Question: I found an interesting statistic in a recent AP-TV Guide poll. It stated that people watch more TV as they get older: 14.7 hours per week for those 65 and older vs. nine hours for those 18 to 34, the age group most coveted by the networks. I'm not 65 or older, but I am a baby boomer, and although I'm not rich, I have a fair amount of disposable income and I watch a lot of prime-time TV. At the peril of generalizing the 18-to-34-year-olds, it seems to me that not only are they watching less TV, they have less disposable income because if they have jobs at all, they are entry-level, lower-paying jobs. They're also busy raising kids, coaching soccer or, if single, going out with friends to parties, bars etc. Given those (admitted) generalities, and the results of the poll, do you see any possibility that maybe someday the networks will decide we boomers are a somewhat better audience to play to than the 18-to-34 crowd? I'm not getting my hopes up, but it sure would be nice to be ...
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You have to say this about Tommy Lee: The guy is genuine. No doubt there were some parts of his back-to-school series that were awkwardly prearranged, but Tommy himself sure wasn't playing to the camera — unlike nearly every unknown on The Real World, past or present. Instead, he was making an effort to fit in, both in class and, more easily, in collegiate social life. Could you picture any other rock or pop star doing that? I'm betting Mariah Carey would sooner live like a veal calf in a box before living among coeds. Similarly, I'd wager Jessica Simpson would rather slum it at Payless before booting up for a botany-class hike. And don't even get me started on that dude from Creed. So regardless of what grades Tommy scored, I say the dude deserves an A for ass-kicking effort. And how about that marching-band-backed performance of "You Gotta Fight for Your Right (to Party)"? That definitely earns a solid B for bitchin'. Party on, Tommy, and I'll see y
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Big Brother
"Hey, let's call Pam." That's what some brave bro at the House of Lee suggested to Tommy during the frat's poker night. Knowing how volatile Tommy can be, you have to give that kid credit. But instead of laying the dude out or pulling a celebrity vanishing act, Tommy flips open his celly and starts ringing some of his famous friends (though not Pam). How cool was it to hear Snoop Dogg's voice-mail greeting? "Church, priest, tabernacle"? I have no idea what that means, but it's damn funny, Snoop.
And that's what I'm loving about this show: the fact that the kids get to interact so (seemingly) freely with Tom. It's like being at celebrity fantasy camp for them. In fact, all of the House of Lee brothers should wear T-shirts with those words emblazoned on their chests. The only problem is, we'd never be able to read 'em. Has anyone else noticed how freaking frequently T-shirt logos are digitally blurred out on this series? And it's not just T's. Everything
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Tommy Lee Goes to College
He has traveled the world many times over with a hugely popular rock band, been romantically linked to both Pamela Anderson (now his ex-wife) and Heather Locklear and had his first book climb the charts of the venerable New York Times best-seller list. There is one thing, however, that Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee has longed to do yet has never done: go to college. To satisfy his urge to attend an institute of higher learning, Lee spent one semester at the University of Nebraska, and NBC captured all the mayhem for Tommy Lee Goes To College, premiering Aug. 16 at 9pm/ET.
Viewers follow Lee's journey back to the classroom, complete with seemingly typical extracurricul
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Rocker Tommy Lee and socialite Kathy Hilton are NBC's newest reality stars. When they sit down for afternoon tea with TV Guide, worlds collide! In her new series, I Want to Be a Hilton, Kathy Hilton coaches aspiring social climbers in the art of civilized behavior. In Tommy Lee Goes to College (premiering August 16), Tommy Lee does just what the title suggests. We thought it only proper to ask Kathy, the mother of heirheads Paris and Nicky, to teach bad-boy Tommy a lesson in etiquette. Here's what happened.
The Scene: A private dining room in the posh Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. A waiter carefully places fine bone china teacups, silver pots and a three-tiered stand laden with finger sandwiches and pastries on a table for two.
Tommy Lee enters, wearing a striped fuzzy sweater and carrying a hat in his tattooed hand. Across the room, he spies Kathy Hilton, looking elegant in a chic floral frock.
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