bloggers
Recent posts
- Bill Moyers to retire
- Tina Fey: On NBC, Palin, fave ads....
- How to say "goodbye?" Lessons from Johnny
- Oprah: "The exact right time"
- "Curb:" Great season ends
- "O" Go: the day after
- O: Over, over, over.
- Breaking: O says it over
- Breaking: "Lost" schedule news
- Fox News: Oops
- "The Daily Show:" Dobbs
- Breaking: Fox Biz News to Cablevision
- Palin-O'Reilly Ticket? Why not?
- Pattinson: On Letterman
- Hannity and Palin: The Interview
archives
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Bill Moyers to retire
NYT scribe Elizabeth Jensen is reporting that Bill Moyers will retire from weekly television next April, when he ends "Bill Moyers Journal."
Here's the pull quote from the Times:
“I am 75 years old,” he said of the decision to end the series, which began in April 2007. The program has recently been having a “good run of it,” he added in a telephone interview on Friday, “so I feel it’s time.”
This isn't quite Oprah-esque, but...Moyers is one of the TV journalism greats: A reporter of enormous integrity whose work (along with "Frontline" and "60 Minutes") ranks with some of the best on TV.
And has for years.
Big loss for PBS. And for viewers.
Tags: bill moyers
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Tina Fey: On NBC, Palin, fave ads....
Tina: Her she is at the Ad Council's annual dinner at the Waldorf Wednesday night. This got a little bit of press because of her digs at NBC, but a couple at Sarah Palin too. ("...I'll be doing her until I'm dead.")
It's amusing.
Tags: tina fey, sarah palin, ad council
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How to say "goodbye?" Lessons from Johnny
Really, in a couple years time - or about 22 months - we've got a big big departure.
Johnny gave us one year notice.
How did his last night look? Here's a walk down memory lane, and an object lesson in how the greatest broadcaster in TV history bowed out...
Tags: johnny carson, oprah winfrey
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Oprah: "The exact right time"
This was the statement, also read on the air..."After much prayer and months of careful thought, I've decided the next season, season 25, will be the last season of the 'Oprah Winfrey Show,' Winfrey said. "Over the days you may hear a lot of speculation in the press about why I'm making this decision now and that will mostly be conjecture, so I wanted you to hear this directly from me.
"Twenty-four years ago on September 8, 1986, I went live from Chicago to launch the first national 'Oprah Winfrey Show.' I was beyond excited, and as you all might expect, a little nervous. I knew then what a miraculous opportunity I had been given, but I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment with you. These years with you, our viewers, have enriched my life beyond all measure. And you all have graciously invited me into your living rooms, into your kitchens, and into your lives, and for some of you long-time Oprah viewers, you have literally grown up with me, we've grown together.
"You had your families and you raised your children and you left a spot for me in your morning or your afternoon, depending on when the Oprah show airs in your town. So I wanted to say, whether you've been with me from the beginning or whether you came onboard last week, I want you all to know that my relationship with you is one that I hold very dear. And your trust in me, the sharing of your precious time every day with me has brought me the greatest joy I have ever known.
"So here we are halfway through the season, 24, and it still means as much to me to spend an hour every day wit you as it did back in 1986. So why walk away and make next season the last? Here is the real reason -- I love this show. This show has been my life. And I love it enough to know when it's time to say goodbye. Twenty-five years feels right in my bones, and it feels right in my spirit. It's the perfect number, the exact right time.
"So I hope that you will take this 18-month ride with me right through to the final show. Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January. And then season 25, we are going to knock your socks off. So the countdown to the end of the 'Oprah Winfrey Show' starts now. And until that day in 2011 when it ends, I intend to soak up every meaningful, joyful moment with you. Thanks, everybody. And I'll see you on Monday."
Tags: oprah, the farewell statement
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"Curb:" Great season ends
A great season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" ends Sunday - "Seinfeld!" "The Reunion!" - and while we wait around for O to announce officially completely utterly that her show is really trully gonna end...
...let's take a look back at "Curb's" funniest moments this season.
So many, I don't really know where to begin. (A version of all this runs in Sunday Fanfare.)
And away we go...
1.) Bam Bam (Catherine O'Hara), Funkhauser's crazy sister, ruins a perfectly good dinner, with a helping hand from Larry and Jeff.
2.) Larry consults with Loretta's (Vivica A. Fox) new cancer doc, Dr. Trundle (Sharon Lawrence) and makes a perfect ass of himself - to convince Trundle that he's the cause of Loretta's illness, so Loretta will leave him.
3.) Larry debates in his mind: Should he apologize to the officious president of NBC, and tell him about his Lyme disease - thus earning Larry forgiveness for his appalling behavior at the basketball game, and letting the "Seinfeld" reunion go forward? Or: Should he let the guy "die"? Tough decision...
4.) Larry decides he wants to date a disabled woman because he thinks that "a---holes don't go out with the disabled," which means people will like him, or at least he'll get better seats at restaurants.
5.) Larry kills golf club czar Mr. Takahashi's (Dana Lee) beloved swan when it attacked him, then tries to pin the murder rap on dearly departed Norm (Paul Mazursky) whom Larry sort of killed too.
6.) Larry gets Leon (J.B. Smoove) to play someone who recovered from Groat's disease, thus comforting Michael Richards, who is also suffering from the disease. But the ruse backfires - badly.
Tags: larry david, curb your enthusiasm
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"O" Go: the day after
Uh-oh.
Here we go.
Or rather, there O goes.
Saddle up, cowboys. This is gonna be a long ride through some rough terrain - characterized mostly by windy speculation about What It All Means.
But before we get to our own windy speculation, let's go to the world at large.
What is everyone else out there saying?
Here's a sampling from across the world wide web spectrum...
Robyn Okrant, the lady who's Lived Oprah, literally, the last year by doing everything Oprah tells her to do...
" I'm left thinking about how formative The Oprah Winfrey Show has been in my life. It started when I was 13 or so and clearly has impacted my adulthood. I'll post more tomorrow about this, since I'm about to put dinner on the table, but I'm looking forward to hearing your reactions.
One thing that is a little weird - Oprah's show will end in 2011. I just saw a huge movie that said the world will end in 2012. COINCIDENCE? Maybe not..."Richard Daley, Chi mayor, blames the media.
I mean, who else? Here's what he said in the Chicago Sun Times:
"When the controversy came up on Michigan Avenue, and people were criticizing her in the media, the first thing I said is, 'She's paying for everything on Michigan Avenue.' I said, 'So, why are you criticizing her?' The merchants loved it, we had huge recognition around the world when she opened her show, and so I don't think people realize that if you keep beating people up, well, then people take a different version of what can take place.
"She loves this city, and I will be talking to her, but again, that became a big rhubarb of the
Chicago press: Beat up Oprah. And so, you keep kicking people, and people will leave. Simple as that."Ellen gets the call:
Sure she does,. She's the new queen of all media in a couple years. The crown must be passed... This to her audience yesterday.
"Hey listen, I'm going to tell you some news you're going to hear as soon as you go out into the world, when you leave here. Right before I came out here, I got a call from Oprah and she told me that she is announcing that next year will be her last year. It will be her 25th year and she feels like it's time for her to stop. I don't think I could be here without her. I think she has blazed a trail...She is an amazing woman. She will always be the Queen of daytime television and she also said she is leaving me all of her money. I was like, thanks Oprah, thank you. So anyway, that is what you will hear but she is still going
to do a lot of good work. She is an amazing woman. I love her and we've gotten very close over this ridiculous idea that I had of getting on the cover of "O." A silly dream...And now we talk all the time and she is fantastic and I love her and I wish her the best. She deserves to rest. She has worked really, really hard" said talk show host
NPR:Enough with the honey and treacle! What we need now is a good dose of vinegar and Linda Holmes of NPR served that up this morning...
"Here's what I can tell you: the next two years are going to be so insufferable that they will make you forget all about the multiple, tearful, overwrought, tooth-gnashing farewells to Brett Favre.
Seriously: Consider that, particularly in the last eight to ten years, The Oprah Winfrey Show has become your one-stop shop for inspiration delivered directly to you via fire hose, knocking you back against the wall as inspiration goes right up your nose, whether you want that much inspiration or not. You will be inspired, and you will like it, and all of us will have feelings and we will talk about them.
Oprah encourages us to embrace our overinvestment, especially in ourselves. Oprah is all about celebrating your personal greatness. Your personal glory. The spaces between your personal toes and the lint accumulating therein. Learn to love your toe lint!
Gayle King:
Hey, what's a story about Oprah without Gayle? It is a nothing story, that's what it is. Here's what GK told People mag, when they caught up with her at a party for Diddy...Diddy...I'd much rather hear what he has to sayy:
"Winfrey's best friend Gayle King, 54, dismissed any thought of risks involved with something new, and told PEOPLE at the Diddy party, "When you think about it, Oprah Winfrey has been No. 1 every single year since she started."
King, who is an editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine, and is close to the media queen, said in response to a question that she was not consulted about Winfrey's move. "This was definitely Oprah's decision, and Oprah's decision alone."
As for any sense of loss Winfrey might feel about her show, King laughed and said, " I think that Oprah always makes the best decision for herself. I really do. And I have a feeling she will come up with some things to do. She has a very full life … We don't need to worry about her filling her time, I promise you that! Life is good for her."
Tags: oprah, gayle king, richard daley, linda holmes, ellen degeneres
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O: Over, over, over.
Well, what the heck do I know?
I figured she'd stick around through 2013.
(Sometimes it's so very hard to say goodbye - even for Oprah.)
But this looks like it's it.
"It" meaning, the show will really trully end 22 months from now.
Which - of course - gives us ample time to write the "Oprah Winfrey Show" obits and What It All Meant.
I'm sure we'll think of something. We always do.
Here's Tim Bennett - boss of Harpo - in the message he sent to stations, and everyone else just about three hours ago:
Dear Friends:
Over the past several weeks, my team and I have
had conversations with many of you to help address
your questions about the future of "The Oprah
Winfrey Show." Of course, the one question we
couldn't answer was the one that only Oprah could.
And tomorrow, she will do just that.
But before she speaks to her loyal viewers, we
wanted to share her decision first with you -- our
valued partners for more than two decades.
Tomorrow, Oprah will announce live on "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" that she has decided to end what is
arguably one of the most popular, influential and
enduring programs in television history. The sun
will set on the "Oprah" show as its 25th season
draws to a close on September 9, 2011.
We welcome you to share this news this evening
with your colleagues and viewers. As we all know,
Oprah's personal comments about this on tomorrow's
live show will mark an historic television moment
that we will all be talking about for years to
come.
We want to thank you for the partnership and
friendship we have shared over the years. Your
invaluable support has helped us to create the
phenomenon of the "Oprah Show" that we've all been
so proud to be a part of for the last 24 years. My
staff and I will be calling all of you directly
tonight and tomorrow. We look forward to speaking
with you.
And, if you think the last quarter century has
been something, then "don't touch that dial" as
together we plan to make history in the next 20
months ... and beyond.
Yours sincerely,
Tim Bennett
President, Harpo, Inc.
Tags: Oprah, tim bennett
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Breaking: O says it over
WABC broke this a little while ago:
“The sun will set on the Oprah show as its 25th season draws to a close on September 9, 2011,” WABC said.
But...will O take her show, or some version of it to OWN?
It seems unlikely that she would leave the network she is launching high and dry - without Oprah herself.
No further details except...an official announcement is expected tomorrow.
Tags: orpah
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Breaking: "Lost" schedule news
"ABC announces the premiere of the sixth and final season of “Lost,” with a special all-night event on Tuesday, February 2. A recap special will kick off the night from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET, followed by the much anticipated two-hour premiere from 9:00-11:00 p.m.
The series will then air in its regular time period – Tuesday nights from 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET – beginning the following week, on February 9. "
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Fox News: Oops
This is embarrassing - and must be REALLY embarrassing for a smart guy like Gregg Jarrett.
But the other day, Fox ran one of these stories about "huge crowds" for Palin etc. etc. and ran file footage of crows behind her. Jarrett referred to these crowds, and - as anyone could pretty much tell - they were crowds from last year, when she was running for veep. The anti-Fox watchdogs jumped on this and here below are relevant screen shots, with tags by Think Progress and Media Matters.
Politico, the good political website, picked this up, and the match was lit to tinder.
Now, FNC is apologizing.
By the way, MSNBC popped up those silly photo-shopped pix of Palin in bikini the other day, too - said they were authentic, then apologized, too.
So like the swine flu, this is going around.
Is any of this a big deal? Not really. "Today," for example, this morning had a similar sort of story, about "crowds" and people camping out and so on. Footage, though, was - if you will - story-appropriate.
But - of course - this is the second time in a week that something like this happened, with "Hannity Tonight" airing big crowd shots from an event that happened in September to illustrate a piece that happened just hours earlier. "Daily Show" called 'em out; Hannity apologized.
So this looks bad, and of course some people will say - oh gee, Fox is using footage to puff something up. I think it's just a plain old-fashing frak-up.
Tags: gregg jarrett, fox news, fox news channel, sean hannity, the daily show, msnbc
