Chad Anchors on Channel 12

Bengals receiver Chad Johnson anchors sports during the 6 p.m. news today on Channel 12. Can you tell it’s the last day for November sweeps?

Amazing problems
So why so all the screw ups on “The Amazing Race?” Two weeks in a row “production errors” resulted in drained batteries in the racers’ SUVs? Cameras were left on in the vehicles, CBS says. Both times the car trouble resulted in the teams (Weavers, Linzes) coming in last. Both times the episodes ended without an elimination. A coincidence?
Here’s how “TAR” will play out: One of the final four families will be eliminated next Tuesday. Three advance to the 2-hour finale on Dec. 13, with one of three eliminated at the end of the first hour that night.

PBS Rocks
While you’re watching “Lost” tonight, TiVo the Cream reunion on “Great Performances” (9 p.m. Ch 48) or “Dave Matthews Band: Weekend on the Rocks” (9 p.m., Ch 54) to watch after sweeps end tonight.

Over the Threshhold
Or make that, “Threshold” is over. USA Today says CBS canceled “Threshold” after low ratings in its first and only airing at 10 p.m. Tuesday on Nov. 22. That’s why it didn’t air last night.

Chris O'Brien's Top 10 List

After reading our two-page list of holiday TV specials Sunday, oldies WGRR-FM morning DJ Chris O’Brien sent me his list:
Top 10 Least Popular TV Specials:
10 - Dr. Seuss’ How FEMA Delayed Christmas
9 - Caroling with Yoko
8 - Rudolph the Stuffy Nosed Bird Flu Victim
7 - Happy Hanukkah, Charlie Brownstein!
6 - Pimp My Stable
5 - The White House Grinch Who Leaked the Identity of a Secret Santa
4 - (tie) Slushy the Global Warming Snowman/Hannity and Santa
3 - Jean Schmidt’s Nightmare Before Christmas
2 - Desperate Claus-wives
1 - Elves Gone Wild!
--Happy Holidays!
Chris O’Brien WGRR

Talk Radio Idol finals
Voting closing at noon today for the 4 semi-finalists for WLW-AM’s Big One Talk Radio Idol contest (www.700wlw.com). The two finalists will co-host 2:30-3 p.m. Thursday during Bill Cunningham’s show.

Bush on WVXU-FM
WVXU-FM (91.7) will carry President Bush’s speech about the Iraq war on Wednesday morning from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. NPR coverage with Neal Conan begins at 9:30 a.m., with Bush expected to speak at 9:50 a.m.

“Amazing Race” update
The Linz from Anderson Township start out first on “The Amazing Race” today (9 pm, Ch 12). Four still remain in the race, though the Weavers from Florida lost all their money and spare clothes in last week’s non-elimination episode. That means the finals will be in two weeks, Dec. 13.

Kiese watching
Note to “House” fans: You’ve gotta watch on Dayton’s Ch 45 tonight, or wait until 11 p.m. due to UC-Dayton basketball (8 p.m, Ch 19)…
It’s fund-raising time on public TV, with “Motown: The Early Years” (8 p.m. today on Ch 48; 8 p.m. Wednesday on Chs 14, 16)...
Tonight is last new “Commander In Chief” (9 p.m., Ch 9) until Jan. 10. Steven Bochco’s influence will be seen in new characters – Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a media strategist and Polly Bergan the president’s mother.

TV notes
Simon Cowell isn’t leaving “American Idol.” He just signed for five more years… E! Entertainment has picked up “The Simple Life” for 10 episodes in 2006, plus E! gets the Fox reruns from previous seasons…

A busy week

So I take a few days off for the holidays, and news busts out all over. Sorry about not posting Tuesday or Wednesday, but last week I was consumed by the “Holiday TV” list (2 full pages!) published Sunday (http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051127/ENT/511270324/-1/back01)
Here’s the latest:
--ABC cancels “Alias.” Series finale will air in May. It will be pulled in January for return of “Dancing with the Stars.”
--Oprah Winfrey finally visits David Letterman on Thursday. She gets the last laugh – because sweeps end Wednesday, so Dave's huge ratings won’t count in November sweeps.
--Miss “Survivor” on Thanksgiving? The entire episode is being streamed on CBS.com through Thursday morning.
--Can you believe that “Prison Break” fall season ends today, and Fox still won’t say when it will return? I can’t believe they’ll wait until “24” ends in May, the original plan. My best guess is March.
--Final podcast for “Lost” this calendar year will be posted today. Creator Damon Lindelof and exec prod. Carlton Cuse discuss the writing process and the upcoming episode revealing back story about Kate’s crime.
--CBS says Jenna Elfman’s new sitcom, “The Jenna Elfman Show,” debuts at 9:30 p.m. Monday on Jan. 23. She plays a lawyer looking for love. The Henry Winkler-Stockard Channing “Out of Practice,” already renewed for entire year, returns in March.
“The Love Monkey,” starring Tom Cavanagh (“Ed”) as a record exec, debuts 9 p.m. Tuesday Jan 17 on CBS, until next “Amazing Race” stars (probably in March).
No dates for CBS’ “The New Adventures of Old Christine” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and “The Unit” starring Dennis Haysbert and Scott Foley.
--And George Clooney fans, don't forget Channel 5's interview airs at 11 p.m. today. Yep, its still sweeps through Wednesday.

"CSI Miami" bonus on web

Ann Donahue, the Loveland High School grad producing “CSI Miami” has a treat for show fans: Log onto www.CBS.com after the show, and catch a bonus scene with a dramatic twist that will impact the show this season.
In the scene, local news reporter Erika Sykes (Amy Laughlin) shares a crucial piece of information with Detective Ryan Wolfe (Jonathan Togo) that will prompt an undercover investigation unfolding the rest of this season. It “contains a dramatic revelation about someone in our lab -- a revelation that threatens to tear the team apart and will lead to a shocking conclusion at the end of our season," Donahue says.
The streaming video will be available at 11 p.m., at the conclusion of the CBS broadcast (10 p.m., Ch 12). Bet Channel 12 loves that -- encouraging people to go to the web at 11 p.m., instead of watching Local 12 news at 11....

Saturday Night Local
Did you see “SNL” make fun of US Rep. Jean Schmidt’s “cowards” remark on the House floor Friday, during Saturday’s show? Pretty funny….

Around the dial
Just a reminder: Lalaine Froehle of Ludlow appears on “The Price is Right” today (11 a.m., Ch 12). She’s a customer service agent for Comair…
Oprah fans, this is your day: It’s time for “Oprah’s Favorite Things” (4 p.m., Ch 9).
Only two more “Prison Breaks” left, at 9 p.m. today and next Monday (Ch 19). Still no word on when it returns, since “24” takes over the time slot on Jan. 16. My guess is that Fox will bring it back for February sweeps, or in March. Can’t imagine they’ll make us wait until after “24” ends in May, the original plan…

"24" Cast & Plots Announced

This just in: JoBeth Williams (“Poltergeist,” “The Big Chill”), Peter Weller (“Robo Cop”) and Julian Sands (“A Room with a View”) have joined the cast for “24.” The fifth season premieres with a four-hour, two-night splash: 8-10 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15 (after the NFL playoffs) and 8-10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16.
Here’s what Fox says about the characters and plot:
British born actor Julian Sands will play billionaire bad guy “Vladamir Bierko” while Peter Weller portrays “Christopher Henderson,” the federal agent who recruited Jack to counter terrorist work more than a decade ago. JoBeth Williams is Henderson’s wife, Miriam. All three characters will come face-to-face with Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) as he desperately attempts to prevent the series’ most lethal terror threat yet on US soil.
Season five picks up 18 months after the exciting conclusion of season four, as national security is brutally breached. A presumed dead Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is actually living a new life with Diane (Connie Britton) and her son Derek (Brady Corbet). A shaky President Logan (Gregory Itzin) is running the nation, while composed Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) commands CTU alongside key operatives Curtis Manning (Roger Cross), Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi) and Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Also featured in season five will be Emmy Award-winning actress Jean Smart as First Lady Martha Logan. In addition, Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) and Audrey Raines (Kim Raver) return, while Lynn McGill (Sean Astin) joins CTU.

Come on down!
What is it about “The Price is Right?” Lalaine Froehle of Ludlow will be the fourth person in three months to have a shot at winning on the game show. The customer service agent for Comair appears Monday (11 am, Ch 12).

CBS News visits Seven Hills School
CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman spent Tuesday and Wednesday at Seven Hills School for a story on its award-winning healthy lunches. He interviewed students, Food Service Director Jan Alford and full-time chef Jimmy Gherardi for the report to air Nov. 27 on Charles Osgood’s “CBS Sunday Morning” (9 a.m., Ch 12).

Sunday’s best
The Bengals-Colts, right? With CBS’ No. 1 announce team, Jim Nantz and Phil Sims (4:15 p.m., Chs 12, 7).

The Big One's Big Plan

Big crowd expected at WLW-AM’s “Big One Talk Radio Idol” contest 6-8 p.m. at Rick’s Tavern, 5955 Boymel Drive, Fairfield. Contestants will have 90 seconds to impress judges Bill Cunningham, Scott Sloan and Jim Scott with their take on a topic. But WLW not just looking for a talk host – it’s also looking for a TV commercial. Cameras will be rolling, and don’t be surprised if come January – when “American Idol” returns with more bad singers – to see a TV commercial showcasing the worst talk show auditions (“So you think it’s easy to host a talk show?”) for the Big One….

UCTV on the air
UCTV begins broadasting at noon today from the Electronic Media Communications department at UC’s Raymond Walters campus in Blue Ash. UCTV – or WLX805 – broadcasts on the Educational Broadband Service portion of the spectrum not available on VHF or UHF TVs. But you can watch the programs on public access services like the Intercommunity Cable Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Waycross Community Media, Media Bridges, UC College Cable and Northern Kentucky University. Or you can buy a converter box and antenna to get the signal, which has a 20-30 mile radius from Blue Ash.

Kiese-watching
“Without A Trace,” which has been beating “ER” all year at 10 p.m. Thursday, experiments with a new storytelling format tonight (Chs 12, 7). Instead of focusing on the police, we see the emotional trauma of parents (Laurie Metcalf from “Roseanne,” Matt Craven, “Crimson Tide’) when their 15-yr-old boy is missing...
Over on “ER” (Chs 5, 2) John Stamos guest stars in a plane-crash episode. His “Jake in Progress” returns to ABC at 9:30 p.m. Monday Jan. 9, after ABC’s Monday Night Football ends. “The Bachelor” will air at 10 p.m. Mondays in January...
And “Run’s House” ends its first season on MTV (10:30 p.m.), but it will be back next year with more episodes. Catch repeats at 8 & 8:30 today on MTV...

Late news
Jerry Seinfeld goes on Jay Leno tonight (11:35 p.m., Chs 5, 2) to plug the new DVD release, while Howard Stern visits David Letterman tonight (11:35 p.m., Chs 12, 7) to plug his move to Sirius Satellite Radio in January. Stern leaves WAQZ-FM and other stations Dec. 16.

Tour de Pants update

I’m convinced that Q102’s Jenn Jordan is right: James Denton, the “Desperate Housewives” actor, is one of the nicest guys in the world. First Denton – Mike the plumber on the show – called the Jeff & Jenn morning show out of the blue last week to thank her for buying his jeans on eBay as a breast cancer fund-raiser.
Jenn has shared the pants with “DH” fans with her “Tour de Pants,” sending them to parties and gatherings. So last Friday, when Jenny Stout and Peggy Hedrick had Denton’s pants at a purse party, he called during the party! Just for fun, they had sent Denton an “official invitation” by email to his fan site.
More Tour de Pants: For a minimum donation of $250 to the Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati, co-host Jeff Thomas will bring the pants to your party. Why Autism? Because Jenn’s 4-year-old son Jakob has autism.
The Pants are currently booked to attend several parties this week. To request a date with the pants just E-mail Jeff and Jenn at www.jeffandjenn@wkrq.com.

Seinfeld alert
Here’s one to TiVo for sure: Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards will be on “Live with Regis & Kelly” at 9 a.m. Wednesday Nov. 23 (Ch 9) – the day before Thanksgiving – for the entire hour. They’re plugging the DVD release of “Seinfeld” seasons 5 and 6. Turns out that Regis is a huge “Seinfeld” fan, watching reruns every night.

Kiese-watching
When you’re watching “Lost” (9 p.m. today, Ch 9) remember what Q102’s Brian Douglas figured out about Walt last week. He played the audio backwards – backward masking strikes again! – and heard the kid say: "They’re coming, and they’re close." Tonight we’re supposed to learn about the passengers in the rear part of Flight 815, and how they ended up on the other side of the island.

TV News

Say goodnight to the "Night Stalker." ABC has canceled the series which had trouble drawing viewers against "CSI" at 9 pm Thursday. Creator Frank Spotnitz announced the news on his blog (biglight.com/blog). And no surprise here: NBC has ordered a full season of “E-Ring,” and canceled “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.” That explains why NBC flip-flopped the shows last month, putting “E-Ring” at 8 p.m. Wednesday and sacrificing Martha at 9 p.m. against “Lost” and “Criminal Minds.”

The A Team is Coming!

The No. 1 team is coming to Cincinnati this Sunday, and I don’t mean the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. CBS is sending the A team – top play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and lead analyst Phil Simms -- for the 4:15 p.m. national broadcast (Chs 12, 7) from Paul Brown Stadium. The game, moved to 4;15 p.m. last month, also will be broadcast in high definition TV.

Big One Talk Radio Idol
Only two more days for folks to get their monologues ready to compete for a talk radio host shift on WLW-AM. The “Big One Talk Radio Idol” contest starts 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Rick’s Tavern, 5955 Boymel Drive, Fairfield. Contestants will have 90 seconds to impress judges Scott Sloan, Jim Scott and other WLW personalities with their take on a topic. Top three from audition, and a fourth from website entries, will make semi-finals. Listeners will pick two finalists on line, and then pick a winner on line after the two co-host a show (during which they’re grilled by Bill Cunningham, Sloan and other WLW hosts). Winner gets to do one three-hour show in January or February.
For details see my story today
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051115/LIFE03/511150334
or go the www.700wlw.com

Madonna-thon
If you haven’t already heard Madonna’s new “Confessions on a Dance Floor” CD on the www.vh1.com you can listen to it at 8 p.m. today on WKRQ-FM (101.9) after its day-long Madonna marathon.

Kiese watching:
Earl messes up his ex-wife’s wedding on “My Name Is Earl” (9 p.m., Ch 5)…
It’s a battle of the bands on TV tonight, with Garth Brooks coming out of retirement to play the “Country Music Awards” (8-11 p.m, Ch 12, 7), while Ludacris, Pharrell and Keyshia Cole headline the 3rd annual “Vide Awards” ( 8p.m., Ch 38). Here’s a prediction: Expect to see lots of promos on the CMA’s for CBS’ Johnny Cash tribute concert 8 p.m. Wednesday, and a lot of commercials on the Vibe show for UPN’s “Everybody Hates Chris” sitcom at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Due to CMA’s no “Amazing Race” today. It’s back next Tuesday, along with Lauren Holly joining “NCIS” as a series regular (8 p.m.) … and “Threshold” taking over the 10 p.m. slot.

Lost in Translation

This comes from huge "Lost" fan Brian Douglas, the Q102 DJ. He was so curious about Walt's babble this week, that he replayed the audio backwards for his Q102 audience Thursday. This is what the kid said when he finally showed back up Wednesday night: "They're coming, and they're close." Thought you'd wanna know.

On the move
“Close to Home,” not a bad little show – from Jerry Bruckheimer, of course -- with Jennifer Finnigan as a young mother/suburban prosecutor, moves from Wednesday to 9 p.m. today on CBS (Ch 12). It's up against NBC’s “Three Wishes,” but probably fits better with "Ghost Whisperer." “Threshold” moves to 10 p.m. Tuesday on Nov. 22.

But the show I’ll be watching tonight is “McCartney in Petersburg ,” with Paul back in the USSR (10 p.m., A&E), while my wife watches yet another repeat of “The Wizard of Oz” (9 p.m., TBS) to promote the new digitially remastered DVD.

Sunday best
Lots of tough TV choices Sunday. Glad I’ve got the DVR….
Only two episodes left of “Rome” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO)… Bill Clinton encourages kids to make healthy eating choices (something he knows about from experience) on “A Special Edition of Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: The Fight to be Fit” (8:30 p.m. Sunday, Nickelodeon) … The end of the world comes to the end on Sunday, with the conclusion of “Category 7: The End of the World” (9 p.m., Ch 12)…And Christina (Sandra Oh) and Burke (Isaiah Washington) try to have a “normal” date on “Grey’s Anatomy” (10 pm, Ch 9).
I’ll admit it, here’s what I’ll be watching Sunday: “SNL in the ’80s: Lost and Found.” With the best of Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Jon Lovitz, Rich Hall, Damon Wayans, Phil Hartman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Short, Dennis Miller, Jim Belushi, etc. Billy, I know you'll look mahvelous!

Hanging (with) Chad

Now we know how Chad Johnson is spending part of bye week – hanging out with Bob Costas. The Bengals wide receiver participates in the a roundtable discussion with Costas on HBO's “Costas Now” at 9 p.m. Friday from HBO studios in NY. Costas also chats with Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno.

Garth is back?
Could Garth Brooks be itching to come out of retirement? Brooks, 43, chats with Bill Whyte around 7:30 a.m. or so Friday on WUBE-FM (105.1) to promote his new single, “Good Ride Cowboy. Brooks, who stopped performing four years ago, also sings “Good Ride Cowboy” at the “Country Music Association Awards” Tuesday (8-11 p.m., Ch 12).

Kiese watching:
Mayor Luken reflects on his legacy – and talks about challenges for Mayor Mallory and the new council – today on CET’s “Focus” (7:30 p.m., Ch 48).
Gordon Clapp (“NYPD Blue”) plays a man who disappears after his daughter’s death on “Without A Trace” (10 p.m., Ch 12).
John Stamos guest stars on “ER” (10 p.m., Ch 5), which was supposed to be a permanent gig until ABC renewed his “Jake In Progress” for midseason.

St X-Colerain on TV

ON will televise the St. Xavier-Colerain Division I football regional semifinal on tape-delay at 10 p.m. Saturday. Kickoff at Paul Brown Stadium is 6 p.m. ONN’s pregame starts at 9:45 p.m. on Time Warner digital Channel 105. ONN repeats the game 10 a.m. Sunday.
The Waycross Community Media production of the game will air at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on Time Warner public access Channel 4 in Cincinnati, Greenhills, Forest Park and Springfield Township, and at 9 p.m. Monday on countywide public access Channel 24.

Vote eary, vote often
Here’s something I’m doing every day: Voting to nominate Joe Nuxhall for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Anyone can vote – once a day, all this month – to nominate Nux for the annual Ford C. Frick Award, the broadcasters’ honor which Marty Brennaman received in 2000. Go to www.baseballhalloffame.org.
Nux is one of 183 nominees, so he needs our help. Also on the list are Reds TV announcers George Grande and Chris Welsh.

Kiese-waching
Will we find any hints tonight on “Lost” as to who will be killed off? Who do you think it will be?

Twice as Amazing

For sweeps, CBS airs a two-hour episode of “The Amazing Race” today (9-11 p.m., Channels 12, 7), because the show is pre-empted next Tuesday by the CMA Awards. The Linz family from Anderson Township start out second among the five remaining families.
By the way: The second hour pre-empts “Close to Home,” which moves to 9 p.m. Friday this week. “Theshold,” which started out hot but has struggled against the feel-good “Three Wishes,” moves to 10 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 22, against “Law & Order: SVU” and “Boston Legal.” (Interesting match-up.) Remember you can watch “Threshold” streaming on cbs.com.

This just in...
CBS has renewed "Survivor" for two more editions in the 2006-07 TV year. It has ranked in the Top 10 every season since its debut in 2000.

White Christmas lady
Winona Platenberg, a chorus girl from “White Christmas,” will visit the WXIX-TV morning show Wednesday (5:30-9 a.m.). She also appeared in “Around the World in 80 Days,” “Hello Dolly!” “Ocean’s Eleven” and 50 other films, says Betty Dammert, her friend and fellow former Rockette.

James Denton calls Q102
Did you hear that James Denton – Mike the plumber on “Desperate Housewives” – called WKRQ-FM Monday? Someone emailed him my Oct. 20 story about morning co-host Jenn Jordan paying $3,050 for his Lee jeans to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. He called to say thanks.

Happy Holidays, a bit early

It’s sunny and 60 and shirtsleeves… so why do I hear Christmas music? WVMX-FM (MIX94.1) has become the first radio station switching to full-time holiday music, just 47 days before Christmas. Other stations -- WARM98, MOJO94.9, country 96.5, oldies WGRR, Q102 and B105 – are playing their Christmas songs on their websites, but not spewing it into the airwaves… Yet.

Kiese-watching
The sweeps stunt I’ll be watching tonight is Martin Sheen’s guest appearance on his son’s show, “Two and a Half Men” (9 p.m., Channels 12, 7)… I’ll probably tape “Vegas,” it sound pretty cool doing a flashback show to the ‘60s... and maybe "Prison Break," which will end in the next month to clear a spot for "24."

Cable news
Connie Chung, last seen anchoring on CNN, has a new gig on MSNBC co-hosting a weekend show with husband Maury Povich (whose talk show is distributed by NBC). The new half-hour program launches 10 a.m. Saturday Jan. 7, and repeats at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Our Ohio, Our City

Our Ohio, Our City
The “Our Ohio” public TV series visits the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center this weekend. You can catch it on cable at 9 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sunday on WPTO-TV (Channel 14) and 6 p.m. Saturday on WPTD-TV (Channel 16).

Six Wishes
After “Three Wishes” won its time slot last Friday with a military special - -which included giving war young widow Katy Hines of Fairfield a new house in Liberty Township – NBC has renewed the series. The network has ordered six more shows, for a total of 16 episodes. A new episode airs at 9 p.m. today (Ch 5).

CBS finally gets into cable
What took them so long? CBS finally has obtained a cable TV channel – buying the College Sports Television Network (CSTV), a good fit for the network with the NCAA basketball tourney. It’s about time. ABC, NBC, Fox and WB have been in the cable biz for years.
Oh, by the way, NBC has announced a new network called Sleuth, to carry mystery movies and reruns of crime dramas like "Miami Vice," "The A-Team," and "Knight Rider." Time Warner has agreed to carry the channel.

Beavis & Butt-Head Back on MTV
Beavis & Butt-Head return to MTV this weekend with a new half-hour special to promote the DVD release of 40-episode “Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection, Volume One” Tuesday. “Beavis and Butt-Head’s Decade of Power,” premieres 4 p.m. Saturday on MTV and 11:30 p.m. Sunday on MTV. “B&B” episodes also will air 4:30-7 p.m. today on MTV2, followed by “Beavis and Butt-Head: Do America” at 7 p.m. and more “B&B” cartoons 9:30-11:30 p.m. today.

Sheree Paolello on "Montel"

Sheree Paolello on “Montel”
Did you see Sheree Paolello’s May sweeps report on personal safety? When she took one class, then was “jumped” in the Channel 5 garage with hidden cameras rolling, so see if the 5-ft, 105-lbs reporter could defend herself? If you missed it, you can see it Friday on “Montel Williams” (11 a.m., Ch 5) with Paolello. She taped the show in New York last Wednesday.
Now here’s what I love about TV: “Montel” producers didn’t want to fly in local self-defense experts Mike and Debbie Gardner, who trained Paolello(and has done similar self-defense sweeps stories with the other local stations). Instead they took the TV reporter with the sensational video. Paolello told me: “Honestly I didn’t know if I’d be comfortable with it. I didn’t want it to be about me.” But the Gardners encouraged her to go, and she said the expience was OK.

Brown out
I became a big fan of Aaron Brown and CNN’s “NewsNight” during Hurricane Katrina coverage. Love his relaxed, unsensational tone. But too few viewers did, and he’s gone, a victim of low ratings. Anderson Cooper takes over the show Monday. Here's the link to our story today:
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051103/LIFE03/511030357/1038/CINCI

Sweeps start today
The four-week ratings sweeps start today, if you couldn’t guess by the shrill local TV news promos. You’ll see all the TV tricks this month: ABC dumps its regular lineup tonight for a movie; “The West Wing” does a live episode Sunday (opposite the “Simpsons” annual Halloween show); crossovers with “CSI: Miami” and “CSI: New York” and CBS’ “Category 7: The End of the World” starts Sunday.

Kiese-watching the web
Days after NBC announced it would stream “Night News” at MSNBC.com, CBS says “Theshold” episodes will be available at CBS.com five days after their broadcast on CBS.

You watching Amazing Race?

Hey, folks: I'm looking for fans of "Amazing Race." Is this season more/less fun than previous races, by having 4 in family instead of 2-person teams? Are you enjoying it more or less? Are you enjoying having a local family on the show? Take a few minutes and drop me an email at jkiesewetter@enquirer.com. Use "Amazing Race" in subject line so I can find it quickly in my email. Also include your name, suburb/neighborhood, age and daytime phone. Thanks!

Josh Hutcherson goes big time
Nice piece today in USA Today on Josh Hutcherson, the 13-year-old kid from Union, Ky., starring in”Zathura.” Here’s a link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-11-01-hutcherson_x.htm.
And catch him on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 12:05 tonight (Ch 9). Don’t be surprised if Letterman or Leno are next for him. He’s hot, hot, hot.

CBS comes to Ohio
Strange how network news works: CBS didn’t call to say that “48 Hours” was doing an hour last Saturday on Jim Barton, the Springboro police officer convincted in February of complicity to involuntary manslaughter in the 1995 murder of his wife in Warren County. But here comes a release saying that CBS’ “The Early Show” will begin a series called “Tour My Town” on Thursday (7-9 a.m., Ch 9) – the first day of sweeps – with Hannah Storm vising Greenville, Ohio, the hometown of Annie Oakley…

TV war is over
I'm not surprised to see that FX has canceled “Over There,” the Iraq war drama that ended its 13-episode run last week. Good drama, but I don't think the nation was ready for the subject matter while the death toll continues to mount. Also, producer Steven Bochco has moved on to a new gig, running ABC's new top 10 series "Commander in Chief."

Warm Up Your Radio

Nothing warms up the winter for baseball fans like the “Hot Stove League” show on WLW-AM – particularly when Joe Nuxhall is back behind the mike. The season debuts at 6 p.m. Wednesday with Nux and Steve Stewart from the Reds Hall of Fame. The show airs every Wednesday through March.

Racing report
I’m convinced the online gamblers were right, and that the Linz kids from Anderson Township could win “The Amazing Race.” They start out fourth of six teams tonight (9 p.m., Ch 12) when they leave Panama for Costa Rica.
Here’s the CBS episode description: "I’m Sick Of Doing Stuff I Can’t Do" - - In an exciting foot race to the mat, teams are within seconds of each other as they fight exhaustion to claim first prize, on THE AMAZING RACE 8, Tuesday, Nov. 1 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The families leave Panama and head to San Jose, Costa Rica in search of their next clue. One team is yielded at a roadblock and passes the time by talking trash about their competition. Another family struggles with a seemingly simple task and watches their lead over the others quickly dwindle. Meanwhile, two Racers watch in awe as one member of their family out-muscles them.

NBC News
This is pretty cool. NBC will stream video of Brian Williams' "NBC Nightly News" on MSNBC.com at 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST). NBC is first network to do this for news junkies that don't get home in time to see the 6:30 p.m. national newscast.

Kiese-watching
Don’t forget that CET (Channel 48) and WVXU-FM (91.7) will simulcast a debate with the Cincinnati mayoral candidates 8-9 p.m. today….
If you taping “Commander in Chief” (9 p.m., Ch 9), be advised that it will run long again tonight. “Boston Legal” won’t start until 10:01 again….