President Obama dropped by NBC Thursday for what will hopefully be a future fireside chat series, although better off without Jay Leno. And who was out in full force to greet our newly elected leader but a bunch of grumpy SAG members.

Oh yes, and ousted national exec Doug Allen. The actors’ union continues to gripe about Hollywood’s “last, best and final offer” regarding contract negotiations.

While SAG has all but agreed on the new-media terms of the producers’ offer, holding out any further runs the risk of stunting Hollywood’s evolution. Studios will soon have no option but to make a push for more online content, otherwise they might lose the digital demographic.

NBC Universal and News Corp’s foray into viral video, Hulu, celebrated a big win last week, ranking as the number-two video website, coming in only behind YouTube. The site now has 9.5 million unique viewers, according to Nielsen. And all those clicks equal potential dollars for producers. They can take in upwards of $40 for every thousand virtual eyes.

Across the pond, the BBC just boosted web spending by $44.3 million over the next three years. Much of the Beeb’s online content is expected to focus on news and educational programming. PBS should begin considering a similar effort.

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If the fact that media companies are quickly turning to dust hasn’t scared America yet, one recent news item should be causing serious concern. Sesame Workshop, best known for producing “Sesame Street,” announced last week it would be cutting 20 percent of its staff thanks to financial concerns.

Newspapers will find their way online and network newscasts can relocate to sister cable channels, should ratings for the big three continue to fall. But when Big Bird and the gang start hurting, impressionable children might be left with few alternatives. My childhood was built around the Count running through basic math before breaking into a demented laugh.

“Sesame Street” launched on November 10, 1969, delivering children’s entertainment programming focused entirely on education and awareness.

Show co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney found other television offerings, before “Sesame Street” came along, a “disgrace” made up of “cheap” cartoons. So she consulted with academia to develop a show that taught language and math in an entertaining way. My childhood was built around The Count running through basic math before breaking into a demented laugh.

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The recent circulation of Christian Bale’s meltdown on the set of “Terminator: Salvation” reminded me of that infamous recording that threatened the career of another lauded actor. No, I’m not referring to Michael Richards’ racist tirade or David Hasselhoff’s burger incident. Neither of those celebrities’ careers could sink any lower.

Alec Baldwin, however, was hit with a harsh blow when a rather nasty voice mail left for his daughter hit the Internet. Radio stations picked it up, and of course the gossip news programs ran it into the ground. Calling his daughter a “thoughtless little pig” is quite possibly the cruelest yet most hilarious bit to come out of Hollywood in years.

But despite such negative publicity, Baldwin’s career has only gone up since that incident. The “30 Rock” star has even repackaged himself as a comic powerhouse and culture aficionado. Turner Classic Movies announced last week that Baldwin will co-host its TV program “The Essentials” opposite Robert Osborne. And if TCM wasn’t high-brow enough, he is now the voice of the New York Philharmonic.

From “Beetlejuice” to his legendary role in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Baldwin never ceases to entertain. Most weeks his performance in “30 Rock” rivals the best of television comics, proving that talent might be the only remedy for bad PR.

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Word of early renewals came down the pipeline this week as the CW delivered golden tickets to shows including “90210,” “Smallville,” “Gossip Girl” and “America’s Next Top Model.”

Kudos to the casts and crews. But instead of thanking CW exec Dawn Ostroff, these shows should consider giving a big hug to an advertiser’s greatest nemesis — the DVR.

After “90210’s” much anticipated debut late last year, which ranked as the highest-rated premiere in the CW’s history (as short lived as that might be), the following week things became grim.

Tanked might be a more accurate description. Ratings were down 30 percent for the second episode. Ouch. While traditional ratings have continued to remain on the low side, earlier this month it saw a slight increase amongst females … and myself.

However, an interesting development occurred shortly after the “90210″ premiere, as the CW began reporting that their last hope (rumor had it that if the show flopped, so would the network) posted the biggest increase of any scripted series on television when factoring in “Live+7” ratings.

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BroadwayWorld TV is proud to present the three leading villains of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Musical theatre star Heidi Blickenstaff, of [title of show] fame, is currently sassing things up as “Ursula,” a role she first understudied. And Tyler Maynard is now joined by Eric LaJuan Summers as the electric duo, “Flotsam” and “Jetsam.”

Blickenstaff also appeared on Broadway in The Full Monty, and toured with Jeckyll & Hyde, Steel Pier, The Who’s Tommy, Dreamgirls and The Full Monty. She recently received the Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Meet John Doe at Ford’s Theatre. And she last worked with Mermaid director Francesca Zambello in the world premiere of Prairie at New York Stage and Film.

BroadwayWorld’s James Sims caught up with Heidi Blickenstaff, Tyler Maynard and Eric LaJuan Summers upstairs at Disney’s New Amsterdam Theatre to get the backstory on their taking on such memorable villains in The Little Mermaid.

Produced for BroadwayWorld.com on March 3, 2009.