Big TV News Page by Craig

sorry to report...

2008-01-22T09:20:00.000-05:00

to the 6 or 7 of you who frequent this site on a semi-regular basis, but i wont be updating this site all that much anymore..i have a worksite i need to spend more time on...if you want to see general entertainment news with some TV stuff too, go to...

http://www.943thefoxfm.com/pages/73936.php

thanks! Craig

TV Tonight (1/16)

2008-01-16T09:06:00.000-05:00

ABC: Wife Swap (NEW), Supernanny (NEW), Cashmere Mafia (NEW)

CBS: Power of 10 (NEW), Comanche Moon (NEW)

NBC: Deal or No Deal (NEW), Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order (NEW)

FOX: American Idol (NEW)

CW: Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (NEW), Gossip Girl

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Crap

2008-01-16T09:04:00.000-05:00

DIANE KEATON needs to censor herself when she makes TV appearances to promote her new movie, Mad Money. Yesterday on ABC's Good Morning America, she inadvertently used the 'f' word while complimenting DIANE SAWYER's lips. Specifically, she said if she had lips like Sawyer's, she wouldn't have worked on her "f****** personality" and would be married. She apologized for her use of the swear word, which aired uncensored on the East Coast, and Sawyer replied that her mom would wash Keaton's mouth with soap. The word was bleeped in the other U.S. time zones...

MAILA NURMI, who hosted horror movie broadcasts on Los Angeles TV in the mid-1950s as the goth character Vampira, died last Thursday. The cause of death is currently unknown. She may have been one of the inspirations for the character of Morticia Addams on TV's The Addams Family, and at one time unsuccessfully sued CASSANDRA PETERSON, aka ELVIRA, for allegedly stealing her act. Nurmi was 85 years old...

Nielsen Ratings

2008-01-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

America has football fever and the networks couldn't be happier. The top three programs in last week's Nielsen ratings were all gridiron-related, with the post-game show for the New York Giants' win over the Dallas Cowboys pacing the field with 32.5 million viewers. For the first time in recent memory, the New England Patriots didn't win something -- their victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars took second place, earning just shy of 30 million viewers. Meanwhile, the college football national championship between Ohio State and LSU landed in third place.

Elsewhere in last week's Nielsens:

* We don't know if it's a really good show of if the public is just starved for new programming, but Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles debuted in fourth place with more than 18 million viewers. On the other hand..,

* The premiere of ABC's Cashmere Mafia proved the public may not be all that hungry for new shows. It only scored 6.2 million viewers.

CBS was the top-rated network for the week, followed by Fox, NBC, ABC, Univision, the CW, My Network TV and Telemundo.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of Monday, January 7th-Sunday, January 13th:

1. Fox NFC Playoff: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys Post-Game (Sunday), Fox, 32.51 million viewers.

2. AFC Divisional Playoff: Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots, CBS, 30.90 million viewers.

3. Allstate BCS National Championship, Fox, 23.07 million viewers.

4. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fox, 18.36 million viewers.

5. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 18.19 million viewers.

6. Grey's Anatomy (Thursday), ABC, 17.68 million viewers.

7. Comanche Moon 1, CBS, 15.76 million viewers.

8. Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit, 15.15 million viewers.

9. Criminal Minds, CBS, 14.30 million viewers.

10. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Sunday), ABC, 14 million viewers.

Hey, you are starting to SAG...

2008-01-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

Prospects for a Grammy Awards broadcast this year are looking worse because of the ongoing writers' strike. Yesterday, the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced that they'd filed a formal request for a waiver with the Writers Guild, and the union again said yesterday that the request is unlikely to be granted. Still, ARAS President NEIL PORTNOW said the academy, quote, "remains hopeful that there will be a quick and positive response."

The Screen Actors Guild has said it probably won't cross the picket line should writers protest the Grammys. Several musicians are SAG members, meaning they'd likely honor the picket, while other musicians are likely to avoid crossing the picket out of sympathy for the writers' cause.

As of now, The Grammy Awards are still scheduled to take place February 10th, and air on CBS-TV. However, no performers or presenters have been announced yet.

Better news for next month's NAACP Image Awards: the Guild has granted them a waiver. WGA West President PATRIC VERRONE explained yesterday, quote, "Because of the historic role the NAACP has played in struggles like ours, we think this decision is appropriate to jointly achieve out goals."

The Big "O"...

2008-01-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

OPRAH WINFREY's vast entertainment empire will expand next year with the creation of her own TV network. She will chair the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN, which will become available in nearly 70 million homes on cable and satellite TV. The joint venture between Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Discovery Communications will replace the Discovery Health network. Under the agreement, the talk show queen will relinquish half-ownership of her Oprah.com website.

Programs on the Oprah Winfrey Network may focus on issues such as money, health and relationships -- not unlike The Oprah Winfrey Show. But you might not see much of Winfrey on the network when it debuts, since she'll keep busy with her talk show under a contract that runs through May, 2011.

Still, Winfrey says, quote, "I will now have the opportunity to do this 24 hours a day on a platform that goes on forever." Oprah's already the face of several media projects, including a magazine, TV movies and her website.

TV Tonight (1/14)

2008-01-14T08:55:00.000-05:00

ABC: Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (NEW), Notes From the Underbelly (NEW), October Road (NEW)

CBS: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami (NEW)

NBC: American Gladiators (NEW), Deal or No Deal (NEW), Medium (NEW)

FOX: Prison Break (NEW), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (NEW)

CW: Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Potpourri

2008-01-14T08:54:00.001-05:00

According to the Hollywood Reporter, CBS has ordered a trio of reality shows. The first, Game Show in My Head, features people whose ordinary lives are thrown out of whack when they're ordered to complete outrageous stunts. The second show is called Secret Talents of the Stars and features celebrities trying to outdo each other in a variety of contests, with one person being eliminated each week. The final series is America's Top Dog, in which dogs and their owners live together while trying to win a cash prize. What they have to do to win is unclear...

Steroids may be tainting the sports world, but NBC is making sure it doesn't do the same to TV. According to Broadcasting & Cable magazine, the peacock network has been testing the dozen cast members of American Gladiators to make sure they don't use any performance-enhancing drugs. The gladiators, all of whom are bodybuilders, took the tests during their initial physicals and must agree to random tests while the show is on the air...

Baby, Baby

2008-01-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

NICOLE RICHIE and CHRISTINA AGUILERA aren't the only stars who welcomed little bundles of joy over the weekend. Forty-year-old According to Jim star COURTNEY THORNE-SMITH and husband ROGER FISHMAN became the parents of a boy named JACOB EMERSON FISHMAN Friday in Los Angeles. It's the first child for the couple.

Meanwhile, People magazine reportsformer 52-year-old In Living Color star DAVID ALAN GRIER became a father last Thursday when wife CHRISTINE KIM gave birth to a girl they named LUISA DANBI-KIM.

Thorne-Smith and Grier each welcomed the addition to their broods at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the same hospital where Nicole Richie became a mommy on Friday.

Are those Gloden Globes in your pocket....

2008-01-14T08:45:00.000-05:00

The Golden Globe Awards were presented with much less fanfare than usual last night in Beverly Hills. Since the ongoing Writers Guild strike forced the cancellation of the annual awards show, the winners were announced by entertainment news personalities at a news conference. The president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the awards, vowed that the glitzy ceremony would return next year.

Cable ruled the top TV awards. AMC's Mad Men was named best drama, while RICKY GERVAIS' HBO series Extras was the winner in the musical/comedy series category.

TELEVISION

Best Drama

Mad Men

Best Actor, Drama

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Best Actress, Drama

Glenn Close, Damages

Best TV Series, Musical Or Comedy

Extras

Best Actress, Musical Or Comedy

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Best Actor, Musical Or Comedy

David Duchovny, Californication

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For TV

Longford

Best Actress In A Mini-Series Or A Movie Made For TV

Queen Latifah, Life Support

Best Actor In A Mini-Series Or A Movie Made For TV

Jim Broadbent, Longford

Best Supporting Actress, TV Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For TV

Samantha Morton, Longford

Best Supporting Actor, TV Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For TV

Jeremy Piven, Entourage

TV This Weekend

2008-01-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

Friday

ABC: Grey's Anatomy, Cashmere Mafia, 20/20 (NEW)

CBS: Ghost Whisperer (NEW), Moonlight (NEW), Numbers (NEW)

NBC: 1 vs. 100 (NEW), Friday Night Lights (NEW), Las Vegas (NEW)

FOX: Bones, House

CW: WWE Friday Night Smackdown

Saturday

ABC: Pearl Harbor (2001)

CBS: Football: Jacksonville vs. New England

NBC: Dateline (NEW)

FOX: Cops (1hr), America's Most Wanted

Sunday

ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (repeat), Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (NEW), Brothers & Sisters (NEW)

CBS: The Amazing Race 12 (NEW), Comanche Moon (NEW)

NBC: Dateline (NEW), Golden Globe (press conference style), American Gladiators

FOX: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (NEW), Family Guy (NEW), American Dad (NEW)

CW: Life is Wild (NEW), Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV FunHouse

2008-01-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

Sopranos star JAMES GANDOLFINI is now engaged. An HBO spokesman says the actor and his longtime girlfriend, former model DEBORAH LIN, got engaged during the holidays. No wedding date was announced...

Actor/director MARIO VAN PEEBLES is joining the cast of ABC's daytime drama All My Children. Van Peebles will play Samuel Woods, a U.S. District Attorney who's running for the Senate. Van Pebbles film credits include New Jack City and Baadasssss. His first air date in January 29th...

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve attracted an average audience of 18.05 million total viewers -- 29 percent more viewers than NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly and Fox's New Year's Eve: Times Square 07 combined. Dick Clark's audience saw an increase of ten thousand viewers over New Year's Eve 2006...

ABC is recommitting itself to The Bachelorette. According to Variety, the dating show could return to television as soon as this summer. The Bachelorette, which reverses the premise of The Bachelor by having a female choose a new love from a group of several men, hasn't aired since 2005...

Lost....

2008-01-11T09:15:00.000-05:00

Former Lost star MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ was released from jail Wednesday in Los Angeles after serving 18 days of a six-month sentence for violating probation related to a drunken driving case.The 29-year-old actress was set free under a jail overcrowding program that allows nonviolent female inmates to serve as little as ten percent of their sentence. Rodriguez benefited from the same program two years ago when she served just one day of a two-month sentence for another probation violation.Rodriguez pleaded no contest to drunken driving and hit-and-run in L.A. in 2003 and pleaded guilty to drunken driving in Hawaii in 2005. Her most recent probation violation occurred when she failed to perform community service and was caught drinking while wearing an alcohol monitoring device. The actress appeared in season two of Lost.

Is Paula Back?

2008-01-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

Has her years on American Idol inspired PAULA ABDUL to make a super-sized comeback? TVGuide.com's MICHAEL AUSIELLO reports that Abdul is in talks to perform during Fox's Super Bowl telecast next month. She may reportedly use the same choreography that she's currently rehearsing for a video to an upcoming duet with fellow Idol judge RANDY JACKSON.

Ausiello says Abdul would bring some intrigue to the February 3rd broadcast, saying, quote, "Paula is, let's just say an unpredictable personality. You never know what she's gonna be like in any given day." TOM PETTY is already slated to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show.

Even if Abdul doesn't participate, American Idol will still leave its mark on the Super Bowl telecast, with RYAN SEACREST serving as an entertainment host on the pregame show

Help a Brother out, won't you?

2008-01-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

Please when you visit this site, click on the little links along the top and sides..it helps to keep this blog bringing you half ass TV News since last October....

TV Tonight (1/10)

2008-01-10T09:03:00.000-05:00

ABC: Ugly Betty (NEW), Grey's Anatomy (NEW), Big Shots (NEW)

CBS: CSI: NY, CSI (NEW), Without a Trace (NEW)

NBC: My Name is Earl (NEW), 30 Rock (NEW), The Celebrity Apprentice (NEW), ER (NEW)

FOX: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (NEW), Don't Forget the Lyrics (NEW)

CW: Smallville, Supernatural

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Boogoloo

2008-01-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

Spike TV has ordered six hour-long episodes of DEA, a reality series that will take viewers inside the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The show will follow agents in Detroit as they track down street dealers and international drug traffickers. The series premieres this spring and is being produced by NBC Today show weatherman AL ROKER through his production company...

People magazine reports that American Gladiators co-host LAILA ALI will serve as a contributing correspondent on CBS' The Early Show, starting tomorrow. Ali is a former Dancing with the Stars contestant...

NBC's freshman comedy Chuck will return on January 24th. The Celebrity Apprentice will air in-between two new episodes of the ZACHARY LEVI series, which were the last episodes completed before the start of the writers' strike...

Those are some Gloden Globes ya got there...

2008-01-10T08:52:00.000-05:00

NBC's Golden Globes coverage this Sunday night will still have some star power, even though the ceremony itself was cancelled because of the writers' strike. Today show co-anchor MATT LAUER will host a two-hour edition of Dateline at 7 p.m. Eastern time, featuring interviews with Juno actress ELLEN PAGE, The Closer star KYRA SEDGWICK and other nominees. The program will also offer commentary from KATHY GRIFFIN and predictions from the network's Football Night in America team.

The Dateline special will precede the news conference at which the Golden Globes winners will be announced. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Globes, was left with no choice but to revamp the format this year, with stars threatening to skip the event in support of the striking writers. The 65th Annual Golden Globe Award Announcement, as NBC calls it, will take place at 9 p.m. Eastern time. An episode of American Gladiators will follow. **How the mighty have fallen**

The Golden Globes could suffer a huge drop in ratings without its usual glitz and glamour, if this week's broadcast of the People's Choice Awards was any indication. Only six million viewers tuned into CBS Tuesday night for the event -- a nearly 50-percent drop from last year's numbers. The People's Choice Awards also shook up its format by pre-taping the winners' acceptance speeches, again because of the writers' strike.

Some celebrities aren't too upset by the cancellation of the Globes ceremony. While promoting Sweeney Todd in Japan yesterday, JOHNNY DEPP sarcastically said he was disappointed, while director TIM BURTON was relieved that he didn't have to make the trip from his home in the UK to Los Angeles for the event.

TV Tonight (1/9)

2008-01-09T09:10:00.000-05:00

ABC: Wife Swap (NEW), Supernanny (NEW), Cashmere Mafia (NEW)

CBS: Power of 10 (NEW), Criminal Minds (NEW), CSI: NY (NEW)

NBC: Deal or No Deal (NEW), Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order (NEW)

FOX: Back to You, Back to You, 'Til Death

CW: Crowned: The Mother of all Pageants (NEW), Gossip Girl (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Crap

2008-01-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

FX will dig up more Dirt in March. The second season of the drama, starring COURTENEY COX as a tabloid editor, will begin on March 2nd, though only seven new episodes are in the can because of the writers' strike...

Big Brother will again watch over Showtime when it premieres next month. A live feed from the Big Brother house will air nightly on the SHO2 multiplex channel beginning on February 12th, the same day Big Brother returns on CBS. Showtime's three-hour broadcast of Big Brother: After Dark will air at midnight Eastern time...

The Coreys are coming back to A&E. The Hollywood Reporter says the cable network has picked up the reality series The Two Coreys, starring COREY HAIM and COREY FELDMAN, for a second season. The '80s stars had a falling out, and the new episodes will document whether they can kiss and make up. The Two Coreys could return in the spring...

Hey...Rate This!

2008-01-09T08:45:00.000-05:00

NBC scored a ratings victory last week with its Saturday coverage of the NFL playoffs. The most-watched primetime broadcast of the week was the Jacksonville Jaguars' opening-round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, with 25.74 million viewers.

ABC's Desperate Housewives was the only non-sports program to enter the Nielsen's top five. Nearly 20 million people watched the follow-up to the show's tornado cliffhanger, which for now stands as the final episode of the season, unless the writers' strike is resolved in the near future.

NBC had a solid week of premieres, led by the return of Law & Order last Wednesday night. The first episode of the drama's 18th season was seen by 13.46 million viewers. Twelve million people toughed out the Sunday-night debut of American Gladiators, while DONALD TRUMP's Celebrity Apprentice welcomed 11 million viewers into the boardroom last Thursday.

NBC won the primetime ratings race for the week, followed by CBS, Fox, ABC, the CW, MyNetworkTV, and ION Television.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of December 31st-January 6th, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. NFL Playoff Game 2: Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, NBC, 25.74 million viewers.

2. NFL Playoff Pre-Kick, NBC, 23.87 million viewers.

3. NFL Playoff Bridge, NBC, 23.48 million viewers.

4. AFC Wildcard Post Game, CBS, 21.37 million viewers.

5. Desperate Housewives, ABC, 19.78 million viewers.

6. 60 Minutes, CBS, 18.25 million viewers.

7. Law & Order, NBC, 13.46 million viewers.

8. Deal or No Deal (Thursday), NBC, 13.41 million viewers.

9. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 13.25 million viewers.

10. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC, 12.6 million viewers

Is It Just Me....

2008-01-09T08:44:00.000-05:00

Or is this strike really starting to kinda suck????????

The Show must Limp on!

2008-01-09T08:41:00.001-05:00

The writers strike may have forced the cancellation of the glitzy Golden Globes ceremony, but organizers of the Academy Awards insisted Tuesday that their Oscar show is still a go. GIL CATES, producer of the Academy Awards broadcast, told reporters, quote, "We are going to do it. I can't elaborate on how we're going to do it, because I don't want anybody to deal with the elaboration in a way that might impact its success."

It'll be interesting to see how the Academy will pull things off. Without a special agreement from the writers union, Oscar organizers can't hire writers to work on the broadcast. Further, the Academy Awards broadcast is all about big stars, and the Screen Actors Guild -- the union for film and TV actors -- has already said its members won't cross the Writers Guild picket line to attend any awards ceremony.

While producers of the upcoming SAG awards have requested and received a special waiver from the WGA for member writers to work on that broadcast, the union has said it would reject any similar request from the Academy.

Veteran Hollywood producer HARVEY WEINSTEIN says no matter what Cates or anyone else says, if the writers are on strike and the actors' union supports them, there'll be no Oscar show. Weinstein says, quote, "It's as simple as that."Oscar nominations will be announced January 22nd. The Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for February 24th.

Silence Ain't so Golden...

2008-01-09T08:39:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the Golden Globe awards, has to return the five million dollars NBC paid it for the rights to the now canceled presentation ceremony. But that dollar amount is just the tip of the financial iceberg.

Due to the ongoing writers strike, NBC will be airing a one-hour awards press conference in place of the traditional Golden Globes ceremony, but the network will lose millions in ad revenue. Variety reports the three-hour awards event usually generates 15 to 20 million dollars in ad revenue for NBC, but advertisers will be paying greatly-reduced rates for spots in the press conference broadcast.

Also, the HFPA and Dick Clark Productions, the company hired to produce the awards event, have already spent between one and two million dollars on sets, lighting, music, crews, red carpet and security. The trade paper says that's money they won't be getting back. Several post-award parties have now been canceled, but many of those organizers have already shelled out money for catering fees and other non-refundable services. Industry insiders say those parties carry price tags as high as 750 thousand dollars.

So, what's the total damage done by the canceled Golden Globes? The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation estimates it could cost the local L.A. economy as much as 80 million dollars. That loss will affect hotels, restaurants, limo companies, stylists, photographers and messengers.

In other Golden Globe news, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Tuesday it will postpone the presentation of the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award to STEVEN SPIELBERG until 2009. The honor usually includes film clips and tributes from fellow filmmakers, and the organization decided a scaled-down press conference isn't the proper setting for such an honor.

The People have spoken...

2008-01-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

The People's Choice Awards used a more laid-back approach last night in announcing the winners on the CBS telecast. Because of the writers' strike, the event opted for a pre-taped show -- organizers dubbed it a "magazine" format -- in which honorees accepted their awards from movie sets or other locations. The strike was referenced several times on the broadcast, including in an acceptance speech from a silent JOAQUIN PHOENIX, who instead used cue cards to give thanks. Some winners also answered questions sent in by fans.

Ten million people voted for the People's Choice Awards, which honored the public's favorites in music, movies and television. QUEEN LATIFAH hosted the two-hour CBS broadcast.Here's a complete list of winners for the 34th annual People's Choice Awards:

Female TV Star: Katherine Heigl

Male TV Star: Patrick Dempsey

Talk Show Host: Ellen DeGeneres

Scene Stealer: Chandra Wilson

TV Drama: House

TV Comedy: Two and a Half Men

Reality Show: Dancing With the Stars

Game Show: Deal or No Deal

Sci-fi Show: Stargate Atlantis

Animated TV Show: The Simpsons

TV Tonight (1/8)

2008-01-08T09:39:00.000-05:00

ABC: Just for Laughs (NEW) (1hr), According to Jim (NEW), Carpoolers (NEW), Cashmere Mafia

CBS: NCIS, People's Choice Awards (NEW)

NBC: The Biggest Loser: Couples (NEW), Law & Order (NEW)

FOX: Bones, House

CW: One Tree Hill (NEW), One Tree Hill (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Potpourri

2008-01-08T09:35:00.000-05:00

Showtime's hit series Dexter is moving to the CBS Television Network. Well, sort of. The series, which stars MICHAEL C. HALL as a police forensics examiner who moonlights as a serial killer, just wrapped up its second season on Showtime. Beginning Sunday, February 17th, CBS -- which owns Showtime -- will air all 12 episodes of Dexter's first season. It replaces the JAMES WOODS legal drama Shark, which will return later in the year. This marks the first time a full season of a top cable drama series will be shown on network television. It's yet another programming move by a TV network anxious for fresh shows in the face of the ongoing writers strike...

There could be another Mole sighting on ABC this summer, thanks to the continued scramble for new content as the WGA strike wears on. According to Variety, ABC is resurrecting the reality series, even though it hasn't aired in four years. However, the new edition will not feature celebrities, as the previous two seasons had. CNN's ANDERSON COOPER and TV personality AHMAD RASHAD, who each hosted two seasons of the show, aren't expected to return...

If One Tree Hill fell in a forest...

2008-01-08T09:32:00.000-05:00

When we last saw the men and women of One Tree Hill, they had just graduated high school. Tonight, they find themselves in the real world on the fifth-season premiere of the CW drama. The two-hour episode skips past their college years and examines how Lucas, Peyton, Brooke and the others are adjusting to adult life. And as you may have heard, KEVIN FEDERLINE will make guest appearances this season as a rock musician. One Tree Hill returns at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

By the way, the CW and Macy's are currently holding a contest in which fans can win a walk-on role on One Tree Hill. You can learn all the details at www.cwtv.com/thecw/macys.

Then there's the People's Choice...

2008-01-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

The 34th annual People's Choice Awards will present a new format tonight on CBS. Much like the Golden Globes, the event was forced to shake things up due to the ongoing writers' strike, announcing last month that winners would pre-record their acceptance speeches. The ceremony, which has now been dubbed a "magazine show," also solicited questions from fans to be answered by nominees. QUEEN LATIFAH is slated to host the telecast.

The People's Choice Whatever-They-Are broadcast, honoring fan favorites in music, movies and TV, airs on CBS tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Nice Globes!, part trace!

2008-01-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

There won't be any Golden Globes ceremony on NBC this year. After last-ditch talks with the striking Writers Guild of America union fell through, organizers of the awards event announced the glitzy ceremony would be replaced with an hour-long press conference broadcast live by NBC News.

Look for that at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, January 13th.The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which is responsible for the Golden Globes, was forced to alter the event after all 72 of this year's nominated actors expressed solidarity with the striking writers through the actors' union, the Screen Actors Guild, and announced they wouldn't cross the picket line.

In announcing the switch to a bare-bones press conference to hand out awards in 25 categories, Hollywood Foreign Press Association president JORGE CAMARA said, quote, "We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007's outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television."

By using a press conference format and billing it as an hour-long NBC News report, award organizers and NBC had hoped some nominees would reconsider participating. Writers in NBC's news division are not represented by the Writers Guild of America, so technically, participating stars wouldn't be crossing the WGA picket line.

TV Tonight (1/7)

2008-01-07T08:37:00.000-05:00

ABC: Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (NEW), October Road (NEW)

CBS: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami

NBC: American Gladiators (NEW), Deal or No Deal (NEW), Medium (NEW)

FOX: BCS Championship Game: LSU vs. Ohio State

CW: Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Hodgepodge

2008-01-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

The CW network is spreading word that it's moving Gossip Girl to a new night. The freshman drama will move from Wednesday nights to Monday nights, beginning on January 28th. Also on the CW's revised midseason schedule is the second season of the reality series Pussycat Dolls Present, debuting on February 18th. This time, the show will put together a new band called GIRLICIOUS...

Actor AUSTIN NICHOLS pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor charge of driving while visibly impaired, stemming from an incident in Jackson, Michigan last August. The 27-year old Nichols, whose credits include Deadwood and John From Cincinnati, paid a one-thousand-dollar fine...

Without a Trace actress POPPY MONTGOMERY and boyfriend ADAM KAUFMAN welcomed their first child on December 23rd. Their new son is named JACKSON PHILLIP KAUFMAN. Kaufman has appeared several times on Without a Trace, which stars Montgomery as FBI agent Samantha Spade...

Former Bewitched actress ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday. She died in 1995 at age 62...

Nice Globes!, part duex!

2008-01-07T08:28:00.000-05:00

The biggest loser at next Sunday's Golden Globe Awards could be NBC. With the event less than a week away, plans for the ceremony are still up in the air because of the writers' strike. An announcement from Golden Globe organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, could come by midday today. The actors' union has already said its members likely will not cross picket lines to either present or receive awards at the Globes.

One possible resolution, according to Variety, could be to turn the Globes into a non-televised event, which would likely garner the approval of the striking Writers Guild of America. But that obviously would not be the best-case scenario for NBC, which declared last week that it still planned to air the show on January 13th. NBC, the network home of the ceremony since 1996, brings in millions in ad revenue with the annual telecast.

Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Globes, criticized the WGA on Friday for allegedly treating it differently than DAVID LETTERMAN's production company, whose Late Show on CBS is back on the air under an interim agreement with the Writers Guild.

BREAKING NEWS!!

2008-01-04T09:01:00.000-05:00

Thanks Dave Kent...BigTVNews Page Reporter at Large (and he doesnt even know it...:)

Jamie Lynn Spears' TV show, Zoey 101 has reportedly been axed just weeks after she confessed she is pregnant with her first child. The 16-year-old initially had the support of her bosses at Nickelodeon, but it didn't last long as the network is trying to decide whether or not to air season four, which has already been produced.

More setails as they become available..."Stay Tuned"...

TV This Weekend

2008-01-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY

ABC: Grey's Anatomy, Women's Murder Club (NEW), 20/20 (NEW)

CBS: Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, Numbers

NBC: 1 vs. 100 (NEW), Friday Night Lights (NEW), Las Vegas (NEW)

FOX: Bones, House CW: WWE Friday Night Smackdown!

SATURDAY

ABC: Presidential Debate

CBS: High Crimes (2002), 48 Hrs Mystery (NEW)

NBC: NFL: Jacksonville vs Pittsburgh

FOX: Cops (1hr), America's Most Wanted

SUNDAY

ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (NEW), Desperate Housewives (NEW), Cashmere Mafia (NEW-Pilot)

CBS: 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race (NEW), Cold Case (NEW), Shark (NEW)

NBC: Deal or No Deal (NEW), American Gladiators (NEW)

FOX: The Simpsons (NEW), King of the Hill (NEW), Family Guy, American Dad (NEW)

CW: Life is Wild (NEW), crowned: The Mother of all Pageants

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

and thanks Dave for the Pics!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Boogoloo

2008-01-04T08:53:00.000-05:00

There's yet another edition of Law & Order on the way, but U.S. audiences may not get the chance to see it. NBC Universal is in talks to create a version of Law & Order for British audiences, which would be called Law & Order: London...

Meet the newest stars of NBC: Crush, Fury, Venom, Mayhem, and Wolf. They're among the 12 men and women who will do battle with contestants on American Gladiators, an updated remake of the pseudo-athletic competition premiering this Sunday night. Some of the more familiar games from the original show, which aired from 1989-1997, are back, including the Joust and the Wall. There are also some new twists to liven up the series, such as special effects. HULK HOGAN and boxer and former Dancing with the Stars contestant LAILA ALI host American Gladiators, airing this Sunday on NBC at 9 p.m. Eastern time...

On ABC, LUCY LIU stars in a new dramedy titled Cashmere Mafia. The show revolves around four career women and their personal and professional lives in New York City. Plot sound familiar? It should come as no surprise that Sex and the City creator DARREN STAR is an executive producer for Cashmere Mafia, which premieres on ABC this Sunday night at 10 p.m. Eastern time. It moves to Wednesday nights later in the week.

Nielsen Ratings

2008-01-04T08:49:00.000-05:00

No writers? No problem for JAY LENO, at least on Wednesday night, when several major late-night TV shows ended an eight-week hiatus brought on by the writers' strike. Seven-point-two million viewers watched Leno on NBC's Tonight Show, which secured a comfortable victory over DAVID LETTERMAN and CBS' Late Show, despite Letterman's returning writing staff, thanks to a separate agreement with the Writers Guild of America.

The newly-bearded Letterman was seen by 5.5 million viewers. NBC's CONAN O'BRIEN was more popular with viewers than CBS' CRAIG FERGUSON later in the night, even though he also was without his writers. O'Brien and Late Night attracted 2.8 million viewers, while 2.2 million people watched Ferguson and Late Late Show. Ferguson went back on the air with his writers under the same agreement made by Letterman's production company.

The country was certainly curious to see how these hosts would respond to the ongoing strike. Leno, Letterman, O'Brien and Ferguson all saw a spike in ratings in comparison to their pre-strike averages, with The Tonight Show enjoying a 43-percent increase.

In other Nielsens news, the NFL regular season ended with a bang last weekend. Most notably, the New England Patriots' victory over the New York Giants Saturday night was seen by 34.5 million people. The NFL Network's telecast of the game, in which the Patriots became the first team in 35 years to finish a regular season undefeated, was simulcast on NBC and CBS.

CBS won the primetime ratings race last week, followed by NBC, Fox, ABC, the CW, MyNetworkTV and ION Television.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of December 24th-30th, according to Nielsen Media Research:

1. NBC Sunday Night Football: Tennessee at Indianapolis, NBC, 15.8 million viewers.

2. NFL Football: New England at N.Y. Giants, CBS, 15.68 million viewers.

3. NFL Football: New England at N.Y. Giants, NBC, 13.23 million viewers.

4. 60 Minutes, CBS, 12.39 million viewers.

5. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 10.69 million viewers.

6. Without a Trace, CBS, 10.54 million viewers.

7. Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick, NBC, 10.38 million viewers.

8. Deal Or No Deal, (Tuesday) NBC, 9.78 million viewers.

9. Amazing Race 12, CBS, 9.69 million viewers.

10. CSI: NY, (Thursday) CBS, 9.49 million viewers.

Jay Jay the Jet Plane

2008-01-04T08:47:00.000-05:00

JAY LENO says he supports the striking writers, but the feeling ain't mutual. The Writers Guild of America said yesterday that The Tonight Show host broke its rules by writing and telling jokes when his late night program returned Wednesday night for its first all-new show since the strike began nearly two months ago. The Guild didn't specify what, if anything, it plans to do in response to Leno's infraction.

The issue appears to be that Leno is a WGA member, which means when he wrote and performed his own jokes Wednesday night, he broke the rule prohibiting members from, quote, "performing any writing services during a strike for any and all struck companies."

Leno didn't address the budding controversy on last night's episode of The Tonight Show, but NBC spoke out on his behalf. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the network defended Leno by saying, quote, "The WGA agreement permits Jay Leno to write his own monologues for The Tonight Show. The WGA is not permitted to implement rules that conflict with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement between the studios and the WGA."

Leno hasn't been shy about expressing his support for striking writers, handing out doughnuts on the picket line and mentioning on Wednesday's show that he's on their side. When asked to comment on the alleged infraction, a publicist for Leno said the comedian was, quote, "busying himself with the show."

TV Tonight (1/3)

2008-01-03T09:29:00.000-05:00

ABC: Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives

CBS: Without a Trace, CSI, Without a Trace

NBC: Deal or No Deal, The Celebrity Apprentice (NEW), ER

FOX: FedEx Orange Bowl: Kansas vs. Virginia Tech

CW: Smallville, Supernatural

***anytime I can get Trump and the Baby on two times in three posts...I'm gonna do it!!***

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Hodgepodge

2008-01-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

OPRAH WINFREY's primetime series Oprah's Big Give has recruited three judges to appear on the inspirational program. Naked Chef JAMIE OLIVER, football player TONY GONZALEZ, and CHRIS ROCK's wife MALAAK COMPTON-ROCK will pick the winners on the show, in which contestants will travel around the country and help others by giving away money. Oprah's Big Give will debut on ABC on March 2nd...

The New England Patriots' historic win over the New York Giants Saturday night was seen by an average of 34.5 million viewers, and was the most-watched TV program since last year's Academy Awards broadcast. The NFL Network's telecast of the game was simulcast on CBS and NBC. With their victory, the Patriots became the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to finish a regular season undefeated

And now....Jay Scab-eoo!!

2008-01-03T09:20:00.000-05:00

NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was one of five late night shows to resume broadcasting yesterday, but it did so without reaching a deal with the striking writers, which seemed to throw off Leno's first guest, Republican presidential candidate MIKE HUCKABEE.

The former Arkansas governor created a stir before he appeared on the program when it was pointed out to him on the Iowa stump that he would be crossing a picket line to appear. Huckabee responded that he thought the writers had come to an agreement to keep all late night shows on the air. In fact, that deal was only reached with The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The Tonight Show did not use any writers on last night's show.

Huckabee elected to keep his commitment to appear on the show, but his campaign released a statement prior to the broadcast that read, in part:

"The Governor would only agree to join Jay, an active member of the Writers Guild, for the taping after he was assured that no replacement writers were being used in the show's production. Governor Huckabee believes that the writers deserve to be fairly compensated for the sale of their work. Governor Huckabee is glad that Jay Leno was able to put his 160 employees back to work and he strongly encourages both sides of the current labor dispute to work diligently toward an equitable solution for all parties involved."

Several protesters picketed outside The Tonight Show studio yesterday in Burbank, California, one of whom carried a sign saying, quote, "Huckabee is a scab." WGA chief negotiator JOHN BOWMAN said of Huckabee's professed ignorance, quote, "Huckabee claims he didn't know. I don't know what that means in terms of trusting him as a future president."

The Writers Guild of America released a statement about Huckabee's decision to sit down with Leno. It said it was, quote, "disappointed" in the politician and recommended he, quote, "respect our picket lines in the future and urge the media conglomerates to return to the bargaining table..."

"I'll put you under my arm like a Don is supposed to"

2008-01-03T09:18:00.000-05:00

DONALD TRUMP will have the pleasure of putting several celebrities out of work on the latest edition of The Apprentice, premiering tonight on NBC. The seventh season of the reality series, now titled The Celebrity Apprentice, will feature 14 celebrities in New York City raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for their favorite charities. As usual, the contestants will have to complete various tasks and face Trump and his kids in the boardroom. The winner will receive an extra 250 thousand dollars for their charity of choice.

The Celebrity Apprentice begins tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern time. The cast includes country music star TRACE ADKINS, actress-model CAROL ALT, actor STEPHEN BALDWIN, Olympians NADIA COMANECI and JENNIE FINCH, former Taxi actress MARILU HENNER, retired boxer LENNOX LEWIS, KISS frontman GENE SIMMONS, America's Got Talent judge PIERS MORGAN, original Apprentice contestant OMAROSA, The Sopranos actor VINCENT PASTORE, 2005 Playboy Playmate of the Year TIFFANY FALLON, UFC competitor TITO ORTIZ, and The Swan executive producer and former Telemundo executive NELY GALAN.

TV Tonight (1/2)

2008-01-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

ABC: Wife Swap (NEW), Supernanny (NEW), Supernanny (NEW)

CBS: Power of 10 (NEW), Criminal Minds, CSI: NY

NBC: Deal or no Deal (NEW), Law & Order (RETURN)

FOX: Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. W. Virginia

CW: Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (NEW), Gossip Girl (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

Don't Take the law into your own hands, Take em' to court!

2008-01-02T08:35:00.000-05:00

A former producer for the syndicated court program Judge Judy is suing the show, claiming that he was fired after he complained about an alleged policy of turning aside black litigants. According to TMZ.com, JONATHAN SEBASTIEN alleges that a supervisor instructed other producers to book, quote, "white, upscale, pretty people" on Judge Judy and pass along black litigants to Judge Joe Brown, another daytime court show produced by the same company. JUDGE JUDY SHEINDLIN, who was not named in the suit, is white, while JUDGE JOE BROWN is black.

Sebastien claims he was axed last March after he was, quote, "berated and mocked" by his superior for openly questioning the orders. He seeks unspecified damages from the Judge Judy show and CBS Paramount.

An anonymous staff member of the Judge Judy show told TMZ that the lawsuit has "no merit."

In the Criminal Justice System...

2008-01-02T08:21:00.000-05:00

With the writers strike halting production of most new scripted shows, reality TV is ringing in the new year. First up: a new season of Wife Swap premieres tonight on ABC. In the episode, the mother of a teen beauty pageant participant swaps families with a feminist mom who home-schools her kids. Wife Swap airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Supernanny is also back tonight, with two new episodes to kick off her fourth season. JO FROST lends her services to overprotective parents, as well as two teens who ask her to help their family. The episodes air on ABC at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern time.

There is one scripted series returning for another go-around tonight: NBC's Law & Order, which begins its 18th season. Former Six Feet Under actor JEREMY SISTO joins the cast as Detective Cyrus Lupo, the new partner of Edward Green. The two-hour season premiere airs at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

They're Back! Part Deux

2008-01-02T08:13:00.000-05:00

Several late-night hosts will celebrate the New Year tonight with new episodes, their first since the writers' strike began nearly two months ago. NBC's JAY LENO and CONAN O'BRIEN, CBS' DAVID LETTERMAN and CRAIG FERGUSON, and ABC's JIMMY KIMMEL will all make their return tonight.

Letterman and Ferguson will hold a competitive advantage over the other hosts. Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, which owns both Late Show and Ferguson's Late Late Show, reached a deal with the Writers Guild of America last week, clearing the way for their writing staffs to return to the job. Leno, O'Brien and Kimmel will have to make do without their writers until the strike is resolved, or NBC elects to secure its own deal.

One early sign that the pact will benefit Letterman and Ferguson: the Screen Actors Guild said its members are now open to appearing on the CBS late-night programs. The WGA has announced that they'll be picketing Leno's L.A. studios and Conan's New York studios, meaning any guests booked on those shows would have to cross a picket line to do so.

Many stars have shown their solidarity with the writers since the strike began on November 5th. Letterman has already lined up one actor for tonight's show: ROBIN WILLIAMS, who will appear along with country musician SHOOTER JENNINGS. Leno's The Tonight Show will welcome Republican presidential candidate MIKE HUCKABEE tonight, while the other late-night shows had yet to announce their guests as of yesterday.

The major late-night shows have aired reruns in the last two months, with NBC's CARSON DALY having resumed production on Last Call about a month ago. Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will go back on the air without their writers this Monday, and Fox's Saturday-night chatfest, Talkshow With Spike Feresten, reportedly will return on January 12th.

Holiday Weekend TV Choices...

2007-12-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY
ABC: Men in Trees, Women's Murder Club, 20/20 (NEW)

CBS: Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, Numbers

NBC: The Singing Bee (NEW), Dateline (NEW)

FOX: Bruce Almighty (2003)

CW: WWE Friday Night Smackdown

SATURDAY

ABC: Samantha Who? (2hrs), Women's Murder Club

CBS: NFL Network New England vs. New York

NBC: NFL Network New England vs. New York

FOX: Cops (1hr), America's Most Wanted (NEW)

SUNDAY

ABC: The Sound of Music (1965)

CBS: The Amazing Race 12, Cold Case, Shark

NBC: Football: Kansas City/NY Jets

FOX: The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad

CW: Life is Wild, Crowned: Mother of all Pageants

MONDAY

ABC: Shrek 2 (2004), Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008

CBS: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami

NBC: Saturday Night Live in the 90's: Pop Culture Nation, Law & Order: SVU

FOX: Men in Black II (2002)

CW: Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game

TUESDAY

ABC: Rose Bowl: Illinois vs. USC

CBS: NCIS, The Unit, 48 Hrs Mystery

NBC: The Biggest Loser: Couples, Law & Order: SVU

FOX: Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Hawaii

CW: Crowned: The Mother of all Pageants, One Tree Hill

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

Nielsen Ratings

2007-12-28T08:44:00.000-05:00

Sunday Night Football topped the Nielsen ratings in the week leading up to Christmas, with the match-up of Washington and Minnesota leading the way. But even so, it only drew 14.1 million viewers.

NBC's singing competition show Clash of the Choirs drew 8.3 million viewers for all four episodes. Low as those numbers are, the show still beat all six editions of the ABC show Duel. Despite the winner taking home nearly two million dollars, the game show failed todraw more than 7.5 million viewers on each night. The final show, which aired Sunday, had even fewer viewers: only 6.2 million, according to last week's Nielsen ratings.

CBS was once again the highest-rated network for the week, followed by NBC, ABC, Fox, the CW, My Network TV, and ION Television.

Here are the top primetime programs for the week of Monday, December 17th-Sunday, December 23rd:

1. Sunday Night Football: Washington at Minnesota, CBS, 14.1 million viewers

2. CSI: Miami, CBS, 14.01 million viewers

3. 60 Minutes, CBS, 13.52 million viewers

4. NCIS, CBS, 13.01 million viewers

5. Criminal Minds, CBS, 11.66 million viewers

6. Biggest Loser 4, NBC, 11.42 million viewers

7. Two and a Half Men (Monday, 9:30 p.m.), CBS, 11.28 million viewers

8. CSI: NY, CBS, 11.19 million viewers

9. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 11.1 million viewers

10. The Unit, CBS, 10.74 million viewers

The REAL O.C....

2007-12-28T08:40:00.000-05:00

Former O.C. star MISCHA BARTON was arrested in West Hollywood early yesterday morning for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol and possessing marijuana. The arrest came after her vehicle was spotted by sheriff's deputies allegedly straddling two lanes of traffic.

Barton also failed to signal when making a turn, according to an L.A. County Sheriff Department statement released yesterday. In addition, she was busted for driving without a valid license. The 21-year-old actress has been released on ten thousand dollars bail. A court hearing is scheduled for February 28th.

TV Tonight (12/27)

2007-12-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

ABC Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice

CBS: CSI: NY, CSI, Without a Trace

NBC: My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, The Office, Scrubs, ER

FOX: Ice Age (2002)

CW: Smallville, Family TV Awards

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Crap

2007-12-27T08:46:00.000-05:00

Love New York 2 star TIFFANY POLLARD loves GEORGE WEISGERBER, a.k.a. TAILOR MADE. She turned down his proposal on the December 17th finale of the VH1 series, but according to People magazine, she'll accept another proposal on the January 6th reunion show...

According to the New York Daily News, HEIDI KLUM could convince SPICE GIRL VICTORIA BECKHAM to serve as a judge on the season finale of Bravo's Project Runway...

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to men...

2007-12-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

The NFL's New England Patriots could make history this Saturday night, and now we all get to see it. Cable's NFL Network, which currently has no agreement with cable companies such as Cablevision and Time Warner Cable, has reached a deal with CBS and NBC to carry its telecast of the Patriots-New York Giants game.

The NFL Network has recently come under criticism for exclusively televising NFL games that only reach a relatively small number of fans, and was scheduled to broadcast this Saturday's contest. Given the potentially historic nature of the game -- the Patriots are trying to become only the second team in NFL history to achieve an undefeated regular season -- the network relented on exclusivity.

"Now here's Dave"

2007-12-26T08:18:00.000-05:00

JAY LENO may renew his nightly competition with DAVID LETTERMAN when he returns on January 2nd. According to the New York Post, Letterman is "poised" to announce tomorrow that he will also come back to television on that date. Letterman's production company has met with the striking Writers Guild of America to bring back The Late Show and its writers, but no agreement has been reached yet and no new negotiations are scheduled. Letterman could still follow the lead of Jay Leno, CONAN O'BRIEN, and JIMMY KIMMEL and go back to work on January 2nd without his writers. An insider told the Post, quote, "As that date gets closer, [Letterman] is going to be forced to make a decision."

Duel!

2007-12-26T08:14:00.000-05:00

Forget Deal or No Deal, or Who Wants to be a Millionaire, for that matter. Twenty-eight-year-old Florida nurse ASHLEE REGISTER survived ABC's Duel on Sunday night, winning just shy of 1.8 million dollars. The week-long, high-stakes trivia game show ended with the following question: "Which of these weighs more: (A) A gallon of water; (B) A gallon of crude oil; (C) A gallon of vegetable oil; (D) They all weigh the same." If you guessed option "A," give yourself a round of applause.

"Put on a show or the little puppy dog gets it!"

2007-12-26T08:08:00.000-05:00

CARSON DALY says he had no choice but to resume production of his late-night show Last Call with Carson Daly to save the jobs of his non-writing staff members, after NBC issued him an ultimatum in the wake of the writers' strike. He tells the Los Angeles Times, quote, "It was, 'Put a new show on December 3rd or 75 people are fired. What's your answer?'" Daly said that order was passed down by his "immediate bosses" at NBC, but did not elaborate further. Daly was the first late-night host to go back on the air during the ongoing writers' strike, which currently is in its eighth week.

NBC hosts JAY LENO and CONAN O'BRIEN and ABC's JIMMY KIMMEL will return without their writers on January 2nd. JON STEWART of The Daily Show and STEPHEN COLBERT of The Colbert Report will air new episodes on Comedy Central beginning January 7th, also without the aid of their writing staffs.

Kennedy Center Honors (IOW, not much on tonight!)

2007-12-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

STEVE MARTIN, Oscar-winning director MARTIN SCORSESE, BEACH BOY BRIAN WILSON, singer DIANA ROSS and pianist LEON FLEISHER are this year's recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, in recognition of their lifetime achievement in the performing arts. The show was taped in Washington, D.C. earlier this month and airs tonight on CBS. CAMERON DIAZ, STEVE CARELL, VANESSA WILLIAMS and American Idol winner JORDIN SPARKS were among the stars who paid tribute to the honorees. CBS presents the 30th annual Kennedy Center Honors tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Off for the Holiday...

2007-12-24T09:02:00.000-05:00

Big TV News Page will be off for at least Christmas Day in the States...If there is no new TV News then we will be off for longer...but more than likely I'll be back on Wednesday (12/26)

As a holiday present, I leave you a picture of an actor who possibly has "Jumped the Shark"*

*Jump the Shark is a trademark of TV Guide

TV Boogoloo

2007-12-24T08:53:00.000-05:00

An eBay auction of an original Knight Rider car was suspended last week due to overwhelming interest in the vehicle. An attorney for the estate of the late ANDREW KISSEL said the auction for KITT -- DAVID HASSELHOFF's car in the 1980s series -- received more bids than he could handle while on vacation. The auction will be re-listed once his vacation ends next month. The sale will help pay off the debts of Kissel, a real estate developer who was found dead last year...

Girl met police last week when 26-year-old actress DANIELLE FISHEL was arrested in Newport Beach, California on a drunken driving warrant from Los Angeles County. She was arrested last Thursday morning and released from jail shortly thereafter. Fans of the 1990s comedy Boy Meets World know Fishel as Topanga, the girlfriend of BEN SAVAGE's character on the show. She became a correspondent for The Tyra Banks Show earlier this year...

Strrikkee!

2007-12-24T08:51:00.001-05:00

Now entering its eighth week, the Writers Guild of America strike has shut down many TV shows and cost more than 350 million dollars in lost wages. And that's making for a bleak holiday season for prop masters, electricians, carpenters and other "below the line" workers, who have been forced out of work by the strike. Prop company owner JIM ELYEA says his business has dropped by 40 percent since the strike began November 5th, forcing him to lay off some workers and take a pass on exchanging Christmas presents this year.

In the meantime, reps for Late Show host DAVID LETTERMAN met with striking writers on Friday, in an attempt to reach a deal that would allow for Letterman's show to return to the air with its writing staff. Late-night hosts JAY LENO, CONAN O'BRIEN and JIMMY KIMMEL plan to return to their shows January 2nd without their writing staffs. JON STEWART and STEPHEN COLBERT will bring their Comedy Central shows back without writers on January 7th.

Idol Schedule set

2007-12-24T08:47:00.000-05:00

American Idol fans can mark their calendars with dates for all of the upcoming audition shows. Any Idol fan knows that the seventh season starts up with a two-night event January 15th and 16th. But according to zap2it.com, Fox has mapped out the whole Idol audition schedule, with one-hour early audition episodes on January 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th, as well as February 5th and 6th. They'll include footage from San Diego, Dallas, Omaha, Atlanta, Charleston, Miami and Philadelphia.

For those who want to skip the preliminary stuff and get to the Hollywood round, the first episode airs February 12th. The top 24 will be revealed the next night.

The top 12 guys and top 12 girls will perform in two-hour shows on February 19th and 20th, followed by the first round of fan voting. Then two guys and two girls say good-bye elimination night, February 21st.

With the field narrowed, the top 10 guys will perform Tuesday, February 26th, with the top eight singing the following Tuesday, March 4th. The girls have Wednesdays, with the top 10 singing February 27th and the top eight on March 5th. Zap2it reports that elimination nights will be Thursdays at 8 p.m. The top 12 will be revealed on March 6th and start vying for the Idol title on March 11th.

What's on TV for the Holidays...

2007-12-24T08:33:00.000-05:00

The holiday season brings presents, good cheer, and plenty of alternative programming to watch on TV over the next two days. While CBS and the CW have reruns of their Monday-night shows scheduled for tonight, the other major networks will present films and specials for you to enjoy with the entire family:

* You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. ABC airs the classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas at 8 p.m. Eastern time, followed by the 2005 animated tale Madagascar.

* NBC will again broadcast the classic holiday film It's a Wonderful Life, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

* Fox offers the 2003 STEVE MARTIN comedy Cheaper by the Dozen at 8 p.m. Eastern time

On Christmas morning, RYAN SEACREST will host yet another major TV event, emceeing the Disneyland portion of the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, airing at 10 a.m. Eastern time. REGIS PHILBIN and KELLY RIPA will host the festivities at Walt Disney World. The special will feature a Dancing with the Stars performance from JOEY FATONE, DREW LACHEY and other dancers, as well as appearances from Hannah Montana star MILEY CYRUS and musicians JOSH GROBAN and THE JONAS BROTHERS.

The Christmas-night TV schedule is mostly filled with reruns, aside from a new, holiday-themed episode of NBC's Deal or No Deal at 8 p.m. Eastern time. If you prefer a good movie, ABC will air the first Pirates of the Caribbean film at that time.

TV Hodgepodge

2007-12-21T09:42:00.000-05:00

STEPHEN COLBERT of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report has been voted AP Celebrity of the Year by broadcast producers and newspaper editors who said that he had the biggest impact on pop culture in 2007. Colbert beat out Harry Potter author J.K. ROWLING and Former Vice President AL GORE, who finished second and third respectively.

One of the original KITT cars from the hit '80s TV series Knight Rider is up for auction on eBay. The talking, black 1984 Pontiac Trans Am is being sold to satisfy some 30 million dollars in debts of slain real estate developer, ANDREW KISSEL whose killing last year remains unsolved. As of yesterday, one bid for the 20 thousand dollar minimum was posted on eBay...

VINCENT MARGERA, who is known to fans of MTV's Viva La Bam show as "Don Vito", was sentenced yesterday to probation for ten years to life after he was convicted of groping young girls at an autograph signing session near Denver. The 51-year-old reality star was found guilty in October of two counts of sexual assault on a child. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender, get substance abuse treatment, undergo a mental-health evaluation, and to not to appear as his "Don Vito" character for 10 years...

ABC-TV has announced that it will move the last original episode of Grey's Anatomy from January 3rd to January 10th. The move prompted NBC-TV to reverse the premiere of Celebrity Apprentice from January 10th back to January 3rd to avoid losing a large chunk of its audience to the popular primetime medical drama

Truthiness and justice for none!

2007-12-21T09:37:00.000-05:00

JON STEWART and STEPHEN COLBERT will be back with more fake news on January 7th, albeit without the help of their writing staffs. Comedy Central announced yesterday that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will return on that date, following a hiatus brought on by the seven-week-old writers' strike.

Stewart and Colbert said in a joint statement, quote, "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."

The Writers Guild of America didn't show as much humor in its own statement, saying, quote, "Comedy Central forcing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert back on the air will not give the viewers the quality shows they've come to expect."

SAG Awards! Feel the Power!

2007-12-21T09:31:00.000-05:00

The 14th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will air live from Los Angeles on January 27th on TNT and TBS. Here's a list of the nominees:

Actor In A Movie Or Miniseries

Michael Keaton, The Company

Kevin Kline, As You Like It

Oliver Platt, The Bronx Is Burning

Sam Shepard, Ruffian

John Turturro, The Bronx Is Burning

Actress In A Movie Or Miniseries

Ellen Burstyn, Mitch Albom's for One More Day

Debra Messing, The Starter Wife

Anna Paquin, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Queen Latifah, Life Support

Vanessa Redgrave, The Fever

Gena Rowlands, What if God Were the Sun?

Actor In A Drama Series

James Gandolfini, The Sopranos

Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Hugh Laurie, House

James Spader, Boston Legal

Actress In A Drama Series

Glenn Close, Damages

Edie Falco, The Sopranos

Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters

Holly Hunter, Saving Grace

Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Actor In A Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Steve Carell, The Office

Ricky Gervais, Extras

Jeremy Piven, Entourage

Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Actress In A Comedy Series

Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?

America Ferrera, Ugly Betty

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

Drama Series Cast

Boston Legal

The Closer

Grey's Anatomy

Mad Men

The Sopranos

Comedy Series Cast

30 Rock

Desperate Housewives

Entourage

The Office

Ugly Betty

All Spears, All the Time Part Deux

2007-12-21T09:23:00.000-05:00

JAMIE LYNN SPEARS has raised more than a few eyebrows with her unexpected pregnancy, including in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana. One resident, BESSIE SANDIFER, believes that 16-year-old Jamie Lynn and her big sister, BRITNEY SPEARS, have both let down the people of Kentwood. But JULIA MILLER, a neighbor of the Spears family, says, quote, "I think the media needs to leave 'em alone and let them have a life."

Meanwhile, the family of 19-year-old CASEY ALDRIDGE, the father of Jamie Lynn's baby, is still coming to terms with the news. Aldridge's uncle, Pastor ODUS JACKSON, says, quote, "I'm sure they would have liked to have become grandparents in a different mode, but I think ultimately...they will accept it." Jamie Lynn told OK! magazine she plans to raise the baby in Louisiana.

Jamie Lynn and Casey may even have wedding bells in their future. Jackson tells the New York Post that they, quote, "want to get married. I know Casey does, and he says she does, too."

Jamie Lynn's pregnancy hasn't had any effect on her Nickelodeon series, Zoey 101, yet. The show will wrap up its third season on January 4th, and the fourth and final season has already been filmed and is scheduled to premiere in February.

In light of Jamie Lynn's announcement, Nickelodeon says it is considering a special about sex and love, with the help of newswoman LINDA ELLERBEE. If the cable channel moves forward with those plans, the special could air as soon as next month.

TV Tonight (12/20)

2007-12-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

ABC: Duel (NEW), Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice

CBS: CSI, CSI, Without a Trace

NBC: Clash of the Choirs (LIVE), My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, The Office ("Fun Run" is a great episode!)

FOX: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (NEW), Don't Forget the Lyrics (NEW)

CW: Smallville, Supernatural

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV FunHouse

2007-12-20T09:16:00.000-05:00

QUEEN LATIFAH will join the ranks of KIRSTIE ALLEY and VALERIE BERTINELLI as a Jenny Craig spokeswoman, according to People.com. A rep for the weight-loss company said, "We officially confirm that Queen Latifah will join the Jenny Craig program in January."...

The Hollywood Reporter says MTV is developing a spin-off of its popular series A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, which concluded earlier this week. The spin-off will feature A Shot at Love contestant DOMENICO NESCI choosing one of 15 women who will ultimately meet his mom in Italy. A Shot at Love centered around men and women trying to win over the bisexual TILA TEQUILA...

Ch-Ch-Changes...

2007-12-20T09:14:00.000-05:00

DONALD TRUMP won't make his triumphant return to the boardroom until January 10th. His celebrity edition of The Apprentice was originally scheduled to premiere on January 3rd, but the start date has been pushed back by one week. NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice will feature actress MARILU HENNER, actor STEPHEN BALDWIN and other C-list stars competing for charity.

The debut episode of the ABC dramedy Cashmere Mafia, starring LUCY LIU, has also been pushed back. It will now premiere on Sunday, January 6th before moving to its normal Wednesday-night time slot later in the week. The show revolves around four career women dealing with their professional and personal lives.

Awards Shows, Now Live, on Tape!

2007-12-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

The People's Choice Awards has chosen to shake up its format because of the ongoing writers' strike. The event will now feature prerecorded acceptance speeches from winners, who will respond to questions sent in by fans. QUEEN LATIFAH, who was previously announced as host, will still participate. The People's Choice Awards, usually a live ceremony, will instead be taped and air January 8th on CBS. The show honors the public's favorite entertainers.

The Writers Guild of America has already decided to not allow its members to write for the Golden Globe Awards, also scheduled for next month, and the Oscars. There have been no signs of progress between the writers and studios in recent weeks, but the WGA said yesterday it hopes to reach agreements with some independent production companies by next week. In fact, DAVID LETTERMAN's production company reportedly will meet with the WGA tomorrow, setting the stage for a possible return in the near future.The writers' strike began on November 5th over such issues as compensation for online programming.

Denise the Lunch Lady

2007-12-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

The school lunch lady whose misleading sob story on the season finale of Survivor: China earned her 50 thousand dollars now says she'll donate the award to charity. DENISE MARTIN claimed on the show Sunday night that she was demoted to a janitorial position at a Massachusetts school upon her return from China, inspiring executive producer MARK BURNETT to give her the money. She admitted on CBS' The Early Show Tuesday that her comments were misleading, after the school district for which she works said Martin had been promoted to custodian before she taped Survivor, and had returned to the same position.

The 40-year-old Martin has apologized again in a statement, saying, quote, "I do not feel comfortable about accepting the $50,000. I would instead ask that it be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation."

All Spears, All the Time...

2007-12-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

JAMIE LYNN SPEARS somehow managed to overshadow her big sister, BRITNEY SPEARS, earlier this week, when her pregnancy was revealed.The 16-year-old actress is expecting her first child with 19-year-old boyfriend CASEY ALDRIDGE, surprising many of her fans. JOY FALLICK, a Long Island, New York, mother of a Jamie Lynn fan, believes the Nickelodeon star should act as a role model to her young audience. Nevertheless, child psychiatrist Dr. CHARLES SOPHY says Jamie Lynn's story should promote dialogue between parents and their children.

Speaking to OK! magazine, Jamie Lynn said her mother, LYNNE, is now supportive of her after breaking the news just before Thanksgiving. Her dad, also named JAMIE, isn't quite as understanding, though. According to Us Weekly, he's "furious" with the two women for selling their story, and according to a source, quote, "feels Jamie Lynn ruined her life." TMZ.com reports that Jamie Lynn and her mom weren't seeking money for their deal with OK!, but Britney's sis will receive one million dollars for a photo shoot once she gives birth.

Britney herself has kept her sense of humor through it all. She reportedly told paparazzi while shopping Tuesday night, quote, "My sister's not pregnant!" A source tells TMZ that the pop star was just being sarcastic.

Jamie Lynn's pregnancy shouldn't interfere with her Nickelodeon show, Zoey 101 -- the series reportedly completed production on its final season in September. However, MICHELLE TAUBER of People magazine says some readers of her publication want a special "wrap-up" episode of Zoey 101, currently scheduled to air next month, to be cancelled.

TV Tonight (12/19)

2007-12-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

ABC: Duel (NEW), Private Practice, A Holiday Celebration at Ford's Theater (NEW)

CBS: Frosty the Snowman, Frosty Returns, Criminal Minds (NEW), CSI: NY (NEW)

NBC: Clash of the Choirs (LIVE), Journeyman (NEW)

FOX: Back to You, 'Til Death, Kitchen Nightmares

CW: Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (NEW), Gossip Girl (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Potpourri

2007-12-19T10:42:00.000-05:00

MICHAEL DOUGLAS is a bona fide movie star, but he's now landed a steady gig on TV. The 63-year-old is the new announcer of NBC's Nightly News, introducing anchor BRIAN WILLIAMS each evening. Douglas' voice could first be heard this past Monday. Television work is nothing new for Douglas, of course. He starred on The Streets of San Francisco back in the '70s...

Entertainment Tonight's MARK STEINES will host the Miss America pageant next year. Steines will host Miss America Live! from Las Vegas on January 26th. The two-hour special, set to air on TLC, will wrap up a four-part reality show focusing on the 52 women competing for the crown. Steines seems to be a natural choice for the gig -- he's married to former Miss America LEANZA CORNETT...

Consider it insurance if the writers' strike isn't over: NBC will add reruns of the USA series Monk and Psych to its Sunday night schedule beginning in March. Both shows will return to USA with new episodes next month...

Nielsen Ratings

2007-12-19T10:40:00.000-05:00

Reality doesn't bite for the networks. With the writers strike in full swing, viewers have embraced reality shows to fill the lack of new scripted programming. The finale of Survivor: China was the second highest-rated show in last week's Nielsen ratings, with more than 15 million viewers. The penultimate episode took fifth place with 14-and-a-half million viewers, while the reunion special also placed in the top 15. That's the good news for the long-running CBS reality franchise. The bad? Despite taking second place, only one other finale in Survivor history has drawn lower ratings -- this past spring's Survivor: Fiji.

While episodes of Survivor held the top of the Nielsens last week, other reality shows scored big, too. The Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and multiple episodes of Deal or No Deal all finished in the top 20.

CBS was the highest-rated network for the week, followed by NBC, Fox, ABC, the CW, Univision, My Network TV and Telemundo

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of Monday, December 10th-Sunday, December 16th

1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 19.9 million viewers.

2. Survivor: China Finale, CBS, 15.2 million viewers.

3. Without a Trace, CBS, 15.1 million viewers.

4. Sunday Night Football: Washington Redskins at New York Giants, NBC, 14.6 million viewers.

5. Survivor: China, CBS, 14.5 million viewers.

6. CSI: NY, CBS, 14.4 million viewers.

7. Criminal Minds, CBS, 14.2 million viewers.

8. CSI: Miami, CBS, 14.1 million viewers.

9. The O.T., Fox, 13.5 million viewers.

10. 60 Minutes, CBS, 13.4 million viewers.

Oops!

2007-12-19T10:38:00.000-05:00

The school lunch lady who claimed on the Sunday-night finale of Survivor: China that she was demoted from her position upon her return from the show has served up an apology for her "misleading" comments. Forty-year-old DENISE MARTIN was awarded 50 thousand dollars by executive producer MARK BURNETT after she said she was demoted to a janitorial position because of her involvement in the show. The next day, the Massachusetts school district for which she works stated that Martin was actually promoted from her cafeteria position to full-time custodian before she left for Survivor, and that she returned to the same job.

On CBS' The Early Show yesterday, Martin admitted that the school district was telling the truth. She explained that while taping Survivor, she decided that she wanted her old cafeteria job back, but has been told there are no openings. Martin apologized and said, quote, "It was not my intention to be misleading." When asked if she would accept the 50-thousand-dollar award if the offer is still on the table, she replied, quote, "I had no idea that I was going to be awarded that."

Here's Jimmy Kimmel!

2007-12-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

JIMMY KIMMEL will follow the lead of fellow late-night hosts JAY LENO and CONAN O'BRIEN and return to work on January 2nd, without the help of his striking writers. Much like Leno and O'Brien, the host of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live made his decision out of consideration for his non-writing staff members. He said yesterday in a statement, quote, "Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show. It is time to go back to work."

Leno and O'Brien announced their impending return earlier this week, though they also won't have writers to pen jokes for them until the seven-week-old strike is resolved.

Most late-night shows have aired reruns since the strike began on November 5th. CARSON DALY resumed production on his NBC late-night show last month, and DAVID LETTERMAN's production company, Worldwide Pants, is reportedly seeking an individual agreement with the Writers Guild of America to bring back his CBS show and its writers, as well as The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, which Letterman's company produces.

Knocked Up, The TV Show!

2007-12-19T10:33:00.000-05:00

So much for BRITNEY SPEARS' younger sister being the stable daughter in the family. JAMIE LYNN SPEARS is expecting a child, at the tender age of 16. The star of the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 tells OK! magazine she and her longtime boyfriend, CASEY ALDRIDGE, who's reportedly 18, were shocked by the unexpected pregnancy. Jamie Lynn is 12 weeks along, and plans to raise the baby in her native Louisiana.

Jamie Lynn says she waited until just before Thanksgiving to break the news to her mom, LYNNE, who she says has been supportive after the initial surprise wore off. Lynne Spears tells the magazine, quote, "I didn't believe it because Jamie Lynn's always been so conscientious. She's never late for her curfew. I was in shock. I mean, this is my 16-year-old baby." There's been no comment yet from Jamie's big sis on becoming an aunt, although according to People magazine, she was unaware of Jamie's pregnancy. A family friend says, quote, "This is going to kill her," adding, quote, "In the end, she'll be supportive." Britney, of course, has two young kids of her own.

Nickelodeon responded yesterday to Jamie's announcement, stating, quote, "We respect Jamie Lynn's decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn's well being."

Perhaps as a result of Jamie's revelation, a memoir from Lynne Spears about raising her children has been delayed indefinitely, according to People magazine. The book had been due out in May.

The issue of OK! magazine with Jamie Lynn's interview will hit newsstands nationwide by Friday.

TV Tonight (12/18)

2007-12-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

ABC: Duel (NEW), According to Jim, Boston Legal (NEW)

CBS: NCIS (NEW), The Unit (NEW), Cane (NEW)

NBC: Clash of the Choirs (NEW), The Biggest Loser (NEW)

FOX: Bones, House

CW: Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (NEW), Reaper

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Potpourri

2007-12-18T09:22:00.000-05:00

People magazine reports that Heroes actress ALI LARTER became engaged to The Game Plan actor HAYES MACARTHUR over the weekend. The couple has not set a wedding date yet. The 31-year-old Larter plays Niki Sanders, a woman with multiple personalities, on Heroes...

The Food Network thinks RACHAEL RAY is simply delish. After replacing former network star Emeril Lagasse just last week, the cable channel will launch a new primetime series featuring the bubbly TV personality, titled Rachael's Vacation, in January. The Food Network is also helping itself to new episodes of Ray's daytime series 30 Minute Meals...

Hmmmmm....A Survivor Cover Up?

2007-12-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

Did Survivor: China contestant DENISE MARTIN outwit the show when she said she was demoted from her position as a school lunch lady because of her celebrity status? Looks like she just might have.

The 40-year-old Martin claimed on Sunday night's finale that she lost her cafeteria job at a Massachusetts school upon her return from China because her superiors felt her newfound fame was "too distracting" for the kids. She said she was demoted to a janitorial position instead. After hearing Martin's story, executive producer MARK BURNETT awarded her 50 thousand dollars, apparently on the spot.

However, in a statement posted on their official website yesterday, the Douglas Public Schools district disputed Martin's allegation. In fact, they claim that she was actually promoted from a cafeteria position to full-time custodian, with a higher salary and better benefits, before she taped Survivor. The school adds that she returned to the same job after she finished competing in the reality series.

No comment as yet from either Martin or Survivor producers.

Playoff, errr Strike Beards...

2007-12-18T09:15:00.000-05:00

Here's Dave and Conan with their Strike Beards...interesting...

I'd Give the nod to Dave...he does have a few years on Conan...altough I did see a better pic of Conan's beard...but what can you do?

They're Back!

2007-12-18T09:04:00.000-05:00

JAY LENO and CONAN O'BRIEN are coming back to late-night television on January 2nd, ending a two-month hiatus in support of the writers' strike. The hosts of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien are members of the Writers Guild of America, but they expressed concern yesterday for the welfare of their non-writing employees. Leno said in a statement, quote, "We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision."

Until the writers' strike is resolved, neither Leno nor O'Brien will have writers to rely on for jokes and other material, a reality that O'Brien acknowledged yesterday. He said, quote, "I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible." No celebrity guests for either show have been announced yet. Indeed, it will be interesting to see what stars will be willing to appear on the shows, under the circumstances.

Still, the Guild appears to be forgiving, for now. The WGA responded to the news yesterday by saying, quote, "Jay and Conan have been supportive of us from the beginning, and we understand the pressure they're under from NBC."

There is precedent for a late-night host returning to work during a writers' strike -- JOHNNY CARSON did it in 1988, after two months of repeats. CARSON DALY resumed production of his NBC late-night show earlier this month.

What impact Leno and O'Brien's decision will have on other late-night hosts remains to be seen. DAVID LETTERMAN's production company has expressed interest in reaching an individual agreement with the Writers Guild to bring back his CBS show and its writers, at least until an overall settlement with producers is reached.

The Tonight Show and Late Night have aired reruns since the writers' strike began on November 5th.

TV Tonight 12/17

2007-12-17T10:37:00.000-05:00

ABC: Duel (NEW), Notes From the Underbelly (NEW), October Road (NEW)
CBS: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Two and a Half Men, CSI: Miami (NEW)
NBC: Clash of the Choirs (NEW), Journeyman (NEW)
FOX: House, K-Ville (NEW)
CW: Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game

Alex, I'll take "thanks" for 400...

2007-12-17T09:39:00.000-05:00

ALEX TREBEK was released from a Los Angeles hospital on Saturday after suffering a minor heart attack earlier in the week. He said in a statement, quote, "I'm truly overwhelmed by the great show of support and compassion expressed in the past few days to me, my family and my co-workers." The 67-year-old Trebek was hospitalized last Monday night.

Trebek plans to spend the holidays with his family before returning to the Jeopardy! studio in mid-January for the show's "Teen Tournament

TV Hodgepodge

2007-12-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

Karate Kid III star SEAN KANAN has received five years' probation and 18 months of alcohol-education classes following his arrest in August on suspicion of DUI. He had pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges in the case, but according to E! Online, he entered a no contest plea yesterday to one of the charges. Since he already had a DUI conviction under his belt, he was also slapped with four days in jail. However, that sentence was stayed pending his completion of the rest of his terms. The 41-year-old Kanan played RALPH MACCHIO's nemesis in Karate Kid III, and has also starred on the TV soaps General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful...

PAMELA ANDERSON has addressed her future TV plans on her blog loud and clear -- "No reality show!" On her website, she refutes a recent report that she and husband RICK SALOMON will star in a reality show centering around their marriage. Anderson writes that she was considering a TV project, but only to, quote, "promote and have people see what it's like to create a show and be on stage starring in a big Vegas production." She recently appeared in magician HANS KLOK's Las Vegas show...

Sticks and Stones...

2007-12-14T09:01:00.000-05:00

The Writers Guild of America claims that producers aren't showing any holiday spirit by refusing to promptly negotiate an end to the six-week-old writers' strike. As a result, the WGA said yesterday it has filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The union alleges that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or AMPTP, violated federal law when it broke off negotiations last week until the writers drop some of their demands. Furthermore, the WGA also claims that the alliance is acting as a Scrooge to Hollywood employees currently out of work because of the strike.

The AMPTP countered in a statement by saying that the, quote, "baseless desperate NLRB complaint is just the latest indication that the WGA's negotiating strategy has achieved nothing for working writers." The National Labor Relations Board is expected to have an investigator look into the complaint.

While the writers and producers continue their stalemate, the Directors Guild of America says it could begin its own contract negotiations with studios next month. The current DGA agreement ends in June.The writers have been on strike since November 5th. Among other things, they're seeking more compensation for web-delivered and digital programming.

It's the Tonight Show, With...

2007-12-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

Those of you tired of watching old reruns of late-night TV shows could soon have new episodes to look forward to. According to Variety, several late-night hosts could go back to work in the near future, following a hiatus that began when the writers went on strike last month. NBC's JAY LENO and CONAN O'BRIEN most likely would return early next month, regardless of whether the strike is still in effect by then. Other hosts could also return soon, although these plans are far from a certainty since all are cautious of becoming the first among their group to tape new episodes. CARSON DALY has already resumed production of his late-night show.

TV Tonight 12/13

2007-12-13T09:47:00.000-05:00

ABC: Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Big Shots (NEW)

CBS: Survivor: China (NEW), CSI (NEW), Without a Trace (NEW)

NBC: The Office, 30 Rock (NEW), Saturday Night Live Christmas

FOX: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (NEW), Don't Forget the Lyrics! (NEW)

CW: Smallville, Supernatural (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Potpourri

2007-12-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

The previously-announced update of the 1980s series Knight Rider will pull into NBC's schedule in February. Zap2it.com confirms that NBC will air the two-hour movie centering around Michael Knight's son, Mike Tracer, on February 17th. The film could eventually give rise to a Knight Rider series later in the year. Soap star JUSTIN BRUENING will star as Tracer, and actor WILL ARNETT will lend his voice to the super-car KITT. Original Knight Rider star DAVID HASSELHOFF is also attached to the project...

TMZ.com reports that NBC and the producers of America's Got Talent are facing a class-action lawsuit over a text-messaging game featured on the summer reality series. The lawsuit claims the game constitutes illegal gambling, and the plaintiffs -- namely everyone who did not win a prize in the 99-cent contest -- are asking for their money back...

NBC's Deal or No Deal has special episodes lined up for the New Year. The January 2nd show will welcome WILL JIMENO, the 9/11 survivor who inspired MICHAEL PENA's character in OLIVER STONE's movie World Trade Center, as a contestant. A disco-and-1980s-themed Deal or No Deal will air on January 6th, and ELLEN DEGENERES will guest star as a celebrity briefcase model on January 16th...

Twenty-one-year-old Los Angeles receptionist SALEISHA STOWERS won the ninth season of America's Next Top Model last night. She receives a 100-thousand-dollar deal with CoverGirl and a fashion spread in Seventeen magazine...

And the lesser known and less appreciated WGA Awards

2007-12-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

The Writers Guild of America evidently will still hold its awards show next year, strike or no strike. The WGA announced the nominees yesterday for the event, which honors outstanding motion picture and television writing, scheduled for February 9th in Los Angeles and New York. Shows that received multiple nods include HBO's The Sopranos and the Showtime drama Dexter.

Here's a look at some of the nominees in the primetime TV categories:

Dramatic Series

Dexter, Showtime

Friday Night Lights, NBC

Mad Men, AMC

The Sopranos, HBO

The Wire, HBO

Comedy Series

Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO

Entourage, HBO

Flight of the Conchords, HBO

The Office, NBC

30 Rock, NBC

New Series

Damages, FX

Flight of the Conchords, HBO

Mad Men, AMC

Pushing Daisies, ABC

The Sarah Silverman Program, Comedy Central

Episodic Drama

"Final Grades," The Wire, HBO

"The Second Coming," The Sopranos, HBO

"The Round File," The Closer, TNT

"Flashes Before Your Eyes," Lost, ABC

"The Hobo Code," Mad Men, AMC

"The Dark Defender," Dexter, Showtime.

Nice Globes!

2007-12-13T09:04:00.000-05:00

Here ya go....Go Crazy Globers!!!

Best Television Series - Drama
Nominees:
"Big Love" (2006)
"Damages" (2007)
"Grey's Anatomy" (2005)
"House M.D." (2004)
"Mad Men" (2007)
"The Tudors" (2007)

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Nominees:
"Californication" (2007)
"Entourage" (2004)
"Extras" (2005)
"Pushing Daisies" (2007)
"30 Rock" (2006)

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Nominees:
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) (TV)
"The Company" (2007) (mini)
Longford (2006) (TV)
"The State Within" (2006)
"Five Days" (2007) (mini)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Nominees:
Adam Beach for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) (TV)
Jim Broadbent for Longford (2006) (TV)
Ernest Borgnine for A Grandpa for Christmas (2007) (TV)
Jason Isaacs for "The State Within" (2006)
James Nesbitt for "Jekyll" (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Nominees:
Bryce Dallas Howard for As You Like It (2006)
Queen Latifah for Life Support (2007)
Debra Messing for "The Starter Wife" (2007) (mini)
Sissy Spacek for Pictures of Hollis Woods (2007) (TV)
Ruth Wilson for "Jane Eyre" (2006) (mini)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Nominees:
Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)
Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005)
David Duchovny for "Californication" (2007)
Ricky Gervais for "Extras" (2005)
Lee Pace for "Pushing Daisies" (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Nominees:
Christina Applegate for "Samantha Who?" (2007)
America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty" (2006)
Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)
Anna Friel for "Pushing Daisies" (2007)
Mary-Louise Parker for "Weeds" (2005)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Nominees:
Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" (2006)
Hugh Laurie for "House M.D." (2004)
Bill Paxton for "Big Love" (2006)
Jon Hamm for "Mad Men" (2007)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers for "The Tudors" (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Nominees:
Patricia Arquette for "Medium" (2005)
Glenn Close for "Damages" (2007)
Minnie Driver for "The Riches" (2007)
Edie Falco for "The Sopranos" (1999)
Sally Field for "Brothers & Sisters" (2006)
Holly Hunter for "Saving Grace" (2007)
Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Nominees:
Ted Danson for "Damages" (2007)
Kevin Dillon for "Entourage" (2004)
Jeremy Piven for "Entourage" (2004)
Andy Serkis for Longford (2006) (TV)
William Shatner for "Boston Legal" (2004)
Donald Sutherland for "Dirty Sexy Money" (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Nominees:
Rose Byrne for "Damages" (2007)
Katherine Heigl for "Grey's Anatomy" (2005)
Rachel Griffiths for "Brothers & Sisters" (2006)
Samantha Morton for Longford (2006) (TV)
Anna Paquin for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007) (TV)
Jaime Pressly for "My Name Is Earl" (2005)

TV Tonight 12/12

2007-12-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

ABC: Pushing Daisies (NEW), Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money

CBS: Kid Nation (NEW), Criminal Minds (NEW), CSI: NY (NEW)

NBC: Deal or no Deal (NEW), Dateline NBC (NEW)

FOX: Back to You, 'Til Death, Kitchen Nightmares (NEW)

CW: America's Next Top Model (NEW), Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Hodgepodge

2007-12-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

MTV's The Hills was scheduled to wrap up its third season this past Monday night, but it now has a new lease on life. The popular series -- you may have heard about star LAUREN CONRAD's very-public feud with ex-friend HEIDI MONTAG -- will return in the spring with eight bonus episodes. The show will follow Lauren as she goes to Paris on behalf of Teen Vogue magazine...

The wife of thirtysomething star TIMOTHY BUSFIELD has filed for divorce after 19 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. JENNIFER BUSFIELD seeks joint legal custody of their 16-year-old son, SAMUEL, among other things. Busfield's credits also include The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip...

NBC is in a giving mood this holiday season. The network has announced that it's reimbursed some advertisers for commercial time they'd purchased in advance for primetime shows that fell short of projected ratings levels -- a rare move in the TV business. Most ad time for fall TV is sold the previous spring

Time is up for the new NBC drama Journeyman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network all but cancelled the show, about a time-traveling reporter, when it failed to pick up the KEVIN MCKIDD series for a full season by yesterday's deadline. The two remaining unaired episodes of Journeyman will still air on NBC...

Nielsen Ratings

2007-12-12T08:36:00.000-05:00

CBS can have a happy holiday season, with Dancing with the Stars now out of the ratings picture. The Tiffany network aired four of last week's five most-watched TV shows, including the holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was first in the Nielsens, with nearly 19 million viewers.

Also...

The ABC movie Mitch Albom's For One More Day had one fine night this past Sunday. The special, presented by OPRAH WINFREY, was seen by 12.53 million viewers.

NBC's Heroes saved the world again on December 3rd, to the tune of 11 million-plus viewers. The episode concluded the series' second "volume."

CBS won the primetime ratings race for the week, followed by ABC, NBC, Fox, the CW, My Network TV and ION Television.

Here are the top 10 primetime programs for the week of December 3rd-December 9th, according to Nielsen Media Research

1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 18.80 million viewers.

2. Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 17.78 million viewers.

3. 60 Minutes, CBS, 16.50 million viewers.

4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, CBS, 14.55 million viewers.

5. Survivor: China, CBS, 13.86 million viewers.

6. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABC, 12.78 million viewers.

7. Sunday Night Football: Indianapolis at Baltimore, NBC, 12.73 million viewers.

8. Without a Trace, CBS, 12.68 million viewers.

9. Mitch Albom's For One More Day, ABC, 12.53 million viewers.

10. Amazing Race, CBS, 11.95 million viewers.

And Now the Host of JEPOARDY...

2007-12-12T08:29:00.000-05:00

Jeopardy! host ALEX TREBEK is said to be resting comfortably in a hospital after suffering a minor heart attack. The 67-year-old game show veteran was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles late Monday night, where he was expected to remain about two days for tests and observation. He is still scheduled to return to the Jeopardy! studio next month for tapings. Trebek has hosted the show since 1984.

MARK STEINES of Entertainment Tonight, which first reported the news, said yesterday that Trebek was relaxing in the hospital with his wife, JEAN, by his side. The couple has two children.

TV Tonight 12/11

2007-12-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

ABC: Shrek the Halls, Winnie the Pooh and Christmas, Too!, According to Jim, According to Jim, Boston Legal (NEW)

CBS: NCIS, Cane (NEW), Cane (NEW)

NBC: Deal or No Deal (NEW), The Biggest Loser (NEW), Law & Order: SVU

FOX: Bones, House

CW: America's Next Top Model, The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2007

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE

TV Hullabloo

2007-12-11T09:50:00.000-05:00

Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation are developing a CG-animated comedy based on the penguin brothers in the film Madagascar. The 26-episode series, expected to premiere on Nickelodeon in 2009, is tentatively titled The Penguins of Madagascar...

'Tis the season for TV Land to dust off holiday episodes of classic TV series. The cable channel will air a 24-hour marathon of Christmas-themed episodes of such shows as The Jeffersons, All in the Family and Three's Company, beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Christmas Eve...

ABC's new dramedy Big Shots has no shot of finishing the year on a positive note. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network has pulled the three remaining unaired episodes of the show, starring DYLAN MCDERMOTT and MICHAEL VARTAN, from its Thursday-night schedule. ABC will replace Big Shots with repeats of Private Practice for the rest of this month...

That's something...

2007-12-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

The elderly man involved in the car crash that resulted in jail time for GARY COLLINS died Friday, but Collins won't face additional charges. The former TV host wasn't found at fault for the October 23rd collision in the San Fernando Valley. According to police, the other driver, 89-year-old WARREN GATES, caused the accident when he ran a red light. The coroner's office has determined that Gates died because of the crash, but an autopsy will be performed.

Collins was arrested at the scene of the accident when officers smelled alcohol on his breath. He pleaded no contest to two DUI charges last Thursday and was sentenced to four days in jail, four years' probation, community service, fined 500 dollars, and ordered to enroll in an alcohol education program and attend 26 A.A. meetings.

Reege!!!

2007-12-11T09:46:00.000-05:00

REGIS PHILBIN will host ABC's red carpet show for the Oscars in February. The half-hour show will air before the 80th Academy Awards are presented in Los Angeles. Producer DENNIS DOTY said yesterday, quote, "Regis is the perfect guy to serve as host. He knows everyone, and everyone loves Regis!"

And Regis loves a TV camera, so much so that he holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of one. Even so, this will be the first time the 76-year-old Philbin has hosted the Oscars arrivals show. The Academy Awards will be handed out on February 24th.

TV Tonight (12/10)

2007-12-10T08:27:00.000-05:00

ABC: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown, Samantha Who? (NEW), Notes From the Underbelly (NEW), October Road (NEW)

CBS: How I Met Your Mother (NEW), The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami (NEW)

NBC: Deal or No Deal (NEW), Journeyman (NEW)

FOX: House, K-Ville (NEW)

CW: Everybody Hates Chris (NEW), Aliens in America (NEW), Girlfriends (NEW), The Game (NEW)

Courtesy Dave Kent @ The New 93.9 KISS FM, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill NC!

Get your local listings HERE