The TV Zone

I don't know about you but I can't read or hear enough about Bob Woodruff, the injured and now recovered ABC Newsman who was nearly killed in Iraq last year and has lived to tell the story in stunning documentary that will air tonight on ABC at 10.

Which, by the way, you must see.

I've known him slightly over the years, interviewed him a few times, even went to the same college (he was a few classes behind me, per my recollection.) And I can attest to this fact: He's one of the great guys of this business. Woodruff is, was, and presumably always will be, a superb journalist but also a first-rate human being - a combination that can be a little more singular than you might imagine in TV news. His injury was shattering to his family, but I was deeply shocked as well. But then, who wasn't? He's not some blow-dried twit with wide-open spaces from ear to ear, but an extremely bright and serious journalist who also turned out to be a natural big league anchor and perfectly logical heir to Peter Jennings. (Jennings, I was once told, believed Woodruff should be the guy to replace him – quite the admission from Peter who was in no hurry to leave the anchor chair.) In one instant, all of that was nearly wiped out. A little known fact about Woodruff: Prior to his injury he and his brothers were caring for their father in Michigan suffering from Alzheimer's. Watching videos of his recovery process on "Oprah" this afternoon, I was struck by the fact that Woodruff’s injuries were also probably similar to late-stage dementia - forgotten words, disorientation, and (probably) depression.

The "Oprah" special added a few other disturbing layers to this story: The show featured X-rays of Woodruff's rock-and-shrapnel-pitted head, with hundreds of pebbles lodged in the skull, or what was left of it, along with an unforgettable word picture from his wife, Lee, who said that when she saw him lying in a hospital "the left side of his face looked like a monster...his brain was swollen out of his head like a rugby ball...it was huge." Lee added that he would probably have died or been left in a permanent vegetative state had the injury occurred in the States because doctors here - obviously - don't exactly see a lot of traumatic brain injuries caused by roadside bombs. (They removed his shattered skull to allow the brain to swell, which averted a massive die-off of brain cells.)

"I think something positive has happened" out of the injury, he told Oprah, which was a chance "to meet other soldiers and marines who had gone through this. That's very very important. I think even journalists have not told enough stories about those that have survived this...You've got a new kind of war [and soldiers] coming back have something called traumatic brain injuries. There have been some studies that show that up to ten percent of those w ho return from the war actually have TBI."

Oprah noted, by the way, that the Woodruffs - who also co-wrote a book out today called "In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing" - have set up a fund for soldiers with TBI.

She's back! She's alive! She's breathing! She said "ouch!" What would we do without one well-timed sweeps stunt that left us waiting breathlessly - no, wrong word - for one week?

Meredith Grey was revived last night at precisely 9:46: Eyes fluttered, pulse revived, skin turned from ghastly blue to ghastly white, and - most remarkable of all - Miranda Bailey almost smiled.

Amazing? Not really. Expected. We learned at least two main things from last night's "Grey's Anatomy." First of all, very few series continue - arguably none - when the character for which they are named is killed off. In TV terms, this just would not do. You'd have to re-name the series ("Grey's Ghost") or do a lot of flashbacks ("Grey's Anatomy: The Early Years.") Not that this couldn’t be done, it's just, what's the point? We also learned that the land of the dead in "GA" terms is not exactly a fun place to be: It's dark and sterile, still pretty much a hospital room best I could tell, and everyone there is cynical and louche. They've all given up - except Meredith, who whined incessantly about the need to go back to the land of the living; one reason, she explained, was that she still had "intimacy" issues. Funny line.

Last night's show was a classic sweeps weeper. Meredith passing Mom in the hallway - so to speak - of life: "You're anything but ordinary, Meredith..." Doc Webber telling Doc Ellis Grey - played by Kate Burton, who was pretty darned good during her dozen-or-so episodes - "I miss the sound of your voice, I miss talking to you, I miss you..."

Hold on a minute. I just have to grab a hankie...Okay, that's better...

And course, the piece de resistance: Denny passing Izzie Stevens and that fleeting moment when she knew - yes, she knew! - that he was right there by her side.

I wonder if he knows she's blown all his money already?

By the way, last night should finally settle one of the big questions of the season: Is Denny Duquette - Jeffrey Dean Morgan - ever coming back? Only if Izzie dies for a few episodes, but that's a stunt for next February.

She's feeling much better, and thanks for asking.

Maybe he'll be back next season - when Izzie's not feeling too well.

I know that Monday's "24" really was effective because it's almost two hours after it ended and my heart is still pounding and I'm unable to fall asleep. Better I should tape it and watch it at 9 the next morning after a good night's sleep. But noo, that would be too smart, wouldn't it?

What dya know? Here was an episode with no torture -- hooray! -- just Jack being classic Jack. You knew he would come in at the last minute and shoot the thugs holding MIlo and Marilyn hostage. And Jack didn't disappoint. You knew he would get Josh out alive from the clutches of Grandpa aka the Psycho Pete Townshend lookalike. [See Fox photo by Kelsey McNeal.] And Jack didn't disappoint.

BEST MOMENT: I was floored when Jack dialed that phone number his father left him -- and disgraced former President Logan picked up. He doesn't look like Niixon anymore -- he looks like Saddam Hussein the day he was captured in his rathole. I'm sure that's a nice deliberate touch from the show's producers. Is Logan gonna emerge as a pivotal character? The 15-second preview of next week's episode sure makes it seem that way. I'm thinking here that Logan's (aborted) plan last season to kill the Russian president has something to do with the mad Russian Gridenko's current plan to set off the nukes. But what do I know?

WORST MOMENT: Morris' self-pitying. And now he's a recovering alcoholic, to boot. This kind of hooey belongs on All My Children, not 24. Jeez, I almost found myself wishinhg that Fayed had plunged his power drill into Morris' skull instead of his shoulder last week and we'd be done with him.

My heart is still racing and I'm still not tired.

So we have a "death" on "Grey's Anatomy:" Meredith.

Who would have figured? You're the daughter of a surgeon, and aren't doctors the ones who are always telling parents to teach their kids how to swim? The lesson, obviously, was never passed on to Mere, unless - that is - this was all part of the disappearing act she's been flirting with this arc (insane mothers, I guess, can do that to some people.) Just to catch up, Grey - Ellen Pompeo - was accidentally knocked into the drink last week by someone she was helping after the ferry accident. The little girl looked on, then wandered away.... Then last night, Derek Shepherd started to wonder - where the heck is Meredith in all this mayhem, and (as luck would have it and always seem to in TV sweeps episodes), located the little girl who JUST happened to know Meredith's name was "Meredith." But don 't tally too long on details like this...He wonders, and asks. She points to the water, and during the commercial break, he finally gets it (and later her.)

By my count, Mere was under water about half the episode, which means when the team revives her next week, she should contact the Guiness Book of Records to get her own entry. Houdini would be jealous. David Blaine would call for advice. (Just think of this act? Meredith the Magnificent! She can't swim but she sure can hold her breath!)

Will Meredith really die? Does this question really need to be asked?

Praise the Lord: "Lost" is right back where it should be, and then some. Last night's episode felt like deja-vu-all-over-again: A show that knows what it's about, but has spent the last few months pleasing whatever rabble it feels it’s been forced to please, namely ABC or whiny fans who Just Want Answers. To hell with answers. There are none. That's the whole point of "Lost" (or should be.)

Mysfying...strange...referential...literary...ridiculous...mysterious...incomprehsible (in a good way)..."Lostian." Enough with the hyperbole: There's too much to cover in a short blog entry, so here goes:

First, yes, that was the terrific Irish actress, Fionnghuala Flanagan, who played "Ms. Hawking" (no relation to Stephen, of course) at the jewelry store, and who was blessed with one of the most memorable lines in this memorable series history, and I quote:
"If you don't do those things, Desmond, every one of us is dead, so give me the sodding ring."

Great! It doesn't get better than that, anywhere, on any show. Fans's of Showtime's "Brotherhood" will remember her as Rose Caffee.

Next: Yes, of course this was all based on Ambrose Bierce's (poor Ambrose, who went insane, and also disappeared himself) "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," and of course, you all knew that because you remember that back in the Feb. 8, 2006 episode, entitled "The Long Con," Locke was alphabetizing books, and one of them was authored by Bierce. A big deal for lots of "Lostian" reasons, notwithstanding the fact that the show owes some of its existence to "Twilight Zone," which famously based an episode on said story. Also, the whole idea of "flashbacks" is presumed to be inspired by "Occurrence" too, sending millions of "Lost" fans on a wild goose chase in which they assumed everyone on the island was perhaps seeing their lives flash before their eyes.

And so so much more: The scene in the Widmore office. I tried, dear reader, I tried to read the letters on the painting by Des' head - the one with the polar bear and the upside down Buddha, but alas, failed. I came up with this: "E72AHAM," and probably got some of it wrong. But what the heck. There are no answers. This is "Lost."

Next week's episode? "Stranger in a Strange Land." Now, if I can only find that old copy of Heinlein....

Oh Henry...We missed you, man. We missed you.

Diane Sawyer's recent forays to Iran and Syria remind me of that George Eliot quote that'll occasionally pop up on billboards for (say) personnel agencies: "It's never too late to be who you might have been."

It's never too late, unless it's too late. But Sawyer has proved that it's definitely never too late. After following this career for a couple of decades, including the extended side-trip to "Good Morning America," I think it's not entirely within the realm of over-heated hyperbole to make the following observation: We are now witnessing the best work she has ever done. It's amazing, really: Passed over at "World News Tonight" (now just "World News") and then drowned (along with everyone else) in the Katie Couric-to-CBS ink, Sawyer was deemed down-and-out by a few observers, with dwindling options and a diminishing future.

Well, well - so much for "observers." Her work from North Korea was outstanding, ditto the last two major trips. She's doing what major anchors are supposed to - go to huge stories and report them. Dan Rather used to do it, and so did Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw. But the current crop of newbies, with a couple of exceptions, has mostly been bound to their desks, or to the U.S. While Di works her interview with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Katie heads to Florida to pick through the wreckage of a tornado. Not that the latter is insignificant, just insignificant by comparison. Her work - and especially this trip to Iran - was made "GMA" the must-watch morning show. Let's put it this way: If you want to find out the latest on Anna Nicole, head to "Today." If you want to find out more about a country and region that will affect our lives and country for a generation, head over to "GMA."

Sawyer may well be setting the table for her future ascendancy to "World News" anchordom. Who knows. Who cares. "What's Diane up to?" is an old and tired guessing game in the TV industry. What matters is the work, and right now, at this moment, this very morning, she's unbeatable.

Remember this from '89? These days, the answer is yes.

Two odd things on last night's edition of "Survivor: Fiji," and let's start off with Odd Thing No. 1: When the contestants hit the beach (and o, what a beautiful beach it was...) there were only nineteen of them. Don't need to do the math to realize that is not an easily divisible number, so what happened? As "Surivornistas" already knew going in, one of the contestants - identified on websites as someone named Mellisa McNulty - dropped out abut eight hours before going to the island. As reported on tvgrapevine, Jeff Probst explained that "she had a lot of anxiety, to the point where it escalated to a panic attack." I do believe - and please correct if you know otherwise - that this is a "Survivor" first. Show as caught so completely off-guard that producers had to scramble to reconfigure the first round, in which one contestant - Sylvia Kwan, an architect - was sent off to Exile Island the first night to make the teams balance out. (She joined the team that lost the first immunity challenge.)

So here's my question: If "Survivor: Fiji" is now down by two - Jessica deBen was first to get the hook last night - then how will CBS stretch this out to one extra episode this season? Will there be (gulp) a highlights edition? (And another question: Why no alternate?)

Odd thing Number two: As you now know, the show was divided between haves and have-nots, with winners of the first immunity challenge getting to live in the house they built. And as you are also instantly aware, this is almost a precise reversal of the premise of "The Apprentice's" L.A. edition, where the haves got to sleep near Trumpster, so to speak, and the have-nots got to sleep in the tent on the astroturf. (Do they actually have "grass" in L.A.? Please advise.)

So here's my other question: Why would "Survivor" rip off a loser like "The Apprentice?" I have no answer, but wonder whether a little creative arterial sclerosis may be setting in at the kingdom ruled by Mark Burnett...

And then, there were eighteen.

What is this thing "24" and "Heroes" have with eeeevil father figures? Or, were last night's episodes proof that both shows have moles on each other's writing staffs? Maybe no other way to explain this pair of cliffhangers...coincidence? I think not.

Let's start with "Heroes:" Nathan Petrelli as Claire Bennet's dad?! He's almost as old as she is, or Peter's almost as old as he is, and Peter's almost as old as Nathan, so... But this is "Heroes," of course, where someone could conceivably seem as old as anyone else, but actually be (like) a thousand years old. Nevertheless, this is still an interesting development. If Nathan is Claire's real dad, then who's "HRG" (definitely NOT Claire's dad, but we already knew that.) And by the way, I think Claire's not-real mom was seriously into Sylar and maybe even vice versa, or at least until he promised to off her, which was quite the buzzkill, don't you think?

But I'm getting distracted here. The point is, if Nathan is really Claire's dad, as is now evident, then what does that mean for his political career? An irrelevant question? I think not...

Let's move on. I'd like a show of hands: Who guessed hours ago that Philip Bauer (the great James Cromwell) was actually the Real Brains behind the Brains, aka, Graem, or Graham (your choice of spelling)? I'd like to think I saw that end coming, but but have to admit, I did not. Anyone who ever saw "LA Confidential" well knows Cromwell's peculiar thespian gift for the dark side. That last loving peck on Graham's very lifeless and very hairless dome was a nice touch, I thought. You almost had to feel a little pity for Graham: So this is what it all comes to, Gra. You assassinate one president, take over the middling brain of his successor, kill a few hundred CTU staffers, and help to nuke part of Los Angeles - all for the respect of dear old dad and to improve the family company's financial performance? It seems extreme, but that's just me.

Meanwhile, anyone see a family resemblance here?

(Courtesy TV Guide)

So Jeff Zucker will be named chief executive of NBCUniversal this morning. Now there's a surprise for you. And the sun also rose. Perhaps the only shocker in this inevitability was the way Bob Wright was dumped like a body on the side of the Jersey Turnpike, as if to say: You're yesterday, Bob, and Jeff is today. But that's TV for you. The minute anyone starts to think they're indispensable then it's a sure sign they're about to be dispensed.

But what, really, do we know about Zucker, who will assume one of the most important jobs in the entertainment kingdom? There have been plenty of people inside and outside of NBC who think he should never have gotten this job - a tin ear for programming, or too much of an operator have been just some of the more common whacks. But everyone should be graded on an entire career and not a couple of little (okay, big) drawbacks. Here's the Zucker report card:

News: Great transition from Brokaw to Williams, and Couric to Vieira, though there were plenty of cooks who deserve credit for this. Neal Shapiro was a good steward of the initial Williams era, while Steve Capus - current boss - is doing fine as well. While Zucker predecessor Andy Lack groomed Brian Williams, however, Zucker got Vieira.
Grade: B.

Primetime: Blessedly brief Entertainment career will always be branded - fairly, by the way - with just one word, "Couples," one of the worst sitcoms in TV history. But at least he went into the gig with a sense of adventure (supersized episodes) and a sense of realism (carved a 10th season outta "Friends.") But he knew he was weak at this stuff, and wisely set himself up for a fast exit back to New York. His timing was exquisite (NBC collapsed the minute he stepped on the G.E. corporate jet back home) but it fooled no one. He did keep Conan O'Brien in the fold, but at the expense of Jay Leno who will probably launch a late night show at a rival by decade's end.
Grade D.

Picking the right people: Some execs are good at picking the right shows and some are good at picking the right people. Here's where Zucker excels. He got (for example) pal Kevin Reilly to come over from FX to replace him. Bad move for Reilly, right? Wrong: He's been an inspired choice, and turned NBCE around.
Grade A.

MSNBC/CNBC: Here were two thankless gigs when Zucker came back east. MS was facing oblivion while CNBC was facing irrelevance. Instead of distancing himself from losers, he took a different tack - attempt a pair of turnarounds. He showed patience, picked the right people to run them, and got some traction (and good press) for both. There's a long way to go, but they are pointed in the right direction.
Grade A.

Bravo/Sci-Fi/USA: The three key entertainment networks from the cable portfolio are mixed bags. Bravo has to be considered a turnaround story - Zucker's taste for pop culture was well suited to a network that's far more low brow than high. But shows like "Project Runway," "Top Chef," and "Real Housewives" have found a big life around the watercooler. And Sci-Fi has one of the best shows on TV ("Battlestar Galactica.") USA, meanwhile, remains a faceless face in the crowd, and a one-show ("Monk") giant without much of a personality and way too many commercials.
Grade B.

Vision: This is, after all, the key thing that scored Zucker tickets to the big corner office. But what is his vision, really? He unveiled "NBC 2.0," which feels like an exercise in smoke and mirrors designed to mask layoffs and huge cutbacks. The word "Internet" is also implicit in this so-called vision of the future, but one can't avoid the feeling that Zucker is telling the big guy in the ivory tower in Fairfield - Jeffrey Immelt - exactly what he wants to hear. That you've got to make NBC more "competitive" with Google (per some of the news stories this morning, and I would refer you to Meg James' excellent wrap in the L.A.Times)? Is NBC going to get into the search business? Whatever. This remains a content business - picking hit shows. That's something NBC should be focusing on, period. Don't worry about Google. Worry about building "Heroes" and the successor to "ER."
Grade: C.

The New Boss of NBC

What a strange, diffident, unremarkable 25th anniversary edition of "Late Show with David Letterman." If you didn't know better - and we do - you wouldn't even think it was an anniversary show. Sure, a few mentions. A "special" Top Ten. A couple of lukewarm monologue riffs. And, of course, Bill Murray. Otherwise - nada. The edition was perfectly fine. It always is. Letterman's a comic genius. Nothing less is expected. But it was just another show. Why? My theory is Letterman wanted nothing to do with a 25th, but someone - either Les Moonves or an eager-beaver promotion guy - looked up the calender and realized Letterman had been on late night TV for a quarter of a century. Actually, if they'd looked a little harder, coulda added a couple more years and made this something like a 27th anniversary show; remember the NBC morning show (after the failure of which Fred Silverman locked up Letterman for a deal extension where all he had to do was sit on a beach for a year...?)

Dave and Bill, before.

To continue my theory: Letterman was embarrassed by a 25th anniversary fuss, wanted nothing to do with it, but now that he's a "team player" with a nice fat contract extension, what's a guy gonna do? It's sweeps. The Super Bowl's on Sunday. May as well play along with Les and the promotion guys. Problem with a 25th, which Letterman likely knows, is that it's phony. Twenty-five years on two networks? That hardly constitutes an "anniversary" but is bland testament to the fact that the guy can hold a job. Second, we're talking about two networks here, so CBS is effectively promoting NBC. Third, "25" reminds people - reminds Dave - just how long he's been around. Jon Stewart's career started almost exactly twenty years ago (his early standup routines at the Bitter End started in '87), but you don't see him holding 20th anniversary on-air parties. Quarter-century landmarks suggest that the recipient needs to be bronzed and put on a pedestal. Or, that he's a "legend," a gray eminence, with emphasis on the word "gray." We know Letterman's a wonder. Don't need a phony 25th to remind us.

And last night.

As mentioned, good show. Top-hat-and-tailed Murray - making his 18th appearance (and he was on the first NBC show and the first one at CBS) - was good and always is. "I guess I thought this anniversary thing was
going to be a little bigger than you did," he deadpanned to the host. The interview dragged a bit, until Murray cadged some tickets from Moonves, who was on the phone. The Top Ten was amusing, too. It was "The Top Ten Things I've Learned Working Dave," featuring a bunch of longtime staffers musing on life with Dave over the last quarter-century. Number 2, from Paul Shaffer: "I have wasted my life."

He hasn't, really. And we haven't either. Twenty-five years of great TV is never a waste.

Sometimes I get the distinct impression - probably true - that TV executives don't watch TV the same way civilians do. If they did, they'd learn a.) their own promotions are often intolerable; b.) often overwhelming; c.) and often irrelevant. But how often do they actually hurt a show they're designed to promote? Case in point was last night's episode of "30 Rock," entitled "Black Tie," which may have been the funniest twenty-two minutes of commercial television so far this year. But by the time viewers hit the episode, they knew everything - the punchlines, the plot, and Paul Reubens' character, the Crown Prince of Hapsburg. Problem was, the setup of entire episode was based on Reubens, which means that the promos sucked everything out of the first third of the show, especially Jenna Maroney's (Jane Krakowski) lines and reax shots. It was Krakowski's best episode yet, but there wasn't much left to savor by the time the promos had worked the episode over. Why do networks habitually shoot themselves in their feet with promos? Because they don't watch TV like everyone else. They watch TV like TV critics - who also don't have to sit through all the clutter and nonsense that comprises the typical viewing experience. A suggestion: prospective TV executives (or active ones) should be tied to a chair and be forced to watch their air for an entire day. Oh, the things they'd learn...