A Little Ditty About Jack and Karen

When I logged onto AOL this morning, I saw a teaser quoting a National Enquirer story which claims that NBC is eager to put together a pilot for a potential Will & Grace spinoff, to star Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally's characters Jack McFarland and Karen Walker.

Now I'm not one to believe the Enquirer -- or AOL's shoddy news reporting, for that matter. But let's take this seriously for a moment, and realize -- it sounds like a really bad idea. For every rare hit spinoff like Frasier was from Cheers, there's a Joey or reaching back even further, a Golden Palace or an AfterM*A*S*H.

And there are some good reasons to be skeptical about this rumor. For one thing, just last week it was announced that Megan Mullally has already signed on to star in an ABC pilot, In the Motherhood, opposite Cheryl Hines and Chelsea Handler.

Plus, there's the issue of Will & Grace's terrible series finale. Back in July, I asked Debra Messing at the Television Critics' Conference if there might ever be a Will & Grace reunion. Never say never, she basically said -- but she pointed out that the series finale wrapped up the show's storyline so far in the future that any reunion would be logically problematic, if not impossible.

The same can be said for Jack and Karen. Didn't we see Jack financially forced to marry Beverly Leslie, only to be thrilled when a freak windstorm swept the little guy off their balcony? And then we saw Jack and Karen, together again, living off Beverly's estate? Jack, with touches of gray in his hair now -- and Karen, hilariously looking exactly the same?

I had very mixed feelings about the Will & Grace series finale, because in its attempt to set up a "meet cute" for Will's son Ben and Grace's daughter Lila, the episode contradicted several key facts we already knew about our titular twosome. Despite the finale's assertion to the contrary, Will and Grace had not earlier been said to have been freshman hallmates; he was even probably a year or two ahead of her. Instead, it had been established, including during the two-parter where Grace married Leo, that Will and Grace first met at a party on a New York rooftop. But I digress.

It would probably be best to let Jack and Karen rest, in whatever boozy state they're lounging around in in the TV ether. But I want to make this clear: should these spinoff rumors turn out to be true, and the show does somehow get on the air, I'll be the first one to tune in and watch. And this time, I want to write for the show. Got that, Mr. or Ms. Showrunner?

17 Years In The Life

Last night, at a cocktail gala at the Neue Gallerie on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the groundbreaking PBS gay and lesbian newsmagazine In The Life celebrated the start of its 17th season.

The affair raised $110K for In The Life -- a show which, ITL Media Executive Director Michelle Kristel explained, receives no funding for its production from the government or from PBS. But last night's tally is enough, she said, to pay for two episodes of the informative -- and for gay and lesbian teens, sometimes quite literally life-saving -- program.

In other ITL news, Kristel also announced that the show will once again return to a half-hour format, partly in order to accommodate changing media habits, such as viewing many of the show's reports individually online. And, even more noteworthy, this year, the show will produce new episodes each month, leading up to the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in June 2009.

No more endless repeats, Kristel promised -- and that was good news for the night's honoree Kate Clinton, the legendary lesbian comic and author who was the program's first host when it debuted in 1992. "I've been on LOGO more times than The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," she joked at the podium as she accepted In The Life's first annual Pioneer Award.

In her short but incredibly funny speech, Clinton -- who continues this month on her nationwide, political-themed "Hilarity Clinton" tour -- joked about the banking bailout, where "the only thing left to my bank was the free pen." "People said that gay marriage would end the world," Clinton teased. "But we didn't do this!"

But Clinton turned serious and incisive when it came to stressing the importance of In The Life and the effect the show has already had on the U.S. and the world. After last week's shameful Vice Presidential debate, when both Joe Biden and (unsurprisingly) Sarah Palin took such cowardly stands, polls in California showed a four point increase in support for that state's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8. When such hatred is "legitimized" from the top, Clinton noted, voters feel more comfortable taking bigoted stands themselves. But luckily, she enthused, there is In The Life, which has produced several videos in support of gay marriage, which in the age of the internet will spread virally and hopefully help defeat the hateful ballot measure.

Clinton's remarks were cheered by the well-heeled New York crowd, which included former ITL host Katherine Linton and the show's newest (adorable!) face, that of Sirius' OutQ's own Michael Billy (pictured with partner Matthew Argenti.) Michael makes for an amazing host both on air, and as she showed last night in emceeing the proceedings, off as well. I look forward to many more seasons of Michael and the very enlightening Life!

Nathan Petrelli for President

On tonight's episode of Heroes, oddly titled "I Am Become Death," we learned that four years into the future, Nathan Petrelli is the President of the United States -- despite having less experience even than Sarah Palin.

The elder Petrelli brother started his career as a district attorney and then a Congressional Representative from either New York's 14th district (see the show's fun fake "Vote Petrelli" web site.) Now, Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) has begun Heroes' third season with an appointment to become the junior Senator from New York. (Sorry, Hillary, but the man's got your job.) In this season's premiere episodes, New York Governor Malden (Bruce Boxleitner) spotted a news report about Nathan's miraculous recovery from his gunshot wound and subsequent pseudo-religious babble, and dispatched Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter) to woo Nathan into replacing the late Gerald Dickinson.

My question is this: how many years do we think were left on Dickinson's 6-year Senate term? Is Nathan starting near the beginning -- meaning that, in order to be president 4 years from now, he obviously eventually New Yorkers flat to pursue his political ambitions? And gets elected, despite his bizarre past, and only a few years of experience in politics? (See, Sarah? Sadly, there's hope for you yet!) Or did Dickinson have just a short while left -- again meaning that Nathan runs for Prez without having done too much time in DC.

Of course, maybe the national electorate was truly smart enough to see through Nathan's plans -- only to have the voting machines manipulated by that whiny little machine whisperer, Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey).

After all, voting machine fraud is unfortunately probably not just the stuff of science fiction.



Heroes
Season 3
Mondays at 9 PM Eastern
NBC

Tyler Perry's "The Studio That Preys"

Or maybe I should have gone with my alternate title, Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Fire My Writers?"

Just received the following press release. Although I've said on the air that I respect that Perry has become a one-man TV and film powerhouse, I certainly don't admire that he's apparently done it at the expense and exploitation of his workers. Some pretty harsh stuff here, including allegations of racism. Read on:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2008

Writers at Tyler Perry Studio to Take Strike Action –
Will Picket Grand Opening and Ask Invited Guests Not To Attend

Los Angeles – The Writers Guild of America, West is taking on the fight for justice of writers who were fired when they tried to get a union contract with Tyler Perry’s production company, House of Payne, LLC. The Guild today filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that House of Payne unlawfully fired four writers in retaliation for their union activity. The charge also alleges that the company bargained in bad faith with the Guild, which is seeking to negotiate a contract covering the writers on Perry’s cable television series House of Payne and Meet the Browns.

The four writers, Kellie Griffin, Christopher Moore, Teri Brown-Jackson, and Lamont Ferrell, as well as supporters from the Writers Guild and the community, will be picketing during Saturday’s opening of Perry’s new studio and they’re asking invited guests to respect their picket line. Together, these writers have written over one hundred episodes of House of Payne. Since April of this year they have been involved in a union organizing campaign with the Writers Guild of America, West so that their work on that show and the upcoming Meet the Browns would be covered by a Guild contract. Despite the enormous success of House of Payne, Perry has refused to agree to a contract that would give the writers health care, pensions, and residuals. On Tuesday of this week he fired the writers, after warning them some weeks ago that they should “be careful about pushing the WGA deal or you could be replaced.”

“We’re asking all those who had planned to attend the opening of Tyler Perry’s new studio not to cross our picket line,” said writer Christopher Moore. “It’s very disheartening considering that this is a studio run by African Americans. What Tyler Perry is essentially saying to us is that ‘you’re black and there’s not a lot of
opportunities for you so you’ll take what I give you’ – whether it’s fair or not.”

“I feel like I was slapped in the face, like we were used” said writer and WGAW member Teri Brown-Jackson. “We were good enough to create over a hundred episodes, but now when it comes to reaping the benefits of the show being syndicated and having other spin-offs from it, he decides to let us go unless we accept a horrible offer.”

“Disrespected, betrayed, saddened…it’s hard to describe,” said writer and WGAW member Lamont Ferrell. “The actors and a majority of the production crew on the show were working under union contracts and they received the pay and benefits that you need to survive on in this business. But after all those episodes and success when it came time for us to get a fair contract, we’re told on a conference call ‘sorry, you’re fired.’”

The show’s head writer, Kellie Griffin, added, “A lot of people who fought for civil rights and social justice never really saw what eventually came out of their work. While I’d like to see something positive come out of this for us, if this fight helps future black writers get what they deserve, that’s a good thing.”

The writers and their supporters will be picketing at the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios on Saturday, October 4, starting at 4 pm, and on Sunday, October 5, starting at 9 am.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) is a labor union representing writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in entertainment and news. Founded in 1933, the Guild negotiates and enforces the contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members. It is involved in a wide range of programs that advance the interests of writers and their craft and is active in public policy and legislative matters on the local, national, and international level. For more information on the WGAW, please visit: http://www.wga.org/.

Contact:
Gregg Mitchell
Ph 323.782.4574

The CW Makes Easy Money

Sunday is an incredibly competitive night on network and cable television -- and it's about to get even more so, with the debut this weekend of the CW's Easy Money.

When I attended the show's premiere at the New York Television Festival last month, I was impressed with the caliber of its cast, its visuals, and most importantly, its sophisticated storytelling.

I shouldn't have been surprised, because Easy Money comes to us courtesy of the writing team Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, former scribes on Northern Exposure and later The Sopranos. And with its quirky location and a crime-tinged family business at its core, Easy Money has elements of both of those great shows.

After the screening, Frolov and Schneider took to the stage to answer critics' enthusiastic questions about the show. But it couldn't be too long an evening -- because cast and crew were due the very next day back in Albuquerque, to continue shooting the season's fifth episode. With a generous tax rebate in town, Schneider explained, many productions are popping up in the New Mexico town, including a constant stream of feature films, AMC's series Breaking Bad and USA Networks' In Plain Sight. But in truth, he adds, the writing pair chose Albuquerque as their location because, as a fast-growing Wild Western boomtown, it's perfect for this tale of a moneylending family whose business, although legal, skirts an association with an undesirable element. Even the light in the area, at Albuquerque's higher altitude, is different from the look of L.A., Schneider says. That's why the show takes such advantage of the outdoors, shooting just two days a week inside, in a converted semiconductor factory.

Frolov and Schneider were first approached with an outline for the Easy Money idea, which is based loosely on a concept that U.K. producer Hat Trick Productions is also developing for British audiences, and prepared the show first for Fox before landing it at the CW courtesy of production company Media Rights Capital. The timing, Schneider says, was perfect, because of the credit crisis now enveloping our nation, to create a show "examining people's relationship with money." And, as luck would have it, the elegant and patrician-looking Frolov, surprisingly, already had a relative in the moneylending biz. That family member, named Bobette, is not only now a technical advisor to the show, but she lent her first name to the matriarch of Easy Money's Buffkin clan, played by Laurie Metcalf (right).

After MRC signed an interim agreement with the Writers' Guild, Easy Money got a head start on producing its pilot, even while the strike waged on, last February. And now, this Sunday night, October 5, the show will be part of MRC's historic inaugural lineup for the CW; in a never-before-tried arrangement in TV, the production company has contracted with the network to be fully in charge of its entire Sunday night lineup.

Partnered with an adaptation of a Canadian documentary show, 4Real, the reality show In Harm's Way and the Greek Gods-and-Goddesses romantic-comedy Valentine, Easy Money is debuting as part of a lineup whose demographic targets seem to be all over the map. Luckily, with a pedigree like Frolov and Schneider's, this should be a show that gets its share of attention, and hopefully draws in the viewers. Because after watching the show's pilot, I can tell you -- I'd never want to borrow from the Buffkins, but I sure like watching others fall into that very trap.

Easy Money
Series Premiere
Sunday, October 5
9 PM Eastern
CW

A Good Week for Television, the Worst Week for Pants

Only two weeks into the official new season, and TV has already gone right into the toilet -- literally.

On Sunday's installment of AMC's Mad Men (titled "Six Month Leave"), Joel Murray's Freddy Rumsen, known to like to take more than just a little nip during office hours, got a little too...er... "relaxed" and made a puddle in his pants. The 1962 solution to having an alcoholic running one of your crucial accounts? Offer him six months off, paid, to dry out. I found it fascinating that, whereas those deviating from the "ideals" of race and sexuality apparently deserve no respect in the Camelot Era, Peggy and Don both make it quite clear that Freddy's problem is no laughing matter.




Not to be outdone, on the very same night that Freddy was letting loose on Madison Avenue, an unlucky Louisiana cop met the same fate on HBO's True Blood. In an episode entitled "Escape From Dragon House," the offending officer stops Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill (Stephen Moyer) on their drive back from vampire bar Fangtasia in Shreveport, only to end up being "glamored" by Bill into surrendering his gun. Then, as our fave mixed living/undead couple drives off for home, we see just how badly Bill has quite literally scared the piss out of him.



And then there's the matter of True Blood's Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten), Sookie's nymphomaniacal brother. After nervously downing an entire vial of "V Juice" -- aka vampire blood -- rather than the recommended two drops, Jason develops a painful penile priapism that puts pressure on his poor pants.

And lastly, there's CBS' Worst Week. As much as I loved the pilot of this show -- and want to continue to support it as a new network comedy -- I was dismayed to see the moment in this clip, from the show's second episode, "The Bird." When Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) manages to recapture his soon-to-be father-in-law's beloved pet finch (after already having accidentally killed its mate), he doesn't do the logical thing, and make himself out to be a hero. Instead, he hides the poor creature in his pants pocket, only to have it mistaken for a bulging boner when he encounters his sis-in-law-to-be in mid breast-feed. And then, going for the laugh, Worst Week has Sam smack down the bird in his pocket, killing the poor thing.

I found it so hard to watch, if it hadn't been for my partner Frank shooing me away so he could watch Fox's Fringe in the next room, I would have given up on Worst Week right there. But since I adore the show's cast and think its writing is mostly clever, I will give Worst Week a third try next week. Just remember, CBS -- there's nothing funny about animal cruelty.

Desecration of one's pants, however -- now that's a totally different story.

How I Met Your Mother and The Best Burger in New York

This past Monday night, we learned another of Marshall Eriksen's endearing quirks: he's been bedeviled (as is Regis Philbin, it turns out) by a cosmically good burger he had eight years ago, somewhere in Manhattan. The problem is, he forgot where.

It was a fun episode -- particularly if you're a New Yorker. Because unlike so many sitcoms, this is a show that quite often gets it right. Sure, Ted and Marshall live in an apartment that would be a castle by NYC standards; but at least it's not Monica and Rachel's a-little-too-nice Greenwich Village pad on Friends or Paul and Jamie's inexplicably huge flat on Mad About You. Besides, Ted and Marshall's place can't be made too small -- because as How I Met Your Mother's executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas reminded me when I visited them on the set last year while reporting for CBS Watch magazine, the cameras, after all, do have to fit!

In particular, Monday's episode, "The Best Burger in New York," got it right on several fronts. We New Yorkers do bemoan the loss of the real Upper West Side stalwart bar Fez, at 85th & Broadway. (And yes, every available retail space does seem to have turned into a Goliath bank lately -- although possibly that trend is over as of this week!) And, Carter and Craig had told me, they personally mourn the recent real-life loss of Midtown pub McHale's at 47th Street & 8th Avenue; it's one of the inspirations for Maclaren's bar on the show, and was where the two guys first started writing comedy together over a beer, as they took breaks from their MTV internship during college. And finally, there's the fun moment where Marshall goes ballistic on a guy who haplessly suggests the West Village bar The Corner Bistro -- the stereotypical answer to the question "Where can you get the best burger...," even though it's tiny and always packed (and I've never had the patience to wait for a table.)



By the way, just in case you are about to visit New York and want to, like Marshall,go on a quest, here's what you have to do: go to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. But do it soon -- it will close for the season in early December.

A very close second: somewhere new Frank and I just discovered, a place called Five Napkin Burger at 47th Street and Ninth Avenue. It's run by the owners of UWS favorite Nice Matin, and let me just say that the classic, titular burger, with its caramelized onions, soft Boursin-like French cheese and rosemary aioli, is so good that, like Barney, I want to make burger babies with it.

This week's episode not only made me laugh, but it made me hungry -- and now I'm passing it forward. Feel free to blame me at your Weight Watchers meeting.


How I Met Your Mother
Season 4
Mondays at 8:30 PM Eastern
CBS

Catch Me on Twist

For an on-air version of Must-Hear TV, catch me in two radio appearances this week:

In my regular Wednesday slot on The Frank DeCaro Show, on Sirius' OutQ station, channel 109. 1:15 PM Eastern, 10:15 AM Pacific!


And this weekend, I'll be talking TV on Twist, the fabulous gay music and entertainment countdown airing on local stations in New York, L.A., Washington, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Albuquerque and Indianapolis. Check their web site, http://www.radiowithatwist.com/ for local stations and showtimes --and other fun goodies from hosts Dennis Hensley, Ben Harvey and Melissa Carter.


See you on the air!

Welcome to Darling Tower

Want a glimpse into how the Darling Family made all their Dirty, Sexy Money? Take a virtual tour of their latest venture, the Manhattan skyscraper Darling Tower.

Well appointed like the glossiest of New York pads, the Tower features amenities such as valet, private wine cellar, full-service Wellness Spa, and rooftop Zen garden. It was even designed by apparently world-famous architect Nico Egroeg (who must be Nick George's backwards Dutch cousin.)

Considering buying with some filthy cash of your own? There's just one problem: Darling Tower doesn't really exist. And as slick and realistic as its web site may be, it's really just a clever "viral" tool to promote the upcoming second season of Dirty Sexy Money, which premieres this Wednesday, October 1 at 10 PM Eastern on ABC.

From Patrick 'Tripp' Darling's "Vision" page:

"When I start a new venture, I base it on hard research and analysis. With Darling Tower, I saw an opportunity to give new life to an otherwise faltering urban area -- a clean-up-the-dirt endeavor, so to speak. Adding in some much needed sex appeal to create something unique and beautiful. I consider it money well spent."

Dirty Sexy Money
Season 2
Premieres Wednesday, October 1
10 PM Eastern
ABC

Behind the Scenes at... The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race

Season 13

Now it can be told.

I went along, as a journalist, on the first leg of this season's Amazing Race. This is the show's 13th season -- and I admit, I'm a latecomer to Race fever. But having watched a few iterations before pitching the editor-in-chief of CBS' Watch! magazine on covering the behind-the-scenes of the show, I became an instant fan.

As you probably know from watching last night's season 13 opener, the 11 teams opened their envelopes at LA's Olympic Stadium, and headed off to Salvador, Brazil -- with me close behind. I'd never been to South America before, but had always dreamed of it. And Salvador did not disappoint -- it's gorgeous, a little bit Boston, with its version of colonial architecture, and a lot Miami, with spicy Latin food and glorious beaches.

My first-person diary piece about traveling with the show will hit newsstands in early November -- please do check it out. Meanwhile, here on my blog, I thought I'd do something different and post some of the photos I took (and a few courtesy of CBS' photography dept.) along the way. I'm sure this will be fun stuff for those of you always looking for tidbits on how this huge organization comes together so efficiently. Believe me -- this show truly is "Amazing!"

4/23/08, late AM: Waiting for our connecting flight to Salvador -- which was late -- in Rio de Janeiro's airport. When things like this happen, producers whip out their cell phones and alert those already waiting for us on the ground to push things back.



The teams' first task in Salvador: to steer these rickety pushcarts, loaded with a gum brand called Blong!, into the elevator which links the commercial district to the old-city section of Pelourinho, atop the cliff. Once there, they have to look for the show's trademark red-and-yellow flag on a candy vendor's cart to receive their next envelope. (Luckily, the envelope says they're done for the day.)



The teams may have been done for the day, but I wasn't. Instead, I was invited to "test" the two stunts they'd have to choose from the next day at the Detour box. I refused to do the cargo net climb (see photos below), but crawling up the church stairs was a piece of cake -- despite how everyone else seemed to think it was the tougher challenge.


The plaque says that this church, O Pagador do Promessas (Payer of Promises) was the setting of a 1962 film which won the Palme D'Or at Cannes.

That night, I got to stay at the posh Pestana Bahia hotel. The teams were not so lucky -- they stayed pressed up against each other in these two-man mosquito nets in the incredibly humid jungle. It had just rained, so the ground was covered in several inches of mud, and there were bugs the size of Volkswagens. Still want to audition?

4/24/08, 8 AM: The first stop is the Detour box, located in the forecourt of the Third Church of Sao Francisco. Which of course is located next to the First and Second Churches of Sao Francisco, just to be confusing. At about 10:30, we get word from roving scouts that contestants are on their way, so we duck into the doorway of the post office across the street. When they do come, they're so focused on finding the box that they blow right past and don't notice us. Most of them blow right past the box, too, and enter the church before realizing their mistake.


















My incredible simulation of opening the envelope at the Detour Box. Photo by Robert Voets.


The Detour box offered two options: "The Hard Way Up," which is crawling up the church stairs, or "The Soft Way Down," which involves climbing down a cargo net strung over the tower of the Elevador Lacerda which climbs up the cliff. That's 240 feet high, people -- are you insane? But 10 of the 11 teams choose the net, partly due to the deliberately misleading name "Soft Way Down."





Terence and Sarah finish and disconnect from the net. The next step is to grab the envelope which has the Pit Stop location (the finishing line for this leg.) Nick and Starr have already beaten them to it.







Kelli and Christy finish on the net.


From the base of the net (the Elevador Lacerda tower is the skinny white structure in the center of the photo, behind the white boat), it's just a run down this dock to catch a boat to the Pit Stop: a fortress several hundred yards out in the Bay of All Saints.

A short but scenic boat ride. We tried to duck out of sight while waiting for the boat in case teams came, because we didn't want to clue them in that they were in the right place. And we also couldn't hog either of the two boats going back and forth, for fear of delaying a team. But it turns out, we'd picked a lull between teams and shot right out to the fort.




Walking up the entry gangplank to the stone fortress.

This is the view facing right once you walk in the front gate of the fort. In the back is a ramp, which leads up to the cannons on the roof. That right side ramp was the one Production used; there's a symmetrical one on the left side which the teams used. They couldn't see us to the right because of a barrier the show constructed.




The ramp up to the top...

...Where it's nearly 100 degrees, in blazing sunshine. (Remember, this is the tropics in early autumn.) When host Phil Keoghan is not interviewing finishing teams on the mat, he's often filming "stand-ups" where he explains the rules and challenges to the camera. This is a rare break, hiding from the oppressive sun with the show's publicist Mitch Graham.







The famous Amazing Race mat.

4/25/08: The teams left this morning for city #2.

Me, I half wish I could go with them and observe, but I'm quite happy here on the beach at Barra...

...As are my tired feet in their new Havaiianas, made right here in Brazil. From this beachside bar, I walked back all along the peninsula that makes up the city to the Pestana Bahia hotel -- all the while hoping I'll get to come back here someday. With or without 22 crazed adrenaline junkies racing each other for a shot at the cash.








Click HERE to check out the full episode on CBS.com


The Amazing Race
Season 13
Sundays at 8 PM Eastern, starting September 28
CBS