Cynthia Littleton On The Air

TCA: "CSI" welcomes the transition

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."

TCA: A fortnight of frothing

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."

"Swingtown": Thanks for the memory

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.

Emmy's top 10 finalists for the comedy and drama series kudo

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

"Swingtown": 'Basically, it's defiling marriage'

Shannon C. Barry of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (near Mission Viejo in Orange County) is not a self-appointed media watchdog, or an activist by nature.

She's a wife and mother of three who works as a waitress and a professional horse rider, and as a "taxi driver" for her kids. She doesn't have much spare time to watch TV, though she makes a point to "never miss an episode of 'American Idol.'"

But Barry was incensed and spurred to take action after getting a glimpse of CBS' "Swingtown." Last weekend she emailed a letter of complaint urging CBS affiliates to yank the show that revolves around the lives of three married couples and their spouse-swapping, Quaalude-dropping adventures in the summer of '76.

"Basically, it's defiling marriage," Barry said in a telephone interview Thursday. "The more we put things like this on the air, the more the public is exposed to things like that, it becomes OK. But it's not OK to represent marriage that way."

Barry first heard about "Swingtown" through an item in People magazine. A look back at the era of sex, drugs and spouse-swapping didn't sound like anything that belonged on broadcast TV, in Barry's opinion.

Her instinct was confirmed after she saw a promo spot for the show on CBS. Then she went on the CBS website and watched a trailer "that showed three people in bed together," Barry said. "It definitely really rubbed me wrong."

"Swingtown": It's not for everyone

We certainly could've predicted this. The Parents Television Council-driven complaints about CBS' "Swingtown" are starting to roll in, as detailed in this post on Season Pass.

"How I Met Your Mother" tubthumps in Gotham

The "How I Met Your Mother" mob went to Gotham earlier this week to host a special event for Academy of Television Arts and Sciences members (read: Emmy voters) at the bar that inspired the fictional watering hole MacLaren's on the New York-set CBS comedy.

"HIMYM" creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays hung out at McGee's Bar and Grill during their early days as staff scribes on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

On Tuesday Thomas, Bays and four out of five "HIMYM" core cast members -- Cobe Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Josh Radnor (Jason Segal was off shooting a pic) -- gathered at McGee's for a screening and Q&A sesh, moderated by the astute Alan Sepinwall of the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Also in the house were "HIMYM" exec producer-helmer Pam Fryman and Dana Walden, chairman of "HIMYM" studio 20th Century Fox TV chairman. Event and afterparty were SRO with more than 200 attendees, according to reliable sources.

(Pictured below, Pam Fryman, 20th Century Fox TV chairman Dana Walden and Carter Bays.)

Betty White graces "Million Dollar Password"

Betty White alert! The first lady of television will grace CBS' air as a contestant on the June 12 edition of "Million Dollar Password."

White, of course, was married to Mr. Password, Allen Ludden, for many years and logged plenty of appearances on the show in its 1960s and '70s, Goodson-Todman heyday. Ludden had such a graceful way of handing the cards to contestants on the original show, with its pop-up toaster clues.

In this Regis Philbin-hosted primetime incarnation of the show, White will be paired with "Curb Your Enthusiasm's" Susie Essman. Oughta be fun -- but be forewarned, contestants: White is a heck of a "Password" player.

(From years of watching vintage "Password" reruns, my husband and I have determined that the all-time greatest "Password" player was Peter Lawford. He put so much into it. Carol Burnett runs a close second.)

"The Mentalist": First impressions

More first impressions** on the new crop for 2008-09, starting with CBS because they were the first to get their pilots out post-upfront -- probably because they had more completed pilots than any other net.

(Click here for the previous First Impressions post on "Ex List," "Project Gary" and "Worst Week.")

The Mentalist

PRO:

Simon Baker

Simon Baker

Simon Baker

Snappy writing makes it a cut above the patented CBS procedural drama, this time focusing on one-time purported psychic whose wife and child were slaughtered by a serial killer. Reformed sham artist now uses his keen powers of observation to help a team from the California Bureau of Investigation solve really hairy and heinous crimes. Think "Monk" without the neuroses, played with depth by Baker.

Simon Baker

Simon Baker

Simon Baker

Great scene with the investigative team members discussing the case at seafood restaurant gives us a lot of interesting character traits in a short amount of time without clubbing us over the head with exposition.

Nice direction by David "pilot zen master" Nutter.

CON:

A little CBS-formulaic in its execution in parts, starting with Robin Tunney's tough-as-nails team leader character.

Who's ever heard of the California Bureau of Investigation?

Character name of the cute rookie member of the investigative team, Grace Van Pelt (played by Amanda Righetti), makes us think of Lucy Van Pelt and the rest of the Peanuts gang.

**Once again, these are first impressions, and not meant to be a review or hit-or-miss declaration. At this stage of the game, pilots for new fall series are still very much works in progress.

CBS and CNET: Stealth courtship revealed!

Some interesting tidbits in today's SEC filings from CBS Corp. and CNET Networks on the commencement of CBS Corp.'s tender offer to buy CNET Networks for about $1.8 billion.

Most interesting is the detail offered in the backgrounder on the negotiations, which only reinforces how astounding it is that not one whiff of CBS' pursuit of CNET got out in the press prior to the deal announcement on May 15.

CBS Corp. boss Leslie Moonves and CBS chief financial offer Fredric Reynolds made several treks during the past year to CNET's San Francisco HQ to meet with their counterparts, CNET CEO Neil Ashe and CFO Zander Lurie. Ashe and Lurie also spent a lot of quality time at Black Rock meeting with CBS brass. We also now know that May 14 was a marathon workday for Moonves. Not only was it the day of the Eye's upfront presentation at Carnegie Hall, but the final-final the paperwork on the CNET deal was hammered out that day and night and into the wee hours of May 15 prior to the PR execs for both companies pushing the "send" button on the press release that morning.

The big question now, of course, is whether another suitor will come forth with a higher offer for CNET during the next month or so during the tender offer period. Some have suggested that CBS overpaid in agreeing to a deal that gives CNET a 45% premium over where its stock price was before the deal was announced.

But the CBS response is pretty persuasive. CNET is no Internet pipe dream. It's a real company and web pioneer that survived the first dot-bomb meltdown. For 2008, CNET is forecasting nearly $93 million in earnings on revenues of $446 million. Those are numbers that even a $14 billion company like CBS can't sniff at.

As recounted in this SEC filing (the interesting stuff starts on page 15) Reynolds, intrepid CBS Interactive prexy Quincy Smith and two other CBS execs made the first fact-finding mission to CNET's offices in April 2007. Then Moonves and Ashe made a point of having dinner in July during investment banker titan Herbert Allen's annual moguls' retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Allen & Co. wound up becoming an adviser to CNET on the deal.)

(Pictured above: Leslive Moonves on stage at Carnegie Hall during the Eye's May 14 upfront presentation. He headed back Black Rock later in the day to monitor the last lap of the CNET negotiations.)

"The Ex List," "Project Gary," "Worst Week": First impressions

First impressions** from the first batch of pilots to land on my desk (thanks CBS):

The Ex List

PRO:

There's a lot to dine on here in the single-woman's fantasy story of finding Mr. Right at the direction of storefront psychic who tells her to revisit all of her old boyfriends to find the One, within a year or she's outta luck. Cast is uniformly good, particularly lead Elizabeth Reaser as Bella, Anne Bedian as the psychic, Rachel Boston as Bella's sister Daphne and Alex Breckenridge as friend Vivian.

Writing is peppy, very conversational and of-the-moment in its references and meter.

Premise, based on an Israeli series, feels fresh, as does the setting, in a fictional seaside community. The fairy tale-ish element in the premise makes the idyllic-hamlet backdrop work just fine, and helps explain why the femme characters are clad mostly in barely-there sun dresses and itsy-bitsy bikinis.

CON:

Dialogue is a tad breathless here and there, but it's nothing that can't be tapered back.

Characters are uniformly sex-obsessed and ultra vain, which could wear thin.

Reaser and Boston appear to have not eaten for at least five years.

**Once again, these are broad-strokes first impressions, not reviews or hit-or-miss declarations. At this time of year, pilots picked up for the fall are still very much works in progress.

That was the season that was -- sort of

It wasn't a total loss. This is a contrarian view on the season that will go down in the Nielsen annals as the lowest rated on record for the Big Four nets, but there was some good news to be found here and there, amid the wreckage.

For sure, the season-long stats on the 2007-08 campaign are pretty darn ugly, as Variety ratings guru Rick Kissell smartly and soberly details in this season wrap. But in actuality we didn't have a season, we had two abbreviated seasons -- pre- and post-strike. Writers Guild of America leaders were as strategic as Eisenhower and Marshall carving up the European theater in triggering the work stoppage to begin on Nov. 5, to ensure maximum impact on current production and pilot development.

Of course, most everything the WGA was fighting for in its 100 Days War has been at work in force  -- on steroids -- in this topsy-turvy season: the increasing popularity of web streaming of programming and DVR time-shifted viewing, the increasing use of digital extensions of traditional programs to drive traffic to network-affiliated websites and to generate new revenue streams for our half-dozen favorite media congloms.

Beyond the fairness issue and the wonky oh-my-god-younger-generations-will-never-watch-TV-the-same-way-again considerations, let's look at what the nets have to show for themselves program-wise out of the fall and spring mini seasons of '07-'08.

This and that: CBS Par parties like its 1976; morsels on "Moonlight," "Gong Show" and Gordon Ramsay

Lots of TV-centric goings-on around town in the next few weeks. CBS Paramount Network TV gets into the swing of summer with a "block party" on the CBS Radford lot on Tuesday night to herald the June 5 debut of CBS drama "Swingtown," about fun-loving, Quaalude-downing, partner-swapping couples in the summer of '76. It's so nice to see "Swingtown" costar Molly Parker all cleaned up and dusted off from her "Deadwood" days...

...Speaking of CBS dramas, a clutch of "Moonlight" fans are descending on L.A. this weekend for what's billed as the first fan-generated confab on the show, "MoonlightCon," at the Westin hotel out by LAX. Undoubtedly these folks will cook up some stunt to draw attention to their cries for another network to pick up their fave rave, which CBS dropped last week. (That's the hint in an email message today from a "devoted Moonlight fan" who promised me that "the fat lady ain't sung yet!") It doesn't appear that their immortal, series star Alex O'Loughlin, is skedded to stop by, but they will be taking a "Moonlight"-centric tour of the Warner Bros. lot on Friday...

...Some of those "Moonlight" fanatics might want to hop a bus to Culver City on Saturday morning, where Sony Pictures TV is holding open auditions for its revival of "The Gong Show" for Comedy Central. The cattle call will be held at a site near (but not on) the Sony Pictures lot on West Washington Boulevard. Click here for the specifics...

...Finally, the upcoming event we're most excited about is the June 4 party to celebrate the opening of Gordon Ramsay's new eatery at the London West Hollywood. The restaurant's moniker is already a mouthful: Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" is having a nice hot run behind "American Idol" on Tuesdays in the last lap of the 2007-08 season. He ought to be in a good mood, and for once he won't be able to yell at anyone (but himself) about the food.

Upfronts: CBS gets some major tech support

CBS has cozied up to the web heads behind "Lonelygirl15" and the popular Brit web serial "KateModern" to handle the online bells and whistles for its network programs.

The agreement calls for CBS to get a first-look peek at concepts developed by L.A.- and London-based Eqal. Eye and its new online friend are promising that Eqal's creatives will work closely with CBS' scribes and helmers to develop online narratives that tie in directly with the series ongoing storylines.

CBS must've been mightily impressed with Eqal's capabilities because under the deal, Eqal will "build and provide the entire technology infrastructure to host the online show components." That seems like a significant chunk of business to hand over to an outside company, but I suppose if they can do a better job, why not.

Maybe Eqal can help CBS to get its online vid player stop freezing up every few seconds when you're trying to web-stream an episode. It really screws up the timing on "The Big Bang Theory," that's for sure.

Upfronts: "Eleventh Hour" takes the e.p. prize

Unless Fox pulls out something at the last minute, it looks like CBS' "Eleventh Hour" wins the prize for the most exec producers on a new show this year.

The Jerry Bruckheimer Television/Warner Bros. TV drama, based on a British miniseries of the same name, has a whopping seven e.p.'s credited: Bruckheimer (natch), Jonathan Littman (head of Bruckheimer TV), Danny Cannon (who helmed the pilot), Cyrus Voris, Ethan Reiff, Mick Davis (who penned the pilot) and Paul Buccieri (head of programming for the U.S. arm of Granada, which produced the original Brit mini). NBC's Canadian import, "The Listener," set for a summer '09 run, is a close runner-up with six exec producers listed. Thursday ayem update: Fox also comes close with two series that have six exec producers: comedy "Do Not Disturb" and drama "Fringe."

Funnily enough, "Eleventh Hour" also boasts the smallest cast, at least at this point. CBS' press release info on the show only lists star Rufus Sewell. Sewell plays brilliant biophysicist and government advisor Jacob Hood, who's tasked with investigating "scientific crises and oddities" for the government. (Patrick Stewart tackled the role in the original version.) Hood's often called in "at the eleventh hour," hence the title.

Wonder if Hood will ever run in to the brilliant scientist and plucky FBI investigator from Fox's "Fringe," which mines a similar vein. The social circle for egghead gumshoes following in Scully and Mulder's footsteps can't be that big, can it?

Upfronts: CBS looking for laughs -- it's official

CBS is looking for laughs next season, expanding its comedy presence to Wednesday nights with a new block anchored by "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and newcomer "Project Gary," starring Jay Mohr.

Eye's other new comedy pickup, "Worst Week" (pictured above), nabs the coveted post-"Two and a Half Men" launch pad Monday at 9:30 p.m. Overall, CBS has slotted five new skeins on its fall 2008, with murder mystery drama "Harper's Island" on the bench for midseason.

Beyond the comedies, the other big move on the fall sked is the slotting of new Jerry Bruckheimer drama "Eleventh Hour" into the post "CSI" slot on Thursday, while "Without a Trace" heads to Tuesday 10 p.m. Much talked-about new drama "The Ex List," (fka "Mythological Ex"), has landed on Friday in the 9 p.m. sandwich slot between "Ghost Whisperer" and "Numbers."

Variety's man at the upfronts, Michael Schneider, has all the details in this dispatch from CBS' ayem press briefing.

MONDAY:

8: The Big Bang Theory
8:30: How I Met Your Mother
9: Two and a Half Men
9:30: Worst Week (new)
10: CSI: Miami

TUESDAY:

8: NCIS
9: The Mentalist (new)
10: Without a Trace

WEDNESDAY:

8: The New Adventures of Old Christine
8:30: Project Gary (new) pictured above right
9: Criminal Minds
10: CSI: NY

THURSDAY:

8: Survivor
9: CSI
10: Eleventh Hour (new) pictured right

FRIDAY:

8: Ghost Whisperer
9: The Ex List (new) pictured below
10: Numbers

SATURDAY:

8: Drama repeats
9: Drama repeats
10: 48 Hours Mystery

SUNDAY:

7: 60 Minutes
8: The Amazing Race
9: Cold Case
10: The Unit

New show descriptions after the jump:

Upfronts: "Moonlight" axed by CBS

That's the word on CBS' frosh vampire drama starring Alex O'Loughlin (and his pecs, pictured left).

There's no official confirmation yet of "Moonlight's" fate, but those in the know say Eye execs were not impressed with the show creatively -- it had quite a bit of behind-the-scenes drama among scribes and producers -- and the ratings in its post-strike return were just not strong enough to warrant a renewal. Also, there was a long-running fight between the network and Warner Bros. TV on money issues for the show (meaning that CBS wanted the studio to spend more and the studio wanted CBS to pony up some too.)

In the real world, "Moonlight," which also starred Shannyn Sossamon (pictured right) was not immortal.

And yes, CBS brass are girding for the wrath of the show's small but loyal cadre of bloodthirsty fans. There's always a chance that it could land at another network, but that might be a tough sell with this particular show.

Upfronts: CBS picks up "The Unit," "Rules of Engagement," "How I Met Your Mother"

Now it's really just down to the fate of "Moonlight," because CBS has made it official on pickups for drama "The Unit" and comedies "How I Met Your Mother" and "Rules of Engagement."

"Mother" renewal was never really in doubt, but "Unit" seemed very much on the bubble until the last 72 hours or so and "Rules" was not exactly a slam dunk. Second-year drama "Shark" was the other lingering hold out, but as of last week it was pretty clear that a renewal was not in the cards for James Woods and Co.

"How I Met Your Mother": Enough with Britney

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

First off, I'm a huge champion of "How I Met Your Mother." The cast is terrific, the writing consistently funny and the direction by Pam Fryman is stellar. So speaking from a fan's perspective, last night's episode left me disappointed.

The first time Britney Spears appeared on the show a few weeks back, it was a great piece of stunt casting as showrunners Carter Bays and Craig Thomas integrated her character just enough so that we knew it was Britney but it didn't interfere with how smoothly the rest of the actors work together and it didn't take anything away from the storyline.

Not so much last night. It wasn't that Britney's character -- a young woman who has a crush on Ted but sleeps with Barney to get even -- was involved too much in the episode but, rather, Britney just plain can't act. Period. She looked stilted and foolish in scenes with TV pros such as Neil Patrick Harris and Josh Radnor.

Ratings for "Mother" shot up for Britney's first appearance, and for a show this good that has never received the high ratings it should — series just got the OK from CBS for another season, yeah! — any way to push the Nielsen meter is smart, but last night's episode felt to me as if it had crossed a line in pimping to get viewers.

From Britney's perspective, coming on as a guest star is a smart move. By working on "Mother's" tight sitcom schedule, it helps keep her life straight -- or straighter than usual -- and makes her seem a bit more like a "normal" person and not just tabloid fodder.

But her exposure and rehab felt like it came at the expense of "Mother." I'm hoping it doesn't happen again next season.

Upfronts: "Old Christine" picked up, still awaiting the fate of "Moonlight"

She made it! Word is that CBS has given a full-season pickup to Julia Louis-Dreyfus starrer "The New Adventures of Old Christine." Pickup of the Warner Bros. TV comedy for a fourth season lends more credence to the notion that the Eye intends to open up a new comedy block next season. The betting is on Tuesday or Wednesday nights from 8-9 p.m.

Meanwhile, another Warner Bros. TV show on the bubble at CBS, vampire drama "Moonlight," is still awaiting the final word on its primetime mortality.

Upfronts: CBS game for "Worst Week"

CBS is rolling the dice on another multi-generational comedy, giving the pickup nod to  "Worst Week," based on the Beeb's "Worst Week of My Life."

Laffer, penned by Matt Tarses and helmed by Adam Bernstein, revolves around a young couple in pre-wedding mode navigating the idiosyncracies of their soon-to-be in laws. Series stars Kyle Bornheimer and Erin Hayes as the couple, and "That '70s Show's" Kurtwood Smith (pictured left) and "New Adventures of Old Christine's" Nancy Lenehan (pictured right) as the bride-to-be's mom and dad. (Sorry, I couldn't readily put my hands on pics of Bornheimer and Hayes.)

"Worst Week," from U.K. production powerhouse Hat Trick, has had strong buzz for a while at CBS. Sometimes getting too hot too early can hurt a pilot's chances, but it obviously wasn't a problem this time around.

"Worst Week" was one of two comedy pickups CBS dispensed today. The other went to "Project Gary," the Jay Mohr starrer that had been kinda low-profile but came on strong last week after the pilot screenings.

Upfronts: CBS digs "The Ex List"

Word is that CBS has just made it official on its hot drama pilot "The Ex List" (fka "Mythological Ex"), from 20th Century Fox TV and scribe Diane Ruggiero.

Series is based on an Israeli series about a woman who's told by a tarot card reader that she needs to get married by year's end, and that the man of her dreams is someone she's already known in her life, which of course sends her on a journey through her past. Buzz is that CBS supremo Leslie Moonves in particular sparked to the pilot -- it's believed to be the one he was talking up to investors as his favorite on CBS' earnings conference call earlier this month.

U.S. rendition stars Elizabeth Reaser (pictured in center), Rachel Boston, Alexandra Breckeridge and Adam Rothenberg. Timothy Busfield helmed the pilot. Ruggiero and Jonathan Levin are exec producers.

Meanwhile, the other no-brainers dramas pilots picked up by CBS are Jerry Bruckheimer's "Eleventh Hour" (which is said to have formally been picked up a week or so ago but kept under wraps so as to not bruise any other egos)l Simon Baker starrer "The Mentalist," both from Warner Bros. TV. Also ordered is "Harper's Island," a murder mystery from CBS Paramount Network TV and Jon Turteltaub's Junction Entertainment (the one-time home of "Jericho").

There's chatter that the "X-Files"-esque "Eleventh Hour" could be bound for the post "CSI" berth on Thursdays.

Upfronts: 'Moonlight' dims at CBS

Frosh CBS drama "Moonlight" may be facing "Jericho" syndrome. The vampire drama starring Alex O'Loughlin has its rabid fans, but not quite enough of them to make it a slam-dunk pickup for season two.

The Warner Bros. TV drama seemed to be about 50-50 for a renewal during the weekend, but those odds are getting longer, insiders say. CBS is high on a bunch of its drama pilots this year (no surprise there) and thus, there may not be room on the Eye's sked for more "Moonlight" next season.

Speculation is that "The Unit," another bubble drama that is expected to secure a renewal, may move into "Moonlight's" Friday 9 p.m. berth in the fall.

Upfronts: Jay Mohr on the move at CBS

Jay Mohr is on the move to another night at CBS. That's what everyone who's been obsessing about pilot pickups this weekend seems to think. It's official: CBS made the pickup call Monday ayem.

Buzz on Mohr's laffer pilot, tentatively dubbed "Project Gary," from scribes Ed Yeager and Ric Swartzlander and ABC Studios is very strong -- Monday 9:30 p.m. strong.

Mohr's spent the past few seasons on CBS' Friday night lineup as a regular on "Ghost Whisperer." If the pilot lives up to its advance billing, it outta be fun to see Mohr exercising his comedy chops again as a middle-class, mid-30s dad who's recently divorced and struggling to juggle his re-entry into the dating scene with the demands of his ex and his kids. Sitcom also stars Paula Marshall and Jaime King.

Per the Eye's custom, skedding news will be kept under wraps on a Need to Know, retina-scan clearance level until Wednesday ayem just prior to CBS' Big Shew at Carnegie Hall.

Upfronts: A closer look at 'based on a ------ series'

Primetime in the 2008-09 season is gonna be all over the map -- Australia, Israel, Canada and the U.K. for starters.

In this strike-interrupted pilot season, networks are embracing concepts and formats from overseas like never before. After writing "based on a ----- series" about 50 times while tracking the pilot buzz this weekend, I got to wondering about the origins of these projects.

I doubt that I'm the only one who assumes that if a property is being exported to the U.S., it must've been a hit at home, right? Wrong. At least that wasn't the case with "Sit Down, Shut Up" (pictured left), the live-action Australian sitcom that has inspired the Fox animated series "Class Dismissed," from Mitch Hurwitz and a bunch of his old "Arrested Development" cohorts. Fox gave it the greenlight on Saturday on the strength of a short presentation reel.

Original "Sit Down" ran for 13 segs on Australia's Channel Ten in 2001 but wasn't well received by critics or viewers, according to a post on "TV Tonight," a blog that bills itself authoritatively as "Australia's leading TV blog." In fact, this voice of Oz TV greeted the news that "Sit Down" had been fingered as a U.S. animated series with a pithy: "Now I've heard everything."

CBS is believed to be thisclose to picking up has picked up an unusual drama project, "Mythological Ex," that is based on an Israeli series of the same name (and retitled "The Ex List" for the U.S.).

Tracking down any details of this show -- revolving a woman sent on a soul-searching journey after a tarot card reader tells her to get hitched pronto to Mr. Right, who is someone who has already been in her life -- on the web in English was kinda tough.

From what I could gather, the series airs on Israel's Channel 2, an outlet that bowed in 2005, and is produced by a company called Reshet TV. Here's the link to the company's home page. If anyone who reads Hebrew can provide further guidance on whether "Mythological Ex" has its own page within, I'd be grateful. (Thanks to reader Phil, here's the link to the page, with clips of the show.) The image at right was all I could turn up through the Google Image search.

Word is that CBS execs are over the moon about the potential of the U.S. adaptation penned by Diane Ruggiero.

Upfronts: Pilot buzz in this Very Weird Year

It's a very weird year. That's what everyone in town keeps saying over and over again as the biz gears up for the annual upfront ritual, which will be a little less ritualistic this year.

Gone in this Very Weird Year is the time-honored way in which reporters get big hints on what pilots are getting picked up -- by tracking the talent that is being flown in to New York.

As we all know, there are a whole lotta pilots that have not yet been shot and are just now setting casts. Most of the chatter, good and bad, about 2008-09 hopefuls this week has centered around the projects that the nets have in hand as pilots or presentations, or at least have significant thesps attached, a la ABC's "Never Better," which landed Damon Wayans (pictured right) as its lead last week.

So with the caveat that it is all spin and conjecture at this moment in time, let's review the buzz out there.

ABC's the hardest to read when it comes to new stuff.

On comedy front, Cedric the Entertainer (pictured left) vehicle (ABC Studios) seems to have traction -- or not, depending on who you talk to!

"Bad Mothers Handbook" (ABC Studios), about three generations of femmes living together, has not lensed but has the benefit of Alicia Silverstone (pictured right) and another high-profile name in the offing.

"My Brother's Hot and Other Dilemmas" (ABC Studios) about a girl attracted to her new step brother, has Alyssa Milano (pictured left). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that either a Silverstone or Milano comedy vehicle could be a nice companion for ABC's frosh hit "Samantha Who?" -- assuming that either pilot satisfies the larger obligation to actually be funny.

"Never Better" (ABC Studios) shot up on the radar after Wayans signed on and Marc Buckland signed on to direct.

Drama-wise at ABC ... I just don't know.

Only "Life on Mars," offbeat time-travel cop drama, is in the can. David E. Kelley and Tommy Schlamme have bowed out of that project, they're looking to move this from 20th Century Fox TV to ABC Studios and retool it under prospective showrunners Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg.

There's been a lot of chatter in the biz that "Life on Mars" shuffle granted a reprieve to Kelley's "Boston Legal" for another season. (Biz watchers with long memories will recall that two years ago, the same thing happened when ABC was hot for Kelley's "Mars.") But I'm hearing that "Boston Legal's" fate also has a lot to do with Kelley and how involved he intends to be going forward, among other factors.

It seems a safe bet that "Women's Murder Club" is headed for the morgue, though ABC is said to be anxious to stay in biz with star Angie Harmon. Midseason drama "Eli Stone" is said to be 50-50 for a sophomore year. And surprisingly, ABC is said to be considering a pickup for midseason comedy "Miss Guided." Can't swear to this but I heard the actors' options have been extended for a few more weeks.

At CBS, it's always a dangerous game trying to predict what Team Moonves is going to announce at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday. But some chatter about returning shows seems to be firming up.

"The Big Bang Theory": Frosh MVP of a tortured season

Maybe you had to be a "Star Trek" geek as a kid, and it probably helps to have grown up with Caltech and JPL being places you visited on school field trips... but even if you didn't mark time by the "star date" calendar or spend your formative years in Pasadena, you've gotta be able to get a giggle out of "The Big Bang Theory."

CBS/Warner Bros. TV comedy, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, is the frosh MVP of the tortured 2007-08 season, IMHO. Episode by episode, the ensemble is getting tighter and more playful, making the characters richer and, most important, funny. This is not one of those half-hours that is stingy with big, broad laughs, or more concerned with advancing soapy storylines than the pound-for-pound silliness of each episode.

Perhaps the buddy comedy's biggest accomplishment has been making Kaley Cuoco's Penny, the ditsy hot chick who moves in next door to the egghead Caltech-ers (played with aplomb by Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons), more than a one-note punch line.

Producers are promising some extra-special hijinks for "Big Bang's" May 19 season finale.

For a representative sample, spin this recent "Big Bang" seg, "The Bat Jar Conjecture," as pictured here. Hint: As always, keep your eye on the red shirts.

"Jericho" fans: Nut cases for a cause

We were told they were coming, but it still didn't prepare the Variety newsroom for the sight of 26 cases of unsalted peanuts showing up at our door on Tuesday afternoon.

"Jericho" fans are nothing if not determined. The loyalists who helped save the show from annihilation after its first season with a well-orchestrated campaign last year have regrouped to find more creative -- and not inexpensive -- ways to bring attention to their cause. (Last year, "Jericho" fans sent nuts by the truckload to CBS execs.)

The nut-cases delivered to Variety all featured a sticker that read "Save Jericho! "Nuts to Nielsen!!!" highlighting the shortcomings in the ratings service's ability to track viewing on more than just the old-fashioned live telecast.

"Jericho" stalwarts are convinced that if CBS could get its arms around the number of people who are watching the show via DVRs, web streaming and paid downloads, it might be enough to have convinced the Eye to hang tough rather than nuke the show for a second time as it did last month. The industry's inability to get a clear understanding of the new world of on-demand viewing habits is a big problem, bigger than even a nuclear bomb going off in the middle of the lone prairie.

"Jericho" fans have also shelled out in the past few days for full-page ads in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter designed to convince another net or cabler to give the show a chance. Pretty bold, given that CBS Paramount Network TV could probably bring the law down on them for shopping something that isn't exactly theirs to shop. Ad even goes so far as to point interested buyers to CBS Par Entertainment boss Nancy Tellem. CBS, meanwhile, has migrated the show to the "CBS Classics" page of its website and is offering web streaming of all 29 episodes from both seasons.

The "Jericho" fandom may be an irritant to CBS Par execs, but at a time when even TV's top shows are taking double-digit ratings hits, it's heartening to see that TV, even canceled TV, can still stir up such passion in viewers who adopt shows as their own.

So thanks to all the "Jericho" lovers out there, and thanks also for the protein boost that many of us at Variety will enjoy during the next few weeks (months?) as we work our way through the peanuts. About an hour after the delivery arrived, the newsroom was a-poppin' with the sound of peanut shells being opened.

Craig Ferguson goes to Washington

TV's Craig Ferguson charmed the tough crowd at the White House Correspondents Dinner in D.C. on Saturday.

Ferguson's barbs at the New York Times for sitting out the dinner this year ("Shut the hell up, you sanctimonious whining jerks!") were gleefully reported by other media, but the "Late Late Show" host's remarks at the dinner were also full of the lower-key observations and word play that we've come to appreciate from this ex-pat Scot who clearly, unabashedly, wholeheartedly loves his adopted home.

Before he made the move from the Old Country, Ferguson noted, plenty of people suggested that he might like Canada, with its pockets of Scottish communities, a little better. Nothin' doing, he said.

"To me, Canada is not the party. It's the apartment above the party," Ferguson said.

When you're up watching TV at 12:45 in the morning, lines like that help you sleep a little better.

Here's some highlights, courtesy of CSPAN and YouTube. (Forgive me, Brian Lamb.)

"CSI" and "Two and a Half Men" swap scribes

It sounds like something that will either be very good or very ... not so good. But I give 'em all credit for derring-do and willingness to try something totally off the wall -- a scribe swap that cuts across genres, and even studios.

"CSI" writers Sarah Goldfinger and Evan Dunsky have penned the May 5 seg of "Two and a Half Men," based on a story by "CSI" czarina Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, co-creators and exec producers of "Men," have done the script for the May 8 installment of "CSI."

The "Men" seg, "Fish in a Drawer," involves a CSI team coming to Charlie Harper's beach house to investigate -- what else? -- a mysterious death. It should be further enlivened by guest stars Robert Wagner and Jenny McCarthy.

"CSI" seg "Two and a Half Deaths" revolves around the death of a high-maintenance sitcom star, played by Katey Sagal, while shooting her show on location in Sin City. Suspects include the entire writing staff, her loser husband and her stand-in, played by Rachael Harris. 

I'm thinking positive and hoping these experiments be as playful as they outta be. I will do some more investigating and find out whose DNA is all over this idea, what the motivation was and the weapon (laptop, legal pad, etc.).

In the meantime, here's some more pics of the crossover episodes.

(In the pic above, that's Aronsohn leaning over the body, and Lorre directly behind him.)

From the "CSI" - "Two and a Half Deaths" seg:

This and that: Katie Couric gets a visit from Leslie Moonves; NBC News shows the love to Richard Engel

CBS chief Leslie Moonves made a visit to the CBS News offices today as a show of support for embattled anchor Katie Couric. Associated Press' David Bouder has all the details in this report on Moonves' journey into the newsroom and meeting with Couric and "CBS Evening News" exec producer Rick Kaplan, who insisted that reports of Couric's exit from the anchor chair have been greatly exaggerated. "She's not been at it two years and everybody is writing her obituary," Kaplan told the AP. "That's fine. Success is the sweetest revenge."...

Meanwhile, NBC News has locked up the services of its intrepid Middle Eastern correspondent Richard Engel. Engel has been upped to chief foreign correspondent for the Peacock, which is promising to raise his profile on "NBC  Nightly News," MSNBC and other platforms. Engel, who is conversant in Arabic and fluent in Italian and Spanish, made a name for himself covering the early days of the Iraq war as a freelancer for ABC before joining NBC News in 2003. "There aren't enough superlatives to describe the work that Richard has done in some of the most dangerous places on Earth for NBC News," said NBC News prexy Steve Capus in touting Engel's promotion.

Craig Ferguson and the latenight ratings race

CBS needed some happy news last week, and it got some courtesy of its resident Scotsman-turned-American in late night.

"The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" notched a milestone in its three-year-plus competish in the wee hours against NBC's long-dominant "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" by winning the week ended April 4 -- Ferguson averaged 1.88 million viewers for the frame to O'Brien's 1.77 million.

Not that latenight always has to be measured strictly a death-match, zero-sum game -- both Conan and Craig are very funny fellows indeed and viewers are well-served by their diverse styles -- but it is a competitive business and ratings are the yardstick by which ad sales and pop culture traction are measured.

NBC number crunchers noted that Ferguson got a big boost that week from the post-strike return of CBS' big scripted guns, the three "CSIs," "Without a Trace," "Criminal Minds" plus the circulation lift from the NCAA finals coverage, while NBC was still mostly in reruns.

Looking back over the past few weeks, however, the trend is interesting. "Late Late Show" has been making it a real horse race with "Late Night" of late, in spite of the latter's lead-in benefit from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Indeed, Ferguson is more competitive with O'Brien than his 11:35 a.m. companion, "The Late Show with David Letterman" is with "Tonight Show" -- the berth O'Brien is to move up to in the fall of '09.

The Masters: A tradition unlike any other

POSTED BY STUART LEVINE

Sometimes, on rare occasion, the hype is true.

"A tradition unlike any other" … so says the CBS marketing team about the Masters for the past few decades. The message is drummed into our heads in categorizing the bigger-than-life golf tournament that runs April 10-13 from the hallowed grounds in Augusta, Ga.

But guess what? It's no lie. There's nothing quite like the Masters. For me, the Masters is always the year's greatest sporting event. This weekend's Final Four is great, the Super Bowl is a must see and the World Series -- though certainly not what it once was -- remains a top draw, yet the final round of the Masters is the most compelling sports television by far.

Who doesn't remember where they were when Tiger Woods hit his miraculous pitch from just off the green at the 16th hole in 2005? I just watched it again on YouTube and my goosebumps immediately returned.

This year ESPN replaces USA Network in providing coverage of the first two rounds. CBS will offer its usual latenight highlights and then full 18-hole coverage on both Saturday and Sunday. I can't wait.

Happy 70th birthday, "World News Roundup"

It's only fitting that it's been a busy news week -- Eliot Spitzer, Microsoft-Yahoo, Federal Reserve bailouts, Clinton-vs.-Obama, AOL-Bebo, Electronic Arts-Take-Two, and so on -- as the longest-running news broadcast in history marks its 70th birthday today.

CBS News Radio's "World News Roundup" bowed on March 13, 1938, marking the first time correspondents in various cities around the globe were brought together for a regularly skedded live broadcast. And the program's preem also marked the CBS debut of a newsman we've heard a lot about since, Edward R. Murrow.

Murrow was stationed in Vienna, CBS News pioneer Robert Trout held down the homefront in Gotham, another legendary Eye newsman, William L. Shirer was based in London and there were other correspondents weighing in from Paris, Rome and Berlin. Given the era, at the time the big story was the simmering tensions in Europe that would soon explode into World War II. (Click here for a link to hear the first "World News Roundup" broadcast and its 50th anniversary special. And click here for a link to the program's contempo podcast.)

Reflecting on those early days in a 1958 CBS broadcast, Murrow noted that those early "World News" broadcasts were as up to the minute as you could get, and mostly live without a net. (Today, CBS Radio reporters can report live from pretty much anywhere in the world using a palm-sized bit of wireless equipment.)

"In those days before and during most of the war, we were not permitted to use recordings. Everything was live and moved directly from the reporter's microphone into your home," Murrow observed. "One of the advantages in reporting through a medium as fast as radio is that you don't have the time or the inclination to look back."

Hmmm, sound familiar?

(Pictured above: Murrow at the mic, circa 1954. Pictured right, Robert Trout and Douglas Edwards at the "World News Roundup" 50th anniversary party.)

"Jericho": Gains steam through DVRs and Web streams

It's always intriguing to see how the Live-plus-7 ratings stack up against premiere telecast numbers, or more accurately, the Live-plus-same-day viewing stats. It's the quantifiable evid