On TV: Jay Leno, 'Mad Men,' Today Show, Jim Parsons and Kelly Cuoco

Columnist Lisa de Moraes was online Friday, Aug. 14 at 1 p.m. ET to take your questions about the drama, comedy and heartbreak of the world of television -- both onscreen and behind-the-scenes.

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washingtonpost.com:

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America's Got Talent : They really need new judges. Based on who they let into the top 40 and now the past two weeks for the judges pick between 5th and 6th place, come on. Piers can stay, but Sharon and Hasselhoff need to go.

Lisa de Moraes: Hi.

And we know who's available -- unless Paula takes that offer to judge the Australian edition of "American Idol." But, short of getting Paula, I can't see them messing with success on this NBC show -- it's about the only thing that's got any traction this summer on broadcast TV.

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Curious: Pookie, do you like Mad Men?

Lisa de Moraes: I am crazy about this show. I confess sometimes I turn the volume all the way down so I can focus on the wardrobes without the "blah, blah, blah" distraction. But that counts as "watching the show" doesn't it? What I love the best is that the show moves soooo slowly I can get a good long look at what all the women are wearing.

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PollQuesti, ON: The answers should include: I'll watch this show when the remote fails and I'm too lazy to get up and turn it off.

Lisa de Moraes: I take it you're not a fan of the idea of Leno's show. BTW, everyone please do take the time to vote in this weeks Very Important WaPo Team TV Insta-Poll. It's about Jay Leno's new 10 p.m. weekday strip. Love it -- hate it.

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Woodbridge, Va.: While I generally detest Dane Cook, I have to give him credit for calling out Vanessa Hudgens at the "Teen Choice Awards." Now if he can lead an intervention for Miley Cyrus.

Lisa de Moraes: Loved his crack on Teen Choice Awards, though I think he dropped the ball by not making a joke about Miley's stripper pole dance...

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Dollhouse 14th episode: In regards to your comment last week that the poster who mentioned the Dollhouse unaired episode justified Fox's decision because she (or someone she knew) had to buy the DVDs to see it, that's not true at all. I downloaded the episode to watch it, as I'm sure plenty of other people did as well. Yes, they might have sold a few more copies of the DVDs by not airing the episode, but they lost a great opportunity to promote the show.

Lisa de Moraes: The problem, of course, was that 20th Century Fox wanted the Fox broadcast network to pay extra for the episode, even though Fox had already paid for 13 episodes and only got 12 after determining, and rightly so, the original pilot episode was unwatchable. And Joss then took that first episode and cannibalized it and used the bits throughout the season, so the network really and truly only had 12 episodes to air but paid for 13. Personally I think asking Fox to pay for the "14th" (actually 13th) episode was very cheeky. I like cheeky as much as the next chick, but you cannot blame Fox network for taking a pass on the "offer."

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PRNDL: Can Hoda Kotb buy a vowel from Priya David? Or are they the same person?

Lisa de Moraes: Vowel deprivation is the least of Hoda's worries...I'd put "Kathie Lee upstaging" at the top of the list

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Severna Park, Md.: TV TV TV TV TV TV TV!

TEE-VEE!

Yay!

Lisa de Moraes: Okay, you are my new favorite person. Is this your first time on the chat, or are you just overly caffeinated? Any way, welcome and I love your enthusiasm.

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washingtonpost.com:

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Mad Men: I have completely avoided this show from the beginning.

If I want to start watching the 3rd season, will I be at a distinct disadvantage?

Lisa de Moraes: There are ways to catch up. Maybe we need to write a first-two-season synopsis. And, to make it really challenging, let's say it has to be tweet-able -- 140 characters. The Mad Men Catch Up Tweet. Anybody out there game?

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Leno M-F ? at 10 p.m.: Every darn day? When will they put Law and Order on?

God. NBC will be the Leno and Law and Order Channel.

WIll 30 Rock become an 8 p.m. show? That can't be good.

washingtonpost.com:

Lisa de Moraes: Here is our poll, in case you missed it elsewhere. Voting is your civic responsibility.

Now, to answer your questions:
"30 Rock" is not moving to 8 but yes, all of NBC's returning 10 p.m. dramas -- all one or two of them, are being moved to 9 p.m. ...and yes:

Leno is the new "Law & Order"...

Only Leno's show is a WHOLE lot cheaper. But, of course, no boxed DVD set, and no reruns...I don't even want to think about how much money NBC Universal has made in "Law & Order" reruns. It's criminal. Get it? Criminal? Hahahaha..oh, sorry -- it's been a long week.

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Re: Late Night Hosts: I've been a Letterman person for a long time, but I have to say I'm kinda falling in love with Craig Ferguson. Do you think he's going to be "the guy" when Letterman retires?

Lisa de Moraes: You betcha...(Hi Craig!)

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washingtonpost.com:

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Upper Peninsula, Mich.: Hi Lisa, How's Millionaire doing for ABC? I watched about 2 minutes of it, and was bored silly.

Lisa de Moraes: Not well. ABC will tell you it's doing 25 percent better in some demographic group or another in some timeslot with the show, but given that ABC has been flat lining this summer that falls under "Damning with Faint Praise"....it's doing maybe 6-ish million viewers, or something like that.

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RE: If I want to start watching the 3rd season, will I be at a distinct disadvantage?: Nah. Every episode is a self-contained whodunnit like on Columbo or the Rockford Files.

No wait. It's not like that at all.

Lisa de Moraes: I'm telling you, turn the sound off, watch the wardrobes, gaze at Jon Hamm. Everybody wins...

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Arlington Gay: Re: Mad Men; we're re-watching seasons 1 and 2. The previous poster needs to go to Target and buy it. Wasn't that expensive. Utterly re-watchable TV.

Lisa de Moraes: Well, of course! I was assuming the chatter knew about the whole DVD thing but was just too cheap, or on a tight budget, to go out and make the purchase. Or you can rent them....it's actually fun to spend a whole weekend curled up in your jammies watching an entire season of a heavily serialized shows. Unless, of course, you have a date, or something that approximates an actual life...

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Mad Men Catchup Tweet: Advertising, Adultery, Alcohol, Marital Problems, Sexism, Smoking, Suburbanism, all in the 1960s with fabulous wardrobes and a lot of eye candy.

(not sure if that's the proper character limit)

Lisa de Moraes: easily edited: Ads, sex, booze, sex, smoke, suburban '60s sex; hot clothes, guys & chicks.

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She Already Called Me Pookie: I sense that you're in need of a new showkiller.

May I present one exotically named (if you're Dutch) Nikolaj Coster Waldau.

New Amsterdam? 8 episodes and done.

Virtuality? The pilot was summer burn-off theater and outta here.

Here's where it gets fun: ABC's got an identical space drama on the air with basically the same script.

Nikolaj Coster Waldau:

Lisa's new bestest best friend.

A question: will Defying Gravity wind up in burn-off theater too?

Lisa de Moraes: Golly, can we come up with a nickname for Nikolaj Coster Waldau? My head hurts trying to type it correctly. Can we loan some of the vowels to Hoda?

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St. John's, Newfoundland: Dear Lisa --

I recently discovered "Big Bang Theory" and have been catching up (season 1 on DVD, season 2 on a Spanish-language video streaming page with lousy resolution and large Spanish subtitles). May I posit that Jim Parsons is a comedic genius? Even when I can't really make out details (poor quality video stream w/ large font subtitles) his delivery is impeccable, and he is hysterical. Granted, the cast is all very good - he, however, is Great.

I cannot wait until the Season 2 DVDs come out next month so I can see what I've missed!

Lisa de Moraes: You absolutely must must see Big Bang's Best Christmas Episode of Any Show. Ever.

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Mad Men Catchup Tweet, D.C.: Don Draper is a lying, cheating jerk but you will love him anyway because he's tortured, gorgeous and can talk people into anything

Lisa de Moraes: This is excellent -- really cuts to the heart of the story

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Brookland - Washington, D.C.: Mad Men Tweet: Morally bankrupt ad Execs from the 60s connive while looking fabulous and drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

Lisa de Moraes: Extra points for use of the word "copious"....

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Christine: When is "The New Adventures of Old Christine" coming back to TV? Any word on the release of the third season on DVD? I'm going through Julia L-D withdrawal.

Lisa de Moraes: Yes it is coming back and CBS will -- again -- try to launch a second night of comedy, using it....

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Law and Order: Now that L and O: SVU is moving to a nice slot on Wednesday at 9 p.m., and the original L and O is going to air on Fridays at 8 p.m., can we declare that SVU has become the flagship show of the franchise?

Lisa de Moraes: Yes, that happened a while ago when it started getting the best ratings of the franchise. Because there's nothing that grabs viewers like sex abuse...

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Baltimore, Md.: Any True Blood news? You like the show?

Lisa de Moraes: As vampire shows go, I do like it,and I'm a big Alan Ball fan. But I have never been one for pasty guys with bad teeth...it's just not my thing.

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Washington, D.C. : Hey Pookie! Please help me solve this mystery. This morning on the Today show they showed that picture of couple and the squirrel (or whatever it was) and Meredith mentioned that it looked like Matt. He replied that it wasn't the first time that she said he looked like an animal and maybe I'm crazy, but I swear I heard Meredith say that she said that he looked like a merkin. I think he corrected her and said that it was a meerkat, but I was laughing too hard to even hear it. Was I the only person who heard that?

Lisa de Moraes: I missed it but maybe someone else here heard it.. Sounds hilarious. I'll watch it on NBC.com after we're done. thanks for the tip. Don't you love Meredith?

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Nickname for Nikolaj Coster Waldau: Nikolaj Coster Waldau = NCW = New Career Wrecker

Lisa de Moraes: brilliant...

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How Many Vowels Do I Need?: My name is Smith, I'm not really feeling deprived.

Lisa de Moraes: you are lucky. You will never know how hard it it slogging through life, weighed down with all these excess vowels...

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Big Bang Christmas: Totally awesome. Like, WKRP's Thanksgiving turkey bomb awesome. Instant classic.

Lisa de Moraes: exactly. I'd forgotten about WKRP's Thanksgivign turkey bomb episode. Good times....

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Harrisburg, Pa.: Our local station had the last two episodes of "Better Off Ted" listed back to back and then showed infomercials instead. Surely the last two episodes weren't that bad? What happened on the last two episodes?

Lisa de Moraes: Sounds like your local station pre-empted them for the infomercials. I can't say I really blame them, given the numbers ABC has been doing with the show. We're talking cable-esque 2 million-ish.. It's very sad. I like the show a lot. I think it's the new "Arrested Development" (Now, watch the "AD" fans start to yell)....

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Ban all Cliff Hangers!: Oooh! Mary Shannon got shot in the last episode of In Plain Sight. Do you think she will survive? Why do shows give us these stupid cliff hangers? We all know she is going to make a full recovery. (although it would be a interesting plot twistif she did die. Her mother could fall of the wagon, her sister and fiance hook up and her partner quits WITSEC and becomes a vigalante killer.)

Lisa de Moraes: Golly! How can we stand the suspense until the next season revs up? Is there nothing we can do? Is this The Lamest Cliffhanger Ever?

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David Caruso: As a PSA to your readers who may not understand the appeal of Caruso, I feel I must share this as the first diagram sums it up perfectly: Cracked Topics: David Caruso (Cracked.com)

Lisa de Moraes: It's captured the Caruso-ness of Caruso perfectly. I wonder if you broke down how much TV actors are paid by the word, if Caruso would be the best-paid person on Television. I think he would. Ryan Seacrest -- eat your heart out!

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Pookie.

I am sooo excited for the Mad Men premiere. I don't have cable, so I bought a season pass on iTunes. Do you or any chatters know how long it takes between when the episode is shown on TV until I can download it?

Lisa de Moraes: Dot not know that off the top of my head. Anybody?

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washingtonpost.com:

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Alexandria, Va.: Leonard Nimoy DNA hahahahahahahahahaha

Lisa de Moraes: Sheldon's reaction to Leonard Nimoy DNA....

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Alexandria, Va.: Lisa. Help. What happened to Chuck? Did NBC cancel? Have I been living under a rock about this?

Lisa de Moraes: "Chuck" got a last minute reprieve and is returning, thanks to the dozens and dozens of "Chuck" fanatics who went out and bought Subway sandwiches....seriously.

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Big Bang Theory: I agree that the Xmas episode was absolutely hilarious and that Jim Parsons is a great comedic actor. It bugs me that he's dating the blonde neighbor in real life! Anyway, the producers obviously realize what a gem he is because the shows revolve more around him instead of the boring Leonard in love with Penny plot. I really think they could have cast better for Leonard and the neighbor chick. Everyone else is just fabulous.

Lisa de Moraes: I have to disagree abouta Johnny Galecki; I think he's very good in the Leonard role but it's not as big and loud a role as Sheldon's, played by the wonderful Jim Parsons. Blonde Neighbor Chick could have been better cast, but Kaley Cuoco was the Flavor of the Month at the time, and presumably helped bring some viewers to the show. Yes she was initially cast as the neighbor and love interest of Leonard which was icky. But they've learned how to play to her "strengths" which is to make her the maypole around which Parsons dances. He can make anyone look good in a scene and she's much better as the straight man than as the love interest.

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Baltimore, Md.: Best reason of all to watch Ep. 1 of Mad Men Season 3: It takes place in Baltimore! Don and Sal dine at the sadly defunct German restaurant Haussner's, once home to the world's largest ball of string!

Lisa de Moraes: As a little girl, my parents took me and my sisters there for my birthday once. I was struck dumb by the place. All that artwork! The 11-page menu (or however big it was)! It made me feel very special.

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Better Off Ted?: In spite of ABC, I love this show. It's renewed for next year, despite the network's apparent dislike for it... right? (I still haven't forgiven them for canceling Pushing Daisies.)

Lisa de Moraes: It's renewed, but being saved to package with "Scrubs" which has been gutted and is now taking place at a med school or some such nonsense, without many of the show's stars, but is NOT, ABC programming chief Steve McPherson insists, a spinoff. Really, it sounds DOA...

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Anonymous: Wait, Jim Parsons landed the blonde girl in real life?

Lisa de Moraes: I saw them at the TCA Awards and there was a whole lot of nothing going on. Maybe it's one of those romances ginned up by publicists...

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Fairfax, Va.: Should I be watching Burn Notice? The little bits I catch seem okay, but wondering how much of my time should I devote to catching up on this show? I'm not completely drawn in but I am a little interested.

Lisa de Moraes: Since it's a cable drama, it's chances for a long life are much better than on broadcast. That said, the Holly Hunter cable drama just got cancelled because it got too expensive. Which is another way of saying the cable network that telecasts the show does not also own the show. Bye Bye Holly...

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Arlington, Va.: I don't understand the appeal of "Chuck"? I've only seen the episode where the bad guys mistake Chuck for somebody important, so the woman has to save him, but in the end Chuck has to do something brave to rescue them both.

Of course, that's every episode.

Lisa de Moraes: Ah, but this coming season Chuck is going to have super powers! Really, isn't that the very definition of Jumped the Shark?

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Great Xmas epi: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where Rhoda describes the inventive window display she devised.

Lisa de Moraes: Another Brilliant Xmas episode. Let's get a list ready in time for the holiday season and I'll gin up some column about it...

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Arlington, Va.: Jim Parsons and Kelly Cuoco are dating? Seriously?

Just so you know, there are a lot of angsty adolescents out there on the Interwebs who "ship" Sheldon/Penny. (Yeah, I didn't know what "shipping" meant, either -- apparently it is when you as a viewer/fan support a different relationship than the creators intended. I have a 14-year-old tech savvy daughter).

Lisa de Moraes: well tell them to stop 'shipping' now because the minute they are on-air in-love is the minute this show is d-e-a-d.. And I am hoping Chuck Lorre has got that All Figured Out...

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Big Bang Xmas: I'm a huge fan with a bad memory. Can you drop a hint about the Christmas episode so I can figure out if I missed it somehow? Please.

Lisa de Moraes: Oh sure, though we've already done that though sounds like many people were not picking up on it.... Penny gives Sheldon the perfect Christmas gift, which she picked up from the restaurant where she works as a waitress.

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Voting: With all the opportunities to vote, I feel like I am living in Chicago or New Orleans, where you get to vote more than once, or get to continue to vote after you die.

Thanks, and yes TV TV TV TV TV!!!

You can go rest now after your hard week.

Lisa de Moraes: So far, you all seem to hate the idea of Leno's 10 p.m show -- 80 percent call it a travesty, only 19 percent call it the carrying on of a great TV tradition. I don't know what happened to the other 1 percent. I'm out of time but feel free to keep voting. Vote often -- yes, it's just like Chicago here at TeamTV...bye.

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