L.A. Times - TV News

Possible settlement talks delay 'Call of Duty' trial hearing

By Ben Fritz and Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times — Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

An agreement would end two years of litigation that ensued after Activision Blizzard fired Jason West and Vincent Zampella, co-creators of the multibillion-dollar shooter franchise.

A pretrial hearing in the multibillion-dollar "Call of Duty" lawsuit was once again delayed as lawyers for all parties huddled in private talks that could result in a last-minute settlement.

Los Angeles Kings fans yell at TV

By T. L. Stanley, Special to the Los Angeles Times — Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

They want Bob Miller calling the NHL finals and all games on one channel. NBC says no.

Die-hard Los Angeles Kings fan Bobby Scribe hopes for a Stanley Cup victory for his beloved team in six games. But even if that happens, there will be a hole at the heart of the TV coverage, he said, because local announcer Bob Miller, the voice of the Kings for nearly four decades, won't be calling the plays.

Review: 'Hatfields & McCoys' has vivid detail, fine acting

By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times Television Critic — Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

History's 'Hatfields & McCoys' miniseries is rich in period detail and acting performances, with Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton and Mare Winningham.

History knows more than a little something about the dangers of messing with a big family.

TV review: 'Hemingway & Gellhorn's' third-rate romance

By Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times Television Critic — Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Although based on research, with dialogue that scavenges Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn's writings, this HBO biopic is never quite believable.

HBO's two-for-one biopic "Hemingway & Gellhorn," which would more appropriately reverse the order of those names, dramatizes the stormy coming together and falling apart of the famous novelist and his third wife, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn. The film, which premieres Monday, is a big-name affair, with Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman in the leads and Philip Kaufman directing a screenplay by Barbara Turner ("Pollock") and Jerry Stahl ("Bad Boys II").

Summer TV Preview: Meet the new shows

By Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times Television Critic — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

'Anger Management,' 'Snooki & JWoww,' 'The Newsroom,' 'Dallas,' 'The Annoying Orange,' 'Married to Jonas,' 'Hatfields & McCoys' are new this summer.

Summer TV season, you used to be a lazy thing, satisfied with reruns and minor-league variety shows, happy to kick back until fall. Now you are a busy one, teeming with series ephemeral and serious."Breaking Bad"begins in you, and so does "Louie."

NBC set for an Olympic feat without longtime captain

By Scott Collins, Los Angeles Times — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

NBC plans to cover the 2012 Summer Olympics across all its platforms, including MSNBC, Bravo, CNBC and NBCOlympics.com. But it is doing so in the near-absence of the visionary Dick Ebersol, who resigned from NBC last year. NBC's other major challenge? Trying to turn a profit on the London Games.

On July 27, a torchbearer will trot into a new $770-million stadium in London and light that famous flame. And for the next 17 days, NBC will race to ensure that Americans stay glued to every second of the 2012 Summer Olympics — on tablets, smartphones, laptops and (oh, yeah) conventional TV sets.

BBC America's 'Copper' takes on New York crime in the 1860s

By Scott Timberg, Special to the Los Angeles Times — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

It took executive producers Christina Wayne and Tom Fontana years to get their vision of the 19th century onto the TV screen.

It seemed like a good idea at the time: Convert an area in Lower Manhattan into a comfortable, racially integrated middle-class neighborhood as the city's population swelled, largely through European immigration.

'Dallas' villains and Stetsons return on TNT

By T.L. Stanley, Special to the Los Angeles Times — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

The new version will feature Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy for modern times. J.R. Ewing plots to drill. Bobby and son seek alternative fuels.

If you seat a bunch of lying, scheming, backstabbing relatives around one lunch table, would it be wise to remove all the sharp objects, just in case the situation gets a little dicey?

Jeff Daniels adapts to the long hours of 'The Newsroom' life

By Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Playing a newsman in Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' is the first TV series starring role for Jeff Daniels. James Gandolfini told him it wouldn't be easy.

Before taking on the lead for "The Newsroom,"HBO's intense drama exploring the behind-the-scenes frenzy of a cable news network, Jeff Daniels received some counsel from the man formerly known as Tony Soprano.

'Hatfields & McCoys' miniseries looks at families' bloody feud

By T. L. Stanley, Special to the Los Angeles Times — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 PDT

Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton are among the cast of the three-part miniseries on History channel.

Even 150 years later, no one can say for sure what started the bloody feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky.