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2005 Paley Festival Lineup Announced!

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Los Angeles, CA—The Museum of Television & Radio will present the twenty-second annual William S. Paley Television Festival from March 2 through March 16, 2005. The Paley Festival, named for William S. Paley, founder of both the Museum and CBS, celebrates television's rich and diverse programming and the creative process behind it. During these evenings, the audience views episodes or highlights of the featured work and has the opportunity to ask questions of the cast and creative teams or the individual involved in its production. 

"It is with great pride that the Museum presents this annual salute to the very talented and innovative people of television's creative community," said Stuart N. Brotman, president of The Museum of Television & Radio. "This year's William S. Paley Television Festival once again gives television fans the opportunity to go behind the scenes, both for some of this season's hottest shows as well as some old favorites."

Since the first Festival in 1984, the Museum has honored more than 200 programs, including 24, Alias, Cheers, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Friends, Gunsmoke, The Honeymooners, Laugh-In, M*A*S*H, The O.C., Roots, Route 66, Sábado Gigante, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Six Feet Under, South Park, thirtysomething, The Untouchables, The West Wing, and The X-Files, along with such personalities as Lucille Ball, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Jane Fonda, John Frankenheimer, Angela Lansbury, Jack Lemmon, Mary Martin, Carl Reiner, Gene Roddenberry, Garry Shandling, Flip Wilson, Jonathan Winters, and many more. Most of these panels have been recorded and are available for viewing at the Museum.        

The 2005 William S. Paley Television Festival schedule is as follows:

NYPD BLUE

Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00 p.m.

Now in its twelfth and final season, this intense exploration of the public and private terrains of New York's finest not only pushed the boundaries of what is permissible on network television, but secured the emotional investment of its many fans by unraveling a complex and often moving saga with fierce intelligence and a willingness to portray its cop heroes with all flaws intact. In Person: Steven Bochco (Creator/Executive Producer), Bill Brochtrup ("John Irwin"), Gordon Clapp ("Detective Greg Medavoy"), Bill Clark (Executive Producer), Kim Delaney ("Detective Diane Russell"), Dennis Franz ("Detective Andy Sipowicz"), Mark-Paul Gosselaar ("Detective John Clark, Jr."), Sharon Lawrence ("ADA Sylvia Costas"), Gail O'Grady ("Donna Abandondo"), Henry Simmons ("Detective Baldwin Jones"), Mark Tinker (Executive Producer). Additional panelists to be announced.

 IN LIVING COLOR

Thursday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m.

Along with reviving the lost art of the comedy/variety show, this groundbreaking and daringly irreverent creation of writer-producer-impresario Keenen Ivory Wayans earned its props by lampooning every known stereotype—white, black, Asian, gay, straight, critic, clown, fire marshal, you name it-and introducing America to such future stars as Jim Carrey, Rosie Perez, Jennifer Lopez, David Alan Grier, and the whole phenomenally talented Wayans clan. In Person: Keenen Ivory Wayans (Creator/Executive Producer/Cast Member), Shawn Wayans (Cast Member), Marlon Wayans (Cast Member). Additional panelists to be announced.

 ADULT SWIM

Friday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m.

Glazed with the Hanna-Barbera heritage and infused with the sharpest, most absurd comedy writing since Manimal, Cartoon Network's gleefully subversive lineup of original animation (and other treats) is the favored destination for those who like their 'toons served on an oddly shaped platter: an after-hours bonanza where every night is Saturday morning—but, you know, for adults. In Person: Keith Crofford (Vice President of Production, "Adult Swim"), Seth Green (Creator/Voice Talent, Robot Chicken), Tim Heidecker (Creator/Voice Talent, Tom Goes to the Mayor), Matt Maiellaro (Creator/Voice Talent, Aqua Teen Hunger Force), Matt Senreich (Creator/Voice Talent, Robot Chicken), Eric Wareheim (Creator/Voice Talent, Tom Goes to the Mayor), Dave Willis (Creator/Voice Talent, Aqua Teen Hunger Force).

 LAW & ORDER

Saturday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m.

As the guiding force behind Law & Order and its universe of spin-offs (Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury), Dick Wolf has created a brand unrivaled in the history of the medium. Producers and cast members from each of the shows will join Wolf to discuss how the Law & Order formula—fast-paced, ripped-from-the-headlines plotting, gritty authenticity, and fearless exploration of important social issues—continues to set the standard for the prime-time crime drama. In Person: Neal Baer (Executive Producer, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Rene Balcer (Executive Producer, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Walon Green (Executive Producer, Law & Order: Trial By Jury), Peter Jankowski (Executive Producer, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial By Jury), Eric Overmeyer (Executive Producer, Law & Order), Dick Wolf (Creator/Executive Producer, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial By Jury). Additional participating cast members to be announced.     

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

Tuesday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Like Venus rising out of a sea of reality programming and testosterone-driven policiers, this phenomenally successful, female-centered mixture of dark comedy and melodrama—a "Sex and the Suburbs," only with lurid secrets behind every perfectly trimmed hedge—breathes new life into the gloriously catty tradition of such prime-time soaps as Dallas and Melrose Place with a satiric, tongue-in-cheek perspective that transcends camp. In Person:  Marc Cherry (Creator/Executive Producer), Marcia Cross ("Bree Van De Kamp"), Michael Edelstein (Executive Producer), Teri Hatcher ("Susan Mayer"), Felicity Huffman ("Lynette Scavo"), Eva Longoria ("Gabrielle Solis"), Nicollette Sheridan ("Edie Britt"), Tom Spezialy (Executive Producer). Additional panelists to be announced.

JACK & BOBBY

Wednesday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m.

Inspired by the fundamentally American conceit that anyone can grow up to be president, this inspirational blend of politics and wholesome family drama presents a mosaic of everyday events from the lives of president-to-be Bobby and his older sibling Jack. Then we flash forward forty-some years to see how the self-knowledge Bobby gained from his boyhood mistakes reverberates in the decisions he makes as leader of the free world. In Person: Greg Berlanti (Creator/Executive Producer), Christine Lahti ("Grace McCallister"), Logan Lerman ("Bobby McCallister"), Matt Long ("Jack McCallister"), Thomas Schlamme (Executive Producer). Additional panelists to be announced.

THE L WORD

Thursday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m.

Having broken ground with the gay-themed series Queer as Folk, Showtime took another step forward with creator/writer Ilene Chaiken's chic lesbian drama—a potent and unapologetic mix of bedroom secrets, eclectic characters, and emotional entanglements—in which a tight-knit group of women are presented as complex individuals, defined far beyond their sexuality. In Person: Jennifer Beals ("Bette Porter"), Ilene Chaiken (Creator, Executive Producer), Erin Daniels ("Dana Fairbanks"), Pam Grier ("Kit Porter"), Leisha Hailey ("Alice Pieszecki"), Laurel Holloman ("Tina Kennard"), Mia Kirshner ("Jenny Schecter"), Eric Lively ("Mark Wayland"), Katherine Moennig ("Shane McCutcheon"), Sarah Shahi ("Carmen").

AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL PALIN

Friday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Whether fueling the three-ring madness of Monty Python's Flying Circus or writing and starring in the wry travel series Around the World in 80 Days, the amazingly versatile comedian-actor-producer-writer-children's author-documentarian-all-around star of stage and screen Michael Palin has delighted in entertaining and elucidating ("The Fish Slapping Dance," anyone?) audiences for more than four decades—with (thankfully) no end in sight. In Person: Michael Palin.

LOST

Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m.

Steeped in an exhilarating blend of familiar genre tropes and brain-twisting plots, and stamped with the unmistakable verve of cocreator J.J. Abrams, this ingenious and incredibly entertaining nod to television's past (The Twilight Zone) and present (Survivor) follows forty-odd strandees as they struggle for survival on a mysterious isle rife with polar bears, Lord of the Flies-style intrigue, and one extremely inhospitable monster. In Person: J.J. Abrams (Creator/Executive Producer/Writer/ Director), Naveen Andrews ("Sayid"), Bryan Burk (Executive Producer), Carlton Cuse (Showrunner), Emilie de Ravin ("Claire"), Matthew Fox ("Jack"), Jorge Garcia ("Hurley"), Maggie Grace ("Shannon"), Josh Holloway ("Sawyer"), Malcolm David Kelley ("Walt"), Daniel Dae Kim ("Jin"), Yunjin Kim ("Sun"), Evangeline Lilly ("Kate"), Damon Lindelof (Cocreator/Executive Producer), Dominic Monaghan ("Charlie"), Terry O'Quinn ("Locke"), Harold Perrineau ("Michael"), Ian Somerhalder ("Boone").

VERONICA MARS

Monday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m.

Whether going undercover at hippie communes, exposing school-election rigging, befriending misunderstood gang leaders, nerds, and other school outcasts, or sweet-talking her way into all sorts of secret places—all the while keeping on the trail of the case that changed her life, the murder of her best friend—the titular teen sleuth of this appealing detective show is a plucky, fearless solver of crimes and other misdeeds, a Nancy Drew for the twenty-first century. In Person: Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars"), Enrico Colantoni ("Keith Mars"), Joel Silver (Executive Producer), Rob Thomas (Creator/ Executive Producer). Additional panelists to be announced.

BOSTON LEGAL

Tuesday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m.

James Spader and William Shatner reprise their Emmy Award–winning roles from The Practice in this fast-paced and sardonic spin-off about the professional and personal lives of a high-priced brigade of brilliant but emotionally—and often ethically—challenged civil litigators. Created by David E. Kelley, television's reigning paterfamilias of courtroom-themed shows. In Person: Rene Auberjonois ("Paul Lewiston"), Candice Bergen ("Shirley Schmidt"), Bill D'Elia (Executive Producer), Scott Kaufer (Executive Producer), David E. Kelley (Creator/Executive Producer), Rhona Mitra ("Tara Wilson"), Monica Potter ("Lori Colson"), William Shatner ("Denny Crane"), James Spader ("Alan Shore"), Mark Valley ("Brad Chase"), Betty White ("Catherine Piper").

DEADWOOD

Wednesday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Merging a dark vision of frontier history with an unvarnished realism, this adult western from creator David Milch envisions the fabled American West as a ruthlessly wild, uncivilized milieu: a sepia-toned battleground where a down-and-dirty array of fictional and historical characters, schemers and dreamers, outlaws and entrepreneurs, prostitutes and racketeers are locked in a mythic power struggle. In Person: Powers Boothe ("Cy Tolliver"), Garret Dillahunt ("Francis Wolcott"), Brad Dourif ("Doc Cochran"), Gregg Fienberg (Executive Producer), Paula Malcomson ("Trixie"), Ian McShane ("Al Swearengen"), David Milch (Creator/Executive Producer), Timothy Olyphant ("Seth Bullock"), Molly Parker ("Alma Garret"), Carolyn Strauss (President, HBO Entertainment), Robin Weigert ("Calamity Jane").

TICKETS

Tickets will go on sale to Museum Members on Saturday, February 5, 2005. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning Friday, February 11, 2005. Ticket prices are $25 per event for individual Museum Members and $29 per event for the general public ($25 for senior citizens and students with valid ID). 

To qualify for the Member discount, you may purchase Memberships with Paley Festival tickets at the Museum or via TicketWeb (service charges apply to phone and Internet sales).   

Tickets can be purchased as follows:

  • At The Museum of Television & Radio, 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills (corner of North Beverly Drive and Little Santa Monica) (No service charges apply.)

For Members Only

February 5 & 6; from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

  • By Telephone or Internet (Service charges apply.)

Call TicketWeb toll-free at (866) 468-3399 beginning at 9:00 a.m. on February 5 for Members and at 9:00 a.m. on February 11 for the general public, Mondays through Fridays from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or visit www.ticketweb.com.                                                                                                                                            

  • At the Directors Guild of America, DGA Theatre Complex at 7920 Sunset Boulevard (one block west of Fairfax) (No service charges apply.)

Tickets for all events are available at the DGA, only on Festival evenings from

6:00 to 8:00 p.m. 

Please note: There is a four-ticket limit per person, per event. All seating is general admission; seats cannot be reserved. For sold-out evenings, tickets may become available at the Directors Guild ticket table five minutes before starting time. There are no refunds or exchanges. Events and participants are subject to change.

FESTIVAL HOTLINE

Information about the Paley Festival is available through the recorded Festival hotline: (310) 786-1010.

SPECIAL THANKS

The Museum thanks American Airlines, Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, and Panasonic for their generous support of this year's Paley Festival. 

The Museum of Television & Radio, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, was founded by William S. Paley to collect and preserve television and radio programs and advertisements and to make them available to the public. Since opening in 1976, the Museum has organized exhibitions, screening and listening series, seminars, and education classes to showcase its preeminent collection of over 100,000 television and radio programs and advertisements. Programs in the Museum's collection are selected for their artistic, cultural, and historic significance.


The Museum of Television & Radio in New York, located at 25 West 52 Street in Manhattan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m. and until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum of Television & Radio in California, located at 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. Both Museums are closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles. The public areas in both Museums are accessible to wheelchairs, and assisted listening devices are available. Programs are subject to change. You may call the Museum in New York at (212) 621-6800 or in Los Angeles at (310) 786-1000.  Visit the Museum's website at www.mtr.org.