TVSquad

Traveler is a lot better than I thought it was going to be. Sure, the premise looked intriguing and I'm a sucker for conspiracy/good guys on the run shows, but I had this feeling that ABC pushed it to the summer for a reason and it might be one of those shows that worked better as a long miniseries than a multi-season thing.

But it's quite good, and if they can find a way to continue it that would be great (hey, Richard Kimble was on the run for several seasons). Creator David DiGilio has posted a note at the IMDB thanking fans for watching the show and giving a few hints on how you can let ABC know you want the show renewed.

DiGilio is also keeping a blog at TV Guide where he answers a lot of questions from viewers.

[thanks to Savan for the tip]

Via Funny or Die, the site that brought you Adam McKay's cursing daughter, Pearl, comes this clip (below) of comedian Zach Galifianakis doing his stand-up act for a crowd that just won't cut him any slack. I guess Zach's brand of dry, irreverent humor just doesn't sit well with the colonists.

Strangely enough, while I found the juxtaposition of Zach on stage and the crowd of stoic men and women mildly amusing, I found myself laughing the loudest at his actual jokes. I guess that works too, unless Zach wanted me to laugh specifically at the fact he was bombing. I'd hate to think I'm appreciating his video in the wrong way.

Katie,

There's been a lot of talk lately about the third place ratings that The CBS Evening News continues to get. There are people saying that you aren't professional enough and that the show doesn't cover hard news the way it should. You even fired your executive producer and hired another, and then this week fired a producer for plagiarizing (and just what are those first person "Notebooks" if other people are writing them?). These are all things that you have to fix, but may I make one suggestion that might help immediately?

Don't lead your newscast with news about Don Imus on the day that there was a major bombing in Iraq.

Last month, I wrote about a special that ABC's Bob Woodruff, who was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in January of 2006, was putting together. The special was to discuss his recovery and interview eyewitnesses to the attack, and the military medical personnel who helped get him to safety. That special airs tomorrow night at 10 PM on his home network.

In advance of that special, Woodruff spoke to reporters about the bombing and his recovery. He described what he saw and felt right before the explosion, and what he said to cameraman Doug Vogt -- who was also severely injured -- right afterwards. He talked about being in a coma for 36 days, and having to put his memory back together as he recovered. "I couldn't remember my two young daughters - not their names but their existence," he told the reporters. He did say he may not ever be 100% recovered from his injuries, but "maybe if I get somewhere in the 90s, that would be pretty damned good."

Woodruff will be interviewed by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America tomorrow morning, and Oprah Winfrey will also interview him on her show tomorrow.

Bob Woodruff, the ABC News anchor who was seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq last January, will soon start appearing in some primetime newscasts. His first assignment is to report on himself-- the attack and his recovery. ABC is calling his recovery "miraculous". He spent the summer recuperating with his family, where his wife says he played tennis, drove the boat and even did pilates with his sister-in-law.

ABC says Woodruff will slowly return starting this fall, but he's not getting his anchor chair back. That's all Charlie's now. Do you think there's an awkward relationship there? Bob didn't even have his anchoring gig for a month before the attack.

ABC announced today that Good Morning America's anchor duo of Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer will fill in for Bob Woodruff on World News Tonight. As everyone knows, Woodruff suffered severe injuries in an IED explosion in Iraq. Because his injuries will keep him out of action indefinitely, ABC News president David Westin decided to preserve the dual-anchor format that Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas started on January 3. To that end, Gibson and Sawyer will take turns co-anchoring WNT with Vargas until Woodrufff is well enough to return.

I would imagine that both Gibson and Sawyer won't venture out into the field much, so look for Vargas to be taking the "intrepid reporter" role so that Westin's vision of having at least one anchor in the field can continue.

The irony, of course, is that Gibson was passed over for Vargas and Woodruff when the permanent pairing was announced in December.