If you love to see the inside scoop on your favorite show, make sure you are looking through the website. From 90210 to Vampire Diaries, pictures and videos have been added for the new season. Do not be the only one to miss out on a web only video clip or have your friend tell you about the picture from the first episode that reveals who is the killer!

90210
-New Logo
-New Pictures
-New Videos (Actor Interviews, Promo)

America's Next Top Model
-New Logo
-Cycle 13 Models Posted w/ Bios
-Cycle 13 Model Promos
-New Pictures

Gossip Girl
-New Logo
-New Pictures
-New Videos (Gossip Girl Style, Music Video, Fan Q/A with Stephanie Savage, Up To Speed)
-Character Promos

Law & Order: SVU
-New Promo

Life UneXpected (formerly Parental Discretion Advised)
-New Logo
-New Pictures

Melrose Place
-New Logo
-New Pictures
-New Profiles
-New Videos (Behind The Scenes with each Actor, Special AT&T All Access)
-Character Promos

One Tree Hill
-New Logo
-New Pictures
-New Promos

Smallville
-New Logo
-New Videos (Comic Con Interviews, Up To Speed)
-New Promos

Supernatural
-New Logo
-New Pictures
-New Videos (Comic Con Interviews, Up To Speed)
-New Promos

The Beautiful Life: TBL
-New Logo
-New Profiles
-New Pictures
-New Character Promos

The Vampire Diaries
-New Logo
-New Pictures
-New Videos (Comic Con Interviews, Webisode)
-New Promos

Saturday night the Kansas City Chiefs host the Seattle Seahawks, in what should be the most exciting game of the Chief’s preseason schedule (minus the buildup to last week’s 1-4 passing for 4 yards by Brett Favre). The third game is usually when each team’s first string offense and defense play at least one half; sometimes a couple series into the third quarter.

Last week Kansas City’s starting quarterback Matt Cassel played the whole first half and looked pretty darn good (9-14, 99 yards, one touchdown). Chief fans still have to worry about LJ. Running back Larry Johnson has done little to impress in the first two games (12 carries, a measly 33 yards). He’s been hinting for the last two years about wanting to be traded out of KC. Unfortunately LJ won’t get as many carries this season in head coach Todd Haley’s pass-happy offense.

The opponent this week for the Chiefs is the Seattle Seahawks. Jim Mora Jr. heads into his first year as their head coach. In the off-season the Seahawks acquired wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh (pronounced HOOSH-muhn-ZAW-duh) from the Cincinnati Bengals. In pairing TJ with quarterback Matt Hasselbach, Seattle has an explosive passing duo that will open up running lanes for their durable backs: Julius Jones and TJ Duckett.

The back-up quarterback for Seattle is former Cyclone Seneca Wallace. Who can forget his jaw-dropping 12-yard run-pass-scramble-stiff-arm-hurdle-cut across the field-touchdown against Texas Tech in 2002 for ISU? If you don’t remember or haven’t seen it, go to youtube.com and search for Seneca Wallace; it’s well worth the time. Since his days in college, Wallace has been a serviceable fill-in for Hasselback. Cyclone fans will enjoy seeing one of their best alumni playing in this game for at least the third quarter.

For the excitement of seeing both team’s first-string offenses and defenses playing more than two series, trying to say TJ Houshmandzadeh, and the local interest in Seneca (as long as he does better than 1-4 for 4 yards), Saturday’s game should be good TV.

“There’s no need to be afraid of the dark...
It’s what’s hiding in the dark that you should fear...
The Vampire Diaries...
Coming this fall to KCWI.”

You’ve seen the promos; you’ve heard the hype. In a couple of weeks, you’ll finally be able to watch The Vampire Diaries.

The creative juices have been flowing over at CW headquarters as they get ready for the premiere of this hot new show. Here’s a ‘taste’ of what products they’re distributing to spread the word about The Vampire Diaries:

Sunscream: VPF 1,000. (VPF stands for Vampire Protection Factor; “sun damage is the No. 1 killer of the undead,” Rick Haskins, executive VP of CW marketing and brand strategy for the CW.) We say, lather up and enjoy your night safely!

Fang Floss: Because human flesh is a little too tricky for the average floss to handle. Because it is important to brush and floss twice a day!

You viewers have an opportunity to give, too: the CW has partnered up with the American Red Cross for a special, nation-wide blood drive! According to Stephanie Millian, director for biomedical communications for the Red Cross, 25% of blood donors are ages 16-25, so they saw this partnership as a natural fit. Whatever your age, we at KCWI encourage you to go to any blood bank and donate! (And not just to starve a vampire.)

The Vampire Diaries premieres Thursday, September 10th on KCWI 23!

To learn more about the book series behind the TV show, click here.

Everybody loves a celebration!

Homemakers is still celebrating the grand opening of their amazing new facility in Urbandale, and KCWI is still helping to spread the word and the fun!

A few weeks ago, KCWI was exclusively on the scene at Homemakers to cover Warren Buffet’s visit.

This Saturday, we’re continuing our celebration by inviting Central Iowa families to the carnival! Homemakers is partnering with KCWI, Domino’s Pizza, Fareway, and Gee Willie Entertainment to bring you this afternoon of fun!

There will be inflatables, classic carnival games, face painting, and free Domino’s pizza!

Nicole will be present, as will Van and Bonnie from WHO.

Bring your family, bring your friends, down to Homemakers on Douglas in Urbandale this Saturday, August 29, from 1-4pm for the fun and games at the free carnival!

Cycle 13 models have been posted! Be the first to see the contestants battling it out to become America's Next Top Model. And do not miss the premiere right here on KCWI on September 9th at 7pm.

Want to know when your favorite show is starting off its season? Well here is your list of season premieres!

Tuesday September 8
90210 - 7pm Season Premiere	Melrose Place - 8pm Series Premiere
Wednesday September 9
America's Next Top Model - 7pm Season Premiere
Thursday September 10
The Vampire Diaries - 7pm Series Premiere	Supernatural - 8pm Season Premiere
Monday September 14
One Tree Hill - 7pm Season Premiere	Gossip Girl - 8pm Season Premiere
Wednesday September 16
The Beautiful Life: TBL - 8pm Series Premiere
Friday September 25
Smallville - 7pm Season Premiere

Wow! Could this Friday night’s football game on KCWI have any more intrigue or drama? Probably not, unless President Obama decided to show up. The Chiefs travel to Minneapolis to battle the Vikings. It’s really just another pre-season game, but a little interesting because both are Midwest teams. That’s all, right? Oh, then yesterday this guy named Brett Favre decides that since training camp is over and he doesn’t have to suffer through two-a-days and the heat and humidity, now would be a good time to un-retire for the second time and play quarterback for Brad Childress, his old quarterbacks coach during his days in Green Bay.

That’s right Green Bay. The man never missed a game during his 16 years with the Packers. And now he’s playing for their bitter rivals – the Vikings. It appears that Favre will start Friday night’s game. My guess is he’ll play one series, two at the most. So don’t miss the beginning of the game!

But Brett Favre is 39 years old. He’s just one guy. How can one player turn a team of playoff hopefuls into a legitimate Super Bowl contender? Well… he is ONLY the NFL’s all-time record holder in passing yards (65,127), passing touchdowns (464), consecutive starts (269), wins (169), passing completions (5,720), and passing attempts (9,280). Also I don’t want to neglect the fact that he is also holds the NFL record for interceptions thrown in a career (310).

Throw in a couple MVP awards, a Super Bowl title in two appearances in the big game and many playoff victories, the dude brings just a “touch” of experience and legitimacy to the Vikings. It’s too bad for Sage. Sage Rosenfels, an ISU grad and quarterback of one of the best Cyclone teams in recent history, came to Minnesota because he had a chance to start. All he had to do was beat out Tarvaris Jackson, the Vikings starter for the last couple seasons. Now the starting QB job has already been given to perhaps the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. OK, maybe he’s top five. That’s an argument for another time.

Minnesota also has one of the best running backs in the league, and possibly the number one pick in a lot of fantasy drafts, in Adrian Peterson. His back-up, Chester Taylor, would start on a lot of NFL teams. He has a good offensive line. The defense is pretty stout. As long as Favre stays healthy, it’s very possible the Vikings will be playing in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV.

On the other side of the field, the Chiefs have to be a little uneasy about their quarterback situation. Yes it was raining pretty hard at times Saturday night during Kansas City’s pre-season opener against Houston, but Matt Cassel certainly was less than impressive (2-5 passing for 15 yards and an ugly botched snap) in his first action in front of the Chief kingdom. An improvement might be difficult against the tough Viking’s defense.

Yes, the Chiefs will also be playing on Friday. But will anyone notice?

Hello KCWI viewers!

We don't know about you, but here at the station, we're pretty excited for the new fall seasons of our favorite CW shows!
But going from catching a re-run over the summer to diving back into the storyline can be a big stretch for the mind. And we don't want you to do that. We want to entertain you! That's why we're letting you get "Up To Speed" on your favorite CW shows: Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville and Supernatural!

Just a couple more weeks, and we'll all be making appointments with our TVs. Get up to speed with KCWI and start the viewing fun now!

Also check out many more videos clips exclusive to your show only on KCWI23.com!

Check out our Photo Gallery on the home page to see the latest winners from the Salute To Military Families contest! They had a wonderful time at Adventureland. Thank you all for being a part of such an honoring event. It was our pleasure to allow our local hero's and their families a chance to spend a carefree day together.

Football is finally back! This Saturday night at 7 o'clock the Kansas City Chiefs battle the Houston Texans from Arrowhead Stadium. Matt Cassell is the new quarterback for the Chiefs after signing a big free-agent contract in January. All eyes will be on the former Patriot as he goes into his first pre-season as the starter on an NFL team. Another change comes at the top of the organization as a new General Manager - Scott Pioli, also from New England, and head coach - Todd Haley, who last season was the offensive coordinator of the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals.

Unfortunately the Houston Texans no longer have Sage Rosenfels, an ISU grad, at quarterback. Next week we'll get to see him play on KCWI, as the Chiefs meet the Minnesota Vikings!

The Chiefs finished 2-14 last season. So there's not too much pressure on Pioli and Haley to have a monster year. Cassell never started an NFL regular season game until Tom Brady got hurt in week one last year -- against the Chiefs! He had a decent year filling in for Brady, the Patriots finished 11-5 and just missed out on the playoffs. It will be very interesting to see how Matt plays QB while being the man. He wasn't even the man in college. He backed up Matt Leinhart at USC!! This Saturday will be the first test. I will be very interested to see how he plays and leads his new team.

Each summer we struggle to find interesting ways to tell you about our new fall programming. With the recent success of movies like Twilight, we knew that we would need to come up with something unique to get our viewers attention when it came to The Vampire Diaries. Our entire creative team sat down and watched the pilot together to get ideas and reconvene later in the day to brainstorm. Only a few minutes after watching the pilot, two members of our team where in my office with an idea. They asked, assuming I would say no, "How do you feel about playing a vampire".

From that initial idea, we decided to replicate the opening scene in Underworld. After watching it hundreds of times, our director put a storyboard together and we started practicing. My part, in the grand scheme of the project, was very easy. We practiced for an entire morning (click here to see the pictures). The practice was for everyone involved. We had to decide upon lighting, camera angles, what my jumps would look like, and if I could even do the jumps in heels. After taking a break for lunch we came back to shoot. First, we put the costume together (this included fitting the teeth which were very difficult to get off initially) then began shooting. As you can see from the b-roll clips we pulled, I probably did each jump (a total of 5 different angles of jumps) at least 20 times each. Needless to say, I could barely walk for a week afterwords!

It has been amazing to watch the responses from those around us after seeing both the final copy and the making of video. It was difficult for most of us to picture what the raw footage would look like once it was placed into the virtual set but our director knew all along. Even I was surprised how realistic it looked!

One of the best parts of our jobs in KCWI’s creative department is coming up with ideas for promotions. When we found out about the new shows coming to KCWI this fall, we were bubbling over with the possibilities. Especially when it came to the new series The Vampire Diaries!

Almost immediately we knew having Nicole dress up as a vampire would be a hit. We then pooled our memories of on-air vampires through the years, and decided on a scene to replicate. (Think Selena and "Underworld.")

Before the actual shoot could take place, we had to find Nicole a costume, and also a building for her to "jump off of." The costume was finally put together by a shopping trip to The Theatrical Shop, Nicole’s own closet (for the boots), and a member of our creative team who owns a film studio. After location scouting, this same film making team member came to the rescue with some mad computer generating skills to digitally create and edit in a faux building.

The shoot took up an entire workday. The morning was spent rearranging items (including some large ones) in our studio to make a platform for Nicole to jump off of, and also to clear space for her to walk towards the camera (see the end of the promo). We also had to roll out, arrange, and secure green-screen paper, so that we could most efficiently edit Nicole into the digital set.

Then came wardrobe. Our film-maker/creative department employee had brought along vampire teeth. These were not the wax teeth you find in drugstores around Halloween. These are teeth with special adhesive that molds to fit your exact tooth. They fit snugly, and require a pop-then-snap motion to remove; they are definitely authentic looking dental wear. To our later amusement, there was a moment when we had a bit of trouble actually removing the fake teeth from Nicole’s real pearly whites. Minor panic ensued, but thankfully, we got them off. The last step before we hit record was wetting down Nicole’s hair to uphold the “dark, stormy night” feel of the promo – a feat that was constantly repeated. The large fan we had blowing to create wind also served to air-dry her hair a little too quickly. Thank goodness for squirt bottles!

The shoot itself took some time. It required many different camera angles, many different styles of jumping (Nicole got quite a work out that day. She’s a trooper!), and many other incidental issues with lighting, power, and so on. Thankfully we work well together, so there was also plenty of laughter taking place to keep the mood fun.

All in all, this is one of the most complicated promos we shot. To think it took several days of planning, and an entire day to shoot, plus editing time, all for a 20-second promo is intense. But we feel every minute was well spent, and hope that our viewers do, too!

For the last month, KCWI has turned our programming responsibilities over to our viewers. As you have seen on-air, we want you to decide where to put The Office this fall. Vote today by choosing between 6p-7p and 10p-11p.

I've been amazed by how many of you have voted already. I have actually been even more surprised by how close the competition has been. By the end of this week we will close the poll, so vote today, and check back next week to find out what time slot you can watch The Office in this fall!