from the TV Barn archives
Click here to return to the home page.

Pick to click

Can it be? Can the oldest survivor of them all — the hale but gruff ex-Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch — last yet another hour on the summer smash hit "Survivor" (8 p.m., CBS)? We'll find out tonight. Already, 72-year-old Rudy can be proud, because he's outlasted 65-year-old Regis Philbin in his time period. Last week ABC yanked its Wednesday edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" after taking two straight beatings from "Survivor" in the Nielsen ratings.

Others are taking notice of "Millionaire's" sudden change in fortunes. Last week David Letterman even had a "Top Ten Signs Regis Is Getting Nervous," which included, "Yells at slow contestants, Hurry up, Einstein, people are reaching for their clickers!" and "To pass $1,000 mark, players must eat handful of grubs."

Also tonight, don't miss the "Ficus Election Special" episode of "The Awful Truth" (10 p.m., Bravo). As Michael Moore explains, "This week's show is a slight departure from our usual format as we are devoting the entire half hour to a short film we've made following the efforts to elect a Ficus plant to the U.S. Congress. Since we announced that we were running a potted plant against a New Jersey incumbent with no opposition in his primary, the idea has exploded across the country. There are now nearly three dozen Ficuses running official candidacies for the U.S. House of Representatives." Get up close and personal with several of the leafy contenders tonight.

Also late tonight, Harrison Wyman writes: "Be More Cynical," a one-hour standup comedy performance by "Politically Incorrect" host Bill Maher, airs 3:20 a.m. Thursday on HBO (repeats June 26 and 29). It was first seen live on HBO earlier this month. In contrast to his "PI" monologue, which is short and Carsonesque — i.e., timely — "Be More Cynical" featured a lot new or surprising material.

One of the few disadvantages of hosting a successful nightly TV show is that the time and energy that would normally go into revising and improving a live performance go instead into producing material for television's insatiable maw.

A veteran of the concert and comedy club circuit, Maher's timing and delivery are still sharp. But the material was not as fully developed as it was for Maher's last HBO special and as a result the laughter resulted more from familiarity rather than on the strength of the jokes on their own.

The special did produce a first for standup comedy: a born-again heckler. About halfway through the show, a man in the audience shouted, "Bill, only Jesus Christ saves." Unfazed, Maher replied: "That guy should probably go before I get to the section about Jesus Christ ..."

Non-stop news

Twenty years ago they said CNN wouldn't last. Today, more than 30 communities have their own, all-local, 24-hour cable news channels. A generation ago, you watched the news at 6 and 10. Today, you demand it whenever and wherever you are, thanks to a seemingly endless array of Internet news providers — including those produced by your local TV stations.

News-on-demand is becoming a way of life for millions of Americans, and local "content providers" are finding themselves behind the curve. Jack Myers of the Myers Report criticized TV stations earlier this year for their lack of attention to Internet news delivery. But Myers now believes local stations are doing a much better job. In this story, we look at three stations that have ramped up their Internet sites in Kansas City — and at a model for local cable news that Time Warner Cable is implementing nationwide.

Read my story from Tuesday's Kansas City Star

SIDEBAR: In Austin, "twice the work, half the pay"

On this date...

in 1997, the "Pro Bowlers Tour" rolls its final frame on ABC, ending a 36-year association with the network (although sister network ESPN continues the tradition). -- Tom Heald

Previously at TV Barn:

 

Copyright © 1999-2001 Aaron Barnhart | Back to TV Barn home