Reader David Jackson has taken us to task for reporting that Conan O'Brien willingly wasted NBC's money in the final wee of his show by spending it on frivolous skits. For the record, it was quite apparent that most of his claims were indeed obviously jokes (no one believed he spent millions just to set up a sight gag). However, a couple of "expenses" were reported in the mainstream media as being legitimate, such as paying extravagant licensing costs to play Beatles music. Turns out even that was bogus, we're happy to say. Mr. Jackson points out that NBC has disputed O'Brien's claims that any segment of his show went beyond the normal budget. We're quite glad to hear that. We've always liked O'Brien and feel he was treated badly in the NBC debacle. Our biggest beef was having him ask viewers to donate to Haiti relief while he may have been wasting large sums of money to spite NBC. So we're setting the record straight- Conan is a good guy after all!  For more click here- Lee Pfeiffer

With Conan O'Brien on the brink of walking from NBC (albeit with a $30-$40 million pay off), Jay Leno got serious last night and told his audience about the behind-the-scenes drama at the network that will surely go down as one of the great debacles in the history of broadcast television. By forcing top-rated Leno from The Tonight Show and elevating O'Brien to host that show, NBC sowed the seeds for massive ratings drops for both men. Leno told his audience that he never thought the experiment of putting a new show for him in prime time would work, but he went along with the plan anyway. It now appears that Leno will revert back to being host of The Tonight Show, with O'Brien not only paused to compete with him on another network, but to have been paid millions of dollars by NBC to do so...Click here to watch a clip from Leno's discussion. 

The problem with new technology is that the latest products mirror the experience of people who bought leisure suits in the 1970s- by the time you got it home and unwrapped, its already outdated. Sony, Discovery Channel and Imax have all formed an alliance to introduce the next generation of televisions, which will allow consumers to enjoy 3-D technology in their living rooms. The innovation is coming faster than you think - sets will be ready for purchase as early as 2011, though its expected that the technology will take years before it becomes mainstream and affordable. The alliance allows each company to bring a unique method of marketing to the venture. If successful, you can finally watch Bwana Devil in your home in the format in which it demands to be seen! For more click here 

There is a real possibility that free TV may become a relic of the past. Since the inception of television, the business model has relied on a tried-and-true formula: the networks broadcast for free and make their profits from advertising revenues. However, viewership of the major American networks is in free-fall, as audiences increasingly turn to the web and home entertainment devices to seek programming. Consequently, the four major networks - ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox- are considering revamping their business structure and turning to cable TV for revenues. Cable has maintained its profit base because it benefits not only from advertisers, but also from the subscription fees charged to customers. (Remember those quaint days when people actually thought that by paying for TV, they would not have commercials to contend with?) Fox head honcho Rupert Murdoch has been up-front about the fact that his network is seeking to make up for lost profits by charging cable and satellite systems increased fees to carry programming. This has already resulted in a war for public opinion with Time Warner cable systems, which initially refused to pay the increased fee. (A compromise for undisclosed terms has since been reached) Ultimately, it would  appear as though this will become a common issue in the near future as the four major networks, desperate to increase revenue, try to collect higher fees from cable TV companies. Another cable giant, Cablevision, has dropped the Food Network and Home and Gardens due to rate disputes with the networks. The question is: will cash-strapped consumers, who already pay hefty subscription fees, be inclined to accept increased costs to preserve networks they have already been receiving? Industry analysts say that free TV may cease entirely in the the major networks decide to operate as cable TV providers- something one network is apparently already considering. For more click here

A German collector and film restoration expert has gone where no man has gone before and managed to find a long-lost missing pilot episode from Star Trek titled, well, Where No Man Has Gone Before. The first pilot for the series, titled The Cage, starred Jeffrey Hunter and was rejected by NBC, which commissioned this second pilot episode starring William Shatner. Unsurprisingly, the second pilot had plenty of differences compared to the actual series that followed. The collector, Thomas Booch, located a print on 16mm in 1989 that was being sold through the old Big Reel newspaper.  Twenty years later, he finally got around to proposing an official restoration for home video, which CBS Home Entertainment has approved. For more click here