Longevity is Everything: Ask the Simpsons

The record books are re-arranging the rankings, moving “Gunsmoke” down a notch and elevating “The Simpsons.” Yes, Sunday night at 8 p.m. marks a special moment in television history: “The Simpsons” will officially celebrate its 20th anniversary, becoming the longest-running scripted primetime show ever. Many people may not recall that the animated yellow family made its debut as interstitials on Fox’s “The Tracey Ullman...

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Another Awards Show? Maybe Not a Bad Idea…

Still pondering the surprising news that the Emmys could be in for some competition—and after the initial knee-jerk reaction of “Oh, great, another awards show,” coming around to the notion that it’s probably a good idea. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is one of the few award-granting entities that have an open field with no other awards competition anywhere near its time slot. The show has been airing in recent years...

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SNL's Take on Tiger: Funny, or Just Wrong?

Just about when I got done chuckling about “Saturday Night Live’s” opening sketch spoofing the Salahis continually interrupting a presidential speech to take even more photos of themselves, a mini controversy breaks out on the heels of a major scandal. Seems that some people are offended by the sketch depicting Tiger Woods holding a series of news conferences, while his wife, Elin Nordegren, looks on (click here to...

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Media Whores Blame Media for Ruining Their Lives

  The plot thickens in the case of Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the now infamous White House state dinner party crashers who made their first television appearance on “The Today Show” Tuesday morning. The Salahis, a social-climbing couple who reportedly are having serious financial difficulties, told Matt Lauer they were not getting paid for their appearance—after the Associated Press reported they were asking for six-figure deals for...

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Getting on Board the Glambert Publicity Train

So, I got smashed through the turnstile and pulled on board, pretty willingly. After admittedly missing the entire American Idol season in which he took second place–and thus never having seen him perform–it was hard to avoid all the publicity about Adam Lambert, especially his much-hyped performance at the AMAs to promote his freshly minted debut album, “For Your Entertainment.” And that’s exactly what I was hoping...

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