talk shows

Sylvia Browne has been around forever. That's not to say she's immortal (although, hey, maybe she'll argue you on that one), but the self-proclaimed clairvoyant is a longtime fixture of the talk TV circuit, having appeared on many a Montel, Sally Jesse Raphael, and Larry King Live. As a skeptic might expect from someone who claims to see ghosts and spirits and all that celestial hooey (no offense, believers!), Browne is, indeed, quite a character.

Dan Patrick is taking his radio talk show to TV. Unlike his former ESPN comrade Keith Olbermann, Patrick will thankfully be sticking to sports.

Beginning Monday, August 3rd, The Dan Patrick Show will air weekday mornings from 9 AM to noon ET/PT on DIRECTV's 101 Network.

According to the network, the show will boast "an unpredictable, anything-can-happen format that will use Patrick's trademark humor and interaction with his production staff to create a unique blend of situational comedy and sports radio commentary."

In other words, he's just going to stick a camera in front of his radio show. And, considering that show is nationally syndicated across the U.S. and Canada -- including Sirius and XM satellite radio -- you can't blame him for staying with what works.

The late eighties and early-to-mid nineties brought out some of the filthiest, bottom-feeding talk shows our country has ever seen. From Morton Downey Jr. and Sally Jesse Raphael to Jerry Springer and Maury Povich, it was the era when "trash TV" became a symbol of a country's swift spiral down one giant cultural toilet in opposition to people like Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, who effortlessly made interviews with, like, Fran Drescher come off looking like Masterpiece Theater.

Around the latter half of the "boom" came Ricki Lake, the formerly obese star of Hairspray (no, seriously, that was basically her résumé), with a show that combined the usual elements of trashy talk (read: "freaks") with something impossibly dumber yet: catchphrases. Unlike today, when it takes weeks to months for squawk-boxes to latch onto cultural buzzwords like "metrosexual" and "baby daddy," Ricki Lake was trotting out episode "subjects" like "You're not all that!" and "Dump that zero and get yourself a hero!"

Naturally, she was a smash.

First there was word that a new $25,000 Pyramid could replace Guiding Light when it ends in September. Now comes word that CBS might do an updated Let's Make A Deal instead (or perhaps "too"). Monty Hall is even doing host auditions this week.

What would you like to see replace Guiding Light? And no, "keep Guiding Light on" is not an option.

I'm dreading the fall 10 PM ET/PT time slot on NBC. Oh, I know there's still a lot of time between now and then. But I figure I need to plan ahead. Sure, I realize I'm a Letterman fan who never took to Leno. However, I don't think I'd enjoy seeing Letterman each weeknight in a primetime slot, either. Sigh.

If you've been living under a rock, you might not realize that Jay Leno will be hosting his show every night during the 10 PM hour while Conan O'Brien hosts The Tonight Show at 11:30. I don't like this, not at all.

So I have to get a contingency plan in place. I've been trying to think of what I'll do for my TV fix at that hour.

For the first time in a long time, something was different about the Daytime Emmys. No, it's not that they're on in primetime; that happened years ago. What was different was the 35th Daytime Emmys opted to forgo the theater setting and seat the stars at round tables. As co-host (with All My Children's Cameron Mathison) Sherri Shepherd told the AP days before the AP, "Usually everyone is sitting in a row. This year, it'll be like a wedding. We're also going to do something so that fans will be able to get a view of what's going on at the different tables." That would be web video created by the actors at every table - table cam. Perfect for hams. The vids are at SOAPnet. For details about the show from the winners backstage, check out AOL.

So did the seating arrangements make a difference? Well, it depends. Those who were there probably had a better time because there was an open bar, just like the Golden Globes. For viewers, it still looked like the Daytime Emmys, including many familiar faces winning. After a strained attempt at comedy for the opening -- blending All My Children fictional characters with The View's real hosts -- the show commenced.
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As the race between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barak Obama heats up for the Democratic party presidential candidacy, here comes news that should throw the spotlight onto Hillary...if she's savvy enough to say yes. During a recent visit to The Tyra Banks Show, Hillary revealed that "if (paired) with one of those really good partners" she would someday like to compete on Dancing with the Stars. When the powers that be at Dancing heard that, they wasted no time in sending the former first lady a formal invitation. While they acknowledge that the show is not currently in production, dancers from the show are performing around the country in Dancing with the Stars - The Tour. They invited Hillary to choose any one of the dancers and take a try at a cha cha, pasa doble or tango. Or, if she prefer, she could always call on hubby Bill for a pas de deux.

It's no secret that Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times is one of the very worst TV critcs in the biz. Her mistakes and bizarre observations are becoming legendary in the media world and blogosphere. And she has another beauty today, as she says that Jay Leno is a better talk show host than David Letterman.

She uses two examples to prove her point. One is the ratiings. Leno has been on top for years while Letterman is always in second place. I don't really want to dignify her analysis by answering it, pointing out that using ratings as an example of something being "better" has never been an accurate portrayal of what is good on television (or in film or in music or in books). Oh, I just did answer. Oh well.

Late night god Conan O'Brien has been chosen to emcee the Emmy Awards in August. O'Brien's my favorite out of the late night talk show guys (forget Leno, Letterman, Ferguson, and Daly... if he even counts), so I have high hopes for his performance. At worst, he'll get a little too immature with his jokes, but I don't expect anything controversial.

He took the Emmy-hosting gig back in 2004, as well. I don't think I watched that year. To those of you that watched him in 2004, did he do well?