A Little of the Old In And Out



(image via vectorlogos)

In: CBS. CBS has the new "Must See" Thursday game, as NBC was before the "Friends" debacle fucked the whole thing up (all chronicled, brilliantly, in "Desperate Networks"). From Variety:

"CBS has made it 4-for-4 on Thursdays in the November sweep, winning the night this week behind its veteran combo of Survivor and CSI. ABC was a close second on the strength of Grey's Anatomy, which had its best scores of the month.

"According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, CBS opened the night a winner as usual with Survivor (4.0 rating/11 share in adults 18-49, 12.6 million viewers overall), which won its hour by 4 shares in adults 18-49 over ABC and NBC. CSI followed with average scores (4.9/12 in 18-49, 18.4 million viewers overall), placing second for the hour in 18-49 and first in total viewers. Rookie drama Eleventh Hour finished things up for CBS with a second-place finish (2.8/8 in 18-49, 10.7 million viewers overall), down a bit week to week."

More here.



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Out: Unipolarity. American unipolarity, which began with the inevitable dissolution of the totalitarian Soviet Union, is over. The burden of global stewardship, which fell upon the mighty shoulders of Uncle Sam, will now be made lighter by the combined efforts of other nations -- many Eastward. The good news: We are still the most powerful and influential force in the world, and our values -- which are generally noble -- will still hold sway internationally. Who else could -- or would -- have the will to spearhead international efforts to thwart, for however long it is possible, the volatile Iran from achieving a nuclearized weapon.

The bad news is that it will be difficult to make bold, unilateral maneuvers in this new world. We will have to learn a new vocabulary, flex our of late atrophied soft power muscles, building coalitions. More good news: This present global situation plays to the strengths of our President-elect's skill set. From The Foreign Policy Blog:

"U.S. power and influence is waning, according to a new report by the U.S. intelligence community. The good news? So is al Qaeda's.

"But 'the unipolar moment is over,' declared Tom Fingar, chairman of the National Intelligence Council (NIC), in announcing the report.

"The NIC expects United States will remain the world's foremost economic and military superpower. But its report, 'Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World,' argues that the rise of powers like China and India means that the United States will be just one of many players in a 'global multipolar system.' It concludes, 'The US will remain the single most important actor but will be less dominant.'"

Historians of the future may look back and argue that The Post-American World author Fareed Zakaria and The Second World author Parag Khanna released their books at precisely the right time (not unlike Zbigniew Brzezinski, whose tome The Grand Failure, serendipitously landed on bookshelves just as the Berlin Wall fell). here.



(image via fanpop via gq)

In: Jason Bateman. Jason Bateman is one of the few child actors -- Robert Downey, Jr. is another -- that is still making waves in Hollywood, and not for bad behavior (We are over to you, Todd Bridges). Bateman, who co-starred with Will Smith in the successful "Hancock," is co-hosting the Independent Spirit Awards on December 2nd. And Cult TV classic "Arrested Development" may be coming to the big screen. And the A-List director Ron Howard (another kid actor done good) might, in the end, be attached at the helm. From TheHollywoodReporter:

"The 'Arrested Development' feature has moved closer to reality, with Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard reportedly closing deals for the long-gestating project from Imagine and Fox Searchlight.

"The possible migration of the critically acclaimed but short-lived Fox series to the big screen has been a hot topic among fans for the past year. Speculation has been fueled by cast members of the show, including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Jeffrey Tambor, who have been frequently quoted in interviews that a feature adaptation is in the works."

More here.