matt.webb.mitovich

How Jennifer Finnigan Keeps Close to Home from Straying Too Far

Things are a bit different this season on CBS' Close to Home (Fridays at 9 pm/ET). There are more male faces — JAG alum David James Elliott's included — and perceptibly less focus on Annabeth Chase's struggle to juggle a career and what is now single motherhood. Is it all too much at once for the sophomore drama? TVGuide.com invited Jennifer Finnigan to weigh in on the series she holds so close to her heart. TVGuide.com: First, explain something to me: Why does Close to Home get a full-season pickup announcement when it's in its sophomore year? It's not like ABC is out announcing, "Yes, we've picked up Lost." Is it because the show was on the fence for much of last year?Jennifer Finnigan: I think last year we were definitely the re

Fri, Oct 27, 2006

How Jennifer Finnigan Keeps Close to Home from Straying Too Far

Smallville's John Glover: Will Lex's Dad Woo Clark's Mom?

While Clark, Lana, Lex and the rest of the Smallville "kids" ride their own romantic merry-go-round, something is quietly percolating between two of the elders, no less than Lex's dad and Clark's mom. To best ascertain Lionel's intentions toward the widow Martha Kent — as well as find out what he really thinks about Lex's own honey, Lana — TVGuide.com chatted up the prominent patriarch's portrayer, John Glover. (Smallville airs Thursdays at 8 pm/ET, on CW.) TVGuide.com: OK, the first question I want to ask is: The mane, is that all yours?John Glover: Yes. [Chuckles] No extensions, no anything. TVGuide.com: Do you think his leonine look is part of what makes Lionel such a force to be reckoned with?Glover: A lot of it, sure. Look at Sampson. And look at wha

Thu, Oct 26, 2006

Smallville's John Glover: Will Lex's Dad Woo Clark's Mom?

Tina Majorino (Mac) Teases Veronica Mars' Next Big Mystery!

If you're reading this Q&A online, you obviously have some computer savvy. And if you really have the savvy, you gotta love Veronica Mars' Mac, our young detective's go-to gal for all things hi-tech and on the down-low. Alas, Hearst College's most wired has gone offline as of late, so TVGuide.com got a hold of her portrayer, Tina Majorino, to find out when Mac might reboot our TV screen. (Veronica Mars airs Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET, on CW.) TVGuide.com: So... Mac seems to be spending a lot of time off screen at the campus gym these days.Tina Majorino: She does, doesn't she? TVGuide.com: What's up with that?Majorino: I think she's just trying to be there for Parker [her rape-victim roommate], and I guess Parker loves working out. It's

Tue, Oct 24, 2006

Tina Majorino (Mac) Teases Veronica Mars' Next Big Mystery!

Help Me Help You's Socially Inept Inger Spills Her Secrets

To hear ABC's press site tell it, Help Me Help You's Inger — one of the new TV season's breakout characters — is "a 25-year-old, self-made millionaire who totally lacks social skills and hasn't had a real date in over six years." So you can understand why she's in desperate need of therapy from Ted Danson's shrink character. To get inside the socially inept software developer's head, TVGuide.com Q&A'd her portrayer, Suzy Nakamura, who let slip that tonight at 8:30 pm/ET, Miss Inger just might be getting lucky (for an instant, at least). Plus, Suzy's surprising connection to Heroes' Hiro! TVGuide.com: What are you up to this fine day?Suzy Nakamura: I moved some furniture last night. I went to trapeze class with [Help M

Tue, Oct 24, 2006

Help Me Help You's Socially Inept Inger Spills Her Secrets

Horror Hottie: It's Hell Being the New Morgan Fairchild

Primed for some pre-Halloween chills? This Sunday at 8 pm/ET, ABC Family dredges up the past with a remake of The Initiation of Sarah, the 1978 girls-gone-Wiccan TV-movie that starred Morgan Fairchild as a most sinister sorority sister. TVGuide.com spoke with Reba's Joanna Garcia, who as Alpha Nu Gamma president Chorinne fills Fairchild's shoes this go-round and, with an assist from Veronica Mars' Tessa Thompson, shows poor Mika Boorem (Dawson's Creek) that college life can be a real witch. TVGuide.com: Did you acquaint yourself at all with the original The Initiation of Sarah?Joanna Garcia: What's funny is we didn't, because it was so hard to find. But they actually hired Morgan Fairchild, and I reprised her role — only mildly nerve-wracking! I was terrified, because not only am I going to have to fill her shoes in what she said was kind of a landmark role for her, but now I'm going to have to be

Fri, Oct 20, 2006

Horror Hottie: It's Hell Being the New Morgan Fairchild

Jere Burns: Can Help Me Help You Cure What Ails ABC?

Sure, that gal named Betty has Thursday taken care of, but as the premiere of Donal Logue's The Knights of Prosperity gets postponed yet again, it remains up to Help Me Help You to show ABC the funny on Tuesday nights (at 8:30 pm/ET). Playing Michael, a workaholic with serious anger issues, is Jere Burns, familiar to many viewers from his previous stint in a support group as Dear John's Kirk. TVGuide.com spoke with the veteran actor about "re-grouping" for this promising new comedy. TVGuide.com: I imagine you've heard plenty along these lines, but here you are playing another smarmy guy in group therapy. Was there any hesitation to retread "Kirk" territory?Jere Burns: Well, they're completely different characters, you know. Kirk wasn't angry, and this guy is angry

Tue, Oct 17, 2006

Jere Burns: Can Help Me Help You Cure What Ails ABC?

Can Six Degrees' Campbell Scott Save the World?

On ABC's Six Degrees, film vet Campbell Scott plays Steven, an ex-addict photographer looking to start life anew. But on Hallmark Channel's Final Days of Planet Earth, premiering Saturday, Oct. 14, at 8 pm/ET, the stakes are even a wee bit higher: the fate of all mankind. Or, might he be the root of the planet's destruction? Hmm. TVGuide.com spoke with Scott about his two new and very different roles. TVGuide.com: Why don't you sum up Final Days of Planet Earth for us.Campbell Scott: [Laughs] Sum up the final days of planet Earth?! TVGuide.com: The movie, not the actual final days of planet Earth.Scott: How wou

Fri, Oct 13, 2006

Can Six Degrees' Campbell Scott Save the World?

Melora Hardin Surveys Jan and Michael's Office Romance

Sure, the second-season finale of NBC's The Office (Thursdays at 8:30 pm/ET) gave us the Pam-Jim kiss and an "I love you," but just as significant on the romantic front, boss-man Michael (Steve Carell) found himself sandwiched between two women: his own supervisor, Jan, and real-estate agent Carol. Since poor Jan wound up the odd woman out, TVGuide.com tried to console her portrayer, Melora Hardin, with a festive Q&A. TVGuide.com: As you approach this role as an actress, in your mind, why does Jan put up with Michael? I mean, why doesn’t she just fire this guy already?Melora Hardin: Right, exactly! [Laughs] I think that Jan is a pretty complex character in the sense that she has all these defense mec

Thu, Oct 12, 2006

Melora Hardin Surveys Jan and Michael's Office Romance

Tim Daly: What's Next for The Nine's Nick?

ABC's The Nine, which premiered just last week, wasted no time in stirring up all kinds of questions and mysteries, first and foremost being, as the ad campaign says, "What happened in there?" For the show's second episode (airing tonight at 10 pm/ET), we stole a few minutes with TV vet Tim Daly, who plays not-good-but not-entirely-bad cop Nick Cavanaugh. TVGuide.com: The way you saw it, how did Nick differ from other roles you have been offered over the years?Tim Daly: I like Nick because he's a very human character. He's flawed. He's the kind of guy who creates all his own problems. He's a guy who's in the police force, which relies on people obeying the chain of command, and he has a horrible problem with authority. He's got this gambling problem, an ex-wife, he's a wiseass... and yet he's a really good guy, and I thought there was an opportunity to see him change significantly, as we do with all these characters, after he goes

Wed, Oct 11, 2006

Tim Daly: What's Next for The Nine's Nick?

Are You Ready to 30 Rock? Tina Fey Tells All!

Stop us if you've heard this one before, but tonight at 8 pm/ET, NBC is premiering a new series about backstage life at a Saturday Night Live-type comedy show. But unlike Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Tina Fey's 30 Rock is playing the situation purely (and effectively) for laughs. As you get ready to sample Fey's take on things — also starring frequent SNL host Alec Baldwin as a cocky NBC-GE exec, Ally McBeal's Jane Krakowski as Tina's gal pal and Tracy Morgan as an out-there comic — allow us to separate 30 Rock's myths from its realities. MYTH

Wed, Oct 11, 2006

Are You Ready to 30 Rock? Tina Fey Tells All!

Cozy Up to The Class' Queen of Snark!

Hard-pressed to be overlooked amidst the sprawling ensemble of CBS' The Class (now airing Mondays at 8:30 pm/ET), Lizzy Caplan plays Kat, the not-so-twin sister of meek little Lina and (someday perhaps romantic?) foil to Jason Ritter's Ethan. TVGuide.com got on the phone with the actress to see if her snark is worse than her bite. Lizzy Caplan: [Distracted] Somebody sent me a very strange YouTube video. [Laughs]TVGuide.com: Is it someone doing something with an animal? Caplan: No, it's none of that. It's this weird child or little person kind of break-dancing in India or something.... It's very strange — but quite entertaining. TVGuide.com: I'll trust you on that. So on The

Sat, Oct 7, 2006

Frak Attack: Battlestar Season 3 Preview!

BSG has da buzz. After years wooing and wowing its built-in and dedicated fan base, Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica is roaring into Season 3 (premiering tonight, Oct. 6, from 9 to 11 pm/ET) with more press and unprecedented promotion than ever. For those who have yet to sample the show (which is based on themes and characters introduced in the '70s series of the same name), be well advised that this isn't your daddy's Battlestar. And even those who are diehards may be taken a bit aback by the grim fate foisted upon their favorites as the new season begins. Last we tuned in, New Caprica, once thought to be an oasis for the Galactica's forever-nomadic troops, had quickly and fiercely turned into a prison camp of sorts, lorded over by (surprise) the Cylons and their puppet in chief, Baltar. As insurgent humans plot and plan and go to desperate lengths to re

Fri, Oct 6, 2006

Frak Attack: Battlestar Season 3 Preview!

Howie Mandel Takes Us for a Ride. (Literally.)

It was a big deal last week at the Times Square Toys "R" Us when Howie Mandel unveiled the Deal or No Deal boutique, which offers five home editions of his popular NBC game show. As part of the partnership, Toys "R" Us is distributing game pieces that can be redeemed for either a "Deal" (10 percent off one item) or "No Deal" (a chance to win such prizes as a Nintendo Wii next-gen gaming system or even $1 million). When TVGuide.com stopped by the event, Mandel, upon spying the indoor Ferris wheel, invited us to go for a spin. Ha-ha. But no, he was serious. After choosing an appropriate vehicle — a money-adorned Monopoly car — it was up, up and away.... TVGuide.com: So, what are we here for today?Mandel: To support Toys "R" Us' launch of the Deal or No Deal boutique.

Thu, Oct 5, 2006

Howie Mandel Takes Us for a Ride. (Literally.)

Exclusive Preview: We've Got The Nine's Number!

Tonight at 10 pm/ET, ABC dials up The Nine, a serialized thriller that quickly stages, and then picks up during the aftermath of, a bank hostage situation that has a profound effect on the strangers involved. Among the many familiar faces filling out the cast are Tim Daly (Wings), Scott Wolf (Everwood), Kim Raver (24) and Chi McBride (Boston Public). TVGuide.com grabbed nine minutes with Hank Steinberg, who cocreated The Nine with his sister K.J., to get an exclusive preview o

Wed, Oct 4, 2006

Exclusive Preview: We've Got The Nine's Number!

Jericho Star Teases Upcoming Bombshells!

Thus far on CBS' Jericho (Wednesdays at 8 pm/ET), the titular Kansas town has been roped off from the rest of the United States by a series of nuclear attacks, and last week the residents braced for the arrival of acid rain. Meanwhile, a secretive good Samaritan named Lenny recently was on the receiving end of a Morse-coded message that he conspicuously shared with no one. Is all on this series not what it seems? TVGuide.com took that question and others to Sprague Grayden, who plays Skeet Ulrich's possible love interest, Heather. TVGuide.com: What do you think of the early ratings? Among new series, Jericho is considered one of the fall's biggest success stories.Sprague Grayden: You know, I've done five shows in fiv

Wed, Oct 4, 2006

Jericho Star Teases Upcoming Bombshells!

Can Friday Night Lights Win TV's Big Game?

Based on the 2004 film (which itself was based on H.G. Bissinger's book), NBC's Friday Night Lights (premiering tonight at 8 pm/ET) asks prime-time TV viewers one question: Are you ready for some high-school football? If you're about to quickly respond, "I don’t think I am," think again, because this series stands poised to seek out heartstrings you never knew you had and tug away. Reprising her big-screen role as the diligent wife of an under-pressure small-town Texas football coach (Kyle Chandler in the TV version) is Connie Britton, who is ready to give FNL the big "W." TVGuide.com: I've got to say, this pilot made me sniffly.Connie Britton: It

Tue, Oct 3, 2006

Can Friday Night Lights Win TV's Big Game?

The Sexy Scoop on Amy Smart's Smith Criminal

Can CBS' Smith (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET) make off with the audience that FX's Thief and NBC's Heist each failed to smash and grab? Based on early returns, the crime-caper drama is off to a promising start, thanks to a stellar cast led by Emmy winner Ray Liotta (ER, GoodFellas) and Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways). Stealing scenes in her own right, however, is another big-screen vet, Amy Smart, with whom TVGuide.com recently chatted. TVGuide.com: Just the other day 

Tue, Oct 3, 2006

The Sexy Scoop on Amy Smart's Smith Criminal

Heroes' Vixen Reveals the Devil Inside

Ali Larter, whom you have seen on the big screen in such fare as Varsity Blues and two Final Destination films, is now channeling her inner... something... as superpowered single mom Niki Sanders on NBC's recently premiered Heroes (Mondays at 9 pm/ET). In this Q&A with TVGuide.com, the actress sheds light on Niki's special ability, teases a steamy hookup ahead and surveys Heroes' overall mythology. TVGuide.com: Obviously you've been paying the bills doing films. What made you decide to commit to Heroes?Ali Larter: For me it doesn’t matter if it's film or television or theater, I'm just looking to play complicated characters, roles that really push me, and Niki is a very complicated, multifaceted, dramatic woman. When I read it I wasn

Mon, Oct 2, 2006

24 Vet Is Now Runaway's Drama Mama

Leslie Hope and Elisha Cuthbert were two of the first actors I interviewed for TVGuide.com, back in 2002, during the debut season of a little-show-that-could called 24. Coincidentally, I was [recently] slated to talk with each of the "Bauer women" again, but one of them "politely passed" at the last minute. The actress I now like a bit more is Ms. Hope, who called me from the set of Runaway, the new CW drama airing Mondays at 9 pm/ET, and concerning a fam

Mon, Oct 2, 2006

TV Crime Solver Has Only the Breast Intentions

If you have yet to witness Angela's Eyes and the beautiful human lie detector played on the Lifetimes series by Abigail Spencer, this Sunday (at 10 pm/ET) is the perfect time to get on board. As Angela deals with another tricky FBI case — getting inside the head of a man she cannot see — she is presented with an emotional whopper as well, a breast-cancer shocker from her semidubious mother, and just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. TVGuide.com asked Spencer for a primer. TVGuide.com: Bring people up to speed on the show, on Angela's adventures to date.Abigail Spencer: [Laughs] "The Misadventures of Angela Henson." When we started the show, Angela had been in the FBI for six months and is partnered up with a man named Leo, who we come to find out has a history of 

Fri, Sep 29, 2006

TV Crime Solver Has Only the Breast Intentions

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Sexy Secrets Revealed!

Premiering Sept. 29 and airing Fridays at 9, CMT presents Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, an eight-episode series chronicling how nearly 1,000 women competed this year for the 36 available slots on the squad. Heading up this "Lone Star Search" of sorts is former Cowboys cheerleader-turned DCC director Kelli Finglass, who shared with TVGuide.com a bevy of the beauties' secrets. TVGuide.com: You have here, inherently, the most attractive cast of any TV series; the stakes are high, being the esteemed Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders; and the production values are decently slick. Are the Big Four networks kicking themselves for not snatching this up?Kelli Finglass: Well, I can't speak for the networks, but I will say that it is quite compelling to see the struggles and the triumphs of the ladies

Fri, Sep 29, 2006

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Sexy Secrets Revealed!

Office Q&A, Part 2: What's Next for Pam and Jim?

In Part 1 of TVGuide.com's pre-premiere sit-down with Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski, The Office's would-be sweethearts talked about their avid fans, that memorable kiss and the tease of a Jim-Jan hookup. Now that the season-opener is out of the way, here is the remainder of what they shared about Jim, Pam, Dwight and Angela, and their big 2007 Cineplex showdown. TVGuide.com: Have you been finding different beats to play, now that there is this new dynamic between Jim and Pam?Jenna Fischer: There's a lot more heart now, I think, for our characters.John Krasinski:

Thu, Sep 28, 2006

Office Q&A, Part 2: What's Next for Pam and Jim?