Network News & Reviews

Latest Nikita re-do a showcase for Maggie Q

Ed Bark — 2010-09-09T08:25:49-05:00

Nikita gets the drop while looking drop-dead gorgeous. CW photo Premiering: Thursday, Sept. 9th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Maggie Q, Lindsy Fonseca, Shane West, Melinda Clarke, Aaron Stanford, Ashton Holmes, Tiffany Hines Hines, Xander Berkley Produced by: Craig Silverstein, McG ...One of Nikita's executive producers, McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol), directed both of the Charlie's Angels feature films and also has produced TV series such as Sorority Forever and Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.

TNT commissions pilot for potential Dallas TV series (2nd update)

Ed Bark — 2010-09-08T14:59:45-05:00

But TNT has ordered a pilot for a potential remake of the Dallas TV series that would focus on "the offspring of bitter rivals and brothers J.R. ...The announcement came Wednesday afternoon, with Warner Horizon Television backing a project being developed by executive producer Cynthia Cidre, who wrote the feature film Mambo Kings and created and produced the short-lived CBS serial soap, Cane.

This dog will hunt: FX's likably scruffy Terriers scraps, claws and leaves a mark

Ed Bark — 2010-09-08T10:03:53-05:00

Dogged pursuits: Donal Logue, Michael Raymond-James of Terriers. FX photo Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 8th at 9 p.m. (central) on FX Starring: Donal Logue, Michael Raymond-James, Kimberly Quinn, Laura Allen, Rockmond Dunbar, Jamie Denbo Created by: Ted Griffin ...If Lifetime is the uplifting network for women, FX is the downshifting destination for testosterone-fueled troublemaking in series such as Sons of Anarchy (which returned Tuesday night), Louie, Rescue Me and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

CW's Hellcats bounces into view as yoo rah replica of -- "Gimme a G"

Ed Bark — 2010-09-07T14:35:07-05:00

Gail O'Grady (NYPD Blue, American Dreams) is back in harness as Wanda Perkins, a sloppy drunk who means well but makes her daughter want to run as though she's just seen a giant predatory gila monster. ...So too was the late mega-producer and Dallas native Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Charlie's Angels, Beverly Hills 90210 , etc), who if he were alive today might be making a series just like Hellcats.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Season Finale

Ed Bark — 2010-09-03T12:11:48-05:00

By ED BARK For our final pre-fall season installment, we take a return trip to Jack Lord's hair and the ever-pulsating theme song for Hawaii Five-0. As you no doubt know by now, CBS is remaking it this season, with Alex O'Loughlin in Lord's signature role of Det.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 11

Ed Bark — 2010-09-02T08:13:15-05:00

Dragnet returned in color from 1967-70. By ED BARK Students of minimalist TV theme songs need not start with Law & Order. ...We'll call it a wrap Friday with a look at the original open of a cop series that CBS is reviving this season.

"Simple, pure, like the man himself" (Conan O'Brien decides on a title)

Ed Bark — 2010-09-01T14:02:05-05:00

By ED BARK Last seen in Sunday night's Emmy audience, NBC expatriate Conan O'Brien has returned to the web to reveal that his new TBS late night show will be titled -- Conan. ...The guy's still at least five times funnier than Jay Leno and also one of the best tweeters in the business.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 10

Ed Bark — 2010-09-01T00:12:09-05:00

By ED BARK The theme song for Police Woman isn't particularly memorable. ...Piping hot at the time, Dickinson played undercover(ed) vice-squad Sgt. Pepper Anderson in a series that premiered two seasons before the Charlie's Angels "jiggle" era and lasted until 1978 on NBC.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 9

Ed Bark — 2010-08-31T08:50:46-05:00

By ED BARK Raymond Burr as Perry Mason is as iconic a combination as Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker or Larry Hagman as J. ...Titled "Park Avenue Beat," it's composed by Fred Steiner, whose credits also include the theme song for Star Trek.

Dancing with the Stars mixes in a Palin among 12 celebrities on hit show's 11th edition

Ed Bark — 2010-08-31T07:03:55-05:00

Bristol Palin makes her arrival on Monday night's live Dancing with the Stars reveal -- during breaks between Bachelor Pad. ABC photo By ED BARK A salable young Republican has entered ABC's mid-term elections, and she's definitely in it to win it. ...***Singer Michael Bolton *** Recently retired Super Bowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner ***Singer/actress Brandy Norwood ***Actress Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame ***Comedian Margaret Cho ***Kyle Massey, star of Disney Channel's Cory in the House ***Audrina Patridge from The Hills ***Ex-Los Angeles Laker Rick Fox

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 8

Ed Bark — 2010-08-30T13:20:33-05:00

By ED BARK Our pre-fall season journeys to TV THEME SONG-ville begin their final week with opening mood music for the classic ensemble police series that paved the way for Emmy caliber descendants ranging from St. ...In June of 1980, during the TV networks' annual summer "press tour" in L.A., it was the first interview session I attended as the new TV critic for The Dallas Morning News.

New era for Emmys, with a hit 'n' miss backstage webcast angling for attention while host Jimmy Fallon flattens out after fast start

Ed Bark — 2010-08-30T01:32:10-05:00
Host Jimmy Fallon gamely got in and out of his tux. NBC photos By ED BARK Jimmy Fallon proved to be an OK -- but not A-OK -- host of Sunday night's 62nd annual Emmys ceremony, which pitted the traditional NBC telecast against a companion live backstage webcast on nbc.com and other outlets. ... Actress Claire Danes and producer Steven Levitan toted home Emmys for Temple Grandin and Modern Family. Finally, a few words on nbc.com's "Backstage" webcast, which utilized a "Thank You Cam, Green Room Cam, Makeup Room Cam, Producers Table Cam, Winners Walk Cam" and "Jimmy Cam" during the course of TV's big night.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 7

Ed Bark — 2010-08-27T09:14:42-05:00
But the narration was backed by a suitably thrilling orchestral backdrop that made virtually every kid of the '50s (guilty, your honor) want to suit up and jump off the family garage. ...So let's leave it at that while basking in this vintage introduction to The Adventures of Superman, which originally ran in syndication from 1952-'57.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 6

Ed Bark — 2010-08-26T09:55:46-05:00
Emmy winners Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney from HBO's John Adams By ED BARK This one is of very recent vintage. But I don't think any HBO movie or miniseries has ever been graced by a more stirring opening theme.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 5

Ed Bark — 2010-08-25T11:48:57-05:00
By ED BARK Johnny Rivers' rockin', guitar-fused, definitive version of "Secret Agent Man" climbed all the way to No. ...Patrick McGoohan, better known as the star of The Prisoner, played British spy John Drake in this offshoot of 1961's Danger Man, in which he was the same character.

Survivor host Probst likely won't deliver on this particular promise

Ed Bark — 2010-08-24T15:28:45-05:00
Jeff Probst (second from left) at January Survivor anniversary party with (from left) hero Rupert Boneham, executive producer Mark Burnett, villains Jerri Manthey and Russell Hantz. Photo: Ed Bark ...-- Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson's participation in this fall's Survivor: Nicaragua had been widely reported but not yet officially announced when CBS held its latest summer press tour "All-Star Party" in late July.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 4

Ed Bark — 2010-08-24T09:35:33-05:00
Written by Judy Hart Angelo and Gary Portnoy -- and performed by Portnoy -- "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" graced this classic NBC comedy from its September 1982 premiere to its May 1993 finale.... It also featured a remote greeting from Vancouver, in which Kirstie Alley performed the song "Dick, Dick, Dick, Dick" with mockups of her fellow Cheers co-stars.

Another new vista in nudity -- Rolling Stone's graphic (gratuitous?) True Blood cover

Ed Bark — 2010-08-23T16:31:27-05:00
By ED BARK The Sept. 2, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone arrived in the mail today, and its cover kind of jumped out at me. ...And the Dixie Chicks then took it all off for the May 2, 2003 cover of Entertainment Weekly after the uproar over lead singer Natalie Maines telling a concert audience abroad: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 3

Ed Bark — 2010-08-23T12:44:07-05:00
We're talking about Henry Mancini's driving music for Peter Gunn, which premiered in 1958 on NBC and Petered out three seasons later on ABC. ...It's taken from the series' first episode, which begins with the closing two minutes before shifting to the signature payoff music.

HBO's The Pacific warms up for Sunday's big show with seven Creative Arts Emmys while Neil Patrick Harris hopes to make it a trifecta

Ed Bark — 2010-08-23T10:57:51-05:00
The Pacific won seven of HBO's league-leading 17 Emmys while Harris was honored for both his guest star role in Fox's Glee and his hosting of the 63rd annual Tony Awards on CBS. ...In other Creative Arts results, Ken Burns' latest PBS production, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, won for best non-fiction series and HBO's Teddy: In His Own Words was named the top non-fiction special.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 2

Ed Bark — 2010-08-20T14:40:24-05:00
By ED BARK This is from the old set-up-the-premise school of theme song writing, utilized in sitcoms such as Gilligan's Island and The Beverly Hillbillies. ...The Fresh Prince of Bel Air aired from 1990-'96 on NBC, with Smith then moving on to become one of Hollywood's most bankable movie stars.

Creek Don't Rise both swims and sinks as Spike Lee's HBO sequel to When the Levees Broke

Ed Bark — 2010-08-20T09:19:51-05:00
Airing throughout this month and next on HBO, Creek Don't Rise premieres on Aug. 23-24 at 8 p.m. central each night. It will be among a cavalcade of programming tied to the fifth anniversary of the Katrina devastation. ...The smoldering debate over public housing gives way in Monday's Part 1 to the good will generated by actor Brad Pitt's "Make It Right" initiative to build affordable, well-made homes in New Orleans still storm-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward.

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 1

Ed Bark — 2010-08-19T09:54:36-05:00
Producers of CBS' new version of Hawaii Five-O, set to premiere on Monday, Sept. 20th, recently told unclebarky.com that the show's iconic theme song will get at least a little room to breathe. ...Alex Kurtzman, the new Hawaii Five-O's other principal producer, lamented the latter day "lost art" of writing an enduring TV theme song.

Pawn vs. pawn: it's a buyers' market on Monday nights

Ed Bark — 2010-08-16T09:26:56-05:00
Pawn Stars, a thinly disguised, lower rent version of Antiques Roadshow, chronicles activities at the Las Vegas-based Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, where founding father Richard teams with his son, Rick, and Rick's son, Corey. ...But she again gets no satisfaction, prompting a parting threat -- "You're not makin' it home to your wife tonight" -- that sends Les into a full-blown red alert in which he calls the cops and then loudly and profanely reams out his security staff as the closing credits roll.

Here's to her health: Linney carries Showtime to new heights with bravura star turn in TV's first "cancer comedy"

Ed Bark — 2010-08-13T08:28:56-05:00
A pondering Laura Linney in The Big C. Showtime photo Premiering: Monday, Aug. 16th at 9:30 p.m (central) on Showtime Starring: Laurey Linney, Oliver Platt, John Benjamin Hickey, Phyllis Somerville, Gabriel Basso, Gabourey Sidibe, Idris Elbo, Reid Scott Produced by: Darlene Hunt, Jenny Bicks, Neal H. ...In Monday's half-hour premiere episode (9:30 p.m. central), we quickly learn that Cathy has a semi-infantile husband named Paul (Oliver Platt's best role to date) and a rebellious teen son, Adam (Gabriel Basso), who resists any and all of her ham-handed efforts to re-bond with him.

Miniseries maestro: Roots producer David Wolper reigned in times when networks thought bigger

Ed Bark — 2010-08-12T08:43:12-05:00
The bar had been set. And even he couldn't clear it with any of his subsequent productions, which included a Roots: The Next Generations sequel in 1979. ...And so North and South also included the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly, Johnny Cash and Robert Mitchum, who earlier had played super-stoic Navy commander Victor "Pug" Henry in ABC's sprawling The Winds of War miniseries.

"Press tour" picture book

Ed Bark — 2010-08-10T15:22:44-05:00
By ED BARK The 2010 network TV summer "press tour" is over and out, leaving your friendly content provider with already foggy memories of 13 days at the Beverly Hilton plus time off for bad behavior. ... Former ER star Laura Innes, now appearing in NBC's The Event, gabs with Peacock programming chieftain Jeff Gaspin.

AMC's Rubicon steps smartly to the head of the intelligence field

Ed Bark — 2010-07-26T16:09:06-05:00
Let's get back to the fact that you wouldn't have gone to AMC for much more than old movies until just a few years ago. Or maybe you stopped going to AMC altogether once its programming execs started screwing up your movie-watching enjoyment with commercial breaks. ...In the view of Rubicon executive producer Henry Bromell, all were "powerful movies steeped in conspiracy-related paranoia" and built around "individuals traveling through the looking glass into a world of abject moral confusion, where nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted."

P.S. on the Shirley Sherrod "scandal": they're still spouting B.S.

Ed Bark — 2010-07-26T08:33:36-05:00
Anchor Chris Wallace, presiding over Fox News Sunday, and Fox News Channel representative Stephen Hayes on ABC's This Week program repeatedly contended that Fox didn't use Sherrod's name on the air until after she had been forced out by Agriculture Department secretary Tom Vilsack. ...So yes, O'Reilly in fact did rush to judgment, even if his knee-jerk demand for Sherrod's resignation didn't actually air until after Vilsack had knee-jerked her out of the Agriculture Department while the national NAACP also made an ass of itself.

Mad Men's Season 4 makes some new sales pitches. Sold!

Ed Bark — 2010-07-22T16:48:48-05:00
Many are directed at Draper, who's living in a rather joyless apartment while estranged wife Betty (January Jones) still occupies the old Draper homestead with their three kids (including a newborn babe) and her boyfriend, Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley). ...To which Draper rejoins: "Do you want want women who want bikinis to buy your two-piece, or do you just want to make sure women who want a two-piece don't suddenly buy a bikini?"

FNC's Shepard Smith again a steady hand amid partisan provocateurs on both his own network and MSNBC

Ed Bark — 2010-07-22T12:07:36-05:00
But Smith's two principal FNC venues -- Fox Report and Studio B -- notably did not bite on the much-reported Shirley Sherrod "scandal" that turned out to be a doctored video disseminated by a right-wing blogger. ...Smith, who doesn't have a prime-time forum on FNC, at least has the temerity to both call out his network and hold off on stories of highly questionable origin and veracity.

Pillars of the Earth strives to stand tall, but doesn't live up to its Starz billing

Ed Bark — 2010-07-22T09:13:44-05:00
Perhaps you thought television's "EPIC EVENT OF THE SUMMER" came when Dallas flyboy turned Bachelor star Jake Pavelka and his onetime "true love," Vienna Girardi, lobbed verbal grenades at one another during a very special episode of ABC's The Bachelorette. ...His vision is shared by the rather amusingly named Tom Builder (Rufus Sewell), whose eventual allies include an accused witch named Ellen (Natalia Worner) and her virginal son, Jack Jackson (Eddie Redmayne), an all-around good guy who also happens to be a helluva sculptor and visionary.

Haggard twangs his magic twanger in exemplary American Masters film

Ed Bark — 2010-07-21T10:02:34-05:00
"His legend casts a long shadow over himself," country pal Marty Stuart says in the early minutes of Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself, another first-rate entry in PBS' American Masters series. ...Learning to Live with Myself nicely meshes archival footage with current-day interviews in telling the story of a revered twanger who was in the audience for three of Johnny Cash's famed San Quentin concerts.

Steinbrenner's death rekindles interest in ESPN's 8-part The Bronx Is Burning -- for $3 at Big Lots!

Ed Bark — 2010-07-13T15:25:34-05:00
John Turturro as Billy Martin and Oliver Platt as George Steinbrenner in the 2007 ESPN miniseries The Bronx Is Burning. By ED BARK George Steinbrenner's death at age 80 Tuesday brings to mind the terrific miniseries that captured the volatile baseball mogul and his New York Yankees in their prime warring years. ...The packet I recently bought also included two other ESPN DVDS -- March Madness: The Greatest Moments of the NCAA Tournament and Sportscenter Year in Review -- 2006, which includes both the pulsating Texas Longhorns' Rose Bowl victory over Southern Cal and the stomach-churning Miami Heat comeback against the Dallas Mavericks in that year's NBA Finals.

Covert Affairs gives USA network another potential perennial

Ed Bark — 2010-07-12T15:40:41-05:00
Christopher Gorham, Piper Perabo of Covert Affairs. USA network photo Premiering: Tuesday, July 13th at 9 p.m. (central) on USA Starring: Piper Perabo, Christopher Gorham, Peter Gallagher, Kari Matchett, Anne Dudek Produced by: Doug Liman, Dave Bartis By ED BARK Melodically named Piper Perabo gets a much more standard issue TV moniker in USA network's Covert Affairs, which rises a rung or two above the gratingly ordinary.

TNT's Rizzoli & Isles: Sounds like a pasta dish, but served as a crime drama

Ed Bark — 2010-07-12T09:05:27-05:00
Crime-stoppers Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles. TNT photo Premiering: Monday, July 12th at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Angie Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Lorraine Bracco, Lee Thompson Young, Bruce McGill, Jordan Bridges Produced by: Janet Tamaro, Bill Haber, Joel Fields ...A particularly notable scene in tonight's opener finds Rizzoli platonically sharing a bed with Isles while they discuss the attributes of a mysterious, hunky new agent who's blown into Boston to help apprehend a very sadistic and twisted serial killer.

The Glades turns out to be an air-freshener for A&E

Ed Bark — 2010-07-09T12:28:41-05:00
Jaunty Jim Longworth would rather be sinking putts. A&E photo Premiering: Sunday, July 11th at 9 p.m. (central) on A&E Starring: Matt Passmore, Kiele Sanchez, Carlos Gomez, Uriah Shelton, Jordan Wall Produced by: Clifton Campbell, Gary A. ...Also in the mix is comely nurse Callie Cargill (Kiele Sanchez), who's working her way through med school while also tending to a 12-year-old son after her no-account husband was sent to prison.

The Decision casts "The King" in a better light than expected

Ed Bark — 2010-07-08T21:26:04-05:00
"This fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach." Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK "The King" finally made The Decision seconds before 8:28 p.m. Thursday, informing the world on an exclusive ESPN special that he'll be joining buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat next season. ...But James seems like their Daddy, a mature-beyond-his-years Sears kinda guy whose outwardly indulgent one-hour ESPN special donated all money from ad sales to five designated Boys and Girls Clubs, including the one in James' hometown of Akron, Ohio.

Safe Haven? Not on Syfy

Ed Bark — 2010-07-08T12:35:46-05:00
Law enforcers Audrey Parker, Nathan Wuornos of Haven. Syfy photo Premiering: Friday, July 9th at 9 p.m. (central) on Syfy Starring: Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour Produced by: Scott Shepherd, Lloyd Segan, Shawn Piller ...In future episodes, her character will be torn between Wuornos and Crocker while sticking around a spell to dig deeper into both the town's psyche and that mysterious long-ago newspaper picture of a woman who looks a lot like her.

Newby Glee is most-nominated weekly series, with fellow freshman Modern Family and HBO also running strong in latest Emmy nominations

Ed Bark — 2010-07-08T08:17:32-05:00
The casts of Glee and Modern Family Fox/ABC photos By ED BARK First-year comedies Glee (Fox) and Modern Family (ABC) scored big in prime-time Emmy nominations announced Thursday while ABC's Lost bowed out with the most nominations of any broadcast network drama series. ...***Big-name nominees with no wins so far include Kathy Bates (0 for 7 with a nomination for Syfy's Alice); Steve Carell (0 for 6 with a nomination for The Office); Jon Hamm (0 for 4 with a nomination for Mad Men); Neil Patrick Harris (0 for 3 with nominations for Glee and CBS' How I Met Your Mother); Hugh Laurie (0 for 5 with a nomination for Fox's House); Ann-Margret (0 for 5 with a nomination for NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit); Sir Ian McKellen (0 for 4 with a nomination for AMC's The Prisoner); Susan Sarandon (0 for 3 with a nomination for You Don't Know Jack); Kyra Sedgwick (0 for 4 with a nomination for TNT's The Closer).

Love lost is Bachelorette's gain: Jake and Vienna brawl 'n' bawl in close encounter of the lurid kind

Ed Bark — 2010-07-05T22:09:13-05:00
Dallas-bred Jake Pavelka looked vexed for much of his reunion with Vienna Girardi on Monday's festive The Bachelorette. ABC photos By ED BARK Stunningly ill-suited for a wicker love seat, Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi sat side by side Monday night while further distancing themselves from each other. ...Pavelka, who was treated like a Nobel Prize winner during two recent guest host appearance on WFAA8's Good Morning Texas, came off as a smug and condescending cad during the first half of his icy cold return engagement with Girardi.

King leaving his court after a quarter century on CNN

Ed Bark — 2010-06-30T08:38:12-05:00
Beset by all-time low ratings, more highly publicized marital woes and the growing perception that time has passed him by, the 76-year-old King announced Tuesday on CNN's Larry King Live that he'll be leaving the show sometime this fall. ...He also said it was his call to end Larry King Live after Maher told him, "I hope you're doing this of your own volition and not because of what the media says."

DVD review: Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

Ed Bark — 2010-06-29T14:54:20-05:00
Atwater at the height of his powers and in the shadow of death. By ED BARK Newly available on DVD, Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story ($24.95 retail) is a cautionary but never outdated primer on how to win elections by any means necessary. ...Almost benignly profane in the film, Rollins recounts how Atwater "betrayed" him during Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign before eventually getting what he wanted -- full control of George Bush Sr.'s 1988 run.

Brace yourselves: FX's Louie can be very dangerously funny

Ed Bark — 2010-06-29T10:08:03-05:00
fits right in, ending the second episode of Tuesday night's double-barreled premiere of FX's Louie with a riff on how he'd love to be intimate with animals, particularly monkeys. ...HBO took a chance in 2006's Lucky Louie, a profane, hit-over-the-head sitcom that was modeled after The Honeymooners and marked the network's first and so far last show taped before a studio audience.

Huge joins the plus-size bandwagon on an already hot ABC Family channel

Ed Bark — 2010-06-28T10:05:23-05:00
Nikki Blonsky as Will in Huge. ABC photo Premiering: Monday, June 28th at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Family Starring: Nikki Blonsky, Gina Torres, Hayley Hasselhoff, Raven Goodwin, Ari Stidham, Zander Eckhouse, Stefan Van Ray, Harvey Guillen, Ashley Holliday Produced by: Winnie Holzman, Savannah Dooley, Kim Rozenfield ...Huge gets off to a nice start, with Blansky's Will setting the table by not only refusing to conform but also running a black market operation in which fellow camp denizens pay hard cash for her smuggled-in sweets.

Get real: Boston Med gives ABC a hospital series with a wealth of unscripted drama

Ed Bark — 2010-06-24T12:41:25-05:00
Next week's Episode 2 both introduces nurse Grabowski and tugs at emotions with compelling stories of an elderly man with a cancerous mass surrounding his lungs and an expectant mother whose husband is stationed in Iraq and who knows that her firstborn son will have a serious heart condition that demands immediate surgery. ...All in all, you'll get more genuine drama in one episode than in an entire summer season of ABC's new Rookie Blue, which premieres on the same night at 8 p.m. Boston Med grabs and holds, gifting viewers with a bracing hot weather "reality" series that for a change gives the genre a good name.

ABC's Rookie Blue clunks into view

Ed Bark — 2010-06-23T10:25:49-05:00
Rookie Blue takes aim, fires blanks. ABC photo Premiering: Thursday, June 24th at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Missy Peregrym, Gregory Smith, Enuka Okuma, Charlotte Sullivan, Travis Milne, Eric Johnson Produced by: Tassie Cameron, Ilana Frank, David Wellington, Noreen Halpern, John Morayniss ...For now, though, Rookie Blue begins and ends in a bar, where the five newcomers happily get sloshed without any attention paid as to how they'll all get home without hurting themselves or others.

Memphis Beat tries to give Earl star a new acting rhythm

Ed Bark — 2010-06-21T16:23:52-05:00
TNT photo Premiering: Tuesday, June 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Jason Lee, Alfre Woodard, Sam Hennings, DJ Qualls, Celia Weston, Leonard Earl Howze, Abraham Benrubi Produced by: George Clooney, Grant Heslov ...Produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and their Smokehouse Pictures, Memphis Beat finds Lee's character throwing himself into Elvis vocals at a local club when he's not upbraiding suspects for failing to respect the city's traditions and legendary figures.

ABC tries to reinvigorate summertime Sundays with new/noteworthy The Gates and Scoundrels

Ed Bark — 2010-06-18T13:26:41-05:00
That's why ABC's two Sunday night mainstays -- Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters -- are not part of the summer mix while reruns of "procedural," self-contained crime dramas such as the CSI franchise and The Mentalist are very much a part of CBS' year-around programming strategy. ...It initially was supposed to be the other way around, but ABC wisely decided to move The Gates back an hour to keep it from directly competing with HBO's vampire hour, Season 3 of True Blood.

Syfy's new four-hour update of The Phantom is both an imaginative and unfortunately costumed drama

Ed Bark — 2010-06-17T15:59:12-05:00
Chris quickly hooks up with cute, brainy and resourceful paramedic Renny Davidson (Cameron Goodman), who becomes his soulmate before tragedy intervenes in the form of grisly death and painful truths imposed by a mysterious figure named Abel Vandermaark (Jean Marchand). ...The concluding two hours of The Phantom find our hero dividing his time between Bengalla and Manhattan, where an assassination plot is being orchestrated by the really nasty Brotherhood leader, Raatib Singh (Cas Anvar).

Showtime adds The Real L Word, but subtracts the nudity

Ed Bark — 2010-06-16T12:47:52-05:00
Don't expect to see more. Showtime photo Premiering: Sunday, June 20th at 9 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Tracy, Rose, Mikey, Nikki, Jill and Whitney Produced by: Ilene Chaiken ...Ilene Chaiken, creator/producer of both versions, had no reservations with the original, telling The Village Voice in a 2005 interview that "lesbians, in particular, have never had their sexual desires represented on screen -- or rarely, I should say -- and they just clamor for love scenes, and diverse love scenes."

Planet Green's Fabulous Beekman Boys makes bid to be gay Green Acres

Ed Bark — 2010-06-15T13:39:18-05:00
Down on their farm with Brent and Josh. Discovery photo Premiering: Wednesday, June 16th at 8 p.m. (central) on Planet Green, with another episode at 8:30 p.m. Starring: Brent Ridge, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Farmer John Produced by: Jeff Hasler, Lynn Sadofsky, Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey, Tom Campbell ...And the still fledgling Plant Green channel, launched in June 2008, is hoping that the half-hour Beekman Boys series (with back-to-back episodes on opening night) will help put it on the map the way The Shield did for FX, South Park did for Comedy Central, Queer Eye For the Straight Guy did for Bravo, etc.

TV Land's Hot In Cleveland harkens to The Golden Girls but so far plays at room temperature

Ed Bark — 2010-06-14T12:55:39-05:00
Premiering: Wednesday, June 16th at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Starring: Wendie Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Betty White Produced by: Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, Suzanne Martin ...Still, it's a little bizarre to see Bertinelli's character weeping as though she's a veritable Whistler's Mother after learning she's been intimate with a married man played by the still fit John (Dukes of Hazzard) Schneider.

HBO's True Blood drinks to a third season while keeping Bill and Sookie sip-arated

Ed Bark — 2010-06-11T15:14:04-05:00
They're quickly elemental to the third season of HBO's True Blood, launching on Sunday, June 13th at 8 p.m. (central) with events immediately following the kidnapping of angst-ridden vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). ...But Bill and Sookie seem destined to do a lot of scenes without each other, which will still hold true by the end of June 27th's "Scratches" episode.

Staying too long at the party: a clear and ever-present danger

Ed Bark — 2010-06-09T13:01:56-05:00
Helen Thomas, until very recently the 89-year-old dean of the Washington press corps, provides the latest cautionary tale of someone who just couldn't let go until her mouth ran amuck on the subject of what Israeli Jews should do with themselves. ...It no doubt felt good to be queen, and even better to be in the presence of presidents who still called on her because she is, after all, Helen Thomas.

Horrid Neighbors From Hell defaces TBS

Ed Bark — 2010-06-07T14:55:39-05:00
The lime green Hellmans from down under, headed by parents Balthazor and Tina (Will Sasso, Molly Shannon), are ordered upstairs to destroy a new super-drill capable of boring to the center of the earth and laying waste to hell. ...Instead someone thought it would be a howl to have the amoral drill company boss (voiced by Kurtwood Smith from That '70s Show) refer to his company's Turkish drillmaster as a "poor little brown ape" among other things.

HBO's Smash His Camera re-pictures paparazzi potentate

Ed Bark — 2010-06-07T08:57:21-05:00
In hot pursuit: Ron Galella closes in on Jackie Onassis. HBO photos By ED BARK Clearly they were made for one another -- legendarily private Jackie O and relentless shootist Ron Galella. ...His obsession with the glamorous and famous -- mom named him after heartthrob actor Ronald Coleman -- yielded a treasure trove of images while also serving as the carbon footprint for TMZ and the like.

Fox's Good Guys hits its regular time slot running

Ed Bark — 2010-06-04T11:48:44-05:00
Dan (Bradley Whitford) draws on an innocent laptop in Monday's regular time slot premiere of Fox's The Good Guys. Fox photo By ED BARK Fox's The Good Guys remains scenery-chomping good whenever Bradley Whitford shifts into gear as combustible cop Dan Stark. ...Executive producer Matt Nix (Burn Notice) must first find a way to make this a summertime breeze capable of both finding and keeping a decent-sized audience opposite ABC's The Bachelorette, NBC's Last Comic Standing and formidable CBS repeats of prime-time's two most popular sitcoms, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.

Out by a full step -- but no!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ed Bark — 2010-06-03T11:20:27-05:00
But Joyce erroneously signaled the runner safe, robbing Galarraga of what would have been an unprecedented third major league perfect game in a 23-day span. ...And although baseball is still an enemy of instant replay -- save for determining close calls on home runs -- it's incumbent on commissioner Bud Selig to reverse Joyce's call and quickly remove what otherwise will be a lifelong cross for Joyce to bear.

CBS, Fox take No. 1 spots at finish line of 2009-'10 TV season

Ed Bark — 2010-06-02T12:07:46-05:00
Fox's Idol and ABC's Dancing dueled for top spot. Fox/ABC photos By ED BARK Official bragging rights for the 2009-'10 prime-time TV season again go to CBS and Fox. ...And it wasn't even close among 18-to-49-year-olds, where Idol again ruled the prime-time universe while the performance and results editions of Dancing sagged to 11th and 40th place.

TBS' Are We There Yet? has a not surprising destination

Ed Bark — 2010-06-01T15:04:55-05:00
TBS, also home to Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns, makes it a threesome Wednesday night with the first two episodes of Are We There Yet?. ...But it's drawn ample and mostly younger audiences for its two Tyler Perry-produced comedies, both of which also are shot on old-school videotape and affixed with a laugh track.

Idol finale: Paula salutes Simon; Casey James duets with Bret Michaels; Janet Jackson returns to the stage (and oh yeah, Lee won)

Ed Bark — 2010-05-27T08:18:32-05:00
Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Befitting a lackluster season, dishwater dull Lee DeWyze won the Season 9 American Idol crown Wednesday during a finale that had lots more going for it than him. ... Bret Michaels and Casey James tear it up in surprise duet. Michaels, who won NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday night, has been battling a well-documented series of serious health problems.

Already a life-saver, Saving Africa's Witch Children makes U.S. debut on HBO2

Ed Bark — 2010-05-26T09:25:22-05:00
Saving Africa's Witch Children, a short but powerful 50-minute documentary premiering Wednesday, May 26th at 7 p.m. (central) on HBO2, depicts a strain of Pentecostalism gone wild in Southeastern Nigeria's Akwa Ibom state. ..."A white man or white woman cannot come into my country and say nonsense against me and mess up the whole situation and present something from a topic or theme he or she doesn't even know," Ukpabio further bellows before dismissing her interviewer.

Little in common except running out of gas: 24 and Law & Order go down for the count

Ed Bark — 2010-05-24T13:27:49-05:00
24's two-hour series finale (7 to 9 p.m. central) ends the small-screen career of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), with plans to make a big-screen feature set in Europe. ...Meanwhile, Merkerson's character is quietly battling cervical cancer -- and the high costs of medical procedures -- while her two main detectives are constantly thwarted in their efforts to track down a potential terrorist bomber going by the blog name of "Moot."

Lost finds decent national ratings; ABC rediscovers Miss America pageant

Ed Bark — 2010-05-24T12:38:36-05:00
Gang's all here, including a beaming Jack and John. ABC photo By ED BARK Hardly a blockbuster but definitely a talker, ABC's two-and-a-half-hour Lost finale drew 13.5 million viewers nationally Sunday night. ...But Lost did win its time slot, beating NBC's runner-up season finale of Celebrity Apprentice by 4.2 million viewers while also dominating among advertiser-favored 18-to-49-year-olds.

Hey, Paula: she's now a CBS girl

Ed Bark — 2010-05-24T11:57:44-05:00
By ED BARK Forget about Paula Abdul reuniting with Simon Cowell when his The X-Factor series launches on Fox in fall 2011. Instead she'll be just about everything on CBS' Got To Dance, which doesn't have an air date or any audition sites scheduled yet but of course is a U.S. version of a British "ratings sensation."

Jesus take the wheel: Lost ends and ascends

Ed Bark — 2010-05-24T05:50:57-05:00
Father also assured son that "everything that's ever happened to you is real" before they walked into the church and its congregation of beaming couples destined and meant to be together. ...Their Christian Shepherd -- named Christian Shephard -- finally walked between two angels and into a blinding white light before earthly Jack at last let go and expired from his wounds after saving the island from destruction.

CW adds two, plots 10th and last season for Smallville

Ed Bark — 2010-05-20T08:20:12-05:00
Hellcats is in and Smallville's on the way out. CW photos By ED BARK The CW's comedy-less fall lineup, announced Thursday, adds two new girly-girl hours while prepping an exit strategy for its long-running man in tights. Smallville, birthed a decade ago on the defunct WB network, will launch its 10th and final season with an eye toward a "classic reuniting of the timeless romance" between Clark "Superman" Kent (Tom Welling) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) during their grownup stint at The Daily Planet.

CBS' new fall colors include a quartet of high-profile show shifts, new Hawaii Five-O and the returns of Shatner, Selleck

Ed Bark — 2010-05-19T10:02:50-05:00
My Dad Says and Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan in a Hawaii Five-O remake. CBS photos By ED BARK Rampant show-shifting and an influx of familiar recycled TV stars characterize CBS' new fall lineup. ...Mike & Molly (comedy) -- CBS sitcom potentate Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory) notches another one with this saga of a working class Chicago couple whose eyes for each other turn out to be bigger than their stomachs when they first meet at an Overeaters Anonymous session.

ABC's new fall season throws another Texas-made series in the mix

Ed Bark — 2010-05-18T09:57:00-05:00

Hats off to Austin's fictional Greenbelt HS class of 2000. ABC photo By ED BARK It was Austin's turn Tuesday after NBC and Fox greenlighted three made-in-Dallas series for the fall earlier this week. ABC announced that My Generation, centered on a group of grads from Austin's fictional Greenbelt High School, will be among the seven new series coming this autumn.

Two made-in-Dallas series make Fox's fall cut

Ed Bark — 2010-05-17T08:42:14-05:00

The cast of Lonestar, teaming with House on Mondays. Fox photo By ED BARK Fox is adding just three new series to its fall lineup, but one of them is the made-in-Dallas Lonestar. ...Fox also made other news Monday by announcing that Glee will be next year's post Super Bowl attraction when the NFL's super-powed end game makes its inaugural appearance at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Peacock goes "back to basics" by re-embracing "quality" scripted series

Ed Bark — 2010-05-16T21:24:24-05:00

Kelli Giddish stars as Texas-bred marshal in Dallas-made Chase. By ED BARK NBC's new fall prime-time lineup has both a made-in-Dallas drama and Jimmy Smits in a legal series from the banished Conan O'Brien's production company. ...

NBC cancels Law & Order, keeps Chuck, orders a Law & Order spinoff and a new drama series co-produced by Conan O'Brien (double huh?!)

Ed Bark — 2010-05-14T15:20:12-05:00

Oddly enough, Conan O'Brien also is proving his enduring appeal with NBC, even after leaving in disgust earlier this year rather than have The Tonight Show pushed back a half-hour to make room for a half-hour Jay Leno program that never materialized. ...Plus it's already renewed Law & Order: SVU, Chuck, Parenthood, The Office, 30 Rock, Community, Parks & Recreation, The Biggest Loser, The Marriage Ref, Who Do You Think You Are?, Minute to Win It a non-celebrity version of The Apprentice, a Dateline or two and Woody the Upchucking Woodchuck.

A new window on The Doors in a striking American Masters film

Ed Bark — 2010-05-11T15:46:39-05:00

Estranged from his parents and eventually from his bandmates, too, Morrison remains a larger enigma than any of the others of his era who died young and still live on. Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin all expired at the same age in less than a 10-month span. ..."To some, Jim was a poet, his soul trapped between heaven and hell," narrator Johnny Depp says near the end of the 90-minute When You're Strange (Wednesday May 12th, 9 p.m. on KERA13).

NBC tabs three more newcomers for next season

Ed Bark — 2010-05-07T13:22:24-05:00

The new sitcom Outsourced will be part of NBC's new season. By ED BARK The so-called "upfront" announcements of broadcast networks' new seasons aren't due until the week of May 17th. ...The Event, billed as "an emotional high-octane conspiracy thriller," stars Jason Ritter (The Class) as an "Everyman" who stumbles into prime-time's latest vast conspiracy while investigating the disappearance of his fiancee.

Friday Night Lights back in play on NBC

Ed Bark — 2010-05-06T16:28:42-05:00

Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) regroups again. NBC photo By ED BARK Having run its course earlier this season on DirecTV, Austin-made Friday Night Lights at last is returning to home base NBC to repeat its fourth season. ...Season 4 has 13 episodes, all of which are scheduled to run on Fridays at 7 p.m. central, beginning May 7th. Unclebarky.com reviewed the Season 4 opener when it launched on DirecTV.

Pretty damned Good Guys gets ready to roll through Dallas

Ed Bark — 2010-05-06T08:15:00-05:00

Whitford and Hanks lay out in downtown Dallas. Fox photo Previewing: Wednesday, May 19th at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox before moving to Mondays at 8 p.m. on June 7th. ...The scheduled 13 episodes of Good Guys, with the first directed by veteran actor Tim Matheson, look as though they're going to be both a boon for the Dallas economy and a bracing departure from broadcast TV's annual hot weather drought.

Lost finale has another growth spurt

Ed Bark — 2010-05-05T13:23:00-05:00

But who knows if they're really dead? ABC photo By ED BARK The Sunday, May 23rd Lost finale now will weigh in at two-and-a-half hours, ABC has decided. ...The 2004 two-hour Lost pilot also will be re-airing, on Saturday, May 22nd from 7 to 9 p.m. It'll include those handy pop-up sniglets, such as, "This is Hurley.

Jimmy meets Emmy

Ed Bark — 2010-05-04T14:21:44-05:00

And he's doing a much better job of doing so after a very nervous start as part of an after-hours shuffle that sent predecessor Conan O'Brien on an ill-fated journey to The Tonight Show. Academy chairman and CEO Paul Telegdy touted Fallon as a "natural choice" whose "proven skills as a comedian and host -- as well as his openness to new ideas -- will fully engage audiences and ultimately deliver a lively Emmy telecast."

NBC invests in new drama from Lost creator

Ed Bark — 2010-05-03T15:44:26-05:00

Undercovers stars Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. By ED BARK Pledging to spend more money on higher caliber scripted programming, ratings-poor NBC took the first step Monday by ordering the spy series Undercovers from Lost creator J. ...Maybe the light bulb finally has come on again as NBC Universal prepares to transfer the controlling interest in its broadcast and cable networks from General Electric to Comcast as part of a previously announced deal that still must receive regulatory approval.

O'Brien returns to TV as bearded laddy on friendly 60 Minutes turf

Ed Bark — 2010-05-02T21:50:46-05:00

Conan with Kroft and in costume on comedy tour during Sunday's 60 Minutes segment, his first contractually allowed TV appearance since leaving NBC's Tonight Show on Jan. 22nd. Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Well, he wasn't about to choose Dateline. So Conan O'Brien picked 60 Minutes Sunday for his first permissible TV appearance since NBC paid him $32 million to go away and give The Tonight Show back to Jay Leno.

ABC's Happy Town is almost anything but -- plausible, absorbing, spooky or entertaining (which is sad)

Ed Bark — 2010-04-27T08:51:07-05:00

Those with exceedingly sharp TV memories will remember that both Stults and Jay Paulson (cast as a deputy named Eli "Root Beer" Rogers) logged time as regular characters on October Road, which lasted for 19 episodes. ...Would it be giving away too much to reveal that a bird flies through a central character's car window at the end of Episode 2 to the tune of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain?"

HBO's You Don't Know Jack -- namely Kevorkian -- moves Pacino further up the pantheon

Ed Bark — 2010-04-22T16:39:45-05:00

Al Pacino and Brenda Vaccaro as Jack and sister, Margo. HBO photos By ED BARK An oddly trivializing title doesn't deter HBO's You Don't Know Jack from brilliantly recapturing his appointed rounds. ... The real-life Kevorkian with his death machine and on 60 Minutes. The first assisted suicide, with Janet Adkins releasing the medication that quickly kills her, is carried out in the back of Jack's VW bus after Hemlock Society activist Janet Good (a solid Susan Sarandon) belatedly has to renege on an agreement to use her home as an incubator.

Encore, encore for Curb, Parenthood

Ed Bark — 2010-04-20T14:55:20-05:00

By ED BARK HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm will round another corner into Season 8 while NBC has greenlighted Parenthood for a sophomore year. ...It has been doing particularly well with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds and also ranks among prime-time's top 10 in homes within that age group that have incomes of $100,000 or more, says NBC.

Picking a bone with PBS' Through A Dog's Eyes

Ed Bark — 2010-04-20T10:07:12-05:00

Six-year-old Aiden Young with service dog Nala. PBS photo By ED BARK Funded by Milk Bone and narrated by the now ubiquitous Neil Patrick Harris, PBS' Through A Dog's Eyes is well-intended and suitably heartwarming while also begging a question. ...The dogs with special abilities and persons with special needs go through a two-week training process at the Canine Assistance center before giving it a go in their respective homes.

Explorer celebrates 25 years with an extroardinary two-hour retread

Ed Bark — 2010-04-16T11:59:04-05:00

The celebratory Explorer: 25 Years (Monday, April 19th, 8 p.m. central on National Geographic Channel) revisits many of the program's greatest hits in a two-hour spellbinder hosted by correspondent Lisa Ling. ...Explorer also made news in 2002 with its ultimately successful search for the grown Afghan woman whose haunting eyes and countenance originally appeared on the cover of a 1985 edition of National Geographic magazine.

NBC's fourth SNL history lesson passes, yet fails

Ed Bark — 2010-04-15T13:23:28-05:00

Paul Simon's very memorable performance of "The Boxer" added to the overall somberness of the show's early minutes before Giuliani praised SNL as a national institution that both the country and New York couldn't live without. ...Going unmentioned is the fact that the next week's long-scheduled host, New Yorker Ben Stiller, in fact did pull out abruptly and without any apology or explanation, according to the excellent 2002 oral history of the show, titled Live From New York.

"You know what, a Latino and a redhead. It's worked before. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball"

Ed Bark — 2010-04-13T13:07:11-05:00

On Monday's Lopez Tonight, the host made a big show of welcoming O'Brien with open arms, even though he'll have to move back one hour to accommodate Coco. ...And in truth, this just might work like gangbusters on a network that's going to lavish tons of promotion on both shows, pay O'Brien a reported $10 million a year and also give him ownership of whatever show emerges and the freedom to do it as he pleases.

In a down season, Idol seems re-cast as the returning Glee's warmup act

Ed Bark — 2010-04-13T11:52:38-05:00

By ED BARK Returning in smashing form Tuesday after a multi-month recess, Fox's Glee all of a sudden glows in comparison to the show preceding it. ...Fresh from a prestigious Peabody Award win and newly on the cover of Rolling Stone, Glee is flexing major league momentum that's also been pumped up by a pair of hit CDS.

TBS coo coo for Coco, with Fox out of the picture

Ed Bark — 2010-04-12T12:08:00-05:00

Fox had expressed an interest in hiring O'Brien after he left The Tonight Show in January rather than move it back a half-hour to accommodate a new half-hour show starring his Tonight predecessor, Jay Leno. NBC, in one of the most bizarre ongoing soap operas in TV history, had canceled Leno's 9 p.m. prime-time show after network affiliates threatened to preempt it because of lowly audience lead-ins to their following local newscasts.

HBO's creme de la Treme (which actually doesn't rhyme)

Ed Bark — 2010-04-09T10:20:18-05:00

But it moves near the top of the network's very best, succeeding admirably as both a love song to a post-Katrina New Orleans and as an oozing-with-authenticity look at some of the hard-pressed people who make it throb. ...Three other characters of import are street musicians Sonny and Annie (Michiel Huisman, Lucia Micarelli), and Albert Lambreaux's son, Delmond (Rob Brown), an up-and-coming man with a horn who's already been making far more money in New York and elsewhere than he ever did in his hometown.

Behold, behead: Showtime's The Tudors begins the end of Henry VIII's reign

Ed Bark — 2010-04-08T15:16:20-05:00

After all, this is the saga of Henry VIII, who went through six wives and many more mistresses during his 1509-1547 reign as England's oft-despotic, occasionally benevolent, throughly consumptive king of kings. ...Since Henry's story is hardly a well-kept secret, it's probably not giving away too much to say that he's back in play by the end of Hour 5.

Simon won't say, but Dancing whipped both editions of Idol last week

Ed Bark — 2010-04-06T15:37:05-05:00

According to ABC research, a regularly scheduled weekly series hasn't beaten both Idols since the week of May 16, 2005, when the Fox juggernaut was in Season 4 and eventually crowned Carrie Underwood as champ. ...The finale of CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond topped all shows, followed by season-ending episodes of CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and ABC's Desperate Housewives, which was in its first season.

CBS tells truth -- and BS's -- in two new publicity releases

Ed Bark — 2010-04-02T10:29:09-05:00

Then came three weeks worth of Tonight Show reruns before NBC's Winter Olympics preempted Tonight entirely from Feb. 12th until Jay Leno returned to late night on March 1st. In the four full weeks since then, Leno has outdrawn Letterman every night in total viewers and has been #1 on all but one night among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.

Just what the doctor ordered? Miami Medical continues CBS' search for a long-running hospital hit

Ed Bark — 2010-04-01T14:20:36-05:00

Mike Vogel and Elisabeth Harnois are among the stars of CBS' Miami Medical, premiering Friday. CBS photos Premiering: Friday, April 2nd at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Jeremy Northam, Mike Vogel, Lana Parrilla, Elisabeth Harnois, Omar Gooding Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer ...Its signature line, also used in CBS' promos, comes from lippy but dedicated charge nurse Tuck Brody (Omar Gooding), who assures the husband of an endangered pregnant woman that she's in good hands with this all state team.

Conan the Tweeter

Ed Bark — 2010-04-01T03:19:16-05:00

Conan O'Brien in official Twitter page photo and back in the day. By ED BARK Coming soon to a theater near us -- sorry, the May 13th Dallas show is sold out -- defrocked Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien is still prepping for the April 12th start of his multi-city comedy tour. ...O'Brien started this process at 3:54 p.m. on Feb. 24th by tweeting, "Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial.

Comedy's king among broadcast network Peabody Award winners

Ed Bark — 2010-03-31T11:34:25-05:00

Peabody worthy: Desmond Tutu chats amiably with Craig Ferguson. By ED BARK Two first-year comedies -- ABC's Modern Family/Fox's Glee -- and CBS' longrunning Late Show with Craig Ferguson are among the big winners of prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards. ...The 69th annual Peabody awards presentation is on May 17th, with ABC News' Diane Sawyer hosting a luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Idol barely maintains winning streak against rampaging Dancing

Ed Bark — 2010-03-30T14:00:25-05:00

Pamela Anderson and pro pal on 10th edition opener. ABC photos By ED BARK ABC's Dancing with the Stars came within a high heel of being the first series to best both weekly editions of American Idol since the Fox juggernaut's formative first season. Dancing's March 22nd 10th edition opener had 24.185 million viewers nationally, with Idol's March 23rd performance teetering atop the Nielsen prime-time charts with 24.211 million viewers.

Bauer bowing out: 24 will call it quits after this season stops ticking

Ed Bark — 2010-03-27T11:27:38-05:00

"While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note," Sutherland said in a news release that was emailed at 7:20:36 p.m. central time Friday. ..."One of the things that I was always so unbelievably proud of is that you could have our show being discussed by Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh at the same time, both using it and citing it to justify their points of view.

Lifetime Movie Network keeps the faith with compelling Amish Grace

Ed Bark — 2010-03-26T15:23:20-05:00

Kimberly Williams-Paisley co-stars in Amish Grace. Lifetime photo Premiering: Sunday, March 28th at 7 p.m. (central) on Lifetime Movie Network Starring: Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Tammy Blanchard, Matt Letscher, Fay Masterson, Madison Mason,Gary Graham, Karley Scott Collins, John Churchill, Madison Davenport, Eugene Byrd Produced by: Kyle A. ...Gideon, a by-the-book practitioner, reluctantly says that his wife will be "shunned" if she makes good on her vow to leave the Amish community rather than forgive the murderer of their daughter or his widow.

ABC serves Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (but will Americans eat it up?)

Ed Bark — 2010-03-26T10:05:13-05:00

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution infiltrates the "unhealthiest city in America" in a six-episode effort to wean its denizens -- particularly school children -- off steady diets of breakfast pizzas, chicken nuggets and an overall "Aladdin's cave of processed crap," as he puts it. ...Friday's two hours include a repeat of that first hour plus a new one at 8 p.m. Oliver will spend all six hours of the series in Huntington, W.

CW's Fly Girls is grounded in pseduo reality

Ed Bark — 2010-03-23T12:56:56-05:00

The five stars of Fly Girls prepare for battle. CW photo By ED BARK Premiering: Wednesday, March 24th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Real-life Virgin America flight attendants Nikole, Louise, Farrah, Tasha, Mandalay Produced by: Jeff Collins, Colin Nash ...Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin America airlines is the takeoff point for Fly Girls, which stars five cute 'n' buxom flight attendants named Nikole, Louise, Farrah, Tasha and Mandalay.

Showtime's Nurse Jackie takes its meds for Season 2

Ed Bark — 2010-03-22T13:34:10-05:00

Season 2 premiere: Monday, March 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Edie Falco, Merrit Wever, Eve Best, Peter Facinelli, Anna Deavere Smith, Dominic Fumusa, Paul Schulze, Ruby Jerins, Mackenzie Aladjem, Stephen Wallem, Arjun Gupta Created by: Evan Dunsky, Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem ...Plus he's tweeting -- beginning in Episode 2 -- as part of a new gambit that will play out weekly in real time on the show's newly minted "@DoctorCoop" twitter account.

Breaking Bad snaps into Season 3

Ed Bark — 2010-03-18T16:00:33-05:00

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad. AMC photo Season 3 premiere: Sunday, March 21st at 9 p.m. (central) on AMC Starring: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Betsy Brandt, Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks, Daniel and Luis Moncada Produced by: Vince Gilligan, Mark Johnson ...They've crossed the Mexican border to Albuquerque in search of the now desperately unhappy Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher/meth cooker whose descent into the lucrative drug trade was triggered by a lung cancer diagnosis and his desire to leave a big pile of cash behind for his financially pressed family.

Sy fy fo fum

Ed Bark — 2010-03-17T14:23:44-05:00

Mongolian Death Worm -- A treasure hunter who has been searching for a tomb containing Genghis Khan's treasure teams with a humanitarian UN health worker to stop the Mongolian Death Worms, awakened by experimental oil drilling in the Mongolian desert. ...Stonehenge Apocalypse -- When the giant stones of Stonehenge begin to move and cataclysms occur all over the earth, only a fringe radio talk show host who's an expert in UFOlogy figures out that the ancient monument is really alien technology.

Badge of honor: FX's Justified cools it a bit without losing an edge

Ed Bark — 2010-03-15T17:44:14-05:00

Tuesday's premiere of Justified (the lead character originated in novels by Elmore Leonard) turns out to be notably darker in tone than two subsequent episodes sent for review. ...It's nice to see the network try a little tenderness for a change with a drama that curbs its enthusiasm for aggressively anti-hero males and instead gives viewers an easier to swallow blend of Southern Comfort and lemonade.

HBO's The Pacific joins its already vast collection of finest hours

Ed Bark — 2010-03-12T10:58:37-06:00

Face of war: Joe Mazello as Marine Eugene Sledge. HBO photos Premiering: Sunday, March 14th at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing for 10 consecutive Sundays through May 16th on HBO Starring: Joe Mazzello, James Badge Dale, Jon Seda, Ashton Holmes, Rami Malek, Scott Gibson, Annie Parisse, William Sadler, Claire Van Der Boom and many more Produced by: Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman ...The final chapter brings it all home by bringing the surviving Marines back to the places where they used to fit right in. Sledge and Leckie are the focuses, but the most moving moments come from another source that won't be revealed because it would ruin the impact.

Sons of Tucson comes up stinko

Ed Bark — 2010-03-11T09:52:15-06:00

By ED BARK It's usually not a good idea to replicate a flop, and perhaps no one involved with Sons of Tucson has ever heard of A Family For Joe. ...Fox's Sons of Tucson, premiering Sunday after Family Guy, stars beefy Tyler Labine (Reaper) as lame-brained Ron Snuffkin, who's living out of his car. Three brothers whose banker dad is in jail on an embezzlement conviction recruit him to be their bogus pop. In return he receives his own room -- in the backyard tool shed -- and $300 a week.

Scum rises to the top in CW's High Society

Ed Bark — 2010-03-10T13:00:40-06:00

"Trust fund partier" Jules Kirby of The CW's High Society. CW photo By ED BARK Premiering: Wednesday, March 10th at 8:30 p.m. (central) before moving to 8 p.m. Wednesdays on March 24th Starring: Tinsley Mortimer, Jules Kirby, Paul Johnson Calderon, Dabney Mercer, Dale Mercer, Devorah Rose, Alexandra Osipow Created by: Tinsley Mortimer, Andrew Glassman, Mike Aho ...She used to be married to a rich guy, but now can be seen play-sobbing in her Upper East Side loft after her recent separation from fund marketer Robert Livingston "Topper" Mortimer, whose face is digitized in Wednesday's premiere.

DVD review: ABC's Elvis now back in the building

Ed Bark — 2010-03-09T09:34:47-06:00

He's got the voice and mannerisms down, pulling viewers into a nuanced characterization that takes Elvis from a virginal, picked-on high schooler to a darker, insecure commodity who shoots a hole in a Las Vegas hotel TV screen when a local news anchor speculates on whether he can still deliver the goods "after nearly 10 years in seclusion." ...From there it's a leisurely, evocative journey back to the "present," with ample time for the formative music that made Presley an idolized, moneymaking machine whose wealth and generosity took Vernon and Gladys from the family's dumpy, Honeymooners-esque apartment in Memphis to the gaudy environs of Graceland.

Oscar audience up 5 mil from previous year's

Ed Bark — 2010-03-08T15:34:48-06:00

Backstage with winners Jeff Bridges and Mo'nique. ABC photos By ED BARK Sunday night's 82nd annual Academy Awards lured 5 million more viewers nationally than the last one, giving ABC its most-watched Oscars telecast in five years. ...The least-watched Oscars were in 2008, when just 32 million viewers cared enough to see No Country For Old Men win for best picture.

Limp Oscars fade away after less than dynamic hosting by Martin/Baldwin

Ed Bark — 2010-03-08T08:16:25-06:00

Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Absent any major upsets and again running longer than planned, Sunday night's 82nd annual Academy Awards hoped to be sparked by the uncommon choice of dual hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. ...Whether acting or not, he responded enthusiastically to her win and then had to repeat the process when Hurt Locker also beat Avatar for Best Picture.

The Office "Baby Event" struggles to be a special delivery

Ed Bark — 2010-03-04T15:19:28-06:00

"The One-Hour Office Baby Event," as NBC keeps billing it, seems more than a little too sitcom-y for a series of this caliber. ...Through it all, Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell) as always makes an ass of himself, whether trying to act as a matchmaker or racing off to the hospital with the expectant couple in tow.

Wink, blink, nod

Ed Bark — 2010-03-03T12:04:17-06:00

But hey, so have Bob Eubanks and Bob Costas, neither of whom would probably be caught dead in the above "electric peacock colors and day-glo ties" that Wink's proudly sporting. ... As long as we're on this admittedly bizarro topic, let me admit to really liking Lambert's performance of "Sleepwalker" on Leno's Tonight.

Leno re-takes Tonight, knowing that this time NBC will keep its hands off

Ed Bark — 2010-03-02T10:50:19-06:00

Sporting a new desk but sticking to the same format, Jay Leno welcomed Jamie Foxx on his first Tonight do-over Monday. NBC photo By ED BARK Like it or not, he's back. ...Yeah, except for her impromptu December appearance on O'Brien's Tonight, during which she mockingly read excerpts from one of William Shatner's books after he mockingly read excerpts from her Going Rogue.

NBC's Parenthood a long-needed feather in Peacock's plumage

Ed Bark — 2010-03-01T16:07:52-06:00

It's a Baker's Dozen of Bravermans in NBC's Parenthood. NBC photo Premiering: Tuesday, March 2nd at 9 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Lauren Graham, Peter Krause, Craig T. ...The drama initially unfolds with few if any genuine surprises, whether it's the grousing, old-school Zeek melting like buttah at crunch time or the insecure Sarah rising to the occasion of an impromptu date with a balding old high school flame whom she initially sees as an even bigger loser.

Young's "Long May You Run" had familiar NBC ring to it; Marriage Ref launch then waylays Olympics' closing ceremonies

Ed Bark — 2010-03-01T00:03:10-06:00

Determined to give Jerry Seinfeld's The Marriage Ref a showcase sneak preview, NBC plopped it in the middle of its live coverage of the Olympics' closing ceremonies Sunday night. ...But a half-hour edition of Marriage Ref, which NBC did not make available for review, instead served as a bridge between the Peacock's prime-time and late night coverage of the Vancouver curtain-closer.

Sheen again enters rehab; CBS suspends production on Two and a Half Men

Ed Bark — 2010-02-23T18:15:10-06:00

Two and a Half Men stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. By ED BARK Another highly profitable production has been shut down while its star player goes into rehab. ...Television and Two and a Half Men creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre announced early Tuesday evening that work on prime-time's most popular sitcom "will be temporarily suspended" while star Charlie Sheen undergoes voluntary in-patient care at a treatment center.

ABC News plans big cuts as part of widespread digital age transformation

Ed Bark — 2010-02-23T17:23:48-06:00

ABC News president David Westin announced big changes Tuesday. By ED BARK Company-wide buyouts, further consolidation and a "fundamental transformation that will ultimately affect every corner" of ABC News were dropped like a bomb Tuesday by news president David Westin. He tried to do it in a statesmanlike way, first praising the programs he presides over as "stronger today than they were 10 years ago." But in "the middle of a revolution" and in the heart of the digital age, ABC News must adapt or perish, he said in a memo to staffers.

The Olympian hair of Bob Costas: a seminar

Ed Bark — 2010-02-22T12:03:07-06:00

Costas chronologically -- and currently on NBC from Vancouver. By ED BARK First let's re-state the obvious: Bob Costas is one of the best sportscasters ever, perhaps the greatest of all time. ...Bob Barker had the fortitude to renounce his hair dye bottle during the height of his fame as host of CBS' The Price Is Right.

A sorry apology from Woods? Not in this view

Ed Bark — 2010-02-19T10:37:28-06:00

"Please know that as far as I am concerned, every one of these questions and answers is a matter between Elin and me," Woods said before pointedly scolding those in the media who directed their glares on his immediate family. ...But Woods is absolutely right in his decision to not go public about who he slept with, how Elin found out and all the other attendant juice that has so many media outlets slobbering.

HBO's Reporter documentary strives to stir hearts by personalizing the war-torn Congo

Ed Bark — 2010-02-18T12:34:08-06:00

The 90-minute documentary film (Thursday, Feb. 18th, 8:30 p.m. central), executive-produced by Ben Affleck and directed/narrated by Eric Daniel Metzgar, is up-front about both its intentions and the steep curve it faces in getting people to spend time with the ongoing genocide in the so-called Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...One also can question Kristof's decision to make an appearance on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, where the host makes him the butt of jokes while doing his usual play-acting as a pompous, right-wing truth-teller.

Jerry's Palace anointed anew on truTV's NFL Full Contact

Ed Bark — 2010-02-15T11:24:04-06:00

The NBA All-Stars packed 'em in at Cowboys Stadium. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK It seems like only yesterday -- and in fact it was -- that Cowboys Stadium had a national platform as "the most glossy home ever to welcome the wonders of the game." ..."What the Roman Colosseum was to the first century is what Cowboys Stadium is to the 21st century," NBC Sunday Night Football announcer Al Michaels said by way of introduction to the team's eventual 33-31 loss to the New York Giants before an NFL record crowd of 105,121 on Sept. 20th.

Cowboy Colby and friends (and enemies) go back to the bush for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains

Ed Bark — 2010-02-11T08:14:19-06:00

Veteran vixen Jerri Manthey with CBS pres./CEO Leslie Moonves. The Heroes vs. Villains mix also includes flirty Jerri Manthey, who tried to play Delilah to Donaldson's Samson in Australian Outback before he eventually conspired to cut her loose. ... Competitors Rupert Boneham, Jerri Manthey and Russell Hantz flank host Jeff Probst and creator/executive producer Mark Burnett. The 20th edition of Survivor, which also is tied to the 10th anniversary of the show, oddly is without anyone from the 2000 trailblazer, won by duplicitous Richard Hatch.

Fox's Past Life needs to find a pulse

Ed Bark — 2010-02-09T12:03:22-06:00

Kelli Giddish heads the cast of Fox's new Past Life. Fox photo Premiering: Tuesday, Feb. 9th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox before moving to 8 p.m. Thursdays Starring: Kelli Giddish, Nicholas Bishop, Richard Schiff, Ravi Patel Produced by: David Hudgins, Lou Pitt ...Inspired by the novel The Reincarnationist, this is a largely labored effort starring former All My Children regular Kelli Giddish as Dr. Kate McGinn, a psychologist "dedicated to the study of the science of the soul," according to Fox publicity materials.

Super Bowl XLIV mashes MAS*H finale, says CBS

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T14:40:45-06:00

Averaging 106.5 million viewers in the preliminary national Nielsens, the game edges CBS' Feb. 28, 1983 telecast of the M*A*S*H finale, which had 106 million viewers. ...CBS says that the first episode of Undercover Boss is the most-watched series premiere in any time slot since ABC launched the variety series Dolly (starring Dolly Parton) on Sept. 27, 1987.

NFL Full Contact rings false on truTV

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T13:38:09-06:00

The Steelers' Troy Polamalu let himself be miniaturized in a "Six more weeks of football" Super Bowl ad for truTV's NFL Full Contact. Premiering: Monday, Feb. 8th at 9 p.m. (central) on truTV Starring: A collection of behind-the-scenes guys Produced by: Steve Sabol ...Full Contact, judging from the opening episode, is puff for the NFL and fluff when it comes to what publicity materials tout as "the unpredictable challenges and conflicts that ensue in the high-stakes atmosphere that extends from the sidelines to the television truck to the locker room to the halftime show."

Come together: Letterman and Leno play act with Oprah as buffer

Ed Bark — 2010-02-08T09:36:28-06:00

Chips in their mouths and on their shoulders. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK The surprise spot of Super Bowl XLIV came at the 9:34 mark of the second quarter, when Indiana native David Letterman in a Colts jersey whined, "This is the worst Super bowl party ever." ...So this was a perfect way for her to play referee, with Letterman and Leno at least appearing in close proximity to one another for the first time in more than a decade.

Jobs well done: CBS' post-Super Bowl Undercover Boss pays as it goes

Ed Bark — 2010-02-05T13:39:50-06:00

O'Donnell infiltrates his own company by posing as Randy Lawrence, whose adventures as an entry level worker are being recorded by a camera crew as grist for a possible reality series. ...This provides the star of this hour with some built-in empathy before he tries to master the art of picking recyclable cardboard off a fast-moving conveyor belt while being encouraged by a dedicated employee named Sandy.

Danes in full bloom as autistic heroine of HBO's Temple Grandin

Ed Bark — 2010-02-04T16:32:47-06:00

Claire Danes talks up the HBO film Temple Grandin at Television Critics Association "press tour" in Pasadena. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK This is such a good film. ...The film begins in 1966, with Temple spending the summer at her Aunt Ann's (Catherine O'Hara) cattle ranch in Arizona before being asked to make an abrupt transition to Franklin Pierce College out East.

Jones 'n' Joplin -- still smokin' after all these years

Ed Bark — 2010-02-04T09:59:53-06:00

For a truly blazin' hot twofer, though, return with us to 1969's This Is Tom Jones, during which the swivel-hipped underwear-catcher smoked TV screens with a wailing Janis Joplin. Their performance of "Raise Your Hand" remains a wonder to behold -- and that includes the unbridled joyous dancing and a full-blown horn section.

Lost returns with double shots of intrigue (note: don't read if you still plan to see it)

Ed Bark — 2010-02-03T07:50:43-06:00

In a dual device that few fans could have envisioned, Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox); apprehended fugitive Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly); con man James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway); paralyzed John Locke (Terry O'Quinn); former torturer Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews); lottery winner Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia) and husband/wife Jin and Sun Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim) were all back aboard their Oceanic 815 flight from Sydney to L.A. ..."I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he told a cowed Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), who's been reduced to his intimidated gofer while fake Locke has emerged as the island's brusque, sometimes brutal overlord.

Will Lost find a way? The climactic Season 6 is ready for takeoff

Ed Bark — 2010-02-01T14:26:25-06:00

producers Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse serve appetizers at last month's TV Critics Association "press tour" in Pasadena. By ED BARK The Lost bandwagon has lost much of its load over the years. ...

Better late than never? Conan's last week a ratings triumph (plus, the Grammys get the words out)

Ed Bark — 2010-02-01T00:08:30-06:00

For their entire run against each other, Letterman had averaged 4.2 million total viewers a week, with ABC's Nightline second (3.9 million) and O'Brien far back with 2.8 million viewers. ...Jay Leno, who had dominated Letterman in both ratings measurements, gets a do-over on March 1st when he returns as Tonight host after a disastrous run in prime-time that will end on the Feb. 11th eve of the Winter Olympics.

"Just Jay and Oprah, speaking titan to titan"

Ed Bark — 2010-01-29T11:15:45-06:00

On Thursday's Jimmy Kimmel Live, he rebutted Jay Leno's contention -- on that day's interview with Oprah Winfrey -- that Kimmel had "sucker-punched" him during a "10 at 10" segment in which Kimmel took the opportunity to mock Leno. ...It's all in the not-to-be-missed clip below, which also includes excerpts from Kimmel's Jay Leno Show appearance and Leno's response when Winfrey asked him about it.

Instant classic: The Late Night War in faux Ken Burns fashion

Ed Bark — 2010-01-22T14:33:20-06:00

ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live gave the Leno/Conan festivities a Ken Burns touch Thursday night in a mockumentary titled The Late Night War. Favorite image: NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker in a Civil War era outhouse reading "Running a Network for Dummies."

Syfy's Caprica ready to launch as 'frak'-fueled Battlestar Galactica prequel

Ed Bark — 2010-01-22T11:01:17-06:00

Friday's two-hour premiere also makes ample room for wealthy technology genius Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz), whose wife, Amanda (Paula Malcomson), is having a particularly vexing time with their rebellious teen daughter, Zoe (Alessandra Torresani). ...For the most part, Capricans bow to multiple gods while Zoe and some of her allies have had the temerity to worship a single supreme being who frowns on the planet's rampant materialism and immorality.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand spews, spurts and somehow makes it work

Ed Bark — 2010-01-21T15:12:17-06:00

Spartacus staves off a sub-human in the dreaded "Pit." Premiering: Friday, Jan. 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on Starz Starring: Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Viva Blanca, Craig Prker, Jai Courtney, Erin Cummings, Nick E. ...Balking at contrary orders from Roman commander Glaber (Craig Parker), he eventually is separated from his beauteous wife Sura (Erin Cummings) and sentenced to a kill-or-be-killed life of gladiator-dom.

Leno returning to saddle, Conan hitting the beach

Ed Bark — 2010-01-21T11:14:44-06:00

Jay Leno, pushed into prime-time after O'Brien took over Tonight, will return as the show's host on March 1st after NBC's telecasts of the Winter Olympics from Vancouver. ...Post-Leno -- at least in terms of his prime-time show -- the Peacock will be puttying its 9 p.m. (central) hour after the Olympics with two Law & Order hours, an expanded Dateline NBC, the new scripted series Parenthood and The Marriage Ref, a comedy panel show produced by Jerry Seinfeld.

ABC's The Deep End lawyers up without making much of a case

Ed Bark — 2010-01-20T12:35:37-06:00

Rookie lawyers sink or swim in The Deep End. ABC photo By ED BARK Premiering: Thursday, Jan. 21st at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Matt Long, Billy Zane, Leah Pipes, Clancy Brown, Tina Majorino, Norbert Leo Butz, Ben Lawson, Mehcad Brooks, Nicole Ari Parker, Rosa Pasquarella Produced by: David Hemingson, Jan Nash ...Their whipcracker -- and designated "Prince of Darkness" -- is hard-hearted, self-absorbed Cliff Huddle (Billy Zane sporting a shaved head), whose authority is threatened by the return of firm namesake Hart Sterling (Clancy Brown), who's been off tending to his ill wife.

CW's Life Unexpected is another one of life's little disappointments

Ed Bark — 2010-01-18T13:18:23-06:00

Britt Robertson stars as wayward Lux in CW's Life Unexpected. Premiering: Monday, Jan. 18th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Britt Robertson, Shiri Appleby, Krostoffer Polaha, Kerr Smith, Autin Basis, Reggie Austin Produced by: Liz Tigelaar, Janet Leahy ...Whatever your age, it's way too hard to swallow the premise that the irresistibly cute and smart Lux went unadopted because she had a hole in her heart that required a series of surgeries until the age of three.

Glee, Mad Men win top TV Globes

Ed Bark — 2010-01-17T23:32:05-06:00

Hall wins one at Sunday's 67th Golden Globe awards on NBC. Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Cable copped eight of the 11 TV awards during Sunday night's Golden Globes show on NBC, but one of the big ones went to Fox's Glee. "This is for anybody and everybody who got a wedgie in high school," executive producer Ryan Murphy said after the first-year series won in the best comedy or musical category.

Fox's Human Target triggers another alpha male into action

Ed Bark — 2010-01-17T16:00:58-06:00

Human Target's Chi McBride, Mark Valley, Jackie Earle Haley Premiering: Sunday, Jan. 17th at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Mark Valley, Chi McBride, Jackie Earle Haley Produced by: McG, Jonathan E. ...The broad, oft-preposterous action-adventure of Human Target turns out to be a nice, breezy break from the clench-jawed 24 motif or the perplexing, strung-out "mythologies" that drove both Terminator and Dollhouse.

Which network can't you do without?

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T16:15:19-06:00

As of this writing, Cablevision is still warring with Food Network and HGTV after dropping them from its systems earlier this month rather than pay the markedly higher carriage fees being sought by their proprietor, Scripps Networks. And at the end of last year, Time Warner Cable and Fox Networks Group had a big bout on a similar front, with their main disagreement over "retransmission" fees for Fox's broadcast channel, home of American Idol, The Simpsons and House.

Look out below: FX's animated Archer is fit for an R-rated review

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T14:18:23-06:00

ISIS also is populated by the aforementioned lush Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler); plus-sized human resources director Pam (Amber Nash); dutiful secretary Cheryl (Judy Greer) and comptroller Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell), who is Lana's new boyfriend. ...It's likely to hit the young male demo like a laser beam while also dragging along some older gray mules who can't help but be kind of amused by this equal opportunity offender.

The Simpsons: 20 years, 450 episodes and counting

Ed Bark — 2010-01-07T14:18:00-06:00

Premiering as snippets on one of the Fox network's charter series -- The Tracey Ullman Show -- Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and an accompanying menagerie of fellow Springfield inhabitants first came to half-hour life in a Dec. 17, 1989 Christmas special. ...This is exactly the kind of cheeky approach that's worn so well, even if the show's maestros more or less acknowledge that The Simpsons perhaps isn't as funny now as it was a decade or so ago.

Hume calls Tiger home; hue and cry ensues

Ed Bark — 2010-01-05T09:34:43-06:00

By ED BARK Brit Hume, the retired Fox news anchor now serving as a part-time commentator, is not known as a buttery, soft-serve guy. ...The comments came in the context of his New Year's message to Woods, who has not been glimpsed in public since his exhaustively chronicled Thanksgiving night smashup and resultant disclosure of extramarital affairs.

ABC's love connections are hardly heart-healthy

Ed Bark — 2010-01-03T22:08:51-06:00

For openers, studly Dallas flyboy Jake Pavelka begins sorting through 25 awestruck beauties on ABC's two-hour premiere of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (7 p.m. central). ...Then comes Conveyor Belt of Love (9 p.m. central), a one-hour special apparently designed to pound brain cells senseless with a two-by-four before implanting them in Joey Lawrence.

Countdown to Christmas: climactic Video 12

Ed Bark — 2009-12-23T10:12:31-06:00

We end our Countdown extravaganza with the inimitable Darlene Love's full-blown performance of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home") on Late Show with David Letterman ...Love will return to Late Show on Wed., Dec. 23rd to sing "Christmas" for the 24th consecutive year.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 11

Ed Bark — 2009-12-22T09:26:28-06:00

Win or lose, Dallas Cowboys players always find a way to make their annual Christmas season visits to area children's hospitals. ...You can feel the glow from players and kids alike in this nicely done uplifter by WFAA8's Joe Trahan.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 10

Ed Bark — 2009-12-21T10:41:27-06:00

Last year's "Thank God For Kids" segment included Hansen's much-noted commentary on both his shortcomings as a father and his grown children's supposedly childish ways. This year he stayed away from that very touchy topic, instead gently talking about his 16-year-old granddaughter and a longtime friend who recently lost his 20-year-old son in a car accident.

Everyman "Charlie" Gibson signs off ABC's World News

Ed Bark — 2009-12-18T18:13:39-06:00

Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Charles Gibson ended his relatively brief reign as anchor of ABC's World News Friday, completing the broadcast amid applauding, tearful staffers. ...Gibson, 66, briefly yielded to his emotions before a film clip showed a who's who of dignitaries, including President Obama and the four living former U.S. presidents, saying farewell and wishing him well.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 9

Ed Bark — 2009-12-18T11:02:25-06:00

In the annals of out-of-Church Christmas carols, I'll take "The Christmas Song" over "White Christmas" as the all-time topper. And that takes us to Nat King Cole, who continues to sing it better than anybody 44 years after his death.

Lights, cameras, pageantry: TCM's Gigantic World of Epics is suitably towering

Ed Bark — 2009-12-17T13:41:18-06:00

TCM's one-hour The Gigantic World of Epics (Sunday, Dec. 20th at 7 p.m. central) is less than one-third the length of the real thing. ...Its spotlights shine brightest on Zhivago, Arabia, Gone with the Wind, The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, for which star Charlton Heston won a best actor Oscar in an epic best known for its unparalleled chariot race.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 8

Ed Bark — 2009-12-17T09:49:03-06:00

He's good-humored, gift-giving and a great dresser, too. ...Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph opened Saturday Night Live's 2006 Christmas special with this starry-eyed serenade to their would-be bearded beau, who likes his women naughty but nice.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 7

Ed Bark — 2009-12-16T08:43:45-06:00

That would be the "brilliance, clarity and beauty" of VistaVision, the high-definition of its day back in 1954. White Christmas, the first movie to fall under its spell, starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen.

TV newcomers make strong showings in Golden Globes comedy categories

Ed Bark — 2009-12-15T09:41:17-06:00

The cast of Modern Family will be out in force at Golden Globes. By ED BARK Newcomers Glee and Modern Family crashed the best comedy series category while established shows will battle it out in the drama division at next month's 67th Golden Globes awards. ...Also left empty-handed this time around were CBS' The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, Fox's 24, Showtime's The Tudors, ABC's FlashForward and HBO's In Treatment.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 6

Ed Bark — 2009-12-15T09:22:11-06:00

There are innumerable versions, but one of the best came just last night (Dec. 14) during the climactic minutes of ABC's Jennifer Hudson: I'll Be Home For Christmas. Feel the power as she sings in the hometown Chicago church where it all started for her.

NBC's post-Olympics schedule without Heroes but with another Trump card

Ed Bark — 2009-12-14T14:05:06-06:00

By ED BARK Heroes is out -- possibly for good -- but former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has another gig on NBC's post-Winter Olympics prime-time lineup, announced Monday. ...The scripted drama series Parenthood, originally announced for this fall, gets a delayed premiere on Monday, March 1st following Chuck, which relaunches on Sunday Jan. 10th with back-to-back episodes before moving to its regular night.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 5

Ed Bark — 2009-12-14T08:57:50-06:00

Ron Paul as Scrooge in moviedom's original The Christmas Carol. Actually, the above photo caption is a fib, even if Ron Paul as pictured would have made a great stand-in for Alastair Sim. ...Narrated to a chorus of "The First Noel," it positions Paul as the saviour of us all.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 4

Ed Bark — 2009-12-11T11:10:03-06:00

"Because it says 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy smoking' 200 times." Straight from the Mad Men era comes this one-minute ad for Lucky Strike cancer sticks in their specially designed holiday carton.

GMA tabs Stephanopoulos, Chang to replace re-assigned Sawyer, Cuomo

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T14:14:12-06:00

GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos and news reader Juju Chang. By ED BARK He'll have to act a whole lot goofier, for one, particularly during those cooking segments. ...GMA also is adding Juju Chang, 44, as the program's news reader, with Chris Cuomo becoming co-anchor of 20/20 with Elizabeth Vargas and also serving as the network's chief justice and law correspondent.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 3

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T11:36:19-06:00

Does this qualify as an instant contemporary classic in the Christmas commercial genre? I think it does.

Sign o' the Apocalypse? ABC slots Conveyor Belt of Love after January premiere of new Bachelor

Ed Bark — 2009-12-10T10:18:44-06:00

Here comes Conveyor Belt of Love. By ED BARK The Earth-invading aliens of ABC's V might have made a sharp U-turn back to Krypton had they known this was coming. ..."If two or more of the women are interested in the same man, the tables turn and the man on the conveyor belt gets to choose which one he would like to wait for."

Countdown to Christmas: Video 2

Ed Bark — 2009-12-09T18:01:40-06:00

Imagine little eyes lighting up when Milky the Marvelous Milking Cow emerged from under the tree.... Delbert the Degenerate Defecating Donkey never quite made it into stores, though.

Make an unjoyful noise: Glee taking winter off after Wednesday's "fall finale"

Ed Bark — 2009-12-08T17:29:44-06:00

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" (Rolling Stones) "Don't Rain On My Parade" (Barbra Streisand) "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (from the Dreamgirls soundtrack) "My Life Would Suck Without You" (Kelly Clarkson) ...***Also on the parting-is-such-sweet-sorrow beat, Showtime's Dexter winds up a riveting Season 4 on Sunday, Dec. 13th, with Michael C.

Countdown to Christmas: Video 1

Ed Bark — 2009-12-08T08:56:07-06:00

Television has provided innumerable Christmas moments and images over the years, some of them even classic. ...It all begins with this simple yet affecting black-and-white "Season's Greetings from CBS," circa 1966.

TNT's Men of a Certain Age gives older guys a welcome new guise

Ed Bark — 2009-12-07T09:56:47-06:00

In a very real sense, the Big Four broadcast networks (and little CW) no longer have any use for a weekly hour without gruesome crime, fantasy mythology or a cast predominated by characters almost a decade older than Brett Favre. ...Braugher, best known for his Emmy-winning work on Homicide: Life on the Street, is getting nowhere fast as Owen, a diabetic, overweight, married father of three who works for his stern father's car dealership.

Syfy's Alice "re-imagines" her as Wonderland-trapped action-hero

Ed Bark — 2009-12-04T14:39:06-06:00

Our heroine is a little boxed in during the early stages of Alice. By ED BARK Alice has a black belt in the martial arts, making her a formidable fighter for "The Resistance" in oppressed Wonderland. ...Syfy's four-hour Alice, premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing Monday at the same hour, bears the stamp of venerable Robert Halmi Sr. as co-executive producer.

Talkin' trash and grillin' for a grand prize on TLC's BBQ Pitmasters

Ed Bark — 2009-12-03T15:59:31-06:00

Texas BBQers Johnny Trigg (Alvarado) and Paul Petersen (McKinney) Premiering: Thursday, Dec. 3rd at 9 p.m. (central) on TLC Starring: A buncha BBQers, three hailing from Texas Produced by: Charlie Corwin/Original Media ...BBQ Pitmasters is kind of fun to watch, with the well-fed Mixon mixin' it up and pretty much casting himself as the guy on whom rivals and viewers would most like to bestow a can of whoop ass.

Comcast to take controlling interest of NBC Universal -- including that crummy old, loss-leading broadcast network

Ed Bark — 2009-12-03T11:51:17-06:00

A joint news release by Comcast and GE (which will retain a 49 percent ownership share for now), and CNBC's interview with the companies' CEOs accentuated the positives of cable's dual revenue streams and current-day profit margins. ...NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker will remain in place after taking the NBC broadcast network into a fourth-place dumper while at the same time building the company's growing arsenal of cable networks into big-time profit centers.

Jesse Ventura body slams brain cells in truTV's Conspiracy Theory

Ed Bark — 2009-12-02T13:28:51-06:00

Jesse Ventura strikes a pose for Conspiracy Theory. Turner photo Premiering: Wednesday, Dec. 2nd at 9 p.m. (central) on truTV Starring: Jesse Ventura Produced by: Jesse Ventura, Arthur Smith, Kent Weed, Frank Sinton, Michael Braverman, Barry Bloom ...An accompanying soundtrack, replete with drum-beating and other notes of urgency, quickly chaperones Ventura and a camera crew to the very gates of hell, where the former Navy SEAL is told by a man with a digitized head and altered voice that he won't be getting an impromptu tour of the HAARP facility.

Bravo? Not so for Lauer and the Salahis during Tuesday's Today show interview

Ed Bark — 2009-12-01T10:07:11-06:00

It had been reported that Michaele and Tareq Salahi were trying to negotiate a big payday for their first TV interview after bagging out on Monday night's edition of CNN's Larry King Live. ...Representatives of the Bravo cable network, owned by NBC Universal, have acknowledged filming the Salahis on the day and night they successfully made their way into last Tuesday's State Dinner, where they were photographed with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden among others.

Salahis will see Lauer -- apparently for free -- on Tuesday's Today.

Ed Bark — 2009-12-01T00:29:20-06:00

After bagging out on Monday's edition of CNN's Larry King Live, America's most famous uninvited guests, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, instead have granted their first TV interview to NBC's Today. NBC Universal trumpeted the booking in a Monday night publicity release issued just a handful of hours before the preening pair are scheduled to sit down with Matt Lauer on the Tuesday, Dec. 1st Today.

Idol marked for Jan. 12th return, Glee takes winter off in new midseason Fox lineup

Ed Bark — 2009-11-24T17:28:51-06:00

1 with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds and poised to win its first November "sweeps" ever in that demographic, Fox starts piling on again in January with the annual return of American Idol and some notable schedule shifts. ...Sons of Tucson, a new, live-action family comedy about three brothers who hire a "charming, wayward schemer" to stand in for their jailed dad, will launch on Sunday, March 14th in a slot between The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Latest Kennedy assassination rewind retains a firm grip

Ed Bark — 2009-11-23T10:35:45-06:00

Premiering one day removed from the 46th anniversary of President Kennedy's last day, it's two hours shorter than History Channel's two-part, four-hour JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America, which aired in early October as part of that network's "Kennedy DeClassified Week." ...Most jarring of all, though, is a local TV reporter (again off-camera and unidentified) telling viewers, "The report is that the attempted assassins, we now hear it was a man and a woman who fired the shots were on the ledge of a building near the Houston Street underpass."

Lost to be found on Tuesdays next year

Ed Bark — 2009-11-19T15:52:41-06:00

By ED BARK The sixth and last season of Lost will launch on Tuesday, Feb. 2nd with a two-hour premiere, ABC announced Thursday. Lost then will shift to a new Tuesday 8 p.m. (central) slot on Feb. 9th.

Sarah and Oprah -- not really worth bookmarking

Ed Bark — 2009-11-16T18:07:17-06:00

Did Palin feel "snubbed" by The Oprah Winfrey Show after the Queen of Talk very publicly endorsed Barack Obama before deciding against inviting any of the candidates to chat with her? "No offense to you, but it wasn't the center of my universe" at the time, Palin said, prompting Winfrey to look just a bit taken aback before quickly recovering.

Take a number: AMC's The Prisoner strives to be six hours that count

Ed Bark — 2009-11-13T06:40:33-06:00

15th at 7 p.m. (central) on AMC and continuing at the same time Monday and Tuesday Starring; Ian McKellen, Jim Caviezel, Hayley Atwell, Ruth Wilson, Lennie James, Rachael Blake, Jamie Campbell Bower Produced by: Bill Gallagher, Michele Buck, Damien Timmer, Rebecca Keane ...Other key players are Two's pill-fed, oft-comatose wife, M2 (Rachael Blake); their rebellious teen or twentysomething son 11-12 (Jamie Campbell Bower); and a doctor known as 313 (Ruth Wilson).

Dobbs leaves CNN behind (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-11-12T08:10:04-06:00

Known best for his unbridled criticisms of U.S. immigration policy -- which he believes is too lax -- Dobbs said that "some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving, as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day. ...Dobbs had been reprimanded by his CNN bosses, principally president Jon Klein, for his advocacy positions on a network that is still striving to carve out neutral territory between the right-leaning Fox News Channel and left-leaning MSNBC.

Hank, Dollhouse join evictee list

Ed Bark — 2009-11-11T16:53:21-06:00

Kelsey Grammer of ABC's Hank; Eliza Dushku of Fox's Dollhouse. By ED BARK After minimal herding in the early going, TV's cancellation corral is starting to fill up. ...Fox's Dollhouse, in its sophomore year, will go out of production after this season's initial order of 13 episodes is completed, the network announced.

Apocalypse -- not now but then

Ed Bark — 2009-11-10T17:19:38-06:00

So it's hard to know how much of Smithsonian Channel's six-hour Apocalypse lives up to claims that most of its footage is hardly same-old, same-old. ...Hour 3 ("Shock"), also sent for review, is starker and more powerful in its footage of the Nazi Army's march toward Moscow in conditions ranging from dusty/bumpy to impossibly muddy to brutally cold.

HBO's The Pacific coming in March

Ed Bark — 2009-11-10T11:14:53-06:00

Here are two initial looks at The Pacific, with the first clip offering a brief collection of scenes and the second featuring Hanks, Spielberg and others talking about how they approached this daunting project....

Yanks-Phils highest-rated Series in five years

Ed Bark — 2009-11-06T17:09:31-06:00

Parade rest: Yankees and fans celebrate 2009 World Series win. By ED BARK The final national Nielsen ratings are in for the 2009 World Series, which drew the biggest audiences since the Boston Red Sox swept the St. ...The New York Yankees' 6-game triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies averaged 19.4 million viewers nationally after last fall's rain-soaked Phils-Rays 5-gamer hit an all-time low with 13.6 million viewers.

Minority report: Lopez, Sykes gear up for after-hours

Ed Bark — 2009-11-06T11:54:54-06:00

"Being of a different ethnicity and a different comedic approach, I don't think we're going after the same audience" as rival late night shows, Lopez says. ...Both late nighters are scheduled opposite local newscasts, with Sykes getting a half-hour head start on NBC's Saturday Night Live and Lopez doing likewise with NBC's Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and CBS' Late Show With David Letterman.

Levi Johnston and attorney not all atwitter over Tonight/Shatner sketch

Ed Bark — 2009-11-05T14:43:53-06:00

By ED BARK Vagabond scumbag Levi Johnston reportedly is demanding a retraction from The Tonight Show after William Shatner's dramatic readings of some of his alleged Twitter posts. ...Johnston, who's been all over the bottom-feeding media of late, is the father of Palin's grandson, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, and the former fiance of Palin's daughter, Bristol.

Peacock plucked again

Ed Bark — 2009-11-03T17:14:53-06:00

At the same time it will have to re-program the 9 p.m. (central) hour with scripted dramas in hopes that one or more of them will be a reasonable facsimile of the next ER. For now, though, and likely for the rest of the 2009-10 TV season, NBC can thank its lucky stars for Sunday Night Football while waiting for the roof to cave in after a brief respite with the Winter Olympics.

ABC's V "re-imagines" NBC original -- but with flair

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T15:59:15-06:00

3rd at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Joel Gretsch, Scott Wolf, Morris Chestnut, Logan Huffman, Lourdes Benedict, Laura Vandervoort Produced by: Scott Peters, Jeffrey Bell, Steve Pearlman, Jace Hall ...And when you get right down to it, V then as now is about a clandestine master plan by camouflaged, lizard-skinned "Visitors" to take over Earth after wiping out its inhabitants.

Barry Levinson's Poliwood has less depth than plywood

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T10:57:36-06:00

Therefore he's heavily interspersed throughout the film, cast as an earnest truth-seeker who climactically speaks at length about himself as a man of humble origins who may have a gardener now but worked at a number of menial jobs before striking it rich. Other celebs making more than cameo appearances include Susan Sarandon, Ellen Burstyn, Matthew Modine, Spike Lee, Anne Hathaway, Josh Lucas, Graham Nash and David Crosby, who tells Levinson that his dad was the cinematographer on the classic 1952 film High Noon before being blacklisted by Hollywood.

24 begins countdown to Season 8

Ed Bark — 2009-11-02T01:48:27-06:00

This obviously can't go well for him, unless the kid enjoys Gymboree with live weaponry. Season 8 of Fox's 24 begins on Jan. 17th with the traditional two-hour launch.

FX's The League plays fantasy football under TV-MA rules

Ed Bark — 2009-10-27T17:38:56-05:00

Five zeroes can add up to some funny stuff on FX's The League. Premiering: Thursday, Oct. 30th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on FX Starring: Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Stephen Rannazzisi, Paul Scheer, Jon Lajoie, Katie Aselton, Nadine Velazquez, Leslie Bibb Created and produced by: Jeff Schaffer, Jackie Marcus Schaffer ...The starting gun is fired on Thursday, Oct. 29th at 9:30 p.m. (central), following FX's long-running It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

Friday Night Lights kicks off Season 4 with sharp new battle lines drawn

Ed Bark — 2009-10-27T13:32:44-05:00

Wednesday's reboot (8 p.m. central on DirecTV's "The 101 Network") features three fistfights, a volatile parents-principal meeting and a full-blown rage by Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), who's been exiled via re-districting to butt-ugly, cash-poor, blackboard jungle-ish East Dillon High. ...Other Season 4 additions are Jess Meriweather (Jurnee Smollett), a female East Dillon student with a football mind, and Becky Sproles (Madison Burge), 15-year-old daughter of a bar-tending mom bedded by recent West Dillon grad and star fullback Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch).

And now for something completely stupid -- the Obama administration vs. Fox News Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-10-23T13:46:37-05:00

As deputy White House press secretary Dan Pfeiffer said in the Times article, "We simply decided to stop abiding by the fiction, which is aided and abetted by the mainstream press, that Fox is a traditional news organization." ... Obama acolytes Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow Thirdly and most important, the administration already has a house organ of its own -- MSNBC.

While NBC blows it, sister network USA gives viewers another cool breeze

Ed Bark — 2009-10-22T14:36:37-05:00

The Friday, Oct. 23rd launch of White Collar (9 p.m. central) affords USA another chance to look down its nose at corporate sibling NBC, which used to be somebody in the grand scheme of things. ...But it all comes off quite winningly, giving USA another bright light in its growing galaxy while NBC can do no better of late than to announce a spinoff of The Biggest Loser titled Losing It with Jillian.

Local boy makes good on The Jeff Dunham Show -- which otherwise is terrible

Ed Bark — 2009-10-22T10:58:15-05:00

Jeff Dunham (middle) with characters Bubba J and Walter Premiering:Thursday, Oct. 22nd at 8 p.m. (central) on Comedy Central Starring: Jeff Dunham and his assorted characters Produced by: Jeff Dunham, Ross McCall, Aaron Peters, Judi Brown-Marmel, Robert Hartmann, Stu Schreiberg ...Oddly enough, it's the old-line broadcast networks leading a mini-comedy revolution this season with critically praised newcomers (ABC's Modern Family and The Middle) and holdovers such as NBC's 30 Rock and CBS' The Big Bang Theory.

CNN's Latino In America documentary puts Soledad O'Brien in the midst of minority explosion

Ed Bark — 2009-10-21T13:40:10-05:00

Soledad O'Brien with actress Eva Longoria Parker. CNN photos By ED BARK CNN publicity materials very charitably tout Latino In America as "one of the most highly anticipated documentaries ever." ...O'Brien chummily accompanies the excitable Lorena on her mission to become a Food Network personality, even though she's supposedly already a big star on the Spanish language network's Wake Up America.

Guess you could call it character development

Ed Bark — 2009-10-19T11:36:36-05:00

By ED BARK The November issues of Gentlemen's Quarterly and Maxim perhaps won't be purchased for the articles. Particularly GQ, whose cover girl, January Jones, otherwise emotes as Betty Draper on AMC's Mad Men.

Lifetime's Sorority Wars "rushes" without a football

Ed Bark — 2009-10-16T15:14:16-05:00

Lifetime's Sorority Wars (Saturday, Oct. 17th at 8 p.m. central) sprinkles a few lessons to live by into a pretty entertaining little story about the snippy, snooty Deltas vs. the more down-to-earth but still cute/cool Kappas. ...Lutie's best pal, Summer (Faith Ford), is an even more devout Delta alum whose self-important daughter, Gwen (Amanda Schull), is already sworn in. She considers Katie a prize recruit who only needs to get her nose a little higher in the air.

CBS cleans up and shares the wealth with arsenal of hits in last hour of prime-time

Ed Bark — 2009-10-15T17:19:31-05:00

9 p.m. hit and miss: CBS' CSI: NY and ABC's Eastwick By ED BARK Some networks know how to take care of both their owned and affiliated stations. ...We're talking specifically about late night local newscasts, and a network's ability to help make or break them with the popularity of its 9 p.m. (central) programming.

Rock's hard place: it's still a struggle on NBC's weak-kneed Thursday night schedule

Ed Bark — 2009-10-15T10:54:32-05:00

30 Rock, again stuck with a late fall season start, is funny as ever in Thursday's 8:30 p.m. (central) slot, where the Season 4 premiere begins with a cost-cutting "cheesie blaster" staff dinner at a Manhattan eatery. In tough times, bossman Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) has a new "reaching-out-to-the-country" initiative in mind for TGS, the sketch comedy show produced by Liz Lemon (Tina Fey).

The Bachelor recycles another North Texan for 14th go-around

Ed Bark — 2009-10-14T15:36:27-05:00

Jake Pavelka with Jillian Harris, who jilted him. ABC photo By ED BARK After crash-landing last season with Bachelorette Jillian Harris, Dallas pilot Jake Pavelka gets another flight in January as the star of ABC's The Bachelor: Wings of Love. ...His parents lived in Dallas at the time, and Michel took the show's three finalists home to meet mom and pop. He eventually settled on Amanda Marsh, rejecting future Bachelorette star Trista Rehn, still the only contestant to actually marry a suitor -- firefighter Ryan Sutter.

Baez then and now in exemplary American Masters portrait

Ed Bark — 2009-10-14T08:00:14-05:00

Joan Baez's most famous lyric -- about Bob Dylan and from "Diamonds & Rust" -- could just as easily be the subtitle of Wednesday's American Masters tribute to her. ...

Yanks-Dodgers would be a homerun series for Fox

Ed Bark — 2009-10-12T11:35:44-05:00

The Yankees of course are baseball's marquee team, with a multi-millionaire roster including Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez (still in search of his first World Series ring), Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, etc. There also are the storied Yankees-Dodgers Series of the past, with New York's Don Larsen pitching a perfect game in 1956 and Reggie Jackson hitting three home runs in 1977's climactic Game 6.

Yet another JFK assassination special is nonetheless a grabber -- this time on the History Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-10-09T12:03:39-05:00

Premiering Sunday, Oct. 11th at 8 p.m. (central) and continuing at the same hour Monday, 3 Shots is the featured attraction of History Channel's so-called "Kennedy Declassified Week." ...On his old New York-based Tonight Show, he interviewed New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, whose dogged, but largely discredited assassination investigation was lionized in director Oliver Stone's controversial JFK film.

Worst show on TV? From this view, it's ET

Ed Bark — 2009-10-07T11:50:46-05:00

When not bone-picking, ET resorts to omnipresent Marie Osmond. By ED BARK What's the worst show on TV? ...Through it all, hosts Mary Hart and Mark Steines -- in league with the show's toadying corps of "correspondents" -- unfailingly coo, gush and promote themselves in a manner that almost cries out for repeal of the First Amendment.

Oh what a night: Letterman revisits his sex scandal with jokes/apology; Favre gives the Pack a cheese wedgie; DeLay outscores "The Playmaker" despite dancing on two fractured feet

Ed Bark — 2009-10-06T10:16:19-05:00

"It did not occur to me," he said, that reporters "would start hounding the staff" after he told the world of a $2 million extortion plot tied to his admitted sexual dalliances with several women who had worked for him or, in the case of Stephanie Birkitt, are still Late Show employees. ...Still, Monday's performance only served to raise more questions about the moral compass and overall equilibrium of a 62-year-old man who professed to be surprised that anyone would be interested in which Late Show staffers had sex with him -- and when.

Better than nothing: Curb kicks off Seinfeld "reunion" episodes

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T14:59:12-05:00

Sunday's third of 10 episodes (8 p.m. central on HBO) puts Curb's mock Seinfeld reunion in motion, with Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards all in the picture as themselves. ...He's referring to the May 14, 1998 Seinfeld swan song, in which Jerry, George, Elaine Benes (Dreyfus) and Kramer (Richards) ended up behind bars serving a one-year sentence for "crimes against humanity."

New season: CBS' Three Rivers is decidedly watery medical drama

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T09:22:51-05:00

Picturesque Alex O'Loughlin stars in Three Rivers. CBS photo Premiering: Sunday, Oct. 4th at 8 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Alex O'Loughlin, Katherine Moennig, Daniel Henney, Christopher J. ...At center stage is Dr. Andy Yablonski, played by former vampire Alex O'Loughlin of CBS' short-lived but perhaps ahead-of-its-time Moonlight series.

NBC's cancellation of JAG paying off more than ever for CBS

Ed Bark — 2009-10-02T03:55:34-05:00

And it all goes back to the Peacock's decision, at the end of the 1995-'96 season, to cancel a little show called JAG after just one year on the air. ...The two military-themed dramas also have helped to make a first-year hit of CBS' following The Good Wife, which is easily winning its 9 p.m. (central) time period opposite NBC's The Jay Leno Show and ABC's new The Forgotten.

CBS again keeps showing improvement while NBC circles drain

Ed Bark — 2009-09-30T11:25:46-05:00

NBC's Sunday Night Football, virtually single-handedly keeping the Peacock afloat, had the most 18-to-49-year-olds (8.901 million) in a photo finish with Fox's runner-up House (8.862 million) and ABC's third-place Grey's Anatomy (8.848 million). ...NCIS: Los Angeles -- 18.7 million The Good Wife (CBS) -- 13.7 million Modern Family (ABC) -- 12.6 million FlashForward (ABC) -- 12.5 million Cougar Town (ABC) -- 11.3 million The Forgotten (ABC) and The Cleveland Show (Fox) -- 9.5 million Accidentally On Purpose (CBS) -- 8.9 million Eastwick (ABC) -- 8.5 million Mercy (NBC) -- 8.4 million Brothers (Fox) -- 2.7 million

New season: ABC laughs last with fall's final pairing of new sitcoms -- Hank and The Middle

Ed Bark — 2009-09-29T13:41:04-05:00

Kelsey Grammer and drama queen daughter Maddie (Jordan Hinson). Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 30th at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Kelsey Grammer, Melinda McGraw, David Koechner, Jordan Hinson, Nathan Gamble Produced by: Tom Werner, Tucker Cawley, Kelsey Grammer, Mike Clements ... Beaten down but not counted out: Patricia Heaton in The Middle. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 30th at 7:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher, Atticus Shaffer, Chris Kattan, Brian Doyle-Murray Produced by: DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler

New season: NBC's Trauma strives to survive with Tyrannosaurus Wrecks

Ed Bark — 2009-09-28T08:46:39-05:00

Cliff Curtis co-stars in NBC's explosive Trauma. NBC photos Premiering: Monday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Cliff Curtis, Derek Luke, Anastasia Griffith, Aimee Garcia, Kevin Rankin, Taylor Kinney, Jamey Sheridan Produced by: Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey, Jeffrey Reiner, Peter Noah, Dario Scardapane ...So that won't help its chances on a Monday night when it then must face off at 8 p.m. (central) against CBS' hit comedies and ABC's expanded editions of Dancing with the Stars.

New season: Fox's The Cleveland Show is black and white -- and blue

Ed Bark — 2009-09-27T11:30:24-05:00

The humor is rife with shock value, whether it's Lester and his wife dining on a dead dog named Meadowlark Lemon in Episode 2 or Family Guy patriarch Peter Griffin opening Sunday's premiere episode by chortling, "And that is how I got Liza Minnelli's poop on my shoe." ...Lithgow also can be seen in the flesh on Showtime's Dexter, which returns for a fourth season Sunday at 8 p.m. (central). He's playing the not-so-mild mannered Walter Simmons, dubbed "The Trinity Killer."

New season: Fox's Brothers is mama's family

Ed Bark — 2009-09-25T13:54:44-05:00

Brothers is buoyed by CCH Pounder as Mama Adele. Fox photo Premiering: Friday, Sept. 25th at 7 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Michael Strahan, CCH Pounder, Daryl Chill Mitchell and Carl Weathers Produced by: Don Reo, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Mitch Hurwitz ...Brothers manages to be fairly amusing, too, with Pounder showing off her range by shifting from the very serious business of The Shield to playing a sharp-tongued but nurturing matriarch in a house full of childish squabblers.

New season: ABC's FlashForward bets heavily on its future

Ed Bark — 2009-09-24T07:53:16-05:00

Also, many viewers are unwilling to be strung along at such lengths or be left hanging by an early cancellation, as happened three seasons ago with ABC's unresolved The Nine. ...The world suddenly is in the throes of a two minute, 17 second "blackout" in which just about everyone has their own "flash forward" to April 29, 2010 (or a day later depending on where one is in the world).

New season: it's a threesome on ABC, with still more to come after Modern Family, Cougar Town and Eastwick

Ed Bark — 2009-09-23T12:13:41-05:00

That's Ed O'Neill on the upper far left. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 23rd at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sof'a Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter, Rico Rodriguez Produced by: Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd ... Courteney Cox in Cougar Town: Gimme some sugar, little booger. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 23rd at 8:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Courteney Cox, Busy Philipps, Christa Miller, Brian Van Holt, Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, Dan Byrd Produced by: Bill Lawrence, Kevin Biegel, Courteney Cox, David Arquette

New season: NBC's Mercy will have to be nursed in a too-early time slot

Ed Bark — 2009-09-23T09:23:00-05:00

Taylor Schilling stars as tough-minded head nurse in Mercy. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 23rd at 7 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Taylor Schilling, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Tupper, Diego Klattenhoff, Guillermo Diaz, James Le Gros, Delroy Lindo Produced by: Liz Heldens, Gretchen Berg, Aaron Harberts, Lloyd Braun, Gail Berman ...The show also is populated by rookie nurse Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg) and incoming Dr. Chris Sands (James Tupper from Men In Trees), with whom Callahan served in Iraq.

New season: CBS' The Good Wife is far superior to its title

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T15:42:55-05:00

Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi of The Good Wife. CBS photo By ED BARK Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry, Makenzie Vega, Graham Phillips Produced by: Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, Robert King, Michelle King, Dee Johnson, David Zucker ...Going against The Jay Leno Show on Tuesdays this fall, here's a crackling good legal drama with a side dish of what it's like to be married to the likes of Mark Sanford, Eliot Spitzer or John Edwards.

New season: The Forgotten is best left . . .

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T15:42:39-05:00

Christian Slater strives to be unforgettable in The Forgotten. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 9 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Christian Slater, Michelle Borth, Heat her Stephens, Bob Stephenson, Anthony Carrigan, Rochelle Aytes Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman ...Alex's helpmates include Candace Butler (Michelle Borth), who's bored with her mundane day job; portly telephone repairman Walter Bailey (Bob Stephenson); "street smart," aspiring artist Tyler Davies, who's been court-ordered to join the team; and homicide detective Grace Russell (Rochelle Aytes), who serves as a liaison to the Chicago cop shop.

New season: NCIS: Los Angeles spins off winningly

Ed Bark — 2009-09-22T09:19:51-05:00

LL Cool J gets quizzed on the set of NCIS: Los Angeles. Photo: Ed Bark Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 8 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell, Linda Hunt, Peter Cambor, Adam Jamal Craig, Daniela Rush Produced by: Shane Brennan, R. ...Its principal men of action, played by Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J, are special agents of OSP (Office of Special Projects), which CBS publicity materials say is a division of NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service in case you've forgotten).

New season: Elfman again in overdrive as star of CBS' Accidentally On Purpose

Ed Bark — 2009-09-21T11:33:29-05:00

Jenna Elfman busily emotes with co-star Jon Foster. CBS photo Premiering: Monday, Sept. 21st at 7:30 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Grant Show, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham Produced by:Claudia Lonow, Lloyd Braun, Gail Berman, Gene Stein ...And if everything comes up roses in a comfy slot between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, look for a "very special" season-ending episode in which Billie at last delivers the goods.

Primetime Emmys come and go (yawn) during pulsating Cowboys-Giants game

Ed Bark — 2009-09-21T01:25:01-05:00

Host Neil Patrick Harris opened the show with a song. Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Toiling in relative obscurity and at times acutely aware of it, the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards tried not to look too pathetic Sunday night. ... Big nights for Cherry Jones of 24 and Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston For the record, Grey Gardens, 30 Rock and the PBS miniseries Little Dorrit won the most Emmys Sunday night, with each taking home three.

New season: HBO's Bored to Death chronicles misadventures of a limp dick

Ed Bark — 2009-09-18T17:13:43-05:00

One and a Half Men: Jason, George and Ray of Bored to Death. Premiering: Sunday, Sept 20th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis, Olivia Thirlby Created by: Jonathan Ames ...Unable to finish his second novel, Jason spends most of his time smoking pot, drinking white wine and commiserating with best pal Ray Hueston (Zach Galifianakis from The Hangover), a hapless comic book illustrator kept on a short leash by his needy girlfriend, Leah (Heather Burns).

Emmys vs. Cowboys: we'll make our picks anyhoo

Ed Bark — 2009-09-18T14:14:55-05:00

COMEDY SERIES Entourage (HBO) Family Guy (Fox) Flight of the Conchords (HBO) How I Met Your Mother (CBS) The Office (NBC) 30 Rock (NBC) Weeds (Showtime) And the winner is . ...SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men Kevin Dillon, Entourage Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock Rainn Wilson, The Office And the winner is .

Cinemax's Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo showcases bull-headed Oklahoma "tradition"

Ed Bark — 2009-09-17T15:35:27-05:00
Too flowery at times and profoundly troubling at others, Cinemax's Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo nonetheless is an overall gripping look at the world's only behind-the-walls prison rodeo. But its opening montage of inmates being flipped, gored or trampled begs a question that's addressed only fleetingly near the end of this 90-minute documentary (Thursday, Sept. 17th at 6 a.m. and also available on demand).

New season: NBC's Community tries to sell a used Chevy

Ed Bark — 2009-09-17T09:07:20-05:00
Joel McHale and Chevy Chase top Community's cast. NBC photo Premiering: Thursday, Sept. 17th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, Gillian Jacobs, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong Produced by: Russ Krasnoff, Dan Harmon, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Garrett Donovan, Neil Goldman, Gary Foster ...And yes, that includes Amy Poehler's Parks and Recreation, which begins its first full season (at 7:30 p.m. central) in considerably improved form.

The Burning Plain: latest HDNet Movies freebie deftly mixes pain and sexual heat

Ed Bark — 2009-09-16T12:33:53-05:00
The one hour, 40 minute film, from Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's Magnolia Pictures, is an absorbing puzzler that juggles times, locales and ever-popular "forbidden loves" while also keeping viewers guessing about the specifics of a trailer park explosion. ...Burning Plain principally is set in Oregon and the New Mexico border town of Las Cruces, with side trips to Mexico that introduce a crop duster and his pre-teen daughter, Maria (Tessa la).

New season: CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL hits the runway strutting

Ed Bark — 2009-09-15T11:12:38-05:00
Ready for takeoff: Raina on a runway in CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 16th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Sara Paxton, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Mischa Barton, Elle Macpherson, Ashley Madekwe, Corbin Bleu, Nico Tortorella, Dusan Dukic Produced by: Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg ...Twig-thin model Raina Marinelli (Sara Paxton), an up-and-coming star with a secret past, is still a decent, caring, although highly ambitious human being in Wednesday's premiere of CW's The Beautiful Life: TBL.

Premiere of The Jay Leno Show mixes Kanye, comedy

Ed Bark — 2009-09-15T00:45:13-05:00
How fortuitous: Kanye West and Jay Leno Monday. Photos: Ed Bark By ED BARK Touted incessantly by NBC as "America's favorite TV personality," Jay Leno at last had his first chance to stand and deliver Monday night. ...All in all it was a halfway passable first night, with West as second-half bait and Leno's climactic "Headlines" segment as further impetus to keep watching all the way up to late night local newscasts, which begin immediately after the host urges viewers to stay tuned.

What, him worry? Jay Leno prepares to shoulder the biggest burden in prime-time history

Ed Bark — 2009-09-11T10:36:07-05:00
He's just not a deep sea thinker, preferring to do his job, tinker with his cars, work weekends wherever a plane will take him and let others tell him that what he'll be doing in prime-time could change network television forevermore. ... CBS in particular is loading up, and salivating, at the prospect of torpedoing Leno with the likes of CSI: Miami, The Mentalist and a new Julianna Margulies series, The Good Wife, that many TV critics, including this one, see as a can't-miss commercial hit.

Fall season: Next to no juice in CW's The Vampire Diaries

Ed Bark — 2009-09-10T08:16:52-05:00
A spooked Elena Gilbert visits her parents' grave in Vampire Diaries. Premiering: Thursday, Sept. 10th at 7 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Sommerhalder, Katerina Graham, Candice Accola, Steven R. ...By ED BARK The ponderous, pretentious opening narration pretty much tells you that this at best will be a pint-sized, junior league version of HBO's True Blood.

Idol tabs Ellen, officially ending Paula era

Ed Bark — 2009-09-09T23:01:18-05:00
By ED BARK Ellen DeGeneres, a savvy, congenial performer best known as a joker/dancer/talker, has signed to replace Paula Abdul as American Idol's fourth judge of singing talent. Fox made the surprise announcement Wednesday night, with Idol executive producer Simon Fuller praising DeGeneres as a longtime fan of the show whose "love of music and understanding of the American public will bring a unique human touch to our judging panel."

Fox's Glee yearns for you to join its club

Ed Bark — 2009-09-09T09:05:10-05:00
Fox again is the only major broadcast network opting out, instead sticking to its schedule of So You Think You Can Dance's first fall season premiere and Glee's re-launch at 8 p.m. (central). The speech and its trimmings have been allotted an hour, from 7 to 8 p.m. But any bleed-over past 8 p.m. would give Glee a jump-start against NBC's very potent America's Got Talent results edition.

CW's Melrose Place kicks off fall season with nicely done do-over

Ed Bark — 2009-09-08T10:07:41-05:00
Lauren Yung. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 8th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: Katie Cassidy, Michael Rady, Colin Egglesfield, Stephanie Jacobsen, Jessica Lucas, Shaun Sipos, Thomas Calabro, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Laura Leighton Produced by: Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Davis Guggenheim ...Also in this mix are recovering alcoholic Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield), now a successful sous chef; medical student Lauren Yung (Stephanie Jacobsen); and sweetie two shoes Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, who's also Jessica Simpson's sister).

From Woodstock to Manson: another 40th anniversary comes calling on History Channel

Ed Bark — 2009-09-07T10:04:07-05:00
Shadowy figure: former Manson girl Linda Kasabian is back in view. By ED BARK Reliving the Manson Family's gory killing spree is something we all probably could do without. ...Davis, a regular presence on the networks' semi-annual "press tours" for TV critics, is credited with laying out "the blueprint for the prosecution" by Aaron Stovitz, whose violation of a gag order resulted in his being replaced as chief prosecutor on the Manson case.

The down-loadable lowdown on fall series premieres and returns

Ed Bark — 2009-09-03T11:59:48-05:00
21 -- Returns of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, CSI: Miami and premiere of Accidentally on Purpose Sept. ... Gray matters on NBC with Chevy Chase and The Jay Leno Show. NBC

Bombshell: Charles Gibson leaving ABC's World News, with Diane Sawyer succeeding him in January

Ed Bark — 2009-09-02T10:35:46-05:00
By ED BARK Charles Gibson, who has helmed ABC's World News since May 29, 2006, will be stepping down and retiring from full-time employment with the news division, the network announced Wednesday. Succeeding him is ABC veteran and Good Morning America co-anchor Diane Sawyer, leaving two of the three longstanding network dinner hour newscasts in the hands of women anchors when she takes charge of World News in January.

Sneak review: A recap of Desperate Housewives' fifth season

Ed Bark — 2009-09-01T04:17:37-05:00
By ED BARK Season 1 was terrific, but I've long since fallen out of the habit of watching ABC's Desperate Housewives. ...Here's a concise, entertaining review of what went on last season, when the show accelerated five years into the future.

Sneak preview: House's 6th season premiere

Ed Bark — 2009-08-28T12:11:10-05:00
Delusional and drug-addicted, he was dropped off at Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital in the last scene of House's fifth season. This clip from the Sept. 21st two-hour season premiere finds House (Hugh Laurie) happily tormenting some of his fellow patients during a pickup basketball game.

Revamped Football Night In America means bigger NBC presence at regular season debut of Jerry's Palace

Ed Bark — 2009-08-26T12:51:28-05:00
Footballers Al Michaels, Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth. NBC photos By ED BARK A just-announced new look for NBC's pre-game Football Night In America will put host Bob Costas on site rather than out-of-pocket at NBC's Rockefeller Plaza. ...Michaels is a bit more pragmatic, noting that getting Costas out of the studio "green room" in New York "will save 20-25 percent of the catering budget and should provide an immediate boost for GE stock."

thirtysomething and thensome in first season DVD set

Ed Bark — 2009-08-25T12:40:40-05:00
"It is so important to say that we did not want to do a television series," Herskovitz recollects in a two-way conversation with Zwick that's included in the three-disc set's bonus features. ...Re-watching the show's first episode is mostly an engaging experience, even though much of the "jeopardy" is over Hope's anxiety about whether to hire a babysitter for the first time so that the Steadmans can join their friends on an impromptu camping trip.

Unable to participate: otherwise Mike Wallace would have been part of Sunday's 60 Minutes tribute to Don Hewitt

Ed Bark — 2009-08-24T12:03:16-05:00
Anchors Mike Wallace/Harry Reasoner and creator Don Hewitt. By ED BARK Sunday's 60 Minutes tribute to the program's creator, Don Hewitt, was notable for its absence of new comments from its other driving force, Mike Wallace. ...Wallace, who currently lives on Martha's Vineyard, had triple bypass surgery in late January of 2008, shortly after his headline-making interview with Roger Clemens over allegations that the dominating pitcher had used steroids.

Spears and Letterman: wearing next to nothing, she seemed to leave him cold

Ed Bark — 2009-08-19T17:38:18-05:00
A notably detached David Letterman has seldom seemed less amused -- or in a bigger hurry to get it over with -- than after he cued Britney Spears to read the "Top 10 Ways the Country Would Be Different if Britney Spears Were President." ...Letterman made no comment at all and later blew off featured guest Donald Trump's opening remark on how hot she looked.

Williams/Goldthwait collaborate in Magnolia's unflinching World's Greatest Dad

Ed Bark — 2009-08-19T14:30:44-05:00
World's Greatest Dad, hollowly emblazoned on the central character's coffee cup, can first be seen Wednesday, Aug. 19th on Mark Cuban's HDNet Movies as part of the network's ongoing "Sneak Preview" series. Show time is 7 p.m. (central), with repeat airings at 8:45 and 10:30 p.m. The film then opens in theaters Friday under Cuban's and business partner Todd Wagner's Magnolia Pictures banner.

Irvin, DeLay and 14 others set to hoof and puff on Dancing

Ed Bark — 2009-08-17T08:33:24-05:00
By ED BARK Former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin segues from one reality competition show to another while ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas obviously will be leading with his right foot. They're among a record 16 celebrities joining Season 9 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, which will start flooring it on Sept. 21st.

Mad Men's back, but not quite smokin' yet

Ed Bark — 2009-08-14T09:38:34-05:00
Don Draper and Salvatore Romano wing it under assumed names in "Out of Town" opening for third season of AMC's Mad Men. ...The main focus instead is on a fence-mending sales trip to Baltimore, where Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and the still-closeted Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) reinforce their agency's fealty to the makers of London Fog raincoats.

Fox Reality Channel's Househusbands of Hollywood gender-bends while copycatting

Ed Bark — 2009-08-13T11:14:09-05:00
So the still fledgling Fox Reality Channel might as well take a shot with Househusbands of Hollywood, which turns out to be a surprisingly watchable and well-produced tagalong to Bravo's Real Housewives franchise. The 10-episode series, co-starring five stay-at-home dependents, launches on Saturday, Aug. 15th at 8 p.m. (central). Ryan O'Neal also will be dropping in. He's best friends with Charlie Mattera, an actor/screenwriter/ex-con who also happens to be one of Househusands' co-executive producers.

Curb appeal: Seventh season will be well-stocked with Seinfeld stars

Ed Bark — 2009-08-11T13:38:34-05:00
Larry and Jerry will be themselves in 7th season of Curb. By ED BARK PASADENA -- At first he's typically testy. ...Jerry Seinfeld will appear in five of the new season's Curb episodes, with the other cast members "on at least four," David says before immediately recalibrating.

HBO's Nine Lives of Marion Barry hits his many high points

Ed Bark — 2009-08-10T14:05:48-05:00
Marion Barry and third wife, Effi, who died in 2007. HBO photo By ED BARK Mark Sanford, Larry Craig, John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer and numerous other disgraced politicians should all be "inspired" by the modern-day Babe Ruth of the genre. ...HBO's The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, premiering Monday, Aug. 10th at 8 p.m. (central), is a revealing, 78-minute look into his life, times and crimes.

Forgive me for I have sinned by saying, "Bring back Paula"

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T16:09:06-05:00
Paula Abdul and that old gang of hers. Fox photos By ED BARK Paula Abdul's alleged American Idol swan song, announced by her in a tweet not a huff, threatens to leave the Fox mega-hit with a decided dearth of ditz. ...The network's official statement, released after Abdul's tweet, judged her "an important part of the American Idol family over the last eight seasons, and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show.

A Rivers runs through TV Land's new How'd You Get So Rich?

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T13:14:14-05:00
Joan Rivers hosts a new TV Land series about net worths. Premiering: Wednesday, Aug. 5th at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Starring: Joan Rivers and a buncha self-made rich people Produced by: Mark Burnett, Barry Poznick, John Stevens ...ADDENDUM: At the annual network TV "press tour" in Pasadena, Rivers zinged Jay Leno in a way that's likely to merit her a permanent ban from his prime-time NBC show when it cranks up on Sept. 14th.

Television Critics Association awards hit quarter-century mark; Uncle Barky along for ride

Ed Bark — 2009-08-05T02:53:31-05:00
Grey ghost: Your friendly content provider gabbed about the history of the Television Critics Association, which held its 25th annual awards ceremony Saturday night in Pasadena. Photo: Barry Garron By ED BARK PASADENA -- It's been a long pull since the first-ever Television Critics Association awards in June 1985. ...Most of my fellow TV critics are still out on "press tour," where one network after another will roll in with a lot of oddly instructive B.S. about new fall programming until Saturday's last dance with ABC.

ABC makes space for intergalactic Defying Gravity

Ed Bark — 2009-07-29T14:23:28-05:00
Spaced out: Defying Gravity's Ron Livingston, Laura Harris. ABC Premiering: Sunday, Aug. 2nd at 8 p.m. (central) with back-to-back episodes on ABC Starring: Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Malik Yoba, Christina Cox, Ty Olsson, Florentine Lahme, Paula Garces, Dylan Taylor, Andrew Airlie, Karen LeBlanc, Zahf Paroo, Maxim Roy, Peter Howitt Created by: James Parriott ...And it has a capable international cast headed by Ron Livingston (Office Space, Band of Brothers) as jauntily named Maddux Donner, a womanizing and somewhat haunted flight engineer who 10 years earlier had to abandon two space colleagues on Mars.

More to Love -- less than meets the eye

Ed Bark — 2009-07-27T16:16:05-05:00
North Texan Natalia Jackson is one of 20 "full-figured" suitors vying for bachelor Luke Conley, pictured with host Emme. Premiering: Tuesday, July 28th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Bachelor Luke Conley, supermodel Emme and 20 plus-sized women looking for love Produced by: Mike Fleiss ...Premiering Tuesday, July 28th at 8 p.m. (central), More to Love is from veteran reality show provider Mike Fleiss, who has already hit the motherlode with ABC's The Bachelor.

Silverman out in NBC Universal shakeup

Ed Bark — 2009-07-27T10:09:40-05:00
USA in particular has thrived with summer series such as Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and the new Royal Pains while NBC has mostly suffocated with scripted hot weather fare such as The Listener, Merlin, The Philanthropist and its Sunday night disaster-driven miniseries. ...The Singing Bee, promoted to NBC's fall schedule after a fast summer start, quickly became a one-note flop while Fox's like-minded Don't Forget the Lyrics! lived on. An announced one-hour "dramedy" from All In the Family creator Norman Lear has never seen air.

NBC's The Storm replete with latter day TV washouts

Ed Bark — 2009-07-24T12:57:09-05:00
Stuck in The Storm: James Van Der Beek, Luke Perry. NBC photo By ED BARK Poor James Van Der Beek probably knows the score better than anyone. ...The Storm offers other subplots, including a pregnant woman trapped in a cellar with her "Poppy" (father) and a female bartender whose life is jeopardized while her former lover strives to make things all better again.

Please, please, Mr. Postman: Letterman wins two straight weeks in total viewers for first time since 1998

Ed Bark — 2009-07-23T16:13:59-05:00
Letterman-McCartney on last week's Late Show. CBS photo By ED BARK No matter how NBC tries to spin it, the old man and the CBS Eye are increasingly taking it to Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show. ...And the Peacock crows that Tonight is still beating Late Show among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, although by just two-tenths of a rating point in the week of July 13-17.

CBS repeats its summertime success -- again with mostly repeats

Ed Bark — 2009-07-22T09:49:03-05:00
On Thursday at 9 p.m. (central) for instance, The Mentalist in what will be its new fall time slot drew 8.37 million viewers opposite Private Practice, on a respirator with just 2.917 million viewers. ...ABC has done all right with new episodes of Wipeout and The Bachelorette, but bombed with the likes of The Superstars, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Better Off Ted, The Goode Family and burn-off new episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and now Dirty Sexy Money.

Upon further review, Obama plays ball with NBC/Boyle

Ed Bark — 2009-07-21T17:42:45-05:00
After all, it had a bigger fish in play -- a new episode of summer's top-rated show, America's Got Talent, featuring excerpts from Meredith Vieira's exclusive one-on-one with Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle. ...So the president's representatives asked whether NBC would agree to air Obama's Q&A if it were moved up an hour to 7 p.m. (central), home of weekly repeats of America's Got Talent.

Eyes wide shut: ABC's Dating in the Dark is for dim bulbs

Ed Bark — 2009-07-20T09:06:07-05:00
Otherwise known as ABC's Dating in the Dark, it premieres Monday, July 20th at 9 p.m. (central) and is scheduled to run for six episodes. ...Programming note: NBC's The Wanted, a controversial pursuit of terrorists produced by the network's news division, premieres opposite Dating in the Dark Monday night.

Walter Cronkite up-close: Memories of the late, great journalist for all seasons

Ed Bark — 2009-07-18T10:03:53-05:00
I just hope we don't get into the business of having to walk onto the set from the shadows and have Dan wearing a big 'CBS Eye' patch on his blazer." ...Cronkite publicly called for Rather's firing in 1987 after he caused a six-minute breath of dead air by walking off a CBS Evening News set in Miami when a tennis match was running long. He later had it both ways in a series of interviews tied to Rather's stepping down as anchor in March 2005 after the heavily publicized scandal tied to discredited reports on George W.

Lohan remains vertical, stays the course in ABC Family's Labor Pains

Ed Bark — 2009-07-17T12:19:58-05:00
Lindsay Lohan hangs in there for Labor Pains. ABC photo By ED BARK Multi-troubled Lindsay Lohan certainly doesn't walk through Labor Pains. ...The much-chronicled, seemingly self-destructive 23-year-old is in virtually every scene of an ABC Family channel confection that's entertaining and amusing enough to spend a little time on. Premiering on Sunday, July 19th at 7 p.m. (central), Labor Pains is likely to draw a sizable crowd for voyeuristic reasons alone if nothing else.

Same old, same old: 30 Rock, Mad Men again head their classes while HBO leads all networks

Ed Bark — 2009-07-16T08:24:25-05:00
A quintet of the drama nominees -- Mad Men, Fox's House, ABC's Lost, Showtime's Dexter, FX's Damages -- were repeaters from last year, with AMC's Breaking Bad and HBO's Big Love both joining the party for the first time. ...Besides the aforementioned Friday Night Lights, other notables on the one-and-done list include Fox's Bones, USA's Burn Notice, TNT's The Closer, NBC's Chuck, CBS' The Mentalist, FX's Rescue Me, ABC's Scrubs, CBS' CSI: NY and ABC's According to Jim.

CNBC gets porn-y -- but first read this article

Ed Bark — 2009-07-15T13:08:23-05:00
Fast Money's Melissa Lee reports on the skin trade for CNBC. By ED BARK It's supposedly true that using the word porn -- you know, p-o-r-n -- in a post can jet-propel Web site traffic. ...Sounding like Jim Cramer in heat -- at least they don't have him hosting -- the guy figuratively drips drool while enticing viewers with come-ons such as "Up next, the most powerful players in porn -- women on top!"

HBO's Ted Williams doc hits the not-so-sweet spots, too

Ed Bark — 2009-07-15T10:35:29-05:00
Williams' youngest of three children, Claudia, has emerged as a defender of her cantankerous old man, who died on July 5, 2002 after a triumphant 1999 return to the All-Star game in Boston's Fenway Park. ...Robert Redford, who worshipped Williams from afar as a kid, says his 1984 baseball film, The Natural, was an homage to the Red Sox legend.

TNT's stark Dark Blue makes it a six-pack

Ed Bark — 2009-07-14T09:57:08-05:00
in TNT's Dark Blue. Premiering: Wednesday, July 15th at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Dylan McDermott, Omari Hardwick, Logan Marshall-Green, Nicki Aycox Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Danny Cannon, Doug Jung By ED BARK Suave in ABC's The Practice and suaver in the network's short-lived Big Shots, Dylan McDermott lately speaks in a rasp, eschews suits and sports a little carefully rough-hewn stubble in TNT's new Dark Blue.

Teddy bear treatment on HBO for the last surviving Kennedy brother

Ed Bark — 2009-07-13T09:08:41-05:00
HBO's 90-minute documentary, premiering Monday, July 13th at 8 p.m. (central), is from the producer of JFK: In His Own Words and Bobby Kennedy: In His Own Words. ...Many of the images still resonate, beginning with a still picture of a smiling little Teddy in short pants as his father and the family arrive in London to begin Joe Sr.'s tenure as U.S. ambassador way back in 1938.

Michael Jackson gets velvet glove treatment on wide array of cable/broadcast networks

Ed Bark — 2009-07-07T15:02:11-05:00
Michael Jackson's only daughter, Paris, with his sister, Janet, in the closing minutes of Tuesday's memorial. Photos from cnn.com, msn.com By ED BARK Touching, tasteful and shown live on all the major broadcast and cable news outlets, Tuesday's memorial to Michael Jackson had a majesty befitting the self-proclaimed King of Pop. ... The Jackson family turned out in force for Tuesday's memorial. The memorial was equally notable for its sentiment and moving performances from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Usher and Jackson's brother, Jermaine, who sang "Smile" after longtime friend Brooke Shields said it was Michael's favorite song.

Sarah Palin and CNN? Far-fetched maybe, but betcha someone's thought about it

Ed Bark — 2009-07-06T11:13:39-05:00
The network has a 9 p.m. hole in its prime-time schedule after Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow take their swings from the left side of the plate. ...Hiring Palin -- and no doubt having to pay a pretty penny for her -- would jolt the cable news world and drive the conversation toward CNN for the first time in recent memory.

HBO's Hung premiere goes nicely with True Blood

Ed Bark — 2009-07-01T01:00:16-05:00
Hung and True Blood loomed quite large for HBO Sunday. By ED BARK HBO's Sunday night picture brightened further Sunday when the premiere of its new comedy/drama Hung drew 2.8 million viewers nationally after the preceding True Blood sucked in 3.7 million for Season 2's second episode. ...On July 12th, Entourage will return for a 12-episode 6th season, airing at 9:30 p.m. central following new episodes of True Blood (8 p.m.) and Hung (9 p.m.).

Endowment fun: HBO's Hung also scores with appealing sign-of-the-times storyline

Ed Bark — 2009-06-26T17:09:40-05:00
Thomas Jane is anything but half-cocked in HBO's Hung. Premiering: Sunday, June 28th at 9 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Thomas Jane, Jane Adams, Anne Heche, Eddie Jemison, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Charlie Saxton, Rebecca Kreskoff, Loren Lester Created by: Dmitry Lipkin, Colette Burson ...Jane, who played Mickey Mantle in the acclaimed HBO movie 61*, manages to play this role -- and do this role-playing -- in an appealing, all-but-guileless manner that's almost guaranteed to make you root for him from start to finish.

Farrah Fawcett dies of cancer

Ed Bark — 2009-06-25T13:42:31-05:00
Ryan-Farrah all aglow and the actress behind bars in Burning Bed Fawcett's coming-out party as a "serious" actress was in the 1981 NBC miniseries Murder In Texas, where she received favorable reviews as the ill-fated Joan Robinson. ..."I was looking for something to do that was not based on a life-or-death true story, which we've been inundated with in the past couple of years," Fawcett said in a second interview with this writer.

Earth shifts: Dave outdraws Conan in third week of late night faceoff

Ed Bark — 2009-06-25T11:22:37-05:00
Last week, Old Gray's Late Show beat Big Red's Tonight for the first time in total viewers. By ED BARK It's too early to predict any wholesale shifts in the late night terrain. ...CBS says it's the first time Letterman has won since the week ending on December 2, 2005, when Oprah Winfrey made her much-publicized first appearance on Late Show.

NBC's The Philanthropist is a do-gooder that needs to get better

Ed Bark — 2009-06-24T09:27:24-05:00
While scheming to singlehandedly deliver medicine to the Nigerian boy's devastated village, Rist also stays in luxury hotels, demands a more civilized whiskey than Jim Beam and apparently participates in a fivesome after four beautiful young Nigerian women are delivered to his quarters by an influential local. He also meets a conveniently beautiful African doctor (played by Bonnie Henna), who initially views him as a self-centered Good Samaritan who enjoys dirtying his hands a bit before returning home to tell his rich friends "how meaningful his life is compared to theirs."

Ed McMahon in days of yore, as recalled by transplanted North Texan Kent Fannon

Ed Bark — 2009-06-23T12:39:40-05:00
***"Ed's late son, Mike, was a halfback on our small NY suburban town's varsity football team, and Ed would try to come to every game. ...Knowing he could help draw sales, Ed would work at that lot as many nights as possible, sometimes in the bitter cold, trying to sell trees, offering hot chocolate, making people laugh, or anything else that would draw a crowd."

Emmys fumble again

Ed Bark — 2009-06-19T09:19:53-05:00
The latest date, Sept. 20th on CBS, clashes with NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast of the inaugural NFL regular season game in Jerry's Arlington palace. ...The Emmy people originally announced Sept. 20th as their awards show date, but then punted to Sept. 13th to avoid delays from a doubleheader football runover on CBS.

Dave vs. Conan: It's all in the spin

Ed Bark — 2009-06-18T13:22:09-05:00
NBC counters by touting Conan's blowouts of Dave among 18-to-49-year-olds and 18-to-34-year-olds, with Peacock exec Rick Ludwin noting that "this business is all about delivering the key demographic groups." ...Round 3 of their ratings battle is in progress, with Tonight beating Late Show in "every significant demo" on Monday and Tuesday of this week, which began with Letterman re-apologizing to Palin for the sexual jokes about her daughter.

NBC's Merlin gets olde in a hurry

Ed Bark — 2009-06-18T10:10:18-05:00
Colin Morgan stars as an apprentice Merlin in new NBC series. Premiering: Sunday, June 21st at 7 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, John Hurt Produced by: Julian Murphy, Johnny Capps,Jake Michie, Julian Jones ...In succeeding seasons, NBC has tumbled from first to fourth in the prime-time ratings and lost much of its luster via attractions such as Fear Factor, The Biggest Loser, Deal or No Deal, Celebrity Apprentice and the ongoing I'm A Celebrity .

Where have you gone, Joe Piscopo? Today's your birthday

Ed Bark — 2009-06-17T13:06:05-05:00
So there's reason to celebrate him for an SNL tenure (1980-84) during which he and Eddie Murphy pretty much carried the show and saved it from cancellation. ...From the TV time capsule, here's Joe donning fake teeth and doing Letterman while the genuine article shared a couch with him on a 1987 episode of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

Here's to his health care: ABC News draws GOP fire for extensive coverage next week of Obama's prescription

Ed Bark — 2009-06-16T10:02:20-05:00
ABC's Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson will be joining President Obama in the White House for a prime-time Q&A on health care. ..."ABC News prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers -- of all political persuasions -- when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both sides of the political spectrum," Smith said in part.

Back on its heals: TNT's HawthoRNe adds more meds to summertime cabinet

Ed Bark — 2009-06-15T16:12:22-05:00
Jada Pinkett Smith takes charge as head nurse Christina Hawthorne. Premiering: Tuesday, June 16th at 8 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Vartan, Suleka Mathew, David Julian Hirsch, Vanessa Lengies, Christina Moore, Hannah Hodson Produced by: John Masius, Jamie Tarses, Mikael Salomon, Jada Pinkett Smith ...There's also hard luck male nurse Ray Stein (David Julian Hirsch), blubbering rookie Kelly Epson (Vanessa Lengies) and yummy Candy Sullivan (Christina Moore), who otherwise makes a fairly minimal impression in the first two episodes sent for review.

Big Saturday Night dawns on still little GSN

Ed Bark — 2009-06-12T13:18:16-05:00
The two new game shows, respectively hosted by veteran sportscaster Fred Roggin and So You Think You Can Dance's Cat Deeley, will be surrounded by live comedy and music performances and interactive opportunities for viewers to "win big," says GSN. ...GSN doesn't say how much prize money is at stake, but Deeley likely can be counted on to inject this game with the same energy she brings to Think You Can Dance.

Nurse Jackie the latest big booster shot for Showtime

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T14:51:33-05:00
Premiering: Monday, June 8th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Edie Falco, Eve Best, Peter Facinelli, Anna Deaver Smith, Merrit Wever, Dominic Fumusa, Paul Schulze, Haaz Sleiman, Ruby Jerins, Daisy Tahan, Stephen Wallem Created and produced by: Evan Dunsky, Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem ...Falco, her hair very boyishly cut and parted, makes a complete break from Carmela in what's billed as a "dark comedy" but has more meat on it than that.

Conan twits tweeters -- nets laughs

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T14:51:21-05:00
And for me, this one worked almost flawlessly, with use of vacuous, real-life celebrity tweets from Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus and Dennis Haysbert. ...

Royal Pains gives USA network another breezy summertime bright spot

Ed Bark — 2009-06-03T10:20:27-05:00
Mark Feuerstein (orange shirt) heads the cast of USA's Royal Pains. Premiering: Thursday, June 4th at 9 p.m. (central) on USA Starring: Mark Feurstein, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Flint, Reshma Shetty Produced by: Andrew Lenchewski, Michael Rauch, Rich Frank, Paul Frank, Jeff Kwatinetz, John P. ...USA's likable newcomer is Royal Pains, which gives its star, Mark Feuerstein, a third crack at prime-time longevity after flopping in NBC's Good Morning, Miami and CBS' 3 lbs.

NBC's The Listener -- not on my watch

Ed Bark — 2009-06-02T12:41:21-05:00
Craig Olejnik has lots on his mind as the star of NBC's The Listener. Premiering: Thursday, June 4th at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC, with another episode at 9 p.m. Starring: Craig Olejnik, Ennis Esmer, Colm Feore, Mylene Dinh-Robic, Lisa Marcos Produced by: Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Michael Amo, Tom Chehak, Clement Virgo ...In Thursday's scene-setter, Toby and his paramedic pal, "Oz" Bey (Ennis Esmer), are trading lame banter before coming upon an overturned car in what looks to be the middle of Manhattan but actually is cost-efficient Toronto.

So-so, but over and done: O'Brien notches his first Tonight

Ed Bark — 2009-06-01T23:51:14-05:00
Leaning somewhat top-heavily on three taped bits and a star turn by first guest Will Ferrell, he made it to the finish line with his auburn pompadour in full bloom but not his comedic talents. ...O'Brien said he'd be glad to again have Leno as his lead-in, but we'll see about that after the competition for guests inevitably heats up between the two NBC shows.

Goodnight, Tonight. Not his idea, but Leno lets go

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T23:51:28-05:00
"So that's what I would like my legacy to be," he says. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Jay Leno bowed out with little fanfare Friday night, ending his 17-years as Tonight Show host by calling attention to the children born to his staffers during that period. ...His last Tonight began with a prolonged standing ovation from the studio audience before the monologue kicked in. Leno took one more jab at his downtrodden network, noting that "I'm going to be going to a secluded spot where no one can find me -- NBC prime-time."

Hey, guys, Lifetime's Maneater is more or less edible

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T14:54:26-05:00
Starring Sarah Chalke from Scrubs, Lifetime's so-called "summer event" is off-putting at first in its depiction of pampered Beverly Hills mavens whose conspicuous creature comforts clash with current realities. ...Capably directed by former thirtysomething star Timothy Busfield, Maneater winds up gooier than it should in pursuit of tying up all its loose ends with oversized bows.

HBO's Churchill sequel wades into WWII

Ed Bark — 2009-05-29T08:22:02-05:00
HBO's versions of Churchill, FDR and Stalin at Yalta Conference. By ED BARK Built like Humpty Dumpty but refusing to crack, Winston Churchill smoke, drank and drove his country through the darkest days of World War II. His gruff private demeanor and soaring public rhetoric get another going-over in HBO's Into the Storm (Sunday, May 31st, 8 p.m. central), a followup to the network's 2002 scene-setter, The Gathering Storm.

ABC's Goode Family is Judged OK

Ed Bark — 2009-05-27T09:06:03-05:00
Premiering: Wednesday, May 27th at 8 p.m. (central) on ABC Voiced by: Mike Judge, Nancy Carell, David Herman, Linda Cardellini, Brian Doyle-Murray, Gary Anthony Williams Produced by: Mike Judge, John Altschuler, Dave Krinsky, Michael Rotenberg, Tom Lassally ...For better or worse, the Goodes consist of college administrator Gerald (Judge); his community activist wife, Helen (Nancy Carell); a teen daughter, Bliss (Linda Cardellini) and the adopted 16-year-old Ubuntu (David Herman), who initially was thought to be black but turned out to be a white South African.

O'Brien's Tonight countdown kicks into full throttle

Ed Bark — 2009-05-26T14:15:54-05:00
NBC's Tonight Show looms ever larger for heir Conan O'Brien, pictured on the left as a New York Times Magazine cover boy. By ED BARK Let the record show that Conan O'Brien isn't a kid anymore, even if acting his age still isn't an option. ...O'Brien, as he manfully volunteered during a teleconference Tuesday, is now 46 years old with two kids after first auditioning as a relative 29-year-old nobody to supplant David Letterman on NBC's Late Night.

Fox's Mental has House in mind, but also a mind of its own

Ed Bark — 2009-05-26T09:25:06-05:00
Telegenic Chris Vance has a beautiful mind, too, in Fox's Mental. Premiering: Tuesday, May 26th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Chris Vance, Annabella Sciorra, Jacqueline McKenzie, Derek Webster, Nicholas Gonzalez, Marisa Ramirez Produced by: Deborah Joy LeVine, Dan Levine By ED BARK Far more jovial and inclusive than Fox's House organ, Dr. Jack Gallagher of Mental nonetheless is in a series of much the same mind.

Idol finale crunches competition, comes up short of past glories

Ed Bark — 2009-05-21T17:38:43-05:00
Newest Idol Kris Allen sings his lungs out Wednesday night. By ED BARK Rival networks would like to have this "problem." ...Season 1 -- 22.8 million Season 2 -- 38.1 million Season 3 -- 28.8 million Season 4 -- 30.3 million Season 5 -- 36.4 million Season 6 -- 30.8 million Season 7 -- 31.7 million Season 8 -- 28.8 million

The CW cancels comedies and Sundays, shrinks Fridays, adds a vampire show

Ed Bark — 2009-05-21T11:26:12-05:00
Nina Dobrev as Elena in The Vampire Diaries CW photo By ED BARK The CW will go into battle this fall with three new shows, one-and-a-half fewer nights and no comedies. ...But the still grieving Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) is fated to hook up at high school with two clandestine vampire brothers who wage a war for her soul. One's a nice guy while the other (played by Ian Somerhalder of Lost) is "the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality."

Idle thoughts on Idol as the finale nears

Ed Bark — 2009-05-20T13:54:28-05:00
And Wednesday's two-hour finale will trample everything in its wake before the winner is forced to release yet another treacly written-for-Idol ditty -- "No Boundaries" in this case -- as his first post-show single. ...Sometimes one wonders whether host Ryan Seacrest is just throwing numbers out there when he says that more than 37 million viewers weighed in. So how about showing each contestant exactly where they stand after the field is winnowed down to 10.

CBS adds four newcomers, axes two oldies, rescues Medium

Ed Bark — 2009-05-20T10:12:38-05:00
Alex O'Loughlin, Julianna Margulies star in new CBS fall dramas. By ED BARK Without A Trace and The Unit no longer are in CBS' picture, but Medium and an NCIS spinoff are. ...This season's biggest freshman hit, The Mentalist, will be moved from Tuesday's at 8 p.m. to Thursdays at 9 p.m., where it will inherit a lead-in audience from the network's still potent CSI: Crime Scene Investigation before going head-to-head with NBC's The Jay Leno Show.

NBC cancels Earl, reprieves Chuck, delays 30 Rock, pushes Friday Night Lights to summer in Phase 2 rollout of new season (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T10:32:11-05:00
By ED BARK Chuck and Law & Order have been reprieved, but My Name Is Earl and Life are goners, NBC officially announced Tuesday. ...That's in large part because its prime-time window has been significantly reduced on weeknights with the Monday-Friday 9 p.m. (central) presence of The Jay Leno Show.

ABC's new fall lineup flaunts star-powered comedy

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T07:12:51-05:00
New ABC shows for Patricia Heaton, Kelsey Grammer, Courteney Cox. By ED BARK ABC will load up with eight new series this fall, including restarts for former prime-time comedy kingpins Kelsey Grammer, Courteney Cox, Patricia Heaton and Ed O'Neill. ...But as ABC describes it, "convincing real-life millionaires to part with their own money is no easy task, because when the idea is poor, the Sharks will tear into the ill-prepared presenters and pass on the idea with a simple, "I'm out!'

Fox's Glee gives it the old golly gee

Ed Bark — 2009-05-19T05:27:09-05:00
Glee principals Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Cory Monteith. Premiering: Tuesday, May 19th at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jayma Mays, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Amber Riley, Dianna Agron Produced by: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Dante Di Loreto ...But by the end of Tuesday's opener, Finn has unshackled all inhibitions and is singin' up a storm with oft-taunted Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), who at the very least sees herself as the next Kristen Chenoweth.

Fox accentuates African-Americans in new fall lineup

Ed Bark — 2009-05-18T11:16:22-05:00
The casts of Fox's Brothers and The Cleveland Show. By ED BARK Fox is adding three new prime-time series and one late-nighter this fall, with three-fourths of its incoming freshman class featuring predominantly African-American casts. ...The Wanda Sykes Show (comedy) -- She's supplanting MADtv in what Fox describes as a "high-energy one-hour show" featuring "biting commentary (that we've already figured out) and heated panel discussions with recurring personalities."

Brute camp: Spike TV's 4th and Long finds Irvin throwin' down

Ed Bark — 2009-05-17T20:28:31-05:00
All smiles for now: Bill Bates, Michael Irvin and Joe Avezzano Premiering: Monday, May 18th at 9 p.m. (central) on Spike TV Starring: Michael Irvin, Bill Bates, Joe Avezzano, other former/current Cowboys and 12 NFL hopefuls Produced by: Todd Nelson, JD Roth, Michael Irvin ...There's a whole lotta ralphin' goin' on during Monday's premiere, with would-be Dallas Cowboys receiver Montrell Jones the star player in this particular competition before host/taskmaster Michael Irvin implores him to "get that sickness out of you!"

Leno announces last Tonight guest, repeats vows to never take a vacation

Ed Bark — 2009-05-14T12:19:30-05:00
Leno, who began hosting Tonight on May 25, 1992, also said he plans to exit in an offbeat manner before gearing up for the September premiere of his new, five nights a week 9 p.m. (central) show. ...NBC, desperate to keep Leno rather than see him return to late night on a rival network, initially proposed a half-hour show that would have aired week-nightly at 7 p.m. (central), Leno said.

Random bursts: Nimoy Treks through Letterman Top 10 list; Rather puts on a 'fro to report on burrito lunch

Ed Bark — 2009-05-09T10:57:50-05:00
By ED BARK Thursday's edition of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman beamed up the original Mr. Spock to count down 10 "Lines Never Before Said in a Star Trek Film." ...Meanwhile, on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, Dan Rather agreeably flipped his wig for a mock 1973 report titled "Nixon Has a Burrito."

Fox states his case for optimism in worthy ABC special

Ed Bark — 2009-05-07T11:01:32-05:00
So it hit hard when the former star of Family Ties, Spin City and the Back to the Future movies disclosed in 1998 that he's afflicted with the so far incurable Parkinson's Disease. ...His first words in tonight's special -- "Oh what a great day" -- underscore Fox's approach to living with a disease that has waylaid a full-time acting career and birthed The Michael J.

Launch date, guest stars set for Irvin's new Dallas Cowboys reality competition

Ed Bark — 2009-05-06T10:28:58-05:00
By ED BARK Michael Irvin's new Dallas Cowboys training camp series for Spike TV now has a name and a premiere date. ...The Hall of Famer and former Cowboys receiver will shepherd 12 Cowboys hopefuls, with the winner getting a spot on the team's training camp roster.

NBC spills beans on part of its new season, promises a second helping in 15 days

Ed Bark — 2009-05-04T10:30:48-05:00
Former SNL mainstay Chevy Chase and Maura Tierney from ER. By ED BARK Fourth-place NBC went roughly halfway toward unveiling its 2009-10 season plans Monday, promising to get back with more details on May 19th. ...Among the Peacock's six announced newcomers are an adaptation of the 1989 film Parenthood featuring a trio of familiar TV faces and the new comedy series Community, starring graybeard Chevy Chase and Joel McHale of The Soup.

Presenting Jimmy Fallon at half his current age

Ed Bark — 2009-05-01T01:51:03-05:00
He's wearing a jailbird shirt while doing brief impressions of John Travolta, Sylvester Stallone, Cliff Clavin of Cheers, etc. The talent's pretty raw, but kind of shines through. ...The 34-year-old Saturday Night Live alum is now in his third month of hosting NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Leno back among the living; NBC exhales

Ed Bark — 2009-04-28T08:25:14-05:00
Jay Leno exits hospital before his return to Tonight. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Jay Leno returned to his Tonight Show environ Monday, swine flu and octo-mom jokes at the ready. ...Leno's health is of no small concern to NBC, which will be bequeathing him five weekly hours of prime-time next fall after he leaves Tonight in the hands of Conan O'Brien, starting June 1st.

CBS shifts some season finale dates, sends Harper's Island to Siberia Saturdays

Ed Bark — 2009-04-27T18:27:10-05:00
Not out of the woods yet: Harper's Island moves to Saturdays. By ED BARK CBS had hoped to have the next killer app with Harper's Island, its weekly countdown of dead bodies. ...So Harper's Island is being sent to dead-end Saturdays to do the rest of its killing, effective May 2nd at 8 p.m. central.

Enter the May "sweeps" -- do you know when your season finales are?

Ed Bark — 2009-04-23T11:46:51-05:00
There's still talk of returning this terminally under-appreciated comedy in some form, but star Zach Braff wouldn't be a part of it, save for maybe a guest shot or two. ...May 18 -- Prime-time's most-watched comedy, Two and a Half Men, ends this season knowing that its network already has ordered not one, not two, but three more.

Regis takes another ride with Millionaire; Kings and Ian McShane dethroned until summer

Ed Bark — 2009-04-22T15:46:38-05:00
By ED BARK Regis Philbin will get another go-around on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, with ABC also coming full circle by returning the show to prime-time on the 10th anniversary of its first summertime run. ...In the 1999-2000 TV season, the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday editions of Millionaire respectively ranked one, two, three in the prime-time Nielsen ratings, with Philbin's catchphrase -- "Is that your final answer?"

CNBC's As Seen on TV an info-taining look at infomercials

Ed Bark — 2009-04-21T12:42:12-05:00
Master baiter Billy Mays and the Today crew in Snuggies. By ED BARK A down economy is an upper for infomercials, which supposedly have grown to a $150 billion industry lately spearheaded by the likes of product hawker Billy Mays and the Snuggie. ...The CNBC cable network's latest original documentary, As Seen on TV (Wednesday, 8 p.m. central), manages to be at least as entertaining and informative as sitting through one of Ron Popeil's pitches for the Showtime Rotisserie ("Set it and forget it!").

HBO's Grey Gardens finds Drew Barrymore at last in full bloom

Ed Bark — 2009-04-17T11:34:04-05:00
But this is no horror-mongering Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? There's no pet parakeet served on a platter, although cats and raccoons eventually have the run of the place, defecating and urinating wherever it pleases them. ...Vivacious Little Edie briefly ends up footloose in NYC, living on daddy's money while he tries to strong-arm her into getting married and in the interim at least holding a steady job.

Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up is best watched on "Mute"

Ed Bark — 2009-04-17T11:33:58-05:00
Premiering: Sunday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m. (central) on Fox Featuring voice-overs from: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Kristin Chenoweth, Kenan Thompson, Will Forte, Cheri Oteri, Henry Winkler, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny Produced by: Mitchell Hurwitz, Eric and Kim Tannenbum, Josh Weinstein By ED BARK Attention must be paid to Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up, if only because its behind-the-camera architects include Mitchell Hurwitz of Arrested Development and Eric and Kim Tannenbum from Two and a Half Men.

Madden hangs it up; Collinsworth looks like a cinch to replace him on Sunday Night Football (updated)

Ed Bark — 2009-04-16T12:35:33-05:00
He began with CBS, moved to Fox from 1994 to 2002 and spent four years with ABC's Monday Night Football before the network punted the franchise to ESPN. ...NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol said that he "spent all day" Thursday with Madden, and "tried every way I could to make sure he was sure about his decision."

TV Land's The Cougar stars 40-year-old temptress and 20 Jungle Jimmies

Ed Bark — 2009-04-15T08:23:37-05:00
"Cougar" Stacey Anderson meets her wolf pups on TV Land. Premiering: Wednesday, April 15th at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Starring: Stacey Anderson and 20 younger male horndogs Created and produced by: Mike Fleiss ...TV Land, which used to be the prime time preserve of evergreen sitcom reruns, takes another tumble into the reality genre Wednesday night (9 p.m. central) with the premiere of The Cougar.

PBS' We Shall Remain struggles to light the torch

Ed Bark — 2009-04-13T13:54:19-05:00
PBS' five-part We Shall Remain includes numerous reenactments. By ED BARK Worthy and well-meaning, PBS' five-part, seven-and-a-half hour We Shall Remain nonetheless falls short of a firm grip with Monday's opening chapter. The 90-minute "After the Mayflower" (8 to 9:30 p.m. central) is overly long, dry and redundant in its depictions of how 17th century relations unraveled between Native Americans and the first English settlers at Plymouth.

Friday Night Lights closes out Season 3, suits up for two more

Ed Bark — 2009-04-09T19:47:03-05:00
Friday Night Lights, filmed entirely on location in Austin, has not made the mistake of keeping its actors in high school to the point where they look old enough to be returning for a 10th year reunion. ...Meanwhile, the principal adult characters play on. And that pretty much boils down to the Taylors, the McCoys and car dealer Buddy Garrity (Brad Leland), a Texas Bubba for all seasons who'd be sorely missed if he ever blows town.

CBS' Harper's Island may just be a killer ap

Ed Bark — 2009-04-09T11:04:12-05:00
Have fun while you can: Harry Hamlin as good time Uncle Marty. Premiering: Thursday, April 9th at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Elaine Cassidy, Christopher Gorham, Katie Cassidy, Richard Burgi, Harry Hamlin, Cassandra Sawtell, Cameron Richardson and a host of other potential corpses Produced by: Jon Turteltaub, Ari Schlossberg ...CBS' heavily promoted Harper's Island, getting a cushy, post-CSI: Crime Scene Investigation slot all the way through July 2nd, has a way of gripping you with its basic idiocy and unanswerable overriding question.

NBC tries to rebuild post-ER Thursdays with Amy Poehler-led comedy and ensemble cop drama

Ed Bark — 2009-04-08T14:43:52-05:00
By ED BARK Note to readers: Struggling NBC's Thursday night lineup, without ER for the first time in 15 TV seasons, re-gathers itself on April 9th with a new episode of The Office, the premiere of Parks and Recreation, another new Office episode, a first-run 30 Rock and the premiere of Southland.... Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari co-star in Parks and Recreation. Premiering: Thursday, April 9th at 7:30 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Paul Schneider, Aubrey Plaza Produced by: Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, Howard Klein

FX's Rescue Me blazes anew in Season 5

Ed Bark — 2009-04-07T09:40:20-05:00
Fox. By ED BARK Delayed almost interminably by last year's writers' strike, FX's Rescue Me returns in a big way Tuesday with a bounteous, 22-episode Season 5. ...Lest we forget, Tommy's still on the wagon and his belittling father remains newly deceased as the series reboots with an episode titled "Baptism" (9 p.m. central, repeated at 10 p.m.).

Surviving Suburbia gives Saget another ABC port

Ed Bark — 2009-04-06T10:43:18-05:00
Hardy hoo-hah!. Premiering: Monday, April 6th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Bob Saget, Cynthia Stevenson, Jere Burns, Jared Kusnitz, G Hannelius, Dan Cortese Produced by: Kevin Abbott, Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis ...The show's surprise emergence on ABC -- in a cushy slot following Dancing with the Stars no less -- might remind some viewers that this is the network that once made its bacon with laugh track-driven family sitcoms such as Full House, Growing Pains, Roseanne, Home Improvement, Who's the Boss, Family Matters and According to Jim.

The Tudors and In Treatment are back in play on Showtime, HBO

Ed Bark — 2009-04-03T12:54:12-05:00
Gina Toll and Paul Weston. By ED BARK Premium cable's warring big shots, HBO and Showtime, each return estimable series Sunday night. ...Henry, who rid himself of second wife Anne Boleyn at the close of last season, takes on his third wife, Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis), at the start of this one.

Leno's prime-time show a no go on Boston's NBC affiliate; MSNBC hires another voice from the left

Ed Bark — 2009-04-03T10:47:50-05:00
NBC is running fourth in the prime-time ratings again, and has no show -- other than Sunday Night Football -- that even wins its time period. ...David Gregory, who had anchored 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and also moderates NBC's Meet the Press, will be shuttled to 3 p.m. weekdays, where he'll helm a new two-hour program with Tamron Hall.

ER checks out after lasting long enough to go on Medicare

Ed Bark — 2009-04-02T11:30:00-05:00
Those days are long gone, with NBC estimating that Leno will cost the network roughly one-third or less of what it took to fuel the 9 p.m. hour with scripted drama series. Many of the high-quality, buzz-worthy dramas now are on cable networks, even if their audiences come nowhere near the 30 million viewers per episode that ER averaged in its first four seasons.

Fox tabs Sykes to fill MadTV's late night Saturday slot

Ed Bark — 2009-04-01T12:39:42-05:00
By ED BARK Fox's MadTV will be a goner at the end of this season, but Wanda Sykes will be moving right in next fall. ...TBS cable recently announced its first entry into the late night talk/comedy mix, with George Lopez taking the reins of a weeknight 10 p.m. show scheduled to launch in November.

Peabodys branch out to honor traditional tube-delivered programs -- and youtube

Ed Bark — 2009-04-01T11:20:37-05:00
ABC's Lost, HBO's John Adams, youtube and the presidential campaign satire on NBC's Saturday Night Live are among the 36 George Foster Peabody Award recipients announced Wednesday by the University of Georgia. HBO's Entourage, AMC's Breaking Bad, CNN's non-satiric election coverage and the Onion News Network also will be honored at a May 18th ceremony in New York City hosted by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams.

Osbournes: Reloaded -- What the @#$%&* was that *&%$#@ pile of #@$%*&?

Ed Bark — 2009-04-01T05:01:04-05:00
Fox has aired some dreadful stuff over the years, but Osbournes: Reloaded proved to be shockingly inept and unfunny from the instant mom Sharon and daughter Kelly shared ice-breaking bleeped profanities while a studio audience howled with laughter. ...Nick, who frankly didn't look like much of a catch, got sent backstage to ruminate while the show unfortunately went on. Offal included Ozzy and Kelly in a filmed segment as profane, food-throwing drive-in workers followed by cursing kids of kindergarten age playing "The Littlest Osbournes."

Second coming of Cupid lacks that certain some-zing

Ed Bark — 2009-03-30T19:03:51-05:00
Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Paulson front ABC's Cupid redo. Premiering: Tuesday, March 31st at 9 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring:Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Paulson, Rick Gomez, Camille Guaty Created by: Rob Thomas ...The new Cupid premieres Tuesday (9 p.m. central), following another episode of ABC's best available launch pad, Dancing with the Stars.

Looks like a stinker: Osbournes: Reloaded isn't giving TV critics much of a chance to unload

Ed Bark — 2009-03-30T14:04:58-05:00
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne bring their four-ring circus to Fox. By ED BARK This is only a hunch, mind you. ...So far that includes a silhouetted stripping granny (her "boobs were so saggy," Kelly notes); a blindfolded younger guy being duped into kissing an elderly woman; Ozzy spraying the audience with foam; and pint-sized "Littlest Osbournes" dropping bleeped f-bombs while insulting a young woman at a theater box office who tells them they can't see an adult-rated movie.

HBO couldn't be less explicit with first-rate No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Ed Bark — 2009-03-27T11:39:21-05:00
A plus-size star is born: Jill Scott as Precious Ramotswe. By ED BARK Premiering: Sunday, March 29th at 7 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose, Lucian Msamati, Desmond Dube, Winston Ntshona, Mosaka Mogara Produced by: Richard Curtis, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein and the late Sydney Pollack ...Ladies' Detective Agency, shot entirely in Botswana, Africa and drawn from the nine same-named novels, stars a plus-sized heroine who lives to honor her late, loving father.

Stay in the womb! ABC's In the Motherhood is coming

Ed Bark — 2009-03-25T12:39:30-05:00
Clair of In the Motherhood Premiering: Thursday, March 26th at 7 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Cheryl Hines, Megan Mullally, Jessica St. ...Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) shouts her way through the role of Rosemary, a multi-divorced, self-absorbed mother of a son who goes entirely unseen in the first two episodes available for review.

George Lopez to take a swing at late night in new TBS talker

Ed Bark — 2009-03-24T10:06:03-05:00
George Lopez will be a TV talker, too, on new TBS late nighter. By ED BARK TBS and George Lopez will enter the late night talk arena for the first time this fall in a show set to air opposite local newscasts and the first half-hours of Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show and Late Show with David Letterman. ..."George and TBS are going to change the late-night television landscape and bring a brand new energy to the talk show genre by giving it a street-party atmosphere," says TBS programming head Michael Wright.

Warhorse redux: Rather hits the century mark -- in episodes -- on HDNet

Ed Bark — 2009-03-23T14:02:15-05:00
And each and every one of them is told from the beginning that Mark is prepared to spend whatever we need to get the story, but not one dollar more . ...I remain absolutely determined to find out what really happened, and to bring into the sunshine what the public needs to know about how these ever larger corporations are connected to Washington power for the benefit of making money at the expense of truly independent and free journalism.

Dummying it down

Ed Bark — 2009-03-23T10:37:41-05:00
By ED BARK Dallas-born ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (above) has just signed a big deal with Comedy Central, further establishing North Texas as a great place to throw your voice for fun and eventual profit. ...So he now has what Comedy Central describes as a "wide-ranging, fully-integrated, multi-platform initiative which includes a series order, stand-up special, major-market stand-up tour, DVDs and a consumer products partnership."

Idol bracketology

Ed Bark — 2009-03-18T18:12:22-05:00
Here's my projected Final Four: Clockwise from top left are Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey and Lil Rounds Fox photos By ED BARK Eleven finalists still remain on American Idol after Tuesday night's country-fried sing-off. ...I'll pick Allison Iraheta to go all the way, but have no idea who will emerge from this Final Four to sing against her on the last performance show.

Better Off Ted has Office politics, but also a few sparks of its own

Ed Bark — 2009-03-17T17:25:09-05:00
Jay Harrington and Portia de Rossi meet head-on in Better Off Ted. Premiering: Wednesday, March 18th, at 7:30 p.m. (central) on ABC Starring: Jay Harrington, Portia de Rossi, Andrea Anders, Jonathan Slavin, Malcolm Barrett, Isabella Acres Created and produced by: Victor Fresco ...But go-along Ted is also a single dad whose curly-haired daughter, Rose (Isabella Acres), looks like Shirley Temple and sometimes makes pop wonder whether he shouldn't be working for the Good Ship Lollipop instead of the Bismarck.

Stephanopoulos/McCain: THE TWITTERVIEW

Ed Bark — 2009-03-17T13:26:24-05:00
By ED BARK It was only last year that presidential candidate John McCain copped to being a computer "illiterate" who used neither a MAC or a PC. Now he's twittering with ABC News This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos, who's embraced this new form as if he were a one-year-old in a high chair with his first birthday cake set before him.

Sopranos creator going Hollywood for HBO

Ed Bark — 2009-03-16T12:45:00-05:00
By ED BARK HBO and David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, will be re-teaming for a miniseries about Hollywood's vintage big shots. ...But a lot of time will be covered, from 1913 through the "golden era of talkies and the studio system, to the auteur movement to television, and finally to the present day," according to HBO publicity materials.

NBC's Kings a biblical, bounteous feast

Ed Bark — 2009-03-13T11:10:45-05:00
In a thin soup season of low aspirations, Kings delivers an oft-stunning punch, beginning with Sunday night's two-hour "event" premiere (7 p.m. central). ...Egan, who bears a fairly strong resemblance to Matt Damon, is suitably torn between returning to his home of Port Prosperity or serving his king for what he hopes will be the greater good.

By George, he did it

Ed Bark — 2009-03-13T08:42:30-05:00
Clooney & Margulies, larger than life, on March 12th ER. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Word leaked out via several online and on-air outlets, but NBC never officially confirmed or specifically promoted the appearance of George Clooney on Thursday's ER. ...His character, Dr. Doug Ross, is now operating out of the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, whose staff also includes Carol Hathway (Julianna Margulies), his ER wife.

NBC's new summer schedule kicks off early in hopes of helping Conan's Tonight

Ed Bark — 2009-03-12T17:08:19-05:00
Get Me Out of Here!, which fouled ABC's schedule in 2003. By ED BARK NBC has scheduled three season finales during Conan O'Brien's first week of hosting The Tonight Show as part of what it calls a "sizzling summer of new and returning series." O'Brien, who takes over Tonight on June 1st, supposedly will get "the best launch possible" on Monday through Wednesday of that week with 9 p.m. season-enders of Medium, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order.

Idol: shootdowns for Jasmine, Jorge and a dumb new rule

Ed Bark — 2009-03-12T10:01:05-05:00
Goodnight to Jorge Nunez (middle) and Jasmine Murray. Fox photos By ED BARK American Idol sent Top 13 finalists Jasmine Murray and Jorge Nunez packing Wednesday night while needlessly gumming up the rules and also falsely presenting them. ...Before unveiling this change of course, host Ryan Seacrest noted that previous Idol contestants Chris Daughtry, Tamyra Gray, Jennifer Hudson and Michael Johns all had been on the receiving end of unpopular evictions during previous Idol editions.

Chop-chop: Throw another cooking competition on the fire

Ed Bark — 2009-03-11T09:31:02-05:00
By ED BARK Chef Marco Pierre White, the British bloke who hosts NBC's new The Chopping Block, used to have Gordon Ramsay under his wing. But the bombastic star of Fox's Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares got to these shores first, leaving his old boss to serve leftovers on yet another weekly cooking competition devised by an umpteenth U.S. network.

Dancing with the Stars welcomes Bachelor jilt-ee, angers North Texas couple for other reasons

Ed Bark — 2009-03-10T11:32:51-05:00
Meanwhile, at least two viewers, Elon and Jennifer Werner of Cedar Hill, TX, say they've sworn off Dancing because it's gotten too blue for their nine-year-old daughter to watch. ...It was too hard to explain what Jackass was, what Playboy was, and what a number of the other off-hand and off-color remarks were to our nine-year-old daughter, who has been a passionate DWTS fan for the past three seasons.

Let's make a deal: AMC's Breaking Bad is boldly back in play

Ed Bark — 2009-03-06T14:16:56-06:00
This is Weeds on steroids -- or crystal meth in this case -- with Walt White (Cranston) and former student turned accomplice Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) wheeling and dealing with the most unsavory thugs New Mexico has to offer. ...AMC also has ordered almost twice as many new episodes -- 13 -- giving the show more room to maneuver within a still relatively small universe that also includes Walt's brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris), a DEA agent, and his wife, Marie (Betsy Brandt), a chronic shoplifter.

Idol's final field swells to old-school baker's dozen

Ed Bark — 2009-03-06T07:28:58-06:00
American Idol's first-ever Top 13 finalists include Thursday night "Wild Card" picks Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai (top from left), Megan Joy Corkrey and Jasmine Murray (bottom from left). Fox photo By ED BARK American Idol's final field is set, after judges added four rather than the expected three contestants during Thursday night's so-called "Wild Card" round. ...It also presumably increases the number of Idol hours on Fox, which can't be blamed for wanting to make a few extra advertising bucks in sub-dire times for the television industry and just about any industry.

ABC's banter-laced Castle solves crimes without going medieval

Ed Bark — 2009-03-05T16:42:39-06:00
Viewers who began their TV-watching before the Internet hit also might recognize a little/lot of Moonlighting in Castle, which ABC hopes will be catapulted by Monday's preceding two-hour launch of Dancing with the Stars' eighth edition. ...And in a dismal season for both bottom lines and breakout hits, the success or failure of Castle could go a long way in determining whether actors and their roles have a long-term future at any of the Big Four broadcast networks.

Idol adds three more finalists, will fill out field via Thursday's "Wild Card" show

Ed Bark — 2009-03-05T07:16:01-06:00
Top 12 finalists Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds, Jorge Nunez Fox photo By ED BARK American Idol viewers voted in three more Top 12 finalists Wednesday before judges announced eight "Wild Card" picks for Thursday's last chance sing-off. ...The women's field looks like a three-way battle among Corkrey, Murray and, groan, the ultra-histrionic Del Toro, who unfortunately can sing as well as weep.

Pick three: Idol's third performance round yields two slam dunks, one shot in the dark

Ed Bark — 2009-03-04T10:52:16-06:00
Barton looked smashing, and is also the one who was retrieved by judges after initial Top 36 semi-finalist Joanna Pacitti got disqualified with the usual scant elaboration from Fox. ...But MacIntyre is no slouch as a vocalist, and could really shine when he's allowed to play his keyboards as a member of the show's Final 12.

Working without the net? Fallon's Web-footed Late Night wouldn't think of it

Ed Bark — 2009-03-02T12:24:28-06:00
And in case you're interested, he'll also be doing a little television show on the side, beginning Monday at 11:35 p.m. (central) on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. ...He'll find out how many people are paying attention after Monday's first actual television outing finds Fallon in the company of Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake and musical guest Van Morrison, of whom he says, "I can almost guarantee you he has no idea of who I am."

24 cranks itself to the breaking point with full-blown assault on White House

Ed Bark — 2009-03-01T22:54:19-06:00
Monday's two-hour "event" -- covering the 6 to 8 p.m. hours of Season 7 -- finds terrorists breaking into the White House with what seems to be the greatest of ease. ...In Monday night's never-dull two-parter (7 to 9 p.m. central), he again runs afoul of noxious Senator Blaine Mayer (Kurtwood Smith), who wants to lock him up for crimes against humanity.

Tom Selleck still rock-stolid as wrong-righting Jesse Stone

Ed Bark — 2009-02-27T12:26:28-06:00
He'll be playing gruff, hard-drinking, dog-loving police chief Jesse Stone for the fifth time Sunday (March 1st), in CBS' Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (8 p.m. central). ...Leslie Hope, who played Jack Bauer's murdered wife, Teri, on the first season of 24, drops in for a few scenes as a taut-talking internal affairs investigator who of course is not immune to Stone's rough-hewn charms.

Only tipsy with power this time: unclebarky.com hits on two of Idol's latest three finalists

Ed Bark — 2009-02-27T11:04:04-06:00
Idol finalists Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert Fox photo By ED BARK Your friendly American Idol idolator correctly picked two of the three finalists to emerge from Thursday's 12 hopefuls. Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert made the top 12 as predicted but I missed on Kris Allen, instead succumbing to the bizarre song stylings of Nick Mitchell a k a "Norman Gentle."

March sadness: CBS is the only network on year-to-year upswing, but Fox will have usual finishing kick

Ed Bark — 2009-02-26T16:11:30-06:00
Simon Baker of CBS' The Mentalist; Tim Roth of Fox's Lie to Me By ED BARK The Big Four broadcast networks -- and li'l CW -- are heading into the final three months of the 2008-'09 TV season with only CBS having all arrows pointing upward. ...1 network among 18-to-49-year-olds, even though its average of 4.2 million per prime-time show is well off last year's 5.4 million at this time of the season.

Pick three: Idol's second performance round tougher to figure than first

Ed Bark — 2009-02-26T09:22:04-06:00
Singing for survival: Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Nick Mitchell By ED BARK Correctly picking last week's three American Idol survivors, which unclebarky.com did, was easier than figuring which trio will emerge from Wednesday's dozen. Going first is hardly ever beneficial, so 17-year-old Jasmine Murray likely will have to wait for the judges' climactic "wild card" choices to perhaps sneak in. She deserved a better seed, though.

Oscar audience grows from last year's all-time low

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T14:00:10-06:00
C'mon, get happy: Oscar ratings up from last year's low. ABC photo By ED BARK Sunday night's 81st Oscar ceremony on ABC kicked up a few notches in the national Nielsens, averaging 36.3 million viewers during its three-and-a-half-hour running time. That's a nice boost from the all-time low 32 million viewers who watched last year's telecast, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Gibson regroups with stunt stint on Kimmel Live

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T12:29:16-06:00
A goateed Mel Gibson, little seen or heard since his infamous drunken tirade in mid-summer 2006, dropped in on Jimmy Kimmel's post-Oscar show Sunday to announce his next film project. ...Here's the clip, in which Gibson plays a Southern-fried colonel -- with blood on his hands, of course.

Jackman-led Oscars end up long on ceremony

Ed Bark — 2009-02-23T07:58:35-06:00
Host Hugh Jackman impresses early in the game. ABC photos By ED BARK Sunday's largely suspense-less ABC Oscar-cast perhaps could have used a jokester host or at least Jerry Lewis acting up. ...ABC's cameramen as usual were on top of all the audience reaction shots, even finding best actress winner Kate Winslet's dad in the cheap seats after she asked him to whistle -- which he did -- to show her where he was seated.

Sexy women of substance populate BBC America's Mistresses

Ed Bark — 2009-02-20T09:03:01-06:00
Sexual beings Jessica, Trudi, Katie, Siobhan in Mistresses Premiering: Friday, Feb. 20th at 7 p.m. (central) on BBC America. ...BBC America's 12-episode Mistresses, premiering Friday, Feb. 20th (7 p.m. central), is graced by four of the UK's finest, sturdiest actresses.

Drunk with power: unclebarky.com nails first three Idol finalists

Ed Bark — 2009-02-19T11:33:12-06:00
Top 12 Idol finalists Michael Sarver, Alexis Grace, Danny Gokey By ED BARK It's nice to hit a trifecta once in a while. Which unclebarky.com did by correctly picking the first three American Idol survivors among this week's 12 contestants.

Pick just three: Idol dashes dreams, punishes posers in bigger doses this season

Ed Bark — 2009-02-18T10:59:30-06:00
Michael Sarver -- Jasper, TX oil-rigger and married father of two is easy to like and has a good shot to squeeze through after a mixed reaction from judges. ...After two more 12-way competitions (on Feb. 26th and March 4th), judges will invite their favorite evictees back on March 5th for a "wild card" round in which they, not viewers, will pick three more contestants to round out a final 12.

Play @%$!*#% Ball -- HBO's Eastbound & Down throws hard but misses the plate

Ed Bark — 2009-02-13T15:41:08-06:00
Danny McBride strikes out as washed-up pitcher Kenny Powers. Premiering: Sunday, Feb. 15th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Danny McBride, Katy Mixon, John Hawkes, Jennifer Irwin, Andrew Daly, Steve Little, Ben Best Produced by: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Ben Best By ED BARK Just in time for spring training, here comes HBO's comedy series about a profane, loutish, sexist, homophobic, coke-sniffing ex-Big League relief pitcher who "looks like a big bag of mashed-up asshole" in the view of one cogent observer.

Fox's Dollhouse may not play very well

Ed Bark — 2009-02-13T09:45:48-06:00
And of course it almost goes without saying that "Nothing is what it appears to be," which mastermind Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams) tells minion Echo (Eliza Dushku) in the opening seconds of Friday's premiere (8 p.m. central). ...But amid all these extracurricular activities, Echo has a somewhat self-contained assignment of the week, whether it's acting as a go-between in a kidnapping or serving as human prey next week for a maniacal bow hunter.

CNBC's House of Cards shows how greed hit home and left the economy humbled

Ed Bark — 2009-02-12T14:26:39-06:00
House of Cards players: Alan Greenspan, David Faber, Kyle Bass By ED BARK It's a fine mess we're in, and CNBC's latest new documentary, House of Cards, is better than most at explaining how "the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression" came to roost. ...He meticulously shows how the bubble burst without being a bubblehead about it in a compelling two-hour film that premieres on Thursday, Feb. 12th at 7 p.m. (central), repeats at 11 p.m. on the same night and also will air on Sunday (8 p.m.) and Monday (7 p.m.).

Oddly unaffecting Two Lovers nonetheless has intriguing big-star cast and free admission on HDNet Movies

Ed Bark — 2009-02-11T16:10:11-06:00
But just in case, here he is in a somber yet semi-uplifting film about a depressed would-be photographer who somehow manages to click with two disparate, attractive women. ...And when Sandra asks him to a party just moments after they make love for the first time, it's even harder to buy into Leonard saying, "I'll check to see if I'm free."

Important Things with Demetri Martin needs more pop but shows some promise

Ed Bark — 2009-02-10T13:04:55-06:00
Wednesday's premiere of Comedy Central's Important Things with Demetri Martin (9:30 p.m. central) brings forth a mop-headed, nimble-brained 35-year-old who looks quite a bit younger than he is. ...Next Wednesday's show, which trades on the word "Power," has appreciably better filmed sketches built around a battle for a parking space and a super hero named the Revenger" who later learns that his father died of Lyme Disease rather than at the hands of violent crooks.

Dancing with the Stars fetes 13 new pair of feet

Ed Bark — 2009-02-09T09:27:48-06:00
Jewel, David Alan Grier and Denise Richards get ready to rhumba. By ED BARK ABC's Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars floors it on March 9th.... *** Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O'Dell (hmm, wonder which entertainment rag mag will be getting lots of "exclusive" material)

Chuck tries 3D as last resort; House comfortably at home on Fox for Episode 100

Ed Bark — 2009-02-02T12:18:49-06:00
Her eventual diagnosis won't be spilled here, but as usual it takes most of the episode for House to deduce it after his usual verbal abusing of anyone and everyone. ...Chuck on the other hand is stuck as that night's table-setter on downtrodden NBC, which also will be relaunching Heroes and Medium on post-Super Bowl Monday.

Super Bowl XLIII: great game, decent commercials, Bruce cuttin' loose

Ed Bark — 2009-02-01T23:32:12-06:00

The Office checks in as latest post-Super Bowl entree

Ed Bark — 2009-01-30T11:43:43-06:00
Michael again makes a mess of things on post-Supie Office episode. By ED BARK Networks used to use the big post-Super Bowl "platform" to launch new series before the often less than watchful eyes of besotted, bloated American viewers. ...Last year's post-Super Bowl episode of House had a comparatively paltry 29 million viewers on Fox, even though the New York Giants-Patriots game averaged an all-time record of 97.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

An explosive beginning to 21st season of American Experience

Ed Bark — 2009-01-26T12:00:23-06:00
The father of the World War II era atomic bomb was a "frail, frequently sick" pantywaist as a kid, never had a date at Harvard and was derided after the fact by President Truman as "that crybaby scientist." ...The PBS film tells of the constant government scrutiny of Oppenheimer, even while he headed the all-consuming U.S. effort to beat Germany to the atomic bomb punch at the height of World War II.

TNT's Trust Me not as good as advertised

Ed Bark — 2009-01-23T09:54:16-06:00
Tom Cavanaugh and Eric McCormack pair up in TNT's Trust Me. Premiering: Monday, Jan. 26th at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Eric McCormack, Tom Cavanaugh, Monica Potter, Griffin Dunne, Sarah Clarke, Mike Damus, Geoffrey Arend Produced by: Greer Shephard, Michael M. ...And the network also has positioned Trust Me to succeed by slotting Monday's premiere (9 p.m. central) after a new episode of its most bankable hit, The Closer.

True story: Fox's Lie to Me looks like a keeper

Ed Bark — 2009-01-21T09:32:06-06:00
Tim Roth might be a bit afraid you won't like him in Lie to Me. Premiering: Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, Monica Raymund, Brendan Hines Produced by: Brian Grazer, Samuel Baum, David Nevins, Steven Maeda ...Other members of the team are lead researcher Eli Loker (Brendan Hines), who has a little 'tude to him, and new recruit Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), plucked from an airport security post because she tested off the charts as a human lie detector.

Oh happy daze: Lost returns Wednesday

Ed Bark — 2009-01-19T13:52:23-06:00
Daniel Faraday's a key ingredient; "Shotgun Willie's" an appetizer. Lost doesn't stay too long in any one place during Season 5's opening three hours. ...Amid all the uncertainty, it seems certain that Lost eventually will put the "Oceanic 6" and Locke back on the island they left behind three years ago. After all, time is of the essence, as you'll hear at the end of Wednesday's Episode 2.

Three's company in Showtime's United States of Tara

Ed Bark — 2009-01-16T14:20:32-06:00
Tara Gregson and her three disparate "alts"; star Toni Collette Premiering: Sunday, Jan. 18th at 9 p.m. central on Showtime Starring: Toni Collette, John Corbett, Brie Larson, Keir Gilchrist, Rosemarie DeWitt Produced by: Steven Spielberg, Diablo Cody, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Alexa Junge ...The show is United States of Tara, the star is Toni Collette and the execution is so-so in what creator Diablo Cody (Juno) describes as a "sensitive, humorous, humanist" approach to Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Beast of burden: New A&E series a bad vehicle for game Swayze

Ed Bark — 2009-01-15T13:56:10-06:00
Patrick Swayze stars in The Beast, whose aim is off. By ED BARK Just about everyone probably knows by now that Patrick Swayze continues to stare death in the face while battling pancreatic cancer. ...He's convincingly intense, whether barking out orders to Dove or shooting himself in the shoulder during next week's Episode 2 as a very odd means to bring a drug ring to an end.

Ricardo Montalban deplanes at age 88

Ed Bark — 2009-01-15T11:08:47-06:00
The first is a Fantasy Island "mini-sode" in which Mr. Roarke conducts the first ever "Miss Fantasy Island Beauty Pageant" with assurances that guest star Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch will wear the crown. ...

"I am not a numbuh!" Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan calls it a night

Ed Bark — 2009-01-14T17:23:15-06:00
By ED BARK Patrick McCoohan, original star of The Prisoner, is dead at age 80. The 1968 British-made series lasted just 17 episodes on CBS, but its lore lives on. McGoohan's highly vexed lead character was known only as "Number 6."

PBS at last plays for laughs in six-hour comedy opus

Ed Bark — 2009-01-14T13:23:02-06:00
Prominently featured are groundbreaking silent film star Harold Lloyd; the early Bob Hope ("a pompous coward trying to win the girl with the wisecrack," says Sedaris); Phyllis Diller; Andy Kaufman; Cheech & Chong; Steve Martin; Woody Allen and the wildly improvisational Winters, who's ordered to "Do something with a stick" during an appearance on Jack Paar's old Tonight Show. ...He has a point, but it would have been good to get a rebuttal from All In The Family creator Norman Lear, who's newly interviewed for Make 'Em Laugh.

Party on: Golden Globes again serve their purpose

Ed Bark — 2009-01-12T11:33:00-06:00
Rock rhymes with Barack -- Tracy Morgan accepted 30 Rock's Globe for best comedy series after explaining, "Tina Fey and I had an agreement that if Barack Obama won, I would speak for the show from now on. I'm the face of post-racial America." ...Suck it to me -- Tina Fey, voted best comedy series actress for 30 Rock, said she's learned that "If you ever start to feel too good about yourself, they have this thing called the Internet."

Jack in a box: 24 returns to re-save the world

Ed Bark — 2009-01-09T11:58:27-06:00
Sounds like another typical holiday for 24 and Jack Bauer as Season 7 barges into view with a two-part, four-hour, Sunday-Monday launch (7 to 9 p.m. central both nights). ...This little sermonette might hold a bit more water if Jack hadn't effectively threatened a scumbag with torture just a bit earlier while under the close eye of comely FBI agent Renee Walker (a strong 24 debut by Annie Wersching).

FX's Damages returns in killer form

Ed Bark — 2009-01-07T13:55:54-06:00
Even those who devoured its first season might find themselves a bit disoriented as Season 2 begins Wednesday night (9 p.m. central) with two bangs from a pistol held by avenging young attorney Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). ...But most of the meat is in its six-month trip back to the present, where Parsons tells her unseen prey, "I lied, too," before pumping those two pistol shots.

Fear Is Real -- add moronic and stupefying

Ed Bark — 2009-01-07T12:44:01-06:00
13 -- Fear is Real: the CW artwork is as sorry as the show. By ED BARK One of the pithier observations in reality show history comes from a 23-year-old marketing and product specialist named Kelly. ...Fear Is Real (7 p.m. central) has a dirt-cheap look, an antiquated Blair Witch hook and a piddling grand prize of $66,666 for the last contestant standing among 13 lambs to the pseudo slaughter.

Scrubs good as ever, Homeland Security a dud in ABC's new Tuesday pairing

Ed Bark — 2009-01-05T16:18:38-06:00
Scenes from ABC's Scrubs and Homeland Security USA. By ED BARK No amounts of ominous-sounding or pulse-pounding music can make ABC's new Homeland Security USA much more than a crashing bore. ...Tonight's first of two episodes, subtitled "My Jerks," introduces guest star Courteney Cox as new chief of medicine Taylor Maddox while also fleshing out new interns named Ed (Aziz Ansari), Denise (Eliza Coupe) and Katie (Betsy Beutler).

ABC's new True Beauty plays tricks on Dallas magician's assistant among others

Ed Bark — 2009-01-04T19:12:22-06:00
But in ABC promotional clips, Kutcher summons all the wisdom at his command in deducing that "good looking people immediately assume that they are of a different sort of echelon of being than the rest of us . ...But he's lately had a trio of bombs -- NBC's The Real Wedding Crashers, ABC's Miss Guided and this season's earlier Opportunity Knocks, which ABC kayoed after just three episodes.

Play it again: compelling ESPN special marks 50th anniversary of "The Greatest Game Ever Played"

Ed Bark — 2008-12-12T07:30:05-06:00
Frank Gifford and Gino Marchetti remember the way it was. NBC's black-and-white telecast of the game is no longer with us. But ESPN has stitched together and colorized most of the game's big plays from existing film footage. ...He also was involved in a very big way in "The Greatest Game Ever Played," fumbling twice, scoring a touchdown and coming up just inches short -- or so the referees ruled -- of a first down that would have allowed the Giants to run out the clock.

Cable attractions dominate Golden Globes nominations (but then you probably already figured as much)

Ed Bark — 2008-12-11T11:06:21-06:00
Californication's David Duchovny; January Jones of Mad Men By ED BARK Cable programs had the majority of nominees in all but one of 11 TV categories in Golden Globes nominations announced Thursday. That includes five nods apiece for HBO's Recount and In Treatment; four for its John Adams; three for AMC's Mad Men and HBO's Entourage; and two each for HBO's True Blood and Showtime's Dexter and Californication, whose star, David Duchovny, should have an interesting acceptance speech should he win.

Jay's prime-time gain could be Conan's late-night loss

Ed Bark — 2008-12-10T11:40:58-06:00
The Peacock's blockbuster deal to keep Leno, officially announced Tuesday, will give him an unprecedented Monday-Friday 9 p.m. (central) slot next fall while O'Brien moves West to take over the Tonight Show a few months earlier on June 1st. ...And the GE-owned network's 9 p.m. performance has dimmed to a flicker after the still relatively recent bright years of Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and ER, which will have its series finale on March 12th.

Redneck scrapper: Dallas-born Christian Kane fights for TNT's new Leverage

Ed Bark — 2008-12-08T15:29:39-06:00
Christian Kane touts TNT's Leverage during Dallas stop. Photo: Ed Bark By ED BARK Born in Dallas but mostly bred in Oklahoma, actor Christian Kane seems a bit unsuited for his Ritz-Carlton suite. ... Kane in character as Leverage's resident tough guy. He bounced around after Rescue 77, playing Angelina Jolie's fiance in 2002's Life or Something Like It and getting cut up for real during a fight scene in the following year's Second Hand Lions.

Brokaw passes Meet the Press baton to Gregory

Ed Bark — 2008-12-07T11:36:57-06:00
By ED BARK David Gregory officially became the 10th permanent moderator of Meet the Press Sunday, with Tom Brokaw passing the baton after ending his interim tenure by interviewing president-elect Barack Obama. ..."I'm not Tim, but along with this great team, I can just work real hard to make Tim proud," Gregory told Brokaw, who noted that his first Meet the Press appearance was "at the height" of Watergate in 1973.

TNT's "high-octane" Leverage not quite a gas, gas, gas

Ed Bark — 2008-12-05T14:27:24-06:00
Timothy Hutton leads his merry band of robbin' hoods. Premiering: Sunday, Dec. 7th at 9 p.m. (central) before moving to regular Tuesday, 9 p.m. slot on Dec. 9th Starring: Timothy Hutton, Beth Riesgraf, Christian Kane, Aldis Hodge, Gina Bellman Produced by: Dean Devlin, John Rogers, Chris Downey ...That might optimize your enjoyment of TNT's new Leverage, which in longer form is The A-Team meets Mission: Impossible meets Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen or how many more of 'em they make.

HBO's House of Saddam could use a fixer-upper

Ed Bark — 2008-12-04T11:43:21-06:00
Those who stay the course might find the opening two hours appreciably more interesting than the concluding Hour 4, which abruptly sends Saddam on the lam and then drearily winds down to his eventual capture by U.S forces. ...Alternately chortling and glowering, his formative Saddam -- the story begins in 1979 -- is bedeviled by both a domineering mother and amoral older son, Uday (Philip Arditti), who in time becomes the headstrong, violence- and drug-addicted Sonny Corleone of the piece.

Midseason tuneups for Big Four networks (and a little burp for The CW, too (updated and re-updated)

Ed Bark — 2008-12-03T09:00:58-06:00
***Howie Do It, a hidden camera series starring Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel, premieres on Friday, Jan. 9th at 7 p.m. A week later, Friday Night Lights segues from DirectTV to make its third season broadcast network debut in the 8 p.m. hour. ...***The new drama series Kings premieres with a two-hour episode on Thursday, March 19th at 8 p.m. before moving on the following Thursday to ER's vacated 9 p.m. slot.

Gregory reportedly will get Meet the Press post

Ed Bark — 2008-12-01T22:17:30-06:00
He's been ubiquitous, too, filling in on Today, anchoring weekend editions of the NBC Nightly News and hosting MSNBC's Race For the White House, which became 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after election day. ...If indeed he's the one, Gregory will have vaulted over veteran Andrea Mitchell and young gun political analyst Chuck Todd, both of whom reportedly were considered for the Meet the Press post along with frequent panelist Gwen Ifill of PBS.

The Shield goes out like a lion with rousing finale

Ed Bark — 2008-11-25T11:16:20-06:00
Fans of The Shield almost assuredly will not be disappointed by this very satisfying resolution to the series that forged FX's barrier-breaking identity. ...The Shield also restored Chiklis to the good graces of his profession after a dispiriting period where he starred in NBC's mercifully short-lived Daddio sitcom and played Curly in a made-for-TV movie about The Three Stooges.

Last call for Boston Legal

Ed Bark — 2008-11-24T13:44:38-06:00
By ED BARK Denny Crane and Alan Shore will clink glasses a last time on a two-hour Boston Legal set for Dec. 8th. ...Also, Shore petitions the Supreme Court to let Crane use a non-FDA approved drug that may slow the progression of his Alzheimer's Disease while Carl Sack and Shirley Schmidt (John Larroquette, Candice Bergen) plan their wedding.

Colbert Christmas special is jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell mock

Ed Bark — 2008-11-21T14:51:23-06:00
Instead he's trapped in his ridiculously decorated mountain cabin by a ravenous bear that won't let him make it to a presumably festive Manhattan studio where Elvis Costello restlessly awaits as a drummer boy and later a pop-up clown. ...Jon Stewart fails to interest Colbert in Hannukah, John Legend can't sell him on the joys of nutmeg and single-named Feist pretty much falls flat as a tree-topping angel who tries to answer the host's Jimmy Stewart-esque prayer to "show me the way."

24: Redemption movie puts Action Jack back in harm's way before Season 7 follows suit

Ed Bark — 2008-11-21T08:22:07-06:00
Jack's busy in Africa while Madame President takes the oath in D.C. By ED BARK His venue's changed, but Jack Bauer's 24 playbook hasn't during Sunday night's prequel to January's Season 7 start-up. From 3 to 5 p.m. in fictional, war-torn Sangala, Africa, Kiefer Sutherland's super-resilient soldier of misfortune has a prolonged gunfight, is tortured, loses another friend to a violent death and gets betrayed by a government official before again sacrificing himself for the greater good.

Gotta sing, gotta dance. But nearing her first prime-time variety special, Rosie O'Donnell of course slings opinions, too

Ed Bark — 2008-11-19T13:52:24-06:00
She insisted on doing the show live, with the understanding that NBC would order a minimum of six more hours if the Nielsen ratings click their heels on a show that will "be chock full of dancing boys and girls from Broadway." ..."I wasn't happy that I did not have control of the show," she says, referring to the autonomy she had as executive producer and star of The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

What makes NBC's Big Ben tick? For one thing, using NBC shows as "integral pieces of marketing platforms"

Ed Bark — 2008-11-18T16:00:20-06:00
Were Hill Street Blues in Silverman's hands, partners Andy Renko and Bobby Hill might well have driven their GM squad car to an off-duty charitable function that would make both them and their vehicle seem civic-minded. ...He just seemed happy to bask in the presence of a telegenic, supposedly hot-shot programming exec who told him that NBC is in the futuristic driver's seat with shows such as Knight Rider.

Obamas and Steve Kroft spark 60 Minutes to another ratings high

Ed Bark — 2008-11-18T13:12:20-06:00
In that period, CBS has averaged a league-leading 12.4 million viewers, down 4 percent from a year ago. Runnerup ABC has 11.7 million (down 9 percent), followed by Fox's 9.5 million (down 15 percent) and NBC's 8.9 million (down 10 percent). ... Nephew Mike Bark and my daughter, Liz (left, front), in Grant Park. 1. My daughter, Liz, a 2000 graduate of Ursuline Academy in Dallas, is now living in Chicago and pursuing a career in theater.

Einstein's mind is an action hero in new History Channel tale

Ed Bark — 2008-11-17T12:46:19-06:00
This two-hour tale, set against a backdrop of World War I and warring scientists, adds up to a compelling look at how Einstein finally won the day and became an international celebrity whose "wild halo of hair" only made his thoughts seem deeper. ...Tyson -- and we'll have to take his word for it -- says that Einstein's Theory of Relativity had "no wiggle room" in terms of being right or wrong.

What, them worry? Fox's MADtv canceled after 14 seasons, 300-plus episodes

Ed Bark — 2008-11-13T15:30:03-06:00
MADtv also had mockups of you-know-who. By ED BARK Fox's mostly overlooked answer to Saturday Night Live is going under in the same season that NBC's late night evergreen is having a ratings revival. ...Although it survived year after year, the show never proved to be a star-maker in league with SNL or even ABC's long-gone late night Fridays, which ran only from 1980-'82 but whose repertory company included both Michael Richards and Larry David.

"Hello, I'm Morley, I'm Lesley -- and this is your No.1-rated 60 Minutes."

Ed Bark — 2008-11-11T18:33:29-06:00
The grandfather clock of the TV news magazine genre drew 18.5 million viewers nationally for Sunday night's edition, edging CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (18.2 million) to rank No. ...60 Minutes topped the field with Steve Kroft's opening interview of president-elect Barack Obama's top campaign strategists; Scott Pelley's investigation of toxic electronic waste being illegally transported from the U.S. to polluted China dumps; and Morley Safer's profile of Ted Turner, whose first authorized biography is new in bookstores.

The Crash of 1929 -- seems like old times

Ed Bark — 2008-11-10T09:15:47-06:00
By ED BARK First shown in 2003 under PBS' American Experience banner, here's a classic cautionary tale that bears repeating, oh, at least every month or so. ...It's about the length of time that it requires for a new set of suckers, if you will, a new set of people capable of wonderful self-delusion to come in and imagine that they have a new and wonderful fix on the future."

Tina/Sarah to Tina/Sarah/Oprah to Tina/Oprah -- and Oprah/Tina (updated 4:12 p.m.)

Ed Bark — 2008-11-06T08:59:33-06:00
The most under-appreciated and currently the best comedy series on broadcast or cable television is getting a mega-boost tonight courtesy of a path that has taken star Tina Fey through Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin and now a highly advantageous outcome of Tuesday's presidential election. ...5 -- As scheduled more than a month ago. Winfrey will play herself on tonight's "Believe in the Stars" episode of 30 Rock, with Fey again brilliantly funny as oft-hapless but still very brainy TV producer Liz Lemon.

History Channels: Television brings home the sights and sounds of Obama's (and America's) night of nights

Ed Bark — 2008-11-05T07:24:14-06:00
"I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences," McCain said of Obama in his final act as a presidential candidate. ...At this point it's noticed that Fox4, still the last major local D-FW station not in high-definition, is unable to retain the Fox network's HD presentation whenever it inserts various local vote totals at the bottom of home screens.

November kicks October to the archives

Ed Bark — 2008-11-03T05:46:51-06:00
As November takes over -- and October moves to the long list of monthly archives on unclebarky.com's right hand border -- here's a look at John McCain's show-starter on the last Saturday Night LIve before election day. He's joined by Tina Fey's Sarah Palin.

Picky Picky (Vol. 17)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-30T08:38:23-05:00
By ED BARK Joe the Plumber, who by now needs no further introduction or identification, has signed a management deal with an eye toward becoming a show biz personality. "Joe the Plumber is fast becoming a brand," a representative of Nashville-based Pathfinder Management tells The New York Times.

The address is CBS -- for the first month of the season at least (as for the Peacock, it's plucked)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-23T14:35:41-05:00
Led by The Mentalist -- the only new series to rank in prime-time's top 10 -- CBS leads the pack in both total viewers (an average of 11.5 million) and advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds (4.3 million). ...17 in total viewers, joining The Mentalist in proving that "procedural" crime series are still paying off big-time on a network that now has 10 of 'em. And CBS' latest Monday night sitcom, Worst Week, is tied with ABC's heavily touted but already sinking Life on Mars for the 29th spot among all new series.

Life's too short to waste on Lifetime's new Rita Rocks sitcom

Ed Bark — 2008-10-20T14:21:38-05:00
Premiering: Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. (central) on Lifetime before moving to regular Tuesday 7:30 p.m. slot next week Starring: Nicole Sullivan, Richard Ruccolo, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Natalie Dreyfuss, Kelly Gould, Raviv Ullman, Ian Gomez Produced by: Nastaran Dibai, Jeffrey B. ...Instead she's mostly stuck in prototypical '80s sitcom hell with bratty teen daughter Hallie (Shannen Doherty lookalike Natalie Dreyfuss) and her ever-present, dim bulb boyfriend, Kip (Raviv Ullman), whose first words are "What ups?"

Crash emerges as wreckage in weekly Starz version

Ed Bark — 2008-10-17T15:10:51-05:00
Dennis Hopper adds another psycho to his portfolio in Starz's Crash. Premiering: Friday, Oct. 17th at 9 p.m. (central) on Starz Starring: Dennis Hopper, Jocko Sims, Nick E. ...Notching another wacko on his bedpost, he has top billing as record producer Ben Cendars, whose first act is to expose himself to his female limo driver before laying a little heavy-duty profanity on her.

Mr. Robinson we assume: NBC's Crusoe a truly great escape

Ed Bark — 2008-10-16T15:36:25-05:00
His name is Jeremiah Blackthorne and he's played by durable Sam Neill, last seen as scheming Cardinal Wolsey in Season 1 of Showtime's The Tudors. ...Your time will be well-spent and your brain won't be taxed to the breaking point in trying to figure out who's who, what's what -- or where this show might be going.

David Alan Grier paints it black in Comedy Central's Chocolate News

Ed Bark — 2008-10-15T12:10:51-05:00
David Alan Grier strikes poses as anchor of Chocolate News. Premiering: Wednesday, Oct. 15th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on Comedy Central Starring: David Alan Grier Produced by: David Alan Grier, Robert Morton, Fax Bahr, Adam Small By ED BARK Anchor David Alan Grier promises uncompromising dark comedy on the new Chocolate News, touted as "the only source for pure, uncircumcised realness from an Afro-centric perspective."

NBC's My Own Worst Enemy: a brain-twister that ties its knots too tight

Ed Bark — 2008-10-13T16:28:38-05:00
How about yours? Premiering: Monday, Oct. 13th at 9 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Christian Slater, Alfre Woodard, Madchen Amick, Tom Grady, Saffron Burrows Produced by: John Eisendrath, Jason Smilovic, David Semel ..."You ARE the experiment," she tells Henry after he literally poses the same question asked by Ross Perot's running mate James Stockdale, at the start of the 1992 debate with Al Gore and Dan Quayle : "Who am I?

Ex-cellent: The Starter Wife returns in even better form than before

Ed Bark — 2008-10-10T08:13:21-05:00
Starter Wife mainstays Judy Davis and star Debra Messing By ED BARK There's no sex in her city. ...Her opening night performance in Starter Wife's return is sterling from start to finish, whether she's quipping with pals or turning up the intensity in scenes with her ex-husband and a hoped-for new friend named Liz (Danielle Nicolet).

Fighting crime on CBS: Eleventh Hour is just the latest practitioner

Ed Bark — 2008-10-09T08:30:54-05:00
Crime timers: CSI's William Peterson, Eleventh Hour's Rufus Sewell. Premiering: Thursday, Oct. 9th at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Rufus Sewell, Marley Shelton Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman By ED BARK Nicely nestled behind the godfather of "procedural crime" series, CBS' Eleventh Hour looks like another long-distance runner on a network that shot itself in the foot last season by trying something new.

Kath & Kim: at best it stinks

Ed Bark — 2008-10-08T17:25:13-05:00
Next question? Premiering: Thursday, Oct. 9th at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Starring: Molly Shannon, Selma Blair, John Michael Higgins, Mikey Day Produced and written by: Michelle Nader ...Kath & Kim is described in NBC press materials as the saga of a "hilarious and iconoclastic mother-daughter duo" immersed in a "love/hate, push/pull dysfunctional relationship that only a mother and daughter could share."

Life on Mars launches (but can it take off?)

Ed Bark — 2008-10-08T13:12:52-05:00
Mars may be fortunate to last nine episodes, even in a less than daunting time slot populated by NBC's already long-faded ER in its final season and CBS' Eleventh Hour in its first. ..."You look like you've seen a ghost, and he was ballin' your mother," he says by way of greeting the super-befuddled Sam, who becomes a member of the squad because almost everyone apparently knows him although he knows no one.

"I don't like his politics, but he's endearing in a strange, goofy, awkward way"

Ed Bark — 2008-10-07T12:47:10-05:00
Larry King and Oliver Stone put one in the 'W' column. By ED BARK The drumbeat for Oliver Stone's W remains muted just 10 days shy of its Oct. 17th big-screen release. ...The director of films ranging from Nixon to Natural Born Killers chose his words with the caution of a man who for the moment would rather be seen as more of a buttery Frank Capra than a heat-seeking Michael Moore.

Tina trifecta: her third Palin sendup in four weeks gets even better with strong support from Jason Sudeikis as bravura Biden

Ed Bark — 2008-10-05T19:57:40-05:00
By ED BARK Tina Fey risks putting herself in a Sarah Palin lockbox with three perfectly played parodies in the first four Saturday Night Lives of the season. ...Palin's the gift that keeps on giving, but Fey must be wondering how long she can go on. Wonder Woman also has to carry NBC's Emmy-winning 30 Rock , which might be feeling just a bit needy by now.

Fall TV: Worst Week does its best to break CBS' Monday night comedy mold

Ed Bark — 2008-09-19T13:14:47-05:00
What a fine mess Worst Week makes -- at least on opening night. Premiering: Monday, Sept. 22nd at 8:30 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Kyle Bornheimer, Erinn Hayes, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Lenehan Created by: Matt Tarses ...Let's just say that Dick Clayton finds himself with a little down time shortly after deadpanning, "I'm just gonna rinse the urine out of my hair, and I'll be off."

Asner still acting and punching with his left as presidential campaign carries on

Ed Bark — 2008-09-18T14:44:04-05:00
Ed Asner subtly sounds reveille in the upcoming Generation Gap. By ED BARK Liberal actor/activist Ed Asner and Republican presidential nominee John McCain are kindred spirits on at least two counts. ...His views of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin are as predictable as Sean Hannity's deferential treatment of her during a Wednesday night interview on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes.

And the Emmy goes to -- frankly, will anyone give a damn?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-17T11:27:51-05:00
Nor does it help that the three programs with the most Emmy nominations -- HBO's John Adams, AMC's Mad Men and NBC's 30 Rock -- have been seen by only a relative handful of America's TV-watchers. ...LEAD ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR MOVIE Dame Judi Dench, Cranford Catherine Keener, An American Crime Laurey Linney, John Adams Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun Susan Sarandon, Bernard and Doris

Otherworldly, overlooked: SNL's night of Sarah-Hillary put the "Space Olympics" into virtual eclipse

Ed Bark — 2008-09-16T17:35:18-05:00
By ED BARK Deep in the recesses of Saturday Night Live's 34th season premiere came another "Digital Short" from Andy "Dick in a Box" Samberg. It attracted possibly one zillionth the notice on a night when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler stole the show from the top with their dead-on sendups of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton.

A new Jenn-eration for Showtime's version of Inside the NFL

Ed Bark — 2008-09-16T11:33:33-05:00
Jenn Brown will be Inside the NFL's new Hollywood correspondent. By ED BARK Obviously selected for her abilities, not her looks, Jenn Brown has joined Showtime's considerably perkier version of Inside the NFL as a "special correspondent" based in Hollywood. ...The 27-year-old former Florida Gator softball team player earlier worked for Mark Cuban's Dallas-based HDNet on The Wild Side and Bikini Destinations, neither of which is mentioned in Showtime's " About Jenn Brown" mini-bio.

Together again for the first time: Fey and Poehler paint a masterpiece with SNL's Sarah/Hillary sendup

Ed Bark — 2008-09-14T08:44:43-05:00
SNL's "Hillary" returned as a not-so-stiff upper-lipped loser who finally boiled over as "Palin" pronounced, "It's truly amazing and I think women everywhere can agree, that no matter your politics, it's time for a woman to make it to the White House." ...But SNL's Sarah-Hillary sendup had the good grace to be smart, funny and brilliantly acted by Fey and Poehler, the only duo to ever make the show's usual gang of dominant male cast members seem almost impotent.

Gibson vs. Palin -- call it a draw?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-12T07:37:28-05:00
"The Bush doctrine, as I understand it," he told/lectured her, "is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?" ...At the opening bell, though, it wasn't enough for her to basically say, "I'm ready" when asked whether voters should believe she's in fact experienced enough to be McCain's right-hand woman.

DeNiro, Pacino do Dave

Ed Bark — 2008-09-11T17:12:34-05:00
DeNiro and Pacino are Top 10 list readers on Thursday's Late Show. By ED BARK Timed to coincide with Friday's release of their Righteous Kill movie, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino popped in on Thursday's Late Show with David Letterman to emote the "Top 10 Reasons I Like Being An Actor." Through the miracle of a CBS publicity release -- Late Show is pre-taped -- the list arrived via email five-and-a-half hours before air time (at 10:35 p.m. in Dallas on CBS11).

Fall TV: Inn-fantile Do Not Disturb leaves no vacancy for brain activity

Ed Bark — 2008-09-10T08:26:44-05:00
Double ugh. Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 10th at 8:30 p.m. (central) on Fox Starring: Niecy Nash, Jerry O'Connell, Molly Stanton, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jolene Purdy, Dave Franco Created by: Abraham Higginbotham ...Fox's new Do Not Disturb, virtually certain to be fall's worst-reviewed new series, is best watched while repeatedly striking your noggin with a ball peen hammer.

Fall TV: To be Somebodies is not a bad thing

Ed Bark — 2008-09-09T11:40:31-05:00
Spice and sugar: single-named Somebodies Diva and Scottie. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 9 p.m. (central) on BET Starring:, Hadjii, Kaira, Quante Strickland, Corey Redding, Anthony Hyatt, Pat Brown, Carlos Davis, Nard Holston, Tyler Craig, Eric Register Created, written and directed by: Hadjii ...Scottie thinks he's got it made after spotting a pair of lush next door neighbors who alluringly wash their car in halter tops and invite him to watch TV with them -- as long as he doesn't mind porn.

Fall TV: CW's Privileged a rich blend of loose ends

Ed Bark — 2008-09-09T06:37:35-05:00
Billionaire Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer) looms over Privileged. Premiering: Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 8 p.m. (central) on The CW Starring: JoAnna Garcia, Lucy Kate Hale, Ashley Newbrough, Anne Archer, Michael Cassidy, Brian Hallisay, Kristina Apgar, Allan Louis Produced by: Rina Mimoun, Bob Levy, Leslie Morgenstein ...Not that it'll get any special privileges, save for a comfy Tuesday night slot following 90210, which got off to a nice enough start in the ratings last week after CW and the show's producers conspired to make it unavailable for review.

Fall TV: Fringe takes its crack at sci fi fo fum

Ed Bark — 2008-09-08T13:06:00-05:00
A very bad development at a Chelsea, MA storage facility serves to put Olivia on the scent of jerk-ish Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek), son of the seemingly crazed Walter Bishop. ...Fox will repeat the Fringe pilot on Sunday at 7 p.m. (central) before it's left to do battle on Tuesday nights opposite ABC's Dancing with the Stars results shows.

FNC top dog at GOP convention; McCain's closer nips Obama's

Ed Bark — 2008-09-08T09:20:49-05:00
By ED BARK Repeating what had been an unprecedented showing at the 2004 Republican convention, Fox News Channel again outdrew all rival networks at last week's truncated three-day gathering in St. ...National Nielsen numbers for simultaneous coverage on eight broadcast networks -- ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FNC, MSNBC, Telemundo and Univision -- say that McCain drew a total of 38.9 million viewers nationally for his closer.

Hoping to suck in viewers, HBO has needed injection in True Blood

Ed Bark — 2008-09-05T10:04:07-05:00
Waitress Sookie Stackhouse is vampire Bill Compton's bat girl. Premiering: Sunday, Sept. 7th at 8 p.m. (central) on HBO Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Rutina Wesley, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell, Lois Smith, William Sanderson, Nelsan Ellis Created by: Alan Ball, based on the novels by Charlaine Harris ...Crafted by Six Feet Under maestro Alan Ball and adapted from the "Sookie Stackhouse" novels by Charlaine Harris, its first two episodes (in an inaugural season of 12) are an intoxicating blend of backwoods Louisiana and blood-sucking outcasts.

O'Reilly vs. Obama: Was it good for you?

Ed Bark — 2008-09-05T10:02:55-05:00
Taped Thursday in York, PA, the pair's first one-on-one encounter will be strung out over four nights on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor after a Friday night recess. ...But in a post mortem with two analysts who evaluated O'Reilly's performance -- and basically gave it raves -- The big O' said of the big O, "He's a tough guy, Obama.

"Now, now, in Dick Morris' defense, he is a lying sack of (*&%@#*@)."

Ed Bark — 2008-09-04T15:49:18-05:00
Oh, this is s-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o good. From Wednesday night's Republican convention edition of The Daily Show (Note: picture takes a few seconds to form.)

"A star is born" -- blah, blah, blah

Ed Bark — 2008-09-04T09:36:46-05:00
...DON'T START BELIEVIN' -- A WORD THEY SAY ON-CAMERA Caught with their mikes still on --and egged on by MSNBC analyst/anchor Chuck Todd -- Republican strategists Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy departed from their phoney-baloney "Talking Points" to say what they really thought of John McCain's Palin pick.

Fall TV:: The Sopranos on hogs -- FX's Sons of Anarchy spins tales of crooked bikers

Ed Bark — 2008-09-03T10:11:02-05:00
Wheels are turning for hunky Jackson "Jax" Teller (Charlie Hunnam). Premiering: Wednesday, Sept. 3rd at 9 p.m. (central) on FX Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal, Mitch Pileggi, Drea De Matteo, Mark Boone, Jr., Kim Coates, Johnny Lewis, Maggie Siff, Theo Rossi, Taylor Sheridan Created by: Kurt Sutter ... Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal co-star in Sons of Anarchy Perlman used to hide his notably protruding jaw behind copious hair and latex on CBS' old Beauty and the Beast series.

Oddball out: MSNBC's Olbermann plays chicken with Republicans

Ed Bark — 2008-09-03T06:43:42-05:00
It's a stark contrast from the Democratic convention in Denver, where MSNBC's principal Republican attack dog sat on an outdoor set near a train station and rhapsodized about Barack Obama when he wasn't sniping at his colleagues. ...Olbermann and some of his MSNBC colleagues made much of the fact that President Bush would be addressing the convention from the White House in an eight-minute speech scheduled to end just before the Big Broadcast networks signed on at 9 p.m. (central).

CNN entitled to a St. Paul swagger

Ed Bark — 2008-09-02T12:09:31-05:00
By ED BARK Maybe Fox News Channel will rebound with big ratings for its coverage of the Republican convention, which is back on track after an opening night pause for Hurricane Gustav. ...And on Thursday's closing night, it came within an eyelash of beating FNC in total viewers, losing by a score of 4.2 million to 4.1 million.

FX's The Shield resolutely plays dirty in its seventh and final season

Ed Bark — 2008-09-01T22:55:30-05:00
FX since has become the antithesis of warm and fuzzy, with star player Michael Chiklis likewise making a career U-turn from the chubby, schlubby pop of NBC's short-lived Daddio sitcom to a strong-armed police detective with the scruples of a Mafia kingpin. Billed as The Shield: The Final Act, the series' concluding seventh season begins rolling out on Tuesday at 9 p.m. (central), with its climax scheduled for Nov.

Lower your expectations for TNT's Raising the Bar

Ed Bark — 2008-08-29T13:21:12-05:00
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jane Kaczmarek clash in Raising the Bar. Premiering: Monday, Sept. 1st at 9 p.m. (central) on TNT Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Jane Kaczmarek, Gloria Reuben, Currie Graham, Melissa Sagemiller, Jonathan Scarfe, Teddy Sears, J. ...It's tough to muster much more enthusiasm than that for TNT's Raising the Bar, whose father figure, Steven Bochco, previously has crafted the likes of Hill Street Blues, L.A.

Obama's big night: A tale of two networks

Ed Bark — 2008-08-29T08:21:05-05:00
"There was no stone left unturned here," he said before later assuring correspondent Andrea Mitchell that the speech in fact played as beautifully on TV as it did before an estimated 80,000 partisans gathered at Denver's Invesco Field. ...The usually sour-minded Charles Krauthammer likewise used Wallace's words -- "exceedingly smart" -- before also crediting Obama with making "a generic Democratic speech, because he realizes that if he becomes a generic Democrat in this election year, he wins by a landslide."

Katie does a handstand, but CBS isn't turning cartwheels over convention ratings

Ed Bark — 2008-08-28T10:25:36-05:00
But CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, still fighting to have "embattled" removed from most descriptions of her, seems totally oblivious to some of the impressions she's leaving while in Denver covering the Democrats. ...The CBS Evening News continues to run a distant third, and CBS' prime-time convention ratings have been likewise dismal during the first three nights of coverage.

Superman swimmer adds another laurel

Ed Bark — 2008-08-27T15:26:31-05:00
By ED BARK NBC has landed a big fish to host the 34th season premiere of Saturday Night Live. ...SNL is making an unusually early Sept. 13th return and will have seven new shows before the presidential election, the network says.

Michelle, Teddy keep Dems from dozing before McCain has some last laughs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-26T10:57:21-05:00
Luke Russert in convention mode; John McCain on the Tonight Show. Not-so-cool hand Luke -- Luke Russert, only son of the late Tim Russert, is making his MSNBC debut at the Dem convention as a reporter on "youth issues." ...Segue to the 200-year-old man with Jay Leno -- In Hollywood for a fundraiser, McCain made what he said was his 13th appearance on NBC's Tonight Show after host Leno first aimed some monologue jokes at his age and the purported seven homes he shares with wealthy wife Cindy.

Idol adds 4th wheel; Dancing names 13 new celebs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-25T09:23:30-05:00
Misty May-Treanor, Cody Linley and Kara Dioguardi By ED BARK Beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor and Lewisville-bred heartthrob Cody Linley are dipping their toes into Dancing with the Stars while songwriter Kara Dioguardi is a surprise new fourth judge on American Idol. Dioguardi, who has written for the likes of Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill, Celine Dion and Gwen Stefani, will add "a lot more girl power" to Fox's still fatted cash cow, says president of alternative programming Mike Darnell.

NBC extinguishes its Olympic torch and fires up America's Toughest Jobs

Ed Bark — 2008-08-22T14:29:16-05:00
Toughies Steven Hopper of Dallas and Sandy Gabriel of Winnie, TX. Premiering: Monday, Aug. 25th at 8 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: 13 dangerous job doers, including Steven Hopper of Dallas and Sandy Gabriel of Winnie, TX Hosted by: Josh Temple Produced by: Thom Beers, Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun ...So for the record, recent college graduate Steven Hopper, 22, of Dallas, and plucky 26-year-old schoolteacher Sandy Gabriel of tiny Winnie, TX (pop. 2,914) are both in the hunt for a growing pot of prize money sponsored by an American truck maker.

PBS again goes old-school gavel to gavel while rival broadcast networks let fly with reruns and reality

Ed Bark — 2008-08-20T14:49:22-05:00
PBS convention coverage colleagues Jim Lehrer, Judy Woodruff By ED BARK Jim Lehrer snaps at the bait; Judy Woodruff delicately wriggles off the hook during their separate phone interviews Wednesday with unclebarky.com. ..."I would say to them, 'In other words, you are telling the American people that that stuff is more important than an every-four-year event at which the next president of the United States is going to be nominated?'

NBC's Olympian ratings feats

Ed Bark — 2008-08-19T17:03:21-05:00
Olympic gold miner Michael Phelps and toastmaster Bob Costas By ED BARK Squash isn't an official Olympic sport, but NBC is playing it anyway with competitors at ABC, CBS and Fox. ...The overall Olympics audience on all of the NBC Universal networks -- including cable's USA, CNBC and Oxygen among others -- has reached 200 million total viewers and been seen in 83 percent of all U.S. television homes.

Diff'rent strokes keep Borgnine rolling

Ed Bark — 2008-08-19T13:50:37-05:00
By ED BARK Hmm, Ernest Borgnine didn't impart this particular piece of information while promoting Hallmark Channel's A Grandpa For Christmas last year. The former McHale's Navy star laughed it up about turning 90 -- in a very gee-rated way -- while sitting next to his cute little co-star, Juliette Goglia.

Beijing's opening ceremonies a ratings smash for NBC

Ed Bark — 2008-08-11T05:11:02-05:00
But due to ratings inflation over the years, Atlanta's 1996 opening ceremony, with a slightly lower 23.6 household rating, qualifies as the all-time total viewer champ with 39.8 million. ...NBC's Saturday prime-time coverage of the first full day of Olympics competition averaged a hefty 24.1 million viewers nationally compared to 19.8 million viewers for Day One of the Athens Games.

Primeval puts some B.C. in BBC America

Ed Bark — 2008-08-08T15:18:54-05:00
Something is out there, and all of the above have seen it. Premiering: Saturday, Aug. 9th at 8 p.m. (central) on BBC America Starring: Douglas Henshall, James Murray, Hannah Spearritt, Andrew-Lee Potts, Lucy Brown, Juliet Aubrey, Ben Miller, Mark Wakeling Created by: Tim Haines ...Each episode both introduces new creatures -- in next week's meet some giant spiders and a monster centipede -- while also delving a bit deeper into the mythology that will explain what Helen's been up to for the past eight years.

Joshua Allen's amazing feet

Ed Bark — 2008-08-08T06:35:18-05:00
By ED BARK Fort Worth's Joshua Allen made it a North Texas trifecta Thursday night, winning the fourth season of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance over fellow hip-hop/popper Twitch Boss. ...Melissa Lawson of Arlington took NBC's Nashville Star crown on Monday; on the same night, Ally Davidson of Dallas won the women's division of the network's American Gladiators.

HBO's Hard Knocks again shows it's the Fort Knox of sports reality series

Ed Bark — 2008-08-07T07:56:01-05:00
The evocative, filmic, never less than first-rate HBO series returned Wednesday night with an hour of superbly crafted drama from the team's training camp in Oxnard, CA. Love or hate the Cowboys, you've got to marvel at the artistry at work while wishing it was your team on display for five episodes stretching to a Sept. 3rd finale.

At last it's Brokaw; again it's Lehrer

Ed Bark — 2008-08-06T13:47:21-05:00
The presidential debate commission's executive director, Janet Brown, said at the time that a star anchorman (Brokaw was still in charge of the NBC Nightly News in 2004) might "overshadow" a presidential candidate debate. ...I hope at this stage of my career I have a certain standing as a political reporter who knows what the issues are and tries to generate a dialogue about them."

Lucy posthumously nears the century mark

Ed Bark — 2008-08-06T10:16:16-05:00
By ED BARK It's a tough celebrity birthday choice today between Lucille Ball, who would have been 97, and Soleil Moon Frye of Punky Brewster fame, who is 32 on Wed., Aug. 6th. ...Yipes, I was at the ABC press conference for that one, and also shared a dinner table with Ball and husband Gary Morton during a session for the CBS movie Stone Pillow, in which she played a snarly but kindly bag lady named Florabelle.

Gotta move on: Nashville Star winner Melissa Lawson not much longer for Texas

Ed Bark — 2008-08-05T14:43:27-05:00
Lawson's debut single, "What If It All Goes Right," already is in rotation on country music stations after she performed it for the first time at the close of Monday's Nashville Star finale. ..."I love the fact that even with the cameras being around, they've been so casual and so accepting of it," Lawson says of her sons, who joined her onstage during Monday night's triumphant moment.

Two from North Texas prevail in back-to-back finales of NBC's American Gladiators and Nashville Star

Ed Bark — 2008-08-05T06:29:14-05:00
NBC did a Texas two-step Monday night, with Arlington mom-of-five Melissa Lawson twanging to the top of Nashville Star after Dallas newlywed Ally Davidson became the last woman contender standing on American Gladiators. The twin wins on the shows' season finales gave the state more bragging rights in the wide world of TV's reality competitions, where the champs also have included Burleson's Kellly Clarkson on Fox's first American Idol and ventriloquist Terry Fator of Mesquite on last summer's America's Got Talent.

VH1's I Want to Work for Diddy raises an overriding question: WHY???

Ed Bark — 2008-08-04T08:50:50-05:00
That's debatable when the opening hour's "art of multi-tasking" challenge includes activities such as taking lunch orders for employees of Diddy's Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group; cleaning his vehicle inside and out; and polishing 20 pairs of his shoes during an around-the-clock gauntlet of menial tasks. ...Anyway, the show's judges -- two of them former personal assistants of Diddy -- eventually team up to banish a gofer after one lucky sap arbitrarily gets dumped before the gofer-ing even begins.

It's "Nazi bitch" flip-off time: McKinney North High's "Fab Five" cheerleader scandal goes under assumed name in cheesy Lifetime movie

Ed Bark — 2008-08-01T12:38:02-05:00
Presenting the "Fab Five" in a not so fab Lifetime movie. By ED BARK Lifetime's latest movie about slutty teens and the chicken-hearted parents who enable them includes a big hoot of a scene at a ribald backyard pool party. ... Fab Five with lollipops; Tatum O'Neal as unprincipled principal. It's all supposed to be a cautionary tale, but goofing on Fab Five is far preferable to taking it seriously.

North Texans vie in three reality competition finals

Ed Bark — 2008-08-01T04:21:54-05:00
North Texas finalists Ally Davidson, Melissa Lawson, Joshua Allen By ED BARK North Texans are no strangers to any and all manner of reality competitions. ...Monday's two-hour climax of NBC's American Gladiators (7 to 9 p.m. central) finds Ally Davidson of Dallas toughing it out in hopes of becoming the show's top woman challenger.

Edd "Kookie" Byrnes turns a crazy cat 75

Ed Bark — 2008-07-30T00:01:11-05:00
By ED BARK Born with the un-Hollywood name of Edward Breitenberger, one of TV's first full-blown teen idols makes it three-quarters of a century on Wednesday, July 30th. Edd "Kookie" Byrnes played a comb-wielding, super-cool car parker on ABC's 77 Sunset Strip, a breezy private eye drama that ran from 1958-'63.

Dino might: History Channel's Jurassic Fight Club trades on big prehistoric bouts

Ed Bark — 2008-07-29T11:29:02-05:00
Female (left) and male Majungatholuses engage in early form of extreme pugilism on History Channel's graphic Jurassic Fight Club. ...Premiering Tuesday, July 29 at 8 p.m. (central), the 12-episode series is not so subtly aimed at young males who played with dinosaurs as kids and now gravitate toward Mixed Martial Arts competitions or maybe even conventional boxing matches on occasion.

Bush gets Stoned, which reminds us of pre-war times when he was just a big, amiable boob

Ed Bark — 2008-07-28T16:35:32-05:00
Timothy Bottoms from That's My Bush! and Josh Brolin in W. By ED BARK Both Robert Wilonsky of unfairpark and Tim Rogers from FrontBurner already have thoughtfully posted the first youtube trailer for Oliver Stone's upcoming feature film W. ...Meanwhile, for dessert, here's the opening theme song from Comedy Central's That's My Bush!, the utterly irreverent 2001 sitcom from the creators of South Park.

AMC's Mad Men still has ad-itude

Ed Bark — 2008-07-25T10:10:01-05:00
It deserves all of them for an evocative, provocative first season that rewound almost a half-century to a circa 1960 Madison Avenue advertising agency populated by thin-tied, vice-laden, tight-suited salesmen and makeup-lathered women who wore the hell out of their form-fitting dresses and rigidly constructed undergarments. ... Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) & Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) Another of Mad Men's major players, co-partner Roger Sterling (John Slattery), had twin heart attacks near the end of last season.

Jagged little thrill: Discovery Channel smells blood again

Ed Bark — 2008-07-24T10:20:25-05:00
Shark Week is back. By ED BARK It's late July, and Discovery Channel hopes you're getting that gnawing feeling again. ...How Not to Become Shark Bait (Tuesday, 9 to 10 p.m.) -- "Escapologist" Jonathan Goodwin, Survivor: Cook Islands winner Yul Kwon and others journey to the Bahamas to test shark attraction theories.

Fair is fair -- and Couric strove to be just that

Ed Bark — 2008-07-23T09:15:17-05:00
By ED BARK Barack Obama's Middle East odyssey, with the three major broadcast news anchors in tow, has irked John McCain to the point where his campaign is firing back with a video titled "Obama Love." ...Obama has "indicated by his failure to acknowledge the success of the surge that he would rather lose a war than lose a campaign," he said in what likely will be a resonating sound bite.

Leno's lame duck clock officially ticking to finish line (updated)

Ed Bark — 2008-07-21T15:20:08-05:00
Leno, who succeeded Johnny Carson on May 25, 1992, agreed to the move several years ago. He since has stepped up his ridicule of NBC's ongoing programming problems while at the same time becoming late night's hottest property for whatever network wins a likely bidding war to get him. ...Poehler's former running mate on SNL, Tina Fey, stepped into prime-time two seasons ago with 30 Rock, which last week received the most single-season Emmy nominations of any comedy series in history.

Heidi Heidi Heidi ho'

Ed Bark — 2008-07-21T15:19:25-05:00
The former "Hollywood Madam," who served a 37-month sentence for "pandering" until her release in September 1999, is the focus of HBO's notably stuporous Heidi Fleiss: The Would-Be Madam of Crystal. ...Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, earlier responsible for the likes of Inside Deep Throat and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, follow a none-too-steady Fleiss on her quest to establish a thriving "Stud Farm" on 60 acres of property that she managed to buy dirt cheap.

Elder acting Brolin turns 68 before Barbra Streisand's eyes

Ed Bark — 2008-07-18T09:10:16-05:00
He broke in as Robert Young's sawbones sidekick on ABC's Marcus Welby, M.D before starring in the same network's Hotel as no-nonsense manager Peter McDermott. Brolin later stepped into the role of an inept, laughable Ronald Reagan in the controversial 2003 miniseries The Reagans, which was made for CBS and then dumped on sister network Showtime after an outcry on Fox News Channel among others.

30 Rock, Mad Men, John Adams set the pace for prime-time Emmys

Ed Bark — 2008-07-17T08:03:34-05:00
30 Rock sent a single season record for comedy nods, Mad Men led the drama series contenders and HBO as usual dominated the movie and miniseries categories in nominations announced Thursday for the 60th annual prime-time Emmy Awards. ...A new Emmy category, "Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program," is populated by Tom Bergeron (the likely winner for ABC's Dancing with the Stars); Heidi Klum (Bravo's Project Runway); Howie Mandel (NBC's Deal or No Deal); Jeff Probst (CBS' Survivor) and Ryan Seacrest (Fox's American Idol).

Comedy Central fires up a putrid new Gong Show, then saves face with Reality Bites Back

Ed Bark — 2008-07-16T17:26:50-05:00
New Comedy Central jobs for Dave Attell and Michael Ian Black By ED BARK All involved with Comedy Central's reinvention of The Gong Show could find themselves knockin' on heaven's door someday. ...The thing premieres at 9 p.m. (central), with Attell and judges Steve Schirripa, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Brian Posehn (wow, what star power) kicking things off with an aging female impersonator who sings about her "cute, hot pussy" while cradling a short-haired cat on a leash.

Hopefully he won't grow up. But Will Ferrell's not getting any younger

Ed Bark — 2008-07-16T11:28:27-05:00
By ED BARK Former Saturday Night Live MVP Will Ferrell takes a crack at being 41 on Wednesday, July 16th. ...Here's a clip of Ferrell in classic dumb-down as a big-buckled Dubya attempting to grasp the issue of "global warmings."

D-FW one of four markets testing new Wendy Williams show. Damn the luck

Ed Bark — 2008-07-14T15:22:18-05:00
In D-FW it's supplanting the canceled Montel Williams Show at 11 a.m. weekdays for the rest of this month and next. ...At one point, a discombobulated Williams couldn't come up with the name of an exceedingly familiar face whose framed picture adorns a controversial cover of The New Yorker next to centerpiece caricatures of Barack and Michelle Obama as fist-bumping terrorists.

TNT's women of distinction return in new seasons of The Closer and Saving Grace

Ed Bark — 2008-07-14T06:54:19-05:00
The fourth season opener finds high-strung, sweets-craving deputy police chief Brenda Johnson (Sedgwick) and her charges in pursuit of a possible arsonist whose dirty work may be connected to a flash of Southern California wildfires. ...Over on Saving Grace, dissipated and borderline emaciated Oklahoma City police detective Grace Hanadarko (Hunter) ended last season with a gun pointed at the head of Patrick "Satan" Murphy (guest star Rene Auberjonois), the priest who repeatedly molested her as a child.

Generation Kill (or be killed) --in Iraq

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T14:52:53-05:00
Actors Alexander Skarsgard, James Ransone of Generation Kill Premiering: Sunday, July 13 at 8 p.m. central and continuing through Aug. 24 on HBO Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, Stark Sands, Billy Lush, Jon Huertas, Chance Kelly, Neal Jones and many more Written and produced by: David Simon, Ed Burns Directed by: Susanna White, Simon Cellan Jones ...Col. Stephen "The Godfather" Ferrando (center) calls the shots. Into their midst comes Rolling Stone's Evan Wright (Lee Tergeson), who oddly enough often seems out of place even when he's supposed to seem so.

CBS' Flashpoint not your typical summertime dim bulb

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T12:00:26-05:00
Premiering: Friday, July 11th, at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon, Amy Jo Johnson, David Paetkau, Michael Cram, Sergio Di Zio, ruth Marshall, Philip akin, Lisa Marcos, Mark Taylor Created by: Mark Ellis, Stephanie Morgenstern ...For now at least, Lane is a very intriguing head case, Parker's a sturdy team leader, Jules Callaghan (Amy Jo Johnson) knows she's cute and Sam Braddock (David Paetkau) has the assignment of hunky newcomer.

Ted Danson/Hellboy; Hellboy/Ted Danson

Ed Bark — 2008-07-11T07:39:54-05:00
OK, that's Ron Perlman in red face for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, opening Friday (July 11th). But Ted Danson clearly is tailor-made for the role.

Burn Notice back up and running

Ed Bark — 2008-07-10T07:27:07-05:00
This is drama with a bounce in its step, following the formulas of Monk, Psych and The Starter Wife, which now is being turned into a series. ...USA will air nine new episodes of Burn Notice on Thursdays before taking a break and returning with seven more in January.

The Office punches in early -- with four new "webisodes"

Ed Bark — 2008-07-09T11:30:17-05:00
Brian Baumgartner's dim Kevin Malone fronts new Office "webisode." What runs for 8 minutes, 30 seconds, is without Steve Carell and makes No. ..."I think it sort of changed the way everybody was looking at online (material) and what the networks were making performers and writers do in terms of additional content .

Ted Koppel and Discovery rechristen China "The People's Republic of Capitalism"

Ed Bark — 2008-07-08T15:37:59-05:00
A still intrepid Ted Koppel discovers that it's tough to make a clean break after digging deep for dirt in a Chongqing coal mine. Premiering: Wednesday, July 9th at 9 p.m. (central) and continuing at the same hour through Saturday on the Discovery Channel Anchored and reported by: Ted Koppel Produced by: Ted Koppel and Tom Bettag ...For four nights and as many hours, Koppel and his longtime producing partner, Tom Bettag, examine in depth what's become of Chongqing, China, a southwestern industrial megaplex with a population of 13.5 million and growing.

The Peacock plucks another cable property

Ed Bark — 2008-07-07T06:54:28-05:00
The Weather Channel is its latest acquisition, with NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker delivering another dollop of network-speak in a statement released Sunday. ...Under NBC Universal ownership since 2002, Bravo has been shorn of any art house ambitions and become home to a glut of gut-level reality series ranging from the bad (The It Factor) to the ugly (Being Bobby Brown) to the pretty good Project Runway).

Geraldo Rivera: Born on the Fourth of July and now Medicare-ready

Ed Bark — 2008-07-03T09:46:24-05:00
It seems, though, that he's been with us forever and a day, stalking bad guys, regularly making an ass of himself and sometimes exorcising his evil twin -- during a respectable CNBC period. ...But Rivera is still right in proclaiming that The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults was and likely always will be the most-watched syndicated program in TV history.

Read a good Lost book lately?

Ed Bark — 2008-07-02T12:19:12-05:00
But executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse figure you'll enrich yourself, if not them, by reading a few of the hard- and soft bounds pictured or mentioned during the series. ...Let's start right now: "In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark Bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in .

Dan Aykroyd blows in at 56

Ed Bark — 2008-06-30T22:19:36-05:00
Aykroyd has persevered, opening a string of House of Blues clubs, nabbing an Oscar nomination for 1989's Driving Miss Daisy and starring as Episcopal minister Mike Weber in the sub-dreadful 1997 ABC sitcom Soul Man. But of course we'd rather remember The Blues Brothers, birthed on SNL and well-served in a big-screen feature that included performances by Aretha Franklin and late greats James Brown, Ray Charles and Cab Calloway.

Spike TV's low-overhead Factory punches in and works a funny shift

Ed Bark — 2008-06-27T15:01:29-05:00
Factory hounds Gus, Gary, Smitty and Chase Premiering: Sunday, June 29th at 9 p.m. (central) on Spike TV Starring: Mitch Rouse, Michael Coleman, Jay Leggett, David Pasquesi, Mark Beltzman, Rick Hall, Christopher Allen Nelson, Eliza Coyle, Tracy Foley Produced and directed by: Mitch Rouse ...From there it's quickly open season on his job, with pals Gary (Mitch Rouse), Gus (Jay Leggett), Smitty (David Pasquesi) and Chase (Michael Coleman) all in the running.

Ross Perot: 78 RPMs

Ed Bark — 2008-06-27T11:44:56-05:00
By ED BARK Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, who turned the 1992 presidential race on its and his ears, makes it to his 78th birthday on Friday, June 27th. Perot's much-parodied brand of belligerent, pie chart politics got him 19 percent of the vote in a three-way match with victor Bill Clinton and President George H.W.

Gray area: Not much separates fictional Grey's Anatomy from real-life Hopkins

Ed Bark — 2008-06-25T14:11:21-05:00
Replete with originally composed music and a soap-ish storyline tied to a hunky resident's troubled marriage, Hopkins is an ABC News production aimed at those who supposedly won't sit still for one of those unadorned, old time religion news docs. ...Hopkins, premiering Thursday, presented in high-definition and scheduled to run for six weeks, mixes state-of-the-art medicine with the out-of-hospital angst of cardiothoracic surgeon Brian Bethea.

Survey says: Celebrity Family Feud is kinda cringe-worthy

Ed Bark — 2008-06-23T16:17:03-05:00
It's the Rivers clan vs. Ice T's posse during opening night play. Premiering: Tuesday, June 24th at 7 p.m. (central) on NBC Hosted by: Al Roker, with 24 celebrity family teams Produced by: Gaby Johnston, Toby Gorman ...NBC has moved Celebrity Family Feud up a week from its original premiere date to take on the premiere of ABC's Wipeout, which leads into the network's unveiling of I Survived A Japanese Game Show.

Brokaw will take Meet the Press through presidential election

Ed Bark — 2008-06-22T10:04:10-05:00
By ED BARK NBC has named Tom Brokaw as moderator of Meet the Press through this fall's presidential election. ...In an accompanying press release, NBC News president Steve Capus said of Brokaw and Meet the Press: "To have someone of Tom's stature step up and dedicate himself to ensuring its ongoing success is not only a testament to his loyalty to Tim, but his enduring commitment to NBC News and our viewers."

Atom TV segues from web to wee hour on Comedy Central

Ed Bark — 2008-06-20T14:10:19-05:00
Atom TV's Benny, Escaped Convict and Jim Carrey's Fire Marshall Bill By ED BARK It's easy to envision an early Jim Carrey's flammable Fire Marshall Bill incubating on Atom.com before matriculating to 1990's first season of Fox's In Living Color. ...Comedy Central's Atom TV, premiering Monday, June 23rd -- technically Tuesday, June 24th -- gets a 1 a.m. (central time) slot to strut a collection of comedy shorts that originated on the now one decade old Web site.

Parts still working: Lindsay Wagner's odometer moves to 59

Ed Bark — 2008-06-20T12:08:03-05:00
By ED BARK Still crush-able, TV's original Bionic Woman, Lindsay Wagner, jogs to the 59 year mark on Sunday, June 22nd. ...That's still a marathon compared to last fall's new version on NBC, which lasted for just half of a strike-pocked season before the Peacock canceled it.

Picky Picky (Vol. 15)

Ed Bark — 2008-06-19T12:25:26-05:00
***Moore first came to prominence as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show before putting her stamp on the even greater Mary Tyler Moore Show. ...***Walters trailblazed as both the Today show's first female host and on ABC in partnership with a sour Harry Reasoner as the first woman to co-anchor a network evening newscast.

Fabric softener: Michelle Obama guest hosts The View

Ed Bark — 2008-06-18T17:34:14-05:00
The gabfest's grande dame, Barbara Walters, displayed the front page article -- "After Attacks, Michelle Obama Looks for a New Introduction" -- after the wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama sat down and immediately said with a big smile, "I have to be greeted properly. ...Impeccable in a flattering black-and-white print dress, Michelle even praised First Lady Laura Bush for defending her hotly debated comments at a Wisconsin campaign rally where she said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country."

West Texas awl bidness gets reality check on truTV's Black Gold

Ed Bark — 2008-06-18T06:44:13-05:00
Peanut the "Worm," bossman Gerald and the dirty work they do. Premiering: Wednesday, June 18th at 9 p.m. (central) on truTV Starring: Three competing teams of oil drillin' West Texas roughnecks Produced and narrated by: Thom Beers ...Texas Gold is pretty good at detailing the costs -- up to $60,000 for a "high-end" drill bit -- and the risks to oilmen Mike LaMonica and Autry Stephens, who are bankrolling the three rigs during their journeys to the center of the earth.

Katie gets slapstick-y on own youtube channel

Ed Bark — 2008-06-17T12:13:57-05:00
Still, it's a game effort, on Couric's part at least, to "humanize" herself in the eyes of those who see -- or don't see -- that side of her on the Evening News. ...In the latest weekly Nielsens (June 9-13), the Evening News averaged 5.74 million viewers in again running far behind the NBC Nightly News (7.98 million) and ABC's World News (7.50 million).

Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl neither takes off -- or takes off

Ed Bark — 2008-06-16T11:29:20-05:00
Billie Piper precariously straddles two worlds as Belle/Hannah. Premiering: Monday, June 16th at 9:30 p.m. (central) on Showtime Starring: Billie Piper, Cherie Lunghi, Iddo Goldberg, Toyah Willcox, Stuart Organ Created by: Lucy Prebble ...We learn that she doesn't drink on the job, uses men's deodorant but not perfume, has a friend, Ben (Iddo Goldberg), who's apparently clueless about her profession and has "never been a very good girlfriend in real life."

Carvey's still got a little somethin' somethin'

Ed Bark — 2008-06-13T14:34:10-05:00
His Saturday, June 14th HBO special (9 p.m. central and repeated throughout June) returns him to the living after a bungled heart surgery and a desire to spend more time with his family kept him mostly out of public view for the past decade. ...Thankfully, Carvey doesn't dust off that relic, but eventually gets around to an array of politician impressions, including both George Bushes, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ross Perot, Dick Cheney, Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Hillary and sexism. Couric and Matthews. Showing and telling

Ed Bark — 2008-06-13T11:28:46-05:00
In much-criticized comments after Clinton's New Hampshire primary victory, Matthews said on the network's Morning Joe program that she wouldn't be a senator from New York or a candidate for president if her husband hadn't "messed around." ...

A commentary on Fox News Channel's history of not commenting

Ed Bark — 2008-06-12T14:33:25-05:00
FNC averaged 1.703 million viewers in prime-time for that eventful political week, with CNN close behind at 1.418 million and long-downtrodden MSNBC making a little noise with an average of 1.016 million. ...In both instances, FNC's numbers are up from a comparable week one year ago (June 4-10, 2007), when it averaged 1.564 million viewers in prime-time and 897,000 for the total programming day.

Still clutch: Marvelous Marv Albert shoots a 67

Ed Bark — 2008-06-12T07:08:27-05:00
By ED BARK Toupee firmly in place and sex scandals presumably behind him, golden-voiced Marv Albert turns 67 on Thursday, June 12th. ...Here's his timeless setup of Game 5 of the 1997 Bulls-Jazz showdown, in which he draws the battle lines between Game 4 hero John Stockton and emperor Michael Jordan.

Funny business: Bill Engvall cut his comedy teeth in Dallas before taking a bite out of big time

Ed Bark — 2008-06-11T17:50:11-05:00
Their nuclear family comedy series, returning for a second season Thursday (8 p.m. central) on TBS, is the only one of its kind unless you're counting Fox's cartoon Simpsons. ...That's a nice-sized hit by basic cable standards, giving the 50-year-old star another comfortable hammock in addition to his standup comedy act and recurring appearances with Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy on "Blue Collar Comedy" tours.

Fox's Dance finalists include six feet from North Texas

Ed Bark — 2008-06-10T13:12:49-05:00
Dance finalists Comfort Fedoke, Joshua Allen, Chelsea Traille By ED BARK Uniquely named Comfort Fedoke of Carrollton is stepping into Fox's So You Think You Can Dance as one of the summertime reality hit's 20 finalists. ... Bill & Star of Flint, TX and mug shots of the dozen furry finalists ***There's also a Texas dog/human duo in CBS' upcoming Greatest American Dog, scheduled to premiere on Thursday, July 10th.

Swingtown flops around in a sea of sex, drugs and dreary characters

Ed Bark — 2008-06-05T09:42:12-05:00
Sex at the deep end: Tom and Trina Decker have an "open" marriage. Premiering: Thursday, June 5th at 9 p.m. (central) on CBS Starring: Grant Show, Lana Parrilla, Molly Parker, Jack Davenport, Miriam Shor, Josh Hopkins, Shanna Collins Produced by: Mike Kelley, Alan Poul ..."Saturday in the park, every day's the Fourth of July" plays on Bruce Miller's convertible radio as he and wife, Susan (Jack Davenport, Molly Parker), leave their old neighborhood behind with a holiday block party in progress.

Dennis the non-Menace

Ed Bark — 2008-06-04T11:01:49-05:00
By ED BARK TV icon Dennis Weaver, who died on Feb. 24, 2006, would have been 84 on Wednesday, June 4. ...Here's the great, wheel-spinnin', one-minute trailer from Duel, with Weaver braving both a malevolent semi-truck driver and a rattle snake bite.

Chill in the air: Fear Itself registers on 'ooh scary' meter

Ed Bark — 2008-06-04T08:51:53-05:00
Nasty neck wounds abound in first two episodes of Fear Itself. Premiering: Thursday, June 5th at 9 p.m. (central) on NBC Starring: Various thespians in weekly suspense/horror anthology tales Created by: Mick Garris ...Dark, brooding and graphic within broadcast network confines, the first two episodes have a nice tingle to 'em. Each hour is helmed by a different director, with Breck Eisner (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and Brad Anderson (The Machinist) taking charge of the first two.

Model Ts? Women 35-and-over strike poses in She's Got the Look

Ed Bark — 2008-06-03T15:11:51-05:00
Robes gallery: The 10 finalists of TV Land's She's Got the Look include 40-year-old Dallas auditioner Roxanne Ford (3rd from left). Premiering: Wednesday, June 4th at 9 p.m. (central) on TV Land Hosted by: Kim Alexis, with judges Sean Patterson, Beverly Johnson and Robert Verdi scrutinizing 10 prospective superstar models between the ages of 35 and 63. ...Davis is by far the oldest and indeed the pluckiest of 10 elder stateswoman -- by conventional modeling standards -- chosen as finalists in TV Land's She's Got the Look.

What were the odds? TV wild man Chuck Barris turns 79

Ed Bark — 2008-06-03T11:12:13-05:00
By ED BARK Somehow still standing, legendary game show creator and host Chuck Barris turns 79 on Tuesday, June 3rd. ...Here's a clip from his last episode of The Gong Show, which NBC canceled on July 21, 1978 after recurring battles with the host over the show's less than rarefied content.

"The Beav" hits 60.

Ed Bark — 2008-06-02T05:15:56-05:00
In fact, I remember a night in the mid-1980s when yours truly and some less than sober TV critic friends dialed up Mathers' hotel room at the Arizona Biltmore during CBS' portion of network TV's annual summer "press tour." It was well past midnight, and we wondered whether he'd do an interview with us on a moment's notice rather than make us all get up for a scheduled mid-morning session tied to the new movie Still the Beaver.

Found: another inspired Lost spoof

Ed Bark — 2008-05-30T15:18:38-05:00
Lest we all take Lost way too seriously, here's the latest action figure parody of the show from the Fine Bros., Benny and Rafi. This one's titled Indiana Jones & the Mystery of the Lost Island.

Warning: this look at Lost's season finale discusses major plot points in case you haven't seen it yet

Ed Bark — 2008-05-30T06:38:05-05:00
Jack stands over Locke box; Kate and Aaron. ABC photos By ED BARK Can the island's recuperative powers -- whatever they are and wherever it is now -- serve to resurrect a presumably dead John Locke? ...A still distraught Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), whose ridiculous, glued-on jet black beard got a facelift for later scenes, broke into a mortuary to get another look at what turned out to be Locke/Bentham (Terry O'Quinn) reposing in a coffin.

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<i>Survivor</i> host Probst likely won't deliver on this particular promise

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 4

Another new vista in nudity -- <i>Rolling Stone's</i> graphic (gratuitous?) <i>True Blood</i> cover

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 3

HBO's <i>The Pacific</i> warms up for Sunday's big show with seven Creative Arts Emmys while Neil Patrick Harris hopes to make it a trifecta

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 2

<i>Creek Don't Rise</i> both swims and sinks as Spike Lee's HBO sequel to <i>When the Levees Broke</i>

TV THEME SONG-ville -- Episode 1

Pawn vs. pawn: it's a buyers' market on Monday nights

Here's to her health: Linney carries Showtime to new heights with bravura star turn in TV's first "cancer comedy"

Miniseries maestro: <i>Roots</i> producer David Wolper reigned in times when networks thought bigger

"Press tour" picture book

AMC's <i>Rubicon</i> steps smartly to the head of the intelligence field

P.S. on the Shirley Sherrod "scandal": they're still spouting B.S.

<i>Mad Men</i>'s Season 4 makes some new sales pitches. Sold!

FNC's Shepard Smith again a steady hand amid partisan provocateurs on both his own network and MSNBC

<i>Pillars of the Earth</i> strives to stand tall, but doesn't live up to its Starz billing

Haggard twangs his magic twanger in exemplary <i>American Masters</i> film

Steinbrenner's death rekindles interest in ESPN's 8-part <i>The Bronx Is Burning</i> -- for $3 at Big Lots!

<i>Covert Affairs</i> gives USA network another potential perennial

TNT's <i>Rizzoli & Isles</i>: Sounds like a pasta dish, but served as a crime drama

<i>The Glades</i> turns out to be an air-freshener for A&E

<i>The Decision</i> casts "The King" in a better light than expected

Safe <i>Haven</i>? Not on Syfy

Newby <i>Glee</i> is most-nominated weekly series, with fellow freshman <i>Modern Family</i> and HBO also running strong in latest Emmy nominations

Love lost is <i>Bachelorette's</i> gain: Jake and Vienna brawl 'n' bawl in close encounter of the lurid kind

King leaving his court after a quarter century on CNN

DVD review: <i>Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story</i>

Brace yourselves: FX's <i>Louie</i> can be very dangerously funny

<i>Huge</i> joins the plus-size bandwagon on an already hot ABC Family channel

Get real: <i>Boston Med</i> gives ABC a hospital series with a wealth of unscripted drama

ABC's <i>Rookie Blue</i> clunks into view

<i>Memphis Beat</i> tries to give <i>Earl</i> star a new acting rhythm

ABC tries to reinvigorate summertime Sundays with new/noteworthy <i>The Gates</i> and <i>Scoundrels</i>

Syfy's new four-hour update of <i>The Phantom</i> is both an imaginative and unfortunately costumed drama

Showtime adds <i>The Real L Word</i>, but subtracts the nudity

Planet Green's <i>Fabulous Beekman Boys</i> makes bid to be gay <i>Green Acres</i>

TV Land's <i>Hot In Cleveland</i> harkens to <i>The Golden Girls</i> but so far plays at room temperature

HBO's <i>True Blood</i> drinks to a third season while keeping Bill and Sookie sip-arated

Staying too long at the party: a clear and ever-present danger

Horrid <i>Neighbors From Hell</i> defaces TBS

HBO's <i>Smash His Camera</i> re-pictures paparazzi potentate

Fox's <i>Good Guys<i> hits its regular time slot running

Out by a full step -- but no!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CBS, Fox take No. 1 spots at finish line of 2009-'10 TV season

TBS' <i>Are We There Yet?</i> has a not surprising destination

<i>Idol</i> finale: Paula salutes Simon; Casey James duets with Bret Michaels; Janet Jackson returns to the stage (and oh yeah, Lee won)

Already a life-saver, <i>Saving Africa's Witch Children</i> makes U.S. debut on HBO2

Little in common except running out of gas: <i>24</i> and <i>Law & Order</i> go down for the count

<i>Lost</i> finds decent national ratings; ABC rediscovers Miss America pageant

Hey, Paula: she's now a CBS girl

Jesus take the wheel: <i>Lost</i> ends and ascends

CW adds two, plots 10th and last season for <i>Smallville</i>

CBS' new fall colors include a quartet of high-profile show shifts, new <i>Hawaii Five-O</i> and the returns of Shatner, Selleck

ABC's new fall season throws another Texas-made series in the mix

Two made-in-Dallas series make Fox's fall cut

Peacock goes "back to basics" by re-embracing "quality" scripted series

NBC cancels <i>Law & Order</i>, keeps <i>Chuck</i>, orders a <i>Law & Order</i> spinoff and a new drama series co-produced by Conan O'Brien (double huh?!)

A new window on The Doors in a striking <i>American Masters</i> film

NBC tabs three more newcomers for next season

<i>Friday Night Lights</i> back in play on NBC

Pretty damned <i>Good Guys</i> gets ready to roll through Dallas

<i>Lost</i> finale has another growth spurt

Jimmy meets Emmy

Super Bowl XLIV mashes <i>MAS*H</i> finale, says CBS