New TV Season In High Gear
Did anyone watch anything?
Any opinions?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
New shows debuting tonight include:
'The Agency' on CBS;
and
'Inside Schwartz' on NBC.
Returning series, with new episodes include:
'Who's Line Is It Anyway?', and 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' on ABC;
and
'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS;
and
'Friends' (Who's preggers?), 'Will & Grace', 'Just Shoot Me', and ER on NBC.
Anybody got any opinions on any of them?
(Hint, Hint!)
E-Mail Marty
And, Thanks! to all who have responded.
Reader Review
Monday & Tuesday
Nicole T.
Sunday
The Practice - Once again was excellent. Although I am watching to much tv
since I figured out the plot.
Monday
Ellen - Actually was pretty good. There aren't many comedies I can say I
watch that make me laugh out loud. Ellen did that Monday night.
Crossing Jordan - stunk! Very slow. To much time spent floundering around
with the characters. Kind of disappointing since I love NBC.
Tuesday
Guardian - Not bad for a new show. I think I might like the lead actor.
I'll have to give it a few more episodes to really know.
Judging Amy - Second time I had watched the show. Also, not bad. Still
undecided if it will be added to the television schedule.
Wednesday
Can't wait for West Wing and Law and Order.
Thursday
2 VCR's are key.
NBC - 8-11
CBS for CSI.
Friday
If people don't watch Law and Order - SVU they are really missing out!!!!
~~ Nicole T.
Thanks, Nicole. Can't argue with a word you wrote.. : )
Reader Review
"The Amazing Race"
Dave M
'The Amazing Race' is an adrenaline roller coaster type show. I think
it's the best reality show since the original season of Survivor.
The premise is that 11 teams composed of 2 people each race to various
checkpoints scattered around the globe. The teams are given hints in "sealed
envelopes" (they always make a point of the fact that the envelopes are
SEALED, I don't know why. It's distracting.) as to where the checkpoint is,
but not precise directions. There are also rules on HOW the teams can get
there (must take certain flights, must perform tasks, limited cash, choice
of longer route/easier task, etc.) The last team to arrive at the checkpoint
is eliminated. So far, to do well has required brains, physical abilities,
knowledge of geography and travel details (e.g., Swissair flies from JFK,
not LaGuardia or Newark) the areas you're traveling through, and an ability
to work together as a team. Luck doesn't hurt of course.
Once they arrive at a checkpoint, the teams rest, and then set out on the
next leg of the race in the order that they arrived.
Fundamentally, then, there is competition between the teams. As of the first
two shows, there's been no major incentive (yet, at least) for teams to work
together so there is some fierce competition between the teams as well.
There was a token alliance between the 3 teams in the lead but that strategy
was soon abandoned. So far we've seen dangerous passing on back roads in
Africa, jostling for position at ticket counters, and nearly a cat fight
over a cab in Paris. ME-OW!
What makes 'The Amazing Race' different from other reality programs is that
the teammates have a close, pre-existing relationship with each other. There
are newly and longtime married couples, a separated couple, engaged couples,
a mother-teenage daughter, a same-sex couple, several teams of best friends.
The chemistry for meaningful interaction (drama) is already there - it
doesn't have to be contrived by locking them in a house together or throwing
them on an island. Under the stressful conditions of competition, and travel
through unfamiliar environments, the personalities of the individuals
emerge, and so do the true colors of the relationships between teammates.
This pre-existing relationship adds a twist to the usual "get over your
fear"/personal challenge aspect e.g. bungee into a canyon with the added
twists. When your fiance is taunting you over acrophobia, or your Mom is
about 50 feet from a rhinoceros, the drama is heightened.
It's a little bit like 'Road Rules' and a little bit like the immunity
challenges of Survivor. There are still 9 teams left, and the competition is
sure to heat up even more. The group as a whole is heavy on overachievers
and Type A personalities. There are some loose cannons and plenty of people
who seem to have little or no editor between what's in their thoughts and
what comes our of their mouths to make it funny and shocking all at the same
time.
So far there have been two teams eliminated - The first to go were a young
married granola couple (tie-dyes, hemp necklaces, laid-back attitude). I
found it curious that they met when they were both in the military. The
second team to be eliminated was composed of two young female teachers from
Texas, both hotties.
I haven't seen 'Lost' yet.
~~ Dave M.
Wow---I'd never have considered this show as a first choice, but, with Dave's
rave, I'm gonna check it out next week!
Thanks, Dave.
Reader Review
"Enterprise"
Don C.
Interesting Reading
NBC, Clinton & The White House
On the same day last week that "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw sat down to
interview former President Clinton, executives for the program received
unexpected phone calls from senior communications staffers at the White House,
expressing disappointment about the decision to spotlight Bush's predecessor.
While not asking the network to refrain from running the interview, they
expressed the feeling that the Sept. 18 interview with Clinton would not be
helpful to the current war on terrorism. Neither NBC nor the White House would
comment on the phone calls, but sources familiar with the calls confirmed that
they happened.
This news comes on the heels of revelations that President Bush and Air Force
One were not, contrary to earlier White House claims, targets of the terrorists
who attacked the Pentagon and the World Trade Center Sept. 11. The White House
is now saying that those claims, which it used to explain why the president
didn't return to Washington immediately that day, were a result of staffers
"misunderstanding" security information.
On the face of it, these moves by the Bush administration to discourage media
criticism don't seem to make much sense......
salon.com
Bill Speaks
Clinton Talks About WTC
Former President Clinton described the horror of watching the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center and Pentagon unfold on television, in an interview
published Wednesday.
"At the bottom of the screen, there was a ticker tape with information running
across it," Clinton said in an interview with the British tabloid newspaper The Mirror.
"They were listing the names of the passengers who had been on those doomed
airplanes. I suddenly recognized somebody I knew. He was a good guy, a man who
helped me out in my work. That was the moment that a national and international
tragedy had, for me, a human face."
Clinton was in Australia for a speaking tour when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred.
He said he has since been spending as much time as possible in New York.
"I have been three times to the family crisis centers and it breaks my heart to
see families holding these flyers with pictures of their loved ones.
"For me that will always be the enduring image of this disaster - those people
just waiting to learn the worst about their loved ones."
Bill Clinton
'Live, From New York...'
``Saturday Night Live''
``Saturday Night Live'' plans to acknowledge the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks ``in
an emotional way'' during this week's season premiere, executive producer Lorne
Michaels said Wednesday.
It's preparing for its 27th season opener on NBC in a somber, uncertain
atmosphere, knowing it could be pre-empted at the last minute if there's
breaking news in the war on terrorism.
``We will definitely acknowledge the event and we will acknowledge it in an
emotional way, because that's the appropriate way,'' Michaels said in an
interview, shortly before listening to prospective comedy skits.
``All we can do is focus on getting a show on Saturday that addresses what
happened with respect and dignity and at the same time do a comedy show that
allows people some kind of relief,'' he said.
How that's done exactly isn't certain yet, he said.
Reese Witherspoon, star of this summer's light comedy hit, ``Legally Blonde,''
is the guest host. Alicia Keys is the musical guest.
Michaels was forced to juggle when the planned Oct. 6 guest host, Ben Stiller,
backed out in the wake of the attack. The third-week host, ``American Pie''
actor Seann William Scott, was moved up a week and Drew Barrymore agreed to fill
in Oct. 13.
Some ``SNL'' staff members were forced out of their apartments because of the
attacks, and the show had to evacuate briefly from its Rockefeller Center
studio, Michaels said.
The online humor magazine The Onion has been among the first outlets to start
mining the attacks for humor. Its current issue features articles like,
``American Life Turns into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Movie'' and ``President Urges
Calm, Restraint Among Nation's Ballad Singers.''
As of Wednesday - still early for the notoriously last-minute ``SNL''
writers - no subject is out of bounds, Michaels said. He'll go with what feels right.
``It's gotten a little easier each day,'' he said. ``Last week at this time it
seemed impossible.''
SNL
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 'Dump Cake' & Peach Cobbler),
In The Kitchen With BartCop
Another Clinton In The News
Chelsea Clinton
Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, 21, has agreed to write a story for
Talk Magazine about her experiences during the World Trade Center attack, a
source at the magazine said.
The story is expected to run in the November issue of the magazine, though the
publication date has not been finalized. Ms. Clinton's piece is assigned at
roughly 1200 words.
It appears that Talk approached Ms. Clinton, a Stanford graduate who is set to
enter Oxford University in England later this fall to study international
relations.
Chelsea Clinton was in New York City September 11, the day of the attack. In an
interview with NBC's Jane Pauley, Ms. Clinton's mother, New York Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton, said her daughter had planned to go jogging that morning around
the World Trade Center plaza, but opted to go to a coffee shop instead.
Senator Clinton said she wasn't able to reach Chelsea for two hours after the
attack, and was afraid to tell her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who
was traveling at the time.
"Bill was in Australia and he was so upset by what he was seeing on television
that I didn't want to tell him that I couldn't find her until I found her,"
Senator Clinton said. "I told him, everything's fine, don't worry."
Chelsea Clinton
In The News
Comedians Try To Earn Their Keep
Comedians have begun to riff on the events of Sept. 11, compelled by both their
own desire to escape into work as well as a sense of duty to keep people laughing.
Comics are not making light of the events or loss of life. But comedians are
beginning to poke fun at elements of the nation's reaction, touching on
everything from preattack media obsessions (shark attacks, Representative
Gary A. Condit) to the sudden celebrity of the city's firefighters.
"The last thing I have to say, and I think I speak on behalf of the ladies
here," said Janeane Garofalo, during a short gig on Monday night, "is 'Hellooo,
Mr. Fireman.' "
"Who would have thought that I'd be angry on behalf of my country?" Ms. Garofalo
said. "I'm used to being angry AT my country."
That lesson was brought home shortly after the attack when Bill Maher, the host
of ABC's "Politically Incorrect," made a comment that suggested that Americans'
past cruise missile attacks on Middle Eastern targets were cowardly. Angered,
two companies withdrew advertisements, and Mr. Maher later apologized.
Mort Sahl, the legendary comic agitator, was one of the first comedians to take
to the stage after the Kennedy assassination and subsequent murder of Lee Harvey
Oswald by Jack Ruby in 1963.
"I went onstage with a picture from the paper and said, 'Here is picture of Jack
Ruby shooting the assassin, surrounded by 24 members of the Dallas Police
Force,' " Mr. Sahl said. "Or 25 if you count Ruby."
David Brenner, the veteran comic who regularly headlines in 500-seat rooms, said
he had to perform the night of the attacks at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las
Vegas.
What he found was a 100-person audience in a 400-seat house. He opened the act
by admitting he couldn't make believe that nothing had happened that day. And
then he tried to do just that, though he said he had to omit 45 minutes of
planned political jokes and a 20-minute bit on flying.
"I don't know why in God's name were they there," Mr. Brenner said of the
audience. "I would never go to a comedy show that night. But Vegas is a strange animal."
Comedians Tread Lightly
Another Fund Raiser
Howard Stern
Howard Stern has put his shock-jock strength behind the World Trade Center relief effort, getting his legions of fans to donate more than $1.5 million so far to the Twin Towers Fund.
Since last Friday, Stern has urged his loyal listeners to call one of two
toll-free numbers and pledge at least $5 to the charity, which was established
by Mayor Giuliani.
It's the first time the radio wild man has asked supporters to donate to any
charity - and the response has been astounding, according to his staff at his
flagship station, WXRK (K-Rock).
Thousands of small donations have poured in, and Stern's well-to-do fans have
forked over substantial sums.
Developer Donald Trump, who often calls in to Stern's show, kicked in $10,000,
and Crunch fitness clubs gave $15,000. Comic Craig Gass turned over $8,000 he
made from a stand-up date.
"This is a charity that Rudy Giuliani set up . . . Trust me, this is a good
charity," Stern told his audience yesterday. "This is for anybody who ran back
into that burning building.
"You don't need to make some billion-dollar contribution here. [I'm] just
looking for 5 bucks. If you can give more, great."
Proceeds are earmarked for families of uniformed members of the FDNY and its
Emergency Medical Service Command; the NYPD; the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey; the state Office of Court Administration; and other government
agencies whose members were killed or injured in the Sept. 11 attacks on the
World Trade Center.
$5 For Howard
Interesting Reading
Ted Rall
Ted Rall
New! Updated!
BartCop Astrology
Check it out at BC Astrology.
"Guitar Greats" has been set aside for now, and replaced with an astrological look at the
WTC Tragedy using various, relevant horoscopes, including charts for Manhattan and the US.
Very interesting reading!
TV News
WB Becomes Viable
The WB, the network with the biggest growth in adults 18-34 a year ago, is off
to a great start this season as well.
The network was up 43% in the coveted demographic vs. the opening night last
season (3.1 vs. 2.0), and finished first among all networks on Monday in females
12-34.
The WB also successfully launched ``Angel'' (5.01 million, 2.4 in adults 18-49)
in its new 9 p.m. time slot. The series delivered the network's best male demos
in the hour since January 1998 and improved upon last season's ``Roswell''
premiere by 41% in adults 18-49 (2.4 vs. 1.7) and by 56% in adults 18-34 (2.8 vs. 1.8).
The 'WB'
In The News
New Aaliyah Mystery
The FAA inspector who gave Aaliyah's pilot what turned out to be his final
checkout flight killed himself last week.
And in another bizarre development, the owner of the charter plane that crashed
Aug. 25 in the Bahamas - killing the superstar singer and seven members of her
entourage - claims pilot Luis Morales lied about his flying experience to get
the job.
The lawyer for the family of the pilot, who also died in the crash, denied the allegation.
Pilots who worked with Morales told The Post they doubted he had the experience
to fly the 10-seat Cessna 402-B that went down on takeoff from Abaco island.
He was checked out by the FAA in early August in a much smaller and
easier-to-fly Piper Seneca, permitting him to handle charters in that model aircraft.
The inspector who checked out Morales committed suicide last week, officials
said. The FAA has refused to release his name or any information about why he
took his own life.
Witnesses earlier said that Morales had objected to the amount of equipment the
group brought aboard, but was browbeaten into making the flight.
People at the airport also said the plane was unbalanced, with two of Aaliyah's
heavyweight bodyguards sitting in the rear. The combination of being overweight
and tail-heavy is a recipe for disaster, aviation experts say.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/pagesix/20010926/en/new_aaliyah_mystery_1.html
Disney News
Ari Scolds Bill Maher
The White House press secretary scolded the host of ``Politically Incorrect''
Wednesday for calling some past U.S. military actions cowardly.
The host, Bill Maher, said on his show last week: ``We have been the cowards
lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly,'' Bill Maher
said on the show last week.
Maher later apologized ``to anyone who took it wrong,'' and said his comments
were aimed at political leaders.
ari & Bill
More Maher
Arianna To The Rescue
Conservative columnist Arianna Huffington says "Politically Incorrect" could get
yanked off the air by ABC because of recent comments by host Bill Maher that
upset advertisers and network affiliates.
Huffington made the claim yesterday - and strongly defended Maher -in a column
posted on her Web site, www.ariannaonline.com.
"A small group of zealots have intentionally distorted comments made by Bill
Maher, and succeeded in putting the show's future in jeopardy," Huffington, a
frequent guest on the show, wrote.
Huffington's claim about ABC possibly yanking "P.I" is "just a rumor," said an
ABC spokesman. "It's not true."
pagesix.com
"Imagine"
Yoko Ono
The full-page ad in The New York Times carried a simple message: ``Imagine all
the people living life in peace.''
The John Lennon lyric, carried on page 29 of Sunday's paper, was a message from
his widow, Yoko Ono, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World
Trade Center, her spokesman confirmed Tuesday.
The eight-word quotation from Lennon's ``Imagine'' was unaccompanied by any
photos or text. Ono decided not to sign the ad because ``she felt it would be
more effective if her name wasn't on it,'' explained spokesman Eliot Mintz.
Yoko Ono
Premieres Pulled
Hollywood On Alert
If there were any doubts that Hollywood remains seriously rattled by the Sept. 11
attacks, there were several clear indicators Tuesday that business is not back
to normal.
The film and TV studios, which bolstered security last week with barricaded
entrances, vehicle searches and tightened access in the wake of an FBI warning,
continued on high alert. That, combined with lingering shock and sadness over
the attacks' devastation, has led to a spate of event cancellations and measures
that show the post-tragedy consciousness has clearly been changed.
A pair of Gotham premieres are going forward after being OK'd by city officials
following Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's calls for a return to normalcy.
The studios' security measures picked up following last week's FBI warning about
a possible attack on studios. ``We are taking this very seriously, and I know
everyone else is, too,'' one rep said Tuesday.
As news directors start returning to traditional local stories, they also are
sounding off about the grounding's effects on their ability to inform the
public. While some directors aren't exactly heartbroken over not being able to
cover car chases, they rue the loss of coverage of other staples such as traffic
reporting. Stories in L.A., such as fires, also are tricky to cover without an
eye in the sky.
``I'm trying to be patient. I'm torn, because obviously we want to serve viewers
as best we can by covering news, and in a market the size of L.A., one of most
effective ways we can cover news is from the air,'' Jeff Wald, news director for
Tribune-owned KTLA Los Angeles, told Daily Variety. ``On the other hand, perhaps
the FBI and FAA know something we don't and feel it's a security risk. We don't
want to become part of the story.''
Hollywood On Attack
In The News
Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch, who recently celebrated her 61st birthday, says it's ridiculous to
be called a sex symbol at her age.
``You can be a legitimate sex symbol up 'til the age of 35 and then after that
you just can't take that seriously,'' says Welch, who parlayed her success in
1966's ``One Million Years B.C.'' into a serious acting career.
``As I was coming up to 40 I was looking for bread crumbs along the road of sex
symboldom,'' she said. ``And I couldn't find any that were very positive. Most
of the American sex symbols have come to rather tragic endings.''
Raquel Welch
BartCop TV Is Here!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot', keeps updating!
There is more to check on nearly a daily basis!
The Vidiot.
Read all the latest.
Free Vegas Concert
Jay Leno
Jay Leno, host of NBC's ``The Tonight Show'' and a frequent Las Vegas headliner,
will give a free performance Saturday at the MGM Grand hotel-casino.
The comedian said he was prompted to do the free show after hundreds of Strip
employees lost their jobs when hotel occupancies plummeted after the attacks.
``All I ask is that you tip your waiters and waitresses,'' Leno said. ``We have
to turn this situation around.''
Leno will perform in the 1,700-seat EFX Theatre. The performance is open only to
Nevada residents or anyone with a Las Vegas hotel room key and an out-of-state
driver's license.
Jay Leno
Jackson Family Update
Today, It's Randy
Prosecutors have recommended that Michael Jackson's brother, Randy, be placed on
probation and fined $21,100 for failing to report that he owned a sport utility
vehicle when he filed for bankruptcy protection.
``He committed fraud against the court by not disclosing that he owned a 1995
Chevy Suburban,'' Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said
Tuesday.
Jackson, 39, filed for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 17, 1996. In a subsequent
filing, which required him to disclose all the vehicles he owned, the member of
the Jackson 5 listed a 1989 LaForza but not the Chevrolet Suburban, authorities
said.
Randy Jackson
Latest Celebrity Donor
Sandra Bullock Gives A Million
Sandra Bullock has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help victims
of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks.
``This gift is to help the Red Cross provide care and comfort for the victims of
tragedy and support for the families of the courageous men and women who give
selflessly in the very worst of times,'' the actress said.
Dr. Bernadine Healy, president of the Red Cross, said the organization
is ``thrilled'' by the contribution and praised the 37-year-old actress, who
played a Red Cross nurse in the 1996 wartime romance ``In Love and War.''
Sandra Bullock
More Telethon
Next, The Album
Building on the success of last week's all-star telethon for victims of the
Sept. 11 air attacks, musical performances from the show will be packaged as a
benefit album to raise additional relief dollars, organizers said on Wednesday.
Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, is overseeing efforts
to obtain rights for the companion CD from the recording artists who appeared on
the show, insiders told Reuters. Interscope is a unit of Vivendi Universal .
The two-hour show raised more than $150 million in pledges for a special relief
fund established for victims of the aerial attacks on the World Trade Center and
Pentagon. That is nearly three times the amount raised by the latest 21-hour
Labor Day telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis for muscular dystrophy.
Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild has offered the services of its high-profile
members to the Bush administration, SAG spokesman Greg Krizman said.
In a telephone call to the White House on Tuesday, guild president William
Daniels said SAG members were willing to lend their celebrity to any public
service events or other activities that might be of help in the wake of Sept. 11
tragedies.
As with the telethon, 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of the benefit
album will go to the relief fund, said Barbara Brogliatti, a spokeswoman for the
telethon.
More Telethon
Broadway-Bound Rivival
'Into The Woods'
Vanessa Williams doesn't look like a witch. Then again, neither did Bernadette
Peters, who originated the centerpiece role in ``Into the Woods.''
Williams will star in a Broadway-bound revival of Stephen Sondheim and James
Lapine's 1987 musical about the travails of various fairy tale bigshots,
according to sources close to the production.
The Lapine-directed show will open at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles
Feb. 10 before a spring bow in Gotham.
Vanessa Williams
In The News
Arnold
Arnold Schwarzenegger has filed a $20 million lawsuit against one of the country's
top slot-machine makers, accusing the company of making and marketing a
Terminator-themed slot machine that uses his voice and likeness without his
permission.
The suit, filed September 7 in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges the game's
maker, Reno, Nevada, based International Game Technologies, will harm the muscle
man's image. "[Schwarzenegger] is particularly circumspect to avoid using his
name, likeness or image for certain industries such as gambling," court papers say.
Schwarzenegger refrains from doing commerical endorsements in the United States,
but has appeared in ads hawking DirecTV in Japan, a language school in Brazil
and Austria's national rail line. (In fact, Schwarzenegger is so protective of
his famous features that he sicced his lawyers on a Website that streamed video
of his goofy Japanese commercial.)
Arnold
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, a way with words, and has still been able
to keep his sense of humor.
To visit & read, www.bush-toons.com
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
