New TV Season Wraps 2nd Week
No Season Premieres at all tonight.
Fresh episodes of 'Touched By An Angel', 'Citizen Baines',
and 'UC Undercover' on CBS.
NBC offers repeats of their new Saturday shows: ('Crossing
Jordan', 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', and 'UC: Undercover').
If you're in the greater LA-area, and didn't have a chance to see the John Lennon
Tribute (it was pre-empted for a Dodger game), it'll finally air tonight (Saturday)
at 8 p.m., on KTLA, channel 5.
Still looking for opinions on any (or all)!
(Hint, Hint!)
E-Mail Marty
And, Thanks! to all who have responded.
More Reader Response
'Enterprise'
Jon Bastian
Having not been bowled over by the pilot for "Enterprise,"
I wound up watching episode two, and found it drifting slowly toward something
new and different in the franchise. I echo nearly everyone else's sentiments
-- the Vulcan is annoying. Sure, I know that's her job, what with humankind
being space babies and the Vulcans their reluctant sitters, but she's too
much of a naysayer. Captain: "Think I'll have the ham sandwich for lunch."
Vulcan: "Most advanced races consider the eating of other sentient beings
to be barbaric." She's there to have a negative comment on everything,
and I'm sure she'd launch into a long, pretentionious monologue to as simple
a question as "paper or plastic?"
"Nice day, isn't it?"
"We Vulcan's don't indulge in such trivialities."
"Bite me..."
Still, episode two showed promise in one area: the Captain and his crew
still don't know what the hell they're doing. They can't fire a photon
torpedo straight, they don't have shields, they nearly got fried by an
alien ship and had to be bailed out by another alien ship. That's refreshing,
because it used to get so annoying in the old Trek shows -- they'd be screwed,
they'd be surrounded, they'd be about to die, and then whatever captain
was running things would bark out something like, "Depolarize the warp
core and run the excess energy out through the deflector array, and maybe
we can create a subspace rift and disrupt their weapons." And, sure enough,
it worked. Got damned annoying, like a Deus Ex Roddenberry every time.
It was a nice change to see the captain reduced to having his translator
beg with an alien: "Please save us. We're the good guys."
One thing I haven't heard mentioned yet -- and maybe it doesn't exist
in this Trek universe -- is the Prime Directive. You know the one: don't
screw with alien cultures. That little rule that we were reminded of constantly
even as every single crew broke it. I haven't heard it brought up yet and,
in fact, the captain's actions in episode two didn't even take it into
consideration. Maybe that's part of what they're aiming at with this show
-- the screw-ups by this Enterprise will lead to the development of the
Prime Directive. "What do you mean you showed them the secrets of nuclear
fusion? They're a primitive culture..."
Bakula works for me as captain precisely because he is so gosh, golly,
gee-whiz unsure of himself. They seem to be playing it as if he only got
the job because his father designed the ship, so it gives his character
plenty of room for growth. And, frankly, the all-powerful, never screws
up captain character is a little boring.
So, my nutshell comment is this: ditch the Vulcan or find a less grating
replacement, let the Captain and his crew make mistakes and learn their
lessons, and above all, let their technology screw up on them constantly.
That's the most interesting potential in setting this series years before
any of the others -- don't waste it.
Two cents worth...
~~ Jon B.
Reader Response
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Carolyn in Memphis
Best new dramatic series on TV (best comedy is "Scrubs") and I hope this one
will be a big hit. I want it to run a long, long time.
As a L&O fan, I was disappointed in SVU - it seemed they're were copying some of
the posing and ridiculous acting that made me flee from "NYPD".
But this new series is terrific, if the first one Sunday night is typical.
First of all, can't miss with the cast:
Vincent D'Onofrio - who was "Gomer Pyle" in "Full Metal Jacket" and scared the
crap out of everyone; was the Alien Bug in "Men in Black" and hilariously
decomposing (did I say that?) while assuming a (dead) human's body. He's great.
Jamey Sheridan - plays the police captain. Was in "Chicago Hope", but to me is
most memorable for the short-lived John Shayles series "Shannon's Deal". He's
great.
Kathryn Erbe - was erotic and scarey as "Shirley", the woman on death row for
killing her children on "OZ". She's great.
The first show was a jewelry store heist by a gang, and we're in on the planning
almost from the beginning. Lots of psychological stuff going on, all of it
interesting. The leader is a thoroughly cold-blooded guy who kills innocent
bystanders and his own gang members with equal lack of conscience. His
girlfriend is caught, and the last part of the program is the suspense as to
whether D'Onofrio's character can get her to flip on her boyfriend, for whom
she's done everything willingly and unquestioningly. Lots of sexual
psychological stuff going on.
Intelligent, fast-paced, entertaining - and the best cast on television.
~~ Carolyn in Memphis
Reader Response
'The West Wing'
Mark B.
Best show this week: West Wing, of course.
AWESOME.
What is amazing is that they put that together in very short order.
I can't wait for next week.
~~ Mark B.
Great Link
Watch & Listen - George Carlin
www.laugh.com
This site offers Videos (in Real, QuickTime & WindowsMedia formats)...
MP3 audio files, too.
Also--on the left, look for the pull-down labeled 'our favorites'.
It spans the spectrum...from Lord Buckley to Lenny Bruce to Henny Youngman
to Jackie Martling to Seinfeld & John Valby & a whole lot more!...hours of fun!
(Thanks, quirk!)
What To Expect
Emmy Awards - Sunday
For the first time in TV history, Emmy winners may offer more thank yous to
police officers and firefighters than agents and personal publicists. Top
nominees like Kelsey Grammer and Martin Sheen say they'll sneak in a side
entrance and others may skip the ceremony altogether. And while Ellen DeGeneres
is still hosting, expect toned-down humor following a somber, scene-setting
speech from Walter Cronkite when the show airs on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT, from the
Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
That said, TV types are predicting that--aside from the beefed-up security,
subdued speeches, toned-down attire and altered attitudes--the 2001 Emmy Awards
won't be much different, trophy-wise. Once again, HBO's Mob family The
Sopranos (which led the field with 22 nominations) will do battle with NBC's The
West Wing (18 nominations) for Outstanding Drama Series, while last year's
comedy champ Will & Grace faces perennial nominee Frasier for Outstanding Comedy.
Meanwhile, notable disses include the WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the WB's
Gilmore Girls and, for that matter, the entire WB network, which came away with
zero nominations.
Snubs aside, experts and oddsmakers are busy shoring up their predictions.
Despite HBO's Mafia drama scoring the most nods, most say The Sopranos will get
snubbed again--as it has been the past two years--in favor of Aaron Sorkin's
Oval Office drama. The West Wing already has four wins to The Sopranos' one,
following last month's Creative Arts Emmy ceremony.
Other nominees in the drama category include ER, The Practice and Law & Order.
(But don't hold your breath for any of 'em.)
The acting categories also have set up several Sopranos-West Wing showdowns.
Wing-ers Sheen and Rob Lowe face off with last year's winner James Gandolfini
for Outstanding Lead Actor. His costars, Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco, are
heavy favorites in the Lead Actress category. And the supporting actor category
is all West Wing and Sopranos.
"[The West Wing] is a shoo-in, a slam dunk," says Tom O'Neil, E!'s Emmy expert
and the host of awards-show site GoldDerby.com.
O'Neil made his predictions based on the actual tapes that nominees submitted to
the Academy for judging. And he guarantees that Sheen will not be skipped over
this year for his role as West Wing Commander-in-Chief Josiah Bartlet.
"He is the inevitable winner," O'Neil says, adding that Sheen's acceptance
speech could make for the most interesting moment of the night. "He is
Hollywood's TV president. He is a notorious Hollywood liberal. So that will be
the peak moment of Sunday's Emmys: What will he say?"
Whoever does win Sunday, don't expect them tearing up the town with trophies in
hand. Nearly all of the Emmy post-parties have been canceled, save for the
Academy's Governor's Ball, which is now being called a "Unity Dinner."
Emmys
Where's Bill?
On An LA Set
Former President Bill Clinton was "like a kid in a candy store" Wednesday on a
tour of the "West Wing" set, a source reports. The former real West Wing
occupant shook hands with cast and crew, reserving a big hug for researcher
Nanda Chitre, his former deputy press secretary. Clinton was in L.A. to tape a
public service announcement with Martin Sheen for the Families of Freedom
scholarship fund for children of World Trade Center victims. ...
Bill #1
Hayden Christensen
The 'New' Anakin
Hayden Christensen. Don't know the name?
But we soon will because George Lucas picked this Canadian out of thousands to
be Anikan (sic)* Skywalker in the next two Star Wars things. Before we see him on a
galaxy far far away, we'll see him as of Oct. 26 in "Life As a House." And what
that movie's about, I don't know either. I only know he plays Kevin Kline's kid.
The New Anakin
* It's 'Anakin'....jeez, that's not even a hard one.
New! Updated!
BartCop Astrology
Check it out at BC Astrology.
"Guitar Greats" is still on hiatus, but, this week, it's a look at 'The Birth of
Aviation', and a relevant USA horoscope courtesy of Marc Penfield.
Very interesting reading!
Feuding Comics
Jay Mohr & Dice
The hatred between feuding comics Jay Mohr and Andrew Dice Clay just took an
even uglier turn, with Mohr filing harassment charges against the Dice Man.
The trouble started Monday when Mohr - in town to perform in a charity comedy
show this Sunday night at the Beacon - was a guest on Conan O'Brien's "Late Night."
Clay, a regular on the "Opie & Anthony" radio talk show on WNEW, called in
Tuesday and claimed Mohr had stolen some bits from his act.
Mohr, also on air with the popular radio duo, told Clay to "die - get in the
coffin!" and called him a "Jew" and a "Heeb."
Dice returned fire and said Mohr was a "creep" and, "even though [Mohr] may be
trying to get his wife pregnant, it still doesn't stop [Mohr] from hitting on
all the girls coming out of the bathroom at the Comedy Store in L.A."
Clay eventually hung up, but Mohr's wife, Nicole, was so upset over the on-air
altercation she called Dice to clear the air.
According to a complaint filed by Nicole and Mohr with police at Manhattan's
10th precinct, Clay started screaming at Nicole: "Your husband will be in a
million pieces! We all know what happened to Sam Kinison when he crossed
me - your husband will have to pay!" Kinison, a heavy drinker and drug abuser,
died in 1992 in a head-on car crash as he drove from L.A. to Las Vegas.
A family friend of Mohr's also called Clay to sort things out. Clay allegedly
threatened: "[Mohr] needs to watch out at the Beacon [Sunday night] and look
over his shoulder for me."
Mohr came home and, finding Nicole in tears, immediately called the cops and
filed a complaint - which, police sources said, "will eventually wind up in court."
On Wednesday, Mohr and Nicole went on "Opie & Anthony" as in-studio guests.
Again, Clay called in, and again they started going at each other, with Clay
calling Mohr a "sissy" for filing a complaint. Mohr retorted that he had filed
the complaint because Clay had called his wife "stupid" and "a liar," and had
threatened him with violence.
The show ended with Clay apologizing for calling Mohr "Gilligan" and attempting
to get Mohr to bury the hatchet - which Mohr declined.
Mohr & Dice
Cancelled Tour
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson made headlines this week when she canceled her European concert
tour due to safety concerns.
"If anything happened to anyone on this tour," she said in a statement, "I could
never forgive myself."
Now I hear that other factors may have led to her decision. Evidently, tickets
to her shows were not selling as briskly as she had hoped.
Janet's Tour
Jackson Family Update
Michael
Tragedy can bring the oddest people together. Michael Jackson is telling chums
that he and President Bush have been bonding over the terrorist attacks on
America and that Dubya is strongly behind and personally backing Jacko's
upcoming "What More Can I Give?" CD, proceeds of which will go to the victims
and their families.
Jackson brought his two kids, Paris and Prince, into the Harry Winston store in
Beverly Hills the other day to commission a major piece of red, white and blue
jewelry. He'll wear it at the recording session with supportive pop stars, then
auction the bauble for the relief fund. Jacko's goal is $50 million.
Michael Jackson
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Don't worry about the HTML, just send text, or rich text, or a Word document, photos, video, whatever you have, and Michele will take care of the rest. Don't hesitate to write with any questions you may have and bring on the recipes!
To check out 'Train Station Chicken', and more (like 'Cranberry Autumn Tea'),
In The Kitchen With BartCop
2 Kinds of Crazy
Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz is two kinds of crazy, he says. "My personality is somewhere
between Richard Pryor and Woody Allen. When I watch Woody's movies, I totally
recognize that neurotic Jew in me. I feel like I'm him."
Kravitz — whose father, TV producer Sy Kravitz, is Jewish and whose mother,
actress Roxie Roker, was Bahamian, and who once said he could never get the
yarmulke to stay on his Afro in Hebrew school — relates to Pryor's wild side as
well. "But I get that," he told Blender music magazine, "without freebasing cocaine."
And more than we needed to know about Kravitz: He wears neither boxers nor
briefs. "I recently wore underwear for the 'Again' video," says the racy rocker,
long rumored to be pierced in a sensitive area. "But that was my last underwear moment."
Lenny Kravitz
At A Sports Roast
Where's Senator Clinton?
All eyes were turned to Sen. Hillary Clinton at a benefit roast of Washington
Post sports columnist Tony Kornheiser in D.C. on Wednesday night. Clinton turned
beet red and covered her face with her hands when Kornheiser admitted to the
crowd: "I've had a crush on Sen. Clinton for a long time. She's smart and sexy
and . . . I'll get back to that later."
Kornheiser then related how his wife, Carol, got tanked at a book party for
James Carville at the Palm several years ago, reports rollcalldaily.com. When
Hillary arrived, Kornheiser recalled that Carol made such a rush for her that
the Secret Service grabbed her and hustled her out to the street. Kornheiser
said he was torn between leaving the party to see if his wife was getting
arrested and sticking around to hit on the first lady: "I thought maybe I had
a shot with Hillary," he said.
Clinton, meanwhile, told the assemblage that when first asked to attend the
function she had no idea who Kornheiser was.
Senator Clinton
Radio News
Martin & Keillor
Steve Martin and Garrison Keillor are giving lessons in classic comedy in the
new radio show, "Comedy College,'' premiering Saturday, Oct. 6, 2001, on
Minnesota Public Radio station KNOW-FM. The show will feature classic sketches
from such comedians as Bob Newhart, Lenny Bruce and Bill Cosby. Martin will
comment on what makes the routines funny.
Martin & Keillor
The New Annie?
Daytime 'Weakest Link'
Actor George Gray, best known as frontman of TLC's ``Junkyard Wars,'' has signed
up as host of the upcoming syndicated version of ``Weakest Link,'' ending a
casting process that began in early spring and involved both name talent and
up-and-comers.
The daily half-hour game show will premiere in national syndication on Jan. 7.
Because each episode will be half as long as the primetime version, the show
will feature six contestants rather than eight. That means two rounds of play
are cut out. The prize money also will be considerably less than the $1 million
offered by the primetime show.
About a dozen prospective hosts were auditioned for the syndie version, and NBC
produced pilots with the three top candidates. Wilson said he let Gray know he
was hired just 45 minutes prior to a press briefing held to announce the
decision midday Thursday.
``At first we didn't think we could go with a white male; we didn't think he
could give the zingers to women contestants without offending,'' Wilson said,
adding that Gray quickly won over the producers and execs involved in the show.
One thing likely to remain the same, execs said, is that Gray, like Robinson,
will dress in black, head-to-toe.
Daytime Weakest Link
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' is now updating daily!
For an amazing variety of information on an astounding array of tv programs check out
BC TV!
More Bill
American Oceans Campaign
While the Supreme Court declared that Bill Clinton could not argue future cases
before it unless he "explained" himself to their satisfaction, Bill was at
Oxford helping Chelsea settle in. He showed her his former room and pointed out
the windowsill where he used to put his milk, "because we had no refrigeration."
Clinton returned to the U.S. to speak to 500 prominent Hollywood names and
environmentalists at Century Plaza Hotel in Century City. He reduced both the
star-studded audience and himself to tears accepting the American Oceans
Campaign 2001 Partners Award. He discussed threats to our environment and to our
nation. Clinton told the listeners that many terrorist attacks had been thwarted
during his administration, such as one on the L.A. airport. He cited Osama bin
Laden directly, sparing no blame.
Clinton's biggest booster, Barbra Streisand, was in the crowd looking 20 years
younger than her age. She had on minimal makeup and a light, blonde weave in her
hair. She studied the former president through her eyeglasses as he spoke and
later expressed disdain and concern when a reporter approached her. "Is press
allowed here? I had no idea there'd be press here." (Sorry, Babs, it's a free
country.) She referred questioners to her Web site, www.barbrastreisand.com.
Streisand was with her hubby, James Brolin; a former boyfriend, Richard
Baskin; Dennis Quaid and Shanna Moakler. (Some people noted that Barbra and
hubby seemed slightly estranged on this night. They weren't glued to one another
as they usually are.) In the crowd were Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen,
Sylvester Stallone, Kristin Davis, Bill Maher, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman,
Lawrence Bender. CBS honcho Les Moonves and his wife, Nancy; Keri Selig of Bel
Air Entertainment and Keith Addis; Warner's exec Steve Reuther; and producer
David Haberman with his wife Tia were also on hand.
Clinton brought a fireside chat coziness to this gathering. He emphasized the
need to address poverty, AIDS and the environment as tools to combat the hatred
that terrorists spew upon us. When asked if he's seeking a movie career in
Hollywood, Clinton just laughed and said jokingly, "I'm looking at scripts
right now. I'll do whatever they'll put me in."
Bill #2
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
WWF
In yet another nod to increased national sensitivities, the WWF has announced
it's dropping words like "war" and "armageddon" from the names of its shows.
From now on, the pro-wrestling empire's top-rated TV show Raw Is War, which airs
Mondays at 9 p.m. on TNN, will now simply be known as Raw. The company also
changed the name of its The War Zone to The Raw Zone.
According to the WWF's chief spokesman Gary Davis, the move was a no-brainer,
even for an entertainment known for its pumped-up rhetoric.
In addition to changing the names of its regular progamming, the WWF plans to
ditch the apocalyptic title Armageddon for an upcoming pay-per-view special.
But don't expect the grapplers to turn into a bunch of sissies. Fans looking for
a place to rock and rumble will be happy to learn that the aggressive,
trash-talking style which has become a staple of the WWF will not be toned down
despite the name change.
In the meantime, as the WWF gets diplomatic with its fans, the wrestling
organization is readying for a rematch with longtime foe the World Wildlife Fund. On Monday, Britain's High Court ruled that the WWF can appeal an earlier decision that restricted the wrestling group's use of the contested initials.
The panel ruled the WWF may challenge an August decision in favor of the
Wildlife Fund--now called the Worldwide Fund for Nature--which said the
wrestling federation had illegally breached a 1994 contract with the
eco-friendly group by using the WWF initials in marketing and logos.
WWF
Music News
Savage Garden Call It Quits
Australian pop music duo Savage Garden, with global sales of 20 million records
in four years, have split.
Band member Darren Hayes will embark on a solo career and Daniel Jones,
preferring life outside the public eye, has returned home to Brisbane, where the
two first met through an advertisement in a local music magazine.
``We achieved something so great in a short period of time that we had to look
for something else,'' Jones said on Friday.
``We've both had a lot of success together. We'll probably have a lot of success
independently in the future.''
Savage Garden
Bitchy Gossip
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers doesn't care for the company Orin Lehman has been keeping since she
broke up with the octogenarian Lehman Bros. heir. Rivers spent months
considering her split with the World War II vet.
"It was like being with your father," she told Howard Stern. Finally, she made
the break. "The minute you leave, these two old Euro-hookers show up. They moved
right in," Rivers said. "These two are so old . . . they can't get up. They
wear crotchless Depends." Rivers doesn't name Lehman's new companions, but the
latest issue of Gotham has a photo of Lehman with ageless chanteuse
Monique van Vooren. As for Joan, she's dating a 49-year-old investment banker.
Joan Rivers
More Music News
Love vs Universal
A Los Angeles judge has ruled that rock star Courtney Love's lawsuit aimed at
breaking her contract with recording industry giant Universal Music can go to
trial, a Love spokeswoman said on Thursday.
``This is an historic case: no artist has ever gone this far in litigation, and
no record company has ever faced charges as serious as these,'' A. Barry
Cappello, Love's attorney, said in a statement.
Cappello has said that Love's suit, filed in February, targets the music
industry's practice of locking artists into contracts that extend for much
longer than allowed in other businesses such as television, film and sports.
Love took her action after Universal sued her in February 2000 seeking damages
for five undelivered albums when she tried to end her contractual relationship
with the recording company. Music and legal experts called Love's contract a
standard agreement for the industry.
Courtney Love
$100 Million Worth
Artworks Destroyed
The works of art destroyed by the 11 September attacks on the World Trade
Center could be worth as much as $100m (£68m), according to the art insurance
specialists AXA Art.
This would represent the largest ever volume of art insurance claims after a
single incident, the company said.
One of AXA's principal clients in the buildings is known to have been brokerage
house Cantor Fitzgerald, whose offices contained 300 Rodin sculptures, among
other works.
Artworks in the public areas of the towers included a painted wood relief by
Louise Nevelson, a painting from Roy Lichtenstein's Entablature series and a
Joan Miro tapestry.
The attacks came in the week when the new art season was due to start, and with
it numerous gallery opening parties and Asian art auctions at Sotheby's and
Christie's - both of which have been postponed.
In Europe, where terrorist acts have been far more common than in the US, many
insurance companies will not cover losses that result from acts of terrorism.
But in the US terrorist acts are usually covered - though acts of "land war" are not.
Some insurance companies are said to be looking at whether the attacks on the
World Trade Center could be classified as acts of war - to limit their liability
for losses.
Destroyed Art
More Bitchy Gossip
Nolan On Candy
Noted Hollywood designer Nolan Miller thinks Candy Spelling is a character
straight out of husband Aaron's over-the-top TV dramas. "She's a diva living in
an ivory tower," Nolan tells me of his erstwhile best friend. "When Candy gets a
burr under her saddle, she'll do just about anythings. Over 40 years I saw her
do this to others - I just never thought she'd do it to me."
"This" is Candy's complete severance of all contact with Miller, a man who lived
under her and Aaron's large roof for seven years. "I still don't know what set
her off," says the man who clothed all the vixens on Spelling's "Dynasty."
Miller says he's waiting to see the reaction to an interview he's done about the
celebrated falling out for the October issue of W mgazine. In it he talks about
the strange life at the Spelling mansion, with Aaron sitting down to dinner
every night in his pj's, Candy in a warmup suit and a formally dressed butler
hovering over them.
(Speaking of butlers, I hear that Candy fired one of hers last week. Hollywood
sources are giggling over this because, they say, the gentleman in question was
a Scot and Candy had spent two years getting him a green card.) Nolan says Aaron
was always in bed by 9 p.m., but that as the permanent houseguest and designated
playmate, he was expected to stay up until 2 a.m. "It was like Candy had two
husbands," Nolan says. "Aaron paid the bills and bought the jewelry. I spent all
my time with Candy. I took her out."
He finally got tired of the role and moved into his own apartment more than a
year ago. That was when Candy froze him out of her life, he says. "It was like
living in the French court. You just have to be careful you don't p - - - off
the queen," he notes.
Nolan & Candy
Liberal Radio
Erin Hart
Yes, there is some (not much) liberal (i.e. non-hate based) radio still out there.
Join Erin in Seattle on www.710kiro.com tonight
(11 p.m. - 1 a.m.) and Sunday (9 p.m. - 1 a.m.).
Listen online, and join in the chatroom.
We usually have a pretty good time.
Weird Story, Con't.
Not A Message In A Bottle
The greatest body part-in-a-bottle story in recent memory has turned out to be false.
The Adams County coroner's office said Wednesday the penis a Commerce City man
found in a bottle of fruit punch is actually a mold - a very suggestively shaped
and colored mold.
And, as wide as the difference between the two may seem, Chief Deputy Coroner
Chris Robillard said the confusion was understandable.
"To look at it, you wouldn't even guess it to be anything other" than a penis,
Robillard said.
Juan Sanchez-Marchez, 41, found the item on Sept. 27 while drinking an Ora
Potency Fruit Punch. He had finished about half of the bottle of the red, opaque
liquid when he noticed the object floating in the drink. He fished out a 3-inch
long, pale flesh-colored object that everybody who looked at
it - Sanchez-Marchez's friends, the police and even the coroner - concurred was
likely a penis.
But it wasn't.
Sanchez-Marchez, who has hired a lawyer, said Wednesday night he had not yet
been told by anyone what was actually in the bottle.
Robillard said the coroner's office had doubts the object was a penis because of
its "consistency." Later tests showed that the object had no internal structure.
The Food and Drug Administration called earlier in the week to say it believed
the item was likely a mold that can grow in drinks like the fruit punch.
Slides of the object examined Wednesday confirmed it wasn't a penis.
Robillard said the mold likely developed after the metal lid on the fruit punch
bottle was tightened improperly, allowing air to seep through the cap. That air
and the high sugar content of the drink made for an ideal climate for mold,
which probably started growing from the underside of the lid.
Eventually the mold, which grew in an elongated fashion down into the bottle, detached.
Chris Terranova, the vice president of Vancol Inc., a Denver company that
distributed the drink, said he has seen mold grow in the drinks before due to
an improperly sealed lid, but said it was rare. On Tuesday, the company told
the FDA that it had found a similar, smaller mold in another of its bottles.
Robillard said his office sent the mold to the FDA for more tests.
Elongated Mold?
For more background, see bcEnt-Sunday, 30 September.
First Person Diary
Ray Berry
Ray has temporarily (I hope), suspended 'Bush-Toons'. In its place, he has put
his daily diary of life in Manhattan since Tuesday.
Ray has great observational abilities, and a wonderful way with words.
To visit & read, www.bush-toons.com
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
