matt.webb.mitovich

Idol's Melissa: Exit Is No Wonder

Melissa McGhee got cut from Fox's American Idol (Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 pm/ET) last week, but not before belting out a flub-free version — alas, one cut short by trigger-happy Fox affiliates in many markets — of Stevie Wonder's "Lately" as the end credits rolled. Talk about "better lately than never." The Tampa native tells TVGuide.com that she attributes her slipups (she botched the lyrics in rehearsal, in front of Wonder no less, then on stage during Tuesday's sing-off) to nerves, "definitely nerves." "I started thinking about my lyrics way, way, way too much when I got on stage," she adds. "[That] threw me off." Having repeated her major mistake, McGhee wasn't at all surprised that she didn't rock the vote. "I think it w

Tue, Mar 21, 2006

FAST FOOD

South Park has whipped together an episode addressing the recent hoopla surrounding Isaac Hayes' exit from the series. "The Return of Chef!", which will now launch the series' 10th season on March 22, depicts the "triumphant homecoming" of Hayes' alter ego. "While Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are thrilled to have their old friend back," the press release states, "they notice that something about Chef seems different." Per the New York Daily News, Comedy Central isn't saying whether Hayes' voice is used in the episode, and it's unclear whether the fresh eppy targets Scientology. As reported yesterday, there is now a question about the circumstances of Hayes' departure.

Tue, Mar 21, 2006

COOKED-UP CONTROVERSY?

File this under "provocative": Isaac Hayes did not quit his gig voicing South Park's Chef over some Scientology flap. In a follow-up to last week's hubbub, FoxNews.com deems it "ridiculous" that the singer, who has been recovering from a stroke suffered in mid-January, would all of a sudden turn against the show for poking fun at his religion. Those close to Hayes are said to be "mystified" by the statement released March 13 and attributed to him. As one friend tells FoxNews.com, "Isaac's been concentrating on his recuperation for the last two and a half, three months." In related news, the Scientology-skewering "Trapped in a Closet" episode, pulled last week amidst allegations that Tom Cruise had flexed some muscle, will air this Wednesday at 10 pm/ET.

Mon, Mar 20, 2006

Prison Break: What Happens Next?

Sixteen long, long weeks ago is when this TV season officially started getting weird. Prison Break, a critical and ratings smash for Fox, aired its "fall season finale" on Nov. 28, leaving not just fans but Michael, Sucre, T-Bag et al in an utterly criminal limbo as their painstakingly crafted escape plan hit a big shiny dead end. The good news? Prison Break is back with new episodes starting tonight at 8 pm/ET. Executive producer Matt Olmstead generously shared with TVGuide.com a sneak peek at what's to come in the first season's back nine episodes. TVGuide.com: Is everyone there at Prison Break as glad as the rest of us to finally have new episodes on air?Matt Olmstead: Absolu

Mon, Mar 20, 2006

FOX RENEWS HOMER, HILL

Fox has ordered two more rounds of The Simpsons — the 18th and 19th seasons for the longest-running prime-time entertainment series on the air — and one more of King of the Hill. The two-year renewal for Homer, Marge et al takes the animated comedy through the 2007-08 season, during which it will air its 400th episode. That is a lot of eaten shorts, I tell you.

Mon, Mar 20, 2006

Apprentice's Theresa Is Rushed-a-home-a

At the end of an episode that featured a first for NBC's The Apprentice (Mondays at 9 pm/ET) — two players took a leave of absence to celebrate the Jewish new year — it was psychotherapist Theresa Boutross who got the boot, having generated not nearly enough horsepower on behalf of the new Chevy Tahoe. TVGuide.com asked Theresa about her boardroom booboo, that god-awful comedienne her team hired, and the one player for whom she has lost all respect. TVGuide.com: I thought it was a little bizarre that they had a task planned over Rosh Hashanah. What was the feeling amongst the candidates when you realized that was going to be a factor in this task?Theresa Boutross: We were all a little shocked, but god, that's great telev

Mon, Mar 20, 2006

A New Star Is on Food Network's Menu

Food Network is looking for its next star with a second round of (c'mon, guess the title...) The Next Food Network Star, premiering March 19 at 9 pm/ET. Again hosting the so-much-more-than-a-cook-off is Marc Summers, whom you either know from his "scintillating snack-making secret spilling" on Unwrapped or from his former gig on Nickelodeon's Double Dare. TVGuide.com chatted with Summers about the hunt for another Star — and not just because this writer  (plug-plug) appears on the April 16 episode. TVGuide.com: Well, I just finished watching the Season 2 premiere....Marc Summers: For my money, the big difference this year is that the show moves a lot quicker&n

Fri, Mar 17, 2006

Amanda Bynes: She's a Man, Baby!

In the new comedy She's the Man (in theaters now), Amanda Bynes plays Viola, a soccer star forced to get her kicks by masquerading as her twin brother, Sebastian. Along the way, of course, all manner of hunky guys and ironically attracted girls find themselves mesmerized by this gal in disguise. Was Bynes able to pull it off? Should Felicity Huffman be looking over her shoulder? And more to the point, is the perky What I Like About You star ready to kick some Natalie Portman butt this weekend? Here's what Bynes shared with TVGuide.com in a fun one-on-one. TVGuide.com: Seeing She's the Man almost — and my AP English teacher will be happy to hear this — made me want to actually read Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, on which it is loosely based. Or at least revisit the CliffsNotes

Fri, Mar 17, 2006

ON THEIR MARRY WAY?

"Where were you on March 18, 2006?" That may be the question li'l ones ask their nanas decades from now, if, as rumored, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie tie the knot this weekend. Buzz has placed the nuptials on the shores of Lake Como, where Pitt pal George Clooney has a villa. (A rep for Clooney insists he is in New York this weekend, working on a film.) Guests are expected to stay at the Motel Sei Villa d'Este, although a rep for the luxe hotel claims no celeb bookings have been made. But just to be safe, everyone, remember the next day or two well so that you may regale the next generations with colorful stories.

Fri, Mar 17, 2006

EVA LIKES LOVE-CHILD IDEA

In an interview with Allure, Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria says "I would" have a child out of wedlock with NBA star-beau Tony Parker, "but Tony won't." And although Longoria reveals that Parker has told her "he's never met anyone who loves the way I do, wholly and freely and unconditionally," there are no wedding plans just yet. "No, no, no," she insists. "But we know exactly what we want in our future." Which is...? An Emmy nod and a triple-double against the Mavericks?

Fri, Mar 17, 2006

Prison Break: What Happens Next?

Sixteen long, long weeks ago is when this TV season officially started getting weird. Prison Break, a critical and ratings smash for Fox, aired its "fall season finale" on Nov. 28, leaving not just fans but Michael, Sucre, T-Bag et al in an utterly criminal limbo as their painstakingly crafted escape plan hit a big shiny dead end. The good news? Prison Break is back with new episodes starting Monday, March 20, at 8 pm/ET. Executive producer Matt Olmstead generously shared with TVGuide.com a sneak peek at what's to come in the first season's back nine episodes. TVGuide.com: Is everyone there at Prison Break as glad as the rest of us to finally have new episodes on air?Matt Olmstead:

Fri, Mar 17, 2006

THE THETAN IS ON

Comedy Central's decision to replace a Wednesday repeat of the Scientology- and Tom Cruise-prodding South Park episode with a “Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls” encore has fueled talk that Cruise threatened not to promote Viacom-owned Paramount's Mission: Impossible III if the switch was not made. A rep for Cruise denies the strong-arming and the semiofficial "spin" is that the Chef-centric substitute was chosen as a tribute to Isaac Hayes, who recently quit the series... due to its Scientology riff. But South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone still cry foul, saying in a statement to Variety, "Scientology, you may have won this battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun!... You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail!" You gotta love those guys.

Fri, Mar 17, 2006

Simon Cowell Seeks an American Genius

With $1 million in seed money at stake and a bevy of Caractacus Potts wannabes in queue, ABC's American Inventor — cocreated and executive-produced by American Idol icon Simon Cowell — offers the promise of actually impacting the millions of us who don't necessarily worship pop-music newbies. After all, the winner of this amateur-inventor competition might bring into our homes a product that is both revolutionary and desperately needed, right? Um... maybe? At the very least, American Inventor (premiering with a two-hour special tonight at 8 pm, then airing Thursdays at 9 pm/ET) promises to bring to your television screen a parade of characters — "a million" of them, to hear Cowell tell it. "I sat through a number of the auditions quietly in the back of a room," he shares, "and I would say that 90 percent of these people h

Thu, Mar 16, 2006

BETTER LATELY THAN NEVER

Melissa McGhee got cut on Wednesday night's American Idol, but not before belting out a flub-free version — alas, one cut short by trigger-happy Fox affiliates in many markets — of Stevie Wonder's "Lately" as the end credits rolled. The Tampa native can't help but feel that her previous slipups (she botched the lyrics in rehearsal and onstage Tuesday night) begot her booting. "I think it weighed a lot on the actual decision," she tells TVGuide.com, adding with a chuckle, "America's not that forgiving!" Somewhere, Ashlee Simpson is saying, "Amen."

Thu, Mar 16, 2006

"I... DID?"

Did TomKat dupe all of us by tying the knot months ago, back when their romance was new, fresh and not-so-overpublicized? The National Enquirer is reporting that a Scientology chaplain married Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes last July in a ceremony held during a Caribbean cruise on one of the church's ships. The insta-couple supposedly traded rings bedazzled with Scientology symbols as the likes of John Travolta and Kirstie Alley looked on. A rep for the duo insists to the New York Daily News that "they have not yet wed."

Wed, Mar 15, 2006

Charisma Carpenter: From Mars to Paradise Island?

With the long-awaited next new episode of UPN's Veronica Mars now just a day away (airing Wednesday at 9 pm/ET), TVGuide.com grabbed a (figurative) hold of Charisma Carpenter, who this season has been appearing as Dick and Beaver's head-turner of a stepmother, Kendall Casablancas. Here is what the Buffy/Angel alumna had to share about her present in Neptune, her possible future on Paradise Island and the thing she cannot believe she revealed to Playboy. TVGuide.com: You next appear on Veronica Mars in "The Quick and the Wed," airing March 22. I hear that Kendall makes some sort of offer to Aaron Echolls?Charisma Carpenter: Yes, I do have a nice

Tue, Mar 14, 2006

Charisma Carpenter: From Mars to Paradise Island?

J.LO DOES DALLAS?

That big-screen version of Dallas is inching closer to reality. Variety reports that the cast is starting to fill out — particularly in the backside, one might say, with Jennifer Lopez being offered the role of Sue Ellen Ewing (played by Linda Gray on the long-running CBS serial). Luke Wilson is in talks to play Bobby, and Shirley MacLaine is being eyed for Miss Ellie, while the most plum part, J.R. himself, is still earmarked for John Travolta (production on Dallas would begin in October, after he's done filming Hairspray). You can practically hear Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson catfighting over the role of Lucy.

Tue, Mar 14, 2006

Ayla, Gedeon Discuss Idol Ousters

And then there were 12. As reiterated by the nifty little "countdown" scorecard that Fox sent out to reporters this week, Season 5 of American Idol now is down to its dynamic dozen (my term — use it if you like!) finalists. Joining Kinnik Sky and Will Makar in the quartet cut last Thursday were a pair of 17-year-olds: high-school hoops star Ayla Brown and he of the megawatt smile, Gedeon McKinney, both of whom spoke with reporters the day after their dismissal. AYLA BROWN ON... ... whether greater Idol success would have sunk her Boston College basketball scholarship:"[The BC representative's] response to my father was, 'We are so incredibly proud of Ayla a

Tue, Mar 14, 2006

PUNCHING THE CLOCK

Mike Wallace announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down as a 60 Minutes regular and moving to the position of correspondent emeritus (which, if I correctly recall from my Latin classes, means "reporter carrying a nail file." OK, I was a lousy student.) Wallace has been with 60 Minutes since its 1968 premiere and with CBS since 1951.

Tue, Mar 14, 2006

PRETTY IN PINK

Alicia Silverstone, whose previous prime-time bid was 2003's short-lived Miss Match, has landed the lead in Pink Collar, an ABC comedy pilot exploring female relationships in the workplace. Like, whatever!

Mon, Mar 13, 2006

Five Blades Cut Two from Apprentice

You have to say this about the Gillette Fusion razor: It sure is efficient, swiftly lopping two lawyers from the ranks of NBC's The Apprentice (Mondays at 9 pm/ET), as Stacy Schneider and project manager Jose "Pepi" Diaz got sent packing last week. Did the duo's hell-Brent determination to get the dancing terry-cloth monkey booted basically backfire? TVGuide.com asked the ousted for their input. TVGuide.com: Pepi, for starters, congrats on an Apprentice first — trying to send someone, Brent, home in the middle of a task.Pepi: [Laughs] You don't know the half of it. It was a true debacle. Apparently the only other time somebody should have fired somebody was when

Mon, Mar 13, 2006

SNL Vet Weighs In on the New Buzz

Despite seeing presidential hopeful John Kerry (and thus his portrayal) get snubbed in 2004, Seth Meyers has never stopped being a major part of the mix at NBC's Saturday Night Live (Saturdays, duh, at 11:30 pm/ET). As he prepped for this weekend's show, Meyers — now best known for his bits as haranguing hubby Dan Needler and the Appalachian Emergency Room receptionist, as well as for his impressions of Hugh Grant, Sean Penn and Anderson Cooper — found a few minutes to talk to TVGuide.com about SNL's plans for guest host Matt Dillon, the "real" Natalie Portman and the crazy-delicious digital-shorts

Fri, Mar 10, 2006