CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

08/19/04

Good morning. It’s Thursday, August 19, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

While DreamWorks and Mark Burnett were looking for a KO, the LA Superior Court judge yesterday did not deliver the TRO that would effectively prevent Fox‘s new reality show, Next Great Champ from debuting as scheduled on September 10.  And yet, the judge set a court date of September 8 for a Preliminary Injunction hearing, and that date is after the time when the California State Athletic Commission plans to meet (September 3rd) to discuss the findings in the report filed by the Commission’s ex-chairman Sanford Michelman.

Answering the call of a reality show covering reality show courtroom battles is Court TV.  The network will cover the real drama between Mark Burnett and DreamWorks’ The Contender  vs. Fox’s The Next Great Champ within its Hollywood Heat series.

NBC’s coverage of the Olympics takes another Gold on Tuesday night with an overall 10.4/28 A18-49 rating according to Nielsen Media Research. Per NBC, 71 million unique viewers watched NBC coverage; while a total of 86 million tuned in to watch NBC, CNBC, Bravo, USA, and Telemundo.  The closest competitor was CBS with an overall 3.1/8.  Tuesday night coverage included beach volleyball, swimming and women’s gymnastics, which helped to pull in the highest rated hour of the night at 10-11pm, 12.6/31.  CBS’ Big Brother at 9pm (did not air in NYC due to MLB) averaged a 3.3/9, followed by Amazing Race with a 3.9/10.  Summerland on the WB had its season finale and found a willing Teen audience delivering a 2.3/8, #2 (tied with Fox) for the hour. In the Jury Room on ABC at 10p continues to struggle in a tough time period, and pulled a 1.7/4.

Casting Notes:

• Joining the crowd at CBS’ CSI Miami in the upcoming season is Jonathan Togo as a new CSI investigator.  Apparently one of the current team will meet his or her untimely demise early in the 2004-05 season, and Togo is the replacement.
• Coming to Fox in midseason is Spellbound (Warner Bros.) with a somewhat familiar premise.  A warlock – or guy witch – falls for a mortal woman, and comedy ensues.  A casting note for this show – Dave Annable (Little Black Book) has been cast as the warlock; and Maggie Lawson as the female lead.
• Touchstone’s Grey’s Anatomy is on the midseason list for ABC, and joining the cast which includes Patrick Dempsey, T.R. Knight, Ellen Pompeo and Chandra Wilson among others, is Justin Chambers as a medical intern and potential love interest for Pompeo’s characters.  The story focuses on a tough surgical residency program and the students looking to become doctors.
• NBC‘s ER is getting a new doctor – Madchen Amick will play a recurring character whose purpose beyond fixing the broken is as a love interest for Dr. Carter, aka Noah Wyle.
• Sources: Variety, Hollywood Reporter

Oprah gets chosen for Jury Duty on Monday, trial begins immediately, and today the headlines are that Oprah and the other jury members convicted the defendant of 2nd degree murder after ‘deliberating for more than 2 hours.’  Does it sound fast to you?  Perhaps I need to go hang out at a courthouse and find out how long these things usually take, or perhaps I should watch less Law & Order …. naw.

Perhaps you were watching the synchronized diving event the other evening on television, and heard (never saws) the commentators talking about a spectator jumping up on the platform and diving into the pool while wearing a tutu.  Seems this spectator was Canada’s own ‘human billboard’ – that is a guy who shows up places, strips down to reveal the name of a casino website address painted on his chest. For this particular event, the man, Ron Bensimhon, 31, of Montreal, was wearing a blue knee length tutu, polka dot leggings, oversized clown shoes and a url address as he dove off the board and into the pool. He was promptly arrested and charged with the Greek crime of interrupting a sporting event in progress.  Meanwhile, Olympic security has been pumped up to avoid such distractions, including deploying an arsenal of undercover security people at all the venues. And in any case, as pointed out by the Athens security liaison, ‘there is no security device in the world that will detect a tutu.’  Good point.

Chris Sloan has been named VP/Alternative Programming for CBS Entertainment. The announcement came from Nancy Tellem, President/CBS Entertainment, to whom Chris will report. He will be responsible for the development and production of all CBS alternative programming including reality series, game shows and other unique forms of programming.  He makes the move to CBS from TLC where he had been VP/Production.

David S. Reisman has been named Vice Chairman of RIOT Media and President, RIOT Media Licensing.  He will also serve as General Counsel for RIOT Media, the new company creating multi-platform entertainment content and products for tween boys.  The announcement was made today by Jay Gissen, Founder and Chairman, RIOT Media, LLC.  As President of RIOT Media Licensing, Reisman, who is also a co-founder of RIOT, will formulate the company’s licensing strategy and oversee all licensing activity.  He will also manage negotiations and contracts with potential licensees, a role that dovetails with his position as General Counsel.    His General Counsel responsibilities also extend to all other legal matters affecting RIOT Media and its operating units.  As Vice Chairman of RIOT Media’s Board of Directors, Reisman will help oversee day-to-day management of the company. 

TBS Europe has upped Finn Arnesen to the joint roles of SVP/Original Animation and Acquisitions for Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Toonami throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as well as International Head of Programme Production with responsibility for all areas outside the US. Finn’s latter position is part of a new structure that will have him report directly into Nan Richards, President/TBS Europe; Steve Marcopoto, President/TBS Asia and Juan Carlos Urdaneta, President/TBS Latin America, for his international responsibilities. He will continue to report into Tina McCann, SVP & GM/Turner Entertainment Networks International, for his EMEA duties where he works across all territories with the respective Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Toonami channel managers.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004. Fast National Household Ratings for all Networks. Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period data, not program data, and can change slightly once the finals come in, particularly for LIVE programming (i.e. Football). Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

NBC     17.7/28 Olympic Summer Games 2004  (8-12m = 17.8/30)

CBS     5.5/9   Navy NCIS [r] 5.4/9, Big Brother 5.6/9, Amazing Race 5.6/9

ABC     3.2/5   Extreme Makeover: Home Edition [r] 3.3/6, According to Jim [r] 3.0/5, Less than Perfect [r] 2.6/4, In the Jury Room 3.4/5

FOX     3.1/5   Trading Spouses [r] 3.3/6, That 70’s Show [r] 2.9/5, That 70’s Show [r] 2.8/4

WB      2.2/3   Gilmore Girls [r] 1.9/3, Summerland [finale] 2.5/4

UPN     1.4/2   All of Us [r] 1.6/3, Eve [r] 1.6/3, The Player [r] 1.1/2

A18-49  NBC 10.4/28, CBS 3.1/8, Fox 2.1/6, ABC 1.6/4, WB 1.2/3, UPN 0.8/2

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source: NHI Explorer, 8/9/04-8/15/04.  HH  Cvg Rtg.  Prgm Rank: Blue Collar ties South Park; Hard To Kill ties  PGA Championship.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1812:  The 44-gun U.S. Navy frigate Constitution defeats the British frigate Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia.  The Constitution’s nickname, “Old Ironsides,” was earned in this battle, in which the British shot was said to have bounced harmlessly off the American ship’s timbers.  The success of American frigates, especially the Constitution, in single-ship actions was a source of tremendous pride amid the generally disheartening news of the War of 1812, one of the low points of which occurred when British soldiers burned the White House.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: He told Red Stick:  “Turn my friend loose and go home. Sign the treaty. Do that and I promise the government will let you keep your land.”  Who is this man? DAVY CROCKETT, KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER.  Kudos to:  Charles Lore-Petry/NY; Jim Bono-Hallmark Channel/NY; Peter Hamilton-Rubenstein Assoc/NY; Cindie Lishawa-Sony Pictures Television/NY; M.C. Antil/Chicago; Joseph Sall-Media Answer/Columbia; Tim Branigan-Court TV/Chicago; Rob Van Raaphorst-KWYB/Butte; Adam Foshko-Electronic Arts/LA; Jesse Dienstag-Hall & Partners/LA

Today’s Trivia Question: What was the name of the ABC, early 1970’s, sitcom family who owned the guinea pigs Myrtle & Mike?    (click here to respond to the trivia question and please be sure to include with your answer your name, company, city and time zone. Only the second four correct responses from each time zone will be listed in tomorrow’s kudo list.)

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Later — Cyn

Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis
08/19/04 
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  Thursday, AUGUST 19, 2004:

ABC             Extreme Makeover; ABC Movie: Road Trip
CBS             Big Brother, CSI, Without a Trace
FOX             NFL Preseason Football: NY Giants vs. Caroline Panthers
NBC             Olympic Summer Games 2004
PAX             On the Cover, Balderdash, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             WWE Smackdown
WB              Blue Collar TV, Reba [r], Studio 7
TELE            Prisonera, Gitanas, Protagonistas VIP
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Amarte es mi Pecado, Aqui y Ahora