Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2006 > November
November 2006
New midseason berth for ‘Friday Night Lights’
NBC is moving the Austin-filmed football drama “Friday Night Lights” to Wednesdays at 7 p.m., starting Jan. 10. Its current home is Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
The new time slot might be better. It might be worse. We’ll find out in a few weeks, when the competition announces its midseason schedules. But whatever the competition has to offer, the early hour is still difficult for people coming home from work and trying to get dinner on the table. Settling in for an emotional hour of storytelling is a hard chore at 7 p.m.
But at least the show won’t get trounced by CBS’ “NCIS” any more.
And “Lights” won’t be opposite “American Idol,” as some had feared. Fox’s mega-hit talent show is scheduled to return Jan. 16 and will air Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But the Wednesday results show will be shown at 8 p.m., not 7 p.m., so “Lights” dodges that bullet.
I know I’ve become a broken record on this subject, but “Lights” really is one of the best TV dramas ever. Wherever it winds up, check it out.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Entertainment
‘Scrubs’ and ‘Trees’ hit Must-See Thursday
“Scrubs,” the outlandish medical sitcom that many people thought was gone for good, is back tonight (8 p.m. on NBC). Yes, it’s up against ABC’s super-powerhouse “Grey’s Anatomy.” Set the DVR.
Talk about a disrespected series. Going into its sixth season, “Scrubs” has been on and off the schedule more times than Britney Spears has graced the tabloids.
The show, starring Zach Braff and a host of hilarious others, has never had boffo ratings. Last season it averaged about 6.5 million viewers.
But it certainly has a core of unusually loyal followers. Even when it moves around the schedule, goes off the air and returns months later, fans manage to find it.
Tonight the story picks up where it left off: J.D. (Braff) is trying to deal with the fact that a woman he dated only once (guest star Elizabeth Banks) is pregnant with his child. He handles the pressure by fleeing to Las Vegas and running into the Blue Man Group. And turning blue …
Meanwhile, perpetually angry Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) prepares for the birth of his second child, Turk (Donald Faison) and Carla (Judy Reyes) prepare for their little bundle of joy and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) wonders why she’s the only one in the hospital who is not reproducing.
“Scrubs” is as nutty as ever — filled with cartoonish slapstick, nonsensical situations and outright silliness. In other words, it’s still funny as all get-out.
Must-see Anne Heche
Crowding up the already crowded Thursday lineup is ABC’s “Men in Trees”, the surprise hit on (of all places) Fridays. After a nine-episode run in that dark spot, “Men” gets a shot at real stardom tonight at 9, after “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Men in Trees” follows the “Northern Exposure” route, taking a hardened city character and giving a fresh, fish-out-of-water perspective. Heche stars as Marin Frist, a romantic self-help author from New York who, after learning that her boyfriend has betrayed her, finds a little peace and happiness in Elmo, Alaska.
If you’re tired of bloody procedural dramas or intense serial thrillers, this sweet, feel-good show might be the answer. Plus, it has truly spectacular scenery.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Entertainment
On TV, Austin’s way cool … and for sale!
Yes, we’re cool, Austin. In case you need validation, two prime-time TV shows made mention of us Monday night.
Did you catch them?
If not, the first reference came on NBC’s “Heroes.” Cuddly-cute Hiro was busily wooing the waitress in Midland — the girl with the about-to-explode brain — and invited to her to go to a Japanese film festival at the Alamo Drafthouse. When the lovely young woman said something about how far Austin is from Midland, Hiro said, “It’s 300 miles away, but it’s worth it.”
Moments after we recovered from that fabulous Valentine, NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” popped in another one.
Machine-gun mouth Matthew, the “Saturday Night Live”-style writer played by real-life Matthew Perry, hurled out something to his small, woefully inexperienced writing staff about a story he saw on Austin’s very own, ultimate movie fan Harry Knowles’ Web site, Ain’t It Cool News.
You will not be surprised to know that Knowles quickly made mention of his prime-time notice on the site.
See? Ain’t we cool?
Yes, you can buy ‘Austin Time Tours!’
Last Friday I wrote about a new documentary coming to Austin’s PBS station KLRU this week.
The two-hour documentary, “Austin Time Tours” (Thursday at 7 p.m., Channel 18), is the work of University of Texas lecturer Karen Kocher, and it is simply magnificent. The scope — from dinosaurs to today — is ambitious, but the result is worth the sometimes rapid gallop.
After the article appeared in the newspaper, several people called and e-mailed asking if a DVD of the film could be purchased. The answer is yes. Copies will be available in the next week or so at the Austin History Center for $24.95. Exact date is unknown, so check (phone: 974-7383; e-mail: info@ahca.net) before you go.
Permalink | | Categories: Local people on TV
Solo sponsors = fewer ads = better TV!
It’s not likely that we’ll see Brian, Katie or Charlie holding up boxes of laundry detergent during the evening news, but there’s a movement afoot for network newscasts to have single product sponsorships.
The goal is to unclutter the broadcast, a move that will benefit advertisers — whose messages are diluted by the barrage of quick-hit ads during the half-hour — and viewers. It’s annoying to be jolted from a bloody Iraq war story to an ad for blood pressure medicine or Metamucil.
A single sponsor would pay more money for the luxury of having a clear, solo message presented to the adult, well-educated, well-off people who tend to tune into network news.
Philips Electronics has signed on to be the single sponsor for “NBC Nightly News” next week. Instead of a dozen or more 15- and 30-second spots, Philips will have three spots totaling 75 seconds during the broadcast.
CBS has used a single sponsor for its “Evening News” before, as well as once or twice for “60 Minutes.” CNN has had entire news programs sponsored by one company, too.
Dan Rather’s new weekly news program, “Dan Rather Reports,” boasts a single sponsor on HDNet, but that might be because the seldom-seen high-definition cable network has very few advertisers to begin with. Rather’s single sponsor? Patron Tequila! Maybe we’ll get to see Gunga Dan take a shot or two during the program.
But seriously, folks, if this trend catches on, maybe we could see prime-time programming without 20 minutes of commercials in each hour of storytelling.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: News coverage
‘Prison Break’ takes a fall finale
Splitting the season into two non-rerun parts seems like a good idea for Fox’s “Prison Break,” which takes a quick bow tonight after its 7 p.m. semi-finale. But it seems like a really dumb idea for ABC’s “Lost,” which departed a couple of weeks ago and won’t return until February.
Why does this winter hiatus plan work for one show but not the other? “Lost” is so riddled with complexities (most of which are silly and unnecessary) that taking a break is likely to drive away another chunk of the already diminished audience.
“Prison Break”, on the other hand, is a suspenseful serial drama that is more accessible and easier to follow. It makes sense; “Lost,” quite frequently, does not.
The fugitives on “Prison Break” escaped at the beginning of this season and, when we saw them last week, were scattered around the country in various stages of distress. Michael and Lincoln are boarding a plane for who-knows-where, and T-Bag is possibly about to pay for a few of his heinous crimes.
To avoid reruns in a 22-episode season, “Prison Break” will be gone until Jan. 22, when it will return with an hour-long recap episode. New episodes will begin Jan. 29 and run without interruption until its second season conclusion.
Those of us who thrive on white-knuckle drama will be spent on Mondays come January, when Fox will pair “Prison Break” with the return of “24.”
If the phone rings at my house tonight between 7 and 8, it’s nobody I know, so I’m not answering. I’ve got to find out what’s happening to Michael, Lincoln, Sarah and, of course, the wickedly obsessed FBI guy Mahone.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Entertainment
Post-Gobble Day football, last night’s ‘Grey’s’
Who goes shopping at 5 a.m.? Several of my relatives did today, at a time I consider way more night than day. It’s still dark, for crying out loud. Is Wal-Mart really going to run out of toys before the more civilized shopping hour of, say, 9 or 10 a.m.? When the sun is up?
By the time today’s Big Game begins at 11 a.m. (on ABC), these pre-dawn shoppers are going to be too pooped to pay attention to pigskin.
In case you’ve forgotten (or possibly are among those who don’t care), the Big Game is the eagerly anticipated gridiron battle between the UT Longhorns and the A&M Aggies. It’s an orange vs. maroon day.
I’m struggling to understand the concept of tailgating for two days before the game — and then watching it on TV in a parking lot when it’s actually taking place in a stadium right behind you. There are some elaborate setups on the asphalt near the stadium: big-screen TVs hanging off campers with grills, easy chairs and gigantic coolers nearby.
If you’re going to watch football on TV, why not do it at home? I don’t get it.
The bloody round: Burke vs. Cristina
Last night’s intense and bloody episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” was almost too bloody and intense to watch, wasn’t it?
If you haven’t seen it yet, consider this your SPOILER ALERT.
The crisis of confidence and competence Burke (Isaiah Washington) has been suffering since getting shot in the hand boiled over. Cristina (Sandra Oh), you’ll recall, has been urging him to ignore the tremor and let her assist him in surgery. That “team operating” fantasy came to a spurting end last night.
The couple had such a heated, meltdown argument over who is ultimately responsible for the couple’s ethical misconduct that there seems to be no room to repair this romance. In real life such a passionate spat would surely deep-six any relationship.
But this is TV, so anything can happen. Still, I’m betting that the hay-rolling between Cristina and Burke is over.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Sports on TV
Sleaze week continues …
Wow! After this week of nastiness, I feel like we should all take a course in human civility — and then maybe spend a few minutes in a disinfectant shower.
First Fox attempts to “celebrate” the end of the November sweeps with a two-part interview with O.J. Simpson, widely perceived as the guiltiest man ever acquitted of a double murder. Fox nixed the deal, but only after all manner of horror broke loose with stations, advertisers and angry villagers howling.
Then Michael “Kramer” Richards goes insane at a comedy club, hurling racial epithets at hecklers. Follow that up with the least sincere apology I’ve ever heard in my life on “The Late Show,” and you’ve got a widely witnessed career suicide. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.
I’m ready for some football — or just about anything else that doesn’t smack of sleaze.
And yet … more dirt is on the horizon.
Tonight’s big deal is the 18th (can you believe it?) season debut of MTV’s “Real World”, with this one destined for a real Rocky Mountain “high” in Denver.
Once again the housemates will drink too much, make out too much and generally show off all the reasons twentysomethings get a bad rep for living foolishly. Remember the Sixth Street carousers when “Real World” filmed here? Exactly … pretty grotesque, what with street fights, busted faces and a good deal of hurling.
“I just love making out,” says Colie, a 22-year-old hottie from New Jersey. “It’s one of my hobbies.”
Tyrie, 23, from Omaha, faces the camera and announces: “I’m single and I’m loving it, and the first thing I’m going to unpack is a box of condoms.” Swell.
Tonight’s two-hour debut is followed by a “live” chat-fest with the seven new cast members. Follow your conscience (and level of taste) and act accordingly.
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Michael Richards is nuts … and offensive, too
Stick a fork in Michael Richards. He’s done.
His racist tirade at the Laugh Factory, caught on tape and quickly disseminated worldwide on TMZ.com, was inexcusable. He’s a jerk.
And his “apology” on “The Late Show” last night may have made matters worse.
Plus, what can we make of super-clean, always-without-controversy Jerry Seinfeld? At the very least, he has poor judgment in picking his friends. At the worst, he’s making excuses for Richards’ inexcusable conduct. With friends like Richards, Seinfeld needs a few good enemies.
In case you were up to your eyeballs in O.J. Simpson news yesterday (Fox finally woke up and ditched the suspected murder’s scheduled TV interview and sleazy book), here’s the other story:
Richards, once fondly known as Kramer on “Seinfeld,” had a major meltdown when hecklers interrupted his stand-up routine in a Los Angeles comedy club. The offenders were African American, which apparently sent Richards into a diatribe of “n-words” that seemed to never quit.
The scene went on for several minutes, so any thought that this was somehow a slip of the tongue doesn’t hold up. Unlike Mel Gibson’s anti-semitic conniption, Richards’ racist ramblings were not blamed on alcohol, drugs or any other outside influence.
What does this mean? To me, it means that the n-word is part of Richards’ regular thought process and vocabulary. It clearly hints at underlying sentiments of racism. And apologizing for just saying the words doesn’t cut it.
Seinfeld, who was already schedule to appear on David Letterman’s show, urged his friend and former colleague to apologize via satellite on the show.
Richards, 57, must know he has blown a huge hole in his foot — and possibly ended his career, which was sliding downhill anyway. On Letterman, he said he was sorry, but then he got grumpy again when he heard audience members snickering at him.
You know what? Apologies are worthless when the person apologizing is as clearly racist and hate-filled as Michael Richards. I’m going to have a hard time enjoying “Seinfeld” reruns now, and that’s a shame.
Let your heart sing with Tony Bennett
Cleanse your palate of all this TV trash — OJ, Kramer, etc. — and let the glory of “Tony Bennett: An American Classic” wash over you.
This NBC special (7 p.m. tonight, temporarily pre-empting “Friday Night Lights”) is simply magnificent. Think Tony’s just for big-band-loving geezers? Think again.
The stylish, toe-tapping, happy-as-a-clam Bennett pairs up with John Legend (“Sing, You Sinners”), Christina Aguilera (“Steppin’ Out”) and Juanes (“Shadow of Your Smile,” in English and Spanish!), just to name a few of his younger co-stars on the show.
Everybody loves Tony. Seriously. This show may be the only time you’ll ever see Barbra Streisand (who sings the opening “Smile” with Bennett) look awe-struck by another performer.
Singling out highlights is impossible, because everything is so classy and fine. Bennett and k.d. lang croon lovingly at each other on “Because of You,” Bennett and Elton John Kick up their heels in a Vegas medley and Bennett and Stevie Wonder bring down the house with “For Once in My Life.”
Fittingly, the finale is Bennett flying solo on his trademark — and still fresh after all these years — “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
Bennett is 80 years old this year, but his voice is still miraculous, and that impish grin lets you know he still loves entertaining us.
Permalink | Comments (33) | Categories: Entertainment
NewsCorp pulls O.J. book, special
The much-loathed O.J. Simpson book and TV special, “If I Did It,” have been yanked by Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp.
Simpson’s hypothetical murder confession, scheduled to air as a special called “If I Did It” on Fox next Monday and Wednesday, suffocated under the weight of its own sleaze. Advertisers fled, TV stations said they would not air it and even Fox News stars such as Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera slammed it.
A viewer boycott seemed inevitable, and Murdoch, who became a billionaire on the philosophy that “the bottom line is money,” finally smelled the coffee.
“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. “We are sorry for any pain that his has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”
Simpson, you will recall, was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in 1994 but found liable in a civil suit. He was expected to pocket $3.5 million from the book deal.
Judith Regan, who conducted the interview that won’t air and planned to publish the book that won’t be published, issued a statement over the weekend insisting that she wasn’t doing the project for the money. She said she had been a victim of domestic violence herself and thought Simpson’s “confession” would somehow make things right for his children.
No word from Regan on the death of her two Simpson projects.
Just say ‘No’ to O.J.!
Apparently there are only three people in the world who think O.J. Simpson’s hypothetical murder confession, scheduled to air as a special called “If I Did It” on Fox Nov. 27 and 29, is a swell idea.
They are Simpson himself, Fox owner Rupert Murdoch and Judith Regan, the woman who conducted the two-part interview and who plans to publish a trashy book of the same title on Nov. 30. Advertisers are fleeing, stations are fleeing … even Simpson’s own attorney and a gaggle of Fox Newsies are ticked off.
Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but I think there’s a good chance this muck will collapse under its own slimy weight before broadcast. Surely Murdoch knows that this is not the legacy he wants attached to his network.
Over the weekend, several Fox stations, including some in Wisconsin, Alabama, Ohio, New Mexico, Rhode Island and California, announced they would not participate in Fox’s uber-tacky sweeps stunt.
And what of Austin’s KTBC Channel 7, which is owned and operated by Fox? Will Austin join the good-taste protest?
Station manager Danny Baker declined to comment on that possibility, pointing out that local reaction — admittedly all negative — “has not been overbearing at this point.”
Central Texans who would like to voice their opinions about Fox’s planned Simpson show can do so via e-mail (askfox@foxinc.com) or phone (310)-369-1000.
Stations owned by Fox have little option but to carry the network’s programming, no matter how vile and offensive it might be, which is why comments should be directed to the network rather than the station. The stations that have bowed out are not owned by Fox.
Even high-profile Fox News celebs Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera are in a lather over the Simpson special. Both are urging viewers to (a) boycott the show and (b) boycott any advertisers foolish enough to buy commercial time on the show.
For the record, I bet NOBODY will buy advertising in this show, thus rendering its profitability virtually nil. All Fox is going to get out of it is lots of viewers (maybe … I’m still not sure people really will support this degree of trash) and big holes for promos of other Fox shows.
Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994 but found liable in a subsequent civil suit, is expected to pocket more than $3 million for the show. Most people find this notion beyond appalling.
In the interview, Simpson allegedly goes into gory detail about how he would have committed the two murder if he did it — which he claims he did not. Aside from morbid curiosity, why would anyone want to witness this? Just say no.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Reality TV
‘ER’ and ‘Law & Order’ — Once dead, now alive!
Turns out I killed off a couple of series that are very much alive.
In my defense, the two long-running shows certainly looked — and occasionally even smelled dead. But they have resurrected themselves this season.
The previously-deceased are NBC’s “ER” and “Law & Order,” which swooned and then resurrected. Both are ancient, as opposed to long-running. “ER” is in its 13th season, and the original “Law & Order” is in its 17th season.
I deleted “ER” from my viewing schedule several years ago, when the series shifted its focus from riveting medical cases to silly soap operas among the medical staff. Drug addictions, heartbreaks, alcoholism, schizophrenia, more heartbreaks — the doctors were sicker than the patients. Sad-sack Abby made my skin crawl as she suffered one tragedy after the other. Ditto Luka.
But just when it looked like “ER” couldn’t get any worse, the show turned itself around and re-focused its main plotlines on intriguing emergency cases. If there’s not a foreign object sticking out of someone’s chest in the ER, what’s the point?
And, miraculously, now that Abby and Luka are together and juggling a newborn child, they actually smile at each other from time to time — although it looks like guest star Forest Whitaker is going to snatch the wee boy and do something horrible to him. At least Whitaker is a villain worth watching.
“ER” (9 p.m. Thursdays) has been riveting so far this season, so cheers to its re-birth.
Despite being moved to the Friday night graveyard, “Law & Order” has served up interesting cases and yet another good cast of newcomers this season. When Jerry Orbach died a couple of seasons ago, I became less of a die-hard fan of the show. Dennis Farina, his replacement, eventually grew on me, but then heleft at the end of last season, too.
I’ve only caught “L&O” a couple of times in its 9 p.m. Friday slot this fall, but Milena Govich as the new cop (first female cop on the show!!) and Alana De La Garza as the new assistant district attorney are doing a fine job. And, as usual, the ripped-from-the-headlines plotlines are first-rate.
Welcome back, old favorites. And sorry for your premature burial.
Permalink | | Categories: Entertainment
Emmitt, si. Mario, no… OJ? Never!
I’ve decided to be happy and content today, thanks to the crowning of twinkle-grin Emmitt Smith on last night’s “Dancing with the Stars.” When he was running around with a football all those years, I had no idea he was so completely charming.
I’ve decided not to waste more time mourning Fox’s loss of any semblance of dignity with its upcoming O.J. Simpson’s money-making semi-confession to a brutal double murder.
When (and if) the airdate for “If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened” arrives, I’ll return to my crusade to persuade viewers to ignore this televised garbage. I keep thinking it’ll collapse under the weight of its own sleaze (not to mention lack of advertisers) and wind up on the Web. Or nowhere, preferably.
For now, the glow of grinning Emmitt has perked up my sagging spirits from Wednesday. There probably are very few fans of “Dancing with the Stars” who really think the three-time Super Bowl champ is actually a better dancer than Mario Lopez.
But he won the hearts of the judges and the viewing public, and that’s the name of the game. Plus, for a lumbering athlete, he was amazing light and graceful.
The problem with Lopez, from the very beginning, was that he is too good. The Animal Planet host and former “Saved by the Bell” actor, started his performing career as a professional kid dancer on “Kids Incorporated.” He only barely qualifies as an amateur contestant, which is why he can do so many moves that only the pros usually muster.
Now that ABC’s “Dancing” has twirled its last twirl for the season, maybe we can persuade more people to check out “Friday Night Lights.”
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Reality TV
O.J. — Ick, Ick and More Ick
Ick, ick and more ick.
Just when you thought TV — and maybe the entire pop culture world — couldn’t get any sleazier, along comes O.J. Simpson, squeezing out money (we don’t know how much) from Fox and book publisher Regan Books right before our eyes.
On Nov. 27 and 29, Simpson will splash across Fox and hit the book stores with his new alleged fantasy, “If I Did It,” in which he reiterates that he really didn’t kill his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, but … you get the drift.
“O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes,” Fox said in a statement. “In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade.”
How a TV network allegedly licensed for the public good can make these statements is anybody’s guess, but the sleaze goes on:
“This is an interview that no one thought would ever happen. It’s the definitive last chapter in the Trial of the Century,” Mike Darnell, executive vice president of alternative programming for Fox, said in a statement.
Simpson, you may recall, was acquitted of slashing his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman to death in 1994. The former football star was later found responsible in a wrongful death suit brought by the Goldman family. Simpson, who has yet to pay the $33.5 million settlement in that case, lives in Florida and occasionally tries to make a buck off his notoriety.
The Fox interview, shamelessly conducted by book publisher Judith Regan, hits the air the week the book goes on sale (Nov. 30). In an excerpt, Simpson talks about all the blood at the scene. Does this guy not remember that he has two children whose mother died at that scene?
I’ve never in my life begged people to stay away from a TV show, but I’m begging now. Maybe, just maybe, if the whole world ignores this sludge, it will never, ever happen again. If millions of curiosity seekers do tune in for O.J.’s bizarre ramblings, we can count on any number of sickening “events” in the future.
Trust me, we do NOT want to open that door.
‘Lost’ teases tonight
As fans continue to bombard ABC about the ridiculous decision to take “Lost” off the air until February, the network decided to try to appease us with a bunch of teases
The teases will begin during tonight’s two-hour debut of “Day Break,” the new serial drama starring Taye Diggs in a “Groundhog Day” meets “24” format.
Dubbed “Lost Moments,” these little teases will be scattered throughout “Day Break” episodes for the entire run of the new series.
Will this appease “Lost” fans or further tick them off? I’m betting on the latter. If ABC already has this new batch of “Lost” episodes from which to cull teases, why not just run the series in its entirety until it’s finished for the season?
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: News coverage
Emmitt twirls toward victory tonight
So, can the former former Dallas Cowboy out swivel and twirl the hot Latino TV “personality?”
Vegas oddsmakers think so, but only by the slimmest of margins.
Tonight Emmitt Smith, 37, and his professional partner Cheryl Burke will spin through three dances in the final performance of ABC’s top-rated “Dancing with the Stars” (at 7 p.m.).
Mario Lopez, 33, and his pro partner Karina Smirnoff will do the same. “Hot Mario,” as the ever-drooling judges often refer to him, should be a slam-dunk for this trophy — which, by the way, is a really ugly glass-and-mirror thing. Besides his youthful stint on “Saved by the Bell,” Lopez has hosted various TV shows and taken a few dance lessons before he landed this ABC gig.
Smith, on the other hand, had boogied only when forced to by his wife, and only then at private parties. But ever-the-competitor, Smith decided from day one that he would tackle each dance with the same fervor he ran fancy patterns into the end zone for the Cowboys. He would not only succeed, he would excel.
Lopez has all the moves, seductive and smooth. Smith has the moves, too, although not quite as slickly performed. But it’s Smith’s charm and charisma that make him a crowd favorite. He grins the whole time he’s dancing, apparently having the time of his life, and he pumps passion into every performance.
We won’t know who takes home the ugly trophy until Wednesday’s dragged out results show, but smart money is on Emmitt Smith. He really has shown that the manliest of men can conquer ballroom dancing and have a swell time doing it.
AND DON’T FORGET: If you’re planning to catch Emmitt’s last dance, don’t forget to record tonight’s episode of “Friday Night Lights” (7 tonight on NBC), which just got picked up for the full season and deserves every eyeball it can attract.
‘3 LBS’ of tedium
Stanley Tucci is one of my favorite actors, so I was fully prepared to love his new medical drama “3 LBS,” which debuts tonight at 9 on CBS.
But it turns out that Tucci and “3 LBS” are channeling Hugh Laurie and “House,” and I’m not a fan of that grumpy disease-solving doc on Fox.
I realize I’m in the minority in this regard … I suffer considerable abuse from newsroom colleagues and critic cohorts because I don’t like “House.” But a cranky doctor just doesn’t spark my interest, and now we’re going to have another one.
Tucci is paired with a younger, cuter brain surgeon played by Mark Feuerstein, who is chock full of sweetness and light. But the interaction between the two is completely predictable and therefore more than a little boring.
Plus there’s that icky title to contend with, which refers to the weight of the average brain. Too clinical for my taste.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Reality TV
Overselling ‘Day Break’
I’m officially sick of a new series that I initially loved. And it’s not even on yet.
How does this happen? Too much promotion.
If you’ve watched ABC at any point in the past few weeks, you’ve seen dozens of ads for “Day Break”, the new serial drama starring Taye Diggs as a cop wrongly accused of a crime and forced to relive the “worst day of his life” over and over.
Worse than that, viewers have been forced to relive the same promos over and over and OVER. During last night’s “Desperate Housewives,” the spot ran at least four times (I might have missed a couple when the phone rang). Same spot.
“Day Break” premieres at 8 p.m. Wednesday, the time slot previously occupied by the now-vacationing “Lost.”
Now, I don’t claim to have a clue about marketing or promotion, but it cannot be good to annoy potential viewers in this way. I loved the pilot for “Day Break” — it’s unusual, well-written and ferociously acted by Diggs and company.
But the ad machine at ABC has been excessive, to say the least, when it comes to this show. Is the overload because serials have not fared well so far this season? Is it because the network assumes, all evidence to the contrary, that we haven’t seen these scenes at least a dozen times already?
When you run the same promo multiple times during top-rated shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives,” chances are excellent that you’ve reached an audience. And running them in avalanche mode for weeks on end, well, the chance of ticking off that audience seems excellent, too.
‘60 Minutes’ honored Bradley well
Last night’s hourlong tribute on “60 Minutes” to the late Ed Bradley was magnificent, wasn’t it?
Bradley, who died last week at age 65 from leukemia, was a very private pioneer in broadcast journalism, and his CBS colleagues did a fine job of reviewing some of his best reports.
But the production also introduced us to the Bradley most people didn’t know — the jazz lover who couldn’t sing or play a lick but liked to take to the stage whenever he was invited. His friendships with various musicians were well-known, but I had no idea he was so close to Jimmy Buffett that the “Margaritaville” man was at Bradley’s bedside when he died.
Wynton Marsalis’ trumpet solo at the program’s conclusion was just the right touch — sweet but not sappy, sentimental but not sad.
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Farewell, Ed Bradley
Ed Bradley was one of the pre-eminent TV journalists of our time, and he did it without the celebrity limelight that others in his profession preferred.
Bradley, who died way too young Thursday at the age of 65, was a reporter’s reporter — he loved big stories, from wars to politics, and he loved digging inside the people he profiled, whether they were domestic terrorists (Timothy McVeigh) or legendary jazz singers (Lena Horne).
The only time I can ever recall Bradley calling attention to himself was when he decided to pierce one ear and don a tiny gold hoop. I’m certain he never expected it to cause such an uproar, with photographers chasing him down the streets of New York and headlines suddenly proclaiming him everything from an aging hippie to a middle-aged hipster.
A 26-year veteran of “60 Minutes” and a 39-year veteran of CBS News, Bradley started out as a junior high teacher and jazz DJ/news reporter in his native Philadelphia. His first step up was a big one — WCBS radio in New York. But he grew restless and moved to Paris to check out the much-publicized music and art scene. Only when his savings ran out did he return to reporting — and landed a prestigious gig with CBS News as a stringer in Paris.
The interesting thing about Bradley’s career is we recall the important stories he did, not who he was dating or what controversies he was engaged in. He made it a point to keep himself out of his stories. The one exception was pure happenstance — when he was wounded covering the Vietnam War. But even that high-profile event was downplayed by Bradley when he filed his reports.
Bradley quietly opened doors and busted stereotypes. He was the first high-profile black journalist on TV, the first black White House correspondent and dozens of other firsts. He rarely spoke of those accomplishments.
Although he had had heart surgery recently, Bradley managed to keep his leukemia private, so it was a shock yesterday when the news of his death broke. A couple of weeks ago he was noticeably weak and thin in a “60 Minutes” piece on the Duke lacrosse scandal.
Bradley’s death leaves a huge hole in television news, but his legacy is finally getting the recognition it deserves.
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Election coverage: A boring night with bad graphics
It was a wild night of election coverage, wasn’t it? Or maybe it just seemed that way to me. Punching the remote every few minutes, skipping from network to cable to local to national is a head-spinning proposition at best.
So, consider this a hit-and-miss evaluation. Even if I had a TV with a dozen screens (which, thankfully, I do not), I couldn’t possibly catch everything that happened from 7 p.m. until midnight. But I did my button-punching best …
On the local front, I thought Judy Maggio and Ron Oliveira on CBS’ KEYE served up the most informative coverage. The two anchors have been covering politics in Central Texas for a couple of decades, and that experience showed. They were comfortable on the air and were backed up by smart graphics and solid reporting.
Belo-owned KVUE, with Tyler Sieswerda and Christine Haas, also did a commendable job. KXAN’s staffing woes (several people in front of the camera and behind have left recently) made the coverage seem a bit thin, but anchors Michelle Valles and Robert Hadlock skillfully held down the fort.
KTBC’s Fox 7, however, was a different story, with Mike Warren anchoring solo (no replacement for Linda Stratton has been hired) and looking overwhelmed at times. He was deep-sixed by faulty graphics and technical problems, too. Transitions were bumpy, and, at least when I was watching, the fast-scrolling election results had no party designation by the candidates’ names. Talk about incomplete information!
News 8 Austin also had graphics problems, which is a disaster on election night when many people are tuning in to see results in a quick-and-neat format. You’d think high-tech Time Warner Cable, which runs News 8, would be on the cutting edge with this stuff.
On the national front, former anchor Dan Rather served up a few of his trademark Ratherisms last night, but this time he was on Comedy Central with news spoofer Jon Stewart.
Rather dubbed the fight for the Senate in Virginia “ugly as a hog lagoon after a bachelor party” and assessed Sen. Hillary Clinton’s landslide victory in New York thusly: “She ran away with it like a hobo with a sweet potato pie.” Known for his stiff demeanor as much as his folksy sayings on election night, Rather seemed to be enjoying himself, which was fun to see.
Stewart paired with Stephen Colbert for an hour of satirical silliness at 10 p.m., and it was a welcome relief from the oh-so-cautious (and industrially boring) reports on cable and network news programs. Moments into the hour, Stewart referred to Florida as the state “where Cubans go to live and Jews go to die.” That’s when I stopped flipping and settled in for a good time. It was late, I was tired, I deserved a chuckle or two.
The night started off with a trio of network anchors making their election-night debuts, and excitement was in the air.
“This is going to be fascinating, and it could even be historic,” Charles Gibson chirped in his introduction. When the early projection of Sen. Clinton’s re-election, Gibson channeled Rather when he said, “That had all the surprise of a Doris Day movie.”
ABC, by far the best among the broadcast networks, jumped its prime-time coverage up a half-hour, starting at 8:30 instead of the previously announced 9 p.m.
Determined not to seem either chipper or girly, CBS’s Katie Couric, decked out in a conservative black suit and white blouse, was steady if a tad boring. She seemed most comfortable when paired with former temporary anchor Bob Schieffer. There was no giggling on Couric’s part, but she did seem more uncomfortable and unsure on the air than her counterparts at ABC and NBC.
Speaking of NBC, is it just me or is Brian Williams really enamored of his own voice and vocabulary? He’s not pompous in real life, but on the air he comes off as stentorian and overly grand. At one point he was pontificating about something and transitioned with the word “corollarily,” which might have been fine for a position paper but sounded ridiculous on the air. Talk to us, Brian. Don’t lecture.
With visions of past premature projections dancing in their heads, anchors and prognosticators were remarkably cautious revealing last night’s midterm election results.
Although it was hinted at hours earlier, nobody actually came out and said the Democrats had won control of the U.S. House until right before 10 p.m. Central Time. The only person I heard even speculating that the Democrats would control the U.S. Senate came from Fox News’ Bill Kristol, who said at 11:30 p.m. that it looked like that might happen.
This morning, the Senate is still too close to call, so caution turned out to be the way to go last night.
On cable news, the problem is always sensory overload. On that score, Fox was the least offensive and CNN the most. CNN’s graphics were simply overwhelming — crawls, a creeping red-to-blue gauge, boxed stats on whatever the talking head was talking about and at least a couple other flashing tidbits of information.
Speaking of sensory overload, my remote-control hand is shot and my eyes are exhausted from trying to watch six things on one screen at a time — and switching from screen to screen about every 10 minutes. I’m looking forward to reading a book tonight … no TV for me.
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Dan Rather joins ‘Indecision 2006’
It may have been a last-minute, why-the-heck-not kind of decision, but Dan Rather is joining Comedy Central’s election coverage tonight.
No, I’m not making this up. Rather will provide analysis for the anchor team of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the hour-long “Indecision 2006: The Midterm Midtacular,” starting at 10 p.m.
“It’s a risk, I guess,” Rather told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “J. Stewart and company offered the chance, and I’ve taken it. I don’t do comedy. I do politics, but sometimes that’s one and the same.”
It’s unclear whether Rather, 75, will do his trademark election-night “Ratherisms” (“This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex!”), but we’re fairly sure the former CBS anchor will spice up the hour.
And speaking of election coverage, the big suspense story the networks will be spinning tonight is whether the Democrats will be able to capitalize on the unpopularity of President Bush and take back the U.S. House and Senate from Republicans.
That means we’ll be gazing at big red-and-blue maps a good deal of the night.
When did colors come to signal political divisions? According to a lexicographer for Oxford University Press in New York, it all started in the hotly contested 2000 presidential election. Red denoted Republican George Bush, blue denoted Democrat Al Gore and the divisions were stark on the map during the long night — and following days — of the divisive election. The colors had been used before, but they didn’t take on iconic significance until 2000.
Now the term “purple state,” indicating a mix of red and blue is coming into favor. If we ever get a major influence from the Green Party, we could be forced to turn the electoral map into a color wheel.
KLRU wants your help — and not with a checkbook!
When was the last time a local TV station asked you what you’d like to see on their air? Does never sound about right?
Well, PBS station KLRU wants to know. The station, like most local stations, has additional bandwidth on its digital tier now, where high-definition and other PBS programming streams have been carried called KLRU-P, KLRU-B and KLRU-S.
As the station plans for the future, KLRU is asking how Central Texans would like those additional digital channels to be filled. Do you want HD programming all the time, several channels with standard definition programming (standard-def takes up less bandwidth than HD) or a combination.
To register your opinion, KLRU invites you to fill out their online survey:
http://support.klru.org/site/Survey?SURVEYID=2940&ACTIONREQUIRED=URIACTIONUSER_REQUESTS
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Yea! Last night of mean political ads!
Tonight is the last night we’ll have to deal with all those mean-spirited political ads.
A dark, grainy photo of an opponent is a sure-fire way to signal corruption. Add a touch of creepy, “Law & Order”-style “bum BUM” music, and you’ve hammered the other candidate(s) to a pulp.
It will be a relief to get back to toilet paper (except for that animated bear in the woods) and cough syrup ads, won’t it?
The odd thing to me throughout the Texas political season is the negative campaign conducted by current Republican Gov. Rick Perry. I thought negative ads were the last gasp of a desperate candidate. Perry is way ahead in most polls — 17 percent in the latest Dallas Morning News survey.
So why did he go negative? Why not run on his record or, at least, do those warm-and-fuzzy spots with his exceptionally handsome family?
Instead, he launched the dumbest spots ever heard on radio — those ridiculous jingles based on the Bud Light beer ads. “Mr. Way Too Liberal for Texas Guy!” somehow tied former Democratic congressman Chris Bell to France. I still don’t get that one. “Mrs. Corrupt Comptroller Politician Woman” ripped Republican-turned-independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn for alleged misuse of tax dollars. If that’s really a serious charge, why set it to music?
Bell and Strayhorn hoisted their own negative ads, but when you’re as far behind as they are, it makes more sense. Negative ads used to be a last resort; now they’re de rigueur.
Independent guber candidate Kinky Friedman’s ads, portraying him as the “good shepherd” surrounded by a dozen or so of his rescued dogs, aren’t negative. But they don’t really tell us much about what kind of governor the Kinkster might be. So what’s the point?
Anyway, it all comes to a screeching halt tomorrow night, when election returns and good old car commercials will trump political nastiness — for now.
“The O.C.” sagging
Fox is trying to figure out why once-loyal young viewers aren’t coming back to “The O.C.,” the sexy teen sudser starring Austinite Benjamin McKenzie. A safe bet is they’re tired of it.
The show’s fourth season opener was buried last Thursday in the “Grey’s Anatomy” versus “CSI” standoff. So this week, Fox is going to give “O.C.” a one-time-only shot at a better slot — Wednesday at 8 p.m., following the popular “Bones.” A second new episode will air in the show’s killer slot Thursday.
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Hmmm… Chevy Chase or Mel Gibson?
Any time I see that little disclaimer on “Law & Order” — “The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event” — I know we’re in for a real ripped-from-the-headlines saga.
Tonight’s installment is patently, obviously based on a real person, disclaimer or not.
Chevy Chase guest stars as a celebrity pulled over for drunk driving who spews nasty slurs at the female cop trying to arrest him: “Are you a Jew? You’re a Jew, right? I should’ve known they’d stick me in a room with a Jew cop.” He also makes mention of her breasts in a rather tactless fashion.
The “L&O” twist to this saga is that it isn’t just a drunk driving incident at all, but the unfolding of a hideous murder. So there’s more to it than the “fiction” of Mel Gibson’s unfortunate time on a Malibu highway in the script.
Rob Lowe switches political parties
Rob Lowe is giving TV another try, this time on a show that’s already on the air and looking like a potential success.
He has taken a recurring part on ABC’s new drama “Brothers & Sisters,” playing (what else?) a politician. The former “West Wing” staffer will portray a Republican senator up for re-election who becomes the new love interest for Kitty Walker (Calista Flockhart) after he visits her talk show. (Lately Kitty has been romantically involved, and not in a believable way, with her oh-so-liberal TV co-host).
Lowe is signed for six episodes, with the possibility of more if he and the show are embraced by the viewing public.
After the big no-no of leaving a hit show in its prime, Lowe disappeared into two screaming failures, the short-lived series “The Lyon’s Den” and “Dr. Vegas.” He had a juicy little part in the film “Thank You for Smoking,” but he should have ridden “The West Wing” to the end. And he knows it.
Happy Birthday, Uncle Walter
Walter Cronkite turns 90 on Saturday, and we wish him well. The former anchor of the “CBS Evening News” has numerous Austin connections, not the least of which is daughter Kathy Cronkite and a couple of grandsons. Cronkite supplies the voice-over narration for UT’s promotional films (“We’re Texas … “).
After stepping down from CBS News in 1981, Cronkite practically disappeared from his network’s air, but when Katie Couric debuted as anchor in September, Cronkite voiced the new nightly opening.
Who will it be?
You’ve no doubt seen all those “Desperate Housewives” promos this week. Someone will be gunned down Sunday night. Who do you think it will be? Let us know by weighing in here.
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So over the ‘O.C.’
Once hot but now barely tepid, Fox’s “The O.C.” opens its fourth season tonight at 8 with an especially glum episode that’s totally missing the sarcasm and irony that were part of its original charm.
A pop-culture phenom in its first two seasons, “The O.C.,” stars Austin’s own Benjamin McKenzie as the brooding wrong-side-of-the-tracks hunk Ryan. The show is fading and likely to be gone by early next year.
Sensing the end is near, Fox ordered only 16 episodes this season, instead of the usual 22.
What’s going on? Well, Marissa is still dead (Mischa Barton decided to try to become a movie star), Ryan is living in the storeroom of a fight-club bar where he takes a nightly whupping for cash, Seth is working at a comic-book store near home and Summer is an enviro-activist at the Ivy League’s Brown University.
Summer, previously the supreme valley girl of the group, is now allegedly intellectual, spouting lines like, “I don’t do sarcasm any more. I’m post-ironic.”
This formerly fun melodrama-with-great-pop-music is now alternately depressing (Ryan) and silly (Summer), a split personality held together by a still-decent soundtrack and pretty scenery but little else.
The show’s fate was sealed last spring when the characters graduated from high school and went their separate ways. Anybody with a lick of sense knows that high-school shows are over when high-school ends — even when you have someone like the fabulous Peter Gallagher holding up the parental end of the cast.
The new season’s grown-up plotline appears to be focusing on the late Marissa’s wacked-out mom Julie, who is plotting to avenge her daughter’s death. The new kid plotline involves Marissa’s younger sister Kaitlin and a gaggle of her friends. Boring.
All of these sad twists and turns are likely to be made moot by virtue of the competition: “The O.C.” is in the same time slot where the big showdown between “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI” is taking place.
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The tribe has spoken: “Lost” is off the island
I don’t care about “Lost” any more. There. I said it, and I’m not ashamed.
As long as it’s a Top 10 show (No. 8 last week), I’ll graze through it every now and then, but “Lost” has officially dropped off my must-see/must-record list. If it’s still on your agenda, the show lumbers out tonight at 8 on ABC.
The complicated fantasy/sci-fi drama just keeps spinning out bizarre mysteries without solving previous ones, so we’re left with a giant, tangled ball-of-string story line. The main survivors have been infiltrated by Others, about whom I care not one bit. The bug-eyed leader gives me the creeps, and not in a good way.
As for the original castaways, the writers have beat the Jack-Kate-Sawyer triangle to death, and Locke, Hurley and the gang have been pretty much missing in action so far this season.
In a nutshell, I’m outta there — and apparently so are lots of other former fans.
“Lost” spurned the overdose of serial dramas that infected the new fall season, most of which are fading or gone. “Kidnapped?” Gone. “Runaway?” Gone away. “Vanished?” You get the gist. Now the trend-inspiring original is looking a bit wan, too.
“Lost” might have been one of those intense, wonderful surprises that should have wrapped things up and departed after one, singularly brilliant season. The Brits do it that way. Maybe it’s time for TV to stop trying to drag every series into multiple seasons. Maybe they’re not all up to the longevity.
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