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Open Mic

Jeff Gaspin’s Hollywood Blind Spot and Why the Leno/Conan Plan Was Destined to Fail

Jeff Gaspin is a likable man. Furthermore, Gaspin comes across as a particularly forthcoming high-ranking TV executive, not as ego-protective as many in similar positions. As we’ve noted here before , at a recent gathering earlier this month of those…

Jan 27, 2010

With Conan Soon to Go Off-Air, and Thus the End to Latenightgate, the Most Fun We’ve Had Watching TV in A Long Time Will Also End. But Don’t Fret–Here’s How to Continue Laffing

The new golden age of latenight, which started a few weeks ago when we heard that Leno’s primetime show was going to be cancelled and that he was going back to a latenight slot, will likely end this week, and…

Jan 21, 2010

Reflections on the Golden Globes

Move over “30 Rock.” Here comes “Glee.” Fox’s freshman comedy series about a high school glee club took critics and viewers by storm this season, and now it can add a Golden Globe award to its songbook. Two of its…

Jan 18, 2010

Here’s Proof of Jay’s Hypocrisy

It’s been amusing to watch apologists for NBC and Jay Leno explain away Conan O’Brien’s brilliant and shockingly candid "People of Earth" letter. But lest anyone think that the Dick Ebersols of the world are anything less than lying, despicable…

Jan 18, 2010

Behind the Leno Move: Why NBC is Suddenly So Interested In the Brotherly Love of Its Affiliates

Aaron Barnhart, the TV Critic at the Kansas City Star and our longtime colleague, raised the issue immediately in Sunday’s Q&A between TV critics and reporters and Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment: Since the reason NBC was…

Jan 11, 2010

A Toast to the 20th Anniversary of ‘The Simpsons’

The record books are re-arranging the rankings, moving “Gunsmoke” down a notch and elevating “The Simpsons.” Yes, Sunday night at 8 p.m. marks a special moment in television history: “The Simpsons” will officially celebrate its 20th anniversary, becoming the longest-running…

Jan 8, 2010

Defining a Decade: How the Aughties Changed TV

Think back to the year 2000. Ah, yes. Y2K, those innocent days before 9/11, when reality television was just making major inroads with the huge popularity of “Survivor,” before Jack Bauer became a ticking terrorist ass-kicker, before “American Idol” changed…

Jan 8, 2010

Why You Should Attend This Month’s CES and NATPE Conventions

With the New Year’s holiday now over, it’s time to get back to business for those of us who work in the TV industry. And that means right away. There are two major conventions in January, both in Las Vegas:…

Jan 5, 2010