ben.katner

Food Net Stud's Spicy Secrets

Not exactly salivating over the prospect of another cooking show on the tube? Well, strap on a bib anyway, because the Food Network's new series, Good Deal with Dave Lieberman, has three things going for it that none of its competitors does: 1) Dave Lieberman. 2) Dave Lieberman. And 3) Dave Lieberman. The camera-ready chef is experienced (as a poli-sci major at Yale, he served up a cable-access cult hit), prolific (his bachelor's bible, Young and Hungry: Making the Most of Fresh and Affordable Food, is out in hardcover this week) and blessed with a winning personality that will leave you craving more. Not buying it? Read on, and as he counts down to Good Deal's Sunday debut (at 1:30 pm/ET), we'll let him make a believer of you yet!TVGuide.com: Since you got your start as a cook in college, is it safe to assume that your keggers were uncommonly classy affairs?Dave Lieberman: My keggers were very far from classy. Usually, they just became, like,

Thu, Apr 14, 2005

Fishy Top Model Blown Outta Water

Those lips! Those eyes! That personality! It seemed inevitable that winsome covergirl wannabe Lluvy Gomez would clean up on America's Next Top Model. But instead, after she landed in Tyra's bottom two for the third time in a row, the Modesto, Calif., janitor saw her dream of a catwalk career get flushed down the toilet. Before another Model mannequin's hopes are dashed tonight (8 pm/ET on UPN), TVGuide.com thinks it's time we rang up the pretty woman to extend our sympathy.TVGuide.com: When you finally got cut, after three times in the bottom two, did it feel like a mercy killing?Lluvy Gomez: Yeah. Oh my god, I just knew [it was coming]. I just wanted to go home already. I couldn't believe I was that girl who was there three times in a row. The girls and I used to joke, "Just keep me on, and the whole time, it'll just be me and another girl [on the chopping bloc

Wed, Apr 13, 2005

Top Model's "Creepy" Skin Crisis

Before America's Next Top Model kicks another Gisele Bundchen wannabe off the runway tonight (8 pm/ET on UPN), TVGuide.com wants — no, make that needs — to know why last week's eliminee, Noelle Staggers, was kicked to the curb. The 20-year-old realtor's assistant is cute as a button, has a personality that sparkles and, unlike some of her competitors, she has neither a disfiguring disease nor an inability to take a decent photo. What gives? Let's ask her!TVGuide.com: What gives?Noelle Staggers: I think I just didn't fit the model profile that they want to market — I'm short, you know, for the industry. TVG: What're you, from Munchkinland? You didn't look pint-size.Noelle: Well, I'm 5-foot-8, but in modeling... yeah, that is pint-size. My coworkers all said, "We're so used to seeing you as tall, but on TV, you look so tiny compared

Wed, Apr 6, 2005

Brandy Defends Model Misbehavior

As Tyra Banks prepares to give the Ugg boot to another America's Next Top Model wannabe tonight (8 ET on UPN), TVGuide.com risks life and limb to catch up with last week's angry, angry reject, Brandy Rusher. The 20-year-old cosmetology student is a fine girl, no doubt. But her ferocious personality overshadowed her fierce photos, making her someone we'd be more likely to take cover from than see on a magazine cover. And now, having made that too-easy joke, let's ring the prickly poser and accept the verbal bitch-slapping we're sure she has in store for us.TVGuide.com: So, Miss Brandy, why are you so angry?Brandy Rusher: I wouldn't exactly say that I'm angry. I would say on the show I was always on defense, because behind the scenes, like, a lot of the girls just didn't really like me. So I had a reason to be angry. TVG: Which we've now established tha

Wed, Mar 30, 2005

Amazing Race: Reality All-Stars Edition!

Since they embarked on The Amazing Race (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET on CBS), Survivor's lovebirds of prey, Rob and Amber, have made us forget all about the joyless ride that Big Brother backstabber Alison made of the intercontinental trip with now-ex-boyfriend Donny. So can a Race filled entirely with reality personalities be far behind? TVGuide.com thinks not. For one thing, the show is already getting more gimmicky: An upcoming edition features family foursomes instead of the usual pairs. For another, could producers, much less viewers, possibly resist sending these debatably dynamic duos 'round the world? Again, we think not. What do you think? Read our suggestions below, then cast your vote in today's homepage poll.Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, The Osbournes: The former Black Sabbath

Tue, Mar 29, 2005

Angel Vamp's Afterlife of Crime

Since Angel was dispatched to TV-show heaven, James Marsters' admirers have had a helluva time getting a fix of the actor formerly known as Spike. (Sadly, The Mountain peaked before his character even had a chance to recur. And the Spike TV-movie is only a fantasy for now.) So Saturday's USA movie, Cool Money (airing at 9 pm/ET), is guaranteed to get fans' blood pumping.In the fact-based drama, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum is career criminal Bobby Comfort — "exactly the kind of guy I want to play," he tells TVGuide.com. "He did some petty crimes that he got caught for almost every time. Never hurt anybody, but he was a smartass to the judge the last time around and got a really heavy sentence — like nine or 10 years for ro

Fri, Mar 18, 2005

Parker Lewis Star Swats Mansquito, Corin Nemec

If most actors were informed that they were wanted for a movie called Mansquito, they'd laugh their tails off. Corin Nemec certainly did. But then the Parker Lewis Can't Lose star tore through the screenplay for this week's Sci Fi Channel original about a giant bloodsucking bug (Saturday at 9 pm/ET). Ever since then, he tells TVGuide.com, he's ranked the fantastically titled creature feature among the greats. (Even if he is a little biased.) "The script actually has a wonderful humanistic quality to it," the 33-year-old actor says. "It goes back to the classical plays of the Greeks. "When I read it, I was like, 'Wow, I wonder if even the people involved in it know that there's this beautiful arc that I see. And obviously they did, because the end product tells that story. I'm definitely enthusiastic about it."And how! Nemec — a Sci Fi fave since his stint on Stargate: SG-1

Fri, Mar 11, 2005

Omarosa vs. Idol Sexpot!

Hard as it may be to believe, something actually left a worse taste in Nikki McKibbin's mouth than the worms she drank on Reality Stars Fear Factor: the tumultuous time she spent in the company of The Apprentice's preening prima donna, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth."She's pathetic, really," the feisty, redheaded American Idol 1 finalist tells TVGuide.com. "She's this beauty-pageant princess who's got no actual talent, so the only way she can extend her 15 minutes of fame is by being as thoughtless and spiteful a human being as she possibly can. "Frankly," she adds, "I'd sooner hang out with the snakes that kept biting me in the second challenge than with that [viper]!" At least McKibbin gives The Donald's flunky wannabe props for honing her bitchcraft to a fine art. "The high-maintenance aspect of her personality comes very naturally," the fired-up redhead suggests, "but the villainy is something I think she's had to

Fri, Mar 4, 2005

Desperate Housewives: The Spin-off

Ever since Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry revealed that the twinkle in his eye is, in fact, a spin-off of the soap that has viewers in a lather, TV Guide Online has been focused on predicting its sister sudser's scenario. With some of our propositions, the network could probably clean up. And others? OK, we admit it — they just don't wash. Read on, then vote for the plot you're "desperate" to watch.Desperate Housewives 2: Bree Van De Camp Living... Better: Anyone on Wisteria Lane will tell you that no one throws a nicer dinner party or bags a more fragrant potpourri than Bree (Marcia Cross). At last tired of whipping submissive spouse Rex (Steven Culp), she decides to dominate something more challenging — Martha Stewart's turf. Going Hollywood

Mon, Feb 21, 2005

Desperate Housewives: The Spin-off

Fri, Feb 18, 2005

Virginia Madsen's Rejected Role

You've got to give Virginia Madsen credit for remaining true to her principles. Even before Sideways returned the '80s sex symbol to Hollywood's A-list, the Oscar nominee was picking and choosing — and abandoning — her roles as if she'd never been down for the count. Case in point: her recurring gig as housewife Helen Pryor's (Gail O'Grady) mod confidante, Rebecca Sandstrom, during the first season of NBC's '60s-set drama, American Dreams."Originally, I was supposed to be the catalyst for Helen to go to the university," she recalls. "[But the plot] started to look a little too controversial when I read a script where I was smokin' a joint. That was the end. They were like, 'Uh-uh!' I went from being a strong feminist to a divorced alcoholic. That's where my character was going... so we parted ways. It

Wed, Feb 16, 2005

Aussie Avril's All-Star Trek

For better or worse... Wait. No, actually, just for better: Samantha Lombardi doesn't have a big sister in the music biz to pave the way for her. But the 15-year-old Australian — think Avril Lavigne but with rock on the brain, not rocks in her head — clearly has friends in high places. The proof: Her radio-ready debut album, Take Your Pic (which drops in May), features raucous and catchy tunes written by no less than Nine Inch Nails and Paul Stanley of KISS."When I first got the songs, I was really excited — I mean, those guys are huge!" Lombardi exclaims to TV Guide Online. "But I was nervous, too, because I didn't wanna screw 'em up. I didn't want them to hear me singing their songs and think, 'Yeah, it sounds all right.' I wanted them to kick ass!" Mission accomplished, and then some. On swinging singles-to-be like the star-crossed love song "Black Hole" and the kiss-off anthem "I'm Over You," the

Mon, Feb 14, 2005

Can American Dreams Be Saved?

Since the news broke last week that NBC had cut back its order of American Dreams episodes from 19 to 17, we've been losing sleep over the fate of the superlative period drama. "Is this the network's precursor to canceling the show?" we wondered unhappily. Maybe, maybe not. (The Peacock just announced that, as of March 9, the show is moving from its dead-end time slot to Wednesdays at 8 pm/ET.) While there is still time to rally the troops and get them watching the three-year-old series, TV Guide Online hunted down executive producer Jonathan Prince to get his take on the situation.TV Guide Online: How are spirits on the set at this point?Jonathan Prince: The cast and crew are determined to finish the year with the same joyful approach that we have every day. But to be honest, they're afraid more than anything else. They're worried that

Wed, Feb 9, 2005

Go-Go's Girl Keeps It Surreal

In promos for this season of VH1's The Surreal Life, rapper Da Brat calls Go-Go's gal Jane Wiedlin — a rock-and-roll icon, thank you very much — a has-been. Say whaaat?! We were almost as upset about the insult as the wounded pixie herself. So we didn't even wait until the broadcast of the roommates' indigestible last supper to seek her out for a discussion of how aptly named Da Brat really is. Luckily, she was able to spare a moment of her stay in New Orleans (where she and the band performed this week) to discuss Life's lessons with TV Guide Online.TV Guide Online: Is it true you're calling from a Mardi Gras float?Jane Wiedlin: [Laughs] No, the parade is tomorrow. But I heard all the floats are made of papier m&#226ch&#233, and it's been pouring since we got here. I'm slightly confused about what happens when papier m&#226ch&#233 hits monsoo

Fri, Feb 4, 2005

Invisible Man Reappears

When he signed up to appear in the Sci Fi Channel flick Larva (premiering Saturday at 9 pm/ET), leading man Vincent Ventresca knew that the feature's creatures were likely to steal scenes from him. "They do kind of upstage me," he admits to TV Guide Online with a chuckle. "They're not like worms, that's for sure!" Luckily, the Complete Savages regular was fine with ceding the spotlight to the monsters' mashing. "My biggest fear going into this project was that it wouldn't seem suspenseful, because it would seem so ridiculous. But everyone really committed to what was at stake, and consequently, it works. I'm really proud of it." Needless to say, the onetime Invisible Man star is not among those performers who turn up their noses at fantastical fare. "I've always just wanted to be a part of something that ultimately seemed like it mattered, and that's what's so great about a sci-fi audience," he explains. "It matters to them!

Fri, Jan 21, 2005

Lost in Space?

Since the plane-crash takeoff of ABC's Lost (Wednesdays, 8 P.M./ET), lots of theories have been floated to explain the mysterious occurrences on the survivors' new island home. However, only three are believable enough to fit in our overhead compartments (in other words, our brains). Which one flies with you? At the mid-season mark, we consider the evidence...Everyone's dead.Where but in heaven could wheelchair-bound Locke take a hike? And hello?! Jack's late dad looked pretty spry for a dead guy. What's more, the prominence of black and white rocks is likely a Biblical reference, to Urim and Thummim, holy stones that turned any day into one of the judgment variety. Then again, why were unlucky stiffs "Adam and Eve" rotting while everyone else is merely tanning? And if she'd already croaked, how did that woman we never met manage to drown? Perhaps this island of lost souls isn't the end of the line but rather a rest-stop purgatory on which sinners like pro

Thu, Jan 13, 2005

Hotel's Toni Sings? Unreal!

She's mud-wrestled a dork, cried enough crocodile tears to fill up the Great Lakes and swapped more spit than a kissing-booth attendant during Fleet Week. Yet hot-tempered Toni Ferrari tells TV Guide Online that none of her experiences on Love Cruise or Paradise Hotel could have prepared her for what she heard at the recording sessions for thefishbowl.com's Christmas album, Holiday in the Fishbowl: Performed by the Reality TV Singers. What gave her such a shock? Her own voice! "Madonna's career is safe," she says with a laugh. "When [American Idol runner-up] Nikki McKibbin started to sing, I felt like a dying cat in the recording booth. I sound like ["Goldfinger" belter] Shirley Bassey on a really bad day!" So, if the buxom bruiser isn't itching to make an appearance on TRL, why subject unsuspecting music lovers to her renditions of "Deck the Halls" and "Let's Make Christmas Real This Year" — esp

Tue, Nov 30, 2004

Daphne Zuniga's Sexy Dreams

Daphne Zuniga spent four years surrounded by bedroom bedlam on Melrose Place, but she didn't really get in on the action herself until this fall, when she joined NBC's comparatively tame '60s-set sudser, American Dreams (Sundays at 8 pm/ET). As single mother/Playboy Bunny Shelly Pierce, "I finally get to have a little fun!" she exclaims to TV Guide Online with a laugh. "I don't mean to be trite, but Shelly has a yen for men." Although she acknowledges that the Pryors' free-spirited new neighbor has noticed how handsome patriarch Jack (Tom Verica) is, she hints that she will eventually cast her eye, and then some, on the younger model — his ne'er-do-well kid brother, Pete (Matthew John Armstrong). "Nothing gets too, um, juicy," the actress insists coyly, "but there's definitely a chemistry that those two feel. "Matt has been married for six years and hasn't kissed anyone other than his wife [in all that time]," she ad

Fri, Nov 5, 2004

Seven Silly Questions For... Elvira

This time of year, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, is as busy as Santa Claus at Christmas. On Saturday she hosts Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures (8 pm/ET on Animal Planet) and Elvira's Movies to Die For marathon (from noon until 10 pm on Lifetime). Then, on Halloween, she's back at it, scaring up more cheap thrills for Lifetime (from 11 am/ET until 9 pm) and introducing a scream-queen-themed episode of The E! True Hollywood Story (8 pm). Yet unlike press-shy Kris Kringle, Elvira's real-life alter ego, funny lady Cassandra Peterson, always makes time for her admirers. Heck, she even agreed to channel her vampy, campy counterpart to answer TV Guide Online's Seven (Frightfully) Silly Questions. So be afraid... be very afraid.TV Guide Online: Have you ever tried to get the Dark to make an honest woman of you — you know, so you could be, like, Wife of the Dark instead of just the mistress?Elvira, Mistress of the Dark:

Fri, Oct 29, 2004

Haunted Housewives' Secrets Revealed!

If we had a nickel for every time we thought we had figured out the deep, dark secret of Desperate Housewives' Mary Alice, we'd have enough coin to bribe the truth out of Brenda Strong, the actress who plays the quirky soap opera's first casualty. But since not even pennies fall during our "Eureka!" moments, we've had to crack the case the hard way — through good, old-fashioned guesswork. Care to review our notes and weigh in with your own opinion? Simply read the hypotheses below, then vote in today's TVGuide.com poll, and you, too, can feel like the biggest snoop this side of that busybody Mrs. Huber (Christine Estabrook)! Mary Alice is actually in a coma. Yes, from Day 1 the serial of champions has been pulling a Dallas on us, and all of the bizarro goings-on to which we have thrilled have been nothing but a dream. What's more, Mary Alice doesn't even know her neighbors, she's only watched them from afar and imagined wha

Fri, Oct 29, 2004

Lost Girl Found Out!

Maggie Grace may be the officially designated hot chick on ABC's Lost (Wednesdays at 8 pm/ET), but her character, Shannon, is also the scripted-Survivor series' most obnoxious. So if we were her, we'd be worried about hungry plane-crash near-casualties starting to look at the vain vixen as a piece of meat in the literal sense. "Like the Donner Party? Let's hope it doesn't come to that!" the actress says, laughing nervously at TV Guide Online's suggestion. "The producers are definitely pushing some limits, but between you and me, I don't think ABC's standards and practices department would allow cannibalism." Assuming that Shannon doesn't end up being turned into bratwurst, she still seems likely to become a, ahem, tasty morsel for the island's menfolk. In particular, she has caught the eye of rocker Charlie. Despite the fact that this legend in his own mind is played by Lord of the Rings hobbit Dominic Monaghan, Grace predicts th

Thu, Oct 28, 2004

Get Lost: The Mystery Solved!

Is it just us, or is watching ABC's plane-crash smash, Lost (Wednesdays, 9 pm/ET), a little bit like driving on the New Jersey Turnpike? You never know where the heck it's going to take you, and yet you can't escape it, either. In any case, while we may never find our way on Garden State thoroughfares, we can make sense of the trippiest series since Twin Peaks. Consider, if you will, the following scenarios to explain the weird occurrences on the ultimate survivor island, then click at the bottom of this story to vote for the option you find most plausible. The survivors are all dead. Think about it! Where else but in heaven could an individual walk away from a plane wreck looking as yummy as Kate (Evangeline Lilly) or Boone (Ian Somerhalder)? Plus, only divine intervention would allow paralyzed Locke (Terry O'Quinn) to suddenly walk. On the other hand, would even a vengeful God trap sinners with a tree-shaking beastie, no

Wed, Oct 20, 2004