The hugely overhyped premiere of "90210" happens tonight - when NPR covers it, you know that the saturation level has been reached. Let's not forget our conflicted cops in "The Shield" are back - supposedly Vic goes after Shane from the get-go tonight. 8:00pm 90210 The CW - Series re-Premiere. 9:00pm Wanna Bet? ABC - Season Finale. 9:00pm Making the Band MTV - So this is what Diddy is bitching about having to fly to......

This weekend concludes NBC's broadcast of the XXIX Summer Olympics which has had some very enjoyable moments, not necessarily enjoyable because of NBC, but it's not like we had a lot of choice. Who knows what moments we missed in the countless events that were not broadcast, who knows what sports would have piqued the interest of Americans, if only they had exposure to them. In feedback to previous posts about the Olympics, commenters have......

NPR's Monday Morning Edition broadcast had quite a profile on Bonnie Hammer, head of the USA network. Listen to it and it'll become pretty obvious how they come up with such predictable milquetoast programming - that's the secret to their success, American's just eat that crap up. Sick of the Olympics yet or just the parts that NBC limits you to watching? Evidently for most Americans, not yet: 83% of US households have watched......

This weekend presents a dilemma. The big deal this weekend is the season premiere of "Mad Men" on Sunday at 10:00pm but this puts it in conflict with HBO's excellent "Generation Kill" which runs until 10:30pm but it repeats again at Midnight so that's probably the way out of this mess. Also, this weekend the Tour de France concludes - the race will be decided (early) Saturday morning by a 53k/33 mile individual time trial.......

The Screen Actors Guild has officially rejected the June 30th offer from the studios. Cited among the reasons for the rejection was the fact that the major studios and networks have invested large amounts of money and/or have inked deals to distribute their content online or via video-on-demand but the contract offered actors does not account for this increased distribution. Considering that the contract would be for four years, to be locked out of that......

Tim Roth is set to star in a drama on Foxthat will be broadcast early in 2009 going along the lines of other film stars who are making forays into television (Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, etc.) - the drama, titled "Lie to Me", is based on the work of a real-life scientist who is able to read the human body and voice to determine if someone is being truthful. Fox is so behind this project......

AdWeek reports that the most recent comCast data shows that while the flow of people who go online to watch video has slowed down somewhat, the amount of video they watch online has exploded (like a Jerry Bruckheimer film). And it's no wonder, look at the garbage below to see what these people are fleeing. This is another one of those "there's nothing on TV tonight" nights. Late night is nothing but reruns except for......

- Unless you've got some specific sports events you want to watch this weekend, things are pretty slow on the tube - you'd better hope your Netflix came in. Finally: The AP reports that only one song per film can be nominated for an Academy Award. If you're a glutton for abuse and subject yourself to watching the Oscars on TV, you might remember being overwhelmed with songs from Disney's "Enchanted" this year as well......

Tomorrow the 10 day countdown of the SAG contract expiration begins. Reuters reports that the TV studios are already bracing for a strike even though the SAG has yet to vote to strike. Some TV shows have 2 or 3 shows for the upcoming season in the bag already but most do not. Even if the SAG chooses not to strike, because there is no contract signed as of today, there will be some effect......

As we reported yesterday, Jon Voight is going to be on "24" and now we learn from THR that William Hurt will be joining his The Big Chill co-star, Glenn Close, on FX's "Damages" this Fall. "Damages" was easily one of the top three programs of the year in 2007 and the addition of Hurt is beginning to solidify a picture of how the second season will function - Hurt will have regular role for......

Variety is reporting that the upcoming NBC "The Office" spinoff has made its first hire: Aziz Ansari from MTV's "Human Giant" whom LAist interviewed a couple months ago and whom the TV Junkie met at the Ashton Kutcher SNL post-party in April). While the show title, other cast members, and method of launch is unknown to the general public, it is known that the show will debut this winter in the 9:30pm timeslot, right after......

The SAG and producers meet again today for the 18th time, yeah, the 18th. NBC is putting the hammer down to sell off Olympic broadcasting ad inventory and has been lagging behind FOX and ABC in overall up-front ad sales. Look for ads to get even more annoyingly irritating as NBC offers discounts to existing Olympics advertisers. 9:00pm Farmer Wants a Wife CW - A game of truth or dare reveals the women's secrets; Matt's......

How dope was it that Jack was listening to the Pixies on the "Lost" season finale last night? Word has leaked out that NBC Universal and investment partners have put a $3.5 billion bid on the table for The Weather Channel. Way to jump on the climate change bandwagon. Did the writers at Letterman have an idea this was coming? Here's their Top Ten Signs There's Trouble At The Weather Channel from May 7th. $3.5......

The AP reports that the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have cut a 3-year deal with the studios so now the pressure is really on the SAG. AFTRA runs a distant second in terms of size (70,000 vs 120,000+) compared to the SAG but if that organization could find enough terms to their liking in the offer from the studios, the SAG is going to have a hard time pushing away from......

Did anyone watch "Recount" yesterday? What did you think? We're in for a slow night and a slow week (with the exception of the "Lost" finale) - lot's of repeats this week, including late night television. Tonight's A&E miniseries remake of "The Andromeda Strain" begins but from what I've read online from other reviewers is that the story has been butchered almost beyond recognition. Watch it at your peril. 7:00pm The Eagle Has Landed TCM......

Kind of a weak selection until you get to Sunday evening. HBO has been pushing Recount on all the talk shows and some Democrats have been howling about it because we are in the middle of what could be yet another tightly contested election. Let's think about this for a second, would such activists for the Democratic party, like Kevin Spacey, Ed Begley Jr., Laura Dern, John Hurt, etc. participate in a piece of work......

So aging favorite David Cook won "American Idol" last night, how could this happen, what with all the texting teenie-boppers? It turns out that viewership by the 12-17 demographic was down dramatically, resulting in 42 as the average age of an "American Idol" viewer. NPR had a great piece on yesterday's "Morning Edition" regarding how the show has somewhat degraded over its 7 seasons: distracted/bored judges; contestants obviously placed by the producers; and rampant product......

Last week we noted that the Dish Network has slowed with regards to new subscribers and now Dish has inked a deal with NBC Universal to present interactive ads to viewers. This could potentially bring them a bit more revenue to make up for the slackening subscribership by increasing the value of ads sold. You may have seen these ads if you have a Tivo - these enhanced ads prompt the viewer to click a......

Just 3 finales tonight but it will be all about "Dancing With the Stars" (pictured right). There's a lot going on around 9pm but I recommend checking out the movie on TCM. For late night TV, Harrison Ford will be on Letterman which is always a good time and tonight's "DWTS" winner will be on Kimmel. 8:00p. NCIS CBS - Season Finale 9:00pm Dancing With the Stars ABC - Season Finale. My guess is that......

Looks like the SAG and studios have dropped negotiations without reaching a deal so look for a bunch more DVD reviews from me in the next few weeks because it's time to stock up for the summer. It's still springtime and finally my young-man's fancy is turning to love just in time to check out "The Love Boat" reruns on Joost - I can't get enough soft-focus of B and C list celebrities from 25......

Hope everyone had a great weekend with or without your TVs. Not much industry stuff of note today other than Variety pounding on the drums for the SAG contracts to move towards resolution. The two parties have met 17 times so far and still the June 30th date gets closer. Can you imagine meeting 17 times with someone and not having reached some kind of compromise? 7:30pm The Assassination of Richard Nixon IFC - (2004)......

The LA Times has a write-up on the demise of local public Channel 36. Somehow the City of LA can't/won't come up with a measly $500k to keep local broadcast of "school sport events, public policy talks, and long-distance for-credit college classes". While it's true that there is another city-funded public channel (#35) that one seems to be a megaphone for whichever politicians are in office. Surely the megalopolis of LA is big enough to......

It looks like Time Warner Inc. will be spinning off Time Warner Cable and announcing that sometime today. No word yet on how that might affect subscribers (like yours truly) of the TV, phone, and web services that the cable entity offers. 9:00pm MI-5 BBCA - This show kicks butt over any similar US show: "CSI", "NUMB3RS", etc. 9:15pm Brief Encounter TCM - (1945) Hey romantics, this tale of unrequited love directed by David Lean......

This weekend it's all about BBC America's programming with new seasons of "Robin Hood", "The Graham Norton Show", and "Wire In The Blood". I've seen previews of "Robin Hood" and it's a more than worthy replacement for "Torchwood" whose season (dramatically) ended last Saturday with the (supposed) deaths of at least two main characters. Of course, you'll have to be able to emotionally handle the incredible switch from science fiction to fantasy in order to......

New York City may be all the way across the country, but if Rupert Murdoch gets his way there you can bet he will cast his gaze upon all other major metropolitan areas: the New York Times reports that Murdoch wants to obtain a permanent FCC waiver to acquire two TV NYC stations in addition to his three newspapers and radio assets. Will this be a last hurrah while the friendly Bush Administration still controls......

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Viacom, MGM, and Lion's Gate are teaming up to place (yet) another premium channel in your cable lineup - supposedly there are movies and programming that HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, etc. are not covering. Is the logo going to be a lion with a Viacom dog collar? 7:00pm High Plains Drifter TCM - (1973) This is Clint Eastwood at his cowboy best in a non-spaghetti Western. It might......

Hey "Gossip Girl" fans, The CW is pulling the show off of its website because too many of you are choosing to watch it online vs. TV (where its ratings are slumping). So, I get it, restrict the viewing of the content and everything will get better. What do you want to bet that this won't fix the problem? Tonight 7:00pm The Stepford Wives TCM - (1975) The ORIGINAL and much better version, with the......

MTV's "The Real World" returns for its 20th season which is scary because I remember the premiere of this show back in 1992. My roommates and I, and our significant others (or not) would get together and watch the show which seemed scarily innovative at the time - _anything_ could happen! From being an innovator in reality programming to just another in a field of crowded participants, another season of "The Real World" seems like......

If you saw my SNL post yesterday, you know I'm all high on live TV (always have been), and lookie, lo-and-behold, we're going to start getting live ads on TV: the Hollywood Reporter says that Jimmy Kimmel (featured below tonight) will start running at least one live ad per episode starting in May. Garmin ran a live ad on Leno a year ago and the "effectiveness and awareness" levels exceeded standard (dead?) ads enough for......

Am recovering from my NYC trip to see the SNL taping. Monday looks a little slow but I'm sure there's a crapload of Masters' Tournament highlights to watch. I'm sorry if the selection looks a little CBS-heavy but that's what's on. What're you watching on Monday nights? Lemme know. 8-10:00pm The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother/Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement CBS - All new. CBS has a comedy stranglehold on Monday......