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Open Mic

What Should Have Been the Midnight Call of Moonves, Iger, Carey and Burke Expressing Their Rage Over What Happened Because of the Replacement Refs on ‘Monday Night Football’

I am not a sports fanatic. But I do enjoy watching most sports on TV when I have the time. I’ve watched some of the NFL games since the league has locked out the refs in a contract dispute, and…

Sep 25, 2012

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Emmy? It’s Not That Hard if the Guilds Have the Resolve to Do It

Am I the only one who remembers this? In the days before TV and the Emmys, there was radio and the Mega-Hertzies. I recall sitting on my mom’s lap years ago when FDR spoke into a mike to accept his…

Sep 25, 2012

‘Mad Men,’ ‘Girls,’ ‘Hatfields,’ ‘Homeland’ and More: Top TV Writers Sound Off About the Emmys

Television writers may not have the glitz and glam of actors, but they definitely have the wittiness and self-effacing factors down pat. That’s why it’s always such a pleasure to attend the annual Sublime Primetime event, honoring Emmy-nominated writers. This…

Sep 21, 2012

Won’t Get Fooled Again. Simon Cowell Is Not Quite the Truth Teller We Thought He Was — He’s Got More P.T. Barnum in Him Than One Might Have Suspected. What Cowell Left Out of Last Week’s ‘X Factor’

As “The X Factor” begins the second week of its second season tonight, Sept. 19, 2012, one hopes that the show will become more transparent. Yes, I realize that almost all “reality” shows involve a certain amount of audience manipulation,…

Sep 19, 2012

Creative Arts Emmy Awards Marked by F-Bombs and Other Awkward Moments That Aren’t Likely to Make It Into the TV Version

There are many things viewers will not see when ReelzChannel airs a cut-down version of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards that took place Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. It should not diminish any of…

Sep 18, 2012

A Movie to Bring Out the Beast in You. The Five-Year-Old, Oprah and Obama. Familiar Yet Astonishingly Original

Oh God, I thought to myself, here we go again. I was being dragged to a movie that I knew I’d hate. It had several things going against it. First, it had won a major award at the Cannes Film…

Aug 23, 2012

#nbcfail Failed to See the Bigger Olympics Picture

One of the oddest items I’ve read lately about NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympics was this sentence from SportsGrid.com: “The numbers [meaning ratings] are working in [NBC’s] favor, even if public opinion is not.” It’s nonsensical. The loudest shouting…

Aug 14, 2012

Reunion of Celebrity Couple Highlights ‘Mother of All Roasts’

“Welcome to menopause-apalooza,” said Jane Lynch, opening up the show. The star of "Glee," who is rapidly becoming the female equivalent of Neil Patrick Harris when it comes to classy/comedic hosting and in this case roasting, was likely referring to…

Aug 10, 2012

Aaron Sorkin Stares Down Critics of HBO’s ‘The Newsroom’

Flanked by series star Jeff Daniels and executive producer Alan Poul, Aaron Sorkin was in the hot seat as he took questions about “The Newsroom” during a spirited session last week at the Television Critics Association summer press tour from…

Aug 7, 2012

What NBC Can Learn From the BBC — and Vice Versa — About Televising the Olympics. Observations From the Former GM of an NBC Affiliate

[Note: This guest blog entry is written by Bill Bauman. For many years Bauman was the GM of WESH, Hearst Television’s NBC affiliate serving Orlando, Fla. He retired five years ago. We received the following essay along with this email…

Aug 6, 2012