As regular readers of this blog (Hi Mom!) may have noticed, this space has been quiet for a week. No, I didn’t give up on Station to Station (there should be a word for an abandoned blog…how has Lost Remote not come up with one yet?). I was out getting to know my newborn daughter.
My neighbor has been calling my daughter Maynard, which is very definitely not her name, and here is why. The couple next door to us is Donnie and Marie. On the other side of them are Elaine and George. So when my wife and I–Mike and Susan, if you’re scoring at home–moved in, the neighbors gleefully pointed out that we shared the same names as that stormy couple on Desperate Housewives (granted, the names Mike and Susan are hardly obscure).
Well, the neighbors informed us, Housewives’ Mike and Susan had a baby on Mother’s Day, same day Mike and Susan from the block did. We named our kid Charlotte, and the Housewives couple named theirs Maynard.
Quite a week to miss work. After her weird departure from WPBF West Palm, Viki Regan turns up as VP/GM at Scripps’ WEWS Cleveland. ESPN announces it’s taking on the likes of Hearst-Argyle’s High School Playbook and Belo’s HS GameTime with ESPN Rise for the school-age set, and Gannett laid off some people. Longtime anchor Dennis Richmond signed off at KTVU San Fran, WTVT boss Robert Linger reportedly exposed himself in an adult video store, and WTKR Norfolk GM Dave Bunnell is out after just a year on the job.
On a personal note, one of my oldest and dearest friends, Pete Bakel bested all culinary comers to grab the "Hey, Can You Cook?" title on Rachael Ray yesterday, and in the process surely boosted ratings for all of Rachael’s station partners across the country with his charm and good looks. "Sweet" Pete kept his composure as his culinary creation was reviewed by Gordon Ramsay–no minor accomplishment.
And then there were those upfronts. If ever you want to engender good will among your TV mag co-workers, have a baby on the eve of Upfront Week.
