Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion

For those of you who couldn’t score a ticket to the highly anticipated Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion at the Paley television festival in Los Angeles last week, I’ve got you covered.

No, I couldn’t attend either, but I have a few blogger friends and fellow TV critics that did.

The first big news was that despite being on the attendee list, Alyson Hannigan and Eliza Dushku didn’t make it. Sorry, Willow and Faith fans.

The other big news is that despite not being on the attendee list, David Boreanaz didn’t do his much-talked-about taped video for the panel. Did Angel lose his soul again? That’s the only reason I can think of that explains why Boreanaz wouldn’t take a few minutes to tape a message to say hi to the millions of fans and his former cast mates that helped jumpstart his career. Yes, I’m a little bitter.

For those of you who want to see some of the Buffy panel, check out the Paley Web site, that features video highlights of the event. It’s good stuff.

Why the Paley folks didn’t do a live streaming video of this event is bewildering. Instead, they chose to do that for the Gossip Girl panel. Huh?

From all my discussions with those “in the know,” the Buffy event was the most popular panel in recent years and sold out faster than Spike could transform into his fang face. But, instead, they chose Gossip Girl to stream live. Yes, that makes sense. I’m still on the bitter pill.

Meanwhile, for those of you who want to live vicariously, here’s a roundup of some of the most detailed recaps of the Buffy reunion from fellow TV critics and bloggers. Enjoy.

The Futon Critic

Watch With Kristin

Zap2it

Ducky Does TV

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Bones, Moonlight, and others added to Paley Festival

TV Guide is reporting that the annual Paley Television Festival has just added 11 more TV panels to its already fantastic 2008 lineup.

Bones, Moonlight, The View, Kyle XY, Greek, and The Young and the Restless are just a few of the shows joining a second part of the festival, kicking off on March 28, according to the TV Guide Web site. The first part of the festival runs March 14-27.

This is the best lineup I’ve ever seen for Paley Festival. Can you imagine any other event where the casts of Friday Night Lights, (yes, even my beloved Kyle Chandler), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (my beloved Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Marsters) and the casts of Bones, Moonlight and Pushing Daisies all come together? And that’s not even the half of it.

After seeing this breaking news about the addition of Bones, I couldn’t help but wonder now if David Boreanaz will join the Buffy reunion. It was previously reported that Boreanaz could not join his former cast mates due to a family commitment, but was planning a taped message. Now that his new show, Bones, is included in a panel, perhaps he’ll show up with the rest of the Scoobies to reminisce about all things Buffy? Hey, a girl can dream right?

If you don’t already have a ticket to the Buffy panel, good luck in getting one. It’s sold out. So is the Pushing Daisies panel. I’m hoping (OK praying and considering bribing someone) to post the Buffy, Friday Night Lights, Bones, Moonlight, and Pushing Daisies panels on You Tube for all of us who cannot attend.

Tickets for the second part of the festival featuring Bones, Moonlight, and more go on sale March 14.

For more information and a complete lineup of shows and casts attending, visit the Paley Festival site.

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Buffy alumni back on the tube

I love it when TV stars of my favorite shows past get new gigs. The former cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is popping up all over the tube, and I couldn’t be happier. Before you get too giddy reminiscing about the bygone days of Cordy, Willow, Buffy and Angel, take note that you can catch many of your favorite Buffy folks currently in new shows.

Charisma Carpenter landed a recurring role on the new ABC show Big Shots, beginning Nov. 1. She’ll also make a guest appearance on the new FOX show Back to You.

James Marsters is returning to Smallville soon on the CW, according to E!Online. He also did a role on Without a Trace and a guest spot on Saving Grace this summer.

Alyson Hannigan can be seen every Monday night on the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother.

And Buffy’s former love interest, Angel, actor David Boreanaz, is busy solving crimes on the FOX drama Bones. Now, if we could just get Sarah Michelle Gellar to guest on Bones as Booth’s former love interest, I’d be happier than Spike at a Red Cross blood drive.

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James Marsters to guest on Without A Trace

Fellow Buffy fans, when I hear of former Buffy stars’ projects I have to let you know about it.

Spike, um James Marsters, has landed a guest star gig on Without A Trace.

According to Marsters Web site, he’ll play “Detective Mars” from Washington D.C., who investigates a human trafficking ring.

Rumors are swirling that Marsters could become a series regular.

I hate it when actors I love join shows I’ve never watched. Without A Trace is not my type of show. I’m not usually a fan of procedural crime dramas. While I'm thrilled that Marsters has landed a new job, I don’t think even Spike could get me to add this one to my DVR.

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Primetime Emmy voting changes

February 22, 2006

In the famous words of Rosco P. Coltrane, “Good news, good news.”

The primetime Emmy voting process is finally getting an overhaul.

Finally! Can I get an Amen?

That means, hopefully, I can stop complaining, year after year, about the ridiculous Emmy snubs, such as Veronica Mars’ Kristen Bell, Scrubs’ John C. McGinley or Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum. Actors and shows on the smaller networks (The WB and UPN) rarely make it on the Emmy ballot, no matter how outstanding they are. (Think James Marsters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and Kerri Russell of Felicity.)

Perhaps the Emmy organizers finally got a clue that there is talent beyond the big three networks and HBO.

Emmy guru Tom O’Neil explained the voting changes in detail at the Gold Derby Web site http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2006/02/primetime_emmy_.html..

Check out his excellent article.

Tube talk girl can be reached by e-mail at jennifer@tube-talk.com.

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Dr. House and Smallville news

July 27, 2005

You can learn a lot of things watching television. My latest lesson: never lie to your doctor.

Dr. Gregory House, the main character of the FOX drama House all but berates his patients into telling the embarrassing truth. Of course, he has good reason. They’re usually lying about the steroids/painkillers/etc. that they’re popping, which are causing their illnesses in the first place.

House doesn’t have a warm and fuzzy bedside manner. In fact, he’s the antithesis of every TV doctor you’ve ever seen. He’s gruff, cantankerous, antisocial, and brutally honest. Those traits make for some awkward, albeit, humorous situations. And don’t be surprised if you get the urge to send your own physician a thank-you note, after watching.

Dr. House’s attitude may need adjusting, but his medical skills are top-notch. And that’s what makes him likeable. He is a brilliant diagnostician. That skill and drive is perhaps rooted in his own medical history. He is crippled in one leg, due to his doctor’s inability to diagnose a medical problem in time.

Each week, House tackles a puzzling medical case. It sounds like a typical ho-hum medical drama, but it isn’t. Hugh Laurie plays the good doctor as a maverick, who maneuvers the clinic corridors with his cane and sharp tongue.

The result is arresting television. If you like solving mysteries and enjoy sarcasm, check out House. Catch it at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on FOX.

Smallville news:
Spike vs. Superman? Not exactly, but close.

James Marsters, a.k.a. Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will guest star this season on several episodes of Smallville. Marsters takes on the recurring role of Brainiac, one of Superman’s notorious enemies.

I can’t wait to see what Marsters does with this role, considering his Spike put the “ire” in vampire. Clark Kent, may I suggest you call in the Slayer for a little backup?

If Marsters isn’t enough to get you to tune in to Smallville this season, here’s another reason: Luke Duke, a.k.a. Tom Wopat, is heading there, too. Wopat is scheduled to reunite with his former Dukes of Hazzard costar John Schneider on the WB drama. Wopat will play the role of a powerful senator who was a childhood friend to Jonathan.

While I couldn’t be happier about that reunion, it’s this final morsel of Smallville news that is, perhaps, the best of all. My celebrity crush and the former man-of-steel, Dean Cain, will also be guest starring, according to E!Online.

I know. Two Supermen on one screen, it’s enough to make a girl giddy. Smallville returns on Sept. 29, so you’ve got plenty of time to learn to program your VCR. Go.

Originally published 7/27/05 in The Exponent Telegram newspaper.

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Emmy omissions

July 21, 2004

I’m stunned. Baffled. Almost speechless.

What kind of world do we live in where Donald Trump’s reality show is nominated for an Emmy, but the funniest sitcom actor on TV, Scrubs’ John C. McGinley, isn’t?

I’ll tell you, Tubers. It’s a world gone mad. Mad, I tell you. That’s the only plausible explanation for last week’s entertainment debacle, otherwise known as the television Emmy nominations.

I’m convinced the members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences just shut their eyes and pull names out of a hat, rather than watch these shows. And it’s obvious that even with TiVo, a TV guide, and a remote control, they couldn’t find their way to The WB, if they tried. How else can you explain the blatant shutout of its programs and actors?

There were no better supporting-actor performances this year in all of television than that of Angel’s Spike (James Marsters) and Smallville’s Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum.) I’m convinced that no WB show or actress, no matter how fantastic, will ever be nominated.
It’s clear the Emmy nomination process needs an overhaul. It’s as messed up as Donald’s comb-over.

What they did wrong:

• Scrubs, consistently the best comedy on TV, didn’t even score a nomination in the best comedy series category, yet the tired Everybody Loves Raymond and Will and Grace did.
• Adding insult to injury was the omission of any acting nominations for the Nip/Tuck cast. Love him or hate him, Julian McMahon’s Christian Troy is the most delicious villain to come along since J.R. Ewing.
• Mark-Paul Gosselaar of NYPD Blue (Det. John Clark, Jr.) should have been among the best supporting actors in a drama category.
• As if reality TV hasn’t evaded every facet of our lives already, the Academy added two reality categories to honor these types of programs. If they really wanted to add a category, how about best sidekick. Then, The O.C.’s Seth (Adam Brody) or Angel’s Spike might have a chance at getting the recognition they deserve.
• The Academy nominated very few newcomers. I, for one, am tired of seeing the same shows and actors year after year. Regardless of how good The Sopranos is, did it really deserve to eat up 20 of the nominations?
• I can’t help but chuckle at the animation category that has South Park competing against SpongeBob SquarePants. Is it truly fair to judge children’s animation in the same category as adult animation?

What they did right:

• We saw a few new faces, at least. Bonnie Hunt (Life with Bonnie) and Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia) got acting nominations. And Arrested Development was among the shows up for best comedy.
• Scrubs was nominated for best writing.
• John Ritter was nominated for 8 Simple Rules. Sadly, the honor came posthumously.
• Monk’s Tony Shalhoub and Friends’ Matt LeBlanc (Joey) received nods for best actor in a comedy series.
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Late Show with David Letterman garnered nominations for best writing for a variety, music or comedy program.
• The Academy regained its senses, momentarily, and selected the Citibank Identity Theft Card Protection commercial as one of the year’s best. Those commercials are a hoot, and it’s good to see original ideas being recognized.
  
  The Emmys will be presented Sept. 19 on ABC. Gary Shandling is set to host.
  
  Watch if you dare, or even care at this point. But don’t be surprised if the same familiar faces go home with Emmy gold.
  
  We all know it’s not really about acting anyway. It’s all about what they’re wearing.
  
  Originally published 7/21/04 in The Exponent Telegram newspaper.
  
  
  
  

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TV's all-time best characters

March 10, 2004

What do Spike, Deputy Barney Fife, and J.R. Ewing have in common?

They’re some of my all-time favorite TV characters that I’d most like to have to dinner. Of course, I’d have to make room for a few other favorites. And that list is pretty big. But just imagine this dinner conversation: Alex P. Keaton talking about whom he’s endorsing for president. Murphy Brown explaining the role the media played in Martha Stewart’s conviction. Jed Clampett telling us the best way to clean the cement pond. And Jerry Seinfeld going on about ... well, nothing.

TV’s most memorable characters can usually be identified by just one name. Who doesn’t recognize Lucy, Dawson, Roseanne, or Felicity?

But compiling a list of the all-time best characters, is a tough job, even for a TV expert such as myself. Where do you draw the line?Are cartoon characters a separate category, or can Bugs Bunny be included in the list? Should I choose characters by topic, such as best detectives, funniest females, who looks best in leather pants? Or should I group them decade-by-decade?

You see my dilemma.

For my favorite TV doctors, Doug Ross, Cliff Huxtable, and Michaela Quinn would certainly make the cut. And for favorite detectives, no list would be complete without Andy Sipowicz, Thomas Magnum, and Adrian Monk.

But what about actors who’ve pulled double duty and created more than one memorable character? Do you chose Opie Taylor or Richie Cunningham? Zack Morris or John Clark Jr.? Michael Knight or Mitch Buchannon?

And what about favorite aliens? Is it really fair to include Clark Kent in the same category as ALF?

Some characters have endeared themselves to me with a simple phrase. For Archie Bunker, it was the invention of “meathead.” For Vinnie Barbarino, it was that cocky slur “Mis-tuh Kot-ter.” For other characters, I love them for their abilities. Who could resist a man like MacGyver, who can scale a mountain with only a shoestring? Or Buffy Summers, who can stake a vampire after landing a back handspring?

Narrowing my list of favorites to the top 10 is even more difficult, like trying to pick your favorite kind of chocolate. So I’ve decided, the more the merrier.

Sure, my dinner party may be crowded. But it won’t be dull. And planning the seating chart is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.I think it’s safe to put Hawkeye Pierce next to Wonder Woman. But, seating Marcia Brady next to Joey Tribbiani could be troublesome.

I’m not sure Frasier Crane would have much in common with Crockett and Tubbs. But watching Bret Maverick share some card tips with La Femme Nikita would be a hoot. And who could resist eavesdropping on bionic woman Jaime Sommers discussing home improvement projects with Tim Taylor, or listening to Cosmo Kramer and Ed Stevens discuss the merits of a good bowling shirt?

And there’s one match I’m certain would be a hit: Wile E. Coyote and Lex Luthor. With Lex’s advice, maybe that pesky Road Runner would finally get his comeuppance.

Originally published 3/10/04 in The Exponent Telegram newspaper.

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