One of the better things about a good episode of NBC's stalwart Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is that you can rarely tell where it's headed. Is tonight's cameo-heavy hour (10/9c) the latest condemnation of reality TV's sordid excesses? Sure looks that way at the start, as we encounter an especially slimy Michael McKean (relishing his repulsiveness) as the predatory producer of a crap-tastic train wreck titled Showgirls, featuring young hopefuls who would do "whatever it takes" to land the starring role in a Broadway musical. (No small irony this is airing the week of the all-important-to-NBC Smash premiere, where such things could never happen!) As he liquors up a nervous contestant for her "audition," he leers for her to "seduce the audience. Let them know you want this." Doesn't take a genius to know where this is going.
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The revival of CBS' legendary program Person to Person special will feature George Clooney, Jon Bon Jovi and Warren Buffett.
Longtime newsman Edward R. Murrow launched...
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The exposed brick walls in the new Manhattan studio for CBS This Morning are lined with items that reflect the legacy of the network's news division. A world map from Walter Cronkite's years on the evening news that was rescued from a New Jersey warehouse hangs on one side. Across the way are shelves with books by CBS journalists, vintage TV sets and video cameras. Standing out amid the paraphernalia is a green-and-gold Oakland A's cap, meant to remind the program's staff of the film Moneyball, in which Brad Pitt plays the renegade baseball executive Billy Beane.
CBS This Morning executive producer Chris Licht screened the film at a private launch party for the cast and crew held at the Ed Sullivan Theater last month. The message to the troops:
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CBS News is bringing back Person to Person, the 1950s prime-time program that pioneered celebrity interviews and was hosted by legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow.
"We have dreamed about bringing a modern version of this great program ... back to CBS for years — and now it is happening," CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager said Thursday. ...
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Charlie Rose says his reputation as a night owl is greatly exaggerated. The co-host of the new CBS morning program (to be renamed from The Early Show) that will launch January 9 told reporters Tuesday that he's up everyday at 5 a.m. — a little late for morning television prep, but still...
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