Free Republic

Jimmy Fallon is in the hospital. The “Tonight Show” host reportedly checked into a New York City hospital late Thursday. He is reportedly getting treatment in the intensive care unit. This, however, has not been confirmed. The official “Fallon Tonight” Twitter account tweeted, “Hey guys – unfortunately tonight’s taping has been cancelled due to Jimmy injuring his hand. He’s totally fine but we’ll be airing a repeat. If you had tickets to tonight’s show, we’ll be in contact with you to reschedule your tix.” The account went on to insist Fallon is “okay,” and that fans shouldn’t “worry.” Earlier Thursday,...

There's a Mormon character in one of ABC's new fall series. And viewers will learn this when they see him wearing nothing but his temple garments. That's just one of the reasons that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may not be particularly pleased with that character in the pilot of "Quantico," which is scheduled to premiere on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 9 p.m. on ABC/Ch. 4. The series is about a bunch of new recruits who arrive at the FBI training base in Quantico, Va., for training.

Dick Van Patten, best known for playing the dad on the classic TV show "Eight Is Enough," died Tuesday morning in Santa Monica. Van Patten's rep released a statement Tuesday, saying, "I am sorry to report this sad news. His family will not be doing any press at this time." He reportedly died of complications from diabetes. Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2015/06/23/dick-van-patten-dead-eight-is-enough-dies/#ixzz3dvWcoe3z

On the next episode of NBC’s The Island—the Bear Grylls-hosted adventure series about a bunch of men who are left to fend for themselves on a deserted island—one of the participants battles an epic case of constipation.... ....But you won’t believe how he finds relief.... “You haven’t truly lived until you’ve spent two and a half hours digging four to five pounds of coconut, bark and crab shell out of your own butt,” admits Williams. Actually, we think you haven’t truly lived until you talk about spending two and a half hours digging stuff out of your butt on national...

It seems a Boston station is testing the viewers appetite for the separation between advertising and journalism. The Boston Globe reports CBS owned WSBK recently started running an interview segment called A Few Good Minutes produced by a local marketing firm and the CBS owned MyNetworkTV station. The first segment aired at the tail end of WSBK’s 10:000 p.m. newscast Thursday night. You can watch the video down below.

By refusing to air pro-gay marriage ads featuring a Tennessee physician who recently served a tour of military duty in Afghanistan, a Chattanooga television station suddenly finds itself in the thick of the debate. Last week, NBC-affiliate WRCB-TV Channel 3 turned down efforts by Freedom to Marry, a national pro-marriage equality group, to purchase air time for its 30-second spot as the U.S. Supreme Court nears an expected decision on the issue later this month. The station's rejection has since burned up the Internet with articles on Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, the Wonkette blog and a Fox Radio News blog...

A 'sexy' Czech hunter who has been widely criticized for posting photos of her big game trophies and an American TV host paired up for a controversial outing in Slovakia. Michaela Fialova and Larysa Switlyk documented their trip as they hunted roe deer in Europe together, filming as they went in search of the animals. The ladies documented not just the kill, but also the aftermath as they cooked and ate the animals. Fiavola, 27, who is from Litomerice, Czech Republic, spends the rest of her time working as a personal trainer, kick-boxer and guide for other hunters in Africa...

FReepers - I've seen a number of folks mention that they don't have cable or dish and still watch TV. Anybody got any insight on using a digital antenna, Roku, computer and Netflix? And whether it's worth it?

WBRZ reporter Brett Buffington was arrested after a run-in with officers at the scene of a burglary investigation Thursday morning. According to The Advocate, the Baton Rouge, La. ABC affiliate’s reporter was booked on counts of interfering with an officer and intimidating a public official. Police placed Buffington in the back of a police unit until the area was made safe, the report says. Buffington was then issued a criminal summons and told he was free to leave, to which he told an officer, “Hope you enjoy the rest of your career.” The report says the officer took the comment...

OK, I've just watch the Nth iteration of Madison Avenue's everlasting attack of the last domestic enemy, the White Male (WM)! In recent memory there were the series of stupid Caucasian (non-Hispanic variant) men who 'starred' in the SPDR Fund ads. Now we have the AT&T ad campaign with the current one showing the husband/father totally unable to manage while the all-knowing female was away. A previous ad in this campaign had an equally clueless WM in a Real Estate Agency group of 4 much smarter women.

Anyone watching the miniseries on History Channel? I missed part 1. Watching second. Not that great but I haven't changed the channel yet.

Sunday night: Two reruns of “I Love Lucy” from the 1950s, colorized (objectionable, but ok whatever) scored the highest total viewers of all scripted shows that night. “Lucy” had 6.4 million total viewers. That’s almost twice the very high “Mad Men” score of 3.3 million viewers on Sunday. That’s shows with scripts. The Billboard Music Awards had 11 million, and “60 Minutes” had 9 million. But of all the other shows on TV Sunday night– Dateline, The Simpsons, Battle Creek– Lucy prevailed. “Lucy” scored twice as many total viewers as Andy Samberg in “Brooklyn Nine Nine.”

NEW YORK (AP) — When Oprah Winfrey was a youngster, the mere sighting of an African-American on television was occasion to alert all the neighbors, she recalled. "We would call them to say, 'Colored people are on TV! Colored people are on!'" The only black child she was ever likely to see telecast was the unflattering role model Buckwheat on the ancient "Little Rascals" comedies, Winfrey added.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A woman smashed seven flat-screen TVs at a store in Alaska with a hatchet and later told police that people on the televisions were watching her, according to police and court documents obtained Monday. Miranda Davison, 33, was arrested on a felony charge of criminal mischief following the vandalism Sunday at a Walmart in Juneau.

Fox is lowering the curtain on “American Idol,” ending a series that dominated television throughout the 2000s and made stars of the likes of Simon Cowell, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. The network announced Monday that “American Idol” will go off the air after its 15th season next spring. The cast from the past seasons, with Ryan Seacrest as host and Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. as judges, will return for a season-long celebration of the show’s history. “American Idol” faded over the past few years, eclipsed in the music competition genre it pioneered by “The Voice”...

Russian state television is promising a special treat for military veterans for Victory Day on May 9: a newly colorized version of the 1973 film classic Only Old Men Are Going To Battle, the powerful story of a doomed squadron of World War II fighter pilots. There's just one problem. The movie, arguably one of the best of the Soviet war genre, was directed by a Ukrainian, filmed in Ukraine, and stars more than a half-dozen Ukrainian actors -- including Vladimir Talashko, whose character, an aspiring opera singer, is killed after deliberately crashing his plane into a Nazi supply train,...

....As Letterman counts down the days until his final show on May 20, he was joined by President Obama, who is also heading towards retirement when he leaves office on Jan. 20, 2017. The two alternated between sincere appreciation and goofy jokes in Obama’s eighth and final appearance on “The Late Show” (and third since becoming president). Letterman asked what Obama would do once he leaves the White House.

Facing intense regulatory scrutiny, Comcast is planning to abandon its $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable, people briefed on the matter said on Thursday, ending a bid that would have united the country’s two largest cable operators and reshaped the rapidly evolving video and broadband markets. The collapse of the deal comes as technology changes and an array of Internet offerings upend how people watch and pay for television, making broadband service more important than ever. Had the deal been approved, the combined company would have controlled as much as 57 percent of the nation’s broadband market and just...

Anyone here watching Mark Burnett's AD? (Story about apostles and early church) What are your impressions of the series so far?

(*snip*) 1. It loved language... 2. It had an amazing rotating crew of actors... 3. It valued intelligence.... 4. It had some pretty great female characters... 5. It was about working-class characters just trying to get by.... 6. “Justified” had the best hang time.... (*snip*)