The tops on the tube

First, what's not on my 10-best list. Shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Six Feet Under" broke no new ground in 2002 but remained quality viewing choices. The nation's TV critics broke new ground digging the grave of "The Anna Nicole Smith Show." Alas, like the undead celebrity whose so-called life it chronicled, "Anna Nicole" lived on. Video description, a service offering lively play-by-play of TV shows for the blind, came of age in 2002. Sadly, a federal court this fall struck down the government's new rule requiring networks to describe a teensy portion of their prime-time schedules. (Kudos to the networks for continuing to describe shows, at least for now.) Finally, these highlights just missed my best-of-the-year list: the first season of "The Osbournes"; two limited-run series from ABC's embattled news division, "Nightline UpClose" and "State v."; "Our America," a Showtime movie about urban violence; "Super Commercials," a PBS special that cheekily dissembled Super Bowl TV ads; the "M*A*S*H" reunion; Fox's "John Doe" and "Cedric the Entertainer Presents"; and a wonderful murder - a phrase I thought I would never use - that marked Joe Pantoliano's exit from "The Sopranos." 10. "Dr. Phil" (syndicated). David Letterman loves to amuse himself playing sound bites of TV's most popular shrink. Truth be told, though, some days the doc is funnier than Dave. Phil McGraw's phenomenal debut this fall proved that he no longer needs Oprah's help. 9. "P.O.V.: Mai's America" (PBS). A Vietnamese exchange student learns about our culture through the cracked lens of her dysfunctional host family. Filmmaker Marlo Poras followed her subject as she spent two tumultuous years in an often funny but ultimately futile pursuit of the American dream. It was the apex of a typically up-and-down season for the "P.O.V." documentary series on PBS. 8. "O2Be" (Oxygen). This catty spoof of what they call "television for women" proved a triumphant return of Lizz Winstead and Brian Unger, who helped put "The Daily Show" on the map. Posing as the surly twins of Regis and Kelly, they shredded daytime TV, "Intimate Portrait" and a certain "Dr. Phred" who "hates because he loves." It seemed the perfect show for a channel that positions itself as the whimsical alternative to Lifetime. Yet as I write this, the geniuses at Oxygen have yet to pick up the option on "O2Be." What are they waiting for? 7. Everest Connections. This spunky competitor to local cable widened its reach in 2002 and added thousands of devoted customers. Some were so devoted that they left long rants on the TV critic's voice mail whenever they sensed a pro-Time Warner bias in his writings. (And I thought Op-Ed had it rough.) Relax, people! I'd be a fool not to cheer on Everest as it drives down prices while driving up service. Heck, I'll probably sign up when it comes to my block - if the company doesn't go under first. 6. "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" (Fox). Much like "Scrubs," another high-performance comedy fuel-injected with dream scenes, this vehicle for Conan's ex-sidekick has won over critics but not viewers. Fox is currently giving "Andy Richter" a second chance; you can see it at 7:30 tonight. 5. "The Wire" (HBO). Perhaps it was a victim of what a colleague termed "HBO overload." Many of us bypassed the latest creation from Baltimore's David Simon ("Homicide," "The Corner"), which aired between seasons of "Six Feet Under" and "The Sopranos." "The Wire's" dense storyline and endless profanity didn't help its cause either. Only recently did I watch the third-through-sixth hours and found myself drawn into Simon's squalid universe of gangsters and detectives locked into orbits of defeated ambition. "The Wire" is that rare show that demands - and rewards - viewer patience. 4. "Frontline: Requiem for Frank Lee Smith" (PBS). There wasn't a dry eye in our house after this moving and persuasive defense of a death-row inmate whose troubling case outlived him. 3. "The Shield" (FX). A lot of people found out where FX was on their cable dials by following the buzz for this genre-busting comic-tragic-antiheroic cop show. Michael Chiklis lost his "Commish" love handle and bulked up on attitude to make his Vic Mackey character the role of the year. His Emmy win stunned much of the industry, but not those who'd been watching. In fact, the cast was loaded with unsung talent, especially CCH Pounder and KU grad Jay Karnes. The show returns in January. 2. "Blue Vinyl" (HBO). Judith Helfand's remarkable indictment of the vinyl industry should be sold in natural-living stores and shown in schools. You may argue with her radical stance on PVCs, but it's harder to dismiss this film's central point: Nothing is cheap. Somewhere, somehow, somebody else is paying for our low-cost, high-consumption way of life. 1. "Frontier House" (PBS). This rueful meditation on American materialism was brilliantly disguised as just another reality show. The premise was to see how three modern-day families would adapt to the harsh conditions of 1880s homestead life in Montana. What emerged was a class war between the spoiled rotten Clunes and the struggling Glenns. The drama on "Frontier House" went far beyond the harmless feuding on "Survivor." The Glenns' marriage actually fell apart before our eyes, while the Clunes snuck off the reservation for some non-frontier food and a box spring. In the series' concluding hour, Mark Glenn wishes he were back in Montana with his wife, his stepkids - and the Clunes, all of them enjoying the simple life, forever removed from the cares of the world. Not so the clueless Clunes, sitting in their Malibu manse, demonstrating how little insight they gleaned from five months of deprivation (they have a new appreciation for modern comforts; well, duh). Consumption without reflection: It's the dominant message not just of TV, but our whole commercial culture. "Frontier House" and "Blue Vinyl," two small dissenting voices in that culture, distinguished themselves from everything else we saw in 2002. A longer version of this article appears on the TV Barn Web site (www.tvbarn.com). @ART CAPTION:Clockwise from bottom left: The Glenns in 'Frontier House'; Michael Chiklis in 'The Shield'; @ART CAPTION:Andy Richter in 'Andy Richter Controls the Universe'; and Sonja Sohn in 'The Wire' @ART:Photos (4) @ART CREDIT:File photos

On Demand is a glimpse of TV's future; System lets viewers watch certain shows whenever they want

Time Warner Cable's new video-on-demand system has been online for a few months now, and it is definitely a work in progress. But it works. The system, called On Demand, was installed this summer in the Kansas City area. If you have a Time Warner digital box, On Demand is ready to use. I've found it terrific for watching movies or HBO programs. Its other offerings are less impressive, and compared with using a DVD player the On Demand system seems clunky and slow-witted. Yet it does offer consumers an actual working model of the video store of the future, where titles are immediately available, there's no driving and, best of all, no late fees. Video-on-demand is the latest version of a concept that has been around since the introduction of the home VCR. The concept is sometimes called "time-shifting." In recent years tapeless video recorders from TiVo and ReplayTV have made it more user-friendly. As a TV critic, I find my TiVo indispensable. But these recorders have been slow to catch on; fewer than 2 percent of homes have one. By contrast, nearly half of Time Warner customers locally have a digital box. On Demand is much like the familiar pay-per-view ordering system known as In Demand, but with greater immediacy. There are no scheduled airtimes for On Demand programs; you simply order from a menu and begin watching right away. Using the buttons on your remote control, you can pause, rewind or fast-forward the movie, so it's like a DVD - sort of. This is beyond mere time-shifting. After a while, it dawns on you how ridiculous it is being tethered to a TV schedule. Sure, you could've tuned in at 8 p.m. Sunday Dec. 8 to watch the season finale of "The Sopranos." With On Demand, though, you could be watching it right now, or later tonight, or next week. And you wouldn't have to remember to set the TiVo. Before we get to HBO and raise the thorny issue of price, however, let's turn to Channel 130 and scan through the 10 channels of free On Demand service, including Food Network, CNN and music videos. Each On Demand channel displays an on-screen menu that looks and acts just like the on-screen program guide. Scroll to whatever you want to see and press the arrowhead-shaped "play" button on your remote. (This is where many newbies have trouble: Make sure the VCR/VOD switch on your remote is set to VOD, for video-on-demand.) If you need to stop the program, you can press either "pause" or "stop." Either way, pressing "play" resumes where you left off - even if you change channels or choose another On Demand program. That's the cool part. Otherwise, On Demand can't hold a candle to DVDs. There's only one speed for fast forward, pausing is hardly instantaneous, and forget about instant replay. Each time you press a button, you're sending a command to a video server a few miles from your house. Think of a satellite "bounce" and you have the idea. Sometimes, it's worse. Occasionally a program would simply fail to load. After staring at spinning arrows for a couple of minutes I'd give up. I also had problems with some HBO shows breaking up. The Time Warner rep wondered if repair people had been out to my house to check my line. (They had.) The free programs felt like discards - a handful of "Biographys" (from Jesus Christ to Teri Garr) and a few dusty Cartoon Network shows. The CNN menu included a "Crossfire" from this summer, an Ari Fleischer press conference of uncertain origin and Larry King interviewing zoo guy Jack Hanna. (A Time Warner rep said 25 percent of the free programs are changed each week.) I did learn how to clean up my cluttered closets and cook European pasta from the DIY and Food offerings. That sort of recipe-card instant access might actually be a better way to go for some cable channels that currently rely on scheduling. By contrast, every hot new pay-per-view movie was there for the watching on Channel 101. At $3.95 for eight hours of unlimited use, On Demand is a no-brainer over the old In Demand pay-per-view. (Apparently you agree: More Kansas City customers now order movies through On Demand than In Demand.) There should be little doubt that On Demand is the future of pay television. But how much to charge customers is still an open question. Time Warner is asking $6.95 on top of what you already pay for HBO to get HBO On Demand. The rep pointed out that this surcharge will cover all of a customer's premium channels. In other words, if you subscribe to HBO and Showtime, you still pay only $6.95 for both services' On Demand channels. OK, but Charter cable in St. Louis is charging only $3.99 a month for HBO On Demand. And in other cities, Comcast is experimenting with free On Demand for all its premium channels. (Comcast has not yet announced when On Demand will be coming to its Kansas City customers.) Seven bucks a month is too much to pay for "Sopranos" reruns. Let me offer some free marketing advice to HBO and its sister company Time Warner Cable: Give your On Demand customers new episodes of "The Sopranos" before you air them on HBO - maybe 48 hours in advance - and you've got yourself a deal. @ART CAPTION:With Time Warner Cable's new On Demand system, viewers can watch the season finale of "The Sopranos" any time they want. @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:HBO

Jack Harry to take helm at KSHB sports; Former KCTV voice will be new lead anchor

KSHB, Channel 41, news director Debbie Bush on Wednesday named veteran broadcaster Jack Harry the station's sports director and lead sportscaster. Harry, who spent 27 years at KCTV, Channel 5, will appear on the NBC 41 news at 6 and 10 p.m., as well as the 9 p.m. newscast produced for sister station KMCI, Channel 38. The change will take effect upon the departure of current sports anchor Todd Romero. The station declined to renew his contract, which runs out in February. "(Harry's) a great commentator, he loves sports and he 'gets' Kansas City," Bush said. "That's what's got me so excited." The promotion caps a remarkable 17-month career revival for Harry. Now in his 36th year as a professional broadcaster, the native of Pittsfield, Ill., arguably has never been in greater demand. "I feel very flattered by this," said Harry, who arrived in Kansas City in 1970 to work for WDAF-AM and -TV. He joined Channel 5 in 1974 after a year out of the business. He worked at KCTV until June 2001, when he accepted a buyout deal from the station's owner, Meredith Corp. One month later, Harry was hired by sports talker WHB-AM (810). Earlier this year, he began appearing on KSHB. Harry will continue working part time for both stations. He will anchor the Chiefs post-game show and other specialty programs for WHB. Chad Boeger, general manager of WHB, said there would be natural opportunities for the two stations to promote each other by sharing Harry's talents. "I think it's just great for Jack," Boeger said. "He's been very good for us." Returning to TV has been a sweet and totally unexpected reward for Harry, a no-nonsense journalist who spent most of his career at Channel 5 playing second fiddle. He has not been a lead anchor since 1981, after Don Fortune came to KCTV from KMBC, Channel 9. In recent years, Harry worked as an anchor-reporter. He enjoyed a close working relationship with many area coaches, especially former Missouri head basketball coach Norm Stewart. His retirement last year struck a sentimental chord in many local observers, who thought they were witnessing the end of an era. Sports on television, they said, had become all razzmatazz and attitude. There was no longer room for straight-ahead sportscasters like Harry. A similar chorus was heard this week, following the death of ABC Sports pioneer Roone Arledge. Commentator Allen Barra, writing in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, lamented that Arledge's flashy brand of TV sports had led to the demise of old-school talent, people who "were throwbacks to an earlier style that resisted the broadcaster-as-star trend." People like Jack Harry. "He should get respect," Bush said. "This guy's been in the market 30 years. Let him do his job. "I've told him, 'I don't want you to do it the way everybody else is doing it. You have to do something different.' And he can do it. He's not married to X's and O's and last night's scores." All parties agreed that this has been an awkward transition, since Romero brought Harry on board at KSHB. Romero called up his colleague on the day Harry announced he was leaving Channel 5. "I told him I'd get him some work," Romero said. After Harry's non-compete clause with KCTV expired earlier this year, Romero brought him in as a substitute anchor. Harry became a part-time employee, contributing four to five times a month. The two men spoke on Tuesday, after KSHB broke the news to Romero, and later reaffirmed their high regard for each other. "He was very good to me and I will never forget it," Harry said. Romero said, "I love Jack Harry. He's helped me out. I think he's a great guy, and I wish him the best." Station officials gave Romero three months' notice but did not plan to make an announcement immediately, hoping that he would find employment before his contract expired. Instead, Romero sent out an e-mail to colleagues last month telling them he would be leaving the station. This fueled speculation about his replacement, with Harry's name leading the list. On Wednesday, Harry wanted it known that he would have been happy working only in radio. "It was not my intent to seek this position," he said. Rather, it was Bush who sought him out. Harry made it clear that he wanted to stay with WHB. Furthermore, he had no hankering to return to the grueling 14-hour days put in by full-time sportscasters. "I'm not afraid of work," he said, "but I don't want to run around doing sound bites all day." Harry feels that viewers have become conditioned to seek out scores and highlights on all-sports cable channels or the Internet. "At 10:25 p.m., why are viewers going to stay up and watch us?" Harry asked. "We need to do something different to survive." To that end, Harry will continue to offer his opinion and analysis, as he does on the radio and had been doing on Channel 41's Sunday night newscasts. To handle the other chores, KSHB is hiring a full-time sports producer to coordinate satellite feeds, edit video, write copy and cover breaking news during the day. The producer also will be expected to appear on-camera, offering some relief to the station's other sportscaster, Lisa Holbrook, whose contract was recently renewed. Harry understands the other reason he's being promoted: He's a familiar face viewers recognize. That's why Bush recently scooped up Brian Webb from KCTV, Channel 5, and added him to KSHB's morning news. With KSHB's newscasts in third place at 10 p.m. and even lower-rated the rest of the day, the station can use all the star power it can get. "People at (Channels) 4, 5 and 9 didn't used to have a lot respect for 41," Harry said. "But I've told people these guys are really good. One day this is going to click. I think they're going to be a player. I really do." To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Jack Harry (circa 1980) has covered sports locally since 1970. @ART CREDIT:KCTV @ART CAPTION:Jack Harry @ART:Photos (2, color and b/w)

Betcha can't watch just one of '80s show

You know it's December when the TV highlights of the week are a clip reel and a game show. With reruns and holiday specials filling up the schedule this month, there isn't much new to watch that doesn't involve a guy squeezing into a candy-apple red suit or a curmudgeon turning over a new leaf. That's not to say that any other month I wouldn't have loved "I Love the 80's." This irresistible weeklong tribute to pop culture fads gone by - from "The Love Boat" in 1980 to Hootie and the Blowfish in 1989 - began last night and airs the rest of the week from 8 to 10 p.m. each night on VH1. Designer jeans, the Sugar Hill Gang, "He-Man," "E.T.," the DeLorean, "Return of the Jedi," "Strawberry Shortcake," "That's Incredible!" - on and on it goes, through 10 hours (a year an hour) of sound bites from more than 100 celebs: Traci Lords, Henry Rollins, Beyonce, Michael Moore, the cast of "Law & Order: SVU" (for some reason) and a whole host of whatever-happened-tos - Christopher "The Blue Lagoon" Atkins, Tiffany, Ray Parker Jr. and more. Ex-"Talk Soup" host Hal Sparks, who shows up frequently in the first hour, is hilarious trying to connect the dots between megastar Kenny Rogers' songs and his restaurant: " 'Gambler' - chicken. 'Coward' - chicken." There's no narration, no host, just sound bites and archival video processed into the TV equivalent of potato chips. You start watching, and darned if you can't stop. "I Love the 80's" ingeniously combines the marathon length of a Herman Wouk miniseries with the attention-span demand of an MTV music video. (Remember when MTV aired music videos? Omigawd, how '80s!). If you miss any of the years featured here, VH1 will undoubtedly keep running this thing until "I Love the 90's" is in the can. "WinTuition," 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. weekdays, Game Show Network. It's a fairly ordinary quizzer but for two entertaining twists: Prizes are awarded in the form of college tuition, and many questions are based on things you were taught between first and 12th grade. Answering an English grammar question, a player must know the difference between litotes and metonymy. A round of chemistry questions means guessing whether the pH paper dipped in vinegar will come out red or blue. This might be the first game show since "Jeopardy!" that actually makes viewers feel dumber after watching it. "Jews and Christians: A Journey of Faith," 8 p.m. Wednesday, KCPT, Channel 19. An absorbing, if slow-moving and highly cerebral, exploration of the different paths taken by these two faiths descended from Abraham. The filmmakers, both Jewish, have based their documentary on a book by an evangelical Christian scholar. That sounds like a recipe for a feel-good interfaith project, but that's not this film. Instead "Jews and Christians" argues that the way to build understanding between these faith communities is not to stress their similarities but to illuminate what makes each faith unique. It's not an entirely intellectual undertaking - in one scene, members of an African-American Christian church were filmed making an eye-opening tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. But with more than 40 Jewish and Christian thinkers interviewed on camera, the words and ideas in this documentary take center stage, not the pictures. Listen carefully and you will hear a lively conversation among people of different faiths. The scholars don't literally converse, but that's the effect achieved by the film's intelligent editing. "Hackers: Angels and Outlaws," 9 p.m. Wednesday, TLC. Finally, something on The Learning Channel that you might actually learn from. This one-hour profile of computer hackers and crackers deftly explains the decades-old fascination with breaking into computer networks and how it has gone from an underground game to a serious worldwide problem. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Ian Murphy, the computer hacker known as Captain Zap, is featured on "Hackers: Outlaws and Angels" on TLC. @ART CAPTION:"The Love Boat" and "E.T. - the Extra-Terrestrial" are among the '80s icons featured on VH1's show. @ART:Photos (3, color and b/w) @ART CREDIT:TLC

It's all in the emotions for 'Locket' writer

Richard Paul Evans doesn't write books with reviewers in mind, which in his case is an especially good idea. Evans was in town recently to promote his seventh novel, The Last Promise, and his third Hallmark-produced TV movie, "The Locket." It airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS. From the moment his book The Christmas Box turned its author into a New York Times chart-topper in 1994, the former ad man from Utah has been a dependable source of revenue for booksellers and cannon fodder for critics. His books have been called "treacly" and compared to Kathie Lee Gifford's much-maligned Christmas specials. Evans considers it the price of fame. As evidence, he cited the USA Today reporter who gave him some useful advice on an early promotional tour. "You're making a lot of money and everyone knows it," Evans recalled the reporter telling him. "You write things that are emotional. You're going to get hit and hit hard. You'd better get used to it." Sure enough, Evans said, right after that interview USA Today ripped his novel. "They said it was some of the worst dialogue ever committed to print," said Evans, smiling good-naturedly, as if he just recalled an amusing anecdote. And how can you be anything but amused at critics who have nipped at your heels every step of the way to million-sellerdom? Evans seems uninterested in earning the praise of book reviewers. He suggests - half joking, half not - that it would be a bad omen if he did. "If I read a review and it said my book was skillfully written," he said, "I'd want to shoot myself." Though Evans thinks critics are mellowing on him somewhat, reviews for The Last Promise seem as brutal as those of his previous books. The Baltimore Sun critic called it "a romance from and for the recycling bin." Even the Salt Lake Deseret News, in the author's hometown, panned the book for its "wooden and cliched" language. Evans' point, however, is that reviewers are so busy thinking of new ways to eviscerate his writing they overlook the real reason people read him. "I judge my books on their emotional effects," Evans said. "When I was a kid my favorite books were Charlotte's Web, Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows ... What did they have in common? They left me bawling at the end." As a novelist, Evans said he tries "to write something that is sweet, honest and not boring. That's difficult." Don't forget "squeaky-clean": His romances are sex-scene-free, a rarity in non-religious fiction. (Though a Mormon, Evans believes his readership "transcends religion.") He did a marketing survey of readers on his mailing list. To his surprise, he found that in many families, the mother and daughter - and sometimes the grandmother - were all reading his books. "And they thank me," he pointed out, "for giving them something they can share." His book signing at Unity Temple on the Plaza included a preview screening of "The Locket," Sunday's "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation starring Vanessa Redgrave. Hallmark certainly understands the appeal of Evans. "The Christmas Box," produced by Hallmark Entertainment for CBS, was the highest-rated movie of the 1995-96 season. "The Locket" has much in common with "The Christmas Box." Both involve a male protagonist who makes an emotional self-discovery with help from an older, wiser woman. The woman, who has suffered tragic loss, helps the hero understand he must grab onto what is most important to him and not let go. After the screening, Evans signed books. In line were mostly women in their 30s, 40s and 50s, the ideal Hallmark audience. That included Sylvia Brush and Jill Josepher - friends, co-workers and Evans aficionados. Brush had a bagful of books, while Josepher was holding The Last Promise. They planned to read and trade the books with each other. "I call it the Interpersonal Loan System," joked Brush, a media resource librarian at Eastwood Hills Elementary. To his fans, Evans does more than simply speak to the heart. "He empowers you to understand a little better the reality of your emotions with other people," Brush said. "His process helps you be in touch with your own relationships." Evans, who said his readers "tend to be salt of the earth" people, started meeting them in 1993 and 1994 when he went store to store, hawking self-published copies of The Christmas Box around the Salt Lake area. The Christmas Box sold 8 million copies and spawned a prequel and a sequel, also best sellers. That success story, in turn, produced two side ventures for Evans. He became a motivational speaker, converting his experience into pep talks to teens and adults (sample speech

Roone Arledge: 1931-2002; Innovator who altered TV's presentation of sports dies

Roone Arledge, who brought a dynamic and imaginative approach to televised sports - and then did the same for network news - died Thursday of complications from cancer. He was 71 and had been ailing in recent months. No individual did more than Arledge to turn televised sports into the money machine it is today. ABC grew rich off Arledge, but his golden touch went both ways. The organizers of the Olympics and professional leagues saw the value of their franchises soar when ABC held the rights. This led to bidding wars as other networks scurried to keep up with ABC. Arledge's remarkable career - he was president of ABC Sports from 1968 to 1986 and of ABC News from 1977 to 1997, holding both posts simultaneously for nearly a decade - was two parts mastery, one part mystery. He divined the potential of TV as nobody else in his generation had. Then he realized that potential by developing the best people and giving them the best equipment to work with. "What Roone really figured out, in news and sports, was how to take the raw material of an event and turn it into compelling programming," said Marc Gunther, author of The House That Roone Built. Arledge transformed the staid telecasts of the Olympic Games into eye-popping spectacles that minted national heroes overnight. Directing college football games in the 1960s, Arledge turned the cameras around and showed fans whooping, cheerleaders cheering, coaches yelling - anything to add excitement and color to the telecast. Arledge joined the ABC network in 1960, when it was still hiring outside contractors to produce its sports programming. He became president of ABC Sports in 1968 and built it into a powerhouse. He took Pete Rozelle's idea for a prime-time NFL showcase and turned it into a national phenomenon. "Monday Night Football" propelled the league to new heights and gave the network its first cash cow. In his heyday, a single decision by Arledge might ripple through the entire sporting world. He put Howard Cosell in the "Monday Night Football" booth in 1970 - then stood firm when even sponsors were calling for the outspoken announcer's toupee. Cosell not only proved crucial to "MNF's" success, he paved the way for later sportscasters who were valued for their attitude, smarts and fan's passion for the game. Another farsighted call in the summer of 1969 dramatically raised the profile of college football. On a hunch from an employee, Beano Cook, Arledge convinced the athletic departments at Texas and Arkansas to move their annual matchup from October to December. That game, "The Big Shootout" - played 33 years ago today - turned out to be for the national championship. President Nixon was in attendance, and millions more watched on ABC as the Longhorns won a thriller 15-14. Later, as president of ABC's news division, Arledge created "20/20," which for years was the only successful prime-time newsmagazine besides "60 Minutes." He lured David Brinkley over from NBC to invigorate a Sunday-morning talk show. And in 1980 he persuaded his bosses to stop trying to beat Johnny Carson with entertainment and put on a late-night news program instead. Arledge could be hands-on, calling the shots on each night of coverage during 10 Olympiads, or hands-off. He would vanish from his office for days, leaving subordinates to handle the egos of his high-priced talent or mediate a dispute between strong-minded producers who had gotten their competitive fire from Arledge. He loved technology and spent top dollar to give a presentation more immediacy and importance. Instant replay, on-the-field microphones and satellite hookups were all introduced by ABC under Arledge's watchful eye. Other innovations were creative rather than technical. His idea for "up close and personal" features helped turn obscure Olympians into household names. Like any bold innovator, Arledge had little fear of failure. He created the influential "Wide World of Sports" but also hatched the forgettable "Battle of the Network Stars" and the disastrous "Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell." After the dreadful opening broadcast of "20/20," Arledge fired the hosts, dumped the show's crazy-quilt format and relaunched it the following week with Hugh Downs. Before launching "Nightline" in 1980, Arledge experimented with several anchors for its predecessor, the 15-minute update "America Held Hostage." Ted Koppel emerged as the natural choice for the job, but Arledge - in a classic non-decision typical of his management style - would not commit to him. Koppel finally won over his boss, and by 1985 Arledge was bragging, "Tell me another news organization that has a Ted Koppel sitting by." Behind the scenes, Arledge had a demanding style that would leave its mark on many of the medium's future leaders. Among his proteges are the current president of ABC, Robert Iger; ABC Sports president Howard Katz; CBS Sports president (and son of Jim McKay) Sean McManus; and NBC's Olympics producer Dick Ebersol. At a dinner in September, where Arledge received a lifetime achievement award, Katz revealed the secret of his mentor's success. "Roone would create order out of chaos," he told Electronic Media magazine. "He would create chaos and then create order out of it." Arledge's passing came in what may be the twilight of the era of television he inaugurated. Major sports no longer make money for their rights-holders. Networks treat them as "loss leaders" or surrender the rights to cable, whose importance Arledge was slow to grasp. "In a certain sense his legacy lives on in 'Monday Night Football' and 'Nightline,' " Gunther said. "But it's impossible to imagine anyone coming along in the future like Roone Arledge." - To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com The Arledge file Born: July 8, 1931 on Long Island. 1960: Became producer of ABC college football and became the first to use slow-motion, freeze-frame views, instant replays, hand-held cameras and the placement of microphones to bring the sound of sports into living rooms. 1961: Created "ABC Wide World of Sports" one of the most popular sports series ever and coined its tag line "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." 1964: Supervised coverage for the Olympic Games for the first time. Eventually he would oversee 10 Olympic Games from 1964 to 1988; introducing personal profiles of the athletes. 1968: Became president of ABC Sports. 1970: Brought "Monday Night Football" onto the air, insisting that the networks and not the sports leagues approve the announcers. That allowed him to put Howard Cosell, an abrasive New Yorker, in the booth. 1972: Made the call to allow Jim McKay to continue as the lead announcer during the Olympic hostage crisis in Munich rather than turn the broadcast over to news-side reporters. 1977: Selected to resuscitate ABC's struggling news division while still running sports. Under his watch ABC created "20/20" and "Prime Time Live." 1977: When terrorists seized Americans hostages in Iran, Arledge grabbed the 11:30 p.m. Eastern time slot from ABC's affiliates and put Ted Koppel on the air to deliver nightly updates. He never gave it up, and the updates evolved into "Nightline." 1990: Listed as one of 100 most important Americans of the 20th centruy by "Life" magazine. 1994: Sports Illustrated selected the 40 individuals with the greatest impact on sports over the previous 40 years. Arledge ranked third behind Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. 1998: Retired. @ART CAPTION:Roone Arledge (left) brought Howard Cosell into the broadcast booth of "Monday Night Football" in just one of his strokes of genius that had ABC on top of the broadcast world. @ART:Photo (color)@ART CREDIT:1974 photo

Ratings don't reflect big changes at Channel 5

Ratings for KCTV's 10 p.m. newscast in November, compared to a year ago, were virtually unchanged, according to Nielsen. That's about all that didn't change at Channel 5. The November ratings book capped a turbulent year in which KCTV said goodbye to old reporters, on-air looks and attitudes, and said hello to new management, logos, looks and a new slogan - "live, late-breaking, investigative" - that it constantly reinforces in its news packaging and on-air promotion. Some might say that KCTV's suddenly aggressive approach is more like "live, late-breaking, in-your-face." So far, however, the numbers are trending in Channel 5's favor. KCTV held onto its audience at 10 p.m., something WDAF, Channel 4, and KSHB, Channel 41, failed to do. That numerical measure of stability belies a radical reshaping that continued at Channel 5 throughout November: Two more Channel 5 reporters handed in their resignations. Dee Griffin, once considered the station's rising star, took an anchor's position in another market. Morning reporter Teri Schaefer cited personal reasons for leaving. Schaefer is married to Dave Helling; previously the two worked at WDAF, Channel 4. Morning-show executive producer Alvie Cater is also leaving at the end of the year. November also marked the debut of KCTV's new investigative unit. Thanks to the popularity of CBS programs and KCTV's supercharged promos, it was impossible not to know about Channel 5's two biggest stories of the month. Perhaps to some viewers' surprise, the stories nearly lived up to their hype. One was Russell Kinsaul's interview with a woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer John Robinson. With its themes of sex and murder, the interview - shrewdly doled out in two segments 10 minutes apart - was more riveting than the "CSI: Miami" episode that preceded it. The other was an investigation of Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes' use of two bodyguards who run up hours of overtime each day. Dave Helling's thorough report found that other Midwestern mayors do not have security details, or if they do, they don't earn more than the mayor, as Barnes' bodyguards do. KCTV's newfound aggressiveness backfired, however, when it landed in hot water with KU Med and Health Midwest. The station broke a local taboo by reporting which hospitals were treating victims of violent crime. After The Star reported on the rift, KU Med and KCTV officials sat down for a face-to-face meeting that cleared the air. "We're all on the same page and going forward," said KU Med spokesman Dennis McCulloch. KSHB, Channel 41, surprised KCTV by stealing away Call for Action, the consumer advocacy network that had been affiliated with KCTV for a quarter century. Though identified chiefly with former KCTV reporter Stan Cramer, Call for Action is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that assists TV stations across the country. The local office's staff of 20 volunteer problem-solvers will be at KSHB's disposal beginning next month. KCTV's competitors are now actively trying to blunt the effects of its relentless self-promotion. WDAF launched a new on-air campaign last week that uses many of the catchwords found in KCTV's promos, such as "investigation," "exposed" and "the truth." Channel 4's message: Whatever those other guys say they're going to do, we've been doing for years. Channel 41 has also begun reminding viewers that it, too, features breaking news. But how much do promos really affect ratings? Of the four local stations with newscasts, all but market leader KMBC, Channel 9, had viewing levels similar to the prime-time performance of their networks. In other words, what viewers watched at 10 p.m. seemed to depend less on the newscast than on what they were watching at 9:45. (KMBC's audience rises dramatically at 10 p.m., offsetting the weak prime time of the ABC network.) Even so, KCTV needed some sleight of hand to ensure its high Nielsen rating. Take "Football Friday Night," the special that KCTV aired at 10 p.m. Nov. 15 instead of news. Rushed onto the schedule with little fanfare, the special was billed as an outreach to the area's high school football fans. In reality, it was a ratings ploy that gave KCTV a mulligan at 10. The previous Friday, KCTV had finished sixth - that's right, sixth place - at 10 p.m., trailing even Channel 29's broadcast of "Blind Date." Like most CBS affiliates around the country, Channel 5 was hobbled by "Robbery Homicide Division," a low-rated crime series that had its premiere this fall at 9 p.m. Fridays. "Wednesdays and Fridays were just terrible on CBS," said KCTV general manager Kirk Black. Rather than risk another disaster in a crucial "sweep" month, Channel 5 booked two weeks of "Football Friday Night." That meant KCTV didn't have to report the ratings for its football special as part of the monthlong ratings average for "KCTV5 News at 10." Black denied that this was the station's intent, calling it "in the best interest of the market." Yet when CBS finally yanked "Robbery Homicide," replacing it with a repeat of "CSI," KCTV changed its mind and did a newscast Nov. 22. KCTV took another mulligan the following Wednesday, dropping its Nov. 27 newscast out of the ratings book. It also dropped its election night newscast, as did Channel 41. Each of these moves - technically allowed by Nielsen - showed how determined Channel 5 was to keep its double-digit rating. KCTV finished second overall at 10 with a 10.08 rating, beating by a hair the 9.93 rating it averaged in November 2001. Each rating point represents about 8,500 area homes. KMBC led all stations with a 13.91 rating at 10 p.m. (Channel 9 only reported ratings for Tuesday through Friday newscasts, since "Monday Night Football" runs well past 10.) KSHB was down nearly a full ratings point yet still finished third at 10 p.m. with a 5.93 rating. WDAF, reeling from the lousy performance of Fox in prime time, had as terrible a November as it did a terrific May. Channel 4 finished fourth with a 5.41 rating, down more than 20 percent. Nielsen releases demographic data from the November sweep later this month. This should cheer up WDAF, which tends to appeal to younger audiences. These are coveted by advertisers, who have made Fox-owned WDAF the highest revenue-earning station in Kansas City. - To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:KCTV's report on the two bodyguards who protect Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes - and make more money than she does - was an example of Channel 5's new aggressiveness in local news. Pictured are officers Marlon Buie and Laura Snapp. @ART:Photo @ART CREDIT:KCTV CORRECTION: A television review in the Dec. 4 FYI section said that KCTV, Channel 5, had reported that Mayor Kay Barnes' two bodyguards earn more than she does. What KCTV reported was this: "Unless his overtime is reduced, records show Officer (Marlon) Buie will earn more than $86,000 this fiscal year, more than Barnes' $80,000 salary. Laura Snapp will make $76,000."

HBO's 'Baghdad' tells CNN story with a blind spot

In "Live From Baghdad," we see an unlikely force wedge itself between the United States and Iraq in the months leading up to the Persian Gulf War. CNN became a conduit of information out of enemy territory, including a memorable broadcast of the war's opening air attack. As media stories go, "Live From Baghdad," airing at 8 p.m. Saturday on HBO, is a heck of a yarn. Well told, too. In fact, if I weren't so troubled by the movie's self-serving tone and supersize blind spot, I'd highly recommend it. "Live From Baghdad" was adapted from Robert Wiener's book about his eventful six-month assignment in Baghdad as a CNN producer. He'd been hired a decade earlier to run CNN's Hollywood desk. Reese Schonfeld, the network's first president, told me recently that Wiener had the swagger to play hardball with film executives. In the movie, which begins with Saddam Hussein's forces taking over Kuwait, Wiener (a lovable louse likably played by Michael Keaton) is assigned to set up CNN's Baghdad bureau in a hotel room. Upon hearing that the place he has booked is a dump, Wiener struts into a tonier hotel and greases the palm of the front-desk clerk. A luxury suite is soon his. And then, much more. Pushy and persuasive, Wiener (by his own account) lands a number of scoops for CNN. But he's after the ultimate "get": an interview with Hussein. In the process, he acquires something far more valuable. His Iraqi handlers give him exclusive use of a "four-wire," a relay box that sends voice transmissions, uncensored, back to CNN studios. The four-wire is what Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett and John Holliman are yelling into the night that bombs start dropping over Iraq. There is a moral quarrel throughout "Live From Baghdad" about whether CNN is trading airtime for access. At a bar, Wiener and colleague Ingrid Formanek (a charmingly jaded Helena Bonham Carter) get into a shouting match with the other networks. "You let Saddam spout off his garbage without challenging it," sneers a rival producer. But the argument is stacked in CNN's favor: after all, who winds up bagging the big story? More interesting, to me at least, is the big story itself, and how it changed CNN. During the Gulf War, CNN's ratings soared. Then, once hostilities ceased, they fell 80 percent from their peak. CNN executives took away exactly the wrong lesson from this. Having spent a decade distinguishing itself from broadcast rivals, CNN now felt compelled to chase the same big stories as the networks. But the networks didn't have 24 hours a day to fill with news. CNN was (and is) uniquely able to keep several smaller stories in play at one time. After Iraq, however, it abandoned that formula in favor of big stories. But there never would be another Gulf War. CNN had to share O.J.'s trials with E! and Princess Di's death with everyone. Today, Fox News is the dominant provider of cable news, and that is partially a credit to its format, which resembles the madcap all-news jukebox that CNN used to be. "Live From Baghdad" doesn't touch this, or anything else that might tarnish CNN's Pyrrhic victory in Iraq. (Remember, HBO and CNN are corporate sisters.) Still, you may not find that omission troubling, in which case you'll likely enjoy "Live From Baghdad." I can recommend it only in the way I recommend "Jackass: The Movie," as mindless entertainment. For a more honest document, you'll have to wait at least until 8 p.m. Sunday, when MSNBC presents "Back to Baghdad." The National Geographic special features Arnett returning to the country he covered for a different network in a different era. "Brilliant But Cancelled," 8 p.m. Sunday, Trio (Channel 255 on Time Warner Cable). Little known and little seen, the Trio channel has come up with a surefire way to generate publicity: pander to TV critics. Every night in December, Trio will feature programs that over the years were darlings of newspaper scribes but spurned by viewers. Shows like "East Side/West Side," a bold 1963 drama set in Harlem starring George C. Scott and introducing Cicely Tyson; or "Profit," a grimly delicious 1996 series about an evil executive that lasted a month on Fox. The documentary "Brilliant But Cancelled" is meant to complement the month's offerings. It does the job, though I could've done without two dozen or so utterances of the word "brilliant." I was expecting something not quite so workmanlike from the producers of "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." The narrator is Andy Richter, who narrowly avoided cancellation with his own brilliant comedy ... "Andy Richter Controls the Universe," 8:30 p.m. Sundays, Fox (Channel 4). After first hinting that it would drop this show from Conan O'Brien's ex-sidekick, the Fox network ordered a batch of new episodes for early 2003. The reason they're airing now is that Fox realized it had scheduled a new comedy in December and "The Grubbs" wasn't what it had in mind. Be thankful you never saw "The Grubbs," a toxic mash of Randy Quaid, Homer Simpson and "Deliverance." On the other hand, the slick, gut-grabbingly funny "Andy Richter" deserved better than the weak time slot where it debuted earlier this year. Judging from the episodes I previewed, Richter is making the most of his second chance. Look for my story this weekend on "Hallmark Hall of Fame's" presentation of "The Locket," based on the Richard Paul Evans novel. Proof that shows don't have to be brilliant to get canceled: WB's "Birds of Prey" and "Off Centre." Besides "The Grubbs," Fox last week yanked a second show, "Septuplets," before airing an episode. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Richter @ART CREDIT:ANDREW COOPER/HBO @ART CAPTION:Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Keaton in 'Live From Baghdad,' the story of CNN's gulf war coverage @ART:Photos (2, color and b/w)

Cable firm to preserve discounts

When Time Warner Cable subscribers open their bills this month, some will take a deep breath. Others will ponder switching to satellite. Subscribers in Lenexa, Shawnee and other areas where Time Warner is competing with Everest Connections, however, may wind up scratching their heads. Their special rates don't appear anywhere in the annual notice. Time Warner Cable, which serves more than 300,000 area homes, included its 2003 rates with December monthly statements. Those rates will jump about 5 percent for basic cable and 7.6 percent for digital cable, in line with other cable systems around the country. But many customers who currently have their bills discounted will continue to be charged lower rates, said Marc Farrar, director of public affairs for Time Warner Cable. Federal law requires cable providers to publish their maximum possible rates in annual notices to customers, Farrar said. Meanwhile, customers often receive discounts, such as a half-price introductory rate for customers who agree to try digital cable. "We are certainly going to honor any promotions," said Farrar. Customers with the beat-Everest rate enjoy monthly discounts up to $30 on their cable bills. Those will continue after Jan. 1, when the published 2003 rates take effect. Comcast Cable, which serves 100,000 customers in Missouri and Kansas, announced a 6 percent increase of its basic cable rates in August. With the recently concluded Comcast-AT&T Broadband merger, Comcast becomes the 50 percent "silent partner" in Time Warner Cable of Kansas City. An Everest Connections spokesman said the company has no plans to increase its residential rates. To reach Aaron Barnhart, call (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com.