November 14, 2007

On the Circuit With Seth Arenstein

Programming reviews, commentary, Q&As, podcasts and more from CableWorld editor Seth Arenstein.

Speaking About An Unspoken Subject
11/14/07 | A documentary about poverty in America is important because it was made at all.

Are You Ready For Some College Football?
11/13/07 | Michigan vs Ohio State: The Rivalry is one for the ages.

A Deal Worth Taking
11/8/07 | The Deal offers a terrific British story to Americans.

Court TV Books More Murder Cases
11/5/07 | Murder by the Book returns but puts crime writers in the back seat.

Kick Up Your Heels
11/2/07 | Seth travels back in time with MSG for the 75th anniversary of Radio City Music Hall.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
10/29/07 | Seth on the season 5 debut of Nip/Tuck, WGN's Munsters' marathon and MOJO's spin on car shows.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
10/26/07 | It's crying time again on Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor ...

Why Matters Matters
10/22/07 | Seth reviews Matters of Life & Dating, a Lifetime original movie touting breast cancer awareness.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
10/19/07 | History Channel, IFC and Sundance Channel tackle some tough topics.

Warm Up Your Vocal Chords and Strumming Fingers
10/17/07 | NCTA urges the cable industry to go back (and give back) to New Orleans for the 2008 Cable Show.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
10/15/07 | Anthony Hopkins is grilled (lightly, no fava beans) on Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
10/12/07 | Lifetime's The Gathering, Mojo's Pressure Cook, E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and more.

A Bittersweet Night in Denver
10/12/07 | Jim Robbins is the talk of the Cable Center Hall of Fame ceremony in Denver, as he should be.

Cable Industry Mourns Jim Robbins
10/11/07 | Seth recalls one of his most memorable interviews, in our online tribute to the long-time Cox president and CEO.

Former Cable Leaders Ailing
10/9/07 | Seth tips his hat to Jim Robbins and Fred Dressler.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
10/5/07 | Seth on Ted Koppel's latest Discovery doc, ESPN's look at basketball and the Jonestown massacre, TV One's first late-night talk show and Dear Talula, a memorable first-hand account of a mom with cancer.

HBO's Five Days Best Consumed in One
10/3/07 | Seth finds HBO's gripping miniseries a great promotion for HBO on Demand.

Shed No Tears for Queer Eye
10/1/07 | Queer Eye's fourth and final season bow should be memorable, but isn't (yet), Seth finds.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
9/28/07 | Showtime's biggest free preview weekend includes 2nd season bows for Dexter and Brotherhood, while SCI FI premieres a new season of Stargate Atlantis.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
9/21/07 | Diverse perspectives on The N's South of Nowhere and D.L. Hughley's latest HBO comedy special.

Good Times & Timing at Kaitz
9/20/07 | Despite a slow start, the Kaitz dinner didn’t lose its timing, and Hallmark and Turner continue to talk.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
9/19/07 | Seth recommends Discovery Times' Oct. 5 doc, Soviet War Scare 1983.

Cable's Not Dead Yet
9/19/07 | Panelists wouldn’t bite on the proposition that there’s a zero-sum game being played between free content companies like Google and cable operators.

Looks Are Deceptive at CTAM Breakfast
9/19/07 | CTAM NY commits what appears to be a major faux pas, but isn’t, Seth reports.

Diversity Duo
9/18/07 | NAMIC raises the level of discourse about diversity with an excellent conference in New York.

Dog Day Afternoon
9/18/07 | Seth hits Outdoor Channel's canine competition during Diversity Week in NYC.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
9/14/07 | Seth on Mary-Kate Olsen's Weeds debut, Nat Geo's Inside the Living Body and more.

What to Watch: TCM's Norman Jewison Tribute
9/13/07 | Seth recommends Turner Classic Movie's special on Jewison and mini-marathon.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
9/7/07 | Seth on James Gandolfini's return to HBO — this time as a documentary filmmaker — and more weekend highlights.

Let's Talk About Sex (on HBO)
9/7/07 | Seth finds HBO's Tell Me You Love Me more about relationships than graphic sex, though there's plenty of that too...

In Bristol, Vince Lombardi Still Lives
9/6/07 | Seth travels to ESPN and finds out scripted programming is still part of its game plan.

And That's The Way It Is — Again?
9/4/07 | Retirement Living TV goes 24/7 and tries to lure Walter Cronkite out of, yep, retirement.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
8/31/07 | Seth on a controversial documentary on Princess Diana's death; GSN's Grand Slam; and more.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
8/28/07 | Seth on the third installment of Showtime's Californication.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
8/24/07 | Bob Saget works blue on HBO, Lifetime's Army Wives takes leave, and more end-of-summer originals on cable.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
8/17/07 | CNN's 3-part God's Warriors, South of Nowhere on The N, Shakespeare's As You Like It on HBO, AMC's Mad Men.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
8/10/07 | Hallmark's Claire, VH1's ny77 rock doc, Tori Spelling checks back "Inn" to Oxygen, and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
8/3/07 | GSN's Grand Slam, TNT's The Company, BBC America's Jekyll and more.

Blogging the Indie Show: Small Ball Works in Cable, Too
7/31/07 | Seth reports from the Independent Show in Monterey, CA.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/30/07 | My Boys returns to TBS; Bravo's new reality series, Flipping Out.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/27/07 | Discovery's 20th Shark Week, and more weekend highlights.

Blogging CTAM: Barriers to Entry
7/25/07 | Seth finds more velvet ropes at the CTAM Summit.

Blogging CTAM: Weather or Not...
7/23/07 | Seth on day 1 of the CTAM Summit.

Blogging CTAM: Yes, Deer, I'll Make Dinner
7/22/07 | Seth catches the Sportsman Channel doing good in D.C.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/19/07 | AMC's Mad Men premiere.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/18/07 | TV Guide Network's America's Next Producer.

* Click here for Seth Arenstein's summer TCA dispatches

Blogging TCA: Welcome to the 60's
7/15/07 | History's Ice Road Truckers hits TCA.

Blogging TCA: Sex Sells
7/15/07 | TNT's Saving Grace whets critics' appetite for sexy fare.

Blogging TCA: Weighty Issues
7/15/07 | Court TV's Star Jones shirks channel's pending identity as truTV.

Blogging TCA: Say Amen
7/15/07 | CNN kicks off cable's final day at the TV Critics Association summer press tour.

Blogging TCA: News Flash From TCA
7/14/07 | HBO's The Sopranos and Tell Me You Love Me pop up in non-HBO panels.

Blogging TCA: It's a Gig
7/14/07 | Grabbing some face-time with Disney Channel.

Blogging TCA: A More Edible Lunch?
7/13/07 | Devouring Travel Channel's bizarre food feast.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/13/07 | Tube Stake: USA's Monk returns for season 6, TLC's Model Life With Petra Nemcova, Lifetime's State of Mind and Side Order of Life; Discovery Health's Doctor*ology.

Blogging TCA: HBO Curbs Its Critics
7/12/07 | HBO's first post-Chris Albrecht TCA.

Blogging TCA: Hallmark Tempts Critics, Talent
7/12/07 | Noshing with Hallmark.

Blogging TCA: Nat Geo's Naked Lunch
7/12/07 | Seth finds National Geographic Channel hard to swallow.

Blogging TCA: A Nip Here, a Tuck There
7/12/07 | Seth finds out what FX has in store.

Blogging TCA: Thanks for Sharing
7/12/07 | Seth ponders Lifetime's "State of Mind."

Blogging TCA: Be Careful What You Ask For
7/12/07 | Seth finds HBO's racy new series the talk of cable's opening day at the TV Critics Association summer press tour.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/10/07 | Tube Stake: SCI FI's Eureka returns.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/9/07 | Tube Stake: ESPN's The Bronx is Burning, ABC Family's Greek and TCM's Spielberg tribute.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
7/6/07 | Tube Stake: Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/29/07 | Tube Stake: Larry King's post-Paris Hilton gameplan, and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/27/07 | Tube Stake: Bravo's Hey Paula vs. USA's Burn Notice.

Another Tony Fades to Black
6/27/07 | News coverage of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's final day in office.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/26/07 | Tube Stake: MSG Network's Mecca of Boxing doc.

WE Goes Bridal
6/22/07 | WE tv's multi-platform WEGoBridal push.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/22/07 | Tube Stake: Seth on SCI FI's Stargate SG-1 series finale, and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/21/07 | Tube Stake: Seth on A&E's Street Thief.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/19/07 | Tube Stake: Seth on National Geographic Channel's new series, Situation Critical.

AMC's Mad Men: Part of a Sane Strategy
6/18/07 | Seth's in-depth look at AMC's first original series, premiering July 19.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/18/07 | Tube Stake: Seth on TNT's Season 3 premiere of The Closer and series debut of Heartland.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/15/07 | Tube Stake: Seth ponders HBO's post-Sopranos gameplan; and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/12/07 | Tube Stake: Seth takes on Oxygen's Fight Girls and hangs with Comedy Central's Lil' Bush.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/8/07 | Tube Stake: Seth takes a stab at The Sopranos' series ending and finds John From Cincinnati a flaky follow-up for HBO, and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
6/1/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews Lifetime's new series Army Wives, Hallmark Channel's miniseries Marco Polo, Entourage star Adrian Grenier's directorial debut on HBO, and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
5/25/07 | Tube Stake: Seth finds Debra Messing too fresh-faced to play USA's The Starter Wife and Aidan Quinn playing it safe on HBO's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
5/17/07 | Tube Stake: Seth takes a look at GSN's Bob Barker tribute, Larry David's cameo on the Disney Channel, and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
5/10/07 | Tube Stake: Seth takes a look at what's coming up on BBC America, Discovery Channel, Discovery Times, Lifetime and SCI FI.

Ovation Wants a Standing O
4/20/07 | Tube Stake: Ovation TV rebrands.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
4/13/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews The Henry Rollins Show on IFC, Hustle on AMC, The Staircase Murders on Lifetime and more.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
4/6/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews the return of The Sopranos and Entourage to HBO; while WE tv goes to the dogs; Bravo rolls out another reality competition; and more.

WrestleMania Fever Hits the Big Apple
3/30/07 | E-musing: Seth gets up close and personal with WWE fans in New York for WrestleMania sneak peek.

What to Watch: Coming Up on Cable
3/30/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews Showtime's The Tudors, FX's The Shield, A&E's Sons of Hollywood and more.

Go Behind the Scenes of WWE's WrestleMania 23
3/29/07 | Video: Seth heads to WWE HQ to meet the team behind cable's biggest PPV of the year.

The Sopranos' Swan Song
3/28/07 | Tube Stake: Seth's in-depth review of HBO's first two episodes (Apr. 8/15) in The Sopranos' finale.

Dishing the Dirt
3/27/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews FX's Dirt finale and more.

Lifetime of the Party
3/23/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews Lifetime's The Party Never Stops and other cable TV shows.

Yo! Tony's Back—But So's Vinnie
3/15/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews HBO's Entourage and other cable TV shows.

Cox Wins Golden Beacon
3/14/07 | E-musing on the final CTPAA Forum.

Speed Dating With Jon Stewart
3/8/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews TV Land's Sit Down Comedy and more.

Discovery's Cruci-Fiction?
3/2/07 | Tube Stake: Seth reviews Discovery's Lost Tomb of Jesus special and more.

Diamond in the Rough is a Little Gem
2/28/07 | Tube Stake: Programming reviews.

Rainbow Thinks It Can Make Skool Kool
2/19/07 | Exclusive story + podcasts with Bode Miller and John Lithgow.
• Watch Seth's video, Mag Rack's Out — Skool's In.

Not Plainly Stated
2/15/07 | Tube Stake: Programming reviews.

On NFL Net, David Slays Goliath—Again
2/2/07 | E-musing on Super Bowl XXX, ahead of Super Bowl XLI.

Would You Like Some Lobster With Your Black History?
1/31/07 | E-musing on The History Channel's push to celebrate Black history year-round

Bravo Aims for the "Top"
1/29/07 | Video interview with Todd Oldham and Jonathan Adler from Bravo's reality series, Top Design.

Secure Male, Watching
1/26/07 | Tube Stake: Programming reviews.

A Woman's Place Is Most Definitely in the House
1/24/07 | E-musing with Discovery and Oxygen on the Hill.

February Pix & Pans
1/22/07 | Podcast and programming reviews with Maggie Bellville.

Steve Irwin's Final Expedition
1/19/07 | Video interview with Philippe Cousteau on the Croc Hunter's last journey and doc.

Dirt Has Taught Me So Much About Journalism
1/19/07 | Tube Stake: programming reviews.

BBC America On Target
1/17/07 | E-musing on BBCA's new de-Briticized on-air identity.

At TCA, the ABC's of Partying  
1/15/07 | E-musing from the TV Critics Assoc. press tour in Pasadena.

AT TCA, Food and other F-Words  
1/12/07 | E-musing from the TV Critics Assoc. press tour.

At TCA, BBC America Shows It Knows Forest From Trees  
1/11/07 | E-musing from the TV Critics Assoc. press tour.

Ya Gotta Love TCA When...  
1/10/07 | E-musing from the TV Critics Assoc. press tour.

At TCA, The Food Network Rules  
1/8/07 | E-musing from the TV Critics Assoc. press tour.

January Pix & Pans
1/1/07 | Podcast and programming reviews with Maggie Bellville.

The Higgins Memorial: A Velvet Elvis for MTV
12/14/06 | E-musing on the NYC memorial service for reporter John Higgins.

Henry Schleiff Takes His Gavel to Hallmark
11/27/06 | Video interview with the Court TV chief turned Hallmark Channel head.

John Palmer: Retired from Broadcast, Reborn on Cable
11/22/06 | Podcast interview with former NBC newsman John Palmer.

Johnny We Hardly Knew You
11/21/06 | Tribute to veteran cable reporter John Higgins.

At Midnight, New NCTA HQ Kicks Butt
11/16/06 | E-musing on the NCTA's new D.C. digs.

No Bam, No Garlic, But Emeril Entertains
11/7/06 | E-musing on Food Network chef Emeril Lagasse.

Inside Programming: Janice Arouh
11/3/06 | Video interview on what's coming up at Hallmark Channel.

Inside Programming: Debora Wilson
10/27/06 | Video interview with the president of The Weather Channel.

A Touch of Golf, A Touch of Class
10/23/06 | E-musing on the Golf Channel's public affairs commitment.

Touring the Cable Center with Larry Satkowiak
10/23/06 | Video tour of the Cable Center at Denver University.

No Doubt, Fair and Balanced
10/22/06 | E-musing on Rupert Murdoch.

Beisbol Dominicana
10/19/06 | E-musing in the Dominican Republic with ESPN Deportes, pt. 2.

A Postcard from the Dominican Republic
10/18/06 | E-musing in the Dominican Republic with ESPN Deportes.

Discovery’s Televisionary
10/16/07 | Online Q&A with Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks.

Inside Programming: Made in America
9/13/06 | Video interview with John Ratzenberger, host/producer of Travel Channel's Made in America.