I once remarked to a friend that somebody must be watching Steven Seagal movies; otherwiswe, they wouldn't keep making the damn things. I feel the same way about "The View," although the demograpics of its audience would probably scare me to death.
"View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck was in tears Thursday after a discussion about the use of the n-word, in which fellow co-host Whoopi Goldberg told her the two "don't live in the same world."
Getting rough out there in talk land. Third-best recent putdown by one celebrity of another -- Anderson Cooper's producer on Fox's Gretta Susteren:
The executive producer of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 last week called Susteren's On The Record "not a news program. It's missing-person of the day."
Second-best: Sustern's 1,000-word response:
I don't expect I'll watch it, but The "Baby Borrowers," on NBC tonight, is a reality show that might actually contribute something to society:
The show is based on a controversial British series in which teen couples considering parenthood are given a taste of what it might be like. In many cases, the participants succumb to soul-crushing stress. Rifts in the relationships develop. Frayed nerves, tears and arguments are plentiful.
Oh, no, please, God, no:
TIM Russert's body wasn't even cold in the ground before MSNBC anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann started jockeying for his job, sources claim.
This story asks the question "Has Reality TV Hit Rock Bottom?" and the answer is obvious:
Maybe you thought reality TV hit the lowest of the low when "Fear Factor" contestants devoured cockroaches, or when gold diggers paraded their wares in hopes of marrying a millionaire, or when Tila Tequila got a second shot at "love" with 10 guys and 10 girls.
Those shows look like "Masterpiece Theater" compared to what's coming.
The won't even leave the classics alone:
Everything old is new again. And we're not just talking about Indiana Jones and the raiders of the movie box office or that remake of "Get Smart."
Coming to the small screen this summer are "Million Dollar Password" and "Celebrity Family Feud," updated versions of vintage game shows.
Geez. I already knew many in the press were in bed with politicians, so I didn't really need to hear this:
Justice Antonin Scalia was on "60 Minutes" trying to explain Originalist constitutional thinking to Leslie Stahl, and he might as well have been talking to the wall:
Scalia has no patience with so-called activist judges, who create rights not in the Constitution - like a right to abortion - by interpreting the Constitution as a "living document" that adapts to changing values.
"It is an enduring Constitution that I want to defend," he says.
A few Americans come to their senses:
It had to happen sometime: American Idol is showing signs of mortality in its seventh season.
Ratings for TV's top show are down 7% to an average 29 million viewers for regular episodes and down 10% among adults ages 18 to 49, the main currency on Madison Avenue.
When thinking about Oprah Winfrey's approach to the metaphsyical, writes Indiana Unviversity professor Kathryn Lofton, it's important to make a distinction between religion and spirituality:
The only way religion or religious belief works for Oprah is if it is carefully coordinated with capitalist pleasure. Thus, the turn to 'spirituality' -- the non-dogmatic dogma that encourages an ambiguous theism alongside an exuberant consumerism," Lofton said.
