obama

(S04E15) Before I comment on this week's performances, in case you missed it, I posted the list of the eight wild cards that they judges picked. I feel robbed of talent that should have been given the chance to be part of the now Top 48. I promise you, however, that it's the last time this season you'll have me say that the America's Got Talent judges made oh so wrong decisions, which, based on some of your comments, actually had people stop watching. Now that I know who is part of the Top 48, I've decided to embrace these acts and stop complaining. Otherwise, I'll end up not enjoying the season.

Last week, Arcadian Broad (judges' pick), Acrodunk, Drew Thomas Magic, Kevin Skinner, and Grandma Lee made it to the Top 20 -- I got four out of five right. You? Who will join them this week? My comments, Piers' Xs and predictions coming up!

Yesterday we had a poll asking you what your favorite news channels/news sources are, and a few readers wondered why we didn't include The Daily Show and/or The Colbert Report as a poll option. Well, I could say it's because, well, they're comedy shows and you still have to know the news to get the jokes, but the truth? I kinda forgot.

So here's a clip from last night's Daily Show, with Jon Stewart talking about the crazy media overkill when it comes to covering Obama's first 100 days. (Video here if you can't access what's below.)

As a kid, my parents were totally cool with my television viewing habits, as long as it never became excessive or kept my face from being kissed by the light of day every once in a while. Not that they had anything to be worried about, of course, considering that all I was watching was Nickelodeon.

While my fellow prepubescents were slowly but surely migrating to more grown-up programming on MTV (and Playboy, if you had a cable box), I spent the bulk of my time between 1992 and 1996 fully devoted to Roundhouse, a 30-minute sketch show sandwiched between the more popular Clarissa Explains It All and Are You Afraid Of The Dark? on SNICK, Nickelodeon's Saturday night programming block.

If you're like me, then you're still reeling from the big shocker that happened in last night's episode of House. I spent the entire episode with my mouth hanging wide open, just sputtering, "what?" over and over again. After the episode ended, my boyfriend and I spent a good half an hour arguing about what really happened. Was House's theory correct, or was it just wishful thinking?

I thought the episode made it pretty clear, but there was definitely an element of ambiguity when it ended. Today, House executive producers David Shore, Katie Jacobs and, uh, a certain actor from House, held a conference call to answer some of our burning questions, like, you know, "what the hell?"

When TV shows have made the leap to the big screen, the results have not always been great, except when they keep the same cast and come up with a good story that builds on the series, like Sex and the City and Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. The same is true of some TV movies that have built on a show's lingering appeal even after it's been canceled. James Garner came back for a couple of Rockford Files movies, for instance, and The Return of The Man from UNCLE with David McCallum and Robert Vaughn was excellent. Of course, it doesn't always work -- the Rhoda and Mary reunion was painful to watch -- but I'm still a fan of the follow-up TV movie.

Here's my ideas for ten TV shows I'd like to see as TV movies.

• TV Land has an Andy Griffith Show marathon all night.
• At 8, the major networks and the news channels have President Obama's speech to the nation.
• There's a new Antiques Roadshow on PBS at 8, followed by a new American Experience.
• ABC Family has a new Secret Life of the American Teenager at 8, then a new Kyle XY.
• Lifetime has a new Rita Rocks at 8.
• USA has the Westminster Kennel Dog Club Show at 8, then a new Monday Night RAW.
• BBC America has a new Top Gear at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new, two-hour episode of The Bachelor.
• CBS has a new Two and a Half Men at 9, followed by new episodes of Big Bang Theory and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has a new Heroes at 9, then a new Medium.
• FOX has a new 24 at 9.
• TNT has new episodes of The Closer and Trust Me.
• Also at 9: Food Network has a new Unwrapped, then new episodes of Will Work For Food and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• At 10, Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

I've been waiting a long time for a piece of history big enough to justify writing a running diary for this column. I thought I had it when Rock of Love: Tour Bus was announced (has one show ever advanced the cause of dimwitted, surgically-enhanced skanks more than this one?), but my editors wanted to wait until we had something just a little bit bigger.

It occurred to me last fall that Barack Obama being inaugurated would be a pretty big deal. So I called some of my friends in the liberal media and asked them to arrange for Obama to win the election, then waited patiently until yesterday. Now, after months of waiting, we're ready to roll.

The running diary starts after the jump...

You've seen the countless ads with the dire warnings: switch to digital TV by February 17 or you won't be able to watch any of your favorite shows and you'll have to read a book or play with your kids. And I bet your local news stations have been running various tests and a crawl at the bottom of the screen to remind you about the transition. Now it looks like it might not happen when it's supposed to..

The Obama transition team is asking Congress to extend the deadline because the way the transition has been handled hasn't been the smoothest: there's been a problem with the coupons that the government is giving out so people can get a converter box, the education on the new technology has been inadequate, and the government doesn't have the funds to make the current date a reality. Consumers unions are also asking for the date to be extended.

My sister asked me if I was ready for the digital transition, and I told her that I've been ready for years. Then I met someone last week who says she still has a small portable TV with rabbit ears. Are you ready for the change?

If you want to watch the star-studded inaugural ceremonies for the President-elect Obama, you have exactly one choice for the channel to watch it on: HBO. Don't worry, HBO is allowing anyone with a cable box to watch, even if they don't subscribe.

I recognize that someone has to pay for such an event without burdening the taxpayers (although the taxpayers do pay for the actual swearing in and security), but doesn't this contradict the Obama's campaign pledge of no corporate sponsorship? After all, HBO is part of a larger corporation, Time Warner.

On the other hand, for a star-studded event, I'd rather have an entertainment company sponsor it. Since it will probably be watched by many people (Obama lovers and haters alike), it's a good advertising opportunity for HBO. Also, HBO can make money on anyone who re-broadcasts even a portion of the event. And if it's an entertainment company that finances the event, better HBO than MTV. It would be quite tasteless if the event had any wardrobe malfunctions.

So now the election is over and we have a new President-elect. Congrats to Barack Obama.

We covered the coverage of the election last night on various stations, including ABC, CNN, FOX News, NBC, MSNBC, and Comedy Central. I covered CBS to see how Katie Couric did on her first night as election anchor. I'm a fan of Katie's, and for the most part I haven't agreed with the criticisms against her (beyond the growing pains she and the show had when she started), and I think she did a fine job.

So let's go over the good and the bad.

Let the celebration begin. McCain's concession speech. Obama's rousing acceptance. Lots and lots of reflection. It's a special night for the networks, even though the election was called relatively early. NBC was no exception:

• Emotional speeches by Tavis Smiley and Tom Brokaw. Brokaw's hard enough to understand as it is; with his voice wavering, he becomes downright impossible.
• Smiley wanted to break into an Electric Slide. Brokaw said "you need a bunch of white people to do that." Methinks Brokaw's been to too many cheesy weddings.
• BriWi tried to break out the humor, saying that Obama and Biden were about to move into "government housing." Brokaw was better: "Obama will be housebreaking a puppy in the White House; he'll have a harder time housebreaking the Democratic majority in Congress."
• Nice job bringing in sigfinicant African-American politicians: John Lewis, David Paterson, Cory Booker. It was good to get their perspective on this historic day (and a local shoutout to WNBC, who got anchor Sue Simmons' perspective on Obama's election; she's also from a mixed-race family, and the way they were treated in Chicago was a bit rougher than the treatment Obama got).
• Ann Curry got to break out of her green dungeon and sit at the desk after Obama's speech. She's gonna be tired on Today tomorrow.
• Luke Russert: "It's our turn now." Oh, the youth. So optimistic.
• Oh, the cutaways from Obama's speech: Harlem, Spellman College, and Election Plaza. Much more interesting than the pool camera showing Oprah and a sobbing Jesse Jackson every thirty seconds.

Final thoughts on NBC's coverage tomorrow morning...

12:23: Wolf Blitzer just reminded us that this is, in fact, an historic occasion. He also assures us that the coverage will continue. I, however, will not. All in all, CNN's coverage was adequate, but pretty boring. The reason I choose CNN over the other news channels is because of the personalities. Campbell Brown, Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper usually find ways to engage and amuse me, but not tonight. Everyone was pretty straightforward and dry. What do they think this is, network news? If I wanted straightforward and dry, I'd watch Charlie Gibson.

But hey. At least this election is over. See you in four years!

12:19: Obama finished speaking a good five minutes ago, yet nobody has broken in with commentary. That's either an admirable show of restraint or a sign that the CNN anchors are all busy getting drunk.

Midnight: Coming tomorrow morning: post-game summary and thoughts about how Katie did anchoring her first Presidential election night on CBS.

11:59: Obama starts his speech. Time to pay attention.

11:59: Waiting for Katie or somebody to mention Michelle Obama's flaming red and black dress.

11:58: OK, Obama taking the stage. They stop the music like at the start of movies when they stop the music and the coming attractions come on.

11:55: Katie asks Noonan to stick around until after the commercial, but they don't go to a commercial. Nice swell of music, though.

11:54: Peggy Noonan is back. Hey, isn't she usually on MSNBC or NBC?

11:45: Katie makes reference to The Patty Duke Show! Something to do with the Udalls and twins, I think.

11:39: Katie corrects Greenfield yet again: it's Nevadda, not Nevahda. Greenfield says the election is over, he doesn't care anymore.

They're dyin' to call this for Obama, aren't they? (In fact, they just did at 11 PM ET) In our last update, NBC called Pennsylvania for Obama before barely any votes were counted, then they were on top of Ohio like lions on a limping elk. According to their board, the big O has over 200 electoral votes already, whereas the New York Times website says Obama only has 159. Do the networks have better exit poll data than the Times or are they just too eager to wrte the conclusion to The Obama Story? It's anyone's guess. At least they're not falling all over themselves to call it based on Ohio, like other sites are doing.

More observations:

• From the girlfriend: "Ann Curry looks foxy! Well, she does!" I agree. Curry's rockin' the boots on the virtual set tonight.
• They showed the green room again at 9:30. BriWi's doing it for "full disclosure," but when the graphics turn off, Curry ends up looking so lonely in there.
• Speaking of which, Curry told Brian Williams that "she felt like she was in a video game," then her Sincerity Chip kicked in and she added "Whatever it takes to get the information out to people, Brian." Sure, because phony columns, fake birds, and spinning graphics are the only way to do that.

The continuing adventures of Anderson Cooper, Mr. Magoo and the magic board.

10:20: They've moved out to the lawn in Phoenix. The atmosphere there is quite a bit more, uh, subdued than in Chicago.

10:19: Yikes. Dana Bash looks more and more depressed each time they show her. She's reporting that McCain's camp has given up.

10:08: Wolf Blitzer: "Arkansas. Put that in John McCain's column right now." Is it wrong that that made me snicker? It doesn't even make sense!

9:59: Iowa was just called for Obama, and Anderson Cooper just asked what they're going to do when he gets to 270 electoral votes. "We leave!" was the reply. We'll see if that actually happens. Could we have an empty eleciton center soon? Check back for more coverage!

9:55: Roland Martin compared the Obama supporters in Grant Park to Lollapalooza. Meanwhile, back at the Biltmore, an unidentified old man is wandering around aimlessly on stage.