Weekend funnies: Jon Stewart exposes conservative pundits' hypocrisy on Palin

I wasn't initially going to link this because I'd seen it featured on so many blogs. But it's a great little send off for the weekend: The Daily Show's Jon Stewart shows how John McCain isn't the only politician who turned 180-degrees away from a previous position -- "experience counts" to "experience, exshmerience" -- to support Sarah Palin's pick as VP.

The only question left, is why we in the mainstream media don't do this more often.....

Is Jerry Seinfeld really the best pitchman for Microsoft?

It's almost like Apple figured out how to get Microsoft to do their work for them.

If you've seen any of Apple's legendary Mac vs PC ads, they work mostly because Apple found a funny way to characterize PCs as outdated, out of touch, ancient and hopelessly complicated. So what did Microsoft do?

They hired a comic who hasn't had a regular TV job in 10 years to be their spokesman.

Check out the first ad below, and decide if they actually made the right choice.

 

Seeking new levels of embarrassment: My big head fills the Times online Fall TV Preview

When the fall rolls around, TV critics face one overarching challenge:

How to make an interesting story out of a process that essentially goes down the same way every year?

if you're a TV fan, you know what I'm saying. The big TV networks roll out most of their shows in the fall, with high expectations, big budgets and notable stars. Over the next three months, 60 to 70 percent of them will fail. And the big winners are almost always a surprise.

So what we've done this year is turn the networks' fight for viewers into a literal fight online -- click here to check out our cute little animation dramatizing the three biggest fights in fall TV: the fight among new shows airing at the same time on different channels; the fight among interesting shows on cable and returning shows on network TV and the fight among new network TV shows and returning shows trying to recapture past buzz.

Making things even more interesting is the Hollywood writers strike, which lingers over the fall TV debuts like a bad hangover. The strike, which ended back in March, had the combined effect of stunting the quality of most every show last season while pushing back production of new shows for this season.

Anyways, check out our little presentation -- a cheeky preamble to the Times' full-on Fall TV Preview print edition, eating up most of Sunday's Floridian section. Who knew playing a disembodied head could be so challenging?   

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Fox News says nearly one-quarter of the 37-million viewers for Palin speech watched it on their channel

  The TV viewership numbers for Sarah Palin's speech at Wednesday's GOP convention were already impressive -- 37-million people tuned in for at least some of the speech, just 1-million shy of the record set by Barack Obama the week before.

But Fox News now says nearly one-quarter of those viewers saw the speech on their news channel, scoring viewership for the 10 p.m. hour ahead of networks NBC, CBS and ABC. Also, buried in the data, CNN scored viewership ahead of two networks -- ABC and CBS.

Fox also says it's the highest-rated convention telecast in cable news history; at Fox, only George Bush's address on the eve of the Iraq invasion and a Bush/Kerry debate in 2004 scored better ratings.

Here are the numbers, according to the good people at Fox News:

10-11:15 p.m. -– total viewers:

Fox News – 9.2 million

NBC – 7.7 million

CNN – 6.2 million

ABC – 5.9 million

CBS – 4.6 million

MSNBC – 3.4 million

*PBS - 3.2 million

(* Viewership figure provided by PBS)

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NBC raises the dead with Anthony Edwards' return to ER

I felt like an idiot when it happened; talking to someone at NBC about plans for ER's final season, I asked whether one-time star Anthony Edwards would be returning.

I'd completely forgotten that his character, Dr. Mark Greene, died of brain cancer as his exit from the show.

But it turns out I wasn't stupid, just ahead of the curve.

NBC announced today that Edwards is indeed returning to the show in a series of flashbacks that will illuminate the background of new cast member, St. Petersburg-raised actress Angela Bassett.

According to NBC: "The installment will feature Dr. Greene in a series of newly shot scenes that will feature other characters from the show's past while also giving insight into Dr. Banfield's (Angela Bassett) past and her experiences within the walls of County General."

Of course, this news just sets the stage for the really big speculation: Will George Clooney follow suit?

Producer John Wells said in July he didn't think so.

But who thought NBC would raise the dead to bring back Anthony Edwards? 

Click below to read the full release:

After Palin's tremendous pushback, will journalists keep challenging the candidate?

What may be most frustrating about watching TV coverage of this election is the thimble-level depth it offers.

In the Democratic primaries, it was questions about flag pins and God's will. After John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, it was questions of work/life balance that men rarely face.

And now, following Palin's aggressive, almost sneering rebuke of Barack Obama during her acceptance speech Wednesday, I fear the next lapse will be journalists' failure to challenge inconsistencies. Newsweek's Howard Fineman most recently called it "working the refs" -- complaining about media coverage so much that the media gets intimidated and embarrassed out of asking tough questions.

As I watched Palin's speech, I kept marveling at the GOP's ability to offer arguments directly opposite positions they had taken weeks ago, with little pushback from members. And I wondered if the GOP had worked the refs enough to ensure that few big-name journalists challenge all the inconsistencies.

In speeches long on jingoistic attacks and short on substance, Palin and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani stirred emotion to obscure the facts, urging followers to ignore those awful journalists who keep insisting on consistency.

For example:

-- Volunteering at the PTA or a church is okay, but Obama's work as a community organizer earns a sneering insult?

-- McCain was dismissive of Mitt's Romney's experience as a governor six months ago, but now it's fine for Sarah Palin to be a heartbeat from the presidency after less than 2 years running one of the least-populated states in the union?

-- When Obama delivers a speech with few policy points, it's empty rhetoric. But Palin's speech Wednesday, mostly built around attacks on Obama, was somehow proof she's ready to be vice president?

-- According to Palin, John McCain's a courageous maverick for choosing a political unknown to serve as his vice president. But Obama's short time in Washington makes him a dangerous choice?

I expect truth to be the first casualty when politicians enter tough campaigns. But I also expect the press to challenge inconsistencies and gaps in logic -- even when it earns harsh criticism. Will we see journalists find the stamina to sort through all the BS to challenge candidates on both sides as many Americans are just beginning to pay attention?

While you think on that, check legendary former GOP speechwriter and ace columnist Peggy Noonan stepping in it by forgetting the first rule of TV: Always assume a microphone is open.

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Mr. Media grills me and my brother from another mother, Aaron Barnhart

I often call Kansas City Star TV Critic Aaron Barnhart my brother from another mother, for how closely we agree on everything from the dogs of the new TV season to the future of television.

So imagine my surprise when our mutual pal Bob "Mr. Media" Andelman got us together for a live BlogTalkRadio audio podcast to talk about the future of the TV biz and we actually disagreed on a few things. Barnhart says most of the innovation on TV comes from focusing on youth; I say the best-regarded TV has often come from middle-aged characters and situations.

He theorizes the one box uniting the Internet and television will come from TiVo or a like-minded third-hand party. I think that one box is coming from a cable company like Comcast or Bright House -- mostly because they control access to all the cable channels and people already know how to work their cable box.

Check out our wordy, long-winded and somehow really fun debate by clicking on the link below. You'll learn more than you want to about TV and technology, I guarantee you.... 

Open in your default player
Detach into a separate window

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Deggans PunditWatch: The Bechdel rule becomes the Deggans rule

National Public Radio pop culture reporter Neda Ulaby came to me a few weeks ago with an intriguing question:

What did I think of the Bechdel Rule?

The Rule comes from a 1985 cartoon by illustrator Alison Bechdel (click on the cartoon to enlarge), who depicts a character telling her female friend she won't go see another movie unless it features more than one woman as a primary character and those two women talk about something other than men.

So Ulaby asked if I could articulate any TV shows which might fit the Deggans rule: more than one black or minority character talking about something other than race, culture or white people. And she put my answers on NPR's afternoon news show, All Things Considered.

Turns out, there are some shows that fit that mold: ER, Lost, Grey's Anatomy and TNT's the Closer, for example. But what struck me was the difficulty I had coming up with new shows featuring more than one character of color, period.

What I've noticed mostly this season is that, like seasons past, network TV is diversifying shows after they've been picked up for series. But, unlike years past, they're doing it by adding well-known minority actors as supporting characters -- Alfre Woodard on My Own Worst Enemy, Angela Bassett and her husband Courtney Vance on ER, Laurence Fishburne on CSI, Lucy Liu on Dirty Sexy Money, 

Even the highly anticipated 90210 reboot has just one minority character, a kid adopted by the central show's white family. Interesting as this twist is, it also ensures that Tristan Wild's Dixon will not be connected to other characters of color -- which is odd in a city a diverse as Los Angeles.

The only feedback I've gotten so far is two e-mails from people criticizing my observation that I felt as if I was learning a bit about Italian-American culture from watching The Sopranos.

So what do you think of the Bechdel and Deggans rules?

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90210 is a ZIP code hardly worthy the hype

I'm about as far out of the target demographic for the CW's rebooted 90210 as anyone still standing above ground.

And I'll admit being a little put off by the CW's decision not to let critics have an early look at one of the fall season's most talked-about new shows: a contemporizing of TV's first nighttime soap for young folks, Beverly Hills 90210.

But what surprised me most after sitting through the two-episode kickoff of 90210 last night was how much I didn't hate it. Instead, the new version of 90210 is simply unremarkable -- a glittery showpiece for twentysomething actors playing teens with impossibly white teeth and improbably large bank accounts.

The paper-thin excuse for all these shenanigans is the move by the Wilson family from Kansas City to the show's infamous ZIP code when Rob Estes' Harry Wilson takes a job as principal of West Beverly Hills High School. (One of the show's oddest ironies is that the two biggest grown-up roles are held by Estes and Lori Loughlin, two actors who have starred in everything but the original 90210).

Super-appealing Shenae Grimes is Annie Wilson, Harry's daughter and the down-to-earth character whom viewers are meant to sympathize with most. Grimes has the same wholesome beauty as Secret Life of an American Teenager's Shailene Woodley -- an earnest appeal that will serve this show well in the weeks to come.

It's just unfortunate that so much talent -- including a surprisingly wholesome turn by the Wire alum Tristan Wilds as the Wilsons' adopted African-American son Dixon -- is squandered on such predictable plots. From the moment Annie meets dreamboat Ethan Ward, a kid she kissed years ago during a summer trip, you know he'll have a girlfriend and their love will go unrequited a while.

You know Annie will find herself torn between the popular girls and the nerds. You know there will be a rich smoothie who woos her with wealth; you know there will be a party with a hip band whose record just happens to be available at CWTV.com.

Even the much-ballyhooed meeting between old school 90210 alums and former foes Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty was anti-climactic; a quick makeup between Garth's Kelly Taylor, now a single mom guidance counselor and Doherty's Brenda Walsh, now an actress who will wind up directing the school musical.

"We wasted a lot of time over the last few years," squeaked Doherty's Walsh, in a line meant to resonate with Doherty's and Garth's real-life fights. Just made me realize how much time I'd wasted waiting for this moment.

Yeah, this is exactly the kind of review the CW didn't want hitting newspapers before last night's debut. Armed with likely blockbuster ratings, they'll blanket the pop culture press with ads trying to turn 90210 into the next Gossip Girl. Which is, I suppose, exactly what 90210 has become -- a hip-ified showcase with an added twinge of nostalgia for the grown-ups.

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Tampa Tribune raises single-copy sales price to 50 cents

This won't be big news to anybody living where big-city newspapers have been charging a couple of quarters for years. But the Tampa Tribune has followed in the St. Petersburg Times' recent footsteps, increasing its single-copy price to 50 cents for a newspaper in all localities, Monday through Saturday.

The change started Monday, but many readers may not notice because the Tribune doesn't print its price on the newspaper's front page. John Schueler, president of Florida Communications Group (the Media General subsidiary that oversees the Tribune, WFLA-Ch. 8, TBO.com and all its other Florida outlets), said the price increase would not affect subscriptions, but would be effective anywhere you buy single copies of the newspaper.

The change was attributed to high fuel costs, with the newspaper trying to pull in extra revenue that can be diverted to their distribution network. If the rumors about the newspaper going to one section daily prove true, the Tribune will be implementing our recent history in reverse -- raising prices before slimming down the product.

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