The National Geographic Channel is airing a two-hour documentary on Monday night at 9, to mark Sunday's 46th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination.

Countless TV specials on the subject have been made, of course, but this one, called "The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination," may have some dramatic edge. It goes back and assembles news coverage, radio reports, photos, and home movie footage -- some of it as-yet unseen -- to give Kennedy’s visit to Dallas a real-time feel. There’s no scripted narration and jumping around in time; just a nightmare unfolding.

Nowadays, with 24-hour cable news channels and cell-phone cameras, we get to watch every major event as it occurs minute-by-minute. We’re all Zapruders. The media can tell the stories of our lives and times with an almost insane amount of detail. But TV was not equipt for such a mind-blowing tragedy in 1963. This two-hour doc attempts to give the early 1960s a 2000s feel. Here's a clip:

Massachusetts is a funny place. Or at least a lot of people originally from the state are currently at the forefront of TV comedy, including Conan O’Brien, Amy Poehler, and “Office” workers such as Steve Carell.

Also on the list: Robert Carlock, executive producer and writer of “30 Rock,” who grew up in Weston and graduated from Harvard. I spoke to Carlock about his Emmy winning -- but low-rated -- NBC sitcom on the phone from New York. Carlock (pictured above left) has worked on “Friends” and “Saturday Night Live.”

Q. Why is Massachusetts such a TV comedy hotbed?
A. I don’t know what it is -- the cold and self-loathing, maybe? Or something in the Quabbin Reservoir?

Q. Do you feel underappreciated on “30 Rock,” not by the Emmys but by the viewing public?
A. I’ve really never felt more appreciated. I meet so many more people than I’ve ever experienced -- including on “Friends,” although I was there when maybe people were taking “Friends” for granted, and maybe it was different the first years. Working on this show, my casual interactions have never been better. It gets us through some long nights sometimes.

Q. Do you have a big theory about why the show isn’t a ratings hit?
A. I don’t. When we’re self-critical -- which is all the time, which is our job -- we talk about how the pace is very fast. … We talk about trying to slow the pace. Maybe that will make it more accessible to people. But we’re in year four, and I and our writers just don’t write that way. And our actors don’t act that way. The show is what it is.

Q. Many “30 Rock” jokes are about NBC and General Electric. Have they ever asked you not to put something?
A. I don’t think so. They’ve been really good sports. A couple of times. I’ve met [GE CEO] Jeff Immelt and he’s been really complimentary and said how much he appreciates the business-satire aspect of it. I think there was one time when we were talking about a product that we were saying was a GE product and that was hurting people, and they asked us to change the language to make it clear that GE products are well tested.

Q. Is it hard to rein in Tracy Morgan?
A. In an upcoming episode that we’re shooting now, the show goes to Boston. … And Tracy, trying not to get in trouble on the road, goes on a walking tour that’s led by a guy dressed as John Hancock, and he gets in a fight about history with John Hancock. … Tracy is so out there, you don’t rein him in, you play him as straight as you can.

Q. Any plot twists you want to give away?
A. Nothing I can get into, except for the second half of the season we want to get back into the characters personal lives. … There’s some fun relationship stuff coming up for Jack and Liz.

Q. You’re not ever going to put Jack and Liz together romantically, are you?
A. No. … When you step back and look at the characters, I don’t think that’s what either of them is looking for. They’ll both find somebody eventually. He’ll give her away at her wedding.

Q. They will each find somebody?
A. Eventually, yeah. That’s the whole goal.

For the full transcript, click here.

I didn't have very long with the "30 Rock" writer-producer; he was in the middle of shooting an episode of the series. But here is the whole thing, unedited.

It has been interesting watching “The Wire” cast show up -- and, alas, not show up -- on other TV series. A partial list of those we've seen includes Sonja Sohn (Kima) on “Brothers & Sisters,” Seth Gilliam (Carver) on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” Michael K. Williams (Omar) on “The Philanthropist,” Tristan Wilds (Michael) on “90210,” Jamie Hector (Marlo) on "Heroes," Lance Reddick (Daniels) on "Lost" and "Fringe," Idris Elba (Stringer) on “The Office,” and Clarke Peters (Lester) and John Doman (Rawls) on “Damages.”

I mention this because Thursday night, Frankie Faison shows up on “Grey’s Anatomy.” The actor (above), who was Commissioner Ervin Burrell on "The Wire," will play Miranda Bailey’s disapproving father.

Some will say Sarah Palin got to tell her side of the story today on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Others will say that Palin revised the truth, with not a lot of hard challenges from Oprah. And still others will wonder what it is about Palin that makes her interesting even to people who can't stand her. All will agree, though, that the former governor of Alaska got to promote her new autobiography in a very big way this afternoon.

Palin talked about being micromanaged and stiffled by the McCain campaign, which she claims misrepresented her and her husband's feelings about her daughter Bristol's pregnancy. Against her wishes, she said, the PR wing of the campaign made it seem as if the Palins were happy about their daughter's situation.

She saved plenty of criticism for the media, though. She pointed out that, while the media never went after candidate Obama's children, they were all over hers: "I was naive to think the media would leave my kids alone." (Although didn't Palin did bring her son Trig into her campaign? That would open the door on media interest, to some extent.) Palin also called Katie Couric, who hosted a disastrous interview with Palin, "The Perky One," claiming she edited down hours of footage into an unflattered profile to suit her partisan agenda.

Oprah's best moment: reminding Palin that she is "pretty perky, too."

Of course, everyone wanted to hear about what Oprah called "The Levi Question" to a round of applause (after a promo that promised: "COMING UP: SARAH PALIN ON LEVI JOHNSTON"). Palin tried to be very controlled and prefabricated in her response, saying that she prays for the father of her grandson, whom she called "the most beautiful baby boy" repeatedly. She invited Johnston to Thanksgiving on the air, on Oprah's prodding, but the irony of her "open invitation" was clear.

Palin started the Levi segment by telling Oprah that she'd take the high road: "I don't think a national television show is the place to discuss some of the things he's doing and saying." But then she did go on to discuss some of them on national TV -- certainly, she knows very well that the high road doesn't generate much interest. "I hear that he goes by Ricky Hollywood now," she said with an edge, "so if that’s true, we don’t want to mess up that gig. ... It’s a bit heartbreaking to see the road that he is on. He is quite busy with his media tours so he has not been by a lot lately, but let that be a discussion between Levi and Bristol.”

When Oprah pressed her on whether she planned to run for office in 2012, Palin refused to answer. She didn't say no, though, which has to make you wonder....

Other Palin quotes:

Here's a look at Boston's most watched shows in primetime for the week of Nov. 2-8. Not listed below but making the top 30 here: ABC's new series "V" drew 217,000 total viewers or ranking #23 for the week. NBC's "The Biggest Loser" weighed in with 204,000 total viewers (or #27) in the market.

1. WBZ-CBS 60 Minutes 497,000 total viewers
2. WFXT-FOX 486,000
3. WBZ-CBS NFL Football 483,000
4. WBZ-CBS NCIS 408,000
4. WBZ-CBS Two and A Half Men 406,000
6. WFXT-FOX World Series 355,000
7. WBZ-CBS Big Bang Theory 339,000
8. WBZ-CBS Amazing Race 316,000
8. WBZ-CBS NCIS:LA 315,000
10. WBZ-CBS How I Met Your Mother 311,000
10. WHDH-NBC Sunday Football 309,000
12. WCVB-ABC Dancing with The Stars 296,000
12. WBZ-CBS The Mentalist 293,000
14. WBZ-CBS Accidentally On Purpose 282,000
14. WCVB-ABC Grey's Anatomy 280,000
16. WBZ-CBS CSI: Miami 266,000

source: Nielsen Media Research
compiled by Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff Writer

Come on board to dish about "V," the Kennedy assassination, the sight of Pedro on the mound at Yankee Stadium, and anything else you saw on TV this week.

Here's a look at the most watched programs in primetime in Boston, for the week of Oct. 19-25.

1. WFXT:FOX NFL Sunday football 499,000
2. WBZ:CBS NCIS 454,000
3. WFXT:FOX ALCS pre-game coverage 380,000
4. WFXT: FOX Major League Baseball 373,000
5. WCVB:ABC Grey's Anatomy 360,000
6. WBZ:CBS 60 Minutes 350,000
7. WBZ:CBS Big Bang Theory 346,000
8. WBZ:CBS Two and A Half Men 330,000
8. WCVB:ABC Dancing with The Stars Results 327,000
10. WCVB:ABC Dancing with the Stars 311,000
11. WBZ:CBS NCIS:LA 304,000
12. ESPN NFL 299,000
13. WBZ:CBS CSI:Miami 293,000
14. WFXT:FOX House 280,000
15. WCVB:ABC Desperate Housewives 274,000
15. WFXT:FOX Major League Baseball ALCS-Game 5 273,000

source: Nielsen Media Research

compiled by Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff

Come join us to talk about "Mad Men," the end (at last?!) of "Jon & Kate", Adam Lambert's album cover, and, hey, how about "Lost"?

If you're like me, you're a bit spun around by the H1N1 scare, with its gentle message of "Your life might be in peril if you don't get vaccinated, but, whoops, we have no vaccines available. Sorry." On Thursday night from 7-9, NECN will host a live two-hour interactive special, "H1N1: What You Need to Know," which will attempt to shed light on the subject.

Viewers will be able to call, email, and tweet their questions to an expert panel that includes Boston Public Health commissioner Dr. Anita Barry, Brigham and Women's Hospital vice chair Dr. Richard Zane, Dimock Community Health Center CEO Dr. Myechia Jordan, New Hampshire deputy state epidemiologist Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, and Pediatrics Now editor-in-chief Dr. Gwenn O'Keefe.

You can send in questions before and during the show in the following places:
Call-in Number: (617) 244-3344
Email: flu@necn.com
Twitter: #necnh1n1

Wow. This is a surprise. Next year, the Golden Globes ceremony is going to feature its first host since 1995, and that host is going to be Ricky Gervais. "I have resisted many other offers like this," Gervais said, "but there are just some things you don't turn down." The telecast is on Jan. 17.

Gervais turned down those previous offers, I bet, because he knows that hosting awards shows is a mostly thankless and doomed job, one that usually only brings criticism and disappointment. It's the very rare awards-show host who doesn't get tiresome by hour three. "Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry, which includes both film and TV," he explained about his change of heart, "but also an environment where I feel I can get free reign as a host." Maybe his lackluster movie career is playing a role in his decision-making, too?

I do hope Gervais (here's my recent interview with him) will be an exception and do a brilliant job. He has had prime moments on awards shows in recent years (see below), and he has helped to change the face of TV comedy across the decade with his influential cringe-comedy masterpiece "The Office." Fingers, as they say, crossed.

What do you think?

I complain a lot about Betty Draper and January Jones -- I did it again in last week's TV chat -- but after last night's episode of "Mad Men," I'm reconsidering. The scene in which Betty finally confronts Don about his past was brilliantly played, both by Jones and especially by Jon Hamm, who dropped all traces of the smooth-talking Don Draper and reverted to Dick Whitman's deep vulnerability and guilt. And wouldn't you know? It might have been precisely what he needed to do to save his marriage.

Betty was understandably angry, suspicious, and cynical -- not just about the contents of the box, but about how Don, the brilliant salesman, would try to talk his way out of it. So she ordered him around like she would a petulant child (and she has plenty of experience with that; now Don knows how Sally feels). She wasn't going to feel sorry for him. She said so. But the instant she saw him fumbling with his cigarette -- to me, the most important moment in the scene -- she could see that this was a different Don. He was nervous, hesitant, not at all himself, and it made her protective shell crack. And by the time he was finished telling his (almost) real life story, in a childlike voice she might never have heard before, she did feel sympathy. But she also knows she has power in her marriage, power over Don's life, much more than she had before. How will she exercise it in the future? And does his newfound devotion stem from gratefulness or fear?

Oh, and who else was freaking out because Dick Whitman instantly forgot that Miss Farrell was OUTSIDE WAITING IN THE CAR?

Great news. HBO just annouced that it has renewed "In Treatment" for a third season. The half-hour drama will begin production in New York in early 2010, with debut scheduled for later in the year. Gabriel Byrne will star once again as Dr. Paul Weston, with additional cast members to be announced. I'm really pleased HBO has decided to stick with this series, despite its lack of large-audience potential. Maybe the success of "True Blood" is enabling the cable channel to stand by a prestige project?

And there's a small local angle to the news. Anya Epstein and her husband Dan Futterman (above) are joining the show as executive producers, along with returning executive producers Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Hagai Levi, and, most likely, Paris Barclay. Epstein is the older sister of Theo Epstein of the Red Sox, the daughter of B.U.'s creative writing director Leslie Epstein, and one of the "Homicide" writer-producers; Futterman is an actor and a screenwriter who was nominated for an Oscar for his "Capote" script.

The White House's ongoing battle with Fox News took an interesting turn yesterday, when the other TV networks stood up for Fox. When the Treasury Department tried to deny Fox reporters access to pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, the other networks -- who serve as both colleagues and competitors in the White House press corps -- refused to go along.

It's a good message for the White House: Journalists cringe at anything that smacks of censorship. And throughout this war of words, Fox has been hewing to its longtime contention that its news operation is separate from its right-wing stable of talking heads, and that its journalists are simply doing their job by asking tough questions of the president. I will vouch for the fact that there's a big difference between Sean Hannity and, say, Shepard Smith.

Of course, Fox has crossed into ethically shady ground by "covering" news its talk show hosts have created, such as the anti-government "Tea Party" rallies that became right-wing talking points for weeks. And I can't blame the White House for cringing at Fox News talk-show rants that veer into loony territory, and cross the line from disagreeing with White House positions to trying to delegitimize the government. Can we set to rest the question of whether Obama is a citizen already? Or whether Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people"? Glenn Beck even looks loco when he says that. He looks loco two-thirds of the time, in fact, which is precisely why he makes for weirdly-compelling TV. Yet however loco he happens to be, he still has First Amendment rights, and so do his colleagues on the news side of the fence. Which means this is going to be a tough one for the White House to win.

In other news, via Politico: Some conservatives want Fox News honcho Roger Ailes to run for president.

Updated: Ailes is declining to run. "I can't take the pay cut," he says.

As you can see below, WBZ/CBS dominated the Boston TV market for the week of Oct. 12-18. Almost everything in Boston primetime was led by a CBS comedy, crime procedural drama, 60 Minutes, or football. WHDH's most watched show that week was Sunday night football on Oct. 18 with 270,000 total viewers (ranking 18th in Boston.) WCVB's most viewed show was Grey's Anatomy (#9 with 326,000 viewers.) WFXT's popular show was House (#21 with 254,000 viewers.)

1. WBZ:CBS NFL Football 1,306,000
2. WBZ:CBS NFL Football 1,096,000
3. WBZ:CBS 60 Minutes 571,000
4. WBZ:CBS NCIS 561,000
5. WBZ:CBS Two and A Half Men 416,000
6. WBZ:CBS NCIS: LA 379,000
7. WBZ:CBS Big Bang Theory 368,000
8. WBZ:CBS The Mentalist 327,000
9. WCVB:ABC Grey's Anatomy 326,000
9. WBZ:CBS Criminal Minds 325,000
11. WBZ:CBS CSI: Miami 307,000
11. WBZ:CBS CSI 303,000
13. WBZ:CBS CSI:NY 285,000
13. WCVB: Dancing with the Stars 284,000
15. WBZ:CBS Amazing Race 282,000
15. WBZ: CBS The Good Wife 280,000

source: Nielsen Media Research
compiled by Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff
jodiaz@globe.com8.

This is too sad. Former "Smallville" regular and Boston-area native Sam Jones III has been arrested in a federal drug sting and accused of conspiracy to deal thousands of oxycodone pills.

Jones was taken into custody in LA this morning, according to TMZ, with the DEA calling him a "co-conspirator" in several major drug deals in 2008. He has been charged with conspiracy to possess illegal drugs with intent to distribute, which has a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

This comes on the heels of the news that Adam Jasinski, the winner of last year's "Big Brother 9," was arrested on Saturday in North Reading on oxycodone distribution charges.

Jones, who was Pete Ross on "Smallville" and Chaz Pratt on "ER," is from Roxbury and, later, from Mattapan. I spent an afternoon with him and his father in 2002 when he was home visiting his parents. In the cruel irony department, he talked a lot that day about trying to stay out of trouble as a kid. "It's just a bad situation growing up in the inner city, but you don't know any better, so you love it. And you just get involved in what all your friends are getting involved in. If everybody in the neighborhood is smoking weed and selling drugs, then you smoke weed and sell drugs, too.

"My message to the kids is just don't do that; there's another way. Your life can be bigger than Boston. You may have started here but you can go somewhere else."

Here's hoping Jones finds his way back to a good place. The entire interview is reprinted in the previous item on Viewer Discretion.

February 23, 2002

UP, UP, AND AWAY

SAM JONES III'S FLIGHT FROM ROXBURY TO `SMALLVILLE' LANDS HIM IN THE BIG TIME

During their years toiling in Hollywood's celebrity-profile factory, most actors perfect the art of the cautious blab.

The consummate cautious blabber knows how to gush endlessly about his magnificent TV series and the magical wonders of his magnanimous network - and then withdraw into imperious stares when the questioning gets too real. Slick and evasive, he knows how to steer clear of the personal sphere.

Sam Jones III is a newcomer to the realm of the cautious blab, and as such he is a refreshing two hours of talk. Later in his promising career, the Boston native will learn to skirt subjects with the best of them; he will earn his MFA in MYOB. But right now, the young costar of the WB's Tuesday night Superman drama, "Smallville," is a reckless fountain of confidence, pride, and naivete. During a recent visit home from the Vancouver "Smallville" set, Jones arrives for lunch in the South End undaunted by an East Coast head cold, still high on his odyssey in La-La Land and the fans who actually want his autograph.

"Even grown women come up and ask to take my picture and tell me how cute I am," he says, talking a mile a minute while his chicken sandwich patiently awaits his attention. "I just keep my mouth shut, but when they leave, I'm like, this is funny. . . . I say to my dad, `Why are those people staring at me?' And he says, `Because what you're doing is not normal. When you do something out of the average, people put you on a pedestal.' It's weird how one man can put another man on a pedestal, but that's what happens in life."

The pedestal: It will present a great challenge to Sam Jones III in the coming years, as he negotiates the ego trips of fame, fortune, and a role on what has been called "The Hottie Network." Once a basketball-playing Roxbury kid trying to stay out of trouble, he will soon find himself up for parts in big-budget movies, facing the country from awards-show podiums, and fending off designers who want him to wear their clothes. He'll be in serious risk of catching the Hollywood flu, which leaves its many victims dangerously puffed up.