Modern Family gets all the ink, but ABC’s other comedies — Trophy Wife (cancelled, le sigh), The Goldbergs, and Suburgatory, for example — are pretty solid

It’s upfronts time in TV, so networks are announcing shows that got the ax (no more seasons) and some of their new shows for the fall. Over at ABC, Modern Family gets all the ink (its last couple of episodes have been… Continue Reading

Is it really fair to evaluate a cable show (say, Mad Men) against a network show (say, The Good Wife) for an awards season?

Little bit of controversy in the TV world recently, because The Good Wife (CBS) is out stumping for Emmy love and decided to run a campaign basically attacking the differences between cable shows and network shows. (There’s more context here.) From a logic standpoint, the… Continue Reading

Here are the basic pros and cons of the “How I Met Your Mother” finale

Watched it last night, been trolling the Internet for reaction most of last night/today, and here’s the basic rundown of thoughts. Cons First: The final sequence with the kids was essentially taped during the pilot, meaning that the show knew how… Continue Reading

When CBS pushed aside Dan Marino for Tony Gonzalez, was it a straight-up ‘asshole-for-good-guy’ trade?

FOX’s NFL pre-game show — with Curt, Terry, Jimmy, Michael et al — kills CBS’ show in the ratings, so this off-season, CBS had a shake-up: Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe out, Tony Gonzalez (recently retired) in. Things like this had been… Continue Reading

Hello, friends: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are probably working 23 NFL games as announcers in 2014

Some people love the Nantz/Simms pairing, and others hate it (I think you’d find that about most lead announcing crews for any sport on any network; no one is completely revered, even Pat Summerall). Next year you’re going to get… Continue Reading

Modern Family is having a down year this year (mostly), but it’s really helping out USA Network on the syndication side

Modern Family has won 62 awards and been nominated 155 times total since its inception, it’s helped make Sofia Vergara a multi-millionaire several times over, and it’s at the point where it’s getting mentioned in headline fields with Breaking Bad and American Hustle. As… Continue Reading

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On 60 Minutes and the cleantech / Vinod Khosla story

The above piece aired on 60 Minutes last night. It was part of an overall interesting show that profiled volcanoes, clean tech, and Kim Dotcom (who has 60 lush acres in New Zealand and thinks of himself as James Bond for some… Continue Reading