http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/ By Aaron Barnhart, TV critic for the Kansas City Star. en-US 2008-07-18T17:08:02-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/msnbc-prez-on-f.html MSNBC president Phil Griffin spoke with me earlier this week, a few hours after he was promoted to his new post (see my earlier story). Because of what the techies call a "catastrophic failure" of my hard drive (a strange... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-18T17:08:02-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/fox-news-ready.html There’s a new pit bull at Fox News Channel, and, no, it’s not recently hired contributor Karl Rove. It’s Chris Wallace, the onetime mild-mannered moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” now host of “Fox News Sunday,” who bared his fangs... Barnhart TCA Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-18T17:03:33-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/tv-academy-ceo.html The Emmy nominations were announced before sunrise Thursday here, and as usual they offered their share of pleasant surprises and huge disappointments. If one chronic problem ails the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences more than any other, it is... Barnhart TCA Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-18T16:51:18-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/finally-the-tim.html In the overall scheme of things, the five-week lag between my profile of Rachel Maddow and the New York Times finally paying attention to her with a nice story today ... isn't really that long to wait. And I know... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-17T12:30:02-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/leno-i-am-defin.html Holy smokes, did USA TODAY today bury the lede. Inside a cover story on its Life section about Jay Leno's garage (three airplane hangars, actually) is this killer quote nine paragraphs in: **"I am definitely done next year -- with... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-17T11:17:27-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/emmy-nomination.html I think these might be the saddest words in the English language: "This is Howie Mandel's first Emmy nomination." This morning's announcement of the 60th Emmy nominees started with the big news but quickly moved on to the conventional. The... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-17T08:20:29-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/sit-down-shut-u.html **UPDATE:** Bill Oakley and Ken Keeler are the two writers who did not agree to the deal, say sources not named Nikki. This is an interesting development as up until now I've thought of Oakley and Josh Weinstein, who created... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-16T19:04:22-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/jimmy-kimmel-as.html No sooner did ABC entertainment chief Stephen McPherson open the floor for questions than "Tom Weinerman from the Sarasota Star-Herald Tribune" asked, "There are rumors that ABC is actively courting Jay Leno for 11:30. Is there any truth to those... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-16T15:14:18-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/keith-olbermann.html Phil Griffin, the smart, amiable longtime NBC news executive who has worked with Keith Olbermann off and on for more than 25 years and is his most outspoken champion in his current incarnation at MSNBC, takes over the whole network... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-16T14:12:22-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/how-to-look-goo.html "How to Look Good Naked," the Lifetime show in which fashion tipster Carson Kressley helps women accept their less-than-model-thin bodies, returns for its second season, sporting a makeover of its own. "Naked," which signed on in January, took Kressley's dual... Barnhart TCA Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-16T10:20:38-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/jibjab--remembe.html First, the JibJab — remember them? Take away the clever animation and this is just another dumb Mark Russell/Capitol Steps song parody. But it's really clever animation... JibJab - Time for Some Campaignin' And by the way, if you go... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-16T07:26:25-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/my-pam-ward-for.html The lightly distributed cable network owned by the National Football League said goodbye to potentially hundreds and hundreds of new female viewers by taking the safe route and picking Giants play-by-play announcer Bob Papa to call the handful of games... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-16T01:25:18-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/mad-about-marke.html These similarities between "Mad Men" and "The Sopranos" can get overworked. Sure, both shows were offered to HBO by David Chase. Both were immediately embraced by TV critics (who spent much of the off-season ginning up comparisons between the two).... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-16T00:30:59-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/party-time-mean.html There was a TCA party for Fox and FX talent at the Santa Monica Pier last night. I interviewed "Shield" creator Shawn Ryan and various cast members for an upcoming piece. I got an update on "Dollhouse" from its lord... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-15T16:27:47-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/talkin-tour-wit.html I spoke with Baltimore broadcasting legend Steve Rouse, who was filling in for Shari Elliker on WBAL today. We talked about last night's Fox party, yesterday's Fox News panel, and how I was outfoxed by a certain music legend. WBAL... Podcasts TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-15T10:06:52-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/chris-wallace-d.html "Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace, who cut short a vacation to pay tribute to Tony Snow on Sunday's show (my tribute to Tony), flew out here to TCA to play straight man on a panel that features "Outfoxed" villain... Podcasts TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-14T15:18:55-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/radio-radio.html Paul Harris had some consoling words for me this morning on WHAS Radio in Louisville, where he's been filling in. We talked about TV press tour and specifically, my light-rail wreck interview with Elvis Costello, which I blogged about earlier.... Podcasts TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-14T11:01:00-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/whats-working-1.html 1. "Generation Kill." I don't know how "realistic" it is, but it's certainly faithful to Evan Wright's book about a band of Marines' harrowing duty in Iraq. 2. "Psych" on USA. The most underrated comedy on TV (now that "30... What's Working for Me Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-14T10:46:24-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/critics-worth-r.html Yours truly was included in a five-member panel convened by the trade weekly _Broadcasting & Cable_ to talk about the upcoming television season and what each network's prospects are going into the strike-damaged season. The headline of the story, "If... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-14T10:07:34-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/remembering-ton.html Chip Franklin and I looked back and ahead on KOGO Radio this morning. KOGO_20080714.mp3 Podcasts Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-14T09:41:44-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/jason-sudeikis.html Great, I come out to the movie capital of North America and where is Jason Sudeikis showing off his new film? Back home, of course. **"The Rocker"** — in which Rainn Wilson (above) plays a drummer from the hair-band era... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-14T09:21:09-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/tony-snow-rip.html The first time I spoke with Tony Snow, he was the newly-minted host of "Fox News Sunday," I was the newly-minted television critic of the Star, and KPHN afternoon host Mike Shanin was kind enough to invite me to stay... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-13T13:14:47-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/tv-barn-at-tc-1.html The curator of "Independent Lens" and I had a lively chat this afternoon to discuss some of the films in the just-announced 2008-2009 schedule of TV's best, biggest and most diverse documentary lineup, including "Chicago 10" (pictured), "The Order of... Podcasts TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-12T21:19:15-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/the-2008-2009-s.html Also be sure to visit the IL web site. SEASON PREMIERE - Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 9 PM CHICAGO 10 by Brett Morgen (Documentary; 120 minutes) Remember Chicago, 1968? Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters stormed the Democratic convention,... Public TV Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-12T20:53:06-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/tv-barn-at-tca.html Today's podcast guest is the television critic of the San Francisco Chronicle and the popularizer of the unofficial motto of the Television Critics Association tour: "Death March with Cocktails." TVBarn_at_TCA_7_11_08.mp3 Podcasts TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-11T23:10:00-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/lunch-with-paul.html Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS, was in town this week, and her host, Eugene Williams, decided that for lunch with a newspaper critic, local flavor was in order. So before they headed out to Topeka, where Williams... Barnhart Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-11T16:56:55-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/generation-kill.html After five years fulfilling his epic vision for “The Wire,” David Simon has returned to his journalistic roots with “Generation Kill,” a seven-part miniseries about young Marines under fire in Iraq that begins at 8 p.m. CT Sunday on HBO. Barnhart TCA Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-11T14:12:31-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/al-swearengen-l.html QUENTIN SCHAFFER, EVP FOR CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AT HBO: First off, I just want to say I feel every time we get together now, it's like an Agatha Christie mystery. It's wondering who is going to survive the year. Even money,... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-11T14:07:47-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/his-aim-is-true.html Even if I had been given a few days' notice, as opposed to a few hours, that I had been granted an audience with the King, as in Elvis Costello, I'm not sure I would've had any easier time interviewing... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-11T10:02:27-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/here-in-the-bal.html The view from my room ... no one can hear the haters scream. That's how bitchin' the sound system is here at TCA. Seriously, if you missed the last two days of navel-gazing commentary over whether two or more television... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-10T13:48:29-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/hogstrom-out-at.html When you leave so abruptly that you have no immediate plans but to live in the town you arrived in just three years earlier, and when, after you leave the building, reporters learn that actually, you'd been doing a great... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-10T08:42:10-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/dogtown-and-gre.html I arrived at TCA, the television critics' tour in L.A., just in time to meet one of this fall's TV stars who I think is gonna break out. Meet Georgia. She and 21 of her fellow fighting pit bulls —... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-10T07:59:27-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/mindless-and-su.html "Brooke Knows Best" One of the joys of this time of year for a television critic is taking in some of the great shows currently on the air. These cable classics have turned summertime TV, once a cesspool of reruns,... Barnhart Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-09T09:12:22-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/lara-logans-ine.html I have in front of me a copy of *The Murrow Boys,* the excellent book by Stanley Cloud and Lynne Olson that tells the story of the birth of broadcast journalism, at CBS, in the runup to World War II.... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-09T08:42:21-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/sag-aftra-judgm.html Shari Elliker talked about this and other television topics on WBAL Radio earlier today. WBAL - 7/8/2008 Podcasts Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-08T14:55:31-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/tv-critics-play.html Summer press tour comes with its annual rituals, some good, some not so good. One of these customs is the inevitable column or two about “TCA ain’t what it used to be.” This year we’ve been treated to an especially... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-08T13:46:48-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/tca-begins-toda.html ... and yes, I will be going. I leave Wednesday for two weeks in LA to cover the fall previews for cable and network television. I have added a new ticker to the sidebar, exclusively for TCA entries. If someone... TCA TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-08T08:54:10-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/fair-use-in-mas.html Here's a 13-minute podcast I produced about the newly released Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Online Video: TV Barn Podcast - 7/7/2008 - Fair Use Podcasts Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-07T21:02:33-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/mashers-and-mix.html We've been conditioned to think that if you pull something off the web and use it, you're committing some sort of copyright infringement. But increasingly, the law is moving in exactly the opposite direction. Provided you are making a truly... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-07T20:37:44-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/weathercaster-g.html Here's a clip from my hour with Paul Harris this morning on KMBZ Radio: KMBZ - 7/7/2008 Podcasts Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-07T12:00:31-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/chip-franklin-o.html "Gen Kill" and "Burn Notice" among the shows I previewed today: KOGO - 7/7/2008 (MP3) Podcasts Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-07T09:25:37-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/next-up-generat.html Chip Franklin and I talked about those shows and some other topics this morning on KOGO Radio in San Diego: KOGO - 7/7/2008 (MP3) **AUDIO'S UP:** I was Paul Harris's guest for the 10 a.m. hour as he filled in... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-07T09:24:38-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/what-to-watch-t.html THURSDAY The only downside to the first season of AMC's Mad Men last summer was that it overshadowed another terrific debut, the spy comedy Burn Notice. Barnhart Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-06T23:52:00-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/whats-working-f.html **1. “Swingtown.”** Not the greatest show ever made, but everyone involved seems to have had a lot of fun making it. Especially the wardrobe designers. **2. “The Office” Webisodes.** They're back, with the schlubby gambling addict Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) trying... What's Working for Me Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-06T23:47:07-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/stay-classy-ksd.html OK, so it would've been nice if that new retractable roof had been available to the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club this year. Still, at some point during the hour-and-a-half rain delay during the men's singles final at Wimbledon,... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-06T23:36:07-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/filling-in-for.html Earlier this week, Paul Harris asked me if I'd like to join him for the 10 o'clock hour Monday morning on KMBZ, our news-talk station. He said he'd be filling in for Darla Jaye, the madwoman of mid-mornings. Well, turns... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-03T15:42:39-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/the-emmys-or-as.html When is it NOT a good year for The Shat? Tom O'Neil has done his usual crackerjack job of assembling the Top 10 lists that Emmy judges are currently mulling over before announcing the nominees later this month. More crucially,... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-03T14:32:08-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/first-look-at-f.html "Fringe" As I prepare for my annual journey to L.A. for the fall TV previews, I notice my desk is not exactly piled high with DVD screeners. It's been months since the Hollywood studios and the people who write their... Barnhart Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-03T13:31:36-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/greensburg-film.html Kansas native Brian Schodorf was one of the very first people with a video camera let into Greensburg, Kansas, following the EF-5 tornado that wiped out 95 percent of the town last year. His documentary, **"Greensburg,"** is airing at 8... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-03T10:44:31-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/the-huge-storm.html At 9:58 p.m. last night, I got this email: **LIVE! Watch Severe Weather Coverage From KMBC** As Ernest Tubb would put it, thanks a lot. I had been spending the previous two hours getting this view of the severe weather... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-03T10:20:22-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/saving-jericho.html Hundreds of fired-up "Jericho" fans with disposable income to spare 'bombarded the Hollywood Reporter mailroom with half a ton of expensive, mail-ordered nuts this week. And then they took out an ad in Variety. You know, I think THR probably... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-03T09:37:14-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/ptsd-for-kids-w.html Even before the TV networks started closing their Baghdad bureaus, it was obvious that nothing got viewers reaching for the clicker faster than the words, “In Iraq….” The audience for “Over There,” a fine war drama, vanished before FX executives'... Barnhart Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-02T16:43:56-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/frank-white-is.html I've said some nice things already about FSN's coverage of the Kansas City Royals broadcasts this year. I think everything I've mentioned is related to moves FSN made after taking over for the now-defunct RSTN. Coincidence? I think not. TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-02T16:04:52-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/time-warner-sor.html To his credit, Time Warner Cable's Damon Porter spokesmanned up. He didn't sugar-coat the news. As much as I might gripe about having 44 channels taken off my TiVo — and having no access to the dozen new HD channels... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-02T15:24:15-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/oreilly-as-ted.html *The New York Times* is giving an early look at Zev Chafets' wonderful, fair-minded, up-to-the-second Sunday Magazine story about Rush Limbaugh, who just signed a career-defining deal with Clear Channel that should pay him $400 million to continue broadcasting through... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-02T14:44:10-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/cant-let-it-go.html George Carlin's been dead more than a week, but I'm still thinking about the fact that we have this ridiculous indecency rule that some weeks it seems like is the FCC's only justification for its continued existence. Well, Paul Harris... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-02T11:07:44-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/wondering-whats.html Mother, will you please stop interrupting me, I'm trying to tell you something! No, it's not called American Movie Classics anymore. I think you mean Turner Classics. Listen to me, Mother, I think I'm in great dan-- *** Charlie's Interesting... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T22:23:26-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/royals-news-you.html Here we are, almost to the All-Star break, and my TiVo still insists that there's a Cardinals game on tonight. OK, maybe in the eastern half of the state, land of mass-produced beer and home to the "Farmer Wants a... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T16:41:52-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/and-thats-why-t.html Courtesy of Ramsey Mohsen's tweetblog, I had a look at CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric's "exclusive behind the scenes" YouTube page. *(More compelling is Ramsey's new site, just launched. This downtown video he made is, I must say, stunning... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T14:29:01-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/sag-aftra-where.html An abbreviated podcast because my recorder shut off. With Shari Elliker this morning on WBAL: WBAL_7-1-2008.mp3 (or subscribe) Podcasts Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T13:12:13-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/tv-barns-east-c.html Hey, I was on WBAL Radio just this morning: WBAL_7-1-2008.mp3 (or subscribe) Now comes word that — probably not for the first time — Baltimore's news-talk blowtorch picked up two of the more prestigious trophies in reporting, named for Keith... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T13:10:10-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/the-pender-mcsh.html Buried in a recent log entry on Mark Pender's blog — he being the Kansas City native and trumpeter in the Max Weinberg 7 on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" — is this item: I've just achieved a goal of... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T12:40:00-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/elvis-costello.html Recently, the Police played a sold-out show in our gleaming new Sprint Center arena. The warmup act was Elvis Costello. Think about that. Elvis warming up Sting. I can remember a time when that arrangement would have been absolutely unacceptable.... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T12:01:19-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/did-aftra-screw.html Late last year, when the writers' strike against the Hollywood studios had just started, I was talking on the record with my friend and WGA member Mark Evanier, of the amazing blog, and this veteran of at least five WGA... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-07-01T11:22:58-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/unfortunate-hea.html Tireless Tony of TKC spotted that gem on the NBC Action News website. Tony says that he was trying extra hard today to make people angry ... but as usual he just made me laugh and think. TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-30T17:23:41-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/wtf-tv-the-two.html So I was on with Chip Franklin, as I am every Monday morning on San Diego's news-talk blowtorch: Download KOGO-6-30-2008.mp3 (or subscribe) And he asked me afterwards if I had ever seen "Corey vs. Corey," and I said I hadn't... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-30T14:38:36-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/time-warner-giv.html If you patted yourself on the back for discovering the joys of the CableCard — a device that allows you to watch digital cable without having to stick one more black box above, behind or below your TV set —... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-30T13:10:58-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/not-save-jerich.html Well, you can't fault one of the most chronicled fan campaigns in history for attempting an encore. I mean, you have to be a little nuts to want to spend your hard-earned money to bring back a TV show nobody... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-30T11:19:54-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/bad-news-good-n.html And more in my weekly conversation with KOGO's Chip Franklin: Download KOGO-6-30-2008.mp3 Podcasts Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-30T08:53:06-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/whats-working-1.html **1. “P.O.V.”** Tell me you created a season pass for this. Tell me you caught “Traces of the Trade” last week and will see “Election Day” this Tuesday and “The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez” next Tuesday on your PBS station.... What's Working for Me Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-30T07:44:57-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/what-to-watch-t.html "Ganja Queen" Fourth of July revelers aren't the only ones setting off fireworks, as an explosive documentary about marijuana and a new ABC Family drama about a pregnant teen also crackle. Barnhart TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-29T15:59:00-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/imus-and-pacman.html Courtesy of Huffington Post's Rachel Sklar, the nicest picture of the Mirror Awards luncheon, as Rory O'Connor and I stood in our far corner of the Rainbow Room while the mucketeys dined behind us. While this was going on, somewhere... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-27T16:26:51-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/is-keith-olberm.html The segment in question Perhaps you've been turning on your internal mute button every time you've heard mention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and I could hardly blame you. For one thing, it seems like exactly the kind of... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-27T15:28:39-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/kansas-city-tv.html **UPDATED** with more bullet points at the bottom. As the O'Reilly-Olbermann discussion we've been having proves, there are ratings and then there are ratings. And while I freely admit to big misgivings about television's overreliance on younger demographics — especially... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-27T08:24:14-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/who-knew-there.html Premiere week may be dead at other networks, but it lives on at CBS, as sort of a reminder of simpler, happier, pre-blood-spatter days at Old Tiffany. Below is the fall schedule, which includes the noteworthy semi-apologetic statement down in... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-26T16:27:44-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/idol-auditions.html This couldn't have anything to do with David Cook, could it? TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-26T04:58:09-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/obama-does-not.html Earlier today I got a press release from a right-wing group trying to link House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to efforts to revive the old FCC Fairness Doctrine. That smelled awfully fishy to me, because -- contrary to the hyperventilations of... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-25T19:16:01-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/the-super-chees.html I finally brought my good camera to the Royals game on Tuesday (another win, raising my personal attendance record this season to 5-2). And thus I was able to capture, in all its big-screen glory, the nightly sing-along that plays... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-25T18:59:09-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/conservatives-w.html In which a reader accuses a guy who watches TV for a living of being elitist. TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-25T17:21:09-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/chris-matthews.html At the end of John Heilemann's long, fair-minded and overdue assessment of how Hillary Clinton's star has risen in the past six months, even as her political fortunes have faded, there is this curious attempt to hand out blame for... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-25T16:22:04-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/factory-on-spik.html *"Factory" on Spike* Whether it winds up a hit or a box-office bust, the “Get Smart” movie has proved one thing to me: I am officially an old guy. Barnhart TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-25T00:17:00-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/the-mirror-awar.html Rob Owen did not come from western Pennsylvania. I didn't see any *Seattle Times* badges in the Rainbow Room. So that left me pretty much the sole attending representative among the non-East Coast-based nominees for the second annual Mirror Awards... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-23T23:12:13-05:00 http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/the-daily-shows.html Attended the taping of tonight's "Daily Show," and what a nice way they sent off George Carlin. "I'm getting awfully tired of people we need, leaving us," Jon Stewart said at the end of the show. When he announced Carlin's... TV Barn Aaron Barnhart 2008-06-23T22:30:58-05:00