Click to see the beacon journal online

From the monthly archives:

July 2006

Catching Up, Looking Ahead

July 31, 2006

I spent part of the weekend diving back into the world of TV as seen at home (as opposed to the total-immersion world of the past couple of weeks). Organized the stack of DVDs at home, and expect to have a new DVD column this week — and possibly some posts here.
Caught last week's "Rescue [...]

Read the full article →

"Stargate": Longest What?

July 27, 2006

When Sci Fi had a little celebration for "Stargate SG-1" during the TV critics' summer press tour, I heard the network make a claim that just didn't sound right. It's also in press materials for the show, and it goes like this: "With 200 episodes, the longest-running drama in cable history has also became the [...]

Read the full article →

Back to Base

July 27, 2006

Something felt funny Wednesday morning as I waited for my shuttle to Los Angeles airport. Then it hit me: no nametag. After wearing it on a lanyard around my neck for two weeks (in order to get into tour events), I did not need to do so anymore. And then I really knew I was [...]

Read the full article →

Last Rite

July 25, 2006

Tonight's Fox press party was my last official act of the tour (well, aside from some writing I'm going to do tonight.) Niftiest sight: Eamonn Walker and Laurence Fishburne talking to each other. Walker is in the new Fox series "Justice," and Fishburne was with his wife, Gina Torres, who is in Fox's "Standoff." But [...]

Read the full article →

"Nip/Tuck" (Possible Spoilers)

July 25, 2006

Tidbits from today's press conference with "Nip/Tuck" main man Ryan Murphy and the three stars:
– The Carver is gone for good."Never appear again," Murphy said.  He wants the show this year to have more humor and more sex, away from the "very dark and very nihilistic" tone of last season. Both Julian McMahon and Joely [...]

Read the full article →

Not That Happy Hour…

July 25, 2006

As a nod to its new comedy "Happy Hour," Fox preceded the press conference with servers bearing cocktails — mimosas, bloody Marys, something with Kahlua. It did not seem to bother Fox that the drinks were being distributed before 10 a.m. (although, it could have been a stunt planned when the network scheduled "Happy Hour" [...]

Read the full article →

Sometimes You Hit the Wall, Sometimes the Wall Hits You

July 25, 2006

Today is not only Fox's last day of the press tour, it's mine. I will be flying home tomorrow and gladly so.  All my writing plans for yesterday evening gave way to an unexpected but necessary blast of sleep — the kind where you lie down for a moment and wake up five or six [...]

Read the full article →

"Life on Mars": Recommended With a Caveat

July 24, 2006

The other night I sat up far too late watching episodes of "Life on Mars," the intriguing British drama premiering at 10 tonight on BBC America. Since I am hip-deep in television every day because of the TV critics' tour, and since I only intermittently get enough sleep, it's even more impressive that the show [...]

Read the full article →

TCA Awards

July 23, 2006

Today was a Television Critics Association day, including our summer business meeting and, tonight, the presentation of our annual awards. (I say "our" because I'm a member.) It was a nice ceremony, with lots of people turning out, and with some lovely acceptance speeches. And it was a good situation just to talk with people [...]

Read the full article →

Steve Carell Doesn't Forget

July 23, 2006

I'm going to post a little later about tonight's Television Critics Association awards, but for now I want to mention Steve Carell's acceptance speech for individual achievement in comedy. Carell read a blistering review of his work on another show, a review so scorched-earth that some of us were convinced he had made it up. [...]

Read the full article →

Why I REALLY Like Being Here

July 22, 2006

I've posted from press tour about being in nifty places, and dropped some names of the people I've talked to. Those are fun things and, as I have said before, I have a cool job. But when I tell those stories, what may get lost is that the cool stuff can lead to something of [...]

Read the full article →

More Saturday

July 22, 2006

Because of the heat in Pasadena, NBC's evening event was delayed for an hour, which gave me a chance to take a longer-than-at-first planned nap from which I have just emerged. I don't think I'm alone in feeling dragged either. Even during press conferences for shows a lot of people like, the pace has felt [...]

Read the full article →

Lunch With "Nobody's Watching"

July 22, 2006

The producers and stars of "Nobody's Watching" came around at lunch, and I confess to gushing a smidge over how good their pilot was. And I'm even more pumped as they talk about the new Webisodes (which they're hoping to have online Sept. 1) and the series beyond that. Especially exciting is the way the [...]

Read the full article →

Breakfast With Olbermann

July 22, 2006

Just finished the session with Keith Olbermann. I had expected more laughs. But, while Olbermann is quick on his feet, he also feels like a very writerly guy — one who is most proud of the line he has taken time to shape and polish.
At the same time, though, he does listen to people — [...]

Read the full article →

Good Morning, World

July 22, 2006

Friday turned into an almost civilized day by press tour standards. In the afternoon, I chatted with John Lithlgow (who lived in Akron for a couple of years in his youth) about his TV work, his recent stagecraft and the pronunciation of his name. (Most people make it like cow, but it's like go.)
I managed [...]

Read the full article →

"Law & Order" Shakeups (Updated)

July 21, 2006

"Law & Order" impresario Dick Wolf is here today, which gave me a chance to clear up some cast departures that you folks have been asking about.
Annie Parisse ("L&O") asked out because she was becoming frustrated over having to turn down movie roles. Wolf called her "one of the role models of how to leave [...]

Read the full article →

The Triumph of "Nobody's Watching"!

July 21, 2006

Score one for YouTube: NBC is going to make webisodes and develop new TV scripts for "Nobody's Watching," the Bill Lawrence-backed comedy originally planned for The WB. The hope is to start it as a prime-time series later in the 2006-07 season. (You can find the complete announcement here.)
As I mentioned in this blog (see [...]

Read the full article →

NBC Premiere Dates

July 21, 2006

Here's the skinny, announced this morning. And think about what it says re NBC's fortunes that "Deal or No Deal" is the best lead-in it has for "Studio 60's" premiere. ("Deal," by the way, will air FOUR times the week of Sept. 18.
NFL coverage will in effect get three premieres: the Hall of Fame game [...]

Read the full article →

Field Trip

July 20, 2006

Yesterday wound up with ABC's party with the stars, and I had a pretty useful time. Talked to "Lost's" Carlton Cuse for a column running tomorrow. (Highlights: the monster and polar bear are back, there will be romance — though not, as far as I know, between the monster and polar bear — new characters, [...]

Read the full article →

"Rescue Me"

July 19, 2006

Once again, I've been a techno-idiot. Wrote this yesterday ago but neglected to post it on the blog. So here it is. The "tonight" references refer to Tuesday, when I wrote this.
(Note: Some content may be unsuitable for younger readers.)
I have tried to put "Rescue Me" behind me. I tried to shrug off Denis Leary's [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

 

© The Akron Beacon Journal • 44 E. Exchange Street, Akron, Ohio 44308

Powered by WordPress
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).