-- And now for something completely different. You know the fall season has a tinge of strangeness to it when PBS, often less sexy than your grandfather's Oldsmobile, suddenly finds itself with perhaps the biggest buzz show of the fall. The Television Critics Association summer press tour is under way, and the halls of the Beverly Hilton -- where critics from around the country and Canada will spend roughly the next three weeks dissecting the new fall season and masses of cable fare -- would normally be filled with chatter about ABC or CBS.
But this year, only one or two fall shows are popping up regularly in conversation. Most of the early discussions have been about how disappointing the series are, or about how wrongheaded a particular network seems to be (CBS wants to be edgy; Fox wants to be CBS). Into this void comes the notion that Ken Burns' epic documentary, "The War," will be the prize.
The lack of much of anything else to get excited about from the networks is making critics see PBS, the old standby, in a new light -- an appreciative glow, if you will. PBS has suffered a lot at the hands of critics, although many castigate the system during the press tour and then go home and really push for PBS shows to be seen. Though the system continually churns out high-quality shows, a number of critics don't even show up for the PBS portion of the tour.
(A lot of that has to do with economics -- some papers save on the two or so days devoted to PBS and come only for the five broadcast networks; some skip cable and come to PBS.) But it's also true that PBS brings some of the disdain upon itself. The system has repeatedly claimed that there's nothing good anywhere on the dial but PBS, which hasn't been true in a decade.
This relentlessly myopic view is annoying. And some critics channel the frustration of their readers, complaining that pledge drives alienate potential supporters, that shows air too late and that much of the content is bland and monotonous. And critics have another argument, as well -- that PBS programs right into the teeth of the network schedule, pitting its vegetables against the network's more enjoyable (and popular) candy.
This is where the "we make quality TV and nobody else does" argument comes back to haunt the system. The networks have created a lot of superb fare in recent years, and cable even more. The days of assuming that PBS is an outpost of civility and prime content in a sea of dreadfulness are over.
It just doesn't play to this crowd. And yet here we are, looking at "The War" being tossed into the ultracompetitive fall launch. In any other year, critics might complain that PBS is losing a grand chance at good ink, not to mention potential viewers.
But with little else catching critics' eyes, the timing couldn't be better for PBS to roll out what promises to be a brilliant piece of work from Burns. And the topic, World War II, lands in the aging Baby Boomer wheelhouse. By all accounts, "The War" should be a hit.
The good news for PBS continues. As we gather here at least temporarily lamenting the freshman crop, what else does PBS counter with but a chance to celebrate the "Pioneers of Television" while simultaneously bemoaning the CW. The show exalts the old school, featuring Dick Cavett, Tim Conway, Phyllis Diller, Ed McMahon, Tony Orlando and Betty White.
Last season -- or a year from now -- that lineup would probably be dinged as PBS living in the past, another example of an aging system not offering up anything fresh. Normally critics look at the two days allotted PBS and see all kinds of padding -- retreads of British classics, series that won't air for a year, a lot of vitamins and apples. But this time it all looks good.
Is that because it really is or because the networks look so dull? We'll know for sure in September, but it appears that PBS is hitting on all cylinders. Even the system's acclaimed kids' programming, which of late has been a little formulaic and tame, is being invigorated with two new series about reading and spelling.
The latter, "WordGirl," is particularly creative, entertaining and funny. That doesn't mean critics won't turn on PBS in scowling scorn, (they're an unpredictable bunch), but the system seems particularly welcome to the press tour this time. If the network shows haven't created much buzz, the networks themselves certainly have.
Fox made official on Monday what Daily Variety was reporting last week -- that ousted NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly has been hired in the same capacity there. Hey, it's not every day that you can be bounced, collect a handsome severance package and then walk over to a rival network for a little payback. It might be odd for Reilly to program against a schedule of shows he created.
But then again, maybe those shows aren't any good. In Hollywood, this is a big story for a couple of reasons. First, Fox has managed to unite Reilly with Peter Liguori, a duo that helped put the FX cable channel on the map.
Liguori will now step up from Fox entertainment president to entertainment chairman, and Reilly assumes the same title he had at NBC, where he was rudely dumped during the Memorial Day weekend. And it means that Reilly can now come to the press tour and tell us all about it. A lot of critics believe that Jeff Zucker, former NBC entertainment president and now NBC Universal chief executive, never let the well-respected Reilly put his own stamp on the Peacock.
Zucker jumped at the chance to hire Ben Silverman, a brash producer best known for repackaging foreign shows ("The Office," "Ugly Betty") and being an agent -- but not exactly a network-caliber programmer. With Silverman not shy about his own ability -- and willing to say so -- and Reilly now free to bash Zucker, the press tour just got a whole lot more interesting. E-mail Tim Goodman at tgoodman@sfchronicle.
com. His coverage of the TV critics press tour can be found on his blog, the Bastard Machine, at www.thebastardmachine.
com. This article appeared on page of the San Francisco Chronicle -- And now for something completely different.
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