Emmy News & Information

A few viewing tips and information about tonight's broadcast on Fox, beginning at 8 p.m.:

Fox will offer a live backstage Webcam, available at http://www.emmys.com/backstage-live.  According to the producers, "Ten cameras positioned in various areas backstage will...include live streaming of television’s biggest stars as they enter and exit the stage, mingle in the greenroom with their fellow nominees, collect their Emmy® statuettes, conduct interviews in the press room, relax in the exclusive Winners Lounge and continue their speeches at the backstage 'Thank You Cam.' Additionally, there will be a camera dedicated to following Jane Lynch and her team of writers as they work on her comedic remarks and host segments throughout the course of the show."

The latest presenters announced include: Don Cheadle, Rob Lowe, David Boreanaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hugh Laurie, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes, Minka Kelly, Jimmy Kimmel, William H. Macy, Anna Paquin, David Spade, Scott Caan, Bryan Cranston, Jon Cryer and Claire Danes.  That's good, because heretofore, the biggest name on the presenters list was Ashton Kutcher.

Expect an appearance by the cast of "Jersey Shore."  I have a feeling this will involve host Jane Lynch, possibly part of her opening number/monologue.

John Walsh of America's Most Wanted will receive the Governor's Award.

Look for a good deal of celebrities, including Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) and  Times media writer Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) to be tweeting during the broadcast with #emmy.

I'll be tweeting at @debrajcaruso during the program and look for a post tomorrow with news and commentary from tonight's broadcast.  In the meantime, enjoy the show!

NBC Preview: Reviews of New Fall Shows

After seeing previews of the new fall shows from NBC, all set to debut in the next few weeks, here are some recommendations and reviews.  Two of the five are very good and one is good.  The other two: not so much.

Clearly the biggest show on NBC's docket is The Playboy Club.  From, Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer, it's a big, beautiful, yet dark show set in 1960's Chicago with Hugh Hefner and his gang as the backdrop.  In fact, Hefner appears, like George Steinbrenner in Seinfeld, as a voice and silhouette.  This show is very interesting.  Like Mad Men and, presumably ABC's upcoming Pan Am, it's a period driven soap opera with big sets, lots of extras, showstopping design and even "live" music performances.  I'm not at all sure about the plot line, though.  It's basically about what happens in and around the club with Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian of CSI: Miami and Third Watch) as the protagonist.  He's with one Bunny, then another.  There's the death of a mob boss with whom Nicke has yet-to-be-revealed ties, though he is an up and coming state's attorney.  There's also some cute casting.  David Krumholz of Numb3rs is the original manager of the night spot. I believe The Playboy Club will be talked about and will have a following.  With Pan Am and Mad Men I don't know whether or not it will survive.

Maria Bello, the protagonist in Prime Suspect (based on the British series of the same name) makes Angie Harmon's Detective Rizzoli of Rizzoli & Isles and both Cagney and Lacy look like blushing princesses.  She's the toughest woman on TV you've ever seen, a homicide detective in a program the network touts as "all dicks and one Jane."  She's bucking for promotions and solving cases while a fellow detective has died of a heart attack leaving a four-year-old daughter.  Jane's a good cop, but she doesn't play nice with others.  The guys in her squad don't give her a break; in fact they treat her very harshly.  Her personal life revolves around her brother and father, who in the cliche of cliche's, owns a bar.  Oh, and this show has plenty of grisly dead bodies and blood.  Give it a try if meanness and violence are your thing, but this is not a fabulous show, yet.

Hank Azaria in Free Agents on NBC plays a just-divorced middle-aged guy who's crushed.  He wants to start dating again, but is in no way ready.  Yet, he sleeps with his colleague, Helen, played by Kathryn Hahn, who is a mess herself.  The action takes place in a public relations firm where the workers are doing the dirty work for clients like corporate giants that sell food to people who end up with salmonella.  The workplace grunts are a bunch of jerks who act like teenagers.  The relationship part of this program has promise as does the general workplace scenario, but the supporting cast is for kids.

Up All Night features Christina Applegate and Will Arnett as new parents who switch roles. She goes back to work at a TV talk show.  He stays home with the baby.  They're both pretty immature as they navigate the cliches of baby rearing - no sleep, changing the baby, messiness and no alone time.  It's tedious and you've seen it before.  What's even worse is that these two refuse to give in to adulthood and stay up all night in the premiere, at least, to go partying and to do karaoke.  These two are well into their 30's.  It's so ridiculous that they wake up with hangovers and get angry when the baby needs their attention.  They seem to see the error of their ways at episode's end, but I get the feeling the silliness will continue.  Don't waste your time.

Whitney with Whitney Cummings (Chelsea Lately) and Chris D'Elia (Glory Daze) is one of those shows you think of five years from hence when someone reminds you that a star "was in that NBC sitcom about a couple who lived together, but didn't want to get married.  The guy had a beard."  And you say, "oh yeah, I saw that once, but forgot about it."  That's how bad Whitney is and, since it doesn't star anyone I'm familiar with, I may be overselling it.  Whitney will be off the air within a few weeks of its premiere on Thursday, September 22.

Emmy Picks and Info Ahead of Sunday Night’s Show

This Sunday’s 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards program doesn’t promise much with regard to a host (Jane Lynch) or presenters, but the competition is pretty good.  There are many castmates of various shows vying against each other in the same category. 

Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki are both competing for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Big Bang Theory.  In the Best Supporting Actor category for comedy series, the four grown-up actors in Modern Family are nominated:  Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell),  Ed O'Neill (Jay), Eric Stonestreet (Cameron), who won last year, and Ty Burrell (Phil).

Another big category is Best Supporting Actress in comedy.  Betty White of Hot in Cleveland is up against Sofia Vergara of Modern Family.  That’s a tough one for me, though I think Vergara is funnier.  You have to give to Betty White, though, for being a comedienne with precision timing at the age of 90.

For Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series, Nathan Lane is a lock for his turn as "Pepper Saltzman" in Modern Family where he was amazing playing against Ed O'Neil.  But, that category also has Matt Damon as "Carol" in 30 Rock and Justin Timberlake who showed he has some comedy chops as guest host of Saturday Night Live.

Leading the list of nominations is the HBO Miniseries Mildred Pierce with 21.  Other top nominees are Mad Men (19), Boardwalk Empire (18), Modern Family (17), Saturday Night Live (16), Game of Thrones and 30 Rock (13), Glee (12), Downton Abbey and Too Big to Fail (11) and American Idol and The Kennedys (10).

Below are the nominees in major categories with my picks highlighted.  If more than one name or program is highlighted, I think it’s a toss-up.   If there’s no highlighting, I didn’t see enough programs in the category, can’t choose a clear cut winner or, in the case of Reality TV Host, I think it’s a ridiculous category populated by a bunch of stiffs. (That award already presented at the Creative Emmys to Jeff Probst of Survivor.)

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory • Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper

The Big Bang Theory • CBS • Johnny Galecki as Leonard Hofstadter

Episodes • Showtime • Matt LeBlanc as Matt LeBlanc

Louie • FX Networks • Louis C.K. as Louie

The Office • NBC • Steve Carell as Michael Scott

30 Rock • NBC • Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire • HBO • Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson

Dexter • Showtime • Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan

Friday Night Lights • DirecTV • Kyle Chandler as Coach Eric Taylor

House • FOX • Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House

Justified • FX Networks • Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens

Mad Men • AMC • Jon Hamm as Don Draper

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

The Big C • Showtime • Laura Linney as Cathy Jamison

Mike & Molly • CBS • Melissa McCarthy as Molly Flynn

Nurse Jackie • Showtime • Edie Falco as Jackie Peyton

Parks And Recreation • NBC • Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope

Raising Hope • FOX • Martha Plimpton as Virginia Chance

30 Rock • NBC • Tina Fey as Liz Lemon

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Friday Night Lights • DirecTV • Connie Britton as Tami Taylor

The Good Wife • CBS • Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick

Harry's Law • NBC • Kathy Bates as Harriet "Harry" Korn

The Killing • AMC • Mireille Enos as Sarah Linden

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • NBC • Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson

Mad Men • AMC • Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Glee • FOX • Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel

Modern Family • ABC • Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett

Modern Family • ABC • Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett

Modern Family • ABC • Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker

Modern Family • ABC • Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy

Two And A Half Men • CBS • Jon Cryer as Alan Harper

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Game Of Thrones • HBO • Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

The Good Wife • CBS • Josh Charles as Will Gardner

The Good Wife • CBS • Alan Cumming as Eli Gold

Justified • FX Networks • Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder

Mad Men • AMC • John Slattery as Roger Sterling

Men Of A Certain Age • TNT • Andre Braugher as Owen

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Glee • FOX • Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester

Hot In Cleveland • TV Land • Betty White as Elka Ostrovsky

Modern Family • ABC • Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy

Modern Family • ABC • Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett

Saturday Night Live • NBC • Kristen Wiig as Various characters

30 Rock • NBC • Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire • HBO • Kelly Macdonald as Margaret Schroeder

The Good Wife • CBS • Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma

The Good Wife • CBS • Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart

Justified • FX Networks • Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett

The Killing • AMC • Michelle Forbes as Mitch Larsen

Mad Men • AMC • Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

The Big C • Idris Elba as Lenny

Modern Family • ABC • Nathan Lane as Pepper Saltzman

Saturday Night Live • NBC • Zach Galifianakis, Host

Saturday Night Live • NBC • Justin Timberlake, Host

30 Rock • NBC • Matt Damon as Carol

30 Rock • NBC • Will Arnett as Devin Banks

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series

Big Love • HBO • Bruce Dern as Frank Harlow

Brothers & Sisters • ABC Beau Bridges as Nick Brody

The Good Wife • CBS • Michael J. Fox as Louis Canning

Harry's Law • NBC • Paul McCrane as Josh Peyton

Justified • FX Networks • Jeremy Davies as Dickie Bennett

Mad Men • AMC • Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

Glee • FOX • Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes

Glee • FOX • Dot-Marie Jones as Coach Beiste

Glee • FOX • Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holliday

Raising Hope • FOX • Cloris Leachman as Maw Maw

Saturday Night Live • NBC • Tina Fey, Host

30 Rock • NBC • Elizabeth Banks as Avery

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series

The Closer • TNT • Mary McDonnell as Capt. Sharon Raydor

Dexter • Showtime • Julia Stiles as Lumen Pierce

Grey's Anatomy • ABC • Loretta Devine as Adele Webber

Mad Men • AMC • Randee Heller as Miss Blankenship

Mad Men • AMC • Cara Buono as Faye Miller

Shameless • Showtime • Joan Cusack as Sheila Jackson

True Blood • HBO • Alfre Woodard as Ruby Jean Reynolds

Outstanding Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory • CBS

Glee • FOX

Modern Family • ABC

The Office • NBC

Parks And Recreation • NBC

30 Rock • NBC

Outstanding Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire • HBO

Dexter • Showtime

Friday Night Lights • DirecTV

Game Of Thrones • HBO

The Good Wife • CBS

Mad Men • AMC

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series

The Colbert Report • Comedy Central

Conan • TBS

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart • Comedy Central

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon • NBC

Real Time With Bill Maher • HBO
Saturday Night Live • NBC

Outstanding Reality Program

Antiques Roadshow • PBS

Deadliest Catch • Discovery Channel

Hoarders • A&E

Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List • Bravo

MythBusters • Discovery Channel

Undercover Boss • CBS

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program

The Amazing Race • CBS

American Idol • FOX

Dancing With The Stars • ABC

Project Runway • Lifetime

So You Think You Can Dance • FOX

Top Chef • Bravo • Magical Elves

Station Breaks: ABC's Sawyer gets First Gabby Giffords Interview and More

ABC Anchor Diane Sawyer will get the first interview with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), which will air November 14th at 10 p.m.  Congresswoman Giffords will be joined by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.  The two have a book out on November 15th, "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope."  UPDATE: Giffords office denies this report.  It seems ABC jumped the gun.

Anderson, the long-awaited Anderson Cooper talk show debuted today.  Here's a link to find the syndicated show in your area.   Upcoming guests include Cooper's 87-year-old mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, Jersey Shore's Snooki, Kathy Griffin, Daniel Radcliffe, Sarah Jessica Parker and real life people like two 24-year-old women who were abandoned and left to die at birth.  Reports are that the CNN newsman is looking to become the next Oprah.  He'll have to vie with Katie Couric for that designation, but I think he does have the edge, if anyone can.

Last night was the finale of Entourage on HBO. The show was so-so, but a lot of loose ends were wrapped up.  Vince flies off to Paris to marry his Vanity Fair reporter.  Eric gets back together with Sloan who's having a baby.  Johnny Drama has found his career niche with a TV show and movie.  Turtle strikes it rich with his tequila company.  And, Ari gets back with Mrs. Ari (revealed to be named Melissa) and pledges to take a year off to live in Florence for a year.  But, suddenly he's offered a position as Chairman and CEO of a film studio.  We don't know if he takes it.  Spin off? 

Coming the the next couple of days are Emmy picks from TVTakesAll in advance of Sunday night's show to be hosted by Jane Lynch of "Glee."  Presenters will include: Don Cheadle, Kaley Cuoco, Rob Lowe, Melissa McCarthy, Lea Michele, Ian Somerhalder, Paul “Pee-Wee Herman” Reubens, Will Arnett, Zooey Deschanel, Ashton Kutcher, Julianna Margulies, Amy Poehler, Sofia Vergar and the following pairings: Walton Goggins and Graham Yost, Chris Colfer and Brad Falchuk, Rebecca Romijn and Paul Scheer, Maya Rudolph and Emily Spivey, Priscilla Presley and Steve Binder, H. Jon Benjamin and Adam Reed.

And finally, just to demonstrate how lame the broadcast network TV offerings are for the summer, here are last week's top ten list: 1) America's Got Talent (Tues), 2) America's Got Talent (Wed) 3) NCIS (rerun), 4) NCIS: Los Angeles (rerun), 5) NCIS (rerun), 6) Big Brother (Wed), 7) College Football Oregon vs. LSU, 8) Bachelor Pad, 9) 60 Minutes, 10) Big Brother (Sun).

Thankfully, cable (for the most part) offers much better fare: 1) Rizzoli & Isles, 2) The Closer, 3) Royal Pains, 4) Jersey Shore, 5) Storage Wars, 6) WWE Raw, 7) Burn Notice, 8) Necessary Roughness, 9) Suits, 10) WWE Raw.

Comedy Genius in Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett, Together Again on HBO

If you're a fan of comedy, or if you just like to laugh, check out Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett, Together Again on HBO.

It's an hour-long conversation between the two during which they tell the greatest stories about such fellow comedy legends as Jack Benny, George Burns and Bob Hope.  Even funnier, are the tales of non-comedians like Fred Astaire and Alfred Hitchcock.  And, they touch on the beginnings of television comedy, such as Brooks' start as a writer on the legendary Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar, and how "Blazing Saddles" came to be.

It's an hour of treasure.  These two do impressions and schtick like the rest of us breathe.  They're hilarious.  At 84, Brooks is both brilliant and agile as he uses his whole body to make the audience roar.

The highlight of the show is an exchange between Carl Reiner, from the audience, and Brooks as they resurrect their famous "2,000-year-old man" routine.  They reveal that the classic only went public when Cary Grant brought it to the Queen Mother, herself, and she laughed.  It was previously kept for parties and private gatherings.

If you're not familiar with the 2,000-year-old man, Brooks played the oldest man in the world who would be "interviewed" by Reiner in a series of TV comedy skits that were made into a bunch of recordings.  With a Yiddish accent, Brooks would ad lib answers to Reiner's questions:  What was the earliest language?  Basic Rock.  The creation of the Cross?  It was easier to put together than the Star of David; to me it seemed...simple.  I didn't know then it was eloquent!

Brooks, of course, is the genius behind "The Producers," "High Anxiety," "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" and "Spaceballs," among others.

The urbane and witty Dick Cavett hosted a late-night talk show on ABC for many years during the 60's and 70's and is a writer.

Brooks was a frequent guest on Cavett's show.

The special was taped at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles in December.

The Rescue Me Finale: More of Gavin's Ghosts and a Bit of Humor

The end of the road episode of Denis Leary’s memorable series Rescue Me opens with a dream sequence.

Lou (Lt. Kenny Shea played by John Scurti) is delivering a eulogy for Tommy Gavin and four other firefighters, presumably the rest of the 62 Truck crew.  The reality, of course, is that Tommy's best friend is the one who's died after telling Tommy to escape the smoke and flames as the group attempted to save two kids.  

And so goes the drama of Gavin's mind, which was entirely focused during the past decade (though the show ran only seven years) on the survivors’ guilt of 9/11 and now has one more reason to do so. (It is no coincidence that this final episode of the series aired on the eve of the 10-year anniversary.)

Left to pick up the pieces, Tommy drinks and flips out, the only way he can cope, and then settles on the idea of retirement.  

As maudlin as this episode is, it doesn’t lack the show's characteristic humor and slapstick as shown when Lou's ashes mistakenly end up all over the schnooks from the firehouse, owing to a squabble over chewing gum. As the bagpipes play Lou’s requested In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, his comrades end up spreading Duncan Hines cake mix as a substitute.

You have to give it up for the actors in this series: Mike Silletti (Mike), Daniel Sunjata (Franco), Steve Pasquale (Sean), Larenz Tate (Black Shawn), Andrea Roth (Janet), Callie Thorna (Sheila), Scurti and Leary himself.  They all performed terrifically from start to finish; they made you laugh amidst the darkness.  And kudos to the writers.

The craziness of the episode comes to a head when a baby is delivered at the Gavin's apartment and Tommy gives his own brand of pep talk to a new group of firefighter recruits. 

Oddly, there’s a somewhat happy ending and Rescue Me is left to rest in peace.  A lot happened during the 10 years spanned by this show, but not much changed.  Tommy is still haunted by ghosts, albeit a new one now, and he’s still a disturbed man chasing fires.  So it was time to end the series.  There’s only so much drunken pontificating viewers can take.

Station Breaks: Regis' last day and more

Regis Philbin will exit Live! with Regis and Kelly on November 18th.  Don't look for his replacement to be named by Disney-ABC Domestic Television soon.  There will reportedly be a parade of guest hosts, including unknowns, who will try out until a successor is declared.  In the meantime, expect a long goodbye with favorite guests returning to say their farewells and pay homage to Philbin who hosted the program for 28 years.

Eddie Murphy as host of the 84th Annual Academy Awards broadcast?  Why?  His last movie, "Imagine That" in 2009 made $16 million and he hasn't had a hit since "Haunted Mansion" in 2003, except for his turn as the voice of Donkey in the "Shrek" series.  One reason may be that Murphy is opening this November in "Tower Heist," directed by Brett Ratner, also a producer of the Oscars. Another may be that you can't do worse than James Franco and Anne Hathaway who hosted last year.  Or, Ratner, his fellow producers and ABC believe viewers will tune in to find out if Murphy says or does something shocking.  That's my bet.


Four prominent members of the cast of One Life To Live have signed on for the Prospect Park online production that will succeed the ABC version which leaves the airwaves in January.  They are: Erika Slezak (Victoria Lord), Ted King (Tomas Delgado), Michael Easton (John McBain) and Kassie DePaiva (Blair Cramer).


Ben Flajnik, 28, will be the next victim on ABC's The Bachelor.  Let's hope he's not rejected a second time as he was by Bachelorette Ashley Hebert this past season, even though he's the one doing the picking this time.  Flajnik lives in the San Francisco area and is in the wine business.  The show will air in January 2012.