If it weren't for Lost, you might never have known what year was being honored at Sunday's Emmy Awards.
James Spader and William Shatner— didn't they win last year? A Raymond sweep — haven't we seen that before? Tony Shalhoub winning again? Wake me when it's over.
I think Felicity Huffman (prior to her own surprise, but not undeserved, win) summed it up best when she muttered, "Clunk."
She was referring to some lame banter during a joint presentation by the five main Desperate Housewives, but she could have been talking about the night itself. Poor Ellen DeGeneres did her droll best to keep this bloated show afloat, but not even the second coming of Johnny Carson (who was paid generous, if solemn, tribute by David Letterman) could have rescued this long, unsatisfying evening.
Few awards are as capricious and as maddening as the Emmys. Even when you s
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When Traylor Howard replaced Bitty Schram on Monk, fans had fits. "We knew devotees would be [upset]," says USA Network executive vice president Jeff Wachtel. "But we also knew Traylor could win them over."
Half a season later, that hasn't happened. "I hate her!" one wrote on
Monk's message board. "She brings nothing to the show," ranted another. But ratings remain the same for
Monk's Schramless episodes (about 3.4 million viewers), so it looks like Howard's here to stay.
Producers tapped her to play Monk's new girl Friday because she and star Tony Shalhoub clicked during her audition. That chemistry may build next season as writers toy with the idea of a Monk-Natalie romance. Until then, Howard will keep fighting to win fans. "I know some people are still resistant," she concedes. "People don't like change. God knows, I hate it! I think it is sweet [that they
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Monk fans may be bitter, but Bitty Schram's Sharona has returned to New Jersey and she ain't coming back. If y'all are ready to move on, read on for some scoop on what's coming up when Tony Shalhoub's germaphobic-sleuthing saga returns January 21...
As previously reported, Traylor Howard (Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place) joins Monk's world as Natalie, the widowed single mom who's replacing Sharona as his new assistant. "Initially, there's a real difficulty for Monk wrapping his brain around bringing a new person into his world," Shalhoub says, "but he knows that he really needs it."
What difficulties does the sidekick swap entail exactly? "Monk has certain obvious gaps in his brilliance, and he sometimes loses sight of the fact that [Natalie] isn't familiar with everything she needs to know about him," he says. "So he has certain expectations of what she needs to do f
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Some irate Monk fans vowed to wash their hands of USA Network's quirky germaphobic-sleuth series when it was announced that Bitty Schram would not return as Sharona for the second half of the season. The decision to split was apparently mutual. Schram, who played the feisty Watson to Tony Shalhoub's Holmes, declined to be interviewed; manager Scott Zimmerman said her departure was "too painful and she still had friends" on the set.
Zimmerman confirmed Monk executive producer David Hoberman's claim that the split was due to "creative differences," contractual issues (usually code for wanting more money) and Schram's desire to do feature films.
Sources close to the show say Schram, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role last year, was more ditz than diva but had become more difficult this year, causing "strain" on the set and delaying production with "sick-outs."
When the show returns January 21, new cast m
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