The TV Zone

With Alaska so much in the news these days, we thought we’d take a look at five TV series that have been set in the 49th state. (And we’re not yet counting “Terminator: The Sarah Palin Chronicles,” which undoubtedly will be proposed soon to the networks.)

THE ALASKANS (ABC, 1959-60) — A decade and a half before he played James Bond, Roger Moore starred in this drama set in 1890s Skagway as an adventurer/con man looking for action in the Klondike Gold Rush.

KLONDIKE (NBC, 1960-61) — Another Klondike Gold Rush adventure, this one starring James Coburn as a gambler and scoundrel.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE (CBS, 1990-95) — Classic fish-out-of-water story about a transplanted New York doctor (Rob Morrow) living in the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska.

DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery, 2005--) — Popular reality series that documents events aboard fishing boats in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and Opilio crab fishing seasons.

MEN IN TREES (ABC, 2006-08) — Another fish-out-of-water tale, this one focusing on about a New York “relationship coach” (Ann Heche) living the fictional Elmo, Alaska.

BONUS: TOUGHER IN ALASKA (History, 2008) — Geo Beach hosted this reality show demonstrating how living in Alaska is just plain harder than it is in the Lower 48.

KODIAK (ABC, 1974) -- One-month series starring Clint Walker as a member of the Alaska State Patrol.

AP photo of Sarah Palin

To honor the memory of soul superstar Isaac Hayes, VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul will air The Golden Globe nominated documentary “Wattstax” on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Filmmaker Mel Stuart captured the August 20, 1972 Wattstax music festival known as “the black Woodstock” at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in this documentary.
Memphis’s Stax Records commemorated the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots with this festival featuring powerful performances by Hayes, Albert King, Rufus and Carla Thomas, the Staple Singers, the Emotions, the Bar-Kays, as well as a comic routine from an up-and-coming comedian named Richard Pryor.

In case you can't get enough "Camp Rock." (And you know who you are...)

You can watch and sing-along with a special edition of the Disney Channel movie Saturday at 8 p.m. in which song lyrics will be visible on screen.

And if you haven't memorized those lyrics yet -- and shame on you, if you haven't -- lyric sheets are also available here. The special will be hosted by the movie's stars: Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas, Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato, Alyson Stoner, Meaghan Jette Martin and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle.

And if you haven't seen it yet: check out Newsday's video of Demi performing earlier this week at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale here.

Get ready for more "Camp Rock."


Are you surprised? Disney Channel is wasting no time working on a sequel to the Jonas Brothers TV movie, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The trade paper says the channel hopes to go into production on a sequel in late spring or summer 2009, pending a script that's in development as well as the cast members' busy schedules.

All of the principal cast -- including Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas as well as Demi Lovato -- are expected to return. The Jonases and Lovato, who are touring together this summer, also are working on their respective Disney Channel series, "J.O.N.A.S." and "Welcome to Mollywood."

No one comedian has been associated with HBO over the years than the late George Carlin -- he starred in 14 specials from 1977 to 2008.

So it's not surprising that the pay-cabler is going all-out to pay tribute to Carlin. From Wednesday through Friday, HBO and HBO2 will air these memorable specials:

Wednesday on HBO2
8 p.m. On Location: George Carlin at USC (1977)
9:30 p.m. George Carlin Again! (1978)
11 p.m. Carlin at Carnegie (1983)
Midnight Carlin on Campus (1984)
1 a.m. George Carlin: Playin With Your head (1986)

Thursday on HBO2
8 p.m. George Carlin: What Am I Doin’ in New Jersey? (1988)
9 p.m. HBO Comedy Hour: George Carlin – Doin’ It Again (1990)
10 p.m. HBO Comedy Hour: George Carlin: Jammin in New York (1992)
11 p.m. HBO Comedy Hour: George Carlin: Back in Town (1996)
12:05 a.m. HBO Comedy Hour: George Carlin: You Are All Diseased (1999)
1:10 a.m. George Carlin: It’s Bad for Ya’ (2008)

Friday on HBO
9 p.m. George Carlin: It’s Bad for Ya ( 2008)

What would Dumb Dora think?

TBS previously announced it will be reviving the great game show "The Match Game" and today they've announced the panelists who will slide into Charles Nelson Reilly and Brett Somers' chairs.

They include Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Super Dave Osborne (Bob Einstein), Kids in the Hall trouper Scott Thompson, Rashida Jones (“The
Office”) and Niecy Nash (“Reno 911!”).

Andrew Daly (“Semi-Pro”) will be the host. We can only hope he has the sense to bring back Gene Rayburn's iconic stick microphone?.

The original is still run on GSN, so today's viewers can familiarize themselves with panelists Nipsey Russell, Betty White and Richard Dawson to their heart's content.

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Karma Chameleon alert!

'80s icon Boy George will perform on live on "Today" July 7 in his first television concert in ten years, NBC announced today.

The performance marks the unofficial kick-off to the Culture Club frontman's American tour, which begins July 10 in Aspen, Colo. (We're not sure what will constitute the official kickoff.)

And don't say the "Today" crew doesn't have a heart: They'll invite employees of New York City's Department of Sanitation to George's concert.

Remember that George served community service with the department after he pled guilty to falsely reporting a burglary at his New York apartment. George will also perform a special concert for the sanitation employees at the department's Family Day on Aug. 17. You really don't want to hurt them.

And by the way, the comeback tour hits the Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury on Aug. 5.

And just in case you want to feel like really old: it's been 26 years since we first saw Culture Club prancing on MTV.

CBS announced its summer schedule today, filled with the usual mishmash of reality (more "Big Brother," something called "Greatest American Dog"), game shows as well as a couple of dramas.

The one program we're jazzed about is "Million Dollar Password," an update of the venerable game show. It'll premiere Sunday, June 1, and will be hosted by none other than the ubiquitous Regis Philbin, a 21st century heir to Allen Ludden, if ever there was one.

Like the old show, contestants will team up with big-name stars, including Rosie O'Donnell, Rachael Ray, Neil Patrick Harris, "High School Musical's" Monique Coleman and Betty White (Ludden's widow and a regular on the original show -- ups to you, CBS). The winner can take home $1 million clams.

The dramas include the much-delayed "Swingtown," about swingers in the '70s (we'll take that 1972 "All in the Family" episode with Rue McClanahan and Vincent Gardenia as swingers, thank you) and "Flashpoint," a Canadian-made cop drama.

Here's how the world works: You do something really notorious - say, become a prostitute and unwittingly become the instrument by which you unseat the sleazebag governor of New York - and then you look to cash in. In the olden days, you'd first line up the "respectable" interview with Babs Walters. You'd cry a little. Confess a little. Babs would ask you about stains on dresses, and you'd have to deal with that too.

Then...straight to the bank! Absolved by Babs, your agent could then score you a book deal, a magazine deal (one of those pay-for-play profiles in some very thick glossy), and best of all: The TV deal. That might be a full-blown series (reality of course) in an ideal world.

But like I said. Those are the old days. In these days, you head straight to TV, and cash the check fast. So, who's bidding for Kristen/Ashley? NBC News or ABC News? They - of course - couldn't pay outright for the interview, but they could "hire" Kristen/Ashley as a "consultant," who could offer on-air "opinions" about the Luv Guv. (I rule out CBS only because I don't think they'll come up with the necessary change.)

Or...will be it be "Extra" or "Access Hollywood?" My money, ahem, is on "AC" because as part of the NBC Universal empire, NBC can offer "Access," "Nightly News," maybe a cameo on "The Office" and a reality show (it would be offered, but probably never air.)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I always do. Here's the news. A website - I'm assuming a reputable one because the very reputable TVNewser says it's got creds - claims "Extra" is already offering $100,000 for the interview.

Let the bidding begin!

(Hey, wasn't Babs spotted camping outside Kristen's apartment bldg last night?)

With an end to the writers' strike possibly -- take a deep breath -- at hand, are you wondering whether your favorite show will be back?

Well, check out this handy-dandy chart compiled by our hard-working fellow corporate drones at the L.A. Times. It'll tell you every thing you need to know about which show will survive or which won't. Hint: "Cavemen" is probably dead.

Darn.

Craig Ferguson, host of CBS' "Late Late Show," is coming to Long Island.

The new American citizen will perform his stand-up act at North Fork Theatre at Westbury on June 27 at 8 p.m., the venue announced today. Tickets, priced at $49.50 and $39.50, go on sale Sunday.

In other Craig news: He revealed Tuesday that he’s been booked as the entertainer at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, scheduled for April 26. He described the correspondents’ dinner as “like the Oscars for
politicians.”

So where/what/who/when/why to watch on this Super Tuesday? I'll get a quick network viewers' guide to you shortly, but in the meantime, here's the local TV picture, courtesy News 12.

The bulk of the coverage starts at 5, with live reports from all the campaign headquarters, and there'll be a a 5:30 interview with Nassau County Republican Committee chair Joe Mondello (and McCain supporter.) Then at 7: Lea Tyrrell talks Super Tuesday with political analyst Jerry Kremer - former chair of the state house ways and means. Calls will be taken....

Wall-to-wall live coverage starts at 9, with analysis from Scott Feldman and Tyrrell. Analysts: Kremer and Bruce Blakeman (Board of Commissioners, Port Authority). And per News 12, Colleen McVey and Lauren Sivan "will be taking the pulse of the Democratic and Republican focus groups that we've assembled here in 1 Media."

Also, expect live coverage of candidate speeches as they come, of course.

Anyone who spends any time watching cable TV news knows that the latest scandal du jour is about this former cop in a Chicago suburb named Drew Peterson whose wife went missing a few months ago. Said cable news has already tried and convicted the guy of murder, but lemme tell ya - he didn't help his case a little while ago.

Peterson was star of a much-hyped exclusive interview with Shepard Smith; interview was going along swimmingly, when Peterson decided he didn't like the drift of the questions, and ripped out his IFB. And that was that. This sort of stuff doesn't happen too often (especially with heavily-plugged interviews) so here it is for your viewing amusement. (A piece of advice: Drag the button up to about 4 minutes to skip all the other stuff, if you're not interested in this over-wrought case).