TV with MeeVee

Morning links of change

Joel Brown — 2008-10-03T06:00:17-07:00

Ausiello reports that Steven Weber will be robbing the cradle on an upcoming episode of "Desperate Housewives." Ick.
"House of Payne" indeed. Tyler Perry fired four writers, allegedly because they were trying to organize their shop. Needless to say he is now in the shit with the Writers Guild.
Jesse L. Martin took a post-"Law & Order" gig on a new series called "The Philanthropist."

"Mama's Boys" - the horror, the horror

Joel Brown — 2008-10-02T13:29:58-07:00

The Rosie O'Donnell variety show is one thing. It won't please everyone, but as with garlic and Hillary Clinton, you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone without a strong opinion, and that usually makes for good ratings. But "Mama's Boys," oh my. NBC announced today that the Ryan Seacrest-produced reality competition will bow on Oct. 29 at 9. Let me just quote NBC's own program description:

The series centers on three possessive, yet loving mothers who must help their complacent sons choose the perfect woman -- and ultimately poses the question: "Who is really the most important woman in every man's life?" Over the course of six weeks, viewers will watch the intense, emotional showdowns and rivalries, as well as the raw, personal moments between mother and son. All of this will unfold as 32 single women -- some classy and some brassy -- vie for the attention of the three eligible bachelors and their mothers who live with them throughout the series. "Momma's Boys" will uncover the conflicts between a mother's wishes and a son's desires and reveal the truth about who plays a more crucial role in a young man's life -- his mother or his significant other.

Forget the Large Hadron Collider. If anything is going to create a black hole that accidentally sucks in all matter, it will be this show.

"Daisies" wilting? "Terminator" to be terminated? New-season ratings bad for most

Joel Brown — 2008-10-02T10:56:34-07:00

Well, ABC's Wednesday-night power trio got its butt kicked. I told you that "Pushing Daisies" and "Dirty Sexy Money" had been hurt by the writers strike during their first season, as had "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff "Private Practice." But Wednesday night's numbers were even worse than expected, with "Daisies" down 55 percent and the other two losing roughly a third of their audience from season to season. Also bloodied by the ratings is Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," which some say will be shut down very soon, with ratings down a third from its so-so numbers last season. If so, I'll very much miss Summer Glau as the "good" terminator Cameron (right).

Ye gods! Is their no end to the carnage? Well, actually, it looks like Fox's "Fringe" is doing OK, as the network just picked up the back nine episodes of its order for the season. It's tops among new shows with the 18-49 demo and enjoys a big live+24 audience - the DVR folks.

NBC stuffs its Thanksgiving menu - with Rosie!

Joel Brown — 2008-10-02T10:38:45-07:00

It's official! The long-rumored Rosie O'Donnell NBC variety show is coming to a TV near you, live, on Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 26, from 8-9 p.m. I don't know the hot chick they used in that photo, but the show is going to feature a "topical monologue" from Rosie - too bad it'll be after the election - as well as "celebrity guests, musical acts, comedy skits and a giant primetime giveaway for both the in-studio and home audiences." Just think of Friday morning's reviews - especially on "The View."Said O'Donnell in an NBC statement: "This is a dream come true for any performer. Old time variety, live from New York with a nod to Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnett and memories of Sonny and Cher." NBC promises "performances from today's hottest artists. In addition, the special will showcase a spectacular array of guest celebrities and many surprises…and it's all live!" Word is that the special will function as a backdoor pilot for a regular or recurring series.

Good morning, Vietnam, errrr, Hollywood.

Joel Brown — 2008-10-02T04:02:14-07:00

Could another labor-pact quagmire throw this television season into chaos like last season? No one in Hollywood wants that, and yet... Contract negotiators for the Screen Actors Guild late yesterday passed a resolution asking their national board for approval of a strike authorization vote by membership. The good news there is the high number of bureaucratic words in that sentence - the process suggestions we're still a ways from trouble. The bad news is that they've been talking since spring and a contract is nowhere in sight. I'm not starting a blog category for it yet, but...

Who gets canceled? Playing the numbers game

Joel Brown — 2008-09-30T11:53:30-07:00

We don't lean too heavily on the ratings here at MeeVee, but when we do, we like to see what TV By The Numbers has to say. And this post is a doozy, actually coming up with a reliable formula for figuring out which shows are mostly likely to be canceled. It's not as simple as where they stand in the ratings. Take the show's average 18-49 rating and divide by its network's average 18-49 rating and voila! A result over 1 is good. A result under 1 is not. The formula picked out "Do Not Disturb" as the season's likely first cancellation - and says "Boston Legal" and "'Til Death" (right) should be next.

This is where sheer math tends to break down. ABC has already announced this is the wrap-up season for "Boston Legal," which means it will likely be allowed to play out the string to appease fans and maximize episodes for syndication or cable. And "Til Death" is apparently Fox's new placeholder, like "According to Jim" for ABC, a stinker that's so cheap to produce or so intimately tied into the network that it's reliable used to fill the spots of canceled shows. In fact, repeats of "Til Death" are now being used in the "Do Not Disturb" time slot.

So what's next on the Tv By The Numbers list, after "Boston Legal" and "Til Death"? "New Adventures of Old Christine," "Lipstick Jungle" and "Knight Rider." Be afraid, KITT, be very afraid.

"Dirty Sexy Money" talks

Joel Brown — 2008-09-30T08:40:10-07:00

ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money" was one of several first-season shows that took a big hit from the writers strike last season, both in the ratings and creatively. It started strong, but the strike hit before it could pick up any momentum. And later episodes seemed to slip into a different tone, which ABC execs didn't like. Two were even shot and shelved. But still, "DSM" has a hot cast and premise - Peter Krause as Nick, the family attorney/factotum/whipping boy for the insanely rich Darling family, most of whom were also just plain insane and hiding various secrets. Now Lucy Liu is joining the cast as the show rolls out Wednesday night for its second season.

In Beverly Hills at press tour, producers Greg Berlanti, Craig Wright, Jon Harmon Feldman and Matt Gross were joined onstage by cast members Glenn Fitzgerald, Natalie Zea, Blair Underwood, Lucy Liu, Peter Krause, William Baldwin, Seth Gabel and Zoe McLellan to talk about the show...

Question: Can you talk about how the tone will change this year, because (ABC Entertainment President) Steve McPherson was saying yesterday that it got a little too serious for him at times last year?

Wright: Right. Well, the show is now a musical. (Laughter.) Sort of a musical comedy, a frothy comedy.

Gabel: And I can bring back the dead.

Wright: I think, you know, to me a lot – the show has always been about ambivalence and ambiguity. I mean, the title is a perfect sort of tattoo of that issue that money really represents — it’s dirty and it’s sexy. You want it, but it creates messes. Right? And I think almost inevitably that meant that the show called “Dirty Sexy Money” was always going to be a very unique blend of tones, and I think what we learned last season is that we wanted to strike – sometimes we would make episodes early on that were a little too — a little too serious without any of the satirical fun and without any of the over-the-top extravagance, and then we would boomerang back and make an episode maybe that was, you know, way too serious without the other stuff, and we go back and forth...

The fictional world exists now. We want to just let the people be who they are. I think rather than sitting with a chemistry set and trying to figure out what’s the proper tone for the show, I think what we want to do is work with people like Jon to find great stories and let the characters be, and that’s, I think, the plan. Does that make sense?

Question (to Liu): Will you be romantically paired with anyone?

Liu: I hope so. I think I’ll be romantically paired maybe with all — everyone that’s up here, including the women. (Laughter.) It’s going to be a real — it’s going to be colorful. That’s all I can say.

Question: What was the approach made to you for this? Did they lay out the character for you entirely? Or how exactly did you come into this?

Liu: Well, I got a call from Steve McPherson saying that “Cashmere Mafia” was most likely not going to come back and that he still wanted to work with me and keep me in the family. And I told him that I was a huge fan of “Dirty Sexy Money.” So then he called these guys over here to my left, and we talked on the phone. I mean, they were really excited about it too. So we sort of came up with this idea to work together on the show. So for me it was kind of a really very easy transition because of that because I had been here before.

Question: So did your signing on precede the actual character created for you? Or was there a character presented to you?

Liu: There wasn’t a character. They were very open. I mean creatively, they thought about bringing something onto the show to add a little bit of color, a little chaos, a little — you know, mix it up a bit, and then it sort of was just kismet really how it all turned out, I think.

Wright: At the end of last season, there were several balls up in the air and issues remained unresolved. So when we started the conversations with Lucy, we sort of laid it all out. I don’t know what the other actors would have to say about this, but I think the life of this show is, I think, kind of unique in the sense that we’re very conversational and collaborative in the way we make the show all together. So we weren’t about
to change that. So we talked about where all the storylines and everything were, sitting with Lucy, and she shared her ideas, and we talked back and forth and gradually realized the inevitability of what was really the perfect fit. So you know, my point is we weren’t handed Lucy Liu and then had to make up a story. We had plenty of stories we had to figure out, and what’s great is she’s such a perfect fit for what we decided to do with her.

Question: For the producers, your show is historic for its inclusion and depiction of a transsexual character. As the show progresses, is there anything — first of all, what is her future on the show in terms of what can she do and what can’t she do? In terms of any restrictions that you would feel placed on you by either network standards or just your audience’s taste for what they will accept?

Wright: Right. I think we’ve — no one has ever — we’ve never bumped up again any resistance about the way we’ve worked with that character. The only bump in the road that ever came up was in the initial pilot where we actually felt we hadn’t been open and affirming, so to speak, enough about her personhood. So it’s like we’ve never met any resistance — the network and the studio and the audience. Maybe people aren’t showing me the terrible hate mail we’re getting about our use of this character, but I don’t think it’s coming in. So A, we’re all for it and no one has ever asked us to do anything but continue doing what we’re
doing, which is use this show as a way to increase a sense of inclusivity — right? — in the world. So that’s the first question. Secondly, yes, you’re going to see Carmelita. At the end of last season, you’ll remember she had vanished. Right? They came to her apartment, and they found she was missing. So when we come back at the top of the season, undoubtedly Patrick (Baldwin's character) will be hot on the path of trying to locate her after a number of troubling months without her, while, meanwhile, his marriage has gotten complicated, and she will return. And she will play a part in Patrick’s public life that will be very, very dramatic.

Question: When you created Mr. Baldwin’s character, did he seem more out there in terms of a New York politician than perhaps he seems now? (Laughter.)

Feldman: I think it’s par for the course now.

Krause (explaining for the slow-witted): It’s an Eliot Spitzer reference. (Laughter.)

Question: It's been a while since you guys have been on the air. What do you
do — even for people who are regular fans — what do you do to remind us what happened and where you are and where you’re going?

Feldman: I think, hopefully, the first episode will allow — it will work for returning viewers, but it also will work for new viewers. I don’t think there is any hesitation. I mean, people who come to the show as if it’s a new show will be up to speed immediately. There’s no learning curve to come back to the show, and I think that will work for — you know, we will very quickly, the audience will be there.

Question: I know you guys shot a couple of episodes that were sort of rushed right before the writers’ strike last year (and not aired). Is there anything you can pick and choose from them whether it’s scenes or stories that you can see through the rest of the season?

Wright: Yeah, definitely. I mean, while some of that material, you know, obviously, like you say, was written in a hurry, there’s some great stories in there and some great footage that we don’t want to waste. So we’re finding places to use it in the upcoming season, and we’re looking for creative ways to make it as seamless as possible.

Question: So there are two episodes that are not going to air?

Feldman: They will exist in some form in the new season, but they’re not going to air in their entirety as they were originally assembled.

Question: What I most like about the show is Nick because he’s the focus, frankly. He is the entry point for the viewers to get into this crazy family. But your cast is getting larger, not smaller, and it’s huge. I was just wondering are you worried about that focus, you know, dissipating over time, because your cast is so huge and you’ve got so many characters to juggle?

Feldman: Well, I think it’s important, you’re right, that we tell stories through the person who basically represents the eyes into this world, so that’s something we’re going to continue to do and work hard at doing. And I think having this wonderful group of actors allows you to tell varied stories and stories that explore different parts of this family and the City and this world. And so the goal is always the same, is to come to this world through Nick.

Wright: I’ll say this, that this season, as a way of talking about what the sort of tone of the new season is compared to last season — I’m not talking about comedy versus seriousness, but that, you know, this season a lot — a phrase we use a lot around the writers’ room and around the show is if you’re going to be part of this family, it’s going to cost you. And I think last year Nick sometimes was dealing with a lot of ambivalence. And this season, rather rapidly, Nick is going to sort of dig into being an active part of this family in a way that he wasn’t last season, and it’s going to happen in a number of very concrete plot ways. So that in the past season a good episode of “Dirty Sexy Money” was one where Nick was sort of given an errand, you know, by Tripp, but now, I think a good episode this season is when Nick is on his own mission up the staircase and into the home where this money and this power and this intrigue is housed, and Nick’s on his own journey. And he and Lisa both are very much drawn in — into the family in active ways. Lisa with her pursuit of her gallery and her dream of being a giant in the New York art world, and Nick on his continued mission to try to locate the killer of his father, but also to maybe achieve some of the things within the family that his father wasn’t able to because his father was crippled by a lack of integrity. Does that make sense to answer the question? I think Nick’s centrality is, to coin an uncoinable phrase, is “now more than ever.” Okay? Cool.

Question: For Mr. Krause, to sort of follow up on their description of Nick’s journey for this season, how do you feel about being sort of the standard bearer for relative sanity in this situation? And do you ever wish that Nick could be a little crazier, or are you having enough fun playing the balance?

Krause: I certainly enjoy Nick exploring this world, because, you know, he was a part of the family, but he was also the little boy with his face pressed up against the glass, looking into this wealthy family. When we started this show, we all talked about why does Nick take the job. There were many reasons. One was the unspoken desire to be close to the only family he’s ever known, and we never really hit that on the head in the first season. His mother abandons him. His father works for the family. He’s estranged from his father later, and yet he wants to find out who killed his father. Now, the logical set of suspects are the Darling family.

So he’s — without saying too much – he wants to find out who killed his dad even though he’s estranged from his father. He wants that $10 million a year to give away charitably. He wants that extra income he’s going to get working for the Darling family. And in the coming season, we’re going to see what happens to the George family with this extra income. The most important thing, I think, is psychologically that he wants to be close to his family, and I think we have to also remember he is in love with Karen as much as he doesn’t want to admit it. As much as it’s the wrong thing to do to give into that desire, it’s there, it’s always there. And they — and we, I should say — we avoid leaving them alone together except at certain times. And when they’re left alone together, pretty quickly we notice that whatever the job is at hand quickly sort of dissolves and they’re staring at each other.

In terms of the path in the upcoming season, I mean, this is a hackneyed thing to say, but frequently I’d
go to Craig’s office and I’d say, “You know, I know when I came into this, we wanted to make this a
Faustian tale, and I still do.” And I was — you know, I was leery of the soap opera of “Dirty Sexy Money.” Now that time has gone on, we’ve been making this show, I’d go in and I’d basically be saying to Craig, “It needs to be dirtier. It needs to be sexier. Nick needs to have some dirt on him. Nick needs to be sexualized.” And so while I enjoy the ambivalence of what world am I in and how can I maintain my integrity, I think that we need to see Nick give into some more temptation, and that, I would say, is the change of course for the character of Nick, that rather than standing back from it and seeing it and weighing it, there’s going to be a few times when he makes the choice in a direction where it’s going to make him a little dirtier - and it’s going to cost him.

Wright: I think there’s this sort of — I don’t know if it’s the proper word, signatory speech that occurs in the first episode of the season where Lisa says to Nick, “I know when you took this job you thought you could walk this razor’s edge all the time between their values and our values, between their family and ours. But the day is coming when you’re going to have to choose, and I hope, when that day comes, you choose us.” And that really is the story of the season and Nick is much more activated in his — he’s offered temptations more often in the upcoming season, and we’re going to track his moral and cognitive development.

Tuesday morning Somali pirate links

Joel Brown — 2008-09-30T07:39:04-07:00

"Pushing Daisies" has cast a bizarro Emerson, Ned and Chuck for a November episode, Ausiello sez.
A "tongue-in-cheek, modern version" of "The Partridge Family?" Say it ain't so, Variety.
A little full frontal on "Survivor Gabon" got by the editors. Click here for the vid, although the site itself is kinda sleazy and definitely NSFW.
Masi Oka talks about critical react to "Heroes."
Actors and producers: Still no talks.

"Swingtown" will rerun, but not return

Joel Brown — 2008-09-29T11:26:56-07:00

If you missed the slice-of-1970s-life awesomeness that was the CBS summer series "Swingtown," you'll have another chance to catch the 13 episodes without laying out for the forthcoming DVD. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Bravo has signed on as the rerun home of the series, beginning later this fall. The bad news is, that means the studio has basically thrown in the towel on selling "Swingtown" to another cable channel with the intent of producing more episodes. I guess that means we'll just have to look back on it fondly as a kind of overgrown mini-series, which covered the summer of 1976 and that was it. The last episode was a season finale of sorts, but left us to imagine what happened to the tree adult couples and various young 'uns. Even if it's not coming back, it's definitely worth a look if you missed it the first time around, especially for Molly Parker as a suburban housewife gaining new perspective on love, sex and marriage.

Welcome back to the Buy More: "Chuck" returns

Joel Brown — 2008-09-29T08:47:00-07:00

"Chuck" returns to NBC tonight, with more of the dazzling adventures of Nerd Herd employee Chuck Bartowski, played by Zachary Levi. The geeky Chuck is both a downtrodden employee of a Buy More big box store and the human repository of all of America's darkest secrets. Long story.

In the second-season premiere, Chuck outwits a menacing operative (guest Michael Clarke Duncan) and supposedly breaks free from his involuntary career in espionage. He even asks CIA agent Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) out on a real first date. But NSA agent Casey (Adam Baldwin) faces a difficult task that could change everything.

NBC has high hopes for the show, even though season one was interrupted by the writers strike. A few days ago, a group of TV bloggers got on the phone with Levi and Josh Gomez, who plays Chuck's hirsute Nerd Herd pal Morgan, to talk about the new season. Not all that much was revealed, except their chemistry and true geekiness.

Question: what do you guys like about working with each other?

Gomez: Zach, you want to start off how wonderful it is to work with me?

Levi: You know, I wish there was something I could say to that but he’s really just a horrible person. No, you know, honestly yeah, from day one when I first met Josh I had been cast in the part of Chuck - no, I was cast as Casey and then they thought no, you’re really not - you’re not tough enough. No they cast me in the role of Chuck and then they had me come in and do chemistry reads and audition - in the auditioning process with various other characters. And Morgan was one of them and so I got the privilege to meet Josh before he got the role. And the first time we ever read together immediately there was a really great chemistry. We have very similar comedic styles. ... Josh got the role, as he should have. And then right after that we were sitting around just kind of, you know, talking about life, getting to know one another and immediately we came to the realization that we’re both avid and rabid videogame players. And so because of that and because both Chuck and Morgan are avid videogame players in our fictitious world, we hit it off, you know, like peas and carrots I suppose, and to quote the genius, Forrest Gump.

Gomez: Yeah, ditto to what he said ... I’m lucky enough to have the head guy be Zach - you know, our number one on the show be Zach because again -- and I said it again and again -- it’s just like the guy should teach a class in Hollywood on how to treat people on a set and how to conduct themselves and how to just make everybody feel like a family and welcome. And so I just - it’s just a pleasure everyday and I may start to cry so I’m going to cut it there.

Question: I love your series and it reminds me of one of my favorite, favorite series that I grew up with as a little kid -- "Get Smart" -- the TV show series, as far as the absurdist nature of the writing. And I was wondering if Josh (Schwartz) and Chris (Fedak) , the show's creators, ever talk to you about what shaped their ideas for the show or what kind of inspired them as far as the - just the premise and the overall feel of the series?

Levi: Well I - interestingly enough, what I do know is that they don’t want it to be "Get Smart" - as much as I agree with you in the sense that I really loved "Get Smart" when I saw it in reruns and whatnot. And I think we definitely do have elements that, you know, you just can’t hide it. There is kind of, you know, some absurdity to, you know, some of the missions we go on. It’s just really a very tough line to walk when you have the comedy and the action, and when they - those two worlds collide it ends up - you know, can be, you know, just very fun and very funny and entertaining sometimes.

But as far as I know, I think it really came out of - I think it came out of Josh and Chris having known each other for awhile, both being writes at USC and they wanted to make kind of a quarter life, you know, crisis, mid-20s to late 30s, like you know what are you doing with your life kind of a premise. And - but, you know, but everybody just - everybody has a take on that. What’s a fresh take on that? Well a fresh take would be that you’re wrapped up in espionage. That’s a heck of a quarter life crisis right there.

And because Chris is such a huge fan of, you know, great action movies like "Die Hard" and "Total Recall," and all these types of things, that’s I think where he’s drawing a lot of his influence in that world. And then, you know - and because Josh Schwartz was, you know, so successful with finding that, you know, young audience with "The O.C." and that kind of pop culture buzz - you know, if you take "The O.C." and "Die Hard," and "Get Smart," and "Bourne Identity" and "The Office" and, you know, all these various kind of genres and influences - you throw them altogether and that’s "Chuck," I suppose.

Question: Zachary, I was struck by the Roger Moore vibe that you gave off in that photo with you all spoofing the classic James Bond movie poster. So I figured I’d ask do you like spy movies, specifically James Bond movies? Do you have a favorite Bond movie, if so?

Levi: Yeah, I’m a huge fan of spy movies. I wish that I was more - I wish I was better versed in all of them. We were actually just talking about it on set the other day and someone talked about the movie "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" which I now own on DVD because someone gave it to me because I had no idea what it was. And a lot of the classic Bond, I wish I was - I knew better. But I’m 27, you know, so it’s - but the stuff that I’ve grown up with - well I guess, you know, Brosnan was really the first Bond, you know, probably because - for me probably because there was a Nintendo 64 game that was, you know, in conjunction with "Goldeneye" which was maybe one of the greatest videogames ever. Again, this is my inner nerd coming out.

Gomez: Yes.

Levi: But, you know, I thought "Goldeneye" was very good. And most recently I thought "Casino Royale" was very good. I think Daniel - is it Daniel Craig, right, not David Craig? David Craig is a singer. Daniel Craig, I think, is a great Bond and, you know, and a cool departure a little bit with the blond hair, blue-eyed thing. And kind of going back to, you know, how he might have started off as being 007 and a little bit more gritty, and not so refined. So I really dig it. You know, I like it with it’s a little bit more in the kind of - I like - well another spy movie, Jason - any of the Bourne movies I think are very well done. (Directors) Liman and Greengrass both did great jobs - and of course, Matt Damon and anyone that they put in them. So, you know, I would - since I was a kid I always thought being the first American Bond would be incredible because there’s never been an American Bond. I guess - you know, I mean Jason Bourne is the closest thing we have. But if they can cast an Australian as a Bond, they can cast an American. I mean, we all came from the same gene pool ultimately, didn’t we?

Gomez: Here here, Zach, here here.

Question: I’m sure you’re giving tekkies everywhere a good name so are you like getting hooked up when you go to Best Buy or Comp USA or something, if people are recognizing you?

Gomez: I wish. Why isn’t that happening? I go to Best Buy’s all over just to see if it happens and it doesn’t. I go no it didn’t happen at this one and I cross it off my list, and I drive to the next one and it doesn’t happen. No, but it is funny. It’s weird to walk in there because our set is so amazing in that it looks - except if you look up and see all the gigantic lights, but when you’re standing in that set, you feel like you’re in a Best Buy or in this big box electronic store. So when I go into Best Buy I get like wow, I feel like I’m at work only I’m not that tired. And the other day I went in with my friend and there was this guy there. And I went to ask him for help and Best Buy had blue shirts on, the blue polo’s or whatever. But I just saw him from behind. I kind of like - I was like hey could I ask you a question or whatever, and he turned around. And it was like oh my god, Morgan. My friend was like oh my god, just watch him and you can study him and use it. You can use it, you know. And it was literally like - I mean, he had a beard. He had this thing - and it was like looking into a mirror only he was probably a little better looking. But yeah, I don’t know, you - do you get free stuff or anything? Do you get razzed, there Zachary?

Levi: No I mean, we have - no, we haven’t gotten - again, I wish. You know, maybe after the show has been on a little bit longer and if people don’t mind losing their jobs by giving us free stuff then maybe we’ll get something. But no what’s - you know, honestly it’s just kind of cool to walk in - like Josh was just saying, you walk into a Best Buy and for them to know who we are because they watch the show, it’s kind of like the biggest compliment you can get.You know, if you’re emulating somebody else in their profession and what their life must be like at work, and they dig it and they’re into it, and they think you’re doing a good job doing it then, you know, clearly we’re doing something right. And the last time I went into a Best Buy, there was a whole gaggle of employees that, you know, I took pictures with them and signed some stuff. And it’s funny because at the Buy More, you know, we’re really just a bunch of slackers. I mean, we - I don’t know if we really accomplish anything. I don’t know how anything is sold in that store. And yet, when I go in everyone at the Best Buy says oh, you’ve nailed us. You’ve got it.

Question: Now you guys mentioned that the reason you’re such good friends is your love for videogames. Do you ever have, you know, videogame battles on the set, off the set? Like who’s taking the win here?

Levi: Well just to clarify, it’s both our love for videogames and Shetland ponies, but we can’t - we don’t have enough time to get into that right now.

Gomez: I’d rather not - thank you.

Levi: We’ll leave that for another...

Gomez: Yeah.

Levi: Anyway but no, you know, during the pilot we brought our Xbox to set and we were playing. I mean, you know, (director) McG would be like guys come on, we’re about to shoot. So we’d run over and go do our shot and then we’d go back and start playing. But we had a little bit more time for the pilot. It was - now that we’re actually - you know, when you’re in the season you’ve got nine days to accomplish what you should have a month to do, I suppose. You know, we’re making kind of a mini movie every week. So there’s not a tremendous amount of time to be playing videogames. But hopefully, you know, if we get a little bit more time and get some cool setups then we’ll, you know, we’ll be rocking out - doing some "Gears of War II," you know, some...

Gomez: Make no mistake, when - we have these phones. When we’re done here today there will be headsets on and there will be game playing. We’re on hiatus. Believe me, the headsets will be back on and there will be game battles tonight. I kid you not, I assure you.

Question: What was it like to work with Michael Clarke Duncan?

Levi: Oh it was awesome, yeah. I mean, first episode back and we have, you know, a bona fide movie star. That’s really, you know, everything you can hope for. ... And so it was really an honor that he, you know, decided to come and play in our sandbox. And he was a really sweet dude. I mean, kind of you know like Josh was talking about Adam, you know, how he’s just, you know, from the outside he’s very imposing and this strong, rough guy and then on the inside he’s a big teddy bear. Michael kind of has that same thing. I mean, I, you know, I don’t know him as well as I know Adam of course, but he seemed to be, you know, just really laid back, down to earth, you know, had a good time shooting the episode and, you know, was easy to talk to and really professional, and very, very imposing. He is a large man.

Question: I noticed in this episode Casey seems to be warming up to Chuck because - it almost appeared like he was considering to disobey that direct order. Like is that what - are we going to see more of that this season, like you guys are getting closer?

Levi: I definitely think so. I mean, you know, I think one of the - A, I think that they want to show that Casey isn’t just a robot, you know. And we kind of touched a little bit upon that last season. And B, I think they want to show that Chuck - you know, part of his charm I suppose is that no matter how irritating he may be to his handlers -- particularly Adam Baldwin/John Casey -- he’s like an infectious disease almost - a good infectious disease whichever that may be. I don’t - I can’t think of any good infectious diseases. But - and so, you know, Casey has no choice but to just kind of embrace him and say - and, you know, and as many times as Casey has saved Chuck’s life, Chuck has also saved his and Sarah’s in return; albeit, you know, in some clumsy un-thought out way but does - you know, still managed to get the job done in some way. And, you know, and Casey sees - he’s privy to my whole personal life and my sister, and my friends and knows that I’m a good dude just trying to, you know, do my best in the world. And I’ve been thrown into this situation, you know, completely outside of my own control. So you definitely see him hesitating on the orders that he’s given and I think he’s relieved that he doesn’t have to follow through with it, you know.

Question: Since you’ve worked with like John Larroquette and some of the other guest stars you’ve had on already, is there any one that hasn’t been on that you’d like to see come on?

Gomez: I would love to see ALF, but I know it’s not going to happen. But I think he’d be great in the Buy More. I don’t know. What do you think?

Levi: You know, I just want to see - again, you know, for me it’s just always about - I love seeing just actors that I love and respect that I’d look at their, you know, their talent and their craft, and how long they’ve been doing it. ... We just had Gary Cole who was Lumbergh from ("Office Space") and, you know, has done all kinds of work. And not to be confused with Gary Coleman, who is also a monster of the craft.

Morning links mania

Joel Brown — 2008-09-29T08:04:13-07:00

HBO has signed for a Tom Fontana-produced series called "Americatown," which finds Americans as recent immigrants overseas after trouble at home causes a mass exodus. That sounds like an upbeat one.
Jesse McCartney (right) is joining ABC Family's "Greek."
With Tina Fey imitating Sarah Palin again, "Saturday Night Live" got the highest ratings of any show on TV Saturday night.
Sarah Michelle Gellar will return to television in an HBO series about troubled siblings.
"Project Runway" may not be moving to Lifetime after all.
Bruce Springsteen will play the Super Bowl halftime show. Miami Steve is promising a wardrobe malfunction.
Listening to Claymates celebrate - and lament - Mr. Aiken's sexual preference.

Last weekend of baseball's regular season links

Joel Brown — 2008-09-26T11:02:46-07:00

And the first show canceled this season is....Fox's disaastrously unfunny hotel sitcom "Do Not Disturb!' Yessss!
And weirdly enough, it's being replaced by repeats of "Til Death."
Recap of last night's "Survivor: Gabon" opener. Really, were there any of those people you would mind seeing sat on by a hippo?

Welcome back, "Simpsons" - Talking With Al Jean

Joel Brown — 2008-09-25T10:24:00-07:00

"The Simpsons" returns to Fox on Sunday night with a season premiere that starts in typical hellbent fashion. Springfield's "first booze-free St. Patrick's Day Parade" includes a sparsely populated float of "Straight Catholic Priests" and quickly devolves into sectarian violence as Bart laments, "Where's the IRA when you need 'em." The orange-vs.-green melee includes a cameo bout from the Thing and the Hulk. And all this while the opening credits are still rolling.

Eventually it opens out into an episode that finds Marge talking a job outside the home - baking erotic cakes - while Homer launches a new career as a bounty hunter in partnership with Ned Flanders (!). The wordplay ranges from pastry perversity (the bakery offers "day-old wangs") to the nearly brilliant ("You hang onto resentment like a confederate widow," Homer says at one point).

Awesome. Still. Even a B- episode of "The Simpsons," which this is, manages to be about three times as smart as most of what passes for funny on TV. And much of the credit goes to executive producer Al Jean, who has been with the show from the beginning and is now more or less in charge. He got on the horn with a bunch of us on Wednesday to talk about the show's 20th season, which ties it with "Gunsmoke" for longest-running entertainment program...

Question: So you guys are just trying to stay ahead of Law & Order, now?
Al: You know, I hate to admit it; we actually do count episodes. I think we’re about 12 ahead of them. They started a little later and they do slightly fewer per year. In number of episodes, we’re ahead of them, but we’re still behind Lassie and Gunsmoke, and Gunsmoke did 600, they used to do 40 a year, so that’s a tough one, we are up to 445 in terms of records.

Question: That’s quite a lot. Speaking of that, you’ve been doing the show for a very long time. How do you stay interested? Does it just become a job now?
Al: No, it’s never just a job and it’s a great job. What keeps me interested is when you see something that is a good idea, you’re able to take the writing staff and translate it into something that is funny and a pleasure to watch. It’s the greatest way to vent what you feel about life, it’s just a wonderful place to be, and I’m really happy to be there.

Question: The “Treehouse of Terror,” people look forward to that every year. After 19 years of doing all of the horror, are you guys going to have a tough time coming up with that big episode every year, and what can we expect this year?
Al: No, in fact this year is a really fun one, it airs November 2nd. The opening we do a little thing about the election where Homer tries to vote for Obama, but the machine keeps changing it to McCain and then finally kills him. We do a satire of the fact that they can take dead celebrities, put them in commercials, and do whatever they want, so Homer starts killing living celebrities so they can use them in commercials. We have a parody for the first time of "It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," where our character, The Grand Pumpkin - totally different legally - comes to life and he’s so mad at the way humans treat pumpkins that he tries to kill them all.

Question: You mentioned it takes about a year to flip one of these over.
Al: It does, between the original concept and the final airing. In the early years, there was a show where we did a joke about the Soviet Union and before the show was completed, the Soviet Union broke up.

Question: That’s why I was curious. Is it frustrating for you that you probably can’t do something about Sarah Palin right now?
Al: You know, it’s not, because, again, I don’t know what people are going to think about her in six months. She may not even be in office as Vice President. I’ve already seen since that Tina Fey sketch, which was I thought was very funny, a big flip in the last week in terms of what people think. We prefer to do things that you can watch five years later and still appreciate them and not think, what was that in reference to.

Question: As far as all the celebrities you’ve had on the show, is there anybody you just have never been able to get for whatever reason, either in the past or currently?
Al: Yes, it’s one group, it’s U.S. Presidents. We’ve tried to get them going back to – I think Richard Nixon was actually the first when he was still alive. They’ve all said no. Ronald Regan, or his assistant, wrote us a very polite no, but that was the closest we got.

Question: I’ve heard that you have Anne Hathaway, Jodie Foster, and Seth Rogen already down for this season.
Al: That’s true and this week, we also recorded Alan Page.

Question: Would you be able to tell me a little more about what each of them are doing with the show?
Al: Jodie Foster – sometimes we do these trilogy episodes, and this one has powerful women through history and we do a parody of "The Fountainhead," the Ayn Rand book, where Maggie Simpson is in a preschool where she’s trying to build these beautiful block buildings and the preschool teacher keeps knocking them down because it’s too creative. At the end, she goes on trial, like the end of "The Fountainhead," and Jodie Foster does Maggie’s voice.

Question: For the big speech at the end like Gary Cooper did, right?
Al: Right, and then Anne Hathaway, we do a show where Bart meets a girl who is really sweet and thinks he’s really a nice kid and not a brat, so he tries to hide his true identity from her and then she finds out what he’s really like and they break up. She was very funny; she’s really hilarious to work with.

Seth Rogen actually co-wrote with Evan Goldberg the episode that he’s in. Comic Book Guy creates a superhero called Everyman, and his power is that any comic book that he touches, he gets the powers of the hero of that comic. They make a move starring Homer and Homer is overweight and doesn’t look like a superhero, so Seth Rogen plays a personal trainer who is going to get him in shape.

Question: I just watched the new Godfather trilogy, the extras where Joe Mantegna talks extensively about his role on The Simpsons, Fat Tony, and the history of it.
Al: Yes, he’s been doing it since the beginning, and every time – he said, “If Fat Tony burps, I want to do it,” so he’s been doing it for 20 years, and even the film.

Question: He said it was his longest running role, he loved it and he talked extensively about it. I wanted to know, for you, who are some of your favorite long-running side characters, maybe some anecdotes, and why.
Al: In terms of guest stars like Joe, who is one of them, I’d say Kelsey Grammer is always just hilarious and can sing really well. It’s so funny to have someone who is trying to kill Bart who is so erudite and smooth, and at the same time violent. Another favorite of all of us was Phil Hartman, once he passed away; we retired his characters because no one could ever do them. Jon Lovitz is always somebody I’ve felt is really – he just makes me laugh and he would ad lib so much that you’d try hard not to laugh while you were sitting in the room while they were recording; it was almost impossible. Then of course, characters that are done by our regulars, I love Comic Book Guy, I can’t believe … on the show, Moe, Krusty, there are so many that you can do a particular show about you almost think you can never run through them.

Question: Everyone loves Spider Pig and you’ve done a couple cameos with him. Could we ever see Spider Pig again, or maybe a whole episode devoted to Spider Pig?
Al: We might. The biggest thing with the movie was we wanted to make it as a stand-alone, we really hoped that if people had never seen the show, they could enjoy the movie and we also didn’t want it to be one of those things where the movie required you to watch the show. We wanted the movie to come to a complete end, but everyone liked Plopper, so we’ll try to bring him back. We’ve had cameos and if we have an episode; we’ll do it. ... I think he was the breakthrough character of the movie.

Question: (With) your success of the movie, with another Emmy this year, do you guys ever think that there should be an end date for the show or will you keep doing it as long as there is still this kind of popularity for it?
Al: I’ll tell you, we signed the cast for four years, including this one, just recently and the Emmy was wonderful, and I really feel, creatively, we’re still doing terrific work and I don’t see an end for a while. The movie and the ride were both huge successes, so I think people still really want "The Simpsons" in their lives.

We're suspending original thought to concentrate on our links bailout program

Joel Brown — 2008-09-25T10:15:00-07:00

"Knight Rider" ratings sucked - just like the show.
And "Heroes" didn't do so well this week, either.
Brandon and Dylan are back on "90210" - as disembodied phone voices.

Late night gets political

Joel Brown — 2008-09-25T10:08:00-07:00

First, here's Wanda Sykes speaking her mind about the election on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno":

And then here's David Letterman giving it to John McCain for bailing on a "Late Show" appearance, and maybe not for the reason he said:

One last go-round for "ER"

Joel Brown — 2008-09-25T08:42:42-07:00

NBC's "ER" comes back for its 15th and final season tonight. And there are two very good farewell pieces to read. In the Boston Globe, Sarah Rodman recalls the heady early days of George Clooney's come-hither looks, when the show's hyperactivity and realism really seemed bracing, and the long slow never-quite-final breakup she's had with the show. Meanwhile Barnhart gets at what's changed about the show over the years, and the real reason it's going. (Right, Maura Tierney as Abby.)

"Gary, Unmarried" ... and unfunny

Joel Brown — 2008-09-24T08:17:41-07:00

Everybody's beating up on "Gary Unmarried" today and, while I hate to run with the crowd, this new CBS sitcom is a turkey with extra tryptophan. I first saw this show when it was called "Project Gary," and my early notes focused on the line, "SHOUTING, LAUGH TRACK." The great James Burrows is a producer and director on the show, but the retooling doesn't give me much hope for subsequent episodes. The best CBS can hope is that not too many people will have the energy to change the channel after "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Jay Mohr stars as Gary, a recently divorced painting contractor and father of two who's ready to start dating again. He's loud and sarcastic and put-upon, terrified and resentful of his ex. Something like the dad Michael Rapaport played on "The War at Home" crossed with the divorced schlub played by Jon Cryer on "Two And A Half Men." He's the kind of dad who says his kid's adventures in the online world Second Life are "Pretty cool. We didn't have that when I was a kid. We had outside." Rimshot please!

The bright spot in his day is that he and client Vanessa (Jaime King) have hit it off with her right away. "I'm not double-jointed, I just don't like to complain!" Rimshot please! Right away, though, he finds himself trying to conceal his new relationship from his bossy ex-wife (Paula Marshall). But she has some news of her own, involving the couples counselor (Ed Begley Jr.) who couldn't stave off their divorce.

There's no point in dissecting "Gary Unmarried" in any detail. It will either be canceled in three weeks, or go on to have a long and successful run like, well, like "According to Jim." Not much I can do to affect things either way. Watch it or don't. All you've lost is 22 minutes.

Morning "Mad Men Meets The Clash" links

Joel Brown — 2008-09-24T06:38:49-07:00

Barnhart points us to some very cool "Mad Men"-based art - including wallpapers. My favorite is the one at right, which combines Betty Draper with the "London Calling" album cover!
Comedian Jeffrey Ross and his creepy facial hair were eliminated from "Dancing With The Stars" last night. Go Frau Blucher!
I don't even know what to think about this: Lisa Kudrow will star in an Internet comedy series on the Lexus channel. What?
Some good predictions for this season of "The Office," which starts on Thursday night with an hourlong episode.
Allegedly Elisabeth Hasselbeck is considering leaving "The View" for Fox News. And we care because...?
Hibberd gets some "Lost"-ies to give sorta spoilers on camera.
And here's Ausiello's video spoilers from the same Emmys carpet.

World to Clay Aiken: No sh*t, really? We're so surprised!

Joel Brown — 2008-09-24T06:18:29-07:00

As you can see by the festive magazine cover to the right, "American Idol" 2003 runnerup Clay Aiken has finally come out of the closet. Slightly more than five years after everyone in America knew that he was gay. Well, except for the giggly fans known as Claymates, who probably still don't believe it and dream of him coming to their houses and pushing aside their stuffed animals to declare his undying but chaste love for them. Perhaps concern for alienating ~~their wallets~~ those fans is what kept him in the closet. It doesn't really matter; suffice to say that out gay people should get a free kick every time they're in reach of the little elf for, oh, let's say five years. Aiken could have used the "American Idol" stage to advance the cause; instead he waits until everyone except the Claymates has forgotten him and uses the announcement to get back on the cover of People - with his adopted child for a prop. What a tool.

Talking to Simon Baker of "The Mentalist"

Joel Brown — 2008-09-23T12:00:25-07:00

A few words with Simon Baker, star of CBS' new "The Mentalist," and producer Bruno Heller, to get you ready for tonight's premiere...

Question: Mr. Heller, with the “watch closely” promo, would the audience be able to pick up what Mr. Jane is picking up by watching and paying close attention?

Heller: Yes, absolutely. That’s kind of the game here, yes. If you watch the show closely, they’re little puzzles. It’s an old style mystery in the sense that if you’re watching, you’ll be picking up the same things he’s picking up. That’s the fun of it.

Question: Okay. Simon, so it looks like what we have here is someone humane, like your character on “The Guardian,” but also someone who’s got kind of a naughty side, like your character on “Smith,” but not as creepy. Is that a good summary?

Baker: Oh, you see too much, man. Don’t look too closely. What else am I ever going to do if I get another job? Yeah, the deliciously attractive part about this role was the humor and the irreverence of the character, and having to swing between being reactive and active constantly is kind of a challenge. But, you know, I’m going to give you props, yeah. You nailed it. I’m stealing from both things. That’s all it is — without the creepiness.

Question: To either of you. There were kind of hints in there that you’re calling the TV psychics fakers, but you don’t really come out and say it. How will that be developed during the run of the show?

Heller: Well, I don’t think — you can’t prove a negative. Patrick Jane was a TV psychic, and he knew he wasn’t real, so he knows he’s not real. But the show doesn’t take sides on that issue. I think that’s part of the fun of that whole world, is — no one can say one way or the other what’s true. We’re playing with that fine line in the middle. What’s fascinating to me about that world is that the skills that fake psychics use to pretend to be psychics are in many ways more extraordinary and more fascinating than the skills they’re faking, if you see what I mean. The human mind is an amazing thing. And what Patrick Jane does with natural abilities is more extraordinary than talking to ghosts, I feel.

Question: Simon, continuing on that for a minute, you get to kind of be an actor playing an actor, so to speak, in those flashbacks to your psychic days, because this guy’s really smooth and really slick. And it’s like a different persona. So kind of tell me what it is to play him five years ago as a fake psychic.

Baker: That was a lot of fun, yeah, because you’re playing an actor and you get to actually comment on the shallowness of acting. You’re commenting on yourself so it’s sort of self-deprecating in a sense. I love that the character is a fraud and is aware of his fraudulent nature, so that was a great day for me.

Question: The source of his gifts?

Heller: The source of the gift is like all great art, is practice, practice, practice. Great mentalists are incredibly disciplined, incredibly brilliant, hard-working people who have devoted their lives to perfecting something invisible. It’s a form of the magic arts, so it’s those kind of people, people who have that desire to excel. You can’t be a half-assed mentalist. You can’t kind of do it. You either have to be very good at it, or you’re not doing it at all.

Baker: We prefer to refer to them less as gifts, because gifts get associated with psychic powers, but as skills, they’re honed skills. They’re learned techniques.

Heller: I mean, one of the basic skills the mentalists learn is a prodigious memory which taps into a lot of the things they do. People don’t expect people to literally memorize phone books, but you can and great mentalists do. So just on that level, it gets back to what I was saying before, about what they’re doing is far more extraordinary than simply talking to someone on “the other side.” It says something profound about the way the mind works.

Question: Simon, “The Devil Wears Prada,” going into that, you must have known it would be a huge hit, and the character you play in that, sometimes whatever you’ve done before that, the identification from a big movie hit sticks with you. Was that a conscious decision to kind of play — I want to say the heel?

Baker: I’m uncannily bad at choosing films, generally. I’m going to give my daughter credit for that. She was 11 at the time. She asked me one day, bored out of her mind, she said, “Have you got any scripts that I can read?” And I said, “Sure, there’s one here called ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’” She goes, “‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ I’ve heard about that book. I’ll read that.” She read it in record time. She came back and said, “Well, Dad, you know what, the character’s a bit of a dick, but I really think you should do it.” (Laughter.)

I said, “Why is that?” She goes, “Because all my friends are going to see it. We can all go and
see it. It will be cool because I’m sick of going to see movies where you die or you’re having sex
with someone. So please, Dad, do this one.” That was kind of pretty much it.

You Must Remember This: History of Warner Bros. On PBS

Joel Brown — 2008-09-23T11:37:54-07:00

“You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story,” running tonight through Thursday on PBS' "American Masters," is the history of a studio and a medium. A few weeks ago at press tour, PBS gathered a big-name panel to talk about the show, including Time critic Richard Schickel, who wrote and produced it, and Jack Warner's grandson Greg Orr, who directed it. But folks were mostly interested in talking to the filmmakers and actors they brought along: "Superman" and "Lethal Weapon" director Richard Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner; "Shawshank Redemption" director Frank Darabont; actor Jon Voight; and actor Joan Leslie, who was in "Petrified Forest" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy," among many others. (Alas, narrator Clint Eastwood was not on hand.)

Here's some of what they had to say...

Question: I noticed that the clips that we saw both started and ended with James Cagney, and I wonder if that’s coincidence, Mr. Schickel, or if he has a special prominent place in the history of the studio?

Schickel: I didn’t put (the clips) together... but, of course, he has a prominent place in history of Warner Bros. He has a prominent place in my heart because I came to know him late in life. He was a lovable, wonderful man, and so even though I didn’t put this together, there’s a lot of Jim Cagney in this series, you know. ... I think he was the quintessential Warner Bros. guy. You know, he was a tough little not-so-hot-looking guy with all that energy and all that spirit and all that kind of social consciousness. It’s very important to me in putting this story together. So, you know, hats off to him.

Question: For any of the writers, producers, directors, actors. Is there a sense of when you work at Warner Bros., and especially when you work on the lot, is there a sense of wonder and appreciation of the work that’s gone on there? Do you take notice of what’s been done in the sound stage you are working in? (Pictured, from left: Schickel, Drabont, Schuler Donner.)

Darabont: I get that whenever I’m on any lot that’s been around for a long time. I, you know – when we were shooting The Green Mile, for example, we were shooting on the Formosa lot, which was Warner Hollywood at the time, and it was the same sound stages where they shot The Black Swan, you know, going back to the silent days. ... If you love movies, you go in, and it’s not just a place where you are showing up. You start looking around the nooks and crannies of these places and asking questions, and I actually had some of my staff sneak into their offices and talk to their people and pull their files out, and we would start getting lists together of what had been shot on that sound stage. By the way, You Oughta Be in Pictures, the Porky Pig cartoon, was also on that very same sound stage. This was the Warner Hollywood lot, but they had shot the live action stuff there, the very door that I kept going through every day, you know, so we started lobbying because I had offices there for a while. We started lobbying for them to start, you know, putting up plaques in the sound stages with the titles with some of the great movies. That’s now true at Warner Bros.

Question: What is your opinion of the studio system, and is that gone with the wind? Is that gone forever?

Leslie: The studio system is so different now than it was when I was in pictures. I was signed in 1939 when I was 15 years old, and they said, “We’ll groom you.” I had had some stage experience, but not acting — vaudeville. But they said, “We’ll groom you.” In two weeks I was testing for High Sierra, and I got the part, and I did five more pictures that year while I was 15. And I was going to school and doing publicity. And, you know, it was — I would say quiet wonder was like how I felt about the studio. These enormous stages, and glamorous people. The makeup department in the morning was busy and fun and talking, charming. And on the set, great feeling of teamwork. I think everybody on the set felt good when we made a good take. It wasn’t just it’s a take. We all felt like, “Gee. We did good. We did good.” (Pictured, from left: Leslie, Orr, Voight.)

But I think that some of that has changed. And that doesn’t mean they’re not making great pictures, but it’s changed a lot. And I’m glad I was there then. I’m glad they did that purposely for me. I’m grateful to Warner’s for what they did. They took care of me. They gave me my identity.

Question: Today's actors have no protection at all from paparazzi, media glare. Did you really have a strong sense that you were totally protected from the public and presented to the public in an always positive manner?

Leslie: Oh, yes, I certainly did. Whenever I was aware that I was going to go to a premiere or I was going to go out on a date or something, I always dressed the part just in case there were some photographers. And they were very courteous. There wasn't the push there is now. It's hard to understand it, but it seems to me it's being asked for, or it wouldn't be there. The studio protected you in that way. I don't know. It was a different era, just a different era.

Question: Your memories of Yankee Doodle Dandy James Cagney?

Leslie: Oh, they are many. It was a great experience to work with Jimmy Cagney. He was absolutely the most creative, innovative person you could think of. And to act with him is really experiencing the joy of acting. He had Cohan down to a fine point. He had notes in all the scripts. He added scenes. He added notes. Of course, his brother Bill produced it. And the two of them together got the Epstein brothers to write jokes and put them in. We got pink pages every other day on the set and fresh material to learn and to act with. And that rapid-fire delivery, it was just so much a part of Cagney, and he did it to a tee. I learned a lot. I wish I could have done it when I was a little bit older to appreciate it more. I would have sat him down and said, "How did you do all this?" But anyway, that was a great experience. I was very lucky working with people like that. And Cooper and Bogey, a couple of other really great guys.

Producer Susan Lacy: Joan, you told me an interesting story this morning about the first time that you appeared on the set for Sergeant York, which was kind of surprising.

Leslie: Oh, well, yes. Here I was, all dressed and ready to play the part of Gracie. And I had never met the director, and I had never met Gary Cooper, but there was I was. The assistant director said, "Okay, you're on the set right now." And you start the scene. And there I met this wonderful-looking creature, this Gary Cooper with the handsomest, sweetest-looking face. And I didn't know what to say. And he felt that, so he addressed me first and said, "Howdy, Miss Gracie. And I said, "Oh, howdy, Alvin." And he referred to me as Gracie, my part in the picture. So we called each other Alvin and Gracie all the way through the picture. I never called him Gary. I thought that would be very presumptuous on my part. (Laughter.) But a entleman, a charming gentleman. That's what he was all the way through.

Lacy: John, was that — did you have the same experience in the second golden age of Warner Bros. when you were doing Deliverance?

Voight: We were making this movie in Georgia. We're going out into the middle of the woods usually in the early morning, and we would be climbing the rocks, looking for the proper location. ... And the only thing that gave us any connection to civilization was that we would be down in this gorge, you know, like maybe 50 feet down in this gorge and there's a river and we'd be — be on rocks and sitting. And in the early morning, we would watch our chairs being dropped by rope down the thing. We're looking. We're sitting on the rocks looking at chairs. Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ronnie Cox. It continues one more step. And we didn't need — of course, we didn't need the chairs. This was a little reminder that we were still civilized. And we would sit in — and we would be sitting on logs and rocks and enjoying it. Really, we had a great time, a lot of fun, you know. You can imagine. Hard work and dangerous work, too, and sometimes silly and dangerous but fun.

And the chairs would come. The prop guys would put them up diligently every morning just to remind us we were in a movie, he said. You know what I mean? So he'd put the chairs up, and everybody sat in everybody's chair, but Burt would always sit in my chair. And he would make — and I would be on the rocks. We'd be on the thing. And I'd look up and I'd see Burt sitting in my chair. Now, I didn't give a damn, of course. You know what I mean? But I did notice it. Every day – for two weeks he's sitting in my chair. And I finally — which is probably what he had prepared, you see, because Burt was a rascal, you know, of the highest rank. And I said, "Burt, let me ask you a question." "I'd be delighted to talk to you, Jon."

And I'd say, "Every — we get these chairs. We don't need the chairs. We're sitting, we're happy here without the chairs. We're sitting on the rocks and the, you know, logs." And I said, "But you sit in the chair, and every day for two weeks you sat in my chair. Oh, I don't care, but can I ask you why?" He said, "I'd be delighted to tell you, Jon." (Laughter.)

He said, "You see, when I sit in your chair, I can see my name in my chair." (Laughter. Applause.)

"The Mentalist": Psychics need not apply

Joel Brown — 2008-09-23T07:06:31-07:00

I don't think I ever watched "The Guardian," Simon Baker's last big starring role on CBS. But I dimly remember him as a favorite of female viewers, playing a hotshot attorney doing community service by defending the poor and downtrodden. He returns to the network tonight with "The Mentalist," a halfway interesting cop show. But CBS had better hope a lot of Baker's old fans tune in, because that title stinks - it makes you think the show is the opposite of what it really is.

"The Mentalist" is nothing like "Ghost Whisperer" or "Medium," shows with psychic protagonists. Nobody talks to dead people here. Baker's character, Patrick Jane, was a fake TV psychic, a onetime talk-show favorite who turns over a new leaf after a personal tragedy. He stops pretending to have extrasensory powers and instead tries to help the police by using the skills he developed as a phony. Mostly what this means is he watches people very closely and picks up on the little unconscious hints they give, like a poker player watching his opponents for "tells." This is the most interesting part of the show, Jane "just paying attention."

The rest of it is pretty standard cop show, no more realistic or interesting than "Criminal Minds" or "CSI: Dayton." Robin Tunney, formerly of "Prison Break," plays Agent Lisbon, the head of a special homicide team in California, who'll be alternately arguing and ~~flirting~~ working with Patrick Jane. Her team includes a smart Asian American guy, a neurotic young woman and burly Owain Yeoman from "Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles."

Jane and Lisbon get off on the wrong foot, of course. The first case we see them investigate involves a missing child; Jane makes himself a sandwich in the grieving parents' kitchen, then arrogantly reveals the child's killer, resulting in a second tragedy. For Jane and Lisbon, this is the TV cop show equivalent of "meeting cute." Lisbon is a good cop and wants nothing more than to be rid of this undisciplined hotshot, but the next high-profile murder she investigates requires his unusual talents. And soon there are connections to the elusive serial killer whose path Jane has crossed before...

I like two things about this show. Instead of the supernatural mumbo-jumbo of "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium," "The Mentalist" offers up a realistic approach to ESP, basically that there isn't any such thing. "I used to make a pretty good living pretending to be a psychic," says Jane, who later avows he hopes there's no such thing as heaven or the soul, either. This is pretty unusual for network TV shows, which usually take the stance of a presidential candidate and adopt a nonspecific spirituality so as not to offend religious viewers. It will be interesting to see if they can stick to it.

The show's other main appeal is Baker, who has a sparkly charm and low-key confidence that seem well-suited to the character. Tunney, Yeoman and Tim Kang are fine as cops - jury's still out on Amanda Righetti as the last member of the team. But it's Baker's appeal that will make this a hit - or not.

CW extends "90210" for another semester as DVR plumps ratings

Joel Brown — 2008-09-23T05:31:18-07:00

CW announced Monday that it's picking up "90210" for a full season of 22 episodes, ordering an additional nine. Not a huge surprise - the network has a lot of eggs in that basket. Some observers said before the fall premieres that the fate of the show and its Monday-night companion, "Gossip Girl," would determine the fate of CW. Looks like it worked.

“The successful addition of ‘90210’ has taken The CW another step forward in building a cohesive schedule that defines this network as a destination for young women with shows that get our audience talking -- and watching,” CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff said in an email announcing the pickup.

Network execs say that kind of things all the time, of course. "90210" started hot out of the gate with 4.9 million viewers, dropped to about half that, then recovered in its third week to about 3.3 million viewers, which is not bad, according to THR.com. But the real news may be the "live + 7" ratings that include seven days of DVR usage. Those showed "90210" and "Gossip Girl" adding at least a third more viewers via time-shifted DVR viewing.

Morning playing-for-the-wild-card-spot links

Joel Brown — 2008-09-23T05:00:00-07:00

William Fichtner of "Prison Break" and sometime "ER" star Sherry Stringfield will co-star in a TNT drama pilot about an ATF agent.
GMMR spazzing cutely over Jim and Pam developments on "The Office."
"Flashpoint," the Canadian cop series that helped CBS entertain viewers this summer, has been renewed for a second season in both countries.
Talking Sylar with "Heroes" star Zachary Quinto.
Miley Cyrsu leaving "Hannah Montana?" Don't believe the hype.
I second this Cheer for Neil Patrick Harris on "How I Met Your Mother."
"Knight Rider" goes to series tomorrow night, but the NYT does such a good job demolishing it today in a couple of paragraphs (second item) that I won't bother: "The plot is plodding, the characters are interchangeable, and as an actor (Justin) Bruening makes David Hasselhoff seem like Derek Jacobi." HA!

Emmys ratings sucked as much as that host segment (almost)

Joel Brown — 2008-09-22T13:45:27-07:00

Maybe it was because so many of our favorite shows had abbreviated or nonexistent seasons last year due to the writers strike. Maybe it was because the shows winning most of the awards were critical favorites with small audiences, like "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "30 Rock" and "John Adams." Or maybe folks who tuned in at the start turned it right off again after the pathetic opening segment with the five amigos (right).

Whatever the reason, the last night's Emmy Awards show delivered a patheti c 12.24 million viewers, one of the worst if not the worst number ever. The Emmys actually came in second to the Cowboys-Packers game. ABC was reduced to bragging that it got the network's best ratings in the time period - since mid-May! You know, a whole four months of craptacular summer viewing ago.

It's pathetic that the ceremony to honor excellence in television is such a dreary, old-fashioned, deadly dull piece of refuse. I heart this from Tim Goodman's rant: "Now that you've given director Louis J. Horvitz (yet another) Emmy, it's time to fire him." Not only was the show terrible, but giving the award to the director for last year's show? So he can accept it from the booth? Talk about a pipe job.