Aug 2010
A Palin, "The Hoff" and a former Super Bowl champion QB who's not Troy Aikman
08/31/10 11:27 AM
While American Idol continues
to vacillate over judges, Dancing With the
Stars kicked up its heels anew with another dozen
celebrity hoofers. The live announcement came Monday
night amid the august surroundings of -- Bachelor
Pad. Our rundown is here. Also, another in
our pre-fall season trips to TV THEME SONG-ville is freshly
posted. And the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings again
provide nice news for the first place Texas
Rangers.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Fallon-led Emmys offer two-tiered presentation on TV and web
08/30/10 03:56 AM
Another Emmy extravaganza is in the
books. And this was the first one to offer both a
conventional TV presentation and a "Backstage"
webcast. We look at the ABCs of NBC's two-tiered coverage
while also rating Jimmy Fallon's hosting skills.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Riding the first-place Rangers with broadcasters Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve
08/27/10 02:34 PM
Record ratings for Fox Sports Southwest telecasts of Texas Rangers games have put announcers Josh Lewin and Tom Grieve in front of more eyeballs than ever before. We visited them in the booth before Thursday night's game against the Twins. Subjects ranged from "yuck monkeying it up" to Tim McCarver to the latest onslaught of grandma's baked treats. Plus, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are in and we have another episode in our pre-fall season feature, TV THEME SONG-ville.
Ed Bark
The slow reveal: it used to be one day at a time for TV's climactic extended forecasts
08/26/10 12:16 PM
Back before all the on-air graphics
kicked in, weathercasters had their hands full with
manually operated equipment. Imagine the built-in
suspense when extended forecasts were unveiled one
after the other. We've got video proof here while also raising
the question of whether any of D-FW's major TV
news providers might want to consider a "Throwback
Week" in which other antiques return. Plus, the
latest D-FW Nielsen ratings show
the Texas Rangers flexing mightily again. And
Episode 6 of our pre-season warmup act -- TV THEME SONG-ville -- reprises the
most majestic mood music ever for an HBO movie or
miniseries.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
WFAA8 investigator Shipp again shapes the news
08/25/10 03:30 PM
Another high school athletic program
is in the cross-hairs of veteran WFAA8 gumshoe Brett
Shipp, who painted a convincing picture of wrongdoing
with Tuesday night's lengthy look at a star Southlake
Carroll High School quarterback whose eligibility
seemingly is in serious question. We analyze his latest expose here while our
Back Channels page rewinds to March
14, 1994 for a look at Shipp as a hotshot
investigator for KDFW-TV (Channel 4). He'd been
passed over by WFAA8, but his father, Bert, then
the station's longtime assignments editor, made
sure that wouldn't last much longer.
Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are in, and we have a fifth episode of our pre-season TV THEME SONG-ville feature.
Ed Bark
Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are in, and we have a fifth episode of our pre-season TV THEME SONG-ville feature.
Ed Bark
Over-promiser: Survivor host Jeff Probst said he'd ( . . . ) if Jimmy Johnson played the game
08/24/10 05:12 PM
Celebrities sometimes say the damndest
things to unclebarky.com. Survivor host Jeff
Probst is the latest to make a promise he likely
won't keep after former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson
officially joined the cast of this fall's
Survivor: Nicaragua. Get the particulars here, plus
Probst's latest take on former Survivor stallion
Colby Donaldson of Christoval, TX. Also, they're
seriously changing some rules next month on the
syndicated Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Host
Meredith Vieira expounds on my home away from
home, locatetv.com.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Twitting FW-based NBC5 for vacuous "story" on star-struck "Twitteratzi"
08/24/10 12:23 PM
News as we used to know it took
another knee to the groin Monday night when NBC5
tried to transform a self-described "Twitteratzi"
into a newsmaker. Her "story" appeared at the
mid-point of the 10 p.m. newscast, with reporter Grant Stinchfield assuming the
position. Plus, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings return
the Rangers to the winner's circle while also
pumping up the early morning "Back to School"
audiences on Fox4 in particular. And we have
another episode in our fall season appetizer,
TV THEME SONG-ville.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Rolling Stone's jarring True Blood cover
08/23/10 05:28 PM
The three principal stars of HBO's
True Blood are naked, intertwined and quite
bloody on the new cover of Rolling Stone. Our
thoughts -- and a trio of other famous nude magazine
cover "statements" -- are displayed here for your viewing
pleasure/displeasure.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Creative Arts Emmys have a few highlights, too
08/23/10 01:40 PM
Brushed off as far as major television
exposure goes, the so-called "Creative Arts" Emmys
were handed out Saturday night. They also include
several acting and best program trophies, and
our highlights are here.
Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are well-stocked with weekend Cowboys and Rangers numbers. And we take a third trip to TV THEME SONG-ville as an appetizer for the looming fall season.
Ed Bark
Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are well-stocked with weekend Cowboys and Rangers numbers. And we take a third trip to TV THEME SONG-ville as an appetizer for the looming fall season.
Ed Bark
Spike Lee revisits New Orleans in . . . Creek Don't Rise
08/20/10 03:00 PM
HBO and Spike Lee re-team for a second
post-Katrina -- and now post-BP spill -- look at New
Orleans in Monday and Tuesday's If God Is Willing
and Da Creek Don't Rise. Our review is here. Also, as a
continuing appetizer for the looming fall season,
we take a second trip to TV Theme Song-ville.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Veteran CBS11/TXA21 meteorologist Mike Burger explains why he opted out of two-year contract and chose retirement instead
08/20/10 12:02 PM
Thursday's announced retirement of
weathercaster Mike Burger finds him leaving
CBS11/TXA21 despite 19 months remaining on a two-year
contract. He explains why in a telephone interview with
unclebarky.com. Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings reflect
the demographic ups and downs of WFAA8's
newscasts.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
D-FW meteorologist Mike Burger forecasts his retirement
08/19/10 05:32 PM
Weathercaster Mike Burger, who's spent
the last decade at CBS11/TXA21, says he's retiring
after 40 years in broadcasting. Get the details here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Take an all expenses paid trip to TV THEME SONG-ville
08/19/10 10:35 AM
Another new fall TV season looms. As
appetizers, unclebarky.com is serving up a collection
of memorable TV theme songs, accompanied by their
opening videos. For your first trip to TV Theme
Song-ville, go here. Plus, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are in.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
The scoop, the poop, the crap, the glop: Dallas-born Chris Harrison puts a good face on all of it as host of Bachelor and its spinoffs
08/18/10 02:26 PM
Chris Harrison, one of the hottest TV
hosts in the land, has matriculated from Lake
Highlands High School to host of The
Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad. He's also got
a new production company and some intriguing views on
what makes this brand of reality TV tick. His
interview with unclebarky.com -- at an ABC "press
tour" party out West -- can be found here. Plus, the latest
D-FW Nielsen ratings put an end to the Texas
Rangers' six-game winning streak in television's
off-the-field numbers game. The ratings dispatch also includes news
of WFAA8's new early morning plans. And at my
other port in the storm, locatetv.com, read how Price Is
Right host Drew Carey downsized himself.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
WFAA8's women news anchors continue to make off-camera news, too (but it's all good)
08/17/10 03:15 PM
Cynthia Izaguirre, co-anchor of
Dallas-based WFAA8's Daybreak, has some big
personal news to share during what's been an eventful
summer for the station's on-camera women. Get the details here. Also, the
Rangers again rocked in the ratings
Monday night despite that excruciating eighth
inning meltdown.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Rangers (and bundt cake updates) dominate weekend D-FW ratings; local news stations of course fixate on Cowboys
08/16/10 01:24 PM
The first-place Texas Rangers' big
weekend home series against Boston trounced
everything in its path on Friday through Sunday.
Which of course meant that local news stations
brought you more breathless dispatches from Cowboys'
training camp in Oxnard, CA before getting around to
baseball. Time for a little rant on subjects ranging
from bundt cakes to all things Cowboy-centric. You
can find it here.
Also, it's a pitched battle of the pawn stars Monday night as two cable networks go head-to-head with "reality" series about family-run barter businesses. Plus we've got some new items on the TV Bulletin Board page.
Ed Bark
Also, it's a pitched battle of the pawn stars Monday night as two cable networks go head-to-head with "reality" series about family-run barter businesses. Plus we've got some new items on the TV Bulletin Board page.
Ed Bark
Linney's performance cures all in Showtime's The Big C
08/13/10 11:37 AM
Showtime dares to treat cancer lightly
-- and seriously -- in its superb new series The
Big C. Laura Linney excels in the key starring
role. Our review is here. Plus, Thursday
night's Cowboys pre-season game effortlessly paces
the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
The End for miniseries giant David L. Wolper
08/12/10 11:28 AM
Producer David L. Wolper, architect of
TV miniseries ranging from Roots to The
Thorn Birds, has died at age 82. We remember
his life and times here. Also, an
all-time record crowd for any attraction on Fox
Sports Southwest watched in agony Wednesday night
as the first-place Texas Rangers blew one to the
visiting Yanks. Get the details on our latest
local Nielsen ratings "snapshot."
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Rangers set ratings record that might quickly be broken
08/11/10 06:31 PM
The Texas Rangers' pulsating win over
the Yankees Tuesday night broke a nearly 12-year-old
ratings record on Fox Sports Southwest. But
Wednesday's concluding game of the series might be an
even bigger draw with ace Cliff Lee facing the
Bombers. Get the details here. Also, we
revisit an evocative 1985 "Spirit of Texas" promo for
WFAA8 while wondering what happened to one of its
three principals. And on locatetv.com, there's
another TV "press tour" dispatch, this one
on the latest "re-imaginings" of both Sherlock
Holmes and Merlin the medieval sorcerer. The
latter is viewed as part Donald Rumsfeld by the
actor who's playing him.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Back in D-FW after another summer network TV "press tour"
08/10/10 06:20 PM
Breaking up is hard to do -- and catching up is even harder. But your friendly content provider is back with his first love, unclebarky.com, after two weeks of exclusive blogging for locatetv.com.
We've returned with a fine collection of homegrown unclebarky.com pictures from the annual network TV summer "press tour." And you can find them right here. Plus, check out the latest developments in D-FW television -- including a just-confirmed departure from CW33 -- and also get a fresh edition of our local Nielsen ratings "snapshot," which includes the numbers for Sunday's Dallas Cowboys pre-season opener.
And yes, it's great to be back. Honest.
Ed Bark