Network News & Reviews

Badge of honor: FX's Justified cools it a bit without losing an edge

Ed Bark — 2010-03-15T17:44:14-05:00

Tuesday's premiere of Justified (the lead character originated in novels by Elmore Leonard) turns out to be notably darker in tone than two subsequent episodes sent for review. ...It's nice to see the network try a little tenderness for a change with a drama that curbs its enthusiasm for aggressively anti-hero males and instead gives viewers an easier to swallow blend of Southern Comfort and lemonade.

HBO's The Pacific joins its already vast collection of finest hours

Ed Bark — 2010-03-12T10:58:37-06:00

Face of war: Joe Mazello as Marine Eugene Sledge. HBO photos Premiering: Sunday, March 14th at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing for 10 consecutive Sundays through May 16th on HBO Starring: Joe Mazzello, James Badge Dale, Jon Seda, Ashton Holmes, Rami Malek, Scott Gibson, Annie Parisse, William Sadler, Claire Van Der Boom and many more Produced by: Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman ...The final chapter brings it all home by bringing the surviving Marines back to the places where they used to fit right in. Sledge and Leckie are the focuses, but the most moving scene comes from another source that won't be revealed because it would ruin the impact.

Sons of Tucson comes up stinko

Ed Bark — 2010-03-11T09:52:15-06:00

By ED BARK It's usually not a good idea to replicate a flop, and perhaps no one involved with Sons of Tucson has ever heard of A Family For Joe. ...Fox's Sons of Tucson, premiering Sunday after Family Guy, stars beefy Tyler Labine (Reaper) as lame-brained Ron Snuffkin, who's living out of his car. Three brothers whose banker dad is in jail on an embezzlement conviction recruit him to be their bogus pop. In return he receives his own room -- in the backyard tool shed -- and $300 a week.

Scum rises to the top in CW's High Society

Ed Bark — 2010-03-10T13:00:40-06:00

"Trust fund partier" Jules Kirby of The CW's High Society. CW photo By ED BARK Premiering: Wednesday, March 10th at 8:30 p.m. (central) before moving to 8 p.m. Wednesdays on March 24th Starring: Tinsley Mortimer, Jules Kirby, Paul Johnson Calderon, Dabney Mercer, Dale Mercer, Devorah Rose, Alexandra Osipow Created by: Tinsley Mortimer, Andrew Glassman, Mike Aho ...She used to be married to a rich guy, but now can be seen play-sobbing in her Upper East Side loft after her recent separation from fund marketer Robert Livingston "Topper" Mortimer, whose face is digitized in Wednesday's premiere.

DVD review: ABC's Elvis now back in the building

Ed Bark — 2010-03-09T09:34:47-06:00

He's got the voice and mannerisms down, pulling viewers into a nuanced characterization that takes Elvis from a virginal, picked-on high schooler to a darker, insecure commodity who shoots a hole in a Las Vegas hotel TV screen when a local news anchor speculates on whether he can still deliver the goods "after nearly 10 years in seclusion." ...From there it's a leisurely, evocative journey back to the "present," with ample time for the formative music that made Presley an idolized, moneymaking machine whose wealth and generosity took Vernon and Gladys from the family's dumpy, Honeymooners-esque apartment in Memphis to the gaudy environs of Graceland.

Oscar audience up 5 mil from previous year's

Ed Bark — 2010-03-08T15:34:48-06:00

Backstage with winners Jeff Bridges and Mo'nique. ABC photos By ED BARK Sunday night's 82nd annual Academy Awards lured 5 million more viewers nationally than the last one, giving ABC its most-watched Oscars telecast in five years. ...The least-watched Oscars were in 2008, when just 32 million viewers cared enough to see No Country For Old Men win for best picture.

Limp Oscars fade away after less than dynamic hosting by Martin/Baldwin

Ed Bark — 2010-03-08T08:16:25-06:00

Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Absent any major upsets and again running longer than planned, Sunday night's 82nd annual Academy Awards hoped to be sparked by the uncommon choice of dual hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. ...Whether acting or not, he responded enthusiastically to her win and then had to repeat the process when Hurt Locker also beat Avatar for Best Picture.

The Office "Baby Event" struggles to be a special delivery

Ed Bark — 2010-03-04T15:19:28-06:00

"The One-Hour Office Baby Event," as NBC keeps billing it, seems more than a little too sitcom-y for a series of this caliber. ...Through it all, Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) as always makes an ass of himself, whether trying to act as a matchmaker or racing off to the hospital with the expectant couple in tow.

Wink, blink, nod

Ed Bark — 2010-03-03T12:04:17-06:00

But hey, so have Bob Eubanks and Bob Costas, neither of whom would probably be caught dead in the above "electric peacock colors and day-glo ties" that Wink's proudly sporting. ... As long as we're on this admittedly bizarro topic, let me admit to really liking Lambert's performance of "Sleepwalker" on Leno's Tonight.

Leno re-takes Tonight, knowing that this time NBC will keep its hands off

Ed Bark — 2010-03-02T10:50:19-06:00

Sporting a new desk but sticking to the same format, Jay Leno welcomed Jamie Foxx on his first Tonight do-over Monday. NBC photo By ED BARK Like it or not, he's back. ...Yeah, except for her impromptu December appearance on O'Brien's Tonight, during which she mockingly read excerpts from one of William Shatner's books after he mockingly read excerpts from her Going Rogue.

NBC's Parenthood a long-needed feather in Peacock's plumage

Ed Bark — 2010-03-01T16:07:52-06:00

It's a Baker's Dozen of Bravermans in NBC's Parenthood. NBC photo Premiering: Tuesday, March 2nd at 9 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Lauren Graham, Peter Krause, Craig T. ...The drama initially unfolds with few if any genuine surprises, whether it's the grousing, old-school Zeek melting like buttah at crunch time or the insecure Sarah rising to the occasion of an impromptu date with a balding old high school flame whom she initially sees as an even bigger loser.

Young's "Long May You Run" had familiar NBC ring to it; Marriage Ref launch then waylays Olympics' closing ceremonies

Ed Bark — 2010-03-01T00:03:10-06:00

Determined to give Jerry Seinfeld's The Marriage Ref a showcase sneak preview, NBC plopped it in the middle of its live coverage of the Olympics' closing ceremonies Sunday night. ...But a half-hour edition of Marriage Ref, which NBC did not make available for review, instead served as a bridge between the Peacock's prime-time and late night coverage of the Vancouver curtain-closer.

Sheen again enters rehab; CBS suspends production on Two and a Half Men

Ed Bark — 2010-02-23T18:15:10-06:00

Two and a Half Men stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. By ED BARK Another highly profitable production has been shut down while its star player goes into rehab. ...Television and Two and a Half Men creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre announced early Tuesday evening that work on prime-time's most popular sitcom "will be temporarily suspended" while star Charlie Sheen undergoes voluntary in-patient care at a treatment center.

ABC News plans big cuts as part of widespread digital age transformation

Ed Bark — 2010-02-23T17:23:48-06:00

ABC News president David Westin announced big changes Tuesday. By ED BARK Company-wide buyouts, further consolidation and a "fundamental transformation that will ultimately affect every corner" of ABC News were dropped like a bomb Tuesday by news president David Westin. He tried to do it in a statesmanlike way, first praising the programs he presides over as "stronger today than they were 10 years ago." But in "the middle of a revolution" and in the heart of the digital age, ABC News must adapt or perish, he said in a memo to staffers.

The Olympian hair of Bob Costas: a seminar

Ed Bark — 2010-02-22T12:03:07-06:00

Costas chronologically -- and currently on NBC from Vancouver. By ED BARK First let's re-state the obvious: Bob Costas is one of the best sportscasters ever, perhaps the greatest of all time. ...Bob Barker had the fortitude to renounce his hair dye bottle during the height of his fame as host of CBS' The Price Is Right.

A sorry apology from Woods? Not in this view

Ed Bark — 2010-02-19T10:37:28-06:00

"Please know that as far as I am concerned, every one of these questions and answers is a matter between Elin and me," Woods said before pointedly scolding those in the media who directed their glares on his immediate family. ...But Woods is absolutely right in his decision to not go public about who he slept with, how Elin found out and all the other attendant juice that has so many media outlets slobbering.

HBO's Reporter documentary strives to stir hearts by personalizing the war-torn Congo

Ed Bark — 2010-02-18T12:34:08-06:00

The 90-minute documentary film (Thursday, Feb. 18th, 8:30 p.m. central), executive-produced by Ben Affleck and directed/narrated by Eric Daniel Metzgar, is up-front about both its intentions and the steep curve it faces in getting people to spend time with the ongoing genocide in the so-called Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...One also can question Kristof's decision to make an appearance on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, where the host makes him the butt of jokes while doing his usual play-acting as a pompous, right-wing truth-teller.

Jerry's Palace anointed anew on truTV's NFL Full Contact

Ed Bark — 2010-02-15T11:24:04-06:00

The NBA All-Stars packed 'em in at Cowboys Stadium. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK It seems like only yesterday -- and in fact it was -- that Cowboys Stadium had a national platform as "the most glossy home ever to welcome the wonders of the game." ..."What the Roman Colosseum was to the first century is what Cowboys Stadium is to the 21st century," NBC Sunday Night Football announcer Al Michaels said by way of introduction to the team's eventual 33-31 loss to the New York Giants before an NFL record crowd of 105,121 on Sept. 20th.

Cowboy Colby and friends (and enemies) go back to the bush for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains

Ed Bark — 2010-02-11T08:14:19-06:00

Veteran vixen Jerri Manthey with CBS pres./CEO Leslie Moonves. The Heroes vs. Villains mix also includes flirty Jerri Manthey, who tried to play Delilah to Donaldson's Samson in Australian Outback before he eventually conspired to cut her loose. ... Competitors Rupert Boneham, Jerri Manthey and Russell Hantz flank host Jeff Probst and creator/executive producer Mark Burnett. The 20th edition of Survivor, which also is tied to the 10th anniversary of the show, oddly is without anyone from the 2000 trailblazer, won by duplicitous Richard Hatch.

Fox's Past Life needs to find a pulse

Ed Bark — 2010-02-09T12:03:22-06:00

Kelli Giddish heads the cast of Fox's new Past Life. Fox photo Premiering: Tuesday, Feb. 9th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox before moving to 8 p.m. Thursdays Starring: Kelli Giddish, Nicholas Bishop, Richard Schiff, Ravi Patel Produced by: David Hudgins, Lou Pitt ...Inspired by the novel The Reincarnationist, this is a largely labored effort starring former All My Children regular Kelli Giddish as Dr. Kate McGinn, a psychologist "dedicated to the study of the science of the soul," according to Fox publicity materials.

Super Bowl XLIV mashes MAS*H finale, says CBS

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T14:40:45-06:00

Averaging 106.5 million viewers in the preliminary national Nielsens, the game edges CBS' Feb. 28, 1983 telecast of the M*A*S*H finale, which had 106 million viewers. ...CBS says that the first episode of Undercover Boss is the most-watched series premiere in any time slot since ABC launched the variety series Dolly (starring Dolly Parton) on Sept. 27, 1987.

NFL Full Contact rings false on truTV

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T13:38:09-06:00

The Steelers' Troy Polamalu let himself be miniaturized in a "Six more weeks of football" Super Bowl ad for truTV's NFL Full Contact. Premiering: Monday, Feb. 8th at 9 p.m. (central) on truTV Starring: A collection of behind-the-scenes guys Produced by: Steve Sabol ...Full Contact, judging from the opening episode, is puff for the NFL and fluff when it comes to what publicity materials tout as "the unpredictable challenges and conflicts that ensue in the high-stakes atmosphere that extends from the sidelines to the television truck to the locker room to the halftime show."

Come together: Letterman and Leno play act with Oprah as buffer

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T09:36:28-06:00

Chips in their mouths and on their shoulders. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK The surprise spot of Super Bowl XLIV came at the 9:34 mark of the second quarter, when Indiana native David Letterman in a Colts jersey whined, "This is the worst Super bowl party ever." ...So this was a perfect way for her to play referee, with Letterman and Leno at least appearing in close proximity to one another for the first time in more than a decade.

Jobs well done: CBS' post-Super Bowl Undercover Boss pays as it goes

Ed Bark — 2010-02-05T13:39:50-06:00

O'Donnell infiltrates his own company by posing as Randy Lawrence, whose adventures as an entry level worker are being recorded by a camera crew as grist for a possible reality series. ...This provides the star of this hour with some built-in empathy before he tries to master the art of picking recyclable cardboard off a fast-moving conveyor belt while being encouraged by a dedicated employee named Sandy.

Danes in full bloom as autistic heroine of HBO's Temple Grandin

Ed Bark — 2010-02-04T16:32:47-06:00

Claire Danes talks up the HBO film Temple Grandin at Television Critics Association "press tour" in Pasadena. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK This is such a good film. ...The film begins in 1966, with Temple spending the summer at her Aunt Ann's (Catherine O'Hara) cattle ranch in Arizona before being asked to make an abrupt transition to Franklin Pierce College out East.

Jones 'n' Joplin -- still smokin' after all these years

Ed Bark — 2010-02-04T09:59:53-06:00

For a truly blazin' hot twofer, though, return with us to 1969's This Is Tom Jones, during which the swivel-hipped underwear-catcher smoked TV screens with a wailing Janis Joplin. Their performance of "Raise Your Hand" remains a wonder to behold -- and that includes the unbridled joyous dancing and a full-blown horn section.

Lost returns with double shots of intrigue (note: don't read if you still plan to see it)

Ed Bark — 2010-02-03T07:50:43-06:00

In a dual device that few fans could have envisioned, Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox); apprehended fugitive Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly); con man James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway); paralyzed John Locke (Terry O'Quinn); former torturer Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews); lottery winner Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia) and husband/wife Jin and Sun Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim) were all back aboard their Oceanic 815 flight from Sydney to L.A. ..."I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he told a cowed Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), who's been reduced to his intimidated gofer while fake Locke has emerged as the island's brusque, sometimes brutal overlord.

Will Lost find a way? The climactic Season 6 is ready for takeoff

Ed Bark — 2010-02-01T14:26:25-06:00

producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse serve appetizers at last month's TV Critics Association "press tour" in Pasadena. By ED BARK The Lost bandwagon has lost much of its load over the years. ...

Better late than never? Conan's last week a ratings triumph (plus, the Grammys get the words out)

Ed Bark — 2010-02-01T00:08:30-06:00

For their entire run against each other, Letterman had averaged 4.2 million total viewers a week, with ABC's Nightline second (3.9 million) and O'Brien far back with 2.8 million viewers. ...Jay Leno, who had dominated Letterman in both ratings measurements, gets a do-over on March 1st when he returns as Tonight host after a disastrous run in prime-time that will end on the Feb. 11th eve of the Winter Olympics.

"Just Jay and Oprah, speaking titan to titan"

Ed Bark — 2010-01-29T11:15:45-06:00

On Thursday's Jimmy Kimmel Live, he rebutted Jay Leno's contention -- on that day's interview with Oprah Winfrey -- that Kimmel had "sucker-punched" him during a "10 at 10" segment in which Kimmel took the opportunity to mock Leno. ...It's all in the not-to-be-missed clip below, which also includes excerpts from Kimmel's Jay Leno Show appearance and Leno's response when Winfrey asked him about it.

Instant classic: The Late Night War in faux Ken Burns fashion

Ed Bark — 2010-01-22T14:33:20-06:00

ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live gave the Leno/Conan festivities a Ken Burns touch Thursday night in a mockumentary titled The Late Night War. Favorite image: NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker in a Civil War era outhouse reading "Running a Network for Dummies."

Syfy's Caprica ready to launch as 'frak'-fueled Battlestar Galactica prequel

Ed Bark — 2010-01-22T11:01:17-06:00

Friday's two-hour premiere also makes ample room for wealthy technology genius Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz), whose wife, Amanda (Paula Malcomson), is having a particularly vexing time with their rebellious teen daughter, Zoe (Alessandra Torresani). ...For the most part, Capricans bow to multiple gods while Zoe and some of her allies have had the temerity to worship a single supreme being who frowns on the planet's rampant materialism and immorality.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand spews, spurts and somehow makes it work

Ed Bark — 2010-01-21T15:12:17-06:00

Spartacus staves off a sub-human in the dreaded "Pit." Premiering: Friday, Jan. 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on Starz Starring: Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Viva Blanca, Craig Prker, Jai Courtney, Erin Cummings, Nick E. ...Balking at contrary orders from Roman commander Glaber (Craig Parker), he eventually is separated from his beauteous wife Sura (Erin Cummings) and sentenced to a kill-or-be-killed life of gladiator-dom.

Leno returning to saddle, Conan hitting the beach

Ed Bark — 2010-01-21T11:14:44-06:00

Jay Leno, pushed into prime-time after O'Brien took over Tonight, will return as the show's host on March 1st after NBC's telecasts of the Winter Olympics from Vancouver. ...Post-Leno -- at least in terms of his prime-time show -- the Peacock will be puttying its 9 p.m. (central) hour after the Olympics with two Law & Order hours, an expanded Dateline NBC, the new scripted series Parenthood and The Marriage Ref, a comedy panel show produced by Jerry Seinfeld.

ABC's The Deep End lawyers up without making much of a case

Ed Bark — 2010-01-20T12:35:37-06:00

Rookie lawyers sink or swim in The Deep End. ABC photo By ED BARK Premiering: Thursday, Jan. 21st at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Matt Long, Billy Zane, Leah Pipes, Clancy Brown, Tina Majorino, Norbert Leo Butz, Ben Lawson, Mehcad Brooks, Nicole Ari Parker, Rosa Pasquarella Produced by: David Hemingson, Jan Nash ...Their whipcracker -- and designated "Prince of Darkness" -- is hard-hearted, self-absorbed Cliff Huddle (Billy Zane sporting a shaved head), whose authority is threatened by the return of firm namesake Hart Sterling (Clancy Brown), who's been off tending to his ill wife.

CW's Life Unexpected is another one of life's little disappointments

Ed Bark — 2010-01-18T13:18:23-06:00

Britt Robertson stars as wayward Lux in CW's Life Unexpected. Premiering: Monday, Jan. 18th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Britt Robertson, Shiri Appleby, Krostoffer Polaha, Kerr Smith, Autin Basis, Reggie Austin Produced by: Liz Tigelaar, Janet Leahy ...Whatever your age, it's way too hard to swallow the premise that the irresistibly cute and smart Lux went unadopted because she had a hole in her heart that required a series of surgeries until the age of three.

Glee, Mad Men win top TV Globes

Ed Bark — 2010-01-17T23:32:05-06:00

Hall wins one at Sunday's 67th Golden Globe awards on NBC. Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Cable copped eight of the 11 TV awards during Sunday night's Golden Globes show on NBC, but one of the big ones went to Fox's Glee. "This is for anybody and everybody who got a wedgie in high school," executive producer Ryan Murphy said after the first-year series won in the best comedy or musical category.

Fox's Human Target triggers another alpha male into action

Ed Bark — 2010-01-17T16:00:58-06:00

Human Target's Chi McBride, Mark Valley, Jackie Earle Haley Premiering: Sunday, Jan. 17th at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Mark Valley, Chi McBride, Jackie Earle Haley Produced by: McG, Jonathan E. ...The broad, oft-preposterous action-adventure of Human Target turns out to be a nice, breezy break from the clench-jawed 24 motif or the perplexing, strung-out "mythologies" that drove both Terminator and Dollhouse.

Which network can't you do without?

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T16:15:19-06:00

As of this writing, Cablevision is still warring with Food Network and HGTV after dropping them from its systems earlier this month rather than pay the markedly higher carriage fees being sought by their proprietor, Scripps Networks. And at the end of last year, Time Warner Cable and Fox Networks Group had a big bout on a similar front, with their main disagreement over "retransmission" fees for Fox's broadcast channel, home of American Idol, The Simpsons and House.

Look out below: FX's animated Archer is fit for an R-rated review

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T14:18:23-06:00

ISIS also is populated by the aforementioned lush Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler); plus-sized human resources director Pam (Amber Nash); dutiful secretary Cheryl (Judy Greer) and comptroller Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell), who is Lana's new boyfriend. ...It's likely to hit the young male demo like a laser beam while also dragging along some older gray mules who can't help but be kind of amused by this equal opportunity offender.

The Simpsons: 20 years, 450 episodes and counting

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T14:18:00-06:00

Premiering as snippets on one of the Fox network's charter series -- The Tracey Ullman Show -- Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and an accompanying menagerie of fellow Springfield inhabitants first came to half-hour life in a Dec. 17, 1989 Christmas special. ...This is exactly the kind of cheeky approach that's worn so well, even if the show's maestros more or less acknowledge that The Simpsons perhaps isn't as funny now as it was a decade or so ago.

Hume calls Tiger home; hue and cry ensues

Ed Bark — 2010-01-05T09:34:43-06:00

By ED BARK Brit Hume, the retired Fox news anchor now serving as a part-time commentator, is not known as a buttery, soft-serve guy. ...The comments came in the context of his New Year's message to Woods, who has not been glimpsed in public since his exhaustively chronicled Thanksgiving night smashup and resultant disclosure of extramarital affairs.

ABC's love connections are hardly heart-healthy

Ed Bark — 2010-01-03T22:08:51-06:00

For openers, studly Dallas flyboy Jake Pavelka begins sorting through 25 awestruck beauties on ABC's two-hour premiere of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (7 p.m. central). ...Then comes Conveyor Belt of Love (9 p.m. central), a one-hour special apparently designed to pound brain cells senseless with a two-by-four before implanting them in Joey Lawrence.

Countdown to Christmas: climactic Video 12

Ed Bark — 2009-12-23T10:12:31-06:00

We end our Countdown extravaganza with the inimitable Darlene Love's full-blown performance of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home") on Late Show with David Letterman ...Love will return to Late Show on Wed., Dec. 23rd to sing "Christmas" for the 24th consecutive year.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 11

Ed Bark — 2009-12-22T09:26:28-06:00

Win or lose, Dallas Cowboys players always find a way to make their annual Christmas season visits to area children's hospitals. ...You can feel the glow from players and kids alike in this nicely done uplifter by WFAA8's Joe Trahan.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 10

Ed Bark — 2009-12-21T10:41:27-06:00

Last year's "Thank God For Kids" segment included Hansen's much-noted commentary on both his shortcomings as a father and his grown children's supposedly childish ways. This year he stayed away from that very touchy topic, instead gently talking about his 16-year-old granddaughter and a longtime friend who recently lost his 20-year-old son in a car accident.

Everyman "Charlie" Gibson signs off ABC's World News

Ed Bark — 2009-12-18T18:13:39-06:00

Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Charles Gibson ended his relatively brief reign as anchor of ABC's World News Friday, completing the broadcast amid applauding, tearful staffers. ...Gibson, 66, briefly yielded to his emotions before a film clip showed a who's who of dignitaries, including President Obama and the four living former U.S. presidents, saying farewell and wishing him well.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 9

Ed Bark — 2009-12-18T11:02:25-06:00

In the annals of out-of-Church Christmas carols, I'll take "The Christmas Song" over "White Christmas" as the all-time topper. And that takes us to Nat King Cole, who continues to sing it better than anybody 44 years after his death.

Lights, cameras, pageantry: TCM's Gigantic World of Epics is suitably towering

Ed Bark — 2009-12-17T13:41:18-06:00

TCM's one-hour The Gigantic World of Epics (Sunday, Dec. 20th at 7 p.m. central) is less than one-third the length of the real thing. ...Its spotlights shine brightest on Zhivago, Arabia, Gone with the Wind, The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, for which star Charlton Heston won a best actor Oscar in an epic best known for its unparalleled chariot race.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 8

Ed Bark — 2009-12-17T09:49:03-06:00

He's good-humored, gift-giving and a great dresser, too. ...Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph opened Saturday Night Live's 2006 Christmas special with this starry-eyed serenade to their would-be bearded beau, who likes his women naughty but nice.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 7

Ed Bark — 2009-12-16T08:43:45-06:00

That would be the "brilliance, clarity and beauty" of VistaVision, the high-definition of its day back in 1954. White Christmas, the first movie to fall under its spell, starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen.

TV newcomers make strong showings in Golden Globes comedy categories

Ed Bark — 2009-12-15T09:41:17-06:00

The cast of Modern Family will be out in force at Golden Globes. By ED BARK Newcomers Glee and Modern Family crashed the best comedy series category while established shows will battle it out in the drama division at next month's 67th Golden Globes awards. ...Also left empty-handed this time around were CBS' The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, Fox's 24, Showtime's The Tudors, ABC's FlashForward and HBO's In Treatment.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 6

Ed Bark — 2009-12-15T09:22:11-06:00

There are innumerable versions, but one of the best came just last night (Dec. 14) during the climactic minutes of ABC's Jennifer Hudson: I'll Be Home For Christmas. Feel the power as she sings in the hometown Chicago church where it all started for her.

NBC's post-Olympics schedule without Heroes but with another Trump card

Ed Bark — 2009-12-14T14:05:06-06:00

By ED BARK Heroes is out -- possibly for good -- but former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has another gig on NBC's post-Winter Olympics prime-time lineup, announced Monday. ...The scripted drama series Parenthood, originally announced for this fall, gets a delayed premiere on Monday, March 1st following Chuck, which relaunches on Sunday Jan. 10th with back-to-back episodes before moving to its regular night.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 5

Ed Bark — 2009-12-14T08:57:50-06:00

Ron Paul as Scrooge in moviedom's original The Christmas Carol. Actually, the above photo caption is a fib, even if Ron Paul as pictured would have made a great stand-in for Alastair Sim. ...Narrated to a chorus of "The First Noel," it positions Paul as the saviour of us all.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 4

Ed Bark — 2009-12-11T11:10:03-06:00

"Because it says 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy smoking' 200 times." Straight from the Mad Men era comes this one-minute ad for Lucky Strike cancer sticks in their specially designed holiday carton.

GMA tabs Stephanopoulos, Chang to replace re-assigned Sawyer, Cuomo

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T14:14:12-06:00

GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos and news reader Juju Chang. By ED BARK He'll have to act a whole lot goofier, for one, particularly during those cooking segments. ...GMA also is adding Juju Chang, 44, as the program's news reader, with Chris Cuomo becoming co-anchor of 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas and also serving as the network's chief justice and law correspondent.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 3

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T11:36:19-06:00

Does this qualify as an instant contemporary classic in the Christmas commercial genre? I think it does.

Sign o' the Apocalypse? ABC slots Conveyor Belt of Love after January premiere of new Bachelor

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T10:18:44-06:00

Here comes Conveyor Belt of Love. By ED BARK The Earth-invading aliens of ABC's V might have made a sharp U-turn back to Krypton had they known this was coming. ..."If two or more of the women are interested in the same man, the tables turn and the man on the conveyor belt gets to choose which one he would like to wait for."

Countdown to Christmas: Video 2

Ed Bark — 2009-12-09T18:01:40-06:00

Imagine little eyes lighting up when Milky the Marvelous Milking Cow emerged from under the tree.... Delbert the Degenerate Defecating Donkey never quite made it into stores, though.

Make an unjoyful noise: Glee taking winter off after Wednesday's "fall finale"

Ed Bark — 2009-12-08T17:29:44-06:00

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" (Rolling Stones) "Don't Rain On My Parade" (Barbra Streisand) "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (from the Dreamgirls soundtrack) "My Life Would Suck Without You" (Kelly Clarkson) ...***Also on the parting-is-such-sweet-sorrow beat, Showtime's Dexter winds up a riveting Season 4 on Sunday, Dec. 13th, with Michael C.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 1

Ed Bark — 2009-12-08T08:56:07-06:00

Television has provided innumerable Christmas moments and images over the years, some of them even classic. ...It all begins with this simple yet affecting black-and-white "Season's Greetings from CBS," circa 1966.

TNT's Men of a Certain Age gives older guys a welcome new guise

Ed Bark — 2009-12-07T09:56:47-06:00

In a very real sense, the Big Four broadcast networks (and little CW) no longer have any use for a weekly hour without gruesome crime, fantasy mythology or a cast predominated by characters almost a decade older than Brett Favre. ...Braugher, best known for his Emmy-winning work on Homicide: Life on the Street, is getting nowhere fast as Owen, a diabetic, overweight, married father of three who works for his stern father's car dealership.

Syfy's Alice "re-imagines" her as Wonderland-trapped action-hero

Ed Bark — 2009-12-04T14:39:06-06:00

Our heroine is a little boxed in during the early stages of Alice. By ED BARK Alice has a black belt in the martial arts, making her a formidable fighter for "The Resistance" in oppressed Wonderland. ...Syfy's four-hour Alice, premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing Monday at the same hour, bears the stamp of venerable Robert Halmi Sr. as co-executive producer.

Talkin' trash and grillin' for a grand prize on TLC's BBQ Pitmasters

Ed Bark — 2009-12-03T15:59:31-06:00

Texas BBQers Johnny Trigg (Alvarado) and Paul Petersen (McKinney) Premiering: Thursday, Dec. 3rd at 9 p.m. (central) on TLC Starring: A buncha BBQers, three hailing from Texas Produced by: Charlie Corwin/Original Media ...BBQ Pitmasters is kind of fun to watch, with the well-fed Mixon mixin' it up and pretty much casting himself as the guy on whom rivals and viewers would most like to bestow a can of whoop ass.

Comcast to take controlling interest of NBC Universal -- including that crummy old, loss-leading broadcast network

Ed Bark — 2009-12-03T11:51:17-06:00

A joint news release by Comcast and GE (which will retain a 49 percent ownership share for now), and CNBC's interview with the companies' CEOs accentuated the positives of cable's dual revenue streams and current-day profit margins. ...NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker will remain in place after taking the NBC broadcast network into a fourth-place dumper while at the same time building the company's growing arsenal of cable networks into big-time profit centers.

Jesse Ventura body slams brain cells in truTV's Conspiracy Theory

Ed Bark — 2009-12-02T13:28:51-06:00

Jesse Ventura strikes a pose for Conspiracy Theory. Turner photo Premiering: Wednesday, Dec. 2nd at 9 p.m. (central) on truTV Starring: Jesse Ventura Produced by: Jesse Ventura, Arthur Smith, Kent Weed, Frank Sinton, Michael Braverman, Barry Bloom ...An accompanying soundtrack, replete with drum-beating and other notes of urgency, quickly chaperones Ventura and a camera crew to the very gates of hell, where the former Navy SEAL is told by a man with a digitized head and altered voice that he won't be getting an impromptu tour of the HAARP facility.

Bravo? Not so for Lauer and the Salahis during Tuesday's Today show interview

Ed Bark — 2009-12-01T10:07:11-06:00

It had been reported that Michaele and Tareq Salahi were trying to negotiate a big payday for their first TV interview after bagging out on Monday night's edition of CNN's Larry King Live. ...Representatives of the Bravo cable network, owned by NBC Universal, have acknowledged filming the Salahis on the day and night they successfully made their way into last Tuesday's State Dinner, where they were photographed with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden among others.

Salahis will see Lauer -- apparently for free -- on Tuesday's Today.

Ed Bark — 2009-12-01T00:29:20-06:00

After bagging out on Monday's edition of CNN's Larry King Live, America's most famous uninvited guests, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, instead have granted their first TV interview to NBC's Today. NBC Universal trumpeted the booking in a Monday night publicity release issued just a handful of hours before the preening pair are scheduled to sit down with Matt Lauer on the Tuesday, Dec. 1st Today.

Idol marked for Jan. 12th return, Glee takes winter off in new midseason Fox lineup

Ed Bark — 2009-11-24T17:28:51-06:00

1 with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds and poised to win its first November "sweeps" ever in that demographic, Fox starts piling on again in January with the annual return of American Idol and some notable schedule shifts. ...Sons of Tucson, a new, live-action family comedy about three brothers who hire a "charming, wayward schemer" to stand in for their jailed dad, will launch on Sunday, March 14th in a slot between The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Latest Kennedy assassination rewind retains a firm grip

Ed Bark — 2009-11-23T10:35:45-06:00

Premiering one day removed from the 46th anniversary of President Kennedy's last day, it's two hours shorter than History Channel's two-part, four-hour JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America, which aired in early October as part of that network's "Kennedy DeClassified Week." ...Most jarring of all, though, is a local TV reporter (again off-camera and unidentified) telling viewers, "The report is that the attempted assassins, we now hear it was a man and a woman who fired the shots were on the ledge of a building near the Houston Street underpass."

Lost to be found on Tuesdays next year

Ed Bark — 2009-11-19T15:52:41-06:00

By ED BARK The sixth and last season of Lost will launch on Tuesday, Feb. 2nd with a two-hour premiere, ABC announced Thursday. Lost then will shift to a new Tuesday 8 p.m. (central) slot on Feb. 9th.

Sarah and Oprah -- not really worth bookmarking

Ed Bark — 2009-11-16T18:07:17-06:00

Did Palin feel "snubbed" by The Oprah Winfrey Show after the Queen of Talk very publicly endorsed Barack Obama before deciding against inviting any of the candidates to chat with her? "No offense to you, but it wasn't the center of my universe" at the time, Palin said, prompting Winfrey to look just a bit taken aback before quickly recovering.

Take a number: AMC's The Prisoner strives to be six hours that count

Ed Bark — 2009-11-13T06:40:33-06:00

15th at 7 p.m. (central) on AMC and continuing at the same time Monday and Tuesday Starring; Ian McKellen, Jim Caviezel, Hayley Atwell, Ruth Wilson, Lennie James, Rachael Blake, Jamie Campbell Bower Produced by: Bill Gallagher, Michele Buck, Damien Timmer, Rebecca Keane ...Other key players are Two's pill-fed, oft-comatose wife, M2 (Rachael Blake); their rebellious teen or twentysomething son 11-12 (Jamie Campbell Bower); and a doctor known as 313 (Ruth Wilson).

Dobbs leaves CNN behind (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-11-12T08:10:04-06:00

Known best for his unbridled criticisms of U.S. immigration policy -- which he believes is too lax -- Dobbs said that "some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving, as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day. ...Dobbs had been reprimanded by his CNN bosses, principally president Jon Klein, for his advocacy positions on a network that is still striving to carve out neutral territory between the right-leaning Fox News Channel and left-leaning MSNBC.

Hank, Dollhouse join evictee list

Ed Bark — 2009-11-11T16:53:21-06:00

Kelsey Grammer of ABC's Hank; Eliza Dushku of Fox's Dollhouse. By ED BARK After minimal herding in the early going, TV's cancellation corral is starting to fill up. ...Fox's Dollhouse, in its sophomore year, will go out of production after this season's initial order of 13 episodes is completed, the network announced.

Apocalypse -- not now but then

Ed Bark — 2009-11-10T17:19:38-06:00

So it's hard to know how much of Smithsonian Channel's six-hour Apocalypse lives up to claims that most of its footage is hardly same-old, same-old. ...Hour 3 ("Shock"), also sent for review, is starker and more powerful in its footage of the Nazi Army's march toward Moscow in conditions ranging from dusty/bumpy to impossibly muddy to brutally cold.

HBO's The Pacific coming in March

Ed Bark — 2009-11-10T11:14:53-06:00

Here are two initial looks at The Pacific, with the first clip offering a brief collection of scenes and the second featuring Hanks, Spielberg and others talking about how they approached this daunting project....

Yanks-Phils highest-rated Series in five years

Ed Bark — 2009-11-06T17:09:31-06:00

Parade rest: Yankees and fans celebrate 2009 World Series win. By ED BARK The final national Nielsen ratings are in for the 2009 World Series, which drew the biggest audiences since the Boston Red Sox swept the St. ...The New York Yankees' 6-game triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies averaged 19.4 million viewers nationally after last fall's rain-soaked Phils-Rays 5-gamer hit an all-time low with 13.6 million viewers.

Minority report: Lopez, Sykes gear up for after-hours

Ed Bark — 2009-11-06T11:54:54-06:00

"Being of a different ethnicity and a different comedic approach, I don't think we're going after the same audience" as rival late night shows, Lopez says. ...Both late nighters are scheduled opposite local newscasts, with Sykes getting a half-hour head start on NBC's Saturday Night Live and Lopez doing likewise with NBC's Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and CBS' Late Show With David Letterman.

Levi Johnston and attorney not all atwitter over Tonight/Shatner sketch

Ed Bark — 2009-11-05T14:43:53-06:00

By ED BARK Vagabond scumbag Levi Johnston reportedly is demanding a retraction from The Tonight Show after William Shatner's dramatic readings of some of his alleged Twitter posts. ...Johnston, who's been all over the bottom-feeding media of late, is the father of Palin's grandson, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, and the former fiance of Palin's daughter, Bristol.

Peacock plucked again

Ed Bark — 2009-11-03T17:14:53-06:00

At the same time it will have to re-program the 9 p.m. (central) hour with scripted dramas in hopes that one or more of them will be a reasonable facsimile of the next ER. For now, though, and likely for the rest of the 2009-10 TV season, NBC can thank its lucky stars for Sunday Night Football while waiting for the roof to cave in after a brief respite with the Winter Olympics.

ABC's V "re-imagines" NBC original -- but with flair

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T15:59:15-06:00

3rd at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Joel Gretsch, Scott Wolf, Morris Chestnut, Logan Huffman, Lourdes Benedict, Laura Vandervoort Produced by: Scott Peters, Jeffrey Bell, Steve Pearlman, Jace Hall ...And when you get right down to it, V then as now is about a clandestine master plan by camouflaged, lizard-skinned "Visitors" to take over Earth after wiping out its inhabitants.

Barry Levinson's Poliwood has less depth than plywood

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T10:57:36-06:00

Therefore he's heavily interspersed throughout the film, cast as an earnest truth-seeker who climactically speaks at length about himself as a man of humble origins who may have a gardener now but worked at a number of menial jobs before striking it rich. Other celebs making more than cameo appearances include Susan Sarandon, Ellen Burstyn, Matthew Modine, Spike Lee, Anne Hathaway, Josh Lucas, Graham Nash and David Crosby, who tells Levinson that his dad was the cinematographer on the classic 1952 film High Noon before being blacklisted by Hollywood.

24 begins countdown to Season 8

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T01:48:27-06:00

This obviously can't go well for him, unless the kid enjoys Gymboree with live weaponry. Season 8 of Fox's 24 begins on Jan. 17th with the traditional two-hour launch.

FX's The League plays fantasy football under TV-MA rules

Ed Bark — 2009-10-27T17:38:56-05:00

Five zeroes can add up to some funny stuff on FX's The League. Premiering: Thursday, Oct. 30th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on FX Starring: Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Stephen Rannazzisi, Paul Scheer, Jon Lajoie, Katie Aselton, Nadine Velazquez, Leslie Bibb Created and produced by: Jeff Schaffer, Jackie Marcus Schaffer ...The starting gun is fired on Thursday, Oct. 29th at 9:30 p.m. (central), following FX's long-running It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

Friday Night Lights kicks off Season 4 with sharp new battle lines drawn

Ed Bark — 2009-10-27T13:32:44-05:00

Wednesday's reboot (8 p.m. central on DirecTV's "The 101 Network") features three fistfights, a volatile parents-principal meeting and a full-blown rage by Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), who's been exiled via re-districting to butt-ugly, cash-poor, blackboard jungle-ish East Dillon High. ...Other Season 4 additions are Jess Meriweather (Jurnee Smollett), a female East Dillon student with a football mind, and Becky Sproles (Madison Burge), 15-year-old daughter of a bar-tending mom bedded by recent West Dillon grad and star fullback Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch).

And now for something completely stupid -- the Obama administration vs. Fox News Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-10-23T13:46:37-05:00

As deputy White House press secretary Dan Pfeiffer said in the Times article, "We simply decided to stop abiding by the fiction, which is aided and abetted by the mainstream press, that Fox is a traditional news organization." ... Obama acolytes Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow Thirdly and most important, the administration already has a house organ of its own -- MSNBC.

While NBC blows it, sister network USA gives viewers another cool breeze

Ed Bark — 2009-10-22T14:36:37-05:00

The Friday, Oct. 23rd launch of White Collar (9 p.m. central) affords USA another chance to look down its nose at corporate sibling NBC, which used to be somebody in the grand scheme of things. ...But it all comes off quite winningly, giving USA another bright light in its growing galaxy while NBC can do no better of late than to announce a spinoff of The Biggest Loser titled Losing It with Jillian.

Local boy makes good on The Jeff Dunham Show -- which otherwise is terrible

Ed Bark — 2009-10-22T10:58:15-05:00

Jeff Dunham (middle) with characters Bubba J and Walter Premiering:Thursday, Oct. 22nd at 8 p.m. (central) on Comedy Central Starring: Jeff Dunham and his assorted characters Produced by: Jeff Dunham, Ross McCall, Aaron Peters, Judi Brown-Marmel, Robert Hartmann, Stu Schreiberg ...Oddly enough, it's the old-line broadcast networks leading a mini-comedy revolution this season with critically praised newcomers (ABC's Modern Family and The Middle) and holdovers such as NBC's 30 Rock and CBS' The Big Bang Theory.

CNN's Latino In America documentary puts Soledad O'Brien in the midst of minority explosion

Ed Bark — 2009-10-21T13:40:10-05:00

Soledad O'Brien with actress Eva Longoria Parker. CNN photos By ED BARK CNN publicity materials very charitably tout Latino In America as "one of the most highly anticipated documentaries ever." ...O'Brien chummily accompanies the excitable Lorena on her mission to become a Food Network personality, even though she's supposedly already a big star on the Spanish language network's Wake Up America.

Guess you could call it character development

Ed Bark — 2009-10-19T11:36:36-05:00

By ED BARK The November issues of Gentlemen's Quarterly and Maxim perhaps won't be purchased for the articles. Particularly GQ, whose cover girl, January Jones, otherwise emotes as Betty Draper on AMC's Mad Men.

Lifetime's Sorority Wars "rushes" without a football

Ed Bark — 2009-10-16T15:14:16-05:00

Lifetime's Sorority Wars (Saturday, Oct. 17th at 8 p.m. central) sprinkles a few lessons to live by into a pretty entertaining little story about the snippy, snooty Deltas vs. the more down-to-earth but still cute/cool Kappas. ...Lutie's best pal, Summer (Faith Ford), is an even more devout Delta alum whose self-important daughter, Gwen (Amanda Schull), is already sworn in. She considers Katie a prize recruit who only needs to get her nose a little higher in the air.

CBS cleans up and shares the wealth with arsenal of hits in last hour of prime-time

Ed Bark — 2009-10-15T17:19:31-05:00

9 p.m. hit and miss: CBS' CSI: NY and ABC's Eastwick By ED BARK Some networks know how to take care of both their owned and affiliated stations. ...We're talking specifically about late night local newscasts, and a network's ability to help make or break them with the popularity of its 9 p.m. (central) programming.

Rock's hard place: it's still a struggle on NBC's weak-kneed Thursday night schedule

Ed Bark — 2009-10-15T10:54:32-05:00

30 Rock, again stuck with a late fall season start, is funny as ever in Thursday's 8:30 p.m. (central) slot, where the Season 4 premiere begins with a cost-cutting "cheesie blaster" staff dinner at a Manhattan eatery. In tough times, bossman Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) has a new "reaching-out-to-the-country" initiative in mind for TGS, the sketch comedy show produced by Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).

The Bachelor recycles another North Texan for 14th go-around

Ed Bark — 2009-10-14T15:36:27-05:00

Jake Pavelka with Jillian Harris, who jilted him. ABC photo By ED BARK After crash-landing last season with Bachelorette Jillian Harris, Dallas pilot Jake Pavelka gets another flight in January as the star of ABC's The Bachelor: Wings of Love. ...His parents lived in Dallas at the time, and Michel took the show's three finalists home to meet mom and pop. He eventually settled on Amanda Marsh, rejecting future Bachelorette star Trista Rehn, still the only contestant to actually marry a suitor -- firefighter Ryan Sutter.

Baez then and now in exemplary American Masters portrait

Ed Bark — 2009-10-14T08:00:14-05:00

Joan Baez's most famous lyric -- about Bob Dylan and from "Diamonds & Rust" -- could just as easily be the subtitle of Wednesday's American Masters tribute to her. ...

Yanks-Dodgers would be a homerun series for Fox

Ed Bark — 2009-10-12T11:35:44-05:00

The Yankees of course are baseball's marquee team, with a multi-millionaire roster including Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez (still in search of his first World Series ring), Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, etc. There also are the storied Yankees-Dodgers Series of the past, with New York's Don Larsen pitching a perfect game in 1956 and Reggie Jackson hitting three home runs in 1977's climactic Game 6.

Yet another JFK assassination special is nonetheless a grabber -- this time on the History Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-10-09T12:03:39-05:00

Premiering Sunday, Oct. 11th at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing at the same hour Monday, 3 Shots is the featured attraction of History Channel's so-called "Kennedy Declassified Week." ...On his old New York-based Tonight Show, he interviewed New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, whose dogged, but largely discredited assassination investigation was lionized in director Oliver Stone's controversial JFK film.

Worst show on TV? From this view, it's ET

Ed Bark — 2009-10-07T11:50:46-05:00

When not bone-picking, ET resorts to omnipresent Marie Osmond. By ED BARK What's the worst show on TV? ...Through it all, hosts Mary Hart and Mark Steines -- in league with the show's toadying corps of "correspondents" -- unfailingly coo, gush and promote themselves in a manner that almost cries out for repeal of the First Amendment.

Oh what a night: Letterman revisits his sex scandal with jokes/apology; Favre gives the Pack a cheese wedgie; DeLay outscores "The Playmaker" despite dancing on two fractured feet

Ed Bark — 2009-10-06T10:16:19-05:00

"It did not occur to me," he said, that reporters "would start hounding the staff" after he told the world of a $2 million extortion plot tied to his admitted sexual dalliances with several women who had worked for him or, in the case of Stephanie Birkitt, are still Late Show employees. ...Still, Monday's performance only served to raise more questions about the moral compass and overall equilibrium of a 62-year-old man who professed to be surprised that anyone would be interested in which Late Show staffers had sex with him -- and when.

Better than nothing: Curb kicks off Seinfeld "reunion" episodes

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T14:59:12-05:00

Sunday's third of 10 episodes (8 p.m. central on HBO) puts Curb's mock Seinfeld reunion in motion, with Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards all in the picture as themselves. ...He's referring to the May 14, 1998 Seinfeld swan song, in which Jerry, George, Elaine Benes (Dreyfus) and Kramer (Richards) ended up behind bars serving a one-year sentence for "crimes against humanity."

New season: CBS' Three Rivers is decidedly watery medical drama

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T09:22:51-05:00

Picturesque Alex O'Loughlin stars in Three Rivers. CBS photo Premiering: Sunday, Oct. 4th at 8 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Alex O'Loughlin, Katherine Moennig, Daniel Henney, Christopher J. ...At center stage is Dr. Andy Yablonski, played by former vampire Alex O'Loughlin of CBS' short-lived but perhaps ahead-of-its-time Moonlight series.

NBC's cancellation of JAG paying off more than ever for CBS

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T03:55:34-05:00

And it all goes back to the Peacock's decision, at the end of the 1995-'96 season, to cancel a little show called JAG after just one year on the air. ...The two military-themed dramas also have helped to make a first-year hit of CBS' following The Good Wife, which is easily winning its 9 p.m. (central) time period opposite NBC's The Jay Leno Show and ABC's new The Forgotten.

CBS again keeps showing improvement while NBC circles drain

Ed Bark — 2009-09-30T11:25:46-05:00

NBC's Sunday Night Football, virtually single-handedly keeping the Peacock afloat, had the most 18-to-49-year-olds (8.901 million) in a photo finish with Fox's runner-up House (8.862 million) and ABC's third-place Grey's Anatomy (8.848 million). ...NCIS: Los Angeles -- 18.7 million The Good Wife (CBS) -- 13.7 million Modern Family (ABC) -- 12.6 million FlashForward (ABC) -- 12.5 million Cougar Town (ABC) -- 11.3 million The Forgotten (ABC) and The Cleveland Show (Fox) -- 9.5 million Accidentally On Purpose (CBS) -- 8.9 million Eastwick (ABC) -- 8.5 million Mercy (NBC) -- 8.4 million Brothers (Fox) -- 2.7 million

New season: ABC laughs last with fall's final pairing of new sitcoms -- Hank and The Middle

Ed Bark — 2009-09-29T13:41:04-05:00

Kelsey Grammer and drama queen daughter Maddie (Jordan Hinson). Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 30th at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Melinda McGraw, David Koechner, Jordan Hinson, Nathan Gamble Produced by: Tom Werner, Tucker Cawley, Kelsey Grammer, Mike Clements ... Beaten down but not counted out: Patricia Heaton in The Middle. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 30th at 7:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher, Atticus Shaffer, Chris Kattan, Brian Doyle-Murray Produced by: DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler

New season: NBC's Trauma strives to survive with Tyrannosaurus Wrecks

Ed Bark — 2009-09-28T08:46:39-05:00

Cliff Curtis co-stars in NBC's explosive Trauma. NBC photos Premiering: Monday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Cliff Curtis, Derek Luke, Anastasia Griffith, Aimee Garcia, Kevin Rankin, Taylor Kinney, Jamey Sheridan Produced by: Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey, Jeffrey Reiner, Peter Noah, Dario Scardapane ...So that won't help its chances on a Monday night when it then must face off at 8 p.m. (central) against CBS' hit comedies and ABC's expanded editions of Dancing with the Stars.

New season: Fox's The Cleveland Show is black and white -- and blue

Ed Bark — 2009-09-27T11:30:24-05:00

The humor is rife with shock value, whether it's Lester and his wife dining on a dead dog named Meadowlark Lemon in Episode 2 or Family Guy patriarch Peter Griffin opening Sunday's premiere episode by chortling, "And that is how I got Liza Minnelli's poop on my shoe." ...Lithgow also can be seen in the flesh on Showtime's Dexter, which returns for a fourth season Sunday at 8 p.m. (central). He's playing the not-so-mild mannered Walter Simmons, dubbed "The Trinity Killer."

New season: Fox's Brothers is mama's family

Ed Bark — 2009-09-25T13:54:44-05:00

Brothers is buoyed by CCH Pounder as Mama Adele. Fox photo Premiering: Friday, Sept. 25th at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Michael Strahan, CCH Pounder, Daryl Chill Mitchell and Carl Weathers Produced by: Don Reo, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Mitch Hurwitz ...Brothers manages to be fairly amusing, too, with Pounder showing off her range by shifting from the very serious business of The Shield to playing a sharp-tongued but nurturing matriarch in a house full of childish squabblers.

New season: ABC's FlashForward bets heavily on its future

Ed Bark — 2009-09-24T07:53:16-05:00

Also, many viewers are unwilling to be strung along at such lengths or be left hanging by an early cancellation, as happened three seasons ago with ABC's unresolved The Nine. ...The world suddenly is in the throes of a two minute, 17 second "blackout" in which just about everyone has their own "flash forward" to April 29, 2010 (or a day later depending on where one is in the world).

New season: it's a threesome on ABC, with still more to come after Modern Family, Cougar Town and Eastwick

Ed Bark — 2009-09-23T12:13:41-05:00

That's Ed O'Neill on the upper far left. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 23rd at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sof'a Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter, Rico Rodriguez Produced by: Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd ... Courteney Cox in Cougar Town: Gimme some sugar, little booger. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 23rd at 8:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Courteney Cox, Busy Philipps, Christa Miller, Brian Van Holt, Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Dan Byrd Produced by: Bill Lawrence, Kevin Biegel, Courteney Cox, David Arquette

New season: NBC's Mercy will have to be nursed in a too-early time slot

Ed Bark — 2009-09-23T09:23:00-05:00

Taylor Schilling stars as tough-minded head nurse in Mercy. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 23rd at 7 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Taylor Schilling, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Tupper, Diego Klattenhoff, Guillermo Diaz, James Le Gros, Delroy Lindo Produced by: Liz Heldens, Gretchen Berg, Aaron Harberts, Lloyd Braun, Gail Berman ...The show also is populated by rookie nurse Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg) and incoming Dr. Chris Sands (James Tupper from Men In Trees), with whom Callahan served in Iraq.

New season: CBS' The Good Wife is far superior to its title

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T15:42:55-05:00

Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi of The Good Wife. CBS photo By ED BARK Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry, Makenzie Vega, Graham Phillips Produced by: Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, Robert King, Michelle King, Dee Johnson, David Zucker ...Going against The Jay Leno Show on Tuesdays this fall, here's a crackling good legal drama with a side dish of what it's like to be married to the likes of Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer or John Edwards.

New season: The Forgotten is best left . . .

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T15:42:39-05:00

Christian Slater strives to be unforgettable in The Forgotten. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Christian Slater, Michelle Borth, Heat her Stephens, Bob Stephenson, Anthony Carrigan, Rochelle Aytes Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman ...Alex's helpmates include Candace Butler (Michelle Borth), who's bored with her mundane day job; portly telephone repairman Walter Bailey (Bob Stephenson); "street smart," aspiring artist Tyler Davies, who's been court-ordered to join the team; and homicide detective Grace Russell (Rochelle Aytes), who serves as a liaison to the Chicago cop shop.

New season: NCIS: Los Angeles spins off winningly

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T09:19:51-05:00

LL Cool J gets quizzed on the set of NCIS: Los Angeles. Photo: Ed Bark Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 8 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell, Linda Hunt, Peter Cambor, Adam Jamal Craig, Daniela Rush Produced by: Shane Brennan, R. ...Its principal men of action, played by Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J, are special agents of OSP (Office of Special Projects), which CBS publicity materials say is a division of NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service in case you've forgotten).

New season: Elfman again in overdrive as star of CBS' Accidentally On Purpose

Ed Bark — 2009-09-21T11:33:29-05:00

Jenna Elfman busily emotes with co-star Jon Foster. CBS photo Premiering: Monday, Sept. 21st at 7:30 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Grant Show, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham Produced by:Claudia Lonow, Lloyd Braun, Gail Berman, Gene Stein ...And if everything comes up roses in a comfy slot between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, look for a "very special" season-ending episode in which Billie at last delivers the goods.

Primetime Emmys come and go (yawn) during pulsating Cowboys-Giants game

Ed Bark — 2009-09-21T01:25:01-05:00

Host Neil Patrick Harris opened the show with a song. Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Toiling in relative obscurity and at times acutely aware of it, the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards tried not to look too pathetic Sunday night. ... Big nights for Cherry Jones of 24 and Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston For the record, Grey Gardens, 30 Rock and the PBS miniseries Little Dorrit won the most Emmys Sunday night, with each taking home three.

New season: HBO's Bored to Death chronicles misadventures of a limp dick

Ed Bark — 2009-09-18T17:13:43-05:00

One and a Half Men: Jason, George and Ray of Bored to Death. Premiering: Sunday, Sept 20th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis, Olivia Thirlby Created by: Jonathan Ames ...Unable to finish his second novel, Jason spends most of his time smoking pot, drinking white wine and commiserating with best pal Ray Hueston (Zach Galifianakis from The Hangover), a hapless comic book illustrator kept on a short leash by his needy girlfriend, Leah (Heather Burns).

Emmys vs. Cowboys: we'll make our picks anyhoo

Ed Bark — 2009-09-18T14:14:55-05:00

COMEDY SERIES Entourage (HBO) Family Guy (Fox) Flight of the Conchords (HBO) How I Met Your Mother (CBS) The Office (NBC) 30 Rock (NBC) Weeds (Showtime) And the winner is . ...SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men Kevin Dillon, Entourage Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock Rainn Wilson, The Office And the winner is .

Cinemax's Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo showcases bull-headed Oklahoma "tradition"

Ed Bark — 2009-09-17T15:35:27-05:00
Too flowery at times and profoundly troubling at others, Cinemax's Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo nonetheless is an overall gripping look at the world's only behind-the-walls prison rodeo. But its opening montage of inmates being flipped, gored or trampled begs a question that's addressed only fleetingly near the end of this 90-minute documentary (Thursday, Sept. 17th at 6 a.m. and also available on demand).

New season: NBC's Community tries to sell a used Chevy

Ed Bark — 2009-09-17T09:07:20-05:00
Joel McHale and Chevy Chase top Community's cast. NBC photo Premiering: Thursday, Sept. 17th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong Produced by: Russ Krasnoff, Dan Harmon, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Garrett Donovan, Neil Goldman, Gary Foster ...And yes, that includes Amy Poehler's Parks and Recreation, which begins its first full season (at 7:30 p.m. central) in considerably improved form.

The Burning Plain: latest HDNet Movies freebie deftly mixes pain and sexual heat

Ed Bark — 2009-09-16T12:33:53-05:00
The one hour, 40 minute film, from Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's Magnolia Pictures, is an absorbing puzzler that juggles times, locales and ever-popular "forbidden loves" while also keeping viewers guessing about the specifics of a trailer park explosion. ...Burning Plain principally is set in Oregon and the New Mexico border town of Las Cruces, with side trips to Mexico that introduce a crop duster and his pre-teen daughter, Maria (Tessa la).

New season: CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL hits the runway strutting

Ed Bark — 2009-09-15T11:12:38-05:00
Ready for takeoff: Raina on a runway in CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 16th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Sara Paxton, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Mischa Barton, Elle Macpherson, Ashley Madekwe, Corbin Bleu, Nico Tortorella, Dusan Dukic Produced by: Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg ...Twig-thin model Raina Marinelli (Sara Paxton), an up-and-coming star with a secret past, is still a decent, caring, although highly ambitious human being in Wednesday's premiere of CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL.

Premiere of The Jay Leno Show mixes Kanye, comedy

Ed Bark — 2009-09-15T00:45:13-05:00
How fortuitous: Kanye West and Jay Leno Monday. Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Touted incessantly by NBC as "America's favorite TV personality," Jay Leno at last had his first chance to stand and deliver Monday night. ...All in all it was a halfway passable first night, with West as second-half bait and Leno's climactic "Headlines" segment as further impetus to keep watching all the way up to late night local newscasts, which begin immediately after the host urges viewers to stay tuned.

What, him worry? Jay Leno prepares to shoulder the biggest burden in prime-time history

Ed Bark — 2009-09-11T10:36:07-05:00
He's just not a deep sea thinker, preferring to do his job, tinker with his cars, work weekends wherever a plane will take him and let others tell him that what he'll be doing in prime-time could change network television forevermore. ... CBS in particular is loading up, and salivating, at the prospect of torpedoing Leno with the likes of CSI: Miami, The Mentalist and a new Julianna Margulies series, The Good Wife, that many TV critics, including this one, see as a can't-miss commercial hit.

Fall season: Next to no juice in CW's The Vampire Diaries

Ed Bark — 2009-09-10T08:16:52-05:00
A spooked Elena Gilbert visits her parents' grave in Vampire Diaries. Premiering: Thursday, Sept. 10th at 7 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Sommerhalder, Katerina Graham, Candice Accola, Steven R. ...By ED BARK The ponderous, pretentious opening narration pretty much tells you that this at best will be a pint-sized, junior league version of HBO's True Blood.

Idol tabs Ellen, officially ending Paula era

Ed Bark — 2009-09-09T23:01:18-05:00
By ED BARK Ellen DeGeneres, a savvy, congenial performer best known as a joker/dancer/talker, has signed to replace Paula Abdul as American Idol's fourth judge of singing talent. Fox made the surprise announcement Wednesday night, with Idol executive producer Simon Fuller praising DeGeneres as a longtime fan of the show whose "love of music and understanding of the American public will bring a unique human touch to our judging panel."

Fox's Glee yearns for you to join its club

Ed Bark — 2009-09-09T09:05:10-05:00
Fox again is the only major broadcast network opting out, instead sticking to its schedule of So You Think You Can Dance's first fall season premiere and Glee's re-launch at 8 p.m. (central). The speech and its trimmings have been allotted an hour, from 7 to 8 p.m. But any bleed-over past 8 p.m. would give Glee a jump-start against NBC's very potent America's Got Talent results edition.

CW's Melrose Place kicks off fall season with nicely done do-over

Ed Bark — 2009-09-08T10:07:41-05:00
Lauren Yung. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 8th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Katie Cassidy, Michael Rady, Colin Egglesfield, Stephanie Jacobsen, Jessica Lucas, Shaun Sipos, Thomas Calabro, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Laura Leighton Produced by: Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Davis Guggenheim ...Also in this mix are recovering alcoholic Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield), now a successful sous chef; medical student Lauren Yung (Stephanie Jacobsen); and sweetie two shoes Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, who's also Jessica Simpson's sister).

From Woodstock to Manson: another 40th anniversary comes calling on History Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-09-07T10:04:07-05:00
Shadowy figure: former Manson girl Linda Kasabian is back in view. By ED BARK Reliving the Manson Family's gory killing spree is something we all probably could do without. ...Davis, a regular presence on the networks' semi-annual "press tours" for TV critics, is credited with laying out "the blueprint for the prosecution" by Aaron Stovitz, whose violation of a gag order resulted in his being replaced as chief prosecutor on the Manson case.

The down-loadable lowdown on fall series premieres and returns

Ed Bark — 2009-09-03T11:59:48-05:00
21 -- Returns of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, CSI: Miami and premiere of Accidentally on Purpose Sept. ... Gray matters on NBC with Chevy Chase and The Jay Leno Show. NBC

Bombshell: Charles Gibson leaving ABC's World News, with Diane Sawyer succeeding him in January

Ed Bark — 2009-09-02T10:35:46-05:00
By ED BARK Charles Gibson, who has helmed ABC's World News since May 29, 2006, will be stepping down and retiring from full-time employment with the news division, the network announced Wednesday. Succeeding him is ABC veteran and Good Morning America co-anchor Diane Sawyer, leaving two of the three longstanding network dinner hour newscasts in the hands of women anchors when she takes charge of World News in January.

Sneak review: A recap of Desperate Housewives' fifth season

Ed Bark — 2009-09-01T04:17:37-05:00
By ED BARK Season 1 was terrific, but I've long since fallen out of the habit of watching ABC's Desperate Housewives. ...Here's a concise, entertaining review of what went on last season, when the show accelerated five years into the future.

Sneak preview: House's 6th season premiere

Ed Bark — 2009-08-28T12:11:10-05:00
Delusional and drug-addicted, he was dropped off at Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital in the last scene of House's fifth season. This clip from the Sept. 21st two-hour season premiere finds House (Hugh Laurie) happily tormenting some of his fellow patients during a pickup basketball game.

Revamped Football Night In America means bigger NBC presence at regular season debut of Jerry's Palace

Ed Bark — 2009-08-26T12:51:28-05:00
Footballers Al Michaels, Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth. NBC photos By ED BARK A just-announced new look for NBC's pre-game Football Night In America will put host Bob Costas on site rather than out-of-pocket at NBC's Rockefeller Plaza. ...Michaels is a bit more pragmatic, noting that getting Costas out of the studio "green room" in New York "will save 20-25 percent of the catering budget and should provide an immediate boost for GE stock."

thirtysomething and thensome in first season DVD set

Ed Bark — 2009-08-25T12:40:40-05:00
"It is so important to say that we did not want to do a television series," Herskovitz recollects in a two-way conversation with Zwick that's included in the three-disc set's bonus features. ...Re-watching the show's first episode is mostly an engaging experience, even though much of the "jeopardy" is over Hope's anxiety about whether to hire a babysitter for the first time so that the Steadmans can join their friends on an impromptu camping trip.

Unable to participate: otherwise Mike Wallace would have been part of Sunday's 60 Minutes tribute to Don Hewitt

Ed Bark — 2009-08-24T12:03:16-05:00
Anchors Mike Wallace/Harry Reasoner and creator Don Hewitt. By ED BARK Sunday's 60 Minutes tribute to the program's creator, Don Hewitt, was notable for its absence of new comments from its other driving force, Mike Wallace. ...Wallace, who currently lives on Martha's Vineyard, had triple bypass surgery in late January of 2008, shortly after his headline-making interview with Roger Clemens over allegations that the dominating pitcher had used steroids.

Spears and Letterman: wearing next to nothing, she seemed to leave him cold

Ed Bark — 2009-08-19T17:38:18-05:00
A notably detached David Letterman has seldom seemed less amused -- or in a bigger hurry to get it over with -- than after he cued Britney Spears to read the "Top 10 Ways the Country Would Be Different if Britney Spears Were President." ...Letterman made no comment at all and later blew off featured guest Donald Trump's opening remark on how hot she looked.

Williams/Goldthwait collaborate in Magnolia's unflinching World's Greatest Dad

Ed Bark — 2009-08-19T14:30:44-05:00
World's Greatest Dad, hollowly emblazoned on the central character's coffee cup, can first be seen Wednesday, Aug. 19th on Mark Cuban's HDNet Movies as part of the network's ongoing "Sneak Preview" series. Show time is 7 p.m. (central), with repeat airings at 8:45 and 10:30 p.m. The film then opens in theaters Friday under Cuban's and business partner Todd Wagner's Magnolia Pictures banner.

Irvin, DeLay and 14 others set to hoof and puff on Dancing

Ed Bark — 2009-08-17T08:33:24-05:00
By ED BARK Former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin segues from one reality competition show to another while ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas obviously will be leading with his right foot. They're among a record 16 celebrities joining Season 9 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, which will start flooring it on Sept. 21st.

Mad Men's back, but not quite smokin' yet

Ed Bark — 2009-08-14T09:38:34-05:00
Don Draper and Salvatore Romano wing it under assumed names in "Out of Town" opening for third season of AMC's Mad Men. ...The main focus instead is on a fence-mending sales trip to Baltimore, where Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and the still-closeted Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) reinforce their agency's fealty to the makers of London Fog raincoats.

Fox Reality Channel's Househusbands of Hollywood gender-bends while copycatting

Ed Bark — 2009-08-13T11:14:09-05:00
So the still fledgling Fox Reality Channel might as well take a shot with Househusbands of Hollywood, which turns out to be a surprisingly watchable and well-produced tagalong to Bravo's Real Housewives franchise. The 10-episode series, co-starring five stay-at-home dependents, launches on Saturday, Aug. 15th at 8 p.m. (central). Ryan O'Neal also will be dropping in. He's best friends with Charlie Mattera, an actor/screenwriter/ex-con who also happens to be one of Househusands' co-executive producers.

Curb appeal: Seventh season will be well-stocked with Seinfeld stars

Ed Bark — 2009-08-11T13:38:34-05:00
Larry and Jerry will be themselves in 7th season of Curb. By ED BARK PASADENA -- At first he's typically testy. ...Jerry Seinfeld will appear in five of the new season's Curb episodes, with the other cast members "on at least four," David says before immediately recalibrating.

HBO's Nine Lives of Marion Barry hits his many high points

Ed Bark — 2009-08-10T14:05:48-05:00
Marion Barry and third wife, Effi, who died in 2007. HBO photo By ED BARK Mark Sanford, Larry Craig, John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer and numerous other disgraced politicians should all be "inspired" by the modern-day Babe Ruth of the genre. ...HBO's The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, premiering Monday, Aug. 10th at 8 p.m. (central), is a revealing, 78-minute look into his life, times and crimes.

Forgive me for I have sinned by saying, "Bring back Paula"

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T16:09:06-05:00
Paula Abdul and that old gang of hers. Fox photos By ED BARK Paula Abdul's alleged American Idol swan song, announced by her in a tweet not a huff, threatens to leave the Fox mega-hit with a decided dearth of ditz. ...The network's official statement, released after Abdul's tweet, judged her "an important part of the American Idol family over the last eight seasons, and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show.

A Rivers runs through TV Land's new How'd You Get So Rich?

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T13:14:14-05:00
Joan Rivers hosts a new TV Land series about net worths. Premiering: Wednesday, Aug. 5th at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Starring: Joan Rivers and a buncha self-made rich people Produced by: Mark Burnett, Barry Poznick, John Stevens ...ADDENDUM: At the annual network TV "press tour" in Pasadena, Rivers zinged Jay Leno in a way that's likely to merit her a permanent ban from his prime-time NBC show when it cranks up on Sept. 14th.

Television Critics Association awards hit quarter-century mark; Uncle Barky along for ride

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T02:53:31-05:00
Grey ghost: Your friendly content provider gabbed about the history of the Television Critics Association, which held its 25th annual awards ceremony Saturday night in Pasadena. Photo: Barry Garron By ED BARK PASADENA -- It's been a long pull since the first-ever Television Critics Association awards in June 1985. ...Most of my fellow TV critics are still out on "press tour," where one network after another will roll in with a lot of oddly instructive B.S. about new fall programming until Saturday's last dance with ABC.

ABC makes space for intergalactic Defying Gravity

Ed Bark — 2009-07-29T14:23:28-05:00
Spaced out: Defying Gravity's Ron Livingston, Laura Harris. ABC Premiering: Sunday, Aug. 2nd at 8 p.m. (central) with back-to-back episodes on ABC Starring: Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Malik Yoba, Christina Cox, Ty Olsson, Florentine Lahme, Paula Garces, Dylan Taylor, Andrew Airlie, Karen LeBlanc, Zahf Paroo, Maxim Roy, Peter Howitt Created by: James Parriott ...And it has a capable international cast headed by Ron Livingston (Office Space, Band of Brothers) as jauntily named Maddux Donner, a womanizing and somewhat haunted flight engineer who 10 years earlier had to abandon two space colleagues on Mars.

More to Love -- less than meets the eye

Ed Bark — 2009-07-27T16:16:05-05:00
North Texan Natalia Jackson is one of 20 "full-figured" suitors vying for bachelor Luke Conley, pictured with host Emme. Premiering: Tuesday, July 28th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Bachelor Luke Conley, supermodel Emme and 20 plus-sized women looking for love Produced by: Mike Fleiss ...Premiering Tuesday, July 28th at 8 p.m. (central), More to Love is from veteran reality show provider Mike Fleiss, who has already hit the motherlode with ABC's The Bachelor.

Silverman out in NBC Universal shakeup

Ed Bark — 2009-07-27T10:09:40-05:00
USA in particular has thrived with summer series such as Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and the new Royal Pains while NBC has mostly suffocated with scripted hot weather fare such as The Listener, Merlin, The Philanthropist and its Sunday night disaster-driven miniseries. ...The Singing Bee, promoted to NBC's fall schedule after a fast summer start, quickly became a one-note flop while Fox's like-minded Don't Forget the Lyrics! lived on. An announced one-hour "dramedy" from All In the Family creator Norman Lear has never seen air.

NBC's The Storm replete with latter day TV washouts

Ed Bark — 2009-07-24T12:57:09-05:00
Stuck in The Storm: James Van Der Beek, Luke Perry. NBC photo By ED BARK Poor James Van Der Beek probably knows the score better than anyone. ...The Storm offers other subplots, including a pregnant woman trapped in a cellar with her "Poppy" (father) and a female bartender whose life is jeopardized while her former lover strives to make things all better again.

Please, please, Mr. Postman: Letterman wins two straight weeks in total viewers for first time since 1998

Ed Bark — 2009-07-23T16:13:59-05:00
Letterman-McCartney on last week's Late Show. CBS photo By ED BARK No matter how NBC tries to spin it, the old man and the CBS Eye are increasingly taking it to Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show. ...And the Peacock crows that Tonight is still beating Late Show among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, although by just two-tenths of a rating point in the week of July 13-17.

CBS repeats its summertime success -- again with mostly repeats

Ed Bark — 2009-07-22T09:49:03-05:00
On Thursday at 9 p.m. (central) for instance, The Mentalist in what will be its new fall time slot drew 8.37 million viewers opposite Private Practice, on a respirator with just 2.917 million viewers. ...ABC has done all right with new episodes of Wipeout and The Bachelorette, but bombed with the likes of The Superstars, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Better Off Ted, The Goode Family and burn-off new episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and now Dirty Sexy Money.

Upon further review, Obama plays ball with NBC/Boyle

Ed Bark — 2009-07-21T17:42:45-05:00
After all, it had a bigger fish in play -- a new episode of summer's top-rated show, America's Got Talent, featuring excerpts from Meredith Vieira's exclusive one-on-one with Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle. ...So the president's representatives asked whether NBC would agree to air Obama's Q&A if it were moved up an hour to 7 p.m. (central), home of weekly repeats of America's Got Talent.

Eyes wide shut: ABC's Dating in the Dark is for dim bulbs

Ed Bark — 2009-07-20T09:06:07-05:00
Otherwise known as ABC's Dating in the Dark, it premieres Monday, July 20th at 9 p.m. (central) and is scheduled to run for six episodes. ...Programming note: NBC's The Wanted, a controversial pursuit of terrorists produced by the network's news division, premieres opposite Dating in the Dark Monday night.

Walter Cronkite up-close: Memories of the late, great journalist for all seasons

Ed Bark — 2009-07-18T10:03:53-05:00
I just hope we don't get into the business of having to walk onto the set from the shadows and have Dan wearing a big 'CBS Eye' patch on his blazer." ...Cronkite publicly called for Rather's firing in 1987 after he caused a six-minute breath of dead air by walking off a CBS Evening News set in Miami when a tennis match was running long. He later had it both ways in a series of interviews tied to Rather's stepping down as anchor in March 2005 after the heavily publicized scandal tied to discredited reports on George W.

Lohan remains vertical, stays the course in ABC Family's Labor Pains

Ed Bark — 2009-07-17T12:19:58-05:00
Lindsay Lohan hangs in there for Labor Pains. ABC photo By ED BARK Multi-troubled Lindsay Lohan certainly doesn't walk through Labor Pains. ...The much-chronicled, seemingly self-destructive 23-year-old is in virtually every scene of an ABC Family channel confection that's entertaining and amusing enough to spend a little time on. Premiering on Sunday, July 19th at 7 p.m. (central), Labor Pains is likely to draw a sizable crowd for voyeuristic reasons alone if nothing else.

Same old, same old: 30 Rock, Mad Men again head their classes while HBO leads all networks

Ed Bark — 2009-07-16T08:24:25-05:00
A quintet of the drama nominees -- Mad Men, Fox's House, ABC's Lost, Showtime's Dexter, FX's Damages -- were repeaters from last year, with AMC's Breaking Bad and HBO's Big Love both joining the party for the first time. ...Besides the aforementioned Friday Night Lights, other notables on the one-and-done list include Fox's Bones, USA's Burn Notice, TNT's The Closer, NBC's Chuck, CBS' The Mentalist, FX's Rescue Me, ABC's Scrubs, CBS' CSI: NY and ABC's According to Jim.

CNBC gets porn-y -- but first read this article

Ed Bark — 2009-07-15T13:08:23-05:00
Fast Money's Melissa Lee reports on the skin trade for CNBC. By ED BARK It's supposedly true that using the word porn -- you know, p-o-r-n -- in a post can jet-propel Web site traffic. ...Sounding like Jim Cramer in heat -- at least they don't have him hosting -- the guy figuratively drips drool while enticing viewers with come-ons such as "Up next, the most powerful players in porn -- women on top!"

HBO's Ted Williams doc hits the not-so-sweet spots, too

Ed Bark — 2009-07-15T10:35:29-05:00
Williams' youngest of three children, Claudia, has emerged as a defender of her cantankerous old man, who died on July 5, 2002 after a triumphant 1999 return to the All-Star game in Boston's Fenway Park. ...Robert Redford, who worshipped Williams from afar as a kid, says his 1984 baseball film, The Natural, was an homage to the Red Sox legend.

TNT's stark Dark Blue makes it a six-pack

Ed Bark — 2009-07-14T09:57:08-05:00
in TNT's Dark Blue. Premiering: Wednesday, July 15th at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Dylan McDermott, Omari Hardwick, Logan Marshall-Green, Nicki Aycox Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Danny Cannon, Doug Jung By ED BARK Suave in ABC's The Practice and suaver in the network's short-lived Big Shots, Dylan McDermott lately speaks in a rasp, eschews suits and sports a little carefully rough-hewn stubble in TNT's new Dark Blue.

Teddy bear treatment on HBO for the last surviving Kennedy brother

Ed Bark — 2009-07-13T09:08:41-05:00
HBO's 90-minute documentary, premiering Monday, July 13th at 8 p.m. (central), is from the producer of JFK: In His Own Words and Bobby Kennedy: In His Own Words. ...Many of the images still resonate, beginning with a still picture of a smiling little Teddy in short pants as his father and the family arrive in London to begin Joe Sr.'s tenure as U.S. ambassador way back in 1938.

Michael Jackson gets velvet glove treatment on wide array of cable/broadcast networks

Ed Bark — 2009-07-07T15:02:11-05:00
Michael Jackson's only daughter, Paris, with his sister, Janet, in the closing minutes of Tuesday's memorial. Photos from cnn.com, msn.com By ED BARK Touching, tasteful and shown live on all the major broadcast and cable news outlets, Tuesday's memorial to Michael Jackson had a majesty befitting the self-proclaimed King of Pop. ... The Jackson family turned out in force for Tuesday's memorial. The memorial was equally notable for its sentiment and moving performances from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Usher and Jackson's brother, Jermaine, who sang "Smile" after longtime friend Brooke Shields said it was Michael's favorite song.

Sarah Palin and CNN? Far-fetched maybe, but betcha someone's thought about it

Ed Bark — 2009-07-06T11:13:39-05:00
The network has a 9 p.m. hole in its prime-time schedule after Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow take their swings from the left side of the plate. ...Hiring Palin -- and no doubt having to pay a pretty penny for her -- would jolt the cable news world and drive the conversation toward CNN for the first time in recent memory.

HBO's Hung premiere goes nicely with True Blood

Ed Bark — 2009-07-01T01:00:16-05:00
Hung and True Blood loomed quite large for HBO Sunday. By ED BARK HBO's Sunday night picture brightened further Sunday when the premiere of its new comedy/drama Hung drew 2.8 million viewers nationally after the preceding True Blood sucked in 3.7 million for Season 2's second episode. ...On July 12th, Entourage will return for a 12-episode 6th season, airing at 9:30 p.m. central following new episodes of True Blood (8 p.m.) and Hung (9 p.m.).

Endowment fun: HBO's Hung also scores with appealing sign-of-the-times storyline

Ed Bark — 2009-06-26T17:09:40-05:00
Thomas Jane is anything but half-cocked in HBO's Hung. Premiering: Sunday, June 28th at 9 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Thomas Jane, Jane Adams, Anne Heche, Eddie Jemison, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Charlie Saxton, Rebecca Kreskoff, Loren Lester Created by: Dmitry Lipkin, Colette Burson ...Jane, who played Mickey Mantle in the acclaimed HBO movie 61*, manages to play this role -- and do this role-playing -- in an appealing, all-but-guileless manner that's almost guaranteed to make you root for him from start to finish.

Farrah Fawcett dies of cancer

Ed Bark — 2009-06-25T13:42:31-05:00
Ryan-Farrah all aglow and the actress behind bars in Burning Bed Fawcett's coming-out party as a "serious" actress was in the 1981 NBC miniseries Murder In Texas, where she received favorable reviews as the ill-fated Joan Robinson. ..."I was looking for something to do that was not based on a life-or-death true story, which we've been inundated with in the past couple of years," Fawcett said in a second interview with this writer.

Earth shifts: Dave outdraws Conan in third week of late night faceoff

Ed Bark — 2009-06-25T11:22:37-05:00
Last week, Old Gray's Late Show beat Big Red's Tonight for the first time in total viewers. By ED BARK It's too early to predict any wholesale shifts in the late night terrain. ...CBS says it's the first time Letterman has won since the week ending on December 2, 2005, when Oprah Winfrey made her much-publicized first appearance on Late Show.

NBC's The Philanthropist is a do-gooder that needs to get better

Ed Bark — 2009-06-24T09:27:24-05:00
While scheming to singlehandedly deliver medicine to the Nigerian boy's devastated village, Rist also stays in luxury hotels, demands a more civilized whiskey than Jim Beam and apparently participates in a fivesome after four beautiful young Nigerian women are delivered to his quarters by an influential local. He also meets a conveniently beautiful African doctor (played by Bonnie Henna), who initially views him as a self-centered Good Samaritan who enjoys dirtying his hands a bit before returning home to tell his rich friends "how meaningful his life is compared to theirs."

Ed McMahon in days of yore, as recalled by transplanted North Texan Kent Fannon

Ed Bark — 2009-06-23T12:39:40-05:00
***"Ed's late son, Mike, was a halfback on our small NY suburban town's varsity football team, and Ed would try to come to every game. ...Knowing he could help draw sales, Ed would work at that lot as many nights as possible, sometimes in the bitter cold, trying to sell trees, offering hot chocolate, making people laugh, or anything else that would draw a crowd."

Emmys fumble again

Ed Bark — 2009-06-19T09:19:53-05:00
The latest date, Sept. 20th on CBS, clashes with NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast of the inaugural NFL regular season game in Jerry's Arlington palace. ...The Emmy people originally announced Sept. 20th as their awards show date, but then punted to Sept. 13th to avoid delays from a doubleheader football runover on CBS.

Dave vs. Conan: It's all in the spin

Ed Bark — 2009-06-18T13:22:09-05:00
NBC counters by touting Conan's blowouts of Dave among 18-to-49-year-olds and 18-to-34-year-olds, with Peacock exec Rick Ludwin noting that "this business is all about delivering the key demographic groups." ...Round 3 of their ratings battle is in progress, with Tonight beating Late Show in "every significant demo" on Monday and Tuesday of this week, which began with Letterman re-apologizing to Palin for the sexual jokes about her daughter.

NBC's Merlin gets olde in a hurry

Ed Bark — 2009-06-18T10:10:18-05:00
Colin Morgan stars as an apprentice Merlin in new NBC series. Premiering: Sunday, June 21st at 7 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, John Hurt Produced by: Julian Murphy, Johnny Capps,Jake Michie, Julian Jones ...In succeeding seasons, NBC has tumbled from first to fourth in the prime-time ratings and lost much of its luster via attractions such as Fear Factor, The Biggest Loser, Deal or No Deal, Celebrity Apprentice and the ongoing I'm A Celebrity .

Where have you gone, Joe Piscopo? Today's your birthday

Ed Bark — 2009-06-17T13:06:05-05:00
So there's reason to celebrate him for an SNL tenure (1980-84) during which he and Eddie Murphy pretty much carried the show and saved it from cancellation. ...From the TV time capsule, here's Joe donning fake teeth and doing Letterman while the genuine article shared a couch with him on a 1987 episode of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

Here's to his health care: ABC News draws GOP fire for extensive coverage next week of Obama's prescription

Ed Bark — 2009-06-16T10:02:20-05:00
ABC's Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson will be joining President Obama in the White House for a prime-time Q&A on health care. ..."ABC News prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers -- of all political persuasions -- when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both sides of the political spectrum," Smith said in part.

Back on its heals: TNT's HawthoRNe adds more meds to summertime cabinet

Ed Bark — 2009-06-15T16:12:22-05:00
Jada Pinkett Smith takes charge as head nurse Christina Hawthorne. Premiering: Tuesday, June 16th at 8 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Vartan, Suleka Mathew, David Julian Hirsch, Vanessa Lengies, Christina Moore, Hannah Hodson Produced by: John Masius, Jamie Tarses, Mikael Salomon, Jada Pinkett Smith ...There's also hard luck male nurse Ray Stein (David Julian Hirsch), blubbering rookie Kelly Epson (Vanessa Lengies) and yummy Candy Sullivan (Christina Moore), who otherwise makes a fairly minimal impression in the first two episodes sent for review.

Big Saturday Night dawns on still little GSN

Ed Bark — 2009-06-12T13:18:16-05:00
The two new game shows, respectively hosted by veteran sportscaster Fred Roggin and So You Think You Can Dance's Cat Deeley, will be surrounded by live comedy and music performances and interactive opportunities for viewers to "win big," says GSN. ...GSN doesn't say how much prize money is at stake, but Deeley likely can be counted on to inject this game with the same energy she brings to Think You Can Dance.

Nurse Jackie the latest big booster shot for Showtime

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T14:51:33-05:00
Premiering: Monday, June 8th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Edie Falco, Eve Best, Peter Facinelli, Anna Deaver Smith, Merrit Wever, Dominic Fumusa, Paul Schulze, Haaz Sleiman, Ruby Jerins, Daisy Tahan, Stephen Wallem Created and produced by: Evan Dunsky, Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem ...Falco, her hair very boyishly cut and parted, makes a complete break from Carmela in what's billed as a "dark comedy" but has more meat on it than that.

Conan twits tweeters -- nets laughs

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T14:51:21-05:00
And for me, this one worked almost flawlessly, with use of vacuous, real-life celebrity tweets from Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus and Dennis Haysbert. ...

Royal Pains gives USA network another breezy summertime bright spot

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T10:20:27-05:00
Mark Feuerstein (orange shirt) heads the cast of USA's Royal Pains. Premiering: Thursday, June 4th at 9 p.m. (central) on USA Starring: Mark Feurstein, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Flint, Reshma Shetty Produced by: Andrew Lenchewski, Michael Rauch, Rich Frank, Paul Frank, Jeff Kwatinetz, John P. ...USA's likable newcomer is Royal Pains, which gives its star, Mark Feuerstein, a third crack at prime-time longevity after flopping in NBC's Good Morning, Miami and CBS' 3 lbs.

NBC's The Listener -- not on my watch

Ed Bark — 2009-06-02T12:41:21-05:00
Craig Olejnik has lots on his mind as the star of NBC's The Listener. Premiering: Thursday, June 4th at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC, with another episode at 9 p.m. Starring: Craig Olejnik, Ennis Esmer, Colm Feore, Mylene Dinh-Robic, Lisa Marcos Produced by: Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Michael Amo, Tom Chehak, Clement Virgo ...In Thursday's scene-setter, Toby and his paramedic pal, "Oz" Bey (Ennis Esmer), are trading lame banter before coming upon an overturned car in what looks to be the middle of Manhattan but actually is cost-efficient Toronto.

So-so, but over and done: O'Brien notches his first Tonight

Ed Bark — 2009-06-01T23:51:14-05:00
Leaning somewhat top-heavily on three taped bits and a star turn by first guest Will Ferrell, he made it to the finish line with his auburn pompadour in full bloom but not his comedic talents. ...O'Brien said he'd be glad to again have Leno as his lead-in, but we'll see about that after the competition for guests inevitably heats up between the two NBC shows.

Goodnight, Tonight. Not his idea, but Leno lets go

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T23:51:28-05:00
"So that's what I would like my legacy to be," he says. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Jay Leno bowed out with little fanfare Friday night, ending his 17-years as Tonight Show host by calling attention to the children born to his staffers during that period. ...His last Tonight began with a prolonged standing ovation from the studio audience before the monologue kicked in. Leno took one more jab at his downtrodden network, noting that "I'm going to be going to a secluded spot where no one can find me -- NBC prime-time."

Hey, guys, Lifetime's Maneater is more or less edible

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T14:54:26-05:00
Starring Sarah Chalke from Scrubs, Lifetime's so-called "summer event" is off-putting at first in its depiction of pampered Beverly Hills mavens whose conspicuous creature comforts clash with current realities. ...Capably directed by former thirtysomething star Timothy Busfield, Maneater winds up gooier than it should in pursuit of tying up all its loose ends with oversized bows.

HBO's Churchill sequel wades into WWII

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T08:22:02-05:00
HBO's versions of Churchill, FDR and Stalin at Yalta Conference. By ED BARK Built like Humpty Dumpty but refusing to crack, Winston Churchill smoke, drank and drove his country through the darkest days of World War II. His gruff private demeanor and soaring public rhetoric get another going-over in HBO's Into the Storm (Sunday, May 31st, 8 p.m. central), a followup to the network's 2002 scene-setter, The Gathering Storm.

ABC's Goode Family is Judged OK

Ed Bark — 2009-05-27T09:06:03-05:00
Premiering: Wednesday, May 27th at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Voiced by: Mike Judge, Nancy Carell, David Herman, Linda Cardellini, Brian Doyle-Murray, Gary Anthony Williams Produced by: Mike Judge, John Altschuler, Dave Krinsky, Michael Rotenberg, Tom Lassally ...For better or worse, the Goodes consist of college administrator Gerald (Judge); his community activist wife, Helen (Nancy Carell); a teen daughter, Bliss (Linda Cardellini) and the adopted 16-year-old Ubuntu (David Herman), who initially was thought to be black but turned out to be a white South African.

O'Brien's Tonight countdown kicks into full throttle

Ed Bark — 2009-05-26T14:15:54-05:00
NBC's Tonight Show looms ever larger for heir Conan O'Brien, pictured on the left as a New York Times Magazine cover boy. By ED BARK Let the record show that Conan O'Brien isn't a kid anymore, even if acting his age still isn't an option. ...O'Brien, as he manfully volunteered during a teleconference Tuesday, is now 46 years old with two kids after first auditioning as a relative 29-year-old nobody to supplant David Letterman on NBC's Late Night.

Fox's Mental has House in mind, but also a mind of its own

Ed Bark — 2009-05-26T09:25:06-05:00
Telegenic Chris Vance has a beautiful mind, too, in Fox's Mental. Premiering: Tuesday, May 26th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Chris Vance, Annabella Sciorra, Jacqueline McKenzie, Derek Webster, Nicholas Gonzalez, Marisa Ramirez Produced by: Deborah Joy LeVine, Dan Levine By ED BARK Far more jovial and inclusive than Fox's House organ, Dr. Jack Gallagher of Mental nonetheless is in a series of much the same mind.

Idol finale crunches competition, comes up short of past glories

Ed Bark — 2009-05-21T17:38:43-05:00
Newest Idol Kris Allen sings his lungs out Wednesday night. By ED BARK Rival networks would like to have this "problem." ...Season 1 -- 22.8 million Season 2 -- 38.1 million Season 3 -- 28.8 million Season 4 -- 30.3 million Season 5 -- 36.4 million Season 6 -- 30.8 million Season 7 -- 31.7 million Season 8 -- 28.8 million

The CW cancels comedies and Sundays, shrinks Fridays, adds a vampire show

Ed Bark — 2009-05-21T11:26:12-05:00
Nina Dobrev as Elena in The Vampire Diaries CW photo By ED BARK The CW will go into battle this fall with three new shows, one-and-a-half fewer nights and no comedies. ...But the still grieving Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) is fated to hook up at high school with two clandestine vampire brothers who wage a war for her soul. One's a nice guy while the other (played by Ian Somerhalder of Lost) is "the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality."

Idle thoughts on Idol as the finale nears

Ed Bark — 2009-05-20T13:54:28-05:00
And Wednesday's two-hour finale will trample everything in its wake before the winner is forced to release yet another treacly written-for-Idol ditty -- "No Boundaries" in this case -- as his first post-show single. ...Sometimes one wonders whether host Ryan Seacrest is just throwing numbers out there when he says that more than 37 million viewers weighed in. So how about showing each contestant exactly where they stand after the field is winnowed down to 10.

CBS adds four newcomers, axes two oldies, rescues Medium

Ed Bark — 2009-05-20T10:12:38-05:00
Alex O'Loughlin, Julianna Margulies star in new CBS fall dramas. By ED BARK Without A Trace and The Unit no longer are in CBS' picture, but Medium and an NCIS spinoff are. ...This season's biggest freshman hit, The Mentalist, will be moved from Tuesday's at 8 p.m. to Thursdays at 9 p.m., where it will inherit a lead-in audience from the network's still potent CSI: Crime Scene Investigation before going head-to-head with NBC's The Jay Leno Show.

NBC cancels Earl, reprieves Chuck, delays 30 Rock, pushes Friday Night Lights to summer in Phase 2 rollout of new season (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T10:32:11-05:00
By ED BARK Chuck and Law & Order have been reprieved, but My Name Is Earl and Life are goners, NBC officially announced Tuesday. ...That's in large part because its prime-time window has been significantly reduced on weeknights with the Monday-Friday 9 p.m. (central) presence of The Jay Leno Show.

ABC's new fall lineup flaunts star-powered comedy

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T07:12:51-05:00
New ABC shows for Patricia Heaton, Kelsey Grammer, Courteney Cox. By ED BARK ABC will load up with eight new series this fall, including restarts for former prime-time comedy kingpins Kelsey Grammer, Courteney Cox, Patricia Heaton and Ed O'Neill. ...But as ABC describes it, "convincing real-life millionaires to part with their own money is no easy task, because when the idea is poor, the Sharks will tear into the ill-prepared presenters and pass on the idea with a simple, "I'm out!'

Fox's Glee gives it the old golly gee

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T05:27:09-05:00
Glee principals Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Cory Monteith. Premiering: Tuesday, May 19th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jayma Mays, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Amber Riley, Dianna Agron Produced by: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Dante Di Loreto ...But by the end of Tuesday's opener, Finn has unshackled all inhibitions and is singin' up a storm with oft-taunted Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), who at the very least sees herself as the next Kristen Chenoweth.

Fox accentuates African-Americans in new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2009-05-18T11:16:22-05:00
The casts of Fox's Brothers and The Cleveland Show. By ED BARK Fox is adding three new prime-time series and one late-nighter this fall, with three-fourths of its incoming freshman class featuring predominantly African-American casts. ...The Wanda Sykes Show (comedy) -- She's supplanting MADtv in what Fox describes as a "high-energy one-hour show" featuring "biting commentary (that we've already figured out) and heated panel discussions with recurring personalities."

Brute camp: Spike TV's 4th and Long finds Irvin throwin' down

Ed Bark — 2009-05-17T20:28:31-05:00
All smiles for now: Bill Bates, Michael Irvin and Joe Avezzano Premiering: Monday, May 18th at 9 p.m. (central) on Spike TV Starring: Michael Irvin, Bill Bates, Joe Avezzano, other former/current Cowboys and 12 NFL hopefuls Produced by: Todd Nelson, JD Roth, Michael Irvin ...There's a whole lotta ralphin' goin' on during Monday's premiere, with would-be Dallas Cowboys receiver Montrell Jones the star player in this particular competition before host/taskmaster Michael Irvin implores him to "get that sickness out of you!"

Leno announces last Tonight guest, repeats vows to never take a vacation

Ed Bark — 2009-05-14T12:19:30-05:00
Leno, who began hosting Tonight on May 25, 1992, also said he plans to exit in an offbeat manner before gearing up for the September premiere of his new, five nights a week 9 p.m. (central) show. ...NBC, desperate to keep Leno rather than see him return to late night on a rival network, initially proposed a half-hour show that would have aired week-nightly at 7 p.m. (central), Leno said.

Random bursts: Nimoy Treks through Letterman Top 10 list; Rather puts on a 'fro to report on burrito lunch

Ed Bark — 2009-05-09T10:57:50-05:00
By ED BARK Thursday's edition of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman beamed up the original Mr. Spock to count down 10 "Lines Never Before Said in a Star Trek Film." ...Meanwhile, on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, Dan Rather agreeably flipped his wig for a mock 1973 report titled "Nixon Has a Burrito."

Fox states his case for optimism in worthy ABC special

Ed Bark — 2009-05-07T11:01:32-05:00
So it hit hard when the former star of Family Ties, Spin City and the Back to the Future movies disclosed in 1998 that he's afflicted with the so far incurable Parkinson's Disease. ...His first words in tonight's special -- "Oh what a great day" -- underscore Fox's approach to living with a disease that has waylaid a full-time acting career and birthed The Michael J.

Launch date, guest stars set for Irvin's new Dallas Cowboys reality competition

Ed Bark — 2009-05-06T10:28:58-05:00
By ED BARK Michael Irvin's new Dallas Cowboys training camp series for Spike TV now has a name and a premiere date. ...The Hall of Famer and former Cowboys receiver will shepherd 12 Cowboys hopefuls, with the winner getting a spot on the team's training camp roster.

NBC spills beans on part of its new season, promises a second helping in 15 days

Ed Bark — 2009-05-04T10:30:48-05:00
Former SNL mainstay Chevy Chase and Maura Tierney from ER. By ED BARK Fourth-place NBC went roughly halfway toward unveiling its 2009-10 season plans Monday, promising to get back with more details on May 19th. ...Among the Peacock's six announced newcomers are an adaptation of the 1989 film Parenthood featuring a trio of familiar TV faces and the new comedy series Community, starring graybeard Chevy Chase and Joel McHale of The Soup.

Presenting Jimmy Fallon at half his current age

Ed Bark — 2009-05-01T01:51:03-05:00
He's wearing a jailbird shirt while doing brief impressions of John Travolta, Sylvester Stallone, Cliff Clavin of Cheers, etc. The talent's pretty raw, but kind of shines through. ...The 34-year-old Saturday Night Live alum is now in his third month of hosting NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Leno back among the living; NBC exhales

Ed Bark — 2009-04-28T08:25:14-05:00
Jay Leno exits hospital before his return to Tonight. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Jay Leno returned to his Tonight Show environ Monday, swine flu and octo-mom jokes at the ready. ...Leno's health is of no small concern to NBC, which will be bequeathing him five weekly hours of prime-time next fall after he leaves Tonight in the hands of Conan O'Brien, starting June 1st.

CBS shifts some season finale dates, sends Harper's Island to Siberia Saturdays

Ed Bark — 2009-04-27T18:27:10-05:00
Not out of the woods yet: Harper's Island moves to Saturdays. By ED BARK CBS had hoped to have the next killer app with Harper's Island, its weekly countdown of dead bodies. ...So Harper's Island is being sent to dead-end Saturdays to do the rest of its killing, effective May 2nd at 8 p.m. central.

Enter the May "sweeps" -- do you know when your season finales are?

Ed Bark — 2009-04-23T11:46:51-05:00
There's still talk of returning this terminally under-appreciated comedy in some form, but star Zach Braff wouldn't be a part of it, save for maybe a guest shot or two. ...May 18 -- Prime-time's most-watched comedy, Two and a Half Men, ends this season knowing that its network already has ordered not one, not two, but three more.

Regis takes another ride with Millionaire; Kings and Ian McShane dethroned until summer

Ed Bark — 2009-04-22T15:46:38-05:00
By ED BARK Regis Philbin will get another go-around on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, with ABC also coming full circle by returning the show to prime-time on the 10th anniversary of its first summertime run. ...In the 1999-2000 TV season, the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday editions of Millionaire respectively ranked one, two, three in the prime-time Nielsen ratings, with Philbin's catchphrase -- "Is that your final answer?"

CNBC's As Seen on TV an info-taining look at infomercials

Ed Bark — 2009-04-21T12:42:12-05:00
Master baiter Billy Mays and the Today crew in Snuggies. By ED BARK A down economy is an upper for infomercials, which supposedly have grown to a $150 billion industry lately spearheaded by the likes of product hawker Billy Mays and the Snuggie. ...The CNBC cable network's latest original documentary, As Seen on TV (Wednesday, 8 p.m. central), manages to be at least as entertaining and informative as sitting through one of Ron Popeil's pitches for the Showtime Rotisserie ("Set it and forget it!").

HBO's Grey Gardens finds Drew Barrymore at last in full bloom

Ed Bark — 2009-04-17T11:34:04-05:00
But this is no horror-mongering Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? There's no pet parakeet served on a platter, although cats and raccoons eventually have the run of the place, defecating and urinating wherever it pleases them. ...Vivacious Little Edie briefly ends up footloose in NYC, living on daddy's money while he tries to strong-arm her into getting married and in the interim at least holding a steady job.

Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up is best watched on "Mute"

Ed Bark — 2009-04-17T11:33:58-05:00
Premiering: Sunday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m. (central) on Fox Featuring voice-overs from: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Kristin Chenoweth, Kenan Thompson, Will Forte, Cheri Oteri, Henry Winkler, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny Produced by: Mitchell Hurwitz, Eric and Kim Tannenbum, Josh Weinstein By ED BARK Attention must be paid to Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up, if only because its behind-the-camera architects include Mitchell Hurwitz of Arrested Development and Eric and Kim Tannenbum from Two and a Half Men.

Madden hangs it up; Collinsworth looks like a cinch to replace him on Sunday Night Football (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-04-16T12:35:33-05:00
He began with CBS, moved to Fox from 1994 to 2002 and spent four years with ABC's Monday Night Football before the network punted the franchise to ESPN. ...NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said that he "spent all day" Thursday with Madden, and "tried every way I could to make sure he was sure about his decision."

TV Land's The Cougar stars 40-year-old temptress and 20 Jungle Jimmies

Ed Bark — 2009-04-15T08:23:37-05:00
"Cougar" Stacey Anderson meets her wolf pups on TV Land. Premiering: Wednesday, April 15th at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Starring: Stacey Anderson and 20 younger male horndogs Created and produced by: Mike Fleiss ...TV Land, which used to be the prime time preserve of evergreen sitcom reruns, takes another tumble into the reality genre Wednesday night (9 p.m. central) with the premiere of The Cougar.

PBS' We Shall Remain struggles to light the torch

Ed Bark — 2009-04-13T13:54:19-05:00
PBS' five-part We Shall Remain includes numerous reenactments. By ED BARK Worthy and well-meaning, PBS' five-part, seven-and-a-half hour We Shall Remain nonetheless falls short of a firm grip with Monday's opening chapter. The 90-minute "After the Mayflower" (8 to 9:30 p.m. central) is overly long, dry and redundant in its depictions of how 17th century relations unraveled between Native Americans and the first English settlers at Plymouth.

Friday Night Lights closes out Season 3, suits up for two more

Ed Bark — 2009-04-09T19:47:03-05:00
Friday Night Lights, filmed entirely on location in Austin, has not made the mistake of keeping its actors in high school to the point where they look old enough to be returning for a 10th year reunion. ...Meanwhile, the principal adult characters play on. And that pretty much boils down to the Taylors, the McCoys and car dealer Buddy Garrity (Brad Leland), a Texas Bubba for all seasons who'd be sorely missed if he ever blows town.

CBS' Harper's Island may just be a killer ap

Ed Bark — 2009-04-09T11:04:12-05:00
Have fun while you can: Harry Hamlin as good time Uncle Marty. Premiering: Thursday, April 9th at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Elaine Cassidy, Christopher Gorham, Katie Cassidy, Richard Burgi, Harry Hamlin, Cassandra Sawtell, Cameron Richardson and a host of other potential corpses Produced by: Jon Turteltaub, Ari Schlossberg ...CBS' heavily promoted Harper's Island, getting a cushy, post-CSI: Crime Scene Investigation slot all the way through July 2nd, has a way of gripping you with its basic idiocy and unanswerable overriding question.

NBC tries to rebuild post-ER Thursdays with Amy Poehler-led comedy and ensemble cop drama

Ed Bark — 2009-04-08T14:43:52-05:00
By ED BARK Note to readers: Struggling NBC's Thursday night lineup, without ER for the first time in 15 TV seasons, re-gathers itself on April 9th with a new episode of The Office, the premiere of Parks and Recreation, another new Office episode, a first-run 30 Rock and the premiere of Southland.... Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari co-star in Parks and Recreation. Premiering: Thursday, April 9th at 7:30 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Paul Schneider, Aubrey Plaza Produced by: Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, Howard Klein

FX's Rescue Me blazes anew in Season 5

Ed Bark — 2009-04-07T09:40:20-05:00
Fox. By ED BARK Delayed almost interminably by last year's writers' strike, FX's Rescue Me returns in a big way Tuesday with a bounteous, 22-episode Season 5. ...Lest we forget, Tommy's still on the wagon and his belittling father remains newly deceased as the series reboots with an episode titled "Baptism" (9 p.m. central, repeated at 10 p.m.).

Surviving Suburbia gives Saget another ABC port

Ed Bark — 2009-04-06T10:43:18-05:00
Hardy hoo-hah!. Premiering: Monday, April 6th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Bob Saget, Cynthia Stevenson, Jere Burns, Jared Kusnitz, G Hannelius, Dan Cortese Produced by: Kevin Abbott, Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis ...The show's surprise emergence on ABC -- in a cushy slot following Dancing with the Stars no less -- might remind some viewers that this is the network that once made its bacon with laugh track-driven family sitcoms such as Full House, Growing Pains, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Who's the Boss, Family Matters and According to Jim.

The Tudors and In Treatment are back in play on Showtime, HBO

Ed Bark — 2009-04-03T12:54:12-05:00
Gina Toll and Paul Weston. By ED BARK Premium cable's warring big shots, HBO and Showtime, each return estimable series Sunday night. ...Henry, who rid himself of second wife Anne Boleyn at the close of last season, takes on his third wife, Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis), at the start of this one.

Leno's prime-time show a no go on Boston's NBC affiliate; MSNBC hires another voice from the left

Ed Bark — 2009-04-03T10:47:50-05:00
NBC is running fourth in the prime-time ratings again, and has no show -- other than Sunday Night Football -- that even wins its time period. ...David Gregory, who had anchored 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and also moderates NBC's Meet the Press, will be shuttled to 3 p.m. weekdays, where he'll helm a new two-hour program with Tamron Hall.

ER checks out after lasting long enough to go on Medicare

Ed Bark — 2009-04-02T11:30:00-05:00
Those days are long gone, with NBC estimating that Leno will cost the network roughly one-third or less of what it took to fuel the 9 p.m. hour with scripted drama series. Many of the high-quality, buzz-worthy dramas now are on cable networks, even if their audiences come nowhere near the 30 million viewers per episode that ER averaged in its first four seasons.

Fox tabs Sykes to fill MadTV's late night Saturday slot

Ed Bark — 2009-04-01T12:39:42-05:00
By ED BARK Fox's MadTV will be a goner at the end of this season, but Wanda Sykes will be moving right in next fall. ...TBS cable recently announced its first entry into the late night talk/comedy mix, with George Lopez taking the reins of a weeknight 10 p.m. show scheduled to launch in November.

Peabodys branch out to honor traditional tube-delivered programs -- and youtube

Ed Bark — 2009-04-01T11:20:37-05:00
ABC's Lost, HBO's John Adams, youtube and the presidential campaign satire on NBC's Saturday Night Live are among the 36 George Foster Peabody Award recipients announced Wednesday by the University of Georgia. HBO's Entourage, AMC's Breaking Bad, CNN's non-satiric election coverage and the Onion News Network also will be honored at a May 18th ceremony in New York City hosted by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.

Osbournes: Reloaded -- What the @#$%&* was that *&%$#@ pile of #@$%*&?

Ed Bark — 2009-04-01T05:01:04-05:00
Fox has aired some dreadful stuff over the years, but Osbournes: Reloaded proved to be shockingly inept and unfunny from the instant mom Sharon and daughter Kelly shared ice-breaking bleeped profanities while a studio audience howled with laughter. ...Nick, who frankly didn't look like much of a catch, got sent backstage to ruminate while the show unfortunately went on. Offal included Ozzy and Kelly in a filmed segment as profane, food-throwing drive-in workers followed by cursing kids of kindergarten age playing "The Littlest Osbournes."

Second coming of Cupid lacks that certain some-zing

Ed Bark — 2009-03-30T19:03:51-05:00
Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Paulson front ABC's Cupid redo. Premiering: Tuesday, March 31st at 9 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring:Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Paulson, Rick Gomez, Camille Guaty Created by: Rob Thomas ...The new Cupid premieres Tuesday (9 p.m. central), following another episode of ABC's best available launch pad, Dancing with the Stars.

Looks like a stinker: Osbournes: Reloaded isn't giving TV critics much of a chance to unload

Ed Bark — 2009-03-30T14:04:58-05:00
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne bring their four-ring circus to Fox. By ED BARK This is only a hunch, mind you. ...So far that includes a silhouetted stripping granny (her "boobs were so saggy," Kelly notes); a blindfolded younger guy being duped into kissing an elderly woman; Ozzy spraying the audience with foam; and pint-sized "Littlest Osbournes" dropping bleeped f-bombs while insulting a young woman at a theater box office who tells them they can't see an adult-rated movie.

HBO couldn't be less explicit with first-rate No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Ed Bark — 2009-03-27T11:39:21-05:00
A plus-size star is born: Jill Scott as Precious Ramotswe. By ED BARK Premiering: Sunday, March 29th at 7 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose, Lucian Msamati, Desmond Dube, Winston Ntshona, Mosaka Mogara Produced by: Richard Curtis, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein and the late Sydney Pollack ...Ladies' Detective Agency, shot entirely in Botswana, Africa and drawn from the nine same-named novels, stars a plus-sized heroine who lives to honor her late, loving father.

Stay in the womb! ABC's In the Motherhood is coming

Ed Bark — 2009-03-25T12:39:30-05:00
Clair of In the Motherhood Premiering: Thursday, March 26th at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Cheryl Hines, Megan Mullally, Jessica St. ...Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) shouts her way through the role of Rosemary, a multi-divorced, self-absorbed mother of a son who goes entirely unseen in the first two episodes available for review.

George Lopez to take a swing at late night in new TBS talker

Ed Bark — 2009-03-24T10:06:03-05:00
George Lopez will be a TV talker, too, on new TBS late nighter. By ED BARK TBS and George Lopez will enter the late night talk arena for the first time this fall in a show set to air opposite local newscasts and the first half-hours of Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show and Late Show with David Letterman. ..."George and TBS are going to change the late-night television landscape and bring a brand new energy to the talk show genre by giving it a street-party atmosphere," says TBS programming head Michael Wright.

Warhorse redux: Rather hits the century mark -- in episodes -- on HDNet

Ed Bark — 2009-03-23T14:02:15-05:00
And each and every one of them is told from the beginning that Mark is prepared to spend whatever we need to get the story, but not one dollar more . ...I remain absolutely determined to find out what really happened, and to bring into the sunshine what the public needs to know about how these ever larger corporations are connected to Washington power for the benefit of making money at the expense of truly independent and free journalism.

Dummying it down

Ed Bark — 2009-03-23T10:37:41-05:00
By ED BARK Dallas-born ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (above) has just signed a big deal with Comedy Central, further establishing North Texas as a great place to throw your voice for fun and eventual profit. ...So he now has what Comedy Central describes as a "wide-ranging, fully-integrated, multi-platform initiative which includes a series order, stand-up special, major-market stand-up tour, DVDs and a consumer products partnership."

Idol bracketology

Ed Bark — 2009-03-18T18:12:22-05:00
Here's my projected Final Four: Clockwise from top left are Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey and Lil Rounds Fox photos By ED BARK Eleven finalists still remain on American Idol after Tuesday night's country-fried sing-off. ...I'll pick Allison Iraheta to go all the way, but have no idea who will emerge from this Final Four to sing against her on the last performance show.

Better Off Ted has Office politics, but also a few sparks of its own

Ed Bark — 2009-03-17T17:25:09-05:00
Jay Harrington and Portia de Rossi meet head-on in Better Off Ted. Premiering: Wednesday, March 18th, at 7:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Jay Harrington, Portia de Rossi, Andrea Anders, Jonathan Slavin, Malcolm Barrett, Isabella Acres Created and produced by: Victor Fresco ...But go-along Ted is also a single dad whose curly-haired daughter, Rose (Isabella Acres), looks like Shirley Temple and sometimes makes pop wonder whether he shouldn't be working for the Good Ship Lollipop instead of the Bismarck.

Stephanopoulos/McCain: THE TWITTERVIEW

Ed Bark — 2009-03-17T13:26:24-05:00
By ED BARK It was only last year that presidential candidate John McCain copped to being a computer "illiterate" who used neither a MAC or a PC. Now he's twittering with ABC News This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos, who's embraced this new form as if he were a one-year-old in a high chair with his first birthday cake set before him.

Sopranos creator going Hollywood for HBO

Ed Bark — 2009-03-16T12:45:00-05:00
By ED BARK HBO and David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, will be re-teaming for a miniseries about Hollywood's vintage big shots. ...But a lot of time will be covered, from 1913 through the "golden era of talkies and the studio system, to the auteur movement to television, and finally to the present day," according to HBO publicity materials.

NBC's Kings a biblical, bounteous feast

Ed Bark — 2009-03-13T11:10:45-05:00
In a thin soup season of low aspirations, Kings delivers an oft-stunning punch, beginning with Sunday night's two-hour "event" premiere (7 p.m. central). ...Egan, who bears a fairly strong resemblance to Matt Damon, is suitably torn between returning to his home of Port Prosperity or serving his king for what he hopes will be the greater good.

By George, he did it

Ed Bark — 2009-03-13T08:42:30-05:00
Clooney & Margulies, larger than life, on March 12th ER. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Word leaked out via several online and on-air outlets, but NBC never officially confirmed or specifically promoted the appearance of George Clooney on Thursday's ER. ...His character, Dr. Doug Ross, is now operating out of the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, whose staff also includes Carol Hathway (Julianna Margulies), his ER wife.

NBC's new summer schedule kicks off early in hopes of helping Conan's Tonight

Ed Bark — 2009-03-12T17:08:19-05:00
Get Me Out of Here!, which fouled ABC's schedule in 2003. By ED BARK NBC has scheduled three season finales during Conan O'Brien's first week of hosting The Tonight Show as part of what it calls a "sizzling summer of new and returning series." O'Brien, who takes over Tonight on June 1st, supposedly will get "the best launch possible" on Monday through Wednesday of that week with 9 p.m. season-enders of Medium, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order.

Idol: shootdowns for Jasmine, Jorge and a dumb new rule

Ed Bark — 2009-03-12T10:01:05-05:00
Goodnight to Jorge Nunez (middle) and Jasmine Murray. Fox photos By ED BARK American Idol sent Top 13 finalists Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez packing Wednesday night while needlessly gumming up the rules and also falsely presenting them. ...Before unveiling this change of course, host Ryan Seacrest noted that previous Idol contestants Chris Daughtry, Tamyra Gray, Jennifer Hudson and Michael Johns all had been on the receiving end of unpopular evictions during previous Idol editions.

Chop-chop: Throw another cooking competition on the fire

Ed Bark — 2009-03-11T09:31:02-05:00
By ED BARK Chef Marco Pierre White, the British bloke who hosts NBC's new The Chopping Block, used to have Gordon Ramsay under his wing. But the bombastic star of Fox's Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares got to these shores first, leaving his old boss to serve leftovers on yet another weekly cooking competition devised by an umpteenth U.S. network.

Dancing with the Stars welcomes Bachelor jilt-ee, angers North Texas couple for other reasons

Ed Bark — 2009-03-10T11:32:51-05:00
Meanwhile, at least two viewers, Elon and Jennifer Werner of Cedar Hill, TX, say they've sworn off Dancing because it's gotten too blue for their nine-year-old daughter to watch. ...It was too hard to explain what Jackass was, what Playboy was, and what a number of the other off-hand and off-color remarks were to our nine-year-old daughter, who has been a passionate DWTS fan for the past three seasons.

Let's make a deal: AMC's Breaking Bad is boldly back in play

Ed Bark — 2009-03-06T14:16:56-06:00
This is Weeds on steroids -- or crystal meth in this case -- with Walt White (Cranston) and former student turned accomplice Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) wheeling and dealing with the most unsavory thugs New Mexico has to offer. ...AMC also has ordered almost twice as many new episodes -- 13 -- giving the show more room to maneuver within a still relatively small universe that also includes Walt's brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris), a DEA agent, and his wife, Marie (Betsy Brandt), a chronic shoplifter.

Idol's final field swells to old-school baker's dozen

Ed Bark — 2009-03-06T07:28:58-06:00
American Idol's first-ever Top 13 finalists include Thursday night "Wild Card" picks Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai (top from left), Megan Joy Corkrey and Jasmine Murray (bottom from left). Fox photo By ED BARK American Idol's final field is set, after judges added four rather than the expected three contestants during Thursday night's so-called "Wild Card" round. ...It also presumably increases the number of Idol hours on Fox, which can't be blamed for wanting to make a few extra advertising bucks in sub-dire times for the television industry and just about any industry.

ABC's banter-laced Castle solves crimes without going medieval

Ed Bark — 2009-03-05T16:42:39-06:00
Viewers who began their TV-watching before the Internet hit also might recognize a little/lot of Moonlighting in Castle, which ABC hopes will be catapulted by Monday's preceding two-hour launch of Dancing with the Stars' eighth edition. ...And in a dismal season for both bottom lines and breakout hits, the success or failure of Castle could go a long way in determining whether actors and their roles have a long-term future at any of the Big Four broadcast networks.

Idol adds three more finalists, will fill out field via Thursday's "Wild Card" show

Ed Bark — 2009-03-05T07:16:01-06:00
Top 12 finalists Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds, Jorge Nunez Fox photo By ED BARK American Idol viewers voted in three more Top 12 finalists Wednesday before judges announced eight "Wild Card" picks for Thursday's last chance sing-off. ...The women's field looks like a three-way battle among Corkrey, Murray and, groan, the ultra-histrionic Del Toro, who unfortunately can sing as well as weep.

Pick three: Idol's third performance round yields two slam dunks, one shot in the dark

Ed Bark — 2009-03-04T10:52:16-06:00
Barton looked smashing, and is also the one who was retrieved by judges after initial Top 36 semi-finalist Joanna Pacitti got disqualified with the usual scant elaboration from Fox. ...But MacIntyre is no slouch as a vocalist, and could really shine when he's allowed to play his keyboards as a member of the show's Final 12.

Working without the net? Fallon's Web-footed Late Night wouldn't think of it

Ed Bark — 2009-03-02T12:24:28-06:00
And in case you're interested, he'll also be doing a little television show on the side, beginning Monday at 11:35 p.m. (central) on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. ...He'll find out how many people are paying attention after Monday's first actual television outing finds Fallon in the company of Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake and musical guest Van Morrison, of whom he says, "I can almost guarantee you he has no idea of who I am."

24 cranks itself to the breaking point with full-blown assault on White House

Ed Bark — 2009-03-01T22:54:19-06:00
Monday's two-hour "event" -- covering the 6 to 8 p.m. hours of Season 7 -- finds terrorists breaking into the White House with what seems to be the greatest of ease. ...In Monday night's never-dull two-parter (7 to 9 p.m. central), he again runs afoul of noxious Senator Blaine Mayer (Kurtwood Smith), who wants to lock him up for crimes against humanity.

Tom Selleck still rock-stolid as wrong-righting Jesse Stone

Ed Bark — 2009-02-27T12:26:28-06:00
He'll be playing gruff, hard-drinking, dog-loving police chief Jesse Stone for the fifth time Sunday (March 1st), in CBS' Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (8 p.m. central). ...Leslie Hope, who played Jack Bauer's murdered wife, Teri, on the first season of 24, drops in for a few scenes as a taut-talking internal affairs investigator who of course is not immune to Stone's rough-hewn charms.

Only tipsy with power this time: unclebarky.com hits on two of Idol's latest three finalists

Ed Bark — 2009-02-27T11:04:04-06:00
Idol finalists Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert Fox photo By ED BARK Your friendly American Idol idolator correctly picked two of the three finalists to emerge from Thursday's 12 hopefuls. Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert made the top 12 as predicted but I missed on Kris Allen, instead succumbing to the bizarre song stylings of Nick Mitchell a k a "Norman Gentle."

March sadness: CBS is the only network on year-to-year upswing, but Fox will have usual finishing kick

Ed Bark — 2009-02-26T16:11:30-06:00
Simon Baker of CBS' The Mentalist; Tim Roth of Fox's Lie to Me By ED BARK The Big Four broadcast networks -- and li'l CW -- are heading into the final three months of the 2008-'09 TV season with only CBS having all arrows pointing upward. ...1 network among 18-to-49-year-olds, even though its average of 4.2 million per prime-time show is well off last year's 5.4 million at this time of the season.

Pick three: Idol's second performance round tougher to figure than first

Ed Bark — 2009-02-26T09:22:04-06:00
Singing for survival: Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Nick Mitchell By ED BARK Correctly picking last week's three American Idol survivors, which unclebarky.com did, was easier than figuring which trio will emerge from Wednesday's dozen. Going first is hardly ever beneficial, so 17-year-old Jasmine Murray likely will have to wait for the judges' climactic "wild card" choices to perhaps sneak in. She deserved a better seed, though.

Oscar audience grows from last year's all-time low

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T14:00:10-06:00
C'mon, get happy: Oscar ratings up from last year's low. ABC photo By ED BARK Sunday night's 81st Oscar ceremony on ABC kicked up a few notches in the national Nielsens, averaging 36.3 million viewers during its three-and-a-half-hour running time. That's a nice boost from the all-time low 32 million viewers who watched last year's telecast, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Gibson regroups with stunt stint on Kimmel Live

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T12:29:16-06:00
A goateed Mel Gibson, little seen or heard since his infamous drunken tirade in mid-summer 2006, dropped in on Jimmy Kimmel's post-Oscar show Sunday to announce his next film project. ...Here's the clip, in which Gibson plays a Southern-fried colonel -- with blood on his hands, of course.

Jackman-led Oscars end up long on ceremony

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T07:58:35-06:00
Host Hugh Jackman impresses early in the game. ABC photos By ED BARK Sunday's largely suspense-less ABC Oscar-cast perhaps could have used a jokester host or at least Jerry Lewis acting up. ...ABC's cameramen as usual were on top of all the audience reaction shots, even finding best actress winner Kate Winslet's dad in the cheap seats after she asked him to whistle -- which he did -- to show her where he was seated.

Sexy women of substance populate BBC America's Mistresses

Ed Bark — 2009-02-20T09:03:01-06:00
Sexual beings Jessica, Trudi, Katie, Siobhan in Mistresses Premiering: Friday, Feb. 20th at 7 p.m. (central) on BBC America. ...BBC America's 12-episode Mistresses, premiering Friday, Feb. 20th (7 p.m. central), is graced by four of the UK's finest, sturdiest actresses.

Drunk with power: unclebarky.com nails first three Idol finalists

Ed Bark — 2009-02-19T11:33:12-06:00
Top 12 Idol finalists Michael Sarver, Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey By ED BARK It's nice to hit a trifecta once in a while. Which unclebarky.com did by correctly picking the first three American Idol survivors among this week's 12 contestants.

Pick just three: Idol dashes dreams, punishes posers in bigger doses this season

Ed Bark — 2009-02-18T10:59:30-06:00
Michael Sarver -- Jasper, TX oil-rigger and married father of two is easy to like and has a good shot to squeeze through after a mixed reaction from judges. ...After two more 12-way competitions (on Feb. 26th and March 4th), judges will invite their favorite evictees back on March 5th for a "wild card" round in which they, not viewers, will pick three more contestants to round out a final 12.

Play @%$!*#% Ball -- HBO's Eastbound & Down throws hard but misses the plate

Ed Bark — 2009-02-13T15:41:08-06:00
Danny McBride strikes out as washed-up pitcher Kenny Powers. Premiering: Sunday, Feb. 15th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Danny McBride, Katy Mixon, John Hawkes, Jennifer Irwin, Andrew Daly, Steve Little, Ben Best Produced by: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Ben Best By ED BARK Just in time for spring training, here comes HBO's comedy series about a profane, loutish, sexist, homophobic, coke-sniffing ex-Big League relief pitcher who "looks like a big bag of mashed-up asshole" in the view of one cogent observer.

Fox's Dollhouse may not play very well

Ed Bark — 2009-02-13T09:45:48-06:00
And of course it almost goes without saying that "Nothing is what it appears to be," which mastermind Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) tells minion Echo (Eliza Dushku) in the opening seconds of Friday's premiere (8 p.m. central). ...But amid all these extracurricular activities, Echo has a somewhat self-contained assignment of the week, whether it's acting as a go-between in a kidnapping or serving as human prey next week for a maniacal bow hunter.

CNBC's House of Cards shows how greed hit home and left the economy humbled

Ed Bark — 2009-02-12T14:26:39-06:00
House of Cards players: Alan Greenspan, David Faber, Kyle Bass By ED BARK It's a fine mess we're in, and CNBC's latest new documentary, House of Cards, is better than most at explaining how "the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression" came to roost. ...He meticulously shows how the bubble burst without being a bubblehead about it in a compelling two-hour film that premieres on Thursday, Feb. 12th at 7 p.m. (central), repeats at 11 p.m. on the same night and also will air on Sunday (8 p.m.) and Monday (7 p.m.).

Oddly unaffecting Two Lovers nonetheless has intriguing big-star cast and free admission on HDNet Movies

Ed Bark — 2009-02-11T16:10:11-06:00
But just in case, here he is in a somber yet semi-uplifting film about a depressed would-be photographer who somehow manages to click with two disparate, attractive women. ...And when Sandra asks him to a party just moments after they make love for the first time, it's even harder to buy into Leonard saying, "I'll check to see if I'm free."

Important Things with Demetri Martin needs more pop but shows some promise

Ed Bark — 2009-02-10T13:04:55-06:00
Wednesday's premiere of Comedy Central's Important Things with Demetri Martin (9:30 p.m. central) brings forth a mop-headed, nimble-brained 35-year-old who looks quite a bit younger than he is. ...Next Wednesday's show, which trades on the word "Power," has appreciably better filmed sketches built around a battle for a parking space and a super hero named the Revenger" who later learns that his father died of Lyme Disease rather than at the hands of violent crooks.

Dancing with the Stars fetes 13 new pair of feet

Ed Bark — 2009-02-09T09:27:48-06:00
Jewel, David Alan Grier and Denise Richards get ready to rhumba. By ED BARK ABC's Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars floors it on March 9th.... *** Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O'Dell (hmm, wonder which entertainment rag mag will be getting lots of "exclusive" material)

Chuck tries 3D as last resort; House comfortably at home on Fox for Episode 100

Ed Bark — 2009-02-02T12:18:49-06:00
Her eventual diagnosis won't be spilled here, but as usual it takes most of the episode for House to deduce it after his usual verbal abusing of anyone and everyone. ...Chuck on the other hand is stuck as that night's table-setter on downtrodden NBC, which also will be relaunching Heroes and Medium on post-Super Bowl Monday.

Super Bowl XLIII: great game, decent commercials, Bruce cuttin' loose

Ed Bark — 2009-02-01T23:32:12-06:00

The Office checks in as latest post-Super Bowl entree

Ed Bark — 2009-01-30T11:43:43-06:00
Michael again makes a mess of things on post-Supie Office episode. By ED BARK Networks used to use the big post-Super Bowl "platform" to launch new series before the often less than watchful eyes of besotted, bloated American viewers. ...Last year's post-Super Bowl episode of House had a comparatively paltry 29 million viewers on Fox, even though the New York Giants-Patriots game averaged an all-time record of 97.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

An explosive beginning to 21st season of American Experience

Ed Bark — 2009-01-26T12:00:23-06:00
The father of the World War II era atomic bomb was a "frail, frequently sick" pantywaist as a kid, never had a date at Harvard and was derided after the fact by President Truman as "that crybaby scientist." ...The PBS film tells of the constant government scrutiny of Oppenheimer, even while he headed the all-consuming U.S. effort to beat Germany to the atomic bomb punch at the height of World War II.

TNT's Trust Me not as good as advertised

Ed Bark — 2009-01-23T09:54:16-06:00
Tom Cavanaugh and Eric McCormack pair up in TNT's Trust Me. Premiering: Monday, Jan. 26th at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanaugh, Monica Potter, Griffin Dunne, Sarah Clarke, Mike Damus, Geoffrey Arend Produced by: Greer Shephard, Michael M. ...And the network also has positioned Trust Me to succeed by slotting Monday's premiere (9 p.m. central) after a new episode of its most bankable hit, The Closer.

True story: Fox's Lie to Me looks like a keeper

Ed Bark — 2009-01-21T09:32:06-06:00
Tim Roth might be a bit afraid you won't like him in Lie to Me. Premiering: Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, Monica Raymund, Brendan Hines Produced by: Brian Grazer, Samuel Baum, David Nevins, Steven Maeda ...Other members of the team are lead researcher Eli Loker (Brendan Hines), who has a little 'tude to him, and new recruit Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), plucked from an airport security post because she tested off the charts as a human lie detector.

Oh happy daze: Lost returns Wednesday

Ed Bark — 2009-01-19T13:52:23-06:00
Daniel Faraday's a key ingredient; "Shotgun Willie's" an appetizer. Lost doesn't stay too long in any one place during Season 5's opening three hours. ...Amid all the uncertainty, it seems certain that Lost eventually will put the "Oceanic 6" and Locke back on the island they left behind three years ago. After all, time is of the essence, as you'll hear at the end of Wednesday's Episode 2.

Three's company in Showtime's United States of Tara

Ed Bark — 2009-01-16T14:20:32-06:00
Tara Gregson and her three disparate "alts"; star Toni Collette Premiering: Sunday, Jan. 18th at 9 p.m. central on Showtime Starring: Toni Collette, John Corbett, Brie Larson, Keir Gilchrist, Rosemarie DeWitt Produced by: Steven Spielberg, Diablo Cody, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Alexa Junge ...The show is United States of Tara, the star is Toni Collette and the execution is so-so in what creator Diablo Cody (Juno) describes as a "sensitive, humorous, humanist" approach to Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Beast of burden: New A&E series a bad vehicle for game Swayze

Ed Bark — 2009-01-15T13:56:10-06:00
Patrick Swayze stars in The Beast, whose aim is off. By ED BARK Just about everyone probably knows by now that Patrick Swayze continues to stare death in the face while battling pancreatic cancer. ...He's convincingly intense, whether barking out orders to Dove or shooting himself in the shoulder during next week's Episode 2 as a very odd means to bring a drug ring to an end.

Ricardo Montalban deplanes at age 88

Ed Bark — 2009-01-15T11:08:47-06:00
The first is a Fantasy Island "mini-sode" in which Mr. Roarke conducts the first ever "Miss Fantasy Island Beauty Pageant" with assurances that guest star Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch will wear the crown. ...

"I am not a numbuh!" Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan calls it a night

Ed Bark — 2009-01-14T17:23:15-06:00
By ED BARK Patrick McCoohan, original star of The Prisoner, is dead at age 80. The 1968 British-made series lasted just 17 episodes on CBS, but its lore lives on. McGoohan's highly vexed lead character was known only as "Number 6."

PBS at last plays for laughs in six-hour comedy opus

Ed Bark — 2009-01-14T13:23:02-06:00
Prominently featured are groundbreaking silent film star Harold Lloyd; the early Bob Hope ("a pompous coward trying to win the girl with the wisecrack," says Sedaris); Phyllis Diller; Andy Kaufman; Cheech & Chong; Steve Martin; Woody Allen and the wildly improvisational Winters, who's ordered to "Do something with a stick" during an appearance on Jack Paar's old Tonight Show. ...He has a point, but it would have been good to get a rebuttal from All In The Family creator Norman Lear, who's newly interviewed for Make 'Em Laugh.

Party on: Golden Globes again serve their purpose

Ed Bark — 2009-01-12T11:33:00-06:00
Rock rhymes with Barack -- Tracy Morgan accepted 30 Rock's Globe for best comedy series after explaining, "Tina Fey and I had an agreement that if Barack Obama won, I would speak for the show from now on. I'm the face of post-racial America." ...Suck it to me -- Tina Fey, voted best comedy series actress for 30 Rock, said she's learned that "If you ever start to feel too good about yourself, they have this thing called the Internet."

Jack in a box: 24 returns to re-save the world

Ed Bark — 2009-01-09T11:58:27-06:00
Sounds like another typical holiday for 24 and Jack Bauer as Season 7 barges into view with a two-part, four-hour, Sunday-Monday launch (7 to 9 p.m. central both nights). ...This little sermonette might hold a bit more water if Jack hadn't effectively threatened a scumbag with torture just a bit earlier while under the close eye of comely FBI agent Renee Walker (a strong 24 debut by Annie Wersching).

FX's Damages returns in killer form

Ed Bark — 2009-01-07T13:55:54-06:00
Even those who devoured its first season might find themselves a bit disoriented as Season 2 begins Wednesday night (9 p.m. central) with two bangs from a pistol held by avenging young attorney Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). ...But most of the meat is in its six-month trip back to the present, where Parsons tells her unseen prey, "I lied, too," before pumping those two pistol shots.

Fear Is Real -- add moronic and stupefying

Ed Bark — 2009-01-07T12:44:01-06:00
13 -- Fear is Real: the CW artwork is as sorry as the show. By ED BARK One of the pithier observations in reality show history comes from a 23-year-old marketing and product specialist named Kelly. ...Fear Is Real (7 p.m. central) has a dirt-cheap look, an antiquated Blair Witch hook and a piddling grand prize of $66,666 for the last contestant standing among 13 lambs to the pseudo slaughter.

Scrubs good as ever, Homeland Security a dud in ABC's new Tuesday pairing

Ed Bark — 2009-01-05T16:18:38-06:00
Scenes from ABC's Scrubs and Homeland Security USA. By ED BARK No amounts of ominous-sounding or pulse-pounding music can make ABC's new Homeland Security USA much more than a crashing bore. ...Tonight's first of two episodes, subtitled "My Jerks," introduces guest star Courteney Cox as new chief of medicine Taylor Maddox while also fleshing out new interns named Ed (Aziz Ansari), Denise (Eliza Coupe) and Katie (Betsy Beutler).

ABC's new True Beauty plays tricks on Dallas magician's assistant among others

Ed Bark — 2009-01-04T19:12:22-06:00
But in ABC promotional clips, Kutcher summons all the wisdom at his command in deducing that "good looking people immediately assume that they are of a different sort of echelon of being than the rest of us . ...But he's lately had a trio of bombs -- NBC's The Real Wedding Crashers, ABC's Miss Guided and this season's earlier Opportunity Knocks, which ABC kayoed after just three episodes.

Play it again: compelling ESPN special marks 50th anniversary of "The Greatest Game Ever Played"

Ed Bark — 2008-12-12T07:30:05-06:00
Frank Gifford and Gino Marchetti remember the way it was. NBC's black-and-white telecast of the game is no longer with us. But ESPN has stitched together and colorized most of the game's big plays from existing film footage. ...He also was involved in a very big way in "The Greatest Game Ever Played," fumbling twice, scoring a touchdown and coming up just inches short -- or so the referees ruled -- of a first down that would have allowed the Giants to run out the clock.

Cable attractions dominate Golden Globes nominations (but then you probably already figured as much)

Ed Bark — 2008-12-11T11:06:21-06:00
Californication's David Duchovny; January Jones of Mad Men By ED BARK Cable programs had the majority of nominees in all but one of 11 TV categories in Golden Globes nominations announced Thursday. That includes five nods apiece for HBO's Recount and In Treatment; four for its John Adams; three for AMC's Mad Men and HBO's Entourage; and two each for HBO's True Blood and Showtime's Dexter and Californication, whose star, David Duchovny, should have an interesting acceptance speech should he win.

Jay's prime-time gain could be Conan's late-night loss

Ed Bark — 2008-12-10T11:40:58-06:00
The Peacock's blockbuster deal to keep Leno, officially announced Tuesday, will give him an unprecedented Monday-Friday 9 p.m. (central) slot next fall while O'Brien moves West to take over the Tonight Show a few months earlier on June 1st. ...And the GE-owned network's 9 p.m. performance has dimmed to a flicker after the still relatively recent bright years of Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and ER, which will have its series finale on March 12th.

Redneck scrapper: Dallas-born Christian Kane fights for TNT's new Leverage

Ed Bark — 2008-12-08T15:29:39-06:00
Christian Kane touts TNT's Leverage during Dallas stop. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Born in Dallas but mostly bred in Oklahoma, actor Christian Kane seems a bit unsuited for his Ritz-Carlton suite. ... Kane in character as Leverage's resident tough guy. He bounced around after Rescue 77, playing Angelina Jolie's fiance in 2002's Life or Something Like It and getting cut up for real during a fight scene in the following year's Second Hand Lions.

Brokaw passes Meet the Press baton to Gregory

Ed Bark — 2008-12-07T11:36:57-06:00
By ED BARK David Gregory officially became the 10th permanent moderator of Meet the Press Sunday, with Tom Brokaw passing the baton after ending his interim tenure by interviewing president-elect Barack Obama. ..."I'm not Tim, but along with this great team, I can just work real hard to make Tim proud," Gregory told Brokaw, who noted that his first Meet the Press appearance was "at the height" of Watergate in 1973.

TNT's "high-octane" Leverage not quite a gas, gas, gas

Ed Bark — 2008-12-05T14:27:24-06:00
Timothy Hutton leads his merry band of robbin' hoods. Premiering: Sunday, Dec. 7th at 9 p.m. (central) before moving to regular Tuesday, 9 p.m. slot on Dec. 9th Starring: Timothy Hutton, Beth Riesgraf, Christian Kane, Aldis Hodge, Gina Bellman Produced by: Dean Devlin, John Rogers, Chris Downey ...That might optimize your enjoyment of TNT's new Leverage, which in longer form is The A-Team meets Mission: Impossible meets Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen or how many more of 'em they make.

HBO's House of Saddam could use a fixer-upper

Ed Bark — 2008-12-04T11:43:21-06:00
Those who stay the course might find the opening two hours appreciably more interesting than the concluding Hour 4, which abruptly sends Saddam on the lam and then drearily winds down to his eventual capture by U.S forces. ...Alternately chortling and glowering, his formative Saddam -- the story begins in 1979 -- is bedeviled by both a domineering mother and amoral older son, Uday (Philip Arditti), who in time becomes the headstrong, violence- and drug-addicted Sonny Corleone of the piece.

Midseason tuneups for Big Four networks (and a little burp for The CW, too (updated and re-updated)

Ed Bark — 2008-12-03T09:00:58-06:00
***Howie Do It, a hidden camera series starring Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel, premieres on Friday, Jan. 9th at 7 p.m. A week later, Friday Night Lights segues from DirectTV to make its third season broadcast network debut in the 8 p.m. hour. ...***The new drama series Kings premieres with a two-hour episode on Thursday, March 19th at 8 p.m. before moving on the following Thursday to ER's vacated 9 p.m. slot.

Gregory reportedly will get Meet the Press post

Ed Bark — 2008-12-01T22:17:30-06:00
He's been ubiquitous, too, filling in on Today, anchoring weekend editions of the NBC Nightly News and hosting MSNBC's Race For the White House, which became 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after election day. ...If indeed he's the one, Gregory will have vaulted over veteran Andrea Mitchell and young gun political analyst Chuck Todd, both of whom reportedly were considered for the Meet the Press post along with frequent panelist Gwen Ifill of PBS.

The Shield goes out like a lion with rousing finale

Ed Bark — 2008-11-25T11:16:20-06:00
Fans of The Shield almost assuredly will not be disappointed by this very satisfying resolution to the series that forged FX's barrier-breaking identity. ...The Shield also restored Chiklis to the good graces of his profession after a dispiriting period where he starred in NBC's mercifully short-lived Daddio sitcom and played Curly in a made-for-TV movie about The Three Stooges.

Last call for Boston Legal

Ed Bark — 2008-11-24T13:44:38-06:00
By ED BARK Denny Crane and Alan Shore will clink glasses a last time on a two-hour Boston Legal set for Dec. 8th. ...Also, Shore petitions the Supreme Court to let Crane use a non-FDA approved drug that may slow the progression of his Alzheimer's Disease while Carl Sack and Shirley Schmidt (John Larroquette, Candice Bergen) plan their wedding.

Colbert Christmas special is jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell mock

Ed Bark — 2008-11-21T14:51:23-06:00
Instead he's trapped in his ridiculously decorated mountain cabin by a ravenous bear that won't let him make it to a presumably festive Manhattan studio where Elvis Costello restlessly awaits as a drummer boy and later a pop-up clown. ...Jon Stewart fails to interest Colbert in Hannukah, John Legend can't sell him on the joys of nutmeg and single-named Feist pretty much falls flat as a tree-topping angel who tries to answer the host's Jimmy Stewart-esque prayer to "show me the way."

24: Redemption movie puts Action Jack back in harm's way before Season 7 follows suit

Ed Bark — 2008-11-21T08:22:07-06:00
Jack's busy in Africa while Madame President takes the oath in D.C. By ED BARK His venue's changed, but Jack Bauer's 24 playbook hasn't during Sunday night's prequel to January's Season 7 start-up. From 3 to 5 p.m. in fictional, war-torn Sangala, Africa, Kiefer Sutherland's super-resilient soldier of misfortune has a prolonged gunfight, is tortured, loses another friend to a violent death and gets betrayed by a government official before again sacrificing himself for the greater good.

Gotta sing, gotta dance. But nearing her first prime-time variety special, Rosie O'Donnell of course slings opinions, too

Ed Bark — 2008-11-19T13:52:24-06:00
She insisted on doing the show live, with the understanding that NBC would order a minimum of six more hours if the Nielsen ratings click their heels on a show that will "be chock full of dancing boys and girls from Broadway." ..."I wasn't happy that I did not have control of the show," she says, referring to the autonomy she had as executive producer and star of The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

What makes NBC's Big Ben tick? For one thing, using NBC shows as "integral pieces of marketing platforms"

Ed Bark — 2008-11-18T16:00:20-06:00
Were Hill Street Blues in Silverman's hands, partners Andy Renko and Bobby Hill might well have driven their GM squad car to an off-duty charitable function that would make both them and their vehicle seem civic-minded. ...He just seemed happy to bask in the presence of a telegenic, supposedly hot-shot programming exec who told him that NBC is in the futuristic driver's seat with shows such as Knight Rider.

Obamas and Steve Kroft spark 60 Minutes to another ratings high

Ed Bark — 2008-11-18T13:12:20-06:00
In that period, CBS has averaged a league-leading 12.4 million viewers, down 4 percent from a year ago. Runnerup ABC has 11.7 million (down 9 percent), followed by Fox's 9.5 million (down 15 percent) and NBC's 8.9 million (down 10 percent). ... Nephew Mike Bark and my daughter, Liz (left, front), in Grant Park. 1. My daughter, Liz, a 2000 graduate of Ursuline Academy in Dallas, is now living in Chicago and pursuing a career in theater.

Einstein's mind is an action hero in new History Channel tale

Ed Bark — 2008-11-17T12:46:19-06:00
This two-hour tale, set against a backdrop of World War I and warring scientists, adds up to a compelling look at how Einstein finally won the day and became an international celebrity whose "wild halo of hair" only made his thoughts seem deeper. ...Tyson -- and we'll have to take his word for it -- says that Einstein's Theory of Relativity had "no wiggle room" in terms of being right or wrong.

What, them worry? Fox's MADtv canceled after 14 seasons, 300-plus episodes

Ed Bark — 2008-11-13T15:30:03-06:00
MADtv also had mockups of you-know-who. By ED BARK Fox's mostly overlooked answer to Saturday Night Live is going under in the same season that NBC's late night evergreen is having a ratings revival. ...Although it survived year after year, the show never proved to be a star-maker in league with SNL or even ABC's long-gone late night Fridays, which ran only from 1980-'82 but whose repertory company included both Michael Richards and Larry David.

"Hello, I'm Morley, I'm Lesley -- and this is your No.1-rated 60 Minutes."

Ed Bark — 2008-11-11T18:33:29-06:00
The grandfather clock of the TV news magazine genre drew 18.5 million viewers nationally for Sunday night's edition, edging CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (18.2 million) to rank No. ...60 Minutes topped the field with Steve Kroft's opening interview of president-elect Barack Obama's top campaign strategists; Scott Pelley's investigation of toxic electronic waste being illegally transported from the U.S. to polluted China dumps; and Morley Safer's profile of Ted Turner, whose first authorized biography is new in bookstores.

The Crash of 1929 -- seems like old times

Ed Bark — 2008-11-10T09:15:47-06:00
By ED BARK First shown in 2003 under PBS' American Experience banner, here's a classic cautionary tale that bears repeating, oh, at least every month or so. ...It's about the length of time that it requires for a new set of suckers, if you will, a new set of people capable of wonderful self-delusion to come in and imagine that they have a new and wonderful fix on the future."

Tina/Sarah to Tina/Sarah/Oprah to Tina/Oprah -- and Oprah/Tina (updated 4:12 p.m.)

Ed Bark — 2008-11-06T08:59:33-06:00
The most under-appreciated and currently the best comedy series on broadcast or cable television is getting a mega-boost tonight courtesy of a path that has taken star Tina Fey through Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin and now a highly advantageous outcome of Tuesday's presidential election. ...5 -- As scheduled more than a month ago. Winfrey will play herself on tonight's "Believe in the Stars" episode of 30 Rock, with Fey again brilliantly funny as oft-hapless but still very brainy TV producer Liz Lemon.

History Channels: Television brings home the sights and sounds of Obama's (and America's) night of nights

Ed Bark — 2008-11-05T07:24:14-06:00
"I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences," McCain said of Obama in his final act as a presidential candidate. ...At this point it's noticed that Fox4, still the last major local D-FW station not in high-definition, is unable to retain the Fox network's HD presentation whenever it inserts various local vote totals at the bottom of home screens.

November kicks October to the archives

Ed Bark — 2008-11-03T05:46:51-06:00
As November takes over -- and October moves to the long list of monthly archives on unclebarky.com's right hand border -- here's a look at John McCain's show-starter on the last Saturday Night LIve before election day. He's joined by Tina Fey's Sarah Palin.

Picky Picky (Vol. 17)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-30T08:38:23-05:00
By ED BARK Joe the Plumber, who by now needs no further introduction or identification, has signed a management deal with an eye toward becoming a show biz personality. "Joe the Plumber is fast becoming a brand," a representative of Nashville-based Pathfinder Management tells The New York Times.

The address is CBS -- for the first month of the season at least (as for the Peacock, it's plucked)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-23T14:35:41-05:00
Led by The Mentalist -- the only new series to rank in prime-time's top 10 -- CBS leads the pack in both total viewers (an average of 11.5 million) and advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds (4.3 million). ...17 in total viewers, joining The Mentalist in proving that "procedural" crime series are still paying off big-time on a network that now has 10 of 'em. And CBS' latest Monday night sitcom, Worst Week, is tied with ABC's heavily touted but already sinking Life on Mars for the 29th spot among all new series.

Life's too short to waste on Lifetime's new Rita Rocks sitcom

Ed Bark — 2008-10-20T14:21:38-05:00
Premiering: Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. (central) on Lifetime before moving to regular Tuesday 7:30 p.m. slot next week Starring: Nicole Sullivan, Richard Ruccolo, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Natalie Dreyfuss, Kelly Gould, Raviv Ullman, Ian Gomez Produced by: Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. ...Instead she's mostly stuck in prototypical '80s sitcom hell with bratty teen daughter Hallie (Shannen Doherty lookalike Natalie Dreyfuss) and her ever-present, dim bulb boyfriend, Kip (Raviv Ullman), whose first words are "What ups?"

Crash emerges as wreckage in weekly Starz version

Ed Bark — 2008-10-17T15:10:51-05:00
Dennis Hopper adds another psycho to his portfolio in Starz's Crash. Premiering: Friday, Oct. 17th at 9 p.m. (central) on Starz Starring: Dennis Hopper, Jocko Sims, Nick E. ...Notching another wacko on his bedpost, he has top billing as record producer Ben Cendars, whose first act is to expose himself to his female limo driver before laying a little heavy-duty profanity on her.

Mr. Robinson we assume: NBC's Crusoe a truly great escape

Ed Bark — 2008-10-16T15:36:25-05:00
His name is Jeremiah Blackthorne and he's played by durable Sam Neill, last seen as scheming Cardinal Wolsey in Season 1 of Showtime's The Tudors. ...Your time will be well-spent and your brain won't be taxed to the breaking point in trying to figure out who's who, what's what -- or where this show might be going.

David Alan Grier paints it black in Comedy Central's Chocolate News

Ed Bark — 2008-10-15T12:10:51-05:00
David Alan Grier strikes poses as anchor of Chocolate News. Premiering: Wednesday, Oct. 15th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on Comedy Central Starring: David Alan Grier Produced by: David Alan Grier, Robert Morton, Fax Bahr, Adam Small By ED BARK Anchor David Alan Grier promises uncompromising dark comedy on the new Chocolate News, touted as "the only source for pure, uncircumcised realness from an Afro-centric perspective."

NBC's My Own Worst Enemy: a brain-twister that ties its knots too tight

Ed Bark — 2008-10-13T16:28:38-05:00
How about yours? Premiering: Monday, Oct. 13th at 9 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Christian Slater, Alfre Woodard, Madchen Amick, Tom Grady, Saffron Burrows Produced by: John Eisendrath, Jason Smilovic, David Semel ..."You ARE the experiment," she tells Henry after he literally poses the same question asked by Ross Perot's running mate James Stockdale, at the start of the 1992 debate with Al Gore and Dan Quayle : "Who am I?

Ex-cellent: The Starter Wife returns in even better form than before

Ed Bark — 2008-10-10T08:13:21-05:00
Starter Wife mainstays Judy Davis and star Debra Messing By ED BARK There's no sex in her city. ...Her opening night performance in Starter Wife's return is sterling from start to finish, whether she's quipping with pals or turning up the intensity in scenes with her ex-husband and a hoped-for new friend named Liz (Danielle Nicolet).

Fighting crime on CBS: Eleventh Hour is just the latest practitioner

Ed Bark — 2008-10-09T08:30:54-05:00
Crime timers: CSI's William Peterson, Eleventh Hour's Rufus Sewell. Premiering: Thursday, Oct. 9th at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Rufus Sewell, Marley Shelton Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman By ED BARK Nicely nestled behind the godfather of "procedural crime" series, CBS' Eleventh Hour looks like another long-distance runner on a network that shot itself in the foot last season by trying something new.

Kath & Kim: at best it stinks

Ed Bark — 2008-10-08T17:25:13-05:00
Next question? Premiering: Thursday, Oct. 9th at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Starring: Molly Shannon, Selma Blair, John Michael Higgins, Mikey Day Produced and written by: Michelle Nader ...Kath & Kim is described in NBC press materials as the saga of a "hilarious and iconoclastic mother-daughter duo" immersed in a "love/hate, push/pull dysfunctional relationship that only a mother and daughter could share."

Life on Mars launches (but can it take off?)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-08T13:12:52-05:00
Mars may be fortunate to last nine episodes, even in a less than daunting time slot populated by NBC's already long-faded ER in its final season and CBS' Eleventh Hour in its first. ..."You look like you've seen a ghost, and he was ballin' your mother," he says by way of greeting the super-befuddled Sam, who becomes a member of the squad because almost everyone apparently knows him although he knows no one.

"I don't like his politics, but he's endearing in a strange, goofy, awkward way"

Ed Bark — 2008-10-07T12:47:10-05:00
Larry King and Oliver Stone put one in the 'W' column. By ED BARK The drumbeat for Oliver Stone's W remains muted just 10 days shy of its Oct. 17th big-screen release. ...The director of films ranging from Nixon to Natural Born Killers chose his words with the caution of a man who for the moment would rather be seen as more of a buttery Frank Capra than a heat-seeking Michael Moore.

Tina trifecta: her third Palin sendup in four weeks gets even better with strong support from Jason Sudeikis as bravura Biden

Ed Bark — 2008-10-05T19:57:40-05:00
By ED BARK Tina Fey risks putting herself in a Sarah Palin lockbox with three perfectly played parodies in the first four Saturday Night Lives of the season. ...Palin's the gift that keeps on giving, but Fey must be wondering how long she can go on. Wonder Woman also has to carry NBC's Emmy-winning 30 Rock , which might be feeling just a bit needy by now.

Fall TV: Worst Week does its best to break CBS' Monday night comedy mold

Ed Bark — 2008-09-19T13:14:47-05:00
What a fine mess Worst Week makes -- at least on opening night. Premiering: Monday, Sept. 22nd at 8:30 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Kyle Bornheimer, Erinn Hayes, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Lenehan Created by: Matt Tarses ...Let's just say that Dick Clayton finds himself with a little down time shortly after deadpanning, "I'm just gonna rinse the urine out of my hair, and I'll be off."

Asner still acting and punching with his left as presidential campaign carries on

Ed Bark — 2008-09-18T14:44:04-05:00
Ed Asner subtly sounds reveille in the upcoming Generation Gap. By ED BARK Liberal actor/activist Ed Asner and Republican presidential nominee John McCain are kindred spirits on at least two counts. ...His views of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin are as predictable as Sean Hannity's deferential treatment of her during a Wednesday night interview on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes.

And the Emmy goes to -- frankly, will anyone give a damn?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-17T11:27:51-05:00
Nor does it help that the three programs with the most Emmy nominations -- HBO's John Adams, AMC's Mad Men and NBC's 30 Rock -- have been seen by only a relative handful of America's TV-watchers. ...LEAD ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR MOVIE Dame Judi Dench, Cranford Catherine Keener, An American Crime Laurey Linney, John Adams Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun Susan Sarandon, Bernard and Doris

Otherworldly, overlooked: SNL's night of Sarah-Hillary put the "Space Olympics" into virtual eclipse

Ed Bark — 2008-09-16T17:35:18-05:00
By ED BARK Deep in the recesses of Saturday Night Live's 34th season premiere came another "Digital Short" from Andy "Dick in a Box" Samberg. It attracted possibly one zillionth the notice on a night when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler stole the show from the top with their dead-on sendups of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton.

A new Jenn-eration for Showtime's version of Inside the NFL

Ed Bark — 2008-09-16T11:33:33-05:00
Jenn Brown will be Inside the NFL's new Hollywood correspondent. By ED BARK Obviously selected for her abilities, not her looks, Jenn Brown has joined Showtime's considerably perkier version of Inside the NFL as a "special correspondent" based in Hollywood. ...The 27-year-old former Florida Gator softball team player earlier worked for Mark Cuban's Dallas-based HDNet on The Wild Side and Bikini Destinations, neither of which is mentioned in Showtime's " About Jenn Brown" mini-bio.

Together again for the first time: Fey and Poehler paint a masterpiece with SNL's Sarah/Hillary sendup

Ed Bark — 2008-09-14T08:44:43-05:00
SNL's "Hillary" returned as a not-so-stiff upper-lipped loser who finally boiled over as "Palin" pronounced, "It's truly amazing and I think women everywhere can agree, that no matter your politics, it's time for a woman to make it to the White House." ...But SNL's Sarah-Hillary sendup had the good grace to be smart, funny and brilliantly acted by Fey and Poehler, the only duo to ever make the show's usual gang of dominant male cast members seem almost impotent.

Gibson vs. Palin -- call it a draw?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-12T07:37:28-05:00
"The Bush doctrine, as I understand it," he told/lectured her, "is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?" ...At the opening bell, though, it wasn't enough for her to basically say, "I'm ready" when asked whether voters should believe she's in fact experienced enough to be McCain's right-hand woman.

DeNiro, Pacino do Dave

Ed Bark — 2008-09-11T17:12:34-05:00
DeNiro and Pacino are Top 10 list readers on Thursday's Late Show. By ED BARK Timed to coincide with Friday's release of their Righteous Kill movie, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino popped in on Thursday's Late Show with David Letterman to emote the "Top 10 Reasons I Like Being An Actor." Through the miracle of a CBS publicity release -- Late Show is pre-taped -- the list arrived via email five-and-a-half hours before air time (at 10:35 p.m. in Dallas on CBS11).

Fall TV: Inn-fantile Do Not Disturb leaves no vacancy for brain activity

Ed Bark — 2008-09-10T08:26:44-05:00
Double ugh. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 10th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Niecy Nash, Jerry O'Connell, Molly Stanton, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jolene Purdy, Dave Franco Created by: Abraham Higginbotham ...Fox's new Do Not Disturb, virtually certain to be fall's worst-reviewed new series, is best watched while repeatedly striking your noggin with a ball peen hammer.

Fall TV: To be Somebodies is not a bad thing

Ed Bark — 2008-09-09T11:40:31-05:00
Spice and sugar: single-named Somebodies Diva and Scottie. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 9 p.m. (central) on BET Starring:, Hadjii, Kaira, Quante Strickland, Corey Redding, Anthony Hyatt, Pat Brown, Carlos Davis, Nard Holston, Tyler Craig, Eric Register Created, written and directed by: Hadjii ...Scottie thinks he's got it made after spotting a pair of lush next door neighbors who alluringly wash their car in halter tops and invite him to watch TV with them -- as long as he doesn't mind porn.

Fall TV: CW's Privileged a rich blend of loose ends

Ed Bark — 2008-09-09T06:37:35-05:00
Billionaire Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer) looms over Privileged. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: JoAnna Garcia, Lucy Kate Hale, Ashley Newbrough, Anne Archer, Michael Cassidy, Brian Hallisay, Kristina Apgar, Allan Louis Produced by: Rina Mimoun, Bob Levy, Leslie Morgenstein ...Not that it'll get any special privileges, save for a comfy Tuesday night slot following 90210, which got off to a nice enough start in the ratings last week after CW and the show's producers conspired to make it unavailable for review.

Fall TV: Fringe takes its crack at sci fi fo fum

Ed Bark — 2008-09-08T13:06:00-05:00
A very bad development at a Chelsea, MA storage facility serves to put Olivia on the scent of jerk-ish Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek), son of the seemingly crazed Walter Bishop. ...Fox will repeat the Fringe pilot on Sunday at 7 p.m. (central) before it's left to do battle on Tuesday nights opposite ABC's Dancing with the Stars results shows.

FNC top dog at GOP convention; McCain's closer nips Obama's

Ed Bark — 2008-09-08T09:20:49-05:00
By ED BARK Repeating what had been an unprecedented showing at the 2004 Republican convention, Fox News Channel again outdrew all rival networks at last week's truncated three-day gathering in St. ...National Nielsen numbers for simultaneous coverage on eight broadcast networks -- ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FNC, MSNBC, Telemundo and Univision -- say that McCain drew a total of 38.9 million viewers nationally for his closer.

Hoping to suck in viewers, HBO has needed injection in True Blood

Ed Bark — 2008-09-05T10:04:07-05:00
Waitress Sookie Stackhouse is vampire Bill Compton's bat girl. Premiering: Sunday, Sept. 7th at 8 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Lois Smith, William Sanderson, Nelsan Ellis Created by: Alan Ball, based on the novels by Charlaine Harris ...Crafted by Six Feet Under maestro Alan Ball and adapted from the "Sookie Stackhouse" novels by Charlaine Harris, its first two episodes (in an inaugural season of 12) are an intoxicating blend of backwoods Louisiana and blood-sucking outcasts.

O'Reilly vs. Obama: Was it good for you?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-05T10:02:55-05:00
Taped Thursday in York, PA, the pair's first one-on-one encounter will be strung out over four nights on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor after a Friday night recess. ...But in a post mortem with two analysts who evaluated O'Reilly's performance -- and basically gave it raves -- The big O' said of the big O, "He's a tough guy, Obama.

"Now, now, in Dick Morris' defense, he is a lying sack of (*&%@#*@)."

Ed Bark — 2008-09-04T15:49:18-05:00
Oh, this is s-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o good. From Wednesday night's Republican convention edition of The Daily Show (Note: picture takes a few seconds to form.)

"A star is born" -- blah, blah, blah

Ed Bark — 2008-09-04T09:36:46-05:00
...DON'T START BELIEVIN' -- A WORD THEY SAY ON-CAMERA Caught with their mikes still on --and egged on by MSNBC analyst/anchor Chuck Todd -- Republican strategists Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy departed from their phoney-baloney "Talking Points" to say what they really thought of John McCain's Palin pick.

Fall TV:: The Sopranos on hogs -- FX's Sons of Anarchy spins tales of crooked bikers

Ed Bark — 2008-09-03T10:11:02-05:00
Wheels are turning for hunky Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam). Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 3rd at 9 p.m. (central) on FX Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal, Mitch Pileggi, Drea De Matteo, Mark Boone, Jr., Kim Coates, Johnny Lewis, Maggie Siff, Theo Rossi, Taylor Sheridan Created by: Kurt Sutter ... Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal co-star in Sons of Anarchy Perlman used to hide his notably protruding jaw behind copious hair and latex on CBS' old Beauty and the Beast series.

Oddball out: MSNBC's Olbermann plays chicken with Republicans

Ed Bark — 2008-09-03T06:43:42-05:00
It's a stark contrast from the Democratic convention in Denver, where MSNBC's principal Republican attack dog sat on an outdoor set near a train station and rhapsodized about Barack Obama when he wasn't sniping at his colleagues. ...Olbermann and some of his MSNBC colleagues made much of the fact that President Bush would be addressing the convention from the White House in an eight-minute speech scheduled to end just before the Big Broadcast networks signed on at 9 p.m. (central).

CNN entitled to a St. Paul swagger

Ed Bark — 2008-09-02T12:09:31-05:00
By ED BARK Maybe Fox News Channel will rebound with big ratings for its coverage of the Republican convention, which is back on track after an opening night pause for Hurricane Gustav. ...And on Thursday's closing night, it came within an eyelash of beating FNC in total viewers, losing by a score of 4.2 million to 4.1 million.

FX's The Shield resolutely plays dirty in its seventh and final season

Ed Bark — 2008-09-01T22:55:30-05:00
FX since has become the antithesis of warm and fuzzy, with star player Michael Chiklis likewise making a career U-turn from the chubby, schlubby pop of NBC's short-lived Daddio sitcom to a strong-armed police detective with the scruples of a Mafia kingpin. Billed as The Shield: The Final Act, the series' concluding seventh season begins rolling out on Tuesday at 9 p.m. (central), with its climax scheduled for Nov.

Lower your expectations for TNT's Raising the Bar

Ed Bark — 2008-08-29T13:21:12-05:00
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jane Kaczmarek clash in Raising the Bar. Premiering: Monday, Sept. 1st at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Jane Kaczmarek, Gloria Reuben, Currie Graham, Melissa Sagemiller, Jonathan Scarfe, Teddy Sears, J. ...It's tough to muster much more enthusiasm than that for TNT's Raising the Bar, whose father figure, Steven Bochco, previously has crafted the likes of Hill Street Blues, L.A.

Obama's big night: A tale of two networks

Ed Bark — 2008-08-29T08:21:05-05:00
"There was no stone left unturned here," he said before later assuring correspondent Andrea Mitchell that the speech in fact played as beautifully on TV as it did before an estimated 80,000 partisans gathered at Denver's Invesco Field. ...The usually sour-minded Charles Krauthammer likewise used Wallace's words -- "exceedingly smart" -- before also crediting Obama with making "a generic Democratic speech, because he realizes that if he becomes a generic Democrat in this election year, he wins by a landslide."

Katie does a handstand, but CBS isn't turning cartwheels over convention ratings

Ed Bark — 2008-08-28T10:25:36-05:00
But CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, still fighting to have "embattled" removed from most descriptions of her, seems totally oblivious to some of the impressions she's leaving while in Denver covering the Democrats. ...The CBS Evening News continues to run a distant third, and CBS' prime-time convention ratings have been likewise dismal during the first three nights of coverage.

Superman swimmer adds another laurel

Ed Bark — 2008-08-27T15:26:31-05:00
By ED BARK NBC has landed a big fish to host the 34th season premiere of Saturday Night Live. ...SNL is making an unusually early Sept. 13th return and will have seven new shows before the presidential election, the network says.

Michelle, Teddy keep Dems from dozing before McCain has some last laughs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-26T10:57:21-05:00
Luke Russert in convention mode; John McCain on the Tonight Show. Not-so-cool hand Luke -- Luke Russert, only son of the late Tim Russert, is making his MSNBC debut at the Dem convention as a reporter on "youth issues." ...Segue to the 200-year-old man with Jay Leno -- In Hollywood for a fundraiser, McCain made what he said was his 13th appearance on NBC's Tonight Show after host Leno first aimed some monologue jokes at his age and the purported seven homes he shares with wealthy wife Cindy.

Idol adds 4th wheel; Dancing names 13 new celebs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-25T09:23:30-05:00
Misty May-Treanor, Cody Linley and Kara Dioguardi By ED BARK Beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor and Lewisville-bred heartthrob Cody Linley are dipping their toes into Dancing with the Stars while songwriter Kara Dioguardi is a surprise new fourth judge on American Idol. Dioguardi, who has written for the likes of Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Celine Dion and Gwen Stefani, will add "a lot more girl power" to Fox's still fatted cash cow, says president of alternative programming Mike Darnell.

NBC extinguishes its Olympic torch and fires up America's Toughest Jobs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-22T14:29:16-05:00
Toughies Steven Hopper of Dallas and Sandy Gabriel of Winnie, TX. Premiering: Monday, Aug. 25th at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: 13 dangerous job doers, including Steven Hopper of Dallas and Sandy Gabriel of Winnie, TX Hosted by: Josh Temple Produced by: Thom Beers, Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun ...So for the record, recent college graduate Steven Hopper, 22, of Dallas, and plucky 26-year-old schoolteacher Sandy Gabriel of tiny Winnie, TX (pop. 2,914) are both in the hunt for a growing pot of prize money sponsored by an American truck maker.

PBS again goes old-school gavel to gavel while rival broadcast networks let fly with reruns and reality

Ed Bark — 2008-08-20T14:49:22-05:00
PBS convention coverage colleagues Jim Lehrer, Judy Woodruff By ED BARK Jim Lehrer snaps at the bait; Judy Woodruff delicately wriggles off the hook during their separate phone interviews Wednesday with unclebarky.com. ..."I would say to them, 'In other words, you are telling the American people that that stuff is more important than an every-four-year event at which the next president of the United States is going to be nominated?'

NBC's Olympian ratings feats

Ed Bark — 2008-08-19T17:03:21-05:00
Olympic gold miner Michael Phelps and toastmaster Bob Costas By ED BARK Squash isn't an official Olympic sport, but NBC is playing it anyway with competitors at ABC, CBS and Fox. ...The overall Olympics audience on all of the NBC Universal networks -- including cable's USA, CNBC and Oxygen among others -- has reached 200 million total viewers and been seen in 83 percent of all U.S. television homes.

Diff'rent strokes keep Borgnine rolling

Ed Bark — 2008-08-19T13:50:37-05:00
By ED BARK Hmm, Ernest Borgnine didn't impart this particular piece of information while promoting Hallmark Channel's A Grandpa For Christmas last year. The former McHale's Navy star laughed it up about turning 90 -- in a very gee-rated way -- while sitting next to his cute little co-star, Juliette Goglia.

Beijing's opening ceremonies a ratings smash for NBC

Ed Bark — 2008-08-11T05:11:02-05:00
But due to ratings inflation over the years, Atlanta's 1996 opening ceremony, with a slightly lower 23.6 household rating, qualifies as the all-time total viewer champ with 39.8 million. ...NBC's Saturday prime-time coverage of the first full day of Olympics competition averaged a hefty 24.1 million viewers nationally compared to 19.8 million viewers for Day One of the Athens Games.

Primeval puts some B.C. in BBC America

Ed Bark — 2008-08-08T15:18:54-05:00
Something is out there, and all of the above have seen it. Premiering: Saturday, Aug. 9th at 8 p.m. (central) on BBC America Starring: Douglas Henshall, James Murray, Hannah Spearritt, Andrew-Lee Potts, Lucy Brown, Juliet Aubrey, Ben Miller, Mark Wakeling Created by: Tim Haines ...Each episode both introduces new creatures -- in next week's meet some giant spiders and a monster centipede -- while also delving a bit deeper into the mythology that will explain what Helen's been up to for the past eight years.

Joshua Allen's amazing feet

Ed Bark — 2008-08-08T06:35:18-05:00
By ED BARK Fort Worth's Joshua Allen made it a North Texas trifecta Thursday night, winning the fourth season of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance over fellow hip-hop/popper Twitch Boss. ...Melissa Lawson of Arlington took NBC's Nashville Star crown on Monday; on the same night, Ally Davidson of Dallas won the women's division of the network's American Gladiators.

HBO's Hard Knocks again shows it's the Fort Knox of sports reality series

Ed Bark — 2008-08-07T07:56:01-05:00
The evocative, filmic, never less than first-rate HBO series returned Wednesday night with an hour of superbly crafted drama from the team's training camp in Oxnard, CA. Love or hate the Cowboys, you've got to marvel at the artistry at work while wishing it was your team on display for five episodes stretching to a Sept. 3rd finale.

At last it's Brokaw; again it's Lehrer

Ed Bark — 2008-08-06T13:47:21-05:00
The presidential debate commission's executive director, Janet Brown, said at the time that a star anchorman (Brokaw was still in charge of the NBC Nightly News in 2004) might "overshadow" a presidential candidate debate. ...I hope at this stage of my career I have a certain standing as a political reporter who knows what the issues are and tries to generate a dialogue about them."

Lucy posthumously nears the century mark

Ed Bark — 2008-08-06T10:16:16-05:00
By ED BARK It's a tough celebrity birthday choice today between Lucille Ball, who would have been 97, and Soleil Moon Frye of Punky Brewster fame, who is 32 on Wed., Aug. 6th. ...Yipes, I was at the ABC press conference for that one, and also shared a dinner table with Ball and husband Gary Morton during a session for the CBS movie Stone Pillow, in which she played a snarly but kindly bag lady named Florabelle.

Gotta move on: Nashville Star winner Melissa Lawson not much longer for Texas

Ed Bark — 2008-08-05T14:43:27-05:00
Lawson's debut single, "What If It All Goes Right," already is in rotation on country music stations after she performed it for the first time at the close of Monday's Nashville Star finale. ..."I love the fact that even with the cameras being around, they've been so casual and so accepting of it," Lawson says of her sons, who joined her onstage during Monday night's triumphant moment.

Two from North Texas prevail in back-to-back finales of NBC's American Gladiators and Nashville Star

Ed Bark — 2008-08-05T06:29:14-05:00
NBC did a Texas two-step Monday night, with Arlington mom-of-five Melissa Lawson twanging to the top of Nashville Star after Dallas newlywed Ally Davidson became the last woman contender standing on American Gladiators. The twin wins on the shows' season finales gave the state more bragging rights in the wide world of TV's reality competitions, where the champs also have included Burleson's Kellly Clarkson on Fox's first American Idol and ventriloquist Terry Fator of Mesquite on last summer's America's Got Talent.

VH1's I Want to Work for Diddy raises an overriding question: WHY???

Ed Bark — 2008-08-04T08:50:50-05:00
That's debatable when the opening hour's "art of multi-tasking" challenge includes activities such as taking lunch orders for employees of Diddy's Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group; cleaning his vehicle inside and out; and polishing 20 pairs of his shoes during an around-the-clock gauntlet of menial tasks. ...Anyway, the show's judges -- two of them former personal assistants of Diddy -- eventually team up to banish a gofer after one lucky sap arbitrarily gets dumped before the gofer-ing even begins.

It's "Nazi bitch" flip-off time: McKinney North High's "Fab Five" cheerleader scandal goes under assumed name in cheesy Lifetime movie

Ed Bark — 2008-08-01T12:38:02-05:00
Presenting the "Fab Five" in a not so fab Lifetime movie. By ED BARK Lifetime's latest movie about slutty teens and the chicken-hearted parents who enable them includes a big hoot of a scene at a ribald backyard pool party. ... Fab Five with lollipops; Tatum O'Neal as unprincipled principal. It's all supposed to be a cautionary tale, but goofing on Fab Five is far preferable to taking it seriously.

North Texans vie in three reality competition finals

Ed Bark — 2008-08-01T04:21:54-05:00
North Texas finalists Ally Davidson, Melissa Lawson, Joshua Allen By ED BARK North Texans are no strangers to any and all manner of reality competitions. ...Monday's two-hour climax of NBC's American Gladiators (7 to 9 p.m. central) finds Ally Davidson of Dallas toughing it out in hopes of becoming the show's top woman challenger.

Edd "Kookie" Byrnes turns a crazy cat 75

Ed Bark — 2008-07-30T00:01:11-05:00
By ED BARK Born with the un-Hollywood name of Edward Breitenberger, one of TV's first full-blown teen idols makes it three-quarters of a century on Wednesday, July 30th. Edd "Kookie" Byrnes played a comb-wielding, super-cool car parker on ABC's 77 Sunset Strip, a breezy private eye drama that ran from 1958-'63.

Dino might: History Channel's Jurassic Fight Club trades on big prehistoric bouts

Ed Bark — 2008-07-29T11:29:02-05:00
Female (left) and male Majungatholuses engage in early form of extreme pugilism on History Channel's graphic Jurassic Fight Club. ...Premiering Tuesday, July 29 at 8 p.m. (central), the 12-episode series is not so subtly aimed at young males who played with dinosaurs as kids and now gravitate toward Mixed Martial Arts competitions or maybe even conventional boxing matches on occasion.

Bush gets Stoned, which reminds us of pre-war times when he was just a big, amiable boob

Ed Bark — 2008-07-28T16:35:32-05:00
Timothy Bottoms from That's My Bush! and Josh Brolin in W. By ED BARK Both Robert Wilonsky of unfairpark and Tim Rogers from FrontBurner already have thoughtfully posted the first youtube trailer for Oliver Stone's upcoming feature film W. ...Meanwhile, for dessert, here's the opening theme song from Comedy Central's That's My Bush!, the utterly irreverent 2001 sitcom from the creators of South Park.

AMC's Mad Men still has ad-itude

Ed Bark — 2008-07-25T10:10:01-05:00
It deserves all of them for an evocative, provocative first season that rewound almost a half-century to a circa 1960 Madison Avenue advertising agency populated by thin-tied, vice-laden, tight-suited salesmen and makeup-lathered women who wore the hell out of their form-fitting dresses and rigidly constructed undergarments. ... Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) & Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) Another of Mad Men's major players, co-partner Roger Sterling (John Slattery), had twin heart attacks near the end of last season.

Jagged little thrill: Discovery Channel smells blood again

Ed Bark — 2008-07-24T10:20:25-05:00
Shark Week is back. By ED BARK It's late July, and Discovery Channel hopes you're getting that gnawing feeling again. ...How Not to Become Shark Bait (Tuesday, 9 to 10 p.m.) -- "Escapologist" Jonathan Goodwin, Survivor: Cook Islands winner Yul Kwon and others journey to the Bahamas to test shark attraction theories.

Fair is fair -- and Couric strove to be just that

Ed Bark — 2008-07-23T09:15:17-05:00
By ED BARK Barack Obama's Middle East odyssey, with the three major broadcast news anchors in tow, has irked John McCain to the point where his campaign is firing back with a video titled "Obama Love." ...Obama has "indicated by his failure to acknowledge the success of the surge that he would rather lose a war than lose a campaign," he said in what likely will be a resonating sound bite.

Leno's lame duck clock officially ticking to finish line (updated)

Ed Bark — 2008-07-21T15:20:08-05:00
Leno, who succeeded Johnny Carson on May 25, 1992, agreed to the move several years ago. He since has stepped up his ridicule of NBC's ongoing programming problems while at the same time becoming late night's hottest property for whatever network wins a likely bidding war to get him. ...Poehler's former running mate on SNL, Tina Fey, stepped into prime-time two seasons ago with 30 Rock, which last week received the most single-season Emmy nominations of any comedy series in history.

Heidi Heidi Heidi ho'

Ed Bark — 2008-07-21T15:19:25-05:00
The former "Hollywood Madam," who served a 37-month sentence for "pandering" until her release in September 1999, is the focus of HBO's notably stuporous Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal. ...Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, earlier responsible for the likes of Inside Deep Throat and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, follow a none-too-steady Fleiss on her quest to establish a thriving "Stud Farm" on 60 acres of property that she managed to buy dirt cheap.

Elder acting Brolin turns 68 before Barbra Streisand's eyes

Ed Bark — 2008-07-18T09:10:16-05:00
He broke in as Robert Young's sawbones sidekick on ABC's Marcus Welby, M.D before starring in the same network's Hotel as no-nonsense manager Peter McDermott. Brolin later stepped into the role of an inept, laughable Ronald Reagan in the controversial 2003 miniseries The Reagans, which was made for CBS and then dumped on sister network Showtime after an outcry on Fox News Channel among others.

30 Rock, Mad Men, John Adams set the pace for prime-time Emmys

Ed Bark — 2008-07-17T08:03:34-05:00
30 Rock sent a single season record for comedy nods, Mad Men led the drama series contenders and HBO as usual dominated the movie and miniseries categories in nominations announced Thursday for the 60th annual prime-time Emmy Awards. ...A new Emmy category, "Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program," is populated by Tom Bergeron (the likely winner for ABC's Dancing with the Stars); Heidi Klum (Bravo's Project Runway); Howie Mandel (NBC's Deal or No Deal); Jeff Probst (CBS' Survivor) and Ryan Seacrest (Fox's American Idol).

Comedy Central fires up a putrid new Gong Show, then saves face with Reality Bites Back

Ed Bark — 2008-07-16T17:26:50-05:00
New Comedy Central jobs for Dave Attell and Michael Ian Black By ED BARK All involved with Comedy Central's reinvention of The Gong Show could find themselves knockin' on heaven's door someday. ...The thing premieres at 9 p.m. (central), with Attell and judges Steve Schirripa, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Brian Posehn (wow, what star power) kicking things off with an aging female impersonator who sings about her "cute, hot pussy" while cradling a short-haired cat on a leash.

Hopefully he won't grow up. But Will Ferrell's not getting any younger

Ed Bark — 2008-07-16T11:28:27-05:00
By ED BARK Former Saturday Night Live MVP Will Ferrell takes a crack at being 41 on Wednesday, July 16th. ...Here's a clip of Ferrell in classic dumb-down as a big-buckled Dubya attempting to grasp the issue of "global warmings."

D-FW one of four markets testing new Wendy Williams show. Damn the luck

Ed Bark — 2008-07-14T15:22:18-05:00
In D-FW it's supplanting the canceled Montel Williams Show at 11 a.m. weekdays for the rest of this month and next. ...At one point, a discombobulated Williams couldn't come up with the name of an exceedingly familiar face whose framed picture adorns a controversial cover of The New Yorker next to centerpiece caricatures of Barack and Michelle Obama as fist-bumping terrorists.

TNT's women of distinction return in new seasons of The Closer and Saving Grace

Ed Bark — 2008-07-14T06:54:19-05:00
The fourth season opener finds high-strung, sweets-craving deputy police chief Brenda Johnson (Sedgwick) and her charges in pursuit of a possible arsonist whose dirty work may be connected to a flash of Southern California wildfires. ...Over on Saving Grace, dissipated and borderline emaciated Oklahoma City police detective Grace Hanadarko (Hunter) ended last season with a gun pointed at the head of Patrick "Satan" Murphy (guest star Rene Auberjonois), the priest who repeatedly molested her as a child.

Generation Kill (or be killed) --in Iraq

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T14:52:53-05:00
Actors Alexander Skarsgard, James Ransone of Generation Kill Premiering: Sunday, July 13 at 8 p.m. central and continuing through Aug. 24 on HBO Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, Stark Sands, Billy Lush, Jon Huertas, Chance Kelly, Neal Jones and many more Written and produced by: David Simon, Ed Burns Directed by: Susanna White, Simon Cellan Jones ...Col. Stephen "The Godfather" Ferrando (center) calls the shots. Into their midst comes Rolling Stone's Evan Wright (Lee Tergeson), who oddly enough often seems out of place even when he's supposed to seem so.

CBS' Flashpoint not your typical summertime dim bulb

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T12:00:26-05:00
Premiering: Friday, July 11th, at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson, David Paetkau, Michael Cram, Sergio Di Zio, ruth Marshall, Philip akin, Lisa Marcos, Mark Taylor Created by: Mark Ellis, Stephanie Morgenstern ...For now at least, Lane is a very intriguing head case, Parker's a sturdy team leader, Jules Callaghan (Amy Jo Johnson) knows she's cute and Sam Braddock (David Paetkau) has the assignment of hunky newcomer.

Ted Danson/Hellboy; Hellboy/Ted Danson

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T07:39:54-05:00
OK, that's Ron Perlman in red face for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, opening Friday (July 11th). But Ted Danson clearly is tailor-made for the role.

Burn Notice back up and running

Ed Bark — 2008-07-10T07:27:07-05:00
This is drama with a bounce in its step, following the formulas of Monk, Psych and The Starter Wife, which now is being turned into a series. ...USA will air nine new episodes of Burn Notice on Thursdays before taking a break and returning with seven more in January.

The Office punches in early -- with four new "webisodes"

Ed Bark — 2008-07-09T11:30:17-05:00
Brian Baumgartner's dim Kevin Malone fronts new Office "webisode." What runs for 8 minutes, 30 seconds, is without Steve Carell and makes No. ..."I think it sort of changed the way everybody was looking at online (material) and what the networks were making performers and writers do in terms of additional content .

Ted Koppel and Discovery rechristen China "The People's Republic of Capitalism"

Ed Bark — 2008-07-08T15:37:59-05:00
A still intrepid Ted Koppel discovers that it's tough to make a clean break after digging deep for dirt in a Chongqing coal mine. Premiering: Wednesday, July 9th at 9 p.m. (central) and continuing at the same hour through Saturday on the Discovery Channel Anchored and reported by: Ted Koppel Produced by: Ted Koppel and Tom Bettag ...For four nights and as many hours, Koppel and his longtime producing partner, Tom Bettag, examine in depth what's become of Chongqing, China, a southwestern industrial megaplex with a population of 13.5 million and growing.

The Peacock plucks another cable property

Ed Bark — 2008-07-07T06:54:28-05:00
The Weather Channel is its latest acquisition, with NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker delivering another dollop of network-speak in a statement released Sunday. ...Under NBC Universal ownership since 2002, Bravo has been shorn of any art house ambitions and become home to a glut of gut-level reality series ranging from the bad (The It Factor) to the ugly (Being Bobby Brown) to the pretty good Project Runway).

Geraldo Rivera: Born on the Fourth of July and now Medicare-ready

Ed Bark — 2008-07-03T09:46:24-05:00
It seems, though, that he's been with us forever and a day, stalking bad guys, regularly making an ass of himself and sometimes exorcising his evil twin -- during a respectable CNBC period. ...But Rivera is still right in proclaiming that The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults was and likely always will be the most-watched syndicated program in TV history.

Read a good Lost book lately?

Ed Bark — 2008-07-02T12:19:12-05:00
But executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse figure you'll enrich yourself, if not them, by reading a few of the hard- and soft bounds pictured or mentioned during the series. ...Let's start right now: "In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark Bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in .

Dan Aykroyd blows in at 56

Ed Bark — 2008-06-30T22:19:36-05:00
Aykroyd has persevered, opening a string of House of Blues clubs, nabbing an Oscar nomination for 1989's Driving Miss Daisy and starring as Episcopal minister Mike Weber in the sub-dreadful 1997 ABC sitcom Soul Man. But of course we'd rather remember The Blues Brothers, birthed on SNL and well-served in a big-screen feature that included performances by Aretha Franklin and late greats James Brown, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway.

Spike TV's low-overhead Factory punches in and works a funny shift

Ed Bark — 2008-06-27T15:01:29-05:00
Factory hounds Gus, Gary, Smitty and Chase Premiering: Sunday, June 29th at 9 p.m. (central) on Spike TV Starring: Mitch Rouse, Michael Coleman, Jay Leggett, David Pasquesi, Mark Beltzman, Rick Hall, Christopher Allen Nelson, Eliza Coyle, Tracy Foley Produced and directed by: Mitch Rouse ...From there it's quickly open season on his job, with pals Gary (Mitch Rouse), Gus (Jay Leggett), Smitty (David Pasquesi) and Chase (Michael Coleman) all in the running.

Ross Perot: 78 RPMs

Ed Bark — 2008-06-27T11:44:56-05:00
By ED BARK Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, who turned the 1992 presidential race on its and his ears, makes it to his 78th birthday on Friday, June 27th. Perot's much-parodied brand of belligerent, pie chart politics got him 19 percent of the vote in a three-way match with victor Bill Clinton and President George H.W.

Gray area: Not much separates fictional Grey's Anatomy from real-life Hopkins

Ed Bark — 2008-06-25T14:11:21-05:00
Replete with originally composed music and a soap-ish storyline tied to a hunky resident's troubled marriage, Hopkins is an ABC News production aimed at those who supposedly won't sit still for one of those unadorned, old time religion news docs. ...Hopkins, premiering Thursday, presented in high-definition and scheduled to run for six weeks, mixes state-of-the-art medicine with the out-of-hospital angst of cardiothoracic surgeon Brian Bethea.

Survey says: Celebrity Family Feud is kinda cringe-worthy

Ed Bark — 2008-06-23T16:17:03-05:00
It's the Rivers clan vs. Ice T's posse during opening night play. Premiering: Tuesday, June 24th at 7 p.m. (central) on NBC Hosted by: Al Roker, with 24 celebrity family teams Produced by: Gaby Johnston, Toby Gorman ...NBC has moved Celebrity Family Feud up a week from its original premiere date to take on the premiere of ABC's Wipeout, which leads into the network's unveiling of I Survived A Japanese Game Show.

Brokaw will take Meet the Press through presidential election

Ed Bark — 2008-06-22T10:04:10-05:00
By ED BARK NBC has named Tom Brokaw as moderator of Meet the Press through this fall's presidential election. ...In an accompanying press release, NBC News president Steve Capus said of Brokaw and Meet the Press: "To have someone of Tom's stature step up and dedicate himself to ensuring its ongoing success is not only a testament to his loyalty to Tim, but his enduring commitment to NBC News and our viewers."

Atom TV segues from web to wee hour on Comedy Central

Ed Bark — 2008-06-20T14:10:19-05:00
Atom TV's Benny, Escaped Convict and Jim Carrey's Fire Marshall Bill By ED BARK It's easy to envision an early Jim Carrey's flammable Fire Marshall Bill incubating on Atom.com before matriculating to 1990's first season of Fox's In Living Color. ...Comedy Central's Atom TV, premiering Monday, June 23rd -- technically Tuesday, June 24th -- gets a 1 a.m. (central time) slot to strut a collection of comedy shorts that originated on the now one decade old Web site.

Parts still working: Lindsay Wagner's odometer moves to 59

Ed Bark — 2008-06-20T12:08:03-05:00
By ED BARK Still crush-able, TV's original Bionic Woman, Lindsay Wagner, jogs to the 59 year mark on Sunday, June 22nd. ...That's still a marathon compared to last fall's new version on NBC, which lasted for just half of a strike-pocked season before the Peacock canceled it.

Picky Picky (Vol. 15)

Ed Bark — 2008-06-19T12:25:26-05:00
***Moore first came to prominence as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show before putting her stamp on the even greater Mary Tyler Moore Show. ...***Walters trailblazed as both the Today show's first female host and on ABC in partnership with a sour Harry Reasoner as the first woman to co-anchor a network evening newscast.

Fabric softener: Michelle Obama guest hosts The View

Ed Bark — 2008-06-18T17:34:14-05:00
The gabfest's grande dame, Barbara Walters, displayed the front page article -- "After Attacks, Michelle Obama Looks for a New Introduction" -- after the wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama sat down and immediately said with a big smile, "I have to be greeted properly. ...Impeccable in a flattering black-and-white print dress, Michelle even praised First Lady Laura Bush for defending her hotly debated comments at a Wisconsin campaign rally where she said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country."

West Texas awl bidness gets reality check on truTV's Black Gold

Ed Bark — 2008-06-18T06:44:13-05:00
Peanut the "Worm," bossman Gerald and the dirty work they do. Premiering: Wednesday, June 18th at 9 p.m. (central) on truTV Starring: Three competing teams of oil drillin' West Texas roughnecks Produced and narrated by: Thom Beers ...Texas Gold is pretty good at detailing the costs -- up to $60,000 for a "high-end" drill bit -- and the risks to oilmen Mike LaMonica and Autry Stephens, who are bankrolling the three rigs during their journeys to the center of the earth.

Katie gets slapstick-y on own youtube channel

Ed Bark — 2008-06-17T12:13:57-05:00
Still, it's a game effort, on Couric's part at least, to "humanize" herself in the eyes of those who see -- or don't see -- that side of her on the Evening News. ...In the latest weekly Nielsens (June 9-13), the Evening News averaged 5.74 million viewers in again running far behind the NBC Nightly News (7.98 million) and ABC's World News (7.50 million).

Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl neither takes off -- or takes off

Ed Bark — 2008-06-16T11:29:20-05:00
Billie Piper precariously straddles two worlds as Belle/Hannah. Premiering: Monday, June 16th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Billie Piper, Cherie Lunghi, Iddo Goldberg, Toyah Willcox, Stuart Organ Created by: Lucy Prebble ...We learn that she doesn't drink on the job, uses men's deodorant but not perfume, has a friend, Ben (Iddo Goldberg), who's apparently clueless about her profession and has "never been a very good girlfriend in real life."

Carvey's still got a little somethin' somethin'

Ed Bark — 2008-06-13T14:34:10-05:00
His Saturday, June 14th HBO special (9 p.m. central and repeated throughout June) returns him to the living after a bungled heart surgery and a desire to spend more time with his family kept him mostly out of public view for the past decade. ...Thankfully, Carvey doesn't dust off that relic, but eventually gets around to an array of politician impressions, including both George Bushes, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ross Perot, Dick Cheney, Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Hillary and sexism. Couric and Matthews. Showing and telling

Ed Bark — 2008-06-13T11:28:46-05:00
In much-criticized comments after Clinton's New Hampshire primary victory, Matthews said on the network's Morning Joe program that she wouldn't be a senator from New York or a candidate for president if her husband hadn't "messed around." ...

A commentary on Fox News Channel's history of not commenting

Ed Bark — 2008-06-12T14:33:25-05:00
FNC averaged 1.703 million viewers in prime-time for that eventful political week, with CNN close behind at 1.418 million and long-downtrodden MSNBC making a little noise with an average of 1.016 million. ...In both instances, FNC's numbers are up from a comparable week one year ago (June 4-10, 2007), when it averaged 1.564 million viewers in prime-time and 897,000 for the total programming day.

Still clutch: Marvelous Marv Albert shoots a 67

Ed Bark — 2008-06-12T07:08:27-05:00
By ED BARK Toupee firmly in place and sex scandals presumably behind him, golden-voiced Marv Albert turns 67 on Thursday, June 12th. ...Here's his timeless setup of Game 5 of the 1997 Bulls-Jazz showdown, in which he draws the battle lines between Game 4 hero John Stockton and emperor Michael Jordan.

Funny business: Bill Engvall cut his comedy teeth in Dallas before taking a bite out of big time

Ed Bark — 2008-06-11T17:50:11-05:00
Their nuclear family comedy series, returning for a second season Thursday (8 p.m. central) on TBS, is the only one of its kind unless you're counting Fox's cartoon Simpsons. ...That's a nice-sized hit by basic cable standards, giving the 50-year-old star another comfortable hammock in addition to his standup comedy act and recurring appearances with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy on "Blue Collar Comedy" tours.

Fox's Dance finalists include six feet from North Texas

Ed Bark — 2008-06-10T13:12:49-05:00
Dance finalists Comfort Fedoke, Joshua Allen, Chelsea Traille By ED BARK Uniquely named Comfort Fedoke of Carrollton is stepping into Fox's So You Think You Can Dance as one of the summertime reality hit's 20 finalists. ... Bill & Star of Flint, TX and mug shots of the dozen furry finalists ***There's also a Texas dog/human duo in CBS' upcoming Greatest American Dog, scheduled to premiere on Thursday, July 10th.

Swingtown flops around in a sea of sex, drugs and dreary characters

Ed Bark — 2008-06-05T09:42:12-05:00
Sex at the deep end: Tom and Trina Decker have an "open" marriage. Premiering: Thursday, June 5th at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Grant Show, Lana Parrilla, Molly Parker, Jack Davenport, Miriam Shor, Josh Hopkins, Shanna Collins Produced by: Mike Kelley, Alan Poul ..."Saturday in the park, every day's the Fourth of July" plays on Bruce Miller's convertible radio as he and wife, Susan (Jack Davenport, Molly Parker), leave their old neighborhood behind with a holiday block party in progress.

Dennis the non-Menace

Ed Bark — 2008-06-04T11:01:49-05:00
By ED BARK TV icon Dennis Weaver, who died on Feb. 24, 2006, would have been 84 on Wednesday, June 4. ...Here's the great, wheel-spinnin', one-minute trailer from Duel, with Weaver braving both a malevolent semi-truck driver and a rattle snake bite.

Chill in the air: Fear Itself registers on 'ooh scary' meter

Ed Bark — 2008-06-04T08:51:53-05:00
Nasty neck wounds abound in first two episodes of Fear Itself. Premiering: Thursday, June 5th at 9 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Various thespians in weekly suspense/horror anthology tales Created by: Mick Garris ...Dark, brooding and graphic within broadcast network confines, the first two episodes have a nice tingle to 'em. Each hour is helmed by a different director, with Breck Eisner (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and Brad Anderson (The Machinist) taking charge of the first two.

Model Ts? Women 35-and-over strike poses in She's Got the Look

Ed Bark — 2008-06-03T15:11:51-05:00
Robes gallery: The 10 finalists of TV Land's She's Got the Look include 40-year-old Dallas auditioner Roxanne Ford (3rd from left). Premiering: Wednesday, June 4th at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Hosted by: Kim Alexis, with judges Sean Patterson, Beverly Johnson and Robert Verdi scrutinizing 10 prospective superstar models between the ages of 35 and 63. ...Davis is by far the oldest and indeed the pluckiest of 10 elder stateswoman -- by conventional modeling standards -- chosen as finalists in TV Land's She's Got the Look.

What were the odds? TV wild man Chuck Barris turns 79

Ed Bark — 2008-06-03T11:12:13-05:00
By ED BARK Somehow still standing, legendary game show creator and host Chuck Barris turns 79 on Tuesday, June 3rd. ...Here's a clip from his last episode of The Gong Show, which NBC canceled on July 21, 1978 after recurring battles with the host over the show's less than rarefied content.

"The Beav" hits 60.

Ed Bark — 2008-06-02T05:15:56-05:00
In fact, I remember a night in the mid-1980s when yours truly and some less than sober TV critic friends dialed up Mathers' hotel room at the Arizona Biltmore during CBS' portion of network TV's annual summer "press tour." It was well past midnight, and we wondered whether he'd do an interview with us on a moment's notice rather than make us all get up for a scheduled mid-morning session tied to the new movie Still the Beaver.

Found: another inspired Lost spoof

Ed Bark — 2008-05-30T15:18:38-05:00
Lest we all take Lost way too seriously, here's the latest action figure parody of the show from the Fine Bros., Benny and Rafi. This one's titled Indiana Jones & the Mystery of the Lost Island.

Warning: this look at Lost's season finale discusses major plot points in case you haven't seen it yet

Ed Bark — 2008-05-30T06:38:05-05:00
Jack stands over Locke box; Kate and Aaron. ABC photos By ED BARK Can the island's recuperative powers -- whatever they are and wherever it is now -- serve to resurrect a presumably dead John Locke? ...A still distraught Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), whose ridiculous, glued-on jet black beard got a facelift for later scenes, broke into a mortuary to get another look at what turned out to be Locke/Bentham (Terry O'Quinn) reposing in a coffin.

Souped-up Password returns: Uma/Oprah; egg/yolk

Ed Bark — 2008-05-29T12:36:57-05:00
Celeb player Neil Patrick Harris fists up as host Regis Philbin claps. Premiering: Sunday, June 1st at 7 p.m. (central) on CBS Hosted by:Regis Philbin with opening night celebrity players Neil Patrick Harris and Rachael Ray Produced by: Vin Rubino ...Back then, during the show's breathtaking "Lightning Round," commoners and their celebrity partners could amass a swingin' sum of $250 if they connected in one minute's time on all five words given to them.

Back to basics: 2007-08's big winners recall TV's formative years

Ed Bark — 2008-05-28T17:10:45-05:00
Rounding out the top 10 were ABC's Desperate Housewives (17.3 million); Fox's House (16.2 million); CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (16.1 million) and NBC's Sunday Night Football (15.9 million). ...18-to-49-YEAR-OLDS Fox --- 4.97 million (4.89) ABC -- 3.48 million (4.25) CBS -- 3.43 million (4.51) NBC -- 3.26 million (3.76) Univision -- 1.98 million (2.05) The CW -- 1.19 million (1.59)

Same old story: McCain's age his overriding issue on late night monologues

Ed Bark — 2008-05-27T08:56:55-05:00
Otherwise you risk letting your opponent -- in this case, Letterman -- define you as "the guy at the hardware story who makes the keys, the guy who can't stop talking about how well his tomatoes are doing, the guy who goes into town for turpentine ....

HBO's Recount expertly paints by the numbers

Ed Bark — 2008-05-23T08:44:23-05:00
Laura Dern has the right makeup as flighty Katherine Harris. By ED BARK Let's get this out of the way first. ... Leary, Spacey and Wilkinson deftly drive the action in Recount. Spacey is solid in the film's top-of-the-marquee role.

Idol finale ratings inch upward

Ed Bark — 2008-05-22T17:46:34-05:00
By ED BARK American Idol's Season 7 finale Wednesday drew 31.7 million viewers nationally, up a notch from the 30.8 million for 2007's closer. ...The first Idol finale (2002), in which Kelly Clarkson of Burleson, TX defeated curly-topped Justin Guarini, pulled in 22.8 million viewers.

Idol: Do you smell what the Cook's rockin'?

Ed Bark — 2008-05-22T06:18:15-05:00
The two-hour extravaganza reunited the show's top 12 finalists and included appearances by ZZ Top (with whom Cook performed "Sharp-Dressed Man"), Donna Summer, Seal, Bryan Adams, Graham Nash, One Republic, Mike Myers (in costume to crassly promote his new film The Love Guru), Jimmy Kimmel, previous Idol champs Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks, and most notably, George Michael. ... Crass and class: Mike Myers and country queen Carrie Underwood. Post-finale, Fox4 devoted the entire first half-hour of its 9 p.m. local newscast to Idol chatter and highlights.

Simon/Davids: Idol rings out the 2007-'08 TV season with its seventh coronation

Ed Bark — 2008-05-21T10:18:33-05:00
Idol's previous six champs have a checkered record, with inaugural winner Kelly Clarkson reigning as the show's biggest star until being eclipsed in the past year by fourth season queen Carrie Underwood. ...Alas, he's become Idol's resident non-person of late, shuffled to the bottom of the deck while that season's fourth-place finisher, Chris Daughtry, lights up the charts.

Fox adds a couple for fall, puts 24 in play with two-hour prequel

Ed Bark — 2008-05-15T11:25:22-05:00
Fox executives also confirmed that they'll be tinkering with American Idol during the off-season after a ratings downturn for its seventh edition, which climaxes Wednesday with a showdown between the show's King Davids -- Archuleta and Cook. ...Fox's tentative January plans include removing two fall returnees -- Prison Break, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles -- and replacing them on Monday nights with 24 and the new Dollhouse from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer maestro Joss Whedon.

Laughter still an option on CBS

Ed Bark — 2008-05-14T09:08:36-05:00
New comedies Project Gary and Worst Week are coming to CBS. By ED BARK CBS is going cuckoo for comedy, at least compared to its two longest standing rivals. ...ABC's announced autumn look is without any new comedies, and just one overall -- the returning Samantha Who? NBC, which unfurled a 52-week schedule in early April, has four comedies set for fall, including lone newcomer Kath & Kim.

CW adds three new fall series while outsourcing Sunday

Ed Bark — 2008-05-13T18:11:22-05:00
Presenting the nubile cast of The CW's Surviving the Filthy Rich. By ED BARK The CW, ink-a-dink-a-doo of the five English language broadcast networks, nonetheless will have one more new fall series than ABC. ...Not in CW's current plans are Beauty and the Geek, Girlfriends, Aliens in America and Friday Night Smackdown!, whose producers couldn't reach a new deal with the network.

ABC's "new" fall season -- more or less

Ed Bark — 2008-05-13T09:04:43-05:00
Jason O'Mara of Life on Mars and midseason's The Goode Family. By ED BARK No big-time broadcast network has ever stood this pat. ...They'll have a chance to win an array of prizes packed into a semi-truck, but first must answer trivia questions "based directly on their lives, each other and articles found in and around their home."

Jimmy gets the job

Ed Bark — 2008-05-12T11:48:06-05:00
By ED BARK Long-rumored to be Conan O'Brien's replacement on NBC's Late Night talk show, Saturday Night Live alum Jimmy Fallon officially got the gig Monday. He's the hand-picked choice of SNL creator Lorne Michaels, who also tabbed a then virtually unknown O'Brien to replace David Letterman when he jumped to CBS in 1993.

Idol: Evicted Jason Castro seems glad all over

Ed Bark — 2008-05-08T06:58:25-05:00
Rockwall's hardly sad Jason Castro (left) says goodbye to Idol grind. By ED BARK Rockwall's Jason Castro got sent home Wednesday night after becoming the first finalist to openly plead American Idol fatigue. ...Castro had greased his skids with recent comments in Entertainment Weekly, where he admitted to struggling with Neil Diamond's songs the previous week and not really caring all that much how his performance fared.

Babs and Oprah: two queen bees spoonin' the honey

Ed Bark — 2008-05-07T09:41:29-05:00
Copies of Walters' Audition assuredly are already flying off bookstore shelves, in no small part because the most potent bookseller in the land -- Oprah Winfrey -- ordered her viewers at show's end to "Go get it." ...Yes, they definitely got the job done during a genuinely intriguing hour in which Walters decorously dished about Star Jones, Rosie O'Donnell, Donald Trump, her mentally challenged sister, Jackie and most important of all, her two-year affair in the mid-1970s with then U.S. Sen. Edward W.

That's my boy: Son's troubled presidency burnishes his father's

Ed Bark — 2008-05-05T16:48:25-05:00
It is in large part rehabilitative, though, with critics far outnumbered by admirers, including Barbara Bush, their son, Jeb, and their only daughter, Doro Bush Koch in new interviews for this film. ...But a souring economy and Bush's "Read My Lips, No New Taxes" pledge at the 1992 Republican National Convention would quickly undermine his bid for a second term. Says biographer Timothy Naftali, "He never connected with the American people .

Idol: Burbling Brooke's out, Rockwall's Castro in Final Four

Ed Bark — 2008-05-01T03:38:57-05:00
Brooke White goes home while Rockwall's Jason Castro strums on. By ED BARK Relentlessly needy Brooke White sobbed her way through Neil Diamond's "I Am . ..."Just for the record, the rumors are not true (about Abdul)," said host Ryan Seacrest, apparently referring to a report that she may have been a bit tipsier than usual.

New series review: Farmer Wants a Wife (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2008-04-30T10:45:11-05:00
Farmer Matt's suitors include Dallas-bred Brooke, cradling big pail. Premiering: Wednesday, April 30th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Missouri farmer Matt and 10 citified milk-diggers, including nanny Brooke from Dallas Produced by: Adam Cohen, Cara Tapper, Joanna Vernetti ...Farmer Matt has the charisma of skim milk, whether on a backyard "date" with lucky Christa ("I've had an absolute pleasure with you tonight," he tells her) or detailing the rules of a chicken-chasing competition that ends in a "coop off" between two women battling for opening night immunity.

Boy, the balls of some U.S. Supreme Court justices

Ed Bark — 2008-04-24T12:56:48-05:00
The U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave George W. Bush the 2000 presidential election over Al Gore is a tiresome, irksome topic to him, justice Antonin Scalia says on Sunday's 60 Minutes.

Idol: No thanks for the Memory, but Rockwall's Castro climbs another rung

Ed Bark — 2008-04-23T21:28:41-05:00
In and out: Rockwall's Jason Castro outlasts tatooed Carly Smithson. By ED BARK He'd probably like to forget his Tuesday night performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Memory." ..."It came over as a young guy being forced by your mum and dad to sing a song at a wedding that you didn't want to sing," said Cowell.

Showtime makes it a threesome for The Tudors

Ed Bark — 2008-04-22T15:30:02-05:00
Showtime has picked up a third season its critically praised The Tudors, with plans to keep Henry VIII's marriages coming until he reaches his historical max. "The Tudors is now a fixture for us at Showtime and we're on our way to completing the entire saga of all six wives of Henry VIII," network entertainment president Robert Greenblatt says.

"In honor of the WWE, you can call me 'Hillrod.' "

Ed Bark — 2008-04-22T08:30:03-05:00
That's because the three senators battling to succeed him were all appearing on WWE's Monday Night Raw, otherwise populated by the likes of Umaga the Samoan Bulldozer, Hardcore Holly, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Super Crazy and The Undertaker. ...Over on USA network's Raw, also owned by NBC Universal, the three presidential candidates stooped to conquer another potential voting block -- the mostly young males who avidly watch the show's ring fakery, comedy, babe-a-licious "divas" and big-time bloodletting during pay-per-view events.

Spring Snow at CNN

Ed Bark — 2008-04-21T17:05:43-05:00
By ED BARK Former White House press secretary and high-profile Fox News Channel analyst Tony Snow has joined CNN as a conservative commentator, the network announced Monday. ..."The big challenge in 2008 is to develop deep, creative and aggressive analysis of both political parties, their candidates and campaigns," Snow said in a statement.

Let's play two

Ed Bark — 2008-04-21T07:34:28-05:00
It takes the field on Monday at 8 p.m. on KERA-TV (Channel 13) as part of a doubleheader that also includes Roberto Clemente at 9 p.m. under the umbrella of PBS' long-playing American Experience series. ...It's good to have all of this history in a tidy, one-hour documentary that might be just enough to spur a few trips to the Cats' home field, rebuilt on the same hallowed grounds as the old one.

ABC debate brings Dems into sharper focus on both issues and gaffes

Ed Bark — 2008-04-17T09:33:13-05:00
Furthermore, during the debate's first 52 minutes, they "dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news." ...That's a far better course than rolling over and playing dead with a question on the order of, "Senators, for those who haven't heard it yet, could you please detail at any length you please your proposals to achieve national health care for all Americans?"

Idol: Kristy Lee Cook(ed); Castro now in Final 6

Ed Bark — 2008-04-17T07:41:41-05:00
C-notes: Cook out, but Rockwall's Jason Castro still in on Idol. By ED BARK Likable Kristy Lee "Nine Lives" Cook couldn't withstand yet another Bottom 3 tightrope walk on Wednesday's latest American Idol vote-off. ...Cook, 24, said goodbye by sitting next to judge Simon Cowell, her biggest tormenter, and singing, "Those days of love all gone, our time is through" from Mariah Carey's "Forever."

A coupla cursin' weathermen

Ed Bark — 2008-04-15T10:11:00-05:00
NBC5's mild-mannered David Finfrock presumably would never salt his language with f-bombs after blowing a line on camera.... Check out this riotous 1-minute clip, in which the rat-a-tat industrial strength cursing is beautifully edited in mid-word.

Ha! The pathetic spectacle of Chris Matthews

Ed Bark — 2008-04-14T07:23:49-05:00
Writer Mark Leibovich's all-you-can-eat buffet also deals with Matthews' on- and off-air womanizing, incessant name-dropping, rampant redundancy and the dislike that some of his more prominent NBC colleagues seem to have for him. ...

Tell a friend: VH1's telenovela competition is juice-a-licious

Ed Bark — 2008-04-11T15:52:02-05:00
Havin' a heat wave: Jenn and Alexcy of VH1's Viva Hollywood! Title: Viva Hollywood! Premiering: Sunday, April 13 at 9:30 p.m. (central) on VH1 Starring: A dozen would-be telenovela stars Hosted by: Carlos Ponce, Maria Conchita Alonso Produced by: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Danny Salles ...Which means that it doesn't -- not even for a minute -- as 12 flesh-baring, egocentric "hot mamis" and "hot papis" convene at the show's "Casa De Locos" in hopes of mastering the "7 Deadly Sins of Telenovelas" in pursuit of mucho dinero ($100 grand) and a "breakout role" on one of Telemundo's upcoming sudsers.

Johns out while Jason's stock rises

Ed Bark — 2008-04-10T20:40:42-05:00
Ouster of Michael Johns (left) gives Jason Castro a smoother road. By ED BARK Bat leadoff on American Idol and your chances of hitting a home run with judges are maybe one in 100. ...Thursday's vote-off, delayed a night by Wednesday's Idol Gives Back special, also made room for several previously announced celebrities who instead were missing in action.

30 Rock returns to roll the dicey

Ed Bark — 2008-04-10T14:08:50-05:00
By ED BARK Google "MILF" and you'll quickly understand why NBC is playing with fire on Thursday's post-strike return of its Peabody-winning 30 Rock. ...Donaghy wants her to write for a spinoff starring DeBORah, but Lemon views MILF Island as "kind of lowest common denominator," given that one of the competitions has the women eating bugs to win tampons.

One is the loneliest number

Ed Bark — 2008-04-10T12:30:30-05:00
Figure skater Sasha Cohen won't get to cavort and contort anymore. By ED BARK The show won't go on. ...***In another CBS development, Dan Rather's multi-million dollar "Memogate" lawsuit against the network mostly has been thrown out of court by a New York State Supreme Court judge.

"I think we're dead. Time is going by really really really really slow."

Ed Bark — 2008-04-09T08:58:17-05:00
A Dearborn, Michigan cop succumbed to a higher calling when he confiscated marijuana from suspects and then baked it in brownies that he shared with his wife.... So is the off-camera snort from a Fox station anchor.

DVD review: John, Paul, Tom & Ringo (Shout! Factory)

Ed Bark — 2008-04-08T12:19:21-05:00
Factory's latest vintage DVD release, John, Paul, Tom & Ringo, is mainly worth having for Snyder's now historic one-on-one with Lennon, who later was joined by his immigration attorney, Leon Wildes. ...The host also quizzes Lennon about rock groupies, his current musical tastes, the heavily-publicized "bed-in" with wife Yoko Ono ("We were just promoting peace like you promote any product") and life in New York City as one of the most famous and deified celebrities in the land.

Seeing stars: Mega-watt Idol Gives Back ranks as season's biggest celebrity-fest

Ed Bark — 2008-04-08T11:16:03-05:00
Miley Cyrus and Brad Pitt on pre-taped Idol Gives Back special. By ED BARK Add the three major party presidential candidates to Wednesday's Idol Gives Back, now expanded to two-and-a-half hours with an early start at 6:30 p.m. (central). ...This year they're shooting for $100 million on behalf of The Children's Defense Fund; The Children's Health Fund; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Make It Right; Malaria No More; and Save the Children's U.S. Programs.

Last blasts for 'Frakkies'

Ed Bark — 2008-04-04T14:44:17-05:00
It returns for its fourth and final season Friday (9 p.m. central), with sinister Cylons still standing in the way of a return home for Admiral William Adama (Edward James Olmos), President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and assorted underlings aboard the good ship Galactica. ...Suffice it to say -- or say it to suffice -- there's a pretty showy space battle between the good guys and the Cylons, who then suddenly retreat to the puzzlement of Adama.

Idol: Eight is enough, and Jason Castro is one of 'em

Ed Bark — 2008-04-02T23:42:52-05:00
Ramiele Malubay's out while Rockwall's Jason Castro plays on. By ED BARK Another lashing from judge Simon Cowell didn't deter Rockwall's Jason Castro from making American Idol's Elite Eight Wednesday. The 21-year-old also dodged a second consecutive trip to the Fox show's so-called silver "Stools of Shame, reserved weekly for the Bottom Three vote-getters.

New series review: Bingo America (GSN)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-28T14:48:19-05:00
Premiering: Monday, March 31st at 6 p.m. (central) on GSN and airing each weeknight at that hour Hosted by: Patrick Duffy with ball holder Crystal Wallasch Produced by: Andrew Glassman ...In an opening episode sent for review, though, he doesn't flex any of the quick wit he's shown as both a talk show guest and on Bill Maher's now defunct Politically Incorrect.

New series review: Tracey Ullman's State of the Union (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-28T12:38:05-05:00
Tongue untied: Tracey Ullman tries on Helen Mirren, etc. Premiering: Sunday, March 30th at 9 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Tracey Ullman Produced by: Tracey Ullman, Allan McKeown ...Ullman also portrays an undocumented Bangladesh woman working three menial jobs in Manhattan; a dutiful Nebraska housewife with "restless leg syndrome"; a Latina morning anchor with an exaggerated way of introducing herself; and a Middle Eastern pharmacist who's being robbed at her workplace.

All lathered up anew: Showtime's The Tudors still cleans up nicely as a hot-blooded, post-medieval soap

Ed Bark — 2008-03-27T14:04:50-05:00
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn are a tough matchup for Pope Paul III. Premiering: Sunday, March 30th at 8 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Natalie Dormer, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jeremy Northam, Peter O'Toole, Nick Dunning, James Frain, Henry Cavill, David Alpay, Hans Matheson Created and written by: Michael Hirst By ED BARK Showtime's Henry VIII remains thin and thinner-skinned in the person of Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Idol: Nine remain after Chikezie sings his last

Ed Bark — 2008-03-27T01:21:27-05:00
Chikezie's out; Rockwall's Jason Castro survives a scare. By ED BARK Rockwall's sleepy-time Jason Castro survived another beating from the judges, but first had to sweat it out in American Idol's Bottom Three during Wednesday's latest vote-off. ...Chikezie's previous night's rendition of Luther Vandross' "If Only For One Night" had been deemed "very cheesy" and unoriginal by judge Simon Cowell.

South Park from ground zero to now

Ed Bark — 2008-03-25T12:29:04-05:00
Click on the video below and thrill to the first documented killings of Kenny -- at least far as I can tell -- on the first episode of the first season of Comedy Central's South Park. A big selection of clips and an array of full episodes are available for free viewing on the new SouthParkStudios.com.

Render all things unto Idol

Ed Bark — 2008-03-21T12:18:42-05:00
American Idol's Final 10 and Lost's Hurley. Fox, ABC photos By ED BARK It's really not fair, is it? ...In prime-time's two key measurements -- total viewers and 18-to-49-year-olds -- last week's two editions of Idol more than doubled the audience for their closest competitor.

Idol: Rockwall kid in Top 10 while resident rocker goes home

Ed Bark — 2008-03-19T22:06:18-05:00
Out and still in: rocker Amanda Overmyer, Rockwall's Jason Castro. By ED BARK American Idol cemented its top 10 and post-competition road show field Wednesday with the somewhat unexpected vote-off of rough-hewn Amanda Overmyer. ...The former failed MCA Records artist, who used to be Carly Hennessy, remains on her second voyage of "discovery" after her previous label reportedly spent $2.2 million trying to make her a star.

New series review: I Know My Kid's A Star (VH1)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-19T14:13:46-05:00
Danny Bonaduce before and after; Devon and Kevin of Rockwall Premiering: Thursday, March 20th at 9 p.m. (central) on VH1 Starring: Danny Bonaduce and 10 "Hollywood-crazed parent/child teams," including Devon and Kevin of Rockwall, TX Produced by: Danny and Gretchen Bonaduce By ED BARK Ridiculous when it's not being reprehensible, VH1's eight-episode I Know My Kid's A Star reeks of exploitation, Danny Bonaduce, an execrable mom named Rocky and a kid spewing vomit in the early going.

The long and winding 12 Miles of Bad Road

Ed Bark — 2008-03-18T14:47:50-05:00
It's no particular surprise to Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth that HBO leaked word Monday night of its decision not to air their broad but often very funny series about a Dallas realtor and her dysfunctional brood. ..."12 Miles represents the seemingly broad, but heavily researched and authentic world of Dallas billionaires, who think nothing of paying a million dollars for a Hannah Montana appearance at a child's birthday party, dispatching a private jet to England to deliver dry rub barbecue to Prince Charles or giving a trip to the moon as a wedding present.

New series review: Miss Guided (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-17T14:31:58-05:00
Dallasite Brooke Burns and star Judy Greer of Miss Guided. ABC photo Premiering: Tuesday, March 18th, at 9:32 p.m. (central) on ABC. Then moves to Thursdays at 7 p.m. with back-to-back episodes Starring: Judy Greer, Brooke Burns, Kristoffer Polasha, Chris Parnell, Earl Billings Produced by: Caroline Williams, Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg, Todd Holland, Karey Burke, Mark Hudis

HBO's Adams family is a revolutionary concept

Ed Bark — 2008-03-14T11:05:32-05:00
Cold comfort: John and Abigail Adams kept their fires burning. Premiering: Sunday, March 16th, 7 p.m. (central) with a second episode from 8:10 to 9:45 p.m. Continuing on Sundays at 8 p.m. through April 30th Starring: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, David Morse, Stephen Dillane, Zeljko Ivanek, Danny Huston, Justin Theroux, Guy Henry, Rufus Sewell, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Sarah Polley Produced by: Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman Directed by: Tom Hooper ...Its first two chapters, premiering Sunday, March 16th and running from 7 to 9:45 p.m. (central), accentuate the title character's unbending will and enduring love of his devoted, yet strong-willed wife.

New series review: The Return of Jezebel James (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-13T11:26:04-05:00
At least the Fox artwork is nice for The Return of Jezebel James. Premiering: Friday, March 14th at 7 p.m. (central) with back-to-back episodes on Fox Starring: Parker Posey, Lauren Ambrose, Scott Cohen, Michael Arden, Ron McLarty, Jack Carpenter Produced by: Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino By ED BARK Initially slotted for a post-American Idol launch, Fox's The Return of Jezebel James instead gets sent to the network's Friday night outhouse.

Idol: Latest evictee not grinning, not baring it.

Ed Bark — 2008-03-12T21:24:39-05:00
Rockwall's Jason Castro survives; not so David Hernandez. By ED BARK His recent past probably didn't help him, but neither did Tuesday's overwrought performance of Lennon-McCartney's "I Saw Her Standing There." ...Jim Carrey earlier showed up in an elephant costume to promote 20th Century Fox's upcoming Horton Hears a Who! And former Idol runnerup Katharine McPhee performed Lennon-McCartney's "Something" while accompanied by pianist David Foster.

New series review: Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (Comedy Central)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-11T15:30:13-05:00
In Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, premiering Wednesday on Comedy Central, he's mostly a judge who's not even as snarly as Judy. ...But next Wednesday's edition is better, with the returning Giraldo assailing Viagra with the logical argument that "when I sit on my grandpa's knee, I want to be sure it's his knee."

New series review: Canterbury's Law (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-07T09:26:13-06:00
Elizabeth Canterbury (Julianna Margulies) lays into another witness. Premiering: Monday, March 10th at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Julianna Margulies, Ben Shenkman, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Keith Robinson, Aidan Quinn, Terry Kinney, James McCaffrey Produced by: Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Walon Green, Dave Erickson By ED BARK Fox is swimming in Shark-infested waters here, and yes, that's an intended reference to the James Wood-led CBS courtroom series.

Lone Star? A single Texan remains in Idol's Final 12

Ed Bark — 2008-03-06T20:41:10-06:00
In and out: Rockwall's Jason Castro and Houston's Kady Malloy. By ED BARK A lone Texan still stands among American Idol's Final 12 after Thursday's herd-trimming left Houston's Kady Malloy on the cutting room floor. Jason Castro, 20, of Rockwall (but born in Dallas, raised in Rowlett) rode Tuesday night's rave reviews to the hit Fox show's promised land.

New series review: High School reunion (TV Land)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-05T12:31:30-06:00
Pearce's "Kat The Lesbian," then and now. Photos from TV Land Premiering: Wednesday, March 5 at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Starring: 14 graduates from J.J. ...Just trying to sink to the level of TV Land's High School Reunion, which turns out to be not all that bad a level in which to sink.

New series review: New Amsterdam (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-03-03T15:16:22-06:00
By ED BARK Four hundred is the new thirtysomething on Fox's New Amsterdam, whose ageless hero has got a lot more living to do unless he finds true love. ...Slotted for last fall until getting bumped by Don't Forget the Lyrics!, the show takes a very serious approach to both its weekly murder mysteries and unfolding mythology.

Worm turns on Big Apple's Good Day

Ed Bark — 2008-03-02T17:45:16-06:00
New York's version of Fox's Good Day recently spilled some bad blood between a war-weary old-timer and an anchor who tried to smack him down. It takes about a minute to get to the juice, but you won't be disappointed.

New series review: Oprah's Big Give (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-29T14:35:50-06:00
Premiering: Sunday, March 2nd, 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Oprah Winfrey (more or less) and a gaggle of judges and contestants Produced by: Oprah Winfrey By ED BARK It's already been pretty firmly established that Oprah Winfrey doesn't give anything away without all of us poor saps hearing about it.

News series review: Unhitched (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-29T13:14:44-06:00
It's not exactly Frasier when your comedy opens with a newly divorced guy in his 30s encountering a date who has a pet monkey and wants him to go ape with her -- literally. ...His best pals, forming something of a Seinfeld-esque quartet, are ill-kempt Tommy (Johnny Sneed), refined Kate (Rashida Jones) and the still socially awkward Dr. Freddy Sahgal (Shaun Majumder).

One Tex out, two graduate to Idol's sweet 16

Ed Bark — 2008-02-28T20:22:29-06:00
By ED BARK Dubbed dull and ordinary for two weeks running by arbiter Simon Cowell, wobbly American Idol hopeful Jason Yeager of Grand Prairie took a knockout punch on Thursday's second vote-off show. ...Jason Castro, 20, of Rockwall and Houston's Kady Malloy, 18, survived to be among Idol's final 16, although the latter earlier was left dangling next to Whitaker as one of the show's lower vote-getters.

Live from Ohio -- Hillary tells only half the SNL story

Ed Bark — 2008-02-26T23:13:31-06:00
"If anybody saw Saturday Night Live, maybe we should ask Barack if he's comfortable and needs another pillow," she then jabbed, drawing a few unfriendly murmurs from an otherwise mostly mute audience at Cleveland State University. ...

New series review: quarterlife (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-26T16:04:44-06:00
The quarterlife orbit also includes young filmmakers Danny and Jed (David Walton, Scott Michael Foster), bust-thrusting bartender/actress Lisa (Maite Schwartz), lovelorn Debra (Michelle Lombardo) and so-called "geek extraordinaire Danny (Kevin Christy), who easily is the least fleshed-out in Tuesday's opener. ...quarterlife excels because it speaks the language, hits the nerve spots and gets at the essence of what it's like to love/like someone who feels the same way not about you, but your closest friend.

ABC's Raisin In the Sun fullfills any and all grape expectations

Ed Bark — 2008-02-25T13:31:00-06:00
This is a business, after all, and the big broadcasters seldom are in any mood to "give back" anymore with productions that simply aspire to be great without any anticipated big payoff at the Nielsen box office. ...Rashad, so familiar to audiences as Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show, is especially unforgettable as a nurturing but no-nonsense matriarch whose late husband's life insurance policy will be netting the family a $10,000 windfall.

Stewart shines as Oscar host on a night when most of the winners are great unknowns

Ed Bark — 2008-02-24T23:53:37-06:00
"All I can say is thank God for teen pregnancy," Stewart said after referencing the year's "slate of psychopathic killer movies (No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd)." ... "Best Song" winners Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova; overseas quartet Daniel Day-Lewis, Tilda Swinton, Marion Cotillard, Javier Bardem. None of the winning speeches will go in a time capsule.

Championing Joe Louis

Ed Bark — 2008-02-23T11:59:38-06:00
The 75-minute film premieres on Saturday, Feb. 23rd at 7 p.m. (central) as something of an under-card to the following heavyweight title bout between two tongue-twisting white hulks -- Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov. ...After a humiliating defeat at the hands of Rocky Marciano, who would never lose a fight, Louis turned to wrestling, product endorsements, casino-greeting and just about anything else to pay off his debts to the government.

CNN's Obama-Clinton Texas throwdown puts her one step closer to throwing in the towel

Ed Bark — 2008-02-21T22:29:41-06:00
By ED BARK There's ample talk -- by TV pundits at least -- about how Hillary Clinton may have saved the day by humanizing herself in the final minute of Thursday night's CNN/Univision debate from Austin. ...She later had a bad moment, even drawing some boos on the subject of Obama's alleged "plagiarizing" of words used in an earlier speech by Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who's also a national co-chairman of his campaign.

Idol's three Texans punch tickets to next round

Ed Bark — 2008-02-21T21:47:33-06:00
By ED BARK Two of the three had taken a lashing from Simon Cowell, but none felt the sharper sting of eviction on American Idol's first viewer vote-off. Jason Castro, 20, of Rockwall, Jason Yeager, 28, of Grand Prairie, and Kady Malloy, 18, of Houston survived the winnowing of 24 contestants to 20 during Thursday night's typically prolonged nail-biter.

Two Jasons from North Texas at opposite ends of Idol's teeter totter

Ed Bark — 2008-02-19T21:35:44-06:00
Grand Prairie's Jason Yeager and Rockwall's Jason Castro on Idol. By ED BARK Maybe the American Idol audience has gotten old enough over the years to actually be in tune with Jason Yeager's treacly rendition of "Moon River" on Tuesday's male-only performance show. If not, the 28-year-old Huckleberry Friend from Grand Prairie might well be a goner when fans of the Fox mega-hit trim the field from 24 to 20 on the first results show Thursday.

Dancing ready to floor it with another dozen

Ed Bark — 2008-02-18T20:53:46-06:00
Hop to it: Kristi Yamaguchi, Priscilla Presley and Adam Carolla By ED BARK Sixty-two-year-old Priscilla Presley hopes to get all shook up when Dancing with the Stars returns for its sixth edition next month. ...Here's the rest of an eclectic and pretty intriguing field, which includes two former champion women athletes and a current member of the Miami Dolphins unless new GM Bill Parcells wants to cut him, too:

Starter Kit: PBS' American Experience chronicles the first famous Carson

Ed Bark — 2008-02-18T11:16:05-06:00
Christopher "Kit" Carson never learned to read and was mostly unaware of what the media of his day had done to him. ...PBS' remedial Kit Carson, an American Experience film premiering Monday (9 p.m. on KERA in Dallas), depicts its storied subject as a heroic yet flawed frontiersman whose biggest fault was blindly following orders.

Stars and bars: Prison Break ends its third and likely last season

Ed Bark — 2008-02-17T20:54:11-06:00
Monday's third season finale (7 p.m. central) caps a strike-shortened, 13-episode run that again finds brothers Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) on the outside looking in. They're on the lam anew, which frankly is getting pretty lam-brained for all concerned. ...There's talk of Fox opting for a women-in-prison series next season -- in which case the plot might not matter much if at all.

Idol goes with two Jasons from North Texas, and so far it's no horror film

Ed Bark — 2008-02-13T20:34:16-06:00
At least three notable ones, I'd say, with the closest call resulting in a no-go for bespectacled Buddy Holly lookalike Kyle Ensley, a junior at Oklahoma State who auditioned in Dallas. ...Leming looks like a cross between Davy Jones and Peter Noone, and has more than a bit of a British accent tossed in. He turned on the faucet works after getting bounced on a close call.

Blast from the past: Jericho rides again

Ed Bark — 2008-02-12T08:34:51-06:00
Ashley Scott gives some sugar to Skeet Ulrich on the second season premiere of CBS' Jericho. By ED BARK Not exactly back by popular demand -- but backed by a self-avowed group of uncrackable nuts -- Jericho returns Tuesday night in search of converts. ...This time it's for keeps, with CBS very unlikely to yield a second time to fan pressure if the show can't govern itself in the Nielsen ratings.

Bigger underdogs than the Giants -- which means there's always hope

Ed Bark — 2008-02-08T10:02:10-06:00
Star running back Brian "Smash" Williams (Gaius Charles) hasn't always pleased demanding coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler). By ED BARK Critical acclaim remains high for NBC's Friday Night Lights, which won a prestigious Peabody Award last year. ...There's a fair chance the walkout will come to an end next week, which would give Lights a chance to gear up for a handful of new episodes before the TV season officially ends in May.

New series review: Lipstick Jungle (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-06T18:38:17-06:00
The women of Lipstick Jungle and sassy creator Candace Bushnell Premiering: Thursday, Feb. 7, at 9 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, Lindsay Price, Andrew McCarthy, Paul Blackhorne, Robert Buckley Created by: Candace Bushnell ...Jungle is drawn from the novel by Candace Bushnell, who once collaborated with Cashmere Mafia maestro Darren Star on HBO's Sex and the City.

New series review: Welcome to the Captain (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2008-02-04T13:43:01-06:00
Jeffrey Tambor (middle) yearns to get lucky with Raquel Welch. Premiering: Monday, Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Fran Kranz, Chris Klein, Jeffrey Tambor, Raquel Welch, Al Madrigal, Joanna Garcia Produced by: John Hamburg, Andrew Reich, Ted Cohen ...So you'll have to laugh entirely on your own at a show that aims to be in the vein of Arrested Development and also has one of that late, great comedy's crazier cast members in Jeffrey Tambor.

Hill and Dave: Together again for the 9th time

Ed Bark — 2008-02-03T15:20:18-06:00
Hillary will do Dave on "Super Tuesday" eve. By ED BARK Hillary Clinton is smart to be with David Letterman on the night before the "Super Tuesday" primaries have a big say in who will get the Democratic presidential nomination. ...Look for Tuesday's network morning shows and the cable news channels to be amply stocked with excerpts from whatever she comes up with in her pre-primary joust with Letterman.

Made-for-TV movie review: Bridal Fever (Hallmark Channel)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-31T16:47:45-06:00
By ED BARK Somehow this movie slipped past Lifetime and also likely will evade reviews from all but a handful of male TV critics. ...Roth, otherwise much harder-edged as Tommy Gavin's estranged wife on Rescue Me, flexes a million dollar smile and a figure that works very well from all angles.

Hey, Jericho nuts

Ed Bark — 2008-01-30T17:38:41-06:00
Jericho's second season, even though it's only a seven-episode "arc" for now, is coming to CBS on Feb. 12th. Here's a link to a fun clip of the network's 100 reasons to watch.

New series review: Eli Stone (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-30T08:59:55-06:00
Thursday's premiere begins in a snowy Himalayan village, where a few sight gags hit the spot before the show shifts back in time to the San Francisco law firm headed by imperious Jordan Wethersby (Victor Garber), whose beauteous daughter, Taylor (Natasha Henstridge), is engaged to Eli. ...Eli also has a saucy assistant named Patti (Loretta Devine in scenery-chewing mode) and a Chinese acupuncturist, Dr. Chen (James Saito), who fakes an Oriental accent but otherwise serves as something of a Master Po or Kan to a current-day "Grasshopper."

At a loss with Lost

Ed Bark — 2008-01-29T12:06:58-06:00
Left to right are -- wait a minute, that's way too much work. By ED BARK The fourth season's first two episodes of Lost arrived in the mail this week. ...It's probably safe to say they're in color, have spoken words and represent one-quarter of eight episodes that were completed before the writers' strike kicked in. There were supposed to be a total of 16 this season.

Class act: Sunday's star-studded Screen Actors Guild Awards show how it could/should be done

Ed Bark — 2008-01-28T09:59:17-06:00
HBO's The Sopranos got a big sendoff at Sunday night's SAG awards. By ED BARK Blessed with a free non-picketing pass from the striking Writers Guild of America, the in-solidary Screen Actors Guild put on a glitzy, star-drenched show Sunday night without making an undue spectacle of itself. ... Office politics didn't keep The Office from winning best ensemble. The SAG show, which never sagged, also was graced by a career achievement award for Charles Durning, who has survived both Hollywood and World War II's D-Day.

New series review: In Treatment (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-25T12:11:58-06:00
Continuing on weeknights at the same hour Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Diane Wiest, Blair Underwood, Josh Charles, Embeth Davidtz, Melissa George, Mia Wasikowska, Michelle Forbes Produced by: Rodrigo Garcia, Hagai Levi, Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg ...And In Treatment's opening night head case, a self-absorbed young anesthesiologist named Laura (Melissa George), is easily the worst foot forward in a series that dramatically improves the very next night with the entrance of Blair Underwood as a combative Navy pilot.

Fox crushes life out of competitors in runaway week

Ed Bark — 2008-01-23T17:29:03-06:00
By ED BARK Paced by the one-two punch of American Idol and the biggest NFC championship audience in 13 years, Fox played Goliath in the latest ratings week while rival networks shot themselves in the foot with their slingshots. ...CBS remains a slight favorite to retain its full-season crown in the total viewers race, with Fox continuing to close in as the season goes on. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, though, it'll be Fox in a trot.

Liar liar, should Fox burn in hellfire?

Ed Bark — 2008-01-22T14:20:57-06:00
By ED BARK Here's a basic, bare bones query for Fox entertainment chairman Peter Liguori: "In your heart of hearts, are you proud to have The Moment of Truth on your network? This is, after all, the big-money game show that deploys lie detectors in tandem with questions such as, "While at your current job, have you ever touched a female co-worker inappropriately?"

Dwindling supplies of scripted series put the major broadcast networks in various states of disrepair

Ed Bark — 2008-01-21T10:25:07-06:00
Running on empty: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Grey's Anatomy are both out of new episodes as the Feb. "sweeps" nears. By ED BARK Negotiators for striking writers and major studios are set to meet again this week in hopes of ending a walkout that began on Nov. ...But even with a quick resolution, it will be at least until spring before new episodes are ready to roll on established hits such as ABC's Grey's Anatomy and CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

"Documusical" review: High School Musical: The Music In You (Disney Channel)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-18T13:34:11-06:00
By ED BARK Originally earmarked for last fall, Disney Channel's Fort Worth-based High School Musical: The Music In You finally arrives late and comes up short. ... Ann Hunter and Julia Worthington are Disney's stage mothers. Ann Hunter and Julia Worthington, respectively the theatre arts directors at Arlington and Western Heights, are the maestros behind the joint effort.

American Idol: Back to the drawling board

Ed Bark — 2008-01-17T05:49:20-06:00
But he was too good/bad to pass up, and his performance of the supposedly self-written "We're Brothers Forever" had Jackson and judge Paula Abdul dancing along with him while Cowell no doubt correctly predicted, "I have a horrible feeling it's going to be a hit." ... A Texas-sized crowd gathered outside Texas Stadium in "Texas-sized temperatures" for first-round Idol auditions last August. The Dallas auditions bracingly lacked the 'tude and bleeped profanity spewed by the city of Brotherly Love.

Idol re-flexes, but loses some muscle tone

Ed Bark — 2008-01-16T11:52:02-06:00
Tuesday night's two-hour premiere of the show's seventh season drew 33.4 million viewers nationally to rank as the season's most-watched entertainment program to date. ...The seventh season opener ranked just fourth on the show's all-time list, behind the aforementioned sixth edition, Season 5 (35.5 million viewers) and Season 4 (33.6 million viewers).

All that glitters?

Ed Bark — 2008-01-15T14:42:17-06:00
Through Jan. 13th of the 2007-08 season, CBS, ABC and NBC are tied for first place among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, with Fox just one-tenth of a rating point behind. ...In total viewers, it's still CBS on top (11.6 million), followed by ABC (10.1 million), NBC (8.9 million) and Fox (8.8 million).

Coming off a B-flat year, Simon says Idol's back in better voice

Ed Bark — 2008-01-14T16:22:08-06:00
But again, it's a blur," Cowell says of the Dallas leg, which began in the sweltering August heat of Texas Stadium before Cowell and co-judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson listened to selected hopefuls weeks later in the cool, cool, cool of a North Texas hotel room. ...Cowell may view himself as a "little more tolerant," but hopes people "realize that I know what I'm talking about and that it's actually more cruel to lie to someone or give them false expectations rather than tell them the truth."

Absent dinner, drinks and Hollywood swells, it's just one big golden glob

Ed Bark — 2008-01-14T08:24:41-06:00
The Golden Globes had no pickup lines Sunday night. By ED BARK The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's 65th annual Golden Globes presentation came and went with all the flash and excitement of a colonoscopy Sunday night. ...NBC padded its coverage to a full-hour, meaning that its announcement of the climactic "Best Motion Picture" award (for Atonement) came a half-hour after E!

New series review: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-11T07:41:28-06:00
Steely-eyed scene-stealer "Cameron" of Sarah Connor Chronicles Premiering: Sunday, Jan. 13th at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox before moving to regular 8 p.m. Monday slot on Jan. 14th Starring: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. ...The Cameron character, an obvious salute to Terminator franchise creator James Cameron, turns out to be a robot sent from 2027 to protect John and also track down and thwart whoever built a Sky Net computer system that blows up the world at some point down the road.

Miniseries review: Comanche Moon (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-10T13:35:46-06:00
Disparate Texas Rangers Woodrow Call (left) and Gus McCrae (right) flank the fractious Sculls in CBS' Comanche Moon, a 6-hour prequel to author Larry McMurtry's classic Lonesome Dove. ...Still, Texas author Larry McMurtry's 1997 extension of his Lonesome Dove saga clearly sags in comparison as both a novel (which I recently read) and as a television "event" that's notably short on star power or truly memorable performances.

The Jewish Americans: a great first impression

Ed Bark — 2008-01-09T13:49:19-06:00
Early Jewish immigrants gather at a Lower East Side fish market. By ED BARK Ken Burns gets most of the ink and acclaim among PBS documentarians, but the David Grubin catalogue otherwise is second to none. ...Interviewees in Wednesday night's premiere include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, playwright Tony Kushner, comedian Sid Caesar, producer/actor Carl Reiner and former Picket Fences co-star Fyvush Finkel, who joyously recalls the exploits of America's first Yiddish theater star, Boris Thomashefsky.

Last call: Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Colbert Report make it a full house in late night

Ed Bark — 2008-01-08T10:37:41-06:00
Back in play: Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart re-emerge writer-less. By ED BARK Jon Stewart wore a stuck-on "writers' strike solidarity unibrow" and Stephen Colbert first appeared in a fake Hasidic beard while shredding documents. ...Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report otherwise were back in business with strikingly dissimilar approaches to the ongoing impasse between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Returning series review: The Wire (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-04T13:45:20-06:00
HBO's concluding fifth season of The Wire (Sunday, 8 p.m. central on HBO) looks like a lock to end its run without ever receiving a best drama series Emmy, let alone even a nomination. ...They also share the byline of creator David Simon, a former reporter for The Baltimore Sun who grimly sees his city in ways that its Chamber of Commerce never can.

New series review: Cashmere Mafia (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2008-01-04T11:23:47-06:00
Then moves to regular 9 p.m. Wednesday slot Starring: Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Bonnie Somerville, Miranda Otto, Peter Hermann, Julian Ovenden Produced by: Darren Star, Kevin Wade, Michael Pressman, Gail Katz, Jeff Rake By ED BARK ABC's Big Shots, no longer in its longterm plans, presented a quartet of nakedly ambitious male Manhattan CEOs who conspired and drank a lot together in very expensive locales and wardrobes.

Help them make it through their nights

Ed Bark — 2008-01-03T13:59:29-06:00
He then stopped short of any punch line, informing his audience that this requires writers and Tonight doesn't have 'em. But what's a lantern-jawed comic going to do after two months of supporting the strike and paying parts of his staff's salaries? ... Leno goofing with Emeril and Ferguson as a goofball Prince Charles. Letterman began with a taped cold open from Hillary, who noted how long he'd been off the air.

PBS' Pioneers of Television: See-worthy but not must-see

Ed Bark — 2008-01-02T10:25:56-06:00
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in full flower during TV's budding years. By ED BARK All hail TV's visionaries. ...Pioneers' first of four weekly chapters also looks back fondly upon I Love Lucy, Make Room For Daddy, The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Turn of the year -- with no end in sight

Ed Bark — 2007-12-31T12:51:42-06:00
Broadcast networks in particular seem ready, willing and even eager to see how well they'll do with a mix of unscripted reality concoctions, holdover new episodes of some scripted series, awards shows, big-ticket sports programming and a few "events" (CBS' six-hour Commanche Moon miniseries for one). ...For the past 10 days, NBC has been bragging about having "more new stuff" than its broadcast rivals, beginning with The Biggest Loser: Couples on New Year's night followed by a double-run of new Law & Order episodes on Jan. 2nd.

Year in review: Top 10 prime-time series

Ed Bark — 2007-12-27T11:12:19-06:00
This show definitely hasn't lost its Curb appeal, even though David now will agonize off-camera for months on end before deciding whether to re-up for another 10 episodes. ...Alas, it may be too late for that, but Lights still has enough pre-strike new episodes in the can to fill all of January (beginning on the 4th) and at least the first Friday in February.

Documentary review: The True Story of Charlie Wilson (The History Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-21T13:15:29-06:00
Come listen to this story about a -- deep breath -- "womanizing, boozing, Cowboy congressman from Texas" who deployed a glamorous Houston socialite and an accomplished belly dancer to seduce support for rag-tag Afghan rebels fighting with archaic "Davy Crockett rifles" to rid their country of the mighty invading Soviet Army. ...Charlie Wilson's War, opening Friday, Dec. 21st, shouldn't be seen without at some point seeing The True Story of Charlie Wilson on The History Channel (Saturday, Dec. 22nd from 7 to 9 p.m. central).

Stewart, Colbert join late night returnees; Celebrity Apprentice makes another date -- again

Ed Bark — 2007-12-20T23:11:24-06:00
By ED BARK Too late for the Jan. 3rd Iowa caucuses but better late than never, both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will resume production on Jan. 7th without their writing staffs. ...NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien earlier announced Jan. 2nd returns, as did ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live.

New series review: Duel (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-17T13:45:19-06:00
ESPN's Mike Greenberg hosts ABC's surprisingly cerebral Duel. Premiering: Monday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Hosted by: Mike Greenberg Produced by: Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun ...Its contestants laugh and cry, but they'd better not kiss their brains goodbye during this cerebral buildup to a winner-takes-all giant jackpot at the end of a six-episode arc.

Play ball: Leno, O'Brien returning to work as strike goes on

Ed Bark — 2007-12-17T10:42:00-06:00
Rick Ludwin, NBC's executive vice president of late night and prime-time series, noted in a statement that Johnny Carson "reluctantly" returned to the Tonight Show during the 1988 writers' strike. ...O'Brien, far more expansive, said his choices were "either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for 14 years, to lose their jobs.

Found: Lost on Thursdays, beginning Jan. 31st

Ed Bark — 2007-12-16T19:43:37-06:00
They'll begin unraveling on Thursday, Jan 31st at 8 p.m. (central), preceding that same night's premiere of the new legal drama Eli Stone, which also had been in pre-strike production. ...ABC, last of the four major networks to announced a strike-impacted midseason lineup, also said that new seasons of Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor will begin on Monday, March 17th.

Raggedy Andy -- Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-14T13:10:45-06:00
This all could have ended very darkly, with fame-seeking Andy Millman (Gervais) succumbing on all fours while his faithful friend and companion, Maggie Jacobs (Ashley Jensen), ended up destitute after wasting her time with him. ..."I want to be associated with credible stuff," Andy tells an on-the-make agent before dropping inept but loyal Darren Lamb (Extras co-creator Darren Lamb).

Idol's head Brit wants no part of "Brit"

Ed Bark — 2007-12-13T14:11:50-06:00
***Idol "got carried away" with celebrity mentors last season, and didn't spend enough time on the backgrounds of contestants, he says. ...Hmm, one of Lythgoe's big favorites last season was 16-year-old Baylie Brown of Krum, TX, who made it to Hollywood but got bounced after forgetting lyrics during a preliminary round.

Golden Globes plug in to cable

Ed Bark — 2007-12-13T09:33:40-06:00
Nominees Glenn Close of Damages, Lee Pace of Pushing Daisies By ED BARK It's a blowout, even with barely any help from The Sopranos. ...AMC's Mad Men series gave that network its first two nominations ever while 90-year-old Ernest Borgnine put The Hallmark Channel on the map with a best actor nomination for A Grandpa For Christmas.

Hulu? Who knew?

Ed Bark — 2007-12-12T13:34:13-06:00
Hulu's eclectic list of programming choices, in just its very formative stages, ranges from Hill Street Blues to Family Guy, from Doogie Howser, M.D. to Scrubs. ...For no charge, you can dial up the complete premiere episodes and more of Emmy caliber series such as Hill Street, Doogie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Miami Vice, The Practice, St.

New series review -- Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-11T16:12:07-06:00
Texas pageant pairs: Ada & Christan vs. Hollis & Gina. Premiering: Wednesday, Dec. 12th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Hosted by: Shanna Moakler Starring: 11 mother-daughter combos Created by: Laurie Girion ..."We're celebrating what it means to be a modern beauty, where spirit, intelligence and heart are as meaningful as a pretty face," she tells the excited contestants before they burst into the show's "Pageant House" to eat, drink and gush.

Movie review -- Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day

Ed Bark — 2007-12-07T12:17:59-06:00
That's my boy: Ellen Burstyn tries to buck up Michael Imperioli. By ED BARK First off, there haven't been this many egos in a TV title since Cher managed to mention herself twice in a 1998 tribute to her late ex-husband, Sonny Bono. ...ABC's Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day is a collaboration of a best-selling author and someone who makes best-selling authors with her periodic "Book Club" pronouncements.

Documentary review: 1968 (The History Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-12-06T13:17:15-06:00
An offshoot of his current bestseller Boom!, it gives him a chance to stretch out and go the way of other broadcast news deities such as Ted Koppel and Dan Rather. ...Sporting a coat, tie and short-clipped hair, "I was the freak," Brokaw says of his long-ago visit to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, then the epicenter of the counter-culture movement.

A tale of two CBS special presentations

Ed Bark — 2007-12-04T15:50:48-06:00
Kennedy Center honorees and veteran poser Heidi "The Body" Klum. By ED BARK One event will be hosted by model citizen Caroline Kennedy. ...CBS's nightie night is co-hosted by the still picturesque Heidi Klum and her husband, Seal, who'll sing. The Spice Girls and WILL.I.AM also are scheduled to perform, although is that really necessary?

Holiday punch: TNT's The Closer re-opens for a Christmas special

Ed Bark — 2007-12-03T11:59:35-06:00
Meet the parents: The Closer does Christmas, murders included. By ED BARK The most-watched series in basic cable history celebrates the Christmas season Monday night by mixing a double homicide with a missing Perry Como CD. ...Subtitled "Next of Kin," Closer begins at home, with Deputy police chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) none-too-happily helping to trim a Christmas tree with live-in boyfriend/FBI agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney).

Still kicking -- both Don Hewitt and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Ed Bark — 2007-11-30T12:26:56-06:00
By ED BARK Legendary producer Don Hewitt is reasonably sure he was there at the creation -- of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, that is. ...Hewitt, who plans to turn 85 on Dec. 14th, now is producing the first-ever telecast of New York's trademark holiday high-kicker, which is in its 75th anniversary year.

Christmas special review: Shrek the Halls (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-11-28T16:04:10-06:00
And in fact, ABC is pairing this half-hour special (Wednesday at 7 p.m. central) with the evergreen How the Grinch Stole Christmas. ...In the end all is well, but not without a good deal of Christmas Eve chaos caused by Shrek's well-meaning but rowdy friends.

Dancing's checkered flag goes to Indy 500 champ

Ed Bark — 2007-11-27T22:39:42-06:00
By ED BARK Showing off his other motor skills, two-time Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves took first place Tuesday night in the latest Dancing with the Stars finale. ...The show's other victors are former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith and ex-boy band singer Drew Lachey, who now will host a Jan. 7th spinoff titled Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann.

As the stomach turns: Notes from the Underbelly back for more

Ed Bark — 2007-11-26T14:16:17-06:00
Its lead-ins are the fall season's final performance edition of Dancing with the Stars followed by a new episode of the bonafide hit comedy Samantha Who?. ...Both returnees stand to make more of an impression in times when the writers' strike will be reducing most ongoing series to reruns after the November "sweeps" ratings period ends Wednesday.

Made-for-TV movie review: A Grandpa for Christmas (Hallmark Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-11-23T10:28:16-06:00
Ernest Borgnine hits it off with co-star Juliette Goglia. By ED BARK Yeah, I kind of thought he was dead, too. ...Farr and Helmond, in little demand since their respective co-starring roles in M*A*S*H and Who's the Boss?, also get a chance to rise and shine in decent-sized supporting roles.

New series review -- Frank TV (TBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-11-19T15:34:21-06:00
By ED BARK Your first impression of Frank Caliendo is bound to be, "Hey, that's the guy who does John Madden." ...Caliendo also brings in Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as hosts of an At the Movies-esque show titled Go Or Don't Go.

Movie review: More of Me (Lifetime)

Ed Bark — 2007-11-16T13:58:30-06:00
Shannon, best known from her SNL tour as creepy Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher, doesn't exactly get the role of a lifetime in More of Me. She's Alice McGrath, a do-it-all mother of six-year-old twins who's lately obsessed with saving an historic old tree in danger of being uprooted by a bridge.

Still in play with new episodes -- but not for long

Ed Bark — 2007-11-14T10:45:28-06:00
Back to You's doofus leading men conspire to evict a raccoon. By ED BARK Fox has just two comedies that aren't cartoons, unless you count the network's pre- and post-game NFL shows. Both air on Wednesday nights, but Back to You and Til' Death are down to just a small handful of new episodes before the ongoing writers' strike rings in the reruns.

Soldiering on: CBS' The Unit buries a lead character

Ed Bark — 2007-11-13T07:34:24-06:00
On Tuesday's second of a two-part episode (8 p.m. central), team leader Jonas Blane (Dennis Haysbert) and his brothers in arms grieve in their own insular ways over the loss of medic Hector Williams (Demore Barnes). ...And so in true Rambo fashion, Blane sends his men out of harm's way with their dead comrade while he stays to singlehandedly compete the second half of the mission.

Reba and LeAnn: Damn, they were good together

Ed Bark — 2007-11-11T23:17:33-06:00
Uncle Barky usually isn't much of a buckaroo buddy, but last Wednesday's CMA awards duet by Reba McEntire and LeAnn Rimes is still resonating with me. I thought it'd be a great way to start off a Monday, so here they are singing "When You Love Someone Like That."

WRITERS' STRIKE: Fox stops the clock on 24, makes a date with Idol

Ed Bark — 2007-11-08T07:21:36-06:00
Fox announced Wednesday that "Day 7" of 24, originally set to launch with a two-hour, Jan. 13th premiere, has been postponed indefinitely so that the series can air uninterrupted in its entirety. ...***Three previously announced scripted series -- Unhitched, The Return of Jezebel James and Canterbury's Law (starring ER alum Julianna Margulies) -- respectively are supposed to premiere on March 2nd, March 7th and April 11th.

WRITERS' STRIKE: First casualties are late night talkers

Ed Bark — 2007-11-05T18:27:17-06:00
Strike proof: CBS' six-hour Commanche Moon, co-starring Wes Studi (left), is already on DVD discs sent to critics; NBC's announced new version of American Gladiators, hosted by Hulk Hogan, is unscripted. ...Repeats immediately are in effect until further notice for NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien; CBS' Late Show with David Letterman and Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson; ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report.

Williams gets his SNL fix

Ed Bark — 2007-11-05T18:27:11-06:00
His best moments on SNL were as "Principal Jeffries" on a mock CW show and as a non-plussed $15 million Publishers Clearing House winner who later got excited when a pizza deliveryman told him that free cheesy bread was included. ...Williams wasn't a part of that one, but did play himself in a later bit in which he prepped an inept group of Democratic candidates for a debate while telling them that "all of us in the media want her (Hillary) to be the nominee."

Damages: Still too Close to call?

Ed Bark — 2007-11-02T14:49:56-05:00
Glenn Close conspires with Rose Byrne in FX's exemplary Damages. By ED BARK News this week that FX has renewed Rescue Me for a fifth season begs a companion question. ...Close, who earlier spent a season on The Shield, is on board to do Damages for several seasons to come, says John Solberg, senior vice president of media relations for FX.

Retro-cooler than William Shatner? Robert Goulet gave it his best shot

Ed Bark — 2007-10-31T13:05:44-05:00
Singer Robert Goulet, a staple of vintage prime-time variety series, has died of lung cancer....

Bats and balls are still good for a hit or two

Ed Bark — 2007-10-30T12:40:27-05:00
Joe Buck and Tim McCarver again manned Fox's Series coverage. By ED BARK The World Series, even another truncated one, can still put a network on the scoreboard. ...Three of the four Series games also cracked the weekly top 10 among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, a list that was topped by Fox's House.

Finding another vain: Nip/Tuck's docs leave Miami for L.A.

Ed Bark — 2007-10-29T18:01:49-05:00
Somehow all of this is a big, hanky-wringing hit with today's audiences, even though the acting on this show within the show makes one long for those comparatively delicate performances from William Shatner on T.J. ...The first two episodes also accommodate an aging actress enduring a facelift against her better judgment; a younger Hearts 'n Scalpels thespian who's ashamed of her gastric bypass scar; two dueling Marilyn Monroe impersonators demanding boob jobs and a studio executive who's badly pockmarked with wounds inflicted by his dominatrix.

What About Brian? Is hosting Saturday Night Live a gravitas offense?

Ed Bark — 2007-10-29T10:42:38-05:00
Brian Williams knows how to be a good talk show guest, but is hosting Saturday Night Live going more than a little too far? ...He'd already proved to be a glib and nimble guest, notably on the night when Cher observed during a 1996 Tonight Show that Williams was undeniably handsome but looked "too Republican" in his usual suit and tie.

History channel hokum: Lost Book of Nostradamus

Ed Bark — 2007-10-26T14:15:25-05:00
History Channel spreads the doom and gloom thick, continually replaying the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers while Nostradamus-ites say that his -- or maybe not his -- drawing of a flaming castle tower clearly predicted this cataclysmic event. Since that terrible day, "there are few moments in history when man has stood so close to the brink of creating and experiencing destruction on a massive scale," says the program's ever-ominous sounding narrator.

Cuban's out, but so is Kym. No fair

Ed Bark — 2007-10-24T16:07:37-05:00
To have and to hold: No more lush Kym Johnson for Mavs man. By ED BARK As you've likely read here or elsewhere, Mark Cuban's finally a goner on ABC's Dancing with the Stars after bouts with the fox trot, mambo, jive, Viennese waltz and samba. ...But Kym's the show's sim sala bim, and Cuban couldn't have had a nicer, suppler woman to baby-step him through Dancing's first four rounds.

No longer a shoe-in: Cuban's Dancing daze is over

Ed Bark — 2007-10-24T01:55:15-05:00
Last handshakes, last dance: A game Cuban's over and out. ABC photos By ED BARK Even a previous night's fainting spell by Marie Osmond couldn't keep Mark Cuban's faint hopes alive. ...He cast himself as a nerd for his final dance, wearing taped-at-the-bridge glasses and a standard issue white shirt while Johnson made Barbara Eden look like Roseanne Barr in her fetching I Dream of Jeannie outfit.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Viva Laughlin (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T18:06:23-05:00
Then moves to Sundays at 7 p.m. Starring: Lloyd Owen, Madchen Amick, Eric Winter, DB Woodside, Carter Jenkins, Ellen Woglom, P.J. Byrne Produced by: Bob Lowry, Hugh Jackman, John Palermo ...The overall drama is weak here, and the musical interludes keep getting shorter as the hour goes on. It's as if CBS already is wondering what the hell it's gotten itself into -- and whether there's still time to throw the songs off a cliff.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Samantha Who? (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T16:38:31-05:00
No, that's seldom in the prime-time TV cards, although tubby, loutish men of the According to Jim variety never seem to have any trouble thinking the world of themselves. ...Samantha gradually learns that she's an alcoholic, has $30,000 in credit card debt and broke up with her boyfriend, Todd (Barry Watson), who's now trying to re-extricate himself.

Price check: Drew Carey's on the money

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T15:47:15-05:00
Absent Bob Barker for the first time in 35 years, The Price Is Right begins putting its money on a chunky, bespectacled newcomer Monday (10 a.m. central time on CBS). ...He seems a bit nervous and abrupt at first, immediately getting down to the business of bidding on a scuba diving kit enroute to a chance to win a new Jeep.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-12T09:13:44-05:00
Dallas-born Selena Gomez stars as a kid who sometimes spells trouble on Disney Channel's new Wizards of Waverly Place. Premiering: Friday, Oct. 12 at 8:30 p.m. (central) on Disney Channel Starring: Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Jake T. ...Its new Wizards of Waverly Place, premiering Friday, already seems effortlessly cute, reasonably funny and certain to join the network's fave rave hit parade of Hannah Montana, the High School Musical movies, That's So Raven, The Cheetah Girls movies, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Lizzie McGuire, etc.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Women's Murder Club (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-11T13:34:07-05:00
Angie Harmon (center) fronts the cast of Women's Murder Club. Premiering: Friday, Oct. 12, at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Angie Harmon, Paula Newsome, Aubrey Dollar, Laura Harris, Tyrees Allen, Rob Estes, Linda Park Produced by: James Patterson, Scott Gimmel, Liz Craft By ED BARK Here's a night and a timeslot where ABC not so long ago accommodated the likes of Step By Step and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Still on his feet: Cuban cleared for a fourth round on Dancing

Ed Bark — 2007-10-10T06:29:57-05:00
Not so Mr. LV and two-time champ Cheryl Burke. By ED BARK He's now outlasted two models and a Model T. ...Despite receiving generally low scores from Dancing's three judges, Cuban now has successfully navigated the fox trot, mambo and jive in outlasting one-quarter of the show's original 12-celebrity field.

Those sinking feelings: Big Four networks' new season numbers are down, down, down, down

Ed Bark — 2007-10-09T13:36:37-05:00
ABC's Private Practice and Pushing Daisies were the only new shows to hit prime-time's top 25 in Week 2 of the new fall season. ...Only two series, ABC's Pushing Daisies and Private Practice, made the week's Top 25 in both total viewers and with 18-to-49-year-olds.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Cavemen

Ed Bark — 2007-10-08T14:24:44-05:00
Joel's got the hot Homo Sapien on ABC's Cavemen. Airing: Tuesdays at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Bill English, Sam Huntington, Nick Kroll, Kaitlin Doubleday Produced by: Josh Gordon, Will Speck, Daniel Rappaport, Guymon Casady ...Paired with the not so bad Carpoolers as part of ABC's "Man Date" night, it's visually hairy without being demonstrably harebrained.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Life is Wild (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-05T14:17:36-05:00
The blended Clarke brood hits the road in South Africa. Premiering Sunday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Leah Pipes, Andrew St. ...But it will get no lead-in help at all from CW ratings bomb Online Nation, which couldn't even be called comatose with 690,000 viewers nationally for last Sunday's premiere.

FALL TV PREVIEW: NBC promos take the football out of Friday Night Lights, but the series is better than ever

Ed Bark — 2007-10-04T17:05:26-05:00
Childbirth helps, too, and this is where FNL's most valuable player comes in. She's Tami Taylor (Connie Britton), wife of former Panthers coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler). ...The Panthers' new coach, dubbed "The Tennessee Tyrant," is a stone cold disciplinarian who quickly puts the team's fate in the hands of brash running back "Smash" Williams (Gaius Charles) rather than still introverted quarterback Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford).

FALL TV PREVIEW: Seinfeld revisits Thursday on 30 Rock

Ed Bark — 2007-10-03T17:03:26-05:00
A 30 Rock guest shot by onetime NBC potentate Jerry Seinfeld presumably can't hurt when the Peacock's most under-appreciated show returns for its second season Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (central). ...NBC owns a wealth of old clips from Seinfeld, and Donaghy is just the guy to digitally use Jerry as a pitchman in clips for Heroes, Deal Or No Deal and a sendup of CBS' Kid Nation.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Pushing Daisies (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-03T11:36:49-05:00
On Wednesday's premiere, narrator Jim Dale (voice of the Harry Potter audio books) spends nearly six and a half minutes setting up the story, which originates in the peaceable earthly kingdom of Couer d' Couers.... Especially when the show's writers seem to think it adds to the story by giving the main characters' ages not only in years, but in weeks, hours and minutes.

Cuban avoids a knockout and can still come out swingin'

Ed Bark — 2007-10-02T21:37:50-05:00
Cuban's mambo co-starred lush Kym Johnson in Sheena garb. By ED BARK Mark Cuban got a little shock therapy on Tuesday's Dancing with the Stars, surviving to hoof and puff another night without even having to break a sweat. The Dallas Mavericks owner and pro partner Kym Johnson learned midway through the show that they'd been "saved" instead of again relegated to Dancing's Bottom Two scorers.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Carpoolers (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-02T09:42:39-05:00
ABC's Cavemen wasn't available for review; its Carpoolers will do. Premiering: Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Fred Goss, Faith Ford, Jerry O'Connell, Jerry Minor, Tim Peper, T.J. ...Goofier than Goofy, Carpoolers won't be measuring up to any classic comedies but at least can play in the same league with How I Met Your Mother.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Aliens In America (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-10-01T12:50:43-05:00
New pals Justin Tolchuck and Raja Musharaff give The CW a lift. Premiering: Monday, Oct 1 at 7:30 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Dan Byrd, Adhir Kalyan, Amy Pietz, Scott Patterson, Lindsey Shaw Produced by: Tim Doyle, Moses Port, David Guarascio ...This sends fictional Medora, Wisconsin's Justin Tolchuck (Dan Byrd) running home in horror and humiliation while his protective mom Franny (Amy Pietz) schemes to somehow make him cool in the eyes of teen sadists like the Palladino twins.

FALL TV PREVIEW: Returning series -- Dexter (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-28T15:35:11-05:00
Keith Carradine joins Dexter this season as a "rock star" FBI agent. By ED BARK Newly impotent in his own uniquely shivery way, "America's Favorite Serial Killer" is having a tough time cutting it as Showtime's Dexter returns for a 12-episode second season. ...Also returning to the series is Dexter's still traumatized foster sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a fellow cop who unknowingly had been dating the "Ice Truck Killer" before nearly becoming his victim.

Cops: 20 seasons of Saturday night takedowns

Ed Bark — 2007-09-28T09:41:14-05:00
Cops creator John Langley knows what he wants by now: Action! By ED BARK American clearly has an inexhaustible supply of low-life troublemakers. ...Now in its 20th season, it's been a no-frills Saturday night mainstay on Fox since the days when competition included the likes of Empty Nest, Mr. Belevedere, 227 and China Beach.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Moonlight (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-27T15:06:48-05:00
They all have dark hair. Premiering: Friday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Alex O'Loughlin, Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring, Shannyn Sossamon Produced by: Joel Silver, Ron Koslow, Rod Holcomb ...CBS canceled the far superior Close to Home to accommodate Moonlight, deemed to be a better Friday night follow up act this season for a darkened Ghost Whisperer.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Big Shots (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-27T09:08:05-05:00
Big Shots, fronted by Dylan McDermott (The Practice), is supposed to provide a peephole into what it means to be a man these days. ...So on this show she makes a modicum of sense when asking, "What kind of a man would be so deceitful as to lie to the woman he's cheating on his wife with?"

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T12:38:31-05:00
Peter Krause is sucked in by Donald Sutherland on Dirty Sexy Money. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, Natalie Zea, William Baldwin, Glenn Fitzgerald, Seth Gabel, Samaire Armstrong, Zoe McLellan Created by: Craig Wright ...DSM looks cinematic, feels big and even has latter day suer Dan Rather cameo-ing as himself and asking one of the rich, spoiled, Manhattan-based Darlings whether he'll make a run for the U.S. Senate.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Life (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T11:42:09-05:00
Sarah Shahi, now and then, co-stars in the new NBC series Life. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 9 (central) on NBC Starring: Damian Lewis, Sarah Shahi, Adam Arkin, Brooke Langton, Robin Weigert Produced by: Rand Ravich, Far Shariat, David Semel ...NBC's Life is a multi-layered original in its own right, though, largely because star Damian Lewis plays detective Charlie Crews with such distinctive precision.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Private Practice (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T10:36:58-05:00
Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Kate Walsh, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Amy Brenneman, Audra McDonald, Paul Adelstein, KaDee Strickland, Chris Lowell Created by: Shonda Rimes ...Another familiar face, Paul Adelstein, is segueing from the second season of Fox's Prison Break, where he got killed, to the role of pediatrician Cooper Freedman, whose hobby is serial Internet dating.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Bionic Woman (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-26T08:37:45-05:00
Battle of the bionics: Vet Sarah Corvus vs. rookie Jaime Sommers. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Michelle Ryan, Chris Bowers, Miguel Ferrer, Will Yun Lee, Molly Price, Lucy Kate Hale, Katee Sackhoff, Mark Sheppard Produced by: David Eick, Jason Smilovic ...That's a good thing for this first episode, which is greatly energized by a stormy night catfight between stalker Sarah and game Jaime, who's still testing her abilities to run like the wind, leap tall buildings in a single bound and use her fists as sledgehammers.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Cane (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-25T09:08:25-05:00
Jimmy Smits is front and center in the new serial drama Cane. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Jimmy Smits, Nestor Carbonell, Hector Elizondo, Paola Turbay, Rita Morena, Polly Walker, Michael Trevino, Alona Tal, Samuel Carman, Lina Esco, Eddie Matos, Ken Howard Created by: Cynthia Cidre ...Cane will have to be able to stitch this all together both plausibly and compellingly in a challenging time slot opposite NBC's Law & Order: SVU and ABC's Boston Legal.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Reaper (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-25T08:06:38-05:00
The Devil wants his due from sad sack Sam Oliver. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Bret Harrison, Ray Wise, Tyler Labine, Missy Peregrym, Rick Gonzales, Valarie Rae Miller Created by: Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters ...This is the best of the new crop, a darkly funny fable about a 21-year-old semi-loser who learns that his soul now belongs to the devil.

Talkin' junk: Cuban leads with mouth before stepping out

Ed Bark — 2007-09-24T20:48:57-05:00
By ED BARK His fox trot won't be flooring it until Tuesday night's Dancing with the Stars. ...However he fares Tuesday night, Cubes should be able to outlast model Josie Maran, who scraped bottom with a 16 score and likely is little known to the masses.

FALL TV PREVIEW: Battle of the Network Nerds -- Chuck (NBC) vs. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-24T06:54:25-05:00
Take your pick, ladies. Chuck, premiering Monday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster Created by: Josh Schwartz, McG ...Co-creator Chuck Lorre also has Monday's following Two And a Half Men in play, so he knows how to make a sitcom pop. This one may wear pretty well, even if Penny really must be crazy to hook up with guys who make even Richard Simmons seem manly.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Journeyman (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-24T05:44:23-05:00
Instead he'll jump through several more back-and-forth hoops, at one point encountering his old self with dead fiancee Livia Beale (Moon Bloodgood from last season's similarly constructed Day Break). ...McKidd, one of several sturdy Brits starring in new dramas this fall, has migrated from the lusty lad trappings of HBO's Rome.

FALL TV PREVIEW: The War (PBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-21T15:28:40-05:00
But in the end -- for those who stick it out -- it's impossible not to salute him for a monumental melding of images, music, eyewitness recollections, writing (by longtime collaborator Geoffrey Ward) and narration (again from the redoubtable Keith David). ...Burns insists that these interviews won't look as though they're "tacked on." But they do in fact feel that way, particularly after Jones already has seemingly brought an emotional end to Chapter 1 with her first singing of "American Anthem."

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Kid Nation (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-19T20:23:10-05:00
Mike manned up, Sophia won a $20,000 gold star and little Jimmy up and called it quits on the premiere episode of CBS' Kid Nation. ...Little eight-year-old Jimmy of Salem, N.H., Kid Nation's youngest "pioneer" and first voluntary quitter, pretty much summed up what faces CBS during the opening bus ride into deserted Bonanza City, New Mexico.

Giving himself a black eye: Rather sues CBS long after his fall

Ed Bark — 2007-09-19T15:47:45-05:00
Rather and his attorneys filed a $70 million lawsuit Wednesday afternoon, contending that CBS brass, led by Leslie Moonves, had railroaded him in the aftermath of a Sept. 8, 2004 investigative report that questioned President Bush's Texas National Guard service during the Vietnam War era. ...Others prepared it, and he simply recited their words on the air after being persuaded by CBS News management to devote most of his time to Hurricane Frances and Bill Clinton's heart surgery.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Back to You (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-18T21:10:43-05:00
Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Fred Willard, Ty Burrell, Josh Gad, Ayda Field, Laura Marano Created by: Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd ...Also, McGinley tries to figure out how a magician made an orange materialize in a man's shorts while Carr says at a news meeting, "I think Montana should cover the pumpkin festival."

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Kitchen Nightmares (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-18T16:29:45-05:00
Gordon Ramsay fires up the staff at an unappetizing Italian eatery. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Gordon Ramsay Produced by: Gordon Ramsay ...Ah, but he means well, even when he's telling you to shove that spatula up your bleepin' bleep and get the bleep outta here before I bleepin' stick your bleepin' hand in the mixin' bowl and serve it as bleepin' blood sausage.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Gossip Girl (CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-18T14:39:03-05:00
xxx.ooo. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. (central) on CW Starring: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Chace Crawford, Penn Badgley, Taylor Momsen, Ed Westwick, Matthew Settle, Kelly Rutherford, Nan Zhang, Nicole Fiscella Produced by: Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage ...Adapted from the series of "young-adult" novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, it's producer/writer Josh Schwartz's followup to The O.C. Oh see if you can stand his new set of "privileged prep school teens" and the unseen but regularly heard blogger who chronicles their single-minded pursuits of self-gratification.

Censors have a Field day on Fox Emmy telecast

Ed Bark — 2007-09-16T23:02:20-05:00
Best Miniseries -- Broken Trail (AMC) Best Made-For-TV Movie -- Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO) Lead Actor, Miniseries or Movie -- Robert Duvall, Broken Trail (AMC) Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie -- Thomas Haden Church, Broken Trail (AMC) Lead Actress, Miniseries or Movie -- Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS) Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie -- Judy Davis, The Starter Wife (USA)... Writing for Variety, Music or Comedy Program -- Head writer Mike Sweeney and 15 others, Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC) Writing, Drama Series -- David Chase, The Sopranos (HBO) Writing, Comedy Series -- Greg Daniels, The Office (NBC) Writing, Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special -- Frank Deasy, Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS)

FALL SEASON PREVIEW: Fox's Prison Break goes directly to jail again, does not collect $200

Ed Bark — 2007-09-14T13:01:16-05:00
Motley crew: Prison Break bellies up to the bars anew. Third season premiere: Monday night, Sept. 17 at 7 (central) on Fox Starring: Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Robert Knepper, Wade Williams, William Fichtner, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Wisdom, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Danay Garcia, Chris Vance Produced by: Paul T. ...Fox's Prison Break gets back to basics with a vengeance Monday, beginning its third season within the sub-filthy confines of a no-holds-barred Panama prison run by a select few of its inmates.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series--K-Ville (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-14T11:01:06-05:00
Cole Hauser and Anthony Anderson partner up in Fox's K-Ville. Premiering: Monday night, Sept. 17 at 8 (central) on Fox Starring: Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, Tawny Cypress, John Carroll Lynch, Blake Shields Created by: Jonathan Lisco ...Anderson and Hauser are solid enough in the lead roles, so at least there's a foundation to build on. You get the feeling, though, that K-Ville just isn't long for this world.

FALL TV PREVIEW: New series -- Nashville (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-13T14:08:47-05:00
Girls of Nashville: 3rd from left is Terry Bradshaw's daughter, Rachel. Premiering: Friday night, Sept. 14 at 8 (central) on Fox Starring: Rachel Bradshaw, Chuck Wicks, Mika Combs, Clint Moseley, Sarah Gunsolus, Matt Jenkins, Lindsey Hager, Jeff Allen, Monty Powell Produced by: Gary and Julie Auerbach, Liz Bronstein, Tina Gazzerro, Hans Tobeason By ED BARK Country cute and rarin' to lasso themselves some stardom, the boys and girls of Fox's Nashville are way too young to really remember Robert Altman's Nashville.

Couric's trip to Iraq only widens ratings gap

Ed Bark — 2007-09-11T13:55:00-05:00
Katie Couric's credibility-flavored first trip to Iraq dropped her CBS Evening News even farther behind the one-two punch of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson and the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. ...World News (7.81 million) and Nightly News (7.79 million) finished in a virtual tie, with the ABC program gaining 210,000 viewers and Nightly News dropping a negligible 40,000.

FALL TV PREVIEW -- Cable's departures, arrivals

Ed Bark — 2007-09-10T15:00:43-05:00
TNT's The Closer ends its 3rd season but FX's Nip/Tuck is enroute. By ED BARK Notable cable series are both winding down and gearing up in the next several weeks.... Monday (Sept. 10) -- Third season finale of TNT's The Closer at 8 p.m.; first season finale of TBS' The Bill Engvall Show at 8 p.m.; second season finale of TBS' My Boys at 9:30 p.m.

Documentary review: Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-07T14:00:15-05:00
By ED BARK Sad, poignant, painful and inspiring, HBO's Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq won't let you forget it anytime soon. ...But one of the documentary's more affecting moments comes when Jay Wilkerson, previously an Army staff sergeant, talks about trying to regain his memory after taking shrapnel in his cheek that then lodged in his brain.

New series review: Tell Me You Love Me (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-07T10:47:07-05:00
Undersexed Dave and Katie have a good listener in therapist May. Premiering: Sunday night, Sept. 9, at 8 (central) on HBO Starring: Jane Alexander, Ally Walker, Tim DeKay, Adam Scott, Sonya Walger, Michelle Borth, Luke Farrell Kirby, David Selby, Sherry Stringfield Produced by: Cynthia Mort, Gavin Polone ..."I wouldn't even think about having actors do it," said Showtime entertainment president Robert Greenblatt, whose network doesn't spare the skin in series such as The L Word, The Tudors and its new Californication.

Returning series review: Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-09-06T15:59:32-05:00
Forever fated to take it in the shorts, sourball Larry David is back on track in 10 new and welcome episodes of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. ...1 and 5 TV markets, Curb will be competing with the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on opening night of NBC's Sunday Night Football.

Katie Couric goes to war

Ed Bark — 2007-09-05T12:21:55-05:00
Previous attempts to make the CBS Evening News breezier or more appealing to younger audiences have been scrapped in favor of attracting a larger percentage of those older, "core" audiences for dinner hour newscasts. ...It's yet to be seen if Couric's trip to Iraq nudges the ratings meter upward or builds a firmer foundation for her second year in the CBS Evening News anchor chair.

Mark Cuban and Kym Johnson: He's lovin' it

Ed Bark — 2007-08-30T11:05:05-05:00
Dancing with the Stars pro Kym Johnson has made both Jerry Springer and Joey Fatone look good. Can she do the same for Mark Cuban? By ED BARK Dallas Mavericks owner and Dancing with the Stars contestant Mark Cuban had his first close encounter Wednesday with Kym Johnson.

TV movie review: The Murder of Princess Diana (Lifetime)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-24T15:55:48-05:00
Fictional reporter Rachel Visco is put at the scene of Diana's death. Premiering: Saturday night, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. (central) on Lifetime Starring: Jennifer Morrison, Gregori Derangere, Kevin McNally Directed by: John Strickland ...Or to put it another way, Lifetime is going to burn viewers Saturday night with its thoroughly shoddy and ridiculous The Murder of Princess Diana.

Putting Anchorwoman in its place

Ed Bark — 2007-08-24T09:52:30-05:00
He then cashed another check while others also cashed in. ABC's Good Morning America had three lengthy pieces on Anchorwoman, the last a live interview of Jones. ...Fear-mongering and laughable consumer tips are running rampant at the expense of reporting that requires more than camping out near a police scanner or spending an hour with Dr. Youthcream.

Kid Nation "controversy" -- if only some people would grow up

Ed Bark — 2007-08-22T14:12:02-05:00
This hasn't stopped The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times from recently running lengthy stories questioning whether all of this amounted to child abuse or neglect on the part of Kid Nation's producers. ...During a mid-July "press tour" interview session with Kid Nation's producers, some TV critics were skeptical as to whether the young stars were really roughing it at all.

New series review: Anchorwoman (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-21T15:34:41-05:00
Sour and sweet: Self-absorbed KYTX-TV incumbent Annalisa Petralia more or less tries to school novice blondie Lauren Jones. Premiering: Wednesday night, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Lauren Jones, Annalisa Petralia, Phil Hurley, Dan Delgado, Michele Reese, Stormy the Weather Dog Produced by: Brian Gadinsky ... Lauren Jones and Annalisa Petralia: they sure do like their mikes. Jones certainly plays the role, arriving at KYTX in a low-cut Cheetah top and red convertible.

Made-for-TV movie review: As You Like It (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-20T16:55:19-05:00
Director Kenneth Branagh with his Shakespeareans in As You Like It. Premiering: Tuesday night, Aug. 21 at 8 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Kevin Kline, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrian Lester, Alfred Molina, Brian Blessed, Romoia Garai, David Oyelowo, Janet McTeer Directed and produced by: Kenneth Branagh By ED BARK Not to reinforce any stereotypes, but no pro football linemen will be watching HBO's lilting and lengthy adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It.

Disney's High School Musical 2 tackles Cowboys ratings record holder for loss

Ed Bark — 2007-08-20T10:43:39-05:00
By ED BARK Final national Nielsen ratings put The Disney Channel's High School Musical 2 in the record books on two fronts. ...Disney Channel also cleaned up Friday night with a sneak preview of its new Phineas & Ferb animated series (10.8 million viewers nationally) and a new episode of Hannah Montana (10.7 million).

High School Musical 2 could make ratings history for Disney Channel, basic cable

Ed Bark — 2007-08-16T16:06:45-05:00
Disney also is layering this cake with a sneak peek at its new Phineas and Ferb animated series (8:45 p.m.), followed by a new episode of Hannah Montana (9:15 p.m.) with guest stars The Jonas Brothers. ...He's not wrong about that, and so it won't really matter that Disney has decided to keep review copies of HSM2 out of the hands of TV critics for fear of piracy.

Science of Dogs: "Breeds to suit our needs"

Ed Bark — 2007-08-14T14:05:32-05:00
Explorer: Science of Dogs (Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. central on the National Geographic Channel) is a thoroughly fascinating look at what humankind has done to our four-legged "best friends." ...It's something of a Frankenstein's monster syndrome, with one in four of 20 million purebred dogs in the United States now afflicted with some form of genetic problem, according to the documentary.

John From Cincinnati gets "Dear John"

Ed Bark — 2007-08-14T11:41:18-05:00
Deep-sixed: Austin Nichols sinks along with John From Cincinnati. By ED BARK HBO has sent John From Cincinnati to a watery grave, canceling the mystical, but only occasionally magical surfer series after a 10-episode first season that ended Sunday. ..."The truth of the matter is if we pick up John, David will have to go right back into working on that show for next summer," said HBO programming group president Michael Lombardo.

Merv Griffin: singer, talker, gamer (1925-2007)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-13T11:05:46-05:00
A 2006 three-disc DVD set contained highlights from interviews with the likes of Richard Burton, Jane Fonda (with her then husband, Roger Vadim), Ingrid Bergman, Martin Luther King Jr., Grace Kelly, Orson Welles, Richard Pryor (whom he discovered), Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld and Sophia Loren. ...Every guest who appears on my show is researched by my staff, pre-interviewed for pertinent facts about his or her current activities, and then just prior to show time the talent coordinator responsible for a particular guest's appearance gives me a quick briefing."

New series review: Californication (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-12T19:30:01-05:00
David Duchovny lines 'em up in Showtime's Californication. Premiering: Monday night, Aug. 13 at 9:30 (central) on Showtime Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Madeleine Martin, Evan Handler Produced by: Tom Kapinos, Stephen Hopkins, David Duchovny ...Hank not surprisingly is played by David Duchovny, who's been wandering in a wilderness of bad career choices before and since The X-Files left Fox five years ago. Still well-preserved at 47, Duchovny simply isn't an actor that most people yearn to see anymore.

New series review: Flash Gordon (Sci Fi Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-09T17:08:20-05:00
Flash and Dale flash flesh in Sci Fi's "contemporized" Flash Gordon. Premiering: Friday night, Aug. 10 at 8 (central) on Sci Fi Channel Starring: Eric Johnson, Gina Holden, Jody Racicot, John Ralston, Karen Cliche, Giles Panton, Jill Teed Produced by: Peter Hume, Robert Halmi, Sr. ...Birthed in a 1934 comic strip, Flash (Eric Johnson) returns in present times on the Sci Fi Channel to battle bad-nasty Ming (John Ralston), who's had "The Merciless" subtracted and doesn't look very menacing either.

New series review: Power of 10 (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-08T08:55:12-05:00
Teenager Jamie Sadler won a mil on Drew Carey's Power of 10. By ED BARK Host Drew Carey fake-fretted Tuesday night after 19-year-old Jamie Sadler won a million bucks on the very first episode of CBS' Power of 10. ..."I'm genuinely nervous for ya," he told the kid just before he won $100,000 by coming within 20 percentage points of America's answer to, "What percentage of Americans said in a duel with Dick Cheney, they would probably get shot by the Vice President instead of the other way around?"

Miniseries review: The Company (TNT)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-03T14:45:09-05:00
Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina have pivotal roles in The Company. Premiering: Sunday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. (central) on TNT. ...The Company begins in Berlin, 1954, with crusty, hard-drinking agent Harvey "The Sorcerer" Torriti (Molina) schooling kid McAuliffe in how to be an effective operative at the height of Cold War tensions.

New series review: Masters of Science Fiction (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-03T12:11:00-05:00
Venerables Sam Waterston and Judith Davis joust Saturday night. Premiering: Saturday, Aug. 4 at 9 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Judy Davis and Sam Waterston in the premiere episode Directed by: Mark Rydell ...Masters of Suspense is almost prehistoric in its approach, harkening to the days when The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents kept viewers spellbound with a conveyor belt of cautionary spine-tinglers starring a passing parade of capable actors.

New series review: Jekyll (BBC America)

Ed Bark — 2007-08-03T10:51:04-05:00
Veteran British thespian James Nesbitt has the challenging title role, with NBC's upcoming Bionic Woman, Michelle Ryan, striving to cope as psychiatric nurse Katherine Reimer. ...Jekyll hits its low point at a zoo, where one of Dr. Jackman's sons is transported to an outdoor lion's cage in order to draw Hyde out.

New series review: Murder (Spike TV)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-31T16:56:26-05:00
Arlington-based detective Tommy LeNoir and wife Pauline after a Beverly Hills press conference for Spike TV's Murder. Photo: Ed Bark Premiering: Tuesday, July 31 at 9 p.m. (central) on Spike TV Starring: Tommy LeNoir Produced by: Jon Murray By ED BARK Spike TV's new Murder series deploys an excessively gruesome look apparently aimed at dazzling the cable network's already Hostel-hardened, young male target audience.

Tom Snyder: He laughed, he smoked, he drank, he listened

Ed Bark — 2007-07-30T20:30:05-05:00
His last television outing, CBS' The Late, Late Show with Tom Snyder, remained in progress when we talked for the last time. ...He had a brother, John, who'd live in Dallas for 20 to 25 years and was still "in the wholesale carpet business" at the time of our interview.

New series review: Damages (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-24T14:44:08-05:00
Starring in Damages: Glenn Close, Ted Danson, Rose Byrne. Premiering: Tuesday night, July 24th at 9 (central) on FX Starring: Glenn Close, Ted Danson, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan, Zaljko Ivanek, Anastasia Griffith, Noah Bean Created by: Todd A. ...By ED BARK Driven by Emmy caliber performances from its two principal stars, Damages lands several notches above ongoing FX drama stalwarts The Shield, Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me.

New series review: Saving Grace (TNT)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-23T13:19:13-05:00
Premiering: Monday night, July 23rd at 9 (central) on TNT Starring: Holly Hunter, Laura San Giacomo, Leon Rippy, Kenneth Johnson, Bokeem Woodbine, Bailey Chase, Gregory Cruz, Dylan Minnette Created by: Nancy Miller ...Creator Nancy Miller also throws in a search for a missing 10-year-old girl, a coarse, womanizing millionaire cattleman and an ongoing mythology involving a prisoner (Bokeem Woodbine) on death row who's having the same "dream" as Grace.

New series review: Mad Men (AMC)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-19T17:05:28-05:00
Thursday's premiere of Mad Men fittingly enough begins in a bar, where Draper is drinking, smoking and kicking around a new way to sell Lucky Strike cigarettes. ...But whether it entirely works or not, it's still cool-sounding when Draper tells a strong-willed woman client, "What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons."

59th Annual Primetime Emmys: Goodbye Sopranos, hello 30 Rock

Ed Bark — 2007-07-19T10:14:02-05:00
NBC got one of the boosts it wanted Thursday when its ratings-challenged 30 Rock led all half-hour comedies with 10 Emmy nominations in its first year. ...Former Roseanne co-star John Goodman will try to win his first Emmy in 10 tries, this time for a guest performance on NBC's canceled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Miniseries review: The Bronx is Burning (ESPN)

Ed Bark — 2007-07-08T12:40:57-05:00
Down and already seemingly out of the race for post-season play, they're being resurrected this month and next in ESPN's terrifically made The Bronx Is Burning Anchored by John Turturro's dead-on evocation of the late Billy Martin, the eight-part miniseries premieres Monday, July 9th at 9 p.m. (central) after the All-Star game's home run derby.

Olbermann: This time he's really pissed

Ed Bark — 2007-07-04T11:09:22-05:00
Keith Olbermann's Independence Day-eve "Special Comment" on MSNBC's Countdown is a classic no matter what you think of him or his opinions. ...Cannily using John Wayne as his setup man, Olbermann took extreme issue with President Bush's commutation of "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence.

The late, great Beverly Sills: She put her stamp on TV, too

Ed Bark — 2007-07-03T15:01:15-05:00
Beverly Sills: recently and in 1979 TV appearance with The Muppets. By ED BARK It's been a tough year for America's foremost Sopranos. ...She also popularized it in unprecedented ways, appearing on numerous talk and variety shows while guest-hosting Johnny Carson's Tonight Show more than a dozen times by her count.

Wartime footing includes many missteps

Ed Bark — 2007-06-29T10:34:41-05:00
John King brings home the high costs of war in Battlefield Breakdown. By ED BARK What really matters has been a bit obscured in recent days. But it's hardly fair for TV critics to decry all the Paris Hilton slop while then ignoring this serious and very sobering one-hour report from CNN's investigative unit.

New series review: Hey Paula (Bravo)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-27T12:52:34-05:00
Paula with her four Chihuahuas and looking a little glassy-eyed. Premiering: Thursday, June 28, with back-to-back half-hour episodes at 9 p.m. (central) on Bravo Starring: Paula Abdul, hairstylist Daniel, publicist Jeff, wardrobe assistant Kylie and Chihuahuas Bessie Moo, Chomps, Thumbelina and Tulip Directed by: Jason Sands ...But everyone else doesn't get invited to the Grammys -- it takes four hours for Abdul's handlers to prepare her -- before taking a red eye from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to hawk her line of jewelry in the wee hours on QVC.

Summing up summertime's newbies

Ed Bark — 2007-06-27T07:28:53-05:00
So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent are the only first-run summer series averaging more than 10 million viewers. ...***Ex-Wives Club (ABC) -- Its "series finale" on Monday (June 25th) couldn't come soon enough for a network that resisted divorcing it earlier despite a puny average of 4.8 million viewers per hour.

Going to Graceland: Simon gets a Gershwin

Ed Bark — 2007-06-26T14:59:08-05:00
The solo Paul Simon -- and with his better half, Art Gartfunkel. By ED BARK For much of the time it rolls along at an A-plus -- before ending on a B-flat. ...But you might come away from this special thinking about how it went on a little too long before sagging near and at the finish line.

New series review: Shaq's Big Challenge (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-25T16:51:17-05:00
Shaq and the kids, and with his personal trainer, "Doc" Colker. Premiering: Tuesday, June 26th at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Shaquille O'Neal, six kids and six specialists Produced by: Rick Ringbakk, Greg Goldman, Shaquille O'Neal ...So it's Shaquille O'Neal to the rescue -- and on a mission he really seems to believe in. That's what makes the first two episodes of this reality series easier to swallow than one of those baby carrots that one kid says he's never had.

"Filmed Record" review: Street Thief (A&E)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-21T14:01:03-05:00
"Kaspar Carr" counts his cash in Street Thief. By ED BARK The con is on. Or is it? ...The Bader brothers have been coy about all of this, but it seems clear that they've made one helluva fake-out that later veers less successfully into a detective story.

New series review: Age of Love (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-18T14:00:48-05:00
Tongue-twisting tennis pro Mark Philippoussis encounters middle-aged Dallas "cougar" Jodie Fisher on NBC's new Age of Love. Premiering: Monday, June 18 at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Australian tennis pro Mark Philippoussis and 13 women between the ages of 21 and 48 Hosted by Mark Consuelos ...Cribbing from ABC's The Bachelor and NBC's earlier Average Joe, the eight-episode series puts 30-year-old Australian tennis pro Mark Philippoussis in the midst of seven potential senior partners, including 46-year-old Jodie Fisher of Dallas.

TNT brings The Closer back in hopes of opening a new front

Ed Bark — 2007-06-18T09:46:19-05:00
The Closer, a basic cable ratings-setter in its first two seasons, has Kyra Sedgwick going for it and doesn't need much more. ...That would be Dr. Nathaniel Grant (Williams), a risk-taking organ transplant surgeon whose ex-wife, Kate (Kari Matchett from Invasion), still has to deal with him in her job as an "organ-donor coordinator."

Bizarro worlds: HBO's Flight of the Conchords and Showtime's Meadowlands are invitations to go mental

Ed Bark — 2007-06-15T14:19:02-05:00
Following John From Cincinnati and new episodes of Entourage, it stars two young New Zealanders who sing a bit like the Bee Gees but can claim only a lone, pathetic groupie. ...Conchords' two leads, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, are flailing and failing in New York, where they can't seem to get girls, gigs or anything resembling a decent meal.

Acid redux: VH1's Monterey 40 is worth a trip

Ed Bark — 2007-06-15T12:15:21-05:00
But Monterey also brought The Who to stateside prominence during a three-day blowout garnished with performances by The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield, Canned Heat, Simon and Garfunkel, The Animals, Booker T and the MGs, Ravi Shankar and The Mamas & The Papas. ...The one-hour film, airing under the network's "Rock Doc" banner, both recaptures the festival and recalls it via fresh interviews with the likes of Shankar, David Crosby, Grace Slick, Michelle Phillips, Pete Townsend, record industry magnate Clive Davis and Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner.

Price cut: Bob Barker's end game

Ed Bark — 2007-06-14T12:46:37-05:00
Taped earlier this month, Barker's 6,586th and final show will air at its regular morning hour (10 a.m. central on June 15th) and then be repeated at 7 that night as an appetizer for The 34th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards. ...Barker says he hasn't been asked for any input, but did volunteer to fill in for a brief time if CBS and FreeMantle Media can't decide on a new host by the time Price's summer reruns are through.

"Tart" assessment: Dan Rather's riff on Katie Couric is deemed "sexist" by his old boss

Ed Bark — 2007-06-13T15:00:38-05:00
"However," he added, "it was clear at the time and I think it has become even clearer that the mistake was to try to bring the Today show ethos to the Evening News and to dumb it down, tart it up, in hopes of attracting a younger audience." ...CBS News president Sean McManus, in an interview with unclebarky.com at the January press tour, said he wasn't sure whether Couric's gender had anything to do with how many people were watching her newscast.

Rescue Me: Fourth season premiere (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-13T10:50:01-05:00
Softie: Firefighter Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) cradles his estranged wife's newborn son while wondering whether he might be impotent during the fourth season return of FX's Rescue Me. ..."I can't believe that I'm finally the moral compass here," he tells his estranged wife, Janet (Andrea Roth), with whom he's been living platonically after she birthed a boy that's either his or his recently deceased brother's.

New series review: Lil' Bush (Comedy Central)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-12T16:37:59-05:00
By ED BARK Comedy Central gifted a new president early in his first term with That's My Bush! from the creators of South Park. ...But then Lil' Bush goes even farther, with George Sr. taking his wife to an abortion clinic to have Lil' Cheney removed from her stomach, where he's been using one of her kidneys as a beanbag chair.

Tony award: Season finale of The Sopranos rules Sunday night ratings but doesn't set record

Ed Bark — 2007-06-12T12:59:00-05:00
By ED BARK HBO's The Sopranos bowed out with 11.9 million viewers nationally Sunday night, easily outpointing Game 2 of the NBA Finals and almost outdrawing all of the week's prime-time programs. ...Originating from Dallas, although with no contestants from the city and very few from Texas, Talent lured 13 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research.

Big Love: Second season premiere (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-11T09:40:56-05:00
But first a word from Bill Paxton, who spoke volumes about his network's immediate future prospects during the lead-up to Sunday's finale of The Sopranos. ...We've gotta go about our business as if everything was normal," his character, Bill Henrickson, said in reference to The Sopranos no longer being among HBO's living.

One last shot: The Sopranos lets us off its hook

Ed Bark — 2007-06-08T13:44:59-05:00
Tony and family in Season 1; Tony and Dr. Melfi near the end. By ED BARK It all began on Jan. 10, 1999, with Tony Soprano ogling a nude woman sculpture in Dr. Melfi's waiting room. ...Over the years, The Sopranos in fact became bigger than HBO, with Chase telling the network how many episodes he'd do, when he'd do them and when he needed to quit.

News series review: John From Cincinnati (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-08T10:45:12-05:00
Magical, mysterious John puts a new HBO series in murky waters. Premiering: Sunday, June 10 at 9 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Rebecca De Mornay, Bruce Greenwood, Ed O'Neill, Brian Van Holt, Austin Nichols, Greyson Fletcher, Luis Guzman, Keala Kennely, Luke Perry, Matt Winston, Willie Garson Created by: David Milch, Kem Nunn ...This is Milch's Twin Peaks, and the guess is that most viewers will take a peek and then tune it out after Sunday's series finale of The Sopranos.

New series review: Fast Cars & Superstars -- Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-06T10:37:22-05:00
John Elway plays the race card in ABC's new high-speed competition. Premiering: Thursday, June 7th at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC, with a second episode on Sunday at 7 p.m. Starring: A dozen celebrity racers, including John Elway, Serena Williams, William Shatner, Tony Hawk, Jewel and Bill Cowher, plus six professional "Young Guns" Hosted by: Kenny Mayne, Brad Daugherty ...Boston Legal's ubiquitous Shatner, who bombed earlier this season as host of ABC's Show Me the Money, is not involved in the first two time trials on Fast Cars & Superstars.

New series review: Tyler Perry's House of Payne (TBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-05T16:13:56-05:00
LaVan Davis spreads venom as obnoxious Curtis "Pops" Payne. Premiering: Wednesday, June 6th at 8 p.m. (central) on TBS Starring: LaVan Davis, Allen Payne, Cassi Davis, Lance Cross, Demetria McKinney, Larramie "Doc" Shaw, China Anne McClain Created by: Tyler Perry ...Worse yet, the self-described "Very Funny" network, TBS, already has ordered 100 episodes of a show that manages to make UPN's old Homeboys In Outer Space sitcom seem positively Cosby-esque.

Much room for improvement: Grading the 2006-07 seasons of the six major networks

Ed Bark — 2007-06-05T12:31:46-05:00
Just three new series -- Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (Fox); Heroes (NBC) and Shark (CBS) -- made Nielsen's top 30 in the 2006-'07 TV season. ...Rundown -- CBS' three-pronged CSI franchise remained strong, but the fourth-ranked Thursday night mothership lost a whopping 5.3 million viewers from last season in direct competition with ABC's transplanted Grey's Anatomy.

Cream of the crop: June aglow with cable bright spots

Ed Bark — 2007-06-03T21:15:17-05:00
Among June's many cable highlights are the returns of Denis Leary's Rescue Me on FX and Kyra Sedgwick's The Closer on TNT. ...Thursday, June 7 -- Fast Cars & Superstars -- Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, series premiere (ABC) -- William Shatner rides again, this time in a stock car against the likes of Jewel, Tony Hawk, John Elway and Bill Cowher.

New series review: Creature Comforts (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-03T14:29:40-05:00
Owls and poodles help to make Creature Comforts a hoot and a howl. Premiering: Monday, June 4 at 7 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring:: A menagerie of animated fish, fowl, animals, insects, etc. Created by: Nick Park ...They're all brought to life by Aardman Animations, which also made the much-praised feature films Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

New series review: Army Wives (Lifetime)

Ed Bark — 2007-06-01T15:16:20-05:00
The characters in Lifetime's Army Wives are uniformly well-drawn. Premiering: Sunday, June 3 at 9 p.m. (central) on Lifetime Starring: Kim Delaney, Sally Pressman, Catherine Bell, Wendy Davis, Brigid Brannagh, Drew Fuller, Brian McNamara, Sterling K. ...Odds are that many a viewer will both hoot and root for hot 'n' saucy Roxy LeBlanc (Sally Pressman), a deep-fried, Kellie Pickler-ish Alabaman who actually gets away with saying stuff like, "Well, if I didn't just serve up toe jam on an idiot cracker."

Television on your telephone: Tell a friend?

Ed Bark — 2007-05-31T13:16:47-05:00
Newly available in just 19 TV markets, including Dallas, the V CAST has a 2.2-inch flip-up screen that so far carries various around-the-clock offerings from NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN, MTV, MSNBC, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. ...Maybe so if you spend a lot of time riding the rails, car-pooling (as a backseat driver), waiting in doctors' offices or multi-tasking to the point where you can handle seeing Late Show with David Letterman live on V CAST while watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on a conventional TV.

New series review: Hidden Palms (The CW)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-30T11:51:13-05:00
Austin's Amber Heard doesn't have to do much to get noticed in Hidden Palms, a new CW series from the creator of Dawson's Creek. ...Alas, he's far more entranced for now with Greta, who runs fetchingly through golf course sprinklers, sunbathes whenever she can and snitches Johnny's camera before later telling him, "I hope you don't mind, but I got creative with your outlet."

Requiem for NBC's Reilly

Ed Bark — 2007-05-29T17:40:23-05:00
Reilly's replacements are incumbent NBC Universal executive Marc Graboff and program producer/executive Ben Silverman, whose name has been attached to series ranging from The Biggest Loser to Ugly Betty. ..."Kevin has given us some incredibly important, high-quality new series in recent years, and his legacy will be evident for many years to come in NBC's primetime schedule."

Teen Idol: Jordin Sparks takes the sixth

Ed Bark — 2007-05-23T22:51:04-05:00
Jordin Sparks gets the news and then sings it loud on Idol's finale. By ED BARK American Idol's long and winding road, which finally included some Beatles songs, ended Wednesday with 17-year-old Jordin Sparks alone at last. ...This year's Idol hasn't matched last year's late-in-the game ratings, and Wednesday's finale will be very hard-pressed to get in the vicinity of the 36.4 million who watched Taylor Hicks win in spring 2006.

Athletes' feats: Apolo succeeds Emmitt as Dancing's sole survivor

Ed Bark — 2007-05-22T22:48:23-05:00
Winning hand: Apolo's plotted palm stand tops Joey's flying leap. By ED BARK The show with more momentum, energy and electricity crowned its new champ Tuesday while the night's earlier singing competition fell kinda flat. ...Host Ryan Seacrest had the most memorable line of the night -- and also a very odd one -- after judge Paula Abdul recapped earlier reports that she had hurt her face tripping on her little dog, Tulip, who emerged unscathed.

Made-for-TV movie review: Jesse Stone: Sea Change (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-21T18:17:40-05:00
Tom Selleck and Kathy Baker star in CBS' Jesse Stone: Sea Change. By ED BARK Made by adults and for adults, it stars a TV icon who's never been better as an actor or a character. CBS' Jesse Stone: Sea Change premieres on the penultimate night of the May "sweeps" in times when broadcast networks have all but dry-docked their once thriving made-for-TV movie franchises.

New series review: National Bingo Night (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-18T08:18:44-05:00
Someone had the balls to win big on ABC's National Bingo Night. By ED BARK Mindless entertainment sometimes can be a stroke of genius. ...But the climactic Blue Card game allows winners to enter grand prize drawings for a "VIP Fantasy Experience" to the 91st Indy 500, a trip to New York to visit the set of The View or a $50,000 cash jackpot.

The CW announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-17T14:18:11-05:00
Aliens in America pairs a Pakistani Muslim with a Wisconsinite. By ED BARK The CW, still a lil' dude in the broadcast network firmament, will add more new series than either NBC or CBS this fall. ...***Life Is Wild (drama) -- A Manhattan family is uprooted by a veterinarian dad who wants to spend a year in South Africa in a broken down lodge called The Blue Antelope.

Fox announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-17T11:52:14-05:00
Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton and Fred Willard triple-team Fox's Back to You, the network's only new fall comedy series. By ED BARK A star-powered sitcom and a wealth of new reality series highlight Fox's latest fall schedule. ...Fox also has announced a January schedule, although historically it's hasn't been worth the paper it's downloaded on. Highlight: Julianna Margulies (ER) returns to series TV as a law-bending defense attorney in Canterbury's Law, a drama co-produced by Denis Leary.

Whole lotta shockin' goin' on: Melinda Doolittle taken out

Ed Bark — 2007-05-16T22:58:02-05:00
America Idol's most surprising vote-off leaves next week's finale in the hands of younger, prettier, but vocally inferior Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks. ..."I promise you, this is only the beginning of great things to come," a grateful and gracious Yamin told the three remaining contestants before Melinda got the stunning news.

CBS announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-16T09:03:35-05:00
Hugh Jackman gets loose in the CBS musical drama Viva Laughlin. By ED BARK Billed as intentionally "daring and different," CBS' new fall lineup includes a casino-based "mystery drama with music" and a good guy vampire who takes bites out of crime. ...MONDAY 7 p.m. -- How I Met Your Mother 7:30 p.m. -- The Big Bang Theory 8 p.m. -- Two and a Half Men 8:30 p.m. -- Rules of Engagement 9 p.m. -- CSI: Miami

ABC announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-15T07:53:36-05:00
And dinosaur Dan Rather will guest-star in the premiere episode of Dirty Sexy Money, which moves into Lost's Wednesday slot this fall. By ED BARK Third-place ABC will make a wealth of changes to its fall lineup, including a new sitcom drawn from Geico's "So easy a caveman can do it" car insurance commercials. ...***Private Practice (drama) -- Test-driven earlier this month to a lukewarm reception from many fans and critics, the Grey's Anatomy spinoff sends skitsy Addison Forbes Montgomery (Kate Walsh) to Los Angeles after failed relationships with both ex-husband "McDreamy" and ex-lover "McSteamy."

King of Queens has last laughs

Ed Bark — 2007-05-14T15:59:44-05:00
The beefy star of CBS'The King of Queens bellows a last time Monday (May 14) on a one-hour series finale of the show that made a name for him. ...Let's just add that Jerry Stiller, as Carrie's cantankerous father, Arthur, again steals nearly every scene he's in. And that Doug is drunk for a good part of the episode after thinking that Carrie betrayed his trust.

NBC announces new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2007-05-14T08:49:10-05:00
Zachary Levi and Michelle Ryan in NBC's Chuck and Bionic Woman. By ED BARK Quality rich but ratings poor, NBC hopes to right its ship in the fall with more mainstream fare. ...The new schedule will shift NBC's acclaimed Friday Night Lights from the first hour of prime-time on Wednesdays to the last hour on Fridays, where the made-in-Austin series initially will have to go against real-life high school football games.

7th Heaven reaches prime-time's pearly gates

Ed Bark — 2007-05-11T14:33:25-05:00
Annie and Eric Camden (Catherine Hicks, Stephen Collins) prepare to christen their land-lubbing ark on Sunday night's 7th Heaven finale. By ED BARK Resurrected from cancellation last season, 7th Heaven unequivocally leaves the prime-time firmament Sunday night after one of the more wholesome runs in TV history. ...Not so The WB, which always tended to treat 7th Heaven as an interloper amid magazine cover-ready darlings such as Dawson's Creek, Felicity, Smallville and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

American Idol: No more La

Ed Bark — 2007-05-09T22:47:58-05:00
That ruins a big-belting, all-dreamgirls Final Three for American Idol, which instead will put "Beatbox" Blake Lewis in the company of Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks. ...On March 8, with Idol's 12 finalists in place, Uncle went with a Final Three of Melinda, LaKisha and the long-gone Stephanie Edwards.

New series review: Traveler (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-05-09T16:12:53-05:00
On a roll: But can two law school grads skate a terrorist rap? Premiering: Thursday, May 10 at 9 p.m. central (10 eastern) on ABC. Then moves to Wednesdays at 9 central on May 30th Starring: Matthew Bomer, Logan Marshall-Green, Aaron Stanford, Pascale Hutton, Viola Davis, William Sadler, Billy Mayo Produced by: Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen, Charlie Craig

Happy Medium and more Dirt

Ed Bark — 2007-05-08T16:27:24-05:00
Courteney Cox of FX's Dirt and Patricia Arquette of NBC's Medium By ED BARK Two single-minded TV women will be back in business next season. ...Scrubs -- NBC likely is done with it, but there's a chance of an ABC pickup because the show is produced by Disney-owned Touchstone.

ABC and Lost producers agree on finishing touches

Ed Bark — 2007-05-07T13:21:26-05:00
Rest easy: ABC's Lost now knows when it's going to end. By ED BARK Lost, which lately is finding itself again creatively, will end in the 2009-10 season and have uninterrupted 16-episode arcs during each of its final three years on ABC. ...ABC's 16-episode orders per season are down from the 24 hours produced in each of Lost's first two seasons, and the 23 that will air this season before the show goes off on May 22nd.

Record-setter: Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun loved the sounds of music more than cash registers

Ed Bark — 2007-05-02T16:09:05-05:00
Ertegun's life story as a hitmaker consumed far more by the music than its bottom line is nicely reprised in PBS' two-hour Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built. ...Filmmakers reunited him with a number of the artists he helped bring to prominence, including Mick Jagger, Wynton Marsalis, Bette Midler, Phil Collins, Aretha Frankin, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Kid Rock and the late Ray Charles.

Marlon!!! Turner Classic Movies gives Brando a few hours of its time

Ed Bark — 2007-04-30T13:06:18-05:00
From The Wild One to The Godfather: Two Brandos at their best. By ED BARK Both icon and iconoclast, Marlon Brando made his own kind of music and even played the bongos. ...TCM also is filling out those nights with some of his vintage classics (A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, The Wild One, The Men) and lesser films (Sayonara, Guys and Dolls, The Missouri Breaks and The Teahouse of the August Moon).

Wow, what took so long? Just 18.5 months before election day, it's the "First in the Nation" presidential candidate debate

Ed Bark — 2007-04-26T21:11:17-05:00
But does anyone care except MSNBC and its bottomless cup of pontificators? By ED BARK Eight Democratic candidates and one publicity-hungry cable news network added up to the "First in the Nation" presidential debate early Thursday evening. ...Even Matthews had a little trouble rousing himself in the early aftermath of the 90-minute close encounter among Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.

Sweet charity: Idol gives back -- and no one gets sacked

Ed Bark — 2007-04-25T23:36:21-05:00
Safe at home: Idol's six finalists all stayed in play Wednesday night. By ED BARK Bait and switch -- but for a good cause. ...Ellen DeGeneres ably co-hosted the event from the nearby Walt Disney Concert Hall, site of live performances from inaugural Idol Kelly Clarkson of Burleson, Il Divo, Rascal Flatts, Earth, Wind & Fire, Annie Lennox and most notably, Josh Groban singing "You Raise Me Up" with the African Children's Choir.

She never promised them a Rosie garden: O'Donnell leaving The View

Ed Bark — 2007-04-25T10:39:42-05:00
No more fun 'n' games: Rosie O'Donnell putting The View behind her. By ED BARK Donald Trump hasn't declared a national holiday yet, but give him a few minutes. ...Once dubbed the "Queen of Nice" by Newsweek, O'Donnell has added spice to The View, helped drive the ratings up and periodically been the bane of Trump, Kelly Ripa, Catholics, Asian-Americans, the Bush administration and a wealth of conservative commentators.

In memoriam: David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 to April 23, 2007)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-24T11:13:35-05:00
Halberstam, who in 1972 wrote the seminal book The Best and the Brightest about the road to the Vietnam War, had a special disdain for "these God-awful news magazines," which flourished and multiplied in prime-time during the mid-to-late 1990s. ..."I think CBS would be a lot better off developing their own young talent the way great journalistic institutions traditionally have, and not just hiring them based on their cosmetic attractiveness," he said.

Melting pot: San Francisco's hippie trippy shakeup

Ed Bark — 2007-04-23T15:08:32-05:00
The neighborhood's brief heyday as a tie-dyed utopia is reprised in Summer of Love, a new American Experience presentation in which a very young Jerry Garcia says, "We would all like to be able to live an uncluttered life." ...Narrator David Ogden Stiers of M*A*S*H fame says the 1967 rush to turn on, tune in and drop out in Haight Ashbury made for "the largest migration of young people in the history of America."

The Sopranos: too close for comfort

Ed Bark — 2007-04-23T01:26:16-05:00
Eerie: Uncle Junior, a volatile young Asian and a mental ward. By ED BARK Sunday night's episode of The Sopranos indirectly but chillingly evoked the horrific events at Virginia Tech University, even though it was scripted and filmed months earlier. In a featured storyline, a still addled Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) had a precarious friendship with fellow mental ward patient Carter Chong (Ken Leung), a young Asian with serious anger management problems.

Haw, that's Rich: Little to laff about at White House correspondents gala

Ed Bark — 2007-04-22T18:05:05-05:00
Other proud members of the Fourth Estate's guest lists included Valerie Bertinelli, Teri Hatcher, Apolo Anton Ohno, Morgan Fairchild, Dennis Hopper, Niecy Nash from Reno 911!, Oprah pal Gayle King, James Denton, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Reggie Bush, Larry David and Sheryl Crow. ...Award recipient Martha Raddatz of ABC News, a very capable reporter who won one of the night's awards, looked not ready for prom night in a laughable black strapless gown with oversized white polka dots and a pink sash.

New series review: Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter (WE tv)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-19T14:35:10-05:00
Premiering: Friday, April 20 at 8 p.m. central (9 eastern) on WE tv Starring: Sandra Scott Produced by: Steven Cheskin, Annabelle McDonald, Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato ...Substitute "pathetic and harmless" to get much closer to the truth of Wife, Mom, Bounty Hunter, a less than spine-tingling new reality series premiering Friday on WE tv.

American Idol: Sanjaya and Simon both say goodbye to all that

Ed Bark — 2007-04-18T21:37:31-05:00
Prime-time's most popular show went to extraordinary lengths in its opening minutes to derail a mostly Internet-fed "controversy" over whether Cowell had disdainfully rolled his eyes Tuesday night after singer Chris Richardson expressed sympathy for the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. ...The contestant who was "in your own universe," as Cowell put it, has been brought down to earth before he could seriously threaten Idol's reputation as a marketer of million dollar babies fronting bestselling CDs.

Gotta sing, gotta dance, gotta watch (April 17 edition)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-17T22:10:29-05:00
Sanjaya got savaged again Tuesday, but Clyde's the latest goner. By ED BARK They seem to be running just a bit scared now, even though Sanjaya Malakar already has shown that withering criticism can't beat him down or drive him away. ...Tuesday night's other Big Top, ABC's Dancing with the Stars, ended with the rightful vote-off of former pro basketball star Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, whose will to win clearly left the building weeks ago. His Monday night walk-through was "like a rumba under an anesthetic," huffed judge Bruno Tonioli.

New series review: Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Standup (Starz)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-17T17:18:22-05:00
Williams, who both hosts and throws out a few opening jokes, welcomes the very profane Donnell Rawlings, the less so Ian Edwards and the very profane Sheryl Underwood to Wednesday's opening show. ...But he feels free to lob a crude joke at one of the world's most prominent black persons: "Some people don't think Condoleezza Rice is ugly.

Anchors away to Blacksburg -- except for one

Ed Bark — 2007-04-16T20:31:20-05:00
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams interviews two Virginia Tech students who lived to tell about Monday's horrific events on campus. By ED BARK Appearances weren't deceiving. ...The NBC Nightly News anchor stood outdoors in strong winds, giving viewers a tangible feel for the university and its vast green lawns while interviewing four key witnesses to the "deadliest shooting rampage in American history."

Wedding bell ding-dongs: Ashton Kutcher finds something new to punk

Ed Bark — 2007-04-16T09:13:16-05:00
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore managed a crash-free wedding. By ED BARK No, they're not going to be crashing, punking or junking up anyone's funeral. ..."I think that might be a little morbid for my taste," says Ashton Kutcher, whose new The Real Wedding Crashers is set to premiere April 23 on NBC in place of The Black Donnellys.

Turning 50: Larry King, 73, celebrates a half-century in broadcasting

Ed Bark — 2007-04-16T06:13:36-05:00
CNN is makin' a little somethin' out of this with a week-long salute to King, who's been asking questions in public for 50 years since breaking in at a small Miami Beach radio station. ...That year's race for the White House seemed to revolve around his show, so much so that King wrote a book titled On the Line: The New Road to the White House.

New series review: Drive (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-13T14:06:42-05:00
Drive's two-hour opener sets up "The Race," otherwise known as a "secret, exclusive and illegal cross-country" competition with a $32 million prize at its finish line. ...We'll know in a hurry, because three hours are coming at you in two nights, including Monday's regular time slot debut in Prison Break's old haunt.

American Idol: No more Haley's comet

Ed Bark — 2007-04-11T21:15:02-05:00
The bottom dropped out for San Antonio's leggy Haley Scarnato in American Idol's Wednesday faceoff with "Sleepy Time" Phil Stacey. By ED BARK Was it blatant sex appeal on her part or unequivocal sexism on the part of American Idol's showiest judge? Whatever she or the show's fans think, San Antonio's Haley Scarnato took a walk Wednesday after Simon Cowell told her the previous night, "I think you really have a good tactic, Haley.

New series review: Notes From the Underbelly (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-11T17:25:07-05:00
That's odd and uncalled for because Underbelly turns out to be ABC's best new half-hour comedy series in a season that's already had some pretty fair ones in the since canceled Help Me Help You, Big Day and The Knights of Prosperity. Even Underbelly's early spring premiere comes after ABC announced and unannounced at least three different time slots for the show in just the past few weeks.

Gotta sing, gotta dance, gotta watch (Tues., April 10 edition)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-10T21:15:14-05:00
And we've had our fill of Sleepy Time Phil. By ED BARK Two more hours of prime-time live sent Leeza Gibbons to the showers while Simon Cowell shot his first poison-tipped arrow at Melinda Doolittle. American Idol, also known as Waiting for Sanjaya, slogged through a lackluster Latin-themed night while Dancing with the Stars laboriously worked its way to a Bottom Two of the former Dallas-based PM Magazine host and onetime Cheers second banana John Ratzenberger.

Imus antidotes: a coach and a candidate accentuate their positives

Ed Bark — 2007-04-10T13:31:38-05:00
Vivian Stringer By ED BARK The multi-faceted black faces of America obviously aren't restricted to presidential candidate Barack Obama and Rutgers University women's basketball coach C. ...But then the media onslaught began, robbing the underdog team of the afterglow it had earned by getting all the way to the NCAA women's championship game before losing to perennial powerhouse Tennessee.

A hard reign's gonna fall: Underappreciated King of Queens nearing closure

Ed Bark — 2007-04-09T11:31:05-05:00
So this could be it for a while, the end of a not so noble sitcom tradition that dates to The Honeymooners, which King of Queens basically is. ...Production already is completed on the show's remaining seven episodes, with James content to be remembered as the star of a reliably amusing half-hour that remained "under the radar" for its entire nine-season run.

New series review: Thank God You're Here (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-09T11:14:01-05:00
Best of show: Bryan Cranston emotes while judge Dave Foley makes nice to everyone in NBC's latest import of an overseas hit. NBC photos Premiering: Monday night (April 9) at 8 central, 9 eastern on NBC. ...NBC press materials labor to rekindle television's sometimes storied past with this hoary, preposterous come-on: "Recalling a family-friendly, old-school television flavor, one can imagine the likes of golden age television legends and experts at the improvisational ad lib such as Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Imogene Coca, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope and George Burns smiling down on these modern-day stars as they tackle the high wire act known as improv -- without the safety net of a script and a director to guide them."

The Sopranos: Count your blessings nine last times

Ed Bark — 2007-04-05T13:03:35-05:00
Don't push it, though, 'cause these things just don't seem to last. By ED BARK Push comes to shove, as it always does, in HBO's The Sopranos. ...The second episode also has guest appearances by Geraldo Rivera (seen only through a TV screen as himself) and director Sydney Pollack as a defrocked doctor administering to an infirm Johnny Sack.

Idol: Jagged bitter pill

Ed Bark — 2007-04-04T22:09:53-05:00
Hot chick chicken: Haley Scarnato and Gina Glocksen scrape bottom. By ED BARK American Idol's remaining pseudo rocker, pierced Gina Glocksen, went home Wednesday night, making it all the more likely that Sanjaya Malakar will make the mega-hit's Final 6. San Antonio's Haley Scarnato, in Idol's bottom two for a second straight week, again dodged the weekly bullet while Sleepy Time Phil "Nine Lives" Stacey somehow stuck to the wall.

Rock solid

Ed Bark — 2007-04-04T11:47:42-05:00
By ED BARK NBC has renewed the season's best new comedy, 30 Rock, for a second season despite ratings that usually put it near the rock-bottom of the weekly Nielsen reports. ...Starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan (pictured above) and co-created by Saturday Night Live maestro Lorne Michaels, Rock returns on Thursday (April 5) with a new episode titled "Fireworks."

Project runway? Miss America again walks the plank

Ed Bark — 2007-04-02T11:01:44-05:00
The network's entertainment president, Kevin Reilly, might have been under heavy sedation when he issued this statement last week: "NBC is proud to maintain this unique American cultural tradition as a viable series of competitive programming specials that continue to be a popular source of family entertainment." ...But there's something wrong with a picture that has Miss America panhandling again while Trump crows, "With each passing year our ratings continue to get better because of the beautiful and intelligent women who participate in our competitions."

Returning series review: The Shield -- Season 6 (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-04-01T20:59:13-05:00
Pit Bull, a k a Vic Mackey, returns for a sixth season of mayhem Tuesday, April 3 on FX's The Shield (9 p.m. central, 10 eastern). ...The Shield's much-needed humanity resides almost solely in the person of Capt. Claudette Wyms, played with sturdy conviction by charter cast member CCH Pounder.

New series review: The Tudors (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-29T16:27:20-05:00
The man who will be King: Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Showtime's Henry VIII and earlier as Elvis in a CBS miniseries encoring Saturday. Premiering: Sunday (April 1) at 9 p.m. central (10 eastern) on Showtime Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Sam Neill, Natalie Dormer, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Jeremy Northam, Ruta Gedmintas, Gabrielle Anwar, Steven Waddington Produced by: Michael Hirst, Morgan O'Sullivan, Ousama Rawi, Tom Conroy ...Rhys Meyers previously earned favorable reviews in Woody Allen's Match Point and as the star of the 2005 CBS miniseries Elvis, which will be reprised on Showtime from 7 to 10 p.m. (central) on Saturday, March 31.

Idol: Sligh hits the skids

Ed Bark — 2007-03-28T21:31:37-05:00
Chris Sligh knew he blew it; Haley Scarnato barely buys more time. By ED BARK The two chickenhearted judges evaded the question, but Simon Cowell of course had a ready-made barb. ...That would be Chris Sligh, who out-stunk San Antonio's Haley Scarnato in American Idol's latest national election.

TV special review: Fired! (Showtime)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-28T15:04:26-05:00
Actress Annabelle Gurwitch and her nemesis, Woody Allen By ED BARK Don't fire Annabelle Gurwitch and expect to get away with it -- even if you're Woody Allen. ...To her credit, Gurwitch also ranges farther afield to interview an array of non-show business firees, including former White House chef Walter Scheib III, ex-United Auto workers union official Tiny Sherwood and onetime insurance company employee Anita Epolito, who declined to be tested on the job for nicotine levels.

Gotta sing, gotta dance, gotta watch (Tues., March 27 edition)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-27T22:58:49-05:00
And will Chris Sligh still be looming large after Wednesday's American Idol vote-off? By ED BARK Hoof and mouth disease? ...Many moons and two Dionne Warwick guest vocals later, Porizkova learned that she wouldn't be doing the bossa nova, which actually isn't included in Dancing's official regimen, but what the hell.

Shift to Idol, put ratings in high gear

Ed Bark — 2007-03-27T15:30:13-05:00
Assured of a third straight full-season victory among 18-to-49-year-olds, Fox will pile on by padding Wednesday's Idol results editions to one-hour on April 11, April 18 and May 2. ...Last week's two-hour premiere of Dancing drew 8.4 million of 'em. The Tuesday and Wednesday editions of Idol respectively had hauls of 15.4 million and 13.6 million 18-to-49-year-olds.

New series review: Planet Earth (Discovery Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-22T19:33:26-05:00
Picture a photographer taking a tight shot of a humpback whale. By ED BARK Our many-splendored playground is ready for a second round of glamour shots. ...Five years in the making and narrated by Sigourney Weaver, Planet Earth takes its cameras to 204 locations, from the highest mountains to the deepest depths of the oceans.

Dreamgirl's nightmare: Stephanie slapped down

Ed Bark — 2007-03-21T21:49:37-05:00
Stephanie Edwards and Chris Richardson: Two for the road, but only one hits it on Wednesday night's latest American Idol vote-off. ...It basically took one penetrating comment from judge Simon Cowell to send Edwards out the door and reduce the American Idol field to its annual post-show touring company of 10.

American Idol: Doolittle does it again while Sanjaya does just enough

Ed Bark — 2007-03-20T22:51:04-05:00
Melinda Doolittle slammed home "As Long As He Needs Me" and Sanjaya Malakar appropriately picked "You Really Got Me" Tuesday. ...Malakar only needs to survive Wednesday night's vote-off to make the cut for the annual 10-member Idol death march, otherwise known as a punishing, multi-city concert tour after a champ is crowned.

New series review: The Whitest Kids U' Know (fuse)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-20T10:02:23-05:00
By ED BARK The Whitest Kids U' Know want you to know they got there first with the face slaps, not Bud Light. ..."It is devastating to think that big corporations and ad agencies would come in and just take that work and use it for their own purposes, without any compensation, or more importantly, credit to the creators."

Out on a limb: Dancing with the Stars returns

Ed Bark — 2007-03-19T21:35:09-05:00
Laila Ali and Joey Fatone shone while Heather Mills gamely got a leg up Monday night on at least a few of her Dancing competitors. By ED BARK There they were hitting the hardwoods again Monday night. ...Marquee player Heather Mills, charitably billed as a "charity campaigner" in the two-hour opener, of course had to wait until near last to show whether she could make it through the fox trot with an artificial left limb.

TV special review: Galapagos (National Geographic Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-16T14:22:17-05:00
Soul stirring and breathtaking, National Geographic Channel's 3-hour Galapagos goes well beyond picturesque and into the realm of picture perfect. ...See one of them rise up on all fours and stretch its neck so that a little finch can feed on it.

Documentary Review: TV Junkie (HBO2)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-15T16:39:29-05:00
Kirkham even catches a second wind at little KTEN-TV in Sherman-Denison, where former Belo8 anchor Scott Sams is still the main man while at the same time angling to land a vacant morning post at CBS11 in Dallas-Fort Worth. ...TV Junkie in the end succeeds as a cautionary tale that cuts deep and then deeper, in a sense performing an autopsy while its star player remains on life's playing field.

New series review: October Road (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-15T08:41:12-05:00
It's the summer of 1997 in Knights Ridge, Mass., where we first find Nick Garrett (Bryan Greenberg) and Hannah Daniels (Laura Prepon from That '70s Show) sharin' the sheets and other treats. ...This is the kind of series where a stern small college dean (ex-24 star Penny Johnson Jerald) relents and gives Nick a teaching job after he throws rocks at her window in the dead of night and then sings a stanza from Oliver Twist.

Dicks on your box: Two new NBC series spotlight offbeat gumshoes

Ed Bark — 2007-03-14T10:57:25-05:00
From the looks on their faces, they also might be feeling a wee bit gassy. By ED BARK NBC's Thursday night lineup gets two defective detectives this week. ...Everyman Andy Richter goes first, playing an accidental private eye in Andy Barker, P.I. It's getting 30 Rock's 8:30 p.m. central slot, but only through April 12.

New series review: Halfway Home (Comedy Central)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-13T12:26:55-05:00
Kenny Carlyle is the hands-on headmaster in Halfway Home. Premiering: Wednesday (March 14) at 9:30 p.m. central (10:30 eastern) on Comedy Central Starring: Kevin Ruf, Jordan Black, Regan Burns, Octavia Spencer, Oscar Nunez, Jessica Makinson Produced by: Damon Jones, Oscar Nunez, Kevin Ruf, Jay Martel By ED BARK Stark raving funny in the Reno 911! mode, Comedy Central's half-improvised Halfway Home gives puerile humor another good name.

New series review: The Riches (FX)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-12T06:14:12-05:00
Monday night's first episode otherwise is rich (slap my face) in possibilities, with stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver introducing viewers to an almost unearthly world of "Travellers" living off others' gullibility. ...After a one-sided fight, Wayne retaliates by stealing the family fortune and hitting the highways again with Dahlia, Dehliah, oldest son Cael (Noel Fisher) and pre-pubescent Sam (Aidan Mitchell), who like Izzard in real life is very fond of women's clothing.

TV movie review: Life Support (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-09T09:21:24-06:00
Awareness is imparted, love is reclaimed, light bulbs turn on. The movie eventually earns its stripes, though, thanks to some take-charge acting by Queen Latifah and effective performances by Anna Deavere Smith, Wendell Pierce and Rachel Nicks as her on-screen mother, husband and estranged daughter. Premiering Saturday (March 10) at 7 p.m. central, Life Support is drawn from the real-life AIDS activism of HIV-positive Ana Wallace (Queen Latifah), whose brother, Nelson George, directed and co-wrote the film.

American Idol: 12 finalists but only three are for real

Ed Bark — 2007-03-08T22:55:51-06:00
Idol standouts Lakisha Jones, Melinda Doolittle, Stephanie Edwards By ED BARK The timing is perfect for a Dreamgirls-esque final three on American Idol. ...Every Final 12 has a running joke, though, so it's more likely that Malaka will serve his comic relief purpose and then be sacked before Idol and the voters get down to the serious business of awarding "the biggest prize in the music industry," as Seacrest humbly put it.

Singing and slinging: Rosie vs. American Idol

Ed Bark — 2007-03-07T17:17:03-06:00
"Without wishing to add to the obvious self-promotion of Ms. O'Donnell, I feel as though I must refute her absurd and ridiculous claims that American Idol is racist and/or weight-ist," he said in an email to TV critics. ...Barba, who has been one of Idol's lesser semi-finalists in the judges' view, is scheduled to perform Wednesday night (March 7) before two men and two women are voted off on Thursday's results show.

New series review: The Wedding Bells (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-05T13:59:16-06:00
Bridezilla tamers: Wedding Bell sisters Sammy, Jane and Annie Premiering: Wednesday (March 7) at 8 p.m. central on Fox before moving to Fridays at the same hour Starring: Teri Polo, KaDee Strickland, Sarah Jones, Michael Landes, Benjamin King, Chris Williams Produced by: David E. ...All you need to know is that oldest sister Jane (Teri Polo) is halfway happily married, middle sis Annie (KaDee Strickland) is loveless and kid sister Sammy (Sarah Jones) sleeps around a lot, sometimes with one of the groom's attendants.

New series review: Robin Hood (BBC America)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-02T16:53:42-06:00
Jonas Armstrong stars as "A Different Kind of Hood." Premiering: Saturday (March 3) at 8 p.m. central time on BBC America Starring: Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Keith Allen, Richard Armitage, Sam Troughgton, Gordon Kennedy, Harry Lloyd, Joe Armstrong Produced by: Dominic Minghella, Foz Allan ...Still, she helps him pull off the first episode's great, grandiose escape, after which Robin and his yet to be defined merry men head off into Sherwood Forest.

New series review: The Winner (Fox)

Ed Bark — 2007-03-02T14:29:05-06:00
Rob Corddry stars in Fox's mockup of The 40-Year-Old Virgin Premiering: Sunday (March 4) at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. (central time) on Fox Starring: Rob Corddry, Erinn Hayes, Keir Gilchrist, Lenny Clarke, Linda Hart Produced by: Ricky Blitt, Seth MacFarlane ...The show's co-producers are Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame and the seriously bent Ricky Blitt, whose savaging of Faye Dunaway at the January TV critics' "press tour" already has made him a near-mythical figure.

Back from the brink: ABC's Bob Woodruff at last can tell his story

Ed Bark — 2007-02-27T09:28:55-06:00
His triumphant return to ABC comes after more than a year of recuperation from a Jan. 29, 2006 roadside bombing attack in Iraq that obliterated part of his skull and put him in a coma for 36 days. ... A 3-D scan of Woodruff's bomb-battered skull and the recuperating newsman with his two oldest children, Cathryn, 13, and Mack, 15. All photos from ABC News

Sunday's stately Oscars: Without a pulse or a pause that refreshed?

Ed Bark — 2007-02-25T23:29:55-06:00
Host Ellen DeGeneres opened in off-red and later emerged with an Oscar fanny pack to aid winners with no place to put their statues. By ED BARK Let's try two takes for Sunday's 79th annual Oscar-cast. ...But it's a pretty tame affair when tongues are left to wag about best supporting actor Alan Arkin's decision to put his Oscar on the floor before fixedly reading his acceptance speech from a piece of folded paper.

New series review: The Black Donnellys (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-25T13:06:09-06:00
So NBC's Hell's Kitchen-set crime saga likely will have a fight on its hands as the Peacock's Monday night replacement for the audience-rejected Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Donnellys' premiere episode is a jumble at times, with swerving narration from the jailed "Joey Ice Cream" (Keith Nobbs) used and sometimes abused as a storytelling technique.

Oscars: We see a lot of new faces -- especially on the old faces

Ed Bark — 2007-02-23T17:13:31-06:00
***Sample Stewart joke from last year: "A lot of people say that this town is too liberal, out of touch with mainstream America, an atheistic pleasure dome, a modern-day, beachfront Sodom and Gomorrah, a moral black hole where innocence is obliterated in an endless orgy of sexual gratification and greed. ...***Finally, announced presenters Sunday night include Tom Cruise and ex-wife Nicole Kidman (separately); Ben Affleck and ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez (separately); Steve Carell, George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Diane Keaton, Tobey Maguire, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Reese Witherspoon.

Heather Mills puts extra zing in new Dancing with the Stars

Ed Bark — 2007-02-21T09:03:45-06:00
Stepping up: Heather Mills and Clyde Drexler are among the 11 new celebrity hoofers on ABC's fourth edition of Dancing with the Stars. By ED BARK Odds are at least a gazillion trillion to one against Sir Paul McCartney showing up to cheer for her from the peanut gallery. ...She's the first Dancing contestant to compete with an artificial limb, having lost her left lower leg below the knee after being hit by a police motorcycle in 1993.

New series review: The Agency (VH1)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-19T14:26:45-06:00
(right) By ED BARK At first blush it seems as though a bloated baldy named Pink will be the star browbeater of VH1's new The Agency. ...Or maybe Becky is just another of those ramped-up, highly entertaining, made-for-TV reality despots who puts snap and crackle into The Agency whenever the camera turns her way.

Review: The 1/2 Hour News Hour (Fox News Channel)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-18T12:50:56-06:00
But 1/2 Hour News Hour does have its moments, with fake news anchors Kurt McNally and Jennifer Lange (Kurt Long, Jenn Robertson) offering an amalgam of The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segment and maybe even a smidgen of Real Time with Bill Maher. ...It all ends with a climactic, childish swipe at Begley, who's said to now be in prison and at the mercy of rival inmate gangs.

Movie review: Longford (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-16T17:40:34-06:00
Jim Broadbent plays a forgiving Lord in HBO's thoughtful Longford. By ED BARK Devoutly Catholic Frank Aungier Packenham led an outwardly thankless life. ...HBO's fact-based Longford (Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. central) reprises his fatalistic attraction to a woman convicted of debasing and murdering children in the company of a male accomplice.

Review: News War (PBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-13T17:38:34-06:00
This first hour (at 9 p.m. on KERA-TV in Dallas) also intelligently revisits a 35-year-old U.S. Supreme Court decision that continues to weigh heavily on the public's right to know vs. a journalist's right to protect confidential sources. ...Bergman also will examine the changing face of news in times when a New York University study says that a majority of Americans under 25 catch up on current events via The Daily Show and/or the Internet.

Grammys go long, stay on track

Ed Bark — 2007-02-11T23:33:00-06:00
Trouper Robyn Troup, 18, of Houston, has her "My Grammy Moment" with Justin Timberlake and without any wardrobe malfunctions. By ED BARK Television's best and brightest awards show takes the longest time to hand out the least hardware. ...But 18-year-old Robyn Troup of Houston may have gained the most by winning the show's American Idol-esque "My Grammy Moment" contest.

Down and dirty: Lost's Josh "Sawyer" Holloway back for more murk

Ed Bark — 2007-02-07T06:30:08-06:00
At play and at work: Holloway with wife Yessica Kumala and in serious disrepair on Lost, which returns with a cleaner break. Wednesday's resumption finds Sawyer and Kate at last freed of their cages and on the run while Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) decides whether to save the life of The Others' enigmatic leader, Ben Linus (Michael Emerson). ...Lost is still less than one-third of the way through its third season, and Holloway says he's given up on trying to deduce how it all will end.

Love, marriage and Hollywood beginnings

Ed Bark — 2007-02-05T14:55:48-06:00
"Known for its unprecedented access to celebrities" -- at least that's what it says in the press release -- the magazine offers a glowing tribute to Hollywood-style marriages on Monday's In Style Celebrity Weddings (Feb. 5th at 9 p.m. central, 10 eastern). ...This one-hour ABC special is all about hearts aflutter, beginning with the chance sighting of Marcia Cross's future husband at a Los Angeles flower shop.

Super Bowl XLI, etc.: X lasting impressions

Ed Bark — 2007-02-04T21:53:27-06:00
Oprah and Dave: Ultimate Odd Couple watch Lovie, profess love. By ED BARK I. The day's best spot lasted just 10 seconds and was a closely guarded secret. ... Coach Dungy and Colts owner James Irsay put God on their side. VII. OK, maybe Grossman didn't have a prayer.

New series review: Rules of Engagement (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-02-02T16:07:41-06:00
David Spade plays the middleman in this quintet-essential sitcom Premiering: Monday (Feb. 5) at 8:30 p.m. central (9:30 eastern) on CBS Starring: Patrick Warburton, Megyn Price, David Spade, Oliver Hudson, Bianca Kajlich Produced by: Tom Hertz, Jack Giarraputo, Doug Robinson By ED BARK The actor who played "Puddy" on Seinfeld is always worth at least a few rolls in the sitcom hay.

New series review: The Sarah Silverman Program (Comedy Central)

Ed Bark — 2007-01-31T12:22:40-06:00
This really is an all-powerful Supreme Being from on high who had a "really, really good time" with Sarah and wants to take her on a second date to heaven, where he'll introduce her to Thomas Jefferson. ...It won't get any tamer in next Thursday's second episode, which bitch-slaps viewers with this opening ditty from the comedian also known as Jimmy Kimmel's girlfriend: "I always wake up with the morning sun.

Paging Nora Roberts: Lifetime's new round of movies are drawn from her bestsellers

Ed Bark — 2007-01-29T11:27:27-06:00
Venerable Heather Locklear kicks off Lifetime's series of four Nora Roberts tele-novels with a plucky performance in Angels Fall. By ED BARK Lifetime gets little love from guys, and no wonder. ...So maybe this gnarly male should have his head examined for checking out Lifetime's first of four movies dedicated to bestselling novelist Nora Roberts, who grinds 'em out like coffee beans.

"From zeros to Heroes:" Sudden success beats the alternative

Ed Bark — 2007-01-28T21:31:10-06:00
Sarah Paulson and Masi Oka on the Jan. 29 episode of Studio 60 Until Heroes, Panettiere's most visible TV role was leukemia victim Lizzie Spaulding on The Guiding Light.... A small role in 2000's Remember the Titans brought her a bit of recognition, but Heroes is "the deciding factor that really got me over that hump, which often you catch yourself on."

Head for the Hills: Big Tex and brood back for another round

Ed Bark — 2007-01-26T12:31:15-06:00
By ED BARK Fated to be second to The Simpsons in everything, King of the Hill returns to Fox Sunday night (Jan. 28) for an 11th under-appreciated season. ...But now it's back for at least one more howdy, nestled nicely between The Simpsons and Family Guy at 7:30 p.m. central, 8:30 eastern.

Oscar's TV past: Will SNL finally break through?

Ed Bark — 2007-01-23T12:42:48-06:00
Of more interest is Eddie Murphy, who has to be the early favorite in the best supporting actor category for his showy role in Dreamgirls. ...Will Smith, who starred for six seasons on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, seems like a longshot to win for The Pursuit of Happyness.

New series review: Armed & Famous (CBS)

Ed Bark — 2007-01-07T13:15:35-06:00
Back in uniform: a paunchier "Ponch" cops to a new reality show. Premiering: Wednesday night, Jan. 10th (7 central, 8 eastern) on CBS Starring: Erik Estrada, La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne, Trish Stratus, Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna Produced by: Tom Forman ...Seriously, though, there oughta be a law against making cops of Erik Estrada, La Toya Jackson, Jack Osbourne, former wrestler Trish Stratus and skateboarder Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna.

A post-football NBC faces new Sunday realities

Ed Bark — 2007-01-05T14:32:13-06:00
The exceptionally annoying Bush (from the syndicated Access Hollywood) hosts Grease: You're the One That I Want, which gets a 90-minute premiere from 7 to 8:30 p.m. central time. ...The return of The Apprentice, which the American public once cared very much about, gives Trump at least one last round of bragging rights.

Jacked up: 24's return will be a big blowout

Ed Bark — 2007-01-04T14:36:41-06:00
"We ask that you refrain from mentioning a few key moments, specifically, the exact nature of how Jack is expected to 'sacrifice' himself, and what happens in the final minutes of the first and fourth hours. (Fox emphasis) We know this may prove challenging when writing your reviews, but we believe that preserving the more significant twists of 24 until broadcast is what delivers the most rewarding viewing experience." ...These first four hours of Season 6 take the series to new depths of toil and trouble, with its bent, stooped but still resilient hero fatefully on the receiving end of a new president's clarion call.

They're Parcells' guys

Ed Bark — 2007-01-04T13:57:01-06:00
Never mind that the Dallas Cowboys lost three key home games in December under the direction of a coach who's supposed to be a big-time motivator and deal-closer. ...Wide receiver Terrell Owens, the Cowboys' other hot button, won't be back with the team next season even if he wants to be, Madden thinks.

New series reviews: The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2007-01-03T08:03:01-06:00
Dolts, Incorporated: Donal Logue and David Arquette keep screwing up in ABC's The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency. ...The network's two newest comedies, The Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency, celebrate the timeless ineptitude of the male species, with a shapely babe thrown in as a bauble atop their dunce caps.

New series review: Dirt (FX)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-31T11:28:15-06:00
Her star shooter, Don Konkey (Ian Hart), is way off-center. Premiering: Tuesday night, Jan. 2nd (9 central, 10 eastern) on FX Starring: Courteney Cox, Ian Hart, Josh Stewart, Laura Allen, Jeffrey Nordling, Shannyn Sossamon, Rick Fox, Alexandra Breckenridge, Timothy Bottoms, Grant Show, Carly Pope, Will McCormack Created by: Matthew Carnahan ...Cox's Lucy Spiller, editor-in-chief of Drrt and Now magazines, stalks her prey with a ruthlessness reminiscent of Faye Dunaway's aggressively amoral Diana Christensen in Network.

James Brown: Prisoner of Love

Ed Bark — 2006-12-29T13:26:47-06:00
But it's nice to have that lasting memory of the "Godfather of Soul," who's being laid to rest this week after a hard-driving life that in 1988 found him on smoking tire rims after leading police on a two-state car chase. ...Serving the third month of a later commuted six-year term, Brown talked in passing about an upcoming Legends of Rock 'n' Roll TV special that had been taped less than a month before his sentencing.

Kyle Howard finally sticks it in TBS' My Boys

Ed Bark — 2006-12-28T11:19:18-06:00
Jordana Spiro and Kyle Howard air it out on TBS cable's My Boys By ED BARK Kyle Howard's won-loss record wasn't getting him anywhere fast in Hollywood. ...At the time he didn't know the fate of TBS cable's well-received My Boys, in which he plays a Chicago sportswriter moving within the orbit of series star Jordana Spiro.

Entering TV's New Year: Mo' or No Mo'?

Ed Bark — 2006-12-27T09:31:53-06:00
ABC's newly installed World News anchor is gaining on Brian Williams' top dog NBC Nightly News, and lately has been edging it among advertiser-coveted 25-to-54-year-olds, the principal target audience for non-entertainment programming. ...Rome will return for its second and last season on Jan. 14, Deadwood is all but gone save for a possible movie or two and The Sopranos will have its last gasp starting in March.

Battle of the network fatheads

Ed Bark — 2006-12-22T12:43:28-06:00
Boy, this Donald Trump-Rosie O'Donnell feud has really heated up.... This CNN highlight reel, courtesy of Anderson Cooper 360, leaves the host reeling.

Hot Rod: a vintage holiday concert on VH1 Classic

Ed Bark — 2006-12-21T10:49:32-06:00
Backed by a well-oiled 6-piece band, Stewart gives full voice to some of his best-known ballads ("Tonight's the Night, Maggie Mae") and one of The Beatles' better rockers ("Get Back"). ...But he also bequeaths a good deal of time to his band, which includes former Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and Chuck Berry disciple Billy Peek, a duck-walking exhibitionist who's dressed like a big teaspoon of The Lovin' Spoonful.

Review: After Jesus -- The First Christians (CNN)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-20T11:49:22-06:00
Narrated by actor Liam Neeson, the two-hour production premieres Wednesday (Dec. 20th) at 6 p.m. central time and will be repeated that same night at 9 p.m. Additional telecasts at those hours are scheduled for Dec. 23rd and Christmas Eve. ...After Jesus -- The First Christians is a valuable viewing experience at a time of year when value systems should amount to more than how much we spend on gifts.

TV year in review: Top 10 developments of 2006

Ed Bark — 2006-12-20T09:27:21-06:00
Fox's campaign ad in support of stem cell research drew fire from Rush Limbaugh, who told his radio listeners that the Parkinson's-afflicted actor appeared to be putting on an act for the cameras. ...Even more impressively, the Peacock has shown patience with ratings-starved newcomers such as Friday Night Lights, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and 30 Rock, all of which have received full-season orders.

Christmas movie review: A Perfect Day (TNT)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-18T08:35:37-06:00
Stamos, 43 and recently added to the cast of NBC's ER, hasn't missed a beat since the two-time failure of ABC's Jake In Progress comedy series. ...Lowe, 42 and recently added to the cast of ABC's Brothers & Sisters, hasn't missed a beat since turning down the "Dr. McDreamy" role in ABC's Grey's Anatomy and also flopping in NBC's The Lyon's Den and CBS' Dr.

New series review: Identity (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-15T12:25:10-06:00
At one end of the teeter-totter are Deal or No Deal, 1 vs. 100 and the new Identity, premiering Monday (at 8 p.m. central) and then scheduled to run an hour earlier on Tuesday through Friday. ...Nicci can win half a million bucks if she can correctly identify, one-by-one, a sushi chef, alligator wrestler, bouncer, opera singer, fitness model, break dancer, CSI investigator, kidney donor, Vegas showgirl, the world's fastest man, the creator of Spider Man and the youngest of the bunch.

Golden Globes: No longer a laugh

Ed Bark — 2006-12-14T09:08:10-06:00
She's competing against herself as the nominated star of both PBS' Prime Suspect: The Final Act and HBO's Elizabeth I, with the productions also cited in the best miniseries/made-for-TV movie category. ...The movies and miniseries categories again largely belonged to HBO, though, with the HFPA having the good sense to nominate several strong performances in the network's Tsunami, The Aftermath, whose second part won't even premiere until this Sunday.

We wish you a Mondo Christmas

Ed Bark — 2006-12-13T15:55:31-06:00
If so, yule be very entertained Thursday night (Dec. 14) with The Office's one-hour Christmas show and then the guest star-soaked, still vibrant Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special. ...And a breast-plated Grace Jones gives "Drummer Boy" a decidedly different interpretation during Pee-wee's 1988 Christmas show, which lives again Thursday on the "Adult Swim" arm of Cartoon Network (9:30 central, 10:30 eastern).

TV movie review: The Year Without a Santa Claus (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-11T09:58:54-06:00
But in the interim he's perfectly fit for the lead role in NBC's The Year Without a Santa Claus, a live-action remake of the 1974 animated tale. ...But the demise of variety shows and the virtual shutdown of broadcast TV movie divisions leave this two-hour presentation as the only new stand-alone holiday special from any of the Big Four networks.

Miniseries review: Tsunami, The Aftermath (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2006-12-10T10:52:17-06:00
A couple with child, and then without, in Tsunami, The Aftermath. By ED BARK It struck on the day after Christmas, 2004, taking the lives of more than a quarter million people caught in the clutches of an out-of-the-blue flash flood. ...And for the purposes of this drama, no one is more haunted or heartbroken than Ian Carter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who stayed ashore with his six-year-old daughter, Martha (Jazmyn Mabaso), while wife Susie (Sophie Okonedo) joined a few other vacationers on a boat trip.

Rene Syler's next chapters: New book, life-changing surgery

Ed Bark — 2006-12-08T11:41:41-06:00
On Jan. 9, the 43-year-old former Dallas anchor will undergo a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy rather than live in constant fear of breast cancer, for which she's at high risk. ...The example I want to show my kids is that your character is not about who you are when times are good.

Bush under fire: Network newscasts make it plain in coverage of Iraq Study Group's report

Ed Bark — 2006-12-06T22:29:29-06:00
Topic A on Wednesday's network newscasts was the long-awaited release of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group's report to President Bush and the nation. ...She then personalized the report's potential import: "With each death, with every passing day, so many of us ask, 'Is there any way out of this nightmare?'

Soap duds? MyNetworkTV lathers up anew

Ed Bark — 2006-12-06T09:36:07-06:00
In the first episode she mostly plots the ruin of race track owner Theodore Crawford (Clive Robertson), who had the temerity to dump her 25 years ago. Her vassal is Cain-like twin son Aaron (Jack Krizmanich), who's sent to infiltrate Crawford's empire. ...O'Neal, who's a long, long way from that 1973 Oscar for Paper Moon, has a big, broad go of it, particular when talking to herself on a computer cam.

Sweatin' to an oldie: WE tv takes ABC's lead

Ed Bark — 2006-12-05T10:12:20-06:00
Stepchild: WE tv gloms on to a certain ABC show. By ED BARK Everyone now wishes they'd gotten in on the ground floor. ...The show's Tom Bergeron is a chubbed-up Cris Judd, survivor of both a marriage to Jennifer Lopez and the 2003 ABC reality series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Which he won!

Prime-time's hottest new show plans to leave us wanting more

Ed Bark — 2006-12-04T12:03:03-06:00
NBC is spending considerable time in West Texas this season, with Friday Night Lights set in fictional Dillon, a pseudonym for Midland-Odessa. ...In a season of otherwise underappreciated new NBC series (Friday Night Lights, Studio 60, 30 Rock), give Heroes credit for paying the rent and keeping the Peacock from collapsing under the weight of too many critically praised ratings losers.

Must-see TV: No, really

Ed Bark — 2006-11-30T09:54:44-06:00
Comedy tonight: My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock give NBC some big kicks in a rejuvenated Thursday night lineup. ...Rivals have taken most of Thursdays away from NBC and are beating the Peacock over the head from 7 to 9 p.m. (central time) with the likes of Survivor, Grey's Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the new Ugly Betty.

New series review: Big Day (ABC)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-28T11:32:32-06:00
28th, 8 central, 9 eastern, ABC Starring: Marla Sokoloff, Wendie Malick, Josh Cooke, Kurt Fuller, Miriam Shor, Stephen Rannazzisi, Stephnie Weir Created by: Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa ...This leads to a truly inspired double entendre retort from her hubby after "The Garf" puts on a tux in hopes of making amends for getting off on the wrong foot.

New series review: My Boys (TBS)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-27T11:44:22-06:00
By ED BARK She hosts a weekly poker night, manages an amateur baseball team, drinks beer, covers the Cubs and has the Sunday NFL preview show on before her pack of male friends even gets to her place. ...As when PJ says in Episode 2: "If you're going for the ball and you don't see the warning track, chances are you're going to run right into a brick wall."

Come again: Match Game, CBS Sunday Night Movie reconnect for a night

Ed Bark — 2006-11-25T09:20:58-06:00
Cable's GSN, where old game shows still make whoopee, goes a bit deeper than usual with The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank (7 p.m. central, 8 eastern). ...Host Gene Rayburn was snarky before anyone used the term. And his ribald celebrity panelists, led by Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson and Fannie Flagg, usually were feeling no pain after having a few belts backstage between tapings.

Review: Tony Bennett: An American Classic (NBC)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-20T20:07:26-06:00
Here's the real deal, from its start with Barbra Streisand to the finish you know is coming -- Bennett caressing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" as only he can and must. ...He's the perfectly pitched, gracious host, happy to still be singin' his tunes and happier still that younger performers dig what he's been doin' for most of his life.

Ted Koppel: Free to be afoot in Iran

Ed Bark — 2006-11-19T12:36:41-06:00
"If I were to say I feel liberated, that would make it sound as though I'm so glad to be out of the clutches of ABC News," Koppel says in a telephone interview. ...Seventy percent of the country's population is under the age of 30, and a clear majority of these younger Iranians said in a recent poll that they want better relations with the U.S. The downside: an Iranian man who assisted the pollsters was jailed for two years.

Dan Rather: Re-starting from scratch

Ed Bark — 2006-11-13T16:59:20-06:00
Rather's new venture, which will detail him in high-definition for his first time, has the added burden of premiering opposite Tuesday night's performance finale of ABC's Dancing with the Stars (7 p.m. central, 8 eastern). ...Rather risks being judged on the basis of the one story that took him out -- a campaign 2004 investigation that questioned the length and depth of President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service.

Ed Bradley: Goodnight and Godspeed

Ed Bark — 2006-11-12T19:25:32-06:00
Arsenio Hall -- Late night television's one and only successful black host endured for five years (1989-94) during times when Johnny Carson was winding down and Jay Leno and David Letterman were winding up. ...Flip Wilson -- No black performer had fronted a successful variety series until NBC's The Flip Wilson Show rocketed to prime-time's No.

Review: Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-12T11:47:11-06:00
Final Act is driven by Mirren's ebbs and flows but also has standout performances from Gary Lewis as Sallie's surly father, Tony, and Stephen Tomkinson in the role of school headmaster Sean Philips. ...She has been on thrones of late, both in last year's Elizabeth I , for which she won an Emmy, and the current The Queen, for which an Oscar nomination is likely.

Koppel to Kerry: Can the comedy

Ed Bark — 2006-11-09T17:51:01-06:00
Koppel, who's readying a two-hour special on Iran for the Discovery Channel, also spent considerable time embedded with U.S. troops while still with ABC's Nightline. ...Kerry took a pasting from Republicans and Democrats alike when he recently said at a college rally, "Education -- if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"Danisms" and elephant dung: Comedy Central's Midterm Midtacular

Ed Bark — 2006-11-07T22:49:14-06:00
Its latenight Midterm Midtacular, co-anchored by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, dressed up the standard graphics and mug shots of winning and losing candidates. ...Rather was billed as "Global correspondent, HDNet," a role he'll assume Tuesday as anchor of the weekly Dan Rather Reports on Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's fledgling high-definition channel.

Review: Directed by John Ford (Turner Classic Movies)

Ed Bark — 2006-11-06T21:58:45-06:00
Ford won four directing Oscars, a record still unmatched, for The Informer, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley and The Quiet Man. ...He died in 1973, and the documentary includes revealing audio from a near-death conversation with Katharine Hepburn, with whom Ford had an affair before she segued to Spencer Tracy.

Man law: Is there one against watching Dancing with the Stars?

Ed Bark — 2006-11-06T10:20:10-06:00
As a Dallas-based writer, I've got a built-in local angle in Emmitt Smith, the former Cowboy who's ventured all the way to the show's crunch time with partner Cheryl Burke. ..."If someone came up to me and said, 'Real men don't dance,' I'm going to say to them, 'Real men try to do things that they think they cannot do,' " he said.

Review: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XVII

Ed Bark — 2006-11-03T17:07:09-06:00
By ED BARK Halloween's best aftertaste is The Simpsons' annual fright night, which usually bides its ghoulish time until after the costumes and candy are consumed. ...Sunday's third piece, "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid," is both a parody of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio-cast and an allegory about invading someone else's country.

He's Chevy Chase, and this time he's not funny

Ed Bark — 2006-11-02T17:50:10-06:00
An accompanying note from series creator Dick Wolf says that the story "may be 'ripped from the headlines,' but there are shocking twists and turns that are the trademark of some of he most provocative episodes" of the show. ...In its 17th season on NBC, the show increasingly seems mechanical and forced as it closes in on Gunsmoke's 20 seasons as prime-time's longest-running drama hour.

Kinky and Dave: Together again for the first time

Ed Bark — 2006-11-02T12:30:03-06:00
So if we can get that number up in the 40s, I'm going to be the governor of Texas." ..."I mean, any FBI or DEA agent would agree with that, that we've lost the war on drugs and Texas has so many people in its prisons right now that we need to get some of them out, the non-violent ones out so we can put the bad guys (in), the politicians and the pedophiles, you know."

Sweeps eve: How are the Big Four networks faring?

Ed Bark — 2006-11-01T12:11:35-06:00
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are all but out of those businesses, but viewers at least can look forward to four successive first-run episodes of hit series when the month-long battle begins Thursday. ...Still steady after all these years, CBS has a comfortable ratings lead in total viewers and also is setting the pace with 25-to-54-year-olds, the Avis of audience demographics behind those much-sought after 18-to-49ers.

Making an impression: SNL's Darrell Hammond stays on and on

Ed Bark — 2006-10-31T12:00:14-06:00
"I would call that the great disappointment of my career," Hammond says in a telephone interview tied to his one-man SNL show this Saturday (Nov. ...The vice president is "the guy that ended up being the most charming and forthcoming about it, and the most fun to talk to about it," says Hammond, who's attended one of Cheney's Christmas parties.

Review: Angel Rodriguez (HBO)

Ed Bark — 2006-10-30T12:38:30-06:00
So don't look for a prototypical "payoff," but do expect to be pulled in by this small, affecting 90-minute film from director Jim McKay (Everyday People). ...Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under and ABC's ongoing Brothers & Sisters) co-stars as guidance counselor Nicole, who's pregnant with her first child and married to a not entirely likeable guy named Henry (Denis O'Hare).

DVD Review: That's My Bush!

Ed Bark — 2006-10-25T17:12:18-05:00
The president and his First Lady had inhabited the White House for barely two-and-a-half months when this sendup of a '70s sitcom portrayed him as a dumb, amiable bumbler and her as his understanding but often unfulfilled wife. ...Timothy Bottoms' portrayal of a hapless but well-meaning Bush proved to be comedy gold in a series that ended on May 23, 2001 after Comedy Central said it cost too much to make.

A Rivers goes with her flow

Ed Bark — 2006-10-22T16:13:37-05:00
Best known these days as a red carpet fixture, Rivers, 73, gets back to where she still belongs as the leadoff hitter on Bravo's Funny Girls, a new series of standup specials premiering Tuesday night, Oct. 24 (9 central, 10 eastern). ...She now incorporates him into her act, joking that his other car is a gas chamber and that he has an "I (heart symbol) Hitler" license plate.

Oh Danny boy: Bonaduce's back

Ed Bark — 2006-10-20T13:28:16-05:00
"Actually it's a train wreck landing on top of a car crash mixed with a baby on fire," an interested observer opines on VH1's second season premiere of Breaking Bonaduce (Sunday night, Oct. 22, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern). ...The episode otherwise trains on Danny's trip to Mexico City for a press conference heralding the premiere of Breaking Bonaduce's first season in 22 Latin American countries.

Peacock plucked? NBC will start writing off scripted shows

Ed Bark — 2006-10-19T18:31:17-05:00
Advertiser interest in them is waning, Zucker contended, citing the $2.6 million cost for one episode of Friday Night Lights versus the $1.1 million NBC spends on Deal or No Deal. ...Friday Night Lights, which opens Tuesday nights and will get a test run at 9 p.m. Monday on Oct. 30, has been held to little ratings gain despite a wealth of critical praise.

Review: The Lost Year in Iraq

Ed Bark — 2006-10-18T01:16:07-05:00
It's still hard to believe that he actually said, "Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and to commit crimes and do bad things; they're also free to live their lives and do wonderful things." ...Jay Garner, a retired general who preceded Bremer in Iraq as Rumsfeld's handpicked leader of the reconstruction effort, says the "de-Ba'athification" policy in fact was viewed as potentially very dangerous.

Vince Young: BET says it's all good

Ed Bark — 2006-10-04T06:09:26-05:00
The network's six-episode Next Level: Vince Young, premiering Wednesday night (Oct. 4) at 7:30 central, 8:30 eastern, stops just a bit short of being an out-and-out infomercial. ...Footage of his exploits sets the stage for a trip back home, where viewers are introduced to Young's mother, sister, cousins, high school football coach and Uncle Keith Young, who became Vince's surrogate father in place of an absentee blood dad.

Second verse, same as the first

Ed Bark — 2006-10-03T15:11:46-05:00
By ED BARK CBS again took the prime-time crown in total viewers, ABC prevailed with 18-to-49-year-olds and NBC showed the most year-to-year improvement in Week 2 (Sept. 25-Oct. ...The season-to-date ratings show NBC making significant strides from a year ago. The Peacock network is up 13 percent in total viewers and 18 percent with 18-to-49-year-olds.

Big Al gets into the act

Ed Bark — 2006-10-01T20:43:13-05:00
Which means that Billy Bush isn't hosting yet, although NBC's own Jay Leno somehow was deemed worthy of a guest spot after amassing a film career that pretty much began and ended with his role as "Poopy Butt" in 1979's Americathon. ...So you can hear a pin drop when Pacino distills acting to its essence in these two sentences: "What you're trying to do is get yourself out of the way all the time.

Thursday night war zone: Week 2

Ed Bark — 2006-09-29T12:34:06-05:00
The premiere of Ugly Betty helped beautify ABC's prime-time ratings Thursday, pacing the network to an overall narrow win for the night among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. ...That left NBC's two best comedies, My Name Is Earl and The Office, trailing far behind while Fox continued to crash and burn with two episodes of Brad Garrett's new sitcom, the fittingly titled 'Til Death

Clinton and Wallace: This time it's personal

Ed Bark — 2006-09-25T01:07:40-05:00
Then he threw something of a right-cross, telling the ex-president that many emailers wanted this question answered: "Why didn't you do more to put bin Laden and Al Qaeda out of business when you were president?" "I'm being asked this on the Fox network," Clinton began before also chiding "their little Pathway to 9/11" miniseries on ABC, which provoked a storm of controversy earlier this month.

Scalpel, please: Grey's bloodies CSI

Ed Bark — 2006-09-22T15:31:51-05:00
CBS rebounded a bit with James Woods' new Shark, which had 14.7 million total viewers to edge ABC's premiere of Six Degrees (13.3 million). But Shark sank to third in the 18-to-49 ratings, losing to both Degrees and NBC's 13th season premiere of ER, which took the top spots in both ratings categories.

Review -- Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater

Ed Bark — 2006-09-18T00:15:16-05:00
Barry Goldwater, branded a mad bomber in the 1964 presidential campaign, is seen in retrospect as a politician who actually had the courage of his convictions. ...It's appropriate then that longtime Democratic strategist James Carville sees him as "clearly John the Baptist to (Ronald) Reagan," who won the presidency in 1980 as a conservative Republican cast in the Goldwater mold.

Returning series review: Old Christine

Ed Bark — 2006-09-17T12:23:05-05:00
By ED BARK Fresh off her best actress Emmy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus shows why she won it in the second season premiere of CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine. ...So it'll be no surprise to fans of the show to find Christine and Richard amicably back on the outs by episode's end.

Network News & Reviews

Badge of honor: FX's <i>Justified</i> cools it a bit without losing an edge

HBO's <i>The Pacific</i> joins its already vast collection of finest hours

<i>Sons of Tucson</i> comes up stinko

Scum rises to the top in CW's <i>High Society</i>

DVD review: ABC's <i>Elvis</i> now back in the building

Oscar audience up 5 mil from previous year's

Limp Oscars fade away after less than dynamic hosting by Martin/Baldwin

<i>The Office</i> "Baby Event" struggles to be a special delivery

Wink, blink, nod

Leno re-takes <i>Tonight</i>, knowing that this time NBC will keep its hands off

NBC's <i>Parenthood</i> a long-needed feather in Peacock's plumage

Young's "Long May You Run" had familiar NBC ring to it; <i>Marriage Ref</i> launch then waylays Olympics' closing ceremonies

Sheen again enters rehab; CBS suspends production on <i>Two and a Half Men</i>

ABC News plans big cuts as part of widespread digital age transformation

The Olympian hair of Bob Costas: a seminar

A sorry apology from Woods? Not in this view

HBO's <i>Reporter</i> documentary strives to stir hearts by personalizing the war-torn Congo

Jerry's Palace anointed anew on truTV's <i>NFL Full Contact</i>

Cowboy Colby and friends (and enemies) go back to the bush for <i>Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains</i>

Fox's <i>Past Life</i> needs to find a pulse

Super Bowl XLIV mashes <i>M*A*S*H</i> finale, says CBS

<i>NFL Full Contact</i> rings false on truTV

Come together: Letterman and Leno play act with Oprah as buffer

Jobs well done: CBS' post-Super Bowl <i>Undercover Boss</i> pays as it goes

Danes in full bloom as autistic heroine of HBO's <i>Temple Grandin</i>

Jones 'n' Joplin -- still smokin' after all these years

<i>Lost</i> returns with double shots of intrigue (note: don't read if you still plan to see it)

Will <i>Lost</i> find a way? The climactic Season 6 is ready for takeoff

Better late than never? Conan's last week a ratings triumph (plus, the Grammys get the words out)

"Just Jay and Oprah, speaking titan to titan"

Instant classic: <i>The Late Night War</i> in faux Ken Burns fashion

Syfy's <i>Caprica</i> ready to launch as 'frak'-fueled <i>Battlestar Galactica</i> prequel

<i>Spartacus: Blood and Sand</i> spews, spurts and somehow makes it work

Leno returning to saddle, Conan hitting the beach

ABC's <i>The Deep End</i> lawyers up without making much of a case

CW's <i>Life Unexpected</i> is another one of life's little disappointments

<i>Glee, Mad Men</i> win top TV Globes

Fox's <i>Human Target</i> triggers another alpha male into action

Which network can't you do without?

Look out below: FX's animated <i>Archer</i> is fit for an R-rated review

<i>The Simpsons</i>: 20 years, 450 episodes and counting

Hume calls Tiger home; hue and cry ensues

ABC's love connections are hardly heart-healthy

Countdown to Christmas: climactic Video 12

Countdown to Christmas: Video 11

Countdown to Christmas: Video 10

Everyman "Charlie" Gibson signs off ABC's <i>World News</i>

Countdown to Christmas: Video 9

Lights, cameras, pageantry: TCM's <i>Gigantic World of Epics</i> is suitably towering

Countdown to Christmas: Video 8

Countdown to Christmas: Video 7

TV newcomers make strong showings in Golden Globes comedy categories

Countdown to Christmas: Video 6

NBC's post-Olympics schedule without <i>Heroes</i> but with another Trump card

Countdown to Christmas: Video 5

Countdown to Christmas: Video 4

<i>GMA</i> tabs Stephanopoulos, Chang to replace re-assigned Sawyer, Cuomo

Countdown to Christmas: Video 3

Sign o' the Apocalypse? ABC slots <i>Conveyor Belt of Love</i> after January premiere of new <i>Bachelor</i>

Countdown to Christmas: Video 2

Make an unjoyful noise: <i>Glee</i> taking winter off after Wednesday's "fall finale"

Countdown to Christmas: Video 1

TNT's <i>Men of a Certain Age</i> gives older guys a welcome new guise

Syfy's <i>Alice</i> "re-imagines" her as Wonderland-trapped action-hero

Talkin' trash and grillin' for a grand prize on TLC's <i>BBQ Pitmasters</i>

Comcast to take controlling interest of NBC Universal -- including that crummy old, loss-leading broadcast network

Jesse Ventura body slams brain cells in truTV's <i>Conspiracy Theory</i>

Bravo? Not so for Lauer and the Salahis during Tuesday's <i>Today</i> show interview

Salahis will see Lauer -- apparently for free -- on Tuesday's <i>Today</i>.

<i>Idol</i> marked for Jan. 12th return, <i>Glee</i> takes winter off in new midseason Fox lineup

Latest Kennedy assassination rewind retains a firm grip

<i>Lost</i> to be found on Tuesdays next year

Sarah and Oprah -- not really worth bookmarking

Take a number: AMC's <i>The Prisoner</i> strives to be six hours that count

Dobbs leaves CNN behind (updated)

<i>Hank, Dollhouse</i> join evictee list

<i>Apocalypse</i> -- not now but then

HBO's <i>The Pacific</i> coming in March

Yanks-Phils highest-rated Series in five years

Super Bowl XLIV mashes <i>MAS*H</i> finale, says CBS