Leslie Uggams is working on a Lena Horne project that's en route to Broadway.Louis Gossett Jr. is heading back to Broadway with a remake of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, also starring Phylicia Rashad and directed by Debbie Allen.John Amos, of course, is currently on Men in Trees: "Maybe next year the entire cast of that show will be here."Ben Vereen just finished an episode of Grey's Anatomy and wants to go back to Broadway with a gospel-themed project.LeVar Burton is on Day 10 of the shoot for Tempting Hyenas, a feature he's directing. The cast includes himself, Alfre Woodard, Lacey Chabert and Adrienne Barbeau.Cicely Tyson jokes, "I'm looking for a job," saying she may have to pull a Bette Davis and put an ad in the newspapers. "But I, for most of my career, have been unemployed," she says, before noting, "I actually have a number of things in the works."There's awkwardness as Cicely and LeVar get into some sort of debate about the state of today's long-form television and Roots' legacy.
read more
Can you say "charmed career"? John Amos has starred in such beloved shows as Good Times, The West Wing and, most recently, the sleeper hit Men in Trees. It is Amos' role as the adult Kunta Kinte in Roots, however, that will go down in history. In 1977, Roots broke viewing records as America tuned in to watch what is still the No. 1 miniseries of all time. Based on Alex Haley's novel about his ancestor, who was taken from his homeland in Africa and forced into slavery in the U.S., Roots opened a dialogue about race in America and sparked a fervent interes
read more
Wow, May 22nd is a great day for TV-on-DVD, with plenty to choose for everyone. We have animated shows suitable for kids (Avatar Season 2, Volume 3; Legend of the Dragon Season 1; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 1, Volume 1; Stuart Little; Hero High), and an animated show NOT for kids (Afro Samurai). There are comedies (Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series; Scrubs Season 5), dramas (The OC: Season 4; The Magnificent Seven Season 2; Roots), and even a sci-fi series (Kyle XY Season 1). Yup, May 22nd is a good day for TV-on-DVD (view the complete release schedule at TVShowsOnDVD.com).My pick for this week is a show I've loved since I first saw it, Scrubs. This 3-disc set includes all 24 episodes from season 5 along with 3 commentary tracks - "My Big Bird" (Neil Flynn and Randall Winston), "My Way Home" (Zach Braff) and "My Lunch" (John C. McGinley and John Michel), "My Way Home" extended 100th episode, My 117 episodes: 5 seasons of Scrubs, Deleted Scenes and Alternate Lines. ...
read more
Question: When I was posted overseas, I found myself an avid watcher of a Brazilian telenovela called Terra Nostra. Luckily, I know some Spanish and was able to get the gist of the dialogue using Spanish and English cognates. It was a great story and made me realize that I'd like to see a series that had a beginning and an end. My question: Don't you think the telenovela format would be a welcome change from TV shows that you start to get invested in, such as Threshold or Love Monkey, just as they're prematurely canceled? Or do you think it would be more like a longer miniseries, such as Roots or North and South? Of course, Centennial doesn't count because they switched that around so much I lost track of when it was on. Maybe it was too long?
Answer: If the networks' experiments with the telenovela format means a sideways return to the old-style miniseries, I'm all for it. (Actually, I've been saying for a long time that many of HBO's acclaimed dramas, most notably The Wire and Rome,
...
read more
