Big Think: George Takei

From the clip recap:

Actor, activist, prolific meme-generator, and cultural icon George Takei graces Big Think with his presence today in this powerful 5-minute clip. Takei explores Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's ambitious and progressive vision for the future: "Roddenberry felt that the Enterprise was a metaphor for starship earth and the strength of this starship lay in its diversity." We also learn that Takei's character, Sulu, represented a united Asia free of the many strifes Roddenberry witnessed during the 20th century. Takei tells us how the name "Sulu" came about; it's an incredibly inspirational story. Finally, Takei explains the now-glaring omission of gay and lesbian characters from Roddenberry's progressive Enterprise. In short, it was the 1960's and the biracial kiss between Uhura and Kirk nearly sank the show. Roddenberry knew there were limits to what the public would tolerate and he couldn't risk losing his platform for social commentary by testing them. Thankfully, as Takei notes, times have changed quite a bit since then in so many ways. And Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry are partly responsible.

Kevin Bacon: We Need More Naked Men

Kermit & Miss Piggy Go Splitsville

Miss Piggy has issued the same statement on Facebook. More from USA Today:

The gimmick for this new series is that it's a reality show taking us "behind the scenes" at Miss Piggy's talk show, Up Late with Miss Piggy. "We've been given unfettered access," says producer Bill Prady, best known for The Big Bang Theory. "We tried to fetter it," adds Kermit, "but it didn't work out." And yes, of course, Kermit was on the panel at the Television Critics Association press tour. And he was asked about his relationship with Miss Piggy. "Piggy and I have gone our separate ways romantically," Kermit says. "I guess it's just coming out in the press now. It can be tough to work with your ex. It can be tough to be the executive producer on your ex's talk show, particularly when your ex is a pig." Can they get back together? "People change. So do frogs and pigs." For now, though, Kermit has moved on. His latest girlfriend is a pig who works for ABC. "I do have an attraction to pigs."

(Tipped by JMG reader Joseph)

CANADA: Gay Talk Show Host Christopher Hyndman Found Dead In Toronto Alley

CBC News reports:

The body of Christopher Hyndman, co-host of the afternoon talk show Steven & Chris on CBC-TV, was found in an alleyway in Toronto's east end Monday night, police confirm. "It is with profound sadness that we share the news Christopher Hyndman died," said the public broadcaster in a memo distributed to staff Tuesday afternoon. "We extend our deepest sympathies to Steven [Sabados], family, friends and colleagues; our thoughts are with them all." Toronto police told CBC News on Tuesday that Hyndman, 49, was found without vital signs in an alleyway near the intersection of Queen Street and Broadview Avenue shortly after 11 p.m. ET Monday. CBC arts reporter Eli Glasner said the scene was near the apartment where Hyndman lived with Sabados, his off-screen partner and television co-host. Toronto police Det. Terry Wray said the investigation remains "completely open." He added that police would not comment further until completing interviews.

More from the Toronto Star:

Hyndman was co-host of the show with Steven Sabados, who was also his real-life partner. They were co-stars of the original Designer Guys show in 2001 as well as Design Rivals (2003) and So Chic with Steven and Chris (2005) before launching their afternoon talk show. The pair formed the Sabados Group Inc. in 1992, specializing in event planning, product launches and set design, his CBC biography says. A 2013 profile of Hyndman and Sabados by Xtra, then Toronto’s gay newsmagazine, called them “Canada’s gay-lifestyle TV guru couple” whose show Steven and Chris was “a bona fide hit for CBC” and aired in more than 70 per cent of the market on ABC’s Live Well Network. The couple told Maclean’s magazine the same year that they had met in a bar in 1988 when they both were working at CityTV.

Reruns of Steven & Chris have been pulled off the air. Below is the most recent clip posted to the show's YouTube channel.

(Tipped by JMG reader Edward)

Pop Star Cilla Black Dies At Age 72

Via the Telegraph:

Cilla Black has died at her Spanish home, local police have confirmed. The much-loved TV star and singer is believed to have died of natural causes after being found at her home in Marbella. The Liverpoon-born star enjoyed her first taste of fame at the city's Cavern Club, where she performed alongside acts including The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. She went on to release 14 albums but later established herself as a television personality, presenting hit shows including Surprise Surprise and Blind Date. In 1968, she became the first woman to have her own prime-time chat show on BBC One. In more recent years, despite suffering from arthritis and deafness, she remained in the public eye. Her rise to stardom was recently told in award-winning three-part drama, Cilla, starring Sheridan Smith.

During her pop career Black charted nearly two dozen Top 40 hits in the UK including two #1 singles - Anyone Who Had A Heart and You're My World - both of which were drag staples in the 70s.

First Look: The Muppets

The Nerdist recaps:

It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the light, it’s time to get unbelievably excited for The Muppets triumphant return to television! The fall of 2015 will see the return of Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and the rest of the gang in a new Muppets series coming to ABC. In the trailer – that was first shown at SDCC – has Kermit explaining the new format of the show and all that it’ll entail. It seems much like The Office, Parks and Recreation and of course, ABC’s own Modern Family, it’ll be shot in the handheld documentary style that has become so very popular in the years since The Muppets have been off the air. As Kermit puts it, the new show will be “sort of an ‘adult’ Muppet Show” focusing more on the lives of the characters instead of it being sketch heavy and if the trailer is any indication – it seems ABC has nailed it. The trailer has quite a few familiar characters displaying their timeless shtick we grew up on mixed with the fast-paced comedic timing ABC has perfected with it’s shows like Modern Family and Black-ish.

One Million Moms Vs TV Land

Just in via email:

The main character, posing as a gay preacher, recently hired sight unseen by a church that was aware of his lifestyle choice, but then start to notice other characteristics not typical of a pastor. The previews which air earlier in the evening are including the pastor having extensive knowledge of the quality of drugs and dialogue concerning sexual relations with cantaloupe. The church secretary catches the pastor sleeping around with women and other behaviors not typical of a Christian, much less a pastor.

This show not only depicts pastors in a negative light, but the entire program will also be based on lies about Christianity. TV Land has crossed the line by belittling the Christian faith with foul jokes. We need to send a loud and clear message to advertisers that this kind of programming is insulting and completely unacceptable. TV Land is not ridiculing any other religion currently and wouldn't dream of mocking Mohammed or Muslims.

Christians must take a stand and not be silent. Networks like TV Land continue to mock Christianity, and we will not stand for it. Christians should no longer sit idly by and allow this blasphemy to continue without speaking up in protest. "Impastor" is another attempt to distort the truth about Christianity. There is power in numbers so forward this to everyone you know!

The emails goes on to call for complaints to Red Lobster, which advertised on the debut episode.

24 Emmy Noms For Game Of Thrones

Via Yahoo News:

The elaborate fantasy saga “Game of Thrones” received a leading 24 Emmy Awards nominations Thursday, its stature apparently untouched by backlash over a female character’s rape scene. The series is a contender again for top drama honors, an award that has eluded it since it debuted in 2011. TV academy voters rarely give shows in the sci-fi or other genres the ultimate accolade. The TV academy took a step toward recognizing the increasingly diverse talent on TV, giving best actress nods to black stars Taraji P. Henson for “Empire” and Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder.” That sets up a possibility of a history-making win: An African-American actress has never won the top drama acting award. “I gotta win! I gotta win for history!” an exuberant Henson said when asked about the prospect during an “Empire” panel in May. However, two-time nominee Kerry Washington of “Scandal” was left out this year.

Also receiving multiple nominations is Transparent, with a best actor nomination going to Jeffrey Tambor. Variety has the full list.

TRAILER: Heroes Reborn

TRAILER: The Walking Dead Season Six

TRAILER: Orange Is The New Black S.3

One Million Moms Vs TV Land

Just in via email:

TV Land calls their new program "Impastor" an irreverend new comedy. Christians are calling it disgusting! "Impastor" is a show set to air July 15 at 10:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. CT that includes a man stealing someone's identity who happens to be a pastor. The main character, posing as a gay preacher, recently hired sight unseen by a church that was aware of his lifestyle choice, but then start to notice other characteristics not typical of a pastor. The previews which air earlier in the evening are including the pastor having extensive knowledge of the quality of drugs and insinuating sexual relations with fruit such as cantaloupe. The church secretary catches the pastor sleeping around with women and other behaviors not typical of a Christian, much less a pastor.

This show not only depicts pastors in a negative light, but the entire program will also be based on lies about Christianity. TV Land has crossed the line by belittling the Christian religion with foul jokes. We need to send a loud and clear message to TV Land, its owner Viacom, and all potential advertisers of "Impastor" that this kind of programming is insulting and completely unacceptable. TV Land is not ridiculing any other religion currently and wouldn't dream of mocking Mohammed or Muslims. If we speak with one voice now, we can keep this program from ever seeing the light of day. Christians must take a stand and not be silent. Networks like TV Land continue to mock Christianity, and we will not stand for it.

The email ends with a call to deluge TV Land with complaints.

TENNESSEE: Chattanooga NBC Affiiliate Refuses To Air Freedom To Marry Ad

Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed:

“It’s just a very controversial and personal issue, and we just choose to not air a commercial on either side of that debate,” Tom Tolar, the president and general manager of Chatanooga-based WRCB, told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview. The ad crossed the station’s lines, he explained, because “people probably have really strong opinions on one side or other of the debate. It’s just an emotional debate for many people.” The station, an NBC affiliate that also broadcasts in parts of Georgia and North Carolina, didn’t have a position on ads about same-sex marriage until executives reviewed the commercial featuring Ehrenfeld on Wednesday, said Tolar. “We had not had a request before to run an issue-ad like that.”

Freedom To Marry says that no other station in the country has ever refused their ads, which have also appeared in Memphis and Nashville.

One Million Moms Vs Fox Network

Just in via email:

FOX has plans in 2016 to air "Lucifer," a new series which will glorify Satan as a caring, likable person in human flesh. The series will focus on Lucifer portrayed as a good guy, "who is bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell." He resigns his throne, abandons his kingdom and retires to Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the LAPD punish criminals. At the same time, God's emissary, the angel Amenadiel, has been sent to Los Angeles to convince Lucifer to return to the underworld. Previews of the pilot episode depict graphic acts of violence, a nightclub featuring scantily-clad women and a demon. TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition to FOX Network, urging them to drop plans to air "Lucifer."

The trailer looks pretty good. And Satan is hot.

Charter To Buy Time Warner For $55B

Via Mashable:

Time Warner Cable didn't take long to recover from the breakup of its deal with Comcast. The second-largest cable TV provider in the U.S. is close to a deal to be acquired by Charter Communications for $55 billion in cash and stock, according to reports from Bloomberg and CNN Money. The deal also reportedly include the acquisition of Bright House Networks, another cable TV provider. A combined Charter, TWC and Bright House is expected to have less trouble getting past government regulators since it will have a smaller broadband Internet audience. Still, the FCC effectively scuttled the Comcast/TWC deal on concerns about negatively impacting the burgeoning Internet-based television market that has grown rapidly in the past year. Such concerns would undoubtedly be investigated about this newest deal.

Should the deal go through, the combined company will be called New Charter.

Actress Anne Meara Dies At Age 85

Via CNN:

Comedy great Anne Meara, the quick-witted half of the comedy team "Stiller & Meara," died at 85 on Saturday, her family said. Meara and her husband, Jerry Stiller, were married for 61 years and worked together almost as long, the family said in a statement. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her children, comic actor Ben Stiller, daughter Amy Stiller and grandchildren. "Anne's memory lives on in the hearts of daughter Amy, son Ben, her grandchildren, her extended family and friends, and the millions she entertained as an actress, writer and comedienne," the family statement said. The couple made their name as Stiller & Meara in the 1960s with frequent performances on variety shows, including the "The Ed Sullivan Show." Desperate to come up with a bit at the last minute, they plumbed the depths of their background to create "uber-Jewish guy" Hershey Horowitz and "uber-Irish girl" Mary Elizabeth Doyle -- caricatures of themselves, they said in 2005.

TLC Pulls Duggar Show From Schedule

Via the Hollywood Reporter:

TLC has pulled 19 Kids and Counting from its schedule in the wake of star Josh Duggar's admission that he molested several underage girls 12 years ago, including his sisters. TLC refused to comment on the incident Thursday, but the network sparked outrage later that evening when it ran a 19 Kids and Counting marathon. As of early Friday, the show had been scheduled to air on the morning of May 27, but it has since been taken off the schedule. The move is no surprise considering that TLC canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo shortly after allegations surfaced about a romantic relationship between series matriarch June "Mama June" Shannon and a man convicted of child molestation. Like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, 19 Kids and Counting is one of the cable channel's biggest brands. The show has been on the air since 2008 and is in its 15th season. The profile of the Duggar family had been on the rise in recent years thanks to national magazine covers focused on the marriages and pregnancies of the Duggar children.

The show hasn't been officially canceled. YET.

UPDATE: TMZ reports that General Mills has "blacklisted" the show.

Petition To TLC: Cancel The Duggars' Show

See it here. (Tipped by JMG reader Mykel)

Stars Say Goodbye To Letterman

SPOILER: Game Of Thrones

Stay out of the comments if you've not yet seen last night's episode of Game Of Thrones. Otherwise dive in and dish the buggery trial of Loras. Business Insider notes that some fans are very unhappy with this storyline.