There are some people you just know you'd like. And Marion Ross, a.k.a. Happy Days' Mrs. Cunningham, is one of them. She didn't disappoint when she phoned PopWatch to chat about ABC's latest special, TV's All-Time Funniest (May 9, 8 p.m. ET), and answer reader questions. How did she get cast on Gilmore Girls? Will she return to Brothers & Sisters? Where can you see her in "the greatest fart scene since Blazing Saddles?" (Okay, you didn't ask that last one, but aren't you glad she brought it up?) Read on.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: If you had to submit one scene from Happy Days to secure your win as TV's Funniest Mother, which would you choose? Marion Ross: Well, I had a wonderful one where I did a belly dance for Howard, to put some spunk back in the marriage. It is so funny. The writers said, "Marion comes down the stairs doing a belly dance." I thought, Did anybody ask me if I could do this?
That actually leads nicely into our first reader question: MRS. TAYLOR wants to know how hard it was — or wasn't — for you to perform that dance for Howard (Tom Bosley). [Laughs] I remember it as not being a good day at all. When I see it, it looks very nice and easy. I had lines like, "Treat me rough... Treat me rough." But when you put on that costume, that helps.
BF asks, "What was up with the sexual tension between Mrs. Cunningham and the Fonz?"
[Laughs] Well, we just adored each other, that was all. [Henry
Winkler] always made such a fuss over me, and it would fluster me so. The more flustered I would be, then the more he would do that to me.
We're very, very close friends. I just adore him. We're bronzing the
Fonz in Milwaukee in August. There'll be a statue of the Fonz in the
park.
JAKEEM2007 is curious about what you think of today's more risqué sitcoms, and whether you're an avid watcher of any of them. No, just Brothers & Sisters, which is not a sitcom. I think one of the problems is that we don't know the people on the new sitcoms, the characters. People feel they know us [on Happy Days] — that we're real, and that we really come from Milwaukee. I think it takes awhile to build up something like that, and these shows are faster. Although, I loved Friends. You felt like you were there with them, and you didn't want them to end. You know my daughter, Ellen Plummer, was a writer-producer on Friends. She said she would regale the writers' table with some dumb, dumb thing I had done and try to work it into the script. I'd think, Oh my gosh, I got to be careful what I say.
2CENTS asks whether you'd ever consider doing Desperate Housewives because "a version
of Mrs. C — even someone that dressed and acted like they were in the
'50s would be so cool, and odd, and perfect for that show."
Well, you know, I did a spoof [on the 2005 TV Land Awards] where I played Bree. She killed
her husband, and Tom Bosley was the husband. I think I poisoned him. I
would love to be on Desperate Housewives. I think it would be so funny.
I always wanted to be on Roseanne Barr's show. Like, knock on the door
and just borrow a cup of sugar. Be as sweet and Mrs. C as possible. [Laughs] I would like to be on Monk. [PopWatch gasps] Is that a good idea? Yes. What kind of character would you want to play? Somebody quite insane. He would be trying to deal with me sensibly, you know, but I would be highly, highly neurotic and insane.
It's official: my two favorite fictional worlds are colliding! Upper East Side meets L.A. West Side as Blair Waldorf ditches class at Constance Billard to hang (or perhaps even canoodle?) with leading man Vincent Chase. Okay, so it's not the Queen B herself but alter-ego, actress Leighton Meester (pictured), who will guest star on Entourage, but I'm pretty excited nonetheless. HBO has confirmed to EW.com that the Gossip Girl star will reprise her Entourage season 1 role as Britney Spears-esque pop tart Justine Chapin on an episode of the comedy. Meester has a knack for playing the virginal sexpot, so we can only guess what sparks will fly when she heads back to the left coast.
Reaper fans have been having a devil of a time these past few weeks. At long last, the show returned from the writers' strike with episodes that took the supernatural action comedy to new peaks of creativity, even while the freshman series remained conspicuously absent from the list of programs the CW has renewed for next season. Star Bret Harrison (pictured), who plays retail peon/bounty hunter for hell Sam Oliver, phoned me today from Los Angeles to plug the season finale (airing May 20), which he promises will be full of answers to questions the show has been posing all season, and to urge fans cross their fingers that the CW will renew the series. (In fact, they can do more than that. In honor of sidekick Sock, played by Tyler Labine, some fans have joined in a Jericho-like campaign to send their socks to the CW's Burbank office to demonstrate their support. Harrison has a post on his website, Krakoom.com, showing solidarity with the sock-senders.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Do you have any indication whether or not the CW will pick up the show? Bret Harrison: I have no idea. I think they're going to let us know Tuesday
morning or something. [Tuesday, May 13, is the day the CW announces its fall slate at its upfront presentation to advertisers.] We just finished shooting the last scene on Monday. It's really hard to say goodbye to the
whole cast and crew when it's "Bye... maybe?" It's a weird emotion.
Assuming there is a second season, what would you like to see happen on the show? What they've been doing these last five episodes is what I hope
they'd keep continuing. It's what we always wanted to do. It's the show we pitched. For a while, it went down this whole
path of hammering the premise home because of new viewers. I was like, "What about the
viewers we always had?" I don't know if it was the strike or what, but finally, the writers got a chance to do what they always wanted:
the mythology, the Ken Marino-Michael Ian Black story [about the gay couple, Sam's neighbors, who were also demons plotting a rebellion against Satan], Sam being chased by demons and not just souls,
and trying to find a way to take down the Devil. The big question is: Is the Devil Sam's father or not?
It's fair to say that I don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I have one, like most folks, and I'm familiar with concept of heating food to kill the bad-for-you bacteria. I've even used a microwave with varying degrees of success. So when I got an e-mail last week announcing that GenderPAC, a nonprofit that works towards gender equality, was holding the first of four celebrity cook-off fundraisers this summer — the kickoff event was held last Friday at New York's Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), with two former Top Chef winners and Queer Eye'sfood and wine expert Ted Allen as one of the judges — I coaxed a foodie friend to help me divine this strange culture, and to parse such terms as "haute" (literally "high" in French; fancy, high-end food), "plated" (food made to look pretty on the plate) and "in the weeds" (behind schedule, screwing up the menu) into proper apple-pie, mom-and-pop-shop English.
Comedian Kate Clinton opened the competition with some warmed-over jokes about G-spots, a nod to GenderPAC's bright orange G-shaped logo. But the action really heated up (okay, last food pun, I promise) when Ilan Hall, the winner of Top Chef season 2, and Hung Huynh, the season 3 winner, were presented with their ingredient "baskets" and, à la Iron Chef, were told they had 30 minutes to prepare a drink, an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert, using every single item they had in their baskets.
You can watch video from the event below. After the jump, read more about what it was like to watch these Top Chefs compete and to taste their creations.
Seems like everybody talks about TV at the office, even people who (unlike me and my co-workers) don't get paid to do so. A new survey specifies who's talking about which programs. No surprise, American Idol is the most talked-about show, popular among both men and women, and especially among workers 65 or older (ah, now we know who voted scary tattooed rocker Carly off the show). Besides AI, women like to talk about Dancing With the Stars (pictured), while men like to pretend they can make sense of talk about Lost.
Which shows are popular topics around your office watercooler? And do you think talking about TV helps or hurts your workplace productivity?
Hard to believe that it's already been 10 years, to the month, since Seinfeld went off the air and into the land of eternal syndication. Newsweek marks the occasion with a debate on whether the show still holds up. It's not much of a debate, really, as even the writer taking the anti- side concedes the show's verbal dexterity, the must-see-ness of its best episodes, and its comforting familiarity.
That's right, "comforting familiarity," a phrase we probably never would have associated with Seinfeld during the supremely cynical sitcom's run. After all, before Seinfeld, most sitcoms were designed to reassure viewers with messages about how life is ultimately fair and how you can always depend on friends and family for support. (Indeed, many still are.) Seinfeld, whose characters famously refused to grow or learn, had none of that, yet it remains reassuring nonetheless. It's reassuring, for instance, to be reminded that other people are just as petty as you (or even more so), that they share your frustration with arbitrary social codes, your annoyance with the irritants of everyday life, and your sense that life is, in fact, ultimately not fair.
It's great to hear that we may get to see Catherine O'Hara (pictured) every week, thanks to Rob Thomas, who may cast her in an ABC dramedy pilot, Good Behavior. The news got me thinking — there are so many great performers in the SCTV/Christopher Guest axis, and yet a number of them we hardly ever see. I miss Joe Flaherty. What about you, PW-ers? Which MIA comedy performers would you like to see on a regular basis, and what TV roles would you cast them in?
How much do you love the cast of CMT's Gone Country 2 (shooting now in Nashville, for an August premiere)? This time, Big & Rich's John Rich will attempt to make country artists out of:
• Sean Young (pictured, left): Actress and heckler! • Sebastian Bach (pictured, right): Already a genre-bender, many times over. (Eternal bonus points for his highly entertaining Cribs episode.) • Irene Cara: If this "Fame" performance is any indication, she'll embrace the flamboyant side of country stage style. • Jermaine Jackson: I used to love his song "Dynamite," I'll admit it. • Lorenzo Lamas: Most recently seen accusing his daughter Shayne of going on The Bachelor just for screen time. (Did we know he sings cabaret?) • Chris Kirkpatrick: Formerly of 'N Sync and VH1's Mission: Man Band. Rascal Flatts fans should like him! • Mikalah Gordon: From American Idol's fourth season. The token reality star that no one remembers. Every show needs one.
Who's your early money on? I'll tune in for Sean Young, but I'll bet on Sebastian Bach.
Okay, let's just get this out of the way: I cried during this episode. I know, I know. We're all aware this show is all about the chemistry between Booth and Brennan (pictured; just see Mandi's post on the subject for a refresher) but it was all dialed up to 11 last night during the trial of Brennan's father, Max Keenan (Ryan O'Neal), for killing the FBI director who was stalking his children. The case, with it's own ups and downs that kept you unsure of whether Max would go free, ended up spotlighting Booth and Brennan's special connection in unique and touching ways. By the time her father was released, it was fitting that Booth was hugging her other man outside while waiting to hear the verdict.
What made the show so much better was that they weren't limited to the really heavy emotions but were able to be playful and light with one another and show how in sync they are, like Booth telling Special Prosecutor Caroline Julian that he didn't mind Brennan laughing herself to tears at his hypothesis for the oddly positioned skeleton in the beginning of the episode, or their teasing of Sweets when he asked to continue meeting with them. (The two of them singing "He really liiiikes us" in unison was genius.)
It's the Bachelor episode host Chris Harrison looks forward to all season, because he finally gets to do something. Only, this time, he didn't do enough.
After the women were introduced — and Amanda and Noelle received the loudest applause — Harrison focused his attention on Stacey, the Human Muppet who gave Bachelor Matt her panties on the first evening. Were Harrison Jeff Probst, she would've been forced to say why she did that — was it a premeditated attempt to secure screen time or a spontaneous decision fueled by alcohol (a substance that curiously, was never mentioned, even though Stacey passed out on a bed before the rose ceremony). All Stacey said is that she's actually a sweet person, who wanted to stand out from the other 25 women (actually, that's the other 24). Yes, she's embarrassed to watch the footage of pantygate and of her never-before-seen smiling threats against the other ladies and their loved ones: "They're all whores. I'll f---in' kill 'em all and their whole families." Does it make it laughable or more disturbing that she'd apparently repeated that sentiment throughout the night?
Stacey eventually issued a blanket apology to anyone she may have offended, which is something Marshana (pictured, with Harrison) would never do. I've always wondered what happens when a Mean Girl watches a teen movie that portrays her kind as evil — does she get it? The answer is no. I do think Marshana believes what's she saying: she's not intentionally setting out to hurt others, she's just being herself and they can choose to love her or leave her. But the bottom line is, if you respect other people, you do what you can to get along with them. Marshana's uncompromising nature is just as condescending as Robin saying "I'm not there to make friends." Just be decent no matter where you are.
It's been a week since we had an image of Bones' David Boreanaz on PopWatch (and even though Abby West’s Mini TV Watch will post in a few hours, I can’t wait). So, tell us: Can Boreanaz (Special Agent Seeley Booth) and Emily Deschanel (Dr. Temperance Brennan) compete for the title of TV's Best Chemistry? To be clear: "Chemistry" is not limited to "sexual tension" (although I'm willing to bet the clip below, from the Bones pilot, is what scored that series its original pickup). In our book, it also describes the shared sense of timing that makes Calista Flockhart (Kitty McCallister) and Sally Field (Nora Walker) a joy to watch on Brothers & Sisters; that's earned James Spader (Alan Shore) and William Shatner (Denny Crane) each Emmys for Boston Legal. Because we're looking for the best chemistry in TV history, feel free to nominate classic duos like The Dukes of Hazzard's James Best (Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane) and Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg). We'll even accept James Best and the basset hound that played Flash, if you can make your argument in 75 words or less...
Zach Braff phoned PopWatch earlier this week, during a lunch break on the Scrubs set... not to talk about which network the episode he's currently shooting will air on next season. "I don't want to get in trouble with giant corporations, because they're scary," he says. "No, I just know that the cast has been asked not to talk about it, so I'm officially not talking about it." (But he did quickly plug NBC's May 8 season finale, an epic homage to The Princess Bride that he directed.) Instead, Braff wanted to chat about the music video that he's directing for former Jump Little Children frontman Jay Clifford (pictured, right), "Know When to Walk Away." Braff's vision: People from all over the globe film themselves lip-syncing the track, in their own music video, and submit the footage on jaycliffordmusicvideo.com by May 30. He'll edit together the best scenes and include them in the official video, for which he's already shot Clifford "singing and doing some cool stuff on a rooftop." Why enlist the help of the masses? Besides the fact that he thinks Clifford is an artist people should know about, Braff says, "I've been really active on MySpace, just because I enjoy that sort of discourse with people who like, or don't like, what I'm doing. And something that I always get is, 'I want to get into filmmaking," or 'Hey, I make videos.' I had this daydream about finding a way to collaborate with people that I've never met. Then I was listening to the song in the car one day, after I'd just woken up, and it just all came together: Why don't I try to set up a thing where everyone can submit their own version of the music video, and then I'll cut them together? It'll be a way to collaborate with people from all over the world, because I get email on MySpace from people from Africa, Europe, South America, and the most random places you would ever think would even know who I am or have Internet access."
Ever since I wrote a PopWatch post about the Three's Company episode that I still can't discuss without getting misty -- and 998 comments followed naming the TV moments that made others cry -- I've respected the power television has over my body. It's really a beautiful thing, the way good or "good" TV can move us physically.
Take Paulagate. Our Idol expert Michael Slezak said he immediately pressed pauseon his remote after Paula Abdul critiqued a song that Jason Castro hadn't actually sung yet. Time had to literally stop while he processed what he'd just seen. (I, myself, opted to hit mute, as I tend to do when anyone on a reality show says something mortifying and my instinct for self-preservation kicks in. As I've mentioned before, I practically wear out my remote during the first episode of any Bachelor season, when the ladies attempt to make "memorable" first impressions by singing or reciting an original poem.)
What visceral responses has TV provoked in you, and in what moments? In addition to the standard talking back to the television when a plot line doesn't go my way (oh, don't even pretend like you've never yelled a belligerent, "No!"), I've also been known to:
-- burst out inaspontaneous, two-second fit of rapid applause when a scene is so emotionally satisfying that it makes me
appreciate the television medium as a whole. (I did that yesterday, in fact, while watching the final moments of this Sunday's Brothers & Sisters. You won't want to miss it, that's all I'm saying.) -- forget to breathe when my mind apparently can't allow anything to distract it from watching how a scene plays out. (That's rare, but the best Buffy and Angel episodes still have their way with me.) -- force myself not to close my eyes or look away when a crucial moment of a sporting event is about to unfold live. Why? Because I'm making a deal with God that IF I experience this excruciating tension head-on, my suffering will help earn the team or individual I'm rooting for the win. (I believe this is in direct response to my mother, who gets so nervous that she has to leave the room.)
(Yes, that's two Jayne-centric clips in a row. So? Besides, this episode was written by the great madman Ben Edlund, who created The Tick. Which is almost as awesome as Firefly. The animated version, that is. As you were.)
Where would we be, as a nation, without Adam Chodikoff? Admittedly, the first question that springs to mind when you hear his name might be more like, "Adam Chodiwho?" But check out this fascinating profile that ran in the Washington Post yesterday (hat tip). Apparently Chodikoff's a top researcher/editor at The Daily Show; he's been there since they launched in 1996, which I think is longer than any of the current on-air talent. He's the guy who sifts through the news cycle's detritus every day, compiling video-clip reels that catch public figures in lies and inconsistencies. Those montages are the show's bread and butter — the thing that sets The Daily Show at its best apart from mere stand-up, however clever, and takes it closer to the realm of real journalism.
Actually, it sounds like Chodikoff might actually be more rigorous in his research methods than a lot of "real journalists." Executive producer David Javerbaum, who calls Chodikoff TDS's "unsung hero," doesn't pull his punches on this point: "We think all of these [TV networks] are really, really bad at what they do. My opinion is they suck at their jobs." That's no shock to a hardened media cynic like myself, but I'm impressed to see that point acknowledged (more or less) in as venerable a mainstream outlet as the Post.
Last night's ep was particularly strong, in my estimation; below is a funny/insightful clip about talking-head idiocy for which, I'm assuming, we can thank Chodikoff. Anyone else have a renewed appreciation for the research that goes into your nightly dose of Daily after reading that piece?
Because every channel needs its very own dancing competition show, TLC is now jumping on the conga line with what could be the Best.Dancing.Show.Ever. (If New York magazine can do it, so can I!) According to The Hollywood Reporter, production is slated to begin next month on Masters of Dance, a half-hour series that will feature six new competitors each week. But, of course, there's a twist. In the middle of each dancer's performance, the music will abruptly change. So imagine you're bringing sexy back to the pulse of a Justin Timberlake joint, when all of a sudden, a power ballad by Celine Dion takes over. I smell ratings gold.
No doubt producers will cook up some hilarious song mash-ups, but I want to know, PopWatchers, what dueling songs/artists would you like to see? Rihanna and Simon & Garfunkel? Styx and Britney Spears? Give us your best dichotomous duos.
The answer is not Idolatry. (Although, that would be amazing.) It's that the same man, Ted Kotcheff, who directed First Blood, also directed Weekend at Bernie's (!) and is now an executive producer on 200-episode-old Law & Order: SVU. That delights me more than I can say, which is why when I talked to Kotcheff for EW.com's gallery of SVU's Oscar-nominated guest stars, I had to ask him how exactly that happened.
"Well, I hate to be pigeonholed," he said. "I can do drama and action, and I can do comedy. People thought The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz with Richard Dreyfuss was a comedy. Certainly Fun with Dick and Jane [starring George Segal and Jane Fonda] was a social comedy. Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? [with Segal and Jacqueline Bisset], and, of course, Weekend at Bernie's are comedies. There's nothing more satisfying than making an audience laugh. You go in the audience and you get concrete evidence. But at the same time, I'm interested in serious films about serious subjects. So the reason, I guess, is in my personality: I like both aspects of life, the comedic and the tragic."
How did he make the move from features to Law & Order: SVU, you might be wondering: His agent called and said Dick Wolf was looking for someone to help run a new series that he was calling Sex Crimes. Kotcheff knew nothing about episodic TV, so he asked his agent to get him a gig on another show so he could test it out. That ended up being CBS' short-lived 1998 drama Buddy Faro. I guess he liked it.
After the jump, Kotcheff shares a few stories about his hero Billy Wilder, just to make this audience laugh.
Does teen angst just not seem as, um, angsty as it used to? Do you pine for the days when a bowl of mac 'n' cheese and the dramas of Dawson, Rory, and Seth were all you needed to feel satiated? Well, the media gods have heard your prayers and are bringing back the much-missed WB -- on the web. According to Variety,TheWB.com will feature the channel's oldies-but-goodies like Dawson's Creek, Veronica Mars, and The OC, in addition to NBC's Friends. The site will also stream original, web-exclusive programming from Gossip Girl producer Josh Schwartz and Laguna Beach producer Gary Auerbach.
"It is our belief we are in the multiplatform storytelling business -- no longer simply in the television business," says Bruce Rosenblum, prexy of the Warner Bros. TV Group.
Is it just me, or is Warner Bros. sending mixed signals? Earlier this month, the media company (which co-owns The CW with CBS) quit streaming episodes of cult-favorite Gossip Girl in the hopes more Gen-Yers would watch it the old-fashioned way -- on TV. The show is one of the most downloaded on iTunes, but usually averages only 2.5 million television viewers. Warner Bros. is hoping to boost the show's ratings (and as a result, its ad revenue) by forcing its young viewers to watch the way their parents do. So it seems Warner Bros. hasn't been able to successfully monetize its current CW programming online, but hopes it can do so with its old WB hits.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Are you going to watch all your old favorites at TheWB.com? Or are you still sore Gossip Girl isn't online anymore?
Remember last week when we said Hilary Duff might be joining the cast of the new 90210 spin-off? Well, it looks like that's not happening so much. According to E! Online, the 20-year-old singer/actress has passed on the role of Annie Mills to expand her image through more grown-up opportunities.
Call me crazy, but I was actually surprised when Duff was offered the role, because I already think of her as a grown-up (is that wrong?). I know it's de rigueur for 20-somethings to play small screen teens (see: Gossip Girl, Smallville,One Tree Hill, etc.), but I miss the days when actual teenagers played teens. But just as I was beginning to lose my faith in casting, the heavens parted and manna began falling from the sky in the form of 18-year-old Shenae Grimes. This real-life teen and Degrassi: The Next Generation alum (does anyone watch this show besides my colleague Lisa?) will take on the theater-nerd role. But it gets even better. Her mom will be played by none other than Aunt Becky. Yes, that's right, Lori Loughlin (pictured) from our favorite '90s sitcom Full House (my 12-year-old self may have cried when that show ended).
So what do you think, PopWatchers? Are you excited Loughlin has a new role since Summerland was canceled? Are you one of the few people who actually watches Degrassi?
That's right. I'm doing a 10-minute phoner with Marion Ross (aka Mrs. Cunningham and Trix Gilmore) Wednesday. You can touch me.
You can also ask her a question. I'll make sure she hears the best of the best when she phones PopWatch to chat about TV's All-Time Funniest: A Paley Center for Media Special (premiering May 9 on ABC). Apparently, TV fans across the country were asked to choose the funniest characters in the following eight categories: fathers, mothers, kids, relatives, neighbors, friends, bosses, and co-workers. (Naturally, Mrs. C is a contender on the mom ballot.)
There was so much goodness (read: awesome badness) in this episode, that I don't know where to begin. So before we get into ousted Amanda calling Matt a "douchebag" (you go, girl!), I'm gonna pretend I'm a Bachelor cameraman and go where the skin is.
Can you believe Chelsea let them film her slipping into something more comfortable at the end of her overnight date with Matt in Barbados? You didn't see anything, other than her slipping off her panties with a bedazzled "pretty" on them, but still. Ewww. That said, that long black (mesh? crochet? lace?) dress worked its charm on Matt, who needed to see that Chelsea could, indeed, stomach romance after she kept her distance from him on their afternoon dive with sea turtles. "The turtle was closer to me physically than Chelsea," Matt said. "I had better eye contact with the turtle underwater, with goggles and a mask thing on, than I did with Chelsea. I was gutted." At dinner, Chelsea explained to Matt that she was distancing herself from him because the other women, and the fear of not knowing how she'd handle rejection, were overwhelming her. And I totally get that. But I think he's totally gonna choose her. As he noted, he's almost said too much to her in regards to his feelings: we know his parents will love her, that he considers her one of his best friends, that he loves her sense of humor and believes they'd make a great couple who have a lot of fun together. And he really did look upset in his confessional, when he was dissecting what started out as the most awkward overnight date in Bachelor history. ("Matt: I think about you a lot." Chelsea: "Good.") If she does get along with Matt's parents, the ring is hers.
After the jump, Shayne enjoys being blond (since she was 12 or 13) and Amanda needs Matt to say he's just not that into her.
I have to agree with my friend Mandi Bierly. This was one of the best Bones ever, if only for Brennan's priceless interactions with the baby, whose murdered mom was the primary victim this episode. Brennan's initial desire to remain distanced and logical when it came to baby Andy were hilarious. From her declaration that "Elephants are not purple. This is wrong" to her notation that while bears often adorn children's clothing, "in reality they would devour a small child." Too funny. And a great balance to the sadness of the situation in the economically depressed Virginia town, where the victim's embezzling boss killed her and an accountant who found him out.
Didn't you know that as soon as Brennan connected with the baby as a fellow child whose mother is dead—not to mention that they both had felons for fathers—she would be all in? I would've loved to have seen Brennan at home with Andy at night, the better to understand how and why she started warming up to him. And of course, the next time I'm playing with a baby I really won't be able to stop myself from wiggling my fingers at then and cooing "Phalanges! Phalanges!" (Anyone else thought of Friends' Phoebe stopping Rachel's plane by saying something was wrong with the phalanges?)
Thanks to The New York Post, we saw this piece in Broadcasting & Cable that suggests producers are thinking of tweaking specific components of American Idol next season. According to B&C, a recent online market research survey asks several key questions, including “Suppose the first few weeks of American Idol started in Hollywood with flashbacks of the auditions; would that increase or decrease your enjoyment of American Idol?” (My answer: Increase! Am I in the minority?)
Among the other questions, which B&C paraphrases, are: Is there too much or too little
banter between the judges? And is there too much or not enough Ryan? (Considering I fast-forward through any "banter" and any "Ryan," I'm guessingmy answer is too much. Though, full disclosure, I also fast-forward through anything that's not one of the contestants singing on stage.)
So, let's help Fox out. Answer those questions below. And feel free to mention any other areas you'd like producers to target. It's a broken record, at this point, to say that the results show needs to be overhauled... but go for it.
Let's list 'em. I'll start with the excessively shirtless opening of last Friday's Moonlight (below). Not that I — or Slezak — minded. (And, hello: according to our Hollywood Insider blog, it might've just helped earn the vampire drama a second season.)
Your turn. Name your favorite gloriously gratuitous scenes. I imagine with Sweeps, the list will only be growing...
You remember how the PopWatch Duel works: We ask two costars for their picks on a certain topic. You decide whose list is better by casting a vote in the comments section. They try to tell themselves that they don't care who wins.
In honor of Moonlight's return tonight with the first of four new episodes (Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT, CBS) we sat down with Alex O'Loughlin (left) and Jason Dohring (right) at New York Comic Con and asked them to each name five things that should live forever in pop culture. (They play vampires on the show. Get it?) Dohring's worried that O'Loughlin sealed the win with his first choice, but we think we've got ourselves a fair fight. Their responses...
Did anyone catch Radiohead on Late Night with Conan O'Brien last night? As I might have mentioned once or twice before, the Oxford quintet are my bar-none, all-time favorite band ever. No artist's music has meant more to me over the years. And yet, pathetically lame person that I am, I fell asleep well before their performance aired last night. Luckily, NBC is streaming it online today (below), so I got to see them play this morning. Their performance had been pre-recorded in London — the wisely enviro-conscious
band balked at the carbon-emissions cost of flying to Conan's studio — and it was great to see them jamming comfortably in their home element instead of squashed onto a TV soundstage. They did a sweet, low-key version of In Rainbows standout "House of Cards," complete with guitarist Ed O'Brien's faint but crucial backing vocals, something I always look forward to in Radiohead's live incarnation. Truly, a gorgeous performance.
But! I couldn't help noticing something about the band's very funny pre-song patter. Thom Yorke, in a mischievous mood, delivered a few well-chosen words on the green life — including a common British profanity used to describe President Bush, to whom he dedicated the song's "Denial, denial" chorus. (His exact wording, which I suppose makes the clip below somewhat NSFW: "That {expletive} who walked away from the Kyoto agreement, what was his name again?") Of course, I'm not offended in the least by such a fleeting instance of foul language directed at such a deserving target — in fact, it made me enjoy the band's segment even more! — but I was sorta surprised, considering how cautious the FCC's overzealous censorship has made the networks lately. Did NBC actually broadcast that word on national television? (If so, I say good for them!) Perhaps not; this YouTube clip suggests it was muted. So, at the admitted risk of making a mountain out of a very minor molehill, I'm still curious — did any live viewers notice whether NBC let that piquant phrase make it to the air? And if so, did you care?
Try as it might, Law & Order still can’t fully break a nasty habit. Jesse L. Martin worked his final case as Det. Ed Green in last night’s episode, and the show just couldn’t resist one more gotcha exit. (Go ahead and start singing Roberta Flack's "Jesse," if you must. I'll wait.)
As I was saying, there’s a pattern here -- consider the history. Poor Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) was smashed in a car crash. Alexandra Borgia (Annie Parisse)? Sliced by a psycho and dumped in the trunk of a car. Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) and Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) were the lucky ones — L&O just outed Serena as a lesbian and killed off Adam's unseen wife. To be sure, not everyone gets so dramatic a send-off (notice how quietly they packed off Milena Govich’s one-and-done Nina Cassady?), but L&O does like its exclamation points. So we shouldn’t exactly be surprised that Green turned out to enjoy the company of croupiers.
Apparently Law & Order: SVU's child pornography and human trafficking plot lines are a-OK for the Peacock Network, but a show about a do-gooder billionaire? Too much! According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC has parted ways with Emmy-winning producer Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life on the Street, cast pictured) after deeming his take on the upcoming drama The Philanthropist too grim.
The show focuses on a wealthy renegade who uses his assets to help the less fortunate (do student loans count?) while addressing hot-button issues like immigration, drug addiction, and child soldiers. Fontana and his writing team had submitted several scripts to the network when it became apparent the two sides had very different visions. For its part, NBC was looking for something more "escapist and fantastical" to fit the rest of its schedule, and is now searching for Fontana's replacement. But seriously, NBC, what were you expecting from the guy behind Oz and Homicide? (As an aside, Fontana and Law & Order producer Dick Wolf are actually old friends who often swap cast members -- Christopher Meloni and Dean Winters both appeared on Oz and SVU, while Richard Belzer's character John Munch famously jumped from Homicide to SVU.)
So, with a The Philanthropist redo in the offing, we want to know what shows you've found too grim of late. Did a blood-soaked murder scene make you hide under the couch cushions? Did a stomach-turning operation on your favorite medical drama leave you feeling ill? We want to hear about it!
The announcement that NBC is abruptly moving the great 30 Rock to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, after The Office, with Scrubs moving to the 8:30 slot, is satisfying for a few reasons. 30 Rock can only be helped by being placed in a hammock (note use of TV-bizzer lingo) between ratings success The Office and people-actually-still-watch-it ER. For the rest of us, it means two hours of solid TV watching: The Office, 30 Rock, then switching to ABC for Lost in its new time period at 10. And the minimally-laugh-injected Scrubs is better paired with the 8 p.m. lead-in My Name Is Earl, which (and I speak as a fan of Earl) has never quite recovered from Earl’s time spent in jail. In short, for once, a network has made a smart time-period change. Agree?
Is it just me, or were the home visits surprisingly tame this season, even with Shayne's mother's lipliner and Amanda's faux parents' R-rated performance? That must have been why Chris Harrison's opening voice-over was already plugging "the most romantic season finale ever!" If you play it backwards, you hear, "We know this episode is boring, but you've stuck it out this long, so we also know that you'll be back." True. You got me. Let's break this snoozefest down date-by-date:
Shayne: First of all, every time Matt says something — like meeting Shayne's famous father, Lorenzo Lamas (pictured) — is "massive," I wish he had said "major." But moving on... Matt met Shayne and her father, whom he correctly identified as "a bit of a star," at a restaurant. Seriously disappointing. Was Lorenzo afraid we'd hunt him down if we saw his home? (Oh, you surprisingly handsome, delusional man.) Shayne was nervous because she had once introduced a guy to her father, and the dude admitted that he'd met Shayne at a bar in a club. Why would this be at all shocking to Lorenzo? (Unless, maybe Shayne was underage at the time, and producers edited that part of the story out?) Anyway, I thought Lorenzo was actually a thoughtful, decent dad. He told the camera that he'd been married at 21, and didn't want Shayne to rush in to anything. So, he set her up: He told Matt that he thought she was on the show for the exposure, that "She wants to be a good actress, but she wants to be a star more. This was her opportunity to be on television, right? I mean, come on." Lorenzo wanted to give Shayne an out, or, hear her say that she was on the show for Matt — which she did. Lorenzo's conversation with Matt — about wanting him to be careful with Shayne's emotions, which he himself had toyed with by not being in her life as much as he should've been — wasn't patronizing; it was sweet.
Next came the visit to Shayne's mother's house, which Matt also correctly identified as having leopard everywhere. "I was kinda digging it," he said. And shockingly, so was I. Yes, it'd be easy to take shots at Shayne's mom for being a walking L.A. stereotype, but the fact is, you could feel her warmth, and that of her home. Serving Matt English food, showing him a video of Shayne dancing when she was younger, asking him how he'd feel watching Shayne kiss a costar — she was real. By the end of the date, Matt admitted that he had no more doubts about the Cuddle Master's motives for being on the show. We'll see if he sticks to that story...
After the jump, Chelsea, Noelle, and Amanda get their equal time.
I almost want to tune in to see this, but I won't*: Tonight, on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain will each make a very special appearance on a three-hour edition of WWE's Monday Night RAW (USA, 8 p.m. ET). According to the press release, "An invitation from the WWE to have Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama appear on RAW to settle the Democratic nomination process in the wrestling ring was the catalyst for tonight's appearances by the three top Presidential contenders, who each will address the WWE audience in specially taped messages."
I guess it's nice that the WWE is encouraging its fans in PA to "Smackdown Your Vote!" Still, this got me wondering: Is there a TV show that a candidate could appear on and LOSE your vote? I shot EW's What to Watch maven Alynda Wheat an email and asked for her expert opinion. "Besides this one?" she wrote back. "Losing on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? would erode some respect." Where do you draw the line?
It's a tradition as time-honored as Law & Order's "dun-duhn" and Horatio Caine's sunglasses: Every now and then, network crime procedurals and/or ensemble dramas like to shake up their casts to boost ratings and revitalize their plotting prospects. And the end of the 2007-2008 TV season will prove no exception: Gary Dourdan is leaving CSI; Diane Neal and Adam Beach are exiting Law & Order: SVU; and Khandi Alexander is fleeing the ridonk world of CSI: Miami. If that's not enough, Jesse L. Martin's final Law & Order episode airs Wednesday, and Maura Tierney, who's cutting way back on her ER workload, tells AOL Television that she's been (unsuccessfully) begging the writers of her long-running hospital drama to kill off her character before the series ends its run.
I, for one, am glad to hear Tierney's Abby won't be paying the ultimate price for drama, because, let's be honest here -- isn't it almost too easy for TV writers to enlist the Grim Reaper when it's time to write off a character? Wouldn't it be a greater (and more fulfilling) writing challenge for these scribes to tackle workplace exits the way they actually happen?
In fact, if SVU hasn't already decided the fate of Neal's ADA Casey Novak, how about this scenario? On a lazy Friday afternoon, Benson is catching up on some paperwork, when she hears the siren call of her email "ping," which turns out to be an announcement that Novak will be resigning in two weeks to pursue a lucrative gig at a private firm uptown. As Benson and Stabler spend the episode solving the latest "especially heinous" crime, they secretly plan a farewell pour for their coworker at a local pub. By episode's end, the beer begins to flow. Toasts are made. A few tears are shed. Somebody makes an awkward plea to move the festivities to a nearby karaoke joint. And scene!
There, now doesn't that sound like a fitting exit? Any other ideas for how the aforementioned actors can exit their series without ending up six feet under? By all means, get to brainstorming!
Have you ever met a star that someone close to you just loves? And if so, did you find yourself asking that celebrity to do something for him or her?
Here's why I'm asking: In honor of Moonlight returning with the first of four new episodes on April 25 (CBS, 9 p.m. ET/PT), I suggested that I do one of my PopWatch Duels with Alex O'Loughlin, who plays Mick, and Jason Dohring, who plays Josef. (Look for it later this week.) When my colleague Michael Slezak found out that O'Loughlin and Dohring would be in town April 20 for New York Comic Con, he decided that I would be doing interviews for that Duel in person. (Apparently, When you have an opportunity to be in the same room with Alex O'Loughlin, you take it is the second rule of journalism. Right after, When you have a picture of a water-skiing squirrel, you run it. That one I read in Time Out New York once, and I vehemently concur.) So, yesterday, at the end of my chat with O'Loughlin, I asked him to pose for a photo — with a sign that I made for the occasion. (He, by the way, did so willingly. And told me to tell Slezak he said, "Hi.")
Your turn: How have you whored yourself out for a friend or loved one? (Please keep it clean.)
After the jump, some serious and STEAMY Moonlightspoilers.
On Saturday afternoon, I moderated my second panel featuring an assortment of stars from the Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica — which is, now that The Wire is over, officially the best show on television. (That kind of smoke-up-the-hoo-hah blowing is precisely why they keep asking me back. Because they mustn't be reading my occasionally scathing TV Watches.)
It went much better than my first, which was "The Women of Battlestar Galactica" at last year's San Diego Comic Con. Why? Because last time, I Freudian-slipped up and introduced Lucy Lawless as a man. Which, if you couldn't surmise, most women and all former Xenas don't take kindly to. (If you care to see Ms. Lawless flip me the bird in front of 7,000 people, just scan about 20 minutes into this — and pay no attention to the idiot behind the mic. Bounce over here for the explanation as to why I called her a man. There's totally a legitimate reason. Honest.)
Moderating a panel like this is more than just avoiding boneheaded gaffes. It's not a time for hardcore investigative journalism. Whoever is on the panel — and this time, I had three of the final five Cylons (Michael Trucco, Rekha Sharma, and Michael Hogan, pictured) — can't answer the tough questions. And the last thing I want is for them to get stone-lipped and reticent in front of a packed house. Silence is deadly. So I've gotta offer them questions that they can answer at length while being both interesting and non-revelatory. In other words, cheat the crowd without them being upset about it.
Click through the jump for some of my favorite questions.
A couple of days ago, I gave my husband rare control of the DVR decided to catch up on some backlogged hours of Doctor Who, and caught a particularly awesome (albeit atypically structured) episode called "Blink." The plotline centered on a young woman named Sally Sparrow, who had to solve the mystery of her best friend's disappearance with help from the Doctor (who happened to be trapped in 1969 and transmitting messages through DVD "Easter eggs"). The episode was riveting -- filled with romance and thrills and terrifying stone-angel statues -- and hinged entirely on the star-making performance of the actress playing Sally. Thanks to the power of IMDb, I found her name (Carey Mulligan, pictured) and a list of her credits within seconds of shutting off my TV, then added her 2005 miniseries Bleak House to my Netflix queue. (I'd been meaning to watch it anyhow, and now I've got the perfect excuse.)
All this got me wondering: Who was the last unfamiliar actor you became obsessed with thanks to a TV guest spot? And did your fascination continue after you'd seen them in a followup role? All must be revealed, PopWatchers!
Ever since Annie Barrett posted an open letter to her ultimatum-giving DVR/life partner a year ago, I've been living in fear that my DVR would one day develop a mind of its own. On April 7, it happened. It was set to record the return of Samantha Who?, which I was particularly psyched for because it appeared to be a Barry Watson-heavy episode. My recorded shows list said the episode was waiting for me, but when I tried to play it, all I got was a dark screen. Hell no. After a few more failed attempts (it turns out that screaming calmly pleading "plaaay," as you select play from the beginning doesn't help), I gave up and just wanted the listing gone. My DVR/life partner wouldn't let me delete it. It was as though it wanted it to sit there in the queue — like some severed head skewered on a stake in the middle of a medieval town square as a warning — to remind me that it could, in fact, crush me whenever it wanted to. And I realize I got lucky this time: It wasn't a show that I write a TV Watch for. It wasn't a series premiere or a season finale. It wasn't an episode that couldn't be viewed on the network's website. But the next time, it could be. (Shudder.)
So, because we're all about the group therapy on PopWatch, I think it's time we all share our most painful DVR mishaps. I've got a friend in L.A. whose DVR just decided not to tape America's Next Top Model for the third week in a row. She's not amused. My coworker Gretchen Hansen says her DVR fought back recently, also around the time of a scheduled Top Model recording — could the machines be working together? — by "blinking like it was picking up signals from outside our solar system. Then it started playing the toe pick scene from the movie The Cutting Edge, and THEN it died." ("Wait, you have The Cutting Edge on your DVR, Gretchen?" "It's on my DVR twice. Why? Don't ask me. Ask my DVR.")
I hope all you Popwatchers have checked out my EW.com video-interview series Just A Minute (the latest installment features Forgetting Sarah Marshall star Jason Segel). Well, this Monday, April 21, I'll be interviewing Segel's How I Met Your Mother costar Neil Patrick Harris about his priceless self-skewering cameo in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. And I need your help. So in the comments section below, send us a question you'd like Mr. Harris to answer; we'll pick the best one and include it in my Just A Minute interview. In the words of Barney on HIMYM, it'll be awesome.
Okay, so while I've written some Confessional-style items recently, none of them have felt like they would mortify a normal person (e.g. someone actually capable of feeling shame over anything entertainment-related), which explains why I've been holding at Vol. 50 for a while now. However, when it took two rounds of a cocktail called the Sugar Dong* for me to confess the following to a few coworkers Monday night, I realized that I had my next installment.
Have you ever found yourself hoping to see an "S" in the TV rating that flashes at the start of an episode? (Be honest.)
I'm still DVR-ing those morning Angel repeats on TNT, which, up until the birth of Connor, are essentially first-run to me. Because I know that Connor is the product of Darla and Angel (Julie Benz and David Boreanaz, pictured) gettin' it on, I've been dying for eagerly awaiting the airing of that particular scene. I refused to look up when it would happen in any episode guide because I wanted to experience the storyline organically, enjoy the slow build... But cut to Wolfram & Hart resurrecting Darla right when my schedule became too busy for me to watch the Angel repeats on the same day that they aired (and cue my need for liquid courage): For roughly two weeks, I clicked on the freshly-recorded episodes every morning and fast-forwarded until I saw the TV rating. If there was an "S" among Angel's standard TV-14-DLV, I'd keep fast-forwarding until I saw whether it was the one where Angel and Darla make a baby. (After those episodes in which she teased Angel in his dreams, I grew seriously frustrated — to the point that when my friend Eva and I would IM each other to log our daily complaints with life, I was throwing in "Still no sex on Angel.") Finally, on April 11, it happened. And it was worth the wait.
Your turn. When did you hope for an "S"? (Just keep it as clean as I did.)
As casting continues on The CW's planned Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff — our Hollywood Insider blog reports that Nip/Tuck's AnnaLynne McCord (right) will play one of the hot, rich teens, alongside the previously cast Dustin Milligan (left) — we think it's time to take a PopWatch pulse: Are you happy with the way the spinoff is shaping up? Before you answer, did you catch the item in The Hollywood Reporter saying the spinoff is now Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas' third priority? He has two pilots in the pot at ABC, so other scribes are being hired to rewrite his spinoff script. (Thomas will, however, remain an executive producer on the CW pilot.)
Personally, my enthusiasm for the spinoff is beginning to wane. Yours?
Well, CMT has managed to turn its video music awards into the VMAs, meaning last night's CMT Awards telecast was a glitzy, fast-forwardable letdown. If you missed it (check out the winners), here are just a few highlights:
• The show opened with a taped skit of Trace Adkins (hair not in a ponytail) trying to get tickets for his two daughters — both big fans of Miley Cyrus, who hosted with her dad, Billy Ray. Trace wasn't the only celeb shut out: John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hilary Clinton also worked the phone for tix. Watch the skit, and the entire show, online.
• LeAnn Rimes recreated the video to her hit "Nothin' Better to Do." While it's refreshing to see a singer, you know, sing live during a production number, something about the dance break just felt off. Are we ready for a dancing country star?
• Speaking of off, Paula Abdul (pictured) was on hand to deliver THE most awkward introduction ever. She looked fabulous, in a Spider-Man inspired gown, and she clearly felt great as she danced her way to her mark. But then she spoke: "My life has always been surrounded by dance, cheerleading, tons of inspiration, and, of course, music. That's why I'm so happy to be here in Music City!" Cut to Keith Urban, looking bored. But continue. "Now, I'm just so blown away. There's so many American Idol alumni here, I feel like this is a reunion, and I'm a proud mom. You know, some of those kids we literally found underneath a rock, and saw that they could actually be our bright and shining diamonds in the rough." Dramatic pause as she puts her outstretched arms down. "When they were vulnerable on that stage about ready [glares over her right shoulder at
Home
There are some people you just know you'd like. And Marion Ross, a.k.a. Happy Days' Mrs. Cunningham, is one of them. She didn't disappoint when she phoned PopWatch to chat about ABC's latest special, TV's All-Time Funniest (May 9, 8 p.m. ET), and answer reader questions. How did she get cast on Gilmore Girls? Will she return to Brothers & Sisters? Where can you see her in "the greatest fart scene since Blazing Saddles?" (Okay, you didn't ask that last one, but aren't you glad she brought it up?) Read on.
It's official: my two favorite fictional worlds are colliding! Upper East Side meets L.A. West Side as Blair Waldorf ditches class at Constance Billard to hang (or perhaps even canoodle?) with leading man Vincent Chase. Okay, so it's not the Queen B herself but alter-ego, actress Leighton Meester (pictured), 
Seems like everybody talks about TV at the office, even people who (unlike me and my co-workers) don't get paid to do so. A 
Hard to believe that it's already been 10 years, to the month, since Seinfeld went off the air and into the land of eternal syndication. 
It's great to hear that we may get to see Catherine O'Hara (pictured) every week, thanks to 
How much do you love the cast of CMT's Gone Country 2 (shooting now in Nashville, for an August premiere)? This time, Big & Rich's John Rich will attempt to make country artists out of:
Okay, let's just get this out of the way: I cried during this episode. I know, I know. We're all aware this show is all about the chemistry between Booth and Brennan (pictured; just see 
It's the 
Zach Braff phoned PopWatch earlier this week, during a lunch break on the Scrubs set... not to talk about 
Ever since I wrote a PopWatch post about the Three's Company episode that I still can't discuss without getting misty -- and 
Because every channel needs its very own dancing competition show, TLC is now jumping on the conga line with what could be the Best.Dancing.Show.Ever. (If New York magazine can do it, so can I!) According to 
The answer is not Idolatry. (Although, that would be amazing.) It's that the same man, 
Does teen angst just not seem as, um, angsty as it used to? Do you pine for the days when a bowl of mac 'n' cheese and the dramas of Dawson, Rory, and Seth were all you needed to feel satiated? Well, the media gods have heard your prayers and are bringing back the much-missed WB -- on the web. According to 
Remember last week 
That's right. I'm doing a 10-minute phoner with 
There was so much goodness (read: awesome badness) in this episode, that I don't know where to begin. So before we get into ousted Amanda calling Matt a "douchebag" (you go, girl!), I'm gonna pretend I'm a Bachelor cameraman and go where the skin is.
I have to agree with my friend Mandi Bierly. This was one of the best Bones ever, if only for Brennan's priceless interactions with the baby, whose murdered mom was the primary victim this episode. Brennan's initial desire to remain distanced and logical when it came to baby Andy were hilarious. From her declaration that "Elephants are not purple. This is wrong" to her notation that while bears often adorn children's clothing, "in reality they would devour a small child." Too funny. And a great balance to the sadness of the situation in the economically depressed Virginia town, where the victim's embezzling boss killed her and an accountant who found him out. 
Thanks to The New York Post, we saw 
You remember how the PopWatch Duel works: We ask two costars for their picks on a certain topic. You decide whose list is better by casting a vote in the comments section. They try to tell themselves that they don't care who wins. 
Try as it might, Law & Order still can’t fully break a nasty habit. Jesse L. Martin worked his final case as Det. Ed Green in last night’s episode, and the show just couldn’t resist one more gotcha exit. (Go ahead and start singing Roberta Flack's 
Apparently Law & Order: SVU's child pornography and human trafficking plot lines are a-OK for the Peacock Network, but a show about a do-gooder billionaire? Too much! According to 
The announcement that NBC is abruptly moving the great 30 Rock to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, after The Office, with Scrubs moving to the 8:30 slot, is satisfying for a few reasons. 30 Rock can only be helped by being placed in a hammock (note use of TV-bizzer lingo) between ratings success The Office and people-actually-still-watch-it ER. For the rest of us, it means two hours of solid TV watching: The Office, 30 Rock, then switching to ABC for Lost in its new time period at 10. And the minimally-laugh-injected Scrubs is better paired with the 8 p.m. lead-in My Name Is Earl, which (and I speak as a fan of Earl) has never quite recovered from Earl’s time spent in jail. In short, for once, a network has made a smart time-period change. Agree?
Is it just me, or were the home visits surprisingly tame this season, even with Shayne's mother's lipliner and Amanda's faux parents' R-rated performance? That must have been why Chris Harrison's opening voice-over was already plugging "the most romantic season finale ever!" If you play it backwards, you hear, "We know this episode is boring, but you've stuck it out this long, so we also know that you'll be back." True. You got me. Let's break this snoozefest down date-by-date:
I almost want to tune in to see this, but I won't*: Tonight, on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain will each make a very special appearance on a three-hour edition of WWE's Monday Night RAW (USA, 8 p.m. ET). According to the press release, "An invitation from the WWE to have Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama appear on RAW to settle the Democratic nomination process in the wrestling ring was the catalyst for tonight's appearances by the three top Presidential contenders, who each will address the WWE audience in specially taped messages."
It's a tradition as time-honored as Law & Order's "dun-duhn" and Horatio Caine's sunglasses: Every now and then, network crime procedurals and/or ensemble dramas like to shake up their casts to boost ratings and revitalize their plotting prospects. And the end of the 2007-2008 TV season will prove no exception: 
Have you ever met a star that someone close to you just loves? And if so, did you find yourself asking that celebrity to do something for him or her?
On Saturday afternoon, I moderated my second panel featuring an assortment of stars from the Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica — which is, now that The Wire is over, officially the best show on television. (That kind of smoke-up-the-hoo-hah blowing is precisely why they keep asking me back. Because they mustn't be reading my occasionally scathing TV Watches.)
A couple of days ago, I 
I hope all you Popwatchers have checked out my EW.com video-interview series 
Okay, so while I've written some 
As casting continues on The CW's planned Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff — 
Well, CMT has managed to turn its video music awards into the VMAs, meaning last night's CMT Awards telecast was a glitzy, fast-forwardable letdown. If you missed it (check out 