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October 2008 Archives
TV Worth Watching Is Voting Early: Best TV Series of 2008 Is "The Daily Show"
October 31, 2008 6:58 AM
"Five more days," Jon Stewart said Thursday on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. holding up his outstretched fingers. He was counting down to Election Day -- but it's also a countdown to the end of Stewart's astoundingly funny, incisive, important coverage of this marathon political campaign.
More than a year ago, Stewart and The Daily Show hit what may have been a series high point in its analysis of Barack Obama's entry into the presidential race. Stewart not only covered the new candidate's entry speech, but invited "senior black correspondent" Larry Wilmore to assess Obama's chances.
Wilmore's report was brilliant, suggesting, with accompanying graphics, that for every three black votes Obama gains, he scares off five white voters. Obama's support among blacks at the time, Wilmore noted, was not good -- but, he asked pointedly, "Is it bad enough to win?"
For most of the election campaign since then, I've watched The Daily Show religiously, and watched it do reports on religion. And the media. And the candidates. And, sometimes, all three topics at once.
More and more, as when Stewart shows campaign-trail or network-interview clips of Sarah Palin, all he does afterward is stare at the camera in utter disbelief. It's all he has to do.
Yet what I love most about The Daily Show is how well it's doing the job of journalistic and political accountability. It's delving into the public record of TV interviews, C-SPAN clips and campaign footage to play a never-ending, always-fascinating game of "Then and Now." Here's what the candidates, or the media analysts, are saying now, versus what they said before.
Watching the juxtapositions, you laugh -- but that's the only thing that qualifies this as comedy material. Show the same sequence on a nightly news show, and it'd be a genuine, investigative "gotcha" moment. In interviews, Stewart is sharp, too: He makes sense, he asks clear questions, and he listens. Many "professional" interviewers don't manage one out of three.
The Daily Show attacks the candidates, and those covering the candidates, with equal glee, sometimes at the same time. On Thursday's show, Stewart poked fun at Obama, pointing out that his half-hour infomercial opened with "actual footage of amber waves of grain."
Stewart also noted that the political infomercial was televised by seven different networks in prime time, and that, since Obama also was a Daily Show guest via satellite Wednesday, "the only thing Barack Obama didn't do on television last night was fight Kimbo Slice."
But Stewart also poked fun at McCain, by pointing out that while Obama was on view in his infomercial, his Republican opponent was on view on CNN's Larry King Live. Stewart had good fun with these two, suggesting that McCain's goal in appearing was "a blatant attempt to make Larry King look young." Then Stewart had great fun with that same idea, dubbing the voices of King and McCain into the mouths of old-coot balcony critics Statler and Waldorf on The Muppet Show.
The sight and sound were so absurdly perfect, I laughed out loud. A lot. (I also laughed aloud at Stewart's tossaway reference to Mott the Hoople... but I'm old.)
Only five more days -- but only two more fresh shows: Monday's regular 11 p.m. ET edition, and a special live Election Night special Tuesday at 10, with Stephen Colbert as co-host. The Never-Ending Campaign is almost over -- and The Daily Show, for more than a year of stellar work, has more than earned my TV vote as Best TV Series of 2008.
Will "30 Rock" Ride Tina Fey Fever to Become Must-See TV?
October 30, 2008 10:49 AM
Is NBC's 30 Rock the Cheers of the 21st century -- or The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd? We'll find out tonight...
Molly Dodd, starring current Fringe supporting player Blair Brown, was one of my favorite sitcoms of the 1980s. It began as part of NBC's Thursday night lineup, and was a comedic bridge between the independent TV women of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Ally McBeal.
But that brilliant Jay Tarses show, which co-starred Victor Garber, David Strathairn and others, never quite caught on. Some critics accused it of being too smart, too subtle, too different to thrive. But I loved it, and still wonder why it wasn't a bigger hit.
That same decade, there was another Thursday night comedy I adored, and couldn't understand, at first, why no one was watching it. That show was a freshman sitcom called Cheers, and it was absolutely brilliant from the beginning. Yet that first year, so few people were watching that it ended one week as the least-viewed show of all.
But NBC was patient (as it has been with 30 Rock), and The Cosby Show showed up the next year to become an instant Thursday-night phenomenon. Cheers very quickly rose to the top.
So what's it going to be for 30 Rock? After two years of squeaking by in the ratings, not even making the overall Top 100 last season, will it finally vault to the top ranks? Will enough people who adored Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin come to watch, and adore, her portrayal of TV producer Liz Lemon on 30 Rock?
If there's justice in TV Land (and I don't mean the cable network), yes. When 30 Rock premiered, I pegged it instantly as the best show to emerge from the upfronts, and the best new show of that season. The following year, I did the same for Pushing Daisies -- which has lost about half its audience after the writers' strike.
If shows as good as 30 Rock and Pushing Daisies can't thrive on network TV, then let us eat cable.
For the record, I've already raved about the third-season opener of 30 Rock, and played a clip, on yesterday's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, which also featured Terry's informative interview with Saturday Night Live head writer Seth Meyers. You can hear my review by clicking HERE, and the entire show by clicking HERE.
I also reviewed tonight's 30 Rock in a blog for Broadcasting & Cable, which you can read HERE.
So I feel I've done my part in helping 30 Rock survive.
Tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET, it's your turn to do yours.
TV Hardball Doubleheader: Obama, Baseball Throw Their Best Pitches
October 29, 2008 6:57 AM
After a full season of major league baseball, and more than a year of presidential campaigning, the end is in sight for all the players -- and even at this late date, the outcome is in doubt and each move is critical.
Politically, Barack Obama is dipping into his campaign-fund treasure chest (a much deeper pile of booty than John McCain's) to finance a 30-minute political message, aired tonight at 8 ET at the beginning of prime time. What and whom will Obama be addressing, with Election Day six days away, and with a half hour to select any topics of his own choosing? That alone makes it a very intriguing, and illuminating, special to watch.
Then there's the World Series. The annual rite of baseball has been delayed many times before, by inclement weather and even an earthquake. But stopping a game in midstream, as a sort of battus interruptus, is highly unusual.
So if the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Rays play tonight, picking up where they left off with the Phillies coming to bat at the bottom of the sixth, the unpredictability factor is huge. With what amounts to a sudden death game of 2.5 innings, and the possibility of overtime, how aggressively do you swing, manage and play?
That makes this interesting to watch.
But with one game in this series not being decided until almost 2 a.m., does the prospect of watching a World Series game likely to conclude during prime time make it a huge ratings grabber? Or will a fractional Game 5 result in fractionally meager ratings, whatever the outcome?
Regardless, it appears pretty clear that tonight, Barack Obama and many of the Rays and Phillies batters all will be swinging for the fences.
World Series Game 5, Pt. 2: A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, and Obama's On the Horizon
October 28, 2008 8:56 AM
Suspending Game 5 of the World Series last night may have been a logistical nightmare -- but resuming it is likely to be even trickier.
When the Tampa Rays tied the game at the top of the sixth inning, it made it much easier for baseball's powers that be to suspend play. When play resumes, the Philadelphia Phillies will be up to bat at the bottom of the sixth -- and even though the Phils have lost a chance to field their ace pitcher for one more inning, that's the biggest inequity of restarting Game 5.
But when?
Game 5 could resume tonight, and that's what Fox and Major League Baseball want most. But I live outside Philadelphia, and the weather, as of this morning, doesn't seem conducive to a prime-time start. The forecast tonight is supposed to be colder and wetter than last night, which says it all. But if Game 5 is restarted, I hope both sides have decided to forego the usual pregame hoopla and start pitching precisely at 8 p.m. ET. If the game is resumed under threat of rain, every moment will count.
But what it tonight is a rainout? Postpone the ending of Game 5 to Wednesday night, and you're running into another sort of unpredictable storm. Barack Obama has bought national time, 30 minutes' worth, to lead off prime time tomorrow night with a special political message. His campaign has bought time on CBS, NBC -- and Fox. Presumably, sports trumps politics in this case, so if the game is played, Obama's special, pitted against a pivotal World Series game, will be robbed of millions of potential viewers.
And what of Tampa? Wednesday's World Series game, if it came to a Game 6, was scheduled to be played back in warm, sunny Florida. If Game 5 isn't played until Wednesday, and is concluded in the same Philly park in which it began, then what happens if the Devil Rays win, and force a Game 6.
Does that make Thursday a travel day, and push the conclusion of the World Series into next weekend, when the networks, Fox included, all have scheduled expensive first-run programming for the November sweeps (which begin Thursday)?
If Game 5 resumes and concludes tonight, and the Phillies win, all other schedules remain unchanged. Otherwise, the domino effect of another delay will impact not just baseball, but entertainment television and, one week before the election, presidential politics.
Play ball! We hope!
Two TV Acting Triumphs in Two Days: What a Hamm!
October 27, 2008 10:45 AM
Sunday night, actor Jon Hamm delivered another expected performance of excellence in the second-season finale of AMC's Mad Men. But the night before, as guest host of NBC's Saturday Night Live, his excellence as a comic actor was much more of a surprise. And a delightful one.
SNL has been driven to dizzyingly high viewership levels this fall because of its razor-sharp opening skits, keyed to presidential campaign politics and featuring both wicked caricatures and knowing satirical jabs. But this past weekend, the opening sketch was the show's weakest in months -- yet the show itself was one of the strongest.
Part of that, with no disrespect, was due to the absence of Amy Poehler. She was absent with a valid doctor's excuse: she was giving birth that night. And the way she was saluted by her cast mates was a reminder that, no matter how venerable SNL gets, it's still a bunch of young kids putting on a show, with a bunker mentality that makes lots of very close friendships.
Seth Meyers, opening "Weekend Update" without his partner, explained at the top, with a huge smile, that Poehler wasn't there because she was having a baby. Then, to close the "Update" portion, Kenan Thompson and former SNL regular Maya Rudolph performed a singing shout-out, with the lyrics "We love you, Amy!" What a sweet moment.
As for Hamm as guest host, he was wonderful, too. His biggest surprise was a dead-on James Mason imitation (funny, in part, because who does James Mason these days?), but he also somehow managed to retain dignity and provide laughs in a commercial spoof that could have tanked big time: an ad for lunch meat you eat while sitting in a toilet stall, a rolled-out treat called Jon Hamm's John Ham.
Yes, he made that work somehow. And he was great, of course, as well as in his home element, dispensing Don Draper's dating tips, and starring in a Mad Men spoof that also featured castmates Elisabeth Moss (Peggy) and John Slattery (Roger).
Casey Wilson got a big laugh portraying Joan in a typically form-fitting dress, and the skit's only flaw is that Moss was denied an entrance of her own, to give her the attention and round of applause she deserved.
But no matter. It was a strong SNL -- and, the next night, a very strong Mad Men, which used the Cuban Missile Crisis to parallel deep shifts and unsettling feelings at Don Draper's work and home. It was a great weekend for John Hamm, and, no less so, for fans of quality TV.
This Weekend, It's a Mad Mad "Mad Men" World
October 24, 2008 8:50 AM
It's a great weekend for Mad Men fans. First, Jon Hamm, the talented star of that show, is the guest host of this week's new edition of NBC's Saturday Night Live. Then, on Sunday, AMC presents the second-season Mad Men finale.
That's a terrific one-two punch, and it couldn't happen to a better show.
One unique element of Mad Men is its pace -- and the more the show delves into the deep secrets of its characters, the more that distinctiveness becomes obvious, and delicious. The series not only dramatizes another time, but takes its time.
Scenes are not rushed. Moments are not juggled at lightning speed. Viewers are allowed to feel what the characters feel, even when those emotions include awkward silences and pregnant pauses. Hamm is wonderful with dialogue -- but even better shading the quiet between the lines.
Mad Men isn't the only quality Sunday drama on TV right now -- after Sunday's finale, we'll still have a few more episodes of this year's Dexter on Showtime and True Blood on HBO. But it's not a show to take for granted, and it's nice to see it acknowledged not only by Emmys, but by SNL.
SNL, Emmys, quality, buzz -- the same things in play for Mad Men also are in play with Tina Fey and 30 Rock, which returns next week on NBC. All three episodes of SNL's Weekend Update Thursday are being repeated by NBC Saturday night at 9:30 ET, as a springboard into the new edition of SNL. Fey, as Sarah Palin, is featured prominently in those shows.
And if she shows up again on Saturday Night Live, on the same show as Jon Hamm, it'll be an intersection of two soaring trajectories, featuring two of this season's hottest TV talents. Definitely TV Worth Watching...
Will "SNL" Fever Transmit to "30 Rock"? It Deserves To...
October 23, 2008 9:31 AM
Tonight at 9:30 ET on NBC is the third and final Thursday prime-time special edition of Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update." Next week, Tina Fey's 30 Rock returns to the schedule, reclaiming its old time slot with its third-season premiere.
Will 30 Rock continue to be unjustly ignored by the vast majority of viewers? Or will the Emmys earned by the show recently, Fey's dead-on Palin impression, and the current epidemic of SNL fever combine to finally make the show a hit?
Let's hope for the latter.
The fact that Fey and co-star Alec Baldwin both won Emmys for performing, and 30 Rock for best comedy, is no surprise. All you have to do is watch that sitcom to see how good it is, and how good they are.
But most people AREN'T watching 30 Rock -- so as it begins this third season, the "perfect storm" of Fey-Palin-SNL is its best chance.
Last weekend, when SNL had both the real Sarah Palin and Tina Fey's doppelganger as guest stars, the show drew an estimated 14 million viewers. That was good enough not only to be the biggest SNL audience since 1994, but also good enough, competitively, to have put SNL in that week's overall Top 10.
In prime time, though, the Weekend Update specials are a different matter. The premiere outing drew 10.9 million viewers, but last week's edition slipped to 8.83 million -- a drop of almost 20 percent. But that's still substantially above the usual draw for 30 Rock, which last season averaged only 6.4 million viewers.
For the month of November, 30 Rock is loading its roster with guest stars, including Oprah Winfrey one week and Steve Martin the next. But last year it had Jerry Seinfeld, who didn't help much. So maybe it'll take a combination of SNL fever and Tina Fey's sudden ubiquitousness to entice viewers, finally, to sample 30 Rock.
I hope so. Because 30 Rock has built it -- so if they won't come now, especially after the past month of free Fey publicity, they most likely never will.
"Pushing Daisies": ABC Loves It, ABC Loves It Not
October 22, 2008 7:51 AM
Let us pray... for ABC's Pushing Daisies.
Last year, this delightful Bryan Fuller concoction was the best new show of the season -- but it was a short season because of the strike, and ABC opted to stockpile episodes and return this fall rather than resume last spring. Big mistake.
Pushing Daisies has lost a significant portion of its audience since coming back this month. Last week's episode didn't even make the overall Top 50. But creatively, the show is as charming as ever, and as excellent. If anyone is dropping the ball in this equation, it's ABC.
One reason: ABC is presenting a new episode of Pushing Daisies tonight at 8 ET. Maybe that's considered counter-programming -- but when there are only so many episode left in the show's 13-episode order, it feel more like burning off an episode, when stockpiling might make more sense. (As opposed to last spring, when it didn't.)
Another reason: I've been watching carefully, and prime-time ABC promos for Daisies are almost nonexistent these days. Pushing Daisies airs on Wednesdays, but on last night's Eli Stone, there wasn't one promo for Daisies. Nor was there one on Monday's Boston Legal, or on Sunday's Desperate Housewives -- all shows with sensibilities similar to Daisies, where you'd expect promos to be run.
And finally, a third reason it's fair to fear ABC has given up on one of its best shows: The network hasn't yet ordered any additional Pushing Daisies episodes beyond the initial 13. Even the horrifyingly awful Knight Rider has gotten a full-season order from NBC this week.
If NBC can embrace utter crap that fervently, why can't ABC show some love to its sweet-smelling Daisies?
Taking a Personal Holiday: It's Smothers Day
October 21, 2008 6:25 AM
Hi, folks. Between now and the end of November, when my book on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is due, I have decided to, on occasion, take a day off from writing my daily blog. I'll still provide daily BEST BETS no matter what, and Diane Werts is providing new stuff in her front-page spot as often as she can.
So on days when I have a particularly heavy workload, it's a personal blog holiday: Smothers Day! Today, when I'm interviewing both Dick and Tom, writing a Broadcasting & Cable column and teaching college, DEFINITELY is one of those days.
Please return tomorrow. I will.
For Remainder of Presidential Campaign, Politics Is, And Isn't, A Laughing Matter
October 20, 2008 8:11 AM
In the short window of opportunity between last Wednesday's final presidential debate and Nov. 4's Election Day, there are only two arenas for the candidates to visit in hopes of reaching sizable national audiences and winning their votes.
One arena: the prime-time newscasts and Sunday public-affairs shows, where questions will, or should, be tough and unpredictable. The other arena: late-night comedy and talk shows, which are fraught with risks of their own.
Take the three days immediately following the debate, all of which cashed in on the currency of presidential politics.
Thursday night, viewers of CBS's Late Show with David Letterman saw the contrite return of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who had snubbed Letterman at the last minute and paid the price: days of viciously sarcastic monologues. When McCain did return, it was to get into the good graces of Letterman and his audience. Instead, Letterman peppered him with pointed, intelligent questions about his politics, policies and past. Good for McCain? Not really.
Friday night, Letterman's guests included Tina Fey, who talked about imitating McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, in ways that were both hilarious and not particularly flattering. Fey likened some of Palin's run-on, meandering sentences as the verbal equivalent of being "lost in a corn maze," and claimed that Palin's Great-Lakes-by-way-of-Fargo accent was an easy and enjoyable one to attempt to imitate.
"Not since Sling Blade," she said to Letterman's delight (and mine), "has there been a voice that anybody could do."
Fey also said listening to Palin made her feel that the Alaskan governor was exactly as smart as Fey herself -- which, Fey added, she suspected wasn't enough. She also not only confirmed that Palin was in talks to appear on Saturday Night Live, but at Palin's own instigation ("She's calling them, I hear," Fey said). Good for Palin? Not really.
And finally, the next night, there was Saturday Night Live itself, on which the Fey and Palin versions of the Alaskan governors shared the same stage -- but so briefly I couldn't even snare a non-blurry screen shot. Eventually, though, they stood at the same podium. Just not at the same time.
The show opened with Fey, once again, as Palin, this time holding her first press conference and listing which states she considered un-American ("New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware and California"). The opening skit then cut to backstage at the SNL hallway, where series creator Lorne Michaels and the real Palin were watching a monitor on which Fey was imitating her.
In time, Alec Baldwin walked up, mistaking Palin for his 30 Rock co-star and complaining about Palin ("that horrible woman") until Michaels identified her and introduced them. At that point, Baldwin said to Palin, "You are way hotter in person," and escorted her to the stage, where she took Fey's place -- and finished the skit, in which she refused to take questions even at a bogus press conference. Good for Palin? Hard to say.
She returned during "Weekend Update," ostensibly refusing to go through with a scheduled performance, which Amy Poehler did instead. It was a rap song, with some occasionally devastating lyrics, considering that Palin was the one who was supposed to be singing them. ("When I say 'Obama,' you say 'Ayers'!" she sang.)
And through it all, the cameras cut back to Palin at the "Update" desk, swaying to the music and even raising her hands in a "raise the roof" motion. Good sport? Yes. Good for her image, since she was being ridiculed mere feet away? Perhaps. But good for gaining votes? Again, we'll have to see.
But one vote already is in, and the winner is Saturday Night Live. Early ratings estimated this weekend's audience at close to 14 million, which would be the show's largest draw in 14 years. Back then, it was for the guest host, Nancy Kerrigan, at the height of her absurdly tabloid Olympics duel with Tonya Harding.
This time, it wasn't to watch guest host Josh Brolin, but merely to see an unbilled guest appearance by Sarah Palin. Or the woman who imitates her.
But the key question is this: Of those millions of viewers, what percentage is laughing with Sarah Palin, and what percentage is laughing at her?
Mini-Reviews: McCain on "Letterman," Latest "SNL Thursday," New Series "Crash" and "Crusoe"
October 17, 2008 7:18 AM
John McCain showed up on Letterman's CBS show Thursday, and was lampooned in prime time on NBC's SNL Weekend Update Thursday the same night. Also, new TV versions of the movie Crash and the novel Robinson Crusoe are unveiled this weekend.
Let's get right to them...
LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: It's amazing, to me, how many of this year's election cycle's best observations and interviews are emanating from comedy shows. Here's another one to add to the pile.
Letterman questioned McCain so toughly about Sarah Palin's "palling with terrorists" line that McCain got testy. And Letterman positively threw McCain when pointing out the unfairness of guilt-by-association charges by asking McCain about his attendance at a fundraiser at the home of convicted Watergate co-conspirator G. Gordon Liddy.
But the best part of all, to me, was a sly musical joke that MCain was unlikely to get. As McCain entered, Paul Shaffer and his orchestra played an instrumental version of an early hit by The Who. If you recognized it, the title was a delicious dig about McCain's last-second snubbing of Letterman last month.
The name of the song? "I Can't Explain."
SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY: As expected, this week's show opened with a spoof of the final presidential debate, in which Darrell Hammond's McCain revealed that "Joe the plumber" was his tiny imaginary friend -- at which point Fred Armisen's Obama leaned forward and spoke directly to the itsy-bitsy, invisible "Little Joe."
But here, too, my favorite bit was elsewhere. The opening item of the "Weekend Update" newscast had Amy Poehler summarizing the current presidential race thusly:
"Last night marked the third and final debate between Joe Cool and Yosemite Sam." Very, very funny -- especially with the accompanying visual.
CRASH: This new Starz series, based on the 2005 Paul Haggis movie, premieres Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Starz, but is available all weekend, also showing Saturday and Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on Encore.
It's designed more as a miniseries as a series, so judging it on the first episode is tricky. But Dennis Hopper is, as always, magnetic, the photography is unusually cinematic for a TV show, and the supporting cast (including D.B. Sweeney and Clare Carey) is strong. How these characters interact will take a few weeks to discover, and longer to unravel -- but my first impression is that it'll be worth the effort.
CRUSOE: This new NBC series, on the other hand, is an instant discard. Though based on the Daniel Defoe classic adventure novel, the producers of this version are Defoe of everything worthwhile.
This Crusoe begs, borrows and steals from everywhere. It starts like Lost, with Crusoe (Philip Winchester) surrounded by wreckage on a deserted island. But very quickly, it jumps to a world in which Crusoe has tricked out his island with booby traps, fortress tree houses and ziplines, like some odd cross between Swiss Family Robinson and MacGyver.
Friday, the native sidekick, is pushed through the Politically Correct Machine until he emerges smarter, more fluent and essentially more civilized than Crusoe. There's even a female pirate who's given the gift of equality, even though she's traveling with pirates -- pirates who seem to have been set adrift from Pirates of the Caribbean.
While all this mess sounds like it might be passable entertainment for kids, it shouldn't be considered as such, because Crusoe is oddly cavalier about death -- even gleefully sadistic, dispatching several characters in ways both inventive and gruesome. It's like Crusoe the video game, with about as much depth.
Lucky NBC already has Knight Rider, or Crusoe could be stranded with the unenviable distinction of being the worst new series of the 2008 fall season.
Final Presidential Debate Was...A Debate! And a Great One...
October 16, 2008 7:01 AM
Wednesday's third and final presidential debate of the 2008 election campaign was something we haven't seen this year, or in many previous election cycles. This debate, in both structure and execution, was... an actual debate.
Instead of being anchored at their respective podiums or strolling around like free-range politicians, John MCain and Barack Obama last night sat still, and sat close to one another. Across the same table from moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS, they fielded questions -- but with plenty of time left over for follow-ups and interaction.
Schieffer was fabulous. Questions were short and to the point, and he came back to them if either candidate ignored or deflected them. The economy. Health care. Appointing Supreme Court candidates. Education. The conduct of their own presidential campaigns. Important or defining questions all, and ones that allowed both candidates to repeat and amplify their positions.
But in the follow-up portion after each question, this final debate also allowed candidates to question or refute the statements of the other. "Facts" established by one man often were swatted away by another. Charges that sounded persuasive and damaging, at first, were explained away even more persuasively by the other.
It was a debate where the use of split-screen, for the first time, was invaluable, as exchanges often led to both men exchanging brief comments, or waiting impatiently to have their turn. It also was another example of presidential proxemics, as candidates decided when to look at each other, when to address Schieffer, and when to stare directly into the camera and address America.
"Joe the plumber," an Ohio citizen whom McCain referenced, by the count of NBC's Chuck Todd, more than 20 times, was the catch phrase of the night, eventually addressed directly by both McCain and Obama. Perhaps we now know what the previous working-class symbol, "Joe Six-Pack," does for a living. Or perhaps it's a different Joe entirely. Either way, he came close to getting more air time last night than Schieffer.
It was a great debate -- not for fireworks, but for actually being worthwhile, respectful of the process, and reflective of the seriousness of a race for the presidency. Afterward, NBC's Tom Brokaw, who moderated the previous debate, called it "easily the most personal and emotional" of this year's face-offs. I would add that it also was easily the most mature, impressive and informative.
Of course, not everyone will agree. Opinions are all over the map, and all over TV -- sometimes instantly. I won't even watch a debate on CNN any more, because its live dial-an-opinion graphic is so incredibly annoying and distracting. Also infuriating are those instant after-the-fact interviews with a representative sample of undecided voters, asking what they think.
You know what? When air time is this precious, and the issues this important, I don't care what they think. Not right after the candidates have spoken, anyway. The networks have highly paid people who are political experts, thoughtful historians, veteran journalists -- use them, damn it. If not now, when? When Ann Curry asks these undecided voters their opinions of the debate they've just watched, and some of them say they're undecided, I want to scream. And do. And then I change channels.
I, on the other hand, am completely decided.
I've decided that last night's debate format should be the template for all future ones, unless someone proposes something even better. I've decided that Bob Schieffer has shown just how to moderate a debate, and should be just as strong a model for future aspirants to that position.
And finally, I've decided that Schieffer's closing remarks, quoting his own mother, should be remembered, and embraced, by everyone.
"Go vote now," he recalled her saying to him many years ago. "It'll make you feel big and strong."
Baseball Playoffs on Fox, Possible "Hail Mary" Pass on Presidential Debate
October 15, 2008 8:51 AM
The last time John McCain felt great pressure to do something to gain attention and shift momentum in his direction, he selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. So what will he do tonight, when he and Barack Obama debate one last time, before the largest TV audience available in one place before the election?
Who knows? Which is why the debate really does qualify as must-see TV.
The negative name-calling and guilt-by-association modern McCarthyism tactics practiced by McCain and Palin until recently didn't help. In fact, they hurt -- and regardless of your political affiliation, that should be embraced as good news.
This appears to be the first concrete example of negative campaigning NOT working in the political area. McCain has backed off, and begun starting to tamp down and correct the angry accusations from his own gathered supporters (Jon Stewart, on Tuesday's Daily Show, called them "10,000 McCainiacs").
So what does that mean for tonight's debate? Do the two candidates talk about the issues rather than each other? Or does McCain throw one last "hail Mary" pass and go at Obama, as he has vowed to do so recently, with remarks about William Ayers?
And if he does that, how will Obama, and the nation, react?
One last question: How can you NOT watch?
Tonight's "Frontline" is Truly "Choice" Television
October 14, 2008 11:44 AM
One day before the final presidential debate of 2008, the PBS Frontline series presents an invaluable primer: Its latest installment of The Choice, this time profiling candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.
Don't miss it...
It's been 20 years since Frontline presented its first joint profile of presidential candidates. Back then, The Choice was between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis. Every four years since, PBS has profiled the men who would be President (so far, just men, but for how much longer?). And even though these programs come late to the party, they always seem to dig up not only new video, but new insight.
Tonight's The Choice ( at 9 ET; check local listings), written, produced and directed by frequent Frontline contributor Michael Kirk, is no exception. It stops with the selection of the vice presidential nominees, so misses some of the inanity and insanity of the past month. But by going back and explaining, patiently and clearly, the respective political paths of McCain and Obama, this PBS special edition of Frontline is tonight's Must-See TV event.
Regarding McCain, thanks to candid interviews with former and current campaign associates, The Choice recounts the senator's uneasy dance with the Republican party in general and President George W. Bush in particular -- and shows how, why and when McCain chooses to reach out and mend fences.
Regarding Obama, there's a lot of incisive and illuminating reporting about his law-school years at Harvard, and also some funny stories about his early days as a freshman senator. Determined to be present gavel-to-gavel at committee meetings, even though he had to speak last, Obama sat for hours in one committee chaired by Joe Biden, his eventual running mate. At one point, he passed a note to an aide, who unfolded it to read the urgent message imparted by the young senator from Illinois.
The note contained three words, punctuated by individual periods:
"Shoot. Me. Now."
When a televised biography can make you laugh as well as think, there's absolutely no reason not to watch it...
Bob Schieffer: Having Candidates Scrap Debate Rules Would be "The Dream"
October 13, 2008 10:45 AM
While interviewing CBS's Bob Schieffer for my Broadcasting & Cable column, about his preparations and expectations for Wednesday's final 2008 presidential debate, I threw him what might have been a curve, but which he caught gracefully and gratefully.
I asked him about the live 2005 West Wing episode in which Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits -- playing, respectively, a maverick Republican senator and a charismatic minority Democrat -- impulsively scrapped the established rules and agreed to conduct a no-holds-barred actual debate on live TV. Schieffer had indeed seen it, so asked him: What if, on Wednesday, John McCain and Barack Obama did the same thing?
"You know what?" Schieffer said to me, after he stopped laughing heartily. "If they did that, I would say, 'Gentlemen, have at it.' I would lean back in my chair, and I would probably enjoy it more than anyone else. That would be the dream, wouldn't it?"
Schieffer is the last best hope for one good debate to come out of this election cycle, so I wish him luck, whether or not he gets to moderate. For my full Broadcasting & Cable column with Schieffer, click here.
And, for a Broadcasting & Cable sidebar with a few extra quotes from that interview, including Schieffer's opinion of Jon Stewart, click here.
Finally, since I'm steering traffic that way anyway, I may as well finish (and reduce my own word count for the day) by providing one final link, to my Broacasting & Cable blog review of tonight's My Own Worst Enemy on NBC, starring Christian Slater as a man with two identities. To read that, click here. (I like the headline: "My Minds Are Made Up About NBC's 'My Own Worst Enemy.'")
Hey -- working on this website, while also writing for Broacasting & Cable, teaching college, appearing on Fresh Air and working on my Smothers Brothers book, I know how he feels about multiple identities...
Funny Thing: Politics Makes Comedians Work Overtime
October 10, 2008 7:43 AM
The 2008 presidential election campaign is no laughing matter. Except, on TV, it really is. Big time.
Tina Fey, on NBC's Saturday Night Live, has scored a coup for the ages by devastatingly imitating Sarah Palin. Jon Stewart, on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, just canceled a planned vacation week next week, because this was too volatile -- and politically rich -- a news cycle to ignore.
And Thursday's premiere of NBC's Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday (worst title for anything since, oh, Dictionary of Teleliteracy) proved that, yes, SNL could reach new viewers, and please old ones, with a temporary spinoff of "Weekend Update."
A half hour leaves time for a standard "Update" -- fake news and a few guests -- and what would have been the SNL cold open this week: a spoof of the Tom Brokaw-moderated second presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain.
But with SNL in reruns (Michael Phelps? How long ago does THAT seem?), the debate spoof was perfectly timed, and completely welcome. Darrell Hammond as McCain, and Fred Armisen as Obama, hit all the respective talking points, and Bill Murray showed up, for an unannounced cameo, to ask one of the questions from the debate audience.
But the skit's biggest laugh came from a visual joke, poking fun at the awkward camera angles in which McCain sometimes walked into Obama's camera. That the studio audience recognized that instantly, and was delighted by it, shows just how closely people are watching these debates.
Armisen reappeared, during the "Update" segment, with Will Forte, playing Hall & Oates and offering a clever musical tribute to both candidates. But the strongest part of Thursday's premiere was the "Update" newscast itself, anchored by Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers. Whether by effort or accident, the segment had an unusually high batting average, at one point scoring three laugh-out-loud jokes in a row.
Read them below -- then tune in next week for more.
AMY POEHLER: "At a rally on Saturday, Sarah Palin attempted to recite a quote from Madeleine Albright that she read off a Starbucks cup. She then summed up her views on energy by claiming, 'America runs on Dunkin.' "
SETH MEYERS: "Last week, dozens of movie and television productions in India's Bollywood shut down as actors and crew members went on strike. Hopefully, the dispute can be resolved by the people who control Bollywood -- the buh-Jews."
SETH MEYERS: "A friend of O.J. Simpson says that before the start of his trial, he broke up with Christine Prody, his girlfriend of 10 years. Well, he didn't O.J. break up with her, he just regular broke up with her."
Lots of New Shows Tonight, But Only Some Are Worthwhile
October 9, 2008 9:36 AM
Tonight's biggest must-see show is one that NBC didn't send for preview, because it couldn't. It's the premiere of the first of several October prime-time Thursday special editions of "Weekend Update," broadcast live at 9:30 p.m. ET. Plan your night around that, for starters. As for the rest...
Eleventh Hour, a new CBS series premiering at 10 p.m. ET, is one of three new shows unveiled tonight that are Americanized versions of series from other countries. Eleventh Hour and ABC's Life on Mars (10 p.m. ET) get their inspiration from British shows, and NBC's Kath & Kim (8:30 p.m. ET) is inspired -- if that's the word -- by a long-running Australian sitcom.
Add those to ABC's Ugly Betty, CBS's Survivor and NBC's The Office, all based on shows from other countries, and you have 6 of tonight's 14 prime-time commercial broadcast network offerings -- almost half -- adapted from "foreign" TV.
But back to Eleventh Hour. The original series starred Patrick Stewart. The CBS version stars Rufus Sewell, with Marley Shelton as his sidekick. He plays a biochemical expert assigned to the FBI, and this Americanized attempt plays like X-Files Lite. It's neither horrible nor memorable, and has none of the wit or chemistry of Fox's Fringe, which mines similar territory. Skip Eleventh Hour, and stick to the Fringes.
Another premiere tonight, over on the FX cable network, is Testees, premiering at 10:30 ET. I've seen only the pilot episode, and I'm not sure quite what to think -- except that I think some parts are too crude, others too obvious, but still others pretty amusing. Overall, there's an outlandish originality to this show's premise, which has two thirtysomething slackers, Peter (Steve Markle) and Ron (Jeff Kassel), raising money each week by volunteering as human guinea pigs at a bizarre research facility.
Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, I'll review on Friday, after I've seen the Thursday opener. As for Kath & Kim (don't) and Life on Mars (do), I review them today on the Broadcasting & Cable website, and I may as well cross-reference, and cross-promote, myself by including the link HERE.
Otherwise, I'll just say that the added treats in Life on Mars -- which stars Jason O'Mara as a cop who suddenly time-shifts from 2008 to 1973, and features Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli and Gretchen Mol -- include some great period music, one monumental architectural image, a great Imperioli mustache, and an incredulous bartender being asked by the time-traveling hero for a Diet Coke. ("Now that would be something, huh?" he says of the drink, which wasn't introduced until 1982).
And that the only treat in Kath & Kim is to count how many times the simple-minded main characters, played by Molly Shannon and Selma Blair, get so distracted by something, they act like cats teased by a flashy or fast-moving object. And believe me, it's not worth the effort.
Who Came Out Ahead in the Second Presidential Debate? "That One..."
October 8, 2008 10:39 AM
In the post-debate analysis of Tuesday's second prime-time faceoff between presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, Jeff Greenfield told Katie Couric on CBS that the key water-cooler topic the next day was certain to be McCain's dismissive reference to his Democratic opponent as "that one." Good call.
One of the undecided voters invited by CBS to comment on the debate termed McCain's remark "disrespectful," and it was noted by most other network analysts as well. Just by not being similarly dismissive, Obama could claim a victory of sorts in a debate that otherwise played as less than decisive.
But the other focus, even on NBC -- the network of debate moderator Tom Brokaw -- was the constricting, frustrating format of this alleged "town hall" debate.
Brian Williams objected to it being called a town hall at all, because there was so little interaction between audience and candidates, much less between the two candidates. Greenfield, on CBS, told Katie Couric that, once again, Obama looked at McCain directly, while McCain seldom did.
With three debates down (two presidential, one vice presidential) and only one more to go, it now falls to Bob Schieffer of CBS, the moderator of next week's final debate, to give us a shot at one 2008 big-ticket debate that allows for actual exchanges of opinion and challenges of position.
So far, it's all been sound bites and quick snipes. Too many questions ignored, too few answered, and almost no opportunity for true follow-up. And with only one debate left, the stakes for the candidates become higher -- and the chances that the debate will be an informative and impressive one become a bit lower.
Tina Fey As Sarah Palin: One of the All-Time Greats In the "SNL" Political Pantheon
October 6, 2008 10:36 AM
She's only been strutting her stuff on the national stage for a month now, yet she gets more confident, more riveting, and more anticipated with each appearance. She's amazing to watch, and more talked about, right now, than anyone else with whom she's staring the stage.
I'm talking, of course, about Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin -- as played by Tina Fey...
Even though she left Saturday Night Live and launched her own terrific TV series, 30 Rock, Fey was called back into duty because of her uncanny resemblance to Palin. SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels said he didn't cast her, the country did -- and if that's the case, the country has made one brilliant choice already regarding this 2008 presidential campaign.
Fey isn't just good as Sarah Palin, isn't just a passable doppelganger, isn't just a funny mimic. She has distilled and captured the essence of Sarah Palin into comic elements that are both undeniable and unforgettable.
A wink here, a smile there, a pose here, a rambling sentence there, a killer of an accent and an ease with speaking directly to the camera -- Fey, in fewer than a handful of appearances on Saturday Night Live, has added her name to the list of the show's very best political impersonators in the show's 33-year history. And it's an amazing feat, since before September, Fey was best known not for playing any character, but for writing and anchoring "Weekend Update."
But now look. Already, Fey's Sarah Palin deserves to be remembered and revered alongside such memorable Saturday Night Live political players as:
CHEVY CHASE as GERALD FORD -- The first SNL shot at a sitting president, done in 1975 without Chase even bothering to attempt any physical or vocal impersonation. All he did was bumble and stumble and act stupid -- and, in those days, that was enough.
DAN AYKROYD AND JOHN BELUSHI as Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger -- When Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's The Final Days was published, recounting Nixon's waning moments in the White House, the account of Nixon kneeling with Kissinger was re-enacted by these two SNL buddies in a laceratingly funny, yet sadly surreal, sketch. Aykroyd also gave us a Jimmy Carter with a dazzling smile.
DANA CARVEY as GEORGE H.W. BUSH -- Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture to not mention Carvey's great work as Bush I -- or, for that matter, as H. ROSS PEROT.
JON LOVITZ as MICHAEL DUKAKIS -- It was only one line, during a debate spoof pitting him against Carvey's Bush. But what a line: "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy." The entire election campaign, in a one-sentence nutshell.
PHIL HARTMAN as RONALD REAGAN -- This was more than just impersonation. This was fabulous fantasy -- a sketch that imagined Reagan as the affable, genial communicator in public, but a ruthless, take-command Chief Executive behind closed doors. The late Hartman also gets credit for his addled portrayal of Perot's running mate, Admiral James "Why am I here?" Stockdale.
WILL FERRELL as GEORGE W. BUSH -- Jason Sudeikis does Bush II very well, but Ferrell honed in on the frat-boy side of the President -- and nailed it.
DARRELL HAMMOND as BILL CLINTON and DICK CHENEY -- With both, not only are the impersonations uncanny, but there's something extra. For Clinton, Hammond brings a rock star's assurance that a dazzling smile, like the one on Aykroyd's Carter, will forgive anything. And for Cheney, Hammond brings a crooked cartoon-character smile that suggests he doesn't care about being forgiven. Just winning.
Fey, as Palin, belongs with these classic characters. And with NBC launching a month-long series of prime-time SNL specials this Thursday, expect to see more of her, not less, in the weeks remaining until the election.
Sarah Palin can run, but she can't hide. Well, she can try, but Fey will be out there anyway.
Dissecting the Debate: One More Episode in This Season's Best TV Drama
October 3, 2008 7:51 AM
I'm hesitant to dissect Thursday's vice presidential debate in political terms. But in TV terms -- looking at performances, drama and its place as the most compelling television drama of the season -- there's a lot worth noting...
First, its effectiveness as live TV. No less so than Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impersonations on Saturday Night Live, the real Palin's appearance opposite Joe Biden was must-see TV. (Fey's bits have been seen much more online than on TV, making them more like Must-See Downloads, but that's an issue for another day.)
The unpredictability, the not knowing what was coming next, was what made those 90 minutes fly by so quickly. Unpredictability, it appears, is a big part of Palin's conversational style whenever she strays from the script. Whether being interviewed by Katie Couric, or aiming to fill two minutes of debate time without answering the question, her approach is somewhat free-form.
When on solid ground, Palin is an assured, casual, ingratiating speaker. She even winked at the camera -- no doubt a first for anyone running on a presidential ticket. And in deflecting question after question by retreating to remarks on energy policy, Palin handled the first half of the debate adeptly, using the time constraints -- and moderator Gwen Ifill's too-general questions -- to her advantage.
But caught unprepared, whether at the podium or in one of her rare media interviews, Palin talks the way college students who didn't study for a blue-book exam write. Start anywhere, say anything, repeat a lot, and just go with whatever pops into your mind until time or space runs out. That's not a political observation, just a stylistic one.
When she proudly said she wouldn't answer questions the way Ifill or Biden expected, she actually was rejecting the very terms of the debate in which she had agreed to appear. Yet since she got away with it, that has to count as a very successful tactic. (Or strategy. I'm sure John McCain can explain the difference.)
Palin's big victory at the debate was that she exceeded, by a wide margin, the low expectations set for her. Biden, too, avoided any major gaffes, and each side scored one easily repeatable sound bite.
Palin's was her feisty "Say it ain't so, Joe" rejoinder, complaining that he once again insisted on referring to the Republican and McCain track record. (But since McCain is so big on accountability, how can his ticket ridicule an opponent for referring to the past? Never mind. I guess that IS political. Nothing to see here. Move on.)
Biden's best sound bite was soundless, when he choked up talking about his own past family hardships, and countered Palin's hockey-mom status with his own single-dad story.
Overall, most networks seemed to give the slight edge to Biden, but gave Palin her due -- the first time in a week there was an opportunity to do so. The narrative now shifts back to the top of the respective tickets, and Tuesday's second presidential debate.
It's clearer than ever, now that most of the new TV series have arrived and been met with an underwhelming response, that the most dramatic and compelling TV series of 2008 is this election campaign.
And unlike the Nielsen ratings, which arrive overnight, the final tally for this one won't be in for another month...
Tonight's Vice Presidential Debate: Three Predictions, One Recommendation
October 2, 2008 10:39 AM
Just to set the table for tonight's one and only vice presidential debate between Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden, here are three predictions... and one recommendation...
PREDICTION ONE: This debate will end up drawing the most viewers of any vice presidential debate in history. Not only that, it'll outdraw the first John McCain-Barack Obama debate, and the two others to come, as well.
PREDICTION TWO: No matter what happens, Biden will be criticized in some quarters of sexist behavior, charged with being either too condescending or too harsh towards Palin.
PREDICTION THREE: No matter what happens, moderator Gwen Ifill of PBS wil be criticized in some quarters of sexist behavior of her own, charged with being either too gentle or too harsh with Palin or Biden.
RECOMMENDATION ONE: As soon as the debate is over, run through the channels like you're playing a video game. Speed counts. Listen, and listen fast, to what they have to say at the broadcast and cable networks -- and at BBC America. It all matters, and it all will be, at the very least, interesting.
But whatever you do, watch this damned thing tonight. TV doesn't get much more important than this...
"Friday Night Light" Returns -- But Where? And What is NBC Thinking?
October 1, 2008 12:28 PM
Friday Night Lights, the fabulous NBC drama series about a high-school football team and the town obsessed by it, returns tonight for its third season. But this time, for now, it's not on NBC. Good luck finding it...
It's easy to find, actually, but only if you have satellite TV -- specifically, DirecTV. That's where Friday Night Lights, starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton as coach Eric Taylor and his wife Tami, returns tonight at 9 ET. It can be found on the 101 Network, which is DirecTV's fancy-schmancy name for its channel 101.
Why is it there, instead of on NBC? It's on DirecTV because the second season of Friday Night Lights was cut short by the writers' strike. Instead of filming new episodes after the strike to complete the season, NBC decided to cut its losses. The network almost decided to cut the show, but opted instead to enter into an unusual partnership with DirecTV.
In exchange for absorbing part of the cost, DirecTV would get first dibs on a shortened third season of 13 new episodes. Those begin rolling out tonight. When they've all been shown, sometime early next year, NBC will begin televising them. Friday Night Lights fans without DirecTV, or friends who have DirecTV, will have to wait until then.
It'll be worth the wait. (I review the new season on today's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and you can hear my report after 3 p.m. ET HERE.) But as happy as I am to see Friday Night Lights reach a third season, regardless of how, I have to question NBC's wisdom, or lack of it, in this better-late-than-never approach.
NBC, at this point in its history, doesn't seem to care much at all about network exclusivity. My Own Worst Enemy, one of its best new shows, doesn't premiere until Oct. 13 -- but if you don't want to wait, you can go to NBC's own website and watch it starting next Monday, a week early.
Episodes of NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent were shown first on the USA Network. Last season, as an experiment, NBC picked up broadcast rights to Quarterlife, the excellent series of webisodes created for the Internet. NBC's version was canceled immediately, and the remaining episodes burned off on Bravo.
With all of these projects, whatever enthusiasm they generated, for the most part, was visited upon the medium that presented them first. Friday Night Lights got a lot of glowing reviews today, in newspapers and on websites -- but are likely to get a lot less coverage when NBC finally gets around to recycling them in the dead of winter.
Allowing website visitors to get early access to shows on your network is a strategy I just don't understand. For network TV to survive, just as for newspapers to survive, it can't be all about the number of hits on the website. You have to offer your loyal base a reason to keep coming back -- and for TV, the most compelling reasons are those shows. Don't give them away elsewhere, or wait in line to show them.
Show them first, show them exclusively, and show the best. By those criteria, Friday Night Lights would be available tonight -- but to all TV owners, on NBC.
I'm just saying...
