MTV Turns 25; CBS Gets Sued; Emmys Are In

August 2006 News

Emmy results: If you expected lots of surprises at the August 28 Emmys, you were in for some disappointment. But if you were in the mood for some familiar faces and mild hijinks perpetrated by Conan O'Brien (left) and the presenters, you were in luck. Click here for a recap of the results.

Happy birthday, MTV: On August 1, 1981, MTV made its very first broadcast, opening with the words: "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll!" Twenty-five years later, the cable network is still rocking. Though it's no longer the only video channel around, it's one of the biggest, and it still carries a lot of influence — for better or for worse. (MTV, after all, gave us the ultimate stupid stunt show, Jackass.)

Supernova sues CBS: Speaking of reality shows, Mark Burnett's Rock Star: Supernova has hit a legal snag. For the show's second season, contestants vied to become the lead singer of a band with Tommy Lee, Jason Newstead, and Gilby Clarke. The problem? The name of the new group, Supernova, is also the name of a pop-punk trio from Orange County, California. The latter, which was formed in 1989, has filed a preliminary injunction to ban the show and the group from using the contested name. It's not exactly how a rock star should start his next career, but that's the music business for you.

Pilot commitments: Fox has ordered a pilot of Work Life, a comedy about balancing career and home from Arrested Development writer-producers Brad Copeland and Barbie Feldman Adler. NBC has picked up a comedy, tentatively titled Broken Home, about an ex-beauty queen trying to reconnect with her gay son, from Copeland's and Adler's fellow Arrested cohort Abraham Higginbotham.

In the drama department, Fox has greenlighted Bait, from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. ABC picked up Class 11, a 9/11-themed show from writer/executive producer Jeffrey Nachmanoff, who also penned The Day After Tomorrow. And USA Network has ordered (contingent on casting) a pilot for the drama Burn Notice, about a Special Ops agent trying to figure out why he's been blacklisted. I guess they thought Pink Slip wasn't macho enough.

In memoriam: TV personality Mike Douglas (no relation to actor-director Michael Douglas) passed away August 11 at the age of 81. Douglas' eponymous show featured music and interviews with various personalities, including seven former, sitting or future presidents. Douglas was also renowned — or rather, his singing voice is — as Prince Charming in Disney's 1950 film of Cinderella.

-- A. Wu