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Critic's Notes
Giving Thanks This TV Season: I May As Well Spell It Out
By David Bianculli, TVworthWatching.com - November 23rd, 2011

The Thanksgiving holiday is a time for gratitude, for reflection --and for watching TV, from the Turkey Day football games to the Sunday night dramas. Just to stoke the fires of appreciation, I've made a list of six reasons to be grateful, media-wise, for our recent bounty of tasty treats. Put them all together, they spell T-H-A-N-K-S.

And please, take time this weekend to spell out your own reasons for TV joy, using whatever word you like as a launching point. Well, any G-rated word, anyway. This is a family holiday, after all.

THANKS

T is for TiVo. I'm running two TiVos simultaneously, each one capable of recording two shows at the same time, and right now they're both running at more than 90 percent capacity. Quite literally, I can't see the good stuff fast enough. It's not a complaint I ever had, say, back in the 1970s -- and if not for my battery of DVRs, I don't know how I'd cope.

H is for Homeland. This Showtime series starring Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin has, indeed, fulfilled its early promise to emerge as the best new series of the fall season. It's a series so good, I give it the highest compliment --and stop everything else I'm doing to watch it. Danes would steal this series outright from almost any other actor, but Lewis matches her stroke for stroke and stride for stride. Phenomenal acting. Phenomenal writing. Phenomenal television.

A is for AMC. Yes, I know, I've been severely disappointed by the network's latest offering, Hell on Wheels -- which makes sense in retrospect, since it came from Endemol, the production company much more known for tacky reality competition shows. But the other series presented by AMC comprise a quality lineup to rival that of Pixar. Mad Men. Breaking Bad. Rubicon. The Walking Dead. The Killing. In a mere four years, that's one hell of a run. So, thanks.

N is for Neil Patrick Harris. This year alone, in addition to his scene-stealing role as Barney Stinson on CBS's How I Met Your Mother, Harris has sung the lead in a Lincoln Center performance of Company, made cinematic cameos in The Muppets and the latest Harold & Kumar romp, and hosted the most recent Tony Awards. He's also talked about reviving the TV variety show, a task I think he'd be perfectly suited to attack, even without wearing any of Barney's suits. But I have even bigger hopes for Harris in the future -- hopes I'll reveal shortly. Maybe even to him.

K is for Kalinda. The CBS drama series The Good Wife, even with its irritating Sunday night time slot, continues to amaze me with the bench strength of its ensemble cast. Yes, Julianna Margulies is the star and pivot point of the show, but there are so many supporting characters I'd gladly follow into spinoffs of their own: Alan Cummings' devious but lovable Eli Gold, Matt Czuchry's shrewd survivalist Cary Agos, and Josh Charles' flawed but charismatic Will Gardner. None of those men, though, is quite so compelling or exciting as Kalinda Sharma, played with unpredictable volatility and steaming sexual energy by Archie Panjabi. The second Margulies stops her series, Panjabi should start hers.

S is for Sirius/XM Radio. I know, it's not even television. But just one channel on this satellite radio service -- Deep Tracks -- makes me happy enough to give genuine thanks. Especially on Thanksgiving, when the holiday offerings include multiple daily plays of Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant, a special two-hour concert by Paul McCartney, and a food-related edition of my favorite radio show of all time, Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour.

T is for the many things I Tivo'd,
H is for the Homeland shows I love,
A is for the bold AMC dramas,
N is for old NPH (above).
K is for the siren called Kalinda,
S is for my Sirius time with Bob,

Put them all together, they spell THANKS -- And I'm thankful that TV is still my job.

http://www.tvworthwatching.com/blog/...season-i.shtml

Tech/Business Notes
Sony Races to Create Internet Alternative to Cable TV
By Paul Bond, The Hollywood Reporter - November 23rd, 2011

At a breakfast hosted by the Wall Street Journal in early November, Sony CEO Howard Stringer talked about building "a different kind of TV set." A week later, the Journal reported that Sony might launch "an Internet-based alternative to cable TV."

Like Netflix, Hulu and others, Sony's own PlayStation Store already makes dozens of TV shows available on-demand after they air on TV, but Sony and others know that the holy grail is to create a service so compelling that consumers would trade in their cable or satellite services. So far, though, all the Internet-based options combined have convinced only an estimated 3 percent of consumers to take that "cord-cutting" step.

Sony won't comment, but its plans reportedly are to offer small bundles of channels to be delivered through Internet-connected TV sets and other devices, like Blu-ray players and PlayStation 3 consoles. Media companies, though, don't want to offer up their best content and alienate their big cable and satellite customers, so Sony will have to settle for niche channels, at least initially.

"Sony's heart is in the right place here, but it's going to face a lot of resistance in getting this new service off the ground," wrote the Motley Fool's Rick Aristotle Munarriz.

And Sony's competition isn't only cable and satellite providers -- it's also the likes of Microsoft, which already offers limited TV through its Xbox 360; Google, with its Google TV and rumored plans to test an Internet-based service in Kansas City; and Apple, which has Apple TV and other initiatives yet to be revealed.

But what the TV industry shouldn't expect is much more cord-cutting over the next few years, says NPD analyst Russ Crupnick.

The worry instead should be over "cord-throttling," whereby consumers who use Hulu, Netflix and whatever Sony comes up with downgrade their pay-TV packages. Crupnick asks, "Do they really need to spend $100 for all those channels?"

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...rnet-tv-265419

Critic's Notes
Take the cuffs off 'Prime Suspect'
NBC shelved the show even though it had a great cast headed by an actress capable of creating her own iconic character, given half a chance.
By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times - November 24th, 2011

"Cougar Town" creator Bill Lawrence recently bemoaned in the pages of Entertainment Weekly that his show, now in its third season, had been benched at least until mid-season. Among other things, he blamed the show's unfortunate name and original concept in its struggle to maintain ratings.

A similar argument could be made for newcomer "Prime Suspect," which, though not officially canceled, recently was booted from Thursday nights on NBC's midseason schedule. It's being replaced by "The Firm," which is based on the John Grisham novel.

"Prime Suspect" is a fine and feisty detective procedural, which steadily improved with each episode this fall. It stars Maria Bello and a host of other terrific actors all doing great work solving crimes and overcoming personal tensions within their ranks. The only things keeping it from being a solid success are its title and original concept an American remake of an iconic British show.

Right off the bat, the audience was both limited and wary although the British "Prime Suspect" is the stuff of legend, it aired here on "Masterpiece," which meant American fans were, well, PBS viewers. That's usually not the first demographic network executives try to court in prime time. Meanwhile, the NBC show automatically pitted Maria Bello against not just Helen Mirren but the iconic, idealized version of Helen Mirren. Also, not good.

More than that, as I noted in my review, the original was very much a show of its place and time. It dealt with the struggles of the only female detective chief inspector in Scotland Yard at a time (the early '90s) when this was an urgent, pressing issue. But in the past decade or so, in addition to a heightened awareness of the evils of sexual harassment, there has also been a host of female-led crime dramas including TNT's "The Closer" and "Saving Grace."

So, in an attempt to re-create the original's sexist tension, the new "Prime Suspect" led with a back story that had Bello's character, Det. Jane Timoney, transferred after having an affair with a senior officer. This narrative, while interesting, played precisely as what it was a very distracting way for the writers to generate hostility toward Timoney because she was a woman.

And it simply wasn't necessary. Bello's Timoney is rude, abrupt and arrogant enough to have stirred up hostility without the ham-fisted anti-female sentiment. And that's the problem: The real sexism at work here is not keeping a cop from doing her job, it's strangling the roots of good storytelling.

Women still need an extra special reason to be the lead in a network police drama, and the easiest conceit is to create a character who must prove herself better than her male counterparts. Being a woman still has to be part of the story in a way being a man does not or why bother having a woman in the lead? Especially if you're not going to pair her off with a male costar for the roiling passion potential (see please "Castle," "Bones" and "The Mentalist").

Just as Lawrence has said he went with the Courteney-Cox-as-cougar concept because it allowed him to sell his show, the packaging of Bello as an American Mirren gave "Prime Suspect" a reason to be. Which is sad and infuriating in and of itself.

One can easily think of countless other twists, including better use of the affair back-story, to give Timoney a chance to establish herself in the ranks of complicated heroes. This could have been done, too, without putting the American Timoney in the position of having to shadow a show that worked so splendidly in a different format (drama rather than procedural), nation and time period.

To add insult to injury, the whole "Prime Suspect" angle appears to have backfired anyway. Critics and the entertainment media may consider the original one of the Best Shows Ever, but its audience was never large enough to sustain a network show. A remake certainly never guaranteed that original audience.

NBC would have done better to rely on what it had a great cast headed by an actress more than capable of creating her own iconic character, given half a chance. And if NBC wants to continue tempting performers as talented as Bello, they might consider upping it to a full chance, and a full season.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,3984042.story

TV Review
'Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse,' worse
New TBS dramedy might work on a stage before a live audience
By Tom Conroy, Media Life Magazine

TV comedies are notorious for overacting, strained jokes and implausible, disjointed scenes. Although the same vices run through TBS’s new comedy-drama “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse,” the show doesn’t fail because it’s sitcommy but because it’s stagey.

The latest offering from the prolific writer, director, producer and performer, “For Better or Worse” reflects Tyler Perry’s roots in live theater but makes it hard to believe that he has since gone on to create successful films and TV shows. One can imagine that the broad dialogue and performances could eventually win over a live audience, but the show falls flat in the living room.

Based on Perry’s two “Why Did I Get Married?” films, the show centers on three successful African-American couples living in Atlanta. Angela (Tasha Smith), who owns a beauty salon, is married to Marcus (Michael Jai White), a former football player who has just started a sports news show.

Marcus’ business partners are his friends Richard (Kent Faulcon) and Joseph (Jason Olive). Joseph has been involved for three years with Angela’s friend Leslie (Crystle Stewart), a realtor, and he says they are happily unmarried.

In the premiere episode, which airs Friday, Nov. 25, at 10 p.m., it takes most of the half hour for everyone to figure out that Richard’s new girlfriend is Marcus’ ex-girlfriend Keisha (Kiki Haynes), with whom he shares custody of a teenage daughter, Dominique (Teka Brandon).

Before that revelation, Richard unwittingly repeats to Marcus and Joseph the horrible things that Keisha has been telling him about her ex and his wife. Although this isn’t funny, it’s expected in a show of this quality.

What is absurd is how rude the characters are. Dominique tells Angela that Keisha said that Angela is a “ho,” specifically, “She said you got more business than Best Sell Electronics on Black Friday.”

When Keisha comes into the house, she says to Angela, “This place is so tacky.” After exchanging insults, the two grown women get into a fight, actually rolling around on the floor until the scene mercifully ends.

Most of the show is shot and edited to look like a traditional three-camera, studio-audience sitcom, even though there’s no audience or laugh track. Where a single-camera comedy like “30 Rock” would edit tightly to build comic rhythm, this show leaves the actors stranded in wide shots, grinning sheepishly after delivering a stillborn joke.

An employee of Angela’s named Jennifer (Cocoa Brown) fills the role of the sassy, heavy-set black woman, a stereotype in both predominantly white and predominantly black sitcoms. After she announces to everyone in the salon that she hates the word “ho,” the poor actress has to pretend that she mishears the receptionist when she says, “Please hold.”

If only to be polite to the energetic performers, a live audience would probably chuckle now and then at the bad jokes. Sometimes in a theater, a series of stinkers can build momentum, as the audience collectively thinks, “I can’t believe we’re laughing at this stuff.”

But some jokes would fail in any contest. When the business partners discuss getting together for dinner, their intern, Todd (Brad James), throws his arms over Joseph’s and Richard’s shoulders and asks if he’s not invited because he’s just an intern. “No,” replies Joseph, “it’s because your underarms stink.” Tender-hearted viewers will find themselves mentally pleading with the producers to give the performers a laugh track.

It would certainly help in the recurring moments that combine deep emotional revelations with weak jokes or broad physical comedy. Viewers will find themselves wondering if they’re seeing a character trip on a stool because it’s supposed to be funny or because the producers didn’t want to shoot another take.

Some of the dramatic lines are clear applause bait. At one point Marcus says, “I was a boy before, and I’m a man now.” That would probably kill in a theater, but people at home are unlikely to get up off of their couches and start clapping.

Another stagey element of the show is the abrupt switches from comedy (or at least what appears to be intended to be comedy) and drama. Playwrights have used this tactic going back at least as far as Shakespeare’s tragedies. There may be something particular to the live theater, perhaps the characters’ actual physical presence, that can make a sudden mood swing gripping.

In the opening of the second episode, airing at 10:30 next Friday, the six main characters are relaxing after dinner when Richard, in front of Angela, suddenly starts dropping vicious revelations about Marcus’ relationship with Keisha. He later apologizes for having been drunk, but that doesn’t explain how the men’s business relationship survives unscathed.

As if the show weren’t already all over the place, the second episode ends with a cliffhanger, and we suddenly think we’re watching a soap opera.

Coincidentally or not, this show is premiering on Black Friday, a day when consumers are willing to take a chance on new products. Viewers of “For Better or Worse” will probably suffer buyer’s remorse.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...rse-worse-.asp

Critic's Notes
Naked Truth: New Sitcoms Are Reruns
By Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times - November 24th, 2011

The other night while I was watching television, Zooey Deschanel said penis, and I didn't laugh. I didn't even chuckle.

Doesn't this guy read the papers? you're thinking. Doesn't he know that everyone is calling this a comeback season for the sitcom and that Ms. Deschanel's show is one of the most popular around? Dude's not right in the head.

I thought so too, for a while. But I came to realize that I'm not the problem. The problem is that we've reached the End of Comedy.

First, let me emphasize that it's not just Ms. Deschanel, who strives for cute but often achieves insufferable on her new sitcom, New Girl (Fox). I haven't been amused by any sitcoms that hit the air this fall, although millions of Americans seem to tolerate them. New Girl and 2 Broke Girls (CBS) are in the Top 20 in the ratings category that matters most to advertisers, ages 18 to 49. So is Two and a Half Men (CBS), an established sitcom that might as well be new because it underwent a radical cast change over the summer. Whitney, another aren't-I-cute gal show starring Whitney Cummings, has been given a full-season extension on NBC, as have the awful Suburgatory and Last Man Standing on ABC and others.

Yes, people are apparently watching these shows. But I have a hard time believing that many are laughing at them, or at least many in my age bracket, which is the one just after the aforementioned 18-to-49s.

I don't think my disenchantment is a result of graduating to cranky-old-man status. Heck, I was cranky when I was 25, but I still laughed at M*A*S*H. No, it's definitely the End of Comedy. As with Francis Fukuyama's much-discussed essay The End of History, that doesn't mean there will be no more small-screen humor. It means that television comedy has ceased evolving.

Certainly no series introduced this fall is breaking new ground. Ms. Deschanel's show her character moves in with three guys is a role-reversed Three's Company. Up All Night on NBC, with Christina Applegate and Will Arnett, is working new-parent territory explored 60 years ago by I Love Lucy. On Last Man Standing, Tim Allen is basically doing a Tim Allen impersonation, trying (unsuccessfully) to conjure the magic of his earlier show, Home Improvement.

So it's not that the new series are going places I'm not willing to follow; it's that they are going places I've already been. After an exhaustive study that consisted of watching several new shows and several old ones, I have concluded that all television jokes going back to those first flickering black-and-white images fall into one of five categories. All those categories have been worked so heavily and so well in the past that comedic time has shrunk and comedic tone has degenerated; shows don't want to risk building their humor slowly or subtly because they're afraid audiences have already seen too many dumb-dad or balky-toaster bits and will grow impatient.

Anyway, herewith this cranky man's five categories, comparing now versus then:

1. GUESS WHAT? WE HAVE GENITALS Nothing has been more prevalent on new sitcoms this fall than the organs and bodily functions centered just below the navel but above the knees. Ashton Kutcher made sure he made an impression in his Two and a Half Men debut by strolling around naked. Kat Dennings tossed off a vagina a minute into the first episode of 2 Broke Girls. A few weeks ago on New Girl, Ms. Deschanel's character accidentally saw one of her roommates naked and couldn't shut up about it, or It.

Much of this barrage, though, has felt ham-handed, a clumsy celebration of the fact that the censors who used to keep words like vagina and penis out of prime time have apparently all died. We can say this, therefore we're going to say it over and over.

But there have always been genital references on television; it's just that the people making them in the past (besides needing to please those censors) knew that subtle is funnier than brazen.

Consider The Contest, the legendary 1992 episode of Seinfeld. It involves a bet between the four main characters as to who can go the longest without masturbating. It is startling in its fearlessness, even today. And, most notably, it never uses the word masturbation. That's part of its brilliance.

Contrast that with the naked-roommate episode of New Girl. It is all about the character Nick's penis, which Ms. Deschanel's character, Jess, has accidentally seen. The word penis is spoken (or, in one case, sung) nine times, and that's not including a batch of near-penises as Jess struggles to say the word. (Eventually, of course, she does.) It's all done with an episode-long smirk, the very smirk I affected back in junior high when using what I thought would be an attention-getting word. And I might have found New Girl funny when I was in junior high. The thing is, I've graduated. Sorry, New Girl; no laugh for you.

2. TECHNOLOGY EXISTS TO MAKE US LOOK STUPID Man-against-machine humor goes back a long way, perhaps most famously to two women: Lucy and Ethel trying to keep up with that candy conveyor belt in 1952. When this genre was young, you could make a satisfying extended joke out of characters' inability to master technology. Take Episode 4, Season 1, of Gilligan's Island.

A plane is due to pass over, and the castaways might be able to contact it if the Skipper, a sleepwalker, can doze off and relive a moment during World War II when he turned a radio into a transmitter. The episode is spent tranquilizing and hypnotizing him, building to a classic Gilligan sight gag. After everyone else goes off to bed frustrated, Gilligan brings the transmitter to life just by pounding on it. He talks briefly to the pilot, then fetches the Skipper.

But how could you have fixed the radio? the Skipper asks, to which Gilligan responds, Oh, it was easy; all I did was hit it like this, and he pounds on it again. The radio's guts fall to the ground. Another potential rescue foiled.

These days, bad cellphone reception and frozen computers are so common that any joke in this sphere just seems tired. But shows keep revisiting the subject anyway. Last Man Standing, Mr. Allen's retro-man new sitcom, likes to do this, but only for easy quickies. In the premiere, his wife mentions their daughter's vlog. Vlog? Mr. Allen's character says. Is that slang for something bad? And then he turns the word into wait for it a penis joke.

3. PARENTS+KIDS=WAR Sitcoms built around a family may have a veneer of love, but that is covering a warmongering heart. This war, though, is rarely fought with guns; it's psychological.

And it's as old as Cleaning Up Beaver, Episode 21 of Season 1 of Leave It to Beaver, first broadcast in 1958.

June is lamenting the Beaver's messiness. Ward suggests applying psychological pressure by praising the cleanliness of the Beav's older brother, Wally. It works down at the office, he tells June. Every time we have a sales meeting, we praise the fellows who have gone over their quotas. Then the guys who have been kind of dragging along get the idea.

The entire episode is built on this chess match, the Beaver reacting to his enemy's manipulation in ways that turn the parents against each other. Classic divide-and-conquer, expertly unspooled over 25 minutes 48 seconds.

Move ahead to the October premiere of Reed Between the Lines, a plodding family sitcom on BET. Carla, the mother and actually a psychologist, is trying the same sort of mind games on her daughter Kaci, hoping to trick her into revealing details about a boy she likes. The kid lets the mom go on for 15 seconds, then says, You're using reverse psychology on me like I'm one of your patients.

What in 1958 occupied 25 minutes is now condensed into 15 seconds. Television's parent-child war, once full of intricate battle plans and troop movements, has degenerated into a snarky guerrilla contest made of quick, largely mirthless strikes.

4: EEK, A BABY Before you even ask, no, babies do not fit under Category 3 because they are not fully formed people in a television sense; they can't memorize lines or demand their own trailers. But they've been a constant source of humor since television was invented. The latest befuddled new parents are Chris and Reagan on Up All Night.

The Nov. 16 episode opens just as Chris has finished feeding the child. His shirt has a blob of baby food on it, and he's angry. Oh, honey, she's just a baby, Reagan says. Chris barks: Yeah, that's what she wants you to think. Why don't you ask her what happened with the sweet potatoes? And he storms out. Funny? Maybe a little.

Back in 1996, the Third Rock From the Sun episode My Mother the Alien also had a spitting baby, one that was being fed by Tommy and Harry, the space alien brothers. But this scene didn't give up so easily. The baby spits at them awhile, then the camera angle shifts, so that the camera becomes the baby's point of view. The baby spits some more, until finally Harry takes a mouthful of something and spits it on the baby that is, onto the camera lens. Funny? Very. The difference? Taking the time to find the unexpected perspective, something the new comedies rarely do.

5: CLODS IN THE WORKPLACE This category has assorted subsections: The Boss Is the Dumbest Person in the Building, for instance. Since this is a season of shows created by and about women, we'll here look at one in particular: Men Don't Get It.

In the 2 Broke Girls pilot, just before she says vagina, Ms. Dennings, who plays a diner waitress, smacks down the cook by saying: Hey, when you get a second? Stop looking at my boobs. Sure, it was a throwaway line, and even a little amusing, but the shorthand it represents is dismaying somehow. The male-female workplace dynamic has been so thoroughly strip-mined that all you have to do these days is make a passing reference to it.

Things were different in 1972, when The Mary Tyler Moore Show began Season 3 with Mary's discovery that the man who held her job before her was paid substantially more than she gets.

In a wonderfully drawn scene, she haltingly tries to confront her boss (Ed Asner's Lou Grant) about this, stuttering, stammering, and then finally getting it out: I would like to know why the last associate producer before me made $50 a week more than I do. Lou barely registers the question. Oh, because he was a man, he says matter-of-factly.

And the scene goes on, saying a lot by contrasting his cluelessness with her budding indignation. Because of the strip-mining, today's series don't have that luxury of time. They have only the quick jab, and the payoff isn't nearly as rich.

If sitcoms are merely rehashing the same five categories of jokes, they're also just shuffling the same handful of situations. Family with precocious kids. Workplace full of kooks. The young and hip being young and hip. You might think that the been-there-done-that thing isn't an issue for viewers in a younger demographic, but thanks to Nick at Nite and such, it is; they too have seen all those shows we cranky geezers grew up on.

And so here at the End of Comedy, there's nothing left to do but embrace a recycling ethic: shuffle the various well-established pieces around and hope someone chuckles. Have the Odd Couple guys baby-sit the Modern Family youngsters. Put Archie Bunker on a plane next to Corporal Klinger. No new shows need to be filmed; just open up the archives and let people create their own. Mash-Up TV. Sounds like the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/ar...ref=television

Nielsen Overnights
ABC Wins Slow Thanksgiving Eve Riddled By Lows
By Nelie Andreeva, Deadline.com - November 24th, 2011

ABC and Fox were the only games in town on a quiet Thanksgiving Eve. The two networks featured all-original lineups that posted double-digit declines and series/season lows across the board. (The shows’ season averages won’t suffer though as last night’s broadcasts were labeled as specials.) ABC’s Modern Family (4.5/13 in adults 18-49, 12.6 million viewers) was once again the top program Wednesday night in total viewers and 18-49. It was down 20% from last week to a season low. The Middle (2.5/8) was down 17% to a season low; Suburgatory (2.5/8) was down 14% to a series low; Happy Endings (2.7/7) was down 16% to a season low; and Revenge (2.1/6) was down 19% to a series low. ABC (2.7/8, 8.6 million) topped the night in 18-49 and total viewers, up 16% in viewers and 17% in 18-49 from the same night last year when the network also aired all-originals.

Fox’s X Factor results show (2.5/8) was down 19% from last week’s Thursday results show for a series low. A special telecast of the Howie Mandel-hosted series of specials Mobbed drew an underwhelming 1.6/4, proving how 2010 the flash mob fad is. Everyone else aired wall-to-wall reruns.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/rati...ddled-by-lows/

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

Washington/Business Notes
AT&T Deal With T-Mobile Takes a Step Back
By Edward Wyatt and Jenna Wortham, The New York Times - November 24th, 2011

WASHINGTON — AT&T and T-Mobile USA appeared to edge closer to scrapping their proposed merger, saying on Thursday that they had withdrawn their application to the Federal Communications Commission to join their cellular phone operations.

Deutsche Telekom, the parent of T-Mobile, and AT&T said in a joint statement that they still intend to pursue the $39 billion merger and will prepare for a federal antitrust lawsuit that is seeking to block the deal.

But the companies also said that AT&T planned to take a $4 billion charge to earnings to reflect the potential breakup fees that AT&T must pay to Deutsche Telekom, based in Germany, if the deal does not go through.

The actions followed the decision earlier this week by Julius Genachowski, the F.C.C. chairman, that the merger does not meet the commission’s standard for approval. Mr. Genachowski sent to other commissioners a proposed order to refer the case to an administrative law judge, the first step toward a commission move to block the deal, which would combine the second- and fourth-largest cellphone carriers in the United States.

The application withdrawal appears in part designed to prevent the F.C.C. from making public AT&T and T-Mobile records about the potential effects of the merger, records that could then be used by the Justice Department in the antitrust trial.

The companies have maintained publicly that the deal would not lessen competition and that it would create jobs in the United States. But the Justice Department has said that the merger would severely restrict competition, and F.C.C. officials have said that AT&T’s confidential filings indicate the merger would kill jobs.

The withdrawal of the F.C.C. application “is a tacit acknowledgment by AT&T that this story is all but over,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “The fat lady hasn’t started singing yet but she’s holding the mike and the band is about to play.”

The efforts by the Justice Department’s antitrust division and the F.C.C. to block the merger reflect a reinvigoration of federal efforts to rein in excessive business practices after a prolonged period of deregulation that preceded the 2008 financial crisis.

President Obama came into office pledging to take a harder look at the antitrust implications of proposed mergers, but the Justice Department was criticized by consumer groups in its first year for appearing hesitant to follow through on that promise.

Similarly, the F.C.C. drew rebukes for its approval last year of the merger between Comcast and NBC Universal, which critics claimed would concentrate too much power over both television content and its transmission to consumers.

The move this week to conduct a hearing on the cellphone deal was the first time the F.C.C. has done so on a merger since the 2002 proposed alliance between Echostar and Direct TV, which ultimately was scrapped.

In this case, however, AT&T has noted that expansion of the nation’s Internet infrastructure is one of Mr. Obama’s top goals to help rebuild the economy, and the F.C.C. itself has predicted that its recent initiative to expand broadband Internet access to rural areas would create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Consumer groups, which generally have opposed the merger, said that this week’s actions combined indicated that the deal was falling apart.

“The chances that AT&T will take over T-Mobile are almost gone,” Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a consumer group, said in a statement. “While you can never count out AT&T entirely, the fact that they pulled their F.C.C. application speaks volumes about the company’s lack of confidence” in getting approval.

In a statement, Deutsche Telekom said that the withdrawal “is being undertaken by both companies to consolidate their strength and to focus their continuing efforts on obtaining antitrust clearance for the transaction from the Department of Justice. As soon as practical, Deutsche Telekom and AT&T intend to seek necessary F.C.C. approval.”

AT&T issued its own statement saying that the companies are taking this step “to facilitate the consideration of all options at the F.C.C.,” as well as to consider other options.

The company said the $4 billion pretax charge, to be taken in the current quarter, reflects a $3 billion cash payment and $1 billion worth of cellular phone airwaves, or spectrum, that AT&T must pay to T-Mobile’s parent if the merger does not receive regulatory approval.

Tammy Sun, an F.C.C. spokeswoman, confirmed that the commission received AT&T and T-Mobile's request to withdraw the application.

The commission is not obligated to grant the request, however. It could deny it, going ahead with its consideration and judicial hearing, or it could grant the request with prejudice, meaning that AT&T could not later re-file the application. That would essentially kill the deal.

When AT&T agreed to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in March, the deal looked like a happy ending for T-Mobile, which had been bleeding customers and battling against declining sales. The company has struggled to retain and add new customers as rivals AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have attracted new mobile phone shoppers with popular handsets like the iPhone and the promise of faster networks and data services.

Over the last eight quarters, the mobile industry overall has added a net 33 million customers in the United States; T-Mobile has added only 89,000 of those.

A dissolution of the merger could leave T-Mobile in a much worse position than it was prior to March, when the acquisition was first announced. Analysts say that since then, the company likely froze any major negotiations with smartphone and tablet manufactures like Apple to avoid interfering with any deals underway between AT&T and those hardware vendors.

That could severely limit T-Mobile’s ability to lure away new customers from competitors over the coming quarters if the merger is abandoned. But the spectrum, or cellular airwaves, that T-Mobile would receive in a break-up from AT&T could help the company, perhaps making it attractive to another company or investment group looking to get into the cellular and mobile broadband business.

Deutsche Telekom has made clear that it no longer want to be in the mobile phone business in the United States, saying it will stop investing in cellular infrastructure here to concentrate on its European operations.

If the merger falls through, the German company may decide to spin off the unit as an independent entity, sell it at a less attractive price to a rival like Sprint Nextel or sell it off in pieces. The proceeds from the sale had been earmarked to pay down debt and buy back stock.

While there has long been talk about a possible combination of T-Mobile with Sprint, the Justice Department’s opposition to the AT&T combination would seem to indicate problems for Sprint, the No. 3 cellphone carrier. Verizon is currently the largest carrier, but the AT&T purchase of T-Mobile would have vaulted the combined entity into first place.

For AT&T, the acquisition of T-Mobile and its wireless spectrum could mean improved service and network quality — key for helping the carrier ramp up its rivalry with Verizon.

AT&T has been looking for ways to keep an edge over the other carriers since losing its exclusivity as the sole carrier of the iPhone in the United States earlier this year. Analysts expected that folding T-Mobile into AT&T would give the carrier the ability to price its plans and handsets more aggressively, since hardware makers might be willing to offer AT&T a lower rate for large volume purchases of new smartphones and tablet computers.

Even if AT&T wins its case with the Justice Department, it must receive F.C.C. approval to be able to take over T-Mobile’s licenses to operate its network on the public airwaves.

The decision by the F.C.C. to request a judicial hearing on the merger had already caused Chris King, a telecommunications analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, to put the probability of the deal being completed as low as 10 percent to 20 percent.

“At some point,” Mr. King said, “AT&T is going to have to face the reality that this deal is pretty much dead.”

Edward Wyatt reported from Washington and Jenna Wortham from New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/te...k.html?_r=1&hp

TV Notes
'Good Wife' producer taking on 'Boss'
By James Hibberd, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - November 23rd, 2011

Regime change is coming to Starz’ Boss. We hear veteran TV producer Dee Johnson is coming aboard as co-showrunner of the Kelsey Grammer drama, joining Boss creator and executive producer Farhad Safinia.

Johnson has an impressive list of producer credits including ER, Army Wives, Southland and, most recently, The Good Wife. Boss is Safinia’s first TV producing gig and Starz initially brought in experienced producers Richard Levine and Lyn Greene to co-manage the first season. The duo exited in October and Johnson set to take over as showrunner for the second round, which was ordered by Starz before the drama premiered.

Boss has been well received by critics even though the ratings aren’t so hot. The most recent episode hit 250,000 viewers for its Friday night telecasts.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/11/23/boss-showrunner/

TV Notes
FX Developing TV Version Of Web Series Broad City' With Amy Poehler Producing
By Nelie Andreeva, Deadline.com

EXCLUSIVE: FX has teamed with Amy Poehler to bring cult Web series Broad City to television. Poehler will executive produce the TV series adaptation of the Web comedy created by and starring Upright Citizens Brigade alumnae Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Jacobson and Glazer are set to write and star in the half-hour FX project, which has received a script commitment from the network.

It centers on the Manhattan (and Brooklyn) misadventures of 20-something female best friends, played by Jacobson and Glazer. UCB co-founder Poehler's relationship with Jacobson and Glazer goes back to their days together at the famous improv theater. The Saturday Night Live alumna is a fan of Broad City and has appeared in it (see trailer below), which led to her interest in taking the show to television. Poeler, Jacobson and Glazer, all repped by WME, will executive produce the FX project with Poehler's manager, 3 Arts' Dave Becky, and Jacobson and Glazer's manager Samantha Saifer. Nancy Pimenthal is on board as supervising producer.

FX has been aggressively building a slate of offbeat comedies with It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, The League, Louie and Wilfred. Broad City would mark the network's first comedy series with female leads and all-female creators. Four-time Emmy nominee Poehler, who stars on NBC's Parks and Recreation, received the 2011 Variety Power of Comedy Award last weekend.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/fx-d...ler-producing/

I'm a tad perplexed here. Regardless of the DoJ decision, the FCC remains the sole entity that approves and transfers the licensed spectrum currently held by T-Mobile. Without the FCC Approval, AT&T is free to acquire T-Mobile assets minus spectrum. Without the FCC Approval, this deal makes no sense. A DoJ decision could apply pressure to the FCC, but it still may be all for not.

Deutsche Telekom made a smart decision choosing AT&T. While other carriers were willing to buy T-Mobile USA, only AT&T guaranteed a break up fee, access to AT&T's 3G/4G data network at near wholesale pricing, a seat on AT&T's Board, $4B in cash, plus stock. Total breakup value estimated at $6B-10B.

Despite what many think, T-Mobile USA's sale has everything to do with lackluster European operations. T-Mobile USA is profitable. It's the most sellable asset in DT's portfolio. Depending on how deep the EuroZone Crisis sinks, DT might be better off selling their European assets. Luckily, Blackstone Group bought a significant chunk of DT, and the former has deep pockets to tap.

DOJ Antitrust is opposing the deal. That's why AT&T is withdrawing its application to the FCC. Without DOJ, there's no acquisition.

TV Notes
Friday's TV Highlights: 'Sanctuary' on Syfy
By Los Angeles Times' 'Show Tracker' Blog - November 24th, 2011

[ALL TIMES LISTED ARE PACIFIC TIME]

MUSIC: Will (Robin Dunne) must use music to communicate with an unusual Abnormal in a new episode of Sanctuary, at 10 p.m. on Syfy.

SERIES

Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss: Plus-size brides hope to find just the right dress for their big day in this new series (9:30 p.m. TLC).

Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse: Spun off from the movie Why Did I Get Married? and its sequel, this new sitcom follows the daily lives of a football player turned sports commentator (Michael Jai White) and his outspoken wife (Tasha Smith) and their friends (10 p.m. TBS). A second new episode follows at 10:30.

SPECIALS

Jingle All the Way: In this new special, a spirited husky puppy looking for a home at a Christmas tree farm bonds with a boy visiting with his parents, and then escapes to find his new friend (7 p.m. Hallmark).

Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas: The mischievous pink kitty and green bunny, who star in their own greeting card line, are now the stars of a new holiday special, which finds them checking out Santa's sleigh during his stop at their house in this new special (8 p.m. CBS).

The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf's Story: So how does Santa know who's naughty and nice anyway? According to this new animated special, he uses elves whose duty is to keep tabs on children's behavior and let the big guy know which list to put them on (8:30 p.m. CBS).

Great Performances: Il Postino From L.A. Opera: Plácido Domingo performs in a romantic opera by composer Daniel Catán (9 p.m. KOCE).

SPORTS

College football: Louisville at South Florida (8 a.m. ESPN2); Iowa at Nebraska (9 a.m. ABC); Houston at Tulsa (9 a.m. FSN); Arkansas at LSU (11:30 a.m. CBS); Boston College at Miami (12:30 p.m. ABC); Colorado at Utah (12:30 p.m. FSN); Pittsburgh at West Virginia (4 p.m. ESPN); California at Arizona State (7:15 p.m. ESPN)

College basketball: Old Spice Classic semifinal: (9 a.m. ESPN). Battle 4 Atlantis: Semifinals (11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. VS). NIT Season Tip-off, final (2 p.m. ESPN). Las Vegas Invitational: North Carolina vs. South Carolina (7 p.m. ESPN2).

Hockey: The Chicago Blackhawks visit the Ducks (1 p.m. FS Prime).

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/show...y-on-syfy.html

HDTV Notes
TVs expected to be hot holiday shopping choice
By Mike Snider, USA Today - November 24, 2011

There are more signs that TVs will be targeted by holiday shoppers.

Forty percent of online consumers plan to shop for a new TV in the next year, according to a survey by Frank N. Magid Associates. And 28% are looking for a replacement for their primary TV, up from 23% in 2009.

Many shoppers are considering displays 60 inches or larger, says the Digital Entertainment Group. By year's end, an estimated 1.3 million 60-inch-plus high-def displays will be sold, up 50% from 2010.

The DEG points to Blu-ray Discs as helping drive HDTV sales. Sales of discs rose 58% in the third quarter of 2011, compared with last year. And more 3-D discs such as The Lion King 3D are driving interest in 3-D, the group says.

But the Magid survey of 1,530 online consumers found them most interested in picture quality, the wide-screen format and Internet connectivity. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of TV shoppers said Net connections are an important factor in their purchase decision.

And interest in 3-D appears to be on the wane, the survey found. Those planning to buy a 3-D TV dropped to 49% of TV shoppers, from 67% last year. Currently, about 3% of homes have a 3-D TV set.

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...pping-choice/1

TV Notes
Thanksgiving weekend TV: Your one-stop shop to the best of the rest marathons
By Lanford Beard, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - November 24, 2011

Over your turkey hangover yet? No? Good. You may have thought the holiday marathons would end with today's televised deluge, but you would be wrong. We roll out the best of the rest below, including Spongebob, Battlestar, Mad Men, Glee, and, yes, the Kardashians. We're talking wall-to-wall weekend television, people. Keep reading

FRIDAY

As Black Friday descends on America, TLC will never let us forget that there are brides in desperate need of an overpriced gown. The network is launching a full-scale Say Yes to the Dress attack with six hours of its original recipe series (6 a.m.-noon Friday) and three hours of Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids (6-9 p.m.). To see how the ladies got to the aisle, check out Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker marathon (11 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday). For all the foibles of love, marriage, and brassy ol' ladies post-gown, head over to TBS for an unflinching Tyler Perry marathon (9:30 a.m.-11 p.m.), which includes the mogul's TV shows House of Payne and For Better or Worse, plus all the Madea movies.

Lest we forget about our men, BBC America is serving up nearly 24 hours of Top Gear (8 a.m. Friday-6 a.m Saturday). Over on National Geographic Channel, the Rocket City Rednecks (3 p.m. Friday-3 a.m. Saturday), and Bio Channel will spook you to the core with a Paranormal State marathon (6 p.m. Friday-4 a.m. Saturday).

For the younger set, Black Friday is Unofficial SpongeBob SquarePants Day on Nickelodeon (7 a.m.-9 p.m.). Teens will delight in two first-season rebroadcasts: The Glee Project plays all day starting at 10 a.m., and MTV is rerunning Awkward. from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (Though we wouldn't blame adults at all for taking nostalgic pleasure in the trials and tribulations of Jenna Hamilton.)

SATURDAY

You've over the Thanksgiving hump, so how to spend your Saturday? By watching Star Wars, clearly. Spike TV begins a two-day marathon today at 9 a.m. (Saturday features Episodes I-III, Sunday also begins at 9 a.m. and showcases the classic Episodes IV-VI). Prefer your Harrison Ford with a bullwhip? Check out USA's Indiana Jones marathon (noon-8 p.m.). If your geek streak hasn't been satisfied, there's also a choice between BBC America's Battlestar Galactica marathon (6 a.m.-9 p.m.) and the Firefly block (9 a.m.-8 p.m.) on the Science Channel. For intrepid explorers of an entirely different sort, check out Deadliest Catch on Discovery from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Those seeking lighter fare can spend a day in Chris Rock's world with Everybody Hates Chris (9 a.m.-7 p.m.) on BET. Elsewhere, IFC anticipates April's Three Stooges remake with a run of classic episodes (10 a.m.-1:45 p.m.), TV Land doesn't even try to stop the 89-year-old juggernaut known as Betty White with a 12-hour Hot in Cleveland block (9 a.m.-9 p.m.), Comedy Central presents four hours of unadulterated Tosh.0 (6:56-11 p.m.), and LOGO presents some fabulousness courtesy of The A List: New York (6 a.m.-2 p.m.).

SUNDAY

Some may consider this a day of rest, but there's more than enough to keep TV watchers occupied. Starting bright and early, AMC is airing three episodes of Mad Men from 6-9 a.m. Flip over to BET for a retrospective of The Bernie Mac Show (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) or check out Sundance's coutureality show Unleashed by Garo (10 a.m.-4 p.m.). The afternoon sees some stiff lady competition between WE tv's My Fair Wedding With David Tutera (1-10 p.m.) and two sister acts the Style Network's Tia & Tamera (2-8 p.m.) and E!'s Kourtney and Kim Take New York (2-7 p.m. in advance of the show's 10 p.m. second season premiere). If you prefer your mass carnage courtesy of zombies instead of heiresses and bridezillas, flip back to AMC for a six-episode catch-up course on The Walking Dead (2:30-9 p.m.) before the midseason finale.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/11/24/th...arathon-guide/

TV Reviews
'Hoops & Yoyo' and 'Elf on the Shelf'
A cat and a rabbit fall through a wormhole in an endearing tale, while the elf's story is tedious.
By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times - December 25th, 2011

New media join faith, hope and charity as reasons to celebrate this holiday season in two animated Christmas specials "Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas" and "The Elf on the Shelf: An Elf's Story" airing Friday on CBS (8-9 p.m.).

Nothing says Christmas like a well-executed marketing campaign and I mean that most sincerely. Publicity has long been an American holiday tradition Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created as a Montgomery Ward coloring book before it was set to music and made famous by Gene Autry, who, spurred by the success of that Christmas ditty, went on to make the song "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" a hit, and two iconic Christmas specials were born.

So there should be no judgment about the fact that the title characters of "Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas" are a couple of characters appearing on Hallmark Cards, sometimes singing in high-pitched, seemingly nitrous-oxide-inspired voices. Hoops is a pink kitty, Yoyo a green rabbit and Piddles, who didn't make the title but still sees plenty of action, is a small, blue mouse.

In addition to the predictable merchandise toys, coffee cups, calendar they have a blog, Facebook page, apps and a series of irritating yet somehow endearing animated bits on the Hallmark website. So the question becomes not, "Why a Hoops & Yoyo Christmas special," but, "Why not?"

Why not indeed. "Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas" is a fast-paced, entertaining enough half hour in which cat, bunny and mouse somehow managed to sneak onto Santa's sleigh, fall through a wormhole and complicate the life of young Kris Kringle. Oh no! Maybe he won't become Santa Claus after all! The escapade nicely reminds us what makes Santa Santa.

The subject matter may be perhaps a bit too heart-warming for the characters, who are not quite as irreverent or amusing as they are on the cards or in their shorts. Still, if not a new Christmas Classic, it's certainly a new bit of holiday eye candy for anyone young enough to stand those high-pitched voices for more than four minutes.

"Elf on the Shelf," on the other hand, is bogged down in reverence, which is too bad because it has a back story worth celebrating. Based on their Christmas traditions, a mother-and-daughter team from Georgia, Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, wrote "Elf on the Shelf," which tells of a pixie who appears after Thanksgiving to monitor the children's behavior for Santa.

They even thought to include a little elf doll, similar to the one they had, with the book, but no publisher bought it. So they did it themselves and, using social media and book store goodwill, created a best-selling phenomenon, which now includes a website, Facebook page, Twitterfeed, blog and merchandise.

Aebersold and Bell also wrote and produced this TV special, which will no doubt appeal to fans of the book. We meet the Christmas elves, all super-excited to get down to earth to start doing their research, but the story revolves, "Polar Express-style" around a young nonbeliever.

Nine-year old Tyler doesn't think much of Santa any more and when his younger twin sisters get their own elf on the shelf, he pooh-poohs the whole thing, until the über-enthusiastic elf, Chippey, feels he has failed. Which, of course, he has not, but the trend of modern holiday movies anchored to the quest to prove that Santa does exist has become tedious and a bit self-defeating.

Maybe the reason kids have such a hard time accepting the message of Christmas is because it has increasingly become all about them accepting the message of Christmas. And that's not only antithetical to the holiday spirit, it's just plain boring.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,1060113.story

AT&T is withdrawing their application, to prevent the FCC findings being used in the DoJ Lawsuit. It also prevents the FCC from making its "Finding of facts" public record. Rumor has it those findings are quite damaging to AT&T. Pending a successful outcome with the DoJ trial, AT&T plans to resubmit their application to the FCC.

An antitrust lawsuit victory also gives them precedent to sue the FCC for license transfer. I wouldn't be surprised if AT&T funds a congressional act to approve this merger.

Nielsen Overnights
Charlie Brown beats Lady Gaga in Thanksgiving ratings
By James Hibberd, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - November 25th, 2011

It’s the Big Bang Theory, Charlie Brown!

All the Thanksgiving specials Thursday night couldn’t hold a candle to a repeat of the CBS comedy, which delivered 11.2 million viewers and a 3.6 adult demo rating. Compare that to ABC’s Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (5.8 million, 1.8) and A Very Gaga Thanksgiving (5.4 million, 1.6 — more on that one here) and NBC’s 85th Anniversary of the Thanksgiving Day Parade (3.7 million, 1.1) and Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown (5 million, 1.6). The best-performing special was Fox’s Ice Age: Mammoth Christmas (7.1 million, 2.3), despite the network getting the holiday wrong. And at least we can take comfort in Charlie Brown topping Lady Gaga, right?

If you’re looking for something to watch over the holiday weekend, be sure to check out Lanford Beard’s rundown of all the best Thanksgiving weekend programming.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/11/25/thanksgiving-ratings/

Critic's Notes
This weekend: ‘60 Minutes’ revisits Central Florida; ‘Walking Dead’ ends first half of season
By Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel's 'TV Guy' Blog - November 25th, 2011

The notable programs this weekend include:

1. CBS’ “60 Minutes,” which returns to Central Florida for another report on the homeless in our region. This time, Scott Pelley focuses on families living in their vehicles. Pelley said the report was ready a week ago, and “60 Minutes” executive producer Jeff Fager decided it was perfect for Thanksgiving Weekend. In the same program, CBS’ Bob Simon talks to Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie. The newsmagazine usually starts at 7 p.m., but a football doubleheader is likely to push back the start time and the rest of the CBS schedule, including “The Amazing Race.”

2. ”The Walking Dead” concludes the first half of its season with a wrenching episode at 9 p.m. Sunday on AMC. The survivors squabble in the supposedly idyllic farm setting before the zombie drama wraps up several mysteries. The shocking fadeout will have to hold fans until Feb. 12, when the series returns with six more episodes. If you’ve missed the show this season, AMC replays the first six episodes in a marathon starting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

3. ABC bumped “Once Upon a Time” last weekend for the American Music Awards. But the fantasy returns at 8 p.m. Sunday with a new episode in which Emma (Jennifer Morrison) becomes a deputy, and a giant sinkhole opens outside Storybrooke. “Time” has been the happiest story among ABC’s new series this fall.

4. CBS is shelving “The Good Wife” this weekend and repeating two episodes of “Person of Interest.” But there’s a lot of new drama, notably “Dexter” and “Homeland” on Showtime, “Boardwalk Empire” on HBO, and “The Walking Dead” and “Hell on Wheels” on AMC.

5. If you prefer more heartwarming fare, “Hallmark Hall of Fame” offers an alternative at 9 p.m. Sunday on ABC. The movie is “Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith.” Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing”) plays Albom, Oscar winner Martin Landau is a rabbi, and Laurence Fishburne is a minister. The movie is a definite alternative to “Dexter.”

6. Sunday’s most-watched prime-time show is likely to be NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

7. “Saturday Night Live” replays the Melissa McCarthy episode at 11:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC. It’s the funniest episode this season, because the Emmy-winning ”Mike & Molly” star has a fearless style. She pulls off physical comedy that is amazing for a live show. Lady Antebellum is the musical guest.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/ent...of-season.html

TV Notes
Saturday's TV Highlights: 'Unknown' on HBO
By Los Angeles Times' 'Show Tracker' Blog - November 25th, 2011

[ALL TIMES LISTED ARE PACIFIC TIME]

IN A DAZE: Liam Neeson wakes up after a car accident only to find his identity has been stolen in the Berlin-set 2011 action-thriller Unknown, at 8 p.m. on HBO.

SERIES

Primeval: A raptor is on the loose in Victorian-era England in this new episode of the sci-fi series (6 and 9 p.m. BBC America).

SPECIALS

The 85th Anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: This encore special spotlights moments from parades past (8 p.m. NBC).

Holiday Block Party 2011: A suburban cul-de-sac gets a seasonal makeover in this new special (8 p.m. HGTV).

America's Cutest Pet: A pig who plays the piano is just one of the adorable animals featured in this new special (9 p.m. Animal Planet).

Most Magical Harry Potter Moments: This special counts down the top 10 scenes from the fantasy film series based on the J.K. Rowling novels (9 p.m. TV Guide).

MOVIES

Debbie Macomber's Trading Christmas: Tom Cavanagh and Faith Ford star in this made-for-cable holiday fable (8 and 10 p.m. Hallmark).

Dear Santa: Amy Acker and Brooklynn Proulx get into the Christmas spirit in this new holiday movie (8 p.m. Lifetime).

Gnomeo and Juliet: James McAvoy and Emily Blunt voice the titular characters in this kid-friendly 2011 computer-animated retelling of Shakespeare's classic love story (8 p.m. Starz).

Bee Movie: Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger lend their voices to this 2007 animated comedy (9 p.m. NBC).

Storm War: Stacy Keach and Jason London star in this new disaster flick (9 p.m. Syfy).

SPORTS

College football: The UCLA Bruins battle the USC Trojans (7 p.m. FS Prime).

Hockey: The Kings play host to the Chicago Blackhawks (7:30 p.m. FSN).

Boxing: Saul Alvarez and Kermit Cintron square off in a super welterweight matchup in Mexico City (10:30 p.m. HBO).

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/show...hlights26.html

TV Notes
YouTube Pacts To Rent 100s Of Disney Films Including Pixar & DreamWorks
By the Deadline.com Team

This statement was posted on Google's YouTube blog:

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Welcoming your favorite Disney movies to rent on YouTube

Today, the first of hundreds of The Walt Disney Studios movies from Disney, Disney·Pixar and DreamWorks Studios are coming to YouTube. These titles join thousands of full-length feature films from major Hollywood studios that already are available to rent at YouTube.com/movies.

Fans of animated movies? We've got the beloved animated classic, Alice in Wonderland and the newly envisioned Winnie the Pooh. Love Disney·Pixar? We have hits like Cars and Cars 2 all in one place. Up for a little bit of adventure? We'll take you from the darkest depths of the oceans with all four of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, including the most recent blockbuster in the franchise Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

So gather the family and friends to watch your favorite Disney movies at YouTube.com/movies. Check back in because even more of the great Disney classics and new releases will be added in weeks to come, including our YouTube Movie Extras with behind-the-scenes clips, interviews, and more.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/yout...ar-dreamworks/

TV Review
Hallmark’s ‘Trading Christmas’ does a good job telling Debbie Macomber holiday tale
By David Hinckley, New York Daily News - November 25th, 2011

The best Hallmark movies get you anyway.

You know exactly what they’re going to do. They do it. And you find you kind of enjoy the ride.

The Debbie Macomber movies, of which “Trading Christmas” is number three, should be tacked to the wall of the Hallmark offices to remind everyone what Hallmark movies aim to be.

They don’t aim to be dark, brooding, complicated, moody or even particularly introspective. If they ended up as “Harry Potter,” they would fail.

They’re the Labrador retrievers of the movie world. Their only goal is to make you feel good. Maybe about your own life, but certainly about the lives of the likable characters to whom they introduce us on the screen.

The cast of “Trading Christmas,” even by Hallmark standards, is exceptionally agreeable.

Topping the charts is Tom Cavanagh as a Boston-based professor and novelist, Charles, who has hit writer’s block with his third novel.

Charles’ brother Ray (Gil Bellows) suggests he go far away for Christmas, someplace where he can just focus on fixing the book.

So he sets up a house swap with Emily (Faith Ford), a widow in small-town Washington state. She wants to come to Boston to spend Christmas near her daughter Heather (Emma Lahana), who goes to school there.

When Charles gets to Washington, he runs into Emily’s attractive and good-hearted BFF Faith (Gabrielle Miller), who recently had that heart broken by a cad.

At first, Charles tries to shoo her away. But she keeps popping up, wondering among other things why he seems to hate Christmas. Eventually she finds out.

Meanwhile, back in Boston, Emily meets Ray.

We mention all these plot details because in Hallmark movies, there can be almost no such thing as a spoiler. The moment we meet the characters and realize what positions they play, we know how this game will turn out.

And it doesn’t matter.

The fun lies in watching them play.

It’s also fun, once in a while, to watch a movie where we meet no bad people. The only two unpleasant characters here never show up on screen. We only hear about them, and from what we hear, we don’t dislike them as much as feel sorry for them, because we know what their selfishness will make them miss.

If you’re watching “Trading Christmas” and you get a vague feeling you’ve seen it before, it’s possible you have. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet made a movie called “The Holiday” in 2006 that followed pretty much the same blueprint.

But in an age when the rom-com seems to be an endangered species, it’s hardly a crime to resurrect a good plot device.

Measured against what Hallmark sets out to do, and against the heartwarming oasis Hallmark viewers expect, “Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas” is just what the channel wants to place under our tree.

'DEBBIE MACOMBER'S TRADING CHRISTMAS'
Saturday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Hallmark
Rating: ★★★★ (out of five)

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...ticle-1.981924

TV Review
'Real Deal,' no, but close enough
History channel series resembles the game shows of old
By Tom Conroy, Media Life Magazine

The reality TV era was kicked off with a game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, back in 2000. Since then, many of the biggest hits in the genre have had an aspect of competition.

The History Channel's Real Deal is the closest that any series in the recent wave of auction and second-hand-goods programming has come to a classic game show: People with collectibles to sell must choose between accepting a professional dealer's negotiated price or putting their goods up for auction. The show is an easy-to-follow and pleasant exercise in mild suspense.

The first episode of Real Deal, which airs this Sunday, Nov. 27, at 9 p.m., opens with a segment featuring Troy Howerton, dealer who specializes in buying and selling motorcycles and muscle cars. He comes off as a little cocky and macho in comparison with Gary, the seller with whom he's paired, who is selling his 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II.

Troy and Gary sit at a table and start haggling. Troy acts incredulous when Gary says he wants $70,000 for the car. He counters with an offer of $25,000, which he literally lays down on the table in the form of wads of cash.

Like most of the negotiating sessions, this one will have viewers siding with the seller. Troy refuses to go over $30,000 and is unmoved when Gary says that he's spent more than $70,000 on the car.

So viewers will be rooting for Gary to do better than $30,000 when he says no deal and decides to take the car to auction, both because we want him to succeed and because we want Troy to lose face. The auction sequence is tense and briskly paced.

The next sequence in the premiere features a pawnbroker named Chip Plemmons, who brags about his shrewdness in business, telling the camera, I'm the king of negotations. But when he sees the seller's item, a mint-condition 16-mm film projector from 1962, Chip doesn't even try to hide his enthusiasm.

The seller, Michael, is actually swayed when Chip promises that he'll make sure the projector will go to someone who appreciates what it is. This is a semi-sweet reminder that most collectors are driven more by love than by greed. Chip, on the other hand, assures us that he's going to make a nice profit on the deal.

Although it might be interesting to learn whether the dealers go on to resell their purchases at a big markup, this information goes unreported. Nonetheless, true to what seems to be the personality type in the profession, they all gloat over what a great deal they've made.

In the course of the two episodes that the History Channel made available for review (the second of which airs Sunday at 9:30 p.m.), all of the various possible outcomes occur: Some sellers accept the dealer's offer. Some make more at the auction than the dealer offered, and some make less.

The show can't resist the temptation to add insult to injury when the seller should have accepted the dealer's offer, even when the result at auction isn't that bad. In a case in which the seller makes nearly the same at auction as what he was offered by the dealer, the narrator says that the seller limps home a loser. Oddly, we don't see the dealer enjoying an I told you so moment.

We learn a little about the history of the items being sold, but less than we generally do on the History Channel's breakout second-hand-goods show Pawn Stars. And although the pros on Real Deal visibly struggle to be colorful, they're not nearly as fun to be with as the principals on that show.

But it's not fair to compare a show with the one that basically launched a mini-genre all by itself. Real Deal may not be the real deal, but it's good enough.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...se-enough-.asp

Seems the author is forgetting a certain MTV series called "The Real World" that started way back in 1992 - 6 years before even the British version.

Of course, technically, since WWTBAM is a game show, that ignores the one that started it all on TV: "Truth or Consequences".

Honestly, "The Price is Right", which started in the 50's, would probably be one of the first reality competition shows since contestants had to do things like turn a big wheel, run around with pricing cards, pull levels, push buttons and even run down the aisle from the audience just to even get to the first bit of competition. Heck, that show even set the standard for bidding on stuff you don't really want, something that is now popular with various cable reality shows. The difference is, the merchandise on TPIR is new instead of stuff from a pawn shop, storage unit or someone's barn. For that matter, "Storage Wars" is just another remake of "Let's Make A Deal".

Having said all that, if you want the catalyst for the modern glut of reality shows, look no further than "Survivor", which really Tom ought to know started the same year as Millionaire in the US.

How can you make those statements? He didn't say anything about being "the first". TorC most certainly did not have anything to do with the current reality era. And neither did anything that started back in 1992 for crying out loud. While one can maybe quibble about "Millionaire" and "Survivor" (I don't know or care which started first), "Storage Wars" is about as far from "Let's Make A Deal" as one can get. It's beyond me how one can even compare the two, much less call one a "remake", that is really a stretch IMHO.

"The reality TV era was kicked off with a game show, 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' back in 2000."

Kicked off - as in started.


Truth or Consequences has as much to do with it as Millionaire, which is another quiz game show. It's not a reality show.

Millionaire kicked of a resurgence of the game show and spawned "let's open suitcases for money", "you are the weekest like, you fool...goodbye" and other silly shows where you get to get help from audience members, family members or a panel of celebrities. What it did not do, is kick of the reality era.


What's the quibble? Survivor is a reality show. Millionaire is not. Survivor spawned a bunch of other "adventure reality shows".

You can feel free not to quibble, but when you write an article, you need to do research.


Really?

The premise of both is you bid on stuff that you can't be sure of what you're getting. Granted, with SW, you get to get an idea of what's in there by being able to peer in from outside, but if stuff is all boxed up, you're bidding on "what's in the box". They're both shows where you take the gamble that what you'll end up with is garbage.

At any rate, I'm not sure why your so worked up about defending the article. You act like I kicked your dog or something.

Not worked up at all, another "leap", just don't know why or how you made such leaps about an article that seemed pretty accurate to me. Like I said, you can quibble about Survivor, but that is when the current reality era started. TorC started game shows on TV, but that's all. SWs is about the same as Deal as a nickle is to a quarter, they are both coins.

Why are you so worked up that someone disagrees with your assessment? I guess I'm not allowed to share an opinion?