TV Barn's TV Picks for Sept. 16-17

Who won the Flav's hand (or at least a nice set of grills) on the first season of VH1's "Flavor of Love"?

A) Cherry
B) Hoopz
C) Picasso
D) Pumkin
E) Red Oyster

Four white guys talk about black people

 I knew there was something wrong here.

I knew the host was white. I knew Rob Cesterino, the "smartest guy never to have won Survivor" (Jeff Probst's words, not mine), was white. I knew I was white. And our provocateur from last night's "Attack of the Show!" panel ... his name was Matthew Felling. Didn't sound very ethnic to me.

Still, I should've asked -- what were four white guys doing debating whether Mark Burnett had done a disservice splitting the new season of "Survivor" into racial groups?

Are TV reporters baiting the President?

Well, another testy press conference between the President and the press is winding down. At times, the President sounded like he was coming unglued. And yet, at other moments, he was lucid and even (egads) telegenic.

What's going on here?

I got the sense that NBC's David Gregory and others were plugging a quarter into the old jukebox and playing back the familiar favorites that TV viewers expect, whether they're viewers of "Nightly News," MSNBC, David Letterman or "The Daily Show."

And yet at other times, genuine Q-and-A emerged, with hard questions getting direct, non-rehearsed (sounding) answers. So I compared the President's exchange with Gregory to that with New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg.

TV on the Web: Trial but mostly error

TelevisionWeek contributor Daisy Whitney has been blogging on the technology of TV. It's not your usual techno-geek blog, either; she tries out Web sites and new video gear kind of the way you and I would.

She's been having a hell of a time accessing the streaming video of TV shows on MSN (which is showing NBC's "Kidnapped"), among other outlets.

This bodes badly for the networks. If technologically adept users like Whitney can't figure out how to watch TV programs easily on the Web, what does that say about the average user?

Dave's latest scheme to capture the 18-34 demographic

CBS'S "LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN" SHOWCASES TOP VENTRILOQUIST TALENT

REVIEW: Thursday's terrific "Survivor"

At right: Some things never change, do they? Brad Virata and Yul Kwon try to make fire.

“Survivor's” controversial game of apartheid -- with its 20 contestants divided into four “tribes” of blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites -- began Thursday night.  

Critics spent two weeks decrying the 13th edition of the adventure reality game that they had yet to see (and, one suspects, had ignored until now). The windfall of publicity was just what a TV show looking for a rebound in the ratings needed.  

When it aired, “Survivor” delivered an exciting and entertaining hour. And the first results from the racial groupings seemed to vindicate the show's producers, who have been slammed in the past for loading up on white contestants while choosing non-white players that reinforced negative images of minorities.  

TV Barn's TV Picks for Sept. 15

Where was the rendezvous where three was company, too?

A) apartment 201
B) apartment 305
C) apartment 227
D) apartment 7-D
E) apartment 242

Tasteful nudity of the day

So here's the pitch from Internet fashion discounter Bluefly's PR agency: 

Bluefly is launching a provocative ad campaign entitled "We're Gonna Be Late" following their controversial Spring ads, which also featured tasteful nudity.

Based on network responses, they cut most of the provocative scenes for television, even though the content on their programming is just as sexy, if not more so. Broadcast TV seems to apply a very different set of standards when they look at advertising. The Company was also compelled to edit an Internet-only version to circulate the ad virally so that more people can see it as they intended it—in its full, uncut, and most-truthful version.

Is the naked ad truthier than a more edited one? Judge for yourself.

Damn you, Stamps.com!

Yes, thanks to amazing new printing technology, anybody can put seemingly anything on the official tender of the United States Postal Service and send it out.

Meaning that we, the recipients of said U.S. Mail, can look forward to the cable TV wars spilling over into our postage.  Next up: A $3.60 Priority Mail stamp promoting "Anderson Cooper 360," or a five-cent issue with the mug of Keith Olbermann reminding you to watch "Countdown" before it's ... cancelled.

TV Barn's TV Picks for Sept. 14

Which of the following high-concept series costarred an offspring of a member of the Rat Pack?

A) "The Charmings"
B) "Jennifer Slept Here"
C) "The Misfits of Science"
D) "Mr. Smith"
E) "The Powers of Matthew Star"

REVIEW: "Men in Trees"

Here's my Tuesday review, posted too late for the "sneak peek" but just in time for Friday's second (and final?) episode.

Hooray! HBO taps "The Wire" for S5

HBO has renewed 'The Wire' for a fifth and final season. If you're just tuning in, creator David Simon originally constructed a five-season story arc for "The Wire," and the reception to season four has been so overwhelmingly positive -- I don't see how it misses the cut for Best Drama next year at the Emmys -- that HBO surrendered today to the inevitable.

Regarding Time Warner Cable's incompetent handling of the on-demand episodes last week, a reader writes: "TWCKC had the second episode of season four available as promised on Monday after the official premiere of Season Four this past Sunday night."

Earlier, I reviewed season four of "The Wire."

TV on the Web: NBC raises the stakes

CBS got to third base with its viewers. Now the Peacock is going all the way, offering all its new shows online, for free.

For now.

NBC knew all along that "Friday Night Lights" would have a problem getting noticed at 7 p.m. Tuesdays (in the midwest).  This confirms it. Thing is, every network has scheduling nightmares this fall. Why aren't they all going online, all the time?

News from the fringe: Letterman, Kimmel resign -- uh, re-sign

Three items from the daypart that made my career, such as it is.

TV Barn's TV Picks for Sept. 13

Michael Keaton's first acting gig was as one of "The Flying Zucchini Brothers" on what series?

A) "Laverne & Shirley"
B) "Maude"
C) "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"
D) "The Odd Couple"
E) "Sesame Street"

KMOX: 9 11 9 11 9 11 9 11 9 11

Aaron Barnhart and I talked about how TV news has changed in the 5 years since the 9/11 attacks, the controversy over ABC's "Path to 9/11" docudrama, and the battle over the language in the CBS "9/11" documentary. Paul Harris Online.

Barnhart's fall TV preview: The good die young

Remember when it seemed there were too many TV channels and not enough talented writers, actors and producers to go around? Well, forget that.

As the best and brightest from the film world migrate to television, the quality debate is settled. Spend some time with the new fall shows, as I have this summer, and you realize there’s no talent shortage in TV land.

Look over the new schedule, read the reviews, and you'll agree: Never has the American TV viewer had so many worthy choices on the five nights of the week, Sunday through Thursday, when we spend quality time with TV.

And wouldn’t you know, that’s a problem.

You see, some pretty good shows already air on those nights. Now pile on two dozen more shows. What do you get? A lot of tough choices for viewers and a lot of roadkill that doesn’t deserve to be.

In fact, one agency that buys buckets of commercial time on TV is already telling clients that new shows, including some of my favorites like “Jericho,” “The Knights of Prosperity” and “Justice,” won’t be able to win over enough viewers and will be gone, probably by Christmas.

Good shows in bad time periods is not a new story. But to have so many in one season — that’s new.

But wait. Are we not in an age where the Internet allows endless entertainment to be stored and viewed online? In other words, couldn’t ABC just move “The Knights of Prosperity” to its Web site and make it a hit there? Yes, if only ABC could overcome two little obstacles: The show is too long, and it costs too much.

The vast majority of video, even on mainstream TV Web sites, consists of cheaply made clips or promos of five minutes or less. The most downloaded video on the popular YouTube.com is a six-minute bootleg of an “inspirational comedian” named Judson Laipply performing dance moves on stage. What do you suppose the catering budget was for that production?

What the Web can do for the Class of 2006 is harness the Internet’s social-networking power to build buzz long before these shows hit the network. NBC, for instance, has created a site called NBCFirstLook.com, which allows viewers to watch short previews of series that are months away from their broadcast dates.

I used that site to watch a scene from “Andy Barker, P.I.,” the latest comedy starring former Conan O’Brien sidekick Andy Richter, which airs later in the season. The two-minute clip explained the premise of the show and gave me enough of a sense of Richter’s character to know I was going to like this show when it premieres.

But a video like that represents only the beginning. To produce that promotional clip, NBC was on the hook for scripts, casting and shooting that pilot … and developing the dozen or so pilots that were winnowed out because they weren’t as promising as “Andy Barker” was.

Although, who’s to say they weren’t as promising? NBC just gave an order for episodes of “Nobody’s Watching,” a goofy little sitcom that was developed for the WB network two years ago. The WB passed on the show and it went on the shelf, until somebody uploaded it to YouTube.com earlier this year. Alerted to its popularity, NBC soon picked up the show. But it will be seen only online.

That’s the Web acting as a farm league for network TV, much like the direct-to-video and print-on-demand markets help all those budding filmmakers and publishers who couldn’t get lunch with a big agent if they paid for it. Maybe someday the networks will do their development online, and viewers will vote for their favorite pilots. Some go to the network and some stay on the Web, are filmed on smaller budgets and make their smaller audiences very happy.

For now, though, don’t expect this fall schedule to hold together too long. With five excellent shows on Tuesday nights at 9 ET (six if you count “Eureka” on SciFi), the good will continue to die young for some time to come.

On the jump:

• a full rundown of the new shows;
• what's in cable's stable;
• shows you can stream.

KSMO-TV: Talking about HER again

I was invited on the KSMO-TV weekend public affairs show, "Your Kansas City," the other week to talk about CBS bringing Katie Couric on board. By sheer coincidence, KSMO is part of a duopoly in which KCTV-5 ... the CBS affiliate ... is the controlling partner, and the show is produced in KCTV-5 studios.

I'm a little slow getting the video up because of "Watch the Pilots" and the fall preview section last week. But it's not like we're done talking about Katie (you wish). Enjoy the production values, starting with the chyron of my name.

Download barnhardt_09022006.mov

TV Barn's TV Picks for Sept. 11

Which of the following talk shows did not debut on a September 11th?

A) "The Ananda Lewis Show"
B) "Danny!" (Bonaduce)
C) "Dr. Laura"
D) "George & Alana" (Hamilton & Stewart)
E) "Lauren Hutton"

The path to enlightenment on "The Path to 9/11"

I have only watched a few minutes of "The Path to 9/11," the ABC docudrama that started Sunday night and concludes tonight. Clinton operatives have been howling for a week about it, claiming the depictions are inaccurate and unfair to Their Man.