane play divorced parents of grown sons (Fred Savage and Eddie McClintock). Did we mention that Mom has recently been released from psychiatric care?

• "Emily's Reasons Why Not," Jan. 9, 9 p.m. Heather Graham stars as as a quirky single woman whose bad choices in men have given her a major case of commitment-phobia.

• "In Justice," Jan. 1, 10 p.m. Kyle MacLachlan plays an oily lawyer on the righteous side of the system, working to free the wrongly convicted.

C B S

• "Love Monkey," Jan. 17, 10 p.m. Tom Cavanagh plays a a music executive who finds that dating in New York City is not for the faint of heart.

• "The Jenna Elfman Show," Jan. 23, 9:30 p.m. Elfman plays a single workaholic trying to figure out what goes on in the minds of the men in her life, including Dad (Dabney Coleman).

N B C

• "Four Kings," Jan. 5, 8:30. This sitcom stars Seth Green, Shane McRae, Josh Cooke and Todd Grinnell as friends sharing a big house in New York

• "Book of Daniel," Jan. 6, 9 p.m. This limited-run series stars Aidan Quinn as an Episcopalian minister with a ne'er-do-well brother, a gay son and a monkey on his back. He also talks to a guy calling himself Jesus. The show has a two-hour premiere.

UPN

• "South Beach," Jan. 11, 8 p.m. Jennifer Lopez adds TV-series producer to her résumé with this drama. It chronicles the adventures of pals Marcus Coloma and Chris Johnson, who ditch grimy Brooklyn for sizzling Miami.

• "Get This Party Started," Jan. 24, 9 p.m. Kristin Cavallari ("Laguna Beach") is milking her 15 minutes, hosting this reality show with Ethan Erickson ("Extra"). The two shadow an elite team of event planners as they seek out deserving folks in dire need of a party. Call it "Extreme Makeover: Keg-Stand Edition."

Fox

• "Skating With Celebrities," Jan. 23, 8 p.m. The only truly new midseason offering on Fox will be the "Dancing With the Stars" ripoff on ice, which starts on a Monday but moves to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Jan. 25.

• "24" and "American Idol" return in January, and "Prison Break" comes back in March.

The WB


• "Beauty and the Geek," Jan. 12, 9 p.m. A new crop of pocket-protector-wearing pointyheads gets a chance to rub shoulders with intellectually challenged pretties when this reality show returns to the WB.

The network has yet to announce premiere dates for "Bedford Diaries," about college students in a sexuality class; "Pepper Dennis," starring Rebecca Romijn as a bungling television reporter; the Jerry Bruckheimer comedy "Modern Men," and the Jane Leeves sitcom "Misconceptions."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/v-pfriendly/story/373914p-317876c.html

Dick Wolf lightens the legal load

By Nellie Andreeva The Hollywood Reporter Dec. 13, 2005

"Law & Order" chief Dick Wolf is taking a lighter approach to the legal system, teaming with "My Wife & Kids" co-creator Don Reo for a comedy project for NBC.

Former prosecutor Marcia Clark of O.J. Simpson trial fame and writer-producer Cathy LePard (WB Network's "7th Heaven") also are attached to the show, produced by Wolf Films and NBC Universal Television Studio.

The half-hour, which has received a script commitment, is set at a small courthouse in the Los Angeles area and centers on a hot up-and-coming prosecutor sent there by the district attorney who perceives her as threat and a public defender who has seen better days.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001659060

“Bones” star aims for realism

By William Keck USA TODAY

NEWHALL, Calif. -As non-stop gunfire pounds eardrums at the Oak Tree Gun Club, a firing range 40 minutes north of Los Angeles, a handsome father lifts his unflinching 31/2-year-old son up onto his shoulders. "This is a hobby," he tells the boy as he points to the shooters. "These gentleman are safe and responsible adults."

Dad is 36-year-old TV heartthrob David Boreanaz, who played Sarah Michelle Gellar's bloodsucking lover boy, Angel, for seven years on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its Angel spinoff. Boreanaz now helps identify bodies and catch killers as FBI special agent Seeley Booth on Fox's Bones (Tuesday, 8 ET/PT).

Like Angel, who once terrorized Europe as a murderous vampire, Booth, a former government sniper, is atoning for past sins. His intention: to catch as many murderers as the number of lives he took.

As Boreanaz's son, Jaden, climbs rocks under the supervision of Boreanaz's nanny, assistant and publicist, the actor takes position behind a barricade and aims a .40-caliber Glock 35 handgun at a target. To authenticate his role, Boreanaz trains with real-life homicide detective Mike Grasso of Nine-One-One film technical advisers.

Grasso, who also has helped Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Nicolas Cage fire guns, says, "Schwarzenegger can really shoot, but David has picked it up faster than everybody else."

As Grasso positions Boreanaz's body, he tells him, "Bring your elbow into your body and straighten out your left leg. ... You want a minimum amount of your body exposed to the target."

"The whole trick," Grasso explains, "is for David to look like he's got 15 years' experience doing this. The gun should just be second nature."

Tuesday night's (Dec. 13th) episode of Bones will introduce Booth's 4-year-old son, Parker. To up the stakes during training, Grasso advised Boreanaz to envision a scenario in which his own son was in jeopardy. Primed with that discomforting incentive, Boreanaz hit his target dummy between the eyebrows for the first time. "Mike made it personal for me," Boreanaz says. "I was shaking the gun a lot more, but it worked."

Boreanaz is trying to ensure that Jaden adopts the same values he learned growing up in Philadelphia with his TV weatherman dad, Dave, and mom, Patti. "I want to teach him, like my father taught me, to respect people and be responsible. Bringing him here today is not about going to a shooting range; it's about being with his dad."

On several occasions, Boreanaz has had to stand up in public to protect the honor of Jaden's mom: Boreanaz's wife of four years, Jaime Bergman, 30, a former Playboy Playmate and St. Pauli Beer girl who now works as a Prudential real estate agent and comedian. They met five years ago at a Valentine's Day party. If anyone disrespects her, Boreanaz says, he "deals with it as any Italian would. I fight with fists, not guns. I'm a lover, not a fighter."

But Boreanaz has not ruled out the possibility of purchasing a gun for personal protection. "Doing this role is research in getting an understanding of how comfortable I am with a gun in my hand. You want to protect your family from anything that comes into your home so that your child is there the next day and not an intruder."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-12-12-boreanaz_x.htm

The TV Column
Cable, Getting in a Family-Friendly Way

By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 13, 2005; C07

File under Irony: On the day that six of the country's cable operators, including one of its largest, announced they would offer "family-friendly" tiers of networks to subscribers by spring, the numbers came out on WB's broadcast of the Seventh Annual Family Television Awards.

Not pretty.

It was very likely the least watched original broadcast of last week. Though, in fairness, its audience of 2.6 million is up considerably from last year's 1.6 million.

The Family Television Awards are put on by a bunch of advertisers who call themselves the Family Friendly Forum and give seed money to develop scripts for programming they deem family friendly.

The effort has resulted in some successful shows, such as "The Gilmore Girls," but also some ratings stinkers, such as "Savages," about a single dad trying, without much result, to raise his sons, and "Clubhouse," about a teenage boy who takes a job as a batboy for a professional baseball team in New York.

This year's honorees included Reba McEntire, star of WB's "Reba"; Jim Belushi, of ABC's "According to Jim"; ABC's drama series "Lost"; CBS's comedy "King of Queens" (still chuckling over that episode in which Kevin James accidentally stapled the family-friendly jewels to his leg); WB's prime-time soap "7th Heaven"; UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris"; CBS's reality series "Amazing Race" (which got lots of press earlier this year when contestant Jonathan Baker routinely abused his wife verbally and shoved her when she picked up his backpack, causing her to stumble); and the TNT teleflick "The Wool Cap. "

Yesterday, Time Warner Cable was among the companies that said they would offer "family choice" tiers, probably by spring. Comcast, the other of the country's two largest cable operators, said yesterday it was mulling the whole family-friendly-tier thing.

These cable companies are going to offer, or are considering, the tier concept in hopes it will calm some in the government who advocate allowing viewers to order cable networks "a la carte."

The news was unveiled in Washington to the Senate Commerce Committee by Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which is the trade group for the big cable industry.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Comedy Central, looking for ways to create the missing "bumpers" for the aborted third season of "Chappelle's Show," may ask some people who appeared on the show to fill in for the comic.

Traditionally, Dave Chappelle appeared onstage to kick off each episode. But none of those bumpers had been shot for the third season before Chappelle took a powder.

So the cable network is pondering whether to do "Chappelle's missing" bumpers, using show regulars. Among those being discussed: Chappelle's writing partner Neal Brennan and Charlie "Eddie's Brother" Murphy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Good news, you 20 fans of ABC's "Night Stalker." Touchstone -- the TV producing division of Disney, which also owns ABC -- has sold rerun rights to the seven episodes the broadcast network already aired to cable's Sci Fi Channel.

Here's the good part: Sci Fi also gets to premiere the three as-yet-unseen episodes.

Here's the bad part: starting next summer.

Here's the badder part: If, by episode No. 10, you expect answers to any of the show's pressing questions -- Who or what is committing these heinous crimes? Why do some victims end up with a strange red mark in the shape of a snake on their hands? Why does Kolchak always have a sexy if skeptical fellow reporter in tow? (oh wait, we can actually answer that one) -- think again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Martha Stewart has gone down in flames in prime time but will live on in daytime syndication.

"Martha" will be back for a second season in the fall, NBC Universal announced yesterday, having already sold it to markets accounting for more than 90 percent of the country.

"The spontaneity of working in front of a participatory audience is exciting for me and the viewers," Stewart said in a prepared statement that oozed spontaneity and excitement.

"In addition, I have the pleasurable challenge of teaching many new things to a daytime audience, which craves great solutions, ideas, recipes and crafts."

Lacking the pleasurable challenge of teaching the prime-time audience great solutions, ideas, recipes and crafts, Martha's edition of ”The Apprentice" flopped, averaging fewer than 7 million viewers a week. It will be put out of our misery Dec. 21.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

ABC News has named "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos its chief Washington correspondent.

This means he will show up more often on "World News Tonight," "Nightline" and "Good Morning America."

He will also oversee the network's coverage of Congress; reporter Linda Douglass, who had that responsibility, is leaving that post.

But most important, ABC News was pitching yesterday, the new title gives Stephanopoulos the same stature as his Sunday morning competitors. Bob Schieffer is chief Washington correspondent for CBS News and Tim Russert is Washington bureau chief for NBC News.

Now if he can just get in line with his Sunday morning competitors' ratings.

"This Week" finishes third in the ratings, but division President David Westin noted to the Associated Press that the show had its best November sweeps performance in three years. Which is interesting because we thought that over at ABC News, they didn't even know when the sweeps were.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121201564_pf.html

Nice to see you posting again-- it has been a while -- I though we might have lost you!Nah. I've just been too busy watching TV :-)

Xesdeeni

Verizon Pops Texas Six-Pack

By Linda Haugsted Multichannel.com

Parts of six more Texas communities will see the launch of Verizon Communications Inc.'s Verizon FiOS TV Monday.

The telephone company is expanding into areas of communities closest to its initial market, Keller. Areas that can order service as of Monday are northern Carrollton, eastern Coppell, central Flower Mound, northern Fort Worth, northern Irving and central Lewisville.

Verizon said it will now pass 400,000 north Texas households by the end of 2006, or 33% of its landline customers in the state.

New markets in 2006 will be Allen, Colleyville, Denton, Double Oak, Garland, Grapevine, Hebron, Highland Village, Lucas, Murphy, Parker, Plano, Rowlett, Sachse (where the rollout is governed by a local franchise negotiated before this year's passage of statewide operating authority), Southlake, St. Paul, Westlake (also locally franchised) and Wylie.

The actual launch times will be based on local completion of the telco's fiber-to-the-premises network in each community.I don't have broadband at home yet [cue for everyone to gasp in horror]. I'm in one of the communities listed above, so FiOS is an option. But at $35/mo (for 5 Mbps), it's difficult to justify the cost when I go many days without even turning on my computer at home (when you use it all day at work, you tend to spend more time with your family at home).

Anyway, I'm curious whether the alleged 400,000 number is the number of homes that COULD get FiOS, or the number that DO get it.

And we'll see what kind of reaction I get from Verizon when I try to sign up for DSL at $15/mo (768Kbps, but still 15x what I get now with dialup). One of the notes in the FiOS info says they'll upgrade your land-line to fiber optics when you sign up for FiOS. There's no discount or other benefit, so why do I care?

Xesdeeni

So I tried to record The Grinch that Stole Christmas on the Cartoon Network last night. According to my TV guide (small g, from the newspaper), here in this thread, and on the PVR's schedule grid, it started at 7:00PM (central time). When I checked the recording, it was ending. They showed it at 6:30PM instead! Weird!

Xesdeeni

...Anyway, I'm curious whether the alleged 400,000 number is the number of homes that COULD get FiOS, or the number that DO get it...Xesdeeni

Homes passed is a term that means potential customers, not actual.

Critic’s Notebook
Much to watch...

By Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News Posted on Tue, Dec. 13, 2005

So much TV, so little time:

• Yet another thing we learned from CBS' "Survivor": No matter how hungry you are, you never eat the sacrificial chicken.

Or at least don't be the one who suggests eating it.

Yes, disrespected Mayan deities, not the contestants whose bodies she stepped over on her way to the final two, cost Glenolden, Delaware County, native Stephenie LaGrossa "Survivor's" $1 million top prize on Sunday night.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

• Speaking of Stephenie, I'm with Newark Star-Ledger critic Alan Sepinwall, who last week begged, in an "open letter" to "Survivor" exec producer Mark Burnett, that he "please, please, please never bring back another former contestant to compete a second time, because it always makes me like them less."

Couldn't have said it better (OK, I might have been less polite), but after Sunday, I somehow doubt it's going to be a problem ever again.

True, Steph's "Survivor: Palau" disappointments took on a different cast in "Survivor: Guatemala" - could she be (gasp) just a sore loser? - but if she thought she had a target on her back this time, just imagine what would happen to the next returnee, now that someone with a second chance has actually made it to the final two.

• "Survivor" contestant I'd least like to see recycled: North Jersey hotel doorman - and all-around boor - Judd Sergeant.

• NBC's "The West Wing," once one of the most popular shows on television, has morphed into one of those pitiful "best shows you're not watching" since moving from Wednesdays.

Still, on any given Sunday night, it's a pretty good hour, of which several minutes were devoted this week to the political rite of passage known as the Philly cheesesteak.

No mention of Pat's or Geno's, but at least candidate Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) was warned to skip the Swiss - there's Swiss? - and go for the Cheez Whiz.

It might have been better, though, if the writers had also skipped the reference to Eagles fans.

Or saved it for a better year.

• I don't think I can repeat Tina Fey's "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update" line about "Brokeback Mountain," but I did get a kick out of the Upper Darby High grad blaming it on Dad: "That joke was sent to me by my 72-year-old father, Don Fey."

Go, Don.

• I haven't watched much "SNL" this season - more and more it feels like a party where I don't know anyone - but Saturday's show was a perfect example of why they keep asking host Alec Baldwin back: He's not only funnier than most hosts, but when he's there, everyone around him seems funnier, too.

• Can't stop watching ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (no relation, really). And even when I'm asking myself if it's possible for surgical residents to hook up this often - and in the hospital, no less - I'm believing everything I see because of Dr. Miranda "The Nazi" Bailey (Chandra Wilson), whose on-the-job pregnancy should have working mothers everywhere wincing in recognition.

Given what they're up to on "ER" these days, she may be the only TV doctor we can still trust.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//13394815.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Well, count me as a potential, but not an actual. I should have guessed that if they offer FiOS, they wouldn't also offer DSL (although their web page indicated they did). So it's $35/mo or no broadband. I guess 50Kbps it is.

I let their sales rep know I'd be interested in a slower and cheaper tier, and I e-mailed them the same feedback. I specifically mentioned that while $35/mo is certainly competitive with the alternatives, that's not who they are competing with for my $$$. They need to compete with my judgement of cost vs. worth (use). $15 sounded great. $20 would be OK. I might even deal with $25, depending on the speed. But $35/mo for their service, or $40/mo for cable, no matter how fast, isn't worth it to me. I have broadband and a CD burner at work, and I have dialup at home.

Xesdeeni

Times Square In HD!
Happy 2006, High Def Fans!

(ABC Press Release)

Mariah Carey, No. 1 Artist of 2005 Makes History by Becoming First Singer to Perform Live from New York on the Program Since “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” Inception 34 Years Ago

History will be made when international superstar Mariah Carey performs live from Times Square on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006,” SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31 on the ABC Television Network. Her performance will mark the first time in the 34-year history of the program that a singer will perform from the famed New York landmark, before nearly a million fans in Times Square and millions more across the nation. Ms. Carey will join hosts Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest as the final minutes of the year are counted down, climaxed by the traditional ball drop.

What a way to cap off an amazing year! This year’s eight-time Grammy Award nominee, Mariah Carey is riding high on the success of her five-times RIAA platinum album, ”The Emancipation of Mimi,” which has sold more than seven million copies around the world and spun off three smash hit No. 1 singles -- “We Belong Together,” “Shake It Off” and “Don't Forget About Us.” In early September,

Mariah made music history when she became the first female lead artist in the 47 years of the Billboard Hot 100 ever to occupy the No. 1 and No. 2 chart positions in the same week, with “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off,” respectively. With 16 No. 1 career singles to her credit, Mariah is the only active artist with the hit-making potential to match or surpass the all-time records of the Beatles (with 20 No. 1’s) and Elvis Presley (18 No. 1’s).

Also appearing on the show is actress/recording star Hilary Duff who will preside over segments of the show from Hollywood and introduce top recording artists The Bangles, Chris Brown, Sean Paul, The Pussycat Dolls, Sugarland, 3 Doors Down and 311. Duff will also perform. Additionally, “Good Morning America Weekend’s” Marysol Castro will report on other happenings in and around NYC.

ABC’s special holiday programming that evening will include “Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006,” which will air from 10:00-11:00 p.m. (ET & PT), with “live” reports on the festivities in Times Square, a look back at the past year and highlights of some of the year’s biggest concert tours, including Duran Duran and Green Day. That will be followed by “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006, Part 1,” which airs from 11:35 p.m. – 1:05 a.m. (ET & PT) and features performances by all of the musical talent. Wrapping the night’s activities will be “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2006, Part 2,” which airs from 1:05 a.m. – 2:05 a.m. (ET & PT), featuring more hit songs from the musical acts.

The specials are presentations of dick clark productions, inc. Dick Clark, Allen Shapiro and Ryan Seacrest are the executive producers. Larry Klein produces and Barry Glazer directs. New York segments are directed by Bob McKinnon. Writer is Barry Adelman. Production designer is Bruce Ryan. Executive in charge of production is Bob Bardo. Executive in charge of talent is Amy Striebel. Fran La Maina is executive in charge. The specials will be broadcast in HDTV with stereo sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning.

Awards Season
Golden Globe TV Nominations

From the 2005 NOMINATIONS PRESS RELEASE here are the nominees in the TV categories:

The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place Monday, January 16, 2006 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with a live telecast airing on NBC at 8 PM ET (tape delayed in the west). Here are this year’s nominees in the television categories:

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
a. COMMANDER IN CHIEF (ABC)
b. GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC)
c. LOST (ABC)
d. PRISON BREAK (FOX)
e. ROME (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
a. PATRICIA ARQUETTE MEDIUM
b. GLENN CLOSE THE SHIELD
c. GEENA DAVIS COMMANDER IN CHIEF
d. KYRA SEDGWICK THE CLOSER
e. POLLY WALKER ROME

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
a. PATRICK DEMPSEY GREY’S ANATOMY
b. MATTHEW FOX LOST
c. HUGH LAURIE HOUSE
d. WENTWORTH MILLER PRISON BREAK
e. KIEFER SUTHERLAND 24

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a. CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
b. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
c. ENTOURAGE (HBO)
d. EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (UPN)
e. MY NAME IS EARL (NBC)
f. WEEDS (SHOWTIME).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a. MARCIA CROSS DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
b. TERI HATCHER DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
c. FELICITY HUFFMAN DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
d. EVA LONGORIA DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
e. MARY-LOUISE PARKER WEEDS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a. ZACH BRAFF SCRUBS
b. STEVE CARELL THE OFFICE
c. LARRY DAVID CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
d. JASON LEE MY NAME IS EARL
e. CHARLIE SHEEN TWO AND A HALF MEN

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. EMPIRE FALLS (HBO)
b. INTO THE WEST (TNT)
c. LACKAWANNA BLUES (HBO)
d. SLEEPER CELL (SHOWTIME)
e. VIVA BLACKPOOL (BBC AMERICA)
f. WARM SPRINGS (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. HALLE BERRY THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD
b. KELLY MacDONALD THE GIRL IN THE CAFÉ
c. S. EPATHA MERKERSON LACKAWANNA BLUES
d. CYNTHIA NIXON WARM SPRINGS
e. MIRA SORVINO HUMAN TRAFFICKING

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. KENNETH BRANAGH WARM SPRINGS
b. ED HARRIS EMPIRE FALLS
c. JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS ELVIS
d. BILL NIGHY THE GIRL IN THE CAFÉ
e. DONALD SUTHERLAND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. CANDICE BERGEN BOSTON LEGAL
b. CAMRYN MANHEIM ELVIS
c. SANDRA OH GREY’S ANATOMY
d. ELIZABETH PERKINS WEEDS
e. JOANNE WOODWARD EMPIRE FALLS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. NAVEEN ANDREWS LOST
b. PAUL NEWMAN EMPIRE FALLS
c. JEREMY PIVEN ENTOURAGE
d. RANDY QUAID ELVIS
e. DONALD SUTHERLAND COMMANDER IN CHIEF

http://www.hfpa.org/news/id/13

Critic’s Notebook
Interrupted seasons can be annoying, can't they?

By Mike Brantley Mobile Register Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Invariably, just when you get into the groove of a favorite TV show, along comes a few weeks of reruns to douse your interest and frustrate your newly re-established viewing habits.

As I explained to a inquiring reader who telephoned me the other day with worry that her favorite show had been canceled, they only make 22 of these things in a year -- at most. By my count, that's 30 weeks without fresh episodes for most shows. It's worse on cable, where an original series may deliver barely more than a baker's dozen of new episodes in a season and the gaps between seasons can stretch beyond a year.

Just ask anyone awaiting the new episodes of "The Sopranos." (They're coming in March on HBO.)

But I know it's frustrating to have so many preemptions and reruns during the course of a season. I'd like to watch a new episode of ABC's "Commander in Chief" tonight, for example, but there won't be another one on the air until Jan. 15.

At least you can figure on reruns being banished during the ratings sweeps months of November, February and May. The summer sweeps period during July is less predictable.

One thing good about the cable model, though: The seasons, while frequently too short and too far apart, are seldom interrupted by anything less than a major holiday. When "The Sopranos" finally does resume a prime-time schedule of new installments, we'll be able to gorge on them over a three-month period.

Sometimes broadcasters follow part of the cable model, and I like it when they do. I'm thinking of Fox's "24," an always-thrilling drama that is heightened when its episodes are televised without preemption. Following the pattern for this show established by Fox in the past, the new season of "24," when it begins next month, will air without any annoying weeks off.

Here, in fact, is the plan: The fifth season of "24" -- which will chronicle in real time another harrowing day in the life of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) -- will start with a four-hour, two-night season premiere on Sunday, Jan. 8 and Monday, Jan. 9. The second hour on Jan. 9 will be the series' 100th episode, by the way.

Thereafter, the series will then unfold on a weekly basis, at 8 p.m. Mondays, without repeats or preemptions all the way until the season finale.

I like the plan, and I don't mind a months-long wait before a possible sixth season of "24," as there will be other shows to watch in the interim. "Deadwood" on HBO will be back next summer, for instance. When it's finished, along with whatever else of interest will come our way around then, I'll be ready to move on to some other set of shows for the fall.

Meanwhile, my Tuesday night is disrupted while Geena Davis as President Mackenzie Allen is not in the Oval Office. When the show resumes next month, I'll have to work a little bit to get back into its groove.

http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/entertainment/113446914920540.xml&coll=3

Monday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s analysis of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

Overnights
Sad song for NBC's Elton John special

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 13, 2005

Network TV concert specials haven’t done particularly well this holiday season. Just ask Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, and now Elton John.

His NBC special “Elton John: The Red Piano” averaged just a 2.5 overnight rating among viewers 18-49 in the 8 p.m. timeslot last night, down significantly from “Surface,” which usually airs in that timeslot.

“Red Piano” was off 17 percent versus a 3.0 overnight average for the last four original episodes of “Surface,” and the show had improved in each of those four weeks.

The concert special wasn’t lacking in holiday glitz. NBC used 36 high-definition cameras to capture John’s Las Vegas stage show. But that wasn’t enough to pique the interest of viewers, who similarly shunned country stars Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney last month in separate specials the night before Thanksgiving.

On that night, Chesney’s ABC special averaged a 2.6 overnight rating in the 8 p.m. timeslot on ABC, leading into “Lost,” while Hill’s averaged just a 1.9 on NBC during the 9 p.m. slot, head-to-head with “Lost.”

This does not seem to bode well for John’s recently released new Christmas album, “Elton John’s Christmas Party.” It includes John’s favorite songs from other artists, such as Bruce Springsteen, as well as a new duet between him and Joss Stone entitled “Calling It Christmas.”

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_1821.asp

Critic’s Notebook
Schieffer hoping CBS names Couric his successor

By Gail Shister Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist

In today's installment of "As Katie Couric Turns," Bob Schieffer says he's wild about the Today star.

Schieffer, "interim" anchor of CBS Evening News since March, would do a happy dance if the network signed Couric as his successor when her NBC contract expires in May.

Couric "is a big-time journalist. I'm hoping we can get her," says Schieffer, scheduled to anchor Evening News from the National Constitution Center tomorrow, eve of the world premiere there of the traveling Ben Franklin exhibition. (CBS's KYW is a sponsor.)

Like his new boss, Sean McManus, and his boss, Les Moonves, Schieffer waxes rhapsodic over Couric.

"She's a great interviewer, people know who she is, and she has enormous credibility. People believe her. They take her seriously. She's also a very nice person to have around this place. She would make us a better news department."

After months of post-Memogate turmoil, "things are finally starting to move, at long last," says Schieffer, 68. "I can see a light at the end of the tunnel... . It will only be a matter of months before we get all the pieces in place."

The key piece, of course, is Couric. Many think that at 48, she's the right person to compete against NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's newly named Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff - all fortysomethings.

Timing is crucial. Mired in third place for a decade, Evening News is just starting to show signs of Nielsen life, and CBS wants to capitalize on that momentum.

McManus, also head of CBS Sports, has said repeatedly that he's going after anybody and everybody in the industry. Schieffer compares his zeal for on-air talent to that of legendary ABC News-Sports czar Roone Arledge, McManus' mentor.

"When Roone got David Brinkley [from NBC], he didn't know what to do with him. He just wanted him on the team. Then he reinvented Sunday television [with This Week]. Sean's the very same kind of leader. He's a player.

"This is just like baseball. When you send out the word that you're going after big-salary players, it means you're serious about trying to win the World Series. That's the feeling around here."

In Schieffer's view, TV news has evolved to the point where gender isn't a factor in choosing a solo anchor. (Like CBS would be this hot for Ken Couric? Right.)

"It's no longer a case of whether it's a man or a woman. It's who it is.... Putting together the best news team is not about formats. You get the best people you can find, and the format evolves out of that."

Anchor (or anchors) aside, Schieffer says that younger correspondents such as Lara Logan, Trish Regan, Lee Cowan, Byron Pitts and Jim Axelrod will play "a major role" in the revamped broadcast.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//13393380.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Cable industry: Look, our family menu
Offering Congress an alternative to a la carte

By Greg Siedschlag for MediaLifeMagazine.comDec 13, 2005

Mention a la carte in Washington, and most people's thoughts turn to dinner. The cable industry's thoughts turn to panic.

A la carte is a thinly veiled code word for Congress's lastest stratagem for forcing the industry to cleanse its channels of sex and violence. Under a la carte, consumers would be able to subscribe to individual channels, rather than the full load of basic channels. It would mean economic mayhem for cable providers.

Yesterday, intent on siderailing al a carte, a representative for six major cable operators appeared before Congress to propose a new cable offering, a family tier of programming. Subscribers would received only networks with squeaky clean, or nearly squeaky clean, programming.

The move by the cable industry, led by Time Warner and Comcast, would effectively negate any call or need for a la carte, while essentially ending any push to regulate cable in the fashion of the broadcast networks.

At first blush, it looks like it worked. Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and an open critic of sex and violence on TV, promptly issued a statement:

"For several years, I have been urging the cable and satellite industry to give parents additional tools to help them address the increasing amount of coarse programming on television. Offering a family-friendly package has always been one of the options I supported."

That cable industry's family plan would put family-friendly networks such as Nickelodeon, Disney and the like all into one package while eliminating usual cable package stalwarts such as MTV and FX, which many parents do not want their kids exposed to.

The plan, which could be available as early as next quarter, would give parents the power to stop objectionable networks from entering their homes, an option not currently available with most cable packages.

The wisdom of an a la carte option has been debated in Washington for months, arising out of last year’s indecency flap and championed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), among others.

The plan of course introduces a whole range of new questions, such as who determines what is and isn’t kiddie-friendly content. Details of the plan have yet to be worked out.

Yesterday’s family tier plan was revealed by Kyle McSlarrow, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, before the Senate Commerce Committee, whose chairman, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has been one of the strongest critics of the cable industry.

He and others in Washington, including the FCC's Martin, seemed very pleased with the plan, but another hearing is slated for Jan. 19, when cable operators will appear to explain how the plan would work.

Still, it is difficult to imagine that there will be any new revelations in this hearing and there are many questions ahead, despite the apparent compromise.

For starters, who will determine what’s family friendly? Many cable networks are difficult to define as strictly family or adult in nature. Networks such as Nickelodeon or Discovery Kids are easily placed in the former category, and MTV and Comedy Central are just as easily placed in the latter.

There are also networks like HGTV and the Food Network that offer adult programming that is non-offensive and family-friendly. These are all quite easy to classify.

But there are also other networks, Cartoon Network, TNT and even ABC Family come to mind, that fall in a vast expanse of middle ground, offering more mature programming at night. They will be far harder to classify.

The family tier, while seemingly a well-intentioned idea, lacks the one appeal of a la carte, which is the opportunity for parents to determine what is offensive and what is not. Congress may embrace the family tier. The question is whether families will.

Similarly, parents who do choose the tier will in many cases have to give up their own favorite networks. Will they actually do it?

In the end, though, that might not matter all that much. Simply by offering the tier, the cable industry will be removing a huge public burden, and so will Congress if it goes along. Both will be able to point to the choice consumers didn't have before.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1820.asp

Critic’s Notebook
Still game despite loss

By Richard Huff New York Daily News TV Editor Tuesday, December 13th, 2005

Stephenie LaGrossa said "Survivor" was made for her.

She should know.

Sunday night, she came thisclose to winning the $1 million prize for "Survivor - Guatemala" and that was her second time on the show.

"It's a mental game," LaGrossa told The Daily News yesterday. "I'm very strong mentally. I love to compete physically. I grew up with all boys, I was a tomboy my whole life. I love trying new adventures."

Boy, does she.

LaGrossa, "Survivor" buffs will recall, appeared in "Survivor: Pulau," and stood out because at one point she was the only member of her tribe still in the game. In fact, in one episode she was left outside, over night, alone.

Soon after that show ended - she didn't make it to the finals in Palau - producer Mark Burnett called asking if she wanted to go to Guatemala.

"People don't get the opportunity to be on one," she said. "I was lucky enough to be asked. I didn't get far enough the first time. 'Survivor' was a game made for me."

When filming for the show was complete last summer, only LaGrossa, a former pharmaceutical sales representative who lives in Toms River, N.J. and Danni Boatwright, a Kansas sports radio host, remained. More than 21 million viewers saw Boatwright crowned the latest "Survivor" Sunday.

The back-to-back shows presented LaGrossa with a huge physical challenge, though. Before Palau, she tried to bulk up on muscle. During the show, she lost a ton of weight, some of which she recovered before going to Guatemala.

"It's a roller coaster - physically, mentally and emotionally," she said. "Your body is completely up and down."

She lost about 15 pounds during production in Guatemala. She also took home $100,000 as runnerup.

"I've already put back on 25 pounds," she said, adding she's still recovering from the trip.

"I'm still really bad with the whole food thing," she said. "I have a ton of scarring from all the big bites."

As for the future, LaGrossa doesn't expect to appear on any other reality shows. Well, almost none.

"My plan is not to be a reality-show junkie," she said, noting she would entertain a shot at "Amazing Race."

Away from TV, she has become a partner in swimwear and sports apparel company called 2B Brazil, she has signed with an agent for speaking engagements and, there's likely a wedding within the next year.

That said, she'll still have to deal with the fans who recognize her from being on the popular reality show.

"It's so weird," she said. "I'm just a regular person. It's fun, so much fun, but sometimes you just want to get in and out of Target."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/v-pfriendly/story/374172p-318082c.html

The cable offer seems to be meeting with some wariness.
Here is how Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal is reporting the maneuvering:

“…It remains to be seen whether the family-friendly tier idea will be as warmly embraced by consumers and programming companies. One of toughest issues will be how to define family-friendly channels at a time when many children's channels run programming aimed at more mature viewers in the evenings. "

LOL ... you see the thing that annoys *me* about cable/satellite is that for years and years, I've been forced to pay for "family friendly" (not to mention religious ... and sports) programming that I never watch.

I think a little parity is in order here. :)

Network weekly ratings

CBS scored a massive and across-the-board win in last week’s weekly prime-time ratings.

The network beat second-place ABC by 5.4 million viewers in the total viewers category, had a 1.4 million edge over ABC in the 18-49 demo and an even bigger 1.9 million lead in the 25-54 demographic.

The new numbers are at the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread. The complete program rankings will be posted a little later in the day.

Last week’s network prime-time ratings are at the top of RATINGS NEWS the second post in this thread.

LOL ... you see the thing that annoys *me* about cable/satellite is that for years and years, I've been forced to pay for "family friendly" (not to mention religious ... and sports) programming that I never watch.

I think a little parity is in order here. :)

Don't worry, if SpongeBob is "too gay" to be "family friendly" - I don't think they will ever get a universally acceptable family tier put together. You have the "morality" groups, "think of the children" groups, and most consumer groups that will all come to the same conclusion - the only solution is a la carte.

Earlier today I posted this message – in case you missed it. At the bottom I have added my reply to Rich with suggestions about a few of the supporting performers whose work I enjoy. (Remember, it is only for new shows this years, so I assume even the marvelous Chandra Wilson of “Grey’s`Anatomy” is ineligible.)

------------------------------------------------------------------

TV critic Rich Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal needs our input. Please email him with your suggestions.

(Personally, I'd ,love it if you would let him know you get to read him [and pretty regularly!] here at "Hot Off The Press".)

If you'd also send him the url, that would be really nice of you:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=440744

Now, enough with the plugs, here is his blog note asking for help:

Critic’s Notebook
Great Team Players

By Rich Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal TV blog

I'm working on a list of great supporting performers on TV shows. Feel free to contribute in the comment section below. (And hello to everyone who has linked over from TV Tattle.)

Here are the rules. I'm not interested in lead characters, but supporting ones. So, if a show is called ''Everybody Hates Chris,'' don't suggest the guy who plays Chris.

I'm only interested in characters/actors on shows that premiered this year (for example, Neil Patrick Harris on ''How I Met Your Mother'') or brand-new characters in returning shows (example: Charisma Carpenter on ''Veronica Mars''). Although the people should work well in an ensemble, they get extra points if you're watching a show for them instead of for the lead.

Among the people I've been thinking about are Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold, who play Chris's parents on ''Everybody Hates Chris,'' Ethan Suplee and Jaime Pressly on ''My Name Is Earl,'' Harris, Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan on ''How I Met Your Mother'' and Carpenter on ''Veronica Mars.'' Also, everyone on ''Kitchen Confidential'' except Bradley Cooper -- not that he's bad, just that he's the lead.

And yes, I know that there's a ''Buffy'' all-supporting squad there, with Hannigan, Carpenter and Nicholas Brendon from ''KC.'' You might even throw in David Boreanaz, who is very good on ''Bones,'' but is kind of a co-lead (prominently pictured in ''Bones'' promotional material). I'd give more consideration to Michaela Conlin, Eric Millegan and T.J. Thyne on the show.

You can either endorse some of those choices in your comments, or offer suggestions of your own. Please include why you're making your picks. I may then use some of your comments in the story -- duly credited, of course. You can also e-mail ideas to me at rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

-------

My note to Rich Heldenfels:

Christine Ebersole “Renee” on The vastly improving “Rekated”. In my mind, this show was a mess the first several weeks. Only because I had a TiVo season pass did I bother to go back after episode 2.

But then, it began to get better. And better.

And the Thanksgiving episode I(broadcast Nov. 14th as I recall) with Kim Delany shown as the girls’ dead Mom in a series of flashbacks was arguably one of the best written TV episodes in recent years. The show has fleshed out the characters, and Christine Ebersole has turned into a fascinating character. The show is definitely worth a second look.

Kyle Howard (as the young man who pines for youngest sister Rose) is also quite a winner.

Matthew Gray Gubler, Dr. Spencer Reid on “Criminal Minds”. His perfect pitch in playing a sensitive yet brilliant geek is fun to watch.

Ryan Hurst, agent Jimmy McGloin in “Wanted”. He’s been all over the screen for a while: a strong guest appearance on “House” last month and a memorable stop on “Medium” as Allison’s just-passing-through-to-California brother back in February. His intensity can be riveting, but his acting level is far beyond his (29, I believe) years.

G.W. Bailey, Det. Lt. Provenza, “The Closer”. His slow acceptance of Kyra Sedgwick’s character made the summer’s best series even better. His performance was subtle and very effective.

Ever Carradine as press secretary Kelly Ludlow on “Commander In Chief”. Her transformation into a power player mirrors that of her “boss”. And the addition of Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a potential romantic interest might give here even more good scenes starting next month. Yummy.

Harry Lennix as a conflicted Chief Of Statt on “CIC” is also a key character who probably is pretty underrated.

Natasha Henstridge, Templeton's (former) aide Jayne Murray in “CIC”. A great role for a terriffic and understated actress. Hopefully she’ll be back.

Kyle Secor, first husband, “CIC”. Wonderful portrayal of a very difficult role.

---------------------------------------------------

So, whether to actually email Rich Heldenfels or not, who are some of your unsung favorites in TV series?

Feel free to mention discuss those in new and old series here on the thread.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY[/FONT]
a. MARCIA CROSS DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
b. TERI HATCHER DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
c. FELICITY HUFFMAN DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
d. EVA LONGORIA DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
e. MARY-LOUISE PARKER WEEDS


Wow, now there are some bold choices. :rolleyes: Why do they insist on calling DH a comedy and its stars comedians? It's clearly a drama first with comedic elements. Mary-Louise should win this by default, but it's a shame so many other talented comedic actresses in so many other real comedy series are left out because of the steamroller hype surrounding this very average show.

Don't worry, if SpongeBob is "too gay" to be "family friendly" - I don't think they will ever get a universally acceptable family tier put together. You have the "morality" groups, "think of the children" groups, and most consumer groups that will all come to the same conclusion - the only solution is a la carte.

And no matter what, we will end up paying more than we are now! :mad:

The cable company's will NOT end up losing money on this.

So, whether to actually email Rich Heldenfels or not, who are some of your unsung favorites in TV series?



Lauren Holly in NCIS
Lara Flynn Boyle in Las Vegas (even though she's blown away)

I agree with Ever Carradine also.

Don't worry, if SpongeBob is "too gay" to be "family friendly" - I don't think they will ever get a universally acceptable family tier put together. You have the "morality" groups, "think of the children" groups, and most consumer groups that will all come to the same conclusion - the only solution is a la carte.

I was raised Christian, and am proud of my Christian values, but very little of my TV watching reflects my values. While I don't care for a lot of the content on TV these days (referring to the lack of Christian values), almost NONE of the "Christian" programming interests me.

What I'm getting at, and what has already been stated is that a "Family-Friendly" tier will be difficult since a lot of channels offer family programming during the day, and more mature/immature programming at night... not to mention that everybody's idea of "family" is different...

Also, people with several kids would also have channels that might have appropriate programming for them (9-13 for instance), but that you wouldn't want your little children to watch.

While I like the idea of a la carte (but fear the idea of my bill going up), I don't see how someone can do a "family-friendly tier" that will truly be "family-friendly".

As far as "Spongebob Squarepants" goes, that still remains one of the stupidest accusations I've ever heard. "Seduction Of The Innocent", anyone?!

~Alan

The cable company's will NOT end up losing money on this.

That's OK - let them pad their margins. At least the cableco's have D* and E* that will aggressively compete with them and hold or reduce those margins in short order.

Right now there's no real competition for the vast majority of our television expense.

Times Square In HD!
Happy 2006, High Def Fans!

(ABC Press Release)
What a way to cap off an amazing year! This year’s eight-time Grammy Award nominee, Mariah Carey is riding high on the success of her five-times RIAA platinum album, ”The Emancipation of Mimi,” which has sold more than seven million copies around the world and spun off three smash hit No. 1 singles -- “We Belong Together,” “Shake It Off” and “Don't Forget About Us.” In early September,

Mariah made music history when she became the first female lead artist in the 47 years of the Billboard Hot 100 ever to occupy the No. 1 and No. 2 chart positions in the same week, with “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off,” respectively. With 16 No. 1 career singles to her credit, Mariah is the only active artist with the hit-making potential to match or surpass the all-time records of the Beatles (with 20 No. 1’s) and Elvis Presley (18 No. 1’s).

This may be a bit off topic and I'm not a Mariah Carey fan, but this is pretty amazing. It makes yoo laugh at all of the crap about mp3 downloading affecting music sales. Look what happens when you put out a quailty product!

I guess the question has to be, KenA, how many units sold does it take to be #1 now as compared with before the mp3 days?

(At any rate, Times Square on New Year's Eve in HD! Great news.)

Good point, but I was more referring to her seven million sales. That's damn impressive.

"Weeds" Lights Up for a Second Season

By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable

Showtime has picked up another season of its marijuana-centered comedy Weeds. The single-camera comedy series, starring Mary-Louise Parker as a single suburban mom who sells pot to support her family, will be back for a 12-episode second season this summer, the network announced today.

New episodes of the series, produced by Lions Gate Television in association with Tilted Productions, will begin production in L.A. this spring.

Weeds debuted in August to critical acclaim and today picked up three Golden Globe nominations—a best actress nod for Parker, a best supporting actress nod for co-star Elizabeth Perkins and a nomination for best television series, musical or comedy.

Good point, but I was more referring to her seven million sales. That's damn impressive.

You bet it is.

And despite the rough year he's had physically, it shows you the reach Dick Clark still has in the music business.

Mariah is a pretty damned fine "get" for New Year's Eve -- with her popularity crossing a wide range of demographics.

Have you ever wondered how TV executives explain their successes and, (sadly, all too often) their failures?
Reading the weekly press releases trying to spin the Nielsen numbers is a way to at least begin to understand.
We’ll start with last week’s big winner, CBS:

CBS Explains Last Week’s Ratings

CBS Press Release

CBS Tops the Competition in Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and Even Adults 18-34

With a season highs for CSI, the largest audience for a final tribal council since May 2004, series high ratings for freshman drama CLOSE TO HOME and the largest audience for 60 MINUTES in more than five years, CBS topped the competition in viewers and key demographics in the week ending Dec. 11, week 12 of the 2005-2006 season.

CBS won the week in both households (8.8/14) and viewers (13.95m) for the 12th time this season. This is the first time one network has won the first 12 weeks of the television season in viewers since NBC won weeks 1-12 in the 1988-89 season.

For the week in viewers, CBS (13.95m) topped ABC (9.55m), NBC (9.37m) and FOX (5.73m). Season-to-date, CBS (13.47m) is followed by ABC (10.98m), NBC (9.42m) and FOX (8.25m).

For the week in households, CBS (8.8/14) enjoyed a +42% advantage over NBC (6.2/10), +47% over ABC (6.0/10) and +151% over FOX (3.5/06). Season-to-date, CBS (8.7/14) is outpacing ABC by +23% (7.1/11), NBC by +38% (6.3/10) and FOX by +64% (5.3/08).

Among viewers, CBS was first on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and second on Saturday.

For the week in key demographics, CBS was first in adults 25-54 (5.5/13), adults 18-49 (4.4/12) and adults 18-34 (3.3/10). This is CBS's best adults 18-34 delivery of the season and matched the season's second best weekly delivery in adults 18-49. Compared to the same week last year, CBS was up +6% each in households, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34 and +2% in adults 18-49.

CBS has won nine of the last 10 weeks in adults 25-54 and seven of the last 10 in adults 18-49. Season-to-date, CBS is first in adults 25-54 (5.2/12) and tied for first in adults 18-49 (4.1/11, with ABC).

• On Thursday, CBS posted season high deliveries in households (14.8/23), viewers (24.36m), adults 25-54 (10.2/23), adults 18-49 (8.2/21) and adults 18-34 (6.2/18).

• CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION was first in households (18.8/28), viewers (30.95m), adults 25-54 (13.1/28), adults 18-49 (10.6/25) and adults 18-34 (8.2/22) in the 9PM time period. CSI beat NBC, ABC and FOX combined in households (vs. 12.9/20, +46%), viewers (vs. 20.18m, +53%), adults 25-54 (vs. 9.4/19, +39%), adults 18-49 (vs. 8.5/20, +25%) and adults 18-34 (vs. 7.8/22, +5%).

• This is the best households and viewer delivery for CSI since 11/18/04 (the program's all-time high) and 5th best overall. CSI hit season highs in adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. This CSI broadcast becomes the most watched program this season and the first prime program to average more than 30 million viewers. Of the top 10 broadcast this season ranked by viewers in primetime, nine are episodes of CSI.

• WITHOUT A TRACE was first in households (13.9/22), viewers (21.76m), adults 25-54 (8.7/20) and adults 18-49 (7.0/18). This is WITHOUT A TRACE's best delivery this season in viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

• GHOST WHISPERER won its time period in households (7.5/13), viewers (11.53m), adults 25-54 (4.4/13) and adults 18-49 (3.2/10). GHOST WHISPERER has won its time slot every week this season in households and viewers, placed first in adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 every week this season with a first run episode.

• CLOSE TO HOME won its time period in households (8.2/14), viewers (12.80m), adults 25-54 (4.6/13) and adults 18-49 (3.3/10). CLOSE TO HOME posted series high delivery in viewers and adults 25-54, and scored its second best adults 18-49 performance. CLOSE TO HOME was the night's top program in viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

• NUMB3RS was first for the 11th consecutive airing in households (8.2/14), viewers (12.53m), adults 25-54 (4.5/12) and first for the 10th time in 11 broadcasts in adults 18-49 (3.2/10).

• On Sunday, CBS was first in households (12.3/19), viewers (20.90m), adults 25-54 (8.8/19), adults 18-49 (7.3/17) and adults 18-34 (5.2/14). This is CBS's best households, viewers, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 delivery since 1/23/05 and best adults 18-34 performance since 2/13/05.

• 60 MINUTES (7:40-8:23 PM) was first from 7:30-8:30PM in households (12.4/19), viewers (19.72m), adults 25-54 (7.0/16) and adults 18-49 (5.6/15). This is 60 MINUTES best household delivery since 10/31/04, best viewer total since 3/12/00, best adults 18-49 performance since 12/28/03 and best adults 25-54 ratings since 1/16/00.

• SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- THE MAYA EMPIRE FINALE (S) (8:23-10:32pm) posted an 11.9/17 with 21.18m viewers, 9.3/19 in adults 25-54, 7.7/17 in adults 18-49 and 5.3/13 in adults 18-34. From 8:30-10:30PM, CBS was first in households, viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49. This is the best delivery for a SURVIVOR finale in households, viewers and adults 25-54 since 5/9/04 ("Survivor: All Stars").

• SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- THE REUNION (S) (10:32-11:23pm) posted a 9.2/15 with 15.21m viewers, 6.9/16 in adults 25-54, 5.7/14 in adults 18-49 and 4.0/11 in adults 18-34.

• The CBS EVENING NEWS WITH BOB SCHIEFFER increased its total viewers by +970,000 viewers (8.27 million from 7.30 million) and its household delivery by +10% (5.7/11 from 5.2/10) for the week, while NBC and ABC decreased in both categories compared to last year. The CBS EVENING NEWS is also the only network evening newscast to post gains for the week, as well as season-to-date, in total viewers and households. For the week, the CBS broadcast narrowed the gap with ABC by more than one million viewers (1.03 million) compared to the same period last year.

And now for second place ABC. Its story is a bit harder to sell, but still has many bright spots.

ABC Explains Last Week’s Ratings

ABC Press Release

Primetime Ratings Report For the week of December 5-11, 2005

WEEK No. 12:

During the week of December, 5, 2005, the first full week outside of the 2005 November Sweep, ABC earned second place in viewers (9.6 million) and in each of the adult demographics: AD18-34 (2.8/9-tie), AD18-49 (3.4/9) and AD25-54 (3.9/9). Showing competitive balance, although some of its major series were in repeat, ABC took either first or second place on 5 of 7 nights of the week in the key Adult 18-49 sales demo (No. 1 on Monday & Wednesday and No. 2 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

Disney-owned ABC stood as the No. 1 broadcaster for the week among Kids 2-11 (2.3/9), delivering its highest-rated week among kids in nearly 3 years – since the w/o 1/20/03.

• So far this season (12 complete weeks), ABC is the only network to grow its Adult 18-49 audience from the same point a year ago (+5% - 4.1/11 vs. 3.9/10). Each of the other broadcasters are either down (CBS, NBC, Fox and WB) or flat (UPN) in the key young adult demographic. ABC is also up 7% among Total Viewers (11.0 million vs. 10.3 million), representing the biggest increase among the networks from the same point last season. In fact, ABC’s year-to-year gains are being driven by its success with regular entertainment series, where the Net has seen its numbers grow by 14% in Total Viewers (11.6 million vs. 10.2 million) and by 13% in Adults 18-49 (4.5/12 vs. 4.0/10), as compared to the same point year ago.

Rankings: ABC aired 4 of the week’s Top 15 television programs among Adults 18-49: “Grey’s Anatomy” – No. 3, “NFL Monday Night Football” – No. 9, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” – No. 12 and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” – No. 13. ABC’s telecasts of “Grey’s Anatomy” (No. 7) and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (No. 8) each finished the week among the week’s Top 10 most-watched shows. Although its regular lead-in was pre-empted (“Desperate Housewives”) and it competed directly with the season finale of CBS’ “Survivor: Guatemala” in its time period, ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” qualified as the No. 2 TV program during with week among Adults 18-34, Women 18-49 and Women 18-34, behind only CBS’ Thursday night “C.S.I.” ABC claimed the Top 3 broadcast television programs for the week among Kids 2-11, with “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown” and “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” respectively.

Monday

ABC was the No. 1 network on Monday evening among Total Viewers (13.7 million) and in each of the adult demographics: AD18-34 (4.3/13), AD18-49 (5.1/13) and AD25-54 (5.8/14). ABC has ranked No. 1 on Monday evening among Adults 18-49 on 13 of the last 14 weeks, including 6 consecutive weeks.

“Wife Swap” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC’s repeat telecast of “Wife Swap” earned second place in its time period among Adults 18-49 (2.8/8). The show ranked No. 1 among Kids 2-11 (1.2/5).

• “Wife Swap” continues to bring ABC substantial improvement to the time period. Compared to ABC’s delivery last season in the slot with regular programming during the run of “Monday Night Football,” “Wife Swap” has grown the hour for the Network by 2.8 million viewers (7.6 million vs. 4.8 million) and by 88% in Adults 18-49 (3.0/8 vs. 1.6/5).

• “Monday Night Football: Seattle at Philadelphia” (9:07 – 11:57 p.m.)

ABC’s telecast of the “NFL Monday Night Football” game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles drew an average audience of 15.1 million viewers and a 5.7 rating, 15 share among Adults 18-49. The game was a blow-out, with Seattle leading by 35-0 at halftime and winning the game by a score of 42-0.

• ABC’s “MNF” ranked as the No. 1 TV show of the evening among all key adult demographics: AD18-34 (5.0/14), AD 18-49 (5.7/15) and AD25-54 (6.4/15).

Tuesday

• “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (8:00-9:01 p.m.)

On the show’s 40th Anniversary, ABC’s annual rebroadcast of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” won its hour in Total Viewers (15.3 million), across all key adult demographics (Adults 18-34 – 4.3/13, Adults 18-49 – 5.5/15 and Adults 25-54 – 6.4/15), Teens 12-17 (3.0/10) and Kids 2-11 (7.5/23). In fact the 1965 animated PEANUTS special topped its nearest competition in the time period by 1.3 million viewers and by 67% in Adults 18-49 (CBS = 14.0 million viewers & 3.3/9 in Adults 18-49).

• “A Charlie Brown Christmas” delivered its best numbers ever on ABC among viewers, in the adult demos and among kids – it has been airing on the Net since 2001. The show surpassed its previous highs on ABC by 1.6 million viewers and by 15% in Adults 18-49 (13.7 million & 4.8/13 on 12/7/04).

• “A Charlie Brown Christmas” posted ABC’s largest non-sports audience and top Adult 18-49 number in the time period in over 2 years – since 11/4/03. In addition, ABC saw its best Kids 2-11 rating in the hour in over 4 years – since 10/30/01.

Wednesday

ABC stood as the No. 1 network on Wednesday night among Adults 18-49 (3.2/8).

• “George Lopez” (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

ABC’s “George Lopez” outdrew its comedy competition in the time period, “That ‘70s Show,” by 1.3 million viewers (8.1 million vs. 6.8 million).

• “George Lopez” produced its top Adult 18-49 number (2.9/8) in 6 weeks – since 10/26/05.

• “Freddie” (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Building on its lead-in by 7% among young adults, ABC’s “Freddie” beat Fox’s comedy “Stacked” at 8:30pm by 2.3 million viewers (7.4 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 41% among Adults 18-49 (3.1/8 vs. 2.2/6).

• “Freddie” has built on its lead-in across the adult demographics on all 8 of the series’ telecasts: AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54.

• “Lost” (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Although it faced original competition in the 9 o’clock hour, ABC’s “Lost” replay beat second-place Fox by 3.5 million viewers (11.0 million vs. 7.5 million) and by 21% in Adults 18-49 (4.1/10 vs. 3.4/8 – Fox’s “Trading Spouses”). In fact, the encore telecast of “Lost” stood as Wednesday’s No. 1 TV show among Adults 18-49.

• “Lost” was up from its most recent rebroadcast airing by 2.7 million viewers and by 28% in Adults 18-49 (8.3 million & 3.2/8 on 11/2/05).

• “Alias” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In its new time period, ABC’s “Alias” posted a season-high rating among Adults 18-49 (2.6/7).

Friday

ABC took second place on Friday night among Adults 18-49 (2.2/7).

• “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

ABC’s rebroadcast of “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown” drew an average audience of 8.9 million viewers and a 2.5 rating, 8 share among Adults 18-49, finishing second in the hour in both measures. The animated special drew the Net’s highest Total Viewer count in the hour in 10 months – since 2/25/05.

• Delivering its best performance ever among Kids 2-11 (5.3/16), “I Want a Dog a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown” won its hour and stood as the top-ranked network show of the evening in the Kid 2-11 demo.

Saturday

• “ABC Saturday Movie of the Week: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (8:30-11:00 p.m.)

The “ABC Saturday Movie of the Week, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’” won it time period among Adults 18-34 (2.4/9), Teens 12-17 (2.4/9) and Kids 2-11 (3.9/15). In addition, the 2000 theatrical delivered ABC’s highest ratings in the time period this season in all three Nielsen measures.

Sunday

Competing against the season finale of CBS’ “Survivor: Guatemala” during primetime, ABC delivered a solid second place on the night in Total Viewers (12.7 million) and Adults 18-49 (5.0/12), and ranked No. 1 on the evening among Women 18-34 (6.2/16) and Kids 2-11 (2.9/10). Despite facing an NFL football overrun and the season closer of “Survivor,” both on CBS, ABC gained audience during each half-hour of primetime, ranking No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 by 10:30 p.m.

• “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” drew an average audience of 13.0 million viewers and earned a 5.0/11 in Adults 18-49 during its 2-hour time period. The show earned second place to the “Survivor” finale in the time period in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while the broad based unscripted show won its slot with Women 18-34 (6.5/16) and Kids 2-11 (3.6/12).

• From its first half-hour to its final half-hour, “Home Edition” saw its audience surge by 3.2 million viewers (11.3 million to 14.5 million) and by 44% in Adults 18-49 (4.1/10 to 5.9/13).

• “Grey’s Anatomy” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Surging from its “Home Edition” lead-in, ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” won the 10 o’clock hour in Adults 18-49 (7.2/16) and Adults 18-34 (7.0/18).

• “Grey’s Anatomy” increased its Total Viewer (15.4 million to 16.0 million) and Adults 18-49 audience (7.0/16 to 7.3/17) from beginning to end, finishing out the night (10:30-11:00 p.m.) in the No. 1 position on both Nielsen measures.

And how does third-plac NBC see the week?

NBC Explains Last Week’s Ratings

NBC Press Release

BURBANK, Calif. - Dec. 13, 2005 - NBC averaged a 3.1 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49 and 9.4 million viewers for the week of Dec. 5-11, according to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Primetime averages for the week of Dec. 5-11 in adults 18-49 were CBS (4.4/12), ABC (3.4/9), NBC (3.1/8), Fox (2.6/7), UPN (1.5/4`) and WB (1.2/3). In overall total viewers the weekly averages were CBS (14.0 million), ABC (9.6 million), NBC (9.4 million), Fox (5.7 million), UPN (3.6 million) and WB (3.1 million).

NBC highlights for the week of Dec. 5-11:

• On Tuesday, "My Name is Earl" was a decisive #1 with its top 18-49 rating since Oct. 4 and its highest total viewership since its series premiere on Sept. 20. "Earl" delivered the highest 18-49 rating for any half-hour comedy on any network in nine weeks and is currently television's #1 half-hour comedy, #1 Tuesday series and #1 new series this season in adults 18-49.

• Also on Tuesday, "The Office" recruited its highest total viewership ever for a regular-slot telecast and tied its highest regular time period 18-49 rating ever. "The Office" was #1 in adults, men and women 18-34 and all key adult male demographics and finished one-tenth of a rating point out of first place in adults 18-49.

• NBC won Tuesday night in adults 18-49 for the 10th time in 12 weeks so far this season, paced by" My Name is Earl" and "Law & Order: SVU," which were tied as the highest-rated shows on television Tuesday in adults 18-49 and as the #7-ranked shows of the week (out of a total 114 programs).

• On Wednesday, "Law & Order" ranked #1 in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key measures versus CBS' "CSI: NY" encore and an original telecast of ABC's "Alias."

• On Thursday, "Will & Grace" matched its highest 18-49 rating since its live season premiere on Sept. 29. Also on Thursday, "ER" ranked #6 among all 114 network programs this week in adults 18-49.

Additional NBC highlights for the week of Dec. 5-11:

• On Monday, Dec. 5 at 9 p.m. ET, "Las Vegas" averaged a 4.2 rating, 10 share in adults 18-49 and 12.6 million viewers overall, collecting a time-period win in women 18-34. At 10 p.m. ET, a rebroadcast "Medium" (3.2/8 in 18-49, 8.9 million viewers overall) was the top-rated regular time period "Medium" encore to-date in adults 18-49, up 23 percent in the demographic versus NBC's performance on the same night last year.

• On Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. ET, "My Name is Earl" (5.8/14 in 18-49, 14.0 million viewers overall) was a decisive #1, hitting its highest 18-49 rating since Oct. 4 and its highest total viewership since its premiere on Sept. 20. "Earl" won its slot in every key ratings category, posting a 49 percent margin of victory in 18-49 (5.8 vs. 3.9 for "Amazing Race" in that half-hour). "My Name is Earl" delivered the highest 18-49 rating for any half-hour comedy on any network since Oct. 4 and is the season's #1 half-hour comedy, #1 Tuesday series and #1 new series in 18-49.

• Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET, "The Office" (4.3/10 in 18-49, 9.7 million viewers overall) tied its highest regular-slot rating ever in 18-49 and delivered its largest total viewership ever for a regular time period telecast. "The Office" finished within one-tenth of a rating point of the 18-49 lead and was #1 in adults, men and women 18-34 and in all key adult male demographics.

• Also on Tuesday, at 10 p.m. ET, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.8/15 in 18-49, 16.3 million viewers overall) dominated its time period in all key ratings categories. It was the night's top-rated telecast (tied with "My Name is Earl") in adults 18-49 and also Tuesday night's "most-watched" program with 16.3 million viewers overall. "SVU" ranked #6 of 114 shows this week in total viewers.

• On Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 10 p.m. ET, "Law & Order" (3.8/10 in 18-49, 12.1 million viewers overall) built on its lead-in by 52 percent in 18-49 to rank #1 for the hour in adults 18-49, total viewers and other key measures versus CBS' "CSI: NY" encore and an original special "Alias" on ABC. At 8 p.m. ET, "E-Ring" (2.5/7 in 18-49, 9.4 million viewers overall) ranked #1 in total viewers. At 9 p.m. ET, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" (2.5/6 in 18-49, 6.6 million viewers overall) delivered its highest 18-49 and total viewer results since Nov. 2.

• On Thursday, Dec. 8., at 8 p.m. ET, "Joey" (3.2/9 in 18-49, 7.8 million viewers overall from 8-8:30 p.m. ET) matched its highest regular slot 18-49 rating since March 24, finishing a decisive #2 in its competitive time period. At 8:30 p.m. ET, "Will & Grace" (3.8/10 in 18-49, 8.8 million viewers overall) matched its highest 18-49 rating since its live season premiere on Sept. 29. "Will & Grace" built on its 18-49 lead-in by 19 percent to keep NBC solidly #2 in the time period, more than a full 18-49 rating point ahead of the third-place competitor (3.8 vs. a 2.7 in that half-hour for Fox's "The O.C.").

• Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, "The Apprentice" (5.0/12 in 18-49, 11.3 million viewers overall) matched its second-highest 18-49 rating of the season, while recruiting its second-highest total viewership. "The Apprentice" ranked #2 for the hour, outperforming the #3 program by a 178 percent margin (5.0 vs. 1.8 for ABC's "Head of State").

• And at 10 p.m. ET, "ER" (6.5/16 in 18-49, 15.3 million viewers overall) ranked #6 out of 114 network programs this week in adults 18-49. "ER" whittled the lead of CBS' "Without a Trace" down to 8 percent in 18-49, though "Trace" benefited from a 112 percent lead-in advantage from "CSI." Among adults 18-34, "ER" won the hour (5.5 vs. 5.1 for "Trace"), overcoming an 88 percent lead-in advantage for "Trace."

• On Saturday, Dec. 10, from 8-11 p.m. ET, NBC's 18th primetime telecast of the 1946 classic film "It's a Wonderful Life," directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, averaged a 1.9/6 in 18-49 and 5.9 million viewers overall.

• On Sunday, Dec. 11 at 10 p.m. ET, "Crossing Jordan" delivered a 3.3/7 in 18-49 and 11.4 million viewers overall. "Jordan" increased by 18 percent in adults 18-49 versus its lead-in.

Lauren Holly in NCIS
Lara Flynn Boyle in Las Vegas (even though she's blown away)

I agree with Ever Carradine also.
Ever Carradine is good although every time I see her it reminds me how old I am. When in my late 20's my friends and I would occasionally end up riding motorcycles with Carradine brothers, Robert and Keith on Mulholland Drive out by the Rock Store(this was before it got famous) and to think she is Robert's daughter, man, I'm getting old.. :p :D

On topic, one of my favorites is Diane Farr on Numbers, great actress and she has really fleshed out a character that during the first season was played rather flatly by Sabrina Lloyd.

Regarding Lara Flynn Boyle, I want the "old" Twin Peaks Lara back, this new version just doesn't work for me.

Wow, now there are some bold choices. :rolleyes: Why do they insist on calling DH a comedy and its stars comedians? It's clearly a drama first with comedic elements. Mary-Louise should win this by default, but it's a shame so many other talented comedic actresses in so many other real comedy series are left out because of the steamroller hype surrounding this very average show.
I agree, I would have thought the Golden Globes would have been more discerning in their choices. Agree with Parker choice as well and the news Weeds is coming back for another season is good indeed.

“CBS Evening News” Gains Ground

By Michele Greppi TVWeek.com December 13, 2005

"CBS Evening News With Bob Schieffer" is on the grow, gaining more than 970,000 viewers in the past year, according to Nielsen Media Research data for the week of Dec. 5-9, while its competitors in the race among flagship newscasts posted viewership losses year to year.

"I couldn't be happier," said Mr. Schieffer, who has continued to moderate CBS News' "Face the Nation" since he took the "Evening" anchor chair on a lengthening interim assignment when Dan Rather stepped down a year early in March.

He said feedback from viewers indicates that some of the increase is due to lapsed viewers who have returned and some to new viewers.

He credits the fact that "Evening News" reporters are talking more and memorizing less. "We are reporting the newscast, I hope, in language people can understand. I think that helps in our credibility," the anchor said, quickly stressing that his comment was not a reflection of anything or anyone who preceded his involvement in "Evening News."

Mr. Schieffer reiterated his comments, published Tuesday in the Philadelphia Inquirer, in praise of the journalistic heft of "Today" co-host Katie Couric, who is presumably weighing a big-bucks offer for her to move to CBS and anchor "Evening News."

"I hope we can get her," Mr. Schieffer said. "She's a great interviewer, people know who she is and she has enormous credibility."

"And I believe that," Mr. Schieffer said Tuesday.

However, he said, "Maybe we'll get Katie and maybe we won't." Either way, he said, "We have spent the last five years just sort of standing still" and new CBS News President Sean McManus "is determined to move this organization. He is trying to identify the people inside and the people outside this news organization that can make this a first-class team."

The growth of "Evening News" brought the longtime third-place newscast to within 1.15 million viewers of second-place "ABC World News Tonight," which was down 60,000 viewers from the comparable week in 2004.

"NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" was down 30,000 viewers from the comparable week in 2004 -- a big week in which Tom Brokaw passed the baton to Mr. Williams -- but enjoyed a lead of nearly 1.10 million viewers over "World News."

In the demographic regarded as the core news audience, viewers 25 to 54 years old, "Nightly" was up 4 percent while "World News" and "Evening News" were up 9 percent.

In total viewers for the week, "Nightly" averaged 10.51 million viewers, "World News" averaged 9.42 million, and "Evening News" averaged 8.27 million viewers.

For the season to date, "Nightly" has shown year-to-year decreases for the past 11 consecutive weeks and "World News" has shown decreases the past nine consecutive weeks.

"Evening News" has shown year-to-year increases in the past seven consecutive weeks, and nine of the 12 weeks this season.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9037

Critic’s Notebook
TNT To Repeat First Season of "The Closer"

By Kevin Thomspon Palm Beach Post Television Writer

You know, I hate when I really get into a new show for the first few episodes then fail to watch the whole season 'cause, well, I just can't watch everything. ”The Closer”fits into that category.

I was immediately smitten with Golden Globe nominee Kyra Sedgwick who plays Brenda Johnson, a CIA-trained Atlanta detective who now handles high-profile murder cases for the LAPD. Johnson's specialty is getting low-life perps to talk. Confess. Sing like a canary. In other words, she knows how to close the deal.

Hence the show's title. Johnson is also one tough babe who takes guff from no one. I like that. In the pilot, a macho male cop didn't like being bossed around by a woman and called the brash Johnson the B-word...to her face!

Johnson smiled politely, like all Southern gals seem to do, and purred in a comely Georgia accent that would melt even the coldest of hearts, "Excuse me, lieutenant, but if I liked being called a b---h to my face, I'd still be married."

You go, girl!

I caught the first few episodes, which I enjoyed, but missed most of the rest 'cause, well, I just can't watch everything.

Thankfully TNT is giving me a second chance. The cable network announced on Tuesday that the entire 13-episode first season will air again starting Dec. 27. The Closer is scheduled to air on Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

Trust me, this time I intend to, uh, close the deal and watch every episode of The Closer.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/thompson/entries/2005/12/tnt_to_repeat_f.html

FCC’s Copps: Keep Pressuring Cable on Indecency


By Todd Shields MediaWeek.com DECEMBER 13, 2005 -

A top federal regulator on Tuesday said Washington needs to keep pushing the cable industry on indecent programming, even as major cable companies roll out programming packages designed to be inoffensive.

The comments from Michael Copps, a Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission, came as he and prospective new FCC member Deborah Tate appeared at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee.

"Trust but verify," Copps said of the cable companies' plans announced Monday. "I don't think we're anywhere near the point where we say, 'We don't need legislation.'"

Companies serving half of the nation's cable customers said they would offer a family-friendly programming tier beginning early next year. The offer is designed to ward off pressure for mandatory measures such as a la carte channel offerings or bringing cable under the indecency regime that now encompasses only broadcast.

Copps, 65, a longtime indecency hawk, has been nominated by the White House for a second term. Tate, 49, a Tennessee utilities regulator, told senators she hoped to bring her skills as a mediator to bear upon the sometimes fractious agency. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the Commerce Committee chair, told reporters he hoped to steer both nominees through the Senate quickly.

After Copps and Tate are seated, the FCC still will be short one member, and therefore shy of a working Republican majority.

Stevens said White House officials earlier Tuesday told him they were working on providing a nominee for the fifth member to the FCC, a five-member body which by law is to have a majority drawn from the president's party. One seat has been open since Michael Powell stepped down from the chairman's position early this year.

A Republican member stepped down from the commission on Friday, giving rise to the curiosity of a commission with a 2-to-1 Democratic majority in Republican-dominated Washington. Tate's arrival would restore partisan parity.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001659367

Critic’s Notebook
Golden Globes: Interesting TV contests

By Ed Bark The Dallas Morning News Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Here's television critic Ed Bark's take on the five most interesting TV contests.

Drama series

Nominees: Commander in Chief, ABC; Grey's Anatomy, ABC; Lost, ABC; Prison Break, Fox; Rome, HBO.

Bark's take: Lost lost out last year to Nip/Tuck, which isn't nominated this time. That makes this the easiest category of the night, with the cast of Lost jubilantly shouting, "Down the hatch!" at the post-Globes victory party of their choice.

Actor (drama)

Nominees: Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy; Matthew Fox, Lost ; Hugh Laurie, House; Wentworth Miller, Prison Break ; Kiefer Sutherland, 24.

Bark's take: Three docs square off in a category that's oddly without any of last year's still-eligible nominees, even incumbent winner Ian McShane of Deadwood. Will it be Matthew Fox of Lost , Hugh Laurie of House or Patrick Dempsey of Grey's Anatomy? Here's hoping that under-appreciated Kiefer Sutherland of 24 finally prevails. The others save patients; he saves the world they live in.

Musical or comedy series

Nominees: Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO; Desperate Housewives, ABC; Entourage, HBO; Everybody Hates Chris , UPN; My Name is Earl, NBC; Weeds, Showtime.

Bark's take: This is an incredibly competitive category, with last year's winner, Desperate Housewives, in a catfight with two stellar newcomers (My Name is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris ) and second-time nominee Entourage. A three-way tie – begone DH – would be great.

Actress (musical or comedy)

Nominees: Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Eva Longoria, all of Desperate Housewives; Mary-Louis Parker, Weeds .

Bark's take: Five strong-willed suburban femmes vie for the prize, but dope-peddling Mary-Louise Parker of Weeds likely will find that the grass is greener on Wisteria Lane. Who will emerge victorious among the four Desperate Housewives nominees? Sentiment says the previously snubbed Eva Longoria. But reality might overrule in Felicity Huffman's favor.

Miniseries or movie

Nominees: Empire Falls, HBO; Into the West, TNT; Lackawanna Blues, HBO; Sleeper Cell, Showtime; Viva Blackpool, BBC America; Warm Springs, HBO.

Bark's take: HBO as usual has the lion's share of nominations, with Lackawanna Blues its best bet. Still, BBC America's magical musical mystery tour, Viva Blackpool, is the sleeper pick, even over Showtime's Sleeper Cell.

http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/columnists/ebark/stories/DN-ggtv_1214gl.State.Edition1.102fe19c.html

Critic’s Notebook
Characters move beyond “Law & Order”

By Marc Schwarz Bergen Record Staff writerSTAFF WRITER

No one leaves the "Law & Order" family permanently, except George Dzundza's Detective Max Greevey and Jill Hennessy's Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid.

Just about everyone else has a chance for a second life.

The latest rebirth comes with last week's announcement that Stephanie March will reprise her role as ADA Alexandra Cabot in the NBC midseason drama "Conviction."

While "Conviction" is not officially a member of the "L&O" world, it comes from producer Dick Wolf and certainly belongs in the same universe. It's described as "a fast-paced, character-driven series focusing on young ADAs in New York who often tackle tough high-profile cases."

March, who was the first regular ADA on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" before leaving two years ago, heads a cast that includes Eric Balfour, Anson Mount and Julianne Nicholson. When last seen - on an "SVU" episode last February - Cabot had emerged from the Witness-Protection Program to testify against her would-be hit man.

Dzundza and Hennessy never will return unless "Law & Order" does a crossover with "Medium." Wolf killed off Greevey when the L.A.-based Dzundza asked out of his contract after season one of "L&O," and he dispatched Kincaid in a car accident in the 1996 season finale. However, everyone else has a chance. Richard Brooks, who played ADA Paul Robinette for the first three seasons of "L&O," returned in a November episode as a defense attorney. Maybe Elisabeth Rohm's Serena Southerlyn will pop up again as an attorney fighting for gay marriage.

Here's a look at March and the other Wolf returnees:

Stephanie March
Character: ADA Alexandra Cabot.
Original show: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 2000-03.
Returning show: "Conviction," will debut early 2006. She'll be the bureau chief of young ADAs who handle tough, high-profile cases.

Chris Noth
Character: Detective Mike Logan.
Original show: "Law & Order," 1990-95.
Returning show: "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," September 2005. Teams with Annabella Sciorra's Detective Carolyn Barek to do alternating weeks, with the original team of Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe handling the other half.

Dann Florek
Character: Capt. Donald Cragen.
Original show: "Law & Order," 1990-93.
Returning show: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 1999-present. After a six-year absence, returned as Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni's boss.

Jerry Orbach
Character: [/B]Detective Lennie Briscoe.
Original show: [/B]"Law & Order," 1992-2004.
Returning show: [/B]"Law & Order: Trial by Jury," 2005. Died from cancer after shooting only the first two episodes of the short-lived spinoff.

Carey Lowell
Character: ADA Jamie Ross.
Original show: "Law & Order," 1996-98.
Returning show: "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," 2005. After making two guest appearances on "L&O" in November 1999 and May 2001, she appeared in two episodes as Judge Ross.

Richard Belzer
Character: Detective John Munch.
Original show: "Homicide: Life on the Street," 1993-99. During his time on Tom Fontana's Baltimore-based drama, he appeared in crossovers with his "Law & Order" counterparts.
Returning show: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," 1999-present. When "Homicide" was cancelled, Wolf relocated Munch, who also has appeared in "The X-Files," "The Beat" and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury."

http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cW VlRUV5eTY4MzM1MjUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

THE CHANGING NATURE OF TV
For “24,” a DVD bonus powered by the marketers

A box set of the show's fourth season includes a new 10-minute interim segment made for true fans — and to showcase sponsor Toyota's cars

By Maria Elena Fernandez Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 14, 2005

The last time "24's" hero Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) was seen — in the fourth season finale — he was presumed dead by most of the people in his life and literally walking off into the sunset to begin his life as a fugitive.

With the fifth season premiere still a month away, fans can learn what Jack's life on the road has been like on a DVD of the show's fourth season, which has a prequel containing material that will never air on television. It's also a way of linking content and commerce — in this case Toyota, which sponsors the show and the special DVD segment. (So guess what kind of car Bauer is driving in the prequel.)

The DVD set, which was released last week, includes a prequel to the fifth season that gives a taste of what life on the run was like for a disheveled, longhaired Bauer. More important, it offers a glimpse into a medium that is changing faster than any day in Bauer's life and one that increasingly gives control of its viewing to the audience, whether it's on DVRs, iPods, the Web or DVD.

"The moment that the season finale aired, the fans were on the website beginning to think about what Season Five could be," said Gary Newman, co-president of 20th Century Fox Television, which co-produces the show. "So we looked at this as kind of an opportunity to reward the people who are spending a lot of money on the DVD to give them something extra and to generate excitement for the next season."

Newman noted that new ways of providing TV programming to consumers are being announced on an almost daily basis.

"I think '24' should give comfort to the content providers that if you're making a great show, people are going to want to watch it, and the distribution systems will adapt themselves to fill in consumer demand.... I think as long as you have compelling shows you're going to be in the game."

But where the idea for the prequel originated is as telling as the 10-minute episode itself: Toyota and Fox marketers, who wanted to make the most out of the automobile company's sponsorship and create a special segment that would showcase its cars. Like most writers who tend to cringe at ideas inspired by the promotional machine, executive producer and show-runner Howard Gordon said he wasn't in favor of it at first.

"Right now I don't feel taken advantage of or used in any way," Gordon said. "I do think the first litmus test in these things always has to be the integrity of the show. If you can do it within parameters that don't violate the integrity of the show, it's great."

There's a typical car chase in the episode, but instead of driving a macho SUV, Bauer is behind the wheel of a silver Toyota Avalon, which beats a BMW. His colleague Chloe, who meets him clandestinely, shows up in a blue Toyota Prius.

"The only thing we really had to do was highlight the car," said Jon Cassar, who directed the prequel and many other "24" episodes. "Once we know what the people need from the product placement, then we tell them what we can do that is still within a '24' story. This has never bothered me that much because I've never been put in the situation where someone said the actor has to hold this can of Coke right beside his face while he does the line. That would be a problem."

Cassar says he sees the writing on the wall: As more viewers tune into their favorite shows commercial-free, more producers are going to have to give into the product placers.

"If you look at the future, anyone who is watching what's happening today in television realizes that this is the way people are going to advertise," Cassar said. "Everyone's kind of ignored it. But now with Mac and iPod and shows without commercials, everyone's starting to realize, well, if it's going down that road, then the only way to sell things is to put them right in the show. We're just on the brink of very new television and features."

Shot in two days and set in Chicago, the prequel repeats the last moments of the fourth season and begins with a Jack and Chloe rendezvous during which she warns him that her computer has been hacked into and others might know he is alive. After Chloe leaves, the bad guys arrive and the Toyota-BMW showdown ensues.

"We really ended up doing a small movie," Gordon said. "Jack looks a little scary, he looks a little desperate. It was a nice little story, and it was fun for Kiefer to try that on for size — that hunted kind of haunted look."

But it's a look only those who pay almost $70 for the DVD will see. When Season Five begins, nearly 18 months have passed since Jack has been on the run, and his long locks are gone. But fans who miss the prequel will not be at a disadvantage.

The fifth season kicks in with two nights of two-hour episodes on Jan. 15 and 16. The series was nominated for 11 Emmys last year, including best drama and best actor for Sutherland, and ranked 30th among all shows on television with an average 12 million viewers, the largest audience in the show's history.

Fans who appreciated the show's heart-stopping clock counter will appreciate that the new season "starts off hard and fast," noted Gordon.

"It's old-school '24,' Gordon said. "We've gone about as big as we can go as far as what threat we can loom over Los Angeles. So the tone this year is much more thriller. It's a very different season opener. Rather than building, it starts off with a sprint.”

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-24dvd14dec14,0,2814389,print.story?coll=cl-tv-top-right

Critic’s Notebook
A Comic Walks Into a TV Studio, and He Turns to Another Comic...

By Peter Keepnews The New York Times December 14, 2005

You might say that "Sit Down Comedy With David Steinberg," which begins a six-episode run tonight on TV Land, is to comedians what "Inside the Actors Studio" is to actors.

Well, you might. David Steinberg would not.

Superficially, at least, the resemblance is unmistakable: both shows feature a knowledgeable host talking to a well-known guest for an hour, in front of a studio audience, about the guest's life and work.

But Mr. Steinberg, 63, the veteran stand-up comic turned producer and director who is the show's creator as well as its host, insists that the seeds for "Sit Down Comedy" were planted long before "Inside the Actors Studio" was a gleam in James Lipton's eye. The initial inspiration came, he says, from eating lunch with Bob Newhart.

Mr. Steinberg was a director of the early-80's sitcom "Newhart." And, he recalled, one of the highlights of working on that set was the chance to eat lunch with Mr. Newhart and other funny people - including Mr. Newhart's friend and fellow comedian Don Rickles, who would often drop by - and to sit back and listen to them talk, joke and reminisce about life in the comedy business.

"That was almost my childhood ideal of what show business would be, those lunches," Mr. Steinberg said in a telephone interview from his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. "That kind of experience is so memorable, and so rare."

He tried to recapture that experience, he said, when he was asked to interview Mr. Newhart onstage at the 2001 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo. He kept it in mind two years later when he and Billy Crystal took a similar act on the road - if two men sitting on a stage and talking to each other can be called an act - for a short tour that later evolved into Mr. Crystal's hit one-man stage show, "700 Sundays."

Not long after that, TV Land, the Nick at Nite offshoot that specializes in reruns of beloved old series, began looking for producers to add original programming to its lineup and approached Mr. Steinberg. Various ideas were kicked around, he said, "and then they said, 'Why don't you do what you did at Aspen?' It was that casual."

"Casual" is the watchword for the series itself. In contrast to "Inside the Actors Studio" and its scholarly, well-prepared host, "Sit Down Comedy With David Steinberg" is concerned less with serious analysis than with giving Mr. Steinberg and fellow comedians - some, like Mr. Newhart and Martin Short, old friends; others, like George Lopez and Jon Lovitz, performers he admired but did not know personally - the chance to riff off of each other.

"I'm not interested in the craft of comedy," Mr. Steinberg said. "I don't think that's interesting to an audience. I just wanted to show the audience how funny these people can be."

Citing his "inherent laziness," Mr. Steinberg acknowledged, with what sounded like pride, that he did little if any research and avoided the "preinterviews" that are standard procedure on the late-night talk shows. "I don't want to do too much preparation," he explained, "because I want the audience to sense the improvisation."

As an example of the "comedy gold" that can result from his seat-of-the-pants approach, he pointed to his interview with Mike Myers, a flamboyant performer but by his own admission something of an introvert when not playing a character. On his segment of "Sit Down Comedy," which kicks off the series tonight (at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9, Central time), Mr. Myers is anything but introverted or, for that matter, polite: he aggressively needles Mr. Steinberg, mocking him for not doing his homework and for talking too much about himself. ("What else did you do, David? Because this is about you now, isn't it?")

Mr. Steinberg said: "When I walked onstage with Mike, a little director instinct kicked in. I told him, 'Don't respect me in any way.' It wasn't an idea 30 seconds before we went out, but he went with it. And there was nothing he didn't get a laugh out of."

A similar looseness marks next week's interview with Larry David, the creator and star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," one of many high-profile comedies Mr. Steinberg has directed in recent years. "Curb" fans expecting to see the sour misanthrope they know from HBO will be surprised (although at one point Mr. David says the version of himself he plays on television is "the guy I really want to be"). What they will see instead is a relaxed and genial exchange between two colleagues - including, yes, their thoughts on the craft of comedy.

Mr. David does not do a lot of interviews, but says he gladly agreed to this one. "I knew I'd be on safe ground talking with David Steinberg," he said. "He's such a comfortable guy, easy to be around, never at a loss for words. And he has such an intuitive understanding of everything - particularly of me - that you never have to worry about being misunderstood. He's always going to bring out what you have to offer."

Whether "Sit Down Comedy" has a future beyond these six episodes depends on its ratings, but both Mr. Steinberg and TV Land are already thinking about what other guests they would like to book. Their wish list includes the expected big names, like Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen DeGeneres, as well as everyone from newcomers to borscht-belt veterans. And Mr. David says he will gladly offer his services as a recruiter.

"If anybody calls me and asks, I'll give a recommendation," he said. "If you enjoy being interviewed, this is the nicest way to do it."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/14/arts/television/14come.html?pagewanted=print

A Critical View:
“Sit Down Comedy”: Funny Business

By Tom Shales Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 14, 2005; C01

Considering the enormous amount of slavish, fawning hype with which television pollutes the American mainstream, there's something automatically refreshing about an interview show in which a guest snaps at the host, "What's your next question, dirtbag?"

Of course, it's asked playfully and even affectionately, but still, when Mike Myers blurts it out during the premiere of "Sit Down Comedy With David Steinberg," at 10 (PM ET/PT) tonight on TV Land, it serves as welcome irreverence, a poke in the eye of showbiz sanctimony.

As a matter of fact -- if I might ask your kind indulgence (I may? Oh, thank you), it reminds me, in a reverse sort of way, of an interview show that former Washington Post film critic Rita Kempley and I concocted years ago: "Fess Up," on which the guest would be seated between Rita and me and forced to answer intrusive and impertinent questions. If they refused, they would be beaten soundly about the head and shoulders by the hosts -- using harmless pillows or a rolled-up newspaper.

Rita and I would become convulsed with laughter contemplating this bold step to be taken against TV's hokey phoniness. Unfortunately, nobody would give us a million dollars and so we abandoned the idea, at least until the next time we thought of it and started laughing again. Ah, but you see what I have done here (for illustrative purposes only): I have cunningly shifted the focus away from David Steinberg and onto myself.

And that's what Steinberg sometimes seems yearning to do, or actually does, in the course of the one-on-one interviews. In fact, Myers catches him at it, and after a Steinberg anecdote about Steinberg, Myers sarcastically asks: "What else did you do, David? Because this is about you now, isn't it?" On the series's third show, a chat with Bob Newhart (to air Dec. 28), Steinberg talks quite a bit about Steinberg, but that's largely because Newhart is reluctant to talk about Newhart.

Newhart came up so short that the episode is only a half-hour. Happily, the premiere with Myers and next week's encounter with Larry David are an hour each.

Steinberg envisioned the show as a series of conversations, as opposed to the kind of quasi-journalistic interviews that the insufferable but efficient James Lipton does on Bravo's faded "Inside the Actors Studio." As Myers points out, Steinberg isn't loaded with background poop, instead going about the task much more informally, to the point of looking, on occasion, severely unprepared.

Steinberg, however, also appears to be having a good time, and that helps a lot. Maybe there's nothing we really need to know about Myers, or David, or future guest Martin Short (who can do a dead-on Steinberg impression), but it's gratifying to find out that these people are amusing as well as funny. Steinberg doesn't let them get away with doing old material and passing it off as spontaneous chitchat.

Nor is subject matter limited to "the art of comedy," thank heaven, because few topics lend themselves so ironically to deadliness. Myers starts out talking about his, and Steinberg's, native Canada, a country so blandly "nice," Myers says, that "we make the Swiss look sexy."

Myers recalls that as a child actor, he once made a commercial with Gilda Radner, whom he idolized. He vowed that someday he would be a member of the "Saturday Night Live" cast and of course, he would later serve with great distinction, even though "I constantly thought I was going to get fired," he says.

Myers once said that his insane and hilarious "Austin Powers" movies grew out of his father's love of James Bond films, but he tells Steinberg that his mother was also an inspiration. She served in the RAF during the war, and he speaks touchingly of their relationship. He also wanted the films to evoke "the wrong '60s" -- not the decade of peace and love but the one that was also the last gasp of the swingin' cocktail lifestyle, a sex-obsessed time marked by "the inappropriate assigning of everything to be libidinous."

Hey, this guy's not just funny -- he's smart!

Next week's hour with Larry David is also a great big treat, even though David is coming off probably the worst season in the history of his HBO comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Fortunately, the worst season of that show is still better than the best season of many a standard, played-by-the-rules sitcom. David says that the obsessively disputatious crank he plays on the show is the Larry David he wishes he really were -- and what a scary thought that is.

We happy few who are die-hard, laugh-hard fans of the show -- episodes of which Steinberg has directed -- can dissect it to bits, but David's own explanation of its origins and his character is a model of oddball simplicity: "There's nothing that strikes me funnier than people calling me the vilest of names." It follows, somehow, that when David made his living (just barely) as a quixotic stand-up comic, he loved doing a bit in which he played "a dairy lobbyist," and he liked to begin by asking the audience whether he could address it "in the tu form" rather than the less intimate "you."

Crowd pleasers not. But he kept doing them.

David knew he wasn't cut out for stand-up because "I didn't want to travel . . . I don't like packing." What better reason for a career choice? David doesn't do anything so brash as calling Steinberg a name, but he does complain that he wasn't given dinner as part of the arrangement: "I need a meal. . . . I'm starving!"

A TV Land spokeswoman says there'll be more "Sit Down" sessions next season if the response is good over the next six weeks, and that female stand-ups will be included. Steinberg's status in the comedy world and his ability to call on friends for favors clearly play a part in being able to land such great guests. It wouldn't be fair to say there's never a dull moment, but there are few. Comedians can be funny even when they are not officially comeding; what Steinberg's guests have in common isn't professionalism or a formal skill, but something in the DNA.

They were born to be funny. They can't help it. It's their gift and their curse and our -- dare we say it? Yes, we dare -- blessing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121301898_pf.html

Happy New Year:
“KTLA Roses To The Occasion
By Allison Romano Broadcasting & Cable

KTLA Los Angeles, a Tribune Broadcasting-owned WB station, is rolling out the rosy carpet for the 2006 Tournament of Roses Parade.

KTLA plans to air the entire parade live in high-definition Jan. 2 and include a Spanish-language simulcast. The program will repeat four times later in the day. This is the 8th year that KTLA has aired the Rose Parade in HD.

It is also commercial-free.

Viewers outside the Los Angeles market will be able to tap into its coverage as well.

KTLA’s feed will be picked up by stations including KRON San Francisco, KDAF Dallas, WBZL Miami, KSWB San Diego, KTWB Seattle and WTTV Indianapolis. In addition, the Travel Channel and Discovery HD Theater will simulcast KTLA’s coverage.

The parade has become something of a test event for broadcast technology that can better capture the "pop" of the poppies and brilliance of the begonias. More than a decade ago, it got a 3-D telecast as well.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6291225

Tuesday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s analysis of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

Showtime may book “Arrested”

By Nellie Andreeva The Hollywood Reporter

Will the pay TV environs of Showtime be a friendlier place for the Emmy-winning comedy "Arrested Development"?

Word around town this week is that Showtime is in talks with "Arrested" producers 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine TV about picking up the comedy from creator/executive producer Mitch Hurwitz. Sources stressed that the talks are still exploratory and that it would be a big financial commitment on Showtime's part to pick up the show in its current form with a large ensemble cast that includes Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter and Will Arnett.

"Arrested" was an instant hit with critics following its debut on Fox in late 2003, but the show never could pull in much of a crowd during its run on Fox Broadcasting Co., even after it won the Emmy for best comedy series in 2004.

Last month, Fox threw in the towel, cutting its episode order for "Arrested's" third season from its initial 22-episode ticket to 13 (HR 11/11).

Reps for Showtime, 20th and Imagine declined comment late Tuesday.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001659656

Inside Move: Nets keen to get “Arrested”
Ratings-challenged laffer's third-season order recently cut

By DENISE MARTIN, JOSEF ADALIAN Variety.com

Fox still hasn't officially canceled "Arrested Development," but if it does, other networks are interested in the show.

Both ABC and Showtime have had conversations with 20th Century Fox TV and indicated they're open to making a deal for new episodes of the critically beloved, Emmy-winning comedy from creator Mitch Hurwitz. No formal negotiations have taken place, and there are still numerous hurdles that might prevent such a move -- including the show's hefty pricetag.

That said, those familiar with the talks described them as serious, with Showtime said to be in particularly hot pursuit of the ratings-challenged laffer, now on life support at Fox. Skein's third-season order was recently cut to 13 episodes.

Showtime could be a good place for "Arrested." Skein's subversive humor and heavily serialized storylines always made it a tough sell as a mass-appeal broadcast series. What's more, Showtime already has a potential companion for "Arrested" in "Weeds," which just received a second-season pickup. That show is a suburban satire centered on a drug-dealing soccer mom played by Mary-Louise Parker.

Network entertainment topper Robert Greenblatt has made an aggressive push to make Showtime a player in the comedy biz. He's greenlit several since his arrival -- including "Fat Actress" and "Barbershop" -- and "Arrested" could be the piece de resistance. If even half of the skein's Fox viewers -- last averaging around 4 million per episode -- watched on Showtime, "Arrested" would be an instant cable hit.

ABC, meanwhile, is also looking to make its mark in comedy, having already established itself as the home of TV's most buzzworthy dramas ("Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy"). Net has high hopes for upcoming laffers, such as "Emily's Reason's Why Not," "Crumbs" and "Sons and Daughters," as well as a sophomore contender, "Jake in Progress."

Since Fox has yet to officially cop to canceling "Arrested," 20th can't formally make any deals with another net. There are other barriers to setting the show up elsewhere, however.

Studio has already deficited millions in order to produce the show, which costs about $1. 6 million per half-hour to produce. It's believed 20th deficits about $400,000 per episode.

Even if ABC or Showtime stepped up with the same license fee Fox now forks over for the show, 20th execs will have to decide whether it's worth it to sink more money into a show that isn't a proven ratings winner. That's one reason the studio might push for at least a 22-episode (or greater) commitment from a net.

Studio needs 36 episodes to get "Arrested" to the magic number of 88 episodes required for syndication. But even if it gets to syndication, there's no guarantee of a rich payday in the off-net market.

On the other hand, "Arrested" is a winner in the DVD market, and more episodes mean more DVD sales. Skein could also take off if given mass exposure on a cabler such as Showtime -- particularly now that the feevee cabler is part of Leslie Moonves' CBS Corp. family.

Moonves certainly knows something about making lemons out of lemonade. One of his first acts upon taking over CBS was picking up a show from NBC called "JAG." Skein ran for nearly a decade on the Eye and spawned the successful spinoff "NCIS."

Studio, Showtime and ABC declined comment.

COMMENTARY
Your kids, your cable, your problem

By Richard Huff New York Daily News TV Editor Tuesday, December 13th, 2005

People, it's time you learned to program your cable boxes.

Yes, you.

Stop looking for outside help from Congress or watchdog groups to clean up, clear up and make safe the programming your kids watch.

That's a ridiculous notion.

This week, the major cable operators said they would start offering "family-friendly" or à la carte packages so parents can get services that won't offend them.

That's a bunch of poop, too.

The cable operators are running scared. They're afraid that if they don't kowtow to a few loudmouth politicians and watchdog groups who say content needs to be cleaned up, then cable programming will be regulated.

The companies have seen how the saber-rattling got broadcast and radio network executives shaking in their Kenneth Coles.

If parents want to have a handle on what their kids watch, well, then, they've got to take control of the situation. Sorry, that's the truth. Stop looking for someone else to blame.

First, the argument was the world needed a TV ratings system to tell parents - if they cared - about the content. Then came along the V-chip, to block said programming. Most cable boxes give parents the ability to block out certain levels of programming they don't want their kids seeing. Most don't use it.

I do. With a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old, I worry about having to deal with sexually charged programming hitting them. Me, I want it. So their sets are programmed to block out shows rated PG-13 and beyond.

I - not Congress, not a watchdog group - program the box.

Cable companies, say the "family-friendly" programming will be offered to digital subscribers, or those who have the newfangled boxes that can already block shows.

And what constitutes a "family-friendly" lineup?

ABC Family? That channel airs reruns of the WB's "Gilmore Girls." Don't tell anyone, but there was an episode where the mother and daughter argued over who had bigger boobs.

Nickelodeon? Well, in the evenings it reruns "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Roseanne," two good shows that occasionally dealt with real-life, not-so-pleasant family issues.

The news channels? They're not rated. But what well-meaning family lineup would leave out a news channel? Sports? Sorry, ESPN has that, and if you watch closely, most "SportsCenter" highlights include clips of a guy mouthing the F-word.

Trouble is, if you were going to limit any of these channels, you'd miss out on some wonderful programming dealing with all aspects of family life, such as Nick's "Dora" and ABC Famiy's "Wildfire."

The same holds true with the idea of à la carte channel-buying. What happens the first time you want to watch something like Sundance's "Iconoclast" or FX's "Rescue Me" or "Nip/Tuck," and you don't have it?

The idea of limiting channel lineups is as crazy as the arguments being made to clean up TV in general. It's born of the same mentality that requires the producers of a commercial with a car climbing the side of a building to warn viewers not to try it themselves.

Here's my advice: Get all the programming you can for the price you can afford. Give yourself options. And if you're seriously concerned about blocking content, take control and use the tools at hand.

The last thing you want is for someone else to make those decisions for you.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/col/v-pfriendly/story/374772p-318333c.html

Wow. This guy must have read my mind. I agree with every single point.

Major fizzle for returning “Fear Factor”
Gross-out reality show down 26 percent in 18-49s

By Abigail Azote MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer

How many more bugs and animal entrails can “Fear Factor” contestants eat before the gross-out factor grows stale? Not too many more, apparently.

Though the show returned for its sixth season last week with several minor tweaks to its format, the changes would seem to have been too little and too late.

“Factor’s” season debut in its new 8 p.m. Tuesday timeslot last week, the week ended Dec. 11, averaged a 3.1 18-49 rating. Not only was it off 26 percent from its 4.2 average last season, but the original episode also ranked third in its timeslot behind repeats of CBS’s “NCIS” and ABC’s “Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Among total viewers, “Factor” averaged 8.2 million, down 20 percent from last season’s 10.2 million average Mondays at 8 p.m. And that was already down 27 percent from the year before. Compared to its fourth season in 2003-’04, “Factor” has fallen off 41 percent. “Factor” aired 125 episodes before taking a seven-month break in May and is now also airing in syndication.

“The show itself is probably becoming over-saturated, losing the specialness of it,” says Tom Weeks, entertainment director at Starcom Entertainment.

But Weeks notes too that the show is likely also being hurt by NBC's overall decline in ratings. When a network experiences an overall decline, as NBC has, its most popular programs often lose viewers who tuned in simply out of habit after watching other shows on the network.

In an effort to reinvigorate “Factor,” the show returned with just as many scantily clad contestants but less emphasis on the stomach-churning eating games that it is well-known for. Instead, producers have tapped a stunt team with experience in films like “The Matrix Revolutions” and “Kill Bill, Vol. 2” to come up with bigger and badder stunts.

Another new addition is the “Home Invasion” segment, where host Joe Rogan goes to people’s homes and challenges them to attempt a stunt for a $5,000 credit card prize.

But whether the changes will help is another matter. One media researcher tells Media Life that he sees the recent decline in ratings as the beginning of a downward trend, the show having run its course.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1824.asp

Sinker finale for CBS's “Amazing Race'”
Family funk? Drops 31 percent from last season.

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 14, 2005

Adding celebrity couples to CBS’s “The Amazing Race” worked splendidly last season, spurring big ratings. Adding families this year had quite the opposite effect.

Last night’s two-hour season finale of “The Amazing Race: Family Edition” averaged a 4.6 overnight rating among viewers 18-49, down 31 percent versus the 6.7 overnight rating season seven’s finale earned last spring.

Last season “Race,” which had been on the rise since summer 2004, featured “Survivor’s” Rob and Amber, and viewership grew as the season progressed, with viewers tuning in to see if the dynamic duo could be defeated. They were bumped out in the season finale.

This year “Race” played with the formula again, sending family teams of four people trotting around the globe instead of the usual two. But this time the result was a bust.

“Family Edition” averaged a 4.2 overnight rating among 18-49s through 11 episodes this season, off 21 percent versus the Rob and Amber season.

“Family Edition” was also off compared to the last non-Rob and Amber season of “Race.” Last night’s 4.6 overnight for the finale was down 12 percent versus a 5.2 for season six’s finale last fall.

Viewers never warmed to the family format, with one common complaint being the challenges weren’t as exciting as past editions of “Race.” People also did not like having kids on the show, a frequent gripe about reality TV.

Last night’s episode was the highest-rated of the season, and up 24 percent from the 3.7 overnight rating the show had averaged over its previous three episodes.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1852.asp

By Richard Huff New York Daily News TV Editor Tuesday, December 13th, 2005

"The same holds true with the idea of à la carte channel-buying. What happens the first time you want to watch something like Sundance's "Iconoclast" or FX's "Rescue Me" or "Nip/Tuck," and you don't have it?"

You order the channel, moron. :rolleyes:

That's what happens when channels develop compelling original programming - people want those channels and will pay for them.

I think his point is how do you know you want it until you've seen it, and how do you see it unless you have it. HBO's Sopranos (et al) has faced the issue, but that's one of a handfull of shows on a very few networks. What happens when it's almost all of them? Free previews help for HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. But what happens when every channel is separate? The coordination of free previews for 50+ networks seems pretty daunting to me. But I'm sure not going to pony up a sub fee for a channel because I think I might be interested in a show, only to find I'm not.

Xesdeeni

Sports On TV
Unique bowl look: No games on New Year's Day

By Michael Hiestand USA Today

Putting together the college bowl TV schedule is always a jigsaw puzzle. But the bowl lineup — 28 games starting Dec. 20 with the New Orleans Bowl — has a few extra pieces. Like the number of bowl games that will be played on New Year's Day: Zero.

"We work around what the NFL gives us," says Dave Brown, vice president of programming and acquisitions for ESPN/ESPN2, which will carry 25 bowl games. (ABC carries the four Bowl Championship Series games, including the title game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4, as well as the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 2. CBS carries the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30. NBC has the Gator Bowl, and Fox has the Cotton Bowl, both Jan. 2.)

On New Year's Day, the NFL will play a full schedule on its final regular-season Sunday. And on New Year's Eve, it will play a late-afternoon and prime-time game — meaning no bowl games will appear in those time slots, too.

And while the NFL usually avoids games on Christmas, it will have two this year because Christmas falls on a Sunday. That means no bowl games will played then either. Says Brown: "Most bowl directors don't want to play on Christmas Day anyway. But they rate well."

Bowl game time slots, Brown says, were made final after the NFL released its schedule last spring. Meaning, there is also some luck involved in the quality of brand-name matchups in prime time.

The most promising big-name matchups on ESPN prime time: Michigan-Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28; Oregon-Oklahoma in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 29 and LSU-Miami (Fla.) in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30. The Peach Bowl matchup, Brown says, "could be a BCS game."

But that Peach Bowl pairing, like most for bowl games, results simply from set pecking orders rather that premonitions from TV programmers: The Peach Bowl gets the fifth pick from the Southeastern Conference and the third from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Fox foray: For the bowl games after the 2006 season, there will be an unprecedented anomaly added to the TV mix: One network, waiting in the wings all season, stepping in to handle the marquee action of the BCS games.

Fox will air four BCS games — ABC has a separate deal for the Rose Bowl — even though it won't carry regular-season action.

Tuesday, Fox Sports president Ed Goren said the network is looking at adding new wrinkles to BCS coverage, such as moving the pregame crew used for the title game to each of the other BCS games instead of staying at the site of the final.

Fox has made no secret of its desire to expand its college football presence beyond the BCS. But that will take time, given that the Big Ten is the next big conference whose TV rights are up for grabs — and then starting only with the 2007 season. Neal Pilson, a TV consultant and ex-CBS Sports president, expects Fox "to become a player" in college football, partly to effectively sell ad time: "It's pretty tough to sell four games. You need a slightly larger game package."

Then there's the question of who will form Fox's on-air BCS crew. Fox likely will start from scratch since other networks aren't likely to lend their familiar faces. Goren says it's "a possibility" that Fox NFL analysts —Terry Bradshaw is a voter in a poll used in BCS rankings and Jimmy Johnson coached Miami to a national title — could be used.

And they'll likely get practice on Fox Sports Net's game cablecasts: "You want to give your production team an opportunity to work out the kinks."

On tap: The World Baseball Classic, making its debut in March with various major leaguers playing for their native countries, is a rare TV rookie. Although new events almost always begin in obscurity, the major league stars committed to play in this one suggest it could get decent ratings right off the bat.

Consultant Pilson says it's going to be an "exciting TV property," partly because it will get plenty of hype from the sports media, "and you can't pay for that kind of promotion. Every baseball fan will know what it is."

ESPN likely will wind up with the event, since it has lots of hours to fill and often does so with events that draw small ratings. Other networks likely will wait and see. Says Fox's Goren: "It could evolve into a very special event."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2005-12-14-hiestand-bowls_x.htm

I think his point is how do you know you want it until you've seen it, and how do you see it unless you have it. HBO's Sopranos (et al) has faced the issue, but that's one of a handfull of shows on a very few networks. What happens when it's almost all of them? Free previews help for HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. But what happens when every channel is separate? The coordination of free previews for 50+ networks seems pretty daunting to me. But I'm sure not going to pony up a sub fee for a channel because I think I might be interested in a show, only to find I'm not.

Xesdeeni

I face the same problem with the current system. No way to check out everything on 50 - 100 channels. If it is heavily promoted and peaks my interest - or word of mouth or good press might compel me to tune in.

Battlestar got my interest and if I didn't have SciFi, I'd have ordered it to see that show. If the show sucked, I would have canceled the next month. We shouldn't be paying through the nose just so the networks can pick up a handful of viewers that stumble on the channel via surfing.

I think his point is how do you know you want it until you've seen it, and how do you see it unless you have it. HBO's Sopranos (et al) has faced the issue, but that's one of a handfull of shows on a very few networks. What happens when it's almost all of them? Free previews help for HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. But what happens when every channel is separate? The coordination of free previews for 50+ networks seems pretty daunting to me. But I'm sure not going to pony up a sub fee for a channel because I think I might be interested in a show, only to find I'm not.

Xesdeeni

Obviously I disagree with Richard Huff, but like to post all kinds of opinions here.

That being said, I think he missed a key point: it isn't just about protecting the tender eyes and minds of the kiddies. It is about being forced to pay for programming you never watch.

The bonus of being able to tune into (or, more routinely speed past) channels I don't care about would be more than offset by paying only for those channels I do watch.

Frankly, I agree with his basic point: parents should get more involved in what their kids watch. He just stopped short there.

If the cable companies want me to sample networks, give me a really cheap way to do it. Turn them all on the first week of each quarter. Let the networks stack their best programming in those weeks so I can surf through them.

There are answers, and relatively easy ones. But the cable companies, and more importantly, the program suppliers, don't want to even think about them. They just want us to pay for channel after channel -- all the while telling us they are giving us "freedom".

The real freedom, of course, would be a simple pay-as-you-go system.

Sports On TV
More Details on NBC’s NFL Plans for 2006

(NBC Press Release)

NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2005 -- NBC's "Football Night in America" studio show will be produced by David Neal and Sam Flood, who between them have won 32 Emmy Awards at NBC Sports, making them one of the most honored sports production teams working today. The announcement was made today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics and executive producer of NBC's "Football Night in America." Neal is Executive Producer, NBC Sports and Executive Vice President, NBC Olympics, and Flood is Coordinating Producer, NBC Sports. Both were promoted to their current positions in July.

"Football Night in America" will encompass more than four hours of NFL coverage on Sunday nights-hosted by 17-time Emmy Award winner Bob Costas, the most acclaimed sportscaster of his generation-including the primetime studio show at 7 p.m. ET followed by the premier primetime game of the week "NBC's Sunday Night NFL Football," beginning with the 2006 NFL season.

"Through the years, network studio shows have only been able to serve as previews to the upcoming afternoon games." said Ebersol. "'Football Night in America' will be network television's first primetime football studio show. It will be the destination for viewers to gather for their first complete look at all the day's games, and be the first to react to news and issues generated that day and to provide highlights and in-depth analysis of the games of the day.

"David and Sam have the passion, creativity and leadership to drive the studio show to a new level, and I know they welcome the challenge. David provides the overall leadership for our Olympics and sports production units. Sam has been the leader of our NASCAR production team for the past five years. It is an absolute privilege for us to have the production leadership of NBC Sports also leading the 'Football Night in America' studio show."

Neal's next production challenge will be the Torino Olympic Winter Games beginning Friday, Feb. 10. Flood will produce the NHL on NBC beginning Saturday, Jan. 14, then shift gears to the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 19, followed by the Torino Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 26.

"Football Night in America"

"Football Night in America" is the National Football League's premier primetime television package. Ebersol negotiated the unprecedented six-year NFL deal, which includes innovative flexible scheduling and continues through the 2011 season with Super Bowls in 2009 and 2012.

For each of the six seasons, NBC kicks off the NFL regular season with a Thursday night primetime game. The first regular season game of the new agreement, NBC's "NFL Kickoff 2006," launches the NFL regular season on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2006 in primetime.

The agreement calls for 16 regular season Sunday night games, each season's "NFL Kickoff" Thursday night primetime game, two postseason Wild Card games and three preseason games in primetime. NBC also will broadcast Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 in Tampa, Fla., and XLVI in 2012, and Pro Bowls in the same years.

Under the new agreement, the NFL provides flexible game scheduling over the final seven weeks of the regular season. The flexible game selection, offered for the first time by the NFL, will strengthen the schedule of Sunday night games over the final seven weeks of the season when many teams' playoff chances are at stake.

NBC's "Football Night in America" will broadcast an NFL studio show from 7-8 p.m. ET followed by the kickoff of "NBC's Sunday Night NFL Football" at 8:15 p.m. ET. Both the game and studio show will be aired in high definition.

Critic’s Notebook
“Criminal Minds”

By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News

One of the more interesting developments this TV season has been the unexpected success of this new crime drama (one of the few not produced by Jerry Bruckheimer) opposite the ratings juggernaut that is ABC's ``Lost.'”, 9 PM ET/PT CBS.

Proving that you can have two hit shows in the same period, ``Minds'' has been pulling nearly 15 million viewers in recent weeks even as ``Lost'' is snagging more than 20 million.

And the series is pretty solid to boot, although -- as in tonight's new episode -- it can get a bit gruesome. The acting is interesting, the writing is refreshingly literate and the show has come up with some engrossing stories.

Since ``Lost'' is a repeat, you might want to spin over to ``Minds'' tonight and see what the fuss is about.

I face the same problem with the current system. No way to check out everything on 50 - 100 channels. If it is heavily promoted and peaks my interest - or word of mouth or good press might compel me to tune in.

Battlestar got my interest and if I didn't have SciFi, I'd have ordered it to see that show. If the show sucked, I would have canceled the next month. We shouldn't be paying through the nose just so the networks can pick up a handful of viewers that stumble on the channel via surfing.Please don't get me wrong. On principal, I agree with a-la-carte. But I think you gloss over the issue by saying you have the same problem today. Sure, there are a number of networks that you don't get if you have a lower tier. But there are a bunch that you do get. And you can sample those networks any time you want, since you are already paying for them. I think his point (and I believe a valid one that I'm sure can...but hasn't really been addressed) is that this will be the case for EACH AND EVERY channel.

Take a moment to decide which channels you would buy, forgetting the cost (which we don't know at present) for the moment (i.e. a few dollars). How many are on that list? And how many channels have you left off that have one or two programs you've watched over the past year? Would you have actively subscribed to those networks to watch those occasional shows? I wouldn't. And that means $0 for those networks. And that means they'll probably go away.

The point is that a-la-carte sounds good. But I think all of the criticisms are valid. Small networks will be squeezed out, and many will go under. Larger networks may become even more commercial, in an attempt to make back what they lose by wishy-washy, gray-area fans like me, who probably would watch them if they are part of the package, but wouldn't pay for the priviledge (think using IE instead of paying for Opera). And the cable companies will make even more money, because they'll be able to sell 10 channels individually for more than the 50 they sell me now.

Perhaps it's odd, but I'd rather see a-la-carte implemented and see what really happens, bad or not. But let's all be careful what we wish for. Reality and prinicpal sometimes don't meet without a collision.

Xesdeeni

Sure, I tune into some channels only occasionally - and only because something on the guide caught my eye. But that doesn't mean that those channels are channels I would be willing to pay for.

That's like someone leaving a dozen Krispy Kremes on your desk every morning and deducting it from your paycheck every week. Just because you ate one of them a month ago, doesn't mean you couldn't or shouldn't be able to go without.

...
Take a moment to decide which channels you would buy, forgetting the cost (which we don't know at present) for the moment (i.e. a few dollars). How many are on that list? And how many channels have you left off that have one or two programs you've watched over the past year? Would you have actively subscribed to those networks to watch those occasional shows? I wouldn't. And that means $0 for those networks. And that means they'll probably go away...Xesdeeni

Study after study have shown the average household watches an average of 12-19 channels (including the OTA stations available).

But the average package from DBS or cable is over 100 channels.

I agree some channels would go away under a la carte. But why should the vast majority who don't care about them have to pay for them to prop them up artificially?

By the way, here is my list:
CNN, CNBC, FNC, Weather Channel, CSPAN 1-3, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, USA, TNT, RSNs (2), Comedy Channel, HD Tier, locals, perhaps HBO (when "The Sopranos" returns.
In this particular case, even at $1 apiece (far more than they charge now for carriage) I could get the first four for $4. The CSPANs are free..cable and satellite pay for them.
ESPN HD channels would probably be about $8-15, the RSN another $7.50 or so. USA, TNT, Comedy would probably run about $1 a channel (again far more than now); let's say the HD Tier is $12, HBO $12, Local tier $10.

Total: (probably far higher than competition would eventually make it) would be $55+.

That is not appreciably more than I pay now (though I now, admittedly, get more channels). But my money would go to support channels I want to support, If I want ESPN, why should me neighbor have to subsidize me? And with competition looming with cable/telco,satellite and soon internet delivery available, someone will offer the channels I paricularly want as loss leaders and I probably could put together a better deal.

And as CPanther has pointed out a number of times, the scary per month costs we are being threatened with would probably come down dramatically as the channels found out to keep a high sub base (for ad revenue) they needed to cut their prices.

At any rate, it is not about money, or keeping the kids safe, or maintaining the decades-old business model of the cable biz perking along.

It is, plainly, about freedom to choose what I want to pay for, and what programming I want to support with my money.

Great HD Options in the Future?
HD Begins at Home for Charter, Allies

Matt Stump multicahannel.com

Paul Allen-controlled Charter Communications Inc. is joining Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, NBC Universal, Samsung Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. in forming the High Definition Audio Video Network Alliance (HANA).

The HANA companies aim to create standards-based design guidelines for secure high-definition audio and video networks that would include control protection.

The founders say they want in-home devices to be able to view, pause and record five or more high-definition channels simultaneously without compromising service quality, and to view, pause and record HD anywhere in the home through one set-top box. The group also wants to allow for the sharing of personal content from PCs to audiovisual devices, and to allow for the control of AV devices via a single remote.

HANA said it is in discussions with such standards bodies as the Consumer Electronics Association, CableLabs, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the UWB Forum and the 1394 Trade Association.

HANA hopes to have compliant HDTVs, DVD players, digital video recorders, set-top boxes and home-theater products in the market by the second half of 2006.

From CED Broadband Direct,

RCN offers to test a la carte pricing;

Cable firm relents following Senate decency hearings

12/14/2005 10:59:00 AM

Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston Globe
December 14, 2005 Wednesday
THIRD EDITION
By Keith Reed, Globe Staff
From LexisNexis

RCN Corp., a cable company with subscribers in Massachusetts, yesterday offered to test a pricing plan that would give subscribers greater flexibility to choose the channels they want, another sign that the cable industry's decades-long united front against a la carte pricing may be crumbling.

Responding to a week of hearings in the Senate over decency standards in cable programming, RCN chief executive Peter D. Aquino said yesterday that he supported Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin's view that cable companies should voluntarily adopt more "family-friendly" programming options. He endorsed the idea of selling channels by theme as a way to achieve that goal.

Martin and some legislators have indicated they would seek to impose controls on cable programs, including legislation that would impose a la carte pricing, if the industry does not limit access to programs filled with sex and violence on their systems.

"RCN believes that themed-tier a la carte would allow cable operators to offer consumers smaller programming tiers, limited to the kind or categories of programming they most value," Aquino said in a statement the company issued yesterday afternoon.

His comments could mean that a la carte pricing would become an option for local subscribers. RCN has more than 70,000 subscribers in Massachusetts, according to data from the state Department of Telecommunications and Energy.

The cable industry has long rejected a la carte letting subscribers choose channels instead of prepackaged lineups arguing that that model would make programming more expensive and limit consumers' choices.

But that stance weakened last week when Charles Dolan, chairman of Cablevision, the country's fifth-largest cable company, said in a Senate hearing that a la carte was a viable option for the industry. Also forcing the cable industry's hand is looming competition from phone companies like Verizon Communications Inc., which plans to launch a fiber-optic based television service in Massachusetts next year and has said it supports a la carte pricing.

Aquino stopped short of endorsing a total a la carte model, instead saying that RCN would like to test selling themed tiers of programming, such as family channels in one grouping and sports in another, as soon as it could. A spokeswoman for the company said last night that no dates for a potential trial had been set.

Bruce Leichtman, president of telecommunications research firm Leichtman Research Group in Durham, N.H., said he is not convinced a la carte will be a reality in the near future.

"Can it physically be done? Yes it can. Will it? No way," he said. "Certainly there's a segment that wants less and to pay less for it, but a la carte is not going to lower rates, so what we might see is some family-friendly tiers."

Wow.
Very interesting. And very significant.
The cable monolithic resonse against a la carte seems to be crumbling rapidly.
Thanks for the post, Jim.

It is, plainly, about freedom to choose what I want to pay for, and what programming I want to support with my money.

The below quotes are from an article in the SF Chronicle from today linked below, bold type done by me,
Kenney pointed out that music players like the iPod essentially allow consumers to unbundle albums and buy only the songs they want.

"The whole trend in media is very selective consumer choice, and then marketing to you based on the choice you've made," she said. "Cable is the dinosaur in this regard."
"There aren't a lot of businesses that would want to rewrite their entire economic model just to see if it would work," Rodriguez said.

Apple's Steve Jobs might have a thing or two to say about that, as would numerous others in Silicon Valley.
Indeed.


http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/14/BUGF0G7H8H1.DTL
Tiny step toward a la carte

I must say, Jim, as much as I (obviously) favor a la carte, I am stunned at how fast cable seems to be caving.

After years and years of ignoring the requests, telling Congress it couldn't be done, refusing to even discuss it -- it just took one appearance by FCC Chairman Martin before Congress and the whole house of cards seems to be tumbling down.

It is akin to the schoolyard bully finally getting his nose bloodied and running home, crying, to Mommy.

As I said, the whole spectacle is nothing less than amazing to me.

I can remember some spirited discussions I had with foxeng about a year ago, where he said a la carte would never happen. I said it might, but it would take quite a while. (Despite the arguments, I must say I feared he was right.) Now I suspect a la carte will be available to many Americans by next year at this time -- and to some far sooner than that.

But it seems clear that someone in some cable companies is finally understanding that if they don't provide the kinds of service viewers want, there will very soon be all kinds of folks (especially including the programmers themselves) who will be perfectly happy to bypass them entirely.

All it apparently all it took was to reframe the entire argument was to change the basic a la carte question to a simple, very understandable one: "Why should we pay for programming we don't want?"

RCN on a la carte

(RCN Corp. Press Release)
RCN Comments on Senate Testimony About the Viability of A La Carte 'Family Package' Programming; Company Volunteers to Market Test Themed A La Carte Cable Programming; Fair Pricing Needed for Greater Consumer Choice

HERNDON, Va., Dec 13, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- President & CEO Peter D. Aquino of RCN Corporation (NASDAQ:RCNI), a leading provider of triple play cable, high-speed internet and phone services, today commented on U.S. Senate testimony yesterday regarding a la carte family programming. He reaffirmed RCN's longstanding support of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's position that cable operators should voluntarily adopt more family and consumer-friendly programming options. In addition, he said offering cable programming in a true a la carte manner would give consumers more choice over which programs they purchase.

However, Aquino cautioned against a pre-packaged family bundle created by the programming conglomerates and cable operators who own content. Instead, cable operators should have the flexibility and capability to develop customized packages that their customers want.

According to Aquino, "RCN continues to migrate to all-digital platforms within the next year, at which time it is prepared to participate in a voluntary market test of themed tiers of a la carte programming, assuming existing contractual restrictions and other impediments imposed by program suppliers have been overcome." RCN was the first company to volunteer to conduct a market trial of themed, mini-tier a la carte programming offerings. In comments filed with the FCC in 2004, RCN said that a la carte programming options implemented on a voluntary, market-supported basis, have the potential to address some of the most important and currently unmet consumer demands, namely: competition, choice, and control."

"Themed tier a la carte is an excellent model for offering consumers the ability to choose the categories of programming they most value, and to reject programming that they find either too expensive or indecent as long as pricing is on an even footing with competitors," Aquino explained. "RCN believes that themed tier a la carte would allow cable operators to offer consumers smaller programming tiers, limited to the kind or categories of programming they most value, while still supporting programming diversity, because less-widely viewed niche programming could continue to be bundled with similar, but more widely-viewed channels."

Aquino said that if RCN is to be able to test consumer reaction to themed program tiers on its digital systems, the company needs help from the FCC and Congress to overcome existing impediments to such consumer-friendly programming.

"Programmers with excessive market power such as broadcasters, vertically integrated cable MSOs and other media conglomerates currently impose contractual distribution restrictions, tying arrangements, and artificially inflated rates on smaller distributors like RCN. This ties our hands and prevents us from offering the more tailored programming packages that consumers might desire," Aquino emphasized. "Congress and the FCC must address this problem by requiring more transparency so RCN can know among other things what are the true rates that programmers charge themselves and each other. This would enable RCN to negotiate fair pricing and terms to provide more choice to its customers."

http://investor.rcn.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=181885

It is rather amazing how fast this has exploded. What was it a few weeks ago that Martin brought the subject up and we already have a cable company being bold enough to say, okay, we will give it a shot. That is very impressive for an industry that historically moves like molasses when it comes to customer satisfaction.

RCN has a small footprint here in the bay area I believe as an overbuilder in a Comcast area, it will be very interesting to watch and see how the competition develops in that area between the 2 companies should the a-la-carte RCN speaks about is implemented here.

I like the below statement from the RCN PR also, you have to think that the FCC is going to have something to say about it.

"Programmers with excessive market power such as broadcasters, vertically integrated cable MSOs and other media conglomerates currently impose contractual distribution restrictions, tying arrangements, and artificially inflated rates on smaller distributors like RCN. This ties our hands and prevents us from offering the more tailored programming packages that consumers might desire," Aquino emphasized. "Congress and the FCC must address this problem by requiring more transparency so RCN can know among other things what are the true rates that programmers charge themselves and each other. This would enable RCN to negotiate fair pricing and terms to provide more choice to its customers."

COMMENTARY
Your kids, your cable, your problem

By Richard Huff New York Daily News TV Editor Tuesday, December 13th, 2005

People, it's time you learned to program your cable boxes.

Yes, you.

Stop looking for outside help from Congress or watchdog groups to clean up, clear up and make safe the programming your kids watch.


This guy should be FCC Chairman!

(If you want to see the names of the nominated writers, go to the link at the bottom of the press release.)

2006 Writers Guild Awards Television Nominees Announced

(Writers Guild Press Release)

LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK -- The Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, west have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television writing during the 2005 season.
TELEVISION NOMINEES
For the first time in the history of the guilds, three new television award categories will recognize overall excellence in writing of episodic series. These new awards — Outstanding Achievement in Writing for a Dramatic Series, Comedy Series, and New Series — will be presented to all the writers of the winning series. The nominated series in these categories were voted on by the memberships of both guilds.

DRAMATIC SERIES
DEADWOOD, HBO
GREY’S ANATOMY, ABC
LOST, ABC
SIX FEET UNDER, HBO
THE WEST WING, NBC

COMEDY SERIES
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, Fox
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, HBO
ENTOURAGE, HBO
MY NAME IS EARL, NBC
THE OFFICE, NBC

NEW SERIES
EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, UPN
GREY’S ANATOMY, ABC
MY NAME IS EARL, NBC
THE OFFICE, NBC
ROME, HBO

EPISODIC DRAMA — any length — one airing time
AUTOPSY (House), Fox
A GOOD DAY (The West Wing), NBC
GRAVE DANGER (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), CBS
NORMAL IS THE WATCHWORD (Veronica Mars), UPN
RHEA REYNOLDS (Nip/Tuck), FX
SINGING FOR OUR LIVES (Six Feet UnderHBO

EPISODIC COMEDY — any length — one airing time
DIVERSITY DAY (The Office), NBC
EXILE ON MAIN STREET, Pilot (Kitchen Confidential), Fox
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER (Malcolm in the Middle), Fox
NEXT (Desperate Housewives), ABC
PILOT (My Name Is Earl), NBC
YOU CAN’T MISS THE BEAR, Pilot (Weeds), Showtime

LONG FORM — ORIGINAL — over one hour — one or two parts, one or two airing times
DIRT, Showtime
THE LIBRARIAN: QUEST FOR THE SPEAR, TNT
THE READING ROOM, Hallmark
WARM SPRINGS, HBO

LONG FORM — ADAPTED — over one hour — one or two parts, one or two airing times
THE COLT, Hallmark
LACKAWANNA BLUES, HBO
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS, HBO
OUR FATHERS, Showtime

ANIMATION — any length — one airing time
THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY GUEST STAR Fox
THE GIRL WHO SLEPT TOO LITTLE (The Simpsons), Fox
MOMMIE BEEREST (The Simpsons), Fox
THANK GOD IT’S DOOMSDAY (The Simpsons, Fox
THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARRYING (The Simpsons), Fox

COMEDY/VARIETY — MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES — SPECIALS — any length
THE 59th ANNUAL TONY AWARDS, CBS
2004 THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, CBS

COMEDY/VARIETY — (including talk) SERIES
LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O’BRIEN, NBC
PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!, Showtime
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER, HBO

In television, the nominated scripts were originally broadcast between December 1, 2004, and November 30, 2005. The winners will be announced at the 2006 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 4, 2006, with ceremonies held on both coasts: in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium and in New York at the Waldorf=Astoria. The WGAw’s awards ceremony is executive produced by Emmy-winning writer/producer Cort Casady.

The Writers Guild of America, west and the Writers Guild of America, East represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news. The unions conduct numerous programs, seminars, and events throughout the world on issues of interest to, and on behalf of, writers.

http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1493

I mentioned this to you a day or so ago – the deadline is approaching. If you email Rich with your suggestions, please tell him you heard about his column here at avsforum!

Rich Heldenfels Deadline
As I mentioned in (an earlier) ''team players'' posting… I'm writing a piece about favorite supporting actors on prime-time TV shows.

I'm focusing on shows that premiered in 2005, or on new actors who joined returning shows. (You can find a longer explanation in that previous posting.) Several people have e-mailed suggestions to rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com . You can do likewise, or simply post your ideas as a comment here. I'm writing the story tomorrow, so this is your last chance to talk up your favorites.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

“Will & Grace” Goes Live Again
(NBC Press Release) December 14, 2005

BURBANK, Calif. -- December 14, 2005 -- NBC's Emmy Award-winning "Will & Grace" will welcome 2006 with the second live episode of its eighth and final season on Thursday, Jan. 12 (8-8:30 PM ET/PT in its new time period) as Karen (Megan Mullally) throws a birthday party and ends up staying in the bathroom with her friends for virtually the entire episode.

As he did with the season premiere, multiple Emmy-winning director James Burrows will direct the live episode, which is only the series' second in its entire run.

As before, two versions will be telecast, one live for the East Coast and one for the West Coast, resulting in different jokes to be used in each separate broadcast. The first show will shoot at 5 p.m. (PT) for the East and again at 8 p.m. (PT) for the West.

In the storyline, all of New York's high society has been invited to Karen's birthday party ? but the affair disintegrates when Will (Eric McCormack), Grace (Debra Messing) and Jack (Sean Hayes) all embarrass themselves and wind up crammed together in Karen's bathroom with the birthday girl.

The September 29 live telecast of the comedy's premiere drew a 4.4 rating and 11 share among adults18-49 -- and 9.8 million viewers overall. It scored the show's top 18-49 and total viewer results of this season. It was also the highest "Will & Grace" 18-49 rating since February 17 and biggest overall viewer total since February 24. The live telecast built on its 18-49 lead-in by a season-high 47 per cent.

This guy should be FCC Chairman!

We have had a succession of hands-off chairman who agreed entirely with Huff.

Critic’s Notebook
Bah, humbugs! Characters that'll turn a TV critic into Scrooge


By Kevin Thomspon Palm Beach Post Television Writer

Ah, the holidays. 'Tis the season for joy, laughter and good feelings.

Well, forget that for a moment while I spread a dash of Bah! Humbug! and present to you the 10 TV characters — plus one reality-show host — who make me feel like Scrooge whenever I watch 'em.

BAH! HUMBUG!

1. Horatio Caine (David Caruso), CSI: Miami
The character: Intense crime-scene investigator.
What bugs me about him: Caine's Super CSI pose — you know, hands firmly planted on hips after solving yet another grisly murder — has long worked my last nerve. Then there's his annoying habit of spitting — no, whispering — every line like he's in a Shakespearean tragedy instead of one of CBS' 45 crime dramas. Even a simple introduction ("The name is Caine. Horatio. CSI Miami") is delivered with such unnecessary intensity and bravado, it borders on the ridiculous.
How I'd change him: Get him some female companionship. Horatio needs a steady, someone to take his mind off the job and dead bodies. And that woman, if she's smart, will tell him just how self-righteously silly he looks with his hands on his hips.

2. Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio), Law & Order: Criminal Intent
The character: Eccentric New York City homicide detective
What bugs me about him: He twists his body like Gumby and gesticulates like a crazy person whenever he's going in for an interrogation kill. He's a smug know-it-all. In school, Mr. Smarty Pants Goren was probably that kid who raised his hand for every question so he could show off in front of his classmates. I'm guessing Goren probably got beat up a lot. Now, Goren can show off his keen intellect and varied interests — he speaks fluent German and loves Impressionist art — to a bunch of low-life perps. Good for him. Bad for us.
How I'd change him: Put him in a straitjacket for interrogations so he can't move as much. Make Eames smack that smug look off Goren's face in a "very special" sweeps episode. Hey, what else does Eames have to do?

3. Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), Desperate Housewives
The character: Fortysomething divorcée living with her teen daughter
What bugs me about her: She always looks like she just finished crying for nine hours. Sometimes neurotic is cute, but in Susan, it's downright grating. She would drive any man to drink — or leave... with skidmarks (See Mike Delfino). And Susan's klutzy escapades — falling off a mechanical bull, setting Edie's house on fire and running around butt-naked in public — have become weary. And so unfunny.
How I'd change her: Give her charm lessons so she could learn how to walk and talk at the same time without bumping into a tree, or something. Make her more self-assured, less neurotic. Buy her a large case of Visine.

4 and 5. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore (Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel), The Gilmore Girls
The characters: Forever-talking mother and daughter who act more like sisters
What bugs me about them: They yap. And yap. And yap. But that's not all. They yap and yap and yap at frightening warp speed. In fact, sometimes, they yap like they're on speed. They yap about Rory's decision to drop out of Yale and move in with her grandparents. They yap about Lorelai's fractured relationship with her mother. They yap about their hurt feelings. They yap about, well, you get the point. If any show screams "Turn on the close-captioning!" Gilmore Girls is it. But who could read that fast?
How I'd change them: Simple — tell 'em not to talk as much. Or as fast. If that doesn't work, there's always medication.

6. Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), Lost
The character: Steely-eyed leader of the Tailies
What bugs me about her: She's too bossy and the ultimate control freak. She's angry all the time. She has a quick trigger finger, which island "Barbie" Shannon unfortunately found out after getting shot dead in the jungle. She knows way too much about military-issue knives. I'm sorry, but that type of intimate knowledge about lethal objects makes me kinda nervous. And then there's Ana Lucia's... overbite. What? OK, I'm done.
How I'd change her: Keep her away from firearms, for starters. E-mail Oprah or Dr. Phil on the hatch's doomsday computer so Ana Lucia can get much-needed therapy.

7. Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), The O.C.
The character: Super-spoiled teen who's had some rough times of late
What bugs me about her: Let's start with Marissa's don't-hate-me-'cause-I'm-beautiful pout. Well, honey, we do hate you 'cause you're beautiful. And spoiled. And scary thin. And whiny. And silly. And stupid. I think that's enough for now, don't you?
How I'd change her: Pay Barton to take, like, acting lessons so, like, she could make the forever tortured Marissa, like, more believable and sympathetic.

8. Matt McNamara (John Hensley), Nip/Tuck
The character: Christian Troy's troubled son
What bugs me about him: Before going all skinhead, freaky Matt looked way too much like freaky Michael Jackson. And that's not a good thing. Plus, we all know teens get all mopey and moody, but Matt has become totally obnoxious and unlikable. All the signs of Rebelliousness 101 are there: He curses at his parents, shacks up with a racist chick and explores his sexuality in disturbing ways.
How I'd change him: Well, that's a tough one. Sometimes, teens need to go off and find themselves. I'd let Matt do just that and keep my fingers crossed that he's simply going through a phase.
Mischa Barton, with Benjamin McKenzie, on The O.C. Acting lessons would help make Barton, like, less irritating on this prime-time soap.

9. Toni Childs (Jill Marie Jones), Girlfriends
The character: An all-about-me super diva
What bugs me about her: Just about everything. The new 'do is horrid. The diva thang is beyond played out. She calls her friends "b——-es" too much. But the topper is how Toni misguidedly believes calling her newborn baby "heifer" is the best way to bond with her. Girlfriend, puleeze!
How I'd change her: Make her find the Lord. Sometimes solutions are that simple.

10. Martha Stewart, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
The character: Robotic reality-show host
What bugs me about her: For someone who has been in front of television cameras as much as Stewart has, she always looks uncomfortable and like she's reading cue cards. Maybe she is. And that's worse because now the world knows Martha reads verrrrrrrr-eeee sloooooooooooooow-leeeeee.
How I'd change her: Tell Martha to stick to cooking and home decorating. Oops. Too late. NBC did that already when it decided not to bring Stewart's Apprentice back for a second season.

11. Gil Grissom (William Petersen), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
The character: Intense crime-scene investigator
What bugs me about him: On some levels, I like Grissom. You gotta respect a man whose single-minded purpose is collaring bad guys through science. On the flip side, he can be a top-grade jerk. Just ask new recruit Greg, whom Grissom recently made walk 20 blocks to recover a city-load's worth of machine-gun shells. The wound-too-tight Grissom is also a little creepy. You get the sense he could be one of those serial killer bad guys if he wasn't spending every waking moment staring into microscopes.
How I'd change him: See CSI: Miami's Horatio Caine. But disregard the hands-on-the-hips part.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/tv/content/accent/epaper/2005/12/13/a1e_bahhumbug_web_1213.html

The Injury Bugs Hits!
It’s Sub Time at “Dancing With The Stars”


(ABC Press Release)

RAP ARTIST AND MUSIC MOGUL P. MILLER (MASTER P) AGREES TO STEP IN FOR SON (ROMEO), ON ABC’S “DANCING WITH THE STARS”

Due to an untimely basketball injury, teen rap sensation Romeo has dropped out of training for the upcoming second season of “Dancing with the Stars,” which premieres THURSDAY, JANUARY 5 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the ABC Television Network.

Romeo’s father, himself a rap artist and music industry mogul, P. Miller (Master P), has agreed to take his son’s place in the celebrity dance competition.

Master P has sold over 75 million records.

Also an accomplished athlete, P. Miller played last summer for the Sacramento Kings. He played on the semi-professional team The Las Vegas Rattlers in their ABA debut season -- where he scored an average of 20 points per game -- as well as for the ABA All-Star team.

He will be partnered with Ashly Delgrosso.

We have had a succession of hands-off chairman who agreed entirely with Huff.

Then why am I seeing articles about the current chairman pushing cable on indecency in this very thread?

Critic’s Notebook
Weird science

By Alan Sepinwall Newark Star-Ledger Wednesday, December 14, 2005

There are days where I start to wonder if NBC is less a TV network than a series of psychological experiments. When I look at its schedule, it's not hard to imagine a group of men in white lab coats strolling through the Burbank offices asking each other, "How many people will actually stick with 'Joey' through two seasons?" or "If we tell Lorne Michaels to put that brilliant 'Glengarry Glen Ross' parody at the very end of the Alec Baldwin episode, can we trick viewers into watching all 90 minutes of 'SNL' the following week?"

The network's treatment of "Scrubs," which got renewed for a full season and then left off the fall schedule, is like one giant Skinner Box: the large cast and crew of a well-liked but not very popular comedy left alone to see how they work for six months with no audience feedback of any kind.

And, frankly, the lab rats sound a little tired of it.

"In the fifth year it is weird to be doing all these shows and have none of them air," Jersey native Zach Braff said during a press conference call. "We've all gotten a little bit batty and silly."

So when the hospital comedy returns with back-to-back episodes on Jan. 3, expect even more absurdity than usual.

"I think there was an attitude of, 'if we're not going to be on the air, let's take this a little bit further,'" said Braff. "I think we were a little extra wacky and silly, and the scripts were a little more surreal, and as a result, people are going to see a slightly different season."

How much more surreal? Well, "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence described one upcoming episode that "will be a sign of how weird the show has gotten on some level."

After Braff guest-starred on Fox's doomed "Arrested Development" last spring, Jason Bateman agreed to return the favor, and will play a patient who refuses to thank Braff's J.D. for saving his life. J.D. and Turk (Donald Faison) try to break into Bateman's gated home to demand a thank-you, and are attacked by a flock of pet ostriches.

As he and Braff were trading tips on ostrich-wrangling, Lawrence paused and said, "I just picture the journalists on this call listening in silently as we're laughing at this."

"That sums up 'Scrubs,'" Braff agreed. "We crack each other up as the rest of the country goes 'Hmm ....'"

Being a comedy with an admittedly odd sense of humor was a handicap back when NBC was top dog, but now that the network's in a distant fourth place, Lawrence thinks its niche appeal almost becomes a bonus. There may not be an enormous number of "Scrubs" fans, but the ones they have love the show.

"Because 'Scrubs' has fallen in between a cult hit and a giant hit, we just came to the determination that we can write and do what we think is funny, and it's not going to affect the show one way or the other," he said. "We don't have to worry about what will play everywhere as opposed to what will make my friend from college laugh."

Two other pieces of good news during the long off-season: The show finally got several major Emmy nominations, including one for Braff. (Lawrence called it a "vote of confidence from our peers" that helped keep everyone productive and happy while episodes were piling up on the shelf.) DVD sets of the first two seasons both sold well, which can often benefit first-run network episodes. (Braff was also nominated for a Golden Globe yesterday.)

Major changes await the characters in January. Elliot (Sarah Chalke) will be working at another hospital for five or six episodes, Turk and Carla (Judy Reyes) will argue about having children, and J.D., now an attending doctor, will get his own staff of bumbling interns to teach and haze.

"We're obsessed with those TV shows where people stay in high school for 12 years," said Lawrence, "so here we let people's lives change and evolve."

("I really don't appreciate the indirect dig at ("Beverly Hills 90210" actress) Gabrielle Carteris," Braff sniffed.)

Braff's girlfriend, Mandy Moore, will guest star in several episodes, and Braff, still hot off directing "Garden State," was drafted to helm the show's 100th episode. It's an extended "Wizard of Oz" homage where, according to Lawrence, "Turk's looking for a heart for a heart transplant, Elliot needs a brain for a lecture she's supposed to give, Carla needs courage about having kids, and J.D.'s stuck at the hospital and just wants to go home."

The best thing about being off the air for so long, Lawrence added, "is that people truly had a chip on their shoulder here as far as the quality of stuff to put out here. We wanted to be able to say, 'We're not on TV, but the show is better than any of the other comedies that were picked over us to be on TV.'"

And, in case the NBC psych department asks, what was the toughest mental health hazard about the whole experiment?

"The biggest trap is to not kill each other," said Lawrence. "Or to get lazy. We plan to do that the sixth year and really just mail it in."

http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/columns-0/1134539382136100.xml&coll=1

Critic’s Notebook
Bah, humbugs! Characters that'll turn a TV critic into Scrooge



Funny stuff.. :D

I think he is completely off the mark with "Robert Goren" though, my perception of the character is that "showing off" is not even in his makeup, not even capable of it. He is just being himself with no intent to impress others around him.

Critic’s Notebook
Weird science

By Alan Sepinwall Newark Star-Ledger Wednesday, December 14, 2005

There are days where I start to wonder if NBC is less a TV network than a series of psychological experiments.
http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Crowd-Grin.gif

TELEVISION REVIEW
When stars' “Own Words” are used against them

The punch lines, such as they are, come from celebrities' life stories but are read by others
By Robert Lloyd Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 14, 2005

"Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words," which premieres Thursday night (10 PM PT) on Bravo, is a one-hour special in which comic actors read passages from the memoirs of the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mr. T, Vanna White, 'N Sync and Burt Reynolds (intercut with ex-wife Loni Anderson). Object: hilarity.

Based on a local live show that ran for years in the bar above the now defunct Farfalla on La Brea Avenue, it's the sort of thing that might be great fun in a crowd, with an Appletini or even a festive Shirley Temple on the table in front of you, but in this incarnation — even though it's shot cabaret-style before a live audience — it is never more than mildly amusing, and at times tiresome.

The premise seems promising, but perhaps it's not as promising as all that. Given that this is the product of long preparation, this may be as good as it can get. Co-creator-performer Eugene Pack and company highlight the frequent absurdities of such tomes, in which trivialities are often elevated into major events, and odd notions presented as insights. But just because a thing is absurd does not make it funny.

It's not as if the cast isn't talented; any hour of television that includes Fred Willard, Cheryl Hines, Doris Roberts, Jay Mohr, Andrea Martin, Laraine Newman, Kel Mitchell and Kevin Nealon can count itself lucky indeed. For the most part, the performers use a neutral delivery — mugging is largely avoided — yet from the start the enterprise is awash in unavoidable ironical knowingness. The humor depends on our feeling that we're smarter than the celebrity scribes — or at least smart enough to keep our mouths shut.

And yet in our zillion-blog world, celebrities are not the only people telling more than the world needs to know, in less than perfect prose. Certainly I could live my life happily not knowing that Kathie Lee Gifford's child Cody was conceived on "a five-day cruise off the French and Italian rivieras in early July" or the explicit details of David Cassidy's "semi-aborted sexual experience" with "Partridge Family" costar Susan Dey. But my own reaction was sympathy for the lampooned, who are, after all, being taken out of context. We hear Hines as Anderson say, "The wedding was a total blast. Jim Nabors sang 'Our Love Is Here to Stay,' " and the laugh depends on her saying no more than that. But presumably this was not all she wrote.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/reviews/cl-et-celebrity14dec14,0,3997983,print.story?coll=cl-tvent-util

Critic's Notebook
The Crime-Fighting Working Mom
By Ginia Bellafante The New York Times December 15, 2005

The legal drama "Close to Home" revolves around an attractive assistant district attorney with a 100 percent conviction rate, an infant daughter, a carpenter husband and a home life so equitably organized that she would seem to be the one working mother in the country exempt from the double shift.

Annabeth Chase, her name offered as assurance of her prosecutorial resolve, is the sort of law enforcement figure at once indignant and fair-minded, obdurate and soft of heart, a careerist permitted full access to all of her womanly inclinations. Though she might have come from the fantasy musings of a Stanford women's studies professor, she is the product of Jerry Bruckheimer's ever-growing television empire, the magnet in a series intended for women for whom staff meetings and pediatricians' appointments present themselves in daily contest.

The series, which can be seen on Fridays on CBS and claims more viewers than any other show in its time period, is a form of domestic noir, though one that ignores some of the genre's elemental suppositions. Unable to sit comfortably with the idea that white houses on pretty streets harbor all manner of psychological malignancy, the show pushes and pulls to convince us, broodily supplying the link between intimacy and ill will almost every week. Annabeth (Jennifer Finnigan) telegraphs the shock the viewer long ago stopped feeling, reacting to each new crime of passion, case of bigamy and matricide or patricide as if she had just received confirmation that a family of wild boars was running the World Bank.

But the incredulous tone is merely the most obvious of the show's peculiarities. At a time when the principles of first-wave feminism have never seemed more out of vogue, "Close to Home" is committed, however inadvertently, to the idea that the most important thing a woman can do with her life is work.

The series draws its offenders and victims disproportionately from the ranks of middle-class women, lost, misdirected or dismissive of their potential. By the show's burrowed moral reasoning, the occupationally ambitious (like Annabeth) are consigned to good fortune, while those less rigorously motivated seem destined to suffer: women with too much time on their hands; women addicted to the attentions of men; women who, for one reason or another, literally or metaphorically, never leave the house.

The series began with Annabeth's return from maternity leave, and though we are made to think that her life will spiral into a series of conflicts over the various obligations of home and office, those conflicts never substantially surface. She seems to work all the time, and is able to do so because she has the sort of husband (Christian Kane) who is endlessly willing to assume responsibilities at the high chair when the men from homicide need his wife on a Sunday. (He loves her friskily, too; sometimes he'll just start nibbling on her ear.) Her colleagues are equally solicitous. The Indianapolis district attorney's office turns out to be utopia as Redbook magazine might render it, her boss (John Carroll Lynch) having purchased her a mini-fridge so she can store her pumped breast milk. Annabeth is cared for, thin and happy.

Fewer blessings rain on people like Terry, a well-dressed, imperious woman of about 40 who materialized in a recent episode as a defendant who snootily asks Annabeth where she went to law school.

"Yale?"

"No," Annabeth says.

"Columbia."

No again.

"Oh, a state school."

Terry rightly assesses her adversary's background, the irony being that she, in fact, has squandered her own Ivy League legal training. Too lazy, presumably, to have applied her skills to a clerkship or a partner-track position, Terry faces a jail sentence for running a ring of suburban prostitutes, most of them matrons selling themselves because they have nothing else to do and their husbands have stopped reminding them that they are sexy. Eventually sent to prison, Terry, who proclaims she would like to write a book, as Heidi Fleiss did, fares better than one of her recruits, Shannon, a pretty woman who turns tricks in her lovely home after she packs her children off to school. Shannon takes her own life when her neighbors and husband discover how she has been passing her weekdays.

It is part of the show's accidental ideology that the powers of the patriarchy, the authority and failings of individual average men, serve as the forces driving female sexual misconduct. Shannon is only partially responsible for her fate. She had no job but turned to prostitution because her husband couldn't find lucrative work and the family needed money.

Similarly, idealized standards of beauty, say, may be held accountable for a woman's decision to sleep with a married man, allow herself to be talked into running his wife over with an Oldsmobile and say it was all a mistake - something to do with drowsiness and cold medicine and maybe faulty brakes. In an episode a few weeks ago, Lisa, a plain-looking clerical assistant without much going on in her life, falls prey to the affections of Randy, a heavy-set man who always gives her flowers but who also has an ex-wife, a new wife and, concurrently, a fiancée. Randy persuades Lisa to murder the spouse of the moment in a mall parking lot. Unable to fathom why anyone would date an such unseemly character, Annabeth asks her why she became involved with him in the first place.

"Someone like you could never understand," Lisa responds in her prison uniform. "Not everybody looks like you. I thought for sure I'd end up alone, always had been, so I didn't have much choice, did I?"

Cindy didn't feel as if she has much free will either. The defendant in a murder case that Annabeth is trying, Cindy stabbed her husband in the back three times on the couple's suburban lawn, while wearing a printed cotton dress. Cindy, a stay-at-home wife, killed her husband because she couldn't bear the thought of his leaving her, as he had been planning, even though she had disgraced herself by complying with his wish to join him at swingers' clubs and participate in group sex. And so we are left to conjecture that none of these miseries would have befallen her had she only been able to draw on greater reserves of self-reliance.

Sex, in this world, is inimical to the modern woman's progress, and here "Close to Home," for all of its melodrama, begins to feel like something in line with the teachings of Valerie Solanas and her Society for Cutting Up Men. In an episode that seemed to serve as a baroque allegory for the show's ethos, a smart and successful high school student, unusually in command of her own sexual agency, decides that the one boy she must have is her adopted brother. She pursues him; her parents are horrified and, in the midst of her lust and obsession, she determines that she must have them killed.

Every aspect of the show's contining morality play is laid out: families are dangerous; sex is destructive; studiousness and toil are their own salvation. Had the girl kept her head in her physics text, she might have gone to M.I.T.; she might have written code. Then again, she might have become a madam.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/arts/television/15clos.html?pagewanted=print

Critic's Notebook
“Commander” caught in ratings quicksand

By David Hiltbrand Knight Ridder Newspapers

Can this administration be saved? We're talking about the presidency of that Connecticut Yankee played by Geena Davis in ABC's "Commander in Chief."

The show started with massive approval ratings. Thanks to the 16 million viewers who tuned in for the debut, "Commander in Chief" was the only new series this season to crack the Nielsen Top 10. But the polls, um, ratings, have been trending down.

On Nov. 29, the massively promoted addition of Mark-Paul Gosselaar to the cast swelled the audience back to 13.6 million. But "CiC" finished third in its 9 p.m. slot behind NBC's "Biggest Loser" finale and Fox's "House."

So what's the rub? It's obvious people were drawn to the concept of a female chief executive. They wanted to like the show. But the weekly serving of hokum and sanctity is proving tough to swallow.

After a gripping pilot in which Mackenzie Allen (Davis) inherited the Oval Office, "CiC" devolved into a dull and predictable mix of international and very domestic affairs. "How do you expect me to root out that terrorist camp in Lebanon when my teenager just got caught cribbing his history paper off the Internet?"

The show's creator, Rod Lurie, clearly envisioned "CiC" as an exploration of a woman trying to balance her career and her home life on the world's largest stage. But making her such an involved mom also makes her a rather implausible leader.

How does she find time at the end of the day to check on the kids' homework and boost her daughter's self-esteem? Shouldn't she be sitting next to the sultan of Bhutan in the East Room, listening to Yo-Yo Ma saw away on the cello?

The other sticking point is that President Allen and her staff all seem so faultlessly noble and principled. That simply doesn't jibe with the Washington we know, where if you're not under indictment, you're clearly not trying very hard.

Maybe the saintly quality of her character explains why Davis seems to be having trouble getting a handle on the role. She delivers her lines so stiffly, it sounds as if she just underwent a dental procedure requiring novocaine.

Meanwhile, the show was failing on two fronts. Neither the political nor the personal stories were very interesting. After a handful of bland episodes, ABC deposed Lurie and replaced him with veteran TV producer Steve Bochco ( "Hill Street Blues"). This was the week in which Bochco's influence was supposed to emerge.

The most salient change was bringing in Gosselaar as political consultant Dickie McDonald. (Think James Carville without the swampy Nosferatu vibe.) When your audience is 61 percent female, as "CiC's" is, it makes sense to augment the stud quotient.

Let's hope they give Gosselaar more to do in subsequent weeks. His primary focus in his debut was ordering up a beauty makeover for press secretary Kelly Ludlow (Ever Carradine, in what may be prime time's most laughably miscast role).

Other changes include moving the stories involving the first children onto a remote back burner and inviting the president's battle-ax mother (Polly Bergen) to live at the White House.

A number of flaws have yet to be addressed. The president is still too good to be true. Recently, she threw over a fiercely held political policy because someone gave her a sappy, handwritten greeting card. Imagine how quickly she'd cave if Cindy Sheehan camped on her lawn.

And the whole show needs to be opened up to reflect the complexity of Washington and the constant demands on the president. As it is now, the entire federal government consists of Donald Sutherland. One man, a thousand votes.

The network's stated reason for dismissing Lurie was that he was tardy in delivering finished episodes. That problem apparently hasn't been fixed, judging by Nov. 29's Thanksgiving-themed show. You missed the holiday by about a week, fellas.

Well, you won't have "CiC" to kick around anymore. Not for a while anyway. The next fresh episode isn't scheduled until Jan. 10.

Maybe ABC is pursuing the Rose Garden strategy

http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cW VlRUV5eTY4Mzc4MDMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

Was wondering how long it would take for "House" to knock off "CiC".

Critic's Notebook
Why all the mystery & confusion of scheduling?

By Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News

So “Variety's” now reporting that ABC and Showtime have both had "conversations" with Fox about picking up "Arrested Development" should the network ever get around to officially canceling it.

And I probably should be enormously cheered by this - we could be talking about a miracle, or as Bill O'Reilly insists I call it, a Christmas miracle - but like Charlie Brown, I'm instead a little depressed.

I'd already begun saying goodbye to "Arrested Development" even before Fox cut its episode order to 13 this season, and even as I continue to watch it (on the weeks they bother to air it).

I'd warned friends (and readers who e-mailed) not to believe the rumors that other networks might ride to the rescue, because these things so seldom work out.

And I'd told myself that 2 ½ seasons is a good run for a show with such a small audience, however loyal it might be.

So now there might be hope, and I have no idea what to do with it.

Except to wonder why networks make such a mystery of what's up with their schedules at a time when people have more choices than ever.

Every day, I get e-mails announcing new shows, shows that have been renewed for the rest of the season and shows that are switching to new time slots.

Many of those announcements mean the death - or deferral - of some other show, but often that show's not even mentioned, as if publicists don't want to spoil their upbeat announcements with the whiff of death.

Thing is, though, that few people ever call, e-mail or stop me on the street to ask about a show they haven't seen yet. What they want to know is where the show they've been watching every week has disappeared to.

Or, in the case of "Arrested Development," why the show they keep reading is just about dead, is still on. Oh, and how much longer will they be able to count on seeing it?

Darned if I know.

I'm also not sure why ABC, whose ratings expectations are higher than they were a couple of years ago, would want to pick up a show that hasn't been so much overlooked by most viewers as it has been rejected by them.

And while I know why Showtime might see "Arrested's" notoriously rabid fan base as a means of driving subscriptions, I'm afraid I keep hearing from people who'd really, really like to be able to watch "Sleeper Cell" and "Weeds."

If only they were on HBO.

"Arrested's" not the only source of confusion.

Recently, I was able to explain that ABC's "Invasion" had not been canceled, even though "Alias" has moved into its 10 p.m. Wednesday time slot - a move whose temporary nature wasn't exactly stressed in ABC's promos - and after consulting TVGuide.com, I was even able to predict that it would be back on Jan. 11. I think.

I wasn't even that certain, though, about the answer to someone else's question about Fox's "Killer Instinct," a show I honestly thought was canceled some time ago but which apparently aired an original episode earlier this month.

And please don't ask me to explain why anyone at all should continue to watch Fox's already-canceled "Reunion" now that the producers have said they're never going to say whodunit.

Right now, all we can really do is take the TV schedule the way the networks seem to - one day at a time.

Which means that tonight, I'm counting on Fox's "The O.C." (8 PM), which has had a disappointing season so far, to nevertheless deliver on its promise of "the best Chrismukkah ever."

Just don't tell O'Reilly.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//13412872.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Critic's Notebook
Fox kills “Reunion” — again?

By Maureen Ryan Chicago Tribune December 15, 2005

I reported here two weeks ago that Fox planned to air several "Reunion" episodes in 2006 -- despite the fact that the show's producers have said that the canceled "Reunion" will never reveal the killer in the show's central murder mystery.

Well, now that plan may have been killed. A secret source close to Fox says that the four episodes the network planned to air between Jan. 12 and Feb. 2 of next year are now toast. The source says the network will run repeats of "That '70s Show" and "Stacked" in "Reunion's" Thursday slot those weeks.

So it sounds like today's "Reunion" episode may be the last one that ever airs.

I've asked Fox for comment, and will update this entry when I hear back from the network.

Many "Reunion" watchers, including myself, had stopped watching the soapy show when the show's creator, Jon Feldman, released a statement saying the show's central mystery -- who killed Samantha? -- would not be solved by the time the completed episodes finished airing. I mean, what's the point of watching a semi-cheesy show about a murder mystery when the murder mystery won't be solved?

It'd be nice if Feldman put out something on the Web someday, to fill us in on who did what and why Sam died. But at this point, I'm not holding my breath.

http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/

Alarming spill for “Tony Danza Show”
Down 15 percent and losing key timeslots

By Abigail Azote MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer

When Buena Vista brought “The Tony Danza Show” back for a second season, it hoped that the talk show would build on its respectable freshman outing.

But the show is losing audience fast, and with the loss of two key clearances in top markets next year, “Danza’s” future looks ever more doubtful.

“Danza” is averaging a 1.1 household rating 11 weeks into the season, down 15 percent versus the comparable period last year, when the show averaged a 1.3 rating.

Worse, the returning show is being outpaced by this year’s freshman entrants. During the recently concluded November sweeps, “Danza” averaged a 1.2 rating, 29 percent less than “Tyra’s” 1.7 and 33 percent less than “Martha’s” 1.8.

The latest blow came last week with the news that “Danza” will be bumped from its highly favorable timeslots in No. 1 market New York and No. 4 Philadelphia next season to make way for the new King World lifestyle show hosted by Food Network star Rachael Ray. “Danza” had been performing well in those markets, airing at 10 a.m. out of "Live With Regis and Kelly," making the loss an even bigger blow.

All that spells a questionable future for the sophomore show.

“It does not look very good at this stage,” says Jordan Breslow, director of broadcast research at MediaCom. “There’s just so much talk out there that there’s so much competition for the same audience.”

Next season at least four new talk shows are slated to debut, including Ray’s. Buena Vista does not have any new ones slated, however.

Judging simply from the ratings, Breslow says "Danza" doesn’t seem strong enough to bring back next season, but with Buena Vista lacking a suitable replacement, the company might consider sticking with it for one more year. Regaining a spot in those top markets will be key.

“For any syndicated program, if you’re not in New York you’re in trouble,” says Bill Carroll, director of programming at Katz TV Group.

For now, Buena Vista is sticking behind the show and is busily looking for new timeslots in New York and Philadelphia.

“How successful they are in doing that will decide whether the show will go forward or not,” Carroll says.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1854.asp

Wednesday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s analysis of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

Then why am I seeing articles about the current chairman pushing cable on indecency in this very thread?

I repeat, we have had a sucession of FCC chairmen who agree with Huff.

This current chairman, who too office a few months ago, apparently doesn't.

The congolmerates who run the entertainment business are having a very hard time trying to deal with even the concept of a federal regulator who might question their practices.

And there is a very interesting question about Chairman Martin: is he pushing for a la carte because he is truly concerned about indecent programming?

Or is he making waves about indecent programming because as apparently a true conservative (whose wife is a top aide to Vice President Cheney) he wants to see a free market place decide the fate of cable channels?

Weekly Ratings Notes
Peanuts gang still popular

By Gary Levin USA TODAY

•Christmas cheer. The 40th annual airing of holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas Tuesday averaged 15.3 million viewers, its biggest total since ABC claimed the Peanuts franchise from CBS in 2001.

•Rivals don't fear it. The season premiere of NBC's Fear Factor was no match for Charlie: The shock-reality series clocked its least-watched episode with 8.2 million opposite the Peanuts gang.

•Fittest. Though Survivor: Guatemala was the reality hit's lowest-rated season, Sunday's finale (21.2 million) edged out both Palau and Vanuatu to rank as the top finish since Survivor: All Stars (24.8 million) in May 2004. Lead-in 60 Minutes, abbreviated by an NFL overrun, averaged 19.7 million, its biggest total since March 2000.

•Model looks. The fifth wind-up of UPN's America's Next Top Model (6.4 million) also had that series' biggest crowd since last December's third-cycle finale (6.5 million). And it spurred companion Veronica Mars to its second-best showing with 3.4 million.

•Bandmade. The season finale of MTV's Making the Band 3 scored 4.6 million viewers Thursday, a series high since the reality series migrated from ABC.

•Earl's a pearl. NBC's My Name Is Earl (14 million) had its biggest audience since the series premiere. The comedy was helped by the absence of Fox's House, pre-empted by the Billboard Music Awards, which set a record low with 6.4 million viewers.

•Three sides. Sci Fi Channel's three-part miniseries The Triangle delivered 4.3 million viewers Monday and Tuesday, and 3.9 million for Wednesday's conclusion, marking the channel's biggest week since five-night miniseries Taken aired three years ago.

•Runway slowdown. Bravo's Project Runway started slow, with 354,000 viewers last season, but finished with an impressive climb to 2 million. Nonetheless, the buzz didn't last: Wednesday's second-season debut averaged 925,000.

•Daisy dukes. The premiere of TBS travel-comedy series Daisy Does America managed a modest 1.2 million viewers Tuesday

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-12-14-nielsen-analysis_x.htm

The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that an agreement has been reached that could end those annoying West Coast sports blackouts on Saturday mornings.


“…Entertainment companies and child-advocacy groups reached agreement on new rules for digital television that will require broadcasters to carry children's programming and would set new limits on related Internet sites for kids, people close to the negotiations said.

The deal could end broadcasters' threats to challenge children's television obligations as unconstitutional and could settle a dispute over whether the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to impose regulations on digital broadcasts and the Internet. More broadly, it sets a framework for what obligations broadcasters must meet as they offer new digital channels.

The deal was presented to FCC officials yesterday, these people said.

Under the agreement, the cable-TV industry would get relief from a current FCC rule that counts promos for other children's shows within the 10.5 or 12-minute limit on commercials allowed during an educational broadcast. Broadcasters would get more latitude to pre-empt some children's programming for sporting events -- a particular concern for West Coast stations. Programmers, meanwhile, would be barred from directly linking Internet sites for children to sites that sell related merchandise….”

Critic’s Notebook
Longoria's Globe nod well deserved

By Jeanne Jakle San Antonio Express-News Posted: 12/15/05 10:43 AM CST

As we get closer to Christmas, television's Santas — and Grinches — keep filling our stockings with both cheery gifts and lumps of coal.

This week's Golden Globe announcements brought smiles to a previously snubbed TV face — and undoubtedly her San Antonio Spur boyfriend — as well as to this critic, who felt gratified by this and other nominations.

Meanwhile, pre-emptions of favorite shows by holiday specials, along with December rerun after rerun, are causing viewers to wail, "Bah, humbug." Here's a list — and I'm checking it twice — of latest ups and downs:

Gift: Eva Longoria, S.A.'s adopted celeb and yearlong squeeze of Tony Parker, finally — and deservedly — got a best-actress nomination for her role in "Desperate Housewives."

Longoria, for no logical reason, was the only one of the "Housewives'" central quartet not to garner an Emmy nod last summer. She took it well, theorizing that she may be too much of a newcomer to be noticed.

She's certainly being noticed now ... big time. Her character, Gabrielle Solis, brought some of the juicier moments to viewers in a "Housewives" season that's been generally lackluster. If anyone on the show deserved a Golden Globe nod — for best actress in a TV musical or comedy series — it's Longoria. Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross also were nominated, but to tell you the truth, the only one out of the four who really showed her chops this season was Eva.

It would be an added treat to Spurs fans, of course, if she brought her "honey bunny," as she called Parker on "Saturday Night Live," to the January awards show. Constantly pictured in celebrity magazines exuberantly cheering her beau on (check her pic during the Dallas-San Antonio game on Page 12 of the Dec. 19 issue of People), it would be great to watch Parker respond in kind during the Globes.

Gift: To yours truly from the Globes for recognizing two of TV's sleeper offerings of the year that I simply adored. Yes, we all expected network and cable biggies such as "Lost" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" to get recognition. But when I saw the "movie or miniseries" nods for two less ballyhooed gems — the quiet and very moving HBO political movie "Girl in the Café" and BBC America's "Viva Blackpool," one of the most innovative combinations of music, spectacle and meaty drama ever brought to TV, I almost wept with joy.

Coal: To viewers, such as William Parnell, who are feeling let down this month by network decisions to put their best stuff on hold during the holidays and fill their slots with specials or reruns. Parnell wrote in frustration when he saw his favorite TV offering, ABC's "Commander in Chief," first in a rerun and, more recently, pre-empted altogether by back-to-back half-hours of "According to Jim."

According to KSAT spokesman David Cuccio, however, fans won't have to wait long for a return of the new White House drama starring Geena Davis. Original episodes begin again on Jan. 10. Most of the other hot series also will entertain again once the holidays have passed.

Gift: To everyone involved with Showtime's smoking summer delight, "Weeds." This includes actress Renée Victor, a San Antonio native who attended Providence High; she plays the no-nonsense housekeeper in the suburbia comedy about a widowed mom who sells marijuana in her high-end neighborhood. Tuesday, the premium channel announced it has given the green light to a second season of "Weeds." Could the decision be linked to the multiple Golden Globe nods that were announced the same day?

Coal: To NBC for inflicting on viewers a new prime-time series, that should, at best, have been relegated to the daytime hours. "Deal or No Deal" is a game show of chance that makes the old "Let's Make a Deal" look like "Citizen Kane." In the limited hourlong 7 p.m. show, which starts Monday and ends Thursday, host Howie Mandel confronts contestants with 26 sealed briefcases filled with cash amounts, ranging from $1 to $1 million. Watching the contestants give in to the worst greed, while Mandel plays irksome cat-and-mouse games with them may be a kick for five minutes. But being exposed to it any longer than that amounts to sheer torture.

Gift: From WOAI to Ellen DeGeneres, who amazingly benefited from the station's rescheduling of her daytime talk show here; this season, she was moved from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., pitting DeGeneres against the almighty"Oprah." Turns out, though, that her ratings against "Oprah" have actually seen an upswing from her ratings against "Dr. Phil."

Of course, it could be that the"Ellen" show has just had more time to catch on. Whatever the case, it's heartening to see the improvement, and I'll be curious to see how well the talented DeGeneres does here when KENS picks up her show next fall and runs it, once again, opposite "Dr. Phil."

Gift or coal? After a season that veered all over the place — and attracted some critics' ire — it'll be interesting to see if "Nip/Tuck" ultimately delivers with its long-anticipated finale at 9 p.m. Tuesday on FX. Creator Ryan Murphy has promised to unmask the horrific "Carver" character who has attacked and disfigured many a victim — including both of the main plastic surgeon characters, Dr. Christian Troy and Dr. Sean McNamara.

Much speculation has surrounded the identity of "The Carver" — with most guessers figuring him/her to be a primary character. Will it be Sean; fired doctor Quentin Costa; anesthesiologist Liz; Christian's ex-fiancée Kimber?

http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/columnists/jjackle/stories/MYSA121505.5P2.jakle.10dd9141.html

Do you want to see how goofy Madison Avenue can get with ratings?
Here is a whole report centered around last night's viewership in the 2-11 demographic!

“Overnights” Report
Kiddies go bonkers over the “Grinch”
Ratings surge 550 percent among the 2-11 set

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 15, 2005

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is no “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” but it’s still quite popular among kids 2-11.

Airing at 8 p.m. on the WB last night, the 30-minute “Grinch” posted a 2.6 overnight rating among viewers 2-11, way up from its usual timeslot average.

Last night’s rating was up 550 percent versus the 0.4 “One Tree Hill” averaged among 2-11s in that timeslot over the previous three Wednesdays.

The WB easily took the 8-8:30 p.m. slot among 2-11s, finishing ahead of the 1.6 Fox grabbed for “That ‘70s Show.” It also finished second among teens with a 1.5 and men 18-34 with a 1.4.

Still, the 39-year-old animated Dr. Seuss special lagged far behind the other kids’ Christmas specials on the bigger broadcast networks. CBS earned an 8.8 for “Rudolph” a couple weeks ago and ABC averaged a 7.4 last week for “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

The fourth in the grand slam of holiday specials, “Frosty the Snowman,” airs on Saturday night at 8 p.m. on CBS.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6725802#post6725802

Fighting to get “Arrested”?

By Michael Starr The New York Post

December 15, 2005 – “Arrested Development" could have a second life on ABC or Showtime.

"Conversations are ongoing with both networks," an industry insider told The Post yesterday.

Both networks are contemplating picking up the quirky, Emmy-winning Fox series, according to trade reports.

ABC "is having preliminary conversations" about acquiring the show, a network spokesman told The Post yesterday.

"Arrested Development" hasn't been officially canceled by Fox, but isn't expected to return after its third-season order was cut from 22 episodes to 13 episodes.

The show is co-produced by Hollywood powerhouse Ron Howard, who provides the voiceover narration, and has been a critical favorite since premiering in 2003. It won an Emmy in 2004.

But it's never caught on with viewers and has averaged roughly 4 million viewers this season. That would be a terrific viewership number for cable's Showtime, but wouldn't cut-the-mustard on ABC.

A sticking point, at least for Showtime, appears to be the cost of the show, particularly the economics of paying its large cast of "name" stars (including Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walter), who would demand higher salaries because of their visibility.

But it's believed that Showtime could bookend the show with its critically acclaimed comedy "Weeds," which has been renewed for a second season this week and received several Golden Globe nominations, increasing its cachet.

However, if ABC were to acquire "Arrested," it wouldn't be the first time a current series has switched broadcast networks, often with good results.

Some of the recent examples include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which jumped from The WB to UPN and, more famously, "JAG," which enjoyed a long run on CBS after moving over from NBC.

Showtime officials had no comment yesterday.

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/59705.htm

Critic’s Notebook
Everybody loves a marathon

By Maureen Ryan Chicago Tribune December 14, 2005

All next week, UPN will be airing "Everybody Hates Chris" episodes at 7 p.m. each night. It's a great way to catch up with the comedy if you haven't been watching it. And if you haven't been watching it, well, start.

Much credit to "How I Met Your Mother's" Nov. 28 episode, "The Pineapple Incident," which prominently featured a Cheap Trick song. The coolest thing was that they didn't use a well-known (and worthy) hit such as "Surrender" but used the very cool "Voices" instead. Sweet.

Want to see Jamie Bamber speak with his real British accent? Check out the Jan. 2 "Sci Fi Inside" special on "Battlestar Galactica"; the program itself returns on Jan. 6. The preview special is only half an hour long, and it attempts to get folks up to speed on the season and a half of "Battlestar" that's already aired. Yeah, good luck with that. A better bet is to just watch all of "Battlestar's" first season on DVD, and catch one of the Season 2 marathons on Sci Fi -- Season 2 marathons air on both Dec. 20 or Jan. 5 (check out scifi.com's schedule for details).

The special's much too short, but it's nice to see the "Battlestar" actors all cleaned up and in playful moods. Some tidbits from the special (spoiler alert! Don't read this if you want to be in the dark on Season 2!): Tricia Helfer says that No. 6 kills a Cylon, Mary McDonnell intimates that President Roslin suspects Baltar may be a Cylon and Apollo ends up in a suicidal mood. Yikes. Also, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reports that Lucy Lawless, who's played a journalist on "Battlestar," returns twice to the show.

• You have to love NBC's "Scrubs" promos. Love in the sense of hate, that is. The promos, which herald the comedy's Jan. 3 return, announce, "'Scrubs' fans, your pain is almost over!" Well now, who caused that pain? Who might that be? It's you, NBC! You caused the pain that you are now advertising the end of! Yeesh. I swear.

• Speaking of Sci Fi, the network has picked up all 10 episodes of "Night Stalker," the seven episodes that aired on ABC and three episodes that didn't air because the show was canceled. "Night Stalker" will air on Sci Fi in the summer.

• Here's a little teaser from an interview I did with Greg Garcia, creator of "My Name Is Earl": In an episode in the new year, Jon Favreau will guest star as the very disgruntled manager of a fast-food joint where Earl gets a job. More from Garcia will be posted here in coming days.

http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/

Critic’s Notebook
Just accept it, enjoy the show

By Scott D. Pierce Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News

I hate to break this to you, but scripted TV shows are not real life.

If you want to see real life, look out the window. Spy on your neighbors. (OK, don't do that.)

But even the most realistic of scripted programs are just that — scripted. And you have to accept their version of reality.

Take, for example, the Fox series "Prison Break." Before the show premiered, the show's basic premise was questioned by one of my cynical TV-critic colleagues.

(Imagine that! A cynical TV critic!)

My colleague wondered whether we were supposed to believe that, in order to break his brother out of prison, the main character would actually commit a crime, intentionally get caught and then get sent to exactly the same prison as that incarcerated sibling.

After fussing around a bit with explanations of how a convicted criminal can request a prison assignment (although it's no sure thing), creator/writer/executive producer Paul Scheuring got to the heart of the matter: "If we didn't have that, then we might not have this show."

And the same can be said of any scripted television show, be it comedy or drama. If you don't accept certain conceits in the premise, you don't have a show.

Pick a show — any show — and that holds true. "Everybody Loves Raymond" often reflected real-life family dynamics, but if you were bothered by the fact that Ray never actually seemed to go to work or that he was a sportswriter despite apparently having no knowledge of the English language, the show didn't work.

All the "CSIs" (and the CSI clones) depend on speed-of-light technology that doesn't exist. (At least not at the speed of light.) Legal dramas dating back to the start of television compress events and shorten trials in ways that defy reality.

And that's easy to accept compared to the monsters that populate shows ranging from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "Supernatural."

Hey, Jack Bauer is about to save The World As We Know It for the fifth time in a single day when the new season of "24" premieres in January.

You need look no further than "24" for a show that proves that suspension of disbelief is required. I love the show, but if you step off that roller-coaster ride and look at it logically, it's ridiculous. Particularly when it's all supposed to take place in one 24-hour period.

So a guy gets hit in the face with a shovel one hour, but he's feeling pretty much better the next. Jack's heart stops one hour, the next he's back to saving the world. And those are but two minor examples.

None of this is meant as criticism. If a show is true to its own reality, it has done what it should do. Back when Buffy and her friends were still in high school, they were the most believable teenagers on TV — far more than those phony teens on "90210" — but they also just happened to fight vampires and demons, while worrying about the prom.

The problems come when shows deviate from their own rules and norms. Or when viewers (or critics) think too hard about stuff that's supposed to be entertainment, not documentary.

I'm reminded of the defense offered by producer Glen Morgan back in the mid-'90s when the premise of his sci-fi series "Space: Above and Beyond" was questioned. "The reality of science is that it takes four years to get to Jupiter," he said. "And that's a dull show."

Exactly.

http://www.desnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635168510,00.html

Critic's Notebook
Fox kills “Reunion” — again?


You know, when it was first announced that the show was canceled, and the creator said that there was no way to have a conclusion in the remaining episodes, for the life of me I couldn't understand why they would even bother running the rest of the episodes, who's going to watch it..? What advertiser would want their ads on a show that is guaranteed to have almost no viewers...This announcement makes sense.

From Multichannel News,

Time Warner Spells Out Family Tier

By R. Thomas Umstead 12/15/2005 12:15:00 PM

Time Warner Cable Thursday became the first cable company to define its new family-friendly tier, featuring 15 channels, including Time Warner Inc.-owned CNN Headline News.

The “Family Choice” tier, to be rolled out across its service area in the first quarter of 2006, will cost consumers $12.99 above the cost for the MSO’s broadcast-basic service tier.

It will include kids’ services Boomerang, Discovery Kids, Disney Channel, Toon Disney and Nick Games & Sports. The other services are The Science Channel, DIY Network, Fit TV, Food Network, Home & Garden Television, La Familia, The Weather Channel, C-SPAN-2, C-SPAN 3 and Headline News.

Broadcast basic costs an average of $12 per month, a company spokesman said. A digital set-top costs $7.95 per month. All of the channels are currently distributed on Time Warner Cable systems.

National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow told a Senate committee Monday that Comcast Corp., Time Warner and other MSOs serving about 50% of all cable subscribers will offer a Family Choice tier, probably in the first quarter of next year, as their response to concerns about indecent content across the cable dial.

“Our customers have always had the tools to actively exclude any channel or program they might find objectionable for their families,” Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Glenn Britt said in a press release. “This new family tier will offer our customers yet another way to obtain kid-friendly programs without the need for them to take an active role in monitoring shows and deciding on which ones to proactively block from their TV set.”

TV Review
A fitting swan song for Jennings

By Verne Gay Newsday Staff Writer December 15, 2005

Frame by frame, Peter Jennings reported a vast number of documentaries - more than 60 according to Charles Gibson, who introduces tonight's opus posthumous of the legendary newsman. Yet this little-known fact became a mere asterisk in the obits that chronicled his life and death in August because far too many of those aired late on some hot August night when most viewers were likely to be asleep.

What a shame, considering so many of these programs often revealed Jennings at his very best - as a remarkably thoughtful newsman and reporter of the first order. Therefore, it's entirely fitting that Jennings' last official act for ABC, as it were, should be tonight's "Peter Jennings Reporting," (10 PM ET/PT) which he worked on in the months before his diagnosis for lung cancer in April. He couldn't narrate the program (although he is seen on-screen). An unnamed soul who almost perfectly captures the clean cadences of Jennings' delivery does the honors - but Jennings' deft touch is evident throughout.

There is no hellfire or damnation in "Crisis" about a subject that has drawn both; instead Jennings and producer Keith Summa present a (mostly) thorough, intelligent and balanced hour on a subject of vast importance while the conclusion veers perilously close to this: The country's health care crisis, in which over 40 million-and-counting are uninsured while insurance rates continue their unabated rise, is the fault ... of us. That may not be the culprit we'd prefer, but "Crisis" offers a compelling reason why it's the logical one.

Of necessity, the broadcast is consumed with statistics, though they are so skillfully wedded to the narrative that they never threaten to derail the story Jennings is telling. To condense just a few here: There are 46 million people without health insurance, while 174 million people get their insurance through work and another 27 million purchase individual policies. This broadcast is mostly preoccupied with the 174 million, because their habits have adversely affected the fortunes of those without - and as their plight worsens, the framework holding up the 174 million grows ever creakier.

A handful of experts help to explain this complicated snowball effect, but "Crisis" works best when relying on numbers. Did you know that General Motors will spend more on health care costs ($5.6 billion) than on steel ($2.7 billion) this year? Or that the nation's insurers use 87 cents of ever dollar to pay for health care, while just 13 cents for administration - or the exact same ratio as 30 years ago.

What's to blame for spiraling insurance costs? Spiraling insurance claims - or, our obsession with expensive (and often unnecessary) tests and expensive (and often unnecessary) drugs, "Crisis" argues. Jennings looks at a health food chain in Austin, Texas, that incentivizes employees to cut back on both, while an expert at Dartmouth advises that by curtailing some practices, consumers wouldn't be "rationing" their health care, but improving it.

"Crisis" seems to end far too perfunctorily - so quickly that it doesn't even bother to collar another well-known culprit, the vast and burgeoning malpractice lawsuit industry and the attendant costs associated with that. It's a bizarre omission, but one suspects Jennings had other things to worry about by the time this went into post-production.

And how, by the way, does Jennings look during this hour? Never better. Never better.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettel4550708dec15,0,1954852,print.story?coll=ny-television-headlines

Time Warner Launches Family Tier

By John M. Higgins & John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable
Now we know what Time Warner thinks is family-friendly.

Hoping to placate regulators, Time Warner Cable said Thursday it would launch a tier of family programming.

While the 15-channel tier will include one top network --The Disney Channel -- it is composed largely of spinoffs of cable's most popular networks.

The new Family Choice tier will include:
Boomerang
C-SPAN 2
C-SPAN 3
CNN Headline News
The Science Channel
Discovery Kids
Disney Channel
Toon Disney
DIY Network
FIT-TV
Food Network
HGTV
La Familia
Nick Games & Sports, and
The Weather Channel.

Notable absences from the tier are the major news networks, kids channel Nickelodeon, Time Warner's own Cartoon Network (which also carries adult content) and Discovery Channel.

The networks are all considered "G-rated" by Time Warner Cable executives, and they do not have live entertainment programming.

The tier will be rolled out during the first quarter of 2006 and cost $12.99 monthly. The tier is a digital cable package requiring many subscribers to pay more for a new converter for many customers.

Subscribers will still have to buy the broadcast basic tier for around $12 monthly. But they will not have to buy enahanced basic or any other digital tier.

“Our customers have always had the tools to actively exclude any channel or program they might find objectionable for their families,” Glenn Britt, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable, said in a statement. “This new family tier will offer our customers yet another way to obtain kid-friendly programs without the need for them to take an active role in monitoring shows and deciding on which ones to proactively block from their TV set.”

National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow Monday told the Senate Commerce Committee during an indecency hearing that operators representing over 50% of U.S. subs would be announcing family-freindly tiers, some within the next week or so, saying that should take mandated a la carte off the table.

Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was hoping the effort would obviate the need for regulation and placate cable critics, but several groups, including Parents Television Council, Concerned Women for America and Consumers Union, said Thursday the tiers are not sufficient unless the channels are chosen by the viewers in customized packages (a la carte), not by the operators or programmers.

The B&C story on the Time Warner "family tier" (if it is accurate) shows how cynical TWC is being on this whole issue.

The TW plan amounts to little but a not-so-subtle "screw-you" to Congress and FCC Chairman Martin.

Many major kids networks are left off the tier. What a surprise. But TW's own CNN Headline News is not. Again, what a surprise.

The total cost of the channels included is probably no more than $2.50-$3.

Nice markup, TWC!

If this is the best the cable geniuses at TWC can do, true and total a la carte is clearly the only answer.

So get to work, Congress and Chairman Martin.

Fewer reality shows next summer?
ABC, CBS Pursue Summer Telenovelas

By A.J. Frutkin MediaWeek.com DECEMBER 15, 2005 -

The latest programming trend to hit stateside won't come from across the Atlantic --it will arrive from south of the border. Both ABC and CBS reportedly are looking to create English-language telenovelas to air as early as next summer, with the hour-long melodramas airing anywhere from two to five times a week.

Hoping to make good on promises to air more original scripted fare during the summer season, CBS is developing five scripts, including projects from Jackie Collins, Jonathan Prince and Rama Stagner (American Dreams); and producer Denise DiNovi with writers Jim and Diane Stanley (Knots Landing).

ABC reportedly has collected 45 telenovela bibles, in hopes of translating for American viewers an already produced format.

To make the programming financially viable over the less-watched summer months, programmers at both networks are intent on producing cost-effective programs that sacrifice little in terms of production values.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/networktv/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001699304

TV Review
“Nightline” Ups the Star Power but Delivers Less Wattage

By Tom Shales The Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 15, 2005; C01

ABC's "Nightline" might as well be retitled "Night Light," but not because it's illuminating. No. The late-night news program now is simply more about style than content, and the style isn't all that special.

Obviously it is no easy task to follow Ted Koppel and the old "Nightline." Having evolved from a series of reports about the Mideast in crisis, the program survived a shaky start to become a true broadcast of distinction. It represented a double breakthrough, covering a single topic in depth on most editions and featuring Koppel's thoughtful, penetrating interviews with newsmakers of the moment.

There were numerous production innovations and a good deal of ambitious risk-taking in the ensuing decades.

It should please Koppel that it's taken three people to replace him since he left the show last month and even then, the roster seems deficient. Cynthia McFadden and Terry Moran do good anchor work, but the team's third member, Martin Bashir, might as well be from south Pluto. He is jarringly incompatible with his colleagues, and he slows the program with the old-fashioned formality of his questioning. He also manages to combine solemn pretentiousness with a hefty trace of the tabloid.

After all, Bashir first came to America's attention two years ago with a lengthy Michael Jackson interview that was highly watchable but also on the sleazy side. You couldn't feel all that good about having seen it.

In a "Nightline" segment devoted to the legacy of the late comic icon Richard Pryor that aired Monday, Bashir assumed a grimly serious demeanor as he put very studied, whither-thou questions to Whoopi Goldberg. Bashir: "How did he help define the role of the black comedian?" Goldberg (emphatically): "I don't know."

She went on to say that although Pryor's work had special significance for African Americans, she thought of him as a pioneer for all comedians, a "storyteller" who influenced comics regardless of their ethnicity. She appeared to resent, and rightly, the notion of implicitly limiting Pryor's identity and impact through the shaping of the questions.

That was the third of the usual three segments on the program, traditionally the spot for news of the pop-culture scene -- a plug for George Clooney's film "Syriana" was the attraction on another night. Then comes each night's flippant little postscript, a gimmicky smirker called "Sign of the Times" that deals superficially with some item in the news that might not be a sign of the times at all.

After the Goldberg appearance, for instance, the "Sign of the Times" piece was some nonsense about a "dress code" for players in the NBA. Even though it arguably had nothing to do with the subject at hand, footage of a 2004 brawl involving Indiana Pacer Ron Artest and other players was shown for approximately the thousandth time, a cheap and, at this point, probably ineffective way of grabbing a viewer's attention.

Then came a list of new rules -- about on- and off-court apparel (including those long, saggy-baggy shorts) -- that the NBA imagines it can impose on players. That was about that, except for Bashir returning to say philosophically into the camera, "Shorter shorts -- a sign of the times?" Probably not.

On the next night's show, the "Sign of the Times" had to do with an increase in bank robberies, especially bizarre ones. The peg for this was the arrest of the sophomore class president at Lehigh University for allegedly having pulled a bank job. There was also footage of the kooky cell-phone bandit, and that was pretty much that. As with many of the segments that have aired during the post-Koppel program's first two weeks, these closing pieces were utterly devoid of substance and sometimes surprisingly unsophisticated.

Often viewers might think they've just seen the introductory portion of a piece and then discover that, au contraire, they've seen the whole thing. That's all there is, there isn't any more. Tuesday night's program opened with a solid investigative report by Chris Bury (rhymes with "furry") on the ever-growing matrix of political contribution scandals on Capitol Hill. Bury concentrated on allegations concerning Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), who allegedly enjoyed such funsy outings as a golf trip to Scotland financed by a corporate sugar daddy.

Moran unfortunately felt the need to follow the report with a sappy sentiment that sounded like something out of an old radio crime show. "Congressman Bob Ney," Moran said sternly, "seems to have a lot of explaining to do." Oh, no! Constant Viewer almost fell off his couch.

Moran sounded similarly specious Monday night with a report he taped in Iraq. "It's not the place you see on TV every night," he said. "Much of the media coverage here is one-dimensional." So then, what? We should put on our 3-D glasses? "Nightline" was going to show all the bad boys of broadcasting how to do it? Moran's report wasn't revolutionary and didn't justify his lecturing others in the TV news business.

The report perhaps could have used more context, but it also could have used more report. It took up two segments, yet still seemed cut short. McFadden's piece on "The War at Home" -- mainly about an activist coping in her own way with her husband's having to serve in Iraq -- was good but also seemed over too soon. Clearly, this hit-and-run stuff is part of a strategy to make "Nightline" appeal to younger audiences, the goal of virtually every show on television, but viewers who don't have MTV attention spans might feel downright cheated.

There's a sort of edgy glitz to the show's new opening, computer animation of a runaway comet, or maybe a jet-propelled Tinker Bell (Disney owns ABC, after all), zooming through a neon Manhattan on its urgent way to the Times Square studios of ABC News.

The three-anchor format, meanwhile, is mainly just irritating. You never know who'll pop up from where after a commercial break. It would be nice to see the anchors side by side in the same room once in a while; otherwise, it appears they aren't on speaking terms.

Bashir's windy performance clashes so sharply with his colleagues' that one has to wonder if a two-anchor format might not be better. And Bashir's stiff British accent -- "shed-yuled" instead of "scheduled" -- is off-putting on a nightly telecast. Craig Ferguson gets away with a Scottish brogue on the CBS "Late Late Show," but he's in the comedy business.

The reaction to the new "Nightline" heard most often around the office has been that it's "just another magazine show." In fact, just another magazine show is ipso facto more desirable than just another talk show in the 11:35 time slot. As much as one might be rooting for ABC News to hang on to the time period and not surrender it to the entertainment division, however, "Nightline" has to improve for it to have real value. If not "Night Light," then it's "Night-Lite," a sallow shallow shadow of its former splendid self.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR2005121402498_pf.html

Programming notes
NBC's new Sunday night

Goodbye, “NFL Primetime.” Hello, “Football Night in America. ” Starting next September, when NBC takes over rights to “Sunday Night Football” from ESPN, the network will run a 75-minute highlights show prior to the game’s 8:15 p.m. kickoff. Bob Costas will host the hour-long pregame show beginning at 7 p.m., John Madden will be an on-air analyst, and Cris Collinsworth will comment from the studio.

According to the new deal, NBC has exclusive rights to the day’s NFL highlights, meaning ESPN will not be able to run a Sunday night highlights show. ESPN takes over “Monday Night Football” this fall after a 35-year run on ABC.

In other programming news:,

A&E has renewed three series: "Dog the Bounty Hunter," "Inked," and "Criss Angel Mindfreak." It's apparently axing third-year shows "Growing up Gotti" and "Airline." "Dog" is the highest-rated show on A&E and will start a run of 26 episodes in February.

And CBS has ordered a mini-series prequel to "Lonesome Dove" called "Comanche Moon," to be written by "Dove's" Larry McMurtry.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/cat_index_31.asp

Critic’s Notebook Making book on celeb bios

By Marisa Guthrie The New York Daily News

Stars mulling the merits of penning their autobiography may find Eugene Pack's "Celebrity Autobiography" instructive.

The show, tonight at 10 PM ET on Bravo, has actors including Cheryl Hines, Jay Mohr, Kevin Nealon and Doris Roberts reading from the autobiographies from the likes of Joan Lunden, 'N Sync, Madonna, Kathie Lee Gifford, Sylvester Stallone and David Cassidy.

Talk about being hoisted on your own petard.

"You couldn't make this stuff up," said Pack.

And yet it is rather unbelievable to know that Stallone wrote meticulously about the contents of his refrigerator, or that Lunden thought readers would like to know her technique for laying out her clothes the night before or that Gifford deemed a poem to her unborn son Cody worthy of mass distribution. ("His little boy thoughts are a mystery to me, Long before I know him, my little Co-dy.")

And, they also read from David Cassidy writing, very graphically, about getting intimate with fellow "Partridge Family" castmate Susan Dey.

"It is amazing the things that people write," said Hines, who reads from Gifford's book as well as Loni Anderson's "My Life in High Heels."

None of these books even approaches the classification of literature; excerpted and read aloud, they sound absurd.

"You see these people writing about the details of their life as if we really need to know every detail of their lives," said Pack. "But maybe we do want to know these details - for some strange reason."

The show is a popular staple on the Los Angeles comedy club circuit. Tonight's special was taped at Room 5. Pack is hopeful that Bravo will want to do more.

Some of the funniest segments are group readings including the classic Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton and Debbie Reynolds/Eddie Fisher quagmire. And Hines, Fred Willard and Andrea Martin read from the autobiographies of Anderson, Burt Reynolds and Elaine Blake Hall, respectively. Yes, Reynolds' longtime assistant wrote a book too; "Burt and Me: My Days and Nights with Burt Reynolds."

"I am not the kind of person that reads celebrity autobiographies," said Hines. "For me, you know, I don't want it to be mean. But then I have to struggle with myself because some of the things you're saying are so ridiculous."

Pack said he is not really trying to skewer self-involved celebrities who write about the minutiae of their lives.

"We're making merry of the celebrity autobiography form and what it is in our culture rather than anyone specific," he said.

Pack hasn't received any cease and desist missives from lawyers - yet.

"Then again," he said, "it's never been on TV before."

At any rate, he does have the truth on his side.

"Nobody is making anything up," he said. "They wrote it. How can you dispute that?

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/374892p-318570c.html

Paramount Chief Said to Be Wooing Top TV Producer


Chairman Brad Grey is trying to lure J.J. Abrams to the studio, according to sources
By Meg James and Claudia Eller Los Angeles Times Staff Writers December 15, 2005

Fresh from landing the biggest name in movies, Steven Spielberg, Paramount Pictures Corp. Chairman Brad Grey is aggressively pursuing the hottest young producer in television, according to three sources close to the talks.

Grey, who this week reached an agreement to buy DreamWorks SKG, the company Spielberg co-founded in 1994, has simultaneously been wooing J.J. Abrams, these sources said. Abrams, 39, is the co-creator of two of the most high-profile shows on TV: the island mystery "Lost" and the cult favorite "Alias," both of which air on ABC.

Abrams has been based for seven years on the Burbank lot of ABC's parent company, Walt Disney Co. But for the last several months, he has been working for Paramount, where he is now editing the studio's $175-million "Mission Impossible: 3."

The movie, which stars Tom Cruise and marks Abrams' feature directorial debut, has given Grey an opening. According to two sources close to the discussions, the studio chief is tempting the writer-producer-director with an all-encompassing deal to make movies, television shows and possibly even video games and take part in Internet ventures for Paramount.

Grey has had several conversations with Abrams and his representatives about relocating his production company, Bad Robot, to the studio's Melrose lot, according to sources who, like several interviewed for this story, declined to be quoted because discussions were continuing.

These sources stressed that the parties did not expect to begin contractual negotiations until early next year. Grey declined to comment, and Abrams did not return calls.

Abrams' current deal with Disney, which covers only TV projects, expires in July. Disney executives know about Grey's overtures but have talked to Abrams only about extending his TV deal, not about expanding it to include feature films, according to two sources.

Grey has made clear that he wants to shore up Paramount's TV production business. The purchase of DreamWorks for $1.6 billion, which is expected to close by the end of January, includes a small TV operation with such shows as "Spin City" in its library and several projects in development.

But luring Abrams to the Paramount lot would be a coup for Grey — and a major loss for Disney. In addition to "Lost" and "Alias," Abrams is launching a new ABC drama, "What About Brian," which is tentatively scheduled to air in March.

Grey knows more about TV than he does about movies. He built his career as a talent manager and TV producer of such shows as "The Sopranos" and "Just Shoot Me." Since coming to the studio in March, he has also drafted Gail Berman, who used to run the entertainment division at News Corp.'s Fox network, as Paramount president and his second in command.

Abrams and his representatives are expected to make a business proposal to Paramount, Disney and other interested studios and networks early next year, sources said. That proposal could launch a bidding war among the rival media companies, including Fox and General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, which privately have said they would jump at the chance to bring Abrams and his company into their fold.

Grey has repeatedly asked to see the proposal, sources said, including making a call to Abrams' representatives this week, sources said. That call came just days after Paramount swooped in to snatch DreamWorks out of the hands of NBC Universal.

Grey has worked for months to foster a good working relationship with Abrams. Last summer, just weeks before the latest "Mission Impossible" was supposed to begin production in Italy, Grey threatened to pull the plug amid concerns of a budget bloated in part by Cruise's lucrative profit-sharing arrangement.

Grey argued that when combined with Cruise's deal, the film's proposed budget of more than $185 million made Paramount's investment too risky. Over and above that total was more than $30 million in pre-production shutdown costs that Paramount had incurred after the film's production was postponed in 2004.

After an intense week of haggling with Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner, Grey emerged from the closely watched standoff with a slimmer budget and an agreement from Cruise to take a smaller cut. And Abrams got to make his movie.

Production began July 18, and Paramount plans to release the movie May 5, the start of the summer blockbuster season.

After taking the reins at Paramount, Grey quickly began bringing fresh talent to the studio, including his former management client Brad Pitt and film director Mark Waters, whose credits include "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday."

Grey's interest in TV, meanwhile, appears linked to the imminent breakup of the studio's parent, Viacom Inc. Within weeks, the media giant will split into two publicly traded companies: Viacom — which includes Paramount, MTV Networks and soon DreamWorks — and CBS Corp.

CBS will get all of Viacom's current TV operations, including CBS Paramount Television, which produces the "CSI" franchise, "Everybody Hates Chris," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Dr. Phil," as well as King World, which syndicates "Oprah" and "Wheel of Fortune."

The son of successful TV-movie producer Gerald Abrams, J.J. Abrams got his start screenwriting in the late 1980s when Disney bought his first screenplay, "Taking Care of Business." The 1990 movie starred Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin.

Abrams went on to write several features, including co-writing 1998's "Armageddon." That same year, Abrams created the TV series "Felicity," which was co-produced by Disney's Touchstone Television and ran for four seasons on the WB network, which is owned by Time Warner Inc. and Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Co.

His cult hit "Alias," about a gorgeous young spy (played by Jennifer Garner) who works as a double agent for the CIA, secured Abrams' status as a TV producer to watch. And last year, his status was cemented when he and Damon Lindelof created "Lost," one of the most popular and lucrative shows on television.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-brad15dec15,1,458856,print.story?coll=la-headlines-business

Critic’s Notebook
Faces of the Dead

By Rich Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal TV blog

Television can be like a scrapbook, and not a well organized one. Think of the channels as different pages holding bits of your past, little reminders that you either seek out or come across without expecting them.

When you do what I do, that scrapbook can be even more startling, because over the last 20-plus years I have been in the presence of a lot of actors who have since died.

Some of them are people I have talked to directly. The other day I was channel-hopping and glimpsed a movie with Gregory Hines. In 1997 he starred in a sitcom for CBS. The show had some good things, but was not successful, lasting only one season. Still, I remember talking to Hines at a CBS party, and enjoying the conversation, and so feeling a deeper pang of sadness when Hines died in 2003.

All of this leads up to ''Peter Jennings Reporting: Breakdown -- America's Health Insurance Crisis,'' which airs (tonight 10 PM ET/PT) on ABC. As you all know, Peter Jennings is dead. This program consists of reporting he did before being diagnosed with lung cancer; Jennings is seen on-camera during interviews, although his health problems kept him from narrating the special.

The documentary is solid enough, and I expect to have something about it in the Beacon Journal later this week. But I couldn't help watching it on a couple of different levels.

One, of course, was a serious news documentary -- the sort of thing ABC News is promising to keep doing even if Jennings himself is gone. (At least, that's what Charles Gibson says at the end of the special. Gibson, who reportedly came close to getting Jennings's job after the anchorman's death, also introduces the program.)

The other, though, involved watching just Jennings, whom I had met and interviewed here and there over the years. I thought again about the man, and how he might have been happy that people got another reminder that he loved his work. And -- couldn't help myself -- I looked for signs of the health crisis he was about to face. During one interview, he seems to struggle for breath for a moment, and does so again later in the same interview. Is that it? I wondered. Is that a sign of what he is about to face?

Some of you may look at the show in the same way, and some of you may tune in just because it's a last, lingering look at Jennings. I know that's a big reason why I watched it. I don't review a lot of news specials, after all. But I felt the need to turn to this page in the TV scrapbook.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

Time Warner Cable Launches First Family-Friendly Tier

By Anthony Crupi MediaWeek.com DECEMBER 15, 2005 -

Time Warner Cable threw down the gauntlet Thursday, becoming the first cable company to hash out an official family-friendly tier.

Under the banner of “Family Choice,” the MSO has put together a package of 15 networks, including: Boomerang, Discovery Kids, The Science Channel, Disney Channel, Toon Disney, Nick Games & Sports, DIY Network, Fit TV, Food Network, HGTV, La Familia, The Weather Channel, C-SPAN-2, C-SPAN 3 and Headline News.

The tier, which goes wide starting in the first quarter of 2006, will add $12.99 to what Time Warner charges for its broadcast basic service package. Subscribers opting to buy into the tier will thereafter be shut out of other network programming, including widely-distributed channels like TNT, ESPN and USA Network.

Time Warner Cable spokesman Keith Cocozza said that the networks selected for the tier were subjected to four basic criteria before the package was finalized. The four guiding principles are as follows:

1) The network must carry G-rated programming 24 hours a day, with the rating having been determined by each network’s self-described programming standards and the language in their individual carriage agreements with the MSO.

2) If the programming is not rated -- as is the case with HGTV, for example –– then “that programming has to be generally perceived as non-objectionable,” Cocozza said.

3) The channels cannot contain live programming. “After all, that’s what got us into this situation in the first place,” Cocozza noted, in a nod to the infamous Janet Jackson breast-baring incident during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

4) The channels should be widely distributed and thereby “recognizable” to Time Warner subs.

Although he elected to not comment on specific networks that were shut out of the deal, Cocozza said that any channel that was not included in the family-friendly package “most likely did not meet at least one of the criteria.” In other words, Cartoon Network didn’t make the cut because of the edgy fare the channel offers during its Adult Swim daypart.

The new tier can perhaps be characterized as the path of least resistance for cable, which has been offered two other wildly unappealing scenarios by the Federal Communications Commission. Neither an a la carte programming model nor mandated federal network decency standards are a palatable choice for programmers and operators looking to offer their customers the widest variety of viewing options.

“We’ve been offering parental controls for years and yet there were still some consumers that felt that they didn’t want to have to monitor their children’s TV viewing and they didn’t want to set controls on their own,” Cocozza said. “This was clearly our most attractive option.”

Comcast reportedly has also been looking into developing its own family-friendly tier, although representatives could not be reached for comment (Thursday) afternoon.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001699352

The total cost of the channels included is probably no more than $2.50-$3.

Nice markup, TWC!

If this is the best the cable geniuses at TWC can do, true and total a la carte is clearly the only answer.

Does this surprise anyone?!

Even a la carte won't help: If the current basic tier is say $30 for 60 channels, you can bet that the most watched channels will cost $10 each, the next highest channels will fetch $5-8 each and so on. Big business will NEVER lose money. The consumer will always take it on the chin.

Good luck! ;)

Does this surprise anyone?!

Even a la carte won't help: If the current basic tier is say $30 for 60 channels, you can bet that the most watched channels will cost $10 each, the next highest channels will fetch $5-8 each and so on. Big business will NEVER lose money. The consumer will always take it on the chin.

Good luck! ;)

A la carte legislation would obviously not allow MSOs to have $8 per channel pricing or $40 for 60 channels. That would be an obvious skirting of the intent of a la carte if a channel that costs the MSO currently $0.60 would be priced at $8.00 under a la carte. And frankly, as long as the legislation forbids the cable networks from bundling in their contracts (including separate pricing for a la carte customers) I don't really care if the cable company prices Oxygen at $8 per sub. At that level, there is competition and I guarantee D* or E* will cut that ridiculous markup and they'll go back and forth until the pricing is much more reasonable.

The title of this article is just too funny given the player and the network involved.. :D :D

From Broadcasting and Cable,

NBC Names Zucker CEO of Tweaked TV Group

By John M. Higgins -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/15/2005 2:36:00 PM

Despite the problems at NBC, Jeff Zucker is getting a bigger job at NBC Universal, becoming CEO of a reorganized TV group. Zucker had previously been president of NBC U Television Group, responsible for broadcast and cable networks, the company's TV studio and first-run syndication.

The new group will include divisions that had been run in separate units: television stations, operations, ad sales and distribution.

One executive affected is President, NBC Universal Television Networks Group, Randy Falco, who had reported directly to NBC U Chairman Bob Wright and was in charge of sales, broadcast-affiliate relations, cable distribution, production operations, research, information technology, and Spanish-language network Telemundo. Falco will now report to Zucker but have more turf, most notably NBC's owned-and-operated TV stations.

Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television Stations, had reported to Wright but will now report to Falco.

Making a return to NBC U is Beth Comstock, once the top public-relations executive. Comstock moved up to NBC U parent General Electric, where she was most recently chief marketing officer. She will now serve in a newly created post, president, NBC U digital media and market development, reporting to Wright.

A la carte legislation would obviously not allow MSOs to have $8 per channel pricing or $40 for 60 channels.

Why not? This is a free market society. The legislation won't forbid bundling, just add the option of a la carte. The cable co's know which channels people are most likely to buy and those will be priced in such a way that unless you only watch a few channels or the most obscure ones you'll still be better off with the bundle.

The best we could hope for is if they start getting more creative with the bundling or allow a bundle AND a la carte. THAT would be nice. Take the base package plus the only channel you like from one of the upper tiers. If we get that then declare victory and move on.

Because the legislation could require that the channel be sold to the distributors (at whatever price they want) at a single price without a separate price based on what type of customer is buying that channel. That would not put any unfair restrictions on the free market.

If Viacom wants to price MTV at $12 per month per sub - fine. But they should not be able to charge the cable company $0.85 a month if their customer is buying the expanded tier - and $12 if their customer is an a la carte customer.

If the cable or DBS company wants to trim their margins and offer a deal on a tier - that's fine. As long as those tiers are created at a level in which competition exists. The MSOs are at that level - the cable nets are not.

I suspect that if a la carte is adopted, it will end up being something along the lines of you'd pick a set package of how many channels you want, say 12 channels or 20 or 50 or whatever, at different price points, and then be able to fill in the channels you want. Possibly, the channels themselves will be grouped into different pricing tiers....ESPN, well known for their extortion tactics, will cost considerably more than The History Channel, for example, and be part of a higher priced group from which you would select channels to populate your customized tier. The History Channel would be part of a lower priced tier.

So, say I choose a 20 channel package at, say, $40. I would then be able to pick 5 channels from the top-priced tier, 5 from the middle tier, and 10 from the bottom. I think something along those lines is more likely to emerge from all this than a straight a la carte pricing structure.

One thing's for certain: the cable/DBS companies will not institute anything that might possibly reduce their net profits. The protection, and potential expansion, of their current profit margins will be the overriding criteria in whatever system they adopt.

Big business will NEVER lose money. The consumer will always take it on the chin.

Good luck! ;)

Just look TWA,Ford, Delta, RCA, United, Pan Am, GM, US Steel, Zenith and thousands of other once dominant United States companies.

When a quality, low-cost alternative is available, big business must change its model -- or die. The problem now is that under the table agreements between media conglomerates are keeping the marketplace from being free.

All that most a la carte proponents are asking for is the ability to freely choose. Once the current must-be-on-basic contracts are forbidden, with the choice available (now and far more so in the near future) someone will offer far less expensive TV viewing.

It could be cable (TW is seeking rights to serve all of Texas), it could be satellite, it could be telco. But someone will come up with a far lower-cost alternative once the predatory (and secret) pricing tactics of the programmers is outlawed.

Those who laugh at the idea probably laughed at Herb Kelleher when he had three airplanes and Southwest Airlines was know mainly for its "peanuts" fares.

The title of this article is just too funny given the player and the network involved.. :D :D

From Broadcasting and Cable,

NBC Names Zucker CEO of Tweaked TV Group



This must be a happy day at CBS, ABC, Fox, UPN and the WB.

It is truly mazing how results get so quickly and handsomely rewarded in TV.

Sports On TV
CBS Bests Fox's NFL Pre-Game Show

By Jon Lafayette TVWeek.com December 15, 2005

CBS Sports' NFL pre-game show Dec. 11 beat Fox's show for the first time since 1998, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Thursday.

CBS's "The NFL Today" drew a 3.9 average national rating and a 10 share, compared with a 3.4/9 for "Fox NFL Sunday." Season to date, "Fox NFL Sunday" is averaging a 3.3/9 versus 2.5/7 for "The NFL Today."

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9056

OK, It is Show Of Hands Time

How many of you emailed Rich Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal with your suggestions about the best new second-tier characters this year on TV?

NBCU's SLEUTH POPS THE CORK ON NEW YEAR'S DAY

(Sleuth Press Release)

Premiere of 24-Hour Sleuth to Uncover Pilots "From the Beginning of Crime" Beginning with "The A-Team," "Knight Rider" and "Simon & Simon" Followed by Others Including "Miami Vice," "Columbo," "The Rockford Files" and "Magnum, P.I."

"Miami Vice" Unfurls Two-hour Pilot During Seven-hour Marathon on January 2 and 3

BURBANK, Calif. -- December 15, 2005 -- Late-night New Year's revelers can ring in both 2006 and the launch of Sleuth from NBC Universal Cable Entertainment when the 24-hour channel -- dedicated to the crime, mystery and suspense genres -- pops the cork beginning on Sunday, January 1 at 6 a.m. (ET) with the pilots of "The A-Team," "Knight Rider" and "Simon & Simon," followed by other favorites such as "Miami Vice," "Columbo," "The Rockford Files" and "Magnum, P.I.," among others

The announcement was made by Jeff Gaspin, President, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Cross-Network Strategy.

"The premiere of Sleuth will be enhanced by using these treasured pilots of such favorite crime dramas," said Gaspin. "It makes for a wonderful introduction to many series that broke new ground for all those that followed and retain a dedicated audience that will only grow starting January 1."

Dan Harrison, Senior Vice President, Emerging Networks who oversees Sleuth, also said: "We can't wait to launch Sleuth on New Year's Day. It's a great day to start a network that offers some of the most enduring and popular television genres of all time. We're starting with the pilots of some classic crime dramas from NBC Universal's enormous library. We will give some classic programs new life as loyal fans mix with a new generation who can enjoy them all day and continuing throughout Sleuth's first week."

Starting on New Year's Day and continuing through the week, SLEUTH will debut with the pilots of "The A-Team" (6-7 a.m. ET); "Knight Rider" (7-8 a.m. ET); "Simon and Simon" (8-9 a.m. ET); "Karen Sisco" (9-10 a.m. ET); "Homicide: Life on the Street" (10-11 a.m. ET); "Easy Streets" (11 a.m.-12 noon ET).

The "From The Beginning Of Crime" theme continues through the week with a "Miami Vice" marathon from Monday, Jan. 2-3 (8 p.m.- 3 a.m. ET) that includes the revolutionary drama's high-octane, two-hour pilot starring Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas.

The classic crime-drama pilots continue on Tuesday, January 3 with the two-hour 1968 pilot for "Columbo" ("Prescription: Murder"), starring Peter Falk in his immortal title role as the rumpled police detective, from 9-11 p.m. (ET). Then on Wednesday, Jan. 4 (9-10 p.m. ET) is the initial episode from "The Rockford Files," starring James Garner as the sardonic private detective.

On Thursday, Jan. 5 (9-10 p.m. ET), "Magnum, P.I." rides the Hawaiian waves starring Tom Selleck in the series pilot that made him a star.

After a night of theatricals on Friday, January 6, SLEUTH salutes with the two-hour, 1995 pilot of "JAG," starring David James Elliott from 5-7 p.m. (ET).

(Other information regarding the balance of the first week of SLEUTH's programming lineup will be released soon).

SLEUTH will be the first network to offer a digital triple pack service, which features a standard definition digital channel (SD), hi-definition simulcast channel (HD), and a video-on-demand (VOD) channel offered as a digital bundle. The SD digital channel will be available January 1, 2006, with the VOD and HD offerings available later in 2006.

At launch the network will have more than 5 million subscribers through distribution deals with Time Warner Cable, the first affiliate to carry SLEUTH.

If you think you'll be a little hung over following the holiday (or College bowl) season, the WB has a plan to wake you up....

Trade football for geeks?
(The WB Press Release)
START THE NEW YEAR OFF WITH A WALL-TO-WALL WEEK OF “BEAUTY AND THE GEEK”
THE WB TO AIR “GEEK-A-THON” FEATURING THE FIRST SEASON OF THE HIT REALITY SHOW FROM ASHTON KUTCHER AND JASON GOLDBERG
Burbank, CA December 15, 2005--Admit it, you kind of miss Richard Rubin. You never got enough of watching Lauren Bergfeld do math – well, trying to do math. You can't help but smile just thinking about that time the geeks pitched a tent.
Well, you're in luck. The WB has the cure for your New Year's hangover: a week that will feature all six episodes of the first season of the hit social experiment BEAUTY AND THE GEEK, warming up television sets all over the country for the second season of the reality show, which premieres on Thursday, January 12 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET).
Every frame of the series’ first season will get the encore treatment so you can see it all, from the tire-changing to the massaging, the runway show to the rocket launch. Watch those geeks go shopping and you will no longer be scared by your tour of duty among the Christmas crowds.
The schedule is as follows: (All times ET/PT)
Monday, January 2, 9:00-10:00 p.m. Episode 101
Tuesday, January 3, 9:00-10:00 p.m. Episode 102
Wednesday, January 4, 9:00-10:00 p.m. Episode 103
Thursday, January 5, 9:00-10:00 p.m. Episode 104
Friday, January 6, 8:00-10:00 p.m. Episodes 105 and 106

Critic’s Notebook
ABC tribute to Jennings

Anchorman tackles medical insurance crisis in America in tonight's special.
It was his last before cancer diagnosis
By R.D. Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal Posted on Thu, Dec. 15, 2005

There's a point in a new TV special where the host pauses to catch his breath. And I couldn't help but wonder, ``Was that a warning sign?''

Now, maybe I was seeing something that wasn't there. And maybe I shouldn't have been looking, since the show I was watching was not specifically about how the host was feeling.

But the host was Peter Jennings, the ABC News anchor who died in August after battling lung cancer. And the show, Peter Jennings Reporting: Breakdown -- America's Health Insurance Crisis, includes his last work before his cancer was diagnosed.

So forgive me if my attention strayed. I suspect some of you will watch the show not because you're drawn to the topic, but because you want a last look at Jennings.

ABC is, after all, presenting the special at 10 PM ET/PT Thursday as a tribute to the anchorman, who relished reporting and especially the 60 hourlong documentaries he made during his ABC years.

Charles Gibson -- who came close to being named Jennings' successor -- introduces and closes the program. He explains that Jennings had done most of the reporting just before his diagnosis. An ABC announcement says the program was written and edited while Jennings was being treated.

``Peter wanted this to go forward,'' executive producer Tom Yellin recently told the Washington Post. ``We talked during his illness about how to handle things, like what if he couldn't narrate it. We'd bring him screeners and we had his comments. He was just being Peter, who cared deeply about the work.''

The anchorman's health problems did ultimately keep him from doing the narration. (``Peter's voice was not strong enough,'' Yellin said in an ABC statement.) Filling that job is actor Paul Hecht, who has worked a great deal in Canada, Jennings' homeland. According to ABC, Jennings and Hecht knew each other when both worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Gibson also says in the program that ABC is committed to more documentaries like this one, and that's a good thing. Breakdown was meant to be the first of several by Jennings on America's health-care system, and there's plenty more to talk about.

Still, Breakdown is not flashy or alarmist. It tries not to focus on scandals and inefficiencies, looking instead at the larger forces and causes at work.

The program carefully goes through a series of steps, explaining what the insurance crisis is, how it is spreading (notably as businesses scale back the health insurance they provide employees) and, most importantly, why it has come to pass.

The final point may be the most surprising, as it considers whether the rising cost of health care is a function of people wanting more care. And the program wonders whether that extra health care really helps the people who get it.

That will probably stir up some viewers, and get them talking and arguing about the issue at hand. Jennings most likely would have enjoyed the fight. You can't deal with a big issue if you don't think about it, after all.

As for those of you who care not a bit about the issue, but do care about Jennings, you can see him one last time -- dapper, relaxed and ingratiating as he digs information out of interview subjects.

And you can see how television can be like a scrapbook. Think of the channels as different pages holding bits of your past, little reminders that you either seek out or come across without expecting them.

It is a scrapbook holding many faces of the dead, and it can be a surprise sometimes to come across them once again. But it's by no means a surprise without pleasure. It can be good to see people again, full of vigor, doing what they love.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/columnists/rd_heldenfels/13411878.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

NBCU's SLEUTH POPS THE CORK ON NEW YEAR'S DAY


Sigh...and Universal-HD continues to mold and decay from a lack of new programming... :rolleyes:

The programming on UHD has become so repetitious that it may cause burn-in on some displays.. :p :D

Now NBC/U will (by next summer, at least) have two channels showing old TV shows in HD.

Most likely over and over and over and over.....

Winners of 2006 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Broadcast News Awards

(Columbia University Press Release)

Columbia University today announced 13 winners of the 2006 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards for broadcast journalism including, for the first time in duPont Award history, a sports program. HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel will be honored with a silver baton for its report, The Sport of Sheikhs, an investigation of child slavery connected to camel-racing in the United Arab Emirates .

Six of the winners are investigative reports produced by networks, cable news and local television stations reporting on hard-hitting issues of the day, such as terrorism, Wal-Mart's business practices, and corruption in municipal government. Awards also go to CNN and ABC News for live coverage of international events, the 2004 tsunami disaster and the death of Pope John Paul II. Three public radio organizations are honored for their distinctive programming about poverty, stem cell research, and cultural aspects of food.

"HBO really expanded the focus of sports programming to examine a human rights issue child slavery," said Jury Chairman David A. Klatell. "They tackled an unknown international story in a sport with traditions that are centuries old, and they included the ticklish diplomatic side¡ hat the United Arab Emirates is a close American ally in the Middle East," he added.

Chosen from a pool of 628 radio and television news entries that aired in the United States between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005, the winners will be presented with silver batons, the symbol for excellence in television and radio journalism, at an awards ceremony on January 18 at Columbia University . Hosting the ceremony will be Bob Schieffer, anchor of The CBS Evening News and moderator of Face the Nation. Joining him in presenting the silver batons will be Michel Martin, ABC News correspondent, Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and Journalism School Dean Nicholas Lemann. A one-hour documentary about the winners, Telling the Truth: the Best in Broadcast Journalism, hosted by Michel Martin, will be broadcast nationwide on PBS stations beginning Tuesday, January 24.

Selected from 628 submissions, the 13 award winners are:
• ABC NEWS for Live Coverage of the Death of Pope John Paul II and the Election of Pope Benedict XVI

• CNBC for The Age of Wal-Mart: Inside America's Most Powerful Company

• CNN for Coverage of the Tsunami Disaster in South Asia

• FRONTLINE and WGBH, BOSTON, for Al Qaeda's New Front on PBS

• FRONTLINE, WGBH, BOSTON, and The New York Times for The Secret History of the Credit Card on PBS

• HBO for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: The Sport of Sheikhs

• North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC, Chapel Hill, for North Carolina Voices: Understanding Poverty

• PRI,WGBH, BOSTON, and BBC WORLD SERVICE for The World: The Global Race for Stem Cell Therapies

• The Kitchen Sisters and NPR for Hidden Kitchens

• The Sundance Channel, Denis PONCET and JEAN-XAVIER de LESTRADE for The Staircase

• WFTS-TV, TAMPA, for Crosstown Expressway Investigation

• WJW, CLEVELAND, for School Bus Bloat

• WPMI-TV, MOBILE, for For Lauren's Sake

Frefa,

To give TWC the benefit of the doubt, just how much impact do current contracts have on what they can and can't do with regard to testing "family" tiers? It would seem to me that in order for this to work, even on an experimental basis, everyone has to step up to the plate and untie channels.

I'm kind of a proponet of tiering vs (in addition to) total ala carte because that is the only way I see some some channels surviving. I don't have a problem with Disney packaging like channels, ala HBO, I simply draw the line at Disney packaging itself with ESPN, etc. Does anyone think the individual HBO channels would survive if not for the packaging? But, is the package of greater value due to more choices?

I'm not at all surprised at TWC though taking one popular channel and packaging it with some that may or may not survive on their own, regarless of current contracts and your point about CNN is right on target, another big surprise. :)

Current contracts mandate that many channels appear on all packages offered by cable operators.

The legislation which would allow a la cartye would simply outlaw such contracts.

Tiering, of course, would still be allowed. I am sure cable companies would do everything they could to encourage it. Networks might lower their per sub price to make it even more cost-effective.

Two years from now (or less) down the road when DBS has all the HD available, and telcos are much more major players, somebody, somewhere will start selling a service on price. And, (like Southwest and JetBlue), will most likely do very, very well -- if freed from the constraints of the predatory current "business model" which, in effect, forbids a la carte.

Two years from now (or less) down the road when DBS has all the HD available, and telcos are much more major players, somebody, somewhere will start selling a service on price. And, (like Southwest and JetBlue), will most likely do very, very well -- if freed from the constraints of the predatory current "business model" which, in effect, forbids a la carte.
I tend to agree (USDTV might be a current example), but I don't think it will happen until after the digital conversion is complete and the analogs are gone, though some might be poised to pounce sooner.

Just for S&G I went through my cable channel lineup tonight and listed all the channels I watch at least once a month, 85 channels. I then added up the number of those that I feel I could do without for one reason or another, 45 channels. That leaves just 40 channels I would be willing to pay for under ala carte. It actually comes closer to 60 because I don't believe premium channels will be available on an individual basis.

Be that as it may, I simply can't see myself saving any money once I add in the DVR and service fee, taxes, etc., without giving up more channels. Unless I can get a package where the per channel fee averages about $1/channel and the DVR/service fee remains $20, it simply doesn't seem worth the hassle, not to mention giving up the convenience of being able to surf any channel just in case something new comes up.

I am sure tiers will still be available.

And with freedom to put together packages as they want, I am sure cbale/dbs/and telco will come up with all kinds of variations.

A suggestion:
An “A La Carte” Moratorium?

There is an entire thread devoted to the argument over a la carte. It is a lively debate.

So let’s end the a la carte discussion on this thread and move it over there.

I think we’d do better to keep this thread for talk about what is on TV, what might be coming and thoughts about programming.

OK?

Weekend TV
What to watch this weekend

By Maureen Ryan and Sid Smith Chicago Tribune

(Note: all times are Central)

“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” 7 p.m. Friday, ABC: This classic has already been shown once this holiday season, but if you didn’t catch it, here’s another chance to do so. Watch it again to marvel at the classic Vince Guaraldi score, at the blissful holiday dancing of the Peanuts gang, at Lucy’s less-than-charitable treatment of Charlie Brown; if nothing else, tune in to see the Peanuts kids sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” around Charlie Brown’s hapless -- but beautiful -- holiday tree.

“Nick Jr.’s Frosty Friday,” 11 a.m. Friday, Nick Jr.: The kiddie channel unveils special holiday-themed editions of some of its most popular shows, including “Dora the Explorer,” “Little Bill,” “Blue’s Clues” and “Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends.”

“Biography,” 7 p.m. Friday, A&E: This special “Biography of the Year 2005” explores the top newsmakers of the past 12 months, the runners-up and a review of events. And what a year it was! Our off-the-cuff predictions: The tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Michael Brown and FEMA, Patrick Fitzgerald and the late and new pope are sure to come up.

“2005: The Big, the Bad, the Best,” 8 p.m. Friday, E! Entertainment Television: The trends. The celebrity breakups and hookups. The silliest and the vapidest happenings of the year - all in one handy E! special. Sure, it’s not rocket science, but as mindless entertainment goes, you could do worse.

“Frosty the Snowman” and “Frosty Returns, ” 7 p.m. Saturday, CBS: Two more holiday classics, the first with matchless narration by Jimmy Durante; the second is narrated by Jonathan Winters.

“Trading Spaces: Best of 2005,” 8 p.m. Saturday, TLC: If you didn’t keep up with the house-swap program this year, this is your chance to see how some of the most memorable transformations pleased - or failed to please - unsuspecting homeowners.

“Once Upon a Mattress,” 6 p.m. Sunday, ABC: Time has not been kind to either the once ribald jokes here or to Tracey Ullman, a bit long in the tooth to play wacky Princess Woebegone in this 1959 musical sendup of “The Princess and the Pea.” But Broadway’s original princess, Carol Burnett, is on hand, this time as the ferociously evil Queen, bedecked in outlandish Bob Mackie attire, and the lilting, catchy score by Mary Rodgers proves she inherited a bit of the magnificent gifts of her father, Richard. Former Chicago stage great Denis O’Hare is an amusing Prince Dauntless.

“Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: Ten Things Wrong With Television,” 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nickelodeon: No one watches more TV than kids, but they don’t view it all uncritically. Host Ellerbee talks with kids about the things they like least about the ubiquitous medium; just some of the concerns they listed in online responses to a Nick News poll included these dislikes: “too much sex, violence and bad language; TV news is biased; so many channels and nothing to watch; TV shows don’t reflect real life; TV makes me feel bad about myself; TV news is too negative and scary; there are too many commercials.”

“Wasteland: The Innocent Victims of Meth,” 8 p.m. Sunday, MSNBC: A sobering, disturbing report on the children of meth addicts and the social agencies that try to help them.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2005/12/what_to_watch_t.html#more

Looking back at 2005 in TV
The top 10 TV shows of 2005

By Maureen Ryan and Sid Smith Chicago Tribune December 15, 2005

Believe it or not, there was very little disagreement between Sid Smith and myself about this list of 2005’s top TV series.

Sure, there were a few discussions about whether a top-notch procedural such as "Without a Trace" or an inventive comedy such as "Arrested Development" should occupy a slot, but in truth, we had very little trouble coming up with a list we both agreed on. There was so much to choose from in this excellent TV year, the most trouble we had was paring much-loved also-rans from our final tally.

But in the end, without too much bloodshed, we came up with our 10 favorite shows, and here they are, in alphabetical order (nominate your own faves in the comment area):

"Battlestar Galactica," Sci Fi: There’s no antiseptic, morally upright future on display here. Just a lot of confused, conflicted people, in a battle to the death with "others" who look exactly like humans — and who say they are representatives of the one true God. The real joke on those who think "Galactica" is just another sci-fi show is that this gripping drama is, in fact, television’s most topical, incisive commentary on current events in our very troubled world.

"Deadwood," HBO: A slimy mix of Shakespeare, Dickens and "The Sopranos" in the Old West, this drama got deeper and uglier in its second season. Calamity Jane may have donned a dress, but Deadwood itself seemed even more mired in animalism, corruption and, thanks to the gut-wrenching death of young William Bullock, a world incapable of sustaining innocence.

"Everybody Hates Chris," UPN: Somehow the words "sitcom family" have come to mean dumb, dumpy dad, needling mom and sassy, irritating children. Thank goodness this refreshing half-hour comedy came along to redeem the prototypical sitcom family and help rescue the genre from clichés and tired joke-telling. The jokes work on "Chris" because the characters, based on comic Chris Rock’s real family, feel entirely real, and the situations that young Chris goes through — as a black kid at an all-white school — are fresh and compelling.

"Grey’s Anatomy," ABC: One of TV’s most delicious treats, a habit-forming mix of romantic hanky panky — call it intern swapping — and sometimes outrageous, almost surreal medical black comedy and moral debate. Wrap the entire cast up as Christmas gifts, including believable everywoman Ellen Pompeo, lovably cantankerous Sandra Oh, scary-strict Chandra Wilson and Patrick Dempsey, the neurosurgeon who’s all too accurately nicknamed "Dr. McDreamy."

"House," Fox: If it wanted to, this medical drama could rest on its significant strengths — its magnetic lead, Hugh Laurie, and its ability, each week, to wrap a compelling moral quandary inside a dramatic medical mystery. But "House" often finds a way to upend expectations; stellar episodes have played with timelines, points of view and the notion of who is a "hero" — any medical drama that does not automatically make a kid with cancer a sappy saint is certainly an audacious and ambitious piece of work.

"Lost," ABC: Sometimes hokey, sometimes silly, sometimes confounding in its flashbacks, it’s TV’s most original, deservedly Emmy-winning offering, irresistible watching that just about doubled its stash of castaways this second season and just about doubled the pleasure. Fantasy, adventure, thriller suspense, romance, comedy and even, at times, profound human drama amid blue skies, aquamarine seas and a not-so-friendly paradise.

"My Name Is Earl," NBC: The winning new saga of a likable rogue once destined for hell and now hell-bent on redemption. The always interesting Jason Lee wins a long overdue star turn and, as low-brow and low in principle Joy, Jaime Pressly is turning in one of the smartest, funniest performances this season. The sitcom, if that’s what this original show is, survives.

"Rome," HBO: Epic, seductive storytelling blending history, tragedy and murky melodrama, played out alternately on dazzling sets and in the grimiest of alleyways, echoing its themes of the sublime and carnal in human nature. Great writing, great acting, great cliffhangers and the grandest of passions.

"The Shield," FX: "The Shield" was already one of TV’s boldest dramas when it brought Glenn Close to the party. Close went toe to toe with charismatic star Michael Chiklis and the rest of the top-notch "Shield" cast last season, and the results were simply incendiary. When the show returns in January, Forest Whitaker will play an investigator who threatens to take down Vic Mackey’s Strike Team; Whitaker has some pretty big shoes to fill, but you can bet we’ll be watching every twisted minute.

"Veronica Mars," UPN: When it comes right down to it, the sharply written "Veronica Mars" is the story of a girl who lost her best friend and her mom in the same short span of time, and who may never get over either event. Mars, played by the effortlessly compelling Kristin Bell, investigates crimes big and small not just to help her dad out with his private-eye biz, but also in order to understand what makes people do terrible things to each other. As in all great film noirs, the lead character secretly wants to believe people can be good and selfless, but she usually ends up disappointed.

http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/

Critic’s Notebook
Bye, bye, "Airline"

By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star Thursday, December 15, 2005

"Airline" was a great reality-show concept for A&E, not to mention a wonderful advertisement for Southwest Airlines, whose dedicated employees were depicted week after week coolly and professionally dealing with out-of-control passengers.

Then a Southwest jet skidded off the runway in Chicago last week and onto one of the streets wrapping around Midway Airport, killing a child in a passing car.

Now, the show is reportedly cancelled, making an unfortunate tandem with the wretched "Growing Up Gotti"/

Maybe it was time for "Airline" to go anyway. Most reality shows start to repeat themselves after the first three episodes, and this one was no exception.

True, the investigation into the Midway crash -- the first fatality in Southwest Airlines history -- may ultimately exonerate the airline. But A&E had to recognize that Southwest would need time to rebuild its lovable, carefree image in the public, and that airing a show that features members of the public -- however drunk, reckless or irresponsible they may be -- yelling at Southwest employees was simply not going to make the same impression post-Midway as it did pre-Midway.

http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/

Sorry, this got inadvertently overlooked. ( But there is still time if you live in Rocky Mountain or Pacific time zones.)

Critic’s Notebook
Jennings saves best for last

By Dusty Saunders (Denver) Rocky Mountain News December 15, 2005

ABC News offers an important message tonight that should be seen by a large audience.

Will viewers watch because of the message or the messenger?

”Peter Jennings Reporting: Breakdown: America's Health Insurance Crisis” (10 PM PT, ABC) is the last of more than 60 prime-time documentaries the late news anchor was involved in during his lengthy network career.

And because of its timely content, this look at health insurance problems ranks among his most important.

In the opening, Charles Gibson notes that Jennings felt strongly that the problems surrounding health issues and health insurance "touched the lives of all Americans."

Gibson says Jennings was heavily involved in the project and was responsible for most of the 50-plus interviews.

And while Jennings was unable to provide the narration, Gibson says the hour "is very much Peter Jennings reporting."

Last month Tom Yellin, Jennings' longtime documentary producer, said that Jennings, who died Aug. 7, helped edit the hour while undergoing treatment for lung cancer.

"This was to be the first of several documentary projects on America's health care," Yellin said.

Because Jennings was such a familiar, dominant screen figure, viewers may be tempted at first to concentrate on how he looks and sounds. (His voice is mostly strong, although he does look wan in several sequences).

But once that initial personal curiosity is out of the way, you'll find an absorbing report that delves into the confusing maze of problems surrounding health insurance from the perspectives of employees, employers and insurance company executives.

While solutions to many of these web-like situations are not provided, Jennings and his crew did a superb job of untangling them for viewer consumption.

The all-encompassing report also is timely, adding information about events that occurred after Jennings' death.

A key part of the hour is Jennings' spring interview with executives and employees of General Motors, considered by many to have an ideal health-insurance plan.

The interview was conducted before GM's announcement that it plans to lay off 30,000 workers and close nine plants.

Voice-over reports note the impact that recent decision could have on employees and their health benefits.

The documentary has local angles.

Denver photographer Ben McCoy, who worked with Jennings on numerous documentaries, again is in charge of the camera work.

In a segment about how small companies are coping with health-insurance problems for their employees, Jennings interviewed the owner of Stan's Auto Parts, located outside of Denver.

The overall report, full of mind-boggling financial statistics (the U.S. government spends $25 billion annually on patients who don't have health insurance) also concentrates on hospital problems while telling depressing personal stories.

At the end Gibson returns with a promise that ABC News will honor Jennings' legacy by continuing to produce important hour-long news documentaries.

Hopefully, such a promise is not simply network self-promotion.

Jennings deserves to be remembered for more than being a popular, erudite news anchor who communicated well with viewers during half-hour news wrap-ups.

He left a body of first-rate documentaries - an important format that is regularly neglected in the glitzy, sound-bite world of network news.

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/spotlight_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23962_4315461,00.html

Looking back at 2005 in TV
The Watchie Awards for 2005's weirdest, wackiest and winningest TV

By Maureen Ryan Chicago Tribune December 15, 2005

Forget the Emmys, the Oscars and the Grammys: Here are the Watchie awards, which salute the weirdest and the wildest, the ickiest and most grin-inducing developments from the past year of obsessive television watching:

Most surprising exit: Dave Chappelle walking away from his Comedy Central show, which made him megabucks via record-setting DVD sales and a mega-rich third-season contract. Seriously, doing the occasional standup gig is more fun? Come back to TV, Dave! We miss you!

Best documentary you didn’t watch: The gripping courtroom chronicle "The Staircase" on the Sundance Channel. It’s out now on DVD, and you simply must rent this shattering film, which will stay with you for months afterward.

Worst third-season blahs: "The O.C." and "Nip/Tuck." "The O.C." needs a hearty infusion of lesbians, a return visit from Oliver, something to help it escape the dull, by-the-numbers feel of its third season. As for "Nip/Tuck," remember when it wasn’t a depressing festival of self-loathing every single second? And as soon as the Carver is revealed, let’s hope they leave that unnecessarily distracting melodrama in the dust.

Biggest surprises: That "Beauty and the Geek" was surprisingly sweet and enjoyable; that CBS ever thought it was a good idea to air "The Will" or "Spring Break Shark Attack"; that Constantine got eliminated from "American Idol"; that the Eternal Word Television Network had by far the best coverage of the moving funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Best Canadian shows you didn’t watch: "The Newsroom," a dead-on satire of the mainstream media, shown locally by WTTW-Ch. 11, and "Slings and Arrows," a dead-on satire of theatrical life, shown over the summer on the Sundance Channel. Truly funny stuff from our neighbors to the north.

Best festival of man-candy: Sure, "Rome" featured stellar acting, gripping stories, terrific sets, exciting battles and a canny view of politics in the era of Julius Caesar. Plus, OK, I’ll sheepishly admit this was a draw as well: The show featured lots and lots of hunky British actors in togas — or less. Let me pull out my high school Latin textbook and say "Mirabile visu!"

Best reasons to watch "How I Met Your Mother": Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris are unmitigated joys as the slightly dim Marshall and the very sleazy Barney on this likable CBS sitcom. Barney love, what can I say — it’s a thing!

Most overdue backlash: The scorn heaped upon "Desperate Housewives" by many TV critics this season is a little late — some of us didn’t like it from the start. Not that I’m smug about it or anything.

Least understood cultural phenomenon: The popularity of "Laguna Beach: The Real O.C." It’s so obviously all faked and staged — cast members have said as much of this MTV "reality" show. Not that I’d mind all of that, if the acting — or, more accurately, pouting — of the cast members was even remotely interesting. Truly, these airheads give vapidity a bad name.

Biggest intergalactic news: "Star Trek" was canceled, after a non-stop 18-year TV run. But, in a cool 21st Century move, fans are filming their own episodes of classic "Trek" (with different actors and homemade sets) and offering them for free at www.newvoyages.com.

Best sendoff: The finale of "Six Feet Under." Sure, I did my share of grousing about the dour, depressing nature of the last couple of seasons, but the show went out on a graceful note, and that gorgeous finale song, "Breathe Me" by Sia, is still echoing in my head.

Most overhyped flop: Current TV. Yeah, asking Al Gore to head up a TV network designed to grab the attention of young people was a genius idea.

Most pleasing developments: That Jason Dohring emerged as an incredibly charismatic actor on "Veronica Mars"; that the entire ensemble on "Grey’s Anatomy" — including Joe the bartender — got more enjoyable by the week; that "House" not only continues to please but is beating the bland "Commander in Chief" in key ratings demographics; that "Project Runway" came back and is as addictive as ever; that in the new year, we’ll finally get new episodes of "24," "Battlestar Galactica," "Scrubs" and "The Shield."

Best addition to Comedy Central: "The Word," the segment of "The Colbert Report" in which Stephen Colbert states his loopy opinion of the night, and does battle with a testy bullet-point list that occupies the screen beside him. Oh, bullet-point list, you’re almost as funny as Lewis Black!

Dopiest Fox decision: To wait four months to bring back "Prison Break," which won’t return until March. Well, it would have been even dopier to stick with their original plan, which would have had the series returning in May, for goodness’ sake.

Biggest reality misfire: The usually dependable "The Amazing Race" did something admirable — it tried something new, a family edition. Now that the soul-killing family edition is finally over, please, "TAR," promise to never, ever try something new again.

Best moves by NBC: Renewing "The Office" for the 2005-2006 season and allowing "My Name Is Earl" to grow into a nice-sized hit. Moving both shows to Thursday is a risky move, but a worthy one. Here’s hoping it all works out for the best.

Worst move by NBC: Renewing "Surface" for the entire 2005-2006 season. Please. I’ve seen pond scum that was more exciting.

Biggest finale flub — and best recovery: The season finale of "Gilmore Girls" — in which Lorelai finally proposed to Luke — was cut short for many viewers who use DVRs, since the show went over its time allotment by a minute or two. When fans wigged, the WB immediately issued a mea culpa and reran the entire episode within days. Good show.

Best apology: Russell Crowe on David Letterman’s show eating crow for his phone-throwing behavior. Crowe actually seemed sorry, weirdly enough.

Worst non-apology: Martha Stewart’s post-jail visit to David Letterman. She made it clear that, despite going to the slammer, she didn’t feel she has done anything wrong — ever. Her lack of remorse was chilling.

Most jaw-dropping diss of your own show: Speaking of Martha, via RealityBlurred.com here’s what Martha Stewart told Business Week about her version of "The Apprentice": She called the contestants "inappropriate" and said, "they’re exhibitionists and opportunists, those kids. I did not choose them either, by the way." OK, Martha, how do you really feel?

Best kiss: Bright and Hannah finally locking lips on "Everwood."

Scariest cautionary tales: The kids on "Brat Camp." Dang, raising teenagers is no joke.

Most ridiculous meltdown: Tyra Banks going off on a contestant during the fourth season of "America’s Next Top Model." Banks’ hysteria was a little misplaced, considering not one of the contestants on this show ever has a chance of truly making it as a model.

Best reason to smoke: So that one can learn to hold a cigarette with the perfect, ash-flicking intensity of Tanya on "Footballers Wives," who seems to only exist on gin, ciggies and cocaine. Oh, there are trashy soaps, and then there are trashy British soaps. That Brit stuff is Class A escapism.

Second time is not the charm award: Stephenie LaGrossa ended up as a team of one on "Survivor: Palau," and was widely liked for her pluck and spirit; she ended up in the final two on "Survivor: Guatemala" and was widely disliked by other players for her duplicity and manipulation. What’s up with that?

http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/

Looking back at 2005 in TV
The top 10 TV shows of 2005

By Maureen Ryan and Sid Smith Chicago Tribune December 15, 2005



"Battlestar Galactica," Sci Fi: There’s no antiseptic, morally upright future on display here. Just a lot of confused, conflicted people, in a battle to the death with "others" who look exactly like humans — and who say they are representatives of the one true God. The real joke on those who think "Galactica" is just another sci-fi show is that this gripping drama is, in fact, television’s most topical, incisive commentary on current events in our very troubled world.

Precisely, Ryan and Smith nailed it. I think a lot of folks are missing the bucket on what this show has to say.

Great list BTW.

I remember Rush Limbaugh saying once that he had a hard time watching TV or going to the movies because he couldn't get past looking at the politics underlying the plot, etc. I felt sorry for him. :)

Unfortunately, in today's world, almost everything on TV or in movie theathers has some underlying political statement if one chooses to look for it. I choose not to or at least not to take it too seriously.

Looking back at 2005 in TV
2005's memorable TV moments and people

By Maureen Ryan and Sid Smith Chicago Tribune December 15, 2005

It’s impossible to sum up 365 days of television, but the baker’s dozen below highlight some of the most memorable people, trends and moments from the TV year we leave behind:

1. 2005: A great year for undertakers. Mortality has been everywhere: just a few of the high-profile deaths include Julius Caesar and Niobe on "Rome," step-siblings Boone and Shannon on "Lost," Rex and the homicidal wacko pharmacist George on "Desperate Housewives" and (or so we thought, at least for a week) John Abruzzi on "Prison Break." And the creme de la crème of requiems: The entire cast of "Six Feet Under." Requiescat in pace.

2. Most worn-out welcome: Joey on "Joey." (Producers, see item No. 1 for a tip on how to end this torture.)

3. Most heartbreaking cancellations: "Joan of Arcadia" (we still miss that show’s wit, sincerity and heart), "Arrested Development" (the good news: It’s not officially canceled. The better news: It might be rescued by another network. Thanks, TV Santa!)

4. Most watchable jerks: Neil Patrick Harris, erasing "Doogie Howser" memories and finding a rare second act as Barney, an obnoxious, would-be stud on "How I Met Your Mother." And Chicago’s Jeremy Piven is scintillating as "Entourage’s" Ari Gold, who’s utterly devious, selfish, abusive (to his long-suffering assistant Lloyd, among others) and ridiculously funny. We’ll never know exactly why we root so much for this foul-mouthed agent, but we do. Hug it out!

5. Most memorable moments: The stunning reunion of various couples, with varying degrees of separation, loss, pain and love, on a recent episode of "Lost." For one, brief shining moment (especially when Rose and Bernard embraced), the show could have been renamed "Found."

Other "holy-cow moments": John O’Hurley and his partner losing on "Dancing With the Stars"; computer nerd Chloe blowing away bad guys on "24"; a Cylon shooting Commander Adama in the "Battlestar Galactica" Season 1 finale; the bad guys kidnapping Walt from the raft on "Lost"; columnist Robert Novak storming off a CNN talk show in a huff; fan favorite Austin Scarlett getting cut from "Project Runway"; the one-armed sheriff’s deputy on "Invasion" miraculously getting a new arm that he’s then forced to saw off; and Ken Jennings finally losing after an epic run on "Jeopardy!"

6. Biggest sign of hope for TV news: The heartbreaking and incisive reporting from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. There was one jaw-dropping moment after another, as Shepard Smith, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn, Ted Koppel and others put faces to the despair of New Orleans and took public officials to task for the botched relief of the ravaged Gulf region.

7. Worst moments: The finale of "The Bachelorette" (Jen Schefft, can we please have that three hours of our lives back?); every single second of "Britney and Kevin: Chaotic"; MTV’s abysmal coverage of the Live 8 concerts (watching the concerts online was a zillion times better); the lack of hatch-tastic resolution on "Lost’s" Season 1 finale.

8. Most memorable Oprah moments: Gifting Katrina relief workers on her "Favorite Things" episode; using her show to get pedophiles arrested; hosting an excitable Tom Cruise, who had just started dating some girl (we can’t recall her name); her pal Terry McMillan confronting her gay ex-husband on the air. And, of course, revisiting David Letterman’s show, finally.

9. Best showings by Chicago natives: Though Piven didn’t win an Emmy, he stole the show on "Entourage"; Joliet Correctional Center provided "Prison Break" with the best set on TV; Marty Casey rocked the house on "Rock Star: INXS"; Shonda Rhimes of University Park rocked the Nielsen ratings with the addictive "Grey’s Anatomy"; Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh of Chicago’s HB won "The Next Food Network Star"; and Oak Parker Kathy Griffin’s "Life on the D-List" was surprisingly addictive.

10. Best escape from death: Reality TV. Every year, reality TV is declared dead, then along come some entertaining new shows to revitalize the genre. Let’s see, this past year, we reveled in "Project Runway," "Beauty and the Geek," "Dancing With the Stars," "Brat Camp" and "Rock Star: INXS," not to mention stalwarts such as "Survivor" the Boston Rob/Amber edition of "The Amazing Race." Maybe reality’s not quite dead yet.

11. Trend we’d most like to stop in its tracks: Please, can we declare a moratorium on cops, lawyers, evidence technicians and serial killers on TV? Oh, what we’d give for a nice ensemble drama about … postal workers. Electricians. Ballet dancers. Anything but cops and killers!

12. The comebacks that worked and the ones that fizzled: Martha Stewart’s "Apprentice" was nothing on the Donald’s (which was itself pretty blah — again) and her chat show has all the warmth of a Sub-Zero freezer. Lisa Kudrow was great as the selfish yet vulnerable Valerie Cherish on "The Comeback," but the HBO show never found an audience. "Lost," on the other hand, came back with a terrifically wild and woolly Season 2 opener, and the occasionally blah "West Wing" is on a roll with its live debate and exciting election story line.

13. Our Christmas wish list: That once ABC kills the terrible new version of "Nightline," the network gives that valuable slot to Jon Stewart and his "Daily Show" crew. That we never have to hear, read, see or otherwise experience any coverage of Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie or any of the cast members of "Laguna Beach" in 2006. That all of our favorite shows are available on demand, for free, all the time, anywhere.

Hey, it’s a wish list, right?

http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/

The Business of TV
NBC Promotions

(NBC Universal Press Release) Published: December 15, 2005

ZUCKER & FALCO TO LEAD NEWLY INTEGRATED NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION GROUP
GE'S COMSTOCK TO LEAD NBCU DIGITAL

NEW YORK -- December 15, 2005 -- In a move to further strengthen NBC Universal Television within the rapidly changing media landscape, Jeff Zucker has been named Chief Executive Officer and Randy Falco has been named President & Chief Operating Officer of a newly integrated NBC Universal Television Group. Beth Comstock has been appointed to the newly created position of President, NBCU Digital Media and Market Development.

In making the announcement today, Bob Wright, Vice Chairman of GE and Chairman and CEO of NBC Universal, said: "These moves help position NBCU for continued growth and accelerate our transition to a digital media company. These changes also support the rebuilding of NBC network prime time, strengthen the strategic focus and operational effectiveness of our broadcast and cable networks, and improve the coordination between our content creation and distribution teams. Jeff, Randy and Beth are talented and experienced executives whose strategic focus will serve us well. We are in a fast-moving, quickly evolving industry and this is the perfect time to adjust our management structure for maximum efficiency and teamwork."

"With this newly focused organization and its strong leadership team, NBC Universal is positioned well to grow," said Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE. "Our strategic focus on being the best content company is the right one and I am confident Bob and his team will get us there."

This expanded television group, partnering Zucker and Falco with Dick Ebersol and Jay Ireland for the first time, completely integrates content, television stations, operations, sales and distribution into one seamless team.

Zucker, formerly President, NBCU Television Group, will report to Wright. In his new capacity, he will oversee the entire television group, with primary focus on content creation. The network's entertainment division, entertainment cable channels, television studio, network news division, MSNBC and CNBC will continue to report to Zucker, with Sports and Olympics added as well.

In addition to partnering with Zucker, the reorganization broadens Falco's primary responsibilities to also include NBCU's owned and operated television stations, worldwide television distribution and international channels. He will continue to lead the Telemundo network, business development, network operations (Media Works), sales and cable distribution. Falco, formerly President, NBCU Television Networks Group, will now report to Zucker.

Comstock was most recently Chief Marketing Officer of General Electric. She will report to Wright and her areas of responsibility will include digital media, strategic marketing, television research, television advertising and promotion and communications. In this capacity she is accountable for driving NBCU's digital strategy and leading NBCU content and distribution efforts onto new digital platforms. This move marks Comstock's return to NBCU, where she was formerly SVP NBC Communications.

"I am incredibly excited to be partnering with Randy," said Zucker. "He has been my close friend and colleague for 20 years, and the opportunity to work even more closely with him will be critical as we navigate the quickly changing media world."

"That changing landscape is what makes this the right time to combine all of our assets in one group," said Falco. "And why it's great to have Beth come home to NBCU to further lead us into the new digital age."

"What a great opportunity for growth. Our goal is to make NBCU's content available how and where consumers want it, and provide the targeted, integrated experience marketers seek," said Comstock.

The Business of TV
Zucker Named Chief of NBC; Seen as Heir to Chairman

By Bill Carter The New York Times December 16, 2005

NBC elevated Jeff Zucker, one of the fastest-rising executives in the network's history, to chief executive of the NBC Universal Television Group yesterday, establishing him as the likely successor to NBC's longtime leader, Bob Wright.

The move was announced by Mr. Wright, who remains chairman of NBC Universal as well as vice chairman of NBC's parent, General Electric, and it realigns NBC management, with Mr. Zucker at the top.

Randy Falco, who had been Mr. Zucker's equal and had been mentioned as a potential heir to Mr. Wright, was promoted to president and chief operating officer of NBC; he will report to Mr. Zucker.

NBC's sports chief, Dick Ebersol, who had reported to Mr. Wright, will now report to Mr. Zucker.

The implications of Mr. Zucker's promotion were clear: Mr. Wright and the G.E. chairman, Jeffrey R. Immelt, have designated him as NBC's second-in-command.

Mr. Zucker, who had been on a different floor from Mr. Wright, will move his office to the 52nd floor of the NBC headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza, Mr. Wright's location.

NBC's announcement yesterday did not address the implications. The announcement was couched in terms of a realignment of NBC's television management in anticipation of more rapid changes in how TV content is sold and distributed.

When asked if the changes meant that Mr. Zucker was now positioned as his successor, Mr. Wright said jokingly, "Absolutely; all he has to do is survive 2006, 2007 and so forth." But he did not dispute the notion that the promotion put Mr. Zucker, who is 40, in line behind him.

Mr. Wright, who is 62, said he had no plans to retire soon, though he added, "I will retire at some point." Other NBC executives said that there was no timetable for a change and that Mr. Wright would remain in charge for the foreseeable future.

Mr. Wright acknowledged that NBC was challenged by its weak performance in prime time, where last year it plunged to the cellar after being the longtime network ratings leader. Mr. Wright said he had "no patience at all" with NBC's last-place standing in prime time.

Some NBC rivals have pointed to Mr. Zucker for that loss of momentum because he led NBC's entertainment division in California for four years before returning to New York just before the start of the 2004 television season.

But inside NBC and G.E., Mr. Zucker earned high marks for hanging onto NBC's leadership position in prime time for several years before the fall.

Mr. Immelt is known to be a strong supporter of Mr. Zucker, as well as of Mr. Falco, and is said to have shrugged off the decline in prime time as more cyclical than anything having to do with Mr. Zucker's performance.

Several NBC executives said that at least one reason for the timing of yesterday's announcement (beyond the need to accomplish it before the start of a long break for the holidays) was Mr. Immelt's desire to end the appearance of a competition between Mr. Zucker and Mr. Falco to succeed Mr. Wright.

Mr. Ebersol, the sports president, who has reported to Mr. Wright longer than to anyone else in the company, said he was happy to be under Mr. Zucker, who had been a protégé.

He said he was especially pleased that the company was elevating two men with backgrounds in NBC Sports. Mr. Falco was a top executive at NBC's Olympics unit before be moved to the corporate side. Mr. Zucker began his career at NBC as a researcher for the 1988 Olympics.

From that beginning, Mr. Zucker has climbed inexorably in the company, beginning in news, where as executive producer of "Today" over a seven-year period he led that show to its most profitable performance ever. He took over NBC Entertainment in 2000.

NBC also announced the promotion of Beth Comstock, a former chief of corporate communications for NBC, who went on to become the chief marketing officer for G.E. Ms. Comstock was named president of digital media and market development for NBC.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/business/media/16nbc.html?pagewanted=print

Before "CSI" role, actor nearly a goner

By Luaine Lee Knight Ridder Tribune News Service

PASADENA, Calif. — Who would've thought that the distinguished coroner on CBS' smash series, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" has his own action figure, or that he's a commanding voice on Court TV or that he once starred on a kiddie show, "The Littles."

All of those things are true of Robert David Hall, who plays Dr. Al Robbins, the man who meticulously unearths the physical clues that help solve the often-sordid crimes on "CSI."

Hall had been a journeyman actor for 20 years before he landed the part of his life. And it was a long time coming.

He had to suffer a life-altering experience before he could pledge himself to acting. In 1978, an 18-wheeler careened over the center divider, crushing Hall's Volkswagen beneath it.

Considered a goner by the police, he was rescued by a retired welder and two paramedics who extricated him after his gas tank burst into flame. He was burned over 60 percent of his body and spent eight months in the hospital. Both legs were amputated near the knee as a result of the injuries, but the accident changed his life.

"What I thought ended things was really a beginning," says Hall (friends call him David). "It threw enough of an obstacle in my way that I had to work harder than I would have to overcome it. The day I was injured I worked from 5:30 to 9 on a radio station in Orange County (Calif.). Then I was an advertising copywriter for a firm in Costa Mesa. I did occasional voice-overs, we call them 'dollar a holler' spots because they didn't pay much then.

"I would do a couple of radio commercials and make 100 bucks, which was great. Once a week I took an acting class, but acting was not uppermost. I'd spent most of my 20s playing guitar in bands."

To hear Hall talk, most everything happened by chance, though he was prepared when it did.

Landing the role on "CSI" was another giggle of fate. "The original character breakdown was for a woman. And I think they wanted someone from an ethnic background. The first woman they had was a wonderful actress but just didn't care for the part or didn't enjoy the 10-syllable medical words or whatever. So they hired somebody else for a one-shot, and that didn't work out."

Though he walks with a slight limp and a cane today, Hall, 58, is proud that his disability has nothing to do with the role he plays on "CSI."

"It's about your ability," he says, "not your disability."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2002683605&zsection_id=2002119662&slug=hall15&date=20051215

TV Review
Forging a bond with our war heroes

By Verne Gay Newsday Staff Writer December 16, 2005

To get a sense of what it must feel like to have known - or loved - one of the 2,150 soldiers who have died in Iraq, maybe a good place to start is this Web site called fallen heroesmemorial.com. Look up "Brown, Nathan P." and this entry pops up: "Pfc. Nathan P. Brown, 21 of South Glens Falls, New York. Brown died in Samarra, Iraq, when his patrol was ambushed. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, 1st Armored Division, Glens Falls, New York. Died on April 11, 2004."

Those lines are then followed by several hundred messages - from friends, family members, strangers - including this one, buried far down the list: "'Love your little sister Meggie.' Megan Ryan Brown of South Glens Falls New York United States."

Brown didn't get much notice in New York City or Long Island - we have plenty of fallen heroes of our own - but he was, and apparently remains, an icon in this small town off the Northway. On Sunday, he receives the honors that are his due in "Tom Brokaw: To War and Back," though Brokaw and his producer, Elizabeth Fischer, had the good sense not to interview Meggie; the rest of this broadcast is heartbreaking enough.

"To War and Back" is about seven hometown buddies - Chad Byrne, Tim Haag, Andy Flint, Nathan Brown, Rob Hemsing, Pete Hull and Ken Comstock - who join the New York Army National Guard in Glens Falls and become members of the first infantry unit to be deployed from there since World War II. Of the seven, three are badly wounded during the April 11 attack in Samarra that killed Brown, and all are still grappling with what happened to them on that Easter Sunday a year and a half ago.

Brokaw followed this group for 10 months, and his proximity - along with genuine empathy - give this portrait an eye-level focus that's unusual for any news program about Iraq. By the end of the hour, we know these guys, or think we do, and fleetingly may feel we know what's in their hearts. Some of us might even be embarrassed - or humbled - to enter so private a place, but the glory of this hour is that it does, in fact, forge a bond between us and these men.

We see Brown's family and friends and how they're coping with their lives back in Glens Falls.Meanwhile, there is a side note that seems almost irrelevant in this context: Brokaw's work (this is his fourth "Reports") now seems almost richer and more meaningful than the years he spent at "Nightly News."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettvtwo4551828dec16,0,6226180,print.story?coll=ny-television-headlines

TV Review
Brokaw takes us "To War"

By Joanne Ostrow Denver Post TV Critic

We've seen fictional accounts of the toll the war in Iraq is taking on America's military. We've heard the mix of pride and pain the troops feel after seeing action. From FX's "Over There" to CMT's "American Soldier" (running Saturday nights), we've followed battalions through tours of duty and seen boys become men.

Now Tom Brokaw offers the nonfictional equivalent, condensed to one hour and all the more moving for being real.

NBC airs "Tom Brokaw Reports: To War and Back" Sunday at 8 PM ET/PT, on NBC.

The rewards of patience are evident in this emotionally revealing documentary, which took time to assemble and has more insight that the standard quick-hit TV magazine piece.

Brokaw scores a long-term insider's view of a band of brothers from a small town in upstate New York who went to war in Iraq with their Army National Guard squad and came back - those who did come back - changed forever.

The veteran journalist seems happily out of the anchor chair as he returns to the field, playing pool with the guys, chatting at a diner and eliciting heartfelt responses.

People stories were always Brokaw's passion. While Peter Jennings did more globe-trotting and enjoyed making global politics understandable to Americans, and while Dan Rather had a tougher edge, famously buttonholing officials, Brokaw's strength is bringing the news home in a humanizing way.

By gaining access and following the group over the course of 10 months, the documentary fleshes out the story of the physical and psychic costs of war, detailing the anger, grief and pride of those involved. Personal videocam footage is incorporated to round out the tale of the guys hanging out in civilian life before going to war, cutting up during the tediously dull moments in Iraq, and taping a goodbye message to a fiancée.

No infantry unit from the New York Army National Guard had seen combat since World War II, so it seemed a safe bet when the gang signed up. To their surprise, and that of the entire town, the seven friends were shipped out in October 2003, bound for Iraq.

Only six would return. The others now deal with a range of serious disabilities, losses and post-traumatic stress disorders.

They talk haltingly about their feelings, gently prompted by the white-haired former anchor who has spent more time interviewing and writing about veterans of a war that occurred before their lifetimes than they have spent in adulthood.

The young men recall initial dread about being asked to kill another human being; they recount the importance of friends more than country as the ideal worth fighting for; they reveal recurring nightmares and waking flashbacks, second-guessing themselves, and they talk about how hard it is to relate to civilians their own age who have never witnessed combat.

A mother tells of her efforts to track down the reasons for the lack of vehicular armor that may have led to her son's death in an open truck.

The hour begs for a follow-up 10 or 20 years hence. How will these young men - some of them physically and emotionally diminished - repair themselves and move on to confront the rest of their lives? We see the start of their routes back but, in keeping with the tone of the piece, it would be meaningful to return to Glens Falls, N.Y., in the future and see how "To War and Back" shakes out.

Brokaw, the chronicler of "The Greatest Generation," manages journalistic neutrality throughout the piece, but the viewer can't help but wonder: What effect might this hour have on public opinion today? What effect might it have had back in the days of just three TV networks?

Hearing the young men admit they don't know and don't care why they're at war, the audience can't help but think the current generation being sent into the meat grinder of combat isn't fighting as noble a fight as the World War II generation.

With an increasingly unpopular war and President Bush's approval ratings at a low of 37 percent, the timing of this broadcast could be critical. These days, no journalist holds the power to singlehandedly redirect public feelings about a war the way Walter Cronkite did about Vietnam in 1968. But Brokaw's contribution to the national discourse is significant.

http://www.denverpost.com/ostrow

The 2005-2006 TV Season
Ask Matt
(from the Ask (TV Critic) Matt (Roush) column at TVGuide.com


Question: I just heard that the WB is yanking Everwood until March to make room for Beauty and the Geek 2. Is this true? And if it is, isn't it hurting Everwood's chances of becoming the breakout show that its dedicated viewers (including critics like yourself) know it should be? How can they expect to build its audience if it's off the air for so long? Whatever happened to repeats? Not everyone has TiVo, and some of us actually enjoy being able to catch up on missed episodes, especially when it doesn't look like any DVDs (past Season 1) are ever coming out. Programming like this makes me worry about Everwood's future. — Hilary

Matt Roush: I wouldn't fret about Everwood. It did surprisingly well this fall paired with Smallville, which performed amazingly well in that tough Thursday time period. Everwood, however, is of a genre that traditionally does terribly in repeats, so resting it during January and February (when Geek will be much more suitable counterprogramming to the Winter Olympics) may actually do Everwood a favor. The reality of the business now is that many shows on many networks no longer go into rerun cycles. Instead, they disappear for a while as new (or, like Geek, returning) shows get a shot. But that doesn't mean WB has given up on the show. To the contrary. They know what a gem they have in this steadily improving show. And if they don't, I'm hoping reviews like mine will remind them. The good news is that the show will return sometime in March for the remainder of a full season, and I can't imagine it won't be renewed.
To answer Matt, who asks: "It seems that the WB doesn't promote Everwood as much as many of its other shows. It's always a Smallville ad with 'followed by Everwood' in tiny print. Is there a reason?" The answer is pretty simple. Smallville is WB's key franchise hit on Thursday. It will get the lion's share of promotion to reinforce and possibly even grow its success. Everwood may look like an afterthought in the promotion, but it's probably just as well that it doesn't have to live up to Smallville's hype to continue surviving.
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Question: Nice choices for the AFI Best 2005 TV shows. What were the criteria for that? Were comedies and reality shows not considered, or are they just not that good? Did the shows have to premiere before a certain date? I know it isn't really a concern of the major networks to create quality TV (which is perhaps why CBS has the same show on every day of the week: CSI, Numbers, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, ad nauseum), but do they care that the "best" shows are, except for four, not on the major networks? Will the Emmy voters ever be presented with a ballot that reads more like this list than CSI, Law & Order and The West Wing? — Erin

Matt Roush: For those who missed the announcement, the American Film Institute list of the year's 10 best programs (for which I was privileged to sit on a jury comprised of critics, industry professionals and academics) is as follows (alphabetically): Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood, Grey's Anatomy, House, Lost, Rescue Me, Sleeper Cell, Sometimes in April (HBO movie), 24 and Veronica Mars. A pretty solid list, gotta say, with not a single crime-drama procedural on the roster. I'm not allowed to comment on the confidential selection/balloting process, but I will say that comedies were seriously discussed, and that none (including, to my chagrin, My Name Is Earl) made the cut in the final ballot. Reality shows are not considered. This list only deals with scripted TV programs, whether series or movies/miniseries. Sometimes breakthrough reality shows are acknowledged in what are referred to as "moments of significance," but not this year. And do I think the Emmy or Golden Globe nominations (see more on the latter below) will ever be as balanced as this list? Highly doubtful, which is why I'm so proud to be a part of this process.

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Question: I was watching a recent episode of House, and when he and Wilson walked out of House's house, they showed the street number as being 221B. This wouldn't happen to be on Baker Street? This brought together all of the similarities between House and another famous person who was known for using his powers of observation, Sherlock Holmes. The sidekick, Wilson for Watson. The name, Holmes (close to Homes) for House. The addiction, Opium for Vicodin. The dry wit. The peevishness with which they both grate on people's nerves. This must have been intentional. Whose idea was this, and can we expect more similarities to pop up in future episodes, like a nemesis similar to Moriarty? — Tim M.

Matt Roush: If House starts wearing a deerstalker cap, then I'll start getting worried. But I thought the address was a nifty in-joke, in keeping with the fact that from the start, a number of critics (including me) have relished House as a medical Sherlock for many of the idiosyncratic reasons you've stated. I wouldn't want them to overdo the metaphor, though, so if someone checks into the hospital with rabies from being bitten by a hound of the Baskervilles, don't expect me to cheer.

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Question: Am I the only one who got the black humor of the Nip/Tuck episode with the air-crash triage scene? Mitch Pileggi is the triage doctor. Julia has to take layers of dermis off a dead woman for a skin transplant. She asks Pileggi how much to take off. He replies, "Skin her" (as in Skinner, his character name on The X-Files). — Ken

Matt Roush: I didn't catch that. Possibly too freaked by the intensity of that episode. You're the first to bring it to my attention, and I love it.

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Question: Since Prison Break is on hiatus for a few months and 24 is still a month away, I decided to get my serialized thriller fix from this new miniseries on Showtime called Sleeper Cell. From your Dispatch, you made it seem as though it is an intense thrill ride similar to that of 24 or Prison Break. And while Sleeper Cell has elements of those shows, it seems more closely related to that of The Wire: the very methodical pacing, the interconnecting storylines, and the very feel of the show itself. As I have watched the first five episodes, I am very impressed, and I am also very glad that Showtime shows new episodes every night instead of once a week so you know exactly what is going on. I feel that this show is definitely suitable as appetizer until the main course of 24 comes along in mid-January. What do you think? — Mike P.

Matt Roush: You make a good point, though I'm wary of making direct comparisons to anything as distinguished as The Wire. My own positive thoughts regarding Sleeper Cell are on record in my recent Review column, and what really jazzed me, as it did Mike, was Showtime's aggressive scheduling, airing the entire 10 hours over two weeks (the final two hours air Sunday night) with plenty of opportunities to catch up or rewatch episodes. And it will play great on DVD whenever it's released. I wish HBO would air some of its series (like Rome, most notably) in this compressed fashion. Good news about Rome: HBO will repeat the entire show throughout the last week of December, treating it like the lavish, lurid miniseries that it was.

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Question: I'm curious to know your opinion about Season 5 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, now that the finale has aired. I was disappointed with the storylines, despite some very funny moments in each episode. My favorites were "The Bow Tie" and "The Ski Lift." The finale, while clever and funny at times, just didn't make it for me. I love Curb and hope that "The End" doesn't portend the real end of this outrageously funny comedy. Do you have any inside scoop about the future of Curb? What are your thoughts about how Season 5 compares with previous seasons? I especially missed Susie Greene's tirades at Jeff and Larry this fall. Thanks for a great column. — Beverly

Matt Roush: You're welcome. I ran hot and cold on Curb this season, sort of like I did when the show first premiered. Without a strong throughline this season, it felt a bit more formulaic watching Larry make the worst of bad situations, to the point where he became unbearably annoying some weeks (the Bingo episode was probably the nadir). There were funny things in the finale, especially Larry's behavior change upon believing he was actually a Gentile. Not sure how I feel about his out-of-body experience in Heaven, with the atypical and off-putting stunt casting of Dustin Hoffman and Sacha Baron Cohen. I'm hoping there will be more Curb seasons to come — even when it's off its game, it's funnier than most. But I haven't heard anything one way or the other. Maybe when HBO presents its plans at the TCA next month, we'll know more.

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Question: The Golden Globes are my favorite awards show, mainly because they put TV and movie stars all together under one roof — and give them lots of booze. They can always be counted upon for great moments! But if one thing always irks me, it's the supporting actor TV category, which doesn't differentiate between drama, comedy or miniseries. And we end up with a field like this for Best Supporting Actor: Naveen Andrews, Lost; Paul Newman, Empire Falls; Jeremy Piven, Entourage; Randy Quaid, Elvis; Donald Sutherland, Commander in Chief. Seriously? We're putting Jeremy Piven's delightfully shallow superagent up against Andrews' painstaking dramatic portrayal of a tortured (no pun intended) former Iraqi soldier? In the same category? I am sure they must do this to get the time down on the program, but if they must lump TV-movies and miniseries together, can't they at least separate between comedy and drama (two drastically different media)? That would only add two awards to the program, maybe 10 minutes. Is that really too much to ask? I can't believe I let stuff like this get to me, but it does! — Sarah

Matt Roush: Of all the baffling inconsistencies of the Golden Globe nominations, these supporting actor TV categories are traditionally the worst. If they're not going to separate comedy and drama programs in this category, they should at least separate TV-movie performances (in which marquee casting like Paul Newman's often skew the results) from those in weekly series. Otherwise, I'm not sure I want to see more awards given out at the Globes. I don't take the awards that seriously, and like Sarah, I'm much more into watching the party.

On another front, Brooke gripes: "I'm sure you will have a million similar sentiments, but why the snub to Arrested Development and last year's Best Actor, Jason Bateman? This season has been right on par with every other one. I look at the other nominees and while I can't say that any of them are undeserving, I just don't feel any of them are on the same level that AD is. I've never seen Weeds and only caught a few episodes of Entourage, but Curb had an uneven season at best. My Name Is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris are good twists on the gunky-sweet sitcom, but still play right on that pattern of having places where you know it's "OK" to laugh, and I'll just assume you've already heard the 'not a comedy' argument against Desperate Housewives. Still, I understand most of the nominations, but I'm completely baffled by the snub. Hasn't the Hollywood Foreign Press made a huge mistake?"

The mistake here is in taking these nominations that seriously. The Globes are all about buzz, and sorry to say, Arrested Development doesn't have it anymore. It got Globes attention when it mattered most, but now that the show is essentially over, the Globes has moved on to acknowledge a handful of deserving new arrivals, most notably Earl and Chris, which I refuse to patronize for merely being entertaining. (Both made my own Top 10 list in the Dec. 19 issue of TV Guide, on stands now.) I would agree that Curb and Housewives are undeserving, judged on their current seasons. But the Globes are also all about pandering, so I wasn't that surprised.

And from Paula: "Why wasn't 24 nominated for the GG? IMHO, Season 4 has been the best season yet. At least Kiefer got a nomination." Looks to me like Prison Break got the 24 slot. It's newer and the hype is fresher, which probably explains it, even though Prison Break is nowhere nearly as consistently gripping as 24. This one really is a boo-boo, ditto the complete exclusion of any FX dramas from the list.
And finally (for now) from Brooke: "Can you please tell me on what planet Commander in Chief is better than Veronica Mars, and Geena Davis is better than Kristen Bell? Commander in Chief is like The West Wing, as much as Still Standing is like Lost. It has horrible dialogue and horrible plots. With The West Wing (old-school West Wing, that is), you laughed with the characters. On Commander in Chief, you laugh at them. How can the Golden Globes finally give a UPN show a shot (Everybody Hates Chris) and not Veronica Mars? While I totally think Everybody Hates Chris deserves a nom, I wonder why the Globes really gave them a nom (especially without including VM). I mean, if you're going to go all out and nominate a UPN show, why not two? Why do you think they did one and not the other? Do you think it's because of the Chris Rock factor? Or they were afraid people would say they didn't because the cast is largely African-American?"

I doubt political correctness had as much to do with it as the fact that the drama category is much more crowded than the comedy roster. (Deadwood was shut out, for instance, which is truly inexplicable and unforgivable.) I love the Globes for going out on a limb with cult underdogs from time to time: The X-Files, Party of Five, last year Nip/Tuck, plus surprise acting wins by Jennifer Garner and Keri Russell in years past. All of which made me think Veronica Mars might stand a chance. But like Gilmore Girls and Buffy before it, I fear Veronica Mars is a show that will never make it onto the industry-awards radar. (Which again is why I'm so proud that the AFI jury stepped up and gave it some attention.)

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Question: I recently have noticed CBS touting the ratings for their shows in various commercials. 80 million people for CSI, 60 million for Survivor, 50 million for NCIS. It goes on and on. Yet, when I look at weekly ratings for these shows, the real numbers aren't even close to what CBS says. My question is, where does CBS come up with these numbers and why are they able to get away with, what are basically, false numbers and lying to the public? — Scott

Matt Roush: I would imagine that, if pressed, they would come up with research claiming these inflated numbers are cumulative, not per episode. I agree this sort of hype is annoying, which is why I always recommend making good use of that "mute" control.

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Question: How does 60 Minutes have so much power that CBS would air the whole episode, pushing back the much advertised finale of Survivor for 22 minutes because football ran long? I understand 60 Minutes has been around for a while, but I doubt the number of fans watching that was anywhere near the number waiting around (impatiently in my house) for Survivor to begin. — Kim M.

Matt Roush: For what it's worth, CBS crowed that this was 60 Minutes' best ratings performance in a long time, and I'm sure that was attributable to frustrated Survivor fans waiting impatiently for the finale to start. For the record, except for those watching on Pacific Time, only two of the three 60 Minutes segments aired, so Survivor wasn't pushed back an entire hour. But it was still aggravating — especially as I was more anxious to start watching Grey's Anatomy and fell 20 minutes behind on that one (I ditched the Survivor reunion, in part because I couldn't bear watching Danni and Stephenie looking so unfortunately overly made-up. Perhaps they can spend their earnings on new stylists?) Point of fact, though: 60 Minutes is a big moneymaker for CBS, and the network often benefits, as it did this time, by holding the audience captive with its staggered (and in this case unpredictable) start times resulting from those exasperating football overruns.

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Question: I went to the Watercooler last week to see what wonderful things your fellow critics had to say about Martin Landau's performance (and Anthony LaPaglia's as well) on the Dec. 8 episode of Without a Trace, and nothing! So maybe you will feel like discussing it with me. I sent this to the Watercooler team, perhaps you'd like to discuss it instead: "Did any of you catch Martin Landau's exemplary performance on Without a Trace? Anthony LaPaglia's showing was also on a par. Watching Jack sitting with his father just after his sudden death, trying to hold back the grief, and only after it was too late, telling him 'I love you,' was one of the most moving moments on any show this season." So, Matt, do you think these performances warrant an Emmy or Golden Globe as I do? — Laurie

Matt Roush: Well, it's already clear that LaPaglia, a former Globes winner for Trace, didn't make the cut this year. Given the fact that The Sopranos will be back this season, he's probably a long shot for Emmy consideration this year as well. That category is going to be so very crowded; props, though, to the Globes for leaving James Spader and William Shatner of Boston Legal out of the running. Enough already. As for that tragic Trace episode: Couldn't agree with you more. It was very moving, especially because it was so understated and, in many ways, inevitable. Poor Jack.

http://tvguide.com/tv/roush/askmatt/

The Future of TV
The Revolution Will Be Televised

Ten things you need to know about TV on demand. How the brave new world of TV is giving viewers the power

by Jennifer Armstrong Entertainment Weekly

1 What's available?

In October, ABC partnered with Apple's iTunes and the new video iPod to provide downloads of shows like Desperate Housewives and Lost for $1.99 per episode. Within weeks, CBS announced its own deal with Comcast cable to offer select shows on demand (CSI, NCIS, Survivor, and The Amazing Race) for 99 cents a pop starting in January; and NBC struck a similar agreement with satellite company DirecTV to sell episodes of Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, among other shows, starting early next year. Then on Dec. 6, NBC announced a separate deal with iTunes to offer some of the shows DirecTV will feature, plus others such as Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Law & Order, and classics like Knight Rider. TiVo's prepping its own bold innovation: In 2006, new software will allow viewers to use their PC to dump recorded shows onto an iPod or Sony PlayStation Portable. And in January, AOL will launch a broadband network that will stream video of 30 classic programs including Alice, Falcon Crest, and Welcome Back, Kotter, complete with devious ways to suck you in (click here to see Brad Pitt's guest spot on Growing Pains!). That service is free to anyone — so plummeting workplace productivity is nigh.

2 Why is all of this happening now?

Network execs like to pontificate about ''unique opportunities'' to ''connect with viewers.'' But in reality, it all comes down to advances in technology — and fear of the second coming of Napster. With 35 million homes now using broadband, executives wanted to make their legit file sharing the norm before it's too late. ''The music industry tried to stop [downloads],'' says Michelle Hilmes, a media studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of The Television History Book. ''Now the TV industry is trying to hug it to death.'' Explains Albert Cheng, exec VP of digital media for the Disney-ABC Television Group: ''[Downloading an ABC show] is $1.99 and it's easy to do. So it's worth it not to get thrown in jail.''

3 Okay, but how real is this 'revolution'?

The landscape is littered with failed advances in TV viewing (remember when WebTV was the Next Big Thing?), but TV on demand is more like the onset of cable or the introduction of the VCR because it's driven by consumer demand, not industry wizardry. After TiVo introduced its digital video recorder in 1999, scores of cable companies began offering their own DVR boxes — so more and more viewers are getting their TV á la carte. ''People are waiting for reasons to use this [technology],'' says Josh Bernoff, a vice president at tech-business tracking firm Forrester Research. ''And 'I missed CSI last night' is as good a reason as you can get.''

4 Will this change the kinds of shows networks choose to air?

Selling eyeballs (preferably young, affluent eyeballs) to advertisers has long been the real goal of television. But if audiences are willing to pay per episode, TV becomes less about mass appeal and more about marketing directly to individuals. That gives more power to passionate, tech-savvy fan bases, a model that could favor a quirky show like the now-canceled Arrested Development over middlebrow fare. ''I've always wondered, How much would someone pay for an episode of Seinfeld versus a standard sitcom?'' says Arrested exec producer Mitch Hurwitz. ''Will 'appointment television' translate into 'pay television'? It has to a certain extent for HBO.'' Then again, The WB's critically beloved — but ultimately cancelled — Jack & Bobby became the first pilot available for legal download (via AOL) last fall. ''It got a tremendous response and broke all these records,'' creator Greg Berlanti says. ''And then it aired, and it didn't break any records.'' No matter the medium, says Will & Grace cocreator David Kohan, ''you still have to tell stories. And you'll need [actors] with giant heads so we can read their expressions on an eight-centimeter screen.''

5 Speaking of ratings — won't those mess up?

Not in the short term, since it'll be such a small percentage of the viewership using these alternative methods. (CSI, the current No. 1 show, gets about 28 million viewers; only an estimated 10 million homes even have DVRs.) Nielsen is just starting to measure DVR viewing, and will add on-demand rankings next year. Most executives and analysts believe new technology will actually boost Nielsen numbers by allowing fans to catch up and would-be viewers to catch on, just as TV on DVD has done. ''If I told you how great The Office was, and you went and rented it [on demand], you may be more inclined to catch it next week on NBC,'' says NBC Universal Television president Jeff Zucker. Adds CBS president of entertainment Nina Tassler: ''Our focus is getting more exposure for our content. But we still believe in a traditional model of watching television.''

6 What will your TV set look like in 10 years?

It'll evolve a bit but end up looking an awful lot like a TV set with a cable box. One possible change: refined ways to search for programming by, say, stars or subjects. Another: newfangled remotes that feature voice activation or computer-mouse-like qualities. Because quality independent TV productions will likely proliferate online, ''if that set-top box can connect to the Internet,'' says Bernoff, ''that's even more options.'' Hey, WebTV, maybe there's a market for you after all!

7 Will commercials cease to exist? Yippee!

Not so fast. You're going to have to hear about the new Swiffer one way or another, whether that's while fast-forwarding through a 30-second ad or seeing Bree use one on Desperate Housewives, or catching an entire Swiffer-sponsored episode of Housewives. Online options, meanwhile, will likely forgo traditional ads for sponsored content. ''There were decades of free broadcast TV before there was the first pay channel,'' says Kevin Conroy, executive vice president of AOL Media Networks, whose free classic-TV portal will feature games and quizzes sponsored by advertisers. ''If you want a lot of people to try something new, you need to take the obstacles away.''

8 Is there a downside?

Not for you, dear viewer. But the TV biz could face some thorny situations as everyone figures out how to divvy up this new load of moola. TiVo's downloading announcement has some networks pondering legal action, since it undercuts their plans to sell more programs on demand. TV affiliates — the folks who operate individual markets, providing content like local news — are antsy about á la carte TV rendering them obsolete. (CBS was concerned enough that it's not offering its service in markets where it doesn't own the stations.) And some programs may be slower to show up for sale because they're produced by a studio that doesn't share a parent company with the network. (NBC's My Name Is Earl, for instance, comes from Fox's production arm, so it's currently not available.) Then there are the actors, who are going to want a cut of the profits. All of this will slow — but not halt — the progress of on-demand programming.

9 Will prime time be a thing of the past?

Only if all viewers immediately embrace the new technologies. More likely, change will come slowly: less dependence on time slots to make hits, some experimenting with program lengths beyond the 30- and 60-minute formats, more network branding. ''The prime-time broadcast will still be the tentpole,'' Bernoff says. ''A show won't get popular unless it succeeds there.''

10 When will TV on demand be the norm?

No one knows for sure, but 2010 seems to be when most experts expect the average TV viewer to be splitting time among online, on-demand, and regularly scheduled options. As current teens grow up with the new technologies, on-demand will become second nature. ''Finally, the technology has caught up to the promises of the last few years,'' Zucker says. ''We're not flying around in the Jetsons' cars just yet, but we are close to living in the Jetsons' house.'' Better start saving up for those robot maids.

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Critic’s Notebook
Henry Winkler's comic novels teach kids about options

By Mimi Avins Los Angeles Times

Believers in karma might say that Henry Winkler's midlife rewards are a payback for emerging from a difficult childhood as a very nice person. At 60, he has a key role in "Out of Practice," the sly new CBS sitcom that's been one of the few freshman shows to break the top 20; he also co-authors a series of critically acclaimed comic novels for school kids based on his experiences growing up.

As painful as his early years were, Winkler can't help but mine humor from his past and find a way for his sad back story to benefit others. "'Hilarious' must be a fourth-grade word, because I get lots of letters from kids who tell me, 'Your books are hilarious,'" he says.

Growing up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the 1950s, Winkler, the only son of Holocaust survivors, was constantly knocked down by academics.

"School was this immovable object," he recalls. "I was told I wasn't living up to my potential, that I was stupid. My parents, being short Germans, were convinced I was merely lazy. So I was grounded for most of my life. I did not see the moon during my junior year. When you are in the bottom of the class, you're constantly feeling less-than. You're always working overtime to achieve some sort of normalcy or cool factor, which I had none of."

Fortunately for Winkler, and for the more than a million children who follow the adventures of his literary alter-ego, fourth-grader Hank Zipzer, the heart has a long memory. Even playing the thoroughly cool and commanding Fonzie on "Happy Days" for 11 years couldn't expunge the early beatings Winkler's self-esteem had taken. He poured his frustration at confusing his left and his right, at not being able to decipher a diagram or transfer his thoughts onto paper into the Hank Zipzer books. But first he had to learn why things that seemed so easy for his friends were so vexing for him. And to do that, he had to become a parent.

Winkler had thought about being a father when he was still a kid. After being berated and belittled by his parents, he would lie in bed at night and think, "I must remember this: never to repeat these people." He hasn't. He and his wife, Stacey, a child welfare advocate, have three children. Their 22-year-old son, Max, a senior at the University of Southern California, and 25-year-old daughter, Zoe, a teacher, live at the family home in Brentwood on the west side of Los Angeles, which says something about their affection for their parents. At 34, Winkler's stepson, Jed, is the manager for singer Morrissey and lives on his own.

It was Jed, in fact, who led Winkler to understand his learning difficulty. When the child was in third grade, he was found to be dyslexic. Listening to the experts describe Jed's condition, Winkler, then 31, said, "That's me." It was less of a light-bulb moment than one might think. "Everything was illuminated, but nothing was changed," Winkler says. "At least then I knew there was a reason why I was having such difficulties. First you go through a tremendous amount of anger. Because all those arguments, all that disappointment, all that punishment and grounding was for nought."

In retrospect, the struggle wasn't completely worthless. "Dyslexia taught me kindness," he says. "I know what it feels like to be treated like you're not up to snuff."

Before he'd ever heard the word "dyslexia," Winkler developed ways of coping with his confounding brain. He was admitted to the Yale School of Drama on the basis of an audition and, after graduating, paid the rent by doing commercials. "Reading cold was, like, out of the question," he says. "I improvised everything. They'd say, 'You aren't reading the words,' and I'd say, 'I'm just giving you the essence.' I was really good at getting commercials."

Out of such experiences came the messages Winkler wants his books to impart: "There's more than one way to Rome. There is more than one way to solve a problem. Ultimately, just because you learn differently doesn't mean there isn't some kind of greatness in you."

Hence, Hank Zipzer, described on the cover of each of the nine novels published as "the world's greatest underachiever." (Get it? Hank is the best at something.) He was conceived in 2003 after Alan Berger, who had been Winkler's agent at ICM, suggested that he write books for children about being dyslexic. Berger introduced Winkler to Lin Oliver, a co-founder of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

The ninth novel, "My Secret Life as a Ping-Pong Wizard," was published recently, and Winkler and Oliver are working on a pilot script for a Nickelodeon series based on the books.

At the heart of the books is Hank's tenacity, another quality he and Winkler share. The actor who played Arthur Fonzarelli was determined not to be a one-trick pony. "After 'Happy Days' was a hard time," he says. "I had eaten through brick to get where I was, and then the brick dissolved." When acting offers didn't come, he reinvented himself as a director and producer. By Winkler's estimate, he has produced or co-executive-produced 19 years' worth of television, including "MacGyver," which aired from 1985 to 1992.

Despite the variety of jobs Winkler has had, including a stint on Broadway five years ago in a Neil Simon play, fans always ask him how the Fonz is. "We built an addition onto our house," Winkler says, deadpan. "He's retired there, and he has a season pass to 'Out of Practice' on his TiVo, which I thought was really loyal of him."

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The Business of TV
Meanwhile, Over At CBS…

New CBS banks on content

By Diane Mermigas The Hollywood Reporter Dec. 16, 2005

NEW YORK -- The only victory sweeter for Leslie Moonves than seeing CBS dominate the coveted Thursday primetime ratings or snaring NBC anchor Katie Couric to revitalize his network's evening news would be reinventing the broadcast network business model for the digital broadband age.

A decade after he joined CBS as entertainment president, Moonves is about to get his chance. The one-time actor who took CBS from worst to first among the Big Four networks is preparing for his close-up on the CEO stage as of Jan. 1, when the split with Viacom leaves him solo as president and chief executive of the $32 billion CBS Corp.

The stakes are high for the first major pure-play broadcaster to emerge in more than a decade. Where others see a seriously challenged broadcasting industry business model, Moonves, a driven optimist, sees hot CBS-branded content flowing through new digital broadband, wireless and cable pipelines, supported by its core TV, radio and outdoor advertising businesses.

"We have growth options, and I think we're going to surprise a lot of people," Moonves says. "Our future success will depend on maximizing the use of our great entertainment, news and sports content everywhere and being paid for it."

As he dives into an array of new-media licensing deals, Moonves' overriding concern is making sure that CBS is well compensated for its programming and the value conferred by the Tiffany brand.

Like its rivals, CBS is making rapid-fire content deals with every kind of distributor: Verizon's V Cast video, Comcast video-on-demand, iPod audio and others. In most cases, CBS receives the lion's share of the on-demand user fees for providing select program clips (as for Verizon cell phones) and full-length series with TV commercials intact (as with Comcast VOD), well-placed sources say. CBS also gets a critical first read on the impact new-media options will have on its core businesses, consumer and advertiser behavior and its balance sheet.

"It's no coincidence that ABC and iPod, NBC and DirecTV and CBS and Comcast got together all within a few months to talk about these first deals, which will replicate themselves," Moonves says. "It's fair to say the Comcast deal is only a precursor of things to come. These are baby steps into the world of new media from the existing content of old media."

Although CBS Corp. is highly susceptible to economic swings that can affect the advertising sales comprising 70% of its revenue, Moonves is bent on exploiting the company's dominance in broadcast and outdoor advertising in the nation's largest, most lucrative markets -- particularly through Internet extensions.

"With 39 TV stations, 179 radio stations and a huge outdoor business, we're talking about local connections," Moonves says. For the first time, CBS Corp. will collectively sell the TV, radio, outdoor and corresponding online platforms to local and regional advertisers. "That will be a very potent growth force," he says.

Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Bilotti contends that the market "underestimates" CBS' postsplit growth opportunities, which are not reflected in its interim "when issued" stock price of about $26 per share, being manipulated more by arbitrageurs (since mutual funds can't participate at this point). Many analysts expect CBS Corp.'s postsplit stock to eventually trade at between $32-$35 per share. CBS is enticing investors, who are cool to slow-growing broadcast stocks, with at least $450 million in annual dividends and an anticipated $1 billion in stock buybacks.

Although CBS will exceed long-term secular trends with an estimated 10%-11% growth in earnings before interest and taxes next year driven by its television production, syndication and outdoor businesses, that growth rate will fall to less than 7% annually by the end of the decade, Bilotti wrote.

Characteristically, Moonves is far more bullish on CBS' future.

"I don't believe old media is dead," he says. "The CBS television network and our stations are making more money every single year and will continue to. The radio business makes us a lot of money. New media is exciting, but it's still not going to be our bread and butter for a long time. It's going to be our gravy."

However, industry analysts point to CBS Corp.'s vulnerability on a number of fronts. Howard Stern's defection to satellite radio next year will prompt the loss of $100 million, or 5% of total revenue, against flat growth at CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting), though the division's cost structure also will go down with the departure of the high-priced shock jock.

CBS Corp. will have nearly three-quarters of the old Viacom debt (at least $7 billion) supported by only 65% of its revenue and 55% of its earnings. CBS' all-important ability to convert earnings to free cash flow to reinvest in its businesses could decline by one-fourth to mid-30% -- a prospect Moonves says he doesn't completely buy.

Even more critical is that "CBS' financial results may be approaching peak levels," according to Bernstein Research analyst Michael Nathanson, citing the limited demand for network TV advertising, local TV's over-reliance on waning auto industry sales and limited regulatory growth catalysts. Nathanson's low-end forecasts of CBS' long-term 4% revenue growth and 3% operating profit growth "may not be bearish enough," he wrote in a recent report.

CBS' core businesses are subject to new competitive and cyclical erosion. The 41% of revenue tied to television advertising is under pressure from audience erosion by cable, Internet, video games, DVDs and other new-media options. The 35% of revenue tied to radio faces increased pressure from satellite radio and iPod-like devices.

The ratings turnaround during Moonves' tenure, in the face of eroding broadcast TV fundamentals, only yielded a modest 1.7% compounded growth in revenue and 4.5% growth in earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization, Nathanson estimates. Viacom declines to break out CBS' historical financial data.

Then there are such slippery financial matters as CBS possibly having to commit to a $100 million, five-year contract with Couric to help revive its beleaguered "CBS Evening News" franchise; testing new business models with its 240 TV station affiliates that eventually could include reverse compensation; testing new forms of advertising without jeopardizing conventional forms; and having to invest more than half its annual $14 billion revenue on all forms of content.

Still, analysts say CBS' balance sheet will be strengthened by continued frugal cost management, especially in corporate overhead and at Showtime. It could raise more than $1.5 billion from the anticipated sale of Simon & Schuster publishing and the Viacom theme parks, relics of past expansion deals that it also is inheriting.

Moonves is unwaveringly confident about his close-knit management team's ability to generate hot properties in whatever media space they decide to conquer. He is a digital convert, determined to use the array of emerging platforms to take CBS to a new level, as he discussed during a wide-ranging interview in his expansive corner office at Black Rock that once belonged to CBS founder William Paley.

"What we discovered from TiVo is that people who use TiVo watch 60% more television. So, I'm not losing viewers, I'm gaining viewers. The same with the Internet and with VOD," Moonves says. "I'm benefiting from all the additional people who become more familiar with my entertainment programming, my news, my sports, my network and my personalities. It all works hand in hand."

As an example, CBS has its first $1 billion franchise in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and its spinoff series as a result of first-run and off-network advertising, DVD and video-on-demand sales and all kinds of merchandising.

"You see what happens when one little program is spun off in 27 different ways? That's what is exciting about the future," Moonves says.

Under pressure to join ABC, NBC and Fox in supplying programs to Apple's video iPod, CBS also is in discussions with Google, as well as other portals such as Yahoo! and America Online, about on-demand content and search arrangements.

Most important, CBS' existing content sliced, diced and repackaged for cell phones, digital channels, VOD, Internet streaming, podcasting and other new platforms generate incremental revenue from subscriptions, license fees and advertising that fall straight to the bottom line.

"I'm looking at each one of these things as a real additive," Moonves says.

Cable is one distribution platform where CBS could be gearing up for a fight. At present, the MTV Networks channels that are staying on the opposite side of the Viacom-CBS split are paid a retransmission fee, part of which is shared with the CBS network. That no longer will be possible in postsplit deals negotiated by the new Viacom and its MTV Networks properties.

Although CBS' existing carriage agreements with cable operators will not expire for four years, it is forging a new Internet video game plan, known as a "cable bypass," under the command of Larry Kramer, president of the newly formed CBS Digital Media unit and founder of the respected financial news Web site MarketWatch.

CBS soon is expected to announce cash-carriage agreements with telephone companies aggressively competing with cable and satellite for video turf and willing to pay. An early analysis suggests top-rated broadcast networks might be worth between 60 cents-$2 per cable subscriber. The burgeoning on-demand new-media arrangements also will shape values and fees while reducing broadcasters' dependence on cable.

But Google and Yahoo! might get there first.

Ongoing discussions with both have been heightened by the success of a barely promoted carriage of the Paramount Network TV-produced UPN series "Everybody Hates Chris" this fall that attracted 120,000 Google users. Other such arrangements are planned. When initially approached with the proposition, Yahoo! insisted CBS would have to pay for the carriage. Google was willing to give it a try for free, sources say. Yahoo!, which declined comment, is not able to technically handle the broadcast networks' bulk on-demand video offerings until spring. CBS.com is frequently a top online broadcast destination, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

"The Google trial has been a great leveler for us in dealing with all of the online portals about carrying our content," Moonves says.

Some analysts estimate that new-media proceeds collectively contributing less than 5% to CBS Corp.'s total revenue today will more than quadruple by decade's end, accounting for as much as 15% of total revenue.

A recent CBS survey estimates that the Big Four broadcast networks could collectively reap as much as $5 billion annually as early as the end of next year from selling their primetime content on-demand and other new media, helping to offset shifting TV ad revenue.

Beginning in January, CBS will make four primetime series available to Comcast VOD as 99 cent downloads the day after they air. CBS already provides select programs including "60 Minutes" and "Guiding Light" to the audio iPod. As with other new broadcast network arrangements, distributors and device makers will underwrite most of the marketing for these offerings.

"The VOD Comcast subscriber will see the entire show as you would see it on CBS, complete with all the commercials," Moonves says. "We get paid by how many people view a show. So if 500,000 more people view a show on VOD, they hopefully will be added to our audience reach as figured by Nielsen. We have everything to gain," Moonves says.

The recently announced free online ad-supported streaming of out-of-market NCAA men's basketball tournament games (involving CBSsportsline.com, NCAAsports.com and CSTV.com) reflects CBS' newly adopted Internet broadband strategy and the broad new-media terms on which broadcast networks acquire all kinds of licensing rights these days.

As a stand-alone broadcaster, the new CBS Corp. has taken its first steps into cable ownership by acquiring College Sports Television for $325 million in stock. The addition of CSTV.com puts the size of CBS' online sports audience on par with ESPN.com, providing a fortified platform of targeted advertising and content for die-hard fans. The 24-hour, content-rich expansion this year of CBSsportsline.com, as well as CBSNews.com, has been key.

It has fueled speculation that it will launch a string of new cable services, drawing on CBS' owned content, including more than 3,000 titles in the CBS and Paramount television libraries. Moonves says that more likely will occur after next year, when CBS is closer to renegotiating retransmission agreements with major cable operators and will be able to secure carriage for new cable offerings as well as expand the reach of Showtime, foreign-language offerings of which are exploding in overseas market.

The company has been eyeing other cable network acquisitions (including Crown Media Holdings' Hallmark Channel) on which it could spend more than 10% of its free cash flow (after dividends, share repurchases and pension liabilities), Bilotti estimates.

"We are not looking for any transforming acquisitions," Moonves insists.

"We purchased CSTV because it fits terrifically well with our already existing content like the NCAA basketball tournament and the CBS Sportsline Web site. The CSTV cable channel and links to 250 college Web sites will be key in selling merchandise," Moonves says.

"But I don't see us launching a network of sports channels. I think ESPN does that pretty well. I don't see us starting a cable news channel, although we have a great news infrastructure, and I would aggressively bid for CNN if it was for sale," he says.

"We don't have to get into cable in a bigger way. We have Showtime, in which we've already made some creative changes. It provides an interesting opportunity in contrast to its other core businesses. We are going to follow HBO's lead and do more cutting-edge original production," Moonves says.

Other organic growth includes the creation of original content for new-media platforms and plans to launch the general entertainment digital broadband network, CBS 2, by 2007, drawing on existing and archived content and program contributions from local TV affiliates.

Whether on its own or other broadband networks, CBS will concentrate on on-demand options: from the more comprehensive likes of the $99 summerlong "Big Brother" rebroadcasts streamed by RealNetworks ("We made decent money on that," Moonves says) to the abbreviated clips of primetime, news and sports programming for Verizon's V Cast.

"It's not hard to imagine that there is something possible with every show and every business model," Moonves says. "Two years from now, I think you'll be standing on a sidewalk somewhere and be able to watch the tribal counsel on 'Survivor" and be able to vote on who you want in from your cell phone or from a gas station kiosk."

Next year, CBS will be deep into experimental shortform content, including three-minute 'Survivor' games, sports replays and interactive surveys. "We're still in laboratory stages of lots of things," he says.

More routinely, CBS will begin the more aggressive DVD release of its TV archives, and spike its off-network syndication with series such as "Medium" and "NCIS." CBS and Showtime also will realize improved economics from sharing repurposed and original content. Moonves says the accelerated new- and traditional media activity will not take the edge off of network TV viewing.

"It all plays to a different audience than our primetime viewers. There are still huge advantages to appointment television and big events," he says. "What I like about us is that people need drama. They want entertainment, whether it's news, sports, comedy or drama. That's what we do. I don't care how we get it to them, as long as we get paid for our content," he says.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001699684

Now NBC/U will (by next summer, at least) have two channels showing old TV shows in HD.

Most likely over and over and over and over.....

They should combine those two into one, and then launch Sci Fi HD.

That could be a plan. I am sure a ScFI HD channel has been talked about.

Sorry, this is an overlooked column from two weeks ago. But if you still have some Holiday shopping to do.....

TV on DVD
Universal stumbles with `Rockford Files' disc set

By R.D. Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal

DVD pick of the week: James Garner should be the front-runner on DVD, but it's a better week for John Goodman.

Garner's The Rockford Files: Season One (Universal, 21 episodes, three discs, $39.98) brings one of my favorite series to DV. The set even includes a brief segment with Garner reminiscing about the show.

Unfortunately, the series deserved better treatment than Universal gave it. The episodes still have visible scratches on the image. As the episode guide admits, a 90-minute episode is presented here as two episodes, obviously re-edited for syndication. Nor does the set include the original Rockford pilot, which aired the previous season. (You can find out more about Rockford on www.tv.com.)

So why John Goodman? Two reasons. First, there's Roseanne: The Complete Second Season (Anchor Bay, 24 episodes, four discs, $39.98), which -- unlike the first-season DVD -- presents the show in its original network form.

It's a funny, touching and smart series. Goodman, as Roseanne's husband Dan, was a major asset. The DVD extras also include a segment with Goodman talking about the show, and a clip from his original audition.

Second, Goodman is on view in a very different way in The West Wing: The Complete Fifth Season (Warner, 22 episodes, six discs, $59.98). In the first two episodes, he played the interim president when Bartlet (Martin Sheen) stepped aside after the kidnapping of his daughter.

Goodman gives a really good performance, especially considering what a fine cast the show has and that this was a transitional year for the series.

Creator Aaron Sorkin had not only left the show at the end of the fourth season, he left behind a puzzle of a plot. And I can't say the show did all that well at sorting it out over the ensuing season. And even on DVD, the picture is so broodingly dark as to make things hard to see.

Extras include commentaries on three episodes and some deleted scenes.

Beyond the pick of the week: Way beyond, in fact, since we're now moving on to MTV's Jackass, available in two new DVD forms: a single-disc, previously unreleased Volume One (Paramount, $19.99) and in a well-packaged box set including three volumes, a bonus disc and a booklet ($54.99). (Discs are organized as a sequence of sketches instead of along episode lines.)

Jackass is stupid, gross and juvenile -- and actual revels in that description. What else can you say about a DVD that starts with a guy climbing into a full porta-potty, then having it flipped upside down? Only two things, really: ``Turn that off,'' or ``Let's see what they try next.''

Here's one sample from Simpson, in a DVD extra: ``We are madly in love. And it's not always perfect all the time, and there's lessons to be learned in love. And you don't ever want to marry the same person (as yourself) because then you have absolutely nothing to fight about, which is no fun.''

Just as you may buy Newlyweds for pleasures unintended in the series, you may want to take a look at 24: Season Four (Fox, 24 episodes, seven discs, $69.98) for some things you never saw on TV.

Just as the third-season set included a scene making a transition between the third and fourth seasons, the fourth-season set has a long sequence about Jack Bauer's life from the end of the fourth season going into the fifth, which begins Jan. 15, 2006. It immediately raises some deep questions, including how Jack has managed to have a car but miss out on baths.

Also of note is the inclusion of 24 minute-long video segments called 24: Conspiracy. They formed a separate tale from the main 24 plot and were originally distributed to cell-phone users. But as goofy as the regular-TV 24 can get, it's still a lot better than those cell-phone vignettes.

Looking ahead: I know that many of you are already doing heavy DVD shopping for Christmas. But you may want to set aside some cash for some after-Christmas releases. In addition to the fourth season of The Shield, due out on Dec. 26, they include the first season of Hill Street Blues and the second run of British drama House of Eliott in January and, in February, the long-awaited third season of NYPD Blue.

Of course, given the way shows are rolling onto DVD, you can almost always expect something intriguing around the corner.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/movies/video_dvd/13309227.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Sports On TV
ABC alters studio complexion with celebrity guests

By Michael Hiestand USA Today

Eventually, the TV studio show built around big-event coverage might not have much to do with game stats.

As it starts another season of NBA coverage with a Christmas doubleheader, ABC will introduce the latest twist in going beyond: Its NBA Nation studio show will each week feature guest celebrity panelists who won't necessarily have any connection to the NBA.

Except, that is, that they like the NBA. Norby Williamson, an ABC/ESPN executive vice president, suggests the panel will resemble ones the old ABC show Politically Incorrect, where host Bill Maher would often lead a discussion among people who didn' seem to have any obvious connection to each other or to the topics at hand. The NBA show's panelists, he says, might include athletes outside basketball as well as people who aren't big celebrities — as long as they "have a passion for the NBA."

The ABC panel is another case of using people on sports TV — think Dennis Miller, Rush Limbaugh and Fox NFL comic Frank Caliendo— who aren't sports reporters or former players or coaches.

"We're trying to reinvent the pregame show," Williamson says. "We want people to tune in and say, 'Whoa, how are those people connected?' "

But one new face on ABC's studio show will seem logical —Scottie Pippen. The seven-time NBA All-Star, who retired in 2004 after 17 seasons, will join the show to fill the vacancy created by Steve Jones and Bill Walton, who are leaving the studio to call games.

Pippen says he's willing to be "critical. But I only critique guys to give a positive spin, to show the right way things should be done."

Streak broken

For the first time since CBS got the NFL's AFC game package in 1998, its Sunday NFL pregame show got ratings that topped the Sunday pregame show on Fox, whose NFC package has teams in more big TV markets than the AFC package does. Sunday, CBS' show drew 3.9% of U.S. TV households — Fox's show drew 3.4%.

CBS' spotter good at keeping tabs on everyone

Tom Spencer, who works alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz on CBS' lead NFL game each week, starts by serving as an "extra pair of eyes."

He's a TV spotter who has worked with Nantz for a decade. He confirms details — "with all those bodies flying around, a 6 can look like an 8 from 200 yards and you don't want to guess" — and keep track of traffic for Nantz, who also juggles replays and reads on-air promos. Spencer sometimes points to names on a board.

"The biggest challenge is keeping track of who's in the game," he says. "There can be eight (subs) at once, and I have two seconds to identify key guys."

Says Nantz: "The role of the spotter has become more difficult each year as substitution patterns skyrocketed."

Spencer, who also reports for a San Francisco radio station, spots for Nantz on golf, too. That's "totally different" because he follows players before they arrive at Nantz's 18th-hole perch: "I'm trying to keep track of every golfer to help tell their story, whether it's the story of their round, their week, or even of their life."

Says Nantz: "Tommy is a vital part of our storytelling process."

Football, says Spencer, is harder, partly because Nantz likes to track all NFL action: "We're constantly looking at our laptops to keep track of other games. And Phil Simms always wants to know how his son (Chris, the Tampa Bay quarterback) is doing."

Ebersol, NBC gradually piece together Sunday night team

To NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol, it is his "moving mosaic" — an objet d'art he says he might not work on until March. At stake: Who will appear on the network's NFL programming when it begins airing Sunday night games next year.

Ebersol says the only certainties are that Bob Costas will host NBC's Football Night in America studio show — an operation Ebersol suggests will be "a wide-ranging kaleidoscope" — and John Madden will be a game analyst. Cris Collinsworth, sitting out NFL game coverage this season after leaving Fox to sign with NBC, is a wild card. Collinsworth, like nearly all ex-players on TV, has worked as an analyst rather than a play-by-play announcer.

But Ebersol says he "goes back and forth every day about where to put Cris." He sees him as "the best studio analyst of his time," as well as "clearly the most popular game analyst other than John."

Could Collinsworth, in a play-by-play role, team with Madden on games? Says Ebersol: "Do I have thoughts about Cris doing play by play? Of course."

Ebersol says he's "the only person in the world" privy to all the details of how NBC's game plan is evolving. But he says it's OK for the rest of us to guess: "I love the speculation."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2005-12-15-hiestand-weekend_x.htm

Huffman hears the buzz -- she's just not listening
The actress seems down to earth as film and TV Golden Globe nods raise her Oscar chances

By Mary McNamara Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 16, 2005

For almost 30 years, Felicity Huffman has been a "working actor." This is a term used most often to describe someone who is not a movie star, who still requires a list of titles to explain who she is — "You know, the woman who was on 'Sports Night,' the one who's married to the guy from 'Fargo.' " Now, of course, Huffman is a star. Last year, she went from being the "Desperate Housewife" on the back fold of the "Vanity Fair" cover to the one with the Emmy in her hand.

This year, she may wind up with a few more statues to dust. This week, she got Golden Globe nominations in two mediums. One was predictable — she, along with several other members of the "Desperate Housewives" cast, is up for best actress in a television comedy — the other less so. In "Transamerica," she plays Bree, a transgender woman coming to terms with her son — it's not only her first nod for best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama, it's her first lead role in a film.

The sound you hear in the background is the rising drone of Oscar bookmaking. With so many of the best picture possibilities dominated by men — "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "The Constant Gardener" — the best actress category is wide open, and Huffman's chances are getting better all the time.

"Last year," she says, "I couldn't get a dress for the Emmys. I finally had to ask for one I had used on a photo shoot. This year I'm getting calls from people who want to send me sketches already."

Still, Huffman remains a working actor; frankly, she's never worked harder in her life. On the day of the Golden Globes nomination, she was on the phone with her sister while making oatmeal for her two young children when her publicist called. A few hours later, she was on a plane to Phoenix to attend a screening of "Transamerica," only to fly back later that night.

"I am thrilled," she said of the nomination. "It really is the lifeblood of these independents — how else will anyone know to see it if there weren't film festivals and awards shows to spotlight them?"

In the weeks around the limited release of "Transamerica," she was everywhere — at the New York opening, at the Los Angeles opening, in every magazine from Entertainment Weekly to Time. The film is about a male to female transgender woman who discovers she has fathered a son. To get her psychologist to sign off on her final surgery, Bree must meet and get to know the young man, who has a complicated life of his own. As they travel from New York to Los Angeles, much is hidden and revealed.

Huffman's performance got raves. With a physical presence that is difficult to reconcile with her small frame, Huffman nails the self-conscious and self-obsessed Bree, from the hopeful lilt of her still tenor voice to the studied hair-swinging swivel of her head.

Still, she had to sell the movie, which doesn't exactly have "blockbuster" or even "indie smash" written all over it. In every possible venue, she has explained how she prepared for the role (by meeting with transgender women as well as a life coach who helps them through transition), how it differed from life on "Desperate Housewives" (night and day; for one thing, on a low-budget film, craft services "is a saltine and some mayonnaise") and what her actor husband, William H. Macy, thought of it all (he advised her not to get so caught up in playing a man becoming a woman that she forgot to actually act).

"I have been very busy," she said recently, as she gave an interview while driving. "No one has ever been this interested in me before and probably never will be again."

With the film going into wide release next Friday and the Golden Globes nominations out, Huffman is pretending that things will calm down. "I told my friend that and she just laughed and said, 'It's just getting started.' "

Taken together, the two nods make her chances for an Oscar nomination seem more likely. With no multiple-nomination front-runner in this year's race, many smaller independent movies are shouldering their way into awards season with big publicity pushes. Huffman and Macy have a lot of goodwill in Hollywood — they are one of those rare industry couples who actually seem sane — and the role of Bree is the sort of utter transformation that often transfixes the academy.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, predictably. "Really. But I will say that if you had told me a year ago that this movie we were making for $2 was going to win awards, I would have told you you were crazy. I would have said, 'No, this is going to be one of those movies where my husband watches, slaps his hand to his forehead and just shakes his head.' "

Which doesn't mean she isn't working the room for "Transamerica"; she most certainly is, making sure everyone knows that it is not a "cause" movie, that it is funny and sweet and that Bree could be any woman who isn't sure, exactly, who she is and too busy obsessing about this to notice when it becomes clear.

"She's a freak," Huffman said of Bree fondly. "Not because she is transgender but because she's trying to fit herself into this image of what she thinks a woman is. She can't just let herself be who she is. Until the end. When she does, a little."

Huffman has been asked many times about the voice (she got a coach who helped her open her larynx up but still it took a half-hour warm-up every day), the hands (no prosthetics, just the actor's knowledge that if you behave as if something were big and ungraceful it will appear big and ungraceful), her prosthetic penis (named Andy) and the general lack of vanity it required for a woman to allow herself to be shot so that she looks like she was once a man.

"I've never been a beauty," she has told countless interviewers, all photographic evidence to the contrary. "So it wasn't a problem for me."

"It is hard talking about something again and again. But the story [of the film] is the story, so I tell it because I want people to see this movie. I do whatever I can to get people to see this movie."

The stardom thing, though, she's not buying, her appearance in Time notwithstanding.

"This has been a great year, a fantastic year," she said. "But I am very cognizant of the shelf-life of the spotlight. There have been so many times people have said to me after I've done some project, 'Oh, now you're going to take off,' and then I didn't work for a year.

"If I start feeling I was anointed, all I have to do is remember how many times I've been fired."

And the cool sideways glance of reality is always there to help remind her. When she was in New York doing publicity Huffman ran out between interviews to shop at Barneys. People have been recognizing her more on the street lately, she says, so when a woman tapped her on the shoulder, Huffman turned with the murmur of 'Oh, thank you very much' all prepared. The woman looked her straight in the face and asked where the gloves and scarves were kept.

"That's something anyway," Huffman says, laughing. "At least I looked good enough to work in Barneys.

"It was great actually," she adds. "The best thing that could have happened right now."

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-felicity16dec16,0,1966115,print.story?coll=cl-tvent

Sports On TV
The good, bad and ugly of '05

By Barry Jackson Miami Herald

This is the last media column of the year, so we'll beat the holiday shopping rush and offer our year-end awards two weeks earlier than usual:

• Best personnel moves: 1. NBC grabbing Cris Collinsworth and John Madden for its Sunday night NFL games, beginning next season.

• 2. ESPN, badly needing a marquee hire to offset NBC's moves, convincing ABC's Al Michaels to stay in the Disney family for Monday Night Football starting next season.

• 3. OLN hiring eloquent Mike Emrick and astute John Davidson as its NHL announcing team.

• 4. ABC reuniting Bill Walton and Steve Jones on NBA games, beginning with Pistons-Spurs on Christmas.

• 5. Fox adding astute Lou Piniella as a postseason baseball analyst.

• Questionable personnel move: ESPN promoting Bob Davie to replace Mike Gottfried on Saturday night college football. He wasn't an upgrade.

• Prima donna award: To Trev Alberts, for not showing up to work in early September, prompting ESPN to fire him. Alberts didn't like playing second fiddle to Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso.

• Biggest trend: Networks filling more of the screen with stats to appeal to NFL fantasy players.

• Biggest irritants: 1. Continued proliferation of screaming sportswriter shows on ESPN.

• 2. ESPN giving far too much time to the Terrell Owens story.

• Biggest surprises: OLN bidding more than $60 million annually for NHL games, more than twice what ESPN was willing to pay.

• Biggest embarrassments: 1. Carolyn Hughes, who covered the Dodgers, having an affair with L.A. pitcher Derek Lowe, leading FSN to drop her.

• 2. ESPN, on a long-running graphic, saying Jeff Van Gundy -- not Stan Van Gundy -- had resigned as Heat coach on Monday.

• 3. ESPN, fooled by a viewer prank, running an incorrect graphic last spring that Shaquille O'Neal would miss the rest of the season with an injury.

• 4. Cold Pizza's Woody Paige spitting on an FSU cap on the air.

• 5. ESPN's Ron Franklin condescendingly calling college football reporter Holly Rowe ''sweetheart'' while disputing something she was saying.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Pat Riley's return to the Heat bench was so highly anticipated that Tuesday's Bulls game generated a 4.8 rating -- the highest regular-season Heat rating on Sun Sports since 1998. Wednesday's Heat-Bucks game finished with a 3.3, raising Sun's season average to 2.2. . . . With Walton and Jones moving to games, ABC hired Scottie Pippen as its new NBA studio analyst.

• Football talk: ESPN confirmed Thursday that NFL announcers Mike Patrick and Paul Maguire will move to college games next year. . . . With Tom Hammond now unlikely to get the job, NBC has been considering moving Bob Costas or Collinsworth from the studio to a play-by-play role alongside John Madden when it begins airing Sunday night NFL games next season. Collinsworth has practiced doing play-by-play off-air. . . . For the first time since CBS returned to the NFL in 1998, its NFL pregame show had better ratings than Fox's on Sunday, 3.9 to 3.4.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/13419041.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Rarely in life do you get a chance for a do-over, but if you missed the annual showing of “A Charlie Brown Cjhristmas” on Dec. 6, you are in luck. ABC is showing it again, tonight (Friday) at 8 PM ET/PT. If you missed it last time, don’t make that mistake again.

Holiday Viewing
The making of a classic

By Diane Werts Newsday Staff Writer December 6, 2005

It's the ugly duckling of animation - the little cartoon that could. Even its makers considered it a disappointment, and the network might have scrapped it altogether if it hadn't been scheduled for airing just days after completion, too close to call off.

Forty years later, it's only a classic cherished by generation after generation, a landmark of pop culture known worldwide, and a poignant distillation of both the awe and the alienation stirred by the holiday season.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" - just say the title and you can hear the bouncy lines of pianist Vince Guaraldi's jazzy "Linus and Lucy." You can see sad little Charlie Brown moping at his empty mailbox, mulling the "true meaning of Christmas." There's his scrawny stick of a Christmas tree drooping under the weight of a single ornament. And blanket-dragging pal Linus finally proclaiming under a school stage spotlight "what Christmas is all about."

This gentle 1965 holiday half-hour from "Peanuts" comic strip creator Charles Schulz (airing tonight at 8 ET/PT on ABC) encapsulates the contemporary American Christmas in a way other specials don't, no matter how much Santa Claus, reindeer, shopping and gingerbread they throw at us. Schulz understood the heart of Christmas lay not in such showy outward traditions, but in the tender yearnings annually inspired deep inside us by the promise of peace and love, togetherness and merry moments. All the mercantile tinsel piled upon the modern yule could make Christmas sag under the burden. Yet the holiday's foundation - the joy and salvation embodied in its biblical origin - still stands strong beneath the razzle-dazzle. It needs only, like Charlie's emaciated tree, "a little love" to make its significance resonate.

The soulful story of a sad boy's search for meaning hardly seemed to have the makings of a cartoon blockbuster. No up-tempo pop sing-alongs, just a contemplative jazz score. And in lieu of professional actors, a bunch of real-life kids speaking for Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and the other "Peanuts" regulars. Today's tube viewers expect the unusual. But "A Charlie Brown Christmas" premiered in a day of just three networks, when chances were rarely taken. Nearly everything about this half-hour flouted convention, trusting instead in plain sincerity.

As producer Lee Mendelson tells it in his 2000 book "A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition," Coca-Cola was looking to sponsor a 1965 Christmas special. Mendelson had done a documentary about Schulz and Charlie Brown, so he called his comic-sketching friend, who spouted some random ideas for an outline to meet a quick proposal deadline - ice skating, a school play, a Christmas tree, reading from the Bible. Once approved, they were given just six months to produce the half-hour for a December airdate. Added to the thrifty team were animator Bill Melendez, who'd done some brief cartoon footage for the documentary, and jazz favorite Guaraldi, who'd scored it. Almost overnight, they would need to create walking, talking versions of the Peanuts characters otherwise seen in static, silent newspaper incarnations.

Decisions were made briskly, without the kind of rethinking in which brilliant inspiration gets watered down to blandness. Simplicity was the byword. Charlie Brown would sound "blah." Lucy should be crabby. Linus had to spout a babe's wisdom from a thumb-sucking mouth. Snoopy would not talk. The show would unpretentiously reflect the comic strip's portrayal of a lovable loser always doing his best, falling short and picking himself up to try again. If on the newspaper page the reader was often the only one to appreciate Charlie Brown's humble instincts, the television special would give the round-headed boy the chance to prove himself to all - a worthy holiday gift.

But "A Charlie Brown Christmas" begins with Charlie being blue: "I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it?" He bemoans Snoopy's commercial Christmas and Lucy's psychiatrist-stand greed. "Instead of feeling happy" about Christmas, he moans, "I feel sort of let down."

That stark sentiment would soon be shared by the folks who'd put together "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Upon screening the laid-back finished product, the production team worried "perhaps we had somehow missed the boat," Mendelson recalls. The network told him, "It seems a little flat." The first critic's review, in Time magazine, perked them up a bit; it called the special "refreshingly low-key ... a special that really is special." And the ratings sent them over the moon. The lovable loser finished second in the Nielsen ratings only to "Bonanza," then a network powerhouse, and a few months later, it won an Emmy for animated special.

And it has, of course, aired annually for 40 years now (first on CBS, the last four years on ABC). Families wanted to own their own VHS copies and later DVDs of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which spawned other "Peanuts" TV specials to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Year's, Easter, Valentine's Day, and even Arbor Day and baseball spring training. But none has quite matched the enduring appeal of Schulz & Co.'s first burst of innocent insight.

Christmas touches our hearts - even non-Christian hearts - in a way no other holiday matches. It teases our imaginations and stirs our emotions. Over the years, we have imbued it with strains of significance from faith, family, material comfort and personal contentment. Every year, we get our hopes up that at Christmastime, no matter our state before or after, this moment will be perfect. And every year, we are, like Charlie Brown, let down by Christmas' failure to meet our elevated expectations.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" suggests we reassess our perspective and appreciate what we have. Even if it's a stick of a tree. All it takes is a little love to make it great.

http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-ettel4540139dec06,0,4441761,print.column?coll=ny-news-columnists

Sports On TV
28 bowls means 28 winners

By Ray Frager Baltimore Sun December 16, 2005

Perhaps we'd be better off with a playoff system for Division I-A football. But where would that leave the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl?

On Tuesday, the first of 28 college bowl games airs (New Orleans Bowl, 8 p.m., ESPN), and maybe, by the end, the parade of 6-5 and 7-4 teams stomping across corporate-logoed fields will have lost your interest. But the current setup does have its supporters, including two ABC/ESPN game analysts, Bob Griese and Bob Davie.

"I kind of like it the way it is," Griese said on a conference call yesterday. "You go to a bowl game of any sort, it's considered a winning season."

Davie, the ex-Notre Dame coach, said : "I look at it as a former coach. There is no bad bowl game. ... There's a lot of benefit to winning your last game."

If Division I-A football had a playoff like all the other NCAA sports, Davie said, "at the end of the day, there's only one coach who won his last game."

Griese said: "Almost half of Division I-A teams go to bowl games, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as the bowls are healthy."

When it comes time to actually play the games, though, teams don't necessarily pick up where they left off in the regular season.

"One thing about bowl games," Davie said, "many times a different team shows up than you ended the season with."

Griese pointed out players have many distractions between their regular-season finale and a bowl appearance - final exams, trips home, bowl week activities.

"A lot of it falls on the head coach ... when to push them and when not to push them," he said.

In addition, a coach may have to convince his team that playing in the Biff's Burger Barn Mahwah Bowl is worthy of its best effort.

Davie said: "Some bowl games are higher on the radar than others. ... There are different expectations on where you thought you'd be ."

But for your viewing pleasure, 56 teams will be somewhere, from Nashville, Tenn., to Boise, Idaho, to Tempe, Ariz. Besides, how many CSI reruns can you watch?

[B]God bless the U.S.A.

Just in case there is any chance you would be confused about which country you're in when you watch NBC's Sunday night NFL highlights show next year, the network is calling it Football Night in America.

That's the program that will replace ESPN's aptly named, but far-less-patriotic-sounding NFL PrimeTime as the lead-in to the Sunday night package on NBC. Bob Costas addresses Americans one and all as studio host.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-sp.frager16dec16,1,7860066,print.column?coll=bal-artslife-tv

Sports On TV
ESPN's bowl dominance only hurts college football

By Scott D. Pierce Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News

Check the batteries in your remote — the college football bowl season gets under way on Tuesday with (gasp!) the New Orleans Bowl matchup of (gasp!) 6-5 Arkansas State vs. 6-5 Southern Mississippi.

That kicks off a marathon of 28 games in 16 days, with at least one bowl every day but two — Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Really. No college bowl games on New Year's Day.

You remember New Year's Day, don't you? When I was a kid, Jan. 1 meant college football — Rose, Orange, Cotton, Sugar . . . and nothing else much mattered.

(These days it's Rose, Orange, Sugar or Fiesta — whatever the site of the BCS title game — and nothing else much matters.)

There will be football on New Year's Day, however — the NFL. Yes, the non-bowl oddity of 2006 is a function of the calendar, what with Jan. 1 falling on a Sunday. But the bowl season is also a function of ESPN trying to fill out its broadcast schedule.

Seven out of 10 bowl games — 20 of the total of 28 — are on ESPN or ESPN2.

Hey, ESPN owns the Las Vegas Bowl. Which, come to think of it, is a horrible precedent.

If ESPN, which wields its influence like a club over the college sports world, owned more bowls, we'd never get rid of the ridiculous system that's preventing us from having actual playoffs, an actual national champion and something resembling fairness in the world of major college football. You know, something far distant from the current BCS system.

All you have to do is look at the bowl schedule and you'll see that ESPN already has too much influence — that the bowl schedule, if not the entire system, is designed with TV in mind. And I'm not just talking about having the national championship game played on the oh-so-traditional Wednesday after New Year's.

ESPN has its one game (the Outback Bowl) on Jan. 2 (this year's equivalent of New Year's Day) and all three of the New Year's Eve games. But you don't think games are being played on every day of the week but Sundays to accommodate the teams and their fans, do you?

Obviously not.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of local fans, is there really a reason for 6-5 teams to be playing postseason games except to provide programming for ESPN? (That said, under the current system BYU and Utah are as worthy as a lot of the other teams.)

Even with the presence of a few teams with actual good records (10-1 TCU; 9-3 Boise State; 10-1 Oregon; 9-2 Miami; 10-2 LSU), the overall winning percentage of the 40 teams in ESPN's 20 bowls is only .643 — meaning they lost more than a third of their games but are still playing in the postseason.

In contrast, the eight games not on ESPN or ESPN2 feature teams with a combined winning percentage of .830 — and that includes CBS's coverage of the Sun Bowl, for goodness sake!

Wouldn't it be nice if postseason play actually meant something other than a way for ESPN to sell advertising time?

BY THE WAY, for those of you keeping track, 13 of the 56 teams (including Utah and BYU) in bowl games barely squeaked in with 6-5 records. Another 15 teams have only seven wins.

How many of you have jobs that reward you if you're successful less than 55 percent of the time? Or even 58 percent (the equivalent of 7-5)? Or even 64 percent (7-4)?

http://www.desnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635169195,00.html

Four in “Cheaters” TV crew charged with assault

By Deanna Boy Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff writer

Four men working with a reality TV show aimed at exposing infidelity were indicted Thursday on criminal charges stemming from the filmed confrontation of a woman outside an Arlington fitness center over her relationship with a Fort Worth police captain.

A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Joey Greco, the host of Cheaters, and Hunter Carson, the episode's director, on charges of assault with bodily injury, unlawful restraint and hindering apprehension.

Walter Earl Woods, 36, and Thomas Daniel Gibbons, 19, security guards contracted by Cheaters, were indicted on charges of assault with bodily injury and unlawful restraint.

The four men did not return messages left through Bobby Goldstein, creator and executive producer of the Dallas-based show.

The charges stem from the May 4 encounter between Rafael Gutierrez Jr., 41, and his estranged wife, Maria Gutierrez, outside the Bally's Fitness Center at 2306 Collins St., where she worked.

A private investigator hired by Rafael Gutierrez had filmed Maria Gutierrez and Capt. Duane Paul engaged in sexual conduct in an unmarked city vehicle at Vandergriff Park on three occasions. With a Cheaters TV crew of about a dozen employees in tow, Rafael Gutierrez confronted Maria Gutierrez about her alleged affair with Paul.

The indictments allege that all four men were a party to an assault on Maria Gutierrez when one of the security guards hit her in the leg with his own leg as he tried to restrain her.

In addition, the indictments charge that Greco, 45, and Carson, 29, hindered apprehension by providing Rafael Gutierrez with a means of leaving the scene before officers arrived, despite learning that he had a protective order against him.

Goldstein called the charges "just nuts" and joked, "I'm hiring Denny Crane from Boston Legal."

"I've watched the tape from every angle, every camera, and it looks like someone there is trying to get their names in the paper," he said.

Goldstein called the criminal charges a first for the television show, which airs on the WB Network.

"Only in Cowtown!" he said.

All the charges are Class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Sean Colston, chief of the family violence unit of the Tarrant County district attorney's office, said arrest warrants would be issued for the four men.

Excerpts of the confrontation and the private investigator's footage from the park were shown to the media during a news conference by Cheaters in May.

In the footage, Maria Gutierrez can be seen talking on a cellphone when she is surprised by her husband and the TV crew. Arlington police have said she was talking with a Grand Prairie police investigator about repeated problems with Rafael Gutierrez.

With her husband hovering over her and yelling at her in English and Spanish, Maria Gutierrez tried to go back into the fitness center but was blocked by the Cheaters security guards.

A co-worker eventually helped her get back inside.

At the time, Rafael Gutierrez was awaiting trial on accusations that he had assaulted Maria Gutierrez twice in February in Grand Prairie, and a protective order prohibited him from going to his wife's workplace.

He was later arrested for violating that protective order -- a third-degree felony because he is also accused of assaulting her there. Court records show that Rafael Gutierrez was indicted on that charge Thursday.

The two previous assault charges are still pending.

Rafael Gutierrez did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Goldstein told reporters during the news conference in May that his crew members were unaware of the protective order against Gutierrez until they were filming the confrontation.

He acknowledged that he was aware of the two pending assault charges against Gutierrez "but there's a presumption of innocence since he was not convicted."

He has said the show did not feel that Gutierrez was a threat to his wife at any time.

Fort Worth police investigated Paul's actions. In September, Paul was suspended for 90 days and demoted from captain to lieutenant.

The Cheaters episode aired in Dallas-Fort Worth last month.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/13422223.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Thursday’s prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s analysis of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News the second post in this thread.

Barton Has Heart Attack

By John Eggerton –Broadcasting & Cable

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Tex.) was admitted to George Washington hospital Thursday night after suffering a heart attack. He remained there Friday morning.

“Chairman Barton felt ill during a meeting at the Capitol this evening," said press secretay Karen Modlin in a statement. "He was treated by the attending physician and then admitted to George Washington University Hospital."

She said he is resting comfortably "under the expert care of Dr. Jonathan Samuel Reiner at George Washington University Hospital, who has expressed his confidence in a full and complete recovery.

"The congressman is currently negotiating his release date with the doctor," she said, which staffers expect "within a few days."

Barton, 56, has been a key player in legislation setting a DTV transition hard date and in drafting legislation to update the 1996 Telecommunications Act in light of the broadband revolution.

Novak Exits CNN
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable (Anne Becker contributed to this report.)

Longtime CNN commentator and host Robert Novak will leave the network Dec. 31.

His contract was up at the end of the year and was not renewed.

"Through the years, Bob has offered incisive analysis for much of CNN’s programming, including Crossfire, The Capital Gang, Inside Politics, Evans and Novak, The Novak Zone, and Novak, Hunt and Shields," network said in a statement.

"Bob has also been a valued contributor to CNN’s political coverage. We appreciate his many contributions and wish him well in future endeavors," said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S.

CNN has been pondering his fate for several months. Novak has not been on the air since August after he stormed off the set of the network's Inside Politics and said "That's bull----" during a debate with liberal political strategist James Carville.

Novak has been in the news for several months regarding a federal investigation into the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity. Plame’s name appeared in a Novak column on July 14, 2003.

Just this week he was reported to be cooperating with the ongoing government investigation into the leak.

Thursday 18-49 Overnights
Trumped: Finale fizzle for “Apprentice”

Off 7 percent from last season, to a 5.7 rating

By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 16, 2005

Oh how The Donald hath fallen, farther than anyone could have guessed just two years ago.

Not only did last night’s “Apprentice” finale get whacked by a “CSI” rerun, but the NBC press release had to resort to celebrating that the show finished within 10 percent of last season's finale.

Last night’s two-hour season finale of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” on NBC averaged a 5.7 overnight rating among viewers 18-49, down 7 percent versus the 6.1 overnight rating last season’s finale earned.

It was the lowest-rated finale ever for Trump’s hire-a-mentee show, which less than two years ago was one of the highest-rated programs on television.

Season four’s finale was down 27 percent versus season two’s finale, and 57 percent versus season one’s finisher. About 12.8 million total viewers tuned in last night.

On last night’s show, 34-year-old Randal Pinkett, a Rhodes Scholar with degrees from both MIT and Oxford, won the job as Trump’s apprentice, and managed to dash the hopes of runner-up Rebecca Jarvis in the process.

When asked by Trump if both should be hired, Pinkett answered no, the show is called “The Apprentice,” not "The Apprenti."

“Let’s leave it at that,” Trump replied.

“Apprentice” finished a distant No. 2 in its normal 9 p.m. timeslot to a rerun of CBS’s “CSI,” but it did manage to take the 10 p.m. hour against a repeat of “Without a Trace.” The finale of "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" airs this Wednesday.

While last night’s finale was the lowest-rated yet, it was still up 21 percent versus the 4.7 overnight rating the show had averaged through its first 12 episodes of the season.

http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_1910.asp

Digital TV, Kids Groups in Deal
New rules, which need FCC approval, would add educational shows and limit Web promos

By Jube Shiver Jr. Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 16, 2005

WASHINGTON — After trading lawsuits this fall, children advocacy groups and entertainment industry representatives have agreed on new rules for digital television that would require broadcasters to expand children's educational TV programming and limit the use of the Internet for promotional tie-ins.

In return, broadcasters would be allowed greater flexibility to preempt the educational shows for live sports on weekends. TV station owners also would be allowed to broadcast commercials promoting other children's shows without those ads counting against a 12-to-10 1/2 -minute cap on paid advertising that can be shown during educational programs.

The compromise, announced Thursday, recommends revising a controversial Federal Communications Commission regulation that takes effect next month and threatens to hinder the ability of some TV networks to air live sports on the weekends. The agreement would also remove a potential obstacle to the nationwide transition to digital television technology and would take effect March 1, if approved by the FCC.

"This is a very good deal for kids," said Martin D. Franks, executive vice president for CBS Television. CBS had threatened to cancel its weekend sports programming and joined ABC parent Walt Disney Co. in October to file a lawsuit challenging the FCC's children's television rules.

The new accord was reached with Oakland-based Children Now and other advocacy groups.

"The key piece of this is providing access to educational programming because we know it has great benefits for children," said Patti Miller, vice president of Children Now.

Under current regulations, television broadcasters are required to air three hours a week of educational programming for children 16 years and under between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Children's shows airing Saturday that networks count toward that include ABC's "The Proud Family" and Nickelodeon's "Blue's Clues," which airs on many CBS stations.

That requirement broadens next month when broadcasters will have to supply three hours of children's programming on each of the up to five digital channels they can multicast using digital technology.

Companies with a big presence on the Internet, such as Disney and Time Warner Inc., also had sought the flexibility to use children's TV show characters on their websites. However, the practice would be limited to portions of websites that aren't prominent if Web addresses are shown during children's shows that include the characters.

Two top FCC aides, who declined to speak on the record because the agency had not yet formally reviewed the agreement, said the FCC would probably postpone the Jan. 1 start date of children's TV rules to study the agreement. Both aides said it was likely that the agreement would be approved with only slight modifications.

Separately, Time Warner Cable, responding to another hot-button FCC issue, said it would begin selling a package of 15 television channels for families in response to pressure from regulators seeking to clean up cable content.

The company is making available the Family Choice Tier in digital cable. Stations will include Food Network, Discovery Channel, CNN Headline News, the Science Channel and Discovery Kids. Time Warner Cable said it chose channels that aired G-rated content 24 hours a day.

The family package will cost $12.99 a month on top of basic service. Consumers who don't already subscribe to Time Warner's digital service will need a new set-top box that costs $7.95 a month.

Time Warner, Comcast Corp. and four other cable operators said this week that they would offer the packages. The FCC is studying whether it can force companies to sell channels on an individual, a la carte basis, so that cable subscribers can elect not to receive channels featuring shows they find offensive.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-digital16dec16,1,696974,print.story?coll=la-headlines-business

The Associated Press’s David Bauder has more on the Novak story:

“Commentator Robert Novak, who hasn't been seen on CNN since swearing and storming off the set in August, will leave the network after 25 years and join Fox News Channel as a contributor next month…

Novak said the switch to Fox had nothing to do with finding a more comfortable home for his views.

”I don't think that's a factor," he said. "In 25 years I was never censored by CNN and I said some fairly outrageous things and some very conservative things. I don't want to give the impression that they were muzzling me and I had to go to a place that wouldn't muzzle me”…"

Novak said the switch to Fox had nothing to do with finding a more comfortable home for his views.


Right. :rolleyes:

Right. :rolleyes:

I think he's just making it clear that he didn't leave CNN because he couldn't express his viewpoint. Otherwise, it would be a much bigger slam against CNN than Fox News.

That makes sense..he just seems a pretty good fit for FOX News.

PBS Gets Dough For Nonfiction Channel

By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable
PBS has gotten a $3 million grant to launch a 24/7 digital multicast channel and complementary Internet effort dedicated to nonfiction programming and public participation. The launch is targeted for fall 2006.

The noncom stations have a ready platform for the TV channel, thanks to a carriage deal with the cable industry announced earlier this year.

The grant, from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, will be split up into $2.5 million for the channel and another $500,000 to produce a pilot for the series Global Watch, which will anchor a public-participation programming block called Public Square.

Global Watch, which will kick off the Public Square block, will be an hour nightly news program, followed by a documentary series, ITVS Presents, which will "explore complex issues and express points of view seldom seen on commercial television."

Taking a page from Al Gore's cable channel, Current TV, Public Square will be also be interactive, featuring short-form interstitial programming like My Life, video blogs from twenty-somethings, and 60 People in 60 Seconds, in which viewers weigh in with one-minute segments.

Surrounding the square will be an aggregation of PBS' signature nonfiction shows including Nova, American Experience, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Frontline, Charlie Rose and P.O.V, as well as specials and other library product and original productions.

The series will be a mix of "same-week" repeats and library product, according to PBS spokeswoman Lea Sloan, both because it doesn't want to just be a timeshift channel, and because it is limited in time shifting by the agreement with NCTA for a minimum number of hours not duplicating the primary digital channel.

The channel will also be moving in on C-SPAN's territory, with live coverage of congressional hearings and major press conferences.

The grant was announced under the auspices of the Digital Future Initiative (DFI), created by its own grant from the MacArthur Foundation to help chart public television's future in the digital age.

According to PBS, DFI, co-chaired by former Netscape CEO James Barksdale and former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, has concluded that public broadcasting "is uniquely qualified to address critical national needs in education, community engagement and emergency preparedness."

Thursday’s Ratings: What happened?

As I have noted on occasion, you always have to be careful when reading reports about Nielsen ratings.

Last night’s numbers provide an almost textbook example. So how did the finale of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice 4” do?

You decide:

thefutoncritic.com
Had this report on Thursday’s ratings:
thursday's ratings: 'apprentice' finale delivers
against repeats on cbs, nbc pulls off rare adults 18-49 win

Now for MediaLife.com:
Trumped: Finale fizzle for 'Apprentice'
Off 7 percent from last season, to 5.7 rating in 18-49s, drubbed by a rerun of 'CSI' in its regular 9 p.m. slot. Martha's better half.

The Hollywood Reporter:
NBC gets 18-49 win
”…A live, two-hour "Apprentice 4" finale gave NBC the edge in the demo against repeats of "CSI" and "Without a Trace," according to preliminary ratings estimates from Nielsen Media Research…”

Daily Variety analyzed the evening’s numbers and reported:
'Apprentice' wrap lifts NBC
”…NBC notched its first Thursday victory of the season in the key 18-49 demo category behind the two-hour finale of "The Apprentice 4." CBS' all-repeat lineup still led the way in adults 25-54 and total viewers…”

MediaWeek.com's
Marc Berman, the Programming Insider, saw it this way:
“…Despite airing a line-up of repeats opposite the two-hour season-finale of NBC’s The Apprentice 4, CBS kept part of its Thursday dominance intact, with a first-place finish in the overnights and total viewers. NBC was No. 1 among adults 18-49. While there was interest in The Apprentice 4 finale, ratings paled in comparison to the year-ago second-season ender…”

John Spencer 1946-2005

News reports here in Los Angeles say that actor John Spencer, who stars at Leo McGarry on the long-running NBC series “The West Wing” had died.

John Spencer would have been 59 next Tuesday.

John Spencer 1946-2005

On Sept 16, 2000, while “The West Wing” was beginning its second season, John Spencer sat down with Terence Smith for an extended interview for the PBS Program “NewsHour”.

“The West Wing" actor discusses how his character -- Leo McGarry, President Bartlet's chief of staff -- fits into the program, and how the program portrays American political thought.
The following are extended excerpts of his interview with the NewsHour.
The NewsHour Media Unit is funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

TERENCE SMITH: John, when you approach this role, how important is it to you to be either real, or close to real?

JOHN SPENCER: It's always important for me as an actor to reflect human behavior for a sense of reality. So this role is no more or less important than any other role, concerning the reality factor. I mean, I think art, at best, holds up a mirror to humanity. And unless we are real human beings, something's phony there, and it's not going to be as effective.

TERENCE SMITH: To what degree have you consulted with the [White House Chief of Staff] John Podestas of this world, or the people who have done the job that you are playing?

JOHN SPENCER: After the fact. Aaron gave me a book, the writing of five different chiefs of staff, and I read it before we started the pilot after I'd been cast. And way after the fact, into our first season, I met John Podesta. And I'm just crazy about him. He's a great fellow.

We didn't talk a lot of shop. We talked sort of human stuff: the size of his office; what his hours were, as opposed to my hours. I thought I had him beat, and then I discovered not. He has to do weekends; I don't do weekends.

And then I met Leon Panetta, who is a great, great guy, too, who gave me the biggest compliment. He said, "Any government would be lucky with 'Leo' as chief of staff."

TERENCE SMITH: That's great.

JOHN SPENCER: But you see, it's only 50 percent compliment, because Leo is also Aaron Sorkin. I'm just a sort of instrument who plays him, you know.

TERENCE SMITH: Do you think it's possible with a dramatic show such as yours to get close to, and maybe even closer to, the reality of how decisions are made in the White House than even conventional news reporting?

JOHN SPENCER: Well, I think you get the back story. I think you see the nuts and bolts of the events. I'm not sure, since we are first and foremost a fiction and an entertainment, that necessarily we would be more accurate than news. But we might be more all-inclusive, you know.

TERENCE SMITH: Is it a scary thought to you that some polls show that Americans--some Americans, many Americans--derive their impressions of the White House from your show?

JOHN SPENCER: It's a little scary. As I said before, I mean, our intent is to entertain. Our backdrop is Washington and the government, but we are an entertainment. We're an hour drama, not unlike other hour dramas. It's just that we're about the White House, we're about the seat of government.

TERENCE SMITH: And yet, one thing that people who have been in the White House say about it, one thing they like, is that the characters, especially you and others, are worldly but not cynical about public service.

JOHN SPENCER: Yes. Yes.

TERENCE SMITH: And is that sort of a deliberate message?

JOHN SPENCER: That's an Aaron Sorkinism. I like that, also. I mean, I think a pure reason for doing government service is indeed to serve for the good of the whole. And our administration, the "Bartlet administration," is filled with very devoted and honorable people whose desire is to serve the well-being of the American people. However, I must say, in meeting some of the staff of President Clinton's, especially the young aides and assistants, I was really impressed with the enthusiasm, the need and the desire to serve, the kind of optimistic point of view they all had. I mean, I almost thought they were working on our show.

TERENCE SMITH: Is it possible, in your view, for you and this show to get closer to the real story of what happens in the White House than it is for conventional news reporting?

JOHN SPENCER: I think so, from the standpoint that the conventional news reporters are seeing what an administration is putting out. They are not seeing behind closed doors. They are not, perhaps, seeing true relationships between human beings. We can do that.

I've often said that "The West Wing" is about human relationships, the backdrop is politics in the White House. But, basically, you know, it's about C.J., and Toby, and Leo, and these people who have worked together and formed complex friendships over the years and who are now in the White House. We don't get to see with real politicians because we don't get behind closed doors. When a politician is addressing us or when his staff is addressing us, it's a formulated situation. They are telling us what they have planned to tell us, and we see only that. We do not see what goes into that press release: the meetings, the decisions, the pros and cons. And that's what we're able, as a drama, to portray. And I think that's why, perhaps, people feel more intimate watching us because they see the human beings behind the office.

TERENCE SMITH: Have you been at all surprised by the apparent willingness, judging from the numbers and the ratings, of the audience to listen to drama about very weighty issues?

JOHN SPENCER: I am, in general, surprised, although I actually believe that audiences, for the most part, are underestimated. I think you can show a group of people something that's mediocre, and they can certainly get into it. And then you can bring something in that's a cut above, and their attention will be pulled in that direction. I'm not suure everyone could define why they're looking over there suddenly. But I think cream does rise to the top, maybe it's my optimism.

I think there was some concern when we first were going on the air that perhaps we were too heady, too complex, things moved too quickly, things were not explained. I was overjoyed that Aaron stuck by his guns and thought, you know, if people are going to come along, they will. I'm not going to pander. I'm not going to explain things ad infinitum and be tedious. And I think people do.

TERENCE SMITH: Is there, on the other side of that coin, is there any danger in people drawing policy conclusions from "The West Wing"?

JOHN SPENCER: Well, yes, there is, I would imagine. Again, I have to say, first and foremost, we're an entertainment. So you have to see us as a fictionalized representation of what's really going on. We do not influence policy. People ask me if President Clinton has watched the show. From my few brief meetings with him, having met him, I don't think he's ever seen the show

TERENCE SMITH: Leo, the character you play, he's supposed to have hard edges. Is he a cynic?

JOHN SPENCER: I don't think so. I think he's a realist, but I don't think he's cynical. I don't think a man of his age could be cynical and choose this life. All parts of Leo's life are put on hold, except his service to the government and to the president--and to his friend, who happens to be the president. So I don't think if he were too cynical he would choose that route at this point. I think he'd go into retirement or lecturing, or something like that.

TERENCE SMITH: Is it surprising to you in any way that the public has responded to an issue-based drama? Some of the issues are heavy.

JOHN SPENCER: Yeah. I find it amazing, and very encouraging. I've often thought that the viewing public has been underestimated too often by "suits" in higher positions. I think people will watch something that is good, or even less than good--perhaps mediocre; and when shown something that is better, their attention will go over to that direction. They may not be able to define why, but I think it's instinct: The cream rises to the top, if I may be so poetic. I always thought the show was great, and when I read the pilot and decided to read for it, I loved the project. I wanted to do it badly.

I had no idea how the public would respond. I heard two trains of thought. One was that people, with the impeachment trials, would be fed up with government issues. The last thing they'd want to watch is a show about government. Another point of view was, well, they'll kind of be "jones-ing" for, you know, another injection of governmental issues. You're just going to be coming in at the right time. I had no idea. In the arts, you do your best. You put it out there. You have your own belief about the quality of what you're doing. And then, what the public is going to do or not do is sort of just up in the air. You never know.

I've done good things, or things I've thought were good, that found no audience. And I've done things that I thought were so-so, and have found a great audience. So you can't predict that. That's the sort of chance unknown in the equation. It's a little scary. All you can do is do the best job.

TERENCE SMITH: What are some of the issues that you're going to tackle this next season?

JOHN SPENCER: A lot more of the political issues. We're going to go up against Congress a few times. You get to know some aspects of the workers' personal lives a little more. The "first lady" comes back to us--I say with a smile on my face, because I'm crazy about Stockard [Channing, who plays First Lady Abigail Bartlet]. And hopefully, more of the same. I can say, as great as I thought the scripts were last season, and I certainly did, the first six that I've read this season are even better. I know that's a very brazen thing to say, but in my opinion, they're even better. I think we've all, including Aaron, settled in.

TERENCE SMITH: When you go at a role like this or even a particular script on one of these issues like ethanol or something, do you research it with the people who have been chiefs of staff? Other than the book, you mentioned the book already, but have talked to current or former chiefs of staff about the role?

JOHN SPENCER: I have, but not so much shop talk, especially with John Podesta, who I'm very fond of as a human being. I think he's a great fellow, and we've sort of developed a casual friendship. And it's a funny thing is that I've never talked nuts and bolts with him. I've never talked policy. We talk kind of general information, like size of office or your office is bigger than mine, or mine is painted green, yours is painted salmon.

TERENCE SMITH: But you don't go to a current or former chief of staff with a script in your hand or in your mind and say, "What would the chief of staff do in a situation like this?"

JOHN SPENCER: No. I might, if opportunity presented itself, go to a former chief of staff with that kind of thing. I would be loathe to do it to somebody who is in the administration now. I think it would be dangerous. Areas you don't want to get involved in. You know, I would probably ask Leon Panetta, who I've met and is a great fellow and gave me a, I immodestly say, a huge compliment and said that, actually, it's an Aaron Sorkin compliment, if you really come down to it, he said, "Any administration that would have Leo McGarry as a chief of staff would be very, very fortunate."

TERENCE SMITH: So that's high praise.

JOHN SPENCER: I was, I was very taken and very proud of that remark by him. But, again, that's a dance between Sorkin and myself. He writes the words, I'm the instrument that plays them, but the ideas and the words are his. So it couldn't be John Spencer being chief of staff, it would have to be John Spencer with Aaron Sorkin telling him what to do.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/west_wing/spencer.html

The Associated Press is quoting John Spencer's agent as confirming Spencer died today at a Los Angeles hospital. Radio station KFWB is saying the cause was a heart attack.

The word of Spencer's death apparently first came from the TV show "The Insider".

The NBC Bio
John Spencer 1946-2005

(From NBC.com)

Versatile character actor and Emmy Award winner, John Spencer plays Leo McGarry, on the Emmy winning NBC drama “The West Wing.” His work on the show was rewarded with an Emmy Award win for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series both in 2002 and five consecutive nominations, including last year’s.

With scores of television, film and stage credits, Spencer began his career as an actor on “The Patty Duke Show.” However, he is best known to television audiences as the tough and funny New York attorney Tommy Mullaney on the hit series “L.A. Law” (1990-94). Spencer also appeared in one of NBC’s most highly rated television movies, “The Tangled Web” and starred in Joseph Wambaugh’s “A Jury of One.” He has also guest-starred on NBC’s “Law & Order,” and “Miami Vice,” as well as “Spenser: For Hire,” “Early Edition,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and “Tracey Takes On…”

Spencer’s film credits include the thriller “The Negotiator,” with Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey, “Twilight” with Paul Newman and Susan Sarandon, “Copland” with Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, and “The Rock” with Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris. Spencer also appeared in the comedies “Forget Paris” with Billy Crystal, “Green Card” with Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell, and “Albino Alligator,” with Matt Dillon and Faye Dunaway.

Spencer’s work on Broadway and off-Broadway earned him an Obie Award for his performance in “A Still Life.” He received critical acclaim plus a Drama League Award for his portrayal of Dan White in the Broadway production of “Execution of Justice.” Also, he received a Drama Desk nomination for his role in “The Day Room.” Other stage appearances include “LakeBoat,” “Amulets Against the Dragon Forces,” “Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” “Good as New” and “Pera Palas.” Spencer recently appeared in the Broadway production of “Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine.”

A native of New Jersey, Spencer now resides in Los Angeles and New York. His birthday is December 20, 1946.

http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/bios/John_Spencer.html

I guess that will stop any chance of West Wing being picked up for another season.

I doubt there was much chance of a renewal anyway, but I suspect you are right.

His character was, in many ways, the glue which held that show together.

I posted this from Rich Heldenfels' TV blog a few days ago. In case you missed it:

Critic’s Notebook
The Journey of Leo McGarry

By Rich Heldenfels Akron Beacon Journal

''The West Wing'' has been about a lot of people. President Bartlet, a little-seen figure in the series pilot, has constantly stepped center-stage. Josh has had a lot of emotional moments, and I hope we haven't seen the last of Toby.

But when we sit down to write the complete history of ''The West Wing,'' Leo should be at the center.

We saw that again Sunday night, where Leo was featured not only as a vice-presidential candidate but as the ultimate Democratic party pro, always the smartest guy in the room when the issue is politics, the one man who can validate anyone and end any argument.

Yes, there is a huge fantasy at work in the show, including the idea that someone with Leo's terrible past could end up getting the vice-presidential candidate. But even that selection played off the notion that, if anyone had to hold the hand of an underdog and maverick presidential nominee in a rough campaign, then Leo was the one to do it.

Can't say I really liked Sunday's episode, and not just because I'm watching it HD, which has been brutal to Mary McCormack. Entertaining stuff here and there, including Josh's tortured expression and Barlet's phone tantrum.

And every time John Spencer, who plays Leo, gets onscreen with Martin Sheen as Bartlet, it's just a joy to watch.

But the campaign stories are still much more interesting than anything the White House has going now; the show keeps having to pound war drums, like a real-life president trying to get attention by starting a war somewhere.

So for all the wedding business, I wanted to be back in the rooms with Josh and Santos -- and, of course, Leo.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

Wow, sorry to hear about Spencer, enjoyed him for many, many years.

John Spencer 1946-2005

Some notes from the first AP story….

“…The actor mirrored his (Leo McGarry) character in several ways: both were recovering alcoholics and both, Spencer once said, were driven.

"Like Leo, I've always been a workaholic, too," he told The Associated Press in a 2000 interview. "Through good times and bad, acting has been my escape, my joy, my nourishment. The drug for me, even better than alcohol, was acting."

Spencer grew up in Paterson, N.J., the son of blue-collar parents. With his enrollment at the Professional Children's School in Manhattan, he was sharing classes with the likes of Liza Minnelli and budding violinist Pinchas Zukerman.

As a teenager, he landed a recurring role on "The Patty Duke Show" as the boyfriend of English twin Cathy. Stage and film work followed. Then his big break: playing Harrison Ford's detective sidekick in the 1990 courtroom thriller "Presumed Innocent." That role led to his hiring for the final four years of “L.A. Law”…”

I agree. It is a great loss.

Entertainment News Briefs:

by Matt Webb Mitovich TVGuide.com Friday, December 16, 2005

WEST WING STAR DEAD AT 58: John Spencer, who as an original cast member of The West Wing played chief of staff-turned-vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry, died at a Los Angeles hospital of a heart attack on Friday. He was 58. Spencer's previous credits include L.A. Law; On West Wing, he won an Emmy in the supporting actor category in 2002.

I WANT MY EMT: Ashlee Simpson was hospitalized after a Thursday-night performance in Tokyo. Per US Weekly, Simpson had just performed the single "Boyfriend" for MTV Japan when she told the audience she felt sick; moments later, she collapsed in an elevator. Simpson's rep confirmed her hospitalization to the Associated Press but offered no additional details. And... I shall leave it at that. (Paying attention, Santa?)

THAT HOWARD STERN IS SICK!: The New York Post is reporting that Howard Stern, who wrapped up his run on terrestrial radio today with much fanfare, has cancelled his Saturday Night Live drop-by scheduled for this weekend. Stern, claiming illness — and who can blame the guy after parading around in today's god-awful NYC weather?! — hopes to appear on the show later this winter.

HOUSEWIVES STAR WINS SUIT: Teri Hatcher won "very substantial" libel damages from Britain's Daily Sport, which the Desperate Housewives star sued on account of stories the magazine published claiming she uses a VW van for illicit romps outside her home. "I have tolerated many ridiculous and fabricated lies and gossip in the tabloids," Hatcher said in a statement. "But when a story [insinuated] that I am an irresponsible and neglectful parent, I had to draw the line." Speaking of Housewives, the saucy sudser is set to make its debut in China on Monday, after which viewers will be hungry for more in about half an hour.

APPRENTICE CHAMP DISSES RUNNER-UP: On last night's live finale of The Apprentice's Season 4, Donald Trump named Randal Pinkett the winner, then invited the 34-year-old to recommend that runner-up Rebecca Jarvis also be handed a job with the Trump Organization. Randal, though, wouldn't agree to the gesture, meaning I am so going to grill him later for our Insider Q&A. Have something you want to say to Randal (or Rebecca, for that matter)? Drop me a note using the feedback box below.

CAN YOU #@%*ING HEAR ME NOW?: Cingular Wireless has inked a multiyear deal to send exclusive content from such HBO shows as The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm to its mobile-phone users. The plan is tooffer ring tones ("Fuhgeddaboutit"?) and games ("Whack-a-Snitch"?) at first , then later to provide video from new episodes..

NIP/LUCK: As Tuesday's season-finale reveal of Nip/Tuck's Carver draws near, the betting community is wagering on the slasher's identity. According to the Wynn Las Vegas Race & Sports book, Quentin is the current favorite, paying 8-to-5, followed by Matt (5-to-2), Det. McGraw (3-to-1) and Bobolit (8-to-1). Liz, the front-runner per TV Guide's own Damian Holbrook, is Wynn's No. 5 pick, with 10-to-1 odds.

WHAT'S COOKING: Food Network has announced a March 19 premiere date for Season 2 of The Next Food Network Star, in which eight kitchen magicians vie to land a cooking show on the network. On March 15 Bravo will in turn debut Top Chef, a reality competition giving a dozen chefs a shot at culinary stardom. Mike Ausiello and I just taped an appearance on Food Network Star, so we know which one y'all will definitely be watching/saving to high-quality videotape, right? Right? Uh, Mom?

http://tvguide.com/news/entertainment/

John Spencer 1946-2005
Statements regarding the passing of John Spencer of "The West Wing"

(From NBC, December 16, 2005)

Joint statement from NBC and Warner Bros. Television:

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend John Spencer. John was a remarkable man with enormous talent and beloved by everyone who had the privilege of working with him on 'The West Wing.' Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this most difficult time. He will be greatly missed."

Statement from Executive Producer John Wells:

"John was a wonderful actor, a pleasure to work with and a true gentleman, but most importantly, a generous and gracious friend. He will be missed by everyone who ever had the great fortune to know him."

Statement from Executive Producers Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme:

"We're shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden death of our friend and colleague. John was an uncommonly good man, an exceptional role model and a brilliant actor. We feel privileged to have known him and worked with him. He'll be missed and remembered everyday by his many, many friends."

NBC Obituary for John Spencer:

Los Angeles (December 16, 2005)— John Spencer, the Emmy-winning actor best-known for starring roles in such popular television series as "The West Wing," and "L.A. Law" has passed away at 58 after suffering a heart attack in the morning of December 16. Service and funeral arrangements have not been determined at this time.

The versatile character actor is perhaps best known for his role as Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on "The West Wing." His work on the show was rewarded with an Emmy Award win for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2002 and nominations in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004. He also has a Golden Globe nomination under his belt for his role as Leo. Earlier noted work includes his portrayal of the quirky and charismatic New York attorney Tommy Mullaney on "L.A. Law."

Spencer began his professional acting career at age sixteen when he left his home in Patterson, New Jersey to pursue his passion. While attending Professional Children's School in the city, he earned catalog modeling jobs, leading to his first television role as Henry Anderson, the boyfriend of the English twin on "The Patty Duke Show." Following high school, Spencer enrolled at Fairleigh Dickenson University, earning a consistent spot on the Dean's List.

He returned to New York to understudy the lead in Butterflies Are Free, a role he subsequently played on tour. Regional theatre opened up for Spencer, leading him to seek out new plays by new playwrights and providing him entry into the New York theatre scene. From 1974-81 he performed in such stage works as David Mamet's Lakeboat, Michael Weller's Fishing and Loose Ends, John Hopkins' This Story of Yours, and the gentleman caller in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie and Still Life. The latter production, about a Vietnam vet, went on to earn Spencer an Obie Award during its off-Broadway run in 1981. A Drama Desk nomination later came for his performance in The Day Room. He also portrayed Dan White in the critically acclaimed production of Execution of Justice. Other stage appearances include Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Peter Hedges' Good as New, Amulets Against the Dragon Forces, and Pera Palas among others.

When Still Life came to the Los Angeles stage, Spencer opened a new door with his first feature film role ? a bit part as a military grunt who won't push "the button" during the opening scene of War Games. His natural charisma and strength led to authority roles: Al Pacino's boss in Sea of Love and Michael Douglas' in Black Rain, with Harrison Ford as Detective Lipranzer in Presumed Innocent ("a watershed role," said Spencer), Billy Crystal's basketball referee friend in Forget Paris, Harvey Keitel's partner in Copland. More recently Spencer has moved between studio and independent projects, taking roles in Cafe Society, Albino Alligator, Lesser Prophets, Ravenous, Cold Heart, and Green Card while coming down (usually) on the side of the law in The Rock, Twilight, and The Negotiator.

After seeing his work in Presumed Innocent, producer David E. Kelley invited Spencer to join the cast of "L.A. Law" for the final four of its eight-year run. From 1990-94 he mesmerized audiences with his tough, funny portrayal of Tommy Mullaney, reinvigorating the series and solidifying his reputation as a preeminent character actor. Spencer appeared in the highly rated telefilm, "The Tangled Web," starred in Joseph Wambaugh's "A Jury of One" and guest starred on such episodic series as "Miami Vice," "Spenser for Hire," "Law & Order," "Touched By An Angel," "The Outer Limits," "FX," "Early Edition," "Lois & Clark" and "Tracey Takes On..." He also portrayed Simon McCallister on the drama "Trinity."

A few years ago he created the role of ex-jazz musician, ex-junkie Martin Glimmer in the world premiere of Warren Leight's The Glimmer Brothers at the Williamstown Theater Festival. Spencer played the part of Martin Glimmer in Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine (same play, new title) in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum and the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City to rave reviews.

Known for his dedication, authenticity and generosity as an actor, John was always quick to share his success as an actor with the tremendous good fortune of working with the world's finest writers and actors. From David E. Kelly to Warren Leight to his recent collaboration with Aaron Sorkin and John Wells, actors Martin Sheen to Stockard Channing, to Harrison Ford to Al Pacino, he would always credit his fellow actors and the words on the page for allowing him to stretch as an actor.

Novak Leaving CNN to Join Fox News

By Jacques Steinberg The New York Times December 16, 2005

Robert Novak, the conservative commentator and columnist who was a fixture on CNN since its inception a quarter century ago, said today that he was joining its more popular competitor, Fox News, as an occasional contributor.

Mr. Novak described his move in a telephone interview after CNN released a statement saying that his "tenure on the network" would end on Dec. 31, when his contract expires. Mr. Novak had not appeared on CNN since Aug. 4, when he uttered an expletive and then bolted from a live interview in which he had been needled by James Carville, a Democratic strategist, as pandering to "these right wingers."

Their interviewer, Ed Henry, later said on the air that Mr. Novak was aware that he was about to be asked about the continuing fallout from a 2003 column in which he identified a C.I.A. operative by name. That column relied on a leak that has since become the subject of a wider-ranging government investigation that resulted in the indictment of I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff.

Mr. Novak said that his departure from CNN had been "a mutual decision," one that seemed obvious to him after the network canceled the two main programs on which he had appeared, "Crossfire" and "The Capital Gang."

"I turn 75 in February and I wanted to do a good deal less," he said. On Fox News, he said, he will serve as an occasional contributor, though not for any particular program.

In the statement, Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN's domestic networks, made no mention of Mr. Novak's role in the C.I.A. leak case, or of the August incident. Instead, the network wished him well and thanked him for his "incisive analysis" over the years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/arts/television/16cnd-novak.html?pagewanted=print

As best I can tell, there are at least two "West Wing" episodes already shot.

One, scheduled I believe for Jan. 8th, centers on the vice presidential debate, featuring Spencer's character, Leo McGarry.

More sad news about a voice -- if not a face – well known on TV for decades:

Lou Rawls fighting cancer


By Larry Rodgers The Arizona Republic Dec. 16, 2005

Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls, a Scottsdale resident since 2003, is in a Los Angeles hospital fighting lung cancer.

The 72-year-old singer was diagnosed 12 months ago and was found to also have brain cancer in May, his wife, Nina Rawls, said Thursday during testimony in their marriage-annulment hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court.

The Chicago-born singer is in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and was unable to attend the hearing, his attorney told Judge Michael Wilkinson, who made no ruling on the annulment.

Rawls, reached by phone Thursday night at his hospital room, confirmed the cancer diagnosis but said, "Don't count me out, brother. There's been many people who have been diagnosed with this kind of thing, and they're still jumpin' and pumpin'."

Rawls, who says he was a regular cigarette smoker for years but quit about 35 years ago, added that he has received both "alternative and traditional treatment."

"He's getting great care; he's in a great mood," Rawls' publicist, Paul Shefrin of Los Angeles, said Thursday as he sat with Rawls in his room.

Lou is trying to annul his marriage of two years and protect hundreds of thousands of dollars of assets that he says Nina "absconded with," according to court papers.

His wife, 35, denies the claim, saying she is trying to protect the couple's assets.

They maintain homes in Scottsdale and Ohio, Nina's home state.

Lou Rawls said he bought a house in the Boulder Ridge area of the far northeast Valley in 2003 because "it's peaceful, it's quiet and it's nice."

Rawls has sold more than 40 million albums and won three Grammys during a career spanning more than four decades.

His hits include Love Is a Hurtin' Thing, Dead End Street and You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine.

He has appeared in 18 movies, including Leaving Las Vegas and Blues Brothers 2000, and acted in 16 television series, including Fantasy Island and Fall Guy.

"Lou Rawls is a magnificent talent and has one of the most recognizable voices in modern American music," said Joel Goldenthal, executive director of Jazz in Az.

Rawls is known for having donated his time and talent to charity for years, including helping the United Negro College Fund raise nearly $200 million in telethons.

"He shared his time with any charitable cause that caught his attention," said Danny Zelisko of Phoenix's Evening Star Productions, which promoted a concert by Rawls and Natalie Cole at Phoenix Symphony Hall in the 1980s.

He hasn't been active in the local music community.

"It's typical," Goldenthal said. "A lot of national artists have a low profile where they live."

Neither Nina Rawls nor her husband's attorney, Robert L. Schwartz, indicated during the hearing how long the singer is expected to survive his bout with one of the most deadly forms of cancer.

"By his doctor's admission, he (Lou) is not expected to live much more," a crying Nina said of her husband Thursday.

Nina remarked that the singer had been given one month to live several months ago, but that deadline had come and passed. Shefrin declined to address the issue.

Lou's medical condition surfaced during the two-hour session concerning his November petition to annul his marriage to his wife, a former flight attendant whom he met in 2002, and to freeze hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets.

Nina, who has worked as her husband's manager since 2003, says she transferred nearly $350,000 in community funds into an account that she solely controls because she feared that one of Lou's two adult daughters, Luanna, is trying to seize the money.

Noting Lou's medical troubles, Wilkinson said Thursday that he plans to reject the singer's request for joint custody of the couple's 11-month-old son, Aiden, and award sole custody to Nina.

Nina said she has been separated from her husband since November and has not been allowed to contact him.

"I just want to see my husband," she said. "I want to know he's OK."

However, Shefrin on Thursday said, "Lou has made a decision that he doesn't want to communicate with Nina right now."

Despite his legendary career and charitable work, Lou's personal life had hit some rocky spots.

He was arrested in 2003 and charged with battery on a household member in Albuquerque after a quarrel with his wife-to-be.

Under questioning by her attorney, Alona M. Gottfried, Nina said she chose to "protect" her husband and family by not seeking prosecution of him.

"For this to happen to Lou at this point in his life, after I spent 3 1/2 years protecting him is very unfair," she said.

However, Schwartz asserted that the singer's wife has done anything but protect him and has committed "fraud" by her conversion of funds and real estate from joint control to her sole accounts.

Schwartz played a profanity-laced phone message left by Nina earlier this year for Luanna:

"I have put up with your (expletive) for so long. . . . By the time I'm done with your dad, you're not going to have (expletive) left," the message says.

Nina told the court she had frequently argued with Luanna, had become frustrated and left the message to retaliate in a way that she thought would hit home.

Lou's oldest daughter, Kendra Smith of Long Beach, Calif., testified Thursday that she felt Luanna was trying to manipulate her father's affairs. Luanna was not in the courtroom.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/music/articles/1215lourawls15.html

I don’t post that much from either of these LA Times TV critics. I guess it is because basically, I like TV (and I assume most of you do, too). So I tend to stick with others who share our enjoyment: Rich Helndenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal, Gail Pennington of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune, Matt Roush of TV Guide, and a host of others who seem to feel that most network programming is actually worthy of their attention -- and ours. (Maybe Lloyd and Brownfield wanted to grow up to be film critics, who knows?) Generally, I just don’t believe these two critics do enjoy much of what they would probably consider beneath them – mainstream television. Here’s their year-end discussion on the state of TV – I think you will see my point:

2005 In Review
Two TV critics hash over the year in, and the state of, television.

By Paul Brownfield and Robert Lloyd Los Angeles Times Television Critics December 18, 2005

Robert Lloyd: It seems obvious that Hurricane Katrina was "The Television Event of the Year," in that it was the moment you felt you had to turn on the television.

Paul Brownfield: As compelling and as immediate as the coverage was, there was also a certain "You don't understand what this is unless you're here" emphasis — which is a strange way to own the story, because then it becomes about you. At a time like that, the evening news anchors can come off as more dignified and relevant and important — you did need someone who would just stay in the studio and filter it for you, instead of running down there, going, "I'm in the 9th Ward, look at me."

Lloyd: Filters are good — there are only so many things within the picture that are meaningful. When coverage is constant, every moment has to become a drama, and I don't think that serves information well; a lot of wrong news gets reported. During Katrina, the anchors only had so much to say, but they had to keep talking; often it seemed just a rarefied version of the coverage of a high-speed chase.

Brownfield: I think Katrina was kind of the opposite of what you're getting out of Iraq, which is a 10-second video bite an hour after a bombing somewhere. You have no sense of what's going on in the country as a whole. It's the same story as Katrina, which is "This place is chaos," but without enough pictures or information.

What do you think of shows that must be watched from the beginning, like "Lost" or "24"?

Lloyd: If I'm not there from the start, or if I miss a week, it's over for me — but they've remedied that now by putting everything out on DVD as soon as the season's over. I'm in favor of that extended continuity, however; it allows you to use the novelistic capabilities of television. You can certainly see that at work in a show like "Rome." The real roots of TV aren't in the movies but the serial novel: Dickens was water-cooler stuff for the 19th century.

Brownfield: I liked "Lost," but I went away for Thanksgiving and after a week of not watching television thought, "God, this looks like a TV show." It's not that it jumped the shark, it's that you can sort of see it now; you notice the lighting is way too good and who's a good actor and who isn't. And I'm impatient with the story because there's an element of "We must keep this engine running."

Lloyd: So what do you like?

Brownfield: Every time I see "Extras" I like it; I just like Ricky Gervais' rhythms as a comedian. I drop in and out of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," which seems like the right way to watch them. I've been trying to watch "Commander in Chief" as a guilty pleasure, it's just so silly and odd. "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was a show that felt like a little mini-revelation of what's possible, and it was also unusual in that it was a show with no familiar faces. I like shows that make you wonder, "How did they sneak this through the development process?"

What do you say when people say there aren't any good comedies on television?

Lloyd: It's just a cycle. Comedy's not going to die; it's been around at least since the ancient Greeks, and it might not look like "Leave It to Beaver" or "Seinfeld" the next time you see it, but it's not going to be in such a different form you won't recognize it. But when there are fewer comedies being made, there will be fewer good ones.

One new show I liked this year is "How I Met Your Mother." It felt professional and yet not completely predictable. One of the few lines I remember from the year was Neil Patrick Harris saying, "This is totally going in my blog" — it felt like a generational torch being passed, sitcom-wise. And "Everybody Hates Chris" is smart and solid as well.

Brownfield: A show that I think is getting better the longer it stays on the air — either that, or I'm more and more removed from the BBC original — is "The Office." There are things about it that can't match the original, but there are some really funny jokes, and the actors are really good. I do think there's a sadness to the BBC series that they don't get. There's something very sad about Ricky Gervais, and Steve Carell is more of a cartoon.

Lloyd: You don't worry for him. Maybe that's because in a full network season there are 22 weeks where nothing final's going to happen, whereas in a limited series, like the original "Office," you know the reckoning's around the corner.

Occasionally, they kill somebody off on American TV, but it's not usually a surprise — if a character's leaving a show, they advertise it for weeks. I interviewed ["Sopranos" creator] David Chase once, and he said the thing he didn't like about writing for television was that it took death out of the equation. Despite the odd rule-proving exception, it's still true that you don't kill off your stars.

Brownfield: The last 10 minutes of the "Six Feet Under" finale, when Alan Ball envisioned all of his characters' death moments, had a strangely powerful effect on me — I remember I had to take a walk after seeing it. And it was a show I had mixed feelings about to begin with, but I thought it was really stunning.

Lloyd: To return to your point about "The Office," I think sadness is something American television is not interested in at all.

Brownfield: They don't just avoid it, they pay lip service to it in the most clichéd, corny ways. On "Lost," every now and then to heighten the melancholy, they cue the piano music and everyone is seen walking in slow motion — they stylize it and airbrush it away. Even on cable, where you think, "OK, they can take chances," you don't see it much.

Lloyd: Even "The Sopranos" is basically a comedy, on some creepy level.

Brownfield: I think in American TV, sadness often translates as anger. Take "House" — if you break down Hugh Laurie's character, there's a lot of sadness but it comes out in cynicism. Mostly, Americans seem to work through that by expressing rage, telling somebody off or being really sarcastic.

Lloyd: We need to win. People want the payback, the victory. They don't want to leave characters in dire straits. We can't take that lack of resolution. We want happiness.

Brownfield: My psychobabble theory about why we're so locked into cop shows and procedurals is that it has something to do with the fact that we haven't caught Osama bin Laden. It's reflected in the way that a lot of those shows are about technology that allows you to trace a person to the scene of the crime.

Lloyd: It's comfort food. It makes people feel safe. And isn't comfort what people mostly want from television?

Brownfield: When I turn on the TV now, recreationally — I have 500 channels — I just want to see what's on more than watch it. Maybe that's why I feel that the sheer tonnage of content is the medium now, as opposed to the content itself. So I'll watch two scenes from "Sea of Love" on Showtime 3, then I'll go to ESPN, and then Comedy Central.

Lloyd: It's surprising to me, given all those channels, that network television still so dominates the conversation. There's so much good that comes on Comedy Central or Cartoon Network — CN's "Camp Lazlo" was one of the best things on TV this year — it does seem that there is an alternative breeding ground where different things can grow.

Brownfield: But the networks are the only place that can bring in 30 million viewers.

Lloyd: Partly it is that scale. But "Monk" is as good as any network detective show.

"Battlestar Galactica" is pretty interesting — there may be many people for whom that's the best drama on television — and it's on the Sci-Fi Channel. And it drives change: The fact that you have "The Office" or "My Name Is Earl" on NBC is, in some way, descended from the fact that "Larry Sanders" was a success on cable.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-yearbrownfield18dec18,0,1208594,print.story?coll=cl-tv-top-right

The Los Angeles Time Obituary
'West Wing' Actor John Spencer, 58, Dies


By Valerie J. Nelson Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 7:06 PM PST, December 16, 2005

John Spencer, an actor who earned an Emmy for portraying the flawed but efficient chief of staff who anchored the large ensemble cast on NBC's "The West Wing," died Friday morning. He was 58.

Spencer died after suffering a heart attack, said Ron Hofmann, his publicist. He said the actor had fallen ill at home and died at Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"We're shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden death of our friend and colleague," Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme, executive producers of "The West Wing," said in a statement. "John was an uncommonly good man, an exceptional role model and a brilliant actor."

On the Emmy-winning hourlong drama that began airing in 1999, Spencer's character, Leo McGarry, is running for vice president on the Democratic ticket with Congressman Matthew Santos, played by Jimmy Smits.

Art sadly imitated life for Spencer. His "West Wing" character was chosen as a running mate despite his recent heart attack and a history of alcoholism. The actor openly acknowledged that he had struggled with alcohol addiction since high school.

In a statement, Smits said, "I am honored to call John Spencer a friend, and his death is a loss that will be felt for a long time to come. Working with him was a privilege. ... John was a true pillar of a man."

Having an actor die while a series is still in production challenges the producers and writers to find a logical plot line for the sudden absence of the character. "The West Wing" will have to deal with the loss, because the fictional election is central to the story line.

David E. Kelley, a writer and executive producer on "L.A. Law" when Spencer joined that show in 1990, was too upset to speak but issued this statement: "We are all deeply saddened."

John Speshock was born Dec. 20, 1946, the only child of a working-class family. Most sources give his birthplace as New York City, but some say New Jersey.

His mother, Mildred, was an occasional waitress and homemaker who had dropped out of school in the eighth grade. His truck driver father, John, never finished grammar school.

"They wanted me to be educated, a doctor or a lawyer. They weren't happy that I chose the arts," the gravelly voiced Spencer told the Chicago Tribune in 1992. "They wanted me to have a good life. It's ironic that I made the leap in a different way."

As a student at the Professional Children's School in New York City, he sometimes took classes with Liza Minnelli.

At 16, he left his home near Paterson, N.J., to pursue acting in New York City and took "Spencer" as his stage name.

In the early 1960s, he landed his first television role on "The Patty Duke Show" on ABC. He played Henry Anderson, the boyfriend of Cathy, the British twin.

After that, he attended Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and later New York University but dropped out to return to acting.

He toured with Gloria Swanson, playing her son in "Butterflies Are Free." In 1982, he received an Obie for his portrayal of a returning Vietnam veteran in the Emily Mann play, "Still Life."

"Still Life" led to his first film role, as a military grunt in 1983's "WarGames."

His big break in the movies came in the 1990 film "Presumed Innocent." He played Harrison Ford's detective sidekick, the man who tosses the incriminating piece of evidence overboard at the end of the courtroom thriller.

From there, he went directly to the NBC hit "L.A. Law." Casting director Ronnie Yeskel knew Spencer's work from the theater.

"He's dangerous and interesting, not your typical pretty boy, and he's got great humor," Yeskel said in 1992. "We were looking for somebody different from the cast, an older guy maybe with a little more 'street.' "

He joined "L.A. Law" in 1990 as maverick lawyer Tommy Mullaney and stayed until the show's end in 1994. Spencer claimed Mullaney's rumpled look was based on his own wardrobe.

Spencer, whose grandfathers were both alcoholics, said he woke up one morning in 1989 and decided to quit drinking. He called a cousin to take him to a rehabilitation center. A decade later, Spencer also gave up smoking.

In his 40-year career, he also worked with Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery in the action-suspense film "The Rock" (1996) and with Paul Newman in the 1998 private-eye yarn "Twilight."

Right after he signed the contract for the pilot of "West Wing," his agent called again to say he'd just come across "the best new American play" he'd ever read, a script called "The Glimmer Brothers," Spencer told the Los Angeles Times in 2001.

He played Martin Glimmer, a dissolute trumpet player who's about to pay the final dues of a hard life, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts during "The West Wing's" summer hiatus in 1999.

Two years later, he revived his well-reviewed role in "Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine" -- same play, different title -- at the Mark Taper Forum while filming "The West Wing."

During the play, his role on the show was cut back, but Martin Sheen, who portrays President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet on "The West Wing," told the Times in 2001 he noticed no difference in life on the set with Spencer.

"He's extremely energetic, he's got it down -- I can barely keep up with the show," Sheen said. "I don't know how he does it, but man, he's doing it."

Spencer's publicist said he is survived by many cousins, aunts and uncles. Funeral arrangements are pending.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-spencer17dec17,0,2466610,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines