SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

Time to pull up the big girl panties and admit that a few weeks ago I blogged a cranky little post about getting a postcard from CBS that seemed like a not-so-gentle reminder that the comedy “The Class” was created by both “Friends” creator David Crane (left, beside Jason Ritter) and his writing/life partner Jeffrey Klarik (right, by Crane).

Noting that Klarik did not create “Friends,” I said that few papers would waste space including Klarik when Crane would do.

At this point, I’d like to also mention that I received a lot of silly stuff that day from people hyping their shows, including an Apollo chocolate bar offered for sale by the Apollo Candy Co., a “subsidiary” of the Hanso conglomerate.

Inside the package was this long-winded story of some guy who created the chocolate delights and the fact that he’d been lost in a plane crash.

Ring that bell. It’s another “Lost” promotion.

Like it needs any promotion from me.

Anyway, I ate the candy bar and dashed off two blog items about the chocolate and the Klarik.

I don’t think it was a coincidence that a short time after I consumed the candy during a 16-hour writing frenzy, I discovered I could have sold it on eBay for upwards of 60 bucks.

Not that I would, of course. But just knowing I’d chowed down on a $60 bar made me believe that karma was biting me in the backside.

Then, I watched the freakin’ hilarious three episodes sent out by CBS for “The Class” and realized that anyone who can create something this funny should have his name attached to it.

So, Klarik, from now on I’m going to make sure you get equal credit for creating “The Class.”

Now, can you please tell you friends to get rid of the voodoo dolls with my name attached to them?

In this growing threat of TV censorship, and fearful they would face a huge FCC fine, a few CBS affiliates refused to air the Peabody-award winning documentary “9/11” on CBS, set to air on Sunday.

In response, CBS goes to the Internet to stream “9/11” on the CBS website following the Sunday broadcast at 10 p.m. following the West Coast airing of the broadcast. In the Bay Area, KPIX-Channel 5 is owned and operated by CBS and will air the special.

The online version will remain available for one week.

To date, about 10 percent of the affiliates have chosen either to pre-empt or delay the airing of the special, mostly due to concerns over language used primarily by firefighters on September 11.

CBS has decided to air the award-winning presentation in the same manner it aired during its original network broadcasts on March 10, 2002 and September 11, 2002.

The broadcast will include several audience warnings in the presentation, and Robert De Niro, who will again serve as host, in a newly taped introduction to the program, will also alert viewers to the graphic language.

For this special program, filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet and James Hanlon updated the multiple-award winning feature with new interviews, including many of the firefighters who were featured in the original program discussing how their lives, families and the world have changed in the five years since the tragedy.

On Sept. 11, the Naudets and Hanlon were in lower Manhattan shooting a documentary on the Engine 7, Ladder 1 firefighters when Jules suddenly heard a roar from above and turned his camera upward.

In doing so, he captured the only known video of the first plane striking the World Trade Center. Camera still rolling, Jules followed the firefighters into the heart of what would soon be known as Ground Zero.

Gedeon also rushed to the scene with members of Ladder 1. Over the next several hours, the brothers captured extraordinary video unlike any broadcast since, including 75 minutes of footage from inside the North Tower as the rescue effort was underway and dramatic scenes of escape in the minutes before the building collapsed.

Well, it’s getting down and serious now, folks. Vincent has, thankfully, been auff’d on “Project Runway.” For all the Kayne bashing about him being a tasteless rube, who was it that showed up with sofa material, glue and an Angela rosetta pasted to the back?

Vincent (whose dress is on the left), what could you possibly have been thinking?
Then, Vinny the Perv had us grabbing the sick sack when he once again felt the need to share his carnal love for his creation.

Now to Okie prom queen Kayne’s gown. If only the front of the bodice hadn’t been so glittery. He did a great job on the skirt and the back was to die for. I think that Elle editor just has it in for him at this point.

I would have gone with Uli’s gown this time around, because it was couture. Which is a word I thought I knew until this episode. Means hand made. I thought it meant high fashion. My bad.

Anyway, sadly I’m guessing Kayne’s auff’d next week, bringing us to our final four of Michael (whose dress is in the middle), Uli, Laura and Jeffrey (whose dress is on the right). I try to like Jeffrey, but just can’t. I’m rooting for Michael right now.

Any thoughts?

All CBS wanted was to get viewers to take a taste of their evening news with Katie Couric and that’s what they got.

Tuesday night’s debut of “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” more than doubled the broadcast’s average rating for the last four weeks. And it became the highest rated “CBS Evening News” broadcast since Feb. 23, 1998, which occurred during CBS

I’m getting a little tired of Katie Couric having to defend herself for having a sharp fashion sense.

Guess what people? You can be a serious journalist and rock the runway.

Unlike ABC’s Charlie Gibson, who prides himself on wearing “whatever is on the left when I reach into the closet,” La Couric always looks chic. As a person who generally picks out what I’m going to wear based on if I did laundry the night before, I admire that.

When she debuted on Tuesday, Katie looked smashing in her little white jacket and black dress. She showed off the legs a bit too much, however, to ever win the respect of hard news junkies. When she went for the pre-taped interview with the New York Times guy, the camera kept going back for the gam-shot.

Even Charlie Gibson could be distracting if he put on a pair of shorts to do an interview.

Of course, that might make for a more interesting broadcast.

Anyone hoping to get a second look at those Vanity Fair pictures of TomKat’s little dumpling Suri Cruise shown on Katie Couric’s evening news show on Tuesday were disappointed.

The network had been hyping the fact that if you couldn’t get home by 5:30 p.m., which is when the broadcast airs in the Bay Area, you could just click on the ol’ www.cbs.com news site and see the broadcast in its entirety.

Apparently, that didn’t include little Suri.

We’re wondering if it had anything to do with people being able to grab it to put out on the Internet. But we don’t know enough about those things to know for sure.

All we know is, where was YouTube when we needed them???

“The Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin has died from a sting ray barb to the chest.

The wacky host, best known for his catch-phrase “Crikey!” has entertained viewers with is close encounters with deadly critters from crocs to pit vipers.

Irwin, 44, was shooting a documentary in Queensland when the accident happened, reports say. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Irwin’s American-born wife Terri was trekking in Tasmania and was not immediately told of her husband’s death. She was later notified. The two have a son, Bob, 3 and a daughter, Bindi, 8. He had taken a break from filming his own documentary to shoot some footage for his daughter Bindi’s new TV series.

Irwin caught some flack in January 2004 when he shocked an audience at his Australia Zoo reptile park by carrying his 1-year-old son into the crocodile pen during a show and tossed the reptile a piece of meat. People thought he was putting his son in danger, which Irwin denied.

For years, there have been reports of Irwin’s death. So many that he has even written on his Website that he’s never been killed by any snakes, crocs, spiders or even a beetle crawling into his ear as one report said.

Jimmy Kimmel got Dave Navarro to sling some mud in K-Fed’s face on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show” tonight.

Jimmy asked if Dave had caught the Teen Choice performance by Kevin Federline, AKA Brit’s-making-daddy-a -star.

“I saw it on YouTube,” Dave confesses, which means he had a choice to avoid watching the train wreck. “He had acrobats and fire and all these people who were really, really talented around him.”

And if K-Fed was a contestant on Dave’s “Rock Star Supernova” show?

“He’d be packing his bags,” Dave says.

Kimmel, who got a lot of info for a five minute interview, asked about Navarro’s former band Jane’s Addiction getting back together.

“Never say never,” Dave says. “But when enough’s enough, it’s time to pack it in.”

I wonder if K-Fed will take that advice.

A naked, pixillated dwarf does not a Video Music Award Show make.

Tonight, MTV must have been praying for a wardrobe malfuction or at least a Bono f-bomb. But even Lil’ Kim kept her Dolly Parton’s hidden under her long locks.

Instead. all viewers got was a yawner of an evening. But MTV must have seen that coming when they decided to use the kid from “Little Miss Sunshine,” Abigail Breslin to present an award with Fergie.

Good god, the kid couldn’t even pronounce the winner’s name. Ever heard of a little thing called rehearsal?

Because everything on the show certainly was rehearsed until all the freshness was squeezed right out of it.

Except maybe when a zombie-like Jessica Simpson took the stage, fumbling her lines and looking like she was the one taking hits off the backstage bong instead of Snoop, who claimed he needed a smoke. But settled for the orange-colored drink he brought to the stage instead.

Nice try, dog. But it all reeked of corporate. We knew it was going to be a pathetic night when two of the most boring videos to be made last year, Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You” and James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” earned, respectively, the Best Female and Best Male Male Video Awards.

At least Clarkson had the good sense to pass on the ceremony.

Not even the Jackass clan could bring on the danger. Or any excitement from the aforementioned dwarf.

Angela, Ms. Buttons and Bows, it was time to go.

The challenge this week on “Project Runway” was for the designers to create a jet-setter outfit and then model the creation themselves. The lucky designers even got a trip to Paris, although Angela’s was just a layover on the way to Bootsville.

For too many weeks, Angela, you’ve missed the mark. But tonight was the worst ever with that odd little baggy shorts and tank top number. You had more rosettes hanging from you than a prime pig at the county fair.

And of course, we like you much better than Tat Boy Jeffrey. But the lout has talent, and he showed it when he won the challenge.

Although I would have given the first place spot to momma’s boy Michael. I mean, really, what other boy from the hood would think seersucker? It was an amazing mix of hip-hop meets Hamptons.

Uli remains my favorite, although she didn’t quite come up to the challenge this week. And snobby little Laura is starting to grow on me.

As for Kayne, Elvis apparently has never left your building. As sweet as you are, my Oklahoma cupcake, it’s time for you to start packing your bags. Vincent, get ready on deck.

For some juicy backstage gossip from Tim’s podcast, check out Chad Jones’ comment below. And Chad gives great theater blog at Theater Dogs