David Letterman, “Sons of Anarchy,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dexter” and More: Random Reflections on the Opening Weeks of the Fall TV Season

This was supposed to be the autumn of NBCamp8217s talkshow success with lowcost episodes of The Jay Leno Show energizing the networkamp8217s failing primetime fortunes while Conan Oamp8217Brien refreshed The Tonight Show and pumped a growing young audience into Late Night with Jimmy FallonInstead NBC is flailing while David Letterman is unexpectedly kicking everyoneamp8217s assThe media spotlight has been focused squarely on old Dave for weeks at first because of an extraordinary roster of bigname guests and now because of the ongoing story of his past sexploits with female staffers On a personal level the fallout from this notquiteascandal is the business of Mr and Mrs Letterman only But nagging questions persist about the professional aspects of Lettermanamp8217s inhouse behavior and all of them are very much the business of CBS and other Late Show with David Letterman employees For example assuming that CBS will not take action against its mighty late night king especially while he is back at the top of his game would the company be equally forgiving of men or women on its payroll who control the fates and fortunes of other employees if they engaged in sexual relations with one or more of their subordinates Were any of the women with which Letterman had sex promoted over equally qualified women or men with whom he did not enjoy physical relations Were any of the people who unsuccessfully applied for work at Late Show over the years passed over in favor of less or equally qualified women that Letterman found desirable There are many compelling reasons why companies have strict rules in place to protect themselves from such scenarios Do they apply to a celebrity of Lettermanamp8217s heft If not why notIt39s an unfortunate situation but I do admire Letterman for publicly standing up to an extortion threat and putting all of his laundry out on the line to dry in full view of the media rather than trying to hide it Regardless of how it all plays out his is once again the best show in the late night arena and his renewed popularity is exciting to see I wouldnamp8217t think of removing Late Show from my DVR cacheMoving into primetime it has been reassuring to observe so much initial interest in most of the networksamp8217 new shows even if some of that early enthusiasm has begun to fall away At present there isnamp8217t a producer working in broadcast television who can complain about the publicity promotion and marketing departments at CBS ABC NBC Fox or The CW Apparently all those tweets blog entries columns interviews and reviews that came pouring out of the summer Television Critics Association tour proved quite valuable The big broadcast audience has been the showrunnersamp8217 to loseInterestingly I think the breakout star of the season wonamp8217t come from any of the networksamp8217 freshmen series Rather the newcomer with obvious staying power people is Brian J Smith of Syfyamp8217s promising new outerspace adventure Stargate Universe A Texas native the talented Smith has worked in theater for years as detailed in this story on Theater Jones the highly informative Web site about the Dallas theater scene created by former MediaBizBlogger Elaine Liner Itamp8217s worth noting that one need not be familiar with the dense mythology of past Stargate series to enjoy SGUMy early choice for breakout star would have been Carolyn Hennesy as manhungry lioness Barbara in ABCamp8217s fresh and funny Cougar Town if she were given more screen time Hennesy has been brightening up the often dismal General Hospital for years as supremely confident mob lawyer and designer shoe fanatic Diane Miller Sheamp8217s poised to become the new Megan Mullaly if Cougar executive producer Bill Lawrence makes more room for her He should do so prontoAlso on ABC the mostimproved broadcast series of the new season is Greyamp8217s Anatomy Executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers are wisely balancing potentially tiresome stories about the charactersamp8217 oftenexasperating love lives with very realistic tales that address the farranging impact of the current recession The inexplicable costs of medical procedures and the problems they create for hospital administrators doctors and patients alike have been front and center along with the profitdriven merger of competing hospitals Seattle Grace and Mercy West and the layoffs and job insecurities that typically follow such movesamp160The economics of medical care are the stuff of madness and are currently top of mind in this country Rhimes and Beers have been smart to address them in so passionate and organic a manner I assume they will continue to do soMeanwhile the most improved basic cable series of the season is FXamp8217s gritty Sons of Anarchy now one of the most riveting dramas on television The tension between the outlaw motorcycle club of the title and a new white separatist group in the tiny town of Charming California has been growing by the week and the eventual payoff promises to be spectacular and spectacularly violent This show reminds me of those badass biker Bmovies of the amp821660s but with a hardcore contemporary edge Katey Sagal deserves an Emmy nomination for her increasingly raw portrayal of club matriarch Gemma Morrow who was savagely raped and beaten at the start of the season and is struggling to navigate the complex emotional aftermath of her assault without letting her husband know what has happenedThe most improved pay cable show is Showtimeamp8217s serial killer drama Dexter which was already in tiptop shape at the end of its previous season but has plumbed new depths of horror with the addition of John Lithgow as the newest murderer to terrorize Miami I was fascinated by all of Dexteramp8217s deadly foes during the first three seasons of this fine series but I canamp8217t say any of them actually frightened me Lithgowamp8217s seemingly unremarkable Walter Simmons has changed all that Heamp8217s pure twisted evil and every time heamp8217s on camera this guy makes my skin crawl Dexteramp8217s kill switch is flipping but he is perpetually distracted from the grim matters at hand by his brand new baby and suffering from sleep deprivation too More brilliance worth noting At least three of the first four episodes this season end with cliffhangers that dwarf the season finales of most other series With new hits United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie the still addictive Weeds and now a better than ever Dexter this is turning out to be quite a year for ShowtimeOn the reality front the coolest new unscripted series of the fall is National Geographic Channelamp8217s Rescue Ink Unleashed It follows eight tattooed tough guys in the New York City area who save all kinds of abused critters amp8211 from dogs and cats to chickens and piranhas Theyamp8217re utterly intimidating but totally nonviolent and they help thousands of animals every year That makes them heroes in my book What a refreshing change from the inescapable reality trash of Jon and Kate Gosselin You can learn more about the guys hereAnd now for the bad news As exciting as the new season is turning out to be Iamp8217m still somewhat underwhelmed by the two freshmen series that were supposed to be its standouts ABCamp8217s FlashForward and Foxamp8217s GleeI think FlashForward has bitten off too much to chew in that there is no real sense of the worldwide devastation that occurred when every human on the planet except for at least one that we know of passed out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and saw glimpses of his or her future six months hence For example the Los Angeles hospital in which one of the main characters works as a surgeon was strangely quiet on the night of the catastrophe and the good doctor herself even went home at the end of the day Wouldnamp8217t all medical personnel be working around the clock during this enormous crisis What about the thousands of city residents who desperately needed medical attention The main characters seem more concerned about what they saw in their flash forwards than in helping others and everyone is far too calm Not for a minute is there a sense of true global urgency and paranoia the likes of which were on recent thrilling display in BBC Americaamp8217s outstanding Torchwood Children of EarthAs for Glee the musical sequences are lots of fun if somewhat overplayed at times especially those featuring the sublime Kristin Chenoweth in last weekamp8217s episode but the characters in this show havenamp8217t grabbed me Many of them are not at all likeable to date the only one who made a lasting impression on me was Burt Hummel the gruff dad of gay teen Kurt Guest star Mike Oamp8217Malley was exceptional in the role At five weeks in Iamp8217m still watching but I really donamp8217t care what happens to any of the kids or their teachers That has to changeFinally now that a couple of weeks have passed consider these significant Emmy afterthoughts Why didnamp8217t the Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences pay farewell tributes to ER and The Shield two shows that forever changed television Also should television producers and executives worry that one week after the Awards telecast the only Emmy moment anyone was still talking about was the surprise appearance by Internet sensations Dr Horrible and Captain Hammeramp160

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David Letterman, “Sons of Anarchy,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dexter” and More: Random Reflections on the Opening Weeks of the Fall TV Season

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"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 10: Political Spending) - By Carl Mayer

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David Letterman, “Sons of Anarchy,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dexter” and More: Random Reflections on the Opening Weeks of the Fall TV Season

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