View Full Version : Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info
taz291819
08-17-06, 08:08 PM
Which would be a shame, as it has a great core of strong programming, and probably the only new show on network television that is pretty much guaranteed to succeed; Runaway.
These are the shows I'll be watching on The CW:
Everybody Hates Chris
Runaway
Veronica Mars
Smallville
Supernatural
Add in other shows I don't watch but do good in the ratings; 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, Top Model and Smackdown, and I think people are seriously underestimating the networks chances for survival.
That's the exact same list I'll watch (or DVR), though I'll give The Game a shot.
There was a The CW teleconference via satellite today and they showed some more clips of The Game. Pretty funny stuff.
Commentary
Too Much Quality Network TV?
Socked with huge fine, he counters with 'Nine'
By Ray Richmond The Hollywood Reporter in his column “The Pulse”
As we wade our way through the dog days of August, there is a sort of optimism in the air about network primetime. For those of you keeping score, this happens roughly, oh, maybe once every generation or so. There was actual griping heard at the recent Television Critics Assn. press tour that there was simply too much good stuff coming this fall and viewers couldn't be expected to watch all of it.
No matter what the FCC chooses to believe, the quality of the network primetime series offerings as a group has never been bolder, edgier or more infused with cinematic production values. From the single-camera comedy revolution to the rise of the serial drama, it's growing tougher to tell the broadcast offerings from those on cable.
Hank Steinberg has a compelling theory about why this is so. The creator and exec producer of the CBS procedural hit "Without a Trace" that enters its fifth season this fall as well as creator-showrunner of the heavily buzzed new fall ABC drama "The Nine" believes that the government watchdogs who have so frustrated and hogtied broadcast producers actually have inadvertently struck a back-door blow for creativity.
"We can't do a show as titillating as (the FX plastic surgery drama) 'Nip/Tuck' or with the graphic violence of 'The Sopranos' on network TV," Steinberg points out, "or one that's as sexually suggestive and with the permissive mores of 'Six Feet Under.'"
That inability to be as racy and explicit as the cable guys has "forced network series writers to be that much more creative in their storytelling," Steinberg believes. "We have to operate within the confines of our standards and practices department and the FCC. That's how you wind up with shows like '24' and 'Prison Break' that take chances and move the envelope. Cable is pushing us to be more adventurous, but in a strange way so are the guys trying to limit it."
To that end, Steinberg admits having been the "happy procurer" of the largest single fine in FCC history: $3.6 million proposed in March against dozens of CBS stations and affiliates for airing a 48-second teen orgy scene on a "Without a Trace" episode in December 2004.
"I knew we were on the borderline with it," he says. "We knew it was provocative. But it was also, in context, a cautionary tale. The whole thing simply seems very arbitrary to me. Nobody knows where the standards are. You can do almost anything you want when it comes to violence, but with sex and language it's very restrictive."
The language part doesn't worry him, Steinberg adds. "You can make your point fine without saying 'f***' and 's***'". Note: (my edits, not THRs).
But far from creating an environment of great caution, Steinberg and his network brethren have used the restriction as almost a rallying point to do even better work and show the watchdogs that Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction no longer need represent ground zero in the battle for content freedom.
"The Nine" represents a radical departure from "Trace" for Steinberg but one that seems to be timed rather perfectly as the serialization explosion hits its stride. And with the "CSI"/"Law & Order"-style procedural franchises having peaked, the producer was concerned about staying ahead of the curve in crafting a drama about the lives of nine people forever bonded by their involvement in a bank robbery hostage standoff.
"I actually would have pitched a serialized show this year whether the trend was hot or not," Steinberg says. "I knew I wanted to do a pure character show this time. I'm just fortunate to have an idea as great as 'The Nine' at a time when the pendulum has swung back this way."
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/the_pulse_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002986389
Critic’s Notebook
Alien Territories:
''Laguna Beach,'' ''Stargate SG-1''
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog
There are shows you can fall into without any preparation, like ''Law & Order'' or ''The Closer'' for the most part. The show is there, the characters are defined, you're up to speed immediately. There are shows so rich in history and character, you almost need a primer to watch. ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' comes to mind, as does ''Veronica Mars,'' or ''Buffy'' in its later seasons.
Sometimes shows can help catch you up; ''Prison Break'' has an extensive ''previously on'' at the beginning of the second-season premiere on Monday. But sometimes, when you enter a show you've never seen before, you realize you'll never get the hang of it.
I thought that some with ''Laguna Beach,'' which began its third season this week. My viewing has been spotty at best, although I have held onto the DVDs of the first two seasons for research purposes -- for some dreamed-of, long weekend when we're just kicking back and need a marathon of pure candy. I have seen Kristin -- it was almost impossible to avoid here for awhile there -- and I watched a couple of episodes of ''The Hills,'' which was entertaining enough (especially in its good girl/bad girl dichotomy) that I wouldn't mind seeing the whole thing sometime.
But when I sat down with the third season of ''Laguna Beach,'' I wasn't even sure I was watching a TV show. It felt aimless and unstructured, but not in a documentary way. More like a show that's just been terribly edited. The endless shots of shopping (girls) and basketball-playing (boys) simply underscored the vacuousness of the characters. At least something like ''My Super Sweet 16'' has an end point. ''Laguna Beach'' was the video equivalent of flipping through a teen magazine, making up stories about the models. Only you could make up better stories than this supposed reality provides.
''Stargate SG-1'' was a better experience, although also a somewhat foreign one for me. Unlike devotees like Maureen Ryan, I have rarely watched ''Stargate'' and, when I did, I wasn't intrigued enough to hurry back. So when I sat down with the 200th episode, which airs tomorrow night, I knew I wasn't going to get most of the jokes in the self-referential story about the making of a movie based on Stargate Command's adventures.
(I should put a joke-spoiler warning here. Still, any ''Stargate'' fan reading this has probably already read about every joke, printed out a copy of the script and found some YouTube-like site with a bootleg of the rough cut.)
Still, I got a fair number of the jokes -- I know, anyone could get the ''Wizard of Oz'' reference, but I also recognized ''Farscape'' -- and laughed more than I expected. My favorite bit was probably the one with the puppets, since it was cross-generational; folks around my age recognized the link to the works of Gerry Anderson, while younger ones connected to ''Team America World Police.'' And even though I saw the string payoff coming, I was pleased that they took it to its logical conclusion. Second favorite: the mocking of the whole ''200th'' celebration.
Did I then go, ''Oh, my goodness! I have obviously been missing a splendid bit of television!''? Um, no.
The pacing wasn't great. The dialogue could be a tad slow. (Waiting for the audience to laugh, perhaps? Nah.) Some of the jokes either didn't work (the nod to ''Star Trek,'' parodies of which should have ended with ''Saturday Night Live's'' sketch in 1976) or were pounded too hard (the replacing-cast-members stuff). And, if I haven't developed enough affection for the characters to have paid more attention during the first 199 episodes, I'm not going to fall in love now.
In the end, I felt like the new guy at a party, hearing shorthand references to past incidents that he doesn't know, or being told stories that are all of the you-had-to-be-there variety. But that's fine. I have other things to watch. Maybe even ''Laguna Beach.'' I keep thinking I can crack that code.
http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/
The 2006-2007 Season
The New TV Season’s Top 10
By Marisa Guthrie The New York Daily News Staff Writer Thursday, August 17th, 2006
Not since "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" premiered two years ago and further widened the quality gap between smart entertainment on the little screen and the dreck flung at movie screens, have so many hot shows blown in like autumn leaves.
It is indisputably the year of the drama. "The Nine," a mystery with style and heart, and "Friday Night Lights," a football melodrama that comes at you like a 300-pound linebacker, are among the best new shows to premiere in any season.
The influence of "24" and "Lost" is fully realized this year in serialized dramas ("The Nine," "Kidnapped," "Heroes") that unfold over the course of the season.
It's as if network executives have finally awakened to the fact that viewers' attention spans far surpass that of a gnat (or their own), and just maybe there is room on television for something different.
Which brings us to "Ugly Betty." Based on a telenovela set in the bloodthirsty world of a high-fashion glossy, "Betty" is unlike anything else on television. America Ferrera is absolutely perfect as the proverbial ugly duckling who ends up turning heads and stealing hearts.
So after viewing the pilot episodes of all the new shows, except "Brothers and Sisters" - which wasn't available because of substantial reshoots - here is a rundown (in descending order) of the top 10 for 2006.
1. UGLY BETTY Thursdays, 8 p.m., ABC
America Ferrera, who was so irresistible in "Real Women Have Curves," again inhabits a character who slowly schools the superficial snobs around her that real women have heart. Ferrera is Betty Suarez, a socially awkward Latina who gets a job as the assistant to a womanizing fashion magazine editor (Eric Mabius). The boss sets about humiliating her so she'll quit (and he can hire an X-ray sycophant who looks good at meetings and under his desk). You'll admire Betty's pluck, relate to her insecurities and cheer for her triumphs. "Ugly Betty" is a thing of beauty. Vanessa L. Williams co-stars.
2. THE NINE Wednesdays, 10 p.m., ABC
"The Nine" borrows a page from "Lost," beginning with a catastrophic event and working backwards, each week peeling away another layer of the onion skin to reveal the tragedy in full. In this case, nine people are held hostage for two days inside a bank by gun-wielding psychos. They include Tim Daly as an off-duty cop, Chi McBride as the bank's manager, Scott Wolf as an ER doctor and Kim Raver as a hardened corporate hotshot. One of them is killed and the rest are irrevocably changed. The first episode ends with a twist so ominous, you'll be on tenterhooks waiting for the second episode.
3. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Tuesdays, 8 p.m., NBC
As the coach of a Texas high school football powerhouse, the always affable Kyle Chandler has found the perfect part for his aw-shucks, salt-of-the-earth persona. In this town, football is not just a game, it's everything. Gaius Charles plays the team's star running back, whose mouth moves as fast as his feet, while Taylor Kitsch is his equally mouthy rival. Zach Gilford is the team's third-string quarterback and Jesse Plemons plays his nonathlete best friend. Their scenes together crackle with such genuine camaraderie, and they seem like such sweet boys, you'll want to take them home to meet Momma.
4. HELP ME HELP YOU Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m., ABC
Ted Danson is at his befuddled best in this comedy about a therapist and the collection of misfits he meets with each week for group therapy. The supporting cast, including Jere Burns as a misanthrope prone to angry outbursts and Darlene Hunt as the patient who keeps making unwanted advances toward Danson's Dr. Hoffman, are wonderfully quirky. But Suzy Nakamura is the standout as Inger, a 25-year-old self-made millionaire who is excruciatingly, painfully awkward in social situations. You'll cringe with her, not at her.
5. HEROES Mondays, 9 p.m., NBC
Who hasn't wished they could read minds, stop time or leap off of tall buildings without breaking so much as a fingernail? "Heroes" mines the fantasies of childhoods spent watching "Superman" in our Underoos. Milo Ventimiglia is a mild-mannered dreamer who thinks he can fly. Hayden Panettiere is an indestructible cheerleader. And Masi Oka is hilarious as a nerdy anime fan who discovers - to his abject delight - that he can pierce the space/time continuum.
6. STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP Mondays, 10 p.m., NBC
Aaron Sorkin has created another irresistible slice-of-life behind the Great Oz curtain. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry play writing partners with plenty of baggage. Whitford may have a recurring addiction to cocaine. Perry is perilously close to keeping up with him. And this is the team Amanda Peet's comely TV executive chooses to save the network's foundering late-night comedy show, one that looks a lot like "Saturday Night Live." D.L. Hughley is underused in the pilot as the show within a show's host. But Judd Hirsch, as the show's fired executive producer, turns in such a fabulous Howard Beale moment you wish Sorkin would find a way to keep him.
7. KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY Tuesdays, 9 p.m., ABC
This is the show formerly known as "Let's Rob Mick Jagger." The Knights, as this artless band of burglars have christened themselves, are looking for an easy payday. But since prosperity doesn't grow on trees, they hatch a dubious plan to steal from someone so stinkin' rich he won't miss a few bucks. Jagger is hilariously hedonistic in a few cameo scenes. And Donal Logue is priceless as the Knights' mastermind.
8. KIDNAPPED Wednesdays, 10 p.m., NBC
Dana Delany and Timothy Hutton play anguished parents whose 15-year-old (Will Denton) has been abducted on his way to school. That they have a big insurance policy on their son and make sure he is never without his armed bodyguard (the excellent Mykelti Williamson) will raise some red flags. What are they hiding? Delroy Lindo and Linus Roache are the FBI agents who are going to find out. Jeremy Sisto is the former agent hired to quietly find the boy. He has been damaged by the job and he's looking for redemption.
9. 30 ROCK Wednesdays, 9:30 p.m., NBC
Tina Fey, the star and head writer on "Saturday Night Live," plays the embattled head writer on a show a lot like "SNL." There to make her life a living hell are Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan. Baldwin is masterful as a clueless network executive who keeps failing up. And Morgan is a coddled actor with a shaky grasp on reality. In the pilot, Morgan has a meltdown and runs down a Los Angeles freeway in his underwear. He said he based the character not on Martin Lawrence (who was busted in a similar situation) but on his "Uncle Rick."
10. SMITH Tuesdays, 10 p.m., CBS
Ray Liotta plays the leader of a team of thieves who is living a double life as a white-collar suburbanite. There are shades of Henry Hill (Liotta's "GoodFellas" character) in his performance. The anxiety of a man who finds himself in circumstances he can no longer control - and that may very well get him killed - jumps off the screen. Simon Baker and Jonny Lee Miller are standouts as members of his team. As Liotta's wife, Virginia Madsen is the portrait of love and support, until we learn that she has clattering skeletons of her own.
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/v-pfriendly/story/444005p-373930c.html
Xesdeeni
08-18-06, 01:11 AM
My strategy for Thursday's @ 9pm:
Grey's - TiVo tuner #1
Supernatural - TiVo tuner #2
CSI - Live via second STB
Don't care about the rest :)We can't watch anything live (Central Time Zone with two small kids who are usually just getting to bed by 9:00pm, but usually a bit after), which is why I've been struggling with a third HD tuner for my HT, primarily for Thursday nights this Fall.
Xesdeeni
Thank God for my pair of TiVos.
Xesdeeni
08-18-06, 01:24 AM
Wow! You have two HD TiVO's!?
Xesdeeni
TV Notebook
Ebert's return to TV show uncertain
Critic has been in the hospital since June. Guest hosts fill in on 'Ebert & Roeper.'
From Channel Island: The TV Industry Blog by Scott Collins in the Los Angeles Times August 18, 2006
Film critic Roger Ebert suffered another health setback earlier this month, but friends and co-workers of the "Ebert & Roeper" co-host remain guardedly optimistic about his condition.
Ebert, who has been hospitalized in Chicago since June, underwent his third surgery in as many months on Aug. 6. He was treated for a recurrence of salivary cancer in June; the following month, surgeons repaired a burst blood vessel. His wife, Chaz, characterized the latest procedure as "minor" in a letter posted on Ebert's website, but media insiders are buzzing that doctors removed at least part of his jaw and that the critic's recovery could take many months.
"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and director Kevin Smith have filled in on the syndicated TV show during Ebert's absence. On this week's show, critic John Ridley, host of AMC's "Movie Club," will substitute. Buena Vista Television, which syndicates "Ebert & Roeper," has not revealed future plans.
Gwynne Thomas, executive vice president at Buena Vista Productions, visited Ebert this month and confirmed that he must communicate through written messages because he's unable to speak. But she added, "He is alert, and his spirits are soaring."
"I know he's going to come back," she said. "He is the same old Roger. The guy is indefatigable. He's turned his hospital room into a screening room and is making jokes and flirting."
John Barron, editor in chief of the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert's home paper, said co-workers are taking it one day at a time.
"I don't think any of us know what the situation will be," he said. "I don't think two months ago any of us thought Roger would still be in the hospital."
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-channel18aug18,0,5380838,print.story?coll=cl-tvent
Wow! You have two HD TiVO's!?
Xesdeeni
Yes, I got one of the first ones here in Los Anegles back in the early days (April of 2004) when people were literally fighting for them as they got unloaded from trucks.
Then there was a brief time last fall when DirecTV was, in effect, giving them away to faithful customers.
Actually, with credits and all, I made a couple of hundred bucks on the deal. But not really, because the free programming I got I never would have watched if I hadn't had it thrown in to the deal.
But, nonetheless, the second TiVo was free. And even though it has never been upgraded in size like its older brother, it still has been a Godsend.
The 2006-2007 Season
Next Season’s Hit Shows?
They’re the Talk of the Web
By Stuart Elliott The New York Times August 18, 2006
Years ago, to learn about the coming television season, “you’d have to wait for the fall preview issue of TV Guide” each September, recalls Shari Ann Brill, vice president and director for the Carat Programming division of the Carat USA media agency in New York.
Now, coverage of the shows begins in May, appearing everywhere from “Access Hollywood” to Entertainment Weekly magazine to televisionwithoutpity.com. And the networks offer elaborate sneak peeks at the new series on their Web sites, as well as on DVD’s, in custom-published magazines and through other sites like itunes.com.
As a result, discussions among viewers about what to watch (or avoid) begin earlier than ever. That becomes an opportunity for media agencies, which help marketers select the series on which to buy commercial time (or avoid). They can begin to gather consumer intelligence in the spring and summer, rather than waiting until fall.
The Internet also makes the task easier, as the consumer chatter on Web sites, blogs and message boards can be readily monitored.
•That is what the Consumer Experience Practice, part of the Interpublic Media unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies, has been doing for three years in what are called PropheSee reports. It plans to release today the first report that will preview the 2006-7 season, summarizing consumer sentiment online about more than two dozen new series.
Of the five new shows that consumers were discussing most often online in May and June, according to the report, four will be on NBC: “Heroes,” ranked first; “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” second; “30 Rock,” fourth; and “Friday Night Lights,” fifth.
One of the five, “Vanished,” will be on Fox; it is ranked No. 3.
Of the five new shows the report says were being discussed least often online in May and June, two will be on Fox — “Happy Hour,” 25th, and “Standoff,” 26th — and three will be on ABC: “Notes from the Underbelly,” No. 22; “Big Day,” No. 23; and “Help Me Help You,” No. 24.
(Since the data were gathered, ABC has rescheduled “Big Day” and “Notes from the Underbelly.” They will have their premieres in midseason rather than in the fall.)
The series in the top five share several characteristics, said Stacey Lynn Koerner, president at the Consumer Experience Practice.
All will have serialized plots, meaning that the story lines will be threaded through each episode, requiring viewers to watch regularly to keep track of the fate of the characters.
That contrasts with series like “C.S.I.,” with plots that are generally self-contained in each episode and do not continue from week to week.
Several series that were identified as potential sleeper hits in past PropheSee reports, like “Lost” on ABC and “Supernatural” on WB, have serialized plots. Such shows stimulate conversations, Ms. Koerner said, as viewers speculate about the potential fates of the characters.
Another trait shared by the top five series, Ms. Koerner said, is interest in the actors who will be in the casts — many of them are familiar to viewers from other programs in which they have appeared.
For instance, Ms. Koerner said, 26 percent of the online discussions of “Heroes,” a drama at 9 p.m. Monday about everyday people with unusual powers, were centered on cast members like Milo Ventimiglia (“Gilmore Girls”).
And 37 percent of the online discussions about “Vanished,” another drama at 9 p.m. Monday, about a senator’s missing wife, were centered on cast members like Ming-Na (“E.R.”) and Esai Morales (“N.Y.P.D. Blue”).
A third commonality among many of the top five new series, Ms. Koerner said, is that they are created or produced by “TV auteurs,” that is, executives who have developed followings for their work.
For example, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” is from Aaron Sorkin, of “The West Wing” fame, and the talents behind “30 Rock” include Lorne Michaels and Tina Fey of “Saturday Night Live.”
Both “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” a comedy-drama at 10 p.m. Monday, and “30 Rock,” a comedy at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, are about TV shows not unlike “Saturday Night Live.”
“A lot of the conversation is whether the behind-the-scenes idea is a good idea,” Ms. Koerner said, and whether viewers will be interested in two such shows in one season on one network.
The Consumer Experience Practice plans to release two additional reports before the fall season starts, Ms. Koerner said.
One, covering online discussions last month, is expected in two to three weeks, she added, and the other, covering August, is expected in mid-September.
The PropheSee reports last year, before the 2005-6 season, identified three sleeper hits that are returning for 2006-7. They were, in addition to “Supernatural,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” on CW, and “Ghost Whisperer,” on CBS.
But the reports also listed “Commander in Chief,” on ABC, and “Threshold,” on CBS, as having the potential to be hits, and neither one is returning.
“It’s not an exact science,” Ms. Koerner acknowledged.
Ms. Brill of Carat USA, part of the Carat division of the Aegis Group, said the attention new series are getting before their premieres “is interesting, but it does not give me a sense of how a show will perform over time.”
“It’s about getting viewers there a second time,” she added.
Ms. Koerner, asked to identify some of the 2006-7 series that could be sleepers, said she wanted to “wait for more data” before drawing up a final list.
•She offered five shows on a preliminary list: “Heroes”; “Vanished”; “Friday Night Lights,” a drama at 8 p.m. Tuesday about a football team; “Jericho,” a drama at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS, about a Kansas town that survives a nuclear apocalypse; and “Ugly Betty,” a comedy-drama at 8 p.m. Thursday on ABC, based on a popular Spanish-language telenovela with a Cinderella-type plot.
Sometimes, Ms. Koerner said, she is surprised at the subjects that generate discussion online. For example, she said, many viewers were asking why NBC is scheduling a show titled “Friday Night Lights” on Tuesday nights.
The answer is that the series is about football as played by a high school team. If the show were on Friday nights, when most high schools play their football games, it could miss out on a lot of viewers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/business/media/18adco.html?ref=media&pagewanted=print
TV Notebook
NBC moves Emmys to clear path for 'Sunday Night Football
They’re the Talk of the Web
By Theresa Howard USA Today
NEW YORK — While network TV needs all the promotion it can get to stem viewership and ad erosion, NBC has booted the industry's prime-time awards show from its traditional mid-September kickoff of the fall season.
NBC pushed the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards show forward to Aug. 27 because of the start of its six-year deal with the National Football League to air Sunday Night Football. Regular season Sunday games start Sept. 10.
"The Emmys are getting the short shrift this year," says Jon Swallen, senior vice president of research, TNS Media Intelligence, which will release a study on Emmy ad and audience trends today. "It's odd for a TV show to honor the best TV programming to be shunted off to the sideline."
The show, which rotates among the big networks, had ratings declines since 1999 until last year's on CBS spiked to 12.5 from a seven-year low of 9.5 in 2004.
While that momentum may be lost, NBC's priority is football, which earned about $1.8 billion in ad spending deals for this season. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which controls the show, agreed to the August date after considering a September Monday.
The traditional timing gave TV a prime chance to promote its stars and top shows on the eve of the new season. Last year's show aired Sunday, Sept. 18, and most prime-time shows aired their first new episodes the following week.
CBS spokesman Chris Enders said the rival network expects "minimal" impact from the date shift: "The Emmys are a nice symbolic kick-off to the fall, but your heavy promotional artillery is with on-air promotion, paid media and publicity."
ABC spokeswoman Hope Hartman also saw minimal effect.
NBC said the early date has not hurt ad prices, but would not reveal the average price.
"It's a strong selling property for us," says Jim Hoffman, NBC Universal's senior vice president, sales, entertainment. "We're basically sold out."
General Motors will be back as the top advertiser and sole auto sponsor, with Saturn as lead brand.
"We still view the environment and event is a very positive platform in which to showcase our ... vehicles," says Mike Rosen, who handles placement for the company's buying agency, GM Planworks.
Other sponsors include Verizon, DirecTV, Discover Card and Target.
Nonetheless, TNS reports that the shift won't help in the Emmys' battle to catch its award rivals. The price for a 30-second Emmy ad averaged $528,000 last year, up just 11% since 2002. During the same time, Academy Award ads rose 16% to $1.5 million, Golden Globes' jumped 31% to $550,000 and a Grammy ad rose 22%, to $704,000.
Among other Emmy challenges:
• Lagging ratings. The Emmys averaged a 12.1 rating from 1999 through 2005, while the Oscars averaged 25.9, the Grammys 14.6 and the Golden Globes 14.9.
• The oldest awards audience. Average age of an Emmys viewer is 52, vs. 49 for the Oscars and Golden Globes and 39 for the Grammys.
The Emmys' one demographic hole card: its appeal to advertiser-desired women. Its audience is 66% female vs. 60% to 64% for its rivals.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/televisionawards/emmys/2006-08-17-emmy-usat_x.htm
The 2006-2007 Season
The new CW will build on old favorites
By Gary Levin USA Today
The billboards already are touting CW, the first new broadcast network in more than a decade. But the jury is still out on whether, as the ads say, it's "free to be" a bigger crowd-pleaser than its predecessors.
CW rises from the ashes of UPN and WB, both struggling also-rans that will be shut down by mid-September. Their owners, CBS Corp. and Warner Bros., respectively, are partners in CW and sought the combination to stem steep financial losses by relying on the best of both networks.
UPN contributes America's Next Top Model, Veronica Mars, Everybody Hates Chris and wrestling, among other shows, while WB adds favorites Smallville, Gilmore Girls, Supernatural and 7th Heaven.
"Creatively I'm really pleased with every show on the network, (and) I think that's a big one-plus-one can equal three," says CBS chairman Leslie Moonves. "You have better shows every night. There's a flow now to the network," as ratings laggard Mars finally has a compatible lead-in in Gilmore. "There's promotional advantage to that."
What CW lacks is the usual sizzle of new fall series: The network's fall lineup includes only two new shows, Girlfriends spinoff The Game, about the wives and girlfriends of pro football players, and Runaway, a drama about a family on the lam after dad is framed for murder.
But Steve Sternberg of ad firm Magna Global USA sees that as a plus. "Neither network has been able to develop any new (hit) shows the past couple of years," so better to assemble a new network from established parts. Only a handful of pilots were commissioned last spring in anticipation of that strategy, but CW expects to rotate more new shows in its second season.
Sternberg expects CW's audience to grow 10% to 20% over what either would have drawn separately next season; "there's no reason to expect any real declines from any of these shows" just because they're on a new network. (Each network averaged 3.1 million viewers last season, down 8% from 2004-05.)
"We're very realistic about our expectations," says CW president Dawn Ostroff, who calls the change "a big, big transition." Sixty percent of UPN viewers will be asked to switch to a new station, while 28% of WB viewers will have to do so when CW officially launches with the Top Model season premiere Sept. 20. The rest of its lineup will premiere over the next two weeks.
And Ostroff promises more new shows: A competition to become the next Pussycat Doll is due at midseason, along with new drama Hidden Palms and WB holdovers Reba and Beauty and the Geek.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-08-17-new-CW_x.htm
The Business of TV
EchoStar must disable DVRs, judge rules
By Paul Bond The Hollywood Reporter Aug. 18, 2006
A judge has ordered EchoStar to disable the digital video recorders used by several million subscribers to its Dish satellite TV service because they infringe on patents held by TiVo.
Thursday's ruling from U.S. District Judge David Folsom in Marshall, Texas, demands that within 30 days EchoStar must basically render useless all but 192,708 of the DVR units it has deployed.
The decision comes four months after a jury ruled that EchoStar should pay TiVo $74.9 million because it willfully infringed TiVo patents that allow for the digital storage of TV programming.
The judge also denied EchoStar's request that the injunction be stayed pending appeal, making it difficult for EchoStar to continue offering its subscribers' DVR functionality without striking a quick licensing deal with TiVo or another DVR maker.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/television/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003019366
The Business of TV
EchoStar must disable DVRs, judge rules
In Judge Judge Folsom's words:
"...Plaintiff has demonstrated both that it continues to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction and that there is no adequate remedy at law.
Defendants compete directly with Plaintiff – Defendants market their infringing products to potential DVR customers as an alternative to purchasing Plaintiff’s DVRs.
The availability of the infringing products leads to loss of market share for Plaintiff’s products.
Loss of market share in this nascent market is a key consideration in finding that Plaintiff suffers irreparable harm – Plaintiff is losing market share at a critical time in the market’s development, market share that it will not have the same opportunity to capture once the market matures...."
http://davisfreeberg.com/2006/08/18/tivo-wins-injunction-against-dish-echostar-must-disable-dvrs
The Business of TV
EchoStar Asks Federal Court to Stay Texas Injunction
EchoStar Communications Corporation issued the following statement regarding recent developments in the Tivo Inc.v. EchoStar Communications Corp. lawsuit:
"This morning, EchoStar will ask the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to block an injunction issued by a Texas Court yesterday,while EchoStar appeals that decision. The Texas judge did not gran ttreble damages or attorney fees to Tivo, but he did let stand the jury decision that EchoStar digital video recorders infringe a Tivo patent,and immediately enjoined continued sale of allegedly infringing DVRs. The injunction would also require that allegedly infringing DVRs in consumer homes be shut off within 30 days.
We are pleased the Court concluded EchoStar did not act in bad faith and did not copy Tivo's technology, and we intend to continue our vigorous defense of this case. We believe that, for a number of reasons, the Texas Court should be reversed in all other respects on appeal. We also continue to work on modifications to our new DVRs, and to our DVRs in the field, intended to avoid future infringement. Existing DISH Network customers with DVRs are not immediately impacted by these recent developments, and we will keep consumers informed as events develop. We hope to have additional information for our customers very soon."
http://www.wams.de/appl/newsticker2/index.php?channel=fin&module=smarthouse&id=423520
A judge has ordered EchoStar to disable the digital video recorders used by several million subscribers to its Dish satellite TV service because they infringe on patents held by TiVo.
I just don't understand why someone in business, takes the kind of chances Charlie does. He flies in the face of the law on DNS, basically taunting the government to do something about it, and then violates intellectual property rights on products he sells and then "wonders why he is being picked on."
No one or company is perfect and mistakes are made all of the time (and sometimes on purpose), but Charlie's "it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission" attitude goes well beyond belief just to make a buck. He is loosing DNS and now most of his DVR's in one fell swoop. How much PR damage and more importantly, how much damage to the bottom line will this cause. This will more than likely cause huge churn numbers and people who will not come back or take his service in the future for any reason.
If I didn't know better, I would swear his actions are those of someone on the verge of bankruptcy. I just don't get it. Is he THAT insecure or greedy or just plain stupid?
I just don't understand why someone in business, takes the kind of chances Charlie does. He flies in the face of the law on DNS, basically taunting the government to do something about it, and then violates intellectual property rights on products he sells and then "wonders why he is being picked on."
No one or company is perfect and mistakes are made all of the time (and sometimes on purpose), but Charlie's "it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission" attitude goes well beyond belief just to make a buck. He is loosing DNS and now most of his DVR's in one fell swoop. How much PR damage and more importantly, how much damage to the bottom line will this cause. This will more than likely cause huge churn numbers and people who will not come back or take his service in the future for any reason.
If I didn't know better, I would swear his actions are those of someone on the verge of bankruptcy. I just don't get it. Is he THAT insecure or greedy or just plain stupid?
Boy would I like to make a political comparison here. It's that "cowboy" mentality.
New thread created to discuss the E* DVR situation:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=712483
I appreciate the new thread, posg, but it you repost stuff from here directly (and it is certainly fine to do that) please at least let folks know that it was posted here first.
An awful lot of of people don't know this thread exists and I work my ass off to build awareness.
Not only did I post that original story but quickly found the judge's quote and the Dish reaction.
I always link the source on this thread. It would have been courteous of you to link to this thread when starting a new one using information found here.
I appreciate the new thread, posg, but it you repost stuff from here directly (and it is certainly fine to do that) please at least let folks know that it was posted here first.
An awful lot of of people don't know this thrad exists and I work hard to slowly build awareness.
Sorry, certainly will do so in the future. I for one truely appreciate your efforts. :)
DoubleDAZ
08-18-06, 11:20 AM
You can edit the post in your new thread to add a referral. :)
Charlie's lawyers are not having a good year.
He has been blitzed by the DNS judgment and now this. But then the lawyers have apparently had little ammunition to fight with.
And this TiVo decision is no surprise. The original came out back in April and EchoStar -- from what I can tell -- has made no effort whatsoever to abide by it.
Now it wants a federal court to save its bacon. Maybe it will get its injunction. I am no lawyer. But there certainly seems to be a pattern of behavior here that in a larger company most of us would find reprehensible.
I basically agree with foxeng.
In case after case and year after year Charlie has shown himself not to be a visionary or a freedom fighter but apparently just a high-tech big business version of a common thief.
And it is sad.
You can edit the post in your new thread to add a referral. :)
Done !!! :)
Some of the Wall Street Journal’s coverage:
“…TiVo, an Alviso, Calif., company that is credited with introducing DVR technology, said it is "pleased" with the decision.
"This decision recognizes that our intellectual property is valuable and will ensure that moving forward EchoStar will be unable to use our patented technology without our authorization," the company said in a prepared statement....
Analysts said Thursday's decision could have a significant material impact on EchoStar's third-quarter and possibly fourth-quarter results.
DVRs, which let viewers pause and rewind live TV, record shows and skip through commercials, are becoming an increasingly important feature for pay-TV providers. The service is particularly important to satellite TV providers, since satellite is limited in its abilities to offer other interactive services such as video on demand.
If EchoStar can't get an emergency stay on the injunction within the next 30 days, it will be forced to shut down the service and risk losing many customers. Now would be a time for EchoStar to try to negotiate a settlement with TiVo, but "even if they are able to settle, costs could be much higher than previously anticipated," Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein said in a note Friday.
Also, TiVo may not want to settle, said Tom Eagan, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. By not negotiating, TiVo could pressure cable operators such as Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) cable unit or Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) which offer competing DVRs, into a licensing agreement, Eagan reasoned. TiVo already has licensing agreements with DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV) as well as Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), the country's largest cable operator.
EchoStar said it is working on a technical solution to the infringement issue, but analysts doubted the company could come up with anything before the end of the quarter. “
Charlie's lawyers are not having a good year.
He has been blitzed by the DNS judgment and now this. But then the lawyers have apparently had little ammunition to fight with.
And this TiVo decision is no surprise. The original came out back in April and EchoStar -- from what I can tell -- has made no effort whatsoever to abide by it.
Now it wants a federal court to save its bacon. Maybe it will get its injunction. I am no lawyer. But there certainly seems to be a pattern of behavior here that in a larger company most of us would find reprehensible.
I basically agree with foxeng.
In case after case and year after year Charlie has shown himself not to be a visionary or a freedom fighter but apparetly just a high-tech big business version of a common thief.
And it is sad.
My total disrespect for Dish stems from trying to disconnect my mother's
Dish Network service following her death.
They would not discontinue her service until I mailed them a Certificate of Death, then the bastards wouldn't even prorate it back to date of death, or even the date I originally called in the request!!!! I'm only thankful there wasn't a programming contract involved. Unbelievable.
EchoStar Announces Federal Circuit Blocks Tivo Injunction
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 18, 2006--EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) issued the following statement regarding recent developments in the Tivo Inc. v. EchoStar Communications Corp. lawsuit:
"We are pleased that this morning, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. temporarily blocked an injunction issued by a Texas Court, while it considers a longer-term stay of that injunction.
As a result of the stay EchoStar can continue to sell, and provide to consumers, all of its digital video recorder models. We continue to believe the Texas decision was wrong, and should be reversed on appeal. We also continue to work on modifications to our new DVRs, and to our DVRs in the field, intended to avoid future alleged infringement."
Nielsen Notebook
Young lust at dusk: 'Barrera de Amor''
Univision telenovela shoots up in the ratings
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Aug 18, 2006
Compared to English-language primetime soap operas like the WB’s “One Tree Hill,” where kids basically bed-hop blithely from week to week, Univision’s telenovela plots are surprisingly complex.
Maite, who was brutally raped by Adolfo, wanted to marry Luis Antonio, but instead bears Adolfo’s child while Luis Antonio faces jail for beating Adolfo, his former best friend, senseless.
Years later, Maite’s daughter Valeria meets up with Luis Antonio’s son, Andres, at an elite boarding school, where they’re joined by Valeria’s half-sister, Veronica, who has multiple personality disorder. They’re best friends, they don’t know they’re sisters, and they’re both in love with Andres, who wants to be a bull fighter but is keeping it secret from his disapproving dad.
And that’s merely some of the background for Univision’s “Barrera de Amor” (Barrier of Love), its 9 p.m. show that has been on the rise of late among teenagers. Though the juicy storylines certainly have something to do with that jump, it’s also benefiting from a lack of similarly juicy fare on younger-skewing UPN and the WB this summer.
Last week, the week ended Aug. 13, “Amor” averaged 291,000 teen viewers ages 12-17, its best average weekly audience ever since its April debut.
It placed third or better in its 9 p.m. timeslot three times against English-language broadcast competition, even tying for second place with CBS’s “CSI” on Thursday.
For sure, “Amor” has gotten a lift from its lead-in, top-rated Hispanic show “La Fea Mas Bella” at 8 p.m. Since “Bella” premiered in late spring, pushing “Amor” from 8 to 9 p.m., “Amor’s” ratings have doubled on some nights among teens.
But “Amor’s” ratings bump also speaks to the serious dearth of young-skewing programming this summer, when the WB and UPN have essentially given up before merging into the CW this fall.
In summers past, both networks offered new shows, such as the WB’s soapy “Summerland,” that appealed to teens. With no new programming from either this summer, their reruns are faring terribly among teens, some of whom are young Hispanics who watch both English and Spanish programming.
Between them, UPN and the WB had just four shows average above a 1.0 rating in 12-17s last week. By comparison, “Amor” averaged a 1.2 for five episodes.
This could mean good things for Univision among teens come fall. The Big Four broadcast networks don’t target the younger end of 12-34s, and now just one network, the CW, will instead of two.
Thus though Univision’s 18-49 and 18-34 ratings may fall off after this impressive summer, it could remain strong among teens.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_6735.asp
Cable TV Notebook
What viewers really want on cable TV
By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Aug 18, 2006
Every few months, Beta Research, a market research company in Syosset, N.Y., releases a study about consumers’ awareness of and interest in various cable networks. Later that day, the cable networks themselves invariably send out releases trumpeting their desirability among former digital basic cable subscribers or some other obscure segment of the TV viewing population. One might think, based on these studies, that consumers are mighty eager to get low-profile specialty networks on their basic cable, but the reality is quite different. Consumers who express an interest in these channels don’t necessarily want to subscribe to them. What’s more, the new and emerging networks that they are interested in tend to come from the big names in cable: ESPN, Discovery, Lifetime and the like. In the company’s most recent study, released two weeks ago, cable subscribers ranked three Discovery networks, Science Channel, Discovery Home and History International, in the top five, along with one, No. 1 Fox Movie Channel, owned by News Corp. The same pattern was evident with the top seven mid-sized networks, five of which were associated with big cable names. Andy Klein, president of the cable TV division of Beta Research, talks with Media Life about why interest doesn’t equal subscriptions, what makes a network desirable to viewers, and the rising interest in video on demand.
How likely are people who say they are interested in getting a channel to actually go out there and get it?
Obviously, for many satellite and cable companies, non-premium networks are part of a package and you often can't buy them individually like apples. In our studies measuring perceived value, we have found that very few people would be willing to pay separately for individual basic networks.
As part of a basic package, a majority of a network’s viewers rate the network important to their enjoyment of cable but are not willing to pay a separate fee for the network.
What makes a network desirable to people? That is, have they usually heard of these networks, or do they just hear a branded name (such as Lifetime Movie Network) and get excited?
Two things: Networks with strong brand identities that tend to have a clear programming focus. And new digital networks developed from networks with a strong branded name such as Lifetime, Discovery, ESPN, MTV, Nick, National Geographic, etc., also score high. Many of these strong brands also have a clear identity.
Why do emerging/digital networks with clear programming focus and identity generate the most consumer interest?
Because the concept of the network is easy to understand. Many TV viewers like the idea of being able to watch a specific program genre/type (e.g. movies, sports, children's programming, etc.) whenever they wish.
Have you seen a rise in interest in video on demand networks over the past few years? Do viewers really understand what these networks do?
The percent with interest in video on demand in general was 38 percent in 2006, a similar 39 percent in 2005, a significantly lower 30 percent in 2004. About 67 percent of cable subs are aware of video-on-demand, but a measurable 33 percent are not aware. So a sizeable segment of viewers may not fully understand the benefits of [such] networks.
How do you categorize networks -- such as emerging or mid-sized, etc.?
Major networks are those with over 70 million subs; mid-sized nets have 41 to 70 million subs, emerging nets have less than 40 million subs.
Is there a big difference between awareness of networks between cable and satellite subscribers?
Awareness of major and mid-sized networks was high among both groups. Awareness of emerging/digital networks was higher among satellite subscribers.
Speaking of which, is it hard to find people who don't have cable? How about former cable subscribers?
It is very hard to find people who don't have cable or satellite. We use the firm Survey Sampling to provide sample lists.
Which networks would you say really stood out in this latest survey?
Among cable subscribers age 18 and over, emerging networks ranking the highest in viewing interest were Fox Movie Channel, Hallmark Movie Channel, Science Channel, Discovery Home, History International, Biography Channel, Weatherscan, NFL Network, IFC and DIY. National Geographic Channel, Lifetime Movie Network, Discovery Health Channel and Superstation WGN were the top-ranked mid-sized networks.
However, other networks ranked high among specific audience segments. For example, NFL Network, CSTV and ESPN U ranked high among men, specific MTV and Nickelodeon digital nets ranked high among teens, etc.
How much difference in response do you generally see in these surveys from year to year? Do a lot of networks move around?
Rankings of most networks are fairly stable.
How is this study used by cable operators?
The Beta Cable Subscriber Interest Study can be used as one factor in many in the decisions to add or retain specific networks in digital cable packages. The Beta Non-Subscriber to Cable Study can be used to determine which cable and digital cable network concepts are most appealing to specific non-subscriber segments, including persons who have never subscribed to cable, former cable subs and DBS subs.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_6701.asp
Prime-time ratings for Thursday – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.
Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Sweetest swan song for NBC's 'Talent'
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Aug 18, 2006
“So You Think You Can Dance” may have dominated “America’s Got Talent” in adults 18-49 all summer, but among total viewers, NBC’s talent will waltz away the big winner.
“Talent’s” first-season finale averaged 11.8 million total viewers last night at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen fast nationals, the broadcast networks’ best showing in total viewers since the Major League Baseball All-Star Game last month.
Among 18-49s, “Talent” averaged a 3.5 rating, its best Thursday showing of the season. It bettered its usual Thursday average of 2.5 by 40 percent and was up 30 percent over last week.
“Talent” won its timeslot in adults 18-49, though only by 0.2 over a rerun of CBS’s “CSI,” which also had its best performance in weeks. That may owe to the fact that Fox showed football last night instead of “Dance.” “Dance” had dominated the slot up to its final Thursday appearance two weeks ago.
“Dance” averaged a 4.3 final rating and 10.65 million total viewers for Wednesday’s finale. Thus far it’s the summer’s highest-rated finale in 18-49s. The penultimate episode of “Talent” that same night averaged a 3.3 rating and 11.63 million total viewers.
Bianca Ryan, the 11-year-old golden-voiced crooner, won the $1 million grand prize on the Simon Cowell-produced show, which returns to NBC at midseason.
Meanwhile, CBS was No. 1 for the night among 18-49s with a 2.9 rating and 9 share, followed by ABC at 2.6/8, NBC at 2.5/8, Fox at 2.1/7, Univision at 1.8/5, WB at 0.8/2 and UPN at 0.6/2.
At 8 p.m., CBS was No. 1 at 2.7 for "Big Brother 7: All-Stars," ahead of a 2.2 for Fox's NFL exhibition game, and 2.0 each for ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" rerun, NBC's reruns of "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office," and Univision's "La Fea Mas Bella." The WB's "Smallville" repeat averaged a 0.8, followed by UPN's reruns of "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Love, Inc." at 0.7.
At 9 p.m., NBC took the lead at a 3.5 for the "Talent" season finale, followed by CBS's "CSI" repeat at 3.3, ABC "Grey's" repeat at 2.8, Fox's NFL game at 2.1, Univision's "Barrera de Amor" at 1.8, WB's "Supernatural" repeat at 0.7 and UPN's reruns of "Eve" and "Cuts" at 0.6.
At 10 p.m., ABC's "Primetime" led at 3.1, ahead of CBS's "Without a Trace" rerun at 2.7, NBC's "Windfall" at 2.2, its best rating in weeks, Fox's NFL game at 2.1 and Univision's "Aqui y Ahora" at 1.5.
Among households, CBS led for the night at a 6.2 rating and 11 share, followed by ABC at 5.5/9, NBC at 4.9/9, Fox at 4.1/7, Univision at 2.1/4, WB at 1.2/2 and UPN at 1.1/2.
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_6759.asp
Note: There are minor spoilers in this story. You have been warned.
The 2006-2007 Season
Getting out was the easy part:
Season 2 of 'Prison Break'
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher”
In Season 1 of “Prison Break,” inmate Michael Scofield had to outwit the hulking prison that held him and his brother. Thanks to his ingenuity and to clues woven into his elaborate tattoos, he prevailed, and eventually sprang himself and his brother Lincoln Burrows, along with six other Fox River Penitentiary inmates.
In the second season of the Fox show, which premieres at 8 PM ET/PT Monday, Scofield’s adversaries are many -- being the most famous wanted man in America does not make for a pleasant life on the outside -- but chief among them is Agent Alexander Mahone, the FBI agent on the trail of Scofield and the other escaped prisoners.
Mahone is played to excellent effect in Season 2 by “Invasion’s” charismatic star, William Fichtner, and as it turns out, the character wasn’t in the original game plan of the “Prison Break” writing staff.
“We went to the network and pitched our version of Season 2,” says “Prison Break” executive producer Matt Olmstead. “It was met favorably, but one thing they suggested - actually it was [Fox entertainment president] Peter Liguori who suggested it - [was having an investigator with integrity like Mahone].
"He said, `Who is the guy who is pursuing the convicts who is not corrupt?’ There’s [Secret Service agent Paul] Kellerman, who’s obviously part of the conspiracy and is ruthless and who has his own agenda, then there’s [prison guard Brad] Bellick, who’s got his own agenda based on vengeance. Who’s the guy … like the Tommy Lee Jones character in `The Fugitive’?”
Hence the creation of Mahone, who is as relentlessly focused on catching Scofield as the inmate was in getting out of Fox River.
“We didn’t want to overload the show with too many antagonists -- if there are too many people pursuing them, [the pursuers] are rendered inept because they’re not all catching our convicts, and you can only have so many close calls,” Olmstead said. “The new character is right away the flip side of Michael Scofield -- Michael gets a sense very early on that there’s a guy on his trail who’s very formidable.”
Other changes will soon unfold on the drama, which was filmed in and around the former Joliet Correctional Center last year, but is now shot in the Dallas area. For one thing, according to Olmstead, three characters on the show won’t survive past the first seven episodes of the season.
Also, the role of the president’s brother was recast, and Patricia Wettig, who played a scheming vice president who ascended to the nation’s top job, may or may not make an appearance on “Prison Break” in Season 2. Olmstead says the show’s producers may have Wettig make appearances if they can, but the actress has been cast in the fall drama “Brothers and Sisters.”
But it sounds as though Paul Adelstein, a veteran of Chicago’s theater scene, will have a lot to do on “Prison Break” this season. According to Olmstead, Adelstein’s character, Kellerman, begins to sense that the president is hanging him out to dry for his role in her evil conspiracy.
“He was her right-hand man, her main point guy out there,” Olmstead notes. “With her ascending to the presidency, access to her is much more exclusive. We’ve established her as a cunning, ambitious character and now that she’s gotten what she wants, she has no great allegiance to the guy who got her there. He’s increasingly out in the cold. … Initially with the second season, we have a bunch of episodes about the escapees and their flight. We’ll have time for [the conspiracy stories] in the latter half of the season, and that will be told through Kellerman.”
Below is a transcript of my interview with Olmstead. Be aware that the interview contains some spoilers for Season 2.
I’ll try not to give you too hard a time about the production of the show leaving Chicago.
"We feel terrible about that. The main thing was, in Season 2, they’re on the run. We really had to get a lot of areas that would double as small-town America. And I’m sure you’re familiar with that [union rule] about zones, [in Chicago] we had hour-and-a-half and two-hour van rides to get to locations. In Dallas, we have a lot more within the zone [in which we need to work]. It really came down to a financial thing."
So, how would you compare Dallas in August versus Joliet in January?
“Well, the last day of filming in Joliet, it was seven below [zero]. The first day of shooting in Dallas it was around 100 degrees. If you ask the cast and crew, they prefer the heat to the cold. The cold was just paralyzing.
"Plus, when they were filming out there [in Joliet], they weren’t out there in parkas. They were in pants and T-shirts and thermals. They were just getting killed in Joliet. Even though it’s unbelievably hot in Dallas, the word I’m getting is that they prefer the heat as far as the weather issue goes.”
Was there an issue in your mind with recasting the vice president’s brother? Because John Billingsley wasn’t really seen in that role much.
“Right, there was no issue at all there.”
But regarding Patricia Wettig [who played a villainous vice president who ascended to the presidency] -- she’s attached to “Brothers and Sisters” now. Is that an issue for the show?
“It’s more about the [Agent] Kellerman issue [now]. He was her right-hand man, her main point guy out there. The way were doing it is that essentially, with her ascending to the presidency, access to her is much more exclusive. We’ve established her as a cunning, ambitious character and now that she’s gotten what she wants, she has no great allegiance to the guy who got her there. He’s increasingly out in the cold.
“So far it’s worked out great, initially with the second season we have a bunch of episodes about the escapees and their flight, [more] than going into full story lines of the conspiracy side of things. We’ll have time for that in the latter half of the season, and that will be told through Kellerman. We’re up through episode 10 now, and we’re telling the story we wanted to tell.”
If she was available for a day or two here and there, would you use her in Season 2?
“Absolutely, we would. Her deal is that if she’s not working for that show, she can work for our show.”
So it’s sounding like if there’s fallout from the conspiracy, it blows back more on Kellerman than anyone.
“Exactly. Now it becomes, ‘OK, I was protected by her, now I basically have no access to her. He’s a smart guy. Self-preservation becomes the thing at the top of his list.”
So does Kellerman start tracking the fugitives on his own, or what?
“He’s still affiliated with the Secret Service, so he has all those resources. He has a definite plan of how to get to Scofield and Burrows. He goes after [Dr.] Sara [Tancredi], essentially, since he correctly assumes that [she and Michael] may be in contact. [It’s interesting], the way he ingratiates himself into her life.”
That famous Kellerman charm?
“Charm and deceit. He’s got those in spades.”
So as the season goes forward, Sara and Michael are in contact?
“Certainly he carries a lot of guilt. She clearly did him a big favor and now she’s facing the consequences of that. This guy isn’t heartless. He knows that he put her in a bad spot. His first priority is to get to safe ground. But once that’s accomplished, he wants to make it right with Sara. He still wants to do that.”
So Stacy Keach will not be in much of Season 2?
“No, we really get away from Fox River. Scofield wants to leave Fox River as quickly as he can.”
But [prison guard Brad] Bellick is going after those prisoners any way he can.
“Yeah, he’s going to try to get them. Basically they’re responsible for him losing his job and being kind of humiliated. He wants to get Scofield more than he’s wanted anything ever in his life.”
So how will the season play out, will the prisoners break into different groups and then be brought back together at various times?
“We’ll follow different threads, then find ways to bring them together as a group. Different characters will be together, then break apart and as we’re breaking the stories, we’re finding ways to have their paths cross.”
Are you at all concerned about losing that group dynamic you had when the guys were all in one place together?
“Yeah, but conversely it would really stretch credibility to have them all together all the time. I mean, Woody Allen did that [in ‘Take the Money and Run’], that would obviously be a joke. We do keep characters together some of the time but they do split up to pursue the plans that we set up for them in Season 1. We have prewired [some of those individual goals] into the storytelling, the reasons that they split apart or come together.”
What about T-Bag? As the season begins, he seems to be in the worst shape. Will he ever get full use of his hand again?
[After the first two episodes] "he’s out of the woods, so to speak, in terms of the life or death aspect of that. It would be farfetched to think that’d he’d get real use of it again. But he’s a cockroach in every sense of the word [in terms of him being able to keep going].”
Has it taken you aback at all, the response to characters like T-Bag, the response to Wentworth and Rob and Dominic?
“The response has been amazing. Even Rob [Knepper, who plays T-Bag] mentioned when we first went on the air, he wondered if people would look at him like they looked at the woman who played the Wicked Witch [in ‘The Wizard of Oz’], he wondered whether he would be vilified. But he says 99 percent of the reactions he gets are really favorable. He brings such charm to the role, and he’s just so damn good.”
The new character that you’re bringing on in Season 2, FBI Agent Alexander Mahone [who is played by “Invasion’s” William Fichtner]. Was that always the plan to have a character like that in Season 2?
“Actually, it wasn’t. We went to the network and pitched our version of Season 2. It was met favorably, but one thing they suggested, actually it was [Fox entertainment president] Peter Liguori who suggested it, [was having a character like Mahone].
"He said, ‘Who is the guy who is pursing the convicts who is not corrupt?’ There’s Kellerman, who’s obviously part of the conspiracy and is ruthless and who has his own agenda, then there’s Bellick, who’s got his own agenda based on vengeance. Who’s the guy down the middle, like the Tommy Lee Jones character in ‘The Fugitive’? Who’s that guy?
“We didn’t want to overload the show with too many antagonists, if there are too many people pursuing them, they’re rendered inept because they’re not all catching our convicts, and you can only have so many close calls. The new character is right away the flip side of Michael Scofield -- Michael gets a sense very early on that there’s a guy on his trail who’s very formidable.
There’s a moment where Mahone is popping a pill. What’s that about?
“Mahone has certain things in his past, as far as what he’s done in the service of his country, things he’s done around the world -- he’s starting to hear footsteps from all of that. It doesn’t throw him off his game at all, but the sum total of his life does begin to present itself.”
So it’s not just a Fox thing, where the lead character has to pop Vicodin.
[Laughs] “No, it’s not a ‘House’ model.”
Here’s a completely tiny trivia question - the cap that Michael wears with a “C” on it in the first couple episodes, what’s the story behind that? Is it a team cap or something like that? It almost looks like it could be a Negro League logo, but I’ve never seen it before.
“That’s something the actor created, a little back story that [harks back to] a time when he was hanging out with his brother, happier times essentially. What that is, essentially the cap is open to interpretation.”
So as far as what characters make it in this season, are there going to be deaths?
“Yes. People go. In the first seven episodes, three main characters go, one way or another.”
And that’s all of the cast that you’re talking about, right, not just the escapees?
“Right, we’re talking about the whole cast there.”
And part of the story this season will center on Michael and Lincoln’s quest to help L.J., who’s in jail, right?
“Yes, one thing is certain, they want to get to a safe spot, but there’s no way Lincoln would have a moment’s peace [if L.J. were in danger, in prison, etc.]
And in the first season, Michael and Lincoln had Veronica helping them on the outside, will a situation like that exist this season regarding L.J.?
“[Michael and Lincoln] take the situation in their own hands, they see that they have to do it themselves.”
So how are you feeling about Season 2 in general?
“Overall, we’ve broken [the stories] through episode 10 and we feel really strongly about the rest of the season, we feel like we’re hitting on all cylinders. People said last year, ‘What will you do when they get out of prison, how will you sustain that? How do you keep that going without jerking the audience’s chain with close calls?’ But it all fell into place. And we have a really strong staff and we’re feeling really good.”
Just talking about the fall season in general, there are so many ensemble dramas with a strong serialized element. Do you feel like your show got in under the wire in terms of having that format last year, and do you think your show would have a harder time standing out this year?
“Yes and yes. I think we got in under the wire, and I do think we’d have a tougher time coming up against a real glut of serialized dramas. If we were to start out with a show called ‘Manhunt’ this year and we followed these characters [on their escape] through the woods and so forth -- there would be no good will for these characters, no investment in them. But since we have a year under our belt, there is that investment in the characters, so we absolutely have that momentum going in. That said, we’re very glad that we premiered when we did.”
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/08/getting_out_was.html#more
The 2006-2007 Season
TV to make fans work for it
By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News August 18, 2006
PASADENA - The mantra of television network executives long has been: Wrap it up in an hour. Find me the next ``CSI'' or the next ``Law & Order.''
That is changing.
The networks' fall schedules are loaded with new series built on complex, continuing stories all but demanding that viewers keep watching to keep up.
Network TV has ``to have more `appointment television,' '' says Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. ``You have to have shows that people need to watch'' every week ``or it's going to be ruined for them.''
The impetus for this shift comes partly from the success of such high-commitment dramas as ``Lost'' and ``24,'' partly from the even bigger success of such serialized reality shows as ``American Idol.'' It reflects a shifting terrain in which broadcast TV is scrambling for fresh ways to stem the encroachment of cable and other entertainment options, most notably the Internet.
The change comes at a time of change in the way viewers -- particularly younger viewers -- watch TV, with DVDs, iPod downloads, video on demand and Webcasts supplementing or replacing traditional viewing. So far, serialized dramas have been the most popular network content on those platforms.
``Our whole distribution model is shifting,'' says Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment. ``The new revenue streams are very well suited to serialized shows, so that's part of what's driving it.''
Reilly notes that the networks no longer can count on viewers tuning in simply because they have nothing better to watch or do. ``It has become very difficult to get the audience's attention. We know that there's no bigger hook than serialization with a compelling show.''
The serial is hardly new to television.
Soap operas have been a staple of daytime TV for decades and also dominated prime time in the 1980s and early 1990s with such shows as ``Dallas.'' More traditional dramas, from ``Hill Street Blues'' in the 1980s to the modern-day ``ER,'' have had ongoing character relationships and storylines playing out over several episodes.
What's different this season is the sheer volume of such shows and the emphasis on the creation of stories that span whole seasons or the entire run of a series.
The new array of shows cuts through a range of genres: crime thrillers (NBC's ``Kidnapped,'' ABC's ``The Nine''), sci fi (CBS's ``Jericho''), fugitives on the run (the CW's ``Runaway''), the caper drama (CBS's ``Smith'') and the telenovela (ABC's ``Ugly Betty'').
There is even a half-hour comedy series, ABC's ``Big Day,'' that takes place entirely on a young couple's wedding day. And the new MyNetwork TV -- made up of local stations left out after the merger of the WB and UPN earlier this year -- only will show Americanized telenovelas, with a new episode airing daily and stories ending in 13 weeks.
``When networks began buying serials in the wake of `Lost,' it thrilled Hollywood scriptwriters because that's what we want to write,'' says veteran TV writer Carol Barbee, now working on ``Jericho.''
But while the writers may be thrilled, the serial style presents problems, not only for those who create the series but also for the network executives who schedule them.
Repeat episodes don't do well in the ratings, and fans often complain when there are too many rebroadcasts between original episodes, so instead of spreading out the usual 22 episodes over a 36-week TV season with a scattering of repeats, the serials are shown in one block (``24'') or in two segments with no repeats (``Prison Break'' and ``Lost'' this season). That means the networks have to figure how to fill in big blocks of time with other programming.
Writers face the need to craft the serials in ways that allow those coming late to the party to enjoy the festivities.
Veteran producer-writer John Wells (``The West Wing''), who is executive producer of CBS's ``Smith,'' says, ``You want to involve your frequent viewers, and you don't want to push away your infrequent viewers. It's a balancing act and it's very difficult to do.''
Network executives believe that new means of delivering the shows -- video on demand, IPod, online downloads -- may help resolve the problems of people who are interested in a serialized series but missed the first few episodes. Most of the networks have plans to offer at least the early installments of their more complex new dramas for free online or on VOD to pull in those who want to catch up.
``I think that will be an enormous help to us,'' suggests Jason Smilovic, creator of the new ``Kidnapped.''
``The people who come to a series early on will tell their friends, and we're hoping to build an audience through that kind of snowball effect. The technology gives people a chance to catch up.''
What new technology doesn't resolve is how many of these shows people are willing to commit to watching each and every week.
``You're asking a lot of an audience to be there every week or they'll lose the show,'' says Jonathan Littman, who now oversees production of such hit series as ``Without A Trace.'' ``I don't have time for that. I don't think most people do.''
Jane Gruber, a working mother of one from San Jose, considers herself a ``devoted'' TV watcher who carves out time every week for such serials as ``Desperate Housewives'' and ``24.''
But she doubts she has room for any more every-week commitments, saying, ``There are only so many hours in a day.''
Which brings up the one thing that frustrates viewers most about serials: What happens when a show they've invested in gets canceled before the central storyline is resolved?
Several serialized dramas failed last season, disappearing with no payoff for their audiences about who the murderer was or whether the alien threat to Earth was thwarted. Even if the audiences are small, that can mean millions of unhappy viewers.
``These are our customers,'' says Reilly. ``We don't like pissing off the customers and we take that very seriously, particularly in this day and age of competition.''
Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori adds that ``given the proliferation of serialized shows, I think all of us have to ask the question: What do we do if these shows don't work?''
``We have to have some plans that say: How do we give the audience some satisfaction? If we don't, will audiences be really gun-shy about committing to these shows?''
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/television/15303534.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
The Business of TV
Exclusive! Fox Offers Free Primetime Programs on Web
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 8/18/2006
Fox Entertainment Group is offering free prime-time programming on the web sites of nine of its 24 biggest owned and operated stations, marking the first time ever that local stations will stream network programming on their web sites.
Fox Digital Media has teamed with Toyota to be the exclusive ad sponsor for select episodes of Fox entertainment series from Fox's 20th Century Fox Studios, including returning shows Prison Break and Bones, and older shows such American Dad, The Loop and Stacked.
They are available for free through the new "Fox on Demand" on the station web sites in New York (WNYW), Los Angeles (KTTV), Boston (WFXT), Dallas (KDFW), Washington, DC (WTTG), Tampa Bay (WTVT), Orlando (WOFL), Birmingham (WBRC) and Greensboro (WGHP). Fox is also in talks with its affiliates to offer them a similar streaming video player.
The deal is the latest in a series of online moves by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Fox, which earlier this week announced it will sell digital downloads of some of its series on MySpace and other Fox sites, now joins ABC and CBS in streaming free, ad-supported episodes. Fox is alone in streaming those shows on the O&O web sites, rather than on the main Fox homepage.
The company decided to stream first on the stations’ web sites because it offers the opportunity to target ads locally, says Senior Vice President, Fox Digital Media Matthew Glotzer. Also, the stations can promote the shows throughout the day, even when they are not airing network programming, he said.
For the complete Broadcasting & Cable exclusive story, go here:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364043
(Note: all times are Central)
Critic’s Notebook
The joys of 'Psych'
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” August 18, 2006
If you haven’t seen “Psych” yet, I highly recommend last week’s episode, which reruns 5 p.m. Saturday on USA Network, as part of a marathon of every episode of the show that begins at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. (There's also a new episode of the show at 9 p.m. Friday).
Last week’s outing is called “Weekend Warriors,” and it involves the adventures of fake psychic Shawn Spencer and his pal Burton “Gus” Guster, who solve a murder among a bunch of Civil War reenactors. It’s a hoot.
“Psych,” in which Spencer pretends to be a psychic but uses his powers of observation to solve crimes, is really a comedy masquerading as a murder mystery, and I find it a highly enjoyable comedy at that. It’s not just that the writing is funny, or that the performances are enjoyably lighthearted or that the cast has genuine chemistry – it’s all of that. The entire tone of the show, which is as fizzy and irreverent as can be, is a draw.
For one thing, despite being filmed in Vancouver, “Psych” is suffused in a golden glow that gives the show a lightness that is a wonderful counterpoint to the many dark, even bloodsoaked dramas that are all over television. Now, I love many of those dark dramas, but watching “Psych” is like downing a sweet gelato after consuming course after course of heavy meats and stews.
But there are so many other things to love. Somehow star James Roday, who plays Spencer, is able to give a comic spin to the most mundane lines of dialogue. In “Weekend Warriors,” Gus is promised he’ll get an outfit like Denzel Washington’s regal “Glory” ensemble. So he dons his re-enactors uniform, which is sort of shapeless and makes him look like a band geek, Spencer says, one eyebrow ever so slightly raised, “Dude, you look awesome.”
Tart, deadpan silliness: Roday delivers it by the bucketful, and it’s never less than amusing. It’s even sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, as when Spencer, in his Civil War garb, introduces himself as Captain Crunch. Trust me, it’s all in the delivery.
Another scene has Spencer and Gus making a key discovery about the case; they start jumping up and down with excitement, then instantly begin fighting over who solved the crime first. Spencer bounces his hand off Gus’ shoulder and says “Tap, tap, no take backs!”
The two sometimes act like a couple of bickering 8 year olds (which flashbacks show they once were), but Roday and co-star Dule Hill, manage to make the friends’ occasional -- OK, somewhat pervasive -- immaturity amusing.
I’ve raved about Hill’s performance elsewhere, but I must say it again – he’s so much more than a straight man on “Psych.” He does to the straight-man pained reactions really well, but he’s also got great comic skills in his own right. His demeanor when Spencer tries to get him to participate in a Civil War battle -- as a black man -- is priceless, as is his facial expression when he fantasizes about dressing up to look like the majestic Denzel Washington. What he can do without saying a word is impressively hilarious.
Together, Roday and Hill have the kind of chemistry you just can’t manufacture; actors either have it or they don’t. My favorite moment of “Weekend Warriors” just might have been the outtake that can be found on the USA web site as a “Psych Out.”
It’s just Roday and Hill in their Civil War costumes, goofing on the song “Pass the Dutchie,” for no apparent reason. And for no apparent reason, it cracked me up when it played over the closing credits of the show.
Maybe that’s the secret of good comedy; you can’t really explain why it makes you laugh. It just does.
Now, that’s not to say that there aren't things that could be improved on “Psych.” I wouldn’t change a thing about Timothy Omundson’s performance as Carlton Lassiter, the continually irritated detective who’s determined to out Spencer as a fraud. I also dig Corbin Bernson as Spencer’s hard-bitten dad, and see a lot of potential in story lines exploring the Spencer family’s fraught dynamics (you have to wonder if Shawn’s got an even goofier brother out there somewhere).
But Maggie Lawson hasn’t been given enough of substance to do as detective Juliet O’Hara, and I find it a bit disconcerting that she looks almost exactly like her boss, Karen Vick, who's played by Kirsten Nelson (at least Vick is heavily pregnant, so for now we can tell the characters apart). And though later stories have been stronger, some of the early plots were on the thin side, not that plot matters much in this romp.
In any case, those are minor quibbles. There’s a reason “Psych” has been a solid hit for the USA Network. It’s the only detective comedy out there, it has a great lead cast and the writing on the show has only gotten better.
You don’t have to be a psychic to figure out why this charming show has been such a success.
http://tempo.typepad.com/entertainment_tv/
The Business of TV
EchoStar Gets Temporary Reprieve in DVR Case
By Jon Lafayette TVWeek.com August 18, 2006
EchoStar Communications Friday got a temporary reprieve from a federal judge's order that would force the satellite-television provider to switch off its customers' digital video recorders.
A U.S. District Judge in Texas today ordered the shutdown in a patent case brought by DVR pioneer TiVo Inc. and awarded TiVo $89.6 million in damages. EchoStar turned to an appeals court, which temporarily blocked the trial court's order while the panel considers the appeal.
About 4 million of EchoStar's 12.5 million subscribers have DVRs, and the ability to offer pause and playback functions is a key feature for the company as it competes for viewers with DirecTV Group Inc. and cable providers. TiVo shares rose after the trial-court ruling and EchoStar stock fell.
The appeals court decision will let EchoStar continue to offer DVRs while the TiVo case is litigated. EchoStar is seeking to reverse the lower court's decision and said it is working on modifications to its devices that will help it avoid future allegations of patent infringement.
"We are pleased that this morning, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. temporarily blocked an injunction issued by a Texas Court, while it considers a longer-term stay of that injunction," EchoStar said in a statement.
TiVo, which innovated DVR technology and since has seen its product copied by cable and satellite-TV providers, noted that the appeals court action today only spares EchoStar a DVR shutdown temporarily.
"The court stated that the temporary stay is not based on a consideration of the merits of EchoStar's request. This action is routine and is taken to give a court sufficient opportunity to decide if a stay should be in effect pending appeal," the company said in a statement.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=10573
(Updated with EchoStar legal loss in Florida)
The Business of TV
Judge Orders EchoStar To Shut Down DVRs Star
By Andy Pasztor The Wall Street Journal August 18, 2006
Satellite-television provider EchoStar Communications Corp. suffered significant setbacks in a pair of unrelated lawsuits that could require it to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, deactive the digital video recorders it provides to millions of subscribers and even potentially risk losing a large chunk of subscribers.
EchoStar is scrambling to appeal or reverse the two rulings, which involve long-pending patent infringement claims by TiVo Inc. and an equally drawn-out and complex programming dispute with some television networks.
In the TiVo case, which is potentially the more-significant one in the long term for EchoStar, a federal district judge in Texarkana, Tex., late Thursday ordered the company by mid-September to stop selling digital video recorders and turn off more than three million of the devices already installed in subscriber homes nationwide. The judge also increased EchoStar's penalty to $89.6 million, stemming from an April jury decision that the company willfully violated TiVo's patent for simultaneously recording and watching television channels.
By early Friday, Echostar's lawyers persuaded an appeals court to stay that ruling, pending further hearings. But at the very least, EchoStar officials "will now be negotiating with a gun to their heads" and ultimate settlement costs "could be much higher than previously anticipated," Craig Moffett, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., told investors in a note.
Separately, in a surprise decision involving beaming certain local sports programming and television channels to subscribers who live in other areas, a federal district judge in Miami on Thursday signaled he was ready to order EchoStar in roughly three weeks to shut off such signals to nearly one million subscribers. EchoStar has talked about appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it also has said shut-offs are likely this quarter. Wall Street analysts predict the most likely outcome is a settlement with broadcasters who filed the suit, perhaps amounting to $200 million or more.
While the legal battles potentially affect millions of EchoStar subscribers and could force major strategy and marketing shifts, industry officials and analysts believe the company still could negotiate resolutions of both issues without substantially affecting either its operations or finances.
But after years of relying on aggressive courtroom tactics and downplaying its likely exposure, Friday's developments indicate that EchoStar, the No. 2 U.S. satellite-to-home broadcaster with more than 12.5 million subscribers nationwide, may be running out of legal options in both cases. The Englewood, Colo. company is relying on video-recorder offerings to face stepped-up competition from cable-television providers enticing customers with expanded video programs and other services.
Wall Street Journal subscribers can read the complete story here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115591075030739375.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
TV Notebook
CNN/US leader Klein is an interviewer's dream
Commentary: Yes, he can be glib to a fault -- but don't bet against him
By Jon Friedman MarketWatch
(This profile of CNN/US President Jonathan Klein is the first of a two-part series on the cable news network.)
NEW YORK MarketWatch) - Jonathan Klein has a secret.
It spilled out when I interviewed the head of CNN's U.S. operations on Aug. 11. I'd asked him to list his dream guests for the network's most well known program, "Larry King Live." Klein promptly reeled off Osama bin Laden, Frank Sinatra and, in a mild surprise, screenwriter Robert ("Chinatown," "Shampoo") Towne. Then he startled me by naming "24" star Kiefer Sutherland.
"I worship him," Klein said animatedly. "I WANT TO BE HIM!"
On the other hand, perhaps Klein's lighthearted Mittyesque musing isn't so farfetched. Remember, federal agent Jack Bauer of "24" doesn't play by the rules as he stops bombs, assassination attempts and even viruses. Week after week, Sutherland draws a young demographic, looks cool and saves the world for capitalism -- all in one tidy hour.
What network president doesn't dream of embodying that character? Klein may be on to something here.
Irrepressible
Klein, 48, is happily irrepressible. As he talked about "24," CNN publicist Christa Robinson, who was sitting at the conference-room table with us, visualized how bizarre his words might look in print when taken at face value. "Oh, Jon!" Robinson sighed.
Klein just can't help himself. To his credit, he possesses an inherent self-confidence to say whatever is on his mind and THEN consider the consequences.
Still, his candor can be astonishing. Network presidents, for example, aren't supposed to criticize their channel's failures, such as CNN's much-loathed cacophony known as "Crossfire." When Klein pointed out it was no longer on the air, I blurted out: "Thank God."
Klein nodded and muttered, "That's how I felt."
A little later in the interview, he said proudly of CNN: "We make a lot of money" and called the network "a very profitable business." Then he turned to Robinson and asked (sheepishly, of course), "Can I say that?"
What can I say? The man is an interviewer's dream.
Beneficial
Klein was named to his post in November 2004 after serving as the CEO of TheFeedRoom, a broadband video company. Prior to that, he was a CBS News executive.
I think it's beneficial that Klein isn't the typical cookie-cutter, image-fixated television drone. With so much content available in podcasts and other digital advances, viewers will demand new and unexpected kinds of shows -- particularly in news because every network seems to carry the same programming.
Klein detests formulaic TV. "Sameness is poison," he told me. "If we offer generic, bland content, there is no reason to watch us." It should be no surprise that Klein positively revels in the uncommonly chaotic atmosphere surrounding Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room."
Perhaps the biggest victory of Klein's tenure has been the breakthrough performance of CNN's star anchor Anderson Cooper. He became an icon during the coverage of Hurricane Katrina largely by shrewdly bending the accepted rules of broadcast journalism. Cooper unabashedly became a part of a major news story by showing emotion on camera. Klein was thrilled.
Cooper is "a phenomenon," Klein gushed. "He combines breaking news, storytelling and in-depth reporting."
In fact, it may not be a stretch to suggest that Cooper is, to a degree, Klein's alter ego. I suspect that if Klein could be a crusading anchorman, he'd have Cooper's persona.
"There are no anchors I can think of like him," Klein said. "It's his freshness. He's not another blow-dried anchor."
To the woodshed
The Klein interview was an outgrowth of my rather snarky Aug. 7 column on CNN. I'd playfully dissed the gimmicky nature of the Time Warner unit's decision to hire Fidel Castro's daughter as a contributor.
The next day, Robinson invited me to meet Klein and talk about the network's strategy. That was an offer I couldn't refuse.
Robinson couldn't have been nicer. But I suspected that Klein wanted to take me "to the woodshed," as President Reagan had famously done with his Budget Chief David Stockman.
As it turned out, Klein had no hard feelings. When I earnestly began to explain to Klein that there was a reason why I had ragged on his network, he interrupted me.
"I know," he grinned broadly. "It's because you love us!"
Well, love, as they say, is a many-splendored thing. But I do want CNN to be regarded as a great network -- again -- like it was during Desert Storm in 1991. I have no rooting interest in CNN, mind you, but it was gratifying back then to see so much of the nation embrace a television network's journalistic excellence. That may have been the last time this happened.
Justification
No interview with a network president would be complete without a discussion of the ratings.
A savvy TV executive can make a set of statistics, especially when it comes to audience approval, say anything he or she wants. But Klein has ample justification to proclaim that CNN is on the right track when it comes to adding viewers.
Yes, CNN continues to lag rival Fox News, a fact of life that has persisted throughout the Bush presidency. But Klein is encouraged. "We want to grow our audience -- and we are," he declared. "We have a very large number of 'switchables,'" he added, referring to people whose viewing habits aren't tied to Fox or MSNBC
When I asked him why, then, CNN continued to trail Fox, even with the many positive changes he has instituted, Klein looked momentarily flummoxed. "I don't know," he said, "but we're going to change that."
Meanwhile, you can be sure that Klein will be trying to shake up CNN. At one point, I asked him if anything on the network made him cringe.
"NOTHING makes me cringe," he said. Then he gestured toward the phone on his desk which connects him to the production team. "When we fall into rote, I pick up the phone. Every minute matters."
Klein joked that his objective was to create "an 'American Idol' for news."
Then he shrugged and said, "I didn't watch much TV before I got this job." Like I said, he is an interviewer's dream. He's liable to say anything.
Klein is also as competitive as he is outspoken. He intends to win. Don't underestimate him.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BAB78F257-D222-46C0-BD81-86A6CCE7F12F%7D&siteId=mktw&print=true&dist=printTop
TV Notebook
Why CNN reminds me of the Democratic Party
By Jon Friedman MarketWatch
(This is the second and final installment in a series about CNN.)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- CNN reminds me of the Democratic Party.
Just like the Democrats, CNN can sometimes sound more idealistic than realistic. Plus, it comes up with lots of good ideas, boasts many stars and competes ferociously on the national stage -- with visions of past glory and dreams of dominance. But ultimately, CNN is to Fox News as the Democrats are to Republicans: ensconced unhappily in second place. Just as politicians count votes, broadcasters tally ratings points -- often to CNN's chagrin.
"The focus on ratings in general is misplaced," says CNN/US President Jonathan Klein. "This is, first and foremost, a battle for journalistic excellence."
More idealistic than realistic, remember? Yes, the television kingpin uttered those words with a straight face. No, I didn't see him crossing his fingers behind his back.
Seriously, Klein, 48, feels very proud of his colleagues -- and, indeed, he should feel free to stick his chest out. CNN, a unit of Time Warner, has invested a lot of its parent's dough to assemble a first-rate global reporting and production staff. It features such reliable and charismatic on-air stars as Nic Robertson and Christiane Amanpour abroad. Peter Bergen is rapidly becoming the most compelling voice when it comes to analyzing the ongoing worldwide terrorism story.
In the U.S., CNN has a very deep bench, too. John King, its long-time top White House reporter (and now a senior national correspondent), stands out in what I've regarded for many years to be television's finest Washington bureau.
Fortune's Andy Serwer, who appears regularly on CNN's breakfast-hour show, is the most analytical business-news commentator around -- and the same goes for the New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin, when the topic turns to legal matters.
Further, the lively "Reliable Sources," anchored by Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, is an hour-long look at journalism's weekly hits and (mostly) misses. The show stands out for its consistent excellence even though it faces stiff competition on Sunday mornings.
Perhaps only CNN would have the ambition to present a documentary such as "In the Footsteps of bin Laden." It will air on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m., Eastern.
So, with all of this firepower -- and powerful Time Warner bankrolling Klein's ambitious strategy -- where the heck did CNN go wrong in losing ground to Fox? And how can it leapfrog over its chief foe?
I suspect that Fox will remain No. 1 for as long as George W. Bush calls Crawford, Texas, -- I mean the White House -- his home. That's how strong a base Fox has built among supporters of the president. That's how high the mountain is that CNN must climb. Denali might prove easier to navigate.
"CNN has dramatically narrowed the gap in the 25-to-54 gap demo with Fox," said a CNN spokeswoman in New York (although Fox would surely disagree with those findings). CNN noted its progress during the "Anderson Cooper 360" and "The Situation Room" programs last month. Plus, Klein has said, "American Morning" is gaining share steadily this year.
Strategy
Klein's strategy hinges on four points: create momentum at the 10:00 p.m. news hour, gain market share in the morning, win on the weekends and re-assert dominance in the political coverage.
Klein said he is comfortable keeping CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, even though it could be argued that the power base of the network increasingly appears to be shifting to New York.
"In Atlanta, we have a talented, committed group," he said. He noted that it's "cost-efficient and "operationally efficient" to maintain a large staff in the hometown of CNN co-founder and 24-hour news visionary Ted Turner. And Klein pointed out that "the people down there seem happy" and called the morale of the Atlanta team "great."
In addition:
• When I told Klein I'd been hearing rumblings that Paula Zahn's CNN show might be in trouble, he replied: "I keep reading that, too." Then he stressed: "We're happy with her."
• On the future of "Larry King Live," Klein was clear that he didn't favor having anyone succeed the ageless talk-show king. "Larry created that niche. I have a feeling it leaves with Larry."
• Morning co-anchor Soledad O'Brien is doing so well that she "is blowing the doors down."
• The new CNN arrival, correspondent John Roberts who came over from CBS News, "has just wowed everyone."
• Miles O'Brien, the network's morning co-anchor, brings "such intelligence and breadth" to the show.
• Lou Dobbs, who has sparked tremendous controversy with his strident opinions particularly on immigration reform, is "brilliant, well versed, confident. He is the most influential political journalist" on the scene (and you still thought Dobbs anchored a BUSINESS show, eh?)
For all I know, Klein may secretly have concluded a point which most of the media universe treats as a fact of life. For all of his good intentions and tough talk, CNN most likely won't make any dramatic strides until the U.S. acts to have a Democrat living in the White House.
Just the same, it doesn't mean that CNN will go into hibernation and throw its collective hands up in frustration. Klein, no doubt, will continue to do whatever he can to take on Fox. He'll also maintain a measure of proportion about his task.
At one point during my interview with Klein, I asked him a question about MSNBC's prospects.
"I can't put myself in their shoes," he said with an ironic smile. "My job is tough enough."
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BC59AA060-A789-49D7-9AB6-81079BBBA8CE%7D&siteid=&print=true&dist=printTop
The 2006-2007 Season
First out of the box: Fox
Its successful breakout gives "Prison" a new start
By Maria Elena Fernandez Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 20, 2006
The fall TV season officially begins on Sept. 18, but Fox kicks off its new line-up Monday at 8 p.m. with the sophomore return of "Prison Break" and what the network hopes will be another action-adventure, thrill-a-minute-mystery, "Vanished," at 9 PM ET/PT ("24" returns in January.)
Sophomore year is typically easier in television — the characters and stories are established, the actors and crew have grown accustomed to one another, the writers have become familiar with the nuances of the actors, and the fans are hungry for more.
Not on Fox's "Prison Break." The first season introduced viewers to Michael (Wentworth Miller), who robbed a bank so he would be incarcerated with his brother, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell), who had been framed for the murder of the brother of the vice president of the United States and was awaiting execution. Michael enlisted the help of seven other prisoners in carrying out his plan to break out of Fox River State Penitentiary to save his brother's life. As the season unfolded, viewers learned of the elaborate political conspiracy that set up Lincoln to take the fall for a murder that never even took place. The vice president's brother, it turned out, was alive and well and hiding in Montana.
In its May finale, the Fox River Eight finally broke out, and while that was good for the convicts, it posed an unusual conundrum for the writers and producers. Instead of basking in first-season hit glow, "Prison Break" is remaking itself. No longer set in the former Joliet Correctional Center in Illinois, which served as Fox River State Penitentiary, the second season is filmed in and around Dallas but set Everywhere and Anywhere because the eight escapees have different promises to keep and different scores to settle, from Connecticut to Panama to Sardinia. In other words, "Prison Break" is practically a brand new show.
"In Season 1, we put all of our characters in the same crucible and turned up the heat beneath them and saw how they all have different reactions to the pressure," said creator and show runner Paul T. Scheuring. "They're not just going to travel the country together in this big scrum. They have different agendas. "
Meaning, the eight former prisoners — Michael and Lincoln, Sucre, C-Note, T-Bag, Abruzzi, Haywire and Tweener — are wearing civilian clothes, running through woods, jumping on moving trains and traveling the country's highways. It's all part of Scheuring's plan; his original pitch for the show included a two-season story arc that took the men to their respective corners.
"We're just following the characters and what their end games are and what their emotional issues are," Scheuring said. "We always knew where we were going to be in Season 2 in terms of story."
In its new Texas setting, "Prison Break" has lost its intimate, claustrophobic feeling. The prisoners are on the run, the country's vastness is at the disposal of the actors, and they say they are having the most fun they've had on the job. Just ask Purcell if he misses solitary confinement: "It's a depressing, dank, miserable place. I hated it. But it certainly helped my performance come out. Season 2, I am stoked about."
"It feels like a radically altered show," Miller said, "and the experience for me has been completely reinvigorating. We are no longer in the prison, which we were lucky to have access to but which took its toll emotionally and psychologically working in that environment day after day, month after month. It got to you. It now feels like a completely different universe."
So where is everybody going with prison guard Capt. Brad Bellick (Wade Williams), the corrupt Secret Service and FBI agent Mahone (a new character played by William Fichtner) at their heels? Well, as Scheuring tells it, Michael and Lincoln have several stops to make on their way to Panama; Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) wants to get to New York to stop his pregnant girlfriend from marrying his cousin; mob boss Abruzzi (Peter Stormare) is trying to flee the country; C-Note (Rockmund Dunbar) needs to get back to Chicago to his wife and daughter and quickly realizes he cannot stay there; Tweener (Lane Garrison) takes a cross-country journey; T-Bag, the murdering rapist, has unresolved romantic business, but his first priority is getting his hand reattached (Abruzzi cut it off in the season finale). And Haywire (Silas Weir Mitchell), the schizophrenic, has such grandiose escape plans that Scheuring declined to discuss them.
Knepper, whose T-Bag is the creepiest character on television, has moved his wife and son from Illinois to Dallas to be with him, which he says is helping him in his performance since both he and T-Bag are starting from scratch.
"I have to set up a home for my wife and child, and T-Bag is out in the world and his hand is cut off," he said. "In the prison, he was one of the rulers of that kingdom and he was in control. Now he is in an uncontrolled area and for an actor, that's better. When you're out of your safety net you have more choices because you're vulnerable."
The new season begins only hours after the finale left off, with Michael, Lincoln, Sucre, Abruzzi and C-Note on the run together, and T-Bag, Haywire and Tweener each on his own. Soon everyone except the brothers separates.
"I'm working a lot of scenes alone right now, and I miss my boys," Nolasco said. "Wentworth and I have that odd couple thing going on. You feel for these two. There's a very heartfelt scene when we say goodbye to each other and people are going to freak. It's feels like we're breaking up."
Follow the money
Although they may be far-flung because of their different agendas, the convicts have one thing in common: finding the $5 million that fellow con Charles Westmoreland (Muse Watson) confessed he had buried