Tim Goodman's TV Talk Machine

So the TV Talk Machine busts out its first critics roundtable, this time a two-parter starting today and finishing up with Pt. 2 on Friday. "The Sopranos" is the perfect kind of series for a critics roundtable because there's so much going on in the series and different people take away (and appreciate) different aspects of the series. I talked by phone with TV Guide critic Matt Roush, Portland Oregonian critic Peter Ames Carlin, New Orleans Times-Picayune critic Dave Walker and Arizona Republic critic Bill Goodykoontz. If the late night and off hours of the Television Critics Association press tour teaches anything, it's how to spot fellow critics who are thoughtful about what they do. (And also how to get powerful network publicists to re-open a closed bar, but that's another story.) Periodically I'll be checking in with critics from around the country in conversation about various (mostly worthy) TV shows. With only nine episode left in the landmark series, "The Sopranos," that seemed like a wise choice and I know people who come to The Bastard Machine for episode deconstructions of that series will appreciate the input from my friends and fellow critics. Enjoy.

It didn't take long for things to go completely sideways on this week's installment of my TV Talk Machine podcast. Along with Chronicle media writer Joe Garofoli once again playing the role of "Question Boy"--don't worry, we're on a search for a "Question Girl"--we decided that two weeks of heavy war talk and big words with Ken Burns meant that we needed to dumb things down. Boy did we succeed. I even managed, unintentionally, to create what is now my favorite new phrase. Along the way we read viewer/listener questions from across the country, played phone calls, rambled incoherently, announced upcoming interview guests (including Keith Olbermann), detected a real undertone of anger in the country (not our fault) and managed to possibly but not probably answer some questions correctly. As the paid film hacks like to say, "If you listen to just one podcast this year..."

In Part Two of our special "Tim Goodman's TV Talk Machine" interview with Ken Burns, the award-winning filmmaker talks about the differences between the subject of his latest documentary on World War II and America's current war in Iraq. Burns, who changed the landscape of TV documentaries with his landmark "The Civil War" 17 years ago, returns this fall with another epic called "The War," about World War II on PBS. Burns also tells Chronicle TV critic Tim Goodman about what he learned about World War II while making "The War," a seven-part, 14-plus hour documentary that focuses on what it was like to fight during WWII. He also talks about his 15-year deal with PBS and some of his future projects.

Hey look, they even ran a cool house ad in the Datebook section for TV Talk Machine. Very nice. And radio ads. Normally TVTM would collapse under the weight of those expectations, what with me and Question Boy rambling about shorty robes and such, but today (like "Simpsons" writer Joel Cohen before) we have some worthy content. Ken Burns has long been one of my favorites through the years. He does great work, he's passionate about what he does, he smartly elevates the discourse and he's a whole lot funnier than people give him credit for, though as we discuss "The War," his upcoming 7-part, 14 hour documentary on WWII, not a whole lot of the latter will be evident. You'll have to pardon my croak-heavy voice during this interview. When Burns came to the Chronicle for the podcast, I was in the middle of a heavy cold and struggling to keep my voice and limited mental faculties. Still, Burns can carry an interview like few others and he did all the heavy lifting. Enjoy, and Pt. 2 will be available next week, a well as Pt. 1. The entire interview will be archived so you can sample it when ready and there's probably a good chance I'll talk with Burns a couple of more times before the documentary airs on PBS in September.

They say talk is cheap but we prove it's actually free! Unpaid podcasts are the best love ever! (I'm feeling really exclamation point happy today...). So, here's the TV Talk Machine "Ep. 3," featuring the return of Question Boy (Chronicle media writer and longtime friend Joe Garofoli), e-mail and phone mail questions from around the globe, my willingness to drink Ken Burns' old bottled water both because my throat was killing me and I thought it might make me smarter. And yes, the aforementioned George Clooney man-love. (It's a long story. But it started out innocently enough with a reference to the unnamed Erica Hill, a longtime crush magnet of mine, but then it sort of spun sideways...the Clooney thing, not the Erica Hill crush which is chugging right along, no thanks to Anderson Cooper, who's 360 degrees of cable nonsense has essentially kept me away from EH...) Along the way, Question Boy and I tackle everything from "The Wire" to shows on USA and why very talented people (Rob Corddry, David E. Kelley) can't see (smell?) the crap they're making. I get lots of love from Canada, which always feels so right, and then we manage to pointlessly ramble our way to the end. Ah, but before we get there, we drag in Chronicle podfather Benny Evangelista who was working the dials to join the fray over our TiVo vs. Replay debate. Yes, RePlay. Turns out I told Joe's wife to get him one years ago instead of a TiVo. My bad. Anyway, it's a lovely piece of work. If you hear only one podcast this year...well, hear the Ken Burns one. But still, come share the joy! Exclamation! For those of you wondering about that much-heralded two-part podcast with Ken Burns, yes, it's coming. I taped it at the Chronicle with him last week despite barely being able to talk. See?! You see what I do?! Anyway, the Chronicle's promotions department is going to work some mojo with the TV Talk Machine and once the forces of promotion and technology unite, we'll post it. Now, if only they'd invite the forces of capitalism to swing by for a cozy bottle of red, then we'd have something.

Well, the second TV Talk Machine is up and running, this time featuring an interview with Joel Cohen, a writer and co-executive producer. Cohen is in his eighth year writing for "The Simpsons" and before he came to San Francisco for a lecture, he took some time to chat about everything from what it's like inside a highly competitive writing room, to the new "Simpsons" movie and his brief stint writing on "Suddenly Susan," which I immediately held against him but then forgave him for. Cohen was a good sport and anytime you can talk about The Best Show Ever, well, you take it. "The Simpsons" is the longest running comedy that is currently on television and the longest running animated series in television history. In May, "The Simpsons" will air its 400th episode, which is just staggering. Based on renewals, "The Simpsons" will eventually top "(The Adventures Of) Ozzie & Harriet" which racked up 435 episodes, to become the longest running comedy ever on TV. As well it should. "The Simpsons" is currently in its 18th season. I talk with Cohen a bit about how some fans perpetually complain about the early years being better, and the fact that some people have watched the show their whole lives. And by the way, if you haven't been to "The Simpsons" website in a while, you should. A person can burn up a lot of time there.

The very first "TV Talk Machine" podcast lumbered out of the garage late last night. I think it still might be running without brakes. I was joined by Chronicle media writer Joe Garofoli who played the part of Question Boy. And he did it with aplomb. Joe does a superb Ed McMahon, which we might bust out next week. He's also a master at Bill Walton. We may do an entire podcast with our Bill Walton voices in the future. Or we might actually invite Bill on the show to see what the Big Man knows about TV. On second thought, that kind of defeats the purpose of doing the voices. We might also add puppets. Or mimes. It's a first class operation. We took e-mail questions. I'm not sure I answered any of them, but I had fun. We talked about the best comedies and dramas in the last 30 years; desert island DVDs; way too much tech stuff and some general nonsense. We'll do it again next week, but I'm also going to interview filmmaker Ken Burns separately so there may be two podcasts. One stupid, one informative. It's a great country.