TNT planning a "Dallas" spinoff
With a "Dallas" movie failing to get off the ground, the next generation of the Ewings are being eyed for a new series that might also feature original cast members Lidna Gray, Patrick Duffy and Larry Hagman. According to the NY Times, the show would focus on "John Ross (the offspring of J. R. and Sue Ellen, for you 'Dallas' neophytes) and Christopher (the adopted son of Bobby and Pam who, devotees will remember, is the progeny of Sue Ellen’s sister, Kristin, the famed shooter of J. R.)."
Marge Simpson poses for the cover of Playboy
Does she get naked in the November issue?
Watch Hillary Clinton solve the Conan vs. Newark crisis
The secretary of state urged both sides to end their feud, and for Conan to go back to "dancing around the stage and making lame jokes about my pantsuits."
Fine Living Network is out, Cooking Channel is in
FLN is being shut down in favor of the Cooking channel, which will feature some of the hand-me-downs from the Food Network like "Emeril Live" and "Iron Chef."
Marc Cherry won't get "Desperate" for new ABC project
Cherry's newest drama, expected to air next fall, will be a standalone show unrelated to "Desperate Housewivess."
CBS picks up "Hawaii Five-O" remake with "Star Trek"/"Transformers" writers
J.J. Abrams vets Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are teaming with "CSI:NY's" Peter Lenkov on the remake of the '70s classic.
Bradley Whitford signs up for cop comedy
He'll play an off-the-rails officer in "Jack and Dan," from the creator of "Burn Notice."
Dr. Bob Arnot of ABC News says his good friend Robert "Joe" Halderman is "very angry, very upset." One night in August, Arnot says, Halderman saw "the two of them in a very passionate embrace at the end of the road" after David Letterman drove Stephanie Birkitt home from work. "He's furious. He feels like he's being played," says Arnot. Arnot also defended his friend, whom he says was "positioned as a bad guy … he's a wonderful human being… he's a standup guy…he's a great human being."
The long-held school of thought in TV is that Unresolved Sexual Tension should never be resolved, which means that Jim and Pam should never get together. But, says Alan Sepinwall, "this school of thought is misguided at best, idiotic and self-destructive at worst." In Jim and Pam's case, "It felt real, and it felt right." He adds: "More importantly, in the two-plus seasons since Jim and Pam started dating, then got engaged, then began preparing for a baby, 'The Office' has not been ruined. Jim and Pam didn't stop being funny, or interesting, just because they were together and happy, nor did they begin to dominate the show."
The storylines are really stretching it, says A.N. Kitchen. "If the drama can't keep up with the soundtrack, is 'Glee' doomed to die on the vine?" Kitchen writes. "When its songs are selling like hotcakes on iTunes, maybe the lack of a quality storyline allows the show to withstand a few punches in the ratings — or at least buy it some time to develop some decent plotlines."
