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On May 5, Milton Berle’s joke files—four cabinets holding thousands of 3x5 cards, indexed by subject—will be sold in Los Angeles. The comedian, who died in 2002, had a decades-long career in show biz, working in vaudeville, night clubs, films, radio, and finally and most famously on television. Berle’s live variety show “Texaco Star Theater” was the highest-rated program on TV in the late 1940s. The show was the first “appointment television”: Local businesses reported empty shops and restaurants during its airing, and cities experienced drops in water pressure in the five minutes after it was over, as everyone who...

Bring back Jay Leno! He hasn’t left the building yet? Maybe there’s still hope. This boneheaded move stands to go down along with history’s greatest mistakes: The ascent of Anthony Weiner. Tiger Woods, too. The public disembowelment of former NBC “Today’’ show host Ann Curry.

The Cricketers.....

ACLU: Time for 'Modern Family' gay couple to wed NEW YORK The ACLU is lobbying for the gay couple on "Modern Family" to get married. ACLU Action started a campaign to urge the show's producers to write a wedding episode for Mitchell and Cameron, fathers of an adopted child and one of three couples at the heart of the show. The ACLU says it is appealing to the fictional family to draw more attention to the real issue as it awaits Supreme Court decisions on two important marriage equality cases. "Mitch and Cam are a couple that America has come...

It was reported last night that former governor Sarah Palin (R-Beyond-the-Wall) has been offered a national syndicated talk show by reality TV mega-producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, Sarah Palin's Alaska), except she turned it down. Newsmax, of all places, got wind of this first, with Palin telling the site, "Todd and I have always loved working with Mark Burnett, and our family is always up for adventure, so never say never." Aha, so in a weird way Palin is being coy with that quote, almost telling Mark Burnett — again, through Newsmax — that she's still potentially interested. It seems that...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been offered a major syndicated TV talk show by reality show producer Mark Burnett but turned down the deal, Newsmax has learned. One of country’s sought after speakers on the political circuit, Palin, Burnett believed, could be turned into the next Oprah. He offered to produce a daytime TV talk show hosted by the conservative icon herself. But so far, Palin has said no — though the deal is not completely dead, say insiders. The sticking points have been over location and money, people familiar with the deal say. Burnett has insisted that Palin...

As the broadcast TV channels prepare to reveal their fall schedules this week, the renewed-or-canceled announcements that blasted out at the end of last week have already determined one characteristic of the 2013-14 TV season: It will be a lot more heterosexual than the current season, which officially ends next Wednesday. Among the shows that won’t be back next year are The New Normal, Go On, Smash, The Office, 1600 Penn, Happy Endings, Don’t Trust the B___ in Apartment 23, 90210, Emily Owens, M.D., The L.A. Complex, Partners, and Southland, all of which featured gay or lesbian characters. (You can...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been offered a major syndicated TV talk show by reality show producer Mark Burnett but turned down the deal, Newsmax has learned. One of country’s sought after speakers on the political circuit, Burnett believed he could turn Palin into the next Oprah, offering to produce a daytime TV talk show hosted by the conservative icon herself. But so far, Palin has said no -- though the deal is not completely dead, say insiders. The sticking points have been over location and money, people familiar with the deal say. Burnett has insisted that Palin do...

John McCain, the media’s favorite “maverick” – unless he’s actively running for something – has just introduced a bill in congress called the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013. Normally, my iron clad rule of thumb is to take any side this guy is against but I have to admit he may have a point here. The bill would allow consumers to buy only the cable channels they want “a la carte” and not have 500 others jammed down their throats. Does anyone recall the original promise of cable TV? More than 30 years ago we asked, “why should we...

John McCain wants to unbundle cable and to stop broadcasters like CBS and Fox from moving their stations to pay TV. The Arizona senator right now on the Senate floor is introducing The TV Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 (read it here). The legislation is intended to “allow the consumer, the television viewer who subscribes to cable, to have à la carte capability. In other words, not required to buy a whole bunch of channels that that consumer may not want wish to subscribe to,” McCain said moments ago. The former GOP Presidential candidate also went after broadcasters like CBS...

Four years ago, psychologist Leonard Sax (MD, PhD) wrote a well-received book titled “Boys Adrift.” The doctor tried to answer the question, why have so many young males fallen into passivity and indifference? Dr. Sax had heard more and more parents complain that their boys stayed indoors most of the time, spent hours on video games, and in general seemed to lack the confidence and esprit de corps that had characterized boys throughout history. “Something scary is happening to boys today,” Sax concluded. “From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were...

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 05:00 PM (ET) Starring Ronald Reagan, Priscilla Lane, Eddie Albert Three naval cadets graduate and help each other find jobs. Comedy/1940 TCM, Brother Rat And A Baby

Speaking at a gathering of digital advertisers in New York City last night, Mr Schmidt refused to forecast when internet video would displace television, instead declaring: "That's already happened." "It's not a replacement for something that we know," he added. "It's a new thing that we have to think about, to program, to curate and build new platforms." YouTube recently surpassed the milestone of a billion unique users a month. Only the Google search engine and social network Facebook are frequented more often by those browsing the internet worldwide. However, the video site lags behind traditional television in the UK,...

Rush's caller asked him when he was going to do another "inaugural speech" like the one he did at CPAC four years ago when he famously said he hoped Obama fails. After the call, he mused that some evenings when everyone was asleep, he'd sip an adult beverage and think about possibly buying some time on network TV to try and reach Americans who don't get info anywhere else. (Snerdly cracked that he could get that time cheaper on NBC.) Of course Rush ended with a "Shhh, don't tell anybody. This is just something I wonder about when I'm alone"...

In all of cable, not just cable news, Fox News was the most-watched channel throughout all of last week. During the Boston bombings and subsequent manhunt, the new "Most Trusted Name In News" averaged 2.874 million viewers during primetime, and 1.77 million in total day. CNN came in a distant third with 1.985 million and 1.329 million respectively. Because no one turns to left-wing talk radio when major news is breaking, MSNBC humiliated itself with a 19th place showing. Fewer than a million viewers tuned in in primetime, and fewer than 600,000 in total day. This is not a small...

Allan Arbus, who left the successful fashion photography business he and his wife, Diane, built to become an actor, most memorably playing the caustic psychiatrist Maj. Sidney Freedman on the hit television series "M*A*S*H," died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95.

Fox Business Network’s Don Imus on Tuesday tore into CNN’s handling of the Boston Marathon bombings, calling the network’s coverage “absurd and frustrating.” “Remember, there was a time whenever something would happen, we would all turn to CNN,” the “Imus in the Morning” host said. “But that was a long time ago. That was a long time ago.”

The next wave of television viewing, ironically, may more closely resemble the days of yore when home antennas dotted landscapes both urban and rural. Except this next generation antenna is no larger than a thumb drive that plugs conveniently into a tablet, smartphone or desktop computer. New technologies have always displaced older technologies much to the chagrin of the latter’s proprietors. Now comes Aereo with a mini-antenna that allows the reception of free, over-the-air broadcasts to anyone with an Internet connection and $8 a month for a subscription fee. For the time being, Aereo services are available only in New...

Colorado --(Ammoland.com)- It has been brought to our attention that FOX31 reporters Julie Hayden and Josh Bernstein have been attempting to set up straw purchases via online firearm markets. Keep an eye out for these FOX31 reporters trying to SCAM you in their “investigative reporting”: Many of our members have made us aware of these activities through a website called armslist.com. If you are selling a firearm through this website, or any other website for that matter, please make sure that you exercise caution and your best judgment when completing a transaction in person. Remember, while journalists have used these...

There are going to be some serious LGBT surprises in the season finale of Fox's hit series Glee. According to a Friday report at E!, Oscar winner Patty Duke and longtime television star Meredith Baxter will play a lesbian couple. Not only that, regular character Blaine played by Darren Criss will propose to original cast member Kurt played by Chris Colfer. …

For years TV Guide Magazine has told you what's worth watching, but what about what's worth hearing — over and over again? In the best TV theme songs, lyrics can summarize the backstory or comment on characters, while instrumentals can sell the mood or set the scene. Just try reading this list of shows without getting a few of their songs stuck in your head. 
(Additional reporting by Kevin Schlittenhardt)

A senior News Corp. executive is threatening to pull the company’s flagship Fox network from the public airwaves if it loses its legal battle against Barry Diller’s Aereo. Speaking at the annual gathering of the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas, Chase Carey, News Corp’s president and chief operating officer, said Fox could become a pay-TV channel. His remarks come one week after a federal appeals court rejected a plea by the broadcast industry to shut down New York-based Aereo, which uses an array of tiny antennas to pick up free broadcast signals and transmit them to subscribers over...

The History Channel's just-wrapped miniseries The Bible isn't done changing the pop culture landscape quite yet. The program's ratings gave the cable channel a massive boost, holding firm against even the season finale of AMC's The Walking Dead. Now, the miniseries' home video debut has become the biggest selling TV on DVD in the last 5 years and the biggest miniseries of all time on Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD in its first week of release. According to the Association for Christian Retail, The Bible is the fastest pre-selling faith based title in its 60-year history. It also ranked first...

As the stars of Starsky and Hutch, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul became international icons, their characters a byword for cool. And the veteran actors showed that they are still as suave today as in their 1970s heyday when they appeared at a special fan event in Venice Beach. Detective Dave Starsky's iconic 1976 Ford Gran Torino - who some might say was the real star of the show - still managed to turn plenty of heads.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Some people have had it with TV. They've had enough of the 100-plus channel universe. They don't like timing their lives around network show schedules. They're tired of $100-plus monthly bills. A growing number of them have stopped paying for cable and satellite TV service, and don't even use an antenna to get free signals over the air. These people are watching shows and movies on the Internet, sometimes via cellphone connections. Last month, the Nielsen Co. started labeling people in this group "Zero TV" households, because they fall outside the traditional definition of a TV...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering whether to loosen restrictions for obscenity on broadcast television and radio. This rule change would allow brief “non-sexual-nudity” and isolated expletives in prime time, while children are still awake and watching TV. The FCC claims that it will consider the public’s sentiment as its members make a decision and has given Americans the month of April to file their comments. Outgoing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski previously had to order the Enforcement Bureau only to tackle “egregious cases” because of the “backlog” of reported obscenity cases. In the last 6 months, the FCC’s caseload...

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The FCC is seeking comments from the public as they consider relaxing their obscenity standards for broadcast television and radio. If adopted the new, lower standards would allow brief “non-sexual” nudity and isolated expletives even during prime time, when most families are typically watching with their children. Currently, broadcasters face heavy fines for violations of the indecency policy, which bans strong curse words and most nudity. But as media culture grows coarser, the backlog of reported offenses has grown unmanageable for the FCC, leading Chairman Julius Genachowski to order the Enforcement Bureau to...

The ratings have spoken — and they’re telling television producers that a six-hour, $20 million miniseries on Jesus of Nazareth will prove as great a success as the recent History channel production “The Bible.” “We believe the audience continues to have a hunger for life- and faith-affirming films,” said Michael Landon Jr., who is writing and producing the “Jesus of Nazareth” series with Brian Bird for Brad Krevoy’s MPCA, the Hollywood Reporter says. “The monumental success of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s ‘The Bible’ just underscores that.” Showtime is trying to cash in on spiritual fever, too, with “The Vatican,”...

Plastic sheet focuses sun light to the point that it can melt pennies, boil water, more Grant Thompson, also known by the online moniker “The King of Random”, has posted a wildly popular video on YouTube in which he hacks an old, 50-inch TV to remove a plastic sheet from it for use as a “solar scorcher.”  Thompson’s “solar scorcher” device. A bit more specifically, Thompson removed the TV’s front screen and separated the three parts that make up the component. Of the pieces, the TV’s Fresnel Lens displays a perfect ratio, Thompson notes, as it allows him to focus the sun’s...

Meghan McCain is getting a TV show. The MSNBC contributor and daughter of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., announced on Twitter Wednesday that "Raising McCain," a "genre-busting docu-talk series" will premiere sometime this summer on Pivot, a newly-launched cable network. Meghan McCain ✔ @MeghanMcCain I am SO EXCITED to announce my first series "Raising McCain" will premiere this summer on Participant's new cable network PIVOT!!! 5:49 PM - 27 Mar 13 34 Retweets 41 favorites According to Deadline, Pivot will launch on Aug. 1 and will have more than 300 hours of original programming during its first year. According to the...

The television drama series based on the Bible and shown on the History Channel has amazed critics by garnering huge viewing figures across America and becoming the most surprising television hit of the year. Defying expectations that a simple retelling of Bible stories, including those of Adam and Eve, and Samson and Delilah, would not appeal to a modern audience, the 10-hour series has been making headlines and had more than 13 million viewers for its first episode. The Bible has consistently been the top-rated cable television programme on Sunday nights, and some reports estimate that 50million people have watched...

Adweek reporter Katy Bachman obviously doesn't know how silly she sounds. She recently passed along the intelligence that TV and movie industries would be "fulfilling a promise made to Vice President Joe Biden that they would be part of the solution to curb gun violence." They've taken the Newtown massacre to heart and toned down the violence of TV and movies? That's something they promise after every mass shooting. Sometimes they actually act on the promise. For a day. Maybe two. And as soon as the heat is off, it's back to business as usual. No, this time it's...

This is the funniest TV commercial I've seen in awhile... from France: YouTube   -h/t Speedunque

'DOCTOR Who bosses are lining up Matt Smith’s exit for Christmas — when he will regenerate into the 12th Time Lord. Insiders say the festive special will be Matt’s last outing as The Doctor, after a triumphant four years in the role. The actor has made no bones about his ambition to crack Hollywood and has filmed new movie How To Catch A Monster with Ryan Gosling, which is released next year. Sources say bosses already have an idea of who they want to replace him, with work on the special due to get under way later in the year....

American television nertworks, Fox News Channel among them, have decided that the attempted assasination of a leading critic of Islam in an American ally is unworthy of attention, so we must look northward for our information. Danish historian and journalist Lars Hedegaard was interviewed by Canadian Sun TV's Michael Coren for the third time since Hedegaard survived an assassination attempt in early February, ostensibly for his criticism of Islamic supremacism, and was forced into protective seclusion. During this interview (Monday 3/18/13), Hedegaard observed, Anyone who stands up and criticizes Islam is fair game. It's like Mao said, "Kill one and...

The actor cast as the Prince of Darkness bears a striking resemblance to the sitting president, which has drawn a multitude of reactions. Coincidence, or not-so-subtle political commentary? A major hit already, History Channel's 10-part miniseries The Bible is stirring up extra attention for its casting. The role of Satan, i.e. the bad guy, is played by the actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, who, thanks to makeup and other production tricks, bears a startling resemblance to President Barack Obama. The resemblance was pointed out on Twitter while the show still aired on Sunday. Glenn Beck, the Christian conservative broadcaster who has...

Last Sunday, the first installment of History’s five-part miniseries The Bible beat everything on television with a massive 13.1 million viewers, making it cable’s most-watched entertainment telecast this year. For producer Mark Burnett, who worked on the ten-hour special with wife Roma Downey, the success of The Bible isn’t all that surprising. “It will be, over the next 40 or 50 years, the most watched thing that Roma and I have ever made,” he told EW, quite confidently, back in January. At the time, Burnett gushed about shooting the series. “I really believe what I’m going to tell you right...

Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly, who is writing an upcoming book titled “Killing Jesus,” proclaimed on his program Wednesday night that “a lot of the Bible is allegorical,” and the New Testament Gospels contradict themselves. O’Reilly made the remarks during an interview with “Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett, executive producers of “The Bible” TV miniseries which begins this Sunday night on the History Channel.

The History Channel's "The Bible" miniseries once again raked in the ratings this past weekend, drawing in 10.8 million total viewers for its second episode, thus making it the most popular program in all of television on Sunday night. Although the historical miniseries was down 18 percent in total viewership from its premiere on March 3, it still managed to attract 3.2 million adults, ages 18-49, and 3.8 million adults, ages 25-54, according to Deadline. These high numbers made the new miniseries the most watched television program on Sunday from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. According to Channel Guide Magazine, over 50...

I'll Start. I LOVED "Emergency", I loved(what young boy doesn't?) Fire Engines and Sirens.

.... The Bible, currently running on History Channel (and on my DVR while I'm in Rome). Megan Basham reports on the way The Bible stacks up against other cultural phenomenons on TV: This past Sunday the television industry felt the ground shake when the first installment of the History ChannelÂ’s five-part miniseries, The Bible, drew a whopping 14.3 million viewers. To put that in perspective, those are higher ratings than American Idol drew on Fox in the same week. Higher ratings than the premiere of Celebrity Apprentice on NBC. And it officially made The Biblethe number one scripted cable broadcast...

The people have spoken. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, one of the five cohorts of ABC's daytime talk show The View, will not be returning to the couch next season, following hot on the footsteps of fellow cohost Joy Behar, a source tells Us Weekly. According to the source, the show's resident conservative voice is being ousted after market research revealed that she isn't popular with TV audiences.

Former GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says he’d be happy to appear on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" if asked by Donald Trump, the show’s creator. "Sure, why not," Gingrich told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham on Wednesday. "I've known The Donald, we've done fundraisers together. But look, I think Republicans would be so much better off and relaxed [to] go on shows like that and be interesting." Gingrich offered his assessment of Trump: "Donald Trump is a phenomenon. Donald Trump has no meaning in American politics except that he is a billionaire who is interesting and who is very clever at...

If you stopped watching network television awhile ago because it had gotten so bad, you made the correct decision. It has continued to get worse. A few years ago, network television became dominated by cheaply made reality TV shows and talent contests, sitcoms with hyperactive manic characters, and socially liberal themes. Television has always pushed the edge when it comes to socially progressive themes. But at what point does it go too far? Perhaps when there are no other options left during prime time network TV. The top ten most popular TV shows last fall contained few choices for traditional...

I though that it was ROTF Funny!

Where Kelly Bundy found inspiration, perhaps... Ay caramba... video/more at Reaganite Republican (SFW, no worries) __________________________________________ Planck's Constant   Spike   Tumbler   FreeRepublic

Where Kelly Bundy found inspiration, perhaps... Ay caramba... video/more at Reaganite Republican (SFW, no worries) __________________________________________ Planck's Constant   Spike   Tumbler   FreeRepublic

Has anyone been watching this show? Last nite at 10:00 EST would have been the third installment. I'm curious what others around here think of it but I'd rather not come out and say what I'm thinking just yet. (Hint: Posted in chit/chat maybe for a reason.)

A relative of ours is hard of hearing. He's tried several types of hearing aids but they have not met his satisfaction. When he visits us and we're watching TV, he can't hear it unless the volume is so loud it drives the rest of us out of the room. We have a small house and an open floor plan, so moving to another room is not an option. We can hear a loud TV throughout the entire house. A possible solution would be a headset for him on which he can adjust to volume to his liking while the...

More at Reaganite Republican... (I'd say PG-rated, but some bikini shots may not be SFW... depends what kind of kooks you have to put up with there!) ___________________________________________________ Miss Universe (official)   Diez.hn   Denunciando   Voy.com   DartsNews.bg