What to watch this week

Best New Year's Day repeats, Annie Leibovitz, and if you didn't see an eight-year-old movie when it aired on the BBC, it's new to you.

Smile

Kudos to Sheryn, author of this Anderson Cooper tribute blog, which she started in a huff —after reading "Say you're sorry, CNN," my take on Anderson's coverage of the West Virginia coal miner disaster — and has kept going all through 2006.  If I could change only one life ....

Then again, Ford ended a war

Here's something you don't see every day. In fact, President Ford's may well be the first flag-draped coffin you have seen on TV all year. President Bush (41, that is) banned cameras from Dover Air Force Base during the Iraq War (the first one, that is), and future presidents have upheld the ban at the facility where the military dead are brought in and laid out in ceremonial caskets.

This reminds me that I should salute Jim Lehrer's "NewsHour" for another year of remembering the fallen with pictures in silence at the end of many of his newscasts. Here's hoping, however wishfully, he's not still doing it a year from now.

That was the year that was

In a special year-end appearance on KMOX, I talked with Paul Harris about the best television shows and trends of 2006, including the ones that got better and the ones that spoiled.

The year in TV

(Rest in peace, Bodie.)

The year 2006 was a pretty good one for the entertainment side of television. The news side ... not so much.

Let's start with the good news. NBC, CBS, Fox and ABC brought some two dozen promising shows to the fall season meat market, a handful of which went on to become hits. The big networks reasserted themselves in 2006 as the movie studios' equals, forces of show business, driving DVD sales and compelling millions more people this year to pull the trigger on big-screen TV purchases.

And there were happy dilemmas for viewers. Without even factoring in cable, there were tough choices across the prime time schedule. Thursdays at 8 (CT), for example, offered “CSI” versus “Grey's Anatomy” versus “Scrubs.” The irony here, of course, is that a real-life medical expert would probably want you to get off the sofa and move something other than your thumb resting on the remote on your TiVo.

The Web perked up as well, as networks finally started offering full episodes of their hit shows on their Web sites, and viewers flocked there. Scheduling logjams were one reason; another was that the commercial breaks were shorter in the online telecasts.

But far away from the magical realm of Hollywood, TV news divisions had a more challenging and troubling year. NBC, the top-rated news network, even announced layoffs. Pew polls and Nielsen ratings confirmed that in this political season viewers had more of a preference for spin (Keith Olbermann) and nasty humor (Stephen Colbert) than for boring old enterprise.

In a year when the future of the nightly network news was being openly debated, two of the three newscasts undermined their own futures. In January, ABC's Bob Woodruff was injured in Iraq, mere days after his boss, David Westin, trotted Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas before the press as a new breed of TV anchor who would go anywhere to get the story. In Woodruff's case, that meant a road outside Baghdad notorious for IED attacks.

"Where was Katie?"

Well, now we know exactly where the priorities of CBS News lie in the Katie Couric era. Let's summarize:

• Tragic hiker death in Oregon: Producers secure an exclusive with the widow and Katie swoops down to conduct it. CBS deems it so newsworthy, interview is stretched into two parts so it can carry over to "The Early Show."

• Gerald Ford dies: Katie is on vacation. Her staff handles the early news.

It didn't escape the notice of reader Richard Feldan, either:

"I watched all three network news programs tonite. Of course, they all led off with news and background on former President Ford. I noticed that both NBC and ABC brought back their primary anchors (B. Williams and C. Gibson) from the holiday break to cover and co-ordinate the stories.

"Most glaring by her absence was CBS anchor Katie Couric. Where was Katie? I'm sure CBS can come up with a good reason, but if Williams and Gibson can be brought in to cover this big story, why not Ms Couric?"

Here's another question: When do the Aaron Brown comparisons start?

CBS told Brian Stelter, ""Katie Couric is out of the country but is returning to anchor all of CBS News' special coverage of the funeral ceremonies and will anchor the CBS Evening News from New York tomorrow night." Still, as media watcher Tom Rosensteil noted, "you don't want to be the only network that didn't do something when the others did."

TV Barn's TV Picks for Dec. 28-Jan. 1

3-2-1!
ABC's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" hasn't always had host Dick Clark's name in the title. Who had that honor on the special's second broadcast on "____'s New Year's Rockin' Eve 1973"?

A) America
B) The Bee Gees
C) Elton John
D) KISS
E) Three Dog Night

Pardon me while I whip this out ...

It's the list of the latest additions to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry, and yes, this one's in it. A movie that could practically air unbleeped on FX.

TV Barn's TV Picks for Dec. 27

DRAMA DEAREST
The cast of which series was perpetually under the watchful eye of Joan Crawford?

A) "Married ... With Children"
B) "Night Court"
C) "Roseanne"
D) "Sanford and Son"
E) "Three's Company"

Godfather TV

Classic TV + search engine = instant retrospective! I guess I'd make a lousy futurist ... I never imagined that I would be doing what I'm doing, creating interactive TV on the fly. But here we go:

Here's a YouTube of "I Feel Good" from the white-bread days of TV featuring halfhearted lip synchs.

Here's a dynamite YouTube medley of "Sex Machine" and "Get on the Good Foot" from what looks like a show taped in the early 80s. All live.

A user named 100jbfunk1 is posting a lot of clips from old JB appearances, like the 1968 "Man to Man" concert in NYC. I'll link to him instead of any individual clips which may come down at any time.

Electrifying mid-60s video of Brown doing "Out of Sight" and all the moves.

And then there's this: Michael Jackson and Prince joining JB on stage. The tape is time-coded which makes me think some broadcast professional posted it.

Two more: "Brand New Bag" from the Hall of Fame induction, with great audio (limited time only, I'm sure!) ... and from the same user, this front-row seat for "Eyesight," that ends, tantalizingly, with Soul Brother No. 1 about to open his mouth and sing again ...

Still not breaking news ... Frank Stanton, RIP

You're going to hear a lot of tributes today about Frank Stanton. There's no doubt that without William Paley's money, there would be no CBS, at least not the glamorous, high-profile network we see today. It's amazing how the big networks conform to their reputations, decades after their legends have gone. NBC still tries to nurture sickly shows like "Studio 60," the way Tinker and Tartikoff once did, ABC still searches for the fountain of youth while trying to keep mom and dad happy, and CBS is haunted by its "Tiffany" reputation.

And for that, CBS has Frank Stanton to thank. Because just like Ted Turner could not have gotten CNN on the air without Reese Schonfeld's experience and imagination, so CBS would not have become classy, expensive CBS without Paley's right hand Stanton.  Without Frank Stanton, Paley could well have been his generation's Larry Tisch: just another venal moneybags in love with show business.

Long before the word "micromanager" became in vogue, Stanton sweated the small stuff, like the design of the fancy new CBS headquarters that became known as Black Rock. He also made the big  calls on news. Fred Friendly, no shrinking violet, was running CBS news during the Vietnam War, and argued bitterly with Stanton over network coverage of same. Finally, when Friendly pleaded for CBS to pre-empt the daytime reruns of "I Love Lucy" to air key hearings in the Senate, and Stanton said no, Friendly quit.

One of the intriguing sidelines to the news of Stanton's death is a whisper I picked up in New York the other week ... namely, is CBS gonna stay in Black Rock?  Though certainly an imposing structure, the property may not be a great fit for CBS, which already has a building on 57th Street where it does news, the Simon & Schuster building, and Leslie Moonves' main hangout, Television City in L.A.

As for the headline above ... again, as with James Brown, no alert in my Inbox.

BREAKING NEWS ... except if it's a holiday and our Web guy is off until Tuesday

I subscribe to several "Breaking News" e-alert services from Major News Organizations, including the one for which I work. None, not one, bothered to pass along the news yesterday that James Brown, the 'Godfather of Soul,' had died. (Notice the photo caption saying simply that Brown "died of complications," which provokes the reaction that with as many complications as he had, it's a wonder he lived this long.)

These are the same e-alert services, mind you, that have bothered to tell me in recent weeks such world-halting bulletins as ...

Princess Diana Not Murdered, Official Report Says
'Raymond' Actor Peter Boyle Dies
Iraq Study Group Releases Iraq War Report
NYC To Ban Artificial Trans Fats At Restaurants

Sad.

TV Barn's TV Picks for Dec. 26

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
Which "Dancing With the Stars" contestant was featured (either as him/herself or a character) as a McDonald's Christmas ornament in 1988?

A) George Hamilton
B) Joey Lawrence
C) Kelly Monaco
D) Emmitt Smith
E) Jerry Springer

What to watch this week

Local filmmaker gets "Exposure," Yuletide greetings, and Jessica pulls an Ashlee at the "Kennedy Center Honors."

No, wait -- THIS is the PR of the week

EUGENE GURKIN WANTS YOU! TO JOIN “THE KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY”

Recruiting for the New ABC Comedy, Premiering on January 3, Includes Wallet Drop, Rock Star Receipts, Text Messages, Cash Grab Booth and Web Site at www.JoinTheKnights.com 

("Cash Grab Booth"? How 1970s ... oh wait, that's the point.)

PR of the week

"In court today, FCC and Fox lawyers conducted a battle of words surrounding the use of profanity by celebrities Nicole Richie and Cher at the 2002 and 2003 Billboard Music Awards. Deciding when profanity is acceptable and when it is offensive will be decided by a federal judge later this spring. However, according to a recent study the American people have already decided against such behavior.  9,095 people were polled recently by the American Bible Society..."

Radio alert

Paul Harris and I will go over my list of the best TV of 2006 at 3 p.m. today on KMOX.

Hallmark Channel: Movie-ing on up

(Above: Composite picture of the average Hallmark Channel viewer.)

  Various dramas have swirled around Hallmark Channel, and I'm not talking about “The Christmas Card” and “Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus.”

  There has been turmoil in the executive suites of the cable network named for Hallmark Cards, which owns it through a separate publicly-traded company, Crown Media Holdings. Mired in debt, the channel was put on, later taken off, the auction block. Some industry people have wondered out loud if there will even be a Hallmark Channel a few years from now.

  On the other hand, Hallmark Channel just finished the biggest quarter in its history, with a prime-time Nielsen rating higher than that of all other cable networks save four -- higher than Fox News, Lifetime, Nick at Nite, and much higher than Bravo, a channel we go on about endlessly in these pages.

  With a new chief executive, Henry Schleiff, on board at Hallmark Channel, I phoned him last week to ask what viewers can expect to see in 2007 on the air.

TV Barn's TV Picks for Dec. 22-25

BLACK BARTER
What will a soap dish cost you at Mr. Hooper's store on "Sesame Street"?

A) a bottle opener
B) a crystal ball
C) a green card
D) a paper clip collection
E) your immortal soul

Second Circuit Court v. FCC: Must-see TV

If you missed the live broadcast, or subsequent replays, of yesterday's fascinating and hilarious oral arguments in the Fox Television vs. Federal Communications Commission case being heard by New York's Second Circuit appeals court, do not despair. You, too, can enjoy the spectacle of an outmatched FCC lawyer perspiring his way through hostile questioning by two of the three judges.

Also, it's just fun to hear the F-word on basic cable. Even the judges, at times, seemed kind of giddy about it.

And if that's not enough, the Fox lawyer will actually make you feel good about Rupert Murdoch again.

Well, you've got at least one more chance to see it, when "America & the Courts" airs 7 p.m. ET this Saturday on Saturday. Or just watch it at the C-SPAN Web site.

Before you tune in, though, a couple of pointers:

• The judges and lawyers will refer continuously to Pacifica. They're not talking about something they heard on the radio. They're referring to this landmark 1978 ruling that got the FCC into the decency business in the first place.
• The bone of contention is "fleeting profanity" and whether the FCC has always reserved the right to impose sanctions on it ... or whether the Christian Right-appointed nannybots of the FCC suddenly and arbitrarily decided to start enforcing it after the Janet Jackson incident of 2004. Recall that the FCC actually went back two years and reversed its decision on the Bono expletive uttered at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards, suddenly finding it indecent. If the FCC's ruling is upheld, the networks envision a chilling effect whereby all live TV, even news events, will have to be delayed, simply because the government decides indecency matters so unpredictability that, like a drunken bully, it intimidates the networks into steering clear of all trouble, i.e., delaying everything. That, CBS top legal eagle Marty Franks told me last summer (MP3 audio), is simply unacceptable.