Apr 2012
Heart-spiking Mavs playoff loss leads all weekend programming
04/30/12 04:12 PM
The snake-bitten Dallas Mavericks' last-second loss to Oklahoma City Saturday night had more viewers than any other weekend program. And its audience on ESPN was strikingly more sizable than for the homegrown/homer telecast on TXA21. The complete Nielsen numbers are on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Also, the White House Correspondents Association again makes an ass of itself via its annual star-dudded D.C. dinner.
Ed Bark
Also, the White House Correspondents Association again makes an ass of itself via its annual star-dudded D.C. dinner.
Ed Bark
Musing the news with WFAA8 reporter David Schechter
04/27/12 12:45 PM
WFAA8 reporter David Schechter has a nice combination going for him: whimsical, insightful, forthcoming. Not only that, he doesn't know this post is coming -- on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Business as (un)usual with renewal of Fringe; and oily Texan Russell Hantz strikes again
04/27/12 10:08 AM
Fox had all but sounded the death knell for Fringe before giving it a reprieve Thursday evening. The story behind the story is on our Network News & Reviews page.
Also, erstwhile Texas oilman Russell Hantz, the arch villain on three Survivors, has a new line of dirty work in Houston. Our review of A&E's Flipped Off is here.
Ed Bark
Also, erstwhile Texas oilman Russell Hantz, the arch villain on three Survivors, has a new line of dirty work in Houston. Our review of A&E's Flipped Off is here.
Ed Bark
A little bit of de candor in Lifetime's The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet
04/25/12 05:24 PM
Ever hopeful of re-establishing contact with his hard-to-find feminine side, Uncle Barky reviews "the universal language of women" supposedly on display in Lifetime's new The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet. Her co-executive producer is Demi Moore. Read more on the Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Yu tube mania -- the sequel
04/25/12 01:07 PM
Fox Sports Southwest reaped more Yu Darvish dividends Tuesday night during his home field mastery of the New York Yankees. All rival TV attractions were hit by beanballs. Check out the D-FW numbers on our latest Nielsen ratings "snapshot."
Also, we take a cursory look at Tuesday's Deion and Pilar Sanders coverage.
Ed Bark
Also, we take a cursory look at Tuesday's Deion and Pilar Sanders coverage.
Ed Bark
Worst game show ever? Syfy gives it a game go with Jaleel White-hosted Total Blackout
04/24/12 02:50 PM
When the one great scorer comes to mark against your name . . . well, you'd best hope He didn't see you in Total Blackout. Our review is here.
Plus, D-FW's weather women have been subbing like crazy lately. And Monday's D-FW Nielsen ratings "snapshot" shows how the Rangers fared this time against some of rival networks' heaviest hitters.
Ed Bark
Plus, D-FW's weather women have been subbing like crazy lately. And Monday's D-FW Nielsen ratings "snapshot" shows how the Rangers fared this time against some of rival networks' heaviest hitters.
Ed Bark
CW's L.A. Complex a cut above the norm on a down-and-out network
04/23/12 04:26 PM
The CW's L.A. Complex premieres Tuesday (April 24) in the stretch run of a barely visible season for the pint-sized network. It's worth a watch, but what are the odds of that? Our review is here.
Also, the Texas Rangers remained on a ratings roll over the weekend, even with two day games. Check out the latest D-FW ratings snapshot.
Ed Bark
Also, the Texas Rangers remained on a ratings roll over the weekend, even with two day games. Check out the latest D-FW ratings snapshot.
Ed Bark
Fox in celebratory mood with prime-time special marking 25th anniversary
04/20/12 03:24 PM
Once derided as the "coat hanger network," Fox sports an overall better wardrobe than its rivals after 25 years on the air. An assessment is on the Network News & Reviews page. And on Back Channels, we recycle a story published near the eve of Fox's April 5, 1987 launch.
Plus, how did Fox Sports Southwest's Yu tube fare against Fox's American Idol Thursday night. The eye-opening results are on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Plus, how did Fox Sports Southwest's Yu tube fare against Fox's American Idol Thursday night. The eye-opening results are on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
HBO's Veep is no Washington monument but might be a reflecting (cess)pool
04/19/12 05:42 PM
Washington is full of nothing but conniving, conscience-less, callow pols and their aides. But is that a downer in a down economy or a good reason to watch HBO's new core-value-less comedy Veep? Our review is here.
Also, the Tuesday/Wednesday D-FW Nielsen ratings are posted.
Ed Bark
Also, the Tuesday/Wednesday D-FW Nielsen ratings are posted.
Ed Bark
A salute to the late, great Dick Clark
04/18/12 08:12 PM
April has brought the deaths of two towering TV icons, Mike Wallace and now Dick Clark. The farewell to Clark is on our Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Former NBC5 reporter Grant Stinchfield lately running for Congress while also advertising against his old station
04/18/12 05:35 PM
Viewers of Wednesday's 4 p.m. newscast on NBC5 might have been surprised to see one of the station's former veteran reporters in a campaign ad aimed at his old employer.
Grant Stinchfield is running for Congress now. And certainly not timidly. Get the complete story, including an interview with Stinchfield and NBC5's response, on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Grant Stinchfield is running for Congress now. And certainly not timidly. Get the complete story, including an interview with Stinchfield and NBC5's response, on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Fox4 catches a break with new Cowboys TV schedule; keep Knope alive on Parks and Recreation
04/18/12 10:32 AM
The 2012 Dallas Cowboys TV schedule, released Tuesday, is getting much better reviews at Fox4 than the last two did. Get the details on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Plus, Thursday's return of NBC's Parks and Recreation offers a welcome break from the presidential campaign. Namely via Leslie Knope's ("Knope We Can") campaign for a Pawnee City Council seat. See our Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Plus, Thursday's return of NBC's Parks and Recreation offers a welcome break from the presidential campaign. Namely via Leslie Knope's ("Knope We Can") campaign for a Pawnee City Council seat. See our Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark
New day job for former CBS11/TXA21 anchor-reporter Nerissa Knight
04/17/12 10:43 AM
Nerissa Knight is back -- at least in a small way -- 16 months after leaving CBS11/TXA21. She'll be the new anchor of the daily "Need to Know" segments on Eye Opener. Details are on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Plus, ABC's Good Morning America ends a more than 16-year winning streak by NBC's Today while rivals also creep up on the Peacock's No. 1-rated Nightly News. And a D-FW reporter from a station other than WFAA8 wins a significant investigative reporting award.
Ed Bark
Plus, ABC's Good Morning America ends a more than 16-year winning streak by NBC's Today while rivals also creep up on the Peacock's No. 1-rated Nightly News. And a D-FW reporter from a station other than WFAA8 wins a significant investigative reporting award.
Ed Bark
It's a boy -- and a girl -- for WFAA8's Izaguirre
04/13/12 12:17 PM
Cynthia Izaguirre, co-anchor of WFAA8's Daybreak, delivered her twins a month ahead of schedule Thursday night. All is well, though. The names, weights and WFAA8's announcement are on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Also, Thursday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are posted.
Ed Bark
Also, Thursday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are posted.
Ed Bark
NBC5 tabs Atlanta's Mark Hayes as early morning co-anchor
04/13/12 10:50 AM
Mark Hayes, a decade-long veteran of the early shift at Atlanta's WAGA-TV, will be joining Fort Worth-based NBC5 in May as the station's new co-anchor. Details are on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Woo-woo-woo-hoo: Guys now get to have their Sex and the City
04/12/12 05:15 PM
Women made an event out of the Sex and the City movie (well, the first one at least), trooping en masse in gal pal solidarity. Now it's time for us male knuckleheads to unite. The Three Stooges movie opens Friday. We've prepared a little appetizer on the Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
The network of Sex and the City reverses course with Girls
04/12/12 02:13 PM
HBO has another series about four single women living in Manhattan. But Girls, premiering Sunday, April 15th, is shorn of any glamour and far more "real" as a result. But is that what most viewers want? Our review is here.
Also, Wednesday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are in the house.
Ed Bark
Also, Wednesday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are in the house.
Ed Bark
No change of pace for CBS, which comes calling with crime again in NYC 22
04/11/12 04:29 PM
CBS for a long time has made a killing with crime. And with its wealth of successful whodunits, it's premiering just two new mid-to-late-season series. The sitcom Rob clearly won't be invited back. And it's probably best not to bet the house -- or a pup tent for that matter -- on the staying power of NYC 22, which launches Sunday. Even though it's another crime hour. Our review is here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
WFAA8 shuffles Daybreak deck during Izaguirre's maternity leave
04/11/12 12:31 PM
Dallas-based WFAA8 has made some interesting changes to its Daybreak lineup while co-anchor Cynthia Izaguirre is on maternity leave (and on full bed rest at the moment, expecting twins). Get the details on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page, where you also can see how well the Texas Rangers did in Tuesday's local ratings with Neftali Feliz making his first start.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
ABC's Don't Trust the B turns out to be pretty -- bitchin'
04/10/12 02:22 PM
ABC's last new scripted sitcom of the season, Don't Trust the B ---- In Apartment 23, just might end up being a keeper. It's also the network's second late season arrival in which "Bitch" is kept out of the title but used in the show. Our review is here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Yu and the Rangers score big in toe-to-toe matchups with Dancing and The Voice
04/10/12 11:18 AM
Was Yu Darvish's major league debut Monday night really that big a deal? According to the D-FW Nielsen ratings, yeah, it really was. Get the complete breakdown of how the Texas Rangers and their star attraction did against a murderer's row of competing network programming. It's all on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Yu faces the Mariners -- and heavier hitters on rival networks
04/09/12 03:56 PM
The Texas Rangers' Yu Darvish makes his major league debut Monday night against visiting Seattle. But look what else he's up against. Can he prevail and give Fox Sports Southwest one of its biggest regular season audiences ever? We check out his opposition on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Rangers vs. Masters: which had Sunday's biggest sports audience?
04/09/12 01:58 PM
D-FW segued from golf to baseball Sunday, with nice-sized audiences for each. But did the Rangers" 5-0 win on ESPN's showcase Sunday night game have enough pulling power to outdraw a Masters that went into OT? The weekend Nielsen ratings are on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
The late Mike Wallace: He was a recovering father, too
04/09/12 12:55 PM
Mike Wallace, who died Saturday at age 93, is renowned for his "pit-bull" interviewing style, as even CBS put it in the opening sentence of its tribute. I'm remembering him a little differently, as a father who re-connected with his famous son, Chris Wallace, after early years of neglect. Drawn from first-hand interviews with both of them, you can read about this side of Mike Wallace on our Network News & Reviews page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Happy Easter, everybody!!!
04/06/12 03:41 PM
Sorry. It made me laugh.
However you celebrate Easter, have a great one!
Ed Bark
Dale Hansen's short, sweet goodbye to Joe Avezzano
04/06/12 03:00 PM
WFAA8 anchor Dale Hansen and former Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano were longtime buddies with big yaps. Both would readily admit as much. Hansen's brief but emotional goodbye to his friend aired on Thursday's 10 p.m. newscast, and the video is on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Plus, Thursday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are in the house.
Ed Bark
Plus, Thursday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are in the house.
Ed Bark
Lifetime flaunts 'em and Jennifer Love Hewitt is happy to comply in The Client List
04/06/12 01:43 PM
One of Lifetime's most popular movies, The Client List, returns to the network in series form Sunday night. Waco's own Jennifer Love Hewitt again is front and center. Boy, is she ever. Our review is here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Mood over Miami (circa 1959) in Starz's Magic City
04/05/12 05:45 PM
The play''s the thing at Miami Beach's posh Miramar Playa hotel, fictional setting for Starz's richly appointed Mad Men era drama series. It bursts into view on Friday, April 6th, and our review is here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Ex-actress finds her own Graceland in God is the Bigger Elvis
04/05/12 10:46 AM
As a young actress, Dolores Hart sustained Elvis Presley's first on-screen kiss in 1957's Loving You. All these years later, she's now known as the Mother Prioress of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in rural Connecticut. It's quite a story, and HBO has it with the Oscar-nominated God is the Bigger Elvis, making its TV premiere Thursday night. Our review is here, along with a brief account of your friendly content provider's formative years with nuns.
Plus, Wednesday's D-FW Nielsen ratings show that NBC really shouldn't have bothered.
Ed Bark
Plus, Wednesday's D-FW Nielsen ratings show that NBC really shouldn't have bothered.
Ed Bark
ABC hits D.C. hard with stupidly entertaining Scandal
04/04/12 05:52 PM
Washington's gone way over the top anyway. So Scandal is what it gets. It's the latest overwrought, over-cooked melodrama from Shonda Rhimes of Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice fame. But for the most part at least it's not boring. Our review is here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
WFAA8 draws biggest audiences for afternoon tornado coverage
04/04/12 12:45 PM
Nielsen Media Research says that WFAA8 had the most D-FW viewers during Tuesday afternoon's breaking coverage of dangerous weather throughout the area. Get our complete ratings wrap-up on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Also, David Letterman sucks up to Keith Olbermann during a disappointing Late Show interview.
Ed Bark
Also, David Letterman sucks up to Keith Olbermann during a disappointing Late Show interview.
Ed Bark
NBC's Best Friends Forever might be fit for your worst enemy
04/03/12 05:40 PM
NBC sets forth with its last new scripted series of the season Wednesday. Shouldn't have bothered. Our review is here.
Plus, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson both are good to go through 2014 under their new deals with CBS. And we look at Monday's biggest programming faceoff of this season in the latest Nielsen ratings "snapshot."
Ed Bark
Plus, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson both are good to go through 2014 under their new deals with CBS. And we look at Monday's biggest programming faceoff of this season in the latest Nielsen ratings "snapshot."
Ed Bark
Kudos to all of D-FW's TV news providers for their continuous Tuesday storm coverage
04/03/12 05:32 PM
Tuesday afternoon's weather was uncommonly fierce throughout the D-FW viewing area. And TV stations responded by scrapping their entertainment lineups and providing a genuine public service. We take a closer look on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
WFAA8's Campos set to sign new contract that will keep her anchoring at 10 as part-time staffer
04/02/12 03:44 PM
WFAA8's Gloria Campos, who became the Dallas station's first Hispanic anchor in 1984, is ready to sign a new deal that will cut both her hours and her pay. She'll still be co-anchoring the ABC affiliate's featured 10 p.m. newscasts, though. Details are on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Plus, Monday morning was unusually active on the gamesmanship front, with ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Today and CBS' This Morning all jumping in with high-profile stunts. Read more on the Network News & Reviews page. The weekend D-FW Nielsen ratings also are in, with CBS savoring their country-fried flavor Sunday night.
Ed Bark
Plus, Monday morning was unusually active on the gamesmanship front, with ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Today and CBS' This Morning all jumping in with high-profile stunts. Read more on the Network News & Reviews page. The weekend D-FW Nielsen ratings also are in, with CBS savoring their country-fried flavor Sunday night.
Ed Bark
Computer dies but unclebarky.com lives on
04/02/12 12:13 AM
I wish this had been an April Fools' joke, but no such luck.
After five-and-a-half years of incessant keyboard pounding, the hard drive on my iMac apparently has died of cardiac arrest. I had saved all files on a backup hard drive, except for anything published since March 15th. Those posts had to be re-pasted and re-posted, but in the transition the original publication dates and the attached comments were lost. And some of the remaining comments under the relative handful of re-posted stories have nothing to do with the subject matter.
But any articles of import -- I've sacrified a few of the Local Nielsen ratings snapshots -- at least are back among the living. The links within the stories won't work, though. But believe me, this took a lot of work. And you should now be able to comment or re-comment if you'd like.
Future posts should be OK. Sorry for the inconvenience, and I'll probably need a new computer very soon. But the back-up hard drive seems to be working so far. So onward.
Since this is a new month, here's another reminder to make the amazon.com purchases you were going to make anyway by first clicking on any of the Amazon ads on unclebarky.com. A small percentage of whatever you spend will then be paid as a commission to your friendly content provider. Every little bit helps, and many thanks to those who have been regularly making their Amazon buys this way for months or in some cases, years.
Also, you can follow me on Twitter if you'd like at unclebarkycom.
Thanks again for your patronage, support, and in this case, your understanding.
Ed Bark
After five-and-a-half years of incessant keyboard pounding, the hard drive on my iMac apparently has died of cardiac arrest. I had saved all files on a backup hard drive, except for anything published since March 15th. Those posts had to be re-pasted and re-posted, but in the transition the original publication dates and the attached comments were lost. And some of the remaining comments under the relative handful of re-posted stories have nothing to do with the subject matter.
But any articles of import -- I've sacrified a few of the Local Nielsen ratings snapshots -- at least are back among the living. The links within the stories won't work, though. But believe me, this took a lot of work. And you should now be able to comment or re-comment if you'd like.
Future posts should be OK. Sorry for the inconvenience, and I'll probably need a new computer very soon. But the back-up hard drive seems to be working so far. So onward.
Since this is a new month, here's another reminder to make the amazon.com purchases you were going to make anyway by first clicking on any of the Amazon ads on unclebarky.com. A small percentage of whatever you spend will then be paid as a commission to your friendly content provider. Every little bit helps, and many thanks to those who have been regularly making their Amazon buys this way for months or in some cases, years.
Also, you can follow me on Twitter if you'd like at unclebarkycom.
Thanks again for your patronage, support, and in this case, your understanding.
Ed Bark