Merry Christmas to all!!!

12/21/12 11:00 AM

A glorious sight at Unclebarky.com world HQ in Garland, TX
Have a great Christmas, everybody.

We'll be taking some time off during the holidays before returning when the spirit moves.

Meanwhile, be sure to catch the stirring finale to our annual "Countdown to Christmas." And be safe and merry in all you do.
Ed Bark

And to all a good night: unclebarky.com's annual list of D-FW's TV newsroom exits

12/20/12 05:45 PM

2012 was an uncommonly eventful year in D-FW's television news rooms, with a long list of on-camera personnel going, going, gone.

Our annual alphabetical list is on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page. And whenever possible, we also tell you what they're doing now.
Ed Bark

Dombeck wedding video, CBS11 Christmas cheer promo, etc., etc.

12/20/12 12:08 PM

Former NBC5 "Gridlock Buster" Tammy Dombeck, who left the Fort Worth-based station last summer over a contract issue, has a new hubby to keep her warm.

Their official all aglow wedding video is on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page. As is a bright new Christmas promo starring CBS11's early morning team.

Plus, see how your friendly content provider's picks for the top 10 TV shows of this year stack up against the official multi-critic results on HitFix.com's first annual poll.

Also, Episode 9 of "Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas" is ready for viewing. And if that's not enough, so are Wednesday's D-FW Nielsen ratings.
Ed Bark

Larissa Hall making partial exit as CW33's "director of content"/Nightcap head (updated Wednesday)

12/19/12 08:56 AM

Larissa Hall, who became Tribune-owned, Dallas-based CW33's "director of content" in mid-August, will be splitting her time and taking on other responsibilities in order to be with her new husband out East. During Hall's hands-on tenure at CW33, she shepherded the station's Nightcap onto the air while numerous news staffers were dumped in the process. Details are on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Also, Episode 7 of "Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas" is ready for viewing. And Monday's D-FW Nielsen ratings highlight the opening night performance of NBC's new White House sitcom, 1600 Penn.
Ed Bark

HBO's new Louis-Dreyfus short film: watch out for that sharp veer

12/17/12 01:34 PM

Dabbling in other pursuits before Veep returns early next year, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her husband, Brad Hall, have collaborated on the decidedly different short film Picture Paris. It's not quite manifique, but definitely surprises down the stretch. Premiering Monday, Dec. 17th on HBO, it'll be repeated throughout the month. Our review is here.

Also, Episode 6 of "Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas" gets all fuzzy wuzzy on ya. And that's a good thing in these trying times.
Ed Bark

Cowboys thriller not exactly a ratings go-getter

12/17/12 10:27 AM

Two teams with everything on the line clashed at Cowboys Stadium Sunday. But Dallas' eventual win in OT wasn't enough to move the game from the middle of the pack in the overall D-FW Nielsens for 14 regular season games. Surprised? Me, too. Our ratings breakdown is on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark

NBC's 1600 Penn is its own fiscal cliff

12/14/12 12:06 PM

The promotions have been non-stop. And now the special sneak preview of 1600 Penn is ready to lurch at you Monday. Our review is here.

Plus, be sure to visit Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas for Episode 4. The Wednesday-Thursday D-FW Nielsen ratings also are in.
Ed Bark

Hagman still a force in first two episodes of his Dallas curtain call

12/13/12 11:48 AM

Season 2 of TNT's Dallas launches on Jan. 28th. The first two episodes arrived at unclebarky.com central Wednesday evening. And we're here to tell you that the late Larry Hagman very much lives on in them. Without giving away the plot machinations, we look at some of what he'll be up to. Including at least one scene that perfectly defines what J.R. Ewing has always been all about. Details are on the Network News & Reviews page.

Also, don't miss Episode 3 of Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas.

Plus, we've got a riff on Thursday's Golden Globes TV nominations and a link to the complete list.
Ed Bark

An unclebarky.com grab bag

12/11/12 05:00 PM

The elves have been busy here today. So here's what we have for you.

NBC5's latest case of the notably shortened surname finds new weekend meteorologist Lindsay Riley subtracting lotsa letters. Check out her name change and others on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Episode 2 of our Countdown to Christmas is here. And you can check out the Comedy Central shop's Christmas season largesse here before seeing a video of one of the most laughable toys ever brought to market.

Plus, Monday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are no Howie Wowie this time around.
Ed Bark

Newest hire at CBS11, latest Cowboys ratings and Episode 1 of Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas

12/10/12 04:49 PM

CBS11's early morning replacement for Melissa Newton is already on the job. Get the details and interesting human interest angle on newcomer Elizabeth Dinh.

Plus, the Cowboys' last-second upset win at Cincinnati kept the team's playoff hopes alive. But how much life did it breath into the team's D-FW ratings? All the info. is on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Also, we begin the annual Uncle Barky's Countdown to Christmas with an anchor music video from San Antonio. Anyone care to try it here?
Ed Bark

ABC, CBS prime midseason pumps

12/07/12 02:05 PM

We're catching up on the TV Bulletin Board page with outlines of the new midseason plans announced by ABC and CBS. Another tidbit: Poor Terrell Owens hopes to make another splash -- but not in the NFL.
Ed Bark

Stinchfield replacing Turner at KLIF radio

12/07/12 11:41 AM

Former NBC5 reporter Grant Stinchfield, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress earlier this year, is replacing Janine Turner as the conservative host of KLIF radio's (570 AM) 9 p.m. Saturday show. Details and quotes from Stinchfield are on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Also, Thursday's D-FW Nielsen ratings are in.
Ed Bark

Syfy's 12 Disasters of Christmas takes the edge off usual gooey holiday fare

12/06/12 04:35 PM

Have you grown a bit weary of all that cloying good cheer in lookalike made-for-TV Christmas movies? Then perhaps we have a winner for you in Syfy's 12 Disasters of Christmas, which premieres on Saturday, Dec. 8th. Our review is here.
Ed Bark

PR brigade: former CW33 reporter Charles Bassett is latest to make the switch

12/06/12 11:50 AM

Hello, readers. I'm back from a brief sojurn in Brenham -- via Austin -- to see niece's traveling play. A tour of the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory is also recommended if you're ever in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, ex-CW33 reporter Charles Bassett has become the sixth D-FW television reporter since December to segue from a news room to a public relations position. His comments and a recap are on the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are here (for Wed.) and here (for Mon.-Tues.).

Plus, we look at the fallacy of measuring the Dallas Cowboys ratings in households instead of total viewers -- particularly on a Thanksgiving Day when the household numbers were deflated for rather obvious reasons.
Ed Bark

Cowboys are getting old -- and so is their audience

12/03/12 12:14 PM

The Dallas Cowboys kept their faint post-season hopes alive Sunday night by barely surviving the dog-eared, injury-decimated Philadelphia Eagles.

NBC's prime-time telecast drew a bit over 1.2 million viewers in D-FW. But guess what? Almost half of the audience was 50 years of age and older, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. And barely 10 percent were in the 18-to-34-year-old demographic.

This isn't a particularly welcome audience breakdown if you're intent on attracting a new generation of Cowboys faithful. Then again, winning solves everything, and the Cowboys are just 6-6.

Get the complete ratings for the game on our Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.

Also, it's another new month. And heavily traveled unclebarky.com pages are rolling over into the November archives as new posts appear.

So here's another friendly monthly reminder. You can help unclebarky.com live longer -- if not prosper -- by first clicking on one of our Amazon ads before you make the purchases you were going to make anyway. A small commission then goes to your friendly content provider. Last month brought in $99 worth of commissions. Hardly a windfall, but at least a gentle breeze compared to most months. Thank you, holiday shoppers!

Plus, you also can follow me on Twitter via @unclebarkycom.

Unclebarky.com also is the only self-starting, one-person TV website whose reviews of network programs are included on metacritic.com. And some of this material also is re-purposed on another very enjoyable site, tvworthwatching.com.

OK, end of monthly nag. Thanks as always for your support and readership!
Ed Bark

Above the Fold

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