Media Scribbler

For the cable news networks, the national Presidential conventions are like the Olympics in ratings. CNN is going gangbusters with their Democratic National Convention coverage, and pulled in averaged 5.38 million viewers from 10 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, when VP nominee Joe Biden spoke and Presidential nominee Barack Obama made a “surprise” appearance. That was only slightly less than NBC’s 5.8 million viewers for the same time period, and CNN’s average for the night was up 95 percent over their coverage of the same night during the 2004 convention.
Unfortunately for the folks who make the programming decisions at CNN …read more

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Uber-producer Aaron Sorkin made his name by building a fictitious White House administration. Then he moved on to helming a show about fictitious television ensemble. Even though the “fiction” of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Script” was debatable, it still took liberties and made the characters do things that even the original “Saturday Night Players” would’ve shied away from.
Now he’s taking on a non-fictional project, and has even taken the step of being a part of what he’s creating on a personal level. He’s gotten a Facebook, and will probably be friended by at least a couple thousand people within …read more

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Are there any TV addicts out there who doesn’t have bittersweet memories of the 1998-1999 ABC series “Cupid” ? The show starring Jeremy Piven that was sandwiched between his roles on “Ellen” and “Entourage”?

The premise was that a guy named Trevor believed that he had been banished by Zeus from Mount Olympus and had to hook up 100 couples to get back, while trying to avoid his own arrows of love in the process. In the meantime, his friends try to figure out whether he’s actually for real or just a bit wacko.
The critics loved it, but it was pulled before …read more

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Finally, one channel found a way to beat NBC’s Olympic coverage, if only for one night, with the tween set.
According to Multichannel News, “Cheetah Girls: One World” drew more than 6.2 million viewers Friday night, directly against the prime-time Olympic coverage on NBC. Moreover, it actually built its audience 14 percent throughout the night,
The film, starring Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams and Sabrina Bryan, was the night’s No. 1 telecast overall among kids 6-11 (2.8 million) and Tweens 9-14 (2.4 million), according to Disney Channel officials.
“Cheetah Girls: One World” is now the second biggest film on TV this summer, right behind “Camp Rock”. And …read more

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When you’ve got a hot new show that’s already creating controversy before showing more than a 30-second preview, what’s the best way to deal with it? For several shows this season, that means not sending TV writers a screening DVD of the new show’s pilot before it debuts.
Officials with the CW issued a statement Monday saying that they and CBS Paramount Television would not be screening the first ep of “90210″ before it premieres  Sept. 2. They said the move was not made because they were concerned about critical reviews of the show hurting its ratings, but that they’re “simply …read more

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It’s been rumored for awhile, but the deal has been inked for Laurence Fishburne to replace William Petersen on “CSI” mid-season, according to TVWeek.
Fishburne, who is probably best known for his role in “The Matrix” trilogy, will first appear in the show’s nineth episode, scheduled in mid-November. CBS said Fishburne will play an ex-pathologist who become college crimistics professor with a focus on how people become violent. After consulting on a homicide investigation, he ends up joining the “CSI” team full-time.
It’s going to be hard to fill the shoes of Petersen, who will remain with the show as an exec-producer. …read more

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Today’s NYT has a fascinating article about how Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” has now moved from being shunted onto the the McCain overflow bus eight years ago — described as “a repository for outcasts, misfits and journalistic bottom-feeders” — into Stewart coming in fourth last year as the news journalist Americans most trust (tied with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw of NBC, and Dan Rather of CBS.)
Not only has the “The Daily Show” (and its sister show “The Colbert Report”) has become a must-stop venue for political types who appear on the show, including Republican soon-to-be …read more

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Comics Continuum has a preview of the upcoming season of “Heroes” on their site. The show definitely will make the “Heroes” fandom be ready to get the show on the road on Sept. 22, if they weren’t already beyond the waiting point after a writer’s strike-shortened season.
One observation from a non-Heroes-watching observer who is a huge fan of “Doctor Who” — when you think about it, this show is closer to that classic British sci-fi show than anything on American TV at the moment. There are other sci-fi shows with aliens and space travel, but there aren’t many with so …read more

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The author of this-here blog is down for the count with probable strep throat. Hopefully I’ll be back in commission tomorrow. Sorry for the radio silence.

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