Hot Off The Press: The Latest TV News and Information - Page 605

Thursday’s fast affiliate overnight prime-time ratings – along with Media Week Analyst Marc Berman’s view of what they mean -- have been posted at the top of Ratings News -- the second post in this thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&#post10367387

The 2008-2009 Season
CBS Brings Back Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
2008 Edition Will Take Place at Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach
By Alex Weprin, Broadcasting & Cable, 5/23/2008

CBS ordered another installment of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, the network announced Friday.

The 2008 edition of the show will take place at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach this fall, and will feature a holiday theme.

As in previous editions of the show there will be red carpet coverage, model profiles and musical performances in between the models showing off the lingerie maker’s new wares on the catwalk.

Models confirmed for this year’s show include Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller and Miranda Kerr.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6563710.html

Technology Notes
DirecTV’s GameSearch Helps Viewers Find Blacked-Out Games
Technology Scans All Channels To Find Alternate Broadcasts
By Linda Moss, Multichannel News, 5/23/2008

DirecTV is helping frustrated fans find local blacked-out games with GameSearch, a new search engine-based technology.

When a DirecTV receiver is tuned-in to a channel with a blacked-out game, GameSearch recognizes the blackout and immediately looks to see if the game is on another channel.

Sports blackouts occur when a sporting event isn’t televised in a certain market to protect the teams, the sports leagues, and the stations, which are the rights-holders to the game broadcast.

“Blackouts have always been the bane of sports fans and while we can't make them go away, we can be the first to make it easier for fans, who have been left in the dark, to find their game if it's being broadcast on another channel," DirecTV executive vice president of entertainment Eric Shanks said in a prepared statement. “Like our HD and interactive services, GameSearch is another DirecTV technological innovation developed in response to what our customers want and what will provide them with the ultimate viewing experience."

GameSearch will automatically recognize when a DirecTV receiver is tuned-in to a channel with a sports blackout. The search engine will immediately scan the DirecTV channel lineup to find alternative channels that may be broadcasting the blacked-out game.

If a non-blacked-out broadcast of the game is found, GameSearch displays an on-screen message giving the viewer the option to tune in to that channel. If a non-blacked out version is not available, an on-screen message will let the viewer know the game is not available. When a game is scheduled to be recorded on a DVR, GameSearch will find the game that is not in black-out and automatically record it.

The GameSearch technology is free of charge to DirecTV customers and is now available to those with the company's HD DVR HR20 and HR21 receivers, as well as the just-released R22 SD DVR. Later this year the service will be rolled out to basic DVRS and next year to HD receivers.

http://www.multichannel.com/index.as...leID=CA6563834

The 2008-2009 Season
NBC Announces Fall Premiere Dates
(NBC News Release)

BURBANK -- May 23, 2008 -- NBC unveils the Fall 2008 series premiere dates for new programs and returning favorites including a three hour launch of the hit drama "Heroes" on Monday, September 22, the Thursday night debut of the new comedy "Kath & Kim" (9:30-10 p.m. ET) on October 9. "America's Toughest Jobs," the new extreme competition series, will debut with a two-hour premiere this Fall on September 12 (8-10 p.m. ET). In addition, the new drama series premieres include "Knight Rider" on September 24 (8-9 p.m. ET), "My Own Worst Enemy" on September 29 (10-11 p.m. ET) and "Crusoe" on October 17 (8-10 p.m. ET).

The announcements were made by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.

On April 2, NBC previously announced Fall, Winter and Summer nightly schedules for the 2008-09 broadcast year, allowing the advertisers to plan their media strategies for the 52-week schedule.

The eagerly anticipated return of "Heroes" launches with three hours in primetime on Monday, September 22 (8-9 p.m. ET) with an hour-long compilation show that will lead into a spectacular all new, two-hour premiere (9-11 p.m. ET). Second-year drama "Chuck," starring Zachary Levi as an unlikely security risk, returns on Monday, September 29 (8-9 p.m. ET) preceding the series premiere of the new drama "My Own Worst Enemy" (10-11 p.m. ET), starring Christian Slater as a seemingly simple man with a radically split personality.

The new comedy "Kath & Kim," starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair, joins the comedy block on Thursdays, beginning October 9 (9:30-10 p.m. ET). The series is based on the most successful comedy in Australia of the same name. An expanded two-hour edition of "The Biggest Loser: Families" (8-10 p.m. ET) will air on Tuesdays, after "America's Got Talent" concludes its run.

Also new to the Fall schedule is "America's Toughest Jobs" (previously announced for Summer 2009), a new extreme competition series from creator/executive producer Thom Beers ("Ice Road Truckers") and executive producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. The series will debut with a two-hour episode on Friday, September 12 (8-10 p.m. ET) and return the next week at 8-9 p.m. (ET) for five weeks before resuming from 9-10 p.m. (ET) beginning October 24.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (10-11 p.m. ET) will round out the night with its 10th season premiere beginning September 23.

The new drama "Knight Rider" (8-9 p.m. ET) will kick off Wednesdays starting September 24 followed by the dramedy "Lipstick Jungle," starring Brooke Shields, Kim Raver and Lindsay Price, which returns for its second season on the same night (10-11 p.m. ET). NBC's hit game show "Deal or No Deal" also returns with fresh episodes on Wednesdays after "America's Got Talent" concludes.

Thursday night comedy favorites return with a one-hour premiere of the fourth season of "My Name Is Earl" on September 25 (8-9 p.m. ET) followed by the one-hour season premiere of the Emmy Award-winning "The Office" (9-10 p.m. ET). "ER" begins its 15th and final season on Thursday, September 25 (10-11 p.m. ET). The new comedy "Kath & Kim," starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair premieres Thursday, October 9 (9:30-10 p.m. ET) and the Emmy-winning "30 Rock," starring Tina Fey ("Baby Mama") and Emmy winner Alec Baldwin, begins its third season on Thursday, October 30 (8:30-9 p.m. ET).

Preceding the premiere of "30 Rock" will be three consecutive weekly "Saturday Night Live" special election editions of "SNL Thursday Night Live" (8:30-9 p.m. ET) on Thursday, October 9, 16 and 23.

"Life" resumes its second season on Friday, October 3 (10-11 p.m. ET) in the drama starring Damian Lewis as a wrongly imprisoned police detective who returns to the force searching for justice. "Crusoe," the action-adventure, contemporary re-telling of the classic Daniel Defoe novel "Robinson Crusoe," will debut on in a special two-hour premiere on Friday, October 17 (8-10 p.m. ET). "America's Toughest Jobs" will air in its regularly scheduled timeslot (8-9 p.m. ET) on Fridays leading up to the premiere of "Crusoe."

Following is NBC's Fall 2008-09 premiere schedule (all times ET):

*New programs in UPPER CASE (with the exception of "ER")

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
"AMERICA'S TOUGHEST JOBS"
Series premiere (8-10 p.m.)
Returns on September 19 (8-9 p.m.) for five weeks; then resumes from 9-10 p.m. on October 24

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
"Heroes" clip show (8-9 p.m.)
Season premiere (9-11 p.m.)

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (10-11 p.m.)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
"KNIGHT RIDER" (8-9 p.m.)
"Lipstick Jungle (10-11 p.m.)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
"My Name Is Earl" -- one-hour premiere (8-9 p.m.)
"The Office" -- one-hour premiere (9-10 p.m.)
"ER" (10-11 p.m.)

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
"Chuck" -- (8-9 p.m.)
"MY OWN WORST ENEMY" -- (10-11 p.m.)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
"Life" -- (10-11 p.m.)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9
"KATH & KIM" (9:30-10 p.m.)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17
"CRUSOE" -- two-hour premiere (8-10 p.m.)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
"30 Rock" -- (8:30-9 p.m.)

NEW SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:

In "My Own Worst Enemy," Henry Spivey (Christian Slater, "Bobby") is a middle-class efficiency expert living a humdrum life in the suburbs with a wife, two kids, a dog, and a minivan. Edward Albright is an operative who speaks 13 languages, runs a four-minute mile, and is trained to kill with his teeth. Henry and Edward are polar opposites who share only one thing in common -- the same body. When the carefully constructed wall between them breaks down, Henry and Edward are thrust into unfamiliar territory where each man is dangerously out of his element. "My Own Worst Enemy" explores the duality of a man who is literally pitted against himself. And it raises the question: who can you trust when you can't trust yourself? Mike O'Malley ("Yes, Dear") and Saffron Burrows ("Boston Legal") also star. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios. Jason Smilovic ("Kidnapped") is the executive producer; David Semel (director of the "American Dreams," "Heroes" and "Life" pilots) is the director and executive producer.

On the heels of NBC's hit movie, the iconic 1980s television classic “Knight Rider” comes roaring back to life as a reinvented, updated and super-charged action series showcasing the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand). Absolutely the coolest car ever created, KITT is equipped with "AI" (artificial intelligence) that is capable of hacking almost any system. Its weapons systems matches that of a jet fighter, and its body is capable of actually transforming into other vehicles and uses sophisticated holographic imagery to elude villains. "Knight Rider" stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars") and Bruce Davison ("Breach"). David Bartis ("Heist," "The O.C."), Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The Bourne Identity") and Gary Scott Thompson ("Las Vegas," "The Fast and The Furious") are executive producers. Based on characters created by Glen Larson, "Knight Rider" is from Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Productions.

The new landmark series "Crusoe" is an epic and ambitious take on Daniel Defoe's legendary tale that finds the dashing and resourceful Crusoe (Philip Winchester, "Thunderbirds") after many years of being a castaway on a desert island with his companion Friday (casting to follow). Written by Stephen Gallagher ("Eleventh Hour") and directed by Duane Clark ("CSI: NY"), "Crusoe" follows the adventures of the two island dwellers while looking in flashback at Crusoe's life before he was thrown into an isolated existence filled with danger and adventure. Among those are his tragic childhood with widower father James (Sean Bean, "The Lord of the Rings"), the blossoming relationship with the love of his life, Susannah (Anna Walton "Hell Boy: the Golden Army") and his entrepreneurial aspirations under the watchful eye of family friend, Jeremiah Blackthorn (Sam Neill, "The Tudors," 'Jurassic Park"). Overcoming marauding militias, hungry cannibals, wild cats, starvation and apocalyptic lightning storms on his seemingly idyllic island, Crusoe dreams of the day he will be reunited with his beloved family. The executive producers are Justin Bodle for Power, Michael Prupas for Muse and Genevieve Hofmeyr for Moonlighting.

For "Kath & Kim," they're the most dysfunctional duo in suburbia. Kath Day (Molly Shannon, NBC's "Saturday Night Live") is the mom, a foxy, 40-something divorcée who finally has time for herself and her valiant search for love. Kim Day (Selma Blair, "Hellboy," "Hellboy II") is the daughter, a self-absorbed princess recently separated from her husband who finds consolation in stuffing her face. When Kim decides to move back home, Kath reluctantly agrees -- but to Kim's chagrin, Kath is not about to cater to her every whim as she has in the past. Based on the most successful comedy in Australia of the same name, Kath and Kim are two brassy women who prefer the finer things in life like acrylic nails, big hair and faux diamond chips. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios and Reveille. The executive producer/writer is Michelle Nader ("The King of Queens") and the executive producer/director is Paul Feig ("Freaks and Geeks," "The Office"). Gina Riley, Jane Turner and Rick McKenna also are executive producers.

From creator/executive producer Thom Beers ("Deadliest Catch," "Ice Road Truckers") and executive producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, "America's Toughest Jobs" is a new extreme competition series that will test 12 people who venture out of their safe, comfortable careers and are injected into some of the most challenging, dangerous and demanding jobs on earth. From logging high in the Oregon Forest to oil drilling on the Texas range, or from driving icy roads to extreme fishing -- each job requires guts and stamina, and they'll have to live up to the same standards as the pros. In the end, their new boss and co-workers will determine success or failure, and those who don't make the grade get sent home. Upping the ante, the annual salary of each job will be thrown into the pot until the finale, where one rookie will take home the well-earned cash. Hosted by Josh Temple, "America's Toughest Jobs" is created by executive producer Beers and is produced by Original Productions and BermanBraun

The 2007-2008 Season
Your Vote Counts

Now that the network TV season has finally ended, it is time for you to vote on what you think are the best programs on prime time network TV.

Just network TV, no cable, no premium, just the networks. (We’ll look at cable later in the year, after the summer season.)

So, summing up, the rules are simple. List your three favorite prime time network TV shows, in order. No explanations, no comments about how you wish cable was included, no comments on your ballot at all. Just the three shows in order.

The polls will be open for a while, and I’ll probably announce your favorites in a week to 10 days.

As usual, feel free to cast your ballot here, or send me a PM. All will be counted.

Now for your comments, feel free to post away. Just do it in a separate posting from your ballot.

And if you care to, tell us what you think was the most important story in TV this year (but leave out the WGA Strike, which we will concede was #1.)

OK, the polling booth is open.

Note: If you are curious about last year’s poll results, check here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=3315