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Headlines from Yahoo! TV:
- Birds Ready for Their TV Closeup - AP
- Newsman Dan Rather gets emotional with Letterman - Variety
- "Big Brother" Returns to Air - E! Online
- TV Guide Cover Story: The War Zone - TV Guide
- Humor Muted on Late-Night Shows - AP
- ''Nuremberg'' tops at Canuck TV nominations - Variety
- TV getting back to biz and blurbs - Variety
- Baseball makes pitch for normalcy - Variety
- De Niro, Burrough do time for HBO's ``Crime'' - Variety
- ABC, Turner pay $25 mil for ``Jurassic 3'' - Variety
- An important note about these headlines
- 'America's Most Wanted' focuses on terrorists- Peter Johnson
- Koppel is a voice of reason - Tim Goodman
- Networks Unite for Prime-Time Benefit - Lisa de Moraes
- Critic's Corner: Tuesday - Robert Bianco
- Shows debut in a changed world - Phil Rosenthal
- Entertainment can help a nation in crisis calm frazzled nerves - Joanne Ostrow
- TV networks grapple with two challenges - Eric Deggans
- The Broadcast Networks, Putting Telling Above Selling - Tom Shales
- TV reality shows look lame in light of tragedy - Ellen Gray
- A Medium's Milestone - David Bianculli
- More critics …
Tuesday, September 18
When pictures don't give the big picture. Mediachannel.org chief Danny Schechter writes on Newsday's op-ed page that he's impressed with the images television news received of the week's tragic events. But he's worried that the images took time away from less eye-catching -- but just as important -- news analysis. "We need smarter coverage, not more graphic home videos," writes Schechter, adding that pictures "don't explain why our nation was so unprepared for the attack, especially in light of the billions of dollars spent on defense and anti-terrorist intelligence. ... The videos also offer no clues on how President George W. Bush's Star Wars plan might, or might not, safeguard us from future attacks by knife-wielding hijackers."
Nice sentiment, wrong song. Clear Channel, the nation's biggest owner of radio stations, sent out a "musical blacklist" to its 1,000-plus stations with a list of songs unacceptable for airplay during the crisis situation. (UPDATE: "Apparently Clear Channel is now saying that the list of banned songs going around is a hoax," reports Sean Medlock.)Speaking of the E Street Band, a press release issued Sept. 10 -- one day before the terrorist attacks on the East Coast -- announced that the DVD release of Springsteen's recent HBO concert would be released in November, with 11 additional songs not seen in the broadcast and backstage bonus material.
Things are out of date in KC. I got a memo from Kansas City's ABC affiliate that announced it would not be moving up the air time for "ABC News Nightline." (The link is to my rant at tvbarn2 which includes an excerpt from the memo.) KMBC-TV is the largest affiliate in the country that delays "Nightline." For 21 years, it has aired the show at 12:05 a.m. Central, 90 minutes after it is seen most everywhere else in the time zone. Occasionally, the schedulers at KMBC relent to important news stories and show "Nightline" at its god-given time of 10:35. "Such a story, you would think, would be coverage of the U.S. response to last week's terrorist attacks. You would think. But you would be wrong."
Mutually reassuring discussion. When Regis Philbin suggested sending Kathie Lee Gifford to Afghanistan on last night's "Late Show with David Letterman," millions of viewers (including myself) had their first laugh-out-loud moment in a week. The entire broadcast was powerful television. Seeing Dan Rather break down -- twice -- and seeing Dave struggle through his opening remarks reminded us once again of the enormity of the situation. And it made me see a human side of both men I never thought I'd see. ALSO: Harrison Wyman's recap of last night's broadcast.
Remote Patrol: Back to Back -- Two Futures?: tonight brings boring bowling -- with no mocking of the shoes, two different takes on the not too distant future, more special reports on The Big Three, and among other new programming a slimmed down penultimate Big Brother.
On this day... in 1953, to boost circulation after a poorly read summer season, TV Guide presents its first ever national "Special Fall Preview Issue."
Monday, September 17
Views from two New Yorkers. Tonight's one hour Nightline will be anchored by Chris Bury. He'll talk with David Remnick, the editor of the New Yorker (most of the the current issue is online), and Frank Rich who wrote "The day before Tuesday" (free registration required) on last week's events in the New York Times. ABC will also have a special report at 10 p.m.
The Letterman Tribute: Questions abound on how various TV series are being adapted in light of last Tuesday's events. I just spoke with writer/wecaster Jay Johnson of the "The Late Show with David Letterman," who says : "Watch the show tonight, it's very emotional. It just opens with a graphic of the show logo, no music, and dissolves to Dave sitting at the desk. Regis Philbin brings some humor to the show at just the right time. The first half gets pretty heavy." As for the show's regular New York "travelogue" graphics package, "they have removed the towers from the opening, (but other than that) I'm not sure, I don't think we all know yet...we're taking it day by day."
Pick to click: CBS describes tonight's special "60 Minutes II" airing at 10 p.m., thus: "The broadcast will be anchored live by Dan Rather and will feature the latest information and several reports on last week’s terrorist attacks, including interviews with members of Osama bin Laden’s inner circle taped two months ago." UPDATE: There will also be a special "48 Hours" Tuesday. Sayeth CBS, "A live special edition of 48 HOURS, 'America's Fight,' will be broadcast Tuesday (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The broadcast will report on the latest developments on last week's
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Dan Rather will anchor live from New York with reports from correspondents in the field across the country."
No back to normal here. I pass along this crystal-clear satellite photograph of the World Trade Center for your edification. Kansas City's Time Warner Cable system is still simulcasting NY1, the all-news channel that its parent company runs in New York, but is running a crawl informing viewers that they are "temporarily" pre-empting their "regular programming." That "regular programming" consists of a short video, looped ad nauseam, which tells you how to operate your remote control. Meanwhile, as you can read in the headlines above, key figures in the TV biz are discussing an unprecedented industrywide telethon "to raise money for relief and recovery from the terrorist attacks." It would air Friday "on as many broadcast and cable networks as possible simultaneously," reports the AP. UPDATE: Fox News Channel has postponed its fifth-anniversary celebration, scheduled for Sept. 25. Rupert Murdoch is expected to attend the gala, rescheduled for Oct. 23.
Fox on hold, too. Can't anybody make up their minds around here? Last week the WB said it would go ahead with its Friday premieres--only to flip-flop at the last moment. Now Fox has gone and done the same thing--putting off Tuesday's premieres until next week after originally saying nope, the show would go on. In late-night developments, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will sit it out until tomorrow; CBS talkers "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" return tonight; guests are TBA. And yes, I would expect that panoramic "Late Show" bumper featuring the World Trade Center--and any other visual references to the disappeared towers--to be absent tonight and evermore. UPDATE: "Politically Incorrect" also plans to return tonight with Arianna Huffington and two TBA guests: the fourth chair will be left vacant for Barbara Olson, the commentator who was en route to L.A. when her plane was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon.
Fred de Cordova, RIP. Mark Evanier had told me two weeks ago that the longtime producer of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" was in the Motion Picture Home and not doing well. De Cordova passed away this weekend at age 90. He was not Carson's first showrunner--in fact, Johnny had fired four producers before de Cordova came along--but he was his last, and also served as a consultant to Jay Leno after the "Tonight Show" mantle passed to him. His remarkable career was marked by intersections with some of TV's biggest talent. He ran "The Jack Benny Show," "Burns and Allen" and "The George Gobel Show," and directed Bing Crosby's first TV special.
What price Paula Zahn? In the chaos of last week, you probably didn't notice CNN quietly canceling its long-running "Sports Tonight" program and firing 11 employees, not including Fred Hickman, who resigned.
The other premieres. Absent any new network programming, Sept. 17 nonetheless marks the date that many current and former sitcoms begin to appear in off-network syndication: Just Shoot Me, King of the Hill (alt link), Malcolm and Eddie and Everybody Loves Raymond.
Fox's Scientology goof. This St. Petersburg Times story reports that Fox News Channel for several hours on Friday gave out a phone number purporting to be a "national mental health assistance crisis hot line" but was actually answered by representatives of the Church of Scientology. At one point, the number appeared on a crawl beneath pictures of the President and Mrs. Bush at National Cathedral. Fox News later removed the number and said that it was a mistake and should've been checked before put on-air. As tempting as it is to make light of FNC's goof, one should remember that because of the nature of live coverage of events like the last week, everyone has made at least one goof at one time or another in the last seven days. Also, one would hope that the press would report this story if CNN or MSNBC had been the one airing the Scientologists' phone number.
Accentuate the positive. It's been fascinating to watch CNBC this morning as its reporters and anchors try to cheer stockholders out of the doldrums. The mantras so far have been solid long-term fundamentals and we expected things to be this bad. So that's supposed to take the jolt, I guess, out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing more than 600 points in the first hour of trading. (It's off about 490 points as of 11:30 a.m.) A reporter standing outside Charles Schwab featured an investor who was actually putting his money in the market today, not taking it out. How much of this reporting reflects the way things really are on Wall Street, and how much of it is wishful thinking? Or does it really matter in the financial sector, which in recent years has witnessed dizzying runups and frightening devaluations driven less by market fundamentals than by investor hopes and fears? UPDATE: It's 2:30, the Dow has gone off a cliff, down 670 points, and Joe Kernen is highlighting Lilly, one of the few stocks of the day that's actually up.
Remote Patrol: Back in the Barcalounger. We do need some diversions after all. There's a new and/or improved "Card Sharks," a patriotic PBS night from the White house, more celebrities and Regis, robots in both cartoon and live action form, and "PB" without "J."
On this day... in 1982, Peter Barton and Louis Gossett, Jr., starr, er, star in "The Powers Of Matthew Star" (originally "The Powers of Daniel Star.") The fantastic tale of alien prince Ehain (and his guardian/trainer) sent to earth (after the assasination of Ehain's parents, the king and queen) was set to air in 1981, but was delayed when both Barton and Gossett, were both injured while filming stunts for the show, Barton being seriously burned.
Sunday, September 16
He'd rather be watching O.J. After spending Tuesday glued to the tube watching the story of the terrorist attacks unfold, San Francisco Chronicle TV critic John Carman was ready to unplug from the global village and go read a book. "I was addicted to the Gulf War. I was addicted to O.J. I was addicted to the post-election recount in Florida. This one, after Tuesday, felt singularly nonaddictive."
Nightline Sunday special.. At 10 p.m. tonight, Nightline will do a special program "America Fights Back" which according to the email announcement "will lay out our options and challenges in retaliating against Tuesday’s terrorist attacks." Unfortunately, the guests laying out those options are limited to "former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, the former director of the National Security Agency Retired Lt. Gen. William Odom and former White House Chief of Staff Kenneth Duberstein." There needs to be people on programs like this who will lay out some other alternative options.Nightline has done some excellent reports over the past few days (such as John Donvan's piece on threats and attacks on Arab-Americans and Muslims) and had some alternative voices like writers Maya Angelou, Johnathan Frazen and Bebe Moore Cambell. But there also need to be some alternative experts not from the standard Nightline guest list like Daniel Ellsberg, Prof. Michael T. Klare, or military officials from the Center For Defense Information. A democracy needs and deserves a real policy debate.
Television's finest hour. My review (from Sunday's Kansas City Star) of the networks' marathon coverage of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. "Marshall McLuhan defined radio as a 'hot' medium and television as 'cool.' But this week the roles were reversed, as National Public Radio reassured listeners with measured voices and soothing music, while television coverage began in chaos, turned to horror and barely contained its emotions as it struggled to comprehend the enormity of what had just happened. As did we all."
Hats off to "AMW." Keith Privett writes, "Saturday's America's Most Wanted was actually one of the best pieces of reportage I've seen ... (John) Walsh applied the typical 'AMW' treatment to three bin Laden associates wanted by the FBI for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and 1998 embassy bombings in Africa. He also explained their motives. Then that was followed by a plainspoken call against hate crimes against Arab-Americans, with Walsh saying it 'makes you a terrorist yourself.' Well-selected archived pieces showed the courage of FDNY's Rescue 1 team and the way that alert officials have captured past terrorists."But simplest and most original were the show's final segments. One eavesdropped on conversations, mostly at diners, from the last two days. Two friends arguing immediate action vs. precise action, a fearful woman saying tenants in any rebuilt WTC should be equipped and trained with parachutes, cabbies talking about their Pakistani colleagues not reporting to work and a shoving match between a waitress who wants to cut off all immigration 'from that side of the world' and an offended patron. But my heart sank when a mother asked her daughter 'Do you wish I didn't watch it so much?' After the daughter's solemn nod, the mother explained that she didn't want to hide the news from her. But the daughter said, 'Yes, I think it would be best if you kept it hidden from me.'
"The segment concluded with a correspondent Tom Morris talking to Washington, D.C., high school students and host John Walsh in an New York City elementary classroom. Both groups of children said that images they had seen in the movies shaped their absorption of this week's events. The high-school group included a Pakistani-Colombian teen (who had been spat upon this week) wanting to prove his Americanism. Many of the elementary kids said they were more fearful because of the attack, but Walsh told them (without talking down to them) that they would be safe and that America would fight back."
He said it. On ESPN's "SportsCenter," New York Jets head coach Herman Edwards was asked if this weekend's cancelled football games might not have provided a welcome diversion for people reeling from Tuesday's terror. Said Edwards, "You want a diversion? Go to church." I think this is the first time I've heard a sports figure mention religion when it didn't sound cliched.
On this day... in 1996, two feisty short women prepare to do battle with their respective nemeses: Judy Sheindlin against wrongdoers on "Judge Judy," and college freshman Rhea Perlman versus her professor Malcolm McDowell in the wretched CBS sitcom "Pearl." Big things may be ahead for one of Pearl's classmates, a perfectionistic student played by one Miss Lucy Alexis Lu.
Murder in Big NYC. More details about Angel Juarbe, Jr., the missing New York City firefighter who won this summer's Fox reality show "Murder in Small Town X": This story from the New York Post and these messages from the show's host (and Los Angeles police officer) Gary Fredo posted to Fox.com's message board: #1 | #2
Whichever Monica it is, she needs your prayers. While CBS viewers were viewing "Touched by an Angel," producers of "Big Brother 2" conducted a "live episode" seen only by webcam viewers, show staff, and a video tape. In it, Brooklyn's Monica Bailey was finally informed of the enormity of this week's event and how doubtful it is that her missing cousin Tamitha Freeman will be found alive. Earlier this week, Monica was eliminated from the "Head of Household" competition, making her -- the most liked of the three -- overwhelmingly likely to be next to leave the house. (One hopes grief counselors and immediate ground transportation east will be provided.) The sanitized version is scheduled to air Tuesday as part of a two-hour episode preceding Thursday's finale. Also, Steve Beverly reports that the pilot of the ill-fated American Airlines flight 77, Chuck Burlingame, was once seen as a "Greed" contestant. and that NBC's "Lost" will be re-edited and possibly delayed due to the prominence of the World Trade Center at the end of each team's journey. (The object of "Lost" is to return several thousand miles from your "drop point" to the Statue of Liberty.)
Previously on TV Barn:
09/02/2001 - 09/08/2001
09/09/2001 - 09/15/2001
09/16/2001 - 09/22/2001