Television

Abrams is the executive producer and creator of the ABC series Lost about a group of survivors from an airplane crash marooned on an island. He also acts as the creator and executive producer of the series Alias. And he wrote the screenplays for the films Armageddon, Forever Young, and Regarding Henry.

We broadcast excerpts from a recent panel presented by The New Yorker magazine. On the panel were network news anchors Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather. They discuss the presidential campaign and network news. The panel was moderated by Ken Auletta, a contributor to The New Yorker who writes the Annals of Communications column for the magazine.

Actor Zach Braff talks about the TV comedy he stars in, Scrubs. Braff wrote and directed the feature film Garden State, which opened in theaters over the summer to critical acclaim. We also speak with the creator of Scrubs, producer Bill Lawrence.

Stewart hosts The Daily Show on Comedy Central. The show has won an Emmy, the coveted Peabody Award, and most recently, the Television Critics Association award. He has a new book, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.

Gordon, host of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, made big bucks in the world of hi-tech before winning more than $1 million in poker tournaments. His new book is called Poker: The Real Deal.

The acclaimed HBO series begins its third season. Simon is the show's creator and executive producer. Simon was a police reporter for The Baltimore Sun who moved to television and wrote for the show Homicide: Life on the Street. Pelecanos is a D.C.-based crime novelist who now writes for TV and film. Esquire magazine calls him "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world."

The new reality TV series, Family Bonds follows Evangelista's bail bonds business. Evangelista lends money to post bond, and if the customer doesn't pay up, he tracks them down. The show airs on HBO Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.

He was the Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2000, and was known for his satirical coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. He's now starring in Comedy Central's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. It airs on Comedy Central (Monday through Thursday, 11:30 p.m. EST).

Maher hosts the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, which just began a new season. Like his previous show, Politically Incorrect, he features a roundtable of guests who make jokes and talk politics. The show is broadcast Friday nights at 11 p.m. Maher is also the author of When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Bin Laden.

Actor Ricky Gervais stars in, writes and directs the hit BBC sitcom, The Office. The show can be seen in the United States on BBC America. Gervais stars as the self-obsessed middle manager David Brent. The satirical The Office is shot in documentary style and follows the goings-on at a suburban paper company where life is stationary. It was just awarded the prestigious Peabody Award. The second season of The Office is available on DVD this month.