Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 2:09 PMThe Alphabet Network draws big names
ABC knows how to win a sweeps war.
This month, the network has pulled in some really big names to guest star on a number of its shows.
Last night, Oscar nominated actor Edward Norton made an appearance on one of the season's best new comedies, "Modern Family."
Not to be outdone, Elizabeth Banks of "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" fame also did a cameo on the show.
Nice work ABC.
But the fun isn't over. Look for a guest appearance from award winning actor James Franco when he pops up on "General Hospital" 3 p.m. ET Friday.
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 4:39 PM'Wipeout' contestant loses his life
Sadly, it was only a matter of time but ABC's obstacle-course show "Wipeout" has been accused of claiming a life.
Contestant and newlywed Tom Sparks died of a stroke last week after competing on the show.
His funeral was Wednesday.
Although producers ask that contestants reveal any pre-existing conditions, Sparks, 33, didn't list any.
After completing several challenges, Sparks complained of knee pain and shortness of breath and was taken to a Southern California hospital and he later died in surgery.
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 3:59 PMJudge Wapner is back
Look for the return of the man who started it all when Judge Joseph A. Wapner makes an appearance on "The People's Court" in honor of his 90th birthday today.
Wapner, who fathered the daytime court show genre back in 1981 and arguably reality TV, is also being given his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Judge Marilyn Milian now presides over the show's bench.
"The People's Court" airs locally at 10 a.m. and noon on WKBD-TV (Channel 50), Metro Detroit's CW affiliate.
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 3:28 PMABC cancels 'Hank' and 'Eastwick'
It seems like only yesterday I was telling some work associates that "Hank" was one of the most unoriginal shows on television.
Star Kelsey Grammer is playing another recylcled version of "Frasier," I argued, and it is the weakest link in ABC's Wednesday night comedy lineup.
Well, obviously others felt the same because Alphabet execs announced today that "Hank" is done. No word yet if and when they will air the final five episodes the show has in the can.
ABC has also pulled the plug on "Eastwick."
I actually like "Eastwick" but I often forgot about the show. That's the problem with airing Wednesday nights at 10, it's an easy to overlook timeslot.
All of the show's 13 episodes are supposed to air, and looking at the calendar, "Eastwick" could easily come to an end by the end of the year.
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 2:54 PM'Mad Men' finale was first rate
Wow.
That's the best word for how I felt after watching the season-three finale of "Mad Men" earlier this week.
Brilliant and believable, the scribes and the actors brought the season to a wonderful end.
Like a modernized "Great Gatsby," we saw Betty leave Don for a man with more money and power and Don and his ad men colleagues strike out on their own.
The finale was so good that it almost felt like a series finale. Thankfully it's not.
I can't wait for season four next year to find out what happens next. Hopefully then we'll get Sal back too.
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 6:26 PMPlaytime is over for 'Dollhouse'
Well, it seems the rumors are true.
After bringing back the Joss Whedon drama for a second and unexpected season, Fox is indeed cancelling "Dollhouse," a source close to the show confirmed.
All signs pointed to the end when the last episode -- boy was that a good one all about Sierra's past -- aired just before Halloween and the announcer said something like "look for the final episodes in December."
Final? Wow. But we fans all hoped against hope that we'd heard wrong.
Now it looks like the final episodes will begin airing 8 p.m. Dec. 4, with back-to-back installments each week. The series finale will air Jan. 22.
In case you haven't been watching (and the low ratings suggest that you haven't, don't they?), the show stars Eliza Dushku and follows a group of beautiful but brainwashed women and men who play roles for hire based on the computer personalities implanted in their brains.
"I'm extremely proud of the people I've worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew," Whedon said on his Web site, Whedonesque.com. "I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you'll agree in the coming months. I'm grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again.
"I'm off to pursue Internet ventures/binge drinking."
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 5:30 PMDiscovery Channel revisits DC Sniper
John Muhammad, 48, the "DC Sniper" who terrorized the nation's capital seven years ago with a shooting spree that claimed 10 lives, is set to be executed by lethal injection Tuesday.
Remember how the entire ordeal played out when the Discovery Channel airs "Anatomy of a Takedown: Washington Sniper" at 9 tonight.
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 2:33 AMHarvard goes down to 'The Wire'
When I first heard that Harvard will be teaching a class on the seminal HBO drama "The Wire," I thought it was gimmick.
Why would one of the most esteemed universities in the country be teaching a class on a TV show in order to deconstruct the impact of poverty in urban America?
But after discussing the topic with a friend, she pointed out that some people don't understand subjects that are foreign to them unless they see it on TV first.
Oddly enough that makes sense to me.
And if it takes one of the best shows to ever air on television to convey the social and cultural implications of poverty and drugs, so be it.
Harvard isn't the first school to use "The Wire" as a teaching tool.
Duke University and Middlebury College have done the same in the past.
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 9:08 PM'True Blood' fans have holiday options
It really is a shame that the second season "True Blood" came to an end long before Halloween.
Thankfully, there is a way to see star Anna Paquin and be scared witless with the movie "Trick r Treat," (Warner Home Video, $27.98).
Available on DVD in time for this spooky weekend, the flick features several stories filled with blood and screams and wait until you learn the secret Paquin's character is keeping.
Happy Halloween!
Category: Television
Posted by Mekeisha Madden Toby (The Detroit News) on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 8:14 PM'Ice Age 3' events dazzle Hollywood
First there was a yummy lunch with director Carlos Saldanha and loads of colored chalk to draw on the sidewalk afterward in Century City.
A week later, ice sculptors carved one of the biggest pieces of frozen art known to man in Santa Monica.
What was all the to do? Promotional events tied to the highly anticipated DVD release of "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (20th Century Fox, $29.98), of course.
One of the cutest children's films around, the flick follows Manny (Ray Romano), Ellie (Queen Latifah) and Diego (Denis Leary) as they try to save Sid (John Leguizamo) from a scary, new world filled with dinosaurs.
Look out for scene stealer Simon Pegg ("Run Fat Boy, Run" and "Shaun of the Dead"), who voices Buck the weasel.
