Past Deadline

The Blue Collar Boy Gets Serious For a Second

It happened Sunday during durng an "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" session at the TCA Summer Press Tour. The show's cheeky stand-up comedian host, Jeff Foxworthy, was moved by a critic's question to wax eloquent about America's underappreciated corps of teachers.

Said the Foxmeister:

"You know what, I think teachers -- it's probably one of the most difficult jobs in the country and probably one of the most underpaid and appreciated. I expected, when I started doing this show, to get more mail from kids. I mean, there were kids who obviously didn't know me as a comedian or know the 'Blue Collar' stuff. I have been amazed at the mail that I get every week from teachers. Over and over again, teachers are saying you have made it cool to be smart again. And they record the show and they take it into the classroom and they show the show and the kids are interested in it, and they use it as a teaching tool.

"So that was a byproduct of it that I didn't even foresee when I started it. But to me, that's one of the collest elements personally, away from the stage -- that it has made it cool to be smart. You're not made fun of for being a nerd. It shows kids going on TV and beating adults at something, and it's with their brains. So, you know, hopefully maybe this elevates and how we deal with it as a priority in this country."

Who says talk shows can't work miracles?

Kevin Reilly is the Guy You Want in Your Foxhole -- Particularly Now That He's at Fox

You think that you had a wacky past couple of months? Kevin Reilly can relate. Here is what the man has gone through since the middle of May:

--As president of NBC Entertainment, he unveils a new fall primetime schedule that's generally well received in the industry and pacifies critics by renewing the lauded but ratings-starved freshman drama "Friday Night Lights."

--Finds out that he's being replaced by the guy who created one of his prize shows ("The Office"), Ben Silverman, except that nobody bothers to tell him and in fact he's evidently given the option to stay on in a fully neutered capacity. He declines and is given a massive payout (reportedly $6 million) to get lost after having been given a three-year contract renewal mere weeks before.

--Is hired to rejoin his old FX colleague Peter Liguori -- newly-bumped to chairman of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting -- as president of entertainment for Fox working directly under Liguori.

--Finds out last Thursday that three of his NBC children -- "30 Rock," "Heroes" and "The Office" -- have been honored with a combined 27 Primetime Emmy nominations between them. Oh, and the show that scored the most nods of any series, "The Sopranos," landed at HBO only after Reilly had carried the "Sopranos" torch for two years while working at Brillstein-Grey Entertainment.

Even by showbiz standards, this period in Kevin Reilly's professional life qualifies as almost unfathomably schizophrenic. Yet in the end, the guy comes out on top and smelling like the most fragrant of roses, which is a good thing given what a savvy, , gracious and skillfull guy Reilly happens to be. The timing couldn't possibly have been better for him to meet with critics gathered at the beverly Hilton Hotel for the semi-annual TCA Press Tour. He could easily have played the role of smug conquering hero and gotten away with it. That is not, however, his style.

The ultimate Reilly moment arrived during a session Sunday morning featuring he and Liguori after being asked if he was indeed fired by NBC, as this remains a matter of some debate.

The exchange:

Critic: "Just so we're clear because NBC offered a scenario, were you fired?"

Reilly: (Laughing) "NBC said that?

Critic: "No, they said you weren't."

Reilly: "You know, no one's ever really fired in Hollywood, are they?...And no one is ever really canceled. Let's just say, you can pick whatever trade euphemism you want. I 'segued.' I 'thought about it over the holidays.' I 'want to explore other opportunities'...You know, 'I want to spend more time with my family' -- which I did for three days...So you know, all I can say is, however I exited, it actually ended up being very equitable all the way around. There was no sort of pettiness, and it worked out."

That it did. Assuming Reilly is getting at least as much money to join Fox as NBC gave him to have him take a hike, he has demonstrated a novel way to double one's salary. And it all stems from the ever-so-Hollywood idea that one network's albatross is another's wunderkind.

The Fat (Person) Has Sung

PASADENA -- And then, it was over. The nearly two-week-long, semiannual Television Critics Association press tour at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena is now officially in the books. A lot of good questions were asked. A lot of evasive answers were given. A lot of fattening food was consumed. In the end, we didn't learn a whole lot other than these events are growing less and less necessary when they could be conducted nearly as effectively -- and far more cheaply -- by staging them on the Internet.

That could well be where at least the winter press tour is going. The summertime one is more valuable because it sums up the TV year just concluded and serves to set the table for the fall season ahead. The midseason pow-wow increasingly finds the broadcast networks scrambling to fill even the single day each is assigned with timely panels and product. There's a lot of wasted time and wasted motion. And yet some critics are inspired to blog it live.

A few times, actual news nearly broke out. But that was quickly quelled by one or more publicists determined to make sure the careful choreography wasn't disturbed. Then again, seeing the carnage that just crashed down at Time Inc. last week makes one realize just how endangered a species genuine information is in the purported Information Age.

Anyway, that's that with the press tour. There wasn't much memorable that emerged, but being a fan of dog-and-pony shows, it's always a slice.

'American Idol' Judges -- Too Mean? Isn't That Kind Of Like Saying Hell Is Too Hot?

PASADENA -- So you know, everyone is starting to rant and rave over how the "American Idol" judges -- Simon Cowell in particular, of course -- have grown simply too mean and nasty as the Fox phenomenon opened its sixth season last week, commenting on contestants' looks and even denigrating one young singer whom it was confirmed once competed in the Special Olympics. Shoot, what's next, pulling wings off of butterflies and pushing old ladies over as they're crossing the street?

Have Simon, Paula and Randy, flush with the hubris of being cultural icons, crossed over into outright cruelty?

Oh puh-leeze. Like if they weren't bashing somebody you'd even want to watch.

The "Idol" gang (including the three judges as well as host Ryan Seacrest and executive producer Ken Warwick) put themselves out on the firing line Saturday during the final day of the Television Critics Association press tour. The gathered critics already were tired from nearly two weeks of relentless spin, and the "Idol" panel was 40 minutes late getting started. The teeth were bared and primed to rip into some of that raw supercilious meat positioned at the front of the room.

One early questioner wanted to know where Simon got off making fun of one kid with bug eyes and an obvious "physical problem" -- calling him a "bush baby" -- and whether any of them felt bad that this was said.

Cowell: "There are times, trust me, when I watch it back and I just think, 'God, I wish I hadn't have said that and why do they put it in the show?'. But it's something we all sign up to for good things and bad things. I feel more comfortable being on a show where we are prepared to show the warts as well as just the good things.

In other words, yeah, he feels a little bit bad about saying certain stuff -- but Simon's gonna say it anyway. And tough luck if anyone is offended. And in truth, that's probably the way it should be. Fox has been charged with exploiting horrible singers who have no business being on any stage, much less national television. But in fact everyone thinks he or she is good enough to knock America's socks off. Delusions can run deep. And if it makes for good TV, it's hard to blame the "Idol" producers for taking it and running.

Jackson: "We're just amazed that someone can show up and be that bad."

Seacrest: "But they're serious. Before they go in, I'll look at them and I'm inches in front of their faces. And they're serious. They believe they're that good...But we don't knock on their doors and drag them (in) to audition. They show up."

But another critic wondered, then, why many people already are finding this season to be more cruel than previous seasons given the bashing of a Special Olympics participant. Should they really be making fun of adults with special needs? Is that really necessary?

Cowell: "First of all, I didn't know he had been to the Special Olympics."

Abdul: "None of us knew."

Cowell: "But I think to suggest that because somebody has done something like that they shouldn't be allowed to enter the competition smacks to me of censorship. I'm not saying that it's particularly pleasant to watch. But I don't think we should be censors on the type of people. And what we're trying to be, I think on the show, is representative. A lot of the bad singers you are seeing on the show -- trust me, there are thousands (of others) who didn't make it through."

Jackson: "Do you think William Hung is mad that he came on this show? The guy's made almost a million dollars for being one of the worst singers ever. Do you think he's mad? Are you kidding? he's jumping up and down."

Warwick: "And we got a lot of criticism initially when he appeared."

And there you have it. "American Idol" is nothing if not an equal opportunity humiliator. The good, the bad, the ugly, everyone's fair game. If you're a horrid singer and you leave with your ego sliced to ribbons, well, I agree with these guys that it's really just the cost of being part of such a high-profile amateur talent showcase. If it's sensitivity you're after, you're better off performing in the living room in front of the family.

And just so you know "Idol" hasn't quite cornered the market on frightening auditions, check out this one for the NBC series "Grease: You're the One That I Want." It's a woman named Robin Rosenzweig. Her audition begins about 30 seconds into the clip. Prepare to feel faint.

'The Simpsons' Still Makes Too Much D'oh! To Get Canceled

PASADENA -- It's the show that will never die, even if Bart Simpson (born in 1980) is now technically older than at least one of the writers of "The Simpsons." During a TV critics session here on Saturday attended by creator Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, executive producer Al Jean and voices Dan Castellaneta (Homer) and Yeardley Smith (Lisa), it emerged that the longest-running (by seasons) comedy in television history has no plans to call it quits anytime soon as it moves through its 18th season.

"We definitely are really excited about the stories that we're doing," Jean said. "You know, to be honest, it's not as easy as it was 17 years ago. But I think we would know if we just felt we were really having trouble coming up with ideas, but we're not."

Added Brooks: "To us, it's like if you had a vineyard and you had great years and years where it wasn't. It works like that. It doesn't work in one continuum. I think the last couple of years have been among our best."

What this means, of course, is that the show now figures to hit 20 seasons at the very least (the voices are signed through season 19) and very likely beyond. Earlier on Saturday, Fox Entertainment chief Peter Liguori had already given the show his endorsement to be on the air in originals pretty much as long as the show's crew wanted to be. "The Simpsons" remains an island of comedic consistency in a sea of fickle tastes. And while many believe the show's best days are long behind it -- I myself pointed out a "jump the shark" moment in this season's Halloween episode -- it tends to rebound in quality just when you've dismissed it as a shadow of its former self.

"The Simpsons" really could go on and on and on. The machinery remains in place for a run of, who knows, 25 years? Even 30? It honestly could happen. To be sure, a huge spotlight is about to be shone on it with the hype surrounding both the show's landmark 400th episode (in May) and the much-anticipated "The Simpsons Movie" (in July).

Speaking of that movie, the critics gathered on Saturday were just wondering when any of us might find out what the film is about, given the kind of secrecy surrounding the storyline as might befit a CIA spy operation. We were told that a new trailer comes out in February that, well, tells us what the movie's about a little. And then one will arrive in theaters in May that evidently tells us a little bit more.

Jean: "We're still trying to figure out what the movie's about."

A Very Special 'Everybody Hates Chris' Starring...Michael Richards?

PASADENA -- It happened on Friday during a TV critics press tour session for CW's "Everybody Hates Chris" that featured producers Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi and stars Tichina Arnold, Terry Crews and Tyler James Williams:

Critic: "Chris, a little while ago you used the N-word. It's a big thing now that we have Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and others saying maybe you shouldn't use that at all, because you trivialize...what are your feelings on that?"

Chris Rock: "Oh man, I don't know. I just told my broker to buy me 80 shares of 'Coon'."

Tichina Arnold: "Why would you ask him that question? Why?"

Critic: "That's why I asked him."

Ali LeRoi: "He's going to get home, 'Honey, you wouldn't believe what he said, 'Nigger' and 'Coon.' It was crazy!"

Terry Crews: "We need Michael Richards as a guest star. If he really wants to, if he's really sorry, he will come on our show. He's welcome."

Critic: "Seriously?"

LeRoi: "We want Michael Richards."

Arnold: "We want Michael Richards."

Rock: "He's busy working on 'Apocalypto II'."

(Later:)

Critic: "Seriously, would you offer a job to Michael Richards?"

Rock: "Wow. I don't know. Probably. I don't know. I mean, I'd have to make sure all of the other non-'Nigger!'-screaming people didn't need jobs first. Once they were all working I guess I would have to give him a job."

(Photo courtesy Getty Images)

CBS Resolves To Steer Clear of The Dark Side, Even Though the Ratings Are Better

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler wasn't taking any chances Thursday morning during CBS's portion of the TV critics press tour event that's currently winding down. Having previously experienced the wrath of this bunch, she had no intention of facing down these nattering nabobs of negativity on her own. So Tassler brought along a couple of high profile friends: Nancy Tellem, president of the CBS Paramount Network TV Entertainment Group; and Kelly Kahl, CBS's senior executive VP for programming operations.

Here Tassler had some legitimate -- and decidedly atypical -- stuff to brag about: namely, that the long older-skewing CBS had just moved into first place for the season in adults 18-49, which in itself is a major indicator that the earth has begun to spin in the opposite direction on its axis. It ain't quite MTV's demographics, but here it qualifies as a youth movement.

But it was just Tassler's luck to run straight into a buzzsaw of a different sort: the premiere this week of "American Idol" on Fox with its peerless dominance and propensity for laying waste to anything that dare test its mind-numbing power.

Suddenly, the session was transformed into an allegory of good vs. evil, the primetime landscape now analogous to an interplanetary faceoff of "Star Wars" proportions. "About the Death Star," began one critic, referring to "Idol," "other than sending in a plucky band of rebels, what do you do?"

"Well," Tassler replied gamely, "we can talk first of all about the Tuesday night performance of 'NCIS' for us. And even though the lights were off everywhere else, we like to say we had our deflector shield up."

"Our shows hang in there OK," reasoned Kahl, "while the other guys get...vaporized."

Yes, just when Tassler felt like she was finally managing to find solid footing in this potshot gallery, she somehow steps into "Stars Wars, Episode VII: The Wrath of Simon."

It was time for Tassler to move on to a topic with which she's more comfortable than having to tangle with Darth Cowell and his minions: the fact that CBS remains the most successful proponent of closed-ended procedural dramas like the three-pronged "CSI" franchise at a time when its fellow networks seem to be moving increasingly to serialized hours (with decidedly mixed success).

"Earlier this year we were talking about kind of throwing out the rule book and really trying new kinds of shows," Tassler stressed. "Barbara Hall will be doing a show for us about demons and exorcism. We're also doing 'Viva Blackpool.' We're doing a musical."

And what about this sudden surge in the 18-49 crowd? Was CBS in danger of abandoning its loyal core of Geritol and Depends users? "We are still interested, obviously, in all demos," Tassler assured.

Yes, even the Justin Timberlake demo, as it turns out. After CBS's problems a few years ago with a certain Super Bowl halftime show and Timberlake's participation in the famed "warerobe malfunction" with Janet Jackson, the network is now featuring the singer on the Grammy telecast and a Victoria's Secret special. One critic inquired as to the message that might send.

"Certainly (Timberlake is) prominent in the Grammys," Tellem allowed. "Obviously, as we're looking ahead to the Grammys, we also have to look at his popularity as well."

The other issue that seemed to strike a cord with critics on Thursday was the decision to air an episode of "Criminal Minds" following the Super Bowl telecast when the group appeared to have its heart set on the copmedy "How I Met Your Mother" to enjoy the windfall of the year's biggest audience lead-in.

Kahl: "'Criminal Minds' is, I think, the fastest-growing drama on TV this year from season to season. We're trying to kick iot up a notch...There's a whole audience out there that we're hoping to expose it to...I don't know that 'Grey's Anatomy' was a great fit (last year for ABC), you know, kind of a female-skewing soiap coming out of the Super Bowl. But it really worked for them. I think the point is you've got a huge audience sitting there, and if you have the chance to introduce them to a new show, you take it."

As long as The Death Star is nowhere in sight.

Donald Trump Hates To Keep Having To Trash Rosie, But It's Become Part Of His Daily Routine

Hurricane Donald blew into Pasadena Wednesday afternoon for a Television Critics Assocation press tour session promoting the new season of NBC's "The Apprentice," and of course the big question most in attendance wanted to hear Donald Trump answer didn't surround ratings but a woman named Rosie O'Donnell.

Yes, it's the schoolyard tauntfest that the media will not let die and, let's face it, that Trump has opted to milk for every last morsel of ink and airtime in the interest of goosing interest in his primetime baby. Walking publicity machine that he is, Trump made it clear from the get-go that while he hated to have to talk about his running feud with O'Donnell day after day, he had little choice since the media kept bringing it up and he is constitutionally incapable of saying "No comment" or "That ship has sailed."

His initial response to the reporter's question said it all.

Question: "So you regret how much this has gotten out of hand or fear that this has crossed the line?"

Trump: "No."

And there you have it.

Not that Trump had any intention of leaving it at that.

"The real question is when does it stop," Trump, flanked on a panel by daughter Ivanka, son Donald Jr. and season one "Apprentice" victor Bill Rancic<cq>, told the critics. "I think I exposed her for what she is. She's just a terrible, disgusting human being, and not very smart...I don't talk about Rosie (anymore) but every question is about Rosie...If somebody attacks you, a lot of the folks in this room would defend themselves. I have always defended myself. She attacked various elements of me and she was wrong in all cases. I've watched her attack people over the years and I've watched people not fight back. She's a bully.

"The one thing I learned in high school is, if you're attacked by a bully, you hit the bully hard right between the eyes and that's what I did."

Later, after Trump was asked if he fears any public backlash due to his, uh, candor: "I think my image has actually been helped. It shows that if somebody says something and it's a lie, that you are willing to sorrect that person...I think people respect that I fought back and I fought harder than she did. Some people thought I was very harsh. But Rosie's a slob and I'm not afraid to say it...I think it was the fact I was so non-politically correct that people liked."

The only thing Trump regrets in this whole scenario is that his word war with O'Donnell has helped boost ratings for her ABC daytime show "The View." However, he predicts, "Two weeks from now, the ratings will tank and there will be turmoil...Barbara Walters hates Rosie O'Donnell."

Speaking of "The View," an earlier press tour panel on Wednesday promoted the freshly-revamped "Today" show featuring "View" alumnus Meredith Vieira co-anchoring alongside 10-year vet Matt Laurer. The session proved to be pretty much a love-fest in discussing the seamlessness of the transition from Katie Couric to Vieira and the announcement last week that the show will be adding a fourth daily hour beginning in September.

NBC News president Steve Capus called the the decision to add a fourth hour to the broadcast "a natural extension of the three-hour program" and hoped to gain affiliate clearances for the extra hour on most, if not all, of the stations. "We want it to be a 10 a.m. show, and we'll work with the stations to get it there," he said. " "But we're not going to be foolish and say it's 10 a.m. or nothing."

"Today" executive producer Jim Bell added that hour four "will look a lot like the third hour...It might be a little lighter, but it's still going to be of the highest quality." But as Capus noted, Vieira won't be part of the additional hour due to contractual obligations surrounding her work hosting "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire."

Lauer admitted some trepidation with the idea of a fourth hour, however, copping to "slightly mixed emotions" and a fear of the brand potentially getting diluted. He added, "But I have great confidence, and I understand the reasons it's happening...and I think the brand can sustain it."

A critic later asked Lauer "how much more" he likes Vieira than Couric.

"I like them differently," Laurre replied diplomatically. "That's just a terrible question. You know what, it's a different dynamic. I had 10 great years with Katie siting next to me and me sitting next to her...And I think Meredith was probably smartest about this of any of us, in that she didn't come in and try to be Katie. She came in as Meredith, and that's why she got the job in the first place."

If Nukes Don't Faze Jack Bauer, What Chance Does 'Heroes' Have?

Up until now, the heroes of NBC's "Heroes" have had Monday nights all to themselves, at least in terms of saving the world from a catastrophe. When they return next week for the second half of the season, though, they'll compete against Jack Bauer of Fox's "24." Bauer doesn't technically have superpowers, unless you count his superhuman ability to fight terrorists around the clock with no sign of exhaustion.

And, in a little while, the competition gets even more intense. On ABC, superheroes in ballroom dance costumes will begin facing off again.

While "Heroes" has become the surprise hit of the season, it was nonetheless time to stoke the publicity machinery. So NBC brought nearly the entire cast to the semiannual TV critics' press tour in Pasadena on Wednesday, along with the network's own superhero, showrunner and creator Tim Kring. Asked about the upcoming battle of world-savers, Kring said he hoped the two shows would bring more viewers to the night, a response which may have been his own but sounds suspiciously like a pre-fabricated answer from NBC's extremely efficient PR department.

Then he added some words clearly from the heart: "You know, I would be lying if I said I didn't have -- I wasn't worried that we weren't going to take a little hit from them."

Kring was everything you'd expect from a leader of "Heroes,"--confident, poised and fearless. At one point, though, his diplomatic skills got overextended.

He was asked about the large numbers of fans who discuss and disect the show on the internet. Initially, he confessed he hadn't the time to read much of what was being said. Then, perhaps not wanting to offend the rabid fans with keyboards, he added: "It's an important tool to sort of ook at what is trending either negative or positive.

So, came the follow-up, exactly what seems to be trending negative or positive. "I can't think of anything specific," confessed Kring.

Most of the questions at the half-hour session were perfunctory or narrow in scope. However, Kring assured critics and fans that he had been given sufficient time to plan for a 23rd episode of the show this season so that the story could be laid out evenly.

Some questions were directed to cast members. Of these, the best response came from Hayden Panettiere, who plays an indestructible cheerleader on the series. When the entire cast was asked if they were worried about Kring's earlier statements promising to kill off a superhero from time to time, Panettiere responded: "I die all the time. I'm really Kenny in 'South Park.'"

The other thing about "Heroes" is that it should turn out to be a DVD marketing dream. Kring said each season will have its own major story event. There won't be some overarching mystery that permeates the entire run of the show. "It allows us not to have to deal with a giant, complicated plot line," Kring said.

And it will allow each season DVD set to stand pretty much on its own.

--Barry Garron

Aaron Sorkin To the Los Angeles Times: Bite Me! (or words to that effect)

1. Aaron Sorkin, exec producer of NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," has a beef with the Los Angeles Times as big as a herd of Texas longhorns.

He didn't bring it up when TV critics gathered for the semiannual press tour surrounded him during a trip to the "Studio 60" set on Tuesday, but he didn't hold back, either, when one critic asked him about a Times story that ran Christmas Day by Deborah Netburn. The story said "many comedic writers appear to hate Sorkin's 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.'"

"I'm taking a moment to think whether I should answer that question honestly or diplomatically," Sorkin said. "Honestly," the critics shouted. "It's the best policy," said one. So Sorkin let loose.

"You get a lot of negative press when you do a show," he said. "It's the cost of doing business. It's not fun but you get used to it. The piece in the Los Angeles Times was different. First of all, it was the third piece the Los Angeles Times did in four months about how people on the internet don't like 'Studio 60.'...As if there aren't people on the internet who do like 'Studio 60' and as if there are people who don't like other shows.

"But that wasn't the most aggravating part of the story. The most aggravating part of the story was that the comedy writers which she was referring to, first of all, her headline was 'Writers Don't Like Studio 60.' She was smart to ignore the fact that the show had been nominated a week earlier for two Writers Guild Awards. That would have undercut her thesis."

Next, Sorkin lit into the comedy writers mentioned in the story. Based on the headline, he expected to be attacked by the likes of Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey or Seth Meyers, "real comedy writers." Instead, he said, those that attacked him were unemployed and disgruntled. "It's not at all difficult to go on the internet and find the opinions of disgruntled people."

(For the record, the headline on the Times piece, not written by the writer, was "Comedy Writers Aren't Laughing About '60.'" The subhead, below the headline, said, "Some in the biz openly disdain the series set at a late-night sketch show.")

"So that L.A. Times piece was a piece of nonsense," Sorkin concluded. "There have been negative pieces written about the show which, like I said, I did not want to read but I get it...I don't necessarily agree with them but it seems to me that it's a well-considered piece of journalism. This is not that. The L.A. Times should be ashamed of themselves. That an Arts section in a paper in a town like Los Angeles should run with a piece like that, that was just God-awful."

"Studio 60" returns to the air Monday with seven consecutive new episodes. Lovers of good drama can only hope more people tune in. For his part, Sorkin says he is optimistic the show will be renewed. "I'm not thinking about the back nine episodes. I'm thinking about the next season," he said.

--Barry Garron