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February 2007
‘Lights’ lights up San Marcos!
“Friday Night Lights” was all over San Marcos on Tuesday. In fact, San Marcos became Dillon, Texas, for a short time.
First the cast and crew took over City Hall for a scene featuring wheelchair-bound Jason Street (Scott Porter). They started in the lobby and spilled into several offices. The detail-oriented crew even re-labeled plaques honoring San Marcos council members with “Dillon City Council.”
After wrapping at City Hall, “Lights” moved to the San Marcos Police Station where Chief Howard Williams’ office was transformed into the headquarters of Dillon’s mayor.
The series also filmed scenes on the Texas State University-San Marcos campus at the End Zone Complex, the Bobcat Stadium parking lot, the press box, football offices, training areas, the Sac-N-Pac Room, and at the Aqua Sports Center.
This was the second episode filmed on the Texas State campus. Several weeks ago the production filmed a scene in Strahan Coliseum.
Melissa Millecam photo / CITY OF SAN MARCOS
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Are you smart enough to ignore Fox’s new show?
A show that celebrates stupidity — and presents the truly stupid as amusing entertainment — is offensive.
So what does Fox hope to accomplish with the new game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” Clearly the goal is to make kids feel superior to their parents. Given the caliber of the parents on this show, that’s an easy task.
One befuddled parent is stumped when asked how much 2X5 equals. To quote Ross Perot, “Now that’s just sad!” It’s certainly not funny, although howls of laughter peel from the studio audience.
With “American Idol” as a lead-in, “Are You Smarter” is likely to grab an audience, at least for the first week (night two of its premiere event is tonight at 8:30). But surely — hope springs eternal in this critic’s heart — curiosity will not turn into love.
Jeff Foxworthy (best-known as the blue-collar comic who immortalized the phrase “You’re a redneck if …”) is the host. His former WB show was canceled last season, so we won’t blame the guy for wanting a paycheck.
On “Are You Smarter,” adults are asked questions from fifth-grade textbooks for the chance to win $1 million. A group of actual fifth-grade kids are standing by to help and ridicule these incredibly inept adults. “I’m having a major blonde moment!” wails one poor woman.
You’ve got to wonder how this show was pitched to Fox execs — and what went into their decision to greenlight it. Maybe they’re all dumber than fifth-graders.
The “Idol” seesaw …
Last night the male contestants on “American Idol” stepped up and turned in mostly fabulous performances. OK, Sanjaya, channeling Michael Jackson just a tad was weird, but the rest of them were pretty good — and much better than last week.
If tradition holds, though, that means the female contenders tonight will be not so good. Last week they were terrific, but consistency rarely rears its head in these early performance rounds. I bet Simon will get his gripe on tonight and chew out the ladies.
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Bob Woodruff’s long road back
Bob Woodruff doesn’t look quite as GQ as he used to in tonight’s documentary “To Iraq and Back” (9 p.m. on ABC), but he’s alert, fairly articulate and focused on shedding new light on the rocky road ahead for soldiers who have suffered brain injuries in the Iraq War.
What could have been simply a compelling personal story quickly evolves into a larger look at the true tragedy of the war’s “non-fatalities” — and the U.S. government’s ineffective response. Injured veterans, their families and medical personnel are interviewed.
Woodruff had only been anchoring ABC’s “World News” for a few months in January 2006 when the vehicle he and cameraman Doug Vogt were riding in was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq. (Vogt also survived and is still recovering.) The devastating head injury Woodruff suffered left him in a coma for several weeks, and he has spent an entire year working to regain his mental and physical abilities.
The ABC documentary covers in excruciating detail the extent of Woodruff’s injuries and his long road to recovery. He still has trouble remembering certain words and names and continues with weekly therapy sessions in New York.
His wife Lee talks for the first time about her husband’s near-death injuries and the impact the past year has had on their family.
But Woodruff’s desire to put himself into a larger context has been respected, and the personal story serves as a springboard to that. The result is an extraordinarily powerful hour that is informative and gut-wrenching.
Never-ending Oscars
The never-ending Academy Awards on Sunday night logged nearly 40 million viewers on ABC. While that sounds impressive, it was the third lowest number in 15 years.
The nearly four-hour telecast lapped into Monday morning on the East Coast, so Nielsen has no numbers for that post-prime, next-day tally.
The top-rated Oscar show in recent history was 1998, when 55 million people saw “Titanic” win the best picture award. This year’s show drew slightly more viewers than last year’s program, which was hosted by Jon Stewart. At least Ellen DeGeneres can take comfort in the knowledge that she did better than the faux news guy.
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Cheers for tonight’s debut of ‘The Black Donnellys’
One of the best new dramas of the season arrives tonight, and one of the most over-rated and under-performing newcomers leaves.
NBC hasn’t officially canceled Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” but it’s gone for now and quite possibly for good. The internal workings of a late-night comedy show just hasn’t clicked creatively … or any other way.
Replacing “Studio 60” for the foreseeable future is “The Black Donnellys” (9 p.m. Mondays), an atmospheric, operatic saga of four working-class Irish brothers in New York who find themselves sinking ever-deeper into organized crime.
Told through flashbacks and yarn-spinning from a guy in the slammer who may or may not be fabricating major and minor details (like his own participation in the Donnellys violent escapades), the series is the brainchild of Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco (both of “Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby”). The duo’s previous TV outing was the highly praised but generally ignored “EZ Streets.”
“The Black Donnellys” follows four brothers in various stages of mob life. The heart and sadly withering soul of the group is Tommy (Jonathan Tucker), a talented artist who should have found an easy exit from a life of crime — if it weren’t for his loyalty to his screwed-up brothers. Tommy knows better than to dally with the mob, but family loyalty trumps common sense.
The bad Donnellys are Jimmy (Thomas Guiry), a drug-addicted bar owner with a limp that dates back to a pivotal childhood trauma; Kevin (Billy Lush), a hapless gambler and welcher who decides to kidnap a guy he owes money to rather than pay him; and baby-brother Sean (Michael Stahl-David), a handsome womanizer whose escapades frequently land him in trouble.
Our witness and jail-house narrator is the Donnelly brothers’ childhood friend Joey Ice Cream (Keith Nobbs). He’s either embellishing or outright lying about his and the Donnellys’ mob adventures, but he provides a good deal of comic relief to balance the moodiness and violence of the drama.
Filmed in New York and set in that city’s notorious Hell’s Kitchen, “The Black Donnellys” looks like a Martin Scorsese film and may remind some viewers of the fabulous Showtime mob series “Brotherhood.”
But this NBC offering stands on its own. It manages to be rough and tough without the free pass of bad language enjoyed by movies and pay cable channels. Within the confines of prime-time network TV, “The Black Donnellys” paints just as vivid a picture of this dark and seedy milieu and manages to give us characters worth spending quality time with.
When he’s not bailing his brothers out of trouble with the law and the competing Italian mob, Tommy wrestles with his love for childhood love Jenny (Olivia Wade). She loves him, too, but she’s married to a guy who’s gone “missing” for more than a year. We suspect he’s wearing concrete boots in a river, but we don’t know.
The series boasts multiple perspectives, flashbacks and fast-forwards. And a good deal of very dark comedy — like a dead guy named Louie being ditched as the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle with Care” is played in the background, followed by a peppy radio rendition of “Louie, Louie.”
I’ve seen all five of the episodes NBC sent out for preview. In fact, I helplessly watched all five in a row — and loved every minute of it. I’m guessing those of you who love mob sagas will feel the same way, so enjoy.
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Prepping for Oscar marathon … Remembering Ann Richards
Watching the Oscars is a marathon, not a sprint, so we should prepare for Sunday night’s telecast by TV fasting for the rest of the weekend. Carb-loading on Sunday might be a good idea.
In case you’ve been spelunking in Afghanistan, the Academy Awards, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, airs Sunday night on ABC, starting at 7 and going until the end of time. The longest Oscar telecast in recorded history topped off at more than four hours.
DeGeneres will make the journey enjoyable, and there’s enough star-gazing to last a lifetime. It’s fun, but, really, it does go on waaaaaay too long.
Remembering Ann Richards
KLRU’s original public affairs series “Special Session” takes a break from current happenings at the Lege to look back with fondness at the life and impact of former Gov. Ann Richards.
The silver-topped dynamo died Sept. 14, 2006, at the age of 73, and her funeral at the Erwin Center was a national event. This half-hour (11 a.m. Sunday and repeats 9:30 p.m. Wednesday) is quieter, more personal and, with the passing of time, perhaps more thoughtful than previous tributes.
Host Paul Stekler begins the program with portrait footage filmed in 2002. Richards is seen campaigning and making public appearances — and talking about them later.
“I feed off people,” she says matter-of-factly. “When I’m with people, I feel energized and excited.”
The miniportrait shows off Richards’ sparkle, drive and humor. “God bless you and vote Democratic!” she barks at a rally on the University of Texas campus.
Reminiscing about the governor’s impact on Texas politics are Mary Beth Rogers, Richards’ former chief of staff and the former president of KLRU; Chuck McDonald, the Richards’ press secretary from 1990-94; and Dallas Morning News political reporter Wayne Slater, who covered the governor.
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Waiting for Britney …
Tabloid TV being the train wreck that it is, it’s just a matter of time before the spotlight on dead Anna Nicole Smith shifts to the alive-but-seriously-weird Britney Spears.
Speculation is already rampant that Spears will pop up on TV soon to explain why she’s been partying hearty, checking herself in and out of re-hab and — most importantly — what she was thinking when she shaved her head.
Will Spears go the bona fide news route and pick “Today” co-host Matt Lauer? He was the questioner for her previous interview, when she looked and sounded like someone who had been wandering in the wilderness for months.
Barbara Walters is said to be interested in chatting up the pop star and so are all the syndicated entertainment news shows such as “Entertainment Tonight” and “Access Hollywood.”
Those would all be serious, heavily melodramatic choices. If I were Britney (and thank God I’m not), I might try to turn this image disaster around differently.
First I would check myself into re-hab and stay for at least the required 28 days — longer if I didn’t quite have my act together yet. You’ve got to get your act together before you make a confession, or you might confess to something you haven’t actually done. And you would just perpetuate the notion that you’re seriously wack.
Then I’d sashay — professionally made up, dressed to the hilt and looking fabulous — onto David Letterman’s show and poke major fun at myself. That seems the best way to redemption to me. Sobbing on a newsmagazine or tabloid TV show only further ruins the mascara and the reputation.
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Post-apocalyptic ‘Jericho’ returns after long winter break
The mushroom cloud returns tonight. Do you remember what was happening when it left?
CBS’ “Jericho”, one of the few new serial dramas to find an audience last fall, ends its lengthy midseason hiatus at 7 tonight. The show was last seen in late November, so it has now officially been off the air longer than it was on.
This cannot be good for a drama hoping to build an audience on suspense and intrigue. A nuclear attack has struck Middle America, and a small town in Kansas is dealing with the horrible aftermath. What really happened and why we don’t really know.
“Lost” followed the same silly course of action, ticking off millions of fans and slipping precipitously in the ratings. In the fall, it was in the Top 5; last week it was No. 19.
Serial dramas should come on, stay on and end the season with bang. There’s a reason “24” has stayed on track creatively and with its audience. It starts in January and ends in May — no reruns, no departures.
Tonight’s return of “Jericho” tries to make up for lost time with an episode that features lots of flashbacks to jog viewers’ memory of what happened previously. We even see the mushroom cloud again and the tyke on the roof taking it all in.
New plot details include how reluctant hero Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich) happened to return to Jericho and how mystery man Rod Hawkins (Lennie James) wound up there, too.
Still to be uncovered during the second half of “Jericho’s” debut season is why Jake was gone for five years and what horrible things he feels so guilty for doing.
But will anyone care about the convoluted mysteries? I doubt it. Any momentum the show built up in the fall has melted away by now.
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‘Idol’ overdose?
Let’s stipulate that “American Idol” is a monster hit. Let’s also stipulate that even reality TV foes like me are addicted to it.
But even the best dark chocolate can make you sick if you eat too much. Ditto “Idol.”
This week and for a couple more weeks, Fox’s “Idol” gobbles up three nights of TV instead of two. The Top 12 male contestants compete tonight at 7; the Top 12 female contestants compete Wednesday night at 7. Each performing night is a two-hour telecast.
And then Thursday, a one-hour results show at 7 p.m. will reveal the rejection of two male and two female wannabes.
Isn’t five hours of “Idol” just a tad too much? Especially for a live show that most people actually watch live, rather than record, because everyone will be talking about it the next day at work or school.
So, yes indeed, the three-night, five-hour schedule is way too much. And unnecessarily so.
Besides dozens of ads during each half-hour, there will be program padding a-plenty, including clips from past shows and lots of segments with host Ryan Seacrest making glib comments and needling the testy judges.
So here’s my plan: I’m going to watch as much of the performance episodes tonight and Wednesday as I can and skip the Thursday results show altogether. The results will be immediately available online, and I don’t need to slog through all those “after-the-break” moments.
The only results show I’ll watch will be the May finale.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Fox is stuffing excessive amounts of “Idol” down our throats. The network was sagging pitifully until the January return of favorites such as “Idol” and “24.”
To the dismay of competing networks, the sixth season of “Idol” is turning out to be even hotter than the previous five. Last season “Idol” averaged 31.7 million viewers per episode. This season it’s averaging 33.5 million viewers. In the multichannel, network-sagging universe, that’s amazing.
Nevertheless, I think there’s a good chance viewers will grow weary of and saturated by three nights of “Idol” a week.
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Keep “Lights” alive! And in Austin!
Whatever it takes to keep “Friday Night Lights” in Austin, city and state officials should do. Period.
This isn’t some cheesy reality show, a la “Real World: Austin,” with slackers drinking and fighting on Sixth Street. This is a distinguished, high-quality drama series that prompted even the New York Times, which tends to look down its journalistic nose on television, to coo and drool.
In case you missed our Sunday story, “FNL” may be forced to pull up stakes in Central Texas and head for another locale if Texas and/or Austin don’t cough up some financial incentives to stay.
The cast and crew, especially creator Peter Berg and Austin native executive producer Sarah Aubrey, want to stay here. The young cast has fallen in love with their new home and quietly have become part of the community.
But NBC is looking for a way to shave about $100,000 per episode off the budget if the show is renewed for a second season. New Mexico, Louisiana and Georgia are among the state courting the production with substantial incentives.
A show about Texas high-school football needs to be filmed in Texas, and “FNL” has nestled into our environs with its own stadium at Del Valle and production offices in South Austin. They’re happy to be here; we’re happy to have them.
Texas has long touted itself as a movie mecca, but in recent years, productions have found our neighboring states more amenable financially. Our film commission does not offer incentives; other film commissions do.
Governor Perry has included an incentives package in his new state budget, but the Legislature has yet to approve it and probably won’t until mid-May. “FNL” needs to have a plan in place before then because NBC will have to decide on renewal before then.
Besides holding the bragging rights to the “FNL” locale, Austin benefits in many ways from having such a distinguished production in our midst. A cash infusion of more than $1.5 million arrives with each new episode, tourism benefits and other productions are more likely to come here if we can keep the good one we’ve already got.
So come on, city and state officials. Step up and do the right thing. The thought of South Congress Avenue without Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton and a host of gorgeous, talented young stars is just too depressing.
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Local ‘Idol’ booted
It’s a relief to be rid of the really bad warblers, but last night’s “American Idol” elimination episode was, well, weird.
First of all, we lost Jimmy McNeal, the terrific 23-year-old singer who is a senior at Texas State University in San Marcos. I thought for sure we’d get to see this super-talented Waxahachie native for at least a few more weeks.
Brandon Cobb/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
“It happens. It’s alright,” McNeal said this morning after the Hollywood rejection, which actually took place weeks ago. “I’m very, very happy that I did it. This was my fourth time to try out, and I’ve never gotten past first round before. I guess I just wasn’t what they were looking for — then or now. It’s a TV show.”
Grumpy judge Simon Cowell had praised McNeal in an earlier audition, comparing him favorably to former “Idol” winner Ruben Studdard. So it was surprising when the boom was lowered in picking the final 24 contestants.
“I’m very hard on myself,” McNeal said. “Even if I have my best performance ever, you always think there’s something you could do better. But I thought I was good enough to make it. I guess they thought different.”
Texas State students and faculty had rallied around McNeal, as had friends and family in Waxahachie. There were even plans for “Idol” T-shirts featuring the impeccably mannered and popular student.
McNeal, a music major, hasn’t given up on his dream. He plans to pursue a singing career after he graduates. Because of a holding contract Fox has with all “Idol” contestants, he can’t do anything professionally until after the May finale airs.
“This is a stepping stone for me,” he said. “I’m thankful to ‘American Idol’ for showing my audition … I wasn’t sure they would.”
Also last night on “Idol,” the fabulous Robyn Troup, who won the “My Grammy Moment” competition and got to sing with Justin Timberlake on The Grammys, got the hook. Good enough for Grammy, but not good enough for “Idol.” The “Idol” episode was taped before the Grammys, but the Houston native has such obvious talent you’d think she would have made it to the Final 24.
Next Tuesday, the top 12 male singers perform, and, on Wednesday, the top dozen women follow.
The men who made the cut are Chris Sligh, 28, Greenville, S.C.; Sanjaya Malakar, 17, Federal Way, Wash.; Brandon Rogers, 28, West Hollywood, Calif.; Philip Stacy, 29, Jacksonville, Fla.; Blake Lewis, 25, Bothell, Wash.; Rudy Cardenas, 28, Los Angeles; Paul Kim, 25, Saratoga, Calif.; A.J. Tabaldo, 22, Santa Maria, Calif.; Nicholas Pedro, 25, Taunton, Mass.; Chris Richardson, 22, Chesapeake, Va.; Jared Cotter, 25, Kew Gardens, N.Y., and Jason “Sundance” Head, 28, Porter, Tex.
Michael Becker/FOX
The women competitors are Melinda Doolittle, 29, Brentwood, Tenn.; Gina Glocksen, 22, Naperville, Ill.; Haley Scarnato, 24, San Antonio, Tex.; Jordin Sparks, 17, Glendale, Ariz.; Stephanie Edwards, 19, Savannah, Ga.; Leslie Hunt, 24, Chicago; Alaina Alexander, 24, West Hollywood, Calif.; Sabrina Sloan, 27, Studio City, Calif.; Lakisha Jones, 27, Fort Mead, Md.; Nicole Tranquillo, 20, Philadelphia; Amy Krebs, 22, Federal Way, Wash., and Antonella Barba, 20, Point Pleasant, N.J.
Michael Becker/FOX
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Sexy celebrity, even in death, trumps serious news
Now here’s a sad commentary on the state of citizenship and culture in America.
The death of former Playmate and over-the-top reality star Anna Nicole Smith last week racked up more cable news coverage than the war in Iraq.
According to figures released Tuesday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, Smith’s mysterious swan song gobbled up 21 percent of all news programming on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel. On Thursday and Friday (the day she died and the day after), that figure soared to 50 percent.
Coverage of Iraq and the ‘08 presidential race came in second and third on cable news, with a measly 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively, over the week of Feb. 4 to 9.
The questions asked on a half-hourly basis was: Why do we care about Anna Nicole Smith? Nobody seemed to know, but it probably has something to do with the trashy nature of the poor woman’s life, the controversy surrounding the father of her infant daughter and a cast of characters that seems to have come right out of tabloid central casting.
Fox and MSNBC seemed to willingly hitch their news wagons to Smith’s fallen star, but CNN looked pained by the process. Wolf Blitzer turned over the entire “Situation Room” (3-5 p.m. Thursday) — a show normally devoted to serious political and policy coverage — to the Bizarreness in the Bahamas. He didn’t look happy about it, but he went with the apparent viewer-interest flow.
The broadcast networks were more restrained, no doubt due to the lack of air time. The Smith debacle came in fifth, behind the war, the winter weather, the presidential campaign and the Scooter Libby trial on ABC, CBS and NBC.
With paternity, cause of death and other mysteries still left hanging, don’t look for the Anna Nicole Show to go away any time soon.
Cheers for James!
The grand finale for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was indeed grand. No more waddling Pekingese or odd-looking whippets this time around.
No, last night’s Best in Show winner was a gorgeous, doglike English springer spaniel named James. He was simply splendid and noble, circling Madison Square Garden like he owned the place, which, as of about 9:50 p.m., he did.
The crowd may have preferred the woolly cutie owned by Bill Cosby, but dog judges made the right pick this time. James, with his glorious red and white coat, was a down-to-Earth winner.
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‘Idol,’ show dogs and torture
Haven’t we all suffered enough? This week, at long last, the excruciating early-round auditions for “American Idol” conclude, and the Top 24 semifinalists — a dozen guys and a dozen gals — will be unveiled.
That happens, perhaps appropriately, on Valentine’s Day (Wednesday). Tonight is a performance night for the Hollywood round.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for Jimmy McNeal, 23, a senior at Texas State University in San Marcos. He auditioned in San Antonio last summer and was one of 22 out of 11,000 contestants from that city to earn a ticket to Hollywood.
If you saw McNeal’s audition, you remember him as the guy who channeled Sam Cooke and prompted grumpy Simon Cowell to coo happily, “You’re like a little fun Ruben, aren’t you?” The reference, of course, is to former “Idol” winner Ruben Studdard.
McNeal, a Waxahachie native, is contractually forbidden to discuss his participation in “Idol” until (if?) he is eliminated. We should find that out Wednesday.
And now for the GOOD dogs …
With toys and terriers out of the way, tonight’s edition of “The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show” (7 p.m. on USA) brings on the dogs I love.
Sporting dogs such as Brittany spaniels and Labrador retrievers don’t require blow driers or hair clips to be cute, and that’s a relief. Who among us really wants to spend more time grooming our dogs than ourselves?
Sporting dogs are first up tonight, followed by hounds and herders. The Big Finish will be the crowning of Best in Show, in which winners from all groups compete.
Love ‘24’ but …
I’m still a huge fan of “24,” but is anybody else squirming over all the torture scenes this season? It’s been too much for my taste — and not just because Jack Bauer tortured the heck out of his own brother (and their father subsequently killed the poor guy).
Every episode thus far has had grueling scenes of torture, such as last night’s near-drowning and shoulder-drilling of CTU guy Morris. Enough’s enough. Let’s get back to conspiracy and suspense.
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Woof! Holloway and the dogs return!!
Skeletal tune-up accomplished! Like it or not, I’m back!!
So, where to begin after two weeks in an alternate universe?
Loved the Grammys. Christina Aguilera channeling James Brown … pure heaven. The Dixie Chicks grabbing every award in sight … fabulous. Best performance? Mary J. Blige. Hands down.
As fine as the Grammy Awards were last night, tonight is when the really exciting TV begins. And I’m not talking about “24.” I’m talking DOGS.
“The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show” gets underway at 7 p.m. on USA cable network. Yes, I’m a total sucker for dogs, but even cat people enjoy watching Westminster because it’s such an amazing show.
Trainers, owners and dogs — all prancing around a ring, fur flying (on the dogs, not the handlers). Fashion comedy comes into play, too — from the silly canine “dos” to the practical, rubber-soled shoes and evening wear of the handlers. The whole thing is a trip, from beginning to end.
Tonight we’ll see working dogs, terriers, toy breeds and nonsporting breeds. Tomorrow night is the more elite groups: sporting, hound and herding dogs. Plus, Tuesday night is the crowning of Best in Show — the top dog among all breeds and groups.
Note to self: set DVR to catch two-hour “24” tonight, “American Idol” and “Boston Legal” tomorrow night. Much as I love the dogs, I can’t miss “my stories,” as my grandmother used to call her favorite shows.
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Cartoon Network head quits over ‘Aqua Teen’ fiasco
More fallout from the bomb scare in Boston. Here’s the AP story:
The head of the Cartoon Network resigned Friday following a marketing stunt that caused a security scare in Boston.
Blinking electronic devices had been planted around Boston to promote “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” but when authorities got a series of 911 calls about the suspicious devices on Jan. 31, they called out the bomb squads and shut down bridges and highways for fear they could be explosives.
A few hours later, Cartoon Network’s corporate parent acknowledged it was part of a marketing move.
The announcement of Jim Samples resignation was made in an internal memo sent to Cartoon Network staff members. In the statement, Samples said he regretted what had happened.
“It’s my hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages,” Samples said.
GM to change robot ad
The GM ad that aired during the Super Bowl is being revised.
The commercial, which featured a quality-obsessed robot who loses his job and then jumps off a bridge in a dream sequence (really, this is easier to understand if you watch the ad) had drawn fire from suicide-prevention groups.
GM initially said it wouldn’t change the ad, but has now agreed to edit it to remove the suicide reference, the AP reported today.
The criticism of the GM ad follows a flap from the fast-food industry about Kevin Federline’s Nationwide ad and the Snickers commercial showing two male mechanics mortified at their accidental “kiss.”
What do you think: Are these ads offensive?
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Free ‘Friday Night Lights’ download on iTunes
Clear eyes, full hearts alert: in an iTunes store message sent out last night, Apple announced it’s adding “Friday Night Lights” to its TV offerings. Here’s the kicker: you can download the pilot episode for free.
Regular episodes are $1.99 and the whole season is available, up to this week’s episode, “Blinders.”
We’ve had mixed experiences watching the show online on NBC.com, so for those with video iPods or a preference for watching iTunes shows nice and legally on their computer screen (or via the TV with Apple’s new Apple TV box), this sounds like a good option.
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Think you can beat Emmitt
… or at least his H-E-B commercial? Give it a shot and win a GMC Acadia or free groceries.
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Gladys strikes again
This morning when Ellen Degeneres asked on her 600th show how many of her audience members have watched every episode, I enthusiastically raised my hand. “Ellen” and “The View” are part of my morning ritual, and I thought I had not missed an episode. That was until I found this link on YouTube.
It turns out that while I was taking a shower Monday morning, Ellen called Gladys Hardy again for her take on Oscar-nominated movies! Did Ellen missDiane Holloway’s exclusive? I know she didn’t; her people are quoted in the story.
Regardless, I am glad Ellen called her again. I think Gladys paired up with Ellen is funny. And now we all have a new meatloaf recipe to try out.
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Just what did that guitar mean, Prince?
So there might have been some, uh, symbolism in Prince’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl.
I am a little flummoxed that people are coming up with these interpretations. My sense of humor can veer toward the seventh grade-ish, and I didn’t see anything to snicker about.
And even if there was … settle down, y’all.
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Round Rock to ‘Friday Night Lights’
Fans of the Round Rock Dragons will be watching “Friday Night Lights” a bit more carefully tonight, as well as on Feb. 14 and 28. That’s when RRHS graduate Aundrus Poole will play a significant role as close friend to running back Brian “Smash” Williams,” the according to a report in the Round Rock Leader.
Aundrus Poole
The three episodes deal with racism on the Dillon Panthers team, not the first sensitive subject covered by the best show on television. Poole, who also played football for Angelo State, is quoted as saying, “Acting is a lot different from what I thought it would be. It’s about being in the mood and being natural. It’s not that whole lights, camera, action thing I thought it would be.”
Get lost, ‘Lost’?
“Lost” comes back Wednesday, but has the show stretched fans’ goodwill too far? Weigh in at Talk of Austin
Austin’s Medearis on Fox show Tuesday
Austinite Angela Shelf Medearis — known as the Kitchen Diva, cookbook author, children’s writer, TV producer, and the woman who took down Bobby Flay in a cooking competition — is scheduled to be on Fox’s “The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet” Tuesday at 9 a.m on KTBC, Fox Channel 7. Medearis will talk about anything really, but her topic du jour is supposed to be African history and culinary contributions to American cuisine. Look for her to whip up some West African Catfish Gumbo and benne cookies on the live show in New York.
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Super ads
Don’t forget to vote and comment on your favorite ads. I liked K-Fed, the Doritos ad with the guy and the girl and the Taco Bell lions. I think Career Builder made a mistake by ditching the monkeys, and if I never see that Sheryl Crow “Not Fade Away” ad again, I’ll live a rich and full life.
Meanwhile, the Animal Planet “Puppy Bowl” was strangely unsatisfying. And this is coming from an obsessive visitor to Cute Overload. I don’t know — things just seemed tense.
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Tim, Betty … and Nick?
Tim Gunn’s cameo in “Ugly Betty” last night was cute, but too brief.
Meanwhile, now that the shock of the announcement that Gunn is leaving Parsons has worn off, I’m resigned to the fact that he’ll also be leaving “Runway” soon.
And I know that I proclaimed that if he leaves, I quit watching, but here’s a scenario that could bring me back: “Runway” hires Season 2 contestant Nick Verreos as the new mentor to the designers.
Think about it: Nick has a background as a fashion instructor. He’s funny, nice and highly quotable (just coming up with “whickety-whack” guarantees his place in “Runway” history).
Just a thought, Bravo.
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More ‘Friday Night’ love
It’s not just us, we swear: Variety gives “Friday Night Lights” some much-needed love, too, suggesting that maybe NBC should move the show to Friday nights (good, sensible) or maybe swap it with “Studio 60” (even better!).
Please, just get it out of the path of the “American Idol” boulder. Somebody. Please.
(Link via Defamer.)
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Gunn leaves Parsons, but what about ‘Runway’?
The “Project Runway” fans around here are reeling from the news that Tim Gunn, mentor to the “Runway” hopefuls, is leaving his day job at the Parsons School of Design to work for Liz Claiborne.
That raises a huge question: Will Gunn be back for the next season of “Runway”?
Here’s the key sentence from the Reality Blurred report: “And it’s sort of odd that the news release only explicitly mentions his upcoming series, ‘Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style,’ but not future appearances on the show that made him famous.”
I don’t think this bodes well. Without Gunn, I’m not sure I’d stick with “Project Runway.” I’m fond as can be of Heidi Klum, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, but they are all, as Kors would say, whackadoo. Gunn is the show’s moral center. You can count on him. He’s dapper. Not enough people are dapper these days.
A “Guide to Style” doesn’t sound like an inspired idea. Mainly, I think it doesn’t go far enough. I’d rather see “Tim Gunn Eradicates Everything Evil and Tacky About Life and Then Fixes You a Cocktail.” But I will hope for the best. Tim Gunn will be a class act no matter what. “Runway,” I’m not so sure.
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Jon Stewart’s a puppet
OK, Jon Stewart’s not really a puppet, but he’ll share screen time with some in Friday’s “Groundhog Day” episode of “Jack’s Big Music Show”.
The host of “The Daily Show” joins Mary, Jack and his dog Mel on the show that airs at noon on Noggin. On the show, Stewart plays anchorman Brunk Stinegrouber, hot on the trail of the stage-fright-struck Gertrude the Groundhog, who’s hiding in Jack’s clubhouse.
Sure, the show, which includes musical themes and introduces children to instruments such as the accordion and the hammer dulcimer, is targeted at tots, but there’s plenty on the show show to keep parents — and nonparents — interest. (My son, Mateo, was getting mildly annoyed this week when I rewound the DVR for the third time to watch the video of “Thunder” by Nuttin’ But Stringz.)
Another episode has a video of past South by Southwest darlings the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. (Rachel, in case you were wondering, is now almost as tall as her diminutive parents.) Last season, blues icon Buddy Guy visited the clubhouse as the “King of Swing.”
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‘Sarah Silverman Program’ starts tonight
Thursday night is always a TV-viewing jungle, what with “Ugly Betty,” NBC’s suddenly truly must-see TV (except for “ER”), the zombiefied “O.C.,” and all the stuff on CBS we frankly don’t watch, but it might be time to make room for one more show. Comedy Central debuts “The Sarah Silverman Program” at 9:30 p.m. tonight.
Nobody’s expecting it to be the next “Chappelle’s Show,” but Silverman at least has a unique take on comedy and she’s smart to surround herself with comedy aces such as Brian Posehn and her sister Laura Silverman (we’ll always love her as “Laura” on “Dr. Katz”). She’s also smart to format the show as a sitcom with funny asides instead of a sketch-heavy variety program, which hasn’t worked so well for some other Comedy Central shows. We heard a few audio clips and it’s definitely not going to appeal to everyone, but Comedy Central’s audience will likely love “Silverman.” The New York Times gushed about it today.
Watch it tonight and let us know what you think.
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‘Lights’ love, ‘Office’ romance
First, drop everything and read Out & About’s excellent love letter to “Friday Night Lights.” He sums up everything that’s wonderful about our hometown show. Except that it was very cool that the Old 97’s got a shout-out last night.
Second, get ready for tonight’s airing of the other best show on television, “The Office.” I’m excited to an embarrassing degree about the Phyllis-Bob Vance wedding. The episode was written by Mindy Kaling, who plays Kelly. Brian Baumgartner, who plays Kevin, writes in his blog that upcoming shows “may be the best 4 episodes as a whole arc that we have ever had.” And if Kevin says it, you know it’s true.
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