Love bites, but a cartoon TV series with Def Leppard would bite even more

There's a rich history of rock acts providing the basis for cartoon TV shows. (And by "rich," I mean that the projects inflated the wallets of the artists involved.) The Fab Four got animated at the height of Beatlemania, and in a more psychedelic fashion a few years later in Yellow Submarine. The Jackson 5 had a funkified show in the '70s, long before Michael became a living cartoon with no grip on reality. Now, we get Def Leppard signing a marketing deal with Primary Wave that could include an animated series. According to Billboard, the project "is in the early stages" and "has not been pitched to the networks." That's a good thing, as they'd surely reject it. I should know: They turned down my Phish Out of Water script even after I suggested casting Abe Vigoda as Grandpa. It's like they didn't get the joke! Look, the Beatles and the Jackson 5 were chart-toppers when they had such shows. Def Leppard peaked sometime around World War II. No one cares about them now. Besides, the greatest cartoon rock band of all time was entirely fictional, renowned for their "long tails and ears for hats." Def Leppard should try that approach in their series pitch. It sure couldn't hurt.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

5 ways in which TV (and the Internet) made 2009 somewhat bearable

I think it's safe to say that this year sucked. Sure, there were glimmers of hope here and there, but for the most part, with the economy in the cesspool, everything seemed to lose a bit of luster. Those tiny rays of light that kept me going this year were mostly TV-related—or TV-via-the-Internet-related, as I cut costs and ditched my cable bill several months ago. So, here's a list of five things that helped get me through 2009:

1. Fox's Fringe free on Hulu. I remember thinking that this show was just a knockoff of one of my all-time favorites, The X-Files. But then it really grew on me. There is real chemistry between Olivia (Anna Torv) and Peter (Joshua Jackson); between Peter and his father Walter (John Noble); and between Walter and his assistant Astrid (Jasika Nicole). With an ensemble cast that works so well together, it makes the sometimes X-derivative plots seem even better the second time around. And of course, Leonard Nimoy guest stars. How can you knock the Spock?

2. Knowing that the last season of Lost is right around the corner. Sure, I've watched and rewatched 2009's episodes, and realize I'm never going to get all the answers to satisfy all my creepy theories. But I know there's going to be closure. And that's what I think a lot of people are looking for these days. Foreclosure, on the other hand, has not been as popular.

3. The Programming Insider podcast. How I weaseled my way into this daily podcast series is beyond me. I believe it was because there was no support group for people like me who didn't understand what had happened the night before on Lost and needed answers. (You see, No. 2 is a pipe dream.) Anyhow, thanks to my colleagues Marc Berman and Michael Bürgi, I had somewhere to turn.

4. Mad Men seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix. My girlfriend and I blew through the first two seasons of the show, mainly because I had a crush on January Jones (Betty Draper) and she had a crush on Jon Hamm (Don Draper). Actually, we just enjoyed the great acting, the "period piece" quality to the show and the fantastic plot twists and turns. Elisabeth Moss in her pregnant-lady fat suit? Not so much.

5. Dexter screeners. One perk of working in this industry is that you get to see a lot of the shows before they air on TV. My colleagues heard of my budding addiction to the serial-killer drama and showered me with screeners. Everybody should just get over their fear of blood and gore and watch this fantastic show. It's nothing short of brilliant—and I've got my fingers crossed for Emmys for my boys Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow.

—Posted by Will Levith

'FlashForward' just a flash in the pan?

So, it has come to my attention that ABC's FlashForward is going on hiatus until March—because, I guess, the writing just wasn't there yet. I could've told you the show needed a little work. (Actually, I did.) Sure, the character development was going OK, as was the "What or Who Caused the Blackout?" theme. But there were parts of the show that just didn't feel right—like the musical montage (I think it was Pearl Jam) and series recap (just a few episodes into the season) that kicked off one show. Stuff that felt out of place or forced. While I hope the show comes back, I'm starting to wonder if ABC will have any audience for it if and when it does. It was already bleeding viewers. Could this be ABC's way of saying FlushForward?

—Posted by Will Levith

Who else remembers 'My Secret Identity'?

On a recent podcast I recorded with colleagues Marc Berman and Michael Bürgi, I mentioned two of my favorite 1980s shows—Quantum Leap (with Scott Bakula, star of TNT's new drama Men of a Certain Age) and My Secret Identity, which starred a then-young Jerry O'Connell (of Sliders and Rebecca Romijn fame) as a boy who is given magical, superhero-like powers. Marc, a lifetime TV buff (and Mediaweek's own Mr. TV), was stumped. He'd never heard of My Secret Identity. It turns out it was Canadian and ran in U.S. syndication in the late '80s and early '90s. (I would've been about 8 or 9 at the time.) Then, the fan mail started flowing in. A few people wrote to Marc and said how much they enjoyed that show. Did I inadvertently start a My Secret Identity revival? Well, I'd watch it any day over NBC's Heroes.

—Posted by Will Levith

My giant media-conspiracy theory, part 1

In this year of the Great Recession, I've felt that the quality of newscasts and news reporting by the major players has taken a major turn for the worse. Sensationalist and celebrity-oriented bullshit is what passes as news on most major news Web sites and TV channels now. Like, for example, crooked-nosed Brian Williams reporting on Michael Jackson's funeral like it's Afghanistan. Which is why I think there's a conspiracy out there to report bad news. There's no other logical explanation. Somewhere in the Hamptons, there lives a gnome, whose one goal in life is to get tons of hits for his blog—and who is planting all this garbage in the press. He holds sway, because he was once a journalist, is independently wealthy and has made great media connections. (Hence, Brian Williams. I've been told he's the guy that made Williams' nose crooked.) Here's a recap of some of the anti-news stories the gnome made popular this year:
  —The gnome leaked stories about an unfaithful Jon and a distraught Kate to all the major news organizations, starting one of the worst news arcs in modern history. The gnome also suggested Kate's hair would make a great Halloween costume. 
  —Recently, the gnome snuck into Tiger Woods's gated community in Florida and cut several wires under his dashboard, causing the golf star to drive out of control and crash. He also leaked photos of Woods' injuries to TMZ. (The gnome is supposedly on the site's payroll.)
  —Fox News was initially contacted by the gnome (via BlackBerry) about the balloon boy saga. The gnome then leaked the story to The Huffington Post, but told his old friend Arianna not to put it atop breaking news so that she could "argue its low news value well after the fact." 
  —One of the first known reports of Michael Jackson's death was leaked by the gnome. He was thought to have snapped the shot of Jackson on the stretcher that OK! magazine ran on its cover days after the incident.
  —President Obama's birther conspiracy? Leaked by the gnome to Fox News and Drudge. The gnome and Drudge, reportedly after a long night of dancing and drinking in Miami, came up with the term "Teabagger" as well.
  —The White House crashers met the gnome on vacation in the Hamptons. He pitched them on the idea of world fame, but warned them of the consequences of showing up on CNN and TMZ for the rest of their lives.
  —The gnome was one of the first people to realize that a Facebook status update was exactly the same as tweet on Twitter. He lobbied the media hard to paint the two as different, though—he argued they could make big deals out of two ridiculous things, rather than just one.

—Posted by Will Levith