matt.webb.mitovich

MICHAELS MIA FROM MNF TEAM

ESPN on Wednesday unveiled its Monday Night Football broadcast team and, as speculated, Al Michaels isn't on the list. USA Today confirms that the veteran sportscaster, whose original plan was to follow MNF from ABC to the cabler, instead was able to be released from his ESPN deal so as to join John Madden's eyebrows on NBC's Sunday-night NFL coverage next season. So who is in ESPN's booth? Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann and Pardon the Interruption's Tony Kornheiser. Mike, you make us Orangemen proud. The next slice at Varsity is on me.

Wed, Feb 8, 2006

BABY MISSTEPS

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy paid a visit to the home of Britney Spears on Tuesday to question the pop tart about recently surfaced photos that show her driving an SUV with her 5-month-old son, Sean, on her lap. "[The Department of Children and Family Services] asked us to go out there and get some information," a sheriff's department rep tells the New York Daily News. (While there, did anyone take a long, hard look at the slacker dude squatting in the master bedroom? I digress.) Although Spears claims the downright dangerous seating arrangement was her reaction to "a horrifying, frightful encounter with the paparazzi," the agency that snapped the telltale pics maintains their shutterbugs "exhibited no aggressive behavior."

Wed, Feb 8, 2006

Chief's Daughter Isn't Such a Brat

If you're like me, you may wonder just what is Rebecca Calloway's problem on ABC's Commander in Chief (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET). I mean, wouldn't it be the bee's knees to be the president's daughter? (Or did my usage of "the bee's knees" prove how out of touch I am with today's teens?) Even though she left us hanging for a full day, TVGuide.com was more than happy to talk with the first daughter, aka Caitlin Wachs (pronounced "wax"), about life in the White House, a pregnancy shocker to come, and that older costar she's going around calling "sexy." TVGuide.com: So, you blew off the hot-shot TV Guide reporter....Caitlin Wachs: Oh, no! [Laughs] Maybe I'll win you back.

Tue, Feb 7, 2006

SVU CRASH

Actor-rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, a part of Crash's SAG- and Critics Choice Award-winning ensemble cast (as well as a costar of the also-acclaimed Hustle & Flow) will guest-star on NBC's Law & Order: SVU on March 28, playing a nephew of Ice-T's Detective "Fin" Tutuola. "I have been a fan of Dick Wolf's Law & Order for a long time," Bridges says in a statement. "There was no way that I could turn down this amazing opportunity."

Tue, Feb 7, 2006

MADGE VS. MIMI

Oh, to be a fly on the wall backstage at Wednesday night's Grammys. Sources tell the New York Daily News that Mariah Carey "really wanted to open the show with her choir-backed rendition of 'We Belong Together,'" but Madonna waylaid those wishes by giving producers an ultimatum: I open, or I don't show up. Thus, Madge (performing with the animated group Gorillaz) landed the plum placing, supposedly infuriating Carey — and adding further fuel to the divas' long-running feud. I'd suggest the gals kiss and make nice, but Madonna has been there, done that with Brit and Xtina.

Tue, Feb 7, 2006

Laguna's Kristin Is Now UPN's Party Girl

Remember fun li'l Kristin from MTV's Laguna Beach? Well, she has a party invite for you, and in this rare instance, there will be no velvet ropes to hold you back. Tonight at 8 pm/ET, UPN premieres Get This Party Started, a feel-good reality series in which Kristin Cavallari and Ethan Erickson help organize lavish surprise parties for extremely deserving people. (Case in point: The first episode's guest of honor lost nearly everything she had in Hurricane Katrina.) Here's what Cavallari had to tell TVGuide.com about her Partying ways, what she thinks of Tara Reid and the status of her Laguna Beach friendships. TVGuide.com: I just watched the pilot, and this is a f

Tue, Feb 7, 2006

Laguna's Kristin Is Now UPN's Party Girl

How Will The West Wing Say Goodbye?

During this, The West Wing's seventh season, the NBC drama's producers have had to make one difficult decision after another. When should the on-screen election air? Who should win? Could the show continue on past this season, following Bartlet's successor? In the wake of original cast member John Spencer's sudden passing, how should Leo's absence be addressed? And lastly, once it was determined that this would in fact be the final season, how should the show come to an end? Thinking back to the fall and the issue of the show's longevity, executive producer John Wells says, "We had a decision to make: Do we try to press NBC to continue the series [with] another presidency? Or were we coming to the natural end of our storytelling? The series

Mon, Feb 6, 2006

SUPER BLEEP

There were no wardrobe malfunctions per se (aside from Mick's little-too-snug pants), but the Rolling Stones' Super Bowl halftime performance still had ABC on guard on Sunday. Thanks to a five-second delay, the network was able to bleep out racy references in both "Start Me Up" (what, a dead man can't arrive someplace?) and "Rough Justice," while "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" escaped intact.

Mon, Feb 6, 2006

Timberlake's Ex Is Out for Blood

Revenge has a new name (and a sssmokin' body). Tamara, starring music-video-dancer-turned-actress Jenna Dewan and from the creator of Final Destination, is a new horror film now playing in New York before going into wider release on Feb. 17. Oh, and did we mention that revenge smells nice and flowery, too? Actually, that's just the fragrance (not Curious, you can pretty much bet) worn by Justin Timberlake's post-Britney girlfriend as she sits down for a one-on-one with TVGuide.com. TVGuide.com: So the moral of this movie is what Mom always told us: "Don't pick on the drab girl who's into the occult or else she'll clean up nice and unleash on you a load of hurt."Jenna Dewan: Yes, and we like that. That's what I love about the movie, is that it does have a b

Mon, Feb 6, 2006

SHOT THROUGH THE HEART

... but who's to blame? Perpetuating my hypothesis that nobody in Hollywood is happy, Heather Locklear has filed for divorce from her rocker husband Richie Sambora. "After 10 years of marriage, Heather has filed for divorce," the Melrose Place alum's rep tells People. "This is a private matter and there will be no further comment at this time." Er, think again: A little more than an hour after Locklear's flack started spreading the word, Sambora — blindsided by the buzz — told ABC News Radio, "It's completely untrue," noting that he even has Valentine's Day plans with his wife. Uh-oh.

Fri, Feb 3, 2006

WHO ORDERED WINGS?

Paul McCartney, up for a trio of Grammys this year, will perform at the awards show for the first time ever when CBS airs the Ellen DeGeneres-hosted ceremony on Feb. 8. Recent additions to the list of presenters include Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Lance Armstrong, which should make for wonderful awkwardness, since he and fiancee Sheryl Crow have just announced their split.

Fri, Feb 3, 2006

Patrick Duffy Is the Girl Next Door's Dad

He's lived the life aquatic, come back from the dead on Dallas and worked with Suzanne Somers without ever tripping over a ThighMaster. But can Patrick Duffy keep his TV-movie wife, Patty Duke, from throttling Shelley Long in Hallmark Channel's Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door (premiering Feb. 4 at 9 pm/ET)? TVGuide.com traded Qs and As with ol' Bobby Ewing. (Or was it all just a dream?) TVGuide.com: I see that Patty Duke has been robbing the cradle a little bit....Patrick Duffy: With whom? [Laughs] With me? Nooooo.... we're sort of contemporaries. TVGuide.com: Are you OK these days playing the father of the hot young chick instead of getting the hot young chick?Duffy: Well, it'd be ludicrous if I was getting the hot young chic

Fri, Feb 3, 2006

Patrick Duffy Is the Girl Next Door's Dad

Housewives' Woodard Tries Something New

In the romantic comedy Something New, in theaters today, Sanaa Lathan plays an upwardly mobile African American who, despite cries of foul from friends and family, finds herself falling in love with Simon Baker's hunky landscaper. Helping the conflicted miss sort through her feelings is Desperate Housewives' Alfre Woodard, playing mom to Lathan — as she did in Love & Basketball. TVGuide.com spoke with Woodard about Something New's important message, the certain something she brings to the table, and, of course, life on Wisteria Lane. TVGuide.com: Just recently, I interviewed your Something New

Fri, Feb 3, 2006

CHAPPELLE: "I'M NOT CRAZY"

In his first television interview since bailing on Chappelle's Show in May, Dave Chappelle revealed on Friday's The Oprah Winfrey Show that it was the onus of fronting an increasingly successful series that caused him to go MIA. "I wasn't crazy, but it's incredibly stressful," he said. "I felt like... I was deliberately being put through stress because, when you're a guy that generates money, people have a vested interest in controlling you." As for whether he'll ever resume production on his Comedy Central series, he said, "I do want to" — especially if a portion of DVD sales could be earmarked for people in need. "We're going to figure it out," he said. "But I wanted to be clear: I'm not mad at anybody — not anymore." 

Fri, Feb 3, 2006

Clark vs. Lex: "It's Going to Explode!"

Last week, WB's Smallville (Thursdays at 8 pm/ET) finally pulled the trigger on its much-trumpeted 100th-episode death, as John Schneider's Jonathan crossed over to that big farmhouse in the sky. Seeing as Clark's pop all but died at the hands of Lex's own dad, is one of comicdom's all-time great rivalries ready to rumble? "It's a turning point," says Tom Welling, Smallville's young Man of Steel. "The episodes we're doing now are even better, I think, than what we've done in the past. From [here] on, the show is going to be very different from what it's been. We're finally going to be what the audience wanted the show to be." What many Smallville fans wanted the show to be was darker, mor

Thu, Feb 2, 2006

ER Vet Returns to Direct James Woods

Tonight on ER (10 pm/ET on NBC), two-time Oscar nominee James Woods guest-stars in one of those "very special" episodes that promises to get your tears flowing — stat! — and to possibly prove to be Emmy bait come September. Directing the outing was ER alum Paul McCrane, aka the late Dr. Robert Romano, whom TVGuide.com spoke with about handling heavy hitters such as Woods and about his many grisly on-screen demises. TVGuide.com: This is your sixth time behind the cameras for ER. What's the first thing you look for when you're handed the shooting script? Do you check to see if there are any big, complicated helicopter crashes in it?Paul McCrane:

Thu, Feb 2, 2006

ABC SHAKES SKED SOME MORE

This is truly a bizarre TV season, ain't it? ABC announced on Wednesday a flurry of changes going into effect post-February sweeps. Most notably, Invasion will be shelved for six weeks starting March 22 to make room for the new drama The Evidence. Other arrivals and departures: Supernanny returns March 6 at 9 pm/ET, followed by the premiere of Miracle Workers; Commander in Chief (as previously reported) last airs March 7, then returns April 18 to finish its shortened 19-episode run; Idol snarkmeister Simon Cowell's American Inventor reality show debuts March 16 at 8 pm; and What About Brian, a new drama exec-produced by Lost cocreator J.J. Abrams, gets a sneak peek April 2 after Desperate Housewives, the night before it claims its Mondays-at-10 time slot. (Miracle Workers, we hardly knew ya).

Thu, Feb 2, 2006

ANOTHER LOST FLIGHT

Matthew Fox has sealed up his plans for summer hiatus, and this time he's taking on a real-life airline tragedy. The Lost star has signed on to join Matthew McConaughey in Charlie's Angels director McG's as-yet-untitled big-screen drama about the 1970 plane crash that killed members of the West Virginia-based Marshall University football team, most of its coaching staff and many others. Both Matthews will play team coaches.

Wed, Feb 1, 2006

GUEST STAR 4 U

Oops, Will & Grace is doing it again — stunt casting, that is. As first hinted in the new issue of TV Guide magazine, producers have snagged Britney Spears for a guest shot. Here are the deets: In the April 13 episode, when a Christian TV network takes over "Jack Talk," Spears is brought on as Jack's new religious cohost, even adding her own touches like a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's." This is also good news for Spears' husband, Kevin Federline: He is more than welcome to drive her to the NBC studio.

Wed, Feb 1, 2006

Will Hurley Get Lost in Love?

ABC's Lost (Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET) took another tiny step toward Housewives-like sudsiness last week when Hurley finally (thanks, James!) made his move with Libby. But is the most lovable castaway about to get his big heart broken? In between hosting poker games with his Lost buddies — "Beware of that aggressive Oahu police force!" we warned him — Jorge Garcia phoned TVGuide.com to talk about Hurley's present (and, of course, past) predicaments, his own Web savviness and the "monster" of a pet he has living with him. TVGuide.com: It's been a while since the season premiere but I have to ask, since you do play Hurley: How satisfied were you with the hatch reveal?Jorge Garcia: I

Wed, Feb 1, 2006

EXILE ISLAND HAS WI-FI?

In a first for network television, episodes of Survivor: Panama - Exile Island, debuting this Thursday at 8 pm/ET, will be made available for download directly from the CBS Corp. website, CBS.com, effectively cutting out the middle-man distributor. The episodes will be ready for purchase shortly after midnight each Thursday and will be viewable for 24 hours afterward — at which point they'll start hissing and smoking like in Mission: Impossible, which, you have to admit, is wicked cool.

Wed, Feb 1, 2006

Commander in Chief Is No Lame Duck

The big news last October: ABC pulled a shocking switcheroo, replacing Rod Lurie with Steven Bochco as show runner for Commander in Chief (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET), which had debuted to impressive approval ratings, aka Nielsens. The big news today: ABC has announced that Chief will temporarily step down on March 7 to make room for the new comedy Sons & Daughters. Can the acclaimed Geena Davis-as-president drama survive another hiatus and retain the popular vote? Bochco, for one, believes that "hiatus" need not be a four-letter word, given the right circumstances. But first, a bit of background on Chief's cha

Tue, Jan 31, 2006