E-T-Y-M-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L-L-Y P-R-E-C-O-C-I-O-U-S

It's that time of year again -- the time when millions of Americans, including many who never watch ESPN or have never heard of "Mike and Mike in the Morning" sit spellbound in front of their TVs and watch an all-sports network cover the National Spelling Bee like it's the World Series of Poker.

As I am typing this, a kid named Connor from Platte City, Missouri, is correctly spelling ooporphyrin. "Sorry, I'm stuttering a bit," he says. We're told he's excited because he realized this is a word he's actually studied.  (Generally, spelling champs memorize etymology rules and not the dictionary, so that they can nail down all kinds of unfamiliar words just from learning their origins.) The commentators are even noting what an unusual style he has.  He gives two letters from the spelling, holds his contestant card up to his face, covering his mouth, lowers it, says more two letters, and repeats this ritual until he's done with the word: "O-o ... p-o ... r-p ... h-y ... r-i-n."

TV Barn's TV Picks for May 31

STRIKE WHILE JEREMY IRONS IS HOT
In what year did the National Broadcasting System begin running Friday night sketch comedy series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"?

A) 1978
B) 1980
C) 1986
D) 1994
E) 2002

Live. Late-Breaking. Litigation.

Undoubtedly I have written more stories about Kansas City's CBS affiliate, the bucking bronco known as KCTV-5, than any other station in town.  I wrote about its  controversial hospital-scene reporting, its even more controversial sex-sting reporting, its unbelievably controversial weather coverage, and much more.

But here's a story I haven't written until now, because former KCTV-5 employees weren't willing to go on the record until now. 

TV Barn's TV Picks for May 30

BLANKETY BLANKS
Which of the following celebs is not featured in the official "Match Game" slot machine?

A) Fannie Flagg
B) Charles Nelson Reilly
C) Brett Somers
D) Rip Taylor
E) Jimmie Walker

Kevin Reilly, you're fired!

Paul Harris and I talked about the unexpected shakeup at NBC and the Fox show "On the Lot," which is a lot more impressive than its opening Nielsen ratings. And I shared a couple of picks for this week.

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TV Barn's TV Picks for May 29

SUPERMATCH
Charles Nelson Reilly won an Emmy for his role on ...

A) "The Drew Carey Show"
B) "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir"
C) "The Match Game"
D) "Millennium"
E) none of the above

It's the start of summer ... TV

I don't mean to harsh your mellow from this fine stretch of spring weather we've been having. But you should know that in the parallel universe each of us inhabits seven hours a day -- yes, that's how long the average person watches television -- it's officially summertime.

Kevin Reilly gone! "Office"/"Apprentice" honcho in, maybe! Nikki Finke is the queen and possibly king of scoops.

L.A. Weekly's Nikki Finke, whom I've been following since we both had bylines in the New York Observer back in the day, has has struck gold with her biggest story yet: that former FX programming whiz Kevin Reilly is out of his job at NBC and that one, possibly two men (on a sharing basis) have been offered it.  I guess those upfronts pretty much landed with a thud on Madison Avenue. 

Style for the maxim(um body hair) man

You may recall I interviewed Kansas City's own John Lehr a couple of months ago and he mentioned doing a photo shoot at the Beverly Hills Country Club for Maxim Magazine.  The issue is out now, and Sanj has graciously scanned in a few pages of Lehr and his gear. 

'Friday Night Lights' out here this weekend

NBC is going to reair episodes the entire season of "Friday Night Lights" beginning this Sunday at 8 p.m. However, Kansas City viewers who haven't seen the pilot homecoming episode are going to have to watch it online.

That's because NBC affiliate KSHB-41 here is preempting NBC's Sunday night lineup for one of its "make-good movies." We've talked about this strange programming mutant before and frankly, I always feel it would be sanctimonious of me to get on TV stations' case for using these pre-emptions to create more ad space. After all, newspapers can just print more pages and nobody gets upset.

KSHB's programming department has assured me this will be the only pre-emption of "FNL" repeats.

• More from Mo about 'FNL'.

TV Barn's TV Picks for May 25-28

I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE
Toward the end of the first season, CBS asked Hugh Wilson to make his series "WKRP in Cincinnati" more like which other show?

A) "Are You Being Served?"
B) "Barney Miller"
C) "Laverne & Shirley"
D) "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
E) "M*A*S*H"

TV Barn's TV Picks for May 24

BOMBS AWAY
Carrie Fisher, one of the judges for Fox's "On the Lot," was one of the stars of an 1997 anthology series on ABC presented by Robert Altman. Among the other big names in the cast were James Gandolfini, Rosanna Arquette, Daryl Hannah, Randy Quaid, Jennifer Tilly, Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Stern, Martin Sheen and Edward James Olmos. What was the name of this doomed Saturday night series?

A) "Fantasy Island"
B) "Gun"
C) "Leaving L.A."
D) "Love Boat: The Next Wave"
E) "The New Twilight Zone"

"Jericho" fans: Take what you can get

As you may know from reading TV Barn, the Internet is ablaze over the cancellation of "Jericho," and the heat from outraged fans has been so intense, CBS actually dispatched an executive to try to put out the fire.

"We have read your e-mails over the past few days and have been touched by the depth and passion with which you have expressed your disappointment," the network's entertainment chief, Nina Tassler, posted to a fan forum. "We are humbled by your disappointment. In the coming weeks, we hope to develop a way to provide closure to the compelling drama that was the Jericho story."

The 60-minute lightning round

I know the "Walt Bodine Show" sounds like a stroll through the park, nice easy banter from people with nothing better to do at 10 in the morning. But try being the guest! Once again, Kelley Weiss and Listeners Like You put me through the paces on Walt's show, which aired live Tuesday on KCUR-FM.

• Download the podcast

TV Barn's TV Picks for May 23

THE NUMBERS ARE BAD
Which is not one of the DHARMA Initiative stations on the "Lost" island?

A) the Arrow
B) the Eye
C) the Flame
D) the Pearl
E) the Swan

A Magna Carta for the Channel Flippa

I don't know much about SnapStream because I don't need a DVR on my PC ... mainly because I don't have a PC. But I have to say, the "TV Viewers Bill of Rights" it came up with is a pretty brilliant idea. Which means, of course, that no network will touch it with a 10-foot people meter.

TV Barn's TV Picks for May 22

ZIP IT!
Which series takes/took place primarily in the 90909 zip code?

A) "7th Heaven"
B) "24"
C) "The O.C."
D) "Veronica Mars"
E) "Beverly Hills, 90210"

"Tonight," and other hit shows that were once much better

Today on KMOX, Paul Harris and I yakked about last night's "Sopranos" episode, the fate of "American Idol" as it approaches its finale this week, and Jay Leno's 15th anniversary as host of "The Tonight Show."

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Mirror Awards finalists

The first annual national competition dedicated to media industry reporting announced its finalists today. They include a lot of the usual suspects and one very special individual, the late John M. Higgins.

Have your say! It's a free country. For now.

Richard Wahl writes, literally, to inveigh against my review of a "Frontline" program he hadn't even seen. Gee, that's so completely atypical of people who use the Postal Service to express themselves.

Skipping past his, ah, unique interpretations of the Bill Clinton years (too bad nobody ever exposed that president's "deceit," eh?), let's focus on the period actually covered in the "Frontline" program by Hedrick Smith. "If I remember right, Carter and LBJ did it too," Wahl writes, referring to unwarranted domestic spying. Well, LBJ did, and so did Nixon, and both were outed by the Church Commission and supposedly dealt with through FISA and other reforms. As Smith reported, the Bush administration has completely stepped around such reforms. Even John Ashcroft -- the former AG who's looking better and better each day that his successor twists in the wind -- has lately started distancing himself from the President's aggressive snooping on his own citizens.