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15 Stories

October 2008
- Kath & Kim Is Floppy Seconds
  
  USA Today | Oct 9, 08 12:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As if Knight Rider wasn't bad enough, NBC continues to look like a college kid "furnishing an apartment out of mom's hand-me-downs" in debuting the "witlessly Americanized" sitcom Kath & Kim , writes Robert Bianco in USA Today . The Australian remake wastes Molly Shannon's talents while "exposing the limits of Selma Blair's comedy range." The show "jerks from comedy to cautionary tale," making it a "horror show," Mark A. Perigard agrees in the Boston Herald. More »
  
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  NBC • comedy • Saturday Night Live • network television • Selma Blair
September 2008
- 'Dr. Greene' to Return to ER
  
  Associated Press | Sep 5, 08 11:20 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Dr. Mark Greene is coming back to ER , but he's not coming back from the dead. Anthony Edwards will reprise the role of Greene, who died of a brain tumor at the end of the 2002 season, in flashback scenes in the Nov. 13 episode, NBC says. Other County General alumni will also make cameos during the show's 15th and final season, but there's no word yet on the show's most famous alum, George "Dr. Doug Ross" Clooney. More »
  
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  NBC • network television • cameo • guest appearance
- WB Favorites Survive Online
  
  Advertising Age | Sep 2, 08 2:53 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer can rejoice: The defunct WB network relaunched last week as an interactive website. TheWB.com features on-demand episodes of its classic teen shows, alongside original programming aimed at the 16- to-34-year-old market, Advertising Age reports. The site also sports "sharing features," including an application that lets users add WB content to their Facebook pages. More »
  
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  Internet • Facebook • social networking • Warner Brothers • network television • Buffy the Vampire Slayer • soap operas
July 2008
- Mad Men, Damages Make History With Emmy Nods
  
  Associated Press | Jul 17, 08 9:11 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Mad Men , AMC's sleek 1950s advertising drama, and FX's legal thriller Damages made Emmy nominations history today as the first basic cable programs to gain best-series nods. HBO's John Adams , meanwhile, was the overall frontrunner with 23 bids, including a lead-actor nomination for Paul Giamatti's turn as Adams. More »
  
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  television • cable TV • network television • Emmy Awards • Lost • The Wire • Mad Men
- Gossip Girl a Fashion Force
  
  New York Times | Jul 8, 08 4:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - CW’s Gossip Girl has enjoyed only so-so ratings in its first year, but it's become a major trend-setter in fashion for young women, the New York Times reports. Retailers say the show, which features rich and preppy teens, has a huge influence on sales, sort of like a Sex and the City for the younger set. In addition, many designers are incorporating the show’s look into their fall lineups. More »
  
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  television • fashion • fashion designer • clothing • network television • trend • Gossip Girl • fashion industry
June 2008
- Trauma Unit: TV's Leading Luckless Ladies
  
  Radar | Jun 11, 08 9:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As a cokehead-dating addict who, among other things, got shot by carjackers, burned in a house fire, and suffered amnesia, Kelly Taylor of "Beverly Hills, 90210" is the gold standard of TV victims. Employing the misery-measuring "Kellyness" scale, Radar rates prime time's most luckless ladies. Meredith Grey, "Grey's Anatomy": Abandoned by her alcoholic father, cursed by a suicidal and Alzheimer's-riddled mother, Grey's loving stepmom died while in her care. Kellyness: 8 More »
  
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  network television • reality television • Lost • Grey's Anatomy • victimization • dramatic tv
May 2008
- Digital Switch May KO Ratings
  
  New York Times | May 27, 08 3:58 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Almost 25 million US homes own at least one set that will go dark when broadcast TV switches to digital next year—which could wreak havoc on ratings, the New York Times reports. Roughly 17% of network prime-time viewers are using unprepared TVs, according to Nielsen. Secondary TVs, like those in bedrooms or kitchens, were especially vulnerable, which could hurt late-night and morning programming. More »
  
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  TV ratings • network television • digital television • Nielsen • TV advertising • digital broadcasting
- Network TV Records Worst Ratings Ever
  
  Variety | May 21, 08 11:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With just a few days left in the 2007-'08 TV season, Fox is set to take the ratings belt from five-time winner CBS. But it’ll be something of a hollow victory, because network TV on the whole recorded its worst year ever, Variety reports. Among the top five networks, audiences fell 7%, and the coveted 18-49 demographic fell 10%. More »
  
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  television • CBS • Fox • TV ratings • network television • Nielsen Ratings • Fox network
- So Long Katie; Don't Let the Door Hit You
  
  New Yorker | May 20, 08 12:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Katie Couric’s unhappy tenure as CBS Evening News anchor will soon end, and not a moment too soon for Nancy Franklin of the New Yorker. Couric seemed likely to succeed at the start, but she wound up ditching the qualities people liked in her and becoming a teleprompter-reading automaton. But above all, she lacked what declining network news shows need: passion. More »
  
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  media • Katie Couric • news anchor • network television • television news • Leslie Moonves • CBS Evening News
April 2008
- Will Britney Join TV Cast? Harris Says No Thanks
  
  MTV | Apr 10, 08 8:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Britney Spears did a fine job in her guest spot on "How I Met Your Mother," but don't expect her to join the cast anytime soon, star Neil Patrick Harris tells MTV. "You do it one week, it's fine, but to do it a lot of weeks is hard," he said. "She's not going to be a regular on our show." A CBS spokesman had no comment, though rumor mills continue to swirl. More »
  
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  celebrity • Britney Spears • network television • How I Met Your Mother
March 2008
- MSNBC Cans 'Tucker' for Rising Star
  
  Mediabistro blogs | Mar 10, 08 7:43 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - MSNBC today picked rising star David Gregory to helm a new political show in place of Tucker Carlson's low-rated "Tucker", TVNewser reports. Gregory's "Race for the White House" will air at 6 p.m. weekdays while he continues to report on the White House for NBC News and fill in for Matt Lauer on "Today", the New York Times reports. More »
  
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  television • media • cable TV • MSNBC • news anchor • network television • NBC News • Tucker Carlson
February 2008
- NBC Ditching Fall Debuts
  
  New York Times | Feb 20, 08 4:37 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - NBC appears to have followed through on pledges to use the writers' strike as a springboard to changing the television industry, ditching traditional fall debuts of new shows for staggered introductions throughout the year. The move is designed so the network can keep things fresh, and work more closely with advertisers, the New York Times reports. More »
  
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  television • advertising • NBC • CBS • Fox • ABC • network television • product placement
- The CW Smacks Down WWE
  
  Variety | Feb 8, 08 3:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The CW network and wrestling show/ratings bonanza "Smackdown" are no longer a tag team, Variety reports. Speculation is that the network and World Wrestling Entertainment couldn’t agree on a price for the new season; the CW is also trying to foster a more feminine image. But it's a risky move as the network tries to maintain ratings against larger competitors. More »
  
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  network television • World Wrestling Entertainment
- New Series Promise More Sex, Same City
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Feb 7, 08 1:32 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - For those wanting more than Sex and the City reruns and a forthcoming movie, two new TV series promise to fill whatever space is left on the air for shows about high-powered female New Yorkers who just can't seem to find a man rich enough to love. But those viewers will get "no respite from the weariness of clichés," laments Time Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle. More »
  
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  New York City • women • NBC • ABC • Sex and the City • network television
- Cautious TV Wins Super Tuesday
  
  New York Times | Feb 6, 08 10:47 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - It was a chastened, circumspect TV news machine that creaked into action last night, the New York Times reports. After trusting ultimately incorrect polls in New Hampshire, pundits seemed terrified of making bold calls—a strategy that worked out, since the primary bonanza settled nothing. The biggest gaffe came from the AP, which erroneously called Missouri for Hillary Clinton. More »
  
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  Hillary Clinton • television • Mike Huckabee • endorsement • Super Tuesday • primary • Latino voters • network television • pundits