Thursday, August 6, 2015

The day I hung out with Jon Stewart



After a stellar 16-year run, Jon Stewart signs off for good from The Daily Show tonight. Late night television won't be the same without his snarkiness and blade-sharp sense of humor.

Stewart's departure took me back to 2004 when I hung out at The Daily Show for a day while I was the television critic for The Palm Beach Post. No one can skewer the news like Stewart. I knew this already, but it was reinforced seeing him do it in person.

Here's that story....

 "Let me hear you make some noise!!!!" 
    The 100 giddy audience members on the shoebox-sized set of the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are more than happy to oblige as they scream, wave, yelp and pump their fists in wide-eyed delight. 
    But Paul Mercurio, the show's hyper warm-up man, isn't impressed. 
    "Show some more enthusiasm," he shouts to the crowd as a disc jockey named Rocky spins deafening heavy metal jams. "I need you to blow the roof off this joint." 
    It's 6:20 p.m. - 10 minutes before Mr. Fake Newsman emerges to say hello to the crowd, sit behind the anchor desk and host what has become TV's most popular - and funniest - satirical news program. 
    For now, however, the crowd belongs to Mercurio. When he spots a conservatively dressed older man, for instance, Mercurio cracks, "How about a hand for (Gilligan Island's) Thurston Howell III." 
    He then goes on to poke fun at Puerto Ricans, attorneys, nuns, an overly excited guy from Uruguay and even Stewart
    "Jon is a little (guy)," Mercurio sniffs. "You can kick his a--. But don't stare. He's very insecure." 
    It's 6:30 p.m. That means Mercurio's time is up. Nobody trekked to The Daily Show's midtown Manhattan studios to see some unknown warm-up guy. 
    When Stewart, looking very Ted Koppel-like in a dark suit, gray shirt and striped tie, walks on stage, the audience stands and cheers wildly. He sheepishly pretends not to know what all the fuss is about. 
    "I don't care for this program and I don't watch it," he says sternly. "It's crass and puerile." 
    But we all know nothing could be farther from the truth. 
    Comedy Central's Daily Show is the hot button show of a divisive political season. Which is why viewership is up 25 percent from this time last year. During the week of the Republican National Convention, The Daily Show averaged 1.4 million viewers. And when the show aired live after the first presidential debate, a whopping 2.4 million viewers tuned in - the most in the show's eight-year history. 
    Amazingly, The Daily Show has become a key venue for vote-hungry politicians. Vice presidential nominee John Edwards, for instance, used Stewart's Emmy-winning show to announce his candidacy. And Sen. John Kerry yukked it up with Stewart in August. 
    The guest for this night's taping is Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly. The show, however, is a few weeks before Reilly would be accused of sexual harassment by a female producer at Fox News. 
    Stewart acts as if he's intimidated by the big, bad O'Reilly. 
    "He's much larger than me," he says. "Please have my back." 
    With only a few minutes before taping, Stewart takes a few questions from the audience. It's in those fleeting moments where you get a great appreciation of just what makes Stewart and his show so popular. 
    Without the aid of cue cards or a script, Stewart does what only truly gifted performers can do - think quickly and be funny. 
    Someone asks him why he co-wrote the bestselling America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, a faux government textbook. 
    "I'm Jewish and Jews control the media," he says. 
    Next question. 
    One woman talks about the joys of blogging. Stewart rolls his eyes. 
    "Sounds like a crack problem," he says. "I don't know what you just said." 
    Another person wants to know why the letters on the TeleprompTer are so big. 
    "I can't read and the show is done phonetically," Stewart responds quickly. 
    
    
    It's easy to miss The Daily Show's West 54th Street headquarters/studio - a mere four blocks from my old high school, by the way - because it's inside a nondescript, two-story, burgundy-brick building. 
    30 Rock, it's not. A tiny blue awning that simply says The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is the only hint that an actual TV show studio exists inside. 
    It's two hours before showtime on a balmy fall afternoon. Folks are already starting to line up. 
    For the 20 or so fans waiting early, Jack McGee, the show's head of security, has a very important message. 
    "Anyone who has to use the restroom please line up in front," McGee says in a whispery, thick-as-mustard Noo Yawk accent. "Once you get inside, you won't be able to go." 
    McGee looks like an interesting character. He's tall and balding. His eyes dart around a lot, so you know he doesn't miss much. I learn McGee has been the head security guy since the days when snarky Craig Kilborn ran the place. 
    "I've only missed one week since I've been here," McGee says proudly. 
    I wonder how the audience for the show has changed over the years. 
    "In the beginning, it used to be older people," he says. "Today it's more or less people between 18 to 34. The kids today are more interested in politics than they used to be." 
    McGee looks like a no-nonsense kind of guy you don't mess with. A few Daily Show fans have found that out the hard way over the years. 
    "I've had to straighten people out when they find out they're not getting in," he says matter-of-factly. 
    Like how? 
    "I'd rather not discuss it, but they've been taken care of. You know, you get a couple of young kids who come in with a few drinks in 'em. Sometimes they get in and start acting up, go inside the bathroom and do some blow. But I catch 'em and take care of it."     

    If there was any doubt about Stewart's broad-based appeal, it's on full display today. 
    I see young women in eye-catching low-riders. Older, Wall Street-type guys in suits and ties. I see one lady in a wheelchair and two women journalists from Germany. I see hip Gen-Xers on $200 camera cellphones and kindly looking grandmothers who can remember when Jack Paar hosted The Tonight Show and when movie tickets cost $1. 
    Frances Helen Guest, 79, has been to The Daily Show twice and agrees with everything Stewart says. "He can really see through things and some of the shams that we're being fed," she says. "And I'm tired of the shams. I want a little truth to come out. I want somebody to see some of the things I see and Jon does that for me." 
    David Mulkins teaches high school social studies in New York City. He admits he never heard of Stewart's show until his students told him about it. Now he's hooked. 
    "I like the satire and I like the fact that he's always shooting down the sacred cows," says the 47-year-old Tennessee native. "In his satire he shows you the way the media, as well as public officials, mold the way we think and how they distort truths or even lie." 
    Joan Hervey, who lives in Plainsfield, N.J., says she waited 10 months to get her tickets after ordering them last winter. 
    "I thought they didn't like me," she says. "But I never forgot about it. Jon Stewart is one of the smartest people on TV and his commentators and writers are astute and really brilliant." 
    While Kristin Reisinger also thinks Stewart is smart, she appreciates his other attributes as well. 
    "He's kinda sexy," the 32-year-old Reisinger says, smiling devilishly. "This is a good way for me to start out my birthday weekend." 
    At around 20 minutes to 6, Terri Abrahams, The Daily Show's brassy audience coordinator, comes out to tell everyone they can't use cellphones, pagers or flash photography once inside the studio. 
    She adds that no one should even think about asking for a picture with Stewart or an autograph from him. 
    The crowd groans disapprovingly. 
    "Upper lip, sweetie, upper lip," Abrahams says to one woman. "Don't make me hurt you inside the studio." 
    
    Back inside that raucous studio, I'm sitting next to a bald guy named Dale. He won't tell me his last name. I do know he's 30, from Vancouver and a stand-up comic. 
    He says he likes Stewart comedic point of view. 
    "He doesn't just tell jokes," Dale says. "There's substance to what he's talking about." 
    Does Dale think he can be the next Jon Stewart
    "In my dreams," he says, laughing. 
    All Dale wants to do today is "absorb and learn." 
    After chatting with O'Reilly about everything from the war in Iraq to bongs in the green room, Stewart tells Mr. Fox News Star during a commercial break that he always finds him "interesting and surprising." 
    At the time, I'm sure Stewart didn't know how prophetic those words would be. 
    It's 7:30 p.m. The show is over and Stewart thanks everyone for coming. But before the crowd can head for the exits, a production guy starts whispering in Stewart's ear. 
    Here comes an announcement. 
    "We have one extra thing to do because I did something wrong," Stewart says sadly. "It'll only take a few hours. I hope you brought a sandwich." 
    Stewart, of course, is kidding. 
    And that's no surprise coming from TV's savviest lampooner. 
    

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Monsters, aliens, deformed freaks...the 5 best 'X-Files' episodes ever



In honor of Fox announcing on Tuesday that The X-Files -- TV's best sci-fi drama ever -- will return as a limited, six-episode series (yay for me!!!!), here's a look at my top five episodes during the show's memorable nine-year run.

1. "SQUEEZE" 
The story: A liver-eating serial killer (Eugene Victor Tooms) is on the loose after a 30-year hibernation. 
Why it's a classic: The X-Files boasted many unforgettable genetic mutants, but none of 'em were more memorable than the soft-spoken Tooms (a superbly cast Doug Hutchison) who exudes a chilling menace without uttering a word. Remains the show's best stand-alone monster episode. 




2. "HOME"
The story: The Peacocks, a hideously deformed family big on inbreeding, goes on a murderous rampage in their idyllic hometown.
Why it's a classic: The most intense -- and frightening -- X-Files episode ever. It was so intense, Fox initially refused to repeat it. 




3. "ICE" 
The story: FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are trapped in a remote Alaskan outpost...with a worm-like parasitic life form. 

Why it's a classic: Yeah, I know, the episode is basically a TV version of John Carpenter's The Thing, but it's still claustrophobic and wonderfully creepy. 




4. "PILOT" 
The story: The one that started it all. Scully, a low-key medical doctor is teamed with "Spooky" Mulder, a dry-witted UFO believer, to debunk Mulder's out there paranormal theories.

Why it's a classic: Brilliantly sets up the dense mythology to follow in upcoming seasons and instantly showcases the palpable chemistry between Mulder and Scully. Can't forget a then silent Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis) intensely puffing away in a cameo appearance. 



5. "MUSINGS OF A CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN"
The story: We learn more about the mysterious CSM, the sinister government figure who often keeps our intrepid agents from uncovering the truth about alien existence.
Why it's a classic: The brilliantly penned episode by Glenn Morgan peels back the layers of CSM's character, who we learn was a failed novelist and who grew up in several orphanages after his communist spy father was executed and his mom died of cancer. Perhaps that explains why he killed JFK and framed Lee Harvey Oswald for it.



Monday, March 23, 2015

'The X-Files' gearing up for another run



The Truth Is Still Out There -- and could be coming back soon.

According to a report on TV Wise's website, Fox is close to inking a deal to bring back The X-Files, one of television's best dramas ever.

Stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are reportedly on board to reprise their roles as flashlight-wielding FBI agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

For nine seasons, The X-Files was an intoxicating mix of murky government conspiracies, scary monsters and sinister aliens. The X-Files came along at an auspicious time with The Cold War just ending. People needed a new boogeyman, something to fear, and The X-Files provided it.

Series creator Chris Carter understood that a show featuring substance and style could be tough to beat. Not only was The X-Files an extremely intelligent series, it looked like a $100 million feature film. No show, for example, has ever made the woods appear so foreboding. Or the simple sight of flashlights piercing the darkness so hypnotic.

The X-Files was one of those rare series where paying attention wasn't just important, but essential.

Yet, that didn't guarantee you'd always understand what was going on. Like any good soap opera, The X-Files always raised more questions than it actually answered. That tactic, however, led to its ultimate demise as viewers -- including myself -- grew weary of the show's deliberate plotting and glacial parceling  of clues.

Still, after the series went off the air in 2002 as it limped to the finish line, I was sad to see Mulder and Scully put down their flashlights for good. That awful 2008 film, The X-Files: I Want To Believe had me wishing they kept those flashlights locked away.

But after such a long hiatus, I'm ready for The Truth to not just be out there, but to come back to my living room as well.

Friday, March 6, 2015

'Gotham's' Jada Pinkett Smith says she won't be back for a second season


So, Jada Pinkett Smith says she's not returning for a second season on the hit Fox drama, Gotham.

That'll be our loss since Smith plays roughneck gangsta Fish Mooney as a deliciously fiendish scene chewer who could easily have been the star of the show. I mean, you don't see many characters willing to scoop their own eye out with a spoon just to save their own hide.

Fish is badass personified, a take charge chick who can wax poetic like Maya Angelou one moment, then slit someone's throat the next. She makes Taraji P. Henson's hood rat Cookie on Empire look like a church-going Girl Scout.

Smith made the announcement today on Live With Kelly and Michael, but she was pretty coy about her leaving, saying she didn't "think" she would be back because she only signed on the show for one season.

In a statement the producers would only say, "Fish Mooney's storyline takes a lot of interesting twists and turns into the finale of season one of 'Gotham.'"

All of this, of course, could be a well calculated ploy by Smith to squeeze more money out of the producers.

That's definitely something Fish would do. And, if the producers didn't give her a raise, well, let's just say they would probably be resting at the bottom of the ocean...as Fish food.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

My time on 'The Daily Show'...OK, not on the show, but in the audience



After a stellar 16-year run, Jon Stewart signs off for good from The Daily Show tonight. Late night television won't be the same without his snarkiness and blade-sharp sense of humor,

Stewart leaving took me back to 2004 when I got a chance to hang out at The Daily Show for a day when I was the television critic for The Palm Beach Post. The fun I had that day is the same fun and laughs viewers have been having for years watching Stewart skewer the news like no one can.

Here's that story....

 "Let me hear you make some noise!!!!" 
    The 100 giddy audience members on the shoebox-sized set of the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are more than happy to oblige as they scream, wave, yelp and pump their fists in wide-eyed delight. 
    But Paul Mercurio, the show's hyper warm-up man, isn't impressed. 
    "Show some more enthusiasm," he shouts to the crowd as a disc jockey named Rocky spins deafening heavy metal jams. "I need you to blow the roof off this joint." 
    It's 6:20 p.m. - 10 minutes before Mr. Fake Newsman emerges to say hello to the crowd, sit behind the anchor desk and host what has become TV's most popular - and funniest - satirical news program. 
    For now, however, the crowd belongs to Mercurio. When he spots a conservatively dressed older man, for instance, Mercurio cracks, "How about a hand for (Gilligan Island's) Thurston Howell III." 
    He then goes on to poke fun at Puerto Ricans, attorneys, nuns, an overly excited guy from Uruguay and even Stewart
    "Jon is a little (guy)," Mercurio sniffs. "You can kick his a--. But don't stare. He's very insecure." 
    It's 6:30 p.m. That means Mercurio's time is up. Nobody trekked to The Daily Show's midtown Manhattan studios to see some unknown warm-up guy. 
    When Stewart, looking very Ted Koppel-like in a dark suit, gray shirt and striped tie, walks on stage, the audience stands and cheers wildly. He sheepishly pretends not to know what all the fuss is about. 
    "I don't care for this program and I don't watch it," he says sternly. "It's crass and puerile." 
    But we all know nothing could be farther from the truth. 
    Comedy Central's Daily Show is the hot button show of a divisive political season. Which is why viewership is up 25 percent from this time last year. During the week of the Republican National Convention, The Daily Show averaged 1.4 million viewers. And when the show aired live after the first presidential debate, a whopping 2.4 million viewers tuned in - the most in the show's eight-year history. 
    Amazingly, The Daily Show has become a key venue for vote-hungry politicians. Vice presidential nominee John Edwards, for instance, used Stewart's Emmy-winning show to announce his candidacy. And Sen. John Kerry yukked it up with Stewart in August. 
    The guest for this night's taping is Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly. The show, however, is a few weeks before Reilly would be accused of sexual harassment by a female producer at Fox News. 
    Stewart acts as if he's intimidated by the big, bad O'Reilly. 
    "He's much larger than me," he says. "Please have my back." 
    With only a few minutes before taping, Stewart takes a few questions from the audience. It's in those fleeting moments where you get a great appreciation of just what makes Stewart and his show so popular. 
    Without the aid of cue cards or a script, Stewart does what only truly gifted performers can do - think quickly and be funny. 
    Someone asks him why he co-wrote the bestselling America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, a faux government textbook. 
    "I'm Jewish and Jews control the media," he says. 
    Next question. 
    One woman talks about the joys of blogging. Stewart rolls his eyes. 
    "Sounds like a crack problem," he says. "I don't know what you just said." 
    Another person wants to know why the letters on the TeleprompTer are so big. 
    "I can't read and the show is done phonetically," Stewart responds quickly. 
    
    
    It's easy to miss The Daily Show's West 54th Street headquarters/studio - a mere four blocks from my old high school, by the way - because it's inside a nondescript, two-story, burgundy-brick building. 
    30 Rock, it's not. A tiny blue awning that simply says The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is the only hint that an actual TV show studio exists inside. 
    It's two hours before showtime on a balmy fall afternoon. Folks are already starting to line up. 
    For the 20 or so fans waiting early, Jack McGee, the show's head of security, has a very important message. 
    "Anyone who has to use the restroom please line up in front," McGee says in a whispery, thick-as-mustard Noo Yawk accent. "Once you get inside, you won't be able to go." 
    McGee looks like an interesting character. He's tall and balding. His eyes dart around a lot, so you know he doesn't miss much. I learn McGee has been the head security guy since the days when snarky Craig Kilborn ran the place. 
    "I've only missed one week since I've been here," McGee says proudly. 
    I wonder how the audience for the show has changed over the years. 
    "In the beginning, it used to be older people," he says. "Today it's more or less people between 18 to 34. The kids today are more interested in politics than they used to be." 
    McGee looks like a no-nonsense kind of guy you don't mess with. A few Daily Show fans have found that out the hard way over the years. 
    "I've had to straighten people out when they find out they're not getting in," he says matter-of-factly. 
    Like how? 
    "I'd rather not discuss it, but they've been taken care of. You know, you get a couple of young kids who come in with a few drinks in 'em. Sometimes they get in and start acting up, go inside the bathroom and do some blow. But I catch 'em and take care of it."     

    If there was any doubt about Stewart's broad-based appeal, it's on full display today. 
    I see young women in eye-catching low-riders. Older, Wall Street-type guys in suits and ties. I see one lady in a wheelchair and two women journalists from Germany. I see hip Gen-Xers on $200 camera cellphones and kindly looking grandmothers who can remember when Jack Paar hosted The Tonight Show and when movie tickets cost $1. 
    Frances Helen Guest, 79, has been to The Daily Show twice and agrees with everything Stewart says. "He can really see through things and some of the shams that we're being fed," she says. "And I'm tired of the shams. I want a little truth to come out. I want somebody to see some of the things I see and Jon does that for me." 
    David Mulkins teaches high school social studies in New York City. He admits he never heard of Stewart's show until his students told him about it. Now he's hooked. 
    "I like the satire and I like the fact that he's always shooting down the sacred cows," says the 47-year-old Tennessee native. "In his satire he shows you the way the media, as well as public officials, mold the way we think and how they distort truths or even lie." 
    Joan Hervey, who lives in Plainsfield, N.J., says she waited 10 months to get her tickets after ordering them last winter. 
    "I thought they didn't like me," she says. "But I never forgot about it. Jon Stewart is one of the smartest people on TV and his commentators and writers are astute and really brilliant." 
    While Kristin Reisinger also thinks Stewart is smart, she appreciates his other attributes as well. 
    "He's kinda sexy," the 32-year-old Reisinger says, smiling devilishly. "This is a good way for me to start out my birthday weekend." 
    At around 20 minutes to 6, Terri Abrahams, The Daily Show's brassy audience coordinator, comes out to tell everyone they can't use cellphones, pagers or flash photography once inside the studio. 
    She adds that no one should even think about asking for a picture with Stewart or an autograph from him. 
    The crowd groans disapprovingly. 
    "Upper lip, sweetie, upper lip," Abrahams says to one woman. "Don't make me hurt you inside the studio." 
    
    Back inside that raucous studio, I'm sitting next to a bald guy named Dale. He won't tell me his last name. I do know he's 30, from Vancouver and a stand-up comic. 
    He says he likes Stewart comedic point of view. 
    "He doesn't just tell jokes," Dale says. "There's substance to what he's talking about." 
    Does Dale think he can be the next Jon Stewart
    "In my dreams," he says, laughing. 
    All Dale wants to do today is "absorb and learn." 
    After chatting with O'Reilly about everything from the war in Iraq to bongs in the green room, Stewart tells Mr. Fox News Star during a commercial break that he always finds him "interesting and surprising." 
    At the time, I'm sure Stewart didn't know how prophetic those words would be. 
    It's 7:30 p.m. The show is over and Stewart thanks everyone for coming. But before the crowd can head for the exits, a production guy starts whispering in Stewart's ear. 
    Here comes an announcement. 
    "We have one extra thing to do because I did something wrong," Stewart says sadly. "It'll only take a few hours. I hope you brought a sandwich." 
    Stewart, of course, is kidding. 
    And that's no surprise coming from TV's savviest lampooner. 
    

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Why Justin Bieber getting roasted on Comedy Central is a smart career move



So, reportedly Bad Little Boy Justin Bieber will be the next celeb Comedy Central roasts.

Over the years, roasters have zinged everyone from Donald Trump to Flavor Flav. But The Biebs has to be one of the most inviting targets ever. Jeff Ross is salivating so much, there's probably a pool of drool in his front yard.

Where to start?

The Biebs' brushes with the law? Those ridiculous Calvin Klein ads? The hair? The tats? The music? The monkey he ditched in Germany?

Roasters may have too much material. Comedy Central should consider making a two-part special.

Give the Biebs credit, though. Apparently, he's been begging to be roasted for years and is more than game for being the butt of cruel jokes judging by the series of tweets he sent today.

The Biebs had done a lot of dumb things in his 20 years. So have a lot of other 20-year-olds. Thing is, The Biebs has had to grow up on a public stage, in front of millions of people. Not an easy thing to do.

Despite all the dumb stuff, getting roasted on Comedy Central could be one of the smartest things The Biebs has done.

Appearing as a good sport on national TV all the while get toasted and roasted can't hurt album sales, right?




Thursday, January 15, 2015

Is 'Empire' a hit? Fox will say 'yes' as ratings climb in the second week


Looks like Fox has the makings of a hit in Empire, its blinged-out, hip-hop soap.

Generally, ratings often decline in the show's second week. But they actually went up for Empire, with the show averaging 10.3 million viewers in the 18-49 demo Madison Avenue so desperately craves, up 5 percent from the previous week.

While I'm enjoying the show so far, some of the performances -- especially Taraji P. Henson as turned up Cookie -- are a little over-the-top and need to go down a notch. The writing could also be a bit stronger.

For instance, it doesn't make sense that after spending 17 years in the joint, Cookie would expect her sons to immediately embrace her coming home. She should've expected the cold shoulder.

And having Lucious (Terrence Howard), the dying rap mogul, solving his little extortion problem from his boy, Bunkie -- and Cookie's cousin -- by putting a bullet in Bunkie's head just didn't ring true. If they were so tight, why did Lucious resort to murdering his friend so quickly?

Oh, I know....makes for better drama than Lucious actually, you know, sitting down and ironing out his differences with his homie.

Who wants to see that?

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Why Ann Curry will probably shine in her new role away from NBC News

Former 'Today' co-anchor Ann Curry tearing up while announcing her departure from the show.


Maybe it's just me, but when you're paying someone $12 million a year, you expect them to, well, work.

That's a hefty sum to shell out for someone to simply sit on the bench, which is what former Today co-anchor Ann Curry has been mostly doing since her messy divorce from the show in 2012.

Sure, Curry did the occasional interview or made appearances on Meet The Press and Nightly News, but, for the most part, she was persona non grata at 30 Rock.

Clearly, the suits at NBC got tired of cutting such a big check for someone the network had very little use for anymore.

On Tuesday Curry announced she was ending her long-term relationship with NBC News to develop a new media start-up that will be partially funded by, of all companies, NBCUniversal.

That's a good move for Curry and more up her journalistic alley. The start-up will give her a chance to produce documentaries and cover stories that interest her most. Curry was never really a good fit for the happy talk, morning TV world. It's all about chemistry and Curry had very little of it with her co-anchor -- and possible backstabber -- Matt Lauer. It was often difficult watching all the forced and phony smiles. At times, Lauer looked as if he would've preferred sitting next to a tarantula.

I was never a big fan of Curry's mostly because she talked too much and never had an off switch. Good journalists know how to listen. There must've been a clause in Curry's contract that stipulated she would get paid by the word. Why else would she consistently interrupt guests with her incessant yapping?

I didn't even like the way Curry talked, all deep and whispery like she just got the scoop of the century when she was only interviewing a so-called expert about online dating.

But, I gained a new found respect for Curry for the way she handled her ugly ouster, all dignity and class. She even cried on live TV while announcing her departure and rightfully pulled away as Lauer tried to hug her.

Sometimes bad things happen for good reasons. Curry will probably shine in her new role. She doesn't have to play nice on air with people she clearly doesn't like. And, if she finds herself talking too much during her interviews, at least she, or one of her producers, can trim the segment in the editing room, something she could never do on live TV.









Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Mary Murphy hoofing her way off 'So You Think You Can Dance'


So You Think You Can  Dance judge Mary Murphy is leaving the show, according to ew.com.

No reason was given for Murphy's departure. The show begins its 12th season this summer. Perhaps 12 years of doing the same thing had something to do with Murphy calling it quits.

At least with Murphy gone, viewers won't need earplugs anymore since no one else will ever scream "Hot Tamale Train!" quite like she does.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Will Lifetime's Whitney Houston film live up to the legend?

Music icon Whitney Houston (left); Yaya DaCosta and Arlen Escarpeta who play Houston and hubby Bobby Brown in the Lifetime movie, Whitney
So, Lifetime is about to give another superstar R&B artist who died way too young the royal biopic treatment.

But Whitney, the long-awaited film about Whitney Houston and her tumultuous relationship with hubby Bobby Brown, can't be as bad as Lifetime's hot mess film about Aaliyah's life and tragic death, can it?

Well, I haven't seen Whitney yet, so I can't say. But, my initial impressions aren't good.

For starters, Yaya DaCosta, the actress playing Houston, looks very little like the music icon in the clips I've seen. That may not matter, though, if DaCosta is able to convey Houston's essence. After all, Denzel Washington didn't look anything like Malcolm X in Spike Lee's mesmerizing 1992 film, but Washington still made you believe he was the outspoken black activist.

But DaCosta has a tall order to fill Houston's pumps.

Another thing: The producers were unable to use Houston's vocals, so all of her songs in the film will be sung by Grammy nominated singer Deborah Cox. While Cox is talented, she's no Whitney Houston. But who is?

The film, which premieres Jan. 17, marks the directorial debut of Angela Bassett, who co-starred with Houston in the film Waiting To Exhale and who knew Houston fairly well.

While speaking to a group of TV critics on Tuesday during the winter session of the Television Critics Association press tour, Bassett stressed the film is about Houston's combustible relationship with Brown and is more of a loving tribute to her.

Bassett basically hinted the film will sidestep the more sordid aspects of their relationship, which I took to mean that it will essentially whitewash many of those parts of Houston's life.

"Do we really need to see that?" Bassett was quoted in the Los Angeles Times.

If you're going to make a true and honest biopic on Houston's life, the answer is, yes.

Here is the official Whitney trailer if you haven't seen it already.


Sunday, January 4, 2015

Stuart Scott: The ESPN anchor who always did it his way

If Stuart Scott, the trailblazing ESPN anchor who died this morning after a seven year battle with cancer, had a theme song for his life, it would've been Frank Sinatra's My Way.

That's because Scott, gone way too soon at age 49, always lived life on his terms in front of the camera. He wasn't a stiff corporate suit on air, like many black TV anchors believed they needed to be to succeed.

Scott, always comfortable in his own skin, brought a decidedly edgy and funky hip-hop flavor to ESPN when he joined the network in 1993. He talked like the guys did in the barbershop, in the bars, in their homes while watching a game. Scott routinely spouted memorable catch phrases ("Boo-Yah!" "cool as the other side of the pillow" "holla at a playa when you see him on the street") like they were sports scores and he was a platinum-selling rap star.

The brash style made Scott a must-see (not with everyone, however) and gave him instant street cred in the industry and in locker rooms. On NFL Countdown this morning, Cris Carter said while he was playing, he always gave Scott more information than he did to other reporters because Scott was one of his favorites. That's called respect. Scott never felt the need to speak the perfect King's English, although he could. That wasn't him. There were too many bland TV sports anchors doing that already.

Clearly, Scott wanted to carve his own, distinctive niche so his voice wouldn't be lost in the 5,000 TV channel universe. He succeeded. You could make a strong case that after Chris Berman, Scott was the second face of ESPN.

Like Sinatra so eloquently sang many years ago on his signature song, "For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows and did it my way"

That was, and always will be, Stuart Scott.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Why I can't wait to watch 'Empire,' Fox's trippy new drama

Terence Howard plays a dying music mogul on Fox's new drama, 'Empire'
Empire, Fox's new hip-hop drama about a dying music mogul who must decide which of his three sons will inherit his business once he's gone, is notable for several reasons.

For starters, the series, which premiers Wednesday at 9 p.m., reunites Oscar nominees Terrence Howard, who plays Lucious Lyon, the dying mogul and Taraji P, Henson as his ex-wife/ex-con, Cookie, a woman all turned up and who desperately wants what she believes is hers -- that profitable empire. Howard and Henson, of course, starred together in the film, Hustle & Flow.

Secondly, the show's co-creators have impressive Hollywood cred -- Lee Daniels was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for The Butler while Danny Strong won an Emmy for writing Game Change, the HBO film about the historic 2008 presidential election.

Empire also boasts all that hip-hop music, if you're into that sort of thing, with Timbaland overseeing the beats.

But, what stands out is this: Lucious's son, Jamal (Jussie Smollett), is gay. Sure, there are plenty of gay characters on television today. Hell, Shonda Rhimes wouldn't be in business with them. There's even a whole cable channel -- Logo TV -- aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender viewers. Point is, it's no longer earth-shattering -- and it shouldn't be -- like it was in 1997 when Ellen DeGeneres' character announced in an airport that she was a lesbian.

Network TV writers, however, haven't created many black male characters who happen to be gay.

The two most memorable: Omar Little, the shotgun-toting gangster on The Wire who was often seen in bed with his pretty boy lovers, and Lafayette, the short-order cook on True Blood. Both were fleshed-out, three dimensional characters who weren't simply there to serve the white characters on those shows.

And it's no accident that both shows aired on HBO, a premium cable channel known for taking risks because, well, it's not beholden to advertisers and doesn't have to reach a broad audience like broadcast networks.

Andre Braugher now plays one of the most prominent black male gay characters on the Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But that's played for laughs.

Making Lucious' son gay is a delicious twist on Empire because most black men in the ultra-macho -- and homophobic -- hip-hop world would rather be diagnosed with Ebola than to be known as someone who sleeps with other men.

How much the writers delve into this aspect of Jamal's life remains to be seen.

But, let's hope Empire doesn't punk out and has the nerve to realistically explore a sensitive topic that is still viewed as taboo in many parts of the hip-hop community.