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True story: Two years ago I went on vacation to Belize. We took a snorkeling expedition as part of the trip, which involved taking a boat to a small island off the coast, in the Caribbean. After snorkeling for a couple of hours, there was a picnic lunch set up on the island by our guides. At noon exactly, a lemon shark started circling in the shallow waters off the island.
Why? Because the guides were in the habit of feeding the shark the leftover chicken from the picnic. The tastes of the gourmet shark had reached such a level of snobbery that the shark would eat only the chicken that was slathered in barbecue sauce -- and, dangit, it wanted its lunch promptly at noon. (Travel advisory: Do not coat yourself in barbecue sauce before snorkeling in Belize.)
So it was with great fascination that I watched Tuesday night's "Shark Feeding Frenzy" on Discovery, during which "Survivorman" host Les Stroud tried to ascertain what gets the digestive juices flowing on the critters.
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 Last week, HBO promised that this week's "Big Love" would be the one we'd all be talking about. And, in spirit, it delivered on its promise: In the closing moments of Monday night's episode, Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton), the conniving so-called Prophet and the closest thing the series has to an archvillain, was gunned down by the unhappy wives of a rival polygamist family.
Roman's shooting was certainly unexpected, but offing major characters has become a bit of an old standby for HBO. "Sopranos" kicked it up a notch when Tony capped Big Pussy in its second season. And remember Nate's death a few episodes from the end of "Six Feet Under"? Just once wouldn't it be great for HBO to promise a shock and then really deliver something unexpected? You know, like an alien invasion over Utah, or maybe the entire family contracts a flesh eating supervirus, or even a special appearance by Donnie and Marie Osmond.
We still don't know for certain if Roman is truly gone from the show -- we last saw him lying in a pool of blood on the sidewalk -- but I've learned that unless you actually see the body in the coffin, no death on TV is a done deal. If he is gone, it's just as well. The rivalry between Roman and his son-in-law, Bill (Bill Paxton), had pretty much run its course. There's no way their infighting would have ever resulted in anything more than a smashed window and hurt feelings.
(Photo courtesy of HBO)
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Who saw this coming -- Bonnie is in the final!
This, after all, is "blond Bonnie," the nanny that chef Gordon Ramsay has spent much of the series ridiculing. (Remember the time she was trying to cook on the stove, sans any actual heat?) But here she is, going toe-to-toe with Rock, an executive chef. Jen may have won Monday night's challenge, when the contestants' moms had to blind judge their high-falutin takes on comfort food, but she ended up on the chopping block anyway after a so-so dinner service performance. Good riddance. She was getting annoying with her falsetto-speak confessionals.
We'll soon see if the newly bolstered Bonnie can follow through on her threat to Rock: Watch out, she said, I'm gunning for you.
--Rene Lynch
(Photo courtesy Fox)
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Last season, TBS premiered the comedy series “My Boys,” a show with a light-looking plot about a tomboyish but beautiful young woman who lives in Chicago, covers the Cubs for the sports section of the Sun-Times and has a lot of guy friends, including a brother played by popular stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan.
The show was surprising in the entertainment it delivered in spite of its fluffy, “Friends”-like premise: there was no laugh track, which made some of the more absurdly funny lines stand out. For instance, in an episode from last season, P.J. (Jordana Spiro) criticized best friend Stephanie’s (Kellee Stewart) boyfriend for carrying a cane. When Stephanie explained that he needed it to walk, P.J. asked, “OK, but what about the top hat?”
It was promising to see good comedic writing too for female characters, as women still tend to be delegated the straight-man role in mixed-gender sitcoms.
The show arrives in its second season, with an appropriately more high-profile ad campaign (it helps that Gaffigan has made himself a regular guest on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” with his “Pale Force” cartoon shorts).
The expectations are higher, though, for the second season, and the first two episodes illustrate some of the struggles that its writers might be having as the show tries to really figure out what it’s all about.
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 Yeeesh! Everyone did see the parental advisory warning at the top of the hour, right? Right?!
Not that you can expect anything named 'Top 5 Eaten Alive' to be quiet and contemplative, but the sight of someone's calf muscle being ripped off their fibula by a shark in shallow water is an image that won't soon be forgotten. And, if you missed it, no doubt someone is uploading the sequence this very second to YouTube.
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 There are some things in life that I feel don't need to be said. For instance: "Sharks are not our friends."
Majestic creatures, sure. Awesome in the original definition of the word, as opposed to the surfer definition of the word, definitely. But friendly? No. It's almost a joke worthy of Gary Larson's "The Far Side": You can just imagine some poor schlubby guy heading down to the corner bar for a quick drink with his new pal, a shark. (The bar, of course, would be called the Bait and Switch.)
In "Tiger Sharks," the first hour of Discovery's original shark programming on Monday night, South African shark scientist Mark Addison attempts to show that sharks and humans are capable of a connection beyond the predator-prey relationship.
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In the closing minutes of last week's episode, John told Cass that Shaun would soon be gone. Gone how? Dead gone? Gone surfing? Gone fishing? Gone to Sea World with his porny mom to escape the rest of his whack-job family? Because, at least in the short term, that's where Shaun has gone off to.
 In Sunday's episode, however, John manages to spread the word of his premonition about Shaun -- and causes panic in the process. In something straight out of 2002's "The Ring," John creates an Internet video that gets pushed to the websites and the dreams of Clan Yost and their hangers-on. The video is a loop of John sitting in front of a black sheet with a half-drawn stick figure chalked on it in white. John repeats over and over that Shaun will soon be gone. And that's it. (Instead of the video causing death, of course, it makes viewers wish they were dead, I guess.)
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There were no grand announcements at the Comic-Con International "Jericho" panel, but there were plenty of thank-yous. After all, the Sunday session never would have happened if CBS hadn't resurrected the series from cancellation following passionate fan response.
 Moderator Craig Tomashoff of TV Guide kicked off the love-fest by announcing that the hour would give the panelists their first chance to thank the "people responsible for keeping you on the air." Series stars Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James and Ashley Scott and producers Carol Barbee, Karim Zreik, Dan Shotz and Jon Steinberg repeatedly expressed their gratitude while fielding questions and presenting clip packages of season one highlights (set to the Killers' "All These Things That I've Done") and early behind-the-scenes footage from season two (set to Eminem's "Without Me"). The latter ended with even more fan appreciation from cast and crew.
As for their brief flirtation with the TV graveyard, Steinberg recalled, "Even up until the day before [the renewal announcement], I thought there was no way we were coming back on CBS." Scott joked that she kept waiting for Ashton Kutcher to show up and tell her she was being punked, even during her first day back on the set. And Barbee reasoned, "We're better off that we got canceled."
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Duhdum. Duhdum. Duhdumduhdumduhdum. Da da da!
Yep, it's Shark Week again, the Discovery Channel's annual frenzy of all things toothy, murderous and freaky. It's the 20th anniversary of this week of special programming, and with it the cable channel will unfurl eight new shows in prime time -- and I'll cover 'em all. Get into the spirit and eat some tuna sashimi in front of the tube with me.
For all these years, the goal of Discovery's programming has been to blend the interest in the horror-story appeal of sharks -- the "Jaws" effect, if you will -- with the very real need to educate the public about conservation of the critters. Sunday night's entry, "Ocean of Fear," weighs heavily on the shock and ewwww angle, exploring the real-life tragedy of the USS Indianapolis, which sank in shark-infested waters in 1945.
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Tonight's "Jericho" rerun is a perfect example of the show in top form. Even if you've never seen an episode, you'll be able to enjoy this one thanks to a self-contained central story. Then it's worth sticking around through the season finale, as the show really hit a stride in the home stretch (oddly at the exact time the ratings fell apart after its ill-advised winter hiatus).
Titled "Semper Fidelis," the installment originally aired in March and features the arrival of U.S. Marines in Jericho who bring hope and good news with them. Unfortunately, things aren't quite that simple...
But bad news for Jericho means good news for fans and newcomers. Everything in this hour works.
Spoilery details after the jump.
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Is it just me or is nothing happening on "Rescue Me" lately?
Sure, Janet is severely depressed (but not because Sheila wants her baby, Janet doesn't know that yet), Sean accidentally set fire to Mike's house, Lou's nymphomaniac girlfriend can't go without sex for a minute (even if it means sleeping with Artie Lange...ick) and Franco finally proposed to his girlfriend.
And yet everyone, and everything, feels stuck in some kind of holding pattern.
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Up until last night, one of the best parts of "So You Think You Can Dance" was that, unlike on other results shows, drama still actually happened. On Thursday nights, when the fallout from the audience's votes was revealed, the judges were able to intervene and make their decisions after dancers had been given one last shot to prove themselves in solos. But now, the eliminations are left entirely to the voters at home.
It's unclear what the benefit of this is at this point in the show. Viewers have less reason to tune in to the results because the decision has been cast. The final four dancers had one more chance to show off in their solos, but there was no point, competition-wise, because their performances wouldn't affect the outcome.
One contestant who might have been at a disadvantage when it came to performing in the previous "dancing for your life" solos was 27-year-old ballroom/Latin dancer Pasha Kovalev, a Russian native who lives in New Jersey. Last week, his ballroom counterpart Anya Garnis was sent home, partially because as a partner dancer she couldn't show off in her solos the way other dancers could. 
Pasha talked about what it's like being the remaining ballroom dancer on the show.
"The difference in ballroom is that you're showing off your partner more than yourself," he said. "That's how you make dance look beautiful and special, as opposed to the other guys on the show who are used to dancing by themselves. The whole performance is about them and their tricks. We in ballroom don't really have those flips over our head or jumping splits. Maybe it's not that appealing to the judges and they would like to see more flashy stuff. I think ballroom dancers are strong in their performance and characterization of the dance and of the song, and it's really all about connecting to the audience and making them feel what you feel at the moment, with or without the tricks."
Even though the dancers weren't dancing for their lives anymore, they still had to prepare their solos for the results show. Pasha discussed what goes into a solo.
"It's all about trying to find the right piece of music," he said. "We have a short time to dance when we perform, just 30 seconds, so it's hard to tell the full story during that period of time. You just try to create beautiful pictures that people will relate to. After I did my first dance in the bottom three contestants on the second week of the show, I decided what I'd do next and I've been preparing it since. So far I haven't had the chance to dance it, and I hope I don't."
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 After a tumultuous season that saw the abrupt exit of Rosie O’Donnell, ABC’s daytime chatfest “The View” is moving to bring on two new outspoken co-hosts: comic Whoopi Goldberg and performer Sherri Shepherd.
Final negotiations with the duo are underway, and an announcement of their hiring is expected next week, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
ABC declined to comment. “We have nothing to announce right now,” said spokesman Karl Nilsson.
Goldberg, the irreverent comedian and Oscar-winning actress, and Shepherd, a stand-up comic who has appeared in movies like “Beauty Shop,” would bring a strong dose of brash humor to the 10-year-old program, which was buoyed by O’Donnell’s presence last season.
But after O'Donnell boosted viewership with her blunt political remarks, her tenure came to an abrupt halt in May when she had a bitter on-air fight with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. O'Donnell exited the program nearly a month before the end of her contract.
That left “The View” with two empty seats -- former co-host Star Jones Reynolds was never permanently replaced after her own rancorous exit in 2006 -- and threatened to stall the show’s ratings gains.
With just Hasselbeck, Joy Behar and Barbara Walters remaining on the all-female panel, executive producer Bill Geddie indicated that he was looking to add at least one African American voice.
"We have, really, two positions open, I think people forget," Geddie said in June. "We got a lot of hiring to do here. So the chances of us hiring two white women ... not very likely.”
Goldberg and Shepherd are both familiar to the “View” audience after having made numerous guest appearances on the program.
O’Donnell was rooting for Goldberg as her replacement, telling readers of her blog this spring that her fellow comic “would rock.”
Known for her acerbic sense of humor, the 51-year-old has had a long career in television, beginning with HBO’s “Comic Relief,” which helped launch a prolific career. Since then, she’s done stints on shows like “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” appeared in numerous TV movies and headlined the short-lived sitcom “Whoopi.”
After spending six years writing and producing Lifetime’s “Strong Medicine,” Goldberg has most recently been hosting a syndicated morning radio show called “Wake Up With Whoopi.”
"She is exactly what the show needs,” said Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman. “She is a beloved brand name; she is outspoken; she has done this before, she is a person of color; she is as far left as Rosie; she lives in New York; and she can kick Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s ass."
Shepherd, 40, has appeared in shows like “The Wedding Bells” and “Less Than Perfect.” Her latest movie, “Who’s Your Caddy,” opens Friday.
-- Matea Gold
Times staff writer Lynn Smith contributed to this report.
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 The top 10 dancers on "So You Think You Can Dance" performed with some format changes this week: The partners were changed around and each dancer had to perform identical solos. One of the contestants was Lauren Gottlieb, pictured, a 19-year-old from Scottsdale, Ariz., who last season was too young to audition for the show but assisted choreographer Tyce Diorio with putting together some of the routines. She was able to chat Wednesday morning between breakfast and a costume fitting about the changes, the judges and whom she think has the upper hand in the competition.
Lauren's work in previous weeks with partner Neil Haskell, especially during last week's contemporary Mia Michaels routine (which she revealed was more about two people looking to score a fix than to fix a drain), garnered raves from the judges. However, she didn't seem to mind switching partners, especially because this week she was paired with Pasha Kovalev, who hasn't let down a partner yet. They turned out a technologically themed Shane Sparks hip-hop routine, a genre she's familiar with.
"It was my favorite performance so far. I'm still smiling from it!" Lauren gushed. "Switching up the partners was totally different, but we really clicked and I had a blast up there." She's diplomatic, however: "I would have picked anyone to dance with. I'm very familiar with the show, and in previous years the choreographers have had a hard time with some dancers. But this year everyone's doing amazing, so standing there picking our new partners' names from the hat, I had no worries. In fact, a lot of people say they wish it'd be split up from their old partners each week. It's cool to see how people vibe off different people now."
The mixed-up couples did prove as entertaining as they seemed they'd be. Sabra Johnson proved that her star can still shine without Dominic Sandoval, while Kameron Bink's days appeared to be numbered with or without previous partner Lacey Schwimmer. Lacey, meanwhile, continued to dominate the paired dancing, while Danny Tidwell could barely conceal his disdain for her larger-than-life personality. Dominic brought a theatricality to the dance floor for Jaimie Goodwin that her previous partner Hok Konishi could not -- but too much, for the judges. Sara VonGillern's and Neil Haskell's fun disco routine proved that they're a strong couple but strong individual dancers as well, as pairs dancing isn't either of their fortes. But they sure made it look easy.
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 Reporters had a message Wednesday for the producers of ABC's new comedy "Cavemen:" Ugh.
Spun off from a celebrated series of commercials for Geico insurance, "Cavemen" may have formidable built-in recognition factor for a new series. But at the TV press tour in Beverly Hills, the homo sapiens behind the show -- about three misunderstood Cro-Magnons living in the modern world -- got clubbed by questioners who felt "Cavemen" is nothing more than a primitive and not-too-funny racial allegory.
"We never saw them as a stand-in for one group," executive producer Josh Gordon said of the title protagonists.
Pressed further, executive producer Mike Schiff added that the ethnic prejudice theme was a "background to the show ... but it's not a driving force."
This explanation was not well-received among the TV critics and reporters, however, one of whom noted that all eight of "Cavemen" panelists were white men. (In their defense, the producers said that ethnic minorities and women are among the show's writers and directors).
The atmosphere grew so tense that actor Nick Kroll, who plays the sardonic caveman Nick, aimed for something between comic relief and gallows humor.
"I was told there was gonna be a laugh track here," Kroll told the mostly stone-faced press tour crowd, "but I guess that's not the case."
-- Scott Collins
(Photo: Craig Sjodin / ABC)
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 No surprise that “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” had a field day doing next-night satire of Monday’s CNN/YouTube Democratic debate.
“This debate will come at you in six dimensions,” Stewart said, googly-eyeing the camera to lampoon CNN’s insistence that, with this techno-political miracle, they’d not only landed on Mars but opened a coffee bar.
I’m all for the service “The Daily Show” provides at a breathtaking four-nights-a-week clip — the news for people who tangentially follow the news but nevertheless want to remain intellectually above it and thus go back to not following it.
To that end, “The Daily Show” sort of took one tack about the YouTube debate — you missed nothing, except for CNN's ridiculous hype (a comedic sweet spot, to be sure).
But here's something that nags at me: Was this a case where "The Daily Show" stoops to mocking the powerless, in this case the uploaders who participated in the YouTube debate?
Seen through the show's funhouse mirror, none of them looked any too smart--the North Carolina pastor,for instance, who was present in the audience for a follow-up to his question of Sen. John Edwards about gay marriage.
“So, was CNN able to take the debate process and youth-anize it?” was how Stewart introduced a piece by John Oliver about the Youth of Today watching the debate as a drinking game, sipping on common references like “Bush,” gulping on less-common ones like “torture” and “gay marriage.”
Better, and less defeating, was the “gotcha” the show pulled on Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), shown reacting with evident feeling during the debate to the lesbian couple in Brooklyn who asked about gay marriage.
Except, as “The Daily Show” illustrated, he’d given the same talking point at a previous debate, saying he and his wife ask themselves, “How would I want my two daughters treated if they grew up and had a different sexual orientation [from] their parents?”
“Apparently you would like them treated as hypothetical debate lesbians,” Stewart said.
— Paul Brownfield
(Photo courtesy Comedy Central)
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ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” is the story of a young man blessed/cursed with the gift of bringing people back from the dead with a mere touch (but only if he never touches them again). Told in high fairy-tale style, down to its narration by "Harry Potter" audio god, Jim Dale, with a candy-store color scheme and high-def characters (Swoosie Kurtz plays one-half of a former synchronized swim team and wears an eye patch), it’s poised to be the critic’s darling come fall. And everyone, including the cast and creators, knows exactly what a kiss of death that can be.
“I knew I was going to get that question,” said costar Chi McBride when a reporter at Tuesday's press tour session pointed out that he was in the cast of the previous, and short-lived, critic's pick “The Nine.” In his answer he quoted, and did a passable impersonation of, executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld.
“Some people see the glass half empty, some people see it half full, I see a half a glass of poison," said McBride-as-Sonnenfeld.
"Chi," said Sonnenfeld himself, with a small grim laugh, “I’ve told you over and over, live in fear.”
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 Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC entertainment, faced the press this morning at the Beverly Hilton. When a reporter asked him what "Lost" announcements might be made at Comic-Con later this week, he balked, saying that we would have to wait to find out.
The mood in the room turned ugly. Why were we here, reporters and critics asked, if not to break news? The question was phrased and rephrased. At one point, McPherson tried to joke about it, saying that Don Imus had been hired to appear on "Lost." No one laughed.
Finally, Hope Hartman, from ABC's media relations department, walked out on stage and whispered in McPherson's ear.
He then announced that Harold Perrineau, who played Michael on "Lost," would be returning to the show.
Viewers last saw Michael on the mysterious island in the finale of Season 2. Having struck a deal with the Others to get him and his son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), off the island, Michael rescued head Other Ben. In doing so, he shot and killed fan-favorite Libby (Cynthia Watros) and fan-not-so-favorite Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez).
His remorse over his murderous misdeeds didn't stop Michael from leaving, with Walt, on a boat in the Season 2 closer, presumably to safety. But maybe not so safe after all?
Update: Reached by e-mail, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who run "Lost," had no comment. But they are likely to officially confirm Perrineau's return as a series regular at the "Lost" panel on Thursday at Comic-Con.
-- Kate Aurthur
(Photo courtesy ABC)
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It’s obvious why crime shows have become a mainstay on television: Blood! Guts! Maniacs! Good! Evil! Redemption! But civil litigation isn’t as sexy -– how much tension can you create over someone whipping out a pen and signing papers?
As it turns out, quite a bit. Most people will be gabbing over Glenn Close’s stellar performance as a brilliant and cruel attorney on Tuesday night’s premiere of FX’s fantastic new series “Damages” –- but the show isn’t just a one-trick pony. Close plays Patty Hewes, a woman straight out of John Grisham’s “The Firm” with more than a touch of Al Pacino’s Beelzebub in “The Devil’s Advocate.” Hewes’ breezy forms of psychological manipulation are fun to watch –- she buys her just-hired associates a whole new wardrobe to get them to fit in, then promptly mandates that the dry-cleaning can be done only by her preferred provider –- but it’s the undercurrent of physical menace that really sells the show.
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It appears that Gordon Ramsay has a heart.
The terrorizing, fire-breathing chef showed his softest side yet as he booted off underdog Julia, the waffle house cook who showed plenty of spunk and drive, even if she'd never heard of ahi tuna or cooked a lobster before. As the field winnowed down to four -- Josh was summarily dismissed mid-service and without much fanfare for repeatedly under- and overcooking his risotto and pasta -- it was clear that Julia had no business running a high-end restaurant.
At least not yet.
As chef prepared to send the quietly sobbing short-order cook on her way, Ramsay told her that he was so impressed with the remarkable progress she'd made during her tour of duty in "Hell's Kitchen" that he was personally going to send her to culinary school and then invite her back for a chance to win the competition outright.
"There's something quite amazing about you," he told her. "You have an exceptional amount of talent."
Awwwwwwwwww.
Now there's three: Jen the pastry chef; Bonnie the nanny; and Rock, who, as an exectutive chef, has been a front-runner from the get-go. Once again, though, Rock appeared unable to control his emotions when things didn't go precisely his way in the kitchen. (He knows it, too, and at one point was crying and hitting himself in the head in frustration at his inability to keep it together.)
But perhaps that out-of-control temper is considered an asset in Gordon Ramsay's eyes.
-- Rene Lynch
(Photo courtesy Fox)
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 Maybe it's HBO's new ad campaign -- which, more than ever, seems intent on evoking the latter days of "The Sopranos" in its intensity -- but "Big Love" appears to have taken a big leap forward in these last couple of episodes, not only creatively but dramatically. With its multiple plot threads beginning to fully develop, the series has reached a fever pitch.
In Monday night's episode, at least four major subplots were given due attention, some of which have been stewing since the series' earliest days. First and most intriguing, there was the rapidly escalating turf war between competing creepy old polygamists Roman Grant and Hollis Greene (Harry Dean Stanton and Luke Eskew). Just when Roman's strong-arm approach was beginning to seem almost as familiar as family, we were given an even more disturbing cult leader -- one who issues videotaped declarations of supremacy with all the thuggish panache of Osama bin Laden. Standing with his wife in front of a map of the world was one of the episode's greatest touches.
No less disturbing was the sudden reappearance of Bill Henrickson's dad, Frank Harlow (Bruce Dern), who showed up to terrorize Bill's mother, Lois (Grace Zabriskie), and attempt to claim half her profits in a laundromat business. He also used his visit to terrorize his daughters-in-law Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and Wanda (Melora Walters).
For a show whose main concern is domestic misadventures, "Big Love" has been surprisingly adept at shifting gears into an uneasy dread. Take for example, the scene in Wanda's lonely home on the compound, with the screaming wind blowing under the eaves, the power going out and god knows what lurking outside with a flashlight and heading toward the door. At the very worst, it would have been Frank (it wasn't), which, come on, isn't all that scary. But somehow, the way the scene was built and shot would have made it an easy fit into an episode of David Lynch's creepfest "Twin Peaks."
Then Bill was given the chance to protect his daughter Sarah (Amanda Seyfried, pictured) from her stalker uncle, Alby (Matt Ross). Bill's beat-down, delivered behind closed doors, was reminiscent of Tony Soprano's similar defense of Meadow earlier this year.
With all this going full-bore, it seemed like a distraction to have Margene's mother, Ginger (Bonnie Bedelia), come to visit. Though her initial impression of "March of the Penguins" was amusing, Ginger was a typical drunk, full of self-pity, manipulations and accusations. Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) got to be less naive, which was probably a welcome relief for Goodwin, but Ginger seemed like just one more disapproving family member in a show crammed full of them.
HBO just announced the series will be returning for a third season, so don't expect complete resolution to any of these plot threads any time soon, but in the life of every series there comes a sweet spot -- sometimes it lasts just a season, or a handful of episodes; sometimes it goes on for years -- where the creative magic appears to flow with ease. It's safe to say that "Big Love" just entered its own.
-- Patrick Day
(Photo courtesy HBO)
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 Meet Chris, from Portland, Ore. CNN was using him as a representative hipster from Planet YouTube, in the first moments of the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate Monday night from Charleston, S.C.
In his uploaded video, Chris implored the candidates to remember to please answer the questions posed to them “versus beating around the bush.” Or maybe it was “Bush.”
What was interesting about Chris was not his admonition but his look — the soul patch of facial hair and biceps tattoo. It was supposed to signal what this evening was, an unprecedented mash-up of cultures: the renegade Web, where you can say anything, melded into a presidential primary, which involves a different sort of rhetorical skill — saying everything.
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Comedian Drew Carey will become the new face of CBS' "The Price Is Right," network sources confirmed this afternoon. The decision concludes a yearlong search to replace the iconic Bob Barker, who hosted the hit daytime program for the last 35 years and retired earlier this summer.
Carey is scheduled to announce his new position tonight on "Late Show With David Letterman."
"During your ‘Harry Potter’ bit," Carey said to Letterman. "Honestly it was like 15 minutes ago – they called me. It’s a done deal. I’m the new host of ‘The Price Is Right.’”
Letterman's sidekick, Paul Shaffer, and the CBS Orchestra played the theme to “The Price Is Right” in honor of Carey’s announcement.
Carey said that he’s not sure when he’s going to start working on “The Price Is Right,” but did say that already “my girlfriend was on the phone with a personal shopper from Bergdorf’s.”
Carey is also host of CBS's new game show “Power of 10,” which premieres Tuesday, Aug. 7.
-- Martin Miller
(Photo: Ann Johansson / AP)
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“The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” a midseason drama from Fox, certainly carries the heaviest burden of expectations going into the new season. Because the more common shorthand for it is "The 'Terminator’ TV show.”
The story of the series follows Sarah Connor (Lena Headey, from “300”) as she continuously tries to protect her son, John (Thomas Dekker, Claire the cheerleader's is-he-or-isn’t-he-gay friend on “Heroes”) from a Terminator sent from the future. The action takes place after the events of the second movie.
On Monday, during the panel for “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” at the Television Critics Assn. press tour, the elephant in the room had a name: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the show’s pilot episode, there are two Terminators, one good (Summer Glau, late of “Firefly”), who protects John, and one evil (Owain Yeoman), who comes to kill John many times.
But what about the Governator? Might he ever make an appearance on the show?
James Middleton, a consulting producer on the show, fielded the question. “We’ve talked a lot about it,” he said. “But the reality is that as governor, he’s incredibly busy. As a star, he’s incredibly expensive. We don’t know. We just don’t know.”
OK, since Gov. Schwarzenegger is understandably both busy and expensive, what about images of him used somewhere in the show? No, the producers said, they don’t have any ability to use any of the iconic Terminator images.
That answers that! Earlier in the panel, critics asked the producers about a key scene in the pilot in which Mean Terminator comes looking for John in his high school classroom. Mayhem ensues, and critics wondered whether it was too graphic and frightening in a post-Virginia Tech (post-Columbine, also) era.
Yes, Josh Friedman, one of the executive producers agreed, it was going to have to be reshot. “I grew up not far from Columbine,” said Friedman. “When I wrote it, I didn’t write it for shock effect. I’m a parent.”
David Nutter, the director who shot the pilot, who is known for his amazing track record picking pilots that get picked up, said, “When this gets on the air, I think there’ll be adjustments made that will be satisfying."
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Wow, it was a regular issue of the Wall Street Journal during this episode, with the workplaces and finances of the major characters coming to the forefront. Mind you, it still made no sense whatsoever, but it was nice to see the players involved in something related to the real world, instead of reenacting scenes from the Bible in parking lots with special guest star Beetlejuice.
Cissy and Kai are doing their best to run the surf shop into the ground by missing their shifts and closing the shop early. Cissy has an ugly run-in with one of the attorneys representing the hospital that "saved" Shaun's life -- and, as it turns out, the place has an ulterior motive to screw over the good doctor who resigned his post after he treated him. The renovation of the no-tell motel continues, if you consider repaving a small section of concrete "renovation."
And after an attempt to blackmail him, Linc winds up getting a $65-million buyout from his surf company, Stinkweed. (Seriously.) It certainly gives him the freedom and the cash to woo the Yost family full time -- and it appears as though the father-son combo of Butchie and Shaun may soon be hitting the waves together. (Patriarch Mitch, for the second week in a row, is MIA. Cissy hypothesized that he might be on another astral plane -- hey, anything is possible.)
And John's job? It still appears to be goofball predictions. After disappearing for the majority of the episode, he returns to tell Cass, who was fumbling around with the editing of her movie, that "Shaun will be gone soon." What, again? For real this time? I mean, how many times can he be resurrected by the kiss of a bird, really?
-- Ann Donahue
(Photo courtesy John P. Johnson /HBO)
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The "Gossip Girl" panel on Friday afternoon at the Beverly Hilton got a little surly when television critics asked the executive producers to justify the underaged drinking and (attempted) date-raping in its pilot.
Josh Schwartz, the creator of "The O.C." and one of "Gossip Girl's" executive producers, fielded the inevitable what-will-you-say-to-the-parents question.
“We take the message the show is sending incredibly seriously," Schwartz said. "These are flawed characters." And, he continued, "The world isn’t nearly as depraved as it appears to be."
The glitzy and buzzed-about new CW series is based on the immensely popular young adult novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. In the books, New York City private school kids drink, do drugs and have sex. And they read the Gossip Girl blog, which chronicles their sordid lives.
(On the series, the unseen blogger serves as the show's narrator, and is voiced by "Veronica Mars" herself, Kristen Bell. Schwartz said that Bell will continue to be the voice of Gossip Girl. Will we ever see her? “We want to never say never," Schwartz said. "But certainly not for awhile.”)
But back to the smut issue. After the morality question was asked in several different ways, Schwartz said, “I don’t want to be hitting the same point, but I do feel as if we’re not presenting this as a perfect world." He added, “As long as we continue to portray this world responsibly but realistically, we think the show should have a teen-aged audience.”
Schwartz and fellow executive producer Stephanie Savage (also late of "The O.C.") stressed that the show will be about relationships -- between kids and their parents, brothers and sisters and friends.
Can it reach a broad young audience? Or will it appeal only to the same tony set it depicts?
Schwartz said, “I think there are emotional truths to being a teen-ager regardless of where you live or how you live.”
And, as Savage pointed out, “If the only people who watch this show are kids who grow up on the Upper East Side or go to private schools, we’re not going to do very well.”
-- Kate Aurthur (Photo courtesy Timothy White / AP)
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Now I like a show set on a freaky desert island (that may or may not be a dream or possessed by spirits or whatever) as much as the next person, but I also enjoy a meaty work-place drama. But I'm burned out on the usual hospital, courtroom or, heaven forbid, some temperamental Brit’s kitchen. “Mad Men,” AMC’s new hourlong drama from Matthew Weiner (“The Sopranos”), is set at the fictional Sterling Cooper ad agency in 1960 and comes with all the stifling accoutrements -- nylons, neckties, meetings clouded in cigarette smoke -- but it’s pretty fresh in general and especially for a period piece.
Speaking of those, haven’t we been deprived long enough? I loved “Deadwood,” but HBO shot and stuffed that hoary beast a while ago. Before that, I remember being thoroughly rocked by “The Wonder Years,” but I was in junior high and a lot of things -- hamsters, grape soda -- rocked me then. And I’m still trying to forget the dull, oversimplified “American Dreams.”
“Mad Men,” on the other hand, is sharply complex, showing the fizzy light and the Brylcreemed dark in everyone and everything.
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Like on "American Idol," the top 10 contestants on "So You Think You Can Dance" are guaranteed a spot on the image-raising and revenue-collecting postseason tour. The eliminations are only getting tougher, so in predicting who would go home last night, it was helpful to remember this major perk. Who seemed like they'd be an indispensable part of the tour? Who wouldn't be missed?
The elimination of Anya Garnis was the least surprising of the girls. The ballroom/Latin dancer had a major disadvantage as a performer used to hoofing it with a partner. Every Thursday she poured her heart out on stage in some absolutely amazing outfits, but as judge Nigel Lythgoe pointed out, in the end the show is about solo performers (although this raises the question of whether ballroom/Latin dancers should get more leeway if they automatically face such a large obstacle). In an earlier episode, choreographer Mia Michaels noted that Anya was "the lady of the competition," which was an accurate and complimentary description. Unfortunately, it didn't help the Russian. The show's audience clearly gravitates toward a youthful, energetic and slightly wacky persona (as embodied by Lacey Schwimmer), and Anya wasn't a big enough ham for the show.
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Last night marked the final time that the top 10 couples on "So You Think You Can Dance" would perform together before being randomly paired off for the rest of the show. How will the dancers fare after they're split up from their original partners? Some predictions:
Sabra Johnson and Dominic Sandoval: These two will be interesting to watch once they're broken up, because they seem to be matched in physicality and spice, turning out equally cute and energetic performances week after week. Sabra seems like she would have more to lose from the breakup because Dominic appears to tease some bonus personality out of her. It's not hard to imagine Dominic continuing to thrive with the other women on the show, although his impishness would be an interesting contrast to Anya Garnis' sophistication or Sara VonGillern's toughness. </ |
I hate to say it, but the effervescent buzz “Mad Men” had in last week’s premiere went just a smidge flat with this second episode. Who let the fizz out? Draper’s wife. Although January Jones’ performance is appropriately muted, with hints of complexity to come, our time with Betty, a fragile, wide-eyed blond whose pretty little hands have been seizing up for no apparent reason, felt a little bit forced. Essentially, Matthew Weiner yanked us out of the Mad St. bar and pushed us onto the 5:15 back to the 'burbs before we had a chance to slurp down that third martini.
