Where to be and what to watch...

Monday, March 20

The NAB Futures Summit is under way in
Pebble Beach, Calif., as broadcast
professionals get a crash course in emerging technologies from forward thinkers
like Brightcove's Jeremy Allaire and CBS' David Poltrack.
And The Future of Content Distribution is
Topic A at TelecomNext at
Mandalay Bay in Las
Vegas
. B&C Editor in Chief
Max Robins and Multichannel News counterpart Tom Steinert-Threlkeld (TST) moderate the lunchtime
panel. Methamphetamine! Murder! Al Roker? See
what's going on with meth in your neck of the woods on
Al Roker Investigates: Meth,
Murder & Madness
, premiering on Court TV at 11 p.m. ET. And NBC newbie Heist gets the red-carpet treatment with a
premiere party at Bulgari in
Beverly Hills.

Tuesday, March 21

The Lifetime upfront takes place over
breakfast at the Grand Hyatt in
New York, featuring CEO Betty Cohen and President of Entertainment
Susanne Daniels, and bold-facers like
Eric McCormack, Willow
Bay
and Fantasia.
Bravo premieres The Real Housewives of Orange
County
(10 p.m.). It's like Desperate Housewives, only …
well, it's like Desperate Housewives. And
author/TV personality Andy Borowitz delivers
the 2006 Marshall McLuhan Lecture, celebrating
the life of the Canadian media visionary, at New York
University
's Cantor Film
Center
.

Wednesday, March 22

If Spike TV threw a breakfast, what
would be served? We're guessing a variety of hearty meats and big, dirty
glasses of bourbon. But we'll find out for sure at the Spike upfront at
Cipriani in New
York
. And HGTV pops the cork at its
Wine & Design bash at
Lotus Space in Gotham, with Ali Azhar, Kelly
Edwards
and Clive Pearse. Like
wine, some shows get better with age. Megan
Mullally
emcees the TV Land Awards
at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., with shout-outs to gems like
Cheers,
Dallas and
Good Times.
It airs on TV Land and Nick at Nite at 9 p.m.
The Television Advertising Forum contemplates
the 30-second spot at the Grand Hyatt in New York, and season @#*&ing 10 of
%*&#ing South
Park
kicks off on Comedy
Central
(10:30 p.m.).

Thursday, March 23

It's not every day a program turns 50. So give it up for
As the World
Turns
—a soap opera before soap was even invented.
Original cast member Helen Wagner and her old
castmates read from the first script at the Museum of
Television & Radio
in New York.
Speaking of 50-year careers, the Academy of Television
Arts & Sciences
presents An Evening With Liza Minnelli at the
Wadsworth Theatre in Brentwood, Calif. There's a live performance, concert
film and panel discussion moderated by notorious Liza fanatic
John Stamos. And Tinseltown smartass
David Spade is back to dish more diss in the
season two premiere of The
Showbiz Show
on Comedy
Central
(10:30 p.m.).

Friday, March 24

Winning The
Apprentice
sure has its perks! Trump alpha dog
Kelly Perdew hosts GI Factory on the
Military Channel, “an inside look at
military hardware—how it's designed, how it's made, how it's
deployed” (8 p.m.). Perdew will examine how a Chinook helicopter is
manufactured and what it takes to make a bulletproof vest—and, hopefully,
Donald Trump's hair—bulletproof. And
Disney Channel premieres
Hannah
Montana
, starring Miley
Cyrus
and Dad Billy Ray Cyrus (9:30
p.m.). The Achy Breaky Heart-throb plays the father of a tween country star who
keeps her identity secret after moving to Malibu.—Michael Malone

E-mail info for B&C Week to
b&cweek@reedbusiness.com

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.