Both 'Six Million Dollar Man' and 'Bionic Woman' are out on DVD in Europe (Region 2) and a few other foreign territories. You can also get decent-quality bootlegs on eBay for a decent price (ask me how...wink, wink). The hold-up for an official release here in the States is that for years a 'Six Million Dollar Man' Hollywood movie has been in the works but never seems to get off the ground for one reason or another. At one point it was going to be a comedic take on the series starring Jim Carrey as Steve Austin, but thankfully that fell through. Anyway, whoever owns the rights to the TV series (Universal?) wants to release the series on DVD in tandem with the Hollywood movie so that the latter fuels interest for the former. But since the movie keeps getting bogged down in creative and production delays, the DVD's ain't coming out anytime soon unless the studio (Universal?) decides to forget about the movie tie-in and releases the series on its own.

Wasn't John Saxon in an early 'Six Million Dollar Man' episode as a bionic man with both legs and arms that were bionic? All I remember about that first season of 'SMDM' (which I caught in dubbed-in-Spanish repeats in the early 80's) was how poe'd I was that the early episodes didn't have the bionic sound effect whenever Austin did his thing. That now-trademark sound effect was added in the second season. shuttermaker, go to www.jumptheshark.com and click on both 'SMDM' and 'Bionic Woman.' These are some of the most heartfelt and hilarious recollections of fans like yourself about what it was like to be a kid in the 1970's re-enacting the previous night's 'SMDM/'BW' episode in the schoolyard the following morning. ;)

Wow, thanks for the info, good stuff. I hope they dont ruin that series with a movie. I think ill do some digging for the bootlegs.

Deleted

Dad already posted the article, sorry I missed it when I refreshed the page.

The Business of TV
Sizing up the TV season at midseason
A look at the winners and losers and surprises
By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 12, 2006

NBC has been the only network this season to show improvement, up 12 percent over last fall’s average, from a 3.3 to a 3.7, and jumping into tie for second place during the November sweeps. But the big question now is how much of that fall momentum NBC can sustain.

Much of the growth has been driven by “Sunday Night Football,” which ends in January. Though the network has a few solid veteran shows returning in January, such as “Crossing Jordan” and “The Apprentice,” and the only new breakout hit in “Heroes,” it will miss “SNF’s” ability to balance out low-rated shows like “Friday Night Lights,” “30 Rock” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”

NBC has showed patience with the shows thus far, giving all three full-season orders despite anemic 18-49 ratings. NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly has promised to continue his mantra of patience with such quality shows, and that will really be put to the test come spring.

That’s just one of the issues facing the networks at midseason.

Others include whether Fox can ride “American Idol” to another victory, if “Lost’s” no-repeat strategy will succeed for ABC, and whether CBS will make more changes after a disappointing fall.

Chris Allen, vice president and associate director of national broadcast for GSD&M in Chicago, talks to Media Life about the fall’s biggest successes, biggest surprises, and what’s in store for NBC over the coming months.

Who has been the fall's big winner among the networks?

NBC is the biggest winner of the new season, driven by a ratings rebound. This is due in large part to “Sunday Night Football,” but I think the addition of NFL did what it was supposed to do: bring viewers back to NBC.
As the only broadcast network to show year-to-year growth in key demos, they are now at parity with CBS among adults 18-49, and just a couple of tenths behind ABC. NBC has also aged down slightly, while ABC, CBS and Fox have all aged up.

How about the biggest loser?

It has been a lackluster season for most, with The CW delivering the most disappointing showing. Despite a heavy schedule of returning series, the network struggled to find its core audience. There has been a slight rebound in recent weeks, but the combination of viewer confusion on where to tune in and a couple of scheduling shuffles prevented what could have been a big boost versus the WB and UPN.

What's been the biggest surprise?

I think a lot of folks were surprised at the success of [NBC’s] “Heroes,” but we found great storytelling in the pilot and subsequent episodes. It was certainly an example of an upfront presentation clip that didn't do the series justice, so it reinforces the importance of taking the time to screen all pilots and learn all you can about what's happening on the set.

I think ABC’s “Grey's Anatomy” outperformed expectations on Thursday, running away with the win against “CSI.”

The demise of Fox’s “Prison Break” has been somewhat of a surprise, because the quality of the show is still there.

CBS’s “Shark” had breakthrough potential, but I think the over-saturation of crime-related dramas is starting to wear on viewers' appetites for new programming in that genre.

The double-digit decline of ABC’s “Lost” was also a big surprise, but the show still delivers a huge rating.

How do you see the season going forward? There will obviously be a momentum shift with the return of "Idol," do you anticipate any other major shifts in momentum?

“Idol” will definitely put Fox back in the game, but I think the biggest question is how long NBC will support some of its struggling shows like “Studio 60,” “Friday Night Lights” and “30 Rock.” I'm happy to see them give good shows a fighting chance, and with “The Black Donnellys” and “The Apprentice” coming up, I hope they will have renewed interest in their primetime schedule.

ABC needs to do some fine-tuning, but it was only a matter of time before the enormous ratings of “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” would come down to earth, so I think their focus should be on stability.
CBS has lived by the mantra of stability for years, but some of their shows are getting a little stale, so I think it would be wise for them to test some new concepts this spring.

How would you rate ABC's decision to take "Lost" off the air for three months in order to avoid airing repeats -- was it smart or, considering "Day Break's" struggles, a bust?

I don't think ABC had a choice about taking “Lost” off the air. The production on the show is incredibly elaborate, and I think they needed to rest the series to catch up with production. I can't imagine any show that would have replaced “Lost” during the hiatus, but “Day Break” was just a dog from the beginning.

Will "Idol" be as strong as last year, stronger, weaker, or considerably weaker? Why?

I think “Idol” is still trucking right along, and because it's water cooler television, the fact that we utilize live-only ratings to monitor performance will work to its advantage. I can't conceive that there will be any growth this season, and frankly, Fox probably doesn't want more growth or they'd be hard-pressed to find advertisers with budgets big enough to buy it.

I do think this may finally be the season that we start to see some minor fall-off, but I think it will be negligible. Fox is brilliant to have protected the show, building viewers' excitement for a new season. It's a great example of a show that doesn't have to push the envelope to draw strong delivery.

Who will finish first this season among adults 18-49?

Despite a weak start in September, Fox will pull off a victory, led by “Idol.” ABC and CBS should be close behind. ABC gets the younger audience, but CBS has the advantage of dramas that repeat well.

NBC is a bit of a dark horse, but I always like to pull for the long shot!

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_9064.asp

TV Notebook
Survivor: Cook Islands — Finale Shockers Revealed!
by Ileane Rudolph TV Guide Tuesday, December 12, 2006

"Think of Survivor like a letter from a loved one," says Mark Burnett, who created the reality show that's now coming to the end of its 13th season. "You recognize the envelope and the handwriting, but [inside] is a fresh letter." "Fresh" is a good word to describe what's coming up in the finale of CBS' Survivor: Cook Islands. In an exclusive sneak peek, Burnett and host Jeff Probst tell TVGuide.com how they'll upend hallowed traditions on Cook's finale airing Sunday, Dec. 17.

Cooking the Numbers: There will be three finalists (instead of the usual two) at the final tribal council. And with the size of the jury raised to nine (from seven), there's the possibility of a three-way tie in the competition for the $1 million prize. Not to mention a bigger dose of rancor, bile and wacko questions from cast-offs who make up the newly expanded jury.

Final Challenges: The finale begins busting protocol immediately with five players still in the game. Their first challenge, Burnett reveals, "is the hardest puzzle we've ever done, called Compass Rose." Challenge producer Dan Munday spent two days, "like a mad scientist, cutting pieces of wood," says Probst. " Finally, he showed us exactly how it comes apart and then asked us to put it back together. I quit after 30 minutes." It takes the winner 25 minutes to solve it, Probst reveals, adding that "this final five had the highest IQs of any final five." The final four's last immunity challenge involves balancing on a very small post, one that gets smaller and smaller — 10 feet above the water. "It required balance but also intense concentration and pain tolerance, because it was made of steel and was not comfortable," Probst explains.

Survivors' Reactions: How does the surviving quartet react to the news that there would be three headed to the final tribal council? "The reaction is mixed," says Probst. "A couple are excited because it gives them an extra shot at the million. But for the other two, there is a sense of dread — they realize the strategy they had been planning won't work. From an audience point of view," says Probst, "the best news is that you have at least two people who are likable and very deserving of winning, and for me, that is a home run. I'll be very satisfied that whoever wins is a good winner."

Live Doin's: The big prize will be awarded in L.A. "The coolest part of the finale is that we're re-creating the tribal-council shipwreck at the CBS studios," Probst reveals.

The finale changes come at the conclusion of a season marked by new rules and procedures — first and foremost, the racially segregated teams that opened the Cook Islands contest. Despite the loud, early criticism of the tactic, Burnett says he's proud of the season. "What it really showed is that the American public will embrace a diverse cast," he says. "And the number of applications from minorities is now getting larger, because they see they have chance."

So who's going to win? We asked Burnett to handicap the players still in the game.

Yul: "He has that dangerous combination of being extremely likable and extremely cerebral. He used the immunity idol in a very smart way, and it actually turned the game."

Ozzy: "He's one of the greatest challenge players we've ever had, up there with Terry and Colby. He certainly is a target."

Adam: "There's no question that we've focused on his alliance with Candice, but he's a very strong player. He might be more clever than we think." (Candice, who was booted a couple of weeks ago, was "near genius," says Burnett, but Adam was "her Achilles heel.")

Becky: "She may be playing a clever, silent but deadly game in that she's letting [her ally] Yul take all the heat [while], for much of the show, she has been under the radar."

Parvati: "Parvati's a good athlete and can be a very strong challenge player, and she's not afraid to use her sexuality."

Sundra: "Sundra has offended nobody, and is the kind of person who can go to the end because she's not seen as a threat. And if she gets to the end — everyone likes her."

And the future? Survivor: Fiji — the show's 14th edition, set on the South Pacific island — will likely debut in February. "It has an extremely unique opening episode," Burnett says. "There will be an Exile Island, but it's quite different, and the hidden immunity portion of the game has an interesting twist."

And look for yet another new way to divide the tribes — and keep Survivor fresh.

http://tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={6392F801-4DB6-4668-9D71-0D5D74CCCA66}

Monday’s metered market over-night prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.

Sunday’s updated fast national over night prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.

Nielsen Overnights 18-49
NBC's Xmas turkey: Goodman's Santa
Remake special averages a 2.5 in adults 18-49
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine December 12, 2006

“The Year Without a Santa Claus” didn’t have much holiday magic for NBC. Despite stars like John Goodman and Delta Burke, the movie slumped to less than half what the network’s usual high-powered lineup pulls in the two-hour Monday 9 p.m. timeslot.

“Year” averaged a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49 last night, according to Nielsen overnights, compared with NBC’s usual 5.2 average for “Heroes” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”

That wasn’t a huge surprise. CBS took advantage of the absence of “Heroes” with original episodes of “Two and a Half Men,” which had its best rating since Oct. 16 at a 5.2, and “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” an above-average 4.2.

Against that competition, “Year” had a tough time. Also, the movie didn’t get great reviews, which probably didn’t help. And the film was a remake of an original that debuted more than 30 years ago, meaning some of today’s kids may not have been familiar with the animated special.

By comparison, recent airings of classic holiday fare like ABC’s “Charlie Brown Christmas” and CBS’s “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” recently pulled ratings of 4.5 or better.

NBC points out that "Year" did win its timeslot among kids 2-11. It averaged 7.4 million total viewers.

CBS finished first for the night among 18-49s with a 4.2 average rating and an 11 share. NBC was second at 3.2/8, ABC third at 2.9/8, Fox fourth at 2.5/7, Univision fifth at 1.7/5 and CW sixth at 1.2/3.

NBC started the night strongly, leading the 8 p.m. hour with a 4.5 rating for “Deal or No Deal.” CBS was second with a 3.0 average for “How I met Your Mother” (3.0) and “The Class” (3.1), with ABC third with a 2.7 for a repeat of “Wife Swap” and Fox and Univision tied for fourth at 2.3, Fox for a repeat of “House” and Univision for “La Fea Mas Bella.” That left CW sixth with a 1.1 average for “Everybody Hates Chris” (1.1) and “All of Us” (1.1).

At 9 p.m. CBS took the lead with a 4.7 average for “Men” (5.2) and “Christine” (4.2). ABC was second that hour with a 3.3 for “Supernanny,” NBC third with a 2.8 for the first hour of “Year” and Fox fourth with a 2.7 for another “House” repeat. Univision was fifth with a 1.5 for “Mundo de Fieras” and CW sixth with a 1.3 average for “Girlfriends” (1.3) and “The Game” (1.3).

CBS retained its lead at 10 p.m. with a 4.8 for “CSI: Miami,” followed by a 2.5 for ABC’s “What About Brian.” NBC came in third with a 2.2 for the last hour of its movie and Univision fourth with a 1.4 for “Cristina.”

Among households, CBS also finished on top, averaging an 8.3 rating and a 13 share. NBC was second at 6.6/10, ABC third at 5.1/8, Fox fourth at 4.5/7, Univision fifth at 2.3/3 and CW sixth at 2.0/3.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9089.asp

The Business of TV
Granite Files for Chapter 11 Protection
By Michele Greppi, TV Week December 11, 2006

Granite Broadcasting on Monday filed for protection under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The filing included a plan of reorganization that has been pre-negotiated with the company's secured debt holders and that includes going private with debtholders exchanging their existing notes for a combination of new notes and new common stock, and the current common and preferred stockholders exchanging their existing stock for shares of the reorganized company.

W. Don Cornwell, chairman and CEO of Granite, said in a press release announcing the action that "we have been candid about the company's need to restructure its corporate balance sheet. Together with our financial advisor, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, we evaluated and exhausted a number of strategic options. However, we were unable to find an alternative long-term solution that would have permanently addressed our capital structure."

The group, which owns, operates or provides services to 23 stations in 11 markets, has operated at a loss for the past three years and has twice borrowed money this year to meet late interest payments on hundreds of millions of dollars of debt.

Mr. Cornwell said Granite's Chapter 11 filing has the support of its secured debtholders, who had worked on the plan, which is expected to reduce the station group's corporate debt by more than $275 million to about $230 million.

When it reported on third quarter 2006, Granite said it did not have enough cash to make the Dec. 1 interest payment of $19.74 million on its notes and to repay all amounts outstanding under its $70 million credit agreement, also due Dec. 1. As of September, Granite said, it had unrestricted cash and accumulated deficit of $18.23 million and $513.9 million, respectively.

Granite said at the time that it was reviewing all reorganization alternatives, including bankruptcy protection.

Silver Point Finance is listed as the administrative agent of the most recent credit agreement with Granite.

Mr. Cornwell said the restructuring process is expected to be completed by the first half of 2007.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11213

TV Notebook
FX orders additional 'Days'
E! slates 8 episodes of 'Broken Dreams'
By Denise Martin, Variety December 11, 2006

FX has ordered a third season of the Morgan Spurlock docuseries "30 Days," while E! Entertainment TV has slated eight episodes of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," a new series from the team behind the network's "True Hollywood Story."

In addition, Food Network has greenlit a second helping of docudrama "Ace of Cakes."

Production on six fresh episodes of "30 Days," a show in which a person spends a month in an environment antithetical to their own, begins next spring.

As he has done for the past two seasons, Spurlock will participate in at least two episodes for the upcoming third cycle. Spurlock got a taste of life on minimum wage for 30 days in the series' first seg, and spent time in a county jail in another.

Spurlock, R.J. Cutler, Ben Silverman and H.T. Owens exec produce. FX Prods. produces.

E!'s "Boulevard" will delve into the lives of ill-fated celebs. Among the subjects on tap are Nikki and Krissy Taylor, Chris Penn, Leif Garrett, James Frey and Jonathan Brandis. E! Studios-produced series premieres Jan. 22.

New episodes of "Ace of Cakes" begin Jan. 18. Skein revolves around Baltimore-based baker Duff Goldman and his staff of eccentrics as they construct some of the biggest, most elaborate cakes on the East Coast.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955517.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

Well the Hawaii Bowl might not be in HD, but the all star Hula bowl will be in HD. Here is an artcile about the mid January al star game.

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2006/12/11/daily8.html

Hula Bowl to be high-definition broadcast
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
ESPN will air a college football game from Hawaii in high-definition for the first time, thanks to a makeshift high-definition control room made out of three office trailers.

The broadcast of the Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl in HD on Jan. 14 means ESPN will air all but one of its college football bowl games in high-definition this season.

Network officials would not disclose how much more they were paying to produce the Hula Bowl in HD. The cost of producing a game in HD is 25 percent to 30 percent higher than standard-definition broadcasts, but Hawaii presents unique challenges because of the difficulty in transporting the HD trucks usually used for producing games to the islands.

ESPN said it had opted against renting a Russian cargo plane for about $400,000 to fly an HD truck over, and shipping a truck to Hawaii was considered too time-consuming.

But after showing all but two of this year's regular-season college games in HD (the exceptions were both in Hawaii), ESPN felt pressure to show the Hula Bowl college all-star game in HD for the first time.

"It's important to us to be able to say that we do all college football games in HD," said Bryan Burns, ESPN's vice president of strategic business planning and development. "It's important for us to say that we're doing all of our bowl games in HD."

The remaining ESPN bowl game not in HD also is in Honolulu, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24. Network executives said the high number of football games around the date made it more difficult to get the equipment over to Hawaii then.

For the Hula Bowl, ESPN hired a company called Gearhouse Broadcast, which agreed to fly several crates of expensive HD equipment to Honolulu for the Jan. 14 game.

The plan has ESPN shipping eight HD cameras and lenses, eight replay machines, a complete audio console, a video switcher and several flat-screen monitors that will make up a makeshift monitor wall. Plus, it will send all the HD support equipment, such as tripods for cameras.

"It's not more cumbersome from a size standpoint. It's just that the equipment is more expensive than standard-definition equipment," said Wendell Grigley, ESPN's senior director of remote operations. "There is no HD equipment that lives out in Hawaii to be able to do this."

ESPN's extra effort to show the post-New Year's bowl game in HD is a nod to the popularity of HD broadcasts.

Results from an internal survey show that 13 percent of viewers watched a recent ESPN on ABC Saturday night college football game in HD. Of that 13 percent, 32 percent said the fact the game was in HD influenced their decision to watch it.

"Thirty-two percent, in my opinion, is a significant number," said Artie Bulgrin, ESPN's senior vice president of research and sales development. "As the base of HD grows, the audience impact will be more apparent."

Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal

TV Business
Altitude's sporting interest: Liberty
Home of the NBA Nuggets and NHL Avs finds the chance to team up with Fox Sports Net alluring.

By Kimberly S. Johnson
Denver Post Staff Writer

Altitude Sports & Entertainment is interested in possibly partnering with Liberty Media Corp. should Liberty gain Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain in an impending deal with News Corp.

Liberty is poised to gain three regional Fox sports networks - in Denver, Seattle and Pittsburgh - in addition to satellite provider DirecTV, in exchange for Liberty's 19 percent stake in News Corp., the company that controls DirecTV and Fox, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

"It's a little too early to speculate on it. ... We do have a good relationship with Liberty and would love to sit down with them and talk about working on some things," said Jim Martin, chief executive of Altitude.

"We'd do that now with Fox if they were interested," he said. "There are things we'd work on together to make things more efficient."

Denver-based Altitude is the broadcast network for Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth and Colorado Rapids games. Fox Sports is the network for the Colorado Rockies and Colorado Crush.

To complete the swap tax-free, 5 percent of the assets going to Liberty must be operating businesses, the Journal said. News Corp. has a 38.6 percent investment stake in El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV, but directly operates the Fox networks.

Liberty and News Corp. officials wouldn't comment on the possibility of regional sports being added to the long-anticipated DirecTV deal.

Altitude's "good relationship" with Liberty and its chairman John Malone stems from a 2000 deal with the network's owner, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, in which Malone sold Kroenke the Nuggets, Avalanche and the Pepsi Center for $404 million.

Liberty sold those assets to Kroenke four weeks after acquiring Ascent Entertainment Group, a Denver-based company, for $755 million. As part of the deal, Liberty maintained a 6.5 percent stake in each of the Nuggets, Avalanche and Pepsi Center.

Liberty kept Ascent's On Command unit, which provides movies and broadband services to hotel rooms, but in March said it would put On Command Corp. up for sale.

Martin, who served as chief operating officer for Liberty in 1991, said he was surprised News Corp. might be letting go of some of its regional sports networks.

"Anything could happen in this industry," he said. "I don't know if you'd see a lot of change. Fox Sports has a great management team. They (Liberty) could just let them run it."

Fox brings a strong brand name and a national slate of programming to its regional networks, which would be hard to replace, said Dave Smrek, principal of Adrenalin Inc., a Denver-based sports marketing agency.

But the idea of rolling Fox's local sports network into one brand under the Altitude name might be beneficial to the bottom line.

"Generally, two sports networks in a town the size of Denver stretches thin advertising dollars and programming," Smrek said.

However, merging the networks together would create programming conflicts as seasons tend to overlap, he said, suggesting that Altitude could be split into two networks.

"Somehow they need to figure it out," he said. "It's not a big enough marketplace to sustain two regional sports networks."

TV Business
Sports channel in front row for Liberty deal

By Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News
December 12, 2006


John Malone's Liberty Media, once again, may own FSN Rocky Mountain.

The Denver-based channel and regional sports networks in Seattle and Pittsburgh are reportedly small but key pieces in a much larger deal in the works between Liberty and News Corp.

News Corp. is near an agreement to purchase Liberty's $11 million stake in Rupert Murdoch's company in exchange for News Corp.'s controlling 39 percent ownership in satellite-TV provider DirecTV.

The inclusion of the three sports channels allows the transaction to qualify as a tax-free trade because at least 5 percent of the assets must be operating businesses, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Officials for Liberty and FSN Rocky Mountain declined to comment, and News Corp. didn't returns calls.

Denver's FSN Rocky Mountain will come full circle if it returns to Douglas County-based Liberty's ownership. Nearly two decades ago, Malone created the Denver channel, then known as Prime Sports Network, with cable magnate Bill Daniels as part of a web of regional sports channels.

In 1996, Liberty teamed with News Corp. in a joint venture to take on powerhouse ESPN.

Liberty exited three years later after determining the fiercely competitive televised-sports business was too risky.

Sports is a market where "you aren't dealing with normal competitive forces," Malone said at a Liberty investor meeting in 1999.

Under News Corp.'s ownership, FSN Rocky Mountain expanded to 2.5 million households in Colorado and seven other states. The network has a deal to carry Colorado Rockies games through 2014, and its programming also includes University of Denver hockey and basketball games, Big 12 football and several weekly Denver Broncos shows.

FSN Rocky Mountain originally carried Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games as well. But in 2004, team owner Stan Kroenke started rival network Altitude Sports & Entertainment and took rights to broadcast the Nuggets and Avalanche with him.

Liberty briefly owned the Nuggets and Avalanche in 2000 before selling them to Kroenke, and still owns 6.5 percent stakes in both teams.

FSN's strategy is to emphasize the local professional games that appeal to the most viewers, using national sports news and other programming as a backdrop to tie the stations together.

News Corp. will retain 14 of its FSN networks in major markets including New York and Los Angeles, the Journal reported.

Liberty will likely strike agreements with News Corp. to let it continue to use that programming for its channels, said John Mansell, senior analyst at Kagan Research.

It's unclear how Liberty ownership of the regional sports networks could affect the company's ongoing talks to exchange its 4 percent stake in Time Warner for ownership of the Atlanta Braves ballclub.

FSN Rocky Mountain owns a 15 percent stake in the Rockies, and regional sports networks can have ownership in only one professional baseball team.

That won't stop Liberty's talks with the Braves, Mansell said, because Liberty could immediately sell its Rockies stake or ask Major League Baseball for a temporary exception to own both teams.

"There are lots of different possibilities," he said. "It's been Malone's history to look at every kind of deal."

The Business of TV
Ferguson to produce primetime for Paramount TV
Latenight host signs two-year deal with studio
By Josef Adalian, Variety December 11, 2006

Craig Ferguson is headed back to primetime, this time as a producer.

The host of CBS' "Late Late Show" and former "Drew Carey Show" regular has inked a two-year overall deal to develop programming for CBS Paramount Network Television via his newly christened Green Mountain West banner. He's hired Tracey Pakosta, former exec VP of comedy development at the now-defunct WB, as his partner.

As part of the pact, CBS Entertainment has a first-look option on any projects Green Mountain West develops.

Ferguson's deal makes him the latest latenight player to jump into the primetime development gang.

David Letterman's Worldwide Pants has the best track record of getting skeins on the nets, from NBC's "Ed" to ABC's upcoming "The Knights of Prosperity."

Conan O'Brien has developed several pilots, landed a reality series on the air (2001's "Lost") and has a half-hour starring Andy Richter in the works for next year.

Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Stewart have also been prolific cable producers via their respective Jackhole and Busboy banners.

Only latenight power not actively developing for primetime is the king of latenight, Jay Leno. His Big Dog banner hasn't produced any primetime series.

Ferguson, however, thinks his night job makes the move into production logical.

"One of my earliest guests was Peter Guber, who came on with (Variety editor-in-chief and 'Sunday Morning Shootout' co-host) Peter Bart," Ferguson said. "They're both savvy players, and in his first booking, Guber said to me, 'You've got to form a production company. You'll meet everyone in this job and have access to talent like nobody else.' "

Ferguson said he waited until he was more firmly embedded as host of "Late Late Show" before approaching CBS about the idea of a production deal.

Tapping Pakosta was the next step; Ferguson said he hopes her depth of experience will help Green Mountain West lure talent.

"It was important for me to get someone who can do the job very well," he said, adding that Nancy Josephson at Endeavor connected him with Pakosta. "It sends a message that this is not a vanity thing. It's a proper company."

Ferguson said he and Pakosta are developing projects largely on spec rather than trying to secure blind commitments from nets. He credits CBS supremo Leslie Moonves with that philosophy.

"He said you don't spend five or six years in development on something," Ferguson said. "You either say yes or no."

As for the title of his shingle -- Green Mountain West -- Ferguson said it's a tribute to Vermont, where he spends much of his time when not in Los Angeles.

"It would be very handy if Vermont were closer to L.A.," he said.

Pakosta spent more than a decade at the WB, joining in August 1995 and leaving at the end of last year. She began as an assistant to Susanne Daniels and rose to head of comedy development.

During her run, Pakosta helped develop skeins such as "Reba," "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" and "What I Like About You."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955549.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

Nielsen Notebook
ABC's 'World News' Closing In on NBC
By Michele Greppi, TV Week December 12, 2006

Only a one-night viewership spike for its one-sponsor edition Dec. 4 appears to have saved "NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" from being overtaken by ABC's "World News With Charles Gibson" in total viewers and the 25- to 54-year-old viewers who are most prized by advertisers in news programming.

"We're very pleased with the trend," "World News" executive producer Jon Banner said Tuesday after the ratings were released. "You work harder when you think you're getting closer."

Mr. Banner said the sampling of the three flagship newscasts has been going down since the debut of Katie Couric as anchor of "CBS Evening News" Sept. 5. Even though the pattern that is settling in seems to be going in Charles Gibson's favor, Mr. Banner said, "We know it's a long process and we've still got a lot of work to do."

For the week, "Nightly News" finished with its slimmest lead, 120,000 viewers, in five months over "World News," according to data from Nielsen Media Research, which put the race at 9.12 million viewers for "Nightly" and 9 million for "World News." In the 25 to 54 demo, the race was a near tie, with ABC slipping ahead by 20,000 viewers, averaging 2.92 million for the week, to NBC's 2.90 million viewers.

The ABC newscast outperformed the NBC flagship program every night except Monday, the night of Philips Electronics North America's much written about minimalist commercial buy. That evening, "Nightly" attracted 10.38 million viewers, some 15 percent more than ABC and 30 percent more than "CBS Evening News."

On Dec. 6, when all three evening newscasts originated from Washington to cover the release of the Iraq Study Group report, "World News" finished first by 190,000 total viewers and 180,000 25 to 54 viewers.

"Evening News" had its lowest week since the exit of Bob Schieffer, who had gained viewers while keeping the seat warm for Ms. Couric, at the end of the summer. For the week of Dec. 4, CBS averaged 7.45 million total viewers, with 2.26 million in the demo. That's a year-to-year drop of 10 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

"Nightly" posted a bigger decrease compared with a year ago, down 13 percent in total viewers and 18 percent in the demo.

"World News" was down 4 percent in total viewers and 11 percent in the demo.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11219

Now this is a trial I'd make time to watch on Court TV! :)

The Business of (Regulating) TV
Court Says Profanity Arguments Can Be Televised
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable December 12, 2006

All that talk about "profane" talk not belonging on TV will be on TV after all.

The oral arguments in broadcasters challenge to the FCC's March profanity rulings against Fox Billboard Awards broadcasts will be allowed to be televised.

That's according to the docket of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. The court has informed the attorneys involved that on December 11 it granted a request from C-SPAN to televise the December 20 arguments.

Arguments by broadcasters and the FCC are scheduled for 12 minutes per side, but could and probably will go longer.

The televised coverage is "uncommon but not unprecedented," said Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project, which is representing intervenor Center for Creative voices.

Broadcaster petitioners--led by Fox--are scheduled Wednesday to file their briefs with the court buttressing their case and responding to the FCC's defense of its rulings that the Billboard Awards broadcast of variants of the F-word and S-word by Cher and Nicole Ritchie were indecent by contemporary community standards.

A C-SPAN spokesman said that the Ninth and Second Circuits have been historically more amenable to TV coverage. He said no other cable or broadcast news operation has yet asked for a pool feed of the arguments, which it has supplied with Ninth Circuit arguments in the past, but that it would consider such requests.

That means look for the cable news nets and perhaps even the broadcasters, all of l the atter have a dog in the fight, to run with it as well. There is as yet no scheduled time for the arguments.

Veteran First Amendment attorney John Crigler of Garvey Schubert Barer called the coverage news "super," pointing out that federal courts are historically reluctant to allow coverage of oral argument.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6399397.html

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2006/12/11/daily8.html

Hula Bowl to be high-definition broadcast


That was a very well written story and the writer certainly did his research on all of the added costs of doing HD from Hawaii. For everyone who complains about certain events not being in HD what would you do if this was your money? By my math if 13% of the viewers were watching in HD and of that 32% said they were watching because it was HD, that means HD gave the game a 4% boost in viewership. I guess that justifies spending some extra money for HD, but not breaking the bank to do it. It will be interesting to see what CBS does for the Pro Bowl.

TV Notebook
The Artist Formerly Known As Sexually Dangerous
James Poniewozik's Time 'Tuned In' Blog Dec. 12, 2006

CBS's announcement that Prince will be the musical headliner of the upcoming Super Bowl is a step forward for the show's musical interest (following on the last two, even older-and-less-relevant choices, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney). But it's gotta be a step back for Prince's erstwhile image as sexiest bastard ever to crotch-thrust a guitar. First he appeared on American Idol, the white-bread standard for universally inoffensive entertainment, and now he's this year's official Safe Alternative to Janet Jackson's Breasts?

I just wept a little, for my lost youth and America's lost libido. What has our society come to when Prince is the guy you can trust not to sexually offend 120 million middle Americans? What has Prince come to? The man whose "Darling Nikki" set Tipper Gore off on her record-labeling crusade? The man who appeared nude on the Lovesexy cover with a strategically-placed flower stamen where his, er, stamen would have been? Has he gotten that clean, or have we gotten that dirty?

Fortunately, what pop stars and TV networks choose to forget, YouTube now remembers for eternity. Journey back with me to 1980, a more innocent, which is to say less innocent, time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJKNKPHZ7Ow

...and let's say a prayer that this guy is the one who decides to show up in uniform at the big game.

http://time.blogs.com/tuned_in/2006/12/the_artist_form.html

Nielsen (Cable) Notebook
USA Knocks ESPN in Ratings War
By Steve Donohue, Multichannel News December 12, 2006

USA Network displaced ESPN from its perch atop the weekly basic-cable-ratings battle, averaging a 2.3 Nielsen Media Research rating for the week ending Dec. 10.

While USA posted big ratings with its WWE Raw programming (3.7 average), ESPN saw its weekly primetime average drop to a 1.9 compared with a 2.6 for the week ending Dec. 3.

ESPN tied TNT and ABC Family for second place, with each network posting a 1.9 average. They were followed by Lifetime Television and Disney Channel (1.8 each); TBS and Hallmark Channel (1.7); Nick at Nite (1.3); and Cartoon Network, A&E Network and Fox News Channel (1.2).

Nickelodeon once again ruled the total-day period, averaging a 1.8 rating. It was followed by Disney (1.2); TNT and USA (1.1); Lifetime and Cartoon (1.0); and ABC Family, TBS, ESPN and Hallmark (0.9).

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399240.html?display=Breaking+News

The (Ugly Side of) Business of TV
NFL Network Serves Up Freebie for N.Y.
By Jon Lafayette, TV Week December 12, 2006

NFL Network said Tuesday it would offer its network free in the New York market for a week so that Time Warner Cable and Cablevision subscribers there can watch Rutgers University play Kansas State University in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28.

The game is being shown only on cable and has not been offered to a broadcaster in either college's home market.

Time Warner Cable and Cablevision have not agreed to carry the NFL Network. They have said they don't think all of their subscribers should pay a high price for a network only some of their subscribers will watch. With the NFL Network carrying live regular-season games this year, the dispute has escalated to include nasty ad campaigns and lawsuits.

"Our dual objectives in offering this 'freeview' license are to provide broad access to programming of particular interest to these residents and to offer as many subscribers as possible the opportunity to sample NFL Network," NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein said in a letter to the cable operators.

A spokesperson for Time Warner Cable said the operator has received the offer and is studying it.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11221

(Cable) TV Notebook
In TBS's 'My Boys,' maybe a cable first
Original comedy is cranking strong early numbers
By Kevin Downey, Media Life Magazine December 12, 2006

It may seem too early to make bold declarations, but the numbers point the way. In its new sitcom “My Boys,” TBS may have the most successful original live-action sitcom ever to debut on ad-supported cable.

Ironically, it comes at a time when the broadcast networks are struggling more than ever to develop sitcoms that survive even one season.

How “My Boys” fares tonight could be telling. Last Tuesday, its second outing, the series was watched by 907,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen ratings. While down 300,000 viewers from its premiere, the sitcom still did better than the handful of original sitcoms that have premiered on cable networks over the years.

Its premiere was watched by 1.25 million 18-49 viewers, comparable to the audience for some of TBS’s biggest hits, like reruns of “Family Guy” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and it pulled a bigger audience than repeats of “Sex and the City,” the former HBO hit that's the inspiration for “Boys.” The show centers around a female sports writer who narrates each episode, as journalist Carrie Bradshaw did in “Sex.”

Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, says it will take a few more weeks before he's comfortable calling it a success.

“We look for critical respectability, and in comedy that’s extraordinarily hard,” he says. The network is also gauging advertiser demand, which Koonin says has been strong. "The third thing [we look for] is ratings growth, and that will be decided over the entire run.”

Despite its second-week slump, “My Boys” is outperforming FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” perhaps the highest-profile live-action original comedy on cable. It wrapped up its second season in August with an average 832,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic.

Meanwhile, TBS’s new late-night comedy “10 Items or Less” is also doing well, though with much smaller numbers, in some demos beating stiff competition in Comedy Central’s “Daily Show.” Its second episode two Mondays ago averaged 811,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic and 560,000 among 18-34s. “10 Items” was up 9 percent over its premiere in 18-49s and 3 percent in 18-34s.

Part of the early success of the two new TBS series could be the absence of sustainable comedy on broadcast.

“People are realizing that this is a network that programs comedy,” says Jordan Breslow, director of broadcast research at MediaCom. “And because the [broadcast] networks are having such a hard time with comedy, I think viewers who are missing the genre and just want to laugh are looking for an alternative.”

TBS is already plunging deeper into originals, with five other comedies in development. Among these is “Imperfect Union” with George Wendt from “Cheers,” which is being produced by “Will & Grace’s” Eric McCormack.

“You have to define your brand and deliver against it,” says Koonin. “We use acquired programs to build a foundation, but we need to use original programming to bring more people to our network, and to make the network attractive to advertisers and cable affiliates.”

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9065.asp

Weekly Nielsen Ratings
Football, 'Heroes' Lift Peacock
Prime week for NBC, CBS
By Rick Kissell, Variety December 12, 2006

With ABC's top shows on the bench or in repeats last week, NBC and CBS dominated the primetime program rankings.

The Peacock and Eye nets each claimed five of the week's top 12 programs in the adults 18-49 demo, with Fox and ABC settling for just one show apiece among the top dozen.

NBC captured the frame in the prized 18-49 category for a second straight week, according to Nielsen, with its "Sunday Night Football" matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys on top (8.0 rating/20 share).

The Peacock's 3.8 rating/10 share in 18-49 bested a competitive CBS (3.5/10) and easily topped both ABC (2.9/8) and Fox (2.4/7).

Again exhibiting a good balance, NBC tied CBS for the lead in adults 25-54 (4.3/11) and led the frame in the 12-34 (2.9/9) demo. CBS cruised in overall total viewers (11.7 million) for the 12th straight sesh.

At roughly the one-third mark of the season, ABC (4.0 rating/11 share) enjoys a slim advantage in the 18-49 race over CBS (3.9/10) and NBC (3.8/10), with the Peacock the only broadcaster to improve over its average of last season, rising a healthy 15%.

Fox is a distant fourth, declining 6% vs. the first 12 weeks of last season and again counting on a big second-half rally to finish competitively.

In other categories, CBS has the edge in 25-54 over runner-up ABC (4.9 to 4.6), while ABC is ahead of second-place NBC in the 12-34 demo (2.9 to 2.7). It's no contest in total viewers, where CBS (12.9 million) easily tops No. 2 ABC (11.5 million).

Newbie net the CW is now at a 1.7 rating in its target adults 18-34 demo, putting it 13% ahead of the WB at the same time last season (1.5).

Top programs in adults 18-49 are ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," CBS' "CSI," ABC's "Lost" and NBC's rookie dynamo "Heroes." In total viewers, it's "CSI" followed by "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Looking at the week of Dec. 4-10, NBC's 18-49 average was boosted by the third best score of the season for "Sunday Night Football" (New Orleans-Dallas) as well as a big fall finish for "Heroes" (6.5/15, 14.94m), the week's No. 3 program in 18-49.

Also chipping in were season highs from "The Biggest Loser" (4.0/11, 9.37m) and "My Name Is Earl" (4.3/12, 10.04m), with an hourlong seg of the comedy logging its best scores since April 6 and winning its hour in adults 18-34 (4.4/12).

Behind "Earl" on Thursday, "Scrubs" (4.0/10, 8.38m) matched its highest 18-49 rating in more than two years, and lead-out "30 Rock" established series highs at 9:30 (3.2/8, 6.84m). "ER" closed out the night with another victory (5.5/14, 12.02m).

CBS was paced as usual by the Thursday tandem of "CSI" (7.8/19, 23.25m) and "Survivor" (5.3/15, 15.72m) but also received some nice contributions elsewhere, including the return of comedy "King of Queens" on Wednesday (3.4/10 in 18-49, 9.80m for two firstrun segs).

Friday saw the annual winning perfs from holiday classics "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (4.5/15, 12.95m) and "Frosty the Snowman" (3.5/10, 10.66m), with the latter scoring a big 26 share in kids 2-11.

And on Sunday, finale of "The Amazing Race 10" (4.1/10 in 18-49, 12.73m) was up from last May's conclusion but down a bit vs. last December's "Race 8" finale.

ABC was paced by a two-hour "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (5.2/12, 14.21m) and got nice production out of Tuesday holiday spec "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (3.8/11, 11.05m).

Wednesday's combo of gamer "Show Me the Money" (1.9/6, 7.10m) and drama "Day Break" (1.7/4, 4.46m) tanked, while in its second try in a new Thursday-at-10 slot, "Men in Trees" (2.7/7, 8.28m) finished a distant third.

Fox had another quiet week overall, highlighted by a repeat "House" on Tuesday (4.6/12, 11.77m) and a firstrun "The Simpsons" on Sunday (4.1/10, 8.31m). Net's airing of "The Billboard Music Awards" (2.7/7 in 18-49, 6.09m) was down year to year and ranked fourth in its Monday slot.

The CW delivered its best night to date Wednesday with the season finale of "America's Next Top Model" (3.0/9 in 18-49, 6.19m) and "One Tree Hill" (1.9/5, 4.24m). Net ran third for the night in 18-49 (2.4/7) -- ahead of ABC and Fox -- and led all nets in viewers 12-34 (3.2/10).

"Top Model" logged the best finale demo scores in its seventh season, including a 3.9/12 in adults 18-34 and a 5.7/17 in females 12-34. And "Hill" saw its best deliveries in 18-34 (2.7/8) and femmes 12-34 (4.4/12) in nearly two years.

Frame's biggest story in cable was ABC Family's rise to No. 3 in primetime among adults 18-49 (behind USA and TBS) and No. 1 finish in total viewers (2.81 million) -- the first time in net history it's finished on top.

FX's "Nip/Tuck" was the week's top scripted cable series in 18-49 (1.6/5), while a special two-hour episode of TNT's "The Closer" was the top scripted skein in both adults 25-54 (1.8/4) and total viewers (5.44m).

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955603.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

The Business of TV
AT&T Sues Time Warner in Texas
By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News December 12, 2006

AT&T filed a lawsuit in a Texas county court against Time Warner Cable’s San Antonio division, alleging that the cable operator engaged in “a methodical invasion of facilities owned, operated and controlled by AT&T Texas” at apartments and other multiple-dwelling units in and around the city.

As part of installing voice service, Time Warner “caused damage to physical plant” owned by AT&T, according to the lawsuit, “solely to gain competitive advantage and commercial benefit.” The telco estimated that Time Warner provides services to 120,000 or more units at MDUs in San Antonio.

Time Warner declined to comment on the lawsuit.

AT&T alleged that Time Warner field technicians cut or disconnected wires and jumpers inside the telco's building terminals.

In some cases, according to the suit, AT&T was unaware of the damage until it received a call from a customer complaining about problems with the network. Time Warner's actions have "degraded the quality and integrity" of the AT&T network, which, as a result, has caused "general confusion and dissatisfaction with AT&T Texas' service," AT&T claimed.

"AT&T is being deprived of the benefits it derives from many years of developing its network and its end-user customer relationships," the company said in its lawsuit.

AT&T is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Spokesman Brad Mays said the company is still assessing the extent of the damage it claims Time Warner caused. But, he added, “based on reasonable assumptions and what we’ve seen to date, we believe the total amount of damage is likely to run into the millions.”

AT&T filed the lawsuit in the 288th Civil District Court in Bexar County, Texas.

AT&T’s current corporate headquarters are in San Antonio, where the telco first launched its U-verse TV service in June.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399398.html?display=Breaking+News

TV Notebook
Networks deal with actresses’ pregnancies in their own way
By Amy Amatangelo, Boston Herald December 12, 2006

Network TV has come a long way, baby.

When Lucy Ricardo found out she was carrying Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy” in 1952, actress Lucille Ball wasn’t allowed to say the word “pregnant.” The networks have loosened up since then.

Four top TV actresses currently are expecting. Here’s how their respective shows are dealing - or not - with the blessed events.

Marcia Cross on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”: Cross is expecting twins, but Bree won’t be pregnant. Bree is constantly behind something - a chair, a countertop and, most recently, a gingerbread house. With Bree already enmeshed in a questionable marriage to Orson (Kyle MacLachlan) and not a model mother to begin with, producers made a wise choice. Bree already has enough mama drama. But because Cross is so visibly pregnant, the series may have to throw in the towel about hiding it. Let’s just hope “Desperate” doesn’t do to Cross what “Frasier” did to Jane Leeves when she was pregnant. Suddenly Daphne had a weight problem.

Amanda Peet on NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”: Creator Aaron Sorkin made the right call when he chose to write in Peet’s pregnancy. On a show fond of showing characters racing up and down hallways, Peet’s pregnancy would have been difficult to disguise. Now her character, Jordan, who already has incurred the ire of her network’s shareholders because of her tell-all ex-husband, is pregnant via a one-night stand with an old boyfriend. The situation has brought her closer to Danny (Bradley Whitford) and will continue to explore one of the show’s recurring themes, how female executives are held to a different standard than male counterparts.

Diane Farr on CBS’ “Numb3rs”: This season on the crime drama, Farr’s Agent Megan Reeves began an unlikely romance with nebbish professor Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol). But Larry and Megan won’t be expecting a little math wizard any time soon. The show’s producers have declined to write in Farr’s pregnancy. The actress, however, has hinted that something will happen that will force Megan to rethink her career. Perhaps a stint of desk duty is in her future?

Jaime Pressly on NBC’s “My Name is Earl”: Well, snap. The gum-smacking Joy will be pregnant on “My Name is Earl.” Being a mom is a big part of Joy’s life, so there was no reason to hide Pressly’s pregnancy. The only time Joy shows compassion is when she is interacting with her two young boys. Viewers will see a kinder, gentler Joy - until ex-hubby Earl finds another way to get on her nerves.

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=171561
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I can't believe this article ommits one of the most recent and creative ways a TV show has handled the pregnancy of its lead actress to change and expand the dynamic of its lead characters. I'm talking about Mariska Hargitay's pregnancy, and how the producers of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit used it to explore the depths of loneliness and attachment that bond detectives Benson and Stabler (played by Christopher Meloni). The show could have taken an easy way out and just have Benson shot by a stray bullet and conviniently recuperating off-camera at some hospital ward. Instead the 'SVU' producers had Benson go undercover to spy on potential ecological terrorists while teaming Stabler with a new female partner (Connie Nielsen's detective Beck) with whom he comes close to falling in love with. Hargitay rejoined the show in full during the last new 'SVU' episode (the one with Bob Saget) but her pregnancy was used by the show producers to do things a little out of the ordinary than what we're used to from a network TV show.

And of course there's the pregnancy of Gillian Anderson back in 1994 that was used by The X-Files producers to build pretty much the foundation for the mythology of the alien DNA that was part of the show's fabric 'till its final conclusion. But that's an entirely different kind of story altogether (that's an entirely different kind of story). :rolleyes:

DO NOT READ THE FIRST PART OF THIS ARTICLE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SPOILERS ABOUT THE UPCOMING HOUR-LONG CHISTMAS EPISODE OF NBC'S 'THE OFFICE'

Critic's Notebook
On Comet, on Cupid! On Dunder! On Mifflin! And to all a good night
Maureen Ryan's Chicago Tribune 'Watcher' Blog Dec. 12, 2006

The test of a good comedy is whether it makes you laugh, of course.

The test of a better than good comedy is whether it makes you laugh on a second viewing of a given episode, and whether you spend the next day repeating lines from the show to your fellow fans.

Devotees of "The Office" are familiar with the whole line-repeating, multiple-viewing syndrome. And the show’s hourlong "Benihana Christmas" episode (7 p.m. Thursday, WMAQ-Ch. 7) will give them plenty of "remember this part?" fodder around the water cooler.

(By the way, if you don’t want to see any spoilers for the episode, stop reading now.)

There’s Dwight Schrute’s arrival at Dunder Mifflin, on the day of the Scranton office’s Christmas party, with a dead goose in hand. "I ran over it," he says, with an weird gleam in his eye. "It’s a Christmas miracle!"

Of course, he wants to cook it for lunch. "We Schrutes use every part of the goose," he notes. Human resources guy Toby rolls his eyes, and after some pleading from Dwight, Toby allows goose-cooking on the premises – only if Dwight promises to clean the bird in his car first.

Later, there's the memorable sight of Kevin doing an oddly intense karaoke version of Alanis Morissette’s "You Oughta Know," and Michael and new Scranton employee Andy (the terrific Ed Helms) doing a quietly hilarious duet on the wimp-rock standard "Your Body Is a Wonderland."

You might wonder why the Dunder Mifflin party gets so rockin’ — after all, the holiday affair planned by the eternally clenched Angela is so prim (one brownie per person, thank you) that not many employees want to go. A rival party, which Karen and Pam put together on the spur of the moment and which serves margaritas, is much more fun.

"Meredith if you don’t come to my party, you will be very, very sorry," Angela warns at one point.

"Is that a threat?" Meredith responds.

"No, it’s an invitation," Angela answers, trying her best to sound nice and failing miserably.

Well, gosh, who wouldn’t want to go to that party?

Andy, Michael, Dwight and the eternally bemused Jim arrive at the margarita bash after a long lunch at a local Benihana’s, where Michael spent the afternoon drowning his personal sorrows in Andy’s favorite holiday concoction, the Nagasaki, which is one part eggnog, three parts sake. Uggggh. Just the thought of that drink makes me want to both retch and laugh.

Earlier, Ryan declined to join Michael and his entourage for lunch at "Asian Hooters": "I’m not feeling so well. I got a ton of work to do here. MSG allergy, peanut allergy. I just ate there last night," he tells Michael.

"Thanks for taking all the excuses, dude," Jim mutters.

Michael and his posse roll back to the party with a couple of waitresses, whom Michael can’t quite tell apart. But funnier than his attempts to distinguish between servers is his attempt to mask his grief over being left by yet another woman. Steve Carell, who plays Michael, makes misery so hilarious that you almost want Michael to be put through the emotional wringer every week.

He can’t even get the post-breakup anger right: "Bros before hos," he insists to the camera. "Why? Because your bros are always there for you. They got your back after your ho rips your heart out, for no good reason. And you were nothing but great to your ho, and you told her that she was the only ho for you. And that she was better than all the other ho’s in the world. And then suddenly," he says in a voice thick with emotion, "she’s not your ho no mo’."

The various looks that flit by on his rubbery face when he realizes he won’t taking his favorite lady to Jamaica’s finest all-inclusive resort ("All-inclusive – you know what that means!" he leers) are so pathetic, so hurt, yet so laughable.

I don’t know if we’re laughing at Michael Scott. Maybe some of the time we’re laughing with him. Anyway, it doesn’t matter.

When you’re laughing, nothing else matters no mo’.
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'30 Rock': Tina Fey's comedy is more winning by the week

In 2005, the award for most-improved comedy went to “The Office.”

This year, “30 Rock” (8:30 p.m. Thursday, WMAQ-Ch. 5) has snagged that trophy.

The first couple of episodes of the NBC comedy, set at a sketch-comedy show, were all over the map, with most jokes telegraphed too broadly and too little of creator Tina Fey’s obvious intelligence shining through.

But in recent weeks, the show has gone from pretty good to terrific. The Dec. 7 outing, for instance, in which deranged actor/comic Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) paid a memorable visit to Conan O’Brien’s show, was a masterful blend of energetic farce and whip-smart comedy.

Still, if I ran the world, there would be things about "30 Rock" I’d play up more, and a few things I’d change:

-Any scene with Alec Baldwin, who plays TV exec Jack Donaghy, is comedy gold. Keep infusing him with equal parts cluelessness, suave condescension and charisma. “Research doesn’t lie,” Donaghy once said regarding focus groups. “It lets us know what we’re thinking.”

-Donaghy infuriates head writer Liz Lemon (played by Fey). Their scenes together are always a treat, as when Lemon fumed after being set up on a blind date by Donaghy — with a lesbian. “What made you think I was gay?” Lemon fumed.
“Your shoes,” Donaghy replied.

“Well, I’m straight,” Lemon said.

“Those shoes are definitely bi-curious,” was Donaghy’s smooth retort.

-Kenneth the page, played by ImprovOlympic and Second City vet Jack McBrayer, is a delightfully innocent aw-shucks gofer who’s in love with the magic of showbiz — and plays a mean game of poker. After losing a poker game to the idiot-savant Kenneth, a confounded Donaghy issued this prediction, “In five years, we’ll all be either working for him … or dead by his hand.”

-As members of the writing staff, Judah Friedlander (Frank), Keith Powell (Toofer) and Scott Adsit (another Second City vet who plays Pete Hornberger) haven’t been given enough to do. Give us some funny from the writers’ room.
So far we’ve had stellar cameos from Conan O’Brien and “SNL” vet Chris Parnell, who did a hilarious turn as Jordan’s physician, Dr. Spaceman (pronounced “spa-chi-min.”) last week. Given Fey’s extensive comedy contacts, let’s get more great guest shots.

-As for Jenna, the character played by Jane Krakowski, we’ve seen the dimwitted, paranoid actress stereotype done to death on TV. Let’s see if they can give her character some depth, and not just mock her self-absorption.

-Any plot that depicts Liz Lemon as idiotic or clueless — remember when she made a fool out of herself by being overly familiar with Donaghy in front of other network executives? — feels out of place, given that the intelligent Fey isn’t skilled enough to play a stupid character. Keep Lemon in Fey’s limited-though-effective range.

-Depicting Tracy Jordan as just another erratic and eccentric African-American star just seems a little icky. The character is more interesting when he’s depicted as off his meds and/or “seeing the tiny blue man,” as it were.

-Rachel Dratch was the star of the first version of “30 Rock’s” the show-within-a-show. She has been downplayed too much, though, and is now playing a variety of throwaway parts on the show. The revolving-character gag isn’t that funny, though, and a meatier recurring role would be more worthy of her talent.
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It's a 'Scrubs' Christmas, Charlie Brown

The following video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=20Of_mna-Rs) is a 10-minute version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," but with entirely different dialogue, courtesy of the cast of "Scrubs." It's pretty darn hilarious, and must viewing for any fan of the NBC comedy.

It was put together by a former "Scrubs" writers' assistant, Ryan A. Levin, who wrote the dialogue for the cast of the show (and typical of this winning comedy, be aware that there is some salty dialogue herein). Levin then cut the dialogue together with the Peanuts holiday classic. As usual, the performance of John C. McGinley, Dr. Cox on "Scrubs," is a hoot -- even when it's only his voice.

Thanks to the So-Called Austin Mayor for the link.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/

Nielsen (Cable) Ratings
ABC Family rides 'Express' to a ratings record
Cable network scores best numbers in its history
By John Dempsey, Variety December 12, 2006

ABC Family has broken out the party hats and balloons after scoring the best primetime ratings in its history last week.

Also for the first time ever, ABC Family came in No. 1 for the week (Dec. 4-10), beating such Nielsen cable powerhouses as USA, ESPN and TNT.

The main reason: two primetime runs of the hit Warner Bros. theatrical "The Polar Express," the most-watched program in ABC Family's history in its first run Saturday, when it racked up 5.06 million total viewers.

That number made "Express" the fourth highest-rated individual show of the week, behind ESPN's "Monday Night Football" (the Panthers-Eagles game on Dec. 4, with 10.5 million), TNT's two-hour original episode of "The Closer" (also Dec. 4, with 5.4 million) and WWE wrestling on USA (also Dec. 4, with 5.14 million).

The earlier ABC Family run of "Polar Express" on Friday wound up the eighth highest-rated show of the week, chalking up 4.03 million viewers.

Two other cable performers leapt out of the week's TV ratings. Also on Friday, Cartoon Network's "Re-Animated," a mix of live-action and animation, delivered the best rating for an original movie among kids 6-11 in the network's history.

And Comedy Central's "Last Laugh '06 Starring Lewis Black" on Sunday pulled 688,000 viewers 18-34, making it the highest-rated program for the night in cable in that demo.

On the down side, A&E's original movie "Wedding Wars" Monday was left at the Nielsen altar, averaging only 483,000 viewers 25-54 and 470,000 viewers 18-49.

"Polar Express" was the first major theatrical scheduled by ABC Family that bypassed pay TV. HBO took a pass, exercising a clause in its theatrical output deal with Warner Bros. allowing the network to reject any animated movies.

Warner Bros. pitched "Express" to Showtime and Starz, but because the movie grossed a strapping $174 million at U.S. multiplexes, the pay TV price (tied to a percentage of domestic rentals) became too rich for HBO's competitors. Hence, no pay TV window.

"Polar Express" engineered its U.S. TV premiere on ABC Dec. 1, a year before cabler would have gotten it if a feevee had stepped up. On ABC, "Express" harvested the best theatrical-movie rating on broadcast TV since the premiere of "Shrek" on NBC in February 2004.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955607.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

The Business of (Governing) TV
Dingell, Markey Blast FCC Lawyer
By Ted Hearn, Multichannel News December 12, 2006

The two incoming House Democrats who will begin to oversee the Federal Communications Commission in January said Tuesday that the agency’s top lawyer failed to justify a decision allowing FCC Republican Robert McDowell to vote on AT&T’s merger with BellSouth.

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), who takes over as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee next month, and Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who will head a key subcommittee, issued separate statements insisting that McDowell should stay away from the giant telecommunications merger even though FCC general counsel Sam Feder gave him the green light to cast a vote.

"I find the general counsel's response inadequate in convincing the American people that … McDowell's participation is necessary, proper or wise," Dingell said.

Added Markey: “I trust that … McDowell will find the FCC general counsel's weak legal arguments, and even weaker rationale for a compelling government interest, of little comfort when deciding whether to abandon the ethical high ground upon which he currently stands."

Dingell’s and Markey’s comments came in response to Feder’s 10-page letter that explained his reasons for freeing up McDowell to participate in the $81 billion merger.

McDowell has been legally barred from voting because his former employer, a small telecommunications trade group, is opposing the merger and demanding conditions. The prohibition ends June 1.

With McDowell sidelined, the four voting FCC members left -- two Republicans and two Democrats -- have been at loggerheads over merger conditions, effectively blocking the deal from closing.

Martin notified Dingell and Markey Dec. 1 that he had asked Feder to determine whether McDowell could break the deadlock. Based on law, precedent and the large economic impact of the merger, Feder determined that McDowell could vote if he so chose.

Feder agreed to remove the constraints on McDowell even though Robert I. Cusick, director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, informed the FCC that if it were his decision, he would not authorize McDowell to cast a merger vote.

"The general counsel has not provided a thoughtful and appropriate explanation for departing from the advice of the director of the Office of Government Ethics, which could lead reasonable people to question the integrity of the agency's decision in this very important matter,” Dingell said.

McDowell, who is studying Feder’s decision, hasn’t indicated whether he will vote. Both AT&T and BellSouth support his participation.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399384.html?display=Breaking+News

Finally, the forbidden fruit is available for free so the entire world can share the love! :rolleyes:

TV Notebook
What's love got to do with NBC's 'Studio 60'?
By Andrew Wallenstein, The Hollywood Reporter December 11, 2006

It's typical in television for a show to come down with a case of acute cutesiness at Christmastime. But for NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," that might amount to a terminal condition.

The Dec. 4 episode -- its lowest-rated yet -- seemed to take a pronounced shift away from its usual deep dive into the industry intricacies of the titular fictional TV show toward the kind of romance-centric storytelling you'd find on "Grey's Anatomy." I would chalk it up to a seasonal outbreak of the warm 'n' fuzzies, but what transpired could linger long after the eggnog sours.

Here's the "Studio" update: Everyone is suddenly in love with everyone. The gruff producer played by Bradley Whitford abruptly declared his affection for the network president, played by Amanda Peet. Nathan Corddry, who depicts one of the "Studio" comics, has begun eyeing one of the writers, played by Lucy Davis. The "Studio" head writer, played by Matthew Perry, mired in an annoyingly stop-and-go dalliance with another comic played by Sarah Paulson, is suddenly go-go-go when they share an urgent kiss.

From the beginning of the episode, I sensed something was awry when Perry's neurotic sourpuss of a character came out extolling the joys of Christmas as if his dosage of Paxil had just kicked in. There was so much love in the air that I was convinced some character would remove the errant mistletoe wedged in the ventilation system and the show would return to its predominantly platonic ways.

For the record, NBC, Warner Bros. and executive producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme all insist that despite the series' ratings woes, "Studio" has not been subjected to any creative tinkering since the pilot, with the exception of writing Peet's pregnancy into the story line of her character, NBS network chief Jordan McDeere.

Whether ratcheting up the relationships like an Uzi-wielding Cupid is indeed an organic plot development, it certainly would make "Studio" more relatable. I watch every week less out of genuine appreciation than morbid fascination with the fact that the series feels like one big in-joke for TV-industry junkies like myself. I laugh less at Sorkin's witty banter than I do at the thought that viewers in Peoria are futilely looking up jargon in the dictionary such as "upfront" and "demo" in an attempt to understand the dialogue.

Yet for all its authenticity as a slice of Hollywood life, "Studio" occasionally appears tone deaf to showbiz realities. Take the never-ending story line, for instance, that would have us believe that when McDeere's ex-husband begins publicizing details of their sex life, she becomes a media obsession to rival Paris Hilton. As if anyone who reads Us Weekly could even name a network president.

"Studio" also didn't score points for realism last week with my favorite characters, the deliciously nasty NBS chairman, played by Steven Weber, and the Murdoch-esque chairman of the network's parent company, played by Ed Asner. My inner TV wonk was all set to jones on a new story line about a potential FCC fine for the network. But the story line instantly fizzled when Weber's character absurdly offered to resign over the fine only to have Asner's character barely bat an eyelash. This wild swerve away from an obvious boardroom clash made me wonder: Is Sorkin setting up Weber and Asner to fall in love with each other, too?

Maybe "Studio" just had to get its Yuletide ya-yas out for an episode. Or maybe the series is awkwardly remaking itself in the mold of the 13 other shows on the air about workplace romances, lowering the volume on the industry chatter that rendered it incomprehensible to anyone who has never made a reservation at the Ivy.

Maybe a little love will help "Studio" find its feet -- now that would be a Christmas miracle.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/features/columns/tv_reporter/e3i1ab243002a4990743c76e0063ac90b13

(Syndicated) Nielsen Ratings
Few Syndicated Winners in November Sweeps
By Ben Grossma, Broadcasting & Cable December 12, 2006

Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Jeopardy!, Dr. Phil and Entertainment Tonight were the only four syndicated first-run shows to see year-over-year gains during an otherwise disappointing November 2006 sweep period that took place from November 2-29.

Millionaire’s 6% year-over-year jump to a 3.3 was the biggest boost for any show. Elsewhere in games, Wheel of Fortune was even at an 8.6, Jeopardy was up 3% to a 6.8 and Family Feud fell 10% to a 1.8.

In talk, Dr. Phil posted a 2% gain to a 5.6 average, its best November sweep since 2003. Oprah led the genre as always, but fell 13% to a 7.1.

Entertainment Tonight won its 65th sweep period in a row, up 2% on the year to a 5.6 average. Access Hollywood held steady on the year at a 2.7, thanks to a 3.0 average in the final week of the sweep, its best weekly number since March 2004.

Every veteran in the crowded court genre was down or flat on the year. Judge Judy was on top as usual, its 4.8 average slightly off (2%) year-over-year.

The news was also bad for the off-net sitcoms. Everybody Loves Raymond fell 18% to a 5.3, Seinfeld was off 20% to a 4.5 and Friends was down 31% to a 3.7. These numbers were sharper drops than in the past, as all three shows fell exactly 8% from November 2004-November 2005.

Of the rookies, Rachael Ray led the way with a 2.1 household average and was the only new show that improved its average time period rating over November 2005 (up 9%) in metered markets. Geraldo At Large averaged a 1.6, Cristina’s Court a 1.3, Dr. Keith Ablow a 1.1, Judge Maria Lopez a 0.9 and Greg Behrendt and Megan Mullally both averaged a 0.8.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6399262.html
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Didn't Richard Karn get fired from hosting 'Feud' so the new guy (O'Hurley) could improve on the steady-but-unimpressive 2.0+ rating the show was getting last year? Looks like the joke's on Freemantle for screwing with something that didn't need the drastic measure of a host replacement. Hope Karn's 'Tool Time' money is enough to keep him from being too angry at getting so royally screwed! :mad:

Critic's Notebook
The room that acts like a maze
By Verne Gay, Newsday December 11, 2006



Anybody watching 'The Lost Room'? I like it. I was surprised, but I got into it last night and was waiting on part #2 tonight.

Anybody watching 'The Lost Room'? I like it. I was surprised, but I got into it last night and was waiting on part #2 tonight.
Yes. Well written, well acted, and with a complicated & sophisticated plot. Best mini series - based on the first 2 parts - I have seen on Sci-Fi other than the Battlestar Galactica mini-series/pilot in a long time. Frustrating that this was shot in HD, but is not being shown in HD.

Universal: Still No Support Blu-ray in 2007

"Meanwhile, Universal Home Entertainment has gotten back to us this afternoon with a bit of news regarding their high-def plans. Vivian Meyer, the studio's Senior VP of Publicity, has informed us that the studio will continue exclusively backing the HD-DVD format in 2007 and expects to make a number of major HD-DVD release announcements at CES next month."

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

And digital bits is also reporting (although as rumor) that Disney and Fox are committing to Blu-Ray big time in early 2007 with a slew of blockbuster titles (to be announced at the 2007 CES show). Looks like the war will go on 'till at least mid-07, when a clear picture will emerge as to whether BD sales are growing in proportion to the by-then wider availability of the PS3. Because lets face it: $1,000-1,500 BD decks from Sony, Philips and Pioneer are not going to determine the outcome of the BD/HD-DVD war... the $500-600 PS3 will. With HD-A2 decks selling out as soon as they're unloaded off the truck HD-DVD has the $500 stand-alone deck market cornered as long as HD-DVD looks better or the same with Blu-Ray. Me? I have an HD-DVD add-on for my XBox 360 and will get a PS3 when they can be had walking into a store. Then again, I'm still probably the only person in this forum that still doesn't have an HDTV (just a plain-old SD 27" Sony Wega Trinitron from '04).

I'm re-posting this review because (a) the reviewed show actually airs tonight and (b) it may have gotten lost on the barrage of stories posted over the weekend.

Critic’s Notebook
The Countless Varieties of a Single Emotion: Love
By Felicia R. Lee, New York Times December 9, 2006

The close-as-brothers relationship between Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix certainly exemplifies friendship as a kind of love. But it is an even more extraordinary example of forgiveness, compelling enough to be included in the PBS documentary “The Mystery of Love,” to be broadcast on Wednesday night.

“Mystery” serves up experts and ordinary people to investigate love’s varieties, and includes the story of how Mr. Felix’s grandson killed Mr. Khamisa’s only son. Afterward the men met and began teaching nonviolence as a way to redeem the tragedy, and their relationship deepened.

“The collective culture is competition, conflict and violence,” Joan Konner, the executive producer of “Mystery,” said in discussing why she turned her journalistic skills to a hardly neglected topic. A former dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Ms. Konner said she sought to encourage people to consider love as a tool to replenish a post-9/11 society that she said was focused on survival, and getting and spending.

“I hope that people become aware of the many deep connections and give them as much honor as they do the dominant stories in the culture, which are love and sex and religion,” Ms. Konner said in an interview about the program. Most often, the love stories we tell are about romance and sex, she said.

Given that even the oceans of wisdom from Shakespeare to Dr. Phil cannot unknot love’s challenges, “Mystery” introduces viewers to many types of love stories and many ideas about what it all means. The stories include those of an elderly, interracial couple in Indiana who live together platonically; a 30ish couple about to be wed; the seemingly odd-couple marriage of an opera singer and a hog farmer in Minnesota; a national group of motorcyclists who help abused children; three brothers in Baltimore who went to Iraq at the same time; and even a glimpse at connections among primates.

As host, the writer and actor Anna Deavere Smith brings together the stories, which are threaded with comments by people like the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr., senior minister of the Riverside Church in Manhattan; James Hillman, a psychologist and author of “A Terrible Love of War”; and Dr. Frans de Waal, director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University, where the chimps have their own love stories.

Ms. Konner, an award-winning television documentary producer, said she found no fewer than 1,000 current “experts” who have written about love. She discovered a handful of the show’s subjects through a professional choir called Conspirare, based in Austin, Tex., which is included as an example of communal love and whose orchestral and chamber music is featured throughout “Mystery.”

Ms. Smith was chosen as host, Ms. Konner said, as an alternative to hiring a glossy broadcast journalist who might not have had Ms. Smith’s intellectual bona fides. For her part, Ms. Smith said she was taken with the program’s presentation of love as a radical force, beyond the usual boy-girl fluff.

“I’m interested in connection,” said Ms. Smith, who teaches at New York University, in the Tisch School of the Arts and at the law school.

“On the one hand, the traditional family has fallen apart; it doesn’t exist like it did a generation ago,” Ms. Smith said. “On the other hand, we haven’t created a way for people to have intimacy outside of one-on-one relationships. We don’t have enough ways to care for each other; that’s the moment we’re living in. We need love to solve the problem of education, and I don’t know how we’re going to solve the health care problem without love.”

The major financing for “Mystery” came from the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Mich., a nonprofit foundation that, according to its literature, has a mission to foster the awareness of the power of love and forgiveness. Among other things, the foundation finances research on topics like altruism and compassion. It was endowed by John E. Fetzer, a pioneer in broadcasting and the former owner of the Detroit Tigers. Community groups in cities across the country, as part of an initiative financed by the Fetzer Institute, are convening with their group members and others to watch “Mystery” and talk about its ideas.

In Dayton, Ohio, for example, a group called Civic Life International is assembling a diverse group of 80 people to talk about love and race relationships. They will meet on Tuesday at the local PBS station to see two segments of “Mystery,” in advance of the national broadcast.

“When we talk about love, we don’t want to talk about it in isolation,” said Tokunbo Awoshakin, the executive director of Civic Life International, a group composed of journalists and professionals in conflict resolution who work to help African and minority communities. “How do you put love into action in a diverse community like Dayton, which is deeply segregated along lines of race and class?”

The story of Mr. Khamisa and Mr. Felix certainly happens along a few social fault lines. In San Diego in 1995, Tariq Khamisa, 20, was in a car delivering a pizza when Tony Hicks, Mr. Felix’s grandson, then a 14-year-old eighth grader, shot him to death. The teenager, who admitted the killing and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, was part of a gang that intended to rob Mr. Khamisa.

Mr. Khamisa, a devout Muslim, and Mr. Felix, who talks about society’s perception of his black grandson, now travel the country discussing forgiveness and the prevention of violence. In “Mystery” they tell their story to a group of elementary school students and ask how many would want revenge for Tariq’s death. Many hands shoot up.

“But let me ask you, would revenge bring Tariq back?” Mr. Khamisa asks.

Another provocative segment on the documentary, called “Love and War,” shows Mr. Hillman, the psychologist, theorizing about the brotherhood of the battlefield. Across cultures and across time a collective thrill runs through civilizations as they march off to face an enemy, Mr. Hillman said in an interview about his participation in the program. “How the hell do you account for the fact that we’ve been at war since human history began?” he said. “We must love it.”

“The love of war is a love, in war, of the men for each other,” Mr. Hillman says in “Mystery.” On a more mundane and upbeat note, “Mystery” takes us to the wedding of Mark Cravotta and Monica Proctor, musicians in Austin who met on the Internet and then grappled with preconceived notions of what a relationship should be. Ms. Proctor was wary that Mr. Cravotta was twice divorced and had a child. He realized that he had never really seen marriage as a lifetime commitment.

“We are in a position now where we definitely could get hurt,” Mr. Cravotta says in the show after he and his wife exchange vows. “And we’re in anyway. But that’s where the juicy stuff is.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/09/arts/television/09love.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin

Critic’s Notebook
What to watch Wednesday
Robert Bianco's USA Today Critic's Corner Dec. 13, 2006

•Bones (Fox, tonight, 8 ET/PT) heads into the holidays with an episode that certainly holds the promise of big things. Directed by X-Files star David Duchovny, the outing features a guest shot by Ryan O'Neal as a priest who gives Bones a message from her father. Keep an eye out for a cameo character, Professor Constance Wright — she's played by Kathy Reichs, the author of the books on which Bones is based. Reichs should be pleased; the show she inspired has really come into its own.

•CW milks more time out of America's Next Top Model (8 ET/PT) with a two-hour condensed airing of the British version. Perhaps it's time for CW to put some of that creativity into producing more shows of its own, as a hedge against that quickly coming day when it can't get any more mileage out of its UPN/WB holdovers.

•Actress/writer Anna Deavere Smith helps PBS examine The Mystery of Love (9 ET/PT, times may vary). The show goes beyond romance to explore love in its many facets.

•It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Washington (10 ET/PT) as Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw host TNT's annual holiday concert. Performers include Taylor Hicks, Il Divo, Gretchen Wilson, Bianca Ryan and Corinne Bailey Rae.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/criticscorner/column.htm

NO WAY!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

TV Notebook
Jerry Rigged
Reality Series Shocker
By Don Kaplan, New York Post December 13, 2006

A NEW YORK POST EXCLUSIVE :rolleyes:

Secretly, cameras have been recording for months the behind-the-scenes truth of how Jerry Springer's outrageous TV show is put together.

A new "docu-soap," tentatively called "The Springer Hustle," will detail where the transvestites, incestuous cousins and other curiosities come from, and how they're booked and prepared for their brief moment of tabloid TV stardom.

"You'll get a good idea about how they choose which guests they want and how those guests end up on stage," a production source told The Post.

VH1 is producing the show, slated for March 2007, as it moves to find successors to its hit series "Flavor of Love," a kinky, dating spoof show that starred an over-the-hill rap star and a bevy of bizarrely eager young women who wanted to date him.

The network, which was created 22 years ago as an older version of MTV, has apparently found a rich groove with "Flavor of Love" and plans to stick with it.

"The Springer Hustle" is just one of a slew of warts-and-all reality shows that the channel is offering. Other new VH1 stars include: Andrew Dice Clay - in a behind-the-scenes look at the caustic comedian's attempt at a comeback; and Tom Sizemore - the troubled actor who allegedly filmed himself on drugs and sold it to the network as a series.

Springer himself is only a part of the reality show, according to sources.

Featured instead are the foot soldiers of daytime TV, the producers, who were recorded as they found the show's guests who end up coming to blows - or at least tearing each other's shirts off.

Among the behind-the-scenes heroes at the Springer show are:

* Selena - a beautiful and obsessively driven producer.

* Toby - the staff clown.

* Annette - one of the original producers who left the show for a few years, only to be drawn back by the day-to-day tumult she couldn't find anywhere else.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12132006/tv/jerry_rigged_tv_don_kaplan.htm
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This just in: Fox News panders to the conservative right, MSNBC to the liberal left, the sun will come out tomorrow (you can bet your bottom dollar) and every PlayStation 3 system made between now and March of '07 will sell out as soon as its unloaded off the truck. News, what news? :D

So this is what Sherman-Palladino quit Gilmore Girls for?

TV Notebook
Fox picks up 'Jezebel'
Variety Staff Dec. 13, 2006

Pilot pickup -- "The Return of Jezebel James" (working title). Half-hour multicamera comedy about two sisters who reunite after one of them agrees to carry the other's baby (Daily Variety, Aug 2). Amy Sherman-Palladino ("Gilmore Girls") is writing, directing and exec producing for Regency TV.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955648.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

Not to sound like the sexist pig of man that I am, but if this is the future of anchoring news sign me up! :D

TV-on-the-Web Notebook
An Online Newscaster’s Appealing Bafflement
By Virginia Heffernan, The New York Times December 13, 2006

Amanda Congdon, the comely online newsreader, has a new job. After her whirlwind departure from the webcast news show Rocketboom, in July, Ms. Congdon — a droll, blond Rosalind Russell for the digital generation — has at last landed at ABCNews.com.

Now in the warm embrace of the mainstream media, this onetime indie figure is making online video segments on eclectic subjects. And ABC is meanwhile promising its groovy young girlfriend that she won’t have change a bit, even for corporate events: no first-lady suits, no hot-roller hair, no mannequin makeup. Ever. On her first minishow, which became available yesterday on ABC’s Web site, Ms. Congdon shows up in a taut Steely Dan T-shirt and opens with her trademark girly casualness: “O.K., this is weird.”

That’s a decently far cry from Barbara Walters.

The item she goes on to report isn’t all that weird — the actress Tori Spelling held a tag sale that was filmed for her reality show — but never mind that. What stands out is Ms. Congdon’s reflexive bafflement, well known to fans from Rocketboom. Like a teenager, she seems exaggeratedly puzzled by whatever’s at hand; she’s too cool for almost everything, and good for her.

To achieve this effect, she often appeals to the camera — the audience? God? — to find out what’s going on. Slim, swan-necked, with the upright bearing of a dancer or cadet, she doesn’t exactly lean in for intimacy with the viewer. She’s not relatable. She seems a touch abstemious. The news, it seems, kind of grosses her out.

Before dismissing this as eek-a-mouse-ing by a news bimbo, though, it’s worth thinking harder about the pose. If anchormen like Peter Jennings cultivated brave, value-neutral stoicism about the news, it wasn’t always so. Watch old Walter Cronkite broadcasts now and what comes through is the marvelous moralism that used to inform every syllable of his speech.

Consider, for example, the way Mr. Cronkite laced with acid the words “drugs” and “alcohol” when referring to accidents or addictions. (Clips of him are available on YouTube.com.) His sentences are always loaded with enemies and heroes; clauses do battle with one another, often ending in a rueful truce. By contrast Mr. Jennings’s urbane style tamped down the melodrama and brought Apollonian reason to his reports.

And so the pendulum swings back. In another key — and of course in the quickie-video medium — Ms. Congdon may be reprising Mr. Cronkite’s melodrama. If it’s not good and evil that preoccupy her, it’s at least “cool” and “weird.” And that’s not entirely trivial. On Rocketboom she used expressions and interjections (Cool! Weird!) to interpret and inflect primary sources, and often that was enough. Last year her report on Hurricane Katrina simply played various television interviews in New Orleans. Then the camera returned to her. She gave a loose, flinging shrug that tersely conveyed disbelief, fury and sadness. It was an editorial in itself.

This works well in the ultrashort news clips she’ll be doing on ABCNews.com. On the premiere segment, her take on Oxycyte, a new blood substitute, restores to science news a nice wowee factor that’s often missing from more staid reports. “I also found it interesting that milk was tested in the 19th century as a replacement for blood,” she adds, sounding like an earnest seventh-grader. It’s catching.

Though Ms. Congdon quickly offsets that show of exuberance with a dash of sarcasm, it’s still unmistakably there. She’s plainly an enthusiast: for new media, for old media, for Amanda Congdon, for the possibility of being smart and pretty at the same time and furthermore doing something cool and kind of like weird.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/arts/television/13cong.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin

Because the attempt to revive Dragnet with Ed O'Neill as the lead was such a smashing success for ABC a few years back (sarcasm meter blowing up!), why not try to ride the cottails of legend once again? :rolleyes:

TV Notebook
'Marlowe' on ABC's case
Network teaming with Bailey for TV series revival
By Josef Adalian, Variety December 13, 2006

Philip Marlowe could soon be back on the case.

ABC is teaming with producer Sean Bailey for a fresh take on Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled detective. Greg Pruss and Carol Wolper will write and exec produce the potential series along with Daniel H. Blatt, Phil Clymer and Bailey.

Hourlong drama "Marlowe" -- one of three scripts Bailey has set up at the Alphabet this season via the LivePlanet banner -- would be a present-day procedural crime drama with noir aspects and set in Los Angeles.

Touchstone Television, which has an overall deal with Bailey, will produce if the project goes to pilot.

Bailey said "Marlowe" will be "a detective show, but very much a character-based one.

"He's a guy who can travel in the highest echelons of power and the darkest and dirtiest corners of the city," he added, noting the new Marlowe will still "get his ass kicked every once in a while."

As of now, there are no plans to use any of Chandler's Marlowe books ("The Big Sleep," et al.) as source material for storylines.

Still, "You can expect to see your femme fatales and very wealthy individuals," Bailey said.

Producer said the project came together when Endeavor, along with the rights holders to the Marlowe character, contacted him "with the idea of updating the DNA of Marlowe and taking him into 21st century LA."

"Greg and Carol then came on board with the take that really cracked it for us," Bailey added.

Live Planet VP Daniel Pipski has been actively involved in the development of all three Bailey projects and is expected to snag a producer credit if the scripts get picked up.

The Marlowe character is no stranger to television. Powers Boothe played the gumshoe in the early 1980s HBO period drama "Philip Marlowe, Private Eye," which ran for several years.

On the bigscreen, Marlowe has been played by Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Elliot Gould and James Garner, among others.

Also on the police tip, Bailey has partnered with "Philly" co-creator Alison Cross on "Inside," a crime drama set up at ABC.

"Inside" revolves around a female undercover cop in Los Angeles who uses her perfect instincts to stay alive as she reinvents herself during every case.

Cross, most recently on "Commander in Chief," will write the pilot. She'll exec produce with Bailey via Touchstone.

"Tonally, think of movies like 'The Insider' or 'Donnie Brasco,'" Bailey said. "It's a very authentic look at this world, rather than light and cheerful."

Bailey is also attached as exec producer on "Plan B," an Ol Parker-penned hour about a group of thirtysomething friends in Portland who re-evaluate their lives after a friend dies. Parker will co-exec produce.

"It's very much a relationship drama in the tone of 'Love, Actually'," Bailey said. "It's funny, sad, poignant, charming -- all the good things Richard Curtis does well."

Last season, Bailey wrote and exec produced the ABC pilot "Enemies," helmed by F. Gary Gray ("The Italian Job").

On the film side, Bailey is producing Live Planet partner Ben Affleck's upcoming helming debut, "Gone, Baby, Gone."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955547.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

TV Notebook
'Prodigal' goes about his father's business
By Marisa Guthrie, New York Daily News December 13, 2006

'One Punk Under God' (a six-part series) tonight at 9PM on Sundance

Jay Bakker was barely in high school when his father, the televangelist Jim Bakker, went to prison.

Although the money-siphoning and sexual imbroglio that leveled Bakker and wife Tammy Faye's "Praise the Lord" empire was one of the biggest scandals of the '80s, Jay Bakker, who turns 31 on Monday, doesn't feel condemned by the sins of his father.

"I really don't live there very much," he said. "It was 20 years ago. I was 11 years old when it happened. Most people my age don't remember much of it."

But television lets us relive scenes from a life. Bakker, who is tattooed and pierced, is running his own ministry now. He preaches every Sunday at 4 p.m. at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg, where he lives with his wife, Amanda, who is getting her doctorate in psychology from NYU.

But as the documentary "One Punk Under God" makes clear, Bakker is still very much tethered to his family legacy. The six-part series, premiering tonight at 9 on Sundance, even invokes his parents in the subtitle: "The Prodigal Son of Jim and Tammy Faye."

Jay and Amanda Bakker relocated from Atlanta in August and Bakker quickly established an arm of his Revolution church here (www.revolutionnyc.com). His brand of Christianity calls for inclusiveness and embraces gays and lesbians, a recent evolvement that caused his conservative financial backers to bail.

Revolution, said Bakker, "is about letting people know that Jesus is inclusive and loves everybody and welcomes everybody. It's kind of showing that we're not all right-wing Christian Coalition neoconservatives. You can care about social issues. You can care about the poor and the hurting."

In the series, Bakker visits the ruins of his parents' Heritage USA compound, a luxury retreat near Charlotte, N.C., that had a video arcade, swimming pool, amphitheater where passion plays were performed and a main street complete with a clothing store that stocked Jay Charles Limited sportswear for boys (named for Jay Bakker). Bakker admits that the compound and the lifestyle that televangelists like his parents adopted in the name of spreading the word of God may have been excessive.

"That would probably be the right word," he said.

Today, his mother, who lives near Charlotte, is gravely ill with colon cancer.

His father lives in Branson, Mo., with his wife, Lori Graham Bakker. They co-host their own cable talk show, "The New Jim Bakker Show." Before "Punk" producers began following Bakker last spring, he hadn't spoken to his father in almost two years. After a series of voicemail messages and conversations with his father's assistant, Bakker finally got through and he and Amanda made the trip to Branson. He also made a rather awkward appearance on his dad's show.

"I think he was nervous," said Bakker.

They maintain regular contact now. Jim Bakker makes an appearance in the series' final episode when he comes to the Candy Store to address his son's flock.

"He calls me a lot," said Bakker. "He's a man who grew up with a lot of ups and downs in his life. But he's my dad."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/479529p-403441c.html

Nielsen Notebook
Nielsen ratings, Dec. 4-10
USA Today December 12, 2006

Top broadcast shows

Rank/Season average/Show title/Network/Viewers (in millions)

1. 3 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS 23.3
2. 7 Sunday Night Football NBC 19.9
3. 11 Deal or No Deal NBC 17.4
4. 13 60 Minutes CBS 15.8
5. 17 Survivor: Cook Islands CBS 15.7
6. 24 Heroes NBC 14.9
7. 25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC 14.2
8. 17 Cold Case CBS 14.1
9. 20 Shark CBS 14.0
10. 11 Without a Trace CBS 13.9
11. 8 Criminal Minds CBS 13.8
12. X Rudolph CBS 12.9
13. 35 Amazing Race 10 CBS 12.7
13. X Frosty the Snowman CBS 12.7
13. 10 CSI: NY CBS 12.7
16. 22 ER NBC 12.0
17. 16 House Fox 11.8
18. 6 CSI: Miami CBS 11.6
19. 13 Two and a Half Men CBS 11.5
20. X Santa Claus is Comin' ABC 11.1

Top cable shows

Rank/Show title/Network Viewers (in millions)

1. Panthers vs. Eagles ESPN 10.5
2. The Closer TNT 5.4
3. WWE Raw (Monday, 10 p.m.) USA 5.1
3. The Polar Express ABC Family 5.1
5. Santa Baby ABC Family 4.7
6. WWE Raw (Monday, 9 p.m.) USA 4.6
7. A Year Without Santa Claus ABC Family 3.8
8. Mean Girls TBS 3.7
9. Zack & Cody (Fri, 8 p.m.) Disney 3.4
10. The Bourne Identity USA 3.3
10. Zack & Cody (Fri, 8:30 p.m.) Disney 3.3
10 Spongebob Squarepants (Sat, 9:30 p.m.) Nickelodeon 3.3
13. Spongebob Squarepants (Sat, 9 p.m.) Nickelodeon 3.2
13. Big Fat Liar Disney 3.2
13. Law & Order: SVU USA 3.2

Tops among ages 18-49

Rank/Show title/Network Viewers (in millions)

1. Sunday Night Football NBC 10.5
2. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS 10.2
3. Heroes NBC 8.4
4. ER NBC 7.1
5. Survivor: Cook Islands CBS 7.0
6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC 6.8
7. Deal or No Deal NBC 6.7
8. House Fox 6.1
9. Rudolph CBS 5.9
10. Frosty the Snowman CBS 5.8
11. My Name Is Earl NBC 5.6
12. Shark CBS 5.5
13. Amazing Race 10 CBS 5.3
13. The Simpsons Fox 5.3
13. Scrubs NBC 5.3
16. Grey's Anatomy ABC 5.2
16. Football Night Pt.3 NBC 5.2

Spotlight: Late-night talk/news(November Sweeps, Nov. 2-29)

Rank/Show title/Network Viewers (in millions)

1. Tonight Show With Jay Leno NBC 5.9
2. Late Show With David Letterman CBS 4.5
3. Nightline ABC 3.6
4. Late Night With Conan O'Brien NBC 2.7
5. Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS 2.1
6. Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC 1.8

Source: Nielsen Media Research

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/nielsen.htm

Although this is more a profile of a website than the TV show associated with it I cannot ignore an article that mentions... cue James Lipton's voice... ONE OF THE GREATEST AND MOST ENTERTAINING TELEVISION SHOWS IN THE HISTORY OF THE MEDIUM!!! :D

TV Notebook
Web Site Hunts Pedophiles, and TV Goes Along
By Allen Salkin, The New York Times December 13, 2006

Last month, the Web site Perverted-Justice.com posted news of the conviction of Sean Young, a Wisconsin man sentenced to 10 years in state prison for soliciting sex online from a 14-year-old girl. According to a transcript of an online chat posted on the site, at one point Mr. Young had asked the girl, identified only as Billie, what she was wearing. When she answered “sweats,” Mr. Young typed back that if she were his daughter, “i’d make u wear sexy clthes.”

Billie turned out to be an adult volunteer for Perverted Justice, an anti-pedophile group, and when Mr. Young drove to a house where he expected to meet the teenager for sex, he was arrested by sheriff’s deputies.

The conviction was logged as the 104th that Perverted Justice says it has been responsible for since 2003, a tally that as of yesterday had reached 113. What started as one man’s quest to rid his regional Yahoo chat room of lewd adults has grown into a nationwide force of cyberspace vigilantes, financed by a network television program hungry for ratings.

“It’s a kind of blog that has turned into a crime-fighting resource,” said Robert McCrie, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.

Perverted Justice is best known for putting its online volunteers at the disposal of the television newsmagazine “Dateline NBC,” which has broadcast 11 highly rated programs in which would-be pedophiles are lured to “sting houses,” only to be surprised by a camera crew and, usually, the police.

Despite that publicity, the inner workings of Perverted Justice and its reclusive founder remain largely a mystery, even as the group has emerged as one of the most effective unofficial law enforcement groups in the country, a kind of Neighborhood Watch of the Net. But the group is also criticized by some legal and law enforcement experts, who accuse it of entrapment, making mistakes that ruin innocent lives and, paradoxically, disseminating its own brand of child pornography.

Peter D. Greenspun, a lawyer who defended a rabbi from Rockville, Md., caught in a “Dateline” sting arranged by Perverted Justice, said that by posting online transcripts of conversations between would-be child molesters and volunteers posing as 12- and 13-year-olds, Perverted Justice was encouraging, rather than deterring, pedophiles.

“They are putting out for unfiltered, unrestricted public consumption the most graphic sexual material that they themselves say is of a perverted nature,” Mr. Greenspun said.

Perverted Justice’s founder, Xavier Von Erck, 27, a former tech-support worker, has a dedication to the cause bordering on obsession, his mother and associates said. Mr. Von Erck lives in an apartment in Portland, Ore., but rarely gives out his address, and he would not allow a reporter to visit because he feared retribution from men exposed by his group. In a telephone interview, he said he worked for his group seven days a week, mostly from a laptop in his bedroom.

“Every waking minute he’s on that computer,” said his mother, Mary Erck-Heard, 46, who raised her son after they fled his father, whom she described as alcoholic. Mr. Von Erck legally changed his name from Phillip John Eide, taking his maternal grandfather’s family name, Erck, and adding the Von.

In many ways, Mr. Von Erck, who said he and his mother moved 13 times when he was in high school because they were often short of money, continues to live that messy life of deprivation. His meals often consist of ramen noodles, he said; his bed is perpetually unmade. For years, he has been trying unsuccessfully to find his father, who, he says, still owes his mother child support.

“I have a low opinion of men in general,” he said. “The most heinous crimes in our society are committed by males.”

Perverted Justice has 41,000 registered users of its online forums dedicated to the cause of stopping predators, 65 volunteers trained as chat room decoys and three salaried leaders: Mr. Von Erck, a woman who is a liaison with law enforcement and a business manager.

Typically, a Perverted Justice volunteer creates a false online profile, posing as, say, a 13-year-old girl on MySpace. The volunteer will wait to receive e-mail messages or will enter a chat room. If an adult contacts the volunteer, the decoy responds and sees if the conversation becomes sexual.

The group’s collaboration with “Dateline” since 2004 has been lucrative. A person familiar with Perverted Justice’s finances who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly said NBC was paying the group roughly $70,000 for each hour of television produced.

“They do a lot a work for us, and they deserve to be reimbursed for that work,” said David Corvo, the executive producer of “Dateline,” who met with Mr. Von Erck earlier this year in New York to discuss their collaboration.

Mr. Von Erck said the NBC money had been used in part to buy computer servers that would not be overwhelmed every time the group was mentioned on television.

Ratings for the “Dateline” broadcasts, a series called “To Catch a Predator” that has become a network franchise, have averaged 9.1 million viewers, compared with 7 million viewers for other “Dateline” episodes, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Six new episodes are planned for the first half of 2007. Two were shot at a house in Long Beach, Calif.; two in Flagler Beach, Fla.; and two others in Murphy, Tex. The Texas sting drew a burst of publicity in early November, months before the episodes were scheduled to be shown, when a prosecutor implicated as a would-be predator, Louis W. Conradt Jr., shot himself to death as the police approached his home.

Supporters of the NBC broadcasts say they have helped increase awareness of online predators, allowing parents to educate children and spurring law enforcement to action. One in seven youths ages 10 to 17 who have gone online at least once a month for six months have received unwanted sexual solicitations, according to a 2005 study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Last month, the “Dateline” correspondent Chris Hansen, who is featured on the Perverted Justice specials, addressed about 500 students at a school in Rye Brook, N.Y., about the dangers of Internet predators. One of the first questions was why the stings filmed by “Dateline” were not entrapment.

The answer, legal experts say, is that it is hard for a defendant to prove entrapment, in this context or in any other. Some states allow prosecutions as long as there was a “predisposition” to the conduct. Others require police misconduct for a defendant to claim entrapment.

One concern about Perverted Justice’s nonprofessional force of vigilantes, raised by Lt. Joseph Donohue, head of the New York State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, is that decoys impersonating teenagers may be too aggressive, not understanding the need to let predators initiate the sexual chat and therefore not gathering chat-log evidence that will stand up in court.

Mr. Von Erck responded that so far prosecutors had not dropped charges against any man arrested in an investigation begun by Perverted Justice.

Of the 113 convictions Mr. Von Erck’s group claims, some have been for misdemeanors resulting in no jail time, and others have brought stiff sentences, like the one of the Maryland rabbi, David A. Kaye, who on Dec. 1 was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on federal charges of enticement and traveling to meet a minor for illicit sexual contact.

Mr. Von Erck’s most vociferous critic is Scott Morrow, a retired Canadian Air Force serviceman who runs a Web site, Corrupted-Justice.com, chronicling what he says are excesses by Perverted Justice.

“These are anonymous, unaccountable Net junkies doing this work,” Mr. Morrow said in an interview.

He said that Perverted Justice listed personal information for many men it accused of being sexual predators and had sometimes mistaken their identities and humiliated innocent people.

Mr. Von Erck said the criticisms were out-of-date; in its first years the group did post the phone numbers, employers and photographs of men it accused of being predators, and anyone could humiliate the individuals by, say, e-mailing transcripts of a man’s lewd online chats to his friends and colleagues.

But since early this year, Perverted Justice has made a policy of not immediately posting the information it gathers in most cases; instead it contacts law enforcement and encourages pursuit of an arrest.

“We are now a conviction machine,” Mr. Von Erck said.

Mr. Von Erck, who said he was not molested as a child, prefers not to analyze his own motivation for dedicating himself so fully to the effort. Asked to explain why he did it, he did so with spare emotion.

“It gets tiring,” he said, “but when you find somebody that’s already been successful doing something harmful to a child and then you get him arrested, you can’t beat that.”

Happy Blitt contributed research.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/technology/13justice.html?ref=technology

You guys can keep WKRP... and Six Million Dollar Man, this is the one I'm excited about!

http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000LE16VC.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V33846678_.jpg

Amazon reports it will be released on March 6, 2007. BTW, notice how Lord's hair mirrors the wave in the background! :D This CANNOT be an accident because that hair is dead-center for the artwork; whoever designed this cover wanted anyone watching to notice Jack's hair to be the star of the package. Too funny! :p

And of course needless to say... (in Comic Book Guy voice)... GREATEST OPENING SEQUENCE EVER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r0-z5ZtsaI

Weekly Nielsen Notebook
'Medium,' speaking of the dead
Actually, it's quite alive still, but ratings are off
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec. 13, 2006

There seems to be one timeslot that every network struggles with. CBS can’t find a winner Tuesdays at 10 p.m. Thursdays at 9 p.m. have been a weak spot for Fox for years. ABC is a dead zone Monday at 10 p.m.

Now NBC seems to be having the same problem with Wednesday at 10 p.m., a slot it long dominated with “Law & Order.” Since it moved “L&O” last spring to make way for the failed drama “Heist,” NBC has become a non-factor.

It started the season with “Kidnapped” at 10 p.m. Wednesday. That lasted less than a month. Now “Medium,” the Patricia Arquette drama that was a solid performer on Mondays last year, is struggling there.

Since “Medium” premiered four weeks ago, it has averaged a 3.3 adults 18-49 rating, down 20 percent from last season’s 4.1 average.

The show’s ratings began slipping near the end of last season, but it still averaged a 3.8 for its May finale. The Wednesday premiere two weeks ago averaged a 3.5, and it slid to a 3.1 last week, its most recent outing.

It’s facing less competition in this timeslot, too, airing against “CSI: NY,” the lowest-rated show in the “CSI” franchise, and ABC’s failed drama “The Nine.” “Medium” aired opposite “CSI: Miami” and ABC’s “Monday Night Football” in its old timeslot.

The problem may not be so much with “Medium” as with its new timeslot. “L&O” aired there for more than a decade, and thus even though it moved, people still expect to see the veteran cops show there.

When they see something else airing there instead, they may click the TV off right away or surf over to cable, where you can catch “L&O” any time of day.

Certainly NBC saw the same problem with “Kidnapped,” the well-reviewed serial drama that averaged just a 2.3 in three Wednesday episodes.

In two months, things are going to get even tougher in the timeslot. That’s when ABC moves “Lost,” its hit Wednesday drama, from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Opposite the new, much tougher competition, “Medium” could see even more falloff.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_9092.asp

And of course needless to say... (in Comic Book Guy voice)... GREATEST OPENING SEQUENCE EVER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r0-z5ZtsaI


It is sad that so many shows have done away w/ the opening theme. Can you imagine some of "classic" themes and opennings in HD and 5.1? 5-O, Miami Vice, SWAT :) etc.

The (Downsized) Business of TV (Coverage)
VNU's Massive Layoffs Begin with 'Hollywood Reporter'
Media Buyer Planner Staff Dec. 11, 2006

The Hollywood Reporter let go 10 editorial staffers, including many of its top editors, on Friday.

The move was part of a massive layoff that is expected to reduce parent company VNU's total workforce by nearly 10 percent, writes MediaPost.

VNU was purchased by a group of private equity firms earlier this year, and former GE executive David Calhoun was made CEO. It is unclear whether the latest round of cuts is tied to Calhoun's Project Forward initiative, or whether this is a new round of downsizing and cost-cutting.

It is also unclear whether, or how much, Nielsen Media Research and ACNielsen - both owned by VNU - will be affected by the layoffs. Nielsen has been continually expanding in recent months, from acquisitions and new start-ups to new rollouts such as its commercial ratings.

http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2006/12/11/vnus-massive-layoffs-begin-with-hollywood-reporter/

TV Sports
Sadistic ESPN says it could beef up bowl schedule
By Michael Hiestand USA Today

The long march begins Dec. 19 with the provocatively titled San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on ESPN2. What's new about the buffet of college football's record 32 bowl games:

• ESPN/ESPN2, which airs 21 bowls, now owns five bowls, having added the new Papajohns.com Bowl and New Mexico Bowl, sponsored by that state. But ESPN vice president Dave Brown, overseeing ESPN's bowls, says on-air analysts won't necessarily mention in passing that nothing tops a fresh pizza after a ski day at Taos. ESPN will treat sponsors of its own bowls, he says, in a way "consistent with how anybody in this business treats sponsors."

• ABC, having lost four of five BCS bowls to Fox, airs just the Rose Bowl and Capital One Bowl. But it's not rolling over: During Fox's Jan. 8 BCS title game, ABC counterprograms with Wife Swap and Super Nanny.

• The NFL Network, to help drive consumer demand and get on more cable systems, has its first bowls. After pressure from Rutgers fans, the network Tuesday said it will offer itself for five days — including the new Texas Bowl's Rutgers-Kansas State game Dec. 28 — to cable viewers in the New York area, where the network isn't widely seen. Still, spokesman Seth Palansky suggests complainers miss the big picture: "The Texas Bowl wouldn't exist if the NFL hadn't stepped up to take it. There are two more teams playing in a bowl because we exist."

• With five days between the last BCS bowl and the Jan. 8 title game, two bowls will fill that gap — the Jan. 6 International Bowl and the Jan. 7 GMAC Bowl. The International Bowl, in Toronto, will be the first bowl outside the USA since Auburn played Villanova in 1937 in the Bacardi Bowl in Havana. Talk about the good old days: The game, in pre-revolutionary Cuba, was also known as the Rhumba Bowl.

ESPN's Brown says there's room for even more bowling next season. "Some 6-6 teams from major conferences didn't make bowls, so we could schedule more," he says. "We had an opening we didn't fill at 4:30 (ET) on Dec. 27. Forty bowls might be a stretch. But sure, we could do a few more."

Don't laugh. ESPN/ESPN2 bowl games last season averaged a hearty 2.9% of cable TV households, the same average as ESPN's baseball playoff games.

Tight: CBS' NFL pregame show Sunday drew 3.1% of U.S. TV households to beat Fox's pregame show, which drew 2.9% Sunday. Historically, the pregame show on the network carrying the NFC TV package — not its AFC package — has the higher-rated pregame show. Since CBS got the AFC package in 1998, its show has drawn a higher rating than Fox's only once. But this season, CBS' show has outrated Fox's four times.

Assuming you can explain ratings is like looking in a bowl of alphabet soup and expecting to see a sentence. But there are obvious changes in the two pregame shows that could affect ratings. Host James Brown moved from Fox to CBS, and Fox replaced him with Joe Buck and this season airs its pregame show from stadiums rather than from a studio. Plus, Fox's Terry Bradshaw has begun wearing a hat.

Online: NBC Sports, which relaunched its website in September, plans to carry online video action from the 2008 Olympics. It could use a boost. According to comScore Media Metrix, nbcsports.com drew 758,000 separate users to rank 24th among all sports websites in November. That was a month when NBC had a high TV profile with NFL, Notre Dame and NASCAR action. That was behind top-ranked espn.com (18.57 million), fourth-ranked foxsports.com (15.08 million) and fifth-ranked cbsportsline.com (12.97 million).

On tap: NBC has one weekly NFL game and one on-air team —John Madden and Al Michaels— but has a doubleheader on the first day of the playoffs. For one of those games, NBC will use Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond, who worked together on NFL and Notre Dame games on NBC in the 1990s. Collinsworth says he was in college when he first became friends with Hammond, who helped him break into TV: "He taught me what buttons to push." … TNT's NBA studio show, usually in Atlanta, is in New Orleans on Thursday as TNT has the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets hosting San Antonio in its second game in New Orleans this season. Coverage includes Charles Barkley seeing areas destroyed by Hurricane Katrina — he says "it's probably going to bring me some anger" — and a pregame talk with Mayor Ray Nagin.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2006-12-12-hiestand_x.htm

If there is one classic TV show that should be on DVD, Hawaii Five-O is it. It was one of my family's favorite shows when I was growing up; it had more than enough action and excitement to keep us completely entertained the entire hour. :-)

Agree SowegaBowler, and welcome to the board! :)

Weekly Nielsen (Cable) Notebook
A new holiday favorite, 'Polar Express'
Tom Hanks movie draws big ratings on ABC
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine December 13, 2006

Finding a new blockbuster holiday special is tough. Over the past few years, NBC’s “The Year Without a Santa Claus” remake, ABC’s “Holidaze: The Year Christmas Almost Didn’t Happen,” and even box office successes like “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” have elicited barely a bored humbug from TV viewers.

But now it looks like another show has joined the likes of holiday standards “Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

“The Polar Express,” the 2004 Tom Hanks movie, drew huge ratings in back-to-back Friday airings, first on ABC on Dec. 1 and most recently on ABC Family on Dec. 8 and 9.

“Express” was the No. 1 show on cable last Friday, drawing 4.03 million viewers in its 8 p.m. timeslot and boosting ABC Family to its best night of primetime in five years, averaging 3.74 million viewers. And it did so airing opposite “Rudolph” the same night on CBS. The next night, the movie aired again and became the most-watched program in network history, with 5.06 million viewers.

Meanwhile, in its TV debut the week before on ABC, “Express” was the most-watched theatrical release on broadcast in nearly three years, drawing 13.2 million total viewers and winning its timeslot in virtually every demographic.

Among kids 2-11, the movie was just 400,000 behind perennial favorite “Brown,” with 2.55 million.

So why the warm reception for “Express,” when so many other new holiday specials are met with a cold shoulder? It seems to be a combination of several things.

For one, the film has been a big DVD hit. It ranked No. 5 in DVD movie sales in 2005, while ranking only 10th among 2004 theatrical releases. It’s the sort of movie that’s better viewed at home for young children, who can’t sit still at the movie theater.

Also, the movie aired on family-friendly Friday and Saturday nights, when there’s little else competing. The broadcast networks usually have a mix of reruns, newsmagazines or, in the case of CBS, fare far too sophisticated for families with young children.

It also helped that both networks are seeing big ratings in general. ABC was in the midst a November sweeps win when began advertising for “Express,” and ABC Family is in the middle of its 25 Days of Christmas annual special, which is off to its best start in total viewers in nine years. The network finished first in total viewers in primetime for the first time ever last week.

But last and most important might be simply that unlike “Year,” which aimed at grown-ups, or “Grinch,” which aimed for children, “Express” has a broader appeal. The animation is compelling, the storyline is different from the usual troubled-Santa fare, and of course everyone likes Hanks, who provides the voice for multiple characters.

Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Dec. 10:

Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, ABC Family, ESPN, TNT

Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ABC Family, USA, ESPN, TNT, Lifetime

Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “Mean Girls” (Saturday 8 p.m.) 1.98 million

Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Panthers/Eagles” (Monday 8:30 p.m.) 10.52 million

Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “Panthers/Eagles” (Monday 8:30 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday, 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.); FX’s “Nip Tuck” (Tuesday 10 p.m.)

Show on the rise: The Hallmark Channel’s “What I Did for Love” (Saturday 9 p.m.) The original holiday movie averaged a 2.8 rating in households and 3.1 million total viewers, making it the feel-good network’s fourth best-rated broadcast ever.

Show on the decline: ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” (Monday 8:30 p.m.) The Donovan McNabb-less Philadelphia Eagles facing the Carolina Panthers proved a less potent draw than the previous week’s Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks game. Total viewers were down more than 2 million from the previous week, and every demographic saw big dips.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9090.asp (again, click and scroll down for a generous dose of Top 30 charts about ratings that are easy to read but tough for us to re-post on this thread).

Agree SowegaBowler, and welcome to the board! :)

Thanks, dad. Glad to be here! :)

I saw some HD-DVD/Blu Ray stuff posted earlier, and I was wondering how much information there is out there regarding sales figures. I figure Blu Ray is probably lagging behind at this point, but has there been any indication yet as to which is ahead at this point, or if it's more of a stalemate?

bphisig, the closest to a readily available sales tally is the website www.thedvdwars.com that tracks down the sales of both BD and HD-DVD movies on amazon.com. For months this is the only daily snapshot of what sells and doesn't sell on amazon. The closest to an official sales figure came on a Nielsen report in late October that indicated that HD-DVD was selling 3-1 more software than 'all other HD media.' Since that figure includes WMV movies, D-Video and other downloadable stuff speculation (and just that, speculation) is that HD-DVD was outselling BD by a wider-than-3-to-1 margin. Of course since then the PS3 and stand-alone BD decks from Sony, Panasonic and Pioneer have been released so who knows. This much I'm certain of: there has not been an official or unofficial news report or sales tally anywhere that puts Blu-Ray ahead of HD-DVD in the sale of software (unless you count PS3's sold, which then means you have to tally the number of HD-DVD Xbox 360 add-on's sold and that info hasn't been released to the media or anybody). So there!

TV Notebook
'Mind' boggling popularity
By Verne Gay, Newsday December 13, 2006

Eons ago, back when most people still lived in caves, ate their meat raw and could get only three networks on their TV sets, there was a series on ABC called "Burke's Law." It was a nice little show, this show about a cop (Gene Barry) who was rich, brilliant and suave, and who managed to solve a murder every week within the allotted 44 minutes. "Law" and a handful of other cop procedurals from the Jurassic Age of TV ("Dragnet," "77 Sunset Strip") would be strip-mined over and over in the decades to follow. "Law" began in 1963 and was canceled by ABC in 1966, but the show would live on. (CBS even attempted a 1995 revival.)

We take this side trip down memory lane in an effort to unravel one of the riddles of the modern TV era - one that has flummoxed executives, critics and maybe even a few viewers. It is a braintease of grand proportions, Fermat's Last Theorem of the Tube ...

Why is "Criminal Minds" one of TV's biggest hits of the moment?

When an original "Minds" airs on CBS tonight at 9, about 18 million viewers are expected to tune in, and you may as well double that figure for the post-Super Bowl edition on Feb. 4. "Minds" has survived "American Idol," "Lost," critical dismemberment and an industrywide impression that this is a crusty old crab skittering on the floor of a sea teeming with fresh, sleek, exciting and original dramas.

So, why? Your answer: The law of "Burke's Law" and its contemporaries.

In the early '60s, people came home at night to watch a new type of TV show called the "police procedural." ABC, for the most part started the trend, but soon enough these shows multiplied. Some were scary and some violent - "The Untouchables" had a notorious weekly body count - and most preyed on a Cold War-induced paranoia that there was someone lurking in your driveway.

And your daughter ... God, don't even think what might happen to her.

These dramas were sophisticated, smart and manipulative. And for years, women were often their victims, so much so that CBS' long-running TV movie franchise was predicated on a Women in Peril theme most weeks. Networks knew this gimmick would hook the female viewers that advertisers coveted.

Most of all, these shows had a predictable beat and rhythm. Murder committed ... then, first commercial break ... Flummoxed detectives piece together clues ... Second break ... Perpetrator strikes again ... Third break ... Mystery solved ... fourth commercial ... Bad guy caught, gunned down. (Segue to soothing announcer: "Stay tuned to your local news, for the latest on the murder in ...")

There were good guys and there were bad guys. The bad guys took one in the neck, usually by hour's end.

Millions of viewers grew up on these shows, then grew old with them. Those same millions form the core of CBS' audience, and have made a crusty crab one of the hottest shows on TV.

For the unindoctrinated, "Minds" stars Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon and Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner - crack profilers in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Tough, smooth and brilliant, they must solve a crime that's gruesome, hideous and typically perpetrated on women, and do it all just before 10 p.m.

"I would be an exceptionally rich man if I knew exactly why ," said executive producer Ed Bernero, a former Chicago street cop. But "one of the things benefiting us is the glut of shows that don't have any ending. I think people feel comforted by the fact that they can sit down for 45 minutes and get a well-told story with a beginning, middle and end."

Bernero says most episodes are based on Arthurian legends - his blanket dismissal of the rap that "Minds" is too often soaked in the blood of women. "Women in peril," he says, "is the basis of the Arthurian legends - the damsel in distress."

"'Minds,'" he adds, is "about classic storytelling, which for some reason or another seems to be missing from television. It's become much more about the flash - what kind of cool, weird shot can we do, and how can we make polar bears on an island."

And what of the law of "Burke's Law" - that everything old is new again, which is just the way older viewers like it?

"Your theory," Bernero says, "doesn't sound any less plausible than mine."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettel5012534dec13,0,1930496.column?coll=ny-television-headlines/

Tuesday’s fast national prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Humbugger of a night for ABC sitcoms
Sagging 'Big Day' and 'Help Me' sink to new lows
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 13, 2006

The cancellation clock may well be ticking on ABC’s Tuesday comedies, “Big Day” and “Help Me Help You.”

The two shows dipped to series lows last night, combining for just a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating in the 9 p.m. timeslot, according to Nielsen overnights. That was down 20 percent from last week, when they averaged a 2.0. And it was down 30 percent from a 2.3 the week before, when “Day” premiered.

“Day” averaged a 1.8, down a full point from its premiere. Meanwhile, “Help,” which got a boost in its first weeks airing as the lead-out to megahit “Dancing with the Stars,” has really suffered since “Stars” left the air.

The well-reviewed Ted Danson comedy averaged a 1.4 last night, half of its season-to-date 2.8 average in 18-49s.

The two shows combined to average just 4.2 million total viewers in the timeslot, losing more than half their lead-in of 11 million from “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

That tiny lead-in pulled down ABC’s 10 p.m. lead-out “Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006,” which was down 24 percent from last year to a 3.1.

The network surely won’t want to keep the sinking sitcoms on too much longer, not when it’s eyeing first place for the season among adults 18-49. Though it has a big lead on Fox, the latter is expected to catch up when “American Idol” returns next month.

“House”-led Fox was first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 4.2 average rating and an 11 share. CBS was second at 3.7/10, ABC third at 2.9/8, NBC fourth at 2.4/7, Univision fifth at 1.6/4 and CW sixth at 0.7/2.

CBS led off the night on top, posting a season-best 4.3 rating at 8 p.m. for “NCIS.” ABC was second with a 3.9 for the animated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” NBC third with a 2.3 for “Friday Night Lights” and Univision fourth with a 2.2 for “La Fea Mas Bella.” Fox was fifth that hour with a 1.9 for “Standoff” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for a repeat of “Gilmore Girls.”

Fox jumped into the lead at 9 p.m. with a 6.5 for “House,” followed by CBS with a 3.7 for “The Unit.” That put NBC third with a 2.1 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” ABC fourth with a 1.6 average for “Day” (1.8) and “Help” (1.4), Univision fifth with a 1.5 for “Mundo de Fieras” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for the “Family Friendly Awards.”

At 10 p.m. ABC was on top with a 3.1 for “Fascinating.” CBS was second with a 3.0 for a repeat of “Criminal Minds,” NBC third with a “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” rerun and Univision fourth with a 1.2 for “Ver Para Creer.”

CBS finished first for the night among households with an 8.7 average rating and a 14 share. Fox was second at 6.5/10, NBC and ABC tied for third at 5.1/8, Univision fifth at 2.1/3 and CW sixth at 1.5/2.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9119.asp

Obituary
Peter Boyle, 71
Tv Guide

Actor Peter Boyle, 71, died Tuesday evening at New York Presbyterian Hospital after suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease, his publicist said.

Before his Emmy-nominated role as Everybody Loves Raymond's Frank Barone, he was best known as the singing and dancing monster in Young Frankenstein.

http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700014468

TV Notebook
BSG News

I know there are a lot of “Battlestar Galactica” fans who read the thread, so in case you missed it, here is a note from the current “Ask Ausiello” column at TV Guid.com

Question: With the move to Sunday nights, should I be worrying that Sci Fi is mounting a last-ditch effort to save Battlestar Galactica, or are they just trying to boost its popularity? How dire is the situation?— Tim

Ausiello: Good news: I bumped into a high-ranking Sc Fi exec at a holiday party last week, and he/she scoffed at the mere suggestion that BSG might be in trouble. And it seemed like genuine scoffing, not just network spin. Of course, I was seeing double at that point, so my memory of the conversation is admittedly a little fuzzy.

http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Ausiello/default.aspx#01AA

TV Notebook
More Important BSG News

The next issue:

"Tricia Helfer -- On Battlestar Galactica she's known as Number Six, but we can't think of her as anything less than a 10. The leggy former top fashion model makes love to our camera in quite the spread." - Playboy.com

http://www.playboy.com/magazine/next_month.html

(if this doesn't count at Television News and Info...then what's this world coming to???)

Obituary
Peter Boyle, 71
Tv Guide

Actor Peter Boyle, 71, died Tuesday evening at New York Presbyterian Hospital after suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease, his publicist said.

Before his Emmy-nominated role as Everybody Loves Raymond's Frank Barone, he was best known as the singing and dancing monster in Young Frankenstein.

http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700014468

Very sad that. He was one of those actors that never got his name above the title on the poster but usually outclassed everyone else in a scene. It's a travesty that he never won an Emmy for Raymond.

Thanks for the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray info dad.

Cable Nielsen Notebook
USA to Win 2006 Nielsen Crown
By Linda Moss MultiChannel News

Boosted by wrestling, USA Network this year will win the crown as cable’s No. 1-rated network in primetime ratings, total viewers and several key demographics, according to officials.

“This will be their first year doing that in awhile,” said Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer for Turner Broadcasting System.

USA is enjoying a banner year, not only in overall viewers but in primetime audiences 18-to-34, 18-to-49 and 25-to-54.

During his year-end rating press conference Wednesday, Wakshlag also reported that for the first November sweeps ever, cable beat the six broadcast networks in terms of primetime share of adults 18-to-49. Cable racked up a 42.5 share in that demographic, while broadcast came in at a 39.7, for the November sweep.

And for the fifth consecutive year, cable is pacing to beat the six broadcast networks in household share in primetime. For 2006 to date, cable has a 55.4 share, versus 40.4 for the six broadcast networks. For the full year, Wakshlag projected that cable will wind up with a 55.5 share, compared with broadcast’s 40.3.

As cable increases its share of viewing, its ad revenue has increased, although it is still disproportionate to cable’s piece of the audience, according to Wakshlag.

This year to date, the broadcast networks had 69% of primetime ad dollars, or $10.72 billion, while cable had 31%, or $4.77 billion. Yet broadcast only has a 40% share of the primetime audience, while cable has 55%.

This year, for the second consecutive year, TNT will rank No. 1 in adults 18-to-49 and 25-to-54 for total-day delivery among ad-supported cable networks.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399795.html?display=Breaking+News

Just a quick note about "The Lost Room" on Sci-fi.

The show is terrific...it'll be concluding tonight.

It's from the same folks that did the short-lived Miracles, which is
one of the best shows in the last 5 years - Richard Hatem (exec producer, also the
writer of the mothman prophecies) and Robert J. Kral (composer, great job with
the music on Miracles).

This is the scifi channel after all, so they'll probably repeat it a gazillion times. I'm thinking it might even show up on UHD at some point.

If you are enjoying this mini-series, definitely go out and get Miracles on DVD. All 13 episodes were released, albeit in 4:3 (:(, Buena Vista said they couldn't "find" the 16:9 masters).

TV Notebook
Writers love 'Simpsons,' 'Office'
WGA nominates favorites for TV awards
By Dave McNary Variety

Fox's "The Simpsons" took four nominations while NBC's "The Office" received three for TV awards from the Writers Guild of America.

NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," ABC's "Lost" and NBC's "30 Rock" took two nominations each.

"The Simpons" took all but two of the nods in the animated category with the others going to Cartoon Network's "Who's Your Daddy" and Fox's "King of the Hill."

"The Office" received a nom for top comedy series along with NBC's "30 Rock," Fox's "Arrested Development," HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and HBO's "Entourage." "The Office" also received a pair of noms for best single comedy episode as did ABC's "Desperate Housewives" while Fox's "Malcolm in the Middle" and NBC's "My Name Is Earl" took one each.

Drama series noms went to Fox's "24," HBO's "Deadwood," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," ABC's "Lost" and HBO's "The Sopranos." Drama episode nominations were given to "Lost," NBC's "The West Wing," Sci Fi's "Battlestar Gallactica," TNT's "Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King," NBC's pilot of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and HBO's pilot for "Big Love."

New series nominations went to "Studio 60," "30 Rock," NBC's "Friday Night Lights," NBC's "Heroes" and ABC's "Ugly Betty."

Winners will be announced at the WGA Awards on Feb. 11.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117955688&categoryid=1985

I have the first two parts of "The Lost Room" recorded on my DVR and now that finals are done for me, I'll finally have a chance to sit through and watch the series along with all the other shows I have backlogged on my units.

I watched about the first 20 minutes of part 1 and was engaged enough to set my DVR for parts 2 and 3.

Sci Fi usually does a pretty good job with their mini-series so I expected to like this one anyways, but its good to see the genuine like of the series by viewers and critics.

Obituary
Peter Boyle, 71
Plenty to love about Peter Boyle
By Robert Bianco USA Today Dec. 13, 2006

Everyone may not have loved Raymond, but it was impossible not to love Frank — and Peter Boyle.

Boyle, who died Tuesday at the age of 71, took a role that could have been no more than your standard-issue crotchety dad and imbued it with all the skill and comic brio he had learned from a lifetime of acting experience.

His Frank Barone became a stand-in for every husband and father whom ever wished his wife and children, beloved though they may be, would just leave him alone and let him watch TV. Blessed with a distinctive scowl and a delivery that made even the worst of insults seem funny and somehow endearing, Boyle took his last, best TV break and made it one for the ages.

His reward, at least from the Emmys, was mixed. He was nominated seven straight years but never won — an injustice that made him the only Everybody Loves Raymond regular who failed to walk away with a statue. He did win an Emmy for a guest role in 1996 for The X-Files. But the Raymond snub had to rankle.

Still, long after the Emmy results are forgotten, Boyle's work on the show and on film will be remembered. Indeed, even without Raymond, Boyle would deserve a place in the comic pantheon for one other role alone: the Ritz dancing monster from Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.

What's odd, considering the two roles for which he's so fondly remembered, is that Boyle didn't start out to be an actor at all, let alone a comic one. Boyle was a Christian Brothers monk before he left the order for acting. And when he began acting, his best roles were intensely serious — led by his career-making title turn as a bigoted, violent factory worker in the 1970 film Joe.

It was apparently his desire to break free of the image Joe created that led him to reject The French Connection and embrace Young Frankenstein. Ultimately, that proved to be a wise decision: He not only met his wife, Loraine, while filming Frankenstein, he also established himself as one of those rare actors who could move between comedy and drama with ease — from the racist father in Monster's Ball to Father Time in The Santa Clause 3.

Frank, of course, would not have been impressed. Nothing much ever impressed him. But audiences were, and likely will be for years to come.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-12-13-boyle-obit_x.htm

The Business of TV
TVB Touts Satellite Surge
By PJ Bednarski Broadcasting & Cable 12/13/2006

The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), which waves the flag for the broadcasting business, says that direct broadcast satellite's (DBS) share of the TV viewing audience was 24.5% in November, up from 20.8% in November 2005, based on its analysis of Nielsen National People Meter numbers. (That DBS figure also counts other rarely utilized delivery systems).

That's a gain of 2.6 million subscribers. At the same time, TVB says cable penetration fell from 64.8% last November to 62.1% at the end of this November, the lowest it's been since 1990.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association says TVB's stats are "out of line with what most industry groups are saying." For example, Kagan Research says cable had 65.4 million subscribers at the end of September 2005 and 65.6 million at the end of the September, while Kagan says DBS and "other" forms of distribution were at 30.6 million, up from 28.2 million last September.

Why should TVB care how viewers get their TV? Because the local cable ad sales business is growing and competes directly with local broadcast sales staffs. DirecTV and EchoStar cannot insert local commercials," says a TVB spokesman, "so when cable makes claims of how many viewers see cable networks, there are far fewer watching on cable than they think."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6399804

Very sad that. He [the late Peter Boyle] was one of those actors that never got his name above the title on the poster but usually outclassed everyone else in a scene. It's a travesty that he never won an Emmy for Raymond.

His only Emmy win (out of eight nominations) came from a guest-starring role on The X-Files episode 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose' from Season 3 (http://www.tv.com/the-x-files/clyde-bruckmans-final-repose/episode/543/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;3). Any hardcore 'X-Files' fan ranks this episode in his/her personal Top 5 episodes, including yours truly. Since I've never seen 'Raymond' or 'Young Frankenstein' I only know of Boyle from his one appearance on 'X-Files,' where he absolutely stole the show. :(

Thursday morning the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will announce nominees for its Golden Globe Awards, to be presented on January 15 (on NBC)..

Of course we’ll have the nominees for you here.

And in case you forgot, here are last year’s nominees – and winners:

Remember? (Of course not)
2006 Golden Globe TV Winners

(The Los Angeles Times) January 16, 2006

The complete list of television category nominees and winners of the 63rd annual Golden Globe awards.

DRAMATIC TV SERIES
"Lost" (Winner)
"Commander in Chief"
"Grey's Anatomy"
"Prison Break"
'Rome"

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Hugh Laurie, "House" (Winner)
Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"
Matthew Fox, "Lost"
Wentworth Miller, "Prison Break"
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Geena Davis, "Commander in Chief" (Winner)
Patricia Arquette, "Medium"
Glenn Close, "The Shield"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
Polly Walker, "Rome"

TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
"Desperate Housewives" (Winner)
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Entourage"
"Everybody Hates Chris"
"My Name is Earl"
"Weeds"

BEST ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Steve Carell, "The Office (Winner)
Zach Braff, "Scrubs
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jason Lee, "My Name is Earl
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men

BEST ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds" (Winner)
Marcia Cross, "Desperate Housewives"
Teri Hatcher, "Desperate Housewives"
Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"
Eva Longoria, "Desperate Housewives"

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
"Empire Falls" (Winner)
"Into the West"
"Lackawanna Blues"
"Sleeper Cell"
"Viva Blackpool"
"Warm Springs"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
S. Epatha Merkerson, "Lackawanna Blues" (Winner)
Halle Berry, "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
Kelly MacDonald, "The Girl in the Café"
Cynthia Nixon, "Warm Springs
Mira Sorvino, "Human Trafficking

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, "Elvis" (Winner)
Kenneth Branagh, "Warm Springs"
Ed Harris, "Empire Falls"
Bill Nighy, "The Girl in the Café"
Donald Sutherland, "Human Trafficking"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy" (Winner)
Candice Bergen, "Boston Legal"
Camryn Manheim, "Elvis"
Elizabeth Perkins, "Weeds"
Joanne Woodward, "Empire Falls"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Paul Newman, "Empire Falls" (Winner)
Naveen Andrews, "Lost"
Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
Randy Quaid, "Elvis"
Donald Sutherland, "Commander in Chief"

CECIL B. DEMILLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Anthony Hopkins

TV Notebook
Setting Heroes Straight
James Poniewozik's Time 'Tuned In' Blog Dec. 13, 2006

On NBC's Heroes, the character Zach (Thomas Dekker)--the best friend of indestructible cheerleader Claire--was not supposed to be one of the superpowered characters. It turns out, however, that he has the amazing power to transform himself from a gay teenager to a straight one. According to gay-news website afterelton.com, that's precisely what happened to the character, who apparently was meant to be gay by the producers, who ended up backpedaling on the storyline, as creator Tim Kring writes in a cryptic e-mail to the site. "It has simply become too complicated behind the scenes to push this issue further with this particular character," Kring writes, without detailing just who or what made it so complicated.

My gaydar is probably no better or worse than any urban straight man's, but I always thought Zach's character could have gone either way. Sure, there were ample hints--other kids teased him about being aroused in a locker room and said he should wear a tiara to the homecoming dance, but if being called gay actually made you gay, then there would be an approximately 90% male homosexuality rate in American high schools. On the other hand, Zach certainly seemed to fit the traditional role of the weird, geeky best friend with a secret crush on the popular girl (the Xander, shall we say, to Claire's Buffy).

But that's neither here nor there. If the creators wanted to plant the rainbow flag on Zach, why mess with their plans? One possible culprit, of course, is the network, though why NBC would care seems a bit puzzling. It hardly minds having gay characters on many, if not most, of its other primetime shows. Maybe it raises delicate issues to have a gay teen on a series, but that's hardly new ground either. The most plausible reason would be the belief that fans wanted to see a Claire-Zach romance. But the fans seem to feel just fine about how the creators have run the show so far, so why not let them run it? Network execs love to believe that TV hits only exist because of the genius wisdom of their meddling notes, but when a guy gives you your only genuine new hit off the fall and brings 15 or 16 million people a week to your floundering network, you may just want to leave him the hell alone.

TV Guide's Michael Ausiello, however, has fingered another plausible culprit, however: Dekker's management, who may have been spooked about the effect of playing gay on his future career. It seems odd, since Dekker has apparently played gay before--and, hey, it sure screwed Tom Hanks' career, didn't it?--but this is, after all, precisely the kind of paranoia that earns handlers their percentages. However mighty the superheroes or their creator, when they get in a showdown with a Hollywood agent, you know whose powers to bet on.

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

TV-on-DVD Notebook
'SNL' set says much about past, present
By Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe December 11, 2006

You must speak of the early years of "Saturday Night Live" in awed, "back-in-the-day" tones. In the 1970s, Lorne Michaels's late-night series was a perfect string of all-time classic sketches, the comedy equivalent of a Beatles album on which every track was instantly immortal. And the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, including John Belushi, Gilda Rad-ner, and Chevy Chase, were brilliant, fierce, and legendary from day one, even when they were stoned out of their gourds.

Yup, irony alert.

Rumors of the amazingness of early "SNL" have been exaggerated since the 1970s. And now, with the recent release of the DVD set "SNL: The Complete First Season," we can all see for ourselves behind the boomer-generated myths of "SNL." From Oct. 11, 1975, to July 31, 1976, the show clearly delivered both diamonds and dust, as the sketches veered from inspired topicality and originality to "Laugh-In"-like frivolousness to self-indulgence. Released in their entirety on disc for the first time, instead of broken up onto best-of collections, the 24 episodes unfold with an erratic, exciting, tedious, grainy glory.

During those storied days, the same ones Aaron Sorkin romanticizes and contemporizes in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," there was dead air aplenty. Today, "SNL" is at a low, with little that has a pulse except Amy Poehler, who can't not be funny. Once a stepping stone to stardom, from Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy to Mike Myers and Will Ferrell, the series has lost that influential role to Comedy Central and HBO, which have given us Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Dave Chappelle, "South Park," and Sacha Baron Cohen. But the early shows, called simply "NBC's Saturday Night," did have filler to spare, not least of all the weekly visits of the trash-talking muppets. What sketch comedy show isn't uneven?

Still, there are countless flashes of material here that broke new TV ground - a racial word-association job interview with Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor, a simulated breakdown by Louise Lasser that will make you writhe in discomfort, the stunt comedy of Andy Kaufman, and meta-references to the show itself, as Chase half-jokingly competed with Belushi for the limelight. The pre-shot segments that we now herald as "viral videos" were a significant part of the show's weekly lineup then, if too long and lacking in wit, and bits that would become definitive - the Land Shark, Radner's Emily Litella - made their lively debuts. And you can see clearly how Chase and his twisted "Weekend Update" were pioneers of the fake-news revolution. The jokes are out-of-date, of course; the attitude isn't.

What's completely consistent about the first episodes is a bristling tone of urgency that disappeared quickly in the 1980s. No matter how flawed they are, and no matter how much the format of the show evolved and improved during the next few years, season one has raw, youthful energy. You can hear the echo of the theater, you can see the comedians sweat, you can feel the audience eager to coconspire with those on the stage. It's all new and auspicious, the first late-night show on which rock n' roll was the dominant mode, where the material was meant to have particular resonance for those viewers watching in a Saturday-night altered state. George Carlin's hash joke in his opening-show monologue had a shock value it wouldn't have only 10 years later.

In the context of the times, "SNL" was counter-cultural. This wasn't Johnny Carson selling Hollywood with his charm. It was comedians mocking Hollywood - Radner's Barbara Walters is still funny - and Michael O'Donoghue imitating how certain celebrities would act if needles were stuck in their eyes. The contrast to today's "SNL" is striking, as the show has become an institution and taken on an intensely corporate atmosphere. The hosts are promoting something, and, of course, the musical guests are promoting something. In the first season, the music was loose; Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for a few songs, and Carly Simon (who prerecorded due to nerves) sang "You're So Vain" with Chase harmonizing in the background.

Now, the musical segments, sponsored by Budweiser, are just another stop on a tour. Alas, "SNL" has lost all vestiges of the unpredictability and creative innocence it once had, qualities that were so evident 30 years ago. The new box set isn't a string of classics; it's an essential time capsule of a lost moment.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/1212snl.html

(Cable) TV Notebook
G4 tries to keep men's attention
By Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter December 13, 2006

Young male viewers have "fundamentally left" linear television, but cable network G4 is working to overcome this by keeping that demo engaged in the brand with an assortment of interactive programming, G4 president Neal Tiles said Tuesday.

Tiles, speaking during the Museum of Television & Radio's Industry Forum Luncheon in Beverly Hills, said G4's deals with its affiliates don't allow it to offer full-length episodes of shows online and that nonlinear media is not yet at a stage where it can be monetized. So G4 is focusing its efforts on its linear programming, looking to keep the interest of young-male viewers with highly interactive shows.

"We're allowing viewers to influence content -- it's not user-generated content, but letting viewers influence the content so we retain some control, and it's more enjoyable than when viewers are 100% in control," Tiles said.

Such programming includes the interactive series "Star Trek 2.0," where viewers can play the "Spock Market" real-time stock exchange, learn obscure facts that are streamed during the episode and chat about the show, and the upcoming "Star Trek: The Next Generation 2.0." Tiles said G4 is looking to do something similar with its recent acquisition, "Cops," as well.

Tiles added that studying how the network's target demo of males 18-34 consumes media -- on multiple platforms -- offers an insightful peek into the future.

"It's akin to peering into the future because this is how every demo is going to be consuming media in the future," he said. "It's a valuable learning lesson."

He pointed out that new media are influencing the way deals are done, citing the acquisition of "Arrested Development" as an example. G4, HDNet and MSN in July licensed rights to the off-network comedy for a three-year period that started in September. Tiles pointed out that MSN paid higher license fees than either network.

"This is the groundbreaking reality of where media is going," he said.

Tiles added that G4 is looking more and more to outside producers and is planning to "step up to be in the price range of other networks" it competes against, like Spike TV and Comedy Central.

The next speaker at the museum's luncheon series will be Andrea Wong, executive vp alternative programming, specials and late-night at ABC Entertainment, on Feb. 1.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ia1286c83ec34a78461ff104e9901c107

TV Notebook
'Sopranos' Back in April
HBO sets rough start date for final episodes
Zap2it.com December 13, 2006

"Sopranos" fans can set their countdown clocks now: HBO has set at least an approximate premiere date for the show's final episodes.

A little note on the show's homepage at HBO.com says "'The Sopranos' final season starts in April." That's not a lot to go on, but given the sometimes huge gaps between seasons (21 months between seasons five and six, for example), the semi-firm commitment from the network should be something of a relief.

HBO had originally planned for the final "Sopranos" arc to debut next month. However, HBO chief Chris Albrecht told TV critics last summer that the show's filming schedule, and thus the premiere date, had to be pushed back after series star James Gandolfini had knee surgery.

"Then we looked at the fact that we would be launching sort of in the middle of the [NFL] playoffs and the Super Bowl and all that stuff, and it seemed that for everybody's sake we would push back a few weeks," Albrecht said then.

"Rome" got the January premiere date instead; its second season debuts Sunday, Jan. 14. HBO also says it will re-air season six of "The Sopranos" beginning in mid-January (episodes are available on demand now). Assuming the network will want to air all 12 episodes before the new season begins, the final season of "The Sopranos" likely would premiere in mid-April.

http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-sopranospremieresinapril,0,4354637.story?coll=zap-tv-headlines

Obituary
Peter Boyle, Father on ‘Raymond,’ Dies at 71
By Robert Berkvist, The New York Times December 13, 2006

Peter Boyle, who left the life of a monk to study acting and went on to become one of the most successful character actors of his time in films like “The Candidate,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Monster’s Ball,” then capped his career with a long stint as the meddlesome father on the hit sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” died Tuesday evening in Manhattan. He was 71.

His death, at New York Presbyterian Hospital, was announced by his publicist, Jennifer Plante. She said Mr. Boyle had suffered from multiple myeloma and heart disease. With his bulky frame and balding pate, Mr. Boyle was a formidable presence on screen, whether playing a drunken redneck (“Joe”), a corrupt union leader (“F.I.S.T.”) or a savvy private eye (“Hammett”). He could be convincingly chilling, so much so that he often ran the risk of being typecast. When he appeared with Peter Falk and Paul Sorvino in William Friedkin’s 1978 film “The Brink’s Job,” as a member of the gang that robs an armored car company of nearly $3 million, the New York Times critic Vincent Canby wrote that “Mr. Boyle’s role is one that he could telephone in by this time.”

But it wasn’t all thugs and gangsters. In 1974, Mr. Boyle made a memorable impression in Mel Brooks’s “Young Frankenstein,” in which he played the bumbling monster brought to life by the addled grandson (Gene Wilder) of the original Dr. Frankenstein. In one high point, Mr. Boyle’s monster, decked out in white tie and tails à la Fred Astaire, performed a nifty soft-shoe routine with Mr. Wilder while bellowing out the lyrics of “Puttin’ On the Ritz.”

Mr. Boyle, who once admitted to being “a little nutty,” enjoyed his infrequent ventures into film comedy. In “Where the Buffalo Roam” (1980), a screen portrait of the freewheeling writer Hunter S. Thompson (Bill Murray), he went happily wild as the writer’s carousing companion. Along with members of the Monty Python troupe, he was part of a zany pirate crew in “Yellowbeard” (1983). And in “The Dream Team” (1989), he tried to wring laughs from his role as a mental patient with a fixation on Jesus.

His breakthrough, however, was no laughing matter. He won the title role in the 1970 film “Joe,” about a hard-drinking, hate-filled factory worker who improbably joins forces with a murderous executive in a bloody war on “hippies” and the rest of the counterculture. Mr. Boyle said that he was paid only $3,000 for his work in “Joe” but that he realized he had taken a giant step forward. The role, he said at the time, seemed to have been made for him because he’d grown up surrounded by people like Joe.

“I knew the character so well that when it came to the actual shooting of the movie, I was worried that I would do a caricature,” “ he said. Writing in The Times, Mr. Canby called “Joe” one of the 10 worst films of the year but hailed Mr. Boyle’s performance as “extraordinary.”

Peter Boyle was born on Oct. 18, 1935, in Northtown, Pa. After graduating from La Salle College, he became a member of the Christian Brothers order and entered a monastery as Brother Francis. He later recalled praying “so hard, I had calluses on my knees.” After three effortful years, he left the monastery — he later called it “an unnatural way to live” — and, after a brief period in the Navy that ended in a nervous breakdown, came to New York City to try the life of an actor.

There, he studied with Uta Hagen, worked at whatever jobs he could find, toured with a road company of Neil Simon’s “Odd Couple” and wound up in Chicago, where he joined the Second City troupe and immersed himself in improvisational theater. He was living in Chicago at the time of the Democratic National Convention in 1968 and never forgot the ensuing explosion of violence and the reek of tear gas in the streets. Early on, he described himself as a “conservative radical.”

Politics was an element in some of his work in the years ahead, although more often on television than in film. An exception was “The Candidate” (1972), the film in which he played a cool-headed campaign manager for a liberal Democrat (Robert Redford) running for the Senate. In the 1977 NBC movie “Tail Gunner Joe,” he portrayed Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, with Burgess Meredith as the Boston lawyer Joseph Welch in the notorious Army-McCarthy hearings.

Mr. Boyle relived his 1968 experience in Chicago on HBO’s “Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago Eight” (1987), appearing as one of the jailed political protesters, David Dellinger. And in the 1989 CBS docudrama “Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North,” he played Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter, a national security adviser.

Despite his early theatrical training, Mr. Boyle clearly preferred film and television over stage work. He was seen on Broadway in 1980 in “The Roast,” directed by Carl Reiner, in which he played a comedian who is the guest of honor, with lots to hide, at a no-holds-barred “roast,” or stag dinner, given by his fellow comics. Off Broadway later that year, he co-starred with Tommy Lee Jones in a Public Theater production of Sam Shepard’s “True West,” about the warring relationship of two brothers. He also appeared at the Circle Repertory in 1982 in the ill-conceived “Snow Orchid,” a play by Joe Pintauro in which he played the mentally unstable head of a dysfunctional family in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

In his private life, Mr. Boyle was a functional and devoted family man. He had met Loraine Alterman, his wife-to-be, when he was filming “Young Frankenstein” and she was interviewing Mel Brooks for Rolling Stone magazine. They were married in 1977, with John Lennon as best man at their wedding. She survives him, along with their daughters Lucy and Amy.

Mr. Boyle’s film credits in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s included “Walker” (1987), in which Ed Harris played the American adventurer William Walker, who briefly seized control of Nicaragua in the mid-19th century; Mr. Boyle played his supporter Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. In “Bulletproof Heart” (1995), Mr. Boyle was cast as a professional hitman. In “Monster’s Ball” (2001), he gave an acclaimed performance as the bigoted father of a prison death-house guard (Billy Bob Thornton).

Mr. Boyle was also becoming a familiar face on television, appearing in several episodes of ABC’s “NYPD Blue” and winning an Emmy Award in 1996 for a guest appearance on the long-running Fox series “The X-Files.” That was also the year Mr. Boyle became a member of the Barone family on the durable CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

The series starred the comedian Ray Romano as Ray Barone, a sportswriter whose parents (played by Mr. Boyle and Doris Roberts) are all too willing to complicate daily life in Ray’s suburban household. As the grouchy, wisecracking Frank Barone, Mr. Boyle could be counted on to win laughs, as he did for nine seasons. The role brought him five Emmy nominations.

Mr. Boyle suffered a stroke in 1990 and had a heart attack while taping an episode of “Raymond” in 1999, but he quickly recovered and continued his career, pursuing what he called his challenge on “Raymond” — “finding where the funny is.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/arts/television/14boylecnd.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin

I fail to understand why this should be "something of a relief".

The return of Tony and company was originally set for January, then moved back to March, and now we are told it is April.

How about a definite date, HBO?

(Nort to mention that scheduling many of the final episodes against network May sweep programming might not be the best strategy.)

But then all the strategy for this show for the past several years seems to me to have been flawed and even this latest "news" seems to engender little more than a yawn.

HBO: wake us when the show actually is going to air, OK?.

Fredfa; This exact strategy by HBO lend to my cancellation; I'll buy when "I" feel like it.

The TV Column: The Week’s Winners and Losers
Holiday Classics Snowball the Competition
By Lisa de Moraes, The Washington Post December 13, 2006

Rankin-Bass week on TV. Rudolph, Frosty, Santa -- all stars of the famous animation production house of Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass -- came away winners. Billboard's annual music trophy show and the annual Victoria's Secret skivvies special -- not so much.

Here's a look at the week's gifts and goofs:

WINNERS

"America's Next Top Model." CW boasted that the modeling competition's season finale clocked the network's biggest night ever -- which is saying precious little, since CW debuted this fall. Among all seven "Top Model" editions, this one ranked third among all viewers but best among the 18-to-34-year-olds CW targets.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Rankin-Bass '60s holiday classic, narrated by Burl Ives, copped nearly 13 million viewers Friday, trampling "1 vs. 100," "Justice," "Smackdown!" and "America's Funniest Home Videos" in its time slot, and finishing the week in the top 10 among 18-to-49-year-olds and No. 2 with kids.

"Frosty the Snowman." Rankin-Bass '60s holiday classic, narrated by Jimmy Durante, also clocked nearly 13 million viewers Friday -- up nearly 5 million compared with last year's broadcast -- frosting Diane Sawyer's trip to North Korea, "Las Vegas," "Trading Spouses" and "Smackdown!" in the time slot, and landing in the week's top 10 among 18-to-49-year-olds and at No. 1 with the 2-to-11 crowd.

"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." Rankin-Bass 1970 holiday classic, narrated by Fred Astaire, logged more than 11 million viewers Tuesday -- about 2 million more than last year -- and made mincemeat of "Gilmore Girls," "Standoff," "Friday Night Lights" and "NCIS" in its time slot.

"Heroes." When the NBC serialized drama aired its "fall finale" (it'll be off the air for seven weeks), it finished the week No. 1 among new series and No. 6 among all programs -- its highest ranking ever. With 18-to-34-year-olds, it was the week's No. 1 entertainment program, NBC said, behind only Sunday football, which apparently is not considered "entertainment." No argument here.

"The Amazing Race." Nearly 13 million watched twenty-something male models and former drug addicts win the 10th edition of this hurry-up-and-wait competition (because their cabdriver had an E-Z Pass and messed-up couple Rob and Kimberly's driver did not). It was the show's biggest finale crowd since the seventh edition. "Race" can thank its new "60 Minutes" lead-in, which gave it an infusion of older viewers.

LOSERS

17th Annual Billboard Music Awards. Despite the promise that neither Paris Hilton nor Britney Spears would host this year's trophy show, only 6.1 million tuned in -- a record low and just sad compared with the 15 million-and-change this show used to cop in the '90s. We miss the '90s.

"Victoria's Secret Fashion Show." The bottom fell out on CBS's skivvies show this year. Too much model blathering and stomping around backstage, and too much Justin Timberlake singing, meant fewer than 7 million watching -- "VCFS's" smallest crowd ever and the orgy of undies' worst-ever numbers with teens and 18-to-34-year-old guys.

"Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen." Imagine a new holiday special, about some reindeer named Rusty who leaves the North Pole for the big city because Santa's Nice 'N Naughty O'Matic is on the blink and he cannot tell the good kids from the naughty ones, only Rusty winds up in a support group for down-and-out holiday icons including a Thanksgiving Turkey, the Easter Bunny, Cupid and Halloween ghosts. Only 3.5 million tuned in to this animated stinker. Serves ABC right.

The week's 10 most watched programs, in order, were: CBS's "CSI"; NBC's Sunday football and Monday "Deal or No Deal"; CBS's "60 Minutes" and "Survivor: Cook Islands"; NBC's "Heroes"; ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"; and CBS's "Cold Case," "Shark" and "Without a Trace."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201447.html

TV Notebook
'Armed & Famous' paying suspects to show their faces on air
Associated Press December 12, 2006

MUNCIE, Ind. - Producers of a reality television show are paying suspects arrested by gun-toting celebrity cops to persuade them to show their faces on the air.

"Armed & Famous" is an upcoming CBS reality show in which former "CHiPs" star Erik Estrada, La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne and others become armed reserve officers on the Muncie police force.

CBS publicist Kelli Raftery confirmed Monday that the show has offered some of those arrested T-shirts or cash to sign a waiver, officially known as a "likeness release."

"This release form has no effect or impact on the arrest or the bond," Raftery said in a statement. "A nominal fee in exchange for a likeness release is not typical, but is certainly not unprecedented."

The tactic angered a woman whose son accepted $150 in exchange for having his face shown.

"No amount of money is worth the pain and hurt that I'm feeling as a parent," Dorothy Woods told The Star Press.

Her son, Terence Walker, 23, was arrested Thursday night on a warrant and misdemeanor marijuana charge by several Muncie police officers, including celebrities Trish Stratus, Wee Man and Estrada.

Woods said she believed the show is spending a disproportionate amount of time in black and poor neighborhoods on the city's south side.

Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle denied that the show was taking advantage of low-income residents and said his department was not involved in the waiver process.

"We are just going where we get called and policing like we would any other time," Winkle said.

Walker said he initially declined to sign the waiver. But when a producer offered him $150 and reportedly told him he would appear on television anyway, Walker said he tried to make the best of a bad situation.

"That way it wouldn't be all on my family," Walker said, referring to the $630 he needed to get out of jail.

In another case, Philip Vore, 36, claims Muncie police held him in an empty room at the Delaware County Jail, refusing to officially book him until he signed the waiver.

Winkle denied the allegation.

Vore eventually agreed to sign the waiver in exchange for $400 - money he has yet to see, said attorney Michael Quirk.

Producers initially offered Vore a T-shirt that said "I got arrested by a celebrity and all I got is this lousy T-shirt," Quirk said.

"I think the city of Muncie has set themselves up for embarrassment and lawsuits and all kinds of problems," Quirk said.

Vore was wanted on a warrant out for testing positive for marijuana in several drug screens, a violation of the terms of his pretrial home detention.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/1213famous.html

The Business of TV
Operators Shrug at NFL Network Offer
By R. Thomas Umstead, Multichannel News December 13, 2006

Time Warner Cable Wednesday punted the NFL Network’s six-day free preview offer back to the network with several options that would include basic-tier carriage of the Dec. 28 Rutgers-Kansas State Texas Bowl game.

Responding to the NFL Network’s free preview offer made yesterday to New York area Time Warner Cable and Cablevision systems, the MSO said it could not offer on its basic tier the network’s full free preview programming slate – which includes live coverage of the Dec. 29 Minnesota/Texas Tech Insight Bowl – as part of its digital tier due to a lack of channel capacity.

Instead, Time Warner -- in a letter to the 41 million subscriber network -- said is willing to offer the Texas Bowl on a stand alone basis to its basic subscribers or the full free preview lineup on its digital tier.

Cablevision said it would only make the Rutgers game available to all of its basic cable customers as part of the free preview.

An NFL Network spokesman, however, declined comment on whether it would allow either MSO to offer the game on a stand-alone basis.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399794.html?display=Breaking+News

The Business of TV
Don't own these DVDs? You should. With these DVD box sets, you can't go wrong
By Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle December 13, 2006

I'm back from Vacationville, a.k.a. House of Sickness, a.k.a. Work Stoppage, just in time to offer you up a hackneyed what-to-buy-for-Christmas column.

I know. It's the season of giving. So give me a break.

I could probably tip you to some great design books and even a few superb steals on red wine, but I'm not really paid (or qualified) for that. It's television, or the Bastard Machine, where my expertise comes in (they're actually paying me for this column as it relates to the so-called Bastard Machine; writing in the blog of the same name while on vacation and/or sick -- that's a freebie).

So, anyway, TV series on DVD -- yeah, I'm all over that.

First, a disclaimer. Like all evergreen journalism stories (top 10 lists, actors/directors/shows to "watch for" this season, what I'm thankful for on Thanksgiving, why the Emmys got it wrong, why the network news is a dinosaur, etc.), I've essentially written this column before (though I will tidy it up with some wonderful current offerings -- hooray!). And, as I'm sure I noted a couple of years ago, I don't quite get this fascination with stocking up on DVD boxed sets of TV shows. And here's why:

Time.

Who has the time for all the available seasons of "The Simpsons" -- no matter how great selected episodes may be? Buying a DVD of a great movie? I get that. It's two hours -- and congratulations to you if you can find a great movie. But most TV shows have 22 episodes a season. For dramas, that's 22 hours, not counting the extras. Let's say your favorite series, perhaps "Law & Order," has multiple seasons. I love Jerry Orbach as much as the rest of the world, but I'm not sure I want to knock out 66 hours with him and still have -- what? -- 15 more seasons to cover. Even if it's "The Sopranos" you covet -- shorter seasons!, a better series!, actual nudity and more graphic killing! -- that's still a whole lot of time you're stealing from your family or time that could be better spent living off the couch. Not an endorsement, just an idea.

That said, I get it. I collect series too. And in this doozy of a welcome-back column, I'll try to cut out the fluff and get to mostly essential offerings -- DVD sets that not only make thoughtful gifts for savvy viewers, but also pass two simple yet essential criteria for whether to buy or bypass. 1) It must be a series that someone would want to watch more than once. This means that it's either great or entertaining, possibly both. It is not pedestrian or mundane, like "Everybody Loves Raymond." 2) Even if the person who receives the gift doesn't actually watch it, he or she becomes cooler for having it on the shelf, like a classic book that goes unread yet still impresses your nosy guests. For example, if someone has a copy of Fox's short-lived but brilliant "Action" series, he's good people. Period.

My picks for people you love, ho ho ho:

Dramas:

In the order I would get them: 1. "The Wire." It's not just the best show on television, it's the best show ever made for television, as anyone who watched the recently completed Season 4 will attest. Start with Season 1. It's like giving someone a great novel. 2. "Deadwood." We've said it before -- Shakespeare in the mud, with guns. 3. "The Singing Detective." Dennis Potter was a true genius and this is one of those litmus test DVDs. If someone has this, everything else is forgiven. 4. "Prime Suspect." Any season. Helen Mirren in the best female detective role anywhere. 5. "Cracker." Any season -- just make sure you get the original British series with Robbie Coltrane, not the weak American knock-off (which didn't make one season). Criminal psychology the modern Brit way: boozy, troubled, nasty. No smooth American efficiency here, so if you're hooked on CBS procedurals, this may be a big change. 6. "Rescue Me." Two seasons available. This FX series is compelling in a number of ways (and lead Denis Leary is simply amazing), but the real coup is that it dares to juggle shocking, realistic drama with politically incorrect humor. The results are jarring but rewarding. 7. "The Sopranos." Pretty much any season. It only goes this low because you probably have some of the seasons already and it seems like a given to say go get it. 8. "Northern Exposure." Any season. Its quirky charms still hold up. 9. "The Shield." Start with Season 1. Because it's harrowing, for starters, and it put FX on the map by reinvigorating the long-tired police drama. 10. "Hill Street Blues." Season 1. Before "The Shield" beat the genre with blunt force, "Hill Street" shook it by the collar and made it realistic and not cliche-ridden. Overlapping dialogue, crossing cameras, anti-heroes -- the series changed the rules of how TV told stories. 11. "Homicide: Life on the Street." Any season but the last one. You could spend a lot of time arguing which network cop drama was best -- "Hill Street," "Homicide" or "NYPD Blue," but the vote here goes for "Homicide." It was the napkin sketch for "The Wire." 12. "Crime Story." You've got to have a cult hit in here and I give this a slight edge over "Wiseguy" but wouldn't be upset if you opted the other way. "Crime Story" was just cooler in both attitude and look, as a post-"Miami Vice" Michael Mann hooked up with Dennis Farina and made some network magic, if not ratings. 13. Take your critical thinking cap and burn it. And put on your seat belt. In the this day of marathon DVD watching, it's tough to beat the allure and excitement of "24."

Comedies:

In the order I would get them: 1. "Arrested Development." All three seasons. Pure genius that not only stands up to repeated viewings but actually gets better. 2. "The Office," British version. I love the American version as well, but I might wait a few years to collect it. 3. "The Simpsons." You have to. Not all of them, mind you, but start somewhere. 4. "Kids in the Hall." It's arguably the best sketch series ever and it holds up even now. 5. "Looney Tunes." What's not to like? Cartoons rule, and these were the best. 6. "South Park." What comedies have going for them that dramas don't -- and animated series have in particular -- is a real ease for multiple plays. You can watch these repeatedly and still laugh. 7. "Rocky & Bullwinkle." Simple and brilliant. 8. "Chappelle's Show." One of the best of the current (now recent past) cable sketch series and certainly the most socially biting. 9. "King of the Hill." Easily the least appreciated animated series ofour modern time. A shame, that. 10. "Freaks and Geeks." Pair it with "Undeclared" for a pitch-perfect look at the high school and college experience as depicted on the small screen. Sadly missed. 11. "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." You could probably pick just about any series from Cartoon Network's late night spin-off channel, Adult Swim, and not go wrong. But there's something so utterly ridiculous and funny about this one. 12. "Little Britain." For the twisted Anglophile in all of us. 13. "Weeds." Sure you could get "Entourage" and give HBO more money (and you'd even spend it well), but this is a better series and Showtime could use the cash -- to continue to improve its series, naturally. Some of which might pop up here next year ("Dexter" for sure).

Lastly, I'll offer up four wild- card picks, all of them documentaries. (Listen, a good site for you to browse is www.tvshowsondvd.com, which states that there are 6,245 shows released on DVD, so this column could be a lot longer -- don't get snippy with me about picks.) Anyway, you can't go wrong giving "Baseball" and "Jazz" from Ken Burns, and "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Band of Brothers" from Tom Hanks and company. Great stuff all around.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/13/DDG28MTQ9H1.DTL&type=tvradio

TV Notebook
Couric's ratings are down, but give her time, trio urge
By Gail Shister, Philadelphia Inquirer December 13, 2006

Katie Couric can't catch a break.

So say three female media experts about the CBS Evening News anchor, who's been under the public microscope since her Sept. 5 debut.

With CBS mired in its usual third place in the weekly Nielsen derby, some critics say viewers aren't ready for a solo female anchor.

Adding fuel to their fire: In the November ratings sweeps, the $15 million-a-year Couric averaged almost 170,000 fewer viewers per night than did her less expensive "interim" predecessor, Bob Schieffer.

Despite the numbers, it's way too early to judge Couric, says Connie Chung, whose disastrous forced anchorship with Dan Rather lasted only two years, until '95.

"All this takes an enormous amount of time," Chung says. "TV viewing rarely changes dramatically, whereas programmers do. I think Katie's holding her own nicely.

"I just wish everyone would stop analyzing her. It's not quite fair to constantly pass judgment on her and the Evening News. She's a pioneer in this arena, so it's the nature of the beast today."

To longtime journalist Geneva Overholser, Couric's only sin is being in the right place at the wrong time.

"A great woman finally got in there and broke the boys' club apart, but she did it at the worst possible time," when viewership for all Big 3 evening newcasts is plummeting, says Overholser, a professor at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism.

It's unfair to expect Couric to boost ratings simply because she's the first woman to solo- anchor a weeknight network newscast, Overholser says.

"It's a little bit like saying, 'We have a couple of women presidents in nations now, but still we don't have peace.' We have all these great expectations that haven't been achieved."

The bar is unreasonably high for any alpha female breaking into a field, says Marie C. Wilson, founder and president of the White House Project, a nonpartisan organization that aims to advance women's leadership in all sectors.

"The first women always have to be 21/2 times better than a man... . We have so few women in these positions, when we get somebody in there, she has to be perfect. The pressure is enormous."

With all the hype, viewers expected Couric's Evening News to be "a combination of Amazing Race, American Idol, and Meet the Press," Wilson adds.

In Overholser's view, Couric is bearing up well. "As a public person, she has a lot of class."

Close call. Brian Williams' NBC Nightly News won last week's Nielsens, but not by much.

Nightly averaged 9.1 million total viewers, only 120,000 ahead of Charlie Gibson's ABC World News Tonight. Moreover, ABC outdrew NBC by 20,000 viewers in the 25-54-year-old news demographic that advertisers target, with 2.92 million.

Katie Couric's CBS Evening News had 7.5 million total viewers, including 2.26 million in the 25-54 group.

NBC got a boost Dec. 4, when Nightly had a single sponsor (and fewer commercials) for the first time in the broadcast's 37-year history. It notched 10.4 million viewers - 15 percent more than ABC and 30 percent ahead of CBS, according to NBC.

Mortal mistake. There were some red faces at NBC10 yesterday, when it reported live that three students at Montco's Springfield High School had been killed in a shooting at the school.

In fact, there was only one death - a student who took a rifle to school and killed himself, authorities said.

WCAU news chief Chris Blackman wrote in an e-mail that it was "an unfortunate mistake caused by a technical problem relaying information between our control room and the anchor desk." It was corrected on the air within one minute, he wrote.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//16225874.htm

Nielsen Notebook
TV heats up for holidays
By Gary Levin USA Today

•Christmas cheer. Perennial animated specials delivered viewers, led last week by CBS' top-15 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (12.9 million viewers) and Frosty the Snowman (12.7 million) on Friday, and ABC's Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (11.1 million) Tuesday.

•Christmas cheer. Perennial animated specials delivered viewers, led last week by CBS' top-15 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (12.9 million viewers) and Frosty the Snowman (12.7 million) on Friday, and ABC's Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (11.1 million) Tuesday.

•Race finish line. Sunday's 10th-season finale of CBS' The Amazing Race (12.7 million) was the top-rated windup since the show's seventh cycle in May 2005 and climbed by 2 million from the previous episode.

•Super Nanny. The season premiere of ABC's durable Supernanny (9.6 million viewers) replaced — and outpaced —The Bachelor: Rome in the same Monday time slot.

•Billboard low. Fox's Billboard Music Awards special Monday averaged a record-low 6.1 million viewers. CBS' Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (6.8 million) also hit a low.

•Queens logic. The eighth-season premiere of CBS' The King of Queens averaged 9.4 million viewers Wednesday, with 10.2 million for a second episode, improving on Jericho's young-adult audience in that time slot.

•NBC comedies grow. With ABC competition in repeats, an hour-long My Name Is Earl (10 million) hit a season high, Scrubs (8.4 million) had its best numbers in two years, and 30 Rock, still low at 6.8 million, had its biggest audience since the series premiered.

•Pay cable. The fourth-season finale of HBO's The Wire (1.9 million viewers) easily improved on Sunday lead-in Tsunami, the Aftermath (758,000), while Showtime's Dexter (760,000) gained fivefold on its lead-in, the second-season opener of Sleeper Cell (155,000).

•Oh brother. Without its Desperate Housewives lead-in, ABC's Brothers & Sisters sunk to a series-low 10.4 million viewers Sunday.

•Model looks. CW had its best night yet with Wednesday's season finale of America's Next Top Model (6.2 million viewers), its biggest episode in a year, and One Tree Hill (4.2 million).

•Closer cleans up. TNT's two-hour The Closer special (5.4 million viewers Monday) ranked second for the week on cable but fell short of its big summer average.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-12-13-nielsen-analysis_x.htm

Jesus Christ, Sleeper Cell only got 155,000 viewers after all the hype, reviews and promotion that it received (including countless newspaper reviews posted on this thread)? Americans must be really turned off by the whole Iraq civil war fiasco and don't even want to think about it as an entertainment alternative unless it shows us kicking terrorist butt (i.e. CBS' The Unit). Is it any wonder a brainless gameshow like Deal or No Deal can prosper when the TV audience is clearly looking for escapism from anything remotely resembling geo-political reality that is unpleasant to think about?

TV Notebook
No Longer a Friend, Ready to Get Dirty
By Edward Wyatt, The New York Times December 13, 2006

After 10 seasons as Monica Geller, the nerdy neatnik on the hit series “Friends,” Courteney Cox could have walked into the offices of any television network in Hollywood and had executives open their wallets for the right to feature her in a new series.

So why, for “Dirt,” her first television project in nearly three years, did Ms. Cox choose the FX cable channel? It attracts fewer than one million households in prime time each night, according to Nielsen Media Research, one-quarter the number who still tune in to nightly reruns of “Friends.”

The answer says a lot about how television shows are made today, about how networks depend on stars to sell a show and about how even those actors who need never work again — Ms. Cox and her peers on “Friends” earned $40 million each in the show’s last two seasons alone — sometimes cannot avoid being drawn back into the spotlight.

“I had no intention to go back to television, especially to an hourlong drama,” Ms. Cox said during an interview here on the set of “Dirt.” The series, which has its premiere on Jan. 2, tells the story of a powerful tabloid editor who, in her pursuit of scoops about the lives and betrayals of the Hollywood elite, learns that the truth does not always set you free.

Ms. Cox had not abandoned television entirely, but after “Friends” she set off on a career as a producer rather than seeking more work as an actor. “Dirt” was one of the first projects conceived by Coquette Productions, the company owned by Ms. Cox and her husband, David Arquette, who are co-executive producers of the show.

But it is no coincidence that the new show centers on the deception and misery that underlie the world of tabloid journalism. The idea came from Ms. Cox’s own experience with the paparazzi when she was pregnant with her first child, Coco, now 2½. In their pursuit of photographs documenting her pregnancy, Ms. Cox said, “The paparazzi were incredibly annoying.”

After one particularly unpleasant encounter with a photographer in which, Ms. Cox said, “I just lost it,” Thea Mann, an executive at Coquette, suggested creating a show about tabloid photographers. “The idea was to do a show about a guy who would be willing to do anything,” Ms. Cox said, “the lowest of the low of paparazzo, the one that is in your garbage and just would do anything for the shot.”

Searching for a writer to turn the idea into a series, she found a kindred spirit in Matthew Carnahan, a television writer and novelist who is the romantic partner of the actress Helen Hunt.

“Yeah, we’ve had horrible experiences,” Mr. Carnahan said of his and Ms. Hunt’s encounters with photographers. “We’ve had people breaking into our property just to get pictures of our house. It’s a scary, creepy feeling of genuine violation.”

When approached by Ms. Cox, Mr. Carnahan was working on an idea about a schizophrenic character, based on a report he had heard on public radio about virtual-reality software that allowed users to experience some of the effects of schizophrenia.

In discussions with Ms. Cox and her team at Coquette, “the two things coalesced,” Mr. Carnahan said. “I thought if I can do a show about the cultural apocalypse told through the eyes of someone who’s hallucinating as well as the perspective of someone who’s deep inside the tabloid world, it could be really interesting. So I started constructing a sort of Faustian story about an actor and this paparazzo.”

At first, Lucy Spiller, the tabloid editor played by Ms. Cox, was not intended to be at the center of the series. Instead, the focus was on a schizophrenic photographer, Don Konkey, played by Ian Hart, and an actor, played by Josh Stewart, who sells out his celebrity friends to further his own career.

At the time the idea was born, Coquette had a contract with Warner Brothers Television to come up with ideas for new shows. Because the new series was conceived as a no-holds-barred look at a world filled with sex, drugs and, if not actual murder, plenty of backstabbing, Warner Brothers suggested taking the new series to FX, which is part of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox entertainment empire and a specialist in racy, offbeat fare like “Nip/Tuck,” “The Shield” and “Rescue Me.”

But before the deal was completed, Coquette moved to Touchstone Television, which is part of the Walt Disney Company, the owner of the ABC network. Touchstone executives realized the series was far from the usual Disney fare (in the first episode, a womanizing professional basketball star appears in a kinky sex scene with a stripper), but its executives thought the show held promise and, despite never having produced a show for FX, agreed to pursue it.

FX, however, wanted changes. The network did not want a show about the price of fame to center on a fictional celebrity, because it would be too easy for the audience to dismiss the action as made up. Similarly, the executives felt the questions faced by a tabloid photographer were not morally complicated enough to drive the series. And, not least, FX already had three successful shows centered on 40-something white male antiheroes.

“We wanted to explicitly start developing these female antiheroes,” said John Landgraf, the president of FX. “It just seemed like an editor was a much larger center of power and a place from where you could generate many more stories. And the tabloid world is really a place that’s dominated by powerful female editors.”

All three principals — Mr. Landgraf, Mr. Carnahan and Ms. Cox — said Ms. Cox expressed interest in playing the part herself only after seeing the revamped scripts centering on a dynamic female lead.

“She said, ‘I’m not going to give this part to anyone else; I can’t imagine anyone else playing it but me,’ ” Mr. Landgraf said.

Had she started out intending to star in a new show, Ms. Cox said, “it probably would have been easier for me to get a show made on network TV, and I would have made more money.” But, she said, “The reason I wanted to do this on FX was because of the freedom it allows.” And as an exercise in acting, she added, “this is much more of a challenge.”

Lucy Spiller is certainly more complex than Monica Geller. Though there is no denying that Monica could keep herself at an icy distance and there is no hiding Ms. Cox’s bright cheekbones, she plays Lucy as dark and distant as Pluto.

Ms. Cox describes Lucy as “someone who you felt for but also who you loved to hate.” Her overriding characteristic, she added, “is that she always tells the truth, no matter what. What she might do to get the truth may not be great in a lot of people’s eyes, but she won’t print it unless it’s the truth.”

Which, as Mr. Landgraf explains, causes Lucy Spiller “to leave this massive trail of destruction in her wake, because she has no nuanced sense of the truth as being anything other than absolute good.”

“Maybe someone has a right to privacy,” he continued. “Maybe there are certain truths that, while they benefit her and her magazine, are so massively destructive to the people around them that there might be an ethical or moral value in not publishing them. So she’s an antihero.”

Even so, Ms. Cox said the show was not intended as a kind of retribution aimed at celebrity photographers and magazines. “I’m not trying to get back at anybody,” she said. “This is a television drama; we are here to entertain. And in fact, the paparazzo that we have on the show, Don Konkey, you have a real sympathy for him.”

Of course, the question then becomes, does the series acknowledge the complicit relationship between celebrities and the tabloids — at least nodding to the fact that to many celebrities, the biggest damage is not from appearing in the tabloids but from being absent?

“We’re all complicit,” Mr. Carnahan said. “I’m sure we all in some way court attention from that part of the media. When these magazines are on our table in the writers’ room, we read them. We call it research, but we read them.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/arts/television/17wyat.html?ref=television

Obituary
Peter Boyle Dies at 71
Mr. Boyle was also becoming a familiar face on television, appearing in several episodes of ABC’s “NYPD Blue” and winning an Emmy Award in 1996 for a guest appearance on the long-running Fox series “The X-Files.” That was also the year Mr. Boyle became a member of the Barone family on the durable CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
He did really good work on NYPD Blue in 1994 and 95. He played the recurring role of Dan Breen, Andy Sipowicz's AA sponsor.

HUGE SPOILERS FOR THE FALL FINALE AIRING IN THIS FRIDAY'S 'BATTLESTAR GALACTICA' IN MAUREEN RYAN'S LATEST ONLINE BLOG/INTERVIEW WITH RONALD MOORE. SKIP PAST THE NEXT STORY IF YOU DON'T WANT THE BIG SURPRISES REVEALED AND MAKE SURE TO COME BACK AND READ IT AFTER 'BG' AIRS ON FRIDAY.
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TV Notebook
Ron Moore talks about Friday's 'Battlestar Galactica' and prepares fans for "a pretty big loss": "You'll be pretty shocked"
Maureen Ryan's Chicago Tribune 'Watcher' Blog Dec. 13, 2006

One of the central themes of “Battlestar Galactica,” which has its mid-season finale at 8 p.m. Friday on Sci Fi, is sacrifice. What are people willing to give up in order to survive, the series asks, and is it always worth it? Are people willing to die, or even kill their own kind, for the greater good?

This season, we’ve seen the Galactica’s second in command, Saul Tigh, sacrifice his own wife on discovery of her treason with the Cylons, who are bent on subduing and destroying humanity. Other lives have been lost along the way, but in Friday’s episode, Admiral Adama entertains the idea of a pretty stunning sacrifice.

(Don’t read further if you don’t want to see spoilers for Friday’s episode and beyond).

The Galactica and her rag-tag fleet find a planet that has a sacred relic, the Eye of Jupiter, that could tell the remnants of humanity how to find Earth. The catch is, there’s a good chance the Cylons might locate the artifact first. The thought of the Cylons finding Earth is more than Adama can stand, and he considers nuking the planet - despite what, or who, is at stake.

“Several of [Galactica’s] people are down on the ground in `Eye of Jupiter’ - [Adama’s son] Apollo, Starbuck, Dualla and Anders - who all happen to have very conflicted relationships these days,” executive producer Ron Moore said in a recent interview. “A lot of the drama down on the surface has to do with [the fact that], as they are forced to work and fight side by side, the Cylons try to make a play for the artifact.”

Adama is determined that the Cylons should not “get the key to Earth,” Moore said. “When faced with the idea that not only might he lose this battle but the Cylons might actually get to Earth… he’s willing to sacrifice people as well,” Moore says.

Friday’s episode is the first half of a two-parter that concludes Jan. 21, when “Battlestar Galactica” returns and moves to Sundays. And speaking of sacrifice, Moore warns that when the show comes back in January, “there are more losses still to come.”

“There’s a pretty big loss coming midway through the second half of the season,” Moore said. “You’ll be pretty shocked about what happens to somebody.”

That somebody, he hinted, would be a lead character. But wouldn’t the death of a major character alter the nature of the show?

“It would,” Moore replied. “And I’m not really saying that we’re doing that. I’m just saying that there’s a fairly significant loss that will happen” before the third season ends.

The next batch of episodes also “has a couple more stand-alone episodes that delve more into the civilian aspects of the fleet more than we’ve done in awhile,” Moore adds. We’ll find out about the five human-looking Cylon models that we haven’t seen yet, the half-human, half-Cylon child Hera will come into play, and the wily Gaius Baltar will find a way to survive yet again. We’ll even get a glimpse of Adama’s ex-wife.

That all sounds quite intriguing, but once Moore mentioned the big “loss” that’s coming, it was difficult to contemplate anything else. Then again, nothing is certain in the world of “Battlestar Galactica.” And sacrifice is part of the deal.

“There are things that you could do to the show that would fundamentally alter it,” Moore said. “The question for us is, we want to play the loss and the mortality of all the characters without completely disrupting the fabric of the show, and that’s sort of the challenge of it.”

The following is a transcript of my Tuesday interview with Ron Moore. We began by talking about "Eye of Jupiter," the episode that airs Friday, Dec. 14.

The situation at the algae planet, with the [artifact named the] Eye of Jupiter in play, is it a do or die moment with the Cylons? Is someone going to lose that confrontation, and lose badly?

“Have you seen ‘Eye of Jupiter’?”

I have not. I’m going by the episode summary the network sent out.

“I don’t know that I would say it’s do or die. Both sides have arrived at the same planet, as it turns out, [and it emerges that] it’s for different reasons. Galactica ends up there because they were looking for foodstuffs in Episode 9, and unbeknownst to them, the Cylons are heading to the same planet.

“And the Cylons actually know that there’s an artifact on the planet that helps point the way to Earth. They get there and assume that Galactica has already taken it, and that sparks the standoff. Galactica and company realize, ‘Gee, there’s something on this planet. We better find it in case the Cylons want it.’ And then there’s a standoff.

“Galactica is in a position to destroy [the Eye] if they’ve got it, the Cylons don’t want it destroyed. The terms of the standoff sort of bridge the two episodes. ['Eye of Jupiter' is Part 1 of a two-parter.]

“Several of our people are down on the ground in ‘Eye of Jupiter,’ Apollo, Starbuck, Dualla and Anders, who all happen to have very conflicted relationships these days. A lot of the drama down on the surface has to do with [the fact that], as they are forced to work and fight side by side, the Cylons try to make a play for the artifact.

"The second part of that episode [which airs Jan. 21] essentially resolves those plotlines, and also with the added benefit of ending the Cylon base ship story that we’ve been following for quite a while, and moving closer to a revelation of the final five Cylons models [that viewers have not seen] are. And Baltar ends up back on Galactica by the end of ‘Rapture,’ which is the second part [of the two-parter, which airs Jan. 21].”

That guy. You just can’t kill him.

“You can’t kill him. [laughs] What are you gonna do?”

This is just a shot in the dark, but if the Cylons have Sharon’s baby, Hera, and if the Galactica fleet had the Eye of Jupiter, could there some kind of trade?

“No. It doesn’t actually work like that. There’s not an explicit trade like that. the baby also ends up back on Galactica by the end [of the two-parter].”

[b]Presumably Sharon is mad that they hid Hera from her.

“Yeah, Sharon is not happy. This week is when she finds out for the first time that the baby’s even alive.”

And wasn’t it Adama and Roslin that made that call, to hide Hera?

“It was really just Roslin. Adama doesn’t even know.”

That’s right, sorry.

“Yeah, it was just Roslin and Cottle that knew.”

Does Sharon think that Adama was complicit in hiding Hera, or does she find out he was not?

“He goes and he tells her. In [‘Eye of Jupiter’], as soon as Adama finds out the truth, he immediately goes and tells Sharon.”

Is he mad as well that the baby was hidden, or does he think, “Well, that is what had to be done”?

“We play a lot of his reaction off camera. He actually reacts [as if to say], ‘I can’t believe this. Now I gotta deal with this crap.’ Roslin tries to explain and he basically gets up and walks out on her.”

That’s one character who has really surprised me. I’m not even sure it’s accurate to say she’s done a 180 on a lot of her former beliefs. I mean, in one episode, she’s advocating genocide of the Cylons, and she’s pretty calm about it.

“Yeah, it seems to me that she’s been on a fairly straight trajectory, in a lot of ways, since she ascended to the presidency. I had always intended that the character, with the weight, literally, of the human race on her shoulders, would be forced into making harsher and harsher decisions because of that.

“And it would get to a point where, yeah, the enemies of mankind are chasing them eternally and seem to be implacable and are bent on their destruction. And if she suddenly had a weapon in her hands that would wipe them out as a race, she would do it.”

It’s just such a change from who this character was in the miniseries and in much of the first season. She has changed a lot.

“She has. I think that’s one of the interesting things about it, to see how that character would evolved, and what it would do to a person in that situation. What happens to someone who sits in that chair and deal with things on that kind of cosmic level?”

And the line that you drew in the sand maybe isn’t there any more, or because your perspective is so skewed by the survival factor, you just don’t see it any more.

“Yeah, that’s very true. We talk about that internally a lot. I think the Laura Roslin of the miniseries would be shocked by the idea of where she ended up. In a lot of ways it’s easy to make these kind of judgments, ‘Oh, that’s clearly wrong and that’s immoral and you should never do that,’ until you’re the one in the hot seat, and faced with that scenario. And you’re thinking about what it means if you’re wrong.”

Right. Because, from her perspective, there’s no plan B. Plan B is that humanity is finished.

“Right.”

So based on the episode summary I have, is it the case that Adama is essentially willing to nuke some of his own people down on the planet to make sure the Cylons don’t get the Eye of Jupiter?

“It gets to a place where [he’s not going to let] the Cylons get the key to Earth. That puts him in an analogous position to Laura Roslin – that when faced with idea that not only might he lose this battle but the Cylons might actually get to Earth, and do whatever they’re going to do when they get there – he’s willing to sacrifice people as well.”

And the surviving humans, in the course of this season, have had to sacrifice people already. As you said there would be, there have been deaths.

“Yep.”

Michael Hogan has been blowing me away with his work [as Saul Tigh, who killed his wife for passing secrets to the Cylons].

“Oh yeah. You know, Michael Hogan is one of the unsung heroes of the cast. And Michael, bless his soul, doesn’t really like to do publicity. As a consequence, Michael doesn’t get a lot of play out there.”

He got a mention on Entertainment Weekly’s Must List recently.

“Oh really? Oh good. Well he absolutely deserves it, he deserves the recognition. He’s a mainstay of the show. And that character, he’s just fearless in what he’s willing to do with that character.”

Yeah. He’s willing to show the man at his absolute worst. It’s wrenching stuff.

“It’s wrenching. He’s really emotionally naked, that character. The death of his wife really shattered him. Michael really played that to the hilt.”

What I’m really seeing with him, in microcosm sort of, is one of the themes of the show -- what are people willing to give up to survive? And is it worth it to sacrifice that -- something incredibly precious to you -- or do you lose part of your soul?

“Yeah. I think you’re right.”

We talked a couple months ago about losing characters this season, and we lost Kat, we lost Ellen Tigh. Is there going to be more death in the second half of the season?

“Yeah. There are more losses still to come. There’s a pretty big loss coming midway through the second half of the season.”

Is it a major, lead character?

“It’s somebody -- you’ll be pretty shocked about what happens to somebody.”

Uh oh. I’m nervous now.

“You should be.”

Don’t kill Adama. Any of the Adamas.

“You’re begging now?”

Yes. [laughs] Well, you’ve thrown me now. I honestly can’t picture the cast without one of the lead characters. All of the characters are in this closely woven web, and to take one out would really alter the dynamic.

“It’s true. There are things that you could do to the show that would fundamentally alter it. The question for us a lot is, we want to play the loss and the mortality of all the characters in the show without completely disrupting the fabric of the show, and that’s sort of the challenge of it.”

But getting rid of a major, lead character will change the show, don’t you think?

“It would. And I’m not really saying that we’re doing that. I’m just saying that there’s a fairly significant loss that will happen midway [through the second half of Season 3].”

Well, all the “Battlestar” sites are going to light up over that statement.

“Something’s going to happen. I don’t want to oversell it because I don’t want people to see it and then go, ‘Oh, well, that’s not what we were expecting. We were expecting something even bigger.’ But there’s definitely a pivotal episode coming up.”

A lot of the first half of the third season has been kind of character studies, like ‘Unfinished Business.’

“I love that episode, it’s one of my favorites of the series. It’s in the top tier of everything we’ve done.”

Absolutely. And there weren’t any Cylons in it. But we’ve had the history of these people and how they got to this place, and that’s what made it so rich.

“Yes, there’s a lot of texture and emotion and feeling, and a lot of had to be informed by back story of how you knew these characters, and how we’ve seen these characters for a couple of years now and what all these little tiny moments meant.”

I don’t know that I need it spelled out for me, but I’ll just go ahead and ask -- are Adama and Roslin in a relationship? A romantic relationship, in an undefinable relationship?

“I think it’s sort of an undefinable relationship. There’s something there, hovering around the edges. But I think they’re both, in a way, they’re both sort of trapped by the positions they have. And unwilling to sort of complicate their professional roles by a layer of something personal.

"But, that said, in the missing year [on New Caprica], when we flashed back, we saw, briefly, they at least looked at each other and thought about it. Once she wasn’t president, once he was just the captain of the ship, punching holes in the air, day after day, with nothing really to do, they let their guard down. They can hang out and smoke pot together. They can be sort of intimate and relaxed.

“But it seems that even in that circumstance, they did not choose to pursue a romantic relationship. But it was at least around in the ether. And I think probably it was in the ether for both of them all the time. Each looks at the other as the only logical person that they sort of have, on an emotional, personal level, as a potential candidate for one another. Given the parameters of humanity, who else do they really have?

“So I think there’s a sense of, you can’t imagine either one starting to date someone new, and yet there is no formal or informal understanding between the two of them that there is a relationship. It’s definitely something that hovers more in the margins than in the text.

“And a lot of it quite frankly is informed by the performances, especially the way Eddie [Edward James Olmos, who plays Admiral Adama] and Mary [Mary McDonnell, who plays President Laura Roslin] play it. There was the episode we did last season, when she was still dying of cancer and she got up and he just kissed her, impulsively, he ad-libbed it. And her reaction was in character, but also ad-libbed. And we kept it in the show, and just said, that’s who they are and we continue to find that the way they deal with each other as actors on set, that’s just the way they play the characters.”

Is Lee still with Dualla? Does she know the extent of what went on between Lee and Kara? Is she going to find out?

“We actually played that a lot of different ways in various drafts. I think where it ultimately shakes out is that Dualla seems to be nobody’s fool, and kind of knows something and has decided not to know too much. [She’s] sort of building a resentment in her heart, but at the same time, [she] knew what she was getting when she married Lee. She knew how much Kara meant to him, whether he said it out loud or not, she sort of always thought she was on a bit of borrowed time in the relationship and chose to accept it anyway.”

But it seems to me, it could be a situation where she could walk away, and let him work out whatever he needs to with Kara.

“There was a big speech for her that got cut from ‘Unfinished Business.’ She and Lee were in the Raptor, on the way back to Galactica, after Starbuck had jilted him and married Anders and all that.

“He impulsively asked her to marry him, and she had this lovely speech about the fact that she just knew that eventually Kara Thrace was coming back into his life, but they’re all on borrowed time -- she was going to be echoing what Laura said in the same episode, ‘Who knows what tomorrow’s going to bring.’ But right now, today, she wanted to marry him, she’ll accept [the proposal]. She’ll take whatever she can get, because everything has been taken from these people so many times, they have to grab on to what they have in the moment.”

It sounds like a big bunch of self-justification to me.

“And it is. [laughs] It absolutely is.”

Just on a different topic, do we find out more in “Eye of Jupiter” about the Temple of the Five?

“Yeah, that starts to come up in these two episodes.”

Are we meant to understand that the Temple of Five has something to do with the five Cylon models we have not seen?

“Essentially the Temple of the Five is directly connected to the five Cylons we have not seen.”

Just looking generally at the second half of the season, if you had to sum it up, where would you say is it going?

“Well, the second half of the season, it has a couple more standalone episodes that delve more into the civilian aspects of the fleet more than we’ve done in a while, which is kind of nice. We kind of get away from the larger, overarching mythology for a couple of episodes and do a little less serialization in episodes 14, 15 and 16, make them a little more standalone and concentrate on particular characters a little more.

“And yeah, we’ll do some stuff with the civilians, sort of their culture and society. We get to meet Adama’s dead wife and sort of understand who she was, in not quite a flashback kind of episode but one that deals with who Lee and Zack’s mother was, and why did she and Adama divorce and why does he still have baggage about that in his life today.

“We have an episode about [Chief] Tyrol and the aftermath of the union experience on New Caprica and what that means today in terms of labor and class. There’s an episode that deals with Helo and racial and cultural tensions within the fleet.

“And then the episodes kind of crescendo into the end. There’s almost like a three-part [ending], it’s not formally a three-part ending to the season, but it’s kind of a three-parter. It’s formally a two-parter. But it crescendos into the culmination of a lot of the plot threads we’ve set up since the beginning of the season -- the Baltar line, the final five Cylons line, stuff with Lee and his father and the family Adama and who they’re all about, things with Hera.

“The finale this season is sort of more interconnected with the entire season than last year’s was, or even before. This finale brings together a lot of plot threads and it has startling revelations.”

And I assume you’ll leave us on a major cliffhanger.

“Multiple cliffhangers.”

Well, then you need a fourth season.

“Yes, I would really like a fourth season of the show.”

When’s that going to be decided?

“We’re moving to Sunday nights [as of Jan. 21], which is a major thing that we want everyone to know, and they’re going to see how the ratings are on Sunday night. We’re not expecting [to find out about] a pickup [for a fourth season] until late January or beginning of February, somewhere in that ballpark.”

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/12/one_of_the_cent.html#more

The Business of TV
Operators Shrug at NFL Network Offer
By R. Thomas Umstead, Multichannel News December 13, 2006

Time Warner Cable Wednesday punted the NFL Network’s six-day free preview offer back to the network with several options that would include basic-tier carriage of the Dec. 28 Rutgers-Kansas State Texas Bowl game.

Responding to the NFL Network’s free preview offer made yesterday to New York area Time Warner Cable and Cablevision systems, the MSO said it could not offer on its basic tier the network’s full free preview programming slate – which includes live coverage of the Dec. 29 Minnesota/Texas Tech Insight Bowl – as part of its digital tier due to a lack of channel capacity.

Instead, Time Warner -- in a letter to the 41 million subscriber network -- said is willing to offer the Texas Bowl on a stand alone basis to its basic subscribers or the full free preview lineup on its digital tier.

Cablevision said it would only make the Rutgers game available to all of its basic cable customers as part of the free preview.

An NFL Network spokesman, however, declined comment on whether it would allow either MSO to offer the game on a stand-alone basis.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399794.html?display=Breaking+News

that's a bunch of BS here in TWC of NYC. they can add a SD channel and preempt one of the INHD channels to show the free preview.

that move by TWC is pitiful!

TV Notebook
More Important BSG News

The next issue:

"Tricia Helfer -- On Battlestar Galactica she's known as Number Six, but we can't think of her as anything less than a 10. The leggy former top fashion model makes love to our camera in quite the spread." - Playboy.com

http://www.playboy.com/magazine/next_month.html

(if this doesn't count at Television News and Info...then what's this world coming to???)

Important... Please let us know when that issue hits the newsstands. :D

His only Emmy win (out of eight nominations) came from a guest-starring role on The X-Files episode 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose' from Season 3 (http://www.tv.com/the-x-files/clyde-bruckmans-final-repose/episode/543/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;3). Any hardcore 'X-Files' fan ranks this episode in his/her personal Top 5 episodes, including yours truly. Since I've never seen 'Raymond' or 'Young Frankenstein' I only know of Boyle from his one appearance on 'X-Files,' where he absolutely stole the show. :(

It's on my list as well, out of all seasons CBFR was one of the best episodes without a doubt. Even passing viewers would be impressed with that episode.

Young Frankenstein is a classic, and how you've managed to avoid an episode of Raymond given it's saturation airtime I find quite impressive! :)

The Business of (European) TV
EU Lawmakers Approve Overhaul of TV Advertising Standards
By Doreen Carvajal, International Herald Tribune December 14, 2006

European lawmakers moved Wednesday to open up television advertising standards, voting in support of controversial new rules to allow product placement in dramas and to step up the frequency of ad breaks to every half hour.

The preliminary vote in the European Parliament was part of an ongoing makeover of broadcasting standards, the so-called Television Without Frontiers directive that dates from 1989 and has guided the rules for advertising and governed television services.

The proposed overhaul had opened the way for consumer groups to press unsuccessfully for an outright ban on advertisements promoting junk food to children while private broadcasters pressed for freedom to compete with American programs that air in Europe and that are filled with product-placement advertising from Chrysler Crossfire cars on "Prison Break" to iPod docking stations on "CSI."

One issue divided the Parliament evenly. A one-vote margin of 324 to 323 determined that advertising breaks should be increased to every half hour. Currently, ad breaks are allowed every 45 minutes for dramas. For films, there are breaks after 45 minutes and 90 minutes, and a third after 20 more minutes. For news and children's programming, the present standard is an ad break every 30 minutes.

"It's good news," said Ross Biggam, director general of ACT, a European television trade group representing private broadcasters in 28 countries, which has led the industry effort for change. He said the broadcasters were heartened that legislators had moved beyond earlier European Commission proposals to allow advertising breaks every 35 minutes. "It sounds like a small detail, but operationally it's very important because a lot of programs are 30 minutes long."

The language of the new broadcasting guidelines could still change because the standards face another reading before Parliament late next year. That gives consumer groups more room to maneuver to press for stricter rules on product placement and children's advertising. After the new standards are adopted, member countries in the European Union will have two years to shape the new directive into national law. As a result, it may be some time before any new standards will have an impact.

In the measure supported by Parliament, product placement would be banned in news and children's programming and permitted in dramas and sports shows. The new regulations also declare that more extreme "product integration" - where a brand like Oreos or Coca-Cola becomes part of the plotline instead of prop - "shall be prohibited in principle."

Cornelia Kutterer, a legal adviser for Beauc, a consumer group based in Brussels, complained that Parliament members had buckled under industry pressure. "We think this is really bad for Europe," she said.

A coalition of 40 European consumer groups has called for an outright ban on product-placement advertising, calling it nothing more than hidden advertising that will have an insidious affect on children who watch prime-time shows.

The issue has also divided some public broadcasters in Europe, which are funded in different proportions by advertising revenues and television licensing fees. The European Broadcasting Union, a trade group based in Geneva representing public radio and television broadcasters, took no formal position on as a result.

But a spokesman, Jacques Briquemont, said the trade association was pleased that the preliminary standards had been widened in scope to cover new technologies like mobile phone programming and the Internet. The broadcasting standards apply only if they offer television services in competition with traditional television.

http://www.nytimes.com/iht/2006/12/14/technology/IHT-14eurotv.html

Is it me or has this show been on the news almost every single day for what seems like years? No such thing as bad publicity I guess! :confused:

Technology
ABC To Stream Hot Topics From The View
By Anne Becker, Broadcasting & Cable December 13, 2006

ABC is bringing its ladies of The View online, streaming clips of the talk show's opening "hot topics" segments on ABC.com. Snippets of the show will be available for free on its section of ABC.com following each weekday's live show, which airs at 11:00 a.m. This marks the first time ABC has streamed that segment of the show.

"Hot topics," which airs over a couple of segments in roughly the first 15 minutes of the show features the View hosts discussing and debating issues of the day, including current events and entertainment news. The host chat has helped the show to ratings jumps in its current tenth season. This year's November sweeps were the show's highest-rated ever.

The hot topic segments have received particular notice of late - especially online - for incidents involving View co-host Rosie O'Donnell. Various entertainment blogs have written about a dissatisfied on air phone call Kelly Ripa made to O'Donnell after O'Donnell characterized a remark Ripa made towards Clay Aiken as homophobic. Ripa had chastised Aiken, who has not publicly stated his sexual orientation, for putting his hand over her mouth.

Also, several websites and blogs have posted video of O'Donnell speaking faux Chinese to explain that an earlier appearance by a drunken Danny DeVito had made headlines around the world. Her comments prompted a letter from New York City Councilman John C. Liu saying the remarks were derogatory. O'Donnell's spokesperson told the Daily News they were meant as a joke.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6399797.html?display=Breaking+News

TV Notebook
An Extra posts huge 'Numb3rs'
They all get 'Taxi' joke
By David Bianculli, New York Daily News December 14, 2006

In a decade or more of collecting TV's hidden in-jokes, what I call "Extras," I've never received more sightings regarding a single item than for a recent episode of the CBS series "Numb3rs."

The numbers of sightings for other recent Extras, by comparison, dwindled considerably.

The widely cited "Numb3rs" Extra had to do with Judd Hirsch as Alan Eppes, the father of Don and Charlie (Rob Morrow, David Krumholtz), sitting down with his sons in search of a late-night TV classic to watch - and settling in contentedly as he's greeted with the theme from "Taxi," the sitcom on which Hirsch himself was the star.

"Tell me I got my first Extra!" writes Jean Donovan of Park Slope. Okay, Jean, you did - but boy, you weren't alone.

Among the many others who caught this Extra were Bob Allen of Oceanside; Sheri Fox of White Plains; Simon Placek of Brooklyn; April Anthony-Scaturro of Smithtown; Bill Weiss of Massapequa Park; Joseph Ricupero of Brooklyn; Jim Murphy of the Bronx; Mike Minerva of Woodhaven; Marty Schatzman of Brooklyn; Maria Hatzoglou of Astoria; Jeff Jensen of Plainview; in New Jersey, Anita Prieto of Bloomfield, Eric Stuve of Edison and Debbie Mantioni of Leonia, and from far afield in Kansas City, Mo., Gladys Cardona, via the Daily News Web page.

In a recent episode of NBC's "Heroes," Masi Oka's time-traveling Hiro is startled when he dials the phone - and finds himself answering at the other end of the line. "Great Scott!" he says in his heavy Japanese accent, and hangs up.

Michael Manning of Woodhaven writes, "This is a reference to the 'Back to the Future' movies, in which Doc Brown [Christopher Lloyd, playing another time traveler] would say this when discovering something startling." Tim O'Grady of Westfield, N.J., caught the same timely (or untimely) Extra.

"I have an Extra to report for the first time!" writes Ellen Macleay of Sunnyside. It regarded a recent episode of NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," in an episode about the ethics of product placement on TV shows.

While characters were walking through the dressing room in the fictional Studio 60 theater, she notes, "there was a poster of 'Bartlet for President' on the wall they passed. Pretty cute irony, considering the story arc."

Steve Miller of North Brunswick, N.J., also noticed the sly "product placement" - to the fictional President played by Martin Sheen on "The West Wing," which, like "Studio 60," was created by Aaron Sorkin.

Gina Bergdoll of Bellmore caught an Extra on an episode of NBC's "Las Vegas."

"They refer to Dunder Mifflin needing the ballroom," she writes. "Dunder Mifflin is, of course, the company on 'The Office,' another NBC show."

Finally, Richard Lee of Fresh Meadows caught an Extra on one of last month's episodes of "The O.C." on Fox.

"Michael Nouri's character, Dr. Roberts, tells his daughter Summer, played by Rachel Bilson, that he may take a job at a Seattle hospital where everyone is crazy - Seattle Grace," Lee writes.

"That is the fictional hospital," he notes, "in 'Grey's Anatomy.'"

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/479806p-403735c.html

Young Frankenstein is a classic, and how you've managed to avoid an episode of Raymond given it's saturation airtime I find quite impressive! :)

You'd be surprised the number of TV shows I've managed to avoid and not see a single episode of: Survivor, Seinfeld, Friends, American Idol, all the CSI shows (tried to watch an episode of the original and gave-up by the second commercial break), Charmed, ER, Frasier, L.A. Law, House, Veronica Mars, The Office (both versions), Gilmore Girls (that one was easy: I'm a guy! :D ), 7th Heaven, 24, West Wing (too much of a political junkie to stomach a whole new slew of fictitious politicos), Desperate Housewives, Arrested Development, Lost (although I keep up with how it develops just to laugh at how many corners the writers are painting themselves into), Medium, Dawson's Creek, Two-and-a-Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, According To Jim/George Lopez, Crossing Jordan, Without A Trace, etc. x 1,000,000,000!

Critic's Notebook
Really Bad Santa
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chrismukkah
By Linda Stasi, New York Post December 14, 2006

"Chrismukk-Huh?" epsiode on "The O.C."
Tonight at 9 on Fox
RATING: ZERO STARS (OUT OF FOUR)

If a show can jump the shark, it can also jump a menorah.

For those of you who don't know what "jump the shark" means, it mean that precise moment when a hit show starts to tank because it's weighed down by a ridiculous plot, a fantastically bad script and/or both.

Tonight's annual Chrismukkah show on "The O.C." contains all of the above - and less. May I just beg that whatever genius is responsible for this truly horrible episode gets a big corporate beating instead of a big present for Chrismukkah.

The plot - maybe the most commonly ripped off TV show Christmas plot since the birth of Jesus - is "The O.C.'s" take on "It's a Wonderful Life."

Well, hello! Every show from "Dallas" to "That '70's Show" to "Providence" and even "Fairly Odd Parents" has done it before and done it better. In tonight's plot, Ryan and Taylor fall off a ladder while attempting to put up Chrismukkah lights on the Cohen's roof.

They fall to the ground and go into big comas. Unfortunately, these are reversible comas, which means that the actors will wake up at some point and have to live with the knowledge that they will do anything for a paycheck.

Anyway, Taylor and the reluctant Ryan find themselves in (I swear!) an alternate universe where Ryan is a stranger to the Cohens, not to mention everyone else in town.

Well, I say "the Cohens" but in fact in this "alt" universe Sandy is married to Julie and Kirsten is married to Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan).

Entrepreneurial Kirsten is head of the Newport Project, while Sandy is the town's mayor.

Che (Chris Pratt), who is engaged to bobble head Summer, has sex with Julie while they howl and pretend to be cats.

Merry Chrismukkah to one and all!

Additonal lowlights include many of the girls getting to say "bitch" a lot and show themselves to be quite possibly the worst actresses on television.

I know, that's saying a lot. But the show doesn't so there you have it. Or not.

For me, Chrismakkuh will never be the same.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12142006/tv/really_bad_santa_tv_linda_stasi.htm

I've been reading stories about this reality show but have never posted them in this thread because (a) Fox Reality Channel has limited national distribution and (b) the premise of this show is borderline retarded even by the genre's standards. But if the newspaper of record covers it, how can we not? The Grey Lady of American journalism must be followed... don't tell Bill O'Reilly, please??!! :o

Critic's Notebook
A Day Job in Theatuh: Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?
By Anita Gates, The New York Times December 14, 2006

The title isn’t much, but the premise is clever.

In “My Bare Lady,” a new four-part reality mini-series (the second episode is on Fox Reality tonight), four American pornographic-film actresses are whisked to London and given three weeks of classical theater training. Their goal is to leave X-rated movies behind and move into mainstream acting.

The show’s goal, it seems, mainly is to titillate, but it may demonstrate other assets as the four finalists work toward London debuts. At least most of them seem sincere about their desire to learn and change.

Kirsten Price, 24, is originally from Massachusetts and travels with pink luggage. Nautica Thorn, 22, from Hawaii, has the most exotic look. Chanel St. James, 34, is from Arizona and has the most attention-getting breasts. Sasha Knox, 22, from California, stands out because of her fresh, natural look. But she’s definitely one of the girls.

“I don’t party, but I do love sex,” Ms. Knox tells the camera. She also announces, “I really am a great actress.”

That may be true. The finalists showed hints of real dramatic ability in the first episode. But the hour focused mostly on prurience or, as Hamlet would say, country matters.

The herd of actresses who auditioned in Los Angeles were instructed to fake orgasms on camera. For no good reason the casting people also asked them for the titles of some movies in which they had appeared. “The More the Merrier” and “18 and Easy” are among the more printable.

Then it was time to ridicule their ignorance. One actress said she had never heard of the play she was being asked to read: “Romeo and Juliet.” A couple were puzzled by the name Montague in the script. One thought the word might be monologue; another asked if it was supposed to be montage.

And even though it was explained to them, few seemed to grasp that in the line “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” the first word referred to cause rather than physical location.

Somewhere in the reality-series code it is written that the losers must be shown, embarrassed and hurt as they are rejected by the judges. “My Bare Lady” is no exception. Most of the rejected are philosophical, reasoning that there is always another audition around the corner. Sunny Lane, Gia Darling and Sunset Thomas are among those who don’t make the finals.

In tonight’s episode the finalists are settling into their London flat (yes, they share bedrooms, to encourage roommate conflict) and beginning their training, which includes voice and dance lessons as well as brushing up on their Shakespeare.

If “My Bare Lady” can restrain itself from adolescent smirking, it may be fascinating. But the odds are against that.

MY BARE LADY

Fox Reality, tonight at 8; Eastern and Pacific times; 7, Central time.

A co-production of Fox Reality and Zig Zag Productions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/arts/television/14lady.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin

You'd be surprised the number of TV shows I've managed to avoid and not see a single episode of: Survivor, Seinfeld, Friends, American Idol, all the CSI shows (tried to watch an episode of the original and gave-up by the second commercial break), Charmed, ER, Frasier, L.A. Law, House, Veronica Mars, The Office (both versions), Gilmore Girls (that one was easy: I'm a guy! :D ), 7th Heaven, 24, West Wing (too much of a political junkie to stomach a whole new slew of fictitious politicos), Desperate Housewives, Arrested Development, Lost (although I keep up with how it develops just to laugh at how many corners the writers are painting themselves into), Medium, Dawson's Creek, Two-and-a-Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, According To Jim/George Lopez, Crossing Jordan, Without A Trace, etc. x 1,000,000,000!

Do you own a tv, or or do you just post stories about television? :eek:

You'd be surprised the number of TV shows I've managed to avoid and not see a single episode of: Survivor, Seinfeld, Friends, American Idol, all the CSI shows (tried to watch an episode of the original and gave-up by the second commercial break), Charmed, ER, Frasier, L.A. Law, House, Veronica Mars, The Office (both versions), Gilmore Girls (that one was easy: I'm a guy! :D ), 7th Heaven, 24, West Wing (too much of a political junkie to stomach a whole new slew of fictitious politicos), Desperate Housewives, Arrested Development, Lost (although I keep up with how it develops just to laugh at how many corners the writers are painting themselves into), Medium, Dawson's Creek, Two-and-a-Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, According To Jim/George Lopez, Crossing Jordan, Without A Trace, etc. x 1,000,000,000!

lol...i believe it would have been easier to list shows that you DO watch.

Two network reality/gameshow projects in the pipeline for the near-future.

TV Notebook
Fox quiz show makes grade
Burnett, Darnell teaming on 'Smarter'
By Josef Adalian, Variety December 13, 2006

Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell are teaming again, this time for a kiddie-based quizzer tentatively titled "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?"

Skein -- whose unveiling comes just days after CBS confirmed it had its own tyke-themed gameshow in the works (Daily Variety, Dec. 7) -- will put one ordinary adult in a classroom set filled with about five average fifth graders. Contestants will start out with $100,000 but will then have to gamble that coin by answering a series of general knowledge questions.

The twist: All the questions will come from textbooks aimed at fifth graders and below. Subjects will range from first grade art to fifth grade math.

Kids won't be competing for coin but will be available for use as lifelines if players need help. They'll also be on hand to serve as comic relief, gently mocking the grownups who don't remember all the colors in the rainbow and the like.

"They're not playing against you," Burnett said. "We're using them as characters."

If players make the right bets, top prize on the skein will be more than $1 million.

Fox has ordered eight episodes of "Are You Smarter" and is putting the project on an extreme fast-track. Burnett and Darnell said it's even possible production will gear up over the holiday break, indicating a January or February premiere may be an option.

Darnell, Fox's exec VP in charge of alternative, said the show "has got a grand sense of humor to it and should play very funny."

"It's amazing how much you forget from grade school," he added. "My understanding is that every (network) exec who played the game during the pitch meetings ended up with zero dollars at the end."

Fox project plays in the same sandboxes as CBS' child genius quizzer, which Allison Grodner ("Big Brother") is spearheading. Burnett, however, said his project is "the complete opposite" of what the Eye is planning.

"Their show is how smart are you," he said. "Ours, quite frankly, is how dumb are you."

Burnett said the classroom set "will be just how you remember your grade school looking. It's very different than all the other shows out there now, with the big lights."

Producer said there's a strong play-along aspect to the skein as well.

"There are a lot of moments where you say, 'My God, I can't believe I forgot that,' " he said.

Burnett said he's also enjoying his new relationship with Darnell, with whom he's also working on Steven Spielberg-produced Fox skein "On the Lot."

It wasn't long ago that the two men were at odds after Fox rushed on a clone of Burnett's boxing-themed "The Contender."

"I'm working so much with Mike now, and I really like it," Burnett said. "He has a very fertile mind."

"How Smart Are You" began its life as a pitch Zoo Prods. made to Mark Burnett Prods. exec Roy Bank. Original concept was different, but Zoo will continue with the project, with the company's Barry Poznick and John Stevens serving as exec producers alongside Burnett.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955730.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
____________________________________________________________ _____

TV Notebook
NBC commissions 'Colosseum'
By Nellie Andreeva, The Hollywood Reporter December 14, 2006

"America's Funniest Home Videos" executive producer Vin Di Bona has teamed with NBC for "Comedy Colosseum," a one-hour reality pilot based on the hit Japanese show "Theiromonea."

Hosted by "Saturday Night Live" alum Dean Edwards and British comedian Olivia Lee, the show features comedians vying for a $10,000 prize in an arena in front of a live audience that decides who wins or loses. Each comedian will be judged solely on the laughter of randomly selected and unsuspecting members of the crowd.

" 'Comedy Colosseum' challenges the creativity and talent of our performers like no other show before us," said Di Bona, who is executive producing the pilot with Peter Schankowitz, Al Edgington and Greg Bellon. "It's belly-laugh funny."

Ron de Moraes will direct the pilot for the show, which is based on a format licensed from Tokyo Broadcasting System.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3if933bb111b42def73b05fb88b5a9ff8f

Do you own a tv, or or do you just post stories about television?

lol...i believe it would have been easier to list shows that you DO watch.

I consider myself a very discriminating TV viewer. I will only watch stuff that appeals to me in a personal, emotional and/or intellectual level that most scripted and reality TV simply doesn't reach. How else to explain that I own over 500 hours of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on VHS/DVD but can't stand to watch The Late Show on CBS even though both are hosted by Letterman? Why do I love Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and The Amazing Race even though I hold the reality TV genre with the utmost contempt? Why do I own every DVD Box Set of The X-Files but have never seen a single episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel or Smallville? Why do I not miss a single episode of The Sopranos but have never had the urge to watch a single episode of The Shield, House or Rescue Me? Why do the late night talk shows strike me as hilarious but Curb Your Enthusiasm, Earl, Entourage and Ugly Betty couldn't hold my attention for the duration of a single episode?

For the same reasons a meteorite or condensed waste from an airplane lands in somebody else's backyard but not yours. Pure luck and an individual streak of thinking that, through sheer randomness, wound up introducing me to TV shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000, Letterman's NBC show, The Secret World of Alex Mack and others that I never thought would become my TV love. But hey, this year alone I've become attached to Studio 60 and Heroes. And there's no better dramatic hour-long TV show on the air right now that Battlestar Galactica. That's a start, right? :o

As for posting stories here, just because I don't watch all (or most of what's deemed good) TV doesn't mean I don't love the medium. Besides, if I only posted stories about the TV shows I watch this thread would be pretty boring and one-sided. I'm following the Fredfa mold: post about what I think you folks want to read about, not what I think you should read about (big difference).

2007 Golden Globe TV Nominees

The complete list of television category nominees for the 64th annual Golden Globe awards, to be awarded January 15, 2006.

DRAMATIC TV SERIES

24 (FOX)
BIG LOVE (HBO)
GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC)
HEROES (NBC)
LOST (ABC)

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA

PATRICK DEMPSEY, Grey's Anatomy
MICHAEL C. HALL, Dexter
HUGH LAURIE, House
BILL PAXTON, Big Love
KIEFER SUTHERLAND, 24

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA

PATRICIA ARQUETTE, Medium
EDIE FALCO, The Sopranos
EVANGELINE LILLY, Lost
ELLEN POMPEO, Grey's Anatomy
KYRA SEDGWICK, The Closer

TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
UGLY BETTY (ABC)
WEEDS (SHOWTIME)

BEST ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY

ALEC BALDWIN, 30 Rock
ZACH BRAFF, Scrubs
STEVE CARRELL, The Office
JASON LEE, My Name Is Earl
TONY SHALHOUB, Monk

BEST ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY

MARCIA CROSS, Desperate Housewives
AMERICA FERRERA, Ugly Betty
FELICITY HUFFMAN, Desperate Housewives
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, The New Adventures of Old Christine
MARY-LOUISE PARKER, Weeds

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

BLEAK HOUSE (PBS)
BROKEN TRAIL (AMC)
ELIZABETH I (HBO)
MRS. HARRIS (HBO)
PRIME SUSPECT: THE FINAL ACT (PBS)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

GILLIAN ANDERSON, Bleak House
ANNETTE BENING, Mrs. Harris
HELEN MIRREN, Elizabeth I
HELEN MIRREN, Prime Suspect: The Final; Act
SOPHIE OKONEDO, Tsunami, The Aftermath

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

ANDRÉ BRAUGHER, Thief
ROBERT DUVALL, Broken Trail
MICHAEL EALY, Sleeper Cell: American Terror
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, Tsunami, The Aftermath
BEN KINGSLEY, Mrs. Harris
BILL NIGHY, Gideon's Daughter
MATTHEW PERRY, The Ron Clark Story

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

EMILY BLUNT, Gideon's Daughter
TONI COLLETTE, Tsunami, The Aftermath
KATHERINE HEIGL, Grey's Anatomy
SARAH PAULSON, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
ELIZABETH PERKINS, Weeds

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

THOMAS HADEN CHURCH, Broken Trail
JEREMY IRONS, Elizabeth I
JUSTIN KIRK, Weeds
MASI OKA, Heroes
JEREMY PIVEN, Entourage

CECIL B. DEMILLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Warren Beatty

http://www.hfpa.org/news/id/42

How can Big Love get nominations for Best TV Drama and Best Actor (for Bill Paxton) but no nomination for Jeanne Triplehorn as Best Actress??!! She and Paxton were dynamite whenever the two of them were on-screen together in 'Big Love.' Oh well, unlike the Emmy's at least the Golden Globe members have the common sense to nominate Edie Falco for Best Actress. :rolleyes:

I consider myself a very discriminating TV viewer. I will only watch stuff that appeals to me in a personal, emotional and/or intellectual level that most scripted and reality TV simply doesn't reach. How else to explain that I own over 500 hours of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on VHS/DVD but can't stand to watch The Late Show on CBS even though both are hosted by Letterman? Why do I love Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and The Amazing Race even though I hold the reality TV genre with the utmost contempt? Why do I own every DVD Box Set of The X-Files but have never seen a single episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel or Smallville? Why do I not miss a single episode of The Sopranos but have never had the urge to watch a single episode of The Shield, House or Rescue Me? Why do the late night talk shows strike me as hilarious but Curb Your Enthusiasm, Earl, Entourage and Ugly Betty couldn't hold my attention for the duration of a single episode?

For the same reasons a meteorite or condensed waste from an airplane lands in somebody else's backyard but not yours. Pure luck and an individual streak of thinking that, through sheer randomness, wound up introducing me to TV shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000, Letterman's NBC show, The Secret World of Alex Mack and others that I never thought would become my TV love. But hey, this year alone I've become attached to Studio 60 and Heroes. And there's no better dramatic hour-long TV show on the air right now that Battlestar Galactica. That's a start, right? :o

As for posting stories here, just because I don't watch all (or most of what's deemed good) TV doesn't mean I don't love the medium. Besides, if I only posted stories about the TV shows I watch this thread would be pretty boring and one-sided. I'm following the Fredfa mold: post about what I think you folks want to read about, not what I think you should read about (big difference).

I was only joking, but the point is that you have never watched an episode of any of these shows, I don't see how you can say you don't like them, there are a lot of shows on your first list that I haven't watched or don't watch, but there were shows on the list that I can't imagine never seeing an episode of, just having the tv on I have been exposed to the majority of those shows.

...but there were shows on the list that I can't imagine never seeing an episode of, just having the tv on I have been exposed to the majority of those shows.

Well I guess I think too highly of television as a medium for me to turn it on and not give it my undivided attention. I've never, ever turned on the TV and just leave it playing on the background. That's an insult to the hard work of the people making a living sacrificing endless hours to entertain you. Their work should be appreciated in full with undivided viewer attention, or not watched at all. That's my motto! :rolleyes:

Dayparts Ratings
In the news race, Charlie edges closer
ABC's Gibson wins praise for his election coverage
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 14, 2006

When it comes to news anchors, so much is attached to image or style, but what matters more than either is the ability to handle big stories well, and that's borne out in the ratings.

On the night of last month's midterm elections, Charles Gibson won high praise for his performance in the anchor's chair of ABC's “World News,” and that's put the evening newscast on the rise again.

In the four weeks since, “World News” has been nipping at longtime leader “NBC Nightly News” in total viewers, and it even looks as though Gibson could pull ahead of Brian Williams.

For the week ended Dec. 10, the most recent available, “World News” had its closest finish to “Nightly News” in five months in total viewers, and it actually pulled slightly ahead in the key adults 25-54 demographic, averaging 2.92 million to NBC’s 2.9 million. CBS’s “Evening News” was well behind both at 2.26 million.

Among total viewers, ABC averaged 9 million, just 120,000 behind NBC, and ABC actually finished ahead of NBC on four of the five weeknights, including the night when the highly anticipated Iraq Study Group Report was released.

The one night it fell behind was Dec. 4, when NBC drew a higher-than-average audience for a much-hyped single-advertiser newscast. But that was enough for “Nightly News” to hold its lead for the week. CBS was third with 7.45 million viewers.

“World News” has been rising steadily since mid-October, but the jump became more pronounced after the midterm elections. In the four weeks since then, “World News’” total viewers average is up 500,000, to 8.96 million, over its average in the four weeks before the election. That’s a jump of 6 percent, which in the slow-moving world of nightly news ratings is a fair bit.

Gibson clearly got a jolt from the elections, drawing 2.3 million more viewers that night than NBC and 2.7 million more than CBS.

Gibson had two advantages, and first was having the strongest lead-in, “Dancing with the Stars.” But ABC also began its coverage a half hour before the other two, and that likely resulted in non-regular “World News” viewers tuning in.

They apparently liked what they saw. Gibson demonstrated a welcome dry wit that distinguished him from Williams’ more sober approach and Katie Couric’s warmer persona on CBS.

Gibson’s recent rise has a tinge of irony to it as well. When he was named anchor last May, 10 months after Peter Jennings’ death and with “World News” ratings in a decline, many media observers said he was the wrong pick. They chastised ABC for not choosing a younger person who could redefine the evening newscast, as CBS later attempted with Couric.

But these months later, the 63-year-old Gibson is actually in a closer competitive position to NBC than Jennings was at the same point two years ago, at a time when the talk was that Jennings might ease past NBC after anchor Tom Brokaw left. And CBS's effort to redefine the evening news is pretty much a bust, with Couric in third place.

Meanwhile, in other daypart ratings for the week ended Dec. 3, NBC’s “Meet the Press” dominated Sunday morning in both total viewers and adults 25-54 with a 1.0 rating in the key demo and 3.88 million total viewers. CBS’s “Face the Nation” came in second with 2.88 million viewers and a 0.9 rating in the demo, while ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” had 2.79 million viewers and a 0.8 and Fox’s “News Sunday” had 1.23 million viewers and a 0.5 in adults 25-54.

In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” held a strong lead over CBS’s “Late Show with David Lettermen.” Leno brought in 6.2 million total viewers to Letterman’s 4.4 million, and NBC scored a 2.0 rating in adults 18-49, ahead of CBS’s 1.4. ABC’s “Nightline” had 3.9 million viewers and a 1.3. In late late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.7 million viewers and a 1.1 in the 18-49 demo, CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” trailed with 2.0 million and a 0.7, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” had 1.9 million and a 0.7, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” had 1.6 million viewers and a 0.7 in adults 18-49.

In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” cemented an 11-year winning streak with 6.1 million total viewers and a 4.7 rating and 16 share in households. ABC’s “Good Morning America” trailed with 5.0 million viewers and 3.9/13, while CBS’s “The Early Show” had 3.0 million viewers and 2.4/8.

In daytime, CBS had 3.98 million total viewers in daytime dramas and a 1.5 rating in the women 18-49 demographic, while in full daytime the network brought in 4.24 million viewers and a 1.4 in the key demo. ABC had 3.1 million viewers for its daytime dramas but brought in a 1.7 rating in the demo, while in full daytime the network had 3.15 million and maintained its 1.7. NBC had 2.54 million viewers and a 1.5 rating for both daytime dramas and full daytime.

In syndication for the week ended Nov. 26, “ESPN NFL Regular Season” tied “Wheel of Fortune” for first place and a rating of 7.7 in households. “Oprah Winfrey Show” was third at 6.2, “Jeopardy” fourth with 5.9 and “Entertainment Tonight” fifth at 5.6.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_9123.asp

Why You Can't See the Game in HDTV
Buyers of High-Tech Screens
Find Many Pro Sports Events
Are Still Shown the Old Way
By JON WEINBACH
December 14, 2006; Page D1
At Joan Cramer's home in Jupiter, Fla., there's a 61-inch high-definition TV in the media room and a 51-incher in the bedroom. She pays extra to DirecTV Group Inc. for HD channels and the "NFL Sunday Ticket" football package so her family can watch their beloved Cleveland Browns. One slight problem: The Browns are seldom on in high definition.

Only four of Cleveland's 13 games this year have been available in high definition, and just five of the National Football League team's 16 games last season were in HD. "It's been useless for us because we want to watch the Browns in HD," says Mrs. Cramer, a 66-year-old Cleveland native whose family owned Browns season tickets for 45 years.

[Only four Cleveland Browns game have been broadcast in high definition this season.]

A warning to fans who plan to buy a TV before Christmas: Watching sports in HD is no slam dunk. Many nationally televised sports events are now available in HD, but most games are still beamed by regional cable sports networks or independent stations that don't yet broadcast in high definition.

The amount of HD coverage varies widely depending on the team and region, but many popular sports franchises remain tough to see in HD. The National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers, for example, will have only about half of their games in HD this season. The primary broadcaster for baseball's St. Louis Cardinals showed just 18 games in HD last season -- a fraction of the network's 110-game TV schedule. "The industry has done a pretty poor job," admits Randy Freer, chief operations officer for Fox Sports Networks, which owns 18 cable sports channels around the country. "There's a fair amount of confusion in the marketplace."

It's a particularly important issue right now. For the fourth quarter, industry analysts are forecasting sales of about three million HDTV units, more than twice the number sold during the year-earlier period. Nearly 33 million U.S. households, or about 30% of the market, are expected to have an HDTV by year end, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. The growth has been sparked by a price war among manufacturers and retailers.

Sports is a big part of the HD pitch. Dozens of ads tout the appeal of watching games in HD, and ESPN, the cable sports behemoth, has maintained a 24-hour HD channel since 2003, long before most other networks. But finding games in HD can be an exercise in remote-control frustration. Cable systems often put HD sports broadcasts on random channels that aren't well-marked or publicized. Contrary to what many consumers are told, there is no deadline for networks to begin broadcasting in HD. The only Federal Communications Commission requirement is for stations to transmit signals in a digital format by 2009 -- but going digital doesn't mean going HD.

Further confusing matters: Millions of viewers have seen their cable systems change ownership -- and their channel lineups overhauled -- since federal regulators approved Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp.'s $17 billion purchase of Adelphia Communication Corp.'s cable assets. As part of the deal, Comcast and Time Warner swapped systems in Dallas, Cleveland, Boston and Los Angeles, and with all of the changes, there have been communication gaffes regarding HD programming. "We're still in the middle of making a lot of changes," says a spokeswoman for Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Alan, a 34-year-old tax lawyer in Houston, got his first HD set in 2004, but became frustrated by the lack of information about which games were available in HD. So he began contacting networks and local stations directly, and set up a Web site -- hdsportsguide.com -- that posts schedules of all the HD sports broadcasts around the country. "I feel like a detective," Mr. Alan says, who estimates that he spends about seven hours a week hounding TV officials.

There are several factors limiting the amount of HD content. HD broadcasts contain far more lines of picture resolution and audio information than regular programs, so they're more expensive to transmit and tax the existing bandwidth of cable systems and satellite providers. Cable systems are particularly hard-hit because they use the same wires to deliver TV, Internet, video-on-demand, and phone services to customers -- and therefore have less room for HD signals.

Satellite services like DirecTV and Dish Network face the same issue: On Sundays during the NFL season, DirecTV usually has to take one of its HD channels off the air in order to free up space to show NFL games in HD.

TV networks have their own cost and logistical hurdles. An HD sports broadcast is up to 30% more expensive to produce than a standard telecast, according to TV executives. There is also an industrywide shortage of high-definition broadcast trucks, so during busy periods it's nearly impossible to broadcast every desirable game in HD. "You have to make choices," says Martin Franks, executive vice president of planning and policy for CBS, which is producing about half of its NFL schedule in HD, but plans to telecast all of its 2007 golf tournaments in HD.

To be sure, the amount of HD sports coverage has grown exponentially. Every NBA game televised by ESPN, ABC, and TNT this season will be available in HD, and Fox Sport Networks' regional channels -- which own the local cable rights to roughly two-thirds of all the teams in the NBA, National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball -- recently pledged to double their number of HD broadcasts. DirecTV plans to launch two additional satellites sometime next year, a move the company says will give it bandwidth for 150 additional HD channels. In baseball, both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are widely available in HD, largely because both clubs own TV networks. Last season, the Yankees' YES Network showed nearly its entire broadcast schedule -- about 125 games -- in HD, and the network's stand-alone HD channel will be available on all New York-area cable systems by April. (On DirecTV, New York-area viewers with HD service can access real-time statistics and other interactive options on YES.)

Consumers also have to pay more attention. Many HDTV owners can't even watch HD programming because they haven't signed up for upgraded service from their cable or satellite provider -- and therefore aren't receiving HD channels.

Tech-savvy sports fans, of course, just want to see as many games as possible in HD. Jeff Homberger, a 22-year-old from Belleville, Mich., follows the TV industry closely -- he has tracked how many times each NFL team has appeared in HD over the past three seasons. Earlier this year, his local cable sports network, FSN Detroit, unveiled an HD channel and began broadcasting Detroit Tigers games in high definition. Unfortunately, his Comcast cable system didn't add the channel until after the baseball season. "It was one of my frustrations over the summer," he says. "I'll tune into a sport just because I see it in HD."

Write to Jon Weinbach at jonathan.weinbach@wsj.com

Critic’s Notebook
Matt Roush's Top 10
By Matt Roush TV Guide

1) 24
My pulse races just thinking about this Fox hit's fifth and finest season, with its scarily high body count (President Palmer! Michelle! Tony! EDGAR!), its evil president, its ferocious First Lady and its hero, Jack Bauer, once again saving the day — with Kiefer Sutherland finally winning his Emmy. No wonder everyone wants to copy this serial-thriller format. But nothing else even comes close. 24 is 24-carat brilliance.

2) The Wire
HBO's devastating urban epic of Baltimore is the opposite of a standard TV crime drama (of which there are too many). More like literature in its realism, depth and honesty, The Wire reveals breathtaking flaws in city politics, law enforcement and, this year, the school system, where four eighth-grade boys face a violent, uncertain future.

3) Friday Night Lights
This show breaks, and lifts, my heart. A ratings underdog about a high-school football team in a vividly authentic Texas town, NBC's beautifully crafted drama scores one emotional touchdown after another. A tremendous young cast is guided by Kyle Chandler's careerhigh performance as the Panthers' stalwart coach.

4) Grey's Anatomy
The libidinous temperature's always on the rise in this fantastically entertaining romantic medical drama's breakthrough year. Grey's soared in the explosive post-Super Bowl episode, shocked us with Denny's death in the season finale and triumphed in the risky move to Thursdays. We'd follow Grey's anywhere.

5) Battlestar Galactica
Sci Fi Channel's bracingly adult fantasy adventure is less about outer space than inner space, as it looks deep into humanity's heart of darkness. This electrifying saga of survival took on disturbing new colors as it became a provocative war allegory. Subplots involving terrorism and genocide asked us to reconsider the very notion of heroism.

6) NBC's Thursday comedies return
When the network was still No. 1, I could only dream of a two-hour block of consecutive winners this smart, funny and innovative. (No The Single Guy or Jesse here.) And these winners are all so blissfully different: the sweetly wacky My Name Is Earl, the painfully satirical The Office (the year's most improved comedy), the hilariously manic and eternally underrated Scrubs and Tina Fey's uproarious 30 Rock, with Alec Baldwin's sly send-up of a network suit the breakthrough comedy performance of the year. Though Thursday's ratings no longer shout "Must-see!," these gems shouldn't be missed.

7) Ugly Betty
Simply adorable and adorably simple, ABC's fairy-tale charmer about a gawky princess from Queens (America Ferrera's irresistibly lovable Betty) crackles with the garish colors and exaggerated stylings of a telenovela — but with much more heart. Paired with Grey's and Men in Trees on Thursdays, Betty is a romantic's dream come true.

8) The Shield
There's always a place for FX's bold dramas on my list. In 2006, this scorching police drama was the most consistently riveting, dominated by the cat-and-mouse dynamic of Michael Chiklis' dirty cop sparring with Internal Affairs snoop Forest Whitaker. The climactic tragedy of Shane killing his buddy Lem has left us nervously anticipating what is bound to be a vicious aftermath.

9) Lost
My top pick the last two years barely made the cut this time, after the fall's frustrating six-week curtain-raiser that kept the tribe apart and forced us to watch favorite characters caged and beaten. (Free Sawyer!) With its gorgeous look and provocative character-based mysteries, Lost still dazzles. But lately I also want better. Still, I'm not giving up yet.

10) Dexter
In a banner year for Showtime (Brotherhood, Weeds, Sleeper Cell: American Terror), this twisted spin on the crime procedural stands out. Michael C. Hall is a revelation as serial-killer Dexter, an emotionally numb sociopath who slaughters bad guys by night and works crime scenes for Miami cops by day. Macabre and mesmerizing.

http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Roush-Review/default.aspx

Critic’s Notebook
'Mind' boggling popularity
By Verne Gay Newsday

Eons ago, back when most people still lived in caves, ate their meat raw and could get only three networks on their TV sets, there was a series on ABC called "Burke's Law." It was a nice little show, this show about a cop (Gene Barry) who was rich, brilliant and suave, and who managed to solve a murder every week within the allotted 44 minutes. "Law" and a handful of other cop procedurals from the Jurassic Age of TV ("Dragnet," "77 Sunset Strip") would be strip-mined over and over in the decades to follow. "Law" began in 1963 and was canceled by ABC in 1966, but the show would live on. (CBS even attempted a 1995 revival.)

We take this side trip down memory lane in an effort to unravel one of the riddles of the modern TV era - one that has flummoxed executives, critics and maybe even a few viewers. It is a braintease of grand proportions, Fermat's Last Theorem of the Tube ...

Why is "Criminal Minds" one of TV's biggest hits of the moment?

When an original "Minds" airs on CBS…about 18 million viewers…tune in, and you may as well double that figure for the post-Super Bowl edition on Feb. 4. "Minds" has survived "American Idol," "Lost," critical dismemberment and an industrywide impression that this is a crusty old crab skittering on the floor of a sea teeming with fresh, sleek, exciting and original dramas.

So, why? Your answer: The law of "Burke's Law" and its contemporaries.

In the early '60s, people came home at night to watch a new type of TV show called the "police procedural." ABC, for the most part started the trend, but soon enough these shows multiplied. Some were scary and some violent - "The Untouchables" had a notorious weekly body count - and most preyed on a Cold War-induced paranoia that there was someone lurking in your driveway.

And your daughter ... God, don't even think what might happen to her.

These dramas were sophisticated, smart and manipulative. And for years, women were often their victims, so much so that CBS' long-running TV movie franchise was predicated on a Women in Peril theme most weeks. Networks knew this gimmick would hook the female viewers that advertisers coveted.

Most of all, these shows had a predictable beat and rhythm. Murder committed ... then, first commercial break ... Flummoxed detectives piece together clues ... Second break ... Perpetrator strikes again ... Third break ... Mystery solved ... fourth commercial ... Bad guy caught, gunned down. (Segue to soothing announcer: "Stay tuned to your local news, for the latest on the murder in ...")

There were good guys and there were bad guys. The bad guys took one in the neck, usually by hour's end.

Millions of viewers grew up on these shows, then grew old with them. Those same millions form the core of CBS' audience, and have made a crusty crab one of the hottest shows on TV.

For the unindoctrinated, "Minds" stars Mandy Patinkin as Jason Gideon and Thomas Gibson as Aaron Hotchner - crack profilers in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Tough, smooth and brilliant, they must solve a crime that's gruesome, hideous and typically perpetrated on women, and do it all just before 10 p.m.

"I would be an exceptionally rich man if I knew exactly why ," said executive producer Ed Bernero, a former Chicago street cop. But "one of the things benefiting us is the glut of shows that don't have any ending. I think people feel comforted by the fact that they can sit down for 45 minutes and get a well-told story with a beginning, middle and end."

Bernero says most episodes are based on Arthurian legends - his blanket dismissal of the rap that "Minds" is too often soaked in the blood of women. "Women in peril," he says, "is the basis of the Arthurian legends - the damsel in distress."

"'Minds,'" he adds, is "about classic storytelling, which for some reason or another seems to be missing from television. It's become much more about the flash - what kind of cool, weird shot can we do, and how can we make polar bears on an island."

And what of the law of "Burke's Law" - that everything old is new again, which is just the way older viewers like it?

"Your theory," Bernero says, "doesn't sound any less plausible than mine."

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-ettel5012534dec13,0,714258,print.column?coll=ny-television-headlines

TV Notebook
ABC has less 'Help' next week
medialifemagazine.com

One day after “Help Me Help You” fell to a series-low 1.4 adults 18-49 rating, ABC has yanked it at least temporarily.

Though it hasn’t been officially canceled, “Help” will be replaced next week at 9:30 p.m. by “Big Day,” which will also air at 9 p.m. Both shows dipped to series lows this week, the second straight week of declines for both.

It seems doubtful “Help,” which stars Ted Danson as a therapist, will return, while “Day,” which averaged a 1.8 this week, may last only until the network finds a new show to replace it with.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/cat_index_31.asp

Critic’s Notebook
'Mind' boggling popularity
By Verne Gay Newsday

Fredfa, check page 637 post #19092 (sigh)! This is getting tiresome man, can't you just check the previous couple of pages before you post a new story to see if I or somebody else hasn't posted it yet? :( :rolleyes: :mad:

Tuesday’s fast national prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.

Fredfa, check page 637 post #19092 (sigh)! This is getting tiresome man, can't you just check the previous couple of pages before you post a new story to see if I or somebody else hasn't posted it yet? :( :rolleyes: :mad:

To be honest, I would find a PM a more appropriate way of expressing your dismay.

To be honest, I would find a PM a more appropriate way of expressing your dismay.

You know, I don't want to fan any flames here, but I was thinking the exact same thing, along with a few other things.

Posting Reminders
A Few Ground Rules

I welcome as many items as you would like to post here. This is a cooperative thread, it doesn't belong to me and the exchange of information is vital to its well-being.

But there still are a few ground rules we need to understand.

First off: no personal attacks. I take a much harder line on this than other moderators. A spirited and lively discussion is much appreciated. Name calling is not. Because someone doesn't share your love of (Fill in your favorite show's name here) doesn't make him or her sub-human or an idiot. It is TV. It is entertainment. Don't take your own tastes -- or those of others -- that seriously. At least not on this thread.

Ifd you have a favorite show you want to alert others to, please feel free to do it. But let's not attack fellow viewers who don't share your passion and enjoy totally different programs.

Try your best to keep your posts related as much as possible to HD programs. The folks who run this website have very generously allowed me extraordinary latitude to post anything related to TV. But try to keep your posts to HD matters as much as possible. Obviously, your comments on non-HD stories I may have posted are welcome.

If you have found an item relating to an obscure SD cable channel think twice (and then again and again) before posting. And generally you should simply ignore the impulse to post such a story.

If you are tempted to post something which appears in a paid subscription site you have access to -– don’t. Feel free to post a few salient paragraphs and link to the story, but don’t post it in its entirety.

If the story is attributed to The Associated Press don’t post it in its entirety, even if you accessed it through a free website.

Do not post more than the top 10 in any Nielsen category. That is a strict limit Nielsen places on web postings.

Many online publications are extremely generous in allowing their material to be reprinted with attribution. Let's not abuse their kindess. So always, always include a direct link to items you post.

Thanks.

Personally, I found the thread much easier to follow when the vast majority of releases were coordinated and posted by only one person - with only occasional postings by others for big news that slipped through the cracks.

I consider myself a very discriminating TV viewer. I will only watch stuff that appeals to me in a personal, emotional and/or intellectual level that most scripted and reality TV simply doesn't reach. How else to explain that I own over 500 hours of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on VHS/DVD but can't stand to watch The Late Show on CBS even though both are hosted by Letterman? Why do I love Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and The Amazing Race even though I hold the reality TV genre with the utmost contempt? Why do I own every DVD Box Set of The X-Files but have never seen a single episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel or Smallville? Why do I not miss a single episode of The Sopranos but have never had the urge to watch a single episode of The Shield, House or Rescue Me? Why do the late night talk shows strike me as hilarious but Curb Your Enthusiasm, Earl, Entourage and Ugly Betty couldn't hold my attention for the duration of a single episode?

For the same reasons a meteorite or condensed waste from an airplane lands in somebody else's backyard but not yours. Pure luck and an individual streak of thinking that, through sheer randomness, wound up introducing me to TV shows like Mystery Science Theater 3000, Letterman's NBC show, The Secret World of Alex Mack and others that I never thought would become my TV love. But hey, this year alone I've become attached to Studio 60 and Heroes. And there's no better dramatic hour-long TV show on the air right now that Battlestar Galactica. That's a start, right? :o

As for posting stories here, just because I don't watch all (or most of what's deemed good) TV doesn't mean I don't love the medium. Besides, if I only posted stories about the TV shows I watch this thread would be pretty boring and one-sided. I'm following the Fredfa mold: post about what I think you folks want to read about, not what I think you should read about (big difference).

House and Rescue Me are both amazing shows, so good as anything that has ever been on TV. For you to dismiss them without a look severely minimizes the value of your opinoin.

2007 Golden Globe TV Nominees

The complete list of television category nominees for the 64th annual Golden Globe awards, to be awarded January 15, 2006.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

ANDRÉ BRAUGHER, Thief
ROBERT DUVALL, Broken Trail
MICHAEL EALY, Sleeper Cell: American Terror
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, Tsunami, The Aftermath
BEN KINGSLEY, Mrs. Harris
BILL NIGHY, Gideon's Daughter
MATTHEW PERRY, The Ron Clark Story

It still amuses me, in some twisted way, to see Thief keep stacking up nominations.

Even though ratings were low, I wonder if FX are regretting not letting it play out for a while longer?

Posting Reminders
A Few Ground Rules

I welcome as many items as you would like to post here. This is a cooperative thread, it doesn't belong to me and the exchange of information is vital to its well-being.

But there still are a few ground rules we need to understand.

First off: no personal attacks. I take a much harder line on this than other moderators. A spirited and lively discussion is much appreciated. Name calling is not. Because someone doesn't share your love of (Fill in your favorite show's name here) doesn't make him or her sub-human or an idiot. It is TV. It is entertainment. Don't take your own tastes -- or those of others -- that seriously. At least not on this thread.

Ifd you have a favorite show you want to alert others to, please feel free to do it. But let's not attack fellow viewers who don't share your passion and enjoy totally different programs.


Thanks.

fredfa, I apologize for denegrating a fellow poster for his opinion. You are right, It's entertainment, and the value of entertainment is a very subjective thing. My hats off to you and your fellow posters who keep this thread one of the most informative and entertaining on the forum.

Personally, I found the thread much easier to follow when the vast majority of releases were coordinated and posted by only one person - with only occasional postings by others for big news that slipped through the cracks.

Agreed CP95.

But I have been traveling a lot lately and dad1153, harley1, and others have been generously keeping the posts coming -- and the thread timely -- when I have not been able to.

fredfa, I apologize for denegrating a fellow poster for his opinion. You are right, It's entertainment, and the value of entertainment is a very subjective thing. My hats off to you and your fellow posters who keep this thread one of the most informative and entertaining on the forum.

I had no one specifically in mind, jandron. (And certainly not you.)

We have had a fairly dramatic upsurge in page views over the past few months and a lot of new readers of the thread, so I was just trying to spell out some of the basics of the thread which many long-time readers are already well aware of.

But this thread is for informational (and entertainment!) value. For those wishing to be more assertive in their views there are a number of program-specific threads which cater to such rabid fans.

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
A fatso finale for NBC's 'Biggest Loser'
Climbs to a season-best 4.8 rating in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 14, 2006

Even CBS’s growing hit “Criminal Minds” was no match for “The Biggest Loser” last night as the two-hour finale of the NBC reality show hit a season high.

“Loser” averaged a 4.8 from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, winning its timeslot in both hours and peaking with a 5.6 for its final half hour.

“Loser” even managed to edge CBS’s on-the-rise “Minds” during the 9 p.m. hour, averaging a 5.4 to the latter’s 4.7, though “Minds” was more than 3 million ahead in total viewers with 16.2 million.

The show delivered NBC’s best non-Olympic 18-49 audience in the timeslot since May 2004, when a “Friends” special aired on the night before the sitcom’s finale.

It was the best rating for the show in the demo since Nov. 29, 2005, and “Loser” won its timeslot in adults 18-34 and 25-54 as well.

It benefited from light competition. ABC’s “Lost,” which usually dominates Wednesday at 9, left the air last month along with “Dancing with the Stars,” and thus the network averaged just a 1.5 opposite the “Loser” finale.

“Minds” was really “Loser’s” only challenger. CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” had its finale last week, and CBS’s “King of Queens” was down from its premiere average the previous week.

“Loser” gave lead-out “Medium” a tremendous boost as well. The show had its best rating of the season, a 3.7, and was up 18 percent over the previous week’s 3.1.

That helped NBC edge CBS for the top spot for the night among 18-49s, averaging a 4.4 rating and a 12 share to CBS’s 4.3/12. Fox was third at 2.6/7, Univision fourth at 1.9/5, ABC fifth at 1.6/4 and CW sixth at 1.0/3.

NBC started the night in the lead with a 4.1 rating at 8 p.m. for the first hour of the “Loser” finale. CBS was second with a 3.2 for an hour of “The King of Queens,” Fox third with a 2.9 for “Bones” and Univision fourth with a 2.6 for “La Fea Mas Bella.” ABC was fifth that hour with a 1.6 for “Show Me the Money” and CW sixth with a 1.1 for the first hour of an “America’s Next Top Model” special.

At 9 p.m. NBC led again, this time with a 5.4 rating for the second hour of “Loser.” CBS finished second that hour with a 4.7 for “Minds,” Fox third with a 2.2 for a “Bones” repeat and Univision fourth with a 1.6 for “Mundo de Fieras.” That put ABC fifth with a 1.4 for “Daybreak” and CW sixth with a 0.8 for another hour of “Top Model.”

CBS took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 4.9 rating for “CSI: NY,” with NBC falling to second with a 3.7 for “Medium.” ABC moved up to third with a 1.8 for “Primetime,” with Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “Don Francisco Presenta.”

Among households, CBS finished the night on top with an 8.8 average rating and a 14 share. NBC was second at 7.1/12, Fox third at 4.6/7, ABC fourth at 3.4/6, Univision fifth at 2.3/4 and CW sixth at 1.5/2.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9148.asp

Posting Reminders
A Few Ground Rules .

OK, got it. Sorry for snapping at you Fred, I'm not a PM-type of guy (more of a shoot-from-the-hip type of dude). Do I still have a job? :o

BTW, anyone else sad that except for Sarah Paulson's supporting actress nomination Studio 60 was shut out of most Golden Globe awards? :(

TV Notebook
Research Report:
For Fifth Year, Cable Projected to Beat Out Broadcast in Prime
By Anthony Crupi Media Week Dec. 14, 2006

For the fifth consecutive year, ad-supported cable is projected to beat out the broadcast networks in prime time, boasting a 55.4 percent household share year-to-date, compared to the six broadcast nets’ 40.4 share.

According to Nielsen Media Research data crunched by Turner chief research officer Jack Wakshlag, while cable’s dominance of prime time continued in 2006, its growth appears to be leveling off. If the 69 measured cable nets reach the projected 55.5 share at the end of the year, that number represents growth of just one-tenth of one percent versus last year’s share.

The same principle applies with the adults 18-49 demo. Cable should win out in the core demo for the third consecutive year, with a projected 44.1 share, a decline of two-tenths of a percentage point. Meanwhile, broadcast is projected to post a 36.7 share among adults 18-49 in prime, a drop of one-half of a percentage point.

If cable’s ratings surge over the last five years––since 2001, its share of the 18-49 demo has grown 7 percentage points, or 15.8 percent, while broadcast has dropped 7 points, or 16 percent––has tapered off, that may be a function of prime having reached a saturation point. According to Wakshlag, the amount of prime time viewership hasn’t changed since 2001,
holding firm at an average 7.5 hours per week per person.

Nor did the ratio of ad sales dollars to share change in 2006. To date, cable is getting just 31 percent of advertisers’ prime time spend, versus the 69 percent that goes over to the broadcast nets. Wakshlag reported those same numbers in his year-end ratings presentation of Dec. 2005.

Through Sept., the broadcast nets commanded $10.72 billion in ad sales, according to Nielsen Adviews, down 7.6 percent from the $11.59 billion they took in throughout 2001. On the other side of the ledger, this year saw cable doing $4.77 billion in ad sales through Sept., versus $3.33 billion in 2001, an increase of 30.2 percent.

Of all measured ad-supported cable nets, USA Network is projected to sweep the annual prime time ratings competition, finishing first in total viewers (2.62 million), as well as among adults 18-49 (1.17 million), 25-54 (1.19 million) and 18-34 (533,000). TNT, meanwhile, will take second among total viewers (2.4 million), and should finish second in its delivery of 18-49s and 25-54s. Sibling net TBS will end the year in second place among adults 18-34, while TNT should take fourth in the demo.

ESPN will end the year in third place in total viewers (2.09 million), and should land in the same spot in all three core demos. Year-to-date, the sports net has hiked its share of 18-49s by 15 percent, thanks in large part to its acquisition of Monday Night Football.

Rounding out the top 10 most-watched cable nets of 2006 are: TBS, with 1.62 million total prime time viewers; Lifetime (1.51 million); Cartoon Network (1.5 million); Nick-at-Nite (1.49 million); Fox News Channel (1.42 million); FX (1.26 million) and Spike TV (1.24 million).

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003521968

It still amuses me, in some twisted way, to see Thief keep stacking up nominations.

Even though ratings were low, I wonder if FX are regretting not letting it play out for a while longer?


I don't think so. Even though the numbers were low, they contiued to decline.

I am sure FX wanted nothing more than to have a success in "Thief". But it just didn't work.

(Cable) TV Notebook
Cable Earns 23 Globe Nominations
By Linda Haugsted, Multichannel News December 14, 2006

Cable networks earned 27 of the 57 nominations announced Thursday for the annual Golden Globe Awards, the honors selected by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

HBO topped all cable networks with 14 nominations, followed by Showtime with six, including a best-drama-actor nod for Michael C. Hall in Dexter, a series that has yet to even complete its first season; AMC with three, TNT and BBC America with two each; and USA and FX each with one.

Showtime Networks CEO Matt Blank said the nominations for his network affirmed that Showtime "is a place where actors can do great work and be recognized." As for turning those nominations -- all for the sophomore series Weeds besides the single acting nod for Dexter -- into wins, Blank added, "We're very hopeful. We really had the goods this year."

The foreign press writers showed Big Love for that HBO series, nominating it for best drama series of the year, where it will compete with Fox's 24; ABC's Lost and Grey's Anatomy; and NBC's Heroes.

Weeds and HBO's Entourage will compete in the best-comedy-series category, along with broadcast fare Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty (ABC); and The Office (NBC).

The writers also liked AMC's move beyond acquired films into original production, awarding its first original movie, Broken Trail, with nominations as best movie or miniseries and for each of its stars, Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church.

BBC America scored with Gideon's Daughter. Its actors, Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt, were both singled out by voters.

Andre Braugher will have a chance to add a Golden Globe to his Emmy Award for Thief, which was craftily nominated as a miniseries. Thief was an FX series, but it was canceled after six episodes, and competition rules state that a miniseries is a production of six parts or less.

The Golden Globes will be awarded Jan. 15 during a ceremony on NBC.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399985.html?display=Breaking+News

BTW, anyone else sad that except for Sarah Paulson's supporting actress nomination Studio 60 was shut out of most Golden Globe awards? :(

Not half as sad as seeing BSG and Deadwood shut out. How can they not nominate Ian McShane for Best Actor or Gerald McRainey for Best Supporting Actor? How can those two shows not get nominations for best dramatic series? Do those people not watch television??

They can't be taken seriously with those kind of ommissions. And while I like 'Studio 60', it's been too wildly uneven so far to be considered for any kind of awards. Give it a year to find its legs, then maybe.

Nielsen Notebook
NBC: Big Late Night Week
Jay, Conan and “Last Call” Thrive
NBC News Release

BURBANK, Calif. – December 14, 2006 – NBC's late-night stars have dominated the week of December 4-8 over all cable and broadcast competition, as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" generated its highest 18-49 rating in eight months and biggest overall audience in 10 months.

For the season, "Tonight" is stretching its winning margins versus year-ago results. Season to date, Jay is leading the 11:35 p.m. ET hour among adult 18-49 viewers by a 36 percent advantage, up from last year's 35 percent, in total viewers the margin has increased to 36 percent from last year's 31 percent and in adults 18-34, the lead is up to 60 percent from last year's 47 percent.

At 12:35 a.m. ET, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" is dominating the season with a 54 percent margin of victory in adult 18-49 viewers over CBS' "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." In total viewers, Conan's season-long lead is 31 percent, up from 28 percent last year, and in adults 18-34, Conan's lead this season is 121 percent, up from 102 percent last year. Season to date, Conan is up 4 percent in 18-49 viewers, up 2 percent in 18-34 viewers and up 6 percent in total viewers versus last year.

At 1:35 a.m. ET, a week of "Last Call with Carson Daily" rebroadcasts tied mostly original telecasts of Ferguson and beat ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in adult 18-49 rating (Monday's Kimmel and Tuesday's Ferguson were encores). The Carson Daly rebroadcasts outscored both Ferguson and Kimmel in the valuable adult 18-34 category while tying ABC's "Nightline," though "Last Call" starts two hours later than "Nightline," 90 minutes later than Kimmel and an hour later than Ferguson. Season to date, "Last Call" is up 5 percent in total viewers versus last year.

For the first 12 weeks of the 2006-07 season, Jay has averaged 2.496 million adult 18-49 viewers versus 1.831 million for Letterman, 5.791 million total viewers versus Letterman's 4.249 million, and 969,000 adults 18-34 to Letterman's 607,000. At 12:35 a.m. ET, Conan has averaged 1.417 million adults 18-49, 2.592 million total viewers and 702,000 adults 18-34 versus Ferguson's 921,000 adults 18-49, 1.986 million total viewers and 318,000 adults 18-34.

Jay's 2.1 rating in 18-49 is his highest since the week of April 3-7 and last week's overall viewership of 6.4 million persons is Jay's biggest since Feb. 6-10 (live plus same day).


WEEKLY AVERAGES
(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of December 4-8. Ratings reflect "live plus same day" data unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of "live plus seven day" data except for the two most recent weeks, which are "live plus same day.")

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 2.1 rating, 9 share
CBS "Late Show," 1.3/5 (in encore telecasts)
ABC "Nightline," 1.1/4

12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.6/3*

12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.1/6
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.7/4*

1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.7/5 (in encore telecasts)

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 6.4 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 3.8 million viewers (in encore telecasts)
ABC "Nightline," 3.4 million viewers

12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.7 million viewers*

12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 2.6 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 1.9 million viewers*

1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.5 million viewers (in encore telecasts)

* Monday's "Kimmel" and Tuesday's "Late Late Show" were rebroadcasts.


SEASON-TO-DATE AVERAGES

ADULTS 18-49

11:35 p.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 1.9 rating, 8 share
CBS "Late Show," 1.4/6
ABC "Nightline," 1.2/5

12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 0.7/4

12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 1.1/7
CBS "Late Late Show," 0.7/4

1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 0.7/5

TOTAL VIEWERS

11:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Tonight," 5.8 million viewers
CBS "Late Show," 4.3 million viewers
ABC "Nightline," 3.6 million viewers

12:05 a.m. ET
ABC "Kimmel," 1.8 million viewers

12:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Late Night," 2.6 million viewers
CBS "Late Late Show," 2.0 million viewers

1:35 a.m. ET
NBC "Last Call," 1.6 million viewers


SELECTED CABLE RESULTS, WEEK OF DECEMBER 4-8

NATIONAL ADULT 18-49 RATING

Comedy Central, 11 p.m. ET, "The Daily Show," 0.8
Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. ET, "The Colbert Report," 0.6

Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET, 0.7
Adult Swim, 12:30-1:30 a.m. ET, 0.3

Each adult 18-49 rating point equals 1.31 million viewers

Awards Notebook
The Golden Globes

Before we get all bent out of shape about today’s Golden Globe nominations, we should remember a few things.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is virtually invisible all year – except at Golden Globes time. Many in Hollywood consider the group – made up largely of free lancers and stringers – to be “a joke”. And the main reason for the group's exitsence seems to be to get exposure (and a check) from its annual NBC awards telecast.

Because those awards are handed out during Oscar voting season, the movie studios fall all over themselves hoping to get a) nominations and b) win a Globe. If you check almost any of the stories about the nominations, you will note that the vast majority of attention goes to the movie nominations.

The TV awards are almost an afterthought. But the networks and studios also look for some publicity help from the TV nominations and awards.

So who are they voting members of the HFPA?

Here, from the HFPA website, is the members list:

HFPA Active Members
Paoula Abou-Jaoude, Brazil
Vera Anderson, Bulgaria, Mexico
Ray Arco, Canada
Rocio Ayuso, Spain
Anita Baum, Argentina
Gilda Baum-Lappe, Mexico
Yani Begakis, Greece, Japan
Philip Berk, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong
Elmar Biebl, Germany
Silvia Bizio, Italy
Jorge Camara, Dominican Republic
Isabelle Caron, France
Jean-Paul Chaillet, France
Myung Chan Choi, South Korea
Rui Henriques Coimbra, Portugal
Jenny Cooney Carrillo, Australia, New Zealand
Jean E. Cummings, Japan
Yola Czaderska-Hayek, Poland
Ersi Danou, Greece
Noel de Souza, India
Gabrielle Donnelly, United Kingdom
George Doss, Egypt
Mahfouz Doss, Egypt
Maureen Dragone, Thailand
Dagmar Dunlevy, Canada
Armando Gallo, Italy
Margaret Gardiner, South Africa
Avik Gilboa, United Kingdom
Mike Goodridge, United Kingdom
Andre Guimond, Canada
John Hiscock, United Kingdom
Helen Hoehne, Germany
Anke Hofmann, Germany
Nellee A. Holmes, Russia
Munawar Hosain, Germany
Yoram Kahana, Estonia
Erkki "Erik" Kanto, Finland
Theo Kingma, The Netherlands
Ahmed Lateef, Hong Kong
Kleo Lee, Greece, Japan
Elisa Leonelli, Italy, Spain
Gabriel Lerman, Costa Rica
Emanuel Levy, Israel
Lisa Lu, China, Taiwan
Howard Lucraft, United Kingdom
Lilly Lui, Hong Kong
Ramzi Malouki, Tahiti, Tunisia
Helena Mar-Elia, Lebanon
Lawrie Masterson, Australia, New Zealand
Paz Mata, Spain
Juliette Michaud, France
Max B. Miller, United Kingdom
Aud Berggren Morisse. Norway
Yukiko Nakajima, Japan
Yoko Narita, Japan
Aniko Navai, Hungary
Ruben V. Nepales, Philippines
Alexander Nevsky, Russia
Yenny Nun-Katz, Chile, Peru
Scott Orlin, Germany
Mira Panajotovic, Serbia
Alena Prime, Tahiti
Serge Rakhlin, Latvia, Russia
Patrick Roth, Germany
Mohammed Rouda, United Arab Emirates
Frank Rousseau, Belgium, France
Marianne Ruuth, France, Sweden
Ali Sar, Russia
Frances Schoenberger, Germany
Elisabeth Sereda, Austria
Maria Snoeys-Lagler, Belgium
Judy Solomon, Israel
Lorenzo Soria, Italy
Hans J. Spurkel, Austria, Switzerland
Aida Takla-O'Reilly, Egypt
Meher Tatna, Malaysia, Singapore
Jack Tewksbury, Argentina, Thailand, Russia
Lynn M. Tso, Taiwan
Alessandra Venezia, Italy
Marlene von Arx, Switzerland
Jerry Watson, United Kingdom
Anita Weber Japan, South Africa, United Kingdom
Noemia Young, Canada

New Members
Mario Amaya, Colombia
H. J. Park, Korea

Lifetime Members
Edmund Brettschneider
BJ Franklin
Helmut Voss

Affiliate Members
Vivi Anderson
Frances Jeane Appel
Kiki Brettschneider
Karen Martin

http://www.hfpa.org/hfpa_members/index.html

Not half as sad as seeing BSG and Deadwood shut out. How can they not nominate Ian McShane for Best Actor or Gerald McRainey for Best Supporting Actor? How can those two shows not get nominations for best dramatic series? Do those people not watch television??

They can't be taken seriously with those kind of ommissions. And while I like 'Studio 60', it's been too wildly uneven so far to be considered for any kind of awards. Give it a year to find its legs, then maybe.
I don't understand all the praise Sarah Paulson has been getting on Studio 60. She's okay, but it's like she's the second coming or something.

Matthew Perry, I think, would have been much more deserving of a nod.

I agree with you on Ian. He always knocks it out with his performances. I can't comment on BSG as I'm not watching, but the only thing I could imagine that show getting a nod for would be Edward James Olmos. He was amazing in the mini, the first season and the second, even when the show began to stink it up.

I'm sure he's been equally terrific this season.

Not half as sad as seeing BSG and Deadwood shut out. How can they not nominate Ian McShane for Best Actor or Gerald McRainey for Best Supporting Actor? How can those two shows not get nominations for best dramatic series? Do those people not watch television??

They can't be taken seriously with those kind of ommissions. And while I like 'Studio 60', it's been too wildly uneven so far to be considered for any kind of awards. Give it a year to find its legs, then maybe.

I think it is pretty clear that most of these people don't watch TV.

And to expect foreign journalists to vote for something deserving (like, for example "Friday Night Lights" which many of them couldn't possibly understand), is silly.

Just as silly as the Geena Davis best actress award last year for "Commander In Chief".

These awards are voted for by people you have never heard of, who by and large "work" for publications you have never heard of. (They must supply at least four written stories yearly to keep their HFPA membership active.)

It is not at all like the Television Critics Association, whose membership includes TV writers many of us know and read regularly.

I dare say that all of the Top 10 lists we'll be reading in the next few weeks from U.S. TV critics and writers will have more more relevance than any of these nominations.

On the other hand, the Golden Globe winners will get to make an appearance -- and promote their shows --on national prime time TV.

Consider the Golden Globes, staged while Oscar voting is reaching a crescendo, to be Hollywood's version of the Iowa caucuses. They may -- or very well may not -- mean anything in the long run.

And if they do mean anything (certainly in the realm of television) that almost certainly will be by accident.

Awards Notebook
Golden Globe Goodies

Ever wonder why so many celebrities actually show up at events like the Golden Globe Awards show?

Here is a press release detailing not only the lavish gift bags Golden Globes presenters got this January, but also the goodies awarded to every guest attending the Awards show.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association Thanks This Year's Celebrity Presenters With a Gift Box Valued at Over $62,000

'In Style' Assembles a Gift Bag Valued at Over $1,300 for Guests Attending the
Golden Globe Ceremony featuring the FURLA 'Farrah Bag'

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hollywood Foreign Press
Association and "In Style" will treat this year's Golden Globe presenters to
an array of lavish items. The contents of the presenter gift boxes for the
2006 Awards show will total over $62K in luxury items and were hand selected
by members of the HFPA. Some of the selected items for the presenter boxes
include:

"Quark Expeditions" whisks a VIP plus guest on a two week excursion for an Antarctic Peninsula Adventure to Tasmania, Antarctica and New Zealand on a 54-cabin ship to see the wildlife of the artic. This package includes airfare for two to Argentina, hotel accommodations the night before the expedition begins, all meals and expeditions, plus artic gear to wear during the journey.

"Rare in Nature: Diamonds of the Canadian Arctic" -- this Northwest Territories Diamond Experience includes airfare for two from Edmonton on First Air to Yellowknife, the Diamond Capital of North America, luxurious hotel accommodations, professional diamond cutting and polishing lessons at Aurora College, a private tour of top-security facilities where diamonds are crafted and certified for quality and origin, a personally engraved government certified Canadian diamond mounted in a pendant designed by top Canadian designer Paul Hardy and crafted in New York by Moshe Namdar & Co., plus a luxurious shawl made of Qiviuk fiber harvested from the Arctic muskox.

"Lumineers(TM) by Cerinate(R)" gift certificate for Lumineers

"The Sports Club LA" bi-coastal 6-month health club membership

"Auberge de Soleil-Napa Valley" provides a get-a-way package including two night stay, dinner for two, spa for two and welcome amenities

"Chopard" Golden Diamond Ring

"Denim For Immortality" Jeans exclusively designed for Golden Globes presenters with diamond button by famed jeweler "Sol Raphael"

"Hugo Boss Fashions Inc." outfit from the Spring/Summer 2006 BOSS Black or BOSS Orange Menswear or Womanswear collections

"Charlie Lapson" Italian leather handbag

"WalkStyles Inc." fitness monitor and Walk Wear clothing

"Saeco USA" Italia espresso machine

"Philip Stein Teslar" uni-sex watch

"The Container Store" organization makeover gift certificate

"Frey Wille" men's leather belt

"Point de Vue Salon" hair care and spa services

"Jack Rocket Wear" couture pet outfits and blanket designed by Jake Dynnis

"Research in Motion" Blackberry 8700c

"Crane & Co." Nieman Marcus black label custom stationary set

"Taryn Rose" men's shoe gift certificate

"White + Warren" 100% cashmere tipped travel blanket

"Salt Optics" sunglasses

"Things Remembered" men's gift set

"Marble Slab Creamery" homemade ice cream gift certificate

"Vax USA" X5 vacuum

"NonnieWallers.com" Golden Globe(R) truffle presentation

"dean." uni-sex messenger bag

"Woman In White" Broadway Theater Tickets for two & CD Box Set by Andrew Lloyd Webber

"Nintendo of America" Game Boy Micro with "Dr. Mario/Puzzle League" game

"Zoe Oliver" Fashion and Spiritual Jewelry

"Kiehl's Since 1851" twenty gift bags for the presenter's next party

All items will be presented in a customized Halloran Trunk by "Mudroom," specially designed for the occasion.

Guests attending the Golden Globes ceremony will also enjoy a gift bag
worth over $1300 assembled by "In Style." This gift bag comes in a FURLA
"Farrah Bag", which is set to be released to consumers in the Spring of 2006,
and includes such items as, Lee Jeans, 6-month subscription to Blockbuster
Online, Dr. Bobby's Medical Foot Spa, Flowerbomb perfume by Viktor & Rolf,
Coexist Premium Tee, Point de Vue Salon & Hair Care gift certificate, Marble
Slab Creamery gift certificate, Boatman Geller stationary, Pharmaskincare
Liquid Ups Lip Gloss, "In Style" "Parties" book, Toss Designs luggage tag,
Parker Brothers "Shout About Music & Shout About Movies DVD" game, A/X Armani
Exchange "Industria" CD, "Mask of Zorro" DVD, Zagat Survey 2006 Los Angeles
Restaurant Guide, L'OREAL Paris Sublime Glow and Men's Expert products,
Godiva Chocolatier box, Cellboost battery charger for IPod/IPod Mini, and
Mango Sour Altoids.

For the first time ever, "In Style" will give away an entire presenter's
box and two ceremony gift bags in their "Your Golden Moment" sweepstakes. For
a chance to win an official Golden Globes Presenter Box valued at $62,000 or a
Ceremony Gift Bag valued at $1,300, log on to instyle.com/yourgoldenmoment on
Feb. 24th and enter In Style's Your Golden Moment sweepstakes. Winners will
be notified April 14th, 2006."

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-10-2006/0004245798&EDATE=

And while I like 'Studio 60', it's been too wildly uneven so far to be considered for any kind of awards. Give it a year to find its legs, then maybe.

Amen.

And the immediate mystery for me, (tho' now that fredfa explained the problem with the Globes, it's less a mystery) is how Hugh Laurie gets nominated - as well he should - yet the show "House" doesn't get a mention. I understand he is the nexus of it, but it really is more than him, as there is a wonderful ensemble he plays off of.

And the immediate mystery for me, (tho' now that fredfa explained the problem with the Globes, it's less a mystery) is how Hugh Laurie gets nominated - as well he should - yet the show "House" doesn't get a mention. I understand he is the nexus of it, but it really is more than him, as there is a wonderful ensemble he plays off of.

Isn't that the exact opposite of what happened last year (Emmys?) when House was nominated for best drama but Hugh Laurie was not nominated at all? That's a bigger mystery to me. House is in essence, all Hugh Laurie. Remove him from the show and you have ER with less action.

AVS Notebook
Help ! !

If you haven’t noticed, David Bott is asking for your help for the AVS Forum.

It is simply a short (and anonymous) questionnaire.

Please take two minutes and fill it out.

You’ll find it here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/announcement.php?f=34&announcementid=103

I can't comment on BSG as I'm not watching, but the only thing I could imagine that show getting a nod for would be Edward James Olmos. He was amazing in the mini, the first season and the second, even when the show began to stink it up.

I'm sure he's been equally terrific this season.

Stink it up? :eek: Are we talking about the same show?? Season 3 has been the strongest yet for BSG, the best drama on TV. My opinion, sure, but I ain't alone, I assure you. (But if you're not watching, then how would you know?) And Eddie has been great as always. We even got to see him smile last week! :)

I don't understand all the praise Sarah Paulson has been getting on Studio 60. She's okay, but it's like she's the second coming or something.

Matthew Perry, I think, would have been much more deserving of a nod...

I guess this falls in the different strokes category. I think Sarah Paulson gives a truly luminous performance in "Studio 60" and is most deserving of a nomination.

I agree that Perry should have gotten one too -- but then what about the even more deserving Kyle Chandler in "Friday Night Lights"?

To me his work has the kind of layered nuance and truth to it that we rarely see in episodic TV. Not bold, splashy and in-your-face like Laurie's great performances, but quieter, subtle, and very moving.

But then, why expect the HFPA to understand FNL...or American TV for that matter?

Top 10 Lists
The Top 10 shows of 2006
(and 10 runners up)
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” December 14, 2006

Whittling down my TV favorites to a mere 10 shows isn’t easy, and the networks -- both broadcast and cable -- aren’t making things any easier. Not that I’m not complaining.

As I peruse the shows that made the cut, one idea jumped out at me: A whole lot of these programs never would have been commissioned even a few years ago.

A prime-time show about a Hispanic woman from Queens -- who gets by on her smarts and spine, not her physique or a stereotypically "spicy" personality? A series about a physician so abrasive that he’s nearly sent to jail, more or less for being a jerk? A program about the humdrum lives of the drones at a paper company -- a comedy, no less?

If there’s one thing TV executives realized this year, it’s that the same-old, same-old won’t cut it any more. If you want to be a hit -- on cable, on the networks, on iTunes or Yahoo TV, on DVD or even on YouTube -- your show has to stand out.

The characters had better be memorable and complicated. The stories had better be so compelling that viewers can’t wait to tune in each week. And it’s even better if a sizable group of fans help promote the shows by spending the days or weeks between episodes peppering message boards and blogs with musings, praise, denunciations, nitpicks and other manifestations of television devotion.

Fan devotion helped “Friday Night Lights” get a full season, blogs sprang up to dissect wardrobe choices on “Ugly Betty” mere days after the show premiered, and “Deadwood” might not be returning next year if not for the vociferous campaigning of the show’s viewers. Doing something different can be scary for networks, but there are no other options -- especially if they want to grab the eyeballs -- and hearts -- of the most discerning viewers.

Television is a risky business, but all the more so if risks are gingerly avoided. Kudos to the creative people behind the shows on the list below. They’ve raised the bar yet again.

(Shows are listed in alphabetical order.)

“Battlestar Galactica,” Sci Fi: Like “Deadwood,” “Battlestar Galactica” is interested in exploring how a society on the edge decides to govern itself. (Sounds exciting, eh? Trust me, it is.) What rights and actions are sacrosanct, which are outlawed, when most of the human race is eliminated? What’s allowable or forbidden when life-threatening emergencies loom? Thank goodness the people muddling through these decisions are the key to this provocative series. If not grounded in the lives of understandably flawed, often noble, decidedly real human beings, none of this highfalutin’ metaphorical stuff would fly. Thanks to a stellar cast and brave writing, “Battlestar” soars.

“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart”/“The Colbert Report,” Comedy Central: Stephen Colbert, in case you hadn’t noticed, is giving one of the most entertaining performances on television, in his “Colbert Report” persona as a conservative cable blowhard. The “Report’s” snappy writing and Colbert’s improvisational skills have only gotten better over time. And in all the lavish media coverage of “The Daily Show,” few commentators have realized that it’s not just a snarkfest: There’s anger at the core of the show. What drives this fake-news program is the idea that the men and women of both parties entrusted with the job of governing us aren’t doing a good enough job. The pointed eviscerations of the mainstream media’s failings are just a fun bonus.

“Deadwood,” HBO: This show’s acting ensemble is truly an embarrassment of riches: Ian McShane, William Sanderson, Molly Parker, Gerald McRaney, Timothy Olyphant, Paula Malcolmson - the performers in this Western, right down to the feisty bar cleaner Jewel and the intense Mr. Wu, are as good as it gets. The sprawling, surprising saga, the actors, David Milch’s poetic dialogue - which mixes the profane with the ornate in a uniquely “Deadwood”-ian patois - all make for an utterly compelling, extraordinarily authentic tale.

“Friday Night Lights,” NBC: If you think this show is only about football, think again. The games at Dillon High are thrilling but mostly because they provide arenas for the hopes, fears, loves and rivalries of the richly drawn characters in this small Texas town. As Coach Eric Taylor, Kyle Chandler paints a nuanced picture of man under pressure to achieve victory while trying to be a role model and even a friend to a complicated tribe of high school athletes. All that plus a sizzling love triangle makes for addictive viewing.

“House,” Fox: They haven’t done it yet - can you believe it? Three seasons in, and the “House” writers haven’t softened the cranky doctor in the slightest. No puppy or adorable moppet has taken up residence in his bachelor pad. As if that weren’t enough, the show’s intelligent writers haven’t slackened in their storytelling; they restlessly explore everyday ethics and morality with ruthless rigor (and provide gripping medical mysteries and damn funny dialogue to boot). “Everybody lies,” is House’s house rule. This show wants to know why, but it gives no easy answers at the end of the hour.

“The Office,” NBC: Thursday is must-see TV night on NBC again, and this sensational series is one big reason for that. Laugh-out-loud comedy is hard to come by, but laughs anchored within a minutely realized character study - that doesn’t exist, except at Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin paper company. Long may it provide copy paper to the Pennsylvania business community, and belly laughs to the rest of us.

“Project Runway,” Bravo: The casting gods were smiling on this red-hot fashion-design show this year. There were many memorable characters, but, as it should be, the freaks never outshone the frocks. The level of talent among the most recent batch of candidates was truly impressive, and in the compassionate yet forthright Tim Gunn, the show had a suave secret weapon: a man who could tell nervous fashionistas the truth without causing a meltdown. If you’re not a “Runway” addict, you may never understand the draw of this show. During “Runway” season, the rest of us just live for Wednesday nights.

“The Shield,” FX: Season 5 of “The Shield” will go down in history as one of the best seasons of television ever. Riveting doesn’t begin to describe the performances by Forest Whitaker, Michael Chiklis, Walton Goggins and Kenneth Johnson. As an internal-affairs cop obsessed with bringing down rogue cop Vic Mackey and his crew, Whitaker was on fire, and “The Shield” cast gave as good as it got. And the Shakespearean finale of the season was as tragic as filmed drama gets.

“Ugly Betty,” ABC: No show had a more difficult mixture to master this year: Newcomer “Betty” is equal parts camp, comedy, melodrama and family saga. Getting this delicate balance right, and giving these characters depth without destroying our ability to laugh at their foibles - well, the whole enterprise could have been a disaster. But the skilled cast brings off this unique mixture with flair to spare, and as the plucky Betty, the earnest girl from the outer boroughs who’s swimming with Manhattan’s designer-clad sharks, America Ferrera is giving a career-making performance.

“The Wire,” HBO: Descriptions of this program sound like eat-your-vegetables TV: One strand of the most recent season of the HBO drama explores how the education system lets down inner-city kids. You might think that’s a formula for earnest, boring TV - until you meet Dukie, Namond, Michael and Randy. Thanks to the cliché-free writing of “The Wire” staff and four phenomenal performances by the young actors playing these 8th graders, this quartet of Baltimore kids became real and their fates came to matter intensely. If Dickens were writing now, he’d be writing for “The Wire.” It’s a gripping, novelistic serial that is unsparing in its authenticity and in its compassion. And the anger that motivates “The Wire” shows us how we are all complicit in society’s failures.

The 10 runners up:

“24,” Fox: I need you to trust me. Jack Bauer will save us - from being bored ever again on Mondays. Come January, we’ll be glued to his adventures again, we’ll be amused by Chloe O’Brian’s crankiness, and we’ll be so enraptured by the whole darn spectacle that we won’t care that we don’t know what it means when someone at CTU opens a socket and transfers a volume to division.

“The Closer,” TNT: Kyra Sedgwick’s canny portrayal of a female detective with her share of issues, as well as savvy writing and a memorable supporting cast, save this show from being just another cop procedural.

“Dexter,” Showtime: A heartbreaking drama about a serial killer - that’s also one of the funniest black comedies in ages? I didn’t believe such a concoction was possible. At this excellent show’s heart is a stunning, vulnerable performance by Michael C. Hall.

“Entourage,” HBO: Two words: Ari Gold. Jeremy Piven’s performance as the eternally scrambling agent of up-and-comer Vince Chase stops just short of being over-the-top. But it’s when he’s skirting the edge of over-the-top that we love Ari the most.

“How I Met Your Mother,” CBS: Swarley. Robin Sparkles. Phone five. Lemon law. Come on, people, tell me you know what these phrases refer to. If you don’t, you’re missing out on one of the most charming, hilarious comedies on TV. It’s also - wait for it - oh so quotable.

“The New Adventures of Old Christine,” CBS: Traveling mostly under the media radar this year, “Christine” has quietly grown into one of the most consistently satisfying comedies on TV. Not only is Julia Louis-Dreyfus a virtuoso of low self-esteem comedy (she’s a pratfall master as well), the “Seinfeld” veteran generously shares the laughs with a very skilled ensemble.

“Psych,” USA Network: This goofball shaggy-dog detective comedy about a fake psychic and his long-suffering best pal is escapist TV at its most diverting.

“Scrubs,” NBC: A delightfully daffy medical comedy with a big heart, twisted writing and a cast with drop-dead perfect comic timing. What more do you want?

“Veronica Mars,” CW: Some of the best rat-a-tat dialogue on TV comes out of the mouth of this acerbic teen detective, but, in truth, the scenes between Veronica and her dad, as well as the bumpy love affair between Veronica and charismatic rich boy Logan, gives this scrappy drama its beating heart. My fingers are crossed for a fourth season.

“Weeds,” Showtime: What does a harried, upper-middle-class widow do to stay solvent in a tony California suburb? Sell pot to the locals, in this devious and delicious comedy. Not only is the central conceit a neat metaphor for a variety of upscale addictions (triple latte, anyone?), but the supporting cast on this comedy is ridiculously sharp. Kevin Nealon’s Doug Wilson is tied with “The Office’s” Andy (Ed Helms) as the funniest clueless post-frat boy on TV.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/12/the_top_10_show.html#more

Nikke Finke has more resolve than I do…..
Awards
This Is A Golden Globes Hype-Free Zone
By Nikke Finke LA Weekly in her deadline Hollywood blog Dec. 14, 2006

I predict that, once again, whoever lobbied the so-called Hollywood Foreign Press Association the hardest will win.

Which is why the Globes are never an accurate forecast of Oscar nominations.

And, while I'm on the subject, be aware that the motley crew who belong to the scandal-riddled HFPA won't grant membership to the real international journalists who work for the prestige newspapers across the world.

Which is why I, for one, refuse to hype the HFPA's b.s. every year.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/golden-globes-this-am/

Awards Notebook
Golden Globe Reaction
The Hollywood Reporter Dec 14, 2006


Mary-Louise Parker was at her son's preschool when she got a text message from her agent that she had been nominated again for best actress in a comedy series for Showtime's "Weeds." "I was pouring yogurt, and my cell phone started vibrating," she said. But she couldn't immediately share the news because "a bunch of 3-year-olds don't really care," she joked. Although Parker won the Globe last year for her role as a pot-dealing surburban mother, the news of her nomination still came as a surprise. "It's nothing I ever take for granted because you don't always get nominated. It's never a given. I always try not to know when (the nominations) are coming or what day it is. Everyone is instructed not to tell me so I don't wait and making myself crazy." Can she offer any hints about the upcoming third season? "I wish. I thought I knew what was going to happen (last season), and that didn't happen. It never goes the way I think it's going to do. I don't know anything, but I wish I knew."

• • • • • • • • • • •

Kyra Sedgwick, up for best actress in a drama series for her role in TNT's "The Closer," was trying not to think about the nominations announcement. "I didn't have the TV on; I was just puttering around the house trying not to wait for a phone call -- but of course waiting for a phone call," she joked. "I was convinced it was not going to happen. It's so nice to be nominated." Sedgwick says she's "endlessly fascinated" by her character, Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. "I never know what she's going to do. She has so many contradicting features. She's incredibly able in so many ways but so unable in so many others." Sedgwick, who's planning to take a big trip with her family before shooting starts again in February, added that she doesn't know what's in store for Season 3. "It's great -- that way I don't (accidentally) spill the beans, which I have a tendency to do."

• • • • • • • • • • •

Hugh Laurie, who was nominated for best actor in a drama series for his role in Fox's "House," said he was "thrilled to bits" about his nomination. "Couldn't be more delighted. I am already planning to arouse comment, perhaps even scandal, with my choice of bow-tie," the British actor joked. He indicated that he was a bit speechless but might look to fellow nominee Kiefer Sutherland, up for his role in Fox's "24," for inspiration. "Oh heck, I don't know. What's a chap supposed to say? Let's find out what Keifer says and try and say it just before him."

• • • • • • • • • • •

Marcia Cross was feeling "pretty happy" about her second Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a comedy or musical series for her role as Bree on ABC's "Desperate Housewives." She wasn't expecting her nom, but in the event that her name was announced , she had asked her publicist to leave her a message on her cell phone because "she didn't want to be woken up at 5," she laughed. "I woke up at 7 and had a good message. It was nice because my husband was here, and we celebrated together. It was really such a nice, happy surprise." Cross offered only a hint as to what's coming up for the rest of the show's third season. "I can tell you it's a little outrageous -- at least my story line. It's comedy in the only way that 'Desperate Housewives' can do comedy." The actress said she gets a little time off over the holidays but won't be traveling anywhere. "I can't go home this year because I'm very pregnant. But I'll have a house full of friends and kids. It's my first year being married and in a new house, and we decorated the tree last night. Aside from being with my own family, I can't think of anything better."

• • • • • • • • • • •

Although "Six Feet Under," in which he played undertaker David Fisher was a perennial nominee as best drama at the Globes, Michael C. Hall picked up his first individual nomination for his work as the avenging serial killer in "Dexter," the Showtime series that has become a bloody hit. "I think the way things have unfolded is in sync with the ideal scenario that I had in my head when I signed up to do the show," said Hall. "It is fantastic that people have collectively responded to something I responded to when I first read the script -- the moral ambiguity of the show does entice viewers in a way that is gratifying." With "Dexter" renewed for a second season, Hall was in New York, on his way to a holiday in Ireland, when he got a series of calls Thursday morning -- first his agent, then his manager, then his mother. "At this point, I'm allowing myself to enjoy some time to decompress," he said. Unlike David Fisher, he noted, Dexter "while he keeps a lot hidden, lets off a lot more steam and is a bit more proactive. I'm glad to have some significant time off to reacquaint myself with myself."

• • • • • • • • • • •

The first thing "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera heard when she picked up the phone was her sister ... screaming. "I couldn't quite understand what she was saying but I had a feeling it had to do with the nominations," said Ferrera, who has spent the night before trying to block out thoughts of any possible kudos. She said she knew it was a possibility when she did an HFPA press conference a few months ago. "I had my fingers crossed and hoped that the show would be recognized in some respect, and now it's an abundance of gifts to be nominated." Ferrera was reluctant to take any credit for the show, saying it's the people she works with that are the real stars. "It's the writing and the way it was executed. It's being held up by a lot of really talented, hard working people. I'm fortunate enough to be in the position to be the front face of it."

She said she did the show because she had a feeling it could connect with people but "I never knew to what degree that would be or if it would be a hit. I mean, there are plenty of good shows that come and go and just never find the right audience. It's the stars aligning." Ferrera, who was still in her car, having just arrived on the "Betty" for an early,didn't have any plans to celebrate. "I will be working for the remainder of the day, probably late into the evening. Some sleep would be nice."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ie8bda4603b04e6416ed8b923d8133388

For those of you wondering whether TNT would renew Saved for next year...

TV Notebook
TNT gives Hollander's 'Heartland' a hearty thumbs up
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December, 14, 2006

TNT's "Heartland," a Pittsburgh-set drama pilot about a transplant surgeon played by Treat Williams ("Everwood"), has been given a green light for series production. The show was created by Pittsburgh native David Hollander, executive producer of CBS's 2001-2004 Pittsburgh-set drama "The Guardian." "Heartland" is expected to premiere next summer, airing at 10 p.m. Monday after the TNT hit "The Closer."

TNT canceled the paramedic drama "Saved."

Produced by Warner Horizon, a new division of Warner Bros. that makes lower budget cable series, the "Heartland" pilot was written, directed and executive produced by Hollander. It was shot in Los Angeles, where the series will also be filmed. Hollander said the pilot uses exterior establishing shots of Pittsburgh just as "The Guardian" did, but trips back to Pittsburgh with the cast, as "The Guardian" routinely made, are unlikely.

"That's pretty much impossible," Hollander said by phone from Los Angeles yesterday. "My budget is so small. I may come by myself and shoot some exteriors as I've done in the past."

Production on the series is expected to begin in March with between 10 and 13 episodes in the show's first season.

Set at the fictional St. Jude's Regional Transplant Center, "Heartland" centers on Williams' lung and heart transplant surgeon and his ex-wife (Kari Matchett, "Invasion"), who is the regional coordinator for an organ recovery center.

"The pilot examines their relationship as much as it examines the world of transplant surgery," Hollander said. "The thesis of the show for me was to look at bringing people together and coming apart and coming together again. We'll look at it through an emotional, familial, romantic lens."

Other regular characters include a head ICU nurse (Danielle Nicolet, "Second Time Around"), a surgical nurse (Morena Baccarin, "Firefly") and another transplant surgeon (Chris Martin, "Stone Undercover").

"Guardian" star Dabney Coleman has a role in the "Heartland" pilot as Williams' boss. Coleman may or may not appear in subsequent episodes.

"To me there are amazing ways to tell stories that have to do with donors and recipients," Hollander said. "I love being able to tell stories that cross over an entire community. Not unlike 'The Guardian,' transplant stories touch, potentially, every socio-economic place everywhere in the city."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, TNT has also ordered "Grace," a drama starring Holly Hunter as a dispirited Oklahoma City police detective "who is visited by an irascible angel and offered an opportunity to redeem her life."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06348/745972-237.stm

AVS Notebook
Help ! !

If you haven’t noticed, David Bott is asking for your help for the AVS Forum.

It is simply a short (and anonymous) questionnaire.

Please take two minutes and fill it out.

You’ll find it here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/announcement.php?f=34&announcementid=103
OK

Stink it up? :eek: Are we talking about the same show?? Season 3 has been the strongest yet for BSG, the best drama on TV. My opinion, sure, but I ain't alone, I assure you. (But if you're not watching, then how would you know?) And Eddie has been great as always. We even got to see him smile last week! :)

I thought that the show kind of lost its way last season after they resolved the Pegasus story, then it took a HUGE misstep in the season finale. Over the break, I decided to give it another chance, and I am enjoying it again, though I doubt it will ever be as gripping as the first season was.

I also always watch this from the DVR later, and am often a week behind (or more). I notice that I'm not always in a hurry to watch the show, unlike a lot of the other stuff we record. I suppose that this is one of the few shows that my wife and I don't watch together might have something to do with it...

dt

Thanks for the comments, meteornotes, and welcome to the thread!

The Business of TV (Sports)
Second Cable Network Hesitates on Rutgers Offer
By Richard Sandomir, The New York Times December 14, 2006

Time Warner followed Cablevision’s lead yesterday and said it would not carry the NFL Network on its expanded basic tier during a weeklong free preview that will feature the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28 between Rutgers and Kansas State.

Time Warner offered two proposals: it would offer the preview on its digital tier, which about 75 percent of its 1.4 million customers in the New York-New Jersey market receive, or it would carry only coverage of the Texas Bowl to all customers.

On Tuesday, Cablevision proposed that it carry only the game on all levels. Together, Cablevision and Time Warner serve 4.5 million customers in the New York-New Jersey market, the only one where the preview offer applies.

At a time of heightened interest in Rutgers, the cable operators’ responses maintain the state of limbo for Scarlet Knights fans who cannot receive the NFL Network on cable or by satellite.

“I tell people that until the NFL Network accepts what Time Warner and Cablevision has thrown back, it’s not a done deal,” said Kevin MacConnell, deputy athletics director for Rutgers. “It would be a huge disappointment if this didn’t work out.” He said he remained optimistic but added, “Right now, it’s not going the way we’d hoped.”

Mark Harrad, a Time Warner spokesman, said the company could not make the weeklong preview available on expanded basic because there are no vacant channels, and it lacked the legal right to “willy nilly” replace an existing one.

“There isn’t a channel in basic you can usurp,” he said, “and we can’t bump existing channels because we have contracts with them.” But the preview could replace an events channel on the digital tier, he said.

The NFL Network has not responded to either proposal or to questions about whether Time Warner and Cablevision’s counteroffers would violate contracts it has with other cable operators. Time Warner and Cablevision are the most prominent cable operators without deals with the NFL Network.

Seth Palansky, a spokesman for the NFL Network, said Tuesday that the offer came with “no strings” — in that the cable operators were not required to pick it up — but Harrad said that the requirement that the preview be carried on expanded basic is “a big string.”

Harrad added, “We can’t offer something that we don’t have.”

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, whose lobbying with the league led to the preview offer, said in a statement, “Both sides need to finalize this deal and do the right thing for New Jersey.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/sports/ncaafootball/14rutgers.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Did anyone else notice how snubbed The CW was at the Golden Globes? They have Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Hates Chris, Smallville, and Supernatural. There's got to be at least a nomination-worthy show in there!

---OT: You know, since they produced Buffy, Angel, Boston Legal, Pepper Dennis, Firefly, etc. FOX would be much better off if they just ran THIER shows on THIER network.

Did anyone else notice how snubbed The CW was at the Golden Globes? They have Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Hates Chris, Smallville, and Supernatural. There's got to be at least a nomination-worthy show in there!

---OT: You know, since they produced Buffy, Angel, Boston Legal, Pepper Dennis, Firefly, etc. FOX would be much better off if they just ran THIER shows on THIER network.

Maybe not, they did run Firefly, and axed it before it had a chance to get off the ground. Firefly was on Fox, right?

Did anyone else notice how snubbed The CW was at the Golden Globes? They have Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Everybody Hates Chris, Smallville, and Supernatural. There's got to be at least a nomination-worthy show in there!
.


Well it's definitely not Gilmore Girls. This season is terrible.

Well it's definitely not Gilmore Girls. This season is terrible.

I agree, I've always loved The Gilmore Girls, but this year has been so blah, Christopher was good for a guest appearance as the Dad, but as a regular, I just can't see it. The whole town is a trip and this year they all seem to be just shoved into the background while Christopher has taken center stage.

I agree, I've always loved The Gilmore Girls, but this year has been so blah...

Sounds like you could use some of this:

TV Notebook
'Girls' Guru Lands Laffer
By Don Kaplan, New York Post December 14, 2006

The original Gilmore girl is getting back into the game.

"Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is making a new series, "The Return of Jezebel James" - her first since departing the famed family drama in a contract dispute.

The new show will follow the tribulations of two sisters - one who wants to have a baby but physically can't and her younger sibling who agrees to carry the baby and move in with her.

"They never forged any relationship at home, and now they're forced into a situation where they're not only negotiating over the carrying of the baby but also over who they are," Sherman-Palladino told The Hollywood Reporter.

"The catalyst of the relationship is them finding out who they are to each other," she said.

During her six-year run on "Gilmore Girls," Sherman-Palladino and her ability to write crisp dialogue to tell stories, was widely credited with turning the show into a cult hit.

Ever since Sherman-Palladino left last year - in a falling out with Warner Bros., the studio that produces the show, over her contract - many fans have said that "Gilmore Girls" is not as good.

"Jezebel" will be Sherman-Palladino's return to her sitcom roots. She began her career writing for "Roseanne" and said she had the most fun writing dialogue for Rosanne and her sister, Jackie.

Sherman-Palladino told TV Guide.com that she is trying to convince her "Gilmore" co-executive producer/husband, Dan Palladino, to join her on the new sitcom.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12142006/tv/girls_guru_lands_laffer_tv_don_kaplan.htm

Sounds like you could use some of this:

TV Notebook
'Girls' Guru Lands Laffer
By Don Kaplan, New York Post December 14, 2006

The original Gilmore girl is getting back into the game.

"Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is making a new series, "The Return of Jezebel James" - her first since departing the famed family drama in a contract dispute.


http://www.nypost.com/seven/12142006/tv/girls_guru_lands_laffer_tv_don_kaplan.htm

I'll give it a shot, I didn't see any mention of when or who would be carrying the show, was it in there anywhere?

TNT canceled the paramedic drama "Saved."

Well then I guess I can delete that all episode placeholder in my DVR. I only watched the last few episodes last summer and was on the fence about it. If it wasn't summer time I probably wouldn't have watched it.

I'll give it a shot, I didn't see any mention of when or who would be carrying the show, was it in there anywhere?

'Jezebel' is a pilot Sherman-Palladino is working on to be filmed next year in time for the Spring upfronts. Depending on which studio/network commissioned it the show will premiere on a network either in the Fall of '07 or (if its picked as a mid-season replacement series) Winter/Spring of '08.

TV Notebook
ABC Benches Danson's Help Me Help You
By Ben Grossman, Broadcasting & Cable December 14, 2006

ABC has pulled its Ted Danson comedy Help Me Help You off of the schedule as of next Tuesday, replacing it with a second airing of fellow rookie Big Day.

Help Me Help You has struggled from the outset despite strong lead-ins such as Dancing With the Stars, but slumped to a 1.4 rating in the adult 8-49 demo this past Tuesday.

The network has not yet officially cancelled the show.

Big Day had anything but in its most recent airing, averaging just a 1.8 rating in the demo as its fortunes have declined every week since its debut. ABC had held the wedding-day comedy until late fall.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6399987.html?display=Breaking+News

'Jezebel' is a pilot Sherman-Palladino is working on to be filmed next year in time for the Spring upfronts. Depending on which studio/network commissioned it the show will premiere on a network either in the Fall of '07 or (if its picked as a mid-season replacement series) Winter/Spring of '08.

Looks like Fox may be getting it, :

Gilmore Girl Gets Green Light
By Dean Brooks: 2006-12-14

‘Gilmore Girls’ creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has just gotten the okay from the Fox network for a new comedy pilot for a half hour sitcom tentatively titled ‘The Return of Jezebel James.’


http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Gilmore-Girl-Gets-Green-Light-2017.html

OK, Sherman-Paladino experts, so how many years was "Gilmore Girls" really good?

Someone just gave me the season one DVD and I have enjoyed the first few episodes immensely.

HDTV Notebook
A Wonderful ‘Wizard of Oz’
By Tom Shales in his Television Week blog

Look, the Emerald City is closer and prettier than ever!

Certainly prettier, if not precisely closer. Viewers who tuned in that warhorse-of-a-different color, “The Wizard of Oz,” on TNT Monday night (Dec. 11), may not have known it but they were witnessing only the second telecast in history of the digitally restored and remastered version of the classic via high-definition video—though only, of course, if they were watching it on a hi-def set and getting a hi-def signal from their cable or satellite system.

Confused? Who wouldn’t be? Even spokespeople for Turner Broadcasting were confused when I asked them about it.

I’d gotten a gorgeous gander at the incredible Technicolor images while channel-surfing Monday night. An old “Oz” watcher from way back, I knew not only that I wasn’t in Kansas any more, I wasn’t even in Oz any more—not the “Oz” I had grown up watching on TV. When annual telecasts, then on CBS, began in the ‘50s and—incredible as it seems—the first few airings were in black-and-white only, because CBS was still sulking that its color-TV system had lost out as the industry standard to RCA-NBC’s.

People who were kids back then have told me they watched “Oz” annually in black-and-white, and thus the big moment when Dorothy opens the farm-house door and the film switches from black-and-white to Technicolor was completely lost on them.

(Many years ago, when Ted Turner was on his big colorizing binge, I made up this joke, since stolen by others: Since Turner had threatened to colorize whatever movies he owned—even “Casablanca”—it was logical to assume he planned to go all the way and colorize the first 15 minutes of “The Wizard of Oz.” Get it?

(Meanwhile, other wags joshed that Ted planned to turn “Gone With the Wind” black-and-white. Turner later reformed and recanted, and these days colorizing is limited mainly to such things as Shirley Temple movies and Three Stooges shorts. Ironically, now that nobody wants it, the process has vastly improved. Ironically, too—ironies abound in this century—Turner has gone from villain to hero thanks to the preservation and presentation work done by the impeccable and irreplaceable Turner Classic Movies channel).

Anyway, never did I see “The Wizard of Oz” look so witcherly green-faced, so brick-road yellow, so poppy-field-red. The fidelity of the reproduction actually made more obvious than ever the film’s extensive use of matte paintings and other low-tech artifices. But the overall effect was to ultra-fabulize something that had seemed already utter in its fabulousness. “Oz” on TNT affords better, richer image quality than on any of the several DVD pressings of the film.

I had jumped to the conclusion that I was seeing the hi-def world premiere the other night but Turner people say it was shown last year on TBS the same way. Whatever, it was still a knockout. If you don’t believe me, watch the digitally restored version when it is shown again in hi-def on TNT Sunday, Dec. 17 at 10:15 a.m. (ET)

Sadly enough, TCM does not show movies in hi-def, at least not yet, so the only way to see “Oz” in this super-pristine way is on TNT with its insufferable and seemingly interminable commercial breaks. You know how it is: You can’t have everything.

Oh, and pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. This really is the great and powerful—“Wizard of Oz.”

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

OK, Sherman-Paladino experts, so how many years was "Gilmore Girls" really good?

Someone just gave me the season one DVD and I have enjoyed the first few episodes immensely.

I pretty much enjoyed every season, up until this year. I guess there were some swoons during the span, but all in all I liked it every year.

Stink it up? :eek: Are we talking about the same show?? Season 3 has been the strongest yet for BSG, the best drama on TV. My opinion, sure, but I ain't alone, I assure you. (But if you're not watching, then how would you know?) And Eddie has been great as always. We even got to see him smile last week! :)
I lost interest pretty much from the very start of season 2. I continued to watch because I found it odd how one of my favorite shows became a mess. Watched the finale, thought it was stupid. Hated that the show became more about shock than substance.

Told myself I gave the show two seasons and I'd stop. Watched the first act of season 3 online. More of the same garbage.

And that's the last of it. I think it lost its way, so I stopped watching. And judging by the ratings, it appears I'm not alone.

I guess this falls in the different strokes category. I think Sarah Paulson gives a truly luminous performance in "Studio 60" and is most deserving of a nomination.

I agree that Perry should have gotten one too -- but then what about the even more deserving Kyle Chandler in "Friday Night Lights"?

To me his work has the kind of layered nuance and truth to it that we rarely see in episodic TV. Not bold, splashy and in-your-face like Laurie's great performances, but quieter, subtle, and very moving.

But then, why expect the HFPA to understand FNL...or American TV for that matter?
Well, I mean I don't think she's a bad actress, I really like her work in 'Studio 60', I'm just not sure she's as good as everyone says she is. I don't know.

And I completely agree about Chandler. He's amazing in FNL.

OK, Sherman-Paladino experts, so how many years was "Gilmore Girls" really good?

Someone just gave me the season one DVD and I have enjoyed the first few episodes immensely.


ABCfamily has been airing GG each weekday evening, in order of original airing. They are currently several episodes into season two, when it was still good. Not DVD quality, but easily DVRable.

TV Notebook
Katie, Mel lead TiVo's top 10 list
By Marisa Guthrie, New York Daily News December 15, 2006

The most memorable TV moment of 2006 was (drumroll, please): Katie Couric's tear-filled final day on NBC's "Today."

That's according to a new poll commissioned by TiVo, the popular DVR company.

Curiously, however, nowhere in the top 10 is Couric's first day on "The CBS Evening News." That particular historical milestone, which was preceded by weeks of media scrutiny, was bested by, among others, Connie Chung's embarrassing attempt at a sultry serenade of husband Maury Povich on the final installment of the couple's MSNBC show "Weekends With Maury & Connie" (No. 10) and Rosie O'Donnell's first day on "The View" (No. 9).

Which begs the question: What about Star Jones and Barbara Walters' retaliatory dressing down of the ousted one after Jones ambushed her by quitting - live on the air?

The E-mail poll asked at least 1,000 adults to name their top TV moments.

Mel Gibson's scattershot interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, the actor's first pubic appearance after being nabbed for DWI in Malibu, came in at No. 2.

And Oprah Winfrey's scolding of truth-challenged writer James Frey on her daytime talk show was No. 3.

Faith Hill's caught-on-tape jaw drop when "American Idol" finalist Carrie Underwood beat her out for the female vocalist of the year at the CMA Awards wasn't even televised until YouTube and the talk shows got a hold of it, but it's ranked No. 5.

"It's one of those rare glimpses into exactly how you're feeling but could never allow yourself to reveal," said Joe Miller, senior vice president of consumer sales and marketing for TiVo. "It was such a truthful look at something you normally don't get to see.

"The moments that seem to resonate with people are the honest moments," Miller added.

Indeed, for all the preplanned hoopla surrounding Couric's last day on NBC, her tears were genuine. And Gibson's explanation (or lack of one) for what most people agree was an anti-Semitic rant may not have had the ring of truth, but there was a certain pleasure in watching him squirm under the pinched gaze of Sawyer. And who didn't want to wag their finger at "Million Little Pieces" fabricator Frey?

Only three scripted moments made the top 10: Sara and Grissom getting together on "CSI" (No. 4); the "Will & Grace" series finale (No. 7); and Kate and Sawyer getting together on "Lost" (No. 8).

"It's surprising what didn't make it," said Miller.

Like Meredith and Derek finally getting back together on "Grey's Anatomy."

"There isn't a 'Grey's Anatomy' moment on the list," said Miller, "and it's one of the most popular shows in the country."

We want to know your favorite TV moments of 2006. E-mail your picks to mguthrie@nydailynews.com.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/480154p-404001c.html

The Business of (Regulating) TV
Martin Calls for Rate Transparency
By Ted Hearn, Multichannel News December 14, 2006

Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said Thursday that consumers should know the wholesale price of cable networks and should be allowed to piece together their channel lineups to better budget their cable spending.

“I’ve been saying for over a year that there is a significant problem in the video area,” Martin said at a telecommunications conference here. “I think that at the very least, we should be able to have a transparency and how much each of those channels is costing, so we are able to see what those costs are.”

Since taking office in March 2005, Martin has stumped for cable a la carte -- a system that would allow consumers to pay for channels one-by-one as an alternative to the purchase of large programming tiers.

“I think we should go even further and I think not only should it be transparent to the consumer how much you have to pay for each channel, but I think consumers should be able to say, ‘I don’t want that channel and I don’t want to have to pay for it.’” he added.

The cable industry has said that an a la carte system would be inefficient, causing cable bills to rise instead of decline. It has said that the tiering system allows new channels to find an audience without spending large sums on marketing, and that tiering provides a stable home for niche networks that wouldn’t have much of a chance in an a la carte arena.

But Martin said tiering has a serious downside: Consumers can’t get refunds for channels they elect to block with cable-supplied digital set-tops.

“They just want you to have to continue to have to pay for it,” he added.

Martin said that while cable operators cite rising programming costs for higher cable bills, they don’t give subscribers a chance to bypass expensive programming.

“It cannot be that they both blame increasing costs on programming and give consumers no options to control those programming costs,” he added.

Martin said greater competition in cable markets and the spread of Internet-protocol-television technology should result in greater consumer choice.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6400246.html?display=Breaking+News

TV Sports
NFL scoring big in the ratings
By Larry Stewart Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 15, 2006

Not that one has much to do with the other, but during the NFL's first season of flex scheduling, the league has flexed its muscle in the ratings game.

While the public relations people at the NFL's four television partners stay up nights trying to figure out the spin to make their network's ratings look the best, the bottom line is ratings are up across the board.

After 14 weeks, Fox's ratings are up 5% from last year at this point, from an average of a 10.3 to a 10.8. And CBS is up from a 9.8 to a 9.9.

NBC, for its Sunday night telecasts, is averaging an 11.2, compared to an 11.1 at this juncture for the Monday night telecasts on ABC last season.

And comparing Monday nights this season with Sunday nights last season, ESPN's ratings are up a whopping 37%, from a 6.0 to an 8.2.

"What is really amazing," NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol said, "is that in a backdrop of eroding ratings on broadcast television, that doesn't seem to be happening with the NFL. It is rare when one entity can keep all its television partners happy, but that's what the NFL has done.

"The NFL has been the centerpiece in the prime-time turnaround for our network."

Ed Goren, Fox Sports president, said, "The 14.3 average for our national games make them the most-watched show in all of television. And if the 10.8 average for all our games holds up, we will have the highest NFL ratings we've ever had."

Goren said the keys to the ratings success have been the competitiveness of the league.

"We've had attractive matchups, and then the games have held up to be good ones," he said.

A peripheral benefit has been high ratings for the NFL studio shows as well.

"A nice surprise for us is how well our 'OT' postgame show has done," Goren said. "We re-packaged it, gave it a stand-alone feel and a title, and at the end of one sweeps week, it was the No. 4-rated show in all of television."

Goren credited Fox Chief Executive Peter Chernin with the makeover. "He knew something," Goren said. "We put a little makeup on it and made it sing."

Flex scheduling, while helping NBC, hasn't had much of a negative impact on Fox or CBS.

So far, each network has lost only one game to NBC.

"We've been lucky this year, but with the formula now in place, there could be some real ratings damage for CBS and Fox down the road," Goren said.

Rob Correa, CBS Sports senior vice president, echoes Goren's fears.

"Flex scheduling hasn't hurt us this year," he said, "but it's something that will have to be looked at and evaluated after the season."

Flex scheduling enabled NBC to televise the New Orleans Saints' 42-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday — a game that might have transferred the title of "America's Team" from the Cowboys to the Saints.

The game got a 12.8 national Nielsen rating and averaged 19.9 million viewers.

"I think our rating was 3 to 3 1/2 points higher than it would have been without flex scheduling," Ebersol said.

The 12.8 compares to a 9.2 for the Monday night game during Week 14 last year between New Orleans and Atlanta, before flex scheduling. Without the ability to pick games, ABC's last 10 December Monday night games did not match two teams that both had winning records.

In Los Angeles, for the week ending Sunday, the two highest rated shows on television were NFL games. The Saints and Cowboys on NBC got a 10.5, and the Chargers' home game against Denver on CBS got a 10.3.

The only sport this time of year that can get close to that kind of rating in L.A. is Mexican League playoff soccer on Spanish-language Channel 34. A semifinal game between eventual champion Chivas Guadalajara and America on Dec. 3 got a 7.6. The Lakers are averaging a 5.2 on Channel 9.

NBC has another appealing game Sunday night — Kansas City at San Diego, featuring Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson and Chiefs running back Larry Johnson.

Said NBC's John Madden: "I have gone on record saying that I think LaDainian Tomlinson is the best player — not just the best running back — but the best player in the NFL. I also think Larry Johnson is great. That's going to be a heck of a matchup.

"They're the best backs in football, but if I had to pick one, I would pick Tomlinson because of the other things he does, receiving and all those other things. But I don't think any less of Johnson because I say those things."

And ESPN has an attractive Monday night game — Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

There will be no Sunday night game on Christmas Eve, so NBC has a 2 p.m. game on Christmas Day — Philadelphia at Dallas.

On New Year's Eve day, the final Sunday of the regular season, CBS and Fox will have doubleheaders.

Flex scheduling gives those networks first pick for that day, then NBC gets to make its pick. Normally, the flex picks are made 12 days in advance. But in this case, the three networks can wait until six days in advance. This is designed to give all three networks attractive season finales — and more good ratings.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-sp-tvcol15dec15,0,7445706,print.story?coll=cl-tvent

Mal's back (and he's still working for Fox)! :)

Mid-Season Notebook
'Drive' time for Fillion at Fox
By Nellie Andreeva, The Hollywood Reporter December 15, 2006

Nathan Fillion has been tapped as the lead on Fox's midseason drama series "Drive."

The show, from 20th Century Fox TV and executive producers Tim Minear, Ben Queen and Greg Yaitanes, chronicles an underground race across America.

Fillion will play Alex Tully, a charming, rogue landscaper who is coerced into joining the race to search for his wife who had been abducted.

In the original pilot, the role was played by Ivan Sergei.

Fillion's casting in "Drive" stems from the talent holding deal the actor inked with Fox and 20th TV in October (HR 10/17).

Fillion, who is friends with Minear, was first approached with the project in the spring but couldn't do the pilot because of a scheduling conflict with the filming of his feature "White Noise 2: The Light," slated for release Jan. 5.

"I was a little disappointed because Tim is a friend, and there is nothing better than working with people you know and like," Fillion said.

At a barbecue this summer, after the pilot was shot but before Fox picked it up to series, Minear again floated the idea for "Drive" to Fillion and showed him the pilot.

"I was so excited about it," Fillion said of his first reaction to the tape. "He has some really talented actors lined up in it, and it's exciting to get to meet them and work with them."

In addition to "White Noise 2," Fillion will soon appear in the indie "Waitress," which is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

Fillion, whose credits also include the series "Two Guys and a Girl" and "Firefly" and the features "Serenity" and "Slither," is repped by the Gersh Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i0123c6f82e9d75a960daf0920816a410

TV Notebook
What happened to the really big shows?
By Robert Bianco, USA Today December 14, 2006

'Tis the gift-wanting season.

That acquisitive urge tends to take hold of viewers even in a TV season such as this one, which has given us gifts aplenty. We've already received at least two genuine hits in Heroes and Ugly Betty, and an unusually large number of good new additions, from Friday Night Lights, Men in Trees and Brothers & Sisters to Dexter and Studio 60.

And if, as always, a few of the better shows failed to catch on (alas, The Nine), at least the worst ones compensated by failing quickly.

Even the battered sitcom is making a tiny resurgence, a wavelet led by The New Adventures of Old Christine, My Name Is Earl, The Class, 30 Rock and The Office.

And that's not even considering the long list of returning (or soon to return) hits that have provided so many hours of pleasure, including 24, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, American Idol, Rescue Me, The Wire, Bones and CSI. The list could go on and on.

So naturally, we want more.

After all, even the best of seasons have their gaps, and even the best of TV times can learn a little something from the ghosts of seasons past.

You don't have to be prone to holiday nostalgia or the auld lang syne spirit to occasionally find yourself wondering why there seems to be no modern substitute for The Cosby Show, Ed Sullivan, Roots, M*A*S*H or Gunsmoke.

Getting the TV industry to shift its production patterns is never easy. Still, as any Santa-writing child knows, we'll never get what we want if we don't ask for it.

So I'm asking. Here are seven things I'd like to see on TV in 2007:

1: A few more family sitcoms

As in more than one: Everybody Hates Chris. Amazing as it may seem, a genre that has produced some of the most popular shows in TV history, from such fondly remembered classics as Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best to more recent, dominant hits such as Roseanne, Home Improvement and The Cosby Show, now has only one representative, and that one is lost over on CW.

Outside of Chris, children have almost vanished from the sitcom sphere. And when they do appear, they're on comedies that are aimed at a much older audience, such as Christine and Two and a Half Men. Funny shows both, but neither is suitable for full family viewing.

What has happened? In their drive to attract a young-adult audience, the networks have ceded the youngest viewers to cable. Once there, the youngsters flock to sitcoms aimed specifically at them, such as Hannah Montana.

You also can credit the family decline to the current affection writers and viewers have for "edgy" humor. The only way to do an edgy family comedy is to either push the children into the background, as in Everybody Loves Raymond, or turn them into a target of prepubescent jokes, as on Men or The War at Home — a typically nasty Fox take on the family format.

Granted, we should all be grateful that TV now encompasses a fuller range of American life and living arrangements, a blessed change from the days when TV only visited two-parent households filled with joke-cracking kids. But as so often happens, the televised pendulum has swung too far the other way. Yes, everyone doesn't have a "traditional" family; everyone never did. But many people do, and surely those people have as strong a desire to see their lives reflected on TV as everyone else.

As Roseanne and Cosby proved, it is possible to do shows the whole family can watch without destroying brain cells. But you know, Mom and Dad, if you want a show the family can all watch together, you may have to make some sacrifices. Thousands of parents used to dutifully watch The Brady Bunch with their kids. They survived — though to be honest, the experience does seem to have warped some of their children.

2: A better appreciation of economic realities

How many people do you know who hold jobs that leave them struggling to pay current bills and worrying about their futures? How many of those do you see on TV?

Far too few. In fact, once again, the list is led by Everybody Hates Chris — unless you count the struggles of the rich family on Brothers & Sisters to stay rich, and I don't.

Otherwise, life on TV is, with rare exceptions, one of ceaseless prosperity. True, Christine faced financial problems on Christine, but they were quickly put aside by a business loan from her best friend. There are also obvious money problems facing Betty's family in Ugly Betty, but as distinctive as those scenes often are, they play second fiddle to the more glamorous world at work.

If you're seeking something other than the rich at play, you can turn to My Name Is Earl, which to its vast credit focuses on the American underclass in a way we've seldom seen on network TV. Yet as terrific as the show can be, it doesn't take those problems particularly seriously. Earl is a modernized God's Little Acre trash fantasy that treats poverty both as a joke and as an apparently deserved punishment. Compare that with the way Roseanne at its height tapped into the insecurities of the working class.

You will find some of those Roseanne-ish issues at play in Friday Night Lights, which has based one of its better subplots on the everyday monetary pressures of small-town life. But the example to emulate is The Wire, a show that spent the entire fall examining the cost poverty and neglect exact on children left behind in the inner city.

No, that topic is not a safe path to popular success, but then neither is loading the schedule with nothing but wish-fulfillment fantasies. At any rate, this is a critic's list, not an investor's. We'll let network executives worry about profitability, since that is what they do most if not always best.

3: A time other than our own

Speaking of unprofitable, the conventional wisdom is that period pieces don't play on network TV, an assertion backed up by the intermittent failed attempts to revive the Western. It's certainly true that most shows set in the past haven't worked of late, and shows set in the future only seem to work on cable. But here's the thing about TV: What's true today isn't necessarily true tomorrow, and sometimes people don't know what they want until you give it to them in a form they find palatable.

Why bother? For one thing, as the producers of M*A*S*H can testify, setting a show in the past allows you to examine thorny contemporary issues from a safer distance. (M*A*S*H may have been set in the Korean conflict, but we all assumed we were watching Vietnam.) That kind of transfer can't always be accomplished — it's hard to imagine a safely distant American conflict that can stand in for Iraq — but it can be pulled off more often than some might imagine.

There are other advantages. In a landscape in which so many shows look alike, a well-done show spruced up in period clothing can easily stand out. Which makes you wonder why ABC is reportedly considering moving Raymond Chandler's '40s private eye Philip Marlowe into the present, when leaving him in the past would seem to make so much more sense. At least you'd be able to pick him out of the CSI crowd.

There's another bonus to revisiting the past, even beyond the joys of anachronistic jokes about old clothes and music (as witness, once again, Everybody Hates Chris). Our detachment from history has its advantages; it has allowed us to leave some of the violence of our past in our past, as opposed to the Old World habit of extending enmities for centuries. But it also seems to have created the currently popular "woe is us" attitude that assumes no one has ever suffered as we think we're suffering now.

It couldn't hurt to have some televised reminders to the contrary.

4: Music from professionals

Yes, American Idol — a variety show for our times — can be great fun. But how many cover versions of songs can you hear before you start yearning to hear them sung by the original performers?

You can blame television's slavish devotion to demographics in general, and younger demographics in particular, for turning prime-time music over to young amateurs. To judge from the incredibly well-done but age-challenged Tony Bennett special, young viewers seem to have almost no interest in performers who were born before their time — and the acts they like have almost no interest in making TV appearances. Throw in the networks' own limited interest in older viewers and you have a landscape that is, outside of rare specials and too-frequent awards shows, music free.

These limitations rob us all. There were obviously downsides to the old days of three networks per TV and one TV per household, but the combination did force us all to learn something about each other's tastes. Ed Sullivan offered The Beatles for the kids, Judy Garland for their parents and opera for their grandparents. To get to one, you had to sit through the other. It broadened the younger generation's musical tastes, and it gave the older generation some clue as to what their kids were listening to up in their rooms.

Both would still be very good ideas.

5: An actual miniseries

How can the networks let a genre that has given them so much artistic and commercial success go moribund?

What's truly odd is that the same networks that have abandoned the format insist on forcing miniseries ideas into a series hole, with either slight success (Prison Break) or none at all (Vanished and Kidnapped). Wouldn't it have been wiser to structure Kidnapped as a 13-week miniseries, and then renew it if it worked, rather than try to sell it as a series that most viewers rightly suspected would be canceled long before the story reached its conclusion? Maybe if people thought a guaranteed end was in sight, a few more would have watched.

The pity is that there are a multitude of fabulous books, from classics to current best sellers, that cry out for miniseries treatment, as opposed to being crammed into a feature or cherry-picked for a series. Pick up one of Janet Evanovich's best-selling Stephanie Plum novels and see if you can't immediately envision a series of miniseries (each, since we're wishing here, with Lauren Graham in the lead). The same thing can be said for Steven Saylor's brilliant string of mysteries set at the fall of the Roman Republic — which would also satisfy that visit-to-the-past requirement.

6: A mission for PBS

As long as PBS has to beg, it will continue to focus on shows that make people open their wallets, an erratic mission that is hardly in the larger public's interest. So to be fair, before we can ask anything of PBS, we have to provide our struggling Public Broadcasting Service with a reliable source of funding.

And PBS is worth funding, even in this era of a thousand channels. What it does best, no one else does as well or as often, if at all — from specials devoted to the arts, to educational programming for children, to hard-hitting documentaries.

Which is why — and here comes the controversial part — PBS should stop doing things other networks now do better. And that means giving up on Masterpiece Theatre, a co-produced project that soaks up far more of PBS' scarce resources than can be justified. Perhaps the reason PBS can't find a corporate funder is that corporations realize the show has outlived its public-service usefulness.

What would we be losing if we lost this Theatre? The best of the programs, like Prime Suspect, would almost certainly end up elsewhere, and the worst won't be missed. And who knows, if PBS weren't sending so many dollars over to Britain, it might even have enough left over here to fund an American drama.

7: Class

Yes, I know: Vulgarity has always been TV's stock in trade. But really, must the America that TV projects into our homes and around the world so often be stupid, whiny, greedy, crass and cruel? Is that all we are? Is that all we want to be?

Showing us a better version of us might not be the most fun gift television can give.

But it could be the best.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-12-14-big-TV-shows_x.htm

The TV Column
Some Surprise Snubs In the Golden Globes
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, December 15, 2006; C07

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association embraced "Ugly Betty," "Heroes" and "Big Love" when it dispensed Golden Globe nominations yesterday but snubbed other freshman TV series that had been considered shoo-ins by industry navel-gazers.

HBO snagged the most noms -- 14 -- though almost all are for one-off long-form projects such as "Elizabeth I" and "Tsunami, the Aftermath."

ABC copped the most nominations -- 11 -- for weekly series, including "Ugly Betty," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy."

"Betty" and "Desperate" are in the running for best comedy, as are HBO's "Entourage," NBC's "The Office" and Showtime's "Weeds." "Grey's Anatomy" runs for best drama series, as do Fox's "24," HBO's "Big Love," NBC's "Heroes" and ABC's "Lost."

CBS nearly got shut out -- a Golden Globe tradition. The network is way too middle America for those cosmo critics at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, although for one brief shining moment they thought "CSI" hip enough for a Globe.

"They're 'Arrested Development' people," commented one industry pontificator.

This year's only CBS nomination went to Julia Louis-Dreyfus for her starring role in "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

CBS cable cousin Showtime, on the other hand, is very hip, says the HFPA. Showtime bagged six Globe nods, including one to Michael C. Hall for his turn as a lovable forensic specialist and serial killer on "Dexter," and another to Mary-Louise Parker as a pot-selling suburban mom on "Weeds."

NBC snagged nine nominations -- up from last year's paltry five -- including nods to the male leads on all four of its Thursday comedies: Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock," Zach Braff of "Scrubs," Steve Carell of "The Office" and Jason Lee of "My Name Is Earl."

Most TV suits say they consider the Globes pure horseradish, given the membership of the organization (as opposed to, say, the Teen Choice Awards).

But producers of ratings-starved freshman series have said they count on a Globe win to make a network think twice about giving a show the old heave-ho. Historically the HFPA has been quick to nominate struggling new series, as opposed to the Emmy-awarding Academy of TV Arts & Sciences, whose members tend to discover new shows only after they've been on a few years.

That is why it's a shame that the HFPA yesterday nominated new shows that don't need its help while snubbing, say, NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" -- except for one inexplicable nod to Sarah Paulson for her turn as Annoying, Talent-Challenged Christian Comic. Pundits had predicted "Studio 60," from Aaron Sorkin, would receive a best-drama nomination.

Also in need of Globe intervention: NBC's "Friday Night Lights," which, despite being about so much more than football, did not appeal to the foreign press -- possibly because it's about football. Which fact eluded pundits who had also expected this show, much loved by homegrown critics, to get a Globe nomination.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/14/AR2006121401723_pf.html

TV Review
“Heart & Soul: Frank Loesser"
A Most Talented Fella Who Embodied That Broadway Spirit
By Anita Gates The New York Times December 15, 2006

It won’t win any awards for avant-garde documentary-making, but “Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser” does its job well.

After watching these 90 minutes (Sunday on many PBS stations), sentient viewers will know a lot about Loesser’s career and just enough about his life. Even if that weren’t true, the show would be worth watching just to see and hear star performances of Loesser’s trove of unforgettable Broadway and Hollywood songs.

In the beginning, the film insults musical theater fans a bit by suggesting that Loesser is unknown. He may not have the posthumous presence of Cole Porter or the Gershwins, but Loesser (rhymes with dresser, as his fans know), 37 years after his death, is hardly forgotten.

Some of his admirers, however, may not know just how much he contributed to 20th-century popular music. First and foremost, there is “Guys and Dolls,” which opened on Broadway in 1950 and was made into a 1955 film with Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. The composer’s daughter Emily says on camera that “Guys and Dolls” is “known as the perfect musical.”

The documentary makes a convincing argument for that claim. There are generous and thoroughly enjoyable excerpts from screen performances of the show’s best-known songs, including “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” “I’ll Know,” “Fugue for Tinhorns” (“I’ve got the horse right here”) and “Adelaide’s Lament” (“A person can develop a cold”).

The notables who comment on Loesser’s work include Betty Comden, who died last month, Stephen Schwartz, Cy Feuer, Margaret Whiting, Robert Morse, Matthew Broderick and Samuel Goldwyn Jr.

Loesser’s second-best-known Broadway show is “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (1961), whose musical numbers include “I Believe in You” (sung affectionately by Mr. Morse to his own reflection in the original), “Brotherhood of Man” and “Coffee Break.” (Loesser had a knack for writing about the details of everyday life. Betty Hutton is seen singing “The Sewing Machine” in a 1947 movie, “The Perils of Pauline.”)

Loesser reportedly wrote “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” as a little something that he and his first wife, Lynn, could sing for friends at parties.

And there were a few others. Take “Heart and Soul” itself, the quintessential amateur piano duet, or the wartime hit “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” made popular by Kate Smith. Consider “Once in Love With Amy,” from “Where’s Charley?” (the first musical for which Loesser wrote both lyrics and music). Not to mention “On a Slow Boat to China,” “Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year,” “Wonderful Copenhagen” (from the movie “Hans Christian Andersen”), “Two Sleepy People” and “Standing on the Corner,” from his ambitious stage comedy “The Most Happy Fella” (1956).

Loesser had hoped that the operatic style of “The Most Happy Fella” would impress his mother, but, according to this documentary, no such luck. Born in New York, Loesser grew up in a family of German immigrant musicians who considered classical music the only respectable form. His mother never considered him a success.

Aside from that family strain, a divorce (he fell in love with his “Most Happy Fella” leading lady, Jo Sullivan) and an occasional temper tantrum seem to have been the only personal demons that Loesser fought. Near the beginning of “Heart & Soul,” the narrator ominously says, “He had a darker side.” But that turns out to mean that when he was frustrated in his songwriting, he would swear and “jump up and down.”

Loesser was a chain smoker and died of lung cancer in 1969. He was 59.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/arts/television/15loes.html?_r=1&ref=television&oref=slogin

TV Notebook
Reading the buzz: When shows lose it
Series generating preseason chatter can tank
By Diego Vasquez MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 15, 2006

Online buzz is not always a good indicator of whether a show will become a hit, as last year’s much-buzzed-about flop “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” proved. It can, however, provide insight into why a show flopped.

ABC’s “Six Degrees,” for example, apparently suffered from comparisons to “Lost,” which “Degrees” executive producer J.J. Abrams co-created. Viewers were disappointed when “Degrees” turned out to be a bland relationship drama and not a twisty mystery.

Meanwhile, Fox’s “Vanished,” which like “Degrees” has been yanked from the schedule, attracted fans of star Gale Harold (“Queer as Folk”), who quickly abandoned the show after his character was killed off.

That’s according to a new midseason report from BrandIntel, a consumer research company based in Toronto. By monitoring online discussions, BrandIntel ranked the season’s top 10 TV shows both pre- and post-launch, and it found some prounounced differences.

“Vanished” and “Degrees,” both top 10 shows before launch, plunged. Meanwhile, CBS’s “Shark,” ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” and Fox’s “Standoff” jumped into the top 10. NBC’s “Heroes” ranked No. 1, followed by ABC’s “Ugly Betty” and NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”

Michael Coristine, market analyst for BrandIntel, talks to Media Life about which shows jumped the most, what TV viewers found disappointing, and why ratings clunkers like “Friday Night Lights” still generate significant online buzz.

Which shows have declined the most from their pre-launch level? Why?

Falling from seventh to 19th, Fox’s "Vanished" experienced the most decline from its pre-launch level.

Before the show premiered, star Gale Harold, formerly of "Queer as Folk," was a significant driver for the show, as females 18-49 and gay males 18-49 were huge supporters when the show was originally picked up. Since premiering, "Vanished" has continued to trend sharply downward.

Viewers complain that the show's plot is slow and the supporting characters were unable to create any significant discussion.

It appears that NBC's breakout hit "Heroes" may have stolen many of the "Vanished" audience who may have been on the fence in terms of giving the show another chance.

ABC's "Six Degrees" also experienced a significant fall from fifth to 14th.

Pre-launch discussion suggested that executive producer J.J. Abrams ("Lost") as well as show 's strong cast were the primary drivers for discussion share and sentiment.

However, once the show aired, audiences became increasingly disappointed in "Six Degrees," as many were hoping for character developments and exciting plot twists found in "Lost" but have found the show to be rather dull.

What really gets people talking about TV shows online? What elements do the most popular ones share?

From our research, the show's cast, writing and dialogue are elements critical to a show's popularity.

In addition, top-ranked shows on the BrandIntel list stray somewhat from crime dramas such as "CSI," "Law & Order," and "NCIS" that audiences have been watching in past years.

This year's crop of shows went against the grain, and that's what audiences like to see.

Are there any shows that you thought would be higher in the rankings based on pre-launch levels, or vice versa?

Pre-launch, I was surprised that "Friday Night Lights" was not higher on initial rankings list. Given that the show is primarily based on a popular teen film, I expected to see more discussion share and sentiment building up to its premiere.

I was also a bit surprised that "Til Death" was panned from the beginning. On the heels of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” I thought people might give the premiere a chance before deciding that Brad Garrett was not capable of carrying his own show.

Unfortunately, very few people were optimistic from the get-go.

What did you find surprising or most interesting about this study?

Probably the most interesting finding is that although NBC has maintained the highest audience engagement and discussion volume for its crop of new fall programs, it's third to ABC and CBS in average consumer sentiment.

Why is that?

Through our analysis, we've seen significant online discussion volume around NBC's "Heroes" and "Studio 60," which are ranked in the top three on the report.

Show elements that create the most discussion tend to be plot, cast, and dialogue, and both these shows certainly encompass all of these characteristics. This is particularly evident with "Heroes," where we are seeing increased discussion by comic book fans who say that the show avoids typical superhero clichés.

However, aside from the average discussion share associated with "Friday Night Lights" and "30 Rock," viewers have been disappointed with "Kidnapped" and "20 Good Years," and their negative sentiment certainly reflects their placement on our list.

In terms of sentiment, both ABC and CBS have surpassed NBC.

Thanks to the positive audience discussion around "Ugly Betty," "Jericho" and "Shark," both networks share the most shows that have either met or exceeded audience expectations since the fall season began in September.

Simply put, audiences are warming up to ABC and CBS shows that may have been overshadowed by the pre-launch buzz surrounding NBC shows.

CBS’s “Shark” jumped from No. 14 at pre-launch to No. 4 after launch. Why the big leap?

Pre-launch, early indications showed that "Shark" received increasing comparisons to "House," and many were weary that the show would become another version of the Fox show. In addition, many female viewers expressed negative sentiment towards the show, as some indicated that they were not fans of the star, James Woods. Sentiment and discussion share has certainly shifted from post-launch.

James Woods drives discussion share by males age 25 and older. In addition, "Shark" has grown to generally meet the expectations set forth by its core male audience. Viewers are positively responding to Sebastian's sharp dialogue and recent cast additions William Forsythe and Henry Simmons.

“Heroes” and “Ugly Betty” are among this year’s highest-rated new shows, but “30 Rock” and “Friday Night Lights” have struggled. How does online buzz relate to ratings?

Online discussion share and sentiment is valuable, as it helps identify trends and provide audience insight into the feedback that could potentially affect ratings.

Also, ratings reflect which first-run airings of shows audiences watch based on a predetermined set of options (such as timeslot).

Discussion share and sentiment reflect the popularity of the show among all different viewing patterns of audiences (those who watch the first-run, those who download the shows in advance, those who DVR and those who wait for the DVD at the end of the season).

One could infer that a popular show may do poorly in the ratings mainly because it is up against competition more appealing to its core viewers (such as “Friday Night Lights”) and not because it is a bad show .

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9150.asp

Critic’s Notebook
The Golden Globes:
As dumb as the Emmys when it comes to TV?
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle in his TV blog “The Bastard Machine”

It's hard - no, make that uncomfortable - beating up on the Golden Globes. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is a dandy little bunch that tries extra hard to be smarter than the people who run the Emmys, which they often succeed at (and you feel so happy about this in general that you don't question how five people and their moms, girlfriends and cousins have so much power in Hollywood). Anyway, I digress. The Golden Globes is probably the best awards show on television and, when it actually comes to nominating series on television, has had a decent track record of recognizing unsung talent.
You don't feel me, yo?

In short, it has often appeared that despite some weird quirks in the taste department, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association actually watched television and, what's more, could recognize quality where the Emmy voters just rubber-stamped last year's nominees. They had a bit of vision, perhaps by wearing really cool foreign eyewear.

Until this year.

How is it that the best show on television, "The Wire," and the second best show on television, "Deadwood," don't get nominated? How is that possible? It's clear these people have TV sets and, ahem, pay for HBO. How else to explain "Big Love" getting nominated, and "Entourage," too? So they get the channel. And the voters have proven to have some taste and vision - both "Dexter" and "Weeds" on Showtime got recognized this year. And yet it's stupefying to imagine they chose "Big Love" - a fine series - over two clearly superior offerings. I mean, "Big Love" is wonderful. But you can't even talk about the series in the same conversation as "The Wire" or "Deadwood." You just can't.

I don't know. There's a lot to like in Thursday's nominations. (oddly enough, "Big Love" is something to like, and "Dexter" and "Weeds" and "Prime Suspect" and "Thief" - Andre Braugher's nomination included - and even gloriously original notion that Jeremy Piven, Justin Kirk, Masi Oka and Thomas Haden Church can all be nominated in the same category. It's thrilling and inspired).

But there's a whole lot of Emmy-level stupidity here. I'm a huge fan of "Lost" it must be getting credit under the Golden Globes "calendar year" nominating process for parts of two seasons, since only a handful of episodes aired this season. And "Heroes" is fun and original, but how about letting it get a full season of storytelling under its belt before getting a nomination? "Desperate Housewives"? Oh, please. That's sooooooo Emmy. First, it's not a comedy. Haven't we had this discussion already? Secondly, it's just not very good anymore. "Ugly Betty" is a sweet show, and clearly a heartwarming standout this season. But the cream of the crop? No. Come to think of it, this year's nominations are so Emmy-like in their rubber-stamped ways as to be almost actionable.

Short-sighted, non-adventurous, don't-even-own-a-TV Emmy voters take notice. Someone is chopping your beef.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/indexn?blogid=24

TV Notebook
NFL Net Punts on TWC Preview Offer
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 12/15/2006

The NFL Network has punted on Time Warner Cable’s most recent proposal of how it would offer all or part of the NFL Network’s proposed free preview in late December.

The preview would allow New York and New Jersey subscribers to see a Rutgers University post-season college football game that the NFL has the exclusive rights to show.

After the NFL Network offered to provide a free preview of its network between December 24-30, TWC had said Wednesday it would either make only the December 28 Rutgers game available to all its customers, or make the entire week long preview available to digital customers only.

But in a letter dated Thursday to Time Warner Cable (TWC) chairman and CEO Glenn Britt, NFL Network (NFLN) chief Steve Bornstein said neither of the two options TWC proposed “satisfy both our goals for the freeview.”

The NFL wants to use the preview to not only make the Rutgers game available, but to leverage the opportunity to expose its other programming to Time Warner customers in hopes viewers will press the company to cut a deal to carry the network.

NFLN and TWC are still in a standoff over carriage after the network began carrying live NFL games this season. The free preview does not include any of NFLN’s eight games.

In the letter, Bornstein writes, “We believe that it should be possible for TWC to free up an expanded basic channel for the entire period of our proposed freeview.” He says he has directed his staff to identify some alternatives and expected to have something by midday Friday.

Bornstein also writes that if the sides can come to an agreement on carriage for the preview, he would agree to a TWC proposal that the sides call a “truce” in attacking each other in the media during the holiday season.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400301

Ask Matt
(from the Ask Matt column at TVGuide.com
By Matt Roush TV Guide Friday, December 15, 2006

Question: At the beginning of the season you proclaimed The Nine as the "best new show of the season." But after the show failed to lived up to its thrilling and compelling pilot, do you still think it's the best new show of the season? Or would you go with Friday Night Lights, which is as stirring, emotionally raw and absorbing as they come? For me Friday Night Lights has always been the season's best new show.— Craig W.

Matt Roush: To be perfectly accurate, I had labeled The Nine as "best new drama" in the Fall Preview issue. (30 Rock was my pick as best new comedy, not that there was much competition on that score.) My opinion has understandably changed. The main reason Friday Night Lights wasn't my pick for best new drama in September was because, with only the pilot to refer to at the time, I was slightly put off by the ending in which Matt Saracen miraculously won the game after replacing the injured Jason. That moment was so redolent of forced Hollywood uplift, I was worried that the show would lean on that sort of device too often. As it turned out, the show would only keep getting better, richer and more emotional. By Episode 2, we actually saw the team lose a game (although Saracen was less the cause than the rest of the team falling apart over Jason's paralysis). Friday Night Lights delivers, and it doesn't pander. It's the highest-ranking new series, drama or comedy, on my top-10 list this year.

Question: Once again, what an interesting list for the AFI TV Programs of the Year! I consistently use this list, rather than the Emmys or the Golden Globes, as a barometer of what I should be watching. I want to thank you, as a member of the jury, for including Friday Night Lights. In my completely unprofessional opinion, FNL is hands down the best new show of this fall season. It's not escapist TV, and it is fairly brutal in its realism (paralysis, steroids, social ostracism, financial responsibility); but each episode seems to make me smile, too. I really appreciate that balance. Also, I was surprised to see The West Wing on the list. I was a dedicated viewer of The West Wing, and I stuck by it through its long and sometimes uneven tenure. I felt it hit a creative high point once again just as it was ending. The finale left me wanting more, which I consider a great thing (as compared to, say, Alias, a narrative mess that couldn't end soon enough). Still, I was surprised to see WW, rather than, for example, When the Levees Broke.— Erin

Matt Roush: For those who missed it, here are the AFI picks for the 10 outstanding programs of 2006 (in alphabetical order): Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Elizabeth I, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, The Office, South Park, 24, The West Wing and The Wire. An awfully eclectic list of old and new, to be sure, and while the debates during balloting are confidential (to ensure freedom of expression in the room), I can assure you that no one on the panel — which included critics, academics, AFI trustees and industry professionals, this year including the legendary Steven Bochco — was completely happy with what was on the list and what was left off. Which makes sense given the messy nature of any democratic enterprise. To compare it to my own top 10, here's what I included that didn't make the AFI cut: Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty, The Shield and Lost. (Fudging the rules a bit, my top-10 list also includes the rest of NBC's Thursday-night comedies beyond The Office and a roundup of great TV-movies, including AMC's Broken Trail.) The reason Spike Lee's remarkable Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke wasn't included in the list is because we are only allowed to include fictional narrative programming in our top 10. Next month, AFI will also release a list of "moments of significance" chosen by our panel, and this HBO film will be among those listed. You really can't sum up last year on TV adequately without making note of it.

Question: Thanks to you, a boring Sunday turned into a 10-hour Dexter marathon. Showtime On Demand had the first 10 episodes. I planned on watching only the first one. Really. Ten hours later it was 9:30 pm, and I couldn't wait for Episode 11 to start at 10. OK, so I knew Rudy was the Ice-truck Killer as soon as he asked Deb out, but why quibble? What great characters. And it's nice to see so many familiar faces. It was a real kick to look them all up and realize "that's where I know him from!" Dexter has what every great show has: a great cast and great writers. I never would have watched it at all if it weren't for your mentioning it in your columns. Please tell me there will be a Season 2!— Lori

Matt Roush: Ah, another convert. My job is done. I will use this rave as an excuse to remind everyone that the wild season finale, in which more truths are revealed about the Ice-truck Killer and Dexter's own personal psychopathy, airs this Sunday night. If you've watched it this far, you won't want to miss it, and I'd be surprised if fans find it disappointing. (I'd read the books and was still wowed.) As for a second season: absolutely. Dexter is by all accounts Showtime's most popular series, and I'm not going to be the only one anxiously awaiting its return.

Question: I just finished the season finale of The Wire and was blown away. This show keeps getting better every year. (If it doesn't get recognized this year at the Emmys, I think that is grounds for just abandoning that farce of an awards show altogether). But I think that HBO's plan of letting the critics view the fourth season from beginning to end in a week's time may have backfired. By the time you and others had watched it all, we were just starting. When we were just getting into the show, you were getting it out of your system. No one is talking about it anymore. Even though HBO is thankfully allowing David Simon to finish his series the way he intended with a final season, I'm afraid this show will go off the air with as little attention as its entire run has gotten. What are the odds that HBO could be pushed to run the series from beginning to end and call attention to it so that maybe people would watch? Would TV Guide help by dubbing it one of those "best shows you're not watching"? Finally, what did you think of the finale? Thanks!— Brandon

Matt Roush: Well, I did rank it No. 2 on my top-10 list this year (following No. 1 pick 24, which I consider the most entertaining show of the year, while The Wire qualifies as the most important). So yes, I was impressed by the entire show, and also just devastated by the finale, in which we learned the fates (rarely happy) for our young schoolboy heroes and the show set up what is sure to be an outstanding final season. The issue of HBO sending the entire season to critics ahead of time came up a while back. I agree that if we were watching the episodes in real time along with the regular viewing population, more of us might have been inclined to file regular reappraisals in our blogs or elsewhere, rather than the blast of rave reviews in September. But to be fair and honest, HBO also chose to program the show head-on against the launch of the network's fall TV season, which dominates most of our time and attention as we cover the ups and downs of new shows and ever-changing schedules. I'm not sure how many more opportunities we would have had to try to generate buzz on The Wire when so much news was being made elsewhere as the new season came into focus. Besides, I could write a story (or a Dispatch) each week on the show, and that wouldn't make something this grimly realistic and demanding a popular hit, nor would it be likely to translate into more nominations from the eternally clueless. The Wire is landmark TV that feels more like timeless literature. If I felt it weren't getting its due, I'd be more concerned. But seeing it land on AFI's top-10 list, and no doubt in nearly every critics' best-of-year packages, The Wire can take solace in the fact that its reputation far exceeds its meager ratings.

Question: I agree with you that the quirky romantic comedy Men in Trees is an excellent show. In fact, I have been doing my own raving about Jack and Marin on my Yahoo loop and blog that I share with several other romance writers and our readers. Imagine our disappointment when in last week's episode, romance novels were called "smut" by Plow Guy and were later referred to as the editor's "dirty little secret." The title he referred to was a bogus book called something like "The Tawdry Taxman," and while I have developed a thick skin and have a sense of humor, this was heartbreaking on many levels. Sure, there are poorly written romance novels in print, but there are also many excellent, well-written books in the popular genre as well. As a member of Romance Writers of America, I work very hard to overcome this stigma, and for a show that is surely watched by thousands of romance authors and readers, this was in poor taste and unfair. So, like you, I was tickled by Elmo, but now I've stopped laughing.— LuAnn

Matt Roush: As gripes go, yours is a fascinating one, and much as I want to empathize, I found that gag with the romance novel to be far more charming than offensive. Yes, Jane may regard these books as her "dirty little secret," but what she really means is "guilty pleasure," and not one she feels willing to share with her snobby cosmopolitan friends, much like her first impulse to keep Plow Guy away from her circuit of holiday parties, until she was shamed into seeing the light. You can't expect Plow Guy to appreciate the virtues of a romance novel, but as a metaphor for Jane even allowing a romantically exotic creature like Plow Man into her life, I thought her confession of a romance-novel addiction to be a mostly beguiling new trait for what had been a rather clichéd, brittle big-city caricature. I don't think you and your profession should feel slimed at all.

Question: Several years ago, when ABC made the decision to air an episode of Alias after the Super Bowl, the announcement was made prior to the season even starting. Thus, the producers and ABC had the creative ability to write and produce the most kick-ass script, in the hopes of attracting the generally male demographic. Same with Grey's Anatomy last year. I've never seen Criminal Minds before, but the fact that it's airing after CBS's Super Bowl presentation is reason enough for me to tune in. With such late notice, do the Criminal Minds writers have enough time to tailor an episode to the Super Bowl masses, or are they just going to air whatever episode happens to come next in the cycle?— Marcus D.

Matt Roush: I took this question to several executives at CBS' holiday party earlier this week. The answer I got was that Criminal Minds' producers are indeed planning an episode specifically tailored to Super Bowl night. In fact, the episode is titled (for now) "The Big Game," and the plot involves a murder at a Super Bowl screening party (or at least that's what I've been told). What's also known is that, like Grey's a year ago, this is the first of a two-part episode, and the conclusion will air the following Wednesday (Feb. 7) in Criminal Minds' regular time period. The original intent was for the second half to air against the return of Lost the same night, but ABC thwarted that plan with their decision to move Lost an hour later.

Question: I would like to state my happiness with 30 Rock getting a full season pickup. This is the best new comedy on TV. I'm happy because other shows I've watched this season (Vanished, The Nine) have gotten canceled and thrown to the Internet. I love NBC because it gives comedies a fair shake, and they sometimes come out to be hits (The Office, Seinfeld). Anyway, I was wondering your thoughts on the pickup!— JJ

Matt Roush: What's not to like? I still think 30 Rock has a ways to go before hitting its stride and gelling as a truly ensemble comedy. But much of the writing is sharp, and Alec Baldwin is giving one of the great comedy performances of the year — which is reason enough to cheer on NBC for sticking with it and nurturing it for at least a full season.

Question: You recently answered a bunch of questions about The O.C., and I have one quick note to add: Wouldn't it make at least some sense for Fox to move The O.C. to Wednesday nights after the American Idol results show? Am I crazy, or wouldn't much of the fan base of American Idol be the same people The O.C. would attract?— David

Matt Roush: Being moved after Idol would be the best thing that could ever happen to a show that's struggling as badly as The O.C. these days. And while I don't think Fox has yet officially set some aspects of its winter schedule, I was told a while back that Fox is planning to leave Bones on Wednesdays in hopes of building the audience for that show during Idol season. If the strategy is to benefit a younger show with promise as opposed to a prematurely aging show that has already peaked, I can't exactly argue with that.

Question: I have enjoyed Sarah Lancaster's work on Everwood and What About Brian. But this year, after the wedding episode, she has completely disappeared from the series with no explanation. Her name is still in the opening credits. Will she ever appear in this show again? Will she be working in other TV shows or in feature films?— Bruce J.

Matt Roush: From what I understand of what happened in that wedding episode, I would think that's explanation enough of why Marjorie left for a while. I think it's fair to say, without too much of a spoiler alert, that you haven't seen the last of Sarah Lancaster on the show. After all, she has stayed in the cast credits. When she does return, I can't say (nor would I, if I knew) how long she'll be sticking around.

Question: You are one of the few online TV critics who seem more concerned with critical analysis than celebrity gossip. I was wondering what your opinion was on how the CW is doing. I was a loyal fan of the WB when I was a teenager. Although Gilmore Girls is the only show from the WB that I have stuck with for all these years, I'm still rooting for the little network. Do you think the fact that the America's Next Top Model finale made the CW the No. 3 network for the night (though most other shows were in repeats) means that the merger has successfully made the network more mainstream, or is the CW destined to be a teenage "netlet"? I think high-quality shows like Veronica Mars are ignored simply because of the stigma associated with the CW. Although Fox is a newer network, it gets to sit at the grown-up table with ABC, CBS and NBC. And though [Fox’s] programming tends to be slightly trashier, I think most people consider it one of the Big Four as opposed to being absent from the Big Three.

One final thing, what is the point of MyNetwork TV? I thought it was supposed to compete with the CW the same way UPN did with the WB. It seems like it has horrible ratings, and I don't understand how it could possibly be worth the money. Since both of the original series were canceled, why haven't they just canceled the network altogether?— Pallas

Matt Roush: The CW, like the WB and UPN before it, is very specifically targeted to a young, on many nights female, demographic. The recent ratings bump for shows like Model and Veronica Mars' mystery-arc finale is a sign that the network is finally working through its growing pains, and that the audience is finally figuring out where and what this new hybrid network is. Growing pains are inevitable, given the nature of this unprecedented merger. That said, the best shows on the CW will almost always suffer (as Gilmore Girls did in its better days, and Buffy before it, and Veronica Mars even now) by association with a network that has the look and feel of teeny-bopper central. Fox has gone much more mainstream, with bona fide adult hits like 24 and House, not to mention perennials like The Simpsons (which, along with The X-Files, helped Fox get taken seriously in the first place). So there's not really a comparison there.

As for MyNetwork TV, I'll correct one assumption. The original telenovela soaps that launched the network were not canceled. They were always intended to run for a specific number of weeks, to be followed by two new limited-run soaps, which just premiered right on schedule. The fact that no one is watching and everyone is critically dismissing them makes me wonder how long this venture will keep going. But the shows are obviously low-budget, so this is probably as cost-effective a way as any of keeping these channels in business. For now. But as a serious competitor to the CW? Not even close.

http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Matt/Default.aspx#01friday

Thursday’s fast national prime-time ratings – and Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.

TV Notebook
What CBS must do to revive 'Survivor'
With ratings down, it could stand a breather
By Kevin Downey medialifemagazine.com staff writer Dec 15, 2006

It’s still a few years too early to mourn the passing of “Survivor,” the reality show that launched the genre more than six years ago. But as the CBS series wraps its 13th iteration this Sunday with sagging ratings it’s likely CBS is contemplating changes to revive the series.

At least for now, CBS isn’t saying what those changes might be, only that a 14th “Survivor” will debut early next year.

But media researchers say two changes CBS ought to consider are moving it off Thursday nights and airing just one cycle per year, cutting back from two. Fox’s “American Idol” airs once a year, and NBC will soon cut “The Apprentice” back from two to one cycle.

Researchers believe there’s nothing wrong with “Survivor” as a show, just where and how often it is scheduled. Giving it a rest would give viewers time to long for its return.

“It’s getting old and it’s starting to show its age,” says Michele Toller, senior national media manager at Empower MediaMarketing. “Perhaps airing fewer installments a year or moving it to another night, although that is very risky, may give ‘Survivor’ the shot in the arm it needs.”

“Survivor” by most measures is still doing well. Its average audience so far this season is 15.7 million viewers, ranking No. 12 among all programs.

It’s just not doing well compared to past performances. For most of its seven seasons, “Survivor’s” two yearly cycles have averaged about 20 million viewers. That began to change last year when “Survivor: Guatemala” and “Survivor: Panama” had an average audience of just under 17.5 million people.

Much of “Survivor’s” decline reflects stiffer competition CBS has come to face Thursday nights in the last several years. CBS’s rating in the 18-49 demographic on Thursdays is down 25 percent this year from last year, and it’s now slightly trailing ABC, which is up 159 percent.

CBS has been hurt by ABC’s moving “Grey’s Anatomy” to Thursday facing “CSI,” which has knocked that show from its post as the night's most-watched, and the launch of ABC’s “Ugly Betty” at 8 p.m., directly against “Survivor.” The rookie series is pulling in more than 13.5 million viewers, only about 2 million less than “Survivor.”

Media buyers say a disproportionate percentage of CBS’s ad revenue in primetime has recently been earmarked for Thursdays, which until this season consisted of “Survivor,” “CSI” and “Without a Trace,” which now airs on Sundays. Much of CBS’s Thursday revenue is now at risk.

“Car advertisers, movie advertisers and other entertainment advertisers use Thursday as a way to get people planning their weekends,” notes Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director at Horizon Media. “I don’t think [‘Survivor’] is in any danger of being canceled but perhaps CBS will move it to another night and move in a show that will do better in the time period.”

The trick, of course, will be finding that show.

Meanwhile, the 13th “Survivor” is heading into its finale with a whimper. This Sunday’s episode is expected to pull in fewer viewers than the 12th cycle’s finale did in May. That episode was watched by 17.1 million people, the first “Survivor” finale with fewer than 20 million viewers.

“Like any other show, it’s subject to audience erosion,” says Adgate. “You can’t expect to sustain the viewing levels that it’s had. ‘American Idol’ is an anomaly with its ratings going up every year. But even that show at some point will decline.”

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/printer_9158.asp

TV Notebook
Chicago Station Goes HD
By Rebecca Stropoli and Garth Johnston Broadcasting & Cable 12/15/2006

Starting Jan. 6, WLS Chicago will become the first station in Nielsen's No. 3 market to broadcast its complete local news and programming lineup in high-definition.

Converting from 4:3 standard-def to 16:9 hi-def, the station will air 33 hours of local news per week—along with its other programming—in the HD format, providing more hours of HD viewing than any other station in the market. It is already the only Chicago station with an HD helicopter.

Said President and General Manager Emily Barr about the move to HD, "We've had to rebuild our entire plant. From an engineering perspective, it has been a tremendous amount of work."


Kal Hassan, VP of engineering, said, “[WLS] has one of the most advanced, all-digital facilities in the country,pioneering the way here with an all-HD infra structure that includes HD control rooms, HD studio and remote cameras, HD graphics weather system and HD-capable live trucks."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400303

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Holiday snores: CBS wins amid reruns
Penultimate 'Survivor' pulls a 4.9 rating in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald MediaLifeMagazine.com staff writer Dec 15, 2006


With the networks slipping into hibernation mode last night, with repeats dotting the schedule for the five English-language broadcasters, CBS came away the winner despite a less-than-spectacular performance for its penultimate “Survivor.”

CBS averaged a 4.0 rating and 11 share for the evening, according to Nielsen overnights, well ahead of second-place NBC. It was buoyed by “Survivor’s” 4.9 rating, tops for the night in the demo, against minimal competition at 8 p.m.

But that was less than promising for Sunday’s finale. The show averaged 14.5 million total viewers, below its season average, and could well result in the lowest finale ever for the franchise this Sunday night.

Every network was below its season average on the night, even NBC, which aired two hours of originals with its comedy lineup starting at 8 p.m.

NBC trailed CBS for the night at 3.4/10. ABC was third at 2.8/8, Univision and Fox tied for fourth at 1.9/5, and CW sixth at 1.0/3. Ratings for Fox and the CW are approximate, as they were preempted by local affiliates last night in Seattle and San Francisco, respectively, for the NFL game.

At 8 p.m. CBS started the night in the lead with the 4.9 for “Survivor,” followed by a 3.9 for NBC for “The Office.” ABC was third with a 2.5 for a repeat of “Ugly Betty,” Univision fourth with a 2.4 for about-to-end “La Fea Mas Bella,” Fox fifth with a 1.9 average for a repeat of “Til Death” (2.0) and a new “The War at Home” (1.8), and CW sixth with a 1.1 for a “Smallville” repeat.

CBS led again at 9 p.m., this time with a 4.3 for a repeat of “CSI.” ABC moved to second that hour with a 3.7 for a repeat of “Grey’s Anatomy,” with NBC third with a 3.3 average for “Scrubs” (3.8) and “30 Rock” (2.9) and Fox fourth with a 2.0 for “The O.C.” That pushed Univision down to fifth with a 1.8 for “Mundo de Fieras” and CW sixth with a 0.8 for “Supernatural.”

NBC took the lead at 10 p.m. with a 3.0 for a repeat of “ER,” with CBS second with a 2.7 for a “Shark” rerun. ABC was third that hour with a 2.3 for a repeat of “Men in Trees” and Univision fourth with a 1.5 for “Aqui y Ahora.”

CBS also finished first for the night among households, averaging an 8.4 rating and a 14 share. ABC was second at 5.8/10, NBC third at 5.1/8, Fox fourth at 2.8/5, Univision fifth at 2.3/4 and CW sixth at 1.7/3.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9180.asp

OK, Sherman-Paladino experts, so how many years was "Gilmore Girls" really good?

Someone just gave me the season one DVD and I have enjoyed the first few episodes immensely.

I think it's prime was seasons 1-4. The college years were not as dynamic and the move away from the town left some of the more interesting side characters out of the picture too long. In particular in recent seasons Kelly Bishop and Edward Hermann (Lorelei's parents) were criminally underused.

Season 6 was the last with Sherman-Palladino and for me it felt like the off-set production bickering drifted into the show. It was a frustrating season with lots of out of character moments. I'm still convinced that when the Sherman-Palladino contract fell through, she decided to intentionally write all the characters into unpleasant corners that new writers would have trouble salvaging.

Season 7 is just horrible on many levels.

Is it me or do the daily/weekly Nielsen ratings make Spanish language network Univision seem like the most underrated and powerful voice in broadcasting today? With close to zero publicity, hype or production budget (most of the primetime line-up consists of bought-and-paid-for Mexican telenovelas and inexpensive music/variety programs) Univision often ties or outright beats Fox and CW programs that cost millions of dollars in production and publicity. While still far from beating the three major networks regularly (except on low-rated nights when airing repeats) Univision is poised to become a major player in American broadcasting if it manages to come up with some kind of hit show that crosses over and appeals to English-speaking audiences. The Haim Saban group that bought Univision for a little more than 13 billion dollars last June (http://www.nydailynews.com/business/story/430510p-362965c.html) got themselves the bargain of the century, IMHO.

I think it's prime was seasons 1-4... I'm still convinced that when the Sherman-Palladino contract fell through, she decided to intentionally write all the characters into unpleasant corners that new writers would have trouble salvaging....

Sounds like the Paladinos might have taken a page from the Aaron Sorkin "West Wing" book, where he left the show in such a precarious mess it took a full season to emerge.

TV Notebook
ABC Pulls Plug on Order for Shatner's Show Me The Money
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 12/15/2006

ABC has decided to shut down production and pull the plug on the six additional episodes it recently ordered of the William Shatner-hosted game show, Show Me The Money.

ABC confirmed Friday morning it currently has seven more episodes of the show already in the can, and as of now plans on finishing that run and airing those episodes through January, but has decided against the additional order.

The show averaged just a 1.6 rating/5 share in the adult 18-49 demo Wednesday night at 8, hitting a new series low and falling 16% from its previous airing.

ABC had announced earlier this month it would pick up six additional episodes and move the show to Tuesdays at 8 beginning January 2. That is the timeslot in which the remaining installments will run in January.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400344

Is it me or do the daily/weekly Nielsen ratings make Spanish language network Univision seem like the most underrated and powerful voice in broadcasting today? With close to zero publicity, hype or production budget (most of the primetime line-up consists of bought-and-paid-for Mexican telenovelas and inexpensive music/variety programs) Univision often ties or outright beats Fox and CW programs that cost millions of dollars in production and publicity....

Univision gets lots of publicity (and hype) in the Spanish language media. In those areas the English-speaking networks are close to invisible.

In Los Angeles, Univision program routinely are six-eight of the week's top rated programs, yet almost nothing is mentioned about them in the Los Angeles, Times, LA Daily News or Orange County Register.

The Business of TV
N.J. and FiOS TV: Perfect Together
MultiChannel News 12/15/2006

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the first state-issued video-franchise agreement for Verizon Communications’ FiOS TV service Friday.

The telco said it will make FiOS TV available to about 100 New Jersey communities -- 316 communities, or 70% of the households in the state, with more to come.

Verizon added that it plans to begin marketing its service to communities in Bergen, Camden, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic and Somerset counties in the next few weeks, with additional communities in Essex, Mercer and Union counties to be added in the next couple of months. A list of communities will be announced in early January, the company said.

“With the New Jersey market now open to competition, we will soon offer this service to hundreds of thousands of consumers in about 100 communities, and it will make New Jersey one of the most competitive states in the nation,” Verizon New Jersey president Dennis Bone said in a prepared statement.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6400341

The Business of TV
Think Again:
My Network TV Mulls Change To Programming Strategy
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable 12/15/2006

News Corp. is rethinking its all-telenovela strategy for MyNetworkTV, with exploratory talks underway to add inexpensively produced game, talk and reality shows to the mix, according to people familiar with the discussions.

MNT would need to add more inexpensive programming to retain its current station-friendly economic model, which offers nine minutes of local ad time and five minutes of national.

“We have lots of meetings,” says an MNT spokeswoman, who declined to elaborate.

While there is believed to be no timetable for adding the new shows, the talks come after MNT’s second batch of 13-week telenovela-inspired prime time soaps, which debuted Dec. 6, attracted lower ratings than the first low-rated pair.

Wicked, Wicked Games started out with a 0.8 rating/1 share in the overnight markets its first three days and slipped to a 0.7/1 from Monday-Wednesday of week two. Watch Over Me launched at a 0.7/1 and dropped to a 0.6/1.

The initial series, Desire and Fashion House, had averaged a 0.4/1 and 0.5/1, respectively, among the primary demo of adults 18-49 in their September debut weeks—and hovered around that level for the remainder of their 13-week run. In comparison, Wicked and Watch each garnered a 0.3/1 in their premiere week.

MNT had been counting on a ratings bump in December, when the major networks go into rerun fare around the holidays.

When News Corp. announced the formation of MNT last February, it had put alternative fare into the development pipeline as a backup.

But that plan was later scrapped, with Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy saying in July that cable channels like Lifetime didn’t abandon women just because their initial programming got off to a slow start. This fall, however, he was quoted as saying that MNT “obviously can’t stay at these levels forever.”
MNT debuted in September, just as the major networks rolled out a slew of expensive and critically acclaimed serialized dramas, many of which have faltered because viewers did not have the time to commit to them.

Executives thought the new telenovela-inspired programming form, which is popular around the world but had never been tried on American TV, would be immune from the rules that apply to traditional year-round programs. Their viewing patterns are traditionally established in the first 10 weeks of the season.

When MNT was announced, News Corp. President-COO Peter Chernin said it “can be profitable from day one.” But union deals quickly doubled programming costs to more than $1 million per week for each series, even with new production techniques and economies of scale. Meanwhile, some national sponsors wanted to see other types of programming before making advertising commitments.

Chernin also had touted Fox’s prowess in “launching new networks.” Orphaned stations affiliated with UPN and WB, whose netlets had merged into The CW, agreed with that premise and signed on as MNT affiliates. They expressed faith that News Corp. would do whatever it took to make MNT work.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400418

Critic’s Notebook
For the record, he'll be snacking on crow
So maybe a few bright spots of the season did get overlooked.
Critics can be people too.
By Paul Brownfield Los Angeles Times Staff Writer December 17, 2006

Numerous famous people went on TV this year to admit lapses in ethics (James Frey, Mel Gibson), judgment (Michael Richards, Rupert Murdoch, Gibson) and gunplay (Dick Cheney).

In that spirit, I offer the following corrections and clarifications to the year in TV reviews.

• • • • • • • • • • •

"Friday Night Lights": An Oct. 3 review of this new NBC series about a high school football team in Texas contained numerous rash statements conveying the idea that the show is too slick for its own good, comparing it to "a small-town student-body presidential race financed by Hollywood money."

While "Friday Night Lights" is indeed financed by Hollywood money, it is not, as the review also stated, "a music video, really." Instead it's among the more seasoned of the new network dramas, having developed into a slick-but-meaty soap opera that balances its story lines with a sophistication that belies its big-tent TV premise: pretty teens governed by all the normal desires.

Further and equally refreshing, the show has no moral center, given that the adults are as caught up in football mania as the high-schoolers — a dynamic nicely contained in the character of Dillon High's football coach Eric Taylor, played by Kyle Chandler. While the review said that Chandler "wears his weary, soulful gaze like a headset sponsored by the makers of Zoloft," it should also have noted his wry, understated wit and embodiment of a more enlightened brand of good-ol'-boy mannerisms.

• • • • • • • • • • •


"Entourage" clarification: Due to a pleasure that is commonly qualified as "guilty," an analysis of the third season of the HBO series "Entourage" was left out of most editions of the newspaper in '06, although it did appear in internal e-mails and casual Hollywood outings among the TV critic and his friends, during which the analogy, "This is like an episode of 'Entourage' " or "I'm having an 'Entourage' moment" might have been uttered by persons including but not limited to the TV critic.

For the record, a review would have reasserted that there's nothing frankly at stake on "Entourage," which continues to madden the critic though he continues to watch, seething as the show relies upon the character of Johnny Drama for the twin tensions of career and ego self-deceptions while letting the others go scot-free — and in fact celebrating how authentic their old-school Queens values are in the face of nouveau-riche Hollywood hipster-doofuses. Also, the review would have spoken in begrudging admiration of the three-episode turn of Martin Landau as the aged, out-of-the-business movie producer Bob Ryan, and his trademark phrase, "What if I told you … ," which was then followed by: "Is that something you might be interested in?"

• • • • • • • • • • •

"Studio 60" clarification: An Oct. 18 review of the new Aaron Sorkin series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" neglected to mention the fine work of cast member Steven Weber, who plays Jack Rudolph, president of the fictional broadcast network NBS. This is kind of funny, when you think about it, because the review assessed very nearly every character except Rudolph. As it turns out, Rudolph is the only character on the show whose dialogue is not triple-deckered with wit and knowledge designed to flatter my already above-average intelligence as a TV viewer.

While I would like to thank Mr. Sorkin for thinking so much of me, I find his characters fill me only with self-loathing about my like-minded, superior way of gazing, downward, upon the world. Weber's Rudolph, meanwhile, by virtue of his over-the-top haughtiness, comes off as the least haughty of the bunch, an incessantly knowing group who move in and out of scenes dispensing observational factoids like they're breath mints.

• • • • • • • • • • •


"The Wire": Despite watching all 13 episodes of the new season in the span of several days, the TV critic failed to disseminate his enthusiasm for this show to the public at large by actually writing about it. Suffice it to say "The Wire" is the best series on television. The critic regrets the error.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-brownfieldessay17dec17,0,1047673,print.story?coll=cl-tvent

TV Notebook
ABC Pulls Plug on Order for Shatner's Show Me The Money
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 12/15/2006

ABC has decided to shut down production and pull the plug on the six additional episodes it recently ordered of the William Shatner-hosted game show, Show Me The Money.

ABC confirmed Friday morning it currently has seven more episodes of the show already in the can, and as of now plans on finishing that run and airing those episodes through January, but has decided against the additional order.

The show averaged just a 1.6 rating/5 share in the adult 18-49 demo Wednesday night at 8, hitting a new series low and falling 16% from its previous airing.

ABC had announced earlier this month it would pick up six additional episodes and move the show to Tuesdays at 8 beginning January 2. That is the timeslot in which the remaining installments will run in January.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400344

NOOOOOOO! Those dancers where so freaking hot. I wanted that to be in HD so bad.

TV Notebook
ABC pulls 'Day Break'
Network also cancels quizzer 'Show Me the Money'
By Josef Adalian Variety.com Dec. 15, 2006

"Day Break" is done.

ABC has decided to yank the Wednesday drama from its sked, effective immediately. It'll be replaced by repeats of unspecified comedies.

Skein had been set to ankle the ABC sked after its Dec. 27 broadcast. After it cratered in the ratings this week, however, net opted to pull the plug.

Meanwhile, ABC Friday decided to yank another one of its underperfoming newbies. Quizzer "Show Me the Money" has been shown the door, with the Alphabet pulling the show from its lineup immediately.

It'll be replaced by "America's Funniest Home Videos."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955848.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

Critic’s Notebook
'Dexter' may be Showtime's best series ever
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” December 15, 2006

You can find the list of my favorite shows of 2006 here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9173643&&#post9173643, and I mention Showtime’s “Dexter” in that roster.

But having seen the finale of the first season of the series, which airs 9 p.m. (CT) Sunday, I feel compelled to give the show further recognition here: “Dexter” is by far the best new cable show of the year. It’s one of the finest new shows of the year, period.

From the start (my original review is here: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/09/dexter_a_serial.html), “Dexter,” which is based on the novels of Jeff Lindsay, was an unexpectedly compelling creation. You’d think a show about a serial killer would be dark and downbeat, but in its first few episodes, “Dexter” offered a unique blend of black comedy and wry commentary on human nature (and the colorful Miami setting helped give the show a vibrant energy).

Dexter, you see, must fake all human interaction. He’s not human - and he recognizes that. So his attempts to act “normal,” while commenting on the abnormality of his fellow human beings in droll voice-overs, made for a beguilingly comic drama. Yet you also believed that Dexter was capable of violence -- violence in the name of ridding society of heinous criminals that the cops were too stupid or lazy to catch.

None of this would have worked, of course, had not Michael C. Hall given a mesmerizing performance as the title character, who works, conveniently enough, in a police crime lab. He gave Dexter Morgan a necessary core of vulnerability -- Dexter’s no Hannibal Lecter, he’s truly a little boy lost. And he clings with melancholy devotion to the code left to him by his adoptive cop father, who recognized Dexter’s dark impulses and trained the boy to channel them into “taking out the trash.”

As the first season wrapped up, we learned more about the jaw-dropping horrors that befell Dexter as a 3-year-old. Finding out who he is, and how he became the lost, lonely monster that he is, gave the season’s closing episodes an added layer of depth and pathos.

Thanks to a gripping lead performance and excellent writing, “Dexter” may just be the finest series Showtime has ever made. When it returns for its second season, I can’t wait to see what Dexter does next.

By the way, "Dexter" will be available via On Demand after Sunday's finale.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/

TV Notebook
ABC pulls 'Day Break'
Network also cancels quizzer 'Show Me the Money'
By Josef Adalian Variety.com Dec. 15, 2006

"Day Break" is done.

ABC has decided to yank the Wednesday drama from its sked, effective immediately. It'll be replaced by repeats of unspecified comedies.

Skein had been set to ankle the ABC sked after its Dec. 27 broadcast. After it cratered in the ratings this week, however, net opted to pull the plug.

Meanwhile, ABC Friday decided to yank another one of its underperfoming newbies. Quizzer "Show Me the Money" has been shown the door, with the Alphabet pulling the show from its lineup immediately.

It'll be replaced by "America's Funniest Home Videos."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955848.html?categoryid=14&cs=1


What the heck is a skein? Why does Variety use such cryptic abbreviations (there are many others)? Is it to make us outsiders feel even more like outsiders?

Not at all but Variety isn't written for civilians, it is written for show biz people. (I am sure most of us wouldn't understand jargon used in the American Psychiarty Association publication, etc.)

And a lot of the Variety abbreviations came about when the publication was trying to find short ways to say things in its tight space for headlines.

Back in the early 1900s many of those Variety headlines were famously original. Perhaps the most remembered was:
"CRIX NIX
HIX PICS"
which translated meant that big city movie critics didn't like a rash of rural-oriented movies.

So it isn't that Variety isn't being written to make you feel like an outsider. Far more so it is written by people who speak their own language for others who understand it.

Oh yea, sorry, back to your main point: A skein is a synonym for series.

And a lot of the Variety abbreviations came about when the publication was trying to find short ways to say things in its tight space for headlines.

I like their abbreviation for ABC: The alphabet network. So much easier than typing A...B...(wait for it)...C.

Yeah, there is that, too!

Sometimes they look for descriptive words just to break up the reptitiveness of the story: Alphabet, Peacock, Tiffany, (skein!) etc. It seems on occasion that ADD might be a prerequisite for applying for work at Variety.

(And welcome [back] to the thread, Windom Earle! Maybe we can keep your interest even after Lost returns next month.) :)

TV Notebook
Remember that OJ Simpson book/TV Show?

Matt Drudge at the Drudge Report is reporting that Judith Regan, the publishin whiz behind the O.J. Simpson book and the abortive TV show, is now longer working for NewsCorp.

Here it is in Matt’s words:

"EXCLUSIVE **7:34 PM ET** PUBLISHING GURU JUDITH REGAN LET GO FROM MURDOCH EMPIRE...

Judith Regan's employment with Harpercollins has been terminated effective immediately, sources tell DRUDGE REPORT...

Regan publishing program and staff will continue as part of the Harpercollins general books group...

The OJ fiasco is not the main reason for terminating the world's most successful publisher, sources explain. "Many factors led to this decision," says an insider.

The force behind smash bestsellers by Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Sean Hannity and others could not be reached for comment late Friday... Word of the firing came as Murdoch's NEWS CORP. was holding its Christmas party...."

http://www.drudgereport.com/

Bye bye Judith! Don't let the door (or OJ) rear-end your behind on your way out. But if she's fired does that mean her "publishing program and staff" will be manned by different people or that she still gets to edit/finalize the projects she was working on before the termination? And you gotta hand it to Murdoch and his Newscorp people. What better time to fire Regan than on a Friday afternoon on the weekend before Christmas? Ain't showbusiness and politics grand? :D

TV Notebook
ABC Pulls Plug on Order for Shatner's Show Me The Money
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 12/15/2006

ABC has decided to shut down production and pull the plug on the six additional episodes it recently ordered of the William Shatner-hosted game show, Show Me The Money.

ABC confirmed Friday morning it currently has seven more episodes of the show already in the can, and as of now plans on finishing that run and airing those episodes through January, but has decided against the additional order.
TV Notebook
ABC pulls 'Day Break'
Network also cancels quizzer 'Show Me the Money'
By Josef Adalian Variety.com Dec. 15, 2006

"Day Break" is done.

ABC has decided to yank the Wednesday drama from its sked, effective immediately. It'll be replaced by repeats of unspecified comedies.

Skein had been set to ankle the ABC sked after its Dec. 27 broadcast. After it cratered in the ratings this week, however, net opted to pull the plug.

Meanwhile, ABC Friday decided to yank another one of its underperfoming newbies. Quizzer "Show Me the Money" has been shown the door, with the Alphabet pulling the show from its lineup immediately.

It'll be replaced by "America's Funniest Home Videos."
Did ABC change its mind that quickly (see the underlined statements with both being dated 12/15) ?
Which statement is correct?

I have no idea Russ. Let me see if there is anything officially from ABC I can post....

It's official! :p

Business Notebook
Judith Regan Is Fired After O. J. Simpson Book
By Edward Wyatt, The New York Times December 15, 2006

Judith Regan, the firebrand editor who stirred up decade-old passions last month with her plans for a book and television interview with O. J. Simpson, was fired late Friday by HarperCollins, the publishing company that oversaw her book business.

HarperCollins announced the dismissal, “effective immediately,” in a two-sentence news release that was issued at about 7 p.m. Eastern time. The announcement was made by Jane Friedman, president and chief executive of HarperCollins, who has long had a strained relationship with Ms. Regan.

The Simpson book was to give an account of how he might have murdered his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldman.

The statement said that the Regan publishing program and staff will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group, but it is unknown whether that group will remain in Los Angeles, where Ms. Regan moved it from New York earlier this year.

It is also unclear whether Ms. Regan has been dismissed only from HarperCollins, or terminated entirely from the News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch’s giant media company. Over the years, Ms. Regan has gained a growing amount of sway within the company because of her ability to generate profits from books and other ventures.

In recent years, she has helped to produce television series and specials, like “Growing Up Gotti,” a series about the children of mafia don John Gotti, which aired on the A&E cable channel. Ms. Regan served as an executive producer of the show.

The news about Ms. Regan’s firing was announced in a news release issued by HarperCollins even before it was transmitted to Regan employees in Los Angeles. Suzanne Wickham, a spokesman for Ms. Regan in Los Angeles, said employees had not been notified of the development before a reporter called to ask to speak to Ms. Regan.

Executives at HarperCollins and the News Corporation in New York and Los Angeles did not return phone calls seeking further comment.

Ms. Regan’s publishing imprint ReganBooks was to release Mr. Simpson's book on Nov. 30, with two one-hour interview segments scheduled to appear on the Fox network for the release.

But a public outcry and criticism from the families of the victims eventually led the News Corporation to cancel the project.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/business/media/15cnd-regan.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin/

Russ, here is yet another version of the story, this time from James Hibberd of TV Week (and I am a big admirer of his work, BTW.)
ABC PR folks are gone for the weekend, so I can't get any official clarification. (Funny how many of these cancellations come late on Friday, no?)
But it seems to me clear that
a) the additional episodes of "Show Me The Money" will not be made, and
b) those already in the can may never see air.

TV Notebook
ABC Dumps 'Money,' Hires Oprah
By James Hibberd Television Week December 15, 2006

ABC has canceled its low-rated game show "Show Me the Money," hosted by William Shatner, the network confirmed Friday, and has ordered two new prime-time series from Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions.

ABC announced just one week ago it was ordering six additional episodes of "Show Me the Money," which now will not be made. "Money" viewership has been in decline since its premiere. The most recent episode hit a series-low 1.6 rating among adults 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research. The show has been partnered with the drama "Day Break," whose ratings have also been suffering.

Today ABC also announced two alternative prime-time series produced by ABC and Harpo.

In "Oprah Winfrey's The Big Give" (working title), 10 people will use cash and unique resources to help others. In "Your Money or Your Life," a crisis team will aid families on the brink of disaster.

"Oprah Winfrey getting into series TV is monumental," said Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment. "Our relationship with Harpo has been wonderful for us, and this latest partnership takes it to a phenomenal new level. These two shows are a perfect fit for our alternative brand with their focus on wish fulfillment and making lives better. I can't wait to get started."

Ms. Winfrey will appear in at least one of the series, though the extent of her on-camera involvement is currently unclear.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11239

TV Notebook
NBC halts production on 'Raines'
Goldblum show will still get a primetime shot
By Josef Adalian, Variety December 15, 2006

There'll be a little less "Raines" at NBC this spring.
Peacock has opted to halt production on the Jeff Goldblum midseason drama, capping the number of episodes produced at seven.

Net had ordered 13 episodes of the show, but ultimately decided it only needed a half-dozen segs beyond the pilot.

"Raines" will still get a primetime shot, however. NBC is sticking by plans to air the seven produced episodes on Friday nights, starting in March.

The "Raines" cutback marks the second time in recent weeks NBC has reduced an episode order for a midseason skein. Net previously cut back its commitment to laffer "The Singles Table," capping it at six segs.

"Raines" stars Goldblum as an LA cop who imagines he's interacting with dead people in order to solve crimes. Skein is from NBC Universal Television Studio.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955908.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

OK, we get it, and we understand (and are even willing to believe, sort of) that Judith Regan's firing had nothing to do with the O.J. fiasco.

Yet when will NewsCorp fire tainted reality guru Mike Darnell, who gleefully announced the O.J. program?

Now THAT would be a Christmas present millions of Americans would be able to enjoy.

Two words Fredfa: American Idol. So long as that ratings engine keeps humming Darnell is safe. Then again, Robert Blake still needs a gig! ;)

fredfa, thanks for the additional info.

Russ: I think this B&C update clarifies the situation. It was posted a while ago on the B&C website, sorry I didn't post it earlier:

TV Notebook
Update: Show Me The Money Pulled Off The Air Immediately
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 12/15/2006

ABC has now decided to pull the William Shatner-hosted game show, Show Me The Money off the air immediately, and will replace it with America’s Funniest Home Videos.

This comes after B&C learned earlier on Friday that the network had decided to shut down production and pull the plug on the six additional episodes it recently ordered.

The network later on Friday decided to pull the show completely.

ABC had confirmed earlier Friday morning it currently has seven more episodes of the show already in the can, and planned on finishing that run and airing those episodes through January.

The show averaged just a 1.6 rating/5 share in the adult 18-49 demo Wednesday night at 8, hitting a new series low and falling 16% from its previous airing.

ABC had announced earlier this month it would pick up six additional episodes and move the show to Tuesdays at 8 beginning January 2.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400436

TV Notebook
A couple of TV tidbits before a holiday halt
By Melanie McFarland, Seattle Post-Intelligencer December 15, 2006

As if Ye Old TV Blog of Lowered Expectations wasn't low-achieving enough -- and proud of it, man! --it is temporarily stopping for the rest of December. What that means is you're not going to find anything new or vaguely interesting until the first week of January, when we begin to gear up for Winter Press Tour.

It's not as if I was doing much with this thing in the first place, right? And tell the truth: Are you even watching much television right now? I mean, what's on?

........... Exactly. Nothing.

So I figured I should go check in on the beloved TV Mama and The In-Laws during the holiday season boob-tube lull. Before I go, a bit of useful news.

-- HBO announced this week that "The Sopranos" will return to the air one last time in April.

-- Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days" will see a third season on FX, scheduled to premiere at some point in summer 2007. Long before its return, the cable channel is launching "Dirt" on Jan. 2, with Courteney Cox starring as the editor of a juicy tabloid.

-- At long last, ABC's "The Knights of Prosperity," the only new comedy whose pilot made me laugh out loud, arrives Jan. 3 at 9. The "American Idol" threshing machine likely will chop "Knights" to bits upon its return, but whatcha gonna do? It has to go somewhere.

"Knights" will be followed by "In Case of Emergency" at 9:30. No word on what that means for "Day Break," a show you probably weren't watching anyway.

That's pretty much it, cats and kittens. Have a lovely holiday. May all your interactions with family be relatively sane. Should that be impossible to achieve, then may all your eggnog be spiked with top-shelf bourbon.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/archives/109698.asp

Is it me or is Friday afternoon/evening now a busy time for covering the TV scene? Looks like if you want some juicy news about a show getting cancelled or some big shot getting axed you better check the websites (or this thead) on Friday night! :rolleyes:

The Business of TV
NFL Net rejects TW plan for Rutgers game
By Paul J. Gough, The Hollywood Reporter December 16, 2006

The NFL Network has said thanks, but no thanks, to Time Warner Cable's response to carry the Texas Bowl but no other part of the network on the basic cable tier.

Earlier this week the NFL Network offered its two big New York metro region holdouts Cablevision and Time Warner Cable the opportunity to carry the channel for free from Christmas Eve until the afternoon of Dec. 30. That would include the channel's telecast of the Texas Bowl, which features local favorite Rutgers against Kansas State.

Both Time Warner Cable and Cablevision jumped at the chance to carry the Texas Bowl but weren't as interested in the rest of the NFL Network, particularly on the most basic cable tier. Time Warner Cable said it would either carry the bowl game on basic or the whole free preview on digital.

In a letter to Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt, NFL Network CEO Steven M. Bornstein rejected Time Warner Cable's proposal because it didn't allow the MSO's customers a chance to watch all of the channel's programming. Bornstein wrote that the network hoped that if cable customers liked what they saw it would give "both of us an impetus to move forward and negotiate a mutually satisfactory carriage agreement."

Time Warner Cable said it couldn't provide the NFL Network a basic-cable channel for the entire free week. The NFL Network said it would look at Time Warner Cable's channels to see if there was an unused channel there.

Time Warner Cable said it was clear where the NFL Network was coming from.

"It is not to ensure Rutger's fans see their team. But, rather to ensure their Network is sampled by the largest number of our customers in the hopes they might gain some leverage in the longer-term negotiations that have been going on for months," a spokesman said.

Cablevision also accepted the NFL Network's proposal to carry the Texas Bowl game, but not all of the channel's programming. Cablevision and the NFL Network couldn't be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i631d13dcd8dc0bc4204eacf796b33931

Is it me or is Friday afternoon/evening now a busy time for covering the TV scene? Looks like if you want some juicy news about a show getting cancelled or some big shot getting axed you better check the websites (or this thead) on Friday night! :rolleyes:

Friday has traditionally been a time TV networks slyly note their cancellations or major changes.

And they rarely actually announce a cancellation.

They send out a quiet "program change" and only when you remember what HAD been in that spot do you realize something has been axed.

Then you call the PR representative to try to get more clarification. If the release is sent out late enough on a Friday no PR type (and certainly no network exec) is available until Monday.

Before you make a big deal out of this article please remember that Robert Friedman is the Fox News entertainment columnist that predicted with absolute certaintity that Studio 60 was dead and its actors were saying goodbye to fellow crew members. This story got a lot of media play (including this forum) before Warner and NBC came out with an announcement that 'Studio 60' was picked-up for the rest of the year. That said though...

TV Notebook
'Law & Order: SVU' May Be Over
By Roger Friedman, Fox News.com December 15, 2006

You wouldn’t think that NBC could afford to lose a hit show right now, but that’s what may happen.

Sources tell me that NBC is playing hardball with stars Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni, not wanting to pay them big increases if they stay for a ninth season next fall.

“It’s not Dick Wolf,” my source says of the notoriously capricious producer. Wolf is infamous for constantly replacing and substituting actors on the original “Law & Order.” But so far the cast has remained stable for “SVU” since it launched eight years ago.

NBC, however, according to insiders, doesn’t seem to care whether the show returns or not. “They’re acting like they want Chris and Mariska out of there,” says my source.

Negotiations, which have gone on this week, are said to have been brutal.

One thing NBC probably didn’t count on was Emmy nominations for both stars and a win last year for Hargitay. The awards and kudos have come toward the end of the series’ run and are considered surprising for a “cop” show.

The awards attention, coupled with consistently high ratings, would ordinarily give actors leverage with the network. But with cost-cutting and layoffs going on, NBC is said to feel that they don’t mind losing the show or starting over with new, less expensive actors.

The ratings for 'Law & Order SVU' are what make this news all the more perplexing. The show wins its Tuesday night time slot easily every week, with an average 9.4 rating and a 16 share.

Ironically, the ratings have only gone up as the fall season has plodded along, making “SVU” one of the lone shining lights in the otherwise dimmed NBC firmament.

Either way, Meloni and Hargitay would leave “SVU” well-off financially but even better off career-wise. They are each a hot property and would likely be snapped up rival networks to star in their own series immediately. Stay tuned.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236660,00.html/

dad1153: Roger's track record is pretty good (the "Studio 60" story notwithstanding).

He is one of the first to note smoke in any incendiary situation.

If this story is true, it is just another example of what a horrible year NBC is having. And wait until the NFL leaves in three weeks.

TV Notebook
Come on down, Dave
Verne Gay's Newsday 'TV Zone' Blog Dec. 14, 2006

Dave Price the next host of "The Price is Right?" Let's just take that little question mark away and make this official: Dave Price will be the next host of "Price is Right." Since Bob Barker announced his retirement from the show on Halloween day - he'll leave the longest-running-daytime-show-in-history next June - there's been speculation that weatherguy Price will be anointed his replacement. CBS has deflected the speculation, calling it premature (or at least to Page Six, which first reported the Price-to-"Price" rumors back in early November.) But I've learned from a source that it's definite. Price will continue to be one of "The Early Show" anchors - no surprise because he just signed a new contract and is considered a key to the morning show's success - but he'll also pre-tape "Price" episodes from Los Angeles. I hear he'll handle "Early" from Monday through Thursday, then fly to the coast for the game show tapings on Friday. The arrangement sounds awkward but is hardly unprecedented: Meredith Vieira missed last week's "Today" hosting duties while she wrapped up her season commitment to "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."

http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/blog/2006/12/verne_gay_come_on_down_dave.html

TV Notebook
Golden Globes Deprive Critics of Reasons to Whine
James Poniewozik's Time 'Tuned In' Blog Dec. 15, 2006

We tend to forget because it comes in the middle of Oscar-handicapping season, but the Golden Globes honors TV shows too. I'll leave it to my movie colleagues to pick over the film nominees (except to say: Bobby? Wha? Are they sure they didn't mean Best Comedy, Unintentional?). But the TV nods left a critic unfortunately little to grouse about.

The Globes carry relatively little predictive weight for the Emmys, but despite that--or maybe because of it--they make up for it in legitimacy by actually nominating good shows. The Globes have not hesitated to honor series early in their runs: in recent years, 24, Lost, Arrested Development and The Office. So while I might have been disappointed and puzzled that not one of the outstanding actresses in HBO's Big Love were nominated (while Evangeline Lilly did, for the weakest lead performance in a strong show), the underrated series itself got a Best Drama nod, which helped to make up for it.

Otherwise, my quibbles were mostly of the reasonable-people-can-differ scale. I'm not sure Heroes and Ugly Betty have quite earned their way into the top rank of TV shows--both of them are great-looking, brilliantly conceived shows held back by cliche writing--but they're perfectly good and I'm all for spotlighting new talent. (Especially when that new talent does not include Studio 60, which got only a supporting-actress nod for Sarah Paulson as an apparently-funny-despite-all-evidence comedienne.)


And while I'm glad Alec Baldwin got nominated for 30 Rock, the rest of the show could have gotten a little more love. I just watched last night's episode and I've decided that Tina Fey's comedy is this year's Office: the sitcom that, if it manages to survive one more season, will enjoy some critical bandwagon-jumping as people who wrote it off discover it has a distinctive voice. It's uneven, but when it's funny, it's hilarious--I must have re-watched last night's "Black Frasier" throwaway joke seven times. (Although seeing that kind of brilliant Family Guy visual joke in a live-action show always makes me wonder: how can they afford casting, shooting time and creating an entire set for one eight-second gag? A show with 30 Rock's ratings must have to keep a careful eye on its budget.)

But compared to the annual artistic war crime that the Emmy nominations have become, this is nothing. Reading the Globe's list, you'd even think the people compiling it have actually watched an hour or two of TV in the past year. The foreign press really are different.

Update: I have been reminded that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association also snubbed the much-deserving and much-needing-help Friday Night Lights. A legitimate beef. What can I say? They are the foreign press, and it is football. They don't understand why we don't play it with our feet.

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

Is it me or is Friday afternoon/evening now a busy time for covering the TV scene? Looks like if you want some juicy news about a show getting cancelled or some big shot getting axed you better check the websites (or this thead) on Friday night! :rolleyes:

To quote an industry name and practice made famous to the masses on The West Wing, "Friday's are throwing it out with the garbage day." Week before Christmas, good luck on trying to find anyone at their office to comment, much less make a decision. By the time everyone is back in the saddle, a new disaster would be upon us. I would suspect all of the major Earth shaking decisions have now been made unless the world comes to an unexpected end before then. Next big announcements will be after the first of the year hence the big "garbage can" today.

Before you make a big deal out of this article please remember that Robert Friedman is the Fox News entertainment columnist that predicted with absolute certaintity that Studio 60 was dead and its actors were saying goodbye to fellow crew members.

Come on dad, let's not get carried away here. I am not particularly fond of the New York Times, but just because their editor and many of their Op Ed people are flaming liberals, doesn't mean EVERYONE there is, just like not everyone at FNC are bible and gun toting right wing conservatives (I should know, I have worked with a lot ot them over the years and several have worked at my station before going to FNC). Please take the stories at face value and judge from there.

Besides, NBC has relied too much on L&O to keep them a float. As Joe Walsh says in "Rocky Mountain Way", "time to change the batter."

The TV Column
Oprah's Reality Check
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, December 16, 2006; C05

Here's a great TV story for the holiday season:

Oprah Winfrey, the post-Ghost-Chats Ebenezer Scrooge of daytime TV, is taking her money-spewing ways to ABC's prime-time schedule.

First, the network has ordered eight episodes of a reality series called "Oprah Winfrey's The Big Give," in which 10 people will be challenged to take Oprah-dispensed money and resources and come up with "the most powerful, sensational, emotional and dramatic ways to give to others," ABC announced.

You know, like persuading General Motors to give them 276 Pontiacs to hand out to deserving car-challenged people.

"Each week the group will face a 'big catch' that will test their nerve, drive, ingenuity and passion," ABC explained.

Like "The Apprentice," only they call it a "challenge."

As the series unfolds, the challengers will be booted through a "unique method," ABC said.

We're guessing that means "different enough from, say, 'The Apprentice' so as not to be sued by, say, Mark Burnett."

Each week the stakes will get higher until one person is chosen winner. He or she will have his or her "wildest dream come true for making the biggest impact."

Like "The Apprentice," if Donald Trump had a heart and his contestants weren't such ambitious narcissists.

"The series will center on the drama, emotion and magic of making a difference in people's lives," ABC said.

Like "The Apprentice," if Donald Trump were Mother Teresa. Or Angelina Jolie. Or Madonna and the grand prize was a heartbreakingly beautiful orphan baby from Malawi.

Oprah already tested the idea on her daytime show when she gave each member of her studio audience a $1,000 gift card and told them they had to find a dramatic way to give away the money and to videotape their work and send it to her so she could use the footage to get another episode out of the deal.

The second project, tentatively titled "Your Money or Your Life," is being developed at ABC but has not yet been ordered to series. In it, Oprah will attempt to do for needy families what ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" does for their houses and "Extreme Makeover" does for their faces and tummies.

Gut jobs.

Each week, Oprah's "expert action team" will move in and make a "dramatic total money and life makeover."

Oprah already does something similar on her daytime show in those bits where she pays off someone's debt.

The two projects are the first to come out of Oprah's recently formed TV development group at Harpo, the heads of which told Variety that Winfrey had decided to get into the reality business after years of watching others "borrow" ideas from her show. Because, you know, Oprah has obtained the copyright on philanthropy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121501846_pf.html

Critics’ Notebook
2006: Best in Show
By Michael Malone Broadcasting & Cable 12/18/2006

It came down to The Wire. HBO’s dark drama took top honors in the B&C Critics Poll, as 15% of the critics gave it their vote for Best Overall Program. “The Wire lives in a world that broadcast networks can’t even find on a map, much less afford to visit,” said Ellen Gray, of the Philadelphia Daily News.

All told, 67 TV critics offered their bests (and worsts) of 2006. They adore NBC’s The Office, which grabbed Best Comedy. And they still love Lost. While Wire also took Best Drama, ABC’s Lost was runner-up.

Among Reality, the critics tapped The Amazing Race, while Happy Hour claimed Worst Program. “Predictable, lame,” scoffed Marisa Guthrie, of the NY Daily News.

The most memorable TV moment was a tie between Katie Couric’s debut at CBS Evening News and Fox’s cancelling O.J. Simpson’s special. Couric’s anchor gig, said Andrew Wineke, of The Gazette (Colorado), is “what we’ll remember 10 years from now.”

Best Overall Program:
The Wire (15%)
Heroes (12%)
24 (9%)

Best Comedy:
The Office (32%)
Ugly Betty (18%)
My Name Is Earl (11%)

Best Drama:
The Wire (16%)
Lost (9%)
24, Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy (tie, 7%)

Best Reality:
The Amazing Race (27%)
Project Runway (16%)
American Idol (12%)

Worst Program:
Happy Hour (15%)
Twenty Good Years (10%)
Deal Or No Deal (6%)

Most Memorable TV Moment:
Couric’s debut as anchor of CBS Evening News and
Fox cancels O.J. Simpson’s If I Did It (tie, 7%)
Jim and Pam make out on The Office (4%)

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400557

I'm still trying to figure out how you get "skein" from "series"?

HDTV Notebook
Hi-Def Rush in Reno
By Glen Dickson Broadcasting & Cable 12/18/2006

Reno, NV will get a significant boost to its digital-television transition this week, as Pappas station and CW affiliate KREN launches a one-hour newscast in 1080-line interlace (1080i) high-definition.

The newscast, scheduled to launch Monday, Dec. 18, will be the first HD news product for a CW affiliate and the first locally produced 10 p.m. news for Reno, the No. 110 Nielsen market (Fox affiliate KRXI pumps in a 10:00 news from KTVU Oakland-San Jose, Calif.). It is also the first local-news offering from KREN, whose only previous news programming was the syndicated show The Daily Buzz. KREN is producing the HD newscasts at a new digital broadcast facility within a Reno shopping mall. Pappas created the facility to house both KREN and sister property KAZR, a low-power station and Azteca America affiliate.

Hi-def news has gained momentum this fall, with a bevy of big-market launches, such as WNBC New York and WSB Atlanta; KREN will be the 25th station to offer a hi-def newscast. But Reno is by far the smallest market. Part of the reason for the HD push, say station execs, is that Pappas Chairman/CEO Harry Pappas lives there and has a big HD set at home.

Pappas spent about $1 million on the HD news production capabilities and about $2 million on the entire facility, lean investments by industry standards.

As of last week, KREN’s HD build-out was complete, and the station was in final dress rehearsals for the launch. According to James Ocon, deputy director of engineering at Pappas Telecasting Companies and chief engineer at KREN and KAZR, there were two major criteria for the HD equipment KREN selected: that the newscast could be produced using a fully file-based workflow and that the technology be as cost-effective as possible.

KREN is using small HDV-format camcorders from Canon for shooting both in the studio and in the field, linking them to disk-based FireStore storage units from Focus Enhancements. The Canon camcorders, which cost around $11,000 apiece, says Ocon, were “kind of a no-brainer” compared with more-expensive high-end studio cameras and Sony XDCAM and Panasonic P2 field camcorders.

Pappas started looking at the P2 format three years ago. Although Ocon liked the file-based workflow, the cost of the solid-state memory cards was a limitation for a smaller-market station like KREN, so he considered alternatives. While some engineers and producers have criticized the high compression rate of the HDV format as being unsuitable for broadcast, Ocon likes the pictures produced by the Canon XL H1 cameras.

“It’s sort of like the paper-bag test with two bottles of wine,” he says. “You could put paper bags over the cameras, and most engineers looking at their monitor could not tell the difference between the $11,000 camera and a $50,000 broadcast camera. And I’d much rather buy 10 cameras than two.”

Ocon also preferred the focusing circuitry and glass in the Canon lenses and liked the Canon Console feature available with the XL H1. Canon Console allows a desktop or laptop computer to serve as a camera-control unit for setting and synchronizing camera features remotely, a nice benefit for using HDV cameras as studio cameras.

“A dedicated computer can communicate via FireWire to the individual cameras,” Ocon says.

KREN is using Canopus Edius nonlinear editing systems from Grass Valley to pull content from the FireStore drives, which mount directly to the back of the Canon camcorders. Other production gear includes AP’s ENPS (Electronic News Production System) newsroom computer system, graphics software from VizRT, and a Ross Synergy production switcher. KREN plans to roll out the Overdrive production system from Ross, which automates various functions of a newscast, such as robotic cameras.

Live remotes will be standard-def for the near term, as KREN has a news-share arrangement with ABC affiliate KOLO to provide ENG feeds and weather inserts. Pappas is interested in using new video-over-IP wireless systems to provide HD electronic newsgathering in the future, says Ocon. The station will also gain outside material from its “Community Correspondent” program, which gives cameras to viewers who act as citizen journalists.

(Another Pappas station) KAZR (Channel 46 in Reno) is also broadcasting in 1080i HD and launched its own 30-minute HD newscast last month, the first Spanish-language local HD newscast in the U.S.

KREN may also be getting some competition in HD news from NBC affiliate KRNV, which is owned by Sunbelt Communications. KRNV is tentatively scheduled to launch its own HD news this week, says News Director Jon Killoran, and plans to produce 3.5 hours a day of HD news during the week and 1.5 hours on weekends. The public-affairs show Nevada Newsmakers, which runs Monday-Thursday, will also be produced in HD.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6400566

Come on dad, let's not get carried away here. I am not particularly fond of the New York Times, but just because their editor and many of their Op Ed people are flaming liberals, doesn't mean EVERYONE there is, just like not everyone at FNC are bible and gun toting right wing conservatives (I should know, I have worked with a lot ot them over the years and several have worked at my station before going to FNC). Please take the stories at face value and judge from there.

Besides, NBC has relied too much on L&O to keep them a float. As Joe Walsh says in "Rocky Mountain Way", "time to change the batter."

I know Fox News is a pretty reliable news source outside of the commentary/opinion part of the equation (which sadly sometimes its hard to tell apart! :rolleyes: ) but in this case I'm just making sure people don't forget that Friedman's last big 'get' about 'Studio 60' turned out to be 100% incorrect. Replace Friendman's name on the byline for both the incorrect 'Studio 60' story and the new 'SVU' scoop with Bill Carter's and I would have told people reading about 'SVU' to remember Carter's previous big story about 'Studio 60' turned out to be wrong. Batting average my foot, you're as good as your last story and Friedman got the 'Studio 60' news so far off everything he writes has to be considered suspect until proven correct by the facts.

I'm still trying to figure out how you get "skein" from "series"?


Variety has its own “slanguage” dictionary of its bizarre terms here:

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=slanguage

And back in June of 2005, Variety editor Tim Gray spoke with NPR’s Gloria Hillard about the Variety-originated words (which include “striptease”, “boffo” and “Payola”).

You can listen to the interview here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4708916

I'm still trying to figure out how you get "skein" from "series"?
a "skein" is a bundle of yarn. A "yarn" is a tale or story, and since a TV series is a collection of stories ...

AVS Forum in the Media
Not So High on High Definition
By Todd Spangler Multi Channel News 12/18/2006

A pretty tough crowd hangs out at AVSForum.com. Tough as in tough to please.

The site, which has more than 180,000 registered members, hosts discussions about high-end home-entertainment systems, including high-definition TV sets and programs. For some of these videophiles, even the best HD signals cable and satellite providers deliver aren't good enough.

Consider this post from early December: “Quite frankly, there aren't really any great broadcast or cable HD sources,” wrote GeorgeLV in the site's HDTV Programming forum.

In a private reply, GeorgeLV — whose real name is George Michael Harris — explained that what annoys him about HD networks is the frequent picture “smearing” or “macroblocking,” an effect in which fast-moving elements look like a mosaic of square tiles.

“I'd just be happy if HD consistently looked better than a regular, standard-definition DVD,” he told us. “On many programs, especially sports, it often doesn't.” Harris subscribes to satellite operator DirecTV's high-definition package and receives local HD broadcasts over the air.

PRESSING THE CASE

What he's complaining about, basically, is compression. Every HD signal transmitted over a cable network or satellite must be compressed. That's because a single, uncompressed HD stream at 1080i, currently the highest-resolution specification in wide use, consumes about 1.4 Gigabits of bandwidth per second — 36 times the capacity available via one channel in a modern cable network.

The question is, how far down can HD be squeezed while still providing a vibrant picture good enough to meet the expectations of the nation's growing ranks of HDTV set owners?

In general, an HD signal in the current standard of compression known as MPEG-2 gets encoded into 19.4 Megabits per second. That is several times the rate of standard-definition channels, which are typically coded at 2.5 to 5 Mbps.

However, to conserve additional space on bandwidth-starved systems, virtually all operators ratchet down some HD channels even further, to as low as a 10-Mbps stream, in a process known as transcoding. The AVSForum guys derisively refer to the result as “HD Lite.”

The practice isn't advertised, and none of the operators who spoke with Multichannel News would detail which specific channels get the treatment and how far down they compress the signals. But at least two major operators, Comcast and Charter Communications, both confirmed their systems use the technique.

“There's certain acknowledged manipulation” of HD signals, said Showtime Networks vice president of engineering technology Jim Occhiuto. “Today, it's more on the honor system by cable operators.”

And the honor system, so far, works because at this point, defining high definition is a personal matter. What looks fantastic to you might not seem so great to, say, George Michael Harris. But with TV screen sizes ballooning to 60 inches and greater, consumers are more likely to notice subpar image quality in highly compressed HD signals.

With a big-screen TV, “you're looking at the video signals under a microscope,” said Charter senior director of advanced video implementation John Roy. Take a signal down too much, and the video starts to blur, pixelate or (horrors!) exhibit macroblocking.

And if that happens, the wealthy subscribers who've spent thousands of dollars on an HDTV set may be inclined to part ways with their cable service, if the signals they receive aren't high-definition enough. This year, at least 5 million TV viewing households began to subscribe to HDTV services on satellite or cable, based on estimates of TV set sales from the Consumer Electronics Association and Leichtman Research Group viewer surveys.

Cable operators, then, have an economic interest in delivering the best HD content they possibly can, to attract and keep customers from defecting to satellite rivals — who are adding the capacity to be able to carry more HD programming — or, increasingly, telcos such as AT&T or Verizon Communications. And get this: One disgruntled customer in Los Angeles already has sued his satellite provider for poor-quality HD.

The balancing act for the cable industry is to continue to deliver more HD programming while not squeezing it past the point beyond which HD isn't HD anymore. And to do it at a time when typical capacity of 750 Megahertz (with some up at 870 MHz) is stretched thin already by the 500-Mhz analog tier of channels, not to mention new standard- and high-definition video-on-demand services operators are starting to offer.

Comcast, for example, in September initiated a major high-definition on-demand push, offering 100 hours of high-definition VOD per month, including at least 20 movies provided by Starz LLC.

“Ideally, [programmers] would like it if the operators had the ability to take the signal as is and put it on the plant,” said Gary Traver, chief operating officer of the Comcast Media Center, the cable operator's digital-services unit, which originates 79 channels from its location in Denver. “But everybody has a variety of challenges they have to work through in terms of how much bandwidth they have.”

TIPPING POINT

HDTV sets used to be toys for home-theater buffs. It's still not exactly a mass market: Today 15% of households have HDTV sets, according to research firm Frank N. Magid Associates.

But that's changing. Next year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, more high-definition TV sets will ship than standard-definition ones. For 2006, the CEA projects sales of 11.9 million analog sets and 19.7 million digital TV sets, with more than half of the DTVs sold — 11.2 million — able to display high-definition video. Roughly half of HDTV owners subscribe to a cable or satellite high-definition service, according to a survey by Leichtman Research.

The HD difference: Technically, as defined by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), HDTV is wide-screen video with a 16:9 aspect ratio and either 1080 or 720 lines of vertical resolution. Standard-definition digital television is 480 lines with a 4:3 aspect ratio.

The visceral experience of watching HD, though, can be like attaining 20/20 vision after a lifetime of nearsightedness.

Well-heeled consumers unboxing their HDTV sets under the Christmas tree will expect to be wowed. Philip Garvin, general manager and chief operating officer at HDNet, which offers two high-definition programming channels with news, sports and movies, believes the way to knock off people's socks is by delivering the programming without tweaking the signal.

The Denver-based network, owned by billionaire Mark Cuban and available to 4 million homes, would like its HDNet and HDNet Movies channels to be carried at 19.4 Mbps or higher. But the scarcity of bandwidth intrudes on negotiations, and HDNet doesn't always get what it wants from cable operators.

“What we're facing is: How much do you compress? We could argue about that forever, and there's nothing that we, as a network, can do,” he said. “It's highly unlikely that we can avoid [operators] decoding and re-encoding [HDNet's signals].”

Compression can be a bargaining chip in carriage deals. According to Doug Jones, chief architect of cable products at video-equipment maker BigBand Networks, networks sometimes obtain a more favorable carriage fee if they agree to have their HD programming carried at 10 or 11 Mbps. “That's all tied into the programmer negotiations,” he said.

On the other hand, bandwidth guarantees may be written into carriage agreements. Cable networks and broadcasters that are in a position to make such demands — including The Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN — require distributors to carry high-definition channels at about 19.4 Mbps each, according to executives at operators and equipment vendors.

That's true for ESPN. It transmits its high-definition channels at 19.3 Mbps and carriage agreements “generally require” that distributors carry the signal unaltered, according to Rebecca Gertsmark, director of communications for the sports network.

Other deals are more flexible, with “quality statements” built into contracts that specify a more subjective standard for what looks good enough to be HD.

HD distribution can be more art than science because certain types of video are more sensitive to compression. Movies or “talking heads” are usually good candidates for transcoding to lower bit rates because there are fewer changes between frames than in high-motion video.

But “there's no standard to say, 'I'm going to put this at 11 Megabits per second,'” Roy said. “It's programming-dependent.”

Sporting events, meanwhile, typically produce high-motion video that needs a full 19.4-Mbps stream to meet viewer expectations.

“You're not going to get cable operators monkeying with the Super Bowl HD broadcast down to 11 [Mbps],” said Marty Stein, senior director of marketing for the IP video-solutions business at Motorola, which sells transcoding equipment. “That would make all their subscribers mad.”

SEE YOU IN COURT

Mad? Try livid: A DirecTV subscriber in Los Angeles felt so cheated by the provider's allegedly highly compressed HD signal that he's suing.

On Sept. 18, California attorney Philip K. Cohen filed a class-action lawsuit with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County against DirecTV. His suit alleges the satellite's service was substandard for five high-definition channels: HBO HD, HDNet Movies, Bravo HD, Showtime HD and DirecTV HDTV pay-per-view.

Cohen specifically claims DirecTV compressed those channels as low as 6.6 megabits per second, and therefore they could not be considered HD-quality. Asked to comment, DirecTV director of public relations Robert Mercer said: “We absolutely believe that Cohen's claims are without merit.” He said Cohen's estimates on compression were incorrect but declined to provide actual figures.

Actually, in its current marketing campaign, DirecTV has asserted that its HDTV services provide better picture quality than cable. Recent DirecTV ads featuring William Shatner and Jessica Simpson carried this tagline: “For picture quality that beats cable, you've got to get DirecTV.”

Now Time Warner Cable is suing DirecTV in federal court over those ads, insisting the quality of its HDTV signals is at least on par with satellite. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 7, the cable operator said DirecTV's ads touting supposedly superior high-definition picture quality were false. (In the same suit, Time Warner also accused DirecTV of falsely advertising that certain games available on NFL Network would be unavailable to cable subscribers in New York and other cities.)

Time Warner Cable said in its complaint that its HDTV services “provide exactly the same screen resolution” as DirecTV's and that the satellite company cannot substantiate the claim of superior picture quality. DirecTV declined to comment on the suit.

But Time Warner didn't specify the bit rates at which it distributes HDTV signals. In its lawsuit, the company said it “simply makes available sufficient bandwidth to permit that level of resolution to be passed through to its viewers.”

CARVING OUT SPACE

So far, cable operators aren't in panic mode about having to pack in more HD channels to keep pace with rivals. Most cable operators carry about 20, as does Verizon's FiOS TV. AT&T, through its U-Verse TV service, last month rolled out 27 HD channels in San Antonio and parts of Houston. The leader for now is EchoStar Communications' Dish Network, which can deliver up to 38 HD channels.

DirecTV offers only 10 high-definition national channels, plus the popular “NFL Sunday Ticket” out-of-market sports package. But next year, it plans to have the capacity to deliver 150 HD channels, with the launch of two new satellites sometime in 2007. That would catapult the service to the head of the HD class.

But read the fine print: “Number of channels subject to available HD programming,” reads a footnote on the “Guide to HDTV” section of DirecTV's Web site.

Translation: There aren't 150 high-definition networks available to distribute right now. “The reality of the HD ramp-up for cable is that it will be based on competitive models,” Leichtman Research president Bruce Leichtman said. “You can say, 'I can offer 1,500 HD channels,' but it's irrelevant, because they don't exist.”

About 70 HD network channels have either launched or have been announced, according to Discovery Communications' executive vice president and general manager of HDTV and new media operations Clint Stinchcomb.

Discovery launched its first high-definition channel, Discovery HD Theater, in 2002 and will spend $65 million over seven years on its Atlas series of documentaries covering more than 30 countries. Eventually, Stinchcomb said, “the entire world will transition to HD. The only thing that's debatable is the time frame.”

For cable, the only way out of the woods and into the fields of 100-plus HD channels is to free up large quantities of bandwidth.

There aren't any cheap-and-easy fixes. The options are ones operators have been driving toward for years: shrinking or eliminating the analog tier; moving to switched broadcast video, which transmits a program only when one or more subscribers are watching it; or adopting MPEG-4 video encoding, which is roughly twice as efficient as MPEG-2. Each will require wide-scale set-top box upgrades or replacements, as well as new equipment in headends, to effectively reclaim bandwidth.

Until then, strategies for packing new HD channels into the existing plant focus on incremental gains.

Comcast has spent “an extensive amount of time” the past six months testing various HD encoders to figure out optimal techniques for re-encoding different types of programming, its media center chief, Traver, said.

In some cases, according to Traver, the Comcast Media Center has been able to clean up HD programming and not only reduce the bit rate, but actually improve the quality at the same time. For example, with a few programmers, the unit has been focusing on the quality of the source content for films before they are converted into HD.

Traver's team has found that eliminating noise (e.g., dust or cracks in film) prior to transfer to HD tape can cut the bandwidth required as much as 20%. “Most encoders are not able to differentiate between an element of noise and an element of definition in a piece of video,” Traver said.

Charter, meanwhile, is phasing out some pay-per-view channels as subscribers shift toward VOD, Roy said. That and similar tactics allow it to reclaim channels here and there in order to add more HD.

There's bandwidth to be found, too, in updating some headends' quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) equipment, which sends video signals over coaxial cable to a set-top box. Older 64-QAM technology provides about 27 Mbps of content per 6-Megahertz carrier — not enough for two 19.4-Mbps HD channels. By contrast, 256-QAM provides 38.8 Mbps: a bandwidth boost of more than 40%.

“That's part of cleaning up the plant,” Roy said. “It's core block-and-tackling engineering on freeing up space.”

ROOM AT THE INN?

For programmers, the bandwidth contention means that selling a new HD product to an operator may be even tougher than offering a new SD one.

“Capacity is always an issue, which means the quality of your programming becomes even more important,” Stinchcomb said. “You don't want to be kicked off the island.”

Consider the case of In Demand Networks. The pay-per-view and video-on-demand programmer is planning to merge its two high-definition channels, INHD and INHD2, into one as of Jan. 1. Prior to the announcement last month, some operators had already dropped INHD2, which offers some exclusive IMAX movies and live concerts that will shift to INHD. What prompted the decision? In a statement, In Demand said it was that “cable companies are pressed to offer a wider variety of channels to their HD customers.”

Turner Broadcasting System offers only one HD channel — TNT HD, which includes a mix of movies, TV series and live sports. But the company is actively discussing when its other networks should go to HD, said Coleman Breland, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Turner Network Sales. Other Turner networks include CNN, TBS, Court TV and Cartoon Network.

The conversation about HD carriage, Breland said, starts with an operator's bandwidth. “Negotiating in the HD tier is a question of availability,” he said. “As with any network, good content and well-branded programming finds its way on the lineups. Now it's a question of, When will someone have bandwidth?”

Which leads to the capacity crunch known as Rainbow Media's Voom HD Networks. Voom — initially envisioned by owner Cablevision Systems as an HD-heavy direct-broadcast satellite provider — is a “suite” of 15 HD channels with movies, music, sports, news, children's and other programming.

Voom's bargaining position is that a distributor must carry all 15 channels, or none. “We don't subdivide the service,” general manager Greg Moyer said.

To date, no U.S. cable operator has taken Voom up on the offer. In the U.S., EchoStar's Dish is its only distribution partner. (The 15 Voom channels are the reason Dish is able to claim primacy in the HD race right now.)

As for the bit rates Voom is asking for, Moyer would not comment, except to say, “There are minimum standards written into our deals for what constitutes an HD signal.”

Given the bandwidth limitations virtually all cable operators face, Voom's strategy is either quixotic or visionary. An operator “has to look at that and say, Do I take those and chew up a lot of bandwidth for channels nobody's ever heard of?” Leichtman said. “Or do I add six or seven channels people know?”

Moyer is sticking to his guns. He sees switched video and all-digital transmission networks as widening the window of possibility for Voom in the next few years. “Should one or both of those take hold, it changes the picture quite dramatically in terms of being able to offer more HD,” he said. “I foresee a time when the robustness of the signal will become a key marketing point.”

For now, it's going to be tough sledding. In at least one deal outside the U.S., however, Voom has broken its all-or-nothing rule: It has a carriage deal with Telenor's Canal Digital satellite service in Norway, which distributes the Voom Global channel. Here's the kicker: The channel goes out at a whopping 45 Mbps, according to Moyer.

So how's it look? “It is,” Moyer said happily, “uncompromisingly good.”

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6400524

AVS Forum in the Media
Not So High on High Definition
By Todd Spangler Multi Channel News 12/18/2006

A pretty tough crowd hangs out at AVSForum.com. Tough as in tough to please.

The site, which has more than 180,000 registered members, hosts discussions about high-end home-entertainment systems, including high-definition TV sets and programs. For some of these videophiles, even the best HD signals cable and satellite providers deliver aren't good enough.

Consider this post from early December: “Quite frankly, there aren't really any great broadcast or cable HD sources,” wrote GeorgeLV in the site's HDTV Programming forum.

In a private reply, GeorgeLV — whose real name is George Michael Harris — explained that what annoys him about HD networks is the frequent picture “smearing” or “macroblocking,” an effect in which fast-moving elements look like a mosaic of square tiles.

“I'd just be happy if HD consistently looked better than a regular, standard-definition DVD,” he told us. “On many programs, especially sports, it often doesn't.” Harris subscribes to satellite operator DirecTV's high-definition package and receives local HD broadcasts over the air.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6400524

We're famous! :p

I was one of the people who, early on, speculated on what would happen if "DayBreak" tanked. Now we know... we're going to have to suffer until Lost returns in February.

Sheesh, with all the problems, you'd think ABC might want to push up (as in starting earlier) the return of the Lost, instead of loading up on crappy filler programs.

I know Fox News is a pretty reliable news source outside of the commentary/opinion part of the equation (which sadly sometimes its hard to tell apart! )

Oh please. Maybe this sentiment could be applied to your own opinions surfacing inside of reporting stories. Yeah, I know, you're a "shoot from the hip" kinda guy.

Friday’s fast national prime-time ratings have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.

Why does Variety use such cryptic abbreviations (there are many others)? Is it to make us outsiders feel even more like outsiders?

... To make themselves feel clever, important, "in-the-know" and more worthy of adoration of course. :)

I was one of the people who, early on, speculated on what would happen if "DayBreak" tanked. Now we know... we're going to have to suffer until Lost returns in February.

Sheesh, with all the problems, you'd think ABC might want to push up (as in starting earlier) the return of the Lost, instead of loading up on crappy filler programs.

Well, the season hasn't been all that bad for ABC. Some were expecting a catastrophe in its first season in 36 years without Monday Night Football to anchor its week. And it still is in position to challenge for the 18-49 win this season.

The fact is that "Lost" has had close to a quarter of its audience disappear since last year.

But "Ugly Betty" has been a critical and ratings success.

"Brothers and Sisters" appears to be gaining ratings strength week after week.

The experiment of moving "Grey's Anatomy" to Thursday has been successful, and early indications are that the switch of "Men In Trees" to 10 PM Thurday might work, too. And there are numerous other positives for ABC this year.

Sitcoms have been a disaster for ABC, but sitcoms are dying just about every place but, in a few instances, on CBS.

I would thgink ABC executives, while disappointed in "DayBreak" have to be pretty pleased with how their season is going thus far. In fact, I suspect one of their biggest worries is the steady erosion of "Lost" viewers (and the start of critical comments in the press) and whether their lost eyeballs can be wooed back.

Perhaps this hiatus is giving the "Lost" creative team a chance to take a breath, refocus, and put together a show that can begin to add viewers again. Then it could progress beyond a niche/cult program and help ABC on a far wider scale.

Isn't hard to get either a virgin Lost viewer (like me) or a once-regular viewer who tuned out to come back and start watching/rejoin a show that requires to know the plot twists from previous seasons/episodes? I can't see 'Lost' going mainstream when it can't even keep its own loyal viewers happy with all the maddening cliffhangers and questions that seldom get answered. The only mainstream thing 'Lost' has contributed to the world of TV is its effect on other shows, as clearly indicated by the success of Heroes (a show that has taken the 'Lost' playbook and ran with it) and the craptacular number of attempts to clone it in this year's crop of serialized shows (from dramas to even sitcoms like the struggling Big Day). Because before this year/season I had never heard a network promote in promos its FALL FINALE for a TV series. They only started doing when, you guessed it, 'Lost' did it.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON FINALES OF 'SLEEPER CELL' AND 'DEXTER' CAN BE FOUND IN THE FOLLOWING REVIEWS. DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW POTENTIAL SPOILERS TO SUNDAY NIGHT'S SHOWS
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Critic's Notebook
Nightmares and dreams: Nap through ‘Sleeper Cell’ but set the alarm for ‘Dexter’
By Mark A. Perigard, Boston Herald December 16, 2006

“Sleeper Cell: American Terror”Season finale tomorrow at 9 p.m. on Showtime. Grade: D

“Dexter ”Season finale tomorrow at 10 p.m. on Showtime. Grade: B

The finale of “Sleeper Cell: American Terror” (tomorrow at 9 p.m.) reveals why Showtime decided to burn the entire second season off in one week.

What else do you do with garbage, other than get rid of it as quickly as possible?

In the conclusion, terrorists have succeeded in a devastating attack on U.S. soil and Darwyn (Golden Globe nominee Michael Ealy) reels from a loss closer to home.

The grief-stricken agent embarks on perhaps the single most stupid plan in the history of counterintelligence. He essentially delivers himself to the lead villain Farik (Oded Fehr) at his camp in Yemen.

A twist at the climax almost redeems the hour and illustrates the irony in this season’s title, “American Terror.” In this arc, “Sleeper Cell” has been just as critical of U.S. tactics as those of Islamic terrorists.

Still, the final confrontation between the two protagonists is a ridiculous cheat. When it comes to deciding on a third season, Showtime should let “Sleeper Cell” lie.

“Dexter” (tomorrow at 10 p.m.) closes with an episode that takes the debate over nature vs. nurture to a gory level.

With his foster sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) in the clutches of the Ice Truck Killer, “good” serial slayer Dexter (Golden Globe nominee Michael C. Hall) is forced to relive childhood traumas and family betrayals.

“You can’t be a killer and a hero. It doesn’t work that way,” the Ice Truck Killer says, trying to seduce Dexter into an act even Dexter finds appalling.

It’s a tug-of-war between psychotic and more psychotic. Unlike “Sleeper Cell,” there’s a sense of urgency. The final act departs dramatically from the Jeff Lindsay novel “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” that spawned the series and improves on it. It hits a bloody satisfying note to end on while leaving the door open for a second season.

The writers wisely cut back on Dexter’s stabs at wry humor, although the few exchanges tomorrow are amusing.

As Dexter’s girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) tries to comfort Dexter about his sister, she says, “Poor thing, falling for a serial killer.”

“What are the odds?” Dexter answers sweetly.

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=172268/

Interesting read!

The Business of TV
Inside the mysterious world of TV program testing
By Gail Pennington, St, Louis Post Dispatch December 17, 2006

More than three decades ago, David Castler watched a test audience reject a TV pilot so resoundingly that he's never forgotten it.

Given hand-held meters and asked to turn the dials all the way to the right (love it!) or all the way to the left (hate it!), the test audience bounced from "don't like it" to "really don't like it."

Watching the downward curve graphed by the meters, Castler was sure that the show — which he also thought was terrible — would never make it.

Today, he refers to that conclusion as his biggest mistake. The series in question, which you may have heard of, was "All in the Family."

Castler is chief executive of ASI Entertainment, which has been testing TV shows since the 1960s, using much the same procedure still in place today.

Testing is a mysterious process, one the networks would rather not talk about except to say that a particular show "tested through the roof."

But every broadcast network tests its pilots, partly to decide which ones will make the schedule and partly to determine what tweaks might give the show a better chance of success. If test viewers turn their dials to the right whenever a particular character appears, that character might get more air time. If the focus group isn't fond of a particular actor, the role might be recast.

Cable tests its originals as well. Some networks use ASI in North Hollywood, Calif.; others (notably CBS, which has its own facility) test in Las Vegas, a hotbed of market research. Still others, including ABC, screen shows on obscure cable channels and recruit viewers to tune in and share their opinions afterward.

How, then, do so many bad shows get on the air? How can a show that tested well flop so conclusively that it's gone in a week or two?

A visit to ASI (Audience Studios Inc.) provides some background and a few insights. Last summer, visiting TV critics were invited to pose as a test audience, going through many of the same steps that a real audience would.

ASI was founded in 1966 by the Columbia film studio to test its movies, but now it primarily tests TV shows and commercials, including infomercials. Most test audiences are made up of 48 people who sit in theater-style seats, hold wired meters the size of an old-fashioned remote control and watch the show on a boxy, 25-inch TV set stuck to the wall.

The clients — who are paying $20,000 per test — sit behind one-way glass, watching the audience's reaction and checking the curve the meters produce. Afterward, they watch and listen as a focus group discusses the show and answers questions about it.

For our test, the seats are comfortable; the only things missing are some popcorn and a cup holder. But it's almost immediately clear that the show we're watching will never appear on any network's schedule.

"I Spike," which turns out to have been a real pilot from the early days of UPN, has Lisa Rinna as one of the bikini-clad members of a beach volleyball team who moonlight as undercover agents.

The premise is ludicrous, the production values are cheesy, the dialogue is laughable. My dial shifts to left of neutral immediately, moving to the right only when Rinna is knocked out and taken to the hospital.

The meter also has a big, red bail-out button that we've been instructed to push at the point at which we'd stop watching the show. As a professional TV watcher, I last almost 15 minutes before pushing the red button.

Turns out, most didn't last as long as I did. More than a third of our group pushed the red button in the first two minutes. Possibly because of the presence of babes in bikinis, men didn't hate the show quite so much as women did, but their overall score was still just 280 — a far cry from the upper 600s a client would be looking for.

"This is an interesting example of a dud," Castler said in evaluating the results. "I mean, there is no tweakability here. You can't do much with this, OK?"

Under normal conditions, if a client sees dips in the graph, "that may be something that needs to be reshot," Castler said. "It may be something that needs to be cut out." Looking at the curve "will also give you ideas of what segments or what relationships to build on for your future episodes."

That's where testing a TV show differs from testing a movie.

In a movie, "the money is spent," Castler said. "You've made the whole movie. You can't just say, 'Oh, I guess it didn't test well. I'm not going to show it in theaters.' "

With a movie, he said, if the testers' reaction is bad, "You put it out all over … and hope you get people before word of mouth kills it."

For television shows, "all we can test is what we're showing you. … You could have a great pilot but not a great program to last a season."

He acknowledges that the testing system can't reliably predict success for a TV show, but Castler believes the process is still valid. Tests conducted in cities other than Los Angeles or by other methods typically produce the same results, he said.

But the flaws in the system are easily apparent. Watching television is an activity usually done with just a few other people at most. Being in a group of 48 creates peer pressure that can influence audience reaction to a comedy.

Castler, whose livelihood depends on the validity of testing, insists that the results are valid, or at least better than other methods can produce.

But what about "All in the Family"? The original pilot was reshot after the poor initial test, and the characters continued to grow as the series progressed.

In the original, "Archie Bunker never established himself as anything other than a bigot," Castler said. "You see none of the relationship (between Michael and Gloria). Edith seemed like a very weak, submissive wife. But as they developed the show, they played those relationships incredibly well."

In other words, testing "is not just numbers and dials," Castler said. "I'm looking for information and insight. No way can 48 people predict how well something is going to do."

Vote with your mouse?

In addition to in-person screenings, networks already test shows by recruiting viewers to watch on a designated cable channel and answer questions. This gives diverse results, but because of the need to find and lease an unoccupied channel, cable testing costs twice as much as an in-person session, $40,000 versus $20,000. And viewer recollections aren't considered as reliable.

The next frontier might be the Internet. This season, after the networks announced their fall schedules, they made pilots of shows, including NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," available for streaming or download to gauge early word-of-mouth reaction.

The next step could be official sites, where screened users could view pilots and provide comments. That method would be inexpensive but might not mirror the experience of watching a show on TV.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/columnists.nsf/gailpennington/story/F20B8DE4B546EC2486257245008187EF?OpenDocument

Isn't hard to get either a virgin Lost viewer (like me) or a once-regular viewer who tuned out to come back and start watching/rejoin a show that requires to know the plot twists from previous seasons/episodes? I can't see 'Lost' going mainstream when it can't even keep its own loyal viewers happy with all the maddening cliffhangers and questions that seldom get answered. The only mainstream thing 'Lost' has contributed to the world of TV is its effect on other shows, as clearly indicated by the success of Heroes (a show that has taken the 'Lost' playbook and ran with it) and the craptacular number of attempts to clone it in this year's crop of serialized shows (from dramas to even sitcoms like the struggling Big Day). Because before this year/season I had never heard a network promote in promos its FALL FINALE for a TV series. They only started doing when, you guessed it, 'Lost' did it.

I think the writers and network got a bit too cozy/complacent with LOST, they didn't think they would lose any regular viewers, I guess they've seen the light now, but at this point it's probably too late, just like you said, no virgins and regulars that left probably won't come back, it looks like probable erosion only from this point on with LOST.

I love Heroes and if LOST helped get it to the air, then I'm very grateful for that, but at least Heroes keeps things moving and even though it has plenty of mysterious things going on, at least they're addressing them, I've had as many oohs and aahs and wows in the first half of Heroes than I did in two seasons of LOST.

TV Notebook
Rx for Success
How 'St. Elsewhere' Influenced Today's Top Medical Dramas
By Robert J. Thompson Special to The Washington Post Sunday, December 17, 2006

A hospital is a perfect setting for a TV show. Smart people work long hours under heavy pressure, patients provide a never-ending supply of life-or-death situations, and the overnight on-call rooms turn the place into a hotel of sorts, an ideal microcosm for a roiling cauldron of serialized melodrama. Is it any wonder the doctor show is one of the most enduring genres on American television?

"Grey's Anatomy," one of TV's top-rated programs, combines the format and pacing of "ER" with the stylized urban romance and hyper-analytical narration of "Sex and the City." But doctor shows didn't always look and sound so bold. Something happened between "Marcus Welby, M.D.," whose title character was a model of paternal perfection, and Dr. Miranda Bailey of "Grey's," whom colleagues call "the Nazi."

What happened was "St. Elsewhere," an NBC hospital drama that debuted in 1982 and radically redefined the TV doctor. Its first season was released recently on DVD.

"St. Elsewhere" did to medical dramas what "Hill Street Blues" did to police shows: It crowded the screen with a large ensemble cast, padded the script with a bewildering number of ongoing stories and introduced human flaws to a breed of professionals that television previously had presented as super-human.

The personal lives of the doctors were as important as the jobs they were doing. They were flawed, they made mistakes and their patients didn't always get better.

The title character in "House" (Hugh Laurie) owes his existence to "St. Elsewhere's" acerbic but brilliant Mark Craig (William Daniels). Others on the staff of St. Eligius Hospital -- from the righteously serious Dr. Phillip Chandler (Denzel Washington) to the comic Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel, with a full head of hair) -- continue to be echoed in characters on current hospital shows.

"St. Elsewhere" was a literary achievement, filled with sophisticated dialogue, complex stories and an attention to narrative detail never before seen in a TV series. Although critics loved the show, it never achieved real ratings success over its six-year run.

But "ER," which premiered in 1994, juiced up the formula, quickly achieving the star status that eluded its predecessor. While "St. Elsewhere" at its best had become postmodernist theater of the absurd, "ER" was about doctors.

Joe Sachs, an executive producer and writer on "ER" who's a former emergency room doctor himself, said the show delivers the illusion that viewers are seeing the inner workings of an urban emergency room.

"There are physicians on the writing staff," he said, "and not just as consultants. They are there every day."

More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that "ER" moves faster than a speeding bullet. This is made possible, Sachs said, by sets, cameras and digital editing systems that accommodate intensely frenetic shots and editing.

"Grey's Anatomy" follows in the footsteps of "St. Elsewhere" and "ER," though creator Shonda Rhimes has never seen "St. Elsewhere," said co-executive producer Betsy Beers.

In "Grey's" there's a core of young interns under the guidance of more experienced medical tyrants; within these characters, ego and libido battle with Hippocratic commitments in highly satisfying ways.

One thing that differentiates "Grey's Anatomy" from its predecessors, Beers said, is that it's about surgical interns. "In the emergency room there is no down time," Beers said. "Surgery has downtime, space for breathing."

Heavy breathing, sometimes. Now in its third season and thriving on Thursday, TV's most competitive night, simmering stories have begun to boil. The show has become the thinking person's soap opera, "The O.C." for big kids.

It's hard to imagine the doctor shows of yesterday attempting to pull off what "Grey's" can. The first medical TV shows appeared in the early 1950s, but it was in the 1960s that the form was really established. This was the decade that introduced a bright and shining trio of the most perfect, caring, compassionate healers you could ever hope to meet, even in a time before the HMO.

"Dr. Kildare," starring Richard Chamberlain, debuted on NBC in 1961. Four days later, Vince Edwards brought "Ben Casey" to ABC. "Marcus Welby, M.D.," also on ABC, rounded out the team in 1969, with Robert Young bringing to the title role the same gentle authority he wielded on "Father Knows Best."

This was an era of the doctor as demigod. Dedicated visionaries with impeccable bedside manners, these three gave intimate personal attention to their patients and were willing to make house calls.

In the 1970s, shows such as "M*A*S*H" brought a more modern sensibility to the genre, and by the 1980s the doctor-as-hero was on the verge of extinction.

Emmy laureate Mark Tinker, who has directed episodes of "St. Elsewhere," "ER," "Chicago Hope," and "Grey's Anatomy," classified "Kildare" and its earlier counterparts as "Mom and Dad's doctor show."

"'St. Elsewhere' broke that mold, featuring a hospital that was no place you wanted to go when you were sick," Tinker said. "'ER' was 'St. Elsewhere' on methamphetamines, then 'Grey's Anatomy' combined them both and added the romanticized style of 'Sex and the City' and the music video."

Club Med

Some of broadcast TV's most popular medical shows since 1960:

1960s:

• Dr. Kildare (1961-66): Richard Chamberlain, below, starred as the dashing doctor on NBC.

• Ben Casey (1961-66): Four days after "Kildare" premiered, ABC launched a doc drama of its own.

1970s:

• Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969-76): Robert Young starred as Welby, the model of paternal perfection, on ABC. Elena Verdugo co-starred.

• Medical Center (1969-76): CBS drama focused on patients as well as doctors.

• Emergency! (1972-77): The NBC show was based on real-life L.A. paramedics.

• M*A*S*H (1972-83): The first true ensemble medical series, on CBS, also was the longest-running till "ER."

1980s:

• Trapper John, M.D. (1979-86): The "M*A*S*H" spinoff on CBS starred Pernell Roberts as a Korean War veteran turned hospital chief of surgery.

• House Calls (1979-82): The CBS comedy based on a movie of the same name paired a rule-bending surgeon and a fussy administrative assistant.

• St. Elsewhere (1982-88): The standard-bearer for med dramas earned 63 Emmy nods and 13 wins during its run on NBC.

1990s:

• Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-93): ABC's story of a medical prodigy.

• Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993-98): Jane Seymour starred in the CBS tale of a female doctor in the 1860s in Colorado.

• ER (1994-): Anthony Edwards and George Clooney were in the original cast of the NBC drama, which is seeing a ratings revival in Season 13.

• Chicago Hope (1994-2000): CBS's ans-wer to "ER" built a solid fan base of its own.

2000s:

• Scrubs (2001-): The quirky NBC med comedy with Zach Braff just started Season 6.

• House (2004-): The title doctor of this Fox drama is good, but he's also a grump -- so don't get on his bad side.

• Grey's Anatomy (2005-): Sandra Oh stars in ABC's hospital "dramedy," where interns and surgeons share cozy bonds inside and outside the hospital.

Doctors On DVD

Among the fictional docs always on call:

• Doogie Howser, M.D.: Seasons 1-4, $29.98-$39.98 each.

• Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: Seasons 1-6, $79.95-$119.95 each.

• Emergency!: Seasons 1 and 2, $39.98 each.

• ER: Seasons 1-5, $27.98-$49.98 each. Season 6 (available Tuesday), $49.98. All six seasons (available Tuesday), $279.98.

• Grey's Anatomy: Season 1, $29.99; Season 2, $59.99.

• House: Seasons 1-2, $59.98 each.

• M*A*S*H: Seasons 1-11, $39.98 each.

• Scrubs: Seasons 1-4, $39.99-$49.99 each.

• St. Elsewhere: Season 1, $39.98.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201528_pf.html

Critic's Notebook
Nightmares and dreams: Nap through ‘Sleeper Cell’ but set the alarm for ‘Dexter’
By Mark A. Perigard, Boston Herald December 16, 2006

[B]“Sleeper Cell: American Terror”Season finale tomorrow at 9 p.m. on Showtime. Grade: D


.

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=172268/

Dad could you please edit and add a spoiler alert for Sleeper Cell

Thanks

AVS Forum in the Media
Not So High on High Definition
By Todd Spangler Multi Channel News 12/18/2006
That was a great article! Thanks Fred.

Hey, fredfa, re: my response on "DayBreak". I wasn't taking ABC to task for their whole programming, just the situation of the extended hiatus that Lost was taking and how the fill-in programming might be a problem if the program tanked and got cancelled after a few episodes (which it has).

I was just hoping that the producers of Lost had enough new episodes done to possibly come online earlier than planned in case the situation happened (silly me!).

This was a follow-up after last year with Battlestar Galactica when they split their season in two. Ten episodes starting in July then the interminable wait for January to see the second ten episodes. BSG producers (and SciFi) probably felt the in-between wait was too long, so that's why this year the new episodes started in October and now we only have a one month hiatus (and a lot of us BSG fans might think it's still too long).

ABC and the Lost producers were trying to fix things (to cut down on the rerun-itis issue), but from the looks of it they didn't fix it well enough. It became a case of - out of sight, out of mind.

It's a difference of how well people will accept it - on a smaller niche network like SciFi, it can work; on a major player like ABC, not so much!

Dad could you please edit and add a spoiler alert for Sleeper Cell

Done, sorry! :(

TV Notebook
Looking for a change, 'Nip/Tuck' heads west
By Maria Elena Fernandez, Los Angeles Times December 16, 2006

Goodbye, South Beach. Hello, Beverly Hills.

McNamara-Troy, the debauched plastic surgeons of "Nip/Tuck," have closed shop in Miami and traded up (or so they think) for the reconstructive mecca of the famous 90210 ZIP code.

In Tuesday night's season finale of FX's series, Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) decided what viewers have known all along -- that he can't live without his business partner and best friend, Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh). In a season of several important goodbyes -- Julia divorced Sean for good this time and left town with their two younger children; scalpel addict Mrs. Grubman passed away and nemesis Escobar was shot to death -- the doctors shut down their Miami practice to start anew in Los Angeles.

The surprise ending marks what fans have come to expect: Nothing on "Nip/Tuck" stays the same for long. So the season that began with the doctors celebrating their 5,000th surgery in Miami ended with the two of them glamming it up next to the Hollywood sign, with "Hollywood Swinging" playing in the background.

"I just felt there was nothing else they could do in that office," creator Ryan Murphy said. "They've been through too much. The show has always been about taking big risks and taking big chances and doing things you wouldn't expect. In Miami, these are supposedly the best plastic surgeons. Now, we'll do the flip of that. They'll be the little fish in the big pond, which is fun and shows a struggle and gives us room to grow."

That has not been a problem for the Golden Globe-winning series, which has reigned over the 18- to 49-year-old demographic in basic cable since it premiered in 2003. Even last year's over-the-top, macabre season, which turned off critics as well as some fans, didn't seem to make anyone stop watching. In fact, "Nip/Tuck" has grown 12 percent this year with adults younger than 50, and it is poised to end the year with its most-watched season ever, a feat uncommon among four-year-old shows.

Perhaps the show's continued success can be attributed to its restless energy and how in one hour it offers a taste of several different genres, mixing the real with the outrageous.

"I think our signature in the first two seasons was that we could operate on so many levels at one time," Walsh said. "Sometimes it was gothic soap opera. Sometimes it was wicked black humor, and sometimes it was farce. Sometimes the soap opera thing was a parody, like our commentary on it, and sometimes it was full-on earnest. Last year, the humor got lost along the way and I think we really missed it. But this year I feel like we brought back those elements of the first two seasons and brought some new stuff, and for me, it's been the most fulfilling to work on."

It started with the show's new use of guest stars, which included recurring roles for Larry Hagman, Peter Dinklage, Jacqueline Bisset, Sanaa Lathan, Brooke Shields, Rosie O'Donnell and Alanis Morissette, and one-episode turns for Kathleen Turner, Catherine Deneuve, Melissa Gilbert and Richard Chamberlain.

"Ryan has always been someone who has had his own obsession with celebrity and I just couldn't think of a better way to incorporate characters than to bring in all of those extraordinary people," McMahon said.

There was more: Scientology was introduced as the new religion of Matt (John Hensley) and Kimber (Kelly Carlson); Sean and Julia (Joely Richardson) had a baby with a deformity that provoked the final break in their marriage; the characters were shown 20 years in the future; and Murphy borrowed a trick from the movie "Magnolia," turning a four-minute montage in the finale into a music video.

Many of the season's high points were comical: Sean's interpretation of Bad Santa, Christian's stint as a ventriloquist's puppet, Christian and Dawn Budge's (O'Donnell) sexual tryst, sexy Kimber's faceoff with the Scientology figure Xenu, and the sneak peek viewers got of grown-up, messed-up Annie, the perennially neglected daughter of Sean and Julia.

"Poor Annie!" McMahon said. "That's exactly how you thought Annie would be, because can you imagine growing up in such a screwed environment? I thought everybody was hysterical -- but if I look like that at 60, shoot me. I'll look like that at 85."

McMahon may not be pleased with Christian's future beer belly, but he and Walsh are both excited about the show's move to Los Angeles, which Murphy dreamed up when he pitched the themes for the fourth season to John Landgraf, FX president and general manager, earlier this year. Murphy, who is working with a new producing team, wanted to wrap up most of the show's ongoing story lines -- which he did -- and give his characters new challenges.

"It's a white-knuckle ride working with Ryan," Landgraf said. "I was worried because Miami has been a significant character in this series. But now I think it's exactly the right creative choice to make."

The move gives Murphy an opportunity to build new offices for McNamara-Troy and new bachelor apartments. "I just got bored with the sets. Now I can create these massively great new sets," he said.

Walsh was a little more introspective about the prospect. After filming his emotional goodbye with Richardson, who had to cut short her time on the show this year to take care of her ailing daughter in England and will come back for only a few episodes next year, Walsh said he was despondent over saying goodbye to her and to Sean and Julia's house.

"Joely and I have had so many intense scenes over the last four seasons in that house," Walsh said. "It's always so much more intimate to play those kinds of scenes with an actress, going through the worst a marriage can go through, than to do a sex scene. By the end, when she walks away, Joely or Julia, whichever one, it's very sad to me. There's a lot invested there."

Murphy understands the fans feel that way, too, so Sean and Christian will not be moving alone. Matt and Kimber will have their baby, but Matt will move to Los Angeles to go to college and medical school. Kimber will be closer to Scientology and porn. Liz (Roma Maffia) will join the doctors and serve as their anesthesiologist. Julia and her children will visit.

"There's a funny message in all of this, which is that you can keep trying to change the things around you -- your relationships, your clothes and where you live -- and in an odd way, these guys always land back where they are," Walsh said.

But does moving to California mean that the doctors and best friends will live happily ever after? Or is "a brighter discontent the best that (they) could hope to find," as the song by the Submarines used in the finale's music video goes?

For the sake of the fans, let's hope for the latter.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/1216niptuckfinale.html

Critic's Notebook
Guess Who I Am
By Linda Stasi, New York Post December 16, 2006

IDENTITY: Monday at 9PM on NBC
RATING: TWO-AND-A-HALF STARS (OUT OF FOUR)

NBC's new five-night-run game show, "Identity," begin ning Monday and ending Friday is sort of like the devil spawn of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" and "Deal or No Deal."

There's the big flashy/flashing set, the same kind of dramatic sounds - called stingers in TV land - the same sort of seriously concerned funny-quirky-guy host, the same chance to win huge dough or lose it all.

Good things all, but good things that are getting more used up than Paris Hilton.

Yes, unfortunately, if "Identity" were the original game show of its kind, it would probably rate three or maybe even four stars.

But because we've all seen it all before, it feels like it's déjà vu all over again. And again.

This one is hosted by Las Vegas magician Penn Jillette, (the annoying, loud one from Penn & Teller - not the annoying mime one), who does a credible job as a game show host - trying to create as much tension as possible.

The premise, a good one, is that one contestant faces 12 people standing on stage each with a different secret "identity" - anything from a job to a hobby to a medical history to a clothing size.

It's up to the contestant to match up, one round at a time, the identity to the "stranger" on stage.

Because the producers don't want all the contestants knocked out in the first round, they make some of the identities embarrassingly easy.

For example, one of the identities on the episode that was sent out for review (which will not be the premiere episode), were things like "I am a sushi chef."

Gosh could it be the woman posing with giant muscles in the bikini or the man in the entire sushi chef get-up?

Another identity was "I am an opera singer." OK, was it the guy in the sushi getup or the large lady dressed for "Rigoletto" with a giant hairdo?

How about "I invented 'Spider-Man'?" Could it be the young girl with the naughty Catholic school girl outfit or Stan Lee up there in the corner?

First round is worth $1,000 and each round is worth more and more. The final round is worth $500,000.

Of course, contestants can choose to quit with what they've got or go on risking a wrong answer and the loss of everything they've won.

And also of course, like everyone else on TV and radio, when Jillette wants to emphasize the largeness of the amount, it's always very dramatic."This is worth one thousand dollars!"

Later rounds mean that "identities" become more impossible to simply guess at such as "I'm a kidney donor," so the ante is upped.

There are a couple of passes along the way, such as one free round of advice from a panel of experts - jury experts, FBI profilers and others of that ilk.

My identity? I'm a critic and I'm looking for something new and this ain't it.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162006/tv/guess_who_i_am_tv_.htm

TV Notebook
Deep in the hearts of Texas
'Friday Night Lights' isn't a football show, or a soap opera, but the NBC drama about sports and love has a winning formula
By Mimi Avins, Los Angeles Times December 17, 2006

Anyone who has not discovered NBC's "Friday Night Lights" should know one thing: It is not about football.

Since it is a hormonally charged episodic drama featuring young, telegenic actors, would "Friday Night Lights" be a teen soap? Nope. It isn't that, either.

"We've been uncertain about what message we want to send about what this show is," says executive producer Brian Grazer, whose Imagine Television developed the series.

"It has a different look, and it can take a minute or so for people to find its emotional epicenter. It was an extremely risky idea, because it doesn't have a conventional form. But the alternative to trying something different is doing the same thing over and over, and that isn't very rewarding."

NBC had enough confidence in its critically acclaimed wallflower to give it a full-season order before Thanksgiving. The network just made good on its promise to find "Friday Night Lights" a luckier time slot (it had the misfortune of debuting at 8 on Tuesday nights, without a strong lead-in and against the ratings juggernaut "Dancing With the Stars"). Beginning Jan. 10, the show will air at 8 p.m. Wednesdays. (Reruns begin airing in that time slot Dec. 27; NBC will also air previously aired episodes at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. that night as well.)

"We're very passionate in our belief in 'Friday Night Lights,'" says Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment. "In television history, there have been more drama series that developed an audience over time and then went on to become long-running hits than those that took off immediately. We know this program has devoted fans. Once people find it, they're hooked."

"Friday Night Lights" surfaced in 1990 as a nonfiction account of the year journalist H.G. Bissinger spent following a high school football team in Odessa, Texas. Required reading in many schools, it's considered one of the finest books ever written about sports in America.

Where football is king

It took 14 years and a squad of writers and directors before a film version was released in 2004, produced by Grazer, co-written and directed by Peter Berg, and starring Billy Bob Thornton as Coach Gary Gaines.

The movie was set in 1988; the TV series is contemporary. In the series, the fictional town of Dillon stands in for Odessa, and while many of its residents were inspired by characters in the book, the people and plots are writers' inventions.

It can be difficult for outsiders to comprehend the importance of high school football in the Lone Star State, where a 10,000-seat stadium in a town of 8,000 sells out every game.

Before making the movie, Berg spent six months in Texas, sitting in on high school classes and hanging out with players and their families. Berg has an actor's eye for detail - he starred in "Chicago Hope" for three seasons, and in the 1994 film noir "The Last Seduction." He says, "After spending time in Texas, I came out with a comprehensive understanding of the role athletics play in our high school culture, and in an anthropological sense, that's what interests me."

He poured his research into the "Friday Night Lights" pilot, which he wrote and directed.

At the core of Dillon's football obsession is the bleak, common truth that sometimes marks late adolescence as the best of times. The town's adults remain infatuated with the game because nothing else in their lives is as thrilling. Their self-esteem is wedded to success on the playing field.

As if the pressure to win were not enough, football's mortal stakes can never be far from the players' minds.

In the season's opening game, a brutal tackle leaves quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter) paralyzed from the waist down. He was the golden boy expected to lead the Panthers to the state championship and to earn a place in the NFL.

After he's injured, his girlfriend, Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly), supports him with such devotion that he longs to wring her perky little neck. Jason isn't brain-damaged: He knows what he's lost.

Being in denial provides Lyla with some comfort, but not enough to keep her out of the arms of Jason's best friend, Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch). Will Jason discover their betrayal? Will Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford), the third-string quarterback who looks after his ailing grandmother while his father is fighting in Iraq, deliver in Jason's place?

In a modern way, "Friday Night Lights" has brought back the strong, reserved American man - Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck.

Kyle Chandler plays coach Eric Taylor, a model of grace under pressure, a man with a steady moral compass and zero job security.

On the surface, his mission is to win football games. Underneath, he's engaged in turning boys into men. A high boiling point serves him well in a town where he is treated like public property, a servant of the people expected to be attentive to the dopey suggestions and veiled threats of the Panthers' boosters.

"We were determined not to do hyper-verbal New York/Los Angeles media guys," says Imagine Television president and executive producer David Nevins.

"We wanted to be true to the place and these people, to do a show about the inner life of guys without spending a lot of time talking about the inner life of guys. Just because the writers have a facility for words doesn't mean the characters do. These guys who don't need to waste words but have a rich emotional life are also incredibly appealing to women."

A few seasons ago, network television producers and directors woke up to the fact that TV series didn't have to look the way they always had, and a number of dramatic shows were given big-screen production values.

Despite the tyranny of television's "42-minute hour," with its four-act structure dictated by commercial breaks, there was an attempt to lend to TV the cinematographic sophistication and narrative velocity of movies.

On real locations in Texas

The "Friday Night Lights" series, like the movie, uses documentary techniques, overlapping dialogue and a visual language influenced by old NFL films shot with 16-millimeter cameras.

Executive producer Berg says, "We shoot everything with at least three hand-held cameras, the actors are encouraged to improvise and we don't work on sets, we're on real locations in Texas working with natural lighting as much as we can. All that creates something more raw than people are used to seeing."

"Friday Night Light's" restless camera has a mind of its own. Scenes are typically short, yet filled with realistic texture. The payoff for abandoning traditional film grammar - long shot, medium shot, close-up, reverse close-up, and the lingering reaction shots soaps like to use - is greater spontaneity and energy.

"Scenes start in the middle of a conversation and you're out before it's over," says Connie Britton, who plays the coach's wife, Tami. "As an actor, a lot of the time you aren't even aware of where the camera is. You never have to hit a mark. You just play the scene and the result is a much more naturalistic style of acting comes through. We're able to be more authentic."

The Panthers' motto - chanted before, during and after every game - is "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." Berg made that up, and he could now invoke it as a mantra, a prophecy and a prayer, as NBC considers how much longer it can wait for "Friday Night Lights" to build its audience.

Says Berg: "We're very grateful that NBC has stuck with this show that's been problematic, from a ratings standpoint." Conventional wisdom holds that series that don't deal in the life-or-death issues that come with a medical, legal or criminal setting operate at a disadvantage. "Friday Night Lights" just might succeed in retiring that canard.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-fftv5014556dec17,0,3149215.story?coll=ny-television-headlines

Critic's Notebook
Shoulda-Seen TV
Our critics pick their favorite television moments of 2006. Chances are you missed a few
By Marc Peyser and Devin Gordon, Newsweek December 15, 2006

It wasn’t a great year in television, but when is it ever? Sure, there was some decent stuff—“Ugly Betty,” “Big Love” and our nearest and dearest, “The Wire.” But when the biggest show of the year was a gooey popsicle called “High School Musical,” it’s hard to argue that anyone will remember 2006 for long. In fact, the year’s biggest TV moments were more about noisy departures—Katie Couric, Star Jones, Mr. Eko, “The West Wing”—than promising debuts.

Of course, some things didn’t change. The sitcom was still dead, despite the fact that “The Office” was the sharpest, most charming comedy in forever. “American Idol” was back and bigger than ever, even if no one can remember the names of the contestants any more. The networks did finally start making dramas with complex characters—“Brothers and Sisters,” “Studio 60,” “Friday Night Lights”—but it turns out no one wants to watch them. People probably didn’t watch most of our favorite shows, either, but we feel obligated to tell you what they were. That way, when “CSI: Memphis” debuts, we can say we told you so.

The Wire Remember when it was a no-defense-required, universal consensus that "The Sopranos" was the best series on TV? That's where things stand now with HBO's it's-not-just-a-cop-show "The Wire." In its mesmerizing fourth season about Baltimore's ravaged school system, David Simon and Ed Burns's drama escalated from merely great to something utterly new: television as inner-city Dickensian novel. If you're still not watching—and, sadly for this perpetually ratings-starved program, chances are you aren't—all you're missing is the most important television show of its generation.

The Nominees This award-winning, six-episode Australian mockumentary aired this fall on the Sundance Channel, which helps explains why the TV comedy of the year flew so far under the radar. Chris Lilley wrote, produced and starred—in six different roles—in this hilariously deadpan series about a group of folks competing for the honor of "Australian of the Year." Remember Lilley's name. He's a major talent—an Australian Ricky Gervais with twice the acting chops.

The Office Speaking of Gervais, shall we pause for a moment and marvel at the improbable greatness of the U.S. version of his landmark BBC show? Fresh off an Emmy win and now in its third season, the Steve Carell-led remake is not as piercing, but it's got more heart, more belly laughs and, remarkably, it's just as much fun.

When the Levees Broke Spike Lee's bold, mournful HBO documentary is subtitled "A Requiem in Four Acts," and the musical allusion is beautifully apt. This epic film has the soul of a funeral dirge and it washes over viewers like a tragic opera. As lacerating as it often is, it's still hard to believe that this elegant, artfully restrained masterpiece was made by a man known as a heavy-handed iconoclast. Forget "Do the Right Thing." This is the crowning achievement of Lee's career.

Friday Night Lights Like the movie and the book it's based on, this melancholic NBC drama about Texas high-school football is at its best off the field, when it probes the psyches of the kids, coaches and families who live and die with every game. Flawlessly acted, beautifully filmed—and smart enough to know how sad its subject really is.

The Daily Show This was the year everyone went crazy for Colbert, but for us, the "Colbert Report"'s irony-thick schtick grew wearisome in a hurry. Meanwhile, the opening segment of the "Daily Show"—Jon Stewart's race through the headlines of the day—was smarter than ever, at a moment when our angry electorate needed it most. Colbert is a keeper, but Stewart is still the gold standard.

Project Runway Season 3 of Bravo’s show wasn’t its strongest—seriously, what could top season one and its maniacally creative winner, Jay McCarroll?—but “Runway” is still the most satisfying reality show on TV. There’s something about watching a roomful of fashionista drama kings and queens create an evening gown in two days that just brings out the worst in people, and isn’t that what reality TV is all about? If Jeff Probst ever does retire from “Survivor,” we nominate Heidi Klum to replace him. Her chilly, German-accented “You’re out!” is the best kiss-off line on the dial.

Weeds Is Nancy Botwin the worst mother on TV? Mary-Louise Parker, who plays Botwin on Showtime’s hilariously subversive dramedy “Weeds,” has said so herself. What single mother would sell pot to keep a roof over her kids’ heads? “Weeds” is certainly over the top: Nancy’s deadbeat brother-in-law goes to rabbinical school to avoid getting sent to Iraq while Nancy gets married to a DEA agent. But there’s something very human, and often touching, about the way all these folks struggle to survive in their marginal world.

The Boys of Baraka PBS's award-winning documentary series "POV" peaked in its latest season with this installment about a group of kids from inner-city Baltimore who get the chance to change their lives at an isolated school in Africa. The kids are unforgettable, and the timing of its airdate meant the show memorably, and heart-breakingly, echoed HBO's "The Wire"—the year's other great tale about growing up poor and black in Baltimore.

Lost and 24 (But only the first 10 minutes of their new seasons ... and then they both went in the toilet.) Network TV's two most ambitious dramas got off to flying starts in their new seasons—"24" began with the out-of-nowhere assassination of President Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) while "Lost" came up with yet another rug-pulling, gotcha twist. But that was the high point for both shows. This was "24's" most popular season yet, but to us, it was the season where the gears began to show and it resorted to the same old narrative tricks. "Lost," meanwhile, lost its way with too many characters, not enough answers and flashbacks that increasingly felt contrived and pointless.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16192843/site/newsweek/

I must be the only one that doesn't think that much of Friday Night Lights, I've got the last three episodes recorded, and just can't bring myself to even watch them.

I only saw one episode (the second one I think) of 'FNL' and also bailed. Don't doubt its a terrific show (its unanimous) but I just plain don't care about high school football or the lives of characters whose lives have to periodically deal with high school football. This 'it's not really about football' mantra critics are using to ty to entice non-viewers to tune in could backfire because sooner or later the show has to have football games, pre/post locker room scenes and the like. And some people (myself included) just don't care about football that isn't associated with the NFL. That said I'm rooting for 'FNL' to hang in there and succeed against all odds to (a) reward NBC's Kevin Reilly for his patience, (b) encourage other networks/media outlets to come up with quality dramas instead of cheap reality shows (who knows, the next drama might be one that appeals to me wholeheartedly) and (c) root for the underdog.

Hey, fredfa, re: my response on "DayBreak". I wasn't taking ABC to task for their whole programming, just the situation of the extended hiatus that Lost was taking and how the fill-in programming might be a problem if the program tanked and got cancelled after a few episodes (which it has).

I was just hoping that the producers of Lost had enough new episodes done to possibly come online earlier than planned in case the situation happened (silly me!).

This was a follow-up after last year with Battlestar Galactica when they split their season in two. Ten episodes starting in July then the interminable wait for January to see the second ten episodes. BSG producers (and SciFi) probably felt the in-between wait was too long, so that's why this year the new episodes started in October and now we only have a one month hiatus (and a lot of us BSG fans might think it's still too long).

ABC and the Lost producers were trying to fix things (to cut down on the rerun-itis issue), but from the looks of it they didn't fix it well enough. It became a case of - out of sight, out of mind.

It's a difference of how well people will accept it - on a smaller niche network like SciFi, it can work; on a major player like ABC, not so much!

I am hoping that the networks are figuring out if they are going to run serials they better run them (more or less) straight through.

Either start them in January and run them through May sweeps, or start them in September and (perhaps with a week or two off at the holidays) conclude them by --or maybe during -- February sweeps.

These long waits just don't work -- not for me, and apparently not for many viewers.

B the way, the same goes for HBO and "The Sopranos". Of course those breaks go on for years and while I used to avidly await each new episode to see the latest with Tony and the clan, I finally lost patience and now just don't care.

I must be the only one that doesn't think that much of Friday Night Lights, I've got the last three episodes recorded, and just can't bring myself to even watch them.

The ratings indicate you are not the only one, rebkell.

Personally I find it one of the best TV series in years. But I am very obviously in the minority.

The ratings indicate you are not the only one, rebkell.

Personally I find it one of the best TV series in years. But I am very obviously in the minority.
I agree, set aside the fact that it's a darn good show, the simple fact that it's not like anything else on TV makes it worthy of consideration alone.

I have no doubt there's going to be some "stars" created from this show, for both TV and film.

I'm not holding my breath though that it will be back next season, it seems 75-85% of all intelligent TV programming never seems to make it with today's TV audiences.

I would simply suggest, Jim, that there is a lot of quality TV these days to choose from and most people have a limited time to watch.

Probably true, I guess my gripe is with what they choose to watch with that limited amount of time. Obviously it's personal choice, but how can a show like "American Idol" get the ratings it does when true television masterpieces like say "The Wire" are really only still on the air because HBO probably doesn't want to piss-off the TV critics, it's certainly not still on because of the ratings. It's just disappointing to me that folks don't ask more of their TV programming, instead, they settle for something like AI. I guess my problem stems from the fact that film was, and still is, my first choice for image based entertainment and I've only really returned to TV since HD has come to the fore.

I don't know, I'm sure I'll get flamed for sounding like an elitist, intellectual snob, but in my opinion, the average TV viewer has incredibly poor taste.

I don't know, I'm sure I'll get flamed for sounding like an elitist, intellectual snob, but in my opinion, the average TV viewer has incredibly poor taste.

Cut to commercial...

...AND WE'LL RETURN WITH MORE "STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP" RIGHT AFTER THESE MESSAGES. ;)

TV Notebook
The Year in TV
By John Leonard, New York Magazine December 18, 2006

Spike Lee’s Katrina documentary proved that not all tragedies are matters of foreign policy, a sci-fi show with robots taught us about Iraq, The Closer sizzled, Emmitt Smith shimmied, and Helen Mirren was regal even while playing a drunk.

•10.- Emmitt Smith on ABC’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’: Dressed up as if channeling Fred Astaire, Emmitt Smith, the show’s eventual winner, scored almost every time he twinkletoed. And look at the music he toed to—Stevie Wonder (samba), Frank Sinatra (fox-trot), MC Hammer (freestyle)—which was as diverse as a UNICEF greeting card.

•9.- Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle on ‘CSI’: Last spring, in the last minute of the last episode of the season, Grissom (William Petersen) looked up from his bedtime reading at Sara (Jorja Fox) in the bathroom door, fresh from a shower. All this reticent fall, they haven’t touched and barely smiled, but their intimacy has a resounding vibe. Runner-up: What’s going on behind the eyes of Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) on Bones? No wonder lab boss Saroyan (Tamara Taylor) is jealous, though she’s the one sleeping with Booth. The lesson of both couples: Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t show.

•8.- 'African-American Lives’: Four hours into this PBS special, after following Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, and Chris Tucker into their ancestral pasts through photos, court records, genealogy, and gene sequencing, we learned that (1) the average African-American is 20 percent European, and (2) Whoopi is 8 percent and Oprah zero, whereas (3) Henry Louis Gates, our host and chair of Harvard’s African and African American Studies, is not only 50 percent European but the other 50 apparently spent lots of time in Dublin. An essential televised send-up of identity politics, all the more so for coming in an election year.

•7.- The Exegesis of the Old Testament on Prime-Time Television: Over and over in the PBS series Bill Moyers onFaith & Reason, such writerly guests as Salman Rushdie, Mary Gordon, Richard Rodriguez, and Margaret Atwood butted their talking heads against obdurate questions about good, evil, mystery, miracles, and martyrdom. If you want to know what the book of Job really means, it’s this: “I’m God and you’re not!”

•6.- 'The Closer’: Kyra Sedgwick’s Brenda Johnson made a surprise return to TNT this month with a special two-hour The Closer, in which an old pal from her CIA days talked her into an unofficial investigation of the murder of an Arab boy who turned out to be the innocent victim of terrorists, moles, and a triple-cross out of John le Carré. Christmas joy from a summer series out of season: the mint-julep vapors, the steel-trap mind, the closet chocolate-snacking, the FBI boyfriend, the fiercely loyal subordinates, and a timely reminder of why this is now running nose-to-nose with Bones as my favorite show.

•5.- Robot Sci-Fi as a Metaphor for Iraq and the War on Terror: Specifically, Battlestar Galactica on Sci Fi, which features the human race duking it out with the robots (Cylons) they created as a servant class. This show actually wonders out loud how we’re supposed to distinguish between terrorists and freedom fighters. Not only that, but in this parallel universe, human beings are the suicide bombers, Cylons detain them without charges or trial, prisoners are tortured on both sides, cells sleep, and genders bend.

•4.- Annette Bening as Jean Harris in HBO’s ‘Mrs. Harris’: Good bones, good genes, and a good brain needn’t mean you lack erotic depth, although common sense is another matter. Bening can’t be bettered in conveying the discrepancy between our romantic illusions and our too, too solid flesh.

•3.- 'Three Days in September’ on Showtime: Thanks to newsreel footage outside and video cameras within, we lived frame by frame through the siege of a Russian schoolhouse in which 30 Chechen terrorists held 1,200 children, parents, and teachers hostage with machine guns. We, too, weren’t permitted food, water, or the bathroom. We, too, ate flowers and drank urine. Then happy triggers on both sides opened fire, leaving 331 dead hostages, among them 176 kids.

•2.- Helen Mirren: This year, she was the best queen—both as Elizabeth I on HBO and as Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect 7. (Not to mention as Elizabeth II in movie theaters.) Who knew that the English royal, in the middle of all that sixteenth-century empire building, spoke in sarcastic iambs, from a face painted like a playing card? And what can we expect from Scotland Yard now that Jane is smoking and drinking on her own time? Part whiskey priest from Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory, part Mother Sugar, the Jungian analyst in Doris Lessing’s Golden Notebook, she listened better than most people talk.

•1.- Spike Lee’s ‘When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts’ : In which the grand-operatic bungling of FEMA, the incompetence of the Army Corps of Engineers, the opportunism of the insurance companies, the cowardly finger-pointing of the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans, and the fugue-state indifference and denial of the president of the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation are pictured in a masterful crosscutting of arrogant past and anguished present, sick-city misery and soul-stirring music, sanctuary and dispossession, liars and corpses. In a year in which documentaries found heartbreak all over the world, from Latin America to Pakistan, Lee’s had the most art and the most soul.

•Honorable Mentions : NBC’s Heroes brought salted-peanuts addictiveness back to TV. America Ferrera blossomed on Ugly Betty. Fox’s 24 topped itself with a ludicrous, addictive—luddictive?—fifth season. Fox’s Prison Break revived itself, thanks to Javert-like FBI agent William Fichtner. Speaking of Javert-like inspectors: Forest Whitaker as Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on The Shield. Rashida Jones provided Jim with an all-too-tempting alternative to Pam on The Office. Chloë Sevigny surprised as a priggish Mormon vixen on Big Love, while Michael Emerson slithered as villain Ben Linus on Lost. Martin Landau showed up the whippersnappers on Entourage. Laura Bennett, the candid, fecund, red-tressed Project Runway New Yorker, won our hearts, if not the show. With Weeds, Sleeper Cell, Brotherhood, and Dexter, Showtime out-HBOed HBO. Speaking of Dexter: Michael C. Hall as TV’s most—well, only—sympathetic psychopath (sympopath?). Steven Weber and Amanda Peet on Studio 60.

Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan on 30 Rock. The surprising, uncompromising Rescue Me. The sanity-preserving double dip of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Speaking of The Daily Show: new correspondent Rob Riggle. Speaking of correspondents: Rob Corddry’s sitcom The Winner, the funniest show you haven’t watched yet—expect Fox to premiere it mid-season. —Adam Sternbergh

•Industry Star: Simon Fuller : Fox’s ratings are in free fall, down 9 percent from last year. Its fall shows were among the season’s first casualties. Then there was O.J. But none of that will matter come January 16, when American Idol premieres. Idol is the Atlas of reality TV, carrying a network on its shoulders. Credit goes not just to creator Simon Fuller, but to Bronx-born billionaire Robert F.X. Sillerman, who last year bought Fuller’s 19 Entertainment company for $188 million. This year, his investment looks shrewder, as three former winners—all under contract—struck gold: Kelly Clarkson won two Grammys, Carrie Underwood beat out Faith Hill for country music’s Female Vocalist of the Year, and Taylor Hicks’s first single debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Even Idol castoff Jennifer Hudson is being mentioned for an Oscar for Dreamgirls. More improbable, by resisting efforts to drive his franchise into the ground, Fuller’s maintained his bubblegum dominance even as other reality shows lose their flavor. Not even Fox expected the show to last, let alone grow. Simply put, in a year when everyone was talking about TV on the Internet, everyone was watching American Idol on TV. —Jada Yuan

•Stinker : On ESPN, every opinion is belligerent and every delinquency equally urgent, from Terrell Owens to Donald Rumsfeld. The addition this year of Monday Night Football just gives more opportunity to shill for the sister companies, from Disney movies to ABC programs. But the cannibalism is actually in reverse: ESPN is swallowing the culture. Why do we no longer see a wide receiver scamper to a touchdown without a subsequent Sun Dance or a debauched-gazelle mime? Because they’re all now playing to the broadcast booth, hoping to score the highlights show.

http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2006/25307/index.html

TV Notebook
Courage, Katie!
Savaged by the media, her ratings anemic, Katie Couric has stuck to her cozy, chirpy guns. Mistake. Those human-interest stories and apple-pie recipes obscure the fact that, when she actually does hard news, America's sweetheart is as tough as they come.
by James Wolcott JaVanity Fair contributing editor.January 2007

When the going gets tough, the media get ugly, and when the media get ugly, the going gets tougher. Every word and deed is micro-analyzed and every motive impugned. Such was the embattled condition Katie Couric found herself in just weeks after succeeding Bob Schieffer as anchor of the CBS Evening News, being chewed alive by the cruel jaws of a fickle press. A fine way to treat America's sweetheart! As co-host of NBC's Today show for 15 years, this sporty compact managed to keep her kid-sister shine and enthusiasm intact, quite an endurance feat considering the brutal hours and cumulative grind of all those tedious cooking segments, celebrity and newsmaker interviews, sweeps-weeks stunts, exercise demonstrations, time checks ("coming up to 16 after the hour"), Al Roker weather updates, kibitzing sessions with other Today regulars, and meet-and-greets with the squealing crowd of tourists, fans, sign wavers, and assorted deadbeats cordoned outside the studio. It was a treadmill that might have worn less resilient souls to a stub, made them question humanity. (Couric also endured personal tragedy with the death of her husband, Jay Monahan, of colon cancer, in 1998.)

But Couric remained sunny-side up, at least on-camera, which is why the bombshell announcement of her moving to CBS to be the first solo anchorwoman of the nightly news was greeted with less than universal hallelujahs. Traditionalists winced as if the ghost of Edward R. Murrow were being displaced by Gidget Goes to the Teleprompter. To skeptics, Couric was too chirpy a known commodity to be the living-room bearer of bad news; to them, she lacked hard-news cred, having spent so much of her career acting cuddly. Worries were raised that the Couric Evening News would be softer, fluffier, and more service-oriented, suspicions fed by New York bus ads featuring the smiley, confident star cocking her shoulder at a jaunty angle—as if she were anchoring a content-lite syndicated chat show (like The Megan Mullally Show) rather than a news broadcast. Advocates argued that that was precisely the point. Couric's lightweight attributes would be streamlined assets. Under Couric, the CBS Evening News would no longer be your grandpa's Oldsmobile; it would evolve from a glorified headline service with crusty, patriarchal gravitas into something chewier and more interactive. With the average age of a nightly-news viewer approaching arthritis, Couric would attract a younger audience, freshen the demographic, sweeten the pot. "Hi, everyone," she greeted viewers on her debut broadcast of September 5, ushering in a new era of informality.

The pep squad appeared vindicated after the first week. The ratings were zowie ("She lured 13.6 million viewers her opening night, grabbing CBS' best numbers in eight years," Entertainment Weekly reported), the demographics warming the cockles of ad executives' hearts. But as with the fall of Baghdad, the exuberant afterglow soon turned to ash and recrimination. The ratings ratcheted downward like a jerky escalator. anchor katie couric blasts into third place was the sarcastic headline in The Washington Post. couric in an unfamiliar place—3rd, chimed the Los Angeles Times, which reported tremors on the lido deck: "The falloff of the former 'Today' show anchor's audience since her debut had provoked a strong sense of unease internally, according to newsroom employees. Many are alarmed that the program isn't faring better, especially after a massive marketing push this summer." Emboldened by the declining numbers, critics of the broadcast sharpened their chopsticks, scorning Couric's invitation to the audience to furnish her with a sign-off catchphrase ("Next up: Help me pick History's Sexiest Dictator!" ribbed Entertainment Weekly ) and feasting upon the pretentiously labeled op-ed segment "freeSpeech," a bully-pulpit forum for guest gasbags such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and, most controversial, Brian Rohrbough, the father of a student slain at Columbine, who took the occasion of the Amish-school massacre to blame school violence on the "moral vacuum" created by, among other things, teaching evolution. Perhaps CBS was accommodating conservative kookdom to offset Couric's liberal patina and the lingering stigma of Dan Rather's "Memogate." ("Even the rumor of Katie taking the job was enough to unleash Rush Limbaugh, who pronounced her the only news talent CBS could find who was more liberal than Rather," Bill Carter writes in his recent book, Desperate Networks.) But nothing short of complete capitulation will placate the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity, and it's poor clock management to divvy up a portion of the scarce 22 minutes available each night to AM-dial Mussolinis who already hog three hours a day to hoist their opinions (with Hannity taking another hour weeknights on Fox News to comb his hair). These are hardly wilderness voices going unheard and unheeded.

Nor is the Couric-piloted Evening News a boon to the sisterhood. couric leaving ladies on sideline, headlined the New York Post. "Katie Couric is the first female solo anchor in nightly news, but that doesn't mean she's bringing more women along with her," wrote Post reporter Holly M. Sanders. "A published report found that her fellow female correspondents at the 'CBS Evening News' are getting 40 percent less face time than they did under her predecessor, Bob Schieffer." Whereas correspondents used to do their own intros under Schieffer, Couric took them over, receiving "about 20 percent more voiceover time than Schieffer." Well, that's why she gets the big bucks, there's no point paying someone $60 million over four and a half years and not making full use of her dulcet tones, but is she truly worth such queenly sums? It didn't go unnoticed by certain meanies that the ratings for the Today show didn't skip a beat with the departure of Couric and the arrival of The View's Meredith Vieira, hinting that Couric may have been less of a vital ingredient in the franchise's success than legend would have it. Her sexy-librarian wardrobe, her makeup palette ("too much eyeliner and too much rouge"—Nora Ephron, the Huffington Post)—everything was snarkily second-guessed. The climate of opinion turned so Chernobyl against Couric that the Web site Jossip wondered why CBS P.R. chieftain Gil Schwartz (who moonlights as a business columnist and book author under the byline Stanley Bing) was letting Couric dangle on the clothesline. First, there was the embarrassing pre-launch release of publicity stills showing an artificially slimmy-slim Couric, then the lack of pushback after Katie became the object of target practice. "Nobody can quite figure out how Gil has managed to bungle Katie Couric's rep so badly," puzzled Jossip with undue familiarity. Finally, Katie came to her own and the show's defense, telling USA Today, "We kind of ignore people who are observing everything we do and praising, criticizing or analyzing it, and we're just doing what we want."

Normally, I would applaud such feisty determination. And my innate chivalry draws me to the defense of a damsel in distress, even if this particular damsel is probably tougher than I am and could drive a hole through a wall of flames. So it pains me to say: If Couric and company are truly doing what they want on the evening news, there's something wrong with what they want, and they'd better start undoing what they're doing before they dig themselves an insurmountable rut. If she's following her impulses, she needs to ignore her impulses and do the opposite, George Costanza–style. Because when the anchor of the CBS Evening News starts pulling fuzzy pink slippers out of a paper bag, a grown-up needs to step in and play Project Runway headmaster Tim Gunn before anyone gets hurt by this foolishness. This isn't A.M. Albuquerque. This isn't a Tupperware party. Fuzzy pink slippers will not do.

Given the grim state of world events, CBS Evening News broadcasts frequently open with the latest misery out of Iraq as reported by the courageous and charismatic Lara Logan, or an equally sobering Pentagon report by David Martin, with attention paid to the tragic repercussions at home. One indelible segment was devoted to the stunned grief of the family of Corporal David Unger, a father of two, who was killed in Iraq. (His younger brother and sister looked as if they had had their youth knocked out of them.) The reporter Byron Pitts observed that the entire Unger clan, gathered in the living room, had a physical reaction watching President Bush profess at a press conference that morning that he shared the sorrow of those who had lost loved ones: "I understand how tough it is—really tough," Bush said, with an extra dash of Texas accent. Unger's mother, Diana, wasn't buying it: "Unless he puts his daughters over there and he has that real fear every day of not wanting to turn on the television, that fear that gets into your heart and your head, he can't even fathom what that means." Her plain eloquence put the glib gibberings on cable-news talk shows to shame. The final detail in the story was that Unger's body would be arriving in Kansas for burial "four days before his 22nd birthday." For the immeasurable harm they have done, the architects of the Iraq war will not be forgiven.

Couric scored a coup with her riveting interview of Michael J. Fox following Rush Limbaugh's mocking mimicry of Fox's ads for Democratic candidates who support stem-cell research—Limbaugh had accused Fox of either playacting or deliberately ditching his meds to make his Parkinson's look more convulsive. (Waving his arms around and wagging his head, Limbaugh reminded me of the sort of wiseacre who'd make fun of the retarded kids on the school bus.) The intelligence and decency with which the physically whipsawed Fox answered his critics on the right made for an interview that was painful to watch, impossible to ignore. When Couric does hard news, she holds her own with the competition. The problem, as former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite (in his continuing role as Father Time) gently voiced, is that there isn't enough hard news. The show is skimping on the portions.

As if fearful of coming on too heavy, Couric lightens the tone and sugars the lineup with human-interest inspirationals, promising the viewer, "I really think this next story is going to knock your socks off!," or ending a piece on a fishing tournament by icky-pooing, "Eww, that looks scary." Sometimes her chatty lobs to correspondents leave them looking flat-footed, as when she advised a political correspondent poised to hopscotch across the country to cover the midterm elections, "Be sure to pack a lot of clothes." The smile on his face resembled a wilted petal. Following a changing-mores piece about how trick-or-treat costumes have been sexed up for the younger set, Couric signed off, "Happy Halloween, everybody, and easy on the candy," as if she were our mom. But the most blushing moment came when the evening news ran a humorous segment on the Mason County, Texas, sheriff who makes inmates wear pink jumpsuits and shoesies to discourage repeat offenders. Pink apparently so offends the Alamo pride and spirit of Texas felons that they swear off a life of crime rather than risk looking minty ever again. "Assignment America" correspondent Steve Hartman joshed in a milk-crate cell with an inmate with anger-management issues, quizzing Tino to find out if his pink ensemble had produced an infatuation with Broadway show tunes: "Les Miz … Chorus Line?" It was like a bit from The Daily Show with the timing slightly off. In the studio after the taped piece had concluded, Couric reached beside her chair into a brown paper bag and presented Hartman with a pair of fuzzy pink slippers as a gag gift. "I guess I'll have to expense these," he said. "No, they're yours, seriously," Couric said. A pause fell, and in the absence of follow-up quips, they both looked sheepish, as well they ought.

Hartman's "Assignment America" is a poll-driven segment for a poll-driven society. Each week CBS viewers vote online to choose which of three possible stories they want to see covered on Friday's broadcast. An outreach gimmick to tap into American Idol audience-participation fervor, it's also part of the Couric-era CBS News Internet strategy to convert the Web site into the mother ship for Web-exclusive segments, sneak previews, extended footage from broadcast reports, podcasts, and blogs, including "Katie Couric's Notebook." While Couric may not be the first network-anchor blogger (NBC's Brian Williams holds that honor), she's got him beat on effervescence. If she sounded any bubblier, the dishwasher would overflow. Previewing a 60 Minutes interview with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Couric confides that she finds Condi "scary smart"—"She can tick off events and dates in a way that made my head spin." The spin she's in doesn't stop when Condi's not around. In squirmy anticipation of an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Couric confesses that talk shows make her nervous in her service, if I may quote Reverend Ike.

Normally, I'd rather try to be the "hostess with the mostess" instead of the guest that bombed. I had so much fun a few years back when I "traded places" with Jay Leno. I love Jay and all the folks at The Tonight Show. Sometimes I can't believe I had the chutzpah (Yiddish for you non–New Yorkers) to even do that. My favorite joke: "Jay Leno this morning was filling in for me on The Today Show and interviewed General Powell. I couldn't believe it! I thought 'Probing Colin' [an allusion to Couric's on-air colonoscopy] was MY JOB! H AHA HA … I also said I hadn't been this nervous since Willard Scott tried to French kiss me at an NBC Christmas party! Those Tonight Show folks are FUNNY!

No, they're NOT! Get a grip, woman! No one over the age of 30 should be resorting to all those exclamation marks and capital letters like some juiced-up Crackberry addict. Couric officially bottomed out with a post entitled "Katie's Apple Pie: The Recipe!" in which she revealed, "Mushy apples are the most disappointing, 'un-a-peeling' (HA HA) culinary experience there is," and described Mutsu apples she picked from the tree as "GINORMOUS!" Perhaps Couric is trying to relate to younger viewers and readers at their own dippy level—never a good idea. Or perhaps she's trying to prove that despite the dizzy heights she's reached in the news business, the fame and money that have been slung her way, she's still the same unspoiled, unpretentious batch of homemade fudge she was before she clawed her way to the top. Katie Couric is caught in a tug-of-war between her serious journalistic side and the girlie side that wants to be everybody's darling. It's the girlie side that needs to go.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/01/wolcott200701?printable=true&currentPage=all

TV Notebook
Networks get real to find a 'Deal'
NBC's success inspires rivals to reopen the gameshow case
By Josef Adalian Variety.com Dec. 17, 2006

Cost-cutting webheads desperate for lower-budget programming have fallen back in love with an old flame: the gameshow.

Spurred by the smash success of "Deal or No Deal," TV's earliest genre is in the midst of a resurgence, with nearly a dozen quizzers either on the air or in the works. NBC's "Identity," premiering over five nights this week, is the latest contestant to enter the fray.

Nets love quizzers because they cost much less than scripted shows -- as little as $600,000 per hour, vs. $2 million-plus for most dramas. They can also be ramped up quickly and -- in an era of 500 channels and 5 million Web sites -- easily stand out from the pack.

Gameshows also have a broad demo appeal, attracting older viewers and, when successful, also piquing the interest of coveted younger demos. They're also family-friendly, perfect for nets trying to woo viewers back to the 8 o'clock hour.

But given how quickly "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and the last round of primetime quizzers fizzled, here's the $64,000 question: What can the nets do to make the latest round of quiz mania last longer?

For one thing, execs say, don't call 'em gameshows.

"I see them more as reality shows than games," says Craig Plestis, the NBC reality chief who gave the go-ahead to "Deal" -- the only breakout hit among the four gameshows launched this year.

"In the past, the people who played gameshows were just contestants. We didn't get to know them as characters," Plestis adds. "We've learned from reality shows that you have to spend a lot of time on the casting to make sure someone has a compelling story to tell."

Of course, injecting personality into a game format is nothing new. Chuck Barris was doing that in the 1960s, making the private lives of players key to skeins such as "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game" -- and even he wasn't the first.

But the new breed of quizzers often makes personalities and compelling storylines even more important than the game itself. It's almost a new genre: quizality shows.

On "Deal," for example, the actual game -- guess what's in the box! -- is often secondary to everything else going on in the studio. Endemol USA prexy David Goldberg, whose company produces "Deal," says the skein owes a debt to another one of his company's shows.

"We learned something from 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,' " he says. "And that was that in addition to rich, colorful characters, (viewers) want to like the people and root for them. You need people who are compelling and appealing characters who deserve to win."

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" exec producer Michael Davies says that since "Millionaire," most gameshows have become almost like one-hour dramas -- building on a tradition that began with the isolation booths of "The 64,000 Question."

"It's not three people buzzing in from podiums, and I say that with the greatest respect for 'Jeopardy!' " says Davies, who's developing a slew of quizzers via Sony Pictures TV and his Embassy Row banner. "The modern gameshow is now shot in closeup and heightened by music. Every part of the production is about heightening the drama."

Another industry wag said quizshow dramatics are a must in an age of movie-quality TV skeins.

"When you're competing against 'Desperate Housewives' and 'CSI' and big reality shows with twists and turns, a gameshow has to offer just as much drama," he says. "If it's just a straight-ahead gameshow, it's not going to be able to compete against shows that promise a more dramatic storyline."

The post-"Millionaire" quizzer also needs to be highly interactive -- the better to keep auds engaged in the era of Tivo.

Part of the equation is pretty old-fashioned. "You need to be able to watch and play along at home," says Metcalf, who considers a quizzer a success if auds find themselves constantly yelling at their TV screens.

But Endemol has also been a leader at integrating hi-tech interactivity into its quizzers, launching phone-in games that let auds win $10,000 or more per episode, simply by watching the show.

The catch: You can only play when the game is on the air, not two hours or three days later when watching it back via a digital video recorder.

"We're trying to do everything we can to make sure it's must-see TV when it's actually on the air," Goldberg says.

That includes pressuring NBC not to overschedule "Deal or No Deal."

So far, the Peacock has shown some restraint, pulling the show over the summer and limiting its in-season broadcasts to about two times per week. "Deal" does get heavy exposure on CNBC, however.

Bob Boden, the programming chief at Fox Reality Channel who used to hold a similar gig at Game Show Network, says NBC is doing the right thing.

"The key is to make a show an event on a weekly or possible twice-a-week basis," he says. "In primetime, it has to become a destination show on a particular night at a particular time."

Davies says he thinks one reason "Millionaire" struck a nerve was because it became almost like a live sporting event. Shows were taped just hours in advance of airing, and average Joes and Janes at home could "call up and find themselves flying to New York to be on the show the next day."

Davies admires the production values behind "Deal," but still believes that, in the end, the game's the thing.

"If you don't have a superb game, you just don't stand a chance," Davies says.

Indeed, despite all the buzz about quizzers, there's already evidence viewers won't simply watch any show with big money and flashing lights.

Fox's "The Rich List" bit the dust after a single airing. And ABC's William Shatner-hosted "Show Me the Money" has struggled.

Webs are already scrambling to come up with shows that don't feel like "Deal" rip-offs.

CBS and Fox both announced plans to launch gameshows in which kids will be the stars. And "The Bachelor" creator Mike Fleiss is working on a competition in which people will vie to see who has the bigger sob story.

But Endemol's Goldberg says he's already losing interest in the genre.

"Our feeling is, we're moving on to the next thing," he says. "I think there will be a level of saturation, which is why it was so important for us to get out their first."

Others, however, note that gameshows have had long lifespans in daytime ("The Price is Right") and syndication ("Wheel of Fortune," "Jeopardy!"). They say there's no reason the genre can't thrive for a while in primetime.

"When reality was first becoming established, it was a Band-aid, and now it's a staple," Boden says. "The gameshow can be one, too ... if (the networks) play their cards right."

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117955878&categoryid=14

No spoilers in this profile of the creator of Dexter about tonight's Season Finale IF you've seen all the episodes up until tonight's last one.

Critic's Notebook
Bloody Dexter
Serial Killers Can Be Lovable
by Adam Buckman, New York Post December 17, 2006

DEXTER: SEASON FINALE, Sunday, 10 p.m., Showtime

What kind of a man dreams up a serial-killer character who stalks, dismembers and kills other serial killers?

The mild-mannered writer next-door, thats who in this case, Jeff Lindsay, 48, creator of Dexter Morgan, the title character played by Michael C. Hall in Showtimes Dexter.

In the hit series which has its season finale this week Dexter is a blood-splatter specialist for the Miami Police Department. In his spare time, he covertly investigates serial killings that stymie his colleagues, usually solving them and then cornering the killers.

He then knocks them out with a tranquilizer injected into their necks, and binds them tightly to an operating table with yards and yards of cellophane wrap. He then revives them, just in time to cut a blood sample from their cheek for his collection and cut them apart with a variety of power tools and special knives, presumably while they're still alive.

So, how does someone come up with this grislystuff? Lindsay insists the character just popped into his head one day while daydreaming before delivering a speech at a Kiwanis Club luncheon in southwest Florida, where he lives.

I was sitting at the head table looking out at the audience and the idea just popped into my head that serial murder isnt always a bad thing, Lindsay said in a phone interview. I'm not even suggesting it had anything to do with their table manners. It was just the timing when I thought of the idea.

So I started scribbling on napkins and by the time I got home, I pretty much had the outline for the book.

The book became Darkly Dreaming Dexter, first published in hardcover in November 2004. It wasnt long before Showtime came calling with an idea for a series based on it. It probably goes without saying that the networks interest surprised Lindsay, who had been a journeyman writer for years including scripts, plays, newspaper articles, a novel and other works.

I've been doing this long enough that when anything good happens, it surprises me, Lindsay said.

Besides writing, Lindsay plays in a local rock band and has hosted local talk shows on public TV. He has been married for 20 years to Hilary Hemingway, a niece of Ernest, although Lindsay insists that his own literary aspirations have nothing to do with his wifes lineage; they grew up together in Miami. The couple has three daughters 3, 10 and 17.

As this weeks Dexter finale begins, Dexter is hot on the trail of the ice-truck killer, who Dexter fans now know is Rudy (Christian Camargo), the prosthetic-limb designer who is dating Dexter's sister, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter).

The series first season was adapted principally from the first Dexter novel. Showtime has renewed the series, but Lindsay says hes not sure yet if Season 2 will be based on the second book, Dearly Devoted Dexter, published last year. Meanwhile, he's at work on a third, Dexter in the Dark, due out next summer.

While Dexter has been praised by some (primarily for its acting, but also for its stylish take on Miami), it has also been criticized for seeming to excuse Dexter's own propensity for murder just because he happens to target other murderers.

Lindsay says he didn't set out to glorify a serial killer, but he does own up to trying to provoke debate with the character.

That's the whole point, he said of his creation. I wanted to see if I could make a serial killer lovable enough for people to ask, Is this justified or not?

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12172006/tv/bloody_dexter_tv_adam_buckman.htm

Obituary
Chris Hayward, 81
Cartoon and TV writer, Emmy winner
By Valerie J. Nelson Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Dec. 17, 2006

Chris Hayward, a television writer who developed the klutzy cartoon character Dudley Do-Right and helped imbue the rest of the Rocky and Bullwinkle gang with the same sense of silliness and satire, has died. He was 81.

Hayward, an Emmy winner who also helped create "The Munsters" for television, died of cancer Nov. 20 at his Beverly Hills home, said his wife, Linda.

Bullwinkle J. Moose and his zany friends came out of the Sunset Boulevard studios of Jay Ward, who warned against underestimating television viewers and encouraged his writers to "take potshots at everything," Hayward once said.

"His philosophy was: 'Just write sharp stuff for yourself and the audience will get it.' It was very freeing," Allan Burns, a "Bullwinkle" writer who became Hayward's writing partner, said last week.

There was no such thing as a bad pun on "Rocky and His Friends," which premiered on ABC in 1959 and was renamed "The Bullwinkle Show" when it moved to NBC in 1961. "The worse, the better," Hayward told The Times in 1988.

The first episode Hayward co-wrote for the flying squirrel and his sidekick with the dimwitted voice was "Rue Britannia," according to "The Moose That Roared" (2000), a history of the show. When the plot requires Bullwinkle to survive a week in the Abominable Manor in England, he says, "Shucks, I've been livin' in an abominable manner all my life!"

The writers' revelry in wordplay extended to other segments that filled out the half-hour show: "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Aesop and Son," irreverent sendups of classic stories and fables; "Peabody's Improbable History," in which a smart dog time-travels with a pet boy; and "Dudley Do-Right of the Royal Canadian Mounties," a goofily inept hero whose nemesis is Snidely Whiplash.

When "Bullwinkle" first aired, "it was one of the hippest and most underappreciated programs on TV," said Robert J. Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University.

"Half the people watching it were kids who weren't getting it. And the other half couldn't believe what they were watching. There was stuff going on that was positively hallucinogenic."

While recording dialogue, the cast rarely improvised, June Foray, who voiced Rocky and others, told The Times in 2003. "They were written so brilliant, we wouldn't dare," she said. "The only time I changed anything is when I put a 'hokey smokes' in," which was one of Rocky's trademark utterances.

Many of the fables were written by Hayward and another Ward veteran, Lloyd Turner. A penchant for puns is always front and center: "Barking dogs seldom bite," Aesop says in one about a dog and his stolen false teeth. Junior, his son, retorts: "Nothing dentured, nothing gained," the book recounted.

When Hayward and Turner were asked to reinvent the Do-Right character, which had been around since the late 1940s, Ward gave minimal instruction. "It's about a stupid Mountie. Just have fun!" Hayward recalled in the book.

The character's strong chin may have been a nod to Hayward's own, his wife said. The strangulated voice belonged to Bill Scott, who also voiced Bullwinkle.

Reflecting Hayward's affection for old movies, the Do-Right episodes had a melodramatic style. Hayward's installments are distinguished by silent-film titles, including parodies of credits; one introduced Snidely Whiplash as being portrayed by "Madison A. Swill."

For the Ward studio, Hayward thought up and co-wrote "Fractured Flickers," a silent-film spoof that premiered in 1963. The 26 half-hour episodes scrambled silent films into new tales by re-editing footage and adding dialogue. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" became the story of a sappy cheerleader named Dinky Dunstan while "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" turned into a tale about soda pop.

"He was an amazing writer. I never knew where that offbeat sense of humor came from," said Burns, who teamed with Hayward when they left Ward in the early 1960s.

After leaving the studio, the new writing team wanted to do a show "about a family that was just plain weird" in reaction to the wholesome families that populated television at the time, Burns said.

By the time "The Munsters" premiered on CBS in 1964, the idea had been twisted to showcase an everyday family of friendly, unassuming monsters.

The Writers Guild of America intervened and eventually the pair received monetary compensation and credit for helping to develop "The Munsters," Burns said.

For their work on the CBS sitcom "He & She," they received an Emmy in 1968. After writing for "Get Smart" (1965-70), the team split up. Burns went on to help create "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in 1970.

Hayward turned to "Barney Miller," an ABC series that satirized life in a precinct house and starred Hal Linden. When it premiered in 1975, The Times called it "the funniest new show since 'MASH,' " and pointed out that Hayward and his co-producer, Danny Arnold, had written almost every word.

Born June 19, 1925, in Bayonne, N.J., Christopher Robert Hayward moved to Los Angeles when he was 17.

Encouraged by a night class in scriptwriting at Fairfax High School, Hayward went into television in the 1950s. He was soon working on Ward's "Crusader Rabbit," the first cartoon show created specifically for television.

While teamed with Burns at Ward's studio, Hayward would tap his inner comedian by standing on a chair or table, painting acoustic ceiling tiles black with a tiny brush while being nothing short of hysterical.

Said his former partner: "He was the Michelangelo of comedy writers."

In addition to his wife, Hayward is survived by his children, Laurel, Victoria and Tony, from a previous marriage that ended in divorce.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-me-hayward17dec17,0,1344878.story?coll=cl-tvent

TV Notebook
Networks get real to find a 'Deal'
NBC's success inspires rivals to reopen the gameshow case
By Josef Adalian Variety.com Dec. 17, 2006

On "Deal," for example, the actual game -- guess what's in the box! -- is often secondary to everything else going on in the studio. Endemol USA prexy David Goldberg, whose company produces "Deal," says the skein owes a debt to another one of his company's shows.

"We learned something from 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,' " he says. "And that was that in addition to rich, colorful characters, (viewers) want to like the people and root for them. You need people who are compelling and appealing characters who deserve to win."

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117955878&categoryid=14

Ironically this has led to EM:HE being not as good as it used to because the producers are cherry-picking their Makeover families as if they were contestants for a TV show. I remember unappealing or "normal" families from the show's first couple of seasons that wouldn't make the cut the way the show's producers are selecting 'Makeover' families now because they're not photogenic enough to make home viewers cry during the reveals. And as much as I love gameshows (they're my favorite TV genre by far) the over-produced, over-edited and over-scored way Endomol produces DOND (and ABC produced Millionaire) is not as engaging or fun to watch as something live-on-tape and spontanous like Price Is Right. As long as 'DOND' continues to thrive it will continue to be cloned (or attempted to) but as Shatner's Money fiasco proves there is only so many primetime gameshows people are willing to put up with.

Critic's Notebook
Killer waves
Tsunami: The Aftermath 'is one of the most powerful TV shows we've seen'
By Bill Harris, Toronto Sun December 17, 2006

The pain grabs you right by your beating heart.

The conclusion of Tsunami: The Aftermath, an outstanding fictional drama based on eyewitness accounts of the Asian tsunami in December 2004, will be shown tonight (The Movie Network, 8 p.m.).

Produced by HBO in conjunction with the BBC, it's one of the most powerful TV shows we've seen all year.

Tim Roth and Toni Collette perhaps are the best-known stars involved in the project, and they're excellent. But it's Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Ian Carter) and Sophie Okonedo (as Ian's wife Susan) who really steal the show as parents dealing with the unthinkable.

In part one last week we were introduced to Ian and Susan, British tourists at a resort in Thailand who lose track of their young daughter Martha during the devastating tsunami. Susan was on a diving excursion and didn't even know what had happened till she returned to the hotel, while Ian couldn't hang onto Martha when the monstrous wave wiped out virtually everything in its path.

The last time Ian saw Martha, she was hanging onto a tree.

In part two tonight, there's a scene that we won't soon forget, and not because it's fancy or filled with special effects. It's just two actors doing jaw-dropping work.

In the depth of her grief, Susan coldly and almost dementedly has been blaming Ian for letting go of Martha. Ian, trapped in his own hell, finally can't take it anymore.

"It was a 15-foot f------ wave," he screams. "Do you want me to say it's my fault? It is my fault. I let her go. I couldn't keep hold of her. It will always be my fault. But I didn't make this happen, Susan."

Ian breaks down and moves toward Susan for support, but she squirms backward and mutters, "I want my baby."

"She was my baby, too," Ian says. "When she stopped calling for me, it was you she was shouting for. And where were you, Susan? Where the f--- were you when she needed you?"

The expression on Susan's face changes instantly. Her eyes widen. Her cheeks drop.

"I wasn't there," she whispers.

"No," Ian says. "You weren't there."

Ian then turns and walks away. After a pause, Susan scurries after him. The scene ends with an icy Ian walking head-on into the camera, as a bewildered and almost panicked-looking Susan struggles to keep up.

Now, in a less ambitious program, Ian and Susan would stop and embrace each other. But they don't.

Ejiofor and Okonedo are playing broken people whose lives have come crashing down, and there are no Hollywood solutions to their troubles.

There actually are several scenes as good as that one in Tsunami: The Aftermath. It's heavy-lifting emotionally for the viewer, though, so you shouldn't go into it thinking it's a standard big-budget disaster flick with death-defying escapes and corny romantic subplots.

One of the most maddening storylines in Tsunami: The Aftermath involves poor villagers having their waterfront land appropriated by government officials and sold to hotel chains even as the cleanup is in its earliest stages. But the running theme of the show is that people on this side of the world, in North America and in Europe, still don't grasp the magnitude of what happened in Thailand and the surrounding countries two years ago.

As estimated 227,073 people in 12 countries were killed. Bodies recovered: 176,300. Missing and presumed dead: 50,773.

The tsunami lasted mere minutes. The aftermath lingers.

http://torontosun.com/Entertainment/Television/2006/12/17/2841369-sun.html

TV Notebook
Networks: Listen Up
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette December 17, 2006

It's around this time every year that I devote a column to New Year's resolutions networks should make or Christmas gifts they could give to viewers by renewing low-rated series.

This year, I feel like a spoiled child making those requests because the broadcast networks have mostly shown admirable patience with series that have potential for mainstream success.

There have been many cancellations, but almost all the series that were castoff were dark, brooding and unlikely to win over viewers no matter how long they stayed on the air (e.g. CBS's "Smith," Fox's "Vanished," NBC's "Kidnapped," ABC's "The Nine"). Here's a look at where the survivors stand and how networks might want to consider further rewarding faithful viewers:

ABC

After a rocky start, "Brothers & Sisters" (10 p.m. Sunday) has improved steadily. New executive producer Greg Berlanti ("Everwood") has added more humor and lighter moments to the show, but Calista Flockhart still feels out of place.

ABC's least-heralded new show, "Men in Trees" (10 p.m. Thursday), shows some promise in its Thursday night-time slot after "Grey's Anatomy." It's light and cheerful and has developed beyond its "Northern Exposure" rip-off premise thanks to winning performances from the supporting cast.

CBS

I just don't understand why viewers aren't tuning into "The Class" (8:30 p.m. Monday), a traditional multi-camera sitcom with a "Friend"-ly cast of young characters who are easy to bond with. And yet, no bonding seems to be occurring. The lack of interest in this one is a real head-scratcher.

The CW

After moving to Sunday night, viewers have finally found "7th Heaven" (8 p.m. Sunday). Ratings for "Veronica Mars" (9 p.m. Tuesday) have perked up, too, but I'll admit that I've started to lose interest , zoning out during episodes or reading a magazine. Not sure why, but it's just not as good as it once was.

That holds triply true for "Gilmore Girls" (8 p.m. Tuesday). After a swell season premiere, it's been all downhill . The Lorelai (Lauren Graham)-Christopher (David Sutcliffe) romance would have been believable four years ago, but not after going so far down the Lorelai-Luke (Scott Patterson) romance path. And what has happened to the townsfolk? Too often the show is about romantic relationships to a myopic degree . That's not the "Girls" I've long loved.

Fox

The notion that Fox has had a terrible fall is nothing new. It seems to happen every year, and then "American Idol" bails them out in January.

This year, most of Fox's new shows deserved cancellation, but it's a shame to see stalwart "The O.C." (9 p.m. Thursday) get its mojo back, only to be met by viewer indifference. Ratings are down, and the show is sure to wrap up this season. At least it will go out on a high note, even if most of its fans have abandoned it for "Grey's Anatomy," airing at the same time on ABC.

NBC

Give NBC credit: Despite lousy ratings, the network is sticking with ratings-starved "Friday Night Lights" (8 p.m. Wednesday in January) and "30 Rock" (9:30 p.m. Thursday). I'm less enamored of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (10 p.m. Monday), also renewed for a full first season, but even a lukewarm Aaron Sorkin series is better than most of what's on TV.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06351/746127-237.stm

TV Notebook
Sleeper no more: Ealy’s performance wakes up critics
By Amy Amatangelo, Boston Herald December 17, 2006

Something is very different as Michael Ealy concludes the second season of “Sleeper Cell: American Terror” (tonight at 9 on Showtime.)

People actually want to talk to him.

In the controversial series, Ealy stars as undercover FBI Agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed, a man charged with infiltrating a terror cell in Los Angeles.

“I knew it was going to be a risky subject because right before we aired (the first episode), a lot of press outlets didn’t want to talk to me because they thought we were going to be glorifying terrorists,” Ealy said during a recent phone interview. “I think after the show was aired, the verdict was out and people realized we weren’t doing that. . . . They realized that we were going a little bit deeper than some of the other shows out there when it comes to the good vs. evil and the thin line between good vs. evil.”

In the second season, Darwyn becomes the head of a new cell. “By way of self-defense, he ends up making himself the leader,” Ealy said. “I mean, to think of that is just genius to me.”

Ealy, who is best known for his roles in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and the “Barbershop” movies, received the script for the second-season premiere only about two weeks before filming began. He didn’t have a lot of time to research his character’s new direction.

“I basically went into this season thinking, ‘OK, just take everything that you learned from last season and play that guy and react to whatever new challenges arrive’ - as opposed to over-researching the thing and trying to be so prepared at the end of the day, I realized (the character) is not prepared. Any nervousness I had, any uncomfortable feelings I had, I’m going to use it; I’m going to play it because that’s the reality.

“The main thing that the show has really helped me to understand, it’s made me much more aware of my surroundings,” he said. “It’s made me much more aware of the issue at hand, how it’s a war of ideas rather than a war of military might. At some point, we have to understand that. This is not going to be fought on the battlefield. How do you fight an enemy that’s not afraid to die? . . . Believe me, I am proud of what people are doing over there, but I am terrified for them. They are fighting an enemy that is not afraid to die - that’s not fair.”

He knows the creators of the series have more stories in mind should Showtime approve a third season of “Sleeper Cell.”

“I took the role thinking I’ve got a chance to paint a canvas over potentially five seasons, and having done two seasons of this character, yes, by all means, I can come back again - with honor and privilege.”

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=172379