>>> CBS edges NBC on Thursday CBS edges NBC on Thursday
posted by tvbarn on October 11, 2002 01:27 PM Zap2it
>>> "60 MINUTES II" LISTINGS "60 MINUTES II" LISTINGS
posted by tvbarn on October 11, 2002 01:53 PM
OCT. 16, 2002 (8:00-9:00 PM/ET) Executive who is changing the airline business. Correspondent is Dan Rather
and producer is Tom Anderson.
American troops exposed to chemical weapons. Correspondent is David Martin
and producer is Mary Walsh.
>>> Can't march with "Sopranos" cast? Bloomberg tells Columbus Day parade "Fughedaboutit!" Can't march with "Sopranos" cast? Bloomberg tells Columbus Day parade "Fughedaboutit!"
posted by markjeffries on October 11, 2002 06:39 PM AP
>>> Teresa "Christie Love" Graves dies in LA home fire Teresa "Christie Love" Graves dies in LA home fire
posted by markjeffries on October 11, 2002 06:42 PM Reuters
>>> Extensive website for Nov. 11 Jimmy Carter doc Extensive website for Nov. 11 Jimmy Carter doc
posted by srhodes on October 11, 2002 09:01 PM American Experience
>>> Cedric the Entertainer, Old-School Comedian Cedric the Entertainer, Old-School Comedian
posted by srhodes on October 11, 2002 09:09 PM NYT Mag
>>> The Myth of '18 to 34' The Myth of '18 to 34'
posted by srhodes on October 11, 2002 09:10 PM NYT Mag
>>> Deconstructing Duffy Deconstructing Duffy
posted by srhodes on October 11, 2002 09:15 PM Karen Duffy
>>> Showdown Iraq -- On TV, war's a spectacle, debate's a bore. Showdown Iraq -- On TV, war's a spectacle, debate's a bore.
posted by wesmcgee on October 11, 2002 09:28 PM American Prospect
>>> Review of 'Love and Diane' doc Review of 'Love and Diane' doc
posted by srhodes on October 12, 2002 03:24 AM NY Times
>>> In Canada, Accent Has Been on Controversy In Canada, Accent Has Been on Controversy
posted by srhodes on October 12, 2002 03:52 AM NY Times
>>> Michael Mann Dared to Treat TV Like Film Michael Mann Dared to Treat TV Like Film
posted by srhodes on October 12, 2002 03:55 AM NY Times
>>> TV's Damaged Detectives Are Sherlock's Children TV's Damaged Detectives Are Sherlock's Children
posted by srhodes on October 12, 2002 03:59 AM NY Times
>>> 'the Caroline Rhea Show' Unveils New Opening Sequence Celebrating New York And Featuring Vocals By 'the Voice,' Russell Watson 'the Caroline Rhea Show' Unveils New Opening Sequence Celebrating New York And Featuring Vocals By 'the Voice,' Russell Watson
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 12:36 PM
On Monday, October 14, "The Caroline Rhea Show" (check local listings) unveils a newly-produced New York City themed opening, with host Caroline Rhea taking in the celebrated sites and sounds of the greatest city in the world. And, putting his own spin on Neil Diamond's classic tune, "Sweet Caroline," will be none other than classical recording artist Russell Watson, aptly dubbed "The People's Tenor," whose most recent album, "Encore," debuted at #1 on the Billboard classical cross-over charts. Shot throughout the Big Apple, the sequences are set in some of Caroline's favorite locations: she visits Central Park while riding horseback on one of the city's famed Hansom Cabs; juggles six dogs on a walk through the city streets; gets in touch with her inner child at FAO Schwartz and; since you can't visit New York without taking a stroll down Fifth Avenue, Caroline sneaks into the window at Henri Bendel. With fans ranging from raucous football players to President Bush and The Pope- it is no surprise that United Kingdom native, Russell Watson has quickly become one of the world's leading tenors performing alongside such superstars as Paul McCartney and Aretha Franklin. Just this month, Watson has made chart-topping history in the music industry with his sophomore album, "Encore" (Universal/Decca Classics) debuting at #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover charts. "Encore" features Watson's trademark blend of operatic arias from Puccini and Verdi as well as three brand new tracks including a duet with Lionel Ritchie. Watson's debut album "The Voice" also enjoyed enormous success with double platinum status in the UK. In just a few short years and two albums Watson has risen from his humble beginnings as a factory worker in Manchester to international stardom. Daytime television's only successful talk/variety franchise carries on this fall as Caroline Rhea has been hand-picked by Rosie O'Donnell to be her successor. "The Caroline Rhea Show" retains the proven format of its predecessor and is tailored to showcase Caroline's unique and accessible point of view and comedic style. Broadcasting live from New York, the show uses New York as its backdrop, tapping into all the energy, humor, poignancy and uniqueness the city has to offer -- from guests and studio audiences to man-on-the-street interviews and comedic bits, it personifies the fresh, uninhibited viewpoint of the Big Apple. "The Caroline Rhea Show" is produced by Travail D'Amour Productions, Inc. in association with Telepictures Productions and is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
>>> Amusing contest: What Would Larry Do? Amusing contest: What Would Larry Do?
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 01:27 PM Nerve.com/HBO
>>> In Los Angeles, Cops Fear Suspects are Chasing Fame In Los Angeles, Cops Fear Suspects are Chasing Fame
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 02:02 PM WSJ.com
>>> Deaf actress stars in PAX drama Deaf actress stars in PAX drama
posted by on October 12, 2002 02:36 PM The Tennessean
>>> Echevarria exits "MDs" Echevarria exits "MDs"
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:21 PM TVinsite
>>> "West Wing" losing steam "West Wing" losing steam
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:24 PM E! Online
>>> Movies, Mini-Series And Specials Scheduled From Sunday, October 13 Through Sunday, December 22 On The Cbs Television Network Movies, Mini-Series And Specials Scheduled From Sunday, October 13 Through Sunday, December 22 On The Cbs Television Network
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:28 PM
October 10, 2002 AIRDATE ADVISORY Jacqueline Bissett, Valerie Harper, Brian Dennehy, Christian Kane, Mike Farrell, Shannon Elizabeth, Rob Lowe, Kimberly Williams, Jason Alexander, Ed Asner, and Kelly Rowan, Dorian Harewood and Brock Peters Star In New Television Movies "Everybody Loves Raymond" Emmy Award-Winner Brad Garrett And
Terry Farrell Star in "GLEASON" About The Life Of The Renowned Comedian Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam Star in "MARTIN AND LEWIS" About The Famed Entertainers Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis William Hurt, Mary-Louise Parker, Peter Boyle, Ron Silver, Wayne Knight And David Strathairn Star In Mini-Series About FBI Spy Robert Hanssen Vanessa Redgrave And Mary McDonnell Star In New
"Hallmark Hall of Fame" Presentation Shania Twain, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and George Strait Will Perform On "THE 36th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS" Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks And Gisele Bundchen Star In
"THE VICTORIA'S SECRET FASHION SHOW" Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, Pierce Brosnan, Judi Dench And John Cleese Star In Theatrical Film Network Debuts Following is a list of movies, mini-series, specials and theatrical films that have been scheduled for broadcast on the CBS Television Network from Sunday, October 13 through Sunday, December 22. A brief synopsis is included in each listing, as well as talent you may consider for possible interviews and/or appearances. For more information on individual programs, please contact the CBS publicist listed. Please note that dates and times are subject to change.
Sunday, October 13 GLEASON stars Brad Garrett and Terry Farrell in a
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT drama based on the true story of the life of renowned comedian and television icon Jackie Gleason, from his shaky start in small-time vaudeville through his greatest achievement, "The Honeymooners," one of the most popular shows in television history. Sunday, October 20 DANCING AT THE HARVEST MOON stars
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Jacqueline Bissett and Valerie Harper in a drama about a woman in the midst of a life crisis who returns to the lake where she spent romantic summers as a teen and falls into a passionate affair with the son of her first love. Sunday, October 27 DOUBLE JEOPARDY stars Tommy Lee Jones and
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Ashley Judd in a theatrical film about a woman who is framed and convicted of her husband's murder and, when she learns in prison that he is still alive, plans her revenge knowing that she cannot be convicted for the same crime twice. Sunday, November 3 THE CROOKED E: THE UNSHREDDED TRUTH
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT ABOUT ENRON stars Brian Dennehy, Christian Kane, Mike Farrell and Shannon Elizabeth in a comedy/tragedy, based on the book Anatomy of Greed: The Unshredded Truth from an Enron Insider by Brian Cruver, that is an insider's view at one of the biggest scandals of the decade. Wednesday, November 6 THE 36TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS, country music's
8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/ greatest accolades, hosted by Vince Gill, will feature
delayed PT performances by nominees Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson and George Strait, among others. Sunday, November 10 THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH stars Pierce Brosnan,
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Judi Dench and John Cleese in a theatrical film where James Bond, Agent 007, seeks to avenge the murder of a close friend of M's. Sunday, November 17 & MASTER SPY: THE LIFE OF ROBERT HANSSEN stars
Tuesday, November 19 William Hurt, Mary-Louise Parker, Peter Boyle, Ron
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Silver, Wayne Knight and David Strathairn in a drama
each night based on the shocking true story of FBI Special Agent Robert P. Hanssen, the recently-convicted master spy who single-handedly created the greatest breach of security in the history of the United States. Wednesday, November 20 THE VICTORIA'S SECRET FASHION SHOW featuring
10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT top models Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Gisele Bundchen, will present a provocative runway presentation, and well as musical performances, red carpet interviews, model profiles and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the world's most-celebrated fashion show. Sunday November 24 MARTIN AND LEWIS stars Sean Hayes and Jeremy
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Northam in a poignant, fact-based movie that follows the tumultuous relationship between entertainers Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, the most famous comedy act of their time, beginning with their early rise to stardom through the forces that inevitably pulled them apart. Sunday, December 1 THE CHRISTMAS SHOES stars Rob Lowe, Kimberly
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Williams and Dorian Harewood in a heartwarming holiday drama about a work-a-holic attorney who crosses paths with a young boy on Christmas Eve and rediscovers the true meaning of love, life and the holiday season. Sunday, December 8 THE LOCKET stars Vanessa Redgrave, Mary McDonnell
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT and Brock Peters in a new "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation, based on the The New York Times best-selling book, about a young man in the midst of harrowing circumstances who is inspired by an unlikely new friend to summon the faith and courage to fight for real love and a fulfilling life. Sunday, December 15 THE MAN WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS stars Jason
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Alexander, Ed Asner and Kelly Rowan in a new holiday movie, based on the life of innovative inventor and toymaker A.C. Gilbert, that tells the true story of how one man helps a country at war rediscover the joy of the holiday season. Sunday, December 22 A TOWN WITHOUT CHRISTMAS stars Patricia
9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT Heaton, Peter Falk, Rick Roberts and Ernie Hudson in a rebroadcast of a heartwarming holiday drama about a reporter and a novelist who fall in love as they search for a child who has written a disturbing letter to Santa.
>>> "Dinotopia" To Premiere With Back-To-Back Episodes In A Spectacular Two-Hour Extravaganza On Thanksgiving Night, Thursday, November 28, "Dinotopia" To Premiere With Back-To-Back Episodes In A Spectacular Two-Hour Extravaganza On Thanksgiving Night, Thursday, November 28,
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:33 PM ENTERTAINMENT October 3, 2002 "Dinotopia," the new live action series which follows in the footsteps of the lavish hit 'megaseries' that aired on ABC in May 2002, will have a two-hour premiere extravaganza on Thanksgiving night with spectacular back-to-back episodes, airing THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 (8:00-9:00 p.m. and 9:00-10: 00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. In a holiday treat for the whole family, the series, which will continue to present a dramatic and emotional portrait of a lost continent where dinosaurs and humans live together, follows Karl, David and Frank Scott as they face their uncertain future on this lost continent. They must attempt to adapt to their new home -- and all its inhabitants, human and otherwise - with a bold sense of adventure, as they continue to discover Dinotopia's long-held secrets. Leading the new cast will be Erik von Detten ("The Princess Diaries") and Shiloh Strong, starring as teenage brothers Karl and David Scott who find themselves castaways in a strange new world, with Michael Brandon portraying their father, Frank, a wealthy American. Dinotopia's other human inhabitants will include Georgina Rylance as the smart and beautiful Marion, who is in training to be a leader of her people; Jonathan Hyde ("Titanic," "The Mummy") as Marion's father, Mayor Waldo, the overseer of Dinotopia's spectacular capital, Waterfall City; Sophie Ward ("Dracula") as Marion's mother, revered matriarch Rosemary; and Lisa Zane ("Monkeybone") as Le Sage, who becomes the beautiful leader of a renegade group known as the Outsiders. "Dinotopia" is executive-produced by Robert Halmi, Sr. ("Arabian Nights," "Merlin") and Robert Halmi, Jr. ("Cleopatra," "Lonesome Dove"). Howard Ellis is the producer. "Dinotopia," which is filmed in Budapest, Hungary, is a production of Hallmark Entertainment. (CLOSED-CAPTIONED) (Broadcast in stereo where available) "Dinotopia" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound.
>>> TV Guide Channel prexy ankles TV Guide Channel prexy ankles
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:38 PM TVinsite
>>> Unnecessary PR release from "Presidio Med" Unnecessary PR release from "Presidio Med"
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:39 PM Statement from "Presidio Med" Executive Producer
Lydia Woodward regarding Blythe Danner We remain completely supportive of Blythe Danner in this difficult
time, but we would like to assure our audience that she will be
returning to work soon and will be featured in all episodes of "Presidio
Med."
>>> UPN's Hit Monday Comedy "Half & Half" Receives Full Season Order UPN's Hit Monday Comedy "Half & Half" Receives Full Season Order
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:41 PM UPN has made a full season order of its popular Monday night comedy HALF & HALF, produced by CBS Productions, it was announced today by Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, UPN. "UPN's Monday night is one of the most successful blocks of programming on network television in terms of audience retention throughout the night," said Ostroff. "We're very happy with HALF & HALF's performance. It is a very well done, funny show that fits seamlessly with the other series that night." This season HALF & HALF moved into the time period previously occupied by GIRLFRIENDS, the fastest growing comedy of last season, and has improved upon it. HALF & HALF has posted year-to-year growth in homes and young adults. Since its premiere on September 23, 2002, HALF & HALF holds at least 90% of its GIRLFRIENDS audience in homes, total viewers and all key demographics, including 91% of adults 18-34 and 95% of adults 18-49. HALF & HALF stars Rachel True ("The Craft") as Mona Thorne, Essence Atkins ("Smart Guy") as Dee Dee Thorne, Telma Hopkins ("Family Matters") as Phyllis Thorne, Valarie Pettiford ("One Life to Live") as Big Dee Dee Thorne and Chico Benymon ("Moesha") as Spencer Williams. Yvette Lee Bowser ("A Different World," "Living Single" and "For Your Love") is executive producer. Jeffrey Klarik ("Mad About You") created the series. Source: NTI (preliminary), 9/23/2002-10/7/2002 or as dated. % change based on rating unless otherwise noted. 2001-2002 Season-to-date: 9/24/2001-10/8/2001.
>>> ABC Announces Schedule Changes ABC Announces Schedule Changes
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:42 PM
"That Was Then" Goes on Immediate Broadcast Hiatus "Push, Nevada" to Air Until October 24 "The Drew Carey Show" and "Whose Line is it Anyway?"
Move to Fridays, as of November 8 "Monk" Moves to Mondays as of November 18
In a move designed to strengthen the ABC Television Network's overall performance, Susan Lyne, president, ABC Entertainment, today announced several changes to the Network's lineup. As of this Friday, October 11, "That Was Then" will be on broadcast hiatus, with "America's Funniest Home Videos" airing from 8:00-10:00 p.m., October 11 and October 18, and an original Halloween-themed episode airing October 25 at 9:00 p.m. (preceded by Charlie Brown and Winnie the Pooh Halloween specials from 8:00-9:00 p.m.). As of November 8, "The Drew Carey Show" moves to Fridays at 9:00 p.m., with "Whose Line is it Anyway?" following at 9:30 p.m. "We think Friday night presents a great opportunity for a strong comedy block," stated Ms. Lyne. "The pairing of 'Drew' and 'Whose Line' with 'Monday Night Football' made great sense from a demographic viewpoint, but clearance issues due to football really impacted their numbers. Drew has been such an important creative force on ABC -- we hope longtime fans of both his series will rediscover them on Friday nights." "Push, Nevada" will air until Thursday, October 24, culminating the critically-acclaimed series' run with the seventh episode. Viewers who have been playing along with the game that is woven into the weekly episodes will still have the chance to win the grand prize, in excess of one million dollars. Details will be announced shortly and revised rules will be posted on abc.com. On Thursday, October 31, from 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC will broadcast the two-hour pilot of "Monk." Special programming will air in the 9:00 p.m. time period throughout November (additional information is forthcoming). "Monk" will move to its new time slot, Mondays at 8:00 p.m., beginning November 18. "Both 'That Was Then' and 'Push, Nevada' are creatively very strong, but we were simply unable to attract a mass audience for them," added Ms. Lyne. "We want viewers of 'Push' to see the outcome of Prufrock's investigation, and airing it through the seventh episode will give closure to the storyline. As for 'That Was Then,' it was a good show in a bad time period. We have six remaining episodes that we fully anticipate trying in a different time slot later on."
>>> Fareed Zakaria Joins ABC News' "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" Fareed Zakaria Joins ABC News' "This Week With George Stephanopoulos"
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:43 PM
October 10, 2002 Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International, has joined ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," it was announced today by David Westin, president of ABC News. Mr. Zakaria, who has appeared frequently on "This Week" in the past, will serve as an analyst for the program and a regular member of the roundtable. He will also appear as an analyst on other ABC News programs. "Fareed Zakaria brings a keen intellect and fresh perspective to every issue he addresses. He has already become an important voice on Sunday mornings, and all of us at ABC News look forward to working more closely with him, both on 'This Week' and on all our programs," said David Westin. Mr. Zakaria joins ABC News correspondent Michel Martin and ABC News analyst George Will on the roundtable. He is expected to appear on "This Week" at least twice a month. Mr. Zakaria, who has been the editor of Newsweek International since October 2000, also writes a regular column for Newsweek, which appears occasionally in The Washington Post. Prior to joining Newsweek, Mr. Zakaria was managing editor of Foreign Affairs, the influential journal of international politics and economics. He has written for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker. Mr. Zakaria has received several awards for his writings, including the Overseas Press Club Award, the National Press Club's Edwin Hood Award and the Deadline Club Award for Best Columnist. He has twice been nominated for the National Magazine Award. In December 1999 Esquire magazine named him "one of the 21 most important people of the 21st Century." Mr. Zakaria is the author of the forthcoming book "The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad" (W.W. Norton, April 2003). He has also written "From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America's World Role" and edited "The American Encounter: The United States and the Making of the Modern World." He holds a BA from Yale University and a Ph.D in Political Science from Harvard University.
>>> "Mafia Doctor," A New Television Movie Starring Paul Sorvino, Academy Award-Winner Olympia Dukakis And Danny Nucci, Has Completed Production In Halifax, Nova Scotia For Broadcast On The CBS Television Network "Mafia Doctor," A New Television Movie Starring Paul Sorvino, Academy Award-Winner Olympia Dukakis And Danny Nucci, Has Completed Production In Halifax, Nova Scotia For Broadcast On The CBS Television Network
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:44 PM October 8, 2002 MAFIA DOCTOR, a new television movie starring Paul Sorvino ("Goodfellas"), Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis ("Moonstruck") and Danny Nucci ("Titanic"), has completed production in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The drama, inspired by actual events, tells the story of a man who is caught between living his dream as a successful surgeon and secretly working for the Mafia. Growing up on the streets of New Jersey, Frank Siena (Danny Nucci), the son of a construction foreman, and his best friend, Danny Keegan (Jonathan Scarfe), are mesmerized by the lavish Mafia way of life that surrounds them. Knowing that he could never afford to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, Frank, along with Danny, begins to fall prey to that way of life. The reality of that dangerous life quickly becomes apparent when the domineering mob boss, Nicola Dellarusso (Paul Sorvino), sends Danny to execute a hit on Frank's father. When Frank learns of the situation, he makes a deal with Nicola to work for him for the rest of his life in exchange for his father's life. His future takes an unexpected turn when Nicola decides not to kill Frank, but to send him to medical school in Italy with the promise that when he returns, he will be the doctor for "the family." Although Frank succeeds at becoming a gifted cardiac surgeon and quickly becomes a greatly respected doctor at a prestigious hospital, he knows that it comes with a price. Not being able to forget that Nicola owns his life, he is consistently forced to forgo the first rule of the Hippocratic oath, "First, I will do no harm." When his own life is threatened, he makes a decision which will haunt him forever. No longer able to live with the pressure of leading a double life, Frank knows that he must take desperate measures to escape the Mafia. Olympia Dukakis plays Nicola's dying wife, Rose, who is Frank's patient. MAFIA DOCTOR is being produced by Michele Brustin Productions. Executive producers are Michele Brustin, Richard Brams, Arnold Brustin and John Leekley. Keri Selig is a producer. Alex Chapple ("Queer as Folk") directed the film that was written by John Leekley ("Wolf Lake") and Rebekah Bradford ("Spawn"). * * *
>>> Why Steve Kmetko left E! Why Steve Kmetko left E!
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:48 PM Michael Musto (deep in column)
>>> Fox Launches Auditions For The Next 'American Idol' Fox Launches Auditions For The Next 'American Idol'
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:50 PM Wednesday, October 9, 2002 Auditions To Be Held in Detroit, New York, Atlanta, Nashville, Miami, Austin and Los Angeles A series of auditions, beginning October 21 in Detroit, mark the launch of production on the second AMERICAN IDOL. Covering every region of the country, and expected to draw tens of thousands of eager performers, the extensive talent search will find the nation's most talented musical performers looking for their big break. During the process, the panel of judges will evaluate each individual on talent, ability, look and style. The nationwide search continues in New York, Atlanta, Nashville, Miami, Austin, and finally Los Angeles. The auditions will be held at 8:00 AM (unless otherwise noted) as follows: City Date Venue Line Location Detroit Mon., Oct. 21 Atheneum Suites Hotel 400 Monroe Street New York Thurs., Oct. 24 Regent Wall Street Hotel 48 Wall Street Atlanta Sun., Oct. 27* America's Mart Harris Street entrance Nashville Wed., Oct. 30 To Be Announced Miami Sat., Nov. 2 Fontainebleau Hilton On beach boardwalk Austin Wed., Nov. 6 Doubletree Hotel Ballroom entrance Los Angeles Sun., Nov. 17* To Be Announced (* auditions begin at 10:00 AM) Before auditioning, superstar hopefuls should consider the following (this list is not intended to be the comprehensive list of rules/regulations): . Participants must be legal US residents and eligible to work in the United States.
. Participants must be between the ages of 16 and 24 by/on October 19, 2002; those under the age of 18 must be accompanied to the audition by a parent or legal guardian.
. Proof of age and a picture ID (eg, a birth certificate and a driver's license, a passport, etc.) must be presented at the audition.
. Participants are ineligible if they already have either talent representation or a recording contract or were among the top 30 finalists of AMERICAN IDOL: THE SEARCH FOR A SUPERSTAR.
. Auditioners should be prepared to sing a capella (without music) songs of their choice. One song must be selected from a list that will be provided by audition personnel. The second song, if requested by audition personnel, may be a song of the participant's choice.
. For those selected to continue in the audition process, follow-ups will occur within five days (participants should be prepared to stay in audition city five days following first audition). In addition, participants must be able to come to Los Angeles on the dates required.
. Before auditioning, individuals must complete, sign and agree to various required forms. Those selected to continue will have to sign and agree to additional forms. The forms will be available at the audition venues in each city, but are available to print out and review at www.idolonfox.com. Participants under 18 must co-sign each form with a parent or legal guardian. (Further venue and rules/regulations information is available at www.idolonfox.com.) After premiering on FOX in June of 2002, AMERICAN IDOL: THE SEARCH FOR A SUPERSTAR consistently won its time period among the key demographics of Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and Teens. On Sept. 4, the season finale came to a spectacular end, crowning Kelly Clarkson the first American Idol and attracting almost 23 million viewers. Clarkson's debut RCA Records single "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This" jumped from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it the largest leap to the No. 1 position in Billboard's Hot 100 history. AMERICAN IDOL was created by Simon Fuller. Simon Fuller, 19 Television; Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Executive Vice President, FremantleMedia North America Inc.; and Simon Jones, Commercial Director of FremantleMedia's UK production company, Thames Television are executive producers. Nigel Lythgoe, Chief Executive, 19 Television and Ken Warwick of FremantleMedia will serve as co-executive producers.
>>> TV Creative Process Questioned At Rolling Stone/Carat Conference TV Creative Process Questioned At Rolling Stone/Carat Conference
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:51 PM (from www.jackmyers.com:)
By AARON GOLDBERG October 9, 2002 - Television's rush to manufacture new hits may be the reason that the industry produces so few successful new programs. Programmers often develop, greenlight, and produce new shows in a period of less than one year. This process depends on intensive market research, which gauges viewer feedback to decide if the show will ever air. Brian Grazer, Co-Chair of Imagine Entertainment, offered an alternative approach based on his approach to film development that he believes produces not only hits, but the ever-elusive programs that appeal to multiple target audiences, known as crossover hits. "It's all about feeling, not about thinking," Grazer recently told the attendees at the Rolling Stone/Carat Youth Culture Conference in New York. Grazer says market research tells him little about the authenticity of a story, actor or piece of music. Instead, he gauges authenticity by "feeling out" a project, a process that can take up to a decade. Grazer believes that young and niche audiences are especially sensitive to programming that lacks authenticity. If a film does not ring true to the particular subculture it targets, it will be rejected by that subculture and fail to attract a large audience. With movies such as "Liar, Liar" and "The Grinch," and television shows such as The WB's "Felicity" and Fox's "24," Grazer has proven his ability to appeal to distinct demographics while attracting a mainstream audience. For him, producing hits is a delicate process. Grazer's methodology is intended to generate strong appeal among a core target audience while attracting viewers outside of that target as well, essentially producing two stories in one. Grazer's creative approach allows his films to reach influential younger demographics while maintaining a strong mass appeal, thereby delivering both audience quality and quantity. Such crossover strategies also reinforce the opportunity to feature minority casts and storylines in mainstream programming. Grazer's reliance on "feel" also reduces the need for exhaustive and costly research. Even if a prolonged development period becomes more expensive than a standard development schedule, the results are still likely to yield a higher rate of success, he suggested. Aaron Goldberg is Manager of Corporate Partnerships at Jack Myers Report, and is an Adjunct Instructor at New York University. He can be reached at
>>> Sundance Channel To Launch Weekly Documentary Block Beginning March 3, 2003 Sundance Channel To Launch Weekly Documentary Block Beginning March 3, 2003
posted by tvbarn on October 12, 2002 03:54 PM (note: Sundance's PR told me Thursday the launch of Sundance's Documentary Channel has been postponed.--AB) Ten Documentary Features Acquired from Films Transit International New York, NY, October 7, 2002 - Sundance Channel President and CEO Larry Aidem announced today the creation of a weekly on-air destination for documentary films called "DOCday." Aidem also announced that Sundance Channel has completed its first acquisition for the block with a package of ten documentary features from sales company Films Transit International. "DOCday" is slated to premiere Monday, March 3, and continue every Monday thereafter from noon to midnight with a weekly feature premiere at 9:00pm. The documentary block will feature a mix of original segments with independent nonfiction films, both shorts and features from the United States and abroad. Aidem commented "The creation of 'DOCday' reaffirms and underscores Sundance Channel's and Robert Redford's ongoing commitment to documentary films. In addition to creating this weekly destination, Sundance Channel also remains committed to the creation of a full documentary channel, as do our cable and satellite clients, many of whom have enthusiastically embraced this brand extension." Sundance Channel Senior Vice President Film Programming, Paola Freccero said "Sundance Channel's 'DOCday' will be a distinct environment in which we offer our viewers access to a diverse array of stories from previously unheard voices. There are a lot of great films out there that would benefit by a dedicated television platform such as 'DOCday' and later by a Sundance Documentary Channel; we are pleased to be able to offer filmmakers and our audience that opportunity." Sundance Channel has received critical and popular acclaim for several documentary premieres, including Marina Zenovich's Who Is Bernard Tapie?; Ron Havilio's epic seven-part documentary Fragments Jerusalem; Roko Belic's Genghis Blues; St. Claire Bourne's John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk; Marc Singer's Dark Days; Yvonne Welbon's Living With Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100, and, most recently, Bill Weber and David Weissman's The Cockettes. Among the documentaries in the Films Transit package are Stig Bjorkman's Tranceformer, and Axel Engstefeld and Hebert Habersack's Automat Kalashnikov. Both titles are U.S. television premieres. The deal was negotiated by Jan Rofekamp, president and CEO, Films Transit International and Christian Vesper, Executive Director Ancillary Rights Acquisitions, Sundance Channel. Films Transit is one of the world's leading international distributors of quality documentaries, specializing in the worldwide release and marketing of high profile, theatrical long-format documentaries. Founded in 1982, and currently celebrating their 20th anniversary, Films Transit is based in Montreal and now has offices in Amsterdam and in New York. "Our longstanding enthusiasm for documentary films and their proven appeal among a broad audience makes this an easy marketing decision for us. 'DOCday' will be aggressively advertised and promoted in the marketplace to establish the block as the premiere destination for non-fiction film" says Kirk Iwanowski, Senior Vice President of Marketing. Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel brings television viewers daring and engaging feature films, shorts, documentaries, world cinema and animation, shown uncut and with no commercials. Through its original programs, Sundance channel connects viewers with filmmakers, the creative process, and the world of independent film. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture between Robert Redford, Showtime Networks Inc., and Universal Studios. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of supporting independent artists and providing them with wider opportunities to present their work to audiences. Sundance Channel's website address is www.sundancechannel.com.
>>> The DC Sniper: Is the media coverage encouraging him? The DC Sniper: Is the media coverage encouraging him?
posted by wesmcgee on October 12, 2002 05:00 PM Washington Post
>>> ....plus WUSA and the Post defend their actions. ....plus WUSA and the Post defend their actions.
posted by wesmcgee on October 12, 2002 05:00 PM Wash. Post and WUSA-TV
>>> Remote Patrol: Quem deus vult perdere, dementat prius Remote Patrol: Quem deus vult perdere, dementat prius
posted by on October 13, 2002 12:11 AM Tom Heald
>>> Chris Parnell "Elected" To Take Role Of President George W. Bush On NBC's "Saturday Night Live" Chris Parnell "Elected" To Take Role Of President George W. Bush On NBC's "Saturday Night Live"
posted by tvbarn on October 13, 2002 05:14 PM Parnell Joins SNL Vet Darrell Hammond in the Late Night Show's Oval Office
"Saturday Night Live" player Chris Parnell has been tapped to play President George W. Bush on the Emmy Award-winning comedy-variety show. It was revealed on the show's live broadcast on October 12. The announcement ends months of speculation after the departure of cast member and Will Ferrell who portrayed the President. Parnell debuted his Bush impression in the opening sketch of the episode where he joined veteran SNL cast member and Beltway impressionist Darrell Hammond as Vice President Cheney. "It is nearly six months since I last spoke. Yes, I look a little different...you guessed it... Botox," joked Parnell's "President Bush." Parnell and Hammond then went on to address Saddam Hussein, saying that if he didn't comply with disarmament demands, "we can come kick down your door and pull you out of the house in your underwear like they do on 'Cops.'" Parnell - now in his fifth season -- has appeared in numerous sketches and performed uncanny impressions of NBC News' Tom Brokaw and PBS newsman Jim Lehrer in the headline-making debate sketches during the 2000 Presidential election. He's also played Tom Hanks, Eminem and Senator John McCain. Some of his original characters include: Sean DeMarco, dancer wannabe and barfly Wayne Bloater. He has also performed unforgettable hardcore raps fantasizing about dream dates with hosts Britney Spears and Kirsten Dunst on "Weekend Update." Parnell's president will have plenty of support. For the last two years, Hammond has performed as practically the entire Bush Administration from Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge - sometimes in the same sketch. Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Parnell received his B.F.A. in Drama from North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He has performed with the Berkshire Theatre festival in Stockbridge, MA, the Alley Theatre in Houston, TX and with Los Angeles-based improv/sketch comedy group The Groundlings where SNL cast members Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer Phil Hartman, Chris Kattan, Jon Lovitz, Laraine Newman, and Maya Rudolph began their careers. Photos of Parnell as Bush with Hammond as Cheney are available via the Associated Press and the NBC Media Village Website at www.nbcmv.com.
"Saturday Night Live," which premiered on October 11, 1975, is from SNL Studios in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. Steve Higgins produces. Beth McCarthy Miller directs.
>>> Virage Virage
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 08:58 PM website
>>> Virage is the spy's way to watch TV Virage is the spy's way to watch TV
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 08:59 PM SF Chron
>>> TLC starts engines TLC starts engines
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 09:05 PM SF Chron
>>> Classic DVD releases reopen Hollywood dance floor Classic DVD releases reopen Hollywood dance floor
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 09:07 PM SF Chron
>>> Solving crimes isn't as easy as CSI Solving crimes isn't as easy as CSI
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 09:47 PM Time
>>> White House Keeps a Grip on Its News White House Keeps a Grip on Its News
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 10:31 PM NY Times
>>> Emphasis Urged on Pushing Brands Emphasis Urged on Pushing Brands
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 10:51 PM NY Times
>>> Mr. Big Returns to Condé Nast Mr. Big Returns to Condé Nast
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 10:54 PM NY Times
>>> A Voyage to the 1760's A Voyage to the 1760's
posted by srhodes on October 13, 2002 10:59 PM NY Times
>>> Jay Leno's Stalest Hits Jay Leno's Stalest Hits
posted by wesmcgee on October 14, 2002 12:47 AM Washington Post
>>> Laughter Is the Best Medicine at Ailing ABC Laughter Is the Best Medicine at Ailing ABC
posted by wesmcgee on October 14, 2002 12:53 AM Washington Post
>>> Holy Batbabes! Holy Batbabes!
posted by wesmcgee on October 14, 2002 01:06 AM Salon
>>> TNT Cable Network Upsets Operators With Higher Fees TNT Cable Network Upsets Operators With Higher Fees
posted by srhodes on October 14, 2002 03:31 AM WSJ
>>> Sniper case dominates news Sniper case dominates news
posted by srhodes on October 14, 2002 04:33 AM Howard Kurtz
>>> Remote Patrol: Who's a good editor? Yes, he is! Yes, he is! Remote Patrol: Who's a good editor? Yes, he is! Yes, he is!
posted by on October 14, 2002 08:02 AM Tom Heald
>>> What's on TV? Whatever You Like What's on TV? Whatever You Like
posted by paulmurray on October 14, 2002 10:06 AM Wired News
>>> Citizen Annenberg - So long, you rotten bastard Citizen Annenberg - So long, you rotten bastard
posted by paulmurray on October 14, 2002 10:27 AM Slate
>>> Jamie Kellner: 'Without advertising, we will damage this country' Jamie Kellner: 'Without advertising, we will damage this country'
posted by paulmurray on October 14, 2002 11:01 AM Ad Age
>>> CBS 'Early Show' becomes 'The View' CBS 'Early Show' becomes 'The View'
posted by wesmcgee on October 14, 2002 05:35 PM Mediaweek
>>> "American Idol" Kelly hits no. 1 on singles chart "American Idol" Kelly hits no. 1 on singles chart
posted by markjeffries on October 14, 2002 06:19 PM Reuters
>>> Mom, Dad and the Kids Reclaim TV Perch Mom, Dad and the Kids Reclaim TV Perch
posted by srhodes on October 14, 2002 09:57 PM NY Times
>>> Michael Moore wants you to see his new doc Michael Moore wants you to see his new doc
posted by srhodes on October 15, 2002 05:04 AM Michael Moore.com
>>> CBS's New Morning Format Faces Serious Tests CBS's New Morning Format Faces Serious Tests
posted by srhodes on October 15, 2002 05:26 AM NY Times
>>> Big Difference Between Fox Announcing Teams Big Difference Between Fox Announcing Teams
posted by srhodes on October 15, 2002 05:36 AM NY Times
>>> New mostly-girl group at CBS New mostly-girl group at CBS
posted by srhodes on October 15, 2002 06:31 AM Washington Post
>>> Norman Lear's Latest Isn't a Sitcom Norman Lear's Latest Isn't a Sitcom
posted by srhodes on October 15, 2002 06:33 AM Washington Post
>>> Remote Patrol: or c) monitoring the baby Remote Patrol: or c) monitoring the baby
posted by on October 15, 2002 07:20 AM Tom Heald
>>> Wal-Mart cues up a rival to Netflix Wal-Mart cues up a rival to Netflix
posted by paulmurray on October 15, 2002 02:03 PM CNET
>>> Hard drives: The new VHS tape Hard drives: The new VHS tape
posted by paulmurray on October 15, 2002 02:04 PM CNET
>>> TV's newest odd couples (dumpy guys with gorgeous gals) TV's newest odd couples (dumpy guys with gorgeous gals)
posted by paulmurray on October 15, 2002 08:41 PM Detroit News
>>> CBS ad chief bolts for Discovery CBS ad chief bolts for Discovery
posted by tvbarn on October 15, 2002 10:12 PM Electronic Media
>>> Author And Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani To Visit The "Late Show With David Letterman", Wednesday, Oct. 16 On The CBS Television Network Author And Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani To Visit The "Late Show With David Letterman", Wednesday, Oct. 16 On The CBS Television Network
posted by tvbarn on October 15, 2002 10:25 PM Author and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani visits the LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN Wednesday, Oct. 16 on the CBS Television Network. This will be Giuliani's first guest appearance on the broadcast since Dec. 27, 2001, which marked his final LATE SHOW visit as New York City mayor. Giuliani recently released his autobiography, Leadership, which focuses on his storied career, from his days as a corporate lawyer and United States attorney through the triumphs, crises and challenges he faced during his two terms as mayor of New York City. Since his first visit to the CBS late night program on Jan. 10, 1994, Giuliani has been one of the most frequent visitors to the LATE SHOW, making over 25 appearances on the broadcast, including interview appearances, cameos, walk-ons and Top Ten Lists. Some of his most memorable visits include: Giuliani chooses a new slogan for New York - "Our City Can Kick Your City's Ass" -which is displayed on the Sony Jumbotron in Times Square (4/12/95) Donning a hard hat, Giuliani fills a pothole outside the Ed Sullivan Theater (7/26/94) Giuliani takes questions from the studio audience and gives out subway tokens for free rides home during an "Ask the Mayor" comedy segment (7/27/95) The Mayor adorns the top of the LATE SHOW Christmas tree with an apple (12/18/96) Giuliani makes his first LATE SHOW appearance following the Sept. 11 attacks (9/24/01) For his last Top Ten List as mayor of New York City, Giuliani presents the "Top Ten Things I Will Miss about Being Mayor," including "I'm double parked right now - who's gonna tow me?" (11/26/01) The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN, broadcast weeknights (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Maria Pope, Barbara Gaines and Rob Burnett are the executive producers. * * *
>>> CBS News To Debut The New "Early Show" On Monday, Oct. 28 CBS News To Debut The New "Early Show" On Monday, Oct. 28
posted by tvbarn on October 15, 2002 10:45 PM
HARRY SMITH, HANNAH STORM, JULIE CHEN AND RENE SYLER
ARE NAMED THE ANCHORS OF THE BROADCAST Harry Smith, Hannah Storm, Julie Chen and Rene Syler will become the new anchors of THE EARLY SHOW, CBS News' weekday morning broadcast, it was announced by Andrew Heyward, President, CBS News. The new broadcast will premiere Monday, Oct. 28 (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. THE EARLY SHOW debuting in two weeks will offer a fresh twist on the traditional morning news program: four anchors reporting the top stories of the day, interviews and features, but in a more flexible and spontaneous format. This less rigid structure will provide the opportunity for more direct exchange between four distinct personalities while still offering viewers the staples of news, weather and information they've come to expect. "First and foremost, the new EARLY SHOW is a news program," said Heyward, "so we'll continue to provide viewers with the stories and issues of the day, as well as local weather and news. But our anchors will also give viewers a more spontaneous broadcast with four distinct personalities adding their own interests to the mix. The result will be a lively, unconventional and engaging program." "The unique talents and diversity of our anchors give us great flexibility in putting together an informative and interesting broadcast each day," said Michael Bass, Senior Executive Producer of THE EARLY SHOW. "In addition to being free from the conventional format of anchors simply alternating stories for two hours, when news warrants, our anchors won't be chained to the studio. We'll showcase their diverse strengths and interests and give viewers a distinctive alternative in the morning." Smith, 51, has served as the host of A&E's "Biography" series since 1999 and will continue to do so when he assumes his full-time EARLY SHOW duties. Before that, he worked for CBS News for 13 years as an anchor, correspondent and featured contributor for various broadcasts. Smith was a regular contributor to the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER, where his ATravels With Harry@ offered a weekly report on unique American people and places off the beaten track. He also served as substitute anchor and occasional correspondent for CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING and anchored and contributed to CBS News documentaries and 48 HOURS, the primetime news magazine. Smith served as co-anchor of ACBS This Morning@ (1987- (more)
CBS News...2 96), covering a wide range of domestic and international stories, including the Persian
Gulf War from Saudi Arabia for a month of live broadcasts, as well as reports from Japan, Poland, Hungary, Bosnia, Cuba, France, Italy, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Great Britain, Moscow and Spain. Domestically, he covered stories ranging from the 1989 San Francisco earthquake to the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Republican and Democratic National Conventions to the Oklahoma City bombing. Smith also served as the co-host of CBS Sports' weekday morning coverage of the 1992 and 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France and Lillehammer, Norway. He joined CBS News in 1986 as a Dallas-based reporter and was named a correspondent in March 1987, reporting primarily for the CBS EVENING NEWS. Prior to that, Smith was a reporter and anchor for KMGH-TV, the CBS affiliate in Denver (1982-85). He also worked for Denver's public television station, KRMA-TV (1981-82), and in radio for several years, at KHOW and KIMN Denver and WLW Cincinnati (1973-81). Smith was born Aug. 21, 1951, in Lansing, Ill. He received a B.A. degree in communications and theater from Central College in Pella, Iowa. Smith lives in New York with his wife, sports anchor and reporter Andrea Joyce, and their two sons. Storm, 40, has been an anchor and reporter for NBC Sports for the past 10 years. She hosted that network's broadcasts of dozens of major sports events, including the Olympics, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Wimbledon. Storm has hosted coverage of four Olympic Summer Games: the late-night programs from Barcelona and Atlanta, and the daytime and weekend programs from Sydney and Salt Lake City. She became the first woman to serve as the solo anchor of a network's major sports package when she hosted NBC's coverage of the NBA (1997-2002) and Major League Baseball, including three World Series (1995, '97 and '99). Storm also was the primary play-by-play announcer for the inaugural season of the Women's National Basketball Association (1997). Her extensive reporting experience includes work for NBC's coverage of the National Football League, the NBA, the PGA Tour and golf's Women's U.S. Open. Storm received the Gracie Allen Award from the American Women in Radio and Television for her work as a reporter. She is also the only woman to have been nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Sports Television Host. Storm's recently published book, Go Girl!, a sports guide for parents, is in its second printing (Source Books, 2002). Before joining NBC Sports, she anchored "CNN Sports Tonight" and weekend sports programs for the cable channel (1989-92). Previously, Storm was a sports anchor and reporter for WPQC-TV Charlotte, N.C. (1988-89); KTXH-TV Houston; Home Sports Entertainment; KNCN-FM Radio in Corpus Christi, Texas; and WNDU-TV South Bend, Ind. (between 1982-88). Storm was born on June 13, 1962, in Oak Park, Ill. She was graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1983 with a degree in political science and communications. She lives in the New York area with her husband, NBC Sports anchor Dan Hicks, and their three children. (more)
CBS News...3
Chen, 32, has been the news anchor of THE EARLY SHOW and anchor of the CBS MORNING NEWS since Nov. 1, 1999, when THE EARLY SHOW debuted. She has also served as a substitute anchor for THE EARLY SHOW. Chen has hosted BIG BROTHER, CBS's summer reality series, since its debut three years ago. She substitute-anchored the CBS MORNING NEWS and "This Morning," THE EARLY SHOW's predecessor, for five months in the summer and early fall of 1999 before the premiere of THE EARLY SHOW. Prior to joining CBS News in June 1999, Chen was a reporter and anchor for WCBS-TV, the CBS Owned station in New York (1997-99). She was a reporter for WDTN-TV Dayton (1995-97). Chen served as a producer for ABC News One, that network's affiliate news service (1991-95), and as a production assistant in ABC News= Los Angeles bureau (1990-91). She was born on Jan. 6, 1970, in New York City. Chen was graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991 with degree in broadcast journalism and English. She lives in New York. Syler, 39, has anchored the noon and 6:00 PM newscasts at KTVT, the CBS Owned station in Dallas, since February 2000. Before that, she anchored the noon and 5:00 PM newscasts, beginning in 1997 when she joined the station. Syler was the morning and noon anchor at another Dallas station, WFAA-TV (1992-97). She was the weekend anchor at WVTM-TV Birmingham, Ala. (1990-92) and at KOLO-TV Reno, Nev. (1989-90), and was a weekend reporter at KTVN-TV, also in Reno, before that (1987-89). Syler was born on Feb. 17, 1963, at Scott AFB near Belleville, Ill., and grew up in Sacramento, Calif. She was graduated from California State University at Sacramento in 1987 with a degree in psychology. Syler is an active member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators and the National Association of Black Journalists. The American Women in Radio and Television also awarded her Television Personality of the Year in 1997. Syler is married to Buff Parham, with whom she has two children.
>>> 'CSI' Juggernaut Propels CBS to Third Straight Win 'CSI' Juggernaut Propels CBS to Third Straight Win
posted by srhodes on October 16, 2002 12:22 AM Washington Post
>>> Anonymous Tip led to WUSA's Sniper Scoop Anonymous Tip led to WUSA's Sniper Scoop
posted by wesmcgee on October 16, 2002 05:10 AM Washington Times
>>> On the scene of the shootings, Geraldo does Hooters On the scene of the shootings, Geraldo does Hooters
posted by wesmcgee on October 16, 2002 05:13 AM Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
>>> Why is everyone on TV a cop, a lawyer or a doctor? Why is everyone on TV a cop, a lawyer or a doctor?
posted by wesmcgee on October 16, 2002 05:24 AM Salon
>>> Remote Patrol: "We'd sing and dance forever and a day ..." Remote Patrol: "We'd sing and dance forever and a day ..."
posted by on October 16, 2002 09:32 AM Tom Heald
>>> Reality shows "Brother," "Idol" top UK "peoples' choice" TV awards Reality shows "Brother," "Idol" top UK "peoples' choice" TV awards
posted by markjeffries on October 16, 2002 10:52 AM MediaGuardian
>>> TV BARN RADIO: CBS' latest morning failure; "Millionaire" and "Mole"; "Push, Nevada" TV BARN RADIO: CBS' latest morning failure; "Millionaire" and "Mole"; "Push, Nevada"
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:08 PM Paul Harris
>>> JUST ADDED JUST ADDED
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:29 PM Tim Goodman now on the TV Critics' page (thanks for all your e-mails!)
>>> New KTWU Television Tower Gives Viewers Better Picture New KTWU Television Tower Gives Viewers Better Picture
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:33 PM
For Immediate Release Local public television viewers can now enjoy an improved broadcast signal from KTWU. Chief Engineer Duane Loyd today announced completion of the installation of a new KTWU Channel 11 broadcast antenna. The new antenna will provide improved service to the KTWU viewers and replaces the old antenna which has been in operation for nearly 30 years. KTWU‚s new antenna provides a stonger, more reliable signal for viewer‚s television reception. The new antenna, purchased with a combination of state and federal funds, was erected on top of the new 936 foot broadcast tower. This completes the tower construction project begun last May which included erection of a new tower and removal of the old broadcast tower. As part of the project, in July 2002, a new digital television broadcast antenna was installed. The digital antenna is the first step toward KTWU‚s conversion to a digital television broadcast facility. KTWU plans to be on the air with a digital broadcst signal by April 1, 2003. Installation of the new antenna was contracted to the tower crew from Radian Communications Services Corporation, Ontario, Canada. The new antenna was provided by the Andrew Corp. Orland Park, Illinois. The new digital television broadcast antenna was provided by the Dielectric Corp, Raymond, Maine. KTWU has been broadcasting local public television (PBS) in eastern Kansas and portions of Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma since 1965. KTWU serves the viewers of Channel 11 in the Topeka area and Channel 30 in the Iola, Ft. Scott, Chanute area. The station license is held by Washburn University with studios located on the Washburn campus in Topeka, Kansas.
>>> The White Stripes Join Senator John Mccain On This Weekend's "Saturday Night Live" October 19 The White Stripes Join Senator John Mccain On This Weekend's "Saturday Night Live" October 19
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:35 PM
Hot Detroit Duo Replaces Nelly as Musical Guest
As previously announced, Senator John McCain will host this weekend's installment of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." He will be joined by red-hot musical guest The White Stripes. Both make their SNL debuts. (Rapper Nelly, who was previously scheduled will appear in November.) Hot off their three MTV Video Music Awards for their innovative Lego-filled video "Fell In Love with a Girl," The White Stripes will perform songs from their critically acclaimed release "White Blood Cells." According to The New York Times the Detroit duo have "made rock rock again by returning to its origins as a simple primitive sound full of unfettered zeal." Meg and Jack have recently graced the cover of Spin magazine and are just off a sold-out tour - including packed shows at New York's Radio City with The Strokes. Senator McCain makes a move from the Capitol to comedy making his debut on SNL. McCain joins a distinguished list of politicians who have appeared on the program from former President George Bush, Vice President Al Gore, President George W. Bush and New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. McCain rose to national prominence in the 2000 Presidential campaign with his "Straight Talk Express" and strong views on campaign finance reform. With 20 years of service in Congress, McCain was named one of 1997's "Most Influential Americans" by Time. McCain is also the best-selling author of Faith of Our Fathers a memoir that detailed his growing up and his distinguished service in Vietnam (where he was imprisoned for five years). He follows that best-seller with the just released Worth the Fighting For which tracks his maverick political career.
"Saturday Night Live," which premiered on October 11, 1975, is from SNL Studios in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels. Steve Higgins produces. Beth McCarthy Miller directs.
>>> Jane Pauley Interviews Barbara Walters Friday, October 18th On "Dateline NBC" Jane Pauley Interviews Barbara Walters Friday, October 18th On "Dateline NBC"
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:36 PM Walters Returns To NBC to Talk Publicly About A Very Painful Episode in Her Family Life, And Her Daughter's Eventual Triumph
This Friday, October 18th, Barbara Walters returns to NBC for an exclusive interview with "Dateline NBC's" Jane Pauley. Walters and daughter Jackie Danforth talk for the first time about Jackie's troubled childhood, and how Jackie has put her past to use helping another generation of teens. Walters tells Pauley, "I'm doing an interview like this because Jackie said to me, 'Tell other parents... I get calls all the time from people who say, How did this happen?' ...Tell them, Mommy, if it can happen to you, it can happen in any family.'" In 1968 Walters and her husband Lee Guber adopted a baby girl they named Jacqueline. With two high-powered parents, Jackie grew up in a lifestyle that she had trouble relating to. By thirteen, Jackie was sneaking out at night, experimenting with drugs and skipping school. But worse was to come. During the interview, Walters tells Jane Pauley, "Had I been wiser I would have seen things coming. Look, she's adopted, I don't want to make too much of that, but she is. She's too tall at [age] 12, she feels. Her father and mother are divorced, and her mother is some kind of celebrity. That's tough for a child to live with." In the summer of 1984, Jackie ran away from home and for a month Walters did not know where her 15-year-old daughter was. When Jackie was found Walters made the difficult decision to send her daughter to an alternative school for troubled teens in Idaho. Danforth stayed in the program for three years and credits the program with saving her life. Today, Danforth has come full circle. After meeting and marrying wilderness guide Mark Danforth, she opened a camp in northern Maine called "New Horizons." At a recent visit to the camp she told Pauley she feels her own experiences help her get through to teenage girls at risk. "These girls obviously are doing the same things that I did. So when some of the girls act out, try to run, and things like that, which is very normal, typical, I have a better understanding of what my Mom went through." These days, Danforth's life is focussed on other people's daughters, troubled teenagers like she used to be, but she has made the decision not to have children of her own. As for Walters, "She wants grandchildren bad," Danforth tells Pauley. "She loves kids. My mom is the most nurturing person in the world,"
>>> ABC and UPN: Aim Low, Miss Low ABC and UPN: Aim Low, Miss Low
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:44 PM Mediaweek.com
>>> Video-on-demand still 3 years from fruition Video-on-demand still 3 years from fruition
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:45 PM Economist.com (via ArtsJournal)
>>> A&E Network Renews Pact Of Harry Smith A&E Network Renews Pact Of Harry Smith
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 12:48 PM
Smith to Continue as a Host of A&E's Emmy Award winning Biography(R) Series -- New York, NY, October 14, 2002 -- A&E has renewed the contract of Harry Smith to continue his role for another two years as a host of the critically-acclaimed BIOGRAPHY series, it was announced today by Dan Davids, the Network's General Manager/Executive Vice President. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Since 1999, Mr. Smith has been the primary host of A&E's Emmy Award winning BIOGRAPHY series. In addition to his role with BIOGRAPHY, Mr. Smith, a three-time Emmy Award winner, will also be one of the new anchors on CBS' "The Early Show." "We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Harry," said Mr. Davids. "He is one of television's most respected journalists and has contributed greatly to Biography's continued success as cable television's most distinguished series." Over the past three years, Mr. Smith has conducted interviews with a wide range of prominent individuals, newsmakers and celebrities for BIOGRAPHY. The list ranges from Rudolph Giuliani and former President George Bush to talk show host Oprah Winfrey and acclaimed filmmaker George Lucas, to name just a few. The two-hour special on Oprah Winfrey is the highest-rated program ever to air on A&E. Mr. Smith has also produced a number of BIOGRAPHY Close-Up specials including, most recently, a two-hour behind-the-scenes profile of Saturday Night Live, which included interviews with Lorne Michaels, the show's creator and Executive Producer, as well as former and current cast members. Nominated for more Emmy Awards in the past two years than any other basic cable network, A&E offers a unique blend of critically acclaimed programming, including Biography, original movies and mini-series, engaging documentary series and specials, as well as music programming. In 2002, A&E won six Emmy Awards, more than any other basic cable network, including one for Biography as Outstanding Non-Fiction Series (Informational). In 2000, A&E was awarded the Governors Award from The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for The Biography Project for Schools. A&E is available in more than 85 million Nielsen homes in the United States. The A&E web site is located a www.AandE.com and the Biography web is located at www.Biography.com.
>>> Emmy-Award Winning Sports Journalist Ahmad Rashad To Host ABC's Celebrity Version Of "The Mole" Emmy-Award Winning Sports Journalist Ahmad Rashad To Host ABC's Celebrity Version Of "The Mole"
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:34 PM Emmy-Award winning sportscaster and former NFL all-pro wide receiver Ahmad Rashad has signed on to host ABC's upcoming celebrity version of "The Mole," it was announced today. "Celebrity Mole" is set to air on ABC later this season. Rashad has been the host of "NBA's Inside Stuff" for 12 seasons, where he also serves as executive producer of the series. He recently signed on to work with ESPN and ABC on their newly acquired NBA coverage. A sportscaster since 1983, Rashad has also been a studio host for the NBA, NFL, Notre Dame football and Olympic broadcasts from Atlanta, Barcelona and Seoul. Rashad was a four-time pro-bowl player for the Minnesota Vikings and was recently voted to the team's 40th anniversary team. "Celebrity Mole" will be a special six-episode edition of the show that will feature seven celebrity players as they try to figure out who among them is The Mole. The celebrities will use all their guile to uncover the clues that could lead them to a pot of up to $250,000. They must complete a series of challenging physical and mental games to earn money for the pot, which one player will eventually win. Working undercover against the team, however, is The Mole, a double agent planted by the producers to sabotage the players' efforts. It is the goal of each player to decide who The Mole is, then learn as much about him or her as possible. In the final dramatic episode, The Mole is revealed and the one remaining player wins the jackpot. "We are thrilled that Ahmad has signed on to join us as host of 'Celebrity Mole,'" said executive producer Scott A. Stone. "His energy, hosting expertise and competitive spirit make him the perfect choice." "Ahmad is the perfect choice to capture all of the intensity of The Mole and yet have some fun with the celebrities who are playing," said Andrea Wong, senior vice president, Alternative Series and Specials, ABC. "We are really excited that he has agreed to host this show." "Celebrity Mole" is produced by Stone Stanley Entertainment. Scott A. Stone and David G. Stanley are the executive producers.
>>> TCM to Premiere 75th Anniversary Reconstruction of Lon Chaney's Silent Film Icon London After Midnight on Halloween Night, Oct. 31 TCM to Premiere 75th Anniversary Reconstruction of Lon Chaney's Silent Film Icon London After Midnight on Halloween Night, Oct. 31
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:35 PM Film Is Finale to Month-Long 29-Film Festival Including Silent German Horror Classics and Four Films by Italian Horror Maestro Mario Bava
Turner Classic Movies' October line-up will be haunted by obscure horror films and classic creep shows culminating in the premiere of Lon Chaney's lost masterpiece, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927, 8 p.m.) on Oct. 31, Halloween night, reconstructed entirely from stills. It will be the first time the film has been seen in nearly 50 years in any format, as the last print known to exist was destroyed in a vault fire at MGM in the 1960s. TCM sets the stage for spookiness with a month-long festival of 29 films shown in themed evenings every Thursday that include: Gothic Greats, including THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1945, 8 p.m.); Val Lewton Horror, including CAT PEOPLE (1942, 8 p.m.); Bob's Osborne's Horror Picks, including FREAKS (1932, 8 p.m.) and What to Do If Your Child Is Possessed including AUDREY ROSE (1977, 8 p.m.). Each Friday will highlight one of four films from Italian cult horror director Mario Bava: BLACK SUNDAY (1960, 2 a.m.), EVIL EYE (1963, 2 a.m.), BLACK SABBATH (1963, 2 a.m.) and KILL BABY, KILL! (1966, 2 a.m.). In addition, TCM's Silent Sunday Nights franchise will focus on early German silent horror films, including The Eyes of the Mummy (1918, 12 a.m.), DER GOLEM (1920, 12 a.m.), THE HAUNTED CASTLE (1922, 12 a.m.) and NOSFERATU (1922, 12 a.m.). The premiere of LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT is the grand finale of the month, heading an evening of Vampire Classics with such titles as MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935, 9 p.m.) and VAMPYR (1932, 10:15 p.m.). Listed on the American Film Institute's Ten Most Wanted "Lost" Films, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT is referred to by proponents as the most famous of lost films. Though no actual film footage is known to exist, award-winning filmmaker Rick Schmidlin (Touch of Evil, Greed) has been able to faithfully reconstruct the entire narrative through an extensive collection of more than 200 still photographs and a complete continuity script. A new score by acclaimed composer Robert Israel will complete the presentation. In it, Lon Chaney showed off his talents as a make-up artist, creating what became the first real American vampire, complete with the elements that children today associate with the sinister creatures: eyes bulging in their sockets, menacing pointed teeth and a cape. Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 60 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., an AOL Time Warner company. TCM presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the '20s through the '80s, commercial-free and without interruption. For more information, please visit the TCM Web Site at www.turnerclassicmovies.com.
>>> 'American Dreams' double runs on NBC 'American Dreams' double runs on NBC
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:38 PM Mediaweek.com
>>> Kelsey Grammer And Charles Durning Star In The Heartwarming "Mr. St. Nick," Airing Sunday, November 17, On ABC's "The Wonderful World Of Disney" Kelsey Grammer And Charles Durning Star In The Heartwarming "Mr. St. Nick," Airing Sunday, November 17, On ABC's "The Wonderful World Of Disney"
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:41 PM
Katherine Helmond, Brian Bedford, Elaine Hendrix, Ana Ortiz, Luis Garcia, Colin Cunningham and Lupe Ontiveros Among the Cast Legendary Executive Producer Robert Halmi, Sr. Brings This Jolly Christmas Tale to Life
Golden Globe and Emmy-winner Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier," "Animal Farm") and Oscar and Emmy nominee Charles Durning ("State and Main," "The Hudsucker Proxy") star in the heartwarming holiday tale "Mr. St. Nick," a story about Santa's passing on the Christmas torch to his prodigal son -- who is not quite ready. The two-hour original movie is executive-produced by award-winning producer Robert Halmi, Sr. ("Dinotopia," "Gulliver's Travels"), and will premiere on "The Wonderful World of Disney," SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 (7:00-9:00p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. In Mistletoe Manor, a Bavarian castle glimmering under the Aurora Borealis, King Nicholas XX, commonly known as Santa (Charles Durning), and his wife, Carlotta (Emmy nominee and Golden Globe-winner Katherine Helmond, "Who's the Boss?"), are not feeling particularly jolly. With Christmas only weeks away, the aging king is ready to pass his throne, his toys and his powers to the Crown Prince, Nick St. Nicholas (Kelsey Grammer). While his parents have been toiling at the North Pole carrying on the holiday traditions, Mr. St. Nick has been enjoying the nightlife and raising funds for charity in sunny Miami. At a party at his lavish seaside estate, Nick meets leggy newswoman Heidi Gardelle (Elaine Hendrix, "The Parent Trap") and public relations expert Hector Villarba (Luis Garcia). Heidi and Hector may not know Nick's true identity, but they do know that "Miami's Most Eligible Bachelor" is the prince of benefits. Their plan? Use his knock-out connections to create an online holiday charity. Nick's all for it. He can retire the family sleigh and soak under the sizzling December sun. No elves. No suit. No sweat. MrStNick.com may be a killer concept to Nick, Heidi, and Hector, but the impatient King is not so wild for the 21st-century advantage. With his own powers beginning to wane, he has to persuade his son to find a queen, head for home and take up the torch. Unfortunately the problems are just beginning. A charge of fraud has turned Nick's charity into a nationwide scandal, the falling snow at Mistletoe Manor is turning to slush, and the lights of the Aurora Borealis are on the blink. As he wrestles with a love triangle and a charity scam, the true spirit of the season rapidly begins to take over Mr. St. Nick and his father's magical powers are inherently passed on - he has to accept his destiny, ready or not! Filled with dazzling special effects and delightfully skewed twists on holiday traditions, "Mr. St. Nick" is a Christmas movie like no other. Also starring are Brian Bedford ("More Tales of the City") as Jasper, Ana Ortiz ("Kristin") as Lorena, Wallace Shawn ("Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle," "Clueless") as Mimir, Colin Cunningham ("UC: Undercover") as Agent Nardo and Lupe Ontiveros ("As Good As It Gets," "Selena") as Tia Sophia. "Mr. St. Nick" is a production of Hallmark Entertainment and was written by Matthew Jacobs, Dan Levine, Maryedith Burrell, Michael Sargent, Debra Frank and Steve Hayes. Craig Zisk directs the two-hour movie. The producers are Tom Rowe, Mary Anne Waterhouse and Camille Grammer. A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.
>>> Another Day, Another Crisis As The Emmy Award Winning Series '24' Returns Oct. 29 On Fox Another Day, Another Crisis As The Emmy Award Winning Series '24' Returns Oct. 29 On Fox
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:42 PM
Special Commercial Free Premiere Sponsored By Ford Motor Company 24, winner of 2002 Emmy Awards for writing and editing, as well as a nominee for eight other Emmys (including "Outstanding Drama Series" and "Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series"), will return for a second season with Golden Globe winner Kiefer Sutherland starring as Jack Bauer on Tuesday, Oct. 29 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The Ford Division of the Ford Motor Company will be the presenting sponsor of the season premiere, which will have no commercial interruptions. 24 maintains its unique format, with each episode covering one hour of real time over the course of a 24-hour day. In the finale of season one, Bauer, who headed up the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), thwarted an assassination attempt on the life of Senator David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert). However, in the process, Jack's wife Teri (Leslie Hope) was murdered by turncoat agent Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke). In the season two premiere episode "8:00-9:00 AM," Jack and his daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert) continue to deal with the trauma of Teri's loss, and the effect it has had on their relationship. But with one phone call, Jack, who has been inactive since Teri's death more than a year ago, is called upon by David Palmer -- now President Palmer -- to stop another terrorist plot with global implications. The clock begins ticking again... The series also features returning regulars Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida, Xander Berkeley as George Mason and Penny Johnson Jerald as Sherry Palmer. In addition, Sarah Wynter ("Lost Souls") joins the cast as Kate Warner. 24 is a production of Real Time Productions and Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Brian Grazer and Howard Gordon are the executive producers.
>>> Reinforcing Schedule Stability And Rewarding Ratings Dominance, The ABC Television Network Picks Up "NYPD Blue" For 11th Season Reinforcing Schedule Stability And Rewarding Ratings Dominance, The ABC Television Network Picks Up "NYPD Blue" For 11th Season
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:44 PM October 15, 2002 In a move that reinforces schedule stability and rewards ratings dominance, the ABC Television Network has picked up "NYPD Blue," one of the longest running and critically acclaimed police dramas in broadcast history, for the 2003-2004 season, the show's 11th, it was announced today by Susan Lyne, president, ABC Entertainment. "'NYPD Blue' is creatively as strong today as it was a decade ago, and it has consistently won its time period since its return to 10:00 p.m. Tuesdays," said Ms. Lyne. "It is a tent pole of our new Tuesday lineup, and a key element in our effort to rebuild the schedule. Over the years, Steven Bochco, Dennis Franz and the other members of this incredibly talented team have maintained a level of quality in their work that has made 'Blue' one of the most consistently powerful dramas on television. We look forward to seeing what they do with the show next season." "We're delighted to know we'll be coming back to ABC for an 11th season," added Mr. Bochco. "We continue to believe that this is a show with many years of strong storytelling yet to come, and we're glad that ABC has seen fit to bring us back." "NYPD Blue" has won its time period among Adults 18-49 on all three of its Tuesday night telecasts this season. On average the drama leads the 10:00 p.m. time-slot by 18% in Adults 18-49 over second-place NBC, and it is the top-rated drama Tuesday night in this key sales demo. Since returning to its 10:00-11:00 p.m. time period this season, "NYPD Blue" has improved ABC's delivery in the hour by 18% in Adults 18-49 (5.2/14 vs. 4.4/11), and on its most recent broadcast (10/8/02), "Blue" posted ABC's highest Adult 18-49 rating in the time period in nearly 1 year - since 11/06/01. Set against the gritty and volatile backdrop of New York City, "NYPD Blue" powerfully portrays realistic characters devoting themselves to the pursuit of justice while struggling to maintain an ever-elusive sense of humanity. Co-created by Steven Bochco and David Milch, the show broke every record in its first season with 27 Emmy nominations. Since its network debut on September 21,1993, it won the coveted award for Outstanding Drama Series in its sophomore year and received Emmy Awards for writing and directing in the fourth and fifth seasons. The show has received an astounding 82 Emmy nominations, winning 19. The series stars four-time Emmy Award-winner Dennis Franz as Detective Andy Sipowicz, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Detective John Clark, Jr., Emmy-winner Gordon Clapp as Detective Greg Medavoy, Henry Simmons as Detective Baldwin Jones, Bill Brochtrup as public administrative assistant John Irvin, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon as Assistant District Attorney Valerie Haywood, Charlotte Ross as Detective Connie McDowell, Alma Award- and Imagen Award-winner Esai Morales as Lieutenant Tony Rodriguez, Jacqueline Obradors as Detective Rita Ortiz and Austin Majors as Theo Sipowicz. "NYPD Blue" is a Steven Bochco Production, co-created with David Milch. Bochco serves as executive producer with Mark Tinker and former New York City police detective Bill Clark.
>>> A Special Edition Of America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back Travels To Washington D.C. To Join The Manhunt For The Beltway Sniper On October 17 On Fox A Special Edition Of America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back Travels To Washington D.C. To Join The Manhunt For The Beltway Sniper On October 17 On Fox
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:45 PM
John Walsh Reports From Washington D.C. Command Center AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK heads to Washington D.C. to join in the search for the serial sniper who recently shot his 11th victim in the Beltway area. Host John Walsh will be stationed at the Command Center to report on one of the largest manhunts in the D.C. area and give the latest viewer tips to help police capture the fugitive. This special edition premieres Thursday, Oct. 17 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The program will feature updated information regarding the weapon and vehicles used in the spree of shootings, witness testimonies and possible clues on the latest deadly sniper attack. Also, John Walsh will ride along with several law enforcement groups to assist in the hunt for the whereabouts of the mystery sniper. AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK, in its 16th season airs Saturdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Lauded by law enforcement organizations nationwide and internationally, the series has helped capture 722 criminals, taken 15 criminals off the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and reunited 31 missing children with their families. (EDITORS NOTE: The feature film ELECTION (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) will be pre-empted. FASTLANE (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and the special edition of AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) will air in its place. ELECTION will be rescheduled at a future date to be announced. Although AMW has been pre-empted in its regular time period for baseball coverage, the AMW hotline, 1-800-CRIME-TV has continued to operate and receive anonymous tips from the public.)
>>> Nickelodeon's Spongebob Squarepants Expected To Be A Big Hit For Both Kids And Adults This Halloween (note inappropriate use of "sponge-worthy" in press release) Nickelodeon's Spongebob Squarepants Expected To Be A Big Hit For Both Kids And Adults This Halloween (note inappropriate use of "sponge-worthy" in press release)
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:46 PM Kids Can Trick-Or-Treat As Their Favorite Nickelodeon Characters Including Jimmy Neutron, Blue's Clues, SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer Santa Monica, CA, October 15, 2002 - Adults and kids alike are expected to find Halloween costumes this year especially "sponge-worthy" with the introduction of the new Deluxe SpongeBob SquarePants costume, based on Nickelodeon's number-one rated television show. In addition, Nickelodeon introduces new costumes from its highly-rated TV series' Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron. "SpongeBob has become a huge phenomenon among every age group, but people will see plenty of different Nickelodeon characters in the neighborhood this year," said Jim Davey, vice president, Nickelodeon Consumer Products. "It's a sure sign of a character's popularity when kids actually want to be that character." Nickelodeon's 2002 Halloween costumes include: SpongeBob SquarePants He may live in a pineapple under the sea but for us landlubbers, the hottest costume for adults and kids is SpongeBob, the happy-go-lucky sea sponge from Bikini Bottom. Manufacturer: Rubies A.P.R.: $15.99-$39.99 (child costumes); $29.99-$59.99 (adult costumes) Availability: Target, Wal-Mart, Toys 'R' Us, Party City, and other small retailers Dora the Explorer Dora the Explorer which features Dora, a Latina heroine who teaches preschoolers a bit of Spanish as she goes about her on-screen adventures, is the number-one show on commercial television for kids ages 2-5. Kids can dress in Dora's outfit, backpack and wig and say Hola! Manufacturer: Disguise A.P.R.: $19.99 Availability: All major retailers including Wal-Mart and Target Blue's Clues Blue's Clues, winner of a 2002 Peabody Award, is a favorite TV show for preschoolers, and Blue has emerged as one of the most endearing children's characters of all time. Kids and babies can dress up as Blue, the energetic bright blue girl puppy, Periwinkle, her kitten friend, and Magenta, her puppy friend. Manufacturer: Disguise A.P.R.: $14.99-$19.99 Availability: All major retailers including Wal-Mart and Target Jimmy Neutron Jimmy Neutron is Nickelodeon's newest and most popular animated character. Jimmy is a kid who just happens to be a genius, and is always creating gadgets to make his life more interesting, however his inventions get him into trouble more often than not. Kids can look like Jimmy on Halloween with a wig that looks like Jimmy's tall red hair and his outfit. Manufacturer: Disguise A.P.R.: $19.99 Availability: Specialty costume stores Nickelodeon, now in its 23rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines, music and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 86 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for seven consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
>>> Carlos Santana To Appear On A&E's Live By Request On Friday, October 18th (plus Rob Thomas and Michelle Branch) Carlos Santana To Appear On A&E's Live By Request On Friday, October 18th (plus Rob Thomas and Michelle Branch)
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:50 PM
Two-Hour World Premiere Airs Live From New York 9-11 PM ET/6-8 PM PT (Encores Sunday, October 27, noon-2pm ET/PT) ****!!THIS JUST IN: ROB THOMAS AND MICHELLE BRANCH WILL BOTH BE ON HAND AS SPECIAL GUESTS OF CARLOS SANTANA!!**** A&E ALSO TO PREMIERE BIOGRAPHY: CARLOS SANTANA SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 7-8PM ET/PT New York, NY, October 16, 2002 – The one and only Carlos Santana will take center stage for an evening of live music in A&E's LIVE BY REQUEST STARRING CARLOS SANTANA, which will air live from Sony Music Studios in New York on Friday, October 18, from 9-11 PM ET/6-8 PM PT (an encore presentation will air on Sunday, October 27, noon-2 PM ET/PT). During the program, Mr. Santana will take song requests via a special 800-telephone number. Fans logging on to http://www.livebyrequest.com will be able to email song requests, post messages and have access to on-demand text including discographies, biographical information and lyrics to songs. Information about the show and Carlos Santana will also be available at http://www.AandE.com, which will also hotlink to the live webcast. Carlos Santana’s forthcoming release, Shaman, is due at retail on October 22 (Arista). Carlos Santana’s long and enormously successful career has yielded such all-time classics as "Evil Ways," "Jingo," "Oye Como Va," "Black Magic Woman," and "Smooth," in the process establishing him as one of the most influential and enduring artists in the history of modern music. Supernatural earned a record breaking nine Grammy Awards and sold over 25 million copies worldwide. In addition to Shaman, The Essential Santana (Columbia/Legacy), a two-disc retrospective of the artist's years at Columbia Records, will also be released on October 22. With its first groundbreaking telecast in 1996, featuring the legendary performer Tony Bennett, A&E's LIVE BY REQUEST won an Emmy for "Outstanding Performance for a Variety or Music Program" and a Cable ACE Award for Music Performance, making it one of the most critically-acclaimed and fastest growing music performance series on television. Past artists featured on A&E's LIVE BY REQUEST include Elton John, David Bowie, Neil Diamond, the Bee Gees, Willie Nelson, Don Henley, Eurythmics, k.d. lang, Vince Gill, Gloria Estefan, Phil Collins, James Taylor, Johnny Mathis, Loretta Lynn, Clint Black and Reba McEntire, among others. Winner of the 2000 Governors Award from The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for The Biography Project for Schools, A&E offers viewers a unique blend of original programming, including the highly acclaimed BIOGRAPHY series, original movies, drama series, and engaging documentaries. A&E is available in more than 85 million Nielsen homes in the United States. The A&E web site is located at www.AandE.com, the BIOGRAPHY web site is located at www.Biography.com, and the mysteries web site is at www.mysteries.com. ###
>>> Barbara Walters To Interview Former Vice President And Mrs. Al Gore - First Formal Interview Since The Controversial 2000 Presidential Election - Airing On "20/20," Friday, November 15 On ABC Barbara Walters To Interview Former Vice President And Mrs. Al Gore - First Formal Interview Since The Controversial 2000 Presidential Election - Airing On "20/20," Friday, November 15 On ABC
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:51 PM Former Vice President Al Gore will give ABC News' Barbara Walters his first formal televised interview since the presidential election two years ago. Mr. Gore promises to address a wide range of issues, including the hotly contested 2000 presidential election and the Florida recount, his reflections since leaving office, his future political plans, criticisms of President Bush's foreign policy and economic platform and his new book on the transformation of the America family. Tipper Gore will join Mr. Gore during the interview, which is scheduled to air on "20/20," FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. The interview will take place at the Gores' new house in Nashville, TN. Some of the Gore children will also participate. ABC cameras will also join Mr. Gore in Iowa, where he is campaigning for several Democratic congressional candidates and testing the waters for his own political future for what could become a second run for President in 2004.
>>> Sniper story boosting cable news ratings Sniper story boosting cable news ratings
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 01:54 PM NY Daily News via IWantMedia.com
>>> More "Hire" films from BMW More "Hire" films from BMW
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 03:23 PM Bmwfilms .com
>>> The Book Club on Shales 'SNL' book The Book Club on Shales 'SNL' book
posted by srhodes on October 16, 2002 03:28 PM Slate
>>> Dick Clark picks TV's next car-commercial band Dick Clark picks TV's next car-commercial band
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:13 PM Blogcritics
>>> Damon Bryant Named Vice President/Creative Services Director, WDAF Fox4 Kansas City Damon Bryant Named Vice President/Creative Services Director, WDAF Fox4 Kansas City
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:20 PM October 16, 2002, Kansas City, MO - Damon Bryant has been named Vice President/Creative Services Director at WDAF FOX4 Kansas City. The announcement was made today by Cheryl McDonald, Vice President and General Manager, WDAF. "We are very pleased to have Damon join our management team," stated Ms. McDonald. "He brings a wealth of broadcast experience with him to the Fox 4 Creative Services Department." Mr. Bryant will oversee marketing, promotion and creative services for FOX's Kansas City station. Mr. Bryant most recently served as Director of Advertising and Promotion at WBBM/CBS in Chicago. At WBBM, he was responsible for all aspects of the station's marketing efforts, overseeing a successful station redesign and relaunch. Prior to WBBM, he spent five years at WXYZ Detroit where he served as Creative Services Director. Prior to that, he worked as a Promotion Manager at WTVJ Miami. Mr. Bryant began his career in Kansas City, working in promotion capacities at KCTV and WDAF. Mr. Bryant holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Missouri. He and his wife Alisa have two sons, Blair, age 8 and Joshua, age 4. One of the nation's largest owned-and-operated network broadcast groups, Fox Television Stations, Inc. consists of 35 stations in 26 markets covering nearly 45% of U.S. television homes. This includes duopolies in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Orlando.
>>> Susan McGinnis Is Named The Anchor Of The "CBS Morning News" And A Business Contributor To "The Early Show" Susan McGinnis Is Named The Anchor Of The "CBS Morning News" And A Business Contributor To "The Early Show"
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:22 PM October 16, 2002 Susan McGinnis has been named the anchor of the CBS MORNING NEWS and a business contributor to THE EARLY SHOW, it was announced by Andrew Heyward, President, CBS News. McGinnis will assume her MORNING NEWS duties on Monday, Oct. 28, when the new EARLY SHOW debuts on the CBS Television Network (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT). The CBS MORNING NEWS is broadcast weekdays (4:30-5:00 AM, ET/PT; updated 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 and 6:30 AM). She has substituted as anchor of the CBS MORNING NEWS and as the news anchor for THE EARLY SHOW for the past three years. McGinnis succeeds Julie Chen, who was recently named an anchor of the new EARLY SHOW, as the MORNING NEWS anchor. In addition to her new anchor duties, McGinnis, who currently does the CBS MarketWatch report for the East Coast editions of THE EARLY SHOW, will expand her role on the program to include reporting and analysis of top business stories. She will continue as a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com, the flagship financial news and information Web site of MarketWatch.com, Inc., and as an anchor and reporter for its "CBS MarketWatch Weekend" syndicated business news program. McGinnis will also continue to provide a daily morning CBS MarketWatch report for WCBS-TV, the CBS Owned station in New York, and for CBS NEWSPATH, the 24-hour affiliate news service of CBS News. "Susan has been an invaluable asset to CBS and Viacom," said Heyward. "She has a deep understanding of the complicated and ever-changing world of business and, as importantly, the ability to make sense of it for viewers and readers. I'm pleased that we can expand Susan's role with CBS News in a way that allows her to continue her vital duties for the valuable MarketWatch.com franchise." Prior to joining MarketWatch.com and CBS News, McGinnis was an anchor and reporter for Bloomberg Television (1997-99). Before that, she was an anchor and reporter for Dow Jones' WBIS+ business news network and a reporter for KYW-TV, the CBS Owned station in Philadelphia (1996-97). McGinnis served as a business editor, anchor and reporter for WSPA-TV Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C. (1994-96) and as an anchor, reporter and producer for Wall Street Journal Television in New York (1989-94). She began her career in media as a media planner at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising (1986-89). McGinnis was born on March 20, 1964 in Allenhurst, NJ. She was graduated from the University of Delaware in 1986 with a degree in international relations and business administration. McGinnis lives with her husband and two children in Red Bank, N.J. Michael Bass is the senior executive producer of CBS MORNING NEWS and Lyne Pitts is the executive producer.
>>> The Media Access Group At WGBH Receives Three Grants From US Department Of Education The Media Access Group At WGBH Receives Three Grants From US Department Of Education
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:23 PM
$3.4 Million in Funding Will Provide TV Captioning and Video Description Boston, MA (October 16, 2002) ˜ The Media Access Group has been awarded three cooperative agreements from the US Department of Education to provide captioning and video description services for a range of national and local news, and children's programs. Combined, the three grants will provide the Media Access Group with $3.4 million in funding over the next three years. According to Lori Kay, Director of Services for the Media Access Group, "In keeping with the Media Access Groups mission to make programs accessible to people with hearing and visual disabilities, the national and local news grants will enable us to appeal to the diverse interests and program choices of many different viewers through a selection of news programming˜ business news, political programs, and the human interest and hard news provided by daily, national news broadcasts." She goes on to say, "In the case of the children's programming, were thrilled that the Department of Education is helping us to make these educational programs accessible to children who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired." The Closed-captioned National News and Public Information Grant (# H327L020005) will provide continued captioning of news programs and emergency coverage on both CBS and PBS. The US Department of Education and CBS will continue to fund the captioning of CBS's national news programs, including CBS Evening News (Monday-Sunday), Face the Nation, 48 Hours and 60 Minutes II, as well as all news and public information specials. A similar funding partnership between PBS producers and the Department of Education will fund the captioning of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (including Special Reports), NOW with Bill Moyers, Morning Business Report, Nightly Business Report, and news and information specials on PBS. The Closed-captioned Local News and Public Information Grant (# H327L020008) will enable the Media Access Group to continue captioning of News at 9 (Monday-Sunday) on Boston-based cable station New England Cable News (NECN), and provide captioning of La Plaza and Basic Black on Boston public broadcaster WGBH. The Local News Grant also will fund emergency coverage, and news and public information specials for each of the broadcasters. "These three local shows are important to Boston-area audiences, and we are pleased to be able to make them accessible to the entire community," says Kay. The Accessible Children's Television Program Grant (# H327L020043) will provide both closed captioning and video description of selected children's programming that airs on Nickelodeon and PBS ˜ providing full access for young viewers nationwide with hearing or vision loss. The funding will provide captioning and description of Nickelodeon series, including Jimmy Neutron, Rugrats, two new series from the producers of Rugrats ˜ All Growed Up and School Daze, as well as the PBS kids' series Angelina Ballerina and Barney and Friends. The Media Access Group at WGBH is a non-profit service with offices in Boston, Los Angeles and New York. The Group includes The Caption Center˜ the world's first captioning agency˜ which has made audiovisual media accessible to audiences who are deaf or hard-of-hearing since 1972, and Descriptive Video Service, which has made television, film and video more enjoyable to audiences who are blind or visually impaired since 1990. The third branch of the Media Access Group, the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media, is a research, development and advocacy entity that works to make existing and emerging technologies accessible to all audiences. Members of the Group's collective staff represent the leading experts in their fields. For more information about access services, visit the Media Access Group Web site at http://access.wgbh.org or call 617 300-3600 (voice and TTY).
>>> ABC Sports present MLS Cup 2002 ABC Sports present MLS Cup 2002
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:25 PM
LIVE
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20
1:30-4:00 P.M., ET ABC TELEVISION NETWORK
ABC Sports presents live coverage of the Los Angeles Galaxy and the New England Revolution going head-to-head in the MLS Cup 2002 from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, live, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 (1:30-4:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. The championship match will be broadcast live on ABC and ESPN International, bringing the game to more than 130 countries around the globe.
COMMENTATORS:
Calling the game action are television soccer veterans JP Dellacamera, who will handle play-by-play duties for his first MLS Cup, and analyst Ty Keough, the lead color commentator during each of the League's seven seasons on the ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 family of networks. Hosts for the pre-game and halftime segments are longtime ABC personality Terry Gannon, who hosted ABC's coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2002 Korea/Japan, and American soccer icon Eric Wynalda, who scored the first goal in MLS history on April 6, 1996.
MLS CUP HISTORY:
1996 - DC United 3, LA Galaxy 2 (OT)
1997 - DC United 2, Colorado Rapids 1
1998 - Chicago Fire 2, DC United 0
1999 - DC United 2, LA Galaxy 0
**** 2000 - KC Wizards 1, Chicago Fire 0 ****
2001 - SJ Earthquakes 2, LA Galaxy 1 (OT)
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION:
The New England Revolution reach the MLS Cup for the first time, after defeating the Chicago Fire to win the first round and the Columbus Crew to win their semi-final series. The Revolution will be only the second team to vie for the MLS Cup championship in front of a home crowd. The DC United is the only other team to play for the championship at their home stadium, defeating the Colorado Rapids at RFK Stadium at MLS Cup `97. The New England Revolution enter the postseason as MLS' highest scoring team, with an average of 1.75 goals scored per game. However they also come in with the League's worst back line, having given up the same average of goals per game. 22-year-old forward Taylor Twellman led the league in scoring with 52 points on 23 goals and six assists, and midfielder Steve Ralston led the league with 19 assists.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY:
The LA Galaxy clinched their fourth trip to the MLS Cup by defeating the Colorado Rapids 4-0 and 1-0 to win the "first-to-five-points" series. The Galaxy has yet to win a MLS Cup in three tries, losing to the DC United twice -- 3-2 in the inaugural MLS Cup in 1996 and 2-0 in 1999 -- and to the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in OT in last year's MLS Cup. Forward Carlos Ruiz has tallied seven goals this post-season, a single-season MLS playoff record, leading the Galaxy past the Kansas City Wizards in the first round and the Colorado Rapids. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman has been stellar, pitching two consecutive shutouts. SECONDARY AUDIO PROGRAMMING (SAP):
ABC Sports will provide live simultaneous Spanish coverage via the Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) system for MLS Cup 2002. The broadcast team of Andres Rodriguez and Ernesto Motta will call the action, in their own words, in Spanish. SAP is an additional audio subcarrier that can be received by all viewers with stereo televisions. It can be used for any audio signal, but is most often used as a vehicle for a secondary language for English-language programming.
>>> "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" Heads To Washington, DC "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" Heads To Washington, DC
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:27 PM Comedy Central Press
>>> Winona drug charge dropped Winona drug charge dropped
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:30 PM BBC
>>> Now Tamyra has a record deal Now Tamyra has a record deal
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:32 PM Billboard.com
>>> Media March to Beat of White House War Drum Media March to Beat of White House War Drum
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:37 PM Antonia Zerbisias (via Common Dreams)
>>> Modern Humorist to present failed TV pilots in NYC Modern Humorist to present failed TV pilots in NYC
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:44 PM Un-Cabaret's THE OTHER NETWORK
presented by Modern Humorist "The Other Network" features unseen TV pilots by some of the most creative
talent working in television, including Conan O'Brien, Ben Stiller, Jack
Black, Bob Odenkirk ("Mr. Show") Robert Smigel ("Triumph the Insult Comic
Dog"), Judd Apatow ("Freaks and Geeks"), Merrill Markoe ("Late Night with
David Letterman" and an MH contributor), plus veteran writers from "The
Simpsons" and the Onion. Each show will be introduced by its creator, live
or on videotape. It's TV comedy you won't see anywhere else! OCTOBER 26, 27 and 28 (each night is different!) at 7pm sharp
at Manhattan's famous Knitting Factory
74 Leonard Street (between Church and Broadway) $15 cover plus 1 drink minimum
or all three nights for $35
***Buy a 3-day combo ticket and get a free Other Network T-Shirt*** Tickets available at http://www.knittingfactory.com
Or by calling 212.219.3006
Or at the Knitting Factory box office, 74 Leonard Street The following shows will be featured over the three-night run of "The Other
Network." Schedules subject to change. Saturday, Oct. 26 * "NEXT!" a singular sketch-comedy show by Bob Odenkirk ("Mr. Show," "The
Ben Stiller Show"), featuring Ray Romano.
* "FIVE HOUSES" by John Riggi ("Larry Sanders") & Todd Holland ("Malcolm in
the Middle"), about a gay couple who moves into a suburban cul-de-sac. LIVE:
John Riggi and Todd Holland.
* "DEADLINE NOW" - Veterans of the humor newspaper The Onion, including
"Daily Show" head writer Ben Karlin, wrote this screamingly funny parody of
nightly newscasts and populated it with an archly deadpan cast.
* "SUPER ADVENTURE TEAM" by Rob Cohen ("Ben Stiller Show") & Dana Gould
("The Simpsons") push the envelope of all-puppet action adventure. LIVE: Rob
Cohen and Dana Gould.
Sunday, Oct. 27 * "LOOKWELL" The legendary pilot created by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel,
starring Adam West as the star of a '70s detective show who tries solving
crimes for real. A cult favorite that NBC aired once, in July 1991. LIVE:
Robert Smigel.
* "SATURDAY TV FUNHOUSE" - In the original pilot for what became Comedy
Central's brilliant "TV Funhouse," creator Robert Smigel ("Triumph the
Insult Comic Dog") plays a menacing clown who subjects his (apparently
unsuspecting) studio audience to hilariously surreal sketches, naughty
cartoons, rigged contests and a pie fight involving a goat. LIVE: Robert
Smigel.
* "THE FUNKHOUSERS" Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein ("The Simpsons") created
this clan of loving misfits (a modern-day "Addams Family") that's hell-bent
on fighting for truth, justice and another serving of prune whip.
* "THE COUCH" is Greg Miller and Beth Lapides' far-reaching free-wheeling
talkshow, featuring 3-way conversations with Scott Thompson, Mike Mills
(REM), John C. Reilly, and voodoo priestess Luisa Teisch. LIVE: Beth Lapides
and Greg Miller.
Monday, Oct. 28 * "HEAT-VISION & JACK" directed by Ben Stiller, starring Jack Black as a
super intelligent ex-astronaut, Owen Wilson as the voice of a talking
motorcycle and Ron Silver as himself, the villainous actor/NASA enforcer.
(You kind of have to see this one for yourself.)
* "BEAT COPS" by Conan O'Brien & Sam Seder, is an insanely funny take on two
of NY's finest (and most neurotic). LIVE: Sam Seder.
* "NORTH HOLLYWOOD" by Judd Apatow ("Freaks and Geeks," "Undeclared") is a
dead-on dramedy about struggling actors (based on his own experiences living
in the Valley with Adam Sandler), and features Amy Poehler and an inspired
turn by Judge Reinhold as Judge Reinhold.
* "THE LEWIS LECTURES" by Merrill Markoe (head writer on "Late Night with
David Letterman"), is an animated pilot about a lady and her dogs featuring
voices by Merrill, Jack Black and Laura Kightlinger. ----- "The Other Network" is a creation of the Un-Cabaret, and is co-produced and
programmed in New York by Modern Humorist. "I'm not saying the networks always decide not to air the smartest, deepest,
and most interesting shows," says Un-Cabaret producer Greg Miller. "Beth
Lapides and I, and the folks from Modern Humorist, just knew a lot of smart,
deep, interesting talent who had un aired TV shows lying around. We really
wanted to see them, and we think a lot of other people will too."
You can read an interview with Greg about "The Other Network" on the
Knitting Factory's Web site:
www.knittingfactory.com/articles/the_other_network_at_knitting_factory.cfm Here's what critics have said about The Other Network's ongoing LA run: "A revelation... A runaway hit!" - New York Times
"Now this is the way to watch TV!" - LA Weekly
"Hot!" - Rolling Stone
"Idiosyncratic and funny!" - LA Times Don't miss this rare opportunity to see some amazing comedy you can't see
anywhere else. More info:
http://www.modernhumorist.com/theothernetwork/
>>> Jay Leno, Recycling Advocate (harsh review!) Jay Leno, Recycling Advocate (harsh review!)
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:49 PM washingtonpost.com
>>> David Kelley's grandma to act up in closing credits David Kelley's grandma to act up in closing credits
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 05:55 PM via tvbarn2
>>> Michelob introduces beer for the Atkins dieter Michelob introduces beer for the Atkins dieter
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 06:16 PM FORTUNE
>>> Scarborough street to be named for Mike Myers Scarborough street to be named for Mike Myers
posted by eastick on October 16, 2002 09:15 PM Toronto Star
>>> Most powerful women in TV Most powerful women in TV
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 10:19 PM Electronic Media
>>> Was Bay Area anchor pushed out? Was Bay Area anchor pushed out?
posted by tvbarn on October 16, 2002 10:20 PM SF Gate
>>> FX hones edge after Emmy triumph for 'Shield' FX hones edge after Emmy triumph for 'Shield'
posted by srhodes on October 17, 2002 02:39 AM Hollywood Reporter
>>> Local news gives cold shoulder to political candidates Local news gives cold shoulder to political candidates
posted by srhodes on October 17, 2002 03:13 AM Norman Lear Center
>>> WB draws comic book niche WB draws comic book niche
posted by srhodes on October 17, 2002 03:33 AM Hollywood Reporter
>>> My journey with W My journey with W
posted by srhodes on October 17, 2002 05:52 AM Linda Stasi
>>> AOL Taking Cues from TV-Land AOL Taking Cues from TV-Land
posted by wesmcgee on October 17, 2002 06:30 AM Washington Post
>>> Remote Patrol: Shove, Nevada Remote Patrol: Shove, Nevada
posted by on October 17, 2002 07:15 AM Tom Heald
>>> Panasonic Gets Digital Cable-Ready TV Dea Panasonic Gets Digital Cable-Ready TV Dea
posted by tvbarn on October 17, 2002 08:40 AM LA Times (reg. req.)
>>> Watching Melissa Stark Watching Melissa Stark
posted by tvbarn on October 17, 2002 10:30 AM John Levesque (via NewsBlues)
>>> Further proof that Henry Rollins has sold out--he's hosting "Junkyard Wars" spinoff Further proof that Henry Rollins has sold out--he's hosting "Junkyard Wars" spinoff
posted by markjeffries on October 17, 2002 10:56 AM Zap2it
>>> Aaron Barnhart's TVBARN.COM
All times Eastern
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Were they "greater" than Jerry Seinfeld & Co.? (Touchstone TV) Top o' the decade I haven't had much inclination to produce a list of the "greatest TV shows of the 1990s.'' Nor have you shown much interest in my producing one. The main problem with such lists is that they don't do anybody any good. You can't just go down to Blockbuster and pick out the first six episodes of "Nothing Sacred'' or "I'll Fly Away'' and take them home. Nor can you dial them up on pay-per-view, although that will probably change in a few years, when the Internet and television merge and just about anything that moves will be downloadable for a price. For now, however, you're stuck with the reruns that TV stations or cable channels are willing to pay to put on their air, and that's not many. (A tip of the hat here to Bravo, the one cable channel that's willing to feature critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful shows. It is bringing back David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" in February.) But there was one list I came across that I think is noteworthy. It appears in the back of the new edition of that indispensable reference book, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh. Over the years Brooks and Marsh have kept a tally of what they call "TV's greatest hits," using a secret (but not that complicated) formula that assigns points to each TV show based on its popularity and durability. It's one way to measure a show's long-term impact on the mass culture, and looking back at the 1990s, it offers some surprising results on which shows were the "greatest,'' at least as far as the viewing public was concerned. (continued) Picks to click. A stimulating new boxing documentary and a night of high culture you'll want the kids to see are among this week's TV highlights ... read them here (and remember that times and channels are for Kansas City, so check your local listings) Please help me out! I'd like a better idea of what visitors to this Web site think of TV Barn. So I've set up a very simple survey that will require a minute of your time to answer. If you haven't already, please do so by clicking here. The daily digest ... for Jan. 3-4: I'll be out of town Monday and Tuesday, so no update till Wednesday ... "Late Show with David Letterman" will be taking a page from the "Tonight Show" handbook and turning over the stage to standup comics with alarming frequency this week. On the playbill are first-timers Adam Ferrara (Tuesday), Dan Naturman (Wednesday) and Sue Murphy (Thursday) and second-timer Andy Kindler (Friday). Kicking off the week, and making his 25th appearance with Dave, is the inevitable Jake Johanssen, and I think I speak for all Americans when I say -- was George Miller busy that night? ... ABC crowed Sunday that 175 million viewers watched parts of its "ABC 2000" marathon Friday, compared with 65 million "who watch some or all of ABC's schedule on a regular broadcast day." That appeared to contradict an earlier report that "most Americans" celebrated New Year's Eve without TV's help, a report that was based on prime-time numbers only and conveniently overlooked the fact that public TV watching (bars, dorms, etc.) isn't counted by Nielsen ... As you'll see in the Nielsen overnights posted to TV Barn, "ABC 2000" carried prime time with an 11.7 rating compared with a 6.2 for NBC and a lowly 4.8 for CBS ... Comedy Central has livened up its Sunday night animation block with repeats of "Duckman," the lovingly deranged detective cartoon starring the voice of Jason Alexander, at 11:30 p.m. following "South Park" ... 1999 was a record year for pay per view events, with nearly $2 billion in revenue, with PPV movies accounting for half of that total ($1 billion), followed by boxing/wrestling events and concerts ($486M) and porno ($387M). A big reason, according to Showtime Events, which released the results: More people are subscribing to satellite TV and digital cable, both of which make PPV easier and cheaper than ever. Previously on TV Barn:
31 Dec: Dick Van Dyke
29-30 Dec: Plug pulled on Pax party
28 Dec: "Galaxy Quest"
27 Dec: "The Muppet Show" rides again
24-25 Dec: Reader mail
22 Dec: Andy Kaufman
On this date... in 1991, it's a Very Special Episode of "Blossom" -- its first as a series. Blossom reaches puberty, and gets Very Special Advice from Very Special Guest Star Phylicia Rashad. -- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- NYC's finest say: We like the old cop shows better [ Read it ]
- Nostalgic visit to the old actors' home [ Read it ]
About TV Barn | The TV Critic's Toolbox | Overnight ratings
Read other TV critics | Late-night lineups |
Kansas City TV/radio
TV Barn archives |
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Copyright © 2000 Aaron Barnhart. Redistribution prohibited.
>>> Aaron Barnhart's TVBARN.COM
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(continued from previous page)
Atop the list is "60 Minutes," the CBS newsmagazine that, according to the authors, will likely never be dethroned, because it's been on forever and it's always in the Top 10. It is far in front of the all-time No. 2 hit show, "Gunsmoke," which was on for 20 years and was once thought to be untoppable. Sixth all-time is "The Wonderful World of Disney," another Sunday-night staple that ranks second among shows in the '90s.
Here's the list of the decade's top 11 shows according to the Brooks-Marsh index, with their all-time ranking in parenthesis:
- "60 Minutes" (1);
- "Walt Disney" (6);
- "Murder, She Wrote" (9);
- "Cheers" (11);
- "The Cosby Show" (13);
- "Roseanne" (15);
- "Home Improvement" (16);
- "Seinfeld" (28);
- "20/20" (29);
- "The Golden Girls" (33);
- "ER" (34).
About TV Barn | The TV Critic's Toolbox | Overnight ratings
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Copyright © 2000 Aaron Barnhart. Redistribution prohibited.
>>> Aaron Barnhart's TVBARN.COM
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"Farscape's" enchanting Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan (Virginia Hey).
Far out
By John Zipperer
It's time to give some kudos to the Sci-Fi Channel, or, as the annoying
pronunciation in their on-air promos goes, SCIfi. The cable network is putting some original programming on the air that matches anything
produced by the broadcast networks. And now, as part of their strategy to launch
seasons in the winter and avoid the autumn rush, Sci-Fi unleashes new episodes
this week of "Farscape" and "First Wave," and both of them
are good entry points for viewers who have not yet discovered these two series.
(continued)
Picks to click. A stimulating new boxing documentary and a night of high culture you'll want the kids to see are among this week's TV highlights ... read them here (and remember that times and channels are for Kansas City, so check your local listings)
Please help me out! I'd like a better idea of what visitors to this Web site think of TV Barn. So I've set up a very simple survey that will require a minute of your time to answer. If you haven't already, please do so by clicking here.
The daily digest ... for Wednesday, Jan. 5: If you don't live in Chicago, it doesn't mean you have to miss "An Evening about Andy Kaufman" at the Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) Thursday night. Speaking will be the unduplicatable Bill Zehme, author of "Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman" (reviewed here and here on TV Barn). Kaufman's sister Carol and her husband Rick will join Zehme to share stories, and answer questions from the MBC at the Chicago Cultural Center beginning at ten minutes to six, Central time. The whole thing is being simulcast live at http://www.mbcnet.org. If you're in Chicago, call (312) 629-6023 to reserve your free seat.
Previously on TV Barn:
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
31 Dec: Dick Van Dyke
29-30 Dec: Plug pulled on Pax party
28 Dec: "Galaxy Quest"
27 Dec: "The Muppet Show" rides again
24-25 Dec: Reader mail
22 Dec: Andy Kaufman
On this date...
in 1961,
the-artist-formerly-known-as- "Bamboo Harvester" makes
his debut in syndication as "Mister Ed." In this very
first episode, Wilbur Post makes an astonishing
discovery -- his horse can talk. CBS will pick up the
show 26 episodes into its run in October.
-- Tom Heald
On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Heavy construction ahead for TV's giants [ Read it ]
- Broadcast.com founder buying NBA team [ Read it ]
- Cable feud leaves NFL fans gameless [ Read it ]
- Clooney to star in live TV drama [ Read it ]
- ABC wins first ratings week of 2000 [ Read it ]
- Judge Joe Brown stepping down to pursue TV [ Read it ]
- CBS forms new Internet division [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
About TV Barn | The TV Critic's Toolbox | Overnight ratings
Read other TV critics | Late-night lineups |
Kansas City TV/radio
TV Barn archives |
Send AB mail | The Kansas City Star
Copyright © 2000 Aaron Barnhart. Redistribution prohibited.
>>> Aaron Barnhart's TVBARN.COM
All times Eastern
TV Barn archives
About TV Barn
Contact TV Barn
Please stand by. I've updated the wire stories below but otherwise there won't be an update to TV Barn until Friday.
"Farscape's" enchanting Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan (Virginia Hey).
Far out
By John Zipperer
It's time to give some kudos to the Sci-Fi Channel, or, as the annoying
pronunciation in their on-air promos goes, SCIfi. The cable network is putting some original programming on the air that matches anything
produced by the broadcast networks. And now, as part of their strategy to launch
seasons in the winter and avoid the autumn rush, Sci-Fi unleashes new episodes
this week of "Farscape" and "First Wave," and both of them
are good entry points for viewers who have not yet discovered these two series.
(continued)
Picks to click. A stimulating new boxing documentary and a night of high culture you'll want the kids to see are among this week's TV highlights ... read them here (and remember that times and channels are for Kansas City, so check your local listings)
Please help me out! I'd like a better idea of what visitors to this Web site think of TV Barn. So I've set up a very simple survey that will require a minute of your time to answer. If you haven't already, please do so by clicking here.
The daily digest ... for Wednesday, Jan. 5: If you don't live in Chicago, it doesn't mean you have to miss "An Evening about Andy Kaufman" at the Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) Thursday night. Speaking will be the unduplicatable Bill Zehme, author of "Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman" (reviewed here and here on TV Barn). Kaufman's sister Carol and her husband Rick will join Zehme to share stories, and answer questions from the MBC at the Chicago Cultural Center beginning at ten minutes to six, Central time. The whole thing is being simulcast live at http://www.mbcnet.org. If you're in Chicago, call (312) 629-6023 to reserve your free seat.
Previously on TV Barn:
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
31 Dec: Dick Van Dyke
29-30 Dec: Plug pulled on Pax party
28 Dec: "Galaxy Quest"
27 Dec: "The Muppet Show" rides again
24-25 Dec: Reader mail
22 Dec: Andy Kaufman
On this date...
in 1973, educational TV gets down
and funky with "Schoolhouse Rock," although most of the
songs really play more like jazz. The
two-minute-and-fifty-eight-second marvel that started
the "Rock" rolling? "Three is a Magic Number."
-- Tom Heald
On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Cuomo, Kemp join CBS morning show [ Read it ]
- NAACP, NBC strike deal on minority hiring [ Read it ]
- CBS Sports going high-def [ Read it ]
- No gravy for you! Disney execs go bonusless [ Read it ]
- Cable, satellite will drive PVR sales [ Read it ]
- "The Practice" to follow Super Bowl [ Read it ]
- "D.R.E.A.M." Team cancelled [ Read it ]
- WCW trims battered "Nitro" by one hour [ Read it ]
- Heavy construction ahead for TV's giants [ Read it ]
- Broadcast.com founder buying NBA team [ Read it ]
- Cable feud leaves NFL fans gameless [ Read it ]
- Clooney to star in live TV drama [ Read it ]
- ABC wins first ratings week of 2000 [ Read it ]
- Judge Joe Brown stepping down to pursue TV [ Read it ]
- CBS forms new Internet division [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
About TV Barn | The TV Critic's Toolbox | Overnight ratings
Read other TV critics | Late-night lineups |
Kansas City TV/radio
TV Barn archives |
Send AB mail | The Kansas City Star
Copyright © 2000 Aaron Barnhart. Redistribution prohibited.
>>> Aaron Barnhart's TVBARN.COM
All times Eastern
TV Barn archives
About TV Barn
Contact TV Barn
The stars of "Special Victims Unit" (L-R): Richard Belzer, Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Dann Florek. (NBC/Chris Haston)
This "SVU" travels well
When Dick Wolf, the creator of "Law & Order," spun off a new hour this fall called "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," he promised that it would not be a DNA match for the original. This new "Law & Order" -- its subtitle refers to the New York City squad that investigates sex crimes -- would not be divided down the middle in separate "law" and "order" episodes; it would be more free-form. And there would be a lot more peering into the private lives of the cops in the unit. Wolf also vowed that he would find a more hospitable place on NBC's schedule for the show than Mondays at 9.
Mission accomplished: Tonight "SVU" (as the spin-off is often shorthanded) moves to its new time period of 10 p.m. Fridays (NBC), where another gritty, shaky-cam police drama, "Homicide: Life on the Street,'' once lived.
(continued)
Popular anchor ankles WDAF. Harris Faulkner, the No. 1 female anchor at Fox-owned WDAF in Kansas City, was abruptly released this week after signing a new deal to be the 5 p.m. anchor and a reporter for ABC affiliate KSTP in the Twin Cities. Also, country station KFKF shuffles staff. ... Read my story in Friday's Kansas City Star
Please help me out! I'd like a better idea of what visitors to this Web site think of TV Barn. So I've set up a very simple survey that will require a minute of your time to answer. If you haven't already, please do so by clicking here.
The daily digest ... for Jan. 7-9: "Prey," the science drama that was on ABC in 1998, returns this weekend to the Sci-Fi Channel beginning Sunday at 8 and 11 p.m. Tune in to see Debra Massing (Grace of "Will & Grace") doing something completely different ... MSNBC, at age three and a half, is now turning a profit ... And Aaron Dickey uncovered this find on eBay: a collection of souvenirs of the death of ABC News anchor Frank Reynolds. It includes a "condolence acknowledgement card" from Reynolds' survivor and a 7x9 glossy of Frank, who died in 1983. "Great addition to your collection!" says the auctioner -- yeah, prop those right up next to that kidney you bought last month.
Previously on TV Barn:
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
31 Dec: Dick Van Dyke
29-30 Dec: Plug pulled on Pax party
28 Dec: "Galaxy Quest"
27 Dec: "The Muppet Show" rides again
24-25 Dec: Reader mail
22 Dec: Andy Kaufman
On this date...
in 1982, the kids from the High
School for the Performing Arts try to make good on their
threat to live forever as NBC turns "Fame" into a weekly
series. Debbie Allen, Lee Curreri, Albert Hague and Gene
Anthony Ray reprise their roles from the movie.
January 8: in 1995, Fox decides foolishly to
revive "Get Smart" with Maxwell Smart and Agent (now
Congresswoman) 99's son Zach Smart fighting crime just
as ineptly as his father had 25 years earlier. The
revival only produces seven episodes, but its
not-so-smart young hero -- Andy Dick -- bounces back
quickly and is seen only a month later as Matthew Brock
on "NewsRadio."
January 9: in 1984, Clara Peller, Mildred Lane,
and Elizabeth Shaw stare at a tiny hamburger on a huge
bun. The hard-of-hearing Peller barks three words which
will earn her over a half a million dollars: "Where's
the beef?" The Wendy's hamburger chain will later drop
Peller in 1985 after she claims she's "found" the beef
somewhere else -- "Prego Plus" spaghetti sauce.
-- Tom Heald
On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Next up on NAACP's docket: ABC [ Read it ]
- AT&T acquires Bay Area cable co-op [ Read it ]
- "The Commish" to play Curly in Stooges biopic [ Read it ]
- VH1 votes "Satisfaction" best song ever [ Read it ]
- NFL ratings up [ Read it ]
- "Freaks and Geeks" gets kick-start [ Read it ]
- Boulder staying away from JonBenet mini [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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(cont'd from front page)
As for those other two promises, it's four months later and I don't think we know much more about these characters' private lives than those on the first "Law & Order." Nor, frankly, do the show's writers give us any reason to care. It's as if they had been told the series was moving to HBO and to please insert several obscenities and a bare-breasted woman into the rewrite before going home.
There is a scene showing two of the detectives in bed and, later, two more scenes in which the man tries to cajole the woman into another date. One of those scenes is preceded by a panel that reads, "Six Months Later." If the writers really think that nothing of consequence goes on between two lovers in the course of half a year, they shouldn't bother with the story line at all.
Regarding the promise to move away from the "Law & Order" formula, "SVU" has succeeded. Tonight's episode is a prime example of that and is also a gem of understated drama.
A woman phones in a rape. Other than a bruise over her left eye, there is no physical evidence of the attack. The detectives comb the woman's apartment and interview her. The interview scene is a long one by television's standards, but the length is important both in the unfolding and later on. As each detail of the rape is revealed -- a ring taken, a line spoken -- the cumulative effect is to show the numbing psychic brutality of the act, the total domination of one by another against her will.
The victim (Tracy Pollan) is to be believed, even when it is not clear her story should. When an eyewitness confirms it all, we will realize things about the rapist and the type of woman he preys upon. Pollan, all grown up since she was last seen on "Family Ties," reconstitutes the early shock and sadness of her rape into a cold fury that comes out unexpectedly months later, when it appears the detectives have finally found the perp.
Pollan refuses to go down to the station to identify him. When pressed, she lights into the cops: "I did the one-on-one therapy! I did the yoga! I cut my hair, I lit a candle -- and I'm over it!"
But she is not over it, and we intuit that this isn't just television convention speaking. It is the human experience, our inability to forget suffering and at times our powerlessness to contain it.
Richard Belzer and Dann Florek play minor roles in tonight's episode, but even a few lines from these two veteran TV cops (Belzer from "Homicide," Florek from the early years of "Law & Order") usually makes it worth watching any episode of "SVU."
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eBay loves tchotchkes
If, as the old Peter Steiner cartoon goes, no one knows you're a dog on the Internet, it's awfully hard to smell a rat there, either.
Earlier this month, a videotape of two WB shows was put up for bids on the popular auction site eBay. It was a rough cut of the two-episode arc involving Sarah Michelle Gellar (of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and David Boreanaz (of "Buffy" spinoff "Angel"), which aired in November. The auctioner had taken a picture of the tape's mailer, clearly showing that it was the one sent to television critics prior to airdate. In fact, this exact mailer (see left) is sitting in my office.
As of this weekend, bidding on the "Buffy"-"Angel" screener had reached $365.00.
(continued)
The daily digest ... for Monday, Jan. 10: Two observations after a weekend of playoff football: (1) Why are Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms the lead announcing tandem on CBS for its football games? Does anybody seriously believe they hold a candle to the network's No. 2 team of Verne Lundquist and Dan Dierdorf? (2) Nike's ads featuring Lance Armstrong have two different tags. On one, the defending Tour de France champ -- alluding to charges by certain French journalists that he was doped up during the race -- is heard to say, "Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike riding my ass off six hours a day. What are you on?" Except that I noticed when ABC aired the ad, any mention of Armstrong's hindquarters was deleted. For the life of me, I'll never understand why ultra-close-up photographs and sound of two football teams beating the tar out of each other is okay, and somebody saying "ass" during that same telecast isn't.
Previously on TV Barn:
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
31 Dec: Dick Van Dyke
29-30 Dec: Plug pulled on Pax party
28 Dec: "Galaxy Quest"
27 Dec: "The Muppet Show" rides again
24-25 Dec: Reader mail
22 Dec: Andy Kaufman
On this date...
in 1964, the U.S. version of "That
Was the Week That Was" makes its weekly debut with Henry
Morgan, Margaret Hamilton, Nancy Ames (the "TW3" girl),
a roving report from "special correspondent" Robert
Frost (who commuted between this and the BBC version)
and Berlin Wall hand ballet. Tom Lehrer, who filled an
entire album with his contributions to the show, won't
appear until June.
-- Tom Heald
On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- AOL, Time Warner to merge ... Same story, another version
- "20/20 Downtown" canceled [ Read it ]
- Cox blinks in Ohio cable feud [ Read it ]
- DirecTV, Dish announce convergence gizmos [ Read it ]
- Hollywood films banned from CBC prime time [ Read it ]
- BBC ratings dip [ Read it ]
- NBC exec compares "Millionaire" to crack [ Read it ]
- Banner ads on TV shows?! Believe it [ Read it ]
- McCain helped EchoStar, docs show [ Read it ]
- "Freaks & Geeks" pleading case on Net [ Read it ]
- Top talent agency now grabbing writers [ Read it ]
- FCC to TV makers: Set a digital standard -- or we will [ Read it ]
- ABC announces diversity deal; NBC's is criticized [ Read it ]
- NOT TV, BUT: Don Martin, MAD genius, dies [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
- Consumer Electronics Show:
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(continued from front page)
In hindsight, I suppose I should've seen this coming. After all, TV critics' tapes are limited editions; only a couple hundred or so are sent out. They often feature celebrities, and anything that is "officially" connected to a celebrity, especially in limited numbers, is instantly deemed a "collectible." By that logic, every TV critic in the country is sitting on a potential video gold mine.
The tape is one of several being auctioned by a webmaster in northeastern Ohio who has quite a cottage industry in collectibles on eBay. How she got ahold of the review tapes is anyone's guess (and she hasn't returned my e-mail).
Late last month, the same auctioner raised the ire of CBS executives after selling the screener of a Ricky Martin special that had just aired on the network. CBS sent a warning out to the press that its tapes "may not be duplicated or sold" and that scofflaws faced "both civil and criminal penalties."
But if the tape-seller (or, more precisely, her critic friend) is the most enterprising recipient of media freebies, she's hardly alone. Try typing the words "press kit" into your favorite auction site and see what comes up. There are hundreds being sold off at any moment; one from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was fetching more than $150 last week.
And don't forget all those cute little collectible tchotchkes given out to people who cover the business. As a colleague who works in Hollywood told me recently, "With just the items that are on my desk today, I could make $5,000 if I sold them on eBay."
He doesn't dare, of course, because his newspaper (and mine) wouldn't hesitate to fire any employee who did. But here is where the Web's X factor comes into play: it ensures near-total anonymity for whoever needs it.
Which leads me to my other recent peeve, Andylives.org, an allegedly "underground" Web site devoted to keeping alive the memory of comedian Andy Kaufman. The site, we are told, was erected by a band known as AKA (Andy Kaufman's Army) for no other aim than to give fans of the late star of "Saturday Night Live" and "Taxi" a place to rant and pay tribute.
But as Sharon Waxman recently reported in The Washington Post, Andylives.org was paid for with $100,000 from Universal and was designed solely to promote Universal's new movie about the life of Mr. Kaufman, "Man on the Moon," starring Jim Carrey.
One of the movie's producers told the Post that she and others urged Universal to pursue this "unconventional approach" because it would be a good source of buzz for a movie thought to be buzz-deficient. The studio found four self-proclaimed fans of Andy and signed them up, telling them they could say what they wanted on the site -- just don't sell "Man on the Moon" directly.
Andylives.org certainly carried out its marching orders well. The front page opens with a long, rambling essay about whether Mr. Kaufman really did die in 1984 of lung cancer. "But as you read this," it says, "if you are smart, you will probably consider that these very words too are part of the conspiracy. Maybe Andy Kaufman is writing them himself, or has employed us to do so. As the web gets more and more intricate, all the more satisfying the final joke will be. Right?" Uh, right.
Discerning surfers can probably see through the ruse. For one thing, despite its highly polished appearance, Andylives.org is remarkably light on the things that make up your average fansite: photos, episode guides, news, etc.
"Not only were they totally clueless about Andy, but their profane, hip-hop-influenced Generation X ramblings were a total disgrace," says Brian Momchilov, whose outstanding site (andykaufman.jvlnet.com) is everything Andylives.org isn't.
"I've worked hard for many years to create and maintain The Andy Kaufman Home Page and I was highly offended by Universal's bogus `andy fan' website and its pathetic attempt as a marketing ploy," Mr. Momchilov says. (Needless to say, he was not contacted by Universal prior to the film's release.)
Pathetic or not, it's obvious to me that this "Man on the Moon" campaign is just the beginning. I fully expect to see bogus home pages cooked up this summer to promote new fall TV series, created by anonymous "fans" with untraceable e-mail addresses. Worse, because studios can afford the time and expense to promote the site online, these pages will likely pop up on search engines everywhere, annoying us for years after the actual shows are cancelled.
By the way, have you seen the press kit for "Man on the Moon"? It comes with a 45 single, red vinyl. The A side is the theme from "Mighty Mouse" (used in Andy's most famous comedy bit), the B side is R.E.M.'s "Man on the Moon." A real collectible. Yours for $26 on eBay.
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Sipowicz v. Soprano
Through sheer accidental circumstances, the two leading contenders for the Best Actor in drama come Emmys time are returning to television this week. In this co-nah, weighing 225 pounds, from somewhere across the Hudson River in New Jersey, James Gandolfini! And in this co-nah, weighing approximately the same if you will, from Manhattan, Dennis Franz! ... Read my story in the Kansas City Star
The daily digest ... for Tuesday, Jan. 11: Laura Ingraham's MSNBC show "Watch It" is going away Friday and Ingraham is going on "special correspondent" duty for the 2000 campaign. Look for her on NBC News, MSNBC, and of course, "Politically Incorrect" ... Hurrah! FX did what you hoped it would and picked up "Harsh Realm," the ill-fated Chris Carter project that aired just three episodes this fall on sister network Fox. (You may recall my rating "Harsh Realm" a "don't miss," though in hindsight I should've added, "... before it vanishes from network TV.") Six unseen episodes are part of the package, which will debut in March ... Variety reports that CBS and Fox are set to unveil their diversity initiatives, on the heels of NBC's and ABC's already-announced deals.
Previously on TV Barn: 10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
31 Dec: Dick Van Dyke
29-30 Dec: Plug pulled on Pax party
28 Dec: "Galaxy Quest"
27 Dec: "The Muppet Show" rides again
24-25 Dec: Reader mail
22 Dec: Andy Kaufman
On this date... in 1995, the "Dubba Dubba Dubba-Ya-B" network leapfrogs onto the air with "The Wayans Bros.", "Unhappily Ever After", and the bomb "Muscle." "Muscle's" supporting cast included Adam West, "Caroline In the City's" Amy Pietz and two future "Spin City" stars, Michael Boatman and Alan Ruck. -- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Another shakeup pending at "CBS Evening News" [ Read it ]
- Weekend ratings: "SVU" kicks butt, "Millionaire" steams on [ Read it ]
- "Millionaire" pigeonholed for daytime Emmys [ Read it ]
- Granada looking for merger prey [ Read it ]
- NBC execs plan diversity day [ Read it ]
- AOL, Time Warner corporate histories [ Read it ]
- More media mergers imminent? [ Read it ]
- AOL-Time Warner critics have access issues [ Read it ]
- Dick Clark signs for 5 more New Year's Eves [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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The sultry Aeryn Sun, one of several reasons to watch "Farscape" (Jim Henson Co.).
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
31 Dec: Dick Van Dyke
29-30 Dec: Plug pulled on Pax party
28 Dec: "Galaxy Quest"
27 Dec: "The Muppet Show" rides again
On this date... January 12: in 1981, very little happens on the first episode of "Dynasty." Blake Carrington marries his former secretary Krystle Jennings, while Krystle's ex-lover Matthew Blaisdel gets back together with his wife and child (who happen to be fighting) and also goes into business with Walter Lankershim, while Jeff Colby tries to put the moves on Fallon. January 13: in 1989, Rosie O'Donnell temporarily has to get a life, when her all-time favorite soap opera "Ryan's Hope" ends after 13 1/2 years on ABC. Matron Maeve Ryan (Helen Gallagher) sings one last sentimental song at the tavern, the sentimental "Danny Boy." -- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Hillary sits down with Dave [ Read it ]
- "Freaks & Geeks" lives to see another day [ Read it ]
- Cablevision loses out on NFL's Jets [ Read it ]
- Crichton to create drama for Fox [ Read it ]
- NBC's movies/minis chief bolting [ Read it ]
- Fox promises fewer "reality" shows [ Read it ]
- Great debut for "Malcolm in the Middle" [ Read it ]
- Happy 10th, "The Simpsons" [ Read it ]
- NOT TV, BUT: Saul Bellow, 84, sires a kid! [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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Illustration by Neil Nakahodo/The Kansas City Star
Is this the year you buy a dish?
Doesn't sound so farfetched anymore, does it? With the small-dish satellite makers practically giving their equipment away, and with consumers becoming fed up with high cable bills and limited selection, 2000 promises to be an even bigger year for dish than 1999 was. ... Read the full story in the Kansas City Star
Creation debate: Kansas City's public television station will air a "town hall meeting" Friday to discuss evolutionary theory, creationism (specifically, the intelligent design movement) and last year's abolishing of evolution teaching by the Kansas Board of Education. ... Read my preview ... Visit the Scopes Trial site at the University of Missouri-Kansas City The daily digest ... for the weekend of Jan. 14-16: There will be a rare Saturday edition of TV Barn with a preview of the upcoming midseason TV series ... Whoops! I credited CBS News' Andrew Heyward with saying something actually said by Les Moonves ("If somebody uses the NBC logo to commit a murder, we wouldn't cut it out") ... Variety reports that at least two gay-themed telepics are in development: "Kiss Me, Guido," about a macho Italian who gets a gay roommate; and "Parental Discretion," based on the Gary Goldstein play about an opinionated dad who moves in with his gay son, being touted by Jennifer Aniston, who would produce the flick if it's picked up ... Previously on TV Barn:
12-13 Jan: "Farscape"
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
On this date... in 1990, society ends as we know it with the series debut of that awful moral sewer known as "The Simpsons." In "Bart, The Genius," our underachiever cheats by switching papers with class brain Martin, and winds up in classes at the Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children. January 16: in 1981, NBC looks to two famous fictional characters to save its lineup: a single mom and an orchid-sniffin' detective. Barbara Eden stars in a role conjured by a Jeannie (singer Jeannie C. Reiley with Tom T. Hall), as she plays Stella Johnson, a mother who socked it to the "Harper Valley P.T.A." The movie was only a mild success in theaters, but knocked 'em dead in its television premiere and led to a TV series. As for the detective, that was William Conrad as "Nero Wolfe" in the case of "The Golden Spiders," originally written by Rex Stout in 1953.-- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Wow! "Millionaire" hits new heights [ Read it ]
- "NYPD Blue" returns to big numbers [ Read it ]
- Moonves: CBS-Viacom merger won't affect primetime [ Read it ]
- More Moonves: I love my job [ Read it ]
- Viacom chief: Content is king! Hello? [ Read it ]
- TV industry mostly V-chip compliance [ Read it ]
- CBS diversity deal imminent [ Read it ]
- Frustrated Martin quitting "ER" [ Read it ]
- New DirecTV dish will pull in HD, local, Internet [ Read it ]
- AOL enters 3-year pact with PBS [ Read it ]
- Hughes sells sat business, to focus on DirecTV [ Read it ]
- Will AOL-Time Warner skew the news? [ Read it ]
- Senate plans hearings on merger [ Read it ]
- Al Roker re-ups with NBC [ Read it ]
- Religious broadcasters cross with FCC [ Read it ]
- Cable's top numbers guy lands at Lifetime [ Read it ]
- Soaps whiter than white, sez union [ Read it ]
- Syndie ratings roundup [ Read it ]
- "The Practice" selling well in syndication [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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KCPT town hall tackles evolving issue
Tonight, on a special one-hour edition of "Kansas City Week in Review" (7:30 p.m., Channel 19), KCPT's Nick Haines will preside over a "town hall meeting" on evolution vs. creation. With luck, it will amount to something more than a pie fight.
"This was one of the major issues in 1999," Haines said. "And this year we have Kansas Board of Education races going on. Certainly evolution will be back in the public mind."
Haines also feels that television hasn't fully told the story of the Kansas evolution battle to its viewers.
"We understood the frustration many social conservatives had about the way they were belittled in the national press," Haines said. "We really feel there hasn't been adequate airing of this issue. We wanted to give a time for the community to get together to talk about this."
About 20 people will be in attendance at the meeting, which is being taped this morning[ Friday ] at the Channel 19 studios. Haines said that about half of the participants will represent the "intelligent design" group that proved so influential in the Kansas board's decision.
Intelligent design, which says evidence exists to suggest that the universe was designed by someone, is a relatively new wrinkle in creationist thought. Its advocate is a Berkeley law professor named Phillip Johnson, whose books include Darwin on Trial and An Easy-to-Understand Guide for Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds.
Local radio personality and filmmaker Jack Cashill read Darwin on Trial a few years ago and it changed his life. Cashill was so persuaded by Johnson -- and appalled by the portrayal of the Kansas creationists in the media -- that he made a documentary showcasing Johnson and his intelligent-design theories.
The 52-minute video, "The Triumph of Design," is just out. Cashill is unhappy because Channel 19 won't show it. (Haines said that he will air "liberal excerpts" from the video during tonight's telecast.)
KCPT has put Cashill's work on the air before and even sold it on the home-video market. Why not this time?
"We felt it was a heavy-handed approach," said Haines, who screened the video for Channel 19 staffers in October. "The feeling was that if the complaint was raised that how the media covered the Kansas board decision was biased, then this program did the exact same thing on the opposite scale."
Indeed, Cashill has loaded "The Triumph of Design" with testimonies from his fellow intelligent-designers. It's mainly Johnson, but also a priest, a medical illustrator and local pundit Rich Nadler, who is seen on-camera, possibly for the first time, wearing a yarmulke (the point being that Gentiles aren't the only ones who share Johnson's views).
No Darwinists were interviewed for the video. Their views are instead summarized by Johnson and narrator Woody Cozad (from a script by Cashill). You would never know from "The Triumph of Design" that not every creationist accepts intelligent design, just as many evolutionists don't buy into the atheistic teachings of Richard Hawkins, who is the chief whipping boy in this video.
As one of Johnson's critics once observed, "Letting a creationist define evolution is rather like letting a communist define capitalism."
Beyond that, "The Triumph of Design" does Johnson a disservice by just letting him talk and talk and talk, while we look at gorgeous nature video that Cashill has collected from around the world. I don't doubt that these wondrous animals are part of God's creation, but I found myself asking, "What does this have to do with intelligent design?"
Cashill has shown in previous films (such as "The Royal Years" and the video shown at the Steamboat Arabia museum) that he knows how to match a spoken word to a compelling and illustrative visual. But in his eagerness to get Johnson's theories before the public, he neglects the basic documentary task here.
The film also gets nastier as it goes along, calling evolution "politically correct junk science," "groupthink" and "weary 19th-century materialism." Its defenders are characterized as the "desperate" acolytes of a "minor 20th-century religious sect." Cashill is no kinder toward Gov. Bill Graves for his plan to abolish the Kansas Board of Education, calling it "hysteria."
I remember watching a televised debate 15 years ago between a defender of Darwin and a creationist, taped in front of a large audience at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Virginia. It was a spirited but civil exchange, and at the end Falwell complimented his students for being so respectful toward the scientist on evolution's side.
We could use some of that civility right about now.
To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV
Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com
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Now showing
The 2000 midseason is upon us, and here are rundowns of six of the first shows: "Malcolm in the Middle," "City of Angels," "Brutally Normal," "The Others," "Twenty One" and "Winning Lines." ... Read my review in the Kansas City Star
The cast of "City of Angels," premiering this weekend on CBS. The daily digest ... for the weekend of Jan. 14-16 (continued): Check out the links below for more news on Dave Letterman's emergency quintuple bypass surgery ... An especially loosey-goosey Dennis Miller, on his return telecast of "Dennis Miller Live" Friday, took a moment to gripe about his haircut. But when he realized that he was pointing to a patch of scalp in exactly the same place -- and in exactly the same way -- that Dave does, he looked at the camera and said, "Letterman, if you're watching, get well" ... Matt Groening was asked by Entertainment Weekly to list his 10 favorite episodes of "The Simpsons" on its tenth anniversary. It figures that four of the picks came from the very first year of the show, 1990, including No. 2 (Marge flirts with her bowling instructor, played by Albert Brooks) and No. 1 ("Bart the Daredevil," in which Homer is sent over a cliff in a gurney when his ambulance crashes) ... Lifetime is trying the game show thing again. The network that brought you "Debt" a couple of years ago is launching a gals-only gamer called "Who Knows You Best" in June ... "60 Minutes II" reached its season-high rating Tuesday with a broadcast that included a segment sure to sink what's left of Donald Trump's presidential campaign and a moving portrait of twin sisters, one of whom has Alzheimer's ... The person who is just a heartbeat away from the most powerful man in the world -- Andrea Mitchell -- gets her own show, "Decision 2000," on MSNBC 5 p.m. weeknights beginning Tuesday. Previously on TV Barn:
14 Jan: Time to buy a dish?
12-13 Jan: "Farscape"
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
On this date... in 1990, society ends as we know it with the series debut of that awful moral sewer known as "The Simpsons." In "Bart, The Genius," our underachiever cheats by switching papers with class brain Martin, and winds up in classes at the Enriched Learning Center for Gifted Children. January 16: in 1981, NBC looks to two famous fictional characters to save its lineup: a single mom and an orchid-sniffin' detective. Barbara Eden stars in a role conjured by a Jeannie (singer Jeannie C. Reiley with Tom T. Hall), as she plays Stella Johnson, a mother who socked it to the "Harper Valley P.T.A." The movie was only a mild success in theaters, but knocked 'em dead in its television premiere and led to a TV series. As for the detective, that was William Conrad as "Nero Wolfe" in the case of "The Golden Spiders," originally written by Rex Stout in 1953.-- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Letterman undergoes emergency heart surgery [ Read it ]
- Statement from CBS [ Read it ]
- Dave hits ratings heights, then the O.R. [ Read it ]
- An ominous mention on Friday's show [ Read it ]
- "Millionaire" and the Dow, busting thru the records [ Read it ]
- ... Regis king of Thursdays, too [ Read it ]
- Ape sitcom coming to UPN [ Read it ]
- "Later Today" showing slow growth [ Read it ]
- "You Don't Know Jack" TV version to ABC [ Read it ]
- Balto. man sues "Blue's Clues" [ Read it ]
- Satellite gaining on cable [ Read it ]
- "Simpsons" redrew history, she wrote [ Read it ]
- "Scriptgate" -- give me a break! [ Read it ]
- DirecTV introduces Spanish-language service in 8 markets [ Read it ]
- Hughes divesting satellite biz, keeping DirecTV [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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15 Jan: The midseason shows
14 Jan: Time to buy a dish?
12-13 Jan: "Farscape"
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
On this date... in 1975, Robert Blake takes time off from torturing animals and his Our Gang co-stars (details related in just about every interview he ever gave Tom Snyder) to star as Detective Tony "Baretta" in a near-spinoff from the series "Toma." -- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Dave cracks jokes in recovery [ Read it ]
- Drug czar's office wanted to vet scripts [ Read it ]
- ... That's old news, sez gov't [ Read it ]
- UPN: Bring us your young males yearning for monster trucks [ Read it ]
- Clayton Moore remembered by 600 fans [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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(continued from front)
But that isn't what I want. I want a real person. I don't want to sit down at some keyboard and communicate with somebody on the other side of the world. I want my neighbors to come over and play bridge, and I want to touch them and look at them. I want to communicate the old-fashioned way, with human contact, not -- [Ted swears] -- through some computer. I'm not going digital. I'm staying in the analog world."
The only question I have is whether Steve Case delivered this rejoinder with a straight face or one of slight bemusement: "I don't believe that the growth of the Internet will result in people not having friends, not going to restaurants, libraries, et cetera. Ten years from now you are going to have people who are part of a connected society and it's going to have a profound effect on society.
"It's going to change in very fundamental ways how people get information, how they communicate with people, how they buy products and how they learn things and how they're entertained. People will increasingly not just be living in a world where they're sitting in front of a desktop computer and connected to a closed phone but will be using wireless devices that let them go anywhere. You can use it when you want, the way you want."
If Case was intending to allay's Turner's fears, his closing thoughts sure didn't help. One of the more disturbing emblems of our current digital era, after all, is the sight of people walking down the street talking to other people on cell phones instead of to their companions walking alongside them (who are probably themselves carrying on conversations with other virtual pals).
Thanks to our friends at Electronic Media for printing the Turner-Case exchange in the 11/22/99 edition of EM.
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Bada bing from outer space: Xenia Seeberg (right) as Xev and Thorsten Feller as Liggum Lexx II. (Salter Street Films)
The joy of "Lexx"
By John Zipperer
"Lexx" is a strange series, in more ways than one. The series,
which replaces "First Wave" in the Sci-Fi Channel's 10 p.m. Friday
slot ("First Wave" moves to 7 p.m. Sundays), is a Canadian-German
coproduction that has some absolutely rabid fans in other countries. With its
debut a couple weeks ago on Sci-Fi, we'll now get an opportunity to see if it
can build the same fan base here.
Briefly, "Lexx" is about Lexx, and sex. Lexx, you see, is a giant
insect that is also a spaceship. It is controlled by Stanley Tweedle, a loser.
On board with Tweedle are three companions. First, there's Xev (a.k.a. Zev), who
was an ugly behemoth of a person before she was punished by being turned into a
sex slave, but the process went a bit wrong and she got some lizard DNA in her.
Xev has an enormous drive for sex, but she never seems to have any; though the
obvious choice would be Tweedle, she ain't going there. Second, there's Kai,
a nice enough guy for an assassin who's been dead for two millennia.
Third, there's 790, a robot head (yep, the body's missing) pining away for Xev,
who couldn't do anything with him if she wanted to.
(continued)
Picks to click. After two intense but worthwhile docs on PBS this week, a reprieve on Wednesday with an inside-the-casino look at the oddballs who populate the World Series of Poker. ... Read my picks for this week (and remember times and channels are local to Kansas City)
The daily digest ... for Tuesday, Jan. 18: You know that story everyone's getting all worked up about the nation's drug czar influencing certain TV shows? Turns out the Arizona Republic's Washington, D.C., bureau reported the story last May. The newspaper was fed the story by a former Arizona state senator who was working for drug czar Barry McCaffery when he and other staffers flew to Hollywood to pitch the idea to select producers of teen-oriented shows. But nobody paid the story a lick of attention at the time, even though it laid out the feds' m.o. as plain as day: "But the networks' motives are not merely altruistic. In some cases, they have a financial incentive. The drug czar's media campaign, of which Hollywood outreach is just a part, has a $185 million budget for this fiscal year. The office has been spending most of that money buying expensive television ads - which makes it in the networks' interest to cooperate." ...
Now that we've blown the conspiracy theory, could somebody please tell me what the big deal is? It's not like "The Wayans Bros." or "Smart Guy" will ever be remembered as outposts of daring creative expression. These are okay sitcoms that found a niche and held onto their audience through the formulaic repetition of utterly predictable gags. So an anti-drug message was thrown in. So the government paid for it. So what? These weren't news programs -- heck, in most cases they were barely entertainment programs. And the whole campaign was done on incentive basis: Use a message, make a buck, and feel better about that colleague of yours who's got a kid in rehab. What's the crime in that?
... DISH Network subscribers around the country have been hearing the good news that they can finally get their local network affiliates from the bird. Now, as I report in Tuesday's Kansas City Star, that includes viewers in the Kansas City area ... TV critics have been seeing more of those half-hour "presentations" for fall TV shows, instead of the usual hourlong pilot episodes. NBC's Garth Ancier wants to make that standard procedure from now on, and although some producers told Variety they're unhappy with the decision, it will probably stick. A year and a half ago I remember seeing a 25-minute presentation for "Martial Law," and all I could recall from it were the fight scenes. Dialogue and storyline, eh. But the rest, I loved. This year, CBS did the same thing with "Judging Amy." Really, what did I need to know that a video couldn't tell me in half hour? There's this woman named Amy, her mom is Tyne Daly, they quarrel and make up, there's a cute kid and some touching legal cases, and CBS will probably make it into a huge hit.
Previously on TV Barn:
17 Jan: Turner and Case -- corporate hellmates?
15 Jan: The midseason shows
14 Jan: Time to buy a dish?
12-13 Jan: "Farscape"
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
On this date... in 1975, after three years living next to
Archie Bunker, "The Jeffersons" move on up to their own
sitcom and (sing it with me) "a deluxe apartment in the
sky," number 12D. And in their first episode, George
forces his wife to get a maid.
-- Tom Heald
On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- "Millionaire's" big winner dull, not arrogant [ Read it ]
- Will AOL Time Warner kick-start interactive TV? [ Read it ]
- Summer Olympics may cause fall-schedule scramble [ Read it ]
- "Greed" hits all-time ratings low [ Read it ]
- UPN chief: "People are fighting for us" [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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EchoStar now local! ... Two days ahead of schedule, EchoStar's DISH network has begun offering local channels to its subscribers in Kansas City (and Houston). Read about it here
"Mr. Povich, put down those bags and proceed slowly to the exit..." (NBC/Chris Gaston) Reader mail Keith Privett is one of several viewers who have actually endured all of the new game shows. He writes in with capsule reviews of two of them: "Winning Lines: Stretches 12 brief math questions over 19 minutes before an exciting but confusing bonus round. I doubt even Dick Clark or a $50,000 home viewer game can save it. Setting my VCR for 7:22 to 7:30 until it's gone. Redeeming facet: A glowing bail-out buzzer in the bonus round that should be in George Clooney's 'Failsafe' remake. "Twenty One: We knew it would be dumbed down. But this is the 11-point question: What's wrong with Twenty One?
a) Maury reveling in the show's infamy like he's getting ready to do an O.J. interview
b) Rule changes take away the tension and drama away the old show did have
c) Departing winners are given (prop) cash dropped by a model into a tacky NBC Studios canvas tote bag
d) The fact that an audience poll decides the next challenger (i.e., future Herb Stempels need not apply)
Redeeming Facet: Live Band means Union musicians get more work." (continued) Picks to click. After two intense but worthwhile docs on PBS this week, a reprieve on Wednesday with an inside-the-casino look at the oddballs who populate the World Series of Poker. ... Read my picks for this week (and remember times and channels are local to Kansas City) The daily digest ... for Wednesday, Jan. 19: The Scripps TV group is the first to announce free air time for political candidates at all of its stations. Details in this story that appeared in Tuesday's Kansas City Star ...Sci-Fi Channel issued a flurry of press releases Tuesday, the most interesting of which announces three new original series: "Sciography," a monthly "Biography" knockoff about "Lost in Space," "The Bionic Woman," etc.; "Beer Money," a comedy that (quoting the release) asks the question, "What if E.T. was found by slacker deity Jeff Spiccoli?"; and a talk show, "Crossing Over with John Edward," featuring that weirdo who claims to talk with the dead. Look for those in the spring, "Sciography" and "Beer Money" on Fridays and John Edward daily ... Sci-Fi also announced it was picking up "good vs. evil" from sister channel USA Network starting March 10. You remember it as "GvsE." Previously on TV Barn:
18 Jan: The joy of "Lexx"
17 Jan: Turner and Case -- corporate hellmates?
15 Jan: The midseason shows
14 Jan: Time to buy a dish?
12-13 Jan: "Farscape"
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
On this date... in 1953, America takes a pregnant pause as 68 percent of viewers tune in to watch Lucy Ricardo deliver "Little Ricky." The show was timed perfectly as Lucille Ball gave birth to Desi Arnaz Jr. the same day. -- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Michael J. Fox quitting "Spin City" [ Read it ]
- "Malcolm in Middle" emerging as hit [ Read it ]
- ... but "City of Angels" in fair condition [ Read it ]
- Miami lawyer becomes 2d "Millionaire" [ Read it ]
- ABC wins week -- thanks, Regis! [ Read it ]
- ABC wins Monday, too [ Read it ]
- Nielsen trying out new syndication ratings [ Read it ]
- Next John Wells show inked for WB [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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(continued from front)
Bill Grieser writes, "My need to send you a rant about 'ER' is now overpowering. Kellie Martin's departure from 'ER' due to lack of face time is a symptom of what is wrong with that show: too many characters. Last season the audience became emotionally invested with the lovely Miss Knight as she came to terms with coming-of-age in a trauma center, with the added bonus of a hint of romance with Dr. Carter, who is only slightly ahead of her on his own journey of growing up. This year we have to sit through seemingly endless amounts of exposition to explain no fewer than four new characters and one departing character (so far). Watching them start to explain the Julianna Margulies exit is excruciating. How is Dr. Benton doing with his deaf kid? Who knows?
"Dr. Romano is a character added in the right manner: we slowly built up to him until he now seems indispensable. Dr. Weaver was the same way. But these new kids got pictures right away -- it isn't right. If I could go back in time, I'd tell the producers: Don't 'L.A. Law' 'ER'" ...
Ben Scripps writes, "There was some discussion in TV Barn a while ago about the future of the episode of 'Seinfeld' in which Elaine hooked up with JFK Jr. While doing episodic promos for 'Seinfeld' this week at work, we made the promo for that episode, 'The Contest' (No. 411 for those of you scoring at home) to air in the weekend position. From what I've seen, our episodes stay right on with the national rotation, and this is the first time we've made this promo since the plane crash."
I've been holding onto this letter from Alan Bone a little too long. "Am I the only one who thought 'ABC 2000' was eerily reminiscent of the Jerry Lewis Telethon? While it was, in many ways, interesting to watch the progression of time from one part of the globe to another, it was even more riveting as an example of just how strange television can become when you put one person on camera for 20 or so hours, especially when there's not a lot going on for 50 out of every 60 minutes. It also seemed that the longer the program dragged on, the more desperate the ABC folks got.
"Peter Jennings, like Jerry, donned a tuxedo to ring in the new year on the East Coast, but backed off to a sweater for the remainder of the broadcast. By the time we witnessed the countdown for the West Coast--complete with the Bellagio hotel's dancing waters and Steve Lawrence singing about Vegas in the background--I was halfway expecting Jennings himself to sing, either performing a duet with Barbara Walters via satellite or 'You'll Never Walk Alone' to close the show. If only the slightly less predictable Dan Rather had been presiding over things ..."
David Loehr writes, "Since you mention the fear of this, I thought you'd like to know about
www.brainharvest.com, a similarly bogus website designed to promote 'Now
and Again,' taking its concept of harvesting brains for ultra-secret
experiments 'seriously.' It's actually done with a bit more style and wit
than the insipid andylives.org site, but still, after one visit, why
would anyone go back? And like the Kaufman site, it's also designed in an
amateurish style that's so out of touch with reality, it's not even funny.
A relatively clever show like this doesn't need a thuddingly stupid site
like this. Although if the show doesn't start picking up, I'll probably
give up on it.
"The only worthwhile site like this is one set up for the film 'Galaxy Quest,'
mainly because you have a choice to go there from the 'official' site at
amazon.com. The bogus site is supposedly designed by a hyperfan named Travis
Latke, and is again excruciatingly amateurish. But it actually has a
reason to exist. It ties in with the film's gentle parody of 'Star Trek,'
its fans and, by extension, its fansites. Again, one visit is probably
more than enough, but this one is worth the trip" ...
Ian Evans, chairman of Digital Hit Entertainment in Toronto, couldn't get a reporter into Monday's American Music Awards, and here's the fishy reason why: "Our online entertainment news company has had credentials for events like the Golden Globes, Oscars, and Toronto International Film Festival. Today we asked Dick Clark Productions about getting credentials for the American Music Awards and one of their execs referred us to the PR company handling credentials. The PR company head informed me that no credentials would be issued to online organizations since an exclusive online deal had been signed with ABC.com.
"This strikes me as strange/wrong/weird. Would they tell the Kansas City Star that they couldn't go because they have a deal with the Chicago Tribune? Heck, the Academy has an official Oscar night site with ABC, but we were still credentialed in a room full of other online press. Blocking access to an entire form of media seems a bit harsh." I agree, but then there is one mitigating factor -- it's a Dick Clark-produced awards show. It doesn't count!! ...
Don Hosek writes, "Mostly on the basis of their airings of 'The Muppet Show,' I tuned into the Odyssey Network. And while I can live without the 'cable network premiere' of 'Sarah, Plain & Tall,' I've found their religion programming strangely compelling. I've given up on most religious media whether it's the usual TV programming (little more than cheerleading and fundraising), print (more of the same), or the Internet (a never ending stream of polemical apologetics). So I was somewhat surprised to tune in and catch an intelligent discussion of religious issues -- in this case, whether 20th-century religion was spiritually bankrupt -- that could easily stand among the best religious writing/journalism/media."
And Sean Medlock, having read this quote from Ted Turner ...
"I don't want to sit down at some keyboard and communicate with somebody on the other side of the world. I want my neighbors to come over and play bridge, and I want to touch them and look at them."... writes, "I'd gladly risk a cold, dystopian digital future to eliminate any possibility of Ted Turner touching me and looking at me."
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guest hosts are a bad idea
Dave Letterman (shown here two weeks ago throwing footballs with Kurt Warner) likes to say he has "the strength of ten men." What guest host can make this claim? (Photo: CBS.com) David Letterman was in the recovery room, what -- a day? 36 hours? -- when a radio talk show in L.A. started floating the idea that it would be so great if Johnny Carson came out of retirement and filled in while the host of the CBS "Late Show" recuperated from bypass surgery. By Tuesday the idea was in full snowball. Rosie O'Donnell and the host of TV's hottest show -- Regis Philbin of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" -- offered themselves as guest hosts. TV critic David Bianculli suggested on NPR that Steve Allen should helm the first week, followed by Jack Paar, Garry Shandling and Carson. Readers have been sending me e-mails, all of them in flow with the zeitgeist. "I think it is a wonderful idea," declared one. Another wrote, "I think CBS must consider using some guest hosts or risk falling back further in the ratings race," a reference to Jay Leno's considerable lead in the late-night Nielsens. Forget it, everyone. CBS has put the kabosh on the guest-hosting idea. "Our first and primary concern continues to be Dave's health and we're thrilled that all signs point to a speedy recovery," the network said in a statement responding to my inquiry on Tuesday. "Dave has been a superstar for CBS for many years and we can't wait to have him back at work. In the meantime we plan to provide viewers with the best of Dave in repeats. There is certainly enough of that to entertain Dave's loyal fans for a long time." For once, I'm with the pinheads at the network. Bringing in guest hosts for Letterman is one of those ideas that sounds like a can't-lose -- that is, until somebody actually tries it. Drum roll, please: (continued) The daily digest ... for Thursday, Jan. 20: It was almost meltdown time for ABC affiliate KMBC-TV, as Time Warner Cable, Kansas City's dominant cable provider, came within a few hours of pulling the plug on KMBC. A stalemate in talks with KMBC's owner, Hearst-Argyle, is to blame, as I report in this story in Thursday's Kansas City Star ... Wisecracking ex-senator Bob Dole joins Comedy Central's "Indecision 2000" and will be seen on "The Daily Show" as well as the channel's coverage of the Republican convention this summer, its election night telecast, and selected other programming. Previously on TV Barn:
19 Jan: Reader mail
18 Jan: The joy of "Lexx"
17 Jan: Turner and Case -- corporate hellmates?
15 Jan: The midseason shows
14 Jan: Time to buy a dish?
12-13 Jan: "Farscape"
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
7 Jan: "Special Victims Unit"
5-6 Jan: "Farscape"
3-4 Jan: TV's greatest hits
On this date... in 1998, society ends as we know it with the series debut of that moral sewer known as "Dawson's Creek." In "Emotions in Motion," Joey Potter (Katie Holmes), the girl our hero Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek) has been sleeping with for seven years, decides that it's no longer a good idea -- as they might actually wind up having sex sometime. -- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- So, does "Spin City" survive without Fox? [ Read it ]
- James Garner to recur on "Chicago Hope" [ Read it ]
- No more script reviews, sez drug czar [ Read it ]
- Martin Short is short on viewers [ Read it ]
- NOT TV, BUT: Jeff MacNelly treated for lymphoma [ Read it ]
- "Discovery News" shifting to NBC [ Read it ]
- Odyssey plans first original mini [ Read it ]
- Wimbledon rights to Turner [ Read it ]
- "Magnificent Seven" resurfaces on TNN [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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(continued from front)
10. This isn't baseball. The idea of guest hosts is reminiscent of "The Tonight Show" during Carson's reign, but many of us are more likely to recall the time in the late 1980s when Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray was recovering from a stroke and superstation WGN scored a hit by hiring celebrity guest announcers to call the games in his absence.
CBS, however, is not under any decree to keep playing new shows while its star is on injured reserve. The season will go on regardless. And CBS may even sell a few more concessions: "Late Show" repeats this week have been scoring nearly as high in the Nielsens as recent first-run shows.
9. Reruns allow Letterman to re-endear himself to former fans. A reader asked me, "Do you have any idea why they decided to show such recent Letterman reruns while he recuperates?" (Two of this week's four encores are from December.)
The answer is simple: Because Dave has been on a roll.
This is perhaps the most compelling reason for repeats. Viewers who stopped watching Letterman over the years (since 1994 he's lost nearly half his audience) may be feeling a twang of sympathy for him. Perhaps they're checking out some of the shows this week for old time's sake.
What could be a more pleasant surprise for these wayward fans than to see the "new" Dave -- bespectacled, definitely starting to look his 52 years on camera, yet oddly invigorated, brighter, funnier than he's seemed in years?
As he has done throughout his career, Letterman has caught another wind. His joy is evident nearly every night. The comedy seems sharper (one of his best writers, Bill Scheft, is back on staff). He's booking better guests (you can't do much better than Hillary Clinton).
This is the Letterman CBS wants as many viewers as possible to see -- and, one would think, so does Letterman.
Besides, as any fan will tell you, a great show is almost as much fun to watch the second time around. Reruns are also malleable in a way first-run shows aren't. The New York Times reported this week that some Letterman reruns may be specially packaged. His earlier prime-time specials might be aired in late night, and guests may come in to tape new introductions to some repeats. Three cheers for Memorex.
8. Guest hosts would be more trouble than they're worth. No matter who is seated in Dave's chair, there will be so much to learn, both for the host and those running the show, that the results will probably not be very satisfying.
Letterman has cultivated one of the most loyal and talented staffs in the business. They, in turn, have learned to tailor their jobs around the quirks of their boss. All that would be set aside for the guest hosts. Since only a handful of today's celebrities have even sat behind a late-night talk show desk, Letterman's staff would have to walk them through the basics every night, taking on coaching tasks they've never done before. (Inside the Letterman camp only Peter Lassally, now based out of Los Angeles, has any working knowledge of Carson's old guest-host mill.)
7. Guest hosts would distract the writing staff. Not long ago many fans were complaining that Letterman's comedy had gotten too thin, and they blamed it on his five-night-a-week schedule at CBS. At NBC, he only taped four shows, and took a lot more vacation time.
With this sudden hiatus, Letterman's joke writers and segment producers have been given the rare gift of time. Time to write, shoot and bank material for future use. A guest-hosting system would blow that chance, since monologue jokes and comedy bits would be needed for the fill-ins.
P<>
And there's this: More often than not, Letterman is livelier after a week off. His material seems fresher, too. Imagine how good "Late Show" will be after a break this long.
6. Dave isn't Johnny. In his 20 years as a talk show host, Letterman has shared his stage exactly once -- in 1983, when he brought in a co-host for "The Morning Show," a mock a.m. edition of his popular "Late Night" program on NBC. Letterman has always wanted the stage to be his. Unlike Leno, Carson and Paar, he almost never allows more than a guest at a time by his side. (The second guest chair, he used to say, was for either Siskel or Ebert.)
And since it is Letterman's company, not CBS, which owns "Late Show," any decision on a seat-filler would have to come from the man who has never allowed his seat to be filled by anyone else.
5. Johnny isn't Dave. Since signing off for the last time nearly eight years ago, Johnny Carson has seen his television legacy swell to biblical proportions. He's now seen as a show business savior, a Moses standing at the other end of the Red Sea: All he has to do is show up and the parted waters of American culture will seal up once again.
Well, maybe for a night. And after the novelty wears off, then what? For this reason, I suspect that even were Letterman to pick up the phone and ask Carson personally to do the show -- highly unlikely, given Letterman's reverence for his idol -- Carson would probably turn him down.
Put yourself in Johnny's shoes. Would you fly to New York and take over a studio you've never seen before? For a show that moves at twice the speed that yours once did? Carson, of all people, knows that by Friday the critics would be restless. He's already engineered one perfect departure; why tempt fate trying another?
4. We went through this last time. As NBC learned when it tried to replace Letterman in 1993, there are very few people talented enough to do a late-night talk show. Chevy Chase, Whoopi Goldberg and Dennis Miller tried and failed. It's well and good to talk about bringing back Steverino and Paar, but they've both attempted comebacks in the past and neither was a ringing success.
In fact, since Carson replaced his rotating guest-host system in 1986 with two "permanent guest hosts" (Shandling and Leno), the concept of temporary emcees has nearly died out. And the one exception does not inspire hope: NBC's gawdawful "Later," where rent-a-hosts do canned interviews with near-celebrities for an audience of insomniacs.
3. CBS would be nuts to want guest hosts. Before 1993, when Letterman changed networks, CBS had no late-night franchise. It had a seedy movie series, ``Crimetime After Primetime,'' that was carried by only a fraction of its affiliates and got terrible ratings.
Letterman's numbers have not exactly been boffo in recent years, but there's more competition now, thanks to cable. More to the point, "Late Show," even in reruns, draws impressively from that pool of young male viewers that CBS has a hard time reaching at any other time of the day. Make no mistake: Advertisers keep the networks in business, and advertisers want shows that skew young.
Now imagine five nights of Johnny Carson, or Steve Allen, or even Regis Philbin (who draws a much older audience to his daytime talk show than to "Millionaire"). Nostalgia buffs would love it, but I'm betting a lot of younger viewers wouldn't -- and CBS would hate that.
2. Not everyone has Dave's best interests in mind. It's hard to avoid feeling that a lot of viewers have had it with both Letterman and Leno. The media don't write about the ``late night wars'' like they used to. They want fresh meat. Bringing in guest hosts would get that pot stirring again. Everyone would be arguing over which guest host was the best, and that would lead to inevitable thumbsucking about ``who is the next Dave.''
Letterman knows what this is like, since he was called ``the next Johnny Carson'' as early as 1979. More recently, there actually was an episode of ``The Larry Sanders Show,'' the hilarious HBO insider parody of late-night TV, in which Larry's bosses kept extending his vacation because guest host Jon Stewart was doing so well in the overnight ratings.
Don't laugh. The last time ``The Larry Sanders Show'' ventured a guess, it came true: Letterman told Larry (Garry Shandling) that he had hired Tom Snyder to host a show right after his.
And the number one reason guest hosts are a bad idea ...
1. Repeats will speed Dave's recovery. In 1988, during a writers' strike that dragged on for months, Letterman had to sit idly by while NBC aired endless repeats of his show. Finally he could take it no longer. He went back on the air, with no material other than what he had scribbled down earlier in the day. (By the way, they were some of his greatest shows ever.)
Trust me, after a few weeks of watching himself on TV -- counting every imperfection and screwup he makes -- Letterman will work himself right back into fighting shape.
Until then, the rest of us should just sit back and enjoy the show. Again.
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Rob Burnett (shown here with a fan) hasn't even ruled out guest hosts: "Everything is an option at this point." (Photo courtesy Madd Maxx's site) Rob Burnett was talking to the press again. The executive producer of "Late Show with David Letterman" may not be as schmoozerrific as his predecessor in that post, Robert "Morty" Morton, but Burnett makes up for that with the pleasantly jaded tone you might expect from a onetime writer on the show he now helms. He returns reporters' calls, and he doesn't call up critics to give them tongue-lashings as Morton was known to do. And since his boss almost never engages the media, Burnett finds himself in a rare elite of ever-quotable TV producers, right up there with "Law & Order's" Dick Wolf, only nicer. So it was a little disconcerting to have my phone call to Burnett last week re-routed through a newly hired PR firm for Worldwide Pants. But not to worry: Burnett was on the phone late Friday, the end of a long day spent breaking the silence he'd imposed on himself since Dave Letterman underwent a quintuple bypass the previous Friday. Here's what he said. (continued) Earlier story: Top 10 reasons guest hosts a bad idea The daily digest ... for Monday, Jan. 24: Going to Nawlins. I'll be attending the big NATPE television confab all week in New Orleans. Look for a link to a news page from the red box (above) starting Tuesday. Or visit the NATPE site yourself; there's tons of streaming video this year ... Here's an overview on NATPE from The Hollywood Reporter ... Missouri could be the third state to strike down the non-compete clause that hamstrings most on-air TV talent, as I reported in Saturday's Kansas City Star ... And for posterity reasons only, here's this past weekend's picks to click that I neglected to post Friday. Previously on TV Barn:
20 Jan: Top 10 reasons guest hosts are a bad idea
19 Jan: Reader mail
18 Jan: The joy of "Lexx"
17 Jan: Turner and Case -- corporate hellmates?
15 Jan: The midseason shows
14 Jan: Time to buy a dish?
12-13 Jan: "Farscape"
11 Jan: Campaign 2000: Sipowicz v. Soprano
10 Jan: Stupid Internet TV tricks
On this date... In 1990, on a Very Special Episode of "Growing Pains," Maggie and Jason Seaver fight over parenting styles after son Ben asks permission to get his ear pierced. By the end of the episode, everyone has learned an Important Lesson. -- Tom Heald On the wires:
(Stories open in a new window. Many links expire over time.)
- Another Letterman story [ Read it ]
- Nielsen ratings: "Millionaire" uber alles [ Read it ]
- ... helps ABC to rare Thurs. win [ Read it ]
- "Angels," "21" do better on Wednesdays [ Read it ]
- Time Warner to merge with EMI music co. [ Read it ] [ Another story ]
- Howard throws hissy fit over Letterman [ Read it ]
- Stern's 46th birthday to air on cable [ Read it ]
- You will diversify, FCC tells nets [ Read it ]
- All soaps, all the time on new cable net [ Read it ]
- FX takes up the UPN baili, uh, wick [ Read it ]
- Life after "Seinfeld" for Richards [ Read it ]
- iCraveTV.com sued [ Read it ]
- NOT TV, BUT: Foodie legend Craig Claiborne dies [ Read it ]
- More TV news from ZENtertainment [ Read it ]
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(continued from front)
Q. Next week I see you're doing reruns from some of your
"road shows." What's the plan after that?
A. Here's where we kind of are -- I've been talking to
lot of people about this. We're not set on anything. We
haven't ruled out guest hosts. We haven't ruled out
reruns. This thing happened so quickly. I've not spoken
with Dave about the show at all. I've spoken with him
personally. But I've made the decision that he could use
a little time away from show business. So could we all.
When it's appropriate, after a little further recovery,
we will sit down and have a big conversation and go over
our buffet of options. As with anything we do, we'll
have pretty large choices. We have a lot of ideas for
themed