medialifemagazine.com
Mostly off the cuff, late night goes live
By Diego Vasquez
Jan 2, 2008 - 1:00:02 AM
After more than two months of reruns, and huge dips in ratings, the five major late-night talk shows are returning tonight on NBC, CBS and ABC. But CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” at 11:35 p.m. and “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” at 12:35 a.m. are the only ones coming back with their writers.
How it plays out in the ratings could be hugely important in the battle of nasty jibes that is the eight-week-old writers' strike. A big leap ahead for Letterman would be a win for CBS for sure but an even bigger victory for the Writers Guild of America.
Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company, which produces both shows, reached an agreement on Friday with the WGA that entirely bypasses the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the negotiating arm of the studios that produce the shows. The agreement allows the two shows' writers to return to work and the shows to return to the air.
Though terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, the WGA says it includes a deal on new media, which has been at the root of the contract conflict with the AMPTP.
The CBS shows may indeed see a ratings hike compared with the other returning shows – NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Those programs will be largely ad-libbed and off the cuff, since under guild rules the hosts are forbidden to write their monologues.
They also will have trouble securing guests. The sort of big-name actors that would normally appear are expected to honor the writers' strike as members of the Screen Actors Guild, which has stood solidly behind the WGA.
Letterman and Ferguson, who return with the WGA’s blessing, will face no such problems. Tonight Letterman has an A-lister, Robin Williams, as his return guest.
In theory, a ratings jump for Letterman and Ferguson would encourage other production companies to rush in to cut similar deals, with the all-important new media terms included, breaking the unity the AMPTP has been able to maintain the past two months and setting off a rout as still others rushed forward.
Or that's the hope of the WGA. The union has been urging individual companies to negotiate deals for weeks now, and the union used Friday’s agreement to stump for more.
“The Worldwide Pants deal is the first,” said a letter sent to guild members by its leadership Friday. “We hope it will encourage other companies, especially large employers, to seek and reach agreements with us.”
As has become expected these days, the AMPTP fired back with a statement of its own, one dripping with bile.
“While it is good news for viewers that the jokes will be back on the late-night shows, the biggest joke of all appears to be the one the WGA's organizers are pulling on working writers.
"Today's agreement is just the latest indication that the WGA's organizers may not have what it takes to achieve an industrywide deal that will create a strong and sustainable economic future for writers and producers alike."
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A look at this week’s top TV draws
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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8 p.m.
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ABC
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“Wife Swap” (R)
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Season premiere. A beauty pageant mother switches places with a feminist home-schooler.
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8:15 p.m.
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Fox
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“College Football” (S)
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The Fiesta Bowl between
West Virginia and
Oklahoma.
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9 p.m.
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NBC
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“Law & Order” (D)
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Season premiere. The NBC procedural opens its 18th season.
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9 p.m.
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ABC
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“Supernanny” (R)
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Season premiere. Nanny Jo helps a family with three young children.
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10 p.m.
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MTV
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“The Real World” (R)
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Isaac and Noirin’s relationship finds itself on shaky ground.
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10 p.m.
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TBS
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“Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” (C)
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Curtis winds up on duty alone with a pregnant woman.
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11:35 p.m.
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NBC
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“The Tonight Show” (T)
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Leno returns with original episodes followed by an original of Conan.
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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4 p.m.
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CNN
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“
America Votes” (N)`
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All-day reports and results on the
Iowa caucuses.
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8 p.m.
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NBC
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“Deal or No Deal” (G)
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Three million-dollar cases are in play when an
Oklahoma woman takes the stage.
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8 p.m.
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ESPN
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“College Basketball” (S)
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Big Ten Conference play kicks off with a game between
Ohio
State and
Illinois.
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8:15 p.m.
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Fox
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“College Football” (S)
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The Orange Bowl between
Kansas and Virginia Tech.
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9 p.m.
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NBC
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“Celebrity Apprentice” (R)
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Season premiere. Fourteen “celebrities” battle it out with Trump for charity.
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10 p.m.
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Bravo
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“Make Me a Supermodel: Meet the Models” (R)
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A behind-the-scenes look at auditions in 14 cities across the
U.S.
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10 p.m.
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NBC
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“ER” (D)
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Pratt wonders whether his talents will be appreciated more at another hospital.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 4
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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7 a.m.
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ESPN
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“NBA Basketball” (S)
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The Pistons take on the Raptors in
Toronto.
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8 p.m.
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NBC
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“1 vs. 100” (G)
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Season premiere. A battle-of-the-sexes theme graces tonight’s premiere.
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8 p.m.
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Sci Fi Channel
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“Flash Gordon” (D)
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Flash and Aura are kidnapped.
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9 p.m.
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ABC
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“Women’s Murder Club” (D)
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The women look into a wine broker who’s found decapitated.
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10 p.m.
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NBC
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“
Las Vegas” (D)
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Danny and Mike head to
Wyoming to buy a horse for Cooper.
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10 p.m.
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TLC
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“Miss
America Reality Check” (R)
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Series premiere. New reality series focusing on the 52 Miss
America contestants.
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 5
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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4 p.m.
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CBS
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“College Basketball” (S)
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In-state rivalry game between
Louisville and
Kentucky.
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4:30 p.m.
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NBC
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“NFL Football” (S)
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Wild card playoff game between the Redskins and Seahawks in
Seattle.
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7 p.m.
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ABC
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“ABC News Coverage of the
New Hampshire Debates” (N)
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The title basically explains it all. Both Republican and Democratic debates are featured.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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“Cops” (R)
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A traffic stop in a drug-riddled area of
Florida gets messy.
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8 p.m.
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NBC
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“NFL Football” (S)
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An AFC wild card game between
Jacksonville and
Pittsburgh.
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9 p.m.
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Nickelodeon
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“Goodbye Zoey” (K)
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Special takes on new meaning after star Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy announcement.
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 6
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Time
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Network
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Program
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Description
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1 p.m.
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Fox
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“NFL Football” (S)
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The second NFC wild card game of the weekend between the Giants and Buccaneers.
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4:30 p.m.
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CBS
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“NFL Football” (S)
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The last of the weekend’s wild card playoff games, this one between
Tennessee and
San Diego.
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8 p.m.
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Fox
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“The Simpsons” (C)
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Homer burns down the fast-food district of Springfield.
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9 p.m.
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ABC
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“Desperate Housewives” (D)
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The residents of
Wisteria Lane begin to rebuild after the tornado.
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9 p.m.
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NBC
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“American Gladiators” (G)
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Series premiere. An all-new version of the show with hosts Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali.
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10 p.m.
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ABC
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“
Cashmere Mafia” (D)
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Series premiere. Four female friends help each other through life in
Manhattan.
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10 p.m.
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E!
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“The Girls Next Door” (R)
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Hef’s personal secretary lets the girls hang at her house while he hosts a guys’ night.
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A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.
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