Free Republic

With television writers – presumably the brains of the whole operation – going back to work after their four-month strike, it seemed like the perfect question to ask: What are the smartest TV series of all time? Star Trek? Hill St. Blues? Taxi? West Wing? Boy Meets World? Fancast posed the question to Jim Werdell, Chairman of MENSA International, the worldwide organization for “people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2 % of the population.” In addition to a soaring intellect, the 63-year-old retired Northern California government official enjoys his TV. Werdell keeps his set...

For fans unmoved by the prospect of a Tom Petty Super Bowl halftime show, the cable industry has an answer. Many answers, in fact. There's grown men stuffing themselves with eggs and ham. There's Deion Sanders skirmishing with his wife over household chores. There's kittens squaring off on a football field. After five years of letting the Super Bowl halftime show air pretty much uncontested, networks are again taking aim at the extravaganza. Sensing vulnerability in the NFL's decision to cast the rock musician known for "Free Fallin'" and "American Girl" as its headline entertainment, nets are in a counter...

Viacom Once Again Displays its Anti-Christian Position The Timothy Plan Mutual Fund Group Condemns Upcoming Show MAITLAND, Fl., Mar. 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- Comedy Central, a wholly- owned division of MTV Networks, whose parent company is New York based VIACOM, preparing to rebroadcast the ‘Naughty hottie’ episode of the “Sarah Silverman Program” tonight at 10:30pm EST, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/staticarticles/article54607.html has drawn the ire of America’s Pro-Life/Pro- Family Mutual Fund Group – the Timothy Plan. “To air, and rebroadcast a program, comedy or not, that depicts the main character having sex with God brings VIACOM’s anti-Christian vitriol to an all time low”, said...

The creators of South Park have never been afraid to upset celebrities - and many of the show's viewers. From jokes about religion and homosexuality to four-letter tirades, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always mixed shock tactics with satire in the hit cartoon series. But they were accused of hitting a new low last night after lampooning the demise of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin just weeks after his death. The latest episode shows an animated Irwin in Hell with a stingray poking out of his bleeding chest. Irwin, 44, died in September after he was impaled by a stingray's...

NEW YORK -- In this corner, Dr. McDreamy. And in this corner, Dr. Burke. It wasn't exactly a heavyweight title fight, but it was a pretty big tiff, as far as fights among TV actors go. Dr. McDreamy and Dr. Burke nearly came to blows during an argument on the set of "Grey's Anatomy." Isaiah Washington confirmed to People magazine that he and Patrick Dempsey got into an argument. He said they were like "two baseball players -- nose-to-nose." But like most baseball fights, he said no punches were thrown. He said their "faces are too beautiful for that."...

A few hours after a televised display of saccharine warmth and affection between Barbara Walters and Star Jones Reynolds - who yesterday surprised her "View" colleagues by announcing she's leaving in mid-July - their relationship turned very chilly indeed. Never mind Walters' previous public assurances that Jones Reynolds was welcome to stay on the show as long as she wanted. Yesterday, "The View's" alpha female - the show's co-owner and co-executive producer - told me that she lied "to protect Star" from the damaging news that ABC long ago decided not to renew her contract. "I have always told the...

God must really want those kids dead. -- South Park (S10E06) I'm like, totally cereal, guys. If nothing else, last night's episode proved that South Park is still an equal opportunity offender. In this episode, Al Gore comes to South Park to warn everyone about Manbearpig (read: global warming), a creature who is half man, half bear, and half pig. Or possibly half man and half bearpig. No one really knows for sure because Gore is apparently the only one who believes he exists. Al Gore is depicted as a crazed, friendless drifter who believes he's doing the right thing...

ATLANTA -- Comedy Central's "South Park" won its first Peabody Award on Wednesday, winning praise from judges as TV's boldest, most politically incorrect satirical series. "South Park" was praised as a show that "pushes all the buttons, turns up the heat and shatters every taboo," Peabody Awards Director Horace Newcomb said. "Through that process of offending it reminds us of the need for being tolerant."

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the news that Isaac Hayes has quit “South Park” because of an episode that attacked his religion, the Church of Scientology: “It is nothing short of amazing to read that ‘South Park’ co-creator Matt Stone is now charging Isaac Hayes with ‘intolerance and bigotry’ for not complaining earlier about all the shows ‘South Park’ did ‘making fun of Christians.’ Forget about Hayes—the real issue here is the two-faced, super-bratty response from Stone. For him to lecture Hayes on intolerance and bigotry is on the order of John Gotti lecturing Curtis Sliwa on...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion. Hayes, who has played the ladies' man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

COMEDY CENTRAL To Deflate Pamela Anderson! Network Crowns Actress As First Female Roastee Leading The Festivities Will Be Jimmy Kimmel As Roast Master COMEDY CENTRAL Partners With Joel Gallen from Tenth Planet Productions To Produce "The COMEDY CENTRAL Roast Of Pamela Anderson" Broadcast On Sunday, August 14 At 10:00 P.M.* NEW YORK, June 29, 2005 -- COMEDY CENTRAL is getting in to bed with Pamela Anderson and it?s certain to be one hot and sexy evening! Anderson is locked and loaded to be the all-comedy network?s newest, and first woman, Roastee. Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," will...

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) There was a lot of love in the room at the screening and panel discussion for The WB's "Jack & Bobby," held Wednesday (March 9) as part of the Museum of Television & Radio's annual Paley Television Festival -- but very little of it was directed at moderator Susan Estrich. The gravel-voiced USC law professor, syndicated columnist and political strategist (she was national campaign manager for Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential bid) was one of a series of guest moderators for the festival. During her introduction, she quipped that the low-rated Wednesday-night series was "doing as well as...