Posted Aug 20th 2008 8:39AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: News, Programming, Reality-Free
If you watch MSNBC for the politics fix, no doubt you have seen Rachel Maddow. She's one of the talking heads, a politically savvy woman who has been featured on shows like
Hardball with Chris Matthews and
Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
In fact, she's been Keith's regular fill-in this summer, a sure sign that she's MSNBC's star on the rise. The network has just announced that
Rachel Maddow has been chosen to replace MSNBC's Dan Abrams, bumping his show
Verdict out of the primetime lineup.
Maddow is getting a great spot on MSNBC, right after
Countdown at 9 p.m. Abrams is not getting kicked to the curb. Like when
Tucker Carlson lost his show and remained one of the net's pundits.
Continue reading Rachel Maddow takes Dan Abrams' spot on MSNBC
Posted Aug 19th 2008 2:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
When
All My Children snared veteran head writer Chuck Pratt Jr. to take the reins and "write" the S.S. Pine Valley, the scribe promised swift action. With a look toward kicking up the soap's ratings more than a notch or two. Pratt, whose credits include
Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Melrose Place, Life Goes On and
Santa Barbara, among others is certainly capable.
I liked ABC drafting Chuck for
All My Children, but I'm thinking that the announcement yesterday,
an open casting call for an Iraq war veteran to play an Iraq war veteran, is a publicity stunt. The executive producer, Julie Hanan Carruthers, said in a press release that casting a real life soldier will heighten the experience for viewers. Excuse me, but I think that's utter hogwash. All My Children doesn't need an actual veteran of the war in Iraq to create a great soap opera storyline. That's why they brought in Chuck Pratt, Jr.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: All My Children's looking for a real Iraq vet
Posted Aug 19th 2008 2:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Celebrities, Samantha Who?, Reality-Free
When it was revealed to the media recently that
actress Christina Applegate had cancer, it was a shock. She is only 36 years old, but as anyone whose life has been touched by cancer, this disease touches the young and the old and everyone in between.
Today, the star of ABC's
Samantha Who? was on
Good Morning, America to explain what's happening with her, and
Christina declared that she is now cancer-free. "Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean. It did not spread. They got everything out, so I'm definitely not going to die from breast cancer."
In an exclusive, candid interview, she revealed that three weeks ago she had a double mastectomy to remove all traces of breast cancer. She will have reconstructive surgery over the next eight months to replace her breasts.
I really admire Christina Applegate. I've liked her a lot on
Samantha Who?, but to do what she did today makes me like her even more. She didn't have to face the media and talk about her cancer. It takes courage to share your story.
And having a positive diagnosis, to be able to say you're cancer-free, doesn't make it any easier to talk about the fear you face when you were told that you have cancer and must undergo a difficult surgery or chemotherapy or radiation.
Continue reading Christina Applegate is cancer-free
Posted Aug 18th 2008 11:36PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: The Closer, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
"What makes a child go bad? Nurture or nature?"
(S04E06) For the first act of tonight's show, I kept thinking, what's the deal with Sergei? The episode unfolded like an onion, revealing more and more about this kid. The more I heard, the less I cared that he was missing.
It makes you wonder, how does someone like Brenda remain neutral and not form an opinion too soon in the investigation? It must be her training, because while Pope was quick to remove the "critical missing" status from the case, Fritz -- who came along to provide backup -- was not. It was up to Brenda to make the tough call. For a while there, it seemed like she may have messed up by yielding to Will's point of view.
One of the virtues of
The Closer is that even though it's a procedural drama, they let true feelings show. There are visceral emotions at play, like when the neighbor cried about how his dog was killed, and when Theresa showed the detectives Sergei's room and revealed how evil her brother was (to her), and when Jason confessed that Sergei was terrorizing him.
Continue reading The Closer: Problem Child
Posted Aug 18th 2008 2:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Casting, Reality-Free
As
Jane wrote a couple of weeks ago, CBS was hot on the heels of landing a big name star to fill the void when William Petersen leaves
CSI later this year. The names bandied about included Kurt Russell and John Malkovich, and one other major motion picture star, Laurence Fishburne. Today, the network announced
Laurence Fishburne will indeed be the new addition to CSI. His character is a forensic scientist, like Grissom, but don't expect him to have Gil's fascination with insects. No, Fishburne's man has other bugs: he's a former pathologist and college lecturer who's focused on why people commit acts of violence. It should be interesting to see how his preoccupation with the why integrates with the other CSI gang who are all Grissom-trained and generally obsessed with how a crime is done and who done it.
Fishburne will be introduced in the ninth episode when his character meets members of the CSI team during a murder investigation and ends up joining them.
Continue reading CSI lands Laurence Fishburne
Posted Aug 18th 2008 12:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Game Show, Reality-Free
Perhaps it's unfair to prejudge, but I am really, really disappointed in the Food Network. The announcement that they are planning
a new series that involves competitive eating called Eat the Clock sounds like a sell-out.
It sounds like Food Network is following in the footsteps of classy shows like
Hurl and
Fear Factor. I expect better from the network that espouses to be about the best in food and cooking, not how fast you can jam it down your throat.
The same company that's behind
Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels, Pie Town Productions, has cooked up
Eat the Clock. They're comparing it to
The Amazing Race, but with eating contests thrown up -- I mean, in. There will be travel involved, which relates to Rachael's travel show. Maybe they'll have Rachael try her gullet at consuming mass quantities. (Oh wait, that's the Coneheads.)
Continue reading Food Network cooks up competitive eating show
Posted Aug 18th 2008 11:42AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Army Wives
"No matter how horrible the loss, I couldn't push away the people who still needed me." -- Claudia Joy's advice to DeniseBeneath the surface, there were emotional land mines all around the friends at Fort Marshall in this episode. There were also some interesting revelations. It started with the arrival, out of the blue, of Charlotte, Claudia Joy's mom. Played by Marsha Mason, famous for
The Goodbye Girl, Charlotte has always been hard on her daughter.
Fortunately, the way it was written and the way she played it, she wasn't there just to scrutinize her daughter's housekeeping. It was surprising to hear that she hadn't even called Claudia Joy since Amanda's death. Could there be a more clear indication that there's a gap between mother and daughter?
There was a lot of subtext, things unsaid between them, and that made their scenes all the better. Her visit was more about what's wrong in her life and therefore how it'll impact on Claudia Joy and Michael's. Watch for Mother to move in for a while.
Continue reading Army Wives: Mothers and Wives
Posted Aug 18th 2008 1:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E12) It feels to me that a big chunk of the first season of
In Plain Sight was Brandi's great adventure, and tonight's show was the big finish. In a twist that was both surprising and satisfying, the loose ends were tied up and the air was cleared for the show to return for more chapters in the Shannon family saga. And all that other stuff that Mary's been doing with the Witness Protection Program, too.
After nearly eleven hours (give or take) of Mary's frustration with her mother and sister, it all came to a head. Directed by John Badham (
Saturday Night Fever), this was an episode heavy on the drama, and he did a great job balancing the FBI investigation, Marshall and Stan's efforts to save Mary's career, and the family dynamics. From the first scene between the Shannons, there was no question that this was not going to be a warm and fuzzy examination of their feelings. Mary dropped the hammer when she told Jinx and Brandi how much trouble they were in.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: A Fine Meth (season finale)
Posted Aug 16th 2008 10:21AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Monk, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
"It's funny how the mind works."
-- Monk to Dr. Bell
(S07E05) You kind of knew when you put together the words Monk and submarine you were going to get an unusual episode, didn't you? As a longtime
Monk watcher, you know that enclosed places are not Adrian-friendly environs, so when an old friend of Natalie's -- hottie Casper Van Dien (
Starship Troopers) as her late husband Mitch's buddy, Lt. Steve Albright -- asked Monk to investigate a suspicious death on the U.S.S. Seattle, trouble would ensue. Was it a contrived situation to get Monk trapped on board? You bet, but you accept that and move on.
What made this episode unique was how Monk reacted. Initially, he ran for the hatch like a crazed three-year-old. But then Adrian concocted a coping mechanism. This was a
Monk first. To deal with claustrophia, he envisioned Dr. Bell by his side.
Continue reading Monk: Mr. Monk is Underwater
Posted Aug 16th 2008 10:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E11) Roger and Susan finally had that moment. After eleven episodes, when he showed up in her kitchen and said what we've been waiting to hear him say -- "I love you, Susan" -- it was cathartic. Done to the tune of Carole King singing, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"
Swingtown grabbed me by the throat, leaving me dying to see what would happen next. Only that was the end of the show.
I guess that's a good thing, being on the edge of my seat, hungry for more. Of course the next episode is two weeks away and probably the last of the show unless CBS deigns to bring it back in 2009. Based on the level of interest I have and I've seen from readers,
Swingtown has earned a second season.
But I digress, let's get back to "Get Down Tonight." There was an awful lot of getting down, including the kids. BJ and Ricky had a hot game of strip poker with Sam and her very mature cousin Lisa. Not surprisingly, Ricky was all bluff and ran for the hills when things got too advanced, while BJ showed again that he's a real
mensch (Yiddish for a quality person).
Continue reading Swingtown: Get Down Tonight
Posted Aug 16th 2008 8:20AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: How I Met Your Mother, Reality-Free
After the
season finale of How I Met Your Mother last May, Joel asked readers if they believed that Ted would marry Stella. Nearly 61% of you responded to that poll in the negative. Six out of ten answered: "Nah. I just don't think she's the mother."
So, then, what do we make of the fact that
there is definitely going to be a wedding for Ted and Stella in an October episode. That proposal from Ted to Stella in that last episode receives a yes, and he and Stella would seem to be heading down the aisle.
I say seem because if television has taught us anything it's that just because he's in a tuxedo and she's in a wedding gown, that doesn't guarantee that both will say "I do."
Even if they do go through with the wedding, though, does that mean that Stella is actually "mother"? Is it possible that Ted and Stella get married and break up before Ted hooks up with the character who is destined to be the mother that he's talking to the kids about in the openings.
One thing about
Mother co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, they keep us viewers on our toes.
Continue reading How I Met Your Bride? There's a wedding set for October
Posted Aug 15th 2008 2:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Casting, Eli Stone, Reality-Free
There will be some major star power in the new season of
Eli Stone. No, I'm not referring to
Katie Holmes' stunt casting. I'm talking big-time star wattage.
Sigourney Weaver will guest on Eli Stone as a psychologist. Eli, who is in desperate need of figuring out what he's been experiencing is the result of the brain ailment he's suffering from or something else.
Since he had brain surgery -- or so we think -- at season's end, will Eli still have the visions? Will he fulfill the imperative to Live Brave and become a leader -- prophet -- or was that not a look at the future but something else?
It's all very mysterious, and just the fact that he's going to see a shrink is positive development. Casting Sigourney Weaver is a positive as well. She's a three-time Oscar nominee and carries with her innate integrity and class.
Continue reading Can Sigourney Weaver figure out Eli Stone?
Posted Aug 15th 2008 12:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Music and Variety, Reality-Free
Generally speaking, I'm not an anti-remake person. There are times when a remake is perfectly acceptable and oftentimes can improve upon the best of the original, like
Battlestar Galactica, for instance. However -- you knew that was coming, didn't you? -- this remake just sounds like a disaster in the making.
MTV is going to turn The Rocky Horror Picture Show into a TV movie. They will take the 1975 cult classic sci-fi, horror musical spoof and give it a 2008 spin.
Oh, please! You cannot strike lightning twice.
Rocky Horror was a phenomenon. It was a cult classic because the people who found and supported the movie in all those midnight movie showings felt like they were part of a "with it" crowd. It was like we had all found a diamond in the rough, a film that Hollywood just didn't get. How can MTV possibly think they'll recapture that zeitgeist in a TV movie?
Continue reading MTV plans remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Posted Aug 14th 2008 5:39PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Are you available Saturday, November 8th? Will you be in Parker, Texas? If the answer to these questions is yes, then maybe you'll head out to
Southfork Ranch for a reunion with cast members of the classic CBS mega-hit
Dallas. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the primetime soap, several actors from the show -- those still around -- will gather for a huge celebration. J.R. -- Larry Hagman -- will be the unofficial host, with Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) and Bobby (Patrick Duffy) also confirmed. No, this is not a dream. It's a real anniversary get together!
And what's really terrific about this event, if you ask me, is that it's not a private party. You can buy a ticket and take part. Tickets go on sale August 22 and will cost between $100 and $1,000. And for that money there will be a chance to ask questions of the stars, enjoy a concert of country music, tour Southfork and watch a fireworks display. Presumably that will not be a re-enactment of "Who shot J.R.?"
Continue reading Dallas 30th anniversary reunion planned
Posted Aug 14th 2008 2:19PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Queen Latifah couldn't make it work. Megan Mullally struck out, too. In fact, if you think about it, more stars fail in their attempts to become talk show hosts than succeed. For every Ellen DeGeneres and Tyra Banks, there's a Caroline Rhea and Magic Johnson.
So, will sitcom star Leah Remini go from the
King of Queens to the queen of daytime talk? CBS -- home of
King of Queens for a very successful run from 1998-2007 -- is developing
a daytime show for Leah Remini that's being called something different than a typical talk show.
If you tune in to
The Rachael Ray Show today, you might get an idea of what Leah could bring to daytime -- she's Rach's guest.
Continue reading Can she talk? Leah Remini in talks for a talk show
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