michael.ausiello

Press Tour Diary: Day Four

It's the second and final day of ABC's press-tour pageant, and the roster includes sessions for the Mel Gibson-produced family sitcom Complete Savages, J.J. Abrams' castaway thriller Lost and the sex-crazed teen soap life as we know it, co-starring Kelly Osbourne. Speaking of soap, I just found out that the miniature bathroom accessories I get for free in my hotel room sell for big bucks downstairs in the gift shop. I've got two words for you: stocking stuffers. But enough about that. Let's get to the real point of this trip (wink, wink)... COMPLETE SAVAGES 9:07 am Mel Gibson's name is all over this comedy about a single dad raising five teenage boys, yet the Passion auteur isn't here to help promote the thing. Interesting. "Mel had a lot of input on the show," insists exec producer Julie Thacker-Scully. "He directed the pilot... We run ideas by him... We pick his brain... " He does

Wed, Jul 14, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day Three

ABC is mired in fourth place in the ratings, its executive ranks are in constant disarray and it hasn't had a major hit since Laverne & Shirley schlemieled onto the scene in 1976. Okay, I exaggerated a teensy bit with that last one, but you get the point. Despite all the doom and gloom, the Mickey Mouse network had reason to be upbeat as it kicked off its portion of the TCA press tour on Monday. Simply put: Of all the networks, ABC's got the best crop of new fall shows. Standouts include J.J. Abrams' island spooker Lost, the dark suburban soap Desperate Housewives and the hilarious family sitcom Complete Savages. It even has the most promising new reality show in Wife Swap. What more could a struggling network ask for? A minute-by-minute recap of yesterday's highlights, you say? Coming right up!EXECUTIVE SESSION9:10 am During her opening remarks, newly installed network president Anne Sweeney is upstaged

Tue, Jul 13, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day One

As any self-respecting TV journalist will tell you, the annual Television Critics Assoc. press tour in Los Angeles is only as good as the free food that's dished out. And from the taste of things, this is going to be a fan-freakin-tastic 10 days. NBC kicked things off Saturday with a menu that included power bars, smoothies, hot popcorn, fresh fruit, a movie theater-style candy counter and, best of all, veggie burgers! Suddenly, the Peacock's new fall lineup was looking a lot better. The only thing missing was Diet Raspberry Snapple, which, by the way, was not waiting for me when I arrived at my hotel. (Let's just say I was not pleased and leave it at that, okay? Great.) Anyway, the day's schedule included panels for Medical Investigation, The Apprentice 2 and the much-talked about Siegfried and Roy-themed CGI comedy Father of the Pride. Here's my minute-by-minute recap:EXECUTIVE SESSION9:00 am The ex

Mon, Jul 12, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day Two

What do Heather Locklear, Matt LeBlanc, Drea de Matteo and Debra Messing have in common with, well, me? We all spent Sunday at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles for the Television Critics Assoc. press tour. (Actually, I spent most of the day next door at the St. Regis, but that's another story for another time.) Anyway, it's NBC's final day of the tour and up first is the session for this fall's most anticipated new sitcom, Joey. Here's my minute-by-minute rundown of yesterday's most memorable moments:JOEY9:50 am The cast — featuring new brother-sister team LeBlanc and de Matteo — walks out on stage and... Oh my God, Adriana's alive! For the love of God, she's alive! 9:54 "It wasn't properly conceived," exec producer Shana Goldberg Meehan says of Ashley Scott's next-door-neighbor character. As a result, the role is currently being revamped and recast. An anno

Mon, Jul 12, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day One

Sun, Jul 11, 2004

Alias: We Spy a Makeover

When Alias kicks off its fourth season in January, fans are going to spy some big-time changes. Coming off a subpar season, which saw viewership decline 9 percent, series creator J.J. Abrams will once again embrace the show's original conceit. Namely, Sydney will go back to juggling her dual roles as an international spy and normal twentysomething. "We got so deep in the Rimbaldi and Covenant [mysteries] that we lost sight of some of the stuff we fell in love with [in the beginning]," ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson tells TV Guide Online. "J.J. is talking about getting back to some of the joy that she used to have in her personal life early on... while still living in this crazy world." Abrams says he had an epiphany about Alias' disappointing third season while he was working on the pilot for his upcoming ABC thriller, Lost. "Going away to do Lost allowed me to look at Alias in a way that I could not

Mon, Jun 21, 2004

MNF's New Draft Pick

Monday Night Football's decision to sack buxom sideline reporter Lisa Guerrero and bring in ESPN vet Michele Tafoya may not go over too well with the broadcast's young male viewers. But you don't have to tell Tafoya that. "I know I'm not a pinup," concedes the 39-year-old NBA fixture. "I'm just a no-nonsense reporter who is really, really passionate about sports." It's a distinction true football fans can appreciate — especially coming off of last season's on-air fiasco. Guerrero's brief gridiron gig was universally panned by critics, many of whom blasted ABC for shamelessly emphasizing sex appeal over substance in its pursuit of that ever-elusive younger demo. For her part, Tafoya doesn't blame the network for hiring actresses to play broadcasters. "TV is a really visual medium," she says. "Really beautiful people get you to stop and watch and that's just the way it is; that's natural. Believe me, if I could have it all I would

Tue, May 25, 2004

Time's Up for 24 Babe?

On last week's 24, Michelle Dessler's day went from bad to better to worse in mere minutes. Soon after learning that she was immune to that ghastly virus, the CTU pinup was kidnapped by Saunders' goons and nearly got her eyeball gutted. But you won't catch portrayer Reiko Aylesworth complaining. "It's the best stuff that I've been given," gushes the 31-year-old actress, who prior to this season's outbreak had been relegated to 'round-the-clock desk duty. What's more, she adds: "It's been great to work on different sets!" Viewers also seem to be enjoying the change of scenery following that midseason detour to Mexico. Ratings have spiked in recent weeks, with Tuesday's installment notching season-high numbers. Even the cast can feel a difference, Aylesworth says. "Ever since the virus broke there's been a renewed level of intensity and focus. Everyone has really stepped up." And as the clock ticks to the May 25 finale, Aylesworth admits

Tue, May 4, 2004

Does Kwame Blame Omarosa?

Just hours after Donald Trump fired Kwame Jackson in front of 28 million people on Thursday's Apprentice finale, opportunity knocked big-time for the 30-year-old Wall Street wiz. Dallas Mavericks' billionaire owner Marc Cuban tracked Jackson down at the show's after-party and offered him a job. "He laid out a great offer to work with some of his investment-portfolio companies," marvels the Apprentice runner-up, who says he's "strongly considering" taking the plum gig. "It's not every day that you have billionaires waiting for you in clubs." Translation: Despite a certain saboteur's best efforts, Jackson is destined to become the most successful loser since Clay Aiken. Still, Troy's right-hand man deserves a big "L" to the forehead for not dropping a bucket of cement on Omarosa after she lied to him not once, but twice during his final make-or-break assignment. Why did he let her off the hook so easy? Good question. Let's as

Mon, Apr 19, 2004

Apprentice Champ Tells All!

Roughly 28 million people watched Donald Trump hire Bill Rancic over Kwame Jackson on Thursday night's finale of NBC's The Apprentice. In addition to a $250,000-a-year job overseeing a skyscraper project in his native Chicago, the 32-year-old cigar entrepreneur won a shiny new Chrysler Crossfire and, if the past few weeks are any indication, a lifetime of tabloid headlines. Just hours after his boardroom rout, Rancic sat down with TV Guide Online to dish about his big win, those romance rumors and the scheming saboteur who led him to victory. TV Guide Online: Congratulations.Bill Rancic: Thank you, thank you. TVGO: Did you get any sleep last night?Bill: About 45 minutes. Somehow, I don't think I'll be getting much more in the next couple of days. TVGO: So, did you give Omarosa a big hug and kiss for leading you to victory?Bill: (Chuckles) She certainly was a factor, but I don't know if that was the

Fri, Apr 16, 2004

The Apprentice's Secrets Revealed!

When it comes to exposing the secrets behind The Apprentice, executive producer Mark Burnett would prefer that they remain "behind the curtain. As the Wizard, it doesn't serve me to talk about the inner workings of production." But as rabid fans of NBC's monster reality hit, it does serve us. So, with the show's two-hour season finale airing tonight, TV Guide Online is firing off 11 things Donald Trump (and Burnett) would never tell you about the nation's guiltiest pleasure. 1. The contestants aren't shipped home after getting fired. Those cabs, which stop mysteriously without ever having been hailed, escort the newly unemployed to a nearby hotel, where they stay until the show's six-week shoot ends. "They sequestered us because we had to keep secret who was still playing the game," explains Kristi Frank. And for those who got the boot early on, that meant having "a free month in New York City on Donald Trump and Mark Burnett," s

Thu, Apr 15, 2004

Apprentice Loser Disses Amy

Before firing them, Donald Trump declared Nick Warnock and Amy Henry's Apprentice "marriage" over on Thursday's penultimate episode. And for once, the Master of Hyperbole — "The Apprentice is the No. 1 TV show ever!!!" — wasn't overstating things. Sure, the canoodling contestants dated briefly after the show ended, but Amy's "cold-hearted" recommendation that Trump fire her honey over Bill and Kwame marked the beginning of the end for the reality lovebirds. Luckily, the failed romance left in its wake just enough resentment to make our Q&A with the 27-year-old Xerox salesman chock full of passive-aggressive digs, and therefore, a must-read. TV Guide Online: I spoke to Katrina last week and she said your romance with Amy was just a strategy to win the game. True?Nick: That's partially true. I aligned with a very strong player who I thought would help me in the long run, and it did. If you look at the Taj

Tue, Apr 13, 2004

Apprentice ''Good Girl'' Gone Bad?

Over the past two weeks, The Apprentice's golden girl, Amy Henry, has quietly stood by as co-star Katrina Campins single-handedly dragged her good name and reputation through the mud in the press. Well, now that Amy's been evicted from Trump Tower — The Donald fired her and sometime sweetie Nick Warnock on last Thursday's show — the 30-year-old Southern belle is free to strike back. But first, we gotta ask her what she did to p--s off another Apprentice diva — Trump's bespectacled media-relations lieutenant, Norma Foerderer.TV Guide Online: Norma had it out for you! Which one of her snarky remarks stung the most?Amy: The — "She's bubbly and energetic and has perfect teeth, but she's annoying" — comment was the harshest. (Laughs) I thought I had a good interview with her. TVGO: What did you do that rubbed her the wrong way?Amy: I

Mon, Apr 12, 2004

Why Contender KO'd Rocky Theme

Mark Burnett and Sylvester Stallone are recruiting yet another champ for their upcoming NBC boxing reality series, The Contender. "We're talking to Bill Conti, who wrote [the theme from Rocky], about writing our theme song," reveals Burnett, who calls "Gonna Fly Now" the "most inspiring theme I can imagine. Whenever you really, really feel like s--t and can't keep going, [that song] is a good motivator." The reality guru, however, decided against using the song in The Contender because he believes it's "too identifiable with Rocky. This is about real life and 16 young men getting a chance." That said, Burnett — who recently signed boxing greats Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman to climb into the ring and mentor the aspiring pugilists — is eyeing another signature Rocky tune for The Contender. "At some po

Wed, Apr 7, 2004

Apprentice's Troy: ''I Couldn't Compete''

"I about went ass over tea kettles," says 32-year-old country bumpkin Troy McClain of his reaction to getting fired Thursday on NBC's The Apprentice. We were right there with ya, buddy. Not only did the media peg McClain the clear favorite to win Donald Trump's entrepreneurial olympics, but the above-average joe was America's clear choice as well. So what the heck happened to send the homespun hero from frontrunner to, as he puts it, "looking up the ass of a dead dog with fleas?" Well, for starters, he picked Kwame to join him in the freakin' boardroom instead of Bill. TV Guide Online: What were you thinking? Had you picked Bill you would still be in this game!Troy McClain: I don't know that that's true. Bill had a higher success record than both Kwame and I. At the end of the day, the education [issue] weighed heavily on DT's mind. I've got a high-school diploma;

Mon, Apr 5, 2004

Apprentice Sexpot Fired Up!

Omarosa vs. Ereka? That's so yesterday. The Apprentice feud that has everyone talking these days pits 24-year-old real-estate vixen Katrina Campins against 30-year-old Southern belle Amy Henry. Their rivalry runneth over on last Thursday's show when, during a dramatic boardroom showdown, Katrina accused America's Sweetheart of dipping her pen in company ink. Amy retaliated by suggesting Katrina too often used her breast assets to close a deal. Luckily, Donald Trump fired one of 'em — sorry, Katrina — thus ensuring that the mudslinging would immediately continue at TV Guide Online! TV Guide Online: You suggested in the boardroom that Nick and Amy were engaged in a full-blown affair. What didn't the cameras show?Katrina Campins: Well, Amy actually claims that I brought sex to the table, but she brought a lot more sex to the table than I did. She slept with one guy on the show and then she had sexual rel

Tue, Mar 30, 2004

Buffy's Angel Reunion Nixed

Bloody hell! This bites! This sucks! Whichever vampire pun you choose to express your feelings on the subject, the sad fact remains: Sarah Michelle Gellar will not be resurrecting Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Angel's swan song after all. As foreshadowed in this week's issue of TV Guide magazine (on sale now), the in-demand actress' busy schedule was a deal-breaker. But that's only half of the story. You see, Gellar wasn't asked to appear in the series finale, she was invited to return for the third-to-last episode (airing May 5). Unfortunately, when that hour was being shot, she was in Tokyo working on the supernatural horror film The Grudge and, obviously, quite unavailable. However, she was free to pick up stakes in the spin-off's capper (airing May 19). So why isn't she doing that installment? Executive producer Joss Whedon didn't want Angel's send-off to "revolve around a guest star," he says simply. "We will de

Thu, Mar 25, 2004

24 Babe Reborn on CSI

Although Claudia's sudden death on 24 this season ultimately freed up actress Vanessa Ferlito to take a plum gig opposite Gary Sinise on CSI: New York, the Italian beauty is still haunted by what coulda been between her and Kiefer Sutherland's Jack. "It depresses me because we were so in love," she laments. "We were supposed to end up together. It's really messed up." So, why did producers kill off Jack's Mexican mistress? And what's the scoop on Ferlito's new CSI gig? Read on... TV Guide Online: How did you find out that you got the CSI: New York job?Vanessa Ferlito: [Exec producer] Anthony Zuiker called me. TVGO: Did you have to audition?Ferlito: No. It's amazing. I read for him once, but not even for the role I got. It was for a different role, an older CSI named Stella. TVGO: What role did you get?Ferlito: Her name is Abigail Martin, but I don't know if

Wed, Mar 24, 2004

Apprentice Star Drops F-Bombshell: "I Love Trump!"

NBC's standards and practices department breathed a sigh of relief last Thursday when Donald Trump dropped the F-bomb on Apprentice potty-mouth Heidi Bressler. But damn... er, darn if they weren't the only ones. Sure, the 30-year-old sales queen may not have been the classiest dame among the show's corporate guppies — as "Miss Manners" Omarosa delighted in pointing out. However, Bressler possessed a quality sorely lacking in her self-important rivals: Jersey girlfriend was fun! She was also three minutes early for this interview, and if there's one thing we at TV Guide Online appreciate more than a down-to-earth reality star, it's a punctual down-to-earth reality star. TV Guide Online: I have to warn you up front: This is a family Web site, so no F-bombs.Heidi: (Laughs) I will not drop the F-bomb, I promise! I'll behave. TVGO: Thanks. You didn't look too upset when Mr. Trump fired you.Heidi: I wa

Tue, Mar 16, 2004

Straight Girl's Queer Crisis!

The 21-year-old bachelorette at the heart of Fox's latest dating romp, Playing It Straight, better fine-tune her gaydar if she wants to meet Mr. Right Orientation. On Friday's premiere, Jackie gave the boot to two guys she suspected were gay but who were actually straight. (Somewhere, Liza Minnelli is feeling her pain.) TV Guide Online rang up the perky Wisconsin coed — and suspected Jennifer Love Hewitt clone — to see whether her queer eye could pass our inspection. TV Guide Online: How was the show initially presented to you?Jackie: They told me it was going to be a dating show with a big twist. TVGO: What did you think it might be?Jackie: Honestly, I thought it might have been that some of the guys were gay. TVGO: Really?Jackie: Yeah. They said i

Mon, Mar 15, 2004

Omarosa Speaks: "I'm a Good Person!"

On Thursday's episode of The Apprentice, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth was evicted from Trump Plaza and immediately took up residence inside reality television's Hall of Shame on You, Girlfriend! There, alongside fellow &uuml;berbitches Jerri Manthey, Camille McDonald and Toni Ferrari, the 29-year-old political consultant (and former Clinton appointee) was granted one phone call — and wouldn't you know it, she used it to call TV Guide Online! Be afraid... be very afraid, folks (we sure were). We've chummed the waters and reeled in the nastiest corporate shark since Leona Helmsley. TV Guide Online: How's your head?Omarosa: Thanks for asking. I really [suffered] a lot because I didn't follow the doctor's [orders], which was to take off a week and rest... I wasn't given an opportunity to do that. A lot of what you saw last [Thursday] night was relief, because I could now go take care of myself physically.

Tue, Mar 9, 2004

Law & Order Babe Returning?

When Stephanie March left Law & Order: SVU and her role as ADA Alex Cabot last fall, we figured the Emmy-worthy actress was setting her sights on bigger and better things — like a movie career or a legal drama all her own. Not a gig at the Food Network. But the 28-year-old up-and-comer assures us that her role as host of the five-part series What America Eats With PARADE (debuting Sunday at 9 pm/ET on FN) does not represent a new career direction. "This is just about the fact that I love food," she tells TV Guide Online. "It's like if you love the Westminster Dog Show and somebody says, 'Do you want to run my dog around the ring?' 'Well, yeah! Why not?'" March also happens to be engaged to Food Network superstud Bobby Flay, so, well, you do the math. TV Guide Online: Are you concerned that people might thin

Fri, Mar 5, 2004