Free Republic

In life, he never won an Emmy, although nominated twice. In death he won’t receive one of the five separate special “In Memoriam” tributes during the Sunday, Sept. 22 awards ceremony on CBS. The program’s executive producer made that firmly if imperfectly clear when asked, by me, during a Wednesday afternoon teleconference.

Hagman, who died last week aged 81, reportedly visited Bucharest in the 1980s together with his wife Maj Axelsson. At the time, he was famous worldwide for his role as merciless oil magnate JR Ewing on television series Dallas. However, during the trip, he gained an unexpected fan. Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was later executed in the 1989 Christmas uprising, wanted a portrait of the actor to be put up publicity, believing it would bolster the regime. Dallas was one of the few American TV series the late communist dictator allowed to be shown on television, believing it portrayed...

TNT has given the greenlight to DALLAS, an all-new series based upon one of the most popular television dramas of all time, about the bitter rivalries and family power struggles within a Texas oil and cattle-ranching dynasty. Famous for its ratings-grabbing cliffhangers, the original series was known for its wealth, seduction, scandal and intrigues. Set in the big state of Texas, TNT's new DALLAS — from Warner Horizon Television — also lives life large and in the fast lane and brings a new generation of stars together with cast members from the original drama series. The new DALLAS stars Josh...

What's wrong with Steve Jobs? Apple won't say. On Monday, the company said he was taking a medical leave—his third since 2004—but refused to disclose why. Yesterday Apple touted its market prospects in a conference call but again said nothing about its CEO's health. You can argue that Jobs' medical privacy is more important than the interests of Apple's investors. But there's another reason why he should tell us what's going on, and it's bigger than money. It's life and death. Two years ago, Jobs gamed the transplant allocation system to get a liver that could have saved somebody else....

Here's the thing, the first season was shot in Black and White, yet they're releasing it in two versions: Black and White and Color:

Wouldn't it be nice if people not only engaged their brains prior to speaking, but knew what they were talking about when they actually spoke? Hollywood types, ice cream moguls, and "activists" from all over the world are against the removal by force of a ruthless dictator. They say it's because war is bad. How many neurons do you think it took to come up with that bit of wisdom? There is also the brilliant, though some might say a bit naïve, concept that if we don't have enemies, we, well, won't have enemies. Another gem from the folks that...