From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:51am
Subject: Re: Re: which cancelled TV show would make the best transition to film?

At 08:50 PM 8/30/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>I'd nominate "Nowhere Man"

I thought about mentioning "Nowhere Man".  I think "Brimstone" held up a 
little better over it's run, though.  My wife used to comment that, for a 
guy on the run, he sure seemed to get laid a lot.  The pilot is still one 
of the best I've seen.  The early screener version sent out to press had a 
slightly different ending and was a little creepier than the final version 
that aired.  Great show.

Here's another one: "Vengeance Unlimited".  That show had it's moments and 
would translate well to the big screen.


KJB
Editor, Backstage Pass
http://www.backstage-pass.com
Film Writer, FilmForce.Net
http://filmforce.ign.com

From: Wes McGee  <WesMcGee@cox.net>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 0:29am
Subject: Re: which cancelled TV show would make the best transition to film?

TelevisonGrl@a... wrote:

>My vote -- "Now & Again".  Even if it means President Palmer resigns from 
>"24".
>
>TVG
>
I second that nomination for Now&Again, if only to resolve that 
cliffhanger the left us with.

--Wesley McGee

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Fri Aug 30, 2002 9:21pm
Subject: Re: Re: which cancelled TV show would make the best transition to f...

>> Here's another one: "Vengeance Unlimited".  That show had it's moments and 
> >

or Chuck Norris' series for Tribune.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Melissa Neal  <drmissy@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:31am
Subject: Re: which cancelled TV show would make the best transition to film?

ken roberts wrote:

>
>I would choose 'Invader Zim.'
>
>Not because 'Zim' translates particularly well to the movie format, but
>because i need more.  More damn you.
>  
>

I'll second that. Zim rocks! I discovered the show a few months ago. Of 
course, shortly after that I discovered it had been cancelled. Figures.

Missy

From: Aaron Barnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 8:30am
Subject: Rick Schroder's new show -- on ESPN2

RICK SCHRODER TO HOST THE NEW AMERICAN SPORTSMAN PRESENTED BY DODGE ON ESPN2

Nicklaus and Kinnear Go Outdoors on ESPN2 Prime Time Block

Bristol, Ct. - Aug. 30, 2002 - Acclaimed actor and avid outdoorsman Rick
Schroder will be the host of The New American Sportsman presented by Dodge,
which will anchor a new weekly prime time outdoors block on ESPN2 beginning
Monday, Sept. 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

"Rick Schroder is the perfect choice to take ESPN's outdoors audience into
prime time," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN senior vice president and general
manager, programming.  "Known to millions as an outstanding actor, he also
possesses the key skills to present fishing, hunting and other outdoor
adventures in a new light to a new generation."

Schroder, who was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards during his
three-year run on NYPD Blue, is also known for his roles in the television
mini-series Lonesome Dove and Call of the Wild.  He was nominated for a
Golden Globe in 1991 for the television film The Stranger Within.

"It's a fun way for people to get to know me," said Schroder.  "I'm a big
fan of the outdoors and outdoor sports and I really want to help educate
people about the role those who hunt and fish have played in conservation of
our country's natural resources."

Schroder, who first hunted at age 10 with actor William Holden, recently
returned from a fishing trip to South Africa where he landed Yellow Tail
tuna and snook. He and his sons also make much use of their backyard archery
range.

The show, a favorite of viewing audiences from the 1960s to the 1980s, has
been reimagined with segments ranging from the thrill of tarpon fishing off
Key West with legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus to tracking and darting a
5,000-pound rhino in South Africa with actor Greg Kinnear.  The debut
episode will also feature snorkeling on the shark-inhabited reefs of Key
Largo with former Baywatch model Simmone Jade Mackinnon.

"I just hope to convey my love for the outdoors," said Schroder.  "We hope
to awaken the spirit inside of all of us that we've been blessed with some
fantastic
natural resources in this country."

The New American Sportsman presented by Dodge will be aired at 8 p.m. and
will anchor ESPN2's Monday night block of outdoors programs under the ESPN
Original Entertainment banner.  The previously announced Fish On and True
Outdoor Adventures will complete the prime time line-up.

Interest in ESPN Outdoors programming is at an all time high as indicated by
record ratings increases for last month's BASSMASTERS Classic and Great
Outdoor Games.

Since its inception in 2001, ESPN Outdoors - a multi-departmental initiative
to coordinate company-wide, multi-media efforts - has strived to inform and
entertain anglers, hunters, campers and people of all ages who enjoy the
outdoors.  ESPN Outdoors is committed to increasing awareness of outdoor
activities, a direction best exemplified by daily television programming
totaling more than 1,200 hours annually on ESPN and ESPN2.  Each year, ESPN
Outdoors stages more than 30 marquee events including the CITGO BASSMASTERS
Classic and the Great Outdoor Games.  ESPN Outdoors encompasses B.A.S.S.,
the world's largest fishing organization that sanctions more than 20,000
events through the B.A.S.S. Federation.  ESPN Outdoors also features
Bassmaster.com, ESPNOutdoors.com, a weekly fishing show on ESPN Radio as
well as a growing array of promotions and activities that deliver a clear
message of conservation and ethical sportsmanship.

From: Aaron Barnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 8:30am
Subject: E! at "Idol" finale

E! NEWS LIVE WILL BE CENTER STAGE AT THE
  THE GRAND FINALE OF 'AMERICAN IDOL' ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4


Steve Kmetko and Jules Asner Will Report Live from the Kodak Theatre 
for a Special 90-Minute Expanded Episode of E! News Live as Fans Gear 
up for the 'American Idol' Finale;   E! Takes Viewers Inside All the 
Red Carpet Action, including Celebrity Arrivals,
Beginning at 6:30PM ET /PT (Tape Delayed) Leading up to Live Premiere of
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" On FOX at 8:00PM ET/PT 
(Tape Delayed)

E! News Live is the Only Entertainment News Program that Can Give 
Viewers A Live Report of all the Behind-the-Scenes Action on One of 
the Summer's Hottest Shows


LOS ANGELES, August 30, 2002 – Who will be crowned as the country's 
first "American Idol"?  As viewers await the highly anticipated 
answer, only E! News Live can take viewers live from outside the 
Kodak Theater for all the behind-the-scenes action leading into the 
grand finale of the FOX hit series "American Idol: The Search for a 
Superstar" at 8:00 PM ET/PT (tape delayed).

Join E! News Live anchors Steve Kmetko and Jules Asner on a special 
90-minute expanded episode on Wednesday, September 4 at 6:30PM ET 
(live)/PT (tape delayed) as they interview celebrity arrivals, 
including "American Idol's" top ten finalists, judges and the hosts 
from one of television's most talked about series of the summer. E! 
News Live Reporter Giuliana is tentatively scheduled to bring viewers 
all the action from backstage.

From: rcurrlin  <rcurrlin@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 8:39am
Subject: Re: Berle on SNL

Circling back to an old post about SNL reruns on the E channel...

E said they had acquired all 106 episodes of the original Lorne 
Michaels SNLs. Assuming that doesn't include the primetime Mardi 
Gras special, that means the package would include the infamous 
Milton Berle episode noted below. 

If E really acquired it, they still ain't showing it...and it 
appears they've now cycled thru every other episode (including the 
fascinating Louise Lasser show).

Looks like Lorne is still holding it back, because if E had it, they 
could make a minor deal out of showing it (actually, knowing E, they 
would make a major deal out of it, wouldn't they?).

--roy

-----------------------------------------------------------------

> >Wouldn't it be great if Lorne Michaels broke down and finally 
reran 
> >the Milton Berle-hosted SNL?
> >
> >For those who don't know, it ran around 1980 and has never been 
> >repeated (although a sketch or two turned up in the half hour 
> >syndicated "Best of SNL."). Berle committed many SNL no-nos 
including 
> >breaking script, mugging to the camera, and being his pompous, 
> >primmadonna self. It is arguably the worstepisodeever.
> 
> ME: It has been repeated.  An edited version of that one and the
> infamous Louise Lasser episode were quietly added to the rerun 
package
> a few years ago.

From: Wes McGee  <WesMcGee@cox.net>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 8:52am
Subject: First 'SNL' on E!

According to Mark Evanier, E! is going to air the first episode of SNL 
on Labor Day night at 1am. (unless I'm recieving old pages from the 
internet, which wouldn't surprise me with the service quality I've been 
getting from Verison DSL as of late).

He talks about it on his website ( http://www.povonline.com/Notes016.htm 
). Especially interesting is how the show employed a try-anything 
approach until they decided to focus on sketch comedy. If I'm not an 
idiot and forget about it, I'm going to try to catch this!

--Wesley McGee

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 0:54pm
Subject: Replay TV users can now pay month to month

Karen Brown
Multichannel News
8/29/2002 12:38:00 PM
Customers will now have the option to pay monthly for their ReplayTV.
SONICblue Inc., maker of the ReplayTV line of personal video recorders,
announced that it will offer a monthly service option starting Sept. 1
on all new 'ReplayTV 4500' sales. Customers will have the option to pay
$9.95 monthly or pony up the one-time $250 service fee to use their
ReplayTV 4500 units. That is in addition to the box purchase, which
ranges from $399.99 to $1,299.99, depending on the model the customer
chooses.
'The addition of a monthly service option in combination with our
recently reduced prices and rebate offers makes ReplayTV an even more
attractive choice for consumers,' said Nikhil Balram, vice president of
connected home products.
'We are confident that these changes and our continually expanding
retail presence will significantly increase our ReplayTV sales,' Balram
added.
The announcement comes one day after the Santa Clara, Calif.-based PVR
and MP3-device maker acknowledged that it may be delisted from the
NASDAQ exchange because its share price has sunk below the $1 benchmark
for more than 30 consecutive days. NASDAQ officials notified the company
Aug. 19 of the potential action, which can only be avoided if
SONICblue's share price rises above $1 for 10 consecutive trading days
before Nov. 18.


KJB
Editor, Backstage Pass
http://www.backstage-pass.com
Film Writer, FilmForce.Net
http://filmforce.ign.com

From: markrobt  <markrobt@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 6:15pm
Subject: Re: TV Barn home page suggestions

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "aaronbarnhart" <aaron@t...> wrote:
> 
> The philosophical shift, which overshadows any technical fix, is 
> returning TV Barn to its roots as a Web site with a single, strong 
> editorial voice, i.e., mine.  I've been reluctant to press ahead 
with 
> this, because I have enjoyed and benefited tremendously from 
> the contributions of Tom Heald, Mark Jeffries, Steve Rhodes, 
> Paul Murray, Wes McGee, Zen Mondatta and others who have 
> posted to The Blog and The Sidebar in the past year.

For what it's worth ... and maybe it's not much ... one of the things 
that I have most appreciated about TV Barn is that there is 
a "community voice" here. That's not just in the tvbarn2 group (about 
which more shortly) but also on the main page. I think you may be 
harder on yourself than you need to be. 

I think the last redesign, however, didn't work to TV Barn's 
advantage. The "community" part of the home page, the left-hand 
sidebar column, is too hard to read and extends much farther down the 
page than the other two columns. This opinion isn't mean to negate 
Aaron's contributions, because he is the glue holding it together and 
that's important, but, for me, it worked much better when his 
contributions appeared together with the other contributions. It 
reinforced the "community voice". Unlike Enron, this was synergy that 
worked and functioned well (in my opinion).

At the same time, I really like the way the new format calls out 
stories in the Star. That's a reflection of my own personal history 
as a former Kansas City resident and native Missourian.

I really like the links to other critics. Of course, newspaper sites 
are getting increasingly difficult to link to. That's either 
intentional or an accidental effect of increasingly nosy registration 
requirements and an excessive reliance on cookies. The links to 
Electronic Media weren't quite as useful ... they all linked to the 
same page anyway ... and the links to teevee.org were flat-out 
useless for me.

Now keep in mind that my own perspective is quite different from most 
of the perspectives represented here. I'm far more interested in the 
economic and technical aspects of the media than I am in most of the 
content, with the exception of news and local programming. Network 
programming hasn't interested me in years. So this probably isn't 
going to be a "place" where I contribute regularly. Usenet is much 
more suited to the profile of interests that I just described and, as 
a few people here know, that's where I conduct most of my online 
discussion.

> * The layout would revert to single-column with big, readable 
> fonts and plenty of whitespace. I may incorporate tabs for easy 
> navigation to the links and forum pages (see below).

I think this would be good, although if "tabs" are just more 
graphical junk, I'd say ferget it.
 
> * I'm proposing shutting down tvbarn2 and creating a new forum 
> on a separate page, modeled on MetaFilter, for any and all to 
> post TV-related items and for readers to comment on those 
> items. Though separate, the new forum would be linked to TV 
> Barn, hopefully with a RSS feed of recent topics appearing on the 
> links page. (If you prefer receiving new postings by e-mail, that 
> will be possible, though I haven't figured out if you'll be able to 
> post by e-mail.)

If it were up to me, I'd say just fire up an NNTP server and let 
people post with newsreaders. Or alternatively, just use web message-
board software. Lots of that software is out there as open source. 
Then again, "me" has quite a few years of UNIX and Linux sysadmin and 
security experience and isn't necessarily as reliant on prepackaged 
solution as someone else might be. I also don't know what the 
particular server circumstances are.

In any event, ditching the Yahoo Groups forum would be good. Tvbarn2 
is really the only reason I keep a Yahoo ID. I hate Yahoo's e-mail 
service and its totally ineffectual filtering non-capabilities. (So 
if you want to contact me, use the hotmail address: 
markrobt@h...) Combined with my general lack of interest in TV 
programming, the Yahoo Groups interface discourages me from 
participating. I don't know whether a MetaFilter style interface is 
the best solution either: I find it too hard to follow discussion 
threads in MetaFilter.

So, tardily, some perspectives from an occasional participant ....

Mark Roberts
markrobt@h...
##

From: markrobt  <markrobt@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 6:22pm
Subject: Geri Gosa (KCTV)

About the Saturday KC Star story...

It looks like Wendell Anschutz and Stan Cramer and all the other 
people who made KCTV what it was knew when to get out. Is Geri Gosa 
the last one?

I was in Missouri in July and spent one night in KC. I saw what has 
become of KCTV/5 news. It's as if one's favorite high-school English 
teacher had become desperate for money and turned instead to shaking 
the money-maker after midnight at 36th & Main.

Kansas City has been a market where change happens very slowly, even 
despite the 1994 affiliation switch. I wonder if the KCTV Whiz Kids 
realize that. WDAF/4 and KMBC/9 don't act or appear much different 
from when I lived in Kansas City. And I left six years ago this 
autumn.

Then again, I'm not in my 30s any more, so if I still lived in Kansas 
City, I'm sure the KCTV Whiz Kids would have me consigned to the 
Soylent Green factory as far as their spreadsheets were concerned....

Mark Roberts
markrobt@h...

From: davenportias  <WesMcGee@cox.net>
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 11:34pm
Subject: To answer Mark Jeffries... (Was Re: John Kass)

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:
> > Aaron blogs:
> > With this column, John Kass has cemented his claim to being America's
> > greatest daily newspaper columnist. Well, certainly Chicago's. At any
> > rate, I'm in awe. 
> > 
> > Anyone care to summarize? I refuse to register for the 
> > Chicago Tribune. I
> > much prefer the WashPost's quick gender/age/zip code thingie 
> > to filling
> > out yet another form.
> 
> It was a column about a crime victim in Chicago.
> 
> Does anyone know how Rosemeneko and the tvtattle.com finds Chicago
Tribune
> articles on the LA Times web site and puts them up without having to go
> through registration?
> 
> Mark Jeffries

It looks like the same trick I use to get around WashingtonPost.com's
registration pop-up, change the directory filepath to the article.

For example, to reach the
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fi-trade31aug31.story
story on LATimes, replace everything between "www.latimes.com" and the
filename of the story (which is "la-fi-trade31aug31.story") with
"/news/custom/showcase/"
The new URL
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-fi-trade31aug31.story
opens up the story without asking you to register.

(Or as I found out later, you can just delete everything but
http://www.latimes.com/la-fi-trade31aug31.story and still get to the
story.)

Likewise, on WashingtonPost.com to get to this story
http://www.wpni.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21501-2002Aug31.html
delete the .html extention at the end of the URL and replace the
"/wp-dyn/articles/" with "/ac2/wp-dyn/"
The link you get http://www.wpni.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A21501-2002Aug31 won't
ask you for your age and zipcode.

(WPNI stands for Washington Post-Newsweek Interactive, the guys who
run the Post website, as well as the old Newsweek website, before
MSNBC took over web duties. It's easier for me to type wpni.com than
washingtonpost.com

--Wesley McGee

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sat Aug 31, 2002 8:34pm
Subject: TVLanguish...

Found a used Robert Schimmel CD at the local shop today which got me 
thinking. Not to take attention away from TeeVee's annual TVDeadpool, but any 
one got any picks for the TV show on the fall schedule that will never ever 
be broadcast?

In the grand tradition of "Schimmel," "Rewind," "Manchester Prep" (AKA "Cruel 
Intentions 2") ... gee, and all pre-cancelled by Fox... 





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: jdinan8271  <jdinan8271@aol.com>
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 2:56am
Subject: Re: TVLanguish...

--- In tvbarn2@y..., tomalhe@a... wrote:
> Found a used Robert Schimmel CD at the local shop today which got 
me 
> thinking. Not to take attention away from TeeVee's annual 
TVDeadpool, but any 
> one got any picks for the TV show on the fall schedule that will 
never ever 
> be broadcast?
> 
> In the grand tradition of "Schimmel," "Rewind," "Manchester Prep" 
(AKA "Cruel 
> Intentions 2") ... gee, and all pre-cancelled by Fox... 
> 
> 
> 
      Given that its premiere date (last I checked) remains up in the 
air, it has an awful time slot (slated against CSI and Will and 
Grace) and there has been little, if any, promotion for this show, I 
have a funny feeling that Septuplets (FOX) may not see the light of 
day.  Which is too bad, since I have the show on a friend's TV Dead 
Pool :P

      Speaking of TV Dead Pools, is it me, or has it been tougher to 
pick Dead Pool shows for this upcoming season than in the last 2-3 
years?  I have yet to hear any Emeril/Michael Richards Show/Bob 
Patterson "show from h*ll" leaks coming out from any of the new fall 
shows.

      James Dinan

      2000-01 Allison LaPlaca Open TV Dead Pool Champion

      
      



> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: aaronbarnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 8:17am
Subject: Re: Geri Gosa (KCTV)

Liana Joyce, who has worked at Ch. 5 LONGER than Geri did, is 
still there (she worked in the office for a while so has only been 
on-air 28 years, as Geri was quick to point  out).

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "markrobt" <markrobt@y...> wrote:
> About the Saturday KC Star story...
> 
> It looks like Wendell Anschutz and Stan Cramer and all the 
other 
> people who made KCTV what it was knew when to get out. Is 
Geri Gosa 
> the last one?

From: aaronbarnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 8:34am
Subject: Re: TV Barn home page suggestions

Not tardy at all, Mark.  The real challenge is to strengthen the 
strengths of this sites while purging the weaknesses. The 
strengths, as you and others have been pointing out, include my 
voice, the community voice, links-by-the-yard, TV critics, links to 
the Star and searchability. I don't plan on getting rid of any of 
these. I hope to make them better. For instance, this morning 
Patrick at IWantMedia e-mailed me for a permalink to my Blog 
entry regarding SIExtra. Didn't have one, said I -- but I will soon!

However, regarding the community voice, I just don't see how 
you both keep it on the front page and avoid clutter.  Especially if 
you're merging Blog and tvbarn2, which is an imperative of the 
redesign.  I've determined that you have  to give the community 
its own page, otherwise you'll have too much clutter on page 
one. And clutter really works against a site like mine because, 
ultimately, it's not a portal.  It's a personal site and it needs to 
have personality.  And right now page one looks just a little too, I 
dunno, Yahooish for my taste. Plus, it's just a really huge page.

One of the reasons Slashcode is so appealing (other than it's 
free and I can run it on-site) is that it allows people to either post 
long missives, like they do on The Blog, or dash off a line, as 
often happens on tvbarn2.  Slashcode is the closest thing to 
"salon" software that was developed in the pre-Web days and 
still lives on in such communities as the WELL and Echo. It's 
always been my  favorite software for unmediated, informal 
conversation online, but it wasn't until I started experimenting 
with Yahoo Groups and Blogger that I really appreciated what it 
can do. 

Perhaps Slash's most underrated feature is its permalink -- 
where it links not only to the comment but also the thread starter 
so you can grasp the context of the comment. That's what 
outsiders need to have when following a permalink, and I hope it 
encourages people to dive in to our discussions at tvb.

So to summarize, in this redesign I am moving the elements 
around AND merging the two reader communities into one that 
is located on-site and more accessible. 


--- In tvbarn2@y..., "markrobt" <markrobt@y...> wrote:
> --- In tvbarn2@y..., "aaronbarnhart" <aaron@t...> wrote:
> > 
> > The philosophical shift, which overshadows any technical fix, 
is 
> > returning TV Barn to its roots as a Web site with a single, 
strong 
> > editorial voice, i.e., mine.  I've been reluctant to press ahead 
> with 
> > this, because I have enjoyed and benefited tremendously 
from 
> > the contributions of Tom Heald, Mark Jeffries, Steve Rhodes, 
> > Paul Murray, Wes McGee, Zen Mondatta and others who have 
> > posted to The Blog and The Sidebar in the past year.
> 
> For what it's worth ... and maybe it's not much ... one of the 
things 
> that I have most appreciated about TV Barn is that there is 
> a "community voice" here. That's not just in the tvbarn2 group 
(about 
> which more shortly) but also on the main page. I think you may 
be 
> harder on yourself than you need to be. 
> 
> I think the last redesign, however, didn't work to TV Barn's 
> advantage. The "community" part of the home page, the 
left-hand 
> sidebar column, is too hard to read and extends much farther 
down the 
> page than the other two columns. This opinion isn't mean to 
negate 
> Aaron's contributions, because he is the glue holding it 
together and 
> that's important, but, for me, it worked much better when his 
> contributions appeared together with the other contributions. It 
> reinforced the "community voice". Unlike Enron, this was 
synergy that 
> worked and functioned well (in my opinion).
> 
> At the same time, I really like the way the new format calls out 
> stories in the Star. That's a reflection of my own personal 
history 
> as a former Kansas City resident and native Missourian.
> 
> I really like the links to other critics. Of course, newspaper sites 
> are getting increasingly difficult to link to. That's either 
> intentional or an accidental effect of increasingly nosy 
registration 
> requirements and an excessive reliance on cookies. The links 
to 
> Electronic Media weren't quite as useful ... they all linked to the 
> same page anyway ... and the links to teevee.org were flat-out 
> useless for me.
> 
> Now keep in mind that my own perspective is quite different 
from most 
> of the perspectives represented here. I'm far more interested in 
the 
> economic and technical aspects of the media than I am in 
most of the 
> content, with the exception of news and local programming. 
Network 
> programming hasn't interested me in years. So this probably 
isn't 
> going to be a "place" where I contribute regularly. Usenet is 
much 
> more suited to the profile of interests that I just described and, 
as 
> a few people here know, that's where I conduct most of my 
online 
> discussion.
> 
> > * The layout would revert to single-column with big, readable 
> > fonts and plenty of whitespace. I may incorporate tabs for 
easy 
> > navigation to the links and forum pages (see below).
> 
> I think this would be good, although if "tabs" are just more 
> graphical junk, I'd say ferget it.
>  
> > * I'm proposing shutting down tvbarn2 and creating a new 
forum 
> > on a separate page, modeled on MetaFilter, for any and all to 
> > post TV-related items and for readers to comment on those 
> > items. Though separate, the new forum would be linked to 
TV 
> > Barn, hopefully with a RSS feed of recent topics appearing on 
the 
> > links page. (If you prefer receiving new postings by e-mail, 
that 
> > will be possible, though I haven't figured out if you'll be able 
to 
> > post by e-mail.)
> 
> If it were up to me, I'd say just fire up an NNTP server and let 
> people post with newsreaders. Or alternatively, just use web 
message-
> board software. Lots of that software is out there as open 
source. 
> Then again, "me" has quite a few years of UNIX and Linux 
sysadmin and 
> security experience and isn't necessarily as reliant on 
prepackaged 
> solution as someone else might be. I also don't know what the 
> particular server circumstances are.
> 
> In any event, ditching the Yahoo Groups forum would be good. 
Tvbarn2 
> is really the only reason I keep a Yahoo ID. I hate Yahoo's 
e-mail 
> service and its totally ineffectual filtering non-capabilities. (So 
> if you want to contact me, use the hotmail address: 
> markrobt@h...) Combined with my general lack of interest in TV 
> programming, the Yahoo Groups interface discourages me 
from 
> participating. I don't know whether a MetaFilter style interface is 
> the best solution either: I find it too hard to follow discussion 
> threads in MetaFilter.
> 
> So, tardily, some perspectives from an occasional participant 
....
> 
> Mark Roberts
> markrobt@h...
> ##

From: Tom Roche  <troche@mindspring.com>
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 3:12pm
Subject: Late post, late video

Catching up with a few TVB2 digests so I'm late in commenting on the look of the MTV awards. I had read in one of the TV trades that the show was going to be produced entirely in 1080i/24p and sure enough, that is exactly what it looked like. You've likely already seen plenty of 24p productions as a number of primetime shows are making the switch, not to mention George Lucas' latest projects, getting that film look without films costs.

But it was certainly the first time a big live show was done this way, and we may have to re-define what is the look of "live."

The HD cameras have a variety of preset "looks" and if they had wanted a crisper HD football game look they could have done so. After getting used to it I liked the softer look, esp when heavy production numbers had strong lights hitting the cameras; twas a cleaner look than standard resolution video capture. But there were sync problems.

Depending how the HD was downconverted they may have lost a fame of time, at least 1/30th of as second, which wont cause major lipsync issues. But they may also have lost another frame converting from 24fps to 30fps, which results in 1/15th second lag of video behind audio, and that is noticeable. There are black box audio delay units where you just dial in the delay needed that PAL>NTSC units have used for years... they could have used one retard the sound as the pix was delayed but clearly they did not.

The first few nights that Leno went to HD there were the same audio sync issues on the SD transmission, but NBC fixed it quick.




tom r

From: PGage@AOL.COM
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 1:13pm
Subject: Re: Late post, late video

In a message dated 9/1/2002 1:14:44 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
troche@m... writes:


> Catching up with a few TVB2 digests so I'm late in commenting on the look of 
> the MTV awards. I had read in one of the TV trades that the show was going 
> to be produced entirely in 1080i/24p and sure enough, that is exactly what 
> it looked like. You've likely already seen plenty of 24p productions as a 
> number of primetime shows are making the switch, not to mention George 
> Lucas' latest projects, getting that film look without films costs.
> 
> But it was certainly the first time a big live show was done this way, and 
> we may have to re-define what is the look of "live."
> 
> The HD cameras have a variety of preset "looks" and if they had wanted a 
> crisper HD football game look they could have done so. After getting used 
> to it I liked the softer look, esp when heavy production numbers had strong 
> lights hitting the cameras; twas a cleaner look than standard resolution 
> video capture. But there were sync problems.

PGage writes...
You really liked it? I thought I was watching the show through the viewfinder 
of my digital video camera -- but I don't watch MTV usually and I figured 
that must be how the kinds like it.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: markrobt  <markrobt@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 11:03pm
Subject: Re: TV Barn home page suggestions

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "aaronbarnhart" <aaron@t...> wrote:

> However, regarding the community voice, I just don't see how 
> you both keep it on the front page and avoid clutter.  Especially
if 
> you're merging Blog and tvbarn2, which is an imperative of the 
> redesign.  I've determined that you have  to give the community 
> its own page, otherwise you'll have too much clutter on page 
> one. And clutter really works against a site like mine because, 
> ultimately, it's not a portal.  It's a personal site and it needs
to 
> have personality.  And right now page one looks just a little too,
I 
> dunno, Yahooish for my taste. Plus, it's just a really huge page.

I'll try to be less wordy in this response ... I see your point, and
hope you can "glue" what appear to be two missions that are
complementary yet apparently somewhat difficult to package together.

[tech warning...tech warning....]
I never have used Slashcode before, so can't speak to any experiences.
The whole "web services" set of mantras just leaves me cold generally:
it's as if it's an attempt to create a double application layer of the
IP stack by jamming everything through one TCP network port when there
are up 65,000-some perfectly good other network ports available.
[end tech warning....]

In any case, the fact that TV Barn exists shows more imagination than
I'm seeing out of a lot of the rest of the traditional media ... so if
you can make it even better ... tremendo!

From: markrobt  <markrobt@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 11:14pm
Subject: Weather stuff

I think there are some other weather aficionados hanging out here, so,
while tardy, there is some sad news.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported last week that longtime WMT-TV
meteorologist Conrad Johnson died in Florida from head injuries
suffered in a bicycling accident. He was 84.

Johnson began his career at KTIV in Sioux City in 1952, moving to WMT
(now KGAN-TV) in 1957, staying there until his retirement in 1979.

Johnson is believed to be the first TV weathercaster west of the
Mississippi to employ a radar unit.

I remember Johnson from my childhood in Iowa. No-nonsense, to the
point, informative without getting lost in details ... he treated
weather with the respect it deserves (especially in Iowa!)

Dave Towne, whom Johnson hired, is still the chief meteorologist at
the station and has posted some remembrances at the Iowa Media Message
Board, http://128.242.106.102/boards/iowa/index.cgi?read=1360 

Mark Roberts
markrobt@h...

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sun Sep 1, 2002 8:26pm
Subject: Re: Re: TV Barn home page suggestions

>In any case, the fact that TV Barn exists shows more imagination than
>I'm seeing out of a lot of the rest of the traditional media ... so if
>

Well, from Anna Nicole and Full Moon Fright to the Simpsons and Soporanos, we 
just love television as an art form more than other sites...  


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: timko_steve  <timko_steve@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 0:34am
Subject: Future of local TV -- infomercials?

The week after the NBA season ended, I turned on my TV set one Sunday
morning and the same infomercial was running across five TV stations.
I don't usually watch much local TV on weekends. I tape Letterman
during the week and then watch them when I have free time. Still, it
seemed ridiculous that so many stations would be show infomercials at
the same time, let alone the same infomercial.
So this last week I ran into someone who works in local TV
advertising. I complained that informercials like that are going to
drive me to finally get satellite TV. I'm one of the 18 percent of the
country that currently only gets broadcast stations.
The guy surprised me by saying that cable TV already outdraws local
stations on Sunday morning and afternoon for shows that are not
produced by the network (reruns, syndication) and a few shows that are
network produced. In other words, unless it's a news show or
established sports, many cable channels gets better ratings, at least
in demographics.
He said the informercials don't make money for the station, they just
mean the station loses less money. TV ad buyers have become very
sosphicated and the TV station has a harder time pawning off ads in
marginal hours where there's no clear demographic.
He said cable and the home video market is chewing more and more into
the hours of marginal ratings and informercials are going to pop up in
more and more places, including possibly taking a half-hour slot now
occupied by local news on week days.
I don't know if he was being alarmist or actually telling the truth.
My TV market doesn't crack the Top 100. There's plenty of people here
who know a lot about TV. I'm wondering if others in smaller TV markets
have the same deterioration and if anyone sees informercials spreading
to the periphery of prime time?

From: Keith Privett  <Keith@PRIVETT.COM>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 1:55am
Subject: Re: Future of local TV -- infomercials?

Its not just small markets, Steve. WBBM/CBS2 (O&O) in Chicago seems to run
infomercials late Saturday Afternoons until sports programming is ready, and in
the overnights (vs. NBC Leno/Conan reruns and ABC World News Now)
They've even run the occasional religionfomercial at 6pm, pre-empting Hollywood
Squares...

Seein the same infomercial on multiple channels reminds me of what I see when
vacationing in Toronto. By 12:30 or so you've got a bunch of regular or cable
channels running one of three of what seem like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
videos, all advertising for 1-900-chat lines. No sales pitch, no "pick up and
call" just frolicking bikini babes and a chryroned phone number.

--- timko_steve <timko_steve@y...> wrote:
> The week after the NBA season ended, I turned on my TV set one Sunday
> morning and the same infomercial was running across five TV stations.
> I don't usually watch much local TV on weekends. I tape Letterman
> during the week and then watch them when I have free time. Still, it
> seemed ridiculous that so many stations would be show infomercials at
> the same time, let alone the same infomercial.
> So this last week I ran into someone who works in local TV
> advertising. I complained that informercials like that are going to
> drive me to finally get satellite TV. I'm one of the 18 percent of the
> country that currently only gets broadcast stations.
> The guy surprised me by saying that cable TV already outdraws local
> stations on Sunday morning and afternoon for shows that are not
> produced by the network (reruns, syndication) and a few shows that are
> network produced. In other words, unless it's a news show or
> established sports, many cable channels gets better ratings, at least
> in demographics.
> He said the informercials don't make money for the station, they just
> mean the station loses less money. TV ad buyers have become very
> sosphicated and the TV station has a harder time pawning off ads in
> marginal hours where there's no clear demographic.
> He said cable and the home video market is chewing more and more into
> the hours of marginal ratings and informercials are going to pop up in
> more and more places, including possibly taking a half-hour slot now
> occupied by local news on week days.
> I don't know if he was being alarmist or actually telling the truth.
> My TV market doesn't crack the Top 100. There's plenty of people here
> who know a lot about TV. I'm wondering if others in smaller TV markets
> have the same deterioration and if anyone sees informercials spreading
> to the periphery of prime time?

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com

From: barnburner2003  <barnburner2003@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 7:40am
Subject: TV nets to exploit 9-11

I'm not so sure Sept. 11 needs any special observances since Pearl 
Harbor never had an official "day." These memorials sometimes only 
serve to give publicity to the attackers.

On Sept. 11, I won't watch live TV. I may use my TV set for recorded 
VHS tapes or DVDs. I won't watch the exploitative "coverage" the 
networks plan for Sept. 11. We can remember that horrible day in 
other, more dignified ways. What the TV networks have planned smacks 
of crass commercialism and pseudo-patriotism. It is no better than 
the cheap 9-11 merchandise in the stores which makes a mockery of 
that tragic day.

In recent weeks, as reported by AP, a film called "Osama Bin Laden" 
has been shown to huge outdoor crowds throughout the Muslim world. 
The film shows the attacks on the World Trade Center and arouses 
cheers from the crowds. 

Sept. 11, 2003 should be just another day on TV. Osama and his 
followers don't need any more encouragement from American 
broadcasters.

From: TelevisonGrl@aol.com
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 5:34am
Subject: Re: TVLanguish...

In a message dated 9/1/2002 1:34:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, tomalhe@a... 
writes:


> In the grand tradition of "Schimmel," "Rewind," "Manchester Prep" (AKA 
> "Cruel 
> Intentions 2") ... gee, and all pre-cancelled by Fox... 


I thought production on "Schimmel" as stopped when he got sick again.

TVG


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: TelevisonGrl@aol.com
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 5:44am
Subject: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

In a message dated 9/2/2002 8:40:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
barnburner2003@y... writes:


> In recent weeks, as reported by AP, a film called "Osama Bin Laden" 
> has been shown to huge outdoor crowds throughout the Muslim world. 
> The film shows the attacks on the World Trade Center and arouses 
> cheers from the crowds. 


This is really more of a reflection of the people and the hate they've been 
taught.


In a message dated 9/2/2002 8:40:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
barnburner2003@y... writes:


> We can remember that horrible day in 
> other, more dignified ways. What the TV networks have planned smacks 
> of crass commercialism and pseudo-patriotism. It is no better than 
> the cheap 9-11 merchandise in the stores which makes a mockery of 
> that tragic day.


What I've seen from the networks seems reasonable.  Coverage of the memorial 
services, video packages of the day and what's happened since, CBS is 
rerunning the "9-11" documentary, NBC is broadcasting a concert in DC.  The 
planned programming is mostly sponsored by one advertiser and any news events 
will likely run without ad breaks.

This is hardly Super Bowl coverage in its crash commercialism feel.

BTW -- your e-mail addy...Is that you BFWhalen?

TVG


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Jeremy DeStefano  <jsd1122@optonline.net>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 9:57am
Subject: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

Gee, "abarnhartjr" gets booted...."barnburner2003" comes in starting inflammatory threads?  Hmmm....


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: markrobt  <markrobt@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 1:18pm
Subject: Re: Future of local TV -- infomercials?

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "timko_steve" <timko_steve@y...> wrote:
> My TV market doesn't crack the Top 100. There's plenty of people here
> who know a lot about TV. I'm wondering if others in smaller TV markets
> have the same deterioration and if anyone sees informercials spreading
> to the periphery of prime time?

This isn't a small market, but maybe this relevant. Until recently,
the San Francisco market had a TV station that broadcast programs
entirely in paid blocks of time ... infomercials, preachers, even
Amnesty International. KTNC/42 recently switched over to Mexican
programming from TV Azteca, but it can't leave its heritage behind
entirely ... I've noticed informercials and the Mexican equivalent of
900 numbers on there, even in prime time.

And, joys of joys, KTNC enjoys must-carry status in BOTH the San
Francisco and Sacramento markets owing to a combination of its city of
license (Concord) and its transmitter location high atop Mount Diablo.
For a while, I thought KTNC was being useful with rebroadcasting TV
Azteca newscasts from Mexico City. But they've cut back sharply on
those newscasts.

I've also seen an increasing number of informercials on KRON/4, whose
circumstances as an ex-NBC-affiliate are somewhat unique. Fortunately,
the quality of KRON's news programming still seems to be holding up OK.

Mark Roberts
markrobt@h...

From: barnburner2003  <barnburner2003@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 1:40pm
Subject: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

I don't know what you're talking about. This is a legitimate issue 
about TV for Sept. 11 and warrants discussion. It is not 
an "inflammatory thread." If people are getting "booted" for talking 
about how TV manipulates the news, then maybe this site isn't worthy 
of our participation.
__________________________________

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeremy DeStefano" <jsd1122@o...> wrote:
> Gee, "abarnhartjr" gets booted...."barnburner2003" comes in 
starting inflammatory threads?  Hmmm....
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: barnburner2003  <barnburner2003@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 1:44pm
Subject: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

It is interesting how Americans are so tolerant of the news 
merchants. I don't know a BFWhalen.







--- In tvbarn2@y..., TelevisonGrl@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 9/2/2002 8:40:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> barnburner2003@y... writes:
> 
> 
> > In recent weeks, as reported by AP, a film called "Osama Bin 
Laden" 
> > has been shown to huge outdoor crowds throughout the Muslim 
world. 
> > The film shows the attacks on the World Trade Center and arouses 
> > cheers from the crowds. 
> 
> 
> This is really more of a reflection of the people and the hate 
they've been 
> taught.
> 
> 
> In a message dated 9/2/2002 8:40:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> barnburner2003@y... writes:
> 
> 
> > We can remember that horrible day in 
> > other, more dignified ways. What the TV networks have planned 
smacks 
> > of crass commercialism and pseudo-patriotism. It is no better 
than 
> > the cheap 9-11 merchandise in the stores which makes a mockery of 
> > that tragic day.
> 
> 
> What I've seen from the networks seems reasonable.  Coverage of the 
memorial 
> services, video packages of the day and what's happened since, CBS 
is 
> rerunning the "9-11" documentary, NBC is broadcasting a concert in 
DC.  The 
> planned programming is mostly sponsored by one advertiser and any 
news events 
> will likely run without ad breaks.
> 
> This is hardly Super Bowl coverage in its crash commercialism feel.
> 
> BTW -- your e-mail addy...Is that you BFWhalen?
> 
> TVG
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Keith Privett  <Keith@PRIVETT.COM>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 3:01pm
Subject: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

Interestingly, I am going to watch some of PBS's pre-9/11 shows (as advertised
in a TiVo showcase), such as a National Geographic on U.S. Ambassadors. 

But as a matter of personal preference, I'm going to pass on most of the day of
coverage... which even includes ESPN networks documentaries on the NYPD fire
department. TCM is running a lot of Hepburn-Tracy movies that day.

Over all, the daytime coverage of memorial events seems newsworthy apropos, as
do the HGTV-family of networks signing off briefly.  But I get the sense that
most networks feel that running anything else is what would seem unpatriotic
tasteless. The block against "commercialism" claims is that it's been notably
difficult to find sponsorship for such programming. 

--- barnburner2003 <barnburner2003@y...> wrote:
> I'm not so sure Sept. 11 needs any special observances since Pearl 
> Harbor never had an official "day." These memorials sometimes only 
> serve to give publicity to the attackers.
> 
> On Sept. 11, I won't watch live TV. I may use my TV set for recorded 
> VHS tapes or DVDs. I won't watch the exploitative "coverage" the 
> networks plan for Sept. 11. We can remember that horrible day in 
> other, more dignified ways. What the TV networks have planned smacks 
> of crass commercialism and pseudo-patriotism. It is no better than 
> the cheap 9-11 merchandise in the stores which makes a mockery of 
> that tragic day.
> 
> In recent weeks, as reported by AP, a film called "Osama Bin Laden" 
> has been shown to huge outdoor crowds throughout the Muslim world. 
> The film shows the attacks on the World Trade Center and arouses 
> cheers from the crowds. 
> 
> Sept. 11, 2003 should be just another day on TV. Osama and his 
> followers don't need any more encouragement from American 
> broadcasters. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> TVBarn2: We're talking TV.
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvbarn2/messages
> Goodbye: tvbarn2-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>  
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 
> 
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 11:36am
Subject: Re: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

>I don't know what you're talking about. This is a legitimate issue 
>about TV for Sept. 11 and warrants discussion. 

Good thing you lurked for a good while to get a sense of what the list is 
talking about. It's been cartoon characters, website coding and serving, and 
canceled TV shows. If you're fatigued by 9/11, maybe everyone else is as 
well.   

There was actually a very good article in USA Today a week back 
<http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2002/2002-08-22-backlash.htm> which not 
only managed to address planned media coverage, it actually did so in a well 
written manner without blaming some sort of evil media conspiracy. (Since, of 
course, USA Today is probably in on it.)

Interesting was a quote from Tom Brokaw, who thinks it's necessary to do a 
whopping 14 hours of 9/11 coverage "to remind everyone what we went through a 
year ago. Across the country, my own strong impression is that there has been 
a kind of drifting away, if you will, emotionally and intellectually."  
    
That's would actually seem a very pro-war sentiment that would seem the 
opposite of your claim that coverage will "benefit the attackers." 
Exceptionally overblown network coverage (from the conservatively financed 
NBC/Fox, CBS, etc.) would, I'd think, be wanted by the Bush Administration to 
stir up anger which just is not there among either Americans or our allies 
for another war with Iraq (a move which professional surrealists like Rush 
Limbaugh think should be launched ON 9/11/02).

>> an "inflammatory thread." If people are getting "booted" for 
> talking 
> >about how TV manipulates the news, then maybe this site isn't worthy 
> >

There are perhaps other more-political lists or talk radio shows where like 
minded anger can be found. If not, start your own. I've likely said more than 
I will on this topic in response to you. If you expect a mass response from 
the Barnyard, you might not get one. Just kinda sucks if nobody pays 
attention to a lone voice int eh wilderness. No meanspiritedness intended, 
just a cruel fact of life, (like MTV's vile "I Bet You Will" game show).

As for getting "booted," generally, it's one particular person who keeps 
repeatedly pestering the group and its founder with a series of particularly 
boring anti-media monologues. I believe we've actually discussed media 
manipulation quite a bit in the last few years of TVBarn. Since we're perhaps 
part of the conspiracy, too. 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 5:32pm
Subject: Re: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

At 04:36 PM 9/2/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>I believe we've actually discussed media
>manipulation quite a bit in the last few years of TVBarn. Since we're perhaps
>part of the conspiracy, too.

I know I am.  I just got my "part of the conspiracy" lapel pin in the mail 
last week after my all night hazing by Cronkite.


KJB
Editor, Backstage Pass
http://www.backstage-pass.com
Film Writer, FilmForce.Net
http://filmforce.ign.com

From: stupidfantricks  <stupidfantricks@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 4:39pm
Subject: Letterman's Political Affiliation (AH HA!)

We all were talking about Dave's politics not so long ago, and I saw 
this post at alt.fan.letterman, and thought I would post it here, it 
is an excerpt from Sarah Vowell's new book.

The excerpt is
from a letter she wrote to deceased Congressman Synar of Oklahoma on 
the eve of
the 2000 election concerning her attitude toward civic 
responsibility. 

Dear Dead Congressman

....On Monday, September 25, I was watching the David Letterman show 
and
something happened I'll remember for the rest of my life. The day 
before, the
Sunday _New York Times_ magazine ran a story about how television 
comics are
influencing the coming election. The article quoted a former 
Letterman writer
who called Letterman a "non-voting Republican." To me, that phrase 
stuck out,
for three reasons. The first reason is that I am extremely partisan, 
a capital
_D_ Democrat, and I'm always on the lookout for which of my heroes 
might be
Republican. (Though I would say of Letterman what I always say about 
Frank
Sinatra--his work doesn't make you _feel_ like a Republican.) Second, 
as a
regular Letterman viewer, I knew that earlier this year he was called 
for jury
duty in Connecticut because he talked about jury duty every damn 
night for
weeks. And how do you get called for jury duty? By registering to 
vote. So
"non-voting Republican" sounded fishy, but scoffing at the _New York 
Times'_
mistakes is a morning ritual, like oatmeal. Finally, the phrase "non-
voting
Republican" stuck out because that is how one might describe Dick 
Cheney, who
responded to press attacks that he didn't vote in local elections by 
saying he
was more focused on "global concerns." Which I think is a polite way 
of saying
he was out of town on the corporate payroll sticking it to foreigners 
and
couldn't be bothered with what his running mate might rhapsodize 
as "local
control." 

Anyway, Letterman. I wish you could have seen him. This presidential 
election
has been so weirdly down-to-earth, so issue-oriented, that 
Letterman's tirade
was maybe the only moment of true over-the-top grandeur of the whole 
campaign.
Letterman brought up the _Times_ magazine article, said it was about 
politcal
humor, and stated that it characterized him as a non-voting 
Republican. "When I
heard this," he said, "frankly I was insulted." He recalled voting in 
1968:
"That was my first election. We had an ugly, awful war going on. It's 
not an
election about who's banging interns." He mentioned he also voted in 
1972 and
then spent the rest of the seventies abstaining, because those were 
his
"cocktail waitress days." For this he was embarrassed, confessing, "I 
realize
that that was an irresponsible way to live. I straightened myself up. 
I come
here, I'm living in New Canaan, Connecticut, so I registered to 
vote." To
corroborate this, he called up the registrar of voters in New Canaan, 
a man
named George, who confirmed that Letterman has voted in every 
election since at
least 1988. "Prior to 1988, they don't know," Letterman continued, 
because
previous records are kept in a vault somewhere and "they're scared. 
They don't
want to go down there." He laid out his evidence as though testifying,
concluding, "So I think I've established, Your Honor, I do vote."

I don't know if I'm capturing the intensity of this, of the sheer 
civic thrill
of watching someone so clearly offended by being called a nonvoter, 
as if
_nonvoter_ is some kind of curse word, a slanderous insult he 
couldn't not
refute. His outrage was so--there's no other word for it--righteous. 
I was
touched. The litany closed like an old-fashioned oration. Thus saith 
the talk
show host, "I believe I have voted for both Democrats and 
Republicans. Am I
either one? Absolutely not. Ladies and gentlemen, I am an American." 
At which
point, I, in my living room, clapped....

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 4:40pm
Subject: Goodbye, Aaron Barnhart!

http://caroline.warnerbros.com/popup/goodbye/index.html


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: aaronbarnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 10:21pm
Subject: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

OK, folks, let it rest.  If the poster is BFWhalen, so what? And if he 
isn't, then he's managed to disrupt this newsgroup in his 
ABSENCE, which is really quite a neat trick.

If someone's being a jerk, you have two choices: ignore them or 
else engage them as if they really believed in what they're saying 
(i.e., they aren't just posting to rile others).  Remember, a lot of 
people post messages as if they had the Caps Lock key on. 
Adjust for their lack of subtlety and give 'em a break.  If they truly 
are jerks, that's not your business anyway -- they'll go away soon 
enough.

Anyway, the poster has a point about 9/11 overkill and I haven't 
exactly seen it chewed over to excess in this group.


--- In tvbarn2@y..., "barnburner2003" <barnburner2003@y...> 
wrote:
> It is interesting how Americans are so tolerant of the news 
> merchants. I don't know a BFWhalen.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --- In tvbarn2@y..., TelevisonGrl@a... wrote:
> > In a message dated 9/2/2002 8:40:58 AM Eastern Daylight 
Time, 
> > barnburner2003@y... writes:
> > 
> > 
> > > In recent weeks, as reported by AP, a film called "Osama 
Bin 
> Laden" 
> > > has been shown to huge outdoor crowds throughout the 
Muslim 
> world. 
> > > The film shows the attacks on the World Trade Center and 
arouses 
> > > cheers from the crowds. 
> > 
> > 
> > This is really more of a reflection of the people and the hate 
> they've been 
> > taught.
> > 
> > 
> > In a message dated 9/2/2002 8:40:58 AM Eastern Daylight 
Time, 
> > barnburner2003@y... writes:
> > 
> > 
> > > We can remember that horrible day in 
> > > other, more dignified ways. What the TV networks have 
planned 
> smacks 
> > > of crass commercialism and pseudo-patriotism. It is no 
better 
> than 
> > > the cheap 9-11 merchandise in the stores which makes a 
mockery of 
> > > that tragic day.
> > 
> > 
> > What I've seen from the networks seems reasonable.  
Coverage of the 
> memorial 
> > services, video packages of the day and what's happened 
since, CBS 
> is 
> > rerunning the "9-11" documentary, NBC is broadcasting a 
concert in 
> DC.  The 
> > planned programming is mostly sponsored by one 
advertiser and any 
> news events 
> > will likely run without ad breaks.
> > 
> > This is hardly Super Bowl coverage in its crash 
commercialism feel.
> > 
> > BTW -- your e-mail addy...Is that you BFWhalen?
> > 
> > TVG
> > 
> > 
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: PGage@AOL.COM
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 7:43pm
Subject: Hey Lady....

PGage writes...
Can anyone shed some light on the dynamics of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon? 
When I was an old kid/young teenager I actually used to try and stay up all 
night to watch it (this year I stayed up all night with my two kids to watch 
"24" -- do we get a T-shirt)? In those days the show had what you might call 
the "Sammy Davis Jr" factor going for it, plus it was just about the only 
thing on TV at 3:00 in the morning. But sometime after watching the first or 
second episode of the first season of Saturday Night Live, the unctuous, 
self-congratulatory hyper sentimentality of MDA lost even its marginal 
appear, and I don't think I have seen more than 10 minutes of it since.

This year, during commercials of "24" I switched to MDA, and was amazed to 
see that the show had traded in its faux-Vegas aroma for a Branson smell -- 
at least during the portions that I sampled most often, dominated by Andy 
Williams (is he really still alive?) Yakov Smirnov and the Oakridge Boys. Can 
the ratings of MDA be anywhere close to what they were back in the day? There 
are so many more alternatives (I actually watched MDA over WGN, even though I 
live near San Francisco), and so many of them are so much better, and what is 
on MDA seems so much worse even than it used to be. And I am not even getting 
into the self-pity debate, but thinking mostly about the pure entertainment  
value of the show.

All this got me to thinking (one finds quite a bit of time to think during a 
"24" marathon, but it was good quality time with the kids) how something like 
MDA actually makes its money. Assuming viewership is lower than it used to 
be, how does one account for the yearly record setting (over 58 million 
dollars I believe this year)? I have never given this much thought, but it 
seems obvious that the large fraction of this money must come from corporate 
donations and not those five and ten dollar donations I remember them talking 
so much about (the denominations must be a little large these days). If this 
is true, then the function of the telethon is actually to provide commercial 
time for the corporate sponsorship as a kind of compensation. Do the TV 
stations charge for the airtime? If they don't, or if they provide it at 
significant discount, then why not just have a "marathon" type program - 
Mission Impossible, Columbo or Rockford Files would be my preference, but if 
it must be variety, then why not reruns of Carol Burnett or even (God forgive 
me) Sonny & Cher?) and have 5 minutes of acknowledgment time every half hour 
for corporate sponsors? Seems like it would be a lot less work and generate a 
lot more eyeballs.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: PGage@AOL.COM
Date: Mon Sep 2, 2002 7:46pm
Subject: Law & Order Blues

PGage writes...
Was my Direct TV Program Guide misleading me, or did A&E really show *True 
Lies* Sunday Night? Between movies like that and re-runs of The View I may 
have trouble telling A&E apart from USA (Oh, right - USA is the one that has 
things like US Open Tennis).




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Anthony Foglia  <afoglia@physics.ucsb.edu>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 0:36am
Subject: Re: Law & Order Blues

On Tue, 3 Sep 2002 PGage@A... wrote:

> Was my Direct TV Program Guide misleading me, or did A&E really show *True 
> Lies* Sunday Night? Between movies like that and re-runs of The View I may 
> have trouble telling A&E apart from USA (Oh, right - USA is the one that has 
> things like US Open Tennis).

	Yes it was.  They showed in Monday night. :-)  I know what you 
mean though.  Next thing you know, Bravo will be showing "Speed."

	What?  They did?!

--Anthony

-------------------------------------------------------------------
"My brother's problem is the same problem that plagues all geniuses."
"Can't get a date?"
-- Francis Bolt and Ray Vecchio; Due South; "Red, White, or Blue"

From: Jeremy DeStefano  <jsd1122@optonline.net>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 5:57am
Subject: Re: Hey Lady....

The one thing I know MDA always drills is that corporate money is NOT included
in the "tote board."  That's all phoned-in money.  What I don't know however is
the growth rate of the board vs. inflation.

From: aaronbarnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 7:48am
Subject: Re: Hey Lady....

Labor Day weekend is about as dead a week as there is in 
commercial television. Summer season's over, fall hasn't 
started, and people are out of doors because the weather is 
usually great everywhere.

Broadcast stations need to show a certain amount of community 
service, at least theoretically they do, so giving away 22 hours or 
so of commercial time during a period when they stand to lose 
less revenue than at any other period ... well, ratings or no 
ratings, it makes sense to some broadcasters.  In fact, two years 
ago KCTV actually swiped the MDA telethon from KMBC, where it 
had aired for 30 years. So obviously someone still finds it 
desirable.


--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeremy DeStefano" <jsd1122@o...> wrote:
> The one thing I know MDA always drills is that corporate money 
is NOT included
> in the "tote board."  That's all phoned-in money.  What I don't 
know however is
> the growth rate of the board vs. inflation.

From: Jon Delfin  <jondelfin@nyc.rr.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 11:38am
Subject: the new york times. yes, the new york times

The weekly TV schedule booklet from Sunday's New York Times has, among
the highlights for today, "Funny Girl, Act 2: In "The Caroline Rhea
Show," Ms. Rhea, the actress and stand-up comedian, takes over where
Rosie O'Donnell left off. 9:30 a.m. (9)" There's a nice photo. And the
Times is so impressed with the new show that it is also featured, with
the same photo, in today's paper.

Channel 9 here is WWOR, NY's UPN station. As far as I knew, the Rhea
show is airing on WABC after "Nightline Chang" and "Nightline Eng." And
per the listings, the "Caroline" at 9:30 on 9 runs only 30 minutes.

Yup, you're right. WWOR has "Caroline in the City" reruns at 9:30.

Also in today's newspaper, an ad for The Actors Studio Seminars ("Live!
Onstage! Unscripted! Unrehearsed! Unprecedented!"). Someday on Bravo,
you'll get to see James Lipton slobber over Pierce Brosnan, Martin
Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Edward Norton, Julianne Moore and ... The
Simpsons. I wonder how *that's* gonna work. (Must be Matt Groening isn't
considered famous enough by the Actors Studio marketers to be mentioned
by name.)

jd

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 0:41pm
Subject: RE: the new york times. yes, the new york times

> The weekly TV schedule booklet from Sunday's New York Times has, among
> the highlights for today, "Funny Girl, Act 2: In "The Caroline Rhea
> Show," Ms. Rhea, the actress and stand-up comedian, takes over where
> Rosie O'Donnell left off. 9:30 a.m. (9)" There's a nice photo. And the
> Times is so impressed with the new show that it is also featured, with
> the same photo, in today's paper.
> 
> Channel 9 here is WWOR, NY's UPN station. As far as I knew, the Rhea
> show is airing on WABC after "Nightline Chang" and "Nightline 
> Eng." And
> per the listings, the "Caroline" at 9:30 on 9 runs only 30 minutes.
> 
> Yup, you're right. WWOR has "Caroline in the City" reruns at 9:30.

Lea Thompson sure has gotten shorter, blonder and bustier all of a sudden.

> Also in today's newspaper, an ad for The Actors Studio 
> Seminars ("Live!
> Onstage! Unscripted! Unrehearsed! Unprecedented!"). Someday on Bravo,
> you'll get to see James Lipton slobber over Pierce Brosnan, Martin
> Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Edward Norton, Julianne Moore and ... The
> Simpsons. I wonder how *that's* gonna work. (Must be Matt 
> Groening isn't
> considered famous enough by the Actors Studio marketers to be 
> mentioned
> by name.)

LIPTON:  Homer, could you please talk to us about your craft.

HOMER:  I thought you said there were going to be doughnuts here.  I WANT
DOUGHNUTS!

BURNS (watching television):  Smithers, who is that blithering idiot on the
television?

SMITHERS:  James Lipton, sir...

BURNS:  No, the other one with the five o'clock shadow...

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Steve Rhodes  <srhodes@well.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 4:05pm
Subject: PBS Newshour on 9/11 coverage

The FAIR piece mentioned below is at

http://www.fair.org/press-releases/911-anniversary.html

MEDIA WATCH ALERT

September 3, 2002

*SEPT. 11'S IMPACT ON THE NEWS

With anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks fast approaching, news agencies
are preparing to cover commemorative events and reflect on the attacks'
impact on people in the United States. But is the American public
already oversaturated with Sept. 11 materials? One watch group, Fairness
and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), has charged that the news media -- in
preparing to "exploit America's grief"  -- have ignored important,
though less sentimental, stories, such as the issue of civil liberties
post-9/11.

Tonight, media correspondent Terence Smith sits down with Aaron Brown,
anchor and managing editor of CNN's NewsNight; Andrew Heyward,
president of CBS News; media analyst Nancy Hicks Maynard; and Howell
Raines, executive editor of The New York Times, to discuss the
media's post-Sept. 11 challenges and responsibilities.

Visit http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media after 9 pm Eastern time for more
information on this segment.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Segments highlighted on Media Watch Alert are scheduled
to air but subject to change.

From: Keith Privett  <Keith@PRIVETT.COM>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 4:14pm
Subject: And if James Lipton was a sportscaster, he'd probably be a "homer" too. (was RE: the new york times. yes, the new york times)

--- "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:
> > Also in today's newspaper, an ad for The Actors Studio 
> > Seminars ("Live!
> > Onstage! Unscripted! Unrehearsed! Unprecedented!"). Someday on Bravo,
> > you'll get to see James Lipton slobber over Pierce Brosnan, Martin
> > Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Edward Norton, Julianne Moore and ... The
> > Simpsons. I wonder how *that's* gonna work. (Must be Matt 
> > Groening isn't
> > considered famous enough by the Actors Studio marketers to be 
> > mentioned by name.)

The Montreal Comedy Festival featured a sort of Simpsons "unplugged"... er..
"unanimated" with the voice actors performing a script like a radio play.
(details below-no Harry Shearer?)

Therefore, I suspect the Simpsons I.t.A.S. was inspired by that event and will
be a panel, primarily of the voice actors, and possibly even without Groening
at all. 

So perhaps it should be "(Must be *Hank Azaria* isn't considered famous enough
by the Actors Studio marketers to be mentioned by name.)"

BTW, what is the proper pronunciation of Groening? "Groan-ing"?>

Keith

=== http://justforlaughs.com/2002/news/display.asp?lang=en&sct=JFL&NewsID=130

The Simpsons – In the Flesh was perhaps the most anticipated and talked-about
show ever at the Festival.  Simpsons creator Matt Groening, plus voice stars:
Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Tress
MacNeille, Pamela Hayden and Karl Wiedergott as well as several of the show’s
key writers and producers, Al Jean and Ian Maxtone-Graham, were welcomed by
standing ovations before the show even began and left audiences laughing
hysterically long after the show ended.  So high was the demand to see this
one-of-a-kind live script reading by the actors and creators of The Simpsons,
that a matinee performance was added and all three shows were completely sold
out.  The event can only be described as a love-in, as the crowds went wild at
each performance.  The appreciation was mutual, creator Matt Groening raved:
“It was like being a rock star!  Montreal fans are very intense.  It was the
most amazing audience ever! In addition to performing, I found the comedy
Festival a great way to see comics in quick succession.  ”



> 
> LIPTON:  Homer, could you please talk to us about your craft.
> 
> HOMER:  I thought you said there were going to be doughnuts here.  I WANT
> DOUGHNUTS!
> 
> BURNS (watching television):  Smithers, who is that blithering idiot on the
> television?
> 
> SMITHERS:  James Lipton, sir...
> 
> BURNS:  No, the other one with the five o'clock shadow...
> 
> Mark Jeffries
> mjeffries@k...
> mjsaints@a...


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com

From: Jason Snell  <jsnell@macworld.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 4:23pm
Subject: Re: And if James Lipton was a sportscaster, he'd probably be a "homer" too. (was RE: the new york times. yes, the new york times)

>BTW, what is the proper pronunciation of Groening? "Groan-ing"?>

Rhymes with "braining," I think.

-- 
Jason Snell / Editor, Macworld / jsnell@m...
415-243-3565 / AIM-iChat: MW jsnell

From: Aaron Barnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 4:24pm
Subject: Carlos Alomar to front Caroline's band

CARLOS ALOMAR, DAVID BOWIE'S LONG-TIME COLLABORATOR,

IS NAMED BANDLEADER FOR 'THE CAROLINE RHEA SHOW' PREMIERING SEPTEMBER 2



Legendary Musician Carlos Alomar Joins Caroline Rhea As Front Man and Musical

  Director Of House Band For Nationally Syndicated Variety Show



New York, September 3, 2002-- "The Caroline Rhea Show" has tapped 
David Bowie's long-time guitarist and Musical Director as Bandleader 
for the nationally syndicated talk show launching on September 2nd 
The show's first live outing on September 3rd featured guests Matthew 
Perry and Julie Bowen, star of "Ed" along with a special appearance 
from David Cassidy.  Also scheduled to appear during premiere week 
are Cynthia Nixon, Carole King, Drew Carey and many more. "The 
Caroline Rhea Show" will feature a daily dose of exciting live 
entertainment provided by her own house band with Alomar leading the 
musical direction.



Best known for his work with David Bowie, Puerto Rican native Carlos 
Alomar has been a major player in the music industry for more than 30 
years.  Alomar has loaned his guitar expertise to some of rock and 
roll's biggest names including John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Bruce 
Springsteen, Tina Turner, Carly Simon and more.  Alomar has more than 
thirty Gold and Platinum records under his belt and his own 
production (Guitarlos Productions) and publishing (100 M.P.H. Music) 
companies.  A multi-dimensional talent, Alomar is also an established 
songwriter and creative director.  Among his numerous songwriting 
credits, Alomar co-wrote multi-platinum hits such as David Bowie's 
"Fame" and Mick Jagger's first solo album "She's the Boss " as well 
as hits for The Pretenders, Iggy Pop and others.  In addition, Alomar 
co-founded the National Rock Movement of Puerto Rico, dedicated to 
exposing and promoting talent of his native country.



Caroline Rhea was handpicked by Rosie O'Donnell to carry on one of 
television's most successful talk/variety franchises.  "The Caroline 
Rhea Show" will retain the proven format of its predecessor and will 
be tailored to showcase Caroline's unique and accessible point of 
view and comedic style.  Broadcasting live from New York, "The 
Caroline Rhea Show" will feature the Big Apple 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, the program will personify the city's 
fresh and uninhibited point-of-view.



"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.

From: _Aschwartz  <schwartz@anythink.org>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 4:31pm
Subject: Re: TV nets to exploit 9-11

Thankfully, in times like these, we have the good folks at the onion 
to bring this issue out into the open.


http://www.theonion.com/onion3832/who_will_bring_closure.html
<quote>
NEW YORK—On Sept. 11, 2002, Americans will sort through emotions 
ranging from anger to grief, pain, and a profound sense of loss. But 
while the day will surely be difficult to endure, it remains unclear 
which television network will rise to the occasion, with its 
sensitive, cathartic anniversary coverage helping us decide what to 
feel while bringing a sense of closure to our national period of 
mourning.

Will it be a major network like CBS that heals us, salving our wounds 
with its around-the-clock, Dan Rather-hosted coverage? Or will it be
a 
cable channel like CNN, its crack team of veteran telejournalists 
guiding us to a place of rebirth and renewal as only a 24-hour news 
network can? Or will it be a surprise young upstart like MTV,
speaking 
to our hearts in a way foreign to its stodgier counterparts?

"When we're doing our jobs right, we're not merely reporting the
news; 
we're helping viewers cope with the grief and pain in their lives," 
ABC News president David Westin said. "That is one of the central 
purposes of any newsgathering organization, and never will that be 
clearer than on Sept. 11."

"Now more than ever, we are a nation undivided," Fox News Channel 
senior producer Tom Bird said. "From the simple farm houses dotting 
the Iowa countryside to the condominium complexes of Los Angeles to 
the rustic cabins of Cape Cod, on the anniversary of the terrorist 
attacks, Americans will be huddled in front of their TV sets to 
assuage their grief and testify to their patriotism. And Fox News 
Channel will be right there with a shoulder to cry on."

All told, an estimated 800 hours of Sept. 11 retrospectives, 
memorials, and clips packages will air on more than 50 channels, 
including TNN, ESPN, and Oxygen. An estimated 200 million Americans 
are expected to tune in to at least some portion of the day's 
programming.

Diane Blauvelt, whose husband Nathan died in the attack on the 
Pentagon, said she looks forward to the all-day coverage.

"It's been an incredibly hard year for me," Blauvelt said.
"At times, I didn't think I could endure the grief. But I kept
telling myself, 'Diane, just hang on until this coming Sept.
11, and the networks will make it all better.' That's the
only thing that got me through."

Added Blauvelt: "I can't tell you how healing it will be to
once again see that footage of the smoldering Pentagon
where my Nathan died."

"We as a nation need to experience some sort of closure," said Marcy 
McGinnis, CBS senior vice-president of news coverage. "And no one 
needs that more than the people who lost loved ones on Sept. 11. They 
will never forget what happened, but they need to move on and feel 
whole again. They need the sort of tasteful tribute montage set to 
Bruce Springsteen's 'Empty Sky' that we've got planned at CBS."


"How are we to memorialize an event of such unspeakably horrific 
proportions?" Fox News senior producer Jeff Kent asked. "How can we 
eulogize those whose deaths we can scarcely  comprehend? Well, Fox is 
giving it a shot with the two-hour special The Day America Changed. I 
think you're going to like what you see."

In what may be the most touching display of caring, ABC News anchor 
Peter Jennings will host a question-and-answer session for children.

"Just imagine how confusing this all must be for the children,"
Westin 
said. "Thank goodness Peter will be there for them, from 3 to 4 p.m. 
EST."

Lawrence Crouch, a media-studies professor at Syracuse University, 
said the Sept. 11 anniversary coverage will stand as a shining
example 
of the healing power of television.

"Will the answer to the nation's woes come in the form of a CNN 
special memorializing that tragic day? Or a Katie Couric interview 
with an emotional Rudy Giuliani, live from Ground Zero?" Crouch
asked. 
"Are our hours of personal reflection better spent ruminating on the 
fate of those lost by watching an interview with a firefighter's 
widow, or by celebrating our living heroes with a rousing musical 
salute? It's a toss-up, but my money is on NBC's Concert For America. 
I understand they have Alan Jackson on board."

According to NBC News senior producer Alan Koslow, TV news plays a 
vital role in Americans' lives.

"In the past, someone like Walter Cronkite merely informed. But in 
this day and age, Tom [Brokaw] and his fellow news anchors do so much 
more," Koslow said. "They function as parent, friend, teacher, social 
worker, grief counselor, and spiritual advisor. That's a lot of 
pressure considering they also have ratings to think about."

"Some people ask how a bunch of network executives can decide whether 
America should continue to mourn or get back to regular life?" Koslow 
continued. "Well, it's very complicated and involves a lot of
research 
and data the average person would never understand."

One of those average people, Chicago-area homemaker Adrienne Coffey, 
said she knows exactly where she will be at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11.

"I want to share the day with others who are feeling what I'm 
feeling," Coffey said. "I'm going to be right there in front of the 
TV."

 © Copyright 2002, Onion, Inc., All rights reserved.
</quote>

From: Mike Wicks  <thewicks@sunset.net>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 5:51pm
Subject: Re: Hey Lady....

I've been watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon, off and on,  since its heyday
in the mid 1970s. I missed the late 1980s and most of the 1990s, however. 
The telethon has changed quite a bit over the years, as the focus is more
on MDA and less on Vegas-style entertainment. Those who are involved in the
telethon decided to shift the focus more on the patients and their
families, the research and how the money sent is being spent, more medical
information, etc.  

The producers of the show have also decided to make it more of a
country-music and pop-tinged affair; the show was permanently moved from
Vegas to Hollywood some years ago. True, the entertainment quality has
decreased, but much of the decisions are made by Jerry as well as his
producer and MDA; it's more of a family-type show, and those who long for
the Las Vegas days better find a way to view the telethons from '73 to '90
(incidentally, the 2000 show did feature about 2+ hours of old clips during
the "middle of the night/early morning hours" of that telethon; IMHO, it
was a much better show than the past two years, although Jerry had a good
sense of humor and was his vitrolic old self yesterday, regardless of his
obese appearance.  

As far as the corporate sponsor vs public donations debate, Jerry has said
many times on the show that the money that the corporate sponsors give to
MDA is DIFFERENT and SEPARATE from the public phoning in donations/pledges.
 Now, I believe that only about 60-80% of the pledges are honored (this
number could be higher); still, that is an amazing amount. Most people
pledge a dollar, some pledge tens, hundreds of dollars, and if you consider
that over 70 million people watch a portion of the show each year, and most
who watch pledge at least a small amount, then the amount given each year
is not that surprising.   

And, yes, I wish the entertainment on the show was better--there were some
good clips that were shown during the show, especially Jerry, his dad, and
Gary? doing duets (first Jerry with his dad Danny, then Jerry and
Gary/Chris?).  The Dean and Jerry clip from the 1950s was cool to see, too.

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 1:55pm
Subject: Re: And if James Lipton was a sportscaster, he'd probably be a "homer" too. (...

>>> Someday on Bravo, you'll get to see James Lipton slobber over 
> >>

Didn't James Lipton already interview Krusty for TV Guide ? 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 1:55pm
Subject: Bang, Bang, You're Ed!

A SHOWTIME ORIGINAL PICTURE EVENT "BANG BANG YOU’RE DEAD"

A POWERFUL FILM ABOUT THE ALARMING ISSUE OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE

PREMIERES ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2002



New York, NY September 3, 2002 – BANG BANG YOU’RE DEAD, a Showtime Original 
Picture Event premieres on Sunday, October 13, 2002 at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The 
film explores the disturbing epidemic of school violence as seen through the 
eyes of a student who is both a victim and at risk of becoming a perpetrator. 
Starkly realistic, BANG BANG YOU'RE DEAD is a film that addresses the 
feelings of hopelessness, isolation, fear and rage experienced by adolescent 
students all over the country.



Directed by Guy Ferland ("Telling Lies In America," "The Lot," "Our Guys: 
Outrage At Glen Ridge"), the film stars Tom Cavanagh ("Ed") as a concerned 
drama teacher who inspires a troubled teenager, played by Ben Foster 
("Liberty Heights," "Get Over It"), to play out his anxieties through a 
controversial high school drama. Also starring are Randy Harrison (the 
SHOWTIME series "QUEER AS FOLK"), Janel Moloney ("The West Wing") and Jane 
McGregor ("Y2K," "Live Through This").





Inspired by the one-act play of the same title by award-winning writer 
William Mastrosimone ("Extremities," "Sinatra," "The Beast," "The Burning 
Season," "With Honors"), BANG BANG YOU'RE DEAD was written by Mastrosimone, 
who also serves as the film's executive producer alongside Norman Stephens 
("The Magnificent Ambersons"), with whom he's partnered in Jersey Guys 
Productions. Paul Hellerman ("The Mexican") serves as producer. BANG BANG 
YOU'RE DEAD is produced by Viacom Productions in association with Jersey Guys 
Productions and Legacy Filmworks Ltd.





Mastrosimone wrote the play when his son’s school cancelled classes for a day 
following an anonymous death threat made by a student. Mastrosimone’s play 
explores the inner thoughts of a student who shoots and kills his parents and 
classmates. Pre-dating the Columbine tragedy, this play was first performed 
in April 1999 by students who actually witnessed and survived a school 
shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon. Since then, the 
drama has become one of the most produced plays in American high school 
theater with thousands of productions having already been staged. 
Mastrosimone refuses any royalty payment for use of the stage play and 
insists all performances be free of charge. The play can be downloaded from 
the Internet at www.bangbangyouredead.com.



Trevor Adams (Ben Foster) is an atypical student at a typical American high 
school. Bright and articulate, he is nevertheless perceived as an outsider by 
his classmates and "at risk" of violence by school authorities for having 
made a bomb threat against the football team.





Val Duncan (Tom Cavanagh), the school's charismatic young drama teacher, 
recognizes Trevor's potential for creativity as well as violence. He offers 
him the lead role in a controversial new play, "Bang Bang You're Dead," the 
story of a teenager who loses his way in life and resorts to murder. 
Reluctant to expose himself to more mockery, Trevor is about to decline until 
Jenny (Jane McGregor), an attractive new girl in school, agrees to play the 
female lead. 





In a school factionalized by cliques, Trevor is befriended by a subversive 
group called the Trogs, who challenge the popular jocks' sense of 
self-entitlement and supremacy. The conflict between the Trogs, who are led 
by Sean (Randy Harrison), and the jocks quickly escalates as pranks turn to 
dangerous provocations.





Amidst this highly charged atmosphere, Trevor makes a film for a class 
assignment for Val – a dark and disturbing film, which is filled with images 
of real guns and the implied shooting of a member of the football team. Val 
turns to his trusted colleague, Ellie (Janel Moloney), who confirms his worst 
fears – the movie is a bona fide death threat that must be reported. Arrested 
and facing expulsion, Trevor shares his personal film, which disturbingly 
exposes the verbal abuse and physical assault faced by many students in 
school. The authorities vow to institute quick reforms but for Sean, the 
promises come too late. After a particularly humiliating incident at the 
hands of the jocks, he discloses to Trevor the ultimate retribution against 
his school: a plan to stage a massacre in the cafeteria. In a fateful moment, 
Trevor must confront the consequences of violence and the true meaning of 
friendship.





Tom Cavanagh currently stars in the highly acclaimed NBC series "Ed." His 
other television credits include a recurring role on "Providence" and the CBS 
movie of the week "Anya’s Bell." He has appeared in such feature films as 
"Northern Lights," "Mask of Death," "Honeymoon" and "Car 54."





Ben Foster received critical acclaim for his performance in the feature film 
"Liberty Heights," which was directed by Barry Levinson. He also appeared in 
"Get Over It" and "Big Trouble."





Janel Moloney currently stars in the Emmy AwardÃ’ -winning series "The West 
Wing." Her feature film credits include "The Souler Opposite," "Desperate 
Measures" and "’Til There Was You." Her other television credits include 
"ER," "Sports Night" and "To Save A Child."





Randy Harrison currently appears in the successful SHOWTIME Original series 
"QUEER AS FOLK." BANG BANG YOU’RE DEAD marks Harrison’s full-length 
television film debut.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: hoover_dam  <hoover_dam@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 6:39pm
Subject: Re: And if James Lipton was a sportscaster, he'd probably be a "homer" too. (was

--- In tvbarn2@y..., Jason Snell <jsnell@m...> wrote:
> >BTW, what is the proper pronunciation of Groening? 
"Groan-ing"?>
> 
> Rhymes with "braining," I think.

As he was wont to write in the Life in Hell books: rhymes with 
"complaining."

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 7:18pm
Subject: RE: To answer Mark Jeffries... (Was Re: John Kass)

> --- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:
> > > Aaron blogs:
> > > With this column, John Kass has cemented his claim to 
> being America's
> > > greatest daily newspaper columnist. Well, certainly 
> Chicago's. At any
> > > rate, I'm in awe. 
> > > 
> > > Anyone care to summarize? I refuse to register for the 
> > > Chicago Tribune. I
> > > much prefer the WashPost's quick gender/age/zip code thingie 
> > > to filling
> > > out yet another form.
> > 
> > It was a column about a crime victim in Chicago.
> > 
> > Does anyone know how Rosemeneko and the tvtattle.com finds Chicago
> Tribune
> > articles on the LA Times web site and puts them up without 
> having to go
> > through registration?
> > 
> > Mark Jeffries
> 
> It looks like the same trick I use to get around WashingtonPost.com's
> registration pop-up, change the directory filepath to the article.

Thanks.

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a... 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 7:24pm
Subject: RE: Re: TVLanguish...

>       Speaking of TV Dead Pools, is it me, or has it been tougher to 
> pick Dead Pool shows for this upcoming season than in the last 2-3 
> years?  I have yet to hear any Emeril/Michael Richards Show/Bob 
> Patterson "show from h*ll" leaks coming out from any of the new fall 
> shows.

I think that this year's lineup is one of the most undistinguished in a
while.

I also have the feeling that we are about to enter a very low period in
broadcast television as I'm afraid that the networks are going to spawn
reality formats to wretched excess, just like they did sitcoms in the last
decade and Westerns and big money quiz shows in the late 50s.  Even though
I've defended the genre in this forum, the broadcast networks are going to
overdo it, just like they do anything that catches on that's different,
especially because of the lower costs.  Just watch.

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 3:39pm
Subject: Re: Re: Hey Lady....

>Broadcast stations need to show a certain amount of community 
>service, at least theoretically they do, so giving away 22 hours or 
>so of commercial time during a period when they stand to lose 
>less revenue than at any other period ... well, ratings or no 
>ratings, it makes sense to some broadcasters.  

While in other smaller markets, the cost of keeping a studio running for all 
those hours during pledge breaks finally can't be done. It is broadcast on 
WGN's cable station should people feel the need to see Carrot Top and/or 
Bobby Berosini at 4 AM live from Branson.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 3:39pm
Subject: That's BOOM! B-Double-Oh-Em!

PBS Kids Special 'ZOOM: America's Kids Remember' Aims to Help Kids Cope With 
the Anniversary of September 11

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 3, 2002--Nearly one year after the events of 
September 11, kids across the country are still feeling the impact. In a 
recent online survey conducted by the PBS KIDS series ZOOM, 50% percent of 
the over 2,500 respondents still thought about the tragedy once a week or 
more, including 19% who said that they thought about it every day.

Last year, in response to September 11, ZOOM produced a television special 
entitled "ZOOM: America's Kids Respond," featuring the ZOOM kids, along with 
kids throughout the nation, sharing their feelings and talking about what 
they were doing in their communities to address the issues brought about by 
the attacks. When the special premiered on September 21, it was warmly 
embraced by teachers, parents, and children. In addition, the program served 
as a catalyst for children to begin sharing their feelings about the tragic 
events.

This year, PBS will present "ZOOM: America's Kids Remember," to coincide with 
the difficult memories and renewed fears that the first anniversary will 
inevitably produce. This unique half-hour program will move beyond the crisis 
to celebrate the strength and spirit of children. Targeted to both parents 
and kids, the special will unite cast members from the past four seasons of 
ZOOM as hosts, discussing tough issues such as coping with loss, feeling 
helpless, and respecting differences. The anniversary special will be made 
available to PBS stations beginning Friday, September 6. Check local listings.

"The anniversary special aims to give children a forum for expressing their 
feelings and to showcase kids who are actively contributing to the nation's 
healing," says Kate Taylor executive producer of ZOOM. "We also hope to 
convey the message that talking with parents or other adults can assuage fear 
and that engaging in community service can be a meaningful way to overcome 
feelings of helplessness." 

Additionally, the anniversary special will address other negative fallout 
from the attacks on America, in particular the sporadic, yet troubling, 
expressions of ethnic and religious intolerance. It will examine the 
experiences of children who have been on the receiving end of such 
intolerance. The anniversary special will also promote positive ways of 
counteracting prejudice, by introducing kids who are participating in a 
conflict resolution workshop.

"ZOOM: America's Kids Remember" will be supported by a feature on the ZOOM 
Web site (pbskids.org/zoom), as well as outreach materials, which will 
encourage kids to express their feelings and offer adults and educators 
advice on how to help children cope with life after September 11.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Wes McGee  <WesMcGee@cox.net>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 7:58pm
Subject: Re: Bang, Bang, You're Ed!

Another sign that you watch too much Cartoon Network.

You thought that this email message was about an episode of "Ed, Edd, n' 
Eddy".

(They always work in the word 'Ed' in their episode titles.)

--Wesley McGee

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 8:21pm
Subject: RE: Future of local TV -- infomercials?

> The week after the NBA season ended, I turned on my TV set one Sunday
> morning and the same infomercial was running across five TV stations.
> I don't usually watch much local TV on weekends. I tape Letterman
> during the week and then watch them when I have free time. Still, it
> seemed ridiculous that so many stations would be show infomercials at
> the same time, let alone the same infomercial.
> So this last week I ran into someone who works in local TV
> advertising. I complained that informercials like that are going to
> drive me to finally get satellite TV. I'm one of the 18 percent of the
> country that currently only gets broadcast stations.
> The guy surprised me by saying that cable TV already outdraws local
> stations on Sunday morning and afternoon for shows that are not
> produced by the network (reruns, syndication) and a few shows that are
> network produced. In other words, unless it's a news show or
> established sports, many cable channels gets better ratings, at least
> in demographics.
> He said the informercials don't make money for the station, they just
> mean the station loses less money. TV ad buyers have become very
> sosphicated and the TV station has a harder time pawning off ads in
> marginal hours where there's no clear demographic.
> He said cable and the home video market is chewing more and more into
> the hours of marginal ratings and informercials are going to pop up in
> more and more places, including possibly taking a half-hour slot now
> occupied by local news on week days.
> I don't know if he was being alarmist or actually telling the truth.
> My TV market doesn't crack the Top 100. There's plenty of people here
> who know a lot about TV. I'm wondering if others in smaller TV markets
> have the same deterioration and if anyone sees informercials spreading
> to the periphery of prime time?

Well, here's one interesting instance--for a week in August, WSBK, the UPN
affiliate in Boston owned by Viacom and carried on many satellites, cleared
off its entire daytime schedule and aired informercials to balance the books
at the end of their fiscal year.  (I assume they aired whatever spots from
their regular syndicated lineup they had to air in the station breaks.)
There was also another station somewhere in the south who stacked daytime
programming with infomercials earlier this year (of course, not during
sweeps).

With the possible exception of Billy Graham crusades, no Big 4 network
affiliate is going to pre-empt network prime time programming for paid
programming on a regular basis in a major market.  But it may happen in
small markets, particularly for lower-rated programs (*no* NBC affiliate
would dare pre-empt "Friends" for an infomercial).

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 4:29pm
Subject: Re: To answer Mark Jeffries... (Was Re: John Kass)

> > Does anyone know how Rosemeneko and the tvtattle.com finds Chicago
> > Tribune articles on the LA Times web site and puts them up 
> > without having to go through registration?
> 
> It looks like the same trick I use to get around WashingtonPost.com's
>

Or... link perhaps to the Printable version


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Tue Sep 3, 2002 8:29pm
Subject: RE: Future of local TV -- infomercials?

> Its not just small markets, Steve. WBBM/CBS2 (O&O) in Chicago 
> seems to run
> infomercials late Saturday Afternoons until sports 
> programming is ready, and in
> the overnights (vs. NBC Leno/Conan reruns and ABC World News Now)
> They've even run the occasional religionfomercial at 6pm, 
> pre-empting Hollywood
> Squares...

That happened a year or two ago on all of the CBS-owned stations during
Christmas week--it was a program produced by D. James Kennedy, the Florida
televangelist who cloaks himself in mainline Christianity to promote
conservative politics.  It aired in the 7 p.m./6 p.m. access hour on all CBS
O&Os.  In Minneapolis, it pre-empted the 6 p.m. newscast on WCCO, a station
that still has a marginally better news image than its competitors, and
"Wheel of Fortune."  The excuse was that Christmas week is a traditionally
slow news week anyway (and of course, it begins the slowest advertising
period of the year).

The interesting thing was that a year or two previous, CBS O&Os aired
Time-Life Music infomercials in access in December.  Supposedly, Moonves was
pissed and told Karmazin not to let that happen again, because he felt that
CBS' prime time ratings on those nights were negatively affected by the
infomercial lead-in.

Of course, the CBS O&Os are the most depressed O&O group of the network
groups.  I'm sure that if most stations had "Wheel" and "Jeopardy!" like
most ABC O&Os or "Simpsons" reruns like most Fox O&Os, they would have a
different view on selling infomericals in access.

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Wes McGee  <WesMcGee@cox.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 1:47am
Subject: Re: To answer Mark Jeffries... (Was Re: John Kass)

tomalhe@a... wrote:

>>>Does anyone know how Rosemeneko and the tvtattle.com finds Chicago
>>>Tribune articles on the LA Times web site and puts them up 
>>>without having to go through registration?
>>>      
>>>
>>It looks like the same trick I use to get around WashingtonPost.com's
>>
>>    
>>
>
>Or... link perhaps to the Printable version
>
>  
>
At the post, that only works if you already have been cookied by the 
site to get to the Print Edition link. If you have don't have the cookie 
and you're just doing it by cut & paste and retyping it in the URL bar, 
the print edition URL is actually longer 
".../A24960-2002Sep04?language=printer" vs. ".../A24960-2002Sep04". Why 
don't I have the cookie? I send links to people very paranoid about 
sites collecting demographic info. Even the innocuous WaPo one (no user 
id required) is too much for her. By the time I've "broken into" the 
site, there's not really a point to clicking one more time to get to the 
'printer-friendly' page.

--Wesley McGee

From: joe_capitano  <joe_capitano@foxinternet.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 2:19am
Subject: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

Seems like FOX finally got fed up with the autodial crowd. When I 
dialed the announced number tonight to cast my vote (for Kelly, if 
you must know), instead of recording my vote there was played an 
announcement. The female voice said "To vote for the contestant of 
your choice call 1-900-(bla-bla-bla yakkety schmackety)(Repeat 
twice)".

Which leads me to ask, when "Idol" returns for its second series will 
FOX shift over to 1-900 numbers, excluding some viewers from the 
process for various and sundry reasons, in order to control those who 
might skew the vote?

A possible solution for the next series: have those viewers who wish 
to cast votes register in advance at the show's website or by some 
other means. Assign each their own access code and password. Then, 
using this system, set things up so that only one vote per customer 
counts. And, they can still use toll-free numbers and perhaps the 
internet.

Any more ideas?

From: Wes McGee  <WesMcGee@cox.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 2:41am
Subject: Re: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

What? They don't have Caller Id or a similar system that registers when 
a particular phone number has called in and blocks any additional votes 
from that phone? Am I really that out of it, America, that everyone but 
me knows how to defeat those systems? Or that everyone but I has an 
unpublished number, or that I just have redial where I have to manually 
press the 'redial' button each time I want to.

joe_capitano wrote:

>Seems like FOX finally got fed up with the autodial crowd. When I 
>dialed the announced number tonight to cast my vote (for Kelly, if 
>you must know), instead of recording my vote there was played an 
>announcement. The female voice said "To vote for the contestant of 
>your choice call 1-900-(bla-bla-bla yakkety schmackety)(Repeat 
>twice)".
>
>Which leads me to ask, when "Idol" returns for its second series will 
>FOX shift over to 1-900 numbers, excluding some viewers from the 
>process for various and sundry reasons, in order to control those who 
>might skew the vote?
>
>A possible solution for the next series: have those viewers who wish 
>to cast votes register in advance at the show's website or by some 
>other means. Assign each their own access code and password. Then, 
>using this system, set things up so that only one vote per customer 
>counts. And, they can still use toll-free numbers and perhaps the 
>internet.
>
>Any more ideas?
>

From: Keith Privett  <Keith@PRIVETT.COM>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 3:53am
Subject: Re: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

1. Charge a small 900 fee, preferably going to charity (several nation's
Millionaire's used them to help fund the prize pool.)

2. Require additional entry of your phone # or SSN or birthday and last 4 of
SSN. (Tied into a contest sponsored by coke

3. Require entry of one-time use passcodes available in magazines and/or coke
bottles, etc.

4. Require them to stay online through an ad, etc until the vote registers
(can you tell I validated a replacement credit card lately.)

5. Cap calls from any one area code.

6. Let them vote to eliminate each-other Survivor style (the Big Brother US
solution.)

And I'm sure there are more. 1's the easiest and most Fox-like, but could
alienate fans. 2 and 4 have the advantage of not deterring the masses of legit
users, though 2 could be defeated by devoted hackers. 3 helps shill the show. 5
allows greatest overall vote capacity. 6 gives you "Dr." Will Kirby.



--- Wes McGee <WesMcGee@c...> wrote:
> What? They don't have Caller Id or a similar system that registers when 
> a particular phone number has called in and blocks any additional votes 
> from that phone? Am I really that out of it, America, that everyone but 
> me knows how to defeat those systems? Or that everyone but I has an 
> unpublished number, or that I just have redial where I have to manually 
> press the 'redial' button each time I want to.
> 
> joe_capitano wrote:
> 
> >Seems like FOX finally got fed up with the autodial crowd. When I 
> >dialed the announced number tonight to cast my vote (for Kelly, if 
> >you must know), instead of recording my vote there was played an 
> >announcement. The female voice said "To vote for the contestant of 
> >your choice call 1-900-(bla-bla-bla yakkety schmackety)(Repeat 
> >twice)".
> >
> >Which leads me to ask, when "Idol" returns for its second series will 
> >FOX shift over to 1-900 numbers, excluding some viewers from the 
> >process for various and sundry reasons, in order to control those who 
> >might skew the vote?
> >
> >A possible solution for the next series: have those viewers who wish 
> >to cast votes register in advance at the show's website or by some 
> >other means. Assign each their own access code and password. Then, 
> >using this system, set things up so that only one vote per customer 
> >counts. And, they can still use toll-free numbers and perhaps the 
> >internet.
> >
> >Any more ideas?
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 
> TVBarn2: We're talking TV.
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvbarn2/messages
> Goodbye: tvbarn2-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>  
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 
> 
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com

From: joe_capitano  <joe_capitano@foxinternet.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 4:13am
Subject: Re: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

--- In tvbarn2@y..., Wes McGee <WesMcGee@c...> wrote:
> What? They don't have Caller Id or a similar system that registers 
when 
> a particular phone number has called in and blocks any additional 
votes 
> from that phone? (snip!)

Actually, they already do. For those not aware, every time you place 
a call to a 1-800 number your phone number is recorded - even if it's 
unlisted, unpublished, or caller ID blocked - and then passed on to 
the party who leases that line. I have one for my business (no, I 
don't use those numbers in vain).

Thus, all the "Idol" folks have to do is set something up with their 
phone provider of choice to count only the first or last call made 
from any specific phone number and toss out the repeat tries.

From: Evan Stokley  <evanstok@freenet.fsu.edu>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 8:48am
Subject: Re: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

On Wed, 04 Sep 2002 07:19:12 -0000, you wrote:

>Seems like FOX finally got fed up with the autodial crowd. When I 
>dialed the announced number tonight to cast my vote (for Kelly, if 
>you must know), instead of recording my vote there was played an 
>announcement. The female voice said "To vote for the contestant of 
>your choice call 1-900-(bla-bla-bla yakkety schmackety)(Repeat 
>twice)".

That's strange.  When I called I got the usual message recording my
vote.

Kelly as well, by the way, though I hope Justin is considered for the
role of Sideshow Bob when the Simpsons reaches Broadway.

From: KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 10:39am
Subject: Witchblade gets the axe

Variety sez:

TNT chops 'Blade'
By MELISSA GREGO
"Witchblade" has been cut.
The signature TNT drama series -- which went on temporary hiatus this
year while series star Yancy Butler underwent alcohol rehab -- did
not snag a renewal, the cable network confirmed Tuesday.
The show wrapped its second season last month.
"Witchblade" has been considered a success on many levels, including
in the ratings, so the cancellation is likely to raise a few eyebrows
in TV land.
The series consistently drew at least a 2.0 cable rating in TNT's
universe during both its first and second seasons. Perf certainly is
considered a healthy one, although some summer cable series, such as
USA's "Monk," have been turning in even higher cable ratings.
What's more, "Witchblade" fits with TNT's branding "We know drama."
It got the full promotional push from TNT, and the network often
touted the fact that there's nothing like the series on broadcast
television.
Steve Koonin, TNT's exec VP-general manager, said the decision was
made in the hopes of going out with a bang.
"It's a very tough decision," Koonin told Daily Variety. "Our
criteria for this show was really four-fold," he said.
The four hopes for the show were that it be: advertiser- and cable
operator-friendly, a show that differentiated the network from its
competitors, a ratings builder, and a show that laid groundwork for
the net to be in the summer series biz.
" 'Witchblade' did all of that great for two years," Koonin said. "We
just felt to stretch it to a third year could hurt some of those
areas."
However, insiders said the production stumbles related to Butler's
health during lensing on the most recent season may have played a
part (Daily Variety, June 11).
Warner Bros. Television, which produces the show with Top Cow Prods.
and Halsted Pictures, declined to comment. Butler's manager also was
mum.
TNT has had a tricky time launching scripted series in recent years,
most notably "Breaking News," which the network wrote off before
airing any episodes, and "Bull," which was canceled early in its run.
Still, Koonin said the network will continue to be in the series biz.
It likely will continue to utilize the same model it did
with "Witchblade," which preemed first as a two-hour movie.
"We'll be evolving our identity as a leader in drama and looking for other 
shows."

KJB
Editor, Backstage Pass
http://www.backstage-pass.com
Film Writer, FilmForce.Net
http://filmforce.ign.com

From: Jason Snell  <jsnell@macworld.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 11:40am
Subject: Re: Witchblade gets the axe

KJB wrote:

>"Witchblade" has been cut.

It wouldn't surprise me if someone else tried to pick it up, given 
the "at least" 2.0 rating -- that's the top rating of any show on 
Sci-Fi right  now.

But that said, I've seen "Witchblade" a few times, and whoo! Is it 
terrible. Violent, vulgar, stupid, poorly acted (including Butler), 
the works. Just a piece of junk. In my opinion, of course.

Let the inevitable "Witchblade" write-in campaign begin! :-)

-- 
Jason Snell:  teevee.org - intertext.com - jsnell@i...
Visit TeeVee! http://www.teevee.org/

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 11:39am
Subject: RE: Witchblade gets the axe

> KJB wrote:
> 
> >"Witchblade" has been cut.
> 
> It wouldn't surprise me if someone else tried to pick it up, given 
> the "at least" 2.0 rating -- that's the top rating of any show on 
> Sci-Fi right  now.
> 
> But that said, I've seen "Witchblade" a few times, and whoo! Is it 
> terrible. Violent, vulgar, stupid, poorly acted (including Butler), 
> the works. Just a piece of junk. In my opinion, of course.
> 
> Let the inevitable "Witchblade" write-in campaign begin! :-)

I bet that a petition will be up on Online America by midnight tonight.

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Jon Delfin  <jondelfin@nyc.rr.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 11:41am
Subject: Re: Witchblade gets the axe

Jason Snell wrote:

>  KJB wrote:
>
> >"Witchblade" has been cut.
>
> It wouldn't surprise me if someone else tried to pick it up, given
> the "at least" 2.0 rating -- that's the top rating of any show on
> Sci-Fi right  now.
>
> But that said, I've seen "Witchblade" a few times, and whoo! Is it
> terrible. Violent, vulgar, stupid, poorly acted (including Butler),
> the works. Just a piece of junk. In my opinion, of course.
>
> Let the inevitable "Witchblade" write-in campaign begin! :-)

you mean besides the online petition?


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 7:58am
Subject: They're mocking Chevy Chase, and you're not.

COMEDY CENTRAL AND THE NEW YORK FRIARS CLUB TO ROAST ACTOR-WRITER-COMEDIAN 
CHEVY CHASE ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

--------
COMEDY CENTRAL To Broadcast One-Hour Version Of The Annual Rip Fest
On Sunday, December 1 At 10:00 P.M.*
--------

NEW YORK, September 3, 2002 -- Chevy Chase will sit for his turn at the 
roasting pit on Saturday, September 28, 2002 when the New York Friars Club 
hosts its annual, star-studded Celebrity Roast and black-tie dinner at the 
New York Hilton Hotel.  For the fifth consecutive year, COMEDY CENTRAL will 
shoot the highly secretive event and create a one-hour edited version of the 
evening's festivities.  "COMEDY CENTRAL Presents the NY Friars Club Roast of 
Chevy Chase" will air Sunday, 
December 1 at 10:00 p.m.

The New York Friars Club is a fraternal organization with an honored 
reputation for excellence in performance and public service and is regarded 
as the premier arts organization in the entertainment industry.  Chevy Chase 
joins the ranks of distinguished entertainers such as Billy Crystal, Johnny 
Carson, Sid Caesar, Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Lewis, Drew Carey, Rob Reiner, 
Richard Pryor, Lucille Ball and last year's recipient, Playboy Magazine 
founder Hugh Hefner, to name a few, who have been successfully "Roasted" to 
the enjoyment of all involved.

The prestigious honor is given during a ceremony that pokes fun at the 
honoree in an exuberant display of good-humored ribaldry.  Mr. Chase will 
have the additional distinction of being the only Friar, other than the 
Club's recently departed long-time Abbot, Milton Berle (1959, 1974), to ever 
be roasted twice.  Chase had previously been "burned at the stake" in 1990.

Chevy Chase, a two-time Emmy award winner as a perfomer/writer for the 
legendary late night series "Saturday Night Live," began his career in comedy 
as a writer and performer for "Channel One," a local New York underground 
revue that satirized television.  "Channel One" later became the basis for 
his first film, "The Groove Tube."  He also wrote and starred in the PBS 
series "The Great American Dream Machine," and co-wrote and performed in 
"Lemmings," the National Lampoon off-Broadway musical spoof of Woodstock and 
1960's Pop Culture.  In addition, he won a third Emmy Award for co-writing 
"The Paul Simon Special."

After leaving "Saturday Night Live," Chase became a breakout star in movies 
such as "Foul Play" with Goldie Hawn, the "National Lampoon's Vacation" 
films,  "Fletch," "Fletch Lives," "Caddyshack," "Seems Like Old Times," 
"Funny Farm," "Spies Like Us," and other memorable comedies.  In 1992, Chevy 
was honored by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatrical Group, the 
nation's oldest undergraduate dramatic group, when they named him their "Man 
of the Year."

Chevy has several projects pending release: the feature "Vacuums," with the 
cast of "Stomp," a documentary on the life of Bill Evans, and the movie 
"E-Day," written by the writers of "The Onion" and directed by Scot Dikkers 
who founded "The Onion."



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: PGage@AOL.COM
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 8:09am
Subject: Crowd Overreaction Shots

PGage writes...
I'm not sure if live production notes of sporting events is on-topic for this 
list or not, but a pet peeve of mine was underlined last night on USA's US 
Open coverage. If you watched any local sports segment Tuesday night you saw 
a wonderful sequence with Andy Roddick making a series of spectacular shots, 
culminating with a dramatic down the line winner. After hitting the winner, 
Roddick jumped up to the fence and started giving high fives to the 
enthusiastic NY crowd -- this is great TV by any measure, but we only got a 
second or so of it, as the director of the show decided to cut quickly to a 
generic crowd reaction shot (in fact, it may just have been stock footage 
from 1985).

Is the first lesson in TV sports production really something like "you can 
never have too many crowd reaction shots?? -- and if not, how can we explain 
this ubiquitous, gratuitous and obnoxious practice? If the idea is to give 
the home audience a sense of being at a live event, show us the crowd during 
lulls in the action - not *during* the action.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: joe_capitano  <joe_capitano@foxinternet.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:12pm
Subject: Re: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

--- In tvbarn2@y..., Evan Stokley <evanstok@f...> wrote:
> On Wed, 04 Sep 2002 07:19:12 -0000, you wrote:
> That's strange.  When I called I got the usual message recording my
> vote.
> 

I called at 11:45 pm PT - 15 minutes before the polls closed. I don't 
know how large the call volume was before the roadblock went up, but 
it must have been significant enough to force the issue.

Let's see if anyone else hit the roadblock last night, or at any time 
during "Idol"'s run.

From: Jason Snell  <jsnell@macworld.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:14pm
Subject: Re: Crowd Overreaction Shots

PGage@A... wrote:

>Is the first lesson in TV sports production really something like "you can
>never have too many crowd reaction shots?? -- and if not, how can we explain
>this ubiquitous, gratuitous and obnoxious practice? If the idea is to give
>the home audience a sense of being at a live event, show us the crowd during
>lulls in the action - not *during* the action.

I especially like Fox's new (sponsored, of course) "Fan Cam" segment 
they began last year or the year before during the playoffs. It 
purports to be a chance for us to feel what it's like to be at the 
stadium, among the Real People. What it ends up being is boring shots 
of guys wearing ties and Yankee hats talking to a buddy while their 
girlfriends sit beside them, talking on a cell phone.

In stark contrast, the local San Francisco Giants broadcasts manage 
to find kids having a good time, faces covered in cotton candy goo, 
wolfing down a hot dog, waving a foam finger, you name it. Also, fans 
with a zillion Giants-related buttons covering their hats, teenagers 
dressed as a player and carrying their glove in the hopes of getting 
a foul ball -- in other words, entertaining and strikingly _real_ 
balllpark denizens. I understand that in L.A., the Dodger telecasts 
do likewise.

And yet, network coverage so often (except maybe in the NFL, when 
they always like to show the weirdos in the end zone) uses bland 
audience shots. I just don't get it.

-jason
-- 
Jason Snell:  teevee.org - intertext.com - jsnell@i...
Visit TeeVee! http://www.teevee.org/

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:13pm
Subject: Re: Witchblade gets the axe

At 09:40 AM 9/4/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>It wouldn't surprise me if someone else tried to pick it up, given
>the "at least" 2.0 rating -- that's the top rating of any show on
>Sci-Fi right  now.
>
>But that said, I've seen "Witchblade" a few times, and whoo! Is it
>terrible. Violent, vulgar, stupid, poorly acted (including Butler),
>the works. Just a piece of junk. In my opinion, of course.

I agree with everything you just wrote.  It's an awful show. Not one 
without potential but really, just bad.  I see TNT cut the airings down to 
two this season (both on Monday night) and cut out the widescreen play.  I 
think this decision was made a while ago and they're just telling everyone 
now.  I think they're in too deep to recast Butler and they know they can't 
go on with her in the lead.  So that may keep someone like Sci-Fi away from 
that series.  That and the fact that Sci-Fi has all of their money 
committed at the moment.


>Let the inevitable "Witchblade" write-in campaign begin! :-)

Ugh.  I don't even want to think about it.


KJB
Editor, Backstage Pass
http://www.backstage-pass.com
Film Writer, FilmForce.Net
http://filmforce.ign.com

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:22pm
Subject: RE: Crowd Overreaction Shots

> In stark contrast, the local San Francisco Giants broadcasts manage 
> to find kids having a good time, faces covered in cotton candy goo, 
> wolfing down a hot dog, waving a foam finger, you name it. Also, fans 
> with a zillion Giants-related buttons covering their hats, teenagers 
> dressed as a player and carrying their glove in the hopes of getting 
> a foul ball -- in other words, entertaining and strikingly _real_ 
> balllpark denizens. I understand that in L.A., the Dodger telecasts 
> do likewise.

And they're all probably taking their cue from the legendary Arne Harris,
the longtime, now-deceased director of Cubs telecasts on WGN in Chicago.
Arne in particular had a weakness for beautiful women.  More importantly,
with only four or five cameras he covered a game better than the networks
could with twice as many cameras (and although Harry Coyle of NBC also made
the claim, Arne invented the center-field camera angle that's now a standard
TV baseball shot).

Of course, Fox will always show a "fan" sign like this one (in honor of
Jason, I'm saying the sign's in PacBell Park):

BARRY BONDS AND JUSTIN
OUR AMERICAN IDOLS

or:

TWO GREAT SF CLUBS
THE GIANTS AND girls club

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Jason Snell  <jsnell@macworld.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:29pm
Subject: RE: Crowd Overreaction Shots

Mark Jeffries wrote:

>TWO GREAT SF CLUBS
>THE GIANTS AND girls club

you frighten me.

but you're right...

The "beautiful women in the crowd" shots appear much less frequently 
in sports than they used to, since it's not exactly politically 
correct (unless they're cheerleaders); oh, but the kids with 
ketchup-covered faces are always entertaining.

-jason
-- 
Jason Snell / Editor, Macworld / jsnell@m...
415-243-3565 / AIM-iChat: MW jsnell

From: Roger Winston  <rwinston@tde.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:44pm
Subject: Re: Witchblade gets the axe

At Wednesday 9/4/2002 12:13 PM -0500, The KJB wrote:

>I agree with everything you just wrote.  It's an awful show. Not one
>without potential but really, just bad.

Indeed.  Witchblade had some potential, but just didn't run with it.  To 
me, the problem was that it looked like the creators had no idea what 
direction they wanted to go in.  I thought the later half of the first 
season had some interesting stuff, but then they made the boneheaded play 
of rebooting the whole thing in the first season finale via time travel and 
making the whole first season not even exist.  And they barely even 
addressed that "alternate reality" in the second season, though it sure 
looked like they wanted to go somewhere with that.  It was just a mess, 
plain and simple.  Even though I watched every episode, I mostly just had 
it on in the background this season while doing other things.  The artsy 
but substanceless camera work and the 
serial-killer-of-the-week-somehow-connected-to-the-Witchblade schtick got 
old/boring really fast.

>I think they're in too deep to recast Butler and they know they can't
>go on with her in the lead.

I never totally warmed to Butler, even in the pre-rehab days.  She just 
didn't look or act right for the part.

>So that may keep someone like Sci-Fi away from
>that series.  That and the fact that Sci-Fi has all of their money
>committed at the moment.

Stay away, SciFi, stay away!  Learn from TNT's mistakes...

Latre.   --Rog

From: Evan Stokley  <evanstok@freenet.fsu.edu>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:53pm
Subject: Re: Re: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

On Wed, 04 Sep 2002 17:12:48 -0000, you wrote:

>--- In tvbarn2@y..., Evan Stokley <evanstok@f...> wrote:
>> On Wed, 04 Sep 2002 07:19:12 -0000, you wrote:
>> That's strange.  When I called I got the usual message recording my
>> vote.
>> 
>
>I called at 11:45 pm PT - 15 minutes before the polls closed. I don't 
>know how large the call volume was before the roadblock went up, but 
>it must have been significant enough to force the issue.
>
>Let's see if anyone else hit the roadblock last night, or at any time 
>during "Idol"'s run.

Or there might have been an East Coast/West Coast change since I'm in
the East.  My call was around 10:30 Eastern.  I think you may be right
about an unusually large call volume.  Previously I've never had any
trouble voting after about 10pm.  Last night I had to call a number of
times before finally getting through..

From: Aaron Barnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 2:05pm
Subject: "Columbine" rejected by New York Filmfest

[Amazing but true, if it is indeed true.  From Michael Moore:]

Dad took me to the airport this morning, remarking on the way how much mom
would have enjoyed this simple trip across town to Bishop Airport, how
happy she would have been knowing that I was heading off on a new journey
in my very fortunate life. I thought about how she came to New York for the
screening of "Roger & Me" at the New York Film Festival in 1989, and how I
got to introduce her and my aunt as they sat in the front of the balcony,
and how mom and Aunt Lois stood and took a long Lincoln Center bow, and how
I stood on that stage and felt that she deserved every bit of that applause
and more.

It's a bittersweet memory now, as I've just found out that the NYFF
selection committee this year is too afraid to show my new film.
"Politics," is what I have been told. Too "populist" for the new elite who
now sit in judgment of what is art. "They don't want to help further your
platform Mike," a person close to the committee tells me. "One of them even
said, 'I know this film is going to be popular - and I don't personally
want to contribute to its popularity.'"  So, it was decided that "Bowling
for Columbine," a Cannes prize-winner, knighted by the Chicago Tribune as
"one of the most effective political/polemical films ever," a film chosen
by every single film festival around the world this fall - no, this film
must not be shown at Lincoln Center just six blocks from the edit room
where we made it... 77 blocks north of ground zero. I've gone too far this
time, cut too close to the bone, stuck my lens where it doesn't belong -
right straight through the heart of an America that is both master and
victim of the ultra-violence. It is so sad to see this place where I will
always remember my mother taking that bow now cowering to the whims of neos
who, like their counterparts in Hollywood, preside over the demolition of a
once great art form.

[www.michaelmoore.com]

-- 
TV Barn: http://www.tvbarn.com

From: Sue Trowbridge  <trow@interbridge.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 2:38pm
Subject: Re: "Columbine" rejected by New York Filmfest

On Wed, 4 Sep 2002, Aaron Barnhart wrote:

> I've gone too far this
> time, cut too close to the bone, stuck my lens where it doesn't belong -
> right straight through the heart of an America that is both master and
> victim of the ultra-violence.

Not to re-open the Michael Moore debate, but...
First, let me say that I loved ROGER & ME, I have gone to hear Moore
speak, I support a lot of what he says. I haven't seen COLUMBINE, but I'm
sure I'll be there the weekend it opens. But is it possible that the
incredibly enthusiastic response this film has received around the world,
and particularly in France, stems from the fact that it shows America in a
less-than-favorable light -- in fact, focuses on the gun culture that
horrifies and fascinates many Europeans? I think Moore has said that
France has decreed that every schoolchild must see this film as part of
their curriculum from now on.

Just asking.

--Sue T.

From: PGage@AOL.COM
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 10:52am
Subject: Idle Question

PGage writes...
I have not seen a single episode of *Surivor* or any of its "Reality Show" 
progeny (no value judgment implied, just not my cup of tea. My "Reality 
Shows" tend to be sports competitions). At certain points however, one cannot 
avoid some of these shows -- the climax of *American Idol* was a "news" item 
on both CNN and the CBS Morning show today (is this perplexed, vague sense of 
being-left-out-but-not-really-caring how my wife feels in the week before the 
Super Bowl?).

My question: The clips played of the two finalists singing were accompanied 
by fairly straight-faced reaction by the "news" anchors -- however both 
singers seemed to me to be so over-the-top horrible that my first conclusion 
was that the show must be a spoof of a talent show, rather than an actual 
talent show. Is *AI* more of an updated version of *The Gong Show* or *Star 
Search*?



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Jason Snell  <jsnell@macworld.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 3:21pm
Subject: Re: Idle Question

PGage@A... wrote:

>Is *AI* more of an updated version of *The Gong Show* or *Star
>Search*?

"Star Search."

To be fair, the singers are actually pretty good -- but the material 
they wrote "just for them" this week was cheesy beyond belief.

Then again, I love "Survivor"...

-jason
-- 
Jason Snell:  teevee.org - intertext.com - jsnell@i...
Visit TeeVee! http://www.teevee.org/

From: ken roberts  <kenroberts@mindspring.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 3:30pm
Subject: Re: Idle Question

PGage wrote:
> <snippy>
> however both 
> singers seemed to me to be so over-the-top
> horrible that my first conclusion 
> was that the show must be a spoof of a talent
> show, rather than an actual 
> talent show. 

Kelly is an incredibly talented singer, though her voice has been
suffering lately.  She hasn't kicked major booty since she performed
'Stuff Like That There' four weeks ago. [1]

I'm not a big fan of Justin, but given the correct song, he's really
good.  The two craptacular songs from last night, however, were not the
correct songs for Justin.  He's best when crooning.  And molesting the
camera with his eyes.

I can't believe i started watching the show and actually caring who won.
But i read the show recaps at TWoP and laughed my tuckus off. [2]  Then
i finally watched a show (the first round of the finals) and got hooked.

Hell, i even voted after a few of the shows. [3]

Pathetically,
ken

[1]
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/story.cgi?show=89&story=3680&page=10&sort=&limit=

[2] http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show.cgi?show=89 

You should read the first two recaps even if you never saw the show.

[3] Last night, i voted for Justin several times...only to stay on the
line until i was disconnected to cause real Justin voters to get busy
signals.  I'm evil.

From: Aaron Barnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 3:49pm
Subject: You can't be Sirius

[sigh....]

Hi Aaron,

Now more than ever, Americans are looking for ways to stay in tune with
national events and news as they are happening, wherever they are.  Some
feel disconnected when they are away from the television.  During September
11th, Sirius Satellite Radio, the coast-to-coast satellite radio
broadcaster, will provide listeners with a variety of ways to reflect and
remember.  With Sirius' 15 different news channels, including ABC News, BBC
World, NPR, NPR2, PRI, Fox News and CNN Headline News, listeners can follow
the events live while they are in their cars.  Something you don't get with
traditional radio.

Along with all of the coverage that will air by our various news content
partners on September 11th, Sirius will broadcast "September 11th - The
Healing of America", an all day special program airing live on The Galaxy
(channel 100).  This will be an exclusive Sirius Radio original program of
music, strength and community.  It will reflect upon, and then move forward
from, what the entire nation experienced on and following September 11,
2001.

The programming on The Galaxy for September 11th is as follows:

CHANNEL 100 - The Galaxy
8:00 am- approx. 11 am ET: Live ABC feed from ceremonies at Ground Zero w/
moment of silence followed NY Gov. George Pataki reading "The Gettysburg
Address", former NY mayor Rudolph Giuliani reading names of all 9/11 victims
-9 am ET: Memorial service at Pentagon begins
-9:30 am ET: Memorial service in Shanksville, PA begins
-10:15 am ET: "Taps" is played at Ground Zero/NYC ceremony. NJ Gov. Jim
McGreevey reads excerpts from Declaration of Independence.
-10:30 am ET:  Expected ceremony conclusion

The Live ABC feed will be followed by an all day program that will look at
our response, our lives, our healing, our children, our neighbors, our
heroes and our future.  Sirius will feature music and comments from many of
the artists heard throughout the year on Sirius' music channels, including
exclusive Sirius performances and/or interviews.  As you may know, Sirius is
located in Midtown Manhattan and has had the opportunity to host a number of
artists and performers in the studios that have reflected on 9/11 during
their visit to our studios.

If you would like more information about Sirius' special September 11th
exclusive programming or would like to talk further about America's need for
live news in their car, please let me know.

Regards,
Thomas Meyer
Rogers & Cowan for Sirius Satellite Radio

-- 
TV Barn: http://www.tvbarn.com

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 4:04pm
Subject: RE: Idle Question

> My question: The clips played of the two finalists singing 
> were accompanied 
> by fairly straight-faced reaction by the "news" anchors -- 
> however both 
> singers seemed to me to be so over-the-top horrible that my 
> first conclusion 
> was that the show must be a spoof of a talent show, rather 
> than an actual 
> talent show. Is *AI* more of an updated version of *The Gong 
> Show* or *Star 
> Search*?

It's supposed to be "Star Search"--but at the risk of being Whalenesque, let
me posit a theory about "AI"'s popularity.

The kind of music that "AI" features is what is generally played on adult
contemporary and (to a certain extent) Top 40 radio today--formats which
*generally* attract a primarily female audience.  In fact, Ryan Seacrest,
one of "AI"'s hosts, is afternoon personality for a "hot AC" (a hybrid
between adult contemprary and Top 40) station in LA, Star 98.7 (where Danny
Bonaduce works morning drive).  On the other hand, stations that play a
generally harder brand of rock than "AI" supports, be it "classic rock,"
"active rock" (Linkin Park and P.O.D. with Aerosmith and AC/DC oldies) or
"modern rock" (Linkin Park and P.O.D. with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Duran
Duran oldies), are *generally* listened to by men.  Of course, there are
exceptions, but you should notice a difference in the commercials on a "lite
rock with less talk" and/or "favorites of the 80s, 90s and today" station
than a "classic rock that really rocks" or "alternative" mumbled in a
filtered monotone station.  Let's just say you won't hear many cosmetics or
Fashion Bug spots on the latter station--and you won't hear beer or Taco
Bell spots on the former.

Therefore, it's safe to say that *generally* a show like "AI," considering
the kind of music it presents, would appeal more to female viewers than male
viewers (and notice that you aren't hearing males in the audience screaming
"I LOVE YOU KELLY!").  Although adult contemporary stations do share Rod
Stewart, Elton John and Billy Joel with classic rock stations, they pretty
much play the Whitney/Celine/Mariah/Madonna kind of diva pop that is "AI"'s
raison de'etre.  Therefore, if your favorite Elton John song is "Saturday
Night's Alright for Fighting" instead of, say, "Can You Feel the Love
Tonight," you're not going to find much on "AI" for you to like.

Once again, those are generalizations and you may personally not fit those
pigeon holes--and good for you.  Also, it does seem like the people who
frequent these kinds of boards and write smartass recaps for web sites are
not the kind of people who listen to AC radio.  One could intimate that we
all are much more intelligent than those other people, but that would be too
much smug self-satisfaction.

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: PGage@AOL.COM
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:19pm
Subject: Re: Idle Question

Mark Jeffries wrote... (SNIP)
> Therefore, it's safe to say that *generally* a show like "AI," considering
> the kind of music it presents, would appeal more to female viewers than 
> male
> viewers (and notice that you aren't hearing males in the audience screaming
> "I LOVE YOU KELLY!").  Although adult contemporary stations do share Rod
> Stewart, Elton John and Billy Joel with classic rock stations, they pretty
> much play the Whitney/Celine/Mariah/Madonna kind of diva pop that is "AI"'s
> raison de'etre.  Therefore, if your favorite Elton John song is "Saturday
> Night's Alright for Fighting" instead of, say, "Can You Feel the Love
> Tonight," you're not going to find much on "AI" for you to like.

PGage writes...
I like the Elton John test, but I'm not sure how to interpret my own score 
(my favorite EJ songs: "Crocodile Rock" and "Bennie and the Jets". Am I a 
contemporary adult, or do I really rock?)

I appreciate the feedback about the show, and from what I gather, the clips 
shown on the news shows this morning are not the best basis for judging the 
quality of talent of the two finalists. I was known to watch a little *Star 
Search* in my day, but when the singers came on I almost always took a break, 
unless they were *really* good. And I can't even imagine a talent-type show 
without a fashion model segment (I guess AI really must be aimed at the 
chicks).

 




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Pollak, Melissa  <mpollak@nsf.gov>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 4:21pm
Subject: RE: "Columbine" rejected by New York Filmfest

> Sue Trowbridge wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 4 Sep 2002, Aaron Barnhart wrote:
> 
> > I've gone too far this
> > time, cut too close to the bone, stuck my lens where it doesn't belong -
> > right straight through the heart of an America that is both master and
> > victim of the ultra-violence.
> 
> Not to re-open the Michael Moore debate, but...
> First, let me say that I loved ROGER & ME, I have gone to hear Moore
> speak, I support a lot of what he says. I haven't seen COLUMBINE, but I'm
> sure I'll be there the weekend it opens. But is it possible that the
> incredibly enthusiastic response this film has received around the world,
> and particularly in France, stems from the fact that it shows America in a
> less-than-favorable light -- in fact, focuses on the gun culture that
> horrifies and fascinates many Europeans? I think Moore has said that
> France has decreed that every schoolchild must see this film as part of
> their curriculum from now on.
> 
> Just asking.
> 
	My response:  Sue, you're exactly right.  Europeans love films that
bash this country.  That's why Moore is a lot more popular and well known
over there than he is here.  

	Now, come again.  That is, I don't get it.  Why is it that anyone
(but Moore) should care that this film got rejected by the New York Film
Festival?  I fail to see that this is such a tragedy.

	Melissa

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:26pm
Subject: It's a beautiful day at Ground Zero...

Fred Rogers Produces Five New PSA's for the Anniversary of September 11

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Where can parents turn for help in 
talking with their young children about the anniversary of September 11th? 
... to America's most trusted neighbor, Fred Rogers.  In five new public 
service messages for parents to air on PBS, he addresses the needs of young 
children in a way that parents can understand, just as he does every day on 
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

"Young children are likely to be confused," says Fred Rogers.  "They don't 
understand what an anniversary is, and if they see the tragedy replayed on 
television, they might think it's happening at that moment."  His new public 
service messages for parents will air on public television stations around 
the country and will also be available on the PBS web site (www.pbs.org).

Children's outer world certainly has changed, but their basic needs remain 
the same.  In fact, Fred Rogers' calming presence and his insightful messages 
may be more important for young children in today's world than ever before. 
Today's children continue to benefit from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood seen 
daily on public television, where they find support for their growing self- 
esteem, appreciation of others and the world around them, and constructive 
ways to deal with their anger.  The series even tackles tough issues like 
death and divorce.  "What our children need to hear from us most," he says, 
"is that they can talk with us about whatever is important to them."


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:26pm
Subject: On the Lake front...

The Ricki Lake Show Begins 10th Season With Fresh Direction, New Producers, 
New Look


Ricki Lake Becomes Supervising Producer 

Show Counts Down to Season 10 Premiere With Favorite Shows Voted on by Fans 

NEW YORK, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 16, 2002, the successful, 
award-winning syndicated series Ricki Lake launches its 10th season with a 
number of new initiatives as it builds on its rich history of engaging and 
entertaining talk.  The new direction includes more diverse topics which 
reflect the growing interests of Lake and her audience, new elements 
including segments taped on the streets of New York and visits to guests' 
homes, and a new set.  Personally involved in all of these changes, Lake 
steps up her responsibility this year, taking on the role of supervising 
producer.

Ricki Lake will examine topics this season from a more experienced 
perspective to accommodate the audience's constantly widening areas of 
interest while at the same time continue to produce compelling, edgy shows 
with the surprising elements that are a staple of the series.  "Along with 
many of my viewers, I've entered into a new chapter of my life, and together 
we are facing new issues," commented Lake.  "I want the show to grow and 
reflect these changes, and I am confident we will be able to confront issues 
and topics in a different, interesting manner.

"I want women to feel like they have a place to go for one hour each day 
where they know they'll get information about the things that matter most to 
them from relationships and sex, to women overcoming obstacles, to addressing 
what is in the news at the time and how it relates to us," added Lake.

Under Lake's guidance, viewers will enjoy new components such as man-on- 
the-street segments and branded episodes during which the series takes an 
insider's look at edgy subjects that many consider taboo.  Topics will range 
from the serious -- adult discussions with victims of violent crimes speaking 
out to help other women who may be afraid to come forward -- to the light- 
hearted -- such as a look back at Ricki's life as she visits her hometown for 
the first time in over a decade, and invites some old friends from her 
"Hairspray" days for a visit on the set.

"One of the things I am looking forward to is taking the show out on the 
streets of New York, and really interacting with everyday people and getting 
their opinions on topics from sex to dating to weight ... whatever seems to 
be on their mind," continued Lake.  "I also plan to visit guests at home and 
really open up the show allowing me to have a more personal interaction with 
our guests unlike anything we have ever done before, and I am really excited 
about the possibilities."

Ricki Lake will also have branded episodes such as "Ricki Investigates," 
which in one episode will explore deadly diet trends including the popular 
weight-loss supplement Ephedra.  Other branded episodes include installments 
of "Exposed" which takes an insider's look at edgy subjects that many 
consider taboo.  All of the branded episodes will be produced in an in depth 
manner with a sensitive approach that explores these topics from all points 
of view.

In addition to the show content, loyal viewers will also notice a new set and 
new graphics.

Executive producer Michael Rourke heads the new production team.  "This 
season presents unique and innovative opportunities for the entire production 
team," says Rourke.  "The series' past success is based on Ricki herself, so 
it only makes sense to re-focus the show to reflect more of her concerns and 
ideas.  Ricki is the only thirty-three-year-old woman in daytime television 
that is addressing the issues that affect her generation.  Her natural 
curiosity, concern for women's issues, earnest compassion for those with whom 
she comes in contact and sharp sense of humor are all part of what has drawn 
and will continue to draw a loyal audience during the past and next decade of 
this series."

Assisting Rourke with the new direction of the series includes daytime 
syndication veteran Michelle Mazur as co-executive producer, and Rosie 
O'Donnell alums Mimi Pizzi as Ricki's Supervising Senior Producer and Liza 
Persky as Entertainment Producer.

Leading into the debut of Season 10 will be two weeks of Ricki's top episodes 
from the first nine seasons, as voted on by Ricki's fans at www.ricki.com .  
"We wanted to enter out tenth season with a look back at some of our most 
memorable moments from the first nine years," said Lake.  "And what better 
way to do that than to let our loyal fans choose what episodes we will show." 
 Beginning Tuesday, September 3, fans will enjoy a two-week look back at the 
top episodes, with a special introduction each day by Ricki.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Pollak, Melissa  <mpollak@nsf.gov>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 4:36pm
Subject: RE: Idle Question

> ken roberts wrote:
> 
> PGage wrote:
> > <snippy>
> > however both 
> > singers seemed to me to be so over-the-top
> > horrible that my first conclusion 
> > was that the show must be a spoof of a talent
> > show, rather than an actual 
> > talent show. 
> 
> Kelly is an incredibly talented singer, though her voice has been
> suffering lately.  She hasn't kicked major booty since she performed
> 'Stuff Like That There' four weeks ago. [1]
> 
	Actually, I only partially agree with you.  I don't think "Kelly is
an incredibly talented singer" but I do think "her voice has been suffering
lately."  I also agree that her performance of "Stuff Like That There" was
her best.

> I'm not a big fan of Justin, but given the correct song, he's really
> good.  The two craptacular songs from last night,
> 
	Yes, both were craptacular songs.

>  however, were not the
> correct songs for Justin.  He's best when crooning.  And molesting the
> camera with his eyes.
> 
	Actually, neither one is particularly musical.  (Kelly often shouts
rather than sings, and I think it was Tom Shales who said Justin can almost
sing.)  Of the top 30 contestants, I though only Alexis (Lopez?) was
musical, and of the top 10, Tamyra came closest to having a decent voice.

	But to quote (not perfectly) Jackie Mason (yes, I know, he's been
back in the news):  Who knew you could have a music career without being
able to sing?

	Since this applies to almost every pop star, I think either Kelly
and Justin would make a fine winner.  Both have good stage presence, but
Justin has a little more, so I would have voted for him if I had voted,
which I didn't.

	By the way, the best part of the whole series -- the reason to tune
in -- was Simon Cowell.  If we were doing winners and losers, he would be
the real winner of the summer.

	Melissa

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 4:34pm
Subject: RE: Idle Question

> PGage writes...
> I like the Elton John test, but I'm not sure how to interpret 
> my own score 
> (my favorite EJ songs: "Crocodile Rock" and "Bennie and the 
> Jets". Am I a 
> contemporary adult, or do I really rock?)

I think you're on the fence--"Croc" and "Bennie" are played by both AC and
classic rock, with classic rock probably getting the edge because ACs are
starting to kick 70s songs out of the playlists in order to keep their
audience at the same age that advertisers prefer.

But it all seemed to be much simpler in the old days--the kids liked the
rock & roll and the parents liked Perry and Bing.  Or is that more gross
oversimplification?

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 0:50pm
Subject: Re: "Columbine" rejected by New York Filmfest

>> My response:  Sue, you're exactly right.  Europeans love films that
> >bash this country.  That's why Moore is a lot more popular and well known
> >over there than he is here.  

Here's a thought. Michael Moore loves this country more than anyone else can, 
and wants it to be better than it can be. 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Pollak, Melissa  <mpollak@nsf.gov>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 4:56pm
Subject: RE: "Columbine" rejected by New York Filmfest

> tomalhe@a... wrote:
> 
> >> My response:  Sue, you're exactly right.  Europeans love films that
> > >bash this country.  That's why Moore is a lot more popular and well
> known
> > >over there than he is here.  
> 
> Here's a thought. Michael Moore loves this country more than anyone else
> can, 
> and wants it to be better than it can be. 
> 
	The problem with that thought is:  whose "better"?

	Moore's?

	What if his idea of "better" isn't the same as others?

	Melissa
	who's leaving to go look after some cats in Lake Barcroft

From: Bielinski, Christine  <christine.bielinski@turner.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 5:42pm
Subject: RE: Idle Question

>I think you're on the fence--"Croc" and "Bennie" are played by both AC and
>classic rock, with classic rock probably getting the edge because ACs are
>starting to kick 70s songs out of the playlists in order to keep their
>audience at the same age that advertisers prefer.

This thread is interesting because one of the theories I read about the popularity of "AI" is the variety of genres featured from week to week. One week was all '70s songs, a recent one was Burt Bacharach, another focused on '40s swing (posing quite a challenge for performers not used to singing with a live band). By including some "older" genres, they could appeal to an audience beyond the 12-24 demo.

I'm not a big reality-TV fan, but personally, I've enjoyed "AI" for no other reason than it actually requires talent from its contestants. "Survivor" demands a certain athletic and strategic ability, but compared to the "entertainment" value of "Fear Factor," "Big Brother," et. al., at least "AI" puts on a show. I also like that you vote _for_ a winner instead of against a loser. Sure Simon brought the requisite mean streak to the show, but at least his comments are based on a performance and not just ill will. 

- Christine


> ----------
> From: 	Jeffries, Mark
> Reply To: 	tvbarn2@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: 	Wednesday, September 4, 2002 5:34 PM
> To: 	'tvbarn2@yahoogroups.com'
> Subject: 	RE: [tvbarn2] Idle Question
> 
> > PGage writes...
> > I like the Elton John test, but I'm not sure how to interpret 
> > my own score 
> > (my favorite EJ songs: "Crocodile Rock" and "Bennie and the 
> > Jets". Am I a 
> > contemporary adult, or do I really rock?)
> 
> I think you're on the fence--"Croc" and "Bennie" are played by both AC and
> classic rock, with classic rock probably getting the edge because ACs are
> starting to kick 70s songs out of the playlists in order to keep their
> audience at the same age that advertisers prefer.
> 
> But it all seemed to be much simpler in the old days--the kids liked the
> rock & roll and the parents liked Perry and Bing.  Or is that more gross
> oversimplification?
> 
> Mark Jeffries
> mjeffries@k...
> mjsaints@a...
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. 
> 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: Steve Rhodes  <srhodes@well.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 5:48pm
Subject: Re: You can't be Sirius

"listeners can follow
the events live while they are in their cars.  Something you don't get with
traditional radio."

 Last time I was in someone's car, the traditional radio received NPR and
affiliates of ABC, CBS and CNN radio which will all be providing live
coverage.

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 5:49pm
Subject: RE: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

> Seems like FOX finally got fed up with the autodial crowd. When I 
> dialed the announced number tonight to cast my vote (for Kelly, if 
> you must know), instead of recording my vote there was played an 
> announcement. The female voice said "To vote for the contestant of 
> your choice call 1-900-(bla-bla-bla yakkety schmackety)(Repeat 
> twice)".
> 
> Which leads me to ask, when "Idol" returns for its second series will 
> FOX shift over to 1-900 numbers, excluding some viewers from the 
> process for various and sundry reasons, in order to control those who 
> might skew the vote?

That's exactly how "Pop Idol" worked it in the UK (well, they call it
"premium" numbers), with the profits going straight to 19 and Fremantle (or
Thames, as it's known over there).  Supposedly, the reason they didn't do
that over here is because of restrictions on 900 numbers in some states
(which is why "Millionaire" switched to an 800 number).  Toll-free numbers
aren't restricted at all, even though it costs money for Fox, 19 and
Fremantle.

If they do toll-free numbers again on "AI2," you can be sure that the
numbers will be commercially sponsored and that you'll have to hear a
commercial on the phone before your vote is registered.

Mark Jeffries
mjeffries@k...
mjsaints@a...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: SeanJordan@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 1:51pm
Subject: Re: Re: American Idol: Vote all you want, but dial around

In a message dated 9/4/2002 2:19:19 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
joe_capitano@f... writes:


> For those not aware, every time you place 
> a call to a 1-800 number your phone number is recorded - even if it's 
> unlisted, unpublished, or caller ID blocked 

It's not just 800 numbers, it can be any phone with the right equipment 
hooked up to it. I worked at a major L.A. radio station almost a decade ago, 
and was quite amazed when I stumbled upon these logs in a back closet.

And I imagine this info is sold to phone soliciters and other interested 
parties?

~


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 1:52pm
Subject: Re: "Columbine" rejected by New York Filmfest

>>Here's a thought. Michael Moore loves this country more 
>>than anyone else can, and wants it to be better than it can be. 

>    The problem with that thought is:  whose "better"? Moore's?
>    What if his idea of "better" isn't the same as others?

That's why we have America. Home of free speech, free expression and that 
most dangerous radical extremist idea "free thought." 

We get to debate things, unless of course they're things which one side 
disagrees with. Guess that whole questioning authority only works when the 
major party you dislike is in power. Personally I don't get this we're #1 
mantra that means the status quo is great, shut up and don't ask any 
questions.  

As I recall, Moore's idea of "better" involves less corporate greed, more 
active voting regardless of party affiliation, racial equity, fewer firearm 
deaths, fewer rapes, fewer functionally illiterate high school students. 

Oh, and world peace (vacant smile, nod, pageant wave.) 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Sep 4, 2002 1:52pm
Subject: Re: Idle Question

>at least "AI" puts on a show. I also like that you vote _for_ a winner 
instead of >against a loser. Sure Simon brought the requisite mean streak to 
the show, but >at least his comments are based on a performance and not just 
ill will. 

Way to doom "American Idol : Season Two." Require people to audition using 
       A) a musical instrument 
       B) a song they've written themselves.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]