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The Winter TV Critics Tour
CBS' Tassler to Focus on New Genres
By Marc Berman MediaWeek.com JANUARY 20, 2006 -
CBS Opening Executive Comments
With a potpourri of hit product tailored to audiences of all ages on six nights of the week (Saturday, of course, is the exception), CBS remains a textbook example of how to program a network. The Eye net, in fact, won the first 15 weeks of the season in total viewers -- the longest consecutive winning streak of any network since 1988. Season to-date, CBS also ranks a solid No. 1 among adults 25-54, and remains in a horse race for first with ABC among adults 18-49. With established hits like Survivor, The Amazing Race, Two and a Half Men, King of Queens, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Without A Trace, 60 Minutes, Cold Case, Numb3rs and now…Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer and Close To Home, CBS is poised for continued success in the future.
As the network looks ahead, in addition to sitcoms Courting Alex and The New Adventures of Old Christine, and dramas Love Monkey (which debuted to modest results on Tuesday) and The Unit in midseason, CBS has acquired the rights to Game Show Marathon. Combining quiz and reality, Game Show Marathon is a tournament-style competition where celebrities (you know, the "B" level ones, I'm sure) compete in a classic game show in every episode. Also coming up at CBS are several telenovela-style dramas that are being targeted for two airings per week this summer, the return of last summer's Rock Star: INXS, and a micro-series called The Courier. The Courier is a short film that will air in primetime during commercial breaks in serialized installments of one minute or less over seven nights.
Although I personally have questioned CBS' over-emphasis on crime related programming, the recent success of Criminal Minds (which airs opposite ABC's Lost) tells me there is no end in sight to this cluttered, but successful, type of story-telling. Maybe the network should develop a comedy with a crime solving flavor (a la ABC classic Barney Miller). CBS, in addition, remains supportive of its perennial Sunday Movie franchise, despite the absence of the long-form format on its competitors, and is still in development with George Clooney for a live remake of classic theatrical Network.
As to the perennial question of whether the network will expand its successful CSI franchise, according to Nina Tassler, president, CBS Entertainment:
"Never say never, but right now we are feeling confident that the three hours that we have are growing creatively, and still performing very well. So right now we have no plans."
Regarding what we can expect in the current development season on CBS:
"This year I can tell you that we certainly concentrated on thinking outside of the box, trying new genres, experimenting with new kinds of storytelling," said Tassler. "One of the projects we have picked up is a show called Jericho, which is about a small community in the Midwest that looks out over the horizon one afternoon and sees a mushroom cloud over the Denver area. And the story unfolds in a sort of mysterious way, with slightly comedic relationships between the characters in this small town."
Although the return of Fox's American Idol will likely shift the balance of power among adults 18-49 in primetime, rock-solid CBS should have no trouble remaining the dominant player in total viewership.
On the CBS Panel Front:
COURTING ALEX (comedy)
Monday 9:30 p.m.
[SIZE=4]The Premise:
Statuesque Jenna Elman is Alex, an attractive, single, workaholic attorney who has everything in life with the exception of one thing…a life.
[SIZE=4]Who Was On the Panel:
Jenna Elfman and executive producer Rob Hanning.
[SIZE=4]The Scoop:
Regarding the inevitable comparison to the old Mary Tyler Moore Show, according to Rob Hanning:
"Back then it was the 1970s and it was a huge deal, Mary striking out on her own, moving to a new city, working in the man's world. We tried to sort of update that concept a little bit, but now it's sort of coming back the other way. Women can work their whole lives to prove they're as good as men, but then at a certain point realize they have lost an important part of who they are. They can get so caught up in having a career that they forget about what the wonderful part of being a woman is in the first place."
[SIZE=4]The Reality:
Sandwiched between Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami, there is no reason why the affable Courting Alex should not succeed. Although I am never one to tout a new series that is reminiscent of a former classic, the pilot episode of worthy Courting Alex has the look and feel of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show (complete with her Lou Grant-like TV Dad Dabney Coleman). Let's hope that subsequent episodes have that same flavor.
If Jenna Elman and company can match the ratings of respectable former occupant Out of Practice (which is on the fence, despite improving in quality), there is a future for Elfman's Alex, who just might be able to turn the world on with her smile.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE (comedy)
Time period to be announced
The Premise:
Former Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus attempts another comeback (remember the awful Watching Ellie?) in a comedy about a divorced working mother who finds her life suddenly complicated when her ex-husband starts dating a younger woman.
Who Was On the Panel:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and executive producer/creator Kari Lizer
The Scoop:
Since it was obvious Julia Louis-Dreyfus would be asked a question about her former character on Seinfeld, here is what she had to say about distancing herself from Elaine.
"I don't want to break away from her. I feel very proud about playing that part for a long time. My goal is to play somebody just plain funny. And I think the difference with this character is that perhaps she is a little more grounded and a bit more real in a way that Elaine wasn't. But I would say that she has a pathetic quality that is similar, so set your TiVo's."
[SIZE=4]The Reality:
Although the Seinfeld "curse" looms on the horizon (think The Michael Richards Show, Bob Patterson, Listen Up, and the aforementioned Watching Ellie), had Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her former co-stars taken a well-deserved (and much-needed) break from the sitcom world, appealing looking The Old Adventures of Old Christine would seem like more or a sure thing. With Courting Alex occupying the plum Monday 9:30 p.m. time period, maybe Old Christine can temporarily inherit the Monday 8:30 p.m. slot in place of the overrated How I Met Your Mother. If it ends up on Wednesday, the Seinfeld curse will likely snag another victim.
Did You Know?:
The New Adventures of Old Christine is actually Julia Louis-Dreyfus' fourth regularly scheduled sitcom. One year prior to Seinfeld she was featured in NBC's short-lived Day By Day.
LOVE MONKEY (drama)
Tuesday 9 p.m.
The Premise:
Based on the best-selling book by Kyle Smith, former Ed star Tom Cavanagh plays a 30something up-and-coming single record producer who tries to juggle work and dating in New York City with the help of his friends and brother-in-law (Jason Priestley).
Who Was On the Panel:
Tom Cavanagh, Jason Priestley, Judy Greer, executive producer/creator Michael Rauch, executive producer Mark Johnson and music supervisor Nic Harcourt.
The Scoop:
When asked what it is like to play a more mature role rather than a teenager on Beverly Hills, 90210, here is what Jason Priestley had to say:
"The experience of being on a show like Beverly Hills, 90210, albeit a wonderful experience, is also a terrifying experience as a young actor. You don't have to look very far through the Actors Guild directory to come across the first young guy who was big, and then crashed and burned and ended up dead at the door of the Wiltern Theater. I mean, it's gone on and on for a long time.
So to be able to have the opportunity to come back on a show like this and play an older, more mature character, and continue to work in the business, in which I love, is a wonderful thing."
The Reality:
Since Love Monkey debuted on Tuesday of this week, let's begin with the rating results. Airing at 10 p.m. out of a repeat of CSI (instead of its regularly scheduled 9 p.m. time period), Love Monkey finished third in total viewers (8.57 million) behind NBC's Law & Order: SVU and ABC's Boston Legal, but second among adults 18-49 (3.4/ 9). Although retention out of the CSI encore could have been better in total viewers (70 percent), a loss in the second half-hour of 1.62 million viewers (9.38 to 7.76 million) and 14 percent among adults 18-49 (3.7/ 9 to 3.2/ 8) could be concerning.
Assuming Fox will bombard us with more expanded episodes of American Idol (why shouldn't they, after all?), Love Monkey will certainly not benefit. But even without Idol potentially in the competitive mix, Love Monkey's only real chance is to become a cult favorite among young adults. Although the premise is ambitious (and the New York shot scenes only adds flavor to the show), like classic ABC drama thirtysomething the premise is limited.
THE UNIT (crime drama)
The period to be determined
The Premise:
A covert team of special force operatives risk their lives on undercover missions around the globe, as their wives and families maintain life on the homefront.
Who Was On the Panel:
Dennis Haysbert, Scott Foley, Robert Patrick, Regina Taylor, Audrey Marie Anderson, executive producer Shawn Ryan, and technical advisor/writer/producer Eric L. Haney.
The Scoop:
Shawn Ryan, who created FX drama The Shield, described the differences of working on The Unit and The Shield as follows:
"I have adopted, from my own personal taste in the editing room and with certain things, a different style on this show. We have a composer on The Unit. We have no composed music on The Shield, so I've been working to use composed music in a way that feels authentic and genuine to me. I have certain editing rules I apply to myself on The Shield that I don't apply to this show because this works better with a slightly more traditional editing style than The Shield does."
The Reality:
Although I personally keep wondering just how many crime related dramas CBS can support, the success of the recently introduced Criminal Minds means there could very well be room for more.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp
Showtime at TCA: Net Picks Up 12 Episodes of Dexter
By Marc Berman MediaWeek.com JANUARY 20, 2006 -
At an afternoon devoted to cable network Showtime, here were the items worth noting:
• No official deal has been made to-date to pick-up original episodes of Fox's Arrested Development.
• Showtime has ordered 12 episodes of crime drama Dexter, headlined by former Six Feet Under star Michael C. Hall. The series will follow Dexter Morgan, a likeable forensics expert for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer that kills people who truly deserve it. Production will begin this spring.
• Emmy winner Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Elvis) has been cast as King Henry VIII in new Showtime drama The Tudors, which will focus on the tumultuous early years of the King of England. Ten episodes have been ordered for a 2007 premiere.
• Showtime has announced six upcoming new documentaries, including Three Days in September (narrated by Julia Roberts); Shame, about an heroic Pakistani woman; Sexually Dangerous, which explores the fine line between normal sexual behavior and the pathological sex act; Medical Marijuana; and Persons Unknown, which examines the probable co-conspirators in the Oklahoma City bombing.
• Showtime has ordered six episodes of This American Life, an original series exploring a single theme or topic through first-person storytelling and whimsical narrative.
• Former My Wife and Kids star Damon Wayans will head to Showtime in Damon Wayan's Underground, a half-hour sketch comedy. Ten episodes have been ordered.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp
TV Review
'Courting Alex,' returning to romance
New CBS sitcom steps beyond stale formulas
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Jan 20, 2006
Jenna Elfman should be thanking the agents for John Goodman, Jason Alexander and Jon Lovitz that all three were otherwise engaged this season. They were thus not available to drag down “Courting Alex” into the muck of sitcom sameness that has dominated network comedy in recent years.
Elfman, unburdened, rises to her role, and out of that comes the first attractive, intelligent, single female to carry a CBS show in years, seemingly going back as far as the Mary Tyler Moore years, if not in fact at least in spirit.
The show premieres Monday at 9:30 p.m. in the enviable post-“Two and a Half Men” slot, and that tells you two things. First, that CBS really believes in "Alex.” But also, and perhaps more important, it tells you how far CBS has come around. This was a network whose idea of fun was long pairing pretty women such as Jami Gertz, Patricia Heaton and Leah Remini with shockingly inappropriate--inadequate works here too--mates like Mark Addy, Ray Romano and Kevin James.
That was the premise for six of CBS’s comedies the past two years, mostly uninspired variations on “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Of those six, only “King of Queens” is still performing decently. The others have either been canceled or will be soon.
Even more encouraging, "Alex” speaks to a new era of sitcoms, and at a time when the genre had been written off by so many for its utter staleness. "Alex” joins “Desperate Housewives,” “My Name is Earl,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Jake in Progress” and “Crumbs” in that regard. And while perhaps not as witty or creative as the best of them, it works because of Elfman’s credibility as the harried career woman and because of clever writing. "Alex” rarely stoops to the obvious joke.
It helps too, for the presumably female audience CBS is looking to woo, that Elfman and her male suitor, Josh Randall ("Ed"), might actually belong together. They show more chemistry in one brief on-screen kiss than Gertz and Addy of "Still Standing" have generated in four seasons.
Think about it. How many sitcoms have we watched with smart, attractive women whose entire lives seem bent on serving as emotional anchors for rudderless, clueless men? What anger does that speak to?
With "Alex" we return to the classic sitcom career woman whose life is about possibilities, not foregone conclusions.
The Alex of “Alex” is lawyer Alex Rose, a woman who has everything together at the office but can’t seem to hold anything together at home. We're talking about relationships. She takes business calls during dates and gets lectured by her divorced father and boss, Bill (Dabney Coleman), about her pulseless love life.
Then Alex meets Scott (Randall), a tavern owner and a spontaneous sort, and she realizes the fun that's been missing in her life. Type-A Alex fights her attraction to him. After all, he's refusing to sell his tavern, and that's mucking up a big business deal for Bill. But ultimately she acts on her attraction.
Elfman has grown considerably as an actress since playing flaky hippie Dharma on ABC’s “Dharma and Greg,” and she seems much more comfortable in this role. Single women who don’t quite have it together will relate better to her than to Heather Graham’s whiny list-maker on ABC's quickly canceled “Emily’s Reasons Why Not.”
“Alex” is flawed, for sure. The plot is thin, and more conflict must arise to keep audiences interested. But the jokes work because of the solid writing. And the writers create an identity and a consistent voice for Elfman.
If “Alex” succeeds, CBS could pair the show with the similarly female-skewing first-year hit “How I Met Your Mother” next year, perhaps sending dopey family sitcoms “Still Standing” and “Yes, Dear” off the schedule.
http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_2334.asp
The Winter TV Critics Tour
Showtime at TCA: Net Picks Up 12 Episodes of Dexter
By Marc Berman MediaWeek.com JANUARY 20, 2006 -
At an afternoon devoted to cable network Showtime, here were the items worth noting:
• No official deal has been made to-date to pick-up original episodes of Fox's Arrested Development.
• Showtime has ordered 12 episodes of crime drama Dexter, headlined by former Six Feet Under star Michael C. Hall. The series will follow Dexter Morgan, a likeable forensics expert for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer that kills people who truly deserve it. Production will begin this spring.
• Emmy winner Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Elvis) has been cast as King Henry VIII in new Showtime drama The Tudors, which will focus on the tumultuous early years of the King of England. Ten episodes have been ordered for a 2007 premiere.
• Showtime has announced six upcoming new documentaries, including Three Days in September (narrated by Julia Roberts); Shame, about an heroic Pakistani woman; Sexually Dangerous, which explores the fine line between normal sexual behavior and the pathological sex act; Medical Marijuana; and Persons Unknown, which examines the probable co-conspirators in the Oklahoma City bombing.
• Showtime has ordered six episodes of This American Life, an original series exploring a single theme or topic through first-person storytelling and whimsical narrative.
• Former My Wife and Kids star Damon Wayans will head to Showtime in Damon Wayan's Underground, a half-hour sketch comedy. Ten episodes have been ordered.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp
The Winter TV Critics Tour
UPN's Ostroff Banks on Top Model and Get This Party Started
By Marc Berman MediaWeek.com JANUARY 20, 2006 -
Opening Executive Comments
Unlike corporate cousin CBS, UPN shared its TCA day with another member of the family, cable network Showtime. So, by mid-afternoon it was off to a closed circuit visit with the one-of-a-kind Liza Minnelli, who is headlining Showtime special, Liza With a Z.
Although UPN chose to open the day with a panel on bona fide hit sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, the collapse of drama South Beach in week two (1.69 million viewers, 0.7 rating/2 share among adults 18-49 on Wednesday, Jan. 18) certainly marred the network's hopeful midseason momentum. According to UPN, a planned session with the cast of South Beach was benched at the last minute due to the death of star Vanessa Williams' father earlier in the week. Couldn't they still do the session without Ms. Williams?
The good news for UPN, of course, is Everybody Hates Chris and growth for year two of critical favorite Veronica Mars. But considering how far Thursday lead-out sitcoms Love, Inc., Eve and Cuts fall out of Chris, and how far Veronica drops out of normally scheduled lead-in America's Next Top Model on Wednesday, there is still work to be done on the network, and plenty of it.
Although the Monday comedies are consistent, Top Model is the Survivor of UPN's line-up, and Friday Night Smackdown! has brought a traditionally dead evening to life, Tuesday overall and the Wednesday 9 p.m. hour could be better.
With only one other midseason show waiting in the wings, the non-scripted Get This Party Started, here is how Dawn Ostroff, president, UPN, addressed the inevitable question about the lack of upcoming new product:
"We have Get This Party Stared, and don't forget that Top Model comes back in March. So right now we'll be fine with that programming. We may wind up with another reality show, but right now we'll be fine getting through the season."
As for the lack of tune-in for South Beach this week:
"South Beach has a very challenging time period, as we all know, going up against American Idol. We also had almost 15 percent of our affiliate coverage preempted for sports, which is very unusual. So, given the fact that it's a challenging time period and we had a lot of preemptions, which will not always be the norm, we have a very patient attitude with the show."
Since one of the goals at any executive session is to address what is in development for next season, Ostroff optimistically looked ahead.
"We have some projects that just are across the board, some are single-camera, some are multi-camera. We're just in the process of now starting to pick up pilots. We feel that the line-up for Thursday night is doing well with our young women. And that's really what we sell, 18-34 year-old women."
Although Ostroff was mum on the official renewals for Everybody Hates Chris and Veronica Mars for 2006-07, she did verify that the network will have wrestling on the schedule and cycles seven and eight of America's Next Top Model. And, fortunately, there will be the possibility of the outspoken Janice Dickinson returning to Top Model in some capacity.
"I loved the segment that we did with Janice being a photographer. And I think when we saw Janice in that light, it was a great way to use her, and I think she had a great time doing it. So I would not be surprised if she shows up in more episodes in those types of settings."
Too bad UPN did not have the foresight to sign Dickinson for a project of her own before cable net Oxygen did.
On the UPN Panel Front:
EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (comedy)
Thursday 8 p.m.
The Premise:
Inspired by the childhood of comedian Chris Rock, Everybody Hates Chris is the nostalgic tale of a teenager growing up in Brooklyn, New York in the early 1980s.
Who Was On the Panel:
Tyler Williams, Tichina Arnold, Terry Crews, and co-creator/executive producer/writer Ali LeRoi.
The Scoop:
In the event you are wondering what the ingredients of a hit sitcom are, according to Ali LeRoi (who should also be in front of the camera):
"I think the thing that makes this show entertaining is that we don't ponder at all. We don't assume the audience is stupid, and we're not trying to trick them with anything fancy. We're just trying to tell decent stories, and deliver the best jokes that we know. And we are not trying to make it flashy and quick. We just try to tell fairly informed, genuine stories. That's the universality. And the specifics of it being loosely based on Chris Rock's life are a nice entry point for the audience because they kind of know how the story ends up."
The Reality:
Last summer's hot session, Everybody Hates Chris, has delivered on its promise both in quality and quantity. For UPN, Chris is a solid hit. Too bad, though, that the network has wasted ample lead-in support on a generic sitcom like lead-out Love, Inc., which should have bit the dust after 13 episodes. If Chris Rock can come up with a sitcom about his childhood (and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith a sitcom about their marriage on UPN's All of Us) another celebrity should be game to do the same. How about it, Eddie Murphy? UPN needs a better comedy to lead-out of Everybody Hates Chris, and there has to be some funny stories to tell in your life.
Had Everybody Hates Chris been on one of the Big 3 networks, the attention would be greater. But, sadly, because it airs on UPN, it does not get the buzz it deserves. On that note, congrats to UPN for this season's The Wonder Years. Everybody Loves Raymond, which deserves a better lead-out, should not be missed.
GET THIS PARTY STARTED (comedy)(non-scripted) Tuesday 9 p.m.
The Premise:
An elite team of party planners to the stars, led by events coordinator Lara Shriftman and hosts Kristin Cavallari and Ethan Erickson, surprise one unsuspecting individual each week with an extravagant party.
Who Was On the Panel:
Kristin Cavallari, Ethan Erickson, Lara Shriftman and executive producer Allison Grodner.
The Scoop:
Until America's Next Top Model returns in March (and is repeated in the Tuesday 8 p.m. hour), repeats of Get This Party Started will lead-into the original telecast. Considering this show is a long-short, double-airing it on Tuesday means the network will remain marred by a last-place finish on the evening.
The Reality:
Given the severity of the Tuesday 9 p.m. hour, and lack of lead-in support, the real surprise will be on UPN when the initial ratings come in. They won't be extravagant.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp
The Winter TV Critics Tour
Slow news days
The Newark Star-Ledger’s Alan Sepinwall TV blog Friday, January 20, 2006
We've hit a lull here near the end of the tour. UPN and Showtime went yesterday, which one critic referred to as "Time to Do My Laundry Day." Today, meanwhile, is a real grab bag: a morning session about iPods and on-demand and all the other new delivery systems, followed by visits to the sets of "Will & Grace" and "Commander in Chief."
I spent most of yesterday and will spend most of today going off the reservation to chase down other stories, but a few interesting things did happen while I was gone.
First, Showtime President Robert Greenblatt confirmed that he's very interested in picking up "Arrested Development," but only if the price is right (it's a very expensive show by network standards), and only if burnt-out creator Mitch Hurwitz is willing to stick around as showrunner.
"He's been through a lot of sort of emotional roller coaster over the last couple years," Greenblatt said. "So he finished the season for FOX, and he's in that period of, you know, thinking about whether he wants to continue the show."
Second, the cast and crew of "Everybody Hates Chris" rolled in, minus Chris Rock, which seemed like evidence that, as many had speculated, Rock had drastically cut back his involvement since the pilot. Instead, co-creator Ali LeRoi explained that Rock was too busy directing that week's episode to come.
"He's in on rewrites of absolutely every script," LeRoi said. "We go from A to Z on every script, from the inception of the story. You know, I'll do a draft, or one of the writers will do a draft. We go over it to do a polish. We always keep working on it. He's as present, and probably more present, than anyone would expect he might be."
A bigger controversy than Rock's absence was the show's Christmas episode, which revealed the truth about Santa Claus to all the show's younger viewers. A critic asked LeRoi if he was surprised by the amount of press reaction to it.
"You know, there were people that got shot that day," he said. "There's a war in Iraq. Gas prices were high. There were a lot of bad things happening. So in the landscape of things that were horrible, the fact that we got a little press, it's like, 'Man, they really just ... nothing was happening that day, huh?'"
When ABC and NBC roll in, there should be more blog-worthy material, so check this space over the weekend or on Monday morning.
http://www.nj.com/weblogs/tv/
Senators: New family tiers lack sports appeal
MediaLifeMagazine.com—These critics are tough to please. The family-friendly TV channel packages announced in recent weeks by cable and satellite providers drew criticism from several senators at a hearing on TV indecency yesterday, largely because they didn't include sports channels.
The providers created the packages after complaints from politicians, the Federal Communications Commission and family lobbying groups that there is too much sexual content on TV available to children.
Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), complained that, "To have a family tier and not have sports on it, in our family, would not be proper family programming. You're going to have to come up with a family tier plus sports."
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) suggested the packages are designed to be unmarketable. Comcast declined to include ESPN in its package because the network has "some really disturbing non-family-appropriate programming," said David Cohen, Comcast executive vice president. He specifically cited two shows have run on the network, racy original series "Playmakers" and "Tilt."
Some critics have said that the cable and satellite providers should offer channels a la carte, but others counter that would drive up pricing.
EchoStar Communications' Dish Network became the latest provider to offer a family friendly programming package yesterday. The satellite company said DishFamily will be available Feb. 1 for $19.99 a month. It will have about 40 channels including Animal Planet, The Biography Channel, Food Network, Fox News Channel, CNN Headline News, The Science Channel and C-SPAN.
http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/cat_index_31.asp
The Digital Revolution
Gordon Tries To Re-Fly Broadcast Flag
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable
According to a draft of a new bill, Commerce Committee Hearing member Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) is seeking support for reinstating the broadcast flag.
The "flag" technology is meant to prevent the unauthorized redistribution of digital broadcasts, one of the industry's chief concerns as it switches to digital delivery of its valuable content, some of that value by virtue of its exclusivity.
A digital broadcast flag regime was adopted by the FCC but thrown out by the court earlier this year, which said the FCC did not have the authority to impose the flag technology because it was post-transmission.
Flag backers had initially wanted to include it in the DTV transition bills, but they were stripped to the bone--a hard date for the transition to digital and a subsidy for analog sets--to comply with rules limiting budget reauthorization bills to spending-specific elements.
Prospects have dimmed for a second bill to deal with other DTV-related elements like the flag and multicast-must carry.
Smith's Digital Content Protection Act of 2006 would trump the court by granting the FCC the express power to regulate receiving devices for the purposes of "limit[ing] the unauthorized copying and indiscriminate redistribution of digital audio and video broadcast content over digital networks."
The bill would mandate the flag for digital broadcasts and includes language, attempting to appease fair use advocates like public knowledge, permitting "customary historic use of broadcast content by consumers to the extent such us is consistent with applicable law."
But it would also give the affected industries a chance to come up with their own compromise solution before the FCC issues any new broadcast flag rules.
The bill would create a private-sector panel including computer, equipment, braodcast, cable and public interest representatives to come up with that compromise.
The bill is expected to be discussed at a Jan. 24 Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the flag technologies.
The committee Friday released the witness list for that hearing:
Video
• Andy Setos, President of Engineering, Fox Entertainment Group
• Jonathan Band, Counsel, American Library Association
• Thomas B. Patton, Corporate Vice President, Government Relations, Philips Electronics North America Corporation
• Leslie Harris, Executive Director, Center for Democracy and Technology
Audio
• Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Recording Industry Association of America
• Gary Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Electronics Association
• Dan Halyburton, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Group Operations, Susquehanna Radio
The Digital Revolution
Stevens: Let Market Test Family Tiers
By Ted Hearn Multichannel.com
Washington -- Family tiers launched by cable and direct-broadcast satellite providers deserve a market test before Congress should consider a la carte mandates, Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said Thursday.
Stevens -- who praised the move to family tiers -- said a la carte legislation was still a possibility, but it was not something he would support while cable and DBS are clearly trying to accommodate lawmakers and family groups troubled by raunchy programming.
"It's still out there, and it will have to be discussed sometime. But I do believe these voluntary efforts may result in the kind of choice and kind of controls parents have requested and family groups have demanded," Stevens said at the hearing.
Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and George Allen (R-Va.) complained that ESPN was omitted from the family tier.
"To have a family tier and not have sports on it, in our family, would not be proper family programming," said Allen, whose late father, George Allen, coached the National Football League’s Washington Redskins.
But Comcast Corp. executive vice president David Cohen explained to the Senate panel that ESPN has entertainment programming that is inappropriate for children. He mentioned ESPN series Playmakers and Tilt, both of which had “TV-MA” ratings, adding that Comcast's family tier included local TV stations, which carry lots of sports.
ESPN spokeswoman Catherine Sloane Bret said the network "would welcome discussion" on family-tier carriage from any distributor, adding that the "vast majority" of ESPN programming is family-friendly. No current ESPN program, she said, is rated TV-MA.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) called family tiers a positive step, but he said they fell short of dealing with violent programming. Rockefeller is the sponsor of a bill that would allow the Federal Communications Commission to regulate violent cable programming.
"I don't believe voluntary actions alone … are sufficient to address the issue," he added.
At the hearing, former Motion Picture Association of America president Jack Valenti announced a massive advertising campaign, involving nearly all segments of the major media, to blast messages to parents about program-blocking technology, such as the V-chip in TVs and cable set-top boxes.
The campaign will run 18 months and cost $250 million-$300 million, he added.
"The beauty of this is that we don't torment and torture the First Amendment," Valenti said.
The Digital Revolution
Martin Wants Review of Media Ownership Rules
By Doug Halonen TVWeek.com January 20, 2006
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on Friday said he hoped to launch a review of the agency's media ownership rules this year-if he can forge a consensus among the commissioners on how to proceed.
During an impromptu briefing with reporters, Mr. Martin said he tried to get the ball rolling against the rules last year but was unable to get a consensus among the two Republican and two Democratic commissioners at the agency on how to proceed.
It's widely anticipated that a third Republican commissioner will be appointed to the agency this year, giving Mr. Martin the vote he needs to command an agency majority.
"Until there is a consensus reached among any three of us, I don't think we'll be able to move forward," Mr. Martin said.
Mr. Martin also said he shared concerns that the cable industry's recently announced family-friendly programming tiers lack sports and other important industry fare that many observers believe could be critical to their success in the marketplace.
"I'm a big sports fan," Mr. Martin said, "but I think it is important that we've seen some family tiers at least being offered. That's a really important step."
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=9231
Whitearrow
01-20-06, 05:30 PM
Ratings Report
The series' downturn has industry insiders wondering whether its primary cause is the regime change that occurred behind the scenes after only six episodes were completed.
(The series = Commander in Chief)
You know, I enjoy this show, and I'd really like to see it become a great show. But it has one major problem, and it has nothing to do with storyline implausability or technical details.
The lead character is way too perfect. She is supposed to be the protagonist, the character we focus on and empathize with. Yet it's hard to empathize with a character who has no flaws. She never seems to be in over her head, or impatient, or tired, or frustrated. She never loses her temper, or fails to see something from another's point of view.
It's a delicate balance to avoid making her look like an overwrought emotional woman who clearly can't handle her job, but there must be some way to open her up and let audiences see her humanity, both the good and bad sides.
dturturro
01-20-06, 05:41 PM
I could live without the family angle. In the most recent episode the country's on the verge of war and she leaves to tuck in her kid?! STOP!
David_Levin
01-20-06, 06:08 PM
Senators: New family tiers lack sports appeal
Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), complained that, "To have a family tier and not have sports on it, in our family, would not be proper family programming. You're going to have to come up with a family tier plus sports."
Isn't that the perfect argument against the whole mess. Ask 10 families and you're gonna get 10 answers of what "belongs" in the tier. This is never gonna work. Besides, how many people actually want this (not one person I know).
Why can't people just learn how to program out the cannels they don't want?
Now Ala-Cart - that's a whole different ball game.....
The Winter TV Critics Tour
Interest in 'Arrested' strictly conditional
Showtime executive says the network would take the show only if creator Mitch Hurwitz stays on board
By Lynn Smith Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 21, 2006
Showtime wants the acclaimed comedy "Arrested Development" should Fox decide to cancel it, but only on one condition: creator Mitch Hurwitz must come with it.
"If only a small fraction of the loyal audience that [watches it] on Fox came to Showtime, it would be one of our highest-rated shows," Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's president of entertainment, told the Television Critics Assn. Thursday evening.
A deal breaker in the talks with 20th Century Fox Television would be if Hurwitz chooses not to remain at the helm, Greenblatt said. "I think he's the genius behind it," he said. "And he hasn't yet come to that decision to continue the show." A decision will be reached in about two weeks, he said. Hurwitz was unavailable for comment.
Fox President of Entertainment Peter Liguori told the critics no final decision had been made to cancel "Arrested Development" but it was "highly unlikely" the low-rated show would continue past Feb. 10, when it concludes its third season.
ABC also expressed interest in acquiring the show in December, but no action has been taken, a spokesman said.
Greenblatt said the show's bold originality makes it a better fit for cable, where writers have more freedom. But observing that the show has found much of its humor in bleeping out bad language, Matthew Blank, Showtime's chairman and chief executive joked, "Maybe we'd make an exception and let him bleep."
Showtime also announced six new documentary shows and four new original series for 2006-07 including: "The Tudors," a 10-episode series starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as a young Henry VII, which has yet to start filming in Ireland; "Dexter," a 12-episode series starring Michael C. Hall as a likable but twisted Miami forensics expert-serial killer; six episodes of "This American Life," adapted for television by NPR host Ira Glass; and "Three Days in September," a documentary narrated by Julia Roberts about 330 Chechen hostages killed by terrorists in 2004.
Greenblatt said "Huff," the ensemble series that stars Hank Azaria, Blythe Danner and Oliver Platt, and is about to begin its second season, would "probably" be renewed for a third.
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-showtime21jan21,0,7256155,print.story?coll=cl-tvent
Critic’s Notebook
CNN is still sick with Fox envy -- and it's only getting worse
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle Friday, January 20, 2006
These must be great days to work at Fox News. Not only does the 24-hour cable channel beat rival CNN like a sick, sad mule, but Roger Ailes is so deep in the heads of CNN's managers that every time they stumble over themselves in chaos -- which is often -- the chairman of Fox News looks like some kind of psyops genius.
If Ailes -- boo! -- isn't haunting the halls of CNN and driving CNN President Jonathan Klein batty with paranoia, then how else to explain Klein's relentlessly nonsensical decisions, which are driving CNN into the ground? What person rooted in reality looks at CNN and thinks, "Now there's a network on the rise"?
Well, apparently there's one person -- Klein.
If you watch CNN or Headline News with any regularity, then you know it won't be long before the Next Big Blunder. Perhaps that news crawl at the bottom of the screen will read: "We're Out of Ideas -- Try MSNBC."
Honestly, it's exhausting trying to figure out what in the world the game plan is at CNN. The current best guess: "Wait for trouble. Send Anderson Cooper right to it. Roll camera."
That's not a strategy. That's a crutch.
And now the CNN brain trust -- hard to write that without some snark on top -- has reshuffled its analyst deck and looks to be adding three conservatives. There's a rumor that CNN will soon announce that disgraced pundit Bill Bennett will join the team, though the odds are currently 99-1, which is right in Bennett's wheelhouse, virtuous gambler that he is.
Now, if this proves to be true, someone needs to put a Webcam on Ailes so the world can see him laughing uproariously for hours on end, wheezing, unable to catch his breath, astounded at the seemingly bottomless desperation of Mr. Klein. You may remember that Bennett was secretary of education under Ronald Reagan, then "drug czar" under Bush version 1.0 and later went on to host a radio show called, not surprisingly, "Morning in America."
But that's the glory. Here's the gory: When Bennett's big-time gambling was exposed, it forced libraries everywhere to refile his "The Book of Virtues" under "farce." OK, so that's a joke. Sort of. But Bennett further delved into controversy by saying, " If you wanted to reduce crime you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down."
And it gets worse: Fox News didn't renew his contract. If that doesn't say "you're poison," nothing does.
So if CNN picks up the very, very sloppy seconds of Fox News by hiring Bennett, it will accomplish the unthinkable: It will make MSNBC's hiring of Rita Cosby, formerly of Fox News, seem less incomprehensibly stupid.
Meanwhile, CNN's Headline News has hired talk-radio host Glenn Beck, who is just to the right of Attila the Hun. The network tried to pass him off as some kind of affable conversationalist. That lasted about four, maybe five seconds, until all kinds of media watchdog groups pointed out Beck's hate speech -- calling Hurricane Katrina victims "scumbags" and saying he hated some of the family members who lost relatives on Sept. 11 because, well, they complained too much.
Nothing like raising the level of our national discourse.
CNN also has hired former Republican congressman and strategist J.C. Watts Jr.
Who's next -- Snidely Whiplash? And do you think Klein took his management team into the "Situation Room" to discuss this transparent attempt to be Fox-y? Even if that's the goal -- and it appeared to be the goal long before Klein was hired -- what does it tell you that Fox News passed on Bennett and didn't exactly start a bidding war over Beck or Watts?
It's as if CNN's search team is mimicking the NFL by hiring either old and tired coaches or unproven newbies. Where's the deft stroke, the inspired choice? So Ted Koppel laughs off cable and CNN figures, oh well, second best choice has got to be Gambling Guy or Hate Boy?
There's a sadness here. And it has nothing to do with CNN's inability to "counter" Fox News with a respectable progressive slate of contributors. CNN used to be a reliable source for national and international news. Now it mostly chases storms and tragedy -- and Fox.
For a long time now there has been this perception that Republicans watch Fox News, Democrats watch CNN, and MSNBC picks up the undecideds. But that's simplistic. Though we may be heading, as a country, into an era where "news" channels will be defined by their ideology, godspeed to anyone left of center who can figure out what CNN wants to be.
Maybe J.C. Watts Jr. can tell us.
In the meantime, CNN will agitate itself into more confusion -- "Ha-ha, Ailes, we got Bennett!" -- as Fox News stomps it into sour grapes. Maybe someday CNN will stop simultaneously hating Fox News and wanting to be Fox News -- the Ouroboros of 24-hour newsdom -- and shift its priorities to something more attainable.
Like giving viewers a reason not to watch MSNBC instead.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/01/20/DDGJIGPDKI1.DTL&type=printable
Richard Hatch returns to spotlight as he testifies at tax trial
By Jack Perry projo.com staff writer Friday, January 20, 2006
PROVIDENCE, RI -- Once again the center of attention, reality television star Richard Hatch spent a long day on the witness stand in his tax-fraud trial today, asserting that he tried many times to find out how much he owed in taxes on his Survivor winnings and that he never intended to violate federal tax laws.
Starting the day looking relaxed and casual in a light-blue, button-down shirt and saying he preferred to be called "Rich," the Survivor winner appeared eager to tell his story. He frequently turned to make eye contact with the jury, used his hands to express himself and pointed out his mother, sister and "committed partner" sitting in the audience.
When asked by his lawyer, Michael Minns, if it had ever been his intention to violate federal tax laws, the Newport man who gained fame for winning the first Survivor in 2000 replied, "It has not."
But by late afternoon, prosecutor Lee Vilker started an aggressive, rapid-fire cross examination. In response to one of Vilker's questions, Hatch claimed that Vilker's "team" had previously lied to him and threatened him, an allegation that Chief U.S. District Judge Ernest C. Torres told the jury to disregard.
Hatch's survival skills will be put to test again Monday, when he returns to the witness stand for more cross examination. Vilker was about an hour into his questioning when Torres concluded the trial for the day at 4:30 p.m.
Vilker told Torres he would need a "couple more hours" before he's finished. Minns plans to call an accountant to the witness stand after Hatch's testimony is completed. The attorneys are likely to make their closing arguments on Tuesday.
A federal grand jury indicted Hatch on 10 counts in September, charging Hatch with failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million in winnings from the first Survivor, as well as income from a radio program, rental income and charitable donations he allegedly used for himself.
Hatch testified today that he intended to pay taxes on his Survivor winnings and that he tried many times to find out how much he owed -- but that no one he asked could either tell him or would get back to him.
That included the reality TV show's producer, CBS and Viacom, as well as the IRS, he said.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged, under questioning by Vilker, that he filed a tax return for 2000 that didn't include his Survivor winnings, that he didn't pay taxes on the winnings, and in fact, received a $4,483 refund for the 2000 tax year.
Earlier today, Hatch alleged on the stand that about $350,000 he had set aside with an investment firm to pay possible taxes was "stolen" and "embezzled." He acknowledged that he didn't sue in an attempt to get the money back because "it wasn't a priority."
Hatch started his day on the stand talking mostly about his growing up on Aquidneck Island, job history, and how he became a contender on the show.
At times Hatch elaborated beyond his lawyer's questions in his answers in trying to explain himself to the jury. Torres tried reining him in, prompting Hatch to say:
"I've been waiting three years, your honor," Hatch said, in an apparent reference to the dispute over his taxes.
He talked about his troubled teen years and how he turned to the Horizon Bound program for help. Hatch later tried to restart the outdoor adventure program for youth. He's accused of accepting donations and spending the contributions on personal expenses without paying taxes on the money.
Hatch also emphasized how the producers of the Survivor show controlled the environment, from what people wore and ate to filming their every movement.
In his opening statement last week, Minns promised the jury that the Survivor star -- who became infamous for his scheming ways and nude prime-time appearances -- would testify. "You will meet the real Richard Hatch," he said.
Hatch was charged a year ago, but walked away from a plea agreement on two counts of federal tax evasion. In September, prosecutors succeeded in bringing additional charges against Hatch when a grand jury returned a 10-count indictment against him.
In addition to the $1 million Survivor jackpot, Hatch allegedly did not pay taxes on a car he won on the show and $326,000 he received for co-hosting a Boston talk show.
The grand jury indicted him on charges of tax evasion, filing false income-tax returns, and bank, wire and mail fraud. The most serious charge carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence and a $1-million fine.
http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/bi/gold_print.cgi
Note to keenan:
FX sets “Thief” starting date
FX says the six-episode series “Thief” will begin its run on Tuesday, March 28.
Note to keenan:
FX sets “Thief” starting date
FX says the six-episode series “Thief” will begin its run on Tuesday, March 28.
:) Thanks Fred.
TV Review
“Courting Alex”
By Barry Garron The Hollywood Reporter
Having established one of TV's more memorable characters with Dharma Finkelstein, the latter-day flower child of "Dharma & Greg," Jenna Elfman makes a U-turn to play Alex, a workaholic lawyer with no great inclination for a life outside the office. Or so it seems at first blush.
Opening scenes show the title character in "Courting Alex" (9:30-10 PM ET/PT Monday, Jan. 23 CBS) wed to her cell phone and in hot pursuit of a complicated contractual agreement, even in the midst of a dinner date. But then it takes only minutes before another Alex breaks through. Soon she's a flirty, closet romantic who puts up only token resistance to a handsome bar owner who refuses to sell his establishment to the client of her law firm. It gives nothing away to say that, before closing credits roll, Alex has accepted second chair on his motorcycle for a ride to Coney Island. You can see it happening a mile off.
Alex's transformation from button-down barrister to coquettish counselor might be jarring except that Elfman sells the character as few others can. Even with hair pinned up and in business attire, her femininity shines through. Simultaneously sexy and relatable, Elfman wins us over with a convincing performance that shows vulnerability just beneath a placid surface.
Veteran sitcom actor Dabney Coleman is perfectly at home playing Bill, Alex's dad and the head of the family law firm. Tactless and insensitive at times, the thrice-divorced Bill is nonetheless concerned that his daughter is too bookish and missing out on all the fun.
Far less convincing is Josh Randall as Scott, the hunky and free-spirited bar owner whose pursuit of Alex is surprising only for how quickly it succeeds. Although Scott has the requisite good looks and a supposedly adventurous past, he comes off bland and one-dimensional. When the two are together, Alex is the fiery star and Scott the orbiting planet.
Also part of the mix is Hugh Bonneville, as Julian, the wacky neighbor and playful artist, and Jillian Bach as Molly, Alex's efficient but mousy assistant. Both inhabit their characters well, as does Josh Stamberg as Stephen, the office geek doomed to an unrequited longing for Alex.
The pilot script from exec producer Rob Hanning is peppered with enough funny lines so that, in the hands of Elfman and the others, the half-hour passes quickly. The overheated applause of the studio audience is merely an annoyance. Experienced sitcom director Pam Fryman brings the story to life with fluid scenes that emphasize the show's best elements.
CBS has invested in "Courting Alex" to the tune of a place in its solid Monday night comedy block and can reasonably expect healthy dividends in return.
Bottom line: The return of Jenna Elfman is good news for TV comedy and CBS
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001882632
DVD-TV Review
'Hill Street': An Avenue To Quality Storytelling
By Robert Thompson Special to The Washington Post Sunday, January 22, 2006; Y05
Twenty-five years ago this month, "Hill Street Blues" debuted on NBC. It launched a second golden age of television drama: The model it established inspired a long string of literate dramas, including "St. Elsewhere," "thirtysomething" and "Moonlighting." Alumni from the show went on to produce "L.A. Law," "Miami Vice," "Law & Order," "Twin Peaks," "NYPD Blue" and "Deadwood."
For those who missed the groundbreaking show or who want to see it again, a three-disc DVD set with all 17 episodes from the first season is available January 31 ($39.98).
With so much good drama on TV today, it's hard to remember what the medium was like a quarter-century ago. When "Hill Street Blues" premiered, the highest-rated police drama on the air was "CHiPS," while "The Love Boat" and "The Dukes of Hazzard" were still going strong. TV was amusing enough back then, but it was seldom accused of being "art."
"Hill Street Blues" changed that. It looked like a movie and unfolded like a novel. Its enormous cast, pseudo-documentary style and overlapping dialogue defied the conventional wisdom that a TV show had to be understood by those who were half-asleep.
"It took the soap opera and elevated it to an art form," said Mark Tinker, executive producer and director of the recently concluded "NYPD Blue" and the upcoming season of "Deadwood."
"With the multiple storylines and recurring characters, they took storytelling for the masses and made it into something sophisticated, intelligent and emotionally complicated," Tinker said.
"Hill Street Blues" was a high-brow show in a mostly low-brow medium. The writers and producers of the series had résumés you'd expect to see in an English department, not a cop show. As a matter of fact, three of them had once been writing teachers at such places as Harvard and Yale.
In a TV Guide cover story on June 1, 1985, novelist Joyce Carol Oates said "Hill Street Blues" was "one of the few television programs watched by a fair percentage of my Princeton colleagues, arguably because it is one of the few current television programs that is as intellectually and emotionally provocative as a good book."
In that first season, critics raved about the show, and it received a record-breaking 21 Emmy nominations, winning eight. Though it ended the year in 83rd place out of 97 shows, executives at NBC liked all the good reviews, and, as a third-place network, they had lots of holes in their schedule. What they liked most, though, was that the show performed very well with affluent 18- to 34-year-olds, the premium demographic.
NBC renewed "Hill Street Blues," its ratings climbed in the second season, and by the third it had cracked the Top 25, helping to launch the network's 20-year dominance on "must-see" Thursday night.
Originally, NBC President Fred Silverman got the ball rolling on the idea that eventually would become "Hill Street Blues." But it was co-creator Steven Bochco who would become the soul of the show.
Bochco already had written for and/or produced eight crime series when NBC asked him and Michael Kozoll to do another one. He was sick of cop shows and refused the offer, which seemed to make NBC want him even more. This proved significant, because before Bochco and Kozoll agreed to do the show, they extracted unprecedented concessions from the network. NBC offered -- though it didn't always honor -- an unheard-of promise to stay out of the creative process.
Kozoll stepped down as co-executive producer of "Hill Street" after the first season, but Bochco would spend five years using the show to chip away at the boundaries that had kept sophisticated "adult" content off the airwaves since the heyday of network radio.
Subsequent producers and shows would settle the territory that Bochco had cleared. Within a few years, network executives realized how successfully more mature shows could compete in the emerging cable era.
"Our medium would have evolved with or without 'Hill Street,' " Bochco said. "Somebody would have done it."
Perhaps, but the unique mutation that Bochco introduced to the medium would be passed on to another quarter-century of serious television drama. That Bochco had been tired of the cop show when he created "Hill Street Blues" proved important in another way. After working on eight formulaic crime series, he knew the mold well enough to break it in interesting ways.
"We very consciously were trying to do something we'd never done before. We
didn't want to do our ninth cop show -- we wanted to do our first," he said.
"Hill Street Blues" started a run of quality television that continues today. No single series, with the possible exception of "All in the Family," has had as significant an impact on the art of entertainment TV.
Much hand-wringing went on when "The Sopranos" became a hit. How, the networks asked themselves, could they compete with the level of quality that came from the freedom enjoyed by pay cable channels? It should be remembered, however, that cable learned to do "quality TV" from the networks, not the other way around. Without "Hill Street Blues," there would be no "Sopranos."
• (Robert Thompson, a professor of television at Syracuse University, is the author of "Television's Second Golden Age." He selected and wrote copy for the VHS release "The Very Best of 'Hill Street Blues.'")
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR2006011701117_pf.html
The Winter TV Critics Tour
Laurie likes House, but he's nothing like him
By Melanie McFarland Seattle Post-Intelligencer TV Critic Saturday, January 21, 2006
Gregory House, M.D., is unpleasant, tactless and, when he smiles, it tends to be at a joke that comes at someone else's expense. He's everything that Hugh Laurie, the lovely star of the hit Fox series "House," is not.
Talking to Laurie, however, it becomes clear that the British actor deeply respects the role he occupies. That is no doubt the reason he walked home with a Golden Globe for best actor in a television drama this week.
We cornered him on the set of "House," which airs Tuesdays at 9 on Fox (KCPQ/13), on the day before he won, to ask him why the role is so attractive to viewers -- especially the ladies.
P-I: You do realize that because of your character, you're considered to be a sex symbol?
Laurie: I refute that whole proposition. It's ridiculous.
Why? Whenever "House" isn't on the air, I get flooded with calls from women asking where you've gone.
That's so odd. Aah. I'm so embarrassed. ... You know, it's a sexy character. I'm playing a sexy character; I am not a sexy person. The character, I can see, you know, the damaged genius, the sort of Byronic hero, I can see some attraction in that. But that would be true of whoever was playing the role. If Mickey Rooney was playing the role ...
I seriously doubt that.
Oh, I think so. It's about the role. It's certainly never happened to me before in my life, so that would seem to support my theory. It's the character, not me. That's fine. I can live with that.
What was your reaction to getting nominated for a Golden Globe?
I was astonished and completely shocked. The funny thing about it was that the first thing I thought I'd do was call my wife. Then I realized, no, wait a minute, I'm talking to my wife, because she called me. My wife called me with the news. And I still don't quite know how she found out before I did. She's in London. She called me at 6 o'clock in the morning and said, "You've been nominated for a Golden Globe." I said, "Well, how the hell did you know that?" She's connected, my wife.
Can you talk about the rigors of working in American network television?
It's just brutal. I played a character in England for four years straight. We did 24 shows over four years. That's considered a lot. I've done 40 shows here, now, in about 18 months. That's incredible. I never ... that's like 16 movies back-to-back. It's almost as if I've done all the Bond movies in one go. It's like 20 movies. It's incredible. I do not know how you guys do it. How these guys write those scripts, it's absolutely amazing to me.
Another reporter asked: What do you think we'll learn about House this season?
The problem that the writers face is that they must never answer the question, "What's up with House?" They can never give it away. As soon as that problem's solved, the show is over. So, in way, they have to give an illusion of movement, an illusion of revelation, that actually is only an illusion.
But I suppose the truth is, my feeling is the audience may have suspected that the conventional path of a character like this might be, "Well, he seems like a jerk and he seems like this, but actually underneath it, he's got a heart of gold."
I think the discovery in this season is that, I'm not sure he has got a heart of gold. He might do some of the time, but he's more complicated than that.
Will there ever be a day that Dr. House will reveal that soft spot, that chink in the armor?
The question is, whom does he reveal it to? The audience may be privy to those moments, but I think the thing about House is that he will go to great lengths not to reveal it to other people. One of the things that I, personally, most admire about House is that he's not in it for the applause. He doesn't care whether he does the good thing or the bad thing. He doesn't care what other people think of it. ... He doesn't care for either, and I find that really rather thrilling. I think so much of the time these days, people want their good deeds to be recognized. They want to be applauded for their good behavior. And House doesn't care about that.
He seems to be the misanthrope who doesn't want his patients to die.
If you die, he's failed. And he does not want to fail. He has that degree of arrogance. He will not give in to failure. And if you die or you suffer, it's because ... his skills were not sufficient. And that, I think, is unacceptable to him. So, in that sense, I think he is relentless. Relentlessly good, because his own arrogance, his own conceit, will always drive him to go further and further and further to keep his patients from death.
"ER" has gotten a lot of great guest stars. Now that "House" has gotten some recognition, do you have a wish list for guest stars on a par with Cynthia Nixon and others who have been on?
I do. I have to keep it to myself because I'll get into so much trouble if the actor who then finally gets the role then reads in a newspaper, "Oh, so he wanted Clint Eastwood? Oh. Sorry!" ...
But I will say that the second half of the season concentrates pretty heavily on just the regular cast. We had some great guest stars, and will continue to I'm sure -- Sela Ward gave a whole new sort of story arc to the thing -- but the second half is really about our characters, you know, the regular people. Which I think is great, because they're so good and the characters are so intricate. There's a huge amount of mileage to be had from them.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/256462_tv21.html
The 2005-2006 TV Season
Ask Matt
(from the Ask (TV Critic) Matt (Roush) column at TVGuide.com
By Matt Roush TVGuide.com TV Critic
Question: Breathless! After watching the first two hours of 24, that was about how I was left and totally couldn't wait to watch it again Monday night. Yeah! I am so excited that 24 is back and it is still as good as the first — better, actually. The whole first scene was totally unexpected, and I think my heart skipped a beat when President Palmer was shot. And then, to top it off, the car-bomb explosions with Michelle and then Tony. There goes my heart again just repeating it! It was fast-paced and action-packed and to see Chloe have a life outside of CTU was great, too. I think this will be the best season of 24. I don't even think I have a question, just a huge comment on this show. Thanks for letting me express my thoughts! — Amy D.
Matt Roush: It really was breathtaking, and nearly all the mail I got in the aftermath of the four-hour opener was in this tone. Oscar G. does, however, add a necessary cautionary note: "On Sunday, during the Bears-Panthers NFL playoff game on Fox, there was a commercial for the season premiere of 24, where Chloe is talking to Jack, saying that she is the last one left and that they are trying to kill her. During the show, after the shocking assassination of President Palmer, I was able to put one and one together and knew what was going to happen next. I watched in frustration the 'predictable' death of Michelle, and as Tony was sent to the hospital. Aside from the fact that the season premiere was the best television this season and Chloe is my new fantasy girl, is this what to expect from Fox, and should I go back to avoiding all 'scenes from the next episode' for fear of Fox ruining future episodes? Did they give up too much in their promos or were my television sensory radars just at peak performance after a week of Lost and The Shield? Speaking of which, how great is life in January with my three favorite shows back on television: Lost, The Shield and 24? Give me your feelings on all three. Also, I've decided that Mr. Eko, Vic Mackey and Jack Bauer are the perfect role models for a young man like myself."
More on Mr. Eko later. Hmmm, role models? Well, it's a choice. But yes, I couldn't be more thrilled to have each of these shows back on the air. It's almost too many thrills in one week, and that doesn't even include Battlestar Galactica and Invasion, among my other obsessions. Finally, rule of thumb: Though it is surely tempting, avoid 24 promos as best you can. Unless you're a spoiler junkie, which I most assuredly am not.
Question: Even though I was spoiled for my favorite character's demise on 24, it didn't make it any easier to watch it play out on screen. I personally would have liked it much better if Tony and Michelle would have not returned for Season 5 and had been allowed to have their happy ending, which is now cheapened along with previous seasons on DVD. My problem, mainly, is the way her character was disposed of so quickly, although most everyone will rave that the "shock value" is back. I just think that Palmer's death was shocking enough, while Michelle's was simply tacked on, making it gratuitous and excessive. Palmer's death will play out the rest of the season, and very well it should, considering he's a former president. I'm not looking forward to Michelle's death being swept under the rug, being forgotten by everyone except Tony — if and when he wakes up. The Michelle fans are a small but loyal minority, and although I personally know that Reiko Aylesworth has a wonderful career ahead of her, not seeing her on my screen on my favorite show is tough to accept. Thanks for letting me rant. I suppose my question would be: Do you feel her death is cheap and purely for shock value, and do you see it having any repercussions further along in the season for other characters? — Melissa
Matt Roush: I get where you're coming from, but I couldn't disagree more. The death of Michelle was possibly even more shocking than Palmer's assassination — at least for those of us who avoid spoiler sites — because it compounded the sense that everyone we had ever cared about on the show was a target (and it made the pursuit of Chloe even more intense). It's always good to keep in mind that 24 is the series that dared to kill off the wife of the series hero at the end of the very first season. This season's opening barrage of deaths is in that tradition, and I can't remember an opening act of a TV show as galvanizing as the opening of 24 this season. Pulling any of these punches would have lessened the impact. To me, this is the opposite of a cheap-shock stunt. It's a calculated risk, and I've heard from several fans who were very much put off by it. But that's the show, and I respect it for doing this. I can't say what's in store for Tony, but since he's not dead (and previous seasons have demonstrated his amazing recuperative powers), I'm pretty sure that the rage over Michelle's execution and the need to avenge her death will be a strong catalyst for what's to come. Maybe not as key to the plot as Palmer's death, given his connection to the first lady (the fabulous Jean Smart) and him being the former president and all. But I don't think Michelle or Reiko Aylesworth were diminished at all by this sudden, cruel death. We're not likely to forget it anytime soon.
Question: What a great episode of Lost (Jan. 11)! Kate and Sawyer are my favorite characters, but Mr. Eko's story blew me away! And coming off the heels of Kate's backstory episode, that's two wonderful hours of entertainment in a row. Funny how all those knee-jerk haters who said Lost was jumping the shark at the beginning of the year are strangely silent now, eh? But seriously, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's Mr. Eko seems to be the breakthrough character this year in much the same way Terry O'Quinn's Locke was last year. There's not one bad performance on Lost, but I'm hoping Emmy voters remember Adewale later this year. — Mike K.
Matt Roush: With a large ensemble like Lost's — not to mention the fact that many still consider it a genre show — I fear quite a few deserving souls from the cast will be snubbed at the Emmys (especially in a year when The Sopranos is back in the running). But Adewale was magnificent, and the episode was a brilliant way to return from the long holiday hiatus.
Another take on the episode, from Erin: "I'll admit my interest in Lost had been waning since the beginning of this season. Last week changed that. Eko is by far my favorite character now. How intense was that staring match with the mysterious smoke? I hope we will see this character develop much more as the season goes on. How do you feel about his struggles with evil deeds and the greater good he seems to be striving for? And on what side of the good-vs.-evil list, which Goodwin implied the Others had, do you think he would be on?"
If Lost is, as many have theorized, an allegory of redemption, a place for lost souls to confront their pasts while they attempt to survive an uncertain present, then I think Eko would have to be seen as one of the more heroic, even majestic, figures of the reconfigured tribe. And yes, the showdown with the smoke was astonishing.
Question: Just wanted to tell you I was able to catch the upcoming Andrew Davies adaptation of Bleak House (airing on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre, starting Sunday) while in the U.K. during the Christmas holidays. All involved in this production give amazing performances, but Gillian Anderson's Lady Dedlock is top-notch! I've already put in my order for the Bleak House DVD and will be glued to PBS on Sunday evenings when this series begins. Too bad all television is not of this quality. Thanks for listening! — A. Greenwald
Matt Roush: Thanks for writing and giving me another chance to plug what is going to be a serious early contender for my Top 10 lists this year. Bleak House is the finest Masterpiece I've seen in quite a while: great story, skillful writing and wonderful acting, especially by the luminous Gillian Anderson, who is a world and several eras removed from Agent Scully.
Question: According to TVGuide.com's Entertainment News, Fox has given Arrested Development a two-hour block on Feb. 10. Normally, that's great news, but I am curious as to why on earth they would place the show up against the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Do they want it to fail? — Thomas
Matt Roush: This is a textbook definition of "burning off" episodes of a series the network has finally given up on. Airing the final four new episodes in a two-hour block, opposite a major TV event like the Olympics' opening ceremonies, is doing no one any real favor, except for those dedicated few who can at least take comfort in the fact these episodes were shown now and not buried until the summer. And it's not a matter of Fox wanting the show to fail. It has failed. Still, getting to see them at all is better than the alternative.
Question: I disagree with your Jan. 13 response about the appeal of Dancing with the Stars. I watch it, not for schadenfreude, but to see the stars succeed. I cannot stop smiling throughout the show as these amateurs progress. One can see hip-hop-style dancing any day on MTV, but there are rarely opportunities to watch such beautiful dancing. — Allison C.
Matt Roush: Yes, that was a cynical response to a show that doesn't really deserve it. I also grin while watching Dancing with the Stars. It's harmless fun, and I get at least as much pleasure from watching someone exceed expectations as I do watching a C-lister stumble. And not being a WWE fan, Stacy Keibler is new to me. Yowza.
Question: I have already heard some fans of The Book of Daniel talk as though anyone who dislikes the show is automatically "intolerant" or "close-minded," but that is, in itself, an example of intolerance. Not everyone who dislikes this show does so because they hate homosexuals, disapprove of religion being a part of a TV show or think that clergy are actually perfect in real life. My objections to the show are based on the show. I felt like it was just trying too hard. It was trying so hard to present "real" people and establish an irreverent tone that it simply piled flaw after flaw, secret after secret, and problem after problem into one family without bothering to take time to really explore or go beyond the big reveal. — Liz
Matt Roush: This is a very fair criticism, and you're not the only one to take this view. The critical reception was mixed, some enjoying Book of Daniel's reckless and messy qualities and others finding it over the top and all too easy to resist. I like it because it's different and well acted and executed, but I can see why others wouldn't. Richard, for example, who wrote in with a lengthy dissent that expressed a feeling of detachment from the show's characters, whose flaws branded them as weirdos and kept them from being sympathetic in his eyes. He concluded, astutely, "If (I mean, when) this show fails, I'm afraid the religious naysayers are going to claim credit that it failed because it dared to depict the 'holy' in an 'unholy' manner, but I think it is doomed because it failed the major requirement of any successful show, which is to give the viewers a person to root for."
I don't entirely agree with Richard's take — for one, I find Aidan Quinn's portrayal of Daniel to be wonderfully appealing and sympathetic, whatever the character's weaknesses — but I do agree it will be a crying shame if the religious-right watchdogs claim a victory should Daniel not survive. Given the low ratings and the timid response from advertisers, who should truly be ashamed of themselves, Daniel's fate is clearly tenuous. But much of this would likely be the situation regardless of those who tried to torpedo the show preemptively. Daniel is a risky series, and I'm glad NBC gave it a shot. Bottom line: I'll accept any criticism of a show, even when I disagree, as long as someone takes the effort to watch.
________________________________________
Question: I have read and respected your opinions for a long time now, but I have to disagree with your appraisal of The Book of Daniel. This show is demeaning to Christians and is nowhere near the accurate portrayal of "flawed beings" that it is claimed to be. Christians are not "cookie-cutter perfect" and I would certainly never claim to be, but, as a pastor's daughter, I am insulted by what is portrayed as "normal" in a minister's family (including homosexuality, drugs, adultery, the list goes on). I, for one, am proud to be one of the "narrow-minded" Christians boycotting this show and hoping that it doesn't last. I realize that a lot of other shows portray similar standards to this one, but those are not shown to be people who base their morals on biblical beliefs. I am happy to simply not watch these shows. But when they start portraying me and mine in a light that glorifies sin, that is when I take serious offense. — Teresa
Matt Roush: I still can't quite figure out if Teresa watched Book of Daniel or not, but I don't think anyone involved with the show would consider this family "normal." Certainly the characters themselves know their behavior is absurd and often regrettable. And let's keep in mind that this is drama, albeit with a strong comedic bent. Normal isn't dramatic. Should religious families be off-limits? And anyone who thinks even a minister's family is immune to the social and personal issues discussed in Daniel is reading from the book of denial. Finally, I heartily disagree that Daniel is demeaning to Christians. At its best, it illuminates the paradox of being a family of faith in a mixed-up world.
Pat, a fan of the show, wrote in to say: "I see Jesus as Daniel's conscience and guide in life, not as a real-life Jesus and certainly not as the fundamentalists portray Jesus: prejudiced, narrow-minded and critical of anyone who is different. The real Jesus taught love, compassion and acceptance. Too bad today's Christians don't know that." And I'll stop here before this column turns into a screed on religion. But just think of the emotions stirred up by this show. Gotta say I'm glad NBC at least gave it a shot.
Question: First, congrats on your great column. My weeks always start and end with you. I wanted to get your feeling on the representation of homosexuality on TV shows lately, because I feel that we've reached a turning point. I think that after a short period of (needed?) overexposure, with every show having a gay character and shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Queer as Folk, we are actually moving toward equality between gay and straight characters. For instance, I know that a lot of gay people have ground their teeth at Andrew being gay and evil on Desperate Housewives, but I actually believe that this is a good thing: We've got past the dichotomy of, on the one hand, the political correctness of the gay guy who's a great guy with no sexuality (Will & Grace) and, on the other hand, the cliché of the gay guy with nothing but his sexuality (Queer as Folk). Finally gay characters get to be something else than "just gay." They are handled the same way as straight characters and they have story lines that don't revolve only around their sexual orientation. So basically, a character can now be evil and date a hot gardener. And finally, I think I've rarely (never?) seen a gay character as relatable and realistic as the gay son on the great Book of Daniel (I'm kind of being unfaithful to Six Feet Under's David Fisher here, but hey, Christian Campbell from Reefer Madness!). I really hope the show won't get canceled, no matter what the AFA thinks. Anyway, being myself nonreligious, gay and French, I guess I'm pretty much the anti-Christ for those people. After Jack Kenny, of course. (P.S.: Please excuse my shaky English, being French and all). — Max
Matt Roush: Your English is fine, and your sentiments are appreciated. I have always contended the true breakthrough for gay characters on TV is when they're accepted first as characters, with their sexuality not being the defining characteristic. They can be good or evil, as long as they're interesting. Which Andrew certainly is these days.
Question: Instead of the usual TV-show questions I'm sure you get often, how about an awards-show question? We recently had Dennis Miller host the Critics Choice Awards and Craig Ferguson host the People's Choice Awards. Personally, I thought they both sucked [because they] never really [got] into their normal rhythms. With Jon Stewart hosting the Oscars this year, I'm not too optimistic, after his hosting of the Grammys a few years back. I wonder if the Golden Globes have it right (one of the few) by not having a host. Sure, the Oscars have the prestige and pomp of being "the best of the best," but I can only think of the Tonys and maybe Emmys with having the hosts best suited for their awards and crowd in the past few years. I know Jon Stewart hasn't hosted the show yet, but how do you think he'll do, and what if the Oscars got rid of a host altogether? — Dan
Matt Roush: I'm hoping Jon Stewart succeeds. He's a smart guy, very funny and currently at the top of his game. Which is reason enough to give him a shot, even if he wasn't the first choice (that would have been Billy Crystal). The Oscars are an institution with a long sense of tradition, which includes the idea of putting on a grand show, including clip packages (usually great), a host (a mixed bag) and (often regrettably) musical numbers. The Oscar show is a bit of a dinosaur, to be sure, but there's something comforting about its excesses, including its length and the perils that come from hosting it (just ask David Letterman). I do enjoy the briskness of the Golden Globes, but for the Oscars to do away with a host is to risk denying the show part of its sense of occasion, and its personality. However, if Jon Stewart flops and the ratings keep going south, then maybe the Oscar folks will rethink it. But for now, the Oscar show continues to be something we love to hate, and the host will remain one of its necessary evils.
On a similar awards theme, this from Louise H.: "Can you explain why the Golden Globes air on tape delay on the West Coast? For me, it is one of the most enjoyable and entertaining award shows to watch. (Maybe because there's alcohol available at the event.) Isn't it second in importance of awards shows? With the Golden Globes on tape delay, 10 pm newscasts or websites can announce winners before the show is done on the West Coast. I think tape delay takes out the fun and excitement for those watching on the West Coast. I'd love to hear your take on it."
I'm not sure, but it seems to me this is a financial decision, and NBC can make more money off the show if it can sell it in prime time in all areas. (How hard is it, anyway, to keep the blinders on for the three hours it takes to watch?) The Golden Globes is comfort food that's meant to be watched at night, not in the late afternoon. And while it has gained prominence in recent years, it's still far from a mega-event like the Oscars.
http://tvguide.com/tv/roush/askmatt/
The Winter TV Critics Tour
The West Wing-Commander in Chief similarities
By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star in his blog “TV Barn” Saturday, January 21, 2006
ABC is at TCA today. On Friday about 75 critics visited the set of the ABC show "Commander in Chief." Had a press conference with the cast and producer Steven Bochco. I forgot to ask about this letter I received Jan. 10 from reader Jeff Trout:
“Here's tonight's listing for "Commander in Chief": "Sub Enchanted Evening" When a U.S. submarine on a covert mission off the coast of North Korea runs into trouble, Mac must find a way to diffuse the international crisis before things get out of hand.
Meanwhile, back on 11/14/2001 NBC aired the following episode of "The West Wing": A U.S. submarine has "gone quiet" off North Korea, putting the President into crisis mode. And he's not pleased to have to deal with a cantankerous State Department veteran (Hal Holbrook).
Seems strange that ABC is recycling West Wing Episodes in order to bolster its Tuesday Night lineup, while NBC is doing everything it can to bury The West Wing. Is it any wonder NBC is 4th in the ratings???”
Not that I would've gotten a straight answer to that one.
"Commander in Chief" has an impressive set, two soundstages long, and that's not counting the Air Force One interior, a football field long, that was the backdrop to our press conference on a third stage at Raleigh Studios. I have to say, though, that the twisty hallways of the West Wing had that oh-so-familiar, well, "West Wing" feel to them.
Aside from look-and-feel, how is "Commander in Chief" like "West Wing"? Well, as of this week, they're both in big time ratings trouble. "Commander" got pile-driven by the debut of "American Idol," which Hoovered viewers away from both ABC and NBC. Though "Idol" will stop tormenting Geena Davis soon enough, it'll then be Hugh Laurie's and "House's" turn to keep the pressure on "Commander," which has been losing points steadily all season.
Want to know how bad things are? During today's press conference, Bochco revealed something about an upcoming episode: The president's son is going to knock up a girl. In our collective experience as critics on the bus back to our hotel, we couldn't remember happening Bochco spilling the beans since his last failing show (not counting "Over There," which vanished so quickly there wasn't really time to stage a promotional intervention).
http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2006/01/the_west_wingco.html#more
The Winter TV Critics Tour
Prankster-in-chief
The Newark Star-Ledger’s Alan Sepinwall TV blog
Saturday, January 21, 2006
From a distance, show business seems glamorous, but up close it can be pretty dull. There are so many breaks in the day, so much time spent changing lighting and camera positions, that actors have to find ways to fill their time. And, judging by recent press conferences, the most popular method is practical jokes.
I already wrote in the newspaper column about Carlos Bernard punking the "24" producers by having a guest star arrested on set, and at Friday's "Commander in Chief" session, Geena Davis explained what she did to new co-star Mark-Paul Gosselaar on his first day on the job.
Ever since the show began, Davis had a particular prank in mind to pull on a new actor, but she kept forgetting until Gosselaar was hired:
"I had the (assistant director) go in and tell him before he came in the makeup trailer, 'Just so you know, Geena's always in character. So it's not a big deal, but we do all call her Madam President. And if you happen to be sitting when she comes in, just stand.'"
So Gosselaar went to the makeup trailer, and when Davis entered, everyone stood up and called her "Madam President." Davis was so tickled that she wanted to spill the beans right then, but someone told her that the crew was really looking forward to getting in on the act. So then she walked with Gosselaar onto the set, and everyone kept calling her "Madam President." And once everyone was assembled together, the assistant director declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President's on the set," and everyone began to applaud like she had just arrived to deliver the State of the Union."
And then Davis said, "Well, I'd like to make my daily announcement, and I want to welcome our new staff member and admit what a horrible person I am because this is all a big joke."
Gosselaar admitted that he was taken in, but Davis revealed the truth before he had a chance to call his wife or agent and ask, "What the hell am I getting myself into?"
"I just didn't have enough time to kind of bitch about it yet," he said. "I told her, "You should have kept it going a little longer."
Only one way out
Well, if "Arrested Development" is going to live on, it will have to be at Showtime. Fox president Peter Liguori already said he's not likely to bring it back, and now ABC president Steve McPherson - the other rumored suitor - said, "I don't really forsee that happening."
He felt "Arrested" is "a really great show, and I think I could market it very well, and we have several timeslots that make sense. But I would have to say it's a longshot."
As George Bluth said on the last "Arrested" episode to air, "I guess it's Showtime."
http://www.nj.com/weblogs/tv/
Critic’s Notebook
CNN is still sick with Fox envy -- and it's only getting worse
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle Friday, January 20, 2006
... There's a sadness here. And it has nothing to do with CNN's inability to "counter" Fox News with a respectable progressive slate of contributors. CNN used to be a reliable source for national and international news. Now it mostly chases storms and tragedy -- and Fox ...
Yeah, things have been going downhill since they started playing the same personality promotion game that Fox News played from the beginning. Now, merely having a Lou Dobbs hour or a Larry King show isn't annoying in itself, but they seem to do it for every freakin' time slot. It's even extended to Headline News recently.
If I could run CNN, CNN would be the "brand" I'd be pushing. Folks with distinctive one-hour shows like Lou Dobbs, Larry King and [holding nose]Nancy Grace[\end holding nose] would keep them (though I'd move Nancy Grace to CNN and get her off Headline News). But I wouldn't be pushing things like the Anderson Cooper version of the news vs. the Paula Zahn version.
CNN hasn't figured out one of Fox's secrets. They do an outstanding job of personalizing their news anchors (I'm talking about NEWS, not the talk shows). In the old days, CNN would never let their White House Correspondent come in on Saturday and SING. Nor would they let a reporter from the Washington bureau use half of her standup to comment on a previous fluff piece. Shows a side of the reporters one does not normally see. CNN is TRYING to do it. Robin Meade really cuts up on HLN. It's a technique local broadcasters have used for eons. Used to call it "happy talk." But it's gone way beyond that. Make the viewer emotionally invested in the reporters and suddenly, the news is almost secondary. Viewers know Jane Skinner has twins, Mike Jerrick has been divorced a number of times and Brian Wilson wears cowboy boots 24/7. Does Candy Crowley even SMILE? Viewers know nothing about them.
You're so right. Nancy Grace isn't going to save CNN. Nor is Anderson Cooper who is not nearly as much fun as when he did World News Now overnights on ABC.
In my mind it is even simpler: Roger Ailes (likes his politics or not) is a TV genius.
And any major decision which needs making gets made by him.
Quickly.
Period.
If it doesn't work out, he doesn't go looking for scapegoats or excuses. He just cuts his losses and moves on.
Try getting any decision made in even a month at the bureaucratic CNN (or MSNBC) operations.
In my mind it is even simpler: Roger Ailes (likes his politics or not) is a TV genius.
I don't really watch either of them, but from what I've read, he is THE MAN when it comes to FoxNews. In fact wasn't he boosted to controlling even more now?
Yes he now controls all the O&O stations.
Critic’s Notebook
Not missing her 'X'
After a timeout from series TV, Gillian Anderson is camera-shy no more
By Susan King Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 22, 2006
From the moment she stopped working on Fox's sci-fi hit "The X-Files" in 2002, Gillian Anderson knew she didn't want to be on a TV or movie set. She was burned out. The 37-year-old actress had spent nine seasons on the award-winning series as FBI agent Dana Scully, who, with her eccentric partner Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), investigated the strange and unexplained.
So she moved to London, where she had spent her childhood, did a few plays, got married, traveled and did charity work. "It took a long time before I was ready to start working in front of the camera," she says.
But Anderson, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe as Scully, has been working almost nonstop in the last few years. And several of her projects are finally arriving stateside.
Premiering (Sunday) night on PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" is the eight-hour adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Bleak House." Anderson plays the tragic Lady Honoria Dedlock, who harbors a dark secret about an illicit love affair and a child born out of wedlock. The drama features a strong supporting cast, including Charles Dance as the unscrupulous attorney who learns of her past, and Timothy West as Dedlock's elderly husband.
Anderson plays herself in Michael Winterbottom's new movie-within-a-movie comedy, "Tristram Shandy: A **** and Bull Story," which opens Feb. 10. Arriving in theaters later in the year is "The Last King of Scotland," a drama about Idi Amin.
Do you feel more at home in England?
I do. I don't know if it is because my early years were spent there. I was 2 to 11, and it was my first language, so to speak. I grew up with a British accent. Even though my parents were American, I felt like a Brit, and that has always been inside my bones. I love Europe. I love the pace of Europe, and I love the history. I feel comfortable there.
So did the BBC approach you about playing Lady Dedlock?
The producer came to me. My immediate reaction, which is the same to all television which comes my way, is "No. I have done television." The films I had made I knew wouldn't be released until after this had aired [in England], so just strategically, I didn't want it to look like, "Oh, she's doing television again." So I did question it a lot. But once I read the script and talked to fellow actors in England and understood it's quite different over there for actors…. It is much easier for them in their career to go back and forth between doing television and stage and film and even radio.
Had you ever read the Dickens novel?
I hadn't read it. Once I agreed to do the project, I read it for the first time. It was never part of my college repertoire.
Why is it that Dickens seems so relevant for contemporary audiences?
I think it is because of the human condition, and the emotions and the experiences are universal to human beings. The sorrow that we feel today is the same sorrow that was felt , as well as the pain and the loss and the joy and the compassion and the love. He makes his characters so rich and so individual. They are all completely different human beings.
[B]In "Tristram Shandy" you play yourself as well as the character in the movie-within-a-movie. Were you having as much fun as you appear to on screen?
It was fun. I basically just went in for three or four days. I had wanted to work with Michael Winterbottom for a long time. I thought it would just be a blast. It was wild. He works in a very different way than a lot of directors.
How so?
On set — at least with this — he just likes to have himself, the cameraman and the boom operator. So there is no hair or makeup around. Everybody else is far, far away. He just constantly is kind of tweaking and changing something at the last minute. All of a sudden, at the spur of the moment, he decides he wants it this way. It is much more spontaneous and chaotic but in a measured kind of way. He keeps trying things and tries them as long as it takes until he gets it.
Do you feel that your post-"X-Files" career would have played out differently had you not moved to London?
I don't know what would have happened if I would have stayed here. I am sure my career would have gone in some direction or another. I am not sure when this happened. I don't know if it was with "House of Mirth" [the 2000 film based on Edith Wharton's novel], but for whatever reason, I am perceived differently [in England]. I am perceived as an actor and over here I feel like I am perceived as a TV celebrity who was in a series that has been off the air for three years. People don't know quite what to do with me. Over there I get offers for films or series like this. For some reason, they are willing to take a risk with me.
After "The X-Files" went off the air in 2002, there was talk of an "X-Files" movie. Is that still going to happen?
Oh, we have had many, many conversations about it. We have contracts. It depends on when it's written. I am asked about it all the time, so there is interest, but how long will there be interest? If we don't shoot it until 2007, and that looks like that would be the earliest, it won't be coming out until 2008. And in 2008, will people really care?
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-brief22jan22,0,4402268,print.story?coll=cl-tvent
About Television
Not missing her 'X'
Things That Go Bump in Prime Time
By Kate Aurthur The New York Times January 22, 2006
Vancouver — In a recent episode of "Supernatural," the two lead characters, both good-looking men in their 20's, walked down the hallway of an abandoned, haunted insane asylum. "Hey, Sam," one said to the other. "Who do you think is a hotter psychic, Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt or you?" The line was an acknowledgment of the large number of current shows (the hot psychics appear on "Medium" and "Ghost Whisperer," respectively) that share the otherworldly subject matter. But it was also an indication of the wry, self-aware humor that has made this show stand out.
"Supernatural," shown on Tuesday nights, chronicles the adventures of two brothers who crisscross the country's back roads in a 1967 Chevy, pursuing and destroying evil as they search for their missing father. The show has emerged as WB's only new hit of the fall season so far, attracting a loyal audience of young female viewers as well as bringing in more young men, which is one of the network's main goals.
Before its debut in September, "Supernatural" was just one of a crowded field. "We were in that mix, the one-word genre shows," said Eric Kripke, 31, the show's creator, in reference to "Threshold," "Surface" and "Invasion," new science fiction series begat by the success of "Lost."
"But it's like, we're a horror show," Mr. Kripke said. "We weren't a paranoid, government-conspiracy, alien thing. We weren't an endless-mystery 'Lost'-style format. We're just this rollicking, red-blooded horror movie."
Put the emphasis on the word "movie." "Supernatural" aims at the audience of spooky box-office winners like "The Grudge," "The Ring" and the recent remake of "The Amityville Horror," rather than looking to television for prototypes. David Janollari, WB's president of entertainment, said that when he met Mr. Kripke and heard the pitch for a weekly horror series, he thought, "That territory is being mined in the feature world, but we're not servicing it on television."
In each episode, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) travel to a new location where they suspect something dark and unearthly is happening: Mr. Kripke uses urban legends like the Hook Man (who rips open unsuspecting young couples) and Bloody Mary (who kills anyone stupid enough to say her name three times while looking in the mirror) to provide story fodder. He described these legends as "these gory little stories that are really fun to tell," and said they had interested him since childhood.
In Mr. Padalecki's sparse trailer on the show's set here, both he and Mr. Ackles said they had been intrigued by the idea of a genuinely scary television series. "I remembered the previous WB supernaturally themed shows, like 'Charmed,' 'Roswell' and 'Angel,' and I was like, 'Oh, no, not one of those,' " Mr. Padalecki recalled. But when he met with Mr. Kripke (a co-writer of the movie "Boogeyman"), along with McG ("The O.C." and the "Charlie's Angels" films) and David Nutter ("The X-Files"), two of the show's executive producers, Mr. Padalecki said they promised that "it was going to be raw and it was going to be scary."
Mr. Ackles said, "It's definitely a giant core of the show to try to scare the hell out of you."
Not an easy task on television. Peter Roth, the president of Warner Brothers Television Production, the studio behind "Supernatural," listed limited production time, a circumscribed budget and a rotating gallery of directors as the obstacles facing any series that strives for suspense. "A good scare requires a good deal of time and direction," he said. "It's the ability to use all the tricks we've learned from the masters - going back to Hitchcock."
Mr. Kripke added: "Comedy you can build in the editing room, you can build your timing out of performance. Drama, same deal. Horror or suspense, if you don't have a director who knows how to shoot that, there's nothing you can do. You have to have such a style of how you move your camera, what you choose not to see, how you can imply something."
In the show's premiere episode, viewers saw a creepy flashback to the awful night when Sam and Dean's mother was pinned to the ceiling by some mysterious force, set on fire and blown up. Their father then began the family business of hunting evil beings. As the two sons, now grown, search for the truth about their parents, they bicker their way toward mending a strained fraternal relationship. Increasingly, the brothers are led from place to place by Sam's nascent psychic abilities, which might be professionally handy but are terrifying him.
In some episodes, the show really pours on the blood. "When I tell you that not once have we run into a censorship issue that what we were showing was too violent, I mean it - and quite frankly, I'm shocked by it," Mr. Kripke said, sounding pleased. "The boyfriend hanging upside down in 'Hook Man' was eviscerated! If anything, the network is encouraging us to try to go further."
Mr. Janollari said, "The audience is not going to be satisfied if they're not getting the same visceral level of scares and thrills that they get when they go to the movies." He added, with a laugh, "There have been episodes I've watched that I've had to recoil."
Mr. Kripke named "Evil Dead II," Sam Raimi's 1987 splatterfest, as one of his three favorite movies of all time (along with "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca"). But that gruesome film serves as a model for fun, not fear, he said: "I believe aesthetically the less you see, the scarier it is. The really terrifying movies are done in shadow and leave it to the imagination."
Mr. Ackles and Mr. Padalecki - for now, at least - play the only two regular characters on the show. "It's the two of us, and it's the two of us all the time," Mr. Ackles said with a sigh. Mr. Padalecki added, "We can barely sleep."
But their punishing schedule means that every other character they meet along the way is expendable. In the surprising ending of the first episode, Sam's girlfriend died in the same way his mother did - impaled on the ceiling and then immolated. It was a twist that led the recap writer on the often-harsh Web site Television Without Pity to comment: "This is the best. WB. Show. EVER!"
Mr. Kripke said: "In our writers' room, when we're in the middle of a scare or set piece, we'll say, 'Oh, wait, it's just the boys in it.' Because we know they're not going to die, so it's always putting in a guest cast with them, and every so often killing that character. Not every time - you want the boys to be heroes and save the day."
"But every so often," Mr. Kripke continued, summarizing what might be the pleasure of watching horror, "you've got to just waste somebody."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/arts/television/22aurt.html?pagewanted=print
Marcus Carr
01-22-06, 03:21 AM
NESN sports TV nets high-tech studios
By Jesse Noyes
Saturday, January 21, 2006
The New England Sports Network is hustling to some new digs in Watertown and beefing up its high-definition offerings.
The cable sports channel plans to move its facilities from inside Fenway Park to the Boston suburb by the end of February, more than tripling its real estate space. The new headquarters boasts 40,139 square feet compared to the current 12,500 square feet.
The station said it would maintain studio space at Fenway Park and at TD Banknorth Garden for coverage of local sporting events.
The space in Watertown will also have two high-definition studios, large LCD screens and NESN plans to move from a tape-based to digital control room, allowing the station to eventually produce all of its in-house programming in HD, including pre- and post-game shows and its marquee Sports Desk.
NESN already broadcasts most of its game coverage in HD format, a spokesman said.
The local joins other networks preparing for a digital revolution by producing original material in HD-equipped studios. Earlier this week MTV Networks launched MHD, an all HD channel showcasing concerts and videos in greater detail. The channel’s cutting-edge studio is located high up in the mountains of Vail, Colo.
NESN plans to boost the number of its HD offerings from 176 to more than 1,200 programs a year, broadcasting over 3,300 hours of content in the high-tech format.
http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=122303
The Winter TV Critics Tour
Dancing With the Blame
By Chase Squires St. Petersburg Times television critic
ABC blamed me -- yes, me -- for the "Dancing With the Stars" dance-off being a wrong move. "Bad idea: dance-off," Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, said Saturday. Then, kidding, he singled me out for blame. Thanks, but no thanks.
McPherson said TV critics and ABC employees cared more about the supposed scandal than the general public did. "Dance-gate," McPherson dubbed the furor over Kelly Monaco beating John O'Hurley last summer.
But McPherson added that ABC threw the dance-off into premiere week last fall and failed to promote the special. (Who's to blame for that? Not me.) The second time around, O'Hurley triumphed over Monaco in the public vote.
McPherson said adding a results show, another suggestion from critics, boosted the franchise. The dance show airs on Thursdays, followed by the results on Fridays.
Later, I asked McPherson if the dance-off might have placated some disgruntled fans.
"It probably won us some goodwill," he said. "It didn’t perform in the ratings ... because of where we put it, when we put it. It didn’t perform as well as we would have liked.’’
Did he hear from viewers about why ABC