Jerry Curl

My favorite show of all time and I both turn 30 this year, a fact that neither of our vanities take pleasure in commemorating publicly. But a milestone is a milestone. The Golden Girls premiered 30 years ago tonight on NBC, forever changing the television landscape for the better. In fact, it’s a show often and rightfully credited with creating a premise all its own. It’s a premise that has been duplicated over and over again (see: Designing Women , Living Single , Sex and the City , even HBO ’s  Girls ). Much has been said and written about how “ground-breaking” and “revolutionary” of a show it was to display four women living and loving (perhaps over-loving) well into their golden years. And that is all true and inspiring in and of it self. But very little has been written about its massive influence on the gay community both then and now. Back in the mid-80s, The Golden Girls were shedding light on a community beleaguered by stigma and hate. In the context...

I think one of the most important things to master in life is how to say goodbye. Saying it at the right time, in the right place, and sometimes to the right person is a true mark of maturity.  Tonight we said goodbye of another sort. After six seasons and 121 episodes, Glee brought the curtain down for the final time. The following is a reflection on the show, its legacy, and what it taught us about music and ultimately about ourselves. Glee debuted in 2009 after some big football game. It was then that my unrelenting fandom for all things Glee -related began. I watched every episode religiously. I bought the CDs (yes kids, actual CDs) every time they were released. And for a while there, no Christmas was complete without Glee ’s holiday album. In so doing, I kinda felt as though I was an honorary member of their club. I was a Gleek. However, in recent years the show strayed from its original premise of following our high school students. Or rather, it ...

Today marks a week since the new and retooled version of The View started and I have a few things to say about it. This is an especially important moment for the long-standing program because it’s the first season without its creator at the helm, Barbara Walters. While her send off last season was tearful and rightfully grandiose, she left big heels to fill. After all, who can replace BabaWaba? The short answer is: no one. And thankfully no one at The “New” View is trying to. The cast of characters this year is diminished to four, but that’s about as diminished as these ladies get. The incomparable Whoopi Goldberg returns to the show as its moderator and resident pragmatic voice. Seated to her left is perhaps the least known of the bunch, Nicolle Wallace. More on Ms. Wallace in a minute. Actress Rosie Perez is the first Latina panelist on the show and quite the firecracker. (I’m Hispanic too; I can call her a firecracker if I want to!) And finally, Rosie O’Donnell returns...

[ Editor's note ] My little Cher-loving heart be still. She really did it! EW reports that Lifetime will premiere an hour-long documentary that pays tribute to Cher’s mom Georgia Holt on May 6th. Dear Mom, Love Cher will focus on the singer’s family history and features interviews with Holt, her daughters Cher and Georganne LaPiere Bartylak, and grandchildren Chaz Bono and Elijah Blue Allman. The documentary will begin with Holt’s childhood in rural Arkansas and chronicle her six “tumultuous” marriages while she helped Cher to pursue a career.  The documentary also features a never-before-heard duet performance with Holt and Cher, along with the long-lost recordings Holt taped more than three decades ago that Cher has re-mastered for commercial release later this year.  “This project started as a gift for my mom’s 86th birthday.  Like most things in my family, it was initiated by my sister Georganne, who asked me if I could update mom’s album,” ...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy [ Editor's note ] It's no secret that I have railed against anchor Ann Curry from the get-go. I found her to be irritating and ridiculous . She was a poor choice to co-anchor the Today show and now everyone knows it. All that being said, the video above ripped my heart out. Though I never believed Ann could carry the show, I never once doubted her love and dedication to Today . In truth, it's not unlike the love many of her biggest detractors feel for the show. We disliked her because we knew the show could be better. But her passion, however badly delivered, was always in evidence. And at the end of the day, she failed at her dream job and that, more than anything, makes me incredibly sad for her. Perhaps it's guilt or shame typing now but after 15 years of hard work and dedication, I will miss Ann Curry.

Watch In Uganda, Gays Face Growing Social, Legal Hostility on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour. Towleroad reports : PBS NewsHour did an excellent 8-minute piece the other night on the re-emergence of the "kill the gays" bill in Uganda, slain activist David Kato , anti-gay evangelizing by American 'Christianists' like Scott Lively, Hillary Clinton's statement to the UN urging rights for LGBTs in Africa and abroad, and the dangerous political atmosphere for gays now.

The HuffPo reports : Current TV has fired back at Keith Olbermann's lawsuit , saying that his claims are untrue and that he is not entitled to any compensation. Olbermann formally sued the network on Thursday, less than a week after Current fired him. Each side claims that the other is guilty of breach of contract. Olbermann's complaint was full of vivid detail, and painted a picture of an experienced star battling against a series of incompetent, scheming executives. On Friday, Politico published Current's complete legal response. In its countersuit, Current made clear that it denied "each and every allegation" Olbermann made. Calling the suit "riddled with falsehoods and distortions," the network wrote that it "had every right to terminate Mr. Olbermann's services, rather than continuing to pay a princely sum while receiving a pauper's performance in return." The cross-complaint echoes the attacks leveled against Olbermann in the wak...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy

Photo caption: Co-host Ann Curry, guest Tori Spelling and guest co-host Sarah Palin make a meal of it on the Today show. This is a whole lot of annoying in one segment. [ Editor's note ] Let me reiterate my feelings on Ann Curry . It's not that I hate Ann, although that's not far from the truth. It's just that she's not suited to anchor a morning show. She's not warm or delicate. She's not clever or endearing. She's not good at impromptu banter. And she has no chemistry with Matt or Al. She's abrasive and obnoxious. She has an off-putting laugh and a jarring sense of style(?). All this I could forgive if she wasn't such a self-centered interviewer. Ann's motto: How does your story relate to me? As someone on the Ann Curry Sucks FB page put it, "NBC needs to recognize that the attractive power of Matt Lauer is being overwhelmed by the repellent influence of Ann Curry." No one is disputing the fact that Today is a better show th...

The Daily Mail reports : Good Morning America has claimed a one-day victory in viewership over long-reigning frontrunner Today . On Wednesday, GMA was watched by 5.236 million viewers while 5.149 million viewers tuned into Today , according to research company Nielsen. The 87,000-viewer advantage was the latest twist in a morning-show battle that has seen GMA , on the ABC network, chipping away at the audience margin that has kept NBC favourite Today in first place every week for 16 years. Former Today host Katie Couric has brought extra star quality to GMA all week as a substitute anchor, although her drawing power was blunted on Tuesday when NBC booked Sarah Palin as its guest co-host. Overall last week, GMA shrank its gap with Today to 119,000 viewers from 137,000 the previous week. --> Sweet (albeit short) victory!

Matt Lauer is sticking with Today , he confirmed on Friday's program. [ Ed. note : And the world heaves a collective sigh of relief!] The NBC morning host first joked that he was developing a new show in which viewers could tune in every day and "see the host lose a little bit more of his hair." Failing that, Lauer said, "This is my family, this is my show … let's keep going." His co-host Ann Curry and weatherman Al Roker applauded, and Curry called his announcement "a huge bit of great news." On the show earlier this week, Lauer, 54, kidded Ryan Seacrest, 37, amid swirling rumors that the American Idol and E! Channel host was being positioned by NBC to replace Lauer. Seacrest, who will assist with NBC Summer Olympics coverage, said he might not join Today for years, until Lauer retires. Lauer's contract is reported to be long-term, and financial terms were not disclosed. Still, NBC News president Steve Capus told The New York Times that the...

Reuters reports: Al Gore's Current TV could get kicked off of one of the country's biggest cable operators. Current has been in the news recently for its firing of Keith Olbermann. But sources told Reuters ' Peter Lauria that the network could be facing serious consequences with Time Warner Cable -- which operates in 29 states and serves millions of people, including many in the all-important New York media market -- if its ratings dip. If the numbers fall below an unspecified threshold for two consecutive quarters, Time Warner is allowed to drop the network. More troubling for Gore, a source told Lauria that Olbermann's ratings were the key factor in keeping Current above that line. Current has struggled to gain traction since it revamped its programming strategy and set off on a news and information path. Besides the failed Olbermann show, it has added programs with Cenk Uygur, Jennifer Granholm and radio hosts Bill Press and Stephanie Miller. It has also put former...

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So much for my prediction . The AP reports : Sarah Palin helped Today maintain its winning streak against GMA , even with the appearance of its own guest star Katie Couric. NBC’s Today widened its advantage over ABC runner-up Good Morning America by 23,000 viewers on Tuesday, compared with the day before, according to the Nielsen Co. Good Morning America brought Couric back to morning TV after her many years hosting Today . Couric, now at ABC, is filling in all week at GMA . Palin appeared as a Today guest co-host on Tuesday. Today drew 5.5 million viewers, while GMA had 356,000 fewer people tuning in. On Monday, the gap dividing them was 333,000 viewers. This morning-show rivalry has intensified as GMA chips away at the audience margin that has kept Today in first place for 15 years.

Darren Criss and Matt Bomer perform an emotional cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” in next week's episode of Glee . Bomer guest stars as Cooper Anderson, the estranged brother of Criss's Blaine in an all-new episode of the Fox series. The episode will air April 10.

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The Marquee Blog reports : Katie Couric's guest host gig on Monday's edition of Good Morning America wasn't enough to beat her old job, NBC's Today Show , in ratings. With Couric on board, ABC's GMA brought in 4.8 million viewers, reports the L.A. Times , while 5.1 million tuned in to NBC on Monday morning. It's another chapter in the lengthy ratings battle between the two shows, with GMA trailing Today for almost 17 years, although lately the morning program has been closing in on the ratings gap. NBC is likely hoping having Sarah Palin as a guest host on Tuesday kept the ratings momentum going, and the network will learn if it was successful today. <-- I turned to GMA for the first time in my life yesterday morning. Today is a better show by leaps and bounds, even with Ann Curry. But I think bringing Palin onboard was a cheap gimmick and I don't think Today should've stooped that low. If there's any justice in the world, Today 's rat...