By Lee Pfeiffer

On September 14, NBC will unveil the greatest gamble in the history of television: giving Jay Leno five consecutive nights of prime time TV in a desperate attempt to revitalize the network's sagging ratings and revenues. NBC had to do something with Leno, 'lest he desert to another network. Leno had dominated the late night ratings for most of the years since he took over The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson in 1992. Yet, NBC - caught up in the industry obsession with youth- forced him to relinquish the show to Conan O'Brien - a move that was lambasted by critics and fans. NBC chief honcho Jeff Zucker then came up with an audacious plan to salvage the network's relationship with Leno and save face at the same time. By telecasting The Jay Leno Show every night at 10:00 PM, Zucker is admitting defeat. NBC is routinely slaughtered in the ratings during that hour and, rather than sink countless millions into more failed episodic series, the network will roll the dice on an "All Leno, All the Time" strategy. The upside is that the cost of shooting Leno's program is much lower than the shows it is replacing. Thus, Leno can achieve only middling ratings and still show a greater profit. 

Remember the plot device in The Boys From Brazil? A society of former Nazis plan to use cloning methods to bring Adolf Hitler back to life. They needn't have gone to all that trouble. Given the number of times Adolf Hitler's name and image are invoked nowadays, you would think he really did conquer the world and that Josef Goebbels was running the international ministry of propaganda. During the Bush administration, left wing wackos routinely compared the president to Hitler for invading Iraq and now right wing lunatics are doing the same to President Obama (over a health care plan, yet!). This week marked the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII and American political pundit Pat Buchanan wrote a column saying Hitler had rather benign intentions but was pushed into war by Churchill! Not be outdone, an AIDS prevention group has caused controversy by producing a public service ad in Germany that depicts a couple having torrid sex. (The ad is far too provocative to be shown on American TV). As they disrobe and get down to doin' the dirty, the man looks into the camera and we see it's Hitler. This is followed by the on-screen message "AIDS is Mass Murder. Protect Yourself."  Predictably, the ad has caused outrage with even other AIDS prevention groups saying it presents a distracting and garbled message, not the least of which is that HIV automatically leads to AIDS and death. That was true in the early days of the disease, but as we now know, with proper treatment, HIV is no longer a death sentence. The ad unintentionally also trivializes one of the worst mass murderers in human history. Historians believe that Hitler's sex life was virtually non-existent, even with his mistress Eva Braun. He placed himself on a higher plane and prided himself in not indulging in the vices that tempted every day people. Watching Hitler and his lover rip each other's clothes off like scene from Porky's minimizes the horror he is associated with. Not helping matters is the fact that the chap who plays Der Fuhrer looks a bit like Dick Shawn's character from The Producers. Here's a message to everyone who wishes to invoke Hitler's image or name to make a political or socially significant point: don't do it because it will almost guarantee that your original message will be lost in a sidebar of controversy. To view the ad click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

One of the hallmarks of The Ellen DeGeneres Show is the tradition of every guest entering to rock music and engaging in a brief dance with the host. Audiences find it amusing to judge the often awkward moves of each guest. However, the record companies that own the copyrights to the songs played during this segment are considerably less amused. They are collectively suing the show's producers for over 1,000 instances of copyright violations. The suit says the producers should be savvy enough to know that they could not use the songs without permission. The suit cites work by Michael Jackson, Will Smith, The Beach Boys and many others. The producers might argue that the song use represents a case of "Fair Use", which allows copyrighted works to be used in certain instances without gaining permission from the rights holders. However, such instances are generally relegated to use of materials for news and informational purposes, which is how TV networks can routinely use clips from programs on other stations. How the case plays out can have some far-reaching implications for the industry. For more click here

In a review of the newly revised At the Movies program founded by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the Los Angeles Times says the show has successfully returned to its roots: namely, serious, intelligent conversation about movies. The previous hosts, Ben Mankiewicz and Ben Lyons were recently fired, as their audience had eroded. The general consensus is that the bulk of the criticism was against Lyons, the son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons, who was accused of being hopelessly out of his depth in analyzing movies. The new hosts, A.O. Scott of the New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune are said to bring a maturity back to the program, along with intelligent debate. For more click here

Fans of the acclaimed comedy series Psychoville have launched an on-line petition to convince the BBC to renew the show for a second season. We at Cinema Retro admit we are biased toward the show, since the madmen who created it, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton were kind enough to feature our magazine in one recent episode, which was a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock films. In an age of dumbed- down TV, you can make a difference and cast your vote to renew one of Britain's most innovative comedy shows clicking here.  Click here to read coverage of Cinema Retro's "debut" on the series.You can also view on line video regarding the petition on YouTube by clicking here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Much of the TV cable news universe has become a lot of hyperbole as some show hosts use increasingly theatrical techniques to increase audiences in the highly competitive industry. There are three major American TV cable news outlets: Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. Fox News has long dominated the ratings world by catering to conservative viewpoints. The election of Barack Obama has only increased ratings among those who oppose his policies. Similarly, MSNBC, which has a left-wing point of view, saw significant growth during the Bush administration, when its programs became harshly critical of the president's policies. CNN claims to be the network that tries to stride the middle of the road, though both conservatives and liberals claim the network favors the other side. The contentious world of cable news has made one thing clear: most viewers are not interested in a balanced viewpoint of the world, nor do they want to hear the other side of the story. Ideologues on both sides simply seek out shows and hosts they are most comfortable with in order to reaffirm their existing convictions.

As the hyperbole increases, so does the risk-at least as it pertains to advertisers. Take the case of Fox News personality Glenn Beck, who hosts a top-rated daily show that has made him an icon among the far right. Beck, who refers to himself as "a rodeo clown", is known for engaging in theatrical gestures that would rival those of Elmer Gantry.  However, when he recently referred to President Obama as a "racist" with a "deep-seated hatred of white people", a line was crossed that may have implications for all controversial talk show hosts. Beck's refusal to back away from the claim - along with his "dig-the-heels" follow-up defense of his statement - outraged liberals and caused even moderate conservatives to denounce what he said. More importantly, a liberal advocacy group began a petition campaign to target Beck's advertisers, saying their company should not want to be associated with such a program. The strategy has worked: dozens of major advertisers have pulled out of Beck's program. Fox News says the network has still kept most of the revenues as the ads were simply switched to other programs - and it's doubtful the network would ever cancel Beck, given the fact that he is a ratings powerhouse. Nevertheless, the ad rates on his show will almost certainly be dropped in order to attract advertisers. 

Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's top news analysis show Countdown, is a frequent critic of Beck and often refers to him as "Lonesome Rhodes", a reference to the phony country singer portrayed by Andy Griffith in A Face in the Crowd. However, Olbermann is also steeped in controversy and has plenty of enemies among conservatives, largely for his continued humorous lambasting of the Bush administration and virtually everyone on Fox News. You can be sure that right wing advocacy groups will be attempting to take a page out of the left's strategy of targeting advertisers of shows they believe are too controversial.

The situation raises the old argument about the fine line between advocacy and censorship. No one is suggesting that the government get involved in any of this, but targeting specific talk show hosts through the threat of boycotting their advertisers opens up a Pandora's Box of issues that can impact both sides of the political spectrum.  It remains to be seen what type of pressures, if any, will be put on talk show hosts by their networks in terms of cooling off these feuds, which have mesmerized audiences. Keith Olbermann denied that the absence of criticism against Fox News over a period of weeks had anything to do with published reports that he was ordered to tone down the rhetoric. As if to prove he was not part of any such agreement, he is as vitriolic as ever in mocking his arch rival Bill O'Reilly, the superstar of Fox News Channel. For his part, O'Reilly has refused to even utter Olbermann's name on the air, choosing to insult him through thinly-veiled references as a hate monger.  If corporate management did succeed in calling  a truce between their top personalities, it would be a mixed blessing as it is the controversial aspects of these shows that motivate people to tune in. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

It's been a while since we had a great Larry King moment to share with readers, but this one's a gem. Larry, who prides himself on doing no advance research on his guests, relies solely on some notes provided to him prior to each interview. He can sometimes bluff his way through celebrity interviews, but when everyday people are guests, Larry is treading water to the next commercial break. on Monday night, Larry was interviewing Katie Hall, a woman who was victimized many years ago by the same rapist who is at the center of the bizarre tale that was revealed last week in which he allegedly kept a young girl captive for 18 years and fathered two children with her. King asked Hall, who was raped in 1976, a series of questions so insensitive you have to see it to believe it. Told by Hall that she had been returning from a trip to the grocery store when she gave the man who would end up raping her a lift in her car, King makes her describe the gory details of precisely how the man "consummated" the act, as though they were a couple on their honeymoon. King then asks her what the man did with the groceries that were in the car! To cap things off, he then asks Hall's husband if she told him about her experience many years later when they started dating, the sordid implication being that the man might have rejected her as being damaged goods. Told that he was aware of the crime committed against Hall, Larry asks the husband, "How did you feel about that?" This is Larry's favorite line to stall for time until the next break - no matter how insulting it is. He once asked Maureen O'Hara the same question after she related how her husband died in a plane crash.Click here to view

By Lee Pfeiffer

More bad news for the major networks: virtually every new show of the summer season has bombed. Despite expensive production costs and promotions, audiences are increasingly tuning out to the sludge being offered up in prime time. Not only are the shows not resonating, our guess is that audiences are probably turned off by the outrageous number of commercials during any given program. Networks have virtually eliminated opening and closing credits to squeeze in more promos and you can jog around the block during a commercial break and not miss a single scene of the program. It says something about both the networks and audience when the only shows that have attracted even a semblance of interest are dating programs centered on fat people and others who grope each other in the dark. We've said it before: the networks should just admit defeat. They don't have the taste or talent to produce good programming. They should buy back the syndication rights of classic TV shows from the 50s and 60s and just run the likes of  The Addams Family and Bonanza during prime time. For more click here

Good news for movie lovers: a new premium American TV cable channel will be premiering in October. Epix will showcase many films from major studios -with a cool caveat: subscribers will have access to streaming films from the archives on their home computers. When watching a film, viewers will be able to readily access bonus extras such as trailers and production information. No word yet on how the selection of films will be skewed, but suffice it to say that retro movie lovers will be delighted if Turner Classic Movies didn't have to shoulder the entire weight of broadcasting classic movies in an informative manner. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Remember when the concept of cable TV was supposed to free viewers from the onslaught of commercials? It never happened. Almost from the beginning, the majority of cable stations were awash in advertising - despite the fact that subscribers pay big bucks for the service. Since 1999, viewers have had to contend with a 14% increase in advertising - even as TV shows are shortened to accomodate them. Let's not even get into the completely useless practice of showing feature films on most basic cable channels like USA or TBS - not only are they cut to shreds and censored, but the final credits are retyped and shoved over into a tiny box on the side of the screen so that inane promos for other shows can take center stage. You've probably recognized that your TV screen is awash with annoying logos and promos for other shows. Most news stations now relegate the anchors to a postage stamp-sized box amidst a sea of exasperating weather reports, stock market results and the annoying news crawl that has been a mainstay since the 9/11 attacks. At that time, the crawl was introduced to keep viewers informed of earth-shaking news developments. It now is used to also give us the latest on the Olson twins' dating habits. It's all about to get worse, folks, as the cable industry gears up to introduce a greater onslaught of promotional pop-up boxes advertising all sorts of products - and even your Tivo won't be able to save you. Click here for more.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Gordon Ramsay, the abrasive British master chef who built his restaurant into an empire, is getting the kind of just desserts that will make his foes smile with satisfaction. His worldwide chain of restaurants has been hit hard by the international recession, as cash-strapped consumers are no longer willing to drop mega-bucks on Ramsay's well-reviewed, but (some say) outrageously over-priced menus. He is laying off workers even as he begins to sell some personal assets. According to The Wall Street Journal, the foul-mouthed chef is taking all sorts of drastic measures to try to save his business interests, which he co-owns with his father-in-law. Unlike most celebrities, Ramsay chose not to be paid a fee to lend his name and image to the restaurants, opting instead to own them outright. In good years, this drastically increased his profits. However, the strategy has come to haunt him as it has also increased his risk in during the current recession. For more click here

Iconic TV pitchman Billy Mays died last month of a heart attack, but an official autopsy report says that he used cocaine and the drug contributed to his heart failure. The coroner concluded that Mays had used cocaine days before his death. He was also using a wealth of other prescription drugs, possibly to alleviate pain for various health problems. Mays' family and his business partner deny they know anything about his use of cocaine and the family issued a scathing statement denouncing the coroner's release of his conclusion to the press. Even in death, Mays remains a fixture on American TV. His bombastic advertisements for household products are still being shown. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

The bell has tolled for the two Big Bens. At the Movies, the popular movie review syndicated TV series founded by critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, has fired its two current hosts Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz. The show is returning to its roots by replacing them with two seasoned, professional film critics: A.O. Scott of The New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune. The producers were obviously responding to widespread criticism that the two Bens were out of their depth in getting the plumb spot as hosts of the show. Mankiewicz is part of the legendary show business family and had seemed to be more accepted by the audience. However, when Ben Lyons, the twenty-something son of film critic Jeffrey Lyons got the co-host spot, there was outrage among TV critics and the audience. Lyons was accused of having little knowledge of film history and was said to be all-too-happy to give favorable reviews in order to curry favor with studios. The move is an attempt to restore the integrity to the show it once enjoyed with Siskel and Ebert. It's a rare example of the industry reversing its mania for attracting a youth-oriented audience at any cost. For more click here

 

The Green Hornet may have only lasted one season on ABC-TV in 1966, but it spawned a legacy that still lives on. In addition to making Bruce Lee a star, the show also introduced The Black Beauty, the classic, gadget-filled personal vehicle of the Hornet and Kato. Click here to check out the ultimate web site dedicated to the car. For a full story on the history of The Black Beauty, see Cinema Retro issue #1. 

By Lee Pfeiffer

Laurie Broder of About.Com reports that Turner Classic Movies is now expanding the number of films they telecast by introducing titles from the 1980s. We can just hear the hissing now among retro purists who consider the 70s to be the last great age of Hollywood. However, we have to give TCM a break...if they never expand beyond their current range, the number of titles repeated frequently will ultimately dilute their value. 'lest you think the 80s was comprised strictly of Cheech and Chong movies, consider that it also includes Raging Bull. If you're not feeling old already, then consider that for Gen Xers, The Karate Kid is as ancient to them as Casablanca is to you. For more click here

Now you can view an entire uncut 1955 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on YouTube. It's titled The Cheney Vase and it does NOT star Dick Cheney but, rather, Darren McGavin. Click here to view

By Lee Pfeiffer

If you find it shameful that most of the kinescopes of early TV classics were taped over to save money, you'll really be outraged by the news that NASA has admitted that some brainiac at the space agency deliberately erased all of the original videos of the first landing on the moon - in order to save a few bucks. NASA discovered the scandal in 2006, but has not identified who came up with the great idea or when it occurred. Fortunately, saner heads turned over the broadcast tapes (which were substantially lower in quality) to Lowry Digital, the company that specializes in restoring Hollywood classics. The results are significantly better and bring out details the average person has never seen. The downside of this is that NASA admits that those conspiracy nuts who think Capricorn One is a documentary, are now citing this as further proof that man didn't land on the moon. They should hold a convention with fellow tin-foil hat-wearers who ardently believe that President Obama isn't an American citizen. For more click here

By Lee Pfeiffer

Call it Death of a Salesman - Not! Despite having passed away several weeks ago, iconic American household pitchman Billy Mays will still be part of the cable TV world with a new ad ready to premiere. The company he worked for gives the cliched reason ("This is what he would have wanted") to justify running the new commercial. Maybe that's true, but the real reason is that Mays was unsurpassed in his ability to get consumers to buy a wide range of household cleansers and other home products an dhe still remains a major profit center. Additionally, Mays employers are still running his previous ads, though they won't say for how long. For my part, it seems a bit ghoulish and exploitive to keep the promotions running. What's next? The ghost of  Ed McMahon showing up at your door to tell you that you won the latest Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes? Pretty soon, they're going to have to employ George Romero to direct these ads. For more click here

The United States Supreme Court has sided with the cable TV giant Cablevision to allow cable TV companies to begin to market new technology when it comes to DVR services that will ultimately eliminate the need for consumers to obtain separate recording boxes for their televisions. The new "remote storage" technology stores the archives of programs on the cable TV provider's servers. Consumers will be able to order specific programs to play using the basic cable box they now have and control the playback functions. Studios contested the technology saying it violated copyrights and said that it amounts to de facto "video on demand" for which they receive additional compensation. The Court didn't see it that way, however, and Cablevision and other cable TV companies can begin marketing the new service. It might be a long time before it penetrates the average American household, as millions of people are already using the separate box that was required for the service. The ruling was a blow to satellite TV companies which will still have to require the need for the separate box. For more click here

On last night's Tonight Show, host Conan O'Brien paid tribute to Ed McMahon with a film clip montage of highlights from the Johnny Carson era. Click here to view 

By Lee Pfeiffer

For decades, American TV viewers have complained that certain TV ads are much louder than the programming broadcast by networks. The networks generally dismissed the notion, saying it was in the imagination of the viewers. Well, here's proof that just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you: the TV networks now agree that certain TV ads are indeed much louder than the programs. The FCC has told the broadcasters they had better even out the sound levels, or the regulatory agency will take charge of the situation. The broadcasters say that the recent switch to digital TV will make it easier for them to resolve the situation. Good- and let's hope they start with the worst loudmouth on TV, the bombastic pitchman Billy Mays a seemingly omnipresent force on late night broadcasting. I have nothing against Mays personally, and his products might actually be good. However, aside from the fact that he screams more than a B movie actress in a cheap horror film, his commercials are so long they merit having intermissions. For more click here

The glory days of Saturday Night Live are long since gone. While the show generally offers a great opening sketch, you might has well turn it off after that and concentrate on your butterfly decoupage project. However, when some of the old guard returns, there is still an inkling of the clever routines that once made SNL "must-see" TV. This weekend, for example, Will Ferrell returned for one of his Celebrity Jeopardy tournaments, portraying the show's host, Alex Trebek. For non-American readers, Jeopardy is generally praised for being one of the few remaining game shows that rewards intellect over theatrics. However, when the program occasionally invites celebrities on, it is mocked for having to dumb-down the questions. In the SNL routine, Tom Hanks appears as himself in a self-deprecating manner and squares off against Darrell Hammond's hilarious, sex-obsessed Sean Connery. Norm McDonald also returns to do his impeccable Burt Reynolds impersonation. To view click here

Laurie Broder's classic movie blog has uncovered a YouTube posting of an amazing bit of film: an Aaron Spelling TV pilot from 1965 starring Bette Davis in The Decorator. The show, in glorious b&w with appropriately cheesy backgrounds, stars the great Miss Davis as a financially broke interior designer who fails to understand her precarious position. She sleeps to noon and saunters around her house smoking cigarettes as only Davis could smoke them. The pilot features Mary Wickes as Davis' long-suffering, tough-as-nails assistant and the guest star is Ed Begley. The show is actually pretty funny and it's probably worth looking into why the pilot never aired. Did the networks turn it down or did the notoriously finicky Miss Davis have a change of heart? Any of our readers know? To view click here. There is a sidebar that also allows you to watch the second part of the show. 

The New York Times reports that the era of watching your favorite TV series for free on your computer may be coming to an end. Cable TV services have been hit hard by the recession and the movement of young people away from TV to on-line entertainment. Instead of giving away shows for free, cable TV stations are approaching networks to create a scenario wherein the only people allowed to watch series for free on their computers will be those who have a subscription to a cable TV service. For more click here

We always loved the tradition of having prominent celebrities pop out of a window as Adam West and Burt Ward were scaling the side of a building on Batman. Here's a gem featuring Jerry Lewis. Click here to view

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an editorial condemning the American TV networks for going overboard in their coverage of the heroic crew of the airliner that ditched in the Hudson River. No doubt about it, this was a great story filled with genuine heroes. However, the media indulged in its tendency to go all out and virtually ignored every single other news story in the world for a period of 24 hours. Well, just when you thought it was safe to go to the remote control again, lo and behold - they've released the cockpit tapes of the incident, which has now given the media reason to go into overdrive again. The worst offender: CBS, which is devoting an entire Early Show to discussing the incident yet again. This in a week in which the political developments are a news junkie's idea of heaven. Stop the madness! Let's give these heroes their due, but for God's sake, let's remember there is a world that exists out there. This Oprahization of television has become nauseating.- Lee Pfeiffer (To read original editorial click here) 

Early last year, it appeared the charismatic con men from the BBC One TV series Hustle had scored their last caper when the show was canceled after four years. However, viewers demanded more and in a rare instance of a network actually listening to its audience, BBC One brought back the show for a new season. The program, which stars Robert Vaughn, aired its first new episode the other night and it scored 5.2 million viewers - beating the next-highest rated show by 2.1 million. A big screen feature film version is still in the planning stages. It seems to be a good time of life for Vaughn and his former Man From U.N.C.L.E. co-star David McCallum - the latter's CBS show NCIS is generally in the top ten rated US programs. For more click here

Only in New York could a serene loop of fireplace footage cause controversy. However, The New York Times reports on the debates that have inflamed fans of the Yule Log over the decades. What is the Yule Log? Back in 1966, local New York TV station WPIX (Channel 11) made the decision to dedicate several hours of uninterrupted air time to showing a  six-minute loop of a burning fireplace. Famous singers were heard crooning classic Christmas carols, adding to the enjoyment of the serene setting. When the station once canceled the tradition, the uproar was so intense that it has been shown ever since. Tomorrow, WPIX will show the Yule Log between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM, giving frantic New Yorkers a bit of nostalgia and relaxation. However, as the Times reports, there are many faux versions of the log making the rounds on DVD - and, thus, a controversy about the fireplace footage has been ignited. To read click here