Boston.com -- TV news

Vicki Kennedy says she has no Senate plans

2009-11-25T16:41:45Z

Vicki Kennedy tells Oprah Winfrey that she will never run for the seat in the U.S. Senate that was held by her husband for nearly a half century.

Donny Osmond wins `Dancing with the Stars'

2009-11-25T15:00:52Z

Donny Osmond was declared the new champion of "Dancing with Stars" on Tuesday night, taking home the show's mirror ball trophy in the season finale of the ABC contest reality program.

Fox releases January return dates for 'Idol,' '24'

Frazier Moore, AP Television Writer — 2009-11-25T14:50:57Z

Fox network is unveiling big plans for January. They include bringing back "American Idol" with a two-night season premiere Jan. 12 and 13.

Disney names new head of worldwide channels

2009-11-25T14:11:40Z

Walt Disney Co. has named Carolina Lightcap as president of Disney Channels Worldwide. She replaces Rich Ross, who was promoted to serve as the company's movie studios chairman in October.

Lambert says he got carried away, but not sorry

David Bauder, AP Television Writer — 2009-11-25T12:55:37Z

Adam Lambert admits he got carried away with his sexually charged American Music Awards performance, but he's offering no apology.

Nielsen's top 20 prime-time programs

The Associated Press — 2009-11-25T01:31:50Z

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Co. for Nov. 16-22. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.

Regular series key Nielsen win for CBS

David Bauder, AP Television Writer — 2009-11-25T01:21:51Z

CBS flexed its strength in scripted series to sail to the top of the weekly television standings.

Fox releases January return dates for 'Idol,' '24'

Frazier Moore, AP Television Writer — 2009-11-25T00:30:53Z

Fox network is unveiling big plans for January. They include bringing back "American Idol" with a two-night season premiere Jan. 12 and 13.

Italian group asks MTV to cancel 'Jersey Shore'

2009-11-24T20:21:54Z

A national Italian-American organization based in New Jersey says an MTV reality show that depicts Italian-American beachgoers as the "hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos" is offensive and should be scrapped before it airs.

ABC's `Good Morning America' cancels Lambert

David Bauder, AP Television Writer — 2009-11-24T19:10:50Z

ABC's "Good Morning America" is saying "no thanks" to Adam Lambert. The morning show canceled the glam rocker's scheduled performance on Wednesday's show because of Lambert's racy appearance on the "American Music Awards" on Sunday night. ABC said it doesn't think Lambert's performance would be appropriate for a morning audience.

Viewers at the mercy of pop-up promos

Frazier Moore, Associated Press — 2009-11-24T18:15:23Z

NEW YORK - Somewhere in the universe of TV viewers, there’s got to be a person who actually likes those pop-up, on-screen promotions.

On-demand picks

2009-11-24T18:14:44Z

BRONCO BILLY (Encore on Comcast ) Clint Eastwood fashions a most entertaining film from the fabric of a modern day, flea-bitten Wild West Show. Sondra Locke (above, with Eastwood) and Scatman Crothers head a terrific supporting cast. One thing’s for sure, ole Clint would never give us any mechanical bull. (PG; runs through Dec. 24)

Critic’s corner

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-24T18:13:55Z

Glee 9 p.m., Channel 25 This show is fun. A little twisted (Stephen Tobolowsky’s former glee club leader), a little absurd (Will Schuester being unaware his wife is not pregnant), a little overproduced and poorly lip-synched (all the songs), a little redundant when it comes to plot development, and a little uneven in overall quality from episode to episode. But ...

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2009-11-24T18:13:55Z

Daily guide

2009-11-24T18:13:15Z

ON BOSTON.COM Chat at noon with Tony Massarotti on sports. Chat at 1 p.m. with Meredith Goldstein on love and romance.

Television: Two standards, or too racy?

2009-11-24T03:00:05Z

The openly gay entertainer Adam Lambert is complaining that ABC edited his American Music Awards performance to scale back some of the raunchy simulated sex and bondage with his backup singers. He says female entertainers are allowed to be more explicit. That may be true, as Madonna and Britney can attest, but they and Lambert could use the same lesson: There's beauty in restraint.

On Demand picks

2009-11-24T01:20:49Z

SUNSHINE CLEANING ( Comcast Movies and Events) Not the comedy it’s being marketed as but a moody, intelligent, fairly pedestrian drama about blue-collar sisters who go into the crime-scene cleaning business. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are very good in the leads. The movie’s about the grace needed to get past life’s bruised expectations. (R; runs through Dec. 23) TY ...

Daily guide

2009-11-24T01:20:01Z

ON BOSTON.COM Chat at noon with the Job Doc. ON CHRONICLE Kendall Square 7:30 p.m. WCVB-TV (Channel 5) Anthony Everett circles the square, with an inside look at Microsoft’s New England Research & Development Center, a visit to the kitschy Friendly Toast, and a shopping trip to the Garment District and its dollar a pound clothing special.

Critic’s corner

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-24T01:19:41Z

Frontline 9 p.m., Channel 2 Most of us - or those of us who didn’t study economics - are pretty confused about the rules and fees attached to our credit cards. Tonight’s episode tries to untie the knot a bit, looking closely at the credit card industry as it faces public anger, new regulations, and the recession.

Extra, extra credit

Mark Feeney, Globe Staff — 2009-11-24T01:08:49Z

There are 100,000 credit card transactions per minute in the United States, and Americans carry nearly $1 trillion in credit card debt. Plastic has become as much a part of the American way as Mom, apple pie, and the flag. At least two of those items you can purchase with a credit card.

Who’s lining up to fill Oprah’s shoes - or her time slot?

David Bauder, Associated Press — 2009-11-23T02:20:04Z

NEW YORK - Will it be Ellen DeGeneres, Dr. Phil, or Dr. Oz? Maybe none of the above. The announced shutdown of “The Oprah Winfrey Show’’ in two years creates room for a new queen (or king) of daytime television.

On demand picks

2009-11-23T01:42:06Z

MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS (Encore on Comcast ) Richard Dreyfuss (above), as an American Mr. Chips, spending decades on the job as a high-school music teacher after first thinking it only a temporary gig, carries this feel-good teacher movie past heavy-handedness and sentimentality. We care because we’re always convinced he cares. (PG; runs through Dec. 17)

Hamm has their Emmy vote

2009-11-23T01:41:39Z

The Globe’s Joanna Weiss and Matthew Gilbert chatted about TV with readers last Thursday on Boston.com. Here are excerpts.

Daily guide

2009-11-23T01:39:44Z

ON NECN CEO Corner 8:30 p.m. Wireless Zone COO Mark Asnes talks about the hot smart phone and cellphone market.

Critic's corner

Matthew Gilbert — 2009-11-23T01:39:24Z

The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination 9 p.m., National Geographic The assassination of President John F. Kennedy, on Nov. 22, 1963, gets a compelling re-telling tonight. Nowadays, with cable news channels and cellphone cameras, we get to watch every big news event unfold minute-by-minute, in an insane amount of detail. We’re all Zapruders. This two-hour documentary goes back and assembles ...

Wild things

2009-11-23T01:19:23Z

We know Animal Planet host Jeff Corwin is brave. We’ve watched him tangle with poisonous snakes and have his boat knocked around by hippos. We also know he’s eminently entertaining. After all that world traveling and success, Corwin still remembers his roots. Born and raised in Norwell, the conservationist returns to support the local science center there that he inspired. ...

Critic’s Corner

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-22T05:00:00Z

2009 American Music Awards 8 p.m., Channel 5 The 37th annual event will air live from Los Angeles. Scheduled performers include Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Alicia Keys (above), Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jennifer Lopez, and Adam Lambert.

Late TV Listings

2009-11-22T04:21:01Z

State of the Union With John King. Topics: health care debate; Afghanistan; Khalid Sheikh. Guests: Senator Mitch McConnell, minority leader; Democratic strategist James Carville; Republican strategist Mary Matalin. 9 a.m. (CNN)

As Oprah heads to cable, will her golden touch go with her?

Johnny Diaz and Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff — 2009-11-21T04:40:08Z

There is no way to overstate the influence of Oprah on the life of 49-year-old Barbara Moulton of Boston.

Fine state of comedy

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-21T02:20:49Z

Massachusetts is a funny place. Or at least a lot of people originally from the state are currently at the forefront of TV comedy, including Conan O’Brien, Amy Poehler, and “Office’’ workers such as Steve Carell. Also on the list: Robert Carlock, executive producer and writer of “30 Rock,’’ who grew up in Weston and graduated from Harvard. I spoke ...

The merciful end of ‘Jon & Kate’

Frazier Moore, Associated Press — 2009-11-20T17:24:49Z

NEW YORK - You might say our national nightmare is over. Or is it just a TV series?

On Demand picks

2009-11-20T17:24:24Z

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (Encore on Comcast ) Rob Reiner’s loving pictorialization of William Goldman’s modern fairytale classic, a sort of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’’ meet the Grimm Brothers. Without the book’s 2000-Year-Old Man narrative voice, the film sometimes flattens out, but parents will relish taking their children to its wryly affectionate view of swashbuckling preposterousness. (PG; runs through ...

Critic’s corner

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-20T17:23:36Z

Saturday Night Live 11:30 p.m., Channel 7 Last week’s episode was a bummer, and not because the writing was so weak. I really expected January Jones to surprise the world with comic chops she’d been keeping hidden on “Mad Men.’’ Boy, was I wrong. She was so half-hearted about performing in the sketches, I felt sad for her. Tonight has ...

Daily guide

2009-11-20T17:22:00Z

RADIO HIGHLIGHTS Member Concert 6 a.m. WUMB-FM (91.9) Rachel Bissex, Patti Casey, and Louise Taylor from April 2003.

Oprah's departure presents problem for TV stations

Caryn Rousseau and Ryan Nakashima, Associated Press Writers — 2009-11-20T05:22:17Z

For more than two decades, Oprah Winfrey has been the inspirational, change-your-life champion who reigned over daytime television much like Johnny Carson once ruled late night.

Palin leads her own charge into the reality spotlight

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T17:58:06Z

This week’s Sarah Palin TV tour has been like “Jon & Kate & Sarah & Todd & Bristol & Levi Plus Kids.’’ A 2012 presidential candidacy may not be on Palin’s “radar screen right now,’’ as she told both Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters in separate interviews, but her desire to remain a free-floating reality star on the American stage ...

Broadening horizons

Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T17:46:51Z

The Syfy cable network, formerly known as SciFi, drew its best October prime-time ratings in network history last month, fueled by shows like “Stargate Universe,’’ “Sanctuary,’’ and “Ghost Hunters,’’ and by its new identity as a home for “imagination-based entertainment.’’ We spoke to the network’s vice president and creative director, Michael Engleman - a Newton native and Tufts University graduate ...

He won’t give up his radio station’s independence

Tom Keyser, Albany Times Union — 2009-11-19T17:28:27Z

MANCHESTER, Vt. - It starts with a phone call or certified letter from an independent agent, or a station broker or a company executive. And it’s directed to Brooks Brown.

On Demand picks

2009-11-19T17:27:51Z

THE CLASS ( Comcast Movies and Events) In Laurent Cantet’s improvised drama, we are plunked into a Paris public school that has spun beyond control. Not in the way Hollywood has conditioned us to recognize, but from within. Over the course of a school year, we see how the school system disserves education and greatly enables it. In French, with ...

Critic’s corner

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T17:27:00Z

Happily Ever Faster 10 p.m., TLC Most of the wedding shows on TV - and there are many of them - support the whole blow-many-thousands-of-dollars-on-a-spectacle model. But this new reality series tracks the goings on at a Las Vegas wedding chapel, which probably means a lot less money - and a lot more day-glo rice - gets thrown around. The ...

Daily guide

2009-11-19T17:26:20Z

ON CHRONICLE Main Streets, Back Roads/Upper Connecticut River Valley 7:30 p.m. WCVB-TV (Channel 5) Tonight, Mary Richardson motors to the spot where Vermont and New Hampshire meet and makes some interesting finds in the towns of White River Junction, Lebanon, and Quechee. Plus, she soars on a hang glider built for two, finds fresh seafood three hours from the coast, ...

TV host Jeff Corwin is on quest to save nature’s beauty

Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent — 2009-11-19T05:13:44Z

Jeff Corwin has reported on wildlife and conservation issues from all over the world, but his message to local audiences is to get to know what’s going on in the environmental mini-zone outside your door.

Leaning to the left, and hoping to be heard

Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff — 2009-11-19T04:08:20Z

Jeff Santos is on an ambitious mission: For the past year, he has been building Boston’s only progressive radio talk show station.

On Demand picks

2009-11-18T16:53:38Z

WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE (Encore on Comcast ) More ambitious than the usual Hollywood biopic, and filled with snazzy musical numbers, this easy-to-take film nevertheless misses getting under the skin of single-hit doo-wop sensation Frankie Lymon as it tells the story from the vantage points of the three women claiming to be his widow, all wanting the royalties ...

Daily guide

2009-11-18T16:52:47Z

ON BOSTON.COM Chat at 11 a.m. with Courtney Hollands on upcoming events in Boston. Chat at 2 p.m. with Peter Hotton on home repair.

Critic’s corner

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-18T16:52:21Z

Grey’s Anatomy 9 p.m., Channel 5 It has been interesting watching “The Wire’’ cast show up - and, alas, not show up - on other TV series. A partial list of those we’ve seen includes Sonja Sohn (Kima) on “Brothers & Sisters,’’ Seth Gilliam (Carver) on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,’’ Michael K. Williams (Omar) on “The Philanthropist,’’ Tristan Wilds ...

Eric Mabius says a lot about his career and a little about fashion

Christopher Muther, Globe Staff — 2009-11-18T16:46:51Z

NORTHAMPTON - Over the course of a brilliantly sunny Saturday - the kind of day when the sky appears even more cerulean than usual thanks to vivid yellow and scarlet leaves that stubbornly cling to branches - it becomes very clear that Eric Mabius has a tendency to overextend himself.

Gentlemen, chill in style

Christopher Muther, Globe Staff — 2009-11-18T16:45:53Z

SOFT POWER: “Statement sweaters are huge,’’ says Emmi Sorokin, a men’s image consultant from It’s a Man’s World in Boston. “They’re almost like the new sports coat. Particularly sweaters with hardware or toggles.’’

Father of inventions

Joan Anderman, Globe Staff — 2009-11-18T16:39:03Z

Dean Kamen is known as the brainiac who invented the Segway transporter, the iBOT all-terrain wheelchair, the first insulin pump, and countless other ground-breaking devices. He’s less famous for founding FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an annual robotics competition for students. A recent telephone chat with the New Hampshire inventor and entrepreneur suggests that Kamen’s passion ...

CBS looks to combat Sawyer’s debut

David Bauder, Associated Press — 2009-11-17T18:29:38Z

NEW YORK - CBS News is planning an ambitious turn-of-the-decade look at the United States’ position in the world that’s also designed as an opening competitive shot at Diane Sawyer.

A TV guide that tells you what’s really on

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-11-14T18:23:37Z

What if some of TV’s networks and cable channels promoted themselves as they really are? What if there were - hang on to your hats - truth in advertising? Their names, slogans, and mission descriptions might look something like this:

PBS can market its kids shows without selling out

Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff — 2009-11-14T18:22:46Z

I’m ready for my Ruff Ruffman T-shirt. And my Ruff Ruffman backpack. And maybe a Ruff Ruffman flea collar, just for show. I want Ruff consumer-product overload.

Mobbed by fans -- in a good way

Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein — 2009-11-09T01:50:47Z

After spending Friday afternoon at the Globe chatting with fans on Boston.com, Newton-bred actor John Krasinski stopped by Brookline Booksmith on Saturday to read excerpts from David Foster Wallace ’s “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men,’’ on which Krasinski’s new movie (his directorial debut) is based. Krasinski’s audience was a giggling group of mostly female followers, some of whom arrived three ...

Neighborhood watch

Joseph P. Kahn, Globe Staff — 2009-11-06T18:46:20Z

The toddler who showed up Halloween night in an Elmo costume (brought to our house by the letter H?) knew none of the history behind that furry red suit. “C-c-c-candy!’’ he chirped, reaching for the treat bowl. He was hardly the only pint-sized Elmo roaming the streets, though, one testament to the cuddly Muppet’s 25-year staying power.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Wesley Morris, Globe Staff — 2009-11-05T18:34:58Z

In reading David Foster Wallace’s “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men,’’ it may never have crossed your mind that his assault on a particular type of gender politics would make a cute little movie. That’s because it wouldn’t. John Krasinski, that nice guy from “The Office,’’ didn’t seem to notice. He’s strip-mined Wallace’s 10-year-old story collection, which sought to castigate the ...

Brothers & sisters

Christopher Muther, Globe Staff — 2009-09-28T20:52:20Z

The television shows that debuted in the fall of 1969 were an ambitious lot that reflected growing demand for sophistication and a changing appetite for smarter scripts. Among the fresh offerings were “The New People,’’ which followed a group of plane crash survivors setting up a utopian society on a deserted island; “My World . . . and Welcome to ...

What’s on? Reruns.

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-09-21T04:29:10Z

One thing you can safely say about Emmy voters: They’re consistent. Mind-numbingly consistent. The lineup of winners on last night’s Emmy Awards telecast was nearly a copy-and-paste job of last year’s list. Again, “Mad Men’’ was best drama, “30 Rock’’ was best comedy, Bryan Cranston was best dramatic actor, Glenn Close was best dramatic actress, and Alec Baldwin was best ...

New season provides little escape, but lots of compelling drama

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-09-06T00:15:49Z

The notion that prime-time TV is a haven for escapists is only becoming more dated with each passing season.

Best to worst

Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff — 2009-09-05T16:49:17Z

LOVE ’EM “Modern Family’’ “V’’