More tea time for 'Law & Order: UK'

"Law & Order: UK," the British makeover of the landmark NBC crime/legal drama that premiered in Britain in February, has been renewed for a second season.

ITV has ordered 13 more episodes of the series, which revamps scripts from the original "Law & Order" for British sensibilities. The cast includes Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber, Freema Agyeman and Ben Daniels.

The show is the first American drama to be adapted for British television.

 

— Greg Braxton

During several of America's 20th century wars, the sight of Bob Hope rallying U.S. troops became practically as familiar a symbol of the military as Old Glory flapping in the breeze. Today, U.S. men and women of a new generation serving under arms, many of them Latinos, are being regaled by performers named Frankie J, Baby Bash and Paula DeAnda, some of whom are as likely to be singing and joking in Spanish as in English.

For the last few years, the growing presence of Latinos in the U.S. military has become a focus of Universal City-based mun2 (pronounced moon-dose), a lifestyle cable network targeted at bilingual Latinos ages 18 to 34. A mun2 news special, "For My Country: Latinos in the Military," which investigated the patriotic, as well as some of the harsh socio-economic, reasons why many young Latinos choose military service, won a Peabody Award in 2007.

This week, mun2 is continuing its examination of how Latinos are affecting U.S. military culture and vice versa by airing "Concert for the Troops," which airs at 6 p.m. today. The concert was staged live before an invited audience of U.S. Army troops, both Latinos and non-Latinos, a number of whom have done tours of combat duty, as well as some of their spouses and significant others.

Read the full story here.

(Photo courtesy mun2)

Henry Chu writes about the Scottish singer who wowed a nation on 'Britain's Got Talent.'

In the physics of entertainment, this is Boyle's law: If Susan the human supernova is on the telly, then a gazillion viewers are sure to be trailing, comet-like, in her wake.

The truth of that axiom is set to be demonstrated this weekend as "Britain's Got Talent," the star-search reality show that made frowzy, frizzy-haired Susan Boyle a household name from Argentina to Zimbabwe, enters its highly anticipated semifinal phase.

Officially, it's still a secret whether the singing Scotswoman will be among the contestants to progress to the next round of the competition; the fortunate 40 are to be announced Saturday, the day before Britain's ITV network begins broadcasting the semifinals live over five nights next week.

But for Boyle not to make the cut would be a public-relations disaster -- not to mention a colossal business blunder -- that would probably trigger a bigger popular revolt in this country than the present dust-up over politicians who claimed horse manure on the taxpayer dime.

"It's almost impossible," Julia Hobsbawm, head of the media analysis firm Editorial Intelligence, said of the chances Boyle would be passed over. "If popularity and the popular consciousness is anything to go by, she's still very much in the bloodstream of opinion. That hasn't abated."

Read the story here.

(Photo courtesy AP)

Susan Carpenter writes about Jesse James' weekly stunt show that includes him trying to set a record on a nitro-powered bike.

She writes:

The asphalt at the Famoso drag strip was hot, the bike licked with red and orange flames when Jesse James stepped up to the starting line and threw a leg over the 1,000-horsepower, nitro-powered dragster. A flicker of green light, a twist of the grip and James was off -- a one-man Cacklefest on a mission to beat the clock.

Seconds later, at a top speed of 161 miles per hour, James hadn't just reached the end of the quarter-mile track. He'd also won the respect of the seasoned racers who trained him and sighs of relief from the production crew that was capturing it all on camera for his new Spike TV show, "Jesse James Is a Dead Man."

James had, yet again, defied the program title, just as he'd done a day earlier, when he caught himself on fire, and a couple months prior, when he rode shotgun in an F-16D fighter plane, subjecting his 210-pound frame to 9 Gs.

Read the story.

(Photo by Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Kenneth Branagh has come full circle. In 1988, PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" audience watched the fresh-faced young talent from Northern Ireland in the World War II drama "The Fortunes of War," which also starred his first wife, Emma Thompson. The 48-year-old Branagh is now back on PBS in the three-part "Masterpiece Mystery!" series "Wallander," which premieres Sunday.

Based on the internationally bestselling novels by Henning Mankell, the series revolves around the brilliant -- and brilliantly flawed -- Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander, who solves complex, often brutal cases in the seaside town of Ystad, Sweden.

"I read crime fiction for pleasure," said the Oscar-nominated actor-director ("Henry V") during a recent interview in Universal City.

He decided to see whether he could get the rights to the stories. "Most of my experiences of development and trying to get the rights [to projects] are fairly sort of knotty and thorny," he said. "I didn't have high hopes."

Read more Kenneth Branagh on 'Wallander'

(Photo by Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

 

It's a TV cooking competition with a knife for a logo. A celebrity host. Guest judges. Mystery ingredients. A sleek industrialized kitchen. Men and women in chef's jackets racing to plate their dishes. A cash prize for the winner. And, of course, a somber parting line for those who didn't make the cut: "You've been chopped."

What? You were expecting "Please pack your knives and go"?

Long before "Chopped" premiered Tuesday night on Food Network, the blogosphere had summarily labeled it a ripoff of Bravo's Emmy-winning TV show and pop culture phenomenon, "Top Chef." Exhibit A? Ted Allen, a popular guest judge on "Top Chef," is the host of "Chopped."

In fact, viewers who give "Chopped" a chance may be pleasantly surprised to find that its stripped-down style relates to the everyday cook in a way that other cooking competitions don't.

Read more here.

Photo credit: Food Network

    Katt Williams, one of the scheduled headliners for this weekend's The Comedy Festival sponsored by TBS in Las Vegas, has pulled out of the event to deal with personal problems due to stress from his hectic schedule.

    Williams' withdrawal from the three-day festival starting Thursday at Caesars Palace follows several weeks of difficulties for the comedian, including a no-show at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and an arrest in New York for weapons possession.

Representatives for Williams said in a statement: "Following an arduous 300 shows and an arduous 18 month schedule that left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family in an effort to deal with his stress. While doing so, he is under a doctor's care. As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family's request for privacy."

Others scheduled to appear at the event include Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and Dane Cook.

--Greg Braxton

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Marching to a Latin beat in 'Concert for the Troops'

During several of America's 20th century wars, the sight of Bob Hope rallying U.S. troops became practically as familiar a symbol of the military as Old Glory flapping in the breeze. Today, U.S. men and women of a new generation serving under arms, many of them Latinos, are being regaled by performers named Frankie J, Baby Bash and Paula DeAnda, some of whom are as likely to be singing and joking in Spanish as in English.

For the last few years, the growing presence of Latinos in the U.S. military has become a focus of Universal City-based mun2 (pronounced moon-dose), a lifestyle cable network targeted at bilingual Latinos ages 18 to 34. A mun2 news special, "For My Country: Latinos in the Military," which investigated the patriotic, as well as some of the harsh socio-economic, reasons why many young Latinos choose military service, won a Peabody Award in 2007.

This week, mun2 is continuing its examination of how Latinos are affecting U.S. military culture and vice versa by airing "Concert for the Troops," which airs at 6 p.m. today. The concert was staged live before an invited audience of U.S. Army troops, both Latinos and non-Latinos, a number of whom have done tours of combat duty, as well as some of their spouses and significant others.

Read the full story here.

(Photo courtesy mun2)

Henry Chu writes about the Scottish singer who wowed a nation on 'Britain's Got Talent.'

In the physics of entertainment, this is Boyle's law: If Susan the human supernova is on the telly, then a gazillion viewers are sure to be trailing, comet-like, in her wake.

The truth of that axiom is set to be demonstrated this weekend as "Britain's Got Talent," the star-search reality show that made frowzy, frizzy-haired Susan Boyle a household name from Argentina to Zimbabwe, enters its highly anticipated semifinal phase.

Officially, it's still a secret whether the singing Scotswoman will be among the contestants to progress to the next round of the competition; the fortunate 40 are to be announced Saturday, the day before Britain's ITV network begins broadcasting the semifinals live over five nights next week.

But for Boyle not to make the cut would be a public-relations disaster -- not to mention a colossal business blunder -- that would probably trigger a bigger popular revolt in this country than the present dust-up over politicians who claimed horse manure on the taxpayer dime.

"It's almost impossible," Julia Hobsbawm, head of the media analysis firm Editorial Intelligence, said of the chances Boyle would be passed over. "If popularity and the popular consciousness is anything to go by, she's still very much in the bloodstream of opinion. That hasn't abated."

Read the story here.

(Photo courtesy AP)

Susan Carpenter writes about Jesse James' weekly stunt show that includes him trying to set a record on a nitro-powered bike.

She writes:

The asphalt at the Famoso drag strip was hot, the bike licked with red and orange flames when Jesse James stepped up to the starting line and threw a leg over the 1,000-horsepower, nitro-powered dragster. A flicker of green light, a twist of the grip and James was off -- a one-man Cacklefest on a mission to beat the clock.

Seconds later, at a top speed of 161 miles per hour, James hadn't just reached the end of the quarter-mile track. He'd also won the respect of the seasoned racers who trained him and sighs of relief from the production crew that was capturing it all on camera for his new Spike TV show, "Jesse James Is a Dead Man."

James had, yet again, defied the program title, just as he'd done a day earlier, when he caught himself on fire, and a couple months prior, when he rode shotgun in an F-16D fighter plane, subjecting his 210-pound frame to 9 Gs.

Read the story.

(Photo by Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Kenneth Branagh has come full circle. In 1988, PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" audience watched the fresh-faced young talent from Northern Ireland in the World War II drama "The Fortunes of War," which also starred his first wife, Emma Thompson. The 48-year-old Branagh is now back on PBS in the three-part "Masterpiece Mystery!" series "Wallander," which premieres Sunday.

Based on the internationally bestselling novels by Henning Mankell, the series revolves around the brilliant -- and brilliantly flawed -- Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander, who solves complex, often brutal cases in the seaside town of Ystad, Sweden.

"I read crime fiction for pleasure," said the Oscar-nominated actor-director ("Henry V") during a recent interview in Universal City.

He decided to see whether he could get the rights to the stories. "Most of my experiences of development and trying to get the rights [to projects] are fairly sort of knotty and thorny," he said. "I didn't have high hopes."

Read more Kenneth Branagh on 'Wallander'

(Photo by Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

 

It's a TV cooking competition with a knife for a logo. A celebrity host. Guest judges. Mystery ingredients. A sleek industrialized kitchen. Men and women in chef's jackets racing to plate their dishes. A cash prize for the winner. And, of course, a somber parting line for those who didn't make the cut: "You've been chopped."

What? You were expecting "Please pack your knives and go"?

Long before "Chopped" premiered Tuesday night on Food Network, the blogosphere had summarily labeled it a ripoff of Bravo's Emmy-winning TV show and pop culture phenomenon, "Top Chef." Exhibit A? Ted Allen, a popular guest judge on "Top Chef," is the host of "Chopped."

In fact, viewers who give "Chopped" a chance may be pleasantly surprised to find that its stripped-down style relates to the everyday cook in a way that other cooking competitions don't.

Read more here.

Photo credit: Food Network

    Katt Williams, one of the scheduled headliners for this weekend's The Comedy Festival sponsored by TBS in Las Vegas, has pulled out of the event to deal with personal problems due to stress from his hectic schedule.

    Williams' withdrawal from the three-day festival starting Thursday at Caesars Palace follows several weeks of difficulties for the comedian, including a no-show at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and an arrest in New York for weapons possession.

Representatives for Williams said in a statement: "Following an arduous 300 shows and an arduous 18 month schedule that left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family in an effort to deal with his stress. While doing so, he is under a doctor's care. As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family's request for privacy."

Others scheduled to appear at the event include Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and Dane Cook.

--Greg Braxton

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Susan Boyle: human supernova

Henry Chu writes about the Scottish singer who wowed a nation on 'Britain's Got Talent.'

In the physics of entertainment, this is Boyle's law: If Susan the human supernova is on the telly, then a gazillion viewers are sure to be trailing, comet-like, in her wake.

The truth of that axiom is set to be demonstrated this weekend as "Britain's Got Talent," the star-search reality show that made frowzy, frizzy-haired Susan Boyle a household name from Argentina to Zimbabwe, enters its highly anticipated semifinal phase.

Officially, it's still a secret whether the singing Scotswoman will be among the contestants to progress to the next round of the competition; the fortunate 40 are to be announced Saturday, the day before Britain's ITV network begins broadcasting the semifinals live over five nights next week.

But for Boyle not to make the cut would be a public-relations disaster -- not to mention a colossal business blunder -- that would probably trigger a bigger popular revolt in this country than the present dust-up over politicians who claimed horse manure on the taxpayer dime.

"It's almost impossible," Julia Hobsbawm, head of the media analysis firm Editorial Intelligence, said of the chances Boyle would be passed over. "If popularity and the popular consciousness is anything to go by, she's still very much in the bloodstream of opinion. That hasn't abated."

Read the story here.

(Photo courtesy AP)

Susan Carpenter writes about Jesse James' weekly stunt show that includes him trying to set a record on a nitro-powered bike.

She writes:

The asphalt at the Famoso drag strip was hot, the bike licked with red and orange flames when Jesse James stepped up to the starting line and threw a leg over the 1,000-horsepower, nitro-powered dragster. A flicker of green light, a twist of the grip and James was off -- a one-man Cacklefest on a mission to beat the clock.

Seconds later, at a top speed of 161 miles per hour, James hadn't just reached the end of the quarter-mile track. He'd also won the respect of the seasoned racers who trained him and sighs of relief from the production crew that was capturing it all on camera for his new Spike TV show, "Jesse James Is a Dead Man."

James had, yet again, defied the program title, just as he'd done a day earlier, when he caught himself on fire, and a couple months prior, when he rode shotgun in an F-16D fighter plane, subjecting his 210-pound frame to 9 Gs.

Read the story.

(Photo by Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Kenneth Branagh has come full circle. In 1988, PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" audience watched the fresh-faced young talent from Northern Ireland in the World War II drama "The Fortunes of War," which also starred his first wife, Emma Thompson. The 48-year-old Branagh is now back on PBS in the three-part "Masterpiece Mystery!" series "Wallander," which premieres Sunday.

Based on the internationally bestselling novels by Henning Mankell, the series revolves around the brilliant -- and brilliantly flawed -- Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander, who solves complex, often brutal cases in the seaside town of Ystad, Sweden.

"I read crime fiction for pleasure," said the Oscar-nominated actor-director ("Henry V") during a recent interview in Universal City.

He decided to see whether he could get the rights to the stories. "Most of my experiences of development and trying to get the rights [to projects] are fairly sort of knotty and thorny," he said. "I didn't have high hopes."

Read more Kenneth Branagh on 'Wallander'

(Photo by Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

 

It's a TV cooking competition with a knife for a logo. A celebrity host. Guest judges. Mystery ingredients. A sleek industrialized kitchen. Men and women in chef's jackets racing to plate their dishes. A cash prize for the winner. And, of course, a somber parting line for those who didn't make the cut: "You've been chopped."

What? You were expecting "Please pack your knives and go"?

Long before "Chopped" premiered Tuesday night on Food Network, the blogosphere had summarily labeled it a ripoff of Bravo's Emmy-winning TV show and pop culture phenomenon, "Top Chef." Exhibit A? Ted Allen, a popular guest judge on "Top Chef," is the host of "Chopped."

In fact, viewers who give "Chopped" a chance may be pleasantly surprised to find that its stripped-down style relates to the everyday cook in a way that other cooking competitions don't.

Read more here.

Photo credit: Food Network

    Katt Williams, one of the scheduled headliners for this weekend's The Comedy Festival sponsored by TBS in Las Vegas, has pulled out of the event to deal with personal problems due to stress from his hectic schedule.

    Williams' withdrawal from the three-day festival starting Thursday at Caesars Palace follows several weeks of difficulties for the comedian, including a no-show at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and an arrest in New York for weapons possession.

Representatives for Williams said in a statement: "Following an arduous 300 shows and an arduous 18 month schedule that left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family in an effort to deal with his stress. While doing so, he is under a doctor's care. As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family's request for privacy."

Others scheduled to appear at the event include Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and Dane Cook.

--Greg Braxton

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Jesse James: A custom-made man

Susan Carpenter writes about Jesse James' weekly stunt show that includes him trying to set a record on a nitro-powered bike.

She writes:

The asphalt at the Famoso drag strip was hot, the bike licked with red and orange flames when Jesse James stepped up to the starting line and threw a leg over the 1,000-horsepower, nitro-powered dragster. A flicker of green light, a twist of the grip and James was off -- a one-man Cacklefest on a mission to beat the clock.

Seconds later, at a top speed of 161 miles per hour, James hadn't just reached the end of the quarter-mile track. He'd also won the respect of the seasoned racers who trained him and sighs of relief from the production crew that was capturing it all on camera for his new Spike TV show, "Jesse James Is a Dead Man."

James had, yet again, defied the program title, just as he'd done a day earlier, when he caught himself on fire, and a couple months prior, when he rode shotgun in an F-16D fighter plane, subjecting his 210-pound frame to 9 Gs.

Read the story.

(Photo by Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Kenneth Branagh has come full circle. In 1988, PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" audience watched the fresh-faced young talent from Northern Ireland in the World War II drama "The Fortunes of War," which also starred his first wife, Emma Thompson. The 48-year-old Branagh is now back on PBS in the three-part "Masterpiece Mystery!" series "Wallander," which premieres Sunday.

Based on the internationally bestselling novels by Henning Mankell, the series revolves around the brilliant -- and brilliantly flawed -- Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander, who solves complex, often brutal cases in the seaside town of Ystad, Sweden.

"I read crime fiction for pleasure," said the Oscar-nominated actor-director ("Henry V") during a recent interview in Universal City.

He decided to see whether he could get the rights to the stories. "Most of my experiences of development and trying to get the rights [to projects] are fairly sort of knotty and thorny," he said. "I didn't have high hopes."

Read more Kenneth Branagh on 'Wallander'

(Photo by Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

 

It's a TV cooking competition with a knife for a logo. A celebrity host. Guest judges. Mystery ingredients. A sleek industrialized kitchen. Men and women in chef's jackets racing to plate their dishes. A cash prize for the winner. And, of course, a somber parting line for those who didn't make the cut: "You've been chopped."

What? You were expecting "Please pack your knives and go"?

Long before "Chopped" premiered Tuesday night on Food Network, the blogosphere had summarily labeled it a ripoff of Bravo's Emmy-winning TV show and pop culture phenomenon, "Top Chef." Exhibit A? Ted Allen, a popular guest judge on "Top Chef," is the host of "Chopped."

In fact, viewers who give "Chopped" a chance may be pleasantly surprised to find that its stripped-down style relates to the everyday cook in a way that other cooking competitions don't.

Read more here.

Photo credit: Food Network

    Katt Williams, one of the scheduled headliners for this weekend's The Comedy Festival sponsored by TBS in Las Vegas, has pulled out of the event to deal with personal problems due to stress from his hectic schedule.

    Williams' withdrawal from the three-day festival starting Thursday at Caesars Palace follows several weeks of difficulties for the comedian, including a no-show at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and an arrest in New York for weapons possession.

Representatives for Williams said in a statement: "Following an arduous 300 shows and an arduous 18 month schedule that left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family in an effort to deal with his stress. While doing so, he is under a doctor's care. As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family's request for privacy."

Others scheduled to appear at the event include Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and Dane Cook.

--Greg Braxton

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Kenneth Branagh on 'Wallander'

Kenneth Branagh has come full circle. In 1988, PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" audience watched the fresh-faced young talent from Northern Ireland in the World War II drama "The Fortunes of War," which also starred his first wife, Emma Thompson. The 48-year-old Branagh is now back on PBS in the three-part "Masterpiece Mystery!" series "Wallander," which premieres Sunday.

Based on the internationally bestselling novels by Henning Mankell, the series revolves around the brilliant -- and brilliantly flawed -- Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander, who solves complex, often brutal cases in the seaside town of Ystad, Sweden.

"I read crime fiction for pleasure," said the Oscar-nominated actor-director ("Henry V") during a recent interview in Universal City.

He decided to see whether he could get the rights to the stories. "Most of my experiences of development and trying to get the rights [to projects] are fairly sort of knotty and thorny," he said. "I didn't have high hopes."

Read more Kenneth Branagh on 'Wallander'

(Photo by Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

 

It's a TV cooking competition with a knife for a logo. A celebrity host. Guest judges. Mystery ingredients. A sleek industrialized kitchen. Men and women in chef's jackets racing to plate their dishes. A cash prize for the winner. And, of course, a somber parting line for those who didn't make the cut: "You've been chopped."

What? You were expecting "Please pack your knives and go"?

Long before "Chopped" premiered Tuesday night on Food Network, the blogosphere had summarily labeled it a ripoff of Bravo's Emmy-winning TV show and pop culture phenomenon, "Top Chef." Exhibit A? Ted Allen, a popular guest judge on "Top Chef," is the host of "Chopped."

In fact, viewers who give "Chopped" a chance may be pleasantly surprised to find that its stripped-down style relates to the everyday cook in a way that other cooking competitions don't.

Read more here.

Photo credit: Food Network

    Katt Williams, one of the scheduled headliners for this weekend's The Comedy Festival sponsored by TBS in Las Vegas, has pulled out of the event to deal with personal problems due to stress from his hectic schedule.

    Williams' withdrawal from the three-day festival starting Thursday at Caesars Palace follows several weeks of difficulties for the comedian, including a no-show at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and an arrest in New York for weapons possession.

Representatives for Williams said in a statement: "Following an arduous 300 shows and an arduous 18 month schedule that left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family in an effort to deal with his stress. While doing so, he is under a doctor's care. As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family's request for privacy."

Others scheduled to appear at the event include Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and Dane Cook.

--Greg Braxton

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Food Network's 'Chopped': TiVo worthy?

 

It's a TV cooking competition with a knife for a logo. A celebrity host. Guest judges. Mystery ingredients. A sleek industrialized kitchen. Men and women in chef's jackets racing to plate their dishes. A cash prize for the winner. And, of course, a somber parting line for those who didn't make the cut: "You've been chopped."

What? You were expecting "Please pack your knives and go"?

Long before "Chopped" premiered Tuesday night on Food Network, the blogosphere had summarily labeled it a ripoff of Bravo's Emmy-winning TV show and pop culture phenomenon, "Top Chef." Exhibit A? Ted Allen, a popular guest judge on "Top Chef," is the host of "Chopped."

In fact, viewers who give "Chopped" a chance may be pleasantly surprised to find that its stripped-down style relates to the everyday cook in a way that other cooking competitions don't.

Read more here.

Photo credit: Food Network

    Katt Williams, one of the scheduled headliners for this weekend's The Comedy Festival sponsored by TBS in Las Vegas, has pulled out of the event to deal with personal problems due to stress from his hectic schedule.

    Williams' withdrawal from the three-day festival starting Thursday at Caesars Palace follows several weeks of difficulties for the comedian, including a no-show at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and an arrest in New York for weapons possession.

Representatives for Williams said in a statement: "Following an arduous 300 shows and an arduous 18 month schedule that left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family in an effort to deal with his stress. While doing so, he is under a doctor's care. As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family's request for privacy."

Others scheduled to appear at the event include Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and Dane Cook.

--Greg Braxton

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Katt Williams pulls out of comedy festival

    Katt Williams, one of the scheduled headliners for this weekend's The Comedy Festival sponsored by TBS in Las Vegas, has pulled out of the event to deal with personal problems due to stress from his hectic schedule.

    Williams' withdrawal from the three-day festival starting Thursday at Caesars Palace follows several weeks of difficulties for the comedian, including a no-show at "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and an arrest in New York for weapons possession.

Representatives for Williams said in a statement: "Following an arduous 300 shows and an arduous 18 month schedule that left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family in an effort to deal with his stress. While doing so, he is under a doctor's care. As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family's request for privacy."

Others scheduled to appear at the event include Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres and Dane Cook.

--Greg Braxton

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Tom Cruise to Oprah: 'Life isn't perfect.'

This just in from Tom Cruise:

"Life isn't perfect."

Well, you could have fooled us. On Friday's "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sponsored, apparently by the Telluride Chamber of Commerce, Oprah Winfrey and her camera crew made the long, though terribly scenic, trek to the movie star's Colorado home for their first interview since the infamous "couch bounce" three years ago. After a strangely brief appearance by Katie Holmes and her astonishingly perfect hair, Cruise and Winfrey went on a tour of the family home -- from "the mudroom," where a pair of fleece-lined slippers marked "Oprah" filled one cubby, to daughter Suri's little "office" under the stairs, to the study where bound scripts from Cruise movies line the bookshelves (yes, there was "Cocktail," front and center) -- before settling into an overstuffed sofa.

"This is just so normal," Winfrey exclaimed as the two stood in the enormous, professionally outfitted kitchen while the camera went from the breathtaking mountain views to the plate of cupcakes on a kitchen table. You bet. Just two superrich, overexposed media icons sitting around talking.

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith

Ray Romano on TNT

Ray Romano and Mike Royce, partners in the Emmy-winning "Everybody Loves Raymond,"  will write and executive-produce a pilot, "Men of a Certain Age," for TNT, the network announced  Monday. Romano will also star in the project as a divorced father and one of three longtime friends approaching midlife.

The project is the latest in TNT's new push to expand its weekday prime-time schedule with original scripted dramas. The cable network has green-lighted "Raising the Bar," a Steven Bochco project starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jand Kaczmarek, and "Truth in Advertising," a series by the team behind its biggest hit, "The Closer."

--Lynn Smith