CW is having a some marketing fun at the expense of its harshest critics.

I laughed out loud this ayem when I saw a "Gossip Girl" quote ad on the side of a bus that proclaimed the show to be "Mind-blowingly Inappropriate," with a tagline crediting that august organ of critical discourse, the Parents Television Council watchdog org. There are others in the series, including one touting the New York Post's assertion that "Gossip Girl" is "a nasty piece of work."

But it was the PTC quote that struck me as inspired. Tim Winter, prexy of the PTC, is rolling with it in the same way that CW is trying to use the PTC's outrage to its advantage. "Normally, we have to pay for our outdoor advertising," Winter noted. "We'd be thrilled if every network used our quotes about their programming to describe it in their ads."

That said, Winter stressed that he is troubled by the steamy "Gossip Girl" ad campaign. No matter what CW says about the sexy show being aimed at young adults, the ads are titillating bait for teens and pre-teens, in Winter's view.

"I am deeply troubled what the CW network is doing with the programming they're putting on the public airwaves and in particular the media campaigns they're putting out to promote their shows," Winter says.

We're as breathless as Jackie Kennedy was all those years ago about AMC's decision to offer web streaming of the entire Jackie-hosted tour of the White House that aired on CBS and NBC way back on Feb. 14, 1962.

The program is woven in to the "Mad Men" season opener in a way that could only be conceived by a great writer like Matt Weiner. I saw this historical gem years ago, on C-Span as I recall, and am tickled pink (Chanel pink, with a matching pillbox hat) to get the chance to see it again.

Sad to learn that Ruth Engelhardt, a legend of the Morris office, died last week at the age of 86.

It would only be a bit of stretch to call WMA the house that Ruth built, because she was the one who crafted the deal points and the contracts for all of those vintage TV shows that help keep the agency's coffers flush. Ruth spent 59 years with WMA. She was the go-to person in TV business affairs back when the business of filmed entertainment series was young, anything was possible and star client Danny Thomas and his partner Sheldon Leonard were turning out hits ("The Andy Griffith Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," etc.) faster than Ruth could draw up the contracts.

I got a crash course in TV biz affairs 101 some years ago when I spent about two hours with Ruth in her WMA office for a column about her remarkable career. She recalled that back in the day, she and a few other WMA folks essentially were the business and administrative affairs department for Thomas and Leonard's bustling production company, along with a bunch of other top clients.

She was proud of her role in etching the templates for production, program licensing and, of course, agency packaging pacts that endured largely unchanged until the vertical integration boom of the late 1990s. When we met, she was giddy at the prospect of closing a greeting card licensing deal for one of the old Thomas-Leonard shows. "You wouldn't believe what they're going to pay us," she said with the enthusiasm of a dealmaker on the verge of victory.

This just in from Dr. Horrible's lab: By popular demand, and a hell of a response from the crowd at Comic- Con, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" will be offered via web streaming on Hulu for the next four months.

It's a slight departure from the Dr. Horrible world domination plan articulated by mastermind Joss Whedon a few weeks ago. When the first installment of the Internet musical monster was unleashed July 15, the notion was that it would only be available for free for a six days via the www.drhorrible.com site, and then taken down to build demand for a DVD release. (A guestimate on the traffic numbers for its July 15-20 stint is about 1 million views.)

But an extended engagement on Hulu seemed in keeping with the D.I.Y spirit of the supervillain tuner, which Whedon funded out of his pocket just to see what he and his brothers Zack and Jed and Jed's fiance, Maurissa Tancharoen, would come up with if left to their own devices. With the help of stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day.

"Dr. Horrible" will remain available on iTunes as a paid download, for those who just have to own it. Meanwhile, Joss' reps are taking meetings with homevid distribs who want a piece of the DVD action, which Joss has promised will include a second musical dubbed "Commentary!," as well as a proper (well...) commentary track.

To herald the Hulu deal, Joss posted a blog entry on Hulu.com calling the NBC Universal-News Corp. joint Internet vid venture "the premier site for people who like joy and life and children and America."

Can't wait for this year's "Lost" Comic-Con teaser vid with the creepy Dr. Marvin Candle (or whatever his handle is) to show up on ABC.com or iTunes.

I've seen the grainy versions captured on cell phone cameras and posted on YouTube but those are more frustrating than anything else because you can't grasp all the nuances, hints and clues. For those of us who didn't make it to Comic-Con, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune has provided us with the next best thing -- a fabulous write-up of the "Lost" panel on her The Watcher blog.

It's so good, you'll feel like you've time-traveled back a few days to the S.D. Convention Center after reading it. Thanks, Mo.

This just in from AMC: The premiere telecast of "Mad Men's" season two opener drew about 1.9 million viewers. That's up from last summer's preem, which drew 1.65 million viewers, and a big spike from the show's first-season average of about 915,000 viewers per seg.

It's not exactly gynormous growth, but the needle is moving in the right direction. And by AMC's standard, these are triple-digit spikes. Variety's ratings guru Rick Kissell has all the details right here.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE (Cynthia and Jon Weisman weigh in after the jump)

You can watch Don Draper for hours on end and still not figure out his relationship with women and determine what makes him tick.

Much of this first episode of season two offers small but vital hints as to how Draper relates to women, and it all goes back to his mother, of course. Then again, don’t all psychological dilemmas start with Mom?

In Don’s office, Peggy and Salvatore are discussing an ad campaign for Mohawk Airlines. When Peggy and Don offer up some revelatory ideas about addressing the campaign to businessmen, he looks at her like a proud father.

He admires Peggy very much, maybe because the way she earned her promotion as a junior copywriter after starting at Sterling Cooper as his secretary.

She’s garnered Don’s respect, and that’s not an easy thing to do — as any of the guys there could tell you.

In many ways, Don enjoys being around her more so than his wife, Betty, who he sees more as an accessory than an equal.

Betty is often a last consideration if Don needs to work late or wants to pal around after office hours, and certainly he didn’t give her much thought when he was having affairs with both Rachel Menken and Midge Daniels.

And while Don is quick to get into bed with others, when he and Betty have a romantic Valentine’s Day evening together at the Savoy Hotel, Don’s mind is elsewhere, and he’s unable to perform. Since he had a reserved the room in advance, it was obvious to him they’d end up having sex, but maybe the chance meeting at the hotel bar between Betty and her former roommate, Juanita, who is now a call girl, threw Don off his game.

Remember, his mom was a prostitute and seeing a friend of Betty’s in hooker mode might’ve brought up some serious childhood issues.

“Mad Men” creator Matt Weiner promises a seasonful of Draper revelations, so keep your eyes peeled.

Other thoughts while wondering how much it would cost today to fix a fan belt in the middle of the night on a rural road:

This time last year, we were all pleasantly surprised and comparing notes around the office. "Have you seen 'Mad Men'? It's really good. Jon Hamm is amazing."

"Mad Men" commanded our attention last summer as soon as the first screeners were sent out. Like most showbiz journos, Variety's resident TV fanatics approached the show with some skepticism because of what it was: the first foray into original drama series by AMC, and a period piece. We wondered how you could do a credible job on re-creating early 1960s Manhattan a la "The Apartment" on a basic cable budget.

We stopped worrying about halfway through Joan's tour of Sterling Cooper office with the new girl, Peggy, in the pilot seg, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."

"Mad Men" got better and better as its first 13-segs unfolded, as evidenced by the 16 Emmy noms the Lionsgate TV production raked in earlier this month. In a sign of its high-quality construction, "Mad Men" episodes hold up incredibly well in repeat binge viewing, as some of us are doing in preparation for season two and for what feels like inevitable Emmy night sidebars.

To make the most of season two, Variety's Stuart Levine, Cynthia Littleton and Kathy Lyford will be opining here on the show on Sunday nights (or by midday Monday) about each of its 13 episodes, starting this week with the opener, "For Those Who Think Young." (Please consider this fair warning for those who watch on their own timetables and want to avoid learning plot points.)

The three of us have had the pleasure of seeing the first two segs of the new season. We have a firm no spoilers policy in this space, but suffice it to say that we're in for a hell of a ride. (Here's Brian Lowry's review.)

"Mad Men" creator/exec producer Matthew Weiner was walking on air last week at the series' season two preem party at Musso and Frank, which followed a screening of "For Those Who Think Young" at the Egyptian Theater across the street. The Emmy nom glory and the continued critical hosannas are like an inch-thick coating of butter cream icing atop the three-layer chocolate mousse cake that he and his cast and crew get to feast on in doing the show of Weiner's (period) dreams.

As moody and complex, naughty and macho and wonderfully unshaven as Hamm's master manipulator Don Draper was last season --  we ain't seen nuthin' yet, Weiner promises.

Hmmm, maybe Disney is finally getting serious about mounting a Muppets revival. I hope so.

Mouse House will inject a big dose of Disney Channel star power -- Miley Cyrus level star power -- into our favorite fuzzy puppet troupe next month with the spesh "Studio DC: Almost Live."

It's described as "a music-filled sketch comedy show with classic Muppets backstage antics." Sounds like a trial balloon for a new spin on "The Muppet Show."

Miley is set to jam with Muppet house band the Electric Mayhem (Maybe she'll do "Piece of My Heart"? Maybe not). Ashley Tisdale duets with Kermit on "High School Musical" number "Bop to the Top," and Miss Piggy tries to nose her way in to the epicenter of teen pop stardom by casting herself as the Jonas "sister" and performing with the red-hot Jonas Brothers.

Sounds like this could be a lot of fun if written and directed in the tradition of the "Muppet Show's" cheeky-spoofy-silly tone. (Which is a high standard to meet.)

"Studio DC" is hosted by Dylan and Cole Sprouse of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." Seems a little funny that Fozzie Bear, Kermit or Gonzo the Great wouldn't be at least a co-host...but I'll reserve judgment until I see the spesh, which bows Aug. 3.

It is exec produced by Mouse's appointed Muppet master, Martin Baker.

Betty White red alert! The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is hosting a tribute to the thesp affectionately known on this blog as the First Lady of television.

The Aug. 7 event, "Betty White: Celebrating 60 Years on Television," is already sold out, even though it hasn't even been formally announced with an Acad press release. I noticed it as an events listing today on the Acad's emmys.tv home page. (Pic of Betty with Emmy swiped from that site.)

Among those set to appear are Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Craig Ferguson (White makes semi-regular visits to "The Late Late Show," in a tribute to Craig's excellent taste), Bob Stewart, Gavin MacLeod, Tom Sullivan, Susan Harris, Valerie Harper and John McCook. Pete Hammond is set as moderate, and the event also promises a perf by Michael Feinstein. I'm there.

As Betty-philes know, her first paying gig on TV came in the summer of 1949 with her appearance on a local special hosted by singer Dick Haynes, on KLAC-TV, known today as KCOP-TV. From there she appeared on a short-lived (by weeks) comedy "Tom, Dick and Harry," starring three third-rate vaudevillians, and then she segued to game show "Grab Your Phone," according to White's 1995 memoir "Here We Go Again: My Life in Television."

Betty's first steady work came in November 1949 with the debut of KLAC's "Hollywood on Television," in which she was a "girl Friday" sidekick to Al Jarvis, then a top L.A. disc jockey.

"Hollywood on Television," by Betty's description, was a prototypical morning TV show. Betty and Al would chat about the headlines, interview guests ranging from human interest to celebs, have musical and how-to segments, etc. Five hours a day, five days a week of live without-a-net television. She did "Hollywood on Television" for about four years, and then moved into her first lead role in a scripted series, the syndie "Life with Elizabeth" (she did both shows simultaneously for a little while). No wonder she's so good.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

A few wandering thoughts while waiting for the season two premiere of "Mad Men" Sunday night. More on that later, but for now …
-- You can take the NBA Finals, Wimbledon and British Open, but I'll go for ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage every time. I find very few TV events -- even though this one is highly edited -- that has as much drama. Tuesday, the cabler premiered the tourney, with satellite games to start out with the main event to begin in a few weeks. (Pictured right is 2007 WSOP champ Jerry Yang and his $8.25 million in winnings. Cash.)
While attending the Cinevegas Film Festival at the Palms last month, I walked across the street to the Rio and caught part of the WSOP in person. Two massive rooms with hundreds of tables, the sound of chips rattling around like the white noise of honeybees busy in a hive. As a player, it was music to my ears.

A swinging early '60s good time was had by all who attended season two preem party for AMC's Emmy darling "Mad Men" at Musso and Frank on Monday night, following a screening of the season opener at the Egyptian Theater across the street.

The most telling sign that "Mad Men" is the "it" show of the moment as far as the creative community is concerned? Mussos was crawling with top TV agents last night, even those who don't have anything to do with the show.

(Pictured left, "Mad Men" stars Vincent Kartheiser and Jon Hamm)

I have a really high tolerance for legal briefs and wonky ruminations on First Amendment issues and broadcast indecency policy -- I love reading the raw legal rationale for justifying or barring government-imposed curbs on free speech.

It was exciting to learn on Monday that the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals had vacated the FCC's decision to fine CBS $550,000 for the Boob Flash of Destiny by Janet Jackson during her duet with Justin Timberlake during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The fine was voided and the case remanded back to the FCC for a new review in light of the appeals court's lengthy guidelines provided in Monday's ruling, as Variety's William Triplett reports. (It's gonna be a big year for indecency policy geeks. Another case will be heard at the Supreme Court during its 2008-09 sesh.)

The Jackson-Timberlake incident turbo-charged what was already a mounting crusade in Washington, at the FCC and from self-appointed media watchdogs (the Parents Television Council by any other name) that has been politically motivated. It's been a red herring to push the buttons of certain voting blocs and a way to distract from the more substantial media policy questions facing the FCC (ownership limits, anyone?).

But even I found the 102-page decision on the Jackson fine impenetrable. (Read it here for yourself.) The case for the legal precedent and factors considered in the appellate review of the FCC's ruling on Nipplegate were rendered in mind-numbing detail in the opinion penned by Chief Judge Anthony Scirica

The basic argument boiled down to the FCC being out of line ("arbitrary and capricious" in the court's words) for taking a major departure from its past policy on indecency cases involving a "fleeting" instance of something untoward being said or shown on screen. The FCC was free to make a major change in its indecency policy, but it had to give broadcasters plenty of advance warning that it was doing so, the court reasoned.

I'm guessing Jay Leno enjoyed dressing up as a "reporter" for the executive session with the Peacock's Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff at TCA on Monday, as Variety's Michael Schneider reports. I gotta admit, he looks like an amalgam of several TCA regulars.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Having attended most of the panels over a two-week period at the Beverly Hilton, here's one man's view of the best and worst of TCA 2008:

Number of times an actor said "we're all a family. It's a pleasure to come to work every day": 4,567 (a slight exaggeration)

Number of questions asked about the dead "Deadwood" movies: 259 (not-so-slight exaggeration)

Amount of time it takes for critics to get from their seats to the afternoon cookie spread: 3.5 seconds

Best comeback: During the ABC showrunner sesh, the first question was addressed to "Grey's Anatomy" showrunner Shonda Rhimes (pictured left) about Katherine Heigl's comments on not having good material to submit for Emmy consideration. Immediately, "Lost" exec producer Damon Lindelof shot back: "Gee, I didn't this one coming."

Don't tease us like that: "Scrubs" showrunner Bill Lawrence on Sarah Chalke's role on "How I Met Your Mother," "They don't want me to say it, but she's the mom."

"The Office" star/scribe/co-exec producer Mindy Kaling appeared to be having a good time Saturday in her daylong photo-op in Scranton, Penn. to promote the release of two "Office" themed games, The Office DVD Board Game and The Office Trivia Game. The day's events include a trivia contest, a beet eating contest, a 2K run and "Office" character look-alike contest.

Hanging with Scranton-icity pols and radio DJs at the local Mall at Steamtown probably wouldn't be Kaling's first choice of things to do on a summer Saturday. But it was all in service for the show (and NBC Universal's merchandising biz), and the money raised from the events went to a worthy Scranton-based cause, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Kaling even seemed to be a good sport about the beet-eating contest.

This sounds like an awards show TV fanatics could love. Television Without Pity, the Bravo-owned website  for TV nuts, proudly announces (drum roll here) the Tubey Awards. It's billed as a TV kudofest "for viewers who love TV when its good -- but love to hate it even more when it's bad."

There are 60 categories -- some conventional (best new show, favorite actor, etc.) and some not (wost new show, most overrated show, best badass, most ludicrous plotline, etc.), and it's the latter that promise to make this one fun. The nominees were selected from suggestions by TWP's regulars. The plan is to hold online voting in various categories each week through Aug. 31. (Only catch -- you have to be a registered TWP user to vote.)

Winners will be unveiled in mid-September (look out Emmys!). The whole list of nominees is posted right here on TWP. Naturally, given the profile of TWP users, the picks tend to be generous to the genre fare that is more often than not snubbed by Emmy voters. Turnabout is fair play, I say.

Among the highlights:

Most overrated show:

"American Idol"
"Grey's Anatomy"
"Gossip Girl"
"Heroes"
"Lost"

Most underrated show:

"Friday Night Lights"
"How I Met Your Mother"
"Journeyman"
"Psych"
"Supernatural."

Character most in need of being killed off:

Izzie Stevens, "Grey's Anatomy"
Maya Hererra, "Heroes"
Thirteen, "House"
Jack Shephard, "Lost"
Kate Austin, "Lost"

Most overhyped big name guest appearance:

Jerry Seinfeld, "30 Rock"
Britney Spears, "How I Met Your Mother"
Robin Williams, "Law & Order: SVU"
Lindsay Lohan, "Ugly Betty"
Victoria Beckham, "Ugly Betty"

"Mad Men" hit the trifecta on Saturday at the TCA Awards, snaring the prizes for best drama, best new show and program of the year, as Variety's Stuart Levine reports. This is probably a good warmup for the Emmycast on Sept. 20.

Stars John Slattery and Jon Hamm (pictured left) already look very comfortable doing the acceptance remarks thing.

It's also good to see "The Wire" (cast members and series creator David Simon goofed around for a WireImage photog prior to the awards, see below) getting some respect. HBO drama was recognized with the Television Critics Assn.'s Heritage Award for programs that are gonna stick around for a while in our collective memory.

TCA kudos were hosted at the Bev Hilton by the Smothers Brothers (pictured right). I'm kinda sorry I missed it, I'll be Tom and Dick were great -- it's an election year after all.

Emmy's picks for writing and directing nominees in the series categories are kinda like a state of the craft report card every year. They're often the category where new and innovative programs are recognized long before they crack the more prominent races.

But in a year when Emmy voters seemed to embrace new and different, the choices in the writing and directing heats seem more pedestrian, though some of this year's contenders were so obvious (Bryan Fuller and Barry Sonnenfeld for "Pushing Daisies" Pie-lette, Matthew Weiner and Alan Taylor for the "Mad Men" pilot) as to take some of the suspense out of the race this year. Sonnenfeld (pictured left) and Taylor (pictured right) have already bagged DGA Awards for their work on these pilots.

Sonnenfeld, IMHO, can safely begin rehearsing his acceptance speech for comedy helmer. (Coming from him, it oughta be a doozy.) The competish is strong -- a six-nominee category meaning that there was one tie in the nom ballotting -- but nothing was quite so inventive and visually distinct as that first slice of ABC's "Pushing Daisies."

From my viewfinder, the dark horse in the race could be James Bobin of HBO's "Flight of the Conchords." Bobin, co-creator of the series with Kiwi comedy-rockers Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, is up for the "Sally Returns" episode of "Conchord's" 12-episode frosh season.

Dan Attias nabbed a nom for the "No Cannes Do" installment of "Entourage." Paul Lieberstein has shown that there's no end to his talents by performing, writing and directing segs of NBC's "The Office," and now he's up for helming the seg "Money" Parts 1 and 2 (sounds like a James Brown hit from the early '70s). Also nommed from "Office" is Paul Feig, for handling the season finale, "Goodbye, Toby," which happened to mark the farewell of Lieberstein's character. Michael Engler of NBC's "30 Rock" is up for the "Rosemary's Baby" installment.

It was no surprise to see Showtime's Matt Blank and Robert Greenblatt looking like they were enjoying themselves Friday afternoon during their executive Q&A sesh. Any way you look at it, Showtime is on a roll. They're not getting the

"Why aren't you as cool as HBO?" questions lobbed at them at TCA anymore. Think of the programming assets Showtime has these days: "Weeds," "Dexter," "The Tudors," "Californication," "The L Word," "The Secret Diary of a Call Girl," "Brotherhood," "This American Life," "Penn and Teller's Bullshit!" and "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union."

Greenblatt reinforced the cabler's Big Mo with his rundown of the paybox's programming highlights during the past year, capped by Thursday by the best drama series Emmy nom nabbed by "Dexter." He also showed off clips of two intriguing half-hours  to come, "Nurse Jackie" (pictured left), starring Edie Falco as an unconventional nurse at a Gotham hospital; and the Toni Collette-John Corbett starrer "The United States of Tara" (pictured right), the brainchild of Steven Spielberg and Diablo Cody about a suburban mom with multiple personalities.

Greenblatt noted that Showtime's top buzz-getters, "Dexter" and "Weeds," are in a contest for bragging rights as the cabler's highest-rated shows. "Dexter" set a new high water mark for the feevee-er last September with its season two opener drawing more than 1 million viewers. "Weeds" has been smoking in its fourth season. Its June 16 debut brought in 1.35 million viewers for the premiere, and segs have been averaging a cume weekly rating of more than 3 million -- a ratings record by far for Showtime, Greenblatt assured the crowd.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Here's the biggest mystery the "CSI" team will have to uncover: What's up with the new guy?

CBS entertainment topper Nina Tassler dished out a few hints about the character who will be taking over the team when William Petersen leaves the show.

"It's about an outsider coming in. He comes in with a genetic profile the same as a serial killer. He knows this about himself and it's a journey to discover who this character will become. ... He doesn't come in at the beginning. He'll work his way up to become the head of the team."

Nobody else will know he has this weird medical condition, and it will take time for the team to find out.

Tassler, who said they haven't casted an actor yet for the role but are actively in discussions, wasn't caught by surprise to hear Petersen wanted out

"We've been talking about it since last year," she said. "You don't replace a guy like Billy, but add elements that invigorate and add alchemy to the show where it is today."

Petersen's character will depart after the upcoming season's 10th episode. He will remain an exec producer and stay committed to the series.

"Billy's an extraordinary guy," she continued. "Lets not forget his roots. He was originally in the theater and is now off to do a play. It's the artist's choice to change his life right now."

Pearls of wisdom from Bob Schieffer were the highlight of the CBS News TCA sesh Friday morning, done via satellite from Gotham with CBS News and Sports boss Sean McManus, anchor Katie Couric, politico correspondent Jeff Greenfield and the heart and soul of the Eye's news operation, Schieffer.

When asked the tired question about "The Daily Show" and its influence on mainstream broadcast news programs, Schieffer didn't skip a beat before declaring: "I'd like to go right on record: Jon Stewart is my inspiration."

Big laugh. And then Schieffer, sporting a jaunty purple-plaid tie, followed through with a really smart observation likening Stewart and Stephen Colbert to "editorial cartoonists."

There's a place for them, and the genial Schieffer said he thinks both Stewart and Colbert are "terrific," but "you don't get all the news you need to know if you only look at the editorial page cartoon everyday."

Can't argue with his logic, or his disarmingly charming, folksy delivery.

Of course, the unstated purpose of the panel was to give Couric and McManus the chance to look scribes in the eye, via satellite, and tell them that all the huffing and puffing of her plotting her exit after the election was wildly overheated.

"That is not true," the unflappable McManus said when the question was inevitably asked.

Matthew Weiner was probably as prepared as any writer-producer could be for surviving the pop culture tsunami that "Mad Men" has stirred up the past few months.

It's a storm that will now gather more strength thanks to the AMC period drama's haul of 16 Emmy noms, the most of any drama series this year and a first (shared with FX's "Damages") for the once-humble realm of basic cable original skeins.

Weiner (pictured second from left with "Mad Men" thesps and Josh Sapan of AMC parent Rainbow Media on far left) is, after all, an alumnus of "The Sopranos" alum, so he knows about the extra pressure that comes with the fond embrace of the cognizati. (See last month's New York Times Magazine cover story on "Mad Men" for further explanation.) His way of keeping his feet planted on the ground is to focus squarely on the show, his baby that he nurtured for years from a spec script that no network wanted to a sensation that is transforming its cabler into a player in original series programming. 

"The content of the show seems to be resonating with the culture. That's the thing I'm most proud of," Weiner said Thursday during a break from lensing on season two of the Lionsgate TV production at downtown's L.A. Center Studios. He was ebullient about the news that broke before dawn about "Mad Men's" Emmy showing, but he had other priorities even on such a momentous morning.

Before going to work on his own show, he took his kids to attend a table reading of "The Simpsons," something they'd all wanted to do for a long time. "That was a great experience," he said, sounding like a fan and like a dad.

By late morning, however, Weiner was back in 1962. "Mad Men's" second season begins July 27. Can it live up to the lofty expectations that only became grew as dawn broke Thursday.

"Awards are a strange thing," Weiner opined. "If you are ignored by them they become inconsequential. If you're recognized, then it's an incredible experience.

Dwighte Schrute rules! Beets rock! And Rainn Wilson of "The Office" should win the supporting comedy actor award this year.

Dwight showed real range of bizarr-o behavior this past season with the breakup with Angela, the trip with Michael to New York when they crashed with Ryan, the hostage-taking incident with the pizza delivery guy. And who could forget him helping Michael grieve for the dead chair model. "Bye bye Miss American Pie..."

Tell that to corporate.

Basic cablers weren't the only ones setting personal bests with Thursday's Emmy noms. Sony Pictures Television pulled in the most Emmy bids (29) in a single year in the studio's long history in television.

Appropriately enough for this year, Sony's haul was driven by its embrace of basic cable original series, with strong showings from FX's "Damages" and AMC's "Breaking Bad."

But just as noteworthy are Sony earned three noms for that most rare breed of broadcast TV program these days, longform drama. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's production of the recent Rialto rendition of "A Raisin in the Sun," starring Sean Combs and Phylicia Rashad (who commanded a lead actress nom), proved in its debut on ABC in February (on the night after the Oscar telecast, where it was generously promo'd) that there is hope for weighty longform drama fare on the Big Four, if they aim high enough.

All of those great seasons on "St. Elsewhere" and David Morse had to wait until last year to nab his first Emmy nom, for a guest role on Fox's "House." And he didn't win.

Morse is up again this year for supporting actor in a movie or miniseries for "John Adams," and for pity's sake, HBO trusted him enough to cast him as George Washington. Give him an Emmy already. (Unfortunately, the competish is pretty tough, from Denis Leary and Bob Balaban of "Recount" to Morse's "John Adams" costars Tom Wilkinson and Stephen Dillane.)

Morse is one of the great character thesps of this generation of TV and film crossover players -- a face that the public knows well but can't place the name. He elevates anything he's in, because he's so darn good.

Morse really went through hell (on screen) during the run of "St. Elsewhere," and he's only gotten better since then. Give this man an Emmy already.

Hard to believe that an award designed to honor excellence in television could elude "The Wire" during its incredible five-season run.

The critical raves reached a new peak earlier this year when "Wire" wrapped up with its 10-seg fifth season, which featured razor-sharp writing, a hell of a potboiler story involving the media, the cops, the courts, the dealers, local and state pols, smarmy defense attorneys, etc., all while tying up the series' loose narrative ends. (I choked up at the deaths of Omar and Proposition Joe.)

It was not really much of a surprise that the show was snubbed in its last year of eligibility for the top Emmy prize of drama series. It did earn a writing nom for creators David Simon (pictured left) and Ed Burns for the finale seg, "30." I may be worked up about the snub in the series category (especially since we know it made the top 10 final list), but one "Wire" fan who is not is Simon.

Simon took the time to call Thursday afternoon to deliver a carefully considered comment on his show and the lack of Emmy action over the years. He likened it to one of the major plot threads of "Wire's" last season about the Baltimore Sun management turning a blind eye to journalistic malfeasance in the relentless pursuit of a Pulitzer.

"The last season of 'The Wire' included a critique of the prize culture in newspapering as being one of the many forces confronting and threatening contemporary journalism. I would have to be the biggest hypocrite on the planet to now suggest that whether or not a drama gets nominated for an award matters. The only thing that matters is the work."

Speaking of work, Simon is gearing up for his next HBO project after Iraq war mini "Generation Kill," bowed this week. His drama project "Treme," set in post-Katrina New Orleans, got the greenlight to pilot last week. Simon wouldn't give up too many details about the project that he co-wrote with Eric Overmyer, but "Wire" lovers, take note: Wendell Pierce (pictured right), aka Det. Bunk Moreland, is attached.

The project should hit home for Pierce, a New Orleans' native whose parents lost their home in the Katrina devastation. Simon demurred on the details of Pierce's character, but he did offer this tantalizing tidbit: "We made him buy a trombone."

Simon is working with casting director Alexa Fogel, an alum of "Wire" and "Generation Kill," on filling out the rest of the players. He's shooting for a start date in February or so.

"We'll probably be filming right at the edge of hurricane season," Simon says.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Marc Cherry said once again on Thursday that he'd like to set an end date for "Desperate Housewives" but the network isn't going for it. On a panel of ABC showrunners at the Television Critics Assn. tour in Beverly Hills, Cherry (pictured right) said that the series would end after seven seasons.

The show is about to embark on its fifth season, meaning if creator-exec produced Cherry had his wish, "Housewives" would end in 2011. An ABC representative and a high-level network exec said that there were no firm plans for the show to end at that point, and that Cherry was in no position to declare a finale for the series.

This isn't the first time Cherry has spoken to the press about his desire for the show to have a solid wrap-up date, but his discussions with the media haven't swayed the network. "Lost" exec producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were also on the panel, and Cherry's comments came after segment on how Lindelof and Cuse have been able to focus on their storytelling now that they know exactly when the show will end. There are two more seasons of "Lost," and it will conclude in 2010.

"Housewives" was a kudos and ratings powerhouse when it launched in 2004, receiving a nomination for best comedy. Although it hasn't been nominated since, the show continues to draw a significant amount of viewers. On the panel, Cherry said the first season of the show was very strong creatively but then dipped in season two. According to Cherry, seasons three and four have been an improvement. Cherry is currently contracted to ABC Studios until May 2011 and commented on ending the show when he signed that deal: "I think that, at the end of my deal, and after seven seasons, it will be a good time to call it quits," he said.

"I don't want anyone else to run the show, and I don't want us to fade away. But I'm serious in my intent to end it after seven years," Cherry said. "I don't want to overstay my welcome."

So glad I didn't have to work up a sweat over another "Lost" Emmy snub this year. (It helped me save my fire for the final snub of "The Wire," which "On the Air" contributor and fellow "Wire" nut Stuart Levine called more than a week ago.)

Season four of "Lost" was one long thrill ride -- a cerebral adventure that called for viewers to have masters degrees in physics, engineering, philosophy and literature. Hard to believe Henry Ian Cusick, aka Desmond, didn't make the supporting drama actor cut, given that the seg submitted to the Acad was his tour de force in "The Constant."

Now, there really would've been trouble in TV town if Michael Emerson had not made the list, for his labors as the nefarious Benjamin. He's so good in the role that you can never quite decide if he's evil incarnate or just a misunderstood Other. (My favorite bit of Emerson trivia is that the actress who played Ben's mom in the season three flashback segs, Carrie Preston, is his wife.)

Also nice to see the Acad recognize that "Lost" is the best lensed show on TV with a cinematography nod, to John Bartley for "The Constant." And another nod for Michael Giacchino for his most excellent scoring work. He wuz robbed earlier this year at the Oscars when he lost for "Ratatouille." Here's hoping he adds another Emmy to his collection in September.

Can't help but notice in this year's Emmy noms that the lead drama actress category is dominated by vets. Not that it matters -- two of the five are Oscar winners, one's a five-time Oscar nominee and all are good at their craft -- but I was curious about the age spread.

According to the IMDB, "The Closer's" Kyra Sedgwick is the youngest, born the year that President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. "Law & Order: SVU's" Mariska Hargitay arrived the same year the Beatles first played "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Holly Hunter made her debut the year Chuck Berry landed Johnny B. Goode" on the charts. Glenn Close of "Damages" was born the year the Central Intelligence Agency was established (coincidence?). And "Brothers and Sisters" Sally Field (pictured left), the reigning champ in the category, was born the year Winston Churchill famously warned of an "iron curtain" descending across Europe.

Solid as this list is, it's still hard to believe that there wasn't any room for the incredible Connie Britton of "Friday Night Lights" (who was born the year of the Monterey Pop Festival).

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

One thing's for sure: In the finale of FX's "The Shield," you won't see Vic Mackey eating onion rings as the screen goes dark. There will be no "What happened?" moment.

At the TCA panel for the seminal cop show that begins its final season on Sept. 2, showrunner Shawn Ryan said he knows expectations will be high when the series end its run.

"I've paid a lot of attention to finales of the shows that I've admired," he said. "There are shows that I thought were fantastic that had what I thought were weak finales and shows that had really great finales. We want to fall into the latter category."

CCH Pounder, who plays Claudette Wyms, had no doubt how this one would be perceived.

"I think it's the greatest finale ever, hands down," she stated, boldly. "It blew my socks off. This finale is what Vic Mackey deserves."

There are several ways to interpret that, of course, and nobody was willing to give any examples.

Added David Marciano: "I can't concur with my co-star. You know, with 'The Sopranos,' there were mixed reviews about the finale. But I will tell you with this finale, there will be no mixed reviews. You will get your money's worth. Money back guarantee."

Michael Chiklis, who appeared via satellite from Boston, was quick to let the viewers decide for themselves.

"It's in the eye of the beholder," he warned. "You guys haven't seen it yet and I don't want to blow it. Shawn did a tremendous job writing the finale. Whether or not you guys see it that way, that's entirely in your hands. ... What thrills me about the finale is you will not see this coming. You will not know what we do. Then when you look back, you'll go, 'Holy cow, that's exactly right.'"

The episode was directed by Clark Johnson, who also directed the pilot. Johnson has had a terrific year, as co-starred in David Simon's "The Wire" and also directed the finale of that series as well.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

"Deadwood" will never die. Well, at least as long as there are critics to talk about it.

Three years from now at press tour, if there is a press tour, there will be a question about the "Deadwood" telepics that never happened.

It occurred last week at the HBO panel and Tuesday at the "Damages" session as well, where Timothy Olyphant will have a recurring role on the FX drama. The Old West is long gone, but "Deadwood," it seems, is still very much a hot topic.

Said Olyphant, who played Sheriff Seth Bullock, on the chances that the movies were ever going to take place following the demise of the series: "I thought there was a really strong chance it would never happen. It was never clear, but nothing is very clear on that."

Before a scene on "Deadwood," David Milch, who is currently working on the HBO series "Last of the Ninth," about New York cops in the 1970s, would often talk to his actors in great detail about the psychological mindset of their characters, where they were coming from and why they might be speaking a specific line of dialogue.

The conversations were often very Milch-ian: Dense, brilliant and baffling … all at once.

To that effect, when asked the difference between working on "Damages" and "Deadwood," Olyphant said, "When those guys talk ("Damages" exec producers Glenn A. Kessler, Todd Kessler and Daniel Zelman), I understand what they're saying."

Olyphant went on to say after the panel that he considers his time on "Deadwood" "quite a blessing" and he's not quite sure how the Western changed his career. Since the show wrapped, he's had parts in indies like "Bill" and big studio pics, such as "Hitman" and "Live Free or Die Hard."

When mentioned about the playful banter on the first-season DVD of "Deadwood," Olyphant added that he and Ian McShane, who played Al Swearengen, remain close friends and speak regularly. He also indicated that if Milch called him up for another project, he'd "absolutely work with him again."

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Now, finally, J.J. Abrams feels your pain.

Abrams, who exec produced "Alias" way back when, now  knows what it was like to be on the other side.

While visiting buddy Greg Grunberg's house awhile back, the two were hanging out and "Alias" popped up on TV. Abrams (pictured right) was watching intently, and, like millions of others who scratched their heads watching the tail end of that series, he couldn't quite figure out who was good, who was bad and what the hell was going on.

"It was so confusing, it was impenetrable," Abrams admitted at Monday's "Fringe" session at TCA. "It was, 'Who the fuck is this guy?'"

Funny stuff, especially for the guy who birthed Sydney Bristow and knows where she started, but no so much where she ended up.

Anyway, point of the story was that don't expect "Fringe," Abrams' new show on Fox that's receiving the most buzz of any fall skein, to fall into the "Alias" dilemma.

Unlike "Lost" -- another Abrams series -- and "Alias," "Fringe" won't necessitate compulsive viewing to follow along.

"'Lost' has received and garnered a reputation for being a complicated show," he said. "'Fringe' is an experiment for us; a show with an overall story and end game. This is a show where you don't have to watch episodes one, two and three to understand episode four. This show will have a different paradigm. We're trying very diligently that this doesn't require the insane dedication that if you miss an episode, you have no idea what's going on."

Abrams recognizes that "Fringe" is being talked about a bunch and he takes that as a challenge.

"I do feel, ultimately, that any pressure or expectations for this or any show can ruin a show. If you expect it to change your life (as a viewer), it'll inevitably be disappointing," he continued. "I'm hoping we create a show that's entertaining, and hope and think it is. I don't think one show can save the fall."

Crix got their official look at the show Sunday, as Fox screened it at the Beverly Hilton. Some, though, have seen it previously online, as the pilot was leaked on to the Internet. None of the exec producers on stage -- Abrams, Alex Kurtzman (pictured left), Roberto Orci (pictured right), showrunner Jeff Pinkner and Bryan Burk -- were happy with the early exposure and all denied leaking it.

"We didn't put the pilot online," Burk said. "We hate putting it out there until it's done. That's why you didn't get advance copies. We keep working on our stuff until it airs. Often I'm working on 'Lost' 24 hours before it goes up."

So with the banter in the TV community calling "Fringe" the top dog, plus a primo timeslot -- 9 p.m. Tuesdays after "House" -- the pressure's on. Failure, it would seem, is not an option.

"We have no excuses," said Orci. "We can't say Fox didn't promote it. It's our fault if it doesn't work."

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Of all the entertainment toppers at the broadcast nets, Fox's Kevin Reilly comes across as a guy who gets it.

Unlike his counterparts, Reilly doesn't arrive at TCA just to read off the latest ratings stats or tout the company line -- "We love this show!"; This is a game-changer"; We couldn't be happier!"; -- but actually seems to be thinking and processing the questions from info-starved scribes.

One of his most well thought out answers came while addressing the current state of network comedy. He could've given the standard response -- "It's cyclical. It'll come back"  -- but instead sees the genre as having a difficult time making a complete recovery. He even took a shot at Fox.

"We've talked about it every year. A lot of confidence has left the creative space. I see talented people coming in skittish and not knowing what to pitch, and what will sell," Reilly explained. "NBC has a cohesive thing, something I worked on while I was there. We're going to mix it up this year. We're not taking our pitches in our office, but go out on their own turf. To a restaurant, house, anywhere to get it out of a sterile environment. We're going to pay writers to shoot something before they come in."

"Our comedy brand has a bit anemic, and we're looking for the next 'Malcolm in the Middle."

One comedy project Reilly seemed particularly enthusiastic about is midseason single-camera laffer "Boldly Going Nowhere," from the team behind FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

"It's 'The Office' in space," is how Reilly described it, and he should know something about what makes "The Office" a hit as he was head of NBC Entertainment when the show arrived in Burbank via London. "It's about petty jealousy and incompetence on a long-term mission."

Some tidbits of interest from HBO's TCA sesh for its new vampire drama "True Blood":

**Creator/exec producer Alan Ball (pictured with stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer) affirms right off the bat that he's no vampire freak. He stumbled on the book series that spawned "True Blood" while browsing in a bookstore as he waited for a dental appointment. He was sold by the tagline "Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend wasn't such a good idea" on the first installment of Charlaine Harris' series of Sookie Stackhouse novels. As he read through it, he realized the colorful characters and backwoods Loo-zee-ana setting would make a fine TV show.

**Ball, renowned for "Six Feet Under" and "American Beauty," has never seen "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"  or "Angel" or read Anne Rice novels. But he does have a favorite vamp pic, 1987's "Near Dark," which marked the directorial debut of Kathryn Bigelow. "The best vampire movie ever made, in my opinion," Ball told TCA-ers.

**Ball didn't say whether he'd seen CBS' "Moonlight" or not, but he did volunteer an opinion on the show."I think it's pretty lame when you let your vampire go out in the day just because you don't want to shoot at night," Ball said.

**A great deal of thought was put into how to depict the physiological attributes of the undead. No quick slip-on fangs for "True Blood's" vampires. "We took great pains to depict a certain kind of physiology for the fangs, where they are actually retracted like rattlesnake fangs, and then they click forward. I wanted to approach the supernatural not as being something that exists outside of nature, but something that is more deeply rooted in nature," Ball said.

It's usually a good sign for a show when there's a lot of jokes and banter swapped among the cast and writer-producers during their inaugural TCA sesh. It sends a message that these folks actually like each other and are confident enough in their work to have fun in front of the assembled television press corps.

That was the case on Friday with the gang behind Lifetime's upcoming comedy "Rita Rocks," from Media Rights Capital.

Star Nicole Sullivan was particularly bubbly in her discussion of the show about a married working mom who decides to revisit her garage band roots as a way of carving out some time for herself amid all the stress and strain of her everyday grind. Show is set to preem in December; Lifetime only had a clip to show to the crix but it looks like fun (it had me at "Try a Little Tenderness," the sturdy Otis Redding ballad that Rita and her newly assembled band tackle).

Sullivan, known for her stints on Fox's MadTV and CBS' "The King of Queens," said she's been waylaid in the past by committing to half-hour series projects that tried to trade too much on her over-the-top characters sketch comedy persona.
 
"For me this was the first opportunity where the character was smart enough and alive enough that I could put in all of my dumb bits that I love to do...but the show is so grounded in reality, so grounded in people that all women know. There's not a wife and mother that doesn't hunderstand the feeling of waking up one day and saying 'I know I'm happy but why am I feeling sort of unsatisfied?' That was what sent it home for me. It's the first time I felt that there was a part that was equal parts real and funny for me."

Creators/exec producers Stan Zimmerman and Jim Berg probably wrote "Rita Rocks" as a spec more than 10 years ago, and shopped it every now and again until Lifetime finally bit.

"It's a writers fantasy to have a script that nobody believed in come to fruition like this," Berg admitted.

Sullivan and her costars Tisha Campbell-Martin and Richard Ruccolo (pictured above) giggled through the sesh, particularly after one questioner pressed Sullivan on her musical faves when she was growing up.

I listened to things like REO Speedwagon. I had the worst taste. I loved Van Halen and REO," Sullivan confessed. "I was white trash. There. Print it."

But Sullivan was nothing if not upbeat and polite.  "Have a good rest of the day," she earnestly told the TCAers as the session wrapped.

It's an unscientific survey of three, but it seems telling about the mood of working thesps regarding the Screen Actors Guild contract stalemate.

Dennis Hopper, Don Cheadle and Shirley MacLaine, when asked during TCA seshes on Friday for their thoughts about situation, none of them raised a fist, literally or figuratively, in support of the guild's position. Can't help but notice how markedly different this is to the attitude among scribes last fall.

Hopper got a big laugh during his sesh for the Starz drama "Crash" in noting that taking a side would amount to him having "to get between Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks...and I’d have to side with Jack." (After all, Hanks wasn't in "Easy Rider.")

"I think the unfortunate thing is that in there are 120,000 actors in SAG and only 7,000 make a living acting... I hope it doesn't come to vote for a strike because I'm afraid that we'll go out on strike," Hopper said.

Cheadle, also part of the "Crash" panel, evinced a little more concern about the contract terms at stake but was still way cautious on the strike front.

"Last time we gave up the farm on some things," Cheadle said of SAG's previous contract negotiation with the majors. "These residuals, that's our life blood for actors. I'm fortunate that I work pretty consistently. But a lot of people rely on (residuals) to get them through month to month. I agree with Dennis -- I hope we're able to come to some sort of agreement without calling for a strike. A great number of people in the city hope that it comes out that way as well. It's not just the actors that are going to be hurt if this happens -- caterers, cleaners, restaurants, valets -- everybody really takes a big hit," he said.

MacLaine, who was tubthumping her Lifetime biopic on Coco Chanel, volunteered her thoughts on the situation while answering a loaded question ("what's wrong with Hollywood?") from a journo. Her remarks reflected the feeling that in many respects there's already a de facto strike going on, and she noted its impact on showbiz workers other than actors.

"Let's settle this strike," she said. "Let's think about other people. Let's think about the problems and the people who will be very, very badly suffering if this strike occurs."

Starz enters the scripted drama game in October with "Crash," and if the premise of reinventing the Oscar-winning film for TV doesn't drawn in viewers, maybe watching Dennis Hopper talking to his penis will do the trick.

Hopper plays eccentric record producer Ben Cendars, an off-wall-character -- yeah, that's a big change for Dennis -- who tries to remain professionally relevant but has a difficult time understanding his time may have passed.

"He's crazier than any of them," Hopper said in comparing the bizzare-o characters he's portrayed over a stellar career to this one. "Totally out of control. Phil Spector and I shared offices for 10 years." Enough said.

While the show is loosely based on the movie, there are new characters introduced and this shouldn't considered a sequel by any means.

"I hope people are excited by the show and think it has something to offer, but if they're expecting to see the movie over 13 episodes, they're not going to see that," said exec producer Don Cheadle, who co-starred in the theatrical release and may appear in the show at some point. Anger and unresolved issues are the theme for the series.

"We came to the realization the show has to stand on its own. In the movie, we had 90 or 100 minutes to create these characters and resolve their arcs, and now we have 13 episodes. It's much more exciting for the actors," Cheadle said.

"Crash" showrunner/exec producer Glen Mazzara, an alumnus of "The Shield," acknowledged the primary challenge of figuring out how to plot the multiple character arcs and how they all intersect.

"With the movie you can have the characters intersect within two hours. Over the course of a show, you can plot out if and when they meet each other. It's really nice to have the 13 episodes to plot that out. It won't be a gimmick every week," Mazzara said.

-- STUART LEVINE

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Crix got an advance look at the upcoming Cartoon Network skein "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and while this wasn't your typical "Star Wars" crowd that would jam a multiplex on an opening night, the reaction to the episode was a solid thumbs up.

I'll put it right out there that the entire "Star Wars" franchise has never been my thing and I don't share in the fanaticism of others, but upon viewing it would be hard to argue that the fan base won't tune in.

Cartoon has yet to set a premiere date, but 22 episodes will launch in the fall.

So what takes place in the episode? Well, Gen. Yoda is wielding his light saber like a seasoned pro against the army of Asajj Ventress. And when he's not deflecting bullets, he's using his powers -- aka the Force -- to defeat the bad guys. Want more? Here's Brian Lowry's full review.

Supervising director David Filoni (pictured below) talked about using what's already been learned in the six films and bringing that to television.

"We know Yoda is powerful, but how is that developed? How does he use it? We can go into more detail you couldn't do in the live-action films, which are focused on Anakin," he said. "Here the Clones have more personalities and it's important to get that point across to audiences and kids."

One character featured in the episode not seen on the bigscreen is Ventress, a disciple of Count Duku, who cuts quite an animated figure.

"He's training her to be on the dark side and she's getting more powerful," Filoni explained. "We want to make her deceptive and sexual. She's a forbidden fruit walking among the Jedi. She's sensuous, like a serpent."

Filoni says he doesn't see the "Star Wars" mythology ending anytime soon, with children absorbing the phenomenon from their parents.

"Every time I go to Toys R Us, kids are picking up light sabers and wanting to go to a galaxy far, far away," he said. "I hope those fans watch this and listen to Yoda."

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

The CNN political team arrived at TCA with an plenty of enthusiasm for the current election. That rah-rah spirit for the presidential race is being mirrored around the country, and not just by the political junkies.

The first question was a great one, and put the folks on stage back on their heels a bit: Did a "Saturday Night Live" skit reshape the entire way the campaign is covered, in that Hillary was getting all the tough questions and Obama the softballs?

Gloria Borger rebuked the premise.

"Barack didn't get as soft coverage as everyone thought. He did get some tough coverage. If you asked him if he was treated with kid gloves, he would say no. If you asked Hillary, she would say yes."

Added John King: "You have to remember, the Clinton campaign came in as the incumbent. It was the Clintons coming back to power, so we covered that with a skeptical eye."

Everyone agreed the upcoming conventions will provide political fireworks, and the not the dog-and-pony shows of the past.

"Does George Bush even go on the stage?" asked Borger. "Does he do it by remote? What do you do with a president with a 28% approval rate?"

"Conventions give us a fascinating opportunity," said King. "This is the most consequential election of my lifetime."

Closing the sesh, one scribe asked if CNN was being too boastful every time it touts itself as the best political team on television. Wolf Blitzer defending the claim.

"We really believe that," Blitzer chimed in via satellite from Washington, D.C. "It's not just those on camera, but behind the camera. I have no problem branding us as the best."

Said David Bohrman, senior VP and D.C. bureau chief: "If Wolf says it, it must be true."

How to describe "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog?" High-quality superhero-and-supervillain fun. With a swell soundtrack of original tunes.

The first thing I noticed about the Internet musical created by the brothers Whedon -- Joss, Jed and Zack and Jed's fiance, Maurissa Tancharoen -- was how fabulous it looks. No YouTube grainy-blurry here, thanks to the talents of director Joss and d.p. Ryan Green.

The second thing I noticed about the production was ... nothing because a few minutes in to Thursday night's screening of the 40-minute program at CAA, I was thoroughly engrossed. Gotta hand it to Joss and Jed for their skill in penning the tunes, which really make "Dr. Horrible" work as a tuner.

Not gonna spill any story details, at the request of the creators, other than to say it's cheeky and comic book-y with a love story at the center. It is, of course, elevated by the strength of its cast. Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion are fantastic; it wouldn't work if they weren't as good as they are in their roles. Felicia Day is just right as the unconventional love interest; sidekick Simon Helberg is equal parts perspiration and inspiration.

"Dr. Horrible" is a Joss-led attempt to test-drive the made-for-Internet production business, on his own dime (more like low six-figures though no one would get specific on the budget) and with a lot of help from industry friends. It was, as might be expected, very liberating and tons of fun, Harris opined in a post-screening chat with reporters and bloggers.

"We had the freedom to be like professional amateurs," Harris said, and that sensibility was "worked into the vibe of the film."

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

It's hard to imagine that during Motley Crue's party hearty era, drummer Tommy Lee would've given any thought to environmental issues.

Crue's days -- and mostly nights -- were all about the excess, whether it was booze, girls or turning up the volume. But now Lee is teaming up with rapper Ludacris (pictured right) to clean up the mess in Planet Green's "Battleground Earth " which begins Aug. 3 at 10 p.m. (Net is part of the Discovery family.) The two take part in an eco-friendly competition trying to pursuade viewers to go green.

Lee, on satellite from Canada while touring with the Crue, didn't add much to the conversation -- Ludacris, aka Chris Bridges, and musician Johnny Colt of the band Train were politely fielding questions on stage --and the panel turned into a rather tame affair, especially considering the f-bombs these guys have thrown around over the years.

Toward the end of the session, one scribe tried to liven things up and asked Tommy how he would convince Pamela Anderson to help the environment. He said he'd prefer not to answer, but one has to wonder whether silicone is biodegradable?

ABC has been good about coming up with clever promo stunts for its clever-quirky dramedy "Pushing Daisies."

Last year it was a special pre-premiere screening of the pilot seg at the Hollywood Forever cemetery. This year they're hosting a Pie Hole pie-eating contest at the Orange County Fair.

Field Cate and Sammi Hanratty (pictured below at last year's Hollywood Forever event), the moppets who play the kid versions of Lee Pace's Ned and Anna Friel's Chuck, will be on hand for the cherry promotion, which will run July 11-12 and July 15-19, and six more nights between July 22-Aug. 2.

If you're inclined to scarf some pie and pick up a few "Pushing Daisies" trinkets, get yourself down to the O.C. Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa. Somehow I'm guessing "Daisies" creator Bryan Fuller can put away a lot pie; he must love the stuff to have made them such a dominant motif in his romantic fairy tale.

"Daisies" was one of the casualties of the WGA walkout last season, as its promising frosh year was rudely interrupted. The show's re-launch is off to a good start, as it seems to have a strong shot a copping an Emmy nom for comedy series after making the top 10 of vote-getters in the nominations polling. Here's hoping it comes back in the fall with pie-high ratings.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

It was probably the earliest ayem panel the folks at "Mad Men" have ever participated in, but the crusty eyes and uncombed hair didn't stop any of the actors or creator Matt Weiner from offering some insight into AMC's buzz skein.

Season two, which starts up on July 27, won't be an immediate follow-up to last season's finale. Time will have lapsed, and Peggy's baby isn't even addressed in the first episode. That will come as the season progresses.

"Trust me," said Weiner, who is adamant about making sure plot points aren't revealed before an episode airs. "I’ll give you the information you need in the most entertaining  fashion possible."

Despite all the well-earned glory Weiner has received, including a big New York Times Magazine piece, he's still concerned about keeping the quality at the same high level as seen in season one.

"The truth is, the success still hasn’t sunk in,” confessed Weiner. “I’m an artist who can only hear bad things. I’m tightly wound and want to please myself. This is where I feel the pressure. I don’t want these people to get a script and say, ‘Oh, it’s a dud.’”

So far, no one has been disappointed. In fact, the cast, which has given flesh and blood to Weiner’s scripts, can’t really relate to their leader’s pessimism.

Said John Slattery, who’s been seen in a bunch of shows lately, including “Desperate Housewives”: “With TV, you sign on in the beginning and hope for the best. At the table readings, everyone is ooing, aahhing and laughing. It’s a surprise every week. The characters go places you didn’t expect them to go.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen and are afraid to ask. It could be your own death. Especially for me.”

Added Jon Hamm: “You think it’s going one way but the material takes you in another direction.”

Hamm offered some interesting analysis of his character’s relationship with his co-workers, especially Peggy, his former secretary who got promoted and is now slugging it out with the big boys.

“Don has a lot of respect for Peggy," Hamm revealed. “His relationship with women are complicated. The women he’s attracted to are women who are independent, and Peggy has an essence that’s appealing to Don. He’s not sexually attracted to her but respects her. He sees in Peggy a co-worker to be trusted. That’s very high praise from him.”

While Weiner is waiting for the other shoe to drop and can have a hard time envisioning a rosy future, he’s happy to talk up the scripted-programming future of AMC, the home of “Mad Men,” in glowing terms.

“It can take five to 10 years for some channels to get to where AMC is now,” Weiner touted. “I don’t hear A&E anymore. I hear AMC.”

NBC.com has just the thing to help us (in L.A.) through a heat wave: A batch of "Office" webisodes revolving around ice cream and Kevin's efforts to launch a business dubbed "Malone's Cones."

At least that's what he's telling people he intends to do. Funny and (by definition) breezy, the "Kevin's Loan" webisodes are nice fix for "Office" lovers at the midway point in our summertime wait for fresh segs this fall. It doesn't hurt that it amounts to a mini-showcase for fan-fave supporting characters like Brian Baumgartner's Kevin (pictured left), Craig Robinson's Darryl and Oscar Nunez's Oscar.

There were no credits on the screener I just watched but it's clear these bits were penned and helmed by CPAs (Certified People Approved by "Office" guru Greg Daniels). At least this time around "Office" staffers won't be toiling for free on these webisodes. The mandate to do just that two years ago on the first batch of web originals that "Office" team delivered ("The Accountants") was a big bone of contention for the show's staff before and during the WGA strike, but now this work is covered by the WGA's hard-fought new media provisions in its contract running through 2011 pact.

"You are a really weird dude, Oscar," Kevin insists (like he should talk) after Oscar calls him on his Malone's Cones ruse.

The "Kevin's Loan" webisodes bow July 10 at 3 p.m. ET on "The Office" home page on NBC.com.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

The series won't start until Aug. 26, but based on a handful of funny barbs from the panel, I'm looking forward to checking out the new BBC America sitcom "Gavin & Stacey."

James Corden, in particular, who also starred in the Broadway version of "The History Boys," is a hoot. In the midst of answering a question, he switched gears and blurted out, "I have to say it's so weird sitting in a white sofa talking to a group of people checking their emails and going on Facebook."

Corden plays nice guy Gavin's best friend, Smithy, who loves both food and beer, and who becomes romantic with Stacey's BFF, Nessa (Ruth Jones).The couple -- who also write the series -- had some great chemistry in both clips aired here and while fielding queries.

Already on the air in the U.K., the skein began on BBC3 a couple of seasons ago and has an upcoming Christmas special on the high-profile BBC1 this winter. And, like British import "The Office," NBC is formatting "Gavin & Stacey" for U.S. auds.

It's one to keep an eye on.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

"You've got spunk. I hate spunk."

Any self-respecting TV aficianado knows Ed Asner spoke those words to Mary Tyler Moore in the first seg of Moore's iconic '70s sitcom, and spunk is what Asner brought to the Hallmark Channel presentation on the opening morning of fear and loathing between beleaguered nets and disgruntled journos, aka TCA.

During a panel dedicated to the upcoming Hallmark pic "Generation Gap," the first question asked of Asner -- a former president of the Screen Actors Guild -- was whether he thought his fellow thesps would strike.

"I have no idea, but I doubt it," Asner said, just warming up. "The town has been fairly terrorized and actors don't have more guts than the average person. ... The actors would vote for it (AFTRA deal) for it, and I would vote against it, but I always do the opposite thing."

Asner also went off about how Hollywood and the TV biz has changed over the many decades in which he's been doing stellar work.

"TV has been in horrible shape for awhile," he said. "When I came to California in 1961, there were three big networks and I remember going to MGM. It was the city on the hill. I didn't go back for a long time, after Kirk Kerkorian had taken over, and the city on the hill had sunk into the ghetto. It looked like a dump. It was amazing to see the deterioration and shocking to see MGM that way, because it was the king.

"Everything now is based on the cheap, with 30-second soundbites. And who owns the network this week, that sort of thing... What everyone is looking for is stabilization out of the chaos."

Nothing says TCA like stars in awkward situations. (See pic at left of "House" star Hugh Laurie in a bumper car at Fox's TCA party on the Santa Monica pier last summer.)

Yep, the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour is upon us, starting Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton hotel. The January TCA gathering was scuttled by the writers strike, so undoubtedly there will be pent-up excitement (agitation? irritation? ultra-obnoxious lines of questioning?) than usual among the scribes, execs and stars who make TCA go 'round.

As we did last year, On the Air will offer team coverage of this fortnight of frothing about shows to come and the strike-interrupted season that just was, and any other issues that crop up between Tuesday and July 22. Variety's Stuart Levine plans to park himself at the BevHilton for the duration, while our TV leader, Michael Schneider, reporter Daniel Frankel and myself will also be availing ourselves of the hotel's free Wi-Fi to cover the events...and drink. I'm guessing it's a safe bet that the tradition of TCA bingo (in which attendees track the over-use of buzz words by panelists) will include the phrase "writers strike" this year.

It all starts Tuesday with a heavy rotation of cable presentations, including Hallmark Channel, HD Net, BBC America and E! nets.

Wednesday's lineup includes: AMC and WE; MTV Networks; A&E Networks

Thursday: Discovery Networks; ESPN; Sundance Channel; HBO

Friday: Turner Broadcasting; Fox Reality Channel; Starz; Lifetime

Saturday-Sunday: PBS -- whose talent roster includes none other than Sir George Martin, plugging his series "On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives."

To my surprise, I have made a point of keeping up with "Swingtown" during the past few weeks.

The characters in CBS' retro tale of suburban angst in the summer of '76 have grown on me. "Swingtown" benefits enormously from its solid cast, anchored by Molly Parker (pictured far left with costars Miriam Shor and Lana Parrilla) as Susan, a mother and housewife who is starting to come out of her hausfrau shell. Parker is one of those thesps who is engaging on screen in a very natural way. At her best, she makes you feel like you can read her character's thoughts.

Another big part of "Swingtown's" charm is the 'remember-when' aspect. For those of us old enough to remember all the the Bicentennial ballyhoo (and if you were remotely conscious, you can't forget it), the hubbub over Nadia Comaneci and her perfect 10s at the Montreal summer Olympics and Carter vs. Ford at the polls that year, "Swingtown" is an immediate fix of nostalgia for a bygone era that, of course, seems rosier in memory that it was in real time. That sentimental feeling increased by a factor of 100 for me in this past week's seg, "Go Your Own Way," which involved Susan defying her husband Bruce's wishes by attending a fundraiser for the legal defense of the star of "Deep Throat."

To make up her mind, Susan goes to see "Deep Throat," and the location used for the theater was none other than South Pasadena's (once) majestic Rialto Theater. Oh, the movies I saw there when it was a Landmark-owned revival house. This was in an interesting transitional period for showbiz -- only a few years after the time frame of "Swingtown," and only a few years before video cassette players became a household appliance, allowing film buffs to indulge in a whole new way.

It's always nice when a pleasant surprise pops up in your inbox late in the afternoon. That was the case with an invite that came out of the blue for a screening next Thursday (July 10) at CAA of Joss Whedon's latest concoction, the made-for-Internet "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

It's a three-parter with name-brand stars, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day and the fabulous Simon Helberg from my new favorite show, "The Big Bang Theory." "Dr. Horrible" seems to be something of a Whedon family hootenanny. It's penned by Joss, his brothers Jed and Zack, and Jed's fiance, Maurissa Tancharoen. Jed and Maurissa are writing partners working for Joss on his day job, the upcoming Fox drama "Dollhouse."

Zack, as readers of On the Air already know, is a comer who is not only endowed with screenwriting in his DNA (his father and grandfather were also in the family biz) but was taken under wing a few years ago by none other than David Milch. Zack (pictured right) worked with Milch on "Deadwood" and "John from Cincinnati," and even wrote "John's" big-wave-wild finale (I'm not ashamed to say that I really enjoyed that show).

In his spare time during the past few months, Zack's been busy working on "Dr. Horrible" and writing a comic book, "Captain Hammer," based on a character from "Dr. Horrible." You can check out his comicbook wordsmithing right here.

"Dr. Horrible," which Joss also helmed, is set to be unleashed on the Web over three days -- July 15, July 17 and July 19. If there's some numerology significance to those dates, maybe we'll find out about it at the screening.

On the "Dr. Horrible" website, Joss explains his reasoning (as only he can) for tackling this project.