From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Tue Apr 10, 2001 1:23pm
Subject: Re: Why Jay Leno is the Devil ... new reason.

I think you can thank Mavis for this one.  By that I don't mean that 
Jay doesn't have an independent political thought in his head, 
but just that his wife, who is very shy, has seen fit to assert 
herself on issues that matter to her and her Feminist Majority 
mates, and that quite possibly inspired Jay to do the same.

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:
> > William Fugazy, who heads an anti-bias group, yesterday 
> > called on NBC and 
> > comedian Jay Leno to apologize for labeling Mayor Giuliani a 
> > "fascist" on 
> > "The Tonight Show."
> >  
> > Fugazy, head of the National Ethnic Coalition of 
> > Organizations and a longtime 
> > ally of the mayor, said he was so incensed that his group 
> > will file a formal 
> > complaint with NBC tomorrow regarding the "disgraceful" 
remarks.
> > 
> > "We're very upset about this. To do this to Rudy Giuliani, 
> > who has been one 
> > of the strongest supporters of ours, is disgraceful," Fugazy 
said.
> 
> I don't know--to me, it seems like the Jay Leno we used to 
know before NBC
> emasculated him might be starting to reassert himself.  Hope 
he doesn't get
> drugged back into blandness by his bosses.
> 
> Mark Jeffries
> mjeffries@k...
> mjsaints@a...

From: pmurray@bigfoot.com
Date: Tue Apr 10, 2001 5:25pm
Subject: New lawsuit

DETROIT (OOPS) - An American of Irish-Hungarian descent has announced 
plans to file a lawsuit against people who are easily offended by 
things on TV.

"Lighten up, morons!" announced Paul Murray. "Spare us your moral 
outrage at every thing you see and hear on TV that you don't like. 
It's okay not to like it, that's what America is all about, but don't 
portray yourself as authorities of virtue. Save your bile for things 
that matter."

Potential defendants are likely to include people whining about 
comments made by insipid late-night talk show hosts, and ethnic 
groups who don't like being portrayed in popular comedies or dramas 
because obviously that means the producers think that EVERY SINGLE 
MEMBER of that group behaves that way.

After his announcement, speculation immediately began that Mr. Murray 
would be sued by morons for defamation. However, viewers of the World 
Wrestling Federation (WWF) were unavailable for comment by press time.

-30-

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 2:27am
Subject: Random thought...

Watching the ad for the Carson video set during SCTV for the 
million-and-second time this week, I was struck with a sudden thought:

In keeping with NBC's current strategy of running older programming 
overnight (which, for whatever reason, I've had occasion to watch lately), 
why not run old Carson episodes overnight instead of week old Leno's?  Kind 
of fits in with the 10 year old SNL's they've been running on the weekends. 
Hell, they may actually be able to *sell* ads in the Carson repeats instead 
of running make goods and spots used to pad packages.
I really need to get some sleep.....

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

From: jicarney@edge.net
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 9:51am
Subject: The Weakest Link

Sarah Purcell <sjohanna@y...> wrote ...


>That said, I agree that NBC has promoted the show
>strangely and annoyingly here.  Of course, part of the
>show's shtick is that the host "Ann" is a terrible
>person, whom the contestants fear and the audience
>hates, but it's dumb to try and create that dynamic
>before anyone's even SEEN the show.

I haven't watched NBC that much, so I haven't been as saturated with the
promos as some others, but I think they're probably wise to sort of set
people up for the fact that Ann isn't Regis.

"Antiheros," to borrow a term from fictional TV, are always a tricky
business; I've often wondered how Dabney Coleman must feel to see Ted Danson
succeeding with the kind of grouchy, curmudgeonly character that he tried
unsuccessfully to launch in shows like "Buffalo Bill."  But in the case of
"Becker," we give Danson's character the benefit of the doubt because of the
goodwill the actor built up during another show. (No, not "Ink.")

I think if people had simply stumbled across "The Weakest Link" without
knowing what to expect, they might be turned off.  I think the network may
be trying to warn the audience that this is a little more tongue-in-cheek
than some other game shows, and they should approach it with that mindset.

============================================================
John I. Carney | jicarney@e... | http://jicarney.cjb.net
============================================================


John I. Carney  |  jicarney@e...   |   http://jicarney.cjb.net
<http://jicarney.cjb.net/>

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 10:33am
Subject: Spelling Ranks Potential Strikes with "Life with Lucy"

You'll also see some bad news for those of you who just couldn't get enough
of "Titans:"

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) -  While promoting his new UPN series about a young
doctor at a evil and haunted hospital in Boston, producer Aaron Spelling is
very up front about what scares him.

"Nothing, nothing we can do on 'All Souls' will be as scary as this strike
coming up," says the 77-year-old veteran behind such shows as "Beverly
Hills, 90210," "Charlie's Angels" and "Love Boat." Not to mention, current
hits like "7th Heaven" and "Charmed."

He and his wife Candy waited out the strike of 1988 by delivering sodas to
the picketers every day. This time around, he's emphatic that the networks'
contingency plan of more and more reality shows is not the way to go.

"Our big problem with reality shows is that it does not use actors, it does
not use writers, and I don't know what the business would be coming to if it
becomes all reality. If the strike goes ahead, I think you're going to be
stunned by the reality shows that will be on the air." 

"We have never done one and I don't know that we ever would do one, but I
hope that it doesn't go that way. Everybody's out of a job: writers, actors,
directors, wardrobe people, crews. That's not the way our business should
be. Now, [CBS President] Les Moonves will hate me for saying that, but
that's okay." 

The strike won't affect Spelling's latest show though. The six-episode order
has already been filled, and whether it gets picked up is entirely up to the
audience. Spelling hopes that it will remind people of the Stephen King
novel and movie "The Shining." 

 "Instead of 'ER' our show should be called 'ES' because 'everything's
scary,'" he jokes.

"It is really a far-out show. 'Charmed' is not a far-out show compared to
this." 

Like The WB's "Charmed," "All Souls" is on a smaller network. While they
might not have as much clout as one of the Big Three, Spelling enjoys being
there all the same.

"The business has changed so much. I remember when we had five shows in the
top 10 on ABC. Now, of course, ABC likes to buy most of its shows from
Disney. I can understand that, cause Disney owns ABC," he says, before
enthusing about how the smaller networks are willing to work closer with
show creators. 

"We will continue to make pilots for CBS and NBC, and perhaps ABC too, but
the other networks are treating us like they're just starting, and they're
so excited about doing it, and that makes us excited." 

Genres may come and go, but Spelling says that family shows remain his
favorite. Following his NBC primetime soap "Titans" cancellation last year,
he's not eager to re-tread that ground. Asked if he would revisit soaps
again, he quickly responds, "Only in my bathroom." 

"All Souls" premieres Tuesday, April 17, at 9 p.m. EST on UPN.

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

...and its last episode will be Tuesday, May 8, at 9 p.m. EST on UPN.

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

From: trow@slip.net
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 11:16am
Subject: Re: Spelling Ranks Potential Strikes with "Life with Lucy"

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:

> "Our big problem with reality shows is that it does not use actors,
> it does not use writers, and I don't know what the business would
> be coming to if it becomes all reality. If the strike goes ahead, I
> think you're going to be stunned by the reality shows that will be
> on the air." 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't reality shows use writers too? I 
mean, some unfortunate scribe had to pen Julie Chen's narration 
on "Big Brother," etc. And even though "Survivor" doesn't have a lot 
of voiceovers, there are those oh-so-clever poems that introduce the 
immunity & reward challenges.

One of the guests on Letterman made reference to having to cross a 
picket line to get in. (Dave quickly changed the subject.) I guess 
writers are upset that Dave worked out some kind of a deal with the 
writer's guild that will keep his show on the air even in the event 
of a strike.

--Sue T.

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 11:31am
Subject: RE: Re: Spelling Ranks Potential Strikes with "Life wit h Lucy"

> Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't reality shows use writers too? I 
> mean, some unfortunate scribe had to pen Julie Chen's narration 
> on "Big Brother," etc. And even though "Survivor" doesn't have a lot 
> of voiceovers, there are those oh-so-clever poems that introduce the 
> immunity & reward challenges.

Reality shows use writers, but for some reason most reality show producers
don't have to have them join the WGA--or, in the case of game shows, they
use other credits like "creative consultant," "editorial staff,"
"researchers" and "segment producers" to avoid having their writers join the
WGA--at least in the case of established game show producers who may have
had WGA contracts in the past.  Cable is wide open--neither Ben Stein's
writers (or the writers on "The Daily Show", for that matter) are in the WGA
but can be credited as writers.

And for the record, "Millionaire" just went WGA with an exemption for the
strike (which is why the writers are now in the every-night credits),
"Jeopardy!"'s writers are union and so are "Hollywood Squares."

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

From: trow@slip.net
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 11:54am
Subject: "Survivor" winner?

Thanks to Mark J. for answering my question about the role of writers 
in reality TV.

I just read the following on TVBarn.com:
---
Gary Trapp writes, "Was Dave Letterman turning the knife on his pal 
Les Moonves by revealing the 'Survivor II' winner on Monday's show? 
Dave asked Nick, the latest 'loser' (as he's taken to calling 
his 'Survivor' visitors) if it's true he recently took a trip to 
Vegas with Mitchell and Colby, and Nick said yes. Colby is the only 
one of the trio to still be competing. 'So, it's interesting,' Dave 
said, 'a guy took a trip to Las Vegas, maybe had come into a large 
sum of money recently.' In my opinion, Nick looked a little anxious 
when he tried to brushoff the comment. 

"As we learned with Gervase in the first 'Survivor,' CBS is not 
beyond planting fake clues to throw off the public. However, Dave 
would never take part in such a thing. In fact, since he clearly has 
no use for Les Moonves it would probably make his day to let a little 
air out of his balloon." 

We'll see if he did. 
---

I believe I read somewhere in the approximately eight zillion reports 
on "Survivor II" that in fact none of the survivors know which person 
won. The final tribal council votes were padlocked until the series 
finale, when they will be counted live on the air. I don't think 
anybody would be the least bit surprised to see Colby make it to the 
final two, though.

And of course the winning survivor won't receive his or her cash 
prize (not to mention that weird-lookin' car) until after the show 
has finished its run. So, nice try, Gary Trapp, but I don't think 
Nick can be accused of spilling the beans.

--Sue T.

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 11:40am
Subject: Re: "Survivor" winner?

>> "As we learned with Gervase in the first 'Survivor,' CBS is not 
> >beyond planting fake clues to throw off the public. However, Dave 
> >would never take part in such a thing. 
> 
> But if 3 were allowed to go gambling together (granted Mitchell is not on 
> the jury) they certainly have had the opportunity to ask hey who'dja vote 
> for... whether they "know" or not... 




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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 11:40am
Subject: Which is our weakest timeslot? Goodbye?

from NBC Publicity:

'WEAKEST LINK' TO PREMIERE OVER THREE CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS APRIL 16-18 
Published: April 11, 2001 

NBC will showcase "Weakest Link" – its new primetime quiz show from Britain 
– on three consecutive nights next week, beginning with the series premiere 
on Monday, April 16 (8-9 p.m. ET) and continuing on Tuesday, April 17 
(9:30-10:30 p.m. ET), and Wednesday, April 18 (10-11 p.m. ET).

NBC Entertainment President, Jeff Zucker, said: "We're awfully excited about 
'Weakest Link' and we want to expose it to as many different viewers as 
possible. Showcasing it in these different time slots will give a huge 
cross-section of the population a chance to tune in to what we think is a 
unique and highly entertaining game show." 

Hosted by the saucy Anne Robinson – the British "presenter" whose signature 
kissoff line, "You are the Weakest Link …goodbye," captured a nation's fancy 
– "Weakest Link" is a fast-paced game in which a group of eight contestants 
are tested on general knowledge. However, the competition takes on a sharp 
new edge at the end of each round when one of the contestants is deemed "the 
weakest link" and is drop-kicked off the show by a vote of the others. 
Robinson provides the icy trademark dispatch with her increasingly 
recognizable -- if terse -- farewell.

As a result, NBC's program lineup for those three nights will be shifted 
slightly to accommodate "Weakest Link." On Tuesday, April 17, an original 
episode of "Frasier" (9-9:30 p.m. ET) will be followed by "Weakest Link" from 
9:30-10:30 p.m. (ET). "Dateline NBC" will follow in a special abbreviated 
version at 10:30-11 p.m. (ET).

On Wednesday, April 18, viewers will have the opportunity to catch the Emmy 
Award-winning "The West Wing" an hour earlier from 8-9 p.m. (ET), followed by 
an original episode of "Law & Order," which also moves up one hour from 9-10 
p.m. (ET). 

Following is NBC's primetime schedule for April 16-18 (all times ET):

Monday, April 16
8-9 p.m. – "Weakest Link" (premiere)
9-10 p.m. – "Dateline NBC"
10-11 p.m. – "Third Watch"

Tuesday, April 17
8-8:30 p.m. – "The Fighting Fitzgeralds"
8:30-9 p.m. – "3rd Rock from the Sun"
9-9:30 p.m. – "Frasier"
9:30-10:30 p.m. – "Weakest Link"
10:30-11 p.m. – "Dateline NBC"

Wednesday, April 18
8-9 p.m. – "The West Wing"
9-10 p.m. – "Law & Order" 
10-11 p.m. – "Weakest Link"



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

From: John I. Carney  <jicarney@edge.net>
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 10:20pm
Subject: Daily Show snafu

Anyone else watch the Daily Show tonight (Wednesday)?  The show began 
as usual, then about 30 seconds in, as Jon Stewart was talking about 
the night's guest, the telecast was interrupted by the opening 
credits of the previous night's (Tuesday) broadcast. Nearly the whole 
first segment of the previous evening's broadcast ran; they cut out 
of it to run the first spot break, and then when we came back from 
the spot break they had gotten back on track and were showing 
Wednesday's tape again.

I'll have to catch the repeat Thursday evening to catch that first 
segment ....

John I. Carney  |  jicarney@e...  |  http://jicarney.cjb.net

From: thumbsup3@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 11, 2001 8:12pm
Subject: Re: Daily Show snafu

<< Anyone else watch the Daily Show tonight (Wednesday)?  The show began 
 as usual, then about 30 seconds in, as Jon Stewart was talking about 
 the night's guest, the telecast was interrupted by the opening 
 credits of the previous night's (Tuesday) broadcast. Nearly the whole 
 first segment of the previous evening's broadcast ran; they cut out 
 of it to run the first spot break, and then when we came back from 
 the spot break they had gotten back on track and were showing 
 Wednesday's tape again. >>

I also caught this, and the first 30 seconds were actually from the January 
31 show, with James Van Der Beek touted as the guest. Then they cut in with 
the April 10 opening, and ultimately back to tonight's show, as you said.

I guess we got our "weekly dose of 'Daily'" all in one night.

Christine

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Thu Apr 12, 2001 0:15am
Subject: Cannonball limp!

[And of course the complete lack of anything interesting and/ or funny being 
captured by cameramen. -- Tom]


The Hollywood Reporter says : 

USA firing 'Cannonball' as reality race continues

USA Network is looking to liven up its schedule during the dog days of August 
with "The Real Cannonball Run 2001," a reality series commemorating the 30th 
anniversary of the cross-country race that inspired the 1981 Burt Reynolds 
movie "The Cannonball Run." The one-hour series, scheduled to run over five 
consecutive nights in August, will follow six teams of contestants as they 
traverse the country in souped-up vehicles in a race to California from New 
York to collect a $100,000 prize. GRB Entertainment is producing the series 
with Beau Flynn and Dawn Parouse. The teams will face all sorts of obstacles 
in their dash for cash, ranging from lost keys and siphoned gas to unexpected 
detours on pavement-challenged roadways.    
    



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

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 0:07pm
Subject: You Want to Know Who to Blame for "Boot Camp?"

An interesting article from the UK Independent about the think tank at
England's Granada Television that came up with the original concept for
"Boot Camp:"

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=65732

This could be a potential weapon for LMNO in their suit with CBS (and it's
interesting that CBS has not included Granada in their suit, or so it
seems).

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

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 1:24pm
Subject: FYI

I just composed a file that will go out to all new subscribers that 
explains a few things about the tvbarn2 group. Basically I tell 
them there are other ways to read and reply to messages 
besides straight e-mail (Digest and Web Only) and I put in a plug 
for Bookmarks.

If you want to look at it, the new-subscriber message is here: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvbarn2/files/tips-tvbarn2

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 1:27pm
Subject: RE: FYI

> I just composed a file that will go out to all new subscribers that 
> explains a few things about the tvbarn2 group. Basically I tell 
> them there are other ways to read and reply to messages 
> besides straight e-mail (Digest and Web Only) and I put in a plug 
> for Bookmarks.
> 
> If you want to look at it, the new-subscriber message is here: 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvbarn2/files/tips-tvbarn2

Unfortunately, Aaron, only you can see the web page--I tried to get on it
and got an "Oops--moderator only" message.

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

From: Michael Jones  <spikej555@earthlink.net>
Date: Fri Apr 13, 2001 2:28pm
Subject: Re: the past is the past

Aaron: 
  <I just composed a file that will go out to all new subscribers that 
  explains a few things about the tvbarn2 group.> 

  I was hoping you would respect privacy issues, and refrain from mentioning the criminal records of some of the now productive members of the group. 

  disappointed,
  Michael


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 14, 2001 3:12am
Subject: it takes diff'rent spokes to rule the world

The Associated Press
Todd Bridges Saves Paraplegic

LOS ANGELES  - Todd Bridges, the once-troubled actor who played Willis on the 
TV sitcom ``Diff'rent Strokes,'' was credited Friday with saving the life of 
a paraplegic woman whose wheelchair rolled into a lake. 

Stella Kline said the electric wheelchair lurched into the Balboa Park Lake 
in the San Fernando Valley on Thursday after her fishing line caught on the 
chair's controls. When it tipped over in 3 feet of water, she was trapped 
underneath. 

Bridges, whose run-ins with the law made him a tabloid favorite in the 
mid-'80s and '90s, was fishing a few feet away with his brother James, 40. 
Both jumped in to help. 

``I was thanking God that he was there,'' said Kline, 50. ``And you know, 
everybody's been saying nothing but bad stuff about Todd Bridges on the news 
and in the papers ... He has a heart of gold.'' 

Bridges, 35, who starred with Gary Coleman in the sitcom, 1978-1986, was 
nonchalant. 

``We felt God put us there at the right time to save this lady's life, 
because there was no one else around,'' he said. 



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

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Sat Apr 14, 2001 10:46pm
Subject: Re: FYI

Argh! Fixed. The below link now works ...

> > I just composed a file that will go out to all new subscribers 
that 
> > explains a few things about the tvbarn2 group. Basically I tell 
> > them there are other ways to read and reply to messages 
> > besides straight e-mail (Digest and Web Only) and I put in a 
plug 
> > for Bookmarks.
> > 
> > If you want to look at it, the new-subscriber message is here: 
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvbarn2/files/tips-tvbarn2

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sun Apr 15, 2001 9:26pm
Subject: Lateline : 2, Viewers : 0

The Hollywood Reporter says : 

Foley nabs title role in 'Fuddy' 
Apr. 15, 2001 

Dave Foley has answered Fox Broadcasting Co.'s question "What's Up, Peter 
Fuddy?" The "NewsRadio" star has signed on to play the title character in the 
comedy pilot presentation from Studios USA. Written by award-winning 
advertising writers Erik Moe and Jay Kogen (NBC's "Frasier"), "The Truman 
Show"-esque show is set at a "Nightline"-style news show that follows the 
daily foibles of insurance adjuster Fuddy (Foley), who is forced to appear on 
the show to defend his actions. David Steinberg (HBO's "Curb Your 
Enthusiasm") is set to direct the single-camera presentation. "Fuddy" 
reunites Foley, Kogen and Steinberg, who worked together on the cult comedy 
"The Wrong Guy."


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

From: pmurray@bigfoot.com
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 9:44am
Subject: Shales on "Weakest Link"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21813-2001Apr15.html

"Good grief, the level of ineptitude is awesome. For a show that 
takes delight in ridiculing failure and humiliating losers, "Weakest 
Link" seems to have been put together by an awfully accident-prone 
crowd itself. This show is "Titanic" with a twist; not content with 
having hit one iceberg, the captain and crew set off across the 
Atlantic looking for others and ramming as many as they can find."

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 10:46am
Subject: Phil Silvers group

I'm adding this to the bookmarks, too:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PhilSilvers

The group's moderator writes, "We have several relatives of now 
deceased show cast members, and even a few of Phil Silvers' 
(now adult) children as part of our group which makes 
interesting TV history discussion within our group."

From: Anthony Foglia  <afoglia97@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 2:13pm
Subject: Game Show Contestants...

In regards to Aaron's comment about the game show contestants
appearing on multiple shows.  Well yesterday's winner was on Jeopardy
about 5 years ago.  Not that long ago, but it does lend credence to
the theory that there is a small group of people who regularly win.

--Anthony

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 2:24pm
Subject: RE: Game Show Contestants...

> In regards to Aaron's comment about the game show contestants
> appearing on multiple shows.  Well yesterday's winner was on Jeopardy
> about 5 years ago.  Not that long ago, but it does lend credence to
> the theory that there is a small group of people who regularly win.

For the record, the rules of the various networks and producers generally
state that you can only be a contestant on *any* broadcast game show once in
a year and twice over a ten-year period (and usually once on a particular
show in your lifetime).  "Millionaire"'s rules state that you can be in the
final ten twice in a "series" (which they now seem to define as the entire
year from the beginning of the fall season to the beginning of the next fall
season) and that you can't be on if you were on another prime time
game/reality show in the last year (which includes both "Survivor" and
"Greed").

Of course, it's only noticeable now because of the fact that there are other
quiz shows on the air besides "Jeopardy!"--most quiz show contestants aren't
particularly interested in being on "The Price is Right" or "Wheel of
Fortune"--and are definitely not the "Change of Heart"/"All-New 3s a Crowd"
type.  And they *do* know what it takes to get on a show more than a
neophyte.

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

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 5:44pm
Subject: Re: Game Show Contestants...

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:

> 
> And they *do* know what it takes to get on a show more than a
> neophyte.
> 

I was watching Jeopardy! just today -- a bleak episode where the 
winner wasn't that stellar but simply steamrolled his two nervous 
challengers -- and understood a little better why you sometimes 
want savvy players on these shows.

But still. MILLIONAIRE is supposed to be about Joe Average 
getting his spin in the hot seat.  Is the universe of quality players 
really as circumscribed as recent events make it appear?

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 5:56pm
Subject: RE: Re: Game Show Contestants...

> But still. MILLIONAIRE is supposed to be about Joe Average 
> getting his spin in the hot seat.  Is the universe of quality players 
> really as circumscribed as recent events make it appear?

It seems to be when you get contestants by the phone qualifying--at this
point, with "Millionaire" only a solidly-performing hit show, not a national
phenomenon, only the quiz geeks (and I use that phrase lovingly) are
probably the only ones who are calling in again and again and again.  Of
course, that's one of the reasons why "Millionaire" went to cattle call
contestant auditions, where they were shooting for personality as much as
smarts.  Interestingly enough, the contestants that came out of the cattle
calls didn't win as much money as the call-in applicants--so they're trying
a combination of both ways of getting contestants (doing cattle calls in
areas of the country where they're getting a low percentage of contestants,
at least at first) and seeing what happens.

In addition, they've recently changed the procedure on the call-in
qualifying, where potential contestants now answer one round of five
questions and if they pass, are put in a general contestant pool instead of
the old system, where you selected your taping date if you passed the first
round and participated in the playoff.  Considering that they do interview
over the phone anyone who passes and get some basic information from them
(including "Have you ever been on a game show before?"), they may try to
weed out the more obvious quiz geeks.  Of course, that's conjecture, but
it's no secret that Michael Davies has been trying to get more than
pasty-faced middle-aged white guys on the show for some time now.  It's a
little disconcerting for this pasty-faced middle-aged white guy, but I'll
still give it my shot--I'm just not the type that will have my cordless
phone in hand for hour after hour punching redial to get to "Millionaire."
Maybe 5 minutes, but not hour after hour.

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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 3:05pm
Subject: The West Bong

'West Wing' creator Sorkin arrested on drug charge
  
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Aaron Sorkin, the Emmy-winning creator and executive 
producer of NBC's "The West Wing," was arrested on a drug possession charge 
Sunday at Burbank Airport, authorities said Monday. 

Sorkin, 40, was taken into custody by airport police after security personnel 
found a quantity of hallucinogenic mushrooms in his carry-on baggage, airport 
spokesman Victor Gill said. 

The Web site of broadcast trade publication Electronic Media, which revealed 
the incident, said Sorkin was attempting to catch a Southwest Airlines flight 
from Burbank to Las Vegas when he was arrested. 

Airport spokesman Gill said Sorkin was booked on a charge of possession of a 
controlled substance and released three hours later on his own recognizance 
after a $10,000 bail bond was posted. 

Sorkin's publicist issued a brief statement confirming that the producer had 
been arrested for alleged drug possession on  Sunday at Burbank Airport, in 
the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, and was released on bail. 

"I am glad to be surrounded by such a supportive group of people and am 
prepared to proceed as directed by my attorney and in the best interest of my 
family," Sorkin said in the statement. 

Sorkin is scheduled to be arraigned April 30, Gill said. 

According to Electronic Media, Sorkin signed a four-year, $16 million 
development deal at Warner Bros. Television in July. 

Sorkin is the creator and an executive-producer of "The West Wing," the NBC 
White House drama now in its second season that won an Emmy Award in 
September for best drama series. He also shared an Emmy for writing on the 
show.


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

From: John I. Carney  <jicarney@edge.net>
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 8:54pm
Subject: Re: Game Show Contestants...

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:

> For the record, the rules of the various networks and producers
generally
> state that you can only be a contestant on *any* broadcast game show
once in
> a year and twice over a ten-year period (and usually once on a
particular
> show in your lifetime).  "Millionaire"'s rules state that you can be


The rules would appear to be looser for some cable shows -- I was on a
game show called "Top Card," on what used to be The Nashville Network,
in 1989 or so.  "Top Card," which was taped in Nashville, apparently
needed players, because after two or three years (I forget which) the
producers actually sent me a postcard _pointing_out_ that their rules
now entitled me to reapply.  I did, and got on the show again!

John I. Carney  |  jicarney@e...  |  http://jicarney.cjb.net

From: HSWyman@AOL.COM
Date: Mon Apr 16, 2001 11:20pm
Subject: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

MISSING: THE HUMAN TOUCH
BY HARRISON WYMAN

WEAKEST LINK
MONDAYS 8-9 PM
NBC

    "Weakest Link" is a fast-paced, high-tech, high-tension game show that is 
well executed but will probably fail in the long haul.  The reason is the 
producers of the show are importing it intact and ignore a fundamental 
difference between entertainment television in the US and the UK: Unlike 
British viewers, American audiences don't like mean people at the center of 
the show.
       The most successful British import in the history of American 
television (until the arrival of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire") was a 
sitcom called "Til Death Do Us Part."  Producer Norman Lear changed the name 
to "All in the Family" and he changed a key element of the show.  In "Death," 
the male lead was an ignorant, foul-mouthed bigot married to a sharp-tongued 
wife who was every bit as mean as he was.
     Lear didn't change the core nature of the husband but he changed the 
wife's character.  Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker was balanced off by Jean 
Stapelton's Edith Bunker who didn't have a mean-spirited bone in her body.  
The Gracie Allen-like sweetness of Edith was a brilliant counterpoint to the 
sour Archie.  Edith loved Archie and could find the goodness in him that most 
people couldn't find with an electron microscope.  
       But what about that American original "Dallas"?  Larry Hagman's J. R.  
Ewing was as dark a character as ever seen in an American TV drama, so driven 
he was willing to destroy his family to save the family business.  But 
Hagman's J. R.  was countered by Patrick Duffy's Bobby Ewing playing a 
contradiction: a goody two-shoes who was no pushover.  The dynamic between 
Hagman and Duffy was so effective, when the character of Bobby Ewing was 
killed off the show's writers spent the next season making J. R. less 
ruthless and more loving.  A kinder, gentler, J. R.  didn't play with 
audiences, resulting in the return of Patrick Duffy in a way that wrecked the 
dramatic credibility of "Dallas."
    Game shows are different: how the host interacts with the guests is 
almost as important as the game itself.  The one major exception is "You Bet 
Your Life," where watching Groucho Marx talk with people from all walks of 
life was the centerpiece of the show and the game was incidental.  There are 
echoes of Groucho in the interplay between Regis Philbin and the contestants 
on "Millionaire."  But the byplay on "Millionaire" serves two purposes; to 
ease the tension and help the audience know the contestant better and 
increase the viewer's rooting interest.  A savvy television veteran, Regis 
knows when the contestants look good, it makes him and the show look better.
     Not even Groucho called his guests stupid for getting the answers wrong 
and that's the flaw in host Anne Robinson.  Robinson plays her role 
brilliantly: the problem is its the wrong role.  To these American eyes, 
Robinson comes across as every snippy employee behind a counter or at the 
other end of the phone who assumes the customer is always wrong.  And the 
cutthroat nature of the game, as contestants are voted off and abruptly 
dismissed with a curt "Goodbye" hardly helps.  A viewer can't develop a 
rooting interest in any of the players and the departing comments of the 
eliminated players come across as little more than sour grapes. 
    Imagine Jeff Probst of "Survivor" snuffing torches with enthusiasm and 
CBS trying to make "Hit the bricks, honey," America's new catch phrase.  At 
the same time trying to alter the core elements would diminish the show, not 
unlike the attempts over the years to make the British comedy "Fawlty Towers" 
American and funny and resulting in failure at both.  Some shows imported 
from England don't work outside their native soil.  That may be the weak link 
in NBC's version of "Weakest Link"

From: jondelfin@aol.com
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 7:26am
Subject: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

<< "Weakest Link" is a fast-paced, high-tech, high-tension game show 
that is well executed but will probably fail in the long haul.  The 
reason is the producers of the show are importing it intact and ignore 
a fundamental difference between entertainment television in the US 
and the UK: Unlike British viewers, American audiences don't like mean 
people at the center of the show. >>

She didn't bother me as much as the obviously-coached contestants. "Do 
something interesting for the cameras if you get voted off." And those 
post-game interview soundbites are so focused, they can't have been 
spontaneous.

From: Michael Jones  <spikej555@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 9:30am
Subject: Re: the weakest character, er link

Harrison: 
<And the 
cutthroat nature of the game, as contestants are voted off and abruptly 
dismissed with a curt "Goodbye" hardly helps.>  

I've written NBC repeatedly suggesting they send defeated contestants off with a more affectionate 'now go take on the day' but have yet to receive a response.

<Imagine Jeff Probst of "Survivor" snuffing torches with enthusiasm and 
CBS trying to make "Hit the bricks, honey," America's new catch phrase. > 

I could envision, however, a Bobby Knight-like character substituting for Alex Trubeck and occasionally choking Jeopardy losers (following a well-earned verbal lashing). 
That would be awesome tv. 

 Michael



Subject: [tvbarn2] ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"


  MISSING: THE HUMAN TOUCH
  BY HARRISON WYMAN

  WEAKEST LINK
  MONDAYS 8-9 PM
  NBC

      "Weakest Link" is a fast-paced, high-tech, high-tension game show that is 
  well executed but will probably fail in the long haul.  The reason is the 
  producers of the show are importing it intact and ignore a fundamental 
  difference between entertainment television in the US and the UK: Unlike 
  British viewers, American audiences don't like mean people at the center of 
  the show.
         The most successful British import in the history of American 
  television (until the arrival of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire") was a 
  sitcom called "Til Death Do Us Part."  Producer Norman Lear changed the name 
  to "All in the Family" and he changed a key element of the show.  In "Death," 
  the male lead was an ignorant, foul-mouthed bigot married to a sharp-tongued 
  wife who was every bit as mean as he was.
       Lear didn't change the core nature of the husband but he changed the 
  wife's character.  Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker was balanced off by Jean 
  Stapelton's Edith Bunker who didn't have a mean-spirited bone in her body.  
  The Gracie Allen-like sweetness of Edith was a brilliant counterpoint to the 
  sour Archie.  Edith loved Archie and could find the goodness in him that most 
  people couldn't find with an electron microscope.  
         But what about that American original "Dallas"?  Larry Hagman's J. R.  
  Ewing was as dark a character as ever seen in an American TV drama, so driven 
  he was willing to destroy his family to save the family business.  But 
  Hagman's J. R.  was countered by Patrick Duffy's Bobby Ewing playing a 
  contradiction: a goody two-shoes who was no pushover.  The dynamic between 
  Hagman and Duffy was so effective, when the character of Bobby Ewing was 
  killed off the show's writers spent the next season making J. R. less 
  ruthless and more loving.  A kinder, gentler, J. R.  didn't play with 
  audiences, resulting in the return of Patrick Duffy in a way that wrecked the 
  dramatic credibility of "Dallas."
      Game shows are different: how the host interacts with the guests is 
  almost as important as the game itself.  The one major exception is "You Bet 
  Your Life," where watching Groucho Marx talk with people from all walks of 
  life was the centerpiece of the show and the game was incidental.  There are 
  echoes of Groucho in the interplay between Regis Philbin and the contestants 
  on "Millionaire."  But the byplay on "Millionaire" serves two purposes; to 
  ease the tension and help the audience know the contestant better and 
  increase the viewer's rooting interest.  A savvy television veteran, Regis 
  knows when the contestants look good, it makes him and the show look better.
       Not even Groucho called his guests stupid for getting the answers wrong 
  and that's the flaw in host Anne Robinson.  Robinson plays her role 
  brilliantly: the problem is its the wrong role.  To these American eyes, 
  Robinson comes across as every snippy employee behind a counter or at the 
  other end of the phone who assumes the customer is always wrong.  And the 
  cutthroat nature of the game, as contestants are voted off and abruptly 
  dismissed with a curt "Goodbye" hardly helps.  A viewer can't develop a 
  rooting interest in any of the players and the departing comments of the 
  eliminated players come across as little more than sour grapes. 
      Imagine Jeff Probst of "Survivor" snuffing torches with enthusiasm and 
  CBS trying to make "Hit the bricks, honey," America's new catch phrase.  At 
  the same time trying to alter the core elements would diminish the show, not 
  unlike the attempts over the years to make the British comedy "Fawlty Towers" 
  American and funny and resulting in failure at both.  Some shows imported 
  from England don't work outside their native soil.  That may be the weak link 
  in NBC's version of "Weakest Link"

        Yahoo! Groups Sponsor 
       
       

  TVBarn2: America's funniest TV chat room.
  Goodbye: tvbarn2-unsubscribe@egroups.com



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

From: thekid1955@aol.com
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 6:07am
Subject: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

In a message dated Tue, 17 Apr 2001 12:26:39 -0000, jondelfin@a... writes:


> She didn't bother me as much as the obviously-coached contestants. "Do 
> something interesting for the cameras if you get voted off." And those 
> post-game interview soundbites are so focused, they can't have been 
> spontaneous.
> 

I agree... here's what I fired off to Aaron as soon as the show ended:

Date:   Mon, 16 Apr 2001 18:13:55 PDT
From:   "R Casalotti" <rcasalotti@e...>   
To: "Aaron Barnhart" <aaron@t...>
Subject:    The Weakest Link    

Who would have thought that among the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" music, 
staging, and lighting; the supposed "Most Hated Woman in the UK" host Anne 
Robinson (whose wardobe gives a new meaning to the phrase "basic black"); 
and the moribund audience of "The Weakest Link," that the real weakest link 
of the show would be - the American contestants? 

Have you ever seen a less likable group of players? Of course, they were 
obviously instructed to project that indignant image by the producers in 
some sort of "Weakest Link" persona as they traverse the "Walk of Shame" and 
are interviewed afterwards. 

Unfortunately, the "losers" showed that they are not only lacking in general 
trivia knowledge, but in the acting skill necessary to make their facade 
even slightly believable. 

If you ask me, the true "shame" is that the producers failed at selecting 
eight "boffo" contestants for the debut of this (probably long-running) 
program. 

In the clipped delivery of Anne Robinson, "Goodbye" 

Ron Casalotti 
Wayne, NJ 




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

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 11:20am
Subject: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

Quite the feedback loop we've got going today. Anyone else 
watch the show?

From: Bill Partsch  <billpartsch@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 1:21pm
Subject: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

The show has potential but it must overcome the labored pace of its first U.S. 
installment. I like the sour host and the confrontational dynamic, but the show 
wastes time on endless rehashes of rules and other protocol. That time might 
be better spent trolling for information that would make the audience like 
various contestants more or less. 

Also, on the TV Barn page, Aaron quoted Chris Stamper's opinion that the 
host of "Inquizition" did the scolding-professor routine better than Anne 
Robinson. I agree. Anne needs to flex her wit more when she admonishes the 
group on its poor performance. After two such incidents last night, her routine 
already seemed a little, well, routine. 

"The Weakest Link" has more sexy money to throw around than "Inquizition," 
but it just doesn't have the attitude down yet. I want bile and venom. I want  
self-satisfied know-it-alls to feel the withering disgust of millions of viewers like 
hail on their skulls as they fail to summon the widely known middle name of 
the president of the United States, for Christ's sake!  I want emotion. I want 
drama. I want to see ignorant losers walking off in tears! That would be so 
satisfying. 

I'll settle for less, but not this much less.

--Bill

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 1:56pm
Subject: RE: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

> The show has potential but it must overcome the labored pace 
> of its first U.S. 
> installment. I like the sour host and the confrontational 
> dynamic, but the show 
> wastes time on endless rehashes of rules and other protocol. 
> That time might 
> be better spent trolling for information that would make the 
> audience like 
> various contestants more or less. 

Sooner or later, all game shows make the rules explanations less detailed or
non-existent as the audience is more accustomed to the show (you may notice
that Regis doesn't explain Fast Finger anymore on "Millionaire" and most
contestants get after ther interview and before they start simply "You know
the rules, you know the lifelines, let's play 'Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire!'").  If enough people have seen the first three shows this
week, the producers might consider shortening the rule explanation a little
sooner than they may have.

I have the feeling that if you watched a tape of "Jeopardy!" in 1964 (if one
was available), it would be funny hearing Art Fleming explaining everything
we now know all too well.

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

From: Aaron Barnhart  <aaron@tvbarn.com>
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 2:51pm
Subject: Fwd: Spanish language "B&B"

"THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL" TO  BECOME THE FIRST DAYTIME DRAMA TO 
OFFER SPANISH-LANGUAGE SIMULCAST VIA SAP TECHNOLOGY, MAY 28 ON THE 
CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

CBS's THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL will, on Monday, May 28, become the 
first daytime drama in television history to offer a Spanish-language 
audio feed through SAP (Secondary Audio Program) technology, it was 
announced by Lucy Johnson, Senior Vice President, Daytime/Children's 
Programs and Special Projects, CBS Entertainment, and Bradley Bell, 
executive producer of the series.

The simultaneous Spanish language audio feed will initially be 
available to more than 40 owned or affiliated CBS stations that have 
the SAP technology, including outlets in New York City, Los Angeles, 
Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., 
Miami, Houston and Dallas.

To coincide with the launch of the SAP channel, Bell will add new 
Latino characters during the week of May 28.  The new characters will 
lead to a star-studded fashion show featuring celebrities of the 
Latin American music and the telenovela world.

"The Hispanic community has embraced THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL 
internationally, and we believe that the combination of the new 
characters and the SAP technology will make the show accessible and 
enjoyable to a whole new audience," Bell stated.  "The Latino 
characters are the first step in making THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL 
even more appealing to this audience."

Latinos currently represent nine million television households in the 
U.S., 10% of total U.S. households.  Forty-two percent of Hispanic 
households are already SAP equipped.  Preliminary figures from the 
U.S. government's 2000 census indicate that the Latino population 
could be considerably higher than thought and has penetrated far 
beyond the border states throughout the rest of the country.

"Without question, the Latino viewer is a rapidly growing segment of 
the U.S. Television audience," said Johnson.  "Through content and 
technology, CBS  hopes to reach out to Hispanic viewers, create even 
more loyal fans for THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and continue the 
Network's ongoing commitment to diversity."

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL has enjoyed  success in Spain and other 
Spanish-speaking countries. In Uruguay, it receives a 42 audience 
share, even though it is broadcast in English with Spanish subtitles. 
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is broadcast in more than 100 countries 
and is acknowledged to be the world's most-watched television series, 
with an estimated audience of 300 million viewers.

CBS has been the number-one rated network in daytime television for 
more than 12 consecutive years.   THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, 
acknowledged industry-wide for its lush production values, is set in 
Los Angeles and centers on the personal and business battles between 
two powerful fashion conglomerates.

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is now in its 15th year on the CBS 
Television Network.  It is broadcast weekdays (1:30 - 2:00 PM, 
ET/12:30 - 1:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.  It is 
produced by Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc.  Bradley Bell is 
executive producer and head writer.

Starring in the series are (alphabetically) Sarah Buxton, Darlene 
Conley, Jennifer Finnigan, Susan Flannery, Adrienne Frantz, Winsor 
Harmon, Sean Kanan, Katherine Kelly Lang, Aaron Lustig, John McCook, 
Dan McVicar, Ronn Moss, Justin Torkildsen and Hunter Tylo.

*   *   *

From: Bill Partsch  <billpartsch@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 4:35pm
Subject: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

You're right, of course, and I meant to mention that point, but then I 
got all in a lather. I guess my concern is that when they take the 
getting-to-know-you protocols away, what will they do with all that 
extra time? As has been noted elsewhere, last night's contestants were 
a sorry tundra of personality.

--Bill

> Sooner or later, all game shows make the rules explanations less detailed or
> non-existent as the audience is more accustomed to the show (you may notice
> that Regis doesn't explain Fast Finger anymore on "Millionaire" and most
> contestants get after ther interview and before they start simply "You know
> the rules, you know the lifelines, let's play 'Who Wants to Be a
> Millionaire!'").  If enough people have seen the first three shows this
> week, the producers might consider shortening the rule explanation a little
> sooner than they may have.


> > The show has potential but it must overcome the labored pace 
> > of its first U.S. 
> > installment. I like the sour host and the confrontational 
> > dynamic, but the show 
> > wastes time on endless rehashes of rules and other protocol. 
> > That time might 
> > be better spent trolling for information that would make the 
> > audience like 
> > various contestants more or less.

From: pmurray@bigfoot.com
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 4:43pm
Subject: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

Full column at:
http://www.forbes.com/2001/04/16/0416dvorak.html

"While there is a raging debate over copyright issues on MP3, the 
same can't be said for these PVR schemes. Is it any different to 
steal programming by skipping the commercials (which paid for the 
programs) than it is to download a song? On top of that, both 
UltimateTV and TiVo charge customers $10 a month to use the device. 
None of that money goes to the networks or programmers whose material 
is being re-recorded and saved to the hard disk."

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 2:09pm
Subject: Re: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

i missed taping the first 5 minutes or so... thus i had to explain the rules 
for about 3-4 minutes to my parents... not a good thing(TM).


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

From: PGage@AOL.COM
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 6:26pm
Subject: Re: ANALYSIS: CHINKS IN "WEAKEST LINK"

HSWyman@A... wrote...
 MISSING: THE HUMAN TOUCH
"Weakest Link" is a fast-paced, high-tech, high-tension game show that is  
well executed but will probably fail in the long haul.  The reason is the 
producers of the show are importing it intact and ignore a fundamental  
difference between entertainment television in the US and the UK: Unlike  
British viewers, American audiences don't like mean people at the center of 
the show. (SNIP)

PGage writes...
I usually lurk on this list (and appreciate all the good info and insight) 
but am breaking radio silence just to say that I disagree with this analysis. 
Wyman may be right that American audiences won't buy into a show with a mean 
core, but I don't think he is right that this show has a mean core -- unless 
you think professional wrestling or daytime talk shows are mean (as opposed 
to stupid) at their core. I actually like the quiz show part of the WL. I 
would like the host more if she were truly mean -- if she interacted normally 
with the contestants most of the time, and saved her barbs for more crucial 
moments when the contestants really did do something stupid. As it is, her 
meanness comes off like a bad act -- she's mean the way porno film stars are 
sexy. The contestant by-play also seems forced and artificial, and the little 
comments after they get voted off sound like the producers promised that the 
shrillest complainer would get an extra case of Rice-Roni.

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 10:44pm
Subject: Delayed Jar Jar-culation

Wednesday April 18 1:41 AM ET
Ad woes ``Menace'' Fox 

By Josef Adalian

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Jar Jar Binks won't be coming to Fox this spring after 
all.

The network has decided to push back the previously scheduled April 29 
television bow of ``Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace'' until 
November -- even though Fox had already started promoting the picture with 
flashy primetime spots.

Rights to the picture weren't cheap, and with the ad market decidedly chilly 
right now, Fox executives apparently thought the network's sales force could 
squeeze more revenue out of the movie later this year.

Overall TV viewership tends to go up in the fall and winter, increasing the 
likelihood of Fox drawing a bigger overall audience to ``Phantom.''


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

From: Keith Privett  <Keith@PRIVETT.COM>
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 3:10am
Subject: You are the biggest hypocrite, good bye

talking back to my tivo'd TV- Weakest Link, episode two...

Anne Robinson: "Voting is over its time to reveal who you think is TWL"

Contestants: "Jamie", "Jamie", "Jamie", "Jamie", "Cheryl"

(Robinson berates contestants explaining their votes for Jamie)

Robinson: "Cheryl, statistically you were the worst player, but it's
votes that count... Jamie with three votes you are TWL, G'bye.

Me, talking back to my TV: "Anne, what is your profession... game show
host? ... you want to give away a million, and yet you can't even count
to four...Who is an embarrasment to the british education system... You
are the biggest hypocrite... Ha-Ha"

---

Also, anyone catch the reference to the NBC's last prime time gameshow,
"Twenty-one."  

And how wonderfully WWTBAM has used McDonald's to invade TWL with ads
for the "Millionaire" game...

--
Second most frequently heard phrase on TWL: "Could you please repeat
the question"

Third most frequently heard phrase on TWL: "Bank," especially when the
previous answer was incorrect and therefore NOTHING to bank. Oddly
enough Robinson does not ridicule this pecadillo, or fearful teams who
fail to build long chains by frequently banking... therefore never
moving nightly totals above the 5-digit level.

I love my gameshows, but this one is trying my patience... fast.


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
http://auctions.yahoo.com/

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Tue Apr 17, 2001 11:38pm
Subject: Re: You are the biggest hypocrite, good bye

>> Also, anyone catch the reference to the NBC's last prime time gameshow,
> >"Twenty-one."  
> 
> I caught the reference last night.... same announcer. He thinks he's doing 
> golf. 
> 
> >> <Hushed tones> :  "Babs is statistically The Weakest Link... but since 
>> 
> 




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

From: James Porteous  <porteous@interlog.com>
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 6:30am
Subject: Afterlife for TV's Quirky Flops?

An interesting article from the New York Times:

Afterlife for TV's Quirky Flops? Sometimes...

Why are some network flops redeemed while others vanish? The
fate of these shows is the result of an industry dance
involving money (big surprise) and marketing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/18/arts/18NOTE.html




J a m e s P o r t e o u s
Toronto ON
Just because I have an ice-pick in my head doesn't mean I'm a Trotskyite

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 0:16pm
Subject: CBS opens Television City East

CBS TELEVISION NETWORK OPENS TELEVISION CITY AT THE 
MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGAS

Innovative Research Center and Tourist Destination Provides 
CBS Continual Feedback From Its Audience

NEW YORK, April 18 -- The CBS Television Network today 
announced the opening of the most comprehensive and 
ambitious research center in the television industry. TELEVISION 
CITY, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, is a state-of-the-art facility 
that offers visitors an entertaining destination in one of the 
nation's most vital tourist marketplaces, while at the same time 
providing CBS with a source of continual interaction with its 
television viewing audience.

The launch of the media center was announced by David 
Poltrack, Executive Vice President, Research and Planning, CBS 
Television, who designed the center and will be responsible for 
its operation.

"With TELEVISION CITY, we are establishing a valuable dialogue 
with our audience, one that adds significant enjoyment of the 
entertainment product and services provided to them by CBS 
and all of the other Viacom networks," said Mr. Poltrack.  "I look 
forward to working with our partners -- the MGM Grand, SonyStyle 
and ACNielsen Entertainment -- as well as our clients, to realize 
the full potential of this venture."

Operating under CBS's direction, TELEVISION CITY will also be 
available to all Viacom properties for focus groups, tracking of 
public opinion on programming, and other research and 
development needs.  The Center's centerpiece Promotional 
Display includes material from all of Viacom's television 
programming entities, including CBS, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, 
UPN, King World, Paramount Television, Showtime, TNN and 
CMT, among others.  In addition, Viacom's Paramount Parks will 
manage the center for CBS.

"The media landscape is more competitive today than ever 
before," said Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive 
Officer, CBS Television. "Only by staying in close touch with our 
audience can we continue to succeed and grow. This center, 
drawing on a Las Vegas tourist base of 37 million annual 
visitors, will give us a significant competitive advantage as we 
develop the programming of the future. I am particularly pleased 
that the entire family of Viacom television companies will take 
part in and benefit from this innovative project.  I'd like to thank 
and congratulate David Poltrack for getting it off the ground."

The new TELEVISION CITY consists of the following elements:

A Promotional Display featuring 46 Sony video display units 
including a 3'x3' video cube, a 3'x3' video wall, a state-of-the-art 
digital projection wall and a Home Theater with HDTV.

*       Two Screening Rooms for Program Testing, powered by 
ACNeilsen Entertainment's ReelResearch system. Each seat is 
equipped with a SeePoint Touch Screen computer linked to the 
Internet, allowing CBS and its partners to author questionnaires 
and track viewer response from New York and Los Angeles. *       
Two Focus Group rooms with video conferencing capabilities for 
Program Testing. *       Interactive computer kiosks (also 
employing ReelResearch) providing high speed access to all of 
the Viacom Television related Web sites. *       A retail outlet, 
operated by the MGM Grand, offering a variety of merchandise 
tied to Viacom' s television networks and programming.

In addition to Paramount Parks and the MGM Grand, CBS will 
have several other key partners in the operation of TELEVISION 
CITY. ACNielsen Entertainment will manage the TELEVISION 
CITY Entertainment Panel and the on-site, online surveys. Sony 
Electronics Inc., and SonyStyle have built the audio-visual 
infrastructure of the center and will continue to furnish the Home 
Theater display. Robert A. Brilliant, Inc., the long-term provider of 
program testing for CBS, will continue in that role at TELEVISION 
CITY, and FocusVision will provide its state-of-the-art video 
conferencing system that will allow executives to view research 
sessions conducted at the center from their offices in New York 
and Los Angeles, and on their computers via the Internet.

Ongoing data obtained at TELEVISION CITY will provide CBS 
and its partners with both daily and long-term reports. On a daily 
basis, Program Screenings and Focus Groups will monitor 
viewer reaction to specific programming and promotional 
content.  At the same time, the TELEVISION CITY Entertainment 
Panel will offer longer-term consumer feedback. Visitors 
accepting an invitation to join the Entertainment Panel will be 
surveyed periodically about a range of Viacom entertainment 
products and services either through a dedicated Web site or via 
telephone.  Over time, the Panel will provide valuable 
longitudinal measurement of major trends in the entertainment 
marketplace and track the progress of specific Viacom branded 
products and services.

In addition to program testing, CBS will also offer its clients and 
partners the opportunity to conduct their own research to help 
develop and execute television advertising campaigns.

CBS Television is comprised of the CBS Television Network -- 
with more than 200 owned and affiliated stations reaching 
virtually every television home in the United States; the Network's 
programming arms CBS Entertainment, CBS News and CBS 
Sports; and CBS Enterprises, a global leader in distribution.

(NOTE TO EDITORS:  Artist's rendering available upon request.)

*   *   *

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 3:02pm
Subject: NBC Sweeps-O-Rama (we mean it this time)

Sorry, folks -- was trying with no success to get the URL to post properly on the 
Web.

NBC HAS FINAL SAY IN MAY WITH 28 DAYS OF FINALES, A 'FRIENDS' WEDDING, 
WINONA, WOODY AND SALLY -- AND OTHER CELEBRITY GUEST-STAR 
GLITTERATI APPEARING ON PRIMETIME SERIES 

Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Kathie Lee Gifford, Sally Field All Appear 
Separately On Superstar Thursday, April 26; "3rd Rock" Blasts Off In Finale And 
"Must See" Comedies End Season With One-Hour Episodes

http://www.nbcmv.com/pw2/main/dnr.cgi?cmd=detail&query_id=1609&noinfo=1

From: bleemer@excite.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 3:24pm
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

--- In tvbarn2@y..., pmurray@b... wrote:
> Full column at:
> http://www.forbes.com/2001/04/16/0416dvorak.html
> 
> "While there is a raging debate over copyright issues on MP3, the 
> same can't be said for these PVR schemes. Is it any different to 
> steal programming by skipping the commercials (which paid for the 
> programs) than it is to download a song? On top of that, both 
> UltimateTV and TiVo charge customers $10 a month to use the device. 
> None of that money goes to the networks or programmers whose 
material 
> is being re-recorded and saved to the hard disk."

I am not a TV professional so I have this question: How is the use of 
a PVR different than that of a VCR in this respect? I understand PVR 
technology, but I don't understand why there is such an issue over 
the recording of shows using a PVR while there is a similsr issue 
with the VCR. I vaguely remember the issue coming up in 1981 or 1982. 
I have been recording my "can't miss" shows for years on my VCR and 
watching them at a more convenient time fast forwarding through the 
commercials. If I watch only the game portion of Jeopardy I can watch 
it in under 15 minutes.

This ability doesn't seem to be denied to anybody who owns a VCR. Now 
the PVR comes along and this suddenly becomes an issue. Is it because 
people are considered too dumb to time set their VCRs and the PVR 
automates this function?

Tom W

From: jondelfin@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 3:41pm
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

Tom W writes, among other things: << If I watch only the game portion 
of Jeopardy I can watch it in under 15 minutes. >>

And if I cut out the ads, the promos, the teasers, the obvious media 
press kits, and anything about any "reality" TV show, the Kennedy 
family or celebrity arraignments (the actual list is somewhat longer), 
I can watch Entertainment Tonight in around 5 minutes. And I do.

Jon

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 3:48pm
Subject: RE: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

> And if I cut out the ads, the promos, the teasers, the obvious media 
> press kits, and anything about any "reality" TV show, the Kennedy 
> family or celebrity arraignments (the actual list is somewhat 
> longer), 
> I can watch Entertainment Tonight in around 5 minutes. And I do.

And with CNN chopping "Showbiz Today" into one-minute segments, that means
now that no entertainment "news" show is even attempting to provide serious
coverage of the entertainment industry.  What a shame.

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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 9:00pm
Subject: 52 of the The Best New Shows You're Not Watching

Re: TV Guide's "The Best Show You're Not Watching" 
> 
> I myself wondered if it had been dropped as its unveiling was made a part 
> of the TV Guide Awards last year. Had they actually done it during this 
> years awards "Once & Again" fans would have had an additional month(?) to 
> campaign. 
> 
> The bigger problem might be with TV Guide and the need to save only one 
> show a year.
> 
> Here in the black and white pages this week, we have a garage sale of some 
> of the heavy profit multiple cover TVG collectors issues they've sold just 
> in the last year: The Beatles, Elvis, Judy Garland, NASCAR, 24 different 
> covers of The Simpsons, and Gone With The Wind.
> 
> Add to that the frequent Trek, Wrestling, Superbowl, X-Files issues, 
> (regional hockey or baseball or football) and we're looking at 
> conservatively 10-12 issues a year that could promote shows. 

On top of that calculate in any Press Agent scored cover featuring Ricky 
Martin, Janet (Miss Jackson if you're nasty!), NSync, The Backstreet Boys, 
Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Jim Carrey, Oprah, Star Wars, and any FORMER 
TV star with a movie to plug. 

Also add in the issues devoted to The 50-100 Greatest Sports, Music, TV, 
Movie Moments, Scenes, Personalities, Actors, Characters of all time, and The 
Year in Cheers and/or Jeers which don't necessarily involve TV shows but are 
more and more a rip-off of the year-end Esquire Dubious Achievement awards. 

The Fall Preview, the Returning Favorites Issue, The Spring/Winter Preview... 
(oil can oil can...)

Now then ... if less than half of the TV GUIDE feature cover stories of 
actual television shows, and perhaps only 1-2 promote a new show ... and it's 
only as the best new show you're not watching/we've not promoted...

Then we'll never see a Mole cover, a World News Now cover, (okay cult 
favorites those), Iron Chef, Robot Wars, (perhaps more cultish as well) a 
Masterpiece Theatre/Mystery/Bravo/A&E series/event cover, any soaps (well, 
okay there are 3-4 magazines already for them), anything on Lifetime, Sci-fi, 
History Channel ... well, anything not on the big 7. (Not including Pax.)

But I think it all boils down to the old folksy wisdom of some Dr. Hook 
lyrics: 
"Wanna see my picture on the cover... Rolling Stone... Wanna buy five copies 
for my mother." A cover on TV Guide or Rolling Stone is not your big break 
anymore. It's only after you've already gotten there that you've got a shot. 
(Another tradition gone: the poll voting for on the bubble shows, which now 
falls to USA Today.)

TV Guide: crow all you want about the good work you do to honor respect and 
"save" shows, but at least admit you're partly to blame.


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 9:10pm
Subject: Re: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

>If I watch only the game portion if Jeopardy 
>I can watch it in under 15 minutes.

I may (and frequently do) view Millionaire "live", but i don't think I'll 
ever watch "The Weakest Link" without access to FFWD and Rewind again. 9-10 
minutes of real game time. 

Bring on the half hour celeb TWL special 
with-those-people-who-were-on-that-reality-show-about-the-island-on-another-ne

twork-we-don't-want-to-plug-but-we'll-try-and-cash-in-on-anyway.


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 9:10pm
Subject: Re: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

>And with CNN chopping "Showbiz Today" into one-minute segments, that means
>now that no entertainment "news" show is even attempting to provide serious
>coverage of the entertainment industry.  What a shame.


As with their Peabody winning political reporting... look to The Daily Show 
for not only Entertainment News, but proper criticism as well. 






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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 9:25pm
Subject: What About Joan? Success. Watch your back, Geena Daaviis!

[Anyone else question the judgement of ABC threatening in its TV ads for 
viewers to "TUNE IN FOR YOUR LAST CHANCE TO SEE 'THE JOB' / "WHAT ABOUT 
JOAN?'" 
  That sounds more like "Even though the upfronts are still a month away THIS 
SHOW MAY ALREADY BE BE CANCELLED!" 
  Unless it's an institution, networks don't always tout the last episode of 
a run or season. ALthough that wisdom is changing in the "TUNE IN FOR 5 
(MORE) STRAIGHT EPISODES WITHOUT A RERUN." -- Tom, and now back to our show 
already in progress.]

====The Hollywood Reporter====

ABC sweeping 'Joan' into May 
Apr. 19, 2001 

ABC is expected to extend the run of the James L. Brooks midseason comedy 
series "What About Joan" from Columbia TriStar Television throughout the May 
sweep. The network had initially scheduled six episodes of the series to air 
in the post-"Dharma & Greg" Tuesday 9:30 p.m. slot to run through May 1. The 
production order was for 13 episodes. Sources said ABC will now run original 
episodes of the show starring Joan Cusack during the remaining three weeks of 
the May sweep and hold the other four unaired episodes for the fall. 


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 9:25pm
Subject: (repost) 52 of the The Best New Shows You're Not Watching

Re: TV Guide's "The Best Show You're Not Watching"

I myself wondered if it had been dropped as its unveiling was made a part of 
the TV Guide Awards last year. Had they actually done it during this years 
awards "Once & Again" fans would have had an additional month(?) to campaign.

The bigger problem might be with TV Guide and the need to save only one show 
a year.

Here in the black and white pages this week, we have a garage sale of some of 
the heavy profit multiple cover TVG collectors issues they've sold just in 
the last year: The Beatles, Elvis, Judy Garland, NASCAR, 24 different covers 
of The Simpsons, and Gone With The Wind.

Add to that the frequent Trek, Wrestling, Superbowl, X-Files issues, 
(regional hockey or baseball or football) and we're looking at conservatively 
10-12 issues a year that could promote shows. 

On top of that calculate in any Press Agent scored cover featuring Ricky 
Martin, Janet (Miss Jackson if you're nasty!), NSync, The Backstreet Boys, 
Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Jim Carrey, Oprah, Star Wars, and any FORMER 
TV star with a movie to plug.

Also add in the issues devoted to The 50-100 Greatest Sports, Music, TV, 
Movie Moments, Scenes, Personalities, Actors, Characters of all time, and The 
Year in Cheers and/or Jeers which don't necessarily involve TV shows but are 
more and more a rip-off of the year-end Esquire Dubious Achievement awards.  

The multiple show Kids TV Cover, TV The Fall Preview, the Returning Favorites 
Issue, The Spring/Winter Preview... (oil can oil can...)

Now then ... if less than half of the TV GUIDE feature cover stories of 
actual television shows, and perhaps only 1-2 promote a new show ... and it's 
only as the best new show you're not watching/we've not promoted... then 
we'll never see a Gideon's Crossing cover, Kate Brasher, a Mole cover, a 
World News Now cover, (okay cult favorites those), Iron Chef, Robot Wars, 
(perhaps more cultish as well) a Masterpiece Theatre/Mystery/Bravo/A&E 
series/event cover, any soaps (well, okay there are 3-4 magazines already for 
them), anything on Lifetime, Sci-fi, History Channel ... well, anything not 
on the big 7. (Not including Pax.) 

But I think it all boils down to the old folksy wisdom of some Dr. Hook 
lyrics: "Wanna see my picture on the cover... Rolling Stone... Wanna buy five 
copies for my mother." A cover on TV Guide or Rolling Stone is not your big 
break anymore. It's only after you've already gotten there that you've got a 
shot. (Another tradition gone: the poll voting for on the bubble shows, which 
now falls to USA Today.)

TV Guide: crow all you want about the good work you do to honor respect and 
"save" shows, but at least admit you're partly to blame. 


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

From: pmurray@bigfoot.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 1:41am
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

--- In tvbarn2@y..., bleemer@e... wrote:
> I am not a TV professional so I have this question: How is the use 
of 
> a PVR different than that of a VCR in this respect? I understand 
PVR 
> technology, but I don't understand why there is such an issue over 
> the recording of shows using a PVR while there is a similsr issue 
> with the VCR. I vaguely remember the issue coming up in 1981 or 
1982. 
> I have been recording my "can't miss" shows for years on my VCR and 
> watching them at a more convenient time fast forwarding through the 
> commercials. If I watch only the game portion of Jeopardy I can 
watch 
> it in under 15 minutes.
> 
> This ability doesn't seem to be denied to anybody who owns a VCR. 
Now 
> the PVR comes along and this suddenly becomes an issue. Is it 
because 
> people are considered too dumb to time set their VCRs and the PVR 
> automates this function?
> 
> Tom W

Well, I am not a TV professional, and I'm not necessarily agreeing 
with Dvorak, but it's an interesting analogy to examine.

People could share MP3 files before Napster came along; Napster just 
made it so easy and efficient that it became a visible annoyance to 
the record companies. In the same way, yes, VCRs allow us to skip 
commercials (I LOVE to speedwatch that way), but *perhaps* PVRs make 
it easier and more efficient for people to do this. (I'm speaking 
theoretically; I don't own one.)

Dvorak doesn't go into it, but I'm sure that networks would be 
annoyed that PVRs can completely break down their promotional 
schemes. As one woman PVR owner observed in the recent 60 Minutes 
story (to paraphrase), "I don't know when Ally McBeal is on and I 
don't care. I watch it when *I* want to." Imagine all those cleverly 
crafted promo plans for new shows collapsing. Of course, there's 
always the NBC brainwashing approach (e.g., The Weakest Link)... but 
that will just make people quicker on the trigger, er, remote.

BTW... I seem to recall that a few years ago someone was woking on a 
VCR that would automatically pause during commercials. If I remember 
right, it was about 97% accurate at the time.

Paul

From: pmurray@bigfoot.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 1:49am
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:
> > And if I cut out the ads, the promos, the teasers, the obvious 
media 
> > press kits, and anything about any "reality" TV show, the Kennedy 
> > family or celebrity arraignments (the actual list is somewhat 
> > longer), 
> > I can watch Entertainment Tonight in around 5 minutes. And I do.
> 
> And with CNN chopping "Showbiz Today" into one-minute segments, 
that means
> now that no entertainment "news" show is even attempting to provide 
serious
> coverage of the entertainment industry.  What a shame.
> 
> Mark Jeffries
> mjeffries@k...
> mjsaints@a...

Is my memory playing tricks on me? I seem to recall that early on, ET 
was relatively informative and contained actual content. I know that 
I actually used to watch it many years ago. As it became more and 
more PR, I lost interest, and now there's heavy doses of gossip and 
nostalgia too. Our cultural obsession with celebrities irritates the 
hell out of me.

(The same thing has happened in the print world with Premiere 
magazine. I stopped renewing once they lost interest in actual 
reporting.)

Or perhaps I've just developed more discerning tastes. :) Naaaah... 
I'm sticking to my original theory.

Paul

From: pmurray@bigfoot.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 1:59am
Subject: Speaking of utterly shameless counterprogramming...

Full story (not much more, though) at:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010418/re/leisure_friends_dc.html

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The soon-to-be-wed lovebirds Monica and 
Chandler aren't the only ``Friends'' who will steam up television 
screens nationwide as the TV sitcom sashays down the aisle to its May 
season finale.

In a description of the season's four final shows released on 
Wednesday, NBC strongly implied that one episode will feature Rachel, 
played by Jennifer Aniston, remembering a lesbian encounter with a 
former sorority sister played by Winona Ryder.

The show will go head-to-head with the next-to-last episode of the 
CBS smash hit ``Survivor'' when both air on April 27 during the first 
week of the important May ``sweeps'' when television ad rates are 
determined for the months ahead.

Titled ``The One with Rachel's Big Kiss,'' the ``Friends'' episode 
begins when an ``embarrassed'' Rachel bumps into her old sorority 
sister ``and wonders whether she should confront her old chum about a 
boozy incident from their college days when their friendship 
unexpectedly took a dramatic turn,'' according to NBC.

The network did not elaborate what kinds of scenes would be depicted 
on air.

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 10:06pm
Subject: TNN... We've Got Nonexclusive Subpar Sketch Comedy

Thursday April 19 1:16 AM ET
TNN ``Mad'' for sketch series reruns 

By John Dempsey

NEW YORK (Variety) - TNN has bought cable TV rights to the reruns of Fox's 
Saturday night sketch series ``Mad TV,'' starting this fall.

But TNN's deal with the show's distributor, Warner Bros. Domestic TV, is 
nonexclusive, so TNN could end up sharing the daily repeats with TV stations 
in every major market in the country. Also, Fox has just renewed ``Mad TV'' 
for another two seasons, so the fresh episodes will continue to run every 
Saturday night at 11 p.m.

Insiders said TNN would have preferred to get ``Mad TV'' exclusively but 
agreed to the sharing when Warner Bros. slashed the license fee. As many as 
80 TV stations already have agreed to take ``Mad TV'' in rerun syndication.

One of the big reasons TNN bought ``Mad TV,'' according to Barbara Zaneri, 
senior VP of programming and acquisitions, is that ``our wrestling audience 
is very partial to sketch comedies, and 59% of the audience for 'Mad TV' is 
18 to 49, which is unusually high.''

[And the people who believe wrestling is real are dumb enough to think Mad is 
funny and will hold up well. -- Tom]



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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 10:06pm
Subject: Re: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

>> Is my memory playing tricks on me? I seem to recall that early 
>> 

My point of no return on ET was an AOL LIVE Chat hour with Leonard Maltin. I 
asked a question praising his short lived (about three weeks). Friday movie 
reviews a couple of years back. 

I'm paraphrasing but he said "the show" felt he was better off doing 
features. (aka... "another of the Darrens of Bewitched died... I interviewed 
his widow and took a look back at his fascinating career".) The inference was 
that he wasn't giving positive reviews, and the studios involved complained.  
Which would explain his EW meets PI show with Mr. Coming Attractions himself 
(ugh) Todd Newton. "Hot Ticket"(?)


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Wed Apr 18, 2001 11:19pm
Subject: Who wants to be a Jacka**?

So ... "20/20" reported last Friday on a not too bright kid who set himself 
on fire imitating MTV's (Don't-try-this-at-home) "Jackass." Now (I believe it 
was in one of the NYC papers as shown on ABC's World News Now minutes ago) 
there's a new report that another kid (11 year old) has done the human torch 
trick over the weekend. 

What if the new kid saw how to light himself on fire with kerosened rags by 
watching the clips of "Jackass" on "20/20"? Now who's to blame?


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

From: jondelfin@aol.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 7:56am
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

pmurray nostalgically writes: << Is my memory playing tricks on me? I 
seem to recall that early on, ET was relatively informative and 
contained actual content.... >>

And I remember when "Inside the Actors Studio" discussions filled a 
commercial-free hour with insights into craft. Now it's 45 minutes of 
name-dropping and "and then I filmed...." Except for, of course, the 
two-hour specials featuring those classic thespians Mike Myers and 
Billy Joel. (Okay, I confess, those shows *were* very entertaining. 
But the "ItAS" mandate had long since left the building.) And don't 
get me started on James Lipton, star graduate of Dick Cavett's "let's 
see how many ways I can make this interview about me while I kiss your 
butt" school of interviewing. What I really want to know is, how come 
Spike Lee's answers to the "Apostrophe" questions didn't get aired? 
Were the questions even asked?

On the other hand, when TV Guide devotes its editorial space to non-TV 
content, I'm just grateful for the free time.

Jon

From: Christopher S. Berinato  <bern92@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 11:11am
Subject: Weakest Questions...

OK, perhaps this is just a naive question/observation, but I was very 
disturbed by what I saw on Weakest last night (Wednesday).  There was 
one attractive young woman who identified herself as working for the 
motion picture association.  Next thing you know, every question she 
got was about movies/entertainment.  Now, I know I've seen similar 
things on other game shows, but not in prime time and not to this 
extent.  To me, it was obvious that they wanted to get her into the 
later rounds, and it was blatantly obvious they had doped the 
questions.  No one else seemed to get questions suited to their 
strengths.  Did anyone else see this and feel the same way?

Asside from that, I happen to like the show, though it won't be 
appointment TV for me.  I generally agree with the critics about 90% 
of the time, but I don't on this one.  I'm refreshed to find a host 
that feels no need to coddle losing contestants.  I am more disturbed 
about the obviously coached comments the contestants make after 
they're unchained.  I've got no problems with Frosty Anne letting her 
feelings be known, but I don't buy the contestants playing into it.

Chris Berinato

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 11:16am
Subject: RE: Weakest Questions...

> OK, perhaps this is just a naive question/observation, but I was very 
> disturbed by what I saw on Weakest last night (Wednesday).  There was 
> one attractive young woman who identified herself as working for the 
> motion picture association.  Next thing you know, every question she 
> got was about movies/entertainment.  Now, I know I've seen similar 
> things on other game shows, but not in prime time and not to this 
> extent.  To me, it was obvious that they wanted to get her into the 
> later rounds, and it was blatantly obvious they had doped the 
> questions.  No one else seemed to get questions suited to their 
> strengths.  Did anyone else see this and feel the same way?

The producers will probably say (and they're probably right) that it was
pure coincidence.  However, from the descriptions I've read (VCR's in the
shop and I've had other commitments this week), it seems like at least one
of the contestants does get a question related to a past or present
occupation that, if they miss it, Ms. Robinson can pounce on them. 

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

From: HSWyman@AOL.COM
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 8:59am
Subject: RE: CHINKS IN "MISSING LINK"

Pgage:
       
    Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.  I do have to point out a couple of 
things.  Wrestling and the daytime talk shows appeal to a very narrow 
audience demographic, young men for wrestling, young women for the more 
outrageous daytime talk.  Prime time means reachng a cross-section of people 
even in the age of narrowcasting.  And when it comes to host-centered shows 
there has to be a comfort factor with the host (David Letterman is an 
exception, but even he had to adjust when he made the move to CBS).  
Letterman is cutting and insulting but he is funny and knows when to turn it 
up or down.  When Letterman is calling network execs "pinheads" he's aiming 
at his bosses and that is squarely in the American tradition.  Sincere or 
not, Robinson is being rude to strangers and I can get that in real life.  
When I get it on TV I tend to change the channel.

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 1:07pm
Subject: Re: Who wants to be a Jacka**?

Wow, maybe NBC was right when they told Marvel they couldn't include the 
Human Torch character in the 80's revival of the "Fantastic Four" animated 
series, for that very reason.  Is it just me, or are kids getting dumber by 
the second?

At 04:19 AM 4/19/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>So ... "20/20" reported last Friday on a not too bright kid who set himself
>on fire imitating MTV's (Don't-try-this-at-home) "Jackass." Now (I believe it
>was in one of the NYC papers as shown on ABC's World News Now minutes ago)
>there's a new report that another kid (11 year old) has done the human torch
>trick over the weekend.
>
>What if the new kid saw how to light himself on fire with kerosened rags by
>watching the clips of "Jackass" on "20/20"? Now who's to blame?

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

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:00pm
Subject: RE: 52 of the The Best New Shows You're Not Watching

> Now then ... if less than half of the TV GUIDE feature cover 
> stories of 
> actual television shows, and perhaps only 1-2 promote a new 
> show ... and it's 
> only as the best new show you're not watching/we've not promoted...
> 
> Then we'll never see a Mole cover, a World News Now cover, (okay cult 
> favorites those), Iron Chef, Robot Wars, (perhaps more 
> cultish as well) a 
> Masterpiece Theatre/Mystery/Bravo/A&E series/event cover, any 
> soaps (well, 
> okay there are 3-4 magazines already for them), anything on 
> Lifetime, Sci-fi, 
> History Channel ... well, anything not on the big 7. (Not 
> including Pax.)

They do maybe one or two soap covers a year, still.  They have done a "South
Park" cover and of course they've done "Sex and the City" and "Sopranos"
covers.

The thing about TV Guide is that Murdoch's people brought with them the
belief that newsstand/check-out sales count the most, particularly more than
mostly-discounted subscriptions with heavy postage counts.  And by now, they
know what covers sell--sci-fi, "Buffy," "Trek," fads, pro wrestlers, sports
stars (particularly NASCAR drivers, especially in the south), People
magazine cover types, even if they have little or nothing to do with
television.  And of course, Murdoch got rid of the thumb-suckers about
television in society that used to run regularly in the old days of TVG,
particularly in the 70s and early 80s.  And as long as the company that owns
the TV Guide trademark continues to license the magazine to Murdoch, things
aren't going to change.

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

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:03pm
Subject: RE: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

> BTW... I seem to recall that a few years ago someone was woking on a 
> VCR that would automatically pause during commercials. If I remember 
> right, it was about 97% accurate at the time.

Aren't there already devices that claim to automatically pause your VCR when
commercials come on?

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

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:11pm
Subject: RE: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

> Is my memory playing tricks on me? I seem to recall that early on, ET 
> was relatively informative and contained actual content. I know that 
> I actually used to watch it many years ago. As it became more and 
> more PR, I lost interest, and now there's heavy doses of gossip and 
> nostalgia too. Our cultural obsession with celebrities irritates the 
> hell out of me.

Actually, "ET" started out as oppressively fluffy--at the time, the joke was
that any Hollywood PR person who couldn't line up a spot on "ET" didn't
belong in the business.  When the initial ratings tanked, Paramount brought
in Jim Bellows, the highly respected editor of the dying Los Angeles
Herald-Examiner, to toughen up the show some--which he did to a certain
extent.  Getting rid of original anchors soap stud Tom Hallick and beauty
queen ditz Marjorie Wallace helped some, too.  (In fact, Paramount saw that
they were so incompetent at first that Ron Hendren, who had been TV critic
for the "Today" show, was brought in as an anchor at the last minute before
they premiered.)

As the years went on and the tabloid shows started competing with "ET," the
fluff came back and more sleaze with it.  By the time Linda Blue Bell (or
whatever her name is) was brought over from "Hard Copy" to become executive
producer, the show was heading towards the bottom--and that's where it is
today.  Still pulling in satisfactory enough numbers after 20 years, though.

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

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:14pm
Subject: RE: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

> My point of no return on ET was an AOL LIVE Chat hour with 
> Leonard Maltin. I 
> asked a question praising his short lived (about three 
> weeks). Friday movie 
> reviews a couple of years back. 
> 
> I'm paraphrasing but he said "the show" felt he was better off doing 
> features. (aka... "another of the Darrens of Bewitched 
> died... I interviewed 
> his widow and took a look back at his fascinating career".) 
> The inference was 
> that he wasn't giving positive reviews, and the studios 
> involved complained.  
> Which would explain his EW meets PI show with Mr. Coming 
> Attractions himself 
> (ugh) Todd Newton. "Hot Ticket"(?)

"Hot Ticket."

It might be good--but it all depends on who's on the panel with him most
weeks.  The fact that they're using the panel format indicates that they
won't be totally doing studio suckups (with the possible exception of
Paramount).

And if Newton is used just to get the show in and out of commercial breaks
and clips and to then turn it over to Maltin and the panelists and sit back
and listen, he might not be particularly detrimental to the show.

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

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:21pm
Subject: RE: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

> And I remember when "Inside the Actors Studio" discussions filled a 
> commercial-free hour with insights into craft. Now it's 45 minutes of 
> name-dropping and "and then I filmed...." Except for, of course, the 
> two-hour specials featuring those classic thespians Mike Myers and 
> Billy Joel. (Okay, I confess, those shows *were* very entertaining. 
> But the "ItAS" mandate had long since left the building.)

Somehow, even back in Bravo's commercials-between-shows days, whenever *I*
watched "ITAS" it never seemed like it lasted the entire hour (and that's
knowing that it started a little past the top of the hour after they ran the
same Saab commercial twice with a promo in-between).  It always seemed 45 to
50 minutes.  I think it's always been produced with the knowledge that it
was not going to run uninterrupted all the time and that Bravo was going to
put in commercial breaks somewhere down the line.

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

From: bleemer@excite.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:25pm
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

--- In tvbarn2@y..., pmurray@b... wrote:
> 
> Well, I am not a TV professional, and I'm not necessarily agreeing 
> with Dvorak, but it's an interesting analogy to examine.
> 
> People could share MP3 files before Napster came along; Napster 
just 
> made it so easy and efficient that it became a visible annoyance to 
> the record companies. In the same way, yes, VCRs allow us to skip 
> commercials (I LOVE to speedwatch that way), but *perhaps* PVRs 
make 
> it easier and more efficient for people to do this. (I'm speaking 
> theoretically; I don't own one.)
> 
> Dvorak doesn't go into it, but I'm sure that networks would be 
> annoyed that PVRs can completely break down their promotional 
> schemes. As one woman PVR owner observed in the recent 60 Minutes 
> story (to paraphrase), "I don't know when Ally McBeal is on and I 
> don't care. I watch it when *I* want to." Imagine all those 
cleverly 
> crafted promo plans for new shows collapsing. Of course, there's 
> always the NBC brainwashing approach (e.g., The Weakest Link)... 
but 
> that will just make people quicker on the trigger, er, remote.
> 
> BTW... I seem to recall that a few years ago someone was woking on 
a 
> VCR that would automatically pause during commercials. If I 
remember 
> right, it was about 97% accurate at the time.
> 
> Paul

My understanding of Napster's legal problem is that it is peer-to-
peer, meaning that anybody can provide copyrighted content to anybody 
else. A PVR still records from one source: the TV broadcast. I could 
use Napster (if I had it) to share a song on my hard drive with 
thousands of other people. I can't share a program recorded on my 
hard drive with anybody in that way. People could share MP3s before 
Napster, but there is not a twenty-plus year precedent like with the 
VCR. So TiVo does not equal Napster, at least in regards to the legal 
issue of distribution.

I can see the "ease and efficiency" issue. If the networks were to 
bring it up in a court case against the PVR manufacturers, would they 
have a case? If the PVR functions like a VCR then how could a judge 
stop their use when VCRs have been use legally for 20 years.

I watched the 60 Minutes story and it bothered me then that they did 
not say what a PVR did that a VCR could not do. NBC decides that 1:30 
AM is a fitting time for SCTV reruns; I decide that I will watch them 
at 10 PM the next day. I have been doing this for years without a 
shakeup in the structure of network TV or massive lawsuits, why would 
it be different if I used a TiVo instead of a VCR?

Tom W

From: Kim Reed  <kreed1@twcny.rr.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:32pm
Subject: Re: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

At 04:25 PM 4/19/2001, bleemer@e... wrote:
>I can see the "ease and efficiency" issue. If the networks were to
>bring it up in a court case against the PVR manufacturers, would they
>have a case? If the PVR functions like a VCR then how could a judge
>stop their use when VCRs have been use legally for 20 years.

Also, and correct me if I'm wrong, Nielsen Ratings don't take into account 
the shows that people tape. So, in theory, television ad revenue doesn't 
depend on shows that get taped, and thus it doesn't matter to the networks 
if people watch the commercials on taped shows. At least not until more 
people watch shows on tape than they do live.

Contrast that with Napster, where the music industry depends on sales of 
the songs themselves for revenue, not some sort of advertising embedded in 
the song.

Kim
Fresh Hell
http://www.fresh-hell.com

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 4:00pm
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

Don't know about that, but most VCR's these days come with a 
1-minute skip-ahead button. Which is more useful than it 
sounds, especially when watching cable shows that run 
15-second teasers before each break, followed by 15-second 
recaps. So that even if you wind up skipping into the next act, you 
really haven't missed much.

--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:
> 
> Aren't there already devices that claim to automatically pause 
your VCR when
> commercials come on?
> 
> Mark Jeffries
> mjeffries@k...
> mjsaints@a...

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:55pm
Subject: Re: Who wants to be a Jacka**?

>Wow, maybe NBC was right when they told Marvel they couldn't include the 
>Human Torch character in the 80's revival of the "Fantastic Four" animated 
>series, for that very reason.  Is it just me, or are kids getting dumber by 
>the second?

Come on... didn't you prefer Herbie the Robot?

(Beats Willie Lumpkin the mailman.) Remember tho, that among Spiderman's 
Amazing Friends "college roomates" was Firestar. (Though Iceman could have 
easily extinguished her if needed.) 


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 3:55pm
Subject: Re: Weakest Questions...

>Next thing you know, every question she 
>got was about movies/entertainment.  Now, I know I've seen similar 
>things on other game shows, but not in prime time and not to this 
>extent.  To me, it was obvious that they wanted to get her into the 
>later rounds, and it was blatantly obvious they had doped the 
>questions.  

Well, that would be illegal after all. 

I've not determined whether they're working up specifically crafted 
Millionaire style 
> question chains (unlikely), if they're just picking questions from a 
> prepared (ordered) stack, or if there are specifally $1,000 questions, 
> $2,500 items, etc. 
> 
> The questioning / podium order begins randomly. This contestant just might 
> have gotten movie questions because the person on either side of her broke 
> the chain and they just went back to $1000 "easy" items.




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

From: thumbsup3@aol.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 4:18pm
Subject: Re: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

<< Also, and correct me if I'm wrong, Nielsen Ratings don't take into account 
 the shows that people tape. So, in theory, television ad revenue doesn't 
 depend on shows that get taped, and thus it doesn't matter to the networks 
 if people watch the commercials on taped shows. At least not until more 
 people watch shows on tape than they do live. >>

Even if Nielsen doesn't count taped programs in metered markets, what about 
in sweeps diaries? I noticed that in the last TiVo upgrade, shows from 
networks that have struck a deal with TiVo -- including NBC, HBO and E! -- 
each have their network logo displayed next to their listings on the "Now 
Playing" screen. 

Is this just brand reinforcement, or are they hoping it will serve as a 
reminder to Nielsen families that they're watching "The West Wing" on NBC (in 
case NBC's bumps and sweepers didn't already do the trick)?

Christine

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 8:41pm
Subject: Re: John Dvorak wonders if TiVo = Napster?

Well, it can't hurt and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's 
probably accidental.

The larger question is whether TiVo's data will become the seed 
of a new generation of audience measurement. Michael Lewis 
predicted as much in the NYT Magazine last year, but the outlook 
is not as clear at this point. TiVo needs Nielsen but I wonder if 
Nielsen thinks it needs TiVo.


--- In tvbarn2@y..., thumbsup3@a... wrote:
> Is this just brand reinforcement, or are they hoping it will serve 
as a 
> reminder to Nielsen families that they're watching "The West 
Wing" on NBC (in 
> case NBC's bumps and sweepers didn't already do the trick)?
> 
> Christine

From: Greg Schienke  <gsch@qwest.net>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 9:42pm
Subject: Re: Who wants to be a Jacka**?

>Wow, maybe NBC was right when they told Marvel they couldn't include the 
>Human Torch character in the 80's revival of the "Fantastic Four" animated 
>series, for that very reason.  Is it just me, or are kids getting dumber by 
>the second?

Hi.  Long time lurker, first time poster.  Just want to say that this
is one of the urban comic book legends.  The real reason that the
Torch wasn't in that series was because he'd been optioned separately
to a different company for a live action project.

Greg

From: Steve Rhodes  <srhodes@well.com>
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 11:12pm
Subject: The Lone Index

Deep in Inside's Thursday ratings report:

NETWORKS GENERATE A FEW HITS AND A FEW MISSES IN THE UPSCALE CATEGORIES: In
newly released season averages through March, a couple of television's most
recent additions are generating some of the most favorable skews toward
upscale audiences, but most network newcomers are settling average to weak
upscale numbers. 

These skews are indicated by indexes that divide the show's 18-49 rating in
certain kinds of homes by its 18-49 rating in all homes. A resulting index
over 100 shows a skew toward that audience group and an index below 100
shows a skew away from it. 

The current season-to-date list shows ABC's What About Joan tied for fifth
overall and tied for first among comedies with a 122 index in homes with
incomes of $75,000 or more. That's a lot better than the 91 index of its
lead-in, Dharma & Greg, or the 94 for the series Joan replaced, The Geena
Davis Show. 

ABC's other recent comedy additions fall well short of those Joan indexes.
The Job managed an 82, down from the 85 of time-period predecessor Spin City
but up from the 79 of its lead-in, Drew Carey. Wednesday's two installments
of My Wife & Kids (55 and 67) are currently the two lowest indexing shows on
the ABC schedule. 

ABC's recent reality series The Mole matched the overall average of ABC's
regular schedule, a 94. 

Over on CBS, Survivor (112 index) is that network's second-highest indexing
show in that category, behind only 60 Minutes (120). 

Early reports indicate another upscale winner in NBC's new game show The
Weakest Link, which reported a 118 index with its premiere Monday night.
That ties the 11th-best season-to-date index on the prime-time network list,
and is way above the best Millionaire index, a 94 for the Tuesday edition. 

Recent Fox reality series Boot Camp (76) and Temptation Island (81) finished
near that network's average of 78. Friday's struggling Lone Gunmen is doing
just a 50, the lowest index on the Fox schedule. 

XFL Football has not only dragged down NBC's overall ratings averages, it's
also a big drain on the network's upscale skews. The struggling league is
averaging a 78 index, lowest of any NBC series now on the schedule. UPN is
getting an even lower 70 with its XFL coverage, but that's a strong number
for the Paramount network, its second-highest index behind only Star Trek:
Voyager's 83. 

The WB is doing itself no favors in the upscale categories with the new
animated comedy The Oblongs (27), which ties The PJs for the lowest index on
any prime-time network schedule. 

The top 10 list of highest indexes in the $75,000-plus category is: NBC's
The West Wing, 160; NBC's Law & Order, 133; ABC's NYPD Blue, 128; NBC's Ed,
124; ABC's What About Joan, 122; NBC's Will & Grace, 122; NBC's Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit, 121; CBS's 60 Minutes, 120; NBC's ER, 120; and ABC's
Once and Again, 119. 

NBC remains the dominant network in the $75,000-plus category, posting an
overall season-to-date regular-schedule index of 114. The rest of the order
is: ABC, 94; CBS, 89; Fox, 78; The WB, 71; UPN, 56. 

ABC's What About Joan is an impressive performer across a number of key
categories. The Joan Cusack comedy has the No. 2 index among all prime-time
series, behind only The Wing Wing in the following categories: adults 18-49
in homes with Internet access, adults 18-49 in $50,000-plus homes where the
head of household has at least one year of college, and adults 18-49 in
$50,000-plus homes where the head of household is a
professional-office-managerial worker.

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 0:40am
Subject: Animation was: Who wants to be a Jacka**?

At 08:55 PM 4/19/2001 -0400, you wrote:
> >Wow, maybe NBC was right when they told Marvel they couldn't include the
> >Human Torch character in the 80's revival of the "Fantastic Four" animated
> >series, for that very reason.  Is it just me, or are kids getting dumber by
> >the second?
>
>Come on... didn't you prefer Herbie the Robot?

Ugh.  Only if you admit that you liked "Bat-Mite".


>(Beats Willie Lumpkin the mailman.) Remember tho, that among Spiderman's
>Amazing Friends "college roomates" was Firestar. (Though Iceman could have
>easily extinguished her if needed.)

But she didn't actually become covered in flames where the Human Torch 
did.  They were very worried about that at the time.  Myself, I think they 
give kids too little credit (I never went out and started firing harpoons 
at frog men after watching Jonny Quest and I doubt too may people ever did) 
.  Look at animated series like "The Tick" - the series Fox Kids canned 
because it was getting ratings with adults.  Now they're doing the live 
action series with Patrick Wharburton.  The pilot is great and the scripts 
I've read for most of the following episodes are pretty good but it is 
decidedly more simplistic than the animated series. Why?  Beacause they 
didn't think those same adults who watched the animated series would get 
the jokes if it were live action (read: FOX didn't get the jokes and wanted 
it re-written for their IQ level).
You find that a lot if you watch some of the animated programming, 
consistently some of the most entertaining programming on television (I 
know I personally wish that the last 3 Batman films were half as good as 
any episode of "Batman: The Animated Series" or "Batman Beyond").


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

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 0:45am
Subject: Re: Who wants to be a Jacka**?

At 09:42 PM 4/19/2001 -0500, you wrote:
> >Wow, maybe NBC was right when they told Marvel they couldn't include the
> >Human Torch character in the 80's revival of the "Fantastic Four" animated
> >series, for that very reason.  Is it just me, or are kids getting dumber by
> >the second?
>
>Hi.  Long time lurker, first time poster.  Just want to say that this
>is one of the urban comic book legends.  The real reason that the
>Torch wasn't in that series was because he'd been optioned separately
>to a different company for a live action project.

I remember that and the reason the live action project didn't go was for 
the same reason.  I remember seeing some test footage that was done for 
that project and it looked like what it was - a guy on fire.  But you're 
right, that was at the height of Marvel's selling off licensing & 
production rights for their characters to make a quick buck.  Most never 
got made and the few that did were really, really bad (Captain America, 
anyone?).


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Thu Apr 19, 2001 9:39pm
Subject: The camera pans slowly to view her... cr...ayon

Friday April 20 01:31 AM EDT 
'Purple Crayon' draws Stone
By Brett Sporich

LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Sharon Stone will lend her voice to 
Sony Pictures Entertainment's newly developed animated pay television series 
"Harold and the Purple Crayon," based on the popular children's book series 
of the same name by Crockett Johnson.


The series, executive produced by Jeff Kline, will be striped on the HBO 
Family channel and is scheduled to launch with a special presentation in 
December, followed by a weekly strip airing during the preschool morning 
block beginning in January, HBO Family vp family programming Dolores Morris 
said.


"Purple Crayon" had been slated for development as an animated feature film 
at Sony, but HBO pushed to develop the Sony-licensed product as an animated 
series. Sony executives haven't scrubbed plans for a film, however, hopeful 
that the series will rekindle a feature project.


"We've been after this book for a long time because parents know the title, 
and there are so few of its kind out there," Morris said. "We're very excited 
about it."


The series centers on Harold, a curious 4-year-old whose purple crayon leads 
him into a magical world of invention and exploration. The boy speaks very 
little, but Stone's narration provides the series an omnipresent maternal 
adult who watches over Harold during his adventures.


Rather than using computer-generated animation of the "Toy Story" or 
"Pokemon" sort, traditional cel animation is being used to maintain the look 
and feel of the book series, SPFE senior vp creative affairs Bob Higgins said.


"We wanted to maintain the look of the books, and cel animation is the way to 
do that," Higgins said. "Computer animation would remove the soft quality of 
the colors as seen in the books."



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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 0:56am
Subject: (PR) how to buy jewels for your Sit-Mom

Blue Nile Introduces a 'Mom's Jewelry Personality' Quiz Just in Time for 
Mother's Day 
Television Moms Point Consumers to Perfect Gifts  

SEATTLE, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- June Cleaver was never seen without her 
pearls.  Think about the reaction the Beav would have gotten if, on one 
episode, he gave June matching pearl earrings for Mother's Day.  Every year, 
when Mother's Day rolls around, we all think about what to get Mom to thank 
her -- and many of us end up settling on flowers and a card for lack of a 
better alternative. 

Blue Nile, the leading online retailer of fine jewelry, has Mother's Day 
gifts that are a terrific alternative to flowers -- and often cost about the 
same amount.  The site has put together the "Mom's Jewelry Personality" quiz 
to guide "kids" everywhere in matching their own mother's style to that of a 
television mom.  Through the quiz, Blue Nile recommends the right piece of 
jewelry for each mom's personality -- thus helping stumped shoppers -- dad's 
and kids alike -- to be heroes this Mother's Day. 

The process to finding "Mom's Jewelry Personality" is easy -- answer five 
questions about Mom, and Blue Nile gives you several recommendations that 
will fit in your budget and show Mom how grateful you are.  Silver hoop 
earrings ($40) are perfect for moms with style like Carol Brady, while a 
pearl bracelet ($150) will wow moms who are more like June Cleaver. 

Anyone who has given a gift knows the fear of how it will be received. Since 
so many people can relate to classic television moms, this analogy can be 
used to help customers identify their mom's television match and find a piece 
of jewelry at a great value that's particularly suited to her personality 
this Mother's Day.  Moreover, once you find the right piece of jewelry, you 
are sure to score big with mom -- since the most she expects is a phone call 
and flowers.  "For the same price, a gift of jewelry looks a lot more 
thoughtful, and creates a much bigger 'wow' than flowers do," explains Kevin 
Keith, Director of Marketing at Blue Nile. 

"It's difficult to pick out jewelry for a significant other, let alone for 
your mom," said Stephanie Kellis, Blue Nile customer service agent.  "Often 
the first questions we ask when helping customers are about the recipient's 
personality.  What is her job? Hobbies?  Style dress?  Asking about how she 
stacks up against a TV mom personality might inspire the perfect gift 
selection this Mother's Day.  Mom is sure to love anything you get her, just 
as Dad always loves the ties he opens up on Father's Day, but Blue Nile has a 
30-day return policy just in case." 

"Mom's Jewelry Personality" Quiz can be found on the Blue Nile Web site at 
www.bluenile.com/quiz.asp after April 27, 2001. 

About Blue Nile   

Blue Nile, the online leader in the diamond and fine jewelry category, based 
in Seattle and located on the Web at www.bluenile.com , offers consumers a 
better way to buy diamonds and fine jewelry.  Recently named Forbes Favorite 
online jeweler, the publication's top honor of the best Internet sites, Blue 
Nile provides an exceptional collection of classically styled jewelry 
selected according to high standards of quality, beauty, and value.  Cleanly 
designed and easy to navigate, the site offers the in-depth education 
necessary to make informed purchases with confidence.  All jewelry is 
delivered free of charge, guaranteed and returnable within 30 days and 
transactions are covered through SSL technology -- which ensures an online 
purchase experience that is risk-free. 

"Mom's Jewelry Personality" Quiz  

1.  Which of the following words best describes your mom? 

a)    Traditional, polished (June Cleaver)   
b)    Contemporary, casual (Jill Taylor)   
c)    Professional, tailored (Elyse Keaton)   
d)    Cosmopolitan, modern (Debra Barone)   
e)    Fun, hip (Carol Brady)  

2.  Which of the following places would you most likely find your mom on a 
Sunday afternoon? 

a)    At the gym  (Elyse Keaton)   
b)    At the mall (Carol Brady)   
c)    At the movies (Jill Taylor)   
d)    Planning/cooking a big dinner for the entire family (Debra Barone)   
e)    At home doing housework, gardening, or reading a good book (June 
Cleaver)  

3.  Growing up, you can remember your mother always saying:   
a)    Eat all of your dinner (June Cleaver)   
b)    Alice, help me fix dinner (Carol Brady)   
c)    Heat up whatever is in the fridge for dinner (Elyse Keaton)   
d)    Order pizza for dinner (Jill Taylor)   
e)    Eat the leftovers for dinner (Debra Barone)  

4.  Is your mom most likely to be seen driving:   

a)    A suburban (Carol Brady)   
b)    A Honda (Debra Barone)   
c)    Dad's sports car (Jill Taylor)   
d)    Her own sports car (Elyse Keaton)   
e)    Being driven somewhere by someone else (June Cleaver)  

5.  If your parents were going out, which of the following outfits best fits 
her style:   

a)    Jeans and chambray shirt (Debra Barone)   
b)    Khakis and sweater set (Jill Taylor)   
c)    A fitted dress or matching pants/blouse (Carol Brady)   
d)    Nice skirt and blouse (June Cleaver)   
e)    Slacks and a polo shirt (Elyse Keaton)  

Jill Taylor (wife of Tim Taylor)  
Characteristics:   

--  Likes to dress up occasionally, but happiest in casual clothes   
--  Likes jewelry that is classic, simple, and that she can wear every day  

Jewelry:   
--  Diamond stud earrings, simple pearl pendant, sterling silver small hoop 
earrings  

Carol Brady (wife of Mike Brady)  
Characteristics:   
--  Likes to be fashionable, but not over the top   
--  Likes jewelry that is contemporary and casual  
Jewelry:   
--  Sterling silver triple rolling ring, wide hoop earrings, heart tag 
bracelet  

June Cleaver (wife of Ward Cleaver)  
Characteristics:   
--  This mom is very organized, and in control   
--  She likes to look dressed up every day  
Jewelry:   
--  Pearl stud earrings, pearl bracelet, platinum half dome earrings  

Debra Barone (wife of Raymond Barone)  
Characteristics:   
--  Likes to look like an individual, stylish but comfortable   
--  Wears clothes that are fitted but casual  
Jewelry:   
--  Sterling bead and bar necklace, 18k rope ring, diamond studs  

Elyse Keaton (wife of Steven Keaton)  
Characteristics:   
--  Always on the go, professionally and socially   
--  Likes to wear clothes that work for both the office and home --  tailored 
but simple  
Jewelry:   
--  Gold Venetian-link bracelet, silver beveled hoop earrings, silver   

Venetian-link necklace  

SOURCE  Blue Nile   
CO:  Blue Nile 
ST:  Washington 
IN:  REA 
SU: 
04/20/2001 05:20 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com 


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

From: wumba_man@yahoo.ca
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 8:26am
Subject: NBC can't say "Survivor" out loud...

Special 'Weakest Link' presents promotion challenge (Reuters 
Securities)
Talk about a promoter's nightmare: NBC has to find a way to promote 
having six 
contestants from rival CBS's ``Survivor'' on its new show ``The 
Weakest Link'' 
without using the word ``Survivor'' once in advertising.

For the full story, go to:

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010419/n19627307.html

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 1:43pm
Subject: How about TV-Y7?

"BACKSTREET BOYS:  LARGER THAN LIFE," THE 
PHENOMENAL POP GROUP'S FIRST NETWORK TELEVISION 
SPECIAL, TO BE BROADCAST MAY 30 ON THE CBS 
TELEVISION NETWORK

Backstreet Boys Perform in Concert from Staples Center in Los 
Angeles

BACKSTREET BOYS:  LARGER THAN LIFE, starring Backstreet 
Boys in their first network television special, will be broadcast 
Wednesday, May 30 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS 
Television Network.

The new entertainment special will include Backstreet Boys 
performing in concert from the Staples Center in Los Angeles as 
well as exclusive footage from their "Around the World in 100 
Hours" tour, which took them to Stockholm, Tokyo, Sydney, 
Capetown, Rio de Janeiro and New York.  They will also talk 
about what their extraordinary success means to them and will 
be seen in never-before-broadcast behind-the-scenes footage of 
their early days together.

Hit songs included in the special are "Larger Than Life," "Show 
Me the Feeling of Being Lonely," "All I Have To Give," "I Want It 
That Way," "More Than That," "Shape of My Heart," "I'll Never 
Break Your Heart," "Time," "Everybody" and "Get Another 
Boyfriend."

Backstreet Boys -- Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ 
McLean and Kevin Richardson -- currently recognized as the 
biggest pop group in the world, have sold more than 60 million 
albums in less than four years. "Black & Blue," the group's fourth 
release worldwide, sold more than five million copies globally in 
its initial week, setting a new first-week record in international 
sales.  "Black & Blue," which features, among its 13-song 
selection, five songs co-written by members of the group plus 
two numbers solely penned by all five Backstreet Boys, achieved 
platinum status in 22 countries and gold certification in 10 
regions around the world in its first week of release.  At the same 
time, in the United States, Backstreet Boys set a new precedent 
by becoming the first in SoundScan history to ever achieve 
million-plus first-week sales with back-to-back albums. 
BACKSTREET BOYS:  LARGER THAN LIFE is being produced by 
Ken Ehrlich Productions.  Ken Ehrlich is the executive producer; 
Al Masocco, the producer; Bruce Gowers, the director.

RATING:  To Be Announced

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 1:47pm
Subject: FCC: Wha? Public interest?

MEDIA ADVISORY: FCC Moves to Intensify Media Consolidation

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is moving to 
weaken or eliminate two of the few remaining broadcasting rules 
that protect some degree of media diversity.

On April 19, the FCC voted 3-1 in favor of eliminating the "dual 
network" rule, which had prevented one television network from 
buying another.  This rule change will immediately benefit 
Viacom, which will be allowed to own CBS and part of the UPN 
network.

The other rule, expected to be lifted or amended in a matter of 
weeks, is the "cross ownership" rule, which prohibits a company 
that owns a local newspaper from owning a television station in 
the same market. Waivers have been granted in the past (Rupert 
Murdoch's News Corp. owns New York television station WNYW 
and the New York Post, for example), but watering down or 
eliminating the rule altogether has long been a goal of industry 
lobbyists.

This continues an intensely pro-business trend at the FCC, the 
government agency responsible for managing the broadcast 
spectrum and regulating the telecommunications industry. 
Under the impetus of the deregulatory Telecommunications Act 
of 1996, the FCC has overseen a period of intense corporate 
mergers. Since the Telecom Act, the number of television station 
owners in the U.S. has dropped by half (Los Angeles Times, 
4/19/01), while more than half of the 11,000 commercial radio 
stations have been sold (Silicon Alley Reporter, 3/01).

The move to deregulate the media industry continued three 
years later, as the FCC in August 1999 changed its rules to allow 
networks to own two television stations in a given market. And 
last month, FCC chair Michael Powell approved a number of 
radio mergers that had been marked for public comment by 
previous Chairman William Kennard (Broadcasting & Cable, 
3/19/01).  The mergers given the green light by Powell would  
create local monopolies, where one company would control 50 
percent of a given market's ad revenue, or two companies would 
control about 70 percent of total ad revenue.

Powell has indicated (New York Times, 4/16/01) that the cross 
ownership rule will fall as well: "I don't know why there's 
something inherent about a newspaper and something inherent 
about a broadcaster that means they can't be combined." Given 
that U.S. newspapers are overwhelmingly local monopolies, of 
course, mergers between the newspaper industry and the 
increasingly concentrated broadcast media would mean a 
dramatic reduction in media diversity at the local level.

Guarding and protecting the public interest is supposed to be 
central to the FCC's mission, but Powell has expressed some 
confusion about the very concept. When asked in February what 
he thought the term "public interest" meant (press conference, 
2/6/01), he responsed: "I have no idea. The public interest at its 
core is the same thing as my oath of office: a commitment to 
making sure the American consumer is benefited.... I try to make 
the best judgment I can in ways I think will benefit consumers. 
Beyond that I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out."

Powell is not always so confused about whose interests he 
represents: Appearing before the House subcommittee on 
telecommunications (Washington Post, 3/30/01), Powell referred 
to broadcast corporations as "our clients." Powell has also 
mocked the concept of unequal access to technology, often 
referred to as the digital divide: "I think there is a Mercedes 
divide," he said (New York Times, 2/7/01). "I'd like to have one; I 
can't afford one."

The FCC's actions under Powell are discouraging for those who 
advocate for media diversity. "Powell has been very clear about 
his intentions to turn over more and more of the publicly owned 
broadcast spectrum to already huge media corporations. These 
moves reaffirm those corporate-friendly principles," said Jim 
Naureckas of FAIR. "The FCC's total lack of interest in protecting 
Americans as citizens or consumers is shocking and 
disgraceful."

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 1:49pm
Subject: RE: How about TV-Y7?

> Backstreet Boys -- Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ 
> McLean and Kevin Richardson -- currently recognized as the 
> biggest pop group in the world, have sold more than 60 million 
> albums in less than four years. "Black & Blue," the group's fourth 
> release worldwide, sold more than five million copies globally in 
> its initial week, setting a new first-week record in international 
> sales.  "Black & Blue," which features, among its 13-song 
> selection, five songs co-written by members of the group plus 
> two numbers solely penned by all five Backstreet Boys, achieved 
> platinum status in 22 countries and gold certification in 10 
> regions around the world in its first week of release.  At the same 
> time, in the United States, Backstreet Boys set a new precedent 
> by becoming the first in SoundScan history to ever achieve 
> million-plus first-week sales with back-to-back albums. 
> BACKSTREET BOYS:  LARGER THAN LIFE is being produced by 
> Ken Ehrlich Productions.  Ken Ehrlich is the executive producer; 
> Al Masocco, the producer; Bruce Gowers, the director.

Almost 30 years ago, Ken Ehrlich produced for WTTW in Chicago and PBS
"Soundstage," which is probably still the best pop music performance series
ever done for television (country music fans will probably argue and say
"Austin City Limits," but...).  After all of the legends that Ehrlich worked
with on that show (particularly in the "The World of John Hammond" episode
and the episode that presented Jackie Wilson's last television performance),
the Backstreets seem like a step downward--and that's from someone who
accepts their stuff as well-made mindless, harmless pop.

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

From: Jeffries, Mark  <mjeffries@krw.com>
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 1:51pm
Subject: RE: FCC: Wha? Public interest?

> On April 19, the FCC voted 3-1 in favor of eliminating the "dual 
> network" rule, which had prevented one television network from 
> buying another.  This rule change will immediately benefit 
> Viacom, which will be allowed to own CBS and part of the UPN 
> network.

I thought Viacom owns *all* of UPN now that Chris-Craft United is out of the
picture.

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

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 4:49pm
Subject: Re: FCC: Wha? Public interest?

Oops, I misread. No. Viacom owns 50%. The other 50% is 
owned by Mr. Rupert Murdoch, Los Angeles, CA.


--- In tvbarn2@y..., "Jeffries, Mark" <mjeffries@k...> wrote:
> > On April 19, the FCC voted 3-1 in favor of eliminating the 
"dual 
> > network" rule, which had prevented one television network 
from 
> > buying another.  This rule change will immediately benefit 
> > Viacom, which will be allowed to own CBS and part of the 
UPN 
> > network.
> 
> I thought Viacom owns *all* of UPN now that Chris-Craft United 
is out of the
> picture.
> 
> Mark Jeffries
> mjeffries@k...
> mjsaints@a...

From: aaron@tvbarn.com
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 4:52pm
Subject: Re: FCC: Wha? Public interest?

In fact, Murdoch's the reason Chris-Craft is "out of the picture":

http://www.business.com/directory/media_and_entertainment/television/chris-craft
_industries/news/full_story/index.asp?uuid=1CA2451F-AB6A-47D8-B07A-C9925B5
DE3CB

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 2:14pm
Subject: Re: How about TV-Y7?

>> "BACKSTREET BOYS:  LARGER THAN LIFE," THE 
> >PHENOMENAL POP GROUP'S FIRST NETWORK TELEVISION 
> >SPECIAL, TO BE BROADCAST MAY 30 ON THE CBS 
> >TELEVISION NETWORK
> 
> Punchline A) Only if they vote one another out of the group.
> 
> Punchline B) Of course, the last successful project that used the title 
> "Larger Than Life" was that Disney "road movie" with Bill Murray, Janeane 
> Garafolo, and the elephant.




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

From: Nichols, Gary  <gnichols@wfaanews.com>
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 6:12pm
Subject: RE: You are the biggest hypocrite, good bye

Keith Privett :
 > Anne Robinson: "Voting is over its time to reveal who you think is TWL"
 > Contestants: "Jamie", "Jamie", "Jamie", "Jamie", "Cheryl"


This is the wrong way to do it...
After the contestants write their weakest-link choice, Robinson should call
on one or two and ask them who they voted for and why. 
THEN everybody reveals their votes and we find out who gets the ax and we
get to see the person's reaction. It's called "suspense". Instead, we have
the departing loser still on set twisting slowly in the wind ... while the
others chit-chat. 
 


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Fri Apr 20, 2001 3:12pm
Subject: Upie, the Vampire Swayer

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER speaketh
 : 
UPN NABS 'BUFFY' FOR WB
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is headed to UPN. After months of renewal
negotiations with the WB Network, 20th Century Fox TV wound up striking a
deal with UPN for a two-year, 44-episode pickup of "Buffy" starting this
fall. Sources said UPN will shell out $2.2 million-$2.3 million per
episode for the series. 20th's negotations with the WB, which launched
"Buffy" in 1997, reached an impasse earlier this year over the price tag
for the renewal.


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 1:06am
Subject: [TV DEADPOOL] Some of my worst sitcoms are...

Somehow I seem to have missed reading it before now, (Variety, H'wood 
Reporter, AP, etc.) but CBS seems to have officially cancelled "Some of My 
Best Friends."

       Epguides.com notes it last aired on April 11th, (with two unaired 
episodes), Planet Out says in a mailing pimping its Deep inside Hollywood gay 
TV/movie industry gossip column that "Just as "Some of My Best Friends" gets 
cancelled, word comes that there's yet another sitcom with a major gay 
character in the works." (Isaac Mizrahi, in case you were wondering.) 

In its final airing it placed 65th in the ratings, above "DAG," "King of the 
Hill," one edition of "Whose Line," "Futurama" ... well everything on WB and 
UPN, and PAX.




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

From: thekid1955@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 4:03am
Subject: Re:[TV DEADPOOL] Some of my worst sitcoms are...

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't the "lesser" networks like FOX, UPN, and 
the WB hindered in the ratings game due to lack of "penetration" in the 
marketplace?  

In other words, if FOX is only available,say, in 75% of the US, there's a 
maximum "rating" it could pull in even if every household that had FOX tuned 
into that show. It seems to me that it's rating number would have to be 
adjusted (by dividing by .75) to show how popular a show like, "The Simpsons" 
truly is when compared to another on say, ABC, NBC, or CBS.

I am surprised, then, that *someone* hasn't come out with an "Adjusted 
Ratings" which would account for these statistical inequities.

I mention it now because invariably when a show is (pick one) canceled, 
renewed, put on hiatus, etc., the news media reports its "ratings," including 
(as below) who did better or worse, as some kind of justification for the 
action taken.

I am a bigger fan of "share" rather than "ratings" as the former takes into 
account where the all-knowing network poobahs decide a show should appear on 
the schedule.

Ron Casalotti


In a message dated  Sat, 21 Apr 2001 06:06:20 EDT, tomalhe@a... writes:


>    Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 06:06:20 EDT
>    From: tomalhe@a...
> Subject: [TV DEADPOOL] Some of my worst sitcoms are...
> 
>        Somehow I seem to have missed reading it before now, (Variety, 
> H'wood 
> Reporter, AP, etc.) but CBS seems to have officially cancelled "Some of My 
> Best Friends."
> 
>        Epguides.com notes it last aired on April 11th, (with two unaired 
> episodes), Planet Out says in a mailing pimping its Deep inside Hollywood 
> gay 
> TV/movie industry gossip column that "Just as "Some of My Best Friends" 
> gets 
> cancelled, word comes that there's yet another sitcom with a major gay 
> character in the works." (Isaac Mizrahi, in case you were wondering.) 
> 
> In its final airing it placed 65th in the ratings, above "DAG," "King of 
> the 
> Hill," one edition of "Whose Line," "Futurama" ... well everything on WB 
> and 
> UPN, and PAX.




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

From: The KJB  <osiris@idir.net>
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 0:24pm
Subject: Re: [TV DEADPOOL] Some of my worst sitcoms are...

At 06:06 AM 4/21/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>        Epguides.com notes it last aired on April 11th, (with two unaired
>episodes), Planet Out says in a mailing pimping its Deep inside Hollywood gay
>TV/movie industry gossip column that "Just as "Some of My Best Friends" gets
>cancelled, word comes that there's yet another sitcom with a major gay
>character in the works." (Isaac Mizrahi, in case you were wondering.)

There was another episode fed via satellite to Canada last week that didn't 
run in the US (the slate for that feed comes up right after the weekly Star 
Trek Voyager feed).  I don't know if they ran it up there or not and I 
didn't watch it.  There was a much more important "Batman Beyond" rerun on 
Kids WB that I didn't want to miss.


>In its final airing it placed 65th in the ratings, above "DAG," "King of the
>Hill," one edition of "Whose Line," "Futurama" ... well everything on WB and

The major networks could run a test pattern for 30 minutes and score higher 
ratings that everything on WB & UPN (with the sole exception to that being 
an XFL game).  Are you trying to insinuate they canned it because it has a 
gay major character?

BTW - Ellen's got a new show coming up.  So I guess that makes two shows in 
the works with a major gay character (both of whom are actually gay, 
imagine that!).

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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 0:42pm
Subject: Re: [TV DEADPOOL] Some of my worst sitcoms are...

>The major networks could run a test pattern for 30 minutes and score higher 
>ratings that everything on WB & UPN (with the sole exception to that being 
>an XFL game).  Are you trying to insinuate they canned it because it has a 
>gay major character?

No... The source material was A) lame B) uneven and C) offensive to anyone 
Italian or homosexual. The Odd Couple goof spinoff sitcom was A) lame B) 
repetetive "Oh crap, my friends/parents/vampire/talking horse has suddenly 
dropped by our apartment. You gotta help me out and pretend to be 
gay/straight/werewolf/Eva Gabor" and C) at least fair as alleged 
"responsibility" goes, in that its B-level wacky overtly gay character is 
indeed an out-of-the-closet gay activist. (Memo to Sean Hayes, Liberace 
called and he thinks you might appear slightly gay.)

No, the point about ratings is that people will indeed watch anything on a 
major "top" three network. And I'd complain even if it was "Two Gays and a 
Mohel." 

I had no expectations for it being a show with a horrible pedigree, based on 
an awful equal opportunity offender movie, I figured it was doomed after its 
"companion"/escort for the night "Bette" traipsed off. That it was "Will and 
Grace" without a Grace just made it seem more like a bad segment on "The Man 
Show." 

"Ellen" was actually better when it had her (not knowing she was in the 
closet) playing off a weird sexual chemistry ribbing "Adam," Arye Gross. The 
problem of "Ellen" wasn't so much the switch from "Meek fumbling bookseller 
pointing out absurdities of life" to "Dangerous Gay Leading Character 
Corrupting Our Youth." It was the transformation from "isn't everyone else 
weird?" to (several writing teams later) "she's weird but she's normal -- 
HEY, arent we being exceedingly clever with all out gay references?" (Answer 
: No.)

While "Will & Grace" is more subversive it would seem in injecting gay 
characters into the "Must See TV" pop culture -- "we can be just as normal as 
you" (Will) alongside "Yes, but why would you want to when you can be 
faaaaaabulous" (Jack); its success both raises and lowers the bar for 
"mainstream" Gay TV. The ideal "acceptance" of "John Boy Walton just happens 
to be gay / Marcia stole my girlfriend. (Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!) and that's 
okay" means that a horrible "gay odd couple" can get on the air and not stay 
there just because it's "hip." "Queer as Folk" gets on and gets renewed by 
being an addictive "Sex in the City" with showrunners who did years worth of 
the equally addictive "Sisters." It's "Gay Melrose Place." 

The entrenching of Will and Grace as Neo-"Mary Tyler Moore Show" allows for 
future Gay "ERs," "Iron Chefs," "Whose Line is It Anyways" (okay that's not 
too much of a stretch), "GAY-Team," etc. The failure of "Some Of My Best 
Friends" means that with 28 shows with gay / bi / trans characters (some 
cancelled i.e. "Bette," "Normal Ohio," "Beggers & Choosers") in lead, 
supporting, or recurring roles, gayness is no longer a free ride. It's daring 
to have higher standards over just daring to be daring. Quality keeps you on 
the air, not merely being Queer. 


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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 2:33pm
Subject: Phil. Down a hue?

from E! [the home of TODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD NEWTON!]

Saturday April 21 02:14 PM EDT 
Oprah Spinning Off Dr. Phil?

Well, fans of psychologist Phil McGraw can celebrate--the good doctor, whose 
become something of a household name thanks to weekly Tuesday spot on The 
Oprah Winfrey Show and his sting of self-help books, radio gigs and 
seminars--is getting ready for his close-up, according to Mediaweek. 

Yes, we're talking S-P-I-N-O-F-F. 

Spotting a good (and potentially profitable) thing, Oprah Winfrey's Harpo 
Productions is developing a daytime talk show around the self-help guru known 
to millions simply as "Dr. Phil," the trade magazine reports, quoting sources 
close to Oprah distributor King World Productions, which wants to distribute 
the spinoff. 

Officially, King World is keeping mum, refusing to even comment on the 
subject. For its part, Harpo would only say the company is in talks with 
McGraw about "a variety of projects." 

But, according to Mediaweek, Harpo and King World have been talking about a 
Dr. Phil show since the beginning of the year, with a possible launch as 
early as fall 2002. 

Dr. Phil is one of Oprah's most popular guests, making his weekly appearance 
to dispense advice on everything from relationships to life strategies--he'll 
even tell you how to lose weight. And more importantly, Oprah swears by him. 

Winfrey has the most popular daytime show on television and her fanatic 
followers will buy anything she recommends--from her book club selections to 
copies of her magazine, O. 

And in related news, Buena Vista Television is doing what King World and 
Harpo are only talking about. 

Self-help author Iyanla Vanzant, another frequent Oprah guest, has landed her 
own syndicated show for the fall. Vanzant founded Inner Visions Worldwide, a 
self company she describes as "a network of spiritual and holistic 
practitioners who believe that all individuals must be empowered" and is a 
popular public and motivational speaker. 

Barbara Walters will executive produce Iyanla. Says Walters of Vanzant, "When 
I first saw Iyanla, I thought she was absolutely marvelous. She truly is a 
breakout talent." 

So is Oprah angry about Vanzant's defection? 

"Oprah and I don't have no beef. Oprah does what she does, and in doing that, 
she was gracious enough to offer me a platform for my ministry--my work," 
Vanzant tells the New York Daily News. "She has articulated to me, 
personally, her support of me and this show." 

Buena Vista cleared the last major hurdle toward launching Iyanla last week 
when Los Angeles' KNBC-TV gave it the green light. The show is cleared in 
most major markets, including New York and Chicago, where Oprah is taped.



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

From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 2:35pm
Subject: OJ, Hoaxes, and the Death of Kreskin (not live on CBS)

from Today's TVBarn monologue (even more amazing than our Donal Logue)

>Skaggs bamboozled CNN by claiming to be an NYU professor whose
> computer had found O.J. Simpson "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

Skaggs ain't the only huckster workling this scam : Kreskin did it in 1999.



===
<http://www.amazingkreskin.com/ojsolve.htm>

TRUTH TO FINALLY BE REVEALED IN O.J. CASE 
OJ Receives Amazing Offer on 5th Anniversary of Being Charged with Murder

Caldwell, NJ, June 24, 1999 … This month marks the five-year anniversary of 
the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Even after five years 
their murders remain unsolved and unavenged. The public is left wondering if 
O.J didn’t kill them, who did?

Thursday, June 17, 1999 marked the five-year anniversary of O.J. Simpson 
being officially charged with murder and the ensuing bronco chase. On that 
same day, the Amazing Kreskin forwarded a letter to O.J Simpson offering his 
skills as a thought-reader to bring closure to this ongoing debate. "O.J. and 
I are probably the only two people alive who have the ability to bring the 
truth into the light. If he is innocent all it will take is the two of us 
getting together to find out," said Kreskin.

Even though five years have passed Kreskin has the ability to bring clarity 
to this otherwise clouded case because he does not rely on circumstantial 
evidence, DNA testing, or fingerprints. "All I need is to walk around the 
crime scene with O.J. and ask him a few questions, the truth will be 
disclosed on the spot because it will be impossible for O.J to deceive me," 
said Kreskin. "Even though the crime scene has been dismantled the events 
that took place that night, whether he is guilty or not, are burned into 
O.J.’s mind."

O.J.’s thoughts will be fully revealed to Kreskin under these circumstances 
and the truth will finally be disclosed. "I have never seen such a mockery of 
justice," said Kreskin, "Five years have gone by and there is still no 
closure to this case. The families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman 
deserve a steadfast answer as to who took their loved ones from them."

====

Kreskin's newest con? : "Now for my latest stunt, I have set all fear of my 
own mortality aside, turned my perception on myself, and decided to share my 
death with the world before it even happens.  Hidden on this web site is a 
thirteen part riddle that, when solved, will reveal the day of my own death.  
All thirteen clues can be found on my site and with a little thinking, you 
will be able to piece them together to solve the riddle."

"Hidden" in his cheesy imagemaps are these ONLY SLIGHTLY VAGUE one hand 
clapping predictions : 

1 Three days before I die there will be a serious financial drop.

2 During the month in which I will die a set of twins will begin to make 
headlines.

3 During the year in which I will die a silver vase rumored to be on the 
table at the last supper will receive public attention.

4 During the month in which I will die a highly publicized wedding will end 
in disaster.

5 During the month in which I will die there will be a devastating fire in a 
New York nightclub.

6 During the month in which I will die four lines in a diary will reveal an 
astounding insight into the life of a famous rock musician.

7 During the year in which I will die two chests will be found containing a 
wealth in gold and jewels.

8 One of the key words surrounding my death will rhyme with the word SKY and 
the word LIGHT.

9 Days before I die a famous sports figure will make headlines with an 
unprecedented scoring record.

10 During the year that I will die there will be a famous prison escape.

11 During the week in which I will die a famous treaty in Middle East will be 
signed.

12 During the month in which I will die there will be a fatal disaster in the 
sky.

13 If there is snow on Sulpicius Day (January 17) you know my end is near.


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From: tomalhe@aol.com
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 3:51pm
Subject: ring around the rosie O

So i've momentarily switched from the Game Show Network's "Fools of April" 
lineup hosted by the painful-to-watch Jimmy Walker (sponsored by Immodium 
AD... did they have to tell him or does he just naturally assume? "For those 
not so good times.") 

Anyway, I'm tuned to the Kids Choice Awards on Nick, where they're handing 
out the award to favorite male tv ACTOR to ... Carson Daly? 

That explains some things... 


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