• by October 21, 2003

HERE WE GO AGAIN - CBS will air a biopic on Ronald Reagan's presidency during the November sweeps, starring James Brolin as Reagan and Judy Davis as Nancy Reagan. Conservatives are already shouting about the treatment of their favorite president, claiming a Hollywood bias toward liberalism will make for an unfair (and sometimes unflattering) portrayal. Riff won't claim a liberal or conservative bias here but there's plenty of red meat in the Reagans' life for fodder on both sides.

CAMELOT: THE TV SERIES - ABC is pursuing a weekly drama series based on the life of another first family, the Kennedys. It would focus on Camelot beginning as then-U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy decides to run for the presidency in 1959. There's no doubt that the series would boast features that many dramas would love to have: Strong characters, intense drama and yes, sex and violence. Plus, if the series lasts several years, we know what the cliffhangers could be: First season, JFK wins presidency; second season, U.S. finds missiles in Cuba; third season, JFK goes to Dallas; fourth season, Jacqueline Kennedy escapes notoriety and Robert F. Kennedy pulls out of his funk to challenge arch enemy, President Lyndon Johnson. Beyond that, Riff thinks the high-concept drama falters.

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE. MAYBE - First Court TV petitions the Supreme Court to open the high court's hearings to cameras and TV coverage and now Sci Fi Channel is urging the federal government to cough up what it knows about UFOs, particularly a purported sighting in Kecksburg, Pa., in 1965. Sci Fi thinks there's plenty of material to mine for new programming in the line between science fiction and science fact. Beats reruns of the original Star Trek.

NOT THAT TYPE OF TIMES - After riffing Monday about stately New York Time's typeface makeover, we awoke bright and early this morning to see the changes for ourselves. But then we realized halfway through today's edition that the fonts all looked the same. Of course, the Riff was looking at NewYorkTimes.com. We stopped reading the print edition a long time ago.