g.j..donnelly

Keith Carradine: From Serial Killer to Dexter Nemesis

Fresh from playing a milkshake-sipping serial killer on Criminal Minds, Keith Carradine is now hunting for one on Dexter (Sundays at 9 pm/ET, Showtime), as an FBI agent assigned to Miami after bodies are discovered in a harbor. Carradine shares his thoughts on his new role, his famous family and his Deadwood experience. TV Guide: You play Agent Lundy, who is investigating the Bay Harbor Butcher. Tell us about him.Keith Carradine: I come in with this reputation as a star in the serial-profiling world. It makes Dexter sit up and take notice. He realizes he really has to watch himself now. TV Guide: What do you like about him?Carradine: He's not cocky

Fri, Oct 19, 2007

Keith Carradine: From Serial Killer to Dexter Nemesis

Back to You's Fred Willard Is the Life of the Party

On Back to You (Wednesdays, 8 pm/ET, Fox), the Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton sitcom vehicle, Fred Willard plays freewheeling sportscaster Marsh McGinley, whose lead foot alarms a coworker tonight when they carpool together. Marsh is the latest in a gallery of grinning goofballs that Willard has given us over the course of a career that spans 40 years. TV Guide: What do you enjoy about Marsh?Fred Willard: I love it that he's a sports guy and that he says whatever comes to his mind. He doesn't think things through too much. Nothing seems to perturb him. It's pretty much opposite to the way I am in real life — I tend to overthink things. TV Guide: You have so many TV credits. An

Wed, Oct 17, 2007

Back to You's Fred Willard Is the Life of the Party

The Unit's Robert Patrick Takes the Lead

In the conclusion of the third-season opener, The Unit (9 pm/ET, CBS) faces extinction as Colonel Ryan tries to help Jonas and his hunted comrades uncover the identities of those behind the team's dismantling. We discussed the cloak-and-dagger storyline with Ryan's alter ego and onetime Terminator nemesis Robert Patrick. TV Guide: Who is targeting the squad and why? Robert Patrick: It's a conspiracy. The show alludes to six wealthy families who are using our military for their interests and that is the ultimate betrayal. We find out how honest, noble and real our guys are as a result. TV Guide: What sets The Unit apart from TV's other military men? Patrick: We're looking at what it means to be a soldier — what it means to be the ultimate warrior. These are the elite

Tue, Oct 9, 2007

The Unit's Robert Patrick Takes the Lead

Guardian Angel Rippy Is Full of Grace

It's not easy Saving Grace (tonight, 10 pm/ET, TNT). Just ask Leon Rippy, who plays Earl, the put-upon guardian angel of Holly Hunter's troubled detective. We spoke with the gregarious South Carolina native, now on hiatus after tonight's midseason finale, who discussed the hit drama's spiritual bent and the fate of his previous series, Deadwood. TV Guide: Do you believe in angels?Leon Rippy: I always have. We stepped out to L.A. in faith and still live by it. My wife has a wonderful parking prayer that opens up a parking space when need be. [Laughs]TV Guide: Why has the show struck a chord?Rippy: If you pass by any bar in the country, there are half a dozen Graces inside. Many are feeling they're past redemption, and if yo

Mon, Sep 17, 2007

Laura San Giacomo Details Her Devotion to Saving Grace

As Holly Hunter's churchgoing confidante on the gritty-yet-spiritual Saving Grace (Mondays at 10 pm/ET), Laura San Giacomo gives notice that TNT's uncompromising new drama is no one-woman show. We spoke with the former Just Shoot Me star, who reflected on her career, working with Hunter and matters of faith. TVGuide.com: Do you believe in angels? Do you believe in God?Laura San Giacomo: [Laughs] Well, it's certainly something I've had to examine over the last couple of months. I've always been kind of a spiritual person, but I've really had to focus a lot on God. Rhetta believes in God and is a Catholic and I was raised Catholic so I understand that world. So I've just been reading lots of things about Catholicism. Lots of books by scientists who believe in God. Also a bit of watching the Colin Hawkins debate

Mon, Aug 13, 2007

Laura San Giacomo Details Her Devotion to Saving Grace

Dan Castellaneta: From The Simpsons to Oblivion

A master of voices on The Simpsons, Dan Castellaneta steps in front of the camera as Cecil B. DeMille in Sands of Oblivion, another of Sci Fi Channel's cheeky horrorfests (premiering Saturday at 9 pm/ET). Castellaneta talked to us about the legendary filmmaker and The Simpsons Movie, which just hit theaters. TV Guide: How do you prepare to play a larger-than-life figure like Cecil B. DeMille?Dan Castellaneta: Basically I went onto YouTube and somebody put the 10-minute speech he gave before the film, and I watched that. I remembered him from a part he had in Sunset Blvd. and even one documentary. I didn't see any [other] documentary footage of hi

Fri, Jul 27, 2007

Dan Castellaneta: From The Simpsons to Oblivion

Preview: Billy Campbell Still Has The 4400's Number

In the fourth-season opener of USA Network's The 4400 (airing Sunday at 9 pm/ET), Billy Campbell's enigmatic Jordan Collier deals with the lethal fallout of a drug he distributed to give people superpowers. Clearly, Campbell's come a long way from Once and Again's Rick. TV Guide: If you were a 4400, what power would you want to have? Billy Campbell: I'd like to be invisible. Then I could hang around the Oval Office. Enough said. TV Guide: Do you see Jordan as a messiah figure? Campbell: I don't see him as anything, really. I don't write him. I tend to try to not play him in any predictable way. I simply believe he wants to change the world. TV Guide: How does he cope with all the deaths that handing out Promicin

Fri, Jun 15, 2007

Preview: Billy Campbell Still Has The 4400's Number

Minnie Driver Weighs The Riches' Pros and Cons

As Louisiana fireball Dahlia Malloy, Minnie Driver offers a beguiling mix of grace, grit and good old-fashioned star power to FX's The Riches (Mondays at 10 pm/ET). The native Brit chatted with us recently about the show. TV Guide: How does Dahlia juggle it all, being a wife, mother, con artist, addict?Minnie Driver: I don't think it's a conscious thing. Dahlia doesn't want to go back to jail and that's the best incentive that she has. That's what she brings to her day, a desire to stay out of jail, to stay alive and to stay with her family. TV Guide: Do you think you'd make a good con artist? Driver: No, no. I'm a horrible liar. TV Guide: For a Brit, you do a terrific Dixie accent. How did you learn it? Driver: I had a couple of sessions with a dialect coach, and

Sun, May 27, 2007

Minnie Driver Weighs The Riches' Pros and Cons

X-Men Star Braves the 19th Century... and Then Vampires!

This Sunday at 9 pm/ET, HBO premieres Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a wrenching adaptation of Dee Brown's history of the hardships the Indian nations suffered in late-19th-century America. In it, the quirkily charismatic Anna Paquin plays Elaine Goodale, the wife of a Dartmouth-educated Sioux (SVU's Adam Beach) who devotes her life to the tribe. The Oscar winner spoke with us about the film. TV Guide: How would you describe Elaine? Paquin: She's strong and modern. Most people weren't interested in working with native populations at that time, but she spoke the language fluently and lived on the reservation. She knew the culture from the inside. TV Guide: Wha

Fri, May 25, 2007

X-Men Star Braves the 19th Century... and Then Vampires!

Up Close with the "Shiftiest" of NBC's Heroes

With Nathan's election looming, you can bet that Linderman's secret weapon — "illusionist" Candice Wilmer — will play a big part in the outcome of tonight's Heroes (9 pm/ET, on NBC). TV Guide spoke with the woman behind Candice's many faces: 24-year-old Canadian actress Missy Peregrym. TV Guide: If, like Candice, you could make yourself look like anyone, who would it be? Missy Peregrym: [Laughs] I'm a huge fan of Celine Dion, so probably her. TV Guide: And if you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? Peregrym: [Laughs] I would love to be able to transport. Not back in time or anything like that, but go wherever I wanted to go, whenever.

Mon, May 7, 2007

Up Close with the "Shiftiest" of NBC's Heroes

Amanda Tapping Eyes Stargate SG-1's Final (TV) Days

This Friday night, the members of Stargate SG-1 (8 pm/ET, on Sci Fi Channel) will get a shock when they discover that one of their own has been brainwashed by the evil Ori. Amanda Tapping, who plays gutsy astrophysicist Samantha Carter on the long-running series, spoke with us about SG-1's final tales and her transfer to Stargate Atlantis.TV Guide: What's this about Daniel Jackson becoming a Prior of the Ori? Amanda Tapping: I could tell you but then I would have to kill you. [Laughs] Poor Daniel has really been through it. He's ascended, and now he's a Prior. The Ori is a fundamentalist religious group, and Daniel gets tortured into their ways. It's a good team episode about us trying to save our f

Fri, May 4, 2007

Amanda Tapping Eyes Stargate SG-1's Final (TV) Days

Does Larry's Return Mean Kathy Najimy's Numbers Is Up?

This Friday, April 27, on Numbers (10 pm/ET, CBS), Peter MacNicol returns as Charlie's chum Larry while Six Feet Under's Jeremy Sisto guests as a federal attorney in a story dealing with a death-row inmate whose motives for revealing the locations of missing bodies are questioned by Don (Rob Morrow). Holding down the fort in MacNicol's absence (he defected to 24 for much of the year) was Kathy Najimy, who tonight makes her last appearance of the season as Charlie's academic superior, Millie French. TV Guide: Were you good at math? Kathy Najimy: When I was younger I wanted to be a mathematician, but I think that's

Fri, Apr 27, 2007

Does Larry's Return Mean Kathy Najimy's Numbers Is Up?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Embraces Old Christine's Adventures

Combining a caustic tongue with knockabout (and knockout) vulnerability, Julia Louis-Dreyfus struck TV gold again — Emmy gold — as a lovable divorcée in CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine (Mondays at 8:30 pm/ET). The affable actress talked to us about the show's success, her Saturday Night Live days and the Seinfeld legacy. TV Guide: Congrats on your Emmy for Christine. Did you ever put much stock in that supposed Seinfeld curse? Julia Louis-Dreyfus: None. That's ridiculous. TV Guide: Christine has a lot on her plate juggling work, romance and family. What makes her unique? Louis-Dreyfus: That she

Mon, Apr 9, 2007

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Embraces Old Christine's Adventures

The Con Is On as Eddie Izzard Plays Filthy Riches

FX's new series The Riches (Mondays at 10 pm/ET) stars comic Eddie Izzard as Wayne Malloy, the silver-tongued patriarch of itinerant grifters who appropriate the identity of a dead couple, always living one step away from getting caught. Izzard talked to TV Guide about this unusual TV clan, his comedy and the art of the con. TV Guide: Do you see a moral ambiguity in The Riches' setup, since the Malloys are appropriating a dead man's life? Eddie Izzard: Yeah, well, I don't find it so morally ambiguous in the fact that [the deceased] wasn't using it. [Wayne and his wife Dahlia, played by Minnie Driver] are jackals, they are scavengers, so it is a criminal waste to waste all that stuff that's in the car; someone else is only gonna get it. And from that

Mon, Mar 26, 2007

The Con Is On as Eddie Izzard Plays Filthy Riches

Mary McDonnell: Will Galactica's Prez Get Emmy's Vote?

In Part 1 of TV Guide's interview with Mary McDonnell, the accomplished actress teased the shocking wrap-up of Battlestar Galactica's third season (the finale airs Sunday at 10 pm/ET). Here, in Part 2, the topics are vipers, U.S. presidents, and whether a show such as BSG — and herself, in particular — can ever convert Emmy buzz into grabbable gold. TV Guide: You seem to have a flair for playing women who persevere in the face of extraordinary personal hardships — Passion Fish,

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Mary McDonnell: Will Galactica's Prez Get Emmy's Vote?

Mary McDonnell Previews Galactica's Trial and Tribulations

Don't let that soft voice fool you. Mary McDonnell is one iron maiden when it comes to leading the survivors of a decimated civilization as President Laura Roslin on Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica (Sundays at 10 pm/ET). As the season finale nears and Emmy buzz begins building, TV Guide welcomed the opportunity to speak with the accomplished actress. Here, in Part 1 of our Q&A, McDonnell previews the big trial and even bigger tribulations to come. TV Guide: Is Roslin's motivation for trying Baltar (played by James Callis) vengeance or justice? Mary McDonnell: Oh, I think it's justice. I think there is a tremendous personal frustration with regard to the man himself because of what she's been through

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Mary McDonnell Previews Galactica's Trial and Tribulations

Meet the Faker: James Roday Takes Our Psych Exam

One of TV's most appealing new sleuths is fake psychic Shawn Spencer of USA's Psych (Fridays at 10 pm/ET). The tongue-in-cheek cases of James Roday's boyish, temple-tapping Sherlock have rapidly become a Friday-night mainstay on the cabler, which has already renewed the series for a second season. Roday talked with us about "faking it" and much more. TV Guide: Shawn is a really charming and noble con man. Does conning people come naturally to you?James Roday: I'm going to have to say no. I try to live my life with the "honesty is the best policy" philosophy. TV Guide: Are you a free spirit like Shawn?Roday: I wish there were more of Shawn in me. I have a lot of respect for people who live from moment to moment and go places on a whim. TV Guide: Why does Shawn even bother to pr

Fri, Feb 9, 2007

Meet the Faker: James Roday Takes Our Psych Exam

Meet History Channel's Very Own Indiana Jones!

Tonight, fearless Josh Bernstein goes Digging for the Truth (9 pm/ET, History Channel) behind the unsolved death of Egypt's youthful King Tutankhamun. We spoke with the survival instructor about that and other mysteries.... TV Guide: Your show is the History Channel's highest-rated original series. Is it the adventure, your good looks, what? Josh Bernstein: [Laughs] I think it's a combination of things. One is the cinematography. The fact that it is shot in high-definition makes it look just so stunning. Second, the archaeological mysteries — hopefully they're compelling. And third, I think, is the adrenaline component... the diving, the exploring, the going to extremes to bring these mysteries to life. TV Guide: What do you keep in your satchel? Bernstein: That is the o

Mon, Feb 5, 2007

Meet History Channel's Very Own Indiana Jones!

Ford Tough: Bogdanovich, Spielberg and Others Remember a Legend

Director Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon) pays tribute to a cinema giant in Turner Classic Movies' Directed by John Ford (premiering tonight at 8 pm/ET), an update of Bogdanovich's 1971 profile with new commentary from such filmmakers as Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese. TV Guide spoke with Bogdanovich about remembering Ford, the state of today's Westerns, and his own fate on

Tue, Nov 7, 2006

Ford Tough: Bogdanovich, Spielberg and Others Remember a Legend

Married Daily Show Duo Trades Barbs

If bantering comes naturally to Samantha Bee and Jason Jones, correspondents for Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (weeknights at 11 pm/ET), it probably has to do with being happily married comedians. The couple, who welcomed daughter Piper in January, took time from filing their offbeat reports to trade quips with TV Guide about flak jackets, rival journalists and their marriage. TV Guide: Do you ever compete for stories?Jason Jones: The only competition we ever have for stories is not to do one. Samantha Bee: We try to dump them off on each other. TV Guide: Who are some of your journalistic heroes?

Thu, Aug 24, 2006

Eric Idle Recalls Monty Python's Best

Eric Idle has every reason to gab. He's not only the creator (with John Du Prez) of the Tony-winning musical Spamalot, he's also the main attraction in the opener of Monty Python's Personal Best (premiering tonight on PBS; check local listings), a three-week series of specials featuring each Python player's favorite bits, along with new material. (Example: In addition to introducing gems like "Nudge, Nudge," Idle plays a German with a weird theory about Python humor.) To mark this recycling of material, Idle spoke with TV Guide about "the Beatles of comedy," one of his greatest influences and his plans for another stage musical. TV Guide: The Pythons have been described as "the Bea

Wed, Feb 22, 2006