Dec 2006
Clean slate no more: FX's Dirt is '07's first
new series
12/31/06 11:29 AM Ed Bark | Permalink
Former Friends star Courteney Cox is darkly in
another light on the new FX series Dirt. For a
taste, see the Network News
& Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
|
To new beginnings
12/29/06 06:07 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
James Brown remembered via a cell phone interview
12/29/06 02:38 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
My lasting impression of the late,
great James Brown dates to a 1989 interview in which
he was an inmate. What was it like to talk to the
"Godfather of Soul" by telephone from the State Park
Correctional Center in Columbia, S.C.? Sentencing
begins on the Network News
& Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Chevy's Ford and other SNL presidential
vehicles
12/28/06 05:35 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
The late Gerald Ford was the first
president to be lampooned on Saturday Night
Live. Where does he rank among the show's
all-time top 10 presidential sendups? See how we see
it on Making a List. There's
also an interview with Kyle Howard of My
Boys, a pleasantly surprising comedy that has
its first season finale on TBS cable Thursday
night (Dec. 28). Your venue is Network News
& Reviews.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Cuban on the Mark with 'GooTube'
12/27/06 08:07 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Mark Cuban has just posted a terrific
commentary on the perils and pitfalls of YouTube,
which he prefers to call GooTube in honor of Google's
$1.65 billion purchase. He's been bashing away for
quite a while, but this is very interesting and
well-researched. Shockingly, it's even
self-deprecatory in a spot or two. By all means, go
here to check it out. Cuban makes a
lot of good points, and he's absolutely right
about all the fake porn come-ons and
network-originated "commercials" that increasingly
are populating the site's front page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Momentum or not, here comes 2007
12/27/06 04:27 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Which shows, stars and networks have
strong winds behind them in 2007? And which are
stopped in their tracks? Check out our end-of-year
MO' and NO MO' rundown on the Network News
& Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Happy holidays in China: Time to celebrate with bop
bats
12/27/06 04:25 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
How was Christmas Eve in China?
Festive but very different, as Liz Ladach-Bark will
tell you in Barking from the
East.
Merry Christmas from our Homer to yours
12/22/06 01:02 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
It's time to call it a wrap for a few days. Merry Christmas to all from unclebarky.com, and we'll see you next Wednesday. In the meantime, if you'd like to spread a little holiday jeer, there's video of the warm, fuzzy Rosie O'Donnell/Donald Trump feud on the Network News & Reviews page. Otherwise, happy, happy everyone!
Ed Bark
Katie Couric in Dallas: A woman's touch pays off
12/21/06 06:03 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
By ED BARK
The CBS Evening News indeed is a different animal with Katie Couric in charge. Her in-and-out visit to Dallas Thursday underscored what the program never was or could be under traditionalists Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer.
Couric devoted the entire second half of the program to her exclusive interview with Karen James, widow of Mt. Hood climber Kelly James. They sat before a fireplace in her Dallas home, with the family Christmas tree very much in evidence whenever the camera caught Karen in extreme closeup. She constantly fought back tears in talking about her husband's love of life and untimely death. They last talked on his cell phone from the snow cave that became his tomb.
"It's the kind of call that you would never want to receive," she told Couric. "And so we both were acting, and it was like there was nothing wrong. And I could tell by his voice that he was in trouble. And I told him I just decorated the Christmas tree and that he needed to come home and see it. He said he would. And I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me. And I told him to stay warm and stay awake."
Woman to woman it was, with an empathetic Couric slowly, surely and gently getting the goods. (You can see her in action and read a transcript of the interview here.)
Competing anchors Brian Williams of NBC's Nightly News and Charles Gibson of ABC's World News couldn't have managed this very well. Nor would they have given half of their newscasts over to what in blunt terms is a sob story. Harrumph, that's not their style.
But Couric pulled it off because it's in her blood and, in no small part, her gender. That's not meant to be chauvinistic. A history-making woman flying solo on a network newscast should bring something more to the dinner table than remarked-upon wardrobe changes.
Couric's playing to what she deems her strengths. On camera she appears to be a good listener and/or confidante. So tell her more. It's not pure coincidence that most of TV's "Big Get" interviews are gotten by women. Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer and for a while, Connie Chung, have had the market all but cornered. Couric can play in their league, even if her playing field is still a cathedral compared to the likes of 20/20, Prime Time Live and Dateline, where confronting child predators is still a man's job.
What Couric did with Karen James can't be done every night on the Evening News, or probably even every week. But it's OK to pick your spots and air them out, as Couric also did with Michael J. Fox after he drew fire for his campaign spots in support of stem cell research.
Unfortunately, Couric wasn't available to be interviewed about any of this. She hastily flew back to New York, making time only for CBS11's Doug Dunbar, who dutifully promoted the Karen James interview on the station's 5 p.m. newscast.
That's the way the game's usually played. So nothing's changed there.
The King of all Christmas songs
12/21/06 12:46 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Is that a T-shirt you're wearing or are you just
happy to see me?
12/20/06 05:50 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Saturday Night Live's "Dick in
a Box" Christmas video already has spawned a T-shirt
brandishing those now famous assembly instructions
from Justin Timberlake. Those with the balls to wear
one can pre-order here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Katie Couric will interview Dallas widow of Mt. Hood
climber
12/20/06 12:16 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric has landed an exclusive interview with Dallasite Karen James, widow of Mt. Hood climber Kelly James. His body was found in a snow cave earlier this week after an exhaustive search that drew widespread news coverage.
The interview, to be conducted in Dallas Thursday (Dec. 21), will air on that night's Evening News, says CBS. Excerpts also will be shown on Friday's The Early Show.
Kelly James, 48, had been climbing with Brian Hall, 37, also of Dallas, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke, 36, of New York City. The other two climbers haven't yet been found.
Kelly had placed a distress call to his family on Dec. 10th. The cave where he died was traced via signals from his cell phone. Kelly and Karen James have four children, ages 20 to 25.
Ed Bark
Men behaving badly are a big part of TV's 2006
12/19/06 05:57 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
What have been the top 10 TV
developments of 2006? Check out unclebarky.com's
countdown on the Network News
& Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Double their pleasure, double their fun
12/19/06 12:12 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
By ED BARK
The Dallas Morning News got held up to ridicule twice late Monday night, which is nice work if you can get it.
The paper somehow managed to identify a picture of Jay Leno as David Letterman. Dave thought it was dumb enough to include in Late Show's "Small Town News" segment, in which he named the DMN. Tonight host Leno displayed and chortled at the mislabeled mug on his "Headlines" segment, but did not name the DMN.
Unclebarky.com is thinking of trying the same mistaken identity gambit with pictures of Ray Liotta and DMN editor Bob Mong. In fact, let's do it.
SNL scores with shorthand for Richard
12/19/06 12:09 AM Ed Bark | Permalink
Oprah strikes again
12/15/06 03:18 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
ABC will be airing two new big-money
shows from Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions. Find
out all about them on the TV Bulletin Board
page. NBC's got a new get-rich gambit, too, and it
premieres on Monday with Penn Jillette as host.
See what it's all about on Network News
& Reviews. And who are TV's all-time top
10 sourballs? In honor of the late, great Peter
Boyle, Uncle Barky takes his shots on Making a List.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Get your Golden Globes info
12/14/06 10:43 AM Ed Bark | Permalink
The Golden Globe nominations were
announced Thursday morning. Link to the complete list
and see how unclebarky.com feels about the TV choices
on the Network News
& Reviews page. You'll also find
commentary on two bizarro Christmas shows coming
your way.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
And this is the way it is: Amanda Congdon's new
ABCNews.com video blog makes her an instant rising
star
12/13/06 10:12 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
By ED BARK
Most of ABC News' old-line star journalists now are either deceased (Peter Jennings), have left the building (Ted Koppel, Brit Hume), are little-used (Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts) or keep blabbing away on entertainment specials and The View (Barbara Walters).
So it's a perfect setup, on ABCNews.com at least, for comely, attitudinal Amanda Congdon. She didn't train in the traditional trenches and would probably give Walter Cronkite the willies -- to use a term he might use.
On her first blogcast for ABC, she initially talked about "how much JavaScript sucks." It occurred to her while she drove to work. The 5 minute, 38 second mini-cast, which premiered this week, then discoursed on Tori Spelling's made-for-TV garage sale for her new reality show; the continuing SPAM epidemic; Nintendo's new Wii as a potential in-home gym; and the popularity of designing "virtual snowflakes" online as part of a new, touchy-feely Red Cross campaign.
She didn't want to get too carried away on the latter, though. "I sound like a pansy," she fretted, a simple declarative sentence that stately ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson generally tries to stay away from. But as ABCNews.com says by way of introduction, "The rules are changing."
Congdon, 25 and a Northwestern University grad, wore a figure-flattering, green Steely Dan t-shirt for her first outing. She prepped for this role on Rocketboom, an independent webcast that made her a big enough Internet star to play herself last season on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Her new ABCNews.com gig doesn't necessarily mean the end of Western civilization. But Congdon's "as if" voice inflections and Valley High vocab -- "OK, this is weird" -- almost instantly make Katie Couric seem like Estelle Getty.
Couric makes history in what had been a man's world, with her every move scrutinized and dissected. Congdon breezes onto her new scene almost undetected, inviting viewers to "take a little break, a little trip with me." Imagine Couric trying to set sail with that one.
Somehow it works for Congdon, who's clearly no Cue Cat. She looks very good to go in a Max Headroom world come to roost. Couric struggled with how to sign off the CBS Evening News, and even asked for viewer submissions. Congdon unflinchingly says, "Thanks for hangin' out today" as an appetizer. Then she closes the deal with, "C'mon, speak. Risk it."
She's no longer even a risky proposition for ABCNews.com, where the aforementioned Donaldson once blazed a trail with the first network webcast. He now pops up once a month or so on ABC's still conventional This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
It's odd, isn't it? Donaldson was exiled to the Web because the tube didn't want him anymore. Now ABC sees him as too cob-webbed for the Web.
Amanda Congdon's the way it's gonna be. And with Amanda, says ABCNews.com, "you aren't just a viewer -- you are an active partner in creating content."
Let's just hope that NBCNews.com doesn't counter by hiring Nicole Richie. Congdon's quite enough for now, thank you.
Dancing star Emmitt Smith steps up for charity
12/12/06 10:19 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Emmitt Smith and Hall of Famers Marcus Allen and Ronnie Lott helped raise more than $100,000 for underprivileged kids at a swank Dallas event. For the story and more pictures, slide on over to the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page, where you'll also see who Tony Romo once had the hots for.
Ed Bark
The Dirt on Courteney Cox
12/12/06 02:02 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Imagery is important in selling a new
TV series, particularly when the star is so
associated with an old TV series that's still
prospering in reruns. In that context, the FX cable
network has done an eye-popping job of repositioning
former Friends stalwart Courteney Cox as
tabloid editor Lucy Spiller in Dirt, which
premieres on Jan. 2nd.
Her new character "has a maniacal dedication to finding the truth, for reasons even she has yet to fully fathom," says FX in a spanking new press packet. "With the help of a schizophrenic paparazzo blessed with a genius for getting the money shot, Lucy exposes the hidden truth behind celebrity lives -- and also determines their fate."
Well now, that's quite a segue from playing Monica Geller Bing for a decade on NBCs most popular comedy. But times change. And so, submitted for your approval, we bring you the new Courteney Cox.
Ed Bark
Her new character "has a maniacal dedication to finding the truth, for reasons even she has yet to fully fathom," says FX in a spanking new press packet. "With the help of a schizophrenic paparazzo blessed with a genius for getting the money shot, Lucy exposes the hidden truth behind celebrity lives -- and also determines their fate."
Well now, that's quite a segue from playing Monica Geller Bing for a decade on NBCs most popular comedy. But times change. And so, submitted for your approval, we bring you the new Courteney Cox.
Ed Bark
C-Crap-PO: TV's spaced out Star Wars
embarrassment
12/11/06 05:10 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Unremittingly awful, The Star Wars
Holiday Special hit CBS in 1978 at a time when
George Lucas's mental makeup must have been in a
galaxy far far away. Principal stars Harrison Ford,
Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher signed on, with guest
stars Bea Arthur, Art Carney, Diahann Carroll, Harvey
Korman and The Jefferson Starship adding to what has
to be the most surreal TV undertaking in the history
of modern civilization. Urp, we have the
not-to-be-believed opening for you in remarkably
clear and damning video. May the farce be with you.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Two ways to jump-start your Monday
12/11/06 12:24 AM Ed Bark | Permalink
Uncle Barky's Christmas-iest TV people
are waiting to greet you on the Making a List page,
where you'll also find two terrific companion
videos to make your season bright. And be sure to
scroll down a bit on this page to read why Al
Michaels and John Madden talked a good game on an
otherwise dismal night for the Cowboys.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Michaels, Madden make Cowboys listenable
12/10/06 11:15 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
By ED BARK
Well, at least you got to hear a good game. And this time you didn't have to turn on the radio and turn down the TV sound.
NBC's Al Michaels and John Madden again carried the ball while the Cowboys dropped it Sunday night during a 42-17 pasting from the New Orleans Saints. Michaels remains the best play-by-play guy in the biz while Madden still dissects plays even better than he cuts into a steak.
The latter is easily parodied, particularly by impressionist Frank Caliendo. But when push comes to shove on a typical NFL play, it's Madden who usually knows precisely what happened and why. He had all the answers on the Saints' cleverly camouflaged first touchdown, scored by seldom-used fullback Mike Karney. And Madden perceptively noted in the first half that New Orleans coach Sean Payton had established the upper hand in offensive play-calling.
Michaels had a beautiful run in the first half, part of it luck. The city of Dallas has gone "ga-ga over (Tony) Romo," he told viewers. But coach Bill Parcells, the grinch who stole ga-ga, should consider replacing Larry David on HBO because "if there's one guy that can curb your enthusiasm, it's Bill."
NBC then showed a clip of Parcells downplaying Romo's previously strong play: "We've got a ways to go here, so put the anointing oil away," he said.
On the very next play, Romo threw an interception that led to the Saints' go-ahead-for-good touchdown.
"So I guess we will put the anointing oil away, at least on this drive," Michaels quickly ad-libbed.
The guy still has a way with words. Viewers were told early in the game that Saints QB Drew Brees had won a high school football championship a decade ago in Texas Stadium with Austin's Westlake High School. When Brees eventually threw his fifth touchdown pass, Michaels said, "He's used to the Friday Night Lights. Tonight it is Sunday Night lights out."
He also had the balls to rip the Cowboys' pyrotechnic halftime show, which left Texas Stadium in a smoky haze as the third quarter began.
It's doubly stupid in indoor arenas," said Michaels, who then referred to it as "some garbage at halftime" and "a disaster waiting to happen."
Michaels likewise didn't miss a beat after Reggie Bush scored a touchdown on a spectacular catch-and-run. He immediately sent a sympathy card to fans of the Houston Texans, which bypassed the chance to take the Southern Cal star with pick No. 1 in last spring's draft.
"Every Texans fan has to be saying, 'What in the hell did we do?' " Michaels said.
It was all in a night's work for the dean of NFL broadcasters. He even found a way to niftily reverse field after opening Sunday Night Football with a figurative yahoo.
" 'How 'bout them Cowboys' is the rallying cry once again in North Texas," Michaels said.
By game's end, he duly paid homage to Saints fans who were loudly whooping it up in the belly of the beast.
The new rallying cry, he said, is, "Who dat gonna beat dem Saints?"
Dem guys, Michaels and Madden, are still pretty damned good.
New directions in D-FW tele-news
12/08/06 05:29 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
A new news chief is coming to town,
and he'll be calling the shots at two D-FW stations.
Find out more on the Dallas-Fort Worth
TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Woo-hoo: Unclebarky.com hits the century mark
12/08/06 05:12 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Fledgling unclebarky. com reached a
milestone at mid-afternoon Friday, hitting the
100,000 mark in total page views. The site was
launched from unclebarky HQ in Garland, TX on Sept.
17 of this year.
This is a mere pittance compared to the Goliaths of the etherworld, and might even qualify as a pimple on an elephant's behind when compared to other Dallas-based sites such as FrontBurner and Unfair Park. But I'm celebrating anyway. This has been a start-from-scratch operation without any bankrollers in tow. It depends solely on you, its faithful readers, to keep the faith. So take a deep bow. You know who you are.
A little extra advertising wouldn't hurt either, of course. But my very grateful thanks go out to The Lodge for buying into unclebarky.com in its early stages. OK, enough. Except to say that, in the end, only you can help the site to live long and prosper as an objective TV watchdog in the country's 6th largest market. So far so good. And your continued patronage is sincerely appreciated.
Ed Bark
This is a mere pittance compared to the Goliaths of the etherworld, and might even qualify as a pimple on an elephant's behind when compared to other Dallas-based sites such as FrontBurner and Unfair Park. But I'm celebrating anyway. This has been a start-from-scratch operation without any bankrollers in tow. It depends solely on you, its faithful readers, to keep the faith. So take a deep bow. You know who you are.
A little extra advertising wouldn't hurt either, of course. But my very grateful thanks go out to The Lodge for buying into unclebarky.com in its early stages. OK, enough. Except to say that, in the end, only you can help the site to live long and prosper as an objective TV watchdog in the country's 6th largest market. So far so good. And your continued patronage is sincerely appreciated.
Ed Bark
Rene Syler's other side of the story
12/08/06 01:31 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Former Dallas anchor Rene Syler is
leaving CBS' The Early Show, but not in the
tidy way described in a network press release. Read
why she's moving on and what she's facing in a
candid, one-on-one interview with unclebarky.com.
Your venue is the Network News
& Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Chip, Clarice, Dale and Wayne
12/07/06 04:54 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
D'oh, how'd they'd miss these?
12/07/06 02:49 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
The TV Land cable network has put out
its list of the 100 Greatest TV Quotes and
Catchphrases. Uncle Barky is shocked and stunned
at what's been left out. For a link to TV Land's
choices and a rebuttal, please click over to Making a List. Also,
Belo8's 10 p.m. news is on a hot streak. Are Dale
Hansen's newfound neckties the difference-makers?
See the Dallas-Fort Worth
TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Jump back Jack: 24's Season 5 DVD set includes
exclusive "prequel" to Season 6
12/06/06 08:11 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
By ED BARK
Bearded, brutalized and ultimately duped, agent Jack Bauer has endured a dispiriting off-season in China while Fox's 24 gears up for another go.
The show's fifth real-time adventure, newly available on a seven-disc set, has a seven minute, 10 second made-for-DVD prequel that begins seven months after Jack's abduction by Chinese government operatives. Without being overly specific, let's say he's very much the worse for wear after repeated electro-shock jolts. We rejoin him with one in progress. Bloodied Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) is hanging barechested with wrists shackled on high.
"He'll die before he talks," a torturer fears. At stake is the identity of an undercover Asian operative whom Jack resolutely refuses to give up.
Events then take a sudden turn after he's tossed back into his cell. It's all very dark and duplicitous, with Jack emerging more wounded than ever. We'll get back to you with further details when it's closer to the Season 6 premiere on Sunday, Jan. 14.
The Season 5 set also includes a collection of deleted scenes, only one of them of real note. The producers for some reason excised a swift kick to a crum-bum cab driver's nuts by CTU agent Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub).
Rajskub should have executed that maneuver in real-life when moderator Rush Limbaugh decided to kiss her full on the lips at a recent counter-terrorism panel. See Above the Fold's November archives if you haven't yet seen the picture.
At least $10 grand for a grand prize
12/06/06 06:04 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Emmitt Smith Charities is offering the
"ultimate Christmas gift" for well-heeled Texans who
also are quick on their feet.
The former Cowboys great and his Dancing with the Stars co-champ, Cheryl Burke, are auctioning off a private lesson and an "exclusive dinner" prepared by Mansion executive chef John Tesar. The winner can invite up to four additional couples
It will take at least $10,000 to get in the game, with the first five emailers committing to that sum eligible to bid on the prize via a dial-in connection to a live Dec. 12 auction at The Mansion. The event otherwise is private.
Co-sponsor Park Place Maserati will provide the winning bidder with a Quattroporte for the week. Those with deep enough pockets -- Uncle Barkys need not apply -- must put a $10,000 hold on their credit card by emailing rsvp@parkplactexas.com. Bids must be received by noon on Dec. 12th, with only the first five accepted. All proceeds will benefit Emmitt Smith Charities, which provides scholarships to underprivileged youth in Pensacola, FLA.
Ed Bark
The former Cowboys great and his Dancing with the Stars co-champ, Cheryl Burke, are auctioning off a private lesson and an "exclusive dinner" prepared by Mansion executive chef John Tesar. The winner can invite up to four additional couples
It will take at least $10,000 to get in the game, with the first five emailers committing to that sum eligible to bid on the prize via a dial-in connection to a live Dec. 12 auction at The Mansion. The event otherwise is private.
Co-sponsor Park Place Maserati will provide the winning bidder with a Quattroporte for the week. Those with deep enough pockets -- Uncle Barkys need not apply -- must put a $10,000 hold on their credit card by emailing rsvp@parkplactexas.com. Bids must be received by noon on Dec. 12th, with only the first five accepted. All proceeds will benefit Emmitt Smith Charities, which provides scholarships to underprivileged youth in Pensacola, FLA.
Ed Bark
ABC to Lost: Later, man
12/05/06 09:13 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
ABC stations could benefit in a big way from Hurley's new time slot.
By ED BARK
ABC affiliates received an early Christmas present Tuesday, with the network announcing that Lost will move back an hour Wednesdays when it returns on Feb. 7.
Late night local newscasts craving a big lead-in audience on that night at last will get one after enduring sizable ratings dropoffs from post-Lost attractions such as last season's Invasion and this fall's The Nine. In closely fought markets such as Dallas-Fort Worth, a Lost boost could be a difference-maker. Belo8, D-FW's ABC station, lost November's 10 p.m. newscast battle by just two-tenths of a rating point (4,760 homes) to NBC5. Lost will begin its run at 9 p.m. central (10 eastern) just in time for the February sweeps.
Lost's replacements are two new comedies, both premiering on Jan. 3. The Knights of Prosperity originally scheduled for the fall, features a gang of bumblers plotting to rob Mick Jagger's apartment. The still rockin' Rolling Stone has a cameo appearance in the first episode, with Donal Logue (Grounded for Life) otherwise heading the cast.
In Case of Emergency also goes the hapless misfit route. David Arquette fronts a quartet of "emotionally and physically injured oddballs" who resume their old high school friendships after a series of misfortunes throw them together.
ABC plans to lead off Wednesdays with back-to-back episodes of According to Jim from Jan. 3-17. Then George Lopez will return on Jan. 24 to team with Jim.
Left unmentioned is the serial drama Day Break, which replaced Lost on Nov. 15 and has been averaging just 7.6 million viewers compared to Lost's 17.8 million. ABC so far has Day Break episodes scheduled through Dec. 20.
There's just something about the name Simpson
12/04/06 11:29 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
By ED BARK
A few basic questions on dumb belle Jessica Simpson's latest Daisy Mae day. Just what the hell was she doing at the Kennedy Center Honors anyway? How does that compute? Who invited her to perform in tribute to honoree Dolly Parton? Have the admission standards plunged all the way down to her level? Maybe she thought they were the KFC Honors, but the organizers should have known better.
For those who haven't heard yet, Simpson blew the lyrics to Nine to Five, even though cue cards were in place. Then she hustled off in tears after saying, "Dolly, you make me so nervous I can't even sing the words right."
Now the annual Kennedy Center Honors telecast, scheduled for Dec. 26 on CBS, will be sullied one or the way other. If Simpson hits the cutting room floor, critics will charge CBS with altering the reality of the ceremony. If she's included, then her performance becomes the Center's center-ring attraction, re-detracting from what's supposed to be one of the performing arts' classiest nights.
Simpson will never go to the head of anyone's class. Putting her in close proximity with honorees Parton, Steven Spielberg, Zubin Mehta, Smokey Robinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber was a dumber idea than even she could muster. What is this, Bozo's Circus?
A few basic questions on dumb belle Jessica Simpson's latest Daisy Mae day. Just what the hell was she doing at the Kennedy Center Honors anyway? How does that compute? Who invited her to perform in tribute to honoree Dolly Parton? Have the admission standards plunged all the way down to her level? Maybe she thought they were the KFC Honors, but the organizers should have known better.
For those who haven't heard yet, Simpson blew the lyrics to Nine to Five, even though cue cards were in place. Then she hustled off in tears after saying, "Dolly, you make me so nervous I can't even sing the words right."
Now the annual Kennedy Center Honors telecast, scheduled for Dec. 26 on CBS, will be sullied one or the way other. If Simpson hits the cutting room floor, critics will charge CBS with altering the reality of the ceremony. If she's included, then her performance becomes the Center's center-ring attraction, re-detracting from what's supposed to be one of the performing arts' classiest nights.
Simpson will never go to the head of anyone's class. Putting her in close proximity with honorees Parton, Steven Spielberg, Zubin Mehta, Smokey Robinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber was a dumber idea than even she could muster. What is this, Bozo's Circus?
Lane Garrison plays defense via attorney
12/04/06 11:15 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Former Prison Break star Lane
Garrison has hired a lawyer to explain his tragic
actions late Saturday night in Beverly Hills. The
Dallas-born actor was behind the wheel of an SUV that
hit a tree and resulted in the death of a 17-year-old
boy, according to police reports. The latest
information is here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Just walk away, Rene
12/04/06 06:42 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
By ED BARK
Rene Syler is exiting CBS' The Early Show after a four-year run and a public battle with breast cancer.
Syler, 43, anchored at CBS11 and previously Belo8 in D-FW before vaulting to a national stage in October 2002. Her last day on Early Show will be Dec. 22nd, the network announced Monday.
Syler said she plans to spend the early part of next year promoting her first book, Good Enough Mother.
"I very much look forward to meeting in person all the people I've woken up with for the last four years," she said.
In a later interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Syler said she will be undergoing a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy early next month. Her CBS bosses, who knew of her impending surgery, recently told her that Early Show would be "going in a different direction" that didn't include her.
"I was surprised," she said. "We mutually decided it was a good time to move on."
CBS News did not return emails on Monday, the day it announced Syler's departure. She told The Inquirer on Thursday that her impending surgery is "pretty radical. I've been thinking about it for a while. The difficult part is that I have two young kids. They can't be without their mommy. I don't want to be in a position where I'm fighting for my life."
Early Show long has been a distant third in the network early morning race, with news president Sean McManus promising to rejuvenate the program and address a yawning ratings gap between CBS and ABC's runnerup Good Morning America. Holdover anchors include Julie Chen, wife of CBS boss of bosses Leslie Moonves. One persistent rumor is that McManus is wooing CNN's Anderson Cooper to join CBS' breakfast club.
McManus praised Syler Monday as "an important and wonderfully spirited part" of Early Show. "Her enthusiasm and ability to communicate with and touch people have served her and the broadcast very well."
Syler anchored at CBS11 from 1997 to 2002, and before that spent five years at Belo8. She met her husband, Buff Parham, a former sales manager at Belo8, while they both were working at the ABC station.
Hansen style: Now he comes with a tie
12/04/06 05:28 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
What's that around sports anchor Dale
Hansen's neck? And no, it's not a noose. Get the
surprising answer on the Ask Uncle Barky page,
where your questions about national and local TV
are my priorities. Also, check out Dallas-Fort Worth
TV to see if Sunday's Cowboys game beat the
Turkey Day contest in the local Nielsens. And
don't miss NBC's Heroes tonight. Its
startling conclusion is the last you'll see of the
hit series until Jan. 22. For a preview, go to
Network News
& Reviews.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Dallas-born actor involved in fatal Beverly Hills
auto accident
12/04/06 09:24 AM Ed Bark | Permalink
Police reports say that J.J. Pearce
High School grad and former Prison Break
co-star Lane Garrison was involved in an
SUV accident late Saturday night in which one of
the passengers, a 17-year-old boy, later died.
Garrison, 26, reportedly was treated for minor
injuries. Police are investigating who was driving
the vehicle, which is registered to Garrison. Two
15-year-old girls reportedly also were in the SUV
when it jumped a curb and struck a tree in Beverly
Hills.
Garrison played escapee David "Tweener" Apolskis on Prison Break, which is being filmed entirely in North Texas this season. His character was killed several episodes ago by renegade FBI agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner). The series currently is on hiatus before a scheduled Jan. 22 return with a recap of the second season's first 13 episodes. For an initial account of the accident, go here.
Ed Bark
Garrison played escapee David "Tweener" Apolskis on Prison Break, which is being filmed entirely in North Texas this season. His character was killed several episodes ago by renegade FBI agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner). The series currently is on hiatus before a scheduled Jan. 22 return with a recap of the second season's first 13 episodes. For an initial account of the accident, go here.
Ed Bark
Mike and Willa. Tony and Eva. Uh-oh
12/03/06 09:30 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Star athletes and Hollywood stars
regularly hook up for better or worse. Mostly worse.
Mike Modano and Tony Parker, newly engaged to Willa
Ford and Eva Longoria, are getting ready to tie
themselves in knots. On Making a List, check out
our Top 10 countdown of previous messy marriages
involving these two fields of play. And scroll
down on this page to relive the exploits of NBC5's
onetime lizard king while he figures out what to
do next.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Former NBC5 lizard man Michael Scott: over and out
12/03/06 12:52 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
Colleague Aaron Barnhart of The
Kansas City Star reports that former NBC5 anchor
Michael Scott abruptly got bounced Friday night as
anchor of KCTV5's 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. Station
management would not comment on the reasons behind
Scott's dismissal. He had joined the Kansas City
station in August 2004.
Scott, 52, became famous while at NBC5 for his near-hysterical reaction to a little lizard that suddenly befriended him during an animal segment in August 2002. Jay Leno replayed it for a national audience on The Tonight Show, and you can relive the memories here. For Aaron's account, go here.
Ed Bark
Scott, 52, became famous while at NBC5 for his near-hysterical reaction to a little lizard that suddenly befriended him during an animal segment in August 2002. Jay Leno replayed it for a national audience on The Tonight Show, and you can relive the memories here. For Aaron's account, go here.
Ed Bark
Team coverage you can count on
12/01/06 02:23 PM Ed Bark | Permalink
We're looking out for you with
unclebarky.com's first All-Star team of D-FW anchors
and reporters. Your field of play is Dallas-Fort Worth
TV, where you also can see how the "Arctic
Blast" heated local news ratings to warm and
toasty.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark