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From the monthly archives:

January 2006

Dear Oscar: You're Welcome

January 31, 2006

Once again, the Academy Award nominations are out, and once again we should expect a big thank-you from the Oscar folks to those of us who watch television.
After all, we're supporting a medium where Oscar nominees get their start, hone their skills or amuse themselves while waiting for another movie to come along.
This year, television [...]

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"Veronica Mars," "My Name Is Earl," "The Office," "CSI"

January 30, 2006

I did like the twist in the middle of "Veronica" — when we found out she wasn't as innocent as we have come to expect from watching shows that aren't as well made as "Veronica." And it was a nifty way to tie up some storylines, while starting a new one for Wallace. But I [...]

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Odds and Ends

January 30, 2006

Not a bad start to Monday. The mail included the DVD set of "Action," the terrific 1999 comedy starring Jay Mohr as a driven and foul-mouthed movie producer. And he's even fouler on DVD, since the audio is now unbleeped. Although the show didn't last long on Fox, it's worth a look — a sharp [...]

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ABC News Update (New Material Added, Sunday Evening)

January 29, 2006

The following was in this morning's e-mail:
STATEMENT FROM ABC NEWS PRESIDENT DAVID WESTIN
Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt were injured in an IED attack near Taji, Iraq today. They were embedded with the 4th Infantry Division, traveling with an Iraqi Army unit in an Iraqi mechanized vehicle. Bob and Doug are in serious condition [...]

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"Book of Daniel"

January 27, 2006

I may watch "The Book of Daniel" tonight, no thanks to NBC. I have one or two episodes stored on my DVR that I haven't gotten to yet. Since the network has pulled the show, apparently permanently, I'll just have to watch the recorded telecasts instead of NBC's substitute.
I know, the ratings were not good. [...]

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Yay, Oprah!

January 26, 2006

I'm watching the Oprah Winfrey interview with James Frey and am so loving it. (I've also added things here as the show went along.) It's a great common-sense interview, plain and direct questions that require plain and direct answers. She is making Frey look like an even bigger weasel than he seemed on "Larry King [...]

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Tanned, Rested and Ready

January 26, 2006

Well, two out of three, since I'm not much of a sun — or sunlamp — worshipper. But I am feeling livelier, thanks to a good night's sleep and some early work completed. I've had time to ponder questions that were in my head last night but didn't make it to these pages. Questions like, [...]

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"Lost" and Other Wednesday Notes

January 25, 2006

I wanted to like "Lost" more tonight than I did. Part of that is my weariness with Charlie's lost-puppy saga — the big wet eyes, the whole please-love-me thing. (Of course, Charlie's need for affection fit nicely with the blossoming of other relationships among the survivors — and gosh, would it be nice to see [...]

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If I Were King

January 24, 2006

I've been thinking tonight about what I might do if assigned to combine the WB and UPN schedules under the new CW banner. The thought has not thrilled. Although there are shows I like on both networks, there aren't enough to fill even the 13 hours of prime time that the CW will have. And [...]

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I Don't Like Tuesdays

January 24, 2006

A week ago at this time, I was in my driveway, picking up papers that had spilled out of my briefcase before the rain soaked them beyond recognition. The papers were from a meeting that I had left a little while before. I had taken off from work that day in part to prepare for [...]

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Stay Tuned For "Supernatural Veronica," "Everybody Hates Gilmore"

January 24, 2006

Big TV news today. UPN and The WB will cease to exist this fall, with their respective owners combining into a single operation to be called The CW. (That's apparently supposed to stand for CBS/Warner, the network's owners. But I kept looking for another meaning: Conventional Wisdom? Childish Ways? Cash Wanted?) A story about the [...]

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A Bad Back and Looking Back

January 23, 2006

Sunday evening I picked up a box, took a step and felt a sharp, harsh twinge of greeting from my lower back. Since then I have been communing with a heating pad and learning all the different ways it can hurt to move.
As a result, I have been working at home today. I have some [...]

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More "Earl," "Office," Goodbye, "West Wing"

January 22, 2006

It's a regular Sunday in most of the world, including the House of Heldenfels. But out west, the TV critics' press tour goes on, and today NBC had a mixed bag of announcements for the folks there, and those of us getting the network's e-mail.The good news: "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" have [...]

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Anthony Franciosa

January 21, 2006

I crossed paths with Anthony Franciosa only once. The actor, who has died, was on a 1984 press tour — my first such excursion to Hollywood — to promote "Finder of Lost Loves," an attempt by producer Aaron Spelling to find another "Fantasy Island" or "Love Boat." Although the memory can play tricks, I remember [...]

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The Rock Paper Scissors Movement Continues!

January 20, 2006

Hello to everyone who is here because of the link from www.tvtattle.com. (And thanks, Tattle, for linking to my late-night ravings about "Lost," found below under "Ladies and Gentlemen, M.C. Gainey.") Feel free to browse.
But in this post, I am going to another topic. About a year ago, I wrote a column about an FSN [...]

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More Allie G! Less Emily's Reasons!

January 20, 2006

ABC will bump "Emily's Reasons Why Not" and "Jake in Progress" again on Monday, instead double-running "The Bachelor: Paris," with a replay of this week's episode at 9 followed by a new episode at 10. (Update: ABC has officially killed "Emily's Reasons.")
Once again, it will edit new footage into the replayed episode, which is fine [...]

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"Everybody Hates Chris"/"The Wonder Years"

January 19, 2006

One of the best episodes of "The Wonder Years" had young Kevin going to his father's office and seeing, up close, what made his father such a grump at home. Tonight, "Everybody Hates Chris" used much the same theme. Chris, needing money for a leather jacket, worked for his father at the old man's newspaper-delivery [...]

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The Wicked Pickett

January 19, 2006

The Midnight Hour has come for the last time for Wilson Pickett. Word just came to the office that he has died. In that incredible group of singers that came out of Atlantic Records in the '60s — Aretha, Otis, Sam & Dave* — Pickett more than deserves inclusion. However many demons he had in [...]

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The Redemption of Ryan Seacrest and Other "Idol" Wisdom

January 19, 2006

Well, I have now caught up on the first three hours of "American Idol." So, as Al Franken would say, what have we learned?
– That the show is still a very, very big hit.
– That the audition rounds are great fun, both when you discover the good singers and you experience the bad.
– That the [...]

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Ladies and Gentlemen, M.C. Gainey

January 18, 2006

Sometimes we know too much about television. Take, for example, M.C. Gainey. He's a steady, sturdy character actor who appears in a lot of things, and is good enough that somewhere along the line I made a note of his name. And noticed when he popped up on "Lost" before, for the taking of Walt.
Noticed, [...]

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