Today's Wall Street Journal reports that '24' co-creator Joel Surnow is bailing from the show and the Fox network. Surnow is the "right-wing nutjob" who is a personal friend of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and President Bush - he's the one that had the brilliant idea to come up with a right wing "answer" to 'The Daily Show' for Fox, but the failure to produce one is evidence he never understood the question. 8:00pm Survivor:......

The WGA is engaging in talks but that doesn't mean that the Oscars still aren't in danger. For an idea of what the economic impact of a canceled Oscars will be check out the diagram to the right from the 01/28/2008 issue of Business Week. Obviously the entire dollar amount is not exclusive to Los Angeles but a significant portion of it is localized ($26.5 million on limos, security, and gifts??). After reading some comments......

It's becoming a task to find episodes of anything new and/or remarkable. Do I even mention that there's new episodes of Celebrity Apprentice, Make Me A Supermodel, and CSI? Am I supposed to be excited about informing you that there will be two (2!) new episodes of NBC's Chuck airing two weeks from tonight? 8:00pm Live From Lincoln Center: I Can't Believe It's Schoenberg! PBS/KCET - I can't believe it either. 8:15pm Wuthering Heights TCM......

So The Colber(t) Repor(t) and The Daily Show are back and while Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Conan are all nimble on their feet, and very funny and engaging, it's amazing how the success of all these shows really comes down to the writing. It's great to have them all back on the air and it does provide us all with some late night alternatives, but I hope NBC, ABC, and Viacom come to their senses......

I've managed to avoid watching NFL playoffs and college bowl games but I'm getting worn down, I'm tellin' ya. If I got the Fox Movie Channel I would watch Less Than Zero tonight at 7pm because I'm just about as strung out as Robert Downey Jr.was in that flick. I'm not begging for the writers to capitulate, I want them to win, I'm just begging the networks to send me some shite to write about.......

David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, and the WGA have reached an interim agreement that will allow the host to return to the air next Wednesday WITH writers. Letterman, who has been an outspoken supporter of the writers since the strike began, made it clear that he wanted to return to the air, but stressed that it was important to him to work out a deal with the WGA, so that he could return......

Two more strikes against two power players in showbiz today as fallout from the WGA strike. According to a report on KTLA.com this morning, "The union representing striking Hollywood writers has denied requests to allow their members to write for the Oscars - Hollywood's biggest, most glamorous showcase - and the Golden Globes." Interim agreements and waivers were dismissed Monday by the WGA. The Hollywood Foreign Press, who put on the annual Globes gala banquet......

a writer's perspective After giving the 5AM shift a shot yesterday, I decide to actually get some sleep and “work” the 8-11 shift today. I feel rejuvenated and energized when I show up to relieve the exhausted morning crew. Not a lot happens today. People seem in extra-good spirits, but I’m not sure why. The latest “off the record” word is that negotiations didn’t go great yesterday. There is talk that the AMPTP is......

a writer's perspective On the picket lines, there’s a phenomenon I like to call Gate Pride. Most of the writers at this point have been wedged firmly into a niche, and few stray from their perennial patterns. We tend to work the same gates and the same shifts every day. Even then, we tend to break off into the same mini-clusters. Sure, there are Drifters. Displaced nomads who wander from gate to gate, studio......

I'm hoping that no one had time for TV last night and if they did they had the class to watch the Boris Karloff marathon on TCM. 8:00pm Ugly Betty ABC - The Halloween Episode. TV Junkie 8:00pm Pick. 9:00pm To Die In Jerusalem HBO - Have heard enough about this documentary on NPR and elsewhere to know it's a good thing. TV Junkie Pick-O-The-Night 9:00pm The Office NBC - If you don't feel like......

Watching Nip/Tuck has always been a dirty and guilty pleasure. Season five of the show returns tonight on FX and McNamara/Troy are moving the business to our own Los Angeles (as if you haven't been pummeled incessantly by the promos for the last month, and particularly during the World Series). The overpromotion irritates me a bit because it can set up what has been a pretty good show for a fall. Since Nip/Tuck has always......

The much anticipated Damages finale is tonight - since the series was so very good I'm already thinking beyond the finale and more about which players will remain for a second season. Ted Danson's Frobisher is so delightfully evil the airwaves will be much the poorer in his absence, if in this season marks his departure. 8:00pm Five Days HBO - Part 4 of 5. The only new drama programming on at 8pm tonight other......

Get learned-up with PBS tonight. Sarah's also on (thump-thumpa :-)), and late night TV is strong tonight. 8:00pm Wired Science PBS/KCET - This is a cool show. While I'm not enamored of the bizarre enormous set that the hosts saunter through, each of the pieces are very well done. In particular, tonight check out the "ball busters" segment which is about the testing and certification of baseballs for MLB. TV Junkie 8:00pm Pick 8:00pm Pushing......

OK, so maybe I'm inflating it a bit since there were 18 people on the phone interview with Glenn Close and we each got just one question but I got mine in there! I managed to say "uh" only twice or so to the 5-time Oscar nominee which made me happy. What I learned in the interview (other than that Close is a fan of the Daily Show) is that they just finished shooting the......

Don't forget to check out my interview with Glenn Close if you haven't yet. Damages is the pick of the night of course, but there's some other gems out there. 8:00pm Matt Lauer Reports NBC - I'm not a huge fan of Matt Lauer or NBC news reporting but it should be interesting to see him grill Senator Larry Craig about his wide stance. 9:00pm Frontline: Cheney's Law PBS/KCET - A look at the Cheney......

Demetri Martin has taken the deadpan one line style of comedic greats Steven Wright and the late Mitch Hedberg and added his own twist, upgrading the number of comedy accessories from one (just a mic) to three with the addition of a guitar and a large pad (creatively titled, "Large Pad") to his routine. Tonight, the former Daily Show correspondent who wrote a song about his 9,000 friends on MySpace headlines at the Improv. Tonight's......

It's not really a big Wednesday, I'm just making a reference to the obscure and awful surfer flick starring Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey. I've got a major case of the munchies as I write this so tonight's primetime is all about food for me. 8:00pm Back To You FOX - Series Premiere - oops, NOT[TD]. I'm not so sure I want to give Kelsey Grammar another chance on network TV. I would like......

If there are 30 minutes of television for you to watch tonight, then those 30 minutes should be 30 Rock. Tina Fey's American Express commercial has left me wanting more and finally I'm getting some. And hey lookie, they actually got Seinfeld back in a sitcom, for at least an episode. 8:30pm 30 Rock NBC - Season Premiere. TV Junkie Pick of the Night. 9:00pm Supernatural CW - Season Premiere. 9:00pm The Office NBC -......

This week seems to be the week that new sitcoms will be unleashed upon us. Tonight we have the bizarre historical moment in which commercial characters have now secured themselves an actual network television series. We're of course talking about Cavemen. While GEICO may have created a successful commercial campaign, one would think that the idea of a series could have been tested online much more economically. Everyone is predicting a flameout and that the......

Ok maybe it's not the worst DVR ever made Oh yes it's the worst. And it's not just me, customers hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. I'm writing this post to let Time Warner LA know that this cannot stand for long before customers such as myself switch back to satellite providers. I'm talking very soon, like as soon as I can get a day off from work to have......

Did you have a chance to see former President Bill Clinton on the Daily Show this week? Comedy Central is posting all political content on their (re)launched Indecision 2008 website:......

Blown transformer down the street killed my cable and internet connection so no post yesterday - many apologies. Did anyone watch Kid Nation? 8:00pm Surivivor: China CBS - Season premiere. This season features a "kidnap your opponent" tactic. Players were also given Sun Tzu's "Art of War" to study - we'll see who did their homework. 8:00pm My Name Is Earl NCB - Season premiere. Earl's got a new love interest(?!) 9:45pm After Hours IFC......

Am sorry to report the K-Ville is nothing more than another cop show. A shootout an car chase 8 minutes into it? Tough guy Anthony Anderson 's character crying in the first 15 minutes? I don't know how this show could redeem itself, I essentially tuned out after the first 20 minutes. I'll tell you what though, Saving Grace somewhat redeemed itself what with Holly Hunter's bare butt being the focal point of the......

Introducing the TV Junkie Black List: While waiting for Spoon to go on the Tonight Show last night I had to endure Leno and guest Denis Leary talking about how they'd like to get cyclists off the roads and how they enjoy honking at them, etc. Both of these a-holes know* what went down recently in Beverly Hills as reported by LAist and the last thing LA needs is more SUV drivers feeling justified in......

All week long, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Senior War Correspondent Rob Riggle will provide actual in-depth coverage and insights from the front lines of Iraq throughout the country where he was embedded with the troops. This is real reporting from Iraq, not Rob standing in front of a green screen in New York - way after all the networks have found it both too depressing and too "negative" to report from Iraq.......

Gee, I wonder what tipped them off: California transportation officials will immediately inspect 69 of the state's most vulnerable steel-deck bridges. And the frozen yogurt wars rage on... A man, believed to be a property caretaker, was fatally mauled by a dog on Ving Rhames' property. How desperate can you get? Fox News is offering Republicans $15 to attend an upcoming taping of the "Half Hour News Hour" - a right-wing (and shoddy) version......

The TV Junkie's picks for the night: 8:00-9:00pm Big Brother 8 CBS - LAist's editor-in-chief's fave (only on Sundays perhaps), but here it is, a new episode - is the Tommy Lee-wannabe gonna dis the hottie some more? 9:00-10:00pm American Chopper TLC -David Letterman's fave. The boys were just on his show and they were pretty darn entertaining. Lemme guess, the younger brother does something stupid. 10:00-11:00pm Mad Men AMC - A collection of......

A Word or 56+/-: I guess Tuesday's are Ida Lupinow filmfests on TCM - why, god why? How about a Terry Thomas filmfest for effssake? If you want to watch new stuff tonight you'll have to head over to PBS. And hey, Colbert has a "surprise guest that rhymes with Steagle" tonight. Bugsy Siegel? Tonight - Tuesday - June 12th, 2007 Dodgers @ Jays (KCAL, 4:00 p.m.) Astros @ Angels (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.)......

A Word or 39: It feels like Wednesdays are going to be the night with new programming this time of year. It feels like it, but it doesn't look like it since not much of this stuff is watchable. Hidden Palms?? For effsake. Tonight - Wednesday - June 13th, 2007 Mets @ Dodgers (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Hidden Palms (the CW, 8:00 p.m.) Country club party time The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest......

A Word or 56+/-: Even the movie selections suck tonight unless you want to watch an Ida Lupinow filmfest on TCM, which I really don't want to do. I'm superexcited to see Parker Posey on Late Late and hopefully I'll catch Feist on Conan after switching over. Tonight - Tuesday - June 12th, 2007 Mets @ Dodgers (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Angels @ Reds (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) On the Lot (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) The......