The TV Zone

There will be - and effectively has been the last few hours - a pretty amazing concentration of network news talent down in New Orleans as Gustav approaches. Herewith some of the full coverage plans now and at least over the next 24 hours, if you're tracking network news crews. What's notable in this rush to cover? That so many people - including WilliamsCouricGibson - will be in New Orleans that there will hardly be anyone around to cover the Twin Cities convention. The RNC has no choice but to scale back or postpone altogether if they hope to get ANY coverage this week.

The press release facts, beginning with NBC:

NBC: "Nightly News" Anchor and Managing Editor, Brian Williams will report live from the region beginning this evening with an exclusive interview with Presidential
hopeful Senator John McCain. NBC News' Ann Curry, Lester Holt, Al Roker and a team of correspondents including Contessa Brewer, Don Teague, Janet Shamlian, Kerry Sanders, Lee Cowan, Mark Potter, Mary Murray, Michelle Kosinski, and others, will also be on location. Coverage will extend across MSNBC, and the networks of NBC News will benefit from Weather Plus and a preliminary agreement with The Weather Channel by utilizing their expert teams on and off air.

NBC News' Tom Brokaw will head up the network's coverage of the RNC live from St. Paul. He will be joined by the network's political team of Andrea Mitchell, Chuck Todd, David Gregory, John Yang, Luke Russert, Kelly O'Donnell, Mike Taibbi, Savannah Guthrie, Tom Costello, among others.

CBS: CBS Evening News Anchor and Managing Editor Katie Couric will report from the Gulf coast beginning tomorrow ...at 6:30...CBS News Correspondents Cynthia Bowers, Randall Pinkston, Byron Pitts, Dave Price, Tracy Smithari Sreenivasan will report from the area for all CBS News broadcasts....Harry Smith will anchor from the area beginning tomorrow morning (7:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), along with Earrly Show weather anchor Dave Price...CBS News’ live Republican National Convention primetime specials—Monday, Sept. 1 through Thursday, Sept. 4 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET; check local listings) will include coverage of both the hurricane and the RNC....(Sunday's) EN will be anchored by Russ Mitchell from New York, with Bob Schieffer contributing from St. Paul.

ABC: As Hurricane Gustav nears the Gulf Coast, ABC News continues to bring viewers up-to-the-minute reports from the storm front. This evening, "World News" anchor Charles Gibson will report live from New Orleans - just hours before the storm is expected to hit. Further plans to be announced as news develops.

ABC News will continue to report from the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN. "This Week" host and Chief Washington Correspondent, George Stephanopoulos, will anchor and report from the RNC and ABC News correspondent David Wright - who has been covering the McCain campaign for ABC News - will continue to report from the trail for all ABC News broadcasts and platforms.

On Monday, September 1, "GMA" weather and news anchors, Sam Champion and Chris Cuomo, will bring morning viewers reports on Hurricane Gustav and the damage and destruction that Hurricane Gustav is expected to bring to the Gulf Coast area during the morning broadcast. In addition to reports on the ground, co-anchors Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts will anchor the morning Labor Day broadcast from Times Square Studios in New York.

ABC News will have complete coverage from throughout the New Orleans, Mississippi, Texas and Florida regions with reports from ABC News anchors and correspondents, including: Bill Weir; Dan Harris; David Kerley; Jeffrey Kofman; Terry McCarthy; Steve Osunsami; Barbara Pinto and Mike von Fremd.

"Nightline" co-anchor, Terry Moran, will also anchor the evening news broadcast live from New Orleans with reports on the storm's latest developments.

Good news for "Chuck"-heads: NBC's good sophomore series just got a full-season order (and the season hasn't even begun!) NBC bought a total of nine new episodes, which adds up to a full season. Here's the quote of NBCU evp, Teri Weinberg: "We couldn't be more excited with the creative direction Josh [Schwartz, creator] and his team are executing on 'Chuck.' This show has really hit its stride and deserves a full-season commitment to carry out the producers' vision for this unique series."

Nathan Fillion fans - you know who you are and why you are - will be very pleased to learn that he's landed a big series commitment from ABC, which announced a handful of '08 pickups yesterday, as reported on TVtattle.com.

Perrineau - he needs no intro - will be in a comedy/cop procedural called "The Unusuals" (also previously announced.) It'll be set in NYC, and check out the descrip on the jump.

Alyssa Milano and Beau Bridges are coming to ABC, too.

Fillion - of "Firefly" and of course "Lost" fame - will headline a show called "Castle," and here's what the press release says about it:

“'Castle' is a comedic crime procedural about a famous mystery novelist, Nick Castle, who is bored with his own success. When a real-world copycat murderer starts staging scenes from Nick’s novels, Nick is teamed up with NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic] and the challenge gets his blood pumping as he steps in to help solve the crime. Nick and Beckett’s styles instantly clash and sparks begin to fly, leading both to danger and a hint of romance. Nick is kept grounded by his Broadway diva mother, quick-witted teenage daughter and his long-suffering ex-wife… who happens to be his editor. "

Please head on down to the ol' jump for the rest of the new series descriptions, via ABC:

Continue reading "Nathan Fillion, Harold Perrineau, Gets Series" »

Unfortunately, there's a real-world consequence to all this coverage of the on-going Keith Olbermann-Chris Matthews war: A peace meeting was almost certainly enforced yesterday in the wake of all these stories (and youtube highlight reels) during which both were enjoined to be on their their best behavior tonight so as not to disrupt the dignity of the moment.

This ruins it for all of us, because MS has become the de facto go-to network this week, simply because we all want a front-row seat to the mother of all blowouts when it does happen (God willing).

That could play out this way, with Chris (hypothetically) reaching across the desk and mussing (hypothetically) Keith's hair, or snatching those glasses and then send 'em skittering across the studio floor; or Keith (hypothetically) reaching over to Chris, and pulling his necktie so hard that Chris turns a deeper shade of red, while security then shuffles over to break it up, at which point Keith grabs a Louisville slugger he keeps under his desk for just such a eventuality and starts to wave it in their faces...and then MS boss Phil Griffin throws a cream pie (kept on set for just such an eventuality) at Keith's large (and growing) head to calm him down, as well as provide some comic relief...

Sadly, none of this is going to happen now. Thanks, all you spoilsports at Politico and Huffpo.

Killjoys.

Seriously.

It's back.

As of...hmmmm...twenty-seven minutes ago. I'm talking, of course, about the much-touted all-WB-related-things website which has literally brought the late network from the dead, and as an inaugural browse, why don't you go straight here to "Welcome to Hellmouth," the first episode of the first season of the WB's greatest show ever, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Stuff that rises from the dead seems to be on my mind at the moment.

In any event, the new site looks wonderful - a rich full table spread full to brimming with a lot of great stuff. I love Hulu.com, but (of course) it is missing one large component; with the wb.com up and running, and the rich network sites, this should keep you occupied for the rest of your life, or many lives, if you happen to be a vamp.

Well, here I go again. Making a wild - and possibly wildly inaccurate prediction - but I'm gonna do it anyway. That's just what I do, and if I'm wrong, don't blame me. Blame the voters. (Because I AM right here.)

Drum role...

Take a deep breath...

And now, introducing my choice to win the 2008 7th season of "Dancing with the Stars", bowing September 24 is....

Oh, wait. You already who it is. I put his name in the headline (And there's that nice big picture too.)

Yes, Lance Bass will win this season's "Dancing with the Stars."

I've consulted the charts. Spoken with astrologers. Thought long and deeply about this. Considered the pros. The cons. The in-betweens.

And this is what it all adds up to: This is Lance's to lose.

Let's count my nine reasons:

1.) Right age (29).

2.) Huge fame from 'N Sync, which will guarantee votes no matter how lead-footed.

3.) He's NOT lead-footed, of course. Hey! We're talking boy band talent here.

4.) Hugely competitive - he'll really want to beat Joey Fatone.

5.) Great stamina. He's an astronaut, for crying out loud.

6.) He's serious about this - "DWTS" isn't some gig to fill the hours between more important gigs.

7.) Very camera savvy

8.) A male will win this season - that's just the way it's gonna be.

9.) Yeah, he's out, but that shouldn't make a difference here and may actually help.

10.) For a moment, I don't have a tenth reason, but give me time. I'm sure I'll think of one.

Go to the jump for the odds for the rest of this season's crew...

Continue reading "Bass Will Win "Dancing with the Stars"" »

Here are your ratings from last night's DNC - lifted straight from Drudge and Nielsen.

My quickie analysis: Not as bad as they look. About 22 million people watched at ten, per my rough eyeball estimate, and that seems like a reasonable number. 'Nother way to look at this: About the same number of people who watch a highly promoted episode of "CSI" watched Michelle O last night. I'm sure she'll take that. Also, don't read anything into the CNN win over Fox here - CNN always beats Fox during the Democratic convention; the order will reverse during the RNC. I imagine MS would have liked to have had a slightly better showing, but this one isn't bad either.

Here are the Nielsen numbers which give the demographic breakdown. What's remarkable here? The teen numbers!

Day 1-Aug 25, 2008

Number of All Households
17,111,710

Persons 2+
22,296,685

Persons 12-17
417,496

Persons 18-34
3,156,100

Persons 18-49
7,678,484

Persons 55+
10,079,978

African American
3,282,817

Hispanic
869,029

White
12,751,698

Source: The Nielsen Company

And here are the overall network numbers:

NBC 4.71 MILLION
CNN 4.24 MILLION
ABC 4.17 MILLION
CBS 3.46 MILLION
FOXNEWS 2.72 MILLION
MSNBC 2.09 MILLION

8-11PM ET

CNN 3,700,000
FOXNEWS 3,018,000
MSNBC 2,147,000

So you, me, the rest of the solar system, are all sitting around this morning wondering: What kind of judge will Kara be? An enabler? An equivocator? A push-over?

I think I can safely say, based on the following video: None of the above. If this is a true reflection of Kara the Impaler, she's gonna be one tough cookie; much harder than Randy (who's really pretty darned nice), and a universe away from Paula. In style, she comes closer to Simon - though with a little more passion, and perhaps even anger.

This wonderful clip - and there are mild expletives contained, so the feint of heart, move on - shows Kara in all her glory - a swirling, whirling, manic, passionate (that word again) type who's got little patience for floozies, flunkies, and frak-ups. It comes from "The One: Making of a Music Star," which was that long-forgotten knock-off of "AI." It was a very expensive show but when it bowed two summers ago scored - I believe - one of the lowest viewing levels of any show in ABC history (I still think "Paula Poundstone" still holds that distinction, however.) Kara was a judge and this show, apparently, was her try-out for the big time.

So take it away - your first look at Kara DioGuardi:

Don't know about you, but I'm beginning to think Katie "Outta Here by January" Couric isn't acting like someone who's ready to get outta there by January. First, she told TV scribes back in July that she's staying in the anchor chair beyond the inauguration (a prediction echoed by her own boss). Then last night, she and CBS launch this: A webcast on CNET that was 45 minutes long, pretty good, and revealing a side of Couric that is slightly more familiar to viewers of "Today" over fifteen years than the stiff-upper-lipped automaton she sometimes imitates in the anchor chair every night.

She called herself "loosey goosey;" you be the judge.

You may be thinking: "A webcast on CNET? WHO CARES!!??" Please allow me to correct your understandable impressionism: This is a pretty big deal. Back in May, CBS paid about $1.8 billion for a website that had virtually no logical place in its media "portfolio," though promised to change that situation forthwith; a bunch of new CBS shows are planned for CNET, and I wouldn't be surprised if the network even brings 'em to next summer's press tour (assuming there is a tour by then.)

How'd she do on this? From what I can tell, fine; has a "web-exclusive" Caroline Kennedy interview, some cross-talk segments with Bob Schieffer et al, and otherwise fronted a credible debut webcast. This will go forward, BTW, and will be part of what she does on a regular basis for CBS News and "Evening News." (Meanwhile, Charlie Gibson yesterday took his first web baby steps, by posting his first ever blog. )

Does all this sound like someone who's ready to disappear in three months? I wonder. I wonder...

Good luck finding a full video of last night's John McCain encounter with Jay Leno but we do have a brief clip - in which the Presumptive Nom jokes about Leno's possibility as his veep choice because "you may not have a job around that time."

But for the idle and curious, below is NBC's brief clip, and just to prove that he isn't in the bag for McCain while giving him a free ride on the night of the DNC show, Jay did ask about the house issue; following is the answer, courtesy ABC News:

Leno: "For a million dollars, how many houses do you have?"

McCain: "Could I just mention to you, Jay, that, at a moment of seriousness. I spent five-and-a-half years in a prison cell. I didn't have a house. I didn't have a kitchen table. I didn't have a table. I didn't have a chair. And I didn't spent those five-and-a-half years because, not because I wanted to get a house when I got out. You know, I'm very proud of Cindy's father. He was a guy that barely got out of high school, fought in WW Two in the Army Air Corps, came home and made a business, and made the American dream. And so somehow, you've had Cindy on this show, and, uh, the fact is that she's extremely generous. She goes around the world doing humanitarian stuff. She's in now in Georgia as we speak, looking at the humanitarian aspects of the results of this Russian invasion. So, I'm proud of my life and my record, and we spend our time in a condominium in Washington, in a condominium in Phoenix, sometime over here in the state of California and we have a place up in northern Arizona. And, my friends, I'm proud of my record of service to this country. And it has nothing to with houses. What it has to do with putting Americans in houses and keeping in their homes. And that's what I'm gong to do."

Leno: "That sounds like five houses."

Here's some big "Survivor" news - the Original King of Reality/elimination is getting pushed back a week, so (I'm assuming) it can catch the new season wave with the rest of CBS's new line-up. Plus, the show will be in HD for the first time ever, so CBS wants to get the biggest bang it can for that as well. The hard-and-fast details: "Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden" will now air Sept. 25 in a full two-hour edition, "marking the first-ever two-hour premiere for any edition of the long-running hit series," per CBS. (A repeat of last year's "CSI" finale will follow at 10.)

Kara - (do you mind if I just call you "Kara?") - has spoken, and my initial takeaway from the just-concluded conference call is just how sudden and seemingly off-the-cuff this whole appointment is/was. A lot of questions about how it all came together, and a lot of her answers along this line: Not exactly sure.

Were there (for example) try-outs for this new gig? No. Was she surprised she got the call - just a few days ago? Of course. Did she know why she got it? Not sure.

Here's one answer: "I think they were aware of me in the industry, though I'm maybe not a household name. They ['AI'] asked me to come in and we had a nice discussion and that's basically what happened. I've also worked with many of the Idols, at least six or seven...and in the studio, I'm constantly giving my opinion to people...constantly working with talent, and not only writing for it, but signing to labels..."

Were there auditions with the other judges?

No. None of those either.

Does this matter? Well...maybe, maybe not, but consider that she is about to folded in midway through the summer's audition process (New York tomorrow, where she'll make her debut), so my impression is that this was amazingly precipitous on "Idol's" part. May I be blunt? It feels a little loopy.

What was the show worried about? Why did this happen so quickly? Paula - I believe - has forthcoming surgery (an old cheer leading or dancing injury) which I presume will take place after auditions, but not sure. And judge panel chemistry is hugely important on "Idol" - it's not the whole show, but it's certainly a quarter of the whole show. What Kara is effectively saying is this: She no idea, nor does "AI," what this chemistry will be.

DioGuardi does have a TV judging background, BTW - she was on "The One," a very short-lived ABC summer series two summers ago. (Fox neglected to mention that in this morning's announcement.)
Curiouser and curiouser.

Why did they make this change?

"They added me and obviously this is a very successful show. It's their choice to do what they want to do.. I cant comment on why or what it means."

Also, this: "I just know they wanted to add a fourth judge, and obviously they're thrilled with the panel they already have. It's just about adding another person and creating new chemistry as well as keeping the old. That's all I know."

What's the marching orders? "I'm literally in the dark. Tomorrow is the first day at pre-school."

Curiouser and curiouser and curiouser.

Someone wondered about that radio interview with Paula this morning, in which she expressed some concern about whether this whole arrangement will work out. (Kara and Paula know each other - they co-wrote a song for Kylie Minogue and Kara says they remain pretty good friends - or "[we've] always had a great relationship. I can't imagine her not being happy about it.")

That radio interview? She was using her "right brain...she's pondering what could and could not happen. It's like anyone...")

Curiouser and etc.

Enough with the curiousers. DioGuardi does sound very nice and smart and clearly knows a hell of a lot about pop music and has written a hell of a lot of it too. She's clearly got the qualifications. Here's a nice quote about her b'ground: "I never intended to break in as a song writer; I was trying to be an artist and when I graduated from college I decided to start my own garage band...Parents were upset so I landed a job at Billboard [mag] and they got off my back. [Ah, parents...] In the beginning I couldn't get any songs because I was unsigned and that's how I got into song-writing - I had to write songs for myself."

And here how she describes HER style:

I'm "honest, believe in what I believe in and am willing to fight for it, and I'm feisty."

As you're aware, "American Idol's" got a new fourth wheel and her name is Kara DioGuardi. You're gonna hear a lot more about her in just a little while, but first, go to the jump to read a good Allison Stewart profile from the Chicago Tribune that ran in January. It really gives a full flavor of her many talents and some of her struggles too. And, it raises a bunch of interesting questions - some of which spring from her background, and some I've been thinking about too...

Here those questions are:

Will a fourth judge detract from the performances by sucking more time out of the broadcast?
With four opinions to be heard, that's less time for the performance, so I'm wondering how Fox is gonna cram all this into one 42-minute episode.

Will she get along with Simon?
Always the grand question. Simon is not easy, I hear, and some of the things he says can be insensitive (or, again, so I've heard) and he does tend to bug Paula (I've heard that too.) How will he get along with this newcomer, who will suck the time allotted for his opinions...

Could she one day replace Si?
We've all been noodling about the possibilities of Paula leaving some day, but Simon could head out the door too. Fox/"AI" certainly needs to start thinking about a succession plan one of these years; maybe this is it.

Could she draw new talent to the show?
I'd dunno but I'm thinking that with all her ties to Major Heavyweights like Gwen Stefani - who of course has been on "AI" before - she might get Britney Spears to show up too. This would be what we in the trade call a "heavily promotable appearance."

How will contestants use her songs?
Will they? She's part of the '90s/'00s canon, so I can't see how they'd totally avoid some of the songs, like "Come Clean" or "Rich Girl." There are a lot of songs out there, of course, so maybe contestants won't need to go to this well.

(Photo from her website.)

Continue reading "Kara DioGuardi: Some Basic Questions" »

(Holly Stein photo)

Do we need to mine deeply to figure out what the HUGE news from this ayem's "GMA" announcement is? Misty May-Treanor is gonna be a "DWTS" contestant. Plus a little more news outta this announcement, and from the press release I quote: "For the first time ever, all 13 teams must prepare two routines for the first week of competition, one of which they’ll perform on Monday night." The significance of this? Obvious - it means more work, more stress, and more sweat for the contestants, but also forces them to get up to speed more quickly. (On "DWTS," it usually takes a few weeks for most contestants to get their dancing skills up to speed, but this new wrinkle should hasten that.)

More news from "DWTS:" That Lance Bass has joined. He was expected to, and precipitated some chatter over whether he'd be paired with a male dancing partner; he will not be. The show said he'll be paired with new-comer pro Lacey Schwimmer. The full list is on the jump, and I'll get to an analysis when I have a few minutes today.

Show bows Sept. 24.

(The above photo - incredible no? - was shot by Holly Stein. To find out more about Holly and her extraordinary work, go here...)

Continue reading ""DWTS:" Misty May-Treanor is Joining!" »

Yup, the biggest baddest news of the week and we're just a couple hours in. A new judge has been added to the "American Idol" panel, and Fox/"AI" plans to unveil her before the world in just a few hours via a conference call.

She is Kara DioGuardi and "AI" was careful to note that she's JOINING the panel and not replacing any of our world famous threesome. Who's DioGuardi? Well, she is a bigshot/heavyweight in the music world, that's for certain, and has written many of the songs that loop through our collective heads each and every day. Here's her website for a refresher.

What does this mean? It's the biggest change, really, in "Idol's" production ingredient in seven seasons; it's as if you woke up one morning and Coke was no longer Coke but now had something new added to it (like cinnamon.) It's huge and the speculation will be inevitable, so let's begin it right now: That DioGuardi, assuming she's a hit, will one day replace one of our Original Threesome, and you can take bets right now on who that just might be. Paula's future on this show has always been a favorite water cooler subject because of - shall we call it delicately - occasionally irrational behavior. Yes, we love Paula, but we especially love to criticize Paula. I can't imagine this show without her wonderful, silly, over-the-top generosity, but I'm sure some producers can.

We'll report back with more details on this breaking story shortly, but meanwhile, here's the statement Mike Darnell, Fox reality boss, handed out...

"For the past seven seasons, Paula has had to endure the experience of being the only woman at the judges' table. With Kara by her side, Paula has some backup and now there is going to be a lot more 'girl power' on the show."

(Photo: Courtesy BMI.)

You can't let another Olympics slide by without jumping into the mosh pit of NBC criticism. Now, my turn, hours after the closing ceremony which - I presume - featured real fireworks this time.

Criticism of NBC's coverage? What would an Olympics be without it. Here's my approach this morning. I'll break out some of the key points of contention that flared up over the last couple of weeks, then weigh in, offering a grade. Finally, an overall grade.

Here goes:

Too much trompe l'oeil? You know - fake stuff that made the picture prettier. This rap set the pace early on, when NBC was accused to CGI'ng some firework displays in the opening ceremony, to enhance an already spectacular display. Matt Lauer and Bob Costas (sorta) vaguely referred to the fakery, but hardly with enough detail to suggest some CGI effects had just taken over your television set. Apparently CGI was necessary because the shot involved use of a helicopter so safety was an issue. Last night's display? One assumes real, but one should never assume.

My take: If this is the biggest controversy NBC had to face of the games then hallelujah. Most everything on TV is enhanced in some way and CGI is the botox of choice. Faking news is bad. Faking a few fireworks is irrelevant. NBC gets an A for overall technical mastery of the main channel telecast (the only one I - and most everyone else - basically watched) but I suppose we'll just have to give it a D for a few irrelevant minutes of fakery two weeks ago.

Not enough coverage of smog, human rights abuse, those gas guzzling billions, etc. The criticism here is that NBC soft-pedaled all this stuff or flat-out ignored it in favor of stirring tales gold and glory, and that you wouldn't even know such a thing as controversy existed in this country of a billion-three. Moreover, that NBC happily let that all slide because parent GE is so deeply entrenched in the world's biggest market.

My take: Impressions - as opposed to actual specifics - rule in this category and this certainly seems to be an accurate impression especially in primetime (although because GE is so "deeply entrenched" in just about every anther country on that planet that that charge would be leveled even if these things were carried in Burundi.) But also ask yourself this - how much coverage of the "problems" story is justified? A "lot" leads to the charge of piling on, AND detracts from the Games themselves; a "little" leads to the aforementioned head-in-the-sand charge. It seems to me NBC generally took the right approach though could have done a better job of contextualizing the issues for a largely oblivious primetime audience. (Here by the way is that Bob Costas interview with Prez Bush, which delicately explores the incendiary issues.) So NBC gets an overall C + in this category.

The Real Time or Memorex Live time firestorm, in which NBC misled viewers (particularly West Coast ones) with the "live" bug, when in fact events had been tape-delayed. Live or tape-delay is an age-old challenge and bedeviled NBC from Sydney too. Dan Wetzel of well-traveled Yahoo even went so far as to call NBC's coverage a "loser" for this reason. Writes he: "Because I was in China, I didn’t watch NBC’s coverage [but] I can only say from the flood of angry emails it hasn’t improved since the last time I was home for the games. Tape-delayed races plausibly live coverage and covering up Chinese special effects for the Opening Ceremony, NBC is like the China Daily – a state-run propaganda newspaper – of American television. If only everyone could get the feed for the Canadian Broadcast Company, which anyone in select American markets can attest does an exponentially better job of television coverage of the Olympics."

My take: Call me old-fashioned, but I like to think that "live" always means "live" and "delayed" always means "delayed." Honestly, I don't think most viewers care whether something's live or not, and if they care deeply and passionately enough about the real-time results, then a quick google should suffice. But NBC should have just left the "live" bug off all telecasts and push this distracting little controversy off the table and into the round file where it belongs. Grade: D.

NBCOlympics.com didn't offer enough, or scooped the main network (or didn't), or offered irrelevant video, and - besides - Yahoo and others did a better job.

My take: NBCO.com is one of the damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't tales of this Olympics, but it's probably a good idea to remember what this ostensibly replaced - the old triplecast idea, which charged you to watch all the minor stuff and was a disaster to boot. What did NBCO.com do wrong? Honestly, I don't know. This was a big success, and a fix for the mildly obsessed as well as an easy-to-navigate fix for the mildly engaged grazer too. OK, maybe the Really Obsessed did better via Yahoo, but NBCO.com still gets the gold in my estimation. Grade: A.

Patriotic gore, or the treacly rah-rah-go-USA! stuff that inevitably attends the coverage of some event without making even passing note of the fact that athletes from a hundred-plus other countries were winning big too (and China easily beat the U.S. in the gold medal count.)

My take: This is the Olympics! Jingoism is so deeply and inherently entrenched in U.S. coverage of the Games thanks to ABC's far more vigorous flag-waving that viewers would be lost without it. Plus, most U.S. viewers of the Games are light-to-non-existent viewers of sports, or certainly the types of sports on display here. The narrative glue that binds them is the story of U.S. athletes. I give NBC a B here.

And finally...

Overall Grade: B. This is the Olympics. It is our - your's and mine - God given right to criticize the network that broadcasts them, and indeed we should (noisily, angrily, happily, or whatever flavor of criticism we damn well like.) But from a TV standpoint, these Games were a success born of luck (Phelps), technical skill, and a reasonably intelligent and aggressive web strategy. Too much beach volleyball - a sport most of us play half-baked at Jones beach on a lovely August day (and therefore doesn't actually seem like a sport as much as a keg accessory)? Then don't watch - and head over to all the other channels that were airing different stuff. Life goes on. NBC did just fine.

Well, I just love this quote from the Trumpster, now in a mini-bidding war for Ed McMahon's LA mansion, so I wanted to share. I'm not entirely sure what it all means, or how it will all end up, but I'm with the Donald on this one. Ed's one of the really good guys in this business, and has been one of the really good guys pretty much forever, so Donald's heart is one-hundred-percent in the right place here. Let's hope it all works out...and Ed gets some sort of role on "The Celebrity Apprentice" too.

"I hope they take good care of Ed McMahon because he deserves it," TD said in a statement of the competing bid. "The only reason anybody other than me would be interested in this house is because I showed an interest in it first. I just heard that the person negotiating doesn't have financing, and the deal would be subject to getting financing, something which I, obviously, don't need."

And now this, friends: Valerie Bertinelli is coming back! Per TBS, she just signed a deal to star in a new sitcom for the network; no word on when/where, but here's some of the what: Show'll "follow the life of a woman who manages to get through the day with surprisingly good humor despite very difficult circumstances: Her husband walks out, leaving her with two kids and a struggling lumberyard. It will take every ounce of energy she has to keep both her household and her business afloat, while facing obstacles at every turn." Yes, Val fans, I'm giving you hugely redundant information at this point by telling you that she spent years on "Touched by an Angel" and "One Day at a Time" but maybe not such redundant info by saying that she has been pretty much MIA on the small screen for the last few years.
(Above: Irresistible shot of VB from the "Angel" days.)

As long rumored - and officially reported as fact in the pages of this morning's Times - MSNBC has named Rachel Maddow host and full time occupant of what has become the catbird 9 p.m. hour, following Keith Olbermann and his "Countdown." Here's the line from the press release: "'The Rachel Maddow Show' will feature Maddow's take on the biggest stories of the day, political and otherwise, including lively debate with guests from all sides of the issues, in-depth analysis and stories no other shows in cable news will cover. .." Maddow's been a rising star at rising MS for some time now, so this is no surprise though it woulda been a huge surprise if this didn't come her way. Launch is Sept. 8.

I'll get back to the wild and wacky world of TV blogging in a just a little bit - promise - but I first wanted to make note here of another untimely passage in the TV industry. This one happened last weekend, when Leroy Sievers succumbed to the cancer that had been his subject of inquiry - both for NPR and the Discovery Channel - over the last few years. As many obits noted, his work was often in the form of a blog for NPR and had become the final courageous act in a courageous life. What is left to say about Sievers almost a week after his death? I've been giving that a lot of thought this week and have struggled with that very question. I knew his work as "Nightline's" longtime executive producer, so the proof of his competence, dedication, probity and superhuman dedication to that beleaguered enterprise known as daily journalism was there on the screen for all to see over many years. As a reporter who covered "Nightline," I also knew him to be someone both candid and protective - of his show, his network, and most of all, the people he worked with. But here's the simplest and most declarative way of summing up Sievers - he was a great guy. Listeners of his NPR work know this, so I'm not saying anything new here, but it did occur to me that I could honor Leroy and his memory by co-opting his own words. After he left ABC, he went out to California to teach and lecture about journalism at USC's Annenberg School. It was rare and deserved pause in a particularly crowded career, but it afforded him a moment to reflect on a searing moment in his life. In 2005, he wrote an extraordinary account for the Los Angeles Times Magazine about his work for "Nightline" in Rwanda, and I can't think of a more fitting tribute to the man and his profession than this; it's a story for anyone who ever really wondered how deeply serious reporters like Sievers do their job, and how they're emotionally impacted by that job; also, it's for anyone who's decried network TV news' sad and inexorable pullback from overseas coverage. Sievers established why it remains so vital. Like I said, Leroy was a great guy.

Continue reading "Leroy Sievers" »

Oh goody, goody, goody -- my sneak-peek-viral-marketing video of "Knight Rider" has just now arrived in my in-box. You too may now avail yourselves of this by clicking on the screen below.

One of the greatest pleasures of the spectacle that is called "The Hills" is watching the way we in the media cover it. For instance, was in BH recently, at John Edwards Hilton for the press tour, and the papers out there were filled with stories about the Audrina/Lo/Lauren manse, and how the neighborhood was up in arms over the racket, what with workmen and drunken boyfriends entering and leaving at all hours. My God, you'd think Martha Stewart had moved in. And then -- second-day story alert! -- there were more stories about whether the threesome were even living there. There's been endless stuff about Speidi, and now whether they're gonna treat the world to their spawn. Then, all that stuff about Lauren, and her couture -- real or fake? Of course, there's been endless white noise of the last couple seasons about the script, err, dialogue, too -- real or fake? (As if anyone could write this stuff.) On and on and on ...

So, in this spirit, let's treat last night as a major news event, with mini stories strewn throughout. There were about a half dozen major headlines, per my count, as well as rich potential storylines for producers. So, to help struggling entertainment editors around the country snorkeling around right now for the Next Big "Hills" Thing, here's my list:

"Heidi's Sister: Will She Move In?" Imagine! A threesome in one little apartment, with Spence sneering and dropping his pathetic little attempts of sarcasm like rabbit poop all over the place. (And then, Heidi, once again realizing what a complete sorry waste of space he is, kicks him out and lives full-time with Sis, Holly, who clearly knows how doomed this Speidi thing is.)

"Audrina and Lo: Showdown!" That end scene was sure something else again, wasn't it? Loaded with Chekhovian drama, where the whole meaning of human relationships lurks just beneath the turbulent surface. Why, Henry James couldn't have penned a more complex and splendidly subtle scene. Which is my my sarcastic Spencer way of saying -- for chrissakes, can't we just get a good catfight between these two? A real knockdown worthy of "The Bad Girls Club." Let's get DOWN girls. Give the neighbors something to really bitch about.

"Doug": Come on. Do we really think this is going to last -- Mister Perfect Doug, and Lauren. I mean, check it out. The writers gave him the driest, funniest line in "Hills" history -- a bon mot so well-turned that millions fell off their couches, or dropped their cell phones, or whatever, shaking with the giggles. "What have you been doing the last four years of your life?" he asks Lauren at the Red Pearl Kitchen. Oh, good one, Doug! Only problem -- he was dead serious. Either he's brain deceased or one of the canniest liars since Spence. I hope TMZ gets on this guy right away.

"Will Heidi and Lauren Patch Things Up?" I'm thinking - yes! Sure they will. My thought -- have Audrina move out, get together with Spence, who should be living on the street by midseason, and have Holly and Heidi move in. Audrina and Spence get together, begetting a new tabloid neologism -- "Spaudrina." And they DO have babies ...

Man, this is gonna be a great season.

(Nice photo for MTV by Jeff Lipsky, and yeah, it's really old -- from early season three or maybe even before -- but I like it, I like it...)

That's what she'll be telling Robin Roberts on Tuesday's "GMA." Here are some quotes, gratis "GMA:"

"I'm clear," the star of "Samantha Who?" said. "Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean. ... They got everything out so I'm definitely not going to die from breast cancer."

Here's the rest of "GMA's" late afternoon presser:

"Applegate, who started getting mammograms six years ago after she turned 30, said the cancer was found through the second of two MRI tests as a follow-up from a biopsy she had last year.

During the interview she laughs about her reaction to the initial diagnosis, but perhaps only to offset the fear she felt then.

"'I was so mad and I -- I just remember I was -- I was just shaking'," she says."

There's one thing about this gig that makes it all worth while - that little moment that puts a smile on the face, a spring in the step, some joy in the heart, pleasure in the brain (running out of cliches...)

And that is this: The possibility that one day in the not-too-distant future, the nice man from DHL will come by and say, "hello there, Mister Gay. Here's your copy of 'Beverly Hills, 90210!' The re-make! The one that Tori Spelling is not in! I look forward to reading your review in the Newsday."

And now, that possibility has been dashed - forever.

Check out this recent email from the CW:

"The CW and our studio partner CBS Paramount Network Television have made the strategic marketing decision not to screen "90210" for any media in advance of its premiere. We're not hiding anything - simply keeping a lid on 90210 until 9.02, riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night, and letting all our constituents see it at the same time."

Let's deconstruct:

- "Strategic marketing decision..." [Herewith the real conversation between the studio partners: "Chrissakes, you mean Tori just bailed?! Well, we gotta re-shoot - burn the negatives along with her contract. Get me re-write! Critics won't get a review copy, but to hell with them. They'd pan it anyway..."]

- "...for any media..." [with the exception of a few dozen news staffs at CW stations around the country, so they can put together their 10 p.m. news packages...]

- "we're not hiding anything..." [Actually, we're hiding everything. The entire network is riding on this show; you think we're gonna get sunk by a few graybeards who never even watched the original Fox series and wouldn't know Donna Martin from Donna Karan...? Don't think so.]

- "riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night..." [And disappointing the guy from Newsday, who awakens each morning with the hope that on his doorstep is the greatest re-make since the cathode ray tube was invented.... Thanks, CW.]

As promised, here are some outtakes from the teleconference with Laurence Fishburne, just ended.

The headline: A lot of details still need to be worked out. When asked about his character - someone with a mysterious past, presumably with a DNA that suggests he's prone, or at least amendable, to murderous and violent behavior - Fishburne et al said details remain sketchy. (Showrunners on the call, Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar disputed that the character actually has the DNA of a serial killer, or as Shanker said, "there's no such thing...")

Per Fishburne, "I have [no] knowledge of such a biological profile nor would I be at liberty to discuss it if there were such a biological profile...I don't know. I'm really excited I'm going to be joining this team. We have a lot of stuff to work out like 'what's the character's name?' We've only had an opportunity to sit down face to face - one time. In the next couple weeks we're going to get going and find out what those answers are. All of this is discovery for everyone involved."

He starts shooting in September and first Fishburne episode is Dec. 11.

He was asked, are you a "CSI" fan? "I am now. To be perfectly frank, when we met here in New York I felt a little stupid an embarrassed that I hadn't watched the show prior to meeting them, but the episodes they sent me were really engaging, and really wonderful and dark and moody, like the work I've been involved in. I was like oooooh, wow...this'll work."

The on-set code name for his character, by the way, is "the professor...he's a fresh set of eyes," per Fishburne.

Someone pressed Carol for more details about the character. Will he run the team? "We're in the process of creating the character, but the initial first blush, we thought that it was so interesting to have our new CSI come in as a CSI 1...someone knowledgeable in their own right [but] someone who hasn't been to a lot of crime scenes. He'll feel very comfortable at home in the bowels of the corner office."

Fishburne: "I'm gonna enter into this with the most positive attitude I can. I'm going to work with people who have made great television for nine years...All I can say is, I'm excited and ready to play..."

(Photo by George Holz for Broadwayworld.com; Fishburne just wrapped his one-man "Thurgood" at the Booth.)

Former White House communications dude Dan Bartlett is about to become CBS News' newest political talking head dude - that is, "consultant." He joins Dem Joe Trippi in the spin, errrr, commentary booth.

Per CBS, he'll "provide on-air analysis on a variety of political issues, including at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and beyond. The appointment is effective immediately. He joins Joe Trippi in that role for CBS News."

As you know, Barlett was top PR man for President Bush, and I think the most common phrases in his lexicon were:

"...That simply is not true."

And, "I don't understand the motivation of Mr. [name an ex-Bush official to publish a damning account of the Bush Presidency] other than financial."

And, "The war in Iraq is going very well."

There may be others but these are the ones that come immediately to mind.

I don't know about you, but I always find it amusing and somewhat troubling too when any top official - be he/she Democrat or Republican, be he Barlett or Howard Wolfson - leaves a job where they were in charge of fibbing or to be kind, truth stretching of monstrous proportions, for a well-paying news gig in which they're supposed to finally utter words bearing some semblance of veracity.

(Photo: ABC News.)

It is officially official: Laurence Fishburne is joining "CSI." He joins up in the forthcoming season's ninth episode which - per my calculations - should land him sometime during November sweeps. (Oooops, calculations are wrong: The show just said he'll arrive Dec. 11.) Needless to say, this is a huge victory for "CSI," which is losing Billy Petersen this season.

The CBS presser has all the relevant details, so rather than me condensing, here it is in full. Plus...there's a conference call in an hour or so. More to come...

"Fishburne will play a former pathologist who is now working as an itinerant college lecturer, teaching a course in criminalistics. His focus is on understanding criminal behavior, how and why people commit acts of violence – tendencies he disturbingly sees within himself. In the course of a murder investigation, he comes into contact with the CSI team and ultimately joins the Las Vegas Crime Lab as a Level-1 CSI.

"CBS asked us, 'Who's at the top of your dream list?' say CSI executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar. "Without hesitation, we said Laurence Fishburne. He is a powerful and intense actor, with an incredible range. We had the opportunity to see Mr. Fishburne in 'Thurgood' on Broadway a few weeks ago, and it was a truly profound experience. The actor disappeared and Thurgood Marshall was standing there on the stage. Mr. Fishburne is also a talented writer and director. If you distill CSI down to its essence, it's a collaboration—and we are so looking forward to collaborating with Mr. Fishburne. For all of us at CSI, this is truly a dream."

"I am elated and delighted to be joining the cast of CSI," says Fishburne. "I look forward to a wonderful collaboration with the creative and talented team of such a successful and distinguished show," he added.

(Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com)

Out last week, and all heck breaks loose.

(Note to TV world - please don't let heck break out the week I'm off...)

I'll just go through all the important headlines, and apologies to those I overlook...

Michael Phelps Wins Ft. Knox; NBC, Too. Yes, the Olympics have been good-very-good to one Michael Phelps and by association one National Broadcasting Company. Phelps' Memorex-barely-live primetime performances have been - may well be - the primetime TV events of this year and of years (maybe) to come. Unforgettable. (Though at this moment, I am mixing up the 200 Free with the 200 Fly and the 400 IMs with the 200 IMs; Doesn't matter - he apparently won 'em all.) Phelps' super-human accomplishments delivered super-human ratings because NBC - which knew a remarkable story when it saw one - milked Aquaman for all he was worth. Today the network tells us that 31.1 million watched Saturday night which is the biggest number on an NBC Saturday night since 1990 when "The 'Golden Girls' spin-off 'Empty Nest' starring Richard Mulligan drew 31.4 million viewers on Feb. 24, 1990."

Amazing fact number one: That 31 million actually tuned in to "Empty Nest."

Amazing fact number two: That if you add up total viewers of ALL NBC's Saturday night line-ups dating back 1990, they STILL wouldn't add up to 31 million.

I love the Olympics, pretty much have loved the coverage, and have especially loved NBCOlympics.com's coverage, patched together with youtube-sized vidbites and "video exclusives" (although one does have to have access to a "member" cable partner to get extended coverage.)

"The mystery of China combined with the unbelievable phenomenon of Michael Phelps, the terrific performances by gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson and defending Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh at beach volleyball have captivated the imagination of the country," said Dick Ebersol, NBC U Sports boss.

Ah, the mysterious East.

Honestly, just one name sums up NBC's week one triumph. You know what that one is.

Other highlights of the week...

Katie Couric will start CNET webcasts...What happens if ratings for "CNET Evening News" - my suggested hed - exceed "CBS Evening News?"

Tori Spelling bolts "90210." What??!! Daddy's Dearest said she wasn't getting the green that the other prodigal "90210" stars were getting, and so that was that. A storyline worthy of the show... I've got an idea! Make a deal with Donna Martin flame David Silver instead. On second thought, Brian Austin Green's already got a gig...

The Donald buys Ed's House. Ed McMahon's White Elephant is about to be unloaded, and the White Knight is none other than the Trumpster. Ed will become a renter...

G4 Strikes Again. The network that made a show out of vomit now has a forthcoming show on human wrecking balls.

Chris Noth Leaves "L&O:CI." He left last night, for the second time in "L&O" history. Mr. Big clearly has relationship problems.

Julia Child: A spy. Yes, big news. JC was a spy during WW2, along with numerous others. And Feds announce that if "Sesame Street" had been around then, Elmo woulda spied for the Allies too.

"Hawaii 5-O." Rebooked, maybe, for CBS. "Criminal Minds" boss Ed Bernero is calling his re-write "Hawaii Five-O' 2.0."

This weekend marks the 39th anniversary of that romp-in-the-mud known as the Woodstock Music and Art Fair.
You won't see a lot of hype this year, but the marketing around next year's round number anniversary is sure to be substantial.

Your best bet to catch a whiff of Woodstock nostalgia this weekend is VH1 Classic's screening
(Saturday at 8 p.m.) of Michael Wadleigh's memorable 1970 documentary. I'll be watching it, for probably the 800th time since I saw it the week it came out with my pal Jeff Goldman and two girls we were dating, whose names I've forgotten.

I digress. Here's my all-time favorite performance from the movie: Alvin Lee and Ten Years After absolutely killing in "I'm Going Home."

Re-book 'em, Danno.

There's going to be a new "Hawaii Five-O," according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The original show aired from 1968-80 on CBS. Like the original series, the newbie will be a procedural chronicling the workings of the fictional Hawaiian state police department. In the
original, the unit was headed by Steve McGarrett, played by Jack Lord.

In the new series, McGarrett’s son Chris will be the top cop.

The famous opening music will be back but may get a face-lift, similar to how the theme from the 1966-73 series “Mission: Impossible" was rearranged for the 1990s movie franchise.

My question to you: Who should play the new McGarrett? Post your answers here.

Meanwhile, check out this clip from a 1972 episode:

To honor the memory of soul superstar Isaac Hayes, VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul will air The Golden Globe nominated documentary “Wattstax” on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Filmmaker Mel Stuart captured the August 20, 1972 Wattstax music festival known as “the black Woodstock” at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in this documentary.
Memphis’s Stax Records commemorated the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots with this festival featuring powerful performances by Hayes, Albert King, Rufus and Carla Thomas, the Staple Singers, the Emotions, the Bar-Kays, as well as a comic routine from an up-and-coming comedian named Richard Pryor.

Continue reading "Isaac Hayes Remembered on VH1" »

In a couple of hours I'm going to go on vacation and will turn off this computer. But before that happens, I think it's appropriate to say a few words about Isaac Hayes. He did have a TV career - hardly as notable as his music or movie one - but there were numerous credited roles over the years (most recently Tolok on "Stargate SG-1;" a brief role, but maybe not to "SG-1" fans...) The most important, or visible - or let's say, audible - was Chef on "South Park." It's a role that Hayes definitely regretted; it ended badly, as pretty much everyone knows (or every "SP" fan knows) and even after it ended, it got worse. Hayes was angry about the Scientology rips, and because he was a Scientologist, that was that (I believe he left in 2005, but maybe '04; google it). Trey Parker and Matt Stone were angry too - the famous quote from them was that he took the checks when they were ripping Christians too (a paraphrase). They later wrote and produced 2006's "The Return of Chef." The less said about that episode the better, except to note that Matt/Trey took his voice and strung together a bunch of quotes that were used in an episode about something that's probably not best to mention at a moment like this...(OK, the episode was about pedophilia.)

Two quick points to make: "Chef," and thus Hayes, was a key (if not central) figure in South Park and therefore in the success of "South Park," the show. He did voice some one hundred and forty episodes, or was credited for roughly that number. Whether his voice was in that many episodes? Beats me. But...the lesson here is, be careful of the jobs you take in television. You may regret those jobs, as I suspect Hayes may have in this instance.

Second, Comedy Central has posted a tepid tribute to Hayes, and you can check it out now. I hope they - and Matt/Trey - do better than THIS. Also check out the first comment on this page. I think the writer makes his point clearly and well.

(Photo: Courtesy of the BBC.)

And here's Fox's statement, released earlier today:

"Bernie Mac was a gifted talent whose comedy came from an authentic and highly personal place. He was a tremendous live performer and a wonderful actor. FOX was proud to be the home of "The Bernie Mac Show," and all of us at FOX and 20th Century Fox Television extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Rhonda and daughter JeNiece."

There's much to say about Bernie Mac and his all-too-brief life and career but the bulk of the work I know was from a five-year span on Fox - "The Bernie Mac Show" - which may be the bulk of the work you know as well, so this appreciation may be preaching to the long-ago-converted.

The show was brash, brilliant, in-your-face, and full of humanity. It was an alternate universe "Cosby Show," where life and love didn't always end with a smile, and where the laughs didn't come from an easy and eager to please studio audience because Mac refused to have one. The show drew comedy from that old sitcom foil, fatherhood, (or in Bernie's case, unclehood) but established - hilariously - that the daily business of taking care of kids was messy, complicated, difficult, full of anxiety, but - most of all - full of joy.

"The Bernie Mac Show" celebrated life and celebrated children, and celebrated all of this through the unique prism of Mac's own unique brand of comedy. Mac was a fighter - quite literally, because I believe he was a boxer before he went into stand-up - and this show was one of his hard-fought victories. Most of the networks passed on it - and for reasons I can't possibly fathom, although Bernie Mac wasn't exactly a "safe" comedian like his idol, the great Bill Cosby. He was a little dangerous and the premise of this show was a little dangerous too: His drug-addicted sister has to give up her three children and Bernie and his wife, Wanda (Kellita Smith), took over the parenting. The kids were tough, and in countless asides - known in TV as breaching the fourth wall - Mac explained his parenting dilemmas in words sometimes best suited to the pugilist arts (millions of parents understood exactly what he meant.)

The show bowed in November of 2001, right around the time another celebrated and groundbreaking comedy, "Scrubs," got off the ground; "Scrubs" is still going but "Mac" ended five years (and 103 episodes) later. The final episode, "Bernie's Angels," aired April 14, 2006. Loglines say that in this episode, "Bernie suffered a near-death experience..." I'm sorry to say I don't remember the finale, but I think I can also safely say that it was first rate. The series, after all, certainly was.

One more thing: "The Bernie Mac Show" was one of the best sitcoms in Fox history. It defined the network, and pointedly established the fact that Fox WAS doing something differently and OFTEN doing something better than its rivals. During its run, Bernie Mac (and his writing partner, Larry Wilmore) got credit for this, but not nearly enough.

Finally...at the end of this post, I've appended a readers' note, and it's for anyone who read - or responded - to an earlier post I wrote when Mac was first hospitalized last weekend.

Now...here's a clip from "Tavis Smiley" which aired June, 2007. Smiley and Mac were pals, so there's a warm intimacy to this conversation. (I've posted the entire conversation on the jump.) After the clip, I've posted what Bernie had to say about the show.

Here's what Mac told Smiley about his show...

Tavis: When you look back now at those five seasons, you hit the magic number - 100 episodes. When you look back on that series now, what do you make of it in retrospect, what do you think, to your earlier point, when you look back on your career, on your body of work? What did that TV show do for you? What did it mean for Bernie Mac's career?

Mac: It was innovative, it was new, it was different, it was mine, it was my vision, it was my heart, it was my life, it was nothing fictitious, it was a true story, it was my humor, it came from my heart, and that's why I felt so much. Being a different style of comic, my comic is wide open. I'm very open with my comedy. And what I mean by that, Tavis, is I'm not the type of guy to do punch line jokes.

I'm not the kind of guy to sit there and just talk about a topic just on the strength of trying to get a laugh. Everything that I talk about comes from here. I have experience, I've lived it, I've done it in some form, shape, or fashion. So when I take it to the stage, it's ideal is that the people understand and they get a glimpse of it's a part of them.

They see it coming from my heart. One thing people - especially the new comics - don't give credit. They don't give the audience credit. The audience is not dumb. You might get by, but you ain't gonna get away. And that's something the television show when I did that, they wanted a laugh track so bad. They wanted a multi-camera.

But the multi-camera, personally, didn't fit me. The multi-camera didn't fit my story. It didn't fit the story that I was trying to tell. I wanted to not insult the audience; I wanted the audience to understand that I was coming at them. They knew what's funny, they know when it's time to laugh, they don't have to be coached, they don't have to be guided.

So when we did the single camera, I wanted to shoot it like a movie. And the single camera was interested in me, because the look was different. I didn't want to be like everybody else. And they thought I was crazy at first, but that's okay. But I fought for it. I stood strong on it. And one thing I can say, out of five years, regardless of how they took us off and how they played us because that show should have done everything.

Because that show was hot, that show was good. And that show survived for five years on its own. They moved us, we was on every time, date, every different day of the week for five years. People didn't even know where we were. But our ratings were still top flight, top notch. And I'm proud of that. That's one thing I learned, if you've got a true product, and if you stay true to yourself, Tavis, can't nobody beat you.

[Readers' Note: Last Monday I posted an entry on Bernie Mac's admission to a Chicago-area hospital, and I received some blowback from a few angry (some very angry) readers. They said that I had been dismissive of his illness, or treated it lightly - at least that seems to be the substance of the criticism. Allow me to state here that my intention never was - and never possibly could be - to treat someone's illness with levity. It certainly was not the case in that posting, which attempted to reflect the confusion over conflicting reports by the Chicago media. The Chicago Sun-Times had reported that he was in "very critical" condition, and obviously, the S-T report, in hindsight, was accurate. However, Mac's representatives dismissed that report, saying that it was inaccurate and overblown, and that he was NOT suffering from a recurrence of his previously diagnosed illness, sarcoidosis. The Tribune reported that. I - like everyone else - was left to sort out two diametrically opposed reports, and when I contacted Mac's reps, they told me that indeed, he was on the mend. Nevertheless, I still saw nothing wrong with telling readers that we were left with dueling news reports, but - meanwhile - also offered a quick overview of Mac's TV career and why it was so important. That was it. Again, in no way would or could I ever be dismissive of anyone's illness, and was certainly not in this instance. Thanks for reading. Rest in peace, Bernie Mac.)

Continue reading "Appreciation: Bernie Mac" »

Boy, here's a huge departure in the show business world: Bernie Brillstein has died. The Associated Press announced this earlier today in a brief dispatch saying "that Brillstein died of heart disease at a Los Angeles hospital at about 9 p.m. Thursday night. He was 77."

The name "Brillstein" is as well-known as any in Hollywood, off-screen or on, and he had a vital role in some of the cultural landmarks of the last half century, including "Saturday Night Live" and "The Sopranos," latter of which he helped launch along with longtime partner (and now Paramount chief) Brad Grey. He managed John Belushi, worked with Jim Hensen (and may have repped him too for all I know - Brillstein did work with "Sesame Street" in the early days) and was closely tied with other "SNL" alum, and has worked with - and I believe been close friends with - Lorne Michaels going back to the early days. He also produced "NewsRadio," "Just Shoot Me," "Mr. Show," "Dana Carvey," "It's Garry Shandling," "Alf," and waaaay back when, "Hee Haw."

I could go on and on and on and on...(and he did, in a very colorful book about his very colorful career in a autobiography of the late '90s which had a subtitle to the effect that "you're nobody in Hollywood unless someone wants to kill you...")

Apparently many people wanted to kill Bernie. He was that influential.

It's hard to imagine why anyone'd want to (in point of fact, he was and is beloved...) I knew him only superficially, as a reporter, but he was immensely likeable, funny, smart, interesting and (for Hollywood) particularly approachable. Plus, he cut quite the iconic figure - not exactly a slim Jim in the land of skin and bones, who sported a snow white beard and white hair. He was unforgettable. You'll read plenty of Brillstein obits (if you choose) in the next few days, but I suppose his biggest claim to fame was as a manager to talent (like Belushi.) This gig involves immense patience - you're part psychiatrist, part nursemaid, part business partner. Brillstein, by all accounts, was exemplary in the role.

Below, check out this interview he conducted with CNN back in '99, when he was on a promotional tour for his book. It offers a little flavor of both style and approach. (My question: Would "SNL" have succeeded without Brillstein? Quite possibly not...)

Q: What were the early years at "Saturday Night Live" like for you?

Brillstein: John (Belushi) was the most charming -- well, you knew him. He was the boy who "when he was good, he was very, very good, and when he was bad, he was horrid."

The real John Belushi story is the night before The Blues Brothers opened at Universal. I went to rehearsal and I called John over, and it was great. I said, "John, you're at Universal Amphitheater. You cannot saunter out on stage like you do." And he said, "Bernie, I make the greatest entrance since Jimmy Durante."

Now, who in the world would think John Belushi knew who Jimmy Durante was? But he was such a student of comedy and stars and old-time showbiz. He somersaulted to the center of the stage. Those nine days, by the way, were the most exciting I'd had since Martin and Lewis. It was great.

Q: Getting back to "Saturday Night Live."

Brillstein: That first year, there were no agents there, there were no managers there (except for Brillstein). There was no one there. It was just us. And then, right after Chevy (Chase) left to do his first movie, and when John (Belushi) did "Animal House" (1978), we started attracting hordes of people and it's been that way for the last 24 years. Frightening. I added up one day over $7 billion in movie revenues have come from that show. Seven billion dollars.

Q: You know my favorite Belushi film was "Continental Divide" in 1981. He was playing a part that was close to the John I knew. But it doesn't seem that anyone else liked it.

Brillstein: I did. I wanted him to become Spencer Tracy. And he was in shape for that movie. He trained for that movie, he looked great in that movie. I thought (director) Michael Apted did a great job, Blair Brown was delicious. I don't know. They wouldn't accept him as that kind of guy. Maybe if he would have done one more, it would have worked.

Q: But the drug addictions began. (Belushi died of a drug overdose in March 1982.)

Brillstein: Someone, one night, offered me some dope, in front of John. I thought he would kill them. He said, "How can you disrespect him like that?" Oh, my God.

Q: Muppet creator Jim Henson was also a good friend and client who has since died (with pneumonia in May 1990). Your success really started with him, didn't it?

Brillstein: Well, really, Lorne (Michaels) and Jim. It was Jim who was the deep bottom of it. The comedians were over here, when Las Vegas was flourishing. With comedians, they paid for this over here. (Gestures to left.) And Jim paid a lot of what I call "experimental money." Where I could hire young people. You know, where I could represent young people.

And then Lorne came along and gave me John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner. And then Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Dennis Miller. Brad brought in all those people. And it's been really the cornerstone of our business, yes it has.

Q: It must have been interesting to see all those people make it.

Brillstein: If you see a guy who's a junior star, and all of a sudden has a hit, or gets to be a headliner in Vegas, or gets to be a star of a television show, and you see them right after they make it, they walk differently and carry themselves differently. They're now stars. And that's it. It's a whole big difference.

Q: You speak in your book about the wasteful way that television networks decide to pick their shows each season. They use pilots, which cost a lot to make and many never see the light of day.

Brillstein: You can't predict what's going to be a hit and what's going to make money. You have to make what you think is good. Do enough good things and you'll be OK. The average success of a pilot is one-and-a-half percent. They spend $50 million a year on research. That's insane after all these years. For $50 million, you can do six shows or seven shows. It's all crazy. Have you ever met a Nielsen family? I haven't either. Who are they? Wouldn't it be great if the Mafia took over? That's a Nielsen family.

Q: So has it all been worth it?

Brillstein: I had a great time. Look how lucky I am. Look how lucky.

Here's the latest on Bernie Mac who - as you know - was hospitalized over the weekend. At least one Chicagoland paper suggested his situation was dire, but that's been disputed ever since. Here's the statement his publicist (via PMK) released a little while ago: "Bernie Mac is in stable condition in a Chicago area hospital. He is responding well to treatment and hopes to be released in the next few weeks. His family thanks everyone for the well wishes and concern.”

'Twas a matter of time - say, measured in minutes - before Anderson Cooper's amusing and reasonably accurate dismissal of "Living Lohan" earlier this week would turn into a verbal brawl, with Michael throwing the second punch. Check out EOnline's report filed a little while ago, which explains why Lohan probably won't be watching CNN any time soon...and if you missed AC's impromptu review on "Live with R & K" - hard to believe because it has been everywhere - then check THAT out below...(AC's review begins about fifty seconds in, but he's amusing to that point as well...)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news this morning, so I'll let DialIdol be the bearer: Commack's Own Courtney Galiano will not only lose tonight's final of "SYTYCD," but will lose without scoring almost any votes!

Improbable - at least the latter part? Of course, but that's what DialIdol seems to be implying in its latest survey.

DialIdol? You don't know about it? Well just let me tell you then: It's an insanely accurate measurement tool that gauges busy signals of various reality comps on vote night ("AI" being the most famous.) At least I believe that's how it figures this out. The site doesn't claim absolute accuracy (and in fact it's whole MO is to help fans dial in their choice), but it's accurate enough to make even Karnac the Mag envious.

Who's tonight's winner? It appears that Joshua Allen has it by a hair; Twitch Boss is just behind him, while my pick for the winner's circle - Katee Shean - is waaaay back of the pack. So it doesn't look good for her either.

Truth be told, Courtney - by her own admission - never had much of a chance to win this, as good and talented as she is. Joshua and Twitch? I think they really sealed this last night with that show-stopper ballet-hiphop mash routine from "The Nutcracker." They both had remarkable nights.

Again, DialIdol could be completely off-base here. So let's just wait...

(Photo: Courtesy Fox, and yup, that's Joshua.)

Those clever rascals at NBC have hired a clever outside PR firm which occasionally sends out clips of its new shows to bloggers in the hopes that we'll post 'em. (Free publicity!) In any event, I'm happy to accommodate with this one - a first look at the mysterious "My Own Worst Enemy" (which sounds suspiciously like a show tailor-made for Christian Slater. And guess who's starring in it??!!) Not much about this newcomer at the recent press tour, but I like the look of the clip (appended with a commercial for the new Camaro! Suspiciously Small world alert - I wrote a review yesterday about CNBC's GM special which sure had a lot of stuff on said car; hmmmmm.) Here's Slater in a visit to his shrink. Take a look...

I'm just catching up to this fascinating, strange, amusing, odd, nutty profile/story of the great Alec Baldwin in The Envelope, and it's one of those pieces that "have people talking" because they're not exactly sure what HE'S talking about. He muses about Chopin, and Rachmaninoff, and how Charles Dutoit of the Montreal Symphony doesn't rate (whaaa!!!??? In fact, Dutoit's pretty much a conductor of the first rank, at least when it comes to Debussy...)

It goes on: He doesn't want to do TV anymore, something he's publicly mused about before, and then starts to riff on what he could do instead. ("Yeah, I do have to find another career," he said. "I don't want to do this. . . . I don't.") The piece ends when he stands up and explains that he has to go do something - he simply heads out to lunch.

I love it: A deeply deranged and hugely talented actor. (But don't Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper already have a lock on this category?)

Or: Maybe he's just pulling the writer's leg.

Judge for yourself. It's here and worth a read.

"Wipeout's" already begetting copycats (now THAT's success...) although one could argue that a newcomer on Fox this September entitled "Hole in the Wall" isn't technically a copy-cat insofar as it's made its way around the world several times already in various editions. "Hole in the Wall:" It's exactly that, where you've gotta somehow fit through a hole in the wall. Ah, TV...Fox just announced a time period for this newcomer (Thursday 8 p.m., Sept. 11) and potential canon fodder. But "fodder" it may not be if it has any of the juice "WO" has. The details, per Fox: "one of the trickiest, fastest, funniest and wettest shows on the planet where speed, agility and a hearty sense of humor are essential tools to survive. During each episode, two teams of three compete against each other in multiple rounds of play, facing various barrier walls speeding toward them with weird and wacky cut-out shapes. Each team must contort their bodies individually or in unison to fit through the wall or be swept away into a pool below. As players struggle to strike a pose, points – and dignity – can be easily lost with a simple miscalculation." Check out this clip from the Japanese edition, if you've got four minutes to kill...

This doesn't feel like a good thing, but it is what it is: Toon Disney is being dumped in favor of a new channel that'll be targeted to boys; all happens next February when so-called Disney XD replaces TD. "The new brand will include a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming for kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor." ("Hyper-targeting?") And yes, it will be ad-supported.

"Wipeout," that big blubbery rubbery game show with lots of balls and mud, etc. just got a second season pick-up.

A surprise? Hell no. As I told you in a review weeks ago, this show is "hilarious" (hey, this is summer, and the definition of "hilarious" or "good" is anything that isn't "Pam:Girl on the Loose.")

Here's an interesting line from the ABC presser: "[Wipeout] is the no. 1 new series of Summer 2008 in viewers and young adults [and] represents TV’s highest-rated freshman summer series (for any net) in three years in Adults 18-49 -- since the initial season of 'Dancing with the Stars' in Summer 2005."

Car lover alert: Check out tonight's pretty solid CNBC special, "Saving General Motors" airing at 9. This one's for car lovers (or anyone else worried about the state of a company that so long ago was the tail that wagged the U.S. economy.) But it's chiefly for car lovers because this is a doc on a business channel that isn't all THAT much interested in the biz about cars as it is about the wheels themselves. Plus, this sprawling doc tackles something that's just about as iconic as milk, or at least once was - General Motors. Reported by Phil LeBeau, "Saving" is about GM's struggle for survival - though watch this and you won't get the sense that the situation's as dire as we all seem to think right now. That said, it's reasonably tough in spots though an exceedingly fair-minded (and open-minded) overview of this giant-in-trouble. Only one in five cars sold in the U.S. are now GM-built (down from one half in the '50s), while even that figure is under assault. LeBeau notes, GM's remarkable legacy both "inspires it and cripples it." He's got access to all the top dogs here - including chairman, Rick Wagoner, who puts on a good face, and maybe one that's even justified. (LeBeau explores the megagiant's success in China and eastern Bloc countries because "apparently ex-communists love Chevys." Also good interviews with quality chief Bob Lutz - a great salesman who insists quality has improved and you kinda believe him - and Ed Welburn, chief of global design, who's in charge of designing the new Camaro, out in 2010 (a terrific looking car, BTW; see above.) There's much much more here - crippling gas prices, worker strife, GM's struggle with hybrids, and the new Chevy Volt (in production and due 2010.)

Bottom line: Watch this. Interesting and engrossing.

Grade: B.

Olympics? ABC would dearly love you to forget about them, and one stop on the road to forgetfulness happens tomorrow, Aug. 7, when Michelle Obama shows up at "GMA" and "Nightline" for what the network is billing as a "wide-ranging" interview; Robin Roberts does the honors. ("GMA" is calling this exclusive, but MO does seem to be a little more visible, and even "Rachael Ray" was promoting a forthcoming interview a little while ago.)

Per ABC: "Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts will spend the day with Michelle Obama ... for exclusive behind the scenes access as she campaigns in Virginia. In the wide-ranging interview, the two will discuss Ms. Obama’s role as a working mother, her thoughts on becoming the possible First Lady, women’s issues, and life on the campaign trail." Airs first on "GMA," then a larger outtake on tomorrow's "Nightline."

Suddenly the Laurence Fishburne-to-"CSI" rumors - which they remain - have heated up again, and so I guess it's time to acknowledge them.

Consider them officially acknowledged.

They've been out there almost since the day Billy Petersen said he was going to leave midway next season; Fishburne as a possible replacement was instantly invoked, no doubt by CBS, which was probably concerned that critics and hence fans would assume there was no Plan B, and that as other leads depart (Gary Dourdan) the show was headed toward an inevitable decline and fall - an average 16 million viewers last season versus 19.8 million in '06-'07. By suggesting Fishburne as a possible replacement - along with the likes of John Malkovich, Kevin Bacon and other A-listers - CBS seemed to be suggesting that not only did it have a Plan B, but that "B" actually stood for "Better." (I always thought Liev Schreiber would be a great replacement, except - of course - his Mike Keppler character was killed at the end of his '07 arc.)

Fishburne has now been pushed front and center by network sources, and where there's smoke there's fire. Check out the reliable TVGuide.com which goes so far as to report that Fishburne is close to signing. Wow.

(He'd play a newcomer to the lab and would know that he has the DNA of a serial killer - yeah, kinda like Dexter - but that he's doing what he can to control his urges and hide the fact from his colleagues. Plus, like Dex, it makes him all the more capable of reading the MO of real serial killers.)

Advantages for "CSI?"

Count them: Prestigious actor. Iconic screen (and stage) roles. Oscar nominee. Tony Award winner. Direct ties to one of the most culturally important movies of the past 10 years (1999's "The Matrix.") Plus, with Dourdan gone, "CSI" no longer has an African-American actor in the core cast. THAT gets taken care of with this hire as well.

The larger question is, what's the advantage to Fishburne, besides a huge and reliable paycheck? (I may have just answered my own question.) He's an extremely busy actor, currently producing his own movie, and can pretty much pick whatever he does. Or at least that's the impression one gets with him. This isn't - with all due respect - Gary Sinese or David Caruso going to a "CSI" spin-off, or Harvey Keitel to "Life on Mars"... Plus, "CSI's" numbers aren't what they used to be...This is a still-powerful-but-fading franchise, and it does happen to the best of 'em.

So we'll see. If this happens, score a big one for "CSI."

(Photo of LF given out by Paramount, and the 2006 Rome Premiere of "Mission Impossible 3.")

Yikes, this could be big ... or BIIIG: The Jonas Brothers told Ryan "Sharkman" Seacrest this morning that they'll get their own Disney Channel show this fall.

Score one for Diz; Zero for Nick.

E! Online, which actually pays someone full-time to listen to Ry's show, has the details, and here they are: "[It's] actually gonna happen. September — in like seven weeks from whatever today is — we start production," they told Sharkman. It'll kinda be like "Flight of the Conchords." Comedy! "The Monkees" for a new Generation! And they'll sing. (Duh.)

More details (I promise you) to come.