M2tv

BBC America’s “The Hour” - Stylish, Engrossing, Perfectly Cast

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 17, BBC America’s six-episode series, The Hour, debuts at 10p.  It’s one of the best dramas to brighten our television screens this year.

The series is a stylish, noir-ish, at times John le Carré-like, cold war political thriller set behind the scenes of the BBC newsroom just as The Hour – an investigative news program – is about to launch.  (The famous British newscastPanorama – the longest-running public affairs television program in the world that still airs in primetime -  is partly the inspiration.)

The backdrop: 1956 and the Suez Crisis, a pivotal time in British history. “The government pulled us into a phony war…. the ailing Prime Minister was desperately trying to hide the fact that he was incredibly ill,” creator/writer Abi Morgan explained at Television Critics Association summer press tour, “[It was] a moment when Britain took to the streets and protested and said, ‘law, not war.’”

The emotional hook: a love triangle.

The Hour is oh-so-perfectly, perfectly cast.  Just…g’uh!  Perfect.  By episode three, the connections between the characters are beginning to deepen, to expand, and I was fully engaged.  I wanted to know more, I wanted to find out what happened to them – I actually cared, in a way I haven’t cared about characters in a long time.

Dominic West (The Wire) stars as the charismatic, handsome anchor Hector Madden who - beneath his buff, pec’d out veneer - is insecure and restless.  (From a privileged background, Hector slipped into the anchor position on The Hour via family connections.)

At press tour via satellite (from the Duchess Theatre in London’s West End where he’s playing the lead role in Butley) West said he patterned his mannerisms after his father.   “In terms of newscasters of the day, they were very avuncular, they weren’t quite as glamorous as Hector…most of them had comb-overs,” said West, “or Richard Dimbleby was everyone’s favorite uncle.  My dad was very much a man of the 50‘s and I always felt I understood the time because of him and the way he dressed and the way he was in his manner….he was, I suppose, who I was channeling in terms of manner.”

Hector develops a love/hate relationship with Freddie Lyon (Ben Whishaw), a young correspondent who lives in a dingy apartment and cares for his sick father.  Freddie has a David Carr-like honesty and fearless passion for investigative stories and digging up the truth, but he’s often his own worst enemy.  Freddie, in contrast to Hector, is thin, nerdy, badly dressed, and a slightly pretty.  “No luck with girls…and now you know too much,” says the menacing Tom Kish played by Burn Gorman.

Freddie’s best friend and unrequited love interest is Bel Rowley (Romola Garai), the smart, pretty producer of The Hour.  Sexism is rampant but she finds a mentor in Clarence Fendley (Anton Lesser).   She’s battling a growing (mutual) attraction to the charming Hector, and her mother - a former showgirl -  is an embarrassment and a thorn in her side.

The talent goes deep in this series.  There are about a dozen terrific supporting characters, each one thoughtfully selected.  To mention just a few: Anna Chancellor as the heavy-drinking Lix Storm, an eminent war correspondent who understands the implications of the Suez Crisis; Joshua McGuire as Isaac Wengrow, Freddie’s loyal assistant, the grandson of an orthodox Jew from Eastern Europe; Angus McCain (Julian Rhind-Tutt), the closeted gay press advisor to Prime Minister Anthony Eden and liaison between the government and the BBC.

The Oscar-nominated Eve Stewart (for The King’s Speech) is the production designer. The perky, witty Stewart delighted the press at summer tour.  Perhaps she’ll snag another Emmy (she won for Elizabeth I) for her work on The Hour.  She described scouring the British countryside for the devices of the period.  “Old men with hairy ears have an amazing amount of old cameras in their garages,” she said, “I couldn’t believe it.  They were everywhere.  And the more we tapped into that, the more we made friends with them, the more they would come offering teletext on little platters to us.”

I know, I know – sometimes BBC America is hard to find on the line-up.  Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, on Comcast, it’s in the middle of nowhere -  Channel 162.  (grumble)

But please, please locate BBC America on your cable line-up and watch.  Abi Morgan say she’s already “plotted out a whole…journey for season two…potentially taking on the space race….and the Notting Hill riots…But it all comes down to the viewing figures.”

(This post is mirrored on Multichannel News.)

Posted by Mary McNamara on August 16, 2011 | Comments (0)

 

FX's "Rescue Me" Finds Its Mojo Mid-Season

Warning:  Minor spoilers ahead for upcoming episodes.  Major spoilers for previously aired episodes.

Really, it's a miracle that Rescue Me's central character, Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary)  - the NYC firefighter who battles alcoholism, a dysfunctional Irish family, a rocky (understatement) relationship with his wife Janet (Andrea Roth), and an alcoholic daughter following her father footsteps into oblivion - hasn't been imprisoned for DUI.

Or isn't in line for a liver transplant (although I half expect that storyline to surface).

Season six (the series' penultimate) got off to a meh start. The first three episodes were frustratingly circular, with a glut of banter substituting for plot and character development.  Tommy was still drinking, repeatedly falling off the wagon, and pretty much still misbehaving - an unlikable, unrelatable, worthless excuse for a human being.

FX has supplied seven episodes so far.  Number five ("Blackout') debuts tomorrow (Tuesday, July 27) at 10p.

Don't give up.  After the slow-moving start, Rescue Me picks up speed.  By episode four ("Breakout"), the mojo was back.  Aside from some glaring (but forgivable) plot holes, episodes four through seven are some of the most interesting in a long time.

Peter Gallagher joins the cast this season as the flirty, irreverent Catholic priest, Father Phil.  After Tommy's near-death experience and a descent into the fires of hell, this season's theme so far has been redemption.  Father Phil comes into Tommy's life as an unlikely therapeutic presence.

A couple of years ago Rescue Me took a bad, bad turn.  It was the episode during which Tommy entered into the territory of the damned - when he raped his estranged wife Janet and walked away with a Satanic smile.  The writers nearly damaged their character beyond repair.  (The controversial episode was widely discussed at the time.)

No wonder Tommy found himself in firefighter hell during his near-death experience.

The challenge in the writers room: can they resurrect Tommy Gavin in the eyes of the viewer?

In the season launch, Tommy returns to life, resolved - for a nano-second anyway - to change his hard-drinking ways.

At one point, Tommy attempts (yet again) to reconnect with Janet. Tommy is all talk, typically tripping (again) over his words, whereas his demonstrative friend and fellow firefighter, Franco (Daniel Sunjata), is busy cooking, cleaning, plumbing, dispensing fashion advice, and otherwise making himself useful and valuable to Janet.

If the intent of the writers was to prime the audience to lose all interest in this narcissistic, one-dimensional, misogynistic character, to the point where no matter what heroics he may engage in going forward we won't care - well, they had achieved their objective.

Responding to Tommy's painfully awkward attempt to reconnect, Janet bitterly voices what a lot of viewers were likely feeling: "Oh my god, you have feelings.  Oh, no, no wait, you've changed.  No, no, your greatest hit - you're stopping drinking, for real this time."

Tommy claims his feelings for Janet are "stronger than they've ever been" but Janet responds..."So everything's going to be different as of right now?......we're here ten years later [after 9-11]. Who gives a sh*t about any of it..."

The problem for Rescue Me is that the central character, Tommy, was too often the least human, least appealing, least complex of the cast.  Tommy's antics - the boozing, carousing and, yes, even rape - were initially explained away by his grief over 9-11.

But, as Joe Flint points out on Show Tracker: "Tommy uses his anger and grief over 9-11 to do what he wants to whomever he pleases with no regard for the consequences to himself or the people he purports to love."

Tonight, in episode five ("Blackout"), Tommy - depressed by the Franco/Janet flirtation - hits the bottle.  Yet, the binge is revelatory and Tommy’s inferno of rage roars to the surface.

Perhaps, just perhaps, Tommy is finally starting to lurch past his grief and dysfunction.  That might be too much to hope for, however, given the writers' addiction to an alcoholic Tommy.  In the past, it seemed the writers didn't know how to let Tommy move on.

In upcoming eps feature baptism by alcohol, scatological humor, tense rescues, and some laugh-out-loud funny banter.  The Italian restaurant scene (episode seven, "Forgiven") is a classic.

The conclusion of episode seven is one of the series' most poignant and fulfilling.  Tommy Gavin is still Tommy - a hopelessly clueless cad - but at least we can see that he's feeling something.

Even with Tommy at his worst, Rescue Me has always been populated with an array of interesting supporting characters - Lou, Franco, Sean and now Damien (the newest firehouse probie), to name just a few.  These are characters worth caring about, most with compelling storylines.

Damien (Mike Zegen) is Tommy's nephew, and his mom Sheila (Callie Thorne) wants Tommy to talk Damien into quitting the force. In an upcoming episode, Tommy misses a golden opportunity to encourage him to abandon his firefighting career and, instead, delivers a pep talk.

At the center of some of the show's most memorable scenes, Lou (John Scurti) is decent and lovable, the moral core.  After his heart attack, he begins to re-evaluate his life and habits.  But, according to the press materials (made available in advance of the season premiere), when Lou "fails to pull his weight in a burn Damien suffers the consequences."

While still entertaining, the Garrity/Siletti dumb-firefighter-duo shtick (played by Steven Pasquale and Mike Lombardi, respectively) has nevertheless worn thin.  Occasionally, the writers provide a glimpse of a more complex Garrity, and it's evident that Steve Pasquale has a great deal more acting range than opportunities to express it.

And Sheila's, well.... she's still got that off-shoulder stylin' thing going on.

If Rescue Me sustains the momentum, in spite of the aforementioned weaknesses, the final episodes of season six will be one heck of a ride.

Tainted Olympics: Death, Callousness, Colbert Prophecy & Why NBC Owes k.d lang An Apology

ETA: reports are coming in of chaos at the Cypress Mountain venue. Three-hour lineups. Desperate shortages of food and drink. Nowhere to escape the lashing wind and rain....

The death of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili on a track well-known to be unusually dangerous, coupled with the insensitive response by the VANOC/FIL, has tainted the Olympics.

 The NY Times reports (in the same link above) that the day before Kumaritashvili's death "a Romanian luge racer was knocked unconscious during a training run. Through five complete Olympic training sessions in men’s singles luge last week, one of every 20 runs ended in a crash. But Olympic and luge officials chose not to make changes to the course that would limit the record speeds..."

Instead of acknowledging their obvious failings, the VANOC/FIL callously went CYA. They attributed Kumaritashvili’s death to human error, declaring the track safe. Yet, they lowered the start gates and raised the wall along the curve that flung Kumaritashvili into a steel beam to his death, all the while asserting they made these changes to “deal with the emotional components of the athletes."

  "The bottom line is that the decisions made are to deal with the emotional components of the athletes to alleviate, as best as possible, the traumatic experience of this tragic event,” Svein Romstad, the American secretary general of the FIL, said Saturday morning. "As to lowering it because the track is too fast, I would say the primary concern we have right now is the emotional aspect of it." 

 By yesterday (Saturday) morning, the tragedy was turned on its head in a “the show must go on” kind of way - and isn't this all amazing and courageous because we’re overcoming this tragedy, and moving into “normalcy,” and competing and oh, btw, let’s just move on, thanksbye… 

 Here’s the lede from the AP article: Everyone made it down safely. For luge, that meant progress, healing and normalcy. Cowbells clanged, fans with painted faces waved flags, and even IOC president Jacques Rogge looked on as the celebration of this hyper-speedy sport resumed… Adding to the scandal, the death has raised questions about practice times and home field advantages. 

Of all people, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert aimed his rapier wit at the problem of practice times. Colbert, taking speed skating under his wing, hilariously fumed about track time, in words that are now both funny and eerily prophetic. 

 "Those syrup-suckers won't let us practice at their Olympic venues," Colbert said. "At the Salt Lake Games, we let the Canadian luge team take 100 practice runs. And you know how Mormons feel about two men lying down on each other." (Unfortunately, Comedy Central has deleted that particular segment.)

 Here's another from Colbert's campaign to secure practice time for U.S. speed skaters. The luge athletes could have used an advocate like Colbert.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sport Report - Cricket Scandal & Letter-Writing Campaign
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations

The Opening Ceremonies were tasteful, and nearly flawless, yet marred by NBC insensitivity, ranging from the left coast tape delay to boneheaded editing? or control room decisions? or...? during k.d. lang’s moving rendition of Leonard Cohen’s "Halleluja." 

Once again, the left coast was saddled with tape delay while east coast watched live, starting at 9p. ET. I will beat this dead horse, once again, just because... 

Previous tape delays could (barely) be explained by Beijing time differences but NBC doesn’t get an easy pass this round. NBC’s Beijng rationale – that West Coast viewers want to watch in prime time - no longer rates as an acceptable excuse when the darn games are..held in the same time zone!! 

The Opening Ceremonies were widely reported to begin at 7:30p on the West Coast. Not exactly. Viewers were instead subjected to 1.5 hours of mostly empty filler – another Mary Carillo human interest segment and meditations on skier Lindsey Vonn’s shin. Opening Ceremonies finally got underway at 9p, and ran until after midnight.

If the Left Coast is on tape delay anyway, it’s difficult to understand why California/Oregon/Washington audiences sat through 1.5 hours of patter, twiddling their thumbs. 

The ceremonies finally wrapped at around 12:15a, with Wayne Gretzky’s wild ride clinging to the back of a white pick-up truck to deliver the torch to the “other” cauldron. (Gretzky deserves a gold for being the world’s best sport.) 

Spoilers are unavoidable, on Twitter especially. My page was a jumble of time-shifted comments, creating some confusion about which events, exactly, some tweeps were discussing. As comments streamed in from my East Coast tweeps, I knew everything by the West Coast 9p start of the ceremonies. 

It’s impossible to just shut Twitter down for ten days. When I joked the only solution to the spoilers dilemma is to hide in a dark closet for the duration,@wraithfodder suggested I join her poinsettias.Thanks Wraith! ; ) 

oh, well...what can I say. I hate tape delay. 

Why not just put the footage on a loop? That's what NBC is doing in any case, starting very late here on the West Coast, around 12:30a.m., or so.

And during that 1.5 hour patter there were problems. The biggest one: NBC aired the luge crash, in full and in slomo, several times. During the post-ceremony local news hour, our NBC affiliate here in San Francisco declined to show the crash in its entirety. Howling echoed across the Internet, as viewers slammed NBC for their decision to air the crash footage. 

Memorable Opening Ceremony moments included the angelic aerialist - Ècole Nationale de Cirque student Thomas Saulgrain - spinning across the stage to an ethereal rendition of Joni Mitchell’s "Both Sides Now." Breathtaking. 

The house was really fired up over irish/square dancing/western-inspired/Tap Dogs fiddle and dance homage that @rachelsklar summed up nicely: AWESOME BADASS FIDDLING TAP-DANCING BEARDED MOUNTAIN MAN CANADIAN LEATHER-CLAD CANUCK! 

But NOTE below: NBC's Matt Lauer chattering over the ENTIRE fiddle solo.

Best to go here, to the NBC site and watch an different version from what was televised, at least here on the West Coast. 

k.d. lang is an exquisite talent. Her soulful performance of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was ruined by the NBC decision to use only two (that I could count) semi - close-ups of her. All the other shots NBC selected were very wide and long, and much of the time she was a mere speck on the screen. 

At first I thought perhaps I’d imagined the snub, so I reviewed the footage again. Nope. I did not imagine this. 

NBC cut away from Lang time after time to focus on the candle-holding audience, and occasionally on U.S. athletes sitting in the stands. In a word - anywhere but k.d. Lang. 

My jaw dropped. Bottom line: NBC’s mishandling of Lang’s performance was disrespectful. The best I can say about this fiasco: someone at NBC exercised exceedingly poor judgment. Thanks to Mediaite, you can view the actual televised footage, reportedly different than the video posted on the NBC website.

Aziz Ansari

Comedy Central clip:

Jokes.com
Aziz Ansari - Cold Stone Creamery
comedians.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Showtime's "Episodes" - Matt LeBlanc Auditions to Play Matt LeBlanc

A little preview of Showtime's Episodes.  Remember NBC's Coupling?  In Episodes, American producers import a hit British series and then trash it by rejecting the erudite British lead and casting Matt LeBlanc instead. 

(Tip o' the hat to Rob Owen at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the link. See his blog for Showtime blurb on the series.  The clip was unveiled at TCA press tour.)

TCA: ABC Family Renews The Secret Life of The American Teenager & Make It or Break It

Today, ABC Family renewed The Secret Life of The American Teenager (for a third season) and Make It or Break It (for a second season).  Both shows are set to return summer 2010.

Per the ABC Family press release, the Jan. 4, 2010 mid-season premiere of The Secret Life of The American Teenager was ABC Family's most-watched telecast of all time in viewers 12-34, females 12-34, teens and female teens.

The Jan. 4, 2010, Make It or Break It mid-season launch grew from its summer debut across all demos, according to ABC Family - 8% in total viewers, 16% in adults 18-34, 20% in adults 18-49, and 31% in viewers 12-34.

“Secret Life got the highest original series number in female teens that we’ve ever had," said ABC Family President Paul Lee during the ABC Family executive session. "It was at 13.7, which makes it the #1 show of the season, including broadcast, in female teens."

Lee also announced the dates of two spring original movies. “Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice” debuts after the Winter Olympics on March 14th and stars Francia Raisa (Secret Life) and Brendan Fehr. Business of Falling in Love with Hilary Duff and Matt Dallas (Kyle XY) launches April 18.

Yikes, Conan Won't Do Tonight Show at 12:05a

While we're in the middle of the ABC session for Happy Town, sizzling news is breaking on Twitter re: Conan.

From NY Times, Bill Carter

Conan O’Brien says he will not do “The Tonight Show” if it airs at 12:05 a.m. He released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

American Idol: How to Talk About Simon Cowell's Departure, without Really Talking About It

From Television Critics Association/Pasadena

Yesterday, Fox Network executives tried valiantly to reassure the press that juggernaut American Idol would survive the departure of the acerbic Simon Cowell.

The start of the Fox executive session was inexplicably delayed for more than twenty minutes. Finally, Fox Entertainment Chairman Peter Rice, Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly and Simon Cowell put on an admirable front of solidarity.  

Cowell is leaving the confines of American Idol to judge and executive produce The X Factor for American audiences. The X Factor is set to debut on Fox Network sometime in the Fall of 2011. Cowell even signed his new contract with Fox on stage.  Well, that flourish was probably a blank piece of paper in his hand, but everyone played along with the joke anyway.  

The press returned two or three times, or more, to the question of the probable impact of Cowell's departure on American Idol.  Sometimes the panel felt more like So You Think You Can Dance as Rice, Reilly and Cowell sidestepped the questions.

Rice, especially, stayed on message and deflected attention from Cowell's departure by redirecting the conversation to the strength of the format.

Rice: it’s
a show that has launched superstars. People love the
format....Last year it was more than 70 percent
above the No. 2 show. It’s a format that the country
loves........I think bringing
someone like Ellen in this year is why we did that.
We think that it can have a wonderful sort of injection
of energy into a format that’s beloved and works around the
world..........We’re not going to rush into something.
We’re not going to try to find a Simon clone who can do
what he does because, you know, he’s one of a kind. But
the format itself, people love. 

Rice was vague about how Fox Network would actually manage the departure and sustain the aforementioned energy:

RICE:  I think that we have to
take our time on that. I think we have to make sure
that the chemistry between the judges is as good as it
can be. And I don’t think we’re going to rush to into
that. And that’s why we’re coming forward today.

Television critics kept up the pressure, citing a recent poll suggesting 60% of American Idol viewers wouldn't watch if Cowell departed.  And it was here, especially, where the panel shifted into So You Think You Can Dance.

RICE: We have some of our own research. I
think it’s really that Simon had a desire to launch
THE X FACTOR. And he — you know, that’s what he
wanted to pursue. And we looked at how it could
strengthen our schedule across the breadth of the
year. We’re very excited about the idea of having THE
X FACTOR and IDOL and DANCE and having them match up
across the year. We did that this fall with DANCE,
and it strengthened our schedule. So we think it can
be a great source of strength for us. But, you know,
Simon has come to the end of his contract and has
great passion for this television show. And it’s an
incredible television show. And AMERICAN IDOL is an
incredible television show, and we have to make sure
that it remains so.

Fox executives were cornered on this one.  Even the worst case scenario (American Idol winds down as The X Factor ascends) is better than the potential apocalypse - a desperate, fourth-place NBC (where Cowell has a relationship via America's Got Talent) nabbing Cowell and The X Factor, and scheduling The X Factor against American Idol.  

All in all, the eery impression left by the Fox executive session: the end is approaching for American Idol.  

 
 

Stargate Universe: The Trailer

Fyi:

Twitter Skewers SyFy Channel Over Name Change

In case you haven't heard: after a year of deliberation (apparently), SCI FI settled on a brand new name: SyFy.  No, seriously.

 

Immediately, Livejournal users started pronouncing the new name as "Siffy." My tweeps free associated..never mind.

It's reminiscent of the ancient insult - Skiffy - often employed in the old days by Usenet members.  I think, but am not certain, that the scathingly funny and prolific Gharlane of Eddore may have coined the term. (Gharlane, god rest his soul.)

At any rate, Syfy is currently a hot topic on Twitter.  Users are having a lot of fun today skewering the choice.  I'll try to post the "best of" as they flow into my own Twitter page.

Here's one that just came up with a link to an IO9.com post:

@dloehrFavorite SciFi Channel headline yet: "SciFi changes its name to typo." http://tinyurl.com/d429mo2 minutes ago from TweetDeck

CNBC: The Controversy Still Burns

The fallout from the CNBC Santelli rant which lead to the Jim Cramer/Jon Stewart smackdown on The Daily Show continues to burn and fester.  A petition campaign, slamming CNBC, erupted on my Twitter page this morning.

Petitioners are urging users to sign their names to the following:

FixCNBC! CNBC: Hold Wall Street Accountable

Dear CNBC —

“You knew what the banks were doing, and yet were touting it for months and months. 

The entire network was.” — Jon Stewart

These now-legendary words were a wake-up call. We’re asking you to wake up.

Americans need CNBC to do strong, watchdog journalism – asking tough questions 

to Wall Street, debunking lies, and reporting the truth.

Instead, CNBC has done PR for Wall Street. You’ve been so obsessed withgetting “access” to failed CEOs that you willfully passed on misinformation to the 

public for years, helping to get us into the economic crisis we face today.

You screwed up badly. Don’t apologize – fix it!

CNBC should publicly declare that its new overriding mission will be responsible journalism

that holds Wall Street accountable. As a down payment, we ask you to hire some new economic voices – people who have a track record of being right 

about the economic crisis and holding Wall Street executives’ feet to the fire.

Please show us that you hear our voices loud and clear.

Sincerely,

your name, email etc. here.

Careful What You Wish For: Jon Stewart Delivers Body Blow to CNBC Reputation, with Assist from NBC

CNBC's reputation has taken a beating lately. Damage from the much anticipated Daily Show smackdown between Jon Stewart and CNBC's Jim Cramer may be slow to heal. 

CNBC left the ring bruised and battered. The question is: when will audiences trust the network's coverage again, if ever?

It's been a public relations disaster and NBC Universal execs have only themselves to blame. 

The controversy really started a looooong time ago (in television/24 hour news cycle time) with CNBC's Rick Santelli and his meltdown, live, from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. 

To recap: Santelli went OFF on a rant about the Obama Administration's plan to save desperate homeowners from foreclosure. He compared Obama's effort to Cuba under Castro. Santelli trashed homeowers as nothing more than a bunch of reprobates who borrowed money to add "an extra bathroom" to their now underwater homes.

Yet, the Wall Street investment firms and bankers responsible for the big mess in the first place had secured close to a cool trillion - just in time to pay out billions in staff bonuses, and, ironically (in the case of Merrill Lynch's John Thain), renovate their corporate bathrooms with $35,000 commodes.

Santelli's rant was oddly self-serving and tone deaf in a "let them eat cake" way.

Instead of allowing the rant to fizzle, NBC Universal cross-promoted the Santelli breakdown. Sister network NBC featured Santelli's moment in the sun at the top of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Users stampeded to the CNBC website, after Drudge posted a link. But be careful what you wish for. The blow-back from that brief flare of attention has been intense. 

What was NBC Universal thinking?  How did they not grasp the obvious blow-back potential of the Santelli rant?

Enter Jon Stewart:

Stewart picked a fight with this now famous frontal assault on CNBC. He unloaded on Rick Santelli after Santelli canceled a scheduled appearance on The Daily Show. (It's never a good idea to cancel an appearance.  John McCain, for instance, learned the hard way after he bailed on David Letterman.)

Stewart capped his remarks with a rousing "F*ck you!"  Ouch.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Then, Jim Cramer - who resides in the most delicate of all CNBC glass houses - complained his remarks were taken out of context by Stewart.  Uh, oh.  Stewart was all over that one.  Here, he eviscerates Cramer and invites someone - anyone! - from CNBC to guest on his show.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

In Cramer We Trust

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Thus, the stage was set for the Jim Cramer/Jon Stewart smack down.  

The day after was brutal.  The media was ABUZZZZZZ - and I mean ABUZZZZZ - about the meet-up.  Competing networks used the opportunity to stomp on NBC Universal. 

This is just some of the coverage that I happened to watch live on Friday, March 13.

ABC Nightly News featured a brief analysis by Washington Post's media columnist Howard Kurtz (@howardkurtz on Twitter).

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric gave the smackdown extensive coverage with a lengthy commentary by Jeff Greenfield reminiscent of the old news days a la Walter Cronkite. Stewart, noted Greenfield, "was like a prosecutor bearing down on a decidedly clearly uncomfortable witness."

KRON 4, a local San Francisco station, flayed CNBC.  The on-air host asserted that the 

producer for Jim Cramer's CNBC show Mad Money was formerly a producer for Jerry Springer. 

"For real business news," said KRON 4, "read BusinessWeek or watch Bloomberg."  

Like I said, it may be awhile, if ever, until CNBC regains audience trust.

Two Things about Breaking Bad, Season Two/Episode 2

I have only two things to say about Breaking Bad, Season Two, Episode 2 "Grilled" which airs tomorrow, March 15, at 10p.  

1.  In this episode you will meet "Tio," the uncle of Tuco (Raymond Cruz), the psychotic drug dealer. Tio (Mark Margolis) is confined to a wheelchair. He's completely paralyzed except (pretty much) for one, intense beady eye and a single forefinger. Even so, Tio is a force to be reckoned with. Watch the amazing Margolis (Oz) make the most of his limitations.

2.  Hank (Dean Norris), Walt White's DEA agent brother-in-law, kicks ass!

That is all.  Don't miss Breaking Bad tomorrow night at 10p.m.

  

Tomorrow Is Pi Day on Science Channel

Tomorrow, March 14, is Pi Day on Science Channel! How did I remember? I found a hot, fresh pizza pie sitting on my front porch yesterday, along with a nice note from Science Channel reminding me.  

Lunch! A totally memorable, consumable press kit. 

Science Channel salutes Pi on their website.  Immerse yourself in the "mysterious digit that's held the world captive for thousands of years. Numerically, it's 3.14159265 .... on to infinity.  It is an irrational number that never ends....It has been calculated out to over a trillion digits, but it does not  repeat."

Click here to jump to the Science Channel Pi page for vids, quizzes, and more.   

Breaking: Daily Show Ratings

This just in from Comedy Central:

“THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART”

DIGITAL

On Friday, March 13, TheDailyShow.com posted its highest traffic day in 2009. 

TheDailyShow.com attracted the largest audience and also streamed the most videos in a single day in 2009

 RATINGS:

Last night’s episode (Thursday, March 12, 2009) of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” featuring guest Jim Cramer from CNBC, drew 2.3 million total viewers, making it the second most-watched episode of the year and one of the top 10 most-watched episodes in show’s history. 
Only the Inauguration Day episode from Tuesday, January 20, 2009 drew more viewers this year with 2.6 million total viewers.
The strength of these episodes propelled “The Daily Show” to record heights for the second time this year, alongside Inauguration Week.  These were the most-watched weeks of the year and two of the top 10 weeks in the show’s history.
The series drew an average 2.1 million total viewers for the week of March 9^th overall.  
Source: Nielsen Media Research (3/12/09) Live + Same Day data  
  

ETA: Also, thanks to my tweep @dbferguson at No Fact Zone for posting this vid, and others, of Stewart's UNEDITED interview with Cramer.  

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer