Tag Archives: Television

Remember when ABC’s Monday Night Football was an EVENT? When you built your day around meeting the gang for happy hour and variously watching Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Frank Gifford, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Dierdorf, even O.J., pontificate on the floodlit vicissitudes of the game with palpable electricity in the air …

Though Tom Snyder, 68, has always been a bombastic blowhard, he’s my kind of bombastic blowhard, full of enegy, life, opinions, self-assurance, but willing to laugh at himself as well. I haven’t watched him in years but I am sad to hear he has leukemia. He blurts that, and several …

Claymates, cover your ears. I realize that this may be hard to believe, but Clay Aiken was not always the vicious and feared whirlwind of menace and melody that he is today. At one point in time he was even considered something of a WIMP. Tomorrow on the Dr Phil …

Wednesday, ax day, the day all American Idol finalists dread, has claimed another victim. Unfortunately but not totally unexpectedly, lean, lovely and stubbornly eclectic Nadia Turner has been excised from the competition and somehow, someway, slovenly sullen squinty Scott Savol, the pride of Shaker Heights, has survived to publicly display …

From her revamped, newly arty site: “The time has finally come to share our wonderful news that we are expecting our first child together. There are reports that I was in the hospital this weekend, and Kevin and I just want everyone to know that all is well. Thank you …

I resume after an evening’s repose, refreshed and semi-alert, with commentary on last night’s American Idol birth-year theme (pt 1 here). Before I forget: the live band that accompanies the singers is absolutely great: they are versatile, know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em, and have made …

Leaping into the breach, I offer these humble reactions to tonight’s Final 8 performances on American Idol, performances with the novel theme of songs from the year each contestant was born, complete with obligatory baby pics and wider than usual stylistic variety. Nadia Turner, simply stunning in resplendent smile, short …

With Bono (who else?) at the forefront, the ONE organization announced that the ABC and MTV Networks networks will support ONE’s efforts against poverty and AIDS by donating air time for the world premiere of a new public service announcement starring the unlikely combination of Pat Robertson, the Most Rev. …

PBS will air the first jazz series on network TV in 40 years with Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis, which will debut on June 16, 2005 with a one-hour special, showcasing winners of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters award. The series premieres with Legends of Jazz: …

ABC evening news anchorman of 22 years, Peter Jennings, has announced he has lung cancer. With Tom Brokaw (21 years at NBC) and Dan Rather (24 years at CBS) recently retired, Jennings, 66, is the last of his generation still at the nightly news helm. Jennings made the announcement today …