L.A. Times - TV News

CBS to broadcast Emelianenko fight

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Strikeforce SEARS CENTRE ARENA, CHICAGO

'The People v. Leo Frank'

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Documentary revisits the case of a Jew lynched in Georgia over a girl's killing.

On April 27, 1913, the body of 13-year-old Mary Phagan was found in the basement of the National Pencil Co. factory in Atlanta, where she worked. She had been raped and strangled.

'Fanboy and Chum Chum'

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

In their world, they are superheroes

“Fanboy and Chum Chum,” which premieres tonight on Nickelodeon before taking up its regular post Saturday morning, is a cartoon about two kids who live in a permanent state of playing. They dress as superheroes, wearing their underwear on the outside for that Superman look. (They have no out-of-costume alter egos.) Their collective mental landscape is littered with the detritus of sci-fi and fantasy, with the stuff of comics and movies, toys and TV shows. But we don't see the world as they imagine it, Walter Mitty-style; we just see them in their world, imagining.

'Platinum Babies' on WeTV

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

These well-heeled new parents just can't resist the splurge urge for baby, and in the current economic climate, it's unsettling to watch.

" Platinum Babies " debuts on WeTV tonight, after apparently spending years lost in some time-continuum wormhole. How else to explain the strangely dated premise: When rich people have babies, they hire people to help them spend a lot of money on cribs and strollers and things!

Scripps Networks Interactive buys majority stake in the Travel Channel

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Its cash-and-debt deal with Cox Communications values the little-watched cable network at $975 million.

The cost of travel has really gone through the roof.

CNN downplays ratings slump

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

After bragging about its election-year victories, the cable network now minimizes its sharp prime-time decline.

In the summer of 2008, as CNN surfed a massive wave of interest in the presidential race, network president Jon Klein laid out how he planned to keep viewers after the election faded.

'1939 Redux': Series digs beyond the classics of 'Hollywood's Greatest Year'

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

UCLA Film & Television Archive's tribute skips 'Gone With the Wind' and 'The Wizard of Oz' and still comes up with a list of gems.

When talk turns to the golden age of Hollywood, by common consent 1939 is the year of years. In that 12-month period the studios released an unprecedented group of exceptional films, including "Gone With the Wind," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Stagecoach," "Gunga Din," "Ninotchka," "The Women" and "The Wizard of Oz." It was no wonder that Robert Dooley, author of the authoritative "From Scarface to Scarlett: American Films in the 1930s," was moved to write that Hollywood in that year "reached a fabulous zenith it was never again to attain."

Carl Ballantine dies at 92; comedy magician was in 'McHale's Navy' cast

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The performer appeared on many other TV shows, in movies and in Las Vegas.

Carl Ballantine, the "amazing" comedy magician and character actor who was part of the World War II PT boat crew on the 1960s sitcom "McHale's Navy," has died. He was 92.

Jeff Dunham throws his voice into stardom

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The ventriloquist and his dummies are reviving a comedy form long thought consigned to children's parties with successful tours, specials and his own show on Comedy Central.

In the last few years, Jeff Dunham has become something akin to a rock star. The 47-year-old entertainer routinely sells out concert halls and arenas at home and abroad, travels in a decked-out touring bus and just launched a new weekly cable television show.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin: a couple of savvy insiders

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The duo promise an evening of urbane wit, spot-on silliness and perhaps some banjo playin'.

What? Did Tina Fey turn them down?