Talkin' TV

ABC's "Lost" to Be Found on New Night

One of the questions I'm asked most frequently is when is "Lost" coming back?

It is usually followed by "will the writers answer any questions this season?"

Well, ABC has announced the sixth and final season of "Lost" will have a two-hour premiere at 9 p.m. Tuesday on Feb. 2. It will follow a one-hour recap for an entire "Lost" evening.

The show will settle into its regular new time slot at 9 p.m. Tuesday on Feb.9. It appears it will go head-to-head with the most popular new show of the season -- CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles."

And since this is the final season, the writers are expected to answer most, if not all, of the big questions about the series and the characters who landed on a mysterious island after surviving a plane crash.

-- Alan Pergament

Oprah Plan May Change Local News Battle

The announcement that Oprah Winfrey plans to retire her talk show in September of 2011 probably will have repercussions on local news throughout the country.

In Buffalo, Winfrey's 4 p.m. show has provided a strong lead-in for years to Channel 4, the local news leader.

In fact, one of the issues cited in the demise of Channel 7's news department was the station's decision to let Winfrey's expensive show go and allow it to move to Channel 4.

Winfrey's show isn't as dominant at 4 p.m. as it once was but it still wins its time slot here opposite "Ellen" on Channel 2 and "The Doctors" on Channel 7. Channel 4 has two years to find a syndicated replacement for Winfrey. Whoever or whatever the replacement is, it is unlikely to be as powerful as Oprah's show.

But there is a bit of good news for Channel 4, too. Her syndicated show is very expensive for stations to buy. That expense will undoubtedly drop substantially. The question is what will be the cost to News 4 at 5 and the rest of the 90-minute early evening news block?

-- Alan Pergament  

Rocketship 7's Dave Roberts Is Retiring

Word out of Philadelphia is that Dave Roberts, the host of the popular children's show "Rocketship 7" on WKBW in the 1960s and 1970s, is retiring.

The Philadelphia Daily News reported that Dec. 11 will be his last day as a weatherman at WPVI-TV, the ABC affiliate in that city.

Roberts, 73, who was known as Dave Thomas when he hosted "Rocketship 7," left Channel 7 in 1978 to join WPVI in Philadelphia.

He also has a famous son -- David Boreanaz, the co-star of the Fox hit "Bones."

-- Alan Pergament

The Leno Effect Sweeping Channel 2 at 11

More than half the way through the November sweeps, there is a very tight news race for second place at 11 p.m. between Channel 2 and Channel 7.

And there is no question why it is happening -- the lead-in that Jay Leno's talk show is giving Channel 2 is killing the station that a year ago was closer to first place Channel 4 than to third-place Channel 7 at 11 p.m.

After the first 12 days of the sweeps, Channel 4 is No. 1 with a 9.5 rating, down 10 percent from a year ago. Channel 2 is No. 2 with a 6.4 rating, down 28 percent from the 8.9 it had a year ago when NBC mostly ran dramas at 10 p.m. Channel 7 has the same 6.3 rating it had a year ago, which means it is only a tenth of a point behind Channel 2.

The so-called Leno Effect is hurting NBC affiliates across the country, which undoubtedly will lead to calls to end the 10 p.m. experiment after one year. But the damage at 11 p.m. to affiliates could take months or even years to repair unless Leno's show is replaced in the fall of 2010 by some higher-rated NBC programs.

-- Alan Pergament    

Oprah Endorses Palin Book

At the end of her hour interview Monday with Sarah Palin, syndicated talk show host Oprah Winfrey called the former Republican vice presidential candidate's book a "fascinating read."

Still, I doubt that "Going Rogue: An American Life" will become a Winfrey Book Club Selection.

What was truly fascinating was watching Winfrey try to appeal to the conservative crowd by being so gentle with Palin.

Winfrey did call Palin on demeaning CBS anchor Katie Couric by referring to her as "the perky one" without naming her. Winfrey also questioned Palin's ability to take care of five children (including one with special needs) if she had become vice president.

But Winfrey never followed up on some questionable statements by the former candidate. For instance, Palin said she has an equal partnership with her husband Todd that includes parental responsibility. Sounds good. But she also said she doesn't see Todd for months at a time because his job requires him to be away from home, which presumably would make it hard to be an equal  parent to the children.

Winfrey also didn't point out that the reason the media didn't feel that the pregnancy of her unwed teen-age daughter Bristol should be off-limits was because it ran counter to some conservative views about the need for sex education.

But Winfrey clearly wasn't playing journalist Monday as much as she was playing Palin's new best friend. And the strategy worked. Both women came off looking extremely likable and likely were able to win over some fans who previously wouldn't have given them the time of day. 

While Palin's book is already on best seller lists, the real test of its value and her viability as a 2012 presidential candidate won't come until the inevitable books written by people involved in the campaign of her running mate, Sen. John McCain.

In other words, Palin got the first word in. But subsequent books by McCain staffers that will undoubtedly speak to her credibility and the assessments of her honesty, her family life and her intelligence really should be "fascinating reads." 

-- Alan Pergament  

Gruden Staying with ESPN

You can cross out Jon Gruden from any conversation about the Buffalo Bills coaching job.

ESPN and the Monday Night Football analyst announced today that the former Super Bowl winning coach has signed a multi-year extension that extends his assignments beyond Monday Night Football.

He will work the NFL Draft, Super Bowl week and be the radio analyst alongside Mike Tirico on ESPN's coverage of the college title game and the 2010 Rose Bowl.

In an ESPN release, Gruden was quoted as saying he has "had the most fun I have had in years."

He certainly is having a lot more fun than Bills Coach Dick Jauron, whose future with the Bills is so precarious that Gruden's name is among those that had come up in speculation about the next coach.

Of course, Gruden's price tag probably would have made him an extreme longshot to coach here anyway.

You do have to wonder if the multi-year deal that Gruden signed has an "out-clause" if his dream job comes open. But it certainly looks like he is enjoying life in the booth, where he never loses. 

-- Alan Pergament 

"Mad Men" Finale Good to Last Drop

Well, I gave you a couple of days to watch and digest Sunday's season finale of  AMC's "Mad Men" before giving you my take.

I thought the next-to-last episode that had the Kennedy assassination as a backdrop was the best of the season, but the finale was a close second.

The terrific, plot-thick finale seemingly ended the season-long drama involving the failing marriage of Don (Jon Hamm) and Betty Draper (January Jones) and the drama about the ownership of Don's advertising firm. The scene in which the Drapers told their kids that they were splitting was heartbreaking. A scene in which the New York State divorce laws in the 1960s was explained to Betty was educational.  

Additionally, two of the firm's unappreciated employees -- Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) and Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) -- were finally rewarded with positions in the new firm being formed. The scene in which Don finally went to Peggy and gave her the respect she longed for was one of the best in the finale. 

It also was nice to see that it looks like Joan (Christina Hendricks) will be back on board with the new firm.

I suspect we haven't seen the last episode dealing with the Draper marriage. But I expect the focus of season four next summer also will be on the trials and tribulations of the new firm, which should be rich plot territory. 

-- Alan Pergament  

     

HBO Series Coming to Local TV

Viewers without HBO will be able to see the popular pay-cable comedies "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" next fall on one of the local stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting.

Nick Magnini, the general manager of Fox affiliate WUTV and WNYO, reports that Sinclair has made deals to carry reruns of the two HBO programs and reruns of the CBS series "How I Met Your Mother" and Bravo's "Real Housewives" reality series.

It will be interesting to see how much of the risque content of "Entourage" and "Curb" will be lost in the versions shot for broadcast stations.

Of course, it isn't the first time that an HBO series has gone to local television. Tamer versions of "Sex and the City" episodes have been carried here.

Magnini added that the HBO series will be carried from 10 p.m. to midnight, presumably when the kiddies aren't watching. He said it hasn't been decided if the shows will air on WUTV or WNYO or both in September of 2010.

-- Alan Pergament

Channel 4, Crangle and Brown Election Night Winners

And the popular vote winner in Tuesday night's election is Channel 4.

The local CBS affiliate had an 11.8 rating for its 11 p.m. news Tuesday, which equaled the combined rating of second-place Channel 2 (6.8) and third-place Channel 7 (5.0).

However, Channel 4 had a strong lead-in advantage from the popular new CBS series, "The Good Wife." It had a 13.0 rating, which was more than the combined rating of ABC's "the forgotten" (6.1) on Channel 7 and NBC's "Jay Leno Show" (5.4) on Channel 2.

Leno's lead-in clearly hurt Channel 2 News, which was the only station of the three that gained from its lead-in at 11 p.m.,

The quality of coverage from all three stations was almost too close to call. The one advantage Channel 4 has is Joe Crangle, the political analyst who was able to call key races during "The Good Wife" before all the results were in.

Channel 2's Scott Brown also did an excellent job explaining how County Executive Chris Collins will benefit from the new-look County Legislature. Reporters on all three stations noted that the Democrats in the legislature no longer will have a super majority to override a Collins veto. But Brown did the most thorough job explaining the situation.

-- Alan Pergament

Fans of "Southland," Favre and President Obama Are Winners

This is what I'm thinking, blog style:

* I wasn't as big of fan of NBC's "Southland" as many critics were, but it's good to see that TNT will air the six episodes of the second season.

The series was canceled by NBC before the episodes ran, partly because "The Jay Leno Show" takes up all of the network's 10 p.m. weekday time slots.

TNT has announced it will carry the police series that stars Ben McKenzie, Michael Cudlitz, Regina King and Tom Everett Scott at 10 p.m. Tuesday starting on Jan. 12. The plan is to start with the series' first episode as TNT also plans to air last spring's first seven episodes of the show's rookie season.

* Practically everyone today said they've abandoned the Bills after their 31-10 loss to Houston, but Channel 4's ratings suggest diehard fans haven't given up. The game had a 31.3 rating (representing 31.3  percent of area households), largely because it was close for three quarters. The real test of loyalty will come after the bye week.

* Anyone care to make a guess which local family is going to be pleasantly surprised when ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" comes to town this month?

* I'm not a big fan of Fox play-by-play man Joe Buck, but give him credit for noting that the two stolen bases that brought the New York Yankees' Johnny Damon to third base in the ninth inning Sunday night might change the pitching plans of Philly ace reliever Brad Lidge. Sure enough, the Yanks' Alex Rodriguez got a fastball rather than a harder-to-catch slider and hit the game-winning double in a 7-4 Yankees victory.

* Who is more popular in Western New York -- Brett Favre or the Yankees? On Sunday, Favre won. The victory by his Minnesota Vikings over the Green Bay Packers had a higher rating (16.7) on WUTV than the Yankees game five win (14.5). Of course, the Favre game didn't end at midnight.

* If you're a fan of President Obama, you'll love Tuesday night's HBO documentary, "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama." At one point, the filmmakers catch footage of a tear running down the right side of the face of candidate Obama as he addressed a crowd shortly after the death of his beloved grandmother. I'm sure many fans of President Obama will be tearing up near the end of the two-hour documentary. For more about it, read Tuesday's Buffalo News.

* Speaking of presidents, the deliciously evil President Logan will be back for the next season of "24." He is played by character actor Gregory Itzin, who isn't exactly a household word. If you''ve watched any World Series games, undoubtedly you know "24" returns to Fox in January.

Do you care to comment on any of these items?

-- Alan Pergament