Ed. Note: When I asked him to come on board as a contributor to make the case for “Men of a Certrain Age,” Jon told me he wasn’t a writer. After reading this debut piece, I have to disagree. Please welcome him aboard – JN.

I’m not a big television-watcher.  I’ve had my fill of series devoted to assorted cops, lawyers and doctors, along with sitcoms that weren’t funny and reality shows that bored me to tears.  But in 2009 the TV gods had mercy and directed me to a series that became one of my all-time favorites.

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“Men Of A Certain Age” is one of those rare shows that makes you glad Philo Farnsworth invented television.  I was hooked at the opening intro — a montage of what looked like grainy Super-8 home movies of three kids growing up together, with the Beach Boys’ “When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)” playing in the background.  The show’s basic storyline is deceptively simple: three male friends-from-childhood are shown living their lives and relating to each other, their families, workmates and friends.

Ray Romano plays Joe, newly-divorced party store owner, father of two teens and struggling gambling addict.  Andre Braugher is Owen, married with young kids and selling cars for his overbearing father’s Chevrolet dealership.  And Scott Bakula plays Terry, a usually-unemployed actor and ladies’ man who is finally breaking free from his extended adolescence.

What makes MOACA remarkable (and truly memorable) is its understated way of looking at ordinary lives.  There is no “formula” to this show – you won’t find the stereotypical gay brother, smart-mouthed brats who disdain their idiotic parents or heavy-handed political messages.  These friends are just attempting to support each other through their daily trials and tribulations while trying to remain good and decent men along the way. 

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Phil Rosenthal is the co-creator of one of the most successful family sitcoms of all time – the nine-season ratings juggernaut “Everybody Loves Raymond.” The show won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series twice along the way, and is still playing in reruns in nearly 150 countries around the globe.

But just when Rosenthal could have kicked back and counted his money the rest of his life, a Russian television network came calling and invited him to re-create “Raymond,” adapting it for Russian TV audiences. Russian TV had never featured a sitcom before (go figure), so Rosenthal saw it as an intriguing challenge and jumped in.

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He was smart enough to bring a camera crew with him, filming a humorous documentary about the process and surprising ups and downs involved for the new documentary “Exporting Raymond,” which opens in limited release today and expands over the next few weeks. It’s a funny film, of course, but also fascinating for its insights into Russian culture and how an American phenomenon has to change to be understood by a foreign, and formerly enemy, nation.

Rosenthal sat down for a one-on-one interview with me recently to discuss his film and the history of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” offering up both amusing anecdotes and surprising revelations along the way.

Q: How did you first meet Ray Romano?

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“Men of a Certain Age,” unlike many contemporary adult dramas, does not revolve around doctors or lawyers or police officers dealing with the tough realities that their occupations entail. The show is about three good friends in the middle of their lives as they deal with ordinary everday situations. That plot of the show may prove to be its greatest strength and its greatest weakness but for the time being, the show has proven to be a solid addition to the TNT lineup.

“Men” revolves around the three main male characters who often hike, dine and hang out together.  The three characters all have interesting lives. Owen (Andre Braugher), who has a wife and kids at home, works at a car dealership and is often frustrated by his tough boss at work, who happens to be his father. Terry (Scott Bakula), is a carefree free-spirit struggling to be an actor while taking on regular office jobs. Joe (Ray Romano), who is separated from his wife but sees his children regularly, runs his own party store business and has a gambling problem. (more…)

Jeffrey Katzenberg and Dreamworks Animation have definitively proven that Digital 3-D is a blockbuster format. Not only has Monsters vs. Aliens seized a monstrous $58.2M in opening weekend ticket sales, Real-D (the technology provider) and Dreamworks have revealed that $25M or so of that gross was generated specifically from 3-D and IMAX 3-D. Fox is reporting that fully 43% of the total take was from the estimated 2,218 Digital 3-D screens.

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS tore up the box office this weekend - especially in 3-D

That means that the Per Screen Average for the movie in 3-D was about $11,700, while the 4,800 or so traditional 35MM 2-D engagements had a Per Theatre of just an estimated $4,780. Exhibitors who figured out a way to overcome the credit crunch and pay the estimated $100,000 to convert a traditional theatre into one that can show Digital 3-D made a killing this weekend.

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Something didn’t sound quite right when I listened to Jon Stewart’s set-up for his sarcastic blast of CNBC’s Rick Santelli as a hypocrite who thinks federal bailout money for corporate America is just fine while a helping hand from Uncle Sam (a bailout by another name) for strapped mortgage holders isn’t. So I reverted to the method I’d come to rely on while an investigative reporter when I could not follow what a fast talking con artist was actually saying: I transcribed what he said. And sure enough, the words on paper revealed Stewart’s sophistry that my ears could not pinpoint: (more…)