TV Confidential Archives May 16, 2011

Show No. 88 May 16, 2011

First hour: Award-winning independent film actress Tanna Frederick (Hollywood Dreams, Queen of the Lot, Irene in Time) joins Ed for a conversation about her work with director Henry Jaglom, as well as her upcoming performance in the stage production of A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia. Also in this hour: TV Guide business editor Stephen Battaglio (David Susskind: A Televised Life) discusses the 50th anniversary of former FCC chairman Newton Minow's famous "vast wasteland" speech on the state of network television; the possible next moves for Katie Couric and Oprah Winfrey; and what impact Ashton Kutcher might have on the future of Two and a Half Men. Plus: Phil Gries remembers Project 20, a series of historical documentaries from the 1950s and '60s that, in many ways, were a forerunner to the work of Ken Burns. Second hour: Ed welcomes Emmy Award-winning talk show host and former game show emcee Jim Peck (The Big ShowDown, Second Chance, Three's a Crowd, The Joker's Wild). Jim hosts I Remember, an oral history program for Milwaukee Public Television featuring conversations with national newsmakers as well as people who have contributed to the history and culture of Wisconsin. Topics include Jim's work with such game show legends as Jim Lange and Chuck Barris, as well as his interviews with Barbara Walters, Tom Smothers, Mary Higgins Clark, Sidney Sheldon, Madeleine Albright and other 20th century icons. Also in this hour: Tony Figueroa and Donna Allen discuss the legacy of The Simpsons, Susan Lucci's streak-busting Emmy win, the death of comic Phil Hartman and other events that originally occurred This Week in TV History.