Archive: December 2009 (31-40 of 54)

Dec 11 2009 09:41 AM ET

Gene Barry: Deep-voiced, debonair TV and stage star, has died

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Gene Barry, who died at age 90 on Wednesday, had a great voice: Deep and growly, but with a nice lilt to it when he wanted to put a playful spin on a tough-guy line. It was a voice he used to charm audiences first in the TV Western that made him a star, Bat Masterson (1958-61), then as Amos Burke, a rich guy who joined the L.A. police force in Burke’s Law (1963-66) and sped to crime scenes in a Rolls Royce. My mom had a crush on him when he starred in as a magazine tycoon in The Name of the Game (1968-71). His biggest movie role by far was in 1953′s George Pal version of War of the Worlds. And Barry carved out a career as a Broadway leading-man, winning particular praise for his turn as Georges in La Cage Aux Folles, and worked up a solid nightclub act in which his voice was used to sing rumbling versions of pop standards.

But it’s for his early TV days that he’ll probably be best-remembered. Bat Masterson was an unusual hero at the height of the Western’s television popularity, because he wasn’t a dusty, drawling hero in the manner of James Arness in Gunsmoke or Steve McQueen in Wanted: Dead or Alive. Based on a real-life figure, Masterson was usually dressed in an impeccably tailored suit, vest, and derby hat. He didn’t bother, most of the time, with a gun — he had a gold-tipped cane to twirl and wield in a fight. Bat Masterson also featured one of the most memorable TV theme songs, which, in the manner of the era, told you everything you needed to know about the character in its lyrics:

If Barry’s Bat was a tough dandy, the actor’s move to contemporary, urban shows was a logical move. He was born to play a wealthy man with a curiosity about crime in Burke’s Law, an early Aaron Spelling production with all the Spelling trademarks: a handsome leading man, a bevy of attractive women, and a crime that could be solved within an hour with room for a chuckling final-scene fade-out.

No matter what role he took, Barry radiated crisp energy and sharp acuity — you never felt this was a man at a loss for the right word or the proper degree of charm. As a gentleman adventurer, he was hard to beat.

Barry’s cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Dec 10 2009 12:39 PM ET

'Big Love': Roman Grant and the wives wish you a musical merry Christmas

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Awww… that kind soul Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton, to those of you who don’t watch Big Love) (and why don’t you?) sent out his Christmas card early for your enjoyment:

Harry Dean Stanton is actually an excellent singer and songwriter — has been making good music for decades.

Big Love returns with new episodes on Jan. 10.

Dec 10 2009 11:48 AM ET

Adam Lambert on 'The View': 'Protect your children, people!'

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Adam Lambert’s father told his son he should “issue an apology” after his American Music Awards performance, the singer told The View gals this morning.

Barbara Walters introduced him by saying that her network had cancelled three “live performances” he’d been booked for on ABC and “that’s why we’re taping this today.” (The first part of The View was, as usual, live-to-tape.) When Lambert came out, he said with a laugh, “Protect your children, people!”

Of course, taped-Adam proved to be a calm, clever charmer. When Joy Behar said he was “not a nice Jewish boy,” he got a big laugh by saying, “I am a little different. The dreidel spins the other way.”

Behar also said that in her opinion, the ruckus about Lambert’s AMA performance was “homophobic.” He agreed, saying “that’s part of the double standard” about displays of sexuality on TV.

While he acknowledged that his AMA appearance was “a little bit lewd” and that he was “experimenting with imagery and performance style,” he admitted that in the future, he’d probably “stay more consistent to the rehearsal” of any TV performance.

Then he sang “What Do You Want From Me,” Barbara told the studio audience that every member was going home with a copy of Lambert’s For Your Entertainment CD, and the guy got big cheers from the middle-American audience that was supposedly so appalled by him on the AMAs.

Just another day in the mixed-message world of American TV, right?

Dec 10 2009 08:45 AM ET

Barbara Walters and her '10 Most Fascinating People' bored the pants off us

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Was there a greater waste of time last night than Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009? I had to watch because it’s my job, but jeez, what a superficial set of interviews. To cram 10-plus personalities in an hour (one entry, Michael Jackson’s children, technically increased the “fascinating” number), Walters gave us the shortest, least-informative interviews possible. No interviews with either Brett Favre or the Jackson offspring, in fact.

As for the rest, well, Lady Gaga said when asked about it, “I’ve certainly had sexual relationships with women, yes.” She also set herself up for future problems by doing one thing a celebrity should never do, especially now right after the Tiger Woods scandal: she said she wants to be a role model. “I aspire to be a teacher to my young fans… I want to free them from their own fears.”

Oh, just go back to wearing weird costumes and being “enigmatically” silent when not singing, please, Gaga?

With Sarah Palin, Walters recycled most of the quotes that aired in previous Walters “exclusives.” Walters addressed her as “governor” and called her a “special-needs poster mom.” Will Barbara please stop trying to force the role-model thing on people?

Tyler Perry said he was glad he was able to provide his mother with a house and a maid, two things she’s always wanted. Perry, who came closer than Glenn Back to actually crying in the time-honored Walters tradition, came across as a nice guy.

In a quote publicized days before this aired last night, Kate Gosselin said her kids “miss the camera crew.” Walters did not interview the camera crew to see if it missed Kate Gosselin.

Adam Lambert said, “I am a homosexual. Deal with it.”

First Lady Michelle Obama said she works out to achieve what Barbara kept calling “those arms.”

Glenn Beck said, “We’re not having real debates” in this country, and that he wanted his kids to know that “your father stood up for what he believed, and if that makes you enemy number-one, then we’re lost in America.”

Huh?

In fact, to this entire hour, I give a big…

Huh?

Did you watch this thing?

Dec 10 2009 08:21 AM ET

'Friday Night Lights' recap: Is this the end for Matt?

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Wow, what an energy-rush this week’s Friday Night Lights was. I know what many of you meant when you wrote in the Comments section that last week featured an Emmy-worthy performance by Zach Gilford as a grieving son; I agree. But I also thought this week’s amazing romantic scenes between Taylor Kitsch and Minka Kelly were extraordinary; Kitsch in particular gave a tremendously subtle performance.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

How about that incorrigible little minx Julie, blithely ignoring Tami’s orders and traipsing off to Austin with Matt for a music festival featuring acts such as the Heartless Bastards and Hem? (Kudos to the Heartless B’s for putting in a fine cameo.) Julie has been more good-natured around the house lately, but it made sense that she’d pull a little rebellion around this time, when she’s feeling the pressure of a fragile relationship with Matt.

As for Tim Riggins and Lyla Garrity — this was a terrific way to bring her character back to reestablish how much she cares for Tim but also how she’s out-grown him. (Her plaintive line, “What do you want?,” met by his silence, was a heart-crusher.) And the writers have made Tim a classic anti-hero in the tradition of Rebel Without A Cause: he’s now the charismatic rule-breaker who’s discovering that breaking the rules doesn’t get you very far in love, in work, or in life over the long haul. The scenes in which Tim and Lyla were enjoying each other’s company (whether in a bar, as pictured here, or alone in his grotty trailer) were sexy and poignant; very delicately played and moving, I thought.

Football was almost an after-thought this week, and I am getting a bit tired of coach Stan being all fidgety and shooting his mouth off at the wrong time. Comic relief is something FNL doesn’t much need. Then again, I trust the producers that they know what they’re doing with this character, and that Stan’s annoying behavior is going to pay off in some way further into the season.

And about that final scene: Do you think Matt is driving off into the sunset for good? (I know one person who isn’t going to miss him: That obnoxious artist whose subplot wasn’t working out.)

So, did you watch?

Friday Night Lights airs on DIRECTV”s 101 Network.

Dec 9 2009 08:29 AM ET

'Better Off Ted' review: 'baby ingredients,' bear costumes, and vanishing pensions

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So Better Off Ted returned last night in all its daffy glory. The episode’s premise — that Veridian Dynamics wanted to test its genetic engineering techniques via compatible dating matchmaking — was at once typically outlandish and rich in possibilities. We got Portia de Rossi’s Veronica requesting genetic material from Malcolm Barrett’s Lem (well, his term for it was “my baby ingredients”). We got Ted making up words in another language to cover the fact that he said “I love you” to a woman he’d barely met. And we got Linda (glowing Andrea Anders) sharing this awkward moment over dinner with a nice but peculiar fellow played by a very sporting Taye Diggs:

“I put on a totally realistic bear costume and hang out at the park”: It still makes me laugh.

The subtext of Ted is as humane as its humor is briskly efficient: Corporations are not merely soulless, but are active meddlers in people’s lives, and not in a benevolent way. This week’s furrowed-brow discussions of “rolled-back pensions” may have been raised to construct a joke or two, but the half-hour took note of the real economy. So does next week’s episode about company downsizing. Not many shows as assiduously flighty as Better Off Ted can get away with such pointed critiques.

Of course, Ted is waging a battle for its own downsizing… unto cancellation. The series is already fighting for its life, wedged as it is between two shows that aren’t doing well in the ratings (Scrubs; The Forgotten). In the overnight ratings, Ted placed a dismaying fourth, aligning with Scrubs’ fourth-place finish.

I have a sinking feeling ABC is just going to let these episodes burn brightly and then snuff it out. But while Ted still thrives creatively, let’s just enjoy it, shall we?

Did you watch?

UPDATE: I’d like to chime in with some of the astute commenters below and petition ABC to move Ted to Wednesday night as part of its two-hour comedy bloc. This show should be rubbing shoulders with the terrific Modern Family!

(You can follow me on Twitter.)

Dec 8 2009 02:47 PM ET

TV to watch tonight: Ted, Charlie, and Farrah

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No new episode of The Good Wife. Biggest Loser finale? No thanks. The Forgotten? I make a point of forgetting it’s still on.

If any one of those reactions strikes a chord in you, here are three very different shows to watch tonight.

Better Off Ted: Praise be, Ted is finally back. Veridian Dynamics is exerting its imperious-corporate influence on everything, including the dating plans of Ted (my, that Jay Harrington knows how to wear a suit, doesn’t he?), much to the witty disgust of boss Portia de Rossi:

A Charlie Brown Christmas: Bumped last week for the President’s foreign policy speech, the hardy perrennial is back tonight. Despite my apparently controversial preference for the Grinch, I certainly recommend A Charlie Brown Christmas as a way to soothe the jangling nerves the holidays can bring.

Teen Mom: Finally, MTV, contrary to what you may be reading everywhere, is not solely in the business of promoting hottub STDs with its Jersey Shore. Tonight at 10 p.m. EST, the documentary Teen Mom follows up on some of the subjects of its 16 and Pregnant subjects, such as Farrah:

What the interesting, frequently emotional hour finds is that these young woman are doing their best in often difficult situations. And good luck with your mom, Farrah — you don’t need that kind of pressure.

Planning to watch Better Off Ted or Charlie Brown’s Christmas, or Teen Mom tonight? Please sound off below; thanks.

Dec 8 2009 08:37 AM ET

Why is Popeye on the Google home-page today?

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Popeye the Sailor Man, his bulging forearms, and his strength-fortifying can of spinach can be seen on Google’s home page today, doing fans of cartoon art a big favor. Today is the birthday of Popeye creator E.C. Segar, born 115 years ago.

Segar was a newspaper cartoonist, and Popeye was first seen in Segar’s comic strip “Thimble Theater,” starring the sailor, his rail-thin girlfriend Olive Oyl, her brother Castor Oyl, and, eventually, their hamburger-munching pal Wimpy, and Popeye’s rival for Olive, the hulking Bluto.

The adventures of Popeye in the comic strips were fantastic — terrific storytelling about the creepy Alice the Goon, the Sea Hag, and other exotic villains. But the character of Popeye is best remembered for the series of cartoons that the great animator Dave Fleischer made in the 1930s. Take a look at the way Popeye and Bluto battle it out in this 1936 cartoon:

As a kid watching these shorts on TV, I loved the bouncy, elastic animation of the Popeye cartoons; as an adult, I appreciate the way the work is utterly different in tone and style from the equally-great Warner Bros. cartoons (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck) and MGM’s Tom and Jerry shorts.

There used to be some debate about the violence in Popeye cartoons. After all, the climax of most of his adventures arrives in the form of Popeye wind-milling his muscled arms and beating Bluto to a pulp.

I also loved the voice-work by Jack Mercer, the way he made Popeye mutter sarcastic asides, commenting ruefully on the action. No one else in cartoons sounded like that.

Happy birthday, E.C. Segar, wherever you are.

Are you a Popeye fan?

Dec 8 2009 08:14 AM ET

'Men Of A Certain Age' review: Did you watch last night?

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Men of a Certain Age, the Ray Romano-Andre-Braugher-Scott Bakula series you saw advertised non-stop on TNT over the past few weeks, premiered last night.

I liked it quite a lot. The intertwined tales of three guys who are getting hit hard by middle-age, Men was neither a baleful pity-party nor an arrested-development frat-boy-party. Romano showed he can use his hangdog expression for some dramatic moments; Bakula — seen most recently by EW readers, perhaps, as Chuck’s dad on Chuck — was well-cast as an L.A. actor reduced to auditioning for lousy Lifetime-network tv-movies; and Braugher is perfect as a guy stuck working for his father at a car dealership, grinding his teeth in humiliation while hoping the old man retires and gives him the dealership.

You can read my full review of Men of a Certain Age here. If you thought the first episode was just okay, I urge you to watch next week’s second edition. Last night’s opening hour spent a lot of time establishing who these characters are; next week, we see some real action and plot development.

But I’d like to know what you thought. Did you hang around after The Closer and watch these Men? Would you watch them again? Comment away, below; thanks.

Dec 7 2009 10:04 PM ET

Carrie Underwood and her 'All-Star Holiday Special': What a nice seasonal surprise it was

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Carrie Underwood has beaten the odds: at a time of the year when TV is clogged with Christmas specials, she managed to put one together that stood out. It had something for everyone — singing, sentiment, silliness, and sex. And she made its charms last for a full two hours.

At first, it was a little hard to see where the “holiday” in this An All-Star Holiday Special was going to apply. Underwood began by singing “Cowboy Casanova” attired in various tight black materials, with what looked like platform boots borrowed from KISS. Oh my, I thought, what a refreshing alternative to the seasonal red-and-green!

When I first read Underwood’s eclectic guest list — Dolly Parton and David Cook, no surprises there; but Kristen Chenoweth and Christina Applegate, too? — I thought, uh-oh, this could be a trying-to-please-everybody bland-fest. Instead, READ FULL STORY »

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