Violinist David McCarroll will be the featured soloist at Symphony of the Redwoods' winter concerts set for Saturday, February 20, 2010, and Sunday, February 21, 2010. Courtesy photo.

FORT BRAGG – Symphony of the Redwoods presents violinist David McCarroll as the featured soloist for its winter concert on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. at Cotton Auditorium, Fort Bragg.

McCarroll will play Prokofiev's “Violin Concerto No. 2.”

The program also includes Ravel's “Le Tombeau de Couperin” and Mozart's “Symphony No. 40.”

Tickets are available online at www.symphonyoftheredwoods.org , and locally at Harvest Market & Tangents in Fort Bragg, Out of This World & Sea Cottage Realty in Mendocino, and at the door.

This clearly means that major corporations can now give millions of dollars compared to the small political donations the average citizens can afford. In other words. corporations can afford a lot more "free speech" than can you or I.

Due to this alarming development, Second Sunday Cinema is showing "The Corporation," a widely-respected and information-dense documentary examining corporations in the US: what they are and how they have come to be so prominent and powerful in this country, for good and ill.

The movie will be shown Sunday, Feb. 14, at Clearlake United Methodist Church at 14521 Pearl Ave. near Mullen in Clearlake. Admission is free.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for snacks and socializing; the film starts at 6 p.m.

Early in the last century corporations were granted "personhood," just like any individual human being. But they also enjoy other rights enjoyed not by average citizens but only by themselves. This, along with their wealth and connections, makes for a very uneven political struggle. There can be no true democracy without economic democracy.

For more information, call Shannon Tolson, 707-279-2957.

Only a few short years ago, Stephen McPherson, president of the ABC Entertainment Group, gambled his fall schedule on 10 new series, which is kind of like replacing all five cards dealt in a poker game.

In any case, stability now reigns at the ABC television network, and McPherson continues in his position as head honcho.

Speaking to a gathering of the nation’s TV critics, McPherson acknowledged indirectly that success comes not just from stability in a schedule, but the willingness to gamble when necessary.

“I think we are going to continue to be ambitious,” he said, adding “that’s where we succeed.”

On the flip side, he also noted that “where we have been derivative and played it safe, I think we fail.”

In this regard, it’s evident that ABC is going to miss “Lost” when its run comes to an end.

I confess that I never get caught up in the hoopla over “Lost,” the drama that launched in September 2004 and has been nominated, by McPherson’s count, for 146 awards.

Having won the prestigious Peabody Award as well as the Emmy and Golden Globe for best drama series, “Lost” is a creative force to be reckoned with, but still I never succumbed to its appeal.

Frankly, I found myself “lost” when watching “Lost,” which is likely to happen when you tune in briefly to show that requires total commitment to faithful viewing and understanding of the key players.

In any case, ABC has announced that “Lost” comes to an end in a prime-time special event on Sunday, May 23, a two-hour episode from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Preceding the finale will be a recap special from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., something like a Cliff Notes for the occasional viewer.

McPherson issued a statement that the ABC network is “giving the producers an unprecedented opportunity to respect the fans and really satisfy the viewers with a spectacular conclusion.” Fans of “Lost” now have a challenge to see if the network lives up to its promise.

Stability in a network is also evident when commitments are made early to renew viable series. ABC has solidified its Wednesday night comedy lineup by announcing early pickups of “Cougar Town,” “The Middle” and “Modern Family,” all of which are freshman shows.

“Modern Family,” which makes the cookie cutter mold of man and wife and 2.5 kids a thing of the past, is the network’s top-rated new comedy. Starring Patricia Heaton, “The Middle” has found success with the traditional family and solid Midwestern values. As for “Cougar Town,” Courteney Cox is all the rage as a newly divorced single mother of a certain age submerged in the dating scene.

In case you missed it, ABC recently premiered the new legal drama “The Deep End,” making up for the fact that “Boston Legal” ran its course.

Instead of delving primarily into the quirks of senior partners, “The Deep End” focuses on the tragedies and triumphs of five earnest 20-something first-year associates fighting to stay afloat in one of Los Angeles’ top law firms.

Not surprisingly, the neophytes are tossed into the shark-infested waters of a cutthroat environment. The five associates struggle with ethical decisions, while the firm’s partners are up to their eyeballs in backstabbing and the occasional office romances. Billy Zane’s partner is married to another partner (Nicole Ari Parker), but that doesn’t keep him from sleeping with the paralegal.

Arriving later this spring as a midseason replacement is the quirky drama “Happy Town,” a show that producer Scott Rosenberg told TV critics would generate inevitable comparisons to “Twin Peaks.” In fact, Rosenberg recounted how he bet someone involved with that show that he would provide a dollar for every review of his new show that doesn’t mention “Twin Peaks” and that he guaranteed he would wind up not owing a nickel.

According to the producer, the comparison is inevitable because “Happy Town” is a “spooky, small-town show.” I am expecting Rosenberg to send me a dollar because I will not directly bring up a comparison to David Lynch’s cult favorite creation.

Haplin, Minnesota is a small town haunted by a number of unsolved kidnappings. After an uneasy peace for five years, the town now faces a dark new crime that brings all its unresolved fears to the surface. Has the elusive “Magic Man,” who many believe is responsible for the bizarre abductions, returned to claim another victim?

The motives of prominent citizens come under scrutiny as their own secrets and personalities are peeled back one layer at a time. Dragged away from his idyllic family life to investigate the new spate of crimes, Tommy Conroy (Geoff Stults), a small town deputy under the wing of his dad, long-time popular Sheriff Griffin Conroy (M.C. Gainey), has never had to take charge of Haplin’s law enforcement.

On the other side of town, the long shadow of the Haplin founding family, represented by mysterious matriarch Peggy Haplin (Frances Conroy) and her son, John (Steven Weber), who runs the local bread factory, try to maintain control. John’s daughter was one of the “Magic Man’s” victims, and he has not given up hope of finding her and seeing justice.

Like some other show I won’t mention, “Happy Town” is full of colorful characters caught in webs of intrigue and mystery. Producer Rosenberg claims that his show looks to give answers in swift fashion. Every time a question is raised, it should be answered in the next episode, though the answer is likely to open up another question.

“The idea is to really be giving individual satisfactions within each episode to reassure the audience that answers are coming and that it’s not just going to be dragging something else,” said the producer in his comforting words.

Though not ready yet to announce its all-star cast, ABC kicks off the 10th season of the hit reality series “Dancing with the Stars” with a huge two-hour premiere on Monday, March 22.

I had no idea we’re already upon a double-digit season. Sometimes I feel like Rip Van Winkle, rising from a deep slumber and unaware of important cultural news like this.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

However, the failed experiment of placing Jay Leno on the 10 p.m. hour redounded to the benefit of the other major networks.

Speaking to a gathering of TV critics from around the nation, Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, proclaimed that the fall season propelled her network to the number one spot in prime-time, daytime and late night programming.

Alluding to the recent fall schedule, when CBS introduced the new series of “The Good Wife” and “NCIS: Los Angeles,” Tassler said it has been “a great season for network television” with an “outstanding freshman class across the board,” citing the successful examples of “Modern Family” on ABC, “Glee” on FOX, and “The Vampire Diaries” on the CW network.

Noticeably absent from her praise of vital programming on other networks was any mention of NBC.

Actually, all of NBC’s competitors should be thankful that the peacock network completely bungled its 10 p.m. schedule, allowing the rest of them to move in on the valuable prime-time real estate.

No doubt, CBS is riding high right now, and things look great on the immediate horizon with the upcoming Super Bowl and “The Grammy” awards, not to mention the new season launches for “The Amazing Race” and “Survivor.”

As Tassler so notably observed, “there is no substitute for developing great shows, working with great talent, and getting your program on the air.”

Viewed as a three-part strategy, the last piece of her observation is even more critical when considering the timing of a new program’s debut. The new reality series “Undercover Boss” will be unveiled after the Super Bowl on Super Sunday, Feb. 7.

“Undercover Boss” is a reality series that follows high level corporate executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their own companies. Each week, a different executive will leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their corporation.

In theory, while working alongside their employees, these executives will learn about themselves, the effects their decisions have on others, where the problems lie within their organization, and the perception of their company.

The producers of “Undercover Boss” are hoping to find that the executives, as a bonus, may discover the unsung heroes of their work force. I am wondering if they might instead uncover some old-fashioned featherbedding. Too bad we can’t get the postmaster general to work in the back room sorting through sacks of mail.

This program is not likely to work all that well with smaller companies where the boss may be more visible to the workers. The element of surprise is essential. This should fairly well remove any possibility that we will be treated to Donald Trump working on a construction crew for one of his real estate development projects.

Another element to the timing strategy is the upcoming 20th installment of “Survivor.” It premieres with a special two-hour episode on Thursday, Feb. 11.

What is the significance of that date, you ask? The launch of “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” is the day before the start of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which is being broadcast by the struggling NBC network with the hope if not expectation of a ratings bonanza.

“Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” reunites 20 former castaways, including some of the most heroic and controversial contestants.

The unforgettable castaways will compete deep in the South Pacific on the breathtaking island of Samoa and will be divided into two tribes of 10 comprised of the best “heroes” and the biggest “villains” to ever play the game.

According to the handy notes provided by the CBS publicity machine, the “heroes” have been defined by their decisions of integrity, courage and honor, while the “villains” have mastered their skills of deception, manipulation and duplicity. The series will follow the relationships and conflicts that develop among the two divergent groups.

In the “villain” category is Jerri Manthey, who achieved her own degree of notoriety for making a big splash with the cover and an inside pictorial feature in “Playboy.” She’s in fine company with Kim Kardashian.

If there is one guy in Hollywood who will never be out of work, it must be producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the prolific mover behind just about any big action movie and TV program in the last 10 to 20 years. His name is synonymous with high-octane action and explosive adventure.

His feature film resume includes “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Bad Boys,” “Top Gun” and more recently “National Treasure.” On television, he’s produced “Without a Trace,” “CSI: NY” and “CSI: Miami,” to name a few.

For the first time ever, Bruckheimer will now produce a medical drama. “Miami Medical,” coming on the CBS schedule in early April, is about a team of expert surgeons who thrive on the adrenaline rush of working at one of the premiere trauma facilities in the country while drawing upon their wit and irreverence to survive on the edge.

The “Alpha Team” of doctors includes Jeremy Northam’s Dr. Matthew Proctor, new to the trauma team after leaving a lucrative private practice following his return from a tour of duty in a MASH unit during the first Gulf War.

Lana Parrilla’s Dr. Eva Zambrano is a workaholic surgeon who wishes she had more time for a personal life. Mike Vogel’s Dr. Chris Deleo is a playboy who thrives on the high-stakes of trauma medicine. Fresh out of medical school, Elisabeth Harnois’ Dr. Serena Warren is quickly learning the meaning of trial by fire. The glue that holds this team of doctors together, Omar Gooding’s head nurse Tuck Brody seeks to bring balance to this chaotic corner of the medical profession.

With a solid schedule, CBS only needs to tinker on the margins to maintain its edge. Another round of “Survivor” and a possible hit show from Jerry Bruckheimer should do the trick.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.