Maria Carter and I reviewed a lot of upcoming summer TV fare, and I highlighted a few of my favorites, today on KCUR's "Walt Bodine Show."
If you're interested in the history of reality TV, I was part of a Canadian TV panel on the tenth anniversary of "Survivor" earlier this week, and that video is here.
Chip Franklin and I talked about the record ratings for the World Cup soccer tournament, and what else is happening in summer TV, on San Diego's morning leader KOGO Radio.
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."
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.
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?
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?
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.
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."
"South Park" proved once again that is on its game — and even though Comedy Central bleeped its latest controversial episode, it never would have aired on broadcast TV. We talked about that — and what all this does to perceptions of Islam — this week on KOGO Radio, San Diego's news-talk blowtorch.
The German film company which produced "Downfall," the movie about the last days of Adolf Hitler now made famous by a zillion Web parodies, has ordered a DMCA (Digital Media Copyright Act) takedown of all such parody videos from YouTube.
Many observers on the way are reacting as though this is a sad but inevitable development, the next-door neighbor calling the cops to break up the kids' house party, and what can do you do about it, that's the way of the world.
Actually, it's not the way of the world. I have been reporting on fair use in video mashups for some time, and when I heard of the Hitler meme takedown, my first reaction was that the copyright owner had absolutely no cause to take down the video, and that someone should demand that Google reinstate all videos immediately.
Or at least that was my first impression. As I say, I asked Pat Aufderheide for her response. It is as follows:
"they can all use fair use and do a counter takedown, without fear, if they choose, and get them all reinstated."
A "counter takedown" is also known as a counter-notification. Google even has a help page on YouTube showing you how to write you, though the tone of the help page is needlessly intimidating and makes it sound like you haven't got a hoot in hell of having your video put back online. That's not true. Read the Center's 2007 mixer/mashup document and you will see that the parodists are right and the film studio is wrong.
So get cracking. And as for the rest of you, surely there's someone creative enough to put up a funny "Hitler Reacts to the Takedown of Hitler Reacts Videos" video.
Much has been said about the Conan O'Brien deal in the past week, including some rather sketchy "reporting" about whether George Lopez "initially opposed" having Conan take his time period at 11 p.m. That's one of those Hollywood non-stories — wow, celebrities are insecure and have to be talked into doing things that are in their best interest sometimes? You don't say ...
Anyway, by the time Chip Franklin and I talked about it on Monday morning on San Diego's news-talk blowtorch KOGO, I'd had some time to think about it. And I still think it was the best move Conan could make.
Look no further than Stephen Colbert — a man whose late-night comedy-talk program attracts barely 1 million viewers per weeknight, and only airs Mondays through Thursdays — for evidence that there's nothing like lowered expectations to make you feel like a huge success.
Jon Stewart graces magazine covers and hosts big-time award programs, all for hosting a program that airs half an hour four nights a week to an average audience of 1.7 million — or about what Conan O'Brien was averaging in 1994 when NBC was thisclose to firing his ass.
That is why Team Coco's decision to walk away from network television and sign with cable powerhouse TBS is the latest brilliant strategic reaction to what has been one of the least predictable, careers in the history of late night TV. Conan O'Brien has been delivered enough setbacks to sink lesser stars.
Once again, he has responded by choosing exactly the right option, accepting that every move has its tradeoffs. This one means accepting that your future is as a cable star. But as Comedy Central and Adult Swim prove every single late night, that's not so bad.
Conan O'Brien will air a show for one hour Monday through Thursdays at 11 p.m. beginning in November, it was announced this morning.
His lead-out will now be George Lopez. But don't expect that arrangement to last forever. THR's James Hibberd reported earlier today that Fox had wanted Conan to be on contract, rather than own his own show. Even so, 100 percent clearance on Fox affiliates was not guaranteed.
Now look at him. I can guarantee you not only is Conaco (his company) given full ownership of the TBS show, but he's got an option to produce the lead-out (midnight) show when/if "Lopez Tonight" fails. TBS will have first look at all Conaco series; this will be huge for TBS, which is looking for niche comedies; and it will be huge for Conaco, which has seen niche ideas like "Andy Barker, P.I." flop on network TV.
He will get a huge swell of publicity and, with his viewing base of 2.5 million likely to grow — because he'll be on at 11 instead of 11:35 or 12:35 — will instantly host one of the biggest shows in cable.
Yes, bigger than "The Daily Show."
Audio: I talked about the upside of Conan going to TBS on WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C., tonight.
Peter writes: "I do have the Internet and would love to see Conan's show streamed live on the TBS site. That would give him the best of both world's because he can reach the whole planet with the Web but his ratings will only be judged in the context of cable."
"Helen" writes: "Basic cable is on the way out, as millions of us don't have the little black wire but do have internet access. We can't watch George Lopez and apparently we won't be able to watch Conan O'Brien, because TBS programming isn't available on-line -- which means Stewart, Colbert, and Comedy Central have little to fear."
The reader is misinformed. TBS is in more than 100 million homes, and the percentage of people with basic cable is at all time highs.
Chip Franklin and I discussed what Tiger's first press conference with questions, and the NCAA Tournament final, today on San Diego's news-talk blowtorch, KOGO.
The night after the House passed the President's sweeping health-care reform bill, I interviewed Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the popular "Dr. Oz" show. Earlier this year he had focused on some three dozen Kansas Citians for his 60-day weight loss challenge. I wrote about that earlier, and in today's paper, page one, I wrote about one of the more remarkable turnarounds from that group, a social worker named Amanda Davis.
That was the jumping off point for our interview, which covered the nation's obesity epidemic, that mysterious RealAge system Dr. Oz uses on his show, and what Oz would add that currently isn't in the health care reform law.
It's nice to hear radio funnyman Randy Miller again — even if it is on Internet radio.
In yet another one of his clever marketing ideas (remember "Bucks Bus"?), the former morning menace is doing a midday show 9 am to noon weekdays for the Power & Light District at its new information station, kcplradio.com.
I paid Randy a visit last week to shill for Tasteland. We had a good time. Listen in:
Chip Franklin and I talked about two things this morning on San Diego's KOGO Radio: the health care bill and Tiger Woods. And managed to say some intelligent things about both of them.
First, though, Chip had to get Patrick Kennedy out of his colon.
I told Chip Franklin on KOGO Radio this week why "The Pacific" just isn't doing it for me, even though it's from the same team that did "Band of Brothers." And I rave about FX's "Justified," which I reviewed here. And we yakked about the NCAA Tournament. Finally, Chip commented on my size after I hung up.
KNX Newsradio in Hollywood wanted me to give it to them straight, so I did, unloading on last night's horrible, terrible, boring-as-hell Oscarcast. Here is my blow-by-blow account of the lowlights.
There were a couple of inspired moments in last night's return episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and I talked about those this morning with KNX Newsradio in Hollywood. Dick Helton and Vicki Moore also asked for my insty-reaction to these celebrities being picked for the next round of "Dancing with The Stars": Buzz Aldrin, Kate Gosselin, Chad Ochocinco, Evan Lysacek, Betty White ... no, I made up Betty.
Today on KMOX Radio, Carol Daniel asked me if the residual anger at Jay Leno for his behavior during Late-Night War II — which eventually sent Conan O'Brien packing — will cost him in viewers when he signs on again as host of "The Tonight Show." My answer isn't a straight up-or-down. Yes, there may be some damage initially, but longer term is a different story.