Salon.com > TV http://www.salon.com Fri, 04 Jan 2013 03:11:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 “Downton Abbey”: Hard times hit the estate http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/downton_abbey_hard_times_hit_the_estate/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/downton_abbey_hard_times_hit_the_estate/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:37:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13160794 A few nights ago, I dreamed about “Downton Abbey.” Mr. Bates had taken Matthew Crawley hostage and was holding him at knife point in some soignée drawing room, a costume dream remake of “Misery.” Other people’s dreams — particularly the ones that do not contain the existence of you — are, as a rule, dull, so I won’t go on about the drapery patterns or the motive or Bates' strange expertise with knots. The basic outline makes my point: Over its first two genteel, delectable seasons “Downton Abbey” has sunk its well-manicured hooks in me, lodging so deep that my subconscious now spews out alternative story lines in which the pious Mr. Bates has been made over into a villain (which, not for nothing, would make him a whole lot more interesting).

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/03/downton_abbey_hard_times_hit_the_estate/feed/ 8 “Buckwild”: MTV comes to the Appalachian mountains http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/buckwild_mtv_comes_to_the_appalachian_mountains/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/buckwild_mtv_comes_to_the_appalachian_mountains/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13159236 After MTV announced its new reality show “Buckwild” last month — the series debuts tomorrow night —  it wasn’t long before friends started sending me links to the trailer without comment — the virtual equivalent of excitedly tapping me on the shoulder and saying, “Look! Your people!” The show, described as the “‘Jersey Shore’ of Appalachia,” stars “an outrageous group of childhood friends” who live, party and shoot potato guns in Sissonville, W.Va. In the trailer, one cast member receives a “birthday lickin’”; another boasts, “I don’t have no phone, Facebook — none of that Internet stuff.” My fellow West Virginians were quick to decry “ugly, inaccurate stereotypes!” and the state’s “Democratic” senator (formerly, governor) Joe Manchin III even went on the "Today" show to denounce the “travesty.” After using the phrase “heck-bent,” he called West Virginia “one of the greatest states in the nation” and suggested, cringe-worthily, that maybe MTV could “show a balance” by presenting the state’s “greatest young adults who’ve accomplished an awful lot,” alongside the “Buckwild” cast. The big, bad media responded with the noble savage argument; in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, one of the show’s producers called the lack of Internet thing “refreshing” while Tricia Romano, writing for the Daily Beast, deferred to TV historian Tim Brooks. "There is some self-awareness over what they are doing,” she quoted Brooks. “They are proud of it. One of the things you learn from these shows is that people who aren’t like us may be proudly not like us. They live differently intentionally."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/buckwild_mtv_comes_to_the_appalachian_mountains/feed/ 17 “Girls”: Can this friendship be saved? http://www.salon.com/2013/01/01/girls_can_this_friendship_be_saved/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/01/girls_can_this_friendship_be_saved/#comments Tue, 01 Jan 2013 20:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13157997 From the time we’re little we’re told nothing is more precious than our female friends. We sign our letters BFF. We bond by sharing our most intimate secrets with each other, which is what endows us with the ninja-like skill and power to psychically disembowel each other.

I hate fighting with friends. I’m prone to fits of hysterical deaf, dumb and blindness at the first whiff of a dust-up. The stakes are too high. I’d rather they run me down with their car than tell me I’m insensitive.

Which is why when I watched "Girls," and witnessed the blowout between Hannah and Marnie toward the end of the season (Episode 9),  I was seized by a mild terror. Not because I was so emotionally invested in this friendship, but because it was so true.

I shouldn’t have been surprised: While Dunham gives shout-outs to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Sex and the City" in the first episode, it’s clear that "Girls" is a different beast altogether. Honestly, can you imagine Carrie and Samantha spooning in bed? Mary eating a cupcake in the tub while Rhoda sits on the edge in a towel shaving her legs? Yes, those girlfriends argued, but with five minutes left in the show they were weeping and apologizing over a gallon of Rocky Road or a round of Cosmos. Not so in "Girls." Then again, Rhoda never set up a doctor’s appointment for Mary to have an AIDS test, and Samantha never financially supported Carrie. So it should come as no surprise that when Marnie and Hannah do have a fight — a big BFF steel-cage death-match — it would get real.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/01/girls_can_this_friendship_be_saved/feed/ 12 Carrie Brownstein: “A lot of these characters are permutations of myself” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/30/carrie_brownstein_a_lot_of_these_characters_are_permutations_of_myself/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/30/carrie_brownstein_a_lot_of_these_characters_are_permutations_of_myself/#comments Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13154840 Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen's anthropological sketch-comedy series "Portlandia" returns to IFC on Friday, Jan. 4, for a third season of gently mocking and dissecting the behaviors of niche Portlanders and their kin across these United States. Brownstein, who was Sleater-Kinney's front woman and now performs with her band Wild Flag, spoke with me while her dogs barked in the background. We discussed the series, the proliferation of Portland culture, her fascination with couples' behavior and the qualities she shares with Kath and Dave.

How many of the characters on "Portlandia" would make you insane if you encountered them in real life?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/30/carrie_brownstein_a_lot_of_these_characters_are_permutations_of_myself/feed/ 18 Chris Matthews is a statesman! http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/#comments Thu, 27 Dec 2012 14:38:00 +0000 http://http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/ To his boss, Chris Matthews has become a statesman. His critics probably have other words.

The veteran MSNBC host raised his profile as much as any member of the television commentariat during the presidential campaign. His 5 p.m. "Hardball" show has seen viewership jump by 24 percent this year from 2011, 17 percent for the rerun two hours later.

Matthews symbolized MSNBC's growing comfort in being a liberal alternative to Fox News Channel. He engaged in an uncomfortable on-air confrontation with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, seemed nearly apoplectic when President Barack Obama flubbed his first debate and had to apologize for appearing grateful that Hurricane Sandy might have helped Obama's re-election effort.

With Keith Olbermann out of sight, Matthews essentially replaced him as the commentator that most annoyed conservative viewers.

"During the run-up to the Iraq War, he just became really, really partisan and became even more so when MSNBC decided to become the anti-Fox," said Geoff Dickens, who used to watch Matthews as a fan and now monitors him regularly as part of his job with the conservative Media Research Center.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/27/matthews_raises_profile_during_campaign/feed/ 8 “Downton Abbey”: The U.K.’s biggest import since the Beatles http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/downton_abbey_the_u_k_s_biggest_import_since_the_beatles/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/downton_abbey_the_u_k_s_biggest_import_since_the_beatles/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:41:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13151940 Amid a whirlwind media blitz that had the “Downton Abbey” cast doing a panel discussion in L.A., at Knicks games in New York and spoofing “Breaking Bad” on "Colbert," here at last, in Washington, was a setting befitting the regal cast. The posh British Ambassador’s residence on the embassy grounds in D.C. hosted a PBS-sponsored reception on this month that drew fans, station officials and what serves as celebrity in this town: Bob Schieffer, Gwen Ifill, Andrea Mitchell and Alan Greenspan, among them.

And there, beneath the chandeliers and portraits of royalty past, the seventh Earl of Grantham, in tweed, seemed right at home.

“It’s a beautiful residence,” said the actor Hugh Bonneville, in his familiar dulcet tone before the reception was in full swing. “And it feels, well, it feels like Downton really.”

“It’s just like home,” Elizabeth McGovern, the show’s Lady Grantham, added, playing along.

Using the British Embassy to showcase cultural exports is something that goes back decades and includes reception for the Beatles in 1964 just after their first U.S. show at the Washington Coliseum, when an overly anxious souvenir hunter clipped a hunk of Ringo’s hair. “We didn't stay there long,” the drummer remembered later, saying “These diplomats just don't know how to behave."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/26/downton_abbey_the_u_k_s_biggest_import_since_the_beatles/feed/ 0 The bouncer who runs reality television http://www.salon.com/2012/12/25/the_bouncer_who_runs_reality_television/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/25/the_bouncer_who_runs_reality_television/#comments Tue, 25 Dec 2012 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13147131 Mike Hansen had a mission: to find telegenic Southerners who love to party for a new reality television show. Together with his fellow talent scouts, Josh and Candy, they meandered through the Deep South in a second-hand RV, dropping into small bars and local rodeos and taking breaks to cook steaks in WalMart parking lots. As they approached Arkansas, Mike stumbled upon an online ad for a biker rally promising 10,000 attendees and “greatest mullet” contests. They decided to drop by.  The directions brought them to a sign that pointed down a dirt road through a forest that was too narrow for their four-wheeled home to maneuver. So they set off on foot. Eventually, the trees cleared. “The first thing that we see is a huge Confederate flag with a little tiny camp, maybe 10 tents, and there was a bunch of people sitting around,” Mike recalled. There was a fire and a keg of O’Douls non-alcoholic beer. One of the bikers came up to them and said, “goat.” “Goat?” Mike asked, somewhat confused. “Goat,” the biker repeated, this time making shapes with his hands. He was saying, they realized, that he was deaf and that Goat was his name. “We discovered that everybody around the whole camp was deaf. It was a deaf biker rally.”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/25/the_bouncer_who_runs_reality_television/feed/ 7 “Downton’s” Rob James-Collier: “America does not like people being not nice to dogs” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/downtons_rob_james_collier_america_does_not_like_people_being_not_nice_to_dogs/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/downtons_rob_james_collier_america_does_not_like_people_being_not_nice_to_dogs/#comments Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13152018 On "Downton Abbey," Rob James-Collier plays Thomas, the handsome valet always cooking up a scheme or jockeying for a position. Back in season one of the period drama — the third season begins airing on PBS on January 6th, having already played in England — we learned that Thomas was gay, an aspect of his character that gets much more fully explored in the coming season. James-Collier, wearing a blue sweater and some stubble, spoke with me about the series while he was in New York promoting the show. (The cast rode the subway while visiting because, as James-Collier joked, "We’re keeping it real. There’s a recession on. Saving PBS money; that’s what we’re all about.") He talked about what's to come on "Downton," the show's appeal and Americans' love of dogs.

Thomas’s storyline this year, which has to do with his sexuality, feels like the most modern and relevant of any this season.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/downtons_rob_james_collier_america_does_not_like_people_being_not_nice_to_dogs/feed/ 7 David Chase: “I got sidetracked” by “The Sopranos” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/david_chase_i_got_sidetracked_by_the_sopranos/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/david_chase_i_got_sidetracked_by_the_sopranos/#comments Sat, 22 Dec 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13151466 “Not Fade Away” feels like a familiar kind of movie – an ambitious coming-of-age story with a strong autobiographical element, from a first-time director immersed in pop music, the mysteries of sexuality and the agonies of family life. But this particular indie drama about rock ‘n’ roll and girls and suburban angst is set in the mid-1960s, and was made by someone who saw that decade firsthand. You don’t meet too many first-time filmmakers who are 67 years old, and who have already had a long and illustrious career as a writer and producer in a different medium.

OK, you don’t meet any. That’s because there is no one in the American entertainment industry exactly like David Chase, who got his start in television as a writer for the mid-‘70s paranormal series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (a pioneering show, after its fashion) and went on, many years later, to create one of the most famous ensemble dramas in TV history. Through it all, as they say, he really wanted to direct. So it is that we wind up in 2012 with “Not Fade Away,” which has all the young-man’s intensity of a debut film, but also views its characters and their lost world through the long lens of artistic distance.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/22/david_chase_i_got_sidetracked_by_the_sopranos/feed/ 2 Blue Glow TV Awards: Top 10 Shows of the Year http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/blue_glow_tv_awards_top_10_shows_of_the_year/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/blue_glow_tv_awards_top_10_shows_of_the_year/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13149412 http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/blue_glow_tv_awards_top_10_shows_of_the_year/feed/ 1 “1600 Penn”: A political satire that’s short on wonkiness, big on wackiness http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/1600_penn_a_political_satire_thats_short_on_wonkiness_big_on_wackiness/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/1600_penn_a_political_satire_thats_short_on_wonkiness_big_on_wackiness/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:06:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13148515 There are a lot of fictional politicians milling about the television these days. There’s Leslie Knope, State’s Attorney Peter Florrick, President Fitzgerald Grant, and Vice Presidents Selina Meyer and William Walden. Until recently, Kelsey Grammar was the mayor of Chicago on “Boss” and Sigourney Weaver was a version of Hillary Clinton on “Political Animals.” There are various Defense and State Department officials on “Last Resort,” a mayoral race in “Nashville,” and soon there will be all of Capitol Hill in Netflix’s forthcoming “House of Cards.” As of last night there are also the Gilchrists, America’s first family and the stars of “1600 Penn,” a new sitcom that sneak-previewed on NBC and will begin airing regularly in January.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/1600_penn_a_political_satire_thats_short_on_wonkiness_big_on_wackiness/feed/ 4 David Chase: It was hard to get over “The Sopranos” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/after_the_sopranos_a_bigger_screen_for_chase/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/after_the_sopranos_a_bigger_screen_for_chase/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:30:00 +0000 http://http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/after_the_sopranos_a_bigger_screen_for_chase/ After "The Sopranos" went black, David Chase's next move was never in question: He would make a movie.

In all Chase's time toiling as a writer in television before "The Sopranos" — decades ranging from "The Rockford Files" to "Northern Exposure" — the big screen had beckoned. It reached back to his days as a teenager taking stills of "8 ½" and "Dr. Strangelove" (clear touchstones, still: one, Italian and surreal; the other, darkly comic).

After his first stab at writing a psychological thriller went begging, he turned to an idea of his since the '80s, one he occasionally kicked around in the "Sopranos" writers room.

"I love rock 'n' roll so much that I really wanted to make a movie about the music, not about the personalities involved, not about the ups and downs or the rise and fall of it," says Chase. "I didn't want to do a biopic. If it was going to be a biopic, I wanted to do a biopic about nobodies — which is what it kind of is."

"Not Fade Away," which Paramount Pictures will open in limited release Friday, is Chase's first project since "The Sopranos" remade American pop culture and, among other things, forever changed our relationship to Journey. A coming-of-age tale set amid the generational tumult of the '60s, it's the debut of the most promising 67-year-old filmmaker to come along in some time.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/after_the_sopranos_a_bigger_screen_for_chase/feed/ 1 “Homeland” Finale Recap: Love rules http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/homeland_finale_recap_love_rules/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/homeland_finale_recap_love_rules/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2012 07:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13146948 A confession: At some point in the not so distant past, some time before the first season’s steamy cabin episode and up through the phenomenal interrogation episode of this now-completed second season, I was a devoted Brody and Carrie ‘shipper. Yes, their whole dynamic has always been a little implausible and a lot twisted, a partnership resting on a wacked power dynamic and a whole lot of chemistry, but I was into them. I, like the creators of “Homeland,” believed the show “elevated” when Brody and Carrie were on-screen together. I spent a lot of time thinking about why their seemingly unworkable thing worked. Sense be damned, I wished for the pair a cockamamie future, one in which they could be happy and crazy and never, ever — knock wood — have enormously messed-up children together.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/homeland_finale_recap_love_rules/feed/ 11 Blogging the TV revolution: Alan Sepinwall, the king of the recap http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/blogging_the_tv_revolution_alan_sepinwall_the_king_of_the_recap/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/blogging_the_tv_revolution_alan_sepinwall_the_king_of_the_recap/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2012 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13125206 Alan Sepinwall's new book, "The Revolution Was Televised" is a must-read for anyone who has ever fallen hard for a TV show. Advancing an argument about how TV since "The Sopranos" has reached another, better level, it explores, chapter by chapter, the specifics of how "The Sopranos" and "The Wire"and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "Friday Night Lights" and "Mad Men," among others, came to be. Sepinwall has been described as the "the acknowledged king of the [recap]"and writes prolifically, insightfully and influentially about an ungodly number of shows at What Alan's Watching. Sepinwall self-published "The Revolution Was Televised" — making his one of the very few self-published books ever to be reviewed, and raved about, by the New York Times — and has always been a bit of DIY guy. In college, he began writing a proto-blog about "NYPD Blue," which got him a job at the Newark Star-Ledger (where he became a reigning expert on 'The Sopranos," among other things), before he struck out on his own, one of the most widely read and astute TV analysts out there. I spoke with Alan about the book, what the men who created these shows have in common, why they're all men, and asked for yet another defense of "Lost."

Your book about television has also become this really astonishing publishing story, because it was self-published. It’s one of the only self-published books ever reviewed by the Times.

I’ve been completely floored by it. I did get one offer from a publisher a year ago, and it wasn’t a great offer, but I would sort of start thinking to myself as I was doing this, “You idiot, you should have taken it. You’re never going to make this kind of money selling the book, even if you’re completely happy with the book, and you’re always going to be sort of annoyed with yourself.” And it’s done a lot better than that offer would have.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/blogging_the_tv_revolution_alan_sepinwall_the_king_of_the_recap/feed/ 2 “SNL” has a blue Christmas http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/snl_has_a_blue_christmas/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/snl_has_a_blue_christmas/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13146376 The specter of Sandy Hook looms heavy this weekend, but "Saturday Night Live" proves time and again that they are at their best when they have to put on a show for a grieving nation. The somber cold open, with the New York Children's Chorus singing "Silent Night," paid quiet tribute to the 26 lives lost on Friday while providing a necessary buffer for the episode that followed. It acknowledged, tastefully, how uncomfortable it can be to laugh in the wake of incomprehensible violence. But after the song finished, the screen faded to black and it was back to business as usual.

Actually, better business than usual.

SNL brought the winning combo of having a beloved alum Martin Short host the year's penultimate "SNL" (or the last one ever, if the Mayans are to be believed), and a Beatle! And the writers and cast really brought it. Alum shows tend to have a gaggle of surprise guests anyway, but with every celebrity on Earth in New York for the 12-12-12 Sandy relief concert, this one packed heavier than usual star power.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/snl_has_a_blue_christmas/feed/ 4 Rainn Wilson explores “life’s big questions” http://www.salon.com/2012/12/15/rainn_wilson_on_the_office_it%e2%80%99s_really_time_for_the_show_to_end/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/15/rainn_wilson_on_the_office_it%e2%80%99s_really_time_for_the_show_to_end/#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2012 18:20:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13131857 Most television viewers identify Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, the constantly high-strung, testy "Battlestar Galactica" nerd on "The Office." But where his character is cynical and negative in the extreme, in conversation Wilson comes across as effusive, spiritual and upbeat. As the hit sitcom comes to a close in its final season, Wilson is branching out with other projects, many which veer from comedy, but stay close to his greater vision of bringing people together.

Salon recently caught up with the actor and comedian on the phone to discuss “The Office,” his SoulPancake project and his new TV special "Oprah and Rainn Wilson Present SoulPancake" premiering this Sunday on OWN, which focuses on exploring “life’s big questions.” This interview has been edited for space and clarity.

Why did you and your friends (Joshua Homnick and Devon Gundry) start SoulPancake?

Before the series, our goal was starting a website, called SoulPancake.com. I really wanted to do something positive on the internet. I wanted to try to get young people talking about, thinking about, life’s big questions--make it cool and OK to wonder about the heart, the soul and free will and God and death and big topics like that, big human topics.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/15/rainn_wilson_on_the_office_it%e2%80%99s_really_time_for_the_show_to_end/feed/ 0 Channel surfing: “Happy Endings” battles helmet hair, “Glee” celebrates Hanukkah http://www.salon.com/2012/12/14/channel_surfing_happy_endings_battles_helmet_hair_glee_celebrates_hanukkah/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/14/channel_surfing_happy_endings_battles_helmet_hair_glee_celebrates_hanukkah/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:20:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13124100 Observations about the past week of TV that are too short to stand on their own and too long to keep to myself.

1. Great moments in product placement ("great" moments): On “Parenthood,” cancer-stricken Kristina (Monica Potter) recorded a video for her children so the "Parenthood" audience could cry more. Her husband, Adam, watched said video on his Mac, which got major pride of place. A crowded Apple dock was visible for most of it and Adam very notably used the volume button as he settled in to watch. Macs, with volume functionality! Also the perfect computer to use when assembling your “If I die, know that I loved you” speech!

2. For a change this week, "Modern Family" decided to put the shrewish, dream-crushing shoe on Phil, not Claire Dunphy. Claire wanted to buy a house to flip it, Phil thought it was too risky, but didn't want to be the one to say no, and had to go through all sorts of contortions to play the part Claire usually plays. It was a nice role reversal — Oh, look, Phil can be an adult sometimes! — and one that suggests "Modern Family" doesn't always have to make Claire the shrew to structurally work.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/14/channel_surfing_happy_endings_battles_helmet_hair_glee_celebrates_hanukkah/feed/ 1 Stephen Colbert gives super PAC funds to charity http://www.salon.com/2012/12/14/stephen_colbert_gives_super_pac_funds_to_charity/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/14/stephen_colbert_gives_super_pac_funds_to_charity/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:38:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13124940 Stephen Colbert will give the remaining hundreds of thousands of dollars raised by his super PAC to charity.

During Thursday's "Colbert Report," the comedian, who will not be the next senator from South Carolina, said that Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, a charity for injured veterans and two organizations working on campaign finance reform would benefit from the nearly $775,000 remaining in the political action fund.

The money will go to:

* $125,000 split among Donors Choose, Habitat for Humanity and Team Rubicon, for Sandy aid

* $125,000 for the Yellow Ribbon Fund which helps veterans.

* The rest will be divided among the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Legal Center.

There were, of course, strings attached. The Center for Responsive Politics, for example, was asked to name their conference room after the super PAC. Colbert requested that the room be called the Colbert Super PAC Memorial Conference Room.

Colbert announced last month that he would close the super PAC, which he created last year to illustrate the lack of control over outside spending in American politics.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/14/stephen_colbert_gives_super_pac_funds_to_charity/feed/ 0 New law says TV ads can’t blare anymore http://www.salon.com/2012/12/13/new_law_says_tv_ads_cant_blare_anymore/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/13/new_law_says_tv_ads_cant_blare_anymore/#comments Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:18:18 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13124053 NEW YORK (AP) -- TV viewing could soon sound a little calmer. The CALM Act, which limits the volume of TV commercials, goes into effect on Thursday.

CALM stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. The act is designed to prevent TV commercials from blaring at louder volumes than the program content they accompany. The rules govern broadcasters as well as cable and satellite operators.

The rules are meant to protect viewers from excessively loud commercials.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted the rules a year ago, but gave the industry a one-year grace period to adopt them.

Suspected violations can be reported by the public to the FCC on its website.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/13/new_law_says_tv_ads_cant_blare_anymore/feed/ 6 Watch the “Doctor Who” Christmas special promo http://www.salon.com/2012/12/13/watch_the_doctor_who_christmas_special_promo/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/13/watch_the_doctor_who_christmas_special_promo/#comments Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:06:48 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13123996 BBC America has released the promo for the Christmas special of the sci-fi show "Doctor Who," called "The Snowmen":

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