Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
'Mr. President' finally gets his own special
By Verne Gay Newsday November 2, 2006

He's survived creative redirections and misdirections, side-stepped cast purges (a recent one) and the more civilized cast "departures." The president who made him famous - and perhaps in some small measure he helped to make famous too - has been out of office six years. Yet both remain indelibly linked: The real McCoy still seems only barely distinguishable from his comic Doppelganger. Yes, Mister Darrell Hammond, this is your life.

Hammond gets his very own, very first "Saturday Night Live" special (Saturday at 11:30 p.m. on NBC/4), practically on the eve of the Tuesday midterms. So, one can reasonably ask: What's taken so long?

For 11 seasons - some glorious, some unspeakable - he's been the Rock of "SNL," and the One Sure Thing, with a few exceptions. (He still can't figure out W, and enough already with Chris Matthews.) Besides Phil Hartman and Dana Carvey, there is pretty much no one who has performed the art of impression better than Hammond on "SNL," and certainly no one for as long.

In one of those conference calls this week that NBC uses to promote shows and stars, Hammond got the inevitable questions about his future. The answers were inevitable, too: "Every year that has ever gone by I say, does it make sense to come back? And so far it has. That's a discussion and thought process I'll go through again and see what happens."

Was he afraid he'd get washed out, too, in that recent cast demolition derby? (After all, his appearances have become fewer and he's not getting any cheaper.)

"It's network television, not the March of Dimes," he said. "Someone could look at you based on some focus group and find you're not a good fit."

And, of course, he'd love a Hillary Clinton presidential bid, for reasons that are obvious: "Yeah, basically I'd love to play Bill Clinton as much as I could..."

What to expect on this Saturday's clip show? Let's see - Clinton, Dick Cheney, Dr. Phil, Jesse Jackson, Sean Connery, Dan Rather and Al Gore are all reasonable guesses.

Meanwhile, Hammond's got three movies in production, including "Netherbeast Incorporated" with Judd Nelson, Dave Foley and Robert Wagner, set for a 2007 release. But his future, he insists, will be stand-up: "I'm probably going to end up returning to stand-up.... That'll be what happens to me in my professional life."

That is, if he ever leaves "SNL."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettvtwo4955348nov02,0,1408649.story?coll=ny-television-headlines

[dad1153]

The Business of TV
House Dems Urge AT&T Merger Vote
By Ted Hearn Multichannel News November 1, 2006

A total of 26 House Democrats sent a letter Wednesday urging the Federal Communications Commission to wrap up its review of AT&T’s $81 billion merger with BellSouth.

“While we urge you to consider all the merits of the proposed merger, timely review of the merger will expedite the implementation of the commitment AT&T has made to broadband deployment and significantly enhance our constituents’ access to affordable broadband services, benefiting both their lives and our nation’s prosperity,” the letter said.

Among those signing the letter were Reps. Jane Harmon (D-Calif.), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Gene Green (D-Texas).

The five-member FCC is scheduled to vote Friday on the merger. An Oct. 13 vote was postponed because the FCC’s two Democratic commissioners, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, insisted on giving the public time to review conditions offered by AT&T.

Copps and Adelstein can hold up the merger because Republican FCC chairman Kevin Martin lacks a partisan majority to approve the deal without Democratic support. Republican FCC member Robert McDowell isn’t participating because his old employer has raised objections to the merger.

The Justice Department approved the merger without conditions, a move that angered Copps and Adelstein. To gain FCC approval, AT&T has promised to offer broadband access to every home in the states it serves by Dec. 31, 2007, and to offer $10 a month broadband access to new DSL customers for 30 months.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6387647.html?display=Breaking+News

[sangs]

This guy is completely discounting Rutgers. They are undefeated and still have to play both Louisville and West Virginia. So conceivably Rutgers could end up undefeated and in the BCS championship game, or they could spoil the chance of any Big East team in the game if all three end up with one loss.


Yes, they could be a spoiler for the Big East, but they have very little chance to be in the BCS title game, even if they finish undefeated. There are way too many teams ahead of them in the rankings. Sorry.

[dad1153]

The New Season
Hayek's making 'Betty' better
She sparkles in guest role
By David Bianculli New York Daily News November 2, 2006

"Ugly Betty." Tonight at 8, ABC (3 1/2 Stars Out of Four)

In the pilot episode of ABC's "Ugly Betty," executive producer Salma Hayek appeared in a playful cameo as an over-the-top actress on the telenovela being watched as a guilty TV pleasure by several of the show's characters.

Hayek said then she had so much fun filming those show-within-a-show spots, she was planning to do more.

She's done more than that. Tonight at 8, she shows up in a much meatier role - as a gorgeous, confident woman encountered in the office elevator by instantly infatuated magazine editor Daniel (Eric Mabius). The more he uses his standard lines and tricks on her, the faster she shoots him down - and the more he becomes obsessed.

"Do you always get the last word in?" he asks.

"Only with you, baby," she purrs.

With her sexy outfits and unyielding dismissiveness, she drives him crazy - and when he finds out her real identity, and what she's doing in the building, she drives him crazier.

If this appearance is a direct response to how much fun Hayek had filming the pilot, here's hoping she enjoyed herself so much in this expanded guest role - the sort of dynamic, dominant comedic part most actresses would kill to land - that she'll return in more than the three she's already committed to do. Why stop there?

If Hayek is the sort of detail-oriented executive producer who reads and considers her show's press coverage, let her read and consider this:

Since the premiere of "Ugly Betty," it's clear that the show's creative team has identified some of the elements that worked best early on, and expanded them. Giving more - and more dramatic - scenes to Becki Newton, who sparkled in the early going as staff receptionist Amanda, and to Tony Plana (as the father of America Ferrera's Betty) are clear signs of this. So is the obvious desire to showcase Vanessa Williams, as evil editor Wilhelmina, in scenes that show off her acting range.

With all that in mind, "Ugly Betty" owes it to itself to exploit its most obvious underutilized asset: Hayek herself. She doesn't have to be a co-star of the show, or overwork herself by appearing in too many episodes. But since the writers have found a way to place her in the building, and make her rejection of Daniel a very funny reversal of fortune for him, Hayek the producer would be foolish not to take advantage of the obvious spark and jolt provided by Hayek the actress, and showcase her in story lines on a semi-regular basis.

Especially if both Hayeks are having as good a time as they seem.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/467314p-393266c.html

[dad1153]

The Business of TV
$2 Billion in Political Ad Spending for 2006 Beats Record, Projections
By Ira Teinowitz TV Week November 1, 2006

Political advertising spending for 2006 has zoomed past all projections and is heading for the stratosphere, with more than $2 billion likely to be spent. That's 17.6 percent more than the $1.7 billion spent in 2004, the previous record high for political ad spending in a year.

Evan Tracey, who tracks spending on national broadcast and cable and major broadcast stations for TNS Media Intelligence's Campaign Media Analysis Group, said spending passed his $1.7 billion projection for the whole year last Friday and continues to escalate, with at least $200 million to $300 million more expected to be spent by Election Day next Tuesday.

Mr. Tracey originally expected spending to total between $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion this year, but then revised his estimate, saying it could reach $1.7 billion.

The CMAG numbers don't include spot cable, which has attracted even more spending. An official of National Cable Communications, the media rep arm of the three major cable system operators, Comcast, Time Warner and Cox Communications, did not return a request for comment about spending on spot cable this year.

Mr. Tracey said the surprisingly high numbers in a year that doesn't have the advantage of presidential campaign ad spending reflects the number of state ballot initiatives and gubvernatorial campaigns as well the tight House and Senate races around the country.

He also said it reflects changes in campaign finance laws that allow increased contributions and the lack of availability of broadcast time. He said the difficulty obtaining broadcast time has pushed up prices for spots.

"We can't keep up with the ad prices," he said. "We have a higher multiplier to try to figure out what issue and party groups are getting charged [above normal ad rates] to buy at the end, but it's uncharted territory because of the intensity."

Mr. Tracey said he heard anecdotally of one Los Angeles TV station raising its spot rates $25,000 virtually overnight, though he hadn't confirmed it.

He also attributed some of the spending to more candidates being on the air and for longer periods of time. Mr. Tracey said the cost of putting together a TV spot are decreasing while more candidates want spots on, even in districts that haven't advertised before.

The totals come as spending continues to mount and some turns national. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Wednesday it had bought national cable on CNN and other networks for a "significant" buy for a Democratic commercial questioning the country's direction in Iraq.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11001

[snuba]

This guy is completely discounting Rutgers. They are undefeated and still have to play both Louisville and West Virginia. So conceivably Rutgers could end up undefeated and in the BCS championship game, or they could spoil the chance of any Big East team in the game if all three end up with one loss.
RemyM speaks the truth! Go RU!
(as for mathematical possibility, somebody call Jerry Palm for answers :D )

[dad1153]

The New Season
Romance is no small matter for networks
By Greg Braxton Los Angeles Times November 2, 2006

Love is still a big deal on two of TV's most outrageous dramas this season -- it's the lovers who have gotten small.

Both ABC's "Boston Legal" and FX's "Nip/Tuck" have built romantic story lines around dwarfs, or little people. The series air at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) Tuesdays, resulting in a rather surreal head-to-head competition.

On "Boston Legal," the chronically politically incorrect lawyer Denny Crane (William Shatner) is involved with Bethany (Meredith Eaton-Gilden), a 4-foot-3 attorney who is nicknamed "the Badger" due to her habit of biting people who get on her bad side. Crane is simultaneously horrified yet attracted to Bethany, calling her a "midget" and making numerousinappropriate sexual comments to disguise his physical attraction to her.

Meanwhile, on "Nip/Tuck," Julia (Joely Richardson), the wife of emotionally desperate plastic surgeon Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh), is falling for her nanny, Marlow Sawyer (Peter Dinklage). Marlow has given Julia tender emotional support following the birth of her severely disabled baby, afflicted with ectrodactylism, a rare genetic disorder that fuses the bones of the hands and feet. Their obvious fondness for each other was to take a more sexual turn in Tuesday night's episode.

Although both series are produced by 20th Century Fox Television, the timing of the two story lines is a coincidence. The romance on "Boston Legal" is handled lightly, while the "Nip/Tuck" story line is more dramatic.

But the creators of both shows specialize in relationships between extreme characters. And they seem bonded in their motivations for their respective story lines -- fueled not so much by the prejudices little people may face in relationships with taller people than in the producers' desires to work with the performers.

David E. Kelley, the creator and executive producer of "Boston Legal," said that he has been impressed by Eaton-Gilden ever since he saw her in the 2002 film "Unconditional Love," a relatively obscure movie that also starred Kathy Bates and Rupert Everett.

"This was really more about working with the actress than in doing a story line about a dwarf," said Kelley, who has cast roles for dwarfs in his other series, including "Picket Fences" and "L.A. Law."

"When I saw that movie, I was just so taken with her -- she was funny and very compelling, and she just stuck with me. And the character of Bethany was just a fun, ballsy character for Denny Crane to have a relationship with. She doesn't put up with any of his nonsense. She's nobody's victim."

In one of the show's running gags, Crane often makes offensive comments about Bethany to attorney Alan Shore, unaware, until Shore tells him to look down, that Bethany is present, glaring up at him.

Ryan Murphy, the creator and executive producer of "Nip/Tuck," said he had long admired Dinklage, who has appeared on several television series and starred in the 2003 independent film "The Station Agent." Said Murphy, "I've just always been a tremendous fan of Peter's work, and I thought this would be a great plot line for him. He was really excited about doing it, and he and Joely just have this incredibly brilliant chemistry together."

Murphy added that he had received feedback from fans who were finding Dinklage one of the sexiest characters ever featured on the series.

He added that the dynamics of the relationship melded perfectly with the "Nip/Tuck" satirical mission to poke fun at the pursuit of physical beauty.

Meanwhile, Eaton-Gilden said she was getting tremendous feedback from people who now recognize her from "Boston Legal.""Oh, I can't go anywhere now without people coming up to me," she said with a laugh. "They tell me, You're much too good for Denny.' "

Initially she was only going to appear in a few episodes. But Kelley said he was leaving "the Badger" door open for Eaton-Gilden.

She said she hoped the role would help to change perceptions about performers born with dwarfism. "I like to play mainstream characters, and why shouldn't I?" she said. "A lot of producers are not able to create characters beyond just the little people trait. It's just so great I'm able to do this."

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/1102dwarfs.html

[dad1153]

The New Season
BBC America adds 4 shows for Jan. bows
The Hollywood Reporter November 2, 2006

BBC America said Wednesday that it has acquired four U.K. programs set to make their U.S. premieres in January. The drama "Soundproof," a BBC and Blast Films co-production that is distributed by BBC Worldwide, will debut at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT on Jan. 15 as part of a "Crimes of Passion" block, while reality lifestyle series "Turn Back Your Body Clock," produced and distributed by Celador, will debut at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT on Jan. 17. The comedy series "Feel the Force," produced and distributed by Catherine Bailey Prods., debuts at 9:40 p.m. ET/10:40 p.m. PT on Jan. 19, and interior design series "The Wow Factor," an IWC Media production distributed by RDF, debuts at 10 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT on Jan. 17.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3iBJfr5p%2BGfIehmqgbW3yiqQ%3D%3D

[dad1153]

Anyone care to bet if Brett Butler will be brought as a guest-star if this puppy gets picked-up? ;)

The Business of TV
'Grace' duo land pilot
Kohan, Mutchnick will serve as creator-exec producers
Variety November 1, 2006

"Will & Grace" creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick have landed a put pilot at CBS that hits close to home for the writing partners.
The untitled comedy revolves around a friendship between two men -- one gay, one straight. Show mirrors the longtime pals in real life: Mutchnick is openly gay, while Kohan is straight. ("Will & Grace" obviously also paired a gay character with a straight character, but with a man and a woman.)

Warner Bros. TV, where Kohan and Mutchnick are based, is behind the show. The duo will serve as creator-exec producers.

Kohan and Mutchnick most recently created the short-lived NBC laffer "Four Kings," as well as the WB sitcom "Twins."

At the Eye, the duo last exec produced "The Stones," a midseason show that briefly aired during the 2003-04 season.

"Will & Grace" aired for eight seasons on NBC. Kohan and Mutchnick also created NBC's "Good Morning, Miami" and "Boston Common." Their other credits include writing on "Dream On" and "The Single Guy."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117953139.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
Price may be 'Right' to replace Barker
By Marisa Guthrie New York Daily News November 2, 2006

What's in a name? If you're Dave Price and you're being groomed as a possible successor to Bob Barker as host of "The Price Is Right," a lot more than homonymous serendipity.

"The Early Show" weatherman recently signed a new contract with CBS that also calls for him to do "entertainment-based projects," a CBS News spokeswoman told the Daily News last week.

And one of those "entertainment" projects may indeed be "The Price Is Right."

In September, Price was trying out Barker's job in the Broadway offices of FremantleMedia (which distributes and produces the game show with CBS), according to a Manhattan man who answered a Craig's List post to be an audience member in a mock run-through.

"The Price Is Right" executive producer Howard Huntridge was there to put Price, who the source described as "very personable," through his paces.

CBS spokesman Chris Ender said yesterday it was too early to talk about potential successors to Barker.

Barker, who turns 83 in December, will step down in June after 35 years of calling out: "Come on down."

"Bob just informed us of his decision [to retire on Monday]," said Ender, "and you don't replace a legend like that overnight. Right now, we're focused on honoring Bob."

CBS has been working on a prime-time retrospective to honor the man who started his TV career in 1956 as the host of "Truth or Consequences."

Ender concurred that Barker's announcement didn't exactly come as a surprise. But, he said, "It doesn't make it any easier."

Barker told the Associated Press that Freemantle has been looking for his replacement for "two or three years," adding that the most important part of the job is being well-versed in the show's 80 games.

"The games have to be just like riding a bicycle," Barker told the AP. "Then he will be relaxed enough to have fun with the audience, to get the laughs with his contestants and make the show more than just straight games, to make it a lot of fun."

Price has been at the "Early Show" since 2003, where he is frequently called on to banter with the crowd outside the CBS studios. He has also hosted the network's coverage of the Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade and the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/467315p-393269c.html

[dad1153]

The New Season
The CW Brings Reba Back to Sunday
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable November 1, 2006

The CW will bring back Reba to its Sunday lineup on Nov. 19 with two original episodes from 7 to 8 p.m.

Beginning the following Sunday, Nov. 26, Reba will move into its new regularly scheduled time period, with a rerun at 7 and an original at 7:30.

Since The CW shifted its comedy block from Sunday to Mondays in mid October, it has been running repeats of America’s Next Top Model, Smallville and Supernatural in the Sunday night time slot, followed by 7th Heaven at 8 and Top Model reruns at 9.

The netlet debuted this fall primarily with returning series from The WB and UPN and without much of a backup development bench, which it is seeking to correct now.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6387652.html?display=Breaking+News

[dad1153]

The Business of TV
U.K.'s Channel 4 may ditch U.S. fare
Acquisitions topper says prices have risen too high
By Steve Clarke Variety November 2, 2006

LONDON — Channel 4's acquisitions topper, Jeff Ford, has warned that if the prices paid for U.S. TV shows in the U.K. go any higher the web will drop acquisitions from its schedules.

Ford, who recently pulled out of a bidding war with rival Sky One for seasons three and four of Disney's "Lost," sold for a reputed £975,000 ($1.86 million) an episode, indicated that at these kinds of license fees it was time to review the role U.S. fare plays in C4's portfolio.

"We have to re-examine the role of U.S. comedy and drama in the schedule," Ford said. "Acquisitions always used to be there (in our schedules) because they enabled us to afford to do other (more expensive) things. If they get more expensive we are going to have to say goodbye to them."

Since the launch of C4 more than 20 years ago, U.S. shows have played a key role in the web's program strategy, not least on Friday nights when fare such as "Friends," "Frasier and "The Simpsons" have all scored for C4 over the years.

As part of a first look deal with Disney, C4 snapped up the first two series of "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" for a fraction of the price forked out last month.

While Sky One poached "Lost," C4 retained exclusive U.K. rights to "Desperate Housewives."

A bidding war with ITV, Sky One and Flextech pushed the price for "Desperate Housewives" up to the same level as Sky was forced to pay for "Lost" — record fees for imported shows in the U.K.

The station's program topper, Kevin Lygo, said he had walked away from the bidding war for "Lost" — under the terms of its deal with Disney C4 had the right to match any competing bid — because the web could not afford to shell out for both "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives."

"We chose 'Desperate Housewives' because it performs better for us," Lygo said. "The ratings for 'Lost' have started to fall dramatically — from six million to 1.8 million so it wasn't worth digging deep into our pockets."

Ford predicted that "Lost" would bomb on Sky. He said: "It'll do well in the first week, but the ratings will then fall away as they always do on Sky One."

Ford and Lygo were speaking at C4's winter schedule launch, which features U.S. skein "Ugly Betty" and what looks like an impressive lineup of original fare including satirical drama, "The Trial of Tony Blair," which reprises thesp Robert Lindsay's role as the British prime minister.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117953169.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

[RemyM]

Im inclined to agree with you but, theyre ranked kinda low in the BCS, through no fault of their own. Thats gonna hurt their chances. Im hoping my Gators can slide in there somewhere.

If Rutgers beats both #5 Louisville next Thursday and #3 West Virginia on 12/2 to finish 12-0 then they would move right up their from their #15 ranking. Still, this whole BCS thing is a joke.

[dad1153]

Another "two for the price of one" posting about two TV personalities involved in litigation!

TV Notebook
ESPN Sued Over Firing
By Don Kaplan The New York Post November 2, 2006

A former ESPN baseball analyst, accused of sexual harassment, is fighting back against the sports network with a $5 million lawsuit.

Last July, ESPN fired Harold Reynolds - a former major league All-Star player-turned-TV sports analyst - just a few months after he signed a six-year deal with the network.

Since then, ESPN officials have refused to say why.

Within a day, e-mails, allegedly from inside ESPN, began to circulate that Reynolds had a reputation around the network for being a bit too touchy-feely with some female staffers and had even been warned previously to tone down his behavior.

Reynolds' lawsuit, filed Monday in Connecticut, where ESPN is based, singles out an incident last July in which an intern complained about what he called a "brief and innocuous hug" he believes resulted in his "wrongful" firing.

He says that night he dined with the intern at a nearby Boston Market, but has not seen her since. According to the suit, "she made no complaints about his actions until three weeks later."

Reynolds is seeking money owed him under the remainder of his contract, including interest and lost earnings, and is asking the court for damages for lost future opportunities.

According to the lawsuit, ESPN terminated Reynolds' contract "for cause," but gave no further explanation or specific reasons. It also alleges that ESPN has refused to give Reynolds or state labor officials a copy of his personnel file.

"The suit is without merit," an ESPN spokeswoman said yesterday. "We stand by our decision and have no further comment, now that litigation has begun."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11022006/tv/espn_sued_over_firing_tv_don_kaplan.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TV Notebook
Povich Seeks Gag Order in Harass Case
Associated Press/New York Daily News November 1, 2006

A lawyer for TV talk-show host Maury Povich has asked an arbitrator hearing a sexual-harassment complaint against him to issue a gag order, a request opposed by the lawyer for the female employee who made the charge.

Povich's lawyer, Kathleen McKenna, requested the confidentiality order in a letter Tuesday to the arbitration case manager. McKenna said Bruce Baron, lawyer for the woman, was attempting to try the case in the news media.

Baron, who made McKenna's letter public Wednesday, said he objected to a person who made his living by getting people to embarrass themselves on TV requesting a gag order and trying to hide his own embarrassment.

Baron's client is Bianca Nardi, 28, of Fort Lee, N.J. A former producer for "The Maury Povich Show," she filed a lawsuit in April saying some of her supervisors barraged her with sexual remarks and made her watch porno movies, wear revealing clothing and expose her body.

Nardi's lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, says she had an unfairly heavy workload because she did jobs assigned to a producer who had an intimate relationship with Povich and often refused to do her own work.

The case was sent to arbitration by a judge who ruled that a clause in Nardi's contract required it in the event of an employer-employee dispute.

McKenna's letter said she would raise the confidentiality issue during a telephone conference on Wednesday. Baron said the arbitrator said she would consider McKenna's request.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MAURY_POVICH_LAWSUIT?SITE=NYNYD&SECTION=ENTERTAINMENT&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[dad1153]

The New Season
'Brian' given 4 more scripts
By Nellie Andreeva The Hollywood Reporter November 2, 2006

ABC has ordered four additional scripts of "What About Brian."

Meanwhile, NBC has pulled freshman drama "Kidnapped" off the schedule.

As a midseason entry last season, "Brian" had received an initial order of 13 episodes for its sophomore season.

"Brian," from Touchstone TV and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Prods., has held on to more than 80% of its demo lead-in from "The Bachelor" but has regularly finished third in the Monday 10 p.m. slot. However, on Oct. 16, the relationship drama edged NBC's star-studded "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" for the second place in the hour among adults 18-49.

Freshman ABC series "Ugly Betty" and "Brothers & Sisters" have been picked up for a full season. All other scripted ABC shows with initial 13-episode orders except "Six Degrees"-- "The Nine," "Help Me Help You" and "Men in Trees" -- have been given orders for four additional scripts.

After three low-rated airings in its original Wednesday 10 p.m. time slot, serialized thriller "Kidnapped" was moved to Saturdays where it ran for two weeks before the network yanked it on Tuesday. For the next three weeks, NBC will air repeats of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" in the Saturday 9 p.m. slot.

NBC is in talks with "Kidnapped" producer Sony Pictures TV to run the eight unaired episodes on NBC.com with a new episode eyed to premiere every Friday. There is a possibility for the eight episodes to get a second window on the network in some format, with a "Kidnapped" marathon considered as an option.

NBC already said it won't order more segments of the show starring Jeremy Sisto beyond the original 13-episode order, which is slated to wrap production next week.

This is the second scripted NBC series to be headed to NBC.com after a quick cancellation. Back in January, the network's midseason drama "The Book of Daniel" also ended up online after three weeks on the air.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3iBJfr5p%2BGfIeUpNTOBcSh%2Bg%3D%3D

[dad1153]

TV Sports
Can NBC outfox Fox for Bears?
Networks set to fight for the right to televise upcoming games
By Ed Sherman Tribune Sports/Chicago Tribune November 2, 2006

In good times and bad, the Bears are a popular television attraction.

In great times such as these, when they're playing like one of the NFL's elite teams, it's no wonder two networks are fighting over them.

Coming soon: Fox vs. NBC. The prize: The rights to telecast what might be the Bears' game of the season.

The Bears' 7-0 start, their status as the NFC's only unbeaten team and their track record as a ratings magnet have made them the most coveted television property in pro football. A tug-of-war between Fox and NBC is looming.

NBC, in its first year back as an NFL outlet after a seven-year absence, has the Sunday night package, and it's expected to ask the league to move either the Nov. 26 Bears-New England game or the Dec. 3 Bears-Minnesota game to prime time.

New England is 6-1 and has won three of the last five Super Bowls, so its game with the Bears is one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the season. Minnesota, at 4-3, is the only team within three games of the Bears in the NFC North.

Fox, the network of the NFC, has the rights to both games, and it's not going to relinquish either of them without a fight.

The battle will be fought over the "flexible schedule" format the NFL granted NBC as part of the Sunday night package. Here's how it works, at least in theory:

In Weeks 10 through 15 and in Week 17, the NFL will designate a Sunday afternoon game that can be switched to prime time for NBC, giving the teams and their fans a minimum of 12 days advance notice. Fox and CBS, the AFC outlet, have the right to protect five games during this period.

But the setup isn't as flexible as advertised.

Without announcing it, the NFL already has earmarked certain Sunday night games for NBC. Fox, for instance, didn't have a chance to protect the Bears-New York Giants game on Nov. 12--a huge ratings draw--because the league planned to move it to prime time.

NBC could have opted for another game if the matchup did not look promising, but there's no way that's going to happen; the Bears and Giants, currently 7-0 and 5-2, respectively, will deliver huge numbers.

Another potential complication--and no one saw this coming in fairly recent Bears seasons--is a league-imposed limit on prime-time appearances. Teams are allowed five.

The Giants game will be the Bears' third, and they're guaranteed a fourth with their Dec. 11 game at St. Louis, a Monday nighter on ESPN.

Because Sunday is the only day that has flexible scheduling, NBC is left with only one more chance to grab a Bears game. The Bears-New York Jets game on Nov. 19 is off limits because Fox protected it.

But Fox didn't protect the Bears' games with New England or Minnesota. Why not? Because the league already had earmarked the Philadelphia-Indianapolis game on Nov. 26 and the Seattle-Denver game on Dec. 3 for NBC.

A few weeks ago, a matchup between Peyton Manning's Colts and Donovan McNabb's Eagles looked very enticing, and Fox didn't feel the need to waste one of its protected games on Bears-New England.

But the Eagles have lost three in a row and have fallen to 4-4. The 7-0 Colts play New England on Sunday and could suffer their first loss of the season.

Could NBC, citing the flexible-scheduling provision, go to the league and claim the Eagles-Colts game has lost its appeal and try to switch to Bears-New England? The network is certain to ask, but the shriek from Fox would make Jimmy Johnson's perfect hair stand on end.

Fox is planning to do its pregame show from New England that day and air Bears-Patriots in the 3 p.m. doubleheader slot. It's not about to let NBC have that game. Both networks declined to comment on the matter, and the NFL is being cautious with its remarks, given the possible friction involved.

Howard Katz, the league's senior vice president for media operations, demurred when asked if NBC could come in and grab an unprotected game.

"It's more complicated than that," Katz said. "We must balance the number of games we take from CBS and Fox. We also must work within the parameters of the appearance rules."

The purpose of the flexible schedule is to prevent NBC from getting stuck with unanticipated dog games late in the season. But it doesn't allow the network automatic access to the best game on a given day.

It's highly unlikely that NBC will get Bears-New England. It's too valuable a game to Fox, and Fox's 3 p.m. doubleheader slot is the highest-rated NFL telecast, including prime-time games.

It's equally unlikely that the Bears, given their appeal, will not get the maximum five games in prime time. That means the Bears-Minnesota game is the best candidate to be moved, so if you have tickets, you might start preparing to spend the evening of Dec. 3 at Soldier Field, and dress appropriately.

The league has the final say on these matters, but the lobbying from NBC and Fox will be intense. The behind-the-scenes infighting might be more suspenseful than some recent Bears games.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-0611020268nov02,1,1474016.story?coll=chi-ent_tv-hed

[dad1153]

Can Rob Lowe pull a John Stamos and resurrect his career by hitching his wagon on to a "hit" network TV show as a guest star?

The New Season
ABC gets Lowe down
Thesp joins Alphabet's 'Brothers'
Variety November 1, 2006

Rob Lowe is returning to television, joining the cast of ABC's fall hit "Brothers & Sisters" for at least six episodes.

Role -- a Republican U.S. senator from California running for re-election in the midst of a nasty divorce -- was written specifically for Lowe by exec producer Jon Robin Baitz, who penned an episode of "The West Wing" while Lowe was still a part of that skein. Scribe said that as production on "Brothers & Sisters" has progressed, the producers began looking for ways to broaden Calista Flockhart's character on the show.

Lowe's senator will be a John McCain-type Republican. He'll meet Flockhart's Kitty character via the latter's TV gabfest. A romantic relationship will ensue.

"He brings a maturity to the role on a show that's about people who are no longer kids," Baitz said. Lowe is signed on for only six episodes, but Baitz is hoping he'll end up staying full-time.

Thesp's recent credits include "Thank You for Smoking" and the upcoming "Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117953128.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
Americans adore BBC news, certainly
So much better than the U.S. networks
By Heidi Dawley Media Life November 2, 2006

Mention BBC news to Americans, and it is almost universally praised. They see it as everything that the U.S. telvision news should be and is not: trusted, unbiased, serious-minded.

If only it were, well, a little jazzier. Or at least that was one of the findings of a recent study done by BBC World in the U.S.

The study showed that news viewers see U.S. news sources as superficial, obsessed with celebrities and too glitzy. Viewers said they wanted something more serious minded and full of substance. Sort of.

"Despite the fact that they found U.S. news superficial, they did want the BBC news to increase its style. They said to keep the substance, but increase the style," says Rufus Weston, research manager for BBC World in London. "There is definitely a tension in news viewers between what they say they want and what they actively do want."

This presents the BBC with a bit of a conundrum. "The debate here is, can you do one without the other," says Weston, who believes they can.

BBC World, which launched a channel in the U.S. back in June, decided to undertake the study in order to find out what audiences want from the BBC World so as to maximize viewership in the U.S.

The BBC believes that the increased interest in international news in the U.S. since 9/11 makes this a crucial time to build the BBC’s news presence in the U.S.

While the news channel currently is only available to 2 million New York-area homes through Cablevision, BBC World news broadcasts also run on PBS and BBC America. The BBC says that the BBC World broadcasts that run on PBS now have larger audiences than any CNN show, barring Larry King.

The recent study was done at end of September by Virginia-based pollster Frank Luntz. The researchers selected 60 folks from New York, all of whom watched either national or international news. Rather than being representative of the U.S audience overall, they represented the likely target audience of the BBC World.

The participants were split into two groups according to age and shown clips from news programs including CNN, PBS and BBC World.

When asked for the first word or phrase that came to mind to describe BBC World, the participants used four words more than any others: "credible," "serious," "trusted" and "international." The viewers, says Weston, found BBC World offered an independent, unbiased, alternative perspective.

Those surveyed also expressed dissatisfaction with the American news shows, which were most commonly described as "sensationalist," "superficial," and said to have a "narrow news agenda."

The researchers also put instant response dials on the participants to gauge their moment by moment reactions to the news programs.

From this, BBC World found that Americans weren’t keen on long introductions to the news pieces by the journalists or general reportage. Instead they preferred to get quickly to the action, particularly interviews with news-makers, quickly.

They also liked the slick graphic introductions for Katie Couric and Wolf Blitzer’s "Situation Room" and the way these shows got to the news stories quickly. The BBC World graphics, be contrast, were seen as typically British in that they undersold the product.

"If we could summarize it, we would say they want the BBC substance with more American style," says Weston. However, in general, he says, "we found that there was a genuine demand for BBC news in America."

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8293.asp

[dad1153]

The Business of TV
Teamsters join team
Union moves to bolster 'Model' scribes
Variety November 1, 2006

The Teamsters will strike the CW's "America's Next Top Model," seeking union recognition for the drivers, location managers, casting directors and others working on the reality series.
Move comes nearly four months after a dozen "Model" writers struck the show in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain coverage under the Writers Guild of America.

Teamsters Local 399 organizer Steve Dayan told Daily Variety on Wednesday that the CW and the show's producers have refused to respond to recent requests to discuss unionization. He said the strike against the show would start soon, but he would not disclose specific strategies.

"We may start tomorrow or we may start in two weeks, but they'll definitely know we're on strike against them," Dayan added. "We have to be aggressive toward this segment of the business."

The CW said it would have no comment about the Teamsters.

The Teamsters were able to obtain the first union contract last year for about 500 Hollywood and New York casting directors following an organizing campaign that lasted three years. The casting directors had been one of the few significant groups of Hollywood workers that were not unionized.

Local 399 also represents 4,000 studio drivers, location managers, location scouts and animal wranglers.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117953128.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

[dad1153]

The New Season
'O.C.' Creator Promises a Liberating Season
Schwartz hopes viewers will return, final season or not
By Daniel Fienberg Zap2it November 2, 2006

Things got pretty rough in Newport Beach last year.

There were shootings and beatings and college rejections. Relationships ended, businesses collapsed, offices burnt down. Characters sought solace in alcohol, cocaine and scuzzy surfers. Characters got hit by cars, thrown from cliffs and even had to visit Albuquerque. Things got so rough that Adam Brody's Seth started smoking pot as an escape; a chemical avenue wasn't necessarily open to all viewers.

The fourth season of "The O.C." will be different, promises the show's creator, Josh Schwartz.

"I think last year decisions were made that were more inspired by ratings and so sometimes, all of a sudden, people are falling off cliffs or crashing cars or what-have-you as a way to try to, like, not get cancelled," Schwartz acknowledges. "And this year, given where we are in the schedule, worrying about ratings would be ... there's no point. That was really liberating and I think with that liberation came a sense of creative freedom."

Before that creative freedom can take hold, though, Schwartz and his writing staff have to deal with a major roadblock: When we last saw outcast hero Ryan (Ben McKenzie), he was cradling the dead body of on-again-off-again-on-again-off-again love Marissa (Mischa Barton). That's the sort of thing that puts a wet blanket on any attempted levity.

"I wanted to get the show back to an earlier place, try to get back to some of the humor and heart of the show that maybe wasn't as evident last year," Schwartz says. "Obviously that was a challenge because we were coming off this major tragedy at the end of the season and how do you do those two things simultaneously? Our guiding principle was that people grieve in very strange ways. That allowed us to start the show from an active place: How do we honor this character without it being depressing or just mopey?"

But how long can fictional characters be expected to sit shiva before it's time to get back to frolicking in the surf and casual sex?

"How do you decide?" Schwartz muses, only half-kidding. "How many episodes is the right time to grieve? I consulted my rabbi."

In truth, the magic number seems to be three. For younger viewers who were furious over Marissa's death, that may not be enough time. For older viewers, sick of Marissa's endless downward spiral, it may be too much.

"We've always had an interesting bifurcated audience in that sense," Schwartz notes. "There's the younger teenage audience and then there's the older audience that we have. People watch the show for different reasons, and I think the non-teenage audience probably felt a little alienated last year with the stories we were telling and the way we were telling them."

Schwartz approaches the new season aware that many people have already written the show's obit, particularly as it airs on Thursday nights opposite "CSI" and "Grey's Anatomy."

"Obviously, it's out there." he says. "Definitely, when you're in this time slot and you've only been ordered for 16 episodes, you're aware that that's a possibility."

Just as the possibility of a bigger episode order exists if viewers return to "The O.C.," the network has promised to warn the showrunners if cancellation is, indeed, inevitable, giving Schwartz and crew the chance to resolve things in a satisfying way. But he isn't prepared to think along those lines yet.

"I've gone Zen," he laughs. "I've surrendered to that. You can't do anything about it and every show has its own challenge ahead of it. I can't control that stuff and trying to chase that number. You start off wanting to do a good show and you end up just wanting to do a 10-share. And I think the place we've all gotten to this year is like 'Screw it. Let's just have fun and do a show that audiences will enjoy.'"

So what can Schwartz reveal about the season to come? Well, Willa Holland's Caitlin will be a new regular, as will Autumn Reeser's Taylor, who plays a major role in helping Ryan overcome his grief. Tate Donovan's Jimmy Cooper will return at some point, but the abruptly departed characters played by Chris Carmack, Amanda Righetti and Shannon Luccio will not (nor, thankfully, will Taylor Handley's Oliver). Another appearance by The Nana (Linda Lavin) seems possible. The Bait Shop is closed for good, but there will be at least one naked musical performance by guest star Chris Pratt ("Everwood"), whose initial six-episode role has already been extended. And Chrismukkah will return in a "very special" episode titled "The Chrismukk-huh?"

Schwartz just wants people to tune in.

"We're going to try to employ any-means-necessary. I'm ready to go door-to-door."

"The O.C." returns to FOX on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 9 p.m. ET.

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-schwartzocseasonfour,0,4942024.story?coll=zap-tv-mainheadline

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
The cool geek is an embraceable hero
Like his character, actor is transported by role
By Maria Elena Fernandez Los Angeles Times November 2, 2006

Call it Hiro worship.

Hiro Nakamura, the gleeful comic-book geek who uttered the coolest lines in TV this fall – "Save the cheerleader, save the world" – is captivating audiences in true superhero fashion. With his childlike awe, indefatigable joy and amusing vocabulary slip-ups, Hiro – played by the equally jolly Masi Oka on NBC's Heroes –is the first male character to break out this TV season.

Is it because Hiro can teleport and travel through time? Is it his reaction to his newfound special abilities? One Internet fan summarized it simply: "Hiro's the hottest geek ever!"

NBC surely isn't asking why. The No. 1 new show among 18- to 49-year-olds, Heroes also ranks in the top 10 among all shows in that advertiser-coveted demographic.

A serial saga about people all over the world discovering they have superpowers and how this change affects them, the strength of the drama lies largely in its relatable characters. Hiro is the time- and space-bending 24-year-old office drone.

"Everything that is great about kids is inhabited in Hiro," said Mr. Oka, who finds the attention he is getting as overwhelming as Hiro finds his powers.

The character was an afterthought for creator Tim Kring, who added the Japanese-speaking Hiro after he showed his first draft of the pilot script to his wife, and she pointed out that he needed a character that embraced his powers with zeal.

"So I felt that we needed to come up with a character who rather than approaching this as an affliction, approaches it as the best thing that ever happened to him," said Mr. Kring, who also created Crossing Jordan. "The character is a real archetype of anybody who feels trapped in a life that's too small and too insignificant for what they believe they are capable of."

But Mr. Kring was quick to add that much of what is lovable about Hiro is due to Mr. Oka's own charisma and enthusiasm.

Mr. Oka, 31, has spent most of his career in comedy and loves to ad-lib. "I love collaborating and the writers have been so generous and open to let me improvise," Mr. Oka said. (He also writes the weekly Hiro's Blog for NBC.com.)

Viewers also were exposed to a different Hiro who jumped in from the future speaking perfect English, wearing a long ponytail, carrying a sword and being oh-so-serious. "Future Hiro is harder for me because my personality lends more to present-day Hiro rather than the ... sexy Hiro that is Future Hiro," Mr. Oka said during a break. "But once I got into costume and everything, I was so into the character."

Heroes

8 p.m. Mondays, NBC (Channel 5). 1 hr.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117953128.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

[dad1153]

Another two-story/review post. Hey, why not? :)

TV Notebook
Hey, Kids, a Hip-Hop Star Has Savvy Advice for You
By Virginia Heffernan The New York Times November 2, 2006

Not content with merely being one of the most successful hip-hop acts of all time, OutKast turns its attention to children with “Class of 3000,” which has its premiere tomorrow night on Cartoon Network. André 3000 Benjamin, one of the OutKast duo, provides the voice for Sunny Bridges, a groovy music teacher who enlivens a performing arts school in Atlanta, which is also Mr. Benjamin’s hometown. He imparts many lessons.

“Class of 3000” is an eclectic, speedy and fun-enough cartoon that combines styles from anime, shimmying iPod ads and the merrily slapdash work of Filmation in the 1970s. (Filmation produced “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” as well as many of the cartoons based on Mattel toys.)

Of course these days Flash animation technology makes even the most commercial animation look sophisticated and gorgeous, and “Class of 3000” would have been considered an art film if it had appeared in the heyday of “Fat Albert.” Today, though, especially on the Cartoon Network, it seems like another hyperactive montage of voices and shapes.

But Mr. Benjamin, whose energizing music combines funk and crunk and every other style, knows from cacophony, and the show — for those who can follow it — is kept under control with witty, pointed dialogue and kid-friendly punch lines about, say, Clay Aiken or Big Pharma. The kids bop around getting into scrapes that require musical skills to get out of; Sunny gives them sage advice — against dramatically changing clothing styles or signing dubious record contracts, for example — that helps them along the way.

Viewers who grew up on Filmation, or haven’t looked at new television animation in even just a year, may find the tempo here hard to take. Flash has dialed up the speed of children’s television to Dexedrine pace, and what was once the most simple-minded stuff on the air is now among the most intellectually demanding as it pounds out plots, jokes and references as if with a drum machine on overdrive. This is how commercial children’s television rolls right now, and it’s worth a look for anyone who used to like “Fat Albert,” just to see how things have changed. Have a 7-year-old explain it to you.

CLASS OF 3000

Cartoon Network, tomorrow night; preshow at 7, premiere at 8, Eastern and Pacific times.

Created by André 3000 Benjamin and Thomas W. Lynch; written by Richard N. C. Portofino; supervising director, Allan Jacobsen; directed by Joe Horne; executive producers, Mr. Benjamin and Mr. Lynch; co-executive producer, Patric Verrone; supervising producer, Mr. Horne; producer, Kelly Crews; story editor, Mr. Verrone. For Cartoon Network Studios: executive producer, Brian A. Miller; supervising producer, Jennifer Pelphrey; executives in charge of production, Khaki Jones and Curtis Lelash.

VOICES BY: André 3000 Benjamin (Sunny Bridges), Small Fire (Li’l D), Phil LaMarr (Philly Phil), Jennifer Hale (Madison), Tom Kenny (Eddie), Janice Kawaye (Kim and Kam Chan), Crystal Scales (Tamika) and Jeff Glen Bennett (Principal Luna).

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/02/arts/television/02clas.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TV Notebook
In the Land of ‘Every Vote Counts,’ Uncertainty on Whether It’s Counted Correctly
By Virginia Heffernan The New York Times November 2, 2006

Sturdy, middle-aged women who in other eras might have agitated for cloth diapers or temperance appear tonight on HBO demanding accountability by the manufacturers of insecure voting machines. One of the machines in question — the Diebold AccuVote 2000 — even has a name straight out of Marvel Comics.

“Hacking Democracy,” the documentary that has its premiere tonight, is disturbing stuff — enough that the Diebold Election Systems president, David Byrd, in a letter to the HBO chairman and chief executive Chris Albrecht, said the film was so filled with errors that HBO should not show it. An HBO spokesman has said the company stands by the work.

The film tells its cautionary tale largely through Bev Harris, a publicist and grandmother from Seattle and founder of Black Box Voting, a nonprofit consumer-protection group. Ms. Harris is not an angular avenger who could be played by Joan Allen or Sigourney Weaver; rather she brings to mind Rosie O’Donnell, or Debra Mooney from “Everwood.”

But for singleness of purpose and sheer effectiveness, Ms. Harris, who is a controversial figure among those concerned about electronic voting, has more visible citizen-crusaders — Michael Moore comes to mind — beat by a mile.

Unfortunately her cause doesn’t lend itself to beautiful filmmaking. Sure, the sight of Al Gore, frozen faced shaking the hand of George W. Bush while conceding the 2000 election recalls the nerve-racking uncertainty of that time. And the portentous voice-over labors to drum up suspense about arcane subjects, like whether the memory cards of voting machines have executable — meaning hackable — programs.

But we also see a lot of fluorescent-lighted voting booths. And the camera periodically pans across lines of computer code that say things like: “UCASE> LIKE ‘%NADIYAH% ET TotalVotes _ 5000 where = m_iPage);I pMaster, int iPage, U O); I for (int I = tes [I]; == VOTETYPE_WRITEIN :GetPickAffiliationO.”

This is minimally tantalizing. What if this stuff means “Give the election to Billy Bulger”? But to all but a chosen few, it’s incomprehensible.

Fortunately none of this undercuts the inherent drama of the documentary, which suggests, in short, that all electronic voting machines may be riggable.

“Hacking Democracy” follows Ms. Harris and her band of unmerry women (and male hackers and hangers-on) as they trudge to polling places, corporate headquarters and court hearings looking for answers. An “irregularity” — that’s computerese for blank existential terror — that shows up in Volusia County, Fla., in November 2000 energizes their cause: in that county, Mr. Gore seems to have received “-16,022” votes. A deficit. Negative votes. It doesn’t take a scientist from Stanford to explain that is just, um, bad.

A second memory card, which vanished into thin air (naturally), may have been loaded into the computer that counted the votes. That’s fraud of the highest order. Susan Bernecker, a Republican candidate for City Council in Jefferson Parish, La., in the mid-1990s, went to test the voting machines years ago. Twice, in a demo, she pressed her own name to see how it would register; twice the name of her opponent was registered in the memory of the machine. They test 15 more machines and find the same results.

Rigged voting in Louisiana? Say it ain’t so. But it’s not shocked-shocked you feel watching this; it’s genuine shock. As the drama proceeds, adducing more evidence for the unreliability of the voting machines than can possibly be explored here, you might also feel flattened. Computers count around 80 percent of votes in America. The marketing director for Diebold, Mark Radke, who defends both the company and its chief executive (a major Republican fund-raiser who once promised in a letter to “deliver the electoral votes of Ohio” to President Bush), talks in maddening doublespeak and wears the arched-eyebrow expression of a silent-movie fiend. His Nixon-era nondenial denials turn the stomach.

Watching Mr. Radke, with his old-fashioned stonewalling, finally made me realize that what upset the women in this film has very little to do with technology or corporate accountability. The reason they are worked up is that the potential failure of the machines revives, for them, associations with a great cause from a century ago: that of universal suffrage.

HACKING DEMOCRACY

HBO, tonight at 9 Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.

Directed by Simon Ardizzone and Russell Michaels; produced by Mr. Ardizzone, Robert Carrillo Cohen and Mr. Michaels; Earl Katz, Sarah Teale and Sian Edwards, executive producers; edited by Sasha Zik. For HBO: John Hoffman, supervising producer; Sheila Nevins, executive producer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/02/arts/television/02hack.html?ref=television

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
Happy Diwali From 'The Office'
Mindy Kaling takes center stage in episode about Hindu festival
By Rick Porter Zap2it November 2, 2006

It's probably safe to say that Thursday's episode of "The Office" will feature a television first: No other American comedy series has ever had the Hindu festival of Diwali.

The episode is the brainchild of Mindy Kaling, an Indian-American writer and producer on the series who also plays bubbly Dunder Mifflin employee Kelly. She admits, though, that when it came time to put the celebration down on paper, she had to turn to Google.

"I was a little embarrassed with how little I knew about it," says Kaling, who grew up in Boston. "I'm Hindu, but I'm not really a practicing Hindu, so I had to do a lot of research.

"But it was good too, because I could tell [executive producer Greg Daniels] and people I work with were a little antsy about assigning the Hindu writer the Indian episode. I didn't want to feel like they pigeonholed me, but I felt like I'd done enough episodes" -- she's written four others -- "that it was okay. I was actually a little excited -- I got to learn a little bit more about my culture."

She also got to involve her family. Her parents -- mom Swati a doctor and dad Avu is an architect -- appear in the episode as Kelly's folks, who pepper her boyfriend Ryan (B.J. Novak) with questions about the couple's future. Kaling is proud of the work they did on the episode, but she says the initial experience having them on set was "mortifying."

"Of course I sort of lapsed back into that pre-teen attitude of every single thing my parents do embarrasses me," she says, laughing. "But they were great about it. They were such pros -- they had all these scenes with Steve Carell and they were completely unafraid. They got along effortlessly."

In addition to the Diwali celebration, Thursday's "Office" presses forward with a number of ongoing stories in the show. Michael (Carell) makes a decision about his relationship with sometime girlfriend Carol (Nancy Walls, Carell's real-life wife), Pam (Jenna Fischer) continues her tentative exploration of singlehood and, in the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin, Jim (John Krasinski) takes a stumbling step forward in his relationship with new co-worker Karen (Rashida Jones).

"This episode kind of has every single thing I love the most, in anything at all," she says. "It has romance, people getting dressed up in costumes, lots of food, smooching and making out ... and little girls making fun of B.J. Novak."

Kaling devotes a significant chunk of the "Diwali" episode to the Stamford office, which she calls the "Darren Star-type office." She says she and the other writers are enjoying playing the contrasts between the two branches this season.

"For me it's sort of like 'Upstairs, Downstairs,'" Kaling says. "Stamford is like the high-class office. It's only 30 minutes from New York, with good-looking Ed Helms and good-looking Rashida Jones and good-looking Chip [Esten, who plays Jim's new boss]."

That duality may not last too much longer -- the show has an episode called "The Merger" coming up in a couple of weeks, and the episode description NBC provides makes no secret of the fact that the two branches are combining in some way. That could, however, open up a whole new set of possible stories, and for Kelly, fresh avenues of office gossip.

"I love Kelly because she's one of the few people in the office who really loves it," Kaling says. "I think especially in the first season, it was a trial coming to work for everyone. The only reason Jim and Pam came was for each other. Kelly, I think, really loves the office and thinks of it as like this fun, sexy place where she can flirt with her boyfriend and have drama."

Kaling isn't sure, though, whether Kelly and Ryan's already tenuous coupling will last much longer. "I love the way it is now, where she's so unaware" that Ryan is only half-heartedly committed (if that) to their relationship. "You know what it'll be? It'll be her becoming obsessed with someone new. I think that will be it. Right now she's in sort of a blissful other place."

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-mindykalingtheofficediwali,0,699575.story?coll=zap-tv-headlines

[dad1153]

The Business of TV
Verizon Files to Offer TV in Garden State
By Todd Spangler Multichannel News November 2, 2006

Verizon Communications said Thursday that it expects to file the first application for a video franchise in New Jersey under the state's newly enacted video-franchise law.

The company said if New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities approves its application, it expects to begin offering television service to some communities in the state as soon as the second half of December.

In its initial filing, Verizon is seeking authorization to offer its Verizon FiOS TV service in 316 communities in New Jersey, covering 2.1 million households. The company said that represents 70% of the homes in the state.

"We will soon serve more communities in New Jersey than any of the current cable-TV operators have served in the past three-and-a-half decades," Dennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey, said in a prepared statement.

Earlier this week, Verizon reported having 118,000 FiOS TV customers as of Sept. 30, more than doubling its subscribers (www.multichannel.com/article/CA6386511.html).

Verizon currently offers the service in seven states: California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Virginia. The company said it has secured rights in nine states covering 3 million households in 200 markets; New Jersey would be the 10th. The two states where Verizon has franchises but hasn't launched yet are Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Separately Thursday, Verizon said it began offering FiOS TV service to consumers in parts of the Lee Hill district of Spotsylvania County, Va.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6387733.html?display=Breaking+News

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
America's our most wanted
'Ugly Betty' Star Draws In Lots of Young Viewers
By Doug Elfman Chicago Suntimes November 2, 2006

America's big new TV star, America Ferrera, relates to her role in "Ugly Betty" -- the awkward, sweet, chubby nerd in braces.

"In high school, you stand up and you've got gum stuck to your pants. You're in third grade, and you peed in your seat. A couple of times I did that," Ferrera, 22, says and laughs. "I was a late bloomer. I didn't have so much control over my bladder."

Even before "Ugly Betty" debuted, some in the media were speculating the comedy-drama could prosper because it is network TV's only title with a Hispanic woman in the central role. It also had the fortune of being based on a popular Colombian telenovela, which was said to be an enticement for this nation's growing Hispanic population.

But "Betty" is not a niche hit. The Thursday favorite is the fall's top-rated new series. Along with NBC's "Heroes," "Betty" has cracked the Top 20 list of programs recognized for snaring young viewers.

The success of "Betty" comes in covering the basics. It's the story of a budding woman working at a fashion magazine and getting along with her dad and family. It's well-written (partially by first-generation Americans), it's deeply acted and it's directed cinematically.
Then there's the star named America. ("In Latin America, it's not as uncommon a name," she says.) By Hollywood standards, she's not the sex symbol her boss, producer Salma Hayek, is.

Off camera, Ferrera looks drastically better. But while looking for work over the years, she's gone through the same visual rejections Betty has.

"It's very heartbreaking when you're not given the shot to show who you are on the inside," Ferrera says. "As an actress, you don't even get the chance to be rejected. They look at your 8-by-10, and you're not what they want on the outside."

This makes Ferrera's ascension even more remarkable. The tall glam she lacks has kept her from winning roles. But her memorable face and skills helped her land the lead in the 2002 film "Real Women Have Curves" and the role of Betty.

Hayek, 40, says she was insistent on hiring her. Ferrera didn't want to take the part if Betty was going to be treated as truly ugly.

"But when they explained the character to me, they had already fallen in love with her, and I fell in love with her," Ferrera says. "All of her beauty is in the inside, and you have to sit and watch to see her beauty. It's not what we want: instant gratification."

Ferrera grew up in Southern California. She has never visited the home of her heritage, though she would like to: "I'm a Honduran, and I've never stepped on Honduran [soil]."

Guys she liked never paid attention to her as a kid, she says with a smile. At home, she watched repeats of "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley" and "I Love Lucy."

"There weren't that many Latino faces" on TV, she says. "But I also grew up as an American. I grew up in the Valley. So I didn't feel any different from the children I went to school with, other than the fact that at home, I had a different culture."

At its base, "Ugly Betty" is just a TV show. But Ferrera says it can give viewers the feeling they are not alone.

"I can't go out there and save the world, but if I can look at the child next to me and make them feel alive and like they are not invisible for a second, that feels like a real reward."

Producer Hayek stresses inner beauty

The underlying message of "Ugly Betty" is that beauty goes beyond skin deep. This is an interesting notion propelled by producer Salma Hayek, a sex symbol. But she claims she herself rarely gussies up or thinks about her looks.

"Because I have so many interests in life, I don't spend as much time evaluating whether I feel pretty," she says.

(Easy for her to say.)

"My mind is so focused on so many other things, I don't think, 'How do I look?' so much."

And then she says this: "Not that I couldn't use making myself look prettier."

Uh-huh. Right.

Hayek makes guest appearances tonight on "Betty" and through the rest of November. This is her first splash there since the series made its debut, when she played an actress in a telenovela that Betty's family watched on television.

Hayek sometimes gets emotional talking about America Ferrera. She worked hard to get Ferrera cast as the lead, both actresses say.

"She is 22, and she is so smart, and so talented, and so professional," Hayek says, almost to the point of tears. "America needs America."

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/elfman/120961,CST-FTR-ELF02.article

[dad1153]

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read this post before watching last night's Lost, or you'll learn that... that... sniff... excuse me...
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TV Notebook
Lostwatch: Subterranean Ben's Sick Blues
From James Poniewozik's TIME Tuned In Blog Nov. 2, 2006

Almost since Lost began, fans have whined and complained that the deaths on the series have been convenient and wussified--targeting less-popular, peripheral characters (Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia, Libby) or threatening, then stepping away from, first-tier castaways (the teasing almost-death of Charlie). If the producers had guts, fans said, Sopranos-style, they'd whack somebody really cool.

Well, are you happy, people? I said, ARE YOU HAPPY? Last night, your wish cost Mr. Eko--the badass, soulful, conflicted, stick-wielding druglord-cum-priest--his life. You got your pound of flesh, or, by the looks of him, about 250 lbs., actually. It was probably the best, most moving episode yet of season 3, although Eko's termination will be clouded by the fact that--like earlier casualties Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros--Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was recently arrested for a traffic violation. I doubt the producers care about that, though; more likely, Mr. Eko had run out of backstory and outlived his usefulness as Locke 2.0, and thus the smoke monster swept him up like the mailed fists of Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof.

Speaking of which, grief aside, how cool was that death scene? Not because Eko died, but because of how the episode teased us about the nature of the smoke monster. As in Eko's first sighting of it, he was alone every time it appeared; then we learned that, when Locke had seen the monster, he saw not a column of smoke but a bright light. All this seemed to indicate that the smoke monster was not a physical presence at all, but some kind of figment--until said figment picked Eko 50 feet in the air and smashed him on the ground. Who's the external manifestation of the character's inner struggle now, sucka?

The tradeoff? It looks like in exchange for one rough-hewn, fascinating Eko, we get a pair of new, blandly pretty castaways, Nikki and Paulo, who tagged along on this week's island adventure. Their appearance has been a subject of controversy in the Tuned In household. Mrs. Tuned In, representing what seems to be a growing consensus among Lost fans, thinks their introduction has been distractingly hamhanded and phony. I--probably desperate to make excuses for the show--think their introduction has been so hamhanded and phony that it's funny; the producers seem to be having fun with acknowledging the TV-ness of having 40-some survivors on the island, 30 or so of whom we know nothing about, even though the main characters must. It reminds me of the season Buffy the Vampire Slayer suddenly introduced Buffy's sister Dawn and had the characters act as though she'd been there all along. Of course, Buffy had a supernatural explanation for the twist: the new Lost characters are not, like Dawn, the magically created Key for anything, except for the need for new blood in the cast. (As if anyone has ever said, "You know what the problem with Lost is? Too few characters!")

OK, fine: Mrs. Tuned In is right, I'm wrong. Spare me the e-mails.

After all this, though, I suspect the most important thing about the episode was what we learned about the Others. I had to love the scene in which Juliet snuck Jack the video in which, with the mute button on and, using title cards a la Bob Dylan in the Subterranean Homesick Blues video, begged him to off Benry on behalf of a rebellious group of Others. More intriguing in the larger scheme, though, is another issue that, at first, looks like a plot misstep but probably holds a key to the Others and their beliefs.

Haven't you wondered why, if Benry is so desperate to have Jack operate on his deadly tumor, he doesn't just coerce his prisoner? It'd be easy enough, after all, to point a gun at Jack's head, or better yet, to Kate's, to get him to co-operate. Instead, however, Benry tells Jack that there was an elaborate plan to brainwash him into sympathy. "I want you to want to save my life," Benry says--if we can believe him, and in this case I think we have to, since if the Others had wanted to threaten Jack, they'd have done so long ago.

Why is volition so important to the Others? It seems Benry doesn't just want Jack to want to help: he needs him to want to. Whatever The Others' core beliefs are, free will must be a cornerstone of them: Juliet referred to free will in the season opener, and again in her cover speech to Jack last night. Of course, there are good TV reasons for the Others to believe they need Jack and company to convert of their own free will--that provides the excuse for their baroque and entertaining psych games. But it also, after five episodes, may provide the essential chink in the Others' armor that the castaways can exploit: something in their self-conceptualization as "the good guys" means that they must achieve their goals by persuasion, not force, even, it appears, at risk to Benry's life.

"I want you to want me / I need you to need me." Could this be the key to the Cheap Trick (sorry) that will buy Jack and company their freedom?

http://time.blogs.com/tuned_in/

[shuttermaker]

If Rutgers beats both #5 Louisville next Thursday and #3 West Virginia on 12/2 to finish 12-0 then they would move right up their from their #15 ranking. Still, this whole BCS thing is a joke.


True, "IF", and that a big if IMO, they beat both teams they will move up. But, so will every other winning team that is ranked ahead of them. In your scenario, i can only see them cracking the top 10 in the BCS.

And yes, the BCS is a joke. Only a true playoff system will satisfy me.

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
'Simpsons' spooktacular ends on a political note
By Rob Owen Pittsburgh Post-Gazette November 2, 2006

Fox persists in airing annual "Simpsons" Halloween episodes after the holiday, but regardless of poor timing, these spooktaculars have become an annual event for fans, always eager to see what trilogy the writers will concoct.

This year's "Treehouse of Horror XVII" begins well, but diminishes as it goes along until the final installment turns into a didactic downer commentary on the U.S. presence in Iraq.

In the best, first story, "Married to the Blob," Homer eats an alien slimeball that crashes to Earth and finds himself consuming everything else in his path, including teenagers who engage in a barbecue sauce fight (maybe they were asking for it), the cast of a "Facts of Life" reunion tour and Dr. Phil McGraw.

The story doesn't so much have an ending as it just stops, but it still offers this best line of the half-hour: "If I can keep down Arby's, I can keep down you!" Homer says to someone he's about to consume.

The second, Krusty the Clown-themed installment, is occasionally amusing (Bart gains control of Krusty's Golem, a creature from Jewish folklore voiced by Richard Lewis), as is the third, Great Depression-set story, "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid," until its conclusion.

At the end of this final short, aliens Kang and Kodos lay siege to the Earth. After three years Springfield lies in ruins and the two aliens have this exchange:

"You said we'd be greeted as liberators!" Kang says. "I'm starting to think an enduring occupation was a bad idea."

It continues with one of the aliens finally concluding, "This sure is a lot like Iraq."

I take no issue with "The Simpsons" getting political, but this bit is too on the nose and is more sad than funny.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06306/734701-237.stm

[dad1153]

Ratings
Fox News ratings take a steep tumble
Its audience is down 24 percent from a year ago
By Kevin Downe Media Life Magazine November 2, 2006

October was the 10th anniversary of Fox News, and in that 10 years it has risen to the No. 1 cable news network, riding on the tagline "Fair and Balanced." Yet Fox News is showing serious signs of aging, led by steep audience declines.

Fox News’s total audience fell 24 percent in the past year, to 1.3 million viewers from 1.7 million, and its key primetime audience, viewers ages 25-54, was down 7 percent in October on a year-to-year basis, to an average 363,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

In third quarter, Fox News suffered a 38 percent decline in 25-54s, to 409,000. In second quarter, that audience was down 22 percent and in first quarter it slid 28 percent. It is still No. 1 by a long shot.

Fox attributes the 2006 declines to a soft news year compared to 2005, which saw audiences shoot up during events like Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami and the death of Pope John Paul II.

Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming at Fox News, tells Media Life: "The numbers that everybody goes by are year-to-year numbers, and 2005 was an incredible year for news compared to 2006."

But Fox's problems go deeper than that. If it was just the dearth of big stories this year, all the other cable networks would be down as well. Two were actually up in October.

CNN has also been down steeply this year in total viewers and 25-54s but not as much as Fox, and in October its 25-54 primetime audience was essentially flat at down 1 percent.

And both Headline News and MSNBC were actually up in that demo last month, by 18 percent and 19 percent.

Fox appears to be suffering from other ills, and one is a reluctance to tinker with what's worked over the past decade. It has done little to change its look and feel, and at a time when its competitors have been busy trying out new ideas and talents and freshening up their formats. That would certainly explain the notable growth of both MSNBC and Headline News.

But Fox News's bigger problem may well stem directly from the political turmoil facing the nation as it enters the voting booth for next week's midterm elections, say analysts.

As the network most identified with conservative America and in particular the Bush White House, Fox News is suffering the most from the disenchantment among conservatives over the war and the political scandals.

The news formula that worked for so long is now working against it, they say, as fewer of those disenchanted viewers bother to tune in to watch the news.

“What Fox did so brilliantly was assess both the political and cultural realities of the times when it came on, and then designed a service that perfectly fit a certain niche,” says Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

“The problem with coming up with a perfect niche that is perfect for the time is that time and culture change. Potentially, you end up positioned with an identity that no longer reflects the reality of the times.”

Judy Daubenmier of News Hounds, a web site often critical of Fox News, agrees.

“Fox News has tied itself so closely to George Bush that when his approval ratings go down people don’t want to hear about him, so they don’t want to watch Fox News,” she says.

Jill Olmsted, associate professor of journalism at American University in Washington D.C., thinks viewers have grown tired of Fox’s adamantly pro-Bush rhetoric.

“This could be a backlash,” she says. “We don’t know what’s going to happen on Election Day, but indications are that people are tired of the partisanship and went to get on a more neutral, let's-get-along agenda.”

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8294.asp

[dad1153]

Fox News ratings take a steep tumble
Its audience is down 24 percent from a year ago

And on that bit of good news (wink, wink) I have to say goodbye to this thread for a few days myself. Fredfa should be back any moment now though, so things will be back to normal soon... I hope. Last night (11/1) I had to go to a hospital Emergency Room here in NYC because of an acute case of gastrointestinal acid and dehydration. Had to spend the night at the ER (my first time ever) and had to pay almost $1,000 out of pocket for the stay (don't have any medical insurance). Got back home around 11AM ET (which is why there were no postings from me on this thread last night or this morning) and I'm currently taking medication to calm down a freaking sky-high fever and my still-upset stomach. Hopefully I can also sleep, something the stomach pain kept me from doing all night long. So I won't have the time, stamina or will to post anything for the next couple of days. At least now I have a newfound appreciation for TV shows like 'ER' and 'Scrubs' that I lacked before! :rolleyes:

Please click on the previous page (#585) for a dozen or so postings I just added a couple of hours ago that you may have missed. Thanks for keeping the thread active and please forgive my lame attempts to step in and fill Fredfa's shoes! :(

[HDTVChallenged]

Had to spend the night at the ER (my first time ever) and had to pay almost $1,000 out of pocket for the stay (don't have any medical insurance).

Bummer man ... OTOH, you're probably coming out ahead (for now) vs. the $273/mo I pay to my swindlers ... Deus forbid I should ever actually get sick ... :eek:

[dad1153]

That's how bad the freaking stomach aches and acid attacks (combined with the dehydration that came as a total shock to me) were. I knew I'd be out a grand but the thought of the nurses sedating me so the pain wouldn't be so intense (which they did) versus staying awake another minute experiencing so much pain made the $1,000 seem like a bargain. Oh well, there goes my PS3 money until 2007! :(

[Jediphish]

Bummer man ... OTOH, you're probably coming out ahead (for now) vs. the $273/mo I pay to my swindlers ... Deus forbid I should ever actually get sick ... :eek:


Insurance premiums are low compared to what you might spend if you really get sick. Like taxes, insurance is something everyone should pay for first, before they can even touch the rest of their income. Most will never get a ROI on their insurance premiums, but for those who do, it's a very real and necessary benefit.

[posg]

I missed something.

Who is "dad1153" and where is "fredfa"???

[posg]

I missed something.

Who is "dad1153" and where is "fredfa"???

Never mind. I found my answer.

[HDTVChallenged]

Most will never get a ROI on their insurance premiums, ...

LOL ... hence my use of the term "swindlers." :D

[shuttermaker]

Overnights

CBS's 'Criminal
Minds' slips by 'Lost'

Brings in 16.7 million viewers to 16.1 million

By Toni Fitzgerald
Nov 2, 2006

Last night ABC’s hit show “Lost” killed off a series regular in a heavily publicized pre-sweeps twist. But even that shocker couldn’t stop CBS’s rapidly gaining “Criminal Minds” from finally pulling ahead in total viewers after weeks of nipping at “Lost’s” heels.

“Minds” averaged 16.7 million total viewers last night to “Lost’s” 16.1 million in their shared 9 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen overnights. Though “Lost” was still the easy winner among adults 18-49, with a 6.6 average last night, “Minds” is also closing the gap there. It averaged a 4.9 last night, up 11 percent over last week’s 4.4. “Lost” was down slightly from last week’s 6.9.

“Minds” has been growing ever since its September debut, when it had two weeks to hook viewers before “Lost” returned in October. The latter, though still a top-five show among 18-49s, is also down from last year while “Minds” is up.

The past few weeks fewer than 1 million total viewers have separated the two shows.

What will be interesting is what happens in November and December, as “Lost” goes on a preplanned hiatus until winter and new Taye Diggs show “Day Break” pops into the 9 p.m. slot.

“Lost” will end its mini-season next week, with “Break” premiering the week after. ABC planned the break so that when “Lost” returns it will run original episodes through May without the repeats that viewers have complained loudly about over the past two seasons.

“Minds” will surely benefit from that decision. But come next year, both shows will likely be facing Fox’s mighty “American Idol” in the timeslot.

For now, the other networks are an afterthought in the timeslot. Last night Fox premiered a new game show opposite “Minds” and “Lost,” and it was a big disappointment. “The Rich List” averaged a dismal 1.5 in 18-49s, the worst premiere for any new show on the Big Four this season.

It wasn’t the only show dipping below the deadly 2.0 mark. Both of NBC’s new Wednesday comedies slipped under 2.0 for the first time, weeks before “30 Rock” relocates to a new timeslot and “Twenty Good Years” leaves the schedule, perhaps for good.

ABC still managed to win the night thanks to “Dancing with the Stars” and “Lost,” averaging a 4.7 rating and 13 share. CBS was second at 4.4/12, followed by NBC at 2.6/7, Fox at 2.1/5, and Univision and the CW both at 1.6/4.

At 8 p.m., ABC led with a 4.9 for “Stars,” followed by a 3.1 for CBS’s “Jericho,” a 2.7 for Fox’s “Bones,” a 2.1 for CW’s “America’s Next Top Model,” a 1.9 for Univision’s “La Fea Mas Bella,” and a 1.6 for NBC’s “Rock” (1.8) and “Years” (1.5).

At 9 p.m., “Lost” led with a 6.6, followed by “Minds” at 4.9, NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” at 3.3, Univision’s “Mundo de Fieras” at 1.9, Fox’s “List” at 1.5, and CW’s “One Tree Hill” at 1.2.

At 10 p.m., CBS’s “CSI: NY” led with a 5.3, followed by NBC’s “Dateline” at 2.7, ABC’s “The Nine” at a series-low 2.6, and Univision’s “Don Francisco Presenta” at 1.2.

Among households, CBS led with a 9.1/14, followed by ABC at 9.0/14, NBC at 4.4/7, Fox at 3.7/6, the CW at 2.3/4, and Univision at 2.1/3.


http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_8319.asp

[Marcus Carr]

TNT NBA Ratings Soar

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/2/2006 1:15:00 PM

The National Basketball Association continues its gradual resurgence as a television property on the heels of a strong opening night double-header Tuesday night on TNT.

The two games averaged a 1.7 rating and 1.925 million households, up 38% and 41% respectively over last season’s opening doubleheader on the network. The solid numbers came despite the fact the first game was a 108-66 blowout by the Chicago Bulls over the Miami Heat and the second game featured the Los Angeles Lakers playing without major attraction Kobe Bryant.


Tuesday was TNT’s best opening-night numbers since 2003-2004.

The night also marked the long-awaited return to the studio of Ernie Johnson, Jr., the long-time face of Turner Sports, who is battling cancer. Johnson sported a new bald look as a result of treatments, and was the subject of a reel of good-natured messages from top NBA stars like Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant, many of whom commented on Johnson’s new look as they welcomed him back to the studio.

http://broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6387808.html?display=Breaking+News

[mbarloewen]

Thanks for keeping the thread active and please forgive my lame attempts to step in and fill Fredfa's shoes! :(

Thank you very much for your hard work over the last few days.

Well done

[dad1153]

Thanks for keeping the thread active and please forgive my lame attempts to step in and fill Fredfa's shoes!

Thank you very much for your hard work over the last few days.

Well done

Thanks! :)

[DrDon]

I second that! (from someone who was hit by the salmonella mess, this week, too)

Good job. And appreciated.

Doc

[dad1153]

The Business of TV
Mediacom-Sinclair Spat Heats Up
By Linda Moss Multichannel News November 2, 2006

The retransmission-consent dispute between Mediacom Communications and Sinclair Broadcast Group is ratcheting up (www.multichannel.com/article/CA6387051.html), with the TV-station owner expanding its offer to hand out rebates to cable subscribers who switch over to DirecTV.

Sinclair has already been telling Mediacom customers in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that they can get $150 rebates for moving over to direct-broadcast satellite by Dec. 1. That’s when the cable operator will lose carriage of the broadcaster’s stations in those cities -- namely Fox affiliate KDSM in Des Moines and CBS affiliate KGAN in Cedar Rapids.

And Friday, Sinclair plans to extend a similar offer -- this one for a $100 rebate -- to Mediacom subscribers in a number of the just over one-dozen other markets where the broadcaster’s stations are going to be pulled off cable, Sinclair general counsel Barry Faber said Thursday.

Exactly which of those other markets -- which range from Mobile, Ala., to Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis -- Sinclair will extend the $100 rebate to was being finalized.

For the $150 rebates in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Mediacom subscribers will get $10 off their DirecTV bills for 15 months. In the other markets impacted by the retransmission-consent squabble, Mediacom subscribers can get their $100 rebates in the form of $10 credits on their DirecTV bills for 10 months, according to Faber.

Mediacom claimed that Sinclair is seeking “millions of dollars” in payments in order to continue carrying the broadcaster’s stations.

During their third-quarter conference calls this week, officials at Mediacom and Sinclair both talked with analysts about their retransmission-consent battle. Roughly 800,000 of Mediacom’s 1.4 million subscribers could lose stations owned by Sinclair, with the cable operator already notifying these customers that they may not be getting those stations come Dec. 1.

During its call Wednesday, Sinclair executives used fiery language when discussing their dispute with Mediacom and the cable operator’s attempts to get the courts and Federal Communications Commission to intervene.

“I think it’s unfortunate that a big company like Mediacom, as big as they are, has chosen to essentially walk away from the negotiating table to attempt to use the federal court as an arbitrator to solve their problems for them,” Sinclair CEO David Smith said.

Sinclair also announced Thursday that the Federal Appeals Court for the Eighth Circuit will not rule on Mediacom’s request for an injunction against Sinclair until well after the Dec. 1 deadline for the removal of Sinclair’s stations from Mediacom’s systems.

According to a scheduling order released by the court, it contemplates briefs being filed as late as Jan. 24.

During Mediacom’s call Thursday, chairman Rocco Commisso said Sinclair broke off negotiations Sept. 28.

Smith, noting that Mediacom subscribers will be losing popular programming like House, also told analysts during his call, “People are just not going to sit still for that.” He claimed that Mediacom officials are “setting themselves up for all kinds of horrendous public-relations issues.”

On Tuesday, Mediacom filed an emergency retransmission-consent complaint with the FCC asking the agency to intercede and force Sinclair to negotiate in good faith.

And last week, a U.S. District Court judge refused to issue an injunction to stop Sinclair from pulling its stations from Mediacom. The cable operator is still proceeding with the antitrust suit it filed against Sinclair.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6387901.html?display=Breaking+News

[dad1153]

The New Season
More 'Studio 60' scripts are ordered
Los Angeles Times November 2, 2006

NBC continues to stand behind Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in the wake of continuing speculation that disappointing ratings threaten to knock one of its flagship new fall shows off the air.

The latest round of rumors followed a weekend report from a Fox News Web site that said the highly promoted and expensive series faced "imminent" cancellation.

Not true, said NBC officials, who ordered three more scripts for the series last week and are expected to decide soon whether to produce more episodes for the spring.

"I'm sitting here right now with some very good television shows that I think have a lot of promise that need to be nurtured a little bit," said NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly in reference to "Studio 60," "30 Rock" and "Friday Night Lights." "I'm pulling for these shows and I'm trying to figure out what's the midseason schedule that can give them a chance, because I really believe some of these can really grow into bigger commercial assets."

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/1102studio601102.html

[dad1153]

The New Season
ABC Hits the Demographic Sweet Spot
Lisa de Moraes' Washington PostTV Column Nov. 1, 2006

CBS won the ratings race for the sixth consecutive week of the new TV season. But ABC clocked its sixth consecutive week ranked No. 1 among the 18-to-49-year-olds advertisers target, even though "Grey's Anatomy" was a repeat and "Monday Night Football" is now on ABC's cable cousin ESPN. It's been nearly 30 years since ABC got off to such a strong start, then with top-ranked, young-skewing shows such as "Laverne & Shirley," "Happy Days," "Three's Company" and, of course, "Charlie's Angels" -- the Golden Age of television.

Here's a look at the week's home runs and strikeouts:

WINNERS

"Criminal Minds." Mandy Patinkin's CBS crime drama keeps creeping up on ABC's "Lost" Wednesdays at 9. Though "Lost" (17.1 million viewers) scored its biggest audience since its season debut, "Criminal Minds" logged its biggest audience ever (16.8 million viewers) for a regularly scheduled (a.k.a. not Thursday night) episode. And, by the second half-hour, "CM" was ahead of "Lost" for the third time in three weeks.

"Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." NBC has ordered three more scripts on its struggling Monday night drama, contradicting multiple news reports saying the show had been canceled -- all of which cited the same source: Fox News Channel's Web site. The FNC report is hooey, Warner Bros. TV President Peter Roth told The TV Column at Monday's Museum of TV & Radio bash in Beverly Hills. Still, ordering three more scripts is not the same as ordering, say, three more actual episodes.

"The Nine," "Help Me Help You," "Men in Trees." The three ABC freshman series each received an order for four more scripts, which in some circles is called "damning with faint praise." Ordering four more episodes -- that's more like it.

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Nearly 2 million kids found the 40th-anniversary broadcast of this holiday special, which ABC had buried on Friday night, making it the week's most watched broadcast TV program with the younger set.

"Ugly Betty." CBS gallantly handed "Ugly Betty" her first-ever time slot win by running a "Survivor" clip show on Thursday.

LOSERS

"World Series." Armed with three games of the World Series -- albeit a St. Louis Cardinals three-game sweep that resulted in the Series's smallest average audience on record (fewer than 16 million viewers) for a second straight season -- Fox finished the week in fourth place among the younger viewers it chases and third among viewers of all ages. Fox, accordingly, signed up to carry the World Series for seven more years. Go figure.

"CBS Evening News." Anchor Katie Couric scored a hot interview Thursday with Michael J. Fox after radio bloviator Rush Limbaugh accused the actor of exaggerating symptoms of Parkinson's disease or not taking his meds when he taped a campaign ad for a Democratic candidate. But Katie's "get" didn't move the needle. Thursday's broadcast averaged 7.4 million viewers, compared with the show's weekly average audience of 7.3 million -- which, by the way, is the same size crowd former anchor Bob Schieffer clocked same week last year. It was well behind both ABC (8.4 million) and NBC (8.9 million) evening news averages. That said, both ABC and NBC are down compared with the same week last year.

The week's 10 most watched programs, in order, were: ABC's "Desperate Housewives," "Dancing With the Stars" and "Dancing" results show; CBS's "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY"; NBC's Sunday night football; ABC's "Lost"; and CBS's "CSI," "Criminal Minds" and "60 Minutes."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/31/AR2006103101199.html

[dad1153]

The Business of TV
CBS Corp. Earnings Up 26 Percent for Q3
By Michelle Greppi TV Week November 2, 2006

"CBS Corporation is right on track," CBS Corp. Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone said Thursday as CBS Corp. announced a third-quarter performance that included a 26 percent earnings increase from its continuing businesses.

Net earnings fell dramatically to $316.9 million, or 41 cents per share, compared with $708.5 million the year before, when CBS Corp. was still reporting as part of Viacom Inc.

Radio continued to be a weak spot, with revenues dropping to $508.1 million for the quarter from $542 million the year before.

TV division revenues remained relatively stable at $2.15 billion for the quarter, compared with $2.16 billion the year before. That was in spite of a 3 percent drop in ad revenues (which the company attributed largely to the shutdown of UPN at the end of summer) and a 35 percent drop in home entertainment revenues (attributed to having gone from self-distribution to third-party distribution).

The launch of The CW with Warner Bros. Entertainment, to replace The WB and UPN, was considered an equity investment in the third quarter.

"CSI: Miami" syndication sales helped push licensing fees up 7 percent year to year. Increases in Showtime subscribers and affiliate rates helped nudge the television division's affiliate fees up 6 percent year to year.

"This was another strong quarter, posting solid profit increases in television and outdoor, generating significant free cash flow and delivering the third of three dividend increases since the start of the year," Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp. president and CEO, said.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11003

[dad1153]

TV Notebook
Showtime Gives Dexter Another Season
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable November 2, 2006

Showtime ordered a second season of new drama Dexter. Production on 12 new episodes is set to begin next spring for a 2007 premiere on the pay cable network.

Dexter, which stars Michael C. Hall, follows a Miami forensics expert who leads a secret life as a serial killer. The show premiered to a solid 603,000 viewers on Sun., Oct. 1 at 10 p.m. and brought in 443,000 to the repeat at 11 p.m., bringing the show's total to 1.04 million viewers. Those were Showtime's best numbers since its Fat Actress debut in March 2005.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6388062.html?display=Breaking+News

[dad1153]

The New Season
Fall '06 Becomes the Season of the Non-Continuing Drama
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post November 2, 2006

Serialized dramas -- maybe you're just not that into them.

Most recently, NBC has sent its new serialized drama "Kidnapped" to join CBS's "Smith" and CW's "Runaway" at the Freshman Serialized Drama Rainbow Bridge.

NBC is replacing "Kidnapped" on Saturdays with reruns of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" -- a good old-fashioned legal drama in which the bad guy is apprehended and at least given a good tongue lashing by the end of each episode.

NBC originally scheduled "Kidnapped," with an all-star cast that included Jeremy Sisto, Timothy Hutton, Dana Delany and Delroy Lindo, on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. It averaged just 6.4 million viewers there.

"Love the show, but that's not a Wednesday-size audience -- that's a Saturday-size audience," NBC suits said.

So "Kidnapped" was moved to Saturday night at 9 and, because all the networks feel about original scripted programming on Saturday the way NBC feels about scripted programming at 8 p.m. any night of the week -- not good -- the network cut the series's prospects from a 22-episode order to the reality of a lucky 13.

"Kidnapped" aired twice on Saturday. This past weekend, it averaged 3.7 million viewers.

O"Love the show, but that's not a Saturday-size audience -- that's a dot-com-size audience," NBC suits said.

That's where remaining "Kidnapped" episodes are headed. Dot com is also where CBS plans to run unaired episodes of "Smith." The network aired only three episodes of Ray Liotta's a-thief-who-kills-people-and-there's-no-one-to-root-for drama.

The outlook for the many of this fall's new serialized dramas is not good. ABC's "Six Degrees" isn't working; ditto its "The Nine." And Fox's "Vanished" appears to be on its way soon to join "Smith," "Runaway" and "Kidnapped" in the Great Freshman Serialized Drama Hereafter.

So, this was going to be the Year of the Serialized Drama. What gives with you people? Why aren't you watching?

You've caused considerable hand-wringing among the Reporters Who Cover Television, because they hate to see a good trend story go south and, besides, they generally liked the new crop of serialized shows on the fall lineup. There was some mention among the reporters of viewers not having enough time to commit to another series requiring such a commitment. But if you mention how many people are making time to watch "1 vs. 100" this fall, that shuts them up.

And, of course, some of the new serialized dramas are doing well, most notably ABC's "Ugly Betty" and NBC's "Heroes," the two most-watched new shows of the season. "Heroes" also is the No. 3-ranked show, new or returning, among 18-to-34-year-olds, behind only ABC hits "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives." "

"Jericho" also is improving CBS's fortunes at 8 on Wednesdays, helping to catapult "Criminal Minds," the show that follows at 9, to within spitting distance of ABC's "Lost."

ABC's "Brothers and Sisters" is doing well on Sundays, though some argue that the ensemble series is actually a character drama and doesn't belong in the discussion -- nor does "Ugly Betty," which is actually a prime-time soap.

"It's about originality more than anything else -- clarity and originality," one TV exec who did not want to be named because he is close to the situation told The TV Column.

"What's 'The Nine' about? I still don't know what 'The Nine' is about. And 'Six Degrees' is ambiguous, while 'Kidnapped' is 'Without a Trace.' 'Smith' has been done -- there have been two shows like that in the last two years," he noted. "There's nothing new under the sun" with the new serialized dramas that have failed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/01/AR2006110103406.html

[dad1153]

The New Season
VH1 tunes shows on music
Six new prime-time series in works
By Kimberly Nordyke The Hollywood Reporter November 2, 2006

Irv Gotti's attempt at a comeback and five former boy-band members looking for a second shot at success are among the subjects of six new series greenlighted by VH1 that are set to premiere next year as part of a new music-branded block of programming dubbed "VH1's Wild Life."

Other series in the prime-time block, set to launch in the first quarter, will revolve around finding the "next great white rapper" and Cisco Adler's band White-starr, which is looking to sell its first record.