Allison Waldman
- http://www.barbrafile.com
Who's the top football broadcaster on TV today?
What does it say about the state of television broadcasting when the voice of television football is a guy who's voice is indiscernible? Is there really nobody that's filled the void since John Madden stopped acting out in the booth with the booms and the pows and the turducken and horse trailer references? Afraid so. According to Sporting News' list of the Top 25 Football Broadcasters in America, CBS football broadcaster Gary Danielson is number one. Sporting News used a measuring system based on fan reaction and the input of its reporters and editors (including SportsBusiness Journal/SportsBusiness Daily), and despite the fact that Danielson's voice is pretty much just like Bob Griese's (I always confuse the two), he's considered the best because "he explains it before most of us have seen it." That's on target. He is pretty smart, just unmemorable.
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The perfect Christmas movie marathon? Dirty Dancing
One of the stranger quirks of the holidays on television is the way networks and channels program. Movie marathons have become very common, especially TBS's tradition of 24-hours of A Christmas Story. Now, another network is following in TBS's tradition by scheduling a movie marathon of its own. The TV Guide Network will present a 12-hour marathon of Dirty Dancing. That's right, the Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey drama musical. Look at this beautiful image from the movie. That's Johnny and Baby in the lake, practicing jumps for their big dance number. Doesn't it just scream "CHRISTMAS" to you?
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Taylor Kitsch may be done with Friday Night Lights
One of the most integral and interesting characters on Friday Night Lights may be out of the lineup for much of the rest of the season. And he may not be back for next season, either. Taylor Kitsch could be out of Friday Night Lights after the next few episodes. Michael Ausiello is reporting that executive producer Jason Katims confirmed that Taylor's conflicting schedule with a big screen project has mucked up the works.Taylor's playing the title character in John Carter of Mars, a big screen adaptation of the famous Edgar Rice Burroughs' books, which isn't slated to be released until 2012, but will require extensive filming. It doesn't look like he'll be able to fit more of Friday Night Lights into the mix. And a lot of the predicament could be on the Disney side; will they free up his shooting schedule for John Carter to let him play Tim Riggins.
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That's why I recognize Brick from The Middle!
You know how sometimes you see an actor or actress and they look so familiar, but you can't remember where you saw him or her, or what the TV show was? That's how I've been with the little boy who plays Brick on The Middle. His name is Atticus Shaffer, and since the ABC sitcom began this fall, I've been scratching my head over him. Where did I see him before? Turns out that it was on a commercial for AIG. Yes, AIG, that huge insurance company that was a big part of the economic collapse. The company that was too big for America to let fail.
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Oprah's exit is like Johnny Carson leaving The Tonight Show
After watching The Oprah Winfrey Show today and hearing her teary announcement about her decision to end her syndicated talk show, I had one thought in my head. Oprah Winfrey is doing a Johnny Carson. She's writing her own script (no pun intended). Oprah is leaving while she's still wanted, while she's still strong, and by setting the date 18 months down the road, she's giving herself a victory tour. This is very much like Johnny Carson's decision to leave The Tonight Show. The difference, of course, is that Oprah's show is not an established landmark entity like The Tonight Show, which had Steve Allen and Jack Paar as hosts before Carson. No, Oprah was/is The Oprah Winfrey Show. She will not leave it behind for someone else to inherit the throne. She's taking the throne with her.
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ABC fires All My Children head writer Chuck Pratt
Within a few weeks, All My Children will be turning over a new leaf, officially making the move west to new studios in Los Angeles. Most actors are making the move. Some are not. And today ABC informed the head writer, Charles Pratt Jr., that he's been let go. If he had his suitcases packed, well, sorry about that.Chuck Pratt was hired with some fanfare in June 2008. He was a big hire because his resume is filled with flashy successes, including Desperate Housewives, Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, Ugly Betty, Santa Barbara and General Hospital, among others. Pratt was supposed to revive All My Children to its former luster, but -- alas -- it hasn't happened.
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Review: Monk - Mr. Monk and the Badge
(S08E14) File this one under be careful what you wish for ... I feel like Rod Serling writing that, but there was a bit of a Twilight Zone feel to this episode of Monk. It was Monk in an alternate universe, only it looked like the same place we'd been to before. Same with Natalie. More on how things were the same, but different, after the jump.
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Granderson has Stadium Secrets to share
Lately, Detroit Tiger all-star outfielder Curtis Granderson has been in the news because he might be joining the New York Yankees. However, if Major League Baseball free agency doesn't make him a household name, television might. Granderson has an idea for a reality series that's being shopped around now and it's not like anything else other athletes have pitched. Granderson's series is called Stadium Secrets and it will be like History Channel's Cities of the Underworld. In fact, it might be suited to the History Channel. Granderson would host the show and lead viewers into the inner recesses and hidden passages of famous stadia around the world -- although it'll probably start with American locations.
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Family Matters meets The Young and the Restless ... casting wise
It's taken a while, but The Young and the Restless has finally filled a role that's been vacant for too long. No, David Hasselhoff is not coming back as Snapper Foster. The role of Malcolm Winters is returning and Darius McCrary's got the Y&R role. Malcolm, the dynamic younger brother of Neil Winters, has been missing in action for a while because the previous actor in the part, Shemar Moore, has become a star in primetime.The Winters family is an important element in the Y&R canvas and they've missed Malcolm. Shemar was asked to come back, but with his success on Criminal Minds, there simply wasn't time in his schedule for both shows. Truth be told, there probably wasn't enough money to compel him to work that hard. So,while the fans might have liked Shemar back, they'll have to get used to a new face instead.
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NBC cooks up a new food reality show with a big prize
Okay, take the idea of Shark Tank (or Dragon's Den if you're a BBC America fan), mix it with the Top Chef folks, offer a great grand prize and hope for the best. That's the recipe behind NBC's new food competition show, United Plates of America. The network is turning to the Magical Elves from Top Chef -- no, seriously, that's the production company's name -- to succeed in the food field where NBC has flopped in the past. Remember The Chopping Block? Remember Rocco DiSpirito's The Restaurant? NBC has more luck with the dieters on The Biggest Loser.This go-round is not about a single restaurant. It's about a chain of restaurants. To me, that's a questionable goal. Most successful chains start off with one great restaurant and then take off. This concept is go big or go home. Maybe it's more complicated, but it doesn't sound that way.
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Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
