All eyes were on “Conan” Monday night, but “Lopez Tonight,” which has now shifted to midnight to accommodate Conan O’Brien’s new TBS show, got a lift from its new lead-in.
Monday’s second-season opener of “Lopez Tonight,” hosted by George Lopez, averaged nearly 1.4 million viewers — up significantly from last season’s total-viewership average (910,000). With guests including Janet Jackson and Rooney, “Lopez Tonight” also performed strongly in adults 18-34 (571,000 viewers) and adults 18-49 (883,000 viewers).
Howie Mandel and Juliette Lewis guest on tonight’s show.
I don’t suppose it’s lost on anyone else that Lopez was forced to move to midnight when O’Brien agreed to his TBS deal — ironic, since O’Brien used his opening sketch on “Conan” to take a swipe at NBC for asking him to move his “Tonight Show” to 12:05 to accommodate Jay Leno’s move back to 11:35.
Lopez moved to his new timeslot with a lot less whining.
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The the annual Veterans Day Parade has never been accorded live TV coverage — until now.
Ch. 4 will air tomorrow’s Veterans Day Parade live from noon to 2 p.m., with Chuck Scarborough and medal of honor recipient Paul Bucha co-hosting. NBC “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams will also be on hand to interview three medal of honor recipients; Ch. 4’s Michael Gargiulo and former Miss New York, Alyse Zwick, will report from the sidelines.
This is the 91st anniversary of the parade, and the 60th anniversary of the Korean War (which will be recognized). Grand Marshals include former Yankees star Jerry Coleman, a Marine Corps veteran and Hall of Fame broadcaster (for the San Diego Padres).
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Yankees star Nick Swisher will attend tonight’s “CMA Awards” with his fiancee JoAnna Garcia, who co-stars in ABC’s “Better With You” (she plays Mia). JoAnna will be a presenter at the awards show (8-11 p.m./Ch. 7).
MSG’s Jill Martin, meanwhile, hosted last night’s Opening Night of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular to benefit MSG’s Garden of Dreams foundation. Martin is no stranger to Radio City, having emceed the last two Garden of Dreams talent shows there (featuring kids in crisis). Last night’s show featured a special performance from Garden of Dreams youngster Oscar Saltalmacchia (he’s 5), who entertained the crowd with his tap-dancing prowess before the Rockettes hit the stage.
Garden of Dreams is MSG’s charitable arm, which works with kids in crisis to bring some happiness to their lives.
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It’ll be about another year until Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” hits theaters, but the man who co-wrote the movie’s screenplay has his TV work on display right now in a just-released DVD.
The man in question is Steven Moffat, and in addition to writing the original British version of “Coupling,” he’s also written many episodes of “Doctor Who” — and was the lead writer/executive producer of “Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series,” out now on DVD. The fifth season stars Matt Smith (the 11th Doctor Who) and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond; guest stars include Alex Kingston (“ER”), and Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo (“Hotel Rwanda”).
Also out on DVD from the BBC: “Sherlock: Season One,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman (Tim from “The Office” — the original Ricky Gervais version) as Dr. Watson. Rupert Graves plays Lestrade.
Last, but not least:
* Actress Carey Mulligan sits down with Tavis Smiley to talk about her latest movie, “Never Let Me Go,” on tonight’s “Tavis Smiley” (midnight/Ch. 13) . . . Time Warner Cable has launched a new (free) service, “Look Back,” which allows digital video customers the ability to go back within a three-day window to watch shows — without setting their DVR. Timewarnercable.com has more information.