Even though our arms are getting tired, we’re determined to keep waving the pom poms for “Friday Night Lights,” NBC’s highly acclaimed but lowly rated drama about high school football in Texas.

Why? Because the series continues to prove it has the goods. Unlike some new shows this season that have started off with a bang (“The Nine”; “Studio 60″) and then proceeded to lose some of their luster, “Lights” keeps adding intriguing layers and emotional oomph to its mix.

And the show continues to find intelligent ways to cover a wide range of real-life challenges: The perplexities of teen romance; the awkwardness and confusion of parenting (by actual parents, as well as surrogates), the pressures to live up to lofty expectations; the itchy desire to escape a hum-drum existence for something better …

But “Lights” also is dabbling in things we don’t often see on television. The show’s most moving storyline, for example, is pegged to paraplegic quarterback Jason Street (wonderfully played by Matt Stone). In last night’s standout episode, Street began showing signs that he is coming to grips with his devastating condition and that the college football dreams he nurtured since childhood are never going to materialize. He joins a wheelchair football league, where he finds an outlet for his competitive zeal and he finally musters the courage to confront his best friend, Tim, and his now ex-girlfriend, Lyla, about the affair they’ve been having behind his back.

There aren’t many TV dramas that would dare to devote substantial air time to the world of paraplegics, let alone explore it with the kind of thoroughness and unflinching intensity as “Lights” does. It’s a daring risk by a show that refuses to play it safe.

“Lights” often can be very gritty, raw and heartbreaking — and I suspect that is what has kept some viewers from embracing it. (That and its sports themes, of course.) Such a shame, really, because this is a brand of televison that’s just too good to miss.

Anyone happen to catch the Michael Richards apology on “Letterman” last night? Talk about a strong case of televisual discomfort.

By now you know that Richards, a.k.a. Kramer from “Seinfeld,” was caught on tape spewing racial epithets and profanities at hecklers during a comedy-club appearance in L.A. last week. By Monday, the incident was blowing up all over TV and radio to the point where Jerry Seinfeld encouraged Richards to do a confessional via satellite on “Letterman.”

“I lost my temper … I took it (the heckling) badly and went into a rage and said some pretty nasty things to some Afro-Americans — a lot of trash talk,” he explained … “For me to be in a comedy club and flip out and say this crap — I’m deeply, deeply sorry.”

Richards, looking like he was trying to pass a kidney stone, was squirmy throughout the ordeal, which became even more bizarre when the audience let out a few giggles. “Stop laughing,” Seinfeld scolded the crowd. “It’s not funny.”

While watching Richards fidget, I was reminded that the highly publicized celebrity mea culpa is becoming quite a TV staple these days. Mel Gibson. Whitney Houston. Whoever. Someone does something embarassing and/or revolting and they automatically rush to television to say they’re sorry and hope the medium can bail them out. (My Catholic-school upbringing tells me they shouldn’t get off without reciting at least 37 “Hail Marys”).

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s encouraging to know that in the snake pit that is broadcast television, good does occasionally does prevail over evil.

So let out a cheer — and a sigh of relief — over today’s decision by News Corp. to cancel the O.J. Simpson television special “If I Did It.” The program, originally scheduled to air Nov. 27 and 29 on the Fox network, was to have featured Simpson talking in hypothetical terms about how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. News Corp. also is canceling the book to which the program was tied.

“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. “We are sorry for any pain that his has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”

According to the Associated Press, a dozen Fox affiliates had already said they would not air the sweeps special. As of noon today, the Bay Area’s KTVU-Channel 2 was still planning to air it. But that was before Fox mercifully scrapped it.

“They have made their decision and we’re very comfortable with that decision,” said Caroline Chang, director of programming at KTVU.

.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ending a missing-in-action mystery that dragged on for three months, longtime KTVU-Channel 2 news anchor Leslie Griffith made her departure from the station official on Friday by handing in her resignation.

As readers of the Times and this blog know, this move comes as no surprise. Griffith had been off the air since Aug. 22 in what the station characterized as a leave of absence. But behind the scenes, negotiations were under way on a departure settlement.

“I’ve had some unbelievable times at KTVU and the Bay Area has watched me grow up from a girl with pig-tails down to her waist to a woman who was able to travel and report on stories all over the world,” Griffith said, when reached in Colorado on Friday.”I never imagined I’d do as much and see as much. But I felt like I needed a change in my life. It’s time to move on.”

Griffith, 49, joined KTVU in April 1986 as a weekend reporter and anchor. She rose through the ranks to become one of the Bay Area’s most recognized and honored TV journalists. In March of 1998, she became co-anchor, along with Dennis Richmond, on the “Ten O’Clock News” after Elaine Corral resigned under mysterious circumstances.

Over the past year, Griifith has privately expressed dissatisfaction with the management and direction of KTVU’s news department. She also had a run-in with management for what she perceived as a lack of support when a derisive column in the Oakland Tribune, written by anonymous critic “The Grump,” questioned her journalistic integrity. The column incensed Griffith, who regarded it as a cowardly hit piece. At one point, she considered legal action and looked to station general manager Tim McVay for backup. But “only a couple of calls were made and that was it,” said a source.

Read the rest of this entry »

Laugh tracks. Early season reruns. Ear-splitting commercials. Needless character voiceovers … Aargggggggh!

We all have things that bug the hell out of us about television and in today’s TimeOut, I go into full-throttle rant mode with a list of 10 TV annoyances.

I encourage you to check ‘em out, along with Ann Tatko-Peterson’s sidebar on irritating commercials and Jeff Durham’s wonderful illustration (I’m going to ask him to put it on my business cards).

After you process it all, I want you to come right back here to the TV Freak House and let me have it. Your TV annoyances, that is. I know the lists Ann and I came up with only scratched the surface and I’m sure you can either embellish what we’ve got or add some more. So I encourage you to do so.

If we get enough venom flowing, I just might be able to write a follow-up column in the Times, using your comments. And, as an incentive to you wallflowers out there, I’ll send out DVD sets to some of the more clever/insightful/funny responses.

You can hold off on those eulogies — for now. Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” has been given a full-season order.

Despite dismal ratings, NBC entertainment chief Kevin Reilly recognizes that there is great quality — and promise — in the show. “The critical support has been rock-solid and there is a passionate core audience,” Reilly noted in an NBC press release. “We can’t wait for what’s going to come in the remainder of the season.”

One of the reasons NBC is sticking with “Studo 60″ is that its audience, though relatively unimpressive, largely consists of “upscale” viewers — homes with $75,000-plus and $100,000-plus incomes and in homes where the head of household has four or more years of college. Those are the kind of viewers advertisers drool over.

Following up on a recent post about how TV writers manipulate romantic stroylines, we’re going to continue to monitor the exploits of two major Thursday-night couples: Meredith and Derek on “Grey’s Anatomy” and Jim and Pam on “The Office.”

In last night’s episodes, the writers for both shows reached into their hats and pulled out one of the oldest tricks in the book — The Third Party (which often can develop into the highly popular Love Triangle).

On “Grey’s,” Derek went camping with the guys, looking for “space.” That left Meredith vulnerable to the advances of Dr. Sloan (aka McSteamy). The latter two headed for a bar after work, but before anything could develop, who should swoop in? Derek, of course. Meredith’s initial wall of resistance quickly melted away and they kissed, leaving fans to wonder: How long will it last this time? (And will Sloan be a factor in weeks to come?)

Meanwhile, on “The Office,” news came that the Scranton and Stamford branches of Dunder Mifflin will merge — meaning that Jim and Pam will finally be reunited. … But wait! Coming over in the merge will be that mystery woman, Karen (Rashida Jones), who admitted to us late in the episode that “I’m into Jim.”

Uh-oh — can you feel the compeition coming?

Tonight’s the last chance to get your “Lost” on this year. Beginning next Wednesday, the show is taking a 13-week hiatus, during which the new Taye Diggs drama, “Day Break,” will fill its time slot.

The hiatus has nothing to do with the discouraging ratings performance of “Lost” (it’s down 12 percent from last season and was beaten by “Criminal Minds” for the first time last week). This is how it was scheduled from the start. Because ABC heard so many gripes about annoying in-season reruns, the network decided to air it in two chunks with no repeats. I would have preferred that they air it in “24″-like style, straight through, beginning in January, but then again, no one asked me.

The scheduling is a big gamble for ABC. With “Lost” already losing viewers, will this drive even more away? And what if “Day Break” fizzles? Will “Lost” fans find another show to watch and not return in February?

Longtime readers of this blog might recall that I predicted this would be the season that “Lost” would start to decline — although I never envisioned it losing to one of 1,700 CBS crime procedurals. I just detected a growing weariness among some viewers.

Before we send the show off to Hiatus-ville, let’s run down some of the reasons fans are fleeing the show:

– It’s too dark.I’ve heard from several fans who say enough is enough. They simply don’t want to watch some of their favorite characters (Jack, Kate, Sawyer) get beat down by The Others on a weekly basis. And then they go and kill Mr. Eko? Too much madness and misery. Too depressing.

– Not enough time spent with the core characters: In these first episodes of Season 3, the show has failed to adequately divvy up screen time among the main cast. Three weeks passed, for example, before we caught up with the victims of the hatch explosion. One of our favorites, Hurley, has become but a bit player. Etc., etc.

– The Others are boring: This dove-tails with the previous item. Many viewers aren’t enamored by the Others and their story lines and hate spending so much time with them. (I don’t completely agree with this because I find Juliet to be very intriguing).

– Not enough answers: Ah yes, the thing that has plagued “Lost” from the start. Many fans are simply tired of having their chains yanked. A great example: Instead of getting a Locke flashback that tells us how he wound up in the wheelchair, we get one with him working on a pot farm. And, of course, there are many big questions about the Dharma Initiative and the island itself, that have gone unaddressed.

– Dangling storylines:Does anyone else wonder what, exactly, is going on with those two snow-bound men who detected a disturbance in last season’s finale? Or with Desmond’s girlfriend who seems to be searching for him? We have gotten nada on that front all season.Very frustrating.

OK, there’s my list. Agree or disagree? Do you have something to add? Tell us why you’ve stopped watching — or why you’re steadfastly sticking by the show.

“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” came into this season as television’s most-hyped new series. It topped nearly every critic’s list of must-see shows. It was the beneficiary of a massive promotional campaign. And with an amazing cast (Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, etc.) spouting lines written by an amazing writer (Aaron Sorkin), it seemed to have everything going for it.

Alas, “Studio 60″ has seen its ratings do a scary nose-dive since it premiered and though NBC executives continue to express their support, you have to wonder if the show can make it past this season.

Often in cases such as these, you sit there and wonder why America hasn’t embraced such a great show and you start to even question the taste of viewers. But while I believe “Studio 60″ is worthy of support, I also think it has hurt its own cause by failing to deliver on a few fronts. In today’s Times, we highlight some of the flaws of “Studio 60″ with the hope that Sorkin can right this ship.

Check it out and let us know if you’re sticking with “Studio 60″ — or if you’ve bailed out on it — and why.

Time to mark your calendars, “American Idol” fans. On Monday, Fox announced the return dates for TV’s most popular show.

“Idol” is set to launch its sixth season with a two-night, four-hour season premiere at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16 and Wednesday, Jan. 17. This season, the show will feature audition stops in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Birmingham, Memphis, Minneapolis, New York City and Seattle.

Host Ryan Seacrest is back, along with judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. Guest judges on the road include Olivia Newton John, Carol Bayer Sager and Jewel.