The Discovery Channel has brought in a Big Gun to help discuss their controversial program, The Lost Tomb of Jesus.

Here’s the Discovery Channel’s press release from today about a follow up program Sunday evening that the highly regarded journalist Ted Koppel will host after the documentary airs:

Ted Koppel to Moderate Panel Discussion Following the Lost Tomb of Jesus

‘The Lost Tomb of Jesus: A Critical Look’ will be an open forum, bringing independent and critical perspectives to the debate regarding possible find of Jesus Family Tomb

SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Given the worldwide interest in the subject, Ted Koppel, Managing Editor of the
Discovery Channel, will moderate “The Lost Tomb of Jesus: A Critical Look,” a panel versed in archeology, theology, Biblical research and other related disciplines immediately following the Sunday premiere of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.”

Koppel, who has no connection to the production of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” will bring his independent journalistic perspective to the evidence introduced in the documentary. The hour-long discussion will have minimal commercial interruptions and will present the many voices, opinions and beliefs related to the film’s content. The panel will
explore the filmmakers’ profound assertions and challenge their assumptions and suggested conclusions.

“Inevitably, on a subject as important as this, there will be many unanswered questions,” said Koppel. “I expect to raise as many of those as possible.”

The forum, produced by The Koppel Group and anchored by Managing Editor Ted Koppel, will air at 11 PM ET/PT on Sunday, March 4, immediately following the world premiere of the documentary which airs at 9 PM ET/PT.

[tags] Ted Koppel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ, Religion, Christianity, The Discovery Channel, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, TV Bloggin [/tags]

technorati tags:Koppel, Jesus, tombs, ossuaries, TV, documentaries, Discovery, 451press, TVBloggin

The TV Guide Channel (you know, the channel you watch to see what is on other channels on your cable or satellite system) announces that its Oscar night red carpet show was the highest in its history.

• TV Guide Channel(R) Announces Highest Rated Show in Its History with Live Red Carpet Pre-Show at the 79th Annual Academy Awards(R)

Excerpt:

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–TV Guide Channel®, a leading entertainment network with original programming in more than 80 million homes, today announced that its live coverage at the 79^th Annual Academy Awards® hosted by Joan and Melissa Rivers delivered a 1.1 HH coverage rating, the network’s highest rated program ever and highest rated Red Carpet pre-show, up 22 percent over last year. The first hour of the live pre-show delivered a .9 HH rating and grew 33 percent in the second hour to a 1.2 HH rating. . .

“Award Season ’07 was a big win for TV Guide Channel, as we delivered our highest rated programming to-date,� said Ryan O’Hara, President of TV Guide Channel. “The quality of our content on the network helped us achieve year-over-year ratings growth at all three major award shows.� . . . .

That’s kind of like bragging that you’ve moved up in the NCAA basketball ratings from 318th to 245th.

Apparently there is an appetite out there in America to watch Joan and Melissa Rivers 3/4 screen, screeching about movie stars’ tuxes and dresses.

You just can’t explain taste.

[tags] Melissa Rivers, Joan Rivers, Oscars, Academy Awards, TV, TV Bloggin, 451Press, TV Guide, TV Guide Channel, ratings, Hollywood [/tags]

technorati tags:Rivers, Oscars, awards, tv, tvbloggin, 451press

Prior to blogging TV reviews for this fine blog, I was blogging reviews for no possibility of pay at my Austin American-Statesman blog, Temporary Texan.

These reviews ran from December until early February, when I started posting my TV reviews here.

• Fault, Addiction, Suffering and Anna Nicole Smith (February 9, 2007)

• SBIV: Of Super Bowls and Super Memories (February 3, 2007)

• Gerald R. Ford: The Long Goodbye (January 3, 2007)

• TV Executives Boot Saddam Execution (December 30, 2006)

• Watch “The Tick” But Don’t Be The Tick: Self-Awareness Brings About Change (December 6, 2006)

• Studio 60: Sorkin Sends Shirvers (December 4, 2006)

Later, I’ll post some older reviews from my main site, S.D. Watch.

[tags] Anna Nicole Smith, Gerald R. Ford, Super Bowl, The Tick, Saddam Hussein, TV news, Studio 60, Aaron Sorkin, Kansas City Chiefs [/tags]

technorati tags:Smith, football, Ford, president, 451press, tvbloggin

My favorite Florida judge made an “appearance” on Saturday Night Live last Saturday. YouTube has the clip.

[tags] Judge Larry Seidlin, Saturday Night Live, SNL, parody, justice, comedy, Anna Nicole Smith [/tags]

technorati tags:seidlin, judiciary, SNL, judges, smith

The History Channel’s Dogfights (Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT), combines Old School history with New School video game-like computer graphics for a unique “you are there” experience.

The History Channel, or, as my wife calls it, The War Channel, has taken the best of Old School war documentaries–interviews, archival footage, and story telling, and combined it with New School computer generated battle scenes of aerial and naval combat.

The results in Dogfights are compelling TV, with something for everyone.

If you like blood and guts and courage and history, Dogfights provides it.

If you like high tech and learning about how fighter pilot aces maneuver their flying machines, Dogfights provides it.

Sunday’s repeat episode of Great Britain’s use of torpedo bi-planes to help sink the German battleship The Bismarck was an excellent example. Naval and aerial re-creations worthy of top line video games were expertly interspersed with interviews with German and British survivors of the 1939 battle. The storytelling was riveting. The history was topnotch, with the point well made that the flimsy British aircraft changed the face of naval warfare.

Dogfights is a program that young and old, history buff and video game lover can all enjoy. And you’ll actually be smarter at the end of it.

Click on the following link for a clip on the P-51, showing the outstanding computer generated graphics and animation: Dogfights: P-51 Mustang

Above: Screen shot of a dogfight animation from The History Channel.

[tags] The History Channel, Dogfights, warfare, TV, documentaries, animation, history [/tags]

technorati tags:dogfights, animation, TV, history, WWII, 451press, TVBloggin

The New York Times has weighed in on the Discovery Channel’s The Lost Tomb of Jesus:

Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

The claims were met with skepticism by several archaeologists, and outrage by some Christian leaders.

Excerpt:

In recent years, audiences have demonstrated a voracious appetite
for books, movies and magazines that reassess the life and times of Jesus, and there is already a book timed to coincide with this documentary, which will be on the air next Sunday.

“This is exploiting the whole trend that caught on with ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ � said Lawrence E. Stager, the Dorot professor of archaeology of Israel at Harvard, in a telephone interview. “One of the problems is there are so many biblically illiterate people around the world that they don’t know what is real judicious assessment and what is what some of us in the field call ‘fantastic archaeology.’ �

Professor Stager said he had not seen the film but was skeptical.

Mr. Cameron said he had been “trepidatious� about becoming involved in the project but got engaged out of “great passion for a good detective story,� not to offend and not to cash in.

[tags] The Lost Tomb of Jesus, James Cameron, Discovery Channel, Christianity, Jesus, religion [/tags]

technorati tags:Jesus, Cameron, Israel, tombs, ossuaries, Discovery, religion, Christianity, TV, 451Press, TVBloggin

Has The Discovery Channel discovered the bones of Jesus Christ!?

That’s what they want you to believe in The Lost Tomb of Jesus, airing on the cable network at 9 p.m. EDT/PDT, Sunday, March 4, 2007.

A tomb from Jesus’ era was discovered in Jerusalem in 1980, opened, cataloged, then, apparently, forgotten.

Think I’m kidding about all this? Here’s what Discovery says on its website about the program:

In the feature documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus a case is made that the 2,000-year-old “Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries” belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.

All leading epigraphers agree about the inscriptions. All archaeologists confirm the nature of the find. It comes down to a matter of statistics. A statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters (Discovery Channel/Vision Canada/C4 UK) concludes that the probability factor is 600 to 1 in favor of this tomb being the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.

“600 to 1 in favor” of the tomb being of the Jesus family. That’s pretty good odds. I’d take those on a Super Bowl winner bet.

If this is all true, it only completely changes the Bible and Christianity. Like:

• Jesus wasn’t a bachelor.
• Jesus didn’t blast off into heaven from the Mount of Olives on Easter. If he did, he came back to Earth.
• Jesus was a family man.
• Jesus married a prostitute.
• Jesus hung around after his resurrection.
• What else isn’t “correct” in the Bible?

Seems to me this ought to be much bigger news than it is–if true.

I’ll have a review of the program Sunday and let you know what I think of the evidence.

Above: Director Simcha Jacobovici entering the reopened tomb. Hollywood director James (”Titanic“) Cameron is also involved in the project. (Photo from The Discovery Channel)

technorati tags:cameron, jesus, religion, ossuaries, discovery, tombs, christianity, TV, documentaries, 451press

ABC is presenting The 79th Academy Awards as I write this post. And it is the same as it ever was.

Self-congratulatory.

Stiffly written.

Looking and feeling like a bad 1950s TV variety show, only in color not black and white. And with a lot less interesting acts.

Ellen DeGeneres is doing a fine job as host. In fact, she’s quite engaging.

It’s just that the people in Hollywood who make a living producing the most exciting, creative, and interesting entertainment on the face of the planet have once again forgotten what the room is.

The room, you ask?

Yes, the room.

There’s an old adage in politics (or at least since TV became important in politics) that the room is not the room, the room is TV. In other words, don’t set up your event to appeal to the people in the room but to the people who see what’s going on in the room on TV.

For example, Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean forgot this basic rule when he did “The Scream” after the New Hampshire primary loss in 2004.

“The Scream” worked in the room but cost Howard the nomination because it made him look like a nut on TV, which was the only room that really mattered.

And the Oscars are again forgetting that the room is the one billion people watching on TV across the world. And one billion people who plunk down their ten bucks for a ticket, buy over-priced popcorn, and then go buy the DVD six months later.

What do we have in the movies that Hollywood produces?

Plot.

Characters.

Special effects.

Excellent writing.

Emotion.

What do we have at the televised Oscars? At best, characters. Well dressed characters, but characters without much else but nice clothes. And maybe a couple of good one liners from Ellen DeGeneres. That’s about it. Oh, and lots of breaks, unlike a movie. Which is actually a good thing, so you can go to the bathroom, get something to eat, or check to see what else is on the 150 or so channels you have on your satellite or cable system. And be entertained.

Above: Photo is of Oscar’s host Ellen DeGeneres at the 2006 Emmy Awards accepting her award for best talk show.

technorati tags:oscars, tv, 451press, tvbloggin, degeneres

Seems like Ed Deline (The obviously great James Caan), the figurative and literal center of gravity of NBC’s Las Vegas has had less screen time and plots concerning him in recent episode, such as tonight’s “Bare Chested in the Park.” And there’s never enough of his wife, Jillian Deline (fellow South Dakotan and fabulous now-older babe Cheryl Ladd).

Maybe you watch for all the jiggle from the young women. Maybe you like the Las Vegas glitz and venues. Or maybe you just like an hour of mindless TV.

But James Caan was in the freakin Godfather, perhaps the greatest American movie ever made (In my book, it is up there with Citizen Kane and Apocalypse Now.) And he was freakin‘ Brian Piccolo in the first great made-for TV movie (and movie that makes tough men cry), Brian’s Song. Who cannot love a dying Chicago Bear who has HOFer Gale Sayers as a best friend? That’s right. No one can.

Caan has more presence on screen that about any other ten male actors combined. He’s a man’s man. The testosterone seeps into your TV in then into you. I want to go punch something after I watch Caan.

And Cheryl Ladd? She was a freakin‘ Charlie’s Angel, which, for better or worse, changed TV for ever. And did I mention she was a Charlie’s Angel? Major babage, and she comes across as the nicest damn person in that den of inequity called Las Vegas.

The others on the cast? Aren’t worthy enough to carry Jimmy Caan’s sweaty muscle shirt. They are boy and girls compared to The MAN and The WOMAN of Las Vegas, Caan and Ladd. They show the youngsters how it it done. Too bad there just isn’t more of them on the screen.

technorati tags:Caan, Ladd, NBC, dramas, TV, 451press, TVBloggin

Just a quick take:  Earl Hickey’s (Jason Lee) dad Carl  (Beau Bridges) gives a whole new meaning to “gerbilling”* in tonight’s episode, “Guess Who’s Coming Out of Joy,” of My Name Is Earl.

It is indeed “must watch TV!”

*No gerbils appeared to be hurt in the making of this episode.

technorati tags:TVBloggin, gerbils, 451press, earl, gerbilling, TV, NBC, comedies

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It is with trepidation that I criticize a sitting judge, even one that I am not likely ever to practice before. But in this lawyer’s opinion, Broward County (FL) Circuit Court Judge Larry Seidlin has conducted himself in a way that I have never experienced.

And that’s not a compliment.

Judge Seidlin is considering who to release the late actress Anna Nicole Smith’s body to for burial.

And why the legal review in a TV review site? Because most of the hearings have been televised and Judge Seidlin has made it a point to NOT forget the cameras are trained on him.

Let me give you a frame of reference. I have been actively practicing law for nearly ten years. I’m not the most experienced trial lawyer in America, but I’ve had my share of cases. I have conducted hearings or trials before federal district court judges in Kansas, South Dakota, and Michigan, state court judges in South Dakota and Kansas, before state supreme court justices in South Dakota, federal appeals court judges in the 8th Circuit in St. Paul, MN, and in the tribal courts of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux and Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribes.

I have never seen a judge in any of these courts act in such a way that Judge Seidlin has acted. While some judges and justices might appreciate the occasional crack by counsel or even make one themselves, they are very, very serious about what is going on in their courtroom. The courtroom is for justice, it is not the local Funny Bone comedy club.

I have never seen a judge try to make himself the focus of a case like Judge Seidlin has. I have never seen a judge treat such a serious issue–who shall bury a loved one–with a string of one liners.

In the O.J. Simpson murder case, Judge Ito lost control of his courtroom. Similarly, in the Anna Nicole Smith case, Judge Seidlin has decided to welcome the circus to town as its ringmaster, rather than giving the procedings the sobriety it deserves.

As you watch this spectacle on TV on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, and so on, remember, Judge Seidlin’s conduct in this hearing is NOT what you can expect in your own local state’s courts.

Most judges do not call counsel by nicknames, ala “Texas.” Judges to not tell long-winded stories that seem to have no point. Judges typically talk much less and listen much more. Their job is to hear from the litigants, ask questions that probe their theories and the facts, and then make a reasoned decision based on the law and facts.

Frankly, in my opinion, Judge Seidlin might have better handled this case by asking for briefs–long written submissions based on the law, facts, and affidavits–than by conducting such an extensive hearing.

But that wouldn’t put Judge Seidlin on TV.

Also as a former journalist, I have long believed that there should be cameras in courtrooms. Just like Congress and legislatures, the citizens have a right to know if justice is being done. But like Judge Ito, Judge Seidlin is making the case that maybe they should not be allowed. The cameras should simply show what is happening, not be the reason for what is happening.

Justice is not a circus, it is a deliberate, thoughtful, and careful search for the truth, with results that have incredible impact on people’s lives. Too bad we are not witnessing that in Judge Seidlin’s courtroom through the “miracle” of TV.

Why anyone watches the train wreck called American Idol is beyond me. The Fox show represents everything wrong with America and TV–celebrity for the sake of celebrity, no self-awareness, vanity, greed, and the belittling of others–and that’s just the judges.

It is mean-spirited, exploitive, and appealing to the lowest common denominator. And those are its good points.

But back in the 1970s, there was a similar show that turn all this on its head–The Gong Show.

Starting with the host, Chuck Barris, you had an absolute nut of a human being as a host. If Idol’s Ryan Seacrest is vanilla, then Chuck was rocky road with acid sprinkled on top. From his constant clapping after making statements about the contestants (which the crowd would mock, in unison) to his silly hats, to his naughty-boy ways of encouraging an already raucous group of judges, Chuck Barris was as entertaining as anything else on the show.

And while you wondered who and what some of the judges were and why they were there, they didn’t take their jobs–or themselves–too seriously. And if there was a contestant with true talent–usually the exception rather than the rule–they recognized it.

Like Idol, The Gong Show also had some hideously bad acts. Stinkeroos. But unlike Idol, everyone was in on the joke, including the “talent.” While judge Jaye P. Morgan might rip a humming through your nose contestant for having no talent and no clue, it was obvious that everyone was in on the joke. The contestants who were bad know they were there because they were bad.

Unlike Idol, The Gong Show was a freak show that knew it was a freak show. Plus it “gonged” off the really bad contestants. To be “gonged” is still used in our American lexicon for someone who was really bad and told to hang it up.

Plus, how could you not like a show that had Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine (an alleged member of the crew) doing some funky slow dance that brought the house down each show. I’ll take that over Paula Abdul’s blathering stupidity, Simon Cowell’s snooty Brit act, and Randy Jackson’s false bon homie any day.

Boil it all down? American Idol–Takes itself much, much too seriously. The Gong Show–Didn’t take anything seriously.

The Gong Show had something that American Idol has always lacked–humanity.

Above: The Gong Show’s Chuck Barris with the show’s most deadly weapon–the gong.

technorati tags:Gonged, barris, American, Idol, seacrest, cowell, abdul, Fox, reality, gameshows

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Just a quick take: Did anyone else think the whole fake baby subplot tonight (2/19/07) on NBC’s Studio 60 was pretty funny? Loved the guillotine!

technorati tags:Studio60, NBC, 451press, guillotine

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For all you die hard CSI fans out there, there is now an official CBS wiki site with more than you’d ever want to know about your favorite crime solvers. See CSI Wiki at csiwiki.cbs.com.

I’ve been invited to participate as a contributor to the site but haven’t decided yet. A., I have plenty of free writing gigs already and B., I only really watch CSI (you know, the original one where Marg Helgenberger’s lips look like they might deflate at any moment), don’t really care for CSI: Miami (see my review below) and seldom watch CSI: NY. But we’ll see.

Anyway, crack it open, root around in its guts, take out its brain, run a DNA sample, finger print it, see how far along the maggots are, then report back here about your experience.

technorati tags:CSI, CBS, wikis, dramas, TV, 451press

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