Television

So long, public access:

But in Los Angeles and across California that forum began crumbling last week, a development that advocates say will strip ordinary citizens of a valuable 1st Amendment platform.

Is anybody else getting tired of the "Omigod, will be ready for digital TV?" hysteria? They've had those stupid crawls about it going across our screens for what seems like a year now. And last night, they did the unforgivable: pre-empted my "Jeopardy!" to do a half-hour special for all the morons who haven't gotten the message yet. By all means, Indianapolis Star, you jump in, too:

Too bad, if it's true:

The daughter of Hollywood legend Peter Falk says her father is no longer competent to run his own life because he suffers from Alzheimer's disease and dementia,

Of all the old copt stuff on TV, "Columbo: is the best, due partly to the scripts but mostly to Falk's laid-back approach to the character, so often parodied.

Nothing like the real thing, though:

What's the worst way to deal with a shrinking customer base? Why, cut back on what you offer, so that it chases away more customers and forces you to cut back even more, which . . . Sounds really stupid when it's put that way, doesn't it? But that's what everybody does, the Nothing But Crap network being the latest example:

Does John Madden really say anything? I don't mean ever -- he always has interesting thoughts on football, as here, where he talks about what it was like to coach a lot of characters on the Oakland team:

Holy cow:

 YouTube is by far the world's biggest stage for online video. But in some ways Hulu is stealing the show.

With critical plaudits and advertising dollars flowing to Hulu, the popular online hub for television shows and feature films, YouTube finds itself in the unanticipated position of playing catch-up.

Apparently, a lot of people have been so obsessed with politics that they're suffering from post-election blues:

Are you sitting down? This might shock you. Sen. Lugar likes John McCain!

“I've had a very good association with Senator McCain in the U.S. Senate for over two decades,” Sen. Lugar said. “I've found him to be an independent spirit, a courageous person, a person who is outspoken. He's described frequently in these terms, but I've had the privilege of seeing it firsthand.”

Oh, well. I should have known that "America's Got Talent" wasn't going to end my way last night when Queen Emily was sent home as the No. 5 contestant. I had her in the top three. America may have talent, but it also has millions of morons who wouldn't know real talent if it -- well, fell into their living rooms. The act that should have won -- Nuttin but Stringz -- was dispatched in third place. At least the winner -- operatic singer Neal E. Boyd -- was also one of the top three in talent. He does have a remarkable voice. I'd probably appreciate him more if I liked opera more.

I confess to being one of the ones surprised to find out he isn't dead:

Abe Vigoda found out he was dead in 1982. He was doing a play in Calgary, Alberta, while a People magazine writer visited the "Barney Miller" wrap party in Los Angeles, California.

"Somehow it mentioned in the article that 'the late Abe Vigoda' was not [there]," Vigoda recalls.