SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

While we tipped you off last week about Sara Sidner, KTVU issued a press release late today confirming that the anchor will be leaving the station for a position with CNN International as a Correspondent.

Sidner’s last day with KTVU Channel 2 News will be December 31st.

Sara Sidner

“A station is made up of people, and at KTVU I respect and love the people,” Sidner says in the press release. “That is what makes this decision so difficult. It’s like leaving a family but sometimes you need to jump at opportunities. That still doesn’t make it easy.”

Sidner joined KTVU in January 2004 and has reported on a number of important Bay Area and International stories. In 2005, she was the first reporter on the scene and to break the news that four lost Bay Area hikers had been rescued in the Sierra.

In 2006, she covered a story about a girl whose body was dumped in Castro Valley and was only known as Jane Doe. She was in Mexico when investigators finally learned the girl’s true identity and was the first to break the news. Sidner also reported from Sri Lanka in 2004 about the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia.

While working for KTVU Channel 2 News, Sidner has also received a number of awards that include, Peninsula Press Club first place award for Reporting, Northern California Radio and Television News Directors award for Reporting and 4 National Academy of Arts & Sciences (Northern California Chapter) Emmy nominations.

Sidner has also been very active in the Bay Area community; she has volunteered at Saint Vincent’s Day Home in Oakland, hosted the MDA Telethon, is a member of the Junior League of San Francisco and is a board member of Friends of Faith which benefits underserved Bay Area breast cancer patients.

“We are very sad to see Sara leave and will miss her upbeat personality and dedication to our news product and the community,” said KTVU Vice President and General Manager Tim McVay in the press release. “Sara is a real pro and we are very proud and happy for her and this opportunity with CNN International. Sara will always be a welcome member of the KTVU family.”

Yes, I watched “The Bachelor” Monday night and was going to write something immediately about what happened. Then I thought, no, let’s see what Bradster has to say for himself when, or I guess if, he shows up for the “After the Final Rose” special last night.

Oh Brad, don’t be so sad

Guess the contract made him show up, but he didn’t cut loose with any real explanations. Like, why fly DeAnna’s dad out for the BIG MOMENT if you weren’t going to follow through?

Reality check here: Brad’s rich. He’s handsome. Brad doesn’t need to come on a reality show to find a wife, but the national exposure sure doesn’t hurt his Texas bar business.

But rather than write something up while still testy about Brad the cad, I decided to wait a bit to mull it over. Because I’m not really sure what I think of Brad Womack. At first, I saw somebody who just couldn’t take that final step to commitment. Honestly, I believed all along that he had the lust thing going for Bettina and liked laughing with Jenni. Either one provided great date material, but I never believed he seriously wanted to married either one.

In hindsight, it’s better for Jenni to get dumped now rather than later, right?

But DeAnna? Now that girl felt like a keeper to me.

What was it that scared him off? All we see is what the TV producers have edited for us, so maybe DeAnna had a little something that made Brad believe he didn’t really want to marry her. I think it was when she told him how she liked things done a certain way, and by golly get out of her way if things aren’t done to her liking.

Perhaps the honesty was too much.

DeAnna, it’s better to be dropped at the rose altar than the wedding altar

Or maybe Brad just realized that he wasn’t in love with any one of them, and it was ridiculous to keep acting as if he was. I can imagine the energy that gets whipped up in this type of atmosphere, and perhaps he got on a fast-moving train and almost made a mistake he’d regret the rest of his life.

After all, how many of these reality show romances really work out? OK, Trista and Ryan and Byron and Mary from “The Bachelor” and Rob ‘n Amber from “Survivor” and “Amazing Race” aside.

That’s not a great batting average in anyone’s book.

So I’m going to slide a tad over to Brad’s side. I think he did an honorable, and honest, thing when he opted to let the rose lie on the table. He just should have made that final decision BEFORE flying DeAnna’s dad out. (And don’t you just know that D’s dad wants to kick-his-ass).

Of course, this doesn’t help out “The Bachelor,” because now we know we can watch the whole thing and still not end up with Prince Charming breaking out the glass slipper.

I’ve always wanted to print a complete list of all shows and their ratings, but we never had room in the paper. Who knows if it will get on the Web site, so from now on I’m going to blog ’em. A thanks to ABC, which sends the list out each week.

RANKING REPORT
01 THRU 101 (OUT OF 101 PROGRAMS)
DAYPART: PRIMETIME MON-SUN
FROM 11/12/07 THROUGH 11/18/07
REGULAR AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS
LIST RANKED BY: VIEWR 2+ (000)

WEEKLY RANKINGS WE 11.18.07

– ——
VIEWR VIEWR
RANK 2+ 2+
(000) RTG
—– —— ——
1 * DANCING W/THE STARS-MON 21810 7.6
2 CSI 21370 7.5
3 * GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM 19600 6.8
4 * DANCING W/STARS RESULT-TU 17590 6.1
5 NCIS 17390 6.1
6 HOUSE 16950 5.9
7 CRIMINAL MINDS 15730 5.5
8 CSI: MIAMI 15460 5.4
9 SURVIVOR: CHINA 14680 5.1
10 60 MINUTES 14630 5.1
11 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 14470 5.1
12 WITHOUT A TRACE 14410 5.0
13 COLD CASE 14120 4.9
TWO AND A HALF MEN 14120 4.9
15 * SAMANTHA WHO? 13700 4.8
16 CSI: NY 13130 4.6
17 SHARK 12650 4.4
18 LAW AND ORDER:SVU 12480 4.4
19 AMAZING RACE 12 11860 4.1
20 * AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS 11810 4.1
21 SUNDAY NIGHT NFL PRE-KICK 11540 4.0
22 * PRIVATE PRACTICE 11480 4.0
23 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 11460 4.0
24 * BOSTON LEGAL 11360 4.0
25 OT, THE 11220 3.9
26 HEROES 11160 3.9
27 UNIT, THE 11040 3.9
28 DEAL OR NO DEAL-FRI 10730 3.7
29 * UGLY BETTY 10670 3.7
30 SIMPSONS 10560 3.7
31 FAMILY GUY 10550 3.7
32 NUMB3RS 10260 3.6
33 SMARTER THAN 5TH GRADER 9630 3.4
34 E.R. 9600 3.4
35 GHOST WHISPERER 9560 3.3
36 BIG BANG THEORY, THE 9320 3.3
37 KING OF THE HILL 9230 3.2
38 BONES 9120 3.2
39 FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 3 9100 3.2
40 * BACHELOR, THE 8960 3.1
41 * WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB 8910 3.1
42 * PUSHING DAISIES 8830 3.1
43 OFFICE 8800 3.1
44 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 8420 2.9
45 * WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB-11/15 8380 2.9
46 MOONLIGHT 8160 2.9
BIGGEST LOSER 4 8160 2.8
48 AMERICAN DAD 8120 2.8
49 CRIMETIME SATURDAY 8030 2.8
50 MY NAME IS EARL 8010 2.8
51 * DIRTY SEXY MONEY 7900 2.8
52 CHUCK 7560 2.6
53 KID NATION 7420 2.6
54 TIL DEATH 7340 2.6
55 BACK TO YOU 7310 2.6
56 CANE 7290 2.5
48 HOURS MYSTERY 7290 2.5
58 PRISON BREAK 7180 2.5
59 COPS 2 7050 2.5
60 KITCHEN NIGHTMARES 6950 2.4
61 LIFE 6900 2.4
62 LAS VEGAS 6720 2.3
63 CRIMETIME SATURDAY 8PM 6630 2.3
64 30 ROCK 6450 2.3
65 * 20/20-FRI 6300 2.2
66 BIONIC WOMAN 6290 2.2
67 * MEN IN TREES 6270 2.2
68 AMW: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK 6250 2.2
69 PHENOMENON 6100 2.1
70 JOURNEYMAN 6090 2.1
71 DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS 6030 2.1
72 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS 5960 2.1
73 SCRUBS 5930 2.1
74 COPS 5910 2.1
75 * NASCAR NEXTEL CUP-SU FILL 5780 2.0
76 LAW & ORDER:SVU-SAT 5710 2.0
77 AMERICA’S TOP MODEL-3 5340 1.9
78 FOOTBALL NT AMERICA PT 2 5310 1.9
79 * CARPOOLERS 5050 1.8
80 DON’T FORGET LYRICS-FRI 4870 1.7
81 * SAT NIGHT FOOTBALL 4840 1.7
82 K-VILLE 4720 1.6
83 FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN 4690 1.6
84 * CAVEMEN 4580 1.6
85 SMALLVILLE 4510 1.6
86 * SAT NIGHT FTBL PRE-GAME 3530 1.2
87 BIONIC WOMAN-SAT 3200 1.1
88 CHUCK-SAT 3110 1.1
89 GOSSIP GIRL 2950 1.0
90 SUPERNATURAL 2880 1.0
91 GAME, THE 2550 .9
92 BEAUTY AND THE GEEK-2 2480 .9
93 REAPER 2460 .9
94 NEXT GREAT AMERICAN BAND 2410 .8
95 EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS 2320 .8
96 GIRLFRIENDS 2170 .8
97 ALIENS IN AMERICA 1990 .7
98 AMERICA’S TOP MODEL-3-ENC 1560 .5
99 LIFE IS WILD 1370 .5
100 ALIENS IN AMERICA-SUN 1130 .4
101 CW NOW 900 .3

There’s nothing subtle about tonight’s episode, although any time we can ditch the Troublemint Twins is always a good thing.

Hiro learned you can’t play God. After discovering his dad was killed, Hiro goes back in time to save him. But dad wisely tells him that he can’t play god and to just accept what fate has in store. Hiro did, however, stop time long enough to see who murdered dad.

David Anders as Adam Monroe — NBC Photo: Adam Taylor

Heck, Hiro could have just listened to anyone tuned in to last week’s episode. Show of hands of anyone who was surprised to learn it was Adam/Kensei who tossed Kaito over the edge of the building.

Parkman discovered that he not only can read minds, but like dear old dad, he can do a little Jedi mind control trick and make people do as he says. He first discovers this when he gets Molly to come back and finish her cereal, then progresses to his boss to get permission to talk to Momma P.

Once he gets to Momma P, he forces her to tell him the truth about the people in the picture. She tells him he’s no better than his dad if he pries her secret out of her mind.

But Parkman doesn’t heed the warning, and finds out that the final person in the picture is Victoria Pratt, who is played by Joanna Cassidy.

“She just wants to be left alone,” pleads Momma P.

Not a chance.

And finally we have HRG shot through the glasses by no other than former good guy Mohinder Suresh. He saves Claire, and in the end, no one should be surprised that Bob used Claire’s blood to bring HRG back to life.

Lack of surprises has just killed this season, although last week and this week’s episodes have picked up the pace. But just when “Heroes” seems to at least be on the right path, it’s about to go on hiatus. The final episode in this arc is slated for Dec. 3.

But does anyone out there care any more? Interest has been waning all year, and my pal Chad says he even took the last two episodes off his TiVo without watching them. What about you?

Next week:
PETER ATTEMPTS TO SAVE THE FUTURE FROM THE VIRUS — Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) travels to Primatech Paper in Texas with his new friend to destroy the virus, which will kill 93% of the world’s population in the future — or so he believes. Niki (Ali Larter) returns to Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) with bad news. To right a wrong, Monica (Dana Davis) puts her abilities to the test. Hiro (Masi Oka) goes after his father’s killer. Meanwhile, Matt (Greg Grunberg) uses his mental abilities to track down the last person in the Company photo. Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) learns his brother is alive. Outside of New York, Maya (Dania Ramirez) must choose between Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) and Sylar (Zachary Quinto).

Guess someone noticed Sylar murdered his mom

And the Dec. 3 semi-season finale:
IT’S HERO VS. HERO AS THE SERIES’ “VOLUME II: GENERATIONS” COMES TO AN EXPLOSIVE, BLOODY FINISH — Deep below Primatech Paper in Odessa, TX, Peter’s (Milo Ventimiglia) reunion with Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) turns violent when the brothers, Matt (Greg Grunberg) and Hiro (Masi Oka) all clash thanks to Adam (David Anders) and his pursuit of the deadly Shanti Virus. After watching his heroic cousin captured by a street gang, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey) turns to the one person who can help him save Monica (Dana Davis) — his mom (Ali Larter). Meanwhile, Maya (Dania Ramirez) tragically learns how much of a monster Sylar (Zachary Quinto) really is during his kidnapping of Molly (Adair Tishler) and Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy). Meanwhile, Elle (Kristen Bell) decides to play hero to get back into her father’s (Stephen Tobolowsky) good graces.

Sorry about posting so late! That’s what you get when you go on vacation and your mind turns to mush.

So after diving into the “Masterpiece Theatre” miniseries “The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard,” about the middle-class mum who becomes Prime Minister, I think we all agree that it ended too abruptly.

Ros Pritchard won the election through charm and honesty, and very little political knowledge. Her downfall wasn’t anything she did, but her husband’s pilfering of company funds after getting blackmailed. Ros was blissfully unaware of her husband’s deceit, and when it came to light, she was forced into a moral dilemma.

Although writer wanted to end the series with that little “what do you think she did?” note, viewers wanted closure.

So, when it aired in Canada, a text epilogue was added. It’s also on the DVD, which was recently released. PBS, however, chose not to include the epilogue. So here it is:

Ros Pritchard moved back to Eatanswill with her family. She felt she’d made her point. And history.
Ian Pritchard’s indiscretion fifteen years ago never became public knowledge.

Catherine Walker took over as leader of the Purple Alliance and Prime Minister of Great Britain. She never married.

Yes, boys and girls, it’s true. “Big Brother” will be filling space early next year since it would appear strikers are in for the long haul.

Now, they just need some of you to move into the house.

CBS announced a nationwide casting call beginning Saturday in various cities across the country. Not Oakland, San Jose or even San Francisco. For Bay Area people, you can still send in your application.

For those living a shoe box, “Big Brother 9” follows a group of strangers living together in a house outfitted with dozens of cameras and microphones recording their every move 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One by one, the houseguests vote each other out of the house until at the end of three months, the last remaining houseguest wins the grand prize.

BIG BROTHER 9 CASTING CALL – Dates/Cities/Locations and Local Times:

Nov. 17 noon to 3 p.m. Los Angeles — Exclusive Casting Studios, 7700 Sunset Blvd.

Nov. 17 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Columbia, S.C. — WLTX-TV, 6027 Garners Ferry Road

Nov. 18 noon to 8 p.m. New York — NY Castings, 243 West 30th Street, 3rd. Floor

Nov. 23 7 to10 p.m. Houston — Meridien, 1503 Chartres St.

Dec. 1 2 to 5 p.m. Houston — Moes Grill & Bar, 5000 Katy Mills Circle

Dec. 1 noon to 3p.m.Schaumburg, IL- Woodfield Mall, “Cool Waves” Nordstrom lower level

Dec. 1 noon to 3 p.m. Atlanta —America’s Mart, 240 Peachtree Street 1st Fl. Rm. A

Dec. 1 7 to 10 p.m. Brooklyn, NY — Duff’s Brooklyn, N. 3rd Street & Kent Avenue

Dec. 1 noon to 3 p.m. Charlotte, N.C. — Cans, 500 West 5th Street

Dec. 1 10 p.m. to midnight Chicago — Ontourage, 157 W. Ontario Street

Dec. 1 noon to 3 p.m. Hillsboro, Ore. — The Streets of Tanasbourne, 19350 NW Emma Way

Dec. 1 1 to 4 p.m. Kansas City, MO —Screenlands Crossroads Theater, 1656 Washington St.

Dec. 7 10 p.m. to midnight Columbus, Ohio — Spice Bar, 491 N. Park Street

Dec. 7 noon to 3 p.m. Scottsdale, Ariz. — Suede Lounge, 7333 E. Indian Plaza

Dec. 8 noon to 3 p.m. Boston — Felt, 533 Washington Street 3rd & 4th Floor

Dec. 8 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Broomfield, Colo. — FlatIron Crossing, 1 West FlatIron Crossing Drive In the Dillard’s Court

Dec. 8 2 to 5 p.m. Columbus, Ohio — Park Street Patio, 533 Park Street

Dec. 8 noon to 3 p.m. Tampa, Fla. — The Dubliner Irish Pub, 2307 W. Azeele Street

It’s the first night of “Project Runway” and I’m absolutely giddy with excitement.

Finally, once a week I can wallow in the fashion industry, dish with fashion gurus like Dino-Ray Ramos. Yes, Dino-Ray and I did a SueTube on this season and we’re just not sure how it will all turn out. All the designers already have their own lines, many of them have already worked with stars.

Still, you can’t take away that Tim Gunn pixie dust.

We do have three locals to root for this season, including Chris March of San Francisco. March is a freelance costume designer living in New York, and his client list includes Cirque du Soleil, Madonna and Thierry Mugler. OK, I had to Google Mugler, but I know the other two. But locals would know Chris from his work on “Beach Blanket Babylon.”

We’ll see if this campy costume guy has some hot fashion ideas. I really like him, especially that wicked little giggle and I think I’ll pick him as one of my top-five choices.

In Wednesday’s episode, we felt it was a bit mean to show the designers racing across the park to get first dibs on some pricey fabric for the first challenge.

Poor Chris came huffing and puffing in last place and his material choices were limited, even though he claimed everything that would have been his first choice was still available. Scary.

We like Chris

But the outfit proved to be quite lovely, and he landed firmly in the middle of the pack.

San Francisco native Simone LeBlanc likes to experiment with fabric but she fell flat with her boring design and even less inspired outfit.

Simone

Then there’s Jack Mackenroth, who graduated from UC Berkeley with a double degree in Fine Arts and Sociology, attended Parson School of Design, which Gunn came from before switching to Liz Claiborne recently.

Camilla, Jack at the fashion show for the fans on Nov. 6 at Lincoln Center in New York, NY — Bravo Photo: Barbara Nitke

Jack also landed in the middle.

The top three designers of the night:

We really like Christian, who is the youngest at 21 and probably one of the most promising of the lot. His asymmetrical outfit caught the eyes of the judges, although Tim seemed to try to warn him off when he critiqued the outfit earlier in the show.

Rami’s outfit was dubbed “stunning” by Tim, but we thought it had too much draping and knots. The third member of the top-three team was Victorya, who seems a little insecure. Her black dress with the big silver flower was kicky and fun. But we agree with Michael Kors, who called it a little “mother of the bride.”

Michael also pointed out that it would be hard to hail a cab with the straps across the top of your arms. Victorya came back with a line about bleeding for fashion. Um, maybe.

In the bottom of the heap was Elisa, who designed a floaty little blue dress that I liked, except for the ghastly train she put behind it with every piece of material she could snag. It was a ridiculous thing to do, and her model could have been killed from tripping over it.

Ricky did a little signature baby doll dress that was kind of cute for someone visiting the Playboy mansion.

And poor Simone. Our local girl was the first to be cut from the squad, and she fully deserved her dismissal. The dress she designed looked like something out of my 8th grade home ec class.

Well, maybe not that bad. My teacher told me she’d give me a C in the class if I promised never to use her sewing machines again. I don’t know how that thread can get so gummed up in there…

What is going on around here?

Just got word that yet another Bay Area anchor is casting off, this time from KNTV-Channel 11. For seven years, Allen Denton has helmed the desk as the station’s lead anchor. His last newscast will be Nov. 30.

Allen Denton and Lisa Kim

Allen was paired in 2002 with Terilyn Joe. Joe, who came from KGO-Channel 7, was known as Terrible Joe for her, shall we say, fiery temperament. The union lasted just two years before Joe left.

He was then teamed with Lisa Kim and the two seemed to be doing just fine on the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. No word yet on who will replace Allen.

Allen’s son Spencer, a weatherman from Alabama, posted this on his blog about his dad’s departure.

Things were a little wobbly over at FX as folks waited to hear whether or not the splendid new legal thriller “Damages” was going to get picked up for a second season.

Glenn Close and Rose Byrne

Not only id it get picked up, but FX has signed up the Glenn Close drama for an additional two season, 26 episode, run.

Now there’s some happy news to report. The season concluded on Oct. 23, but with the strike going on, we think the network is being optimistic about filming for the second season to begin in New York early next year.

Close played the icy litigator Patty Hewes, who manipulates everyone in her path for the greater good. Or at least the greater good as she sees it. Coming back for season two are Rose Byrne as her protege and Tate Donovan as her right-hand man.

Word has slipped out that KTVU’s Sara Sidner is the next anchor out the door at the beleaguered East Bay station.

Sidner joined the KTVU news team as co-anchor of the weekend edition of “KTVU Channel 2 News at 6” and “The Ten O’Clock News” and weekday reporter in January of 2004.

Sara Sidner

Sidner, it should be noted, is one of the few locals who looks like she could have a brilliant future as a network prospect. She’s bright, presents herself well and is young. Which is why it is rumored that KTVU wanted to lock her into a five-year contract with the station.

Sidner would be foolish to spend that long at a local station, given her potential. But we’d like to have seen KTVU work with her a bit to keep her on as long as possible.

This comes on the heels of viewers already irate at morning anchor Mark Curtis’ ouster. While the station has said that he will “transition into a reporting position,” we’ve heard no contract has been offered. His current contract expires in January.

Mark Curtis