Question: Is Michelle Forbes amazing or what? As much as I hated to see her go, her death scene (as Commander Cain) on Battlestar Galactica was as interesting and unexpected as all her other work. I'm not sure how she pulled it off, but her face seemed to register anger, fear, defiance and resolution all in the space of about 20 seconds, and she suddenly made this detestable character sympathetic without having to say a word. As always, after watching Forbes, I thought, "Why hasn't someone made this woman a permanent presence on a major ensemble show?" After strong performances on everything from Star Trek: The Next Generation to Homicide: Life on the Street, from 24 to Prison Break, it feels like Forbes is long overdue for success at the level of Allison Janney or Felicity Huffman. But it always seems like she's around for a short time and then — bang — she's gone again! What do you think, Matt? Any chance we'll see her land a regular series and a long-term role she can really dig ...
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The West Wing Bradley Whitford's not just a good actor, he's also a pretty good writer. He penned tonight's episode, which found C.J. handling palace intrigue, national politics and international crises, all while trying to squeeze in a private life. Whitford called the episode "Internal Displacement," but he might have been better off with "Lady's Night at the White House" or monster-movie style: "C.J. vs the Pompous Men." Claudia Jean had Josh trying to force her hand on the announcement of the biomolecular transporter lab (is that even a real thing?). Then she has to deal with the increasingly condescending and stereotypical ambassadors. We had the rude Frenchman, the slick German and the inscrutable Chinese guy. If those three walk into a bar, you have yourself t
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Ever Carradine on Commander in Chief
C.J., you know we love ya, but there's a shiny new spin doctor in the White House, and she's being played by Ever Carradine on ABC's Commander in Chief (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET). As Kelly Ludlow, she puts the best possible face on Mackenzie Allen's scrutinized presidency, all the while fielding furtive glances from the first son and lending her ear to the first gentleman. Carradine, whose previous long-term series gig was as the girl-toy of Sela Ward's ex-husband on Once and Again, chatted with TVGuide.com about life in TV's "other" West Wing.
TVGuide.com: I totally remember you as Once and Again's Tiffany. She was such a sad little… what's the wo
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Grey's Anatomy
Like I said last week, this ain't your father's West Wing. Tonight's episode makes me think that the days of long hallway walk-and-talks debating the relative merits of public housing and the census are officially over. What clued me in? Hard to say. It was either the jump-cut montage of Matt Santos on the campaign trail set to Steve Miller's "Jet Airliner" or the Jerry Bruckheimer-esque Top Gun homage near the show's end.
All that's OK, though, because watching Josh frantically try to put Band-Aids on a thousand political paper cuts — from the "siesta" scandal to the broken bed to the Mommy Problem — makes for an entertaining hour of television. Can anyone play pompously irritated better than Bradley Whitford? Hey, wait! Janeane Garofalo just answered that question! While Garofalo's turn as acid-tongued media consultant Lou Thornton might not exactly be a huge stretch, she does provide a much-needed foil for Josh in
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As reported by TV Guide Online last month, Leo McGarry's sudden heart attack will prompt The West Wing's President Bartlet to appoint himself a new chief of staff: C.J. Cregg. In tonight's episode (9 pm/ET on NBC), the spunky press secretary learns the stunning news of her promotion. Yeah, we can just hear you asking, "Isn't the choice of a PR flack to fill Leo's shoes just a bit silly?" Well, here's what the flack in question thinks...
"I'm sure it came up with [the writers]," says Allison Janney, "and yet, they found it a fascinating way to go and not that far-fetched. At the White House, job descriptions don't necessarily define who trusts your input. It's more relationship-driven, and C.J. has proved herself a respected member of the administration.
"When I first heard about it, I was terrified," she admits. "Then I thought, 'Why not? It's TV.' C.J.'s a great role model. This is very positive for wom
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We here at TV Guide Online may occasionally consult our psychic friends for advice, but when it comes to questions about Sunday's 56th Primetime Emmy Awards, we mean business. For instance, how could they cut off Sopranos star James Gandolfini's speech? Is The Practice's James Spader a public philanderer? And is The West Wing's Allison Janney just plain insane? Here, we address some of our most nagging head-scratchers.
After The Sopranos won best drama, Garry Shandling closed the show before James Gandolfini could speak. What gives?Backstage, Emmys director Louis Horvitz called the incident "unfortunate," but insisted he did in fact give Gandolfini "a moment" to make his statement. Fortunately, a Sopranos producer was also on hand to explain what Gandolfini would have said. "There's an infantry unit in Iraq and they have named their tank 'The St
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