In an era in which iconic TV news anchors are becoming less and less common, forgive me if I remain shocked and saddened by the death of Tim Russert. A Sunday-morning staple, “Meet the Press” had become an institution to which he brought his own brand of stability, intelligence and wit.

In the hours after his death, it seemed like everyone reached for comment not only recognized him as someone with journalistic gravitas, but also as someone with a great sense of humor. As Michelle Collins of BestWeekEver.tv noted Friday, Russert routinely showcased his comic prowess on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

While I never met Russert, I thoroughly enjoyed one of his smaller-scale contributions to a comedy group that hailed from my alma mater, Boston College, from which his son, Luke, just graduated.

Woody Tondorf, now a producer and writer for HBO, had the same duties with Asinine, a BC sketch and improv comedy group. In college, Tondorf was instrumental in producing a wildly successful Web series, a spoof of Fox’s “The OC” called The BC, whose content and fake commercials would sometimes call upon school faculty, staff and alumni to contribute.

One of those fake commercials (really just unrelated sketches) that he cowrote involved Tim and Luke Russert’s desperate attempts to score sold-out tickets to the coveted BC-Duke game. Adding prestige and laughs to the clip were campus Jesuits, sports department personnel and members of BC’s basketball team, including current Charlotte Bobcats forward Jared Dudley.

Tim Russert, of course, is the headliner. He’s hilarious as host of an impromptu and unlikely episode of “Meet the Press.” His grace and comic timing are obvious when Dudley mistakes him for Tom Brokaw. But his funniest material is at the end of the clip (the 3:55 mark), when he’s swaggering his way down the Conte Forum court, nailing a ridiculous basketball shot and playfully taunting “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart:

Tondorf, who granted permission to embed this clip here, said yesterday his thoughts and prayers are with Luke and the rest of Russert’s family.

I’m still shocked and saddened by Mr. Russert’s death; working with him was a privilege and he had a marvelous sense of humor. We really lost one of the greats.

And on a Father’s Day that would normally feature Russert at the helm of “Meet the Press,” that loss feels all the more striking.

(AP Photo/NBC, Virginia Sherwood)

Just a quick alert here for Office fans to stay up late or set your DVRs tonight and tomorrow night as a couple of the show’s stars are making the late night circuit.

B.J. Novak will appear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET, while The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Jenna Fischer tomorrow night at 11:35 p.m. ET.

You usually see this when one of them has a movie to promote. While Fischer does have a supporting role in next month’s “The Promotion” with John C. Reilly and Sean William Scott, these appearances look to be more about promoting The Office an anticipation of next week’s finale.

Here’s what I’d like to see them asked…

Fischer: What’s it like to be called an ugly scientist by Steve Carell? What was Pam really thinking when Jim said his impending proposal was going to “kick your ass”? And did it hurt when Ryan threw that bagel at your face?

Novak: Who’s idea was it to make such a dark turn with your character, Ryan, by giving him a drug problem? Are you leaving the show as a writer and/or actor to lead the spin-off? And is there any chance they’ll write a version of Andy’s Oompa Loompa song for Ryan, because it seems appropriate?

I’d say a tad too much was made of Tina Fey’s recent comments in an interview with Reader’s Digest (No, seriously! Reader’s Digest!) with regard to The Daily Show.

It’s been called a swipe, an overreach and a slam, but the fact is that it wasn’t any of the above. At worst it was a tongue-in-cheek boast meant more as a playful jab than a spiteful rip.

First, the facts, from the April 2008 issue Q&A…

RD: What pleases you more, applause or laughter?
Fey: Laughter. You can prompt applause with a sign. My friend, SNL writer Seth Meyers, coined the term clapter, which is when you do a political joke and people go, “Woo-hoo.” It means they sort of approve but didn’t really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] The Daily Show.

TDS’s Jon Stewart was just 13 when Chevy Chase anchored the first Weekend Update segment on SNL, putting to rest any claims that TDS invented the fake news. Beyond that, though, there’s plenty of fair comparisons to be made between the two.

Both offer left-leaning takes on current events. Neither is a great primary source for what’s going on in the world. And while both can be funny, both can also be painfully unfunny at times. In my opinion, Weekend Update hits the mark far more often, but TDS has to put on five shows a week.

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Nightline’s been reaping the benefits of the writer’s strike the past couple weeks, what with all the late-night comedy shows being in reruns.

That could come to a screeching halt in a couple of weeks, as Variety reported today that representatives of several of the late-night laughfests — including Letterman, Leno and Conan — “have been engaging in secret backchannel conversations with each other about when it might be appropriate for their hosts to return to their studios.”

Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 have been mentioned as possible dates.

Basically, none of them wants to be the first to return, but with no end in sight for the strike, lots of folks paychecks are on the line on these shows. Nonwriting staff on Leno and Conan and Last Call with Carson Daly are still receiving paychecks from NBC and will for at least two more weeks.

Worldwide Pants, David Letterman’s production company, is wholly responsible for salaries on Letterman’s show and on Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. They’ll “continue to pay the non-writing staff of the shows—fully compensating lower-salaried employees, and providing a substantial portion of salaries for those at the higher end—at least through the end of the year,” a spokesman told Variety.

Meanwhile, Variety also reported that the awards shows could be the next major victims of the strike. All the major awards shows are scripted. So, will they go scriptless or get a waiver for writers (unlikely to be granted)? Will the shows be picketed and will stars cross the picket lines to attend?

Plus, Variety pointed out, Jon Stewart hasn’t shown up for The Daily Show since the strike started; he’s on tap to be the host of the Oscars again. If the strike’s still on and the show’s done unscripted, will he show up?

The trade publication had a good lineup of what we should expect from the kudocasts (love that word, thanks Variety!):
• American Music Awards, airing Sunday. Jimmy Kimmel hosts. The script was written before the strike, but Kimmel “will not be doing any ad-libbing.” OK, that’s just weird.
• Writer’s Guild Awards, set to air Feb. 9. Basically, the answer to that is, who knows?
• Grammy Awards. Nominations are announced Dec. 6, and any script wouldn’t have to be written until after that. It airs Feb. 10. Grammy folks think they’re OK because they can just schedule extra musical performances.
• Golden Globes. Nominees are announced Dec. 13; the show airs Jan. 13. Variety quoted Barry Adelman, Globes executive producer, from a prepared statement: “We’re hopeful the issues pertaining to the potential strike will be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction before then. In the meantime, we intend to explore all of our available options in the upcoming weeks.” In other words, we don’t know.
• SAG Awards, scheduled to be televised Jan. 27 on TNT. Being a sister union to the Writers Guild, if the strike’s still on, it’s unlikely to happen.
• The Academy Awards. Nominations will be announced Jan. 22 and it’s scheduled to air Feb. 24. Round and round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows. The kudocast uses more writers than most; could they do it unscripted?

11:23 EST: Jeet catches a shallow pop-up hit by Big Papi to end the game, Yanks win 4-3. Phew. Tony Bennett won an Emmy for that too. Thanks for reading and commenting, everybody!

11:12 EST: The Emmy broadcast is over, and the Red Sox have closed to within 4-3 against the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs. I’m telling you, these Yankees-Sox games are marathons.

11:10 EST: David Chase, in classy fashion, thanks Gandolfini, Falco, Imperioli and Aida Turturro. In an homage to Field’s censored speech—whatever she said—Chase says, “If the world was run by gangsters… maybe it is!”

11:07 EST: Helen Mirren presents the award to outstanding drama series to… “The Sopranos.” Well, despite Gandolfini, Falco and Imperioli being “forgottenabouttit,” at least the series itself goes out on a high note.

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So much Office news to blog about, so little time lately to blog about it. You’d think things would slow down some, what with a four-month summer hiatus and all.

So with all due apologies, here’s a round-up on all things Dunder-Mifflin…

…Old Pammy’s back on her feet. Jenna Fischer posted her first blog since before she fell and fractured her back at an upfronts after-party in Manhattan last month. Highlights of her lengthy “broken back blog” include an update on her condition (improving), the latest tally on donations to Rover Rescue in her name ($2,000-plus) and word on the Season 3 DVD commentary (recorded, and there’s a gag reel!). (photo Jenna Fischer/mySpace.com) Read more of this entry »

Even two decades later, I can remember the disappointment I felt when I descended the concrete steps from the sidewalk on Beacon Hill and entered the Bull and Finch Pub.

From that sidewalk, the scene was so familiar, immortalized in the openings of countless episodes of Cheers , the biggest 80s sit-com this side of The Cosby Show. But down those steps and inside The Bull & Finch, things looked nothing like the spacious barroom where Cliff and Norm quaffed beers and wiled their days away with Sam, Woody and Frasier. Read more of this entry »

    It remains to be seen how long a leash NBC plans to give Andy Richter’s latest foray into prime time. My guess is, not very long at all.

All six episodes of Andy Barker, P.I. (photo NBC.com) have been available for free online weeks ahead of Thursday’s series premiere. And one of those episodes is a Web-only offering that will never see the light of network TV. Oh, and NBC has already pulled a Scrubs on Barker by shuffling its timeslot around. (It’s set for Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., for now.)

So, no, I won’t be shocked if this show has a shorter lifespan than Coupling. But even if NBC won’t give it a decent shot, I plan to.

Warning: Nothing but spoilers follow… Read more of this entry »

Granted, my recent foray into parenthood has seen me keeping some late hours in recent weeks, but I still tend to miss most of the late-night talk shows. And if I do tune in or set my DVR, it’s going to be for Conan, not Jimmy Kimmel. Last night it was my loss, though.

If you saw the show, you caught a rare glimpse of incredible awkwardness that ultimately resolved itself in surreal fashion. Luckily, GiveMeMyRemote.com is all over the story today. Read more of this entry »

•Sit in the guest chair of Conan O’Brien, whose Studio 6A was used for NBC’s Blogger Summit

•Sit in Conan’s chair; install the “Walker, Texas Ranger” lever; pull lever

•Ask NBC news officials leading the discussion if Conan’s infamous Bear or Manatee would be emerging from behind Conan’s curtain and/or delivering a speech

•Play Max Weinberg’s drums (poorly)

•Watch a tape of “The Rural Juror” in Liz Lemon’s office

•Take a non-blurry picture of WNBC’s news anchor desks down the hall, where food (but not alcohol) was served to ravenous bloggers

•Text my friends an up-to-the-minute forecast after deciphering Doppler 4000—it exists!

•At a nearby bar, talk for more than a minute with “Saturday Night Live” star Seth Meyers (who was very nice)

•At same nearby bar, manage to utter more than eight awkward words with fellow “SNL” star, Amy Poehler, a hero of mine. I got totally quiet and star-struck, which rarely happens to me, and couldn’t articulate complex phrases. And I call myself a reporter! Sad.

•Restart said encounter with Amy Poehler

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