denise.martin

Who Had the Better Halftime Show: Glee or The Black Eyed Peas?

Is it fair to compare The Black Eye Peas' (perhaps Tron-inspired) halftime extravaganza to that of Glee's relatively modest McKinley High zombie apocalypse? Of course! The brain-craving Glee kids win!  Sorry, Will.I.Am. Even with all the neon and the extras — including assists from Slash and Usher -- Glee brought it big time with a mash-up of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll." Also, I'm biased.

Mon, Feb 7, 2011

Who Had the Better Halftime Show: Glee or The Black Eyed Peas?

Friday Night Lights Comes to An End: Producers and Cast Remember Building Dillon

A closely observed drama about boys becoming men, the comforts and frustrations of small-town life, a family's growing pains, and the lessons learned from football, Friday Night Lights will not soon be forgotten. The show wrapped filming of its fifth and final season in July, and on Wednesday, the lights will go down forever on Dillon, Texas. (For those without DirecTV, NBC will re-air the final season beginning April 15 at 8/7c.) TVGuide.com spoke to stars Kyle Chandler (Eric Taylor), Connie Britton (Tami Taylor), Aimee Teegarden (Julie Taylor), Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins), Zach Gilford (Matt Saracen), Matt Lauria (Luke Cafferty), Michael B. Jordan (Vince Howard), and executive producers Jason Katims and David Nevins about the long road to that final Texas sunset. This is the first in a three-part series...

Mon, Feb 7, 2011

Friday Night Lights Comes to An End: Producers and Cast Remember Building Dillon

Are the Creators of Showtime's Episodes Bitter? They Don't Think So!

It's difficult to believe that the creators of Showtime's Episodes are not holding a grudge against network TV. Their last series, the CBS sitcom The Class, was axed after one short season, and their follow-up comedy (for cable, natch) is nothing if not an indictment of how the worst broadcast shows get made, sometimes in spite of a great idea. Just take a gander at Episodes' fictional network honcho, a crass and careless tyrant who transforms an urbane British hit about the headmaster of an elite boys school into a broad comedy for American audiences starring Matt LeBlanc.

Sat, Jan 29, 2011

Are the Creators of Showtime's Episodes Bitter? They Don't Think So!

My Pawnee Valentine: The Cast of Parks and Recreation Explains Who's Hooking Up and Why

When we last left Pawnee — a ridiculously long eight months ago — Parks and Recreation's romantic entanglements were only beginning to get, well, really tangled. Visiting auditors Ben (Adam Scott)  and Chris (Rob Lowe) took a shine to Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ann (Rashida Jones), but Leslie kind of hated Chris' cynical attitude toward government, and Ann kind of hated that she got drunk and hooked up with Chris. Then there's April (Aubrey Plaza), who really hated Andy (Chris Pratt)  for letting Ann...

Thu, Jan 20, 2011

My Pawnee Valentine: The Cast of Parks and Recreation Explains Who's Hooking Up and Why

What You Didn’t See During The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Bus Blow-Up

What did Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes think when she saw herself get into a screaming match with on-again, off-again friend Kim Zolciak? "It's an embarrassing thing to see as a mother and as an adult," Leakes said in an interview Tuesday. "I apologize to my viewers and fans, and to my children and family and friends who love and care about me. ...I apologize to them for them having to see me stoop to such a trashy level. When you fool with trash, it can get all over you."

Wed, Jan 19, 2011

What You Didn’t See During The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Bus Blow-Up

Showtime Renews Californication; Sets Returns for Nurse Jackie, United States of Tara

On the heels of its most-watched series premiere, Californication has been picked up for a fifth season.  The Season 4 debut of the David Duchovny comedy drew 1.2 million viewers between its two airings Sunday. Showtime also announced Friday that Nurse Jackie and United States of Tara will return on Monday, March 28. The Borgias, an upcoming period drama starring Jeremy Irons, will debut with a two-hour premiere on April 3 at 9/8c.

Fri, Jan 14, 2011

Showtime Renews Californication; Sets Returns for Nurse Jackie, United States of Tara

The Glee Project: Contestants Vying for Guest Role Will Go Through Glee Bootcamp

This summer, Oxygen will premiere The Glee Project, a reality series in which 40,000 would-be Gleeks compete for a guest-role on Fox's hit musical comedy. Glee casting director Robert Ulrich saw more than 40,000 auditions, which included everyone from working professionals to teens who had never performed before. "It's given so many kids an opportunity they would never have had in a normal situation," he said Thursday at the Television Critics Association's winter previews. "I had kids sing in front of me who had never sung in front of anyone in their lives.

Thu, Jan 13, 2011

The Glee Project: Contestants Vying for Guest Role Will Go Through Glee Bootcamp

Kara DioGuardi: Stop Asking Me About American Idol (It Will All Be in My Book!)

If you didn't know, Kara DioGuardi's writing a memoir — A Helluva High Note: Surviving Life, Love, and American Idol — where she'll wax on about her time on TV's No. 1 show. It's out on April 26. Until then, please, no questions about Idol. Kara DioGuardi to pen memoir about American Idol Facing reporters Thursday to promote her upcoming Bravo series Platinum Hit, a competition aimed at finding the next great songwriter, DioGuardi refused to talk Idol.  Asked for her opinion on Idol's decision to let contestants sing original music, she said...

Thu, Jan 13, 2011

Kara DioGuardi: Stop Asking Me About American Idol (It Will All Be in My Book!)

Jamie Oliver to Los Angeles Schools: Let Me In!

Are Los Angeles schools ready for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? Production has just begun on the second season of his ABC series, but at the moment Oliver is not allowed inside a single one of the city's public schools. "I'm locked out," Oliver told reporters Wednesday at the opening of his L.A.-based cooking school Jamie's Kitchen. "I need to get into the school system, and I can't." L.A. Unified School District says no to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Thu, Jan 13, 2011

Jamie Oliver to Los Angeles Schools: Let Me In!

Fox: Fringe, Lie to Me Not Dead; X Factor and Idol "Completely Different"

Fringe may be moving to Fridays, but Fox says the show is far from over."I beg you not to write the eulogy prematurely," Fox President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly said Tuesday at the Television Critics Association's winter preview. "It's a show we're passionate about .... I really hope those fans would stick with it... I'd be heartbroken if it went away."Check out the rest of today's newsReilly also said that if viewers who watched the show on Thursdays followed the show to Fridays, it would be enough. "It would significantly improve our Friday night in terms of numbers and quality. ...  If our fans stick with us, the show could stay on the air for many years."As for Lie to Me, which halted production to make room for new cop drama The Chicago Code this spring...

Tue, Jan 11, 2011

Fox: Fringe, Lie to Me Not Dead; X Factor and Idol "Completely Different"

Torchwood: Miracle Day: What Happens if Everyone is Immortal?

What if Captain Jack wasn't alone in his immortality? That's the premise of the new season of Torchwood — titled Torchwood: Miracle Day — which will launch on Starz later this year. "The premise is a miracle happens to the world," series executive producer Russell T. Davies said Friday during the Television Critics Association's winter previews. "The old stay old and keep getting older. The dying keep dying, but no one quite dies. The possibility of death ceases to exist."

Sat, Jan 8, 2011

Torchwood: Miracle Day: What Happens if Everyone is Immortal?

Ricky Gervais: An Idiot Abroad’s Karl Pilkington is "My Gift to The World"

How did Ricky Gervais' next show, An Idiot Abroad, wind up on The Science Channel? Thank Karl Pilkington. Fans of Gervais and Stephen Merchant's popular podcast (and subsequent HBO series) already know Pilkington is the pair's friend and longtime punching bag. In An Idiot Abroad — billed by the network as "the most elaborate practical joke-turned-social experiment in television history" — Gervais and Merchant send him to see the Seven Wonders of the world. VIDEO: First look at Ricky Gervais' new series Gervais explained why Pilkington has the makings of a Science Channel star. "Karl sees things very differently from the rest of us," he said via satellite Thursday during the Television Critics Association's winter previews. "He does investigate, he does do what science does and...

Fri, Jan 7, 2011

Ricky Gervais: An Idiot Abroad’s Karl Pilkington is "My Gift to The World"

Piers Morgan on The Banning of Madonna, Butt-Kicking of CNN

Piers Morgan to Madonna: You're still banned from my new talk show. In December, Morgan told a British newspaper that Madge would not be welcome on his upcoming CNN series, Piers Morgan Tonight, because she is "so boring." While promoting the show Thursday at the Television Critics Association's winter previews, Morgan further explained: "[Madonna] has kind of been an...

Thu, Jan 6, 2011

Piers Morgan on The Banning of Madonna, Butt-Kicking of CNN

Ed Asner to Cloris Leachman: Well, If You Wanna Act Nuts...

Is there beef between Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman? Sure seems like it! Asner, who stars in CMT's upcoming sitcom Working Class, was reflecting on the success of TV's older actors — led, of course, by the white-hot Betty White — when Leachman, his The Mary Tyler Moore Show co-star, came up. "Cloris Leachman has eight Emmys? Is that...

Wed, Jan 5, 2011

Ed Asner to Cloris Leachman: Well, If You Wanna Act Nuts...

Real Housewives' Phaedra Parks: I Didn't Purchase the Pickle Photos

If new Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Phaedra Parks is disappointed with how she's been portrayed thus far — her limo ride with Cynthia, her baby shower, not to mention those pickles are nothing if not a study in awkward — she's not letting on. Watching all the trash-talking going on behind her back doesn't bother her either. "It's not difficult because I know what it is; it's television," Parks says. "Everyone has a role to play and that's what makes it good TV. Everyone's got a job to do." Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kandi: Phaedra's getting a bad rap Parks spoke with TVGuide.com about why a successful entertainment lawyer would decide to do a reality show, what happened to the photos from the pickle shoot, and...

Tue, Dec 21, 2010

Real Housewives' Phaedra Parks: I Didn't Purchase the Pickle Photos

On the Set: Parks and Recreation Plans to “Go Big or Go Home” in Season 3

In a rousing moment from the Season 3 premiere of Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope excitedly rounds up her disbanded parks department. Tom's been working at Foot Locker, Ron's been in his wood shop, and Jerry ... well, Jerry's been relaxing happily since Pawnee's local government went out of business at the end of last season. With her troops gathered, Leslie makes her Hail Mary play, a bold proposal to the state auditors threatening to shut down the broke branch for good. "She's like, 'Go big or go home,'" says Amy Poehler, who plays TV's chirpiest and most resilient civil servant. "'I say we put on this giant harvest festival. We try to get all the vendors, all the people in town, we raise the money we need for the parks department budget. If we don't make it, we're all fired.'" Leslie’s high-stakes dilemma is not unlike the one faced by Parks as the show nears its return.

Thu, Dec 9, 2010

On the Set: Parks and Recreation Plans to “Go Big or Go Home” in Season 3

90210 Fall Finale: Will Adrianna Get Coal for Christmas?

"Doesn't everyone want to be pulled around by hunky reindeer?" asks 90210's Jessica Lowndes. The actress is taking a breather from the day's task: singing a sultry version of "Santa Baby" while being hauled around on an ice rink by strapping men-deer and a school of merry elves. Filming the scene hasn't been easy. "I'm from Vancouver, and I don't know how to skate," Lowndes says. "It's embarrassing." But this is what Adrianna wants, so in Monday's 90210 fall finale, Lowndes' character will celebrate her rapid rise up the pop charts the way any Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star-in-training would. She buys a mansion and a little dog, dresses up as Mrs. Claus (if Mrs. Claus wore fishnet stockings) and throws herself an over-the-top bash.

Mon, Dec 6, 2010

90210 Fall Finale: Will Adrianna Get Coal for Christmas?

Top Chef: All-Stars: Producers Break Down Who Was Chosen and Why

And you thought creating appetizers out of vending-machine snacks was hard. Or preparing a meal out of the food found in a single grocery aisle. Those challenges, tested out in previous seasons of Top Chef, are nothing compared to the tasks producers have whipped up for the contestants chosen to compete the show's first all-star edition (premiering Wednesday at 10/9c on Bravo.)  "The degree of difficulty has increased a lot," executive producer Dan Cutforth tells TVGuide.com. "We felt like if these guys are the all-stars, they should be able to up their game, and in more challenging conditions."

Wed, Dec 1, 2010

Top Chef: All-Stars: Producers Break Down Who Was Chosen and Why

Exclusive: Damon Wayans to Guest-Star on ABC's Happy Endings

Damon Wayans Jr. will get a visit from real-life dad Damon Wayans in an episode of the ABC comedy Happy Endings. The series revolves around a couple (Elisha Cuthbert and Zachary Knighton), whose break-up complicates their friends' lives. Wayans Jr. plays one of their pals, Brad. Wayans Sr. will play Brad's dad, an uptight guy who visits his son after getting a new lease on life post-health scare.

Fri, Nov 19, 2010

Exclusive: Damon Wayans to Guest-Star on ABC's Happy Endings

Why Top Chef: Just Desserts Was A Bittersweet Pill: Producers on the Problem with Pastry

Contestants on Top Chef have forever been plagued by the dessert course. Somehow, it never works out quite right. Timing was off. Chocolate didn't set. Sorbet didn't freeze fast enough. Why not do a show about chefs who specialize in that kind of confectionary magic? Why not honor the skill it takes to whip up a meal's grand finale? What could go wrong? And thus, Top Chef: Just Desserts was born. "Delightful desserts, a delightful cast, we thought it was going to be all laughs and fun, fancy-free all day long," Dan Cutforth, executive producer of the Top Chef franchise, said. Only it was the opposite that came true: "It turned into this crazy war zone."

Thu, Nov 18, 2010

Why Top Chef: Just Desserts Was A Bittersweet Pill: Producers on the Problem with Pastry

Case of the Ex: Glee’s Jessalyn Gilsig on Terri’s Return --- and Why It’s Necessary

Except for one slightly unhinged and all-too-brief run-in with Will and Emma ("Oh, hey, homewrecker!"), Terri Schuester has been strangely sidelined this season on Glee. Over the summer, the series' executive producers not only defended her faux pregnancy-inducing paranoia, but teased her big return. "The thing about a show like this is you need villains. We love writing for her, and she's moving to all of us," Ryan Murphy said in July. "I think what she needs to do is date someone who will make Will pea green with jealousy. We're trying to figure out who that is." Before that happens, Jessalyn Gilsig says her polarizing character will finally re-emerge in Tuesday's episode in a rather surprising way.

Tue, Nov 16, 2010

Case of the Ex: Glee’s Jessalyn Gilsig on Terri’s Return --- and Why It’s Necessary

Sarah Palin's Alaska, or The Palins: They're Just Like Us!

On Sunday, TLC unveiled its highly anticipated and already heavily scrutinized Sarah Palin's Alaska, a series, it turns out, that is part travelogue, bigger part celebrity-family reality show. Not so unlike Keeping Up with the Kardashians or The Osbournes, shows which ask viewers to relate to universal family dynamics amid the excesses, Sarah Palin's Alaska is nothing if not a showcase for just how ordinary and typical Sarah Palin's brood is. Mom might have a makeshift TV studio built into her home so she can beam in for guest appearances on The O'Reilly Factor. She also might soon be running for president, but the Palin household? It's just like yours. Take the Palin kids. The former governor of Alaska, along with executive producer Mark Burnett, present for inspection Sarah as sweatsuit-wearing working mom. As a result, her kids are given ample screen time -- whether they want it or not. Here's how two of the five -- Piper, 9, and Willow, 16 — come off in the premiere:

Mon, Nov 15, 2010

Sarah Palin's Alaska, or The Palins: They're Just Like Us!