Category: TV

Chicklis Gets Close

Posted on by
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Glenn Close will join “The Shield“ as a series regular for the upcoming fourth season.

Close, who won an Emmy for “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” will appear in all 13 episodes. Production is set to start in January with new epsiodes airing by May.

Close will play the new captain [What about Aceveda?] who will probably butt heads with Detective Vic Mackey (Emmy-winner Michael Chiklis).

Close will next appear on the big screen in the Merchant Ivory production “Heights” and Chicklis is currently playing the Thing in the big screen version of “The Fantastic Four.”

Man, I can’t wait for the new season of “The Shield” to start… and May is so far away!

Remembering 9-11

Posted on by
Today is the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks which took down the twin towers, destroyed part of the Pentagon and took the lives of thousands of citizens from around the world.

It was the most shocking day of my life.

The History Channel is running a very interesting documentary called “The Twin Towers: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon.” It’s extremely well done and worth a look.

The picture above is of family members of victims who have returned to the site to pay their respects. And because the day had such an impact me, I felt it appropriate to pay my respects as well.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who lost someone on that terrible day.

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Posted on by
ABC has announced that The Happy Day 30th Anniversary Reunion, will air later this season.

All major cast members [Ron Howard (Richie), Henry Winkler (“Fonzie”), Tom Bosley (Howard Cunningham), Marion Ross (Marion Cunningham), Erin Moran (Joanie), Scott Baio (Chachi) Anson Williams (Potsie), Don Most (Ralph Malph)] and even the two cast members who played Riche‘s older brother in the first season [but then quietly disappeared in the second season] are set to appear.

Happy Days was on my MUST-SEE TV list for a few seasons. It was funny, Fonzie was cool, and the series was fun. A lot of people say the show went down-hill when Fonzie [literally] jumped the shark, but I think it was when Chachi came on board.

Still, I’ll probably tune in to the special if only to see if a short, skinny guy who says, “Ayyyy!” was as cool as I remember.

Pleasant Nightmares!

Posted on by
Sammy Terry returns!

If you grew up anywhere in the midwest from the early 60’s to the mid 80’s you probably made a habit of tuning in on Friday [and later Saturday] nights to watch Sammy Terry’s Nightmare Theater. Sammy would introduce horror movies and return with commentary after each commercial break. Sammy was one of the first “horror hosts” and definitely had one of the longest running shows.

If you grew up watching Sammy and would love to see him again, or if you never had the chance and want to see what he was all about…

Sammy will have his first official Sammy Terry Live Webcast will be on Friday, July 30th from 9:00 pm to 9:15 pm. The Sammy Terry chat will start at 9:15 pm and run to 10:00 pm. I plan to tune in, and if you love horror movie, hope that you can make it as well.

Until then… I wish you all… “Pleasant Nightmares.”

Buried Secret Goes to Far

Posted on by
The Sci Fi channel has, for weeks, been advertising an “unauthorized documentary” [some even called it a “disturbing expose” ] about M. Knight Shyamalan. The story was that M. Knight first cooperated, but then tried to shut it down when producers delved too deeply into his personal life. The documentary advertised that it would present a “buried secret.”

I’ll be the first to admit that the documentary sounded interesting, but something about it just didn’t seem right. My wife speculated, a couple of weeks ago, that M. Knight was probably behind the whole thing… and it turns out she was right.

Today the Sci Fi cable network and parent company NBC Universal acknowledged that the documentary was really part of a “guerrilla marketing” hoax that went too far. It seems that “a number of entertainment journalists…” were left “…grumbling after they were duped…”

I watched the special and it was so obvious that the doc was set -up, that anyone who is upset because they were duped should be upset with himself for being so gullible.

Twilight Zone Marathon

Posted on by
You just know I love SciFi’s 4th of July Twilight Zone Marathon. No matter how many times I’ve seen some of the episodes… they’re like old friends whose stories you’ve heard before but love to hear again.

I always recommend “To Serve Man” [1PM and 11PM] and “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” [believe it or not, it doesn’t look like they’re showing this classic episode], but you might also want to check out “Will the Real Martian Stand Up?” [8:30 PM] or “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” [Midnight].

The cool thing is that the marathon runs from 9AM on July 4th to 6PM, July 5th. So even if you just tune in for a bit here and there you’ll probably catch something fun.

A Lot About Salem’s Lot

Posted on by
Salem’s Lot is one of my favorite Stephen King books.

It’s probably second only to King‘s The Stand. Stephen King has written some of the scariest and without a doubt most popular horror fiction ever. The sad thing is, as good as his books have been, most of the movies made from them have been mediocre at best.

That’s why I was pretty excited when TNT announced that there would be a new Salem’s Lot mini-series. This would be the second time that Salem’s Lot would be turned into a tv production. The first time was in the late 70’s and starred David Soul and James Mason. And it was actually pretty good.

When the cast [Rob Lowe, Rutgar Hauer, Donald Sutherland and James Cromwell] for the re-make was announced things continues to look rosy. Then publicity stills began to be released and they looked pretty cool.

Things were all seeming to come together positively well… until I read Quint’s review today.

But you know me… I’ll still tune in and check it out for myself. Hopefully I’ll like it better than Quint, but if not I can still go back and re-read the novel.

Shield Back for 4th Season

Posted on by

FX has picked up The Shield for a fourth season. This is the first time FX has ever brought back any of its original series for a fourth season. Fifteen new episodes are scheduled to begin airing in early 2005. This is great news — especially since we have another month to go before this season ends.

As most of you know I’ve been talking up The Shield since the very first episode. The series started strong and unlike many shows just keeps getting stronger. The cool thing is that The Shield is a hit with viewers and critics alike.

In tonight’s episode Michael Chiklis, who won the best-actor Emmy winner in 2002 for his role as Vic Mackey, makes his directing debut. David Mamet [Glengarry Glen Ross] directed the episode which premieres on May 18th!

40 Years Later and Still Trippin’

Posted on by

After nearly forty years, they’re coming back for one more show!

That’s right! Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, and Carl Reiner, stars of the original “Dick Van Dyke Show” have reunited for the show’s “159th Episode,” which will air May 11th on CBS. Series regulars Larry Mathews (Richie) and Ann Morgan Guilbert (Millie Helper) will also return. Sadly, Morey Amsterdam, who played Buddy, died in 1996.

Although the “Dick Van Dyke Show” remains a favorite, the last original episode appeared in 1966! That will all change when the new episode airs on May 11th. In the new episode, Rob, who’s still married to Laura, gets a phone call from his old boss, Alan Brady who wants Rob and Sally to write his eulogy.

Ray Ramano (Everybody Loves Raymond) will host the episode which will feature clips from the original “Dick Van Dyke Show” episodes.

Who knows, maybe if this new episode is well received, they’ll come back in another 40 years and do another!

Mel Gibson, the Man

Posted on by

I’ve always liked Mel Gibson. I’m talking about Mel Gibson, the actor.

Gibson could have went the easy route after the runaway worldwide success of The Road Warrior. But he didn’t. Instead he took chances… movies like Hamlet, The River, and The Year of Living Dangerously.

Then Mel Gibson, the actor, took an even bigger chance and became Mel Gibson the director. He soared to even greater heights with Braveheart and The Patriot. Gibson hedged his bets somewhat since he was the star of both of these megahits. But with The Passion of Christ he has put it all on the line.

Gibson co-wrote, directed and funded [to the tune of $30 million or more of his own money] The Passion of Christ. The movie is subtitled since the actors speak the original languages. And Gibson‘s face never appears on screen. Talk about taking chances. All of this has added to my admiration of Mel Gibson.

Last night after watching his interview on ABC’s Primetime I was even more impressed. Gibson spoke openly and honestly about his crisis of faith and how his beliefs have saved… even redeemed him. He answered the charges that he was anti-Semitic. And he refused to answer anything about his father other than to say that he loved him. Mel says that message of The Passion of Christ is “faith, hope, love and forgiveness.” It was refreshing to see a celebrity be so open and revealing. And while I may not believe everything in the same way as Mel I can honestly say that I’ve never liked him more.

I’m talking about Mel Gibson, the man.

The Kennedy Assassination

Posted on by

I’ve always been interested in The Kennedy Assassination. I’ve followed the different theories from a single gunman to Cuban assassins sent by Castro, to the CIA, or the Mafia, to even someone in the limo shooting President Kennedy.

I’ve come to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, but my mind is still open. One of the most intriguing theories was that Vice President Johnson was somehow involved in the assassination of President Kennedy.

The History Channel has assembled a panel of historians to “examine the credibility” of theories. The results of their study will become the basis of a History Channel Special which will premiere later this year.

And while I doubt there will be any definitive answers, I am sure I’ll tune in.

Season Ends for Playmakers

Posted on by
If you were in charge of programing and had a new show that not only received critical praise, but also drew in five times the number of viewers than the network had during the previous year, what would you do?

Let me make it easy. I’ll give you three choices…
Would you A] Celebrate B] Give everyone a raise C] Cancel the show

If you answered C, you’d be right.

ESPN just cancelled Playmakers which was critically praised and did indeed bring in five times the number of viewers. Playmakers wasn’t just one of the best shows on ESPN, it was one of the best shows on TV. Period.

I’m hoping that another cable channel will pick it up. If not, I wish everyone who worked on it the best… because their work on the show was.

An Exciting Superbowl

Posted on by
Well, it was an exciting Superbowl.

Despite the fact that last night’s victory by the New England Patriots over the Carolina Panthers, was one of the best Super Bowl games ever, more people are talking about the half time antics than the game itself.

At the end of the half time performances, Justin Timberlake pulled off part of Janet Jackson‘s costume exposing her breast. The NFL is upset. Both CBS, and MTV have issued apologies. Justin Timberlake called it a “wardrobe malfunction.”

Whatever.

At least it wasn’t as bad as the guy who made it down on the field, stripped off all of his clothes and began to dance. He than ran around as security attempted to catch him. Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham did what he does best and tackled the streaker who was then taken away by security personnel.

Well, it was an exciting Super Bowl… and the game was pretty good too!

Survivor All-Stars

Posted on by
While the majority of the world is looking forward to the Super Bowl [myself included], there is another sporting event today which pits the very best competitors against each other.

That’s right, Survivor All Stars premieres tonight after the Super Bowl.

It’s a Zablo family event each week to gather around the tube and cheer for our favorite competitors. Often we don’t agree on who we want to win… but I’m willing to bet that this time we’ll all be pulling for Rupert.

Now if I could just get Big Beatty to take the Panthers even…

Space Ghost Updated

Posted on by
When I was a kid I enjoyed Space Ghost. Even though he hung out with two kids and a space monkey… he was cool.

If you feel the same way, you might want to read this interview which discusses how DC plans to update Space Ghost in a new comic series. Joe Kelly, who’s writing the series, says, “It’s really a hardcore, pulp-feel story, with him being betrayed by the police force and taking his revenge. It’s really dark, and it’s going to be a blueprint for them to revamp the character and keep it going.”

Want to know more? The click HERE.