TVSquad

The unexpected death of Tim Russert two weeks ago prompted numerous tributes and memorials from NBC and MSNBC, but because Russert was a news personality, they really couldn't re-air Meet the Press episodes or the night of the 2000 election to really show Tim Russert's substantive work.

The death of comedian George Carlin on Sunday was just as shocking -- and also attributed to a heart ailment -- but for Mr. Carlin there are many hours of his work available and relevant to rebroadcast. It'll give audiences a chance to re-appreciate his unique brand of comedy. In his long tenure with HBO, George starred in 14 comedy specials. Now, you'll be able to see a few of them one more time.

HBO is presenting a series of encore presentations, including his last concert, George Carlin: It's Bad for You, on Friday, June 27, at 9 o'clock (ET) on HBO (the main channel). The show debuted in March. But that's not all.

I'd like to begin this week's offering by adding my thoughts on the untimely death of Tim Russert. I didn't know him personally, so anything I could say about the man would pale in comparison to all the nice things his friends and co-workers have already said.

What I will say is that the irony of Russert dying on Father's Day weekend so soon after writing his book, Big Russ and Me (which chronicled his life with his father as well as his son Luke), is so thick that twenty years from now, it will be hard to believe that it happened the way that it did.

As a guy who rarely watches the news and gets most of my information from The Daily Show, I appreciated Russert's informative and entertaining style of reporting.

There's been speculation about who will replace Tim Russert on NBC's Meet the Press. David Gregory, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews and Katie Couric were a few of the rumored possibilities. Jovie Baclayon of E! Online reports that Tom Brokaw will be temporarily replacing the tragically-lost news anchor. NBC announced today that the former Nightly News anchor and South Dakota native would take over moderating responsibilities on Sunday mornings. He will guide discussions through the November presidential elections.

Steve Capus, NBC News President, made this statement about Brokaw's decision to step in: "To have someone of Tom's stature step up and dedicate himself to ensuring its ongoing success is not only a testament to his loyalty to Tim, but his enduring commitment to NBC News and our viewers."

After 21 years helming the program, Tom Brokaw retired from NBC Nightly News in 2004.

Tim Russert died of a heart attack last week on June 13th. He was 58.

[via Yahoo TV]

"Baracknophobia": The mainstream media likes to blame the blogosphere and Grandma's e-mail forwards for spreading ridiculous rumors about Barack Obama. I guess they've forgotten all that "Barack Obama is a secret Muslim" stuff that they've been spitting for the past year or so. And no, Obama wasn't sworn in with a Qur'an. Michelle Obama has been getting noise from the media for sounding mean too. I'll admit, it was kind of a sick burn when she made Stephen Colbert sing to her only to tell him that Obama's voice is better. I thought that clip of Fox News accusing Obama of plagiarizing Mario Cuomo was too ridiculous to be true, so I decided to dig up some footage that hadn't been cut up by TDS. Nope, still ridiculous.

I'm sure a lot of you were scratching your heads over the weekend, wondering how Tim Russert's passing merited the all-encompassing, presidential-like coverage it got, especially on his home network of NBC. He's only a reporter, right? Why the wall-to-wall coverage? Well, first of all, it seems that by all accounts, Russert was one of the most well-liked people in the news business, so the outpouring might have been a function of people mourning a friend who was taken from them too soon. But, I have another, more off-beat theory as to why NBC did a broadcast version of sitting shiva for Russert: it was because they have no idea how to replace him.

Think about it: he wasn't only the longtime moderator of Meet The Press, where he took the venerable show and rejiggered its format, making him the face of the show. He was also NBC News' Washington bureau chief and the main political voice for the network. "It's going to take four or five people to replace Tim," CBS' Bob Schieffer told The New York Times.

For now, though, the immediate question is who will replace him on Meet The Press. Speculation is already underway.

Our Monday morning roundup of a half dozen things TV Squad readers - and TV fans in general - will be talking about this week.

1. The death of Tim Russert: He was young, he was the face of MSNBC's political coverage, this is an election year, and NBC needs to find a new host for Meet The Press. Expect people to be talking about this for a while.

2. Burn Notice on DVD: This is the show that seemed to come out of nowhere and instantly loved by many TV viewers is now on DVD. The new season starts on July 10!

3. Retro Squad - The Super Friends: This summer, we're doing another look back at classic TV shows. This time we're doing theme weeks, and this week you can read a bunch of posts about The Super Friends.

4. The possible strike: The Screen Actor's Guild contact ends on June 30. Let's hope this isn't a loooooong summer.

5. That Battlestar Galactica finale: What happens now? You'll have to wait until next year to find out.

6. America's Got Talent: Another season of the summer hit. Expect sword swallowers, dancers, magicians, singers, mimes, and everything in between. (Premieres Tuesday at 9pm on NBC.)

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Journalists and politicians react to the death of Tim Russert.
• Will NBC get The Weather Channel?
• Big melons on CNN...giggity-giggity!
• What's going on at The Hollywood Reporter?
• Ah, I knew those songs in Dunkin' Donuts commercials sounded like something from They Might Be Giants.
• Javier Grillo-Marxuach blogs about The Middleman.
• Naveen Andrews talks to E! about Lost.
• Is Rashida Jones going to be in that spinoff of The Office?
• Is there room on TV for two skateboarding dogs?
• Greek gets a new cast member.

Tim Russert, the chief political reporter for NBC and host of the long-running Meet The Press, died of a heart attack this afternoon. Russert was recording voiceovers for Meet The Press and collapsed.

This is obviously sad and odd because he was young, but it's also crazy because we're in the middle of an election year, and Russert was one of the faces of NBC and MSNBC when it comes to politics. He was an unabashed political junkie and was front and center in this year's election, being involved in all of the primary coverage and even participated in debates along with colleague Brian Williams.

Russert worked in for Democratic Senator Daniel Moynihan's campaign in the mid 70s and in the early 80s worked on Mario Cuomo's campaign for Governor of New York. He joined NBC in 1984 and became moderator of Meet The Press in 1991. He also wrote two books.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Doc Jensen has some new theories concerning Lost over at Entertainment Weekly.
• Time's James Poniewozik weights in on Recount and The Andromeda Strain (he liked one and hated the other).
• Oh, for Pete's sake, it was a person's voice!
• Ausiello over at TV Guide has some info about Supernatural.
• Here's the latest on that possible strike (yes, another one).
• Will Al Franken's past come back to haunt him in his Senate race?
• And now, the music of Katie Couric.

Time's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World is out, and for the third year in the row I just missed making the list (last year I was 103, this year I'm at 102, so I'm getting better!). The list is broken down into five different categories: Leaders & Revolutionaries, Heroes & Pioneers, Scientists & Thinkers, Artists & Entertainers, and Builders & Titans. This year, Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana herself, is #59. And the weird thing is, it's under the Scientists & Thinkers category.

OK, that's not true (she's under Artists & Entertainers), but it got me thinking that there must really be a shortage of influential people in the world today.

It wasn't April 1st so it couldn't be April Fool's Day. It was March 1st. Still, there she was, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton saying those famous words, "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night Live."

In an unannounced and potentially savvy political move, Senator Hillary Clinton, appeared on the NBC late night comedy and showed that she can laugh at herself. This surprise appearance, coupled with her agreeing to be on Monday's Daily Show with Jon Stewart, can only help her in Tuesday's primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont. It's pretty much desperation time for the Clinton candidacy and if Hillary wants to make it to the Denver convention with a chance to beat Barack Obama, she must win Texas and Ohio -- the big states -- decisively.

Today marks the 60th birthday of NBC's Sunday morning news program, Meet The Press. It's the longest running TV show in history.*

It's funny because when Meet The Press started, there weren't that many TV news shows on the air. Now one could argue that there are too many. Meet The Press isn't really that special anymore. Past hosts have included Lawrence Spivak (who also created and produced the show), Ned Brooks, Bill Monroe, Marvin Kalb, Roger Mudd, Chris Wallace, Garrick Utley, and current host Tim Russert. Some people have said that the show isn't the same anymore because Russert has on guests like Stephen Colbert. I think that's ridiculous, because they've had comics on before. Though I do think the way that Russert conducted most of the interview, faux serious and trying to be jokey too, was odd.

* Longest running show period? Guiding Light, which debuted on radio in 1937 and then switched to TV in 1952.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Not too many people like Viva Laughlin.
• Download a DVD box screen saver similar to the one seen on The Office.
• Bill Cosby? Stephen Colbert? Some are asking what the heck is going on at Meet The Press.
• Are there more cast members leaving CSI besides Jorja Fox?
• EW's PopWatch blog agrees with me about those Bee Movie ads on NBC.
• The behind the scenes story on how Charles Emerson Winchester came to be on M*A*S*H.
• Tim Goodman is not a fan of Tuesday night TV.

If it's Sunday, it must be Stephen Colbert.

The late night blowhard and new Presidential candidate will be the guest on NBC's Meet The Press on Sunday. Several readers over at The Huffington Post aren't too sure about this appearance. Some are saying it's "misguided," while others think he's taking the schtick too far and that he himself has become "a joke." On the contrary, I think this is all part of some genius performance art, from his show to his speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner to his book to his talk show appearances, he's going all out with the character.

After tonight's episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert will put his cast up for auction on eBay. Colbert broke his wrist in June while running around his set before the show began. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Yellow Ribbon Fund for injured military service members and their families as they recuperate at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.

The Yellow Ribbon Fund is a favorite of Colbert's. He has already used his cast to raise money for the injured soldiers and their families by selling 'WristStrong' bracelets, a spoof of Lance Armstrong (and Nike's) LiveStrong yellow bracelets that raise money for cancer research. By the way, if you can't afford Stephen's cast, you can probably still afford one of his 'WristStrong' bracelets, which are for sale on his website.

Colbert's cast is signed by a wide variety of political and news figures: Nancy Pelosi, Tony Snow, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Tim Russert, Bill O'Reilly, and Michael Bloomberg.