LOS ANGELES — Jesse James has suffered a chipped elbow and two broken ribs on "Jesse James Is a Dead Man." And he’s only halfway done making the daredevil series, which debuts May 31 on Spike.

I asked him what his wife, actress Sandra Bullock, has to say about this workout.

"She loves it," James said. "She tells me every day to go out and break a leg."

James says the show isn’t fun unless there’s some danger involved. He has ridden his motorcycle in the Arctic and set himself on fire, burning himself between the buttocks. But he also says the show has "a humongous amount of humor" and hopes it "comes off a little lighthearted."

James is 39, and another critic told him that she hopes he makes it to 40. "I’m surprised I made it this far," he said. "Life’s only a one-lap race. I’m getting my money’s worth out of my body."

"Vice Squad" joins the TV lineup Tuesday, and it will focus heavily on Orlando.

The show debuts at 9 p.m. on MyNetworkTV.

If the project sounds familiar, it’s a reworking of "Real Vice Cops Uncut," which played on Spike TV in the summer.

The MyNetworkTV version adds news footage. The Spike version showed officers from the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation busting drug sales and making prostitution arrests.

Like the previous show, "Vice Squad" also concentrates on Memphis.

SpongeBob is crying in an ad this morning, page A8 in the Sentinel.

But the tears have stopped, because Viacom and Bright House Networks reached an agreement over a fee dispute. Viacom had threatened to pull 19 of its channels, and Dora the Explorer wept in an ad Wednesday morning that announced the dispute.

A similar SpongeBob ad ran Thursday morning — after the two companies settled their dispute shortly after the new year began.

Viacom issued a release this morning explaining that it was unable to pull the ads because of the timing of the agreement and the New Year’s Day holiday.

In the release, Philippe Dauman, president and CEO of Viacom, apologized to cable customers "for any inconvenience or confusion these ads have caused."

Good thing this dispute is over. I hate to see SpongeBob cry.

Will Nickelodeon and Comedy Central go dark after midnight on Bright House Networks?

Can’t tell you.

"They’re still negotiating," said Sara Brady, spokeswoman for Bright House, said Wednesday afternoon.

Viacom – owner of Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central — is seeking a fee increase from Time Warner Cable. Bright House is part of a partnership with Time Warner. Viacom has put the increase at 23 cents per customer; Bright House says it will add up to $39 million a year — "in addition to the hundreds of millions we pay them," Brady said.

The business negoatiation spilled into public view Wednesday morning when Viacom took out full-page ads showing Dora the Explorer crying. The type in the Orlando Sentinel reads: "Bright House Networks is taking Dora off the air tonight along with 19 of your favorite channels."

Viacom has not responded to a call. But Bright House was talking. "This is a business discussion," Brady said. "They’ve given us extensions in the past. Now they’re impacting children and families. This is a new set of circumstances."

Continue reading Viacom-Bright House negotiations continue »

As 2008 ends, we’re having a flashback.

The news that the Viacom channels — Comedy Central, VH1, Nickelodeon, MTV – could go dark on Bright House Networks sounds like a rerun. Who can forget the standoff between WKMG-Channel 6 and Bright House earlier this year?

WKMG sought a fee from the cable provider; Bright House refused. Customers witnessed as the standoff played out for a month before the two companies — WKMG is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations — reached confidential agreement.

Cut to today: Viacom seeks a fee increase put at an extra 23 cents a month per subscriber. Viacom says its channels have been undervalued by Time Warner Cable.

Time Warner Cable — with which Bright House is affiliated — is resisting and saying it’s trying to contain costs to 13 million customers.

Both sides are negotiating today in New York, and perhaps an agreement will be announced before midnight.

This corporate drama is being played out for customers for a reason: If no agreement is reached, the channels could go black on Bright House at midnight. And both parties want you to see it their way.

A Viacom ad in today’s Sentinel is aimed at viewers: "Why is Dora crying?" it asks. "Bright House is taking Dora off the air tonight along with 19 of your favorite channels."

Actually, if Dora goes off Bright House, that will be Viacom’s call.

Continue reading Bright House-Viacom standoff: Isn’t this a repeat? »