The TV Zone

Score a big one - make that a HUUUUGE one - for David Letterman who returns Wednesday from a very long and probably not particularly gratifying vacation: The Writers Guild will allow him to bring his writers with him.

What does this mean? Well, for one, this - he doesn't have to spend 44 minutes each show conducting long interviews. With the new WGA deal in hand, he'll be able to do a monologue (still denied to Leno et al) and a show that should be reasonably smart, clever and good as always.

Here's what Dave (in a statement) had to say about his late year triumph: “I am grateful to the WGA for granting us this agreement. We’re happy to be going back to work, and particularly pleased to be doing it with our writers. This is not a solution to the strike, which unfortunately continues to disrupt the lives of thousands. But I hope it will be seen as a step in the right direction.”

And Dave right-hand man, Rob Burnett, prez of WWPants: “This is a positive result, both for the WGA and for our shows, and we are appreciative that the leaders of the Guild dealt with us reasonably and in good faith.”

Here, meanwhile, is the just-released statement from the WGA:

“The Writers Guild has reached a binding independent agreement today with Worldwide Pants that will allow Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return to the air with their full writing staffs. This is a comprehensive agreement that addresses the issues important to writers, particularly New Media. Worldwide Pants has accepted the very same proposals that the Guild was prepared to present to the media conglomerates when they walked out of negotiations on December 7.

"Today’s agreement dramatically illustrates that the Writers Guild wants to put people back to work, and that when a company comes to the table prepared to negotiate seriously a fair and reasonable deal can be reached quickly.

"It’s time for NBC-Universal to step up to the plate and negotiate a company-wide deal that will put Jay Leno, who has supported our cause from the beginning, back on the air with his writers.”

Yes, all of this is just swell, but what exactly WERE the terms? And will this deal embrace other productions of WWP, like sitcoms? After all, one imagines that Internet residuals from late night replay probably won't add up to much. (But then, who knows? Maybe they will in the future, when everyone watches their "Late Show" the following day.)

Anyway, Dave's a happy guy, and once we get answers to the above questions, will relay them to you.

(Oh, goodie...I JUST got an answer to one of the questions. That would be: Just how long will this deal last and will it serve as a template for everyone else, or something to that effect? The WGA responds thusly: "This is an interim agreement, but it does have a favored nations provision so it would become whatever the broader deal is when we reach that agreement with the MBA [minimum basic agreement.] But, the agreement with Worldwide Pants should be considered the template for the deal we're looking to reach with other companies. And, it shows that our proposals are reasonable - that a company like Letterman's sees the logic and fairness of it. Hopefully, other companies will as well- and eventually so will the AMPTP.")

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Dave - our hero - helped end the Writers strike? Just a wistful and perhaps foolish end-of-year wish....

Now that we have your attention . . .

Carson Kressley’s new Lifetime series “How to Look Good Naked” doesn’t arrive on cable till Friday, Jan. 4, but it starts streaming Saturday at the channel’s relaunched web site, mylifetime.com. The “Queer Eye” guy “teaches women of all shapes and sizes how to go from self-loathing to self-loving without resorting to interventions like extreme dieting or cosmetic surgery,” says Lifetime’s press release.

Also previewing in streaming video online (and arriving on Lifetime TV Jan. 4: Matched in Manhattan,” with an NYC “dating agent” who helps both straights and gays find relationships; and “Top This Party,” about elite planners who throw high-end soirees for the richest clients.

At least in movie form.

Yes, the whole sordid Amy Fisher-Joey Buttafucco love-and-gunplay tale gets relived once again, as 2008 arrives with a repeat of “Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story” (Tuesday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. on Lifetime).

This is the 1993 TV movie casting Alyssa Milano and Jack Scalia as the real-life lovers. And who starred in the other two quickie flicks in this infamous Amy-Joey network trifecta?

Check here tomorrow for the answer.

Matt Groening’s “Futurama” isn’t just back with fresh outings in direct-to-DVD animation. The space-age comedy also gets new life on cable, moving to Comedy Central Jan. 2 at 8 p.m., airing back-to-back episodes this Wednesday-Friday.

“Futurama” then airs on Comedy Central Monday-Thursday at 9 and Fridays at 9 and 9:30 p.m. All 72 outings will unreel there, along with the four new “Futurama” movies made for DVD ("Bender's Big Score," "Bender's Game," "The Beast with a Billion Backs," "Into the Wild Green Yonder").

Sneak a peek here.

How much does ABC want to you to tune into "Lost," which returns on Thursday, Jan. 31?

Well, today they announced a semi-nifty way to catch up on all three previous seasons: You can check out a special 8-minute, 15-second trailer called “Lost In 8:15.” (Clever, no?)

The trailer is available at ABC.com and additional websites and tells the story to-date of the survivors of Oceanic Air’s Flight 815.

And if you happen to be going to the movies this holiday season, there's a good chance you can see a shorter "Lost" trailer as well.

It’s not too late to celebrate. Vintage TV holidays are streaming online at TV4U, reaching way back to Red Skelton’s variety show, Jack Benny’s shopping excursion [photo at left], Burns and Allen at home, and the Clampetts’ hillbilly Christmas. Just click on TV4U’s Holiday TV icon.

They’ve even got old-time Christmas cartoons, the Yule Log, holiday music with Liberace, and period fun with “Annie Oakley” and “Long John Silver.”

And if Christmas isn’t your thing, you can watch shows for Valentine’s Day, Halloween or Thanksgiving, too.

But for me, for now -- Merry Christmas!

You remember Jules and Gedeon Naudet? They were the charming and courageous Parisians who came to New York eight years ago to produce a doc on the FDNY and wound up getting the story of their lives (and in some ways, OUR lives) instead: A first hand look at Nine Eleven and the rescue efforts, with their own extraordinary story of survival that day. It yielded "9/11," airing March 10, 2002, which - for my money - was the single best film on one of the most horrific days in American history. And produced by two Frenchmen and the stellar and extraordinary Susan Zirinksy - "Z" to those who love her - to boot, who also does production honors here.

The boys and Z are back Sunday with what you might call Part Deux of their original film: "In God's Name" - CBS, 9 to 11 - is an earnest search for answers to not just the meaning of evil but the meaning of life itself. "A lot of people asked themselves different questions, whether you're religious or spiritual or not," says Jules at the outset. "And the common one most people [had on 9/11), 'where was God that day?'"

And with a question on their minds and apparently trouble in their souls, Jules and Gedeon set out for the answer. The result: A terribly long doc stuffed with far too many terribly dull interviews with twelve spiritual leaders. They are bigshots, these leaders, and they believe deeply and fervently in God and faith. For the Naudets, the Kumbaya moment - arriving in the waning moments - boils down to this: We all have much more in common than that which divides us. "I realized," said Gedeon, "at the end of this journey that the search for truth is in itself a religious act."

Noted.

These twelve leaders include Pope Benedict XVI (the brothers seem a little frosty to him), and Frank Page (head of the Southern Baptist Convention; they seem to love this uniquely American type.) There's also Yona Metzger, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, and The Dalai Lama and Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, and important representatives from other world religions. It's an amazing array of talent, so to speak, yet their discursive on life, faith, spirituality, meaning, God, evil and on and on and on never seems to soar. Maybe the Naudets were more interested in creating a "film" than a deep, urgent, sustained and scholarly look at what really DOES unite the world's religions or what really IS the meaning of life.

Bottom line: You have to love and admire the Naudets - and CBS deserves credit too - for trying to tackle something so profoundly important and vital. These guys do have the heart of a lion, and a glorious career lays before them.

But that doesn't mean you should feel guilty when you stifle a yawn while watching - or when you turn off the set and hit the sack before the closing credits.

(Pictured above, from left, Gedeon, James Hanlon - formerly of the FDNY, now an actor - and Jules.)

Cablevision’s HD lineup currently seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Just in time for college football’s annual bowl-o-rama, the cable provider is today adding ESPN2 HD, a simulcast of the standard-def channel using HD video when available, on Ch. 735.

Upcoming events in HD on ESPN2 include Friday night’s New Orleans Bowl (Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic), Saturday’s Papajohns.com Bowl (yes, there is such a thing, pitting Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati), and Sunday-Tuesday’s 2007 World Series of Poker.

Peruse HD offerings for both ESPN and ESPN2 at hd.espn.com.

We've got the "American Idol" dates for you, right here, right now. So if you're of a mind - and really, who isn't? - get out the new calender and start marking it up:

The show's back Jan. 15, followed by four weeks of audition shows. The Hollywood rounds are Feb. 12 and 13, and the top 24 are announced on Feb. 13; the top twelve guys go Feb. 19 and top 12 ladies go Feb. 20. The first results show - live, of course - is Feb. 21, and the top finalists will go before the cameras on March 11.

Herewith the full list, from Fox:

Tuesday, Jan. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 1

Wednesday, Jan. 16 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 2

Tuesday, Jan. 22 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode

Wednesday, Jan. 23 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode

Tuesday, Jan. 29 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode

Wednesday, Jan. 30 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode

Tuesday, Feb. 5 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode

Wednesday, Feb. 6 (8:00-9:00 PM) Auditions Episode

Tuesday, Feb. 12 (8:00-10:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 1

Wednesday, Feb. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 2 –

Top 24 Semifinalists Announced

Tuesday, Feb. 19 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Male Singers Perform

Wednesday, Feb. 20 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Female Singers Perform

Thursday, Feb. 21 (8:00-9:00 PM) First Results Show (ET live/PT tape-delayed) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off

Tuesday, Feb. 26 (8:00-9:30 PM) Top 10 Male Singers Perform

Wednesday, Feb. 27 (8:00-9:30 PM) Top 10 Female Singers Perform

Thursday, Feb. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM) Results Show (ET live/PT tape-delayed) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off

Tuesday, March 4 (8:00-9:00 PM) Top 8 Male Singers Perform

Wednesday, March 5 (9:00-10:00 PM) Top 8 Female Singers Perform

Thursday, March 6 (8:00-9:00 PM) Results Show (ET live/PT tape-delayed) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off; Top 12 Finalists Revealed

Tuesday, March 11 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Finalists Perform

Wednesday, March 12 (9:00-9:30 PM) Results Show (ET live/PT tape-delayed) – One Contestant Voted Off

America's anchors are back.

From the Dept. of No Surprise, now this: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, along with respective Comedy Central shows, will return to the air with original episodes on January 7. That pretty much makes the entire late night landscape back in business early next year.

In a statement, here's what Colbert/Stewart had to say, "if we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence." Funny line, but a little glib too, considering that they are coming back solo (in all likelihood), and leaving their striking colleagues down on the sidewalk below.

And CC: "We continue to hold out hope for a swift resolution to the current stalemate that will enable the shows to be complete again."

Of course, everyone continues to hold out hope for something that looks increasingly hopeless. Stewart/Colbert - like the other late night hosts - will be left naked (so to speak) before the camera. No one can technically "write" - meaning no monologues for Dave/Jay - but Stewart has an even more daunting challenge: Prepping for a writerless/jokeless/maybe actor-less Oscar night.

Why "no surprise?" Simply because everyone else returned, and it was a matter of minutes before these two came back as well.

You-know-who at "Monster House" Opening; Photo: Richard Chavez

Thanks, Jamie Lynn! Here's another fine mess you're about to get Nickelodeon in: The network's considering a Birds-and-the-Bees news special to explain her pregnancy.

That's the word from a recent AP story, which adds that Linda Ellerbee - who most recently produced that Nick News global warming special - is under consideration for the job of teaching 9 year old viewers about...well, you know what about.

Let us add: This is hugely risky. Lots of critics will reasonably ask, since when did Nick appoint itself guardian and educator of the nation's children, particularly with regards this sort of subject? The network should expect the following: Angry letters, furious parents, broadsides from various right wing Evangelical, Catholic and other like-minded groups, as well as a special edition of "The O'Reilly Factor."

Ellerbee - let us also add - is terrific, but does she need this kind of headache?

Nevertheless, Nick may think this is the price to pay to keep "Zoey 101" on the air. The network's wrapped the fourth season, per AP, and certainly doesn't want to spike it. So why not a public service news special?

Here's a quote from the story: "I think it's important that something be done," Ellerbee told The Associated Press on Thursday. "But I think it's important that it be done in a measured way, and not just to feed the beast of news stories."

No confirmation yet from Nick, which is busy wrestling the beast.

Well, here's another thing that happens when you win "The Biggest Loser:"

You get milk.

(And yeah, it's apparently fat-free, or low-fat; you'll have to take the ad's word for it.)

Here's the caption for yet another edition of the famed "Got Milk? campaign (Sorry for the crop, but at least you get the general idea). So far, it's run in just one paper - USA Today": "The Biggest Loser Shapes Up with the Help of Milk. Last night Bill Germanakos was named the winner of NBC’s hit show 'The Biggest Loser.' Bill lost 164 pounds and appears in his very own Milk Mustache ad to boot. He knows that filling three glasses a day with lowfat or fat free milk can help him get the calcium, protein and nutrients that are important when watching calories, plus along with exercise, the protein helps build muscle."

Courtesy: Anne Cusack, LA Times

It's almost hilariously apparent that the Big Bad Studios could care less about public opinion during the on-going writers strike, so badly have they mangled their public relations campaign.

But now comes word that their anti-efforts - let's call them - are actually yielding results. According to a remarkable USA Today/Gallup poll released today, no fewer than sixty percent of Americans "say they favor the writers in the dispute," according to a Gary Levin story in today's editions. It goes on: Fourteen percent favor the studios.

What's really amazing about the survey - conducted last weekend among 1,011 adults - is that 14 percent figure. Now I ask you - who out there is in favor of the Big Bad Studios? If you are, please write in and explain yourself. What could possibly be a factor in their defense? They have dissembled repeatedly - see deadlinehollywood.com, for proof. They have fired hundreds of employees. They are stiffing thousands of writers out of Internet residuals (because they know everyone will be watching TV, or at least repeats of shows, via the Web by the middle of the next century, if not much sooner...) They are about to foist an ungodly amount of "unscripted" fare on the American public. Finally, they have shortened - maybe even eliminated - "24's" run next season, while cutting back "Lost;" meanwhile, everything from "Daily Show" to "Late Show" remain in a deep freeze. For all of this and much more, that special corner in Showbiz hell is awaiting them.

Here's a final interesting stat: Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they'd watch less TV because of the strike.

What a surprise.

They lost big, so they won big.

Bill Germanakos of Lynbrook worked off 164 pounds to take “The Biggest Loser” title on NBC’s Tuesday night competition, while his 40-year-old twin, Jim, won the weigh-in among previously eliminated contestants after dropping 186 pounds. [NBC photo above: Bill Germanakos, center, with brother Jim and family.]

Bill, a medical salesman who stands 5-feet-8, took home the $250,000 grand prize by going from 334 pounds to 170 over the eight-month production schedule for the 15-week series. Twin brother Jim, a Freeport police officer from Massapequa, earned $100,000 for dropping from 361 to 175, and losing 132 of those pounds at home after his fifth-episode elimination.

The Germanakos brothers, the first set of twins on “The Biggest Loser,” made a triumphant appearance on Wednesday’s “Today” show, saying they were inspired by their father passing away young at 57, as well by as the recent death of “a friend that was in our age group,” Bill told Ann Curry. “He left a houseful of kids, and it’s very upsetting. And then to know that we were on the path for an early death as well. It’s something, when we had an opportunity to go ahead and do this, it’s something that we jumped at.”

Both were members of the “underdog” black team, a surprise in-progress addition to the series, which normally features red and blue teams of six persons each. The competition’s final four contenders all came from the same team, another first. “We were the throwaways,” Bill said in celebratory video clips posted after his win at NBC.com, where he had become a favorite in viewer comments expressing support for his can-do attitude.

But it was that “throwaway” sting of rejection that prompted Bill to describe “the defining moment of my life as an obese person.” With daughter Adrienne standing beside him after his win, he told NBC.com about taking her to an amusement park and waiting in line an hour to ride the front car of a roller coaster. “And I didn’t fit. They tried so hard, it was painful, when I got up and we had to walk away with everyone looking at me.” He said that after the show’s “reveal” party, “We went right back to the amusement park, we got right on the roller coaster, and I proceeded to bring her on every roller coaster. Listen, I’ve been waiting 20 years for this.”

Bill used his “Today” appearance to thank his wife, Stephanie, and his kids, Adrienne, Luke and Hope, for all their support. Jim thanked his wife and three kids, too. Both encouraged other obese people to do whatever it takes to lose weight. “We needed help,” said Bill, “and we found the help.”

Not to mention reality TV fame. And a nice chunk of change, too.

The writers' strike is leaving young viewers pining for their dose of fake news and daily snark from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Here's a little taste of what we used to be able to watch every night.

Daily Show: Fool Me Once

Daily Show: MSNBC Democratic Debate

Stephen Colbert: The Mini Threatdown

Stephen Colbert: Obama's Challenge

Stephen Colbert: The Word

The lights return to Broadway

As pretty much expected after Leno/O'Brien/Kimmel announced a return early next year, Dave has now formally committed as well.

The show - with or without writers - will be back January 2, which means quite literally, a whole new late night after exactly two months of repeats.

We await a formal statement, but Variety did carry a statement from Worldwide Pants president Rob Burnett this morning. What's interesting is that there is still no agreement between Dave's production company and the WGA - interesting because those guys had apparently made big strides towards agreeing to a waiver that'd let the show return with writers, unlike Leno/Conan who'll be flying (and maybe crashing) solo when they return.

"We are willing to agree to the writers' demands that are within our control, so we have no reason to believe that an interim agreement can't be achieved with the WGA," said Burnett in the Variety statement. "As a result, our only focus is on returning Jan. 2 with writers."

And for "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" fans, the news is the same: Back Jan. 2, with or without the writing crew.

Now, this is a nice story, and I'm sure "Sopranos" fans will agree: The old gang from The Best TV Drama Ever will hold a fund-raiser this Saturday night at the Mirage (on Merrick Ave. in Westbury...)

And who from the old gang? Pretty much all the major players, with an exception here and there: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Robert Iler and Michael Imperioli will show up at the club at 10 p.m. - you can see them all, sitting in the VIP area. Go up. Shake hands. Get autographs.

The cause: To raise $50,000 - or more - for a pair of former colleagues on "The Sopranos." One is suffering from cancer; the other has recovered but is now suffering from financial hardship.

Jeff Marchetti - "Petey" and long associated with the show in a number of back-stage roles - is organizing the benefit, and said a little while ago that the cast wants to help "one of our most beloved prop guys, who's been on the [show from the beginning]. His name is Anthony B., but he wanted to remain nameless. He's battling lymphoma and nobody knew about it, [until] a month and a half after we wrapped...Everybody loves the guy because we are absolutely a true family and we're gonna support him in every possible way we can."

Marchetti said the goal is to also raise money for another former colleague on the show, as well as a childhood friend of his - both who had been ill.

According to Jeff and the Mirage's website, all the major players will be at the club but Marchetti said as many as twenty are scheduled to show up.

More details: Cover is $20 though the cast will hold a private party from 8 to 10, and to join that: $1250 per couple, according to Marchetti (who says to go to einnonmedia@aol.com to confirm.)

Yup, it's no secret "Sopranos" cast and crew have been pretty tight over the years while Gandolfini has gone out of his way countless times to help people behind the camera. This makes countless-and-one.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul, or “borrowing” from cable to help the broadcast network -- NBC now says it will add USA Network’s “Monk” and “Psych” to its affiliates’ lineups on Sunday nights in March.

NBC execs wax enthusiastic in a press release about this “great fit,” “terrific synergies” and “a win-win situation.”

Translation: We are so bleepin’ desperate during this writers’ strike! And since the shows are produced by the NBC-owned Universal studio, they don’t hardly cost nothin’!

At least they’ll prevent more reality debris accumulating to stink up the joint. And lest we forget our brethren (and sistren) without cable, here's their chance to watch a couple of audience-pleasing mystery faves.

“Monk” and “Psych” launch new Friday night episodes on USA Jan. 11, when Howie Mandel lures Tony Shalhoub's Monk into a cult [NBC photo above].

One more late night guy is about to cross the picket...err, go back to work: Jimmy Kimmel and ABC announced a few minutes ago that "Jimmy Kimmel Live" will return Jan. 2, along with the two NBC late nighters that announced yesterday.

It now appears that the template is set: Plead pity for the financial well-being of those who depend upon you and then go back to work. Here's Jimmy's statement:

“Though it makes me sick to do so without my writers, there are more than a hundred people whose financial well-being depends on our show. It is time to go back to work. I support my colleagues and friends in the WGA completely and hope this ends both fairly and soon."

In fairness, it has got to have been a tough decision for everyone involved, especially hosts. The only exception: the Big Bad Studios who are sitting back, refusing to negotiate, torturing once valued employees, and apparently enjoying the view of the wreckage they have created.

Courtesy: New York Mag

It must be a great day in these United States when "Nightly News" - our leading newscast - can begin a Monday edition with news about its own network (Jay and Conan are back! GE rejoices!) and end with a story about one of its own personalities (Ann Curry bungee jumps! Chord holds!). But imagine taking time to make news even about itself? (Is this what's called a trifecta? No, but it'll do.)

"Nightly" yesterday took the wraps off of a new announcer - unseen but not unheard - who replaces the redoubtable and long-enduring Howard Reig, who's only done this job since before they invented television and officially retired a couple years ago (his voice has lived on.) He was the guy who said stuff like, "And now Brian Williams from New York.," or something like that, at the top of each broadcast.

He has been replaced as of yesterday. The new voice of "Nightly?" He (yes, he's a he) is...(yes, he's still around)...Michael (yes, common first name)...Douglas (yes! Son of Kirk, who is also still around!)

Michael Douglas. Yes, Michael Douglas. He's friends with Brian, naturally.

But ask yourself this, Brian: Why? Why not a woman? Why not a person of color? But an actor? Who hasn't been in a major movie in, like, seven years? And some guy you once got drunk with at South Fork Country Club?

And the voice? Somewhat reedy, thin, without command or noticeable stature. "This is 'Nightly News'...Brian Williams in New York.." At first I thought they'd maybe hired the page - Kenneth, perhaps. But no. It's Michael.

If picking an announcer was the broadcast equivalent of bungee jumping, Brian, then you've just hit the pavement.

The Voice

And so the networks’ midseason shuffle continues. Better break out a scorecard.

Among the current announcements from TV strike-land:

• NBC is quickly picking up “quarterlife,” the online webisode drama series from acclaimed producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (“My So-Called Life,” “thirtysomething”). It’ll debut Monday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m., filling the old “Heroes” time slot. This continuing saga of “six creative people in their 20s” premiered on MySpace on Nov. 11 (alongside the social network site quarterlife.com). The 8-10 minute episodes, which arrive on MySpace Sundays and Thursdays at 12 midnight (repeating on quarterlife.com starting the next day), will get edited together to hour length for NBC airing (and nbc.com streaming). [Photo: "Quarterlife" star Bitsie Tulloch.]

• CBS’ new Jeffrey Tambor comedy “Welcome to The Captain” moves back a week to premiere Monday, Feb. 4 at 8:30 p.m. (Somebody forgot the State of the Union address gets covered Jan. 28.) That same night at 9:30 brings the third-season premiere of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

• And of course there was ABC’s Friday announcement that “Lost” returns at 9 p.m. Jan. 31 -- a Thursday -- which puts one of the network’s big draws into a plum ad-sales spot, where ABC needs to maintain the kind of ratings “Grey’s Anatomy” pulled till it ran out of fresh episodes. “Lost” leads into the new Thursday 10 p.m. drama “Eli Stone,” about a young lawyer (Jonny Lee Miller) who’s either having prophetic visions or hallucinating due to an aneurysm. In addition, ABC pinpointed new-cycle premiere dates for “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Bachelor” (both Monday, March 17, with “Dancing” results show starting up again Tuesday, March 25). The reality hour “Oprah’s Big Give” gets going Sunday, March 2 at 9 p.m.

The boys are back...

In the biggest development in the writers' strike in nearly two months, both "Tonight Show" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" are set to break ranks and return to the airwaves January 2.

In a lengthy statement released a few minutes ago, Conan had this to say:

"For the past seven weeks of the writers' strike, I have been and continue to be an ardent supporter of the WGA and their cause. My career in television started as a WGA member and my subsequent career as a performer has only been possible because of the creativity and integrity of my writing staff. Since the strike began, I have stayed off the air in support of the striking writers while, at the same time, doing everything I could to take care of the 80 on-writing staff members on Late Night.

"Unfortunately, now with the New Year upon us, I am left with a difficult decision. Either go back to work and keep my staff employed or stay dark and allow 80 people, many of whom have worked for me for fourteen years, to lose their jobs. If my show were entirely scripted I would have no choice. But the truth is that shows like mine are hybrids, with both written and non-written content. An unwritten version of 'Late Night,' though not desirable, is possible – and no one has to be fired.

So, it is only after a great deal of thought that I have decided to go back on the air on January 2nd. I will make clear, on the program, my support for the writers and I'll do the best version of Late Night I can under the circumstances. Of course, my show will not be as good. In fact, in moments it may very well be terrible. My sincerest hope is that all of my writers are back soon, working under a contract that provides them everything they deserve."

And...here's Jay's statement, seconds old:

"This has been a very difficult six weeks for everybody affected by the writers strike. I was, like most people, hoping for a quick resolution when this began. I remained positive during the talks and while they were still at the table discussing a solution The Tonight Show remained dark in support of our writing staff. Now that the talks have broken down and there are no further
negotiations scheduled I feel it's my responsibility to get my 100 non-writing staff, which were laid off, back to work. We fully support our writers and I think they understand my decision."

In announcing the return of both programs, Rick Ludwin - NBC's top exec in charge of late night - said: "During the 1988 writers strike, Johnny Carson reluctantly returned to 'The Tonight Show' without his writers after two months. Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA strike and will continue to support them. However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay's and Conan's decision."

The move to get Jay/Conan back on the air slightly trumps Dave (see below) who publicly entered into negotiations with the Writers Guild of America to seek a waiver that would allow him to return shortly too. (Expect a Letterman announcement for a Jan. 2 return any second now.) To break the impasse with the producers (AMPTP), the Guild said it would allow individual writer/producers to enter into negotiations with their carriage network, or production studio. As owner of Worldwide Pants, Letterman clearly was in the most obvious position to move forward; because "Tonight" and "Late Night" are NBC properties, it's unlikely either Conan/Jay could seek a such a waiver. Indeed, O'Brien's statement suggests his hand was simply forced by NBC, and the network - in fact - has been playing hardball with both, by threatening to fire staffers and by publicly musing about the possibility of guest hosts at the helm of both shows. Meanwhile, both Jay and Conan were digging into their own pockets to pay their staffers through the end of the year.

Dave's "waiver" will allow him to return to the air with a writing staff; Jay/Conan will likely be flying solo.

The move's certainly good for fans - living with repeats since November 5 - and good for politicians and movie producers too, all of whom depend on the late night guys. But for the Writers Guild? That's hard to gauge. The late night talkers aren't necessarily tied to the key issue that thousands of striking writers are - residuals from the Internet. Moreover, with the late night shows back on the air, the producers can argue that the united front of the writers has now been shattered. It'd be hard to argue with that point.

Showtime's underrated “Dexter” gets its due, along with “Friday Night Lights, “30 Rock,” “Mad Men” and six other titles, in this year’s American Film Institute Awards for television.

Also announced yesterday as AFI picks for TV excellence in 2007: “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Ugly Betty,” and an HBO trifecta of “The Sopranos,” “Tell Me You Love Me” and the TV movie “Longford.”

The awards jury included TV producers, academics and critics, including such astute colleagues as TV Guide’s Matt Roush and the Chicago Tribune’s Maureen Ryan. (I’ve served on the jury twice in past years.)

And if you missed last night’s socko season finale of “Dexter” (just when Michael C. Hall’s serial killer thinks he’s out, the dark side sucks him back in), Showtime is repeating the must-see hour tonight at 10. Also Tuesday (Dec. 18) at 9, Wednesday and Thursday (Dec. 19-20) at 10, and Friday (Dec. 21) at 11 p.m. Showtime on-demand subscribers can grab it there, where all 12 second-season episodes are available for anytime viewing. (You can even enter a contest to play one of Dexter’s Season 3 victims.)

[Showtime photo above: Michael C. Hall in "Dexter" Season 2 finale.]

Clever Dave. Or...Too Clever?

And today, a very interesting development in the writers' strike.

The Big Bad Studios have been trying to fracture the unity of the writers, but the writers - who aren't dummies, after all - are now apparently trying the same tactic.

This time, they're trying to fracture the Big Bad Studios.

And who's leading the charge?

Dave!

In a - let's call it "unusual" - side-step, Worldwide Pants and "Late Show with David Letterman" have apparently won a surprising "interim agreement" with the Writers Guild to negotiate separately with CBS. This is an open door for Letterman to talk, mano a mano, with CBS chief Leslie Moonves and get "Late Show" back on the air, probably by early January. (Reports yesterday suggested Jan. 7). Of course, it's also cleverly designed to make it appear that Dave and his writers aren't scabs. They - and the WGA - just can't get any traction with the AMPTP (the negotiating arm of the Big Bad Studios). So they may as well go it alone! As I said, sneaky! Maybe smart too. If I was Jay and NBC, I'd be thinking - WHY AREN'T WE THIS DEVIOUS!?

Why is so interesting? Because it potentially allows other writers to talk individually with their "partner" studios and networks. (The Big Bad Studios are either very nervous at this minute or are trying to figure out how to do an end-run around this unexpected move.)

Needless to say, the WGA is trying to sugar-coat the move by Dave. After all, he doesn't have to worry that much about the number one issue for writers who work for scripted shows - namely residuals from the Internet, which will one day make quaint old technologies like "videos" and "DVDs" seem like horse n' buggies.

Meanwhile, the WGA said that Letterman's company wasn't the only one that could cut "a deal separately" with the Writers' Guild; a spokeswoman added, "there will be no deals that don't include the Internet; the new media IS our deal [and] if somebody [any of the members of the negotiating arm of the studios] wants to step up to the plate and take our deal, we're ready."

Here's the WGA statement (signed by some heavyweight writers - we'll spare you the list):

"As you know, the AMPTP is currently unwilling to bargain with us. The internal dynamics of the AMPTP make it difficult for the conglomerates to reach consensus and negotiate with us on a give and take basis. We believe this multi-employer structure inhibits individual companies from pursuing their self-interest in negotiations. We nonetheless continue to hope that the AMPTP will return in good faith to negotiate a fair contract with writers, as two television seasons and numerous feature projects are currently at great risk.

We want to do everything in our power to move negotiations forward and end this devastating strike. We have therefore decided to reach out to major AMPTP companies and begin to negotiate with them individually."

Now, the statement from Rob Burnett. He's the prez of Worldwide Pants:

“Worldwide Pants has always been a writer-friendly company. Dave has been a member of the WGA for more than 30 years, and I have been a member for more than 20. Because we are an independent production company, we are able to pursue an interim agreement with the Guild without involving CBS in that pursuit. Therefore, since the beginning of the strike, we have expressed our willingness to sign an interim agreement with the Guild consistent with its positions in this dispute. We're happy that the Guild has now adopted an approach that might make this possible. It is our strong desire to be back on the air with our writers and we hope that will happen as soon as possible.”

And finally, CBS - which, you'll note, doesn't seem too unhappy about this development:

"We respect the intent of Worldwide Pants to serve the interests of its independent production company and its employees by seeking this interim agreement with the WGA. However, this development should not confuse the fact that CBS remains unified with the AMPTP, and committed to working with the member companies to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with the WGA that positions everyone in our industry for success in a rapidly changing marketplace."

The gang is back...on Thursdays!

Big news from the "Lost" front. The drama returns late January (the 31st) but the twist is this: It's been moved from Wednesdays to Thursdays at 9. What happens to "Grey's Anatomy," you reasonably ask? Well, there is a strike on and by that time, the "GA" episode well will be drier than an Atlanta reservoir. Enter "Lost," with at least a half a dozen fresh ones. ABC is hoping - maybe even praying - that the strike is over by the end of that abbreviated run so that "GA" can find it's way back home.

(You'll also note: "Desperate Housewives" will be held until March.)

There may be at least one other little reason for the "Lost" move from Wednesday to Thursday - get it out of "American Idol's" way. "Lost" - still firmly beloved by its many fans - has struggled on Wednesdays somewhat. With "Grey" off the air, it could easily surge on a protected Thursday berth.

Here's the rest of the mid-season ABC line-up, fresh off the press release; some shows are coming up in February, some staggered in March:

MONDAY (JAN) 8:00 p.m. “Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann”
9:30 p.m. “Notes from the Underbelly”
10:00 p.m. “October Road”

MONDAY (FEB) 8:00 p.m. “Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann”
9:00 p.m. “Samantha Who?”
9:30 p.m. “Notes from the Underbelly”
10:00 p.m. “October Road”

MONDAY (MAR) 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
9:30 p.m. “Samantha Who?”
10:00 p.m. “The Bachelor”

TUESDAY 8:00 p.m. “Just for Laughs”
8:30 p.m. “Just for Laughs”
9:00 p.m. “According to Jim”
9:30 p.m. “Carpoolers”
10:00 p.m. “Boston Legal”

TUESDAY (MAR) 8:00 p.m. “Just for Laughs”
8:30 p.m. “Just for Laughs”
9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
10:00 p.m. “Boston Legal”

WEDNESDAY 8:00 p.m. “Wife Swap”
9:00 p.m. “Supernanny”
10:00 p.m. “Cashmere Mafia” (“MEN IN TREES” beginning Feb 27)

THURSDAY (JAN) 8:00 p.m. “Ugly Betty”
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Big Shots” (after special premiere of “Cashmere Mafia” on Jan 3)

THURSDAY (FEB) 8:00 p.m. “Ugly Betty”
9:00 p.m. “Lost”
10:00 p.m. “Eli Stone”

FRIDAY 8:00 p.m. Drama encores
9:00 p.m. Drama encores
10:00 p.m. “20/20”

SUNDAY (MAR) 7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9:00 p.m. “Oprah’s Big Give”
10:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”

WNBC/4 - like everyone else in the world - wanted to find out who was on The List yesterday, but got just a little bit ahead of itself. The Ch. 4 list, posted on its website just before the Mitchell Report came out, was wrong, apparently outrageously wrong. In any event, Ch. 4 has issued an apology - linked on Romenesko - and for more background on this unusual gaff, check out smokinggun.com, which has a few more choice nuggets. Here's the full apology: "On Thursday morning, prior to the time in which the Mitchell report was made public, WNBC.com published a list of ballplayer names that we expected to appear in the report. There were a number of discrepancies between our list and the Mitchell report, and we mistakenly listed several players that did not appear in the report. Jonathan Dienst and WNBC.com regret the error and sincerely apologize for providing the incorrect information."

Thursday's holiday-themed episode was a dysfuynctional family affair. Stopping by were Liz's chuckleheaded parents (brilliantly played by Buck Henry and Anita Gillette) and brother Mitch (the always amusing Andy Richter), who thinks it's still 1985 and he's still 17 thanks to a traumatic skiing accident; as well as Jack's delightfully dyspeptic mom (Elaine Stritch).

Meanwhile, the gang is readying for their annual Ludachristmas celebration. Tracy can't take part because of an alcohol-related incident, he's wearing an electronic ankle monitor that will register any booze he comsumes. Kenneth is horrified by his colleagues' treatment of the holiday and he tries to impart to them, as only Kenneth can, the true meaning of the season.

Here are the five things we loved:

Inspired by Kenneth's message, the staff decides to celebrate Christmas without commercial trappings -- Tracy's idea is to chop down the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

As he's handing out presents to everyone, Kenneth wishes each staffer a "Merry Christmas" -- Except for Josh, whom he tells "Merry Jewish."

The chain restaurant the Lemons and Donaghys eat in is called "Saturdaze."

Jack sure loves his mom, telling her at one point: "There are tererorist cells more nurturing than you."

When told that in Mitch's mind, it's still 1985 and Ronald Reagan is president, Jack proclaims, "You lucky bastard!"

NBC photo: Elaine Stritch as Jack's mom Colleen

The new king of late night - "Nightline's" Martin Bashir

I almost hesitate to offer this small ray of hope in the midst of the increasingly bitter writers' strike - late yesterday, the Writers Guild filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the Big Bad Studios - but it does now appear that the late night hosts will be back early January.

That's the word in a Variety story this morning, and there's absolutely every reason in the world to believe it. The hosts - or at least their reps - have been hinting for weeks at a return, and my theory is this: They float these proposals to see how vigorously the striking writers fire back. Carson Daly got a mouthful of bile when he announced he was coming back, but we haven't heard much from the anti-Daly camp lately (and he's even gonna host NBC's New years' telecast...) Also, no host really wants to be the first to go back - they'd prefer their competitor return, giving them an excuse to return as well.

Former kings of late night

Another reason: Hosts are paying their staffs through the end of the year, but such largess can only go so far - even for multimillionaires.

Here's one more compelling reason: "Nightline" - yes, "Nightline" - is soundly beating both "Tonight" and "Late Show." It's pushing four million viewers, or half a million over "Tonight" and nearly a million over "Late Show." "NL's" total viewers are up a whopping 16 percent over this time last year - and growing. "NL" hasn't enjoyed such dominance in at least a decade and even then it was fleeting - dependent on the press of news events and the like - but clearly viewers are looking for news or simply alternatives to repeats. That's ominous for the late night entertainment guys who are as dependent on current affairs as "NL."

One more thing: If they return, that represents the first massive crack in the writers' alliance. A deal - and perhaps one not entirely favorable to their camp - might not be terribly far behind.

Courtesy: Sportsillustrated.cnn.com

You don't need to be a baseball fan to know that something remarkable took place at 2 p.m. today.

I mean, in all my years of watching TV - including hundreds of press conferences, breaking news events, speechs, debates and on and on and on - I do believe the Mitchell report presser deserves a special place in the pantheon of News Events. It was packed - beyond imagining - with news: Massive, stadium-shattering news, that sent a perceptible chill through an industry and hundreds of players and millions of fans. Sentence after sentence from George Mitchell was a headline. And not just any old headline, but a hundred-and-ten-point-bold-face-for-crying-out-loud-this-is-astounding-stuff headline.

And the names? Oh my God: Clemens, Pettitte, Mo Vaughn and on and on and on. The faces that MSNBC threw up on screen are more familiar than some of our own relatives. There they stood, accused of the third-most serious crime a ballplayer can be accused of (the first, throwing a game, and second, betting.)

What to say of George Mitchell: Get over the fact that he kind of looks and sounds like Bob Newhart and your realize that his performance was stunning. He's a masterful speaker who talks in iambic pentameter - without rhyming, that is. This senatorial sing-song conveys a sense that he is saying something monumental; in fact, he is, but his style adds even greater gravity.

And in all of this, a final bizarre irony: As Mitchell is laying out one of the biggest sports stories of the young century, the Iowa Democratic debate is on-going. Imagine that! Fox News - foolishly, in my opinion - stuck with the drab debate. MSNBC and many others - wisely - carried Mitchell. Meanwhile, a whole bunch of local stations - with the exception of WNYW/5 - stuck with the soaps. Oh brother. Their viewers missed some history.

We’re not the only wackos wallowing in yule tube this time of year. The pop culturists over at the YesbutNobutYes blog have posted their Top Ten Christmas TV Villains, in countdown form.

Without saying where they fall numerically, the list includes Ebenezer Magoo [right], the Heat and Snow Misers, and even Santa Claus.

Check it out here.

Once again, the Golden Globes baffles: The awards, announced just minutes ago, almost entirely snubbed "The Sopranos," which pretty much walked away with the Emmys this summer. Only one major figure from the show nabbed a nomination - Edie Falco, for best actress, drama. Otherwise, zippo - nothing for James Gandolfini OR the show.

Strangest nod in the TV realm? Well, "Californication" did get a best comedy nod. That certainly qualifies as "odd," no?

Best news for just about any series? "Pushing Daisies," which got a pair of big hits.

The GGs like to distance themselves from the Emmys - they don't like to rubber stamp their cross-town rival choices in TV and can be peculiarly contrarian as a result. And as the GG's stature has risen in recent years, they also like to think of themselves as trend-setters - able to discern quality while the Emmys are steeped (or mired) in traditionalism and sentimentality. That may explain the snub to TV's greatest drama - it may, but who really knows.

Here are the TV choices:

Best actor, comedy series: Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell, David Duchovny ("Californication"), Ricky Gervais, and Lee Pace ("Daisies.")

Best comedy: "30 Rock," "Californication," "Entourage," "Extras," "Daisies."

Best performance, Actor: David C. Hall, Jon Hamm, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") and Bill Paxton.

Actress, drama: Patricia Arquette, Glenn Close, Minnie Driver, Edie Falco, Sally Fields, Kyra Sedgwick.

TV drama: "Big Love," "Damages," "Grey's Anatomy," "House," "Madmen," "The Tudors."

Meanwhile, go here for the full list.

"Knight Rider" is firing back to life.

NBC announced today that its long-awaited revival of the 1980s show about a talking car (a high-tech "My Mother, the Car," cynics might say) will air Feb. 17 as a two-hour movie.

The network unveiled the new customized KITT Ford Mustang to be featured in the series in a press event at NBC's Burbank Studios today.

The movie stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case," "All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS," "The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close to Home").

But the really big news: David Hasselhoff will return as Michael Knight in a special guest-star appearance.

Second piece of really big news: William Daniels won't provide KITT's voice this time around. That honor goes to "Arrested Development's" Will Arnett.

O and Friends

OK, so what happens if O doesn't go? O, meaning the other O - Barack Obama, who is currently enjoying the endorsement of someone whose endorsement makes a real difference

That was the interesting question out of this morning's encounter between Diane Sawyer and Oprah on "Good Morning America." Here's what Di asked: Might you "show up for" Hillary Clinton if she secures the nomination - in other words, might you stump for Clinton if Barack doesn't get the brass ring?

Said O: "I'm in this race because the person I'm speaking up for will take it all the way [but] if that doesn't happen, I might readjust my thinking."

After twenty years of watching Oprah, I think I'm in a good position to translate: The answer is yes. That should make Hill breath a little easier (but Hill might also care to look at last week's CBS News poll in Iowa which found that only one percent of respondents said they'd change their vote based on an Oprah endorsement.)

Why was O on "GMA?" To push her new Denzel Washington-starrer, "The Great Debaters" (out Christmas). But she had a whole lot to say about the other O: She's not supporting him because of "the color of his skin but for what he represents, and I do think he represents a sense of cohesion. [But] he is a black man and I'm very happy about that...

Also this: "I did this [the O stumping] because this is what I'm supposed to be doing with [my] time..."

And this: Voters are worried about the economy (OK, thanks...) "People don't want to have to work so hard and still be poor - work so hard and struggle so much. That is the basic concern of everybody - spending more and more money and feeling like you're further and further behind."

And finally, this: No, she wants no position in government. "I like my job..."

Alex Trebek has suffered a heart attack - apparently a mild one - according to a report from "ET."

Heres a statement from the AP, "Trebek, 67, was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center late Monday night and was expected to remain there about two days for tests and observation, said show spokesman Jeff Ritter.

"Thankfully it was a minor heart attack," Ritter said. He did not give other details."

According to "Access Hollywood," he'll be back in the studio for the next scheduled tapings in January.' Trebek is 67 years old. No further information was immediately available. "

I just put a call into Sony; will report back with any additional info the minute I get it.

I’ll be talking yule tube tonight in one of those modern multimedia convergences -- a radio show over the internet.

At 11 p.m. ET (Tuesday, Dec. 11), “Talking Television With Dave White” at KSAV.org chats me up for an hour about holiday TV shows and my book “Christmas on Television.” It’s a call-in show, too, so holiday TV questions are welcome.

Listen tonight here (click “Listen Live”). Or go here to hear archive “Talking Television” programs about “The Brady Bunch,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Diagnosis Murder,” and many other tube memories.

Because the Big Bad Studios are so utterly indefensible - and after having screwed over so many thousands of writers and other production people are about to screw over many millions of viewers too - it certainly stands to reason that they are ripe for parody.

There have been many, of course, but another one came my way last night from a friend (who I assume would prefer to remain nameless) and it's definitely worth a look. The URL is "http://www.amptp.com/" and what amazes me - and doubtless will amaze you too - is that it is so similar to the URL of the negotiating arm of the BBS, which is "amptp.org."

Now my question is this: Wouldn't it have occurred to someone at the AMPTP that a troublesome out-of-work writer intent on spreading confusion, sarcasm and delicious misinformation might secure a very similar domain name to their own? And to prevent this unfortunate occurrence from happening, they might then purchase those similar domain names?

Apparently this occurred to no one, and as a result, AMPTP.org now has an evil twin named AMPTP.com.

(Of course, it will remain in the eye of the beholder to determine which website is evil and which one is simply very funny.)

Every year in January, hundreds of TV editors around the country look dolefully out their cubbyhole office window as their TV critic heads off to the California press tour - where, said editor is convinced, said TV critic will spend the next three weeks poolside with daiquiri in hand. Said TV editor is wrong: The critic actually spends three weeks inside a cavernous cold ballroom, listening to news, spin, show talk, star babble, and BS, and comes back paler than when he or she left.

In any event, TV editor guy won't have to worry about that fictional pool this January: The so-called TV press tour has been called off, due to the writers' strike. A surprise? Hardly, but a disappointment no doubt to the TV Critics Association which had hoped that members would still be on hand to cover the strike and its various permutations. Problem is, the networks don't think the strike will be over by January and I suppose they had no appetite to show critics clips of their newest reality shows ("Howie Mandel Searches for the Next Great Dog," and its spin-off, "Howie Searches for the Next Great Cat;" or over at Fox, "Incredible Race: The Little People Version," or over at ABC, "Dancing with People Who Would Like to Be Stars," and its spin-off, "Dancing with People Who Would Like to Be Stars But Probably Won't Be;" etc.)

The cancellation is interesting (and for TV fans, a little chilling) for another reason: January is when critics get a cold hard look at the midseason crop, and sometimes a look at stuff in development that might even hit the fall schedules. For obvious reasons, this cancellation means that the networks have NOTHING to talk about for mid-season and beyond. With writers on strike, they are truly deep deep in a hole - whether they and the Big Bad Studios care to admit it.

As anyone who's kept up with the writers' news over the weekend now knows, the producers have walked and it doesn't look they're in a big hurry to walk back. Long and short of it: The strike continues and prospects for resolution are dimmer now than at any point since early November, when the stoppage began.

And just to re-enforce the brute reality of the situation, WGA/East president Michael Winship just sent out a letter to members calling the AMPTP (the negotiating arm of the Big Bad Studios) a bunch of liars. It's an interesting letter because to date, the WGA and the BBS have pretty much stayed away from name-calling. (Mud-slinging? Yes! But not too much in the name-calling realm.) Now that the WGA has crossed the threshold, I wonder what the BBS will call the writers? ("thieves?" "charlatans?" "Bolsheviks?" "Trotskyites?" "scribblers?" "Hacks?" "Pixel-stained punks??" The verbal warfare could escalate to deliciously absurd heights, but it won't get 'em any closer to a deal, of course.)

In any event, here's the opening of Winship's memorable letter, with a couple other brief excerpts:

"Dear Fellow Members of the Writers Guild of America, East:

They lie.

And then they lie again. And then they lie some more."

He continues:

"Because the AMPTP wants to create confusion, doubt, fear and dissension. They want to divide and conquer, to undercut our proven solidarity. They are spending a fortune -- money that better could be used to help cover the comparatively small amount we're asking for -- on newspapers ads, political spin doctors and crisis management consultants specializing in union busting.

The bottom line: Don't believe a word the AMPTP has to say."

No, the bottom line, I'm afraid, is this: Get ready for every conceivable form of reality TV under the sun in just about four weeks.

Roger King - longtime syndicator of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" - has died. In a statement, CBS said he passed away this morning, after suffering a stroke at his home in Boca Raton on Friday.

Who was Roger King? For a good part of the '80s and '90s, arguably the most powerful man in television because he (and his brother, Michael) were the guys who sold "Oprah" to hundreds of TV stations around the country. He was a tough, hard-knuckled, hard-drinking, and very hard-charging salesman - a big, burly Irishman from New Jersey who understood power and knew how to use it, often ruthlessly. He was feared and also respected: No one crossed Roger and lived to talk about it(ahem - professionally speaking, of course.) Did I mention: He also sold "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune," too.

There are many many stories about Roger - many that will probably never be told. Frankly, some of them a little scary. Some of them a little surprising, too, because for every story about how blood-curdling Roger could be, there were three others about his generosity. Let's just say he changed the business and the shows he sold were pretty much the best the syndication business had to offer.

Here's the CBS statement (CBS bought King World some years ago): "Mr. King was one of the most successful executives in the history of television, transforming his family business, King World, into a production and syndication empire with unmatched impact and influence in the broadcasting business over the past 30 years. He leaves behind a legacy of high-quality, high-rated programming that still dominates the airwaves today, as well as a larger-than-life personality that will never be forgotten.

Said Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation: “Television has lost a legend -- a truly original executive with an unparalleled combination of business acumen, passion and personality. CBS has lost a colleague and a good friend. It's a very sad day for CBS and for all of broadcasting.”

Our deepest sympathies are extended to his wife, Raemali, his three daughters; Kellie, Anna Rose and Lucinda; and to the entire King family."

(Picture: Courtesy CNN.)

NBC has finally been able to foresee a date for returning “Medium” to the lineup. Patricia Arquette’s Emmy-winning suspenser starts its fourth season Monday, Jan. 7 at 10 p.m., with Anjelica Huston guesting for a six-episode arc.

Also coming: “Lipstick Jungle” [NBC photo above], a sex-and-the-city-type dramedy with Brooke Shields, Lindsay Price and Kim Raver, which takes the Thursday “ER” slot Thursday, Feb. 7.

Reality series “The Baby Borrowers” arrives Monday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m., described as “an intriguing new social experiment” in which five teenage couples set up house, get jobs and care for kids, pets and elders, all in three weeks. Sneak a peek at the original British version here.

After a lackluster episode last week, Thursday night's "30 Rock" got its mojo back.

The summary: Jack and C.C. (with an assist from James Carville) go public with their affair. Jenna is tired of Tracy's prima donna treatment, so she decides she needs to try her hand at being a diva. And Tracy is honored with a phony "Pacific Rim Emmy," complete with a mock broadcast.

The Five Things We Loved:

1. Before he reveals his romance to the world, Jack introduces C.C. to Liz (who has stumbled onto one of their pre-work assignations) as a "business colleague" named Lakisha Gutierrez Arafat.

2. Jack finally spills his secret while lunching with C.C. among his stiff-necked peers in the corporate dining room. That prompts a round of confessions from the assembled, including "I gave to NPR last year." Swept up in the confessional fervor, uber-liberal C.C. reveals her deepest darkest secret: "I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1984."

3. James Carville and his exhortations to do things "Cajun-style," a technique apparently good for everything from getting out ahead of a story to breaking into a vending machine.

4. Jack invites Liz to a get-together with he and C.C., advising her, "try not to dress like a small-town lesbian."

5. At that get-together, Kenneth (the only other guest besides Liz) reads from index cards in an attempt to make dinner-party conversation. Among his gambits: "What's your favorite pizza topping?" and "Liz, Tell me a painful story from your teenage years."

Univision’s WXTV/41 and TeleFutura/67 are sponsoring a toy drive at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at the Wal-mart store on Green Acres Road in Valley Stream.

WXTV personalities Salvador Cruz, Antonio Martinez, Merijoel Duran and Nilda Rosario [photo at right] will be on hand in Valley Stream, along with the children’s animated characters Los Solecitos (Little Suns).

The Hispanic Federation will distribute donated toys to needy kids.

No, no, NOOOOOOOOOO

Oh, yes, yes, YEEEESSSS: Kiefer Sutherland is heading to jail.

Your hero and mine (although, Lord, I'd hate to be driving on a Los Angeles freeway or boulevard anywhere near the party that Kiefer Sutherland has just left) was sentenced yesterday to 48 days for his DUI conviction.

What does this mean? Well, for one, the drivers in Los Angeles can breath just a little bit easier during those forty-eight days.

But seriously, folks...No, not seriously. Don't drink and drive. End of story. Even if you're worth millions and millions of dollars and a franchise is dependent on you, and so are many fans. Don't drink and drive. Maybe Kiefer will get this message now.

Anyway, enough with the preaching. Here are the grim details from the AP:

"Sutherland appeared in court with his attorney for the sentencing. He had pleaded no contest for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08 following his Sept. 25 arrest.

Assistant City Attorney Dan Jeffries said a Superior Court judge ordered that the actor serve 48 days in Glendale city jail. Sutherland must begin the sentence before March 30, Jeffries said.

The actor was already on probation for a 2004 drunken driving arrest when he was stopped by police shortly after midnight as he left a Hollywood industry party at the trendy Area nightclub. Authorities said he failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over for making an illegal U-turn.

He pleaded no contest in October to DUI and driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 while still on probation for a previous arrest."

Meanwhile, unless this writers' strike is settled soon - very soon - "24" won't even be on the air next year.

It’s been rough, these last few months, surviving without any new episodes of The Sopranos. Starting on December 6, LIFESKOOL TV will be offering some palliative care. The new On-Demand series, Steve Schirripa’s Hungry, follows Tony’s portly lieutenant as he explores Italian food in New York. (On Cablevision, LIFESKOOL is Channel 502.) The first episode finds Schirripa musing about meatballs and then repairing, attractive young woman in tow, to Rao’s of East Harlem where he is greeted by the legendary restaurant’s owner, Frank Pellegrino (whom Soprano’s fans will recognize as FBI agent Frank Cubitosi).

Pellegrino walks Schirripa through the meatball recipe, then serves the finished dish (with spaghetti) to great acclaim.

Schirripa is a genuinely charming presence and he seems moderately conversant in cooking. Future episodes will find him at the Veniero’s pastry shop in the East Village, Peasant in Little Italy and L&B; Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, among other Noo Yawk locations.

Lest there be a holiday-month lull, E! is keeping the awards-show flame burning bright. The cabler has announced special live coverage of three upcoming nominations events. Yes, merely the reading of the nominations. And not for the Oscars, either.

Grammy Awards nominations happen Thursday, Dec. 6 at 11:30 a.m. Golden Globe Awards contenders are announced Thursday, Dec. 13 at 8:30 a.m. And the Screen Actors Guild touts its actor-voted SAG Awards nominees Thursday, Dec. 20 at 9 a.m.

Aren’t you glad you know?

G4 nabs the big one this week for its “Heroes” post-show, airing Saturday at 11 p.m. after the cabler’s 10 p.m. encore of Monday’s NBC episode.

Series creator Tim Kring [above in NBC photo] joins hosts Kevin Pereira and Blair Butler on Dec. 8, promises G4, “to break his silence on the future of ‘Heroes’ and what the writers' strike means to this season and beyond.”

Along with Kring, G4 is touting guests Jack Coleman (H.R.G.) and Jimmy-Jean Louis (the Haitian), “as well as a special surprise cast member guest.”

Wallow in interactive goodies at the G4 “Heroes” page.

As you may be aware, writers and producers returned to the bargaining table this morning, and as you may also be aware, an endless stream of blogs and stories today (Jimmy Kimmel suspended! "Lost's" Carlton Cuse walks!) it still looks really really bad. So bad I'm not certain what the point of posting anything until something official happens.

However, the WGA released this update from the chair of its negotiating committee not long ago, and it signals what we in the trade call a "ray of light." Of course, light has had a way of dimming during these talks, but here's John Bowman's letter. Draw your own conclusions.

Meanwhile, I think it's fair to say at this point: Everyone is looking for a resolution sooner than later.

December 4, 2007

Dear Fellow Guild Members:

Rumors, half-truths, and misinformation about what is actually happening at the bargaining table fly across the internet, are posted on blogs, passed across picket lines like a game of telephone, and appear in stories and advertisements in the trade papers.

So, to clarify exactly where we are, we have prepared a report and analysis...

In the meantime, here’s a brief summary:

The latest WGA proposal would cost the companies $151 million over three years. It is reasonable, serious, and easily affordable. For instance, it would cost Sony only $1.68 million per year. Paramount and CBS would each pay only $4.66 million per year. MGM would pay only $320,000 per year.

The AMPTP claims its proposal would give us $130 million over three years. Our analysis – and again, please visit the website to see for yourself – tells us their offer is worth only $32 million. But if you factor in the companies’ regressive proposal on “promotional use” (streaming TV shows and feature films in their entirety for free) writers could potentially lose $100 million in income over the course of this contract.

So while we don’t see how their proposal adds up to anywhere near $130 million, we greet their public willingness to make such an offer with real interest. If the AMPTP is serious about this figure, the WGA is confident we are closer to a deal than anyone has suggested, and we are hopeful that the companies will respond positively to our proposal, which is a serious, reasonable, and affordable attempt to bridge the gap between us.

Sincerely,

John F. Bowman
Chair, WGA Negotiating Committee
ember 4, 2007

Fellow Guild Members:

Rumors, half-truths, and misinformation about what is actually happening at the bargaining table fly across the internet, are posted on blogs, passed across picket lines like a game of telephone, and appear in stories and advertisements in the trade papers.

So, to clarify exactly where we are, we have prepared a report and analysis, which you can read in its entirety at: http://www.wgaeast.org/index.php/articles/1145?wgra=1#wga1145http://www.wga.org/subpage_secure.aspx?id=2628

In the meantime, here’s a brief summary:

The latest WGA proposal would cost the companies $151 million over three years. It is reasonable, serious, and easily affordable. For instance, it would cost Sony only $1.68 million per year. Paramount and CBS would each pay only $4.66 million per year. MGM would pay only $320,000 per year.

The AMPTP claims its proposal would give us $130 million over three years. Our analysis – and again, please visit the website to see for yourself – tells us their offer is worth only $32 million. But if you factor in the companies’ regressive proposal on “promotional use” (streaming TV shows and feature films in their entirety for free) writers could potentially lose $100 million in income over the course of this contract.

So while we don’t see how their proposal adds up to anywhere near $130 million, we greet their public willingness to make such an offer with real interest. If the AMPTP is serious about this figure, the WGA is confident we are closer to a deal than anyone has suggested, and we are hopeful that the companies will respond positively to our proposal, which is a serious, reasonable, and affordable attempt to bridge the gap between us.

Sincerely,

John F. Bowman
Chair, WGA Negotiating Committee

Hannah Storm's replacement is in the building: CBS just named Maggie Rodriguez, "Early Show's" Saturday co-anchor, as the new weekday co. Which means...what for Hannah? A spokeswoman said no word on how much longer she'll be on the air, but Rodriguez starts Jan. 7, so the game of musical chairs certainly has to end by that time. What's important about that date? It's when "Early" goes to something called "full national format," meaning stations will air both hours (many now air only the first hour.) Maggie? She is a recent convert to the network, based at its owned station in Miami since 2000. Meanwhile, Hannah probably did say goodbye this morning in this interesting blog posting. Interesting: Because I don't think an anchor ever said goodbye in quite the same way. Reminded me, too, of why I always liked Hannah. An elegant farewell.

So two heroes “fell” from gunshots, right? And another one seemed to otherwise perish? There was so much going on in last night’s “Heroes,” who knows?

One thing’s for sure, the season’s whole “Generations” theme was pounded into the ground in this wrap-up finale. (Watch it here.) “How long are we going to suffer for your sins, for your generation’s deeds?” demanded Nathan of steely Mother Petrelli. “How much longer are we going to have to clean up their mess?” pleaded Matt Parkman. And then there was Elle, trying ever so hard to make her devious daddy proud. It’s always the parents’ fault.

While those familial layers provided some nifty intrigue this fall, it did feel like time to wrap them up, and scripter Jeph Loeb’s hectic hour did just that. In retrospect, the smarter move might have been to spread some of the climaxes further back among the season’s 11 episodes. Last night was a jam-packed whirlwind – sending Niki into a flaming building to rescue Monica in New Orleans (St. Joan in a fire!); having Maya shot by Sylar as he sought Claire’s regenerating blood from Mohinder in New York; Nathan and Matt racing to stop Peter from helping Adam set off the virus in a vault in Texas, with a last-second assist from Hiro popping over from Tokyo.

With all the activity, the episode benefited from savvy injections of humor, too often lacking in this dour-dominated “Heroes” season. Nathan and Matt made wacky flying partners, and Claire got a special moment with Mr. Muggles. Director Allan Arkush was smart to pause from the frantic exposition long enough to give us a chance to breathe, and to build a rollercoaster of thrills and chill-outs that made the reveals all the more effective.

The story’s upcoming Volume 3, “Villains,” was nicely set up with Mrs. Petrelli on the phone conspiring (“You do know that you’ve now opened Pandora’s box”) and Sylar doing his Terminator thing (“I’m back”). Even Adam was merely put out of action rather than terminated.

But how many heroes actually died? Always parse the language with these people. The promos promised two would “fall,” and they did. Whether they get up again is the kind of thing “Heroes” always plays close to the vest.

[Above: Adrian Pasdar as Nathan Petrelli in NBC photo.]

Yup, "Law & Order" is good to go too - strike or no strike.

NBC said the veteran (very veteran) and very nearly extinct classic will return next month on Wednesdays, Jan. 9, at 10, with a lead-in from "L&O;: Criminal Intent" at 9. So...we've got a two-hour "L&O;" block. Noted.

We've got the usual cast back, with of course, necessary changes: Linus Roache joins as ADA cus' Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) is bumped up to DA cus' Arthur Branch is running for president (and the Iowa caucus is just around the corner.) Interesting behind-the-scenes addition: Rene Balcer is show-runner, or - should I say, was, considering the strike and all. Balcer's one of the stand-out "L&O;" producers of yore, and his "L&O;" won a best-drama Emmy way back in the mid (or was it early?) '90s.

Oh, yes, and how could I forget? Jeremy Sisto will join the show too - as Dect. Cyrus Lupo to Jesse L. Martin's Edward Green. And...on "CI," Mike Logan (Chris Noth) is back.

No word on how many episodes were in the can pre-strike, but "L&O;" was a limited order to begin with, so my guess is that it's just fine.

You have a writers strike, you get Raquel Welch and “Big Brother.”

So there, writers!

CBS just announced its January-February 2008 lineup, and it includes a lot of reality, plus a couple of scripted-series returns and one new comedy.

Welch is in the last category, in “The Captain” (debuting Monday, Jan. 28 at 8:30 p.m.), “a comedy about a wildly eclectic group of people whose lives are intertwined through the place they all call home, a fabled Hollywood apartment building.” She’s joined by Chris Klein, Jeffrey Tambor, Joanna Garcia and other ensemble members. Also back that same night (at 9:30) is Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

“Jericho” – the canceled show saved by “nutty” fans – returns Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 10 p.m. (A bit too late at night, if you ask us.)

Summer stalwart “Big Brother” fills some winter primetime starting Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 9 p.m., also thereafter airing Wednesday and Sunday night at 8. “Survivor” starts its 16th competition Thursday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m.

Drew Carey overload officially hits the tube Wednesday, Jan. 2, when his nighttime polling game “Power of 10” returns. And CBS airs new outings of “48 Hours Mystery” on Tuesdays, Jan. 22 and 29, at 10 p.m.

Everything else stays where it’s already airing, no further shuffling.

[Above: "Jericho" actors Lennie James and Skeet Ulrich in CBS photo.]

“Two heroes will fall!”

Please, let it be the boring ones.

NBC’s “Heroes” promos have been screaming hype all week, and the last couple of episodes – He’s dead! He’s not dead! He’s good! No, he’s bad! – would seem to bolster high expectations.

So we’re cautiously hopeful for tonight’s (semi-)season finale (Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. on NBC), bearing in mind how last May’s first-season finish felt so diappointingly anticlimactic.

In last week’s penultimate episode (watch a two-minute replay here), things moved so fast, we could hardly keep up. We met older-generation hero Victoria Pratt (Joanna Cassidy), supposed spreader of the plot-crucial Shanti virus, soon revealed to be instead a herald of its destructiveness, and she was killed (or so it seemed) mere minutes later. Hiro did more time-traveling, back to the virus’ development in 1977, and forward to not prevent his father’s death but rather vow to avenge it. “And save the world,” added our favorite hero.

Claire showed down against Elle, and threatened to squeal the heroes’ secret to stop her and The Company once and for all. Meanwhile, H.R.G. and Suresh and Bob all faced off against each other in weird geometric permutations that for me have recently become the most compelling part of the tale. Bob maintained to Suresh he was trying to “find a safe way to remove the abilities of dangerous individuals.” And now Sylar has called Suresh to say he has his mitts on youngest-hero Molly. So who’ll get to experiment on whom?

And then there’s Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei/other identities over the past 400 years. David Anders’ mysteriously immortal character is either responsible for the “future” unleashing of the virus that will kill 93 percent of the world’s population, or he’s a truly intriguing red herring. Too bad we have to go through his comrade-in-arms Peter to find out.

The episode’s tag promised us Peter vs. Hiro tonight. There’s only one way for this to go. Or I’m gone.

[Above: Milo Ventimiglia’s Peter, in tonight’s Chapter 11 episode, “Powerless.” Photo by NBC/Adam Taylor.]

What did I think of Imus's ten-minute mea culpa this morning? I'm glad you asked, and though I'm also certain you'll call me gullible, I think it sounded reasonably sincere. I also think there were - as they might say out in Imus country in New Mexico - some bull pies thrown in for good measure. (For those, see below).

But mostly sincere? Sure. Why not. I met the guy some years ago when I did a profile of him for another newspaper: Found him ornery, hard-assed, mean, funny, interesting, obtuse, strange, and surly but never once phony. And believe me, after interviewing four million people over the course of this career, you get to know when someone's phony or not. That impression of Imus sort of stuck with me, and so that long on-air thing this morning felt sincere as well.

(But really, who cares? Imus is back, he has to make amends, suck up to the African American community, and hope this thing is forgotten by tomorrow morning.)

Now, a couple more impressions that may just belie my "sincere" stamp of approval:

a.) If all is well and good with CBS and Les Moonves - as he said - then what was that $40 million (or whatever the figure was) breach-of-contract suit about last May? Here's what Imus said:

"At around 4 o'clock that afternoon [when he went to New Jersey to meet with the Rutgers' team] I got a call from Les Moonves at CBS and he said, we can't take the pressure and we're gonna have to pull the plug, and I said I understood that...Les Moonves could not have been more honorable and more straightforward and more honest in dealing with me, not at any point that he said everything would be fine. We understood the gravity of the remark...we all recognized that it was just a matter of time before he did what he had to do."

Now hold on there one minute, cowboy: If Les did what he had to do, what was that breach suit all about? Just "lawyers talking?" I doubt that; Imus - if my read at the time was correct - was furious for being fired, and furious at Moonves. When I heard this load of bull pie this morning, I thought: Is "happy talk about Les" a requirement of the (no doubt huge financial) settlement?

b.) Imus said he wasn't going to do a Larry King mea culpa tour, but - hold on again - he's doing Barbara Walters this Thursday on her "Ten Most Fascinating" show!

Now Don, as you're well aware, a mea culpa's not been properly mea culpaed unless it's uttered - hopefully with tears brimming in your eyes - before the Queen. That's the law. And of course, you didn't mention it in the opening. Ok, fine, sure - Imus did later say he was doing Babs because she's such a good gal, an old friend, etc. But on a bull pie scale - with ten being the largest whopper - I'd say that rates a nine.

What did he say to Babs? Not much, but here are some outtakes:

She asked whether the new black cast members were added out of "guilt" (whaaa?) Said Imus: "No, I thought it was an opportunity to diversify the cast...I suddenly find myself now in this unique position to present a better program...Most programs are so ratings driven, people are so cowardly and terrified...And people don't want to have this conversation about race relations, so, out of this idiotic thing that I said, a lot of good can come, because I'll have a huge audience and an enormously influential audience."

A kinder Imus? "Well, I don't think so, no," he replied.

He said the Rutgers players were "hurt...The coach and I talked for hours. It took a while for everybody to get down to talk about how they felt. I told them about who I was and what my life was about, but I could see that I wasn't getting through."

"This had so much impact on them, because it was made such a huge deal. I had people say to me, 'Well, if the news media hadn't have blown it up, if Rev. Al hadn't have done that. &' I said, 'nonsense.'"

"The point was, it got to the point where they were, in fact, distraught about it. One of the kids said it's heartbreaking, one of the kids said to me, 'you know, it's just so upsetting.' I just kept thinking over and over again, 'thank God that I'm here and I'm here because I want to be here. I'm not here just trying to save my big time job.'"

He added, that he "probably" should have been canned.

You already know by now that Don Imus gave an extended mea culpa at the outset of this morning's launch of the new "Imus in the Morning" - yes, that's the name - on WABC. But here's some more news that came out of the launch: He's got two new hosts joining the show, and yes, both African American. No surprise there - that was expected - but we can get you the names right now:

First, we've got Tony Powell, an East New York-born comic who's worked the Apollo and other area venues (here's his "resume"). Powell replaces Warner Wolf, who - to his consternation - was never "invited" to rejoin the reincarnated "I in the Morning." Reason was obvious: Imus wanted to make room for someone who would expand, if you will, his racial horizons and defuse the "he still doesn't get it" critics. Interesting side note: Powell's never done any broadcasting, best I can tell.

Here's what Powell says about himself on his site: "Growing up in East New York, Brooklyn, survival requires one of three things; you either have to be a great fighter, fleet of foot, or be a whole lotta funny. Let's just say, Tony Powell ain't no Ali or Carl Lewis, he is however, a whole lotta funny."

Next up, Karith Foster, Harlem-born, who's the "comic sidekick" we heard was going to join. Believe it or not, some people actually thought Wanda Sykes (!) was the new female co-host. Why the "!"? Well, clearly some of those folks who believed this had no idea who Sykes was; f'rinstance, when asked by Jay Leno about the "nappy headed ho" gaff of last spring, she said: "I thought Imus died like nine years ago."

Back to Foster, who was - I hate to admit, but professional courtesy demands - first reported by the NY Post this ayam. On her website, she writes:

"Despite her Texas roots, 'I'm really a Jewish girl from Long Island trapped in this body, which technically makes me a JA-AP [Jewish African-American Princess].'"

In fact, on the air this morning, she said she's actually from the South (Plano, Tx.).