The Star Report: Joan and Melissa Rivers class up 'Celebrity Apprentice'

Fox says, 'No we can't' to Obama

  

Fox Broadcasting is taking a pass on President Obama's Wednesday news conference, opting instead to run a new episode of its crime drama "Lie to Me," starring Tim Roth. 

Although there won't be a lack of Obama outlets for viewers -- including Fox's cable channels Fox News and Fox Business Network -- when a broadcast network says no to a president it generates attention. Journalists are hyping that this is the first time in the Obama presidency that a broadcast network has turned down a request for airtime.

Of course, Obama's presidency is all of 100 days old and this is already his fourth request for airtime. Fox and other networks have been quietly complaining that all these requests for "free airtime" are doing little to stimulate their bottom line -- which, given the recession, appears to be a lower bottom all the time.

Still, there is a school of thought -- or used to be anyway -- that says since Fox Broadcasting has government licenses to operate its television stations, it should not be so stingy when the nation's leader wants a little time to speak, even if the press conference will be available on at least 10 other outlets. Although the press conference will be on Fox News, it will still give the left ammunition that Fox parent Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is against the current administration.

Getting a free pass from carrying the Obama press conference is the CW. But hey, that would mean preempting "America's Top Model," and no one should have to make that sacrifice for their country.

--Joe Flint

Photos: President Obama by Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune; Tim Roth asDr. Cal Lightman, "the foremost deception expert in the country," on "Lie to Me," by Frank Ockenfels / Fox

The most enjoyable episode of TV of the year? Thoughts on the 'Chuck' finale

It was legen -- wait for it -- darily awesome. My list of the best moments in the "Chuck" Season 2 finale is below.

But first, a few links (and I'll add to this list on Tuesday):

Steve Heisler of the Onion's AV Club would be satisfied if this episode were the end, though of course he'd like the show to come back. James Poniewozik of Time wonders why the show isn't a bigger hit with viewers. Jace at the Televisionary site has an impassioned recap that lists many great moments and developments. Alan Sepinwall on the finale and his post-finale interview with co-creator Chris Fedak. Josef Adalian has on his blog a list from co-creator Josh Schwartz of why "Chuck" should be saved. Bottom line: Think of the children! For your summer wardrobe, don't forget to snag a Jeffster! T-shirt (and here's the band's site). Daniel Fienberg wrote more about the "Chuck" season finale than I wrote about the "Battlestar Galactica" series finale. Respect. Curt Wagner at Show Patrol weighed in here.My previous "Chuck" stories, including pieces on Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin), reviews, features and efforts to get a third season for the show, are here.

No analysis. No deep thoughts here. Who can think straight after that much fun? What I've posted here is just a warning -- I will go completely into the ugly cry if "Chuck" is not renewed -- and a list of the things in "Chuck Versus the Ring" that scored direct hits on the pleasure center of my brain:

Jeffster! Did they rock the wedding or what? When I heard the opening chords of Styx's "Mr. Roboto," I nearly died of laughter. Seriously? Referencing Styx's rock opera about a robot may be one of the funniest things the show has ever done. The Jeffster! performance, which made me cackle non-stop, deserves its own mini-list of things I loved: -Jeff, keytar in hand, telling the string quartet what to do: "Four/four time. It's in D. Watch me for the changes." (Great line, but is it me, or did they miss the opportunity for a Cheap Trick "Live at Budokan" reference? "This is the first song on our new album… ." Maybe we'll hear that next season, when Jeffster! celebrates its inevitable album release. Or Jeff's mom's prison release.)
-The stunned reactions of Anna and Big Mike in the audience.
-Lester's surprisingly good Dennis DeYoung imitation. Both Lester and Adam Lambert can look forward to thriving careers in touring Broadway productions and/or as singers in Muse cover bands.
-Mr. Awesome's line, one of my favorite "Chuck" lines ever: "Why are you letting Sam Kinison and an Indian lesbian ruin your wedding?" Classic.
-The complete destruction of the wedding reception by the massive fight (but hey, good thing Sarah found the knives Ellie and Awesome had registered for!).
-Mrs. Awesome swigging from a flask.
-Chuck's cry of "Not the flowers!"
-The way the Special Forces team dropped in via the skylight.
-The way Captain Awesome was actually rocking out to Jeffster's tune.
-Jeff ending the performance with fireworks.
-Chuck summing up the damage as a "minor centerpiece problem."
-Bottom line -- this episode is staying on my DVR forever. If ever I'm down, I will watch the first 10 minutes of "The Office's" "Stress Relief" and the failed Ellie-Awesome wedding and quite probably feel instantly better.
I loved the song that played over the wedding on the beach. Update: It's "Christmas TV" by Slow Club, according to Sepinwall, who has the full soundtrack rundown.  Casey is not only an impressive warrior, a skillful grunter and a fine poker player, he's one heck of a wedding planner. I loved him telling a fellow member of his team, "No! That clashes with the bunting!" That Chuck-Sarah dance at the end … it was just… awwww. During the episode it became clear that they were both willing to give up what they wanted most (for Chuck, a normal life, for Sarah, her life as a spy) in order to be with the other person. It was like an O. Henry story, but with more knives, rawk and "Tron" references. I loved Casey saying, "Chuck me." Adam Baldwin does more with less than any actor currently working on TV. How ridiculous was it that both "Tron" and "The Matrix" informed that final sequence. In an episode that also featured "Mr. Roboto." What did we do to deserve that level of awesome? I got to musing, by the way, on crossovers I'd love to see. I would pay money to see John Casey knocking back beers and playing cards with Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) of "Burn Notice." I can definitely see those two as old military buddies. And how about Creed from "The Office" as Jeff's long-lost dad? They are both extremely creepy and extremely funny. Or how about Jeff and the guys from "Flight of the Conchords" trading keytar licks? Anyone else have some "Chuck" crossovers they'd like to see? Actually, that brings me to ideas for Season 3 -- here's my wish list of what I'd want (while stipulating that the writers can do whatever they want and I'm fully on board, as long as every episode is as awesome as the final two episodes of Season 2. No pressure!): - More of General Beckman interacting with Chuck and the others on the scene in Burbank and maybe even on missions, not just via a remote camera.
-More Awesome, obviously. Bro, he brings it every time.
-More Jeffster! Wouldn't it be funny if their burgeoning career of playing senior centers and middle schools (middle schools? Someone needs to alert the Burbank authorities) turned them into arrogant d-bags?
-More of the Buy More crew. The Big Mike/"Godfather" scenes in recent episodes had me in hysterics. And I love the non-speaking Nerds in the background who don't get to say much but make up for it by creating an unmistakable vibe at the store -- a few more little bits for them to do could be fun.
-More of the amazing kick-butt Chuck Bartowski we saw in that final scene! Holy mother of motherboards!

NBC! Don't leave us hanging.

Be awesome! Renew Chuck!

Visit the Chuck store on amazon.com

The Star Report: Joan and Melissa Rivers class up 'Celebrity Apprentice'
Believe it or not, that celebrity salesmanship show hosted by orange-haired vulgarian Donald Trump is still on the air, and from all reports, Sunday night's episode was a classic, because of a monumental meltdown by Plasticine comedian Joan Rivers.
Bea Arthur's Memories Of Stage And Screen

Fresh Air host Terry Gross remembers the star of Broadway's Mame and TV's Maude, who died April 26, with excerpts from a 2007 interview.

Q&A: A Death Row Story of Resilience, Faith, Hope
ROME, Apr 28 (IPS)Puerto Rican Juan Melendez spent more than 17 years on death row in a Florida prison for a 1983 murder to which another man had repeatedly confessedevidence prosecutors withheld. He was only released in 2002. Now a documentary by Luis Rosario Albert tells Melendez's story, the multifaceted circumstances that surrounded it and the human rights struggle in Puerto Rico that followed.