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

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.

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. :)

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 in Utah as he was dying in the season finale, just as he was about to escape with the gang.

"Everybody's got a mission, but we have one thing that binds us together — the money," Nolasco said.

But Scheuring said not every escapee will be alive to fight for the cash. "The season is structured so that they phase in and out of each other's lives," he said. "A lot of people's lives cross again, and more than two of them die. People are going to be very shocked with what happens. Very early on you're going to realize that this is for keeps. The ramifications of the escape are quite serious, and they bit off way more than they anticipated when they did this thing. And they're going to get paid back in spades, and they're going to wish they could take it back."

The deaths should not surprise the show's fans, said Miller, pointing out the brutalities his character witnessed (a stabbing) and endured (two of his toes were cut off) during his first night in prison. "That's the tone we established from the start," Miller said. "I think that's a wake-up call to the audience that this is the universe we're going to be operating in and nobody's safe. The first season we had the luxury of a real prison at the center of the story, and that provided all kinds of terrors and challenges and obstacles. Now, we're on the run, and it's our job to ratchet up the tension as high as possible, and that means killing people off from time to time."

Brothers will be brothers

Being out in the world will give viewers new insight into the relationship between Lincoln and his little brother. Last year, Michael called all the shots, using an elaborate tattoo, which covers his torso and arms, as a cheat sheet to the prison's blueprints. On the run, Michael continues to turn to the tattoo for clues to places where he has stashed money, clothes and other important things they need for survival. But Lincoln's street smarts may out-do Michael's book smarts in the outside world.

"There's a certain brutality to Lincoln, but at the same time, there's a quality that seeks redemption," Purcell said. "As an audience, we want Lincoln to succeed. We're rebuilding a relationship before incarceration. There are moments where you see Lincoln and Michael laughing and bickering like siblings do."

But Michael has a lot more than his brother's safety on his mind. He is sad that Westmoreland died and he is ashamed of the way he manipulated the prison warden, a father figure, and the prison doctor, his love interest, to get what he wanted.

"Physically they are free, but emotionally and psychologically Michael is still behind bars," Miller said. "There's a lot back there that needs to be resolved, and I wouldn't be surprised if Michael winds up behind bars again at some point."

Of course, Scheuring, in the early planning stages of a third season, won't discuss the future of the brothers who are the heart of his first TV series. But if "Prison Break," which averaged 9 million viewers and was the season's No. 2 new drama, continues to succeed, Scheuring will be facing similar challenges next year. "The idea is for every year to reinvent the entire structure of the show."

Miller thinks he has it figured it out: "I have a dark sense of humor sometimes, and I've always suspected that the last shot of the series would be Michael behind bars because even if he does manage to clear his brother's name and unravel the government conspiracy, he did, in fact, rob a bank."

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-prison20aug20,0,3534287,print.story?coll=cl-tv-features

A quick thought on CNN.

The problem with CNN is that they pander way too much to a base that doesn't really exist; moderates. News isn't about being "moderate", it's about reporting the news, whether the news being covered slants to the right or to the left. It doesn't matter.

They became so frightened of being labeled a liberal network (Clinton News Network), they lost focus and tried way too hard to be moderate in their reporting.

In the end, they lost a good chunk of their audience, and unless they change are going to continue to have problems attracting a young demographic.

Just my two cents...

Hey, I am a "Moderate" and a "Democrat" and watched CNN morning to night. When CNN started being the mouth piece for the extreme wing of the Democratic Party, after the 2000 election, they lost me along with most "other moderates." FNC started beating CNN in 2002. That should tell you something.

Bottom line, it will take more than having a Dem in the White House before I will be going back to CNN. I left CNN because of CNN and nothing else. If they want me back, they have to show me more than what they are showing me now. Of course they don't care if I watch or not. Being in the industry, my household can't be a part of the ratings. Conflict of interest.

foxeng, Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck are the mouthpieces of the extreme wing of the Democratic Party? You've got to be kidding me.

foxeng, you aren't saying that FOXNews is more "moderate" than CNN are you?

FOXNews is ahead of everyone else because of one reason and one reason only, they don't BS. As much as I dislike the channel, and their reporting and newcast tactics, they don't fool around. They get their message out, they don't worry about trying to cater to both sides of the aisle. They have an agenda, and they stick to it.

There is an audience for that type of news, there is a significantly smaller audience of viewers that enjoy what CNN and MSNBC do.

Ok Fred, time to jump in here. :)

I agree, Dave.

Hey guys, let's stay off the political, OK?

I ran the articles on Jon Klein because I think his job -- trying to beat Roger Ailes -- is an interesting challenge which could effect TV news as we view it in a major way/.

Let's not rehash all the left-right stuff. We have all heard that many times before.

(Note: All times are Central.)
Critic’s Notebook
Katrina one year later:
What to watch
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher”

Hurricane Katrina, the aftermath of which was captured with such devastating immediacy by television cameras and on-the-spot reporters, struck almost one year ago. To commemorate the event, there are many specials, updates and news reports scheduled. Here is a list of some of the most noteworthy:

• Spike Lee’s four-hour documentary, “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts,” airs in two parts, 8 p.m. Monday and 8 p.m. Tuesday on HBO. All four hours will be rebroadcast Aug. 29, the anniversary of Katrina’s landfall. Go to Sunday's Arts section for a review of the film by the Tribune’s Jazz Critic, Howard Reich, who has covered the post-Katrina story in depth.

• “Surviving Katrina” (8 p.m. Aug. 27, Discovery Channel) is an extremely thorough and affecting documentary that delves into every single stage of the disaster, from the dire predictions of weather experts to the reactions of citizens who endured the disaster at the Superdome to the response of the local and federal agencies. This excellent two-hour documentary is a fine, well-reported primer on what went wrong, but it doesn’t neglect the human aspects of the tragedy; the footage of doctors, weather scientists and residents weeping over their memories of Katrina, and what they tried to do to help, is moving.

• “60 Minutes” airs an interview with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on 6 p.m. Aug. 27.

• As part of 10 days of Katrina coverage, the Weather Channel airs a “Hurricane Katrina Anniversary Special” 7 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 27. The special will delve into the lives of restaurateurs and fishermen whose livelihoods have been affected by the disaster.

• Finally, 7 p.m. Sunday, the Food Network airs a rather curious special called “Emeril Live: Rebuilding New Orleans One Meal at a Time.” The odd thing about the special is that it’s not live in any sense of the word: Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse appears stiff and awkward in short, pretaped snippets that air before and after on-the-scene segments that were filmed in New Orleans - without him. Those New Orleans segments are reasonably good updates on local eating establishments and their efforts to rebuild, but the special would have been far more effective if Lagasse, who’s at his best when he’s improvising and interacting with others, had been there in the Crescent City too. Monday through Friday, however, each “Emeril Live” episode (which air at 7 p.m. on the Food Network) will have the “Bam!” chef preparing his favorite New Orleans dishes, such as po’ boy sandwiches, gumbo and bread pudding with whiskey sauce.

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

TV Q&A
Ask Matt
(from the Ask (TV Critic) Matt (Roush) column at TVGuide.com
By Matt Roush TVGuide.com TV Critic

Question: I just watched the Friday Night Lights pilot, and I have to say that, from the eight or nine new dramas that I've seen, it is by far the best of the bunch. I definitely feel Friday Night Lights fills most of the gap left by the late, great American Dreams. I was wondering how you think it will do in its time slot. It has some pretty formidable competition, all established shows in Fox's House, CBS' NCIS, ABC's Dancing with the Stars and CW's Gilmore Girls. I believe Friday Night Lights is definitely worthy of breaking out. NBC is on a roll this season with its new shows. — Lester

Matt Roush: Without getting into how you've seen this already (I can't keep track of what's out there for download or from Netflix), I absolutely agree that Friday Night Lights is "worthy" of breaking out. It's one of my favorite fall pilots, and I love that it's not about crime-solving or courtrooms or kidnappings. It's that rarity about real people in an authentic place and time, not nostalgic like American Dreams was, but just as heartfelt and even less saccharine. The problem, as you note, is that it's likely to be buried by the competition, which is already very diverse in appeal, and has shows with entrenched fan bases. (One upside is that House will have completed its initial run at 8 pm/ET by the time Friday Night Lights premieres Oct. 3.) Shows about sports traditionally don't do well, either, so that's another strike against it. But early critical buzz, and the fact that it's based on a well-known movie and book, could help. I only know that if the show holds up, I'll be an unapologetic cheerleader.

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Question: I'm a little worried about all of the new characters that will be introduced in the upcoming season of Lost. It seems to me that most successful shows tend to revolve around a consistent group of characters: M*A*S*H, Friends, etc. I know ER has some success with a rotating cast, but Lost seems to lend itself to singling out each character and telling that person's story. But it feels like they're slowly giving up on some of the original characters and introducing new ones for the sake of more flashbacks. What is your take? — Rob G.

Matt Roush: My take is that it's way too early to judge, and that I lean toward giving Lost a chance to prove itself before we jump to conclusions. What's safe to say is that Lost will get hammered no matter what it does. Too many stories about the original characters, and there will be griping that the show isn't moving forward fast enough. Too many new tangents with new characters and story lines, and there will be griping that the show has changed too much. For Lost to survive and thrive, my feeling is that each season needs to redefine itself, which means expanding the universe of characters and the dramatic context in which they operate. If the third season is going to give us more insight into the Others, and give us a better sense of what's really happening on this island (and perhaps beyond its borders), then I'm OK with that. The real challenge will be for the writers to continue to service the original characters that got us hooked in the first place. It's always a tricky balance on this show to juggle the character and island stories, and that will likely get more complicated as time goes on.

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Question: I've tried to find some information on the Internet about when MI-5 will be back on, and I am getting nowhere fast! Back in the spring, you said that as far as you knew, it should come on sometime in the third quarter (July-Sept.). Is that still valid? I have been hearing some rumblings that it won't be coming back. I hope that's not true! — Laurel

Matt Roush: This question came in before Tuesday's announcement by A&E, which I blogged about, that the third season has finally been confirmed. The show returns with 10 new episodes, starting Sept. 15 at 11 pm/ET. Took them long enough.

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Question: I know I'll get a lot of jeers, but I am really enjoying Who Wants to Be a Superhero?. I'm not into a lot of reality TV, since most focus on the worst of human nature, but I like this show, in which people get rewarded for good behavior. Major Victory is without question my favorite — the way he totally stays in character as the corny, helpful superhero. Then again, I really like all the contestants who really get into their characters. (I miss Monkey Woman.) Is this doing well in the ratings? Is there any chance of a second installment? — Lyle

Matt Roush: Too early to say if they'll try this one again, but the positive sign is that the numbers are improving by the week, and the show is doing especially well in young demographics. (It has the youngest audience in Sci Fi's history.) It's such a nerdy show, but I love it, too. Major Victory is my fave as well (though the earnest Feedback is growing on me).

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Question: I know you've grown as tired and suspicious of the "reality" genre as I have, but I need your opinion on last week's episode of Work Out. When I first saw the preview, I said, "No way am I watching this." But last week I was at home sick, so I tuned in. Just how stupid do these producers think we are? The entire episode was so obviously plotted out. Jackie goes away and puts her uptight assistant in charge of the gym as her newest trainer house-sits. She demands her assistant keep the gym neat and clean. She's gone for 10 minutes and the gym looks like a tornado whipped through, then a trainer's dog poops on the mats? She demands that nobody else be allowed over to her house and that the dogs not be let out. The gang crashes Jackie's house for an "impromptu" party like a scene from a bad '80s teen movie; they break a vase and mess up the bed, and the idiot doesn't even straighten up the mess? Plus the dogs get out? And don't get me started on Jackie's "flirtation" with the married woman she was training or the girlfriend-from-hell, Mimi (or should she be called MeMe?). I mean, come on! While I would expect to be treated like a moron by Fox reality shows, I didn't expect it from Bravo. Thoughts? — George

Matt Roush: I think you should have gone with your first "No way am I watching" impulse. I checked out of this after I screened the first three or so episodes. Not only is this one of my least favorite types of reality shows (showing us the inner workings of a workplace, which amounts to a long infomercial), I found the scenes between Jackie and her girlfriend almost painfully phony as they bitched, moped and bit. I did not watch this episode, but it sounds about as real to me as Laguna Beach. No thanks.

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Question: I am so glad to hear that Everwood creator Greg Berlanti is now collaborating with the writing team for Brothers & Sisters. This show has been a big question mark for me (along with Six Degrees), but I have been looking forward to trying it out. It has a great cast, appealing promos and now a fantastic writer! Do you think Berlanti's involvement has the potential to make this my Everwood semireplacement? — Emily

Matt Roush: The news that Berlanti is giving Brothers a creative hand is one of the few positive headlines I've heard lately. I'm still not sure a show like this can fill the Everwood void, though. Also on the Brothers & Sisters front, Ryan wonders: "I heard a rumor they are reshooting the pilot of Brothers & Sisters without Dan Futterman! Say it ain't so! He had great chemistry with Calista Flockhart in The Birdcage, and in the scene available on the Web from the original pilot. I was ecstatic when he returned to Judging Amy in 2004 and saddened that it was the show's final season. I had so hoped he would be on TV a little more." Alas, it's true — he's not part of the show. He's currently making a movie in which he plays slain journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and killed while researching a story in Pakistan. (Given his success with the Oscar-nominated Capote screenplay, it makes sense that he's spending more time on the movie side of the biz right now.)

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Question: My coworkers seem to think CBS' The Class is connected to Friends. One says it is a spin-off, and another said she saw the opening credits on the Internet and the cast is dancing in a fountain, just like the opening of Friends. What can I tell them? — Jill

Matt Roush: The only connection between The Class and Friends (beyond the fact that I like both of them) is that the new CBS comedy is cocreated by David Crane, who performed a similar function on Friends. These characters are not related to the Friends characters at all, except that a few of these former classmates show signs of being as endearingly quirky and lovable as Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, Rachel, Joey and Monica. Not even CBS would go so far as to call this the next Friends, which I'm not sure is even possible. But it's one of my favorite new comedies for the fall season (though a number of people in my office were left cold by it).

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Question: I was just looking at the TV grids for the fall 2006 season, and I noticed that on Tuesdays Law & Order: Criminal Intent is scheduled at 9 pm/ET and SVU is scheduled at 10. The flagship Law & Order is scheduled for Friday at 10. Would it be overkill to put them all on one night? Why do two if not three? — Greg

Matt Roush: The main reason NBC is running two Law & Order shows back-to-back is out of desperation to prop up a weak Tuesday lineup (until you get to SVU) and because Criminal Intent was pushed off of Sundays when NBC acquired prime-time football. Three in a row would be overkill. Unless, of course, you're talking cable, in which case running 14 hours of Law & Order shows back-to-back seems to be good business (though this kind of oversaturation appears to be finally killing the mother ship). Given the cost and the audience trends, I'm pretty sure NBC will never schedule first-run episodes of its Law & Order shows in the 8 pm/ET hour.

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Question: So far this summer I've really enjoyed Psych and Eureka, as well as the too-cute Meerkat Manor. But as fall approaches and I read about some of the great new shows (as well as my old favorites), I'm wondering if I've taken on too much. My question is: How long do these summer shows run? Most didn't start until June, but I don't remember reading anywhere just how many episodes of each had been ordered. Also, what are the chances of Psych and Eureka getting renewed for a second season (whenever that is)? — Kathy C.

Matt Roush: With cable series, it's case by case, and almost always very confusing. For the most part, these shows will finish their summer runs at the end of this month or by early September, so new episodes won't overlap with the fall-season launch. Shows like Psych and Monk often have another batch of originals that air sometime during the official season, usually in the winter. The chances are excellent that Psych and Eureka will be renewed, with new seasons almost certainly starting next summer.

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Question: With a new season of The Wire about to start in a few weeks, is there anything we can do to get Emmy voters to watch the best show and best performances on television? Should we offer to walk their dogs? Rent a blimp and broadcast the show on giant screens above their houses? With all its drug deals, murder and corruption, the worst crime associated with The Wire is how it's criminally neglected by the Emmys. — Don C.

Matt Roush: I know these were rhetorical questions, but my biggest challenge with The Wire has always been how to praise it without making it sound like medicine. (Not just "good for you," but "good.") It's such a serious and complex show, I can only think that it's too much for most people. In the fourth season, which I hope to begin watching very soon (there's never enough time), the focus is on younger characters and the school system, so the thinking is that it will be more relatable than stories from past seasons. Hey, whatever works.

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

foxeng, Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck are the mouthpieces of the extreme wing of the Democratic Party? You've got to be kidding me.

CNN is not just Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck. And you know that. Just like O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are not just FOX News either or Joe Scarborough and Rita Cosby are not just MSNBC. If you watch a channel for hours and hours like news junkies do, you have to look at the whole channel (so to speak, pun not intented but it is there).

foxeng, you aren't saying that FOXNews is more "moderate" than CNN are you?

FOXNews is ahead of everyone else because of one reason and one reason only, they don't BS. As much as I dislike the channel, and their reporting and newcast tactics, they don't fool around. They get their message out, they don't worry about trying to cater to both sides of the aisle. They have an agenda, and they stick to it.

There is an audience for that type of news, there is a significantly smaller audience of viewers that enjoy what CNN and MSNBC do.

If you automatically think I watch FNC because I work for News Corp then you are going from a misconception. I actually watch both FNC and MSNBC about evenly. People forget that on FNC from 8p to 11p ET it is NOT a news block but opinion/analsys and you will get it from all sides but people like to spin as if that is all FNC does but that isn't true. CNN and MSNBC are now doing the same thing. Are agendas there during that time period? ABSOLUTELY.

You and everyone else can look at a channel anyway you like, but any newsperson on ANY channel worth their salt will try and do everything to keep it as neutral as possible. Some do it better than others, but that has been the way it has been since modern journalism began. Even "the most trusted man in America" Walter Cronkite had an agenda.

I did like the Klein articles. (honestly, thanks for posting it) Even he is spinning but he also realizes he doesn't have the magic yet to turn CNN around. He is still hunting and in code he is saying look for more changes.

I am done Fred. We now return you to our regularly scheduled AVSForum thread.

TV Notebook
A New Dawn for 'Today’
By Glen Dickson Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

Meredith Vieira won’t be the only new thing at NBC’s Today this fall.

The perennial morning-news leader, sans Katie Couric, is launching in high-definition on Sept. 13 from a revamped studio in New York’s Rockefeller Center.

Today follows ABC’s Good Morning America, which launched in 720-line progressive HD last November. It wasn’t competitive pressure, just a matter of facing the inevitable, says Today executive producer Jim Bell.

“There’s never really a perfect time, but this was the time to get it out there,” he says. “As it turns out, we’re going to be fine.”

To speed up the switch, NBC took advantage of summer weather and the unique layout of the studio at 10 Rockefeller Plaza, located across the street from the NBC operations center at 30 Rock, with outdoor space in between. Since June 1, Today has been airing from outside and sharing a control room with NBC Nightly News upstairs at 30 Rock.

Meanwhile, a crew of 10 from systems integrator Ascent Media Services has been converting the studio and its control room to the 1080-line interlace (1080i) HD format.

“Overall, it’s been a tremendous overhaul in terms of the set, the studio and the control room,” says John Wallace, NBC executive VP, television operations and production services.

For starters, NBC doubled the size of Today control room 1-A, located beneath 10 Rock Plaza, to 6,700 square feet. The network also followed the approach it used for other high-def transfers, such as Saturday Night Live, by installing equipment that can be used to produce multiple programs.

Key gear includes a Sony MVS-8000a production switcher, Barco virtual-monitor wall, Calrec Alpha digital audio console, an Avid NewsCutter nonlinear editor and an Avid ISIS content server. There is also a separate audio-mixing room to help produce the program’s concerts in Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. Fiber-optic cable now connects the studio to 30 Rock’s HD routing infrastructure. Today will also use NBC’s new centralized graphics facility.

The studio now has two floors, totaling 4,500 square feet. When it was built 11 years ago, a hole was cut in the ceiling to allow an overhead shot on to the set. That angle wasn’t used, so the floor was restored to create more second-floor space, including a kitchen.

The new area gives staff latitude in setting up back-to-back segments within the studio. Previously, that was tough because commercial breaks didn’t afford enough time to strike one set and prepare another.

The main set is now closer to the windows to give a wider shot suitable for HD’s 16:9 aspect ratio, with more space between set elements, says David Lazecko, director, studio system engineering, for NBC Universal.

Video will be captured by Sony HDC-1500 handheld cameras, which often will be used for the outdoor concerts. They can be easily converted to “hard-camera” operation for the studio by using a Sony cradle. “It’s dramatically easier, and it’s very versatile,” says Lazecko.

Bell says the big HD challenge will be handling different aspect ratios from the reams of footage contributed by bureaus and affiliates, most of which are 4:3 standard-definition. NBC is working to outfit bureaus and key stations with new cameras capable of 16:9 standard-definition pictures, which can be upconverted for HD broadcast.

NBC’s owned stations use Panasonic DVCPRO standard-def cameras, but NBC is looking at a high-def format for news gathering. WNBC New York will be testing Sony’s XDCAM HD format this fall.

“There will be 4:3 materials that we will still receive,” says Wallace. “The reality is that, for the next three to five years, I can’t imagine all affiliates that contribute material will be 16:9. It’s a challenge all broadcasters will be facing for the foreseeable future.”

Initially, Today will likely leave 4:3 material as a center-cut, with color tinting in the side panels. Later on, running a 14:9 picture across the top of the screen and a wide graphics bar along the bottom may be viable.

And maybe it won’t be so noticeable. Says Bell, “Viewers are already used to a lot of text at the bottom of a show, such as their local traffic report or breaking-news wires.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364164

TV Sports
NFL Turns Up Heat on Cable Ops
Multichannel News 8/18/2006

Like two-a-days, the NFL Network continues to turn up the heat on cable operators, as it is bringing in a number of former pro football greats to tout the service at Dish Network retailers.

Beginning this weekend, the network, which is embroiled in a public dispute with Time Warner Cable and has yet to ink carriage contracts with a number of key cable operators, will send out former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, ex- Dallas Cowboysrunning back Tony Dorsett and Ronnie Lott, who used to play in the secondary for the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and New York Jets, to make appearances in key markets.

In addition to the aforementioned Hall of Famers, former Jets wideout Wayne Chrebet and former Bills running back Thurman Thomas will also make appearances on behalf of the NFL Network. The network’s game plan calls for the players to talk up the service and sign autographs at Dish retailers in Buffalo and Long Island, New York, Tampa, Green Bay, San Antonio, Dallas and St. Louis. Cable operators currently do not carry the service in these markets.

NFL Network, which counts some 41 million subscribers, has also enlisted the support of radio stations to trumpet the player appearances, and will hand out network premiums and promotional materials at the retail locations.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6364093

The Business of TV
HD Commercials: Still Pretty (and Scarce)
By Wayne Friedman Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

If high-definition television looks so great and great-looking commercials sell product, why aren’t there more commercials in HD?

Mainly because, even though HD retail sales are popping, at best, fewer than two out of 10 U.S. homes have HDTV.

So, for the most part, HD ads gravitate to a handful of awards shows and the Olympics and other big sporting events, those playgrounds for TV-advertising agencies where spending lots of money is acceptable business. In February, more than half of the Super Bowl’s 60 commercials were in HD.

For the regular season, it’s a different story. In fact, only a dozen or so of the hundreds of cable and broadcast networks can accommodate HD ads. Many of them are the relatively new HD offshoots of major cable channels, such as National Geographic, Discovery and HGTV.

ESPN has two networks that take HD advertising: ESPN and ESPN2. About 20% of the flagship’s regular commercial inventory is HD—perhaps the highest level among big broad - cast and cable networks. HD advertisers tend to be high-end electronics and automotive marketers, which target male viewers.

FEWER SPOTS ON BROADCAST

A far smaller percentage of commercials that are run on the broadcast networks are HD. According to industry observers, a typical primetime viewer of ABC or CBS might see perhaps three or four HD commercials out of 35 or more national primetime spots on a given night. Activity is somewhat less on Fox and NBC.

Only two networks give HD commercials a priority, even refusing to air any standard- definition commercials: Mark Cuban’s HDNet and HDNet Movies. Though small, with about 3 million subscribers each, the networks offer content—program and commercials—entirely in HD.

“We won’t take their low-def commercials,” says Karl Meisenbach, director of advertising & sponsorship sales for HDNet. “It would lessen the brand.”

He estimates that, at any given time, his network has about 15 current TV marketing campaigns. He has done recent business with the likes of BMW, Land Rover, Sub-Zero (kitchen appliances), New Line Cinema, Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony PlayStation and Anheuser-Busch, as well as with HDTV-set manufacturers Sharp, Toshiba and Sony Electronics.

But in the current summer lull in HD commercial production, HDNet has the interesting distinction of having just one advertiser on its air for the next several weeks: Patron, the high-end tequila maker.

Why aren’t there more HD commercials? It’s not cost; it would take only a 10% premium to deliver an HD spot. It’s more about research and all about the lack of research, insists Tim Hanlon, senior VP of ventures for Publicis’ Denuo Group, the media futurist division.

He says, “Until Nielsen starts measuring HD viewership, advertisers will be in no rush to run into the space. According to the Nielsen measurement system, HDTV users don’t exist. That’s ludicrous.”

With HD sets in only 20 million homes in the U.S., Nielsen has been telling clients that there needs to be more HD users to justify measurement. For now, Hanlon says, advertising in HD “requires courage and common sense on the part of advertisers.”

That logic worked for liquor distiller Patron. Dave Kroencke, principal of agency The Richards Group, says it seemed natural for his client to associate the tequila’s high-end, premium attributes with the high quality of HD programming.

Apart from Mike Shaw, president of advertising sales at ABC, few network executives have been outspoken in pushing advertisers to run HD commercials on primetime schedules. But the coming of TV-commercial ratings could inspire network ad-sales executives to place more value on higher-quality commercials, according to industry watchers.

ENGAGING VIEWERS

With TV marketers’ push this past upfront season for “engaged” viewers—in regard to both program content and commercials—one industry ob- server questions why advertisers don’t produce more commercials in HD. “Frankly,” says Denuo’s Hanlon, “I can’t think of anything more engaging than something in high-definition.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364161

This seems to provide a good summation of the week's legal developments for EchoStar:

The Business of TV
Double Dose of Pain for EchoStar
By Linda Moss Multichannel News 8/21/2006

EchoStar Communications Corp. suffered several stinging setbacks in court last week, creating circumstances one Wall Street analyst claimed could potentially “expose as much as 20% of its subscriber base” to higher churn.

First, a Texas judge issued an injunction, sought by TiVo Inc., ordering the nation’s second-largest satellite provider to stop selling digital video recorders that infringe on a TiVo patent to new customers — and also, within 30 days, to deactivate boxes currently deployed to EchoStar’s Dish Network customers.

EchoStar succeeded in getting a temporary stay of the injunction on Friday.

Dish has an estimated 3 million to 4 million DVRs deployed that would be affected by the injunction, Craig Moffett, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said in a report Friday.

The court order stemmed from a patent-infringement suit TiVo filed in 2004 against the satellite provider.

Moffett wrote that while EchoStar’s stay could “buy time” to reach a settlement with TiVo, “EchoStar will now be negotiating with a gun to their heads; even if they are able to settle, costs could be much higher than previously anticipated.”

The judge who issued the injunction relating to the DVRs — U.S. District Court Judge David Folsom in Texas — also affirmed a $74 million award a jury said EchoStar has to pay TiVo. Folsom also ordered EchoStar to pay $5.6 million in interest and pay $10.3 million in supplemental damages for infringement through July 31.

Although the Texas court ordered EchoStar to stop selling DVRs to customers, the satellite company said the stay will allow it to continue to do so.

“We continue to believe the Texas decision was wrong, and should be reversed on appeal,” EchoStar said in a statement. “We also continue to work on modifications to our new DVRs, and to our DVRs in the field, intended to avoid future alleged infringement.”

Moffett cited a “second negative court ruling” last week for EchoStar. In Miami, Fla., a judge refused a request by both the satellite provider and broadcasters to stay a distant-signal ruling.

As a result of a May federal appeals court decision, EchoStar now faces an injunction that would deny it the right to provide distant-network signals “to anyone in the United States,” Moffett wrote.

“A court order to begin shutting down local signals — to an estimated 800,000 subscribers — could now be imminent,” the analyst said.

The court rulings last week “could, potentially, expose as much as 20% of [EchoStar’s] subscriber base to significantly higher churn,” Moffett wrote.

The rulings in Texas and Miami could benefit the company’s cable and satellite-TV rivals, in Moffett’s view.

“In the TiVo case, if a deactivation of EchoStar DVRs does follow, then both cable operators and DirecTV could be beneficiaries of increased EchoStar churn,” Moffett wrote.

“While difficult to estimate, the impact could be considerable. In the distant-signal case, DirecTV would clearly benefit the most, since the 'distant locals’ subscribers are overwhelmingly in rural markets, where direct-broadcast satellite is often the only option.”

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6364184

If you automatically think I watch FNC because I work for News Corp then you are going from a misconception. I actually watch both FNC and MSNBC about evenly. People forget that on FNC from 8p to 11p ET it is NOT a news block but opinion/analsys and you will get it from all sides but people like to spin as if that is all FNC does but that isn't true. CNN and MSNBC are now doing the same thing. Are agendas there during that time period? ABSOLUTELY.

You and everyone else can look at a channel anyway you like, but any newsperson on ANY channel worth their salt will try and do everything to keep it as neutral as possible. Some do it better than others, but that has been the way it has been since modern journalism began. Even "the most trusted man in America" Walter Cronkite had an agenda.

I did like the Klein articles. (honestly, thanks for posting it) Even he is spinning but he also realizes he doesn't have the magic yet to turn CNN around. He is still hunting and in code he is saying look for more changes.

I am done Fred. We now return you to our regularly scheduled AVSForum thread.
I didn't assume you worked for News Corp., because I didn't know you worked for News Corp. (if that's what you're saying).

I was just making a point. I too watch all the news stations (from the networks to CNN, FOXNews and MSNBC). I watch one or two more than another, but I try to get a sampling from each service.

I was only making a point in my original post, I wasn't really targeting anyone.

For those anxiously awaiting the new season of Grey’s Anatomy, ABC has released some info.
The 2006-2007 Season
Grey’ Anatomy plans
ACTRESS ABIGAIL BRESLIN, STAR OF “LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE,” GUEST STARS ON GREY’S ANATOMY
(ABC News Release)

Ten-year-old actress Abigail Breslin, who can currently be seen in the critically-hailed, independent feature “Little Miss Sunshine,” will guest star in an upcoming episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

The episode, entitled “Sometimes a Fantasy,” has not yet been given an airdate. In its first three episodes of the news season, “Grey’s Anatomy” will welcome guest stars including Breslin, the legendary Diahann Carroll and actor Chris O’Donnell (returning in his role as veterinarian Dr. Finn Dandridge).

Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike and the recipient of multiple Emmy Award nominations, “Grey’s Anatomy” returns to the ABC Television Network for a third season. The interns have learned a lot since their first year at Seattle Grace Hospital – not only about surgery, but about themselves and one another. The third season will premiere on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (9:00 p.m., ET).

There’s Izzie, who has decided there may be more in her life than medicine after falling in love with Denny, a patient whose life she fought to save… and lost. Now that she’s quit the intern program, Izzie will see what a future without the hospital has in store.

Best friend George has had his own ups and downs in love. Having his dreams of a relationship with Meredith crushed after a demoralizing one-night stand with her, George found love in the unlikeliest of people – the tough, unique Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Callie Torres. Callie sees and loves all of the qualities that make George who he is, and in return George likes her being the kind of woman who will stand up for him and their relationship.

Alex Karev may be the surgical intern all of the other interns love to hate, but the cocky and often callous Alex has been there for his fellow students when it matters.

Focused and ambitious intern Cristina Yang has wanted one thing her whole life -- to become a talented and successful surgeon. Cristina, who once lacked all bedside manner, is now allowing her allegiances to friends and her emotions to seep into her work. One of her greatest emotional challenges is yet to come, as she must become a source of support and assistance to her boyfriend, Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Preston Burke; highly respected among his fellow surgeons, Burke must deal with a potentially career-ending tremor in his hand, the result of a near-fatal shooting accident at the hospital.

And then there’s Meredith Grey. After Meredith and Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd’s ever-present sexual tension culminated in a moment of passion, they have to face the consequences. Meredith was just beginning to fall for the attractive and available veterinarian, Finn. And there’s the matter of Derek’s wife, Addison. A neonatal surgeon at the hospital, Addison is a woman trying to put her own indiscretions in the past and to save her marriage.

The interns, as always, will be under the guidance of “The Nazi,” Dr. Miranda Bailey, who both terrorizes and nurtures them. Bailey maintains a tough exterior, but with these interns, it’s hard not to display her softer side from time to time. Supervising the whole operation is The Chief, Dr. Richard Webber. His past indiscretions with Meredith’s mother, Ellis, have been exposed and he must now deal with the consequences to his family and professional life.

The doctors of “Grey’s Anatomy” choose to live life to its fullest amidst the daily life-and-death stakes of their jobs. It’s the drama and intensity of medical training mixed with the funny, sexy, painful lives of interns who are discovering that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. Real life only comes in shades of grey.

Friday’s network prime-time ratings are now at the top of RATINGS NEWS (the first post in this thread).

The 2006-2007 Season
Self-Contained Dramas To Dominate ’07
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

Although a flurry of serialized dramas in the mold of Lost and 24 are premiering this season, it’s the traditional, closed-ended formats that will likely rule the 2007-08 season. Network development executives say they’re seeing a big change in the drama pilots being pitched for next year. The 20 or so drama scripts on NBC’s 2007-08 plate, for example, lack the serialized elements that characterize many of this fall’s new series, such as ABC’s The Nine and NBC’s Kidnapped.

“Lots of drama writers and studios are thinking that, now, when the networks are hitting the tipping point on serialization, they should be looking to make more closed-ended procedurals,” says Katherine Pope, executive VP of NBC Entertainment.

Over at ABC, it’s “more self-contained storylines,” says Francie Calfo, executive VP of development and current programs, in the pitches and four drama scripts that have earned commitments.

The trend could represent belated recognition by studios and producers that the big money continues to lie in syndication. Many networks and content providers have been aiming their product toward on-demand media like iPods, home to such serialized hits as ABC’s Desperate Housewives and Lost. But that business is in its infancy and pales in comparison with the massive paydays for syndication.

Off-network buyers are willing to pay more for closed-ended dramas, such as the Law & Order and CSI franchises, which can fetch $1 million-$2 million per episode. In contrast, Housewives recently received $500,000 per episode from Lifetime, since reruns of shows demanding ongoing viewer commitment traditionally perform poorly in syndication.

For that matter, the reruns don’t do much better on the networks. Housewives, for instance, has averaged a 1.7 rating/5 share in adults 18-49, ranking 73rd overall in the key demo, through the first 11 weeks of this summer.

Serialized dramas exploded on network fall schedules after the success in recent years of such series as Prison Break and Lost. While the glut has led to a shift in tactics on the part of producers and studios, one or two hits this fall could change the equation.

Pope says NBC is “pretty well aware” of what it has in terms of drama by this point each year. But since all the networks have embraced more year-round development, another serialized concept could still potentially emerge for next year.

While ABC is aiming for more “balance” between serialized and self-contained on its schedule, says Calfo, she insists that the network is still in the hunt for the next big drama idea—no matter how it is structured. “If I was pitched The Nine today, I would buy it in the room,” she says of ABC’s serialized drama about hostages in a bank robbery.

For his part, Fox Executive VP Craig Erwich has not seen a big difference in the types of drama pitches received at his network, which has enjoyed great success with serialized formats, such as Prison Break. Fox has completed about 70% of its drama script commitments for next year, he says.

CBS and The CW declined to comment.

The avalanche of serialized shows, coupled with a prolonged drought of successful comedies, has greatly reduced the number of sitcoms on the fall schedules. The desperate need for new comedies has led the networks to spend more money earlier to secure scripts that can be turned into pilots. Traditionally, they have waited until October.

“We’re definitely reading a lot more comedy spec scripts,” Calfo says. “Writers see an opportunity for one show to put a spark back into the comedy arena.”

Because of its success with offbeat comedies My Name Is Earl and The Office, NBC—struggling to get out of fourth place—has been getting more non-traditional pitches. It already has 15 quirky “big-idea” sitcoms in development between new material and projects rolled over from last season, says Pope: “Nothing is sacred or off-limits.”

The NBC list includes a script commitment to feature writer Dan Fogelman (Cars, The 12th Man) for a show called Lipshitz Saves the World, about a 15-year-old nerd who lives up to the title.

Aside from some perennial development trends, like heaven and hell and the occult, network execs say no new themes have emerged among nascent development projects. “Normally, there is one summer movie or book that births lots of development,” Fox’s Erwich says. “Last year, it was Wedding Crashers. I haven’t seen that this year.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364194

TV Notebook
As Ebert mends, program revives an old tradition

By Phil Rosenthal Chicago Tribune Media Columnist

It's not quite "The Front Page." More like the front page of the feature section. But the old tradition of Chicago's two major daily newspapers challenging one another on TV over coming movie releases will be revived, at least for one week.

For the first time since the 1999 death of the Tribune's Gene Siskel--Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert's original sparring partner in the balcony and in print--the two combatants on Ebert's syndicated movie review show will represent Chicago's two rival dailies.

Michael Phillips, movie critic for the Tribune, is set to split reviewing duties with Sun-Times star columnist Richard Roeper on an episode next month of Buena Vista Television's "Ebert & Roeper" as Ebert remains hospitalized, having undergone surgery in June for recurring salivary cancer.

Sun-Times Editor John Barron said the paper has to plan its review schedule two to three weeks ahead of time, with or without Ebert, but it has no clear idea when its Pulitzer Prize winner will return.

Knowing he would be sidelined at least temporarily, Ebert and co-host Roeper taped advance editions of their show before his June 16 operation, which necessitated a bone graft on his jaw. Ebert has undergone surgeries in each successive month and will require physical therapy to regain his strength before returning to work.

Phillips said the airdate of his "Ebert & Roeper" appearance will be Sept. 2, though it's not entirely clear what he and Roeper will review. He said it's not known whether Neil LaBute's remake of 1973's "The Wicker Man," coming out that weekend, will be prescreened for critics, a disturbing trend of late for reviewers and whatever moviegoers rely on their judgments.

"Ebert's makeup artist used to work for Sinatra, which is reason enough to do it," Phillips said of his "Ebert & Roeper" appearance.

Ebert himself suggested Phillips. "When we first started talking about possible substitutes, Michael was the first person Roger mentioned," Roeper said. "We're both big fans of his work in the Trib, and I'm looking forward to working with him."

The guests filling in for Ebert are decidedly more high-profile than when Ebert used a series of fill-ins in Siskel's absence before Roeper was chosen as a permanent co-host in 2000. Phillips is the only full-time reviewer to be invited so far.

"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno offered sharp, succinct analysis in Roeper's first show without Ebert, followed by filmmaker Kevin Smith and, this weekend, TV and movie writer John Ridley, host of AMC's "Movie Club."

Others being discussed, though not yet signed, include actors Fred Willard and Aisha Tyler.

Roeper said it's clear from Ebert's scribbled notes to hospital visitors he's still the same old Roger, even if a tube down his throat prevents him from speaking. A DVD player was recently installed in Ebert's room, so he can screen some films.

After Ebert's latest surgery, Aug. 6, his wife, Chaz, characterized the setback as "minor" but disappointing in a note on RogerEbert.com. "Darn that surgery!" she wrote. "Please excuse me if I don't sound like my usual cheerleader self, but if you had seen him last week, even yesterday, when he was doing so well."

Meanwhile, to help fill the void left by Ebert's absence, Roeper contributes one weekly review for the Sun-Times and Ebert's other newspaper customers. He also tries to make his eclectic mix of guest reviewers feel at home in Ebert's customary spot on the set each week.

"We've had three excellent co-hosts in a row, and I'm excited about the prospect of working with Michael," Roeper said. "But obviously everyone's looking forward to welcoming Roger back to his seat across the aisle."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-0608180118aug18,0,1732890,print.column

The Business of TV
USDTV: Up From the Ashes
By John M. Higgins Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

The original investor behind USDTV is trying to rescue the broadcast wireless cable company from bankruptcy and keep the business going.

USDTV’s management and original “angel” investor NextGen Telecom are laying plans to buy the company’s assets out of bankruptcy and resume their plan to offer a cheap package of cable-TV networks over the air, using spectrum from TV stations.

NextGen is controlled by Denver-based investor Charles McNeil, a longtime mining engineer whose NextGen Resources has investments in variety of companies, primarily mining and coal-based gas and oil operations. McNeil was the initial investor behind USDTV, and court documents show that he has lent more money to the company to keep the lights on while it moves through bankruptcy court.

“That’s the present plan,” says John Carroll III, a lawyer representing Alfred Guiliano, the federal bankruptcy court trustee in Delaware, where USDTV filed its bankruptcy petition. “There are other people who are doing due diligence, but we’ll see what the bidding process brings.”

He notes that the assets will be put up for auction in September and other potential investors looking at the company may step up. However, NextGen has been lending USDTV money to keep operations going temporarily and is the only suitor committed to bidding.

Court documents say that USDTV CEO Steve Lindsley is in discussions to take a position at the reborn company. Lindsley did not return a call seeking comment.

USDTV tumbled into Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in July after two years of operation and $14 million in debt.

A digital broadcast station has capacity for one full HDTV signal, plus three or four additional channels at lower-definition. USDTV’s plan called for pooling the spare digital spectrum of three or four broadcast stations in a market to air a package of “cable” networks to compete with cable and satellite-TV operators.

Major broadcasters including Fox Television Stations, Hearst-Argyle and LIN TV invested $26 million in equity last September, but USDTV quickly burned through all that cash.

Minimum bid will be $2.3 million. Of that, $1.3 million will go to key suppliers needed to keep USDTV going, notably cable networks. (ESPN alone will collect $600,000.) The remaining $1 million. will be divided among other creditors, suppliers and former employees.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364195

The Digital Revolution
What’s High-Def, Alex?
By Glen Dickson Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

Since the launch of digital television in the late 1990s, almost every genre has been offered in high-definition, with the exception of first-run syndicated programming. But that’s about to change, when venerable Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, produced by Sony Pictures Television, launch in HD next month.

Who cares about game shows in HD?

Sony Picture Television President Steve Mosko asked the same question.

“I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t anticipate how much better the shows would look in high-def,” he says. “I was blown away by the look of the game. High-def has a huge impact. It just jumps off the screen.”

Sony and King World are developing two game shows for 2007 that may be offered in HD, too.

Until now, production and distribution costs have stymied syndication. But Sony, which produces both shows and has a pivotal role in the evolution of HD, remodeled the Los Angeles studio where both shows are produced to support shooting in 1080-line-interlace (1080i) HDTV. King World, which distributes the shows, will begin delivering the programs in HD Sept. 11.

Bob Seidel, CBS VP of advanced technology, says that more than 40 stations have expressed interest in receiving the HD feeds.

WIDER SHOTS

When Sony decided last fall to provide the shows in high-def, the studio already had HD-capable cameras, says Harry Friedman, longtime producer of both shows, “but that was the only thing we didn’t have to change or acquire. Everything else is new.”

Sony created new set pieces for both shows and reconfigured the studio for wider camera shots, a particular concern for Wheel. Another key set element is a Barco HD projection system. Starting last March, Sony also built an entirely new HD control room and post-production facility.

The project cost around $4 million and included upgrading its existing Sony switcher to HD operation, with 12 channels of digital video effects (DVE), and installing a Chyron high-def Lyric Pro graphics system. It added a Yamaha digital audio console; Avid Symphony Nitris editing systems and Unity storage system; some Apple Final Cut Pro editors to cut interstitial material; and Evertz and Leitch upconverters to handle occasional standard-definition (SD) material.

To record high-def video, the game shows use a mix of Sony HDCAM tape decks, for recording show footage, and XDCAM HD optical-disk recorders, which handle playback of interstitial material, such as show opens, closes and graphics.

DIFFERENT APPROACH FOR A SERVER

“We had a problem finding what we thought was the ideal high-def server, as so many are designed for on-air playout and not for production,” says Phil Squyres, senior VP, technical operations, Sony Pictures Television. “So we actually decided to do something a little different in that vein and installed eight XDCAM HD decks. We use them like an eight-channel playout server, and it’s working pretty well.”

When Squyres was shopping for a production server, he had a hard time finding one that was both operator-friendly and supported Avid’s 145-Mbps (megabit-per-second) HD compression scheme, DNxHD, as well as Sony’s HDCAM format. But he expects to install a server that supports the Avid encoding scheme in the future.

Sony delivers a high-def HDCAM master to King World with a 4:3 center cut that is “safe protected,” allowing an SD version to be easily derived. The SD shows will continue to be delivered via satellite by CBS to stations as before, using an IP-based store-and-forward system from Pathfire that automatically captures the shows as files. The HD versions, however, will require a short-term workaround because Pathfire is still tweaking its system to support HD operation.

At launch, CBS will send out a conventional, scheduled linear feed of both shows at a bit rate of 45 Mbps, and stations will record it with high-def tape decks or servers, which they will need anyway in order to play out the programs locally. Some stations, including ABC affiliates, may need to convert the 1080i feed to 720p, which some satellite receivers will do automatically.

Long term, CBS would like to use the Pathfire system to send Wheel and Jeopardy! as HD files. Technicians thought about using MPEG-4 advanced compression, but neither CBS nor Pathfire thinks MPEG-4 is quite ready for deployment, while vendors are focused on encoders for distribution to the home, not on professional-quality broadcast encoders.

So the current plan is to compress the shows as 45-Mbps MPEG-2 files, which are significantly larger than SD files typically compressed at a rate of 10-14 Mbps. As a result, some Pathfire “catch” servers will need to be upgraded with additional storage.

SOME CHALLENGES AHEAD

Joe Fabiano, chief technology officer for Pathfire, notes that HD syndicated content continues to have some unsettled standards issues regarding the provisioning of audio metadata, closed-captioning information and the like. Nonetheless, Pathfire will be moving forward by testing HD store-and-forward delivery with a handful of stations this fall. It plans to roll out file-based HD delivery systems more broadly in the near term.

“We’re working on it with CBS now, and our intention is to do it within the television season [which runs September to May],” Fabiano says.

Friedman, meanwhile, is looking forward to the HD debut.

“What’s really surprising is that a show that is basically fairly static like Jeopardy! can be so much livelier in HD,” he says. “You can really see the dimension of the set. Everything gets taken up a few notches in terms of production values.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364163

The 2006-2007 Season
'Vanished' may disappear into serialized thriller logjam
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” August 19, 2006

"Vanished" (9 PM ET/PT Monday, Fox), the first new show of the fall season, is typical of much of the fare viewers will encounter in coming months.

Like its Fox brethren “24” and “Prison Break,” “Vanished” is a tightly plotted thriller, and any enjoyment derived from the show will depend in large part on whether the audience is willing to tune in each week.

The problem is that a few weeks from now, half a dozen other shows that also fit into that serialized thriller category will debut, and interest in “Vanished” may wane when NBC’s much-superior “Kidnapped” debuts.

“Vanished” concerns the disappearance of the wife of a U.S. senator from Georgia; Sara Collins leaves a dinner honoring her charity work to take a phone call, only to go missing minutes later.

Nothing that happens next is particularly surprising, though the plot rolls forward with workmanlike efficiency. An investigation, headed, of course, by a Cop With a Troubled Past (played by Gale Harold) is begun.

And just as in creator Josh Berman’s last show, the wretched “Killer Instinct” (which, talking of mysterious disappearances, Berman left off the resume that came with the “Vanished” press kit), the Cop With a Troubled Past has a bland female partner, who’s played here by Ming-Na.

There’s a predictable story line involving the senator’s daughter, and there’s an even more predictable character in the form of an aggressive reporter (Rebecca Gayheart) who covers the case. Oy vey, if I had a dime for every female reporter who’s portrayed on television as a duplicitous, promiscuous harpie, well, I’d be very rich.

The best part of the show is John Allen Nelson, who played Walt Cummings in the most recent season of “24.” Nelson plays the distraught Sen. Jeffrey Collins with subtlety and fire, and one hopes he has a worthy sparring partner when Esai Morales, who’s set to join the show, turns up as lead investigator.

The only question that matters when it comes to serialized shows is whether you want to find out what happens next. Despite its flaws, “Vanished” does leave the viewer wanting more, especially when questions emerge about the past of the senator’s wife. It remains to be seen, however, whether being pretty good, in a television season where the bar for quality has been raised yet again, is good enough.

Speaking of serialized thrillers, “Prison Break” returns at 8 PM ET/PT Monday on Fox. Eight prisoners, as fans already know, busted out of the joint at the end of last season, but life is no picnic on the outside for the Fox River Penitentiary escapees.

For one thing, William Fichtner (“Invasion”) joins the cast as a canny investigator determined to find the prisoners, and escaped Death Row prisoner Lincoln Burrows can’t rest knowing that his son has been charged unjustly with murder. Thanks to the latter complication, Burrows and his brother, chief escape plotter Michael Scofield, end up traveling in the first couple of episodes to the last place you might expect them to go.

The “Prison Break” creators know that the key to any good serial — to any good show, really — is the creation of memorable characters, and Fichtner’s Special Agent Alexander Mahone promises to be an intriguing nemesis for Scofield, Burrows, T-Bag and the rest of the on-the-run gang.

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

The Business of TV
USDTV: Up From the Ashes
By John M. Higgins Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006


A digital broadcast station has capacity for one full HDTV signal, plus three or four additional channels at lower-definition.

Bzzzt!!! Wrong answer. :rolleyes: OTOH, I would like some of what this guy is smoking. :D

2 years = $14mil debt? Time to cut the bait and free our HD resources from a 1970's era business "plan."

Hey, who knows? When you pick up companies like this at fire sale bankruptcy prices (because no one wants them) then you can sometimes be in a very competitive financial position.

Freeview was purchased like this and became quite successful.

- Tom

The 2006-2007 Season
Vanished': He's behind the conspiracy
By Maria Elena Fernandez Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 20, 2006

Josh Berman certainly had the pedigree. He received two Emmy nominations during his six years as a "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" writer-producer. By age 26, he had earned a bachelor's degree in public policy from Princeton University, a master's in history as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Sydney in Australia, and an MBA and law degree from Stanford.

But it was his 7 1/2 -inch, meticulously indexed research binder that sold Fox on his new mystery thriller and has landed him a coveted time slot on the fall prime-time schedule.

Berman, 36, is the creator of "Vanished," an edge-of-your-seat drama centered on the wife (Joanne Kelley) of a prominent Georgia senator (John Allen Nelson) who goes missing. Her disappearance turns out to be part of a much, much larger conspiracy, dating back thousands of years.

Berman pitched the idea for the show last summer to Fox President of Entertainment Peter Liguori, but his was no ordinary outline. Not only was his plot developed over 10 episodes, Berman had pages and pages of historical, forensic, religious and political research as well as minor details, such as the types of guns that FBI agents use and the uniforms tactical teams wear.

"I've never seen anything like it," Liguori said. "I was really impressed."

Berman says he wasn't trying to show off. His binders are his "security blankets," and now that the first series he is running is well into production, he's got several more on his desk. "When you're holding your answers, you know you can just look it up," he said recently while on the Paramount lot, sitting on the set of the fictional FBI office created for the new series. "It's all about a good table of contents. My binders are organized so that anything I need, if I want to suddenly find research on how long it takes to defrost a body, it's at my fingertips. It's an efficiency issue."

Launched at a lunch

Berman was still at "CSI" when he struck a four-year deal to create pilots at 20th Century Fox Television. His goal was always to write and produce his own show, one involving a serialized mystery. The key plot point was born at a lunch meeting last year with his studio boss, Dana Walden, co-president of 20th Century Fox Television, when they began discussing their mutual fascination with the way the media treats cases of missing women.

"I thought it's a very interesting relationship between the news media, the police and the families," Walden said. "Originally when these investigations start out, the women are put on holier-than-thou territory and then through the process of investigations, particularly the long ones, other sides are shown to them."

Berman said he took the seed that Walden planted and put his history background to work: "What if this woman was from a Kennedy-esque family and she goes missing and how can I root that into a historical tapestry, where it makes sense, where it's not just a kidnapping?" he recalled thinking.

"I want to do for history what 'CSI' did for science," Berman said. "I know, it sounds wild. But basically we will uncover that this woman's disappearance is not an isolated event but part of an ongoing conspiracy that goes back thousands of years that's been building and building to a crucial point now."

"Vanished" viewers will be able to do their own sleuthing, much like fans of Fox's "Prison Break" or ABC's "Lost." The difference is that the clues embedded in "Vanished" have historical significance. (Berman offers viewers this head start: The pilot contains two clues that, when googled together, lead the audience to a historical place involved in the fictional investigation.)

"It's a great way to tell a story," said executive producer and TV veteran Mimi Leder, who directed the pilot and will direct three additional episodes. Leder uses a hand-held camera and a long lens to give the feeling of fast movement. "Josh's got a very quick and brilliant mind. I love his discovery of ideas. He's very passionate."Before "CSI," Berman worked at NBC Studios as a midlevel creative executive for three years. While he was there, he wrote and produced a short film as a vehicle for a friend who was an actor. That film, "Allyn McBeal," a spoof of "Ally McBeal," put him on the map of Hollywood writers, which is where he had always wanted to be even though his education covers urban and educational planning, history and law.

The son of an English teacher and a physician, Berman says he put himself through three graduate programs because "anyone who wants to become a storyteller for a living should get as much education as possible."

But the most important lesson didn't come from the Ivy League.

"I've always loved to write," said Berman, who grew up in Encino. "I still remember every essay I wrote in junior high school. [My mom] would make me write it out double-spaced and she would go through every word. 'Can we make this word better? Can we make this sentence better?' And then we would do a second draft together. She really taught me … the discipline of never being satisfied with the first draft."

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-vanished20aug20,0,2176505,print.story?coll=cl-tvent

TV Notebook
CBS Is All Katie, but Rivals Aren’t Standing By
By Jacques Steinberg The New York Times August 20, 2006

To reintroduce Katie Couric to the country as a serious yet still accessible evening news anchor on Sept. 5, CBS has embarked on an image campaign worthy of a presidential candidate.

The network’s efforts will put her face on the front of every city bus in New York next month as part of a promotion that would cost in excess of $10 million if the national television commercials featuring her were bought by an outsider.

For all the maligning of the evening news as a dinosaur lurching toward extinction, the prize CBS is pursuing remains among the most lucrative and high-profile in television: the biggest share of the nearly 25 million viewers who still tune in to the three main news broadcasts each night, and the bulk of the nearly $400 million spent each year by advertisers trying to reach them.

Unlike her two main rivals, Brian Williams of NBC and Charles Gibson of ABC, Ms. Couric does not enjoy the incumbent’s advantage of already doing the news each weeknight — though they, too, have hardly sat idle.

Little wonder that CBS, which is paying Ms. Couric an estimated $15 million annually, has been convening focus groups at its research center in Las Vegas and other places to ask viewers such questions as how she will fare in a matchup against Mr. Williams, the leader in the Nielsen ratings, and Mr. Gibson, whose program is in second place.

The network would not say whether the “CBS Evening News,” mired at No. 3 in the ratings for more than a decade, was able to raise its standing in that most recent internal polling. Regardless, it has used those responses from viewers, including the attributes they seek in an anchor, to help shape Ms. Couric’s broadcast.

Meanwhile, like local party leaders, news anchors from the top 48 CBS affiliates were flown to New York this month for a two-day junket in which each was given 10 minutes to interview Ms. Couric — all told, she talked for more than eight hours — for individual segments that will be broadcast prominently on each local station.

Though far more subdued, Mr. Williams and Mr. Gibson have nonetheless been making similar efforts, some of them mischievous in tone, to retain the viewers they have and woo others.

Beginning around Sept. 1, an image of Mr. Williams, four stories tall, will loom over the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan from a banner at West 57th Street and 10th Avenue. (Alongside will be another featuring Matt Lauer and Ms. Couric’s replacement as his partner on the “Today” show, Meredith Vieira.)

Still, the defection of Ms. Couric from “Today,” the top-rated morning program for more than a decade, is being taken so seriously at NBC that her former boss on the program, Jeff Zucker, now chief executive of NBC Universal Television, has been gathering executives for regular meetings intended to guard against complacency, in both the evening and morning time slots.

At ABC, Mr. Gibson — who was moved from “Good Morning America” to “World News” in late May, after the network abandoned a two-anchor format — is being reintroduced himself, in an advertising campaign with its own vaguely presidential tag line: “Your Trusted Source.”

The line is intended not only as a dig at Mr. Williams (who assumed the anchor chair at NBC less than two years ago) and Ms. Couric, but also as a way to link Mr. Gibson to Peter Jennings, who led the ABC newscast for more than two decades before his death in August 2005. (The slogan of the last campaign featuring Mr. Jennings, as he had prepared to go up against Mr. Williams in his rookie year, was “Trust Is Earned.”)

Having worked within the same news division as Mr. Williams and competed for years against Mr. Gibson in the morning, Ms. Couric, by virtue of her decision to occupy the 6:30 p.m. slot at CBS, has heightened the already spirited competition among the three news divisions.

On a recent afternoon at NBC, one former colleague wondered, with obvious relish, whether Ms. Couric would seek to install a “Today”-style couch on the CBS set — for the record, she will not — and another suggested that Ms. Couric had hired her personal gastroenterologist as her program’s new medical correspondent. (She did not; while a sometime guest on “Today,” the new CBS reporter, Dr. Jonathan LaPook, is not her doctor, she said, though he did refer her to the doctor who gave her a colonoscopy.)

When asked about one another in separate interviews, the three anchors mostly sought to highlight their rivals’ strengths, though a certain bristling was evident.

“Katie comes into the job with a good understanding of the anchor-viewer relationship,” Mr. Williams said, when asked in early August about Ms. Couric in his office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, not far from the “Today” set. “But evening news viewers are different.”

When Mr. Gibson was asked — in an interview just before he presented a live report on the British terrorism arrests on Aug. 10 — whether he had any special plans for the broadcast of Sept. 5, he questioned why a reporter was asking about that date.

“I didn’t even know it was Sept. 5 she was starting,” he said, with apparent seriousness. “Her beginning the show is not an event in this newsroom.”

Then, noting that his arrival on “World News” full time on May 29 had preceded Ms. Couric’s at CBS by more than three months, he added, “This is not like a shakedown cruise.”

And how does Ms. Couric size up her competition?

In a telephone interview last week, she said, “Clearly we don’t want to be rubber-stamping everything they do.”

Among the elements she hopes will set her program apart, she said, is the weeding out of the austere delivery she often detects among correspondents on CBS’s evening news program — and those of her rivals — in favor of a more relaxed approach.

“It hasn’t gotten to Ron Burgundy levels,” she said, invoking the robotic, self-absorbed newscaster played by Will Ferrell in the 2004 movie “Anchorman.” “But the ability to just talk to people and communicate in simple language that we use in conversation is something that can be done to a greater extent.”

Ms. Couric’s debut will offer evening news viewers the starkest choice among anchors, at least demographically, in the four-decade history of the half-hour evening news format: a 63-year-old man (Mr. Gibson), a 47-year-old man and the first woman to fly solo behind an anchor desk.

And for all three networks, the arrival of Ms. Couric, 49 — the most established star to take the helm of an evening newscast — represents perhaps the last chance for such programs to make a broad case for their relevance, in an age when news video is instantly available on the Internet. On Thursday, CBS announced that Ms. Couric’s program would be shown simultaneously on the Web, a first for the evening news.

The promotions supporting Ms. Couric are the most exhaustive undertaken by CBS News, the network’s executives said, and comparable only to the promotions mounted in recent years for prime-time shows like “CSI.”

Whether the hype will have any long-term effect remains to be seen. Typically, the pecking order among network newscasts has changed glacially, a function not just of who has delivered the news but also of the popularity of the local newscasts that precede them.

In many respects, Ms. Couric’s retooling of the “CBS Evening News” will appear comfortably familiar.

She will sit at a desk finished in ginger root maple laminate — lighter than the mahogany model used by Dan Rather and later Bob Schieffer, but still a desk — atop bright red and blue carpeting, with a 15-foot projection television to her left. Nearby are areas for her to stand and to accommodate chairs for live interviews.

One way she thinks she might stand out from her competitors, she said, is that she will assume that many viewers have already scanned the headlines of the day, giving her license to jettison some stories entirely or to dispense with others in a digest. Doing so, she said, could free up valuable time — no small thing in a broadcast that is actually 22 minutes — to add depth and context to those issues she deems worthy.

“We’ll have correspondents working less on ‘news of the day’ stories and focusing on longer takeouts, if you will,” she said.

At least at the outset, Ms. Couric will give over as many as 90 seconds each night to a segment titled “Free Speech,” in which ordinary Americans, as well as scholars and sometimes even comedians, will be allowed to sound off. Mr. Schieffer will deliver a weekly essay in this slot, probably on Wednesdays.

Neither Mr. Williams nor Mr. Gibson said he felt inclined to follow suit, saying there was ample commentary on cable news and talk radio.

On average this year, Mr. Williams’s broadcast has beaten ABC’s by nearly 800,000 viewers each night, drawing a total audience of 8.8 million versus 8 million for ABC, with CBS lagging at 7.3 million, according to Nielsen Media Research. Though the race between NBC and ABC has been far closer among viewers ages 25 to 54, a bellwether for advertisers — NBC’s lead there is a slim 100,000 — Mr. Williams said he did not plan to change anything come Sept. 5.

“It wouldn’t make sense elsewhere in business for the leading product to make alterations because a product was joining the fray,” he said.

Among the ways Mr. Williams’s broadcast has evolved in the 20 months since he succeeded Tom Brokaw is that it has sought to leaven his marked sobriety with an occasional nod to his sense of humor. At times, he even answers viewer e-mail on the air.

At other times, though, efforts to make the broadcast (and its associated Web site) even more about Mr. Williams can appear to border on the self-reverential. On July 17, for example, the 10th anniversary of the explosion of TWA Flight 800 over Long Island Sound, Mr. Williams chose to mark the occasion by showing extended footage of how he had reported the crash live as an anchor on MSNBC, then in its third night of existence.

“It sounds like it’s being said absent modesty,” Mr. Williams said, when asked to explain that editorial choice. “That became a bit of a television touchstone that many, many summer viewers associated with that night.”

Like Mr. Williams, Mr. Gibson said he did not expect to make major revisions in his broadcast, which recently shortened its name to “World News,” from “World News Tonight,’’ to reflect its electronic ubiquity.

He said he might emphasize some subjects of personal interest, like the controversy over performance-enhancing drugs in sports, or broadcast nine correspondent segments on some nights when Mr. Williams might do seven.

But in the end, he suggested, all three broadcasts, including Ms. Couric’s, will effectively be following a template set decades ago.

“I know there’s a lot going to be made about the fact that the CBS thing is changing,” Mr. Gibson said. “It’s an evolutionary thing for CBS, too.

“Is there something special about her?” he added, referring to Ms. Couric. “I don’t know. I’ll let you determine that.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/us/20evening.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print

Who says Time Warner doesn’t care about sports? In Austin, TX, at least, it might not have space for the NFL Network, but it does have space for more sports.
TV Notebook
Time Warner quietly launches all-sports channel
In Austin TX 24-hour sports goes local
By Diane Holloway Austin American-Statesman

You've probably heard of a "soft launch," but how about a covert launch?

When nobody was looking — or even suspecting — Time Warner's News 8 Austin launched a 24-hour local sports headline service on Digital Channel 408.

On Aug. 8, News 8's Non-Stop Sports , aka NSS, was born. Flip to 408 on your digital service and there it is, spewing out sports info day and night.

Brian Benschoter, general manager of News 8, describes NSS as "still a work in progress," but he says we should think of the new channel as "a locally focused SportsCenter." This month the focus will be on football previews for area high schools, the University of Texas, Texas State and Texas A&M.

"But as we move into September, it will evolve into more sports-news-of-the-day, with a perpetual score ticker," Benschoter says.

Like News 8, NSS is a "wheel" format, updated throughout the day, but unlike News 8, which has updates on the hour and half-hour, the sports wheel will vary in length. On a slow sports day, it could be as short as 15 minutes; on a big sports day, such as Texas-Oklahoma game day, it could expand to an hour.

Benschoter says the sneaky launch was to give the channel time to work out technical glitches.

"Now we feel comfortable enough with the new technology to go public and ask for viewer feedback and suggestions," he says. "I'm amazed by how many people have already found it."

http://www.austin360.com/tv/content/tv/stories/2006/08/16sportstv.html

Time Warner quietly launches all-sports channel
In Austin TX 24-hour sports goes local
By Diane Holloway Austin American-Statesman

You've probably heard of a "soft launch," but how about a covert launch?

When nobody was looking — or even suspecting — Time Warner's News 8 Austin launched a 24-hour local sports headline service on Digital Channel 408. On Aug. 8, News 8's Non-Stop Sports , aka NSS, was born. This month the focus will be on football previews for area high schools, the University of Texas, Texas State and Texas A&M. "But as we move into September, it will evolve into more sports-news-of-the-day, with a perpetual score ticker," Benschoter says.

Benschoter says the sneaky launch was to give the channel time to work out technical glitches.

So me and thousands of TWC users can't get the NFL Network, ESPN 2 HD or Cinemax HD (a Time Warner channel!) in New York City, the #1 TV market and media capital of the world, but the folks in Austin can get a local 24-hr. sports net without anybody knowing or asking for one? :mad: :mad: :mad:

It's classified as something called Digital Sports, I can't tell if that comes with an entry tier digital subscription but I imagine it would since it's lumped with ESPN.

Digital Sports

Channel Channel Name
405 ESPN News

408 News 8 Non-Stop Sports

410 ESPN

411 ESPN-2

420 ESPN Classic

430 Fox Sports Net Southwest

440 Fox Soccer Channel

450 The Golf Channel

470 OLN


They also have something called a Sports Pak, I'm guessing that's where they want to put the NFL channel.


Sports Pak

Channel Channel Name
431 Fox College Sports Atlantic

432 Fox College Sports Central

433 Fox College Sports Pacific

434 Fuel

435 NBA TV

438 CSTV

455 The Tennis Channel

460 Speed Channel

490 Outdoor Channel


http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/CLU/TWCCLUs.ashx?CLUID=231&Zip=&Image1.x=39&Image1.y=7&Image1=submit
Time Warner Cable

You seem to have summed it up very succinctly, dad1153!

TV Notebook
The career dance
Onetime tapper Dulé Hill is "Psych"-ed about the job he landed after "The West Wing."
By Susan King Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 20, 2006

Dule Hill describes his career plans in educational terms.

"For me, if my acting class was high school, then 'The West Wing' was college," says the 31-year-old New Jersey native. "Now I am just getting to that place where I am going for my masters. That's my next step."

After spending seven seasons as personal aide Charlie Young to Martin Sheen's President Bartlet on "The West Wing," Hill is starring in USA's lighthearted detective series "Psych" as Gus, the straight-and-narrow sidekick and friend of the quirky Shawn (James Roday), a young man who solves crimes through keen observation.

Though "West Wing" brought him to national attention — and an Emmy nomination — Hill had been acting since he was 10, when he did the national tour of the Broadway musical "The Tap Dance Kid." He also appeared on Broadway opposite Savion Glover in "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk."

You must have literally jumped from "The West Wing" to "Psych."

I think I wrapped "West Wing" sometime in March, and about a week later I was up here in Vancouver. I knew going into the final season of "West Wing" that I wasn't going to be there every episode, and even if the show did go on, I wouldn't be going on because the Bartlet administration was going to end. So I was given the opportunity to put feelers out there. Once they knew I was available, I had a meeting with the producers of this show, Steve Franks, Kelly Kulchak and Chris Henze. I did the pilot in October, and it was picked up. I was definitely thankful.

I wanted to continue to work, but I wanted to do something that was going to be different. I didn't want to go and do another character that is similar to Charlie. I didn't think either of these characters are like me. When I had a chance to really explore Gus, I thought this would be a nice flip and fun. And it's a comedy. It's about taking it easy and having a good time.

I had no idea you had been a musical comedy star as a child. How did you begin tap dancing as a kid?

I was going to dance class because my cousins and my brother were going. My mom was a ballerina, so she was teaching at the school. I started going because I wanted to be around them. I did tap, jazz and ballet, and at the age of 9, "The Tap Dance Kid" called my school and asked for kids who could sing and dance. At the time my brother and my cousin were better, but I was the younger one, so they took me instead. I understudied Savion Glover for a month on Broadway, and then I did the lead in the national tour."

What was that like then at 10 to be dancing with Harold Nicholas of the Nicholas Brothers and Tony Award-winning Hinton Battle?

I didn't really know who these people were because I was a 10-year-old kid. Hinton was like an uncle to me. I had seen Harold on TV dancing before. I was in awe. I was on the tour for a year and a month or two. After a year, I started to get a little tired, and my dad always told me if I got tired to call him and he'd bring me home. So one day in Chicago, I got home from the show and called Dad and said, 'I want to come home.' Two weeks later, I was back in New Jersey going to school.

Did you retire from acting?

I was doing commercials, I did a Disney Channel movie and I did [the feature] "Sugar Hill." I was in college at Seton Hall University. Savion called me and said, "I'm putting a show up." They needed one more dancer. ["Bring in 'Da Noise"] was supposed to be, like, a month and half at the Public Theatre and then it started to do very well and we went to Broadway. Before that, I had done "Black and Blue" on Broadway. At that point, I had to decide what I wanted to do because I was in college — business finance was my major and I was going to go on and do corporate law. Once I got to college and I realized how hard it was, I said, "I have to do how many more years of school?"

Do you still pursue tap?

I am still dancing. Even up here on Vancouver on the weekends, I go work out in a studio space. I do eventually want to get back into performing, but right now it's more fun for me to dance for myself — just seeing what comes up.

I have to confess I didn't recognize you in the recent film "Edmond" as the streetwise three-card Monty card shark.

A lot of people don't realize it's me when they see it. It was fun for me to do something completely different. There was no, like, talking proper — it was just a straight cat from the streets. It was fun to have a chance to do it because sometimes I think people get confused when they see the characters I play. They think that's me. When people hang out with me they say, "You are much more urban that I thought." I can hang with the cats or hang with the president!

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-brief20aug20,0,4402268,print.story?coll=cl-tv-features

TV Notebook
Happy Birthday, Philo T. Farnsworth
By Roger Catlin Hartford Courant TV Critic in his “TV Eye” blog August 19, 2006

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the inventor of the device we generally celebrate here: television.

In addition to the kind of nimble mind that figured out that images can be scanned by electrons row by row – just like the land he worked as an Idaho farmboy -- he had such a great name.

Philo T. Farnsworth almost sounds like a character Johnny Carson would play on the old “Tonight” show, like Floyd R. Turbo or Art Fern. Or maybe like a character on “Howdy Doody” where Philo T. Farnsworth could stand proudly alongside Flub-A-Dub, Dilly Dall, Princess Summerfall Winterspring, and, yes, Phineas T. Bluster.

Both the “Tonight” show and “Howdy Doody,” of course are courtesy of the invention of Farnsworth, who himself was never on TV according to a piece noting the centenary of Farnworth today by AP’s Frazier Moore.

Farnsworth was featured on “I’ve Got a Secret” in 1957; his secret: I invented electronic television.

He stumped everyone on the panel, so he won $80 and a carton of Winston cigarettes.

Farnsworth died in 1971 at the age of 64. But his widow continued to champion his cause, including appearing at the Emmys the last time Conan O’Brien hosted, in 2002, to take a bow on behalf of her husband, in a segment saluting the 75th anniversary of TV. She died in April at 97.

http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/

TV Notebook
In ‘Prison Break,’ an Actor’s Job Is Never Safe
By Edward Wyatt The New York Times August 20, 2006

LITTLE ELM, Tex.--The second season of “Prison Break,” the Fox hit that last spring saw eight convicts escape from the Fox River Penitentiary, has already been compared to many classics of the genre: to “The Fugitive” times eight, for example, or to “The Great Escape”; in its form, to Dickens’s serialized novels, and in its premise, to the Camus novel “The Stranger.”

Wade Williams, who plays Bellick, the prison guard with a heart of lead, has another idea. “I think it’s like ‘Finding Nemo,’ ” he said recently, sitting in a trailer on a broiling parking lot in this exurb north of Dallas, where the second season is being filmed. “You know, when they all escape from the aquarium and they really are fish out of water.”

Verifying its provenance is only one of the problems that those involved with the show, which emerged as one of the most fascinating dramas of last season, have had. Another has been how to get the audience to buy into a concept where the traditional good guys — the president, for example — are bad and the bad guys — like the loathsome murderer-pedophile T-Bag — have at least an inkling of goodness buried within.

Then there was the issue of how to sustain a one-topic premise — “We’re bustin’ out, tonight” — over 22 episodes and nine months. In the new season, which begins Monday, the storytelling challenges would seem to get only harder, as the main characters, who finally escaped in last season’s finale, run in eight different directions.

But Paul T. Scheuring, the series creator and head writer, is confident, for one main reason. “A lot of people,” he said, “are going to be killed.”

“The ramifications of this escape are going to be very obvious, in that we’re not going to try to sustain the show or kind of cheapen it in any way by trying to stretch too much out of the season,” he said.

“Those eight guys who start on the ground running in Season 2,” he added, “virtually none of those will be there in their current iterations, involved in the Season 3 story line.”

For most shows, killing off a single character is a big deal. It alters a show’s dynamics, both on-screen and off, itself a risk for an enterprise that relies on the cooperation of the multiple parties on the set each day. A character’s death also risks alienating a fair portion of the audience, because each player in a complex drama is bound to attract his own set of fans. Other popular shows, like “Lost” on ABC, have centered large parts of their seasons on the occasional death of a character.

But despite the fact that there is no precedent for him to follow or avoid, Mr. Scheuring seems almost blasé as he invokes the right to pursue mass bloodshed. “We just want to tell the most intriguing and best story that we can,” he said, “and we can’t pull any punches in doing that. If we kill characters, and characters fall by the wayside, it makes the audience that much more fearful for our protagonists while they’re on the run, because they realize that they could get caught and killed.”

The actors realize it too. Comfortable though Mr. Scheuring may be, his approach has created a certain level of tension on the set, where the actors and crew are enduring 12-hour days in temperatures that are routinely topping 100 degrees. “One of the actors here, he’s about to eat it, and he’s very upset,” said Dominic Purcell, who plays Lincoln Burrows, the death row inmate who is wrongly accused of assassinating the vice president’s brother. “It’s a very sensitive subject. A series like this comes along once in a while, and of course you want it to last as long as possible.”

And just as clearly, some will be disappointed. “If everybody continues on in this safe world, then by Episode 6 or 8 or 10, you’re bored,” Mr. Scheuring said. “But if it’s like, ‘Is Scofield going to die at the end too?’ — he might, and I think that’s cool.”

Scofield is Michael Scofield, the structural engineer who had himself incarcerated with a tattoo of the prison’s blueprints to bust out his brother, the accused assassin.

That is only the beginning of the show’s convoluted plot. The vice president’s brother, it was revealed in last season’s finale, is anything but dead, and the vice president is now the president after she appeared to have a hand in knocking off the big man herself.

And what would a prison drama be without a love interest? Not that kind — although there is that too — but rather a burgeoning flirtation between Scofield and Dr. Sara Tancredi, the prison physician who happens to be the governor’s daughter.

Farfetched? Perhaps. But the plot’s credibility problems are overcome by rich, intense character portrayals, anchored by Wentworth Miller as the tattooed brother and Robert Knepper, who plays the repellent T-Bag with a creepy, insinuating grin.

The second season also adds a new antagonist, Special Agent Alexander Mahone of the F.B.I., portrayed by William Fichtner. As Javert to Scofield’s Valjean, Mahone chases the prisoners along their intersecting cross-country paths.

Like any good prison break, this one was sketched out well in advance. “We always looked at it as 44 episodes, the first half of which took place within the walls and the second half with the escape, with each of the guys headed toward their own goal, whether it’s love or revenge or exoneration,” Mr. Scheuring said.

And from the very first episode of the new season, he said, “we want to show that we’re playing for keeps, and that there are ramifications to what they’ve done.”

“If Season 2 just continued to the end and all of our characters were running in a scrum and none of them had suffered because of this massive thing that they’ve done, I think it would be a very unrealistic and unfulfilling season,” he said. “But as the audience starts to see first one and then another and then another of our protagonists getting killed or getting caught, it becomes kind of a dark ‘American Idol,’ where you tune in to see who’s going to get eliminated next week.”

Mr. Miller, whose Scofield character is something of a Stoic, is suitably accepting of his possible fate.

“We are trying to tell a frightening story here,” he said. “So they’re trying to keep the tension ratcheted up to a frightening level. Ultimately there are casualties. And if they said that Scofield is going to be tossed beneath the wheels of a semi, and it is in keeping with the integrity of the story we are trying to tell, then so be it.”

Impending death would interfere with some of the potentially most intriguing story arcs, particularly that of C-Note, the prisoner, portrayed by Rockmond Dunbar, who was drummed out of the Army but who is pretending, to his family, to still be in Iraq. “It’s going to be interesting, how this works out with his family,” Mr. Dunbar said. “All I can say is that if he gets to them, it’s going to be in a very intelligent way.”

Of course, whittling down the number of characters has its practical aspects as well. “It actually does help us in terms of reducing story lines,” Mr. Scheuring said. “You can’t tell eight different story lines in an episode of television.”

With the success of the show has come the inevitable question from the network: What can we do for Season 3?

Mr. Scheuring is coy.

“Some interesting stuff is coming up,” he said. “But again, because Season 2 is kind of a reinvention of Season 1 in terms of tableaus, Season 3 will have to be that as well.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/arts/television/20wyat.html?ref=television&pagewanted=print

TV Notebook
FNCers Kidnapped In Gaza: Centanni's Family Tapes Televised Plea
(from Brian Stelter’s TVNewser at mediabistro.com) August 20, 2006

Fox News Channel's efforts to secure the release of its two kidnapped employees are increasingly taking to the airwaves. The kidnapping was mentioned eight times on Saturday.

On Studio B, correspondent Amy Kellogg added this at the end of her report: "Fox News was one of the only western television networks to retain a continuous presence in Gaza covering events there on a daily basis even when the headline-grabbing war in Lebanon was raging on."

Then on The Big Story, the cable net aired this appeal from Steve Centanni's family:

"Our brother Steve Centanni was kidnapped August 14th, last Monday. I would like his captors to know that Steve is an honorable man who always tries to do what is right. Steve has strong respect for the Palestinian people and their culture. Steve was in gaza with Olaf Wiig to report the truth. He is far more valuable to the Palestinian people free as a journalist than as a captive. We love Steve very much and now his health, his safety, and his life is your responsibility. Please contact our family, let us know that he is alive and unharmed."

Julie Banderas said the plea was airing on international television tonight. It also aired on FNC during the 7 and 8pm hours...

http://mediabistro.com/tvnewser/

HD Commercials: Still Pretty (and Scarce)

I like it that way. The black bars are the easiest way to jump past the ads. And how videoredo does it.

TV Notebook
Creative Arts Emmys
(ATAS News Release)
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) tonight (Saturday, August 19, 2006) awarded the 2005-2006 Creative Arts Primetime Emmys for programs and individual achievements at the 58th Annual Emmy Awards presentation at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

The awards, as tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP, were distributed as follows:

Shows People Total
HBO 2 15 17
ABC 1 9 10
NBC 1 7 8
CBS - 7 7
FOX 1 6 7
PBS 2 5 7
CARTOON NET - 4 4
HISTORY CHAN 2 1 3
disney 1 1 2
TNT - 2 2
A&E - 1 1
Discovery 1 - 1
FX - 1 1
NICKELODEON - 1 1
SCI FI - 1 1
SHOWTIME - 1 1
TCM - 1 1
WB - 1 1


Emmys in 27 other categories will be presented at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards telecast on Sunday, August 27, 2006, 8:00 p.m. - conclusion, ET/PT over the NBC Television Network at the Shrine Auditorium.

Highlights:

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Grey’s Anatomy ABC

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR A SPECIAL
Elizabeth I HBO

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
My Name Is Earl NBC

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
CHRISTIAN CLEMENSON as Jerry “Hands” Espenson Boston Legal ABC

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
PATRICIA CLARKSON as Aunt Sarah Six Feet Under HBO

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
CLORIS LEACHMAN as Ida Malcolm In The Middle FOX

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
LESLIE JORDAN as Beverley Leslie Will & Grace NBC

OUTSTANDING VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE (Juried award: Possibility of one, more than one or no award.) This is a juried award determined by a panel of judges from the Animation and Performer peer groups. Recommendation(s) from the jury are brought to the Board of Governors for ratification. This award was previously announced.

KELSEY GRAMMER as Sideshow Bob The Simpsons FOX

PROGRAMS WITH MULTIPLE AWARDS
Elizabeth I 5
Baghdad ER 4
Rome 4
78th Annual Academy Awards 3
24 2
Bleakhouse (Masterpiece Theatre) 2
Boston Legal 2
Dancing With The Stars 2
High School Musical 2
How I Met Your Mother 2
Into The West 2
MADtv 2
My Name Is Earl 2
Rome: Engineering An Empire 2
Six Feet Under 2
The Amazing Race 2
The Simpsons 2
The XX Olympics Winter Games – Opening Ceremony

The complete list of award winners can be found here:
http://www.emmys.com/awards/2006pt/nominations.php

TV Notebook
Sign of the Times: Print TV listings go extinct
For PR departments, mags still convey message to potential viewers 0
By Michael Schneider Variety.com August 20, 2006

Newspaper TV listings are going the way of the society pages and "Li'l Abner."

Across the country, Sunday TV books have been shrunk or eliminated altogether as advertising plummets and readers get their listings elsewhere.

The Los Angeles Times' plan to downsize distribution of its TV Times -- announced last week -- reps the most extreme measure taken so far by a major metropolitan daily.

Only those subscribers who specifically request the book will get it on Saturdays.

"This allows the Times to efficiently distribute TV Times to those readers who most value its content," says newspaper spokesman David Garcia.

Translation: "We've already given up TV Times for dead. But there may be a few die-hard listings junkies out there who can boost our Saturday subscription numbers, so we'll keep printing a few books on the side."

The L.A. Times stopped short of eliminating its weekly TV log entirely, though several small-market newspapers around the country have done so. But it likely will trigger more debate in publishers' offices across the country: Are TV books still worth it?

"Viewer habits are changing," notes CBS communications senior VP Chris Ender. "More and more people are making their daily and weekly viewing decisions based on the electronic programming guides on TiVo, the TV Guide Channel and cable operator systems."

Note: Variety subscribers can get the complete story here:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117948684?categoryid=14&cs=1

TV Notebook
Is 'O.C.' DOA?
By Scott D. Pierce Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News

PASADENA, Calif. — Fox hasn't canceled "The O.C." Yet. But it has one-third canceled the show. Sort of.

As it enters its fourth season, only 16 episodes of "The O.C." have been ordered. That's after producing 27 episodes its first season, 24 its second and 25 its third.

"I wouldn't read too much into it," warned Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori, who tried to put it off on starting the show in November (after the baseball playoffs and World Series) instead of starting the show in August or September.

"This year, in continuing our strategy of, once on air, to try to run as continuously as possible, we're starting it November (2)," Liguori said.

Nice try. But, even allowing for pre-emptions during the holidays, 16 episodes will only carry "The O.C." through March. And, while he won't come right out and say it, Liguori doesn't expect "The O.C." to be fighting the ratings wars by the time next spring rolls around.

This season, not only will "The O.C." continue to run into the buzz saw of ratings juggernaut "CSI" on Thursdays at 8 p.m., but ABC is moving mega-hit "Grey's Anatomy" there. And NBC will have the popular "Deal or No Deal," while The CW programs the cult hit "Supernatural."

"Thursday night is going to be one monster-competitive night of television, and 'The O.C.'s ratings have been a bit challenged recently," Liguori said, perhaps understating the problem. "I think the audience is loyal. Frankly, Thursday night has been a weak spot for us, and 'The O.C.' has done well."

Well, relatively well. Its numbers on Thursdays at 8 p.m. last season were about 30 percent better than what Fox did there two years ago, but Fox did extremely poorly there two years ago.

And, as is part of his job description, Liguori talked up the coming season of "The O.C." and creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz's plans for the show now that most of the characters have graduated from high school.

"The fact that they're leaving high school should be able to open it up to more of an 18-24 audience. . . . He's got a lot of stories to tell, and they're juicy and they're good," Liguori said. "And we're going to go head-to-head with two of the biggest juggernauts on TV, and our bet is that the 'O.C.' loyalists are going to be back."

How many of them will be back is the question.

They don't want to say it on the record — he is their boss, after all — but members of "The O.C." cast are quietly saying that Liguori simply isn't behind the show and hasn't been since he took over as Fox's top programmer in March 2005. "The O.C." was put on the air by his predecessor, it isn't "his" show, and he's more interested in the success of the shows he has put on the air since he was named president of Fox Entertainment.

Liguori holds out hope that there could be more than 16 episodes of "The O.C." this season, although he doesn't really sound like he believes that himself.

"If things go really well — and again, let's face it — Thursday night? If the show happens to be incredibly strong, we could call an audible with Josh and extend it out to 24 (episodes)," Liguori said. "If we feel that there needs to be something else to try to thwart the 'Greys' and 'CSIs' of this world, we have a few options at our disposal."

http://www.desnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645193465,00.html

Critic’s Notebook
Fine tuning
By David Bianculli New York Daily News TV Critic Sunday, August 20th, 2006

The 2006-2007 fall TV season is going to be a good one.

There may not be any absolute home-run new series - no "24," no "Lost," no "Desperate Housewives" - but there are some that come close, and a lot of others that are worth sampling.

But you'd better pay attention because the competition is tougher than ever.

So is locating the shows, returning as well as new, that you might be interested in watching.

Fox, for example, is holding back some of its biggest guns, such as "American Idol" and "24," until January. ABC is moving "Grey's Anatomy" from Sunday to Thursday, CBS is moving "The Amazing Race" to Sunday, and prime-time broadcast-network football has gone from Mondays on ABC to Sundays on NBC.

But take some solace in the fact that a lot of the shows returning to broadcast TV are wonderful. Any season that allows us to enjoy "My Name Is Earl" and "Lost," "Veronica Mars" and "The Simpsons," "Boston Legal" and "60 Minutes" is good - and some of the new shows will make it better.

Serialized dramas and comedies are overrepresented among the shows premiering this fall, but that trend - any trend - is preferable to another glut of unscripted reality shows. There's very little comedy on the schedule this year, especially the traditional sitcom form, but all trends, on TV as off it, seem to be cyclical.

Even the mini-trends are interesting this year. NBC has two shows chronicling the behind-the-scenes doings at a network sketch comedy series: the half-hour comedy "30 Rock," from Tina Fey of "Saturday Night Live," and the hour-long comedy-drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," from Aaron Sorkin of "The West Wing" and "Sports Night."

Both of them are among the most promising new shows of the season. I also really like the premise and pilot of ABC's "The Nine" (unlike most serialized dramas this year, it draws you in instantly and never lets go), my other favorite pilot among the newcomers.

I also like, enough to sample for a while, the goofy comedy of ABC's "Knights of Prosperity," ABC's unusual "Ugly Betty," NBC's gripping "Kidnapped," and the distinct storytelling of NBC's "Heroes" and "Friday Night Lights."

The same network's "Brothers and Sisters" has a fine cast, but we haven't been shown that program yet, so it's up in the air.

Right now, so is the entire new fall season. But it'll arrive before you know it, and some of these shows, before you know it and despite their quality, will be leaving.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/v-pfriendly/story/444676p-374471c.html

The 2006-2007 Season
The lineup of new shows
By Marisa Guthrie The New York Daily News Staff Writer Sunday, August 20th, 2006

N B C

"Heroes" Mondays, 9 p.m.

A group of disparate misfits discover they have superhuman powers, and with great power comes great responsibility. Milo Ventimiglia ("Gilmore Girls") is as adorable as ever as a confused college kid who thinks he can fly, and Adrian Pasdar is devilishly irresistible as his sharklike politico older brother. Hayden Panettiere, Ali Larter and Greg Grunberg also star.

"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" Mondays, 10 p.m.

Aaron Sorkin satirizes broadcast television, a milieu he is intimately acquainted with as the creator of "The West Wing" and "SportsNight." This time, late-night TV is the conduit for Sorkin's social commentary. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry play writing partners brought in to save a ratings-challenged "Saturday Night Live"-type show. Amanda Peet, Timothy Busfield, Steve Weber, D.L. Hughley and Sarah Paulson co-star.

"Friday Night Lights" Tuesdays, 8 p.m.

This NBC drama, from Peter Berg, who also brought us the movie version of his cousin Buzz Bissinger's book, stars Kyle Chandler as the charismatic coach of a high school football team in a Texas town where this game is the only game in town. The show includes stunningly realistic game sequences (the actors are intercut with real game footage shot by NBC's NFL videographers). There are Hail Marys (long bombs) and Our Fathers (the pregame prayer). God, football and country: a recipe for success.

"20 Good Years" Wednesdays, 8 p.m.

John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor are a New Millennium odd couple - Lithgow is Oscar and Tambor is Felix - who make a pact to live what's left of their lives to the fullest. In the pilot, that means we get to see Lithgow in a Speedo.

"30 Rock" Wednesdays, 8:30 p.m.

Tina Fey has turned her nine years at "Saturday Night Live" - where she was the show's head writer, as well as one of its stars (notably as an anchor on the news report) - into a biting comedy about, what else, a sketch-comedy show. In "30 Rock," Fey plays a version of herself. Tracy Jordan (another alum of "SNL") plays an off-the-hook comedian (shades of Dave Chappelle and Martin Lawrence), and Alec Baldwin plays a composite of the totally useless corporate suit.

"Kidnapped" Wednesdays, 10 p.m.

Timothy Hutton and Dana Delany play wealthy New York City parents whose 15-year-old son (Will Denton) is kidnapped by a nefarious cabal. They enlist the aid of Jeremy Sisto (in his first series role since "Six Feet Under"), a former FBI agent who now works outside the law. But his former colleague (Delroy Lindo), who is still at the bureau, is determined to do things (mostly) by the book. Carmen Ejogo, Linus Roache and Mykelti Williamson co-star.

A B C

"Brothers & Sisters" Sundays, 10 p.m.

This drama from executive producer Ken Olin revolves around adult siblings with lots of baggage and even more demons. Calista Flockhart plays a neocon pundit and talk-radio host. Rachel Griffiths is a liberal corporate CEO who returns to save the family business. And Dave Annable is the baby of the family who picked up a bad case of addiction and PTSD in the U.S. Army. Tom Skerritt and Sally Field co-star as the parents. Patricia Wettig, Balthazar Getty and Ron Rifkin round out the all-star cast.

"The Knights of Prosperity" Tuesdays, 9 p.m.

Donal Logue leads a ragtag crew of burglars (bunglers is more like it) as they attempt to cash in on the American dream by robbing someone who has too much money, namely Mick Jagger. Logue's recruits include Sofia Vergara, Lenny Venito, Maz Jobrani, Kevin Michael Richardson and Josh Grisetti.

"Help Me Help You" Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m.

Ted Danson is at the top of his game as an egotistical group therapist with lots of baggage of his own and a looming midlife crisis. His 25-year marriage is breaking up, but he's still in love with his ex-wife (Jane Kaczmarek). And his group therapy sessions often seem like an exercise in futility. Charlie Finn, Jim Rash, Suzy Nakamura, Darlene Hunt and Jere Burns play his patients.

"The Nine" Wednesdays, 10 p.m.

Nine people are brought together by trauma when they are held hostage in a bank in this stylish drama starring Scott Wolf, Kim Raver and Chi McBride. After they're released, they set about rebuilding their lives, but they are all irreparably changed.

"Ugly Betty" Thursdays, 8 p.m.

America Ferrera ("Real Woman Have Curves") couldn't be more endearing in this Americanized version of a Mexican telenovela. Ferrera is Betty, an ugly duckling who's hired as the personal assistant to a fashion magazine editor (Eric Mabius) who attempts to torture her into quitting so that he can hire someone easier on the eyes. Vanessa L. Williams and Tony Plana co-star.

"Six Degrees" Thursdays, 10 p.m.

The karmic principle that we're all connected through a chain of six people is at the heart of J.J. Abrams' latest drama. The show revolves around six New Yorkers whose lives will become inextricably intertwined through a series of seemingly random events. Jay Hernandez, Bridget Moynahan (who played Carrie's nemesis Natasha on "Sex and the City"), Erika Christensen, Dorian Missick, Campbell Scott and Hope Davis star.

"Men in Trees" Fridays, 9 p.m.

Anne Heche - who recently got her life together after flirtations with lesbianism and visitations from aliens - plays a relationship expert and author whose life spins out of control when she discovers her fiance's philandering ways. When her publicist books her for a lecture in Alaska, where men seem to grow on trees, she decides to chuck the big city and stay.

C B S

"The Class" Mondays, 8 p.m.

Jason Ritter plays an unabashed romantic who decides to surprise his fiancee by throwing her a surprise party, inviting their third-grade classmates to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the day they met. The plan backfires. She leaves him. But his erstwhile classmates stick around to torment him.

"Smith" Tuesdays, 10 p.m.

Ray Liotta plays corporate manager who moonlights as a heist mastermind. His team of charismatic cat burglars includes Simon Baker, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart and Franky G. Chris Bauer plays the FBI agent obsessed with bringing down Liotta and his team. Shohreh Aghdashloo ("24," "House of Sand and Fog") is Liotta's mysterious puppet master. And Virginia Madsen stars as his devoted wife who has her own dark secrets.

"Jericho" Wednesdays, 8 p.m.

Gerald McRaney and Skeet Ulrich play father and son in this postapocalyptic drama about a small Kansas town plunged into chaos when a mushroom cloud on the horizon leaves them wondering if they're the only people left alive after a nuclear attack.

"Shark" Thursdays, 10 p.m.

James Woods plays a smarmy lawyer who has an attack of conscience after a client he helps free commits murder. So he takes a pay cut and a job in the prosecutor's office, where he puts his cutthroat skills to good use. Jeri Ryan co-stars.

Fox

"Vanished" Mondays, 9 p.m.

The beautiful wife (Joanne Kelly) of a prominent Georgia senator (John Allen Nelson) gets up from her $5,000-a-plate fund-raising dinner to take a phone call and never comes back. Bingo, the search is on. Esai Morales, Gale Harold and Ming-Na play the FBI team looking for her, but the senator's wife may not be who she appears to be. And a tenacious, opportunistic TV reporter (Rebecca Gayheart) is hot on that trail.

"Standoff" Tuesdays, 8 p.m.

Ron Livingston has jumped out of the "Sex and the City" frying pan and into the line of fire in this quirky drama about hostage negotiators who are also having a highly charged romantic relationship. Rosemarie DeWitt, the granddaughter of famed boxer James J. Braddock (who was played by Russell Crowe in "Cinderella Man"), co-stars as his brassy co-worker and lover. And in case you're wondering, according to the show's producers, the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU) does not prohibit workplace fraternization (even among partners), which actually seems a little odd. Maybe they'll rethink that policy after watching this show.

"Justice" Wednesdays, 9 p.m.

When last we saw Victor Garber on "Alias," he was quickly expiring in a remote international outpost in the arms of his daughter Sydney (Jennifer Garner). Well, he's all patched up (and looking quite smart) and running a high-profile law firm in Los Angeles. This legal drama from Jerry Bruckheimer revolves around celebrity criminal cases à la O.J. Simpson. Kerr Smith, Eamonn Walker and Rebecca Mader co-star as his legal support team.

"Til Death" Thursdays, 8 p.m.

Brad Garrett gets top billing in this scenes-from-a-marriage sitcom. This time, he plays a malcontent middle-aged married man whose cynical wife (Joely Fisher) drowns her frustrations in buckets of fried chicken and bags of junk food. Meanwhile, their newlywed next-door neighbors (Kat Foster and Eddie Kaye Thomas) are as so sickly sweet and in love they make your teeth ache. Incidentally, Garrett's "'Til Death" character hews much more closely to the acerbic wiseguy of his standup act.

"Happy Hour" Thursdays, 8:30 p.m.

Guy moves to big city with his former Miss Missouri girlfriend. Girlfriend wants to spread her wings and fly (i.e., date other people). Girlfriend dumps guy and kicks him out of their apartment. Guy moves in with an unemployed party animal. Multiple martinis later, life is sweet. John Sloan and Lex Medlin co-star.

The CW

"Runaway" Mondays, 9 p.m.

Donnie Wahlberg plays a successful lawyer living the American dream with his wife (Leslie Hope, who played Jack Bauer's unfortunate wife in the first season of "24") and three kids (Dustin Milligan, Sarah Ramos and Nathan Gamble). But their bucolic life is shattered when Dad is wrongly accused of murdering a pretty young associate at his law firm. And so they dye their hair (or in Hope's case, remove her wig) and begin a life on the lam. Karen LeBlanc plays the tenacious FBI agent who won't let the trail go cold.

"The Game" Sundays, 8:30 p.m.

What is it really like to be the trophy wife/girlfriend of a professional football player? And where should you definitely NOT sit when you're in the wives' box on game day? Answer: If you're the girlfriend and you're new, you don't sit anywhere a wife wants to sit. Tia Mowry plays the new girl around the stadium when her boyfriend (Pooch Hall) is drafted as the third-string quarterback. Wendy Raquel Robinson, Brittany Daniel, Coby Bell and Hosea Chanchez also star.

My Network TV
The network has two series - adapted from popular telenovelas - and will air them weeknights, with Saturday night recaps, over 13 weeks.

"Desire" Monday - Friday, 8 p.m.

Brothers (Nate Haden and Zack Silva) work together (they open a restaurant) and play together (they both fall in love with the same woman, Michelle Belegrin). Much melodrama ensues. Sofia Milos also stars.

"Fashion House" Monday - Friday, 9 p.m.

Bo Derek plays the megalomaniac head of a fashion company whose main rival is a dastardly Morgan Fair-child. We see a catfight in the fountain on the horizon.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/v-pfriendly/story/444692p-374486c.html

Critic’s Notebook
BOY DETECTIVE
A police poseur on “Psych.”
By Nancy Franklin The New Yorker

Now, more than ever, Friday night is behavior-disorder night on the USA Network. For the past four years, there’s been “Monk,” whose main character, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub), is a brilliant detective who has been on leave from the San Francisco police force since his wife was murdered and some of his tics and habits and eccentricities flowered into a full-blown obsessive-compulsive disorder. And, starting this Friday (after the première of the new season of “Monk”), we have “Psych,” a show about the wacky crime-solving adventures and personal misadventures of Shawn Spencer (James Roday), a Santa Barbara policeman’s son who is immature, distractable, and impulsive, and who, though he’s only in his late twenties, has had—and lost—fifty-seven jobs since he graduated from high school. O.C.D. and A.D.D.: there’s a good reason that USA’s branding motto is “Characters welcome.” (The madness continues on Sunday nights, with back-to-back paranormality: “The 4400,” about a group of forty-four hundred people who were abducted from Earth over the course of years and are one day returned here, en masse, and “The Dead Zone,” in which Anthony Michael Hall comes out of a six-year coma with the gift of second sight.)

“Psych” is, in a sense, Son of “Monk”; both shows revolve around characters whose past rules tyrannically over their present and both try to squeeze comedy from their situations. “Monk,” which, in addition to Shalhoub, has a wonderful supporting cast, is often very touching, whereas “Psych” is, for the most part, merely jokey. Shawn’s father, Henry (Corbin Bernsen), now retired from the force, groomed him for detective work from early childhood. In the third episode, we see a flashback of Shawn when he was seven, playing detective by himself, pretending to shadow a perp. His father, watching him, criticizes his technique. The dispirited Shawn says, “I was just playing.” Henry, exasperated, shoots back, “Well, play right, Shawn. Or don’t play at all.” That kind of attitude will put a damper on a person’s development; in Shawn’s case, this means that later in life when his friend Gus (Dulé Hill), a responsible pharmaceutical salesman, teases him about having had so many jobs, he says, “Yes, I have, and they were all fun.” Shawn plays all the time—but, wouldn’t you know it, he also turns out to be an absolute ace at detective work. Take that, Dad.

In the opening scene of the series, while the two are at a diner, Henry quizzes young Shawn on the details of their surroundings—how many people are wearing hats, which letter in the exit light is burned out, and so on. The waitress suggests that he’ll be a detective when he grows up. “I’m never going to grow up,” he says. In the next scene—twenty years later—he’s making out with a waitress on his couch with the TV on, and solves a crime just by watching the story on the local news and noticing details in the picture. He immediately calls the police to tell them, and inadvertently becomes a suspect himself. For some reason, he decides to use the bogus explanation that he’s a psychic. The series flows from that premise, and what also flows is our sense that there is something wrong with Shawn that is unacknowledged by the show’s producers, many of whom also have other works of whimsy and preposterousness on their résumés, such as “Ed,” “Boston Public,” and “Picket Fences.” (The show’s creator, Steve Franks, wrote the Adam Sandler movie “Big Daddy.”) Shawn is both in your face and completely absent as a human being. His puckishness verges on the pathological, calling to mind Jim Carrey’s more manic creations, as well as the title character of “Ed,” whose quixotic and supposedly amusing attempt to win over a woman was a grating case of narcissism without charm.

Once Shawn has presented himself as a psychic, he has to play the part. When “visions” come to him, he thrashes around the way Carrey did in the courthouse-bathroom scene in “Liar, Liar,” and when a police detective chides him for not being serious enough—for acting as though helping the police were like being a kid in a candy store—Shawn, channelling the deadpan looniness of Ace Ventura, says, “Let me be honest with you, Detective. I used to work in a candy store, and it’s nothing like this.” But Roday doesn’t quite have the chops to back up his Carreyisms. Shawn is a first-draft version of Jason Lee’s title character in “My Name Is Earl”—a lovable goof, but with little ability to gain traction in your heart.

“Brotherhood,” a new drama on Showtime on Sunday nights, is almost a parody of itself. It’s about the struggles between two brothers in Providence, Rhode Island, one of them a state representative and the other a lifelong criminal, who shows up after seven years in hiding. But watch out—slippery gray areas ahead. The politician, Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke), is no saint (this is the legendarily corrupt Rhode Island, after all), and his thuggish brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), has a yearning for redemption. Well, if you stab a woman fifty-four times, you’re going to spend a lot of time yearning for redemption. Comes with the territory. Both Tommy and Michael are fiercely loyal to the Hill, the fictional working-class Irish neighborhood where they grew up and still live, and fiercely loyal to their ma, Rose, who works at “the mill,” plays bingo, is herself fiercely loyal to her sons, and is played by the fiercely Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan.

“Brotherhood” is a heavy stew, with chunks of “The Sopranos” floating in it, and it reeks of stage Irishness. After Michael has beaten a waiter at a seafood joint because he thinks the recipe for the breading for the stuffed clams has been changed, his mother tells Michael’s young niece, “Your uncle has been cursed with a volatile nature. But deep down in his heart he is the best of men.” Bless this show, Father, for it is blarney.

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/critics/060710crte_television

Critic’s Notebook
'Prison Break' gives chase
By Ann Oldenburg USA TODAY 8/20/2006

A new season of Fox's hit Prison Break kicks off Monday at 8 ET/PT with an intense opening chase sequence.

Eight convicts went over the wall at Joliet Prison at the end of last season, though several went their own ways: "Tweener" (Lane Garrison), in a horse trailer on his way to St. Louis; "Haywire" (Silas Weir Mitchell), headed off on a bicycle; "T-Bag" (Robert Knepper), seeking a way to reattach his severed hand.

And a core group — Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare), Benjamin "C-Note" Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar) and Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) — are chased by prison guards and the FBI.

They emerge from woods in the outskirts of Chicago to hear a train coming. Storyboards were the starting point for plotting the season-opening stunt, filmed in Dallas in late June.

"One of my main creative mandates for Season 2 is that it feel very real," says creator Paul Scheuring. He wanted to do a real stunt with the actors. "It's like Butch and Sundance will jump off a cliff to get away. What will our guys do?"

"It's like something out of James Bond," Miller says. "The train was actually speeding — or as far as I'm concerned speeding, going about 12 mph — and I had to run alongside and at one point jump up onto one of the train cars, and it all went off beautifully. I was scared and nervous, and it was awkward and exciting. It was a great day."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-08-20-prison-break_x.htm

(The above link also includes a fun story board graphic about the scene in question.)

Critic’s Notebook
The plot: Hook the viewers early
'Vanished' gets a jump on the competition with its slowly unfolding conspiracy. Nothing is as it seems. Surprised?
By Robert Lloyd Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 21, 2006

A full week before Labor Day and a month ahead of the competition, Fox (Monday night, 9 PM ET/PT) rolls out the first new show of the fall season: "Vanished," a series about — well, it's a little early to say exactly what it's about, but the title refers, or seems to refer, to the missing wife of a U.S. senator from Georgia.

By the end of the first hour, the mysteries are multiplying, the better to hook you, and well they should, because just finding the missing wife of a U.S. senator from Georgia is not really enough to build a season on. You will not be surprised, then, that Nothing Here Is As It Seems.

Like Fox's early-returning "Prison Break," which "Vanished" follows in the schedule and with which it shares a certain lockjawed intensity, it is a serial, in a season of serials, the latest reinvention of a wheel most recently spun back into life by the success of "24," also on Fox, and secured by "Lost," both of which have exerted some specific influence on "Vanished."

Its preemptive premiere makes strategic sense, given that the various whodunits, will-they-do-its, why'd-they-do-its, what-really-happened-in-theres coming your way this season will compete not only with their time-slot neighbors but also for limited space in your brain. By jumping the gun, "Vanished" calls first dibs on your attention. It has also been calibrated to last just until the return of "24" in January, which is not only polite but also smart, increasing the likelihood of getting from first episode to last.

Most TV series have at least a little of the serial about them. Changes are permanent: If a character loses an eye, say, it does not grow back by the next episode. (Unless he's an android or a demon or something.) But as a way to force viewers to keep returning for 13 or 22 or 32 weeks or even for several seasons to get what they used to get in an hour — resolution — the purposeful long arc has a special edge and obvious appeal. As soon as any puzzle is sprung, some kind of awful human desire to know how things will turn out takes over, even when we (often correctly) suspect that the answer will not be worth the investment of our time.

Just as "Lost" is headed toward what will surely be one of the great narrative letdowns of our time, "Vanished" is guaranteed to be more fun the longer it keeps its business obscure. (The pilot offers a defrosted 10-year-old corpse, a posthumous tattoo and an impossible pregnancy for your consideration.) Still, it's clear by the end of Hour 1 that there is some quasi-religious conspiracy at work here — the sort that likes to leave hints and calling cards and properly belongs to the world of fiction rather than to unscripted life, which runs not on thousand-year calculations but on immediate dumb luck.

As the FBI agent in charge of the investigation, Gale Harold is all pressed lips and knitted brows. That he has just had a little boy blow up all over him while trying to resolve another kidnapping — not his fault, but still — apparently gives him special leave not to shave regularly (although he dresses well) and be as rude as he likes to whomever he likes. Fortunately, he is partnered with the more reasonable Ming-Na (from "ER"), the best advertisement for the feds since Gillian Anderson. Indeed the show gets more "X-Files" as it goes along, and if characters start to spontaneously combust, I will not be shocked.

On the case from another angle is former Noxzema Girl Rebecca Gayheart as an ambitious reporter from that special place where TV news coverage is driven by the whims of ambitious reporters. Like Harold, she is up in everybody's business. John Allen Nelson is the senator, Joanne Kelly his vanished wife, Margarita Levieva and John Patrick Amedori his (but not her) children. The daughter is in a relationship with an apparently dangerous dude, and the son is sending e-mails to his mother, who, when we get to see her, will be Penelope Ann Miller.

Josh Berman is the brain behind this thing, and the years he has devoted to "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" should not necessarily be held against him. Mimi Leder, who has directed some superior pulp in her time, including the George Clooney-Nicole Kidman film "The Peacemaker," is an executive producer and directed the pilot, which does its business a tad aggressively and with a surprising amount of visual cliché, for the most part effectively. I, the Jury, am still out on this one; it could go either way from here.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-vanished21aug21,0,1699372,print.story?coll=cl-tvent

The Business of TV
Verizon Tries to Cut to the Chase
By MariannePaskowski in her TV Week blog

Covering Verizon’s moves into the TV space should really be some reporter’s full-time beat. You can’t pick up a paper without reading about its entry somewhere into video. Yes, even on this little spit of sand in the ocean, Cape Cod. For two days straight, the Cape Cod Times reports the state’s displeasure with Verizon as it lobbies to shorten franchising time, leaving municipalities just 30 days to hammer out deals.

It usually takes a year for those pacts to get nailed down, but Verizon wants to change the rules. Verizon already provides video in six communities surrounding Boston and has newly won franchises in six other communities in that area. Now the telco wants to come over the bridge, having had discussions with five Cape Cod towns, which went quite poorly.

Clearly those sensible Yankees are not going to be rushed into anything, saying they want to make an educated decision. And they also know that national telecom re-reg is afoot.

Clearly I’m not a sensible Yankee, but a shrewd New York “wash-a-shore” who sees some merit in what Verizon is trying to do. Competition results in lower prices for consumers. And, it’s not as though Comcast, the incumbent is going to go away.

http://blogs.tvweek.com/category/mariannepaskowski/

TV Sports
Pigskin to Thin Skin to Skin Alive
By David Carr The New York Times August 21, 2006

Tony Kornheiser is living the dream of modern American journalism, having gone multiplatform long before being multiplatform was cool — or even a catchphrase. A newspaper and Internet sports columnist, radio host and sports television talker, Mr. Kornheiser is the embodiment of the new paradigm, a dream employee for every newspaper that is looking to make its journalism available across all platforms and its columnists into stars — which is to say, all newspapers.

And this season, he took on one of sports journalism’s most visible slots, becoming the color commentator on “Monday Night Football,” which has moved to ESPN. But there are indications that Mr. Kornheiser has risen to a status that may test his temperament and could create problems, along with a fair amount of buzz, for his employers.

Amid generally positive notices, a few tepid reviews of his first broadcast came in from The Washington Post and ESPN, two organizations Mr. Kornheiser draws a paycheck from, he threw the kind of hissy fit that added some dark shading to his jocular public persona.

Paul Farhi, his colleague at The Washington Post, found something wanting in the opening show, writing that “Kornheiser mostly spluttered, typically emphasizing the obvious.” Mr. Kornheiser responded with unseemly keening.

“I apparently got ripped in my own newspaper, The Washington Post. You know, by a two-bit weasel slug named Paul Farhi, who I would gladly run over with a Mack truck given the opportunity,” he told Dan Patrick of ESPN Radio. (Once he had time to calm down and write a column about his performance and subsequent critiques, he said he was glad he did not vomit on air, but if he had, he would have aimed at Mr. Farhi.)

Mr. Kornheiser hit for the cycle in his response: petulance, cluelessness, churlishness, all wrapped up with a comical threat of violence. Setting aside his clear implication that his own newspaper should be in the tank for him, the name-calling might be attributed to opening-game jitters. After all, how could he know that by joining one of sports’ most storied institutions, he would occasionally serve as a tackling dummy for sportswriters and critics, people a lot like himself?

John Skipper, executive vice president for content at ESPN, said he was both happy with Mr. Kornheiser’s performance and comfortable with his efforts to defend himself.

“He makes his living casting a critical eye on the performance of others, so when we discussed it, he knew he was going to take some shots,” said Mr. Skipper. “And he is going to respond because of who he is.”

Mr. Skipper clearly was enjoying the fuss. “I didn’t see any reviews of ‘Sunday Night Football,’ ” he said, referring to the competition at NBC. “Other people will have opinions and he will have opinions. He is a person of wit and irony and people shouldn’t take it too literally.”

Like no one else, Mr. Kornheiser has leveraged a radio face and a newspaper voice into multiplatform stardom, but his history demonstrates that when it comes to dishing it out without the ability to take same, he also has few rivals. It is not that he has thin skin; he has no skin.

When Mike Golic, the host of a morning sports show on ESPN, suggested that Mr. Kornheiser’s performance was merely “fine,” Mr. Kornheiser was moved to say, “I just want to ring Golic’s neck and hang him up over the back of a shower rod like a duck.”

Last year, the ESPN columnist Chuck Klosterman took a measured swipe at Mr. Kornheiser, who then ranted on his radio show for days, demanding that Mr. Klosterman come to the phone and defend himself.

Sometimes when Mr. Kornheiser is feeling wounded, he does more than wave his arms around. When Stephen Rodrick, writing in Slate, pointed out that Mr. Kornheiser, who is the busy co-host of ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” had not quoted an actual person in months in his columns, Mr. Kornheiser, according to Washingtonian magazine, suggested that Slate, now owned by The Washington Post Company, should cut ties with Mr. Rodrick.

When I was the editor of Washington City Paper, the weekly alternative paper had — and still has — a sports column by Dave McKenna, who also had a $75-a-week gig covering horse racing for The Washington Post. In 1998, he made a glancing reference to Mr. Kornheiser in his City Paper column. Mr. McKenna subsequently encountered Mr. Kornheiser at the holiday party for the Post’s sports department.

“He jumped up from his table, and said, ‘We got to talk,’ ” Mr. McKenna recounted. “I thought he was joking because I had always thought he was this funny guy on the radio. But he took me in the hallway and said, ‘You will never work for a real newspaper’ and then he opens his jacket and pulls out a copy of the column that had all this magic marker on it and writing in the margins.”

“My jaw just dropped,” Mr. McKenna continued. “His face turned orange while he was yelling at me and I thought, ‘Wait till my friends hear about this.’ This really famous funny guy seemed like he was going crazy.”

But Mr. Kornheiser was serious. The next time Mr. McKenna wrote about Mr. Kornheiser was in 2000, upon the retirement of local sports talker Ken Beatrice, an event that was covered with a great deal of hagiography in The Washington Post. But Mr. McKenna noted that back in 1981, Mr. Kornheiser, then a reporter, had written a savage takedown of Mr. Beatrice, causing him a considerable amount of personal pain.

Mr. McKenna was summoned to the office of George Solomon, then the assistant managing editor for sports, and told he was through working for The Post. “He was very nice about it, but said he had a department to run,” Mr. McKenna said.

Mr. Kornheiser was traveling to his next game in Shreveport, La., via bus and did not return messages left with ESPN or on his voice mail at The Washington Post.

Mr. Farhi said there are no hard feelings. “I’ve been amused by it,” he said. But Mr. Kornheiser’s decision to indict The Washington Post — “I thought my own newspaper would be kinder and I wouldn’t be backstabbed by this guy” — caught Mr. Farhi up short.

“Taking on the paper seems loony. My ears perked up at that,” he said. “To suggest that the paper should just lay down for him questions the integrity of what we do.”

The expanding portfolio of some star journalists makes good business sense for newspapers, including this one, but it clearly creates some peril as well. In the same week that two departments at The Washington Post were involved in a public battle, the executive editor, Leonard Downie Jr., publicly rebuked Thomas E. Ricks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the paper and author of “Fiasco,” a sharp critique of the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq War.

According to The New York Sun, Mr. Downie, responding to criticism from former New York Mayor Ed Koch, said that Mr. Ricks should not have said that Israel made a decision to leave some rockets intact in Lebanon to serve as a pretext for further forays. To compound the complexity, Mr. Ricks made those remarks on “Reliable Sources,” a CNN show whose host is Howard Kurtz, another Washington Post reporter.

None of this is to suggest that this is a problem particular to The Washington Post (it isn’t) or that newspaper journalists should retreat to their ink-stained sackcloth. But it serves as a reminder that when reporters become stars, they sometimes become the story as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/technology/21carr.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=media&pagewanted=print

Critic’s Notebook
"When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts"
By Dave Walker New Orleans Times-Picayune TV writer

The word other critics likely will use most to describe Spike Lee's Hurricane Katrina documentary for HBO is "wrenching."

My word is "unfinished," even at four hours.

"When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" ( in HD Monday and Tuesday 9-11 PM ET/PT) locks in on the black Katrina experience, which should not come as a surprise to anybody who knows Lee's filmmaking career.

As such, "Levees" tells only half the story. Or, rather, 67.3 percent of it.

Frequently brilliantly, but still.

The tragic story of black New Orleans trapped in Katrina's path has found a supreme chronicler, but the flooded-out residents of Lakeview or Old Metairie who attend(ed last week's) sold-out premiere at New Orleans Arena will spend all night sitting on a hard plastic chair and then wonder: Where am I in this?

Perhaps they'll be coming attractions. Lee has said he'd like to make "Levees" the first installment of a series of films about the ongoing battle to save New Orleans.

"Depending how this ends up, I would like to go back (and see) how the city ends up and not let this be the final statement on the Crescent City," Lee told TV critics last month in Los Angeles.

Those who were here know that, in virtually every way, Katrina was an indiscriminate storm that killed and destroyed without regard to ethnicity or economic condition. That is not the impression that the nation received watching coverage of the immediate aftermath of the storm, nor the one viewers will take away from Lee's documentary.

In one of his future installments, perhaps, will be the stories of Lakeview families whose losses were every bit as tragic as the stories told so movingly in this film.

Or the similar stories of the Asian families in eastern New Orleans, the Central American workers literally putting roofs over our heads again, the doctors and nurses who risked their lives to stay with patients in drowned hospitals, the tourists who suffered alongside locals in the Superdome and Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Four hours seems like a down payment.

As it is, Lee's epic-length film has a few significant flaws but packs an overall impact that will move anyone who invests the time to see it through.

It's not an easy task. Sadness and anger are the film's relentless themes, a sign of the project's emotional veracity.

For the next few weeks, we're counting on TV retrospectives just like this to tell and retell our story to the world.

Political ramifications

On that count, Lee picks his villains well. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are, in order, the bad guys in this catastrophe. To a lesser extent, the local, regional and national politicians who made this mess and then failed to save their fellow Americans from it also take ire.

I'll let others parse the political impact of "When the Levees Broke," but not without sharing this nugget from one habitually quotable politician: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin good-naturedly describes Air Force One as a "pimpmobile."

For those who can't make tonight's screening, HBO will premiere the film in two parts Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. All four hours will air in sequence on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.

Act One watches the storm's approach and landfall, then the levee failures. Act Two is immediate aftermath. Act Three begins with the rescue diaspora, then circles back to catch up on some of the cultural history that makes the dispersal such an ongoing tragedy. Act Four examines recovery problems (FEMA, insurance companies) and solutions (wetlands restoration, improved levee protection).

The film is framed by Louis Armstrong's "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?" at the beginning and a concluding second-line rendition of "I'll Fly Away."

The overall structure is chronological, but Lee takes jogs in time to make editorial points.

The filmmaker is occasionally heard asking off-camera questions, but there is no narrator, just the voices of various witnesses both well-known and not.

Of them, standouts include Herbert Freeman Jr., whose mother died in a wheelchair outside the convention center; author Michael Eric Dyson, who is ruthless in recounting Condoleezza Rice's New York City shoe-shopping-and-evening-at-the-theater getaway while Ethel Freeman sat dying in the heat; and WWL talk radio host Garland Robinette, whose emotions still roil a full year after he narrated Katrina's deadly fly-by live on the air.

Adding a light touch

Phyllis Montana LeBlanc, once of eastern New Orleans and now a FEMA trailer resident, is the personification of her city's eternal secret weapon in the face of despair: humor.

Recounting her survival year, she's profane and prosecutorial, as much of a thread throughout the movie as Terence Blanchard's deep-blue score.

A New Orleans native and frequent Lee collaborator, Blanchard himself takes an on-camera role in the third act, acting as his mother's guide on her first trip back to her ruined Gentilly home.

A similar sequence in the last act shows actor Wendell Pierce, star of HBO's "The Wire" and another favorite son succeeding so triumphantly in the wider world of the arts, retelling the devastation to his father's Pontchartrain Park home, but also the subsequent and related damage done to his father's soul by a heartless insurance company.

The heart of Act One is a sequence in which schoolboy Glenn Hall III plays "St. James Infirmary" on his horn to accompany footage of people wading out of their neighborhoods, then Wynton Marsalis sings it.

Act Two ends with a haunting montage of floating bodies, which you hope could be the film's lowest mood trough.

Then comes the drowned child's funeral that concludes Act Three.

"Wrenching" is right, in other words.

Letting rumors fly

But the film's most troubling passage has been anticipated since HBO announced that Lee would make it.

Early in the opening act, several witnesses swear they heard explosions before the Florida Avenue breach.

Refutations are made in follow-up sound bites, but the overall takeaway is that intentional levee destruction might've, could've, probably happened.

For both Katrina and Betsy.

There is value in exploring how such impressions are made and last, but absent any real evidence beyond inexpert testimony -- and there is no evidence introduced in the film -- such notions must be presented as folklore and nothing more.

Here, they're presented as likely fact, in a confusing sequence of quotes and clips that mix references to Katrina and Betsy with the one time there actually was an intentional levee destruction, during the Mississippi River flood of 1927. That breach inundated St. Bernard Parish.

"During Hurricane Betsy, there were rumors, and it became almost an article of faith with people in the community that the 9th Ward flooded because there was an intentional breach of the levees," former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial says to Lee's camera. "It was never investigated. It was neither proven nor disproven. In this case, for the government and others to sort of dismiss it without looking into all of it is not doing the people or the public a service."

In this context, the same could be said for statements just like that.

Morial is a frequently recurring character in early parts of this film, and his righteous indignation at how seared he was by watching his fellow New Orleanians suffer in the toxic water is leavened by the fact that he had eight years to plan and practice an evacuation that might've better served his city.

Later, a pastor from New York states as fact that "a master plan" has been put in place by "Trump land-grabbers" to "bulldoze down the 9th Ward."

A quote from Nagin denying that possibility comes just a few seconds after, but again, someone is allowed to make an explosive charge for which no evidence is evident.

In a flash-forward at the very opening of the story, while Katrina still spins in the Gulf, Lee jumps to a December congressional hearing at which Nagin says, "We come to you with facts."

It's intended as a setup device for the four hours to come, and it's largely backed up thereafter.

But the allies of New Orleans' enemies will obsess over the few sequences that forgo known facts, allowing them to too easily overlook the sweetness and sadness in Wendell Pierce's eyes when he talks about how his father paid insurance on that little house for 50 years and got nothing.

Awful anniversary

Among just a few other lapses, the levee section of "Levees" diminishes what could've been a profoundly compelling history of the most scarring unnatural disaster in recent American history.

Still, millions will watch and be hurt and angered, again, by what happened here and at points elsewhere on Katrina's track.

And that's a good thing, because here at K+1, New Orleans needs all of the sympathetic and accurately informed allies it can get.

http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/tunedin/

TV Notebook
A Statement From Roger Ebert

By Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times

I have always believed in full disclosure. When I announced that I had a recurrence of salivary cancer that required surgery, I had no idea when I went into the hospital on June 16 that I would still be here on August 16.

On June 16 they removed the cancer in my right jaw area, including a section of my jaw bone. It was successfully reconstructed. On July 1, I was packing to leave the hospital when my blood vessel ruptured. We have since learned that the rupture was caused by a break down of tissue surrounding the artery as a result of radiation treatments I had three years ago.

I had a particularly intense form of radiation called neutron beam radiation, which is more effective for certain cancers, but which is also more debilitating to healthy tissue than conventional radiation. Finding a solution to protecting the arteries is what has kept me in the hospital, and in bed, since July 1. As you can imagine, it is no fun being hospitalized this long. Fortunately for me, I have received excellent medical care at Northwestern Hospital led by Doctors Harold Pelzer and Neil Fine. This is a unique situation and the doctors are moving cautiously, but they are enthusiastically optimistic about my recovery. I have also had the loving support of my bride Chaz, and good friends and colleagues. I am a lucky man.

I have learned, however, just how quickly one loses strength when confined to the bed for a long period of time. I will need rehabilitation to regain my strength, including voice rehabilitation to strengthen my vocal cords. The doctors have had me on a tracheostomy collar to keep my airways open during the period of surgeries for the ruptured blood vessels. Your vocal cords are like other muscles, they get rusty when they are not used daily. I may have other treatments or procedures as prescribed by my doctors, and so I hope you understand that while I believe in full disclosure, I also need the time and privacy to heal.

I am happy to report that despite all, I am doing well. I started physical therapy, I communicate with friends on a daily basis, I play my iPod and listen to songs with Chaz and the doctors and nurses, and I write. Don Dupree, the Executive Producer of “Ebert & Roeper” installed a plasma TV and DVD player in my room. I am going to watch "Half Nelson" and I hope Kevin Smith was right. I also thank my good friend Jay Leno for sitting in my chair in my absence, and, of course, thanks to Richard Roeper.

I thank all of you for your prayers, your well-wishes, your gifts, cards, e-mails and flowers. I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't tell you when, but I sure look forward to being back on the movie beat.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060817/PEOPLE/60817001

The Digital Revolution
An HD Feast for the Ears
HDNet Steps Up With Third Sound Review Studio
By Daisy Whitney TVWeek.com August 21, 2006

Last month HDNet completed the installation of its third "listening room," a studio created especially for the review of sound on the network's programs to ensure the audio feed the network delivers along with its high-definition picture is top-notch.

Sound often takes a back seat to video because TV is a visual medium. But with the number of hi-def sets homes growing, sound is becoming more important. According to Leichtman Research Group, about 21.5 households have an HD-capable TV set today, up from about 13.5 million a year ago.

The network's investment—the rooms cost $20,000 to $100,000 for HDNet—illustrates that sound, the lower-profile element of the audio/_visual experience of TV, is particularly important for networks that live and die in hi-def, because they want the aural output to match the visual majesty that the higher-resolution format provides. "You've got to be in a room to hear how it sounds," said Philip Garvin, co-founder and general manager of HDNet.

The HDNet listening rooms are outfitted with front and rear speakers to mimic a surround-sound home. "You want to know are you listening to it the way it's supposed to be listened to in the home …. When a program gets here, whether by our own staff or an acquired program, we need to make sure it sounds right in the home. There are certain programs where the surround sound is extremely important—concerts, programs heavy in special effects."

In most cases, hi-def programmers produce the sound with hi-def shows in Dolby Digital 5.1, which has become the de facto standard for sound in the TV industry. Most prime-time shows on broadcast networks that are shot in hi-def are also produced in Dolby Digital 5.1.

What's more, Dolby Digital technologies have been incorporated worldwide in more than 79 million set-top boxes and in more than 36 million audio/video receivers, the company said.

"We are trying to present an immersive experience where the experience is so complete that you really feel surrounded by the experience of being in the movie or the program," said Greg Moyer, general manager of Voom HD Networks, which counts 15 hi-def channels. "We want sound coming from five or six speakers to add to the realities of watching a television movie. Any kind of high-end television experience that aspires to be more like what we consider the motion picture experience in the theater needs to think very seriously about sound."

Most of the 15 Voom networks transmit their channels in Dolby Digital 5.1. Nearly all original programming is shot in 5.1, Mr. Moyer said. Some older movies—those shot before 5.1 became the norm in the mid '90s —are not carried in 5.1, he explained.

Replicating True Sound

The 5.1 technology is designed to more closely replicate actual sound. "The whole game is to make it seem like there is no barrier between you actually being somewhere and experiencing the way your ears would and watching it virtually on a TV screen," Mr. Moyer said.

In addition to transmitting most of its networks in 5.1, Voom also produces interstitials and promos in 5.1 to maintain the aural experience throughout the programming lineup. Mr. Moyer thinks that as the HD transition continues, more program producers will pay attention to sound.

HDNet has carried its entire programming lineup in 5.1 since the network launched in 2001, Mr. Garvin said. "One of the things we decided early on was we will always be 5.1," he said. "The best comes from when you are doing original 5.1, when you shoot the program in 5.1." However, if a program was not shot in 5.1, HDNet will synthesize the stereo feed into a 5.1 feed.

In addition to the growth in HD sets and Dolby Digital 5.1 usage, the sound technology company also is introducing Dolby Digital Plus, a new "codec" —the technology that encodes and decodes audio—for the next generation of Dolby sound technology. The new codec enables cable and satellite operators to determine the audio data transmission rates.

Bandwidth Issues

As operators grapple with how to efficiently manage bandwidth, the advanced codec is one more mechanism that gives them control—they can turn up or down the amount of bandwidth needed to transmit sound, said Page Shaper Haun, director of the broadcast business unit, consumer division, at Dolby. The sound quality remains the same for consumers.

Dolby Digital Plus hasn't been deployed yet in the U.S. However, Ms. Haun said Dolby is in talks with its broadcast and cable partners about how to launch the new technology here. She expects rollouts will begin in the next 12 months.

She thinks satellite and IPTV companies will adopt the new codec first because they face more bandwidth challenges. That's because as cable operators convert from analog to digital, they can reclaim bandwidth. Since satellite is already all-digital, satellite operators don't have a new source of bandwidth, she said. As a result, most want and need to make more efficient use of the bandwidth they have.

"Sound is part of the immersive experience of HD," Ms. Haun said. "Part of the budget goes toward the audio side."

http://www.tvweek.com/article.cms?articleId=30422

Critic’s Notebook
'Vanished' conspires to keep you intrigued
By Robert Bianco USA Today

TV is getting awfully demanding awfully early.

Television shows, of course, have always tried to hook and hold you as weekly viewers, and they have often turned to continuing stories as a tune-in-next-week lure to do so. Still, it's rare to see so many new series try the serialized gambit — and rarer still for multiple shows to do it as assiduously as "Vanished" (9 PM ET/PT Monday on Fox).

Getting a late-summer jump on the fall season, Vanished falls under a particularly tricky, 24-inspired subset of serialized shows: the single season/single main story variety. Like NBC's similarly themed Kidnapped, Fox's drama sets up a missing-person mystery tonight and asks us to wait until May for the whodunit answer (assuming that the producers have the answer and that the show has until May).

Whatever one thinks of the format, the briskly paced setup is effectively done. The wife (Joanne Kelly) of a Georgia senator (John Allen Nelson) disappears from an Atlanta charity event. The FBI sends in agents Graham Kelton and Len Mei —Queer as Folk's Gale Harold and ER's Ming-Na, in substantial and not initially comfortable departures from their best-known TV roles.

Unlike shows that take a while to reveal their darker sides, Vanished lays its secret-society/evil government conspiracy cards on the table from the get-go. The wife may have gone missing on her own. The vanishing act may tie into an upcoming Senate vote on a Supreme Court nominee. And best of all, for those who loved The Da Vinci Code, some age-old, prayer-card-dropping cabal may also be involved.

You may wonder why a supposedly hidden cabal would be so determined to call attention to itself, but the real mystery is why producers think every story needs some sort of mystical conspiracy underpinning. Did no one learn anything from Alias?

It's not a good sign, by the way, that Fox has combined Vanished with Prison Break, a conspiracy-crazy prison drama that returns tonight as a completely different but equally absurd fugitive chase. In the premiere, for example, we discover that Michael's preternaturally complicated escape plan required yet another memory-aid tattoo clue. That's certainly amusing — though whether the amusement is derisive depends on your patience for the preposterous.

While the multiple plotlines in Vanished are clearly designed to help sustain the show over the long run, they also increase the possibility that the show will go off the tracks (which is pretty much what happened to Prison Break). Producer Josh Berman may have cut his teeth on CSI, but his principal creative credit is last year's abominable Killer Instinct —which doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, particularly when the show seems to be going through an inordinate number of on-camera and behind-the-scenes changes.

Still, despite what the network may wish, watching tonight doesn't lock you in long term. It only commits you to an hour — and maybe the next, if you like what you see. After that, you're more than free to vanish.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2006-08-20-vanished_x.htm

The 2006-2007 Season
Fox TV breaks out of the fall pack
By Gary Levin USA TODAY

An early start helped Prison Break break out as last season's first hit. But when the show returns for its second year Monday (8 ET/PT), its now-escaped convicts will be joined by a record number of staggered launches as TV's premiere week becomes official in name only.

Break joins the serialized Vanished in opening the fall season a month early. Next week, Fox brings back Bones and premieres legal drama Justice and celebrity-singing competition Duets. House, a pair of sitcoms and a third new drama, Standoff, arrive early next month, along with Sunday's animation lineup.

By the time Nielsen's official TV season starts Sept. 18, Fox will have premiered all but The OC, which returns Nov. 2.

The network is hemmed in by postseason baseball, which forces Fox to bench much of its entertainment lineup for October. For the past few years, it has gained a head start by premiering early, seeking to gain traction before pre-emptions begin.

This year, "the big difference is we have more returning shows," says scheduling chief Preston Beckman, "so we have the ability to not only bring on Vanished, Justice and Standoff early, but we can pair them up with returning shows. Hopefully it's a double whammy for us."

It also might improve Fox's traditionally sorry start to the season, energized each January by the arrival of American Idol and 24. Those two have powered it to win the past two seasons among young adults.

"The whole ball of wax is really about improving our (fall)," Fox entertainment president Peter Liguori said last month. "We made some tremendous inroads last year, but the task at hand is how to continue to build that and set ourselves up for the spring to the end of the season."

Other networks aren't waiting around either, hewing less often to premiere week to give new shows breathing space and make promotions and talk-show appearances more effective:

• ABC will stretch its fall rollout from Sept. 12 (Dancing with the Stars) to Nov. 15 (Day Break, filling in for repeat-free Lost).

• NBC will stagger its own from Sept. 18 (Deal or No Deal, Studio 60) to Oct. 20 (Crossing Jordan, Las Vegas).

• The new CW will take more than two full weeks to roll out its first-season lineup, stretching from Sept. 20 (America's Next Top Model) to Oct. 3 (Veronica Mars).

• Only CBS is largely sticking to a premiere-week rollout; exceptions are Survivor (Sept. 14) and The Amazing Race (Sept. 17), which usually get early starts. With just four new shows, "it's easier to do a rolling-thunder kind of approach," scheduler Kelly Kahl says.

The flood of serialized dramas makes an early start more important than ever, Beckman says. As Prison Break proved last summer, such shows benefit from a longer "gestation period" before baseball intervenes. That explains tonight's early start for Vanished, about the disappearance of a senator's wife.

A new baseball deal will split next fall's playoffs with TBS, leaving Fox with only one league championship series and the World Series. The change could push some premieres a week later, but Liguori says Fox is committed to early starts.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-08-20-fox-fall-early-start_x.htm

The 2006-2007 Season
Dawn of a New Network
By Allison Romano Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

As a network veteran who has programmed Lifetime and UPN, Dawn Ostroff is well schooled in picking shows and marketing a new lineup. But, as the fall season approaches, she is facing her biggest challenge yet: to successfully launch a broadcast network cobbled together from the ashes of UPN and The WB.

On Sept. 18, Ostroff, president of entertainment for The CW, will lead the CBS and Time Warner-owned network into its inaugural season. As the marketing push shifts into high gear, she spoke to B&C’s Allison Romano about the challenges The CW faces, how the network is courting young viewers and what The CW will look like in a few years.

You’ve secured the distribution and picked the programming. What’s The CW’s biggest challenge now?

One of the biggest challenges is marketing the new network and how we will get this message out. With our new CW affiliates, 67% of UPN viewers will need to transition to a WB station, and 28% of WB viewers have to transition over to a UPN affiliate. It is a very complicated process. And creating the brand and the marketing campaign and making the media buys has been exciting but a big challenge.

We’re talking to a very finicky group of viewers—adults 18-34—and being able to speak to them in a way that they will want to join you and become a part of this network has been a great learning experience. We’re telling this group that they are free to be themselves as individuals and be connected as a community, which is really important to them.

The WB and UPN could not make it on their own, so why do you think The CW has a better shot?

With The WB and UPN, the 18- to 34-year-old viewers were being pulled in two different directions on every night. Having these franchises together will bring in new viewers to shows from both The WB and UPN. We now are in what you can call white space. Without this network, there is no other broadcast network going after the 18- to 34-year-old demographic. There are 45 million 18- to 34-year-olds in this country, and they are the second-largest generation next to the baby boomers. There is clearly the audience out there for this programming. It may just be that the branding, the marketing and the messaging under one roof will be stronger than either of the networks could have been separately.

You’re less than a month away from launch. What keeps you up at night?

I worry the most about viewers finding us. I feel really good about the quality of the shows and really excited about the storylines, the arcs and the characters. We’ve worked really hard at making the shows more diverse this year, particularly the WB shows. But I do feel most concerned about the viewers finding us. That is going to be a big challenge, and it can’t be understated.

We’ve worked very hard on the marketing. The pictures have attitude, the green has attitude. It reflects a network that wants to be known for being bold and out there and fun. It has a real spark. I think that everything we do has to have that attitude. We really approach this as a brand. First and foremost is the programming. But I can’t think of another time in history when anyone has been able to launch a network with the programming already established and you get to create a brand around the programming.

We’re hoping, by the end of the season, everyone knows who we are and where we are. I don’t know if it will take that long, but that’s what we think. We’re not going to start off looking [for ratings increases]; we’re trying to be realistic on who is finding us and how. At the end of the season, we’d like to see some growth but I have never put a number to it. We’re being very realistic about the beginning.

What is your strongest night, and what’s the trouble spot?

For us, Wednesday or Tuesday are very strong. Monday could be difficult. But it is really tough to say. It is not like you know what the shows have done before. We may attribute things to the fact that viewers haven’t found a show yet in certain markets. Some markets are really strong for particular shows. That’s why we’re trying really hard to market some shows in certain markets, so markets with the biggest Gilmore Girls numbers know the show is moving to another channel or will be on The CW. It is just too hard for us to say right now what will do the best and what will be our biggest concern. We don’t know where we’re starting from. We have to let everyone settle in. The first few weeks, there are so many messages being thrown at viewers by all the networks. It is going to take time.

What does this network look like a year or two from now?

There will be new programming. Our strategy at launch was to take shows that are already established franchises and use those as a means of bringing viewers to the new network. The programming will truly start to become CW programming in the next few years. We have a great team in place.

Next season is going to be a big year for us. We’re going to have the opportunity to do new shows. This year, we shot very few pilots, knowing we were going to depend on the established shows. We are going to do more pilots than The WB or UPN ever did. We’re already shooting some midseason shows, including a comedy pilot Aliens in America.

We have a very strong development team, and over the next few years, the programming is just going to keep getting stronger. We will define what The CW programming really is.

So what is a CW show?

Our shows are going to appeal to the 18- to 34-year-olds but will have something unique about them that feels fresh. They will be compelling, engaging and, in some way, contemporary. Everybody Hates Chris is a unique twist on a family show. With the dramas, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars and Runaway are different takes on a family show.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364196

The 2006-2007 Season
Dawn of a New Network
By Allison Romano Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

We’re talking to a very finicky group of viewers—adults 18-34—and being able to speak to them in a way that they will want to join you and become a part of this network has been a great learning experience. We’re telling this group that they are free to be themselves as individuals and be connected as a community, which is really important to them.

We’ve worked very hard on the marketing. The pictures have attitude, the green has attitude. It reflects a network that wants to be known for being bold and out there and fun. It has a real spark. I think that everything we do has to have that attitude. We really approach this as a brand. First and foremost is the programming. But I can’t think of another time in history when anyone has been able to launch a network with the programming already established and you get to create a brand around the programming.

We’re hoping, by the end of the season, everyone knows who we are and where we are. I don’t know if it will take that long, but that’s what we think. We’re not going to start off looking [for ratings increases]; we’re trying to be realistic on who is finding us and how. At the end of the season, we’d like to see some growth but I have never put a number to it. We’re being very realistic about the beginning.


Our shows are going to appeal to the 18- to 34-year-olds but will have something unique about them that feels fresh. They will be compelling, engaging and, in some way, contemporary. Everybody Hates Chris is a unique twist on a family show. With the dramas, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars and Runaway are different takes on a family show.


To me this is indicative of why the networks continue to miss. Like baseball umpires that think they are part of the show, when a network thinks that somehow they are part of the show. THE SHOW IS THE SHOW....Put on good content and people will watch it. People found UPN and WB when they started having shows that didn't suck. They will find CW if they have shows that don't suck.

Don't keep putting bugs that are 2/3rds the size of the screen over the middle of a show.

Don't pop up advertising for another show right in the middle of a scene of a show that is on right now.

etc..etc..etc..

I about puked reading this.

Don't keep putting bugs that are 2/3rds the size of the screen over the middle of a show.

Don't pop up advertising for another show right in the middle of a scene of a show that is on right now.

I remember that last Fall NBC started doing this. Coming back from commercial there would be two on-screen promos for other NBC shows. Then, a few minutes into the show but long before the next commercial, another pair of on-screen promos popped up. I've learned to tolerate and live with the on-screen promos coming back from commercial, but in the middle of a confession on 'Law & Order'? I freaking called and complained with the NBC switchboard, first time in my life I called a TV network to complain. A lot of people must have complained because by early 2006 NBC stopped doing the mid-show on-screen promos. :mad:

To me this is indicative of why the networks continue to miss. Like baseball umpires that think they are part of the show, when a network thinks that somehow they are part of the show. THE SHOW IS THE SHOW....Put on good content and people will watch it. People found UPN and WB when they started having shows that didn't suck. They will find CW if they have shows that don't suck.

Don't keep putting bugs that are 2/3rds the size of the screen over the middle of a show.

Don't pop up advertising for another show right in the middle of a scene of a show that is on right now.

etc..etc..etc..

I about puked reading this.


I agree.

To start a network using almost all shows from two failed networks -- and shows which, almost without exception had ratings far below those of dozens of canceled programs on the "big" networks, is a little bizarre.

But the fact is there is no real programming need for the CW, it is only the need of a large group of stations for a reliable source of prime time programming.

The 2006-2007 Season
'Vanished,' (and fairly soon most likely)
By Andrew Lyons in in MediaLifeMagazine.com Aug 21, 2006

First there was “The X-Files.” And for a long time after that, there was nothing. Then came “24,” “Lost” and “Veronica Mars.”

Now comes “Vanished,” the new Fox drama that premieres tonight at 9 p.m.

“Vanished” would seem perfectly primed to take advantage of the resurgence of densely plotted, conspiratorial serials. It has a well-matched lead-in, pretty stars and an appropriately convoluted storyline. Too, the show that precedes it, the generally well-regarded “Prison Break,” is consistently watchable.

But "Vanished” won't become a hit. It's pretty mediocre television, having the feel of a cut and paste job, without one thing that ties a successful series together as a unique creative experience. There's no dramatic jolt, no urgency to "Vanished.” Rather than “Prison Break” it more resembles “Reunion,” Fox’s unsuccessful attempt at the genre last season.

The plot of "Vanished” is set in motion by the disappearance of Sara Collins (Joanne Kelly), wife of Georgia senator Jeffrey Collins (John Allen Nelson), while at an event honoring her. Called in to find the missing woman are FBI agents Graham Kelton (Gale Harold) and Lin Mei (Ming-Na). Kelton, one of those Jack Bauer authority-defying types, is haunted by the memory of a kidnap and rescue gone horribly wrong in his past.

The other major players are introduced in quick succession, including the dutiful son of the senator, his rebellious daughter, her slacker boyfriend and the ambitious reporter (Rebecca Gayheart) who wants to break the case herself.

It becomes clear pretty fast that Sara Collins, kind-hearted second grade teacher and supportive politician’s wife, is not quite what she seems to be. And there are strong hints that the rest of the family have their own dirty secrets. Sounds entertaining enough so far.

Like Fox’s “Prison Break” and “24,” “Vanished” involves an elaborate conspiracy. And like those shows, it moves at a breakneck pace, ignoring all logical implausibilities as it zips along.

But unlike those shows, “Vanished” fails to build suspense, hooking viewers into the plotline. It’s a cynical by-the-numbers effort, serving up a kitchen sink of plot twists and quirky diversions. But the elements intended to surprise feel as though they were tested before a focus group.

“Vanished” also suffers from lacking a star capable of guiding us through and giving meaning to the plot's twists and turns. Keifer Sutherland dominates “24” with a steely whatever-it-takes presence. The dogged yet vulnerable Michael Scofield, played by Wentworth Miller, carries “Prison Break,” as does Matthew Fox on “Lost.”

Gale Harold cannot carry “Vanished.” He’s bossy when he should be commanding. He whines. He stares off into the distance, full of stubbly apprehension, for no apparent reason. Harold seems to be trying to channel Jack Bauer. Instead he comes off as bland and stale.

The rest of the cast doesn’t fare much better. Gayheart’s intrepid reporter is a bit of a harpy. Ming-Na, formerly of “ER” and the biggest name in the cast, is given little more to do than warn her partner that he’s annoying his superiors.

Nelson fares better as the distraught senator and husband. But almost none of the characters are likable. The one exception is Kelly as the missing wife. But she’s gone 15 minutes into the episode.

There are things to like about “Vanished.” The show is well-shot by “ER” veteran Mimi Leder, and it’s nice to see a show set somewhere other than New York or Los Angeles. And the central mystery of what happened to the senator’s wife and why is inherently provocative. But that’s not enough for “Vanished” to work as a convincing drama.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_6778.asp

TV Notebook
Gandolfini: A Killer Deal
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

Sopranos lead actor James Gandolfini signed a three-year exclusive production deal with HBO. With the hit series ending next year after seven cycles, Gandolfini is launching a production company - Attaboy Films - with his producing partner, former Paramount executive Alex Ryan.

Under the agreement with HBO, Gandolfini's first producing deal, he will develop and produce original TV shows for the pay-cable network and have a first-look deal for feature films at HBO's specialty film distribution division, Picturehouse.

Over the past year, Gandolfini and Ryan have been developing the biopic Hemingway, in which Gandolfini stars in the title role, and will continue developing it under the new HBO deal. They pair are also developing Occupation Iraq, a documentary with HBO Documentary Films, about soldiers in Iraq. Their deal also includes a commitment to two pilot scripts.

Gandolfini stars as Tony Soprano on HBO's drama The Sopranos. As of the July Television Critics Association press tour, the network was eyeing a March, 2007 debut date for the final eight episodes of the series.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364276

JMCecil:

By the way, welcome to the thread, Jeff.

I remember that last Fall NBC started doing this. Coming back from commercial there would be two on-screen promos for other NBC shows. Then, a few minutes into the show but long before the next commercial, another pair of on-screen promos popped up. I've learned to tolerate and live with the on-screen promos coming back from commercial, but in the middle of a confession on 'Law & Order'? I freaking called and complained with the NBC switchboard, first time in my life I called a TV network to complain. A lot of people must have complained because by early 2006 NBC stopped doing the mid-show on-screen promos. :mad:

the worst trend is adding audio effects to these stupid promos. The show dialog is actually drowned out by whizzes and bangs. I wish the people who make these stupid decisions actually watched television.

The 2006-2007 Season
For NBC, a fall of improving fortunes
By Kevin Downey MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Aug 21, 2006

After a couple of horrific years, NBC may be about to reverse its slide in ratings, and it stands to do so with a fall of promising new shows and a schedule constructed to take advantage of scheduling holes on other networks.

In some ways, NBC’s fall schedule is a radical departure. Rather than building nights of shows of compatible genres appealing to similar demographics, with a flow from one show to the next, NBC’s fall schedule slots shows according to when they stand to draw the strongest audiences where the competition is weakest.

“I wish there was more genre compatibility across nights, quite frankly, but I am heartened by the quality of the shows,” says Mitch Metcalf, executive vice president of program planning and scheduling at NBC.

“If you have two different genres leading into each other, and maybe two slightly different demographic skews, as long as each show is good, then each show will be able to recruit as many or more viewers than will leave. The net-net is that you will be okay.”

Working in its favor, NBC is generating positive buzz for the Aaron Sorkin drama “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” In “Deal or No Deal,” it has network television’s first hit game show since ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” And in “My Name is Earl” it has something NBC has lacked since “Friends” went off the air in 2004, a decently rated sitcom.

Media people are impressed. “If you were to ask me which network has the best chance of gaining viewers this year, I’d say NBC. And if you asked which network has the best chance of losing viewers, I’d say NBC,” says Steve Sternberg, executive vice president of audience analysis at Magna Global. “NBC has really declined sharply the past few years, but they may have hit bottom.”

What’s less clear to Sternberg is whether NBC’s fall schedule will translate into increased ratings.

NBC’s 18-49 rating last season tumbled 5.7 percent from 2004-05, itself a down year, to a 3.3. It ranked No. 4. But even if NBC were to see flat ratings, it would be an encouraging performance.

Key to NBC’s strategy is to place its most promising shows where the competition is light.

It already tweaked its schedule by moving “Studio 60” from Thursdays, where it would have competed with ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and CBS’s “CSI,” both top-rated programs, to Mondays at 10 p.m., where it will face ABC’s low-rated “What About Brian” and CBS’s fading “CSI: Miami.”

“Studio 60” leads out of the new “Heroes,” a drama about people with super powers that will compete with ABC reality shows, CBS comedies and a new Fox drama.

The night begins with “Deal,” which probably skews older than the new dramas that follow it. But it will almost certainly do well against mediocre programs like ABC’s “Wife Swap.”

The new football drama “Friday Night Lights,” based on the movie, may have a tough time on Tuesdays against ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and CBS’s “NCIS.” Back-to-back “Law & Orders” follow and are perhaps the closest NBC will come to obvious audience flow.

Wednesdays will have sitcoms “Twenty Good Years” and “30 Rock” leading into returning reality show “Biggest Loser” and “Kidnapped,” a drama about a New York teenager who’s abducted.

On Thursdays, NBC faces the real possibility of falling to No. 3 behind ABC and current leader CBS with comedies, “Deal” and “ER.”

Fridays will include returning dramas like “Las Vegas,” while Saturday is a bust with mostly repeats. And Sunday has the first season of NFL football, which has been doing fairly well this summer.

“This could be the year they at least stop the bleeding,” says Sternberg.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_6766.asp

I'm really looking forward to Heroes on NBC. I was afraid the schedule reshuffle would end up moving it to Thursdays where it might die off. Also figured, like most shows I like, it'd get little support and promotion from the network - but that certainly can't be said about Heroes.

My worry about "Heroes" is that it will also be competing with MNF on ESPN, a fact most of the TV prognosticators seem to ignore.

It seems like the show is slanted more to males than most, and that could hurt it early. I hope not.

Nielsen is having some computer problems, so the Sunday ratings will be posted later than usual today.

I'll be tuning in for PB and Vanished tonight. It's good to have the tv season back.

I agree, and I'm delighted the networks are staggering their premieres between now and mid October so there is a good chance to sample as many of the new shows as possible.

TV Sports
The Return of Deion Sanders
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

The NFL Network continues to bulk up its roster, adding the bombastic Deion Sanders to its stable of NFL analysts.

The former standout NFL defensive back returns to television after spending 2001-03 as an analyst on CBS’s studio show.

He returned to football for the past two years, and now joins the NFL Network’s NFL GameDay Sunday night highlight show.He will also appear on the On The Field pre-game shows that will air prior to the network’s eight Thursday and Saturday live games.

Sanders joins host Rich Eisen and analyst and former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci on both shows.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364290

TV Review
Fox's 'Vanished'
Painting by Numbers With Invisible Ink
By Teresa Wiltz Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 21, 2006

If you're a fan of Fox TV's "24" -- or even if you're not -- then you know what to expect when the network trots out another one of its serialized dramas: Iconoclastic hero with lantern-jawed stoicism; squirrelly side characters with questionable motives; sinister conspiracy with global implications; and enough twisty-turny plot shenanigans to keep you hitting the TiVo rewind button again and again.

Which is to say that, judging from tonight's pilot episode, you're not going to see a lot of innovative television with Fox's latest offering, "Vanished," about the mysterious disappearance of Sara Collins, the beautiful young wife of an older, and previously married Georgia senator. You've seen the paranoid machinations and murky mood lighting in "24" and "Prison Break," watched the FBI trying to find a missing person before the clock runs out in CBS's "Without a Trace." (Adding to the sense of familiarity: Sen. Jeffrey Collins is played by John Allen Nelson, a regular on "24.") For all its cribbing from plots gone by, "Vanished" still makes for good, escapist fun.

The action speeds along quickly: We see Sara (Joanne Kelly), an earnest second-grade teacher, grading papers in her Atlanta mansion when the phone rings. She answers it, one eye trained on a surveillance TV as she pleads, "Please never call here again." She hangs up just in time, as her husband walks in the door. As they embrace, Sara declares that she's got something important to tell him . . . later. Except that later never happens, because they've got to dash to a benefit dinner at a swanky hotel, where Sara is to be feted for her charity work, and then a bearded man taps her on the shoulder and tells her that she's got an urgent phone call, so would she please come with him. So she does. And poof, she's gone. Almost without a trace. (The cute macaroni necklace a young fan gave her is found outside, smashed to the ground.) The man later shows up in the trunk of a car with a bullet hole in his head.

Enter FBI agent Graham Kelton (Gale Harold, "Queer as Folk"), the aforementioned lantern-jawed, stoic hero. He's tortured by a troubled past. (We know this because we see flashbacks of a botched rescue of a kidnapped kid.) And he's a good guy. (We know this, because, we see him sitting in a Catholic church watching his daughter's first Communion.) Kelton's assisted by Agent Lin Mei (Ming-Na, "ER") who's always cautioning him to question the FBI-wary senator with "nuance." And he's hampered by Judy Nash (Rebecca Gayheart, "Nip/Tuck"), an overly ambitious and stereotypically pushy TV reporter.

Within minutes of Sara's disappearance, Kelton is off and running, in search of both Sara and the Truth, using all the technological toys at his disposal and questioning the senator with anything but nuance: "Who really hates you, Senator?"

Um, that would be the ex-wife, who's supposed be in Europe but isn't. Then again, no one is where he or she is supposed to be, and no one, it seems, is who he or she claims to be. Adding to the confusion, bodies adorned with the number "9" keep popping up. And what are we to make of the St. Nathan's card found on the body of another politician's wife? Not to mention the fact that the kid in the botched rescue was named Nathan, too? Hmmmmm.

Harold, as Kelton, acquits himself just fine here, as do the other actors. But the performance isn't the point, really. Performances just service the increasingly convoluted plot, with creator Josh Berman ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") tossing in enough tantalizing clues and red herrings to maintain a pleasingly perplexing pace.

Speaking of perplexing, here's a "Vanished" mystery that we're particularly confounded by: The action is set in Atlanta, but where, oh where is the Atlanta-ness of Atlanta, save for a few street signs? No one populating Fox's version of this Southern city possesses any semblance of a drawl.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/20/AR2006082000715_pf.html

TV Reviews
Fox's “Prison Break” and “Vanished”
Finding Thrills on the Lam (in ‘Prison Break’) and in the Lap of Luxury (in ‘Vanished’)
By Alessandra Stanley The New York Times August 21, 2006

“Prison Break” is a real thriller. “Vanished,” a new Fox series that follows, is a self-hating thriller.

It tries and tries, but its heart isn’t in it. In public “Vanished” does its best to impersonate coldblooded film noir, but privately it locks the bedroom door, puts on a Donna Summer CD and dresses up as Krystle Carrington of “Dynasty.”

Nominally “Vanished” could be considered a police procedural because it features a brusque, embittered F.B.I. investigator, Graham Kelton (Gale Harold), who uses the latest advances in fingerprint analysis and is teamed with a more tactful, by-the-book female partner, Lin Mei (Ming-Na from “E.R.”). There are many inky-colored shots of Graham staring moodily into the darkness as the pumped-up soundtrack swirls around him, but those “C.S.I.”-style atmospherics are not very persuasive.

“Vanished” is most itself when the camera zooms in on sprawling country estates and gorgeous women arching their necks to receive new diamond necklaces. And as soon as Senator Jeffrey Collins of Georgia (John Allen Nelson) lovingly fastens the latest token of his love around the nape of his young bride, Sara (Joanne Kelly), she disappears. Even before the F.B.I. steps in, evidence surfaces to suggest that Sara is not who she seems to be.

As with “Prison Break,” which begins its second season tonight just before the premiere of “Vanished,” there is a high-level conspiracy looming in the background. But “Prison Break” is an action-adventure series about fugitive convicts. “Vanished” is more of a nighttime soap opera in which wives, ex-wives and mistresses provide most of the adventure and quite a bit of action.

Both Fox series fit smoothly into the mood of the new fall season: every network has its imitation of ABC’s hit show, “Lost,” including ABC, which this fall is to introduce “The Nine,” about nine hostages who bond during a bank robbery. In all these series, a single narrative stretches from episode to episode, circling around flashbacks and cliffhangers. “Vanished” is not even the only series about a missing person; NBC has a new drama, “Kidnapped,” about the snatching of the son of a business mogul.

Senator Collins is also a wealthy patrician and very, very important: the license plate on his black limousine says “US1 Senator,” and the president of the United States personally calls him at home to seek the senator’s support for his nominee to the Supreme Court. Even at a black-tie dinner honoring his wife’s charity work, the senator is importuned by lobbyists. “I’ll vote as I see fit,” he says haughtily.

Graham, however, displays no deference. The first thing he asks the senator after Sara disappears is whether he or his wife is having an affair. (She is summoned to the house phone by a hotel employee and never returns.)

It takes only one flashback to understand why Graham is so grumpy on the job: a previous kidnapping case went south when Graham’s superiors ignored his instruction to let him work it alone and botched the rescue.

The other strands of the story are harder to piece together: the senator’s daughter has a boyfriend with a secret agenda, and even his son is keeping dark secrets from his father and the police. All of them are under the telephoto-lens scrutiny of a sexy television reporter (Rebecca Gayheart) who keeps an eye on breaking news bulletins even when instructing her cameraman lover how to please her in bed.

There is more sex in the premiere of “Vanished” than there was in the entire first season of “Prison Break,” which is perhaps just as well because most of the action took place behind bars in a men’s maximum-security prison.

The hero of “Prison Break,” Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), did finally manage to escape from prison in the previous season’s last episode, taking his brother Lincoln and several other convicts with him. In tonight’s season premiere the escapees are together and on the run, except for T-Bag (Robert Knepper), the serial killer, who was left at large on his own and is still loping for his life, clutching his bloody, severed hand. This season, however, the fugitives are being trailed by a smart F.B.I. investigator who figures out how Michael got out in the first place. (He sees the map on Michael’s inked torso and puts two and tattoo together.)

“Prison Break” has its share of comic-book histrionics, including a dastardly villain: the president of the United States. But the pursuit of the convicts promises as much drama and suspense as the first season’s oft-delayed escape. “Vanished” offers suspense and high-society melodrama, and that isn’t so bad either.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/arts/television/21vani.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

TV Review
“Vanished”
By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star in his blog “TV Barn”

Sara Collins is missing. Question: Does anybody care?

“Vanished” is the first show of the new fall season and the first of a long train of new serial thrillers. But a head start alone won’t guarantee that “Vanished” will become the next “24” or “Prison Break.” It needs characters whose presence on screen has the power to slow down the show’s nonstop breakneck pace.

The first hour of this thriller, which centers on the sudden disappearance of the aforementioned Mrs. Collins, a senator’s wife, delivers on the breakneck part. The show teeters at times on incomprehensibility but is brought back each time by its two stars, Gale Harold and Ming-Na (pictured), who play determined, heroic FBI agents.

Still, I sense that viewers’ circuits are going to overload awfully quickly trying to keep the growing number of serial dramas straight. (NBC’s “Kidnapped” and ABC’s “The Nine” are two more hostage dramas debuting later this season.) And while the FBI tandem is appealing, they don’t get enough screen time in tonight’s debut. Meanwhile, Rebecca Gayheart is annoying as a TV reporter, and Sen. Collins (John Allen Nelson) is way too shifty for my taste.

Time isn’t just running out to find the senator’s bride; “Vanished” is on the clock to make us care enough before other thrillers steal us away.

Vanished airs tonight (9 PM ET/PT) on Fox, right after the second season premiere of "Prison Break."

http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/

The 2006-2007 Season
Network HD Plans

With the new TV season starting tonight, here are the total is the total of planned HD prime-time broadcasts as announced by each network for this upcoming season

MyNetworkTV 12 of 12 hours in HD (100%)
CBS 18 of 22 hours in HD (82%)
NBC 18 of 22 hours in HD (82%)
ABC 16 of 22 hours in HD (73%)
The CW 8 of 13 hours in HD (62%)
Fox 8 1/2 of 15 hours in HD (57%)

So is that CPanther95 guy going to give us a schedule with start dates, like he did last year? Man, it's hard to get good help nowadays.... :p :D

where is King of Queens in the cbs lineup? i know it's been renewed, but its not on the schedule here...

King of Queens is on the bench for mid-season, due to Kevin James's schedule on a film. CBS has new sitcom The Class in it's spot.

So is that CPanther95 guy going to give us a schedule with start dates, like he did last year? Man, it's hard to get good help nowadays.... :p :D

I know it isn't as handy as the CP95 version, but all the start dates are listed in post #2, Jim.

I know it isn't as handy as the CP95 version, but all the start dates are listed in post #2, Jim.
Yes, I was going to print it out later. :)

TVOD points out that ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" is in HD this year.

I totally missed that announcement. Sorry.

So I have updated the HD figures in the post a little above this, as well as the schedules in post #2.

The attached is a Word doc with the start dates listed in post 2 of this thread. It's page-breaked by network.

Commentary
The Prophesy of Chayefsky’s ‘Network’
By Tom Shales in his TV Week blog Monday, August 21st, 2006

Paddy Chayefsky, who thrived during TV’s “golden age” of live drama, didn’t claim to be predicting the future when he wrote “Network” in 1976 – but the movie, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, may be the most prophetic ever made. It was set in “the present” – network anchorman Howard Beale is fired on Sept. 22, 1975, as the film opens – but Chayefsky took prevailing trends and extended them to outrageous extremes that now, unfortunately, don’t seem all that extreme or outrageous.

Like the fact that a fourth network called UBS is acquired by a giant global conglomerate, CCA, whose executives are determined to turn the network’s curiously prestigious news division into a profit center. They order Beale’s firing and thereby push him over the edge into madness – madness that turns out to be such a crowd-pleaser that Faye Dunaway, resplendently cold-blooded as the head of the entertainment division, gets Beale a prime-time news hour to rant and rave.

It’s a reality show, a couple decades ahead of its time, replete with footage shot by media-wise domestic terrorists, one of them a Patty Hearst figure played by Walter Cronkite’s daughter Kathy (yes, really).

Beale’s news hour is only a tad trashier than NBC’s lurid “Dateline,” with its sideshow cast of alleged child molesters, or those awful murder mystery editions of “48 Hours” on CBS. Among other ironies: Beale, as part of his breakdown, uses a common barnyard epithet, the first half of which is “bull,” on the air, causing a sensation. Robert Duvall, as the ruthless new UBS president, scoffs, “The FCC can’t do anything except rap our knuckles.” Chayefsky couldn’t know that during reactionary Dark Ages to come, the FCC could indeed do more – like fine UBS $50 million or more for the utterance of that one word, even though ad-libbed by a lunatic.

“It’s not satire, it’s sheer reportage,” director Sidney Lumet says on the 30th anniversary two-disc DVD of “Network,” which includes a clip of Chayefsky himself on Dinah Shore’s old talk show. In defense of the film’s dark satirical stance, Chayefsky tells Shore, “It’s murderous, but it’s not brutal.”

Chayefsky contributed two iconic phrases to the language that survive three decades later: Beale’s rabble-rouser “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more,” which in a thrilling sequence New Yorkers shout from their apartment-house windows; and “Because you’re on television, dummy,” which Beale hears first from a voice in a dream and later from Ned Beatty as the CCA megaboss. There are no more nations, states, or political theologies, Beatty tells Beale; there are only corporations that grow larger and larger in size, fewer and fewer in number. My, what an imagination that Chayefsky guy had.

The movie got 10 Oscar nominations and scored four wins. The best actor Oscar so deservedly won by Peter Finch for playing Beale had to be awarded posthumously; he died not long after the film was released. “Network” was meant to be a comedy, but it grows less funny – though more entertaining – each time an anniversary rolls around.

I tried to get an interview with Chayefsky at the time – his office number was listed in the New York phone book and he answered the phone himself – and though he declined, we chatted for about half an hour. Asked why he got out of television, he told me he grew weary of a business in which “you have to be hysterical all the time.” Anger and outrage became him, and wherever he is now, I seriously doubt he is “resting in peace.”

As for “Network,” it’s fantastic, it’s bombastic, it’s Comcastic! And its shelf life seems unlimited.

• • • • • • • • • • •

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills will screen “Network” Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $3 for members and $5 for nonmembers. If you are in the Los Angeles area and you have never seen a screening in the Academy’s wonderful theater, you owe it to yourself to go – at least once.

http://blogs.tvweek.com/?cat=7

Critic’s Notebook
“Vanished”
By Bill Goodykoontz Arizona Republic TV Critic in his blog

Finally, some real TV.

After a summer of reality doldrums, Fox, handcuffed by baseball playoffs in October, starts rolling out its season tonight, way ahead of everyone else, with the return of Prison Break and the debut of Vanished, a new serialized crime drama.

Prison Break you know about. Either you buy into the silliness and enjoy it or you don't. Vanished is another story.

It's so close to being really good. But it's not quite there.

The premise is certainly intriguing. Sara Collins (Joanne Kelly), the wife of a U.S. senator (John Allen Nelson), goes missing during a formal dinner in her honor. The FBI, in the form of Graham Kelton (Gale Harold) and Lin Mei (Ming-Na), is called in to find her. The original idea is that she was kidnapped, but maybe not. There are all sorts of murky clues and subplots involving the senator's ex-wife, his daughter (and, more troublesome, her loser boyfriend), missing people showing up dead and some sort of cult that leaves behind prayer cards, which seem to mock Kelton and his -- of course -- Tragic Past.

Sounds good. Sounds better, in fact, than it actually is. Nelson, who was so good as the President's evil chief of staff on 24 -- you remember, he hung himself -- is good here, as well. But Harold, who was also good in Queer As Folk, seems lost here, and totally wooden. Ming-Na is perpetually unhappy. Worst of all is Rebecca Gayheart, who plays ultra-ambitious TV "journalist" Judy Nash. She's a walking, talking cliche. If she were played for laughs, it would be one thing. But the whole show takes itself too seriously. Granted, finding a missing person isn't a barrel of laughs. But this is one solemn ride.

If it improves a little in the next couple of weeks, however, and all the balls in the air show some signs of coming together, it still might be one worth taking.

http://www.azcentral.com/blogs/index.php?blog=5&blogtype=Entertainment

The attached is a Word doc with the start dates listed in post 2 of this thread. It's page-breaked by network.


Jim, good work. But you did it before I made the recent "Dancing With The Stars" correction -- which is now listed to be broadcast in HD.

(See, my errors have wide-ranging implications!)

Yes, it has the corrected "HD" notation for DWTS.

TV Notebook
Sweet Emmy queen Mary toppled by grumpy Cloris
By Tom O'Neil in the Los Angeles Times “The Envelope” awards blog

Poor, poor Mary Tyler Moore! For many years she once reigned as dual queen of the Emmys: her self-titled 1970s TV show held the record for most victories by a series (29) and she racked up the most wins among performers (7). A few years ago "Frasier" overtook her series record, ultimately claiming 37, and her individual accomplishment got topped, too, but that defeat had to hurt the most because she was bested by her former costars. Nay, make that former employees.

When Mary's show went off the air in 1977, she reigned supreme with six awards. Then, one year later, Ed Asner, who had portrayed her ole bully TV boss, won for his spin-off series "Lou Grant" and tied her tally. Two years later he won again and pulled ahead. Mary endured the insult till 1993 when she won best supporting actress in a TV film for "Stolen Babies," thus tying him again and that's how they remained — as Emmy's co-monarchs — for years.

But then Cloris Leachman — who played budinsky Phyllis on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" — started butting in.

She snuck up slowly on her former costars. Back in 1973, she won for TV film "A Brand New Life," then picked up two for Moore's show, then another for appearing on Cher's variety program. Later, she was Emmy'd for hosting the Screen Actors Guild Anniversary show in 1984, then again for a guest part on "Promised Land" in 1998. That put her primetime tally at 6, but her total score was really 7 — just like Mary and Ed — if you count the Daytime Emmy she won in 1983 for her performance in the children's drama "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" and, of course, you must count Daytime Emmys, even if they are bestowed by the separate New York-based TV academy with the tacit, tag-along cooperation of the L.A.-based sister org.

In 2002, Cloris won another Emmy for portraying the monstrous grandma on "Malcolm in the Middle." Theoretically, she could claim Emmy supremacy, but primetime snobs might pooh-pooh that daytime chunk of academy gold and Mary and Ed could feel a bit better, if they went along with that.

However, last Saturday night Cloris pulled off her ultimate Emmy coup, claiming a ninth TV prize — her eighth in primetime — at the Creative Arts gala, thus finally surpassing her ole costars by every Emmy measure.

Cloris didn't seem too cheery about it all, though. In fact, she sounded a bit sour as she accepted her latest Golden Girl. After watching clips of all of the performances nommed in her category, she said, "This is a bittersweet experience because I'm seeing all the roles I didn't get to play. I don't understand it." Everyone assumed she was kidding.

Backstage later, Cloris grumbled to reporters about her win, "I'm 80, and if your heart doesn't stop beating and you stay with it, I guess that's what can happen."

Watch out. Cloris could win again this Sunday for her supporting role in HBO film "Mrs. Harris."

Why, oh, why is Cloris so negative about the Emmys? It's not an act she put on just at the Creative Arts Awards. For years I've submitted periodic requests to interview her about her wins and her responses were always dismissive and — well, let me be nearly as blunt as she was — impolite. One was downright nasty.

So we must wonder: why does she bother to show up at these award ceremonies to accept?

Or maybe she's just a secret Oscar snob who privately scoffs at the Emmys while feeling obliged to attend, being the award's reluctant queen, after all?

Cloris did win that Oscar for "The Last Picture Show" in 1971. Could that be her underlying problem with the Emmy?

http://goldderby.latimes.com/

TV Notebook
Is ABC fibbing about pitting 'Pirates' vs. Emmys?
By Tom O’Neil in the Los Angeles Times “The Envelope” Awards blog

"We had the movie scheduled long before the Emmy nominations were even announced," ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson told Hollywood Reporter scribe Ray Richmond about scheduling "Pirates of the Caribbean" against this Sunday's Emmycast. That is, McPherson insists he didn't park it there to wreak revenge against the TV awards for snubbing "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" after ABC submitted poor episode choices to Emmy judging panels.

However, the L.A. Times reported that ABC announced the movie blockbuster's scheduling on July 21, which was more than two weeks after the Emmy nominations were unveiled on the 6th. Times scribe Greg Braxton relayed the news on July 24 thus: "ABC, which is smarting that many of its most popular shows were overlooked in the marquee categories, announced late Friday that it would broadcast the blockbuster film 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' to go head to head with the Emmys.

"When asked about ABC's decision and what it could mean for the Emmys audience and NBC's ratings, Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal Television Group, said: 'It's more formidable competition, and it's unfortunate.'

"McPherson has been one of the most vocal critics of the new Emmy procedures, telling reporters last week that the lack of major nominations for 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Lost' — both big winners last year — proved that the system this year was flawed."

"Well, McPherson swears it ain't so," Richmond writes at his blog "In a conversation this morning, he accused NBC of spinning this in a negative way against both he and ABC (as have I, in the interest of full disclosure), maintaining that this is ABC's second airing of "Pirates" and thus isn't exactly being counted upon to be a viewer juggernaut."

What Richmond refers to above was his July 25th column in the Hollywood Reporter titled "Emmys will walk plank in ABC kudo-night plan" in which he says that the "Pirates" scheduling "seems to be a petulant reaction from ABC to the network's Emmy snubs this year."

Here at GoldDerby is where Emmycast host Conan O'Brien first let loose against ABC, saying in our podcast chat: "I'm just curious — what about the people at 'Grey's Anatomy'? That's a huge show for ABC. How do they feel about this? Like 'Thanks a lot!'

"I think Mr. McPherson is already regretting what he's done," Conan added. McPherson told Richmond that he's tried to contact Conan repeatedly, "but he won't return my calls."

So . . . hmmmm . . . what do you think?

http://goldderby.latimes.com/

Yes, it has the corrected "HD" notation for DWTS.


Thanks for the good work, Jim!

A good reminder from Rich Heldenfels!
TV Notebook
Our Fragmented TV World
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal TV blog

I get a healthy amount of reader mail, not least because I write a nationally distributed column answering TV questions. But I also get letters about things I write, especially when people are ticked off. After I wrote a column for Sunday's Beacon Journal about a new show on Oxygen, this note arrived:

''Oxygen ?? Never heard of it. Furthermore, there is nothing listed as such in the TV Schedule. Can't you be more explicit? What/Where is Oxygen? Stop confusing people.''

After an e-mail and a phone call, I managed to persuade that reader that Oxygen has been around for about six years, and that it is indeed in the Beacon Journal's TV grid. But beyond that, the call was a reminder of how scattered people's viewing can be. It's not simply shows that fall off the radar (as I mentioned about my own regarding ''Laguna Beach''). Entire TV operations may go unnoticed -- and not just cable ones -- because their programming doesn't aim at a broader audience, or just because there are so many channels to keep track of. So people longing for ''Summerland'' reruns may not know to look on The N, and fans of the still-not-on-DVD ''China Beach'' have to seek out AmericanLife TV for regular replays. (WE has run a couple of episodes tied to its ''Vietnam Nurses'' special.)

And I'm often reminded of what happened a couple of years ago when I wrote about ''Blue Collar TV's'' debut on The WB.

Fans of host Jeff Foxworthy called with a question. What was The WB, and where could they find it?

The WB was 9 years old at the time.

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

TV Notebook
TV Programmers Develop Future Series
By A.J. Frutkin MediaWeek.com August 21, 2006 -

Viewers may be gearing up for the new fall season, but TV programmers are hard at work developing series for the following one.

To wit: Barry Schindel, exec producer on CBS's Numbers, has extended his overall deal with CBS Paramount Network TV, adding two more years to his agreement. Under terms of that deal, Schindel will remain on Numbers through its third season. At the same time, he will continue developing his public defenders drama titled Law Dogs for CBS. The project is based on Schindel's own experience as an attorney. It originally was set up for NBC, which passed.

Last week, CBS gave a put pilot committment to a new project from Joan of Arcadia creator Barbara Hall, and feature film producer Joe Roth. The drama, based at CBS Paramount Network TV, revolves around exorcists, and those who investigate supernatural phenomena.

NBC is developing a time-travel drama from Kevin Falls (The West Wing). Produced by 20th Century Fox TV, the project concerns a man who travels back in time to right wrongs.

Meanwhile, the CW is hoping to enlist The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz for Gossip Girl, a project about privileged New York teens, based on the popular book series from Alloy Entertainment. The TV project, from Alloy and Warner Bros. TV, has a put pilot committment, with Schwartz and O.C. exec producer Stephanie Savage in negotiations to write and exec produce.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003020127

TV Notebook
For Chris Cuomo, A Bright Future At GMA
(from Brian Stelter’s TVNewser at mediabistro.com)

Charlie Gibson. Matt Lauer. Chris Cuomo.

Cuomo, the new news anchor of Good Morning America, says he's never considered it.

But it sounds like GMA senior executive producer Jim Murphy has.

"I look at Chris in much the same way people at NBC looked at Matt Lauer ten years ago," he told TVNewser this afternoon.

Murphy and his colleagues were looking for "a really good news anchor who would bring a lot of other talents to the game." He described Cuomo as an aggressive reporter and booker with a long history of award-winning crime and justice stories. "Plus he's an interesting, fun guy," Murphy added.

The promotion has been in the works for a few weeks. Before making the deal, Cuomo had "months," not years, left on his contract.

Some observers have suggested ABC is lacking a strong pool of TV talent. Referring to Cuomo and Bill Weir, one insider asked last week: "Is that the best they've got?"

Murphy response to the "bench" question is simple: "One morning show just went outside for its new anchor. It wasn't ABC."

Cuomo said he has dreamed of the GMA job since joining the network in 1999.

"I can't believe there is anybody, man, woman or child, in this business or otherwise who wouldn't want the job," he said. "I feel very flattered and fortunate to be given this opportunity."

Murphy said Cuomo will be covering big stories at their source, the way he did for the JonBenet Ramsey arrest last week. His first official day at the news desk is Tuesday, Sept. 5...

http://mediabistro.com/tvnewser/

This year's network prime-time HD totals are a steady improvement over the figures for the beginning of the 2004-2005 season just two years ago:

CBS 15 of 22 hours in HD (68%)
NBC 13 of 22 hours in HD (59%)
ABC 12 of 22 hours in HD (55%)
The WB 7.5 of 15 hours in HD (50%)
Fox 7 1/2 of 15 hours in HD (50%)
UPN 1 of 10 hours in HD (10%)

Sunday’s network prime-time ratings are now at the top of RATINGS NEWS (the first post in this thread).

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
A better year for Teen Choice Awards
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Aug 21, 2006

Kevin Federline, aka Mr. Britney Spears, has been pleading for months that people take him seriously as a rapper. After a surprisingly decent debut performance last night, as judged by critics and viewers, he may just get his wish.

Last night’s “2006 Teen Choice Awards” on Fox averaged a 2.6 adults 18-34 overnight rating, up 13 percent from last year’s 2.3 average. Last year’s special was shown on a Tuesday not a Sunday.

Yesterday’s overnights were delayed several hours due to Nielsen processing errors.

Fox had hyped Federline’s performance in advance, just as many bloggers ridiculed the rapper, who has been a fixture in the tabloids since marrying Spears more than a year ago.

“It wasn't genius but it wasn't half bad either,” proclaimed the Associated Press of Federline, whose performance was introduced by his very pregnant wife.

“Surprisingly, the show-capping performance seems to be mildly well-received, with semi-praise begrudgingly heaped on the rapper for not making the performance the train wreck critics imagined--and maybe hoped for,” writes E! Online’s Gina Serpe.

Also giving the show a boost were multiple awards for the summer’s top film, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” And a best actress win by Mischa Barton, who was killed off of Fox’s own “The O.C.” last May, also got the fans at the show excited.

Fox won the night among 18-34s, teens and women 18-34, though among the older set, 18-49s, the network ranked just fourth. The awards were up 5 percent year to year, from a 2.0 to a 2.1, in that demo.

CBS led for the night with a 2.5 rating and 7 share of adults 18-49, ahead of ABC at 2.4/7, NBC at 2.3/7, Fox at 1.9/5, Univision at 1.2/3 and WB at 0.7/2.

At 7 p.m., ABC was No. 1 at 2.4 for an "America's Funniest Home Videos" rerun, ahead of CBS at 2.3 for "60 Minutes," which included a four-minute overrun for the PGA Championship that bumped the network’s schedule back the entire night. NBC was next at 1.6 for the U.S. gymnastics championships, followed by Fox at 1.4 for a rerun of "The Simpsons" and the Teen Choice Awards pre-show, Univision at 0.8 for "Hora Pico" and WB at 0.6 for "Just Legal."

At 8 p.m., CBS led at 2.9 for "Big Brother 7: All-Stars," ahead of ABC at 2.7 for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," NBC at 2.5 for gymnastics and a "Sunday Night Football" exhibition game, Fox at 1.8 for “Teen Choice,” Univision at 1.1 for "Cantando por un Sueno" and WB at 0.8 for a "Charmed" rerun.

At 9 p.m., NBC was No. 1 at 2.8 for "SNF," ahead of CBS and Fox each at 2.4 for a "Cold Case" rerun and “Teen Choice,” ABC at 1.9 for a "Desperate Housewives" rerun, Univision at 1.3 for "Cantando," and the WB at 0.8 for a "Charmed" repeat.

At 10 p.m., ABC was No. 1 at 2.7 for a "Grey's Anatomy" rerun, ahead of CBS's 2.4 for "Without a Trace" repeat, NBC's 2.2 for "SNF" and Univision's 1.5 for "Cantando."

Among households, CBS led for the evening with a 6.6 rating and 11 share, ahead of NBC at 4.6/8, ABC at 4.4/8, Fox at 2.7/5, Univision at 1.5/3 and WB at 1.1/2.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_6794.asp

NBC is developing a time-travel drama from Kevin Falls (The West Wing). Produced by 20th Century Fox TV, the project concerns a man who travels back in time to right wrongs.


Gee, I seem to remember seeing a show on NBC in the early 90's w/that exact same premise. What was that again. :)

In network TV, rcman2, everything old is eventually new again! :rolleyes:

TV Sports
CBS has its eye on huge ratings from Tiger's PGA win
By Michael Hiestand USA Today

The best thing that can happen to a sport marketing-wise is to be able to bask in the glory of a superstar who can make the sport's events seem historic.

Because if you didn't think you were watching history, watching another Tiger Woods blowout could seem pretty boring.

But expect a big rating for CBS' coverage of Woods' win in Sunday's PGA Championship. CBS' overnight rating for Saturday's coverage was up 11% from last year's coverage — when Woods managed to tie for fourth after shooting an opening-round 75 — and up a whopping 58% over third-round coverage in 2004, when Woods tied for 24th.

CBS was left with little choice but to offer up superlatives. Always-refreshing David Feherty would find a Woods shot "a work of art," Lanny Wadkins said Woods played his "smartest" golf and Jim Nantz concluded it was all "absolutely awesome."

Said CBS Sports President Sean McManus after Woods' win: "It would probably be better if somebody had stepped up to challenge him. But even in a walkover, he's better (for ratings) than any other scenario that doesn't include him."

PGA P.S. Turner Sports' first-ever online simulcasts of the event at pga.com, which included deploying TV cameras and announcers for live video coverage appearing only online, drew 200,000 users. Turner Sports President David Levy said he expects the service will return and it won't start charging user fees — "the way to go is to have it advertiser-driven."

Prime time: The NFL Network will announce Monday that Deion Sanders, formerly a CBS studio analyst, has been hired for the same position. He'll be on the pregame show for the channel's eight NFL games, network spokesman Seth Palansky said. He will also be a regular on its 11:30 Sunday night NFL GameDay, a highlights show meant to compete directly with ESPN's SportsCenter.

Spice rack: Bryant Gumbel, who will call his first NFL games ever on the NFL Network, suggested he won't be overly deferential to his new employer. On the latest Real Sports show he hosts on HBO, the TV veteran advised incoming NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to remind team owners they're "making obscene amounts of money" and to "make sure no one competent ever replaces" Gene Upshaw, head of the players union. Imagine what Gumbel, on games, will be able to do with three hours of airtime. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr., after bumping leader Carl Edwards out of the NASCAR Busch Series Carfax 250 race Saturday, said on TNT the incident is going to "divide fans right down the middle." TNT's Wally Dallenbach said Sunday that the pair have "a huge magnifying glass on their foreheads right now." They'll need new helmets.

Say what? ESPN analyst John Kruk, on Fox Sports Radio, said he's talked to ex-colleague Harold Reynolds since he was fired at ESPN for undisclosed reasons: "He really doesn't think, in his mind, he did anything wrong. And I don't know what happened — I didn't ask him." Hmmm.

Writers: Tony Kornheiser, working his second ESPN Monday Night Football game Monday with the Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints matchup, shows that using a longtime sportswriter as a TV game analyst can spawn fun sideshows.

After he got a bad review in The Washington Post, where he's worked for 27 years, Kornheiser said on ESPN Radio that reviewer Paul Farhi "was a two-bit weasel" who he'd gladly run over with a Mack truck" and that he "thought my own newspaper would be kinder." That prompted Post ombudsman Deborah Howell to write Sunday that Kornheiser had "crossed the line" because the newspaper's "credibility will take a hit" if it can't "do reviews without fear or favor."

In an interview Sunday, Kornheiser said "that's fine, it's her column." He said he hasn't "read full critical stories by anyone" about him because he thought "I should wait a couple of weeks" — but was "hurt" about criticism "in my own paper." He said "the lesson I learned" is that his on-air comments can end up "on a page, that what I say now has a 50-50 chance of ending up on a website."

And now that the nervous flier is traveling on his own bus, he's taking it slow: He hasn't used the bus' treadmill yet because he's "nervous about going forward as the bus goes forward."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2006-08-20-hiestand-pga_x.htm

TV Reviews
‘Prison Break’ returns, ‘Vanished’ debuts
By Diane Holloway Austin American-Statesman in her TV blog Monday, August 21, 2006

As it is wont to do, Fox jumps out ahead of the new fall season tonight with the second-season opener of “Prison Break” and the premiere of the new drama “Vanished.”

Both are self-described “serial thrillers,” but only one lives up to the title — that one, of course, is “Prison Break.”

The action starts (at 7 tonight) where it left off in May, with Michael Scofield and his brother Lincoln on the run after their elaborate, season-long escape from prison in Joliet, Ill. (The new season is being shot in Dallas, where temps have been over 100. Makes you wonder how they survived all those running scenes wearing sweatshirts.)

The escapees are being pursued by the snarling, frothing Capt. Bellick and his slightly more sanguine (but still miffed at being betrayed by Scofield) Warden Pope.

The desperate convicts are fleeing together, except for the chillingly loathsome T-Bag, whose hand was lopped off by another inmate as the escape began in last season’s finale. Dragging his severed hand with him in an ice chest, T-Bag forces a veterinarian to re-attach his appendage — and then thanks him in typical T-Bag fashion. I won’t spoil the fun by telling you how.

The opener plays out a little slower than the breathtaking pace set last season, but it’s still one of the most suspenseful thrillers out there. Austin’s Marshall Allman returns as Lincoln’s son L.J., turning in another fine performance. New to the cast is William Fichtner, late of “Invasion,” who plays an FBI agent in hot pursuit of the escapees.

And the conspiracy plot line heats up. In the finale, you may recall, we learned that the vice president’s brother, whom Lincoln is accused of killing, is very much alive. Now, after the death of the president, the vice president has become president — and we are left to wonder how much did she know and when did she know it?

Paul Scheuring, the series’ creator/executive producer, promises many characters will be killed off in upcoming episodes — presumably not one of the two stars, Wentworth Miller (Scofield) or Dominic Purcell (Lincoln). But you never know.

“Vanished,” the newcomer (at 8 tonight), pales miserably on the heels of “Prison Break.” It tries hard, but it’s basically just an over-the-top sudser chock full of stereotypical characters — the grumpy hero, the tragic victim, the super-pushy TV reporter, etc.

Georgia’s U.S. Senator Jeffrey Collins is having a fabulous time with his lovely wife Sara, having just placed a stunning diamond necklace around her lovely neck, when she suddenly disappears.

Quick on the case is the previously mentioned grumpy FBI agent, Graham Kelton, who has just screwed up a case and witnessed a miserable death. He soon discovers that the happy marriage of the senator and his wife had some dark secrets — and the wife may not have been exactly who she said she was.

Two back-to-back Fox series with political conspiracies and other mysteries worked when the second series was “24” last year. “Vanished” just doesn’t cut it, but “Prison Break” is back in fine form.

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/tvblog/

TV Reviews
Layers of clues enfold fall's serial dramas
By Joanne Ostrow Denver Post TV Critic

A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Winston Churchill wasn't complaining about the glut of primetime serial dramas - he was famously describing Russia - but he might as well have been.

Some of this fall's hour-long dramas are cloaking themselves in enigmatic riddles as they trot out elaborate plot lines beginning this week.

Fox is up first with "Vanished," premiering at 9 PM ET/PT on Fox.

"I don't think anything about 'Vanished' is straight ahead," said Josh Berman, the series creator and a veteran of "CSI."

On the surface, at least, "Vanished" sounds an awful lot like "Kidnapped," coming to NBC next month, another serial thumbsucker with more riddles, secrets and red herrings than answers.

Everyone's a suspect, flashbacks hint at deeper coverups and nothing is predictable except the likelihood of a week-to-week cliffhanger. Trust no one.

Both "Vanished" and "Kidnapped" find socially prominent, politically connected families fighting an invisible enemy.

Both shows begin with the mysterious disappearance of family members, leading to complex back stories full of secrets and lies, packed densely enough to be untangled over the course of an entire season or maybe even to dangle for years, should ratings allow.

"Vanished" features Ming-Na ("ER") and Gale Harold ("Queer as Folk") as FBI partners, searching for the missing socialite wife of a powerful Georgia senator. In the pilot we see her vanish in the midst of an elaborate public function; in succeeding episodes, producers promise we will see flashbacks to flesh out the wife's story, and later we will be drawn into her husband's political world. According to Berman, at the heart of the story is a "century-old conspiracy." Clearly, the series is aiming for viewers with both brains and time to expend on these riddles.

Fox has given "Vanished" a time slot that could be either blessing or curse: The Monday-night hour follows "Prison Break," another serial that demands loyal audience attention. Fans may stick around for a double-header, or they may decide one serialized drama with a large cast is enough mental exercise for the top of the week.

"Kidnapped," a Wednesday- night serial thriller premiering Sept. 20, has Dana Delany and Timothy Hutton in pivotal roles as the wealthy parents of an abducted boy. We see the son abducted in the pilot episode; in succeeding episodes we learn more about the conflicting styles of the investigators, a straight arrow from the FBI vs. a rogue former agent, both called upon to track and retrieve him. The cast also includes Mykelti Williamson ("Boomtown"), Delroy Lindo ("The Cider House Rules"), Jeremy Sisto ("Six Feet Under") and Linus Roache ("Batman Begins").

Creator Jason Smilovic ("Karen Sisco") essentially has set up a triangle with room for multiple power plays and internal mysteries as the kidnappers, the investigators and the family interact. This triangle is laced with numerous tangents. Judging from the producers' explanations at press conferences in L.A. last month, the geometry of "Kidnapped" is more compelling.

Both series play with the currently popular theme of psychological mystery, rather than science fiction mystery, that dominated TV's serial formulas last season. No monsters in the jungle, no aliens in the water: Instead, there are extended questions about motive, relationships and personal histories. Even those with connections in Washington are vulnerable. These whodunits steam toward what they hope will be shocking resolutions at season's end, should they make it that far.

The psychological torment depicted in both "Kidnapped" and "Vanished," and particularly the profound sense of vulnerability, is something modern audiences can relate to, post-9/11.

It will be tempting, as the season unfolds, to find in television's fictional portrayals of helplessness, paranoia and suspense parallels to the country's current state of high anxiety in a time of asymmetrical warfare and terrorism.

But how many serial dramas do average viewers need to nudge them, subtly, unconsciously, toward that uncomfortable reflection?

http://www.denverpost.com/ostrow

TV Notebook
Meredith Vieira hasn't learned her lesson
They said you couldn't put your family first and still have a high-powered career in TV. But Katie Couric's successor is once again proving them wrong.

By Suzanne C. Ryan Boston Globe Staff

NEW YORK -- Meredith Vieira, the new cohost of NBC's ``Today" show, is thrilled to meet you. She would love to chat about her childhood growing up in Providence, her undergraduate days at Tufts University, and her amazing journey to some of the top jobs in journalism.

There's one catch though. She has to pick up her son in one hour.

``I hope you understand," she says, flashing a confident smile.

Since her oldest child was born in 1989, Vieira has taken a bold approach to a high-profile career by proclaiming that her family members come first, no matter what. That means Ben, 17, Gabe, 15, Lily, 13 , and husband Richard M. Cohen, a former CBS News producer who has multiple sclerosis and is legally blind.

At one point, Vieira walked away from a plum job at ``60 Minutes" because she felt she needed to work part time. Yet her phone keeps ringing with better and better job offers.

Now, as she prepares to join cohost Matt Lauer on ``Today" Sept. 13, the 52-year-old is molding the reported $10 million-a-year job to fit her lifestyle.

``I don't know how you become a celebrity when you're at the Stop & Shop buying milk," she says. ``I don't think it's going to happen to me."

Of course, succeeding Katie Couric isn't exactly the gig for someone who doesn't like being noticed. But Vieira, nibbling on a spicy crab cake when she isn't interrupted by a ringing cell phone, promises she won't be overwhelmed.

Will she be travel ing the world on assignment? ``I just want to do my job and go home," she says. ``I know that's what my family expects . . . . I've already blocked out every soccer game. My son is captain of the team this year."

What's her dream ``get" -- the kind of splashy newsmaker interview that Couric, Barbara Walters, and Diane Sawyer regularly vie for? ``I'm not being coy," she says. ``There's no one person I want to talk to. I could say the obvious, the leaders in the Middle East or George Bush. But I'm moved by stories and the characters within them."

The cell phone rings. ``Hi honey," Vieira coos, taking a quick break from her interviewer. Ben is calling, after having watched ``Superman Returns" with a friend. ``How was it?" she wants to know. ``Why don't you grab a bite to eat?" she advises before returning to the conversation.

Despite a somewhat conservative appearance (today she has on jeans and a simple, sea-green blouse), Vieira is known for her unpredictable sense of humor. On ``The View," which she moderated for nine years after her ``60 Minutes" stint, she has admitted to not wearing underwear, because pantyhose does the job. She once gave Wesley Snipes a lap dance on air, a stunt that her husband was ribbed for by his friends, says Ken Bode, a family friend and professor of radio, television , and film at DePauw University.

``I called [on the day of the lap dance ] and Richard said, `You're the ninth person to call today about Meredith!' " Bode says. ``She's quite a joker and she and Richard are constantly quipping back and forth."

Vieira wasn't joking back in 1991 when, pregnant with her second child, she made headlines for walking away from the gold standard of broadcast journalism -- ``60 Minutes" -- because CBS News wouldn't allow her to continue working part time (She had done it for two years).

It was a difficult choice. ``Who wouldn't want that job?" she says. ``I had been a fan of that show forever." Her tough stance made her a hero to some family advocates, a disappointment to others.

``I had become a symbol of having it all" and then let people down, she recalls now. ``Some people said, `She made such a big deal over the baby.' Well, I did. If I had it to do all over again, I'd say that I didn't appreciate as fully as I should have [executive producer Don Hewitt's ] emotional attachment to his baby. I talked a lot about Ben. What about `60 Minutes'? There were two sides to it."

None of this means Vieira wishes she'd stayed at ``60 Minutes."

``I never lost a moment's sleep about it," she says. ``I had a woman come up to me at a party and say `How could you do this?' Well, these are my priorities. I would really let people down if I lived a lie. What would that prove? To me, having it all means being able to set the standards that you want for your life."

Some major influences

Vieira grew up in Providence, in a home where the Kennedy -Nixon race was a hot topic and NBC's nightly ``Huntley-Brinkley Report" was must-see TV.

Vieira describes herself as a tomboy who rejected dolls , chased after her three older brothers, and lived to hear gruesome stories about work from her father Edwin, a doctor and medical examiner. ``Ray Patriarca [a local mob boss] would call the house and say `Ed, you really don't want to testify, do you?' A guy had been shot 50 times, a mob hit. My father would go, `Ray, I kinda have to.' To this day, I love murder mysteries."

Vieira's grade-school education was at the all-girl Lincoln School , a place that required ethics classes and reflection time. ``It was very empowering," she says. ``Feminism was just starting . . . and the school taught you that you could be whatever you wanted to be. I never thought I can't do something because I'm a girl."

At Tufts, Vieira bounced around, changing her major from astronomy to French to math and eventually English. As a fluke her senior year, she took a broadcast journalism class in which she narrated a class project on the practice of redlining real estate in Boston. It would change her life.

An executive from WEEI radio in Boston judged the student work and singled out Vieira for a chat after class. ``He said, `Y ou have a future in this,' " she says. ``It was so bizarre."

That conversation led to an internship at WEEI. In turn, she landed her first job after graduation at WORC radio in Worcester, where she read the news on air. Jay Beau Jones, operations manager for Citadel Broadcasting, which owns WORC, remembers Vieira's first day. At the time, he was a 16-year-old office assistant.

``I was driving in and I heard this very polished, smooth voice on the radio," he says. ``I remember being astounded that someone so young could sound that good. It was clear she wasn't going to be here very long."

Despite her authoritative voice, Vieira admits she was clueless. About six months later, while working at her second job at WJAR radio in Providence, she had a near career-ending experience when the weather man from WJAR-TV ran through the newsroom shouting that the TV graphics apparatus known as the Chyron was dead.

``I thought it was an Arab sheik," she says. ``I thought, `This is my big break. I'm going to break into programming with the news that the Chyron is dead.' I knew I needed more to say so I finally asked [the weather man], `What country is he with again?' He just looked at me."

Because the industry was looking to promote women during the '70s, Vieira believes she was recruited to WJAR-TV. ``We were quotas," she says, referring to herself and an African-American fellow reporter. ``We didn't care but once we got in, nobody wanted to help us. They almost resented us."

Steve Bousquet, who started on the same day as Vieira in 1977, remembers she was assigned to a Massachusetts outpost while he and his colleagues covered the Rhode Island State House and courts. ``Because of her Portuguese background, she was assigned to cover the Portuguese community in Fall River and New Bedford," he recalls. ``We would tease her mercilessly."

What station management didn't realize was that Vieira doesn't speak Portuguese. Her work stood out anyway and before long a talent scout came knocking. She made an almost unbelievable leap to the flagship station , WCBS in New York City. ``She floored everyone," says Bousquet, who is now the state capital bureau chief at the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. ``I remember feeling a tinge of `How did this happen so fast?' "

Whether she's humble or savvy, Vieira can't explain her phenomenal success either, which includes time at CBS' news magazine ``West 57th," ``60 Minutes," ``The View," and currently the syndicated game show ``Who Wants to be a Millionaire," a program she will continue to host for at least the next two years, taping two days a week. She mentions working hard, then adds, ``So much of my career has been luck. I never planned anything. It's the oddest thing."

There's no room on the table for the salmon tartar or the carrot ginger soup. Yet the waiter at the Sea Grill -- a Rockefeller Plaza restaurant near the ``Today" studios -- continues to bring out a parade of complimentary appetizers for Vieira, even though she told him she doesn't have much time to eat.

The unwanted attention is intense enough for the journalist to quip, ``I hope I do well at this job or I'll never get fed like this again."

While some news types might struggle with the lighter requirements of the show, Vieira says she's looking forward to the silly segments of ``Today."

``Stupid is my middle name," she says. Matt and Katie were known for Halloween extravaganzas that included cross - dressing and other spoofs. Vieira is ready. ``I would wear a costume the first day," she says. And she has no qualms about promoting NBC's entertainment lineup on a news show. ``It's part of the business," she says with a shrug.

When it comes to the 4 a.m. wakeup call that will be part of her new life, she's a little less casual.

In fact, she started getting ready this summer, even before officially starting at ``Today," only to think better of it. ``A little voice in my head said, `Stop it!' " she says. ``Now I'm waking up at 4 a.m. -- but I'm not getting out of bed."

Vieira eyes the miniature ice cream bars the restaurant offers for dessert, but decides against indulging. Ben is waiting to be picked up.

One last question: What's her ambition after ``Today"? Would she like to head up the network hierarchy one day?

``Never," she says, as she grabs for a beat-up black fanny pack worthy of a soccer mom. She laughs. ``My ambition is to keep my kids out of prison."

http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2006/08/20/meredith_vieira_hasnt_learned_her_lesson?mode=PF

TV Sports
Tiger Pays Off For CBS Sports
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

Tiger Woods’ continuing return to form paid off for CBS Sports, as Sunday’s final-round coverage of the 2006 PGA Championship averaged a 7.2 rating/16 share in households, up 22% from last year’s 5.9/13 average for Phil Mickelson’s victory.

The rating was also the highest for the final round of the event since 2002, when Rich Beem’s narrow win over Woods earned an 8.0/17.

CBS’s coverage topped out at an 8.7/17 between 6:30-7 pm.

The network’s two-day average for Saturday and Sunday was a 6.0/14, up 18% from last year’s 5.1/12.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6364501.html?display=Breaking+News

JMCecil:

By the way, welcome to the thread, Jeff.

Thanks :), sorry it took this long to reply. I'm new to the forum. Love what you guys do. And I have my best rants in the AM while drinking coffee on my way to work. WOOHOO!!

Thanks, for your work on this site.

TV Sports
Gumbel Vs. Tagliabue: Boon For NFL Network?
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 8/21/2006

The NFL Network's choice of Bryant Gumbel as lead play-by-play announcer for its games that begin in November is already giving the network a PR boost after outgoing NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue today responded to comments Gumbel made on his HBO show, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

After Gumbel suggested that Tagliabue show incoming commission Roger Goodell "where he keeps [NFL players union chief] Gene Upshaw’s leash," according to the Associated Press, Tagliabue on Monday fired back, "What Gumbel said about Gene Upshaw and our owners is about as irresponsible as anything I’ve heard in a long time."

While the AP says that Goodell and NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein will meet to discuss the remarks, the back and forth positions Gumbel as the outspoken voice the NFL Network claimed it had hired and is not expected to affect his role.

The network had hoped bringing in the outspoken Gumbel and partner Cris Collinsworth would establish that the upcoming game broadcasts will not be extensions of the league’s PR department. The duo will handle the broadcasts of the eight NFL games the network will air on Thursday and Saturday nights beginning on Thanksgiving night.

On his HBO show that first aired August 15, Gumbel said: "Before he cleans out his office, have Paul Tagliabue show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw's leash. By making the docile head of the players union his personal pet, your predecessor has kept the peace without giving players the kind of guarantees other pros take for granted. Try to make sure no one competent ever replaces Upshaw on your watch."

An NFL spokesperson declined to comment on the Gumbel situation.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6364500

TV Notebook
Final voyage for 'Stargate'
Sci-fi series ends run, but finds new life online
By John Dempsey and Ben Fritz Variety.com

"Stargate: SG-1," the longest-running science-fiction series in TV history, has finally reached the end of its journey, going out of production after the final episodes of its 10-year run are completed.

Ratings for the series' original runs had fallen off from 2.55 million total viewers (Jan. 21-March 25, 2005) to 1.95 million in the current cycle (July 14-Aug. 18) on the Sci Fi Channel. But the series was still racking up a solid 1.13 million adults 25-54 and 1.02 million adults 18-49 during the last eight weeks.

The cancellation "was not a ratings-driven decision," said Mark Stern, exec VP of original programming for the Sci Fi Channel. "We're actually going out on a high note," he said, as the net has given the production staff enough time to usher the series to a conclusion tying up all the loose ends.

Stern said Sci Fi plans to use some of the cast members of "SG-1" on the successful "Stargate: Atlantis" sequel, now in its third season and still going strong.

While it's transitioning off the air, "Stargate" is moving into Internet downloads for the first time.

MGM made a deal with Apple to start selling episodes of both "Stargate: SG-1" and "Stargate: Atlantis" on Monday. Studio put up several library episodes of each skein, and it will post new episodes for sale the day after they air on Sci Fi.

Deal for Internet downloads is the first MGM has made with its vast TV library.

"SG-1" had an unusual history, starting off as an original series on Showtime, where it ran for five years (1997-02). Simultaneously, Sci Fi Channel was playing the reruns of "SG-1" five times a week.

When Showtime canceled "SG-1" in 2002, Sci Fi decided to keep it in production. Throughout all of these years, producer-distributor MGM-TV was pocketing additional revenues by selling from "SG-1" in weekend off-net syndication.

As late as 2000-01, "SG-1" was averaging a solid 2.8 household rating in rerun syndication, with a 1.9 rating in adults 18-49. During the last year, its household rating in syndication has slipped to a 1.6, consistent with the overall decline in syndicated sci-fi action hours.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117948764&categoryid=14

TV Notebook
Final voyage for 'Stargate'
Sci-fi series ends run, but finds new life online
By John Dempsey and Ben Fritz Variety.com

"Stargate: SG-1," the longest-running science-fiction series in TV history,

Are these authors on crack?! In what universe is SG1 the longest running sci-fi series in TV history? Someone tell them that Doctor Who ran for 26 seasons....

By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: August 18, 2006, 3:23 PM PDT

The cable industry suffered a blow on Friday when a federal appeals court upheld the Federal Communications Commission's mandate requiring cable operators to distribute a technology called CableCards, which will allow digital cable subscribers to get rid of their cable set-top boxes.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously supported the FCC's "integration ban," which requires cable operators to separate encryption functions from basic decoding capabilities in their set-top boxes.

Separating these functions allows cable customers to plug their cable line directly into a TV set without the need for a set-top box. The CableCard device is about the size of a thick credit card, and fits into a special slot built into digital TVs and a growing number of consumer electronic devices, such as TiVo's digital video recorder and most HDTV sets.

The court's decision should move cable operators a step closer to finally offering a service that allows consumers to simply plug a card into a device to get cable TV service.

"Today's opinion sets the record straight: Consumers are entitled to a broad array of products that can connect to cable systems featuring innovative new features for competitive prices," Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association, said in a statement. "In the wake of the court's decision, we are hopeful that cable will stop its foot-dragging and comply with the law for the benefit of consumers."

The integration ban was first initiated by the 1996 Telecom Act. The FCC carried out the order and established a deadline of July 2000 for the cable industry to provide encryption in a "point of deployment" module. What resulted was the CableCard technology, which can be mailed to subscribers and stuck into set-top boxes or compatible TV sets to initiate service.

The FCC set a deadline of January 2005 for cable operators to integrate the CableCard technology into their systems. That deadline was bumped back to July 1, 2006 and then later it was bumped again to July 1, 2007.

Now, the cable companies and their lobbying group, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, are asking for the deadline to be extended yet again. Earlier this week, NCTA and Comcast filed waivers with the FCC to exempt certain low-end set-top boxes from the ban. Furthermore, they asked the FCC to push the ban deadline to the end of 2009.

Cable operators say they have developed new downloadable technology that will be less expensive to deploy. The industry makes roughly $2.5 billion a year leasing set-top boxes to consumers, according to estimates from Kagan Research. Meanwhile, deploying CableCards to all their subscribers could cost as much as $470 million.

But the CEA says consumer electronics makers have already stocked the shelves full of CableCard ready devices. They believe it's time for cable companies to start offering the service now using the technology that exists today.

NCTA is hopeful that the FCC will grant the waivers and delay the ban deadline. The group feels the court's opinion may shed some hope that the FCC will see things their way.

"We are encouraged by the court's observation that cable's progress on downloadable security 'may moot this entire controversy' and that the FCC was reasonable to delay the integration ban in light of the 'evolving nature of that technology,'" Neal Goldberg, NCTA general counsel, said in a statement. "Cable's progress on a downloadable security solution is the exact basis of the deferral request NCTA filed earlier this week with the commission which, if granted, would save consumers millions of dollars every year."

http://news.com.com/Cable+companies+lose+round+in+CableCard+battle/2100-1033_3-6107359.html?tag=nl.e703

Are these authors on crack?! In what universe is SG1 the longest running sci-fi series in TV history? Someone tell them that Doctor Who ran for 26 seasons....

Maybe in American TV history? :D

Let's not expect these writers to always check reference materials when handed a press release!

As you know, in the recent past I've posted a number of articles which attest to the Doctor Who longevity.

RussB:
The NCTA and the cable companies have been nothing less than shameful in their total disregard for the regulation.
All so they can soak their customers another few dollars a month.
It is reminiscent of Bell's reaction a generation ago to judicial orders that they sell -- not lease -- their phones.
And all of this while the cable companies bleat about how they have the subscriber's best interest in mind -- like the TWC/NFL Network foolishness.
Shameful.

Are these authors on crack?! In what universe is SG1 the longest running sci-fi series in TV history? Someone tell them that Doctor Who ran for 26 seasons....
Doctor Who didn't run for 26 consecutive seasons.

The big picture

Aug. 20, 2006. 07:50 AM
PATRICK EVANS
BUSINESS REPORTER


A ghost appears on the battlefields of competing technologies. It's the ghost of Beta, the home video technology that succumbed in the 1980s to rival VHS. It haunts garage sales where battered Beta versions of movies like Stripes and Police Academy bake in the sun alongside Peter Frampton 8-track tapes.

The ghost might have some company soon. Another home entertainment technology death duel is under way as two different TV technologies — liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma — vie for dominance of the big-screen, flat-panel television market.

Until recently the technologies weren't really in direct competition, as plasma was more suited to bigger screens while LCD had the edge on smaller ones. Giant LCD sets were available, but they relied on bulky image-projecting equipment behind their screens, and thereby lacked the fashionable thinness of plasma flat-screen units.

But LCD technology is evolving as manufacturers turn out increasingly larger flat-panel units. LCD manufacturers can now make a flat-screen TV as big as 46 inches without compromising picture quality. And they say even bigger sets are in development.

LCD is now in plasma country, and this means war — a war some say plasma can't hope to win.

Electronics giant Sony stopped manufacturing plasma TVs 18 months ago. John Challinor, Sony Canada's general manager of corporate communications, calls plasma a "high maintenance" product.

"The (sets) offer a very good picture, a very bright picture," he says. "But they have serious problems as relates to burn-in." (Burn-in is where an unchanging image stays on your TV screen so long that it gets burned onto its surface.)

Challinor says the static on-screen layout of round-the-clock news channels, where the screen is divided into boxes, is especially problematic. The black bars on a widescreen movie can also burn into a screen.

Challinor describes some other problems:

Plasma sets are very susceptible to temperature fluctuation in a room;

You've got to have it in a location with a consistent temperature range.

They don't like direct sunlight — it distorts your ability to see the screen-face clearly.

The sets don't like to be moved from room to room, because of the sensitivity of the gases inside the screen.

Another factor in Sony's abandonment of plasma was its shorter lifespan. "Plasma has about a 40,000 hour life. LCD has about a 60,000 hour life."

Meanwhile, Challinor says, LCD manufacturers are rapidly correcting the product's deficiencies in the large, flat-panel format.

"LCD technology has advanced significantly in the last 18 months. There were issues with ghosting. LCD couldn't handle fast movement — in a hockey game you'd lose the puck. That's no longer the case."

Challinor is confident plasma's dominance of the flat-panel large-sized TV market is almost over. "LCD does not (currently) have flat panel in the 60- or 70-inch range, but a year from now you'll see that in the marketplace."

The outlook for plasma televisions isn't any sunnier in the office of John Birks, a home and consumer technology specialist at market research firm NPD Group. He points to big changes in Canadian television sales over the past 12 months.

Of overall television sales, 13 per cent were big-screen rear-projection units. These are too chubby to hang like a picture frame on your wall, Birks says, but they do have the giant screen.

Plasma sets, which achieve that elegant, slim look on huge screens, accounted for 6 per cent of unit sales. LCD sets of all sizes accounted for 18 per cent. (The rest of the sales involved other types of televisions, like the old-fashioned cathode-ray tube models and portable transistorized units.)

Birks says TV sales in general are up 9 per cent in the past 12 months, with 2.5 million sets sold.

"If you look at it from the standpoint of LCD and plasma, the percentage increase in plasma was 283 per cent. The percentage increase in LCD was 330 per cent."

Birks, however, warns that such comparisons must be put in context. Yes, LCD sales increased more than plasma sales. But LCD sets are currently smaller than plasma. Plasma competes in the large-size market, where sales are fewer.

Nonetheless, Birks says plasma is in trouble.

"Probably the best analogy people are using is Beta and VHS from the early VCR days," adds Birks. "Some people think that plasma is the Beta. The reason plasma sets exist is they were the only ones with big, flat screens, until recently. LCD (increasingly) offers big screen TVs with a nice format."

Birks says LCDs are a bit expensive right now, so there will be a transition period.

"There's a future for plasma, but I don't think it's strong," he says. If plasma endures, Birks sees it as a lower-cost alternative to LCD in the big screen sizes. "But you can also see prices on LCD dropping. So it's going to be competitive with plasma."

Over in the plasma camp, they're saying it's way too early to start writing any obituaries. Unlike Sony, electronics giants Samsung and Panasonic are still making plasma televisions.

Barry Murray, Panasonic Canada's director of marketing for audio and video products, says plasma has been getting a bad rap.

"There is a group of manufacturers who have, for various business reasons, decided to focus on one technology. (But) rather than talk about that technology's attributes, they talk about other technologies in a negative fashion."

Panasonic intends to continue making both plasma and LCD sets. "We're planning to launch the 103-inch plasma, the world's biggest," Murray says.

And some of the criticisms of plasma technology — like screen-burn — are unfair generalizations, he says.

"You get what you pay for," he says. "The issue with plasma or even LCD is when you buy the tier-three brands, there's always more risk to reliability than when you buy a major brand.

"Panasonic makes both LCD and plasma," he adds. "There's no way we'd risk our brand's reputation on a technology that has inherent flaws like that."

Another record Murray wants to set straight: "There's a perception that plasma uses twice as much power (as LCD). Per screen size inch, they're about the same."

But as the competition heats up, the question of which technology uses more energy has become more and more contentious. U.S.-based environment group Natural Resources Defense Council recently published a study on the energy consumption of televisions. Project manager Noah Horowitz says plasma sets are getting a reputation for being "power hogs," but the criticism isn't quite fair.

"I've been slammed by the plasma manufacturers for singling them out," says Horowitz. "It's true that the televisions that consume the most energy today are plasma, but that's because they're making the biggest sets (with plasma technology)."

In fact, he says, Panasonic this year introduced new plasma models that use 25 per cent less energy than last year's sets.

"We don't want to single out plasmas. It's the big-screen, high-definition TVs (that consume a lot of energy). People are going to bigger screens ... we're seeing in excess of 50 inches. TVs used to be analog, but now we're getting into digital. High definition (digital pictures) require the most information, more pixels, and that's taking more energy."

Horowitz hopes to raise awareness — and maybe some eyebrows — over how much energy these new TV technologies consume.

"I guess the biggest surprise to many consumers — the fact they're not aware of — is if someone were to buy a new large-screen, high definition (set), that unit would use more energy than a new refrigerator over a year.

"On top of that, people are subscribing to cable and satellite TV. Those set-top boxes can use up to half of a refrigerator's power per year."

As plasma and LCD compete, Horowitz says conservation groups in Canada and the U.S. are hoping to influence the battle, spurring the two technologies to outdo each other in energy efficiency.

"If we could cut the energy use of a TV when it's on by 25 per cent, we could cut the electric bill in the U.S. by a billion dollars a year, and prevent 7 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year — (carbon dioxide being) a key contributor to global warming," Horowitz says. "We really want manufacturers to get ahead of the curve here."

In Canada, the federal government's Office of Energy Efficiency has a similar goal. Hantz Prosper, the department's acting senior standards engineer, says home entertainment energy consumption is a growing concern as screens get bigger and accessories like DVD and video game players are added.

"What's lacking now is labelling to inform the consumer about the electricity consumption of a new TV," he says. "Sometimes it's not clear if they should go with a large or a small one, so the label is something that could help."

Prosper's office is working on a Canadian standard to make fair comparisons between the energy consumption of televisions. None exists yet, and he says this can account for some of the conflicting claims about which technology — plasma or LCD — is more energy efficient.

In any comparison, he says the sets have to be the same size. But the content on the screen can drastically complicate a comparison. For example, soap operas tend to be dark and consume less energy. Sports events are bright and full of movement, and therefore consume more energy.

The process could take over a year, but once the standards have been set, both Horowitz and Prosper say they want to see energy efficiency information on future television packaging.

Even as the various players take their positions in the plasma vs. LCD battle, the stakes have never been higher. The large-screen home-theatre craze is bigger than ever, says Lori DeCou, director of communications at electronics retailer Future Shop. With a glut of major sporting events in recent months, more and more consumers are buying giant screens.

"The way the television (selling) cycle works is the (December) holidays are the kick-off for us. Superbowl sparks additional sales."

And this year the Olympics, World Cup and NHL playoffs created a stampede of big-screen buyers.

DeCou says the big-screen market can only get bigger. Prices are dropping as low as $2,000 for a big-screen TV, she says, compared to about $8,000 six years ago.

"With real estate, for example, buying a house, the more people want it, the higher the price goes.

"The thing about home technology as a whole, the greater the adoption of it, the more people who want it, the more the price goes down," she adds.

"You can buy a laptop for $600. That used to be unheard of."

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1156024212895&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851

Doctor Who didn't run for 26 consecutive seasons.


Yes it did.

Dr. Who is the longest running TV show on the BBC. 1963 - 1989.

26 Seasons in a row!

Season 01 broadcast 23 Nov 1963 - 12 Sep 1964
Season 02 broadcast 31 Oct 1964 - 24 Jul 1965
Season 03 broadcast 11 Sep 1965 - 16 Jul 1966
Season 04 broadcast 10 Sep 1966 - 01 Jul 1967
Season 05 broadcast 02 Sep 1967 - 01 Jun 1968
Season 06 broadcast 10 Aug 1968 - 21 Jun 1969
Season 07 broadcast 03 Jan 1970 - 20 Jun 1970
Season 08 broadcast 02 Jan 1971 - 19 Jun 1971
Season 09 broadcast 01 Jan 1972 - 24 Jun 1972
Season 10 broadcast 30 Dec 1972 - 23 Jun 1973
Season 11 broadcast 15 Dec 1973 - 08 Jun 1974
Season 12 broadcast 28 Dec 1974 - 10 May 1975
Season 13 broadcast 30 Aug 1975 - 06 Mar 1976
Season 14 broadcast 04 Sep 1976 - 02 Apr 1977
Season 15 broadcast 03 Sep 1977 - 11 Mar 1978
Season 16 broadcast 02 Sep 1978 - 24 Feb 1979
Season 17 broadcast 01 Sep 1979 - 12 Jan 1980
Season 18 broadcast 30 Aug 1980 - 21 Mar 1981
Season 19 broadcast 04 Jan 1982 - 31 Mar 1983
Season 20 broadcast 03 Jan 1983 - 16 Mar 1983
xmas special broadcast 25 Nov 1983
Season 21 broadcast 05 Jan 1984 - 30 Mar 1984
Season 22 broadcast 05 Jan 1985 - 30 Mar 1985
Season 23 broadcast 06 Sep 1986 - 06 Dec 1986
Season 24 broadcast 07 Sep 1987 - 07 Dec 1987
Season 25 broadcast 05 Oct 1988 - 04 Jan 1989
Season 26 broadcast 06 Sep 1989 - 06 Dec 1989

Dr. Who USA Movie

broadcast 27 May 1996

New Dr. Who

Series 01 broadcast 26 March 2005 - 18 June 2005
Series 02 broadcast April 2006 - July 2006
Series 03 broadcast April 2007 - July 2007

Press Release

Cable Operators Leverage Third HD-PRIME(TM) Satellite to Meet Growing Demand for High Definition TV

SES AMERICOM Taps Patriot Antenna Systems to Produce and Deliver Triple-Feed Dishes for the Simultaneous Reception of 3 Satellites on One Antenna

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2006--With consumer demand for high definition television accelerating, SES AMERICOM, an SES GLOBAL company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg stock exchangesESG), today announced that Comcast, Bresnan Communications, Brighthouse Networks, and Metrocast are among the first group of domestic U.S. cable MSOs to participate in an innovative triple-feed antenna program, offering access to the next generation of HD channels.

By installing a free triple-feed antenna, produced and delivered by Patriot Antenna Systems, MSOs will be able to receive quality programming over three SES AMERICOM satellites. Cable operators, many who already get programming from SES AMERICOM's Americom2Cable(TM) neighborhood (AMC-1 at 101 degrees WL and AMC-4 at 103 degrees WL), will be well positioned to access the next wave of HD content carried on AMC-18 (at 105 degrees WL). The newest addition to SES AMERICOM's HD-PRIME(TM) neighborhood is scheduled to be operational early next year following a planned launch this fall.

"Our first two HD-PRIME(TM) satellites are nearing capacity, as leading programmers rely heavily on AMC-10 and AMC-11 to launch cable subscriber favorites and brand new programming in HD," said Bryan McGuirk, president of media solutions for SES AMERICOM. "Our triple-feed antenna program ensures that HD programmers have a place, in AMC-18, to cost-effectively grow their HD programming distribution for years to come."

Using advanced production methods, Patriot Antenna Systems manufactures an array of satellite reflectors from stretch formed aluminum, a process that generates highly accurate antenna surfaces, designed for high performance programming reception for the cable headend and Broadcast markets. Depending on the geographic location of their U.S. headends, operators will be equipped with a 3.8 meter, 4.5 meter or 5.0 meter PATRIOT antenna fitted with the triple-feed receiving assembly.

"Our quality controlled and timely production processes enables Patriot to meet the high performance and minimized interference demands of cable operators across the U.S. as they prepare their cable headends for additional television programming," said Steve Pokornicki, Director of Sales and Marketing for Patriot Antenna Systems. "We look forward to working with SES AMERICOM, as it enables cable operators of all sizes to readily meet the growing subscriber demand for HDTV programming."

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13838

Yes it did.


Thanks for saving me the trouble of arguing this! :)

TV Notebook
FX Tests the Limits
Its envelope-pushing shows can revolt even as they rivet. Will viewers turn it off?
By Maria Elena Fernandez Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 22, 2006

FX's signature dramas have never been easy to watch.

Whether it's the execution-style murder of a little girl on "The Shield," the surgical removal of an obese woman from a couch on "Nip/Tuck" or the sight of a burned firefighter who has lost his legs on "Rescue Me," FX has distinguished itself in the television landscape by depicting contemporary life in its extremes.

This summer, as other basic cable channels have boasted of their winners — such as USA's "Psych," TNT's "The Closer" and Bravo's "Project Runway" — FX has managed to reign as the most talked-about network. But not necessarily for the reasons it might relish, since TV critics and fans have been asking: Has FX gone too far in its quest to skirt the edge? And in doing so, did network executives and show producers stoke the fires, giving the impression they could not handle the heat?

It is "Rescue Me," the post-Sept. 11 firefighter drama, that has provided the polarizing fodder since its third season began in May. Co-created by Denis Leary, who stars in it and was nominated for an Emmy this year, and Peter Tolan, "Rescue Me" has won praise for its ability to teeter between tragedy and comedy, killing Tommy Gavin's (Leary) young son or presenting firehouse antics that include what-if talk about sex with amputees.

This season, the show pushed its boundaries further with three episodes that involved rape.

First, Tommy had a fight with his estranged wife, Janet, who was living with his brother, and forced her to have sex with him. She initially hit him, but by the end was moaning and smiling, leaving the audience to wonder if she enjoyed it. Two episodes later, Janet answered that question, showing up at Tommy's in lingerie and forcing herself on him. And in the following episode, Sheila, who has an off-and-on sexual relationship with Tommy, her deceased husband's cousin, drugged him with Rohypnol and Viagra and raped him.

A vocal contingent of critics and audience members were so offended they vowed they would never watch again. " 'Rescue Me' not only jumped the shark but then went back and raped it," posted one viewer on a message board. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "I will be switching the channel. 'Rescue Me' has gone too far for me."

A few weeks later, T-Mobile's chief executive blasted the network's programming, dropped its sponsorship of "Rescue Me" and the network's only comedy, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and said he would review the rest of the network's slate. (Chrysler and Toyota, lobbied by the Parents Television Council and the American Family Assn. to abandon the network, are standing behind it.)

"Rescue Me," like FX's other original programs, airs at 10 p.m. with plenty of advisories, a point that is not lost on Leary, who emphasizes that he turned to basic cable because he did not want to obey broadcast network standards anymore.

"People talk about us, but my favorite show on TV is 'The Sopranos,' " said Leary. "And that show is about a guy who kills people during the day and goes home and talks to his kids about going to college. Meanwhile, my guys put out fires and save people and then they go home and whatever happens, happens."

Some TV critics and fans were astounded but riveted: "The final scene in this episode ... was one of the most complicated and heightened scenes I've ever seen on TV, and I could analyze it all day," wrote Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe, after Tommy and Janet's first sexual encounter. And for all the hubbub, the show's performance has not suffered: "Rescue Me" is averaging 2.9 million viewers, a 7% increase over last year.

John Landgraf, the president and general manager of FX, is no stranger to complaints about his shows. Over lunch at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills recently, Landgraf, who joined FX in 2004 but became its head in spring 2005, called this season of "Rescue Me" its "best and most brilliant." He approved the story lines, he said, knowing that he would have to hold his breath and wait for the public's response.

"For me the question is: What is the scene within the context of the entire scope of what they're hoping to achieve this year?" he said. "And I thought it was valid in that context, and I thought the risk behind it was reasonable. So it was like strap on your bulletproof vest. We're here to foster great television and take risks in support of creative freedom, and I just make no apologies for that."

From the creative end of "Rescue Me," Tolan attempted to clarify their intentions in the first controversial scene by posting on the website Television Without Pity. But he only made matters worse by becoming combative with fans who disagreed with him.

And Leary outraged some critics when he explained in TV Guide his character's violent taking of his estranged wife: "I'm sorry, I've got female friends who have been through it and don't think it's an unhealthy situation. And anybody that says different has either not been through it or is just politically correct and should probably be switching the channel."

Then a remark that Landgraf made to the press, that he tested the Tommy-Janet episode with his female executives, rubbed some as an odd double-standard. "That doesn't mean I didn't get opinions from men," he said. "From my standpoint, I'm not a woman, so I wanted to hear from women, and they really liked the episode."

Landgraf and Leary said the bumpy ride is worth it. Leary feels that next season the "payoff I think is worth the trip about how sick that relationship is, and how bad it is for them and the rest of the world."

Since it began developing original programming four years ago, FX has earned a reputation in Hollywood for allowing writers and actors to be true to their artistic integrity, even when scenes or episodes had the potential for driving away sponsors or repelling the public. That mission, established by Peter Liguori, who left FX in March 2005 to run Fox, lured Landgraf to leave Jersey Television.

"Nip/Tuck" creator Ryan Murphy said he was inspired by "The Shield's" raw authenticity to pitch his soap to FX. "They're very responsible and they always say, 'Let's talk about this choice,' and if you can defend it from a place of character, great. If not, then it's a problem."

Sure, Murphy has had his share of arguments and discussions with FX's top brass. But the most intense of those debates occurred last year during the production of the Season 3 finale, which included a disturbing, over-the-top resolution to the saga of the masked psycho the Carver. The December episode, as written and directed by Murphy, contained a 15-minute cross-cutting torture sequence in which the menacing Carver imprisoned the show's main figures, Sean (Dylan Walsh) and Christian (Julian McMahon), and cut off Sean's finger. In the juxtaposed scene, a white supremacist forced Sean's son, Matt, to slice off his transgendered friend's penis with a box cutter. Landgraf balked and asked Murphy to at least shorten it. The version that aired was nine minutes long.

"I felt it was too harrowing, I felt it would really hurt the show and I felt it was over the line," Landgraf said. "But once I got that 40% taken out and I got into the realm of where my taste differs from Ryan's taste, I let him have his way."

Murphy stands by the finale, FX's highest-rated original series episode to date, but admitted that the season as a whole was too dark and gothic, perhaps influenced by a gloomy period in his personal life. "Nip/Tuck" returns on Sept. 5 with a lighter tone, and the Carver, Murphy promised, is gone for good.

The drama over FX's dramas also has called into question the network's future. For a while, FX made it look easy, launching its three signature shows in succession, all of them becoming award-winning hits. "The Shield" will end in 2008, after two more seasons. "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me" potentially could go on for several more years. But as the shows age, FX will need to replace them, a task that is proving to be formidable as more cable and broadcast networks have hopped on the gritty serialized drama bandwagon.

But the two dramas it launched since "Rescue Me" — "Over There" and "Thief" — were not popular with viewers and were canceled. "Starved," a comedy, and "Black.White," a reality-documentary series, were meant to enlighten the public debate about eating disorders and race relations, respectively, but only managed to turn people off. They also were canceled. Neither "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" nor "30 Days" was a breakout hit, but Landgraf renewed them both for second seasons.

"There's nothing that is setting off a major alarm that they're in a creative funk," said Laura Caraccioli-Davis, executive vice president of Starcom Entertainment, which serves as a liaison between marketers and Hollywood. I don't think anybody's saying their mojo isn't working anymore." But Landgraf has come to his own conclusion about the antihero genre, spawned by David Chase on "The Sopranos," that gave FX its brand. Now that those bad boys are everywhere on the dial (ABC's "Boston Legal" and Fox's "House," for example), FX will start exploring naughty girls and maybe dysfunctional families if it commits to the series "Low Life," starring Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver. "Is that subgenre of a genre the only thing that FX is ever going to do?" Landgraf said. "Are we a network for men? I don't think so."

In January, FX will launch its first series with a female lead, and, yes, she will be an antihero. Courteney Cox Arquette is the star of "Dirt," a drama set in the tabloid industry with Cox Arquette as a stop-at-nothing tabloid editor and Ian Hart as a schizophrenic photographer. Their unholy alliance is the center of it all.

"Through examining tabloid culture, we're looking at a larger cultural endgame or cultural apocalypse and FX is letting us explore that avenue," said creator Matthew Carnahan. "I honestly don't believe that anywhere else on TV would be letting us dig around and get as messy as this can get."

"I just think if the network is slavishly devoted to its past successes, that's a recipe for failure," Landgraf said. "If you look at all of our shows, none of these stories is ever really over. The echoes keep resonating. You just have to be willing to keep watching."

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-fxaug22,0,345403.story?coll=cl-tvent

TV Notebook
ABC Names New Morning News Anchor
By Elizabeth Jensen The New York Times August 22, 2006

ABC News has named Chris Cuomo as the news anchor for “Good Morning America,” in preparation for a new round of battle with NBC’s top-rated “Today” show.

Mr. Cuomo, 36, had been the network’s senior legal correspondent, as well as an anchor on “Primetime,” ABC’s newsmagazine. He is a son of the former three-term New York governor Mario Cuomo; his brother, Andrew, is currently a candidate for New York State attorney general.

Viewers may soon know much more about Chris Cuomo, who is married and has two children. He said the biggest adjustment he expected to make in the new job would be to reveal more of himself. “You have to be willing to give yourself to the audience,” he said in a telephone interview, adding, “There’s an expectation of intimacy.” Most important, he said, the audience needs to “understand that I really care what happens in their lives.”

The news anchor job became available earlier this year as part of ABC’s game of musical chairs. Charles Gibson, the “Good Morning America” co-anchor, became the anchor of “World News,” and Robin Roberts, who had been named a third co-anchor of the program in May 2005 while continuing to handle the news headlines, became just the co-host with Diane Sawyer. The changes gave the program two female hosts, an anomaly among morning programs, which traditionally have paired men and women.

Mr. Cuomo will be the main substitute anchor for “Good Morning America.” A new weather person is still to be named.

Jim Murphy, the program’s newly named senior executive producer, said he chose Mr. Cuomo because “I have great faith he’s going to grow into a major player.” Mr. Murphy said: “He’s really passionate about news. He is very aggressive in covering big stories.”

Mr. Cuomo will begin his new job on Sept. 5. He will continue as a co-anchor of “Primetime.”

As “Good Morning America,” second in the ratings, tries to close the gap with “Today,” Mr. Cuomo will also continue to report the legal stories that have been his specialty, Mr. Murphy said. Mr. Cuomo is “passionate about crime and justice reporting,” Mr. Murphy said.

Mr. Cuomo said: “People care about that — what’s going wrong in society, who’s doing it and what the accountability is. Those types of stories are very important if you are trying to demonstrate to the audience that you care. I will do those stories and I will do them with a lot of gusto.”

Mr. Murphy declined to discuss other changes he might have in store for the program. “Today” will be dealing with changes of its own, as Meredith Vieira steps into the co-anchor slot vacated by Katie Couric, the new anchor of the “CBS Evening News.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/arts/television/22gma.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=television&pagewanted=print

TV Sports
As Gumbel Speaks Freely, N.F.L. Watches His Words
By Richard Sandomir The New York Times August 22, 2006

Paul Tagliabue is in his final days as commissioner of the N.F.L. He looks relaxed and ready to fade from public view.

It is unlikely, then, that one of his final acts will be to force the NFL Network to get rid of Bryant Gumbel, its play-by-play announcer, for remarks he made last week on HBO’s “Real Sports” about Gene Upshaw, the head of the N.F.L. players union.

Maybe Tagliabue will fine him as if Gumbel’s socks violated league rules.

Tagliabue rebuked Gumbel yesterday at a press gathering at the N.F.L. boardroom for comments that he called “quite inexcusable” and “about as uninformed as anything I’ve read or heard in a long, long time.”

Beyond that, the best Tagliabue can probably do is summon Gumbel for a private N.F.L. pep rally before he hands his office keys and building ID card to his successor, Roger Goodell, next week. Tagliabue understands free speech, even if in his view it is misinformed and ticks him off.

Gumbel is hyper-opinionated, rarely more so than in his commentary that closes each edition of “Real Sports.” He framed his essay last Tuesday as an open letter to Goodell, and he opened it with his take on what he believes is the one-sided world of Tagliabue-dominated labor relations.

“First of all,” Gumbel advised Goodell, “before he cleans out his office, have Paul Tagliabue show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw’s leash.” He said that by making Upshaw his “personal pet,” Tagliabue kept labor peace “without giving players the kind of guarantees other pros take for granted.”

“Try to make sure no one competent ever replaces Upshaw on your watch,” Gumbel said.

Gumbel is right that the N.F.L. union, since before Upshaw took office, has failed to achieve guaranteed player contracts. But by calling Upshaw a lackey, Gumbel ignores economic gains made by players under Upshaw, who, in the view of some owners, got too much in the new labor agreement.

Tagliabue said that the positions taken by Gumbel, a former co-host of NBC’s “Today” and CBS’s “Early Show,” suggested that he had acquired “buyer’s remorse” about working for the NFL Network. He said that Gumbel’s “Real Sports” commentary last week “calls into question his desire to do the job and do it in a way that we in the N.F.L. would expect it to be done.”

(It may also signal Gumbel’s desire to say things play-by-play announcers never say, which may be refreshing for fans but would be anathema to the league.)

Tagliabue said he would discuss the Gumbel matter sometime during his final days with Goodell and Steve Bornstein, the NFL Network’s president.

Bornstein proudly hired Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth, another person of infinite opinions, but he declined a request yesterday to comment on Gumbel’s statements. Seth Palansky, his spokesman, dismissed the thought that Gumbel had imperiled his status by expressing his Upshaw-as-canine view. “We still expect him to call our games,” Palansky said. “There’s no issue there. We want to let the commissioner’s words speak for themselves.”

Then came the true bottom line: marketing the NFL Network as the home of eight Thursday and Saturday games. “This is why people should call their cable operator to demand the NFL Network,” Palansky said.

Through HBO Sports, Gumbel said he had “no reaction” to Tagliabue’s ire. Upshaw also declined an interview request.

A flap similar to this was bound to occur sometime in Gumbel’s tenure. His mouth roars, and he was told upon being hired that no restrictions would be placed on him. Certainly, HBO does not tell him what to say.

In 1989, when he was at “Today,” he wrote an internal memo that flayed Willard Scott, the weatherman and celebrator of centenarians, for holding the show “hostage to his assortment of whims, wishes, birthdays and bad taste.” The memo, still relevant today, was leaked to the news media. Tagliabue’s anti-Gumbel dudgeon is in character with a league that is astonishingly adept at controlling its image. Tagliabue apologized for the appearance of Janet Jackson’s right breast at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, and he flagellated himself for not doing more to control such behavior, reacting as if he had given her a bra without adequate underwire support.

Tagliabue told ESPN that he didn’t like the negative portrayal of professional football players on the dramatic series “Playmakers,” and ESPN eventually canceled it.

His reaction to Gumbel’s remarks typified the potential sensitivity that is created when a league owns a network that carries games. No league wants to be savaged by announcers employed by outside networks. But being ripped by your own network’s voices is touchier; Tagliabue’s reaction presages future irritations once the network’s games start Nov. 23.

To Tagliabue’s credit, he approved the hiring of Gumbel and Collinsworth, and he could not have expected a pair of leashed beagles. “Real Sports” has given Gumbel a designated vehicle for commentary, and he may rile Goodell a couple of times before his Thanksgiving game debut. Last February, he wrote off the coming Winter Games in Turin, snarling about the lack of black athletes, the news media who pretend to care about luge and biathlon, and the “pseudo-athlete” who awaits scores in kiss-and-cry areas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/sports/football/22sandomir.html?pagewanted=print

TV Sports
Tagliabue May Face One Final Issue
Gumbel Could Be Ousted for Comments
By Mark Maske Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 22, 2006

NEW YORK, Aug. 21 -- Paul Tagliabue, perhaps the most powerful man in sports, said he intends simply "to disappear" after his retirement as NFL commissioner becomes official next week.

But Tagliabue, who will be replaced by Roger Goodell, isn't quite ready to walk away quietly. In an interview Monday with reporters in a boardroom at the NFL's offices, he fired back at veteran broadcaster Bryant Gumbel for critical remarks about the league and said it's possible that the league will replace Gumbel as an announcer on the NFL Network.

Gumbel sharply criticized the league, team owners and NFL Players Association chief Gene Upshaw on his HBO show last week.

"I think things that Bryant Gumbel said about Gene Upshaw and the owners are about as uninformed as anything I've read or heard in a long, long time and quite inexcusable because they are subjects about which you can and should be better informed," Tagliabue said. "Having looked at how other people have had buyer's remorse when they took positions, I guess they suggest to me that maybe he's having buyer's remorse and they call into question his desire to do the job and to do it in a way that we in the NFL would expect it to be done."

The league-owned NFL Network is scheduled to carry regular season games for the first time this season. The eight-game package of games on Thursday and Saturday nights begins on Thanksgiving. Gumbel was hired for play-by-play duties.

Tagliabue said that he, Goodell and NFL Network President Steve Bornstein will discuss Gumbel's status. The owners elected Goodell, the NFL's chief operating officer, as Tagliabue's successor on Aug. 8. Tagliabue said that his final day in office will be Aug. 31 and that Goodell officially will take over at 6 a.m. Sept. 1 because there are night preseason games Aug. 31.

The final decision about Gumbel "is up to Roger," said Tagliabue, who added: "I'll talk to Roger and Steve Bornstein about the talent at the NFL Network. At least until next Thursday, I'll have those conversations. After that, it will be Roger and Steve."

Pressed on whether he will recommend that Gumbel be dismissed, Tagliabue said, "I've said what I'm going to say on the subject."

An HBO spokesman said Gumbel had no comment.

On "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" last week, Gumbel addressed his closing remarks to Goodell and told the new commissioner to have Tagliabue, before he cleans out his office, "show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw's leash. By making the docile head of the players' union his personal pet, your predecessor has kept the peace without giving players the kind of guarantees other pros take for granted. Try to make sure no one competent ever replaces Upshaw on your watch."

Upshaw said Monday he had no response to Gumbel's "irresponsible comments."

Upshaw has been criticized in the past by others, including former baseball union chief Marvin Miller, for his close relationship with Tagliabue. But their relationship has produced long-standing labor peace that has been a significant ingredient in the NFL's prosperity, and several owners said that when they ratified the latest extension of the sport's collective bargaining agreement in March, they felt Upshaw had outmaneuvered them and gotten them to guarantee the players too much money under the salary cap system.

Gumbel also told Goodell on HBO to remind owners "that they are already making obscene amounts of money," and said that Tagliabue was "legislating individuality out of the NFL."

Tagliabue praised Goodell as a highly qualified replacement, and said he will make sure to step aside and allow Goodell to lead. Under the terms of his contract, Tagliabue is to remain a senior consultant to the league after his retirement. But he plans to travel in India and China this fall and perhaps live in China temporarily, and he said he will offer his input only to Goodell and only when Goodell asks.

"I think generally the best way to run an organization is for the person who's running it to be in charge and for the people who have had responsibility for running it previously to disappear for the most part," Tagliabue said. "I think it just provides clarity as to where the responsibilities are, both externally and internally. It eliminates any potential for anybody to try to solicit second opinions. This is not like practicing medicine. You don't look for second opinions."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/21/AR2006082101559_pf.html

The 2006-2007 Season
Web buzz-wise, the hot shows this fall
By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Aug 22, 2006

Most media people agree that NBC’s new fall shows look the most promising among the five English-language networks, and apparently web users agree with them.

According to a new report released by PropheSEE, the online buzz monitoring arm of Interpublic’s Consumer Experience Practice, four new NBC shows rank among the top five in amount of buzz generated online about the new season. In fact, NBC generated a dominant 57 percent of online buzz, compared with second-place ABC at 18 percent.

NBC’s “Heroes,” the drama about people who think they have special powers, ranked No. 1 at 26 percent of all buzz, followed by the network’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” with 20.4 percent. Fox’s “Vanished” was No. 3, followed by NBC’s “30 Rock” and “Friday Night Lights.”

But the question is whether that actually means anything good for NBC. After all, several online buzz trackers last year rated “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” the new season’s most-buzzed-about new show, and it turned out to be a huge bomb. And the recent lukewarm box office take for internet sensation “Snakes on a Plane” have many people wondering just how much web buzz really matters.

Stacey Lynn Koerner, president of The Consumer Experience Practice, talks with Media Life about web buzz, why “Heroes” is getting so much of it, and which five shows have hit potential.

How important is web buzz for a new program? Does it guarantee that people will actually watch the show, or are they just interested in talking about it?

There are no guarantees. The internet is simply a new channel for word-of-mouth, an area that marketers and programmers have been tapping for decades. The difference today is that word-of-mouth used to be more about personal networks of influence within local communities.
Today, the internet has turned individuals into channels themselves, and their reach is extensive. How viewers feel about programs is no longer shared to the extent of friends and family, it can be millions of individuals. So, buzz can be important, especially if the sentiment is shared among a wide audience or reported on by other media.

That said, not everyone participates on the internet and not every show is going to reach its core audience there. Television reaches a variety of “viewers” – some highly engaged, some loyal but dispassionate, others who are just passing through.

People who talk about programs on the internet are likely highly engaged TV fans who will sample new shows and share their opinions with many others. You could use the same analogy for gardening or home improvement or book clubs. People who are interested in discussing these topics online are likely also practitioners at some level in their lives.

The internet is simply one way of extending your experience with an activity or interest one is passionate about, but I’m sure there are lots of gardeners out there who don’t consult the internet too.

Why is “Heroes” generating so much buzz? Is it simply because it's the sort of sci-fi-type program that tends to stir web types into a frenzy?

Not at all.

“Heroes” exemplifies a new cultural interest in superheroes and, in particular, what we call a “becoming” theme. Think Buffy who learns she’s a vampire slayer, Clark Kent who learns he’s Superman (“Smallville”).

At a time in our society when danger is lurking everywhere, villains are disguised as everyday people and heroes are few and far between, this kind of movement is not surprising.

This show is also the product of one of the major writers from “Lost” (Tim Kring) who, like J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon before him, has developed a fan base of his own. For TV enthusiasts, in particular, auspices are often more important than the plot or the talent associated with the show.

Why has the buzz on “Studio 60” declined?

This is really a function of the over-hyped media attention regarding the inside Hollywood battle to produce the show as well as the debate around its placement on the schedule. Once NBC moved the show out of Thursday night and away from stiff competition (“Grey’s Anatomy”), much of the conversation settled.

Why the big jump in messages about “Vanished?”

Keep in mind that these are fan messages from May and June. Most of May really comprised the last two weeks from the time the networks announced their schedules. This is also a show that benefits from cast members who had large fan followings in other shows that have been cancelled.

Absent a show to follow, fans will adjust their energies and follow the talent. This phenomena works against the networks at times as well. Disenfranchised fans of canceled shows can sometimes launch negative campaigns against new replacement series.

Are there any shows whose negative buzz outweighs the positive? Why?

Most shows’ largest sentiment scores come from neutral messages, not negative or positive. There are a few shows that have more negative than positive sentiment from time to time, but at this stage of analysis it’s mostly neutral as fans exchange information about the programs, cast members, background, etc.

The study finds that not a lot of people are talking about legal dramas, which used to be a hot genre on TV. Has it burned itself out, or is this simply a reflection of webbies' differences with more mainstream TV viewers?

In general we’ve begun to see declining interest in procedural dramas, whether they are investigative or legal.

This really has more to do with the genre than a difference between internet and mass audiences. Viewers have many options in this genre already, so new entries have to work hard to showcase their point of difference.

There's been some talk lately about how the web has changed anticipation of new seasons. Are people more aware now of what new shows are going to be on because they're exposed to them on the web? Does this help come fall?

Viewer interest in television has not changed significantly over time. The marketing efforts we see from major programmers are merely an answer to competing in a bigger marketplace of ideas.

Those who are interested in new TV shows will seek information through entertainment magazines, TV newsmagazines [like] “ET” and “Access Hollywood,” viewer blogs, etc.
The more information you know, the more credible you are in online fan cultures. The web simply enriches the passion for these folks.

The challenge for entertainment marketers is really for those who are on the fringe, where television is a part of life, but not necessarily a passion. Life is faster with more options--and every marketer, not just entertainment marketers--is challenged in getting its messages across.

The question isn’t really whether people are more aware as much as whether they’re better informed. Today viewers have opportunities to see previews and full-length pilots before the shows even premiere. This gives us a much better sense of what may or may not work with viewers once the season is underway.

Based on this study and past fall TV trends, which shows do you expect to be hits come fall?

PropheSEE is about which shows are likely to generate engaged fans, not mass audiences. A hit is subjective depending on the parties involved, i.e., a 4 household share on ABC is not a healthy sign, but is acceptable on CW.

That said, there are several shows that have caught our attention enough to want to watch carefully through the fourth quarter. Here’s one from each network: “Heroes” (NBC), “Vanished” (Fox), “Jericho” (CBS), “Ugly Betty” (ABC) and “Runaway” (CW).

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_6795.asp

Monday’s network prime-time ratings are now at the top of RATINGS NEWS (the first post in this thread).

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Ho-hum premiere for Fox's 'Vanished'
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Aug 22, 2006

Last summer Fox rolled out its big-buzz new series “Prison Break” weeks ahead of the other broadcast networks’ offerings, and to good effect: It averaged an impressive 4.6 adults 18-49 rating in its debut.

Last night the network attempted the same strategy with one this fall’s biggest-buzz new shows, the kidnapping drama “Vanished.” The result was disappointing.

Against mostly repeats, “Vanished” averaged a 3.0 adults 18-49 overnight rating, ranking No. 1 in its timeslot but losing 19 percent of the audience of lead-in “Break,” which averaged a decent 3.7 in its second-season debut.

Perhaps more troubling for Fox, “Vanished” slipped 6 percent from its first half hour to its second, from a 3.1 to a 2.9, and was just 0.2 ahead of a rerun of “Wife Swap” on ABC in its 9 p.m. timeslot.

Though the show got strong web buzz, ranking as the No. 3 most-talked-about new show on online forums, messageboards and blogs, according to Interpublic’s recent PropheSEE report, critics did not find the show as interesting. It got mostly poor reviews.

“It’s pretty mediocre television, having the feel of a cut and paste job, without one thing that ties a successful series together as a unique creative experience,” wrote Andrew Lyons, in a Media Life review.

“Vanished” may also have suffered from the very strategy that helped last year, the early debut. Viewers don’t expect the TV season to kick off so early. Plus, it aired opposite the surprisingly solid season and presumably series finale of NBC’s “Treasure Hunters,” which averaged a 2.5, its best rating in eight weeks and up 39 percent over its penultimate episode last week.

The slate of new shows led Fox to No. 1 for the night among 18-49s with a 3.3 rating and 10 share, trailed by CBS at 2.7/8, ABC at 2.3/7, NBC and Univision both at 1.8/5, and WB and UPN each at 0.7/2.

At 8 p.m., Fox was No. 1 at 3.7 for "Prison," ahead of ABC's "Swap" rerun at 2.3, CBS's repeats of "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" at 2.2, Univision's "La Fea Mas Bella" at 1.8, NBC's "Hunters" at 1.6, WB's "7th Heaven" repeat at 0.7 and UPN's repeats of "One on One" and "All of Us" at 0.6.

At 9 p.m., Fox led again at 3.0 for "Vanished," followed by ABC's "Swap" rerun at 2.8, CBS's "Men" and "New Adventures of Old Christine" repeats at 2.7, NBC's "Hunters" at 2.5, Univision's "Barrera de Amor" at 1.5, and UPN's reruns of "Girlfriends" and "Half & Half" and WB's "Heaven" repeat each at 0.7.

At 10 p.m., CBS led at 3.3 for a "CSI: Miami" repeat, ahead of ABC at 1.9 for a "Supernanny" rerun, NBC at 1.5 for a "Medium" repeat, and Univision at 2.0 for "Cristina."

Among households, CBS was No. 1 for the evening with a 6.1 rating and 10 share, edging Fox at 5.7/9. ABC was No. 3 at 4.1/7, followed by NBC at 3.2/5, Univision at 2.1/3, WB at 1.2/2 and UPN at 1.1/2.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_6822.asp

TV Q&A
Ask Matt
(from the Ask (TV Critic) Matt (Roush) column at TVGuide.com
By Matt Roush TVGuide.com TV Critic

Question: OK, I know a lot of people (myself included) write you asking if a show in danger of being canceled will get a reprieve from another network, and you usually say no. But I do recall that when The O.C. succeeded in its first season, everyone said it was the hit that WB had been looking for. Well, now that Fox is giving up on it, wouldn't the show be good for CW? Or is it just too expensive and/or too old? If it's being overhauled, it would be a perfect time to get a new start on a mishmash, teen-oriented network like CW. — DJ

Matt Roush: It'll never happen, but your question isn't nearly as random as you might think. For one thing, The O.C. is produced by the Warner Bros. studio, so there's that sort of corporate synergy to think about (the "W" in CW stands for Warner Brothers, as did WB). And you're also right that this kind of show fits the CW brand to a tee (or should I say wife-beater T-shirt). But the last thing CW needs is yet another past-its-prime show on its schedule, which is already cobbled together from too many WB and UPN shows on their last legs. Besides, it probably is too expensive and seemingly too old (though that didn't hurt 7th Heaven from being resurrected for CW's launch). Keep reading for a question more representative of the sort of O.C. mail I've been getting lately.

________________________________________

Question: You recently mentioned that this season is likely The O.C.'s "last hurrah." Why do you think that is? When the show premiered, everyone was comparing it to Beverly Hills, 90210, a comparison I still think is valid. That show ran for 10 years and almost 300 episodes. If The O.C. ends this year it will be after only four years and likely not even 100 episodes. So why did it peter out so quickly? Do you think it was because of bad scheduling, or did poor story-line choices drive viewers away? Even if the show isn't the phenomenon it was when it started (and how could it be, given how overhyped and overexposed that first season was?), I still think it's successful enough that Fox's decision to cast it aside so quickly is surprising. — Mike

Matt Roush: I'm struggling with how to answer this one. A cynic would just say, "The show sucks now," and be done with it, but that's neither fair nor relevant; 90210's long run can hardly be attributed to its quality. It may be the fact that Fox and the culture are in different places now than when 90210 was in its heyday. Fox was a much younger network then, and WB didn't even exist, so there was less saturation of this kind of show and lower expectations for its ratings. (Crossover mass-appeal hits like 24 and House were not even thought possible.) There was no reality TV of note back then, either, and I'm wondering if faux reality soaps like Laguna Beach and its offspring have taken the luster off this fictional version. Despite the freshness of much of O.C.'s writing (especially for Seth, Summer and Sandy), there's an inescapable sense that we've been down this glossy road too many times before, and maybe this kind of teen soap is going, for now, the way of the old-fashioned sitcom — at least where the major networks are concerned. Simply put, Fox has grown up, which may not leave much room for a show like The O.C.

________________________________________

Question: I've seen a bunch of news items recently about Ugly Betty, and I was wondering what your opinion of it was. To me, the premise just seems awful. Like in The Devil Wears Prada, we've got an attractive woman who we're supposed to pretend is "ugly," and then we've got the cutting-edge topic of the fashion industry. Wow, it's not like anyone's made fun of them before. What's next, a sock-hop-and-ice-cream-social comedy? I like America Ferrera, but previous shows along this theme, such as Veronica's Closet and Less than Perfect, have just been shrill and annoying. — Jeff

Matt Roush: The worst sin in writing about or analyzing TV seriously is to judge a show simply by its premise. While it's entirely likely that you are predisposed not to enjoy Ugly Betty, it's always all about the execution. Ugly Betty is not a traditional sitcom, it's a hybrid of comedy and soap, and Betty herself is nothing like the heroine of Prada (Betty is much more extreme), except perhaps for her inexperience in this particular viper's den. Betty's close-knit Latino family life is also an essential part of the show. But even if it's true that the setting and the basic setup may be no more original than the latest spin on Cinderella or Jane Austen, it's all about what you do with the material, who you cast in it and whether magic happens. In the case of Ugly Betty, I think it does.

________________________________________

Question: I write this fully aware that you have not seen the retooled 30 Rock pilot, but what are your thoughts on the network's drastic overhaul of Rachel Dratch's character (now characters)? I've heard nothing but glowing advance notices, and until recently there was no show I anticipated more. The fact that the network heads are retooling it already suggests that they might just trash it before it even airs. God knows, NBC has heard the phrase "tried and true" (just look at most of their programming), but haven't they heard the infinitely more useful "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? — Ryan

Matt Roush: Having seen the original pilot, and being a big fan of Rachel Dratch (her first "Debbie Downer" skit may be the highlight of the last five years or so of Saturday Night Live), I can assure you that, aside from one very funny scene involving Alec Baldwin, an NBC page and a bottle of diarrhea medicine, there wasn't much for her to do. I actually like the idea that she'll be popping up in various characters (all of them, I'm assuming, extreme in nature) in what amounts to a running gag. I'd love for 30 Rock to use other past and present SNL talent in the same capacity (I'm convinced Maya Rudolph can do just about anything). As I noted in last Monday's column in a question about the much more troubled Brothers & Sisters, isn't it better to do the retooling now than once the show gets up and running, by which time it might be too late? First seasons are by their nature works in progress. A little patience and an open mind, please.

________________________________________

Question: In your recent comments about the Parents Television Council, you made reference to people who wish that all TV looked like Nick at Nite. I understood your point. But it is interesting to note that Nick at Nite does show episodes of All in the Family and Good Times, two series that caused an uproar with groups like the PTC in the '70s, and has in the past run episodes of Maude, another controversial show. In fact, I was watching All in the Family the other night and thought that there was no way a show like that could make it to network TV today. As far as the PTC goes, it's pretty simple: If you don't like it, don't watch it. There is plenty of technology available to parents for blocking channels. For that matter, there is no law saying that one must own a TV. If it offends thee, pluck it out, as someone once said. Don't subject the rest of us to a worldview that sees Petticoat Junction as the zenith of American television. — Alan

Matt Roush: Not that there's anything wrong with Hooterville. Just (in the view of the puritanical PTC) hooters, I suppose. You make an excellent point. Norman Lear (a great foe of the PTC) has often said it would be impossible to put Archie Bunker in prime time these days, with all the politically correct watchdogs (including the insipid FCC), milquetoast executives and squeamish advertisers conspiring to make network TV as irrelevant as possible. Dramas, airing later at night, seem to have a bit more leeway. But the chilling effect of the current "fine first, think later" climate has been especially devastating where cutting-edge comedy is concerned.

________________________________________

Question: I spent this past weekend watching the first half of Battlestar Galactica's first season, so I can have the entire run of the series under my belt by the time Season 3 premieres in October. It should be no surprise to you (or to anyone with a modicum of taste) that I'm completely captivated. BSG addresses so many topics, including the very nature of humanity, on levels deeper than any show I can think of, including Lost. I'm sure you've addressed this before, but why is the TV Academy so reluctant to nominate it for anything except technical awards? The story line is no more complicated than the continuing story lines on Lost or Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy. Are the oldsters really that terrified of spaceships? — Lisa B.

Matt Roush: Not so much terrified as contemptuous. I've met TV-industry veterans who, even when told this was one of the best shows of the year, refuse to look at it. They simply can't get past the title and its embarrassingly cheesy predecessor. You'd think people on the creative side of things might have heard of the allegorical power that the best fantasy and science-fiction writing can convey. But they hear Battlestar Galactica, and they think "hokum" — or worse, "recent George Lucas." We'll just have to keep doing our best to educate these fools.

________________________________________

Question: Why are you always criticizing CSI: Miami? Granted, it isn't as good as the original (which actually had a down year last year). And Caruso's acting is something you have to learn to tolerate. (I wonder if the script actually says, "Put hands on hips.") But on the whole, the show is quite entertaining. One of its strong suits is the backup players. I love Callie and Delko. If you want to bash a CSI show, try the horrid NY version. I can't even stand to watch it, and I'm a huge Gary Sinise fan; that tells you how bad it is. The exaggerated New York accents and the stilted acting are unbearable. I predict it will be the first incarnation of CSI to get canceled. — Laura

Matt Roush: Tell that to the original Law & Order, which had to move to Fridays to get away from the CSI juggernaut, even the subpar NY edition. The reason I criticize the Miami version from time to time is because it's such a big target. And while I also like some of the supporting players, I have grown weary of the ludicrous way the show presents Caruso as Super Horatio. And when they killed his wife about 10 minutes into their marriage last season... beyond predictable. They've been pulling that trick on TV since the days of Little Joe on the Ponderosa (and that's when I stopped watching Bonanza). The fact that so many still watch the show so slavishly, to the point where it's a potential show killer for any ambitious series (like, perhaps, this season's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) that dares to go up against it, is why I use my critical voice for an occasional reality check. CSI: Miami isn't a terrible show, like Criminal Minds for instance (and now I get to hear from those fans), but given the way it has developed in the last season or so, it doesn't deserve such crazy popularity, and certainly not any accolades.

________________________________________

Question: Which are the top five new shows you would recommend this fall? From the previews I have read, I am most looking forward to The Nine, Heroes, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Jericho and Ugly Betty. Six Degrees sounded intriguing to me when I read the premise, but critics have bashed it, so I'm uncertain. Although it does have J.J. Abrams involved, so I'm hoping. — Sheldon

Matt Roush: I'll give you a top six: my three favorite new dramas and my three favorite new comedies (the latter is almost by default because there are so few of merit). Dramas, in no particular order: The Nine, Studio 60, Friday Night Lights. Comedies, in no particular order: 30 Rock, The Class, Ugly Betty. There are a handful of shows I'll be tracking that fall on a second tier, but I can tell you that Heroes and Jericho will not likely be among them. (I know that because I write this particular column on the Internet, I'm supposed to gush on and on about any show with an element of fantasy — call it the Comic-Con factor — but from what I've seen of Heroes, it strikes me as pretentious and fatally unfocused, while Jericho is such a preachy downer of a show, I can't imagine the audience for that one. It certainly isn't me.) As for Six Degrees: I was seriously underwhelmed by the pilot, and will be curious if J.J. has some tricks up his sleeve to bring these ponderous characters to life. The whole thing seemed awfully New York-is-the-center-of-the-universe for my taste. I live there, and even I was put off by it.

________________________________________

Question: I was just wondering if anyone happens to know if there's something wrong with Anthony Clark. He just doesn't seem to be himself on Last Comic Standing. His hands and voice are shaky. — Erin

Matt Roush: You're not the only one who wrote in with this observation as the show ended its run. I haven't a clue if he wasn't feeling well this summer or something, but it seemed clear to me that he was peculiarly and particularly ill at ease in the role of host. He was painful to watch. But then, he made my skin crawl on Yes, Dear as well, so maybe I'm just not a fan.

________________________________________

Question: This season of Deadwood has been incredible. I'm not even sure if that adjective can do it justice. Do you foresee an Emmy or Golden Globe nomination for Gerald McRaney's performance as George Hearst? Is there any chance that critical praise, awards or ratings could bring Deadwood back for a fourth season? — Ryan

Matt Roush: Really, can you ever trust the Emmys to do the right thing? Maybe for HBO shows, yes. McRaney has been such a dominant (and demonic) figure on the series this season that I would think the chances are excellent he'll be recognized, if not too much time has passed between this summer and next year's nomination process. As for the show's future, David Milch is getting two movie-length specials with which to wrap up the story, so leaving us wanting more is not always such a bad thing. And a tighter focus to the storytelling in its final chapters may not be the worst thing that ever happened to Deadwood.

http://www.tvguide.com/TV/Roush/AskMatt/

Last week’s updated top 10 prime-time program ratings are now toward the bottom of RATINGS NEWS -- the first post in this thread.

Cable Nielsens
Top 10 Cable Programs
Week of August 14-20

Rank Program Network Day Viewers (in millions)

1 SATURDAY MOVIE III (FANTASIA BARRINO STORY) LIF SATURDAY 6.65
2 CLOSER, THE TNT MONDAY 6.57
3 NEXTEL CUP/MICHIGAN TNT SUNDAY 6.41
4 WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) USA MONDAY 5.53
5 NFL PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL L (RAIDERS/VIKINGS) ESPN MONDAY 5.38
6 MONK USA FRIDAY 5.21
7 SATURDAY MOVIE III (FANTASIA BARRINO STORY) LIF SUNDAY 5.04
8 PSYCH USA FRIDAY 4.89
9 WWE ENTERTAINMENT (WWE RAW) USA MONDAY 4.89
10 FREAKY FRIDAY (2003) DSNY FRIDAY 4.26

• Source: Nielsen Media Research data

Cable Nielsens
USA Network Continues Strong August Ratings Run
By Anthony Crupi MediaWeek.com August 22, 2006

USA Network continued its ratings tear last week, delivering an average 2.85 million total viewers and a 2.3 household rating for the week ending August 20.

As in weeks past, USA enjoyed a strong showing with its power trio––WWE Raw, Monk and Psych––which accounted for four of the week’s top 10 most-watched programs. The network also delivered the most adults 18-49 (1.27 million) and 18-34 (0.5 million) during the period.

The nominal second place winner was non-ad-supported Disney Channel, which averaged 2.58 million total viewers and a 2.2 household rating on the strength of its original series and a Friday night screening of the 2003 Lindsay Lohan movie Freaky Friday, which rounded out the top 10 with 4.26 million viewers between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Among ad-supported nets, TNT took second place in prime last week, averaging 2.35 million total viewers and a 2.0 household rating, thanks in large part to its Sunday afternoon Nextel Cup coverage (6.41 million viewers) and its hit Monday night series, The Closer (6.57 million viewers). As was the case the previous week, The Closer was the second most-watched program on basic cable, trailing the Lifetime original movie The Fantasia Barrino Story, which drew 6.65 million viewers in its Saturday night debut and another 5.04 million in its encore the following night.

The biopic of the American Idol version 3.0 winner also pushed Lifetime to its second consecutive third-place finish, as an average 2.27 million total viewers and tuned in to the womens’ network last week, while the cable debut of Monday Night Football pushed ESPN back into the top five (2.1 million/1.8 HH rating). Some 5.38 million viewers and 2.7 million adults 18-49 locked in to watch the Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings scrimmage on Aug. 14, and while that audiencee was the sports net’s biggest for an NFL preseason matchup in three years, it paled in comparison to what ABC lured with its MNF opener last year, an early-August showdown between the Chicago Bears and the Miami Dolphins that delivered 9.1 million viewers and 4.5 million adults 18-49.

Cartoon Network closed out the top five with 1.57 million viewers and a 1.4 household rating in a week which saw the kids’ net up its delivery of the 6-11 demo by 18 percent versus the same week last year with 731,000 in the category tuning in. Disney continued its remarkable winning streak among its core demos, topping all comers in kids 6-11 (1.16 million/5.9 rating), the 2-11 demo (1.51 million/4.7) and ’tweens 9-14 (0.99 million/4.9 rating).

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003020669

The 4400 and The Dead Zone didn't even crack the top 10 cable ratings with new episodes? Wow.

Why did USA give the go ahead for a 4th season of The 4400?

The Dead Zone looks like it will be canceled -- budget cuts due to rising salaries (mainly for anthony michael hall i'd imagine) have killed the quality of the show.

The 4400 and The Dead Zone didn't even crack the top 10 cable ratings with new episodes? Wow.

Why did USA give the go ahead for a 4th season of The 4400?


As a fan of The 4400, I felt this has been its strongest season but never seem to see or hear anything about the show; it seems "buzz-less". I'm curious as to how it's been doing ratings-wise and had heard nothing about USA picking up a fourth season. It almost looks like they're trying to wrap things up this year. Are you sure about that?

The 4400 and The Dead Zone didn't even crack the top 10 cable ratings with new episodes? Wow.

Why did USA give the go ahead for a 4th season of The 4400?

The Dead Zone looks like it will be canceled -- budget cuts due to rising salaries (mainly for anthony michael hall i'd imagine) have killed the quality of the show.


I just checked again and neither show even made the top 40 last week.

Last week’s complete network average prime-time results (with demographic averages) are now at the bottom of RATINGS NEWS the first post in this thread.

TV Notebook
All Eyes on “SNL” Again
By Don Kaplan The New York Post August 22, 2006

What's going on be hind the scenes at "Saturday Night Live" this month may be more dramatic than any thing you'll see on the two prime-time shows starting this fall based on the famed late-night comedy.

Four cast members are about to be fired - they know who they are, but the public doesn't.

Two others - including the undisputed star of "SNL," Tina Fey - are gone.

Auditions are about to begin for the signature spot on the show, anchor of the snarky "Weekend Update."

And because there will be two new shows that use "SNL" as their back drop - Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and Fey's "30 Rock" - the late-night comedy show will be attracting more attention than it has in years.

Lorne Michaels, the show's boss and guiding personality for nearly 30 years - and the producer of "30 Rock" - has less than six weeks to get it all done.

Crunch time.

"The history of 'SNL' has been that people step up," Michaels told the Post yesterday. "It's just been that way, at least so far. I think there are people there now who are going to be brilliant."

The man who has shared the headwriter's job with Fey for years, Seth Myers, is expected to become the show's sole head writer.

And Fey's second bannana on "Weekend Update," Amy Poehler, is also expected to be back, even as Rachel Dratch leaves to work on "30 Rock" full time.

"It's always hard when you're giving up good people," he says. The show has motored over rough road - most memorably in 1980 and 1995, when the show underwent wholesale cast changes and which, by no coincidence, were the two worst-received seasons ever.

"After about four years . . . there's a staleness that comes over the show," Michaels says.

This will be one of the few seasons that he doesn't bring in at least one new cast member. Knowing that budget cuts were looming for this fall, Michaels last year hired an exceptionally large cast - so that when the ax fell, he would already have a fresh, experienced cast ready to go.

"I think everything that was strong last season is back," he says. Among those are "SNL" vet Darrell Hammond and white-hot newbie Andy Samburg.

"For me, the most important thing is keeping the show on the air," he says.

http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/all_eyes_on_snl___again_entertainment_don_kaplan.htm

The Business of TV
EchoStar Fails To Get Stay On Rebroadcast Bar
By Mark H. Anderson and Ellen Sheng Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)—EchoStar Communications Corp. (DISH) Tuesday failed to get an emergency stay from the U.S. Supreme Court to freeze a federal appeals court order barring it from rebroadcasting copyrighted television network shows.

The emergency appeal was rejected by Justice Clarence Thomas, who handled the petition on a case out of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. EchoStar had filed the emergency appeal to lift an 11th Circuit injunction barring it from providing broadcast TV programming to its subscribers.

The company wanted to avoid having the injunction take effect until after the Supreme Court decides whether to hear a separate appeal on the underlying legal issues.

"The judgment of the Eleventh Circuit will have dramatic consequences if not stayed," attorneys for EchoStar said in the court filing. "It will immediately affect the television network programming received by hundreds of thousands of individuals."

Justice Thomas's decision effectively kills off EchoStar's last hope of delaying a U.S. District Court ruling ordering the satellite TV company to shut off its distant signal service. EchoStar hasn't specified exactly how many customers get local TV channels such as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox from markets outside of their own, but said that it was less than a million.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Note: Wall Street Journal online subs can read the full story here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20060822-710350.html?mod=crnews

What the above decision means, simply, is that Dish now will have to reach an agreement to pay for carriage of the stations. Or it will have to stop rebroadcasting them in the next couple of weeks.

Wall Street analysts have speculated the settlement figure will probably come to something more than $200 million.

Cable TV Notebook
USA: Four for 4400
Multichannel News 8/22/2006

USA Network ordered 13 one-hour episodes of The 4400, which will return to the NBC Universal Cable-owned service for a fourth season next summer.

Production on the Emmy Award-nominated series is scheduled to begin in Vancouver in early 2007.

The 4400 premiered on USA as a limited series in July 2004.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6364820

The Business of TV
EchoStar Rejected by High Court Justice, Must Halt Some Service

By Greg Stohr Bloomberg August 22

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas refused to block a ruling requiring EchoStar Communications Corp. to halt delivery of distant network television signals to hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the halt in May, saying EchoStar had engaged in a pattern of offering those signals to customers who aren't eligible under federal law. Today's rejection is a victory for News Corp.'s Fox Network and stations affiliated with the four major networks.

EchoStar, the nation's second-largest satellite service, said in court papers filed in Washington that it faces ``irreparable harm'' to its business. It asked Thomas, who handles emergency requests from the 11th Circuit, to block the lower court decision from taking effect while the justices consider whether to hear the company's appeal.

``Large numbers of subscribers who will be deprived of access to network broadcasting programming are likely to cancel their remaining EchoStar satellite services,'' EchoStar argued. Those customers ``are unlikely to resubscribe even in the event the 11th Circuit's decision is reversed by the Supreme Court.''

EchoStar said in an Aug. 9 regulatory filing that service shutoffs ``could have a material impact'' on the Englewood, Colorado, company's third-quarter results. The company says it will try to shift customers to local network signals, where that's possible.

Home Viewer Law

The U.S. Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act lets satellite companies provide network signals from far-away markets to subscribers who can't get high-quality local reception through an antenna. Both EchoStar and its larger rival, DirecTV Group Inc., have faced broadcaster claims that they regularly provide that service to ineligible customers in violation of station copyrights.

The 11th Circuit said that EchoStar had engaged in ``a pattern and practice of violating the act in every way imaginable'' and probably provides illegal service to more than 20 percent of its subscribers. The panel said that when a satellite company reaches that threshold, a judge must issue an order barring any transmission of distant network signals.

The 11th Circuit ruling overturned a federal trial judge who had issued a narrower order requiring EchoStar to revamp its system for determining subscriber eligibility for distant network signals.

EchoStar previously reached settlements with stations owned by ABC, NBC and CBS. Fox, whose parent company owns a stake in DirecTV, pressed ahead with the case, along with the independent station groups.

EchoStar had 12.46 million customers at the end of the quarter ending June 30. DirecTV reported 15.51 million customers.

The case is EchoStar v. CBS Broadcasting, 06A198.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=akPOrPxYbWmM&refer=news

[USA Network ordered 13 one-hour episodes of The 4400, which will return to the NBC Universal Cable-owned service for a fourth season next summer.


Yea! Thanks Fred. Guess the ratings must have been A-okay with USA. :)

The minute I saw the story I thought of you, archiguy!

It usually does well in the key A18-49 and A25-54 demos, no? It's a good show, I've especially liked the last few weeks.

Thanks for the Dr. Who data. I don't know why I didn't think it was a consecutive run.

The Business of TV
High Court Won’t Grant Dish Stay
By Linda Moss Multichannel News 8/22/2006

The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday refused to stay a lower-court order that said EchoStar Communications’ Dish Network must stop offering signals of TV stations to hundreds of thousands of subscribers outside of those stations’ home markets.

EchoStar lost its bid for an emergency appeal to delay imposition of a ruling coming out of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with Justice Clarence Thomas.

The company sought the stay so that it could continue offering the so-called distant signals until after the Supreme Court decides whether to hear a full appeal on the legal issues in the case. An 11th Circuit panel ruled in May that Dish was illegally providing local TV stations -- from broadcasters such as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox -- to at least 630,000 homes from markets outside of their own.

The 11th Circuit panel also ordered a lower court to issue a permanent injunction barring EchoStar from offering those distant network signals.

“This morning, EchoStar received a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court denying our stay request pending review of a petition for certiorari,” EchoStar said in a prepared statement. “Since the U.S. Supreme Court grants stays in only a very small percentage of the cases it reviews, denial of EchoStar’s stay request today was not unexpected.”

The ongoing dispute stems from a 1998 suit that the National Association of Broadcasters brought against EchoStar for making out-of-market TV signals available to homes that can watch their own local stations through rooftop antennas.

Wall Street analysts have said that EchoStar will have to reach settlements with broadcasters so that it isn’t forced to drop its distant signal offerings.

“Less than 10% of EchoStar’s subscribers would be impacted, but we will continue to explore every possible option available to avoid unnecessary disruption to our customers who watch distant network channels,” EchoStar said in its statement. “We have settled with hundreds of stations and station groups over the eight-and-a-half years this case has been winding its way through the court system, and we continue to negotiate with the broadcasters who have not yet settled.”

EchoStar hasn’t reached an agreement with Fox, which is owned by News Corp., which has a stake in DirecTV, Dish’s competitor.

EchoStar has to file its appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the anti-distant-signal court rulings by Oct. 17, so the high court could not take any action on that appeal on the merits until this fall.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6364849.html?display=Breaking+News

TV Notebook
Rosie Joins View on Sept. 5
By John Consoli MediaWeek.com August 22, 2006

Rosie O'Donnell will join ABC's daytime talk show, The View, on Sept. 5, when the show will become the network's first daytime program to be broadcast in high definition.

O'Donnell, as previously announced, will serve as moderator alongside fellow co-hosts Barbara Walters, Joy Behar and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. O'Donnell replaces Star Jones Reynolds.

During the course of this season, The View will also officially begin looking for a new co-host to join the show.

ABC has also done a marketing deal under which the studio audience each day will receive cookies courtesy of Keebler and juice courtesy of Apple & Eve.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/networktv/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003020843

Thanks for the Dr. Who data. I don't know why I didn't think it was a consecutive run.

You may have been thinking of the 18 month hiatus the show had between seasons 22 and 23. It did cause the production team to scrap a lot of their original plans for season 23, and instead it became a shorter season with one long story arc. Still, with it still technically airing the year after 22, it's still 26 consecutive seasons. Certainly far more than the bogus SG1 who claims to be the record holder. BAH! :)

TV Notebook
A shabby axing for an interstellar show
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” August 22, 2006

“Stargate SG-1’s” 200th episode aired last Friday, to much fan acclaim and positive press coverage. But within hours, word leaked out that Sci Fi Channel had canceled the 10-year-old show.

After several press and online reports emerged Monday about the abrupt cancellation, the channel issued this statement on Monday evening: “Sci Fi Channel is proud to be the network that brought ‘Stargate SG-1’ to its record-breaking tenth season. Ten seasons and 215 episodes is an astounding, Guinness World Record-setting accomplishment. ‘Stargate’ is a worldwide phenomenon.

“Having achieved so much over the course of the past 10 years, Sci Fi believes that the time is right to make this season their last on the channel. Sci Fi is honored to have been part of the ‘Stargate’ legacy for five years [the show aired for five seasons on Showtime] and we look forward to continuing to explore the ‘Stargate’ universe with our partners at MGM through a new season of ‘Stargate Atlantis.’”

The show’s producers and MGM, which owns the franchise, want to continue “Stargate SG-1” in a different venue, perhaps as theatrical features or TV films, but it’s hard to believe that the series, as it is presently constituted, will find a home at another network. Given the age of the show -- it’s now North America’s longest-running sci fi drama -- “Stargate SG-1” is not cheap to make, and aging series rarely are attractive to other networks.

Ratings have been down for the show, in which the Stargate team travels to other galaxies via a wormhole to fight ominous aliens. This summer it was regularly drawing about a 1.3 to 1.6 Nielsen rating, which is less than 2 million viewers. Overall, according to Multichannel News, which broke the story Monday, ratings were down about 30 percent from this time last year.

Declining ratings could be partly due to the loss of “Battlestar Galactica” from the Sci Fi Channel’s Friday lineup -- that program doesn’t return until Oct. 6. Another factor could be increased competition from USA Network (another NBC Universal channel), which now airs “Monk” in the same time slot on Fridays.

However, according to Gateworld.net on Monday, preliminary ratings for the 200th episode of the show were up, according to Nielsen Media Research. Two million viewers tuned into the Aug. 18 episode, titled “200,” a comic outing that celebrated the show’s long history.

According to Multichannel News, word about Sci Fi’s axing of “Stargate SG-1” leaked out to some of the show’s personnel as the cast and crew prepared to attend a Saturday party at a Vancouver hotel intended to celebrate the airing of the 200th episode.

Given that news of the cancellation began emerging over the weekend, before final ratings for “200” were available, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that Sci Fi Channel had decided to end the long-running show this season, no matter what.

It’s surprising and shabby treatment for “Stargate SG-1,” which helped Sci Fi emerge from the margins of the basic-cable world and gave the network a steady rock on which to build the rest of its programming. One would have thought that the powers that be at Sci Fi Channel would let the show’s cast, crew and fans celebrate the much-lauded “200” without pulling the plug on the program so abruptly and with such frankly terrible timing.

Fans reacted to the news with sadness and anger on Monday and Tuesday, and they had their own share of theories about why Sci Fi cancelled the program.

“I think Sci Fi is putting way to much stock in its new series like ‘Eureka,’” wrote one fan at a Gateworld forum. “I’m betting they never even thought about whether or not the new show would retain its [good] ratings going into next season.”

“Plain and simple, I think this just comes down to money in the eyes of the Sci-Fi Channel” another fan wrote. The spinoff “Stargate Atlantis,” which has been renewed for a fourth season, “is cheaper to keep alive, so that's why ‘SG-1’ is the one being cancelled.”

“I think ‘bad ratings’ is [a] code word for ‘production costs too high’ a.k.a. ‘actor’s salaries are too high’” wrote another Gateworld poster.

Gateworld noted that an announcement as to how the franchise will continue should be made later this week. Possibilities include another spinoff show, a miniseries, a direct-to-video feature, TV movies or feature films. And there are strong rumors that some cast members from "SG-1" will end up on "Stargate Atlantis."

“MGM has a great deal invested in an expanding field of licensing, official conventions, syndication, and international TV distribution. Notable is the upcoming MMORPG video game Stargate Worlds, perhaps the franchise's largest licensed project to date, due out at the end of 2007,” Gateworld’s editor, Darren Sumner, noted in a Monday article on the site.

“What we want to emphasize is that the franchise is not dying. SG-1 will go on in some way,” executive producer Robert C. Cooper told Gateworld. “We're just not ready to announce how."

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

TV Notebook
'Treasure Hunters' Winners & Losers
By Roger Catlin Hartford Courant TV Critic in his “TV Eye” blog August 22, 2006

For whatever reason, NBC’s “Treasure Hunters” never managed to scrape up much of an audience, despite the fact it was pretty much a summer version of “The Amazing Race” with more puzzles and a third member to each team.

What makes it lose even more is that it apparently had the biggest prize in reality show history: $3 million.

That’s a cool $1 million for each member of the Geniuses, who emerged the final winners Monday against the two last remaining teams, Air Force and Southie Boys. It was the geniuses who somehow found a way to solve a puzzle that let them inside a cave’s secret holdings of big gold coins.

But despite their team name, they couldn’t have guessed the value of their prize.

The three members of the winning team, Charles Taylor, 22; Francis Goldsmid, 20, and Sam Khurana, 21, all hail from Dallas, where they’ll all suddenly be as rich as oilmen. At least until the tax collector comes calling.

The three never looked like the ones who’d win from the jinx of their name to the fact they were the only ones head somewhere other than Mount Rushmore for the first task.

It looked like ex-CIA and Air Force were going to battle it out to the end, but the Southie Boys took an edge over the former spies and their extensive training.

Out of the race was the conniving pastor and his family, the Fogals; the Miss USA team; the women who were Grad Students; the first to go, the Young Professionals; the hapless nonswimming Brown Family; and the kind of team any reality show would be proud to have, the ripsnortin’ Wild Hanlons.

Having lost more money than the average reality show, and with an audience south of 5 million, don’t look for a second helping of “Treasure Hunters” any time soon.

http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2006/08/treasure_hunter.html#more

TV Notebook
The Ove