Media Scribbler

With “Saturday Night Live” posting its highest ratings in 14 years when vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared on the show last Saturday night, other shows are also using Palin and her running-mate, presidential candidate John McCain to draw attention.
However, while the debate still rages over the political impact of Palin’s SNL cameo, and whether it will help or hurt the McCain-Palin ticket, it’s undeniable that Seth MacFarlane and Jon Stewart are far from supporting them.
On Sunday night’s episode of MacFarlane’s show, “Family Guy”, Stewie and Brian steal Nazi uniforms and then find a McCain-Palin button pinned under the lapel. A …read more

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Americans were ready for some football on Thursday night, but maybe not as much as they were last year.
Despite having the reigning Super Bowl champions up against a traditional rival in two competitive East Coast markets, the NBC regular-season kickoff between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins had four million fewer viewers than last season’s kickoff, according to TV Decoder and Nielsen Media Research.
TV Decoder largely chalked the reason up to the game being scheduled an hour earlier because of Republican National Convention coverage. But with only one team having a well-known quarterback (and the other team …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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Can you make a hit TV series out of a movie that was in theaters in 2002? Jennifer Lopez seems to think so, as she exec-produces a new ABC project based on the Cinderella-in-the-city tale she starred in six years ago, “Maid in Manhattan“.
The show, which is destined to match up with Salma Hayek’s “Ugly Betty“, will focus more on the starring role of a Latina maid’s relationships with coworkers than on any particular love interest.
In fact, pilot writer Chad Hodge said it will bear more resemblance to the classic Brit series, “Upstairs, Downstairs“. If Hodge is smart, he’ll …read more

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Now here’s a way to work through the pain of a broken engagement. Salma Hayek and her producing partner, Jose Tamez, are teaming up with Merv Griffith Productions to develop a reality show based around weddings, sez Variety.
Hayek, probably best known for her interlude with a snake for “From Dusk Till Dawn“, recently split with her fiance, billionaire and babydaddy Francois-Henri Pinault. Most women would shy away from any reminder of a would-be wedding of their own. But Hayek, who also developed “Ugly Betty”, clearly isn’t most women.

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It’s always a hit or a miss whether or not an American remake of a UK show can find an audience that’s not constantly comparing it to the original model. It’s kind of like remaking a classic car.
But if “Life on Mars” fails to make the jump across the pond, it won’t be from lack of proven star power without an English accent.
Lisa Bonet, familiar to most from well over a decade ago as Denise on “The Cosby Show” but also making random appearances in films like “High Fidelity”, has joined the cast as Sam Tyler’s present-day girlfriend, said a …read more

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Generally, the one of the last things that a network wants is to end up fueling the ire of watchdog groups like the Parents Television Council. As soon as the form letter e-mails start pouring in, affiliates and censors start getting nervous and it all turns into an episode of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip“.
But the CW (a network geared toward a fairly young demographic) is making lots of lemonade out of the critics’ lemons. As Cynthia Littleton of Variety pointed out in her blog, the CW is now putting critical quotes about “Gossip Girl” in bold type on …read more

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The Monte-Carlo Television Festival and Eurodata TV Worldwide have awarded prizes to the international television programs which have delivered the highest ratings worldwide from June 2007 – May 2008. Three US programs picked up the awards at the 48th Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
CSI: Las Vegas ( USA ) won for “Drama TV Series”
CSI: Las Vegas gathered more than 83.9 million viewers worldwide in 2007*.

Runners up: CSI: Miami ( USA ) and House ( USA ).

Desperate Housewives ( USA ) for “Comedy TV Series”
Desperate Housewives gathered more than 61.5 million viewers worldwide in 2007*.
Runners up: Monk ( USA ) and Ugly …read more

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Image copyright Lisa Finnegan
Dana Delaney doesn’t know why Desperate Housewives is so popular, but after turning down the role of Bree four years ago she was desperate to get onto Wisteria Lane herself.
After the show became a big hit she admitted “to a few 3:00 in the morning nights of, ‘oh my God’ what did I do?” she said at a press conference at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
While in town Delaney picked up the festival’s coveted Annual International TV Audience Award on behalf of the cast and crew of the show. At the awards ceremony she told the audience, …read more

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