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fredfa

01-11-07, 02:25 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Croc Hunter's last 'a good tribute'
By Hal Boedeker Orlando Sentinel Television Critic his TV Guy blog Posted on Jan 11, 2007

What can viewers expect from Steve Irwin's final film?

"I think it was a good tribute to him and to his work, and we're excited about the conclusion of it," Philippe Cousteau told TV critics Wednesday.

"Ocean's Deadliest," which premieres Jan. 21 on Animal Planet, offers the last footage of the beloved Crocodile Hunter. Irwin died Sept. 4 when a stingray's poisonous barb struck his chest on the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. Cousteau and Irwin were supposed to be co-hosts on "Ocean's Deadliest." Cousteau is now the lone host.

"Having had him pass away like that, the accident in the middle of shooting, certainly changed our plans," said Cousteau, the grandson of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Otherwise, few changes were made to the program.

"We were able to film pretty much everything that we planned on filming," Cousteau said of the 90-minute program. "There's a few pieces that are missing that we intended on filming. But that's the case with nature filming anyway. You don't always have all the animals show up."

In presenting to the Television Critics Association, Animal Planet wanted to keep the focus on "Spring Watch USA." That six-week event, starting April 14, will explore springtime in the United States. Jeff Corwin and Vanessa Garnick are the hosts. Correspondents Cousteau and David Mizejewski take part as well. The program will have a major online component. Animal Planet and The National Wildlife Federation will offer that material at www.AnimalPlanet.com and www.nwf.org.

Corwin noted that the program will present some moments that don't work out so well for wildlife. So I asked how graphic will "Spring Watch" be?

"Ultimately, it is what it is, and nature does what it does," Corwin said. "Our job is not to filter out the unsightly or the scary or the sad. Really, that is part of this story. It really is an event. And it's more than just four [human] characters in this series, most than just us participating. All the creatures, the wildlife, they are characters as well."

What's the Animal Planet approach to graphic situations in nature?

"We don't interrupt. We just observe," said Maureen Smith, executive vice president and general manager of Animal Planet Media Enterprises. (That's a mouthful.)

Corwin explained that the Internet component will be basically a conduit. "The Internet serves as a bridge to bring our audience with us to make it interactive, to allow us to connect," he said.

Disney Channel unveils Cory, Sprites

For Disney Channel, this will be a major weekend. The hot cable channel will premiere "Cory in the House," a "That's So Raven" spinoff, at 9:30 p.m. Friday. "Johnny and the Sprites," starring John Tartaglia of "Avenue Q," joins the Playhouse Disney block at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Kyle Massey continues his role as Cory Baxter in "Cory in the House." Several times, the 15-year-old actor was compared to Jackie Gleason. I asked: Does Massey know who Jackie Gleason is?

"Uh," Massey started. "Hummina-hummina-hummina."

Well, then who inspires the young actor?

"I really do love Will Smith," Massey said. " 'Pursuit of Happyness' was a great movie. But I love Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence."

Massey said Raven-Symone took him aside before filming started on his show. "She told me everything I need to know, that I needed to be professional and know my lines, come to work prepared and know what I'm supposed to do," Massey said.

Raven has made one guest appearance so far, and on that episode, Massey had to dress as Raven.

"I wore heels, and they really hurt," Massey said. "I have respect for women for wearing heels now."

"Johnny and the Sprites" features Tartaglia interacting with puppet Sprites. The show also presents Broadway-style music -- a worthy goal -- to new listeners.

"We're trying to make the music also educational by introducing new audiences to maybe more complex harmonies and chord progressions and lyrics than they might hear otherwise," said Gary Adler, the show's music director. "If you think about children 200 years ago in Europe, they were easily able to accept Beethoven and Mozart, so why can't they accept Stephen Schwartz?" (Schwartz is composer of "Wicked.")

Tartaglia hopes to spread a love of great melodies that tell great stories. "Children's television music is very kind of simple and very repetitive," Tartaglia said. "I wanted to be able to tell a story with this music and also be able to maybe have kinds be exposed to other kinds of music than they're used to."

Tartaglia said the show has drawn a lot of support from Broadway composers -- even Stephen Sondheim.

"He said he's thrilled about the show and said he wants to work on it," Tartaglia said.

One of the puppets chimed in, "I think we're going to do a 'Sweeney Todd.' "

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2007/01/disney_channel_.html#more

VisionOn

01-11-07, 03:16 PM

Has it aired already? I thought it was scheduled for February 26.

It was definitely on. What confused me was that while it was actually playing, I think they ran an ad saying that it would be starting on Feb 26th. I can't see it in the same timeslot for this week so I assume that was a preview. Part of their "giants of HD" week, or whatever it was called last week.

The episode is repeated again this Saturday morning at 3am according to my guide.

fredfa

01-11-07, 03:18 PM

I'll record it, thanks for the tip

fredfa

01-11-07, 03:28 PM

The Business of TV
Mediacom Secures High Ground in Sinclair Battle
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 1/11/2007

Cable operator Mediacom has secured some high ground in its retransmission battle with Sinclair: Capitol Hill. Or, at least, the portion transplanted from Iowa.

In a letter to both Sinclair President David Smith and Mediacom CEO Rocco Commisso, the state's two Senators and five of its representatives urged them to consider submitting their carriage negotiations to binding arbitration at the FCC.

Citing the "up to 250,000 Iowa consumers who are currently unable to receive signals from KGAN Cedar Rapids and KDSM Des Moines," the legislators said that, "given the current impasse, binding arbitration would seem to present the parties with an alternative mechanism for resolving this dispute," and asked them "to consider the clear guidance of the FCC in agreeing to a process to bring the parties to an agreement without further harming Iowa consumers.

The FCC's Media Bureau, in rejecting a Mediacom complaint that Sinclair was not bargaining in good faith, still strongly encouraged the parties to submit the complaint to the FCC's Media Bureau for binding arbitration, with the stations remaining on Mediacom for the Mediacom has since appealed its complaint to the full commission.

Mediacom says it is ready and willing to go that route. Sinclair said it would consider the proposal seriously, but pulled its signals off the cable systems Jan. 5 but has yet to say whether or not it will. In the meantime, it has encouraged Mediacom subscribers to switch to DirecTV, with which its has a marketing deal that pays Sinclair for sub switches.

Sinclair has also said it is willing to "shake hands and walk away" from what it says is simply a business deal in which the parties cannot come to terms on price.

Signing the letter were Senators Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley and representatives Bruce Braley, Leonard Boswell, Steve King, Dave Loebsack, and Tom Latham.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6406924

dad1153

01-11-07, 03:54 PM

You know your morning TV show is in the toilet ratings-wise when even the Secretary of State knows about (last line of the story).

TV Notebook
Rice 'loves' Fox News; CBS anchor 'decent guy'
Reuters - January 11, 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice let slip her news media preferences Thursday, saying, "I love every single one" of Fox News network's correspondents and also favors CBS anchor Harry Smith.

In comments overheard on an open microphone between morning television interviews, including one with Fox, the top U.S. diplomat said: "My Fox guys, I love every single one of them."

But Rice told an aide that when she was next in Iraq she would like to do a "one-on-one" interview with CBS "The Early Show" anchor Harry Smith.

"He's a decent guy. I know they are, like, 55 in the ratings, but I like him," Rice said in comments monitored by Reuters on a television feed.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/11/rice.reut/index.html

fredfa

01-11-07, 04:28 PM

TV Notebook
Directors Guild of America TV Nominations for 2006
( Directors Guild of Americ news release) January 11, 2007

LOS ANGELES, CA: Directors Guild of America President Michael Apted today announced the DGA’s nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for 2006 in the television categories of Dramatic Series Night, Comedy Series, Musical Variety, Reality Programs, Daytime Serials and Children’s Programs. The winners of all six categories will be announced at the 59th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

“The director's role in creating compelling television has never been greater, and will continue to grow in importance as TV gets more competitive and audiences more demanding,” said Apted.

“The nominees for the DGA Television Awards are the vanguard of this movement, setting ever-higher standards of quality and taking on the challenge to deliver excellence in all genres week after week."

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series (Night)

JON CASSAR
24 – “7:00am – 8:00am” FOX
PETER HORTON
Grey s Anatomy “It s the End of the World (As We Know It)” ABC
DAVID NUTTER
The Sopranos “Join the Club” HBO
THOMAS SCHLAMME
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip “Pilot” NBC
TIM VAN PATTEN
The Sopranos “Members Only” HBO

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for 2006

ADAM BERNSTEIN
30 Rock “Pilot” NBC
JULIAN FARINO
Entourage “One Day in the Valley” HBO
SEITH MANN
Grey s Anatomy “Name Of The Game” ABC
ARLENE SANFORD
Boston Legal “Breast in Show” ABC
RICHARD SHEPARD
Ugly Betty “Pilot” ABC

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety for 2006

BRUCE GOWERS
American Idol: Season 5 Finale: Episode #534/535 FOX
DON ROY KING
Saturday Night Live: Alec Baldwin Hosts NBC
ROB MARSHALL
Tony Bennett: An American Classic NBC
CHUCK O NEIL
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Comedy Central
GLENN P. WEISS
The 60th Annual Tony Awards CBS

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs for 2006

BOBBIE BIRLEFFI
Texas Ranch House - “The Good, the Bad and the Colonel" Episode #2" PBS
TONY SACCO
Treasure Hunters – “Episode #101” NBC
J. RUPERT THOMPSON
Fear Factor – “Military Fear Factor, Season Finale” NBC
BERTRAM VAN MUNSTER
The Amazing Race – “Episode #1002” CBS
TIM WARREN Pros vs. Joes Spike

http://www.dga.org/index2.php3?chg=

fredfa

01-11-07, 04:34 PM

TV Notebook
DGA nominates TV favorites
Winners will be announced at the DGA Awards on Feb. 3
By Dave McNary Variety January 11, 2007

Two episodes of HBO's "The Sopranos" and a pair of segments from ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" took nominations to stand out among DGA televison nods.

"Grey's Anatomy" took one nom each in the drama category for Peter Horton in "It's the End of the World As We Know It" and in the comedy category for Seith Mann in "The Name of the Game."

"The Sopranos" took nods in the drama category for Tim Van Patten for "Members Only" and for David Butter in "Join the Club." Other noms in drama went to Thomas Schlamme for the pilot of NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and Jon Cassar for Fox's "24." and

It's the fifth nom for Van Patten, who won two previous DGA awards for "Sex and the City," and eighth for Schlamme, who won previously for "The West Wing" and "Sports Night."

Besides "Anatomy," the other comedy contenders are Adam Bernstein for the pilot of NBC's "30 Rock," Julian Farino for the "One Day in the Valley" segment of HBO's "Entourage," Arlene Sanford for the "Breast in Show" segment for ABC's "Boston Legal" and Richard Shepard for ABC's "Ugly Betty" pilot.

HBO's "Rome" won drama series last year and "My Name Is Earl" took the comedy trophy.

Winners will be announced at the DGA Awards on Feb. 3 at the Century Plaza.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117957187&categoryid=1985

archiguy

01-11-07, 04:40 PM

You know your morning TV show is in the toilet ratings-wise when even the Secretary of State knows about (last line of the story).

TV Notebook
Rice 'loves' Fox News; CBS anchor 'decent guy'
Reuters - January 11, 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice let slip her news media preferences Thursday, saying, "I love every single one" of Fox News network's correspondents and also favors CBS anchor Harry Smith.

In comments overheard on an open microphone between morning television interviews, including one with Fox, the top U.S. diplomat said: "My Fox guys, I love every single one of them."

I am shocked to hear this. Just completely and utterly shocked!

:rolleyes: ;)

fredfa

01-11-07, 04:41 PM

Critic’s Notebook
A big departure from "ER,''
"Men In Trees'' returns
By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News in his blog Thursday, January 11, 2007

Those NBC promos do not lie (for once). Kerry Weaver really does leave County General tonight on "ER'' (10 PM ET/PT, NBC).

Laura Innes -- the longest-running "ER'' cast member with over 11 seasons -- is leaving the show to concentrate on her directing career. (She's highly-regarded and is currently directing on such high-profile shows as "Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip.'') There is a possibility that -- like Noah Wyle -- she may pop up for the occasional guest star shot but, for now, Weaver is off to a new career (and a new girlfriend) in Florida.

Innes will be missed, though. Over the years, she has turned the often-abrasive Weaver into a sympathetic and complex character who became an anchor of the large, ever-changing "ER'' cast.

While I'll probably be on hand to see Innes depart, there is another good option tonight at 10 in the form of "Men In Trees,'' which returns with new episodes on ABC. While there are those who disagree, I find "Men'' a totally engaging and funny romantic comedy with a fine cast that makes this saga of a "life'' coach finding love in a remote Alaskan town at least mildly plausible. It's a nice fit after "Grey's Anatomy.''

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/charlie_mccollum/index.html

fredfa

01-11-07, 04:45 PM

I am shocked to hear this. Just completely and utterly shocked!

:rolleyes: ;)

Not a shocker at all, is it?

But it is really sleazy how an "open mike" allows the media to "overhear" such comments, obviously not meant for public consumption.

No matter if it is Condi Rice or Nancy Pelosi, Dick Cheney or Ted Kennedy, such stuff used to be considered (and rightfully so, to me at least) off limits. What next? High-powered long-range mikes pointed at newsmaker's homes?

No wonder the Hannitys and his ilk have such a field day with skewering the "main stream media".

It seems to me anything she said while being interviewed is fair game. Anything she said while being prepped for the next chat should not have been listened to or recorded.

fredfa

01-11-07, 04:59 PM

Nielsen Notebook
A&E Whacks the Competition With The Sopranos
By Anthony Crupi MediaWeek January 11, 2007

A&E clipped the competition Wednesday night with the basic-cable debut of The Sopranos, averaging 3.86 million total viewers and a 3.24 household rating from 9 p.m. to 11:11 p.m., making it the most-watched premiere of an off-net drama in cable history.

The telecast, which included the first two episodes from season one of David Chase’s mob masterpiece (“The Sopranos” and “46 Long”), also delivered 1.68 million adults 18-49 and 1.79 million adults 25-54, according to Nielsen Media Research’s early national cable numbers for Jan. 10.

The first hour, which was presented with just two commercial breaks, averaged 4.27 million total viewers and a 3.55 HH rating, as well as 1.83 million adults 18-49 and 1.94 million adults 25-54.

Hour two of the premiere telecast delivered 3.45 million viewers and a 2.94 HH rating. The second episode also served up 1.53 million adults 18-49 and 1.63 million adults 25-54.

The second half of A&E’s premiere night was characterized by a more traditional spread of ad inventory, featuring four pods totaling 15 minutes and 15 seconds.

A&E’s research staff noted that The Sopranos debut night beat out Sex and the City’s June 15, 2004, premiere night on TBS by 3 percent in total viewers (3.86 million vs. SATC’s 3.74 million).

The network picked up the rights to the HBO hit in February 2005, shelling out a record $2.5 million for each of the series’ 86 episodes.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003531785

URFloorMatt

01-11-07, 05:30 PM

Not a shocker at all, is it?

But it is really sleazy how an "open mike" allows the media to "overhear" such comments, obviously not meant for public consumption.

No matter if it is Condi Rice or Nancy Pelosi, Dick Cheney or Ted Kennedy, such stuff used to be considered (and rightfully so, to me at least) off limits. What next? High-powered long-range mikes pointed at newsmaker's homes?

No wonder the Hannitys and his ilk have such a field day with skewering the "main stream media".

It seems to me anything she said while being interviewed is fair game. Anything she said while being prepped for the next chat should not have been listened to or recorded.

This was a subplot during an episode of The West Wing. If that episode was any indication, she should have been perfectly aware that the mic was hot.

LL3HD

01-11-07, 05:43 PM

I am shocked to hear this. Just completely and utterly shocked!

:rolleyes: ;)
:D I am shocked just completely and utterly shocked that archiguy commented on this news. :rolleyes: :D

LL3HD

01-11-07, 05:48 PM

No wonder the Hannitys and his ilk have such a field day with skewering the "main stream media" Apparently he’s not just right but correct too. :cool:

fredfa

01-11-07, 06:07 PM

OK, I apologize for xcommenting on the original posting. Let's let it go, OK?

fredfa

01-11-07, 06:14 PM

Washington Notebook
Dispatches from the Media Reform Front
From the BCBeat blog at Broadcastingcable.com January 11, 2007

Harold Feld, senior VP, Media Access Project, reports from the run-up to the media reform conference in Memphis in the following guest blog:

Commissioner Adelstein had warm words for the academic community willing to contribute to the FCC media ownership debate, but harsh words of criticism for how the FCC currently uses research to make its decisions.

At a keynote address at the academic “Pre-Conference” at the Memphis Convention Center co-sponsored by Free Press and the Social Sciences Research Center the day before the Free Press National Conference on Media Reform, Adelstein urged activists and academics to work together to bring the “inconvenient truth” about the impacts of consolidation to the FCC and Congress. He harshly criticized the current Commission for engaging in “faith based regulation,” accusing the Commission of writing “advocacy pieces” rather than engaging in “fact based” research and analysis.

Adestein described a world in which, since the Reagan administration, the FCC has virtually eliminated industry reporting requirements and instead relies on “academic hired guns” and a vast “PR machine” to persuade policymakers. For their part, policymakers at the FCC have proven “complicit,” accepting the corporate research and framing of the ownership debate without question.

The result, said Adelstein, is an “expert agency starved for data” about the industry it regulates. As a result, FCC research and reports are either devoid of real analysis or actively push the agenda of industry at the expense of the public.

Adelstein singled out the research supporting the recent FCC Order preempting local franchising authorities and the media ownership studies announced by the FCC as prime examples of “faith based policymaking.” Adelstein complained that he had repeatedly asked staff for real world examples of franchising abuses, but they offered none. Instead the majority “trusted the word of big corporations rather than of the public or their elected officials.”

Adelstein also criticized the Commission for outsourcing 7 of the ten media studies to researchers who, with the exception of Professor Allen Hammond, had no background in media issues. He complained that he had received no notification before the public notice on the studies was issued and no explanation for how the Commission had selected the researchers. He urged the assembled activists and academics to push for “real peer review” of the studies before release, saying the FCC is considering how to conduct peer review of the papers.

At the same time, despite this “depressing picture,” Adelstein found cause for hope. He applauded what activist and academics had already done to “awaken the sleeping giant” of the American public on this issue. Further, with the change brought about by the ;ast election, Adelstein expects Congress to be “more open” to “fact based, reality based” research on the impacts of media ownership.

But to triumph over the huge resources and special access media and telecom corporations enjoy, activists and academics would need to work together in a coordinated and politically strategic fashion. While a difficult challenge, Adelstein expressed confidence in the people gathered at the conference to succeed:
“This much brain power should make the media conglomerates shake in their boots.” Said Adelstein.

In response to a question from the audience, Adelstein reported that staff complained of being “squeezed” and unable to participate fully in debates because political pressure at the FCC suppressed views contrary to those of industry.

Adelstein also promised, in response to a different question, that he and Commissioner Copps would hold public hearings on cable public access (PEG), specifically on the impact of state franchising and the FCC’s recent action, and what the FCC can do to strengthen public access.

http://broadcastingcable.com/blog/1380000138.html

fredfa

01-11-07, 06:17 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Why Reporters Love Locklear
By Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News in her blog January 11, 2007

Oh, that Heather Locklear.

She's here for a Lifetime panel on a series of movies the network's launching later this month based on novels by Nora Roberts.

Heather's starring in "Angels Fall," and another actor on the panel, John Corbett, is one of the stars of "Montana Sky." We'd been at it for several minutes and no one had yet asked Locklear a personal question, but she'd come, as she usually does, prepared to play.

And so when Corbett's co-star, Ashley Williams, described him as a "rock star" -- a reference to his music career -- Locklear leaned forward and said, "I didn't know you were a rock star" in what might be described as a suggestive tone.

Which opened the door, naturally, to a question about how the actress, who's going through a divorce from rocker Richie Sambora, is doing.

"Today, I'm good," she said. "Don't I look good?"

Told that the question was a response to some of her own remarks, she said, "Oh, s---, I should keep my mouth shut. I'm just trying to lighten" the mood before the questions she expected to field after the press conference.

"I'm single. I still like rock stars, and like any man is good for me," she said, adding, "Not married men."

http://blogs.phillynews.com/dailynews/ellengray/

fredfa

01-11-07, 06:29 PM

TV Notebook
Laura Innes Reveals Why She's Leaving the ER
by Ileane Rudolph TV Guide January 11, 2007

It's goodbye to the last remaining — well, almost — original ER cast member. Tonight Kerry Weaver hangs up her scrubs and leaves Chicago's County General for warmer climes (Florida) to deliver medical news for a prestigious TV station.

Laura Innes, who has played the irascibly endearing doc for 11 and a half seasons, gives us the dish on why she needs an abrupt exit, her years on the long-running hit show, and what she's up to next.

TVGuide.com: Say it ain't so! After nearly 12 years, Dr. Kerry Weaver's leaving County General for good?
Laura Innes: Yeah. There's some talk of her coming back a little bit next year, but we'll see.

TVGuide.com: In what way?
Innes: There's an idea about integrating her new job on the medical show into a story line. Part of that thinking had to do with the fact that next year would probably be ER's last year, but the show's doing so well, I don't know what's going to happen.

TVGuide.com: The producers kept your departure awfully quiet. Everyone went, 'What?" when Weaver was fired. Why so under-the-radar?
Innes: We decided to just have it be a surprise. It may not have been a smart decision, but it was good storytelling — making it happen the way it might in real life.

TVGuide.com: It was left a little vague last week. My colleague's daughter, who's a major fan, said that after watching she thought that maybe you'd still be around in some way.
Innes: Nope. I'm in this week's show and have a couple more meaty goodbye scenes to wrap it up. I'm basically doing cleaning-out-my-locker kind of stuff. So one more [episode] for me, and as I said, there's talk about maybe a couple next year, but I [told them], "We'll see if that feels right."

TVGuide.com: Why are you leaving in the middle of the season?
Innes: There are other big stories happening and... Aaron Sorkin just walked in the room. I'm so sorry, I have to talk to my boss for a minute. [Innes calls back five minutes later.] I'm directing a Studio 60 episode for him.

TVGuide.com: Already moving on. Sounds like some other ER characters could be leaving at the end of the year?
Innes: That's a possibility. There are a lot of discussions with the actors about what they want to do. They felt, in case there does end up being another departure, that they wanted to wrap me up early.

TVGuide.com: How long has your departure been in the works?
Innes: About a year ago we talked about it. For the past couple of years, I've been doing half episodes, and I have a directing deal with [ER creator] John Wells. So I've been easing off the acting. This summer we talked about what was going to take place.

TVGuide.com: Whose idea was it for you to make your exit?
Innes: It was kind of mutual — one of those things where it just feels like you're running out of steam. It's awfully hard to leave this show, though, because it's such an incredible joy. But it seems like [it's] time, doesn't it? I just told them, "I don't want to be sick or die." I didn't want to send this message that this woman who had this history of disability and is gay — now we're going to kill her off. I said, "Let her have a happy end." So I'm happy about that.

TVGuide.com: Is that why Weaver had an operation and finally threw away her crutch?
Innes: It did feel like the character was shedding some of her hardness and moving on in her life.

TVGuide.com: You're not kidding. She gets a glam TV job and a gorgeous girlfriend to boot.
Innes: I know. Weaver must be so good in bed! All of her girlfriends are so hot. I definitely raised the bar in the lipstick-lesbian category.

TVGuide.com: Speaking of hot girlfriends, do you watch Elizabeth Mitchell, who played your first female lover, on Lost?
Innes: Isn't she great? You never know which way she's going to go. [Her character] is this creepy, beautiful lady.

TVGuide.com: Over the years, Weaver has been portrayed as abrasive, prickly, intensely ambitious and disloyal. Was playing a bitch fun?
Innes: I didn't see her so negatively, because if I did, I might have played her as an evil person. But I remember early on, being in a department store and hearing a woman say, "Oh, I just want to slap her!" That's when I realized this character is going to drive everybody crazy. She's the boss from hell, which was fun to play. But just at the point where you'd want to shoot her, they'd plop in poignant story lines where she'd show empathy, like when I signed with this deaf little girl.

TVGuide.com: Do you think it was brave of you to play her bitchy when she was also a role model for the disabled and lesbian communities?
Innes: [Laughs] A bitchy role model. But you know what? If I had to choose a doctor, it would be Weaver. Her bedside manner is sometimes lacking, but at least she'd save me.

TVGuide.com: Was there a real responsibility being that two-for-one role model?
Innes: For the disabled community, it was a mixed thing. To have somebody who's disabled be a very strong, capable person is great, but I'm not actually disabled, so it was this kind of back-and-forth. But I did always feel a responsibility. I said to the writers, "It's OK if I'm the hard-ass, but I hope you always show her being compassionate, because I represent this large group of people."

TVGuide.com: And then Weaver came out. How was the reaction?
Innes: It explained her avoidance of a personal life. That was my favorite story line. I feel that the producers and NBC didn't really get enough credit, because it was a big deal to have a main character on a mainstream show come out. Some viewers were not happy with that, and my friends said, "People will assume you're really gay." Everyone should get over it. A lot of people do think I'm gay. But for that character, what could have been more interesting to do?

TVGuide.com: You're a married mom of two. C'mon, aren't you sorry you never got to kiss George Clooney or Goran [Visnjic]?
Innes: How do you know I didn't?

TVGuide.com: Did they throw you a big party?
Innes: Yes. Everybody came. It was Dec. 6, my last day, after an emotional goodbye scene I had with Maura [Tierney, Abby], who has become a close friend in real life. They put together a reel of scenes and outtakes and because I'd been on the show so long, it was a long reel. They also gave me a framed copy of my very first call sheet. I was something like No. 47 on that — and the past two years, I've been No. 1. It's like I clawed my way to the top of the call sheet.

TVGuide.com: How Weaverish of you. So is it Laura Innes, director, from now on? You've directed ER, House and now Studio 60.
Innes: I'll definitely keep acting if anything interesting that's not like Kerry Weaver comes along, some hot old chick.... I won't wear a lab coat, and I never want to say, "Pass the CBC Chem 7" again. I would like to do some comedy. I love The Office.

TVGuide.com: There are so many former residents of ER out there. Do you ever hang out?
Innes: There are! We could start our own show — an alternative universe version of ER. I keep up with Julianna [Margulies] and Gloria [Reuben] and I see Tony [Edwards] once in a while.

TVGuide.com: Any last words to your fans of 11 and a half years?
Innes: I would just say, "Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching. I have had a blast."

http://tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={9821887D-1FDE-46AE-B412-D6247FF1C1C9}

fredfa

01-11-07, 06:46 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
You're Paranoid, Dude
By Linda Haugsted MultiChannel News1/11/2007

The clunky, early Mario Bros.-like animation of upcoming G4 animation series Code Monkeys had more than one critic wondering whether creators of the cartoon sought, or needed, licensing agreements from game distributors such as Nintendo.

“Are you a cop?” retorted creator Adam de la Pena jokingly. “Legally, you have to tell me. I know the law.”

More seriously, he said the animators attempted to craft a look that’s an amalgam of games from Nintendo, Atari, etc. They are so conscious of possible rights infringement that the computers depicted in the show are from “Computers Inc.”

On a more politically incorrect note: The company boss in the show is a clueless Texan. Are Texans particularly lampoonable?

“Did you watch TV last night?” he retorted, before launching into an impression of President Bush’s awkward beginning to his Jan. 10 Iraq speech.

Match Made in Hospitality

Young-male-targeted G4 and The Block, a hotel targeting snowboarders in Lake Tahoe, Calif., seem to be a perfect demographic match. Highlights of the hotel: Visitors are greeted upon check in with a cold Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the official sponsor of the hotel. Room floors are beer-proofed. Rooms are themed, such as the Napster room, tied to the online download service. G4 will be branding a room, too, executives said. Instead of overstuffed upholstery in the lobby, the hotel at the Nevada-California state line has a pool table.

And if you’re a pro snowboarder, come on down. Owners let them stay free (normal weekend rates are about $190, compared with the $30-per-room hotels referred to by the local shuttle drivers as the riff-raff hotels). The “pros free” policy is so that the paying customers can hang out with their favorite shredders, the owners said.

Crabby Critics
If there’s one thing that’s universally irking writers, it’s the claim of each and every cable network that they have “achieved double-digit growth” in viewership, without actual ratings numbers to verify that claim. Writers note that 10 viewers growing to 20 is a 100% increase, too. The hero that puts actual ratings numbers with that claim will likely be praised for being forthcoming. The downside: The numbers will likely be derided as low compared to a broadcast network.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6406378.html?display=Breaking+News

fredfa

01-11-07, 06:54 PM

TV Notebook
A mob hit for A&E
'Sopranos' attracts record audience for cabler
By John Dempsey Variety January 11, 2007

Even with all of the four-letter words taken out, "The Sopranos" scored more viewers in its rerun kickoff on A&E Wednesday than any other off-network-series premiere in the history of cable TV.

A&E marketed the "Sopranos" premiere as aggressively as the opening of a big-budget theatrical, and 4.3-million viewers tuned in to the kickoff. It was the highest-rated show on all of basic cable for the night among total viewers and the key adult demographics.

"We treated it like an event," said Bob DeBitetto, exec VP and general manager of A&E. Unlike most off-network series, which typically start off running once or twice a day, five days a week, "Sopranos" will play as two primetime episodes back to back Wednesday at 9, with one repeat of the episodes the following Monday, also at 9.

DeBitetto said A&E deliberately cut back on the number of 30-second spots for the premiere, so the first episode spilled only a few minutes over into the 10-o'clock slot. The usual spillover will be about 15 minutes, with a full commercial load. Most of the episodes ran longer than 50 minutes on HBO.

HBO will have produced 86 episodes counting the final batch HBO will play off starting in April. That makes afive-0day-per-week run tough.

A lot is riding on "Sopranos." A&E ponied up the record price of $2.5 million an episode, way ahead of second place "CSI: New York," which fetched $2 million per from Spike TV.

DeBitetto said most of the shows he's developing for A&E's first scripted series in more than five years fall into the category of crime and punishment. When the new series premieres in 2008, A&E will protect it by surrounding the rookie with episodes of "Sopranos" and "CSI: Miami," which will also be used as promotional vehicles for any scripted originals.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117957213&categoryid=14

fredfa

01-11-07, 06:57 PM

When looking at those numbers for "The Sopranos" remember a couple of things.

1. The first episode ran with very limited commercial interruptions.

2. The first episode ran against the Iraq speech by President Bush -- carried by all four networks.

3. The second hour, with a normal commercial load, lost about 20% of the audience from the 9 PM premiere.

Last night provided great initial ratings for A&E, but let's see how they hold up in the coming weeks.

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:08 PM

Any news on how the second episode of Dirt did ratingswise last Tuesday? We all know premieres rank high (remember the 13 million that sampled the premiere of Studio 60 last year?) but its the 2nd, 3rd and subsequent episodes that tell the tale.

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:18 PM

The headline might suggest sleaze but Battlestar Galactica fans will want to read this story regardless.

TV Notebook
Battle-Skin Galactica
Star Poses for Six-y Nudes
By Don Kaplan, New York Post - January 11, 2007

Helfer plays an evil machine on "Battlestar Galactica," but the sexy Cylon may cause her fans to short-circuit when they see the latest edition of Playboy.

"I hope people like them," Helfer told The Post of her 10-page nude pictorial shot by famed shutterbug Sante D'Orazio. "I know I do."

On "Battlestar," Helfer plays Number Six, a blonde- bombshell member of a race of machines called Cylons, who are bent on pursuing and annihilating the human race. New episodes of the popular SCI FI channel show's third season begin on Jan. 21 at 10 p.m.

The part, for which she originally dyed her hair peroxide blonde, caused her hair "to fall out in clumps," she says. "So now I just wear a wig"

Helfer says that recently her character has begun to question her loyalty to the machines. "In the second half of the season we start to see a bit of a break with my Number Six," says Helfer. "She's at a crossroads and kind of feels that she's not quite part of the Cylons anymore but doesn't know if the humans will accept her."

"Galactica" is a high-concept re-imagining of what was a cheesy, but beloved 1970s space show and stars two Oscar nomi nees, Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell.

In just a few short years, the new version has become one of the most talked-about series on TV, mainly for it's ability to tackle controversial current issues, such as terrorism, war and politics skillfully disguised as science fiction.

Helfer says that while the cast is aware of how impactful "Galactica" has become, the true message behind each episode is usually not clear until they get to watch the finished product. "It's something that we're all proud of," she says.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01112007/tv/battle_skin_galactica_tv_don_kaplan.htm

fredfa

01-11-07, 07:18 PM

fredfa

01-11-07, 07:19 PM

TV Notebook
"Sopranos'' score a hit for A&E
"Sopranos'' score a hit for A&E
By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News in his blog Thursday, January 11, 2007

Those big sighs of relief you may have heard earlier today were coming from the executive suits at cable's A&E.

Last night's first repeat of "The Sopranos'' on A&E drew a very snappy 4.3 million viewers, just the kind of big audience the channel had been hoping for when it agreed to pay $2.5 million per episode to reshow the HBO mob drama on basic cable. It was a far bigger viewership than A&E normally gets in primetime and made A&E the most-watched cable channel for the night.

Viewers were apparently not put off by the fact that the show had been edited (for language, nudity, etc.) so it could be shown on basic. (The folks at home weren't put off by the cuts made to "Sex and the City'' by TBS either so ...) I still prefer seeing the real deal but, hey, you can't argue with success.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/charlie_mccollum/index.html

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:23 PM

TV Review
Cherish the glory that is ”Rome”
By Mark A. Perigard, Boston Herald - January 11, 2007

“Rome” Season premiere Sunday night at 9 on HBO.
Grade: A-

Julius Caesar lies dead in a pool of blood and assassins chase Mark Antony (James Purefoy) as the second season of HBO’s bloody good “Rome” opens at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Picking up just seconds from the 2005 finale, “Rome” finds a city ablaze with intrigue and knives at every throat.

A grief-stricken Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) cradles the body of his wife, Niobe, and turns his rage on his children.

“By all the gods below, I curse you to damnation,” he says.

Unfortunately, the gods are listening. Vorenus comes to rue his hasty words.

Judging from the first four episodes available for review, the second season of “Rome” is as much about a nation searching for its soul as one man struggling for his sanity.

Vorenus is mad with grief, and his rage will plunge him into the most dangerous parts of Roman society.

Meanwhile, Mark Antony wants to flee the city with Atia (Polly Walker) and her family until he can gather an army and take his revenge on his enemies. “I shall piss on them as they die,” he vows.

But Caesar’s will names Octavian (Max Pirkis) as his heir and legal son, and that changes the political dynamic. Mark Antony finds a good reason to breeze right into Brutus’ (Tobias Menzies) den of killers.

As “Rome” demonstrated in its first season, politics starts with the very personal, and Mark Antony’s condescension toward Octavian sowsthe seeds for a military conflict that will cost Rome thousands of its sons.

One thing “Rome” does unlike any other series is showcase violence in all its brutality. There’s precious little Hollywood staginess. Next week, Marc Antony and Octavian’s bickering explodes into a brawl.

In the Jan. 21 episode, Pullo and Vorenus turn on each other with a force that literally brings the house down around them.

Atia and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) pick up their rivalry, at times simply biting, at other times bloodthirsty. Pity the servants who work for these two. The job description doesn’t include a long life.

While the original cast has returned, Pirkis has grown several inches and brings gravitas to his role of a teenager becoming the leader of men. His growth spurt makes the producers’ decision to recast the role in the fourth episode a mystery. The new actor, Simon Woods (“Pride and Prejudice”), has a similar physique and a CW teeny-bopper look to him.

“Rome” takes the time to incorporate the odd tics of character that define and make their players so relatable. Consider the start of lunkhead Titus Pullo’s (Ray Stevenson) proposal tonight to Eirene (Chiara Mastalli): “I know I didn’t get us started off on the right foot - killing your man and all . . .”

Unfortunately for viewers, this is the show’s final season. Citing production costs, HBO has canceled the series. Cherish every moment of the glory that is “Rome” while you can.

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=176599

fredfa

01-11-07, 07:26 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Heather Locklear, always welcome
By Bill Goodykoontz Arizona Republic TV Critic in his Critic’s Tour blog

PASADENA, Calif. -- The Lifetime network -- not just for women anymore?

Hmm. Maybe I'll have to start watching.

Kidding, kidding, haha. I have to watch. The switch in gender targets is just what some people said during panels for the network's shows. Of course, not long after, the network put on a panel for four women-in-peril movies based on Nora Roberts books.

"I don't know if a lot of men watch the Lifetime channel," John Corbett, who stars in one of the films, said, no doubt thrilling the network executives in the room. "Raise your hand if you watch the Lifetime channel. Be honest."

Not a lot of hands went up. Probably too busy typing.

After all, Heather Locklear was here, and any time there is a tabloid staple, ears perk up and fingers fly. She's been to the TV tour a million times, knows the game and is suitably hilarious.

For instance, Corbett's music career came up.

Locklear sat up and said, "I never knew you were a rock star, but right on!"

Much laughter. Locklear, as you know if you glance at the fine publications at the supermarket checkout line, has quite a history with rock stars. She was married to Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, then to Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora, who, if you can believe these things, now dates Denise Richards, who was married to Charlie Sheen and was -- WAS -- friends with Locklear. Whew. Complicated, and not quite so funny once you explain it.

Someone asked how she was doing. Good, she said, cracking a couple of jokes about it, before deciding, "Oh (expletive), I should just keep my mouth shut."

Then, ignoring her own advice: "I'm single. I still like rock stars. Any man is good for me."

And much, much more. She even tossed in a line or two I can't repeat here.

Good sport, her. Need more panelists like her. Come back anytime.

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

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:32 PM

2.4 million for episode # 2 [of Dirt]. (The premiere did 3.7 million.)

Source?

fredfa

01-11-07, 07:33 PM

(Sorry I missed this yesterday. But it still puts things a bit in perspective, and is a fun read.)
Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
We all say dumb things
By Scott D. Pierce (Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News

PASADENA, Calif. — As another Television Critics Association press tour gets going, let's take a quick look back at some of the things network executives said at the last one, six months ago.

• "Fox does an outstanding job from January through August. We're pretty much a dominant network. For us, the whole ball of wax is really about improving our fourth quarter," said Fox Entertainment president Peter Liguori.

Fox did worse in the fourth quarter of 2006 than it did in 2005. The only one of six new series that's still on the air ("'Til Death") is bombing in the ratings.

• "There's no other show like that on the air, and I think that show has a real chance to pop," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said of the sitcom "Twenty Good Years."

That "pop" was a bomb. Four episodes of this dreadful show aired before Reilly yanked it off the air.

• "I think the green has done a lot for us. ... People who see the green everywhere have said that it really stands out. And marketing, and depending on the viewers who already love these shows, is going to play a big part in bringing in the viewers to the new network," said CW Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff.

Despite all the green and all the marketing, ratings for the network — a combination of UPN and The WB — have been disappointing at best.

• CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler gets points for being right when everyone (including most of us TV critics) thought she was wrong. But she certainly wishes she'd been less right about what would happen when ABC moved "Grey's Anatomy" opposite "CSI."

"Who would have thought that "CSI" would be the underdog? We expect to be dinged a bit by 'Grey's,"' Tassler said.

To the surprise of most, "Grey's" has indeed gotten the better of its competition, making ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson sound a little silly:

"In terms of 'CSI,' I heard Nina was playing the rope-a-dope. It's kind of funny. I mean, 'CSI' and CBS have dominated that night, so I think they are the champions without question," McPherson said.

Of course, television executives aren't the only people who get it wrong:

• "This could end up being the 'Friends' of the 21st century." DesMoNews television editor Scott D. Pierce wrote of the CBS sitcom "The Class."

Ratings haven't been good, and the network cut back its order from 22 episodes to 19.

• "'Studio 60' is a show that has the seemingly impossible task of living up to the lofty expectations NBC (and critics) are creating for it. And yet it does," Pierce wrote.

Well, it's a good show. But not a great one.

• "ABC would seem to have legitimate reasons for not showing us the 'Brothers & Sisters' pilot — what with the recasting and reshooting. But in the past 16 years, no series that wasn't shown to critics before or during press tour has ever succeeded," Pierce wrote.

The show is doing rather well in the ratings and has been renewed through the end of the season.

I'm willing to admit my mistakes. I followed that up by writing that "'Brothers & Sisters' is a whole lot better than I thought it was going to be." And "'Brothers & Sisters' has turned out to be one of the best new shows in a season with a lot of good new shows."

We'll see how many mistakes network executives own up to over the next couple of weeks.

http://www.desnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650221368,00.html

VisionOn

01-11-07, 07:40 PM

TV Review
Cherish the glory that is ”Rome”
By Mark A. Perigard, Boston Herald - January 11, 2007

“Rome” Season premiere Sunday night at 9 on HBO.
Grade: A-

One thing “Rome” does unlike any other series is showcase violence in all its brutality. There’s precious little Hollywood staginess. Next week, Marc Antony and Octavian’s bickering explodes into a brawl.

so Perigard has obviously not seen Deadwood ... or Oz for that matter.

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:41 PM

TV Review
”Extras” worth the effort
By Mark A. Perigard, Boston Herald - January 11, 2007

“Extras” Season premiere Sunday night at 10pm on HBO.
Grade: B+

Can a starving artist achieve success without selling out?

On HBO’s “Extras” (returning Sunday at 10 p.m.), that’s a joke within a joke. Creator and star Ricky Gervais returns to skewer the industry that made him famous.

In the opener, Gervais’ long-suffering day player, Andy Millman, finally has a BBC sitcom, “When the Whistle Blows,” in production. He even has a supporting role in his own show. The BBC, however, wants to cheapen the comedy and play to the largest - that is, doltish - crowd possible.

The wardrobe department insists on plopping a curly wig and big glasses on Andy’s head. The director wants him to mug for the camera as if he were brain-damaged.

The best part of “Extras” is watching the big guest stars send up their images.

In the night’s best story, fellow extra Ashley (Maggie Jacobs) ends up on the set of Orlando Bloom’s latest film and drives him crazy with her lack of interest.

Regarding his fawning fans, she says, “If you were the prop boy, you’d just get ignored.” Bloom can’t believe she’d fancy his “Pirates of the Caribbean” co-star Johnny Depp, and goes to great lengths to convince her he’s beautiful.

Next week, Andy’s brief foray back and forth into a club’s exclusive VIP area takes a humiliating turn when guest David Bowie composes a song about him that includes the lyrics, “Little fat man who sold his soul . . . they all just wish he’d die.”

Some of the topical references in this HBO/BBC production don’t translate on this side of the Atlantic, but “Extras” is always good for a plus-sized look at egos checked and balanced by showbiz’s merciless grind.

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=176600

fredfa

01-11-07, 07:43 PM

TV Notebook
'Ugly Betty' reflects America
"Sopranos'' score a hit for A&E
By Terry Morrow Scripps Howard News Service Thursday, January 11, 2007

Like her character in "Ugly Betty," America Ferrera is working her imperfections.

"The easiest way for me to come to terms with who I am is to broadcast all my flaws," says the 22-year-old actress, whose film credits include "Real Women Have Curves."

"Some of them I can change. Some of them I can't."

To look at her, it's hard to believe Ferrera and her TV alter-ego, Betty Suarez, are the same person. Ferrera is well-spoken, slender and confident. Betty, on the other hand, is dumpy and clumsy, if well-meaning.

But Ferrera says she and Betty are cut from the same cloth.

"Approaching the role from a very personal way is the only way to do it," she says. "To relive those moments that are very embarrassing and very isolating and very cold are, in a big way, heartbreaking.

"To make those moments real for myself, of course, I have to draw from my life."

When she was growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Ferrera says, her family's income was "meager," but her childhood was nonetheless "amazing." She is the youngest of six children raised by a single mother.

"There was so much love and so much attention placed on what we did have," she says. "By no means did we have it easy."

Her mother worked as an executive at a hotel. Ferrera was a self-proclaimed "ham" who loved to entertain family and friends. By age 7, Ferrera knew she wanted to be an actress.

"I always grabbed the video camera or a tape recorder and sat with my friends for hours, making up radio shows," she says.

Her first major role was in a Disney Channel movie called "Gotta Kick It Up," a cheerleading dance movie.

"I played the best friend to the main character, but I never saw myself playing those 'best friend' characters," she says. "I always saw myself doing something more."

Hollywood, with its typecasting ways, isn't always forgiving for women who aren't the idea of perfection. Ferrera, though, wanted to break out of that before it cursed her career.

At 17, she decided more opportunities would come through independent films. "Real Women Have Curves," a coming-of-age comedy, set the tone for her career so far.

When actress Salma Hayek was developing "Ugly Betty" for American audiences, she was familiar with Ferrera and sought her out.

"Ugly Betty" is based on the telenovela that was a hit worldwide before coming to the States. When it premiered here in September, "Ugly Betty" came on the upscale heels of "The Devil Wears Prada."

Ferrera says the universality of "Ugly Betty" is why audiences have taken to it so. "If you ask anyone if they have ever felt ugly and they say they haven't, they are lying," she says. "One of the things our show addresses is the ridiculous standards the entertainment industry has."

The same media that Ferrera condemns for their unrealistic standards of beauty also attacked the show early on. The title "Ugly Betty" was considered sexist by many critics.

"The title 'Ugly Betty' is really ironic," she says. "It's not about how she perceives herself or even how the audience is supposed to perceive her. It's about the irony."

The beauty of the story is in Betty's determination.

"She doesn't even see herself the way other people see her," Ferrera says. "The painful thing is that people can't see past that. They won't listen to her. They won't listen to her words. To her, that's a shame. The beautiful part about Betty is that she forgives. She forgives so much. She forgives people who don't deserve her forgiveness."

There's no denying, though, that "Ugly Betty" has harsh undertones to its story. Betty may have found her big break in publishing, but it comes at her own expense. Her co-workers are often cruel and make her life miserable.

In some ways, though, they feed into what Betty thinks of herself.

"What she wears and how she walks is all very much an act," Ferrera says.

"It's a safety net for her. When you're afraid of the world, you find something to hide behind."

That darkness will remain as a key element to the story. So don't expect to see Betty lose the gaudy clothes and tacky braces soon.

"Everybody wants to see Betty change into this beautiful swan to complete the story," Ferrera says. "But the real story is how we will see Betty change inward, and how that will affect the way she will look on the outside."

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cW VlRUV5eTcwNTQ2ODkmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

fredfa

01-11-07, 07:46 PM

Source?

Marc Berman's PI blog.
http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/63310451/m/11110272/p/7

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:50 PM

TV Notebook
‘Philadelphia’ producers/stars say it’s always sunny at FX
By Rick Kushman, Sacramento Bee - January 11, 2007

This is not a news flash: traditional TV sitcoms are struggling. And if this were a traditional sitcom, a precocious preteen would have had a snappy little put-down for me for even saying that.

This is a big part of the problem. We always know what’s coming, and that’s why the new generation of TV comedies, the un-sitcoms like NBC’s “The Office” and “My Name is Earl,” HBO’s “Entourage,” or almost anything on Comedy Central, are connecting. In big part, it’s because they’re fresh.

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” a cheeky, shameless little comedy returning to FX this summer, is a good example of that new TV wave, and the producers/stars were here this week, talking about how TV comedy may be changing.

“Always Sunny” is written and produced by its stars, and it’s been given some room by FX to experiment, and to be shameless. And the foundation of any good comedy, or any good show, period, is to find creators with a strong idea, and let them run with it.

“Humor by committee (standard sitcoms usually get written by a group) doesn’t necessarily work,” said Charlie Day, one of the producer/stars. “The FX guys give us a lot of liberty and a lot of trust, and they’re letting three basically unknown, unproven guys produce a show and just put it out there. They’ll steer us in the right direction a lot of times, but they trust our humor.”

Rob McElhenney, another producer/star of the show, says a lot of networks want shows to fit a style or demographic and force a worn-out, or an out-of-sync approach, on comedy writers.

“I have a lot of writer friends who are really talented and a lot funnier than I am, who work on a lot of those (not-so-funny) shows. And they say they wind up being dictated to what they can and can’t actually do or show,” McElhenney said.

“We also trust our audiences,” Day said. “I feel like a lot of shows don’t do that, especially comedies where they spend a lot of time telegraphing the jokes, saying let’s make sure our audience gets the joke. A lot of times, we’ll just sort of point the camera at the action and say, you know what? The audience is smart enough to find what’s funny about this.”

So, their biggest argument is that it comes down to finding good people and letting them do their jobs — like in pretty much anything.

“There are people out there trying to push the envelope in a lot of different ways, and those are the funny shows and some are on the big networks, too,” McElhenney said.

“I feel like those shows probably have a really strong, creative show runner that the network is trusting,” Day said. “So maybe this is the direction that comedy’s heading.”

http://www.sacbee.com/127/story/105893.html

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:51 PM

TV Review
Back-to-Back Jack
Scariest '24' Yet, So Damn Real
By Adam Buckman, New York Post - January 11, 2007

"24" - Sunday and Monday nights at 8 on Fox
Rating: Four Stars (Out of Four)

Have you ever stop to think what would happen if even superman Jack Bauer couldn't save us from the terrorists?

You'd get a situation something like the one that unfolds this weekend on the season premiere of "24": An entire nation under continuous attack by suicide bombers, transforming our cities into American Baghdads.

It's a scenario more nightmarish than any we've seen before on "24" because it feels so real.

The attacks - on buses, on subways and in shopping malls in cities including Chicago, San Antonio, Baltimore and L.A. - are the ones we've all been bracing for in real life, whether we admit it to ourselves or not.

As the sixth season of "24" begins, we learn that the attacks have been underway for about 11 weeks in at least 10 cities.

There are simply too many of them for one counter-terrorist agent to prevent, no matter how skillful he might be.

Fortunately, though, the probable mastermind behind the attacks is located in Los Angeles, which happens to be Jack Bauer's home turf.

And once again, Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is the man the government is calling on to take out the ringleader, despite the fact that Jack has just spent nearly two years being tortured by the Chinese, during which time he did not utter a single word.

Then, suddenly, within 15 minutes or so after being dropped off by the Chinese - wearing a long, shaggy beard and shuffling like a near-catatonic POW - he's back barking orders into his cellphone and ranging all over L.A. in hot pursuit of a terrorist kingpin.

OK - so plausibility is not this show's strong suit. It never has been. This show is about suspense, action and violence. And, as a look at the show's first four hours reveals, all three have been taken up several notches in the series' sixth season.

Do you like your fingernails? Then I suggest you wear gloves. Otherwise, when watching this, you're liable to bite them right down to the quick.

In its depiction of sudden, blunt force, this show is like a clenched fist. In one scene, an escape is accomplished Hannibal Lecter-style, with a vicious bite to a captor's throat. In another scene, a hardened terrorist who refuses to talk has his tongue loosened with a kitchen knife driven straight through his knee.

Despite all the mayhem afflicted on various bad guys, it is Jack Bauer who, once again, is forced to endure more pain than 10 terrorists put together.

It makes you wonder how much this guy can take before he decides he's had enough.

In the new season of "24," Jack's pain threshold is higher than ever, and so are the stakes.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01112007/tv/back_to_back_jack_tv_adam_buckman.htm

dad1153

01-11-07, 07:59 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
My day at ‘The Office’
By Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post-Dispatch - January 11, 2007

I’m saving a lot of the details from my set visit to “The Office” for a story I’m writing when I get back, but in short — very cool. I arranged this with the help of Phyllis Smith, who plays Phyllis and spends several months a year in St. Louis with her parents, and she really gave me a great tour.

We parked in Dunder-Mifflin employee parking, in Phyllis Lapin’s space, and went in just the way a visitor would. The office set is exactly the way it looks on TV, with usable desks and everybody’s personal stuff all around. They were shooting that day on the warehouse set, so the office was empty, but while I was there, Rainn Wilson (Dwight) came in and let me play with his bobblehead. We also went into Michael’s office and looked at the stuff on his desk.

Then we went to the warehouse and watched them rehearse; the episode they were shooting is about Bob Vance’s bachelor party. (Bob and Phyllis will get married during February sweeps.) I talked briefly with Steve Carell, who is not very tall but quite attractive when he’s just being himself.

Finally, we had lunch — very healthy stuff, fish and vegetables — with the cast and crew. We sat with Leslie David Baker, who plays Stanley and is one of Phyllis’ best friends. She showed me her trailer, a tiny space with a bathroom, microwave, little TV, etc., and then we met Paul Lieberstein, who plays Toby and is also a writer on the show. Then I came home. In all, I was over there a couple of hours.

We also have formal set visits to “Ugly Betty,” “Studio 60″ and “NCIS” coming up next week, and “lunch at CTU with Jack Bauer.”

http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/entertainment-tube-talk/2007/01/my-day-at-the-office/

fredfa

01-11-07, 08:04 PM

It is funny how some of these critics seem more easily impressed than we viewers are.

"The office set is exactly the way it looks on TV..."

Yuh think?

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:06 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Where the Coffee's Free and the Girls Are Pretty
James Poniewozik's Time "Tuned In" Blog - January 11, 2007

PASADENA -- Oooh! I love bylines! Makes me feel all reporter-y!

People who say that being a TV critic involves nothing more than sitting on your can and pretending to care about TV shows don't know what they're talking about. Sometimes it involves sitting on your can and pretending to care about the people in TV shows. This week is the cable TV critics' winter press tour, where cable networks hold wall-to-wall press conferences about their winter and spring offerings. The assembled "critics" (which often as not are actually TV beat reporters or trade-magazine journalists) are plyed with free food, drinks, coffee, smoothies and such, in exchange which they pretend to be deeply engaged in, for instance, "High Maintenance 90210," the new E! reality show about a butler.

Currently, we're questioning the panel for "Paradise City," the Ryan Seacrest-produced E! reality show about Las Vegas business. (Yes, they do use the Guns 'n' Roses song, and no, I will not be able to get it out of my head for the next 4 days.) The compact here is for us to pretend to be interested in a Seacrest project other than American Idol, questions about which would be in poor form. (Questions about The Ryan Seacrest Show, even more so.)

Seacrest did graciously offer his opinion of being called "the devil" in a men's magazine profile: "I guess it's flattering." Beyond that, the assembled writers are doing a yeoman's job filling the awkward silences with questions. One asks a cast member if there's any benefit to doing the show beyond TV exposure.

There is no benefit greater than TV exposure, sir! Someone seize that man's press credentials!

http://time.blogs.com/tuned_in/2007/01/where_the_coffe.html

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:07 PM

It is funny how some of these critics seem more easily impressed than we viewers are.

"The office set is exactly the way it looks on TV..."

Yuh think?

Gail is going to pass out when she visits the "Studio 60" set next week on the Warner lot. Gosh, how I envy her! :D

CPanther95

01-11-07, 08:12 PM

It is funny how some of these critics seem more easily impressed than we viewers are.

"The office set is exactly the way it looks on TV..."

Yuh think?

Maybe he thought the desks and copier were CGI - and the forklifts were miniatures. :D

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:19 PM

TV Notebook
Just keep telling yourself: It's only a TV show...
Fox's "24" returns with reality-jarring action scenes and a story line that effectively mines current tensions
By Peter Ames Carlin, The Oregonian - January 10, 2007

Maybe the best news is that the most realistic show hitting the airwaves in the next few days is actually a fiction.

Because that show turns out to be Sunday's season premiere of Fox's cliffhanger thriller "24." And what it captures so vividly is how quickly fear can turn into paranoia and then, inevitably, into widespread hostility.

All the footage of buses exploding, of bloodied, dazed victims sprawled on city sidewalks, of the high-stakes debate between protecting the rights guaranteed in the nation's Constitution versus protecting the lives of its citizens.

It's all very authentic-seeming. So much so that it doesn't pull you to the edge of your seat so much as push you back into it, with increasing dread.

Relax. It's only "24," you know.

Just the start of a season chock-full of explosions, chases, shootouts and other typical action-movie beats. And though "24," among all action franchises, has shown the greatest willingness to surprise -- particularly when it comes to the sudden, shocking sacrifice of leading characters -- you can go into the sixth season already anticipating exactly how this dramatic roller coaster will climb, fall, twist and loop-de-loop its way through its 24 real-time episodes.

You'll love it or you won't. I tend to find it overwhelming, and not necessarily in a good way, either. Turns out that 24 straight hours of panic and mayhem aren't what I'm after vis-a-vis entertainment. But I also understand that your appetites may be quite different. And I've seen enough of "24" over the years to know that it offers high-level anxiety. And apart from the occasional bout of amnesia, near-fatal wounds (the effects of which dissipate in a matter of hours) and/or some howler lines of dialogue, it's a corker of an action show.

If only because it jump-starts its tick-boom-smash from the same currents of angst flowing through America's real consciousness. In this case, we're talking about that apparent conflict between freedom and safety.

This is evoked by a sudden rash of bombings that have erupted around the United States. No one has taken credit for the weeks-long terror campaign, but "evidence points to Islamic militants," we hear on a Fox News report (corporate synergy, that). People are freaking. Turning on each other, in fact. All of which inspires the White House factions eager to open detention facilities to fill with as many Islamic usual suspects as possible.

The action takes place two years after the end of last season's crisis. The new president, Wayne Palmer (whose ascension into his slain big brother's Oval Office makes real Bobby Kennedy's bullet-ridden ambitions of 39 years ago), is leery about repeating Franklin Roosevelt's notorious jailing of Japanese Americans during World War II. But his chief of staff disagrees, and you can probably imagine how this debate plays out.

It's not long before "24's" real hero, unkillable superspy Jack Bauer, is sprung from the Chinese prison in which he's been languishing amid much torture, only to be delivered into the hands of this year's chief villain, whose multipronged ambitions include making Bauer pay for killing his brother in the midst of torturing him.

That's only a small road map to the many hairpins and curlicues that lie at the start of"24's" new season.

This looks familiar

As surprises go, "24" is nearly as predictable as NBC's "Grease: You're the One That I Want." Sunday's premiere episode tracked the first set of open-call auditions for actor/singer/dancers eager to catapult to theatrical stardom as the leads in a coming Broadway revival of the hit musical "Grease."

Do I even have to mention how closely this follows the structure of Fox's smash talent show "American Idol"?

Certainly the fact that the judges were the show's actual writer (Jim Jacobs, who was shockingly mean), director (Kathleen Marshall) and producer (David Ian, whose insensitivity stems from a very real financial anxiety) makes things a bit more interesting. But not enough. Not nearly enough.

It's much easier to locate the perverse pleasures of CBS' "Armed and Famous," in which five relatively low-watt celebs serve as cadet officers in the real police department of Muncie, Ind.

Imagine the illegitimate offspring of "COPS" and "The Surreal Life," and you'll just about have it. But just try to imagine a 50-ish LaToya Jackson -- the breathy voice, the artificially constructed pixie nose, the near-complete detachment from quotidian life -- wielding handcuffs and an extremely large automatic pistol. And she does it! So does Erik Estrada, late of the "CHiPs" franchise; Jason "Wee Man" Acuna, the dervish-like little person on "Jackass"; a trimmed-down Jack "son of Ozzy" Osbourne; and Trish Stratus, a statuesque ex-wrestler.

The training exercises run quickly and surprisingly easily. Turns out Osbourne is a terrific shot and, like Stratus, a born authoritarian. Estrada recalls the style points he learned during his years on the "CHiPs" set, and Acuna just likes being the center of attention. Soon the gang is deputized, assigned real cop partners and sent out onto Muncie's real streets.

This is where "Armed & Famous" zigs suddenly for the compelling. Because once they're confronted with real danger, and real heartbreak, the celebs lose their customary gloss and turn back into real humans.

The climax of the premiere, in which Stratus comforts a sobbing family that has just lost everything in a house fire, is staggering. Not just for the awful wails of a grade-schooler who has just seen his home destroyed, but also for the immediate and apparently real human generosity Stratus and her partner show to the entire family.

http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/peter_carlin/index.ssf?/base/living/1168383367264610.xml&coll=7

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:24 PM

BTW, a new episode of Armed & Dangerous is airing tonight (8PM) right now on the East Coast. Just a heads-up to West Coast viewers that liked the Wednesday premiere and want to watch more of the same tonight.

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:34 PM

Fred really surprised me when he decided to cover the ongoing Trump-O'Donnell media feud by posting a couple of stories about it on this thread. I feel the topic was beneath this thread's standards and stayed away from it. But now that our fearless leader has set the path, here's today's Donald-Rosie update! :rolleyes:

TV Notebook
Rosie Future
Take That Trump! She May Revive Old Show
By Michael Starr, New York Post - January 11, 2007

Donald Trump's attacks on Rosie O'Donnell may have backfired - now she's talking about hosting her own talk show again.

Sources say O'Donnell, 44, has been talking to Telepictures about reviving "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" - the popular, Emmy-winning chat show that ran from 1996 to 2002.

The news came as O'Donnell and Barbara Walters looked like BFFs again on "The View" yesterday - high-fiving each other and dismissing as "pathetic" Trump's attempts to drive them apart.

In a letter to O'Donnell The Post printed yesterday, The Donald viciously accused Walters of talking behind O'Donnell's back and lying to her face.

According to Trump, Walters told him, "Donald, never get into the mud with pigs," and "Don't worry, she won't be here for long."

O'Donnell and Walters took the high road as the show opened.

"How about that, Barbara? You OK?" O'Donnell asked.

"I'm OK, darling," Walters said. "You OK?"

"I'm OK, too," O'Donnell said. "We both OK? What can you say about that guy?"

"That poor, pathetic man," Walters said sadly - and the two high-fived.

Then they hit him where he hurts most: they never mentioned him again.

Trump, naturally, issued a statement.

"Barbara has taken the low road for the sake of her show rather than the sake of her morality," he said. "She lied with [past co-host] Star Jones and now she has chosen to lie again.

"They didn't even have the courage to mention me by name," he said. "It was sad to see Barbara read her statement off a cue card. Rosie just pushed her out like a 'pathetic' puppet."

Trump's feud with O'Donnell started after she criticized his handling of the Miss USA coke- and-partying scandal. Trump, who's new version of "The Apprentice" is conveniently just hitting the air, took the opportunity to call her "fat" and "a loser."

O'Donnell's show for Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., was extremely popular before its ratings faltered.

Ratings for "The View" spiked when Rosie joined in the fall.

O'Donnell made it clear last year that she had issues with "The View" not being "her show."

Her deal on "The View" expires in September.

"We are not talking to Rosie O'Donnell," a spokeswoman for Warner Bros. said yesterday.

"Rosie's contract is with ABC Daytime and we don't know what her future plans will be at this time," said O'Donnell's publicist, Cindi Berger.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01112007/news/nationalnews/rosie_future_nationalnews_michael_starr.htm
____________________________________________________________ _____

I was under the impression O'Donnell's show was doing fine when she decided to end it while it was still doing fine to spend more time with her adopted children. Is that line about her show's ratings being on the decline when she left true? I know we're talking about the New York Post here but even a broken clock strikes the right time twice a day.

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:40 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
TV Press Tour, minus the news
David Kronke's Los Angeles Daily News Blog - January 11, 2007

Members of the Television Critics Association have been sitting through the MTV Networks' (Comedy Central, Spike, VH1, et al) session for the past two hours, and, naturally, some of it has been particularly excrutiating. (A reality show about washed-up boy-band members living together, anyone?)

So, nothing else to do except surf the web, and discover that something you might imagine might've come up as a news item at some point during these alleged "press conferences" -- the resignation of the COO of MTV Networks Michael Wolf -- yet somehow has gone mysterious unmentioned.

Honestly, did it not occur to them that this actuall might qualify as news, rather than shows about guys fighting each other ("The Ultimate Fighter") or driving recklessly ("Bullrun")?

Instead, we have Mark Burnett, who'll produce the MTV Movie Awards, discoursing on his "Apprentice" colleague Donald Trump on his feud with Rosie O'Donnell: "Do I have any control over him? Are you #%$@ing kidding me? ... It's quiet today, and I''m really kind of happy it's quiet."

Well, it's quiet, but during this MTV Networks session, for all the wrong reasons.

*UPDATE: Well, once again, it fell upon Your Mayor to pose the question: "It’s my understanding that news is supposed to disseminated during a press tour. Why have we been here for two and a half hours and no one has mentioned that MTV Networks COO Michael Wolf resigned today? And what can you tell us about the particulars of his resignation?"

Shockingly, MTV's Brian Graden dodged the question.

http://www.insidesocal.com/tv/2007/01/tv_press_tour_minus_the_news.html

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:42 PM

Marc Berman's PI blog.
http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/63310451/m/11110272/p/7

Wow, nice link. Lots of cool info to look at here, thanks! :)

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:46 PM

TV Review
“24” is back with a vengeance
By Mark A. Perigard, Boston Herald - January 11, 2007

“24” Season premiere Sunday at 8 p.m. on WFXT (Ch. 25).
Grade: A-

Suicide bombers are killing thousands across America.

New president Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside) is so powerless, he’s driven to negotiate with one terrorist to find another.

And after two years of captivity in a Chinese prison, counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) finally returns to American soil - where the government expects him to make the ultimate sacrifice.

The Emmy award-winning drama “24” returns for a sixth season on Sunday (on WFXT, Ch. 25), with another two-hour bloc airing Monday.

It’s network crack, pure and driven, and if you want to keep your dreams clear and free, go watch VH1. Those who welcome an addictive rush, be warned. “24” is back with a vengeance.

How to top last season’s nail-biter of a season? Judging from the first four episodes, the creative team has plucked our subconscious national insecurities for an arc that goes where no “24” has gone before.

Bauer’s greatest enemy this round isn’t another terrorist (though there are plenty of those around). It’s himself. After two years of torture (and some horrific scars), he no longer believes in himself.

The nation is on the verge of becoming an armed camp. One presidential adviser (Peter MacNicol), derided for treating the Constitution like a list of suggestions, urges the president to move forward with detention camps for Muslim Americans.

Unusual for “24,” there’s a lot of talk about civil liberties, but the exposition is at odds with the visuals.

While sympathetic characters decry a repeat of the policy that detained thousands of innocent Japanese Americans during World War II, we discover the new camps apparently hold terrorists.

One family’s attempt to protect a Muslim neighbor (a miscast Kal Penn, “Van Wilder 2”) turns into the ultimate suburban nightmare from hell. The most heroic Muslim in the first four episodes is a terrorist responsible for the deaths of thousands who has now pledged to join the political mainstream. His involvement ultimately costs Jack dearly, but if I say any more Fox will napalm my house.

Those familiar CTU folks are in place, but everyone seems a bit rusty at their jobs. Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub), tech girl turned hottie, almost blows one operation with some surreptitious satellite spying.

I can say this: Monday’s conclusion ends with Jack beaten by his own demons, devastated by the depths of his actions.

“I don’t know how to do this anymore,” he says at one point.

But that’s not the worst of it. What is worse is what Jack sees when he looks up into the sky.

The clock starts ticking again Sunday at 8 p.m.

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/tvNews/view.bg?articleid=176598

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:50 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Taking a Pasadena
Peter Ames Carlin's The Oregonian Blog - January 11, 2007

Welcome back to the business. And the show. And the endlessly scheduled, highly-organized fun that is so very extravagant you almost don't want to admit it - not to the folks at home, anyway. Because if they really knew what you were up to during your weeks-long stints down here there's just no way they'd let you get away with it.

This because it's hard to explain. Until you're here, smack in the middle of another TV Critics Association Press Tour, where business has the flash and glam of a show and every show is actually part of a business. A big business. No, a really big business.

Except never mind the man behind the curtain, because isn't that Sting standing over there by the espresso bar? Probably, yes. And don't even ask who he's standing with. You'd scream. I just did.

Actually I didn't. If only because Sting - and Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller and Ben E. King, I think, and more, music legends the lot of them - won't be here for another couple of days. Helping to promote shows that will soon appear not on CBS or MTV or even A&E, for God's sake, but on PBS. Who knew educational TV could be that glam?

Oh, but everything here is somehow bright and shiny, and/or loud and/or produced or part-owned by Jennifer Lopez (she's here right now!). Which is only impressive until you remember that Hollywood in general and the TV biz in particular are really factories like any other, stamping out products for consumption in the marketplace. And so all your favorite celebs? The actors, musicians, comedians, celebrities, stars and super-duper stars? Salespeople. With really nice skin, it's true, and an aggregate charm and sexiness that could eclipse the electrical grid in a mid-sized American city. But still.

And yet I'm happy to be back at another TCA press tour. It's fun, for one thing. But mostly fascinating to be neck-deep in the entertainment industry. To have such an up-close-and-personal perspective on the ways and means of modern American entertainment. Which, last time I checked, was dominating all media south of the planet Neptune. If you 're interested in pop culture, there's nowhere else to be in the next ten days.

I'm happier still to be covering the fun in a whole new way - blogging it, most immediately, and then distilling the most interesting of that stuff into newspaper columns. What results will be more fractal than the usual essay-style pieces I produce. But more immediate. More vivid. And just jam-packed full of fun.

The real blogging starts tomorrow. I'm just warming up now. So watch this space.

http://petercarlin.blogs.oregonlive.com/default.asp?item=428942

dad1153

01-11-07, 08:58 PM

TV on DVD
'Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series'
By Larry Roberts, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - January 11, 2007

RATING: Three Stars (Out of Four)

When the long-running "Doctor Who" left the BBC airwaves in 1989, it wasn't really the end for the Doctor, who continued to appear in books and radio programs marketed on compact discs. The Doctor had also gained a foothold in the United States, where PBS stations broadcast the campy series, complete with cardboard sets and a history that had seen the title figure regenerate (fresh appearance, different actor) seven times.

Even in the face of an ill-fated network TV movie made in the United States, highlighted by yet an eighth regeneration, the BBC launched an entirely new series, this time with modern production techniques. With Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler, the first season was a solid hit in the U.K. before landing on the Sci Fi Channel last year.

The second season brings a new face for the Doctor, now played by David Tennant, and a wonderful series of adventures. Tennant is one of the most exhilarating and exuberant actors to take on the role of the Time Lord, and his energy leaves his associates and the viewer breathless as he confronts old enemies like the Cybermen and runs headlong into a traveling companion from the years of the third (John Pertwee) and fourth (Tom Baker) Doctors.

What is compelling about the series and its new six-DVD package set, "Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series" ($99.98; BBC Warner) is that it is edgy television that is not dependent on the earlier broadcasts. For aficionados, what's remarkable about the second season is the emotional entanglements and the rise of passions, which never seemed to involve the impassive Time Lord over the years.

The cherry on this earthly sundae are the special features, including video diaries by Piper and Tennant, a view of the technical construction of the stories and special effects, truly funny outtakes, deleted scenes and a detailed look at the Eccleston Doctor becoming the Tennant Doctor -- creating a bridge between the first and second series.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07011/752729-237.stm

dad1153

01-11-07, 09:00 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
ESPN: Not Playing Hardball Anymore
James Poniewozik's Time "Tuned In" Blog - January 11, 2007

ESPN's presentations--the funny promotional ads, the energy, the explosive graphics--are almost enough to make me wish I actually cared about sports. Even the opening panel in ESPN's morning, about NASCAR--which I should have identified with having survived the slog up the 110 to Pasadena list night--didn't quite do the trick for me, however. Broadcasting legend Brent Musberger, on stage for the panel, marvelled at the number of laptops he saw in the audience. I hope he will take no personal offense to learn that I was using mine, at least part of the time, to check stock quotes.

I do care about TV series, though, so I was eager to see clips from the summer miniseries, The Bronx Is Burning, based on the Jonathan Mahler book about how the 1977 New York Yankees became a shining light for a city suffering through a blackout and the Son of Sam killings. The series looks promising, with John Turturro as manager Billy Martin, Oliver Platt as George Steinbrenner (he may finally have found a part he can't overact) and Daniel Sunjata of Rescue Me as Reggie Jackson. (Only Sunjata showed up for the panel.)

But I was surprised to see ESPN describing The Bronx Is Burning as the network's "most ambitious" scripted show ever. I think most critics would consider that title to belong to Playmakers--the outstanding, scathing pro-football series a few years back that critics loved, audiences watched, and ESPN cancelled--essentially, because the NFL hated its portrayal of steroid and drug use. Since most of the (mostly male) TV writers in the room actually seemed to know something about sports and asked questions involving points of baseball history, I took it on myself to ask the party-pooping question: were Bronx (and Ruffian, an inspirational horse-racing movie coming up) indications that ESPN's scripted shows had to be more positive about the sports they covered, post-Playmakers?

To his credit, ESPN senior VP Ron Semiao gave me a straight answer: Yes. "Playmakers was a work of fiction," he said, "and it upset a very important rights-holder." I was surprised, having spent years hearing TV execs weasel out off questions like this. But maybe they just prefer their straight talk in the sports world; or, maybe in the sports world, where there's a more collusive relationship between the networks and the leagues they cover, there's just not as much shame in rolling over to appease a big partner.

Either way, kudos for ESPN for being unafraid to tell the ugly truth. Except on, you know, the actual shows.

http://time.blogs.com/tuned_in/2007/01/espns_presentat.html

dad1153

01-11-07, 09:07 PM

TV Notebook
Success at 'Office' leads to rewarding work
By David Bianculli, New York Daily News - January 11, 2007

When Ricky Gervais starred as office manager David Brent in the British version of "The Office," he and co-creator Stephen Merchant wrote 12 episodes over two seasons, a holiday special, and then pulled the plug.
They plan the same finite run for "Extras," which stars them both, and which begins its second season of six episodes Sunday night at 10 on HBO.

"You've got to give it your best shot, and get in and out," Gervais told the Daily News. "You've got to jab and move.

"I don't know if I can brag about the body of work because I have only done 15 hours of TV," he added. "But what I can be proud of is the batting average. I knew the batting average would be higher if I didn't do as much."

The NBC version, for which Gervais is one of the executive producers, has a tougher go of it. The BBC "Office" came from nowhere and got out after 12 episodes and a special. The American version, starring Steve Carell as the office manager, already has logged 40 episodes.

"The more they left us behind, the better they got," Gervais said of the U.S. variant.

"Even when the ratings weren't too good, they stuck to their guns," he said. "Every other remake [of a British show] I've heard of was canceled after episode three - and NBC didn't do that."

"Extras," too, has grown as it has continued. Last season, Gervais' Andy Millman was a struggling film and TV extra trying to land a speaking role. This season, he has gotten what he wished for, and is starring in the production of a sitcom he wrote himself - but it's being diluted and rewritten to the point where he's miserable.

Guests this year, playing exaggerated versions of themselves, include Orlando Bloom, Daniel Radcliffe, and David Bowie, who hears of Andy's sad plight and writes a blistering song about him. In real life, Gervais wrote the proposed lyrics and sent them to Bowie, who agreed to appear on "Extras" and come up with a suitable tune to play on the piano.

"I spoke to David on the phone," Gervais said, explaining he suggested Bowie write something "anthemic" like "Life on Mars."

"And he went, 'Oh, sure, I'll just knock off a "Life on Mars" for you.' And what he came up with was perfect. We wanted uber-Bowie ... and he did that."

And in mounting an intentionally bad sitcom within the good comedy that is "Extras," Gervais and Merchant get to indulge in another pet passion: the stunning absurdity of unfunny sitcoms with loud laugh tracks, their favorite example of which is "The Flintstones."

"It's incredible," Gervais said. "It's a cartoon of cavemen. Where is the audience? And the strange thing is, me and Steven are obsessed with it ... because Fred gets bigger laughs than Barney."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/487714p-410669c.html

• • • • • • • • • • •

TV Review
An 'Extras' special show
By David Bianculli, New York Daily News - January 11, 2007

"Extras" Sunday, 10 p.m., HBO.
Rating: Four Stars (Out of Four)

One scene from the new season of "Extras," the HBO comedy series starring Ricky Gervais as an actor-writer trying to make it in show business, is already in heavy rotation on Youtube.com - and deservedly so.

In the series, returning Sunday night at 10, Gervais' Andy Millman has tasted just enough success, in a featured role on a BBC sitcom he wrote himself, to talk his way into a club's cordoned-off VIP area. There, he strikes up a conversation with David Bowie.

Bowie listens to Andy's heartfelt confessions about selling out his artistic vision, and embarrassing himself, by diluting his character and sitcom just to taste a bit of fame and success. Andy expects Bowie to be sympathetic.

Instead, Bowie is inspired to improvise a new tune to the delight of everyone - everyone, that is, but Andy.

"Pathetic little fat man," Bowie sings, "no one's bloody laughing/ The clown that no one laughs at/ They all just wish he'd die."

That episode arrives next week. The week after that is an episode featuring Daniel Radcliffe, the "Harry Potter" star, as a fumblingly lecherous version of himself, and Dame Diana Rigg in a cameo that provides the most memorable introductory scene of her long career.

On Sunday, for the second-season opener, the A-list guest star is Orlando Bloom, playing himself - or a riotously vain version of himself - as headliner of a movie in which Andy's best friend, Maggie (Ashley Jensen, now of "Ugly Betty"), works as an extra.

Meanwhile, Andy, through little or no help from his agent (a hilarious Stephen Merchant, Gervais' co-creator of both this series and the original British "Office"), has sold his sitcom script for "When the Whistle Blows" to the BBC.

It's his big shot. But while season one of "Extras" was about Andy trying to get noticed, this season is about him getting what he wished for - and regretting it as much as enjoying it. It's a clever spin on the series, and Gervais is as good a comic actor as he is a writer - which is to say, he's brilliant.

As with the Gervais-Merchant "The Office," the more time you spend with the characters in "Extras," the more you feel their pain as well as laugh at their expense.

"Extras" is a comedy with a heart - yet the empathy feeds, rather than detracts from, the humor. Bowie's lyrical assessment notwithstanding, if you watch "Extras," you will indeed find yourself bloody laughing.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/487709p-410662c.html

dad1153

01-11-07, 09:18 PM

TV Review
The True Meaning of ‘Au Naturel'
By Brendan Bernhard, New York Sun - January 9, 2007

In a city in which animal life is largely confined to dogs, cats, pigeons, squirrels, and rats, pretty much any episode of the venerable PBS series "Nature" is apt to strike the viewer as a cornucopia of the exotic. In that sense, "The Best of ‘Nature': 25 Years," the 90-minute anniversary episode airing on PBS this coming Sunday, may paradoxically seem like the same ol' same ol'. You know, Madagascar moths with tongues like whips, pregnant male seahorses, lovelorn elephants, melancholy chimps, cute polar bears, and the usual array of snuff-film predators.

And of course there are also human beings, those anthropomorphizing creatures that make documentaries like this one. That we can fall in love with practically anything that moves is not in question, but the jury is still out as to exactly what, and how much, the movers feel for us.

This anniversary episode gets off to a rollicking start with nature's version of a high-speed car chase. The cheetah, we are told, is the fastest creature on the African plain; the gazelle is the secondfastest. Unfortunately for the gazelle, it's also the cheetah's favored prey and has been for millions of years. Talk about bad luck. Still, there's a kind of gentleman's agreement at work, since it seems the cheetah (the cat as serial-killer, face like a death-mask), doesn't begin to chase until the gazelle (bulbous, long-lashed eyes, quivering snout) begins to flee. But after that it's really no contest, like a race between a steroidal sprinter of today versus one of 50 years ago. The end is clinical: a repeated artful tripping of the gazelle's back legs, much like a dirty soccer player, followed by a thrusting two-pawed takedown and a ferocious bite to the neck.

Gazelles have a remarkably tough time on this program. We are shown footage of a female gazelle patiently prodding a pompous baboon with its horns until the latter, which has been trying to steal the gazelle's baby, gives up and flees. But this is nothing compared with the scene that follows: A few dozen gazelles need to cross a river that is home to at least as many submerged crocodiles. "What happens next," as the narrator puts it, "is a scene of extraordinary terror." You can say that again.

Host Lynn Sherr, dressed in a pristine white pantsuit in a darkened studio featuring luminous images of penguins, apes, giraffes, and the like, describes all this as the "eternal battle between predator and prey." It's also the bread-and-butter of nature programs, which tend to be about either killing or cuddling. Animals are cute, animals are cruel. They're nurturers, they're murderers. Who could fail to be moved by the footage of a mama polar bear protecting her astoundingly tiny offspring from the cold under the sweeping northern lights? Yet the same polar bear would happily fell you with a single swipe of her mighty paw.

The program's visuals are unfailingly thrilling, whether grainy (a long-distance sighting of a Himalayan snow-leopard) or up close and personal in the "wet monsoon forests," which are "a paradise for creatures that slither, crawl, and hop." The forests are particularly paradisial for creatures such as the chameleon, whose long, sticky tongue shoots out at revolting length and speed to impale some poor unsuspecting stick insect. The voyeuristic element in such scenes, in which we peek in on nature at its most cutthroat, should not be underestimated. It's a bit like spying on a group of unbelievably weird neighbors.

Underwater life is examined, from tadpoles to whales, and we are shown a bird (the male manakin) that does a remarkably good version of a Michael Jackson moonwalk. Perhaps nothing is as astounding as a million-strong flock of finches in the Kalahari desert, swirling across the sky like an ever-changing abstract painting by Seurat.

As it develops, "The Best of Nature" turns its lens not only on animals, but also on the people who photograph and tend to them. We meet a woman, Linda Koebner, who once monitored a group of chimps who had been placed in a wildlife refuge as a reward for the years they had spent serving as guinea pigs for the development of the hepatitis vaccine. Eighteen years later, the woman, who remembers the chimps vividly, returns to see them. Will they remember her? They seem to. One of them grins wildly, politely displays his bottom, and then wraps her in a furry embrace. Tears pour down the woman's cheeks.

"Certainly the bond between pet and owner can be as strong and as deep as any human relationship," Ms. Sherr claims, which may be going too far. But the story of an old man forced to flee New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, leaving behind his only companion, "Con-Cat" — so called because she conned him into taking care of her — and his subsequent return to find Con-Cat safe, leaves no doubt that the relationship can be very strong on the human side. Con-Cat, I have to say, seems pretty cool over the whole reunion thing — "OK, so you're back" — but that of course is the essence of feline charm.

Last comes the relationship between a black man, Solomon James, and an Asian elephant, Shirley, in a Louisiana zoo. Shirley, 52, hasn't seen a member of her tribe in a quarter century, as the zoo can't accommodate a second elephant. But now she's being moved to a wildlife preserve where she'll rejoin an elephant she knew in her youth: They were in a circus together. Mr. James, who's been hosing her down, patting her trunk, and whispering sweet nothings in the direction of her floppy ears for decades, clearly loves her. But what does Shirley feel for him? A close-up of her wrinkled eye proves impermeable to interpretation. There's no doubting her joy, however, at being reunited with her own kind as she and her longlost mate wander ecstatically through sun-dappled meadows like Adam and Eve, giant pachyderm division. "Finally!" you can imagine her thinking. "Someone with a trunk!"

http://www.nysun.com/article/46278

dad1153

01-11-07, 09:28 PM

Weren't we talking about Larry King's radio career a few days ago? Well lookie here what I found:

TV Notebook
King of All Media
Glenn Garvin's Miami Herald "Changing Channels" Blog - January 11, 2007

Interviewing Larry King this week for a feature scheduled to run in Sunday's Herald -- he's celebrating his 50th year in broadcasting this spring -- I uncovered a bit of esoterica that should be my ticket to inclusion on a Trivial Pursuit card. It seems that in 1974, when a series of bad-debt and bounced-check scandals had put an end to King's broadcasting career in Miami, he got a job in San Francisco at KGO radio. But literally the day he arrived, he got word that his mother had fallen seriously ill back in Miami. So he turned his car around and headed back to take care of her. Soon after his return, Miami radio station WIOD announced that all was forgiven and he could have his show back. That soon springboarded into an all-night show on the Mutual Network, which in turn led to his CNN gig, and King never made it back to San Francisco.

What makes this road-not-taken story interesting is the job King had been scheduled to do in San Francisco: play-by-play on University of California football games. That might very well have meant he would have been at the mike a few years later during when Cal pulled off that infamous last-second kickoff return against Stanford. Just imagine it: "The band is on the field! The band is on the field! But first, let's talk to Angelina Jolie for a minute about her next film project..."

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/changing_channels/

dad1153

01-11-07, 09:36 PM

CES 2007
CBS and Disney, open vs. closed
Commentary: Opposing messages from media kingpins
By Bambi Francisco, CBS Marketwatch.com - January 11, 2007

CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co. couldn't have sent more opposing messages at the Consumer Electronics Show this week.

Unfortunately, few companies can pull off a closed-platform or walled-garden strategy, with the exception of Apple Inc., whose new iPhone underscores its supreme knack for design and elegance in combining hardware and software. (Read why I think Apple stock rises above $125 this year.)

Openness is even more critical when it comes to media on the Web, where walled gardens apparently are a turn-off to a generation that likes to choose. Essentially on the Net, deliverers of content cannot expect to be the sole producer of the content consumed. All I have to say is "AOL."

CBS President and Chief Executive Leslie Moonves displayed this openness during his CES keynote in Las Vegas this week, where he announced that the media company's deals with YouTube and Second Life. "These companies are helping us extend the digital and interactive reach of our world-class assets, and build deeper connections with our audiences," he said.

In the YouTube deal, the video site owned by Google Inc. will host a contest for the best 15-second inspirational video. It's an interesting idea that actually may turn into a repository of complaints about companies and the war.

For instance, my colleague Rex Crum, who recently had a poor experience with an airline, would use his 15 seconds to express the following: "Don't fly on American Airlines." I can imagine other videos with people saying, "Bring back the troops." Or as I just heard Elaine in a "Seinfeld" episode say: "War. What is it good for?"
The 15 seconds, thank goodness, are less than the 40 seconds Oscar winners are allowed in their award-acceptance speeches.

The winner -- chosen not by the YouTube community, but rather by YouTube and CBS -- will air on CBS. Good promotional partnership on both sides, in my opinion. Too bad that CBS and YouTube don't have a Yahoo Answers, or a site for the best shortest speeches. I'm sure people will go to the Web for ideas on how to inspire people in 15 seconds.

In the Second Life deal, CBS will incorporate a Star Trek environment in the virtual world, and hopefully tap into interesting story ideas, based on how people interact, for future Star Trek productions. In both partnerships, CBS is basically saying to the audience that their content matters.

In stark contrast, Walt Disney's Bob Iger -- who gave the CES keynote Monday -- left me with the impression that all the content that Disney cares about is, well, Disney's. In fact, all the guests that graced the stage with Iger were Disney stars.
Even the Disney.com portal, which has snazzy features that lets the audience manipulate and multitask, is closed. (See Tuesday's Net Sense.)

To its credit, ABC redeems itself with one move that reflects some openness, and that is with the wiki sites it's experimenting with for some of its popular shows. For instance, ABC's "Lost" has a wiki site (powered by Wetpaint) that lets the audience interact with the characters, as well as offer theories or storylines. Much like the CBS experiment with Star Trek on Second Life, ABC may just let the fans become the screenwriters.

Perhaps Disney is high on its horse with so many current hits, such as "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." But betting against audience behavior is not a good strategy.

Openness is what Disney needs more of, and if it's moving in that direction, it certainly didn't show. CBS, on the other hand, certainly showed that it did.
Whether that means CBS can produce better-quality shows than ABC is unclear. What it does mean, however, is that CBS could possibly have a similar audience size with less money. Look at YouTube: big audience, poor quality. Who would have thought?

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/cbs-opens-garden-walt-disney/story.aspx?guid=%7B28938119%2D9221%2D4F12%2DAE77%2DADFC5FB14 A72%7D

dad1153

01-11-07, 09:39 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Lifetime Mans Up
James Poniewozik's Time "Tuned In" Blog - January 11, 2007

There's nothing a man likes better than sitting down in an easy chair with a cold brewski and spending a night with the Lifetime network. That, at least, was the message, slightly exaggerated, from that channel's presentation at the TCA tour this afternoon. Producer Mark Gordon, fielding a question from my colleague Aaron Barnhart, disputed Barnhart's reference to Lifetime as a "woman's network." Lifetime may have been that once, he said, but no longer; it wanted to appeal to both genders.

The show that Gordon was discussing is called "Army Wives."

So, OK, Maybe Lifetime is still kind of a woman's network. Network president Susanne Daniels emphasized, nonetheless, that there is room for both sexes to watch the channel. "ESPN," she noted, "doesn't call itself the men's network."

Daniels might want to get some of her talent on board. Doing a panel for a series of series based on Nora Roberts novels (manly, that), Sex and the City heartthrob John Corbett said, "I'm not sure any men watch Lifetime. Hands up. What men out in the audience watch Lifetime regularly?"

Not a hand went up. Thought we do like catching Corbett in those SATC reruns.

http://time.blogs.com/tuned_in/2007/01/lifetime_mans_u.html

fredfa

01-11-07, 09:40 PM

Critic’s Notebook
'Rome' is back, and 'Extras' is extra good this season
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” January 11, 2007

It’s hard to know where to start in describing the pleasures of “Rome,” the engrossing historical chronicle that begins its second season 9 PM ET/PT Sunday on HBO.

The sprawling cast, most of it from the U.K., is a joy to watch: Polly Walker brings sharp wit and perfect timing to her role as the scheming noblewoman Atia of the Julii, who is the intimate or enemy of everyone who matters in ancient Rome; James Purefoy gives a disturbingly vicious undercurrent to the transformation of Mark Antony from charming playboy to selfish dictator; and Lyndsey Marshal gives Cleopatra a queenly demeanor married to a palpable sensuality.

But this season belongs, even more than the first year did, to Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, who are played with enormous vigor and humanity by Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd. The two characters, who met as Roman soldiers, are one of the great TV pairings of our time.

Pullo is a meat-and-potatoes man of action; the impulsive soldier understands fighting, loyalty and fealty to the gods, and not a lot else. Yet in Stevenson’s hands, Pullo’s not just a sword-carrying, carousing meathead, he’s an Everyman with a conscience and a rough-and-ready sense of humor.

As the season opens, Vorenus is blaming himself for the death of his wife, who killed herself when her husband learned of her infidelity. Pullo’s sincere confusion as he attempts to help his friend with his soul-destroying grief is touching. Pullo’s used to being bailed out of trouble by the level-headed Vorenus, not vice versa.

Much of “Rome’s” 2005 run was dominated by Ciaran Hinds’ majestic, canny portrayal of Caesar, and his absence is felt in the early going of this season. But as the show’s second season revs up, the show is McKidd’s for the taking, and the actor’s fierce portrayal of Vorenus gives the sprawling drama a charismatic center.

We see Rome’s slide into depravity through this grave, fearless man, who was once the pride of Rome’s disciplined army and ends up one of its criminal enforcers. How is it possible that a proud Roman Centurion ends up running a brothel and cutting deals with thieves in the working-class Aventine district? It seems unthinkable, but Vorenus’ slide into personal hell coincides with Rome’s descent into greed and anarchy.

Antony, bored with power and uninterested in the nitty-gritty of governing, more or less ignores the senate and Rome’s powerful noble classes, who form factions that plot his downfall. Atia, for her part, exacts revenge on her social rivals and lives in fear that her son Octavian and her lover Antony will end up killing each other.

All this plotting takes its toll on Cicero, a wily survivor of Rome's brutal political games.

“I am so tired of the ambitions of young men,” Cicero sighs at one point to Octavian’s aide, Agrippa.

“I assure you, [Octavian] has only the interests of the Republic at heart,” the stalwart Agrippa responds.

“I’m sure he believes that,” replies the weary Cicero, who has his own role to play in the anti-Antony plots.

Though every detail of this lush Roman epic feels palpably authentic, history lessons don’t loom overly large; what’s most enjoyable about it is how deftly it mixes soap opera with senatorial debates. We observe an anguished Brutus, a seething Antony and the rest of Rome’s ruling class debate whether Caesar was a tyrant, but we also get to see Atia and the estimable Servilia, a competing noblewoman played by the fantastic Lindsay Duncan, trade catty glances at a dinner party.

The genius of “Rome” is that it doesn’t linger only in those lushly appointed Roman villas. Through Vorenus, Pullo and various servants and aides, we get to see Rome’s Jewish quarter, the crowded courtyards inhabited by the middle and lower classes, the teeming marketplaces and the graffiti-encrusted streets.

It’s too bad that this second season will be “Rome’s” last. Let’s enjoy it while we can.

Also Sunday, “Extras” returns for a second season (10 PM ET/PT HBO), which is far better than the good but uneven first year of the show. This season, Ricky Gervais’ aspiring actor Andy Millman actually gets to create his own BBC sitcom, and thanks to network interference, it’s everything he ever dreaded it would be - loud, badly acted, obvious and full of dumb catchphrases and bad wigs.

Millman’s quiet despair over his disastrous big break - yet his hunger for the attention that even a bad sitcom can bring - gives the show the kind of bittersweet pathos first seen in Gervais’ most famous creation, the original British version of “The Office.”

That said, this season “Extras” has many laugh-out-loud moments: Andy gives a beggar a 20-pound note - and wants change; David Bowie, whom Andy meets at a trendy club, spontaneously comes up with a hilarious pop song about the pudgy failed actor and his pug nose; Orlando Bloom and “Harry Potter’s” Daniel Radcliffe have inspired cameos as would-be lotharios.

I won’t even mention what transpires in Dame Diana Rigg’s brief scenes - they’re wickedly funny and I don’t want to ruin them for you.

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

fredfa

01-11-07, 09:47 PM

(Here is the kind of report from the TCA that makes me cringe. It is rare, but not unheard of. Some [thankfully very few] critics get so impressed with who they are with or they are actually staying in a 5-star hotel! Oh my God.
So if any of us feels the urge to post any more of the “look-at-me-I-am-in-California-with-all-these neat-TV-stars-and they REALLY-like me” posts – let’s resist the urge. Let this horrid example speak for them all.)
Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
The Tele-buddy's new (B)B(C)FF
By Terry Morrow Knoxville News Sentinel January 11, 2007

Ever notice when you add the word "British" to anything that it instantly sounds classier and trendier? Well, I have added an extra "b" (for Brit) to my BFF (best friend forever). And in case you need video to see how I am transforming my Brit BFF into a good ole boy, click here.

This press tour has suddenly turned around for me. I had a fantastic time today -- and especially tonight, when I was hanging out with my new BFF, Jonas Armstrong (who plays the title role of "Robin Hood" on BBC America and the BBC in England). He's my bud, my pal, the Sundance Cassidy to my Butch, the Cagney to my Lacy. Actually he likes hanging out with me because of my alleged "accent." He was imitating me all night, kind of like how Lucy Lawless did a couple of years ago. "You know he's going to end up doing a character based on you," a mutual friend said. Unlike Lucy Lawless, who also likes to mock my style of speech, he was not annoying. He was freakin' hilarious.

Today was when BBC America presented their new shows for critics. Mind you, I have always liked BBC America. Their talent is always well mannered, candid and accessible. This time, though, I really enjoyed all their talent -- from Jason Isaac (a "Harry Potter" actor whose new series, "The State Within," is kind of like Britian's version of "24") to Jennifer Saunders (of "Ab Fab," now on the new comedy, "Clatterford").

In honor of its new "Robin Hood" series, BBC threw a "Sherwood Forest"-themed party, complete with wenches and bar servants in puffy shirts (like in the "Seinfeld" episode). We drank mead as a medieval band played.

Jennifer looked -- and pardon the expression -- fabulous. Could barely keep my eyes off my rockin' body! She's hot. We had dinner together. I love her. She loves Dolly Parton and the idea of visiting Dollywood. We were distracted briefly by a traveling entertainer who insisted on doing rope and card tricks for us. All I wanted is to be left alone, to bask in her awesomeness. Is that too much for a Tele-buddy to ask? Hello ... I'm totally having dinner with Adina! Go away!

Chatted with Sharon Gless, formerly of "Cagney and Lacy" and now of the BBC series "The State Within."

At the end of the party I caught up with Jonas, who was sitting nearly by himself. Two female friends of mine wanted to meet and flirt with him. So I totally set it up ... to make myself look better to the ladies (which works sometimes, sometimes it doesn't).

Later, 3 of my women friends, Jonas and I went to my room, where we laughed and talked and had a great time. That's all, Nosey O'Donnell.

Then we went to an exclusive club lounge, where we ate to our heart's content and got silly by poking fun at each other. At one point I threw $20 at Jonas and asked him to entertain us. He pretended to dance like a monkey. Actors: They're such the ho.

This is why I love press tour so much. Just a day ago I didn't even know Jonas. Now we've been hanging out together, tossing a few back and making stupid jokes.He even calls me on my b.s. (age: 29; weight 150 ... he called me on both. I admire that in a BFF.)

At press tour, strangers from half way across the world suddenly become friends, teasing each other and acting dumb. It's a universal language. And that's cool.

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/telebuddy/archives/2007/01/the_telebuddys.shtml#more

dad1153

01-11-07, 09:47 PM

TV Review
'Rome' returns, still naughty if not so naked
By Doug Elfman, Chicago Suntimes - January 11, 2007

'ROME' 8 to 9 p.m. CT Sundays on HBO
Rating: Three Stars (Out of Four)

Cleopatra appears, unmistakable. A snake icon spits from her crown. A black wig arches over her Greek-Egyptian head, matching her cat-eye mascara. She was Caesar's lover, mother of his bastard son. With Caesar dead, she meets Caesar's right hand, Marc Antony. Love only half-blossoms.
"Nice manners, for a whore," Antony appraises her.

"If I must prostitute myself for the good of my country and my family, I will," Cleopatra says in defense of her loose lips.

Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself. That scene doesn't come until the second episode of "Rome's" second season, starting Sunday on HBO. "Rome" resumes with Caesar dead on the Senate floor, stabbed by Brutus, Cassius and political assassins of the passe Roman Republic in 44 B.C. They were just jealous.

This is the story many children fear in school. In textbooks, it always bored and intimidated me with its strange names of the dead rich. (The French and American Revolutions were my preferred poison.)
The problem with textbook Rome (I'm sure there are finer books than what I read in school) is it is concentrated history set in stone. This happened, then that. In "Rome," these historical people, places and things flesh into visual fiction, true to most details, and let us do more than read between the lines.

Last season, "Rome" slowly grew on me. It would have grown faster if it hadn't been wildly complicated and populated with so many characters, political machinations, and all that British theater-smelling acting.

But because I am a critic and watch things I don't necessarily want to see, I am caught up on the mass of "Rome." It is a gigantic tale told with a gigantic budget, reportedly $100 million. So it all seems interesting enough to me this year, although less sexy, given the less sex and the less nudity. What gives?

Caesar's death leaves a power vacuum. Marc Antony and his lover Atia must conspire and worry what will happen to them next. They are fortunate to have been aligned with Caesar, who was popular. They want the power left by his great ghost.

Complicating matters, Atia's teenage son, Octavian, is himself in line to receive power, as Caesar took to Octavian, a great-nephew, in his will.

Less fortunate but still powerful are the old guard assassins who jabbed Caesar. They must worry about the angry populace that embraced the master orator.

And in the second episode, yes, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt shows up, wanting her son with Caesar to be properly recognized in Rome. Even if you don't remember the particulars of history or Shakespeare, you just know Antony's flirting with her when he calls Cleopatra a floozie.

If I hadn't seen all of last season's episodes, I believe I would be lost in confusion. "Rome" treats viewers as long-term fans of deep terrain. To follow "Rome," it is required you keep up. If you do, you may be rewarded with a fine tale, proper acting and a better-told history lesson.

I'm not quite sure why "Rome" has become somewhat less full of naked women and rapes in fields, which last season were abstractly disturbing for showing the way women were treated then (as cattle, slaves, tramps and servants), even as women like Atia pulled big strings.

It is still far too naughty with words and adult sexual themes to be shown in classrooms, much to the dismay, I'm sure, of a teacher friend of mine who wished last year she could have shown "Rome" to her students.

Yet another friend of mine, a student of the era, will likely dive into "Rome" with glee, as she did before. It is such a series, appealing to someone who's forced to watch it for his TV critic profession, and enjoyed more openly by buffs of old history -- but now with less in-the-buff.

SO YOU CAN TELL WHO'S WHO

Keep up if you can with "Rome." It'll be easier with this primer.

MARC ANTONY (JAMES PUREFOY)
Now that Caesar's dead, Antony wants to wield the power left in his wake, and he desires revenge against Brutus, Cassius and other assassins. He's been Atia's lover, as well. But Cleopatra is about to return to "Rome" and catch Antony's eye.

ATIA (POLLY WALKER)
Both her lover Antony and her son Octavian crave the throne. Who will Caesar's manipulative niece side with? Walker earned a Golden Globe nomination last season. She's less naked this season.

OCTAVIAN (MAX PIRKIS)
If he is to rise to power, at 19, this great-nephew of Caesar must work around his mother's love affair with Antony.

SERVILIA (LINDSAY DUNCAN)
Brutus' mother had a great hand in orchestrating Caesar's death, since he spurned her sex as she aged, and she continues to manipulate behind the scenes.

LUCIUS (KEVIN MCKIDD)
This Roman soldier is a composite character. There was a Lucius recorded in history, but "Rome" expands the character to present what it must have been like to be a half-sensitive, half-brute soldier whose wife just committed suicide over her own infidelities. He is distraught.

TITUS (RAY STEVENSON)
Titus is another composite character based on a brief mention in historical text. The soldier has taken a calmer path in life of late, but the death of Caesar and the sadness of his comrade Lucius could alter his course.

CLEOPATRA (LYNDSEY MARSHAL)
Here comes the queen of Egypt, wanting to expand power by exploiting the existence of her bastard son with Caesar. Antony: Look out!

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/elfman/206357,CST-FTR-wwelf11.article

dad1153

01-11-07, 10:40 PM

TV Review
A Brooklyn kid learns the rope
By Verne Gay, Newsday - January 12, 2007

'Jump In!' 8pm Friday on Disney Channel

Corbin Bleu is back, and there - in one nice, short, declarative statement - is all you really truly need to know about tonight's Disney Channel premiere of "Jump In!"

Corbin Bleu: He of the disarming smile, wild hair and outsize talent who's been swoon material for a few million teeny boppettes since his breakout role as Chad Danforth on Disney's breakout hit, "High School Musical" last year (sequel due out this summer). Since the "HSM" phenom - or runaway train, your choice - Brooklyn's own Bleu has been filling concert venues (such as Nassau Coliseum) and making albums for Hollywood Records. This 17-year-old is on a very fast track, and tonight's movie shouldn't do anything to disrupt this budding and potentially brilliant career.

Oh, yes, the movie. Almost forgot about that. "Jump In!" is perfectly configured to the interests and desires of the large prepubescent audience that will tune in, which is to say Bleu is in almost every scene and (for that matter) every frame. Nothing wrong with that - there's an energy and vitality to Bleu that's so explosive it'll almost make you want to do cartwheels, too - but this also means that "Jump In!" has been relegated to support status.

As such, it's a sweet, gentle and predictable genre picture: a musical heartwarmer whose rhythms, themes and outcome are so perfectly (and well) established that the phrase "paint by the numbers" wouldn't be off the mark. The music track, based on a saccharine fusion of pop and hip-hop called "pop-hop," is vital and (to DC viewers) familiar, especially Bleu's own "Push It to the Limit," which has already received bountiful airplay on the network.

Bleu plays the irrepressible Izzy Daniels, who lives in a Brooklyn walkup with his very adorable kid sister, Karin (Kylee Russell) and dad, Kenneth (the veteran actor David Reivers, who's also Bleu's real-life father). Izzy's dad has pushed him to become a junior boxing champ, and Izzy nearly complies, beating neighborhood bully Rodney Tyler (Patrick Johnson Jr.) for a shot at the Golden Gloves tournament.

But Izzy's a softie at heart, and when neighbor Mary (Keke Palmer, "Akeelah and the Bee") - the leader of a local four-girl double Dutch jump-roping team - has a sudden opening on her team, she reaches out to you-know-who. Fearful of getting razzed by people like Rodney (and all the other guys) he's not too sure, but she prevails.

Cliche alert: Izzy has a falling out with dad over his choice, and a showdown with Rodney, while the "Hot Chili Steppers" (pretty cute name for Izzy and Mary's double Dutch team, don't you think?) have a big competition by the last act which ...

Oh no, no, no. You're not gonna get me to give away these vital plot points. You'll just have to watch (and) don't worry: You'll like what you see.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-etjump5047691jan12,0,300206.story?coll=ny-television-headlines

fredfa

01-11-07, 11:26 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
J. Lo, back in action
By Bill Goodykoontz Arizona Republic TV Critic in his Critic’s Tour blog 01/11/2007

PASADENA, Calif. -- Who's Jennifer Lopez again?

Oh. J. Lo. Her. Haven't heard from her in a while, what with no big projects or tabloid romances lately.

All by design, she assures.

"It was a choice," she said of her relative disappearing act. "My life had become for me uncomfortable."

Reckon she means the whole Bennifer ordeal? Shudder. Happily everyone, including the now happily married (to someone else) Lopez, has put that behind them.

She's got music and movies coming out this year, though, and she was here to promote DanceLife, a reality show on MTV about dancers (she was one, back in the day) that premieres Monday.

So, she was asked, how does a celebrity drop out of sight? (We are referring here to celebrities like her, not some flavor-of-the-minute Real World cast member or something. That kind of thing takes care of itself.)

"You don't go out as much," she said. "You choose different places to go. If you want to be in those magazines, you can. And if you don't want to be, you don't have to be."

What? WHAT? You mean all that talk an endless parade of celebrities give us about not being able to escape the cameras and professional gossipers is NOT TRUE?

I, for one, am shocked. SHOCKED, I say, in what is evidently going to be a mild overuse of capital letters.

What else that they tell us isn't true? The talk of rumored cast feuds on certain shows is in fact correct, even though they deny it? The network is truly unhappy with the godawful poor-performing sitcom whose virtues they extol to us with a straight face? You mean you actually HAVE had plastic surgery?

Where will the truth telling end?

I'm guessing at the next press conference.

You had to be there

PASADENA, Calif. -- Sarah Silverman is hilarious.

Of course, she's also incredibly profane, so for the most part, you're just going to have to take my word for it.

Sample quote, uttered to a critic who picked a nit with a scene in the new Comedy Central show she was here to promote, The Sarah Silverman Program: "Shut the (expletive) up!"

So great. Of course, like most really funny sessions, it's impossible to translate to print. Probably having someone scream profanities at a guy who simply asked a question doesn't make you laugh out loud. But man, if you were here, nothing funnier.

As you may know if you're familiar with her work, Silverman isn't what you'd call a politically correct comic. That continues with The Sarah Sliverman Program, some plots of which I'm going to have to spend the next few weeks trying to figure out how to describe in a newspaper.

"I don't think anything is off-limits if it's funny enough.... If it's more funny than offensive to us then it's fine, no matter what it is," she said.

She's not kidding. Wish I could say more, but....

The same is true for the session for Halfway Home, a new Comedy Central show about a bunch of parolees living in a halfway house. The clips wee hilarious. And again, it's going to take some work to figure out how to write about some of it. But any session with comedians who do a lot of improvisational work is worth attending.

Someone asked how the producers -- one is Oscar Nunez, who plays Oscar on The Office -- put the cast together.

"I slept my way to the top," Octavia Spencer, who plays an armed robber, said. "I just want to go on the record."

Replied Jordan Black, who plays "a wannabe terrorist," "And this is as far as you got?"

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

fredfa

01-11-07, 11:28 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
At last, some star power
By Gail Pennington St. Louis Post-Dispatch Television Critic in the “Tube Talk” blog 01/11/2007

Jennifer Lopez was in the house today, and everybody was buzzing: “Did you see her?” She’s executive producer of a new MTV reality series called “DanceLife” that sets out to show the challenges dancers go through to make it. Think “A Chorus Line,” only instead of Broadway, they’re competing to be backup dancers for Ashley Simpson and Nelly Furtado.

The series doesn’t seem like anything special, but J. Lo looked classy and beautiful in a Mary Quant-ish empire waist dress with a gold top and a short, brown A-line skirt. She had on a gold charm bracelet and a diamond ring that was dazzling even from 10 rows back. She seemed very relaxed and happy, probably because of what she says is a deliberate effort to stay out of the public eye since she married Marc Anthony. (”We’re homebodies.”) Her answers to every question were thoughtful and intelligent; impressive!

Right before J. Lo, MTV brought in Three 6 Mafia for another reality series, “Adventures in Hollywood,” that has the Oscar winners (”It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp”) moving to LA to make it big. There was some puzzlement among the questioners as to why a group with “three” and “6″ in its name has only two members. Explained DJ Paul: They started as three and grew to six, but four left. In any case, speaking of star power — those guys bring the bling. The sparkle and gleam from their gold and diamond “grillz” (those are tooth decorations, you know) was hypnotic.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/entertainment-tube-talk/2007/01/at-last-some-star-power/

fredfa

01-11-07, 11:33 PM

The Business of TV
DirecTV denies merger talks with rival EchoStar

From Bloomberg News in the Los Angeles Times January 11, 2007

DirecTV Group Inc. isn't talking about a possible merger with smaller rival EchoStar Communications Corp.

"Let me be clear on where we are today — there aren't any discussions," DirecTV Chief Executive Charles "Chase" Carey said at an analyst conference in Las Vegas.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-fi-calbriefs11.3jan11,0,5870623,print.story?coll=cl-tv-features

dad1153

01-12-07, 12:16 AM

TV Sports
In TV Land, Barber Is Able to Run Free
By Richard Sandomir, The New York Times - January 12, 2007

A fantasy about the future employment of the in-demand former Giants running back Tiki Barber.

NEW YORK, Jan. 25 — A consortium of more than a dozen television networks yesterday hired Tiki Barber to star in and produce sports, news, lifestyle, entertainment, documentary, children’s and game show programming.

“I felt terrible reading all those stories that I was going to this network or that,” Barber said at a news conference with Regis Philbin, his co-star on the new “Regis & Tiki” morning program. “So I told my agent, ‘Tell them they can all have me.’ ”

Barber said he would be paid $75 million over five years.

“You’re worth more, Teek!” Philbin shrieked. “You’re worth more!”

Barber smiled.

“The money’s all guaranteed,” he said, “not like my football contracts.”

Bob Wright, the chairman of NBC Universal and the consortium’s lead negotiator, said he made the historic deal because “we couldn’t contain Tiki’s talents as a sportscaster, newsman, anchor, raconteur and mentor within the NBC family. So we’re happy to share him with the world.”

Wright turned his only regret into a positive.

“While we’ve fired Sterling Sharpe, Cris Collinsworth, Bob Costas and Jerome Bettis to make room for Tiki on ‘Football Night in America,’ ” he said, “we’re certain that Tiki’s unique talents as a solo performer will match Johnny Carson’s.”

He added, “This will not only be ‘Must See Tiki,’ but ‘Can’t Avoid Tiki!’ ”

Barber will replace Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” anchor ABC’s newsmagazine “Tiki/Tiki” (formerly “20/20”), and be the host of the long-planned fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth hours of NBC’s “Today.”

He will bring a cheerful face to CBS’s “C.S.I.” as the lead crime-scene investigator, and play a plastic surgeon who gives free liposuction to obese offensive linemen on FX’s “Nip/Tiki.”

Robert Iger, the chairman of the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC and ESPN, said the company would rebrand itself with the motto, “Thank God It’s Tiki!”

A Tiki character will also join Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto at the company’s theme parks.

Barber will also create and write a Disney Channel series, “That’s So Tiki,” which will be heavily promoted on an ABC reality series, with ESPN’s Stuart Scott as the host, that will follow the search for a bald 6-year-old actor to play young Tiki.

“Uncle Walt would have loved Tiki,” Iger said.

In addition to working for Disney, NBC, CBS and the Fox-owned networks, Barber will develop projects for Spike, CNN, Nickelodeon, A&E, Oxygen, We, Discovery, Lifetime, BBC America, PBS and Animal Planet.

Barber said that when he could not meet simultaneous work commitments, his twin brother, Ronde, would substitute for him.

“Ronde can count the maggots on a dead guy’s body in ‘C.S.I.’ or suck fat out of a guy’s belly as well as I can, if not better,” Tiki said.

The battle for Barber’s services began in the fall when he said he would retire after the 2006 season. It accelerated in recent weeks after the Giants were eliminated in their wild-card playoff game and reports surfaced that he was favoring multimillion dollar deals from NBC or ABC/ESPN.

“But I knew if I waited long enough, I could have them all,” Barber said, and he does, except for Versus, which required that Barber ride a bull.

Rupert Murdoch, the lord of Fox, who joined the Tiki talks late, much as he did to get the rights to “American Idol,” said, “Lovely fellow, this Tiki. I thought of giving him his own channel on DirecTV and also put him up on my Sky satellite in Europe. Didn’t care what he did. He could just smile and get ratings. Looks nicer than that Bradshaw. I could put him on that Sunday show we’ve got. All exclusive.

“But Tiki said I was being selfish, that I had to share him with others. Then I read his children’s books. And by God, I wept.”

•

Despite Barber’s lack of news credentials, he said he expected to interview world leaders for “60 Minutes” or “Tiki/Tiki,” depending on his schedule covering dog shows for Animal Planet and sitting in for Charlie Rose.

“I’ve already got Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on my speed dial,” he said, referring to the Iranian president. “Do you think Brian Williams does?”

Asked if any dream was unfulfilled in this deal, he said he hoped that Disney would let him remake his favorite film, “Kon-Tiki.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/sports/football/12sandomir.html?ref=sports

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:32 AM

The Business of Television
NBCU Launches HD Horror Channel
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 1/12/2007

At a time when it's near-impossible to launch a new linear cable network, NBC Universal thinks it has a plan: repurposing old content and prgramming it across digital platforms.

The company is planning Chiller, a horror-themed network that will exist as a standard and HD cable channel, a VOD package and a broadband Website.

Chiller, which is slated to launch March 1 and already has carriage on DirecTV, will use for its programming old horror TV shows and movies from the Universal library and others. Titles include the TV shows Twin
Peaks and Tales From the Crypt and movies The Shining, Psycho and The Birds.

NBC has tried this strategy before, last year launching Sleuth, a crime-focused cable/VOD/broadband channel using mainly content frm the NBCU library. The network is now in 24 million homes.

The cmpany is also entering a crowded field by prgramming horror. Last year, Comcast, the country's largest cable operator, launched FearNet, a VOD/broadband-only channel of horror movies and TV shows, and AOL Video also programs ample horror content.

The channel comes out of NBCU's Emerging Networks division, which is headed by Dan Harrison, senior VP, emerging networks, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, and overseen by Jeff Gaspin, president, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Digital Content and Cross Network Strategy.

Harrison will oversee Chiller's day to day operations, reporting to Gaspin.

"We continually look at our options for launching new networks," said Gaspin in a statement. "Horror is one of the most reliably successful genres in entertainment today, and Chiller seems like a well-timed addition to our portfolio."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6407057

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:37 AM

The Business of Television
NBC Universal, DirecTV team on Chiller Channel
New net to be devoted to horror programming '
By Josef Adalian Variety.com

In an unexpected move, NBC Universal plans to roll out a new digital cable network devoted to horror-themed programming.

Dubbed Chiller, cabler will launch March 1 and initially be seen in 12 million homes via a carriage deal with DirecTV. Channel also will be offered on DirecTV's new tier of 100 HD channels slated to roll out later this year.

NBC U has already started pitching other cable operators on the channel and is hoping to land carriage agreement on other systems.

Jeff Gaspin, NBC U prexy of cable entertainment, digital content and cross-network strategy, will announce the network today at the TV Critics Assn. winter press tour in Pasadena. Dan Harrison, senior VP of emerging networks for NBC U Cable Entertainment, will be in charge of the channel.

Chiller will take advantage of NBC U's deep reservoir of horror-related TV shows ("Alfred Hitchcock Presents") and films ("The Shining," "Psycho"), many of them from the old MCA library. But Gaspin said the cabler also has acquired programming from other congloms, including 20th Century Fox TV, Sony, Warner Bros. TV and Lionsgate.

"We've gone beyond our library and licensed content from all the major players," Gaspin said.

Other programming assets include "Twin Peaks," "Tales From the Crypt," "Freddy's Nightmares" and "Friday the 13th: The Series."

Chiller will be targeted at both men and women 18-34.

While Chiller is the first cable channel dedicated to the horror genre, it's got some competition in the form of FearNet. That's the video-on-demand/Web site partnership among Comcast, Lionsgate and Sony.

Gaspin said he doesn't consider a VOD/Web site to be "in competition" with Chiller, though he said there's "a chance they will become competitive" if Comcast decides to add a linear FearNet cable channel.

NBC U first explored the idea of an all-horror channel more than a year ago but opted instead to launch Sleuth, a cabler focused on crime programming. Nonetheless, a complete business model was drawn up, and NBC U even locked up the rights to the Chiller name.

Chiller was put on the back burner until just a couple months ago, however. That's when NBC U became aware of DirecTV's desire to add more HD channels to its lineup.

"Just launching this as an HD channel didn't make much economic sense for us," Gaspin said. NBC U was able to strike a deal with DirecTV to put Chiller on a regular programming tier, however, giving NBC the incentive to greenlight the channel.

"We'd done all the legwork already, so it wasn't difficult to ramp this one up," he added.

Chiller will follow the same basic business model as Sleuth, initially relying on library product before slowly adding some original content. Indeed, less than two years after launch, Sleuth is already profitable -- and Gaspin expects Chiller to start making money for the Peacock in two years or less.

"While everyone's talking about the new media and all these other platforms, the fact that we've been able to sneak in a couple of these emerging networks is impressive," Gaspin said. "Our distribution team gets a ton of credit for making these kinds of deals. They represent a significant source of revenue" for NBC U.

In addition to overseeing Chiller on a day-to-day basis, Harrison also oversees Sleuth and Universal HD.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117957250&categoryid=14

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:41 AM

I would bet that in the weeks to come NBCU will come up with at least two more HD channels no one has talked about yet.

It is important to plant a flag in the HD arena early and get carriage commitments when there isn't that much competition. NBCU seems to be doing just that.

It already has "UHD" and "Sleuth" and now has announced "SciFi", "Chiller"and "USA".

Anyone care to bet against either (or both) MSNBC and CNBC being announced shortly?

dad1153

01-12-07, 12:58 AM

MSNBC and CNBC are tougher sells because frankly news doesn't benefit much from HD given the multiple sources of video for news-gathering. Would HD make the cellphone video of Saddam Hussein's execution more compelling or sharp? Or a satellite phone report from the frontlines of Lebanon more informative? MSNBC and CNBC also have such small ratings (although MSNBC's upswing is quite remarkable given where they were before and CNN is now) that at this point it becomes a game of one-upmanship. Since CNN is doing it Fox and MSNBC are more likely to do it but only to keep up with CNN. Same with CNBC given the impending threat of the Fox News Business Channel.

GeorgeLV

01-12-07, 01:18 AM

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:28 AM

I am not sure why they would be a tougher sell.

The CNBC audience is among the wealthiest. There are tens of thousands of flat-screen TVs all over Wall Street and in brokerage houses across the country.

And the MSNBC audience is growing -- and has started beating CNN in the 25-54 demo.

But more importantly, I suspect that as part of the deal to help DirecTV overcome its HD deficiency the agreement for those two has already been signed.

NBCU helps DirecTV with the other new HD channels, DirecTV helps NBCU by becoming the charter carrier for CNBC and MSNBC (and maybe more NBCU HD channels yet to be announced). NBCU wants to claim that HD territory before the landscape gets overcrowded. And the move will also have an added benefit for NBCU: it will make the NewsCorp Business Channel that much harder (and more expensive) to get started -- and to find cable bandwidth.

And now that NewsCorp won't be controlling DirecTV, that means it better get on the ball with an HD version of its upcoming business channel and with FNC.

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:31 AM

Even if the talking heads are still 4:3, I'm sure CNBC viewers would appreciate the 16:9 area beings used for stock quotes and such. Just look at Bloomberg to see how hungry financial channels can be for screen real estate.

It is ironic that it was Fox News Channel which really pioneered the full-time news crawls which have become ubiquitous on so many of the channels.

And while he ran CNBC more than a decade ago, Roger Ailes (and Jack Reilly) pushed the envelope a lot with the business graphics Bloomberg has taken to ridiculous levels.

URFloorMatt

01-12-07, 02:17 AM

I am not sure why they would be a tougher sell.

The CNBC audience is among the wealthiest. There are tens of thousands of flat-screen TVs all over Wall Street and in brokerage houses across the country.

...

And now that NewsCorp won't be controlling DirecTV, that means it better get on the ball with an HD version of its upcoming business channel and with FNC.

I think these are the two keys that make MSNBC HD and/or CNBC HD likely announcements from NBCU in the coming weeks or months. That is, while they don't have a lot of viewers, a lot of their viewers are wealthier than average and probably more likely to have HDTVs. And, now that DirecTV is no longer tied to the web of Fox corporations, it's ripe for the picking by another media conglomerate to take advantage--namely, whichever network gets there first.

On that front, NBCU has the benefit of being in the midst of its NBCU 2.0 restructuring, so it's likely to have sat down and at least evaluated the futures of its cable networks, particularly whether and when they should be launching in HD. Moreover, with CNN's HD announcement, NBC has to counterstrike if they want to keep up their momentum. If the folks around here are any indication, HD broadcasts--even if inferior to their SD counterparts--are nevertheless often given priority so long as the content in the broadcast is not off-putting. MSNBC won't keep up its momentum if CNN HD is siphoning off any potential new viewers solely on the HD factor.

Also, we know they're moving MSNBC out of NJ to a newly renovated facility at 30 Rock, so that's another positive indicator for MSNBC HD. Where's CNBC housed?

fredfa

01-12-07, 02:54 AM

TV Review
'The Best of Nature'
In an Unforgiving Kingdom, the Tyranny of the Strong
By Alessandra Stanley The New York Times January 12, 2007

Go on, rouse yourself to watch “The Best of Nature — 25 Years” on (PBS, check your local listings) Sunday night. It’s the 25th anniversary of this august and spectacular series, which since 1982 has featured some of the greatest nature cinematography on earth. You can make time for a highlight reel.

For a quarter-century, photographers for “Nature” have been risking terminal mountain sickness, crocodile attacks and loony isolation to score glimpses, photographs and complete documentaries of astonishing natural phenomena. Sunday’s program is a chance to witness, in a concise anthology, chimpanzees, wild dogs, snow leopards, gazelles, elephants, cheetahs, wildebeests, baboons, chameleons and city-size waves — all (where applicable) in gleaming high-definition.

Lynn Scherr, the “20/20” correspondent, dressed incongruously for this wildlife show in jewels and a white pantsuit, presides over this silver-anniversary celebration, bringing news value to animal antics while she’s on screen, and also sapping it of rugged romance, which is too bad. The images on “Nature” are so stirring that it often seems that they ought to appear without exposition or introduction at all.

But dialogue-free scenes of animals in the wild do require context, and the series’s abundance of big symphonic surges and heartrending anthropomorphizing is part of its charm. It’s a highly sentimental show, ultimately, and not a particularly scientific one, in spite of its PBS provenance and requisite tips of the hat to popular Darwinism.

Its palette is golden and hazy, like a follow-your-dreams poster, and chimps are not infrequently described as “old men,” while Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” provides the soundtrack to a segment on a bird that appears to moonwalk.

Fortunately, sentimentalism does not preclude adrenaline, and the opening segment — on cheetahs and gazelles — shows a high-speed chase in slow motion that may be one of the most pulse-quickening athletic events of the evening. (And on “Nature,” more than yards are at stake. A spoiler: a creature dies.)

But the clip from “Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies” is frankly terrifying. The wonderful “Cloud” series, by Ginger Kathrens, appeared several years ago, and no one who saw the scene then will ever forget it. It shows a small newborn foal in a band of wild horses struggling to its feet. As hours pass, it becomes increasingly clear that it’s not going to be able to get up; the band has to move on.

A rival band comes upon the foal, and mares circle it. Finally, the lead stallion seems to recognize that the foal is holding everybody up, spontaneously takes it in his teeth and dashes it to the ground.

On Wednesday the Parents Television Council declared that violence on broadcast television was reaching “epidemic proportions” and called for government intervention if broadcasters don’t take action.

I don’t know what the Parents Television Council makes of the murder of that injured foal on “Nature,” but it’s the most violent, disturbing and enlightening event I’ve ever seen on television.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/arts/television/12natu.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=television&pagewanted=print

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:06 AM

TV Notebook
Whither Diane Swayer?
Future of ABC morning anchor is question of day
By Matea Gold Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 12, 2007

NEW YORK — At ABC News, the talk lately has centered on one question: What's Diane going to do?

After a year in which the television news industry absorbed Katie Couric's move to "CBS Evening News" and Meredith Vieira's jump to NBC's "Today" show, Diane Sawyer is poised to trigger more upheaval as she mulls whether to continue her eight-year run on "Good Morning America."

The departure of Sawyer — arguably the news division's biggest luminary — would be a substantial blow to "GMA," the most profitable program at ABC News and a show on which she has considerable influence.

Sawyer has not yet given news executives an indication of her plans, according to network sources. The 61-year-old anchor is known for being inscrutable, but those close to her believe she has in fact not yet made up her mind about whether to remain on the morning show. One factor complicating her decision: the lack of other A-list broadcasting jobs currently up for grabs.

The uncertainty about her next move has caused considerable anxiety among ABC officials, who are not eager to see her leave "GMA" on the heels of her longtime co-anchor Charles Gibson, who switched over to the evening newscast last spring.

Executives fret that "GMA" would founder without her, especially as the program is still finding its footing since the arrival of two new on-air hires this season: news anchor Chris Cuomo and weatherman Sam Champion. Anchor Robin Roberts has been in her post since May 2005 but has a lower profile than her well-known co-host.

Sawyer has two more years on her ABC contract, but her obligation to "GMA" is less explicit. She originally joined the show in 1999 with Gibson on a temporary basis to help shore up the second-place program, a status that has not technically changed.

After Gibson moved to "World News," Sawyer said she planned to stay at "GMA" through at least part of 2007.

"I love these people and I love their passion, and I learn from them daily," she said in an interview in June. "I am going to stay and do whatever I can to make it strong and stable."

Sawyer declined to comment this week on her plans, but ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said her commitment to "GMA" has no timetable.

"She is very much enjoying what she's doing right now," Schneider added. "She is very engaged, loves the new team and has had an incredible run of great reporting."

As network executives nervously await Sawyer's move, they have sought to emphasize her value to the network. One project in the works, though its timing is uncertain: a marketing campaign that would showcase the anchor's body of work, including her reporting from North Korea last fall, according to sources familiar with the plans.

Many ABC insiders regard the plan for promotional spots, which would not include the rest of the "GMA" team, as an effort to stress the network's appreciation of the longtime broadcaster.

"It's SOS — saving our Sawyer," said a source familiar with internal discussions, who — like others knowledgeable about the state of affairs — declined to be named because of the situation's sensitivity.

"Everything they are doing is designed to keep her, to make her happy."

Ground lost to 'Today'

While Sawyer's immediate plans remain an enigma, her future on "GMA" is widely viewed as intertwined with the fortunes of the program.

Since Gibson left, the morning show has lost ground to top-rated "Today," whose lead over "GMA" has grown from an average of 670,000 viewers at this point last season to 825,000 viewers so far this season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Colleagues said the program's status frustrates Sawyer, who has also tired of some of the more frivolous segments on the two-hour show. They describe her as someone concerned about her legacy and seeking to round out her career immersed in journalism that has a social impact.

"I think that Diane is searching," said a veteran staffer close to the anchor. "I think she truly doesn't know what's next for her and what's next for the business. She's no dummy, and she understands what the numbers are doing. And I can't image she thinks they're going to catch them."

Nevertheless, network sources said Sawyer returned re-energized from her recent trip to South Africa, where she covered the opening of Oprah Winfrey's new academy for underprivileged girls. Back in New York, she called a slew of meetings to brainstorm story ideas and tackled with new vigor a piece about poverty in Camden, N.J., that she's doing for the newsmagazine "Primetime."

If she decided to leave "GMA," her exit would generate more instability for a news division that weathered the turmoil of Peter Jennings' death and the subsequent wounding in Iraq of anchor Bob Woodruff, one of his successors.

Even though "World News" is considered ABC's flagship newscast, "GMA" brings in more than $250 million annually, according to network sources, the bulk of the news division's revenue. With Sawyer, the show is buttressed by the presence of a news star at a time when the industry has fewer and fewer giants.

"There's only one Diane Sawyer," said one top ABC News executive. "She's the best in the business, and there will never be another like her."

Some believe she has too much influence on "GMA." A notorious workaholic, Sawyer is intimately involved in details like story lineup and video selection. The first hour of the show — the newsiest block — is now being run by two producers close to the longtime anchor: Chris Vlasto, who worked with Sawyer on "Primetime," and Anna Robertson, who once served as Sawyer's researcher.

"She really drives the show," said an ABC staffer close to the program. "There's this environment in which she's the mommy and everyone else is just part of her household. If she were to go, it would send everything into a state of chaos."

Despite her status, Sawyer was largely on the sidelines during the last several years as each of the three broadcast networks dealt with the challenge of replacing its evening news anchor. It's a job that has long appealed to the former "60 Minutes" correspondent; according to colleagues, she has often said that she wants to end her career on the "high ground" of the evening news.

But when ABC executives were weighing whom to name as a permanent anchor last year after Woodruff was injured, she held back, aware that Gibson was prepared to retire if he didn't get the job. Inside the news division, it's widely assumed that she would like to succeed him once he finishes his run on "World News," but he's committed to stay on through at least the 2008 presidential election.

It remains unclear what other positions ABC could now offer Sawyer. Network sources said that after Ted Koppel left "Nightline," ABC News President David Westin suggested that she helm the late-night news program, but she was not interested.

"Diane is a very, very hard-working journalist," said Judy Muller, a former ABC correspondent who now teaches journalism at USC. "She really has a reputation for hands-on concern about her work. I cannot imagine her just easing into something. I think she wants something that is really high profile."

But with Brian Williams in place at the "NBC Nightly News," Vieira on "Today" and Couric at CBS, Sawyer is effectively boxed out of the other top broadcast jobs in the industry, even if she were able to get out of her ABC contract early.

For now, the only clue that Sawyer has offered is her interest in doing more significant journalism in prime time, such as her hourlong documentary on North Korea, which aired in December.

"If I can't do that kind of thing, I'm vitamin-deficient," she told New York magazine last summer. "I can't do this work if I can't also get some big meaty stuff to do."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-sawyer12jan12,1,6518361,print.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:12 AM

The New York Times Obituary
Steve Krantz, 83
Maker of TV Mini-Series
By Douglas Martin The New York Times January 12, 2007

Steve Krantz, a producer and writer who pushed his wife, Judith, into starting her first novel at 48, then turned her signature “sex and shopping” best sellers into television mini-series, died on Jan. 4 in Los Angeles. He was 83.

The cause was complications of pneumonia, said John Tellem, a family spokesman.

Mr. Krantz wrote comedy for Milton Berle; worked on the “Tonight Show” with Steve Allen; adapted bingo for television; and produced “Fritz the Cat,” the first X-rated full-length animated film. His other movies included “Cooley High,” which inspired the ABC sitcom “What’s Happening?”

He wrote two steamy novels of his own, one of which, “Laurel Canyon” (1979), was a drama of depravity in Hollywood’s high circles that made best-seller lists.

But his best-known achievement grew out of the Fourth of July weekend of 1953, when Mr. Krantz met Judith Tarcher at a party organized by Barbara Walters, a high-school friend of Ms. Tarcher.

Neither then suspected that the future Ms. Krantz would go on to write novels that would sell more than 80 million copies in more than 50 languages. Nor that the books would be copyrighted not in her name, as is customary, but by Steve Krantz Productions. Nor that Mr. Krantz would make opulent mini-series based on them.

In 1986 The New York Times called the couple “a cottage industry.” But their initial meeting flickered with the all-too-human emotions of a Judith Krantz novel.

“We flirted outrageously,” he said in an interview with The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles in 2000.

“I fell in love with him the moment I saw him,” Ms. Krantz said in an interview with The Los Angeles Times in 1990.

She wore a headdress of white lilacs and hyacinths when she married Mr. Krantz on Feb. 19, 1954. They had two sons, Tony and Nicholas, both of whom now live in Los Angeles. Mr. Krantz is survived by them, Ms. Krantz, two grandchildren and his sister, Sunny Ornish of Manhattan.

Mr. Krantz was long the family’s breadwinner. Ms. Krantz chipped in with freelance articles, the best known being “The Myth of the Multiple Orgasm” for Cosmopolitan.

His many entertainment projects included shepherding creative development for Columbia Pictures Television, where he was midwife to “Hazel” and “Dennis the Menace.” Later, through his own company, he bought rights to the Marvel Super Heroes and made cartoons of them.

Ms. Krantz began writing fiction only after Mr. Krantz kept insisting that she was a natural storyteller. She told The Los Angeles Times that she wrote her first novel, “Scruples,” the lusty tale of a Beverly Hills boutique, to prove to Mr. Krantz that she could not write fiction. She quickly found the opposite: “Halfway through the first chapter, I felt I was flying without wings,” she said.

Stephen Falk Krantz was born in Brooklyn on May 20, 1923, attended Manual Training High School there and graduated from Columbia University. He served in the Army Air Forces in the Pacific during World War II as a second lieutenant.

He was a producer and writer for WNEW radio in New York before moving to NBC as program director. A production of his own company was the first televised bingo game in the 1950s, with Monty Hall as host.

His “Fritz the Cat” (1972), about R. Crumb’s sex-obsessed cartoon cat, was the first independent animated film to earn gross revenues of more than $100 million.

After “Fritz,” directed by Ralph Bakshi, came “Heavy Traffic” and “The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat,” which was the United States entry at the Cannes Film Festival in 1974.

His stalwart promotion of his wife emerged in his dislike of the word “trashy” to describe her work. Mr. Krantz told The New York Times that its use showed “an incredible poverty of language.” As alternatives, he suggested “delectable” and “smoldering.”

Strongly, but less frequently, he spoke up for himself.

“Early on,” he told The Times in 1986, “I found it very important to make the point that I had been a millionaire for many years before ‘Scruples.’

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/obituaries/12krantz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=obituaries&pagewanted=print

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:15 AM

Obituary
Alan Styles Kaul, 64
NBC News producer based in Burbank
From Los Angeles Times Staff and Wire Reports January 12, 2007

Alan Styles Kaul, 64, a veteran news producer for NBC News based in Burbank, died Dec. 22 at the USC-Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center after a long battle with colorectal cancer, fellow NBC producer Cecilia Alvear said.

During a career that spanned 33 years with NBC News, Kaul produced hundreds of stories for the "NBC Nightly News," the "Today Show" and the MSNBC cable network.

Born and raised in Spokane, Wash., Kaul was educated at Whitworth College and the University of Washington. He began his TV news career in Spokane before moving on to Seattle.

In the early 1970s, Kaul was hired by KNBC-TV Channel 4 in Los Angeles as a news producer. In 1980, Kaul became the West Coast producer for the "NBC Nightly News" with Tom Brokaw. In 1985 he was sent to Jordan as Middle East bureau chief for NBC News and in 1990 Kaul returned to Los Angeles.

He covered the 1979-81 U.S. hostage crisis in Iran, the 1980 presidential campaign, numerous national political conventions and several Olympics.

Kaul was a technical advisor on the 1979 movie "The China Syndrome" and briefly appeared in the film as a TV control room director.

An amateur radio operator, Kaul worked with former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite on a 2003 documentary, "Amateur Radio Today," about the communications role that ham radio operators play in emergencies.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings12.2jan12,1,7490876.story?coll=la-news-obituaries

DoubleDAZ

01-12-07, 08:47 AM

I'll record it, thanks for the tipFred,

Planet Earth is not a new series. That particular episode is from 8/20/2006. The "new" stuff won't start until Feb 26 as advertised.

Michael252

01-12-07, 09:31 AM

fredfa

01-12-07, 10:13 AM

Fred,

Planet Earth is not a new series. That particular episode is from 8/20/2006. The "new" stuff won't start until Feb 26 as advertised.

Thanks, Dave. I'll be looking forward to the new episodes.

fredfa

01-12-07, 10:34 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Friday’s Schedule

Today is dominated by NBCU Cable, so perhaps we will learn even more about its HD plans.

HBO will also be making a major presentation.

Other channels meeting the critics include GSN, The Sundance Channel and the Rainbow Networks.

fredfa

01-12-07, 10:40 AM

The TV Column
At Winter Press Tour, MTV Has News for Itself
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, January 12, 2007

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 11---In a TV Press Tour first, while a network was pitching its new programs to The Reporters Who Cover Television in the ballroom of the fancy Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel here, the president of same network was being canned/resigned.

Here's what happened:

MTV Networks was right in the middle of its dog-and-pony show for its new crop of MTV-ish programs -- the washed-up boy-banders living together show, the Sarah Silverman has sex with black god show, the J. Lo teaches bunch of aspiring dancers to live their dream show, the young men pounding each other in cages show, the Oscar-winning hip-hoppers set up in Hollywood mansion and hilarity ensues show. Meanwhile, intrepid bloggers listening to the presentations noticed online reports that MTV Networks President and COO Michael Wolf had been canned/resigned.

Patiently, reporters waited for the master of ceremonies, MTV Entertainment President Brian Graden, to say something. By the time hip-hop artists 3-6 Mafia were onstage chatting about this and that, the reporters could stand no more:

"It's my understanding that news is supposed to be disseminated during a press tour," one intrepid critic said.

"Why have we been here for 2 1/2 hours and no one has mentioned that MTV Networks COO Michael Wolf resigned today? And what can you tell us about the particulars of his resignation?"

[sound of crickets chirping]

"Blessedly, that's above my pay grade," a visibly shaken Graden responded. "That's a corporate move, not a decision I was responsible for."

All eyes turned to an MTV publicist sitting in the audience. The persecuted publicist, looking like you would expect someone to look after he had spent tens of thousands of MTV dollars to put on a dog-and-pony show only to have it nuked by the decision of the company brain trust to can/resign Michael Wolf on the same day, mumbled something to the press about the need to contact corporate headquarters.

Which issued this statement:

"MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc., today announced that Michael Wolf, President and Chief Operating Officer, MTVN, and Nicole Browning, President of Affiliate Sales and Marketing, MTVN, will be leaving the company."

Also in the statement, Judy McGrath, chairman and chief executive officer of MTV Networks, thanked them both for their hard work, saying Wolf had accomplished everything he set out to do for the company. She added that Wolf "has a lot to offer the media as a whole" and wished him "all the best as he moves on to his next adventure." She said Browning "deserves as much credit as anyone" for the "industry-leading success of MTV."

• • • • • • • • • • •Lifetime is not the women's network anymore.

So says Mark Gordon, who came to Winter TV Press Tour 2007 to plug his new Lifetime series, "Army Wives." About a bunch of, well, Army wives. And some husbands.

This development about no more women's network came as something of a surprise to Lifetime Entertainment Services chief Susanne Daniels, who left the stage after introducing the "Army Wives" panel and was hurried back onstage to say the network still targets women, though it hopes to attract men in much the same way that ESPN attracts women. Gordon is best known to TV audiences for his CBS dramas "Cold Case" and "Criminal Minds," which love to put women in chains -- and in chains in cages on very special episodes.

John Corbett, starring in one of Lifetime's series of TV movies based on Nora Roberts books, isn't sure men will watch the women-in-peril network. "I'm not sure how many men watch Lifetime channel," Corbett said, challenging male critics in the room who watch Lifetime to raise their hands. No hands, but one critic noted they get paid to watch Lifetime. Men!

Still, Peter Guber, whose Mandalay Television is producing the Roberts flicks, noted that if you're married and your wife says you're going to watch a Nora Roberts movie on Lifetime, you're going to watch a Nora Roberts movie on Lifetime. (Or we say maybe you need to get a new wife. )"I had to watch 'Holiday' with my wife," chimed in Oliver Hudson, also appearing in one of the Roberts flicks. Corbett has spent the last year on tour with his John Corbett Band and, according to his Roberts flick co-star Ashley Williams, "is still a rock star."

"I never knew you were a rock star, but right on!" said Heather Locklear, rubbing her hands together. Corbett turned red.

Locklear likes to marry rockers and is currently getting over rocker Richie Sambora. Critics loved it. So much laughter! One critic asked Locklear what it was like doing the scenes in the flick "Angel Falls" (in which she plays the sole survivor of a restaurant massacre, a woman who is trying to rebuild her life only to find herself at the center of a murder mystery, according to Lifetime).

"Kind of like real life," Locklear said, getting another laugh.

"How are you doing these days?" one critic asked solicitously, only not. "Today, I'm good. Don't I look good? What do you mean?" she responded.

"Your comments made me wonder," the critic said.

"Oh, [bleep]. I should keep my mouth shut," Locklear responded, adding she was just trying to get out of the way what "everyone wants to ask afterwards."

"I'm doing good," she said.

"Most days are good?" the critic said, getting a big laugh.

"I'm single and still like rock stars and, like, any man is good for me . . . not married men," she added.

One critic noted Corbett's music is actually country, not rock.

It's country rock, Corbett insisted.

Don't make no nevermind to Heather. "Country star is okay too," she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011102159_pf.html

fredfa

01-12-07, 10:47 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
The Weekend Schedule

Saturday is dedicated to PBS.

Sunday some real news is expected as the networks get started with the presentation by ABC. The first panel concerns "Lost" with most of the stars scheduled to attend.

Later in the day ABC will present a show-runners panel with the folks who guide "Grey's Anatomy" "Desperate Housewives", "Brothers & Sisters", "Men In Trees" and "Ugly Betty" scheduled to answer questions.

And also over theweekend, there will be lots of news regarding the returns of "24" and "American Idol" and some Gold Globe preview material.

So be sure to check in a few times this weekend!

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:01 AM

Yesterday’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.

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:08 AM

(From Marc Berman’s Friday, Jan. 12, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
Ratings Box: What’s Hot/What’s Not

The Sopranos is Off and Running on A&E:
A kindler, gentler version of HBO hit The Sopranos debuted on A&E on Wednesday at 9 p.m. with 4.3 million viewers -- the most-watched off-network series premiere in the history of the cable network. Comparably, The Sopranos lifted A&E into the No. 1 spot for the night opposite all basic cable competition in households (3.6 coverage area rating), total viewers, adults 18-49 (1.8 million), adults 25-54 (1.9 million) and adults 18-34. Year-to-year, growth in the time period courtesy of the mob drama was as much as a whopping 291 percent.

Beauty is No Geek in the Ratings:
Wednesday’s installment of the CW’s Beauty & the Geek won the 8 p.m. hour among key adults 18-34 (2.4/ 7) and women 18-34 (2.9/ 8), with its best second week performance in the show’s history. Compared to episode two of season two (on Jan. 19, 2006), Beauty and the Geek was up by as much as 26 percent among women 18-34.

ABC Kids Dominates:
Based on ratings for Saturday, Jan. 6, ABC Kids led the broadcast networks in total viewers (1.98 million) and key kids 2-11 (1.5/ 6), kids 6-11 (1.9/ 8) and tweens 9-14 (1.4/ 7) for the third week in a row. Comparatively, results among kids 2-11 and kids 6-11 were its best since Nov. 4, 2006.

How’s This for a Winning Streak?:
Based on ratings for the week of Jan. 1, CBS in daytime was first in households (3.2) and total viewers (4.32 million) for the 928th consecutive week. The Young and the Restless has now ranked first in households for 940 straight weeks. Do the math, and that’s just over 18 years!

TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest

Mario Lopez Joins Warner Bros.’ Extra:
Dancing With the Stars runner-up Mario Lopez will join veteran Warner Bros. newsmagazine Extra as a daily show correspondent and co-host of the weekend edition. Already a familiar face on Extra as a guest host and special correspondent, Lopez will anchor the weekend show opposite Tanika Ray. His official debut on Extra will be next week on the red carpet at the Golden Globes.

Network Pilot Update:
ABC has ordered a pilot for a drama series called Marlowe, which centers on the classic Philip Marlowe detective character in present day time.

And the Emmy Goes to…The N:
Cable network The N, which programs to teens, won its first Technology & Engineering Award for The N.com Video Mixer in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for the Non Synchronous Enhancement of Original Television Content.

Upcoming Clearances for Family Feud and The Dead Zone from Debmar-Mercury:
Debmar-Mercury has announced clearances in 85 percent of the country, including 49 of the top 50 markets, for the 2007-08 season of veteran Family Feud. Station groups on board for next season include CBS, Cox, Gannett, Meredith, Fox, Sinclair, Sunbeam and Tribune. Debmar-Mercury (which acquired Family Feud from FremantleMedia North America in November) has also announced that 20th Century TV will handle all ad sales.

The syndicator has also cleared USA Network drama The Dead Zone in 85 percent of the country, including all top 10 markets, for a fall 2007 launch in off-network syndication. The Dead Zone has been sold to the Fox stations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Houston and Washington DC; and the ABC affiliates in Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta. Other station groups on board include Cox, Sinclair, Sunbeam, Gannett and Tribune.

Not True, Mr. Trump:
According to Donald Trump, the debut of The Apprentice last Sunday was NBC’s highest-rated show in the 9:30-11 p.m. time period in 14 months. The Apprentice kicked-off season six with 9.10 million viewers (No. 46 overall out of 108 shows) and a 4.1 rating/10 share among adults 18-49 (tied for No. 19 with Law & Order: Criminal Intent). Recent time period occupant Sunday Night Football, however, averaged a considerably heftier 16.47 million viewers with a 6.4/16 among adults 18-49. As for The View supposedly “tanking” after Trump decides to stop commenting on the feud, wasn’t the perennial ABC daytime talker up year-to-year before the Donald/Rosie fracas?

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:19 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Drinks on E!
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer in her blog “Moraes On TV” January 12, 2007

When TV critics sat down for the E! session at Winter TV Press Tour 2007, each received a copy of trade paper Variety. Splashed across pages 2 and 3 was an enormous E! ad:

2006: Our Most Watched Year Ever
173,500,000 Viewers
Drinks are on us at Hyde Tonight.

Hyde is maybe the hottest club in Los Angeles, on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. You will never see the inside of Hyde -- it's very small and terribly exclusive. Maybe you've seen snaps of Britney Spears or Nicole Richie being carried out of Hyde. Which is why E! chose that location for giving out free drinks to exactly the people who don't need E!'s charity. Or their liquor.

Anyway, in small print at the bottom of the ad is an odd disclaimer:

"We wanted to give you alcoholic drinks, but the laws of California prohibit it. We can only offer a non-alcoholic drink (i.e. Shirley Temples)."

People don't go to Hyde to drink Shirley Temples. They go to Hyde to get fractured. Imagine Lindsay Lohan ordering a Shirley Temple or Paris Hilton asking for a Virgin Mary.

The disclaimer also said the offer applies only to the first 50 non-alcoholic drinks ordered and that the offer is good for only one day. The odds of 50 people ordering a non-alcoholic beverage in Hyde in one day are slim to none.

An E! rep at the press tour told us that they discovered only the afternoon of the day the ad went to print that it's legal for E! to offer free booze to people on a guest list at Hyde but illegal to offer free booze to so-called Paris-ites.

Comic Sarah Silverman deals harshly with TV critics who point out big plot holes in her new Comedy Central series.

In the pilot episode of "The Sarah Silverman Program," Silverman goes on a Seinfeldian journey to obtain batteries for her TV remote control, without having any actual money.

One critic noted that earlier in the episode, she had plastered loads of dollar bills on her television screen to cover the screen.

"Shut the [expletive] up!" she screamed.

"Jerk!"

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/tvblog/2007/01/drinks_on_e.html#more

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:42 AM

Washington Notebook
Get Set for Plenty of D.C. Action in 2007
Indecency, the DTV transition, must carry, retransmission consent and video franchising are just some of the issues that could make for a wild regulatory ride this year.
By Michael Berg TVNewsday.com January 12, 2007
(Michael Berg is a veteran communications lawyer and the principal in the Law Office of Michael D. Berg.[/b]

People invest in hog futures and wheat futures. What about TV regulation futures? If they were traded on a commodities exchange, it could be a wild ride for 2007 investors.

Futures markets aside, all TV station owners and managers already have a big stake in legal and regulatory developments this year. The FCC is at full strength, the new Democratic-controlled Senate Commerce Committee has already set an FCC oversight hearing for Feb. 1, and appellate courts are preparing to rule. Profiled briefly below are four of the most important issues—indecency, the DTV transition, must carry/retransmission consent and video franchising.

The DTV Transition: All U.S. TV broadcasters must cease analog transmission and become all-digital in just over two years—on Feb. 19, 2009. More than 1,500 full-power stations already broadcast digital signals in addition to analog. Low-power and translator stations are in an earlier stage of digital conversion. Full-power broadcasters may want to keep an eye on low-power digital applications for their markets for interference or other problems, and follow FCC conduct of the low-power process.

Part of the full-power transition is the Digital-to-analog Converter Program. Congress empowered the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to spend up to $2.5 billion to distribute $40 coupons starting Jan. 1, 2008, to TV households having analog-only sets and no cable or satellite TV. This 15% of the TV audience would lose free TV when analog signals end in February 2009. The coupons will subsidize purchase of low-cost converters to display digital off-air signals on analog sets.

NTIA collected public comment last year and is drafting coupon rules. On Jan. 26, it will request proposals for vendor support for the program. Stations concerned about over-the-air-only viewership should follow 2007 developments. The industry will be asked to help publicize the plan. To that end, the National Association of Broadcasters has already added staff.

Multicast Must Carry: In 2005 the FCC affirmed, over the objection of then-Commissioner (now FCC Chairman) Kevin Martin, that cable must carry applies only to a station’s primary digital stream (and any additional material qualifying as “program-related”), but not to additional multicast channels. As a result, unless the FCC or Congress changes the law, stations can get carriage of multicast material only through retransmission consent negotiations with cable operators. Broadcasters argue that the lack of assured carriage undermines development of new diverse programs and services that are part of the promise of DTV. Chairman Martin has sought to revisit the denial of multicast must carry. A vote was postponed last year, however, when the newest commissioner, Republican Robert McDowell, publicly questioned FCC authority to require it. The two Democratic commissioners have generally viewed multicast must carry more favorably, though they tie it to quantifiable public interest obligations for stations. Majority Democrats in the new Congress are likely to take greater interest in must carry, and localism, as well. The importance of the issue increases as the all-digital deadline approaches.

Retransmission Consent: In 2006, TV group owners and cable MSOs battled publicly over carriage terms for broadcast signals. Two of the reasons are the advent of digital and some broadcasters’ efforts to break cable’s traditional refusal to pay cash for the right to carry stations. Highly publicized, some disputes involved at least the threat of viewers losing popular broadcast signals. FCC rules require good faith bargaining and provide for complaints. But if viewers continue to face loss of favorite programs because the broadcaster pulls signals or the operator drops them when talks fail, the FCC or Congress could step in to revise retransmission consent rules.

Video Franchising: Historically, the FCC is broadcasting’s main regulator, while cable’s is local franchising authorities. In 2006, growth of new competitors to cable—notably AT&T’s IPTV “U-verse” and Verizon’s fiber optic “FiOS” systems—cued the question of how they should be regulated. The telcos eschew cable regulation and have persuaded some state legislatures to shield them from local franchising. Cable wants equal treatment, the FCC has not yet settled telco video regulation, and U-verse and FiOS are providing service and carrying broadcast signals under agreements with stations.

Into this volatile mix strode the FCC last month with a 3-2 (Republicans for, Democrats against) video franchising decision that critics say exceeds FCC authority and muddies the waters. The telcos like it; cable and cities do not. At this writing the FCC had not released the full text, but its public notice summary indicates that the decision lets telcos provide “interim” video service if their local franchise applications are not granted or denied within 90 or 180 days; prohibits certain “unreasonable” franchise requirements; and requires reduction of the maximum 5% annual franchise fee by the amounts of other costs of franchise compliance. Multiple court challenges, perhaps by cable, consumer groups and others, seem likely, along with congressional hearings and perhaps legislation.

For television broadcasters, 2007 video franchise developments may determine whether must carry, manner-of-carriage and other broadcast protections in cable law will apply to the new entrants; whether any cable retransmission consent changes will affect telco video; and whether there are opportunities to improve existing signal carriage law for broadcasters, perhaps as to cable, satellite and new competitors. Broadcasters have rights to protect at each phase of the developing law on these and other questions.

Broadcast Indecency: Two major federal court appeals of FCC indecency rulings are moving toward 2007 resolution. Further along is Fox v. FCC, in New York’s 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. It involves FCC indecency findings last March, but no fines, for variations of the “s” and “f” words in two Fox Billboard Music Awards shows; an ABC NYPD Blue episode; and the word “bullshit” in a CBS morning news interview. In November 2006, the FCC reversed its NYPD Blue ruling (because no one complained from the airing station’s market) and its CBS interview finding (on reconsideration, the language was held not indecent in context). Oral argument was held Dec. 20, 2006, and the case is now ripe for decision. The court could uphold the FCC, reverse it and/or send the case back to the FCC for further action.

The second appeal, in the federal 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia, involves the FCC’s $550,000 fine against CBS for Janet Jackson’s 2004 “wardrobe malfunction” at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVII. The FCC found that CBS failed to prevent the exposure of Jackson’s breast for one tenth of a second in primetime. Appeals briefs have been filed and the next step is scheduling oral argument.

In the balance between First Amendment freedoms and the Communications Act’s empowerment of the FCC to limit airwave indecency, the FCC in 2006 tended to emphasize enforcement. This year the appeals could alter that emphasis and produce clearer station guidelines.

The above are only highlights at a time of potentially great change in TV law and regulation. Media ownership, increased television transactions, the role of broadcasting in homeland security (FCC emergency alert system requirements took effect Dec. 31) and other issues and likely to be in play this year.

TV owners and managers should follow developments and look for opportunities to shape them. Simultaneously, they must not let down their guard on compliance with existing law. Both steps are key to protecting the investments that television has in those broadcast regulation futures.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/01/12/daily.3/

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:51 AM

Critic’s Notebook
Another “American Idol” preview

Rich Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal has a podcast up on the return of “American Idol”.

You find it here:

http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/american_idol/American_Idol_Preview.mp3

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:01 PM

Yesterday’s 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.

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:09 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
TV Press Tour, minus the news
By David Kronke Los Angeles Daily News Television Critic in his “The Mayor Of Television” blog January 12, 2007

Members of the Television Critics Association have been sitting through the MTV Networks' (Comedy Central, Spike, VH1, et al) session for the past two hours, and, naturally, some of it has been particularly excrutiating. (A reality show about washed-up boy-band members living together, anyone?)

So, nothing else to do except surf the web, and discover that something you might imagine might've come up as a news item at some point during these alleged "press conferences" -- the resignation of the COO of MTV Networks Michael Wolf -- yet somehow has gone mysteriously unmentioned.

Honestly, did it not occur to them that this actuall might qualify as news, rather than shows about guys fighting each other ("The Ultimate Fighter") or driving recklessly ("Bullrun")?

Instead, we have Mark Burnett, who'll produce the MTV Movie Awards, discoursing on his "Apprentice" colleague Donald Trump on his feud with Rosie O'Donnell: "Do I have any control over him? Are you #%$@ing kidding me? ... It's quiet today, and I''m really kind of happy it's quiet."

Well, it's quiet, but during this MTV Networks session, for all the wrong reasons.

*UPDATE: Well, once again, it fell upon Your Mayor to pose the question: "It’s my understanding that news is supposed to disseminated during a press tour. Why have we been here for two and a half hours and no one has mentioned that MTV Networks COO Michael Wolf resigned today? And what can you tell us about the particulars of his resignation?"

Shockingly, MTV's Brian Graden dodged the question.

Self-righteous indignation for your amusement

Thursday’s MTV Networks portion of the Television Critics Association’ semiannual press tour underscored just how much the TV industry disrespects those who cover it. As related in the blog entry just below this one, news of MTV Networks COO Michael Wolf getting ashcanned broke while its session was proceeding, yet there appeared to be no dire need on behalf of those running the show to relate this information to the people whose job is to cover the industry.

Your Mayor stumbled upon word of Wolf’s ouster while web-surfing via WiFi during a particularly tedious Spike TV press conference in the Ritz Carlton’s ballroom. (TV networks, who heretofore have championed new technologies without fully understanding them, will from here out clearly curse them under their breath.) As the afternoon wore on, and still no mention of this actual news event cropped up amongst MTV’s breathless promotions of an endless parade of reality programs featuring irresponsible drivers, washed-up boy-band members, rap stars and wanna-be music-video dancers, Your Mayor – or, as the estimable Washington Post prefers to refer to him (for one story, at least, though if you want to see his veneration, a subscription is required), an “intrepid reporter” - demanded to know why such news was being withheld from the very people whose jobs are reliant on their coverage of actual news stories involving television.

Needless to say, I was summarily rebuffed. But two vaguely amusing repercussions resulted from my question: One critic later told me that my question resulted in an “audible gasp” from the battery of MTV publicists sitting behind him (I was seated on the other side of the room, so I didn’t hear this), and the reporter who followed up my query was so flabbergasted by the revelation that he admitted he couldn’t gather his wits to pose his more prosaic inquiry (which, eventually, involved his curiosity as to the origins of Three 6 Mafia’s name).

But this incident, perhaps more than any other in the history of the TV press tour, underscores its essential pointlessness. It proves the utter contempt networks have for the journalists who cover them (heretofore, such proof came a mere year earlier, where UPN executive Dawn Ostroff refused to clearly answer any question during her session; a mere two days after the press tour ended, a hastily arranged press conference announced that UPN and The WB would consolidate their resources into a new network, The CW; the reporters who were able to attend that press conference were hard-pressed to know the right questions to ask, so the merger proceeded without any smart contextualization).

No, in the TV network’s executive’s mind, journalists are merely unwitting stooges whose only value lie in their propensity to uncastigatingly promote otherwise unwatchable programming while caged in a hermetically sealed environment where groupspeak is god. Keep this in mind as you consume further coverage of the ongoing TV press tour.

http://www.insidesocal.com/tv/

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:18 PM

Overnights in the 18-49 Demo
Rising audiences for 'Earl' and 'Office'
NBC sitcoms hit season highs in adults 18-49
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine Jan 12, 2007

Since CBS’s “Survivor” went on its traditional midseason hiatus in mid-December, NBC’s 8 p.m. sitcoms have been reaping the benefits of a less-competitive timeslot.

“My Name is Earl” and “The Office” grew for the second straight week, both hitting season highs, as they also won the timeslot for the second straight week.

“Earl” averaged a 4.7 adults 18-49 Nielsen overnight rating, its best since last spring, at 8 p.m. “The Office” built to an impressive 5.0 at 8:30 p.m., a season high and its best since one year ago.

“Earl” was up 9 percent over last week’s 4.3, while “Office” jumped 16 percent over the previous week’s 4.3. Season to date, the shows are up nearly 50 percent over the network’s average in the same timeslot a year ago.

Among total viewers, “Office” had its best outing in a year, with 10.2 million, while “Earl” had its best showing since March, with 10.9 million.

NBC seems to be benefiting from the absence of “Survivor.” Last night CBS averaged a 2.7 among 18-49s in the timeslot, or half of what “Survivor” usually does. NBC does not, however, seem to be stealing viewers from ABC timeslot competitor “Ugly Betty,” which was up week to week in 18-49s.

It may well be that “Survivor” viewers who usually record the NBC sitcoms are watching them live, as both shows are popular among viewers with digital video recorder.

This is a promising development for NBC as “Survivor” gets ready to return in a few weeks. With that show weakening significantly in its most recent season, it’s possible these new viewers won’t migrate back to CBS.

Meanwhile, with its first new “Grey’s Anatomy” in weeks, ABC took first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 5.7 average rating and a 15 share last night. NBC finished second at 4.4/11, CBS third at 3.0/8, Univision fourth at 1.8/5, Fox fifth at 1.8/4 and CW sixth at 1.7/4.

NBC started the night in the lead with a 4.8 average during the 8 p.m. hour for “My Name is Earl” (4.7) and “The Office” (5.0). ABC was second with a 4.4 for “Ugly Betty,” with CBS third with a 2.7 for “Armed and Famous” and Univision fourth with a 2.3 for “La Fea Mas Bella.” CW came in fifth with a 2.0 for “Smallville” and Fox sixth with a 1.9 average for “‘Til Death” (1.8) and “The War at Home” (1.9).

At 9 p.m. ABC took the lead in a big way with a 9.3 rating for “Grey’s Anatomy,” about even to its most recent original episode. CBS and NBC tied for second that hour, CBS for a “CSI” repeat and NBC for “Scrubs” (4.0, tying a season high) and “30 Rock” (2.9). Univision and Fox tied for fourth at 1.7, Univision for “Mundo de Fieras” and Fox for “The O.C.,” while CW was sixth with a 1.4 for “Supernatural.”

NBC took the lead back at 10 p.m. with a 5.0 for “ER,” followed by a 3.6 for ABC for “Men in Trees.” CBS was third with a 2.8 for “Shark” and Univision fourth with a 1.3 for “Aqui y Ahora.”

Among households, ABC led the night comfortably with a 10.2 average rating and a 16 share. CBS was second at 6.5/10, NBC third at 6.1/10, Fox fourth at 2.7/4, CW fifth at 2.4/4 and Univision sixth at 2.3/4.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9513.asp

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:27 PM

The Business of Television
CBS Getting Carriers to Pony Up
By Jon Lafayette Television Week

CEO Les Moonves is hopeful that CBS's long quest to get paid by the cable operators that carry CBS stations will soon succeed.

Speaking at an investor conference on Wednesday, Mr. Moonves said retransmission consent money could bring "hundreds of millions of dollars" by 2009.

He said the network was in talks with three smaller operators and that at this point, "it's inevitable we're going to get paid."

Verizon has already agreed to pay in a deal that would bring in about $10 million annually and additional deals with smaller operators could bring in $5 million a year. After that, he hopes the bigger operators will fall in line.

"It will materially affect our numbers beginning in 2009," he said, but added that there will be incremental revenue in 2007.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11357

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:33 PM

Critic’s Notebook
DVD captures long-forgotten but potent 'Hootenanny'
By Dave Hoekstra Chicago Sun-Times Staff Reporter January 12, 2007

America has survived another folk scare. Long before last year's Seeger Sessions from Bruce Springsteen -- (ah, that was a time!) and even Billy Bragg and Wilco doing Woody Guthrie, there was "Hootenanny."

The weekly folk music concert show ran on ABC-TV between May 1963 and March 1964. The show was broadcast from college campuses across America and hosted by Jack Linkletter, the oldest son of legendary television show host Art Linkletter.

There was nothing scary about "Hootenanny."

The college students were preppy and chipper. The music was innocent, at least until The Chad Mitchell Trio sang "The John Birch Society."

"The Best of Hootenanny," a three-disc DVD box set featuring more than 80 performances, will be released Tuesday on Shout! Factory ($44.98). On first take, "The Best of Hootenanny" calls out for typical DVD extras like commentary and outtakes. There's none of that here. But after spending quality time with the "Hootenanny" gang, the innocence of the era stands on its own. Its a compelling project, and that's coming from someone who liked the Beatles more than beatniks.

Appearing in glorious black and white are Johnny Cash, late Chicagoan Bob Gibson, the Clara Ward Gospel singers and a jittery Woody Allen. Not appearing are Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and Joan Baez.

Political folk singers were blacklisted from "Hootenanny" as the last vestige of McCarthyism. ABC-TV offered to drop the Seeger blacklist, providing he sign a "loyalty oath." Seeger seethed and began talking publically about the blacklist. Dylan, Phil Ochs and even the Kingston Trio took his cue.

In January 1964 Dylan was woodshedding at Broadside Magazine and he recorded for Broadside Records under the alias of Blind Boy Grunt. Broadside was to "Hootenanny" what Bloodshot Records is to "American Idol." Dylan wrote a prose-poem that in part addressed "Hootenanny": ...I don't understand the blacklist/I don't understand how people against it go along with it/I'm talkin' about the full thing/not just a few of us refusin' to be on the show.......not just the singers mind you/but the managers an agents an buyers an sellers....they are the dishonest ones..../the heroes of this battle are not me an Joan an the Kingston Trio nor Peter Paul an Mary for none of us need it to go on that show..."

But Dylan's future running partner Johnny Cash was on "Hootenanny." Cash showed up during a taping at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Most male "Hootenanny" performers wore sweaters, jackets and thin ties. Not Cash. He was dressed in black and did not wear a tie. He sweated profusely as he hoisted his guitar and sang Harlan Howard's "Busted," followed by "Five Feet High and Rising." The segment was also unusual in the "Hootenanny" motif in that Cash performed with a drummer and electric guitarist.

"Hootenanny" succumbed to fast times. By March 1964 the Beatles and Rolling Stones invaded America and "Hootenanny" was squaresville, daddy-o. "Hootenanny" quickly morphed into "Hullabaloo." The producers of "Hootenanny" threw away tapes under the assumption folk music was dead. Shout! Factory had to sort through kinescopes to create the DVDS, whose running time totals 270 minutes. (Pay attention to the segment on Disc One that was filmed at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. This "Hootenanny" took place two weeks before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. It is a freeze frame.)

The Journeymen covered the foreboding blues classic "Stakolee" (recently resurrected by Dylan). The trio included John Phillips, who achieved fame with the Mamas and Papas and Scott McKenzie, who had the 1967 solo hit "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)." Canadian folk singers Ian and Sylvia followed the Journeymen with a spritely rendition of "Jesus Met The Woman at the Well," which they learned from gospel legend Mahalia Jackson, and best of all, The Clara Ward Gospel Singers jumped up and down, sanctified and shook their tambourine to "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." This Dallas segment was more spiritual than typical "Hootenanny" fare, with strong winds of change in the air. Then, in a strange segue, Woody Allen appeared after Ian and Sylvia sang "Greenwood Sidie-O." Allen seemed to be in Dallas, but this segment was taped at Arizona State University in Tucson. (Would Woody ever play in Texas?) Allen was high-strung and he fiddled with his microphone as his monologue jetted from group analysis to "beatniks trying to make opium out of poppies given out by veterans on the street corner." After more than seven minutes on stage, a producer signaled that Allen's time was up. A slightly perturbed Allen made a quick exit, telling the audience he would wander around the campus to see if he could fall in love.

Because some of the most important folk singers of the era were blacklisted from "Hootenanny," there is also strange filler, such as jazz flautist Herbie Mann grooving through "Harlem Nocturne" and Theodore Bikel preceding Jimmy Buffett by a decade with "When I Go Down To Bimini." A young Bill Cosby looked like Sam Cooke and was also bothered by time constraints. He told his UCLA audience, "The folk singers are going to come and get me."

Life goes in cycles, as non-Hootenanny hipster Frank Sinatra once sang. The Rooftop Singers delivered "Froggie Went-A-Courtin'," on "Hootenanny," which Springsteen included in last year's Seeger Sessions. Last week President Bush gave the green light to inspect our mail. Can a blacklist be far behind? "Hootenanny" is back.

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/hoekstra/207356,WKP-News-hoot12.article

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:39 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
The English Channels
plus news from Oxygen and your Tori Spelling update
By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star in his blog “TV Barn”

Look, I know that American TV has always owed a huge debt to British ideas. "Monty Python," "All in the Family," "Masterpiece Theatre," "Millionaire," "The Office," Charles and Diana … the history of Anglo-American television is a long and happy one.

But what's the deal over at Discovery Networks? The operator of several top-rated channels including Discovery, TLC and Animal Planet, a cable powerhouse headquartered — allegedly — in suburban Washington, D.C., rolled out a truckload of new shows Wednesday for TV critics gathered here. It was a British invasion from start to finish.

First, Travel Channel's general manager came out ... and he's a Brit. So, I would soon realize, are the folks who run TLC and Discovery Channel. Meanwhile, Animal Planet has a new show out called "Spring Watch USA," a six-week series that will track the arrival of our favorite season, with cameras rolling "just prior to broadcast each week to capture the rites of spring as it unfolds in near real time." Cool idea — but Animal Planet didn't think of it first. It's been a BBC tradition for years, done in collaboration with England's leading conservation charity and the help of thousands of volunteers. Animal Planet's version, which will begin April 14, will feature mainly the channel's own stars, including Jeff Corwin and Philippe Cousteau.

Turning to TLC, run by another Occidental type, a reality series called "My Life as a Child" will follow the lives of 20 fascinating children chosen on a nationwide talent search, from a boy who's pursuing his love of ballet to an 8-year-old girl who's already published one book. The kids are given camcorders and learn to make video diaries.

The result is a compelling program that looks like a winner. And it should be, since "My Life As a Child" is already a hit on the BBC.

And then there's Discovery, now run by a former Beeb executive, that simply hired away a whole BBC crew to make its newest high-definition extravaganza, "Planet Earth," which offers unprecedented looks into the workings of nature. (We won't even get into BBC America, which is also under Discovery's roof.)

What gives? I asked Billy Campbell, who oversees the Discovery family in the U.S. and who, despite his Anglophonic name, is actually a southerner. He assured me that it was more appearance than reality. He pointed out that Discovery had also announced a new Ted Koppel special, "The Long War" (March 11), about the conflict between Islamist radicals and the United States. And he noted that Travel Channel, with its mutton-eating FM, had done something original and uniquely American: It adapted the bestselling book "1000 Places to See Before You Die" into a series and chose a cute couple from Colorado, Albin and Melanie Ulle, to visit about a tenth of the book's destinations for a new series that begins March 29.

Fine. I'm placated. But I won't be surprised if Time Warner Cable starts letting me pay my bill in pounds sterling.

Other news from the winter press previews:

• You probably haven't heard, but a few months ago the New York Times quietly bowed out of its joint venture with Discovery on the Discovery Times Channel. Campbell said Wednesday he hasn't decided where it is heading, except to say it will be about news and documentaries because "so few cable networks serve that audience."

• BBC America unveiled its new logo, that will begin appearing on its air January 17. It looks like a bullseye — I'm sorry, "bulls-A," as the channel's general manager Kathryn Mitchell called it. Not coincidentally, an ambitious 13-week retelling of "Robin Hood" begins on BBC America this winter.

• A National Geographic Channel crew was ambushed in November while filming an upcoming special, "Inside the Green Berets," in Afghanistan. The channel's president Laureen Ong said Wednesday, that producer Steve Hoggard and other injured crew members "are expected to make a full recovery," and to have the program ready to air in April.

• Oxygen will roll out a series of documentaries about girls in America and around the world beginning March 25 with two films. The series will be hosted by former "View" correspondent Lisa Ling and will explore such themes as mothers in prison and the exploitation of girls in India.

• And on another cultural note, former "90210" actress Tori Spelling, who was left a measly $800,000 by her dad, the late megaproducer Aaron Spelling, shot down rumors she was escaping Hollywood to open a B&B with her hubby Dean McDermott. The two will appear in an Oxygen reality series, "Tori and Dean Inn Love," starting March 21, but they see their new property — in which Spelling invested her entire inheritance — as a business venture. "We want to brand it and branch it out," said McDermott.

http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2007/01/dateline_pasade_2.html#more

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:47 PM

TV Notebook
Survivor: Fiji
Shocking Twists Revealed!
By Matt Mitovich TV Guide January 12, 2007

The tribes will be segregated by political affiliation! No, by sexual orientation!

Actually, the plan for Survivor: Fiji, premiering Feb. 8, is to group the 19 castaways as one tribe equipped with enough supplies and resources to fashion themselves an exceptionally cozy camp.

But come Day 3, one player will be called upon to split the one mass into two. The tribe which then wins the first immunity challenge lives large at the existing camp, while the other is relocated to a separate island with only a pot, a machete and a water source. (Think The Apprentice: L.A., but with millions more viewers.)

What's more, an immunity idol will be hidden at each camp, and Exile Island will now offer its visitor a clue to its whereabouts. I can see the promos now: "Fox offers you one Idol, but we've got two."

http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700016455

fredfa

01-12-07, 12:58 PM

(From Marc Berman’s Friday, Jan. 12, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )
On the Air This Weekend:
Prime-Time Programming Options
Friday 1/12/07

ABC:
8:00 p.m. Grey’s Anatomy (R)
9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives (R)
10:00 p.m. 20/20

CBS:
8:00 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9:00 p.m. Close To Home
10:00 p.m. Numb3rs

NBC:
8:00 p.m. 1 vs. 100
9:00 p.m. Las Vegas
10:00 p.m. Law & Order

Fox:
8:00 p.m. Nanny 911
9:00 p.m. Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy

CW:
8:00 p.m. Friday Night Smackdown!

Saturday 1/13/07

ABC:
8:00 p.m. Movie: The Terminal

CBS:
8:00 p.m. NCIS (R)
9:00 p.m. CSI: NY (R)
10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery

NBC:
8:00 p.m. Dateline
9:00 p.m. Psych
10:00 p.m. Law & Order: SVU (R)

Fox:
8:00 p.m. NFC Division Playoff

Sunday 1/14/07

ABC:
7:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos
8:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
10:00 p.m. Brothers & Sisters

CBS:
7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes
8:00 p.m. Cold Case (R)
9:00 p.m. Cold Case
10:00 p.m. Without a Trace

NBC:
7:00 p.m. Dateline
8:00 p.m. Grease: You’re the One That I Want
9:00 p.m. The Apprentice 6
10:00 p.m. Crossing Jordan (season premiere)

Fox:
7:00 p.m. The Simpsons (R)
7:30 p.m. The Simpsons (R)
8:00 p.m. 24 (season premiere, 2-hours)

CW:
7:00 p.m. Reba (R)
7:30 p.m. Reba
8:00 p.m. 7th Heaven
9:00 p.m. Beauty and the Geek (R)

HBO
9:00 p.m Rome
10:00 p.m. Extras

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:07 PM

TV Q&A
Ask Matt
(from the Ask Matt column at TVGuide.com
By Matt Roush TVGuide.com TV Critic Friday, January 12, 2007

Question: I was shocked to see Dr. Weaver leave ER this month. Does this mean that Laura Innes has left the series altogether, or is this simply a story line? One would think that for months ahead of time NBC would have hyped this exit of one of the show's last original characters, as they did when Clooney, Edwards, Margulies and Stringfield left the series. An unrelated question: after snubs from both the Golden Globes and SAG, is it possible for Brothers & Sisters to get even a few Emmy nominations? A cast that includes Oscar winner Sally Field, multiple-Emmy nominees Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths, Ron Rifkin and Rob Lowe, as well as Emmy winner Patricia Wettig should be destined for Emmy love. Is this a lost cause?— Matthew C.

Matt Roush: What was shocking was how well ER kept Laura Innes' departure a secret (more or less — there were signs this was coming), but to me it's a big plus that NBC didn't make a huge deal out of it, overpromoting it the way, say, CBS did with Grissom's ho-hum temporary sabbatical from CSI the very same night. (ER had the more impressive episode that night, if only for this reason.) One of TV Guide's reporters, Ileane Rudolph, just interviewed Innes, who has always been a class act. She really is leaving the show, but there's always the chance (given Weaver's new TV career path) that she'll return for a guest appearance somewhere down the road.

It's not like Innes is hurting for work. She has already established herself as a first-rate TV director, and you'll see her in the credits for upcoming episodes of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as well as ER. But yes, she will be missed. From the start, Weaver was always a fascinating character, someone you often wanted to hate but had to respect. And from her physical disability to her emerging acceptance of her homosexuality, Weaver continued to develop new and surprising shadings as she went up and down the career ladder. As for Brothers & Sisters at the Emmys, that is a case of a show whose first season is clearly a work in progress. It just keeps getting better, so I'm hopeful that by the end of the season, it will have developed a higher media profile and some of its actors (Field in particular) will be recognized with well-deserved nominations. I would much have preferred that this show (or Friday Night Lights) got an ensemble-cast SAG nomination over Boston Legal, that's for sure.

Question: I wanted to respond to your comments about the idea that perhaps the unaired episodes of canceled shows should not be streamed online, and instead viewers should simply "move on." I've yet to have a show I watch sent to this online exile, but I've had tons of shows of which I was a fan canceled with unaired episodes that later surfaced on DVD. Surely, I was better off seeing the entire glorious season of Wonderfalls rather than "moving on" after the handful that aired, wasn't I?

Even without a lick of closure, the unaired Christmas episode of Tru Calling was a gem. And Firefly was only getting better through its unaired episodes. (Of course, in that case we fans finally got our closure in a different medium.) Might the problem that viewers are having this year with the Vanisheds and Kidnappeds of the world have more to do with streaming technology, or the fact that their unaired episodes were themselves not very good, than that the notion of watching unaired eps at all is a mistake? I know I'd be tempted to view the episodes of The Nine that didn't air, but that show was already a chore by the time it was canceled, so I'm sure I'd only get more of the same frustration out of its final hours. Just interested to hear your thoughts.— Lamar

Matt Roush: I'll admit that my "move on" comment was too glib, given the passion some viewers clearly have for this season's failed serialized dramas, and I got plenty of letters taking me to task for it. In the case of shows like Kidnapped (which I'm led to believe was able to wrap up its story, more or less, in 13 episodes) and Day Break (which initially was only intended to air 13 or so hours during the Lost hiatus anyway), being able to see the entire short series in full is clearly a positive thing for those seeking dramatic closure.

And I'm with you when it comes to DVD releases of shows that never got a chance and had hidden treasures left unseen (Wonderfalls and Firefly being among the best examples). But in cases like Vanished (I think) or last season's Reunion, when a show with a much broader arc is cut short before the producers can achieve anything like a coherent finale, it's best for everyone to wash their hands of it if it's not going to go further. This season, many of the networks have attempted to use their online resources to fill the void when a show is canceled midstream, but so far it's proving to be an imperfect system. What I was responding to, probably in a fit of just-back-from-vacation frustration, was the amount of mail I was getting from viewers who refuse to be satisfied no matter what the networks offer up on behalf of these dead shows. The bottom line is, there's almost never a happy ending for a show that is given a quick heave-ho. But if the networks give you the option of continuing to watch in whatever format, who am I to discourage you? I just doubt I'll be going along for the ride.

Question: I have to wholeheartedly disagree with Dewey's notion that a show should stand the test of time before being lauded as one of TV's best. For one thing, creators, writers, directors and actors move on from TV projects, so to judge a TV show in its entirety robs the talented people behind the show's success of their glory and exalts the mediocre people responsible for its less successful years.

Think of Alias: The first two seasons were brilliant in every way, but once J.J. Abrams left to pursue other projects, the show declined in quality. But to deny Alias' impact on television merely because of the final seasons would be wrong. And vice versa — we shouldn't unduly exalt the final three seasons merely because the first two were so innovative. I also think of Twin Peaks, a show that changed the face of television, albeit for a very short time. If it were judged in its entirety, the last 10 to 15 episodes would have to knock its overall quality down a few notches, and we would be erroneously depriving the first season and a half of its proper place in TV history. The notion is ridiculous. If awards shows worked the same way, we would be giving Oscars only to people who had stellar careers rather than to those with stellar performances in movies of that year. And really, who can claim to never have had a bad year or two?— Jackie H.

Matt Roush: True enough, and these sentiments were shared by others who responded to Dewey's controversial position that we should hold our top-10 judgments on shows until they've proven themselves in the long haul. As I thought about it further, what struck me is that much of what we do as we watch (and as I cover) TV has to do with leaps of faith. We respond to the promise of a new series, and even while we wonder how much longer a show like 24 can deliver the goods and ponder how much longer Grey's Anatomy can keep churning through juicy relationship stories before running dry, we're more than willing to go along for the ride and appreciate these shows as long as they can deliver — even if we know it's likely that we'll be let down or disappointed before it's all over. Failing to respond to an actual breakthrough because of this long-term perspective would not only be wrong, it could also damage the creative spirit of those on both sides of the business.

Question: Is it just me, or has My Name Is Earl really picked up its game lately? Last week's episode (Jan. 4), which was a take-off of Cops with a hint of Reno 911!, was absolutely hilarious! I know that Earl himself is trying to be good, but when he is bad, he is so much funnier! My sides still hurt from laughing so hard last Thursday night. Do you think that putting these four great comedies together has made the writers work harder so as not to be outdone by the others? I know that at least with Earl, as of late the shows just haven't been as funny, except when he is reverting back to his life of crime, and I was starting to worry that Earl had run its course. But now, after last week's show, I am all for the prequel Earl: The Crime Years. "Bad boys, bad boys, who you gonna call.... "— Valerie M.

Matt Roush: The Cops parody was brilliant. Not that it hasn't been spoofed before, but to have the characters revel in this notoriety as opposed to being ashamed of it was a riot. (To see Kathy Kinney and Mike O'Malley among the bumbling cops was a treat as well.) I've been enjoying this season quite a bit, and am also glad when the writers can break from formula, but I would worry if fans turn on the show when it's merely good instead of great, as it inevitable is many weeks. There is a formula to Earl, which is probably a blessing (commercially) as well as a curse (creatively), but please don't give up on him just because he's trying to be good, and you certainly shouldn't bail if the show has an off episode now and again. As to your point about the writers of these shows raising their game because of the new company they're keeping on Thursdays, why not? Each of these shows had already set the bar pretty high for themselves, and now we're all the beneficiaries.

Question: A friend of mine and I were watching 30 Rock this week and we simply cannot understand why this show is struggling in the ratings. The writing is crisp; the ensemble cast is made up of amusing, multidimensional characters; the concept should appeal to the entire 18- to 49-year-old target market; and we laugh out loud throughout each episode. And oh yeah, Alec Baldwin is brilliant! I always respect your opinion — am I missing something?— Vance H.

Matt Roush: It's not you who are missing something. But even if 30 Rock were airing in a more hospitable time period with less fierce competition, it would almost certainly be an acquired taste. The tone is droll and absurd and at times cruel, which is great for those who like this sort of thing, but I can also see where the setting, the characters and the attitude would be off-putting for many. Not unlike Arrested Development, when for every letter I got from a die-hard fan, I'd get one saying, "Why does anyone think this is remotely funny?" 30 Rock isn't quite on Arrested's level yet; not every character clicks the way I think they're meant to. But I do love Kenneth the page — last week, when at first I thought he was talking to the skeleton of his mother (shades of Norman Bates), I almost fell to the floor laughing. And Alec Baldwin is without question giving one of the great comic performances of the season. But as long as it's airing against two of the biggest hits of our time (Grey's Anatomy and CSI), as part of a string of single-camera cult comedies, I wouldn't count on 30 Rock's numbers climbing anytime soon. Just enjoy it while you can.

Question: There are a few shows that I have grown attached to in the last few months, and I'm wondering what your take is on their futures: Brothers & Sisters, Shark, Close to Home and 'Til Death. What kinds of ratings are they getting, and what do you think their chances are of returning next season?— C. Patterson

Matt Roush: Of the shows on your short list, only 'Til Death is in any real jeopardy; the others are sure bets to return for another season. 'Til Death's future probably rests on how it performs during Fox's stronger second half of the season, and how strong Fox's comedy development is for next season. I'd guess it's a long shot.

Question: If FX's new drama Dirt is as lousy as most reviews say it is, is there a chance FX will pull it and bring The Shield back earlier? That would be awesome (no disrespect to Courteney Cox).— Matthew V.

Matt Roush: Don't get your hopes up. No matter how bad Dirt is (and it's dreadful), FX is committed to it at least for this season. Cable networks rarely pull shows from the schedule in midstream unless there's some catastrophe, and Dirt's early numbers were far from disastrous. (FX's promotional muscle and track record go a long way toward a successful launch.) At the moment, The Shield is still expected back this spring, and moving up its return for any reason would probably only serve to muck up the network's marketing plans.

Question: With awards season upon us, I am shocked, appalled and even ashamed to see that Friday Night Lights has garnered only one award nomination (by the Writers Guild of America, and rightly so). I became almost suicidal when I saw that Patrick Dempsey has been nominated for a Golden Globe for best actor in a dramatic series while Kyle Chandler isn't even graced with a nomination. (Really, Hollywood Foreign Press Association? Really?) While I am a die-hard devotee of Hugh Laurie and House, and was thrilled by Michael C. Hall and Dexter, I would have happily watched them lose an award or two this season if it meant that Friday Night Lights, Kyle Chandler or any other person involved in this show got awarded for their achievement (which, of course, would require that they at least be nominated). I am truly baffled. The writing is superb, the acting is brilliant, and the show couldn't be so good without the fantastic crew that puts it together. I know it hasn't been one of the season's big hits, but it is an achievement in virtually every category recognized by these organizations. What does such a brilliant show have to do to get some respect? What do you make of this? Does this present a bleak foreshadowing as to future network support for this show?— G. McKenney

Matt Roush: The awards snubs are shameful, to be sure, especially in the various guild awards (please, don't work up a lather over Globes TV nominations, which are virtually meaningless). But Friday Night Lights is a very young show that hasn't cracked the ratings barrier, so it's not a surprise that it is living under the radar. For now, its best chances for recognition is by critics groups: the AFI in December, the TCA Awards this summer (hopefully not a posthumous recognition), and I'd expect some acknowledgement by the boards of the Peabody and Humanitas awards, which may count for something. In all regards, at this point the survival of Friday Night Lights on NBC is as a prestige project, not as a hit. We'll just have to see how far a great reputation will take the show, because it clearly can't count on mainstream awards nominations to bolster its profile. Still, I won't lose hope until the morning when the Emmy nominations are announced (metaphorically speaking, it's like Charlie Brown letting Lucy hold the football for him to try to kick every year).

Question: Did I just not read carefully enough? TV Guide's Winter TV Preview 2007 listed 43 new and returning shows, but I did not see Fox's zany, irreverent The Loop listed. I understood that Fox was lightening its mid-season order from 13 episodes to 10, but I still thought we would see it returning Wednesday nights at 9:30, after the American Idol results shows. Please tell me Fox did not pull an Arrested Development and bail on another promising-but-underperforming comedy.— Jeffrey R.

Matt Roush: I checked with Fox, and The Loop is still in the mid-season loop and very well could return to the schedule in March (or thereabouts), once American Idol moves into its results phase. Nothing's been announced yet, but that could change once Fox meets the press on its TCA day on Jan. 20.

Question: I was wondering if NBC was going to bring back Identity. I was a huge fan of the show. I know it was only supposed to run a week, but Deal or No Deal was also only supposed to run a week. Do you think we will see it again?— Nicholas

Matt Roush: Haven't heard anything. Maybe NBC will address the matter when it holds its TCA press sessions next Wednesday, Jan. 17. Identity didn't explode out of the gate the way Deal or No Deal did during its tryout run the year before, but given NBC's stated intention of filling the early hours of prime time with inexpensive reality and game franchises, the network might need it. Personally, I find all of this a very depressing development. I'm hardly a fan of Deal, but compared to the truly insipid Identity (I could barely last through a single episode of it, it was so mindless), Deal is a masterpiece.

http://tvguide.com/News-Views/Columnists/Ask-Matt/default.aspx

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:23 PM

Critic’s Notebook
HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBLES:
Who’ll win at the Golden Globes and who should take home the awards
Definite whiff of the Emmys here -- and that's not a good thing. Sedgwick and Sutherland will win
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle Tekevision Critic Friday, January 12, 2007

There are two ways to approach this. Whine and complain about how the Hollywood Foreign Press Association totally botched this year's TV nominees for the Golden Globes. Or focus on the good picks amid the stupidity.

Are you sensing a tone here?

I already bashed the Golden Globes in my blog (www.thebastardmachine.com) on Dec. 14. when the nominees were released and the waves of disappointment, recrimination and anger washed over me. My point then, as now: The choices were so blatantly off the mark this year (when it had appeared in the past that Hollywood Foreign Press Association voters actually watched television and seemed to have some taste) that said choices were nearly -- oh, the shame -- Emmyesque.

Let's just recap the main travesties: Nothing of merit for "The Wire," the best series on television, possibly ever. Just a teensy oversight on that one. Kind of like forgetting Paris on a list of great European cities. And no love for the second-best series on television, "Deadwood." What, nobody got his HBO swag? Oh, "Big Love" was on there. Fine show -- No. 9 on my list for 2006, so, fair enough. And "Entourage." So someone actually watches the channel. Good to know.

But what's all this "Desperate Housewives" nonsense? The series just screams "2004." And more important: It's not a comedy. Nothing for "The Shield"?

What about Ellen Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" for best actress in a drama? Who's next -- Mary Lynn Rajskub? Uh, Patrick Dempsey from "Grey's Anatomy" but not James Gandolfini? Is this a photo op or an awards show?

And not to put too fine a point on it, but no acting awards for "The Wire." Are you kidding me? Nobody raised a hand and said, "Listen, if we don't nominate 'The Sopranos,' 'Deadwood,' 'Rescue Me' or 'The Shield' for best drama, maybe we should just think for a second about 'The Wire' over, say, that cute little 'Heroes' show."

Wow, this is starting to feel like an Emmy bash. How sad is that for the Golden Globes?

All right, I can only work with the tools I'm given, so let's get this farce under way:

Drama:
Nominees: "24" (Fox); "Big Love" (HBO); "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC); "Heroes" (NBC); "Lost" (ABC).
Should win: "Big Love"
Will win: "24"

Actress, drama:
Nominees: Patricia Arquette, "Medium"; Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"; Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"; Ellen Pompeo, "Grey's Anatomy"; Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer."
Should win: Falco
Will win: Sedgwick

Actor, drama:
Nominees: Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"; Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"; Hugh Laurie, "House"; Bill Paxton, "Big Love"; Kiefer Sutherland, "24."
Should win: Hall
Will win: Sutherland

Series, musical or comedy:
Nominees: "Desperate Housewives" (ABC); "Entourage" (HBO); "The Office" (NBC); "Ugly Betty" (ABC); "Weeds" (Showtime).
Should win: "Weeds"
Will win: "Ugly Betty"

Actress, musical or comedy:
Nominees: Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman "Desperate Housewives"; America Ferrara, "Ugly Betty"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"; Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds."
Should win: Ferrara
Will win: Ferrara

Actor, musical or comedy:
Nominees: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"; Zach Braff, "Scrubs"; Steve Carell, "The Office"; Jason Lee, "My Name Is Earl"; Tony Shalhoub, "Monk."
Should win: Carell
Will win: Carell

Miniseries or movie:
Nominees: "Bleak House" (PBS); "Broken Trail" (AMC); "Elizabeth I" (HBO); "Mrs. Harris" (HBO); "Prime Suspect: The Final Act," (PBS).
Should win: "Prime Suspect"
Will win: "Elizabeth I"

Actress, miniseries or movie:
Nominees: Gillian Anderson, "Bleak House"; Annette Bening, "Mrs. Harris"; Helen Mirren, "Elizabeth I" and "Prime Suspect: The Final Act"; Sophie Okonedo, "Tsunami: The Aftermath."
Should win: Helen Mirren, "Prime Suspect"
Will win: Helen Mirren, "Prime Suspect"

Actor, miniseries or movie:
Nominees: Andre 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."
Should win: Braugher
Will win: Duvall

Supporting actress, series, miniseries or movie:
Nominees: 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."
Should win: Perkins
Will win: Heigl

Supporting actor, series, miniseries or movie:
Nominees: Thomas Haden Church, "Broken Trail"; Jeremy Irons, "Elizabeth I"; Justin Kirk, "Weeds"; Masi Oka, "Heroes"; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage."
Should win: Piven
Will win: Irons

You know, just the variety in that last category -- the sheer randomness of the choices -- is almost enough to forgive all the other sins.

Almost. But not quite.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/12/DDGM7NGFUM1.DTL&type=printable

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:43 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Locklear, 'Army Wives' rock Lifetime
By Rob Owen Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV Editor in his blog “Tuned In”

Heather Locklear is awesome.

It might be easy to think that the "Dynasty"/"T.J. Hooker"/"Melrose Place"/"Spin City" star would be a diva, but she is one of the most down-to-earth celebs you could ever meet. Witness her self-effacing sense of humor at the Lifetime panel for a series of upcoming movies based on Nora Roberts novels.

Locklear split with rock star husband Richie Sambora last year and he quickly landed in the arms of former Locklear friend Denise Richards, who was herself divorcing from Charlie Sheen, Locklear's "Spin City" co-star. Got it?

Anyway, Locklear kept making references to her personal life, digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole.

When a reporter asked about playing "some real extreme emotions," Locklear said, "Kind of like real life." This prompted the reporter to ask how she's doing, citing her comments as the reason for the follow-up question.

"Oh [shoot], I should keep my mouth shut," she said "I just think I'm funny."

She said she was trying to make light of her personal life, knowing reporters would ask follow-up questions after the press conference.

"I'm doing good," Locklear said. "Well, let me just tell you: I'm single. I still like rock stars, and, like, any man is good for me.

"Oh, you're making me sweat. No, no, no. Not married men," she quickly added.

After actor John Corbett said the name of his country rock band is called Twenty Beavers, a reporter began a question for Locklear, who cut him off, "Oh, I thought you were going to say, 'On the subject of beavers..."

It was quite a press tour session, though probably funnier in person than it reads online. Not much about the TV movies came out of it, but Locklear sure was entertaining.

• • • • • • • • • • •

I only had a chance to watch a portion of Lifetime's upcoming drama series pilot "Army Wives," premiering in June, but what I saw was quite good compared to the network's most recent, disappointing drama series. It's sort of the half of CBS's "The Unit" that stays on the home front and stars Catherine Bell (no stranger to the military from her long stint on "JAG") and Kim Delaney ("NYPD Blue"). Keep an eye out for "Army Wives" in June.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Serial reality show star: Jenner Evans, who starred in the series premiere of Lifetime's "Gay, Straight or Taken?" Monday night, turns up in another reality show, the upcoming E! show about young'uns tearing it up in Las Vegas. Ryan Seacrest is an executive producer. He and executive producer Gary Auderbach were aware of her reality show past.

"To make that part of our storyline, she's been trying everything to sort of maybe find the right guy and do something since," Auderbach said.

"Don't make me [sound] desperate, Gary," Jenner replied.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Party patrol: BBC America set up a big tent in the backyard of the Ritz-Carlton Wednesday night, plunked some trees down on the lawn, and, voila! It's a feast in Sherwood Forest to tout the network's new "Robin Hood" series, coming March 3. Serving wenches passed out honey mead and a complete pig was served up for dinner. Good times, but I was more eager to return to my room to watch "Friday Night Lights."

• • • • • • • • • • •

Another press conference gone awry: Starz promoted their press conference today for the original series "Head Case" in a way that made it appear that the show was a reality series, identifying "Dr. Elizabeth Goode" as the show's host.

I almost skipped the panel to do some writing just because of that, but I was pleasantly surprised to see comic Alexandra Wentworth is playing Dr. Goode. Unfortunately, she insisted on doing the press conference in character. Big mistake.

After just a few questions, reporters started shouting, "You need to stop that now." Once she did, the press conference actually went well.

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

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:46 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Bravo Cancels Queer Eye
By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable 1/12/2007

Bravo's pulling the plug on Queer Eye after five seasons and four years on TV. The show's ten-episode fifth season, which debuts this summer, will be its last, the network was expected to tell television critics today at a presentation in Pasadena.

Separately, the network signed Project Runway den daddy Tim Gunn and pop star-turned American Idol judge Paul Abdul to series of their own. Tim Gunn's Guide to Style will profile Gunn as he solves people's fashion dilemmas by helping them get makeovers. While it's still unresolved whether Gunn will return to Runway for its fourth season, his own show debuts as he is set to publish a book on style and taste in May, 2007.

Abdul's show will be a documentary-style look behind the scenes at her life. The show, tentatively called Hey Paula, is set to debut later in 2007 and will profile the choreographer/singer/perennial worst-dressed candidate at work and with friends.

Queer Eye put Bravo on the map when it debuted to huge ratings and critical acclaim in 2003, but has fallen off in the ratings since then. Queer Eye: The Final Season will showcase for one last time the Fab Five making over deserving subjects.

The show became a huge hit for Bravo when it premiered as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in the summer of 2003. Having just been taken over by NBC as part of the merger with Vivendi Universal, Bravo got a huge marketing boost for the show, which helped quickly turn it into a cultural phenomenon. Bravo's average rating jumped from a 0.3 to a 3.0 nearly overnight.

Earlier this week, Queer Eye's interior design guru Thom Filicia announced he was hosting a home makeover show for Bravo competitor the Style Network.

Elsewhere at Bravo, the network has renamed its hair-focused reality competition. The show, previously known as Top Hair, is now being called Shear Genius and will be hosted by actress-turned-Kmart-designer Jaclyn Smith. The show, debuting in spring, 2007, will run for eight episodes and feature stylists competing in creative hair challenges. Celebrity hairstylist Sally Hershberger will serve as a lead judge.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6407247.html

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:49 PM

The Business of TV
Dolans Add $3 per Share to Bid
By Mike Farrell MultiChannel News 1/12/2007

After nearly four months of silence, the Dolan family raised its offer to acquire the remaining shares of Cablevision Systems they don’t already own to $30 per share -- a $3 increase from their October offer to take the company private but a paltry premium to the company’s current stock price.

The Dolans -- led by Cablevision founder and chairman Charles and his son, CEO James -- made their original offer for the Bethpage, N.Y.-based cable company Oct. 8. A special transaction committee made up of independent directors was named Oct. 9 to evaluate the proposal.

While Cablevision’s stock has risen more than $5 per share (24%) since the October offer, the company has been strangely silent in the months since. That silence was broken Friday morning.

In a letter to the committee Jan. 12, the Dolans said the new offer was its “best and final price.” It asked the special committee to make a decision by Jan. 17.

But the new offer represents a paltry 40-cent-per-share (1.4%) premium to Cablevision’s closing price of $29.60 Jan. 11, the night before the Dolan family announced its new offer.

At $30 per share, the family agreed to pony up $8.9 billion -- compared with $7.9 billion for the previous proposal -- to purchase the remaining 80% of Cablevision stock they don’t already own. Including Cablevision’s existing debt put the value of the deal at about $20.1 billion.

Cablevision shares were down 81 cents each (2.7%) in early trading Friday to $28.79 each.

Cablevision responded with a terse prepared statement: “The special transaction committee intends to review the revised proposal. Cablevision has no further comment at this time.”

Analysts have speculated for months that the Dolans would have to bump up their original bid, with most predicting that a new offer would come in at $31-$32 per share -- the upper limit for the family without taking on an equity partner, given debt-covenant restraints.

Analysts were split as to whether the company will accept the new offer.

In a research note entitled, “Don’t Let Chuck and Jim Dolan Steal CVC,” Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield wrote that while the Dolans noted Cablevision’s share-price increase since their original bid, the new offer did not take into account the huge appreciation in cable equities during the past year.

In 2006, cable-operator stocks rose more than 40%, with Cablevision bringing up the rear with a 22.9% increase (not including a $10 special dividend), mainly due to the Dolan bid.

“We believe what matters is what has happened to cable equities since Oct. 8, 2006,” Greenfield wrote. “Utilizing our desired time period of relative performance, [Cablevision’s] stock price has underperformed its cable peers despite superior operating performance and the industry’s most valuable assets.”

For that reason and his belief that other bidders would pay at least a 33% premium to the new offer for Cablevision’s assets -- particularly Time Warner Cable, which could have a new cable stock as early as next week -- Greenfield believes the special committee has no choice but to reject the offer.

Miller Tabak cable analyst David Joyce took the opposite opinion, writing in a research note early Friday that he places “a high probability” that the committee will accept the Dolans’ new offer.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6407147.html?display=Breaking+News

fredfa

01-12-07, 01:54 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Exit the J. Lo
By James Hibberd Television Week in the “Critical Eye” blog Friday, January 12th, 2007

Jennifer Lopez is famous for, among many things, maintaining a high degree of diva-level demands for her event appearances. Her charity concert rider contract is one of the highlights of The Smoking Gun, with its descriptions of an ethereal white dressing room complete with white flowers, white tables, white drapes and white candles.

For her appearance at TCA in support of her new MTV reality series “DanceLife,” the network was ready.

MTV rented the Ritz Carlton “Tournament of Roses Suite,” a two-story, $3,000-per-night accommodation, complete with spiral staircase and baby grand piano.

Lopez arrived at the Ritz at 4 p.m. for her 5:30 panel, and brought along actress/Scientologist Leah Remini. Lopez said she would not need her suite. MTV ushered Lopez to the Green Room—but not before clearing out their own executives and other TCA talent, so Lopez would have the Green Room to herself.

At the panel, MTV Networks President Brian Graden said it was forbidden to ask Lopez any questions not related to “DanceLife,” which is sort of like dating an Amish bikini model.

After the panel, Lopez skipped MTV’s TCA dinner party and left the hotel.

Never ones to let money go to waste—and recognizing an opportunity when they see it—some of the MTV Networks team decided to have a private party in J. Lo’s suite.

All that said, one source said Lopez was remarkably laid back: “Low maintaince,” “good mood” and “extremely professional.”

http://blogs.tvweek.com/?cat=12

fredfa

01-12-07, 02:13 PM

TV Review
'Rome'
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lovers, Haters, Murderers, Barbarians ...
By Alessandra Stanley The New York Times January 12, 2007

On the season premiere of HBO’s “Rome,” decline, fall and foul-smelling Visigoths seem just around the corner. It’s true that the upheaval that followed Caesar’s assassination in 44 B.C. made life bleak and oppressive, but it was centuries before the empire turned really rotten to its core.

The lugubrious tone of the second (and final) season that begins on Sunday night may mark the mood at HBO more than that of the ancient Forum. The network’s lavish, costly drama, which was filmed on a set at the Cinecittà studios at a reported cost of $100 million, was supposed to mark a new Augustan age in programming. Mostly, though, “Rome” looks like X-rated “Masterpiece Theater.”

The series weaves the story of two fictional Roman soldiers into the historic narrative of antiquity’s best known players: Caesar, Marc Antony, Cleopatra, Cicero et al. For all its license and vivid detail, “Rome” never stirred the kind of excitement and devotion that surrounded “The Sopranos,” or “Sex and the City.” The only new series that comes close is “Entourage.”

Network fortunes rise and fall too. HBO may once again become the most daring and innovative premium cable network, but for the moment it is most distinguished for serving as the extreme makeover version of PBS.

“Rome” is HBO’s most ambitious collaboration with the BBC, but it’s not the first. The BBC was also a partner for the mini-series “Band of Brothers,” “Tsunami, the Aftermath” and “The Gathering Storm,” a portrait of the marriage of Winston and Clementine Churchill, starring Albert Finney and Vanessa Redgrave. HBO made “Elizabeth I,” starring Helen Mirren with a different British network, Channel 4, but it too could just as easily have been on PBS. Even HBO films about celebrity scandals are artsy and cerebral, from “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers,” which starred Geoffrey Rush, to “Mrs. Harris,” with Annette Bening as the private school headmistress who killed the Scarsdale Diet Doctor.

“Rome” is engaging even if it isn’t a swords-and-sandals version of “The Sopranos,” as HBO had hoped. It may not be as knowing as “I, Claudius,” but it does excellent work with slit throats, severed limbs, pagan rituals and barbaric sexual acts. (Though strangely there is almost no sex in the first of this season’s 10 episodes, perhaps another sign of limp morale at headquarters.)

The second season of “Rome” begins where the first left off: Caesar is sprawled in his own blood on the floor of the Senate. As the news of the murder spreads to his friends, Romans and countrymen, his bodyguard Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is in shock, hugging his wife’s corpse; when told of her infidelity, he left Caesar’s side and stormed at her in such a murderous rage that she threw herself off a balcony.

Afterward, Vorenus and Pullo (Ray Stevenson), veterans of the Gallic campaign and mismatched best friends, reverse roles. Vorenus was the serious-minded, law-abiding good soldier, but goes mad with grief and guilt, turning into an angry, bloodthirsty bully. Pullo, who was a good-natured but violent lout, turns responsible, marrying the former slave girl he loves and trying to look after his unhinged friend.

The cohesion of the Roman republic crumbled after Caesar’s death, and “Rome” is a bit awry at the outset without Ciarán Hinds, the actor who plays Caesar. Rome’s first dictator was not as richly imagined as Tony Soprano, Al Swearengen of “Deadwood” or Ari, the agent on “Entourage,” but he had a worldly intelligence and a sly charm that centered the saga.

Octavian, who became Emperor Augustus, eventually steps in to fill the void, no longer the brainy, pompous teenager played by Max Pirkis, but a young, confident leader played by an older actor, Simon Woods.

James Purefoy is still a pleasure as the libidinous Marc Antony, crude but clever and unscrupulous. He is well matched by his lover, Caesar’s conniving niece, Atia (Polly Walker), who is the series’s designated endearing monster. She still has her moments: She tells an errant slave that she would geld him, only eunuchs are no longer in fashion. But as Marc Antony’s attention strays to Cleopatra (Lyndsey Marshal), Atia mostly seems glum and bored, all petulance and not much passion.

The creators of “Rome” took pains to recreate Rome as it really was, crowded, fetid, brutal and corrupt: as much “Mad Max”as Circus Maximus. But behind all that gritty squalor the glory that was Rome gets lost.

As a character in “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” pointed out when asked what the “bloody Romans” have ever done for him, after all they built the aqueducts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/arts/television/12rome.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=television&pagewanted=print

fredfa

01-12-07, 02:15 PM

TV Sports
Nantz's CBS life becomes a series of major events
By Larry Stewart Los Angels Times Staff Writer January 12, 2007

In the mid-1970s, it seemed as if NBC's Curt Gowdy was everywhere, doing the play-by-play for, among other things, the Rose Bowl game, the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four and the World Series.

No one at the time could imagine any other announcer coming close to that kind of run.

But CBS' Jim Nantz will this year.

It starts Sunday, when he and commentator Phil Simms will be in San Diego to handle the Chargers' playoff game against New England.

It is one of four conference semifinal games this weekend. CBS has two of them and Fox has the other two.

The following Sunday, Nantz and Simms will work the AFC championship game, and if the Chargers win this weekend, that means back in San Diego.

And if that happens, Nantz may take up temporary residence in the city because the week after the AFC title game he has the Buick Invitational golf tournament at Torrey Pines.

The following Sunday, Feb. 4, he and Simms will announce the Super Bowl in Miami.

Nantz has served as the pregame host for two Super Bowls, but this will be his first as the play-by-play announcer.

And it marks the start of an amazing 63-day run that includes the NCAA men's Final Four and the Masters. He could write a book, which he actually might do. When he called Wednesday in response to an interview request, he had just come from a meeting at IMG, the agency that represents him, where a book possibility was discussed.

"Nothing may come of it," Nantz said, "but a book would be a great vehicle to take readers behind the scenes and see the personalties involved in three of this country's biggest sports events — the Super Bowl, the Final Four and the Masters.

"It would give me a chance to reminisce and reflect on my experiences at these events."

Only Gowdy and Dick Enberg have called a Super Bowl and a Final Four in the same year. And only Brent Musburger has done what Nantz has already done — serve as the host of the Super Bowl coverage, then announce the Final Four and the Masters.

During his 63-day run, Nantz will also be in Pebble Beach for the AT&T Pro-Am the week after the Super Bowl and then at Riviera for the Nissan Open the week after that.

The Final Four takes place March 31 and April 2 in Atlanta. From there, he'll take a leisurely two-hour drive across Georgia to Augusta to complete the run.

Nantz, switching roles with Greg Gumbel in 2004, went from the host of "The NFL Today" to CBS' lead NFL play-by-play announcer. Gumbel has since gone back to play-by-play to make room for James Brown on "The NFL Today" set.

Nantz said it didn't take him long after getting his new assignment in 2004 to figure out this run was coming.

"I'm pretty good at cataloging data in my head," he said. "It was pretty instantaneous."

And what does Nantz, who is only 47, think about all this?

"I'm not one to hide my appreciation," he said. "I realize I have been given a special gift, and I am just so grateful for it."

Enberg also will be at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday, making the short trip there from his home in La Jolla. Enberg, along with commentator Bob Trumpy, will be announcing the Chargers-Patriots game for the Westwood One radio network, carried by KFWB 980 here.

Enberg will be completing his first year of announcing NFL games for Westwood One. The job marked a return to radio football play-by-play after 30 years. In the mid-1970s, Enberg and Don Drysdale, in addition to the Angels, also announced Rams games for KMPC 710.

"Calling games on radio is the ultimate challenge," Enberg said. "You have to paint the entire canvas."

You can also have some fun along the way. Enberg got off a corny but clever line last Sunday. After reading a promotional ad for NBC's NHL coverage, which begins Saturday, Enberg asked Trumpy a question about the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby: "If he hits one off the post, is that a Bing Crosby?"

Enberg said he enjoyed everything about the job except the travel, particularly toward the end of the season when he was working two games a week.

As if he isn't already tired of flying, Enberg on Monday will make a 19-hour trip to Melbourne, where he will work the Australian Open for ESPN.

Enberg, Cliff Drysdale and on-site host Chris Fowler will call the tennis matches on ESPN and ESPN2, with Mary Carillo, Mary Joe Fernandez, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver handling the commentary.

The two networks will provide at least 120 hours of coverage through Jan. 28, with 79 hours being live. That means a lot of weird start times, because 7:30 p.m. in Melbourne is 12:30 a.m. in Los Angeles.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-sp-tvcol12jan12,0,3443416,print.story?coll=cl-tv-features

fredfa

01-12-07, 02:23 PM

TV Reviews
'Rome'

Previously posted reviews of “Rome” may be found here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9434771&&#post9434771

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9436250&&#post9436250

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9436183&&#post9436183

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9425106&&#post9425106

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9426364&&#post9426364

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9425478&&#post9425478

And more will be coming today, tomorrow, and Sunday

fredfa

01-12-07, 02:38 PM

TV Reviews
'24'

Previously posted reviews of “24” may be found here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9435042&&#post9435042

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9435610&&#post9435610

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9435338&&#post9435338

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9424502&&#post9424502

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9416134&&#post9416134

And more will be coming today, tomorrow, and Sunday

fredfa

01-12-07, 02:56 PM

TV Reviews
'24,' back again, and with a vengeance
Fox's counter-terrorist epic has its full mojo working
By Andrew Lyons in medialifemagazine Jan 12, 2007

If you were Jack Bauer, wouldn't you be tired by now? More to the point, is “24," which returns Sunday night on Fox, spent, or can it keep up its frenetic pace for yet a sixth season?

"24,” the evolutionary ancestor of serialized dramas like “Lost” and “Heroes,” sounded like a longshot when it first premiered back in 2001. But it quickly grew on viewers, commanding week-to-week loyalty, and after five seasons it broke out last year as an Emmy winner, garnering Best Drama and Best Actor for Kiefer Sutherland.

They were both rightly deserved. "24's" writers have a singular genius for building and sustaining dramatic tension through each hour of multiple plot twists and ticking-clock deadlines, and doing it in a way that masks the reality that the storyline will work itself out not that night or the following week but over the entire season. It's a good trick.

The action is anchored by Sutherland as Counter-Terrorism Unit agent Jack Bauer, a man who is willing to do anything to protect America, no matter how morally questionable.

The risk with such characters is that they burn out, use themselves up, and it invariably happens some time after the audience has tired of the demands of their intense personalities.

Sutherland's particular genius as an actor has been in his ability to sustain the believability of Bauer without sacrificing any of his intensity. He's perfected over five seasons Bauer’s balance of steely resolve and inner turmoil. He's been shot, stabbed, electrocuted, tortured and haunted by the deaths of countless family, friends and colleagues, and by all rights Bauer should probably be permanently institutionalized. Yet Sutherland has sustained the uber-agent believability as a rational man functioning in an irrational, treacherous world.

Now back to the question: After a superb fifth season, can “24” make it work for a sixth, which premieres with two episodes on Sunday and two on Monday before returning to its regular 9 p.m. Monday timeslot?

If the first four episodes are any indication, the answer is yes, quite.

Sutherland is more determined and tortured than before. The plot, always a twisty pretzel, goes through untold convolutions in a matter of the few hours of those early episodes, and Bauer darts through them.

Life hasn’t gotten much better for our uber-agent. Returned to the U.S. after two years of torture at the hands of the Chinese, Bauer is to be turned over by CTU to a turncoat terrorist in exchange for the whereabouts of another terrorist who has been planting bombs in major American cities for weeks.

Of course, as one would expect, Bauer discovers that things aren’t as they seem. He departs on his mission to determine the real truth.

Some of the old gang are around to help him uncover that truth, including sarcastic analyst Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and ever-steady CTU chief Bill Buchanan (James Morrison).

New to the cast are Peter MacNicol (“Ally McBeal”) as privacy rights-averse presidential chief of staff Thomas Lennox and Regina King (“Jerry Maguire”) as civil rights attorney Sandra Palmer, who also happens to be the president’s sister. Those new additions, both stellar actors, provide a nice counterpoint to the Bauer-based action.

Unfortunately, D.B. Woodside (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), as President Wayne Palmer, is less convincing. Even in “24’s” alternate universe, it’s hard to buy that a guy who, in recent seasons covered up an affair/murder/suicide and later hid in the woods from would-be assassins, has now rise to become the leader of the free world.

But one advantage of a show like “24” is that it need not worry too much about explaining such implausibilities, of which there are many. The breakneck pace just won’t allow for mulling over plot holes.

“24” may have paved the way for the epic “Lost” but unlike its amazingly ambitious descendant, it prefers to stay lean rather than fritter away time dwelling on the meaning of things.

One might think the writers, after a season in which the president was revealed as a traitor and at least five major characters died, some of whom had been around since the first season, would ease the pace in season six. They have not. By the end of the fourth episode, at least one major character has been killed in shocking fashion and an event has occurred which, even by “24” standards, is stunning.

If the rest of the season lives up to the first four hours, season six could be "24's best yet.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9489.asp

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:02 PM

(Most of the other critics have been careful in their use of spoilers regarding the new season of “24”. Not so the LA Times reviewer. So if you care to read his specifics, feel free. But I have hidden them for those of you who wnat to uncover all of Jack Bauer's secret on Sundat night at 8 PM ET/PT, Fox.)
TV Review
'24'
Right back on the clock
Jack Bauer is free after being jailed and tortured on '24.' There's no time for sympathy.

By Jon Caramanica, Special to The Los Angeles Times January 12, 2007

From a cold start, it takes about 75 minutes for Jack Bauer to become Jack Bauer. Fresh off a transport plane from China, where he'd been jailed for almost two years, Jack emerges looking like an early '70s Deadhead. He shuffles his feet, has difficulty looking people in the eye, and we learn that he hasn't uttered a word in two years.

Then that clock starts ticking, and before long, a tight shirt has been found, along with a car and a GPS-equipped cellphone, and rather than get mired in the vat of molasses that is sympathy, "24" gets back to business.
That is, if Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) can figure out how to become the world's first emo mercenary. Suffering two years of torture can leave a mark, even on Jack, who begins to wonder if he's still capable of inserting sharp objects at key pressure points to extract information from the unwilling. "Mr. President, the truth is ... I don't think I'm up to it," he tells newly inaugurated Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside), when asked to head up the country's search for a deadly terrorist cell. "What'd the Chinese do to you?" asks a frustrated Curtis Manning (Roger Cross), longtime assault buddy of Jack's, when he decides to team up with one known terrorist to stop another.

As ever, Bauer is one part psychosis, one part propaganda — a man driven completely by force of will and yet willing to sacrifice himself in the name of the greater good of the nation. If only all patriotism were this easy.

That Jack's letting his engine run a bit before pulling out of the gate is no problem, though, because despite the bus explosion in the first hour's opening minutes — in front of downtown's Walt Disney Concert Hall — the first few episodes of this season feel curiously slow-paced. Since he took office three months prior, Palmer (younger brother to David Palmer [Dennis Haysbert], the Bill Clinton of "24") has faced consistent terrorist attacks. By the time the day begins, he and his key advisors — Chief of Staff Tom Lennox (Peter MacNicol), national security advisor Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) — feel listless, thin, desiccate. Sure, last season's leader of the free world, President Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin), was spineless, but compellingly so, since he also turned out to be an evil mastermind. By contrast, the younger Palmer is grass in the wind, utterly uncertain. He changes his mind whenever he's told to and looks as if he might collapse under the weight of one more attack. Worse, he's stared down by a black-and-white 8-by-10 of his sainted brother, reminding him of calmer times — and nerves.

Unlike the older Palmer, little Wayne is under everyone's sway. Terrorists demand he hand over money and bodies, and he shrugs. His chief of staff surreptitiously sets up detention centers, and he barely raises an eyebrow. As Lennox, MacNicol is a grade-A nebbish, which will certainly come into play later in the season. ("He treats the Constitution like a list of suggestions!" one character says.) As for now, he's balanced by Hayes, who smells Lennox's desire to sandpaper away civil liberties and tries to occupy the president's other ear.

This is the ideological debate that has increasingly become the show's core, each season more than the previous one. Is "24" red or blue, right or left? Bauer is a glorious fighter, thoughtful and efficient — just the kind it's easy to support. So what if he pronounces nuclear as "nucular," much as our real world commander in chief does? The only real loyalties here are to results — the ends justify the ideologies.

Apart from Hayes, a few characters stand in for the civil liberties side this season. Walid Al-Rezani ("Commander in Chief's" Harry Lennix) is the head of a Muslim advocacy group and dates the president's sister Sandra ("Ray's" Regina King). The Wallace family are innocents who live across the street from a terrorist teen, Ahmed Amar (played awkwardly by Kal Penn), well-meaning liberals who unsuspectingly take him in when amped-up neighbors go on an anti-Muslim crusade.

They are in for rude awakenings. When Al-Rezani is placed in a detention camp, he believes he overhears fellow detainees discussing a terrorist plot, then insists Sandra pass along the information to her brother. Faced with privileging the speech of his fellow detainees or serving the national interest, he opts for the latter, even as Sandra tries to talk him out of it.

In "24," it's only natural that the Wallaces would be punished for their benevolence; it's the liberal conundrum or the conservative I-told-you-so. Taken hostage and forced to comply with Ahmed's demands, they're being punished not only for meddling but also for presuming to be something more than cursorily aware of their surroundings (Ahmed chastises the son, a school friend, for not being able to pronounce his name correctly). Ultimately it's the father, Ray (Raphael Sbarge), who bears witness to the horrible event that concludes the two-night premiere — railroaded into helping a cause he doesn't believe in, and then standing by, powerless to stop what's coming. It's enough to make you red.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-2412jan12,0,567234.story?coll=cl-tvent

steverobertson

01-12-07, 03:03 PM

They better not have gotten rid of Chloe

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:06 PM

My lips are sealed, steve.

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:09 PM

The Business of TV
Time Warner Faces Sinclair Loss
By Linda Moss & Mike Farrell MultiChannel News 1/12/2007

At press time Friday, Time Warner Cable and Sinclair Broadcast Group were still trying to finalize a retransmission-consent deal for the cable systems that were formerly owned by Adelphia Communications.

Time Warner and the broadcaster agreed Dec. 31 to an extension of their expired deal until Friday. If the two parties don’t reach a new deal or agree to another extension, technically, Time Warner can lose carriage of the signals as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Time Warner Cable spokesman Mark Harrad said the company was hopeful that a final pact would be reached before the deadline, or that a second extension would be issued so that the contract could be finished up.

About 1 million Time Warner subscribers -- formerly Adelphia customers, mainly in New York, Ohio and Maine -- would be impacted if worse came to worse and Sinclair pulled its signals.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6407279.html?display=Breaking+News

steverobertson

01-12-07, 03:20 PM

My lips are sealed, steve.

Your lips sealed makes me nervous, the show would not be anywhere near as good without the attitude she has in that show.

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:28 PM

It was pointed out in another thread that there are some spoilers in the reviews of "24" and "Rome". While no one here has complained, it seems to me to be a valid observation. So I'll try to err on the side of caution when I can.

TV Review
'24'
Bombers Strike, and America Is in Turmoil. It’s Just Another Day for Jack Bauer
By Alessandra Stanley The New York Times January 12, 2007

It’s morning again on “24,” and Day 6 is looking bleak. Among other things, teams of suicide bombers are blowing up buses and subway cars all across the United States.

Every new season of this Fox thriller is another twist of a kaleidoscope: the same pieces — terrorists; counterterrorists (and, almost inevitably, a mole); an innocent suburban family; and the president, his aides and his family — are tumbled together to form new patterns around the central figure of the special agent Jack Bauer.

And that makes the four-hour, two-part premiere on Sunday and Monday both comfortingly familiar and strangely gripping. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland), who last season was headed for a Chinese prison, is set free — at a very high cost — so he can once again come to his country’s rescue. Only this time, Jack is not asked to avert a looming terrorist attack; major cities are already under attack. The best he can do is try to prevent the disaster from getting even worse.

Even in its sixth season, “24” remains remarkably compelling. The ratings have steadily increased since the series began in 2001. The first four episodes suggest that this season could be one of the best thus far. The countdown clock — each episode takes place over one hour of a 24-hour period that ends at the conclusion of the season — is just a gimmick. And it’s not just that the action zigzags between at least three separate but interconnected story lines or that the characters are richly imagined. (Actually, many are cartoonish.)

“24” prolongs suspense with detours and surprise twists, and not just in the plot. The series also thrives on ideological red herrings — it leans Tom Clancy right, then suddenly will feint left and then back again.

Torture, presented with gusto and almost no moral compunction, is an increasingly popular way of gathering intelligence on “24.” If anything, the new season seems even more intent on hammering home the message that torture is necessary in the war against terror, and that despite what some experts claim, torture works.

At one point, Jack plunges a knife into a suspect’s shoulder, then relents, convinced that the man will not talk. A more ruthless associate disagrees and plunges the knife into the captive’s knee, ripping upward until the man screams out the location of his leader.

But “24” also jukes to the far side of political correctness and even left-wing paranoia. In two different seasons, the villains seeking to harm the United States are not Middle Eastern terrorists but conspirators directed by wealthy, privileged white Americans: in the second season, oil business tycoons tried to set off a Middle East war, and last year, Russian rebels turned out to be working in cahoots with a cabal of far-right government officials. By those standards, the current crop of Muslim terrorists intent on nuclear Armageddon could yet turn out to be a front for French-Canadian separatists.

Then again, the meddlesome naïveté of civil rights purists is also a leitmotif on “24.” In Season 4, a lawyer for Amnesty Global is dispatched by a terrorist mastermind to free a suspect before he can be interrogated, and the government lets the terrorist walk away. (Jack quit the Counter Terrorist Unit so he could break the suspect’s fingers as a private citizen and leave his bosses plausible deniability.)

This season, the president’s sister, Sandra (Regina King), is a lawyer for an Islamic American solidarity group so passionately intent on protecting her client’s constitutional rights that she deletes the personnel files to prevent the F.B.I. from seizing them — on principle.

Family ties have a way of knotting up on “24.” Jack’s daughter is not around this season, but his estranged father, Phillip Bauer (James Cromwell), makes his first appearance later in the series. Morris (Carlo Rota), the ex-husband of Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub), is back at C.T.U. as an analyst, while the boss of the unit, Bill Buchanan (James Morrison), turns out to be married to the national security adviser, Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson), whose name sounds like that of Karen Hughes, a former counselor to President Bush who is now the under secretary of state for public diplomacy.

The televisions at C.T.U. headquarters and the White House are tuned to Fox News. When a rival cable network is shown, the report is brief and labeled CNB.

For obvious reasons, the series is a favorite of the Bush administration and many Republicans. Last season, Senator John McCain made a cameo appearance (despite his objections to torture), and in June the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group in Washington, held a panel discussion titled, “ ‘24’ and America’s Image in Fighting Terrorism: Fact, Fiction, or Does It Matter?” The guests included Ms. Rajskub, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security.

That kind of partisan favor is not surprising. Officials in the Clinton administration rubbed elbows with the cast of “The West Wing”; his former press secretary Dee Dee Myers worked as a consultant to the series.

Oval Office deliberation is one of the more colorful elements of “24,” more compelling than even the high-tech satellite snooping and interoffice sniping at C.T.U. headquarters.

It’s like a video game version of a John F. Kennedy School of Government model of presidential decision-making: presidents on “24” are confronted with split-second choices and horrifying moral dilemmas, like choosing to sacrifice the life of a visiting head of state to save American lives. The Cuban missile crisis lasted 13 days; on “24,” the life-or-death consequences of a decision become clear within three commercial breaks.

Last season proved a high point in White House intrigue and indecision. President Charles Logan (Greg Itzin) was irresistible as a caviling, craven commander in chief who manipulates his pill-addled first lady, Martha (Jean Smart).

The newly elected president, Wayne Palmer (D. B. Woodside), the brother of the assassinated president, David Palmer, is more resolute, but he too wavers between hawkish aides who want to put Muslim Americans in detention camps and those who fret about violating the Constitution. The debate can stiffen into a 10th-grade civics lesson.

When the F.B.I. director points out that in wartime, other presidents had suspended many protections, President Palmer snaps, “And Roosevelt interned over 200,000 Japanese-Americans in what most historians consider a shameful mistake.” The wording makes it sound as if the scriptwriters couldn’t agree on whether it was truly shameful, and threw in “most historians” as a palliative.

One thing never changes: the president and his aides keep making the critical blunder of not trusting Jack’s instincts.

This time, however, even Jack is hobbled by self-doubt. He returns to the field altered by his ordeal in China and uncertain whether he can handle the task. On his way to track down a terrorist, Jack suddenly stops, his shoulders slumped, his voice shaken. “I don’t know how to do this anymore,” he says.

His not very sympathetic companion gruffly replies, “You’ll remember.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/arts/television/12twen.html?ref=television&pagewanted=print

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:38 PM

Critic’s Notebook
The Evolution of TV's Tough Guy
By James Poniewozik Time Magazine television critic

Last June in Washington, the conservative HeritageÂ Foundation held a forum on terrorism with a panel of august authorities. There was Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. There was a pair of think-tank terrorism experts. And naturally, there were Chloe, Tony and the evil President from 24.

The panel--"24 and America's Image in Fighting Terrorism: Fact, Fiction or Does It Matter?"--was not exactly Foreign Affairs journal material. Moderator Rush Limbaugh planted a full-on mouth kiss on actress Mary Lynn Rajskub (a.k.a. tech geek Chloe), and actors and producers took softball questions as audience members cheered what Limbaugh called the show's "pro-America" stance. (Among the crowd were pundit Laura Ingraham and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.) The weird spectacle put a point on a raging question in pop culture: Is 24 just a TV show or right-wing propaganda? Or, to turn Jack Bauer's frequent refrain on him: Who are you working for?

Certainly 24, which debuted just weeks after 9/11 and returns Jan. 14, comes as close as anything has to being the Official Cultural Product of the War on Terrorism. Co-creator Joel Surnow is a rare Hollywood Republican, and John McCain has done a cameo. Dick Cheney is a big fan too, and you can understand the Administration's wanting to associate itself with Bauer's badass competence. (He nabs nuclear masterminds; we get Jose Padilla.) Most damningly to critics on the left, Bauer's means of gathering intel (grab terrorist's finger, snap, repeat) make 24 a weekly rationalization of the "ticking time bomb" defense of torture.

So is 24 a conservative show? Yes, in the sense that the thriller is a conservative genre. Ticking time bombs and pure-evil bad guys make for exciting TV. Working patiently to improve America's image in the Muslim world--not so much. (Maybe Aaron Sorkin could spice it up with an office romance and lots of walk-and-talks.) Muddy a terrorism thriller with liberal concern over root causes and you get Syriana, whose plot audiences couldn't follow with a GPS device. "The politics of the show," says executive producer Howard Gordon (a registered Democrat), "are narrative politics."

But beyond that, things get more complicated. As the war has dragged on and become less black-and-white, so has 24. In 2003 it featured a conspiracy to provoke a Middle East invasion using bogus WMD evidence. (Yellowcake, anyone?) Last year's villain was the President, who had his predecessor assassinated. In the new season, a string of suicide bombings has led, chillingly, to federal "detention centers" for Muslims, much like in the liberal pre-9/11 movie The Siege.

Then there's Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), who has seen his wife killed, executed an innocent man to stop an attack, tortured people (sometimes mistakenly), been tortured and spent two years in a Chinese prison. Unlike James Bond, who just gets younger and tougher, by the new season Bauer is tired, disillusioned and wondering how much longer he can fight the Long War. His scars are not only physical; his work has cost him relationships and perhaps some part of his humanity. He has been changed and damaged by every compromise he has had to make. By extension, he forces us to ask if we have too.

He keeps fighting, of course (he has 24 episodes to fill), but for people, not politics. 24's ideology--Jack Bauerism, if you will--is not so much in between left and right as it is outside them, impatient with both A.C.L.U. niceties and Bushian moral absolutes. This season, Bauer allies with Hamri al-Assad, a (putatively) reformed terrorist leader, to stop an attack. He thus displays a better grasp of realpolitik than has the Bush Administration, which resisted the Iraq Study Group's recommendation to work with Iran and Syria. A fellow agent asks Bauer if it matters that al-Assad has murdered hundreds of people. "I don't know what means anything anymore," he answers. "The playing field has changed."

That playing field can change again, and probably will. On 24, there are a few very good people, a few very bad ones and in between, a lot of question marks who can upend the plot (and the political analogies). That may be the biggest lesson of 24 in the Iraq era: don't stubbornly hang on to your preconceptions when the facts on the ground change. Undoubtedly, Bauer will continue to give liberals and libertarians conniptions before his latest day is over. But if conservatives and neocons think 24 is working for them, they don't know Jack.

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1576853,00.html

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:40 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
A Good Dealer Doesn't Use His Own Product
By James Poniewozik Time Magazine television critic in Time’s “Tuned In” blog Friday, Jan. 12, 2007

Television is the most influential and widely enjoyed entertainment medium in the world. Except, apparently, among the people who make and work in television. If you cover TV for any length of time, you learn that people in the TV biz watch, or at least say they watch, incredibly little TV. Especially their direct competition.

At the TV critics' tour panel for Bravo's upcoming Top Design (basically, Project Runway for home designers), the judges and hosts were asked how their showw compared to HGTV's very similar Design Star. Never seen it, came the answer. (Host Todd Oldham has seen his own network's Top Chef. Loves it.) And at the panel for Sci-Fi's comics-based action show Painkiller Jane, the producer and stars were asked if they've seen NBC's Heroes, which has a major similarity to their show. (Like Heroes' cheerleader Claire, heroine Jane can miraculously heal from injuries.) Only one star would admit to having seen any of Heroes. "Great show," said executive producer Gil Grant. "Never watched it."

Now there are several explanations for this phenomenon. Maybe it's a little white lie. There's little to be gained by venturing an honest opinion about the work of a competitor or, worse, someone you might want to work with someday. Another is that show-makers are afraid of the effect on them."I'm not sure I want to be influenced by it," Grant said when a reporter asked, incredulously, how he could never have watched Heroes even out of curiosity. Or maybe TV stars and producers are just too busy, what with all those shooting schedules and personal-trainer sessions.

The final explanation is that, in fact, people who work in TV just aren't that into TV. Which, when you surf channels sometimes, would seem to explain a lot.

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

fredfa

01-12-07, 03:51 PM

TV Review
'24'
Timely '24' is a comedy of terrors
By Matthew GilbertBoston Globe January 12, 2007

"24," which begins Season 6 on Sunday night at 8 ET/PT on Fox , is electrifying, and completely silly. It's a show that walks -- no, sprints -- the line between grim suspense and the Keystone Kops . As Jack Bauer wards off apocalypse after apocalypse, the action is as lean-forward-in-your-chair riveting as it is ridiculous, as much a contemporary-anxiety nightmare as a cliff-hanging comic book.

In other words, "24" perfectly captures the mood of America, so poised between global eruption and political farce. Whatever you think of Fox's terrorism serial,, it is sure to go down in the pop-culture history books as the emblematic show of its time. "24" is a by-any-means-necessary, Bush-era fantasia that celebrates American persistence while turning that persistence into a rabbit chase. Jack may bag a terrorist mastermind, but he or she is always fronting for another mastermind, and so on ad infinitum. Pure evil is always just out of reach on "24" -- hiding in a cave, say -- and destined to reappear as the next villain-of-the-week.

What makes "24" fly is that its makers have become expert at the TV thrill ride. The new season begins, as all new seasons of "24" begin, with four wild, addictive hours. In keeping with tradition, Fox's programmers have boldly scheduled the two opening hours on Sunday , then two more on Monday night at 8 , aware that, while the season may proceed to wander and vamp, the start of Jack's day will certainly grab and hold viewers. To use a punctuation metaphor, the season may become dashes and parentheses by Episode 14, but it begins as a full row of exclamation points.

The excitement is partly stylistic. Each hour of "24" leaps among many plot strands, each of which builds and crescendoes repeatedly. And viewers don't need to work to keep things straight; the characters state and re-state what's going on, so we can just let go and take the ride. This season , a spate of terrorist attacks in the United States will put Jack back in action. Without any confusion, we follow his story; we follow the new President Palmer , Wayne (DB Woodside ), and his chief of staff Thomas Lennox (Peter MacNicol ); we follow bad guy Fayed (Adoni Maropis ) and his goons; we follow Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub ) and the CTU infighting; and we follow a suburban family taken hostage.

But the bigger rush on "24" is the way it stun-guns viewers with the issues of the moment. All the running and shooting and cell phoning is in service of real hot-button themes. This season, amid domestic attacks, racial profiling is running rampant. MacNicol's Lennox has no patience for civil liberties when it comes to rounding up terrorists; he faces off with Sandra Palmer (Regina King ), the president's sister, a lawyer who is romantically involved with a Muslim.

Along with constitutional rights, the show dives into questions of detention camps, torture, vigilantism, working with terrorists, and suicide bombing. It's button-pushing at its most provocative. Even the opening shots of Jack fresh from 20 months in a Chinese prison have controversial echoes, as they sample the images of a bearded and bedraggled Saddam Hussein just after his capture. Also Sunday night, we see Jack torturing a guy while a huge American flag hangs behind them. That'll get your heart going.

But, much as I am compelled to watch "24," and admire its craft, I find that I can't take it seriously. Next to Showtime's "Sleeper Cell" and its dark, dimensional portraits of terrorists, "24" is a caffeinated cartoon. This season, Jack does undergo moments of doubt, the psychological residue from his imprisonment. But, in combination with Kiefer Sutherland's monochromatic performance, he is still something of a savior-bot, barking his commands and outsmarting bad guys like a video-game rendition of himself. In one scene Sunday (small spoiler alert), Jack literally takes a bite out of the jugular of his captor. Human blood dripping from Jack's mouth! Blimey! Forget about Jack's steel bladder; what about his breath?

Jack has his usual tele-relationship with Chloe, who just keeps getting campier. This season, Chloe has been sexed up, and her ex-husband Morris (Carlo Rota ) calls her a "hottie"; but still, she's Chloe and her come-hither expressions kind of look like sneers. As Jack races after villains, who morph from Chinese to Muslim to Russian and back around again, Chloe is like a little girl playing switchboard. It's daffy, as she patches the president in and out and uses satellite footage to zoom in on a pimple on the head of an ant.

Jack also stays in close touch with CTU boss Bill Buchanan (James Morrison ), who, I'm sorry, is just a little too Tim Gunn (from "Project Runway" ) to convince. I'm still waiting for him to instruct the CTU agents to "Make it work, people." For all its pulse-pounding intensity, "24" teeters awfully close to that kind of absurdity. Next thing you know, like his "Ally McBeal" character, MacNicol's nose will start whistling the national anthem.

http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2007/01/12/timely_24_is_a_comedy_of_terrors?mode=PF

fredfa

01-12-07, 04:31 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
GSN Unveils New Shows in Development
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 1/12/2007

GSN on Friday announced a new development slate that will feature a U.S. version of Without Prejudice?, a British import in which a panel of people awards one of five contestants a large sum of money.

Also on the slate is Grand Slam, a game show featuring 16 winners from other game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Jeopardy!. The show is from Michael Davies and Sony Pictures Television.

Other titles in development include:

• The Box: a live, reality game show where contestants live and compete in a glass box in public view.

• Carry Your Weight: features teams of three people who each feature either beauty, brains and brawn. Conceived by actor Corbin Bernsen.

• Indecision: a hybrid of the game and talk genres

• Kerry’s Getting Married: a real-time show follows a woman’s search for a mate

• Camouflage: A game show of hidden word puzzles and trivia clues

• War of the Words: a vocabulary quiz show

Also coming up on the network is Cat-Minster: CFA International Cat Championship on March 27 and the National Vocabulary Championship on April 15.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6407335.html?display=Breaking+News

fredfa

01-12-07, 04:34 PM

TV Notebook
Battling Cancer, Ebert Hopes To Return to Show Soon
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable 1/12/2007

The Chicago Sun-Times Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic Roger Ebert, who has been battling thyroid cancer and unable to tape his weekly Buena Vista TV (BVT) review series, Ebert & Roeper at the Movies, this season, issued a statement Friday saying he hopes to return to work soon.

“As Faulkner says, ‘We shall not merely prevail, we shall endure,’” Ebert said in the statement, issued on the eve of next week’s National Association of Television Program Executives conference.

In an update on his condition, Ebert says, “It's been some time since I checked in to let you know how I'm doing. I had hoped to be back in my seat in the balcony alongside my partner Richard Roeper, but the surgeons tell me they will have to take a staged, multiphased approach to getting me back in shape. To borrow from the Chicago Bears, we tried for the long pass, but now we're going for a series of shorter passes until we score a touchdown.”

Ebert will not be on the red carpet interviewing nominees at this year’s Academy Awards but does intend to conduct his “Outguess Ebert” contest in the Sun-Times and work with WLS Chicago to make his Oscar predictions.

The critic has not been idle, however. His Overlooked Film Festival is sold out and he published two books this past fall: Awake in the Dark and the Movie Yearbook 2007.

“I am working on the follow-up to I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie, tentatively called Your Movie Sucks,” Ebert says.

He thanked viewers and readers for their thoughts and prayers and notes and said he and his wife have been receiving a steady stream of calls, letters, flowers and e-mails, which “have sustained us through this time out.”

Ebert also thanked BVT President Janice Marinelli and others at the studio “for staunch support during this ordeal.”

Roeper has been appearing with guest critics this season. The Sun-Times critic joined the show following the death of Ebert’s former partner Gene Siskel in 1999.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6407341

VisionOn

01-12-07, 04:58 PM

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:03 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
And the Award For Most Awkward Lunch Goes To…

By James Hibberd Television Week in the “Critical Eye” blog Friday, January 12th, 2007

Starz, for their cadre of malcontent, oversensitive, unfunny comedians.

The movie network sponsored a TCA “working lunch” (which means you have to eat a salad while giving intermittent attention to a panel on stage). First up is Alexandra Wentworth, who plays a shrink in Starz’ new scripted series “Head Case.” Somebody thought it would be funny if she took the TCA stage in character.

“I can see there are a lot of depressed people here,” she says, clearly knowing how to win new fans. “I’ll try to take some of your questions. Maybe some of you have issues or problems. You are press, so there’s a lot to mine there.”

Annoyed critics stare back. Wentworth is not Borat, she can’t pull this crap. Critics raise their hands, and ask serious, production-based questions. Wentworth awkwardly attempts to remain in character.

“Could you stop doing that, please and speak to us like you were—“ one critic begins.

“You need to stop now,” another finishes.

The second Starz panel is “Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-Up.” Except Lawrence isn’t here due to scheduling conflicts, though critics are assured he “sends his love.”

What follows in the session transcript is 16 pages of awkward discussion, and only eight transcriber notations of “(Laughter).” By comparison, the producer of G4’s series “Code Monkeys” Adam de la Pena managed seven “(Laughter)”s in six pages, and he was on stage alone, and not a comedian.

The comics proudly discuss how profanity is important, why Martin Luther King jokes aren’t funny and their life stories. At one point, the discussion appropriately devolves into a debate about whether the comics have ever bombed in front of an audience.

“Yeah, like you ****ers now, you’re not laughing,” one of the comics says—which resulted in one of the eight “(Laughter)” marks in the transcript because, of course, it’s true.

Later, while discussing Michael Richards use of the “n-word” on stage, comic and moderator Doug Williams suddenly demands of the critics: “Anybody here who has never used the N-word, please stand up!”—which causes every white reporter in the room to freeze with racial terror, spoons of crème brulèe half-way to their mouths, wondering how the hell they get out of this lose-lose dilemma. I’m asking myself: “Does quoting count?” One critic in the back proudly stands up. The rest wish they ordered room service for lunch.

http://blogs.tvweek.com/?cat=12

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:07 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Bad Timing for a Baby Bump
By Linda Haugsted MultiChannel News 1/12/2007

USA Network scheduled the announcement of the production of In Plain Sight for its presentation Friday afternoon at the TCA meeting in Pasadena. But we heard in advance of the presentation that the production, which was to begin shooting this summer, will have to be delayed.

Network sources said the star, Mary McCormack (The West Wing), just found out she's pregnant. That circumstance will not mesh with her role as a U.S. federal marshal who has a dangerous job in the Witness Protection Branch.

The news made staffers a little paranoid: On the set of the production of another original, the movie The Starter Wife, star Debra Messing showed up one day wearing a big shirt. The gossip flowed, said a publicist.

Is SHE pregnant? That would also not set with the role of newly divorced middle-aged woman in a film with several beach scenes calling for the actress to be swimwear clad. But sometimes, a big shirt is just a big shirt. Messing is not pregnant, and the production is moving ahead.

For the Messing film, network officials also announced a partnership with Pond's. The skin-care company will hold a national contest, The Starter Wife 40s and Fabulous Contest, to identify five women who best embody "grown-up beauty." Contestants will enter at a co-branded Web site.

The Dead Horse

As cable's four days of programming announcements ended Friday, the most oft-discussed topic at the TCA was not cable-viewership gains, online initiatives nor programming trends. It wasn't even a cable topic. It was the damn Rosie O'Donnell/Donald Trump feud.

Those fending off questions about the feud and The View included Lisa Ling (host of Who Cares About Girls?on Oxygen), Danny DiVito (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX) and even Mark Burnett (who will consult with MTV on a makeover of the now 15-year-old MTV Movie Awards).

Enough, already!!!!! Starve them of ink and the whole thing will die quickly.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6406378.html?display=Breaking+News

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:16 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Back On the TV Critics Beat
By Ray Richmond The Hollywood Reporter in his blog “Past Deadline” January 12, 2007

Pasadena, CA -- Sorry for the brief interruption from my TV critics press tour duties the past few days. Circumstances kept me from attending during the middle two days of the cable portion. But it seems as if I didn't really miss all that much. Jennifer Lopez (do we still call her JLo?) was here on Thursday to promote her new MTV dance show "DanceLife" that she's executive producing. That was kinda big. But really, when you're not here, it isn't like you're missing a huge amount. And therein lies the dilemma for the Television Critics Association and the networks they so dutifully cover.

There is the perception among the visiting out-of-town press that these gatherings are essential for gathering quotes, meeting people in the biz face to face, shooting the breeze. But the truth is that sending journalists has grown prohibitively expensive at a time when newspapers are struggling mightily to retain circulation. One of the first things to get deep-sixed is sending the reporter to Pasadena.

For this and other reasons, I'm fairly certain that these shindigs will all move online within the next 3 to 5 years and will cease to exist in the current semiannual configuration. It's too easy to get everything on the Net: live interviews, chatrooms, transcripts, the whole shebang. Yes, one can argue, you can't get quite the same interview over an electronic screen or video conference as you can in person. Perhaps. But it isn't enough of a reason for newspapers, magazines and networks to continue holding these gatherings as live events.

More Compelling Evidence For Why the Rest of the World Can't Stand the Sight of Us

Pasadena, CA -- Last week, I reviewed a dreadful new reality series on Oxygen entitled "Tease" that found hairstylists facing off in blow-dry by blow-dry combat. I couldn't have imagined while watching it that I was witnessing the beginning of a trend. But that's what is so beautiful about the niche programming world in which we now live. Yesterday's really insane idea (I style, therefore I am) is today's Big Thing. Because this morning at an NBCU Cable session for Bravo, we all learned here that the network had enlisted the participation of one Jaclyn Smith to host the forthcoming eight-episode reality series "Shear Genius."

"Shear Genius" had been previously announced under the title "Top Hair," evidently because the names "I'm Just Wild About Hairy," "To Hair Is Human" and "Hair To the Throne" already were taken. It promises to put the spotlight on the "client-driven, high-end competitive world of hairstyling." I just never could have foreseen an entire new end of the unscripted arena based on the concept that my comb is better than your comb. But that's what is so wonderful about covering TV: it'll constantly surprise ya. It surely does me.

When News Breaks, They Fix It!

Pasadena, CA -- While I wasn't in actual attendance to witness this, it was a telling moment on Thursday when MTV Networks came face to face with a breaking story during the TV critics confab that it was woefully ill-equipped to handle. Indeed, MTV had the misfortune of having its session at the precise moment when its COO Michael Wolf was making his resignation public. Yet for some 2 1/2 hours, the news was treated like the elephant in the room that it was -- which is to say, completely unaddressed.

One of the critics (actually my pal David Kronke of the L.A. Daily News, who has grown to become the conscience of this gathering -- whether the issue be resignation or masturbation) finally piped up with the following query to Brian Graden, president of entertainment for MTV Networks Music Group and president of the network Logo: "It's my understanding that news is supposed to be dispensed during the press tour. So why have we been here for 2 1/2 hours and no one has mentioned that Michael Wolf resigned today, and what can you tell us about the particulars of that resignation?"

Graden: "Blessedly, it's above my pay grade. Very sincerely, it's an MTV Networks corporate move, and so I don't have a comment because it simply wasn't a decision I was involved in making."

No, the decision appears to have been Wolf's, but that's somewhat irrelevant. The bottom line is that with all of the hype and propaganda that typically colors these press tour extravaganzas, the one element that's typically in short supply is genuine news. And if you're a network that doesn't have your spin cycle in motion -- if, say, you're still on "wash" or "rinse" -- the instinct is to cover up like an outclassed boxer or put your hands over your ears and shout, "I can't hear you! La-la-la-la-la!"

Writes Kronke on his blog The Mayor of Television: "This incident, perhaps more than any other in the history of the TV press tour, underscores its essential pointlessness. It proves the utter contempt networks have for the journalists who cover them...No, in the TV network’s executive’s mind, journalists are merely unwitting stooges whose only value lie in their propensity to uncastigatingly promote otherwise unwatchable programming while caged in a hermetically sealed environment where groupspeak is God."

This Is Your Brain On Cats

Pasadena, CA -- So they turned the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel here into a cathouse, as it were, for the GSN network's presentation before the TV critics. It was to promote its coverage of "Cat-minster: CFA International Cat Championship" (the "Cat-minster" part is the network's own creation, I believe). It's a two-hour feline fest airing on March 27.

But anyway, for the event GSN decided to tote along several of the championship cats for in-person perusal. This, however, may not have been the finest-ever idea as a handful of the gathered critics immediately hightailed it for the exit in fear of allergy attack. On the other hand, several others (humans, that is) were inspired to hold and, um, interview the prize cats. You sometimes need to claw and scrape to find material at these things.

No word on whether any of the critics planned to file suit over the allergy cat-astrophe. And it clearly could have been worse. At least there were no peanuts on the table.

http://www.pastdeadline.com/

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:25 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
April 8
HBO sets a date for end run of 'The Sopranos'
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” January 12, 2007

HBO has confirmed an air date for the final batch of new 'Sopranos' episodes. The final nine episodes will begin airing on April 8.

David Chase will write and direct the final episode of the show.

"Entourage" will return with eight episodes the same night.

And finally, the network confirmed that the new series from "Deadwood" creator David Milch, "John From Cincinnati," will have its debut in the summer of 2007.

Here's the network's description of "John":

"Set in Imperial Beach, California, the last great surf-break before Tijuana, where the U.S. meets Mexico, and water meets land, 'John From Cincinnati' tells the story of the Yosts, a family of surfers whose awesome athletic talents have for generations seemed to come with a curse attached.

'The gifts of 13-year-old Shaun rival those of Butchie, his addict derelict father, and his now-ascetically-withdrawn grandfather Mitch, both of whom defined the sport in their heydays. In shaping Shaun's career, his grandmother Cissy strives to achieve a commercial and athletic success that will compensate for the frustrations and failures of her life with her husband and son.

'Into this world, where even simple joy has been turned into a commodity, steps a mysterious stranger named John. Soon after, things begin to happen to the Yosts, and those whose lives they touch, that test the boundaries of past and present, the mundane and the miraculous, the natural world and what lies beyond it.'"

Sounds intriguing, but where's Mr. Wu in all this?

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

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:31 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
"Queer Eye'' ends its run
"Project Runway'' returns
By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News in his blog Friday, January 12, 2007

The Fab Five is about to do its final makeover.

After four years, Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'' -- once one of the hottest shows on TV -- will come to an end this summer with 10 new episodes. The series had a wide cultural reach as five gay guys -- Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez (at right) -- helped straight dudes find their inner metrosexual and busted a few stereotypes along the way. The furor died down after the first couple of seasons to the point where fewer and fewer viewers knew there were new episodes on the air. That will probably change with the final 10.

Meanwhile, Bravo is hustling more reality programs on the air -- more than a couple reflecting the elements and format of the very successful "Project Runway'' and "Top Chef.''

That includes "Top Design'' (an interior design competition) which debuts later this month; "Shear Genius'' (hair stylists duke it out) that will begin its run in the spring; and "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style,'' with "Project Runway'' breakout star Gunn helping the fashion senseless through a makeover. That probably won't surface until late in the year.

In addition, Bravo announced officially today that "Project Runway'' would be back (as if there was really any doubt) although it probably won't resurface until at least the summer. (Channel executives are afraid of it "burning out'' from too many editions in too short a period of time.) And while the deal has not yet been, it's all but certain Gunn will return for the next cycle. (Gunn does, after all, have a day gig as chairman of the Department of Fashion Design at New York's Parsons New School.)

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/charlie_mccollum/index.html

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:34 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Tim Gunn of 'Project Runway' gets his own show
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” January 12, 2007

Big news for "Project Runway" fans: Season 4 of the show has been confirmed, executives from Bravo announced at the Television Critics Association January press tour. No date was given for the show's return, but I'd be surprised if it didn't start up again this summer.

Your next question is: Has Tim Gunn been signed for Season 4 of "Project Runway"? No announcement was made about that, but I will be talking to Lauren Zalaznick, the head of the network, very shortly, and you can believe I'll ask her about that.

But there was some big news on the Tim Gunn front. He'll be hosting his very own Bravo show, "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style." He'll be offering his patented incisive yet kind advice to "people desperately in need of" style advice, according to network executive Frances Berwick.

No time frame was given for when Gunn's show will debut, but I'll ask about that too. Stay tuned.

By the way, Bravo announced that the upcoming fifth season of "Queer Eye" will be the show's last. And that they've got a new show called "Hey Paula," a reality show chronicling the life of "American Idol's" Paula Abdul.

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

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:40 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
"Survivor: Fiji'': The Cast
By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News in his blog Friday, January 12, 2007

Our ol' buddies over at ""Survivor'' have announced the cast for the next edition, set in Fiji and debuting Feb. 8.

There are 19 survivors who will -- in a shift from previous seasons -- start out as one big tribe and then get sub-divided on Day 3. One tribe will then get a very well-equipted camp; the other gets a pot, a machete and a water source. Another twist: There will be two immunity idols this time around with the idols hidden at the two camps. Exile Island will have clues to the whereabouts of those darn idols.

Here is the cast list as provided by CBS:

ALEX ANGARITA, 28, Los Angeles (originally from Colombia), Attorney
KENWARD "BOO" BERNIS, 34, Lafayette, La., Construction Worker
YAU-MAN CHAN, 54, Martinez, Calif. (born in Hong Kong, raised in Borneo, Malaysia), Computer Engineer
EARL COLE, 35, Santa Monica, Calif. (originally from Kansas City, Kan.), Advertising Executive
JESSICA deBEN, 27, Los Angeles (originally from New Orleans), Fashion Stylist
ERICA DUROUSSEAU, 27, Lake Charles, La., Non-Profit Fundraiser
CASSANDRA FRANKLIN, 42, Los Angeles, Civil Engineer Manager
LILIANA GOMEZ, 25, Oxnard, Calif., Loan Officer
ANDRIA "DRE' HERD, 25, Wilmington, N. C., Cheerleading Coach
STACY KIMBALL, 27, Boulder, Colo. (originally from Montpelier, Vt.), Interactive Internet Producer
SYLVIA KWAN, 52, Ross, Calif. (born in Hong Kong), Architect
MOOKIE LEE, 25, Wheeling, Ill. (born in Seoul, Korea), Loan Manager
LISETTE "LISI' LINARES, 36, Los Angeles (originally from Miami), Customer Service Representative
JAMES REID, 28, Los Angeles (originally from Boston), Bartender
EDGARDO RIVERA, 28, Miami Beach, Fla. (originally from Puerto Rico), Advertising Executive,
ANTHONY ROBINSON, 32, Compton, Calif., Expert Witness Locator
GARY STRITESKY, 55, Ramsey, Minn., School Bus Driver
RITA VERREOS, 38, San Antonio, Texas (originally from Venezuela), Single Mom
MICHELLE YI, 23, Cincinnati, Ohio, Student
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/01/survivor_fiji_t.html#more

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:42 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Talking Tim Gunn…
…and 'Project Runway' with the head of Bravo
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” January 12, 2007

There’s good news for fans of Tim Gunn, the dapper mentor to the designers on “Project Runway.” Bravo has signed him up to do his very own show, “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style.”

In the show, Gunn will assist the sartorially challenged reach their fashion potential; it’s based on a book he’s currently writing, “Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style,” which is scheduled for May publication.

There’s no date on when Gunn’s show will debut, but Lauren Zalaznick, president of Bravo, says she hopes it will arrive in 2007.

“This is totally dependent on when he hands in his book,” Zalaznick said in an interview. “It’ll be a series, it's [a matter of] waiting to actually make it good.”

“I’m practically delirious that Bravo has given me this incredible opportunity and together, we vow to redefine ’makeovers,’” Gunn said in a statement. "This series aims to be one part education with two parts fun, and you’ll see me being a fashion therapist, not a Svengali.”

Zalaznick reiterated the idea that it will not be a typical makeover show, of which there are already plenty.

“I hate to say `We’re Bravo,’ but … we’re Bravo,” Zalaznick said. “There’s a certain level of taste, there’s a certain restraint, there’s a certain love of the culture around us. There’s nothing demeaning about it -- that’s true of all our shows.”

Gunn “has many other components to him, and that’s part of the reason we went after him with this book. We see his approach to X number of designers on a specific [`Runway’] challenge,” she added. “When he writes his book … it is a much broader role.”

When asked if Gunn was signed yet for a fourth season of “Runway” (when I spoke to him in November, he was not) Zalaznick said “We don’t sign talent for that show.” She noted that the Weinstein Company, which produces the show, is responsible for contracts with “Runway’s” judges and hosts (I've got a call in to the Weinstein Company, I will let you know if I hear anything on that front).

But she added that “the network has every expectation and wish that all of `Runway’s’ talent will be back for Season 4.”

She noted that the show has had occasional guest judges, but added that “Tim and Heidi, … I think they’re `Runway.’ But I think everyone thinks that.”

So when will the “Runway” gang return? Zalaznick wouldn’t give a time frame. Is the show coming back in 2007? “I think so,” she said.

“We’re fluid. I’m not saying that because we’re cagey. Our [`Runway’] time frame is dictated by the fashion shows, and [those occur in] September and February.”

“There’s hardly any air dates on [the new shows] we announced” at the Television Critics Association press tour on Friday, she noted. “We’re very nimble, we look at how things are doing and then we make the next decision.”

As for how the filming of the Gunn show will work in terms of “Runway’s” production schedule, she said, “I can just say flat out, our first priority is to `Runway.’”

As she noted, Gunn, the Chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design, “a very busy guy,” and filming two shows, writing a book and still keeping day job will make him even busier. Let’s hope both he and Bravo, as Gunn likes to say, make it work.

Zalaznick also spoke briefly about the upcoming Bravo show “Hey Paula,” a reality show following the life of Paula Abdul of “American Idol.”

“I have a theory that people judge their own paths from their post-adolescent music experience to the present in comparison to the track of a pop star that was resonant to them. I kind of feel like Paula Abdul is up there,” Zalaznick said. “This show is to take her in a slice of time right now and draw your own conclusions - where are you and where is she?”

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

fredfa

01-12-07, 05:59 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
News from HBO
By Rob Owen Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV Editor in his blog “Tuned In”

The final season of "The Sopranos" will begin airing April 8 followed by the remaining third season episodes of "Entourage." Nine, rather than eight, new "Sopranos" will air at that time, including the series finale, written and directed by creator David Chase. The fourth season of "Entourage" will begin this summer after a two-week break following the end of season three.

• • • • • • • • • • •

"John From Cincinnatti," the new drama from David Milch ("Deadwood"), will debut behind the "Sopranos" season finale, likely in early or mid-June. "Big Love" will also return in the summer.

• • • • • • • • • • •

"John Adams," based on the Pulitzer prize-winning biography by Pittsburgh native David McCullough, begins production in February, filming largely in Colonial Williamsburg, Va. Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney star as John and Abigail Adams with Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson. The mini-series will air in 2008.

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

fredfa

01-12-07, 06:11 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
ESPN Cancels Quite Frankly
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 1/12/2007 6:02:00 PM

ESPN has cancelled Quite Frankly, a nightly talk show hosted by Steven A. Smith since its August 2005 inception. The show’s finale was to air Friday night.

The show was once looked upon as a possibility to fill the late-night talk show void that ESPN has long considered.

Smith will stay with the network in other roles, including hosting four interview specials tied to major sporting events and appearing on network flagship highlight show SportsCenter and NBA programming.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6407447

fredfa

01-12-07, 06:28 PM

A Reminder

If you are new to AVS or the Hot Off The Press thread, don’t forget a number of valuable resources which are constantly updated for you near the top of the thread.

The daily and weekly Nielsen ratings are always available in the first post at the very top of the thread (Page 1).

The list of cancelled and renewed shows, along with those who have received full-season pickups for this year are in post #2.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4265637&&#post4265637

The shows who have yet to premiere this year are in post #3.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4278280&&#post4278280

A number of resources can be found in post #4…..here are some of the items you’ll find there:

Sports HD Schedules
Where to find the HD schedule for your favorite team -- in any sport

AC Nielsen 210 Market DMA Rankings for the 2006-2007 TV Season
Find out where your (and every U.S. TV market) ranks

Digital TV Info for all 210 Nielsen DMAs
The people at HDTV Magazine have supplied a link which tells who in each market is broadcasting digitally, from where and with how much power

Cable/Satellite Penetration By Nielsen DMA Market as of November, 2006
How many people have cable or satellite in each market?

FCC's Digital TV Info Resources

FCC SHVERA Fact Sheet
Now that DirecTV has cancelled bi-coastal HD Distant Network Station reception, here is the FCC fact sheet which may answer some of your questions about SHVERA and how it effects what we are -- or are not -- allowed to purchase.

All of this and much more is available in post #4 of this thread. You can go there directly by clicking here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=4278412&&#post4278412

fredfa

01-12-07, 06:31 PM

The Business of Television
Time Warner Hopes to Avoid Sinclair Loss
By Linda Moss & Mike Farrell MultiChannel News 1/12/2007

Time Warner Cable and Sinclair Broadcast Group were still trying to finalize a retransmission-consent deal Friday, but the cable company didn’t expect to lose carriage of the broadcaster’s stations at Friday night’s midnight deadline.

The retransmission-consent extension Time Warner and Sinclair agreed to last month for former Adelphia Communications systems expires at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

But in an update issued at 4:45 p.m. Friday, the nation’s second-largest cable company was optimistic.
“At this time, we are still negotiating with Sinclair,” Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Maureen Huff said.

“We do not expect them to force us to stop retransmitting the signal at applicable stations at midnight.”

About 1 million Time Warner subscribers -- formerly Adelphia customers, mainly in New York, Ohio and Maine -- would be impacted if worse came to worse and Sinclair pulled its signals.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleid=CA6407279

fredfa

01-12-07, 06:56 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
HBO Panel—Best Intentions
By James Hibberd Television Week in the “Critical Eye” blog Friday, January 12th, 2007

Normally HBO is the zenith of Cable TCA, but this year’s lineup is a disappointment.

No “Rome” or “Extras,” returning for their second and final seasons. No “Deadwood,” returning for two, two-hour movies later this year. No “Sopranos,” which is returning for its final nine episodes (it’s always fun to watch critics try to pry spoilers from impossibly dispassionate showrunner David Chase).

Worst of all, no Q&A executive session with master of the cable universe Chris Albrecht.

Instead, we have three entries from the ever-snoozy, yet always well-intentioned, HBO Films side of the company, where there’s never been a true story of societal outrage that wasn’t worth telling, usually aided by an A-list talent attached as executive producer.

There’s “Longford” (controversial British politician who was a steadfast advocate for prisoner rehabilitation that zzzzzzzzz). “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” (from “Law & Order” exec producer Dick Wolf, it’s the tale of the culture extermination of the Sioux Tribe during the zzzzzzzzzzzz). And “Life Support” (executive produced by Jamie Foxx, about the HIV crisis in the African American community where zzzzzzzzzz).

Surely a glut of Golden Globes nominations and HBO viewer contributions to the appropriate charities will follow.

It’s frustrating because the creative instincts at HBO are so strong. Yet HBO executives are intent on using the Films division to create a very deliberate halo effect—critical respect, awards, prestige. It gives potential subscribers a sense that HBO is (not TV!) something special, a service worth paying an extra $12 a month for. Then those subscribers end up watching “Entourage” and “Cathouse” like the rest of us.

Should HBO return to 1993 and produce titles like “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman”? No. But there’s plenty of middle ground for smart genre films. Recently, HBO made a deal with “Lost” executive producer J.J. Abrams, who’s arguably the hottest showrunner in television right now, and the perfect person to head up such a project. Unfortunately, the deal was for a series with “prestige passion project” written all over it. It’s a drama set in a hospital cancer ward where zzzzzzzzz.

http://blogs.tvweek.com/?cat=12

fredfa

01-12-07, 07:02 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
"Jonestown"
If all docudramas were this good ...
By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star in his blog “TV Barn Friday, January 12, 2007

The phrase “drink the Kool-Aid” has been a part of our popular lexicon for so long -- and like everything else in our culture, deep-fried in irony so that you hardly recognize what it once was -- that, in a way, it makes the slaughter of Jonestown seem even more senseless and sadistic than had it simply sunk into oblivion, like the General Slocum.

At least that's my reaction to “Jonestown: Paradise Lost,” a two-hour movie from the History Channel that makes astonishingly good use of the docudrama format as it relives the horror we could only imagine when, on that day in 1978, we heard that Jim Jones had led nearly 1,000 of his People's Temple followers to the grave.

“Jonestown: Paradise Lost” airs opposite “24” at 8 p.m. Monday on the History Channel. While no one here is questioning the talent of Kiefer Sutherland, and “24's” Emmy was long overdue, you simply must find a way to watch this movie. I saw the Flight 83 films (including the one Sutherland narrated), and I don't think I have ever been so devastated by dramatized fact as I have watching “Jonestown.” (A PBS documentary on Jonestown by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Nelson will air this spring.)

Rick Roberts plays Jim Jones in the reenacted scenes, which are skillfully braided through interviews and vintage film and audio, including rarely-seen films and audio from the People's Temple archive. Looking like Elvis — another pill-popping megalomaniac who would precede Jones in death by one year — Roberts decisively conveys the drug-induced paranoia that turned a charismatic San Francisco folk preacher into a Koresh figure and Guyana into his Waco.

But “Paradise Lost” draws even more emotional heft from three eyewitnesses whose interviews appear throughout the film and each of whom barely escaped the bloodshed of Jonestown's last days: Tim Reiterman, a newspaper reporter who accompanied Rep. Leo Ryan to Jonestown; Vernon Gosney, a People's Temple member who made the full psychological loop that drove him into and then out of Jonestown; and, most heart-breakingly, Stephan Jones, the son of Jim Jones, whose candor and courage helped the filmmakers tell a story of fanaticism and ultimate abuse that will make you never want to use that phrase in jest again.

Besides, according to the Internet, it was Flav-R-Aid.

http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2007/01/jonestown_if_al.html#more

dad1153

01-12-07, 07:21 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Queer Eye says goodbye
Bill Goodykoontz's Arizona Republic Blog - January 12, 2007

How'd that happen?

I dunno, but they slipped it in somehow during the NBC Universal cable sessions this morning: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy will end its run on Bravo after the next season, which debuts this summer.

Raise your hand if you realized it was still on the air. Really? Do tell.

Obviously it's not the cultural phenomenon it once was, but man, back in the day, Queer Eye was on every magazine cover going, seems like. And in a good way. While the show has its silly aspects, and so much product placement it sometimes seems like a commercial instead of a TV show, it was, certainly at the beginning, one of the few positive portrayals of gay people on television. Don't sell that short. The fact that the guys' personality took the forefront instead of their sexuality was a huge plus. Even if that personality -- I'm thinking here specifically of Carson -- was incredibly annoying.

Comedy Central parties on

Boffo bash thrown by Comedy Central Thursday night.

Way too crowded, way too loud. Other than that....

Seriously, there was a decent star turnout. David Spade -- a local boy! (obscure Simpsons reference) -- was there for a time. Sarah Silverman, who has a new show on Comedy Central, came and stayed, as did the cast of her show.

Most of the cast of Halfway Home, another new Comedy Central series, was also there. (Missing: Oscar from The Office, alas.) Naked Trucker and T-Bones, both the name of a comedy act and their new upcoming show on Comedy Central, performed, and it was fall-in-the-floor funny, particularly when they complained about people not paying attention enough. (There were some particularly profane and hilarious references to dinner rolls.) Going to be hard for Sting and his lute to beat that, frankly, but I'm keeping an open mind.

Personal highlight for me was seeing the cast of Reno 911, one of my favorite shows (and an upcoming big-screen movie). Love those guys -- and they stuck around, always a bonus.

For those who keep up on the food front: regular fare, with this exception -- chicken lollipops. In truth, they were pretty regular, too. Some kind of curried chicken on a stick. I just liked the name.

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

dad1153

01-12-07, 07:26 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
GSN Unveils New Shows in Development
By Ben Grossman Broadcasting & Cable 1/12/2007

Without Prejudice?, a British import... Grand Slam, a game show featuring 16 winners from other game shows...

• The Box: a live, reality game show where contestants live and compete in a glass box in public view.

• Carry Your Weight: features teams of three people who each feature either beauty, brains and brawn. Conceived by actor Corbin Bernsen.

• Indecision: a hybrid of the game and talk genres

• Kerry’s Getting Married: a real-time show follows a woman’s search for a mate

• Camouflage: A game show of hidden word puzzles and trivia clues

• War of the Words: a vocabulary quiz show

Also coming up on the network is Cat-Minster: CFA International Cat Championship on March 27 and the National Vocabulary Championship on April 15.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6407335.html?display=Breaking+News

And now you know why I only watch GSN's line-up of daytime classics via DVR instead of their original shows (except Chuck Woolery's Lingo when it airs new episodes)! Good God, what a bunch of losers these new shows sound like. I predict that, in a couple of years, GSN is going to make an aggresive bid for ther repeat rights of Deal or No Deal and replace their current primetime workhorse, Regis' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, with Howie's show. Of course this is assuming that Deal will crash and burn from viewer fatigue in two years' time. If Deal is still going strong in 2008 and 2009 then NBC would be foolish to let repeats of it air on a non-NBCU channel.

fredfa

01-12-07, 07:29 PM

You know I rarely post early development stories, and in fact, discourage them.

That GSN post was for your eyes only, dad.

:)

dad1153

01-12-07, 07:30 PM

Thanks! :p

fredfa

01-12-07, 07:30 PM

The Business of Television
Iowa, Missouri Eye Mediacom-Sinclair Actions

By Linda Moss & David Cohen MultiChannel News 1/12/2007

The Iowa General Assembly scheduled a Jan. 18 hearing to review the issues in the retransmission-consent dispute between Mediacom Communications and Sinclair Broadcast Group, officials said Friday.

And Missouri Cable & Telecommunications Association president Greg Harrison hopes the same will occur in his state.

In Iowa, the Assembly’s Joint Government Oversight Committee set the session on the bitter battle between Mediacom and the broadcaster, which pulled its signals for 22 stations from the cable operator’s systems in 12 states Jan. 6.

“Iowans across the state have been unnecessarily inconvenienced by the discriminatory actions of Sinclair,” Iowa Cable & Telecommunications Association executive vice president Thomas Graves said in a prepared statement. “It is clear to me that this disruption could have, and should have, been avoided. I am pleased that the leadership of the State Legislature agreed and scheduled this hearing. We are heartened to have received the support of members of both houses and both parties in Iowa’s General Assembly.”

A witness list for the hearing isn’t available yet.

As for Missouri, Harrison said in a prepared statement, “Last week, 2 million viewers in 700,000 households were affected by Sinclair Broadcast Group’s unilateral decision to pull its 22 broadcast stations from Mediacom Communications cable systems in 12 states, including KSBI (Fox) in Caruthersville and KDNL (ABC) in Hermann.”

He continued, “In 2005, a similar dispute resulted in the loss of carriage of KODE (ABC) and KSNF (NBC) in Joplin for 11 months, and last Thursday, cable customers in St. Louis lost access to the high-definition version of KMOV (CBS) when the cable company refused to submit to the television-group owner’s financial demands.”

He went on, “It is obvious that these broadcasters’ unilateral actions have discriminated against Missourians and, most discouraging, they continue to ignore pleas not to make the consumer suffer. For example, Sinclair has refused to date the [Federal Communications Commission’s] strong recommendations to continue carriage and agree to binding arbitration, and ignored similar urgings of [Rep.] Roy Blunt [R-Mo.].”

Harrison concluded, “As a result of Sinclair’s practices and the resulting price discrimination against companies serving smaller markets, we are asking that the Missouri General Assemblyconsider holding hearings to investigate the unreasonable tactics of out-of-town media conglomerates and to determine how Missouri consumers have been inconvenienced because of them. Furthermore, we are asking Missouri’s General Assembly and Gov. [Matt] Blunt to take appropriate action that will prevent any programmer -- whether it is a broadcaster or a cable network -- from discriminating against Missourians.”

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6407377.html?display=Breaking+News

fredfa

01-12-07, 07:31 PM

One would think, reading the above story, that some enterprising reporter somewhere will look up the political contributions made by MediaCom and Sinclair in Iowa and Missouri.

I am pretty sure I can guess which company has been more generous with the politicians.

dad1153

01-12-07, 07:41 PM

TV Notebook
Battling Cancer, Ebert Hopes To Return to Show Soon
By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable 1/12/2007

Roeper has been appearing with guest critics this season. The Sun-Times critic joined the show following the death of Ebert’s former partner Gene Siskel in 1999.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6407341

That's good news. I may not agree with all of his views [Ebert's] but I miss his fairly well rounded approach to movies. The guest critics they've had on have been woefully one sided, especially the "serious" journalists who are only interested in art house and foreign language.

Roeper has risen to the challenge and actually outclassed a few of the best critics in the business (especially NY Times critic A.O. Scott). And man, does Roeper deserve whatever time off he gets for not only holding the fort in Roger's absence, but also the time he'll spend with Ebert when he returns to get the show back on track. This weekend should be a fun one because Kevin Smith (the only celebrity reviewer who "got it," unlike the ill-equipped-to-review judgements of Jay Leno and Aisha Tyler) will co-host with Roeper for the annual 'Worst of...' recap show. Wonder if Kevin will have the nutsack fortitude to pick his own Clerks II movie as a 'Worst of 2006' contender just so he can plug it! :rolleyes:

grittree

01-12-07, 07:44 PM

It is obvious that it's the government's job to make sure Sinclair doesn't inconvenience anybody.

dad1153

01-12-07, 07:46 PM

TV Review
You'll be havin' a laugh -- a second season of "Extras" returns Sunday on HBO
By Melanie McFarland, Seattle Post-Intelligencer - January 12, 2007

Every celebrity story has its ugly chapters, when a star is forced to compromise his self-esteem by appearing in forgettable flops or, worse, attaching himself to the worst dreck the entertainment medium ever vomited.

Getting your name out there is everything, see. That's what makes chasing fame such a thankless business, one requiring an iron stomach and an unflappable willingness to withstand all manner of humiliation.

Andy Millman is perfect for the job, although in this second season of "Extras" (10 p.m. Sundays, HBO) one wonders if the quest for celebrity won't beat him into a sidewalk stain.

Ricky Gervais's HBO comedy, a co-production with BBC, proves the mordant, merciless humor that made the "The Office" so original was not a one-shot fluke -- although that BBC series has without a doubt received far more attention.

Kind of appropriate, when you think about it; why should a comedy about those nameless faces populating films and TV backgrounds be front and center on HBO? The premium channel that has its cool quotient riding on "Entourage," not a chunky, forty-something guy who stammers his way through uncomfortable conversation.

We don't mean to imply "Extras" isn't cool. The second season has guest appearances by Orlando Bloom, Coldplay's Chris Martin, "Harry Potter's" Daniel Radcliffe and music legend David Bowie, and even without them in the mix, Gervais is about as edgy as television comedy stars get these days.

Spend 30 minutes with his pudgy, self-deprecating Millman, a middle-aged schlub who quit his day job because he was convinced he had "it," and you'll see why. Few other stars can write and play a kicked-in-the-mouth underdog as smartly as Gervais does here.

In season two, Millman doesn't just ask for humiliation, he attracts it. Desperate for attention, the "background artist" thinks his big break has arrived when his pilot script, "When the Whistle Blows," gets made into a series by the BBC.

But in classic TV industry fashion, the network meddles and strains it into catchphrase-driven dreck. Pandering to the lowest common denominator, "When the Whistle Blows" is rife with crass jokes and spit-takes. Millman's character is forced to wear huge glasses and a wig while cackling "Is 'e 'avin' a laugh?" every 10 seconds. Not even his imbecilic agent, Darren Lamb (series co-writer and co-creator Stephen Merchant), watches it.

In fact, desperate to find a positive review to share with Andy, he reads him a few lines from one on "Wind in the Willows."

Millions of other Brits watch it though, which is most unfortunate for Andy. That may grant him his wish, because he is famous – famous for being the star of an abysmal sitcom.

This allows "Extras" to explore the various strata of fame and all its perils, because Andy is recognizable, but a star? Not hardly.

Moderate exposure means he and his delightfully dim best friend Maggie ("Ugly Betty's" Ashley Jensen) gain access to London's best spots, but that only makes it easier for the beautiful people to ridicule Andy to his face. Not even elder statesman David Bowie is above it, and he has enough accolades and style to know better.

Poor Andy makes the mistake of sidling up to Bowie at a posh bar and emotionally unburdening himself to him, thinking a fellow celebrity will understand his pain. Instead, Bowie cuts him off and, as if to remind him he's a peon appealing to an uncaring god, turns to a nearby piano and makes Andy's woes into a catchy ditty about a pathetic little loser who should off himself.

"He sold his soul for a shot at fame/ Catchphrase and wig, and the jokes are lame/ He's got no style, he's got no grace,/He's banal and facile! He's a fat waste space!"

Gervais established himself as a genius at supremely uncomfortable comedy long ago, but by making his sad sack the butt of the joke in "Extras" – one lacking the shield of cluelessness David Brent had in "The Office" – he gives the audience a way of empathizing with him while laughing at him and at his circumstances.

"If he hadn't put himself in that position…" we might think. "If he hadn't been unrealistic about his chances…"

Still, the reason we feel for Andy is because his experiences validate what so many of us think about celebrities, an idea driven home by grocery checkout celebrity rags and tabloid programs: One of the greatest spoils of celebrity is the license to act like a jerk with total impunity.

And "Extras" guest stars play along with gusto. Orlando Bloom transforms into an egocentric star obsessed with being a top-ranked hunk in magazine polls -- threatened, naturally, by "Pirates of the Caribbean" co-star and former People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive Johnny Depp.

"Harry Potter's" Daniel Radcliffe plays himself as a horny adolescent, swinging around an unrolled condom and hitting on Maggie by confiding that he's "done it with a girl, intercourse wise." This leads to a riotous exchange with Dame Diana Rigg – the second funniest bit behind Bowie's nightclub act.

Gervais once hinted that these six episodes of "Extras" may mark the end of the series, which isn't unreasonable, since his version of "The Office" only consisted of 14 episodes and a wrap up special. He has since remarked that he and Merchant had such a terrific time with this second round that he may be up for a third.

Ordinarily, when a series creator is ready to end something, it's for the best to follow that instinct. Nothing ruins great series faster than continuing after the creators lose heart. But with "Extras," Gervais and Merchant continue to maintain a 100 percent success rate, and if they can find it in their hearts to go on, they should.

Television needs more comedy like theirs, and desperately. For the sake of elevating the medium, let's elevate "Extras" to the status of necessary viewing.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/archives/110420.asp

fredfa

01-12-07, 07:48 PM

In case dad1153 missed this news….
Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
GSN Specials
Announces the Airdates of Several Upcoming Documentary Specials
They Will Highlight Women of Game Shows, Great Game Show Moments and 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'

[b]GSN News Release[/b[ January 12, 2007

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 12 -- GSN, the network for games continues its devotion to the world of game shows with a series of special documentaries airing in the upcoming weeks. The schedule is as follows:

Sunday, January 14 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET) -- GREATEST GAME SHOW MOMENTS, hosted by Chuck Woolery

This special will highlight some of the greatest moments in television history. From hilarious host bloopers to outrageous occurrences such as Rip Taylor taking off his toupee in protest of a wrong answer on "Super Password," to amazing winning moments such as Dr. Joyce Brothers winning "$64,000 Question," GREATEST GAME SHOW MOMENTS will remind audiences that game shows have been a staple of American television since the advent of the medium. Interviewees in this special include Ken Jennings, Thom McKee, John Carpenter and Kevin Olmstead.

Sunday, January 21 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET) -- GAME SHOW HALL OF FAME: WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? narrated by Dana Mills

This special tells the story of one of the most successful game shows of all time, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" From its American premiere to the present, the special highlights John Carpenter, the first million dollar winner, as well as several of the behind-the-scenes players who helped make the show a hit. Interviewees include Regis Philbin, Meredith Vieira, Michael Davies and numerous other producers, Carpenter and other former contestants.

Sunday, January 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET) -- THE WOMEN WHO CHANGED GAME SHOWS, narrated by Vicki Lawrence

This documentary features a number of women who, in different ways, would make their mark on the game show landscape. Highlights include: Betty White has appeared on game shows across six decades; Arlene Francis becoming the first female game show host; Dr. Joyce Brothers rising to fame after winning on "The $64,000 Question;" Anne Robinson adding a new dimension to being a game show host on "The Weakest Link and Meredith Vieira assuming the host position on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and, of course, Vanna White marking her place in game show history as a game show model with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Interviewees in this special include Betty White, Meredith Vieira, Dr. Joyce Brothers and Arlene Francis' son, Peter Gabel.

Sunday, February 11 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET) -- CELEBRITIES AND GAME SHOWS, hosted by Chuck Woolery

Celebrities and game shows have gone hand in hand since the beginning of the genre. The celebrities brought viewers to the game show and the game shows provided the celebrities with exposure on national television. This special will feature some wonderful celebrity moments as well as highlight several famous actors who got their start by appearing on a game show, including Pee Wee Herman, Kirstie Alley, Paul Newman, Sally Fields, Tom Selleck, Robert Wuhl, Bob Saget, Burt Reynolds and Steve Martin.

Sunday, February 18 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET) -- INSIDER'S GUIDE TO WINNING GAME SHOW MILLIONS, hosted by Chuck Woolery

Winning big money on a game show is a fantasy shared by millions of people. The amount of people actually pulling it off has never been greater than it is today. This special will reveal tips from big winners and game show insiders to teach viewers the "golden rules" one needs to become a game show champ. Interviewees include "Jeopardy!" winner Ken Jennings, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" winner John Carpenter, Wink Martindale and producers Phil Gurin ("Lingo") and Scott St. John ("Deal or No Deal").

dad1153

01-12-07, 07:52 PM

Unlike most TV critics (excluding the one's not attending) Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Melanie McFarland just got to the Winter Tour.

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Hello Pasadena, Goodbye "Queer Eye"
Melanie McFarland's Seattle Post-Intelligencer "TV Gal" Blog - January 12, 2007

It's a tradeoff, leaving beloved Seattle for prickly Pasadena every six months.

These twice annual trips for the Television Critics Association Press Tour can wear on the soul, as anyone knows from reading past cries for help from Southern California. Oh, there are bonuses a-plenty. When I left, snow still blanketed the ground. Here, it's sunny and relatively warm. The digs are nice -- home, for the next 10 days, is the Ritz Carlton.

Understand, though, that this is a gilded cage. Executives and reps dance around the truth as much as possible. Actually, a couple are quite trustworthy -- two, three maybe -- but most excel at lying their toned butts off.

There are stars, but mostly midseason stars, cast in series that would have premiered in the fall if their networks thought they were up to snuff.

Our work day stretches to 16 hours or so with no weekends, and as for the subjects to be reported on? Well, I recently left a "working" lunch where we were instructed to turn our attention to the stage and welcome....show cats.

This is the part where you say "BOO HOO HOO, you great big baby." Yeah, I hear you. In spite of the kvetching, Press Tours are infinitely helpful in terms of getting a handle on what's in, what's out, and what can only be called nutty.

For example, Tim Gunn is decidedly in. Bravo announced today that he'll be helping the common folk make it work on his own series, "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style." (His book, "Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style," is due out in May.)

As for when it arrives, Bravo didn't share that information, but did confirm news we could have guessed anyway, that "Project Runway" will have a fourth season. No premiere date for that, either. Network reps were tight-lipped about that and more importantly what impact, if any, Gunn's new series will have on his future involvement with "Runway."

What we do know is that "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," the snazzy little series that paved the way for "Runway" (and "Top Chef," and Bravo's latest addition, "Top Design," coming Jan. 31 at 11) is officially "owt," as Heidi Klum would say. The Fab Five's last hurrah, a ten-episode fifth season, arrives this summer.

And one day after Paula Abdul thrilled Seattle with her, shall we call it, intoxicating appearance on KCPQ's morning program, Bravo announced it would be sharing her life with us in a documentary series tentatively called "Hey Paula."

If you're like me, you may be thinking to yourself that the combination of Abdul's series and "Being Bobby Brown" on the same channel might be enough to give you a contact high if you sit too close to the television. But, a Bravo rep sorta confirmed an earlier report that Mr. Whitney Houston's series had been cancelled.

Except she preferred not to use that term, explaining that the show hasn't been on the air or in production, so how could it be cancelled? Rather, think of it this way -- like Whitney, it has left home and is not coming back.

Ah, Hollywood. Here we are again.

And now I'm off to dance with HBO.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/archives/110426.asp

Quick hits from HBO: Premiere dates for "The Sopranos" and "Entourage"

After being pushed back once or twice, HBO finally has a firm date for Tony Soprano's last ride. "The Sopranos" will return April 8 at 9 p.m. with the sixth season's nine remaining episodes, in which we suspect many characters will get what's coming to them -- including, perhaps, television's favorite mob boss.

Series creator David Chase will write and direct the final episode.

Following Jersey's most notorious mob men, the boys of "Entourage" are set to come back on the same night at 10 with eight new episodes. That means we'll get Tony and Ari every Sunday for about two months.

Looks like it's going to be a fabulous April.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/archives/110428.asp

dad1153

01-12-07, 07:59 PM

In case dad1153 missed this news….
Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
GSN Specials
Announces the Airdates of Several Upcoming Documentary Specials
They Will Highlight Women of Game Shows, Great Game Show Moments and 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'

Fred, it's so obvious you don't watch GSN regularly or follow gameshows (all of them, not the big-money primetime one's that get ink) at all. GSN bombards its viewers for promos for every one of these specials at least three times per half-hour, during commercial breaks as well as during the "credit crunch" at the end of the show (which sends us diehards crazy because we'd rather hear the voices of Gene Wood, Don Pardo, Bill Wendell or Johnny Gilbert reading those outdated Rice-a-Rony and Turtle Wax plugs).

And I would have posted this press release on this forum ages go but you've made it perfectly clear that anything that isn't HD news or relates to a small cable channel nobody watches is not welcomed. As much as I love GSN it barely gets a 0.3 rating as a primetime average (according to the latest monthly cable network chart from Cableworld using Nielsen numbers from two months ago) so I don't bother posting about it here. Thanks for the momentary reprieve though, I'm loving it. :)

fredfa

01-12-07, 08:03 PM

TV Notebook
NBC OKs fourth hour for 'Today'
Will Begin in the Fall
By Michael Learmonth Variety.com January 12, 2007

NBC Universal has given a greenlight to a fourth hour of "Today," a bid to extend one of its most profitable franchises into a time period now dominated by syndicated cooking and talkshows.

The fourth hour (Daily Variety, Aug. 7) is the latest experiment into how far the network can push the "Today" franchise, which celebrated its 55th year last week and has spent 11 years atop the ratings.

NBC notified its affiliated stations late Friday that the network intended to make a fourth hour available to them starting in the fall and plans to unveil it Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena.

NBC won't announce talent on Wednesday, but sources said the net is only looking at internal talent including expanded roles for third-hour hosts Ann Curry and Al Roker, as well as Campbell Brown and Natalie Morales.

A fourth hour will mean leaning more heavily on White House correspondent David Gregory, a frequent "Today" contributor. "Access Hollywood's" Billy Bush and Maria Menounos are also in the mix.

The network is rushing to make the announcement ahead of any talent decisions to coincide with the National Assn. of Television Programming Execs conference in Las Vegas where stations shop for syndicated programming.

"We ask that you look at the value of an additional hour of 'Today' to your daytime schedule before you commit to any new or extended syndicated product," wrote John Damiano, NBC's exec VP of affiliate relations.

NBC's decision to go ahead with a fourth hour coincides with a dearth of successful syndicated fare available to local stations. NBC Universal recently cancelled its syndicated "Megan Mulally Show," which will go off the air in three weeks.

Carrying a fourth hour of "Today" means turning another hour of local time to the network, never an easy decision for a local TV station, which depends on local advertising revenue.

"Most affiliates are generally pleased with the third hour of 'Today,' but there isn't much of an appetite for taking another local hour and making it national," said Marci Burdick, exec VP of broadcast and cable for Schurz Communications and chair of the NBC Affiliate Board. "They'd have to give us an hour somewhere else."

Canceling the struggling daytime drama "Passions" and shifting that network time to 10 a.m. would make the decision more palatable to affiliates.

The network has cultivated a different look and feel for the third hour of "Today" and a fourth hour would continue in that vein, competing against a mix of syndicated fare targeted at women such as "Rachael Ray," "The Tyra Banks Show" and "Judge Judy."

For the last 20 years, NBC has steadily expanded the hours programmed under the "Today" banner. It added a Sunday edition in 1987 and a Saturday in 1992. The third hour was added in 2000 and has steadily grown in the ratings.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957330.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

fredfa

01-12-07, 09:33 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
God bless Dick Wolf
By Alan Sepinwall of the Newark Star-Ledger in his TV blog “What’s Alan Watching” Friday, January 12, 2007

Sorry for the slowness of the blog today, which has less to do with any lingering jet lag than the lack of interesting events and quotes on my first full day here. But thankfully, HBO brought Dick Wolf, the czar of the "Law & Order" empire to talk about producing the miniseries version of "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee," and Dick did what Dick does: he gave good quote.

A reporter noted that this was Dick's first collaboration with HBO, and asked whether he might be interested in more. Dick noted that his contractual obligations to NBC/Universal make that difficult, but raved about the creative experience at pay cable.

"I would love to send some network people in to intern there for a while," he quipped, to great laughter and relief from the roomful of previously-bored critics.

"That was a little bit flip," Dick hedged moments later when a reporter asked him to expand the thought. "There's s a question of the attention to detail on every level at HBO is different than a network, but a network has 22 hours of proramming taht has to be filled every week. But I can say that it is wonderful to be with people whose only aim is to get on the screen the best possible film that they can get up there. Networks have a tendency, they're in the numbers game, the daily numbers game, and that leads to decisions that are not necessarily artisitc or what is best. There's also a totally different time frame. This picture was basically fast-tracked at HBO."

He seemed awestruck by the production values on "Rome," which begins its second and final season Sunday night.

"You look at it and you go, 'Boy, they really didn't care how much it cost.'"

http://www.nj.com/weblogs/tv/index.ssf?/mtlogs/njo_alan/archives/2007_01.html#224780

RussTC3

01-12-07, 09:55 PM

The premiere of 24 was awesome.

It's crazy, crazy I tell ya, what happens. Just amazing. These guys know how to make a gripping, exciting hour (or hours in this case) of television.

In other news, good to see so many new potential HD channels being launched during this year. Sci Fi HD gets me really excited.

dad1153

01-12-07, 10:03 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
HBO Goes to Hell
James Poniewozik's Time "Tuned In" Blog - January 12, 2007

Last summer at the TV critics' tour, there was a minor brouhaha when a reporter charged that many of the TV journalists left a conference room before the presentation by Roger Ailes of Fox News--the implication being that liberal TV critics were staging a walkout against the conservative Ailes.

Conservatives who were offended at the time would have enjoyed the HBO presentation today. After a packed crowd sat for the first two panels, probably a third or so left the room before the panel on Friends of God (the documentary on fundamentalist Christians by liberal Alexandra Pelosi, Nancy's daughter).

The fact is, press tour sessions are packed back-to-back-to-back, and critics will often take off to write or do other business during sessions they figure they can afford to miss, politics notwithstanding.

That said, there's no denying that HBO is not exactly red-state territory. Somebody asked Pelosi whether being the daughter of the Democratic Speaker made it hard to get access to Christian groups. "It was a lot harder to walk into a church and say, 'HBO,'" she said. "They call it 'Hell's Box Office.'"

After her, diehard libertarian comic Bill Maher pretty much made her subjects' case for them. Asked to comment about President Bush's surge plan in Iraq, Maher said it was a sign of "arrogance on a level that I think you can only get from faith." Later, he added: "I understand that [Bush] prayed a lot about Iraq. But I don't think that he learned a lot. Maybe the American people will learn a lesson from this the next time they go to the polls. Vote for the guy who reads, instead of the guy who prays."

It's Not TV Press Tour, It's HBO Press Tour

Today is HBO day at the cable press tour. It would be impolite to say so, since today also featured presentations by AMC, GSN, Sundance and sundry other abbreviations and nouns. But charmed as we were to see the world's greatest cat at the GSN luncheon--to promote the network's airing of the Cat-Minster cat competition, we met last year's winner, an enormous dust mop of a Blue Persian--we were really anticipating HBO's three-hour roadshow this afternoon. Among the news: Entourage and the final episodes of The Sopranos will debut April 8. The Sopranos is not doing a panel, but there will be one for David Milch's John from Cincinnati, a.k.a. The Show They Canceled Deadwood For.

In miscellaneous press tour news:

* Compounding the problems for folks like me who confuse Robert Vaughn with Robert Wagner, the latter will be guest-starring in season 4 of the former's Hu$tle on AMC. Or the other way around.

* I may actually have to start watching Fuse. The music network that actually plays videos signed up a sketch-comedy show from The Whitest Kids U'Know, a Brooklyn comedy troupe whose funny but button-pushing skits you can find in advance on YouTube. Decorum prevents me from embedding "The Hitler Rap" here, but here's one of the more inoffensive bits (click link below for a "YouTube" clip).

* Finally, at WE's panel for Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter, the female-wrestler turned bounty hunter said she had to serve in her profession nearly two whole years before someone asked to do a reality show about her.

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

dad1153

01-12-07, 10:15 PM

Washington Notebook
GOP Congressmen Request Mediacom Hearing
By Ira Teinowitz, TV Week - January 12, 2007

Four GOP Congressmen are asking for a House committee hearing over broadcast retransmission payment issues as the fight between Mediacom Communications and Sinclair Broadcast Group attracts more Congressional attention.

The media companies have been fighting over Sinclair's demands that Mediacom start paying fees to retransmit its local stations, which Mediacom has been airing for free. Mediacom took Sinclair's stations off its cable systems in 12 states Jan. 5 after being unable to reach a retransmission agreement. Mediacom has accused Sinclair of being unreasonable in demanding high fees while Sinclair has suggested that cable companies should pay broadcast media content providers as they pay cable program content providers.

Earlier this week Iowa's delegation to Congress which includes Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin and Republican Sen. Charles Grassley wrote both sides urging they resolve the issues in their dispute by accepting binding arbitration.

Sinclair's Iowa stations include KSM-TV, a Fox affiliate in Des Moines, and CBS affiliate KGAN-TV in Cedar Rapids.

Now Reps. Nathan Deal, R-Ga.; Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C.); Charlie Norwood, R-GA.; and, Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., have asked leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for a hearing to look into the issues being raised.

American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka in a statement today applauded the latest call for a hearing noting not only the Mediacom-Sinclair fight but also a statement made this week by Les Moonves, CEO of CBS Corp., that CBS is continuing to look for payments from cable operators.

"Clearly, the important Congressional doctrine of 'localism,' ensuring that local signals are carried, has been pushed aside as broadcasters allow their signals-which are provided free of charge by the government and the taxpayers-to go dark while they press their cash demands on these same consumers," he said.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11368

dad1153

01-12-07, 10:36 PM

The Business of TV
For cable networks, a new, harsher era
The growth in ad dollars came easy for so long
By Kevin Downey, Media Life Magazine - January 12, 2007

The halcyon days are over for cable television. A new era has begun.

Cable household penetration is flattening out and ratings, only recently soaring, are trending down in most demographics. And that's against rising competition for ad dollars from newer media, led by the internet.

In this new era, cable TV will come to resemble its older competitors, such as broadcast TV. It will see only modest growth in its share of ad spending. And those dollars will be hard-fought, with cable network pitted against cable network for a slice.

Much of this is already taking place. It will only accelerate in this spring’s upfront ad market and in years to come.

Ad spending in last year’s $6.5 billion upfront was flat to the prior year. Moreover, TNS Media Intelligence reports that expenditures in the first three quarters of 2006 were up only 3.3 percent from the year-earlier period, compared to 4 percent for all media.

Cable TV’s slowdown will only grow more pronounced, say media buyers and analysts.

“I believe the growth in cable has reached maturity, so we will see a little growth year-over-year going forward,” observes Erik Brannon, associate analyst with Kagan Research.

But the cause is not the slowing of cable penetration per se, though that's taken place as cable systems across the country extend their systems to saturation. Rather Brannon credits the internet.

“Had the internet not become a significant factor in advertising, the significant growth in cable would have continued. The health of cable is not in doubt but it isn’t going to grow like it used to.”

In years past, when cable TV was the hot new medium, ad spending grew by double-digit percentages. That occurred when consumers were still signing up for cable TV, leading to penetration growth in double-digits while viewers migrated away from broadcast networks.

Posting solid growth from a small base of subscribers and ad dollars was easy.

That era is over. About 86 percent of homes received cable networks through cable or satellite services at the end of last year, up only 2 percentage points since 2001, according to Nielsen Media Research.

“The people who don’t have cable today have been referred to as the cable-nevers, and they’ve been called that for a reason,” says Brian Wieser, vice president and director of industry analysis at Magna. “It’s hard to imagine there could be much more growth.”

Moreover, cable TV isn’t chipping away at the broadcast networks as it once did.

Cable TV’s household rating in fourth quarter dipped 1 percent from the year-earlier period, according to a Magna Global analysis of Nielsen ratings. Among people 2 years and older, cable was also down 1 percent, while it was slightly up in the 18-34 demographic and flat among 18-49s. Ratings were down in the 25-54 demographic and among kids and teens.

In a Media Life survey last month, 62 percent of respondents thought cable TV would plateau this year while only 20 percent thought cable TV would rebound.

It’s still premature to make predictions about this year’s upfront but buyers and analysts say cable TV will struggle to see an increase in spending. Most say there is an over-supply of inventory, meaning all but the most-in-demand networks will have little leverage to raise prices.

With spending expected to be flat or only slightly up, competition between the networks will become more intense. There will be less selling against broadcast, more selling against one another.

“The networks are already competitive with each other and they will continue to be,” says John Rash, senior vice president and director of media negotiations at Campbell Mithun.

TNS Media Intelligence this week predicted modest growth for cable TV in 2007, up 4.7 percent. That is well behind increases for hotter media like the internet and outdoor and only slightly better than the outlook for troubled media such as radio.

“It’s too early to tell about the upfront. Much depends on specific programming strategies by individual networks and, collectively, all the networks,” says Rash. “But it is already, and it will continue to be a highly competitive marketplace.”

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9492.asp

dad1153

01-12-07, 10:58 PM

OHH... MY... GAWD!!! :eek:

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Stop making sense: The Paula Abdul story
Bill Goodykoontz's Arizona Republic Blog - January 12, 2007

I've never been the biggest American Idol fan in the world. I get how popular it is, how influential, all that. But until they get down to the last few episodes of any given season, it seems like just a glorified talent show.

But after watching this clip of a Paula Abdul interview (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zt5-wn3fvlw), I might have to change my mind. If they can promise this kind of thing every week, I'll never miss a minute.

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

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:08 PM

TV Review
'24'
Danger close to home in new '24'
Bill Goodykoontz The Arizona Republic Jan. 12, 2007

When 24 returns Sunday tonight, with four episodes in the next two days, you know generally what's going to happen: The world will be put in peril by evil men and Jack Bauer will be called upon to save it, most likely at great cost to himself and greater cost to those who cross him.

Jack's a hero, and we need heroes. It's in our makeup, the yearning to go beyond our perceived capabilities for the greater good, even if it's done through the lens of a fictional government agent.

He's a flawed hero, to be sure, and damaged goods as well. But this season offers more immediate and realistic threats, and he gives viewers someone to root for - a reason to care about one of TV's best shows, not be put off by it.

It's not all a high-minded morality play, of course. In fact, the often-cartoonish threats to life, liberty, etc., and Jack's equally outlandish responses are part of the fun. "I'm going to need a hacksaw" is one of TV's greatest lines, ever (if you didn't see the episode, just imagine). Comic-book violence and mayhem is easier to stomach than the real thing; when Jack shoots a guy's wife in the leg to try to get him to talk, it's not just outrageous. It's also funny, a masochistic form of comic relief.

Well, fun time is over. Although it wouldn't be 24 without a larger, more complicated threat looming out there somewhere, this season things get started with a different kind of danger, much more immediate, one that hits closer to home and is rendered in such a way as to be more realistic, and therefore more disturbing.

As the show opens, America has for 11 months been under siege by the type of terrorism more associated with the Middle East: suicide bombings in buses, subways, in public places. It's all dutifully covered by a fictionalized version of Fox News and a CNN knockoff, which makes it all the more realistic. The first four episodes are harrowing, to the point that they might even bring one to ask, with a nation still jittery about attacks - the recent gas leak in New York certainly got the big-story treatment - whether 24 should traffic in this kind of thing at all.

The answer is simple: absolutely.

I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that, by the end of the season, Jack will have triumphed over evil. And Jack, beneath the at-all-costs measures he takes, sometimes gleefully, is the quintessential good guy. You have doubtless gleaned from the commercials for the new season that Jack is asked to sacrifice himself to save the day.

Well, sort of. But it probably comes as no surprise that he would make such a sacrifice so willingly. That's the kind of guy you want on your side.

Which means Jack is a guy we root for. Which means that, with the level and type of violence so much more real this time around, we root even harder. We need good guys. It gives viewers a vested interest - and how much more can a TV show do?

This isn't new territory for 24. Its first season premiered shortly after 9/11, and footage of an airplane being blown up in midair was wisely edited out (you still heard the explosion). By the end of the fourth episode Monday night, we're well on the way to another bigger-than-both-of-us kind of conspiracy, or so it seems. It's unfair to reveal what happens then, but it's huge, and it serves both as a catalyst for the rest of the season and, in its larger-than-life way, as something of a relief. The situation may be dire, but at last we are squarely in the realm of what one hopes will always remain fiction - back where we belong.

When last we saw Jack (Kiefer Sutherland), he was on a literal slow boat to China. He has spent two years in a Chinese prison. No fair saying how he gets home, but it involves President Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside) - yes, David Palmer's brother. Peter MacNicol is on hand as an adviser who treats the Constitution as more custom than law when it comes to the civil rights of just about anyone (wonder where they got that idea).

Jack spends a lot of time saying that he "doesn't know how to do this anymore," but there's pretty good evidence at the end of the first hour that he'll come around quickly. It's another great 24 moment, though like so much else, unsettling.

Even Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) seems darker, grumpier, if such a thing is possible, though her statement to her boyfriend (Carlo Rota) that she had to work hard to fit in is hilarious. Keep working, Chloe.

These episodes aren't as slam-bang great as last season's first four (when Fox also used the two-night, four-hour format to kick-start the season). But they are scarier, more personal, making it seem as if this time we have more to lose.

And as long as Jack Bauer is around, it makes 24 a show worth watching, even if you have to squirm while you do it.

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/0113goody0114.html

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:15 PM

OK, let's have your input.

Someone mentioned on another thread that the reviews here tended to have too many spoilers and ruined his enjoyment of the shows.

(He was speaking specifically of "24", but there were murmerings about "Rome", too.)

Since the idea of this thread is to enhance your enjoyment of television, I have begun putting spoiler tabs in the reviews. I am more comfortable doing that than ruining anyone's TV viewing.

But what do you all think? Are the spoilers going overboard?

I can't agree, by the way, to follow a majority rule -- but if even a significant minority prefers the spoilers, I'll leave them in.

And this is not for all shows, by any means -- just those which have a sense of the unknown about them. Similarly, when covering award shows which are tape delayed in the west, I usually use spoilers around the winners' list I post here. I take the spoilers off after the show has concluded out west.

And, as always, I can't guarantee to always protect you from everything in these reviews -- although, if you'd like, I will make every effort.

So....what do you all think?

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:18 PM

Please, if you post a story about a show, please name it -- and its channel -- so anyone interested will at least have a hint how to find it.

Thanks

OHH... MY... GAWD!!! :eek:

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Stop making sense: The Paula Abdul story
Bill Goodykoontz's Arizona Republic Blog - January 12, 2007

I've never been the biggest American Idol fan in the world. I get how popular it is, how influential, all that. But until they get down to the last few episodes of any given season, it seems like just a glorified talent show.

But after watching this clip of a Paula Abdul interview (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zt5-wn3fvlw), I might have to change my mind. If they can promise this kind of thing every week, I'll never miss a minute.

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

DoubleDAZ

01-12-07, 11:19 PM

I don't care one way or the other, I scroll the headline up and then decide if I want to read the post or not. I generally don't read any reviews before the episode airs. I do appreciate the spoiler tags though, makes skipping the post easier. :)

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:29 PM

AI starts with two hours Tuesday and follows with two hours Wednesday. Normally it will be on Tuesdays at 8 with a results show Wednesdays at 8. (The schedule is at the top of the thread!)

It is not SO necessary with network shows which have been written about extensively (and which are in the posted schedule at the top of the thread.)

But when it comes to obscure shows no one has heard of, especially on cable channels, it is best to be helpful to the reader.

dad1153

01-12-07, 11:29 PM

Please, if you post a story about a show, please name it -- and its channel -- so anyone interested will at least have a hint how to find it.

Will do Fred, although I have no Earthly idea when/where American Idol airs because I've never seen a stinking second of it (except when they show clips of it on other shows). I know its on Fox and not on Thursdays (there would have been an avalanche of media coverage about a showdown with ABC and CBS powerhouses), that's about it! :rolleyes:

BTW I vote for no spoiler tags. Logging online, finding this website, clicking on the HDTV Programming and then this particular sticky thread to me equals intent to seek information. If you don't want a TV show's surprises spoiled then reading the headline is sufficient warning to scroll by. Other than maybe editing a headline that gives away a big plot twist (BG Season Finale Shocker: Dubya is a Cylon... not true... made-up... I swear... ;) ) I say keep posting them like before. BTW Fred, it's very nice of you to offer to read all the reviews to spot spoilers and have potential moments of great TV enjoyment permanently ruined for you just to prevent us from suffering the same fate. You truly are our own Jack Bauer! :)

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:54 PM

TV Review
“24”
Bauer's back, and he's close to burnout 24:'
By Jill Vejnoska The Atlanta Journal-Constitution January 12, 2007

Move along, Jack Bauer.

There's no need for you to be reading this story. Day 6 seems like another doozy for you. Let's leave it at that.

Beyond that, why upset yourself? Clearly you have trust issues (see: President Charles Logan, Day 5). Maybe that's why my review copy of the new season's episodes 1 through 4 came complete with a letter threatening you'd crawl through the AJC's heating ducts with a bazooka clenched between your teeth and make me pay if I revealed too much of what happens.

(Slight exaggeration. In truth, the letter from "24" executive producer Howard Gordon politely requested that TV critics not reveal "the most explosive plot twists" — particularly the final minutes of episodes 1 and 4. Before ominously adding that the disc, which was "watermarked with your information," should be shared with no one.)

Gulp. Here goes: When Season 5 ended, counterterrorist agent extraordinaire Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) had saved America from a Russian separatist group's deadly nerve gas attack, only to be kidnapped by Chinese agents, beaten up and put on a slow boat to nowhere good. Actually, to some awful Chinese prison that scarred his back horribly and apparently lacked any personal grooming products.

Day 6 begins around two years later and, if possible, on an even worse note for Bauer. President Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside) has managed to spring him to help stop a series of attacks by Middle Eastern terrorists on U.S. cities. About the only good things that happen to Jack in the first hour are that he gets a haircut and decides — for reasons not yet fully explained — that death would almost be a blessing for him.

Ain't gonna happen, my friend. "24" has shown a willingness to kill off many of its most beloved or essential characters. But it wouldn't be "24" without Bauer, would it?

"You know he's not going to die," Gordon concedes during a conference call. "But you don't know how he's not going to die. That almost makes it more compelling."

The first four episodes have Bauer again relying on the computer savvy of prickly CTU senior analyst Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and the cool command of director of field operations Curtis Manning (Roger Cross). This time, though, Jack's missing something besides the signature messenger bag from which he always managed to extract the essential listening device or other technological gizmo last season: Occasionally now, the laser-like focus that's allowed him to keep going in the face of all manner of death, destruction and personal and professional betrayal, flickers.

"We see the cumulative wear on his soul," says Gordon, hinting that physical and mental torture Bauer endured in China will haunt him and the story line. "He suffers what he has inflicted on others in a way, and he says, 'I can't do this anymore.'"

"24" has its own issues, namely the enormous expectations brought on by last season's expertly constructed nesting doll of a plot in which President Logan (Gregory Itzin) turned out to be in bed with the terrorists and everyone around him was either a secret enlistee in the evil scheme or someone to be destroyed. He was brought down in the end by his wife, Martha (Jean Smart) and Bauer, and "24" won the drama Emmy in what Gordon describes as "one of those golden years where you hit a vein that's very fruitful creatively."

Rather than try to create another tale of duplicity at the highest levels, "24" this season examines what happens when a national crisis causes people at every level to regard each other differently or with suspicion.

"You're not entirely sure who or what you're rooting for," Gordon says. "It's a finer line."

Not so fine, though, that the deliciously dysfunctional Logans can't return. Gordon says the "24" team missed Emmy nominees Itzin and Smart so much, they found a way to bring the former first couple back around episodes 10 and 11. Rick Schroeder joins the cast in episode 13, and Gordon even raised the possibility that Kim Raver, who left to star in ABC's now-sidelined "The Nine," could return as Bauer's love, Audrey Raines.

Yes, well, if "24's" taught us anything, it's that you can't ever have too many cast members. You never know who might be unexpectedly leaving.

But enough about that. Somewhere, Jack Bauer's lurking in a heating duct. ...

http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/entertainment/tv/2007/01/11/0112LVtv24.html

fredfa

01-12-07, 11:58 PM

TV Review
“24”
Time to grit your teeth, hang on for “24”
By Rick Kushman Sacramento Bee TV Columnist

PASADENA -- OK, here's one of the things you gotta love about "24."

A guy escapes from a prison bus in a rural area outside of Los Angeles. He takes a while reaching his fellow bad guys, then tells them, "I had to be careful crossing town." Total time elapsed: nine minutes.

Is this a great show or what? A guy carefully crosses the L.A. basin in nine minutes.

That's always the first thing about Fox's "24," which returns for its bracing sixth season with two hours on Sunday and two more on Monday (at 8 PM ET/PT both days on Fox). You click off your brain's logic center, throw back your head and go for the ride. That's our "24," an exuberant, four-month exercise in the suspension of disbelief.

And though the ride starts a bit slower this season -- it would be tough to match last year's electric burst from the gate -- by midway through Sunday night's episodes, it's pretty much the same ol' adrenaline blast.

The other first thing about "24" is, of course, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). How many ways do you love Jack? Perpetually anguished, infinitely resourceful, permanently under fire from enemies and friends, he always finds a way to MacGyver together a cell phone, a Coke bottle and a 1978 Ford to bring down a missile. Plus he never eats, never sleeps, never needs a restroom, and never, ever runs out of batteries.

Bauer is everything to "24," and Sutherland gives him an everyman's vulnerability and a superhero's steadfastness. That's what Bauer is, really, a comic book hero, and your spine tingles when a president says, "Get me Jack Bauer." Might as well fire up the Bat Signal.

As Season 6 starts, Jack has been in a Chinese prison for 20 months -- at the end of last season, remember, Chinese agents, who were looking for Jack since Season 4, somehow grabbed him from a protected warehouse and got him on a freighter in, like, a minute. If you haven't watched the show, don't worry about that. Not really relevant.

Meanwhile, back at Season 6, America has endured weeks of terrorist attacks against buses, trains and shopping malls. President Palmer -- you read that right -- makes a deal with the Chinese to get Jack back.

Can't tell you why, or much more. Producers said not to. Said shut up or else. I'm shutting up. These people will do anything -- you know they will.

I can tell you that this is President Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), brother of David. And his weasely adviser this time is Tom Lennox (Peter MacNicol). This show is nothing without a couple good weasels, so expect more to show up -- including "24's" best weasel ever, President Logan (Gregory Itzin).

Lennox is all about trampling the Constitution and throwing every creature of Middle Eastern lineage -- including, presumably Persian cats -- into military prisons. He does everything but throw his cape across his face and cackle.

I also can tell you that the CTU -- where they never, ever believe Jack, no matter how many times he saves the world -- remains the world's most dysfunctional security agency. That's the Counter Terrorist Unit for newcomers -- motto: We'll turn any order into an argument -- and it gets a little wearying at times, but you take it as part of the "24" dance.

It also lets Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub), everyone's favorite computer nerd, scowl and dress people down. Don't mess with Chloe. Last season, she Tasered a guy -- twice -- while running national security from a hotel bar.

And Fox will let me say that Jack is one seething bundle of torment after spending time getting tortured in China -- we can tell about the torture from his back. Jack always agonized over just being Jack, but now, he doubts his interrogation techniques, shifting alliances and his own competency.

"I don't think I'm up to this," he says at one point.

That Jack. We know he's up to anything asked of him, and a lot gets asked early. All I can say.

On the downside, there's a disturbing cruel streak this season that feels a bit out of sync with the series' usual tone, not that there hasn't been a steady supply of torture, terrorism and death through the run.

"24" has always had an undertone of moral dilemma about those actions, but this time, Lennox's battering of civil rights, and a general public overreaction against Middle Eastern and Muslim people, feels mean and brutal.

The point, clearly, is to show the contradictions and difficult morality in the constant war between security and individual liberty, and how people can leap to old prejudices.

When it's down at a smaller scale, like a man trying to save his family, "24" handles the discussion well. But this series has lived by playing everything huge, and the bold, simplistic strokes about FBI agents trampling privacy protections, or soldiers viciously handling detained citizens, feels manipulative and overdone.

Besides, no one's watching "24' for a class in geopolitics. This show is about the rush.

And there is plenty of that. There's no show on television that grips you, shakes you around, punches you in the gut, then keeps on running like "24." And once again, you can't look away.

http://www.sacbee.com/127/v-print/story/105957.html

fredfa

01-13-07, 12:00 AM

TV Review
'24'
By Verne Gay Newsday Staff Writer

Imprisoned by its own glorious formula, "24" is one of those rare shows that has to change each season while remaining almost exactly the same. Yet within that confined space, "24" has cycled through presidents, terrorists, Counter Terrorism Unit bosses, plots and, especially, endless flavors of mayhem.

The Rock, however, has pretty much remained the rock. Over five seasons, Kiefer Sutherland hasn't exactly played Jack Bauer without nuance, but when it comes to those pure adrenalized moments that have made him TV's preeminent action hero, it's been damn the torpedoes and anything or anyone else that gets in his way.

Yet starting Sunday, we get from Bauer nuance in the form of angst. It's an existential angst, topped with a spiritual crisis, too, and if Jack had a little spare time - he doesn't, naturally - he should probably see a shrink. Herr Doctor Freud would crack this nut, so to speak, in less than five minutes: Over the years, Jack's been duped by commanders in chief, CTU colleagues, the occasional friend and lover, while the whole process is about to begin anew. He's really just another supremely tough guy who needs a little loving tenderness. On the cusp of season six, it's gotten even worse. Released from a Chinese prison after two years as part of a deal brokered by the new president, Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside), Jack is a nearly broken man who hasn't spoken a word in two years. Emerging from the hellish belly of a Chinese cargo air transport, Bauer's beard is so totally overgrown that even Grizzly Adams would look clean-shaven by comparison. He has deep purple scars on his back, too - a memento from his captors. The whole image assumes a spiritual overtone and is meant to: Is this Moses about to ascend the mountain, or Christ on the cross? If the latter, then why has Jack's God forsaken him?

A little later, Palmer and CTU boss Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) cluck sympathetically about the "sacrifice" Jack is about to make, and some sacrifice indeed: To stop a series of terrorist bombings in various U.S. cities that have claimed hundreds of lives, Bauer is to be handed over to terrorist Abu Fayed (Adoni Maropis) in exchange for the location of über-terrorist Hamir Al-Assad (Alexander Siddig), who is apparently behind the attacks. "Do you understand the difference between dying for something and dying for nothing?" Jack says when he hears of the swap. "Today, I can die for something and to be honest with you, it'll be a relief."

Bauer is hardly pop culture's first superhero to channel a little Hamlet - Stan Lee did it with Spidey 40 years ago - but Jack's psychological burden clicks perfectly with this season's topical themes. In the opening seconds, bystanders on an L.A. street corner are staring at a TV screen, as the anchor reports a new bombing in San Antonio while casualties mount from the recent suicide attack in Atlanta. In the background, a man - distinctly Middle Eastern in appearance - tries to board a bus, but the driver refuses him.

The bus, of course, is the symbol of the civil rights movement, but just as you think "24" is palming you a message about civil liberties, the curveball arrives: On another bus, viewers see another Middle Eastern man, who presses a button, and KABOOM!

Back in the Oval Office, National Security adviser Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) is arguing bitterly with Palmer's adviser, Tom Lennox (Peter MacNicol). "These places you keep building are nothing more than concentration camps," she yells. "Detention facilities," he corrects her. It's also quickly apparent that Palmer is no chip off his brother David's block: He's weak and vacillating, and in the heat of crisis, doesn't seem to know what he believes in.

Longtime fans know that right is often wrong, and wrong often right in the "24" firmament, so a plot that pivots on civil liberties, detection, torture, Islamic terrorism and a batch of other post-Guantanamo/Abu Ghraib issues quickly turns into quicksand. If you think you know where you stand on any of these ("24" suggests), then think again.

If all this sounds like "24" has been hijacked by public policy wonks or Shakespeare profs, don't worry. Your show very much remains your show. Looking very chic, Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) is still here. The clock still furiously ticks. Many people still die. And the fun (or horror) will be in seeing how Jack snaps back into familiar form.

It's just that your show got a little smarter.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-etjack5047663jan12,0,460188,print.story?coll=ny-television-headlines

fredfa

01-13-07, 12:02 AM

TV Review
“Rome”
Caesar Is Dead, Rome Carries On
By Brendan Bernhard New York Sun January 12, 2007

Caesar is dead. So long live HBO and the second season of "Rome," the extravagantly expensive series returning this Sunday whose vision of the world's most notorious empire alternates between "Blade Runner"-ish working-class chaos and quarrelsome emperors, witchy women, and quibbling upper-class families whose foul mouths wouldn't be out of place in one of the more decadent precincts of contemporary London. (" Rome" is one of those joint HBO/BBC series whose American imprint tends to get buried under the British one. "Look chaps, we know empires," you can imagine the Brits telling their American counterparts. "Leave it to us.")

Caesar is not only dead, but, better, dramatically expendable. After all, the power struggle between the sensualist Mark Antony, played by James Purefoy in the manner of a sly, vulgar Richard Burton, and the precociously cerebral Gaius Octavian (Max Pirkis), soon to become the slightly older Octavian (Simon Woods), is light years more interesting than that between stately old Caesar and fraying, decrepit Pompey.

Cleopatra ( Lyndsey Marshal) is also back, come to pay her respects in Episode 2 to Antony, who would appear to have inherited Caesar's mantle after Brutus and his fellow assassins are unable to seize power. Cleopatra's first meeting (at a dinner party) with Antony's cat-eyed mistress, Atia of the Julii (Polly Walker), fully lives up to its splendidly catty promise. Though dismissing her Egyptian rival as a "mouse," Atia seems preternaturally aware that her grand love affair with the Roman proconsul is destined to be superseded in the annals of history and literature. There will be no Shakespeare play — and the most exuberantly cinematic of all Shakespeare plays, at that — titled " Antony and Atia."

Not that Atia is suffering from a slackening of Antony's amatory attentions. Sleeping in on the day of his speech at Caesar's funeral, he stretches languorously on his back, notes a group of black-clad women hovering nearby, of whom one is Atia, and announces, in blunt terms, that making love to a woman dressed in funeral clothes is one of the few sexual achievements he has yet to make his own. "Nor shall you, then," Atia fires back. "That's a shame," Antony replies, sticking to his guns. "I am not rising from this bed until…." Well, let's just say that " Rome" *is* on HBO and takes full advantage of the fact. (The version shown on BBC suffered a certain amount of censorship.) "Fine, fine," says the ever pliable Atia, who tolerates Antony's flings so long as they're not with someone who outranks her socially (i.e., Cleopatra). "Fetch that German slut in the kitchen," she orders a flunky.

As with the opening episodes of most second seasons, there's a fair amount of mopping up and sorting out to do after the climactic end of the first season, including the ignominious departure from Rome by Brutus and his cohorts. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd, bearing a marked resemblance to the new James Bond while possessing not an ounce of his cool) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson, thuggish looking but disarmingly sensitive) are back as the soldier buddies who can't stop arguing with each other, mainly because Vorenus, a priggish, straight-arrow centurion, can never see the wood for the trees of military regulations and etiquette.

And now that Caesar is dead (which is partly Vorenus's fault) and Vorenus's wife is dead (which is mostly Vorenus's fault) and Vorenus's children have fled (which is entirely Vorenus's fault), Vorenus has, perhaps understandably, started to go stark raving bonkers, testing even Pullo's genius for friendship and ability to smooth troubled waters. Few things are more frightening than a guilt-ridden Roman centurion with a sword in his hand and the rage of Hades in his soul, and the tone of this opening episode can be very dark indeed.

As in the first season, " Rome" ricochets constantly between the upper-class world of Atia — whose sumptuous home plays roughly the same role here as "The Planet" café does on Showtime's "The L Word," with at least as much sex and definitely superior conversation — and the grubby back alleys in which soldiers, merchants, prostitutes, and mercenaries live side-by-side, and where despised foreigners from the empire's outposts are a major demographic presence. The back-and-forth between the two spheres becomes predictable after awhile, but there's no doubt that " Rome" delivers on at least some of the promise of a serial 19th-century novel — a sprawling, cross-section view of society laid bare like an ant farm, intelligently explained and lovingly delineated. If one has a gripe, it's that scenes that ought really to go on longer, to be more novelistic, are often are prematurely cut short, as if in fear of viewer boredom, while purely expository scenes are given more screen time than needed.

If "The Sopranos," "Deadwood," and other HBO hit series, not to mention the peculiar goings-on documented in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," can return year after year, you'd think, as a subject, the Roman Empire could keep " Rome" afloat for at least two decades. But this second season will also be its last, a sign, perhaps, that the series has not been the critical and popular success originally hoped for. Well, it's true, the program has some daunting historic competition, on the page, stage, and screen, but there's enough that's fresh here — particularly the troubled friendship between Vorenus and Pullo — to have made the series worth it.

In the figure of Octavian, we also have a fascinating interpretation of a contemporary phenomenon, namely the born politician. Unlike that born emperor, Antony, who can't be bothered with the minutiae of governance, Octavian is a cold, conniving, highly intelligent administrator for whom the minutiae mean everything. In the second season the emperor and politician go mano-a-mano (at one point literally), and there's no prize for guessing who comes out on top.

http://www.nysun.com/article/46551

dad1153

01-13-07, 12:05 AM

As a life-long bargain hunter this article struck a chord with me. I've been shopping for a 1080p LCD HDTV since March of last year without being able to pull the trigger because of a million and one reasons. The overriding reason? The thought that I'd be paying way too much for an HDTV that would be obsolete and/or dirt-cheap in a month or two. Somehow my brain cannot allow me to enjoy a big ticket purchase like an HDTV LCD unless I've convinced myself I've gotten the best possible bang for the spent bucks.

CES 2007
In Gadgets, Excitement Is in the Price story
By Damon Darlin, The New York Times - January 13, 2007

Slumped on a bench at the end of the third day of the Consumer Electronics Show here, Ben Leet stared at a Sharp 108-inch flat-panel TV, the biggest television ever made, as he pondered what was remarkable about the thousands of products he saw.

“Well, this thing is wow,” said Mr. Leet, a senior consultant at DTC Worldwide, a British market research firm. “Each year the TVs get better.”

Still, the size was really just an incremental expansion over last year. And Mr. Leet was hard pressed to come up with anything along the miles of displays of TVs, set-top boxes, DVD machines, appliances, and the like, that could be called startling or life changing. Indeed, no new feature-rich product stole the Consumer Electronics Show — it seemed not to be aimed at “first adopters,” the guys down the street with the latest gadgets, but at the soccer moms with an eye for a bargain. “It is going mainstream,” Mr. Leet said.

For consumer electronics makers, the faster pace of price-cutting seemed to be even more of an obsession than a revolutionary new device.

Certainly, Apple sucked the life out of the annual electronics party this week with an announcement at its own show in San Francisco of a sleek multidimensional cellphone that first adopters are sure to drool over. But, at least by one measure, the electronics industry has a lot to celebrate.

Last year, manufacturers sold a record $146 billion worth of goods at wholesale in the United States. Sales in 2006 increased 13 percent from 2005, twice the average rate of growth.

“That has not happened in the past 20 years,” said Sean Wargo, an economist with the Consumer Electronics Association.

The industry sold 160 percent more liquid-crystal-display TVs and 154 percent more global positioning satellite navigation systems.

At the same time, however, prices for many products fell faster last year than the typical pace of decline. Big-screen plasma TVs dropped 32 percent, according to the association’s economists. Competition pushed the average notebook computer price down 35 percent. The price of video players for cars fell 65 percent.

Even as executives of the big manufacturers here insisted that the big drops would not happen again this year, consumers can expect to see more of the same. Demand remains strong, and the relentless competition is creating a paradise for shoppers, who have packed their homes with an average of 25 consumer electronic devices, twice as many as just a decade ago.

In big-screen TVs, for example, “As much as I say they won’t fall as much,” said Robert Scaglione, the senior vice president for marketing at Sharp’s North American operations, “I can only hope they won’t.”

Sharp Electronics is one of several TV makers adding capacity this year. Its new factories are more efficient. Sharp can produce six 52-inch flat-panels for L.C.D. televisions with the same amount of effort it took to produce just two of them in its older plant. Sharp said production of all sizes of flat-panels would double this year and then triple in 2008.

Manufacturers, especially the smaller contract companies in Taiwan and China that make the panels for the lesser-known brands like Polaroid or Maxent, need to keep those factories running at full capacity and will cut prices to do so.

Vincent F. Sollitto Jr., the chairman and chief executive of Syntax- Brillian, takes advantage of that trend. In a luxury suite at the Las Vegas Hilton next to the convention center where the annual show was held, he explained how sales of the Olevia brand TVs doubled in 2006.

“A year ago, we were nobody,” Mr. Sollitto said. But the company priced the TV sets 20 percent below those of the major manufacturers and, for a few days after Thanksgiving, outsold Sony three to one in Circuit City Stores. “That’s what we can do,” he said.

“We will be prepared for what is coming and that is very aggressive price reductions throughout the year,” he said.

It is a similar story for computers, a category that only 18 months ago many industry analysts considered to be a sleeper. But sales of notebook computers grew 64 percent last year. Craig Marking, a product manager for Toshiba, said Microsoft’s release of a new operating system, Vista, will continue to stimulate demand. “It creates the opportunity for higher average selling prices,” he added.

He reasons that because Vista turns the PC into a multimedia entertainment device, the computer needs more memory and more sophisticated disk drives.

Once a putty-colored box for an office desk, the personal computer has been redesigned and is more often a sleek notebook, sometimes enrobed in shiny embossed carbon fiber. All those frills are supposed to entice consumers to pay more.

But executives at a scrappy PC maker, Acer of Taiwan, do not think that will happen. They took market share away from Toshiba and Dell in 2006 and they want to get more this year. “We sold 1.6 million last year; We will sell 3.2 million this year,” said Rudi Schmidleithner, president of Acer’s American operations.

Acer’s strategy is to put the latest technology in a PC, for example, installing devices that enable the highest speeds over a wireless network. But instead of considering the computer a niche product for the top of the market and getting fat profit margins, it then prices the products for the mainstream and makes money on volume. “We do not need the highest margins to run our business model,” Mr. Schmidleithner said.

That strategy ruins it for everyone else because the others have to lower prices if they do not want to lose market share. “Part of Dell’s problem is Acer,” Mr. Schmidleithner suggested. Those discounts, of course, put a smile on the faces of consumers.

Navigation systems, meanwhile, that use information from global positioning satellites were another fast-selling product category last year. That came as a bit of a surprise as well because most of the direction-giving devices intended for cars sell for $600 to $1,200.

Change is a afoot here, too. The barriers to entry are low. A G.P.S. device is a few generic semiconductors, a small L.C.D. screen and software. Garmin, an industry leader, has a gross profit margin of 50 percent.

Not surprisingly, more companies at the show were displaying navigation systems. Samsung Electronics, which claims just bested Sony as the No. 1 HDTV maker, has set its sights on this market. Increased competition can mean only one thing: prices are coming down.

The show was not about prices, of course, no matter how much they were discussed in meetings between retailers and manufacturers. The Consumer Electronics Show was supposed to be a showcase for retailers looking for the latest high-tech products that will lure consumers to the store. Watch for Powerline plugs that will use a home’s existing wires to move digital content, including HDTV programs or movies, around the house. Loads of hand-held video players are coming, along with new digital cameras that offer even more automated functions to improve pictures. ( Kodak hinted at a mode to remove the glow-eye from pet pictures.)

Some of those technologies will never catch on. At the show, the big debate continued to be about whether HD-DVD or Blu-ray would triumph as the standard for high-definition DVD players. LG Electronics offered a solution to reassure the hesitant consumer: a device that would play both kinds of discs.

But at $1,200, the Super Multi Blue is only for that first adopter. (The first adopters would be better off buying a Toshiba HD-DVD player for $600 and a Sony PlayStation 3, which contains a Blu-ray drive, for $670 because then they get two players and a game machine.) Jun Dong-soo, the senior vice president for digital devices at Samsung, scoffed at LG’s effort: “Without an affordable price, I don’t want to launch a dual format player.”

The fear of making the wrong bet on technology, by the consumer and the manufacturer, led Whirlpool to come up with an innovative alternative to another LG product: the TV in the refrigerator door. What happens when the TV breaks or becomes obsolete? From a tiny meeting room tucked far in the back of one of the exhibition halls, the company showed consumer electronics makers a socket built into the top of a refrigerator’s door from which any kind of device — a TV, a tablet PC, a battery charger, a DVD player — could be hung.

Whirlpool doesn’t plan on charging consumers any more for a refrigerator with the special socket, which it calls Central Park. That way more consumers will buy it and the larger installed base will entice electronics makers, which will further increase demand for Central Park.

Matthew Newton, an innovation consultant at Whirlpool, said, “We’d like to move as quickly as possible to get it into the mainstream market.” It was a sentiment heard a lot at the show.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/technology/13money.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

fredfa

01-13-07, 12:13 AM

dad, whatever you pay, chances are you will see better and cheaper sets in a few months (or weeks).

But you'll be enjoying it. Take the plunge.

Too bad you missed the Black Friday sales -- they were well worth it. The same plasma set I bought (and very happily) for $1,900 in September, cost me just $999 on Black Friday when I bought a second one. (The price is now back in the $1,400-$1,600 range BTW.)

As you well know, in the tech world you have to just bite the bullet and realize someone else will always get a better deal. (And certainly will brag about getting such a deal endlessly on forums.)

But so what? HDTV is a fantastically enjoyable item. So pick your spots, do the homework I know you'll do, and pull the freakin' trigger.

(I paid almost $10,000 for my first HDTV six years ago. It was the best money I ever spent.)

dad1153

01-13-07, 12:29 AM

Too bad you missed the Black Friday sales... So pick your spots, do the homework I know you'll do, and pull the freakin' trigger.

Most of the cheap HDTV sets sold on Black Friday were either 720p or 1080i, and a lot of them were EDTV's or from questionable second-rate brands to boot. Not saying there weren't killer HDTV deals for the people that slept on Best Buy parking lots the night before, but the HDTV I'm looking for is one that will last me at least five years (the average length all the Sony Trinitron/Wega tubes I've owned have lasted me) and those aren't likely to be the one's B&M stores put out on Black Friday.

How do you think I discovered AVS Forum? If I hadn't been doing homework on the HDTV I was shopping for back in March (the JVC LT-40FH96 1080p LCD) your precious thread would be free of the posts you constantly deem beneath your standards. Ironically the reason I started shopping for an HDTV back in March was because Time Warner of NYC was about to dump GSN from its line-up, which forced me to start shopping for satellite services so I could continue getting my daily diet of Match Game, Card Sharks, etc. Since I was switching to satellite I figured I might as well get an HDTV to have an excuse to order the HD satellite box instead of the SD one. Started looking, found an excellent Consumer Reports review for the JVC LCD mentioned above and just as I was ready to pull the trigger user reports from the AVS Forum warned me the TV didn't accept 1080p signals. So I kept looking, and lucky for me Time Warner and GSN reached an agreement that kept the network on Manhattan cable. The HDTV shopping bug stuck though, and here we are 10 months later! :(

Alas, once you become an educated consumer there simply is no perfect HDTV. Every HDTV has something that makes it imperfect and/or a risky investment. Plus I need whatever HDTV I end up getting to have (besides 1080p inputs/resolution for my HD-DVD/videogame needs) Picture-in-Picture, a feature I fell in love with since the mid-90's that allows me to play a videogame and have a small window with Fox News or an NFL game on the corner (with the sound alternating between the two) or viceversa. The 1080p LCD's out now are either crippled (Toshiba's "ghosting," Samsung & Sony's "clouding," Sharp's "banding," etc.), from questionable manufacturing backgrounds (Westinghouse's Chi-Mei panels), etc. There are days when I honestly wish I'd never heard the words, or craved the concept, of HDTV viewing... sob, sob! :cool:

PJO1966

01-13-07, 12:33 AM

I appreciate that you're putting spoiler tags around this stuff. Personally I'm trying to stay as clueless about 24 for as long as possible. It's not going to be easy because I won't be able to watch until Tuesday & Wednesday.

fredfa

01-13-07, 01:08 AM

Critic’s Notebook
Haven't got time for the pain
Day 6 dawns on Fox's '24' and Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer has to confront his inner demons before he can start saving the country
By Verne Gay Newsday Staff Writer January 14, 2007

Perhaps this is faint praise indeed, but torture - like time - has long been a foundation of "24," TV's best, smartest and most mind-bending thriller. Both, as it turns out, are intimately linked.

For five seasons, the picture has typically gone this way and (as you may know) the details are never pretty. It is 8:37 p.m. or whenever and Jack Bauer (Emmy winner Kiefer Sutherland) is interrogating a prisoner. He must have the information now, and because the prisoner has decided not to oblige while the clock is ticking ferociously away, Bauer must resort to more imaginative forms of persuasion.
There has been electroshock, fingers gouged into wounds and a bullet pumped into a thigh. And while what was about to befall Gregory Itzin's President Logan in the closing minutes of last season was even worse than torture. Let's just say it was gonna hurt real bad.

But in the first four hours of this season's "24" (Sunday and Monday, 8-10 p.m. on Fox/5) something - for want of a better word - weird happens. There is no major torture, or at least none that Jack partakes of. In one pivotal scene, the opportunity - so to speak - presents itself, but Bauer ultimately passes. "I can see in his eyes," Bauer says softly of the bad guy, "that he's telling the truth."

See in his eyes?!

For five seasons, including the last Emmy-winning year, Bauer was a Nietzschean superhero, TV's own living, breathing embodiment of the 19th century philosopher who declared that God was dead and the individual's will to power had taken God's place. (He also rather inconveniently inspired the Nazis half a century later, but that's another story.)

A tortured soul

In season 6, Bauer has ditched the German guy and channeled Hamlet instead. Over the first four episodes, he is a to-be-or-not-to-be type, fretting over the consequences of his decisions, while agonizing over the moral relativity of the world around him. Life is tough and evil people still are evil, but maybe there are consequences to actions, and maybe torture is wrong after all. Jack, in other words, is tortured himself, and seems to be saying frame after frame: What is life really all about anyway?

As we said, weird, at least for "24," but also compelling, for from this arises another question: Is one of TV's prime cultural bellwethers taking a position on one of the most controversial issues of our time, one that's divided Democrats and Republicans, and which has scored a direct hit on the entire war effort in Iraq?

It is the question of torture.

Howard Gordon, the Roslyn native and "24's" top producer, got hit with this one at the outset of a conference call with critics last week, and he responded: "[Torture] seems to have become a much more meaningful and topical subject" in this country because of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, "and we're far more sensitive to it as a narrative device." But he also noted that the show had learned via Washington channels that Jack's old methods do "have an influence on interrogators [in the field] and we don't want to find ourselves handmaidens to some sort of tolerance of torture."

In a telephone interview later that day, Gordon expanded on this. The sixth season "deals with Islamic terrorists and with detentions and is set against the issues of due process and secrecy, and I have to admit [that] it's knotted. There are no good answers, nothing is clear about it and we're seeing that reflected creatively on the show, but also reflected politically among candidates of both parties. There is no one great answer."

All things considered, though, that's a pretty good answer itself. The reason is that over five seasons, "24" has reveled in its peculiar status as a political Rorschach test. Some conservatives have long viewed it as a ringing endorsement of the war on terror - Pat Buchanan once regrettably noted that President George W. Bush was "Jack Bauer in the war on terror" - while some liberals have viewed "24" as a condemnation.

Those among us who have watched the show closely over the past five years know the true answer: They are both right. "It's pretty amazing how we walk that line," says Jon Cassar, veteran director of "24" and one of its other key creative forces, in an interview. "The writers are newshounds [and] always have their finger on the pulse of what's happening around the world." The creative process, he adds, involves setting up scenarios "in which, if this happens, then what would be the political policy that results. And if we put Middle Eastern people in internment camps" - which happens this season - "then you're just taking one of the [possible] steps in the future based on the knowledge of what's happening now."

But Cassar adds that "24" writers are "split down the middle politically and that's good for us. I don't think we should take either side, but try to present, if not fairly, both sides of the situation."

Margin for terror

Literally born in the crucible of 9/11 - the first episode aired Nov. 6, 2001 - "24" has long exploited the nation's fear of terrorism but studiously avoided a full-frontal assault on it as well. There have, of course, been Arab terrorists, but also white-collar (and very Anglo) terrorists as well. There have been evil Serbs and Chechen separatists, as well as an unhinged member of the British special forces. Russian baddies have appeared prominently and Chinese ones just keep coming back for more. Last season, the U.S. president himself was the terrorist-in-chief, though there was even a terrorist overlord who bossed him around. (Also white, also presumably Anglo-Saxon, by the way.)

But there's a big change this season. The terrorists are clearly, demonstrably Middle Eastern. They are here. They are angry. And they are doing terrible things, like setting off suicide bombs in major cities and killing hundreds of Americans. The new president Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside), the brother of assassinated President David Palmer, hasn't got a clue about what to do. His heart tells him that the infringement of civil liberties is a terrible idea, but his head effectively tells him to look the other way when chief of staff Thomas Lennox (Peter MacNicol) orders a crackdown anyway.

Meanwhile there is Jack - poor, moony Jack, fretting about torture, and recovering from the vicious psychic and physical wounds (the purple scars are visible on his back) that he received from the Chinese, who captured him at the end of last season. (The new season begins two years later, with Jack's release.) Quite simply, this is a searingly topical "24," and torture becomes the reigning metaphor for what is right and what is wrong in such a brutal and hardened climate.

Says Gordon, this season "is certainly more raw at some level than last year [which was] more of a fable. I don't think torture or coercion or detainment are things we've wrestled with in our society for a long time, at least not publicly, and where we may have done these things in previous conflicts, it was out of the public eye."

Because this season has drifted from "the realm of fantasy where things have gotten a little more real, there's a lot more sensitivity to it."

A guessing game

But before, dear fans, you start to fret that "24" is taking a stand on something that you may or may not agree with, or that it's subverting a basic narrative principle that's reigned from day one - that this is a thriller set in the real world but studiously removed from its political quandaries - consider this: "24" is a TV show entering its sixth season, and like any show entering middle age, it needs to keep viewers invested.

And it also needs to keep 'em guessing. To wit, has Jack changed forever, and therefore is the world he's saved time and again about to be destroyed? You may think you know the answers, but like all fine shows, they are not immediately apparent.

Cassar, who just authored a book on the show ("24: Behind the Scenes"), puts it this way: Bauer "is the hardest character for us to write because he's so true in his convictions every year. what can Jack do differently so that the story line [doesn't] feel repetitious. Giving him those inner demons makes that possible for us."

"We were very challenged by this season and in many ways it was the hardest one to do," Gordon says. "I'm always attentive to Jack's emotional center, and this year he's almost relieved by the prospect of death ... so getting him to want to live again is the process."

That old Nietzschean superhero, in other words, may not be dead and buried just yet.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-fftv5047447jan14,0,1178549.story?coll=ny-television-headlines

fredfa

01-13-07, 01:24 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
God bless Dick Wolf
HBO Panel, Part 2—D.F.M.
By James Hibberd Television Week in the “Critical Eye” blog Friday, January 12th, 2007

The HBO session is salvaged by my hero, David F***ing Milch.

Listening to David F. Milch is the tonic for the aforementioned “Flowers for Algernon” TCA mental erosion and self-pitying “Clockwork Orange” metaphors. When he speaks, you feel yourself getting smarter, growing more enlightened, seeing the bigger picture, and swearing a lot more.

His voice is both soothing and dangerous. He’s almost as fun as Albrecht to watch manage the critics.

The best part about Milch, a former Yale professor, is that if you were to ask him a question about, say, “Deadwood” ratings, he would answer by discussing, for example, the unique properties of South Pole ice core samples. Then he’d lead you down a fascinating, yet seemingly irrelevant, path that he somehow eventually manages to swing all the way back around to the original “Deadwood” question and you realize in an “eureka!” moment that the ice core samples were actually a perfect metaphor for Nielsen sampling.

If his “Deadwood” plots didn’t meander in the exact same way, he might have gotten a full fourth season.

This session is for his new series, “John from Cincinnati.” From the trailer, it looks possibly even less accessible than “Deadwood.” A washed-out-looking paranormal surfing series where an aging surfer discovers he can levitate a few inches off the ground and another brings a bird back to life. The third word in the trailer is “****.”

None of the six actors on the panel say very much during this session, nor can they. Milch is a one-man show, and a question about t his drama quickly segues into a lecture about string theory. While a question about surfing results in a discussion about drug use (“I’ve engaged in a pharmaceutical project when I was eight, then a nitrous oxide project, then drifted into a narcotics project … and all that research was to try to ride a wave that one could generate on one’s own terms”).

One seemingly clever critic asked if the aging surfer levitates to the height of his surfboard. Milch replies: “Height? You mean the width. In my country, people call it the width.”

Albrecht

HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht might be the only cable executive that I would quite obviously stake out the Green Room like a stalker to corner, but it eventually results in a brief interview:

Q: “Rome” and “Extras” are coming back for their second and final seasons. If their performances exceed your expectations, could they receive second seasons?

A: Well, they’re completely different situations. “Rome” seemed as if it were a good idea to announce as a final season ahead of time. It’s an expensive show, there are financing partners involved. The sets have been torn down, so I’d say there’s no chance of it coming back. “Extras” a different story. [Creator and star] Ricky Gervais only did two seasons of [the BBC version of] “The Office,” we would love to have another season if he wanted to do it.

Q: The premiere of the syndicated version of “The Sopranos” did great numbers for A&E. Does that help pave the way for the more difficult syndicated sale of “Deadwood”?

A: We’re going out and talking to people about “Deadwood” right now, but they’re two very different shows. “Sopranos” is a culture icon … but this does show that they can stay vibrant [on basic cable]

Q: “The Sopranos” scripts are turned in [albeit with some key scenes redacted to prevent spoilers from leaking out of HBO]. Some critics said last season was slow, I know you say you disagree, but what is your assessment of the final nine?

A: I’ve seen the first two episodes. They are building up to a place that will leave people very satisfied. Some who have loved the series will love where it ends up, others will be shocked and wonder, “Why did they do it that way?” But [viewers will find it] satisfying and controversial.

Q: When will the final two, two-hour movies for “Deadwood” air?

A: Not scheduled yet. [“Deadwood” showrunner David] Milch is writing the scripts and we’re dedicated to getting it done

http://blogs.tvweek.com/?cat=12

fredfa

01-13-07, 01:57 AM

TV Review
'24'
Another Day At The Office
Brutalized Bauer Returns To `24'
By Roger Catlin Hartford Courant TV Critic

In the wicked twist that came at the end of the last season of "24," Jack Bauer saved the world once more, only to be captured by the Chinese.

It was retribution for an offense Bauer committed in the previous season, when, amid the mayhem, he killed someone in their embassy.

As the sixth season begins Sunday on Fox, Bauer has been in Chinese custody for 20 months - growing a beard as long as Saddam's while enduring unimaginable torture.

While Bauer's been held captive, his homeland has suffered terrorist attacks in 10 cities over the previous 11 weeks. Fresh bombs are exploding as the new president frets in the Oval Office. This season it is Wayne Palmer in that office, the brother of the former president David Palmer, who was assassinated in last season's premiere.

Only three months into his presidency, the younger Palmer seems so lost that he looks as if he might have to light up the "24" equivalent of the bat-signal.

Fans of the show, whose audiences have been growing with its list of Emmy awards, will be confident that Bauer will be at the heart of any turnaround in this dire scenario. (They also know enough to stop reading articles about the new season if they are to avoid any more spoilers.)

In the new season's first hour, the negotiations to get the Chinese to give up Bauer aren't aimed at getting him to again save the world. Instead, his role is more as sacrificial lamb. As difficult as it is to believe, he's to be a pawn. Once he's free of the Chinese, Bauer is to be handed over to one terrorist in exchange for a tip that could lead to the suspected terrorist behind the bombings.

For the disheartened and demoralized Bauer, it's an unusual position - it's almost as if he doesn't care whether he's dying to accomplish something in America or dying in Asia for nothing. Still, with three more hours of the two-night premiere to go, not to mention the other 20 hours of the season, nobody really thinks Bauer is a goner. (Bauer is played by Emmy-winning Keifer Sutherland, also an executive producer of the show.)

"You know he's not going to die, but you don't know how he's not going to die," producer Howard Gordon says. "It's a Houdini thing."

However, part of the grip of "24" is that it's not afraid to kill off some of its most beloved characters. The first season didn't end before Bauer's wife was killed; last season saw the end of Edgar Stiles and Tony Almeida , in addition to David Palmer.

Don't expect the same scenario this season, Gordon told journalists in a teleconference earlier this week.

"There are very few people left who were around from the first five seasons," he said. "So we want to keep them around for a while first and get to know them."

(Don't be so sure; someone you know goes down before the end of the four-hour premiere).

Among the new faces are a couple of Muslims among the good guys, CTU analyst Nadia Yassir (Marisol Nichols) and the head of a Muslim association, Walid Al-Rezani (Harry Lennix, familiar from his role in "Commander in Chief") as well as Ahmed Amar (Kal Penn, from "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle"), who plays a suburban Muslim whose father has just been taken in for questioning.

In the romance department, it seems that Karen Hayes and Bill Buchanan have married, though they operate on opposite coasts, and Chloe O'Brian finds herself working alongside her ex, Morris (Carlo Rota), who appeared briefly last season. Also back in CTU for the first time since the first season is Eric Balfour, whose character, Milo Pressman, has been upgraded to middle manager.

Still to come later in the season are Chad Lowe, James Cromwell, Powers Boothe as well as favorites from the past season, from Kim Raver, for whom Jack still carries a torch, and the ousted presidential couple played by Gregory Itzen and Jean Smart.

And besides the number of terrorist attacks, there is a difference in who is thought to be behind them. Instead of Russians, as was the case last year, or people from other parts of Eastern Europe, they are Muslim extremists.

Being on the air for five seasons - and having started the show just after Sept. 11, 2001 - "we've earned that right" to be more reflective of modern-day fears, Gordon says. "Somehow, for us, the Swedish terrorist doesn't seem right anymore."

The writers play with this conceit early on in the season - as they've done expertly in past seasons - so everything is not as it seems, from the terrorist targets to the suburban families who want to protect their Muslim neighbors from discrimination.

And at a time when one White House adviser (played by the ever-wormy Peter MacNicol) advises camps for the nation's Muslims until the terror stops, the president's sister, Sandra Palmer (played by Regina King), is an outspoken lawyer defending the rights of the Islamic American Alliance.

Although it was in production before the Sept. 11 attacks, "24" has become emblematic for giving voices to arguments that have arisen in the edgy time since. Specifically, the show's depiction of torture, some say, may have helped inure squeamish Americans to such tactics.

But, says Gordon, "We are far more sensitive to it as a narrative device, particularly with the likes of Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo. We've been in touch with the dean of West Point, who pointed out that, in his opinion, `24' has influenced some of their interrogators. We don't want to be handmaids for tolerance of torture."

Indeed, as the season opens, Bauer has been tortured by the Chinese all these months.

"We see the cumulative wear on this soul never more than before this season," Gordon says. "He comes back having become an object of torture himself. You see the scars on his back as a map of what he's been through. He's suffered what he inflicted on others."

As such, when Bauer is called, early on, to grill someone for information, he learns he has lost his appetite for it.

"I don't know how to do this anymore," he says, just 90 minutes into his new day.

And the poor guy has another 22 hours plus to go.

(The first four hours of the new season of "24" airs Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. on Fox.)

http://www.ctnow.com/tv/hce-24again.artjan10,0,133446,print.story?coll=hce-headlines-tv-top

fredfa

01-13-07, 08:28 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Press tour snack bar--Day Four
By Ed Bark former Dallas Morning News TV critic at his website unclebarky.com

PASADENA, Calif. -- HBO served up a big platter of programming announcements and full-bodied quotes during its three hours with TV critics Friday. Let's get to it.

BADA BANG: It's official. The second half of The Sopranos' sixth and final season will fire up on Sunday, April 8, with the grand finale tentatively scheduled for June 10. Creator David Chase has written an extra episode, making it nine instead of the previously announced eight. HBO insiders say there will ample death and destruction before the most heralded series in cable history blacks out.

Entourage likewise is set for an April 8 return, with new episodes immediately following The Sopranos.

Star James Gandolfini, who plays Tony Soprano, quickly will return to HBO on the Fourth of July as executive producer of the documentary Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq. He also will interview U.S. soldiers who have returned from the front after suffering severe injuries in combat.

THE ADAMS FAMILY: Oscar nominees Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man) and Laura Linney (Kinsey) have been cast as John and Abigail Adams in a seven-hour miniseries drawn from the acclaimed David McCullough biography. Tom Hanks is co-executive producer of the adaptation, scheduled to premiere in 2008.

MAHER STILL THROWING HARD: After time off since the mid-term elections, Real Time with Bill Maher returns to the living with a fifth season premiere on Feb. 16.

The self-described "comedian with a point of view" warmed up during an interview session by assailing President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq. He sees Bush as a foreign policy idiot using God as a facilitator.

"That is monumental ego," Maher said. "That is arrogance on the level that could only be based on faith . . . I understand that George Bush prayed a lot about Iraq. But he didn't learn about it."

He defends his friendship with hardline conservative Ann Coulter, however, even though he hasn't seen much of her lately.

"I think she has security issues, and she's kind of gone underground," Maher said. "I think she literally is in an undisclosed location."

Still, he admires "her balls. She's not afraid to get booed."

Conservatives often get jeered by the studio audience on Real Time. Maher concedes it's a problem, but "we can't get the conservatives to come out . . . It's very tough being a conservative these days, on my show or anywhere."

Fox News Channel personality Bill O'Reilly bucked his bosses to appear on Real Time, Maher says. But no one else from the network has dared to enter his lair.

"Fox News hates us, for good reason," he said. "I'm constantly making fun of them. They suck."

HELL TO PAY: Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will train her documentary cameras on evangelical Christians in Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi.

This time, however, she'll mostly stay off-camera and won't even narrate her film, which premieres on Jan. 25.

"I wasn't trying to make an ego-mentary," she said. "I felt like I was on an archaeological dig."

One of her principal on-camera guides is the since disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard, who recently resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after allegations that he had sex with a male prostitute and also purchased illegal drugs. The completed film had been delivered to HBO just before Haggard went down. She hopes its credibility won't be "undermined" as a result.

Pelosi was joined onstage by ordained minister Dr. Larry Poland, who keeps tabs on media portrayals of Christians as CEO of Mastermedia International. He has seen Friends of God and thinks it's fair.

"Every constituency has its 'jerk factor', " Poland said. "And we have ours."

Pelosi said she hasn't discussed the documentary with Madame Speaker, an outspokenly liberal Democrat.

"My real-life mother has a complete separation of church and state," she said. "We leave my work alone."

She encountered some resistance from the subjects of her documentary. But her surname wasn't the principal cause for concern.

"It was a lot harder to walk into the doors of that church and say HBO," she said. "They call it Hell's Box Office. And yes, I did get 'saved' many times every day."

HELL OF AN EXPERIENCE: Law & Order series creator Dick Wolf worked with HBO for the first time as co-executive producer of the film Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, adapted from the 1971 Dee Brown bestseller and set to debut in May.

His "amazing experience" with HBO made him long for the same latitude at NBC, his principal employer.

"I would love to send some network people to intern for a while (at HBO)," he said.

Wolf later said he'd been "a little bit flippant." But working at a premium cable network gave him a respite from the constant pressure to perform in the Nielsen ratings.

"They're (broadcast networks) in the numbers game, the daily numbers game," he said. "And that leads to decisions that aren't necessarily artistic, or the best."

MILCH MULCH: The long and winding mouth of David Milch kept critics mostly in the dark during a session for his new HBO series John From Cincinnati. The creator of Deadwood mostly reduced the actors on stage to dead wood during long discourses on whatever popped into his head.

"To my mind, reality is a shifting and elusive condition," Milch said before later dubbing himself a "sociopath." Oh well, he still mostly does great work.

John From Cincinnati, scheduled to premiere this summer, is about a California surfing family that receives a visitation from a mysterious stranger named John. Strange happenings ensue, with veteran actors Bruce Greenwood and Rebecca Mornay among those along for the ride.

Milch still intends to make two concluding Deadwood movies after HBO rejected the idea of a full fourth season.

"Certainly it was kind of an abrupt rupture that occurred," Milch said, marking one of the few times he made complete sense.

HBO said the movies won't air until sometime in 2008, provided they indeed get made.

A new season of Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm also won't be ready until next year, an HBO spokesman said. It will begin with the Davids taking in a black family made homeless by "Hurricane Edna."

http://www.unclebarky.com/presstour.html

grittree

01-13-07, 08:47 AM

I think all the stories about the plotline in 24 and other shows belong in the HDTV Programming Forum. I don't consider them "the latest televison news and info".

fredfa

01-13-07, 08:47 AM

TV Notebook
“Nature” on PBS:
For 25 Years, Heeding The Call of the Wild
By Patricia Brennan Special to The Washington Post Sunday, January 14, 2007

We're curious animals anyway, curious about the things that we share the planet with, things that struggle to survive." -- Fred Kaufman

When PBS's "Nature" series (Sunday, 8 PM ET/PT, but check your locals listings to confirm the time) set out to make a retrospective of its 25-year run, Fred Kaufman had to make choices. The executive producer had hundreds of films filled with animals doing what animals do -- from stalking to nuturing to surviving.

Turns out, what seemed daunting wasn't so difficult after all.

"It was easier than I thought," said Kaufman, who wrote and co-produced the silver-anniversary show. "I was sort of dreading it. I thought I'd be pulling my hair out. Here's the strategy that I took: We've done different kinds of shows in different styles, and what seems to do well are the animal behavior films where you don't see people -- as if we're behind a tree, observing quietly."

The special, hosted by "20/20" correspondent Lynn Sherr, airs Sunday.

Kaufman said he wanted each clip to show a mini-story. "It's very important that you get the pacing right. There has to be an ending to each scene; otherwise, you're left flat," he said. "Hopefully there's something extraordinary at the end of every scene."

He was partial to a film made two decades ago that used close-up photography on the petals of a flower. "It was an extraordinary perspective," he said. "But in the end, there just wasn't a scene that went on for three or four minutes that we could excerpt." So it was out.

The stories Kaufman chose aren't always pretty: Crocodiles kill gazelles as the graceful animals try to cross a river; hatchling sea turtles try to get to water before they become another animal's dinner; barnacle goslings jump off cliffs; a mother wildebeest defends her calf against wild dogs; and there's heart-wrenching footage of a wild stallion killing a foal.

"Sometimes it really is ugly," Kaufman said. "At the end of the day, it's eat or be eaten."

But some "Nature" segments are touching: a polar bear nurturing its newborn; laboratory chimpanzees greeting humans who cared for them; the rescues of animals separated from their owners during Hurricane Katrina; and the very sweet story of Asian elephants Shirley and Jenny, who reunite in a Tennessee sanctuary 25 years after their circus days.

By the time he made his choices, Kaufman was satisfied. "We did 90 minutes," he said. "I frankly think that's enough."

Kaufman should know -- he was there at the beginning. In 1982, at age 24, he became a production assistant for PBS's then-new "Nature" series. He worked with George Page, the show's creator and narrator, until Page's retirement in 1998. Page died in June at age 71.

"Nature's" many honors include eight Emmys, two Peabodys and the Sierra Club's first award to a television program.

"Over the years, we've built this reputation of being a sophisticated, thoughtful and intelligent presentation with high production values," Kaufman said.

As he went through the series' documentaries, Kaufman determined that those produced within the past 10 years were the best of the bunch.

"Films of 15 to 20 years ago, the level of filmmaking was not as good. Now, with high definition, there are some titles from 20 years ago that we're redoing," he said.

Kaufman said he's worked with some amazing photographers over the years. "Imagine spending 30 years of your life carrying 60 pounds of film gear," he said. "It takes a toll on their bodies; some of them have to have their knees replaced. When you hit your 60s, it's harder to lug your equipment around. They're the real stars of these shows."

Among them are veterans Hugh Miles and Mitchell Kelly, who waited patiently, starting in December 2000 and filming for more than three years in the Himalayas, to capture the elusive snow leopard as it hunted.

That sort of patience -- which Kaufman said is rarer to find these days -- can pay off. "The very well-made traditional blue-chip film sells everywhere, so if you do make something like this, like we do, all the markets are opened up to you."

Besides, Kaufman said, humans have always been interested in wildlife.

"The first depictions of wildlife were cave paintings," he said. "They drew buffalo on a cave wall. It's within our souls. We're curious animals anyway, curious about the things that we share the planet with, things that struggle to survive. What's old is new again."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901446_pf.html

fredfa

01-13-07, 08:58 AM

I think all the stories about the plotline in 24 and other shows belong in the HDTV Programming Forum. I don't consider them "the latest televison news and info".

Noted.

Ladd

01-13-07, 08:59 AM

I think all the stories about the plotline in 24 and other shows belong in the HDTV Programming Forum. I don't consider them "the latest televison news and info".
To show that you aren't a lone voice in the wilderness, I agree.

The show's impact on scheduling or popular culture or "the business" are appropriate, but discussions of the actual episodes themselves seem more suited to the discussion threads for that particular show.

DoubleDAZ

01-13-07, 09:10 AM

fredfa

01-13-07, 09:19 AM

To show that you aren't a lone voice in the wilderness, I agree.

The show's impact on scheduling or popular culture or "the business" are appropriate, but discussions of the actual episodes themselves seem more suited to the discussion threads for that particular show.

Actually, I agree. And I think, by and large, discussions of plot developments are left to the specific discussion threads.

But plot elements, casting, and certainly reviews of returning (or new) shows, especially such anticipated ones as "24", do get included.

I trust this doesn't sound defensive, but frankly I wasn't aware that there were that many plotline items or discussions posted here.

But plotlines do get mentioned, obviously, in some stories about -- and certainly reviews of -- shows.

fredfa

01-13-07, 09:25 AM

Fred,

I want to amend my comment on spoilers. I hadn't thought about you having to read them all to add the spoilers, so I'd agree to forget about that. People who come here are looking for info and everyone should be aware that some posts might give away some infomation. I think it's up to us to devise ways of avoiding such information. It's not necessary that you spoil your own enjoyment trying to be ever so helpful to the rest of us. You already do way more than anyone else ever has. :)

I appreciate the thought, Dave. But I have no problem doing my best to shield the casual reader from information which might take away from his or her enjoyment of a show. Obviously, for the readers, it takes some work to just to keep up with everything that is posted this thread. To me, it appears that it might be helpful if folks don't have to worry about inadvertantly stumbling over information which spoils an episode of their favorite show.

After all, I have already read the item, so excising parts that might give away too much to others (especially rabid fans of a particular program) doesn't really effect how I will see it. On some occasions, though, I will simply note at the top of the post that there could be information in the item which could be spoilers. It is always a juggling act.

My aim here is to help people understand how TV works and to encourage them to check out shows they might not have considered -- certainly not to mar the enjoyment of anything on TV. But then that is why I asked the question: you know how I feel, I am just seeking some input from the people who visit the thread. In this case (as in most) your opinions are more important than mine.

jim tressler

01-13-07, 10:28 AM

no tags needed fred... i for one like spoilers!!

OK, let's have your input.

Someone mentioned on another thread that the reviews here tended to have too many spoilers and ruined his enjoyment of the shows.

(He was speaking specifically of "24", but there were murmerings about "Rome", too.)

Since the idea of this thread is to enhance your enjoyment of television, I have begun putting spoiler tabs in the reviews. I am more comfortable doing that than ruining anyone's TV viewing.

But what do you all think? Are the spoilers going overboard?

I can't agree, by the way, to follow a majority rule -- but if even a significant minority prefers the spoilers, I'll leave them in.

And this is not for all shows, by any means -- just those which have a sense of the unknown about them. Similarly, when covering award shows which are tape delayed in the west, I usually use spoilers around the winners' list I post here. I take the spoilers off after the show has concluded out west.

And, as always, I can't guarantee to always protect you from everything in these reviews -- although, if you'd like, I will make every effort.

So....what do you all think?

fredfa

01-13-07, 10:45 AM

(There may be some "spoilers" in these reviews. But then again, the history of Rome is pretty hard to change. So, read at your own risk.)
TV Reviews
“Rome” Is Burning Bright
On HBO, Welcome Returns For Epic Drama, Sitcom “Extras'”
By Tom Shales Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, January 14, 2007

Now, in the dog days of winter, during a kind of twilight zone between the regular season's first half and the February sweeps -- while the broadcast networks air reruns and vapid reality shows -- HBO reminds us of the better uses to which television can be put.

The HBO season begins auspiciously and, lest that sound stuffy, raucously tonight with the welcome returns of "Rome," an epic that the network says is entering its second "and final" season; and "Extras," the cunningly funny comedy starring and co-authored by British sensation Ricky Gervais.

The two shows put together, of course, don't have the weight and sizzle of "The Sopranos," which at one point in history was supposed to return this month with the first of nine final episodes, but now is reportedly set to return Sunday, April 8. It's March of 44 B.C., though, when "Rome" resumes tonight for its 10-episode farewell. Perhaps it's late on March 15 or early on the 16th, for one of the first sights is the bloodstained floor of the Roman Senate and then, when the camera pans over, the very bloody corpse of Gaius Julius Caesar himself, dead at the hands of assassins. Ciarin Hinds seems a good sport to return in the role, considering all he gets to do is lie there stiff as a statue.

Then again, in one scene, as some bizarre part of the mourning ritual, a woman briefly inserts a nipple into Caesar's half-open mouth.

It's senseless on the surface but a haunting bit of imagery.

Otherwise, there's less mourning by far than there is bickering -- a near-constant sordid squabble over Caesar's title and wealth. Squabbling survivors include James Purefoy as a rowdy and assertive Marc Antony, the weary widow Calpurnia (Hayden Gwynne), that really big shrew Atia (Polly Walker) and Caesar's Doogie-like teenage heir Octavian (Max Pirkis, a model of youthful self-assurance). Among the finer points debated is whether Caesar will be posthumously declared a tyrant and his murder thus characterized as tyrannicide.

Then there's the question of whether one can hold the title of "dictator" in a government that calls itself a republic. If it sounds as if the creators of "Rome" are attempting to practice the art of allegory, it's not the case. That would be too pedantic, perhaps even preachy. Still, when Antony sighs and says, "Messy things, elections," he could as well be a citizen of A.D. 2007 as of the pre-Christian century in which he's sighing.

The production is nothing if not rich, awash in muted hues, populated with rivetingly complex characters and yet disappointingly low on spectacle -- at least for the season's first two episodes. One of the most colorful little details of Roman life is the presence of a great, fat town crier, who practices the ancient equivalent of spin control, proclaiming that Caesar's funeral will be held "in the spirit of unity and forgiveness" -- neither of which is anywhere apparent -- and adding that although the ceremony is open to the public, "no prostitutes, actors or unclean tradesmen may attend."

One wonders whether the filmmakers were tempted to include "critics" in that list -- even though "Rome" received generally favorable reviews upon its debut last year and deserves a few more heaps of praise for returning in garishly grand style.

Continuing the sort of upstairs-downstairs parallel storylines, we leave Caesar's ring of mourners and murderers tonight to find out what's become of the centurion Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and his loyal slave-turned-friend, Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson). What's become of them is that Vorenus is doing more passionate mourning of his own slain wife than anyone is lavishing on poor old Caesar, and Pullo, roaming in the countryside, has freed another slave by asking her to marry him.

Eventually, Pullo and Vorenus will meet up again, and the former slave will help his old pal get out of bed and face the ugly realities of politics and politicians, as well as trying to paste his ravaged life back together. Rome is not in ruins yet, but blood runs in the streets, muggings are hardly rare, and, in a moment of pique, Antony slits a political foe's throat as casually as if he were shaking hands.

Heads roll, literally. Antony tosses one into the trash during a visit to Vorenus, one of the moments when their paths cross, when the governing and the governed briefly collude. Moments later, who should undulate into town but Cleopatra, fresh and feisty after the long trip from Egypt to pay her respects. She's played (by delicately pretty Lyndsey Marshal) not as a seasoned vamp but as a teasing nymphette, a pop star with jet-black hair and a peachy-pale complexion.

Sparks fly, enemies are throttled, sinister plots are hatched. Director Tim Van Patten has his finest moments beginning with the lighting of Caesar's funeral pyre; fire illuminates the faces of the conspiring survivors gathered in a darkened room, but suddenly the doors are flung open to the harsh glare of day -- and the eyes of the public. There's considerable talk about what "the people" will think, and how things will play with the populace. "Rome" dramatizes, among other things, the birth of politics as usual -- and dramatizes it with the flourish of high drama and the urgency of tonight's headlines.

Most of the actors playing Romans sound very very British (one member of the riffraff, ranting in a bar, affects a Cockney accent, consistent with the internal logic of the piece). That isn't the case merely because "Rome" is an HBO-BBC co-production; it's just the way things have always been done in epics of epoch.

American viewers might wish that some of them spoke their British English more slowly, but most of the actors are models of clarity compared with the cast of "Extras," the sitcom -- really too tacky a term for it -- about life in show business's lower depths.

Ricky Gervais, creator of "The Office," returns in the role of Andy Millman, a chap born to be a nobody and, during the first season of "Extras," making his living as an extra in the movies -- not so much a performer as a part of the scenery, the ambiance, the atmosphere. Fortunately, Gervais, who executive-produces with longtime ally Stephen Merchant, has brought back Ashley Jensen as Maggie Jacobs, his platonic girlfriend and, to an even greater degree than Millman, veritably imposing in her doltishness.

But what's this -- Millman as the center of attention? Millman speaking lines? Millman being given rather a large degree of responsibility? In the season premiere, we discover that Millman has somehow landed a BBC sitcom of his own, "When the Whistle Blows," which is set in a workplace as his "Office" was, but grovels far more obviously and desperately for laughs. "Sheer idiocy" would fairly accurately describe it.

As in the first season, Gervais and Merchant (who plays Millman's slimy and lazy agent -- slimy and lazy even for an agent) have managed to entice an eclectic array of sparkling guest stars to appear as themselves. They don't get to be glamorized versions of themselves, either; instead, the portrayals tend to be either moderately or incredibly unflattering.

Orlando Bloom is tonight's guest victim, and he gets off fairly easily, playing a vain and needy egomaniac, the kind one expects actors to be. He's so insecure under a facade of security that it drives him up the wall when Maggie resists his romantic overtures, such as they are. It's not that she doesn't find him attractive; she's just so hopelessly obtuse that she fails to notice, first, that he's cute and second, that he's willing and eager to give her a tumble.

Millman, meanwhile, should be jumping for joy at the opportunity he's been handed, but he's too dense and neurotic for that. Instead, he whines and worries about stooping low and pandering. That involves wearing a curly wig and oversize glasses and spouting the would-be catchphrase (which he keeps denying is a catchphrase) "Are you 'avin' a laugh?"

The studio audience does 'av a laugh when it hears this, responding in the Pavlovian way, giving Millman the opportunity to make a transparent noble speech about compromise and integrity -- the sort of drivel that directors and writers spew on talk shows. Somehow, integrity is no match for cash.

In the second episode, Millman continues to wrestle with his conscience, and his conscience keeps losing without much of a fight. Although critics assail the character's series as "the worst sitcom of all time" and something that "makes you want to gouge out your own eyes," it lures more than 6 million viewers, an unhealthfully healthy showing.

At first delighted to be famous, then aghast, Millman is delighted again when he's admitted to a club's VIP section and seated within elbow-rubbing distance of David Bowie. But he has good cause to be aghast again; inspired by a brief chat with Millman, Bowie rushes to the piano and creates a song with lyrics that refer to a "chubby little loser," a "rotund joke," a "pathetic little fat man" and "the clown that no one laughs at" because "they all just wish he'd die."

The humor is cruel, but crueler to the Gervais character than to anyone else. In the third episode, "Extras" hits a mad and hilarious pinnacle -- actually more like twin peaks, with one plot involving Millman's altercation with a mentally retarded boy and his mother at a restaurant. The other plot has Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter in the movies, attempting with awesome awkwardness to prove he's a man, even to the point of displaying a very saggy and baggy prophylactic hither and thither. The great Diana Rigg figures in this, hilariously.

Gervais rides "the edge" precariously but assuredly throughout this episode, taking even wilder risks than usual.

"Extras" lives up to expectations and to its own lunatic traditions. It is a pity that some of the dialogue is unintelligible because of the thick British accents and an unfortunate tendency to mumble -- with some cast members on the verge of ventriloquism, without appearing to move their lips.

One can't help but think of the Henry Higgins lament in "My Fair Lady": "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?" But even this seeming drawback could be an advantage; it gives you an excuse to watch the episodes more than once.

No excuse, though, is needed. "Extras" remains a sneak attack on one's defenses and yet another roguish triumph for Gervais and his witting accomplices.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011200975_pf.html

fredfa

01-13-07, 10:54 AM

The TV Column
Dick Wolf Makes Time for 'Wounded Knee'
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, January 13, 2007

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 12 Dick Wolf, the network-saving, moneymaking machine, is doing his first work for HBO, an upcoming 2 1/2 -hour adaptation of the early 1970s book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," which documented the subjugation of Native Americans during the latter half of the 19th century.

"I'd do anything HBO wants me to, given the strictures I'm under contractually," Wolf, the brain trust behind NBC's "Law & Order," told the media at Winter TV Press Tour 2007. Wolf's production house is set up at NBC Universal, which doesn't leave him a lot of time to do work elsewhere.

Working with HBO was "an amazing experience. I'd love to send some network people to intern there for a while," he said, getting a laugh from the crowd.

One critic wanted to know what the broadcast network interns would learn. He admitted he'd been flip, adding, "It's a little unfair -- they're two completely different business models."

He said: "The attention to detail on every level at HBO is different than a network, but a network has 22 hours to be filled every week. It's a completely different set of parameters. But I can say it's wonderful to be with people whose only aim is to get on the screen the best possible film they can get up there.

"The networks have a tendency -- they're in the numbers game, the daily numbers game. . . . It leads to decisions that are not necessarily artistic."

HBO isn't nearly as rushed to get product on-screen as are the broadcasters, he said, noting that this project was five years in the making.

"I'm not kidding. I think this picture was fast-tracked at HBO." HBO, he said, is "famous and notorious for taking a great deal of time between the first meeting and [my being] up here talking to all of you. The reality is, they end up doing it right. Sometimes it's way too expensive, like 'Rome,' but 'Rome' was one of the most awesome TV [projects] in the last 20 years. You look at it and say, 'Wow, they really didn't care how much it cost!' "

"Wounded Knee" is scheduled for a May premiere on HBO. It stars Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, August Schellenberg and -- as President Ulysses S. Grant -- former Republican senator and "Law & Order" regular Fred Thompson.

Wolf said he hopes "Wounded Knee" not only "affects people's way of thinking about this part of our history" but also gives them pause when thinking about "other things this nation becomes involved with."

One TV critic asked him if he was referring to Iraq. "If Iraq was the only thing you could reference, maybe," he said. "When any society says to another group, whether indigenous, offshore, next-door, that our way of life will be better for you and we have a better way than you have, you get into real trouble. That's why the world is multicultural and multicolored. What works here is not necessarily going to work there."

• • • • • • • • • • •

Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Nancy, came to the press tour to plug her new HBO documentary about the evangelical Christian movement.

Unlike her earlier HBO documentary, "Journeys With George," in which she spent 18 months on the 2000 presidential campaign trail with George W. Bush," Pelosi is not seen in this new film. That's "because I was trying to take myself out of it -- I'm not trying to make an ego-mentary," she said.

Did I mention the title of the documentary is "Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi"?

Pelosi likened the process of making the film to an "archaeological dig"; she also likened herself to an "ambassador of the blue states." In "Friends of God," she traveled to red states to meet evangelicals, including the usual suspects, such as the Rev. Jerry Falwell, leader of the Moral Majority and founder of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Also Ted Haggard, who recently stepped down as president of the country's largest evangelical group, National Association of Evangelicals, when word got out that he had patronized a male prostitute and bought illegal drugs.

Pelosi said she learned to respect evangelical Christians "on a professional level" because they are "really mobilized." "They go to church every Sunday," she said, after which they "have meetings to talk about the Colorado marriage amendment."

Asked if being the daughter of Nancy Pelosi made people she met hostile toward her, she said there had been some skepticism but "it was a lot harder to walk into the door of the church and say 'HBO' -- they call it Hell's Box Office. . . . And yes, I did get saved a number of times a day."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011202303_pf.html

fredfa

01-13-07, 10:59 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Saturday - Day Five

The cable portion of the TCA Winter Tour has ended.

Today, PBS takes the stage and tomorrow, ABC will make its presentations.

So during timeouts and half times of the weekend football games, be sure to check in occasionally to see what is going on.

Tombie

01-13-07, 11:26 AM

fredfa

01-13-07, 11:27 AM

TV Sports
Smith 'Frankly' yanked
By Bob Raissman The New York Daily News January 13, 2007

"Quite Frankly" is quite over.

Stephen A. Smith's ESPN2 gabfest, which made its debut in August 2005, was canceled yesterday, victimized by anemic ratings.

Smith, who broke in at ESPN in 2003 as part of the network's NBA studio team, and his crew were informed Thursday of the show's fate. The final installment aired last night.

Yesterday, Smith insisted he was proud of the content he provided. Nonetheless, he said he "failed" in one huge respect.

"That fact the show was canceled specifically, I look at that as me failing. I don't look at that as anyone else's fault," Smith said. "The reality is you are here to generate viewers and to make sure they are watching. I didn't do a good enough job of it."

While "Quite Frankly" is now history at ESPN, the outspoken and often bombastic Smith is not.

"We love Stephen A.," said Chris LaPlaca, ESPN's senior VP of communications. "The end result of this is that he is going nowhere."

While ESPN suits took the ax to "Quite Frankly" - which came on the market with pomp and publicity, clearly designed to make Smith a star - they are now attempting to position the show's demise as a "new role" for Smith.

That role could include regular appearances on "SportsCenter," NBA studio programming and ESPN News, as well as hosting four interview specials in conjunction with major sporting events. Smith said he needed to "take stock of his future" before deciding which road he will take at ESPN. He is under contract to the network until July 2008.

Smith, a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, also has a mid-day radio talk show (noon-2p.m.) on WEPN-AM (ESPN 1050). Yesterday there was speculation that WEPN brass now will move Smith to the 4p.m.-7 p.m. slot, teaming him with Michael Kay. The more likely scenario is Smith staying put in mid-day while he pursues a nationally syndicated radio show, something he has always coveted.

A few months ago, Smith complained in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that ESPN was not putting enough marketing and promotional muscle behind "Quite Frankly." Smith subsequently softened his criticism of the company. ESPN brass had juggled the show, moving it from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. last January.

"Remember, it was 'Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith.' The buck stopped with me," Smith said. "This was not ESPN's fault - it was mine."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/488262p-411183c.html

fredfa

01-13-07, 11:40 AM

Is this a sign Milch is starting to weasel out on those promised two final "Deadwood" movies?
Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Not “Deadwood” Yet
By Ellen Gray Philadelphia Daily News in her blog January 13, 2007

David Milch knows there are "Deadwood" fans who've vowed to boycott "John From Cincinnati," the new HBO series about surfing for which he's perceived by some to have abandoned the Old West.

And he doesn't want any trouble.

The "NYPD Blue" co-creator took time out from discussions of string theory and William James (don't ask) to address the "Deadwood" die-hards through the people who've had to answer a lot of the anguished e-mails:

"The first thing I'd say to them is thanks for appreciating the work that we've done. And you know, I spent a significant portion of yesterday in collaboration with Evan Wright, who's a wonderful writer, with whom I'm doing the first of the two 'Deadwood' two-hour films. And we're very optimistic about the outcome of that work, and it's our intention that just the moment that we complete production on 'John From Cincinnati' to begin work on that.

"Having said which, you know that the closed -- the kind of emotional contract that a viewer makes with a series when it works, when that contract is sort of signed by both parties -- that's the thing, as an artist and as actors, we dream about. And certainly there was a kind of abrupt rupture that occurred that is difficult for me to adjust to. It was enormously difficult for the actors to adjust to...You know, the sun rises every morning whether or not we agree to acknowledge that fact. We're going to put 'John From Cincinnati' on, and it's my deepest hope that, in the scheme of things, enough forgiveness is available from those viewers to just give it,like, a chance. And if I'm given strength and time, we're definitely going to do more 'Deadwoods.' "

http://blogs.phillynews.com/dailynews/ellengray/

humdinger70

01-13-07, 12:20 PM

Speaking of GSN...

Is Lingo still in production? When are we going to see any new episodes? Is Shandy still there?

fredfa

01-13-07, 12:33 PM

Hopefully dad1153 will answer that question

fredfa

01-13-07, 12:51 PM

Friday’s fast national over night prime-time ratings have been posted just under the HD Football listings near the top of Ratings News the first post in this thread.

fredfa

01-13-07, 02:58 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
A graduate seminar on Milch-ology:
The creator of 'Deadwood' speaks
From Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune blog “The Watcher” January 13, 2007

I don’t know what David Milch is talking about. And I mean that in the best possible way.

On Friday, here that the TCA press tour in Pasadena, there was a panel on Milch’s new show, “John From Cincinnati.” As far as I could gather from the short compilation of clips shown before the panel discussion of the show, there’s an alien. And surfing. Aside from that, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you what the show is about.

Not that it really mattered for this press panel, in which the cast of the show and Milch and co-creator Kem Nunn were assembled on a stage, before an array of television critics and writers.

In these panels, usually, the actors talk, the producer talk, there’s banter, there’s interplay, there’s the usual array of dumb questions and interesting questions, blah blah blah.

Not so this time. This panel was more or less a graduate seminar in Milch-ology. I mean, the man just speaks. And you’re held spellbound, partly because he just has so many deep things to say, partly because you don’t really understand what he’s talking about, and your brain freezes after it more or less gives up on keeping up with that of Milch, the creator of “Deadwood” and one of the driving forces behind “NYPD Blue’s” glory years.

But, to be practical here for a second, before I get to his theories on William James, the nature of reality, string theory and the zen of surfing, here are his thoughts on “Deadwood,” and on the fact that instead of making a full fourth season of that great show, we are getting a 4-hour wrap up movie instead, so that Milch can concentrate on “John.”

Click the link below to get Milch's answers on "Deadwood." By the way, the transcript excerpts below were provided by TCA.

Ellen Gray of the Philadelphia Inquirer asked this question:

Gray: “… it may be sort of a perverse compliment, but there are fans of ‘Deadwood’ who pretty much declared there's no way they're going to watch ‘John From Cincinnati,’ whatever it is.

Milch: "Yeah."

Gray: “Because, you know, it means that you're not doing ‘Deadwood.’ What do you say to them? Or is there anything you can say to them?’

Milch: “Well, the first thing I'd say to them is thanks for appreciating the work that we've done. And you know, I spent a significant portion of yesterday in collaboration with Evan Wright, who's a wonderful writer, with whom I'm doing the first of the two ‘Deadwood’ 2-hour films. And we're very optimistic about the outcome of that work, and it's our intention that just the moment that we complete production on ‘John From Cincinnati’ to begin work on that.

“Having said which, you know that the closed -- the kind of emotional contract that a viewer makes with a series when it works, when that contract is sort of signed by both parties -- that's the thing, as an artist and as actors, we dream about.

"And certainly there was a kind of abrupt rupture that occurred that is difficult for me to adjust to. It was enormously difficult for the actors to adjust to. But you know, there are certain rooms where one frequently hears the expression 'life on life's terms.'

"And if anyone can really make it work on some other terms, I mean, [through drug use] I embarked on a 30-year research project trying to make that happen, trying to set my own terms for how I was going to experience reality. And all I got was, you know, peripheral neuritis and a lot of phlebitis in my veins.

“So I hope that -- you know, the sun rises every morning whether or not we agree to acknowledge that fact. We're going to put ‘John From Cincinnati’ on, and it's my deepest hope that, in the scheme of things, enough forgiveness is available from those viewers to just give it, like, a chance.”

Later, I asked if, in a perfect world, he would have rather ended “Deadwood with a full fourth season of 12 episodes -- if that would have been his ideal option -- or whether the 4-hour miniseries was enough for him. Here’s his answer:

Milch: “You know, the big thing to keep in mind when you hear those sorts of statements -- that I had planned on a fourth season on this -- I'm a sociopath.” (Laughter.) …

“You know, someone asked me, how long do you intend to do ‘Deadwood’? And part of my sociopathology, I say, ‘Well, when does my contract run out?’ And I realize my contract ran out at the end of four seasons. So I'm thinking, ‘How does the kid exert the most leverage in the negotiating package for four seasons?’ I don't know if I want to do any more after that.

“But the truth is I try to show up each day available to do the work that God or whatever it is that's making, you know, the solar system work wants me to do. And I expect when he wants me to stop, I'll be the first to find out. So the answer is, I never had a specific -- listen, when I pitched ‘Deadwood,’ I pitched it as a series set in Rome at the time of the Nero. Does that sound like I know what I'm talking about? (Laughter.)

"... [HBO’s president of entertainment] Caroline and [HBO CEO] Chris Albrecht said, ‘Jeez, it's so interesting, but we're doing a show about Rome. Can you set it somewhere else?’ I said, ‘Deadwood, 1876.’”

And then the panel was over. If you’re thinking, that wasn’t much of an answer, well, you’re probably right. But something about the way Milch’s mind works is so improbably entertaining and profound and funny that, well, you just go with it. I mean, here’s how he explained, in part, what the show was about:

“I guess that's what I was trying to say in this answer [in a previous interview] that to my mind reality is a shifting and elusive condition. It redefines itself constantly. …

“And which is to say that, when I was saying that this is a story that takes place on the margins of things, the attempt to identify the coordinates of reality is itself a kind of problematic and conditional effort. It's changing all the time.

"What constitutes -- where are we when we sleep? What is our sense of reality at that moment? It's, you know, science now suggests to us that what has been perceived as matter for a long time is, in fact, energy. That what looks solid, in fact, is constituted in waves, that Einstein's beautiful mathematical equations which depict the nature of reality don't apply at certain levels. And I think that's true as well about what constitutes the natural and the supernatural. You know, it depends on what foxhole you're in.”

Yes. Exactly. That's what I always say. But be aware that this wasn’t the most complicated, profound, metaphysical, confounding, confusing thing that he said, though. I essentially gave up typing after awhile. And as for the woman who is paid by TCA to type up transcripts of every session, well, as another colleague said, buy that woman a drink. Because here’s what Milch said in response to a question about where he drew his inspiration from:

“William James -- and several of the actors have attempted to take their lives in the aftermath of my protracted speaking about William James.” (laughter)

“William James said something to the -- among other things – ‘If this life be not a real fight, then it's merely a private theatrical from which one may withdraw at will, but it feels like a real fight -- as if there were something wild in the universe which we with all of our idealities and faithfulnesses are called upon to redeem.’

“And it has seemed ... there is a continuity between the themes which [Kem Nunn's] novels raise and what this series tries to examine, and to the extent that we were saying before that reality can sometimes be a little problematic and so on and there are now -- I know I heard several of you discussing string theory in the corridors earlier. (Laughter). …

“And the idea being, string theory postulating that the idea of four dimensions, which are agreed upon, is very conditional and that more than likely the only thing that accounts for the variances in the universe between Einstein's ideas and what we actually see is that there are unseen dimensions. And that's sort of the predicate of string theory, of Stephen Hawking and so on.

“And what William James speculated was that there are what he called the lawless intrusions. He was fascinated by psychic phenomenon, and what James suggested was that whatever originated the universe, the Big Bang was a chaotic energy, which is now tending toward order. And that for the most part, we can account through certain theorems with all of the phenomena of our experience, but that there are certain abrupt and lawless inexplicable intrusions through essentially what would be described as tears in the fabric of the dimensions we perceive – [hence] John from Cincinnati.”

How that all translates into a 1-hour weekly drama, I have no idea. But you know, of course I’ll watch the show. Mainly to see how well versed this stranger John is in string theory and William James.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/01/a_graduate_semi.html#more

fredfa

01-13-07, 03:08 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
David Milch:
Surfing the Cosmic Waves
By James Poniewozik Time Magazine television critic in Time’s “Tuned In” blog Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007

Before I went to the HBO panel on new series John from Cincinnati, I didn't know much about it. Having seen a reel of clips, and having heard creator David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood) hold forth on it for a half-hour, I know even less.

As best as I can summarize: It's about several generations of a surfing dynasty in Southern California. John, a mysterious stranger comes into their lives, and odd things begin happening. Characters begin levitating off the ground. A dead parrot comes back to life. String theory is apparently involved.

Milch, a former academic, created distinctive, expressive languages on his two best-known shows. In real life, he tends to wander off on rambling, professorial disquisitions. Asked about the themes of his show, he began, "William James--some of the actors have attempted to take their own lives listening to my prolific speaking on William James--but William James said..." and here my notes trail off.

Like the admiring cast who sat dumbly on stage for most of the panel--and who I don't believe know much better what the show is about yet--I'm willing to take a lot on faith from Milch, given his track record. Artists create art because they can't express what they want to express literally. Will John from Cincinnati, which debuts this summer, be another triumph from Milch, or will it be his Finnegans Wake, easier to admire than to understand or enjoy? We'll have to catch that wave and surf it before we know.

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

fredfa

01-13-07, 03:17 PM

TV Notebook
Not Great News for Late News
By Paige Albiniak Broadcasting & Cable 1/15/2007

With late newscasts falling as much as 10%-20% in major markets from November 2005 to November 2006, stations are rethinking how they offer news. News consultants say people are up earlier, home later, and to bed later—which bodes poorly for the 11 p.m. news, for decades a crucial chunk of a station's revenue. As a result, stations such as Chicago's WMAQ are starting their news earlier in the morning, while increasingly focusing on their digital offerings.

In that one-year period, the late news in the top 10 markets dropped 10% in households, from an average 6.7 rating/13 share in November 2005 to an average 6.0/12, according to data compiled by Nielsen Media Research.

That trend tends to hold true among each of the Big Three network stations. In New York, WABC's 11 p.m. news has dropped 12% in households in the past year, from a 7.5/14 in November 2005 to a 6.6/12 in November 2006. WNBC has fallen similarly, while WCBS inched up 1/10 of a ratings point.

In Chicago, the household-ratings average has fallen nearly 9% year-to-year, dipping even further during the latest May sweeps. Chicago is one of the country's strongest news markets, however, with ABC O&O WLS leading the way. In November 2005, the powerhouse station scored a 10.8/18 among households at 11 p.m., seeing only a small drop this past November at a 10.6/17. But CBS' WBBM dropped 8% year to year, while NBC's WMAQ fell 11%.

It's the same story in Philadelphia, where the late news has fallen 12% year- to-year. ABC's market leader, WPVI, has seen the biggest drop, with a 20% loss.

“We all know the news by 11 p.m., so we're not going to stay up to watch it,” says Web news consultant Steve Safran. “We don't get home at 5:30, and we don't go to bed at 11:30 p.m., so stations need to give us this stuff when we want it.”

This is grave news for stations. According to media-research firm Borrell Associates, stations, on average, take in 30% of their revenue from local newscasts. Of that 30%, 60%-65% comes from the early-evening news, 35%-45% from late news.

It's not just the 11 p.m. news that's feeling the effects of a shift in lifestyle patterns. “People are getting up so early because of work, kids and so forth, and they don't get home in time to watch the 5 or 6 p.m. news,” says Steve Schwaid, senior VP of news and programming at the NBC TV Stations Group.

To retain their local presence, stations across the country have been starting their newscasts earlier and adding weekend broadcasts. NBC-owned WMAQ Chicago launched a 4:30 a.m. newscast this week, while all the Fox owned-and-operated stations have begun offering news at 5 a.m. in the past year. Their four-hour morning newscasts will lead directly into The Morning Show With Mike and Juliet, which launches Jan. 22.

As digital platforms further fragment the TV landscape, stations are realizing that their only programming advantage over cable networks is strong local news.

“Airing reruns of stuff that you can get anywhere from the Internet to your iPod is not going to be the way to stay competitive,” says one Fox stations executive. “If you don't go local, you're dead.”

Stations also need to offer news all day on all available platforms, say consultants. “Local broadcasters have to do a better job of delivering local news and information,” says Bill Hague, VP of Frank N. Magid Associates. “Whether that information is coming to a computer, cellphone or Blackberry, stations have to be a credible source, like a CNN.com or Weather.com.”

According to Magid's research, while nearly half of people 35 to 54 years old turn to the Internet first for weather information or sports scores, only 10% turns to the Web first for local news. Says Hague, “We have to do a better job of sending people back and forth between the Internet site and the mother station.”

Even though the nation's viewing patterns are shifting dramatically, late news remains essential in the station world. Many Fox stations, for instance, are adding 11 p.m. newscasts to their late-night lineups. For their part, many station executives insist that the 11 p.m. news is still vital to their bottom line.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6407459

flint350

01-13-07, 03:23 PM

Add me to those in favor of using spoiler tags about plot points. This forum is not truly about plot, so when it is discussed, especially with shows like "24", it should be tagged, IMO. Saying that the post topic is sufficient is nonsense. I recall many times trying to scroll past something, but always accidentally spotting something I didn't want to know about an important story development. Also, the post title isn't always clear about the depth of detail contained therein. I recognize that some plot points can't be excised from a good post on a show without making the post near useless. But, it is for that reason that I advocate spoiler tags.

In my case at least, if I accidentally found out too much about shows I'm intrigued by simply through my daily pass-thru of this thread and give-away titles/posts, I would seriously consider not reading the thread - and I don't want to do that, I like it here.

fredfa

01-13-07, 03:23 PM

The Business of Television
DirecTV Targets HD; Dish Promotes DVRs
Carey Promises an HD Package That 'Can't Be Rivaled'
By Linda Moss MultiChannel News 1/15/2007

Las Vegas — The nation's two major satellite providers last week illustrated how they are pursuing two very different strategies with consumers, with DirecTV preparing to launch a high-definition service it said would have three times as many channels as any other and EchoStar Communications focusing on the rollout of digital video recorders.

At the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show here last week, DirecTV boasted that it planned to launch 100 national HDTV channels this year.

President Chase Carey told a CES press conference that DirecTV was putting the final touches on a HDTV package that he claimed “can't be rivaled” by its competitors.

“There is probably nothing more important in the next year than the high-definition agenda we have,” said Carey, adding that DirecTV already had signed deals, or agreements in principle, with more than 70 major networks.

That list included networks such as CNN, Cartoon Network, TBS and USA Network, programmers that hadn't even unveiled their HDTV plans as of DirecTV's press conference last Monday.

GAMING AFOOT

The nation's biggest direct-broadcast satellite provider also touted its spring launch of a video-gaming league, Championship Gaming Series, and Sat-Go, a briefcase-sized portable receiver that allows consumers to take DirecTV with them and watch it wherever they are.

In contrast, at its CES press conference EchoStar pushed its “DishDVR Advantage” package. Customers can pay $49.99 a month for the “America's Top 200” combination of channels and a dual-tuner standard-definition receiver; or opt to get EchoStar's HD ViP622 DVR for free, take the DishDVR Advantage offer and pay an additional $20 a month for DishHD programming.

EchoStar also unveiled its own satellite on-the-go product, MobileDish, which allows customers to watch Dish Network in their vehicles, even while in motion.

The news from the CES satellite press conferences drew different reactions from the analysts who attended the gatherings.

“The big take-away seems to be that DirecTV is betting on HD, and EchoStar is betting on the DVR,” said Craig Moffett, of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

“Those two strategies could easily collide,” he said. “Dish is giving away HD DVRs for free, while DirecTV plans to charge $199 for a box that the customer will still have to lease when they get it home. On the other hand, DirecTV is launching 100 channels of national HD later this year, in a move that will definitively wrest the lead in HD channels from EchoStar.”

While Moffett said that both strategies have their merits, “they have one thing in common: They're both expensive.”

Another analyst who attended the CES satellite press conferences, Carmel Group chairman Jimmy Schaeffler, was bullish on EchoStar's DVR rollout and skeptical about DirecTV's HDTV and other plans.

“Charlie's focusing on DVR, DVR, DVR, which is a mass, mass-market product: Obviously, a very wise strategy,” said Schaeffler, who has been involved in legal matters for and against EchoStar in the past decade. “DirecTV, on the other hand, is focusing — in a way that I would call less wisely — on niche markets. They're focusing on Sat-Go and Championship Gaming, probably two great products in their own right, but not focused on the mass market. … To me, that's missing the mark.”

Carey said that DirecTV is launching two satellites by mid-year, DirecTV 10 and DirecTV 11, which will give it the ability to deliver more than 1,500 local HD and digital channels and 150 national HDTV channels.

But Schaeffler questioned whether DirecTV's HDTV drive, and its 100-channel package, will come off according to plan.

“The problem I have with the HD announcement right now is it's very dependent on a lot of things that are way out there, like launching a couple of satellites — which is a big deal — and getting the satellites completed, and testing the satellites, and going through all of the operations to get the technology working, and then going through the marketing,” Schaeffler said. “And to me, it's just too early to really call that a real product.”

BRITT'S BEARISH

At the “Pipelines Power Panel” at CES last Tuesday, Time Warner Cable president Glen Britt was bearish about the revenue opportunities that HDTV presents — despite his fellow panelist Carey's upbeat outlook on it.

“HD is terrific. It's really not a business, though,” Britt said. “Remember what we're doing here. We're undergoing a transition to a new standard. At some point, I assume, everything will be HD, and we'll all carry all the HD signals.”

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6407416.html?display=Top+Stories

fredfa

01-13-07, 03:30 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Chris Albrecht Q & A
By James Hibberd Television Week in the “Critical Eye” blog January 13, 2007

HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht might be the only cable executive that I would quite obviously stake out the Green Room like a stalker to corner, but it eventually results in a brief interview:

Q: “Rome” and “Extras” are coming back for their second and final seasons. If their performances exceed your expectations, could they receive second seasons?

CHRIS ALBRECHT: Well, they’re completely different situations. “Rome” seemed as if it were a good idea to announce as a final season ahead of time. It’s an expensive show, there are financing partners involved. The sets have been torn down, so I’d say there’s no chance of it coming back. “Extras” a different story. [Creator and star] Ricky Gervais only did two seasons of [the BBC version of] “The Office,” we would love to have another season if he wanted to do it.

Q: The premiere of the syndicated version of “The Sopranos” did great numbers for A&E. Does that help pave the way for the more difficult syndicated sale of “Deadwood”?

CHRIS ALBRECHT: We’re going out and talking to people about “Deadwood” right now, but they’re two very different shows. “Sopranos” is a culture icon … but this does show that they can stay vibrant [on basic cable]

Q: “The Sopranos” scripts are turned in [albeit with some key scenes redacted to prevent spoilers from leaking out of HBO]. Some critics said last season was slow, I know you say you disagree, but what is your assessment of the final nine?

CHRIS ALBRECHT: I’ve seen the first two episodes. They are building up to a place that will leave people very satisfied. Some who have loved the series will love where it ends up, others will be shocked and wonder, “Why did they do it that way?” But [viewers will find it] satisfying and controversial.

Q: When will the final two, two-hour movies for “Deadwood” air?

CHRIS ALBRECHT: Not scheduled yet. [“Deadwood” showrunner David] Milch is writing the scripts and we’re dedicated to getting it done.

http://blogs.tvweek.com/?cat=12

dad1153

01-13-07, 04:17 PM

Speaking of GSN... Is Lingo still in production? When are we going to see any new episodes? Is Shandy still there?

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
GSN is Going to the Cats
By Jon Lafayette, Television Week - January 12, 2007

The former Game Show Network unveiled a full development slate that features game shows, reality shows, talk shows and a cat competition.

GSN also renewed three of its original programs: "Lingo," "Chain Reaction" and "World Series of Blackjack."

Among the new shows in production are: "Without Prejudice," based on a British show, in which a panel of ordinary people are given a chance to give a large sum of money to contestants who talk about their lives; "National Vocabulary Championship," featuring high school students who could win a $40,000 grand prize; and "Cat-Minster: CFA International Cat Championship," a two hour special in March covering the largest pedigreed cat show in the Western Hemisphere.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11363
____________________________________________________________ _____

Shandi is under contract with GSN for both Playmania (rotating hostess) and Lingo. She actually goes on location casting calls when GSN makes a tour looking for 'Lingo' contestants. Personally I thought Stacy was a better 'Lingo' co-host with Woolery (as in you can actually believe there's sexual tension as opposed to the pretend sexual vibes between Shandi and Chuck) but that's just me. The new season is tentatively scheduled to start in March. I'll let you know.

dad1153

01-13-07, 04:32 PM

TV Notebook
The Eight Hottest Jobs on TV
By Meg Donohue, Careerbuilder.com

The country is virtually teeming with doctors. Hunky, single ones with witty minds and full heads of thick, shiny hair.

Surely if this were actually true, by now we'd have heard the collective "huzzah" from exuberant matchmaking grandmothers everywhere. So why are the grannies silent? Probably because despite the cultural coup physicians and surgeons have pulled on our TV sets, in reality they make up less than one percent of the United States population.

As a viewing public, we're obsessed with doctors, lawyers and crime-fighters. So what do the consistently high ratings for these types of shows say about us? Perhaps that we are intrigued by people in "service" professions, people who struggle to save lives and promote justice -- we tune in to lose ourselves in their heroism. Or maybe the fact is simply that people who work in medicine and law have greater potential for finding themselves in life-and-death situations, ones that translate well to gripping primetime drama.

Whatever the reason, the viewing public has spoken: If there's a doctor involved (particularly one of the McDreamy variety), we're going to watch. Here are eight of the most popular jobs on TV, with quotes from memorable characters on their professions:

•1-DOCTOR: "I can't think of a single reason why I should be a surgeon, but I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose... there are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it's more than just a game, and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit, but here's the thing; I love the playing field." -- Dr. Meredith Grey, "Grey's Anatomy"

More shows with doctors: "ER," "Help Me Help You," "House," "Lost," "Nip/Tuck," "Scrubs"

•2-LAWYER: "First rule of thumb in practicing law: Always, always promise the client millions and millions of dollars. It's good business." -- Denny Crane, "Boston Legal"

More shows with lawyers: "Brothers and Sisters," "Justice," "Law & Order," "The OC"

•3-POLICE DETECTIVE: "People leave us clues... They speak to us in thousands of different ways. It's our job to make sure we've tried to hear every single thing they've said." -- Gil Grissom, "CSI"

More shows with police detectives: "Cold Case," "Law & Order," "Monk"

•4-FBI AGENT: "The people I go after are cowards. They often prey upon the weaker members of society, such as women and children. There is nothing I would rather do than put the bastards away." -- Elle Greenaway, "Criminal Minds"

More shows with FBI. agents: "Numb3rs," "Without a Trace"

•5-COUNTERTERRORISM AGENT: "If you don't tell me what I want to know, then it'll just be a question of how much you want it to hurt." -- Jack Bauer, "24"

More shows with counterterrorism agents: "NCIS," "Sleeper Cell," "The Unit"

•6-PARANORMAL COMMUNICATOR: "Places aren't haunted. People are haunted." -- Melinda Gordon, "Ghost Whisperer"

More shows with paranormal communicators: "Medium," "Supernatural"

•7-ACTOR: "I got into this business so I wouldn't have to work." -- Vincent Chase, "Entourage"

More shows with actors: "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "30 Rock"

•8-OFFICE ASSISTANT: "I don't think it would be the worst thing if they let me go... It's just, I don't think it's many girls' dream to be a receptionist" -- Pam Beesly, "The Office"

More shows with office assistants: "Entourage," "Ugly Betty"

Meg Donohue is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=909&SiteId=cbmsnhp4909&sc_extcmp=JS_909_home1&GT1=8921&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=167f426a1c3e41e99758a33a68be0142-222018372-XE-2

dad1153

01-13-07, 04:56 PM

Here's a rarity: a review for (a) an episode for a long-running TV show (its rare for these to get noticed unless a big guest star or sweeps stunt happens) (b) airing regularly on Saturday night on (c) OTA network TV. Too bad its not HD! :rolleyes:

TV Review
Without A Trace
A Horrific Murder, Depraved Killer and Justice Denied
By Linda Stasi, New York Post - January 13, 2007

''48 Hours Mystery: Searching for Secrets" - Tuesday night at 10 on CBS
Rating: Three Stars (Out of Four)

If you're the mother or father of a daughter, this is a show you definitely should not watch.

And if you're the mother or father of a daughter, this is a show you definitely should watch.

You shouldn't watch it because Tuesday night's special segment of "48 Hours Mystery" (the regular show will still be seen tonight) will keep you awake - maybe for the rest of your life.

You should watch it because it may somehow help you spot the lunatics out there.

After a Labor Day weekend at home in Richmond, Va., darling 17-year-old freshman Taylor Behl returned to Virginia Commonwealth University.

She'd called her parents, hung out in the dorm with her friends and grabbed a bite with her boyfriend at the local café.

She then went back, told her roommate she was going skateboarding and was never seen alive again.

The horror for her mom, Janet Pelasara, and dad, Matt Behl, began to be realized the next day when her friend reported her missing.

She hadn't come home - not all that unusual for a college kid - but then Taylor didn't go to classes the next day, either.

Local police sprang into action. The video of Taylor leaving her dorm is in its own way one of the most chilling things about this story. The kid, gorgeous, happy, sweet-faced, walks happily out of the dorm, never knowing that she'd be dead within hours. The next video is of her killer waiting in the lobby of her dorm.

Taylor met up with him without thinking anything about it.

See, Ben Fawley was a well-known ex-student-about-campus who looked like every typical college kid - maybe a little more handsome, a little more wild, and known for his crazy hair colors which he changed as often as other kids change their jeans.

Not only was he known to Taylor, but he was known to her parents from a visit she'd made to the school the year before with her dad.

Thing is, Fawley wasn't a typical college kid. Instead, he was in reality a 37-year-old pervert posing as a kid.

After two weeks, the police patched together enough of a scenario from Taylor's friends to take a closer look at him. What they found on his computer alone was enough to fry the guy - disgusting, brutal photos of child rape, and every other form of child porn.

Shortly thereafter they found Taylor's badly decomposed body - dumped 90 miles away -near the home of the parents of another mutual friend of Taylor and Fawley's.

Reporter Erin Moriarty interviews the parents, friends, cops, prosecutors, defense attorneys and the vile killer himself.

Another warning: You will not be happy with the conclusion of this well-reported case.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01132007/tv/without_a_trace_tv_linda_stasi.htm

dad1153

01-13-07, 05:09 PM

TV Note: President Bush is going on CBS' 60 Minutes this Sunday at 8PM ET/PT (Scott Pelley interviews) opposite the season premiere of 24: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml. Me? I'll be watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, thanks! :o

RussTC3

01-13-07, 05:17 PM

URFloorMatt

01-13-07, 05:44 PM

Especially since there's no studio to upgrade, Russ. Plus, Lara Logan in HD would be nice. On the other hand, the rest of them... not so much.

fredfa

01-13-07, 07:21 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Got Milch? 2: The Quickening
By David Kronke Los Angeles Daily News Television Critic in his “The Mayor Of Television” blog January 13, 2007

There's really no way to convey to someone who wasn't there the sort of surreally heady stream-of-consciousness that emanated from the mouth of David Milch as he discussed his upcoming HBO series "John From Cincinnati" Friday at TV press tour. It really was a little unfair of HBO to uncork this on a group of beleaguered TV critics, who had already been subjected to a week's worth of mind-numbing press conferences and were already questioning the nature of reality, to challenge and bewilder them with Milch's questioning the nature of reality so poetically bafflingly so late in the day, so late in the week.

So, here are the choicest bits. The questions have been excised because as Milch himself might agree, questions don't matter; only answers do.

DAVID MILCH: This is a project which, I suppose, started to gestate six or seven years ago, and I guess two years ago Kem (Nunn, executive producer) and I began to collaborate on "Deadwood" and HBO, specifically Carolyn (Strauss, director of HBO original programming), suggested that we might adapt some of the materials that I had been working on in another context in collaboration with Kem and engage the venue of surfing. Is that a sufficiently opaque and tedious presentation?

What Kem and I were interested in engaging were themes having to do with the borders and margins of things -- political, geographical and spiritual as well. And I suppose you could say that -- I would hope that "NYPD Blue" isn't perceived -- it may be perceived initially as a police drama, but I think it sort of reached beyond those borders and certainly "Deadwood" aspired to do that. And I think you'll find that surfing is kind of the door that you walk through, but there's a whole world on the other side.

They are mystical components. In terms of the what's going on of things, that's sort of an unfolding question. And that, I suppose, elliptically was what I had referenced in my previous response that we wanted to examine how things go back-and-forth. I think that one man's mystical is another man's day-to-day. As Luis Guzman, the wonderful character actor, remarked, "If you do that where I'm from, we build you a shrine." In other words, no one thinks that -- so how people deal with the abrupt entrance into their lives of what might be explained or discounted is sort of the subject matter of the material.

I guess that's what I was trying to say in this answer that to my mind reality is a shifting and elusive condition. It redefines itself constantly. The actors find one of my most endearing qualities, my insistence after they have located and beautifully conveyed the state of mind or spirit of a character: I'll say, "Can you try and suggest simultaneously the exact opposite" and then I duck.

And which is to say that, when I was saying that this is a story that takes place on the margins of things, the attempt to identify the coordinates of reality is itself a kind of problematic and conditional effort. It's changing all the time. What constitutes -- where are we when we sleep? What is our sense of reality at that moment? It's, you know, science now suggests to us that what has been perceived as matter for a long time is, in fact, energy. That what looks solid, in fact, is constituted in waves, that Einstein's beautiful mathematical equations which depict the nature of reality don't apply at certain levels. And I think that's true as well about what constitutes the natural and the supernatural. You know, it depends on what foxhole you're in.

William James -- and several of the actors have attempted to take their lives in the aftermath of my protracted speaking about William James -- William James said something to the -- among other things -- "If this life be not a real fight, then it's merely a private theatrical from which one may withdraw at will, but it feels like a real fight -- as if there were something wild in the universe which we with all of our idealities and faithfulnesses are called upon to redeem." And it has seemed both to -- I don't know how many of you are familiar with Mr. Nunn's novels, but as opposed to a rank imposter, he's an extraordinary surfer and an extraordinary novelist. And there is a continuity between the themes which his novels raise and what this series tries to examine, and to the extent that we were saying before that reality can sometimes be a little problematic and so on and there are now -- I know I heard several of you discussing string theory in the corridors earlier.

And the idea being, string theory postulating that the idea of four dimensions, which are agreed upon, is very conditional and that more than likely the only thing that accounts for the variances in the universe between Einstein's ideas and what we actually see is that there are unseen dimensions. And that's sort of the predicate of string theory, of Stephen Hawking and so on.

And what William James speculated was that there are what he called the lawless intrusions. He was fascinated by psychic phenomenon, and what James suggested was that whatever originated the universe, the Big Bang was a chaotic energy, which is now tending toward order. And that for the most part, we can account through certain theorems with all of the phenomena of our experience, but that there are certain abrupt and lawless inexplicable intrusions through essentially what would be described as tears in the fabric of the dimensions we perceive -- John From Cincinnati.

I think surfing -- the first thing to say is I don't have the vaguest idea about surfing in terms of lived experience. But by the same token, I didn't live in "Deadwood" in 1876 either. And what one tries to proceed by analogy in that regard. You know, I'm from Buffalo, New York. There's a wonderful parochialism freedom that kind of a -- from a rust belt, not huge cities, you know. And Freud wrote an essay called the "Narcissism of Perceived Difference." And there's a certain narcissism of perceived difference that pertains in the surfing world too, which is if you don't surf, impossible to understand. And we used to say that from Buffalo -- if you're not from Buffalo -- I mean, I guess you're American.

But you don't really get it. You don't get it. And you say, like, "Well, he's from Rochester."

"What can he know?" As time goes on, you come to realize what seemed to be chasms of difference which cannot be bridged turn out not even to exist. So in terms of surfing, you know, I was talking about this research project in pharmacology into which I was dragooned at the age of --

(Laughter.)

The freon aspect began when I was eight, and then I was transferred over to the alcohol project --

(Laughter.)

-- and then subsequently to narcotics. And in all of that research -- to the extent that there was a coherent intention, it was to ride a wave, which one could generate on one's own terms, that the self was suppressed and the sense of -- I used to -- nitrous oxide. I was involved in the subsidiary project involving nitrous oxide.

And the great thing with nitrous oxide, I was getting teeth filled before I even had teeth.

And the great thing about nitrous oxide is when it hits, you say, everyone is right where they're supposed to be and we're all moving together.

Surfers experience a oneness, a felt sense of oneness, when they're doing it right, I am told. All kidding aside, a decent humility demands, even if you're writing about Rochester and you're from Buffalo, that you pay attention to people from Rochester. And I hope that I've been respectful in -- I feel that it's important to experience even vicariously through the acts of imagination of others and communication and so on what goes on. But the fundamental point is that what you're looking to experience on the wave, the question then becomes, can you live there? Is that a human condition which is tenable? And so having walked through the door, whether it's junk or surf, the subsequent question becomes how much humanity is it possible to fulfill in that condition? And that's the tension Bruce's character is living into, who plays the great surfer of his generation, who circumstance has now forced to encounter what it's like to be a great surfer who can't surf the way he used to. Each of the characters -- Grayson Fletcher, who is in terms of the lineage the inheritor of the great bloodlines of surfing in America and portrays such a character as well on the show is, you know, when you're -- forgive me for going on like this -- but when you're a kid, when you go through puberty, if I remember correctly, there is a sudden sense that you possess the energy of the universe. I think when you surf, you have that sense no matter how old you are.

But the thing is that as you get older you begin to realize that what you felt when you were 13 years old, which we used to express, is I'm going all night. But you can't do it anymore; you can't live there as a permanent condition. And what does that mean?

One of things to the extent that theme then engages with another theme which has to do how we are encouraged by our technology to believe that the disciplines of our biology no longer control us. And that's the character sort of portrayed by Luke Perry who vitalizes those themes. Those are the odd mixtures of the kind of tensions that this story portrays.

QUESTION: How is it different from going in to meet David Milch as opposed to Aaron Spelling or John Cassavettes or someone like that?

BRUCE GREENWOOD: Well, I think you probably witnessed the difference in the last 20 minutes.

Wow, you made it all the way through that? Amazing. Go give yourself a cookie.

Interestingly enough, the producers of "According to Jim" explain their series in the exact same way.

http://www.insidesocal.com/tv/

dad1153

01-13-07, 07:56 PM

Milch was a regular guest on Tom Snyder's old TV shows (on cable's CNBC and on CBS's post-Letterman time slot in the 1990's). Tom, like me, always looked forward to David's nutty ramblings that went on forever yet somehow found a way to make perfect sense when his interviews wrapped-up. Since Milch co-created NYPD Blue with Steven Bochco most of his stories (and questions from both Snyder and the call-in audience) were crime-related or a had a law and justience vibe to them. Who knew back then... :o

dad1153

01-13-07, 08:14 PM

Speaking of 60 Minutes, wouldn't it make sense for the news program to go HD? I understand the reasoning and the difficulty behind getting other news shows in HD (what with all the different news feeds and stuff they have to sort through), but with 60 Minutes they control the news by way of choosing and filming their own segments.

So you could have a full hour of 16x9 HD video.

Same theory applies to The Price Is Right (also on CBS): one location, multiple cameras (which are all HD-ready), etc. = an easy hour of daytime schedule that could be turned into HD. Maybe there is some truth to the idea that older performers/news personalities don't want to be inconvenienced with the make-up/lighting (and diminished perception of being perfect-looking) that comes with a switch to HD. I find it ironic that, for a TV show that has given away more HDTV's as prizes in the past five or so years than any other gameshow on the air, 'TPIR' has yet to take the HD plunge when all they'd have to do down at Television City's Bob Barker Studio is pull the HD switch and be in business.

ABC's The View (which is opposite 'TPIR' in most of the country at 11AM) is HD and that can't hurt its appeal to any viewers looking for something to watch at that hour. The studio and cameras used on 'The View' are also used for NY-based ABC primetime newsmagazines Primetime and 20/20, but are these last show aired in HD? Nope. Like '60 Minutes' on CBS it must be one of those vertical integration business expenses. Either the entire news division switches to HD simultaneously or it's not cost-prohibitive to do it one division/TV show at a time.

fredfa

01-13-07, 08:24 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Notes
Lifetime for guys, MTV bleepfest goes live, and can you have too many bank heist shows?
By Aaron Barnhart Kansas City Star in his blog “TV Barn” January 13, 2007

PASADENA, Calif. -- For years, the Lifetime channel called itself “Television for Women,” and no wonder. More than any other cable network, Lifetime had direct access to millions of female viewers. It had perfected a popular brand of damsel-in-distress entertainment where women were perpetually in danger from their ex-husbands, creepy boyfriends and trendy illnesses.

But ratings aren't what they were, so there's a new Lifetime in town, as evidenced by the new series, “Army Wives,” set to premiere in June. Besides looking like the best thing to come from Lifetime in nearly a decade (since “Any Day Now” in 1998), “Army Wives” sets a new tone for the channel, one in which men are not assumed to be pigs until proven otherwise.

Set at a southern military base, “Army Wives” has a great pedigree. It stars Kim Delaney of “NYPD Blue” and Catherine Bell of “JAG” and comes from producer Mark Gordon, whose most recent credits are a couple of little shows called “Criminal Minds” and “Grey's Anatomy.”

“I don't think it's the women's channel anymore,” Gordon said. “I think that they're broadening their horizons in terms of their audience. So we were very excited to make this multidimensional show with these wonderful actors and these wonderful characters that appeals to a very broad audience.”

Perhaps most striking about “Army Wives” is that, while Delaney and Bell play spouses of military men, the show also features a black power couple in which the husband, played by Sterling K. Brown, is second banana to his wife (Wendy Davis), an ambitious Army officer who's just returned from Afghanistan.

This doesn't mean Lifetime has forgotten how to make the secret sauce. Beginning January 29 and for four straight Mondays, it's presenting movies adapted from the wildly popular romance-mysteries by Nora Roberts. The press session for those was opened by this question to producer Peter Guber: “In your research, did you discover any men who had read Nora Roberts?”

That got a laugh. In response, Guber implied that it didn't really matter, since Roberts' audience is older, married women.

And so, to the men in the room, Guber said, “If you're married and your wife says, 'We're watching this tonight,' there's a good chance you're watching it tonight.”

Other news from the winter press tour

• For the first time in its 16-year history, the MTV Movie Awards will be broadcast live on June 3. This should prove a challenge to producer Mark Burnett (“Survivor”), who's overseeing the broadcast. The awards tend to be quite the bleepfest -- hence the tradition of taping the show. Then again, it's not like the Parents Television Council will be watching or anything.

• Earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, Comedy Central introduced “South Park Mobile,” with clips from all 10 years of the show, plus behind-the-scenes dirt and Q-and-A with the creators of “South Park.” The service will be offered sometime in 2007.

• Donnie Wahlberg will co-star with John Leguizamo in Spike TV's “The Killpit,” and eight-part miniseries about “a bank heist that goes terribly awry.” It's scheduled for this summer.

• ESPN is turning the bestselling book The Bronx Is Burning, about the 1977 New York Yankees, into an eight-part miniseries to air later this year.

http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2007/01/dateline_pasade_3.html#more

fredfa

01-13-07, 09:13 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
PBS schedules a debate
By Bill Goodykoontz Arizona Republic TV Critic in his Critic’s Tour blog January 13, 2007
PASADENA, Calif. -- Let's play inside baseball.

Every TV tour, it seems as if we get into a circular debate with PBS about ... something. It used to be pledge drives; the wisdom of putting old Yanni concerts on during them would be attacked (by us) and defended (by PBS executives, who would note with some wisdom that they put them on because people watched them).

This time it was Ken Burns' latest super-gigantic, best-ever-in-history project, The War. Which doesn't air till September, which means that we may have this debate again in July. At least that gives both sides six months for a time out.

It isn't the content of The War, which includes some language PBS understandably worries that the FCC might find obscene (which would be ridiculous, but that's another story), that was discussed ad nauseam. It was the scheduling.

PBS has the curious habit of scheduling its biggest projects at the worst possible time. And so it is with The War. PBS has scheduled the 14-hour documentary to begin on Sept. 16, which means it'll run right into the teeth of the new fall broadcast season.

This was pointed out -- many times -- to PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger and chief content officer John Boland. The gist of the critic argument is that we will be so swamped with stories and reviews of the new and returning fall shows that we won't have enough time and space to devote to The War. The gist of the PBS argument is that it's a great show -- "It is going to be one of those seminal events, not just in public television history but broadcast history," Kerger said, and while you can't make that claim from the brief clip we saw, it certainly looked good -- and they want to debut it at a time of year when there's a lot of buzz about television.

"PBS cannot go into hibernation every time a commercial season breaks," Boland said, and if that sounds defensive, it's because he sounded defensive. As did the critics taking the other side.

As is often the case with these debates, nothing happened in the end, other than Kerger saying she'd take the complaints about scheduling under advisement. Be interesting to see if they blink.

Historical note: The Civil War, Burns' masterpiece, was seen by 40 million people. It aired in 1990 -- in September. I seem to recall that it got a little coverage. I know, I know, television has changed a lot since then, with a lot more channels to choose from, and The Civil War was a shorter project and a cultural phenomenon. It's difficult to make a direct comparison.

I point it out merely as a way of saying that, one way or the other, I suspect I'll manage to find the time and space to write a lot about The War no matter when it airs.

Just a guess.

Can't wait till April

PASADENA, Calif. -- HBO had sessions for its usual parade of quality shows.

But let's get down to brass tacks: when does The Sopranos come back for its final season?

April 8. Mark it down. (New episodes of Entourage begin then, as well.) David Chase, who created the show, is writing and directing the series finale. Can't wait.

Other HBO notes: David Milch was here, along with the cast of John from Cincinnati -- the show that he's doing now that Deadwood is dead (except for two two-hour movies). It's a show about surfing, and a mysterious stranger, and frankly, it didn't make any sense. Neither did the clip they showed. And any session with Milch is a reminder of how much you don't know -- he went on at length (great length) about William James and Einstein and string theory. Evidently this somehow relates to John from Cincinnati. I would quote him at length, but even in the infinite space of the Internet, it would take up too much space. But here's a small sample:

"For the most part, we can account through certain theorems with all of the phenomena of our experience, but that there are certain abrupt and lawless inexplicable intrusions through essentially what would be described as tears in the fabric of the dimensions we perceive" -- and then, pointing at the actor who plays the title character, "John from Cincinnati."

So that explains it.

Earlier, the quote of the day came from Queen Latifah, who was here for HBO's Life Support, a film about an HIV positive woman trying to educate people in the black community. She plays the woman in question, and she gave such truly inspirational, impassioned answers that at one point someone asked if she could run for office.

"People, people," she said, "I cannot run for office because I did inhale. A little too late for me."

Too bad. She's great.

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

URFloorMatt

01-13-07, 09:33 PM

Same theory applies to The Price Is Right (also on CBS): one location, multiple cameras (which are all HD-ready), etc. = an easy hour of daytime schedule that could be turned into HD. Maybe there is some truth to the idea that older performers/news personalities don't want to be inconvenienced with the make-up/lighting (and diminished perception of being perfect-looking) that comes with a switch to HD. I find it ironic that, for a TV show that has given away more HDTV's as prizes in the past five or so years than any other gameshow on the air, 'TPIR' has yet to take the HD plunge when all they'd have to do down at Television City's Bob Barker Studio is pull the HD switch and be in business.

Maybe it is the personalities, but TPIR is an interesting case because when Barker announced his retirement I just assumed that any hopes of seeing an HD broadcast were completely dead.

Here's an interesting question: anyone know if those occasional primetime TPIR specials aired in HD?

dad1153

01-13-07, 10:19 PM

anyone know if those occasional primetime TPIR specials aired in HD?

To date no TPIR Million Dollar Spectacular (the actual name of these specials) has aired in HD. Later this year CBS will have a primetime 'TPIR' special (probably for the May Sweeps) to celebrate Barker's 35 years with 'TPIR' (and 50 years on television) that was already scheduled before his retirement announcement. Last chance to see Barker in HD, kind-of like those What's My Line? color episodes from the show's last season (1967) that sadly were only taped in B&W kinescopes. Fans still cling to the idea that somewhere there are color kinescopes of these color 'WML?' shows that will allow us to see John Daly, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis and Dorothy Kilgallen in living color. :(

fredfa

01-13-07, 11:19 PM

Critic’s Notebook
Despair, Comfort and ''Friday Night Lights''
By Rich Heldenfels in his Akron Beacon Journal blog

On some bad days, when I couldn't seem to control anything in my life, I took comfort in sitting at a keyboard and putting sentences together. It was something I believed I could do well, something I could give all my focus to, something that felt good to start and even better to finish.

Of course, over time, I finally learned that a page of type doesn't love you back. You have to remember the people in your life to have that. But I could still find some joy on those pages.

I was thinking about this tonight as the bride and I caught up with the three most recent episodes of ''Friday Night Lights,'' one from December that had been sitting in the DVR through the holidays, then the Jan. 3 and 10 telecasts. It does not need to be repeated that I love this show. It may need to be repeated that it is as mired in despair as any show on television.

Yet. Yet. Yet.

Yet as much despair as there is, as unhappy as families are, as often as friends turn on each other, as tight as money gets, as complicated as relationships may be ... at the end of all that, people can find something that they do well. It's football for many, but not all. Matt's father may not be great at being a dad, but he's good at being a soldier. Coach's wife is really good with young people. Buddy, for all his sleazy ways, is a loving father -- and Tyra's mom is as good at being a parent as she is bad at choosing men.

It's important to have that one thing. Part of Jason's quandary is that he has lost that one thing, and he has to find another. The terror inside Smash is based on his fear of losing that one thing -- or, even worse, finding out that he isn't as good as he thought -- and so losing the comfort that comes with it. The lawsuit cuts deep because it could cost the coach his one thing.

Where it gets complicated is in seeing whether you have chosen one thing has real value. Like Smash, the town's identity is based on the one thing of football. But football, the show keeps telling us, is a temporary relief.

It is not love. It is not family. It is not faith. it is not integrity and commitment. Football has aspects of those things, but it is not those things. Because, again as the show keeps telling us, a football game -- like a piece of writing -- ends sooner or later. Life does not.

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/

fredfa

01-13-07, 11:28 PM

Next weekend's NFL Championship Game schedules have been updated at the top of the first post in the thread.

fredfa

01-13-07, 11:32 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Hopelessly devoted to you:
Ken Burns & PBS re-up to 2022 (Press Tour/Day 5)
By Ed Bark former Dallas Morning News TV critic at his website unclebarky.com January 13, 2007

PASADENA, Calif. -- Job security isn't what it used to be, but Ken Burns definitely has it. Public television's Steven Spielberg has inked an exclusive 15-year deal with the network, which would make him 68 when it expires in 2022.

"He's planning to spend the rest of his professional life working in public television," PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger told TV critics Saturday.

Burns, whose grand achievements for PBS include The Civil War, Jazz and Baseball, is now immersed in The War, a 14-hour WWII epic tentatively scheduled to premiere on Sept. 17. He filmed it with expletives undeleted, and Kerger said she's determined to keep it that way. But upcoming Federal Communications Commission rulings on pending "indecency" cases will play a key role in this particular war of words.

"We are spending a tremendous amount of time on this issue," Kerger said. "I'm going to continue to press forward until we come out on the right side."

The colorful language comes from interviews with WWII veterans, but the documentary is "not littered with bad words," Kerger emphasized. In her view, its artistic integrity would be compromised if the threat of heavy fines intimidates PBS stations into airbrushing The War.

Dual feeds are a possibility, Kerger said. PBS chose that option with 2003's The Gin Game in which stars Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore occasionally worked blue.

"If we have a better sense of the FCC, that won't be necessary," said Kerger, who hopes that PBS stations will be emboldened to air The War with salty language intact.

On another front, some critics questioned the wisdom of PBS premiering The War during the official first week of another new fall season.

"What's the definition of insanity in Public Broadcasting?" Kerger and "chief content officer" John Boland were asked.

Boland said the premiere isn't set in concrete, but "PBS cannot go into hibernation every time a commercial season breaks."

Burns' The Civil War and Baseball likewise launched during the heavily trafficked start of a fall season.

Boland earlier announced that Bill Moyers yet again will come home to PBS, this time with a rebooted weekly version of Bill Moyers Journal, which got its start on public television 35 years ago. The program will be back in play on April 25 with "Buying the War," a look at the role of the media in the months before the invasion of Iraq.

"I'm as eager and charged as I was . . . when I entered this game," Moyers said in a statement. "Ponce de Leon would still be around today if he had given up his search for the fountain of youth and just entered journalism."

http://www.unclebarky.com/presstour.html

fredfa

01-13-07, 11:42 PM

TV Notebook
TV Dramas Rip the Cover Off Magazines
By Lola Ogunnaike The New York Times January 14, 2007

Krishtine De Leon, one of six interns picked to star in an MTV reality series set at Rolling Stone, expected an office out of “Almost Famous,” the 2000 movie about the early-1970s heyday of the rock music magazine. “The type of place where people were doing copious amounts of drugs to get their stories in on time, hobnobbing with lots of celebrities, no real rules,” she said.

Instead, she found a workplace that was less like Woodstock and more like Wachovia bank. “It was like any other freaking office with cubicles,” Ms. de Leon, 24, said. “Very typical.”

It’s no surprise that Ms. de Leon expected more flash and glamour, given the proliferation of pop-culture depictions of the magazine industry as a frothy, celebrity-packed playground. Interest in the world of glossy publications and their semi-renowned editors has reached an apogee. There are television shows like “Dirt,” the soapy FX Networks drama set at a celebrity tabloid; “Ugly Betty,” about an unattractive fashion magazine assistant; and now the Rolling Stone reality show, “I’m From Rolling Stone.”

At the same time, chick-lit books with magazine-editor heroines continue to line bookstore shelves: “Little Pink Slips,” the Sally Koslow roman à clef about her life as editor in chief of McCall’s is due in April; and “Black Will Shoot,” a novel by Jesse Washington, a former Blaze editor, about the world of hip-hop magazines, is scheduled for summer. A documentary about the making of the gargantuan Vogue September issue is also in the works.

Why is pop culture fixated on the magazine world? Some of this is the copycat effect: Both the book and film adaptation of “The Devil Wears Prada” were runaway hits, so programming executives and book publishers are eager to repeat those successes.

And why do executives think viewers and readers will care about a backstage peek into magazineland? The notion seems almost quaint, given how the Internet has displaced magazines and books in the affections of many young people, pointed out Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University.

Competition from the Internet, in fact, is one reason magazines have offered up their offices to reality television productions. Two previous shows, “Miss Seventeen,” set at Seventeen, and “The Hills,” whose main character worked at Teen Vogue, were essentially long commercials for those magazines.

Jann Wenner, the founder and editor of Rolling Stone, described reality television as “a very good marketing idea.”

The shows and books all focus on a narrow niche of publishing. “All of these shows take place at magazines that deal with fashion and celebrity,” Professor Thompson said. “They’re not set at Time or The New Yorker. The intellectual magazines are struggling. The big fashion magazines and celebrity magazines still have a very prominent place in American culture, because the culture is obsessed, absolutely ravenous, about all things celebrity right now.”

Editors of the glossies, who once toiled in relative obscurity, have become more visible in recent years, offering relationship advice and beauty tips on morning talk shows. Many are demicelebrities themselves.

And glossy magazines do lend themselves easily to narrative. “You’ve got divalike people in positions of power,” said Andrew Essex, the former editor in chief of Absolute, a magazine for the rarefied users of black American Express cards. “You have hierarchal positions that inevitably produce conflict. You’ve got overeducated and underpaid people who are completely self-aggrandizing, and these people are in the storytelling business, so they know how to form themselves into characters.”

Much of the magazinecentric entertainment has been created by current and former magazine employees, who are following that old adage “write what you know.”

Tim Brooks, an author of “The Complete Directory to Primetime Television,” believes the glossy editorial world is enjoying a higher profile because “one of the imperatives of most networks is to appeal to younger women, and these places provide a setting that touches on issues that speak to this target demographic.”

Thus far it appears that audiences don’t care about the magazine industry quite so much as television executives, book publishers and filmmakers want them to. “I’m From Rolling Stone,” which made its debut last Sunday, drew a mere 369,000 viewers. The audience for “Dirt” fell from 3.7 million the first week to 2.4 million the second, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Books haven’t fared much better. Memoirs by Linda Wells, the editor in chief of the beauty magazine Allure, and Jean Godfrey-June, the beauty editor at Lucky, weren’t big sellers. No one even remembers the names of most of the me-too chick-lit novels starring divalike magazine editors.

“To expect any of these books to do as well as ‘Devil Wears Prada’ is to court disaster,” said Sara Nelson, the editor of Publishers Weekly.

And yet, from “Funny Face” to “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” pop culture’s interest in the world of glossy magazines endures, often coming around cyclically like platform shoes. An earlier moment, in the ’90s, offered the sit-coms “Anything but Love,” “Suddenly Susan” and “Central Park West.” Only “Just Shoot Me,” a comedy starring David Spade about life at Blush magazine, was a hit.

When it comes to television, Mr. Brooks thinks that the shows that do best feel accessible to the average American. “The downside of being in a magazine setting is that it is a world that ordinary viewers can’t relate to,” he said. “There is a certain amount of wanting to aspire upward, but in general you’re divorcing yourself from the “Friends,” “Roseanne” world that’s totally familiar to most people.”

Matthew Carnahan, the executive producer and creator of “Dirt,” said he was attracted to the magazine business as a subject because it opens a window into a world where the potential for interesting and original stories is abundant. “As viewers we’ve been beaten to death with the legal, medical and cop franchises,” he said. “This world offers a new narrative menu.”

Ultimately, the success of these shows and books will depend less on their invocations of goody bags and fashion front rows than on character development, Mr. Brooks said. “Do you like or care about these characters, that’s what matters,” he said. “You have to want to invite them into your home.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/fashion/14magazine.html?ref=media&pagewanted=print

fredfa

01-13-07, 11:53 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
ESPN gaga over NASCAR
By Hal Boedeker Orlando Sentinel Television Critic his TV Guy blog

How committed is ESPN to NASCAR?

Jed Drake, an ESPN senior vice president, knew Thursday that it was "37 days and counting to the Busch Race at Daytona." Then, for the first time in six years, ESPN will present a NASCAR race.

"We fully intend to deliver and make this a perfect marriage between NASCAR and ESPN," Drake said. He rattled off all the ESPN properties that will highlight NASCAR, such as ESPN2, ESPN on ABC, ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN the magazine and on and on.

"It's the most comprehensive presentation, and you will see NASCAR every day on all of those platforms continually," Drake said. "It's a multimedia partnership that's never been touched in the world of sports television."

Let's face it: ESPN is gaga over NASCAR and wants fans to know it. Will you appreciate that commitment? Will ESPN deliver on its promises?

Drake noted that the final 17 races of the NEXTEL Cup will be on ESPN and ABC.

"The Busch series is a hidden gem in the package," Drake said. "No other entity has made the effort, the commitment, to do the Busch series like we will. We are going to treat it with every level of dedication."

Analyst Rusty Wallace picked up on that theme. "Next year is going to be one of the most dramatic years ever in the sport of NASCAR," he said. "ESPN is coming on with guns ablazing. They're going to take the NASCAR Busch series and elevate it to heights it's never been elevated to."

Wallace said ESPN would used 24 cameras to shoot the Busch series instead of the eight usually used.

Oh, and there will be new music. Aerosmith has rewritten the song "Back in the Saddle" to herald ESPN's presentation of NASCAR.

"That will become akin to, in some fashion, to what we've been able to achieve with Hank [Williams Jr.] on 'Monday Night Football,'" Drake said. "it is very, very good."

You'll be the judge. What do you make of the ESPN promotional push?

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2007/01/espn_gaga_over_.html

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:03 AM

TV Review
“Rome”
Lucky for us, 'Rome' wasn't built in a season
Mark Dawidziak Cleveland Plain Dealer Television Critic Sunday, January 14, 2007

There's this HBO drama set in a city where the mean streets are choked with deceit, death and double-dealing. It's a place where you regularly encounter morally ambiguous characters spewing profanity and scheming for power.

No, we're not talking about the muddy, bloody mining town of "Deadwood." We're talking about a series where battle-tested loyalties, sexual intrigue, greed and sudden explosions of violence complicate the ever-shifting alliances.

No, we're not talking about "The Sopranos," either. The HBO series of the moment is "Rome," which kicks off its second season at 9 tonight.

The last original episode of "Rome" aired in November 2005, so fans of the lavishly produced series have been waiting quite awhile for the empire to strike back. It does so in grand fashion with tonight's stunning second-season opener, which blazes along like a runaway chariot on the Appian Way.

This is the giddy joy ride "Rome" resembled during the best stretches of its 12-episode rookie season. When full horse power kicked in, it raced across the screen, wheels greased by a slick for mula that seemed part prime- time soap, part Shakespearian drama, part sword- and-san dal action-adventure romp, part "God father" epic, part sex farce and part History Channel documentary.

A complex and difficult vision to sustain? Indeed, it was, and "Rome" didn't always manage the trick in that uneven first season. There were times when this chariot, as impressively constructed as it was, would slip a wheel.

Four of the second and final season's 10 episodes were available to critics, and the same pattern seems to be emerging from this sprawling HBO and BBC co-production. After tonight's exhilarating hour, the drama hits its share of bumpy passages.

Still, no matter how badly it roams, the HBO series always steers us back to fun and fascinating territory. As strained as things get as the foul language piles up higher than the corpses, "Rome" never is in danger of collapse.

Much is made of the intricate plots, the handsome production values and the historical research that provide rich hues to this dazzling mosaic that is "Rome." It all merits attention, of course, but the real glory of "Rome" is its superb cast.

The wily performances gleam brighter than the most highly polished helmet. They glide you over the rough spots, keeping you entranced for the next jaw-dropping moment, which never is lurking too far off behind the towering columns of "Rome."

Even when mouthing vile obscenities, these mostly British stars bring an undeniable touch of elegance to the bawdiest and goriest of proceedings.

For those coming late to the party, the erratic first season of "Rome" started in 52 B.C., introducing us to the odd-couple team of two Roman soldiers with vastly different approaches to life: free-spirited Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) and discipline-minded Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd). Throughout the course of that first season, we saw Gaius Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds) solidify his military and political power, emerging as the empire's unquestioned ruler.

The second season picks up the action in 44 BC, seconds after the assassination of Caesar in the Roman Forum. Death frames the entire episode, with a near-mad Vorenus cradling the body of his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who jumped to her death in the final moments of the first season.

The conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus (Tobias Menzies) would seem to be in control, but Mark Antony (James Purefoy) quickly seizes the political advantage. All the while, young Octavian (Max Pirkis), Caesar's adopted son and heir, is coolly assessing the volatile situation. His mother, Atia (Polly Walker), sides with Antony, her lover.

What will the ruthless, amoral Atia do when events bring about the inevitable clash between Octavian and Antony?

Meanwhile, Pullo and his new wife, Eirene (Chiara Mastalli), return to Rome, trying to bring Vorenus back from the brink of insanity.

By the fourth episode, David Bamber's crafty Cicero has established himself as one of the most consistently entertaining characters to follow. And any level of consistency is a good thing in "Rome." The lack of this quality has been the chink in its armor.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/mark_dawidziak/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1168682302185130.xml&coll=2

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:19 AM

TV Review
“24”
New day in Jack's dark world
Mark Dawidziak Cleveland Plain Dealer Television Critic Sunday, January 14, 2007

Jack Bauer looks awful. I'm not trying to be unkind. You might not look so good your self after spending 20 months in a Chinese prison cell.

When we first glimpse Jack in tonight's sixth-season opener of "24," he's hardly able to stand up straight. He seems disoriented and confused. He barely can talk above a whisper. And he has a beard full enough to suggest that he ultimately confounded the Chinese by impersonating Denver Pyle's Uncle Jesse character on "The Dukes of Hazzard."

Jack is back, all right, but can he come all the way back from 20 months of torture, loneliness and beard growth? During this hellish ordeal, he never uttered a word, we are told. When the heroic counter-terrorist operative does start talking, one of the things you'll hear him say is, "I don't know how to do this anymore."

Can this be true? Well, I'm not going to give away anything big about the sixth season, which gets off to an intriguing, often-disturbing two-hour start at 8 tonight on Fox.

But one thing seems clear about the murky circumstances that call Jack back from exile: A major theme for "24" will be the price we pay as individuals and a society in combating terrorism.

I mean, let's face it, Jack has done some pretty horrible things, to himself and others during the five seasons of "24." He rationalized his actions, and we rationalized them, in the interest of protecting American lives at all costs. It would be beyond unrealistic to imagine he hasn't paid and will continue to pay a terrible price.

And this brings us to the most compelling reason to watch the sixth season of "24," which continues with two more hours at 8 p.m. Monday, settling into its regular time slot with the fifth hour airing 9-10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22. Kiefer Sutherland's portrayal of Jack never has been more textured, more nuanced, more riveting. He has grown mightily as an actor in this role, and, as a consequence, Jack has grown more interesting.

Jack is damaged goods, without question, yet the heart of the hero still is beating strong. The measure of a hero is not the accomplishment. It's how much had to be overcome to reach that accomplishment.

You look into Jack's face during the first 15 minutes of tonight's opener, and you see a road map of pain and soul-searing conflict. You wonder: How much of himself has this man sacrificed?

The poor fellow has always carried around more than his share of emotional and psychological baggage, but by the time you reach the double shocker that ends Monday's fourth hour, he's carrying around a whole storage warehouse.

Can this season measure up to last?

Coming off his Emmy victory in late August, Sutherland is on track to have his finest "24" season yet. That doesn't necessarily mean "24" is on track to having its best season yet.

Indeed, the main challenge for the increasingly world-weary Jack isn't how to save the world from another harrowing threat. The much bigger challenge as Day Six begins is how his high-impact, high-tech, high-wire act of a series can live up to its outstanding fifth season.

Certainly, Day Six doesn't get off to the kind of pulse-pounding, slam-bang, thrill-ride four-hour start that Day Five treated us to in January last year. These four hours are far darker and more deliberate.

Still, the day is just getting started, and consistency in style and logic never has been the show's strong suit. It's a drama that jumps to life for absolutely mesmerizing stretches. Typically, it starts and ends very strong, wandering at times in the middle episodes. That was true of even Day Five, which was the best season.

It's a mistake to make up your mind too quickly about the characters on "24." They tend to surprise you. The same holds true for the overall direction of a season. Don't jump to hasty conclusions. Day Six may end up surpassing Day Five.

But there are some clunky and, even worse, preachy moments in the four hours made available to critics. Clunky? Somebody thought the odd-couple bickering and bantering between Counter Terrorist Unit contractors Milo Pressman (Eric Balfour) and Morris O'Brian (Carlo Rota) would qualify as comic relief. It doesn't. Preachy? I know the producers and writers are trying to make a point about dangers to civil rights and individual liberties, but, for crying out loud, the strident, heavy-handed lines sound as if they were cribbed from a propaganda pamphlet.

Even with these missteps, don't think for a second that this in any way is a weak four-hour start for Day Six. "24" can be slightly off its game and still be the best suspense show on television.

Nobody does this serial drama thing better, and if "24" continues to seem a little off this year, keep in mind that it's only suffering in comparison to itself. Not even FX's "The Shield" and HBO's "Deadwood" are in its class when it comes to creating an anything-might-happen sense of danger and tension.

Out of prison and into a new plot

By now, you know how this international intrigue game of "24" is played. Each season represents one tough day in the life of Jack Bauer. Each of the season's 24 episodes represent one hour of that day.

The game is one of beat the clock. Jack has 24 hours to stop a terrorist threat. He gets the call in the opening minutes. He saves the world in the closing minutes.

In Day One, for instance, Jack was trying to stop an assassination attempt on U.S. Sen. David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), who was running for president. In Day Two, Palmer, then president, asked Jack to stop the detonation of a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. In Day Three, Jack, despite getting addicted to heroin during an undercover assignment, was trying to prevent the release of a weapons-grade virus. In Day Four, Jack was racing the clock to keep a nuclear missile from hitting Los Angeles. In Day Five, weaponized nerve gas posed the danger.

When Day Six begins, we learn that Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside), David's idealistic brother, is president. Jack, kidnapped by the Chinese at the end of Day Five, is languishing in that Chinese prison.

For 11 weeks, the country has been rocked by a series of suicide bombings in major cities. The president's icy chief of staff, Thomas Lennox (Peter MacNicol), has taken advantage of the national panic to push through increasingly tough security measures. His defenders say he is practical. ("Security has a price.") His critics, including the president's sister, lawyer Sandra Palmer (Regina King), thinks he is endangering the Constitution.

The head of CTU's Los Angeles office, Bill Buchanan (James Morrison), believes the terrorist behind the attacks is charismatic Hamri Al-Assad (Alexander Siddig). A deal has been arranged, and the key to locating Al-Assad is Jack Bauer. To give anything more away would be crueler than the worst tortures thrown at Jack.

While the action picks up considerably in the brisker second hour, this is, without question, the darkest, most grim opening yet. And that's saying something for "24."

It also might be saying something about how the producers see the state of the world. Many things are quite grim, but it's Jack's nature to keep hoping, keep battling, keep believing. And as played by Sutherland, he keeps getting more fascinating.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/mark_dawidziak/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1168682020185130.xml&coll=2

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:28 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Want variety? Check out cable networks
By Gail Pennington St. Louis Post-Dispatch Television Critic Sunday, Jan. 14 2007

PASADENA, CALIF. — On cable, there's something for everyone. Possum fanciers and puppet aficionados. People who like wolves, and those who prefer wenches.

For four days in Pasadena, dozens of cable networks — a slice of the spectrum available in most homes — have been showing their wares to gathered TV critics, highlighting programs as different as "The Dark Ages" and "Dirt," as varied as "Spring Watch USA" and "Tori and Dean: Inn Love."

The things you learn.

• "Boomtown" stars Donnie Wahlberg and Jason Gedrick team up again in the A&E movie "Kings of South Beach," due March 12. Wahlberg is "the charismatic club promoter who reinvented Miami's South Beach as a nightlife mecca." A&E is also developing unscripted shows, including one about a matchmaker and the self-explanatory "Alien Encounters."

A&E was created as the Arts & Entertainment Network but has ditched that designation.

"Our real-life series are doing so well, we have a huge audience," exec Tana Jamieson boasted.

• The History Channel has a long list of new series, including "Ancient
Discoveries" (Jan. 23), looking at "how our ancestors' grandest ideas mirror those of modern society"; "The Dark Ages" (March 4), a two-hour overview of the thousand years after the fall of Rome; and "Cities of the Underworld" (April), which sends St. Louis native Eric Geller into sewers and tunnels to explore "the amazing secrets simmering just beneath one's feet."

"The Dark Ages" were marked by "famine, plague, bloodshed — all the things that make the History Channel what it is," channel veep Charlie Maday said.

• All her friends love "Dirt," insisted Courteney Cox, who promoted the FX series wearing a severe black shirtdress and picking her fingernails, interjecting curt comments between questions. Cox plays a tabloid editor in the drama, which debuted to negative reviews and (FX says) good ratings.

• Tori Spelling and husband Dean McDermott don't worry that their Oxygen reality series (March 21), in which they open an inn, will break up their marriage, despite the poor track record for other celebrity couples on unscripted shows.

"We intend to be the exception," McDermott said.

• The National Geographic Channel could round up no wolves to promote "A Man Among Wolves" (spring), the story of how Shaun Ellis spent a year and a half raising three abandoned wolf pups. But Animal Planet showed off lots of extraneous animals for "Spring Watch USA," which will use everything from bird's nest cameras to in-burrow video to track the coming of spring.

Each of the hosts, including Jeff Corwin, Vanessa Garnick and David Mizejewski, got a critter to hold while answering questions. Mizejewski lucked out with Bruno, a well-behaved opossum; Corwin fared well with Cartman the porcupine while the grapes held out, then wound up with a quill in his hand.

"Nature is the ultimate when it comes to reality TV," Corwin said, adding, "Ow!"

• The only thing cuter than the Animal Planet critters were the puppet stars of
the Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites," from John Tartaglia of "Avenue
Q" fame.

The show, which premièred Saturday, will introduce preschoolers to original songs by some of the greats of musical theater, including Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked"). Even Stephen Sondheim has expressed interest.

"I think we're going to do 'Sweeney Todd'," says Ginger, a puppet with pink antennae.

• The wenches? Those refugees from a Renaissance Faire were wandering around a BBC America party for "Robin Hood," a 13-part drama written by Dominic Minghella. If they got cold in their low-cut bodices, they could always put on one of the souvenir sweatshirts the network called "Robin Hoodies."

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/emaf.nsf/Popup?ReadForm&db=stltoday%5Centertainment%5Ccolumnists.nsf&docid=95961B22C14D32F4862572610082BEB9

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:48 AM

Ken H has posted a fascinating Newsweek article on John Malone and the future of DirecTV and HD...you can read it here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=787121

keenan

01-14-07, 04:03 AM

Ken H has posted a fascinating Newsweek article on John Malone and the future of DirecTV and HD...you can read it here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=787121
Good read, that all-HD service would be a dream come true, especially with the SD nets I watch finally going HD.

fredfa

01-14-07, 11:14 AM

I suspect Malone taking control of DirecTV is a nightmare for cable operators.

fredfa

01-14-07, 11:45 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Sunday’s Schedule

Some real news is expected later today as the networks get started with the presentation by ABC. Steve McPherson, ABC’s President of Entertainment kicks off the session in a few minutes. And later this morning most of the stars of “Lost” will attend the day’s first panel discussion with the critics.

This afternoon ABC will present a show-runners panel with the folks who guide "Grey's Anatomy" "Desperate Housewives", "Brothers & Sisters", "Men In Trees" and "Ugly Betty" scheduled to answer questions.

fredfa

01-14-07, 11:58 AM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
The TV Column
What if PBS Staged a 'War' and Nobody Came?
By Lisa de Moraes The Washington Post Sunday, January 14, 2007

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 13 Desperate TV critics threw themselves at the feet of PBS suits and begged them not to debut Ken Burns's new 14-hour documentary "The War" during so-called Premiere Week -- when most of the series on the commercial broadcast networks would make their debuts -- because it was sure to get buried in the avalanche.

PBS President Paula Kerger, who'd come to Winter TV Press Tour 2007 to meet with the critics, called Burns's new documentary about World War II a seminal TV event, not just in PBS history but in broadcast history. She also announced that Burns had signed a deal to be exclusive to PBS through the year 2022 -- signaling, she said, that he planned to make documentaries at PBS for the rest of his career.

Critics specifically warned that if "The War" debuted on Sept. 16, as planned, editors would not let them write about it as extensively as if it debuted one week earlier or later -- nor would they be allowed to put the project, on which Burns has worked five years, on the covers of their weekly TV supplements.

It was, we think, the first time in the history of the TV Press Tour the critics have actually begged any TV execs to let them be more effective shills for their programs.

Kerger and John Boland, PBS's chief content officer, listened patiently to the critics, and then Boland said "nuts to you" as nicely as he knew how.

"We believe this will be the most important program on television in September," Boland said.

It's like they live in Brigadoon or something, these PBS people. Have they heard of "Grey's Anatomy"?

PBS, Boland said, smiling patiently as if explaining something to a much-loved but slow child, "cannot go into hibernation" just because it's Premiere Week. He then went into full-bore PBS "we need to be there, providing high-quality programming 365 days a year, regardless of what those commercial networks are doing, because we are public servants" mode.

At which point the top of at least one critic's head blew off, and he let Boland have it, explaining heatedly that if they would just launch the show one Sunday earlier or later, "you guys would almost be guaranteed more coverage." He added that "You have friends in the room who love your stuff" but can't help PBS out "because you're determined to play chicken and you lose every single time," concluding, "What's the definition of 'insanity'?"

Boland, somewhat shaken, responded that he heard what the critic was saying "but there are a lot of other factors" and started talking about "footprint" and multiple plays, and DVD and video on demand. But he did wind down with: "We haven't published the schedule and we'll talk about it."

Phew!

The rest of the PBS executive Q&A session covered old ground. PBS still does not know if the adult language spoken by World War II veterans will get the Federal Communications Commission's World War II Exemption (see "Saving Private Ryan") but maintains the language has been used sparingly and for good reason.

Meanwhile, "Masterpiece Theatre" still does not have a corporate sponsor, but Karger is optimistic. And it appears PBS is no longer looking for a single sponsor, a la "ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre," having failed to persuade any corporate entity to shell out the measly $8 million-ish it takes to become the sole sponsor. Not even ExxonMobil itself -- which you'd think, having jacked up gasoline prices to over three bucks a gallon last year, might be well advised to spend some of that windfall financing this brilliant if somewhat old-skewing gem of broadcast television.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Sitting in a ballroom jammed with TV critics listening to David Milch pontificate about his new HBO series, "John From Cincinnati," is a lot like Audrey Hepburn sitting in that divey Paris nightclub jammed with beatniks listening to Prof. Flostre explore "empathicalism" in "Funny Face" -- you know, the flick that Gap ad for skinny black pants was snatched from.

The guy's got an ego the size of Saskatchewan, he yaks on endlessly about who knows what, which nobody understands but they worship him anyway because he sounds sooooo brainy and makes them feel like they're not just the guys stuck covering "1 vs. 100." Heck no -- they're empathicalists!

Milch, best known for his work on ABC's "NYPD Blue" and, more recently, HBO's "Deadwood," has created "John From Cincinnati." HBO says "JFC" is about a family of super-surfers living in Imperial Beach, Calif. There's now-ascetically-withdrawn (TV Column note: but still hot) grandfather Mitch (played by Bruce Greenwood), his gifted-surfer grandson Shaun (Greyson Fletcher), Shaun's addicted derelict dad Butchie (Brian Van Holt) and frustrated grandma Cissy (Rebecca De Mornay).

Milch and the cast came to Winter TV Press Tour 2007 late one day, allegedly to discuss the new series. It started much like any other press tour Q&A session:

Critic: "David, how did you come up with this?"

Milch: "This is a project which started to gestate six or seven years ago and I guess two years ago Kem [Nunn, co-creator and exec producer] and I began to collaborate on 'Deadwood' and HBO . . . suggested we might adapt some of the materials I had been working on in another context in collaboration with Kem and engage the venue of surfing. Is that a sufficiently opaque and tedious presentation?"

Critic: "This is as far from the other stuff as we've seen, because you've done gritty places and so on . . . very different from California and the beaches. What is it about it that attracted you?"

Milch [sarcastically]: "Did you find that scene where Butchie was [shooting up] sufficiently pastoral?"

Feeling he'd sufficiently put down the critics -- an important part of their relationship -- Milch settles in and truly gets into his groove. Some choice examples:

"One man's mystical is another man's day-to-day. As Luis Guzman, the wonderful character actor, remarked, 'If you do that where I'm from, we build you a shrine.' In other words, no one thinks that -- so how people deal with the abrupt entrance into their lives of what might be explained or discounted is sort of the subject of the material."

"Reality is a shifting and elusive condition. It redefines itself constantly. The actors find one of my most endearing qualities my insistence after they have located and beautifully conveyed the state of mind or spirit of a character, I'll say, 'Can you try and suggest simultaneously the exact opposite?' "

(Milch turns and looks at De Mornay, sitting next to him onstage, and begins to stroke her arm, while De Mornay scowls and generally looks like she'd like to kill the HBO flunkie who decided she should sit next to Milch.)

"When I was saying that this is a story that takes place on the margins of things, the attempt to identify the coordinates of reality is itself a kind of problematic and conditional effort. It's changing all the time. What constitutes -- where are we when we sleep? What is our sense of reality at that moment? Science now suggests to us that what has been perceived as matter for a long time is, in fact, energy." (Some critics have begun to droop. Others are still upright, but their eyes are glazing over. Still others have put on headphones and are quietly listening to music on their Nanos.)

"I don't know how many of you are familiar with Mr. Nunn's novels, but as opposed to a rank imposter, he's an extraordinary surfer and an extraordinary novelist. And there is a continuity between the themes which his novels raise and what this series tries to examine, and to the extent that we were saying before that reality can sometimes be a little problematic and so on, and there are now -- I know I heard several of you discussing string theory in the corridors earlier."

One of the last critics left conscious asked: "If you could have finished ['Deadwood'] with a 12-episode fourth season, would that have been your . . . first choice?"

Milch: "You know, the big thing to keep in mind when you hear those sort of statements, that I had planned on a fourth season on this -- I'm a sociopath."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/13/AR2007011301124_pf.html

archiguy

01-14-07, 12:05 PM

A milestone has occurred on the AVS Programming Forum. Fred's OFTP thread has quietly surpassed the venerable LOST thread for the most replies in this forum's history, I believe. Not quite there yet with total views (that thread is still the first, and only, member of the "million hit" club), but that milestone, too, is now within the sights of Fredfa (and his trusty sidekick, Dad1153). Good job, boys. (Cross-posted.) :)

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:29 PM

Thanks, archi. But once "Lost" begins airing again, that thread will once again take off and leave us in the dust here at HOTP.

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:33 PM

TV Review
“Extras”
TV's biggest loser is Gervais' sad sack
By Melanie McFarland Seattle Post-Intelligencer TV Critic

Every celebrity story has its ugly chapters, when a star is forced to compromise his self-esteem by appearing in forgettable flops or, worse, attaching himself to the worst dreck the entertainment medium ever vomited.

Getting your name out there is everything, see. That's what makes chasing fame such a thankless business, one requiring an iron stomach and an unflappable willingness to withstand all manner of humiliation.

Andy Millman is perfect for the job, although in this second season of "Extras" (10 PM ET/PT Sundays, HBO) one wonders if the quest for celebrity won't beat him into a sidewalk stain.

Ricky Gervais' HBO comedy, a co-production with BBC, proves that "The Office" was no fluke -- although, thanks to the success of the American remake, his first BBC series has without a doubt received far more attention.

Kind of appropriate, when you think about it; why should a comedy about those nameless faces populating films and television backgrounds be front and center on HBO? The premium channel that has its cool quotient riding on "Entourage," not a chunky guy who stammers his way through uncomfortable conversation.

We don't mean to imply "Extras" isn't cool. The second season has guest appearances by Orlando Bloom, Coldplay's Chris Martin, "Harry Potter's" Daniel Radcliffe and music legend David Bowie, and even without them in the mix, Gervais is about as edgy as TV comedy stars get these days.

Spend 30 minutes with his pudgy, self-deprecating Millman, a middle-age schlub who quit his day job because he was convinced he had "it," and you'll see why. Few stars can write and play a kicked-in-the-mouth underdog as smartly as Gervais does here.

In season two, Millman doesn't just ask for humiliation, he attracts it. Forty-something and desperate for attention, the "background artist" thinks his big break has arrived when his pilot script, "When the Whistle Blows," is made into a series by the BBC.

But in classic TV industry fashion, the network meddles and strains it into a catchphrase-driven pulp. Pandering to the lowest common denominator, "When the Whistle Blows" is rife with crass jokes and spit-takes. Millman's character is forced to wear huge glasses and a wig while cackling "Is 'e 'avin' a laugh?" every 10 seconds. Not even his imbecilic agent, Darren Lamb (series co-writer and co-creator Stephen Merchant), watches it.

In fact, desperate to find a positive review to share with Andy, he reads him a few lines from one on "Wind in the Willows."

Millions of other Brits watch it though, which is most unfortunate for Andy. That may grant him his wish, because he is famous -- famous for being the star of an abysmal sitcom.

This allows "Extras" to explore the various strata of fame and all its perils, because Andy is recognizable, but a star? Not hardly.

Moderate exposure means he and his delightfully dim best friend, Maggie ("Ugly Betty's" Ashley Jensen), gain access to London's best spots, but that only makes it easier for the beautiful people to ridicule Andy to his face. Not even elder statesman David Bowie is above it, and he has enough accolades and style to know better.

Poor Andy makes the mistake of sidling up to Bowie at a posh bar and emotionally unburdening himself to him, thinking a fellow celebrity will understand his pain. Instead, Bowie cuts him off and, as if to remind him he's a peon appealing to an uncaring god, turns to a nearby piano and makes Andy's woes into a catchy ditty about a pathetic little loser who should off himself.

"He sold his soul for a shot at fame/ Catchphrase and wig, and the jokes are lame/ He's got no style, he's got no grace,/ He's banal and facile! He's a fat waste space!"

Gervais established himself as a genius at supremely uncomfortable comedy long ago, but by making his sad sack the butt of the joke in "Extras" -- one lacking the shield of cluelessness David Brent had in "The Office" -- he gives the audience a way of empathizing with him while laughing at him and at his circumstances.

Still, the reason we feel for Andy is because his experiences validate what so many of us think about celebrities, an idea driven home by grocery checkout celebrity rags and tabloid programs: One of the greatest spoils of celebrity is the license to act like a jerk with total impunity.

And "Extras" guest stars play along with gusto. Bloom transforms into an egocentric star obsessed with being a top-ranked hunk in magazine polls -- threatened, naturally, by "Pirates of the Caribbean" co-star and former People magazine Sexiest Man Alive Johnny Depp.

Radcliffe plays himself as a horny adolescent, swinging around an unrolled condom and hitting on Maggie by confiding that he's "done it with a girl, intercourse-wise." This leads to a riotous exchange with Dame Diana Rigg -- the second funniest bit behind Bowie's nightclub act.

Gervais once hinted that these six episodes of "Extras" may mark the end of the series, which isn't unreasonable, since his version of "The Office" only consisted of 14 episodes and a wrap-up special. He has since remarked that he and Merchant had such a terrific time with this second round that he may be up for a third.

Ordinarily, when a series creator is ready to end something, it's for the best to follow that instinct. Nothing ruins great series faster than continuing after the creators lose heart. But with "Extras," Gervais and Merchant continue to maintain a 100 percent success rate. If they can find it in their hearts to go on, they should.

Television needs more comedy like theirs, and desperately. For the sake of elevating the medium, let's elevate "Extras" to the status of necessary viewing.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/299526_tv13.html

dad1153

01-14-07, 12:37 PM

Not quite there yet with total views (that thread is still the first, and only, member of the "million hit" club), but that milestone, too, is now within the sights of Fredfa (and his trusty sidekick, Dad1153). Good job, boys. (Cross-posted.) :)

I don't know how to feel that I've been perceived as the Burt Ward to Fredfa's Adam West! ;)

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:39 PM

Critic’s Notebook
Catfight!
With "Rome's" Lindsay Duncan
By David Kronke Los Angeles Daily News Television Critic in his “The Mayor Of Television” blog January 14, 2007

This season, “Rome” will feature the bloodiest catfight in – well, ever, when two of the late Julius Caesar’s mistresses, Servilia of the Junii (Lindsay Duncan) and Atia (Polly Walker) mix it up for your pleasure and edification. As they say, it’s not for the squeamish – it’s probably not for people familiar with the basic concept of squeamishness.

Duncan was in town this week to promote HBO’s upcoming film “Longford,” but when we sat for a chat, she happily discussed the impending cage match between Servilia and Atia.

“It’s fun going to the extremes,” she said. “Since they’re never going to be girlfriends, you may as well go as far down that road as far as you go.”

When those two go at one another, it’s a little hard to choose sides; they’re both vicious opportunists.

Though Duncan wishes to object to that point: “I always see my character as absolutely moral,” she laughed. “I think she’s occupying the moral high ground, but I’m finding that very few people agree with me.” And she laughed again. “A journalist told me the other day, ‘God, your character is so mean.’ And Atia is…?

“(Servilia) starts, morally, from a pretty sound position and reacts to things that happen around her. She’s a scorned woman, a wronged woman, so I went with her all the way. I wish she had a few more jokes, but I’m with her all the way. She’s doing all the right things.”

Of the impending battle royale, Duncan said, “It certainly gets more intense. I knew that was coming, but only in the broadest sense. It’s sort of a long, drawn-out catfight between Atia and Servilia. It’s great to do. It does get extreme. But everything about ‘Rome’ is extreme. It wasn’t a polite place. At the beginning of the second series, it’s every man, woman and child for themselves. And I really like that.”

A sizable chunk of that notorious $100-million budget probably went into the bloody makeup Duncan sports in one particularly grisly sequence.

“I looked so horrific,” Duncan recalled. “And I would forget it, and I’d be sitting in the dressing room, and people would come up and see me that day” – she laughed at the memory – “I had such fun because people’s jaws were hitting the floor. Oh, my God. Even people in the business were pretty shocked.

“The funniest thing was, we were shooting a scene which was quite a way from the dressing rooms, and my costume was unmoveable, weighed down with blood, makeup and other unmentionables, or what was supposed to be unmentionables,” she continued. “So I was to get in a car to go back, and the car door would open and the driver would look at me and say, ‘Do not get into my car.’ And we’d have to put plastic sheeting all over the seats.”

“I’ve got a photograph of it that I still haven’t shown my son, because it’s so horrific,” she admitted. And her son is 15, old enough to sneak into R-rated horror flicks and play Xbox’s most grisly games. So you can just imagine.

http://www.insidesocal.com/tv/

CPanther95

01-14-07, 12:40 PM

Holy back-handed compliment, Batman! :D

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:44 PM

Critic’s Notebook
Rockin' 'round the '24' clock
By Rob Owen Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV Editor January 14, 2007

It's not a spoiler to say that Jack Bauer is likely to survive another season of Fox's "24" even though it begins tonight (8 p.m, Fox) with the top CTU agent up for sacrifice in a vain effort to save other American lives. After all, it's been widely reported that Sutherland has several more years on his contract with the show and as long as the ratings are high, Fox execs are unlikely to allow the lead of its dramatic cash cow to croak.

"My rationalization for it is you know he's not gonna die, but you don't know how he's not gonna die," Gordon said last week in a teleconference with TV reporters. "He's like Harry Houdini: What circumstances will make it possible for him not to die?"

This season, terrorists have mounted multiple strikes on American soil. Muslims are being sent to detention centers and the American people live in fear.

"This is the year of no good answers," Gordon said. "There are such confused political and practical and military positions, there is no clear-cut answer. Stopping [the terrorism] is the only thing Jack can do and he does it with mixed success. Denying people their civil rights, rounding up Muslims, these are all byproducts that come from a desperate population."

So few characters from past seasons are left alive that this season the body count among series regulars will be lower than it has been out of necessity ("We want to get to know them a little more before we get to say goodbye to them," Gordon said). Rick Schroder will join the cast midway through the season and Bauer's former girlfriend, Audrey (Kim Raver), may return near the end of the season.

But in the beginning, the focus is squarely on a defeated Jack Bauer. Viewers will even hear him express gratitude for what he thinks is his pending death after President Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside) asks that he make the ultimate sacrifice.

"On one level, it's a betrayal" given everything Bauer has done for America and the Palmer family, Gordon said. "On another, it's his duty-bound sacrifice. Emotionally, Jack realizes it's gonna be a relief not to be alive anymore and he wanted to make the end of his life have some meaning. The theme of this year is Jack re-arming himself for a reason to live. Everyone has turned on him and he is under-appreciated and now they've called on him to give his life after two years of imprisonment. It's the distillation of Jack's tragedy”

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

AAF

01-14-07, 12:47 PM

Adam West is the man!

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:48 PM

Critic’s Notebook
Ricky Gervais of “Extras”
On the fine line of funny
By Alan Sepinwall Newark Star-Ledger Sunday, January 14, 2007

"Extras" (Tonight at 10 ET/PT on HBO)

In the second season premiere, Andy (Ricky Gervais) is forced to compromise his creative vision to get his sitcom made, while Orlando Bloom tries to convince Maggie (Ashley Jensen) of his own handsomeness.

So, Ricky Gervais, do you want to make a third season of "Extras"?

"What's the point?" he shrugs. "Got other things to do, really."

Then he pauses, realizing what just came out of his mouth.

"But then again, that's like saying, 'Do you want to be on telly?' 'What's the point?' I've just reduced my life's work to 'What's the point?' My gravestone: 'He did "The Office." What's the point?' That's the terrible thing. When you're not a pioneering heart surgeon or a leader of men, what's the point?"

Legacy has been very much on Gervais' mind as he comes to the end of what he and writing partner Stephen Merchant jokingly call "our Picasso blue period," or, more plainly, "our fame period."

The period began with the original British version of "The Office," which starred Gervais as profoundly incompetent middle manager David Brent. It concludes with "Extras," with Gervais, now 45, as Andy Millman, whose mid-life crisis takes the form of a career shift from banker to showbiz hanger-on.

"Basically, celebrity and fame, every single side of all that stuff has ruled my career in TV," says Gervais. "'The Office' was about fame. It was clearly about fame. 'Extras' is directly and explicitly about what fame is and what it does to normal people."

Just like its American remake (which Gervais adores and recently, with Merchant, co-wrote an episode of), the original "Office" took the form of a mock documentary, and it was the presence of the cameras that brought out the worst in David Brent.

"If we let (the audience) forget they were watching a fake documentary for a minute, there's suddenly no show. There's no point. Brent's motivation was fame and glory. That's why he's acting like that. He's in free-fall, in a bit of a breakdown, and he's going, 'I'm going to show the world now that I'm not just this jerk. I'm a philosopher, I'm a philanthropist, I am a singer/songwriter, I am a poet.' He can't get to it quick enough. And, of course, the lesson learned is, if someone's filming you all the time, they're going to show the bad bits, too. Through the power of editing."

(This raises the question of whether David ever had "good bits," moments where he successfully told a joke or dealt with a management crisis, to which Gervais replies, "Yeah, but why would a documentary team put that in?")

After an uneven first season in which Andy worked as a background extra and tried to hit up that week's celebrity guest for a speaking part, "Extras" finally achieves the greatness expected of the Gervais/Merchant team with Season Two. Through a fluke, Andy sells a sitcom to the BBC, then endures one creative compromise after another until an idea that began as something like "The Office" becomes "Are You Being Served?" crossed with "The Benny Hill Show."

"It's a bit of 'there but for the grace of God go I.' Like, that could have happened. What would I have done if, when I walked into the BBC and said, 'Listen, I've got this thing called "The Office." There's no stars, no jokes, there's no plots. I want to write it and direct it, which I've never done before, and I want to be in it.' They went, 'All right.' What if they'd said, 'No way'? What would I have done? Would I have walked away? Who knows? Luckily, I didn't have to make that decision, whereas Andy did. The chance of not making it was too unthinkable, so he chose, against his better judgment, to take the compromise, and now he's got to live with it."

To Andy's shock, the watered-down version of "When the Whistle Blows" becomes a hit and he becomes a minor celebrity for his performance as Ray, the boss with a silly wig and glasses and an annoying catchphrase. But this only puts his humiliations on a grander stage. He bumps into David Bowie in the VIP area of a club, and Bowie pens an impromptu song about his dislike of Andy. (Lyrics include "Pathetic little fat man, no one's bloody laughing" and "He's got no style, he's got no grace, he's banal and facile, he's a fat waste of space.") When he inadvertently insults a boy with Down Syndrome, he becomes a tabloid fixture and finds reporters going through his garbage.

"We go through the journey of seeing the difference between fame and infamy. Fame without respect is nothing.

"(People) see George Clooney and they go, 'He's happy, he's successful, he's got everything, he's famous. Therefore, I shall become famous.' No, no, no. He's happy, because he's successful, because he's good at something. His fame is an upshot of what he does. They actually use it as a shortcut for happiness. They don't know what will make them happy, they think, 'Fame will make me happy.'"

Gervais' fame from "The Office" has been a very select kind, but he and Merchant used it to make "Extras."

BBC America telecasts of the original show "probably got a million viewers, and 990,000 of them lived in L.A. or New York. For at least a year, whenever there was an interview with a Hollywood A-lister and someone asked what they were watching at the moment -- it got to the point where I was disappointed if they didn't say 'The Office.' I'd come to expect it."

So even though they had other ideas in mind -- including their next planned project, "Men at the Pru," which is about "a group of twentysomethings selling insurance in the 1970s in a seaside town where the sexual revolution never hit" -- they decided to take advantage of their new-found showbiz cachet and work with their famous admirers. Season one featured guest turns by Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet and Samuel L. Jackson, among others, while Orlando Bloom, Daniel Radcliffe, Ian McKellen, Diana Rigg and Chris Martin from Coldplay all make self-parodying appearances in the new episodes.

"These people were fans of 'The Office,' and we thought, 'If they're not going to trust us now, they never will.'"

(The only celebrity to ever turn them down: "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell, and only because Gervais wanted him to sing a karaoke version of Elton John's "Daniel" in the background of a scene. ("He said, 'I will do anything else. I can't, I can't, I can't,'" Gervais says. "I think he knew that clip would be played forever.")

In addition to the commentary on the perils of modern celebrity, what "The Office" and "Extras" share (along with "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and the American "Office") is a fondness for the comedy of embarrassment, those moments when a person sticks his foot so far in his mouth that he can taste his socks.

"You've got to write about what you know, really. As a middle-class, Western male, I'm not being shot at, I'm not starving, the worst thing that happens to me is I make a fool of myself. That's it. What's the most interesting thing in a day for a normal person? The bus driver was rude, or you accidentally insulted someone, they took it the wrong way. Everyone can identify with that."

Though he became famous playing characters who disgrace themselves routinely, Gervais insists he doesn't embarrass easily -- with one exception.

"I haven't watched my episode of 'Alias,'" he says, referring to a guest appearance he made as a bomb maker who menaces Jennifer Garner, "because I'm being cool and that makes me feel ill. If I'm being fat and stupid and rubbish, I can do it. If I'm being cool, it makes me cringe to think of it."

Gervais and Merchant (who gives a hilarious supporting performance as Andy's hopeless twit of an agent, the Stan Laurel to Andy's Ollie Hardy) love the pauses after people speak even more than what's been said. They obsess over how long to let those awkward silences run.

In one episode of "Extras," there's a long shot of a character waiting, "and we left it for ages. And we thought, 'Now it's funny. Now it's not funny. Now it's funny again. Now it's still funny...' So it's a question of, do you cut on the first funny or ride it and get to the second funny? It's a matter of taste. But here's the thing: me and Steve will split frames. We'll go, 'This should be six frames longer.' We'll do it to a split-second. Because it's forever. We don't apologize for being totally nerdy and anal."

Andy spends much of the second season obsessed over the scathing reviews of "When the Whistle Blows," even as Darren points to the ratings, insisting the critics "know about comedy, they know what they're talking about. But the general public..."

Gervais admits that the reviews he's gotten since "The Office" debuted in England in 2001 have been so universally glowing, "It's like I wrote them myself," but he's also aware that his style of comedy is far from universal, and he tries not to concern himself too much with what other people think.

"I make this show for me and like-minded people. I don't make it for people who don't like it. I don't want to convert anyone. I don't care. I don't sit in people's homes watching it with them. It's still nicer to read a great review than a poor review. Just human nature. How can we really not be offended? But I've never been troubled by people saying, 'I don't like Ricky Gervais. He's the worst comedian that ever lived.' Doesn't bother me."

So is he 100 percent finished with David Brent?

"Absolutely. Even if I wanted to. And I do miss him on occasion. But what's the point?"

http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/sepinwall/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1168752916177390.xml&coll=1

fredfa

01-14-07, 12:51 PM

Critic’s Notebook
Sudden Death Playoffs
By John Eggerton at the Broadcasting & Cable “bcbeat” blog

I watched an NFL playoff game_-Quoth the Ravens: Next year--to see how much violent TV programming would be promoted during the game at a time when my 10-year-old daughter, and lots of other people's children, would be watching with their parents. I threw the football with her at half-time, by the way, and she's got game.

Anyway, Tim Winter the new presdident of the Parents Television Council, had suggested last week that one of his concerns about violent 10 p.m. dramas was their promotion in the afternoon in sports telecasts.

Frankly, I share his concern if not PTC's eagerness to blame the messenger.

Networks can't help but use the NFL playoff games as a promotional vehicle given their stellar ratings, can they? And advertisers need to plug their products, even serial killer movies, don't they?

So, my daughter and I were bombarded with talk--and video--of maniacal hitchhikers, psychotic, ruthless hit men, and my least favorite, a Criminal Minds spot pointing out helpfully that "they were stil alive when he severed their limbs."

My daughter turned away, troubled, then asked me why I was furiously taking notes during the commercial. I said I was trying to record how many violent shows and movies were being promoted...she finished my sentence unprompted with..."while little people might be watching?" Yes, I said, exactly. While little people might be watching.

I will defend artistic freedom until they cart me away.It's not just my job, it's my passion.

I believe the country's greatness is rooted in its tolerance of diversity--in people and politics and entertainment--but prime time TV is too violent, and we, all of us, need to think about why that is and how healthy that is.

Obesity is a growing threat to our national health, but I wonder if our appetite for violence doesn't also need curbing for the sake of, not just the children, but all of us.

http://broadcastingcable.com/blog/1380000138.html

dad1153

01-14-07, 12:57 PM

TV Notebook
Warming up the Globe predictions part 2: TV
The heroes of the TV awards could come from anyplace
By David Bianculli, New York Post - January 14, 2007

The Golden Globes, presenting their 64th annual awards in film and TV tomorrow night, haven’t always been on TV, and this year they’re moving to Mondays. Having been trounced by “Grey’s Anatomy” last year, the Globes moved from Sunday — before learning that “Grey’s” did the same.

No matter. What counts most about the Globes is that, even though they’ve been on TV for several years now, the stars and producers who take the stage to present or receive awards don’t act like they’re on television. They act, and often sound, like they’re at a private party, looser and funnier and goofier than they often allow themselves to be, with fashions to match.

Partly, it’s because the Golden Globes precede the other awards shows. Partly it’s that the Globes, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, allow TV and movie stars to mingle in an informal atmosphere with lots of unpredictable winners.

Mostly, though, it’s the open bar.

At the Globes, a winner can be caught in the bathroom when her name is announced (paging Christine Lahti), or so shocked by victory that she offers to make out with everyone in the room (standing ovation for Mary-Louise Parker). Winners have to weave paths around dinner tables packed with familiar, smiling faces. Losers get to eat, drink and be merry anyway.

Here are some thoughts and predictions about the TV half of the Golden Globes this year.

•Best series, drama

Logic suggests that “24” or “Grey’s Anatomy,” two hot shows coming off strong seasons, should claim the prize. But logic has little to do with the Golden Globes, whose voters like to be first in tapping trends — so NBC’s new “Heroes” may be the dark horse.

•Best series, comedy or musical

First off, dumb category. Again, momentum suggests two truly worthy contenders: “Ugly Betty” and “The Office.” (“Entourage” was great, too, but there’s no way voters can resist both the freshman appeal of “Betty” or the vastly improved cult-show sheen of “The Office.”

•Best miniseries or movie

How do you choose among “Bleak House,” “Broken Trail,” “Elizabeth I,” “Mrs. Harris” and “Prime Suspect: The Final Act”? By going eenie, meenie, minie ... “Bleak House.” The reason? It’s the Globes. Who expects reason?

•Best actress, drama

Neither Evangeline Lilly of “Lost” nor Edie Falco of “The Sopranos,” I suspect, had enough showy scenes this year to rivet the short attention spans of Globe viewers. Expect Ellen Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” to take this one.

•Best actor, drama

Michael C. Hall was great in “Dexter,” Hugh Laurie was just as indispensable to “House,” and most Globes voters will agree that Patrick Dempsey is McDreamy in “Grey’s.” Even so, Kiefer Sutherland is on a well-deserved roll with “24” and ought to win.

•Best actress, comedy or musical

If the “Desperate Housewives” nominees split votes again this year (that’s how Parker won for “Weeds”), the win should go to America Ferrera for “Ugly Betty.” It’s a feel-good vote for a feel-good show, and Ferrera is charming in the title role.

•Best actor, comedy or musical

There’s a ton of talent in this category — Alec Baldwin for “30 Rock,” Zach Braff for “Scrubs,” Steve Carell for “The Office,” Jason Lee for “My Name Is Earl” and Tony Shalhoub for “Monk.” Even so, I’d give it to Baldwin in a heartbeat — but Globe voters may prefer Carell.

•Best actress, miniseries or movie

Gillian Anderson was fabulous in “Bleak House,” and Annette Bening was lots of fun in “Mrs. Harris,” but there’s no way to deny Helen Mirren a win this year. She’s up for Best Actress in a Movie Drama for “The Queen,” and she’s nominated for both “Elizabeth I” and “Prime Suspect: The Final Act.” She’ll get a Globe here, I suspect for “Suspect.”

•Best actor, comedy or musical

Welcome to the year’s most ridiculous Globes category (every year has one). In the TV category for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, there are eight — count ’em, eight — nominees. About half deserve to be here, including Robert Duvall for “Broken Trail,” Bill Nighy for “Gideon’s Daughter,” Matthew Perry for “The Ron Clark Story,” Andre Braugher for “Thief” and Ben Kingsley for “Mrs. Harris.”

Duvall and Nighy can be counted on to give the most irreverent acceptance speeches, and Nighy can be counted on to tap the open bar profusely before his category arrives — so I’d root for one of them to win on that basis alone. But at the Golden Globes, there’s no telling. And that’s its secret weapon.

That, and the free liquor.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/488564p-411144c.html

dad1153

01-14-07, 01:09 PM

The Business of TV
'Ugly Betty' Is Best Ad Deal
By Don Kaplan, New York Post - January 14, 2007

"Ugly Betty" is sitting pretty.

The quirky ABC drama, which has been drawing 5 million viewers aged 18 to 49, is Madison Avenue's best buy on television this season among primetime network programming, according to calculations by The Post.

It has cost advertisers only $1.85 for every 100 viewers in the key demographic - a bargain by any standard.

Coming in second is NBC's "Heroes," the high-flying comic book-style drama about a group of super-powered humans out to save the world. For major advertisers, reaching 100 viewers in the key 18- to 49-year-old demo costs cost $1.93.

That's better than a fire sale at Macy's.

"Anybody who put their dollars on 'Heroes' got quite a bargain," says Mediaweek TV analyst Marc Berman.

To calculate the best bargain on primetime TV, The Post used the price the networks were charging advertisers last spring - when the line-ups were announced. We then divided that amount by demo audience the show drew and multiply the result by 100.

When ABC announced its schedule last spring, the network was asking advertisers to pay roughly $93,000 for a 30-second commercial on "Betty."

The show, produced by Salma Hayek, follows the adventures of an awkward-looking girl working for a fashion magazine and is based on the most successful international soap opera format of all time.

"The art of the schedule is to correctly pick out the shows that nobody else thinks are going to be hits," Berman says.

On the flip side, the worst deal on television turns out to be "The Simpsons," which after 17 seasons is the longest-running sitcom of all time. Homer and company charged about $5.23 to reach about 100 of the key viewers.

In terms of spending ad dollars, nearly every other major network show falls in between "Ugly Betty" and "The Simpsons."

Some, like "American Idol," Berman says, can still be considered great bargains simply because of the sheer number of viewers reached. Others, like "House," "Criminal Minds" and "Dancing with the Stars" are also good buys because they are still growing.

But advertisers might want to think twice about "Survivor" - still pricey at $4.08 per 100 demo viewers - despite its age.

"Lost" also might pose a problem. The formerly white-hot ABC drama that has seen its ratings shrink since last year and faces an uncertain future as it was yanked from the schedule last fall (so that there would be no repeats when it returns for February sweeps).

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01142007/business/ugly_betty_is_best_ad_deal_business_don_kaplan.htm

dad1153

01-14-07, 01:11 PM

TV Notebook
NBC's "Heroes" a surprise hit
By David Kronke, Los Angeles Daily News - January 13, 2007

Success has turned "Heroes" creator Tim Kring into something of a softie. Initially he intended to kill off characters helter-skelter, but as the show — about far-flung ordinary people who discover they have bizarre super-powers, and a global conspiracy enveloping them — has been clicking so well, it's made his trigger finger not so itchy.

"I thought it'd be every few weeks one of these will go by the wayside, and it hasn't turned into that," Kring admits in his office, where a pipe collection and a bottle of red wine sits on his desk.

"It's a testament to the cast that everybody has popped in their roles so well that we have had a lot of trouble with the idea of killing people off. The audience has gotten used to them, so when and if they depart, it's going to be a much bigger deal.

"So yes, I'm not taking as cavalierly the idea of playing the Grim Reaper as I thought I was going to."

Still, staff writer Jesse Alexander warns, "Absolutely, people will get killed off. The world of 'Heroes' is a dangerous one, and characters that you love will take risks — and sometimes those risks will get them killed."

Even Masi Oka, the show's breakout star for his portrayal of Hiro, the exuberant Japanese office worker delighted by his ability to bend the space-time continuum, says, "I don't think even Hiro's safe. It'd be sad; we grew a family with writers and cast and crew. But if it's best for the story, whatever happens, you go where the river takes you."

"Heroes" has rescued NBC from an otherwise dismal season with fanciful characters, myriad storylines — many of the characters haven't even met each other yet — and the ability to keep the story hurtling along with spectacular action and revelations rather than frustrating viewers by withholding vital information or engaging in narrative wheel-spinning (unlike, say, "Lost").

Kring says, "We made a real conscious effort to not disappoint the audience. I think a lot of the complaints of some of the other serialized shows is that you have to wait too long and wade through too many episodes before something really big happens. And we were sort of committed to the idea that if you watch this show, something's going to happen every week, and that was a commitment we wanted to make early on with the audience."

Jack Coleman, who plays the sinister, horned-rim glasses-sporting character at the center of a conspiracy to thwart the "Heroes," says, "Without 'Lost,' none of this is possible. Multicultural, speaking different languages, huge ensemble cast, all over the globe — they broke so many rules, it's an iconic show. But they painted themselves into some corners. Tim decided early on that the story has to pay off faster, that you can't introduce smoking guns then never address them. There's more happening in an episode of 'Heroes' than in almost any show I've ever seen."

Kring adds, "At first, there was a fear that we might not be able to keep that going, but very early on, before we even aired, we discovered that story is not like a tank of gas that runs out. It's actually kind of the opposite — the more twists and turns you have, the more plot reveals, the more story you actually generate by having these crazy reveals and twists and turns. It's the engine that drives the story going and so far we're having no trouble keeping the story going."

As Ali Larter, who plays Niki and Jessica, the conflicting flip sides of the same coin, puts it, "Tim wrote this as a response to how complicated the world has become. People turn on the news and every day it gets more and more intense and darker, and at some point, you want to watch television that isn't soaked in fantasy. Our show is based in reality but it gives you that fantasy element. That's why people want to watch this show. I've never watched my work before, but I watch this show and it makes me kind of dream, and I love that about it."

Still, Oka admits to being "absolutely" astonished by viewer reaction. "I knew we had something special, but there is a genre element to it," he says. "I knew we were servicing the genre folks well. I'm surprised how well the mainstream audiences have responded.Ö Every question we answer, we ask two more. It keeps the show going full-throttle.

"I can't wait to see what they do next," Oka says of the show's writers. "You think the story's going one way and all of a sudden, boom! It goes another."

Similarly stunned is Hayden Panettiere, who plays the seemingly indestructible cheerleader Claire, who was at the center of the popular "Save the cheerleader/Save the world" storyline.

"I still don't get it," she says. "I'm, like, caught in the middle of this craziness. I don't think you ever really expect that kind of success. It's been a ride, it's been a crazy, crazy ride so far, and it's just getting started."

HEROES

What: The season's surprise hit, about disparate characters with strange powers and the global conspiracy enveloping them.
Where: NBC (Channel 4).
When: 9 p.m. Mondays; new episodes begin Jan. 22.

http://www.dailynews.com/tv/ci_5008458

dad1153

01-14-07, 01:42 PM

The Business of TV
Smaller deals, bigger bucks in product placement
Several companies developing online placement marketplaces
By Michael Learmonth, Variety - January 14, 2007

While product placements have long been common in TV, film and videogames, a host of startups hope to make them as easy to buy and sell as Pez dispensers on eBay.

Several companies are developing online placement marketplaces in hopes of cultivating a market for smaller deals. The markets could push product into every conceivable corner of showbiz.

"We see that landscape as incredibly valuable but incredibly inefficient today," says Hamet Watt, a former investment banker and founder of NextMedium, which has developed software designed to both place and track product placements.

These are not the multi-million-dollar high-profile deals like ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and Sears or "Friday Night Lights" and Toyota. Those deals are done on the CEO level, involve many facets and much hand-holding.

Instead, they are targeting smaller deals for products within shows. With networks decreasing ad inventory, advertisers shifting away from the 30-second spot, and both networks and production companies looking for additional revenue streams, product placements are becoming more important to the networks and advertisers.

What has so far kept the field becoming as lucrative as the 30-second spot is the lack of any kind of standard for transacting placements or a unified way of measuring what they're worth.

Historically, pacts have been inked on an ad-hoc basis by agents, production companies, or included as added value for big corporate-level deals cut at the network upfronts. They have tended to cover props such as the cell phone in the hand of a main character, or almost any recognizable product used on the set.

Because the dollar values are low and the deals often complex, the smaller pacts were simply not considered worth the while of product placement execs at the networks and some of the larger production companies.

But Watt says those deals represent "a significant source of incremental revenue" and his firm, helped along by $10 million in venture funding, had developed a digital marketplace to streamline those deals.

Watt sees the value for pure product placements at $2 billion, but this figure doesn't include the largely untapped market of smaller deals in the range of $10,000 to $100,000. Many of these are simple prop placements within shows rather than the big multi-faceted program sponsorships like Coca-Cola and "American Idol."

Overall, product placement and branded entertainment is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the ad business; ad industry analyst Jack Myers expects it to grow 35% in 2007 to $7.35 billion from $5.4 billion in 2006.

"This has been consistently one of the fastest-growing segments of the media world but it's largely unmeasured and difficult to track," Myers says. "The ability to bring some structure to it I think is overdue."

Last spring NextMedium pacted with Nielsen Media Research's PlaceViews service, which monitors placements and rates them on a scale ranging from a prop on the set to a central role in the storyline. It integrated the data stream into the company's "Embed" software, which allows advertisers to search for placement opportunities and to look at the overall exposure their product is getting on TV.

This allows brand managers to take the temperature of their products' visibility on television, which could play into a decision on whether to invest more of their marketing budget on placements.

But there isn't one standard for measuring the value of a placement. Nielsen records the time of the placement, the audience watching, and assigns a value based on criteria such as if it is mentioned in dialogue or used by a main character.

An independent company launched by product placement pioneer Frank Zazza, iTVX, measures the quality of placements by analyzing the time spent on-screen on a frame-by-frame basis. The result is an assigned Q-ratio that compares the value of a placement to a 30-second spot.

Zazza has an exalted place in the annals of product placement.

First off, he started doing it 25 years ago, when only a handful of execs were doing deals. Then he engineered the deal that would become the template for the modern-day film-product tie-in: when Elliot befriended E.T. with a handful of Reese's Pieces.

Zazza launched his measurement firm in 2002 to create a currency for the value of placements. "Before anything can happen in branded entertainment someone has to ask, 'What was the quality of that integration?' That's where it all starts," he says.

Now he's in talks on a possible link-up with a year-old firm called Media Matchmaker. It lists a number of placement opportunities on shows like "Martha," MyNetworkTV's "Desire," and WE Network's "Get Married."

A third company, Magnetic Alliance, was founded three years ago as ePropshop to match producers with advertisers willing to supply them with brand-name products.

Sports producer Jerry Solomon used Media Matchmaker to land a sponsor for "Countdown to Draft Day," a nationally syndicated show that aired before the NFL draft in April. Quickdrop, a company that sells products on eBay, ended up sponsoring the show and getting various integrations within the programming.

"For independent producers it makes it a lot easier to identify companies that have already expressed an interest in getting involved in certain types of programming," Solomon says.

But flagging partners isn't the same as pacting with them, skeptics warn. Since every placement deal depends on shifting variables -- especially whether the product, actor or program stays "cool"-- some doubt whether the business lends itself to uniform measurement. Zazza, who says he has closed 100,000 placement deals, still has his doubts.

"No product placement is just done on paper, it takes management and hand-holding to make it happen," Zazza says.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957315.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

dad1153

01-14-07, 01:43 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
Dancing with Steve McPherson
Peter Ames Carlin's Oregonian TV Blog - January 14, 2007

ABC's exec session starts with a video of network president Steve McPherson performing ala 'Dancing with the Stars," cutting the proverbial rug to AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long," and lordy, but the boy can actually dance. Like, really good. It's kind of awesome. And indicates something cool about him: he can play this game. He's good. He sorta knows it, too, but not in the in-your-face Jeff Zucker way. But in a way more laid-back, confident way.

He's hard not to like, even when he's mounting a wack defense of the awful "9/11" movie from last fall. . .taking cover in the fact that one of the movie's biggest critics, Sandy Berger, has been indicted for swiping certain gov't documents. Which indeed was a dumb, awful thing to do. But so is ridiculing real people by making up dialogue and scenes and events to make them look bad in a docu-drama that is supposedly fact-based. So there.

But every sky has a few clouds in it. And it's worth weathering a few here to hear McPherson shrug off the whole Trump v. O'Donnell brouhaha: "To me the entire thing is a publicity stump for Trump, trying to get stuff for the Apprentice. That's all he's trying to do is sue people and make waves. Me commenting on him just feeds his desire."

Ultimately, however, there's not much excitement here. If only because ABC is doing pretty well, creatively and artistically. Worse, McPherson doesn't spin and swerve the facts as constantly and enthusiastically as previous ABC execs, and so many other network execs. He's dismayingly honest, in fact, acknowledging that shows on other networks are really good, or way too popular to fight. And with so little to criticize (other than the random scheduling beef, or quick cancellation of a serial no one was watching anyway) the critics are struck dumb.

http://petercarlin.blogs.oregonlive.com/

fredfa

01-14-07, 01:43 PM

Television Critics Winter Tour Notebook
'Dancing with Stars' back March 19
By Roger Catlin Hartford Courant TV Critic in his “TV Eye” blog January 14, 2007

“Dancing with the Stars” returns March 19, ABC announced Sunday, with a new schedule that deftly avoids “American Idol” by airing Mondays from 8 – 9:30 p.m. with a results show Tuesday 9 to 10 p.m. when it gets into its regular slots April 2.

In its first week though, there will be one two-hour episode March 19 and another performance episode March 26 before phones are open for voters, and the first elimination show will air March 27 at 9 p.m.

“The great thing about this air schedule is that fans won’t have to choose between the two reality hits this spring,” said ABC President Stephen McPherson.

The new cast will be announced closer to the airdate, the network said.

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

fredfa

01-14-07, 01:55 PM

TV Q&A
Vanished! Viewers steam as shows evaporate
'Day Break' joins a list of programs that are zapped without a logical end Friday
By Tom Jicha Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinal TV and Radio Writer January 14, 2007

Question: Having wasted about 20 hours watching episodes of Kidnapped, Vanished (aptly named) and The Nine broadcast by NBC, Fox and ABC before the networks inconsiderately canceled them, I propose a federal law: Networks would have to pay at least the minimum wage to every viewer who invested his or her time watching all the hourlong episodes before the series were pulled off the air; mail each of us a DVD of all the other episodes filmed but not shown; and mail us the scripts of all episodes not yet filmed. I also demand clear, logical explanations to all unanswered questions, unexplained plot twists, etc.

Tom Jicha: You can add ABC's Day Break to your list. That, too, has been canceled before its story was resolved. The only problems I have with your proposals is they don't go far enough. Cable and satellite TV should be free; ditto satellite radio. All sets should be equipped with a free TiVo-like device. Lost should be forced to resolve a story line or two before it goes off on new tangents. And, 24 should become 52, so that we don't have to go so long between seasons.

QUESTION: Fox filmed a pilot and, I think, six episodes of a series called Still Life, which was to be a midseason replacement in either 2004 or 2005, starring David Keith. For whatever reasons, Fox decided not to air the episodes. I was wondering if there was any way to purchase all of the episodes on DVD or if I could find out if they're available on the Internet.

TOM JICHA: Fox has a curious history in making shows that never get on the air. For about five years it was on a streak of announcing at least one series a year in May that never made it onto the subsequent fall schedule. Hollyweird, from Invasion creator Shaun Cassidy, was one. Manchester Prep, a knockoff of the movie Cruel Intentions, was another. Supposedly Rupert Murdoch himself killed the latter after seeing the pilot. The Grubbs, a raunchy sitcom about a family of proud underachievers, also makes this dubious list, as does The Ortegas, a comedy about a young Latino staging a TV talk show in his living room. So Still Life, which was created for the 2003-2004 season, is not in exclusive company. It's doubtful it will make the DVD shelves, since most people never heard of it and the price point for a six-episode set of half-hours would have to be really low.

QUESTION: My friends and I are huge fans of Growing Up Gotti. Could you please tell us if it's going to be released on DVD?

TOM JICHA: A representative of A&E said there are no plans for a video release at this time.

QUESTION: I am a fan of The Apprentice, particularly Carolyn Kepcher. However, I understand that she has been fired. Do you have any details? I missed Larry King when Donald Trump apparently talked about the situation.

TOM JICHA: Kepcher and the Trump organization parted company in August. Various reports had it that The Donald thought fame had gotten the best of Kepcher. How's that for irony? Nepotism also might have come into play. Kepcher is being replaced on the series, which premiered Jan. 7, by The Donald's daughter Ivanka. His son, Donald Jr., also replaced George Ross, because Ross is needed on the East Coast, and the latest edition of the show was filmed in California.

QUESTION: I would like to know the name of the announcer on The Price Is Right, who passed away a few years ago.

TOM JICHA: Rod Roddy died in October 2003 of cancer. He was 66.

QUESTION: Recently there was a two-hour special of The Closer, which was to begin the new season. However, I do not see it in the TV listings. What happened?

TOM JICHA: Think of the two-hour special, starring Kyra Sedgwick, as a teaser for the coming season, which is still several months away, probably June.

QUESTION: I watched reruns of The A-Team on TV Land and got to thinking of what happened to the actors. I see Mr. T got his own series on cable, I Pity the Fool, and, if I recall, George Peppard has died. What of Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz?

TOM JICHA: Schultz, who was Capt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdoch on The A-Team, has been doing an extraordinary amount of voice work in animated features and video games -- more than 30 jobs in the past three years -- including Family Guy. He also had guest roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager, as well as Diagnosis Murder, The Agency and Stargate SG-1. Benedict, who was Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck, also has done extensive voice work in addition to guest shots on Murder, She Wrote and Walker, Texas Ranger, among others.

QUESTION: On As the World Turns, there is a new actress named Spencer Grammer. Might she be the daughter of Kelsey?

TOM JICHA: Spencer, 21, is indeed the daughter of Kelsey. She made her acting debut on Cheers when she was only 7. However, her stint on As the World Turns has ended.

QUESTION: My friend and I have a disagreement about the first Love Affair movie. She says it starred Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. I say it was Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant. Could you please resolve this.

TOM JICHA: Your friend gets half credit and you get points for trying. The 1939 version of Love Affair starred Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. It was the 1957 remake of the story, titled An Affair to Remember, that starred Kerr and Grant.

QUESTION: Back in the early '90s there was a drama series called Sisters, with Sela Ward and Swoosie Kurtz. If I'm not mistaken, the actor who played Ward's detective boyfriend was George Clooney. However, the series is never mentioned in any of his biographies.

TOM JICHA: George Clooney was not an overnight success. Before his star took off in ER, he had a cavalcade of guest shots and recurring roles on numerous series, including Sisters. Some of his other episodic one-shot roles included nondescript series such as Riptide, Street Hawk and Sunset Beat. Coincidentally, he was featured on a short-lived sitcom titled E/R. He also had guest roles in successes such as Hunter; Murder, She Wrote; The Golden Girls; Murphy Brown; and Friends. Early roles were on The Facts of Life and an 11-episode stint on Roseanne. With so many stellar credits now, it's understandable he doesn't mention everything. But he's not trying to hide his lesser roles. His more extensive bios mention everything he has done.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/orl-chatter1407jan14,0,6065363,print.story?coll=orl-caltvtop

fredfa

01-14-07, 02:00 PM

The Business of Television
NBC on the rise
'Heroes,' 'Office,' 'Deal' boosting fourth place network
By Rick Kissell Variety.com

In all likelihood, NBC will finish in fourth place again this season, but there are clear signs the net is headed in the right direction.

Sure, much of its gains this season can be attributed to "Sunday Night Football," but the Peacock seems to have effectively transferred some of that young, male aud to its other shows.

NBC has the hottest new drama ("Heroes"), the top reality show of the past few years ("Deal or No Deal") and arguably the hottest hour of laffers ("My Name Is Earl" and "The Office").

There are, of course, plenty of hours that need work, and NBC figures to finish fourth among adults 18-49 for a third straight season after dominating much of the previous decade.

But through 16 weeks, at least, the net was in a three-way with ABC and CBS for the lead in the key demo.

NBC's up 16% in adults 18-49 vs. last year (and 6% if you toss out sports) and has risen 20% in adults 18-34, according to Nielsen. In the latter, it has moved -- at least temporarily -- from fourth to first.

NBC has also trimmed the median age of its audience by about two years -- an encouraging sign for a net that had begun to rely too heavily on older-skewing shows like "Law & Order" and "Dateline."

Here's a closer look:

What sizzled: NBC owns five of the season's top 20 shows among adults 18-49, led by "Heroes" at No. 5 and "Sunday Night Football," which has ended its season at No. 6.

"Heroes" is just what the net was lacking -- a top 10 hit that has both viewers and critics buzzing. It's the top-rated new drama of the past two seasons among young adults, and has helped lift the Peacock to No. 1 in demos on Monday.

It's also the No. 1 scripted program in primetime among men 18-49, despite opposing ESPN's "Monday Night Football."

"Deal or No Deal" is holding up better than expected, with its Monday edition winning handily. A second weekly seg, originally skedded for Thursday, will now regularly play Wednesdays at 9 in a defensive position for the net -- opposite Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' rising "Criminal Minds."

"ER" has held up pretty well, ranking 12th among all shows in 18-49 and winning its slot, though down about 8% vs. last year. Another vet, "Law & Order: SVU," also remains in the top 20 and continues to win its Tuesday hour.

The Thursday comedy combo of "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" has picked up steam, and is probably the strongest sitcom hour on television.

NBC also deserves kudos for its overall rise in quality. A recent critics list featured four young Peacock skeins -- "Heroes," "The Office," "Friday Night Lights" and "Studio 60" -- among the top 10 shows on television, the most of any net.

What fizzled: NBC had one of the season's outright bombs in the serialized "Kidnapped," while the critically derided "Twenty Good Years" lasted just a few weeks.

"Studio 60" and the superb "Friday Night Lights" haven't shown any spark in the ratings, although they certainly have their loyal auds and critical support. It's disappointing that NBC hasn't done more to shine a spotlight on the unique, quietly affecting "Lights."

What's ahead: Paul Haggis' "The Black Donnellys," a family drama about organized crime in Gotham, will air behind "Heroes" in March. It looks to be another tough sell, but has a better shot at succeeding in this slot than "Studio 60" and is probably the net's best chance at a second-half breakout hit.

Expectations aren't as high for Jeff Goldblum detective drama "Raines," which will take the place of "Las Vegas" on the Friday sked in March. Sounds like nothing special, but this is a good timeslot for such a show, and a compatible lead-in for "Law & Order."

Gameshow "Identity" did reasonably well in its weeklong run in December, but it's no "Deal or No Deal." If it returns, it might work better as a series of specials behind "Deal" or another gamer.

And look for NBC to try at least one laffer -- either "Singles Table" or "Andy Barker, P.I." -- in its Thursday lineup, perhaps spelling "30 Rock" in March.

Biggest question marks: "Heroes" will take on Fox's returning "24" in a heavyweight drama battle on Mondays. While both are faves of men, a younger skew should help "Heroes" hold on to most of its early-season aud.

"Sunday Night Football" is gone, but the reality combo of "Grease" and "The Apprentice," which got off to a solid start last week, could help the net put up good-enough numbers on the tough night.

The Peacock will also be looking to see if there's any ratings uptick for some of its struggling rookie shows. Of these, "30 Rock," which is holding onto a decent percentage of its "Scrubs" lead-in, has the best shot to improve in its current timeslot.

Bottom line: After some dismal seasons -- remember "LAX" and "Inconceivable"? -- some of the swagger is back at NBC, which is another top-10 hit away from challenging for next season's title

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117957320&categoryid=14

fredfa

01-14-07, 02:13 PM

Critic’s Notebook
Warming up the Globe predictions
The heroes of the TV awards could come from anyplace
By David Bianculli New York Daily News TV Critic January 14, 2007

The Golden Globes, presenting their 64th annual awards in film and TV tomorrow night, haven’t always been on TV, and this year they’re moving to Mondays. Having been trounced by “Grey’s Anatomy” last year, the Globes moved from Sunday — before learning that “Grey’s” did the same.

No matter. What counts most about the Globes is that, even though they’ve been on TV for several years now, the stars and producers who take the stage to present or receive awards don’t act like they’re on television. They act, and often sound, like they’re at a private party, looser and funnier and goofier than they often allow themselves to be, with fashions to match.

Partly, it’s because the Golden Globes precede the other awards shows. Partly it’s that the Globes, handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, allow TV and movie stars to mingle in an informal atmosphere with lots of unpredictable winners.

Mostly, though, it’s the open bar.

At the Globes, a winner can be caught in the bathroom when her name is announced (paging Christine Lahti), or so shocked by victory that she offers to make out with everyone in the room (standing ovation for Mary-Louise Parker). Winners have to weave paths around dinner tables packed with familiar, smiling faces. Losers get to eat, drink and be merry anyway.

Here are some thoughts and predictions about the TV half of the Golden Globes this year.

Best series, drama

Logic suggests that “24” or “Grey’s Anatomy,” two hot shows coming off strong seasons, should claim the prize. But logic has little to do with the Golden Globes, whose voters like to be first in tapping trends — so NBC’s new “Heroes” may be the dark horse.

Best series, comedy or musical

First off, dumb category. Again, momentum suggests two truly worthy contenders: “Ugly Betty” and “The Office.” (“Entourage” was great, too, but there’s no way voters can resist both the freshman appeal of “Betty” or the vastly improved cult-show sheen of “The Office.”

Best miniseries or movie

How do you choose among “Bleak House,” “Broken Trail,” “Elizabeth I,” “Mrs. Harris” and “Prime Suspect: The Final Act”? By going eenie, meenie, minie ... “Bleak House.” The reason? It’s the Globes. Who expects reason?

Best actress, drama

Neither Evangeline Lilly of “Lost” nor Edie Falco of “The Sopranos,” I suspect, had enough showy scenes this year to rivet the short attention spans of Globe viewers. Expect Ellen Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” to take this one.

Best actor, drama

Michael C. Hall was great in “Dexter,” Hugh Laurie was just as indispensable to “House,” and most Globes voters will agree that Patrick Dempsey is McDreamy in “Grey’s.” Even so, Kiefer Sutherland is on a well-deserved roll with “24” and ought to win.

Best actress, comedy or musical

If the “Desperate Housewives” nominees split votes again this year (that’s how Parker won for “Weeds”), the win should go to America Ferrera for “Ugly Betty.” It’s a feel-good vote for a feel-good show, and Ferrera is charming in the title role.

Best actor, comedy or musical

There’s a ton of talent in this category — Alec Baldwin for “30 Rock,” Zach Braff for “Scrubs,” Steve Carell for “The Office,” Jason Lee for “My Name Is Earl” and Tony Shalhoub for “Monk.” Even so, I’d give it to Baldwin in a heartbeat — but Globe voters may prefer Carell.

Best actress, miniseries or movie

Gillian Anderson was fabulous in “Bleak House,” and Annette Bening was lots of fun in “Mrs. Harris,” but there’s no way to deny Helen Mirren a win this year. She’s up for Best Actress in a Movie Drama for “The Queen,” and she’s nominated for both “Elizabeth I” and “Prime Suspect: The Final Act.” She’ll get a Globe here, I suspect for “Suspect.”

Best actor, miniseries or movie

Welcome to the year’s most ridiculous Globes category (every year has one). In the TV category for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, there are eight — count ’em, eight — nominees. About half deserve to be here, including Robert Duvall for “Broken Trail,” Bill Nighy for “Gideon’s Daughter,” Matthew Perry for “The Ron Clark Story,” Andre Braugher for “Thief” and Ben Kingsley for “Mrs. Harris.”

Duvall and Nighy can be counted on to give the most irreverent acceptance speeches, and Nighy can be counted on to tap the open bar profusely before his category arrives — so I’d root for one of them to win on that basis alone. But at the Golden Globes, there’s no telling. And that’s its secret weapon.

That, and the free liquor.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/col/dbianculli/

Inundated

01-14-07, 02:21 PM

Fred, I don't know if you know or not...but Mr. Bianculli is, believe it or not, a former Akron Beacon Journal TV critic...home of one Mr. Heldenfels now:

http://blogs.ohio.com/beacon_tv/2006/11/david_bianculli.html

I worked as TV critic for the Beacon from 1980-1983 -- and Ohio was only one of three non-NY states at which I worked. After Akron, from '83-87, I worked in Pennsylvania, at the Philadelphia Inquirer (and lived in New Jersey, where I still reside).

After David left the ABJ, they hired Mark Dawidziak, who is still at the Cleveland Plain Dealer...and who wrote one of the articles you posted a while ago. :D

fredfa

01-14-07, 02:25 PM

Critic’s Notebook
'The Mormons' on PBS takes aim at stereotypes
By Scott D. Pierce (Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News January 14, 2007

PASADENA, Calif. — Award-winning filmmaker Helen Whitney has one over-arching goal for her four-hour production "The Mormons," which airs this spring on PBS.

"I hope that most of the stereotypes — ideally, all of them — will be blown away," she told the Deseret Morning News on Saturday. "Because so many of them are just based on ignorance. Ignorance about Mormon history, ignorance about Mormon theology. Ignorance."

The two-part, four-hour documentary, a presentation of both "American Experience" and "Frontline" — their first co-production — is to air nationally on April 30 and May 1.

After spending three years on the project, Whitney is well aware of the stereotypes and ignorance that's out there.

"Most of the time when I bring up what I'm doing and I talk about it with people, the first word that comes up is polygamy," she said.

Indeed, introducing the documentary to a gathering of television critics from across the country, it took only moments for the subject to be raised. It was addressed in the first question asked of Whitney and a panel that included KUED's Ken Verdoia and authors Will Bagley and Terryl Givens.

(And, interestingly, in addition to asking about the Osmonds, television critics — learning that the men have Utah ties — assumed all three are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; only Givens is.)

Whitney has no illusions that "The Mormons" will answer all questions about the LDS Church.

"It is not exhaustive. It is not comprehensive. It is thematic," said Whitney, who worked with both LDS and non-LDS consultants. "I have chosen what I felt to be the defining ideas and themes and events in Mormon history that would help outsiders go inside the church."

It's not altogether chronological, but "roughly so."

The first night, on "American Experience," addresses LDS Church history, with themes that include revelation, persecution leading to exodus, polygamy and "the great accommodation" when the church renounced plural marriage.

The second night, on "Frontline," deals with the modern church — missionary work, family, temples, dissenters and "the extraordinary transformation from a people who are outsiders and pariahs to the mainstream. It is one of the great, neglected narratives of American religious history," Whitney said.

Also timed to air in April in conjunction with the two-part documentary are three "Antiques Roadshow" episodes filmed in Salt Lake City, looking at memorabilia from the West and early days of the LDS Church.
"The Mormons" is not a film about Utah. Whitney traveled across the country, from New York to California; she sent a film crew to Ghana.

"Mormons are everywhere, and I wanted to make that point," she said. "There are more Mormons outside of America than in this country. And even within America, there are many Mormons outside of Utah. So only a small part of it was shot in Utah."

She spent three years working on the film, interviewing "hundreds and hundreds of people" ranging from LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley to everyday church members to those who are openly antagonistic toward the church.

She attended ward meetings and made visits with home teachers; she spoke with people who had been excommunicated.

"The Mormons" will no doubt displease anyone who doesn't want to hear a negative word about the LDS Church. At the same time, it's going to anger those who don't want to hear anything good about it.

The LDS Church was "absolutely cooperative" in the making of the film, said Whitney, an Emmy and Peabody Award winner who profiled monks in "The Monastery," profiled John Paul II in "The Millennial Pope" and looked at religion in the wake of terrorism in "Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero."

"They had seen my films. They realized ... that I was not going to approach them and be uncritical but I would be respectful," she said. "And it would be an intelligent film and searching."

Whitney's goal is not to recruit people to become Mormons, nor is it to discourage current or prospective members. She is hoping, however, that "The Mormons" will prompt viewers to examine their own beliefs.

"I would also like them to take a deep and searching look into their own religion and see the ways in which there are commonalities as well as uniqueness and difference," she said. "I think that by looking into the Mormon heart, you look into your own."

http://www.desnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650222861,00.html