The WGA is engaging in talks but that doesn't mean that the Oscars still aren't in danger. For an idea of what the economic impact of a canceled Oscars will be check out the diagram to the right from the 01/28/2008 issue of Business Week. Obviously the entire dollar amount is not exclusive to Los Angeles but a significant portion of it is localized ($26.5 million on limos, security, and gifts??). After reading some comments about the WGA strike here at LAist it's obvious that a lot of people are in pain over this but it's seems silly to me to blame the writers for the situation - this is a chance for all the affected industries to put pressure on the producers, studios, and networks to be a little less greedy. more ›

Hey check it, yours truly was invited to contribute some commentary to this ABCNEWS.com article (I'm on page 2). Thanks for your support! more ›

So The Colber(t) Repor(t) and The Daily Show are back and while Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Conan are all nimble on their feet, and very funny and engaging, it's amazing how the success of all these shows really comes down to the writing. It's great to have them all back on the air and it does provide us all with some late night alternatives, but I hope NBC, ABC, and Viacom come to their senses and end this. The ball is in their court. more ›

It's not really a big Wednesday, I'm just making a reference to the obscure and awful surfer flick starring Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey. I've got a major case of the munchies as I write this so tonight's primetime is all about food for me. 8:00pm Back To You FOX - Series Premiere - oops, NOT[TD]. I'm not so sure I want to give Kelsey Grammar another chance on network TV. I would like... more ›

Holy jeebus my eyeballs are gonna fall out. There's about a 1/2 dozen series premieres and a 1/2 dozen season premieres tonight. Unfortnately the only new thing calling my name is the Bionic Woman (9:00pm NBC) but that's based on junior high school fantasies and not what I've seen so far of this show. Prime time offers such an overabundance of mediocrity I'm tempted to head off to TCM at 8:00pm and watch the... more ›

Am sorry to report the K-Ville is nothing more than another cop show. A shootout an car chase 8 minutes into it? Tough guy Anthony Anderson 's character crying in the first 15 minutes? I don't know how this show could redeem itself, I essentially tuned out after the first 20 minutes. I'll tell you what though, Saving Grace somewhat redeemed itself what with Holly Hunter's bare butt being the focal point of the... more ›

The season 3 premiere of FX's It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is the pick of the night. This is arguably Danny DeVito's best work since L.A. Confidential and his best comedy work in almost 20 years. While it's true that since it's cable the cast can say "shit" and "asshole" but that's not a gimmick the show relies on too much. What the show does follow is what made Seinfeld a success - it's a... more ›

All week long, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Senior War Correspondent Rob Riggle will provide actual in-depth coverage and insights from the front lines of Iraq throughout the country where he was embedded with the troops. This is real reporting from Iraq, not Rob standing in front of a green screen in New York - way after all the networks have found it both too depressing and too "negative" to report from Iraq.... more ›

Late night is pretty good tonight - will have to make some tough choices or be handy with the remote. 8:00pm Big Brother CBS - Who gets the boot? 8:30pm The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer TCM - The always dapper Cary Grant squares off against a frigid but hot Myrna Loy and avoids the attentions of a grown up and horny Shirley Temple - a classic. 10:00pm Mad Men AMC - This is the... more ›

A Word or 56+/-: I guess Tuesday's are Ida Lupinow filmfests on TCM - why, god why? How about a Terry Thomas filmfest for effssake? If you want to watch new stuff tonight you'll have to head over to PBS. And hey, Colbert has a "surprise guest that rhymes with Steagle" tonight. Bugsy Siegel? Tonight - Tuesday - June 12th, 2007 Dodgers @ Jays (KCAL, 4:00 p.m.) Astros @ Angels (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.)... more ›

A Word or 39: It feels like Wednesdays are going to be the night with new programming this time of year. It feels like it, but it doesn't look like it since not much of this stuff is watchable. Hidden Palms?? For effsake. Tonight - Wednesday - June 13th, 2007 Mets @ Dodgers (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Hidden Palms (the CW, 8:00 p.m.) Country club party time The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest... more ›

A Word or 56+/-: Even the movie selections suck tonight unless you want to watch an Ida Lupinow filmfest on TCM, which I really don't want to do. I'm superexcited to see Parker Posey on Late Late and hopefully I'll catch Feist on Conan after switching over. Tonight - Tuesday - June 12th, 2007 Mets @ Dodgers (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Angels @ Reds (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) On the Lot (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) The... more ›

A Word or 100+: Ooops, I missed the Tonys, malhereusement. If there's a pick tonight, other than arena football, then it's the US version of Creature Comforts on CBS at 8:00 p.m. (from the creator of Wallace and Gromit). I love the UK version but my kids have a hard time with the various British accents and some of the various topics - I know it's a lot to ask for but I'm hoping... more ›

A Word or 54 (or so): I know that there are some folks who are happy to be getting a few new episodes of the doomed Studio 60 - enjoy it while you can. Funny how there is no cohesive letter-writing campaign to save that one, at least not a campaign that is getting any press. Tonight - Thursday - June 7th, 2007 Dodgers @ Padres (KCAL, 7:00 p.m.) Pirate Master (CBS, 8:00 p.m.)... more ›

A Word or 77 (or so): ABC has a lineup of new episodes and shows tonight - bucking the other networks, with the exception of Fox and the CW, who were always trend-buckers [hey, I said "buckers" ok, you dirty-minded individuals]. You might have also seen on the AP that the kids are trying to keep Jericho on the air - if CBS doesn't want to run it, they should sell it. I always... more ›

A Word or 26: Welcome to the land of reruns and late night TV. Someone give me a heads up on other stuff on basic cable that's perhaps worth watching. Tonight - Tuesday - June 5th, 2007 Dodgers @ Padres (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Twins @ Angels (Fox Sports, 7:00 p.m.) On the Lot (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) The first 5 finalists present their films. The Sea Wolf (TCM, 8:30 p.m.) Edward G. Robinson stars in... more ›

A Word or 53: Idol and Lost finish up tonight. Am pleased to see Apolo win DWTS - 24 ended with a 'blah' and as you can see we have very little in the way of new programming. Enjoy the unending Dukefest on TCM. I guess this time of year is why we have baseball to watch. Tonight - Wednesday - May 23, 2007 John Wayne's 100th Birthday (TCM, ALL DAY) Nothing but John... more ›

A Word or 76: Finale-fest tonight! Enjoy now because re-runs and other sub-par programming is all we have on the horizon. Tonight - Tuesday - May 22, 2007 Brewers @ Dodgers (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Angels @ Tigers (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) NCIS (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) The team's secrets unravel Dateline NBC (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Author John Grisham discusses wrongful murder case The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) The fiancee is chosen(!)... more ›

A Word or 3: Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy! Tonight - Monday - May 21, 2007 Brewers @ Dodgers (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Dancing With the Stars (ABC, 8:00 p.m.) The final 3 pairs Heroes (NBC, 9:00 p.m.) Pain and peril in Kirby Plaza - try to stop an exploding man 24 (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) 2 hours of Jack The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman (ABC, 9:30 p.m.) Just 2 bachelorettes left. Law & Order: Criminal Intent... more ›

A Word or, I dunno, like 80: It seems to be coming together a bit on Lost - another good episode last night. If you want the producers' perspective, they're on tonight after Grey's. Delay goes to his base tonight on Colbert. Tonight the networks will have the typical struggle between comedy and young-doctors-in-love, what will you succumb to? Tonight - Thursday - May 17, 2007 Angels @ Mariners (Fox Sports, 7:00 p.m.) Bob... more ›

A Word or 52: TV icon Bob Barker is retiring and is getting a big sendoff from CBS. Lost will be killing us by not giving us any additional info about Locke. Idol will knock another one off. There are no decent movies on TCM or IFC to go take refuge from regular broadcast TV tonight. Tonight - Wednesday - May 9, 2007 Angels @ Mariners (Fox Sports, 7:00 p.m.) Cardinals @ Dodgers (PRIME,... more ›

A Word or 76: CBS lineup tonight is wiped out by the CMAs and unless you are up for a Sir Laurence Olivier marathon on TCM then there's no movies on. I'm getting kind of sick of the parade of authors on late night TV, particularly Comedy Central - who the eff has time to read when there's so much bad TV? Speaking of bad TV, we're down to the final 3 on both... more ›

A Word or 146: It was fun to watch Molly Shannon on SNL. In general it was a great broadcast and she was just as funny now as she was then but who could really care about Linkin Park? Less fun is reading about the continuing poor decision-making by the networks in their upcoming program development. NBC is trying to cover all it's bases milking Heroes, their only good horse in the running, by creating... more ›

A Word or 17: Season finales are upon us friends, keep your eyes open for your favorite shows wrapping things up. Tonight - Thursday - May 10, 2007 Indians @ Angels (Fox Sports, 7:00 p.m.) Dodgers @ Marlins (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Survivor: Fiji (CBS, 8:00 p.m.) Major challenges this evening. My Name Is Earl/The Office/Scrubs (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Season Finale!/Will Michael be replaced?/JD and Turk head to a surgeon convention Smallville/Supernatural (the CW, 8-10:00... more ›

A Word or 34: Lots of new TV tonight, too bad that most of it is garbage. Potentially entertaining late night talk show guests include: Jane Fonda, Salman Rushdie, Antonio Banderas, Evangeline Lilly, Joe Rogan, and Steven Wright. Tonight - Wednesday - May 9, 2007 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) Revel in the debauchery. Indians @ Angels (Fox Sports, 7:00 p.m.) Dodgers @ Marlins (PRIME, 7:30 p.m.) Jericho/Criminal Minds/CSI: NY... more ›

A Word or 10: I hope Jon Stewart rips Tenet a new one tonight. Tonight - Tuesday - May 8, 2007 Indians @ Angels (KCAL, 7:00 p.m.) NCIS/The Unit (CBS, 8-10:00 p.m.) Murder victim found in taxi, Jenny discovers a "secret"/The team is having past mission infractions investigated Dateline NBC (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) NBC exploits families looking for loved ones Gilmore Girls/Veronica Mars (the CW, 8-10:00 p.m.) Rory's graduation party/Verionica investigates the disappearance of... more ›

A Word or 89(approx): One thing I didn't mention over the weekend was Sunday's SNL In the '90s because I thought it woudl suck. I was right. First, why did it take them 7 years to come up with this 2 hours of dreck? Second, the equal emphasis of the (pathetic) music acts and the comedy was a mistake - the show is an hour and a half with 2 songs in it, the... more ›

A Word or 52(approx): Gouge away if you wish, but Lost was excellent last night. I need some comic relief tonight so it's My Name Is Earl in Smellovision (go get your TV Guide now with the Smell Card) and the Office for me - I can't commit to more than that, I have a couple bottles of beer waiting for me. Tonight - Thursday - May 3, 2007 Angels @ Royals (FoxSports, 7:00... more ›

A Word or 4 dozen : Somehow I totally missed posting that the Shield was on last night and again it was good. I think one would be hard-pressed to find more raw and compelling performances on any other show available on the networks or basic cable. Being a former SF resident, I haven't been able to get enough of Conan's broadcast from the Orpheum theater on Market Street- too bad that's still bum-junkie... more ›

Tonight - Tuesday - May 1, 2007 NCIS/The Unit (CBS, 8-10:00 p.m.) This week the gimmick is a blind photographer - dude, what's your Flickr site?/Parachute malfunction Brando (TCM, 8-??) Biography of Marlon Brando followed by several of his films, starting with A Streetcar Named Desire. Dateline NBC (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Boys confess to 2004 murder of 12-year-old girl Gilmore Girls/Veronica Mars (the CW, 8-10:00 p.m.) Lorelai eating, drinking, shopping, karaoke/Veronica investigates vandalism of... more ›