News and commentary from the wacky world of TV . . .
- Former President George Bush contributed perhaps the only funny moment of the season to the exceptionally lame "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend, poking fun at himself as well as his foremost imitator, Dana Carvey, in a taped appearance.Where, exactly, was he hiding that sense of humor during the 1992 campaign?
- First, KTVX reporter Chris Vanocur asked a leading, inflammatory question about the stances of the LDS and Catholic churches toward women during last Wednesday's debate between incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch and Pat Shea, his Democratic opponent. Then, on that night's 10 p.m. newscast on Ch. 4, Vanocur reported on both the debate and himself.
Are they that understaffed at KTVX? And was Vanocur using the fact that the debate was cablecast nationally on C-SPAN to audition for another job?
- KSTU weatherman Jeff Kelly embarrassed himself, his newscast and his station Monday night with a ridiculous series of Rolling Stones-related reports from Rice Stadium, culminating in an atrocious impersonation of Mick Jagger.
KSTU anchorwoman Libby Weaver said it best when she told Kelly to "stick to the weather."
- Rush Limbaugh has signed a new contract that will continue his TV show through the 1997-98 season.
That works out to about 1,400 more days of America Held Hostage by his rotundity.
- Deborah Norville, the woman who pushed Jane Pauley off "The Today Show" couch, has signed on as the new anchorwoman for "Inside Edition," citing her children - one here, one on the way - as the primary reason for this career move.
Oh, yes. How proud her children will be someday of her new journey into tawdry tabloid TV.
- Fox plans to air "The O.J. Simpson Story" on Tuesday, Nov. 22 - if the jury selection for O.J.'s murder trial has been completed. (Fox earlier acceded to the judge's request to delay the broadcast until after the jury had been seated.)
On the one hand, given both Fox's track record and the subject matter, this doesn't hold much promise of being superior television. On the other hand, there's been so much publicity - and so much of it has been the tawdry, tabloid type - can this movie really affect the judicial process?
- Daytime talk show host Montel Williams will make a guest appearance on the CBS sitcom "Dave's World" on Monday, Nov. 21. Williams will play Shel's (Meshack Taylor) younger brother, who wants big brother to donate a kidney.
Montel as a sitcom star? Hmmm . . . that could help explain his smarmy talk show - it's supposed to be comedy!
- Phylicia Rashad, who played Bill Cosby's wife on "The Cosby Show," makes a guest appearance on "The Cosby Mysteries" Wednesday, Nov. 16. Rashad plays a former protege and love interest of Cosby's forensics expert character, but the two find themselves on opposite sides of a case.
You don't suppose this might confuse the audience and shatter the illusion that Cosby is really a forensics expert and not a Jell-O salesman, do you?
- CBS's tumbling ratings and plummeting profits reportedly have Chairman Larry Tisch, the company's chief stockholder, coming closer to a sale or a merger of the network.
And then all of us TV critics who heard Tisch vow in July that that would never happen will have great fun digging out his quotes.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
KSL documentary
KSL presents another documentary about teen violence tonight, but it's not just another look at the problems.
"Cool the Heat, Stop the Violence" (7 p.m., Ch. 5) looks at several different solutions to the problems.
It's aimed at teens themselves and is shot in flashy MTV-style. It features teens talking to teens, not adults lecturing teens. The half-hour features West High's improv group role-playing scenarios that end in violence, then acting out alternatives, as well as West's peer counseling program and other programs aimed at finding solutions.