Broadcast Blasts: “SNL’s” Big F-Bomb, “General Hospital’s” Big Casting News, David Letterman’s Big Announcement

This has been one of the strangest weeks for broadcast television in recent or even distant memory It began with a spontaneous Fbomb on NBCamp8217s Saturday Night Live and ended with an awkward admission by David Letterman that he has engaged in sexual activities with female staffers on his CBS talk show which is currently enjoying a huge pump in popularity brought about by a recent rush of Alist guests and the deterioration of NBCamp8217s longheld dominance in the daypart In between these two attentiongrabbing late night developments came a happier shock The jawdropping announcement that popular young movie star James Franco whose recent credits include Spiderman Pineapple Express and Milk would be joining ABCamp8217s General Hospital for two monthsLetamp8217s pause here to let this sink in During the second week of what has turned out to be an extremely encouraging new season for the networks amp8211 one that has seen greater sampling and higher ratings for more new fall series than in years amp8211 the broadcast buzz has been much louder outside of primetime than in The exception to all this sudden love has been poor NBC which has been hit by soso ratings for The Jay Leno Show and disappointing performances by such adult dramas as Law ampamp Order Special Victims Unit Trauma Law ampamp Order and Mercy that are clearly not effective in the early evening As I have said in this space before if the network had to do what it did with Jay it should have parked him at 8 oamp8217clock as the kickoff to the nightamp8217s lineup and not at 10 pm when smart people want engaging scripted programsLooking back over the last few days the SNL curse word has me recalling a time when Fbombs on that show resulted in the termination of the bombers Who can forget that cold night in February 1981 when the late Charles Rocket let one drop at the very end of the telecast It really was startling even at 1 am because I was a year away from cable and had never heard that word on television Rocket was famously fired shortly thereafter If memory serves Norm MacDonald had a similar experience with a quietly mumbled Fbomb of his own many years later during a Weekend Update segmentI donamp8217t remember if Rocket and MacDonald deliberately attempted to shake broadcast to its very core or simply became caught up in the untamed comedy of their moments but it was clear on the September 26 show that brand new SNL cast member Jenny Slate accidentally effed In fact it would have been surprising if somebody hadnamp8217t let one slip Slate costar Kristen Wiig and host Megan Fox were powering through dialogue in a skit titled Biker Chick Chat in which every other sentence contained the word amp8220frickinamp8217amp8221 a term not unlike amp8220frakkinamp8217amp8221 that is commonly used in place of the Big F Say it fast enough and often enough and youamp8217ll probably Fdrop tooIamp8217m not in favor of foul language permeating broadcast programming For one thing I think it gives writers of limited talent an easy way out when creating lively dialogue and for another I am certain writers and showrunners would lose all restraint if someone didnamp8217t at least threaten to restrain them That said anyone who would label as obscene a slip of the tongue within the tonguetwisting context of that SNLsketch has a screw loose An accident is just that and for that reason Iamp8217m glad NBC has said Slate isnamp8217t getting the boot We arenamp8217t the delicate flowers that we were 30 years ago especially those of us who are watching notoriously edgy comedy programs in the middle of the night or later on Hulu Letamp8217s hope weamp8217ve heard the last of this and that it doesnamp8217t linger in the air like the swamp gas that is the accidental exposure of Janet Jacksonamp8217s breast during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime showAs for Letterman that footage from his Thursday show of his big admission is so bizarre as to be priceless Tabloid journalists and bitty bloggers alike are most assuredly offering their first born in exchange for the dishy details which may prove to be nothing more than acts of consensual sex between single adults There has been no word as to when the sex acts in question occurred Outside of the thwarted extortion scheme there wouldnamp8217t appear to be much of a story here unless said acts took place on CBS property Companies take a dim view of inhouse sex or sex between staffers on company time and I think most people would be bounced for banging in the office Whatever the details one must admire Dave for doing what he always does when trouble looms He goes right to the proper authorities and puts the whole mess out there in the burning light of day egregiously compromising its news and gossip value Lesser celebrities scamper for the shadows and succeed only in fanning the flames of their possible misfortuneI canamp8217t stop smiling over the weekamp8217s other Fbomb amp8211 Franco jumping into daytime drama just as the bottom is about to fall out from under that longcherished broadcast staple It was only two weeks ago that Guiding Light the alltime longestrunning scripted series in broadcast history came to its unfortunate end and there are dismaying online rumors about the fearsome fates of two other longrunning soaps The positive publicity here is invaluable We havenamp8217t seen this much fuss over a movie star dipping into daytime since Elizabeth Taylor created the role of Helena Cassadine on General Hospital in November 1981This casting coup would appear to be a big win for GH which has experienced a significant creative collapse this year and seen its ratings harrowingly slide as a result With a little luck its showrunners will seize this opportunity to right their wrongs and send the show in an exciting new direction that might appeal to the flood of new viewers that will undoubtedly be tuning in just to see what Franco is up toIt is my understanding that Franco spends much of his time pursuing a MFA degree at Columbia University in New York City If thatamp8217s true I wonder why he didnamp8217t opt to spend a few weeks working at ABCamp8217s One Life to Live which tapes in Manhattan instead of the Los Angelesbased GH OLTL is currently the most rewarding and surprising soap opera on television There are a number of meaty characterdriven stories playing out on OLTL right now that would seem to appeal to an actor of Francoamp8217s stature by contrast GH is largely a onenote mob melodrama I also think the actors on OLTL are better equipped to hold their own opposite a performer of Francoamp8217s proven talents Regardless this will be a big win for ABC Daytime if GH and Franco deliver the goods As I type the words amp8220I canamp8217t wait to watchamp8221 I find that I canamp8217t recall that last time I said that about any soap opera Thatamp8217s the point isnamp8217t itamp160amp160amp160amp160

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Broadcast Blasts: “SNL’s” Big F-Bomb, “General Hospital’s” Big Casting News, David Letterman’s Big Announcement

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Ed Martin

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

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Broadcast Blasts: “SNL’s” Big F-Bomb, “General Hospital’s” Big Casting News, David Letterman’s Big Announcement

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