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Emmy Notes
8 reasons to watch the Emmy Awards
With Jane Lynch hosting and Mark Burnett producing, this could be a show full of surprises and intrigue. Here are eight reasons to watch it
By Scott Collins, Los Angeles Times 'The Envelope' Section - September 16th, 2011

Award-show fatigue is a common ailment these days, but in the case of Sunday's Emmys on Fox, there are enough unknowns to make a tune-in worthwhile. Despite the perennial blizzard of pre-Emmy media coverage, this year's Jane Lynch-hosted, Mark Burnett-produced ceremony still promises plenty of moments of intrigue, interest and surprise.

Here are eight items to consider on awards night:

Guaranteed snub: You want high-wire suspense as an envelope is torn open? Check out the lead dramatic actor category. The only Emmy newcomer is Timothy Olyphant of FX's "Justified." The others are all much-praised veterans who have come up short every time. Michael C. Hall has been nominated four times for "Dexter," Jon Hamm the same number for "Mad Men," and Hugh Laurie has failed to get a Emmy in five previous nods for "House, MD." The category also includes Steve Buscemi, who went home Emmy-less as a supporting actor for "The Sopranos" and now is up for "Boardwalk Empire." No matter who wins, someone will get robbed again.

Get ready for sexy time? Probably the world's most famous reality producer, Burnett has in recent years made moves to conquer live awards shows; this will be his first Emmys. The secret to his success? Stunting, much of it raunchy. The highlight of Burnett's 2009 MTV Movie Awards was a scripted gag that had Sacha Baron Cohen, in character as the ostentatiously gay trend-seeker Brüno, land with his bare buttocks in Eminem's face. At this year's ceremony, Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis grabbed each other's privates (but through their clothes). Nothing that racy is likely at the Emmys it's a broadcast regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, after all but remember that Fox's audience is still the youngest in prime time. One executive close to the show promises "surprises," which is either the typical home-team boosterism or Hollywood code for something your mother would truly find repulsive. Tune in to find out which.

Children of "The Sopranos": Want a measure of how much HBO's mob drama has changed TV? Most prognosticators consider this year's best drama category a likely toss-up between "Boardwalk Empire," HBO's tale of Prohibition-era Atlantic City created by Terence Winter, and that returning favorite, AMC's "Mad Men," created by Matt Weiner. Both men honed their craft on "The Sopranos." How many future great dramas are swirling around in the heads of that show's alumni?

Diversity report: Much of the speculation about Lynch's first turn as Emmy host has centered on how much time she'll spend in character as Sue Sylvester, her villainous, Emmy-nominated coach on "Glee." (All Burnett has said is that she will "definitely" sing.) But hello, GLAAD! has anyone else noticed that Lynch is not only the second lesbian to host the show (after Ellen DeGeneres), but the Emmys have also had openly gay hosts for two of the last three years (Neil Patrick Harris was emcee in 2009). Whether zeitgeist or coincidence, maybe the TV academy could take this opportunity to ponder its disappointing record on racial diversity: The last solo host who was black was Bryant Gumbel in 1997. At least George Lopez and the late Bernie Mac showed up in the hosting tag team in 2003.

Money isn't the only green TV cares about: Fox put out a news release about how environmentally friendly this year's Emmys will be, with recycled red carpet, solar panels and low-energy lighting. This marks the first time a company has bragged about a green initiative in the last three minutes. Still, it may well be the first time a network deliberately used the words "recycled" and "low energy" in connection with an entertainment extravaganza.

Michael Vick versus the Falcons versus the Emmys: Last year, NBC caught some heat for moving the Emmy telecast traditionally held right before the official start of the fall season to late August. The reason was that NBC didn't want to lose even one night from its popular Sunday NFL franchise. This year, though, Fox will run right into that football buzz saw on NBC. And what a game! Vick, who pleaded guilty in a dog-fighting case, did time and is now seeking redemption, will quarterback his Philadelphia Eagles for the first time against his old squad, the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta. That stinks for Fox, especially since the last time it hosted the Emmys, in 2007, the program's ratings dipped to near-record lows.

Clip job: Pretty much everyone agrees that the Emmys are too long and pass out too many awards. And yet the structure of the show really hasn't changed that much through the years. Why's that? Well, whenever officials suggest streamlining the awards, the talent guilds whose members don't mind having all their friends, rivals and former lovers see them pick up a prestigious prize on national TV threaten to start charging real money for the program clips that the Emmys now air for a pittance. And so the Emmys stay largely as they have been.

Death not necessarily a downer: Burnett provoked some giggles when he told TV critics this summer that the Emmy "in memoriam" segment a.k.a. the death reel didn't need to be a "downer." "It can be a celebration of what's been left behind," Burnett said last month. "One thing about being in this business is people can enjoy your work after you're gone. I'm looking at it being more of a raise-up than a bring-down."

http://theenvelope.latimes.com/award...,4910433.story

No, but neither does he to argue that $8 is already pretty darned cheap, even if you only use it 6-10 hrs a month. And, I get chastized every time I bring up ala carte, so I just suck up the criticism and move on until the next time.

He's welcome to argue that all he wants, but that's not what he's doing. He's saying the price it what it is and I shouldn't complain. It's "accept it or take a hike".

I say it's not only my right to complain - it's my obligation as a consumer and an American.

We innovate in this country because we like to b!tch about stuff. Countries where people aren't allowed to complain (or simply settle for what they get) have the worst records for producing innovative products.

Complacency kills momentum and high demand products. It happened to IBM, it happened to Microsoft and it's happening to the film and music companies. We're going to "let it ride" right into the ground as we merely copy what already exists and charge more than ever for it.

Amen Brother!

Business Notes
Customers Angry Over Revamped Pricing Are Deserting Netflix
By Brian Stelter, The New York Times - September 16th, 2011

Some of Netflix's popularity lies in its simplicity in its ability to serve up films and TV shows and renew subscriptions automatically, without any thinking on the part of the customer.

Until now, that is.

A new pricing scheme is forcing Netflix's 25 million customers to think about which service they want access to online streams, access to DVDs by mail or both and some have decided to rethink the monthly splurge entirely.

On Thursday, the company said that customers were canceling their subscriptions in greater numbers than it expected, about a million in total, causing a projected quarterly loss in customers for only the second time in its history. The company did not signal a shift in direction or a change its financial guidance for the quarter; still, its stock dropped almost 19 percent in heavy trading on Thursday, closing at $169.25 and worsening a season-long selling streak. In July, the stock peaked at $304.79.

The downward revision reflects the negative reaction to Netflix's decision, announced in July and adopted this month, to separate its DVD-by-mail service from its faster-growing Internet streaming service. Before, DVD-by-mail was a $2 add-on for some streaming subscribers; now, each service now costs $8.

Like many customers, Steve LoGiudice, a health care analyst from Wooster, Ohio, re-evaluated his Netflix spending this summer when the change was announced. His 6- and 9-year-old children watch TV episodes through Netflix, so he kept the streaming service, but he stopped paying for DVDs by mail.

If they didn't radically change their cost structure, Mr. LoGiudice said of Netflix, we probably would have just kept paying the old rate without much thought or review.

Netflix's subscriber base had been on a reliably upward trajectory since its founding more than a decade ago, with one slight exception in 2007. The company widely praised for making it easy to stream films and some TV shows via the Internet had 24.6 million customers at the end of the second quarter of the year, when it last reported figures to investors. Back then, it expected that it would end the third quarter with 25 million, three million of whom would opt only for the DVD service.

But early Thursday morning it lowered its subscriber estimates for the third quarter, which ends in two weeks, to an expected total of 24 million, a quarterly decline of 600,000.

The decline is due in large part to customers who were unhappy about the price changes. Netflix now expects that 2.2 million customers will opt for DVDs by mail only.

Investors and the Internet video-consuming public have been paying close attention to Netflix as a leader in the growing over-the-top video industry, a reference to the fact that Netflix piggybacks on other companies' Internet connections.

Netflix has proved that many people will pay for a premium selection of films and shows online, helping to create a new revenue stream for media companies and sparking competition from Hulu, Amazon and other competitors. But Netflix also has shown that customers can reject what they perceive as an unfair deal.

Netflix knew that some customers would drop out when the changes were instituted. It had previously cautioned investors that the change would benefit the company, but not until the fourth quarter. Despite the guidance revision, we remain convinced that the splitting of our services was the right long-term strategic choice, the company wrote in a letter to shareholders on Thursday.

The splitting of the services, the company said in July and again Thursday, will give it more money to spend on content for its streaming service, which is widely recognized as the future of the company.

Some analysts backed Netflix. While noting the short-term uncertainty, Anthony DiClemente of Barclays Capital said in an analysts' note Thursday that Netflix remains among the best user experiences for watching video online and credited it for remaining disciplined on costs and pursuing international opportunities.

Earlier this month, Netflix started new streaming services in Brazil, Mexico and many other Latin America countries. Previously the service was available only in the United States and Canada.

Netflix faces the same hurdle in every country it opens up shop: a need for compelling content. That fact was reaffirmed in the United States earlier this month when the premium cable channel Starz, which supplies Sony and Disney films to Netflix, said it would stop doing so in February when its contract expires.

The films from Starz helped to jump-start Netflix's streaming service several years ago, but according to Starz, the two companies could not come to terms on a new contract. Netflix said it would acquire content from other sources, essentially spending its subscribers' money elsewhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/bu...ref=technology

Business Notes
How over-the-top video actually helps the cable industry
By Ryan Lawler, GiGaOM.com - September 16th, 2011

Cable companies are increasingly stuck between a rock and a hard place: On one hand, they’re stuck feeding the big-media beast, which demands that they pay more to content partners for the programming that runs on their systems. On the other, they’re faced with a gloomy economy which means fewer subscribers can pay for that content. That conundrum has gotten some cable execs actively talking about shifting their focus from traditional pay TV services to offering broadband services as their anchor products.

The latest to consider the possibility is Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge. As reported by Multichannel News, Rutledge said at an investor conference yesterday that streaming services from companies like Netflix and Hulu could help defray the ever-rising content costs that cable companies are forced to pay. He said:

“The rich [programming] package we provide is extremely valuable to customers and there is pricing power in that package… On the other hand, you have people experimenting with over-the-top television, which if successful would tend to make that package less stable, which will change the balance of costs. I’m not sure how that goes.”

Rutledge went on to say that he would offer Netflix as a service on his cable system, if he could. He also highlighted Cablevision’s Optimum Link PC-To-TV service, which lets consumers stream over-the-top content from their computers to their TVs.

“Our goal is to put everything that’s on the Internet on all the screens in the house,” Rutledge said. “We’re moving rapidly to make that technology work even better and we think within a matter of months we’ll have a very robust system where customers can take their Netflix product, whether they have a device that carries Netflix or not , or Hulu or any other over-the-top service and put it on the TV. To the extent that that has a moderating effect on our programming costs, that’s good. To the extent it satisfies customers, that’s good.”

As we’ve written in the past, focusing less on the pay TV services that cable companies offer today and focusing more on broadband services wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea. For one thing, high-speed Internet services typically have much higher margins than traditional video services. That’s mostly because cable providers don’t have to pay for the content that runs over their broadband pipes.

Rutledge made his comments at the same time that some analysts are beginning to question the viability of the cable package as it’s currently priced. In a research note issued yesterday, Bernstein Research Senior Analyst Craig Moffett highlighted what he called an “affordability crisis” for the pay TV sector, due to rising cable prices at the same time that consumers face deeper macroeconomic pressures:

“After the necessities of food, shelter, transportation and healthcare each month, the bottom 40% of U.S. households have already exhausted all of their disposable income. There is nothing left for clothing… for debt service… for cable… or for phone.”

Offering attractive broadband packages is one way that Cablevision could keep those subscribers, without having to worry about rising content costs. And it’s a way consumers could choose what content they want to watch or pay for, without paying for hundreds of cable channels they don’t watch.

http://gigaom.com/video/over-the-top-cablevision/

Actually, all he basically said was he's tired of the whining and you have a choice to pay or not to pay, the same thing many of us get when we express our desire for ala carte pricing. And, no one said you weren't entitled to keep whining about it.

Oh, and I won't disagree with those last points, I've been complaining about those for a long time, though I'm not sure "bitching" is the right term. Seems to me you are merely suggesting a way for NetFlix to make even more money by offering a simple option that would entice consumers like you to opt in rather than opt out. Of course, it doesn't do much good to only suggest such options here and not send such suggestions to NetFlix directly.

TV Notes
MTV Orders 6 New Shows -- 2 Comedies, 4 Unscripted
By Joshua L. Weinstein, TheWrap.com - September 16th, 2011

MTV is adding six new shows -- two comedies and four unscripted programs, the network announced Friday.

The unscripted shows are the reality and docu-series "Catfish," "Hoods," "Wake Brothers" and "Wait Til Net Year." The comedies are "Underemployed" and "Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous."

Ke$ha stars in the first episode of "Hood," a docu-series that follows a different celebrity each week.

In a written statement, MTV's head of programming, David Janolari, said, "On the heels of our summer ratings success, we're thrilled to add these unique new series to our schedule. These shows underscore our commitment to further diversifying our schedule as we continue to solidify our place as the entertainment destination for our core Millennial audience."

MTV noted that the new shows were announced "as the network ends one of its most successful summers in recent history. This summer, MTV aired six of the top 20 original series on cable among P12-34, more than any other network."

The hit "Jersey Shore" was No. 1. "Teen Mom" was No. 2.

Other hits for MTV were the scripted shows "Awkward" and "Teen Wolf," which each were renewed for second seasons, and "The Challenge: Rivals" and "16 & Pregnant."

This year's MTV Video Music Awards was the network's most-watched show ever, with 12.4 million viewers.

Here are details about MTV's new shows, from the network's press release:

"Catfish"

From the producers of the hit Sundance feature documentary "Catfish," comes a new MTV series that brings together couples who've interacted solely through LCD screens. Over the course of months they've supposedly fallen in love -- but what will happen when they meet in real life for the first time? With the guidance and help of Nev Schulman, the star of the original "Catfish" feature film, in each episode, a hopeful romantic partner will go on an emotional trip to discover the truth about their significant other. Is he who he says he is? And if so, will love truly blossom? These emotional journeys promise to be filled with mystery, surprises, and sometimes, even shocking revelations.

"Catfish" is produced by RelativityREAL. Executive producers are Tom Forman, Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost, Marc Smerling, Andrew Jarecki, Brad Bishop and Jonathan Karsh. Executive producers for MTV are Dave Sirulnick, Marshall Eisen and Nomi Leidner, with Jonathan Mussman serving as the executive in charge for the network.

"Hoods"

"Hoods" is a new docu-series that follows one celebrity each week as they leave the glitz and glamour of their celebrity lives and go back home to reconnect with their roots. Watch as our celeb takes a walk down memory lane to revisit all the people, places, and things that took them from being a fresh-faced teenage dreamer to one of today's most popular stars. The pilot episode features pop sensation Ke$ha going back to her hometown roots in Nashville.

Shannon Fitzgerald and Tiffany Williams are executive producers for MTV, and Shane Tilston is the executive in charge for the network. Bruce Gilmer is executive producer for MTV International. The original concept for "Hoods" was developed by Lisa Stokoe (MTV UK).

"Underemployed"

On the eve of their college graduation, best pals Sofia, Daphne, Lou, Raviva and Miles believe they're destined for greatness, and are set to dazzle the world with their brilliance. A year later, cold reality has set in and the group struggles, often comically, to stay optimistic through dead end odd jobs, terrible bosses, romantic mistakes and major life changes.

"Underemployed" is executive produced by Emmy-nominated Craig Wright ("Dirty Sexy Money," "Brothers & Sisters"). The series stars Jared Kusnitz (left) as Lou, Inbar Lavi as Raviva, Michelle Ang as Sofia, Sarah Habel as Daphne, and Latin pop superstar Diego Boneta, who is the lead in the upcoming film Rock of Ages, as Miles. Justin Levy, Clay Spencer and Julie Schwachenwald are the MTV executives in charge of production.

"Wait Till Next Year"

This weekly half-hour docu-series follows the loveable Lincoln Park High School football team is like a real life "Bad News Bears;" they've lost 43 games in a row, a five-year losing streak. With the help of a gruff new head coach, they're hoping to do what nobody else thinks they can - win one game. A reality docudrama "Friday Night Lights," this series looks at and celebrates the spirit of transformation and resilience in contemporary teen life.

Executive producers on "Wait Till Next Year" are Craig D'Entrone, Amelia D'Entrone and Sean Travis. Lauren Dolgen and Julie Schwachenwald are the MTV executives in charge of production.

"Wake Brothers"

Sibling Rivalry can be rough...and in the case of wakeboarding pros Philip and Bob Soven, well, it's sibling rivalry on steroids. 22-year-old Philip Soven is at the top of his game, and is the number one pro wake boarder in the world. That means lots of cash and celebrity status. But now Phillip's place in the universe is being threatened by Bob, his 19-year-old brother. Phillip and Bob are always ready to compete for who is better, faster, smarter or has more game with the ladies. They turn life into a giant game. Of course, wakeboarding is always first...but living large is a close second.

"Wake Brothers" is produced by Pink Sneakers Productions. Executive producers are Kimberly Cowin and John Ehrard. Tony DiBari and Karen Frank serve as executive producers for MTV, and Matt Parillo is the executive in charge for the network.

"Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous"

After graduating high school, Zach Stone, played by young comic star Bo Burnham - who dominates the social media world with over 100 million views online and was the youngest comic to perform on a Comedy Central special - opts out of college and hires a documentary film crew to help him pursue the new American Dream: becoming famous with no apparent talent whatsoever.

Bo personifies the voice of today's teen generation in an honest, irreverent and ultimately triumphant way.

Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous" is produced by 3 Arts Entertainment. Executive producers on the series are Bo Burnham, Dan Lagana, Luke Liacos and Dave Becky. Justin Levy, Clay Spencer and Michelle Klepper are the MTV executives in charge of production.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-pos...scripted-31055

The 2011/2012 Season
Fall TV preview: How Friday's new shows rate
By Aaron Barnhart, Kansas City Star

[ALL TIMES LISTED ARE CENTRAL TIME]

A Gifted Man (CBS, 7 p.m. Sept. 23).
Didn't like The Ghost Whisperer, don't care much for medical dramas, so I wasn't inclined toward a hybrid of the two. And I'm still not, though Jennifer Ehle is enchanting as the blithe spirit who haunts her ex-husband, a high-powered M.D. (Patrick Wilson), after her untimely death.
Verdict: Skip It.

Grimm (NBC, 8 p.m. Oct. 21).
This is one of those shows where the pitch meeting was probably way more entertaining than the finished pilot. Producers Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner know good TV; they're also behind Hot in Cleveland. But I'll bet when NBC picked up this unwatchable hybrid of police drama and Buffy/Angel-style zombie slaying seasoned with references to the original, kiddie-unfriendly Grimm's Fairy Tales they said to themselves, Holy cow! We can sell anything.
Verdict: Skip It.

WHERE'S SATURDAY?
No new shows are scheduled to air on Saturday, and the only returning show is Rules of Engagement, the comedy starring David Spade. It airs from 7 to 7:30 p.m.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/10...idays-new.html

Oh you mean like this? Seems like it's what he wants.

1 DVD out at-a-time
(limit 2 rentals a month)

Watch instantly (up to 2 hours a month) on your PC or Mac
A Netflix ready device cannot be used with this plan
Starz Play and live Starz Play TV channel are not available
Click here to add Blu-ray access for an additional cost

$4.99 a month

TV Notes
Saturday's Highlights: 'Love Begins' on Hallmark
By Los Angeles Times' 'Show Tracker' Blog - September 16th, 2011

[ALL TIMES LISTED ARE PACIFIC TIME]

PREQUEL: Wes Brown, left, Abigail Mavity and Julie Mond star in the new TV melodrama Love Begins at 9 and 11 p.m. on Hallmark.

SERIES

Celebrity Nightmares Decoded: In this new series, expert dream analyst Lauren Lawrence interprets dreams of celebrities. In the premiere: Dustin Screech Diamond dreams of a faceless butcher; Danielle Staub wakes a nightmare; Nicole Eggert is tormented by snakes in her nightmares (7 and 8 p.m. Biography).

Too Cute! This new episode of the lighthearted nature documentary follows the birth and early months of three litters of puppies (9 p.m. Animal Planet).

Blue Mountain State: Change is coming to the team as the sitcom centered around a college football program returns for a third season. Ed Marinaro, Darin Brooks, Denise Richards and Alan Ritchson star (11 p.m. Spike).

MOVIES

Mildred Pierce: When her second husband, Monte (Zachary Scott), is murdered, and her first (Bruce Bennett) becomes the prime suspect, businesswoman Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) sets the police straight in flashback in this 1945 film noir classic (5 p.m. TCM).

Hereafter: A construction worker, a journalist and a London schoolboy (Matt Damon, Cecile De France and Frankie McLaren) set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in director Clint Eastwood's 2010 drama (8 p.m. HBO).

SPORTS

College football: Colorado vs. Colorado State (10:30 a.m. FSN); Tennessee at Florida (12:30 p.m. CBS); Michigan State at Notre Dame (12:30 p.m. NBC); Texas at UCLA (12:30 p.m. ABC); Arkansas State at Virginia Tech (1 p.m. FS Prime); Navy at South Carolina (3 p.m. ESPN2); Ohio State at Miami (4:30 p.m. ESPN); Oklahoma at Florida State (5 p.m. ABC); Syracuse at USC (5 p.m. FX); Utah at BYU (6:15 p.m. ESPN2); Oklahoma State at Tulsa (7 p.m. FSN); Stanford at Arizona (7:45 p.m. ESPN).

Baseball: The Houston Astros visit the Chicago Cubs (10 a.m. WGN A); the Angels visit the Baltimore Orioles (4 p.m. MyNet); the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the Dodgers (7 p.m. FS Prime).

Soccer: Club Deportivo Chivas USA visits the Chicago Fire (1 p.m. KDOC).

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/show...-hallmark.html

Emmy/Critic's Notes
In Which I Predict the Emmy Winners, Probably Incorrectly
By James Poniewozik, TIME's 'Tuned In' Blog - September 16th, 2011

The 2011 Emmy Awards are this Sunday night; I'll be live-tweeting them as usual, and I'll have some sort of writeup on the awards the next morning. There are several very competitive categories this year, with, for instance, the ineligibility of Breaking Bad opening space in the drama categories.

Who will win? Who should? My picks for both, in the series and lead-acting categories (not supporting, because I can only type so much). Caveat: I have never won an Emmy pool. If you base your bets on my prognostications, you do not deserve your money. Read on, and let me know your picks:

COMEDY ACTRESS
Laura Linney (The Big C), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly), Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope), Tina Fey (30 Rock)

Should win: Poehler, not just because Parks was the best thing in comedy this season, but because she made Leslie Knope a rounded comic and emotional character in a season about her professional ambition and personal life.

Will win: Linney. Because movie actress and cancer.

DRAMA ACTRESS
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men​), Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), Mireille Enos (The Killing), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Kathy Bates (Harry's Law)

Should win: Enos. I'd be happy to see Britton for five great years on FNL or Moss for a strong season (and knockout performance in "The Suitcase"). But whatever my problems with how The Killing played out, Enos was continually compelling in showing Sarah Linden's doggedness and chafed emotions. All in some of the thickest sweaters modern woolenry can provide.

Will win: Margulies--who I'm also just fine with. Bates is an outstanding actress over her career, but if it's her, I'm going to my shoe store and getting my gun.

COMEDY ACTOR
Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), Jim Parsons​ (The Big Bang Theory), Steve Carell​ (The Office), Johnny Galecki​ (The Big Bang Theory), Louis C.K. (Louie), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)

Should win: Carell, for his wide-ranging comic-dramatic performance in Michael Scott's swan song.

Will win: Carell, as a gold watch for seven years as Michael Scott.

DRAMA ACTOR
Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House), Timothy Olyphant (Justified)

Should win: Hamm, who--even if Bryan Cranston were eligible this Emmys--had his best performance year in season 4, and in "The Suitcase" in particular.

Will win: Buscemi, on the movie-guy-does-TV rule, though I am not rock-solid confident in this pick.

BEST COMEDY
Glee, Parks and Recreation, The Office, Modern Family, 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory

Should win: Parks and Recreation--the best comedy of the year, excepting maybe Louie, which wasn't nominated. (There are others that should have been nominated too—Community and Archer, for instance—but Parks was still tops.)

Will win: Modern Family, last year's winner. Its critical favor dropped a notch in season 2, but it's still popular and funny, and I don't see it going anywhere soon.

BEST DRAMA
Boardwalk Empire, The Good Wife, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, Dexter, Game of Thrones

Should win: Mad Men. Though I'd be delighted too for a first-time nod to Game of Thrones or a (unlikely) gold watch for Friday Night Lights; the only choice that would really disappoint me would be Dexter.

Will win: The Good Wife. This is my upset pick, and it's based on nothing except the fact that it had a strong year critically, and that Emmy voters, many of whom came up in broadcast TV, would love to give the award to a broadcast show again. Though I would not count out Boardwalk Empire, which has been racking up early award wins, should Mad Men fail to four-peat.

http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2011/0...ly/#more-16998

Not even close.

I want a real disc plan with a small number of hours of streaming a month. That isn't even a good disc plan. If I only wanted two rentals a month, I'd just do Red Box. With the additional cost of BD for that plan, I could get two Red Box rentals and a PPV rental with no waiting.

That's a plan for people who think they should have Netflix to belong to something, but don't actually want to watch movies.

Further, it doesn't allow me to stream through my BD player, which would be a deal killer, as well.

Emmy/Critic's Notes
Starz to pay tribute to Andy Whitfield with 'Spartacus' marathon
By Aly Semigran, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - September 16th, 2011

In the days following the sad passing of Spartacus: Blood and Sand star Andy Whitfield who died Sunday, Sept. 11 at the age of 39 from non-Hodgkin Lymphoma tributes from colleagues and fans alike came pouring in for the late actor.

And the tributes continue: In honor of his memory, Starz announced that beginning at 9 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, it will run a Spartacus: Blood and Sand five-episode marathon. The marathon will include show's premiere and finale, as well as fan-favorite episodes that highlight some of Whitfield's most memorable moments on the show. In addition to next month's tribute, the network also plans to re-air the entire first season of Spartacus: Blood and Sand beginning Dec. 16.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/09/16/st...tfield-tribut/

TV Sports
Frank McCourt seeks court's approval to sell Dodgers' TV rights
By Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times - September 17th, 2011

The Dodgers on Friday asked for court permission to sell their television rights, the key to owner Frank McCourt's strategy to remain the owner of the team when it emerges from bankruptcy protection.

The long-awaited court filing sets up a likely legal confrontation with Commissioner Bud Selig, who will have to argue why a team in bankruptcy should not be allowed to maximize the value of its television rights by auctioning them off.

"Objecting to the highest and best bid generated by this process ought to be hard to do," said Bruce Bennett, the Dodgers' lead bankruptcy lawyer. "It usually fails."

Fox Sports holds exclusive negotiating rights for another year and has threatened to sue for damages if the Dodgers solicit other offers before then. Neither Fox nor Major League Baseball commented on the filing Friday. A hearing is set for Oct. 12.

The Dodgers asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to authorize a 45-day exclusive negotiating window with Fox, followed if necessary by an auction. In court papers, the Dodgers said Fox, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Dish Network and DirecTV all could be interested in paying the team a lucrative rights fee or partnering in a Dodgers-branded regional sports network, in which the team would own all or part of the cable channel that airs its games.

With such a deal, the Dodgers say they would be able to emerge from bankruptcy protection next year, repay all of their creditors and have "excess cash of more than $175 million at the end of 2012."

The Dodgers said they were "hopeful" that Selig would approve a new television deal but were prepared to ask the Bankruptcy Court to overrule Selig if necessary. Under MLB rules to which McCourt agreed, Selig has the final say.

Bennett said the competitive bidding should result in a sale for significantly more than the $3-billion Fox deal proposed by McCourt and rejected by Selig in June.

In court papers, the Dodgers say that the bidding should resolve one of the primary factors cited by Selig in his rejection — that is, McCourt did not maximize his team's media rights because his immediate need for cash had compelled him to negotiate with Fox rather than wait until he could solicit bids from other parties.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,0,40279.story

The 2011/2012 Season
Networks spread out releases of new shows
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - September 16th, 2011

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- At first glance, it may not seem like there are lots of new TV shows this fall.

But that's only because several broadcast networks are spacing out the premieres rather than dumping all the new shows onto the prime-time schedule during two weeks in September.

Of the 28 new fall shows, six won't premiere until after Oct. 1. ABC won't premiere two of its new comedies, including "Last Man Standing" with Tim Allen ("Home Improvement"), until mid-October. Its fantasy-drama "Once Upon a Time" doesn't bow until late October. And Fox's "I Hate My Teenage Daughter" won't be on the air until late November.

"When you've got a whole lot of good shows, why would you concentrate them in a week against competition of 30 or 40 shows and all the marketing that goes with it and see which ones are standing three weeks later?" said ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee. "It's much better to give them their launch spots and put the marketing behind them and put the network behind them and give them a good chance."

NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, who previously ran programming at Showtime, said he'd get rid of premiere week altogether if he could.

"For all of us to launch all of these shows in the same week is really foolhardy," he said. "I'd prefer not to have a fall launch at all, but I don't really have any say in that so at the very least we're going to try to separate things a little bit. It's just the way it has to be done. All the networks have looked at it and done a little bit of separating because we're just killing all of our young in the same week."

NBC premiered two new comedies, "Up All Night" and "Free Agents," on Wednesday in advance of the official start of the 2011-12 TV season next week. The CW premiered most of its new shows this week.

CBS, the most-watched network, is sticking to a more traditional fall rollout schedule.

"Don't forget, we have fewer shows to launch this fall: three dramas and two comedies," said CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. "So for us, we're still going for the conventional big fanfare. Also, we've got the best platform to promote these shows on our own air."

Broadcast networks have long programmed year-round, but ABC has gotten more strategic, ordering several high-profile shows ("The River," "Scandal," "Missing," "G.C.B.") that will premiere between January and May in the back half of the 2011-12 TV season.

"The Oscars are a huge platform for one of our shows that comes later in the season," Mr. Lee said. "And January is a great platform, even though people are doing different things over Christmas, you can find them [to get promotions in front of them] whether it's in airports or elsewhere. So we wanted to make sure we spread it out and make sure we're not having [our new shows] fight it out in one week."

Ready for Emmy?

"Glee" star Jane Lynch will host the "63rd Primetime Emmy Awards" at 8 p.m. Sunday on Fox (WPGH), and she's looking to a favorite awards show host from the past for inspiration.

"Do you remember the year Billy Crystal did the Oscars and Jack Palance did the one-armed pushups?" Ms. Lynch said at a Fox press conference last month in Beverly Hills, Calif. "I love the way Billy Crystal hosted the Oscars. And I thought Jimmy Fallon was just wonderful [as the Emmys host] last year."

But don't expect her to host the entire telecast as her hilariously nasty "Glee" character, cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester.

"I think a little bit of Sue Sylvester goes a long way," she said. "There are some ideas out there for Sue Sylvester, but I think we'll probably leave her track suit on the Paramount lot [where 'Glee' films]."

Mark Burnett, executive producer of "Survivor," is producing this year's Emmycast. He's previously produced the "MTV Movie Awards" and "The People's Choice Awards."

"I do award shows because it's a fun live experience, and I think the most important thing is pacing," he said. "I think the best way to do these shows is a lot of shorter bits so it keeps moving along and adding in short spoof film pieces."

There will be an "in memoriam" segment, but Mr. Burnett plans to do it differently.

"I think 'in memoriam' doesn't need to be a bummer," he said, generating laughs from TV critics during a Fox press conference. "It can be a celebration of what was left behind, because the one thing about working in this business and creating art that lives on is when you're gone, people still enjoy your work. ... I want to look at it a little differently as a raise up, not a bring down."

Interestingly, even though he produces reality shows, he doesn't see them taking up more of the Emmy broadcast this year.

"The truth of the matter is reality television is seven out of the Top 10 TV shows on television all the time, the most viewers by far," Mr. Burnett said. "However, it's not full of stars. And therefore, it doesn't translate to an awards show because people are tuning in for glamour."

Although the Emmy telecast begins Sunday at 8, a pre-show airs on Fox at 7 p.m. Coverage on E! begins at 5 p.m. TV Guide Network will air "Kathy Griffin's Emmys Aftermath," a one-hour recap of winners, losers and red carpet blunders, at 8 p.m. Monday.

'Flashpoint' on Ion

Ion Television will air new episodes of "Flashpoint" on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. beginning Oct. 18.

Ion's Pittsburgh affiliate, WINP, Channel 16, currently carries Ion on one of its digital subchannels and expects to switch Ion to its primary channel, 16.1, on Oct. 1.

'Dance Moms' bragging

Heaven help us, Lifetime is issuing press releases bragging about the ratings for filmed-in-Penn Hills train wreck "Dance Moms," which features the squabbling mothers of dance students at a studio run by the brusque, listening-impaired Abby Lee Miller.

After last week's episode, Lifetime sent out a press release touting the show reaching "series highs in multiple demographics."

The show was up 6 percent in total viewers (to 1.7 million viewers), up 35 percent in adults 18-49 and up 17 percent in adults 25-54.

Bragging press releases are no guarantee of a pickup, but networks typical don't send out such releases deep into the run of a series they plan to cancel. We'll see.

Nicotero news

This past weekend at the Creative Arts Emmy ceremony, McCandless native Greg Nicotero and his team won an Emmy for prosthetic makeup for AMC's "The Walking Dead."

On Thursday, Mr. Nicotero was named co-executive producer of "The Walking Dead," and he also has inked a first-look deal with AMC, which gives him the opportunity to bring his own passion projects to the network.

Greg's cousin, native Pittsburgh comedian Frank Nicotero ("Street Smarts"), returns to TV this weekend as the host of "The Game of Life" on The Hub (6 p.m. Saturday).

"The Game of Life" is based on the Life board game and includes the game's familiar car, the clickety-clack, rainbow-colored spinner and plenty of roadblocks.

Channel surfing

Season two of Showtime's "Gigolos" premieres at 11 p.m. Oct. 20. ... Lifetime canceled "The Protector" after a single season this summer. ... WQED will host a screening and discussion at 6:30 p.m. Monday on the film "Not in Our Town: Light in the Darkness," airing on PBS at 10 p.m. Wednesday. The film looks at a hate crime case in Long Island. Tickets to the screening, held at WQED, 4802 Fifth Ave., Oakland, are free, but registration is required (http://notinourtownatwqed.eventbrite.com). ... PCN will partner with Penn State's College of Communications to open a Centre County Bureau in the ComMedia facility at Innovation Park in University Park. ... Today at 3:30 p.m., producers and actors from "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the classic children's show in the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union ballroom at Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard in Oakland. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. RSVP to info@steeltown.org to reserve a seat. ... WTAE has taken its Sunday night sports show out of its schedule and is expanding its 11 p.m. Sunday newscast to one hour beginning this weekend.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11259/1175019-67-0.stm

The 2011-2012 Season
Network Status Report: Will Simon Cowell and Terra Nova Make Fox Even More Dominant, or Push Their Luck?
By Josef Adalian, New York Magazine's 'Vulture Blog'

As we head into the new fall season, this week we've been putting all of the broadcast networks under a microscope to see what they need to do to either pull ahead or stay dominant ... and the odds of them actually doing so. Today we take a long look at Fox. Traditionally the top drawer of young viewers, it's making a couple of big moves by adding The X Factor and Terra Nova: Will they be monster hits, or pricey anticlimaxes? And how will aging fare like Fringe and House hold up?

Preseason standing: Last year it remained a dominant No. 1 in the demo group advertisers love most, adults under 50. Even though American Idol lost some buzz in the second half of its season, the addition of J. Lo and Steven Tyler ensured Idol didn't collapse in its first Simon-free season; this, combined with the continued success of Glee and procedurals Bones and House, guaranteed Fox's continued success overall. The network was No. 2 in overall viewers, finishing more than one million ahead of third place ABC.

Primary goal: Yes, it would be nice if the elaborate Terra Nova (seemingly in the works since the Clinton administration) turns into a solid hit. But the show Fox really, really wants to work is The X Factor. Sure, the network already has a super-successful singing competition with American Idol, a series so hugely successful that it masks the scent of even massive rating failures such as Lone Star. But imagine Fox's position in the ratings game if X ends up even half as popular as Idol: Fox will have two big tentpole series taking up about one fifth of its prime-time lineup in both the fall and winter.

Most promising new show: Terra Nova should have a very successful debut, thanks to lots of anticipation and great marketing that has taken full advantage of the show's multiple production delays to get people talking about the show. We are worried, however, that folks who come looking for weekly dino-thrills may be a bit bummed by the show's equal emphasis on family dynamics. In the end, Fox's top-rated fall entry will likely be X Factor.

Veterans on the bubble: Fringe has skirted death almost from the beginning and it's unlikely to get off the bubble this year. High production costs could make this the last season for House. Fox may decide to trim back its Gordon Ramsay franchise a bit, reducing his workload from three to two series (Kitchen Nightmares would be the easiest to kill).

How they'll finish: A lock to end up No. 1 in adults 18 to 49. CBS is probably too far ahead among all viewers to catch, unless X and Terra Nova are both blockbusters and Idol declines by less than 10 percent.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment...ctor_terr.html

TV Notes
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' gets new orders
Show returns with fresh cast and mission
By Richard Huff, New York Daily News - September 16th, 2011


Kelli Giddish, Danny Pino are new on the force this season "Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit." (Photo: Will Hart/NBC)

Dick Wolf's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" returns to the lineup Wednesday night at 10 with a couple of new cast members and a refocused mission, said the cast and executive producer Warren Leight on Thursday.

"This year, season 13 of 'SVU,' is a bit of a rebirth," Leight said at a gathering with reporters on the show's Chelsea Piers soundstage.

That rebirth comes after the departure of Christopher Meloni, who played Detective Elliot Stabler - a move that will be part of the show - and the arrival of two new detectives, played by Kelli Giddish and Danny Pino.

"How does it affect the squad? The season ended in a bloodbath in the squad room, so there are a lot of changes already in place. They're getting over a lot of loss," said Leight.

While Giddish and Pino give the cast a different feel (Stephanie March is back as an assistant district attorney), there are other changes, too.

Leight, who worked on "L&O: Criminal Intent," said "SVU" now will incorporate some of the psychological elements of "Criminal Intent" and legal aspects of the original "Law & Order." "L&O: SVU" is the last of the franchise still on the air.

The precinct setup has changed a bit, too. There will be more scenes of detectives in the squad room and other minor changes that indicate a precinct rebuilding after a loss.

Moreover, all but one of the writers are now in New York, rather than Los Angeles, because, Leight said, "I feel the show benefits from the city."

As part of that process, the cast and writers have talked to real detectives and other experts to get a renewed sense of what goes on when there's a significant change in a station house.

Giddish, last seen on NBC's "The Chase," said joining the show was like "going into a family that's been together for 12 years."

"It's a really nice flame to carry," she added.

Mariska Hargitay would not say whether this is her last season, but said she has a "completely open mind" about the future. She will function as a lone wolf this year as Detective Olivia Benson, according to Leight.

"Everything is new, that's what is so exciting," said Hargitay. "For me personally, it's a completely different Olivia, coming from a completely different place. With Elliot's departure, Olivia has been turned upside down."

Also back this season are Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch and Dann Florek as Captain Don Cragen, a role he started in 1990 on the original "L&O."

"We don't ignore the loss," Belzer said of Meloni, who decided to leave at the end of last season. "It was a huge loss emotionally, and as an actor, it's a challenge."

The loss of Meloni's Stabler frees the show from having to manufacture personal issues for its characters - they already have the simmering emotions of loss.

Ice-T, who plays Detective Odafin (Fin) Tutuola, said he'd like to see the new energy propel "SVU" to a record for longest-running prime-time drama. "L&O" tied "Gunsmoke" for that honor, with 20 years.

"We're a team," said Ice-T, noting how rare it is for a show to be on 13 years. "I want to do another 10 years. I want to keep it going. I've got new teammates, we've got to keep winning. I think this is the new blood, the new boost ... so maybe we'll get the record, I think we can do 20 or 22, why the hell not?"

LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
Season Premiere Wednesday Sept. 21 at 10PM on NBC

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...ew_orders.html

The 2011-2012 Season
Network Status Report: With Its Past Hits Fading, Can ABC Rebound With New Soapy Ones?
By Josef Adalian, New York Magazine's 'Vulture Blog' - September 16th, 2011

All week long we've been analyzing the broadcast networks' prospects as they head into the new season, and today we end the series with ABC: It just barely hung onto third place last year, and with its once-hit series aging (Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy), the alphabet network is in dire need of new hits. Can the much-hyped Revenge and Pan Am restore it to the glory of last decade?

Preseason standing: A weak No. 3, in both viewers and adults 18 to 49. This is partially because ABC doesn't have the NFL to boost its Sunday ratings, unlike all of its main rivals, but it also had no new big hits. Lost is gone, Desperate Housewives will end this season (after a bad one last year), and Grey's Anatomy has fallen far from its glory days, though it still pulls in very solid Nielsen numbers. Thankfully, Modern Family and The Middle both grew in their second seasons, turning into even bigger hits. And while Body of Proof is no game-changer, it showed signs of life (which may be one reason CBS is hoping to kill the show in its cradle by scheduling its hot new rookie Unforgettable directly opposite Body this season).

Primary goal: Lather up the next juicy ABC soap. The Alphabet roared to life in the aughts with high-concept dramas super-popular with female audiences and acceptable to male viewers. Since those heavyweights have faded, ABC needs to find shows with similar pop-culture buzz. From the fall's Pan Am and Revenge to mid-season entrant GCB, look for shows boasting lots of intense stares, melodramatic music, and cliff-hanger endings all season long.

Most promising new show: ABC officials have called Revenge an internal favorite, something reflected by tons of on- and off-air promotion this summer. The show does stand a shot at finding an audience against crime dramas on NBC and CBS, but it's the Alphabet's Sunday newcomer Pan Am that really seems poised for takeoff. Some have dismissed it for being a watered-down clone of Mad Men set in the air, but that's just silly.Pan Am's true spiritual predecessor is The Love Boat, and we mean that in a good way. While not nearly as comic as Love, both shows use travel as a tool to help introduce ever-changing story lines and guest stars. Throw in some solid writing and great visuals, and ABC may have found the perfect show for viewers looking to turn off their brains and chill in the final hours before the work week begins again.

Veterans on the bubble: ABC didn't put Cougar Town on its fall lineup, which is reason enough for us to worry about the show's fate long term. Shark Tank just barely earned another season, so its life span may also be limited.

How they'll finish: ABC ended last season just two tenths of a ratings point ahead of NBC in adults 18 to 49, with the race getting tighter once The Voice debuted. This year, NBC will have many more hours of The Voice and the Super Bowl. Unless ABC launches a couple of big hits this season, it could very easily fall into fourth place among both adults and viewers.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment...evenge_pa.html

I, for one am grateful for this. It makes it much easier to sample the various new shows to see if I want to make them a habit without having to worry about how to tune to them all with one DVR - and I'm not going to add a second one just for Fall Premiere congestion.

You want to complain, so send your desired plan to Netflix and see what they say. Otherwise vote with your dollars like everyone else.

I intend to. However, there's something to be said for rallying the troops...

While I think it's going to be tough for MLB to prevent the sale of the rights I hope they prevail as myself and every other Dodger fan in the world wants McCourt gone.

Short of that, it will be a shame if the broadcast rights don't end up being something like the above. The Dodgers are arguably the 2nd most popular and famous baseball in history and they should have nothing short of what the Yankees have in the YES Network, anything less will be leaving something on the table. Hopefully MLB can put enough pressure on it's partner FOX to withhold making an offer so the rights will at least go up for bid as in a scenario noted above instead of McCourt getting the quick cash to settle his and the Dodger's money issues by accepting something far less than what they could/should have.

But he's so entertaining.

Not for Dodger fans.

FRIDAY's fast affiliate overnight prime-time ratings -and what they mean- have been posted on Analyst Marc Berman's Media INsight's Blog.

The 2011-2012 Season
Retrofitting the Feminine Mystique
By Alessandra Stanley, The New York Times - September 18th, 2011

Bunny tails, bustiers and white-glove deference. It almost seems like men have gone mad on Mad Men, wresting network television backward to the boom-boom, coffee, tea or me 1960s.

Whether it's the come-hither stewardesses of Pan Am on ABC or the bunnies on the NBC drama The Playboy Club, or even the rejiggled jiggle TV of Charlie's Angels on ABC, the new fall season seems intent on reliving the days when men were men, and women were girls who didn't mind getting less pay and having their garters snapped.

It's tempting to brand all this retro programming as wish fulfillment for network executives trying to ride the success of Mad Men to suit their own tastes and universal male fantasies. But it's not of course. Most of network television nowadays is for women and about women.

And these nostalgic series may be to female audiences what series like Combat! and Band of Brothers have been for so many men a chance to relive historic battles in all their glory as well as horror. Many men are fascinated by their predecessors' exploits and sacrifices at Guadalcanal or the Battle of the Bulge. And plenty of women are increasingly curious about their mothers' struggles with illegal abortion, men-only clubs and mandatory girdles Band of Bunnies.

The power shift is most obvious in a new wave of sitcoms about young single women. On Fox New Girl, which stars Zooey Deschanel, was created by Liz Meriwether, a member of a posse of high-powered Hollywood writers known as the Fempire. The comedian Whitney Cummings not only is the star and executive producer of Whitney on NBC but also helped write and is an executive producer of 2 Broke Girls on CBS.

Ms. Deschanel plays an adorable nerd who wraps three male roommates around her little finger. Ms. Cummings's series showcase heroines who are less postfeminist than pre-Amazon; they are hard-edged sophisticates who don't expect much from men besides sex, maybe, and who instead find fulfillment in the company of fellow warrior queens, which is to say urban warrior queens who battle cellulite and New York City landlords.

Apartment 23, an ABC comedy that is scheduled for midseason, is even more brazen, featuring a semi-sociopath who sleeps with her roommate's boyfriend and traffics in black market A.D.D. medication. Anyone want to study like an Asian teenager? she says, holding up her stash.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, new comedies about men, like Man Up! and Last Man Standing (both on ABC) and How to Be a Gentleman (CBS), mine the humor in emasculation.

The comedies depict the battle of the sexes as a victory for women a pyrrhic one. The period dramas instead showcase heroines at the dawn of the women's movement.

There is horror in seeing how dismissively many men treated women back then, but also a kind of pleasure in revisiting with hindsight a noble cause played out in a simpler time. Sexism hasn't been vanquished, obviously, but it has splintered into more subtle, ambiguous channels. Back then it was overt, coarse and overdue for assault.

Pan Am, set in 1963 when the airline was a symbol of progress and cosmopolitan savoir faire, has a Mad Men gloss: lush cinematography and Buddy Greco singing Around the World.

One of the executive producers is Nancy Hult Ganis, a former Pan Am flight attendant, who relied on her own experiences. One of the earliest scenes shows the airline's mandatory weigh-in and a sour-faced matron slapping the fanny of one of her charges to make sure her girdle is on. She warns a sleek French stewardess not to wear dark stockings, saying, This is not a cabaret. The stewardesses suffer indignity with accepting smiles, because it's a small price to pay for freedom of the skies. (One is a runaway bride who couldn't face a life of suffocating subservience in a pre-Betty Friedan suburbia.)

The male characters are almost comically weak: the married man who cheats, the deadbeat beatnik who can't tell Marx from Hegel, the insecure co-pilot who demands to be called first officer. The women, on the other hand, are filmed in a gauzy haze of golden light as idealists who yearn for adventure and battle limitations with sisterly solidarity. In one shot four of them glide in tight blue uniforms and white gloves through a gleaming Pan Am terminal like the astronauts in The Right Stuff. As they pass, a little girl watches them through a glass window, awestruck. They are, as one pilot puts it, a new breed.

The same is true of the cocktail waitresses in rabbit ears on The Playboy Club, who endure tight corsets and loose manners because the money is good and the opportunities better than back home. And particularly when compared with the desperate blond bubbleheads who wash up at the doorstep of the senescent Hugh Hefner on the reality show The Girls Next Door, these fictional bunnies come off as Simone de Beauvoir.

Bunnies supposedly cater to male fantasies, yet on this show the men are almost beside the point. The Playboy Club is a Rona Jaffe novel tucked inside a Playboy centerfold: beneath the plunging décolletage and pajama parties at the Hefner mansion lies a tale of female survival and camaraderie under fire. Male viewers may be drawn by the title of the show but it's likely that they will quickly tune out and turn to the real Playboy channel.

The pull of injustices past helps explain why NBC remade Prime Suspect, a British series that dates back to the early 1990s, starring Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, a London homicide detective fighting discrimination in her department as well as killers on the street. Maria Bello is Detective Jane Timoney and the setting is modern-day New York.

The overt sexism is still there, and it is exhilarating to watch the heroine take on and outwit the Neanderthals in her squad a flashback to Cagney & Lacey. Yet all that male hostility, so openly expressed, feels anachronistic. Perhaps to make her colleagues' rancor more plausible, the new version adds an extra motive, namely that the men know Jane had an affair with her former boss, and assume she used him to gain promotion to their squad. (The Closer on TNT, a series that was also modeled on Prime Suspect, did the same thing.)

Boardwalk Empire, which begins its second season on HBO this month, wallows in all kinds of Prohibition-era excesses, but especially the brutality to women with the temerity to demand the vote.

These shows traffic in nostalgia for a past that was flawed but fixable, and above all familiar. Particularly when our own epoch seems so uncertain and diminished, it's all the more gratifying to look back at a more navigable time. We can envy earlier generations' confidence and optimism while gawking at their primitive social mores and constrictive clothing.

Charlie's Angels wouldn't seem to fit the pattern, since it's about beautiful women who do martial arts in today's skimpy outfits, yet the series retrofits a cheesy, '70s Aaron Spelling show to modern sensibilities. These private detectives still have preposterous work clothes: picture a tall blonde hunting down sex-slave traffickers while wearing a white chiffon romper and stiletto heels.

But they are much harder and meaner than the ones played by Farrah Fawcett-Majors and the other original angels, more Delta Force than Delta Delta Delta.

In the version that was first shown in 1976, the three private detectives were police officers who were rescued from boring desk jobs by their mysterious boss, Charlie. Here the women are reformed criminals, including a former Marine who was court-martialed for a deadly combat mistake.

And it is telling that the only character to appear in a bathing suit in the pilot is Bosley. In the original he was a chubby father figure. In this incarnation he is a young, chest-baring hunk who is treated by the angels with amusement, like an endearing sex object.

Even Scandal, coming midseason on ABC, is a present-day series that feels like a period drama. It's about a glamorous, high-priced political fixer whose clients include the president. This White House looks a lot more like Bill Clinton's than that of George W. Bush or Barack Obama, however. That's probably because it's easier to focus on gender wars in a healthy economy; recessions have a way of eclipsing sexual politics and diminishing sex scandals.

It's not entirely a man's world anymore. The new fall shows take women back to a time when they were considered the weaker sex and became all the stronger for it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/ar...ref=television

Emmy Q&A
The meaning of an Emmy nomination: A round-table discussion
By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times - September 18th, 2011

For a television critic, the Emmys are always a mixed bag. It's always great when shows and performances we have supported from the beginning are recognized, but sometimes — if you can believe it — the shows and people we believe deserve to win don't. But there is one consistent bright spot in the process — when people whose work has been consistently terrific over the years are recognized for the first time. This year saw quite a few accomplished performers get their first Emmy nomination.

It's a very busy time for these folks, as you can imagine, but we were fortunate that four of them found time to sit down with us to discuss the thrill of Emmy season. Michelle Forbes, nominated for her role as the grieving mother on "The Killing"; Walton Goggins, who plays the mad poet and backwoods gangster Boyd Crowder on "Justified"; Josh Charles, whose increasingly complicated Will Gardner tempts "The Good Wife"; and Johnny Galecki, the romantic (and least geeky) physicist of "The Big Bang Theory."

It was, from the beginning, a surprisingly intimate group. Forbes and Charles worked together fairly recently on "In Treatment"; Goggins is godfather of Galecki's daughter. Add to that the fact that both Charles and Galecki are nominated along with their costars (Alan Cumming and Jim Parsons, respectively), and Charles is up against his very good friend Peter Dinklage ("Game of Thrones"), and you quickly understand what a small world Hollywood becomes. It certainly made for a lively conversation between people who were not just peers, but friends.

Below is an edited transcript of an hour-long discussion, moderated by Mary McNamara, held in The Times' Chandler Auditorium.

What's it like working and then also having to deal with all of this, with the Emmys publicity and the nerves?

Johnny Galecki: Oh, it's terribly exciting. It's wonderful. Yeah, we've been doing a bit of it, but it's all leading up to this wonderful celebration we get to be a part of.

Josh Charles: I feel thoroughly blessed, as I'm sure everybody does, and honored and it's nice to be recognized, but I don't think that's why any of us necessarily do what we do. So I think it doesn't really come into my brain that way when I'm acting. Maybe it's just because I have a lot of self-loathing too.

[Laughter.]

JG: I wish there was an award for that.

Michelle, you were kind of outspoken about the Emmys a couple of years ago. You were saying that it didn't matter. That it was the performance that mattered.

Michelle Forbes: Yes, that lovely quote. That was indeed.

That still is all over the Internet.

MF: Oh, I'm so glad that's still around. [Laughs.] … I still stand by what I said, that the work is the important bit. And we tell stories for the audience. And if you have an audience engaged and you've touched people, you've done your job. And the rest is just fun and icing and everything else, but that's where the glory is.

Well, it's something that everybody says, and it's not just the Emmys, it's the Oscars too: It's an honor to be nominated. It's not something that we think about. But you must think about it.

Walton Goggins: You can't really compare work. But it is the experience. It's like a new experience. And you know, I mean, I have an 8-month-old son, and I'm reminded that there are only so many firsts in life. And that firsts are really a bell curve. You know, like every single day something new is happening in his life, and the older I get, you know, you're lucky if you get a first a week, or a first a month. Some people, a first a year. And this experience for me has been one that I'll never forget, because it may very well never happen again, and that would be OK. But it's really been an extraordinary kind of experience.

What does an Emmy mean these days, and does it mean something different to a cable show versus a network show?

WG: Cable television now is tantamount — in my estimation, it's been said over and over again, but — to independent filmmaking. It really is. It's become this great vehicle for storytelling over a very long format. I do like a three-hour movie. I'll watch "Carlos," which is a six-hour movie. But for some of these shows, "Boardwalk Empire" on down the line, like "The Wire," "The Sopranos," you get to watch these shows for 84 hours, 85 hours. And it's fantastic. What we trade is the amount of people watching the show.

Do you think that people pay attention to the nominees?

MF: I don't think the general public reads the nominations. I don't get stopped on the street for that. Certainly not.

JG: There's a misconception that this is a competition, and there's occasional frustration in that, because if that was the case, then none of us would be involved in this and supporting this. Because it would make something that we love very dearly something very ugly.

WG: I remember I worked with Alan Arkin once and he had said — and he's now won an Oscar and he didn't say this in his speech, but he said — "If I ever won an Oscar I was gonna say, 'I've always hated these awards and everything they've ever stood for, and secondly, this is the happiest day of my life.'"

[Laughter.]

It's been a great couple of years for TV. Let's talk a little bit about the shows and the seasons and what drew you each to the roles that you're playing.

JG: I suppose — well, first Chuck Lorre approached me about playing Jim Parsons' role before he ever met Jim. Before they had anything written, actually. And he said, "Can I fax you some pages in a couple of weeks once we have something written," and I said, "Of course, absolutely." And I just — I felt — it was really the love story or at that point the potential for a love story for the character of Leonard that really attracted me. And I said, "I think I'd rather play the other guy."

Let's talk about "The Killing¸" which is possibly the darkest show ever made. I love it. But it was like, oh, my God, does it ever not rain? Michelle, your role is so — I mean, I just can't imagine how difficult that was. It's just such raw sorrow and rage. Were you intimidated, nervous about going to a place that was so dark?

MF: No, I wasn't intimidated about going to that place. That's an actor's dream, really. And of course the joy of what we do is we get to do that within a safe environment. And that it isn't real in the end. We have to make it real in that moment, and then you have to trick your brain into believing it's not real at the end of the day. It wasn't a pleasant time. I missed "True Blood" because it was like going from the best party ever to a mental hospital.

[Laughter.]

I remember when Glenn Close started doing "Damages" and she said that TV is so much harder than film because with film you know where you're going and why and then you can do your back story. And with TV you don't know where your character's going. And with your character, Walton, with Boyd, he's crazy in seven different ways.

WG: Yeah he's still an enigma to me, to be quite honest with you. We're now into the second year of this experiment and this guy. ... So coming into this season and kinda the pain that he's carrying over, I didn't know how he would be in a suit. I didn't know how he would sit in a suit. I didn't know how he would kiss a woman. I didn't know how he would, certainly, sit with the CEO of a coal mining company. But I knew he was a poet. I knew he was a poet, and I knew that he was smart.

JG: Yeah, I wrote out, as I always do, a back story for the character. And you're right; when you're doing a film and you're doing a play, that's a wonderful blueprint to rely on. But by the end of Season 1, I wasn't referring to it at all, because I didn't — you find things out and, like, in Season 5 that, oh, really, I'm adopted? You couldn't have thought. And I didn't know until Season 2 where my character was from. I asked, and Chuck Lorre would say, "This isn't 'Lost.' We don't know. We're making this up as we go every week."

[Laughter.]

But with you guys, your characters, you also have the good guy/bad guy.

JC: Right.

How is that to deal with as a performer?

JC: I deal with it because it doesn't — to be frank it's like I don't look at it in those terms. So when people say to me, is your character good or bad, I don't even know what that means. He's everything. He's good and bad. I mean, he does it all. He's a flawed, complex human being, so he has a little bit of everything. I'm not interested in having it all figured out. And certainly not put labels on a character whether they're good or bad.

It is called "The Good Wife," though.

JC: But you'd be surprised how many people take that so literally, you know what I mean? I've had people say, well, she can't have something with you because she's the good wife. I don't think the title was meant to be that literal.

[Laughter.]

What are you guys going to do — do you have plans? Are you going to party beforehand?

JG: I don't even have a suit.

Do you have people that you want to go up and talk to?

WG: Oh yeah, Ty Burrell. Like all of those guys. They're just a number of people that I'm looking forward to approaching. Jon Stewart. I'm gonna tackle him.

[Laughter.]

MF: Or John Hodgman ….I sort of accosted him last year at the Emmys, and it was one of those things that just sort of died. … It's, like, "Don't you understand? I love you!"

Well, thank you guys for coming, and I wish you all the best of luck and I hope you have a lovely evening. I will be sitting here in the office reviewing the show, so when you win, make sure your speeches are really good so I can say something nice about you. Thank you. That's a wrap.

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