James Sorensen, NBC Richard Schiff blames the demise of his "West Wing" character on the corporate culture at Warner Bros. Click photo for larger image. Go behind the scenes: L.A. Confidential: 2005 Summer Press Tour Journal

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- TV Watch, an advocacy group that started within the past few months with assistance from NBC Universal, News Corp. (corporate parent of Fox) and Viacom (corporate parent of CBS), is trying to move the public debate over indecency on TV away from what its leaders say is a vocal few and toward parental control and a minimum of government interference.

The formation of TV Watch follows numerous complaints about indecent TV -- an unbleeped profanity in a live telecast here, worries over a rebroadcast of "Saving Private Ryan" there -- that snowballed in the wake of Janet Jackson's breast-baring during the Super Bowl telecast in 2004.

TV Watch's Web site, www.televisionwatch.org, explains its primary goals: Americans should determine what is seen and heard in their own homes based on their own personal tastes. The TV industry should rate programs and promote awareness of ratings tools. The group warns, "Either we take responsibility for what our children watch or the government will decide what all of us can watch."

That's a logical and reasonable approach, and "American Dreams" executive producer Jonathan Prince appeared on a TV Watch panel late Friday and encouraged other show runners to take greater responsibility for what's on TV.

"Sometimes we are cavalier about the responsibility we have," he said. "If we police ourselves better and they still come down on us, then I think we have a problem. But part of the problem lies in our own lack of moderating our behavior in order to, what? Shock an audience? Get people to write about us? So people get buzz and the network gets ratings? That cavalier attitude has put networks in a dangerous place."

Again, Prince takes a smart, measured approach.

Then it all went to, uh, downhill.

Richard Schiff, who plays liberal White House staffer Toby Ziegler on "The West Wing," said his character will be phased out this season by what he described as mutual consent. But then he tried to blame his departure on the corporate culture at Warner Bros., which produces the series.

"There is pressure to relieve him of his voice," Schiff said. Later he backtracked, saying it was not direct corporate control but that the studio had an influence on the show's budget. Yes, the studio does, and that's why it's called show business. "We're in a bottom line culture right now," Schiff said. "More money can be made if it's quicker, faster. In the days of Aaron Sorkin, it was quite expensive because his artistic process demanded more time. That has been eliminated."

After the press conference, Schiff continued to back away from his initial tone.

"I'm not accusing Warner Bros. of suppressing Toby in any way, shape or form," Schiff said. "It's not some suit at Warner Bros. that goes, 'That Toby, we've got to suppress him.' I know it sounded like that, but it's not what I mean, and that's stupid."

Basically, Schiff's frustration boils down to an artist who said his suggestions for his character were more often heeded under original show runner Sorkin than current show runner John Wells. But that has little to do with TV Watch or the FCC's rash of fines over content.

Schiff said he's contracted for 11 episodes this year, and other actors will also appear in fewer episodes to accommodate a smaller budget that resulted from lower ratings. At the same time, he and other cast members will get the same pay for the episodes they are in as they have in the past.

"It's not a bad deal," Schiff acknowledged.

No, it's really not.

Doug Hyun Famke Janssen and Julian McMahon will be back when "Nip/Tuck" starts its third season Sept. 20 on FX. Click photo for larger image.

'Nip/Tuck' returns

Production on the third season of FX's "Nip/Tuck" has begun for a return to prime time with original episodes Sept. 20. The second season ended with the masked Carver slashing at plastic surgeon playboy Christian Troy (Julian McMahon).

Series creator Ryan Murphy said season three picks up a month after the events in the season two finale. But viewers won't learn the identity of the Carver right away.

"It could be anybody," Murphy said. "You won't find out quickly."

Given McMahon's appearance at the press conference, his character can't be dead, right? "I kept saying Julian is a ghost, but no one's buying it," Murphy said. "[The last scene of the season finale] was a very brutal scene, so the repercussions of that are equally brutal. It's an event that sends the character of Christian off in a different direction. The repercussions of it are quite huge, but I don't want to say what it is until people see it."

Murphy said he's plotted out the upcoming season more than last year when he didn't know the Famke Janssen character would turn out to be a man until rather late in production.

Janssen will return this season along with recurring guest stars Bruno Campos, Jessalyn Gilsig, Kelly Carlson, Alec Baldwin, Vanessa Redgrave, Jill Clayburgh and Joan Rivers.

So what else can viewers except? "I didn't believe Ryan when he told me I was going to make out with a monkey," McMahon said. "But that's true."

Viewers will learn whether or not he's kidding this fall.

Wither Trio?

It was just two short years ago that cable network Trio was on the Entertainment Weekly "It" list, receiving raves for its "Brilliant but Canceled" festival of short-lived quality series and failed pilots.

Owned by Universal, Trio became redundant once the merged media behemoth NBC Universal took shape. Trio too closely echoed NBC-held Bravo. Trio is available locally on Comcast on Channel 125, but it generally doesn't have much cable distribution nationwide. So when DirecTV dropped the network on Jan. 1, the writing was on the wall. Trio was doomed.

Another sure sign? Trio hasn't sent out much in the way of press releases about upcoming programming for months. NBC Universal Television Group president Jeff Zucker acknowledged that Trio probably won't exist in its current form much longer.

"We're looking at our options on Trio," he said. "Obviously it's going to be very difficult to continue in its current form because of the carriage and we are trying to figure out what to do."

One option on the table: Making Trio an online-only, broadband network. Whatever its fate, Zucker said he expects to make an announcement about the future of Trio soon.

Channel surfing

Former BBC producer James Goldston has been named executive producer of ABC's "Nightline" in preparation for an overhaul when host Ted Koppel and executive producer Tom Bettag depart the broadcast later this year ... Next week MSNBC will bump low-rated "The Situation With Tucker Carlson" out of prime time to 11 p.m. Rita Cosby will take Carlson's spot at 9 p.m. beginning Aug. 8.