Hot Off The Press: The Latest TV News and Information - Page 2690

Too bad our administration doesn't feel the same:

OFFICIAL OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSE TO
End ACTA and Protect our right to privacy on the Internet
The Role of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
By Ambassador Miriam Sapiro

Thank you for you for taking the time to participate in We the People, and for sharing your opinion about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and the importance of privacy on the Internet.

The Administration has recognized previously the importance of protecting an open and innovative Internet in the context of our response to other petitions regarding the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Since ACTA is quite different than SOPA and PIPA, we've decided to provide an ACTA-specific response.

ACTA is an international trade agreement that establishes high standards for intellectual property enforcement. The Agreement provides for: (1) enhanced international cooperation; (2) the promotion of sound enforcement practices; and (3) a legal framework for better enforcement.

As you may know, the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated goods poses considerable challenges for legitimate trade and economic development. Protecting intellectual property rights helps to further public policies that are designed to protect the public. ACTA will help authorities, for example, protect against the threat posed by potentially unsafe counterfeit goods that can pose a significant risk to public health, such as toothpaste with dangerous amounts of diethylene glycol (a chemical used in brake fluid), auto parts of unknown quality or suspect semiconductors used in life-saving defibrillators.

ACTA specifically recognizes the importance of free expression, due process, and privacy. It is the first -- and only -- international intellectual property rights agreement to provide explicitly that enforcement of intellectual property rights in the context of the Internet "shall be implemented in a manner that … preserves fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy." No provision in ACTA requires parties to disclose information "contrary to … laws protecting privacy rights." This includes the protections already in place in U.S. law.

In addition to the United States, approximately thirty countries have signed the Agreement, including Australia, Canada, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Morocco, Singapore, and a majority of European Union member states, as well as the EU itself.

We believe that ACTA will help protect the intellectual property that is essential to American jobs in innovative and creative industries. At the same time, ACTA recognizes the importance of online privacy, freedom of expression and due process, and calls on signatories to protect these values in the course of complying with the Agreement.

Thank you again for taking the time to write and share your views.

Ambassador Miriam Sapiro is Deputy U.S. Trade Representative

Tell us what you think about this response and We the People.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/role-anti-counterfeiting-trade-agreement-acta

On the contrary, I think this is a product designed primarily for use with the upcoming iTV, but will likely also be sold at a lower price point as an individual device as well.

For the record, Apple sells a Wifi only refurbished iPad 2 for $319, so I'd bet $349 on a smaller device is very doable.

You know some of us would something portable that is larger than a cell phone which can be very hard to read but not as large as an Ipad. So tablets like the Kindle are perfect in my book. Not to mention the aversion many of have for paying $500+ for a tablet. Steve Jobs always had the attitude of "I know what's right for the customer and I will shove down his throat". That why the Kindle has been so popular.

yes because a President McCain or a President Romney would feel diferently.

Nice line.

I agree completely. I have a Galaxy Tab 8.9, plenty of display to see everything well while being easier to carry, set up on a plane tray table, etc. Jobs didn't know what I prefer.

But skim milk is not watered down. The milk fat has been removed. I love skim milk. It's the only, non flavored, milk I will drink.

Sent from my HTC Rezound using Tapatalk 2

I don't watch "Glee" at all, and I keep forgetting that it's supposedly set (somewhere) in this state. (ETA: A quick look at Wikipedia says Lima, a city in western Ohio.)

My choice would have been "Family Ties", set in the Columbus suburbs.

"3rd Rock From The Sun" was also set in Ohio, in the fictional town of "Rutherford". I always got the impression that its location was similar to Hiram, a college town just like Rutherford about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland. Or Oberlin, in the opposite direction southwest of Cleveland.

Well, since they already lose several dollars on the Kindle Fire hardware (not much, but still a loss) until you buy other stuff for it, they would have to subsidize it even more to still make that price point with those extra features.

I'm not saying they won't do it, but that's not something Apple will do.

You wouldn't pay full price for a demo model of a car, would you? I used to work golf tournaments where dealerships would provide new cars for the golfers, then sell them as demo models later - at a considerable reduction in price.

Since the referb price is often as much as 30% off, that's an unrealistic figure to base a new one on. I still think $399 is more likely.
I'm well aware of that, which why the analogy works.

Skim milk is milk without the extra fat, just like a Honda Civic doesn't have all the bells and whistles.

However, if you take whole milk and try to make it skim by adding water, you get watery milk. The same goes for a product like the Ipad, which would have to have features removed or compromised (like the screen quality) to meet a specific demand.

No they don't. Back when iSuppli came out with their initial estimate of around $210, many said that that was a gross overestimation based on the parts (I thought it was as well). In fact iSuppli even went back and did another teardown and dropped their estimate by about $8. That's still too much. UBM TechInsights did their own teardown, and the estimated cost is closer to $150 (I remember seeing other teardowns with similar prices as well). I'm not sure why iSuppli's estimates are so high.

There have been plenty or articles stating that Amazon loses money on the Fire.

Amazon has yet to dispute it.

Don't you think they would want to put the rumor to rest since it makes them look smarter if they don't lose money (not to mention makes their stockholders happier)?

If this is an attempt to list television series set in Ohio, it must include "The Drew Carey Show," "Melissa & Joey," "Hot in Cleveland," "WKRP in Cincinnati," "The New WKRP in Cincinnati," and most of all, "Leave It to Beaver."

My point was they aren't going to cannibalize an existing product with a gimped smaller version of it. New iPad 2s are currently $399. If they're trying to expand, then it will be at the $299 price point and include whatever features make sense at that cost.

With Microsoft (Surface RT), Google (Nexus 7), Amazon (Kindle Fire 2), and Apple (iPad mini) now all preparing new flagship tablets for this fall, profit margins for everyone are going to be razor thin. Rumor has it that Amazon also has a Kindle-branded smartphone in the works as well. And we already know they are preparing a new 10-inch model of the Fire 2 to compete directly with the iPad.

That's to say nothing of the 6th generation iPhone also coming this fall and the forthcoming iTV, which will either be unveiled at year end or early next year. And then there's the launch of Windows 8 at some point this fall and the likely unveiling of the next generation Xbox at the VGAs on December 12.

Shaping up to be a very busy--and competitive--season for the latest gadgets.
Edited by URFloorMatt - 7/5/12 at 8:31pm

Nah. I vote for "WKRP" (in Cincinnati.)

I honestly don't think it matters to them. Everyone knows they end up making money on the Kindle Fire anyway...

In any case, Every article I've seen about them losing money always cites the same iSuppli teardown, but I've seen more than one teardown closer to the $150 level. Seems to me that that's the real price.

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

Nielsen Overnights
Fireworks Down, NBC Wins The 4th
By Dominic Patten, Deadline.com - Jul. 5, 2012

If you didn’t like fireworks, there wasn’t a lot new on television on Independence Day. On CBS at 10 PM, there was the live Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular (0.8/3), which was down 27% from last year’s July 4 celebration. NBC started the party at 9 PM with the Macy’s 4th Of July Fireworks Spectacular (1.7/7), with Katy Perry and Kenny Chesney performing. That was down 19% from last year’s explosions but still pulled in 7.9 million viewers overall, according to fast national estimates. (The network broadcast an encore [1.4/5] at 10.) Fireworks Spectacular was the night’s top show in the adults 18-49 demo and among total viewers. NBC won the night in the demo and in total viewers with 5.5 million. Univision finished second with 2.73 million viewers overall.

On ABC, the network aired the second episode of ABC News: Final Witness (0.7/3) at 10 PM. The crime series was down 30% from last week’s debut. Otherwise it was all repeats last night: Fox went all out with The New Girl at 8 PM (0.6.3), 8:30 PM (0.6/3), 9 PM (0.6/2), and 9:30 PM (0.6/2). ABC had The Middle (0.5/2), Suburgatory (0.6/2) and a double shot of Modern Family at 9 PM (0.9/4) and 9:30 PM (0.9/4). CBS went with Dogs In The City (0.6/3) at 8 PM and Criminal Minds (0.7/3) at 9 PM. NBC had Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (1.0/4 ) and Up All Night (0.6/3).

http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/ratings-rat-race-fireworks-down-nbc-wins-the-4th/

TV Notes
'Alphas' season 2 guest stars: Sean Astin, Lauren Holly, Summer Glau, more
By James Hibberd, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - Jul. 5, 2012

Syfy has released its mega guest star list for Alphas season 2 and it includes newcomers to the show like Sean Astin and Lauren Holly along with returning faces such as Summer Glau and Kathleen Munroe.

But first, you’ve already seen the second season trailer, right? And you’ve checked out our Q&A with new showrunner Bruce Miller? Just making sure.

Alphas guest stars will include Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, duh), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Holly (NCIS), Steve Byers (Immortals), Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Noah Reid (Rookie Blue). Returning guest stars include John Pyper-Ferguson (Caprica) as Stanton Parish, Munroe (Haven) as Dani Rosen and Mahershala Ali (Treme) as Agent Nathan Cley. Plus, Glau (Dollhouse) will return for three episodes playing Skylar Adams.

The drama returns Monday, July 23.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/07/05/alphas-season-2-guest-stars-sean-astin-lauren-holly-summer-glau-more/

TV Notes
'Big Brother' Introduces Format Shake-Up, New Houseguests
By Tim Kenneally, TheWrap.com - Jul. 5, 2012

"Big Brother" has found a way to distinguish itself from that pesky look-alike show "The Glass House."

CBS, which is currently embroiled in a legal entanglement with ABC over the similarities between its own "Big Brother" and that network's "The Glass House," announced a format shake-up for its upcoming 14th season on Thursday. The network also revealed the identities of the new competitors for the season, which premieres July 12.

For the first time, "Big Brother" will bring four of the most successful players from previous seasons back on the show to compete against each other in a separate competition for their own prize.

The four returning contestants will be introduced during the show's season premiere.

The network also introduced the 12 new houseguests who will populate the "Big Brother" house this season. The incoming contestants range from the former bass player for the female metal group Kittie to a house-flipper from Bennington, Vt.

For the record, the decor theme of the "Big Brother" house this season will be "urban pop culture," with three-dimensional, white “wave wall” covers in the living room. Of course, it's the waves that the contestants will make among each other that will most draw viewers' interest.

Meet the new "Big Brother" contestants below. [CLICK LINK] Which contestants do you hope to see return for the new season? Have your say in the comments section.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/big-brother-introduces-format-shake-new-houseguests-46641

TV Notes
Eric McCormack will grace TV again in 'Perception'
By Olivia Barker, USA Today - Jul. 6, 2012

NEW YORK – Eric McCormack feels at home on Broadway. There are the framed photos of his wife and son on his dressing-room wall, which is painted a warm taupe to hide the original dirty white. And there's the charcoal carpet he laid down and the matching corduroy couch he hauled in to transform his 45th Street hideaway into a temporary haven.

"It was a ghastly little room," says McCormack, who plays a scheming Tennessee senator with presidential aspirations four floors below in Gore Vidal's The Best Man. (His run ends Sunday.)

"I made this into something," says McCormack, 49, relaxing among the flotsam and jetsam of life in the footlights: opening night congratulatory cards, boxes of chocolate truffles, a bottle of Scope. "You want to be comfortable."

Of course, McCormack is quite comfortable in that other medium, TV, which catapulted him to fame 14 years ago with Will & Grace and which he revisits Monday with TNT's Perception (10 p.m. ET/PT). If successful, the new crime drama could change (or at least broaden) the public's perception of McCormack from, as he puts it, "nice gay guy" lawyer Will Truman and Best Man's unsavory Southern politician Joseph Cantwell. His Perception character, brilliant neuroscience professor-cum-FBI case cracker Daniel Pierce, is the smartest guy in the room "crippled by the very thing that makes him the smartest guy in the room": paranoid schizophrenia.

"I wasn't necessarily looking to solve crimes, but I was looking to be somebody really interesting and complicated, sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic," often self-deprecating, says McCormack, urban casual in black boots, dark jeans and a gray shirt. "The idea that someone with that kind of a brain could be hampered by his brain at the same time was, I thought, a great character."

And if Perception happens to nudge people's perception of mental illness further from its stigma, it's a welcome byproduct. "We didn't, with Will & Grace, set out to change the gay world. We just set out to be funny." But he "couldn't be prouder" of that show's "double legacy": The comedy holds up, and — as Joe Biden revealed when he endorsed gay marriage on Meet the Press in May and gave Will & Grace a shout-out — it's still relevant.

And yes, McCormack is still close to his former small-screen best friend: He and Debra Messing had dinner not long ago and engaged in a bit of "Will and Grace-y banter" last week for a charity event.

"I'm delighted that Will Truman will be my epitaph, but as an actor, I have to challenge myself. I have to challenge the audience," he says. "You have to take the risk" while acknowledging that Will will forever be a part of his DNA. At the Best Man stage door, "one woman one night said (his voice rises into a nasal Noo Yawk honk), 'You were amazing, but I think I like you better gay.' "

McCormack readily concedes that Perception joins a growing genre: "slightly damaged lead characters that one way or the other are solving mysteries" (think Monk, House, Dexter, Homeland). "I'm kind of hoping that even if some of the critics are critical because it's a familiar structure, I think the character's unique."

Besides, he adds, there's room in the imperfect hero pantheon. "Monk's gone, and House is gone. Maybe I can pick up where they left off."

McCormack's last post-Will & Grace show, another TNT drama, 2009's Trust Me, attracted good reviews but relatively few eyeballs, which, he admits, puts pressure on him regarding this project "for sure. … Do you have nine lives, or do you only have three?"

His critically lauded turn as Cantwell no doubt guarantees him an extra professional life. "I'm loving that right now, it's probably in my bones more than any play that I've ever done," says McCormack, standing on the cream-carpeted floor of Cantwell's set, a circa-1960 hotel room during the presidential nominating convention, outfitted with rotary phones and crystal ashtrays. It's about an hour to showtime, and the crew is banging away in the background while The Stars and Stripes Forever is pumped through the nearly century-old theater.

"That's an amazing feeling, to walk onstage, and you're not thinking about anything, you're not thinking about your lines or what you're supposed to do — your body, your brain knows, so there's freedom. There's not fear, there's not nerves."

Not that it hasn't been tough in this six-month home far away from his homes in Los Angeles and Vancouver (McCormack is a dual American-Canadian citizen) — not to mention his wife of nearly 15 years, Janet Holden, a former assistant director, and their son, Finnigan, 10. FaceTime was "definitely our friend."

But even after all those dressing-room renovations, the theater began to feel more homey last month, when Holden and Finn visited for a week. Finn came to the theater every night to soak in snippets of the show from the wings. "He's wearing this newsboy cap," McCormack recalls, "and he just looked like a stagehand from 1945."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/story/2012-07-05/Eric-McCormack-perception/56046182/1

TV Sports
Take Me Out to the Reality TV Show
Showtime's 'The Franchise' starts its second season embedded with Ozzie Guillen's ambitious Miami Marlins
By John Jurgensen, Wall Street Journal - Jul. 5, 2012

Last April at Citi Field in New York, network cameras recorded the game as the Miami Marlins struggled in vain to beat the Mets. A separate TV crew stationed behind the visitors' dugout took a different view of the action, with slow-motion shots that lingered on players' feet, hands and faces. They were stockpiling footage for "The Franchise," a reality show following the Marlins from spring training through August.

Sports news—games, scores, clips, sound bites, analysis—is now instantaneous, everywhere from ESPN to Twitter. "The Franchise" is trying to tell a story, by both slowing the pace and tightening the focus. It's not easy. In eight episodes, producers must find intimacy with athletes who are guarded and press-weary; they must work with Marlins executives, who have their own interests. The Showtime series also faces comparisons with other such narratives, including HBO's "Hard Knocks," which embeds with a pro football team at training camp.

In its first season last year, "The Franchise" focused on a team on top, the San Francisco Giants, coming off its 2010 World Series championship. For its second season, premiering Wednesday, the show teamed up with a club trying to build itself up in almost every way.

Formerly the Florida Marlins, the team recently moved into a $515 million stadium in Miami. With the sleek, contemporary venue, air-conditioned and festooned with art, came new uniforms and expensive signees such as shortstop Jose Reyes. Behind the effort to jump-start the team and transform Miami into a more lively city for baseball is Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, a wealthy art dealer who is key to the front-office drama captured by "The Franchise." Last year, Giants executives rarely appeared on camera.

Says Showtime President David Nevins: "It's an upscale audience and they want to know how the team is run."

But reality TV relies on outsize characters, and in that position "The Franchise" sees manager Ozzie Guillen as a ringer. Born in Venezuela, the former pro shortstop was hired by the Marlins last fall after leading the Chicago White Sox in 2005 to their first World Series title since 1917. He's also known for brash attitude and unfiltered remarks. In April, Time magazine quoted Mr. Guillen saying he loved Fidel Castro and admired the communist leader as a survivor. The manager took fire from around the league but was savaged at home, where the Cuban-American community is virulently anti-Castro.

The spat was an early gift to "The Franchise." Cameras were rolling when team President David Samson suspended Mr. Guillen for five games, and when the manager cried in his wife's arms after a public apology.

About a week after that news conference, Showtime aired a 30-minute preview for the series that climaxed with the Castro controversy. "Some of the clips led [ESPN's] 'Sports Center' for an entire day. For us, that's gold, cracking national sports news," says Mr. Nevins, noting that viewership of the episode jumped 40% over that of a similar preview last year.

Standing outside the Marlins locker room at Citi Field, "Franchise" producer Danny Field watched the colorful Mr. Guillen rib a beat reporter about his outfit. He said, "There's a temptation to turn this into the Ozzie show."

Producers have enviable access: They work for Major League Baseball, which owns the series and licenses it to Showtime. Episodes are vetted by the league, plus the Marlins and the players' union.

Profanity is OK—this is cable TV, after all—but "if there's something that's going to hurt a player business-wise or personally off the field, that's when I say 'red flag,' " said catcher and player representative John Buck. He said players are more open with the "Franchise" crew than with the typical reporter wielding a microphone or camera. "I'd give you a generic answer—'We'll go out and give 150%'—so I can get you out of my face and go about my day. But when you have a crew here that's literally living with you, they get to see you deal with failures and success."

Mr. Field, the producer, exchanges text messages in Spanish with Jose Reyes, and spent a day filming the former New York Mets shortstop at his home on Long Island as he prepared for his first return to Citi Field.

Last year, when the Giants failed to make the playoffs, some team members complained about the distraction of the "Franchise" cameras and other media attention.

At the midpoint of an erratic season, the Marlins are in fourth place out of five in their division. Given the grand ambitions of Marlins management, if the team rallies, "The Franchise" could capture an upstart's ascendancy. If they falter, Showtime just has a different kind of story.

THE FRANCHISE
Season Premiere Wednesdat at 10 p.m. on Showtime

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304141204577508852151226654.html?mod=WSJ_ArtsEnt_LifestyleArtEnt_4

Obituary
Norman Felton, Co-Creator of 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,' Dies at 99
By Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter - Jul. 5, 2012

Norman Felton, the co-creator of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. who also served as an executive producer on the TV version of Dr. Kildare, died June 25 in Santa Barbara. He was 99.

As president and CEO of MGM Television-based Arena Productions, Felton, with Sam Rolfe, created the spy drama U.N.C.L.E. For the NBC series, which starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum and ran from 1964-68, Felton approached and received input from novelist Ian Fleming, who created the James Bond character.

Felton also executive produced the short-lived spinoff The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., starring Stefanie Powers.

The London native executive produced all 190 episodes of NBC’s Dr. Kildare, which starred Richard Chamberlain and aired from 1961-66. Kildare began as a series of films in the 1930s before heading to radio and then television.

Felton also produced Hawkins, a 1973 legal drama starring Jimmy Stewart, and other series including Studio One in Hollywood, Pursuit, The Eleventh Hour, The Lieutenant (also starring Vaughn), Strange Report and Executive Suite.

His telefilm credits include 1971’s Marriage: Year One, starring Sally Field, and 1975’s Babe, a biopic starring Susan Clark as the legendary track star and golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

Felton also wrote and directed for the 1950s series Robert Montgomery Presents.

Felton emigrated to the U.S. with his family as a teenager, then attended the University of Iowa, where he received a masters in theatre arts. He worked at NBC Radio and then NBC Television from 1944-50.

Felton received an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from the Producers Guild of America in 1997.

Survivors include his children Julie and John, grandchildren Kevin and Yohan, great-grandson Eytan and companion Denise Aubuchon. The family asks that a donation be made to Doctors Without Borders or the American Civil Liberties Union.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/norman-felton-death-man-from-uncle-345614

TV Notes
'Hangover 2' Star Jamie Chung Lands 'Once Upon a Time' Role
By Tim Kenneally, TheWrap.com - Jul. 5, 2012

Jamie Chung, who starred as Stu's fiancee Lauren in "The Hangover: Part II" and Amber in "Sucker Punch," will play a recurring role in the second season of ABC's fairy-tale drama "Once Upon a Time," TheWrap has confirmed.

Chung will play the warrior Mulan, a character based on Hua Mulan, a legendary character from ancient China. As described in the poem "Ballad of Mulan," Mulan takes her father's place in the army, fighting for 12 years and refusing any reward despite her impressive record.

"Once Upon a Time," airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m.

Disney, which owns ABC, offered an animated take on the legend in the 1998 film "Mulan."

Chung's other upcoming roles include the martial arts film "The Man With the Iron Fists," in which she'll co-star as Lady Silk alongside Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu.

EW.com first reported the news.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/hangover-2-star-jamie-chung-lands-once-upon-time-role-46696

TV Notes
'Once Upon a Time' casts Sleeping Beauty
By James Hibberd, EW.com's 'Inside TV' Blog - Jul. 5, 2012

More Once Upon scoopage. You saw that the ABC drama cast Hangover 2 and Sucker Punch actress Jamie Chung was cast as the Chinese fighter Mulan in the show.

Now Once Upon a Time has added The Tudors actress Sarah Bolger as Sleeping Beauty / Princess Aurora. Like Mulan, the new role is a recurring character in season two.

In the original fairy tale, Princess Aurora fell a deep sleep after pricking her finger on Maleficent’s spinning wheel. Later, she was revived by the kiss of a handsome prince. Maleficent was introduced in the first season of the ABC drama, played by Kristin Bauer van Straten. The Once Upon version of Aurora is described a spoiled girl from a privileged background who’s willing to “sacrifice everything for love.”

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/07/05/once-upon-a-time-sleeping-beauty/

TV Review
'Inspector Lewis': Ready for prime time
By David Wiegand, San Fracisco Chronicle - Jul. 5, 2012

If last week's broadcast of "Endeavour" on "Masterpiece Mystery" left you wanting more reasons to remember John Thaw's 33 episodes as "Inspector Morse," how about some new episodes of the "Morse" spin-off, "Inspector Lewis," airing over the next four Sundays on PBS?

Played by Kevin Whately, Lewis was Morse's partner on the old series but, literally and figuratively, he often walked in Morse's shadow. What gave him the gravitas and character depth to make him a worthy successor to Morse was the death of his beloved wife. The Robbie Lewis presented here is a much darker and more complicated character than the somewhat bumbling bloke we've seen who worked with Morse over four previous series .

The quartet of new mysteries begins with "The Soul of Genius" on Sunday night, in which Lewis and his partner, James Hathaway (Laurence Fox), investigate the discovery of a body buried in the woods near an exquisite garden famous because it was frequented by Lewis Carroll. The body is that of a loner named Murray Hawes, who had been sent to Oxford at 15 and became an English professor obsessed with solving the riddle of Carroll's nonsense poem "The Hunting of the Snark." Hawes was so singularly determined to solve the riddle, he paid an enormous sum to obtain at auction an archival copy of the poem, annotated by the author.

Setting out to solve the murder brings Lewis and Hathaway to interview Hawes' arrogant brother, the Rev. Conor Hawes (Alex Jennings); two arty, narcissistic students who've named themselves after characters in "Pulp Fiction" (Oliver Johnstone and Daisy May as Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace); a self-styled Miss Marple named Michelle Marba (Celia Imrie); and the young botanist who discovered the body, Liz Nash (Nadine Lewington).

The murder is credibly complex, although the solution feels a bit over-thought. No matter, though, because the real pleasure of this episode is its focus on Hathaway. Enigmatic, sometimes aloof and often defensive about his inner thoughts, history and emotions, Fox's Hathaway is already much more interesting than Whately's Lewis was when he was Morse's deputy.

We know some things about Hathaway - that he smokes, that he once studied for the priesthood at Oxford and that he was a star athlete. But other parts of his past - his family, for example - and his present - his sexuality - are murky. In "Soul of Genius," he is clearly drawn to Liz Nash, but though we've seen him so often in tight control of his emotions in any situation, with the young botanist, he turns into a tongue-tied adolescent and ends up bowing to her at the end of one conversation.

If and when Robbie Lewis decides to retire, Hathaway won't need as much of a character makeover to become the title character of a spin-off. We still might find ourselves wondering about some of the darker corners of his well-guarded inner life and past, but that curiosity will only further compel our interest.

The second of the new "Lewis" mysteries is even better plotted than "Soul of Genius." "A Generation of Vipers" focuses on the death of a young feminist scholar named Miranda Thornton (Julie Cox) who tapes a video for a matchmaking service, only to have the video show up on a local tattler website called the Barker.

As Lewis and Hathaway try to figure out if Miranda's death was a suicide or murder, they find themselves confronting a number of unsavory characters, including the arrogant mastermind (Daniel Lapaine) behind the Barker and an equally arrogant developer (Toby Stephens). These men and other characters turn out to have more in common than first meets the eye.

Unlike the first new "Lewis," the solution to the crime in "Vipers" is brilliant, made even more enjoyable because we see several high-riders deservedly unhorsed.


Inspector Lewis: Series V, "Masterpiece Mystery." "A Soul of Genius," "Generation of Vipers," "Fearful Symmetry" & "The Indelible Stain."
9 p.m. Sundays on PBS through July 29.

http://www.sfgate.com/tv/article/Inspector-Lewis-review-Ready-for-prime-time-3686850.php

Critic's Notes
Bianculli's Best Bets
By David Bianculli, TVWorthWatching.com - Jul. 6, 2012

2012 WIMBLEDON TENNIS
ESPN, 8:00 a.m. ET
Andy Murray, the Scottish tennis player who has just battled his way to his fourth Wimbledon semifinal, has yet to win this U.K.-hosted event, but always has the home crowd squarely rooting for him. Today, the 4th-seeded Murray, after emerging victoriously from a dramatic match with seventh-seeded David Ferrer, faces No. 5 seed Jo-Wilifried Tsonga of France. Tune in early – and if Murray manages to battle his way to the final, get ready to witness bedlam. Well, not the actual Bedlam – though that’s relatively nearby.

DELIVERANCE
AMC, 8:00 p.m. ET
Forty years after it was made, this 1972 John Boorman film remains powerful, potent and, in terms of adventure stories set on and near the water, pretty much unsurpassed – it’d be the perfect double feature with The African Queen. Deliverance stars Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty as suburbanites out for a weekend adventure on a river about to be dammed, and getting a lot more adventure than they imagined. It’s a primal movie, with music, sequences, images and lines of dialogue that will never, ever leave you. Squeeeeal like a pig!

POPEYE
HBO Family, 8:30 p.m. ET
This 1980 movie isn’t shown much on TV, and some of our TVWW readers have asked about its availability on DVD – so it’s worth pointing out that here it comes again, in case anyone wants to record it for a home library. Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall star, and Robert Altman directs, but the biggest and most surprising draw here is that the music and lyrics are written by Harry Nilsson.

THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW
HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET
This is the penultimate installment of this animated series, and boy, am I going to miss it when it’s gone. This show, week in and week out, has given me more laughs on a Friday night than I thought anyone or anything could coax out of me. On tonight’s new installment, Karl Pilkington explains to Ricky Gervais that before he donates a kidney to someone, he’d like to meet the would-be organ-donor recipient beforehand to size them up. Even if it’s a sickly little kid – because, Karl asks, what it the kid is a jerk?

FLYING WILD ALASKA
Discovery, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: Ariel Tweto is used to rugged plane trips: her father, Jim, runs the small Alaskan airline featured in this series, servicing the bush country as well as coastal towns. Earlier this year, she was featured on a cushier trip, as one of the invited guests when CBS’s The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson went to Scotland – and was thoroughly charming. So tune in and see more of her, as she continues to pursue her dream of earning her pilot’s license.

http://www.tvworthwatching.com/

Let's say Mr. Isenberg really shouldn't be writing about TV if "Eastbound and Down" is the only North Carolina show he than think of. How about a little show called "The Andy Griffith Show"? And NO ONE in North Carolina knows who Kenny Powers is.

In fairness, Mayberry is a fictional town assumed to be in North Carolina due to its references, unlike Shelby, North Carolina which actually exists.

It's interesting how much interest this post has generated.