Everything's Up To Date in Oklahoma!

If you didn't see it in London or you didn't catch it on Broadway, thank goodness PBS brings the acclaimed newest incarnation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! to us tonight, beginning at 7pm. This Great Performances presentation reaches us with the multi-talented Hugh Jackman's turn as Curly intact, and that just might be enough to attract some atypical musical viewers to the party. Jackman has a legion of fans for his Wolverine in the two X-Men movies, and if there's some mysterious and unlikely place in the universe where science fiction and musical theatre intersect, Hugh Jackman would seem to be the locus point. You could hardly find a more charismatic or appealingly masculine performer to act as poster boy for the art form, and if he and the rest of the lauded cast don't help PBS cast a wide and successful net with this wonderful show, then abandon all hope.

Oklahoma! airs tonight on PBS under the Great Performances aegis, beginning at 7pm (check your local outlet to be sure) and repeating tomorrow in the afternoon on many stations. Be sure to visit the PBS website for a concise primer on the show and links to sources with more detailed info.

 
Tonight's Most Uncomfortable Moment: David Brent on The Office

Despite all the media attention given lately to BBC America's comedy darling The Office, it's possible some people have never watched it, perish the thought. If so, they missed one of the most comically bleak half-hours I've ever seen, the last episode of Season Two, which encores tonight at 9pm and again at midnight. Ouch, this one's so right on it hurts. Fans of the show know and delight in the complete assholiness of boss David Brent as played by creator Ricky Gervais, who, like many gifted comic actors, can also skillfully define a moment that's far from funny. He's devastating in tonight's episode, the comedy mixed with desolation and mortification that will wipe the smile from your face, but quick. Even when American sitcoms try hard to be relevant or real, they're still fairly phony, but Gervais has managed to create something that touches a usually untouchable nerve. Untouchable because it's almost unbearable to watch, but don't you miss it. (Season Two will begin repeats this coming Sunday night in case you need to catch up.)

Following The Office tonight is a hidden camera that's been running for a while on BBCA, and it's one of the few shows of that genre that I can't watch. Three Non-Blondes features a trio of sassy beautiful, black and British ladies going around the streets creating mayhem, but I sure haven't found any of it funny at all. They're no doubt acting funny, but that doesn't make the show very amusing. It comes off as mostly annoying and strange, and though it deserves a chance, every time I look at it I'm more convinced it's just not that good. Manchild which airs at 10:20p is another story; check out my blog from 4/13 for a complete rundown of its many charms. On Saturday night, catch a troupe of talented British impressionists on Dead Ringers, in two episodes which run at 11p and 11:30p. Some/many of the British cultural and political references may fly over the heads of most Americans, but as a study in contrast vs. U.S. skit comedy skeins like SNL and MAD TV, it's worth a look, at least.

Also don't miss Joan of Arcadia tonight at 8pm on CBS. The show continues to be a very pleasing hour of TV, even for skeptics and cynics, though if you check out message boards devoted to the show there are an awful lot of religious folks in the fanbase. Don't let this put you off (as it would me); the show is humane and more complex than you'd expect, with uniformly terrific performances from young and older alike. Definitely a winner all around, including in the ratings, praise the...uh, whatever.


Visit BBC America's elaborate The Office website for more info on this scathing satire.

 
If Michael Jackson is Your Must-See TV, Go To Court

Fate -- and Michael Jackson's unending weird proclivities -- would seem to have dropped an early yule gift into the laps of sweeps-crazed TV networks, giving them a week to cobble together last-minute specials to take advantage of current creepy news events. While CBS has cancelled the already-scheduled strictly entertainment special -- Michael Jackson's Number Ones (ew...bad images from that title!) -- that it was going to run next week, other networks are expected to rush Jackson material into various newsmagazines. VH1, in its grand journalistic tradition, will present an hour special, VH1 News: Michael Jackson Sex Scandal, next Sunday night at 10pm, then repeat the Martin Bashir documentary that many of us saw last February, when Michael was merely good ratings fodder, and not a potential perp.

My suggestion, in this sordid time, is to head over to Court TV tonight, and take a look at their 8pm Hollywood Justice program, which will focus on Jackson, and then stick around for Hollywood At Large, which promises to present ace reporter Diane Dimond's unique and informed point of view on the subject. Ms. Dimond has been covering Jackson's various legal scuffles for more than a decade, and this gal knows what's what. Expect her report to be concise, fascinating, and devoid of any ratings-hysteria hype, which in itself will distinguish it from the rest of the pack. Oh, and intelligent...if you're sick of the ninnies, talking air-heads and journo-stars battling for face time on the other outlets, Court TV's insistence on substance will astound and delight you.

But let's be honest, not too many viewers are going to opt out of network programming tonight at 8pm, what with a crowded pop-culturist's dream line-up of a The Bachelor post-mortem on ABC, Friends on NBC, and Survivor on CBS. Lucky for you, you can catch Court's Hollywood Justice and Hollywood At Large in their 12am - 1am encore slot; you'll see the rest, don't miss the best.

Favored programming line-up for the evening: Court TV from 8p - 9pm, then switch over to ABC for Peter Jennings Reporting, a special two-hours on the latest findings regarding the JFK assassination, forty years past this coming Saturday. Some may say that the subject has worn out its welcome, but I say it's still a nation-shattering event with all the elements of a grand mystery, a mystery that continues to mesmerize many of us. I don't see a repeat of this on the schedule, so be sure to catch it while you can.


If you feel like doing a little reading up, visit Court TV's Hollywood Justice site, and don't miss the links on the right side which lead you to interesting background information on the Jackson scandal. Particularly pertinent is the essay by Court's Lisa Bloom on MJ's previous related misdeeds.

 
Watching This Wednesday

In my eternal quest to see something beat down Law & Order, I'm forced to recommend ABC's final episode of the current skein of The Bachelor, airing from 9 - 11pm. I'd rather scratch my own eyes out than watch it, but anything to kick L&O's ass, I say. It's doubtful The Bachelor will beat NBC, but with a two-hour assault there's a real chance.

Though it's gotten a full season order and numbers are slightly improving, UPN's Jake 2.0 looks like it will once gain take it in the geek 'nads tonight at 9pm; it's been preempted next Wednesday, btw. At the very least, record an episode and take a look. Jake 2.0 can proudly take a place alongside TV's other ultra-exciting spy adventure ABC's Alias, which, despite all the hype and critical huzzahs, still doesn't get the ratings it warrants. Who would have thought that we've gotten to a point where being exciting is a liability, and methodical droning wins the race? Anyway, if you're in the mood for a pity watch, give Jake a chance.

Wednesday night is pure mayhem, with both WB and UPN battling it out for the hearts and eyes of science fiction/fantasy/action/adventure viewers -- Smallville vs. Enterprise, Angel vs. Jake 2.0 -- and it's a damn shame that genre lovers find the best shows locked in combat. I suppose sitcom watchers are facing somewhat the same dilemma -- choosing between ABC's and Fox's comedy line-up -- but the stakes aren't quite the same. The WB and UPN, still struggling as networks, still very much working at establishing themselves as viable programming entities, are courting viewers who are usually shut out of network TV choices. I hate to see anything daring, enjoyable, or unusual bite the dust, but at least WB has managed to find a loyal audience for its shows, though UPN continues to struggle with its tragically under-watched line-up.

Tonight will be tough on everybody at 9pm, with NBC's The West Wing sure to get hammered, Fox's stylish soap The O.C. the same, and CBS's comedy duo surely no competition for The Bachelor's mighty climax. And at 10pm, CBS' The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show? Geez, guys...rent some porn, would ya? It'll get the job done quicker, with no annoying commercials. If TVSFS is the best thing you can find to masturbate to, you need to get out more....

 
CBS' Cold Case Ripped Off From Canada's Cold Squad? Well, Duh...

Although I suppose it's conceivable that big-shot Los Angeles TV producers and writers might be unaware of successful programs airing in other countries, it looks to me like CBS has a lot of 'splaining to do when it comes to one of their better-received shows this year, Sunday night's Cold Case. As I pointed out in my preview to the show (scroll down to Cold Case), the concept is identical to CTV's Cold Squad, which has been airing up North since 1998 and is a heck of a good show. Though I can't imagine what took them so long, the creators of the Canadian show have retained lawyers to investigate the genesis of the CBS hit, and it would appear they smell a bit of rat.

In today's TV's world when producers and networks freely lift and separate programming concepts from the world over -- we have Britain to thank for many of our reality series, and the Dutch for Big Brother (yeah, thanks a lot...) -- it seems unlikely that nobody knew about the critically-acclaimed audience favorite Cold Squad. There have been attempts to bring Cold Squad to U.S. TV screens; it has/had a U.S. syndicator and was pitched to me while I was at TNT. While the show was quite good, nobody but a severe optimist with little to lose can afford to take a chance on a Canadian drama import. Americans like to watch American TV, and that's why Cold Squad hasn't been a fixture at any U.S. cable network, though it would be a great fit for someplace like A&E or Trio...especially now.

Belated congrats to the Canadian whistle-blower who dared to ask the Cold Case panel at the TV Critic's Fall Preview about the show's similarity to Cold Squad. Nobody expects interesting and original concepts to spring full grown from Hollywood's forehead all the time, and maybe there truly are no new ideas left anymore. And of course, the notion of a "cold case squad" existed in the world of law enforcement long before it hit anybody's TV screen, but anybody with a computer and a Google search box could rustle up references to the CTV show with very little difficulty. That's called doing your homework. All this being said, Cold Case is one of the more intelligent and riveting of the new dramas this year; after all, it was a proven winner already.

 
The Reagans Gets November Showtime Airdate

If you're dying to see this CBS refugee, tune into Showtime on Sunday 11/30 at 8pm, for the premiere. Although initial reports indicated an airdate early next year, Showtime's doing a smart thing by rushing The Reagans onto the air before the hoopla dies down and the controversy is long-forgotten. Let's also hope the movie hasn't been edited; the weirder the better is the way we should be seeing it.

 
Gore's Got a Good Idea, But...

The only problem with Al Gore's idea to create, to quote Daily Variety, a " European-style news channel skewed to the 20s and 30s crowd, and not the baby boomers considered the key news demo in this country. There would be newsmags, documentaries, chat shows and field reports..." is that he's going after a news network that's already doing a wonderful job. Gore and his troupe of backers are negotiating to purchase low-profile Newsworld International, NWI, formerly part of the USA cable family, but now off by itself after the NBC/Universal merger deal.

If you've never seen NWI -- and you may not have, unless you're a DirecTV satellite subscriber or are lucky enough to have your cable company carry it -- you're missing the most rational, well-informed, internationally-aware and blissfully devoid of plastic bobble-head anchorpeople news service out there. Originally a CBC channel (along with Trio), it was sold to the USA group a couple of years ago, and it retains, to its credit, a Canadian flavor and a great deal of Canadian content; if you're used to the bombast, bullshit and ego that fuels a lot of U.S. cable news coverage, the contrast is refreshing. In addition to several north-of-the-border newscasts and newsmagazines, NWI also is basically the only source around for regularly-scheduled news from countries like Germany and Japan (unless you live in a heavily internationally-populated city, where you might find some on the air), in additional to a slew of programs with onmibus content covering the entire globe. The only other channel that approaches the breadth, depth and just plain you're-never-going-to-see-this-on-Fox-ness of NWI is the unusual, decidedly alternative and fascinating WorldLink TV network, available on DirecTV and also on Dish Network.

But back to Gore's go at NWI. You've got to wish him luck with this ambitious endeavor, but even if the deal goes through, let's hope that they don't jettison everything that's amazing and intelligent about NWI and replace it with some kind of mojo-ized news for the kiddies. Information is information, and there's a lot that's terrific on NWI now. Early reports on the proposed channel characterized it as taking more of an idealogical stance vs. what you're getting on a right-leaning news outlet like Fox, and if that's still a part of the deal, perhaps there are some cable news workers veterans there who might relish a chance to work in that environment. Maybe...but in any case, it won't be easy to attract an elusive demographic which hasn't heretofore demonstrated much interest in news. Of course, some of that will come with age, and paying taxes, and having children and then wondering what the hell your leaders are doing to the country with your money. Let's hope that if this new channel is indeed coming, it gets here soon enough to save the young-uns from having to turn to what's out there now. Would even a slight liberal-leaning TV network be able to buck the system and prosper? Will young men watch news for something other than sports scores? Stay tuned!