TVSquad

I haven't seen Dan Rather on TV in quite some time. I believe he still does a weekly news show for HDNet, but you don't see him much anywhere else (especially CBS - ahem). But he showed up last night on The Daily Show in a very funny way, in a story about President Obama and Vice President Biden going out to get some burgers.

For once the info coming from CBS News is not about whether Katie Couric's job is in jeopardy. Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer has decided not to retire after all; he's staying with CBS News indefinitely.

The veteran newsman, who'll be 72 this year, had announced his retirement. He was going to leave the Black Rock as of the January presidential inauguration. Now he's decided to postpone the rocking chair. According to TV Week, the network didn't have to twist his arm; the deal was easily and simply done. All Schieffer had to do was get his wife Pat's approval and he was able to tell CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus asked him not to step down as planned with the inauguration of a new president that he would remain.

After a New York court dismissed most of the claims in Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against his former employer, CBS, he was told he could resubmit the suit. So Rather, never one to back down from a fight, did just that. He filed an amended suit that now claims that he met with other broadcast and cable networks, but didn't get offered jobs by them because, as the suit claims, he had "too much baggage" after the Bush / National Guard incident that eventually led to his departure from CBS.

CBS's lawyers are pretty confident that the suit will be dismissed a second time, but all Rather wants to do is get to the bottom of what happened with the story about the president's Guard record, which he still stands behind.

"I've never lost sight of the fact that this is a long, hard, expensive road and the odds are against," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I knew that going in. I've known that every hour I've been in it. I'm in this alone. I bear the whole, total expense, which comes out of my pocket.

(S19E10) "To Springfield!"

"Which one?"

"The one where The Simpsons live."

My oh my, was this a jam-packed episode of The Simpsons or what? I haven't seen this many sight gags in one installment of the show for the longest time. Not only that, but this was probably the first episode of the season where Homer and the rest of the family took a back seat to the rest of Springfield's citizens.

We are just days away from the presidential primary season (Thank God!) and there seems to be a late entry into the race for the White House. No, it's not Michael Bloomberg (although they say he wants to), Al Gore (although they really want him to) or Rosie O'Donnell (they really say nothing about her). It's actually nose-picking, glue-eating, bed-wetting, slightly mis-educated Ralph Wiggum.

Gosh, he'll fit right in, won't he?

Ralph will announce his candidacy on the January 6th episode of The Simpsons. Actually, he isn't the one who announces it; rather, the voters of Springfield, who reject all of the other candidates in their first primary, write the young Wiggum in as a candidate. He quickly becomes an independent presidential front-runner that party leaders for both the Republicans and the Democrats want to have in their court.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog: I apologize for the bad sound quality; I'm live from a golf cart. Have a great weekend!

• CBS says they aren't out to get Dan Rather.
  
• Please watch out for trucks. Don't be like Dr. Phil, who just got hit by one.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Simpsons star Harry Shearer has been exposing the behind the scenes faux pas and foibles of the national media for years. His video and audio of such things as Tom Brokaw's off-camera remarks are classic. Earlier this year he posted a video on his My Damn Channel channel of Dan Rather going on and on about whether or not to wear a trenchcoat. Now it's Katie's turn.

In the video after the jump, we see Katie prepping to go live during The CBS Evening News' recent trip to Nashville. We see her talking about her hair and whether or not to button the top button of her coat. Personally, I don't see what's so shocking or even "embarassing" about this video. All network reporters do this before the cameras roll - all of them, male and female. In fact, it makes me like Couric more, because she's self-deprecating (combing her hair: "This tart's ready to go!") and seems to be getting along with everyone on the crew.

Much has been said about Katie Couric and her year behind the anchor's desk on The CBS Evening News (some of it by Couric herself in a controversial New York interview). But now a journalist is going to interview Couric and she's going to talk about everything that's going on with her and with the news biz in general.

Veteran newsman Marvin Kalb is going to interview Couric as part of the Kalb Report Series, which is produced by George Washington University, Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center, and The National Press Club. The interview will take place live on stage next Tuesday at The National Press Club, in front of students and members of the NPC.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today: on TV Squad Daily:

• Dan Rather is feistier than I expected. He's suing CBS and Viacom for 70 million dollars.
  
• Who knew Klingon jokes were such hot property? Stephen Colbert is accused of stealing one from Cenk Uygur.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

What, Eddie Haskell suing someone isn't enough for you today? OK, how about this: former CBS anchor Dan Rather is suing CBS for $70 million. Also named in the suit are CBS CEO Les Moonves, Sumner Redstone, and former CBS news chief Andrew Heyward.

The lawsuit claims that the network forced him to step down from The CBS Evening News and did not give him enough time on 60 Minutes. He also claims that because of all this, the network aired a "biased" and "incomplete" investigation into the National Guard story and seriously hurt his reputation. New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg broke the story earlier this afternoon. Rather is currently an anchor on HDNet.

Now let's see if Katie Couric (or Harry Smith, if he's still filling in) reports this story on tonight's show.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Dan Rather said the word "tart," and suddenly everybody's talking about the evening news.
  
• Donald Trump's has a new reality show in the works, Lady or a Tramp.
  
• Are we being punished? Veronica Mars fans won't get a new season, but they might get a comic book instead.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather has some harsh words for the show and Katie Couric.

Rather was on MSNBC, talking to Joe Scarborough (he's in Imus' spot in the morning right now) via phone. Although he said that Couric is a nice person, he also said that the show has been "dumbing it down, tarting it up," and that they're really focusing too much on celebrity coverage now.

That's Dirty Sexy Money, an upcoming drama on ABC, just to clarify. I didn't want you to think the U.S. Mint was printing up a new type of currency with Dan Rather on the bill in place of one of the presidents.

Although, that would be interesting. "Give me seven quaraters and two pennies for a Rather," you would say. The Rather would be worth $1.77 for some reason.

(Part 4 of 5)

Katie.

Meredith.

Rosie.

They all made big news and big career moves that changed the face of some very popular programs. This whole domino effect started in April, when Katie Couric announced the "worst kept secret in television" that she was going to replace Bob Schieffer as the sole anchor of the CBS Evening News. She spent her summer conducting town hall meetings with regular folk to find out what they want in a national newscast. And her first broadcast made worldwide news because she debuted Vanity Fair's photographs of the elusive daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise. The excitement over Katie lasted for about a week.

It's too bad that I don't have a hi-def TV, because I'm starting to get curious about the dizzying array of programming Mark Cuban is making available on his HDNet network. First, he hired Dan Rather to do in-depth reports on current affairs on the hour-long Dan Rather Reports, and now he has... model boxing! Brett talked about Perfect 10 Model Boxing last month; essentially, it's hot chicks in tiny shorts and tops punching each other. Not much more to say about it than that, other than the fact that the show's sponsor, Perfect 10 magazine, shows nude photos of women that aren't surgically enhanced.

So, how does Gunga Dan feel about sharing a channel with fighting hotties? New York Magazine found out; he doesn't have a problem with it, though he doesn't think he'd watch it in his house. Sure, Dan. I'm sure your mind will change when your wife's away on a long weekend.

[via Mediabistro]