Hi. My list is extremely short. It has one name. Simon Cowell: The pre-2010 Seasons. My list of best reality series host is equally short: Tom Bergeron. Anybody else out there have an equally short list?
I believe this is the first year they've whacked someone on Idol Gives Back Night because, they had always explained, whacking someone did not seem to be in keeping with the charity-ness of the night (and yet, Fergie stomping around dressed as a dominatrix while the Black Eyed Peas sang "Rock That Body" is in perfect keepign with a charity fundraiser show). But, given that the last time they did a Gives Back night it clocked the show's smallest audience of the seasons -- despite its celebrity lineup of performers -- I'm guessing they decided to return the whacking bit to the show to try to goose the ratings. Anyway, I was thrilled to see Turban eliminated this week AND Kate Gosselin eliminated the same week. Makes you believe somehow that the natural order of things is starting to return...
Nope -- total bait and switch...
Pookie, they had given up trying to bring it in on time before the show even started. Seabiscuit announced the night before that it was going to run long so you should set your DVR accordingly. Which I'm guessing is another way of saying "record 'Glee'." geesh.
I tried the other day but it makes the top of my head come off and I have to stop watching. Vampires should NOT be allowed to be out during the day -- period. It's like wearing open-toed shoes after Labor Day.....I don't care what special ring they're wearing, or tea they're drinking, or hand lotion they're using. It's just not right. If a vampire can go to high school during the day then he's not really a vampire -- just some dude with bad teeth and pasty skin. Very unattractive...okay, I think I'm through ranting...
Yes, and, unfortunately, in the life of every show there are two lines. One is the line graf of how much the show costs -- it starts in the bottom left-hand corner of the chart and steadily climbs as it moves to the right over the years. The other line is the Ratings line and it starts high on the left and works its way down over the years. When you get to the point on the chart where they cross and the ratings line becomes lower than the cost line -- a show's pretty much over -- ESPECIALLY if, at the point at which they intersect, the show has produced more than 100-ish episodes, which is what you need for a series to be a viable product in syndication. "Number3"'s lines have converged and it has produced 118 episodes...
I had forgotten about that... that was fun....
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It was brilliant. If you have not seen it, I've asked my producer to embed the video here.
Are you saying Seabiscuit is ruining "Glee" because "Idol" keeps running long? I am guessing that "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy is, as we chat, working on some wickedly clever episode of "Glee" in which he takes his reveng on Seabiscuit..
So Comedy Central was responsible for the bleeps during this week's "South Park"? I figured it was Matt and Trey. When I read your column this morning, I figured Comedy Central and Matt/Trey were in cohoots, but I couldn't think of what there would be to gain from it.
Comedy Central says they did the bleeping but Mat and Trey put in the black bars with "Censored" on them in place of the actual Muhammad figure -- which Comedy Central says, they did because the network told the guys they would not air it otherwise...oh, and what did they have to gain from it? Loads and loads and loads of publicity for the show which, you may have noticed, was getting absolutely zero buzz this season until this two-episode storyline was introduced to celebrate the show's 200th episode... very clever.
Do you think "My Boys" could do an episode about how they all could watch "South Park"? (now the world is safe for another week) Seriously though, its really sad that "South Park" is the only show on TV that is willing to point out the double standard when it comes to making jokes about a specific religion. How do you feel about the Network saying that they are censoring the episodes for the creators own safety. I think they had a chance to make an important stand for free speech. I also loved the Shakespearean aspect of Cartman's storyline.
Yes, I too think the network is making the wrong call on this one. Oh, and at long last, we have something to report on "My Boys." It is returning to TBS on July 25 -- that's a Sunday, I'm told -- at 10 p.m.... It's about time, I say!
I didn't think the lameness quotient of this new system could get any greater, but it has defied even my expectations...
My pleasure -- always happy to help facilitate harmony at the workplace...
What does the arrival of Conan and the NCAA Tournament mean for "My Boys"?
It means My Boys is returning July 25 -- before Conan!
What I think of the Madonna-thon is that if that gawdawful "Marriage Ref" can get Actual Madonna to show up to give marriage counseling to a lineup of hopelessly ill-suited couples, why cannot The Great and Powerful Ryan Murphy get Madonna to show up on his allegedly hit series, instead of having Jane Lynch stand in for her? Let me hasten to say I really like Lynch in this show -- just not dolled up as Madonna. That was super-scary -- so much so, I had nightmares about it all night.
Let's just say Bradley Whitford is very, very good. Do watch the first episode...
Lisa, I find Comedy Central's reaction to those threats it received about the "South Park" episode's appearance of Mohammed utterly pathetic. It boggles my mind that insulting figures from other religions is perfectly fine, but anything involving Islam is too sensitive, so they would rather censor the whole thing and give in to a bunch of terrorist threats than just let the episode speak for itself.
preaching to the choir....
I don't know if Nigel should get the credit or what, but that special was definitely lacking in star-wattage. Russell Brand? Jim Carrey? Black-Eyed Peas? You know what is my definition of a music special these days? No? Well, I'll tell you -- it's a special on which the Black-eyed Peas do NOT perform... I am up to my eyeballs in Black-Eyed Peas. Is there any music trophy show or special they WON'T show up at?
lol....You saw that Fox is so contrite (read, Ryan Murphy is so mad) they're rerunning Tuesday's "Glee" episode tonight at 9? For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, "Idol" ran sooo long Tuesday (and Wednesday too but that's another story), the big music number -- to Madonna's "Like a Prayer" at the end of "Glee" got cut off on the DVR of all the Gleeks who had recorded it that night. And if there is one group you do not want to mess with on TV -- besides Revolutionmuslim.com, that is -- it's Gleeks...
Hard to call. The season finale numbers were definitely not great and it can't be a cheap show with all that guy-candy -- aka pyrotechnics, etc. -- I too like the show. Okay, I actually just like the lead, but it's practically the same thing.
I think Kate Gosselin was put on TV to make us all feel better about ourselves. No matter how mess up my life is, I can watch an episode of "Jon & Kate + 8" and say to myself, "well, at least my life isn't THAT messed up" and I feel much better....
Pookster, not debunked. I am willing to concede that Kris got more votes, but for one of the show's sponsors to have held Kris Allen Fan Voting parties at which they were loaning viewers cell phones and teaching them how to speed-vote for Kris was wrong, wrong, wrong. Even if Adam Lambert had won last year it still would have been wrong because it wasn't about the outcome, it was about the impropriety of one of the show's sponsors. EQUAL TIME PART: AT&T insisted at the time it was just one rogue regional manager, or some such staffer, who had arranged these parties.
Tough economic times.
Whenever I watch Kate Gosslin perform on DWTS, I immediately flash to Tom Petty's "Last Dance with Mary Jane" video. It's all I can see.
I KNEW it reminded me of something. Thank you for clearing that up.
Meanwhile, I have neglected to let everyone know that we're going to try something new here at the WaPo TeamTV chat: for next week's TV chat, please send your most bizarre TV trivia fact to @wapoteamtv on Twitter, I am going to pick a winner. It's all for a good cause -- amusing me!
Isn't this the function of so much reality TV programming? I know I feel pretty smug after each episode of "Real Housewives of Fill in the Blank"... friends have told me I'm insufferable for at least 3 hours after every broadcast.
Hey -- Neil Sedaka night on "Idol" was fantabulous a few seasons back.
I'm guessing ABC is doing that to squeeze one more ad break into "Modern Family" -- the show that airs right before it and which is more successful, ratings-wise. You can figure out most of what goes on in the TV industry if you just follow the money...
Let's all agree to just fast forward through the judging bits after Siobhan sings. Kara DioGuardi saying in response to her most recent performance that she would rather hang out with Siobhan than buy her album -- Why The Face?!
See -- I'm extremely amused by that. So that's perfect!
Didn't NBC try to that during the Ben Silverman Years? Or did I just dream that it was part of that "Knight Rider"/"Gladiators" season?
Nichy, but I take your point. The point I was trying to make is that if it's such a big deal, why can't Murphy get Madonna to actually, you know, show up? She'll do "Marriage Ref" which means her standards are very, very low....
Yes -- they should have cut the Black-Eyed Peas....
Thank you. Meanwhile, we already have our first "Modern Family" knockoff -- when NBC saw how well it was doing, it remade "Parenthood" to be more like "Modern Family." If you had seen the first "Parenthood" pilot, with Maura Tierney in it, you'd know what I'm talking about. It was very dark and drab....
"The Good Guys", on Fox, May 19.
My guess is we have to wait until the feds give their stamp of approval on the Comcast buy of NBC-Universal (Bravo is one of NBC-Uni's networks). My guess is Bravo's parent company doesnt' want the network to announce this show with the Salahis while that merger is under talks here in Washington. The Salahis are catnip for the network, because they'll pull in a huge rating, but they are also radioactive for the network's parent company right now what with them having embarrassed the White House and all. Just my guess...
RE: "Didn't NBC try to that during the Ben Silverman Years? Or did I just dream that it was part of that "Knight Rider"/"Gladiators" season?" YES! I had totally forgotten that. Although they used C-listers, and they paired them up with professional athletes, and one got "voted off the island" every week. So it was only kinda' like the old BNS, since there wasn't any network affiliations.... Does that count as my obscure TV trivia, or do I have to try again?
No, that's a fine entry....
What about it? Except that it's about to be euthanized?
But he kinda looks like a horse -- you'll at least give me that, right?
Okay, this is making my head hurt. Reality TV is not supposed to be that complicated: please tell me the women are all in bikinis. At least give me that to hang on to.
So we'll kick him off the list....
Did you think Seth Aarons clothes were wearable?
Yes, absolutely -- if you are a cirque du soleil performer.
Well, I dont think Tom Bergeron ever has allowed "Dancing" to run that long. But let's be fair -- Seabiscuit is not yet powerful enough that he dictates whether there will be some lame Group Lip Synch every week and I have no idea what Fox exec George Lopez has photos of...
another excellent entry.. I'm out of time. thanks for joining me...
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