damian.holbrook

Bitchslaps, a Babe Named Locklear and Big Sopranos News

Dont laugh, but in the summer of 1981, I lived for three things: the birth of MTV, the Royal wedding and the identity of the bitch in the big hat who stormed Blakes murder trial at the end of Dynastys first season.As you can probably tell, I wasnt a normal kid. Didnt even climb a tree until I had to outrun the cops in high school. Dont ask, dont tell, OK?Anyway, for the kiddies among us, MTV used to show things called music videos and had veejays with gigantic hair. Now, not so much. Chuck and Di? Please, if I never hear Candle in the Wind again, Elton John would still owe me. And the hat ho? Lets just thank the TV gods that some people have stood the test of time. Even if this one did make me wait until November for the new season to begin.Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan, I love you.And not in the being her for Halloween way. More like, I love you for being the first character to show me how t...

Wed, Sep 19, 2007

The Philadelphia Story

OK, again, digging yall who checked in last week. The fun we had, huh? And what better way to recover from the lost joys of The Land of the Lost than with some love for the City of Brotherly Love. As bhm1304 guessed last week, the best FX sitcom youre not watching isIts Always Sunny in Philadelphia.Granted, while its not really always sunny here, as a right proud Philly boy who just spent Labor Day wandering Center City, reading in Rittenhouse Square and chowing down on The Continentals insane crab Pad Thai, I have to say that this town does indeed rock.Much like this dirty little gem. Centered on foul-mouthed pub owners Mac, Charlie and Dennis, his barmaid sister Sweet Dee and a still unnamed coffee-shop waitress who could teach Friends Gunther a thing or two about stealing scenes, Sunny is best compared to Seinfeldif Jerrys posse had less morals and raging drinking problems. Once Danny DeVito joins in for season 2 as Dee and Dennis&#...

Wed, Sep 5, 2007

More Hills, Less Land (of the Lost)

First of all, loving you guys for writing in last week. The world is filled with blogs these days (hell, this site is filled with blogs), so for anyone to read mine, much less reply? Im feeling very Sally Field. Thanks for liking me!Now, about the 90210-Melrose situation that seems to have erupted. Like Chappy explained with NASA-powered GPS accuracy in the comments, the final two episodes of 90210s sophomore season introduced Grant Show as Melroses Jake Hanson, the dude who taught Drunky McKay "how to surf, ride a motorcyclepick up girls." And having just finished the second season on DVD, that skill set obviously also included getting with Kelly Taylor, which is what Hanson tries while not building Jackie Taylor and Mel Silvers wedding pavilion and squinting through his carefully swept-back-but-floppy hair. "I should probably be arrested for thinking what Im thinking right now," he tells our favorite jailbait. Nothing says romance  or spin...

Tue, Aug 28, 2007

9021-Oh My God!

Look, ya'll! I'm blogging!OK, seriously how fun is this? I feel so hipster. And so honored that all four of you have dropped in on my first-ever blog. As for the name, I gotta say that this was a tough one. Not much rhymes with Damian — Bahamian, New Canaan, that's about it — and it was stressed to me that Omen jokes were just too weird. (Although I did like the idea of "Channel 666.") But instead, I stuck with what I wanted to write about: the glee one can find revisiting their favorite TV shows on DVD. Hence, "The Joy of Sets."So once a week, maybe more, I'll be sharing the Joy and shedding some light on whatever TV on DVD set currently devouring my free time. Also, for anyone who remembers the original Watercooler column here on TVGuide.com, there may also be occasional updates on (and input from) Pepito the Wonder Chihuahua, who is right now staring at me with his bug eyes like I owe him scratches. 'Cause that's how he rolls.And I promise, these entries will be fun-s...

Tue, Aug 21, 2007

John from Cincinnati's Rebecca DeMornay Needs a Hug

It's been 24 years since she gave Tom Cruise an El of a time in Risky Business, and Rebecca DeMornay is still one hot ticket. As Cissy Yost, the way-damaged surf-family matriarch on HBO's John from Cincinnati (Sundays at 9 pm/ET), DeMornay has been tearing up the scenery while proving that some sex symbols never go out of style. TV Guide: What is going on with this show? DeMornay: [Laughs] It's like a Rorschach puzzle being formulated inside the locked doors of [series creator] David Milch's mind. Everything is hidden behind those doors — even from the actors. TV Guide: You find out as the scripts come in? DeMornay:

Fri, Aug 3, 2007

John from Cincinnati's Rebecca DeMornay Needs a Hug

Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe Comes Clean About Tonight's Task

Think your 9-to-5 bites? Tell it to Mike Rowe. As the host of Discovery Channel's strangely captivating Dirty Jobs (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET), Rowe has sampled for our viewing discomfort more bad gigs than you can shake a septic-tank hose at and has come up smelling like… something very wrong. Tonight the happiest disgruntled employee ever heads to a tannery for even more odorific employment. TV Guide: So, a simple Google search shows that you've become the sex symbol of the Discovery Channel. Mike Rowe: Weird. [Laughs] You know what's really funny? The show had such low expectations initially.... Then the numbers started coming back for females and just caught everybody by surprise. But really, I don't think people are tuning in to see my gross, broken-down, 45-year-old frame trying to flood throu

Tue, Jul 17, 2007

Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe Comes Clean About Tonight's Task

TV's New Late-night Host May Be Too Hot to Handler

The boys of late night get some brassy company tonight at 11:30 pm/ET when former Girls Behaving Badly hellcat Chelsea Handler unleashes E!'s Chelsea Lately, her new nightly tart-tongued attack on the increasingly sordid world of celebrity news. We rang her up for the lowdown on what to expect. TV Guide: So how does this show work?Chelsea Handler: We have a roundtable setup and we'll be [looking at] gossip and what's going on in the pop-culture world, depending on what's happened that day. Like if Paris Hilton goes back to jail three or four times in one afternoon. [Laughs] TV Guide: Like a threesome between Entertainment Tonight, The Daily Show and Colbert.

Mon, Jul 16, 2007

TV's New Late-night Host May Be Too Hot to Handler

Preview! Degrassi: The Next Generation Makes a Bold Move

If Degrassi: The Next Generation is the Canuck 90210, then creator Linda Schuyler is Canada's answer to Aaron Spelling. More plugged in to the youth culture than most youths, the lively and delightful Schuyler has been telling the stories of kids, tweens and teens since unleashing the original The Kids of Degrassi Street back in 1980. Almost three decades and as many Degrassi incarnations later, she's ready to take D:TNG into the great unknown — adulthood. And it all starts this Friday at 8 pm/ET, when the show returns to wrap up Season 6 with new episodes and a far-reaching story line for fan-favorite Paige. TV Guide: This first episode back seems to be setting up something very big for Paige (played by Laur

Fri, Jun 29, 2007

Preview! Degrassi: The Next Generation Makes a Bold Move

One Tree Hill Finale: Will Dan Get His Comeuppance?

He's pitted his sons against each other, blackmailed his ex and shot his own brother. But tonight, Dan Scott pays for it all in the fourth season finale of the CW's One Tree Hill (airing tonight at 9 pm/ET). Here, Paul Johansson talks about the justice awaiting his small-town J.R. Ewing and the jump in time that will make all the characters four years older when they return at mid-season next year. TV Guide: If Dan's getting his due, does that mean poor Karen's finally going to find out she's fallen for her lover's killer? Paul Johansson: I don't know if I'm allowed to say, but it's really horrifying to see what she goes through.... The ramifications reach all over. Nathan's basketball schol

Wed, Jun 13, 2007

One Tree Hill Finale: Will Dan Get His Comeuppance?

A Quick Look at Style Network's Finola Hughes

Fear not, fashion disasters! Finola Hughes is intent on making the world a prettier place one wardrobe at a time as the host of Style Network's upbeat makeover series How Do I Look? (new episodes air Monday at 9 pm/ET). Here, host and sartorial stunner Finola Hughes reveals her secret for keeping her composure, and admits to some of her own style missteps. TV Guide: How do you keep a straight face with Look's pre-makeover messes?Hughes: Well, I take a deep breath. [Laughs] I think every person who comes on has a tremendous desire to change. Once we show them where their [errors] come from, it sort of liberates them in a way. TV Guide: After seven seasons, who's tougher to fix — men or women? Hughes: Oh, the guys are pushovers! They're just happy if t

Mon, Jun 11, 2007

A Quick Look at Style Network's Finola Hughes

Tarty Tanya Teases Footballers' Wives' Final Season

You'd have to go all the way back to Dynasty's Alexis Colby to find a saucier British TV import than Tanya Turner of BBC America's Footballers' Wives. To mark the fifth and final season premiere of the campy soccer-and-sex sudser (airing tonight at 8 pm/ET), we rang up Tanya's alter ego, Zoe Lucker, to talk about wild women, wacky ensembles and working with the original queen of mean. TV Guide: Obviously, Tanya is a man-eater. But she's also a romantic. Zoe Lucker: I felt very strongly about that. If you play the straight bitch, then you're not going to have people on your side. I always maintained that the reason Tanya behaves the way she does is because of the way she's been treated. She basically wants to be loved by the right person. TV Guide: And has she! How many husbands so

Wed, Jun 6, 2007

Tarty Tanya Teases Footballers' Wives' Final Season

Erik Estrada Takes a "CHiP" Down Memory Lane

No offense to the current crop of motorcycle cops cruising the City of Angels, but the California Highway Patrol has never looked better than when Erik Estrada was riding high as Officer Francis Llewellyn "Ponch" Poncherello alongside Larry Wilcox's Jon Baker on CHiPs (1977-83). For six years, the blow-dried and beloved sex symbol broke racial barriers and battled NBC, while forever cementing his status as an icon on wheels. So in honor of the show's Tuesday debut on DVD, we rang up Estrada to get the dish on CHiPs — including Ponch's nationality switch, and the money dispute that almost got him "Olympically" canned. TVGuide.com: Let's talk about the first season of CHiPs, which  just came out on DVD. It's about damn time!Erik Estrada: I know. Through the years people would come up to me and say, "W

Tue, Jun 5, 2007

Erik Estrada Takes a "CHiP" Down Memory Lane

Angel Hair: Jaclyn Smith Gets in Her Reality-TV Cuts

Let's cut to the chase: Jaclyn Smith is pure heaven. And now that the former Angel has spread her wings into reality TV — as host of Bravo's hairstyling competition Shear Genius (Wednesdays at 10 pm/ET) — we decided to have a little coif-y talk. TV Guide: First off, you look amazing. You have the body of a 20-year-old.Jaclyn Smith: Boy, you're sweet. I like hearing that on a stressful day. TV Guide: Now obviously, you know hair....Smith: Well, I definitely have a point of view, and I've learned a lot from [Shear judges] Sally Hershberger, José Eber and

Wed, May 16, 2007

Angel Hair: Jaclyn Smith Gets in Her Reality-TV Cuts

What Do Buffy, Hellboy and a Gay Robot Have in Common?

As far as culty pleasures go, Gay Robot may very well take the cupcake. An unsold TV pilot that's found new life online (at MySpace.com/GayRobot), the feyest droid since C-3PO is both proof of the power of the Internet and a perfectly twisted comedy that, well, even cable isn't ready for. And that is just how Doug Jones likes it. The affable actor behind the motorized man-lover may not be a familiar face, but there's no doubt that he's caused a few jaws to drop with his heavily disguised turns in everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth to this summer's

Thu, Mar 29, 2007

What Do Buffy, Hellboy and a Gay Robot Have in Common?

Justin Time! TV Guide Gets the Idol Alum Chatting

Five years after coming in second to Kelly Clarkson — even in this very sentence — Justin Guarini is still singing American Idol's praises. We gave Rosanna Tavarez and Kimberly Caldwell's affable new cohost of TV Guide Channel's Idol recap series Idol Chat (Fridays at 8 pm/ET) a chance to do some chatting of his own. TV Guide: Do you and Kimberly gang up on Rosanna because she's from the WB's

Fri, Mar 9, 2007

Justin Time! TV Guide Gets the Idol Alum Chatting

Marissa Dies! Chrismukkah Lives! TV Guide Remembers The O.C.'s Greatest Moments

After four seasons and countless fistfights, the Newport group is hanging it up with a finale that executive producer Josh Schwartz promises will "offer real closure." So what better way to say goodbye to The O.C. (Thursdays at 9 pm/ET) than a look back at the Fox serial's best moments? 1. "Welcome to the O.C., Bitch!" — "Premiere," 8/5/03 Luke's bon mot to new punching bag in town Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) quickly became the signature line of the series. Says Schwartz, "Kids from Orange County say they're from ‘the O.C.' like it's ‘the Ukraine.' I always found it funny so I gave Luke that line." 2. Marissa Dies — "The Graduates," 5/18/06Marissa (

Thu, Feb 22, 2007

Marissa Dies! Chrismukkah Lives! TV Guide Remembers The O.C.'s Greatest Moments

Todd Bridges on Everybody Hates Chris? Whatchutalkinbout?!

It takes Diff'rent Strokes to move the world, and nobody knows that better than Todd Bridges. Tonight, he begins a recurring gig as a crazed ex-military man named Monk on Everybody Hates Chris (8 pm/ET, on the CW), so we had to see what the former Willis Drummond is talkin' 'bout these days. TV Guide: From Skating with Celebrities [see the 2006 Q&A] to working with

Mon, Jan 22, 2007

Todd Bridges on Everybody Hates Chris? Whatchutalkinbout?!

Slippery When Wet: Tori Spelling Digs Up Smallville Dirt

Meteor freaks, beware! There's a slippery new villain hitting the CW's Smallville (Thursdays at 8 pm/ET) in the form of Tori Spelling. So we went right to the Beverly Hills, 90210 grad for the scoop on her super guest spot. TV Guide: Rumor has it you're playing a gossip columnist, which is kind of funny considering....Tori Spelling: [Laughs] I love it. I thought if anyone should play a gossip columnist trying to get the dirt on innocent people, it should be me! [Laughs] That's my life every week. TV Guide: And you get to have superpowers? Spelling: Yeah. My character has Kryptonite powers…. So I can turn myself into water.

Thu, Jan 11, 2007

Slippery When Wet: Tori Spelling Digs Up Smallville Dirt

Becki Newton Shares Her Ugly Betty Clothes Calls

Becki Newton gives mean girls a good name. As Amanda, the cruel but couture-blessed receptionist on ABC's Ugly Betty (Thursdays at 8 pm/ET), Newton has turned insults into an art form and taken a spot beside America Ferrera as the freshman hit's other breakout-star-to-be. Since she's so good at answering the phones, TV Guide decided to ring her up. TV Guide: Amanda's definitely not above stealing the show, huh? Becki Newton: Honestly, I thought that, on a weekly basis, I'd be at the round desk being mean to Betty whenever she walked in. The fact that I get to go into different rooms and harass other people? It's amazing. TV Guide: On the Jan. 4 episode, the staff raids Christina's closet for free clothes. Have any o

Thu, Dec 28, 2006

Becki Newton Shares Her Ugly Betty Clothes Calls

This Friday the 13th, Wes Craven Reveals His Nightmares

Horrors! It's Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street auteur Wes Craven, is a big part of the bloody-good documentary Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, premiering tonight, Friday, Oct. 13, at 9 pm/ET, on STARZ. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep. TV Guide: Your first flick, The Last House on the Left, scarred me for life. And now you're redoing it?!Wes Craven: [Laughs] Yes, we are. It's time to scar a whole new generation. TV Guide: And your son is directing the sequel to [2006's]

Fri, Oct 13, 2006

This Friday the 13th, Wes Craven Reveals His Nightmares

Your Guide to Ugly Betty's Pretty Stars!

TV Guide invites you to get acquainted with the beautiful people of ABC's hot new Ugly Betty, premiering tonight at 8 pm/ET. America Ferrera Plays: Betty Suarez, the sweet, style-deficient assistant to the editor of a top fashion rag. Previous experience: Starred in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.Betty's bio: Smarter than her wardrobe, our heroine is her boss' best asset. "When you get to know Betty, you don't want her to change," Ferrera says. "If becoming beautiful means changing who she is on the inside, then it's not worth it."

Thu, Sep 28, 2006

Your Guide to Ugly Betty's Pretty Stars!

Dispatches from Anderson Cooper

Whether he's keeping 'em honest on his nightly newsmagazine, Anderson Cooper 360 (10 pm/ET on CNN), or tackling personal demons amid the horrors of Iraq and Katrina in his new book, Dispatches from the Edge, Anderson Cooper has a style all his own. TV Guide: I spent the weekend reading your book and let me tell you, it's pretty dark. Working out some issues here, huh?Cooper: [Laughs] Well, yeah... I guess. TV Guide: Of course, between covering wars and natural disasters, this has been a tough year for you.Cooper:

Wed, May 24, 2006