Chris Pisano: "I just did not see this coming"

Tomorrow's FYI, which will be posting online tonight, catches us up with the latest round of changes going on inside KCTV-5 in the eight months since new management took over. Most of the shakeup has not been obvious to viewers. Yes, two members of the investigative unit were let go in December, but that was after the November book, and most viewers probably didn't know there was a new I-team addition until April or so, when Stacey Cameron started filing stories.

But mornings! People sure noticed that.

Dana Wright has been an anchor as long as I have known her; in Topeka, WIBW GM Kirk Black made her an anchor, and when Black came to KCTV, so did she. As of the first week of May, however, she is an anchor no more. New KCTV-KSMO general manager Bobby Totsch and his hand-picked news director, Blaise Labbé, informed her that she would become the station's new chief investigative reporter, replacing Ash-har Quraishi, who's now in Chicago.

As for Wright's co-anchor, Chris Pisano, he was shown the door. After I criticized the move in a March column, Totsch met with me and reassured me that Pisano was a fantastic dude whose fantasticness had nothing to do with the fact he was being fired one year into a new three-year contract.

"I can't say enough him as a person," Totsch said at the time. "He's a great dad, just an unbelieveable person. I couldn't be more proud of him. He understands that we're going in a different direction. We will do anything we can to help him."

Welllllll, that was then. As you may know, Pisano did not go quietly. There was some text fed into the prompter during his last hour on KCTV, something to the extent that he was "pursuing other opportunities." He ad-libbed, instead, that he was being let go. And that was pretty much the last thing Chris Pisano said on KCTV-5.

All hell soon broke loose on 5's "fan page" on Facebook.

"NOT A SMART IDEA LETTING THEM GO!" posted David Small.

"I can't figure out how the KCTV management conducted their market research," wrote Mary Ellen Sippel. "Maybe they wanted to have a boring AM show like the other networks."

"KCTV-5 has made their position very clear Management does not need want or care what your worthless opinion is," wrote Kevin Casey, amid rumors that someone at the station was deleting Chris-and-Dana messages from Facebook.

Totsch and Labbé confirmed to me that they did, in fact, delete comments they found "derogatory" or containing personal attacks or bad language, but that it was consistent with station policy.

Earlier this month, as I was reporting the KCTV story, I called up Pisano, who said he regretted the way his last few minutes played out on the air ... and that he was gratified that people missed him.

"My inbox is inundated with messages," he said. "People who are Internet-savvy will find my profile and shoot me an email saying, 'We’re sorry to see the change, and by the way, you should check out their Facebook page.'

Truth be told, though, Pisano isn't consumed by loathing or a desire for revenge, which would be the only reason to wade through pages and pages of viewer feedback.

"It's gratifying to hear there were people who appreciated (our show). That said, it's not gratifying in any other sense. It's not, 'Too bad KCTV didn't realize what it had!' What is the point of that?"

Since arriving in town seven years ago, Pisano has — at least for me — been emblematic of KCTV5's turnaround. Which is funny because no Internet perverts were busted on his watch. He didn't interrupt the game to talk about twisters. However, more than anyone else at the time, he represented new blood at a station that at the time sorely needed it.

He also had an upbeat personality made for "More in the Morning," a total reboot engineered by Black's news director, Regent Ducas, the year before Pisano arrived. Pisano always seemed kind of above that fray, and he meshed well with his tag-team partners, first Carolyn Long, then Wright. It's too bad he's gone now, because it would be interesting to see how a less in-your-face approach to news — the kind being championed by Totsch and Labbé — might suit his style.

"More in the Morning" came a long way in a few short years, but it was still solidly in third place in the 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. news derby. In the February book it averaged a 1 in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, same as KSHB's fourth-place show and behind the 3's that KMBC-9 and market leader Fox 4 rang up in the demo. (Getting a 1 means your station's being watched by 1 percent of 18-to-49-year-olds, or roughly 10,400 area viewers.)

But there were no signs, inside or outside KCTV, that a change was imminent.

"I was completely surprised," said Pisano. "I just did not see this coming."

When I caught up with Pisano, he was playing Mr. Mom, walking into Costco with the three youngest of his four children.

"I have nothing bad to say," Pisano said. "Probably 99 percent of my experience with KCTV5 was extremely positive. I loved my work. I loved what I did."

And then, "one day I was sent to HR and given my walking papers. That's the way it happens."

As for that incident that got him yanked on his last day, Pisano called it "a subtle little thing I said — and it got blown out of proportion." The "subtle little thing" was not reading the parting words that had been written for him.

"I've always prided myself on telling it straight, and I wasn't about to stop on my last day. I left KCTV-5 with precious little, but I left with my integrity. I did not intend on leaving while throwing bombs or burning bridges."

Pisano's mood seemed philosophical throughout our interview. He reiterated that he wasn't angry and that this is part of what talent buys into when it chooses this career. A native New Englander, his previous employment included stations in Macon, Ga., and Grand Rapids before coming to KC.

"We're a traveling band of gypsies," said Pisano. "I'm realizing I was disappointed because I was looking to put down roots in Kansas City."

I had heard he might be thinking of leaving the business and trying something else.

"I have several options," Pisano allowed. "Is my heart in it anymore? Only time will tell. This shook my belief in the business. I was always of the mind that if you did a good job, had a good work ethic, a positive attitude and people valued you, you would also be valued by your company. And I was — I was treated as a valued employee. And then in 60 days, I went from valued employee to 'clean out your desk.'"

His and Wright's places were taken by Kelly Jones, a newcomer to the area, and Greg Adaline, who's been at the station a year. After a couple of weeks of sound and fury, the Facebook boards do seem to have calmed down about the replacements, though I guess if I were Adaline I would keep my thoughts about the transition to myself.

Comments:

I have never lived anywhere (and I've lived in many areas of the US) that local news coverage baffles me like KCTV5. People come and go and one never knows why. I realize that ratings are the basis of all decisions. But they certainly have a reputation of being very callous in their dismissals. Chris Pisano was a solid anchor. In fact I thought he was superior and could have handled evening news, etc. etc. I wish him well. Maybe I will see him in another area. Recently saw weather person Devon Lucie doing the weather on CBS affiliate in DC. Never understood moving Dana Wright in for Carolyn Long. She was giddy and at times not professional and I didn't feel she really helped the "More In The Morning". Good luck to Chris Pisano and his family. B.J. Gregory

Had to voice my opinion in regards to changes at #5 or 3. I was and am very sorry to see Chris Pisano go. He was the best one in the morning. I was glad to see Dana Wright go as she was so silly and didn't watch it when she was on. This isn't my opinion either. I hope Chris will find another job on television and his talent should not be wasted.As far as the new anchors they haven't convinced me to change from Kris Katz on #9. I am so glad they have told Katie Horner to cool it when she breaks in programing with her weather many miles away from here. I do not watch her at all. - Olive Wilhelm

I am a newcomer to all the fuss associated with the recent personnel changes at KCTV-5. I did notice the changes but didn't know any of the "behind the scenes" politics that plague many businesses. I somewhat and inaccurately suspected that Chris Pisano got a promotion to a prime time spot at a larger metropolitan location. The guy is highly professional and always maintained such a positive image that drew me to his morning show.

I am at a loss on how the various local networks are rated. No one has every asked me about my viewing preferences, particularly in the morning. I was a regular viewer of TV-5 early in the a.m. during my morning workouts. Nothing against the current staff but I now move around to the other stations instead of locking in on channel 5 as I used to do.

In my estimation, Chris was/is a class act. I like the fact that he maintained his integrity and didn't "fall on the sword" for his superiors and the words they chose for his departure message.

He will be missed and I wish him the best. BUT............. I do like the revamped policy on the continuous break-ins during network programming to talk about a cell that had already passed through the viewing area. I was angry and frustrated on many, many occassions, when all I could see is red in the form of a "red" dress. Yes, it is still ingrained in my mind, kill and overkill!

Tom Klocek

I enjoyed you blog on Chris and now realize more than ever the big mistake that KCTV made. I always thought he should have gotten the 6 and 10 news spots. I have been wondering what happened to Carolyn Long? What will Jerry Lewis TV show for MS do with out Carolyn and Chris to join Gary as hosts? Since Chris left the noon news I stay tuned to CNN and catch up with the local news on KMBC,com. - Bill Rohleder

Chris Pisano was our favorite but I’m not sorry to see Dana Wright go. Such a shame Channel 5 thinks the replacements will help their ratings. The show has lost class in anchors and trust by viewers such as myself. Thanks for finding Chris. Regards, Grace

I hope that Bobby Tutsch recommends massive changes at the channel-5 weather segment. Now the weather segment is really annoying and I refuse to watch it even though weather dominates local news. Anybody with cable, or a computer, can get a weather report at any time of day, from many different sources. Nobody has to wait utill the evening news comes on. I despise the quiz show "promos" which has an announcer asking a series of questions and then advises viewers to tune in and find out. No, we don't have to wait until the evening news to learn the answers to any but the most local issues. There are too many other sources. - Kenneth Lee

Thanks for giving us information regarding the More in the Morning Show. I was an avid watcher when Chris and Dana were on. Now, I must change the channel as soon as they say good morning. Both Greg and Kelly's voices drive me crazy. They are too fake and try too hard at being funny. I posted many a comments on Facebook regarding the change. Many got deleted and I guess after too many of those they just "de-fan" you--LOL I'm not joking, I did get de-fanned and after I added them back I am no longer able to post any comment of any kind. I sent an email to the news department and alas, that wasn't answered either. I guess they truly do not care about the viewers over 49 years of age. After all, isn't my age group the one who would even be up and watching at 5 am? We also have more disposable income as children are grown and out of the house and almost finished with college. I just choose to watch another news show in the morning. I have a very difficult time believing that the ratings are up. Any idea on where we can watch those over the course of the year? Thanks again, I am hoping that KCTV5's morning show tanks. LOL No, not bitter :) - Pat Turner

I am with the others when I say I find Kelly flat and Greg forced and phony. Kelly has already morphed through 3 heads of hair; her stylist fails because she looks weird. Greg is just strained. I agree with Pat Turner. Those of us that are 50+, up and working don't seem all that important to the demographic. Funny that, as I sit here listening to them reporting about the unemployment of class of '09 and '10. They are the ones with huge loans and no jobs and we are the ones working and saving. Duh? :-( Christy Hunt

I didn't like the morning news anchors at Channel 5. Dana was cute and silly. Chris bugged me with his snide comments after he read a story. I know he was trying to be funny but it was like he was trying to be Joe Buck or anyone else over at Fox. He always seemed to me like he was acting like he was too good for this little morning news show and wanted to be the next Lewis Black. - Jeff

I was one of the individuals who complained on FaceBook about the firing of Chris Pisano and the direction that Mr. Totcsh took the morning news and rather than responding to my comments, I was simply deleted, removed from the Friends List and prevented from making any more comments on the KCTV5 FaceBook site. So much for the American right to Freedom Of Speech. If this is how they want to respond to viewers, then fine. I'll just join the growing list of people watching other programming and channels. - Dennis Harvey

Chris is a true anchorman. His dignity to the morning show was the only reason I watched the news. His humor was real not fake or put on. It seems that TV5 is going the way of the old KSHBTV or years past. Chris is able to be honest with the viewers about current events and local real news stories. I really enjoy listening to him. I will miss him. The new line up on the morning show on TV5 is hereby cancelled. At least at my house. Chris, best of the news to you and prayers that your next reporting assignment will be anchoring a major station! Maybe if Dana Wright would change her hair color to blond she would be able to anchor an evening show again. Tisk tisk. Just kidding Dana. I think you should have stayed as the evening anchor. - Dave Ryan

Ex-KC anchor Mike Walter, winner at Cannes, has two more films in the works

It's been a heckuva 13-month run for former WDAF and KMBC news anchor Mike Walter, as his 36-minute documentary "Breaking News, Breaking Down" has played to much acclaim on the filmfest circuit. Now Walter has picked up the most prestigious prize yet: best short documentary at the Cannes Film Festival.

Walter (shown here at Cannes with his wife Kate) embarked on his journey after seeing the devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused to journalists in New Orleans. He connected it to his own strong feelings on 9/11, when he witnessed the Pentagon attack — and it was then he realized journalists get PTSD, too. And no one ever does a damn thing about it.

A clip:

I emailed Walter to talk about what's next. He's at work on two more films. The first is called "Dying for Help," which is about a group of people who aren't going to helped very much by healthcare reform ... and yet, these people stand for what's wrong with American healthcare more than anyone. They are people with chronic diseases that can be treated with Intravenous immune globulin therapy, or IVIG ... a treatment that many insurers refuse to cover.

Now why wasn't that the centerpiece of Obamacare? Walter found out.

"I began tracing one group through the whole legislative process as they tried to impact the health care legislation," said Walter. "We were there at the very beginning and we follow their exploits. It sort of shows how legislation is made here in Washington D.C." (Spoiler alert: It ain't pretty!)

The other film hits closer to home. It's called "Wind Wars."

"Wind Wars," said Walter, "shows how industrial wind development is triggering the new civil war in our country....pitting neighbor against neighbor and relative against relative. We'll take a closer look at Wind...is it truly green...is it a viable option to ween us from imported oil...and a host of other issues....including should it be allowed in places that some consider sacred (Hawaii) and some consider irreplaceable (Flint Hills)."

I told Mike I didn't mind seeing wind turbines, perhaps because I grew up with them, perhaps because I see what role they're playing in revitalizing my favorite Kansas town, Greensburg ... but I'll definitely go see this film.

"Dancing's" predictable finish and "Idol" after Simon

Here's a quick hit: KNX Radio in Hollywood interviewing me about Nicole winning "Dancing with the Stars" (surprise, surprise) and Simon Cowell departing "American Idol."

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"24": There are two ways this can end ....

Today on The Zone 1620, Matt and Nick talked about the LOST finale with me for a few minutes, then we turned to the subject of tonight's 24 finale and the inevitable question — how do I think it's gonna end? I've got a prediction.

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About that so-called "billion-dollar" LOST franchise....

So, I've already rated last night's LOST finale a 10 emotionally and a 5 narratively ... and the 5 was perhaps being generous.

Now here's the billion-dollar question: Did last night's finale do permanent damage to the LOST brand, or was it (to invoke Jack Shepard's time-dimension-crossing case of stigmata and write a caption to the above screen grab) merely a flesh wound?

In an interview with THR's James Hibberd in January, LOST co-creator Carlton Cuse said the following:

The Walt Disney Co. owns "Lost." It's a franchise that's conservatively worth billions of dollars. It's hard to imagine "Lost" will rest on the shelves and nothing will ever be made with "Lost." Eventually somebody will make something under the moniker of "Lost" -- whether we do it or not. We just made a commitment to this group of characters whose stories are coming to a conclusion this May.

Cuse talks a good game — and it's hard to imagine that some of that future value, if realized, won't find its way into his bank account.

The reality, however, is that almost no television show enjoys much of an afterlife, certainly not one that can be quantified in the "billions of dollars." Perhaps, perhaps, the "Star Trek" franchise has achieved that kind of value in 2010 dollars. But it's hard to think of anything else that comes close — "Sex and the City," "Battlestar Galactica," "The X-Files" ...

Even if "Lost" had had a stellar landing, it would've been tough to keep the love going through replay of past episodes and creation of future storylines with presumably new characters.

Last night's episode left more questions unanswered than answered — and that wasn't a good thing. Scroll to the bottom of this story and look at the LOST questions my colleagues came up with prior to the finale. How many were addressed last night? How many, given the gauzy, "Six Feet Under"-style ending of the show, can ever be answered? And how many of us, given the roller coaster of the last six years, can trust anyone connected to this show to ever give us straight answers?

The "Lost" finale: Emotionally a 10. Storywise, a 5.

Here's a quick segment I did with Kansas City's news-radio leader this morning. EJ and Ellen and I talked about the "Lost" finale (and very briefly, the "24" finale) on KMBZ Radio.

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Corddry's "Children's Hospital" coming to TV

Hey, remember Rob Corddry's live-action medical spoof "Children's Hospital," which appeared on the web in late 2008? It's back, this time as an Adult Swim non-cartoon.

The series premieres July 11 and episodes are already in the can. In my 2008 review I wrote, "Doctors making out in the hospital? Check? Doctors making out in front of their underage patients? Check. Crippled female doctor forced to walk around a crutch? Check. How about two crutches? Check check. An actor playing an actor who thinks he's a doctor in a hospital, a la 'St. Elsewhere'? Check that too, my friend."

Here's the trailer:

If you've got an hour to kill and can laugh yourself silly without recrimination, go here.

"Edgy" Leno is building on his "predecessor's success"?

Really, NBC? Really?

This is the generic listing blurb you now send out to viewers when you haven't released the guest lineup for that night?

Really?

Actually, I'm less interested in how it is NBC defines "edgy" (except to say it must be a pretty wide tent to include Leno) and more interested in this phrase: "builds on his predecessors' successes."

Wow.

The year is 2010 and in the past 18 years there have been exactly two hosts of "The Tonight Show." Not counting the current host, there's only one person in the digital era who qualifies as Leno's "predecessor." (He's certainly not building on his own "success," with his audience down by at least 500,000 since a year ago, when he was still in his first tour as "Tonight Show" host.)

So is NBC finally admitting that Conan O'Brien's 1.1 rating in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic — just a tick below the 1.2 rating that Leno is currently averaging — constituted "success"?

Is NBC finally willing to admit that O'Brien did not, in fact, lose money for NBC, that buying him out was a bargain compared with the $150 million that Leno would have been owed had NBC bought out his contract?

Or did an editor at a listings service write this generic blurb as kind of a joke?

Either way, it's pretty funny.

(Thanks to Brig McCoy for the TV screen grab.)

(UPDATE: It was the listings service.)

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RELATED READING:

Today Conan O'Brien is introduced to Turner's advertisers. Read my interview with O'Brien, where we talk about his new TBS show and his two-month concert tour, which rolled through Kansas City last weekend.

And if you didn't read Bill Zehme's new article on Jay and Conan for Playboy, I'm linking you to page three (it's safe for work). The first two pages are mostly Bill clearing his throat, but after that it's a pretty brilliant piece. Zehme argues that Johnny Carson probably would have walked away from NBC, too, had he been jerked around the way O'Brien was. Agree with it or don't, but Zehme makes the case about as convincingly as you can on behalf of a man who's been dead five years.

What's working for me...

1. Season's end. Finally, I get to start working down my DVR backlog. And I'll bet you will, too.

2. "Law & Order's" end. Next Monday's finale offers compelling proof of how uncompelling this warhorse has become. Goodbye to Van Buren and all the rest.

3. Russell loses again on "Survivor." I love how he claims there is "a flaw in the game" that keeps idiots like him from winning. Wasn't he the guy who watched tape of every single "Survivor"? If anyone could work around that "flaw," it's him.

... and what's not

1. Bum rush for ABC comedies. Of course I love "Modern Family" and am glad it's coming back. But "Better off Ted" isn't, and "Scrubs" is getting next to no sendoff after nine years.

2. Another medical show from Shonda Rhimes. Shouldn't she be required to fix "Private Practice" first?

3. Fridays. Why do networks put brand-new shows on the notorious "night of death" anymore? Friday is the new Saturday — a night to park reruns and shows going to seed.

Journalism students: smarter than you think!

I know you hear it said — I've probably said it myself — "Why would anyone want to major in journalism today? Isn't that just a quick ticket to the unemployment line while you manage your own non-paying blog?"

A valid question, but in reality, while the commercial landscape of journalism is certainly changing, it's not disappearing. And if you can get into a top J-school, most of those are so tightly ingrained with the industry anyway, it's practically like going to trade school.

Which brings us to Cassie Besek. Last Saturday she earned her degree from the Missouri Journalism School. And on Monday America watched her take home $50,000 on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." The St. Thomas Aquinas High graduate from Overland Park told Meredith Vieira she plans on moving to the coast and getting a job writing about entertainment for a magazine.

I'm thinking she gets hired.

Conan in concert: The annotated set list

I saw the "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on TV Tour" Sunday at the Midland Theatre in downtown Kansas City.

First let me tell you about Conan's opening act. His name's Reggie Watts, he's a fellow Montanan so I already like him, he doesn't look like he belongs within a thousand miles of Montana, so I like him better, and on top of that, his act kills.

Everyone says Reggie's act is hard to define, and I agree. He's a music comic in the Zack G./Conchords vein, but he can do things with a beat box that they can't. He switches in and out of a dozen voices, including a British-accented announcer, for no particular reason. Half the time his mouth is pressed so hard into the mic you don't know what he's saying — and even that's hilarious. I laughed till I cried. And then, when I thought I couldn't take any more, Watts started this sing-along with the audience that just got sillier and sillier and ended with him doing a sound effect of a catfight. At the sound of the cat I bent over and pretended not to listen just to keep from falling helplessly into the empty folding chair in front of me.

There are a lot of clips of him on the internet — and I will be pulling YouTubes from other cities for this annotated edition — but this one is the most representative, if there is such a clip:

Interestingly, he didn't do that song (which he's been doing a lot of places) in KC, but was plenty funny anyway. He's got a CD coming out tomorrow.

Around 9 p.m. the voice of Andy Richter made a few silly announcements and then introduced the band. They came out with their usual flame-broiled version of Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up" before doing their "Tonight Show" crowd-pleaser, "Baby," featuring Kansas City's own Mark Pender on vocals. As usual, the horn section ran through the crowd, and Mark led the knowledgeable in a spirited call-and-response. Of course, I blew my throat out.

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Before we go on, please enjoy this bonus Pender video:

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Next was the first video: "Two Months Ago," featuring a bloated Conan lying in his own filth and pizza cartons, doing nothing until the call comes to start his concert tour. Here it is when it was just one month ago:

Next was the monologue. Jeff Ross, Conan's producer, told me before the show that the Tulsa audience the night before had remained standing for the entire monologue. That didn't quite happen tonight but there certainly was a lot of yelling and whooping. Of course, there's one group that can't sit down, an SRO gallery at the rear of the theater, way up high behind the second balcony. Thanks to a big backlight, their excited silhouettes caught Conan's eye right away. He called them "a futuristic jury" and ad-libbed, "You must leave the planet, Jor-El."

Then the local humor, aided by writers Mike Sweeney and Matt O'Brien, who along with Richter are with the tour. Conan joked about being served "175 pounds" of barbecue backstage — "I just ate a cow's head!" — and a picture went up of the Nelson shuttlecocks while O'Brien said increduously, "Is this your idea of public art?"

"Do you like the beard?" he asked, adding that someone told him he looked like "the Brawny paper towel guy just before his bone marrow transplant."

Then came the first of what seemed to me quite a lot of potshots at NBC for someone who is supposedly ready to move beyond NBC. "I may not be able to use the name Conan O'Brien," he said, as it might be network intellectual property. "So I'll have to go back to my birth name, Jet Blaze."

Then came a bit about the eight stages of losing your late-night talk show. I notice that he's considerably more relaxed on stage than when he's doing a TV show, probably owing to the time constraints and the fact that he's performed much of this material 22 times in the past month.

Music time, and out came the Coquettes to do "Polk Salad Annie." As it happens, I snuck in to the sound check — I should do a podcast on this but I don't have time today — and heard Conan, the band (not The Band) and the Coquettes do their version of "The Weight" for the VIP ticketholders. Here's a little clip, which I include just to give an idea how good these two women are. (One's an actress and hadn't done singing professionally for a decade — but when you see her carrying on on-stage, you know why she was hired.)

Conan 20100516

That's Jimmy Vivino on vocals, with Conan backing. By the way, that photo came from the Coquettes FB fan page and was taken on another night.

Next, a video of Conan in a bald cap playing a Generic Network Executive touting his generic network's new lineup, including the show "I'm a Celebrity, I Eat Bark." Of course, he was stroking his kitty while he spoke. Conan afterward joked, "My lawyers ask me to remind you that's about no network in particular."

Here's a video of the Coquettes,"Polk Salad Annie" and Generic Exec:

Then out came Andy to do a local advertisement for the Shady Lady gentlemen's club. "Our Depression-era girls give new meaning the word 'flappers' ... So the next time your friend says, 'I'm feeling more creepy than horny,' head over to the Shady Lady."

The inflatable bat from Meat Loaf's 1970s "Bat Out of Hell" tour was revealed.

Then Triumph did his generic video with the Smigel local drop-ins, though he was booed when he made fun of Boulevard Beer. The best line wasn't local: "I haven't seen a shithole like this since I 69'd a Saint Bernard!" (On multiple occasions, Conan praised the Midland, calling it the nicest venue they'd been in so far.)

Next, Conan emerged wearing the purple suit Eddie Murphy allegedly had on for his 1987 "Raw" movie. Andy worked a camcorder with zoom for a funny audience participation segment, "Groupie Cam."

Conan sang his Conrad Bain song.

Andy rode in straddling a ridiculous fake horse with fake legs for a sketch called "What I've Learned." ("I've learned that the adults in my book club have no appreciation for adult books!")

Then, an Intimate Conversation with the audience, who read off a prompter to express their desire that Conan french-kiss La Bamba.

Then, song time again, the "On the Road Again" parody as seen on "60 Minutes." Not seen on "60 Minutes": Conan's tendency to rely on his floor prompter. My one good camera phone shot.

Then onstage, to a great ovation, padded the Masturbating Bea ... oops, we mean the Self-Pleasuring Panda.

I guess he had to leave the other panda suit behind at NBC:

Then the "Walker Texas Ranger" Lever bit, featuring Kansas City's own Jason Sudeikis in a walk-on. "I feel like David Cook," he said after the screaming had stopped.

Then, the Cake arrangement of "I Will Survive," with talk-show lyrics. And finally, for the encore, "40 Days," featuring Conan running through the audience, vanishing out the back of the main floor and re-emerging, seemingly five seconds later, in the balcony, sans guitar, where he ran around like a maniac for two minutes. As you can see, in Seattle he was much more restrained:

Beach balls were released to the crowd. And with that, good night Kansas City, hello Minneapolis.

COMMENTS:

Phil Zaman writes, "This sounded incredible! I'm so sad I couldn't be there. Do you know if they have any plans to produce a concert DVD from the tour?" According to Jeff Ross, not yet. But there may be a documentary.

Conan's future is probably brighter than you think

Conan O'Brien brings his traveling catharsis tour to Kansas City on Sunday. And as I explain in the Sunday Kansas City Star, I make the case that, far from diminishing him, the decision to jump to cable's TBS will only make Conan a bigger star — and ironically, it will be bigger in part because his nemesis Jay Leno is at NBC.

When I was on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” in April extolling the move, host Howie Kurtz sniffed, “You used the phrase ‘raise his profile’ on TBS. They're not usually used in the same sentence.” (Video below.) Perhaps Kurtz should ask Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert what being a big fish in a small pond does for your profile.

TV Barn Ticker for today ...

Here's a quick summary of all the news and comment from the world of TV and media that I published or read today, dispensed in bite-sized nuggets:

• And that's the way it was. RT @badgate: FBI: Walter Cronkite collaborated with anti-war activists in the 60s. is.gd/c8W5Z
• In journalism, the people are served by 2 separate yet equal groups: facts & rumors. RT @brianstelter: Back on the "L&O" cancellation beat
• OK, @kirkv thinks it's "bong dong" and @GregDiener thinks it's "don don" and I think it's "clane clane" - not quite a clang. #lawandorder
• I liked getting that shoutout from @keitholbermann ... but I kicked him off our TV page anyway. Let me explain: ow.ly/1LhCs
• Can't wait to hear what the sellout has to say. RT @cspan: C-SPAN interview with FCC Chair Genachowski – Tonight on C-SPAN2 at 8pm ET
• This Cartoon Network press kit smells like an oil spill. If people would just put their screeners on the Web, we could avoid all this.
• KCTV to fix its signal - good news for those Liberty homes in the "dead zone"! ow.ly/1LjcR
• ...is comin' to KC this weekend! RT @luvmanpender: Tour bus twitpic.com/1nsamp
• Not just #ff shoutouts but KIND WORDS from @gavinesq @canadian88 @pourmecoffee and @keitholbermann - what we all need on a Friday - thanks!
• RT @colsonwhitehead: Pure cronyism: she was a backup dancer in the "Me So Horny" video. RT Kagan defended 2 Live Crew bit.ly/90D337
• To paraphrase the NBC great Ed McMahon, I have in my hand. The LAST. Episode. Of Law & Order. (crowd cheers wildly/sarcastically)

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KCTV to fix its signal

In the waning days of his reign at KCTV-5 last year, then-general manager Kirk Black was routinely tormented by a group of about 200 residents of Liberty, who would call and email him on an almost daily basis, reminding him that ever since the station switched to a digital signal, they could no longer receive KCTV.

As people have known from the dawn of the DTV transition, the digital signals that are now sent out by TV stations can be ... quirky. It's been years since I studied the various things that can go wrong with DTV broadcasting (Joel Brinkley's 1997 book Defining Vision - a surprisingly fun read given the subject matter - contains an excellent primer), but let's just say this: If you have never heard the word "multipath" in your life, consider yourself lucky.

Well, there's good news for the fine people of Liberty and everywhere else who refuse to acquire their local TV signals via cable or satellite: KCTV is about to make some changes there at the Eye-full Tower and improve reception issues across the metro. Just in time for its CBS-deprived viewers to catch the summer reruns of "CSI" and "Big Bang Theory" -- not to mention a brand! new! season! of "Big Brother."

Meredith PR follows ...

In June 2009 KCTV5 made the transition from analog to digital. During this transition it became apparent that KCTV5 was not reaching parts of the viewing area. A new antenna will be installed on the KCTV5 tower during the month of June.

“It is our desire that the loyal viewers of KCTV5 receive the best signal possible. We realize there has been some difficulty in some areas for viewers to receive a clear signal for KCTV5 following the HD transition. We’re pleased to announce all of our loyal viewers will once again be able to watch all of their favorite CBS Sports and Network programming, as well as our local news and syndicated shows in High Definition. We appreciate everyone’s patience while we remedied the situation,” said Bobby Totsch, Vice President and General Manager.

Tom Casey, Director of Engineering, said, “I am pleased to say that we spent a significant amount of time working with the manufacturer to come up with an antenna design that will not only allow the best coverage pattern but incorporates technology to help support excellent mobile reception in the future.”

(Thanks to Scott Fybush, again, for the Eye-Full Tower shot)

TV Barn Ticker for today ...

Here's a quick summary of all the news and comment from the world of TV and media that I published or read today, dispensed in bite-sized nuggets:

• Back from vacation, spent mostly in off-grid N.M., reliving my honeymoon (15! years! ago!) with Mrs. TVB: twitpic.com/1nhym7
• Confirmed: RT @sixapart: TypePad bloggers - We're also seeing blogs not loading. Everyone is hard at work to blah blah blah.
• Trey Hillman: adieu. RT @JPosnanski: Well, yeah, I'm shocked. I didn't think Dayton Moore was the type to fire a manager mid-season.

The above ticker was distilled from my daily posts to Twitter. You can follow me on twitter. Or join the thousands who follow TV Barn by email, RSS and podcasts.

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TV Barn Ticker for today ...

Here's a quick summary of all the news and comment from the world of TV and media that I published or read today, dispensed in bite-sized nuggets:

• The PR announcing the first MLB games in 3D (but only in the Yankees & Mariners markets) adds they'll also air "in traditional hi-def."
• I just ran out of patience for Twitter status updates generated by @foursquare!
• In the parlor! With a candlestick! RT @theTVaholic Where were you when it happened? RT @TVBarn I just ran out of patience for @foursquare!
• If Google Calendar were working right now, I'd create a task called "switch to a less high profile calendar service."
• Whereas the print Onion delivers the joke and then flogs you with it, the joke on @TheOnion just builds and builds. onion.com/aA36Wr
• The Jackson County DMV office is closed on Truman's birthday? Really? And I thought having Pulaski Day off was strange.....
• And: Willie Mays B-day. AND: mine. RT @jadewalker: May 6 is Int'l No Diet Day, National Crepes Suzette Day, Day of Prayer & Day of Reason.
• Review: Possibly the only 2 TV shows about teens I could ever tolerate were 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Daria.' ow.ly/1HOxP

The above ticker was distilled from my daily posts to Twitter. You can follow me on twitter. Or join the thousands who follow TV Barn by email, RSS and podcasts.

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TV Barn Ticker for today ...

Here's a quick summary of all the news and comment from the world of TV and media that I published or read today, dispensed in bite-sized nuggets:

• What passes for humor on the TONIGHT SHOW - putting the Times Sq bomber on Team CoCo. ow.ly/1He6k
• Just received PR from Joe Francis about a new GIRLS GONE WILD TV special. If I have questions I am to contact his assistant: Dana Yingling.
• Hey, I had that up hours ago! RT @DamianTVGuideMg: Ew. Just...ew. RT @moryan: This is really low. Even for Jay Leno. bit.ly/bqMScb
• RT @letwits: Now in Pakistan, if you want clumsily assembled superpowers, you just yell "Shahzad!"
• Craiggers is back! Kilborn looking to make return to television - ow.ly/1HrWN
• "The False Religion of Mideast Peace" is thoughtful and provocative. And the author and I share first and middle names. ow.ly/1HtcE

The above ticker was distilled from my daily posts to Twitter. You can follow me on twitter. Or join the thousands who follow TV Barn by email, RSS and podcasts.

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TV Barn Ticker for today ...

Here's a quick summary of all the news and comment from the world of TV and media that I published or read today, dispensed in bite-sized nuggets:

• Today is the 3rd anniversary of the Greensburg tornado. My 1st-hand report on what's been recovered - and not. ow.ly/1GHhB
• RT @DanielPink: 1 in 8 Americans say they'll cancel or cutback their cable or satellite TV service in the next year. bit.ly/dr6l66
• Stuff that in the trunk of your green car. RT @vultureblog: Jay Leno recycled jokes at the WH Correspondents' Dinner. nym.ag/aNUiaI
• !!! RT @greggwinsor: metal bands should take their names from SyFy movies: Mongolian Death Worm, Mansquito, Flue Bird Horror, etc.
• Current discovers #PBS president Paula Kerger hires mostly white males, including a dude she once owned a condo with. ow.ly/1GPBk
• Jimmy Fallon is hosting the #Emmys, and they will air live on the West Coast. And they still won't matter. ow.ly/1GPRS
• Jimmy Fallon is hosting the #Emmys, and they will air live on the West Coast. And they still won't matter. ow.ly/1GQ7L
• About that new KCTV5 morning team.... ow.ly/1GQol
• RT @TheOnion: In Focus: Traumatized Child Comforted By Television onion.com/docY3B
• Forgot to share this yesterday: Arguing with Chip about Obama's Katrina, then about Conan on 60. Turn down the volume. ow.ly/1GWQM
• "Food Wars" goes on hiatus, so bogus Kansas City BBQ "battle" will have to wait. ow.ly/1GXr1

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"Food Wars" goes on hiatus, so bogus Kansas City BBQ "battle" will have to wait

An alert reader called up the Star yesterday to note that the Travel Channel series "Food Wars" had suddenly disappeared, mid-series, from the schedule.

Sure enough, when I checked in with Travel Channel PR, I got this answer: "Food Wars will return with fresh episodes later this year and we’ll be sure to notify all of our press contacts of its return."

To some people around here, at least, that was a major disappointment, because tonight's installment was supposed to be from Kansas City, pitting the two best joints in town in an epic "barbecue battle" ...

... Gates and Bryant's.

With all due respect to those storied institutions, I don't think so. Not to include Oklahoma Joe's and Jack Stack in a BBQ competition at this late date is a sign that you haven't done your research. For heaven's sake, even Bud Trillin has darkened OK Joe's convenience-store doorstep and reluctantly admitted to being in the presence of greatness.

Thanks to an alert tweeter, we learned that when "Top Chef" was recently in KC, the crew sent out for barbecue at OK Joe's. "Top Chef" — now there's a food show.

Conan on "60": How'd he do?

Chip Franklin and I Monday-morninged Conan O'Brien's first comments about his NBC departure on "60 Minutes." Chip thought it was a mistake. I didn't. But first, we argued about whether the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico qualified as "Obama's Katrina," and by "argued" I mean "yelled at each other."

d/l