Correctional facility bans 'Nip/Tuck' from airwaves

Correctional facility bans'Nip/Tuck' from airwaves
PENDLETON, Ore. -- "Nip/Tuck," which had won fans among inmates for its surgical gore and sexual innuendo, has been pulled from the airwaves at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution.
"We decided it was all too much," Doug Harder, a spokesman for the medium-security prison in Pendleton, told The Oregonian recently. "Way too graphic."
During one episode of the FX show -- which chronicles the racy escapades of two Miami plastic surgeons -- inmates gathered in a TV room kept "eyeballing," whistling and shouting catcalls to a female corrections officer, Harder said.
The officer filed a complaint with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the prison banned the show, Harder said.
Holly Ollis, a spokeswoman for "Nip/Tuck" producer Warner Bros. Television, said she was unaware of another prison in the country that had blacklisted the series.
"It's an unusual show, and I've heard a lot of unusual things," Ollis said. "But this is certainly a new one for me."
It's been about three years since the Eastern Oregon prison pulled a show from its TV schedule. That was a professional wrestling show called "WWF: Wild One."
Liotta lands 'ER' gigas alcoholic ex-con
NEW YORK -- "ER" is taking a note from "24" by doing a real-time episode, and is bringing actor Ray Liotta along for the ride.
The episode, to air Nov. 11, will follow every moment of guest star Liotta's hospital visit. He plays an alcoholic ex-con with cirrhosis of the liver and a host of other problems.
The real-time narrative is a first for the NBC emergency room drama. "ER" has previously experimented with different structures, but the series' famous live broadcast in 1997 wasn't in real time.
"In a way, this is the inverse of that," co-producer David Zable told The Associated Press on Thursday. "We also have never tracked one patient the whole time through the show."
The trademark "ER" style is one of crosscutting and story lines that intertwine with each passing gurney. The editing allows "ER" to sometimes skip over the uglier or more mundane aspects of emergency room treatment.
Will winning streak go onfor 'Jeopardy!' champion?
Vacation's almost over, and it's time to get your head back into the game.
Not the office game.
Not the campaign game.
The game that's turned a quiet brainiac named Ken Jennings into America's newest television hero -- "Jeopardy!"
On Monday, the mild-mannered software designer from Salt Lake City returns to the classic quiz show to defend his title as the longest-running, highest-earning, best-ratings-getting player ever on the syndicated program.
Without eating maggots, without sifting through a bevy of bachelorettes or warbling a Barry Manilow tune in front of Simon Cowell, Jennings, 30, has won $1.3 million (so far) and become a star.
He's heralded on Internet blogs -- "There are now three constants in life: death, taxes and Ken Jennings," Jason Kottke (Kottke.org) recently wrote under the heading "The Cult of Ken Jennings."
He's been given a catchy celebrity nickname -- KenJen.
When "Jeopardy! faded into its summer reruns in late July, Jennings had sailed through 38 consecutive games, beating 76 opponents with more than 1,300 correct responses in more than 450 categories.
The KenJen run also made the show's ratings rocket.
Average viewership rose from 9.6 million in June to a whopping 15 million in July, beating even the perennial game-show ratings champ "Wheel of Fortune," which had 12.4 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Today's birthdays
The former president of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, is 83. Former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul A. Volcker is 77. Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 75. Actor George Lazenby is 65. Actress Raquel Welch is 64. Singer Al Stewart is 59. "Cathy" cartoonist Cathy Guisewite is 54. Actor Michael Keaton is 53. Country musician Jamie Oldaker (The Tractors) is 53. Rhythm and blues singer Terry Ellis is 38. TV personality Dweezil Zappa is 35. Actress Rose McGowan is 30. Actor Andrew Ducote is 18.