On TV

Reality, Non-Reality and Everything In-Between

Columnist Lisa de Moraes was online Friday, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. ET to take your questions about the drama, comedy and heartbreak of the world of television -- both onscreen and behind-the-scenes.

This week, Lisa offers these topics for your consideration: Laurence Fishburne's debut on last night's "CSI" -- thumbs up or thumbs down? And Paula Abdul says "American Idol" producers deliberately brought her stalker (who committed suicide, allegedly, outside Abdul's house last month) to audition on the show for entertainment value.

The transcript follows.

Click here to take this week's poll.

TV columns | On TV discussion transcripts.

De Moraes has written "The TV Column" for The Post since 1998. She served as the TV editor for the entertainment industry trade publication the "Hollywood Reporter" for almost a decade.

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Lisa de Moraes: Hi. Let's start with last week's poll results. Someone tapped into the Lee Pace Fanatics club because the 'Pushing Daisies' star clocked a whopping -- insert drum roll here -- 6,030 votes! Yikes. Meanwhile, Poor Jon Hamm, who really needs to work on his 'Mad Men' fan club, only got 130 votes and Simon Baker of "Mentalist" fame suffered just 168 votes. Ed Weswick, aka "Gossip Girl" bad boy, logged a scant 21 votes and Kevin McKidd, the crazy new doc of "Grey's Anatomy" bagged 2,686 votes....Here at Team TV we're guessing literally everyone who watches "Pushing Daisies" -- which has been canceled -- got out and voted...

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Why keep the "Tonight Show" in LA?: If Leno is going to poach the A-listers, why not keep Conan in New York with a bigger studio? (It was good enough for Steve Allen, Jack Parr, and the early days of Carson!)

Lisa de Moraes: And, here is this week's extremely short and cute:

WAPO TEAM TV STATUS WATCH

RENEWED

"Flipping Out" (Bravo), for a third season

"Tabatha's Salon Takeover" (Bravo), for second season

"Million Dollar Listing" (Bravo), for a third season

I was actually expecting NBC to announce that in light of the Leno development Conan would stay in New York. Having both their talk shows in Burbank -- how funny is that? -- leaves the New York field wide open for David Letterman on CBS.

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Reston, Va.: You know, maybe it isn't a bad thing that "Pushing Daisies" was canceled. This latest episode? I'm sorry, but cuddling up with someone who has been decomposing for 20 years is just gross. That said, can we get an Olive/Emerson spin-off? Please?

Lisa de Moraes: Why, why why do I always pick the wrong shows to watch in-pattern and DVR the good stuff!? Cuddling with a decomposing body! CBS should have used that gag on last night's "CSI" -- it would have improved the episode. Fishburne's bit in the classroom with the Giant Serial Killer Head on the Big Screen was mondo lame-ola....Tell me more. Who was doing the cuddling and who was decomposing?

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Lenoinprimeti, ME: I voted "yes" in the poll because it is the closest to my real answer, which is "As well as, or better than, the other abandon-ship programming the once-proud Peacock is airing in prime time." Variety and talk are better than more of the increasingly tired reality genre. Audiences still like Leno, and affiliates love him because he'll do anything for them.

I am surprised NBC doesn't take some of the good programming it's producing for cable and transfer it to the big network. Why not rerun some of the Bravo competitions, or USA series like "Psych"? When they did it with "Battlestar Galactica" I expected they'd do it all the time. It would be better than "Weekend Rerun Theatre," and vastly better than multiple nights of Ann Curry.

Lisa de Moraes: People love Leno to the tune of about 6 million viewers a night. That's a great latenight number, but a not-great primetime number. But stations are probably loving it because he will provide them with a better 25-54 year old leadin audience than they've been getting with Ben Silverman's scripted material. NBC once before announced they were going to run some of their cable networks' fare on their lineup -- "Monk" and "Psych" I think it was...

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Ann Arbor, Mich.: Lisa -- why so early, girlie?

What did you think of "House"? I wish the show would stick to medicine because they do not do romance well. Foreman and 13 together is just yucky. Amber and Wilson were the best couple on that show and they had to go and kill her. I just wish they had killed 13 instead. The woman has no personality or acting skills...

Lisa de Moraes: I'm having lunch with Jeffrey Katzenberg so he can explain how 3D is going to save Hollywood in this crummy economic environment. Because, I gather from reading clips of his Traveling 3D Salvation Tour, 3D glasses now look like Ray-bans -- cool factor -- and it will only cost you 5 bucks more a ticket to see a movie in 3D. Meanwhile, in re "House" I do believe every one of its romances should end in one of the lovers being snuffed -- or they should already be dead -- like on "Grey's Anatomy." I'm so loving that storyline. It has renewed my passion for that doc-drama, whereas my love affair with "House," and sounds like yours too, is starting to wane...

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Tampa: 11:00? What time is it in Hollywood?

Lisa de Moraes: 8 a.m. -- thank goodness I'm in Washington. Couldn't miss attending Kennedy Center Honors. Wait til it airs and you get to see Beyonce rise up from under the stage in a cloud of smoke, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes -- which is how I'd describe the evening show before Beyonce showed up. Actually I exaggerate. It had some very good moments, though there was a whole Saigon-before-the-airlift feel to the crowd in the hall...Which only got worse when the First Lady introduced the George Jones bit and somehow wound up talking about the "other George" in her life. Some kind of major buzz kill that was..

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Annandale, Va.: Who do you think should play Blagojevich in the made for TV movie? Sean Astin or William Kennedy Smith?

washingtonpost.com: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich departs his home in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Lisa de Moraes: OMG -- I'm loving both your suggestions, though another TeamTV member has suggested Richard Kind....

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washingtonpost.com: Richard Kind (imdb.com)

Lisa de Moraes: ...and here is Richard Kind....

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Falls Church, Va.: Did you watch "30 Rock" last night? I thought it was pretty good!

Lisa de Moraes: Again -- no, sadly. I was in "CSI" hell last night...I've DVR'd it. Was it fab?

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Washington, D.C.: Lisa -

Fred Thompson is apparently about to join the cast of "Life on Mars." Is he going to have to adopt a New York accent (unlike his "L and O" character) and really fit in, or is this basically the second coming of McCloud?

Lisa de Moraes: I love that Fred Thompson has joined "Life on Mars" but I'm wondering if he thinks it's a documentary about his presidential campaign.. da dum dum...(I'm sorry, you deserve better than that. I couldn't help myself, but I will now try very, very hard to raise the tone of this chat. Or at least of my answers. Promise.)

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Hey Paula!: Is Paula Abdul trying to get fired from "AI"? How does she benefit by picking a fight with the producers over her stalker?

Lisa de Moraes: Pookie -- you are so sweet and naive. Don't ever change. Reportedly she is now negotiating a contract with the producers for a ninth season -- "Idol" is heading into its eighth in January -- in order to get her to shut up. That gal is dumb like a fox...

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Decomposed Cuddling: Chuck was cuddling her recently-brought-back-to-life daddy who had been worm food in a coffin for the past 20 years. Pretty gross stuff.

Lisa de Moraes: Maybe the producers thought if they made it more "CSI"-like more viewers would tune in and it would save the show. Sadly, too late....

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Falls Church, Va.: So with Leno taking over 10:00, what does that do to "SVU"? Will it be a sexed-down version of itself? Won't someone think of the children??!!

Lisa de Moraes: I'm guessing NBC will declare itself not a network any more, and come up with a new name for its "TV stations" so they won't be subject to FCC peskiness over things like the safe-haven time of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. when they're not supposed to air anything that would blind the kiddies or turn them to lives of crime. Let's not forget Leno is going to have to maybe clean up his material a bit because it will air at 9 p.m. in places like Denver, where I'm from-ish (semi-native) because the Parents TV Council loves having its members in 9 o'clock timezones filing complaints about "10 p.m." shows. It's going to be a very non-edgy talk show...

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Part of a trend?: So we have Izzie and Dead Denny, plus the gal on "Fringe" who sees her dead lover (no sex, but they did kiss) due to some mind meld. Any other walking, talking, kissing dead lovers out there? I'd like to know so I can avoid seeing any more shows where this is happening.

Lisa de Moraes: They do seem intent on having us not be able to sleep at night. I felt nauseous watching that opening "CSI" bit with the flesh falling off the dead guy in the trash bag...I was reminded why I don't watch "CSI" regularly. It's so interesting to me that "CSI" skews older. Older people are very, very morbid.

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Ashburn, Va.: Is Conan going to get the A-list guests he was expecting now that Jay's going to be on at 10? I don't see what he's getting out of this whole thing other than being on an hour earlier.

Lisa de Moraes: You mean what is Leno getting out of this? A job, and a boatload of money. I hear, however, ABC had been ready to back up the cash truck to get him to sign on for a late night show over there. It's not great for Conan because, yes, if I'm the agent or publicist for some starlet on a new flick, I'm going to book her on Leno because there are a whole lot more Homes Using Television at 10 than at 11:30 p.m.

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Tinseltown: What is this delightful new show "What About Jim?" that premiered last week? Where have they been hiding this gem?

Lisa de Moraes: You're just trying to torture me and I refuse to be sad on this best of all possible days. Please tell me he was cuddling someone's rotting corpse on last night's episode...

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Harrisburg, Pa.: I think having Leno on at 10 is fine. What I am wondering about is the continuing trend of fewer TV series--dramas, comedies, etc. and an increase in mostly unscripted reality, game, and now interview shows. Do you think we may reach a point where audiences will finally say "enough", give us something with a plot and requiring some thought process to watch? Or is this the financial reality that we will be watching low production cost TV from now on?

Lisa de Moraes: I think cable networks will see opportunity in NBC's retreat from drama series at 10 p.m. -- and scripted programming in a lot of other of its primetime time slots. (Can you say "two-hour 'Celebrity Apprentice'"?)

I'm guessing you're going to see more 10 p.m. scripted series on cable going forward. Don't assume NBC's effort to put lipstick on its primetime pig is an indictment of the entire broadcast industry. CBS, for instance, is hanging in there in this tough economy -- mostly because its execs know how to develop scripted series Americans actually want to watch -- in marked contrast to NBC. And some of the networks actually make money with "Rerun Theatre" on Saturdays so it's not a given they might turn that back over to local stations.

All that said, a lot is riding on the Screen Actors Guild. If they vote to strike -- vote results announced Jan. 23 -- what's left of the broadcast TV business when a strike is over would be hellbent on coming up with strike-proof schedules. And, as we saw from the writers' strike, Leno is perfectly capable of, and willing to, go ahead with his show during a strike.

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Blagojevich in the made for TV movie: Is Bobby Goldsboro still around?

Lisa de Moraes: He would be absolutely perfect. Great casting suggestion. He could sing. We could make it into a musical! It would air on HBO!

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Washington, D.C.: Ummm "The Office" officially doesn't have it anymore, last night's episode was horrible. It has gotten increasingly bad the last few years, but this year and last night capped it off. NBC needs to put it our of its misery. It jumped the shark when Pam and Jim got together. Just wanted to put that out there.

Lisa de Moraes: NBC shows always jump the shark when the Tease The Viewers Couple gets together. Always. Would the episode have been better, had Dwight cuddled a rotting corpse. Can we vote for Dwight to become a rotting corpse? -- because I am so over his one-note joke...

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Herndon, Va.: The Divine Ms. deM: Please, please, oh mighty one, do not even use "edgy" and "Leno Talk Show" in the same sentence. Jay can be VERY funny -- but "edgy" is his thing like "wholesome" is Jon Stewart's.

Lisa de Moraes: Point taken. I'm just saying it will be even more edge-free than ever...

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Washington, D.C.: I forgot to ask last week -- what do you think of Katie Couric's new 'do? Yes, I am an old coot who still watches the evening news.

Lisa de Moraes: Her hair was not the problem.

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Will SAG really strike?: And if so what will this do to the TV industry finally starting to get back on it's feet after last year?

Lisa de Moraes: It would end that. Prominent bits of on-air talent are rallying to try to get SAG members to vote against giving guild toppers the ability to call a strike, but that could backfire for obvious reasons having to do with their salaries versus the SAG regular-slobs.....

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Ashburn, Va.: I heard someone saying Leno's show is "DVR proof." What does that mean?

Lisa de Moraes: It means they think his show is so topical and Must See TV that you won't watch it the next night because you will want to be able to be part of the conversation the next morning at the water cooler. While that's true when a late night show gets, say Sarah Palin as a guest during the campaign, I'm not sure it's DVR-proof when you have Jennifer Connelly plugging "The Day the Earth Stood Still" given that if you miss her on Leno's show you can always see her on "The View," Conan, Kimmel, Ellen, Dave, Craig, "60 Minutes," "20/20," "Regis & Kelly," blah, blah, blah...

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New York, N.Y.: Speaking of cuddling with corpses, what did you think of John McCain on Letterman?

Lisa de Moraes: Ha...I am so very tired of seeing McCain for the past two years I think talk shows should give us a break.

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Cap Hill: I love "30 Rock"! However, the past two weeks my DVR hasn't recorded it despite my settings. Is anyone else having this problem?

washingtonpost.com: Yes! Do you have Comcast?

Lisa de Moraes: Really? I have DirecTV and have not had problems. Are you having problems with all of NBC's Thursday lineup or just "30 Rock"?

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Couples on TV and jumping the shark: It's not just NBC, "Moonlighting" was on ABC.

And last night's "Office" wasn't funny, but they were trying to be uncomfortable. That was the whole point.

Lisa de Moraes: Yes, because if there is one way for NBC to fix its sucking-air ratings, it's to make people really uncomfortable while watching their shows.

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Re: "SAG regular slobs": How much do they make?

Lisa de Moraes: It's not about how much they make, it's mostly about how often they work. You can get a gig and then not get another one for weeks, or months, etc...Heck, there would be no waiters in west Los Angeles were it not for the entertainment industry being based there.

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Fairfax, Va.: Animal Planet has a great new show on Friday nights at 9 p.m. called, "Whale Wars."

Have you watched it?

Lisa de Moraes: I have. It's very "Lone Ranger."

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D.C.: Did you see "HIMYM" this week? Barney filling conversation with titles of black sitcoms from the '70s and '80s was legen...dary.

Lisa de Moraes: Barney is the best comedy character on TV these days. Except maybe Sheldon -- or is it Leonard -- on "Big Bang." If those two shows were on another network, critics would be gushing over them. Critics hate CBS.

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Baltimore: Re Petersen, Fishburne and "CSI": I have my doubts about the recasting. Petersen's Grissom character was a unique guy without having some weird, obviously dark thing about him. The beekeeping, the wearing the Van Gogh style hat, the ability to not be shocked by just about anything -- they were odd and endearing. They have given poor Laurence Fishburne, a fine actor, a gimmick -- sharing a possible genetic trait for serial killing. Is that because an existing No. 1 show can't dare risk having a characterization develop slowly, as Grissom's was able to? Thanks.

Lisa de Moraes: I think they were looking for some big-old hook, yes... I was not impressed by last night's episode. Except, obviously, the flesh falling off the decomposing body, which is seared in my brain for a few years. Like the time my father took me to see the mummy exhibit at the Baltimore museum when I was a child and I had nightmares about seeing the unwrapped-ish body for years. Thanks a lot, "CSI"...

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Rod Blagojevich Casting: Chris Cuomo with the Helmet Hair, or Peter Faulk to play him after 20 years in the Big House.

Lisa de Moraes: Oh, at first I thought you'd suggested Chris Wallace. Who does kind of look like him, maybe?.... more good suggestions, though.

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Leno's show: It may be DVR proof but they won't make any money off DVDs or other merchandise.

Lisa de Moraes: Exactly. And they can't sell the reruns domestically, or overseas, and there won't be (watch NBC go and do it) a boxed set of the first four season's DVDs...Not much afterlife to this idea. It's taking five potential hit dramas out of NBC's mix. Of course that only works when you have a team that has a prayer of developing a hit, which doesn't seem to be the case at NBC.

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washingtonpost.com: See Katie here: Katie Couric's Notebook

Lisa de Moraes: Here's Katie's new look, BTW....

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Comcast DVR: I got "30 Rock" okay, but for some reason my DVR skipped "Law & Order" this week. That hasn't happened before. I suppose I'm glad to find out it's not just me.

Lisa de Moraes: Geesh. So, let me make sure I got this right. Some of you experienced non-DVR'ing of "30 Rock" and some experienced non-DVR-ing of "Law & Order"? Anybody else experience Comcast DVR-snafus this week?

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Hix in stix: "Guild toppers"? Lisa, why have you been hiding this Variety-speak from us? Is it because of ukases from the overlords at dotcom, or the overlords on the dead-tree side? Please increase your use of this lingo wherever possible: for example, use "prexy" and "web" when referring to Ben Silverman.

Lisa de Moraes: I suffer from having worked as TV editor of a trade paper for nearly a decade before coming to the Post...

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Ben Silverman's Office: NBC is in the midst of a major slump. You once said ABC went through a similar slump a number of years back. How did they get out of it?

Lisa de Moraes: They put on "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" and then "Grey's Anatomy"...it's all about content. And nothing about MARGINS. When you start programming for margins -- as in "let's buy this internationally produced miniseries 'Crusoe' because it's cheaper than doing a big drama series ourselves" -- you are in trouble...

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Boulder, Colo.: Why is it that the cable "reality" shows are so much better than the network shows?

Lisa de Moraes: Ah -- so you have seen MTV's "Double Shot of Love" about the dating competition starring the the bi-sexual Ikki Twins! Brilliant television. Double the skank.

Sadly, I have to leave early in order to make my lunch date. Thanks for joining me. Bye.

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