Only a been-there/greenlit-that showbizzer like Leonard Goldberg could bring together the motley crew of Sumner Redstone, Michael Eisner, Leslie Moonves, Jerry Weintraub, Bill Blinn, Harry Sloan, Jonathan Dolgen, Arnold Kopelson, Ed Zwick and Peter Bart on a night when there was a compelling boxing match on TV.

But the Paley Center for Media months ago dated Thursday night for its salute to Goldberg's long career in film and TV, and his friends and longtime colleagues weren't about to let him down, not even for the spectacle of Biden vs. Palin.

It is a testament to Goldberg's legacy as an innovator and successful producer that the conversation was much more a lively discussion about television's present and future than it was a rose-colored nostalgia trip back into the past.

"The problem is, it's nobody's money," Goldberg opined when the conversation turned to the ever-spiraling costs of TV production.

During the years of his very fruitful producing partnership with Aaron Spelling in the 1970s and '80s (count the hits: "The Rookies," "SWAT," "Starsky & Hutch," "Family," "Charlie's Angels," "Fantasy Island," "Hart to Hart"), Goldberg recalled, "if we went over budget, it was our money. We decided when we would (need to) go over budget, because it was our money...If more people were given the opportunity to independently produce (today), I think you'd see people figure out ways to do it for less."

Variety boss Bart moderated spirited debate about the state of the biz, then and now, among Goldberg, Eisner (his former underling at ABC), writer Blinn (who penned "Brian's Song" and "Starsky and Hutch" for Goldberg) and multihyphenate Zwick (who cut his teeth in his 20s on "Family").

(Pictured above, from left, Eisner, Goldberg and Bart.)

"Desperate Housewives" fans should hop on over to the Season Pass blog for a fun, video-enhanced Q&A with Marc Cherry, conducted by Season Pass maven Kathy Lyford from questions sent in by fans.

Cherry is candid and insightful in discussing his creative process and the characters that populate Wisteria Lane. To wit:

Eva and I sort of discovered the character together. At some point I started making Gabrielle selfish and mean and self-obsessed and materialistic and Eva kind of was scared at first. She thought people wouldn’t like her. But I discovered she had the same qualities that Rue McClanahan did in “Golden Girls,” which is the ability to do unlikable things and still have the audience love you. And once I was confident in her ability to pull that kind of character off, we really went for it. It’s all about coming up with ways for Gabrielle to do just horrible, horrible things and we’re having a lot of fun with it.

"Mad Men" fanatics alert: Some swell tidbits were shared by series creator/exec producer Matthew Weiner and his assistant-turned-staff-writer Robin Veith during Wednesday night's panel sesh with Emmy-nommed writers at the Writers Guild Theater in BevHills.

Most awesome, to my ears, was the anecdote that Veith shared about the unforgettable scene in the seg toward the end of season one where a stressed-out Betty Draper shocks her children by picking up a BB gun to shoot the neighbors pigeons as they fly overhead against a postcard-perfect blue sky. The neighbor had threatened to shoot the Draper's new puppy after the dog got a hold of one of the pigeons.

Veith vividly remembers being a shocked at the age of 7 or 8 while growing up in "farm town Maryland"  when her own mother did the very same thing after her dog, Boo, snapped the neck of a pigeon kept by their very unpopular neighbor -- whose birds were the scourge of their cul-de-sac.

"It was the greatest thing I'd ever seen," Veith said, with obvious pride.

Veith (pictured left) gave us another insight relating to an element in this season's segs that has generated a ton of commentary in "Mad Men" blog-o-sphere.

"Sally Draper mixing cocktails for her parents -- that was me," Veith said, noting that daiquiris were among her specialties. There was a momentary hush in the aud.

Another funny bit relating to a plot point from the first-season finale, "The Wheel," for which Veith and Weiner (pictured above) are nommed (Weiner's also up for the pilot): Weiner bought an actual "Relaxercizer" machine that he found in a thrift store more than three years ago, before "Mad Men" was even set up at AMC, with the idea that he would use it in the show one day.

"That's how I work," he said.

Very classy. With Laura Ziskin at the helm, ABC, CBS and NBC pulled off a historic simultaneous telecast devoted to raising money for cancer research and awareness among viewers of the importance of early-detection tests for the disease that claims 550,000 Americans every year.

"Stand Up to Cancer" was part telethon and part tribute to the millions of famous and ordinary folks who have battled cancer in its many forms. The hourlong, commercial-free special, originating from Hollywood's Kodak Theater, was notable for featuring a joint-emcee appearance by the Big Three news anchors -- Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams -- and appearances by a gaggle of celebs. Presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama sent in vids, as did producers of "The Simpsons."

All in all, an uplifting hour that harnessed the awesome power of the medium on behalf of a most worthy cause. Kudos to Ziskin (pictured below with Ellen DeGeneres), a cancer survivor herself, for joining with Sherry Lansing, the Entertainment Industry Foundation and other organizers to make it happen.

(More pics after the jump. Below right: Jennifer Garner, Evan Handler and Scarlett Johansson)

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and ABC are adding an anniversary sheen to this year's 60th annual Emmycast by holding an online poll to determine television's 40 greatest "moments."

The problem with these kind of tallies is that no finite list can do justice to the bazillion hours of television programming that have flown through the air since commercial network television took root in the '47-'48 period.

But even accepting the limitations of these kind of list-y efforts, I gotta say that the selections that ATAS and ABC have come up with -- 20 apiece for comedy and drama -- are a little thin, in my book.

First off, they have the Beatles' first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" under comedy. Huh? The finale of the first edition of "American Idol"? Huh?

The "All in the Family" where Sammy Davis Jr. kisses Archie -- OK. "The Carol Burnett Show" with the "Gone With the Wind" spoof -- OK. "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" with then-candidate Richard Nixon delivering the "sock it to me" line -- well, OK, though I'd call it more historical curiosity than a comedy moment. But the coming out episode of "Ellen" and a "Mork and Mindy" seg, even with the talents of Jonathan Winters -- c'mon! No "Cheers"? No "WKRP in Cincinnati"? No "Odd Couple"? No "Soap"? No "Barney Miller"? I could go on (and on).

Same beef goes for the drama selections: No room for "I Spy," "St. Elsewhere," "The Wire," "Homicide: Life on the Street," "The Rockford Files," "Adam-12," "Lou Grant," "Hill Street Blues," "Northern Exposure," "NYPD Blue."

But "Little House on the Prairie," "L.A. Law," "Dynasty" and "Moonlighting" make the cut?

Oh well. The top comedy and drama vote-getters will be revealed during the Sept. 21 Emmycast, just before this year's top series winners are announced. From the choices at hand, I'd have to vote for the "To Serve Man" seg of "The Twilight Zone" for drama (pictured top left), and the series finale of "Newhart" on the comedy side (pictured right).

Good to finally get a proper look at this year's "Lost" vid from Comic-Con now that it's popped up on ABC.com.

"Secret Candle" drops a lot of hints, though I just don't know if I buy that Marvin Candle (aka Edgar Halliwax) is Pierre Chang, professor of astrophysics from Ann Arbor, Mich.

"Time isn't just of the essense, it is the essense," Candle/Halliwax/Chang pleads, from 30 years in the past (or is it his future and our past?). The audio of the "Lost" panel with Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and Matthew Fox from Comic-Con is also posted on the show's podcast page.

I'm grateful for any morsel of fresh "Lost" material, but it's also kinda harsh to see the "returns in early 2009" posted on the show's home page, given that it's the dog days of August and we still have to wait another Six Months at Minimum for the next full-length adventure with the Flight 815's once-and-future castaways.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

Like parents trying to get the kids to turn off the TV and the Wii and spend some time between covers this summer, ABC and "Lost" stewards Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have launched the "Lost Book Club" via ABC.com and iTunes.

It is exactly what it sounds like: A running list of books that have made their way on to one of the smallscreen's Best Shows Ever. There's info about each title, details of how it was referenced on the show and of course, a forum for fan gabbery. It's a little something to help tide us over during the (argggh) seven more months (give or take a week or two) until our heroes come storming back in early '09.

(I'm just dying to know what's transpiring between Sawyer, Juliet and that bottle of Dharma rum right about now...)

Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise 4 Ever!

Hot off the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nomination vote-tallying machine, here are the top 10 finalists for Emmy noms in the comedy and drama series heats. The final noms will be announced on Thursday, July 17.

(My 2 cents on the list follows after the jump)

COMEDY

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
The Office
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty
Weeds

DRAMA

Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Mad Men
The Tudors
The Wire

If you dream of becoming a television writer, buff up the resume and click here because applications are now being accepted for the 2009 Writing Fellowship Program run by the Disney-ABC Television Group, Walt Disney Studios and Writers Guild of America West.

The fellowship is an intense year-long paid program that gives a handful of promising scribes the chance to jumpstart their careers through seminars and workshop, one-on-one mentor assignments with Disney and ABC creative execs and the ability to observe first hand how the sausage is made on ABC, Disney Channel or ABC Family shows, among others.

Alumni of this program, heading into its 19th year, have famously done well for themselves. Success stories from this year's program, which isn't even over yet, include Erika Johnson, who landed on "Ugly Betty"; Leyani Diaz, who joined the staff of "Brothers and Sisters"; and Matthew Whitney, who can now be found in the writers' room on ABC Family's "Greek."

I've spoken with a number of fellowship alums over the years, and there is no doubt that it is an incredible experience for those who are lucky enough to land a slot. Disney deserves a tip of the pen for its commitment to the Writing Fellowship and similar program for helmers that the Mouse House runs with the Directors Guild of America.

Applications for the Writing Fellowship will be accepted via this website through Aug. 8. So get out that spec script you've been harboring on your hard drive and get cracking.

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Growing up a sports nut in the 1970s, Saturday afternoon always meant three things: NBC's Major League Baseball Game of the Week, ABC's Professional Bowlers Tour and "Wide World of Sports."

The latter was hosted every week by Jim McKay, who passed away this morning at the age of 86. I can still hear his voice in the intro, "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat." Visually, those words were always set against that unfortunate ski jumper tumbling, head over feet, down the side of a mountain. That poor guy, how horrible to always be know as the guy synonymous with "defeat."

McKay would bounce all over the globe with "Wide World," from cliffdiving in Mexico, to table tennis in Asia, to log rolling in Scotland. He seemed to get a big kick chipping a golf ball over the Great Wall of China, back when traveling to China was something special and unique.

He also was a big fan of horse racing, and would always stand in front of the twin spires at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of every May for the Kentucky Derby. Hosting the Derby coverage was special to McKay, a Maryland resident who owned a horse farm and loved thoroughbreds.

But where McKay earned his reputation as one of the giants of television came during one of the ugliest incidents in the history of sports competition: the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. There, under the dark of night, a Palestine terrorist group killed Israeli athletes and coaches, turning the Games into a political arena and place of mourning for Jews all around the world.

Covering th