Talkin' TV

Who's Afraid of Sacha and Phil?

A few random thoughts that couldn't make it into Friday's TV column about Sacha Baron Cohen's outrageous "Bruno" and the end of mainstream homophobia it may well announce in Phil Donahue's America (which is what we're living in, in the 21st century.)

1. Think about America 10 years from now: after hilarious movies like "Bruno" and all those sitcoms and afternoon talkathons, how many states do you think, by then, will have ratified same sex marriage? My guess: at least half — unless, that is, there's a federal statute first.

2. The now-dead late-night radio talkmeister who made such a Gothic scare show out of my column about critic David Ehrenstein's 1996 examination of gay sitcom writers in Los Angeles Magazine was, it should be noted, somewhat different in life than he was on the air. In life he was, in fact, a rather sweet, sophisticated and courtly fellow a good deal less stricken with alarm than the one on the radio. I used to run into him occasionally at movies and enjoyed talking to him immensely.

3. While the ideological Draculas of midnight radio talk might try to scare audiences with visions of rampant American depravity, afternoon TV, post-Phil Donahue, would cheerfully undo every bit of it. And Donahue — who was the inspiration for Zeitgeist Queen Oprah Winfrey — not only got his TV start in Dayton, Ohio but is a proud product of conservative Catholic education: Cleveland parochial schools and then Notre Dame.

So what do you think? How funny IS homophobia anyway? Or, conversely, how scary (or unfunny) is "Bruno?" And how worried are you about what sitcoms and afternoon TV are bringing to America?

— Jeff Simon

Emmy Nominations Up for Debate

What, James Spader didn't get nominated as best actor for the final season of "Boston Legal"? HBO's "True Blood" couldn't beat the vampire show jinx? What happened to Jeremy Piven's automatic nomination for HBO's "Entourage"? And did "Grey's Anatomy"  give up (Denny's) ghost too late to get Emmy love?

Those are some of the things that will be debated after today's announcement of the Emmy Award nominations.

For now, it looks like the Sept. 20 telecast on CBS might be a rerun of last year's Emmys with 2008 comedy and drama winners, "30 Rock" and "Mad Men," leading the way in nominations.

There were a few minor surprises -- the absence of Spader and Piven from the list, Simon Baker's best acting nomination for "The Mentalist" and Jemaine Clement's best comedic acting nomination for HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" -- chief among.

But overall, the nominations were pretty predictable. Take a look at the list of nominees on the Buffalo News website and then speak out about what made you happy, what made you disappointed and what made you go beyond disappointment into anger.

-- Alan Pergament

  

Paul, O'Connell Have Severe Disagreement

Channel 4 meteorologist Don Paul and his Channel 2 counterpart, Kevin O'Connell, are having a Facebook Feud.
The two weather guys have been debating the meaning of "severe" when it comes to predicting storms.
Of course, they've had similar disagreements over the years. Facebook just gives them another avenue to debate who is more accurate.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Paul admitted he usually just uses Facebook to give weather reports and tell some jokes and added he regretted the exchanges with his rival.
"Unfortunately, I let him goad me into something," said Paul. "It was silly to even get on there with that nonsense."
Now Paul just plans to keep the silliness where it belongs -- on his Channel 4 weather reports.
"I'm just going back to doing weather and being stupid again," said Paul. He was alluding to his tendency to tell jokes on the air.

If you're "a friend" of the weather guys and have followed the Facebook Feud, what do you think? Is it a "severe" breach of Facebook etiquette or is it perfectly suited for the social network?

-- Alan Pergament 

Channel 4's Wrobel Looks for a Silver Lining

Former Channel 4 meteorologist Mary Beth Wrobel didn't return my phone calls to discuss her dismissal Tuesday by the top-rated news station in town. I wasn't surprised. Perhaps she couldn't talk because management at TV stations often require ousted personnel to keep quiet until their severance package is paid.

But Wrobel did send along an email that may be the closest thing she gets to saying goodbye to her fans.

Wrote Wrobel: "From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the viewers and the wonderful group of people I've worked with for nearly nine years. It was always my dream to get back to my hometown, and I'm grateful for the opportunity.

"I'm a big believer in Buffalo and its future... it's a place filled with culture, tradition, diversity and spirit, where family values remain strong, not to mention we have the best fans anywhere in the good ole USA! I'm going to deeply miss weather forecasting and my active participation in all the charities and community events on behalf of the station. It was a privilege and an honor. After every storm is a silver lining, and I look forward to that."

Channel 4 management has been notably silent on the dismissals of Wrobel and reporter Rob Macko. General Manager Chris Musial and News Director Joe Schlaerth haven't responded to phone calls or emails.

The dismissals are believed to have been made for economic reasons as broadcasters face increasing financial pressures during the recession.

According to sources, Wrobel and Macko were in the unfortunate position of having expired contracts.

What do you think about the dismissals of Wrobel and Macko? 

-- Alan Pergament

   

Terrell Owens Apologizes Tonight

I apologize, too, for writing another blog on Terrell Owens. But the Buffalo Bills receiver seems to be everywhere on television these days.

At 10 tonight on the new Comedy Central series, "Tosh.O," Owens delivers a series of deadpan apologies for future -- and past-- events.

Apparently, the 90-second bit -- which already is on the Comedy Central Web site -- was shot before Owens' sorry performance with supermodel teammate Joanna Krupa in Tuesday's premiere of ABC's "The Superstars."

Dressed sharply in a suit, Owens didn't apologize in the piece for the "Superstars" performance. But he apologized for any excessive celebrations that will occur this season and for some recent television and movie disasters even though he had nothing to do with them.

"I apologize for the Joe Buck Show (on HBO)," said a deadpan Owens. "Someone needs to apologize for that show."

Sorry, T.O., but I didn't think much of your apologies. I didn't laugh loudly once.

If you've seen the Comedy Central clip, what did you think of Owens' performance? And would you celebrate if he reduced his TV appearances?

-- Alan Pergament

T.O. and the Supermodel: The Drama Continues

I guess I should have seen this one coming. Buffalo Bills star Terrell Owens and supermodel teammate Joanna Krupa will live another day on ABC's "The Superstars."

The network confirmed today that Owens and Krupa -- who were the first team eliminated Tuesday night after Owens had trouble on a kayak and on an obstacle course -- are returning to the show because an injury forced another team to leave.

"The fireworks between them continue," added an ABC publicist.

He was alluding to all the verbal shots that Krupa hurled at Owens and his athletic prowess. Rather than repeat them, I advise you to read ny previous blog on the show.

The return of Owens and Krupa makes sense because they were the most interesting team in the eight-team competition Tuesday.

An astute reader of my previous blog noted that Owens was shown playing basketball in a promo, which is the reason that ABC decided it had to confirm he and Krupa were coming back.

Though the fireworks between them may continue, I'm expecting Owens and Krupa will perform better in future events because she told me in an interview that "we really kicked butt" and "we're a good team."

What do you think of the return of Owens and Krupa? Will you watch the show again next week? Or did her language and attitude in the premiere turn you off?

-- Alan Pergament

Owens Criticized by Teammate on Superstars

Yeah, you read that headline right. Buffalo Bills star Terrell Owens was on the receiving end of verbal abuse Tuesday night when he and his supermodel teammate on ABC's "Superstars" were the first pairing to be eliminated.

And after watching model Joanna Krupa lambast Owens' performance in a kayak and on an obstacle course, you certainly can understand why Owens' didn't invite Krupa to a Bills home game this season until she asked for an invite.

After Owens got caught in the netting in an obstacle course competition that put the team in a sudden-death elimination round,  Krupa was blunt.

"Unbelievable," she said. "I don't want a teammate like that. Call yourself an athlete. What does he get a million for?"

When Owens tried to calm her down, Krupa used an expletive that was deleted and blamed him for the loss before adding: "Shut up. You kidding me."

She wasn't done. Owens did better on the obstacle course in the sudden death race, but Krupa couldn't keep the lead and she blamed him for their elimination.

Once again, Krupa went on the verbal attack. "So cocky," she told Owens. "For what? You got in the NFL."

His teammate's harsh criticism led Owens to respond: "I really feel bad for her boyfriend. I really feel bad for him."

Believe it or not, you had to feel badly for Owens, too. But let's think of the positives he got out of appearing on "Superstars." He left after only one taped show, which means he didn't wear himself out. The verbal abuse he received made him a sympathetic figure. And maybe Krupa's harsh criticism of a teammate will make Owens think about how he treats his own teammates if and when things go badly this season.

Well, we can only hope. What did you think of Krupa's verbal assaults? And what did you think of "Superstars"?

Frankly, I'm glad T.O. was eliminated so I won't have to watch it again.

-- Alan Pergament

It Never Fails......

The minute you write a column about journalism and its ethic of getting it right, you can count on something in that column being wrong. It's practically a rule of thumb, just as it is a rule of thumb that any column that makes wisecracks about other people's grammar will invaluably contain a grammatical mistake itself.

So in my Tuesday column about Walter Cronkite, I mistakenly attributed Frank Reynolds' on-air temper tantrum to coverage of the Kennedy Assassination in Dallas when, in fact, it occurred during the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981.

This much is certain: it's never easy reporting an assassination or an assassination attempt on the air while people watch.

And, admittedly, few have ever anchored on-air breaking news as authoritatively as Walter Cronkite.
--Jeff Simon

Terrell Owens Plays the Joker

No, we're not talking about Terrell Owens getting the role in the next Batman movie. We're talking about the performance of the Buffalo Bills wide receiver in ABC's "Superstars," which premieres at 8 p.m Tuesday on Channel 7.

Robert Horowitz, the show's executive producer, said in a telephone interview that Owens was "incredibly cooperative and he and (supermodel) Joanna Krupa made a great team."

"Owens didn't do anything at all bad or cause problems," said Horowitz. "If anything, he became the joker and heckler and trying to rouse the other team, which was very cool... That's where you see T.O. being fun and vocal on the sidelines. I wouldn't say cocky, but confident and fun... Like it is T.O.'s stage. That's how he acted. He was pheonomenal. He was unbelievable.

"It was the perfect format for both of them to compete as a team... They were probably the most competitive and had the team with the most personality.. The first show is a good T.O. show. He's a big part of the first show." 

Were you a fan of "Superstars," which Horowitz considers the real start of reality TV? And does Owens' participation make you more likely to watch Tuesday?

-- Alan Pergament

Charlie the Butcher and Duff's on WGN America's Menu

WGN America, a so-called superstation based in Chicago, carries a feature called "Sky Dives" that features Lee Abrams, described as "a chief pilot and food guy."

Abrams flies into a Midwestern city each week to sample local food in each city and then the footage is edited to 60-second spots that run through the weekend. Abrams' schedule includes flying into Louisville, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Des Moines and Milwaukee.

Somehow, Western New York qualifies as a Midwestern city because Abrams is scheduled to come to Buffalo to check out Charlie the Butcher and Duff''s, presumably to sample beef on weck and chicken wings, respectively. The scheduled air date is Aug. 29.

Of course, WGN America isn't alone in thinking Western New York is a Midwestern city ,as well as a Northeastern city. What do you think?  And if you've seen "Sky Dives" on cable or satellite TV, what do you think of it and Abrams?

-- Alan Pergament