Discovery Channel

Final Offer A baseball with the autographs of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the premiere of this show on Discovery Thursday nights at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9, Central time.

Television Review | ‘Final Offer’

Adding Some Guesswork to Memorabilia Sales, Just for Televised Fun

By NEIL GENZLINGER

Discovery’s new series “Final Offer” shows memorabilia sellers negotiating with buyers for a good deal.

Lee Rich Dies at 93; Helped Create Both J.R. and John-Boy

By PAUL VITELLO

Mr. Rich was a founder of Lorimar Productions, which developed “Dallas,” “The Waltons” and many other hit TV shows and films.

They Already Know They Can Dance, and They Want to Be Stars

By REBECCA MILZOFF

“Breaking Pointe,” starting on CW this week, follows dancers of various levels at Ballet West in Salt Lake City, competing onstage and behind the scenes.

May 30, 2012

A Prime Time Spotlight for Justin Bieber

The network described the program as a documentary about the young pop star as he embarks on a world tour to support the album "Believe."

May 30, 2012

Deconstructing Harry (and Joan and Don): Scholarly Blog Takes on 'Mad Men'

Essays from the blog will be part of "Mad Men, Mad World: Sex, Politics, Style and the 1960s," coming out later this year.

May 28, 2012

'Mad Men' Watch: Girls, You Really Got Him Going

On a significant episode of "Mad Men," Don loses, in one way or another, the main women in his life.

More Television News in ArtsBeat »

Design Notebook

Flash-Matic, right, was invented by Eugene J. Polley, top right, who died May 20. A 1956 Zenith ad shows how the device worked. Today, Ident Technology’s prototype Gesture Remote, right, allows users to control TV with a wave of the hand.

Pushing All Our Buttons

By WILLIAM GRIMES

It frustrates us, we fight over it, and still we can’t live without the TV remote.

Critic’s Notebook

Justin Silver, who consults with urban dog owners on CBS’s new series “Dogs in the City.”

Loyal and Loving Beyond Reason, and That’s Just the Owners

By NEIL GENZLINGER

In the next few weeks, new TV programs will focus on codependent owners, dire shelter conditions and Americans’ abiding affection for dogs.

Television Review

Matt Barr, left, and Tom Berenger in this tale of a noted rivalry.

Guns, Bad Blood and Something About a Dog: Inflaming a Family Feud

By MIKE HALE

“Hatfields & McCoys,” a History mini-series starring Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton, is a perfectly respectable piece of work about those two 19th-century feuding families.

Television Review

Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen in “Hemingway & Gellhorn,” directed by Philip Kaufman.

Literary Lions Stalk Each Other Through Wars and Across the World

By MIKE HALE

“Hemingway & Gellhorn,” starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman as the title characters, has its premiere on HBO.

Jim Halfens, a Dutch entrepreneur, wants to introduce “Divorce Hotel,” a weekend program for couples seeking a speedy split-up, to the United States.

Quick Getaways, at the Divorce Hotel

By JANET MORRISSEY

The Dutch entrepreneur behind Divorce Hotel, a weekend program for couples looking to end their marriages quickly, wants to introduce the concept to the United States.

Video: Business Day Live | Divorce Retreats

With a Job Like His, You’d Brood Too

By MIKE HALE

Kurt Wallander, the brooding fictional police detective, shows another side of himself in some new DVD releases.

Al Gordon, in rear with glasses, with Jack Benny, center, and the writers Sam Perrin, left, Hal Goldman and George Balzer.

Al Gordon, Skit Writer for Benny and Burnett, Dies at 89

By PAUL VITELLO

Mr. Gordon also came up with jokes for the Smothers Brothers, Flip Wilson and Carol Channing.

How HBO GO, the network’s video Web site, looks on an iPad.

Seeing HBO’s ‘Girls’ Without Buying a Television

By BRIAN STELTER

What do you do when you don’t have a TV set but want to watch an HBO show? Call your parents and ask for the password.

Television Review

Mermaids: The Body Found The film, on Animal Planet, will be shown on Sunday night at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.

One More Reason to Fear the Beach

By NEIL GENZLINGER

The film “Mermaids: The Body Found,” on Animal Planet, takes on the feel of “The Blair Witch Project” as it hunts down the title creatures.

Advertising

Battle Over Dish’s Ad-Skipping Begins as Networks Go to Court

By BRIAN STELTER

The major television networks are fighting to preserve the traditional model of paying for their programming.

Critic’s Notebook

As he was crowned the winner of this year's

‘Idol’ Winner Cloaks His Talent in Modesty

By JON CARAMANICA

If Phillip Phillips had been craving a victory on “American Idol,” he did an outstanding job of hiding it. But on the show’s 11th season, he performed as if there were no competition.

ArtsBeat: Phillips Takes ‘Idol,’ Echoing Winners Past

Advertising

AT&T linked “Daybreak” with the Fox show “Touch.”

When Marketing Links Web and TV Dramas

By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN

“Daybreak,” a Web-only series from the marketers of AT&T;, will be promoted with a 15-second commercial during the season finale of “Touch,” on Fox.

From Opinion

Room for Debate

Whitewashing on the Small Screen

Should there be more of a push to feature minorities in lead roles, or does this get in the way of truthful storytelling?

From the Sunday Magazine

Can ‘The Killing’ Make a Comeback?

By ADAM STERNBERGH

Veena Sud’s show, ‘The Killing,’ wasn’t the first one to anger its audience. But it’s the first to alienate a new breed of viewers with the power to fight back.