ISAAC DAMPENS GOP FESTIVITIES IN TAMPA

As many Republicans no doubt feared, Isaac drew attention away from Mitt Romney on the day he was officially declared the party’s candidate for president in 2012. On cable news coverage during the day, in particular, it was the gathering hurricane that produced the drama, while the goings on in Tampa, mostly devoted to procedural […]

OPENING CEREMONY PRAISED; NBC SCORNED AT OLYMPICS’ START

If NBC was hoping to win back the goodwill and admiration of viewers with its $1-billion Olympics package, it certainly got off on the wrong foot on Friday as it delayed the telecast of the Opening Ceremony until primetime in the U.S., refused to make it available online, and actively policed the Internet to make […]

NEW SHOW SETS RECORD FOR LOWEST RATINGS IN HISTORY

The CW on Tuesday set a new television record with the first episode of The L.A. Complex. According to Entertainment Weekly, the midseason series debuted with just 646,000 viewers, making it the lowest-rated in-season broadcast drama debut ever. Despite the title, the series is actually a Canadian production, and it received some decent reviews. EW‘s […]

ABC’S WORK IT OUT OF WORK

After airing only two episodes, ABC has axed Work It, a show that had drawn fire from GLAAD, the gay-rights group, and from virtually every TV critic. TV Guide critic Matt Roush called it “atrocious” and “an instant early candidate for Worst Show of 2012.” Robert Lloyd in the Los Angeles Times remarked: “If you […]

PELLEY MAKES LOW-KEY DEBUT ON CBS EVENING NEWS

Scott Pelley took over the anchor chair on the CBS Evening News Monday and relegated the story that most newspapers headlined and NBC led with — the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal — to No. 3 on his list of top stories, nine minutes into the newscast. “Good for Pelley and CBS News and their sense […]

CONAN RULES LATE NIGHT IN TBS DEBUT

Conan O’Brien launched his “second annual first show” on TBS Monday night, drawing 4.2 million viewers, 3.3 million of them in the 18-49-year-old demographic. In a statement, Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said, “Conan delivered an extraordinary audience and stands out as the youngest late-night talk show on television.” Monday night’s premiere received […]

TV REVIEWS: OUTSOURCED

The premise may do more to impact the ratings of NBC’s season opener of Outsourced — a young American is sent to manage an outsourced call-center in India — than the content, which most critics agree is funny — in some scenes, outrageously so. “But whether intercultural relations can generate enough hilarity to sustain an […]

BETTY WHITE SHINES AS “SNL” TURNS GOLDEN WITH GIRLS

Betty White brought Saturday Night Live its highest ratings since last year’s pesidential election as she co-hosted the late-night show and appeared in virtually all of its satirical sketches. The episode scored an 8.8 rating and a 21 share in preliminary Nielsen ratings. (Final figures, including the estimated number of viewers, is due on Thursday). […]