{alltv} NBC's inconsistent Olympics coverage earns a silver medal

Chalk it up as a great outing for our American Olympians and a less-great one for our American broadcaster.

Members of the "live-only" Olympic TV team would no doubt drop "less-great" for "grating and awful," but like most single-focus positions, that's shortsighted. NBC's efforts were hampered by too many house ads, too many sob-sister moments, too much hyperbole and too little effort until the final hockey weekend to give "live" fans some of what they wanted. But overall, for two weeks, the network filled prime time with stirring victories and gorgeous images, racking up ratings that were solid for the Olympics and near-miraculous for NBC. That's hardly a failure.

Normally we snuff the flame at one Winter Games by offering advice on the next, but NBC may not hold those rights come 2014. So we'll just look ahead two years, to London:

• Take a stand. Though you wouldn't know it from NBC, one of Vancouver's most entertaining competitions was the battle between the British press ("Vancouver Games Continue Downhill Slide From Disaster to Calamity," said The Guardian) and the city's Canadian defenders ("U.K. takes medal for whining," countered the National Post). Yet NBC, preferring to keep its Olympic partners happy, namby-pambied its way around that and every other contretemps, from concerns over public drunkenness to the insensitive ugliness of the Russian ice dancers' Aboriginal costumes, an offense only exceeded by their bug-eyed, big-smile, oooga-booga-booga routine. Too bad NBC didn't notice.

• Play fair. Mocking skater Johnny Weir's costumes was fine; using them as an excuse to take snide, innuendo-laced jabs at his masculinity wasn't. If sportscasters think it's their gender-behavior-police duty to tell us which male athletes are too feminine, they should also tell us which female athletes are too masculine, giving both groups the opportunity to clean their clocks. Which is why shutting up is the far wiser course.

• Mix it up with Bob. Though he's fine alone, Bob Costas is even better when he's talking to an athlete or sparring with a guest, particularly Cris Collinsworth, with whom he has a good TV-buddy relationship. You can't script spontaneity, but you can tweak the schedule to provide more opportunities for it to arise.

• And for heaven's sake, leave Brian home. We know NBC loves to use the Olympics to promote its Nightly News, and to use the News to promote the Olympics. And by now, we all know anchor Brian Williams loves to be on TV. But enough's enough — on all three counts.

{alltv} NBC renews competition series "Sing Off"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – NBC is renewing "The Sing Off," which features top a cappella groups performing popular songs in an elimination competition.

The series debuted to solid ratings in a four-episode stint in December. The network doesn't have a specific premiere date set for the return of the show.

{alltv} Fox dominates indecency complaints

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Members of the "tea party" don't like MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's use of the word "teabagging."

According to FCC records obtained and analyzed by SNL Kagan, viewers have filed 1,239 indecency complaints connected to the ambiguous phrase. The only thing more controversial was a rant delivered by CNN's Jack Cafferty against China on an April 2008 edition of "The Situation Room."

Of course, NBC and CNN don't even come close to the amount of ire directed at a March 2009 episode of Fox's "Family Guy" in which a baby drank horse semen with his breakfast cereal. That episode generated 188,368 complaints.

Thanks in large part to "Family Guy" and some of its live sports programing, Fox leads all broadcast networks in getting under the skins of Americans. Almost 50% of the top 50 broadcast TV indecency complaints filed at the FCC were directed at Fox.

{alltv} NBC gearing up for post-Conan schedule

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Get ready for the Peacock to change its plumage again.

On Monday, NBC will launch its latest programing revolution (NBC 3.5? 4.0?), a back-to-basics model that attempts to return to a status quo that executives moved mountains to change last year.

Jay Leno is moving back to 11:35 p.m. hosting "The Tonight Show." Scripted programing is returning to 10 p.m. New shows like Jerry Seinfeld's "The Marriage Ref" and "Parenthood" represent the first of many new efforts coming down the network's suddenly stuffed development pipeline. But can the broadcast Humpty Dumpty put all its pieces back together?

The first key is late-night. NBC used to own the space in what seemed to be effortless weekly victories under the older-younger tag-team of Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. Now with Leno returning to "Tonight" after a slew of disparaging press and a still-green Jimmy Fallon taking over "Late Night," it's not clear if NBC can reclaim the two-hour block.

Given their inherent audience bases, Leno is considered very likely to win over Letterman in the adult demographics, but expect a tighter fight among total viewers. Letterman has improved on this front since he last faced Leno, growing slightly this season.

Also, the battle between Fallon and CBS' Craig Ferguson should continue to be tighter than Fallon vs. O'Brien last year, though the strength of Leno at 11:35 should make Fallon a more formidable opponent. One thing is for certain: Leno will be fortunate not to have himself as a 10 p.m. lead-in. The race in primetime is far less certain.

Thanks to the Winter Olympics, NBC has surged into third place for the broadcast season -- giving the network an outside shot at ending its fourth-place losing streak this year. The Olympics has historically not provided a significant boost to entertainment programing, yet NBC should at least be able to drive a large number of viewers into the premiere of "The Marriage Ref" after the closing ceremony on Sunday evening.

Also, the network has heavily promoted Tuesday's premiere of "Parenthood," which ought to generate some additional sampling of the new drama.

"The race in primetime will not shift to NBC when the Olympics are not in the calculations," Bill Carroll of Katz TV Group predicts. "The differences between networks are more impacted by 'Idol', the Oscars and the Final Four than the 10 p.m. programs on NBC, though they will keep the race for prime audience closer among all the networks."

{alltv} Photo: Jessica Alba

 

{alltv} Photos: Jennifer Garner, Jennie Garth, Peter Facinelli

 

 

{alltv} Photos: Jonah Hill, Marlon Wayans, Rainn Wilson, Jason Biggs

 

 

 

 

{alltv} Marie Osmond: A History of Heartache

Fame and fortune may have come at an early age, but Marie Osmond has also had her share of trials, tribulations and heartache. But through it all, the legendary entertainer, 50, has proven time and again that she truly is a survivor.

And while the suicide of son Michael has left her "devastated and in deep shock," we're hoping she rallies as she has so many times before...

• 1985: Marie and first husband Stephen Craig, a Brigham Young University basketball player, divorced after about three years of marriage.

• 2002: Marie revealed in the memoir Behind the Smile that she had suffered from severe postpartum depression after the birth of son Matthew. Years later, after Tom Cruise criticized Brooke Shields for using antidepressants after the birth of her daughter, Marie told People magazine, "When Tom becomes a woman and has a baby and has postpartum, then he can become an expert."

• August 2005: A fire destroyed the garage and office of her Utah home. Fortunately, no on was injured.

• June 2006: She revealed that she battled an eating disorder during her teen years after a manager told her she was too fat. "I was 15 years old, taken out into a parking lot on the set of Donnie & Marie and at the time I was 5-foot-5 and 103 pounds—like nothing," she said at the time. "I was told I was an embarrassment to my family and the show would be canceled if I didn't lose 10 pounds."

• August 2006: Celebrity tabloids claimed that Marie attempted suicide, but the reports were shot down by her reps, who insisted she was hospitalized because of an adverse reaction to medication.

• March 2007: Marie and her second husband of about 20 years, record producer Brian Blosil, announced they were divorcing. They had briefly separated seven years earlier.

• November 2007: Osmond family patriarch, George, passed away at age 90, while Marie was competing on Dancing With the Stars. the morning of week seven's results show. Marie didn't appear on the show that night, but her partner Jonathan Roberts announced that she would continue competing in her father's memory. Two weeks before, she fainted during the judges' critiques. That same month, Marie confirmed on Larry King Live that then 16-year-old son Michael had entered rehab for undisclosed reasons. He reportedly battled severe depression.

• April 2009: Tabloids strike again, this time outing her oldest daughter, Jessica, as a lesbian who had been living with her girlfriend for three years in Los Angeles. "We have a great relationship and I think she would tell you that," Marie would later say during an interview with L.A. radio station KOST 103.5.

• July 2009: Her upcoming self-titled talk show, Marie, is shelved when its distributor, Program Partners, announces that the economic climate made it impossible to support.

• February 26, 2010: Michael committed suicide by jumping to his death from his apartment in downtown Los Angeles.

{alltv} 'Chuck': Zachary Levi and Josh Gomez tell us what's coming

"Chuck" ends its Olympic-induced hiatus Monday (March 1) and begins a run of 12 new episodes leading up to its May 24 season finale.

Stars Zachary Levi (Chuck) and Josh Gomez (Morgan) sounded pretty excited to discuss what's coming in a conference call on Friday -- but they managed to adhere to the show's spoiler-phobic policy and not spill too much about what happens in the coming episodes. They did, however, discuss the state of the Chuck-Morgan bromance, the return of Scott Bakula, working with Christopher Lloyd and more. Some highlights:

Will Morgan's jealousy over Hannah (Kristin Kreuk) affect Chuck at the Buy More?
Levi: It does, but I'm also unaware of his cluing into my life a little bit more. I'm unaware of his suspicions. ... You'll see how it progresses and affects both Morgan and my character in my ability to sneak out [on missions] like I always do. I'm surprised it took this long, to be honest [laughs].

Gomez: [Morgan being assistant manager] has just set me on that road to go, "OK, wait." Plus he had an eye for Hannah, which didn't help. It's hard to talk about it now because there is some cool stuff coming. ... But it's an honest, true friendship. It's always been a thing of, "Hey, talk to me, dude." Chuck is wanting to do nothing more than talk to Morgan -- if there would be a person who understands, it'd be Morgan. Not that he wouldn't be a liability to the world's safety, but it's not in Morgan's nature to do anything that would cause direct hurt to his friend.

Can you talk about what Scott Bakula is doing this season?
Gomez: He's doing awesome work, I can tell you that much.

Levi: I know this is a spoiler and we're not supposed to talk about it, but it turns out he's my dad. He really is doing fantastic work -- I can't even tell you how much I love him. ... He's always on his moments, he dives into this character of Steven Bartowski, who's very odd and quirky and brilliant. He brings it every time.

How many episodes will he be in?
Levi: Can we say? I believe he is doing three episodes at the end. [An NBC rep confirms that Bakula will be on three episodes "in the very last part of the season."]

What was it like working with Christopher Lloyd?
Levi: So insane. ... I will say, we've been very, very blessed. Every guest star on our show has been someone who's a pleasure to work with. I think that has a lot to do with the kind of person the show attracts -- we have a unique show and one that runs the gamut of genres. ... When I found out Christopher Lloyd was doing a show, I think I had an accident.

Gomez: As you know, there have been some really cool people on our show. But for us personally, that's going at some geek fanboydom. So it was like, "He's on the set right now!" We don't always get like that, but to have Doc Brown on the show was like, are you kidding me?

Levi: Now I just need a hoverboard, and my life will be complete.

Have you shot the season finale yet? Will it wrap things up or leave us on a cliffhanger like last season?
Levi: We haven't actually gotten it yet, so I don't know. But I'd imagine it's going to accomplish both -- it will wrap things up in a way that you'll feel some kind of closure on the off chance that we don't come back for another season, but also leave it open to whatever the possibilities for another season would be. That's always a smart way to do things for a show like ours. ...

I feel pretty good about what our chances would be for another season, given all the circumstances of where we're at as a show, where NBC's at as a network, with the five new hours of programming that have opened up. I feel like we could have a place there.

"Chuck" returns at 8 p.m. ET Monday, March 1 on NBC.

{alltv} Soap Opera Expressionism

Gay soap opera star Thom Bierdz's personal tragedy helped him develop a greater sense of compassion

'Sometimes the resentment still comes up,'' says Thom Bierdz. ''But I believe in life after death, so I believe that mom's okay, just somewhere else.''

A star of CBS's The Young and the Restless, Bierdz had to deal with significant family tragedy over the past two decades. Specifically, he lost his mother 21 years ago in a horrific, personal way that would test the mettle of the strongest of souls.

''My brother killed our mother in 1989 with a baseball bat in her kitchen,'' says Bierdz. ''He was later diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic.''

Bierdz eventually forgave his youngest brother Troy, currently serving a life sentence in a Wisconsin prison.

''He totally screwed up...his whole life by doing something so mean and cruel," says Bierdz, adding that he's spent the last 15 years finding compassion for his brother's actions.

The tragedy also helped give Bierdz's life a sharper focus.

"[Before the murder,] I was a selfish guy who was just on a mission for fame and fortune. Now there's a need for me to outreach and contribute or help people in some way.''

Last year, the Los Angeles-based actor wrote an award-winning autobiography, Forgiving Troy. He'll appear at a book signing on Sunday, March 7, at the Dupont Circle Books-A-Million. But Bierdz is also an established painter, and on Saturday evening, March 6, he'll create an original painting at MOVA Lounge as part of an auction benefiting OUT for Work.

''It's a natural affiliation for me to be involved with OUT for Work, which is all about fairness for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people in the workforce,'' says the 47-year-old actor, who is gay both on- and off-screen.

Bierdz appeared on The Young and the Restless for three years in the late-eighties until his character, Phillip Chancellor III, died. At least that's how the story went -- until Bierdz returned to the soap last year.

''He was a dead, straight guy for 20 years,'' says Bierdz. ''And then last year [during] May sweeps, it was revealed that [the character] had not died, but had faked his death. Why? Because he was gay and felt that he would not be accepted.''

Bierdz concedes the storyline is far-fetched. ''I don't know anybody who's faked their death,'' he laughs, adding, ''[but] it's so great that gays are being represented [on daytime television] with normalcy.''

Bierdz moved to Los Angeles from Kenosha, Wisc., at the age of 21. He had never acted prior to the move. ''Nope, too afraid," he confides. "I was really, really shy in high school.'' Even now, it's a struggle for the self-described introvert.

''I'm not a guy that likes the camera or attention," he says. "It's just something I felt I wanted to do. I've got to do it, so I force myself.'' Bierdz could easily ''spend all day at my studio painting, just happy as a clown.'' Bierdz has been painting all his life, but he found it particuarly useful as a means of therapy, helping him to cope with his mother's death.

''You can see my worst times through some of my expressionistic paintings,'' he says. ''And a lot of those paintings are in the book, because a picture is worth a thousand words.''

Bierdz frequently creates "live paintings" to benefit causes focused on gay rights, animal rights, and mental illness, such as the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.

As for the book, Bierdz first got the idea to share his experiences five years after his mother's death.

''I was sitting at a park bench, and I just couldn't believe it,'' he says. ''It was so bizarre, the things that were happening in 1994: visiting [Troy in prison], the turnabouts that were coming, the bizarre rebirth of Troy, a rebirth of me. It was so unbelievable.''

His brother is familiar with the book, but hasn't read it. ''There are many pages of court records documenting Troy's past," says Bierdz. "There's a lot of stuff that's troubling in there -- I don't want to set him off."

Bierdz may write again in the future, and he also has some art projects in development. He's especially eager to see how his character on The Young and the Restless develops as an out gay man. ''I'm ready for a soap opera romance with a guy,'' he says. ''I'm hoping that that's going to happen.''

There's also talk about adapting Forgiving Troy into a motion picture, though Bierdz isn't sure he'll write the screenplay. ''I would rather have somebody else deal with it,'' he says.

Nevertheless, the book has been a rewarding experience for him -- even beyond professional recognition, such as winning the 2009 National Best Book Award for Autobiography from USA Book News.

''I get letters every day from people who have read my book," he says. "They say, 'Thank you for being so honest. I really appreciate what you've done.'

''I've had a reason to keep this going for 20 years,'' Bierdz continues, ''but some of my family is so sick and tired of hearing about it. And I also want to be something else. I want to be something brighter.''

Thom Bierdz participates in Out for Work's Celebrity Charity Auction on Saturday, March 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., at MOVA Lounge, 1435 P St. NW. Tickets, including complimentary wine and appetizers, are $25 in advance, $35 at the door. Call 202-797-9730 or visit outforwork.org.

On Sunday, March 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. he will appear for a book signing at Books-A-Million, 11 Dupont Circle NW. Call 202-319-1374 or visit thombierdz.com.