TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Nah, not an exciting photo, I'll admit. It's raindrops on a berry-bearing tree. We certainly won't see raindrops here tonight as the temperatures dip down into the teens. But we've been lucky so far this season here in the NYC area. I know folks in the Midwest, further up the Northeast coast and even just a few hundred miles north of here have had tremendous snowstorms. Since my knee won't allow me to ski, I'd just as soon as little snow as necessary here, thank you.

In today's TV Newsy Bits:

• In NYC News news, I was thrilled to see meteorologist Jeff Berardelli on and off the past few weeks on WCBS2. I got all excited thinking he was back for good, but he isn't. He was just helping them out as he visited his family for the holidays. Soon (if not already), he'll be back in Miami and we'll have to deal with Conan O'Brien's doppelganger Lonnie Quinn doing the weather. Blech. John Bolaris is off of CBS2 and into Philly. I'd like to put in a request for a real meteorologist and not a soaps actor, please.
• Law and Order returns tonight for a special two-hour season premiere beginning at 9 PM. I'm so there. I didn't care so much for Dennis Farina the last season or two. It looks like the cop cast has been revamped and I've always liked the stories.
• I'll also be watching David Letterman's return (with writers) tonight. His guest is Robin Williams. I'm not as keen on Williams as I was a few decades back, but I wouldn't miss the show's return tonight for anything! Leno won't be able to do a monologue and has one of the Presidential candidates on for his return tonight.
• Ohhh ... gossip! Claire and Peter from Heroes are a true-life couple these days? Yikes! He's 30, she's 18. She denied they were dating all through that odd haircut he used to sport.
• Tonight also brings us season premieres of Wife Swap and SuperNanny. A new Deal or No Deal is on as well. Power of Ten, too. Oh, my. Television has returned. I'm not so much into any of them, but I might watch Wife Swap before Law and Order. That can be amusing at times.

Today's musical non-sequitur:
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
Logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
Clinical, intellectual, cynical.
-- "The Logical Song" by Supertramp

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, June 11, 2007

Greetings! Happy Monday to y'all. Well, if there is such a thing as a "happy" Monday. I suppose it could be an oxymoron like "jumbo shrimp."

Do you realize that by this time next month we'll have already picked our favorites on Big Brother 8?

Here are today's TV Newsy Bits...

• Remember... The Closer third season premiere is next Monday, June 18 at 9 PM ET/PT on TNT. Did you miss some episodes of the second season? Not to worry! TNT is holding a fifteen-hour The Closer marathon starting at 6 AM leading into the season premiere. All of the second season will be shown. And, thanks to TBS, I was given a screener copy of the premiere episode -- it's a mind-boggler indeed.
• Yikes! There was a bit of controversy over the Sopranos finale, eh?
• Hide Harry! The man who was jailed in a kidnap plot to abduct David Letterman's son has escaped from prison. Don't go to Montana, Dave. Stay here on the East Coast and give us fresh pants.
• Speaking of late-night television hosts, it's dawning on me who Lonnie Quinn -- ex-soap opera actor, transplant from a Florida station, dubiously credentialed meteorologist (certifcate, no degree) new WCBS2 (NYC) evening "meteorologist" -- reminds me of... Conan O'Brien with blondish hair. Ack.
• Are you a fan of body art? Tomorrow night at 10 PM ET/PT, TLC will air the season premiere of Miami Ink. The show seems to be more about the art behind the tattoos than folks getting them. Check out the website for lots of cool show-related doings!
• Oh... those poor Law and Order: Criminal Intent stars! According to this AOL TV News article, the show's major actors including Vincent D'Onofrio, will be returning next season without a raise. For some odd reason, I think they're still in a higher salary tier than most folks.

BULLETIN: 'Big Brother' - Evil Dr. Will on Ablow NOW

Will Kirby is on the Dr. Keith Ablow (whatever) show right now in the NYC area. Check your local listings! It's FOX5 here in the NYC area.

Ah, the PuppetMaster! He's with his lady love, Erin Brodie. No Janelle mention as of yet.

The show is all about reality television couples, so if you're around and can catch it... I think a few of the blog readers here might be interested.

They're going into a Biggest Loser couple now.

Will says he's currently shooting a show called Doctor 90210 with the E! network.

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, May 7, 2007

Another season of The Amazing Race has ended, Survivor 14: Fiji is down to one show and then the big finale and reunion night (Sunday, May 13 starting at 8 PM). But we're getting closer to Big Brother 8! That should be starting the first week of July.

Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman are still going strong, as is American Idol. And, but of course, tonight is How I Met Your Mother and Heroes night for me!

Here are the TV Newsy Bits for today:

• If you're in the New York City area and, especially if you were around in the 1970s, tonight's 11 PM WCBS2 news (Channel 2) has an interview with Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz thirty years after the killing spree. I know it's a macabre thought, but I won't be able to not watch it. That was such a horrendous and plain old odd case.
• BuddyTV has their interview with Eric and Danielle, winners of The Amazing Race 11: All Stars, online for your perusal.
• Celebrity Spider has mild promotional spoilers (nothing big) for this week's Survivor 14: Fiji episode.
• Heh. Celebrity Spider also reports that the host of Pimp My Ride has lost his license to drive. Hmmm... could he get a new show called Pimp My City Bus?
• After sources said a few days ago that Lost will end after two more seasons, new sources are now saying three seasons.
• TVGuide.com has an interview with Missy Peregrym, the actress who plays Candace (the "illusionist" Primatech Paper morphing woman) on Heroes.
• This article casts doubt on the return of Jericho or The Class next fall, but I haven't seen any official announcements.

An added note: Some of the regular blog readers want to get a real-life meet-up arranged sometime over the summer. Most likely it would be in either New York City or perhaps Philadelphia. If you're a regular commenter here and want to get involved in the planning, send me an email (the contact info is in the sidebar). I'm putting together a mailing list to work on the details. Since this blog doesn't show email addresses, we're doing this off blog. If you want to get involved, yet don't want to use your regular email, send me an email telling me who you are in comments and I'll send you a free gmail invite.

TV Newsy Bits - Sunday, April 1, 2007

In huge television news, I'm talking huge news here... tonight's Amazing Race 11: All Stars will be airing on time here in the NYC viewing area! For the first time in weeks, there aren't any sports and all is running as per the schedule. It's a two-hour episode slated to start at 8 PM EDT. I'll blog East Coast Updates as events air here and a full review/recap should be posted late tonight.

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• Former WCBS 2 news anchor then reporter Reid Lamberty can now be seen anchoring FOX 5 Weekend News. I guess that's the cornfield for many. There have still been no Roz Abrams sightings. The Gothamist found a source which hints that Maurice DuBois might be wished to the cornfield and replaced with Chris Wragge on the early news show. And, long time a-coming... Sue Simmons has finally left the WNBC 5 PM broadcast. Now if she would leave the 6 and 11! I like her as much as as I do Roz Abrams. That's not saying much. Hey, who needs local news when you have such great drama?
• Is American Idol's Sanjaya being supported only by the Fanjayas? Or, is there a more evil plot in the works? Check out the skinny on the Howard Stern angle and VoteForTheWorst.com in this AOL article. Thanks, DLA for the heads up!
• AOL's American Idol feature page also has some very cool things like exit interviews with those voted off and, if you check under the recaps tab... you'll even see this blog listed under Best of the Web (scroll all the way down on the left). You don't need to be an AOL Member to access any of the content there.
• The lone woman on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, Shauntay Henderson, was caught last night just prior to America's Most Wanted's featured segment on her. The show still has a good record. I never know any of the people, though. That, of course, can be looked upon as a good thing indeed.

It's 10 PM - Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Um, no, I don't know where my children are. I know where my two cats are, though. And, I usually know where I am.

The local FOX affiliate's slogan has been in place for forty years and they're not letting us forget it. Channel 5, WNYW, in New York City, has had an ongoing anniversary celebration going on for a number of weeks now. Back in the days before FOX itself came into being its own network, WNYW started a newscast at 10 PM... a revolutionary thing for a world where we all knew local newscasts had to start at 11 and act as intros to Johnny Carson!

Back in 1967 when it all started, the slogan (It's 10 PM, do you know where your children are?) was an apt fit for the times in the city. Alas, these days 1 AM seems to be the new 10 PM. (Sigh.)

One of the local papers has an interview with Ernie Anastos regarding the anniversary. Of course, Ernie bailed out of WCBS Channel 2 where he was co-anchoring with Roz Abrams before WCBS sent her to the cornfield. I don't blame him. Together, Anastos and Rosanna Scotto make a good team. The chemistry is so much better than Anastos and Abrams although I can't think of a newscaster with the name of Rosanna without thinking of Gilda Radner's character Rosanna Rosannadanna. Eep! Thankfully, Rosanna Scotto isn't of that ilk. But, you know, it's always something.

Due to primetime programming, I don't always watch the FOX5 News at Ten, but when I do and I hear that slogan... it brings back the days of my own childhood in the late 60s to me. And, believe me, my parents always knew where I was at 10 PM even when I preferred they didn't!

Happy anniversary, FOX5 News at Ten! And, thanks go to blog reader Lisa for the heads-up on the Anastos article.

Another NYC CBS2 News Change

Well, at least it doesn't look like he's being wished to the cornfield as was Roz Abrams and many others. However, meterologist Jeff Berardelli is leaving WCBS2 (NYC) to work for a CBS affiliate in Miami. He seems to be happy about the decision, saying how much he loves to dive and hike. And, of course, the hurricane area is exciting for a meterologist. But, I'll always think of him as the guy who lived his dream of working his chosen field in the city where he was raised. I'll think of the Staten Island boy who had his mom out in the yard measuring the snow and reporting via telephone on the depth.

Jeff will still be involved in the Tunnel to Towers run, so we'll see him then. Although I may be a bit ignorant about news markets, it would seem that the NYC location is a bit higher up the career ladder than Miami. On the other hand, in NYC he's always under the shadow of John Bolaris and the opportunity may offer him chances not available at Channel 2.

I enjoyed Jeff and will miss him here, but wish him the best.

In another NYC news related bit, Duke Castigliano is over at FOX 5 with sports these days. What comes around, goes around. If you're interested in the other WCBS2 news change stories, just hit the New York City TV link at the bottom of this post.

TV Newsy Bits - Saturday, February 17, 2007

Not really television news, but it's expected to finally get over the freezing point here in the NYC Greater Metropolitan Area. Yes! Okay, only three degrees over freezing, but it's a start. Sunny and 35... it's kind of like a tropical heat wave!

Again, it's a Saturday night full of mostly repeats, but I see that BET has The Wire on at 9 PM (unlike last week when I had to tape it at 2 AM Wednesday to catch it). Oh, I'm so into the show! It's like Homicide: Life on the Street done narcotics (and a bit rough) and is written by the same person who's responsible for Homicide.

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• Sad news for the NYC news buffs... longtime reporter and news anchor from WNBC, Ralph Penza has died. For decades, he was the "hard-hitting" reporter exposing stories and he even had a creative edge about how he did stories from a sort of film-making angle.
• The good people at Buddy TV have an interview with ousted castaway Erica, the latest to be voted off Survivor 14: Fiji. She credits her MySpace page for getting her on the show. Huh. The whole interview is an interesting read.
• Remember Amy Crews from Big Brother? You know, the one who was smitten (so to say) with Marcellas Reynolds. She recently visited a chat at Jokers Updates and they have the transcript up.
• Celebrity Spider has mild promotional spoilers for this week's Lost episode while the New York Post has an article about the show's declining ratings.
• Anna Nicole Smith is still dead.

TV Peeves

I'm a huge television fan, as you might have guessed. Now, there are some things on the tube that I don't watch at all just because they hold no interest for me. That doesn't mean they're bad; it just means I'm not interested. I'm talking about programming such as soap operas, most sports, Jerry Springer, and such. Oh, wait. The last one might be actually "bad."

But, I don't fuss or whine about them because I know that some folks do enjoy them and they have their own fan base. Of course, the fan base for the last one may be a bit sordid, but who am I to judge? My name's not Simon Cowell and I ain't no judge no how no way.

However, there are some things which irk me in programming I do watch. So, please allow me the opportunity to get the peeves onto cyber-paper and out of my system.

• New York City does not have a blue tinge. Perhaps NYPD was blue, but the city's atmosphere is not. In its first season, C.S.I.: NY did the blue-tinged bit and now Heroes is doing it. Stop it. NYC isn't blue and, if you're going for some sort of "gritty-city" effect, it's not working. Plus, it makes photo-taking for my blog harder. I'm in and out of Manhattan a lot. Trust me, sometimes it may smell funny, but the air isn't blue.
• Another NYC-related rant... I generally don't watch the local FOX news for the most part. But, since I've been watching American Idol, I can't help but to catch some of the local FOX5 blurbs and sometimes even the show itself. This is New York City. We're supposed to be on top of stuff, right? How can they not understand the concept of what a blog is on FOX 5 News at Ten? Yo, FOX5, listen up! What I'm doing right now isn't a blog... it's a blog entry or a blog article. Comments are not blogs. Your viewers are not blogging to you and you are not reading their blogs unless you're reading a whole actual blog (such as The (TV) Show Must Go On...). A blog is a collection of entries, usually with comments (responses), updated regularly so the newest entries appear at the top. You are reading your viewers' comments, not their blogs. I realize there is a section to create blogs on the website, but you're over-using the term and the comments read on the air aren't blogs. "Blog us now!" Go blog yourselves. Sheesh.

What's been irking you on TV lately?

You Asked?

Sometimes folks ask questions or email me questions (about television, of course). Well, sometimes I get asked other questions, but let's stick to TV, please! Here are a few questions I've been asked lately and my answers to the best of my research and/or knowledge.

Has Cash Cab been canceled?

There is no official notice on the website that the show has been canceled although it has indeed been removed from the current schedule. The show's website page still exists with no mention of cancelation. It went from being shown in the early evenings (Discovery Channel) to a kiss-of-death slot in the mornings at 9 and 9:30. The show had been in reruns until last week and it just doesn't exist this week in television listings. The message forum for the show has conflicting information. On host Ben Bailey's website page, he mentions canceling some comedy shows on February 1-3 for Cash Cab filming. Since that section of his website is updated, we can only hope the show is just on a hiatus until new episodes are in the can. And, of course, I hope it's brought back to the early evening slot.

What the heck is going on at WCBS2 News in New York City?

I've posted a few articles about the changes in the news staff - WCBS-TV (NYC), Darn You! last spring and more recently WCBS News Wishes Another to the Cornfield? In addition to the names listed, also wished to the cornfield recently were tech editor Brett Larson (last seen in December) and news anchor Reid Lamberty. Rumors have it that Cindy Hsu's contract is ending soon and she too will be banished from the Magic Kingdom. The missing already include Roz Abrams, Mario Bosquez, Vanessa Alfano, Audrey Puente, Shon Gables and more. Don't ask me why... that WCBS2 would have to answer.

WCBS News Wishes Another to the Cornfield?

Beware - this article is regionally focused unlike most of my entries here. If you're in the NYC viewing area, you may be interested in reading on. If you're not, it may be a bunch of odd news. But, then again, it's odd news going on...

Last spring I wrote about the changes on the early pre-The Early Show news show on the local CBS affiliate - WCBS, Channel 2 out of New York City. I liked that show as it was, craziness and all, to have on in the background as I readied myself for work. I liked Shon Gables, Dave Price, Mario Bosquez, Vanessa Alfano and the others. I liked Dance Fridays and a bit of zany tomfoolery to start out my day. Ah, but WCBS had a better idea. They took anchor Maurice Dubois from the evening news, thrust him in the early morning slot and imported a woman from somewhere in the Midwest to co-anchor. They would have a proper newscast! No more tomfoolery!

While Price continued on in his The Early Show job, the others may as well have been victims of Anthony Fremont in The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" - wished to the cornfield never to be seen again. Yes, Shon Gables had an appearance on The View (which I missed). But, where oh where is Mario Bosquez? Is he still in the cornfield? Will he emerge someday to grace my television screen once again? I see Vanessa Alfano sometimes on the old UPN station, now My9 or something to that effect. But she's still in the cornfield, perhaps escaping now and then for a glimpse on my set.

In December, WCBS wished another news anchor to the cornfield - Roz Abrams, a local NYC news fixture for decades. Like Mario, supposedly she's still employed by them, but nowhere in sight. Cornfield, I say! With her disappearance, I wasn't too saddened. For me, Roz just didn't do it. I swear she sat around practicing cutesy looks instead of being a news anchor. Replacing her with Dana Tyler was a good move.

Earlier, the two co-anchors of the noon newscast vanished into the cornfield and sportscaster Chris Wragge replaced them, along with yet another import. Cindy Hsu occasionally emerges from the cornfield as a correspondent on stories, but I fear the day it will be permanent cornfield for her.

The latest to be sent to the cornfield is Audrey Puente, the meteorologist doing the weather on the early morning and noon shows. Some weather-dude from California with teeny glasses is in her place. Gak. Like the others, she's supposed to be still on contract.

But I hear all the cries from the cornfield...

WCBS-TV (NYC), Darn You!

My early mornings just aren't the same. Y'see, I'm usually up by 5:30 AM to get ready for my workday. I'm out the door before 6:30. And, more importantly, I'm not really a morning person. Oh, yeah ... I like to see the sunrise at times. But, more often than not, I like to see my bed.

The past three years or so, I've been an addict of the local CBS affiliate's early early morning news show. I've mentioned it before on the blog. The CBS 2 News Crew in its prime featured Dave Price (weather and craziness), Shon Gables, Mario Bosquez, Vanessa Alfano (traffic reports) and Duke Castiglione (sports and the infamous Stump Duke t-shirt giveaways). They made me smile; sometimes I even guffawed early in the morning. Yes, they delivered the news, but it was more than that. The chemistry between the folks on the show, the zaniness of Price Gone Amok, the music choices from Scooter and Dave, the Dance Fridays ... all gone. One by one, the cast has been vanishing.

First I noticed Duke was mysteriously gone. Of course, I miss a bit of the show. Perhaps there was an announcement, but I didn't hear one. Duke, the NYC transplant, whose father was the voice of the Red Sox radio reporting, was always fun to watch in the "Stump Duke" segments where folks would e-mail or call in sports questions. Quite often, he got stumped and the caller would receive a t-shirt. Sometimes celebrities called in. I never did. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy watching the segment, though.

Then, one day, I heard Vanessa Alfano say something about not being there next week in regard to something going on with Dave Price. I assumed she would be on vacation. She and Dave had a flirting fun thing going on -- Dave acted like it was a case of unrequited love, while in reality it looked like just a good friendship hammed up for the cameras. Alas, she never got her Muppet and poof ... gone. I know anyone can do traffic; it doesn't require a lot of personality or anything. But I enjoyed her.

I've had my secret crush (okay, not so secret I guess) on Mario Bosquez for a while. He just seems like such a nice guy. He has a pleasant announcer's voice and comes across as an intriguing intelligent man. Although he's off the early morning show, he's apparently staying in some capacity at the station. In the past, he's often filled in on anchor slots when folks are away. I'll be looking for him! Well, not literally stalking or anything. I'll be looking for his appearances on newscasts.

Then there's Shon Gables. I like her. She's quick-witted, personable, attractive and intelligent. She's involved with so many community things as a representative of the station that I hope she'll be around in some capacity somehow. I'd rather see her than Roz Abrams who seems to be intent on posing cute or something to that effect. She, Mario and Dave all had their 2 Crew Muppets. Sigh.

Of course, I feel the heart of the show was Dave Price. He was the magic which inspired the rest. Recently, his mentor in the business, the retired Jim Ryan joined the Crew. I saw his announcement last week that it would be his last day as a regular anchor but that he would be a contributing reporter or such. But, when Price went, I figured Jim would go. I think he came aboard due to Price. And, Dave Price ... the last year or so I was wondering how he could keep up such a hectic pace traveling here and there for The Early Show, yet always getting up even earlier on location to transmit the local NYC stuff via satellite. He's cut back his duties to just the national show. While I understand on a human exhausting point of view kind of way, his departure made my early morning routine less happy and more ... well, routine.

Oh, why couldn't they have at least kept Mario and Shon in the early morning slot? Instead, WCBS 2 changed absolutely every little thing about the show so many of us dedicated viewers loved. Nothing against Maurice DuBois - he's professional, attractive, well-spoken and all. But his strictly news, no fun, no bits of personality shining through just doesn't cut it in the morning. I'm still not sure of the imported from the Midwest co-anchor's name. I just know it isn't Shon. Of course, I wish her luck in her new endeavor. I know that getting aboard the NYC viewing market is a big thing for a TV news person. The set has changed; the attitude and fun is gone out of the show. What the heck is WCBS doing? Trying to culture shock us by going from one extreme to the other? Heck, if I want just straightlaced news in the morning, I can turn to any station.

Maybe I'll just go back to listening to New Jersey 101.5 in the mornings as I did before discovering the the ultimate morning news show which is now history. Sigh...