Some Thanksgiving This, Some Turkey That

Just a few brief notes as we head into the holiday...

In case you missed it in today's paper, the second Macon-themed episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" airs Tuesday at 4 p.m. on WMAZ. ...

NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" has announced its lineup of 14 would-be Donald Trump employees: actor Vincent Pastore, rock star Gene Simmons, actor Stephen Baldwin, Nely Galan (former president of Telemundo), actress Marilu Henner, model Carol Alt, country music star Trace Adkins, Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Nadia Comaneci, Playboy Playmate of the Year Tiffany Fallon, Olympic softball gold medalist Jennie Finch, heavyweight boxing champ Lennox Lewis, ‘‘America’s Got Talent’’ judge Piers Morgan and Ultimate Fighting Champion Tito Ortiz. Omorosa, the much-hated "Apprentice" star from Season 1, is also on the list. This show is proof that you can beat a dead horse. ...

"Torchwood" will air its second season in the U.S. starting Jan. 26 on BBC America. This season's guest stars include "Ugly Betty's" Alan Dale and "Buffy's" James Marsters. Also, Freeman Agyeman will reprise her character of Martha Jones in a crossover with "Doctor Who." ...

No posting tomorrow, but check back Friday for my review of "Battlestar Galactica: Razor."

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: "Pushing Daisies" (ABC, 8 p.m.) is only a half-dozen episodes old, and already it's bringing in the cool guest stars: Paul Reubens this week and Molly Shannon next week. It's followed by "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money."

CBS is all new with "Kids Nation," "Criminal Minds" and "CSI: NY."

With the WGA strike, Fox sitcoms are in early reruns, but "Kitchen Nightmares" (Fox, 9 p.m.) is new. Meanwhile, NBC is going with reality shows, leading off with "Phenomenon" and ending with a two-hour "Deal Or No Deal" beginning at 9 p.m.

It's O-Day!

I'm typing up this entry at 10 a.m., exactly six hours from when the Macon episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" airs today.

And, after a story for tomorrow's print edition of The Telegraph about people watching the show, I should FINALLY be free of Oprah.

Hey, I've got nothing against Oprah, but having written roughly 10,000 words about her over the past week or so, giving up most of my weekend, and getting shoved around by rabid Oprah fans while trying to shoot video, the whole thing is wearing a little thin. That doesn't include the 200 or so ticket requests I received before she came. Hey, if I had Oprah tickets, I'd have scalped them and taken early retirement.

But there's no denying that Oprah's visit has been a great boost to the city in both economics and prestige. Oprah carries the golden touch with whatever she touches, and her visit should be a boost to tourism and industry here for years to come.

CASTING NEWS: The new "Knight Rider" TV-movie, scheduled as a backdoor pilot for a remake of the not-so-classic series, should be adding David Hasselhoff to the cast. In a tweaking to the script, Hasselhoff would reprise his role as Michael Knight and new star Justin Bruening would play his son. Wow, can't wait to see that...

MONDAY RECAP: Kudos to NBC last night for delivering a great block of TV. "Chuck" continues to be one of the season's early gems and "Heroes" has delivered episodes the last three weeks that are on par with most of last season, including the great twist at the end of last night's installment. "Journeyman" has gotten better every week, and I'm pleasantly surprised at the direction the show has taken with the overall story arc of Dan's travels and the affects they have on his family life.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: You know, when ABC ran "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," it drew double the ratings of "Cavemen" and "Carpoolers" in that time slot, even though it's been around for 40 years. So I have to think the network suits are pleased to run "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (ABC, 8 p.m.) and "He's A Bully, Charlie Brown," tonight and pull two of the lamest sitcoms around. It's followed by "Dancing With the Stars," with guest Avril Lavigne (there's a combo you never thought you'd see) and "The Bachelor."

"Bones" (Fox, 8 p.m.) will gradually be bringing Bones and Booth closer together, but I don't know if that will be evident tonight. It's followed by a new "House" at 9 p.m.

CBS is all-new with "NCIS," "The Unit" and "Cane."

NBC is showing a two-hour "Biggest Loser," followed by a new "Law & Order: SVU."

TV's Greatest Icons

Though coincidental, it's entirely appropriate for we Middle Georgians that TVLand is airing the two-hour special, "The 50 Greatest TV Icons" tonight at 8 p.m.

After all, one of the arrived in town yesterday when Oprah Winfrey landed at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport. (I know this because Oprah has unwittingly controlled my life all week.)

I haven't seen the entire list yet, but I'm fairly certain that Oprah, the queen of daytime TV, is on there.

Numero Uno on the list is Johnny Carson, a hard choice to dispute, since he was the king of late night TV for so many years. I know fellow late-night hosts David Letterman and Conan O'Brien also made it, but Jay Leno didn't.

What is a TV icon anyway? There's no real surefire definition, but I'd say it's when a name or face is so recognizeable that anyone knows who the icon is, no matter if you watch the show or not.

Someone like Andy Griffith would be an icon as Sheriff Andy Taylor (as would Don Knotts for Barney Fife), but Griffith wouldn't be for Matlock, for example. Andy Taylor is a character that will be remembered well into the next century, even by Gen Y'ers.

Same thing with Lucy, the Fonz and Mr. Spock.

It's probably easy to pick most of the icons from TV's golden era for this list, as well as modern icons like Oprah or Letterman. But which characters from now might make it the next time someone does a list, in 50 years or so?

A 'CSI'-er perhaps? One of the "Heroes," or the "Lost"? "Ugly Betty?"

With the advent of DVDs and the internet, modern characters are much more likely to become part of the American culture than their counterparts from bygone eras.

Who is your favorite TV icon?

THURSDAY RECAP: It was great seeing Mercedes McNab playing a different type of vampire last night on "Supernatural," way different than her character of Harmony on "Buffy" and "Angel."

R.I.P. JOE NUXHALL: The Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, who has the distinction of being the youngest player ever to appear in a Major League Baseball game, died Thursday night from cancer. He was 79.

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Some "Friday Night Lights" (NBC, 9 p.m.) fans have complained about the under-use of Smash Williams (Gaius Charles) this season. (Clearly, the producers don't favor the run-oriented offense that the former Panthers coach did). But be happy - recruiting season has begun and the Smash begins to look to his collegiate future. It's followed by a new "Las Vegas" at 10 p.m.

Fans will get their second dose of a new "Women's Murder Club" (ABC, 9 p.m.) tonight, following a new "Men In Trees."

CBS is all-new with "Ghost Whisperer," "Moonlight" and "Numb3rs."

On Saturday, most people will get to see Georgia's critical game with Kentucky (WGXA, 12:30 p.m.) Me, I'll be at the City Auditorium for Oprah's show, and I don't even have a ticket. Why? Because I want to keep my job!

At least I should be able to see some good viewing Saturday night, with an all-new "Torchwood" (BBC America, 9 p.m.) as well as the HBO original movie, "PU-239," (HBO, 8 p.m.), a thriller about black market nuclear materials from Russia, produced by George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh and Peter Berg.

Everything is also new on Sunday, including Fox's animated lineup, CBS' crime-oriented lineup of "Cold Case" and "Shark," and Showtime's one-two punch of "Dexter" and "Brotherhood."

Venting A Little Bit

This post is dedicated to the woman who called me this morning about getting Oprah tickets.

Check that. This post is dedicated to the idiotic, illiterate woman who called me AT HOME this morning about getting Oprah tickets.

Here's why I wish people who read the paper would actually take the time to READ the paper:

The Telegraph does NOT have Oprah tickets. (If we did, we'd probably scalp them.) We have no information about getting tickets. All of the tickets are GONE. So quit asking!

The little blurb we ran in the paper about me and Oprah fans asks one question: Why are you the biggest Oprah fan? That's all I want to know. There is an e-mail address provided. You only have to e-mail me once, not six times like one woman did yesterday. And no, she isn't getting tickets, either.

I said, very specifically, DO NOT CALL ME. If I don't want to speak to you at my office, in what possible Bizarro universe do you possibly think I would want to speak to you at my home?

Since apparently what I am typing must come out in Urdu on your home computers, I will type this again very slowly.

DO. NOT. CALL. ME. ABOUT. OPRAH. I. DO. NOT. HAVE. ANY. INFORMATION. ABOUT. TICKETS.

And, I have caller ID at home. So, if anyone else has the bright idea of calling me about Oprah tickets, be warned that I am not a nice person, nor particularly amiable.

MORE VENTING: Since I had to cover the election last night, I set the VCR to record two of my favorite shows, "Bones" and "House." I get home and find out I've set the wrong channel.

No biggy, I thought. I'll just go over to Fox.com and watch the episodes online.

So, I click on "House," and the little screen tells me that Tuesday's episode won't be posted FOR EIGHT DAYS. Are you frakkin' kidding me? I have to wait until next week's episode has aired before I get a shot at watching this week's?

Every other network, the latest installment of every series is usually posted within 24 hours of the initial airing. Apparently, that's not the deal with Fox.

Bloody brilliant.

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: OK, so I'm in a bit of a bad mood, and it's not helped by the fact that two of my favorite new shows, "Pushing Daisies" and "Dirty Sexy Money," have been yanked for the CMA Awards (ABC, 8 p.m.) The 800 music award shows that seem to air every year are far and away some of the most annoying things on TV.

At least, CBS is all new with "Kid Nation," "Criminal Minds" and "CSI:NY." Sadly, I watch none of those shows, so I really don't care.

Enjoy Fox sitcoms "Back To You" and "Til Death" while you can. If my math is correct, these should be the last first-run episodes while the WGA strike is going on. Filming on both shows stopped this week, and because sitcoms tape within a week of their airing, those shows will run out of new episodes either this week or next. But hey, if you miss them tonight, you can always catch them eight days later online. They are followed by "Kitchen Nightmares" (Fox, 9 p.m.)

Finally, "Bionic Woman" (NBC, 9 p.m.) returns after a week off, as "Phenomenon" is limiting itself to an hour these days. "Life" (NBC, 10 p.m.) is also new.

I'm Your Oprah Man

Sorry for the late and short posting, but election night gets a little crazy.

With Oprah Winfrey's visit to Macon Nov. 17, I'm looking for the biggest Oprah fan in Middle Georgia. (When I say biggest, I mean most fervent, not necessarily someone who is very tall).

You can e-mail me at pramati@macon.com and tell me why you are her No. 1 fan. Please don't be a crazed, obsessive stalker (at least, don't stalk me; I'm sure Oprah has much better security).

DO NOT CALL ME. If you don't have e-mail, find someone who does.

Finally, I DO NOT HAVE TICKETS, nor do I know of anyone who does who is giving them away, so please stop asking me. If you submitted your name to her producers for tickets and haven't heard or received them by now, odds are you weren't picked, because all of the tickets have been distributed.

MONDAY RECAP: "Heroes" turned in its best effort of the season thus far, since it actually decided to move the plots along. Of course, the producers went the opposite route they have done all season and packed too much into the episode rather than too little, but it should set up the final four episodes very nicely before the mini-finale Dec. 5.

WGA UPDATE: Nothing new on the Writers Guild of America strike, in terms of a settlement, at least. But production on three sitcoms — CBS' "Rules Of Engagement" and Fox's "Til Death" and "Back To You" — have ceased production because they are filmed before live studio audiences, often within a week of broadcast, because the writers are fine-tuning the jokes to the last minute.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Everything is pretty much new tonight, so take your pick. Be warned, Middle Georgia viewers, some of the shows may have annoying breaks or crawls because of the election.