Sep 2009
WFAA8 reporter opts for bigger stage in Big Apple (updated)
09/30/09 01:29 PM
Dallas-based WFAA8 is losing a
full-time reporter and occasional substitute anchor
to ABC's flagship station in New York. Get the
details here. Also, we scrutinize
Tuesday night's battle for post-terrorist arrest
scoops between 10 p.m. news kingpins WFAA8 and
CBS11. And the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings again
show CBS on a roll with prime-time crime.
Plus we chart the first week of the 2009-10 TV season. Who's up, who's down and who's down and out in the national Nielsen ratings? Come and get it here.
Ed Bark
Plus we chart the first week of the 2009-10 TV season. Who's up, who's down and who's down and out in the national Nielsen ratings? Come and get it here.
Ed Bark
Grammer, Heaton take two more shots in new ABC comedies
09/29/09 03:37 PM
After working together in Fox's failed
Back To You, Kelsey Grammer and Patricia
Heaton are back-to-back Wednesday nights in ABC's
Hank and The Middle. Our reviews are here. Also, Monday's
D-FW Nielsen ratings break down the Cowboys'
latest triumphant march through some
high-profile network programming. Plus, Dan
Rather's $70 million lawsuit against CBS received
a major slap-down Tuesday. We have the details here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Rowlett at rest, with a little teaching on the side
09/28/09 01:45 PM
Tracy Rowlett, who spent 35 years in front of a camera at WFAA8 and then CBS11, seems more content in semi-retirement. He's also doing a little teaching, though. Check out our update on one of D-FW's signature news anchors.
Ed Bark
Crash/boom -- Trauma barges onto NBC
09/28/09 11:25 AM
The last of NBC's new fall series,
Trauma, premieres Monday. It looks like they
may have spent some of that money they're saving on
The Jay Leno Show. Our review is here. Also, the weekend D-FW Nielsen ratings have
plenty to report.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Fox's Cleveland Show makes it three from Seth
09/27/09 02:00 PM
Seth MacFarlane, Fox's King of
Cartoons, adds another notch Sunday night with the
premiere of The Cleveland Show. Our review is here, where we also note
the arrival of Ken Burns' latest PBS opus and the
return of Showtime's Dexter for Season 4.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
D-FW's 10 p.m. newscasts converge on aborted terrorist bombing (updated with other links to inside stuff)
09/25/09 10:28 AM
There was no disputing Thursday's
biggest news. A would-be bomber's thwarted attempt to
level downtown Dallas's Fountain Place building
topped the 10 p.m. newscasts of all four major TV
news providers. We assess the coverage here. Also, it
was another big night in the fall season ratings
wars. Click here for our "snapshot" of which
big-ticket attractions drew the most D-FW viewers.
Plus, the new Fox sitcom Brothers launches on Friday night, Sept. 25. It stars former New York Giants mainstay Michael Strahan, but the actress who plays his mama carries the ball. Our review is here.
Ed Bark
Plus, the new Fox sitcom Brothers launches on Friday night, Sept. 25. It stars former New York Giants mainstay Michael Strahan, but the actress who plays his mama carries the ball. Our review is here.
Ed Bark
ABC's FlashForward begins accelerating
09/24/09 11:27 AM
Preceded by the fall season's biggest
promotional campaign, ABC's FlashForward at
last is nearly here. And our unclebarky.com review is here.
Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings show
how four new series fared locally. And for grins,
take a look at a quick but classic Daybreak blooper.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Our marathon run continues
09/23/09 03:42 PM
Four more new fall series premiere
Wednesday. Click here for our combined reviews of
ABC's Modern Family, Cougar Town and
Eastwick. NBC's newcomer, Mercy, is
critiqued here. And the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are
largely a big plus for CBS -- and a nice little
plus for The 33's new 5:30 p.m. local newscast.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Throw another new whodunit on the fire -- namely ABC's The Forgotten
09/22/09 04:31 PM
ABC's first series from CBS hitmaker
Jerry Bruckheimer -- a crime drama, of course --
joins Tuesday night's roster of premieres. Our review
of The Forgotten is here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Cowboys-Giants set record high for Sunday Night Football while Emmys escape record low
09/22/09 12:29 PM
By ED BARK
The New York Giants last second win over the Dallas Cowboys set a national ratings record for NBC's Sunday Night Football.
Averaging 24.8 million viewers, it also was the most-watched prime-time regular season NFL game since the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers drew 27 million viewers on Dec. 15, 1997.
The season opener in Jerry's Palace supplants last season's Dec. 14th Cowboys-Giants game, which had 23.1 million viewers on Sunday Night Football. The Cowboys also were involved in the fourth most-watched SNF game, when 22.2 million watched them beat the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 21st of last year.
Caught in the pincers of Cowboys-Giants, CBS' competing telecast of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards managed 13.47 million viewers. That's an uptick over last fall's 12.34 million viewers, making Sunday's telecast the fourth least-watched of all time. The 1990 Emmys on Fox still hold the record with 12.3 million viewers.
Emmy had its biggest audience in 1986, when 35.8 million watched NBC's presentation.
CBS invigorates its Tuesday lineup with effective spinoff, terrific newcomer (updated)
09/22/09 10:09 AM
The new TV season continues unfolding
Tuesday, with CBS in the driver's seat. Check out our
reviews of Julianna Margulies' The Good Wife and another
crime spinoff, NCIS: Los Angeles. Also, we
chart the Dancing with the Stars debuts of
Tom DeLay and Michael Irvin on the TV Bulletin Board page. And we have
a complete look at how an array of heavy-hitting
prime-time attractions fared in D-FW on the first
official night of the fall season. Your
destination for that is our daily "Local Nielsen ratings snapshot."
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
More new stuff inside -- pant, pant
09/21/09 03:43 PM
It's been a very busy Sunday and
Monday. Check out our new unclebarky.com posts on
Lauren Przybyl's Good Day
debut and the blockbuster D-FW ratings for
Sunday night's Cowboys-Giants game.
Also, we review CBS' latest Monday night sitcom
entry, Accidentally On Purpose
starring Jenna Elfman.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Cowboys, Emmys, Megan
09/21/09 04:32 AM
CBS threw on the annual prime-time
Emmy Awards against the Cowboys game Sunday night.
Neither was particularly pretty. Our Emmy coverage is
here and our take on the Cowboys is
here. Also, former Good Day
anchor Megan Henderson can be seen on a rival D-FW
station's newscasts this week. Get the details
here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Cowboys new stadium gets joy ride on NBC's Today
09/18/09 12:53 PM
NBC's Today show touched down
at Jerry's palace in Arlington Friday for two-hours
of adulation. The Cowboys' owner couldn't have
scripted it any better himself. Click here for our review and
accompanying pictures. Also, Thursday's D-FW Nielsen ratings
show Jay Leno losing for the first time to a
competing program. A rerun no less. But he made up
for it with strong showings among
advertiser-targeted viewers.
Plus we gamely make our Emmy picks in the face of Sunday's competition from the Cowboys' home opener. And check out the review of HBO's new Bored to Death comedy series, which will follow the Season 7 premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm this Sunday.
Ed Bark
Plus we gamely make our Emmy picks in the face of Sunday's competition from the Cowboys' home opener. And check out the review of HBO's new Bored to Death comedy series, which will follow the Season 7 premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm this Sunday.
Ed Bark
Unclebarky.com careens into 4th year of existence
09/18/09 08:05 AM
Established on Sept. 17, 2006, unclebarky.com turned three yesterday and starts its fourth year today as your homegrown purveyor of local and national TV news and reviews.
Its proprietor, pictured above during a deep, long-ago reverie, pledges/threatens to keep the site operative well into the foreseeable future. Thanks to all who have tuned in so far. Your praise, criticism and readership are the matches that light the fire.
Ed Bark
Guest envy? Leno gets the cream, Conan tills the crops (updated)
09/17/09 12:27 PM
The Jay Leno Show is off to a
big ratings start for NBC, which seems perfectly
willing to let him line up the big-name guests while
Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show is left with
scraps or seconds. Check out our blow-by-blow guest
breakdown for the next two weeks on the TV Bulletin Board page. Also, we
review NBC's new Community comedy series
and bring you the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings. And
Cinemax's Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo,
reviewed here, looks up-close at a
violent, last of a kind Oklahoma "tradition."
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
DeLay derailed? He says not
09/17/09 12:12 PM
By ED BARK
Wacky ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay could find himself on ABC's health care plan after hurting his foot during rehearsals for Dancing with the Stars.
In this day and age, he of course tweeted about it.
Tweet 1: "Old age is catching up to me, may have a stress fracture in my foot. no worries, it'll take more than that to keep me off the dance floor!"
Tweet 2: "No stress fracture! It is a pre-stress fracture. I live for another day."
We'll see about that when Dancing premieres on Monday, Sept. 21st. Meanwhile, here's official ABC footage of DeLay rehearsing with pro partner and two-time champ Cheryl Burke, who tells him he looks "a little floaty."
New inside
09/16/09 02:19 PM
Incoming Good Day co-anchor
Lauren Przybyl made a few taped cameo appearances
Wednesday on the Fox4 waker-upper. We've got details and pictures here. Also,
the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings show a
sizable dropoff for The Jay Leno Show,
which nonetheless still won its time period
Tuesday. And we review HDNet Movies' latest "Sneak
Preview" film, The Burning Plain, which
opens in theaters Friday after three free looks
Wednesday night.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
New North Texas public radio music station set for Nov. 9 debut
09/16/09 09:38 AM
By ED BARK
KXT radio (91.7 FM), the new music arm of North Texas Public Broadcasting Inc. (KERA), will launch on Nov. 9th, providing nine to 11 hours of weekday local programming.
The announcement came Wednesday after Dallas-based KERA received official approval from the Federal Communications Commission to acquire the operating license. The 91.7 FM call letters currently are KKXT, but KERA has decided to subtract one of the Ks after initially trying to re-scramble them into a TX of some sort.
"We tried to secure call letters that conveyed a sense of place, but everything with the combination of 'TX' was already licensed," KERA president and CEO Mary Anne Alhadeff said in a statement. "Yet, the reversal of the letters with KXT was different, and we liked that."
The station will debut with the 7 a.m. locally produced KXT Morning Show and also will feature mid-afternoon and evening components. Local hosts and special program features will be announced later.
An array of national programs also is on the schedule, most prominently UnderCurrents from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. weekdays. According to KERA's description, UnderCurrents "provides a thoughtful, yet playful free-form music mix: rock, folk, blues, reggae, dub, electronica, hip-hop, world and roots music." What, no polka?
Here's the complete KXT schedule:
Leno laps up extra-large ratings
09/15/09 02:36 PM
D-FW viewers went for the premiere of
The Jay Leno Show in a big way Monday night,
particularly during Kanye West's one-night act of
contrition. Our latest ratings "snapshot" has all
the details. Also, we review The CW's new The Beautiful Life: TBL,
a series about New York-based models that should
fit right in with Wednesday's preceding
America's Next Top Model.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Comedy tonight: The Jay Leno Show vs. those teases for NBC5's late night newscasts
09/15/09 02:38 AM
Swift kick: Kanye again makes spectacle of self
09/14/09 09:49 AM
By ED BARK
The big boor struck again Sunday on MTV's Video Music Awards. Many D-FW viewers likely had better things to see -- including the Season 2 finale of HBO's True Blood, another new episode of AMC's Mad Men or the Packers battling and finally beating the Bears on NBC's Sunday Night Football thriller.
Kanye West is Monday morning's No. 1 buzz, though, for his roundly booed interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech after she won a "Best Female Video" thingee.
"Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you. I'm going to let you finish," West said after taking the mike from her. "But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time."
Fellow nominee Beyonce looked on quizzically from the audience while Swift was rendered speechless. This is only the latest in a series of West outbreaks. He doesn't like to lose. Nor does he like to see people win other than other than those he thinks should.
Taking the stage later, Beyonce invited Swift back for a do-over. Which she did. West later apologized on his blog, telling the world he's "sooooo sorry to Taylor Swift and her fans and her mom." Indeed he's sorry. Here's how it came down:
The big boor struck again Sunday on MTV's Video Music Awards. Many D-FW viewers likely had better things to see -- including the Season 2 finale of HBO's True Blood, another new episode of AMC's Mad Men or the Packers battling and finally beating the Bears on NBC's Sunday Night Football thriller.
Kanye West is Monday morning's No. 1 buzz, though, for his roundly booed interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech after she won a "Best Female Video" thingee.
"Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you. I'm going to let you finish," West said after taking the mike from her. "But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time."
Fellow nominee Beyonce looked on quizzically from the audience while Swift was rendered speechless. This is only the latest in a series of West outbreaks. He doesn't like to lose. Nor does he like to see people win other than other than those he thinks should.
Taking the stage later, Beyonce invited Swift back for a do-over. Which she did. West later apologized on his blog, telling the world he's "sooooo sorry to Taylor Swift and her fans and her mom." Indeed he's sorry. Here's how it came down:
R.I.P. Larry Gelbart (Feb. 25, 1928 to Sept. 11, 2009)
09/11/09 06:00 PM
By ED BARK
Larry Gelbart, an all-time great TV writer whose masterwork was M*A*S*H, died Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 81.
Gelbart's TV credits also include Sid Caesar's renowned Your Show of Shows and two acclaimed HBO movies, Barbarians at the Gate and Weapons of Mass Distraction. For the big screen he wrote Tootsie, Oh, God! and Blame It On Rio. And for the stage he penned A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in partnership with Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove.
Gelbart broke into show business as a 16-year-old, writing for the Danny Thomas radio show. In his last major honor, he was inducted last year into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. It was long, long overdue.
Jay talking -- and other new stuff inside (updated)
09/11/09 01:25 PM
Drawing from a teleconference earlier
this week, we take a long look at Jay Leno and the
risk he's taking with his new five-nights-a-week,
prime-time comedy hour. Includes pictures and a
short comedy film at the end. Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are a
bonanza for Thursday night's NFL kickoff. There's
a new TV Bulletin Board, too. And
we've got an already evocative clip featuring
three former WFAA8 news personalities who were
still with the Dallas-based station just a couple
of years back.
Plus we'd like to remind you a final time about the "Take Dale Out to the Ballgame" fund, which actually benefits the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation for underprivileged kids. If you enjoy this site -- or just love to hate it -- please send a buck or two in support of a far worthier cause. All the details are here.
Ed Bark
Plus we'd like to remind you a final time about the "Take Dale Out to the Ballgame" fund, which actually benefits the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation for underprivileged kids. If you enjoy this site -- or just love to hate it -- please send a buck or two in support of a far worthier cause. All the details are here.
Ed Bark
Today to make the scene at Jerry's new spread
09/10/09 03:44 PM
By ED BARK
NBC's Today will touch down at Jerry's Palace on Friday, Sept. 18th to trumpet the Dallas Cowboys' home opener against the Giants on Sunday Night Football.
Co-hosts Matt Lauer and Al Roker will do the show live from Arlington, with former Cowboys great (and current Cowboys naysayer Emmitt Smith) providing a behind-the-scenes tour of the $1.12 billion football emporium. Smith made news this week by predicting his old team will go 7-9 this season.
The occasion also will mark the first Today story by former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager, NBC says. She was recently hired as a Washington, D.C.- based contributing correspondent.
Also in the Today mix: Lauer will interview Cowboys owner Jerry Jones while Roker spends some quality time with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Plus, Lauer and Roker get to sample some of the new stadium's food choices.
"What's a Przybyl?"
09/10/09 01:42 PM
Faithful unclebarky.com readers
already know the answer to the above, but
Dallas-based Fox4 is still playing name games in a
new promotional spot. Get the details here. Also, Wednesday's D-FW Nielsen ratings
pitted the fall season premiere of Fox's So You
Think You Can Dance against President Obama's
health care reform speech to Congress. And check
out our review of The CW's new The Vampire Chronicles.
Plus, consider sending a buck or two to the "Take Dale Out to the Ballgame" fund, which actually will benefit the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation. All the specifics are here. And we thank you.
Ed Bark
Plus, consider sending a buck or two to the "Take Dale Out to the Ballgame" fund, which actually will benefit the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation. All the specifics are here. And we thank you.
Ed Bark
A surprise but savvy choice: Idol picks Ellen
09/09/09 11:49 PM
Fox's American Idol struck
faster than expected Wednesday night, naming Ellen
DeGeneres to replace Paul Abdul and become the show's
fourth judge. Get our take here.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
It might be, it could be, it is -- the launch of our "Take Dale Out to the Ballgame" drive
09/09/09 05:58 PM
WFAA8 sports anchor Dale Hansen says
his Dallas-based station doesn't have enough money
budgeted to send him to the ballpark for a live
sportscast during the upcoming 9-game Texas Rangers
homestand. Not that he's been much of a baseball fan
anyway. But unclebarky.com has a plan -- in the form
of a "Take Dale Out to the Ballgame" fundraiser.
Actually it will benefit the very worthy Bobby Bragan
Youth Foundation. But Hansen's the guy who'll have to
take one for the team. Get all the details here. Nothing
ventured, nothing gained.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Glee brightens Fox anew
09/09/09 12:35 PM
After another big buildup, Fox's
Glee returns Wednesday, Sept. 9th, for its
first full-fledged fall season. We take another look
here. Also, NBC5 coughs up a big
lead-in audience Tuesday night, with our latest D-FW ratings snapshot
picking up the pieces. And the 15th edition of
CBS' The Amazing Race has an unusual brother duo, with one of
them from Fort Worth.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Melrose re-do launches fall TV season
09/08/09 12:24 PM
The CW begins its fall season
festivities Tuesday night with a compatible pairing
of the returning 90210 and the network's new
version of Melrose Place, last seen 10 seasons
ago on Fox. Our soap-sudded review is here. Also,
the holiday weekend D-FW Nielsen
ratings are in.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
From Woodstock bliss to Manson mayhem
09/07/09 12:13 PM
The summer of '69 had a decidedly ugly
side, too. History Channel's two-hour Manson,
premiering Labor Day night, combines actor
re-enactments and interviews with the likes of former
"Family" member Linda Kasabian. Our review is
here. Also, WFAA8 sports anchor
Dale Hansen again lifts a leg on the
Rangers. And CBS11 is losing a member of its 10 p.m.
reporting team.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Charting the new fall TV season: Datebook
09/03/09 01:47 PM
Network television's latest fall
season kicks off unofficially next Tuesday with the
premiere of The CW's Melrose Place and the
return of 90210. We've got all of the
network-by-network dates for you on our illustrated down-loadable look at
what's coming when. Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings end an
early morning slumber for an otherwise
decaffeinated waker-upper.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Lady in waiting: Sawyer will helm ABC's World News after Gibson retires in January
09/02/09 11:54 AM
Charles Gibson's decision to depart
ABC's World News gives Diane Sawyer the job
she'd wanted before rival Katie Couric made history.
Get all the details here, including a telltale quote
from Gibson during last year's stop in Dallas.
Also, the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are
dominated by NBC5 and Fox4. And the Disney
Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place The
Movie, starring Grand Prairie's Selena Gomez,
is another jolt to broadcast networks' ratings
pictures. Check out the boffo numbers and get
other TV tidbits on our Bulletin Board page.
Plus, Dallas-based CW33's news director comments for the first time to unclebarky.com on the rumored dating between his newly hired high school sports reporter and Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo. It's all here.
Ed Bark
Plus, Dallas-based CW33's news director comments for the first time to unclebarky.com on the rumored dating between his newly hired high school sports reporter and Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo. It's all here.
Ed Bark
A busy September beckons
09/01/09 04:36 AM
Television's annual pre-Labor Day lull
will soon give way to a flood of fall season
premieres, beginning with the return of Fox's
Glee on Wednesday, Sept. 9th.
You can read all about them on reader-friendly unclebarky.com, which also will reach its third anniversary this month.
In the meantime, in between time, August posts are fading into the archives on various UB destinations. We begin with the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page, which chills with a collection of clips starring D-FW anchors and a certain red-headed talk show host experiencing varying forms of reptile dysfunction.
Also, the Network News & Reviews page has a brisk catch-up clip of ABC's Desperate Housewives, which starts Season 6 on Sept. 27th. And the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are a celebratory hoe-down for ABC.
Please remember that you, too, can put a few pennies in this website's pockets by clicking on our amazon.com ads before making your purchases. Give our other advertisers an occasional look, too. It all helps.
Thanks again for reading and participating. It's always appreciated.
Ed Bark
You can read all about them on reader-friendly unclebarky.com, which also will reach its third anniversary this month.
In the meantime, in between time, August posts are fading into the archives on various UB destinations. We begin with the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page, which chills with a collection of clips starring D-FW anchors and a certain red-headed talk show host experiencing varying forms of reptile dysfunction.
Also, the Network News & Reviews page has a brisk catch-up clip of ABC's Desperate Housewives, which starts Season 6 on Sept. 27th. And the latest D-FW Nielsen ratings are a celebratory hoe-down for ABC.
Please remember that you, too, can put a few pennies in this website's pockets by clicking on our amazon.com ads before making your purchases. Give our other advertisers an occasional look, too. It all helps.
Thanks again for reading and participating. It's always appreciated.
Ed Bark