A Night at Falcon Crest

If only I'd bought that unlimited JetBlue pass (is that thing still valid for October?) I would have winged out to Beverly Hills for last night's event at The Paley Center, reuniting the cast of the classic '80s CBS soap, Falcon Crest.

But in this digital age, there's always the next best thing. The Paley Center's web site has collected its live tweets from the event, containing cast revelations about the show, here.

And blogger Jim Halterman has posted some fun pre-show video from the red carpet, with such Falcon Crest stalwarts as Lorenzo Lamas (aka Lance Cumson), Ana Alicia (Melissa Agretti), Jamie Rose (Vicki Gioberti), Abby Dalton (Julia Cumson) and the show's creator, 87-year-old Earl Hamner. The videos are below -- and check out Jim's blog here. (And coming soon, he promises: current Castle star Susan Sullivan.)

Attend a Sneak-Peek of Caprica

Courtesy of Jane Espenson's blog. Thanks, Jane!

CAPRICA EVENT

Return of the Cylons: The Caprica Season 1.5 Premiere Fan Event!

Join CAPRICA stars Esai Morales, Alessandra Torresani, Sasha Roiz, and executive producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, Jane Espenson and Kevin Murphy for the Caprica season 1.5 premiere!

500 dedicated fans will have an exclusive opportunity to be the very first to see CAPRICA's return at a free private screening with the cast an d producers on Sunday, October 3 at the Globe Theatre at Universal Studios Hollywood! Gates open at 6:30 PM and the cast and producers will kick off and close the event.

To get your ticket for this exciting celebration of CAPRICA'S return, please send your name, e-mail address, & # of tickets (max of 6 per person) to frak@nbcuni.com. An email confirmation with a link to your printable bar-coded ticket will arrive within 24 hours. Only the first 500 guests with tickets will be guaranteed entrance.

Late Night on the Great White Way

Fresh from doing a nice job hosting the Emmy Awards this past August 29, Jimmy Fallon announces today that all next week (leading up to Jimmy's -- and my -- birthday on Sept 19), his show will be hosting a cadre of the biggest stars on Broadway.

Check out today's NBC press release, below.

NBC's 'LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON' BRINGS BROADWAY FROM NYC TO YOUR TV WITH ITS FIRST EVER BROADWAY WEEK

NEW YORK September 10, 2010 - "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" is excited to announce its first ever LNJF Broadway Week. The week will showcase all the biggest hits the Great White Way has to offer, from pounding punk rock to 60s swing. Starting September 13th, Jimmy will welcome a different Broadway musical to the Late Night studios each night .

The curtain will go up on Monday when David Bryan from Bon Jovi introduces a performance by the cast of "Memphis." The musical explores the underground dance clubs of the 1950s with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. The show was the winner of four 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Tuesday brings "Promises, Promises" to the Studio 6B stage. This revival of the 1968 musical is based on the Oscar-winning Billy Wilder film "The Apartment" and it stars Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes.

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day arrives to introduce the Tony Award winning musical "American Idiot" when they makes an appearance on Wednesday, telling the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Their quest for true meaning in a post 9-11 world leads them on an exhilarating journey.

Thursday will feature "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." Cheered by the New York Times and Rolling Stone as "the season's best musical", the show began its life at the Public Theatre (which birthed "Hair" and "A Chirus Line") and begins performances on Broadway next Monday.

Make sure to tune-in to see what other Broadway inspired surprises Jimmy has in store!

No Doubt Taking Cabot Cove's nightclubs by storm

Take a listen to "Murder in the Club," the latest bizarre mash-up of 50 Cent and, of all things... the theme from Murder, She Wrote! Unfortunately, the execution is as cacophonous as the idea is hilarious. But you gotta give them points for trying.

Murder in the Club by Wing Commander

Hell, if Carol Channing can rap on-stage with LL COOL J, then why can't Jessica Fletcher get it on with Fitty? (Paging Angela Lansbury...)

Go Undercovers at New York's London

Sadly, this sweepstakes' prize, a NYC hotel room, does not come fully stocked with the gorgeous stars of Undercovers, Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Still, the London hotel? Gordon Ramsay food? Private screening? What could be bad?

NBC.COM ANNOUNCES THE 'UNDERCOVERS: GET A ROOM PRIVATE SCREENING’ ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES TO PROMOTE DEBUT OF NBC’S NEW DRAMA ‘UNDERCOVERS’ WITH ALL-EXPENSE-PAID ROMANTIC ADVENTURE TO NEW YORK CITY

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – September 1, 2010 – NBC.com announced the "Undercovers: Get A Room Private Screening" romantic online sweepstakes to promote the debut of the new drama “Undercovers” today. The sweepstakes, which will reward five lucky winners with an all-expense-paid romantic adventure for two to New York City for a luxurious stay at the posh London Hotel, dinner at the Gordan Ramsay restaurant and includes a private in-room advance screening for each couple.

The announcement was made today by Vivi Zigler, President of NBCU Digital Entertainment, who said: “NBC.com continues to find new ways to create unique experiences for our fans and we are thrilled to provide this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity tied to one of this fall’s most anticipated new series in 'Undercovers.'"

Viewers can enter at http://www.nbc.com/undercovers/sweepstakes/.

Undercovers" premieres on Wednesday, September 22 (8-9 p.m. ET) on NBC.

The “Undercovers -- Get A Room Private Screening” online sweepstakes will give fans the chance to win their own personal premiere experience in New York City. The winner will receive an all-expense-paid trip for two including round-trip transportation, a romantic dinner for two at the Gordan Ramsay restaurant, a pampered hotel stay at the posh London hotel complete with spa services and other amenities, and a chance to get under the covers while watching “Undercovers” in a private in-room screening.

Members of NBC.com's new affinity program, Fan It, are able to redeem their points for multiple entries. Those interested can become a Fan It member by visitng nbc.com/fan-it.

From acclaimed writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams ("Star Trek," “Fringe,” "Lost," "Alias") and executive producer/writer Josh Reims (“Brothers and Sisters,” “What About Brian”) comes “Undercovers,” a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama that proves once and for all that marriage is still the world's most dangerous partnership.

Outwardly, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe, “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Vacation”) and his wife, Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, “Dr. Who”), are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles. Secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and good friend Leo Nash (Carter MacIntyre, "American Heiress") goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss and agency liaison, Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney, "Deadwood," "Jericho"), to locate and rescue Nash.

The pair suddenly is thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat in adventures that span the globe.

Steven and Samantha quickly realize that perhaps this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides exactly the kind of excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

Applicants can enter now through September 6 by visiting http://www.nbc.com/undercovers/sweepstakes/. The winner will be notified for travel itinerary on September 8 and will fly to New York on September 20.

Hamster-eating Diana is back!

NOW I'll tune in to the new V! Check here: Original 'V' star Jane Badler joins Season 2 of ABC reboot - From Inside the Box - Zap2it

Now We Know What's in Sophia's Purse!

How cool is this? Disney/Buena Vista, rightsholder to The Golden Girls, announces a new full-series box set -- get this -- contained in a replica of Sophia's straw purse! Sadly, though, still no Golden Palace.

Check it out below (courtesy of www.tvshowsondvd.com.)

The Golden Girls - '25th Anniversary Complete Collection' in a Collectible Replica of Sophia's Purse

Includes all seven seasons of the show, plus a collectible deck of Golden Girls playing cards

A short time ago today, ABC Studios and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment announced the 21-DVD release of The Golden Girls - 25th Anniversary Complete Collection. All 7 seasons of the show (180 episodes, approx. 3800 minutes) will be compiled into one special package that is designed in the form of Sophia's purse! Included in this collectible package, shown below, is a set of collectible playing cards featuring Sophie (Estelle Getty) on the Spades, Dorothy (Bea Arthur) on the Clubs, Blanche (Rue McClanahan) on the Diamonds, and Rose (Betty White) on the Hearts.

This is available beginning November 9th. On-disc extras will be the same as the special features seen in the individual season set DVD packages that have been previously released. List price is $149.99 SRP in the United States, and CA$199.00 SRP in Canada; you can pre-order it from Amazon at a discount using the button link immediately below. It's followed by the "purse packaging". With this release, we realize that passionate fans will say this collection is not "complete" because it does not contain episodes of the spin-off series, Golden Palace. Unfortunately we still don't have any word about a home video release of that series, which the studio considers to be a separate entity fromThe Golden Girls. If we ever find out that it's coming, though, we'll be certain to let everyone know!

Taken from:http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Golden-Girls-Complete-Collection/14207#ixzz0vruowt00

Uhura Celebrates Equality

I had seen the ever-beautiful Nichelle Nichols just two years back, as she appeared at the closing night ceremony for Outfest, the Los Angeles LGBT film festival. The pioneering actress, who as Star Trek's fourth-in-command Lieutenant Uhura was the first African-American actress on TV not playing a maid or other servant, was on stage as a star of the 2008 film Tru Loved, and to receive the ACLU's Liberty and Justice award from her Trek co-star, George Takei.

Today at the Television Critics Association convention in Beverly Hills, Nichols joined a panel promoting PBS' special, Pioneers of Primetime, along with four other amazing actors: Robert Conrad, from Hawaiian Eye and Wild Wild West; Mannix's Mike Connors; Mission: Impossible's Martin Landau; and Linda Evans, of Big Valley and Dynasty.

We reporters asked each actor for his or her favorite memory from their iconic series, and Nichols' was by far the most affecting. At the time she was making history, she remembers, she actually felt frustrated that Star Trek was keeping her from the career she'd always dreamed of in musical theater. And so, at the end of season 1, she submitted her resignation to that show's legendary creator, Gene Roddenberry.

But that very night, as she appeared at a fundraiser for the NAACP, Nichols was told that her "biggest fan" wanted to meet her. And there, approaching from across the room, was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King reminded the actress of the importance of the image she was portraying for America, as a positive role model inspiring millions. That Monday, she rescinded her resignation, and continued to make history.

At a reception after today's panel, I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Nichols. And after hearing her speak so eloquently about civil rights, I also had the pleasure of breaking the news to her of today's court decision overturning California's Proposition 8. (The news had only begun to break on the internet just as the five actors were taking their seats on stage.)

Below, the words of this groundbreaking icon, at today's historic moment:

Must-Hear TV: Here we are, invoking the name of Dr. King on what turned out to be an important day for Civil Rights. How do you feel about hearing that Prop 8 was overturned?

Nichelle Nichols: Amen! America has another chance to be America. Everything you see on TV is the “No” party saying "No, no, no." The Republicans shape the news and say this, and everybody repeats it. They said this would never happen. So all the commentators repeated it like little parrots. I’m so sick of the TV news, I could cry.

MHTV: Do you feel that the LGBT civil rights struggle is following the same arc that African-Americans did 40 years ago?

NN: I don’t think there’s a comparison. There are lesbians and gay people in every lifestyle and community. And to deny it is ridiculous. As black people, our thing was totally different.

MHTV: True. You can’t be in the closet.

NN: Exactly. Nor would I ever want to. But understanding what you’re talking about, I think that eventually everyone will win. Because we all deserve to be who we are.

MHTV: What a great way to end. From your lips to God’s ears.

NN: And She is listening!

Kung Fu of the Emerald Isle

Today at TCA, the CW produced a panel with the producers and stars of its hotly anticipated new show Nikita, the second TV adaptation of the famous French film La Femme Nikita from 1990. (In fact, this new series even films on the same Toronto studios as the 1997-2001 USA Network original which starred Peta Wilson.)

This version stars the beautiful Maggie Q, who I first noticed in the latest Die Hard movie, but who fans of martial arts films may know, from her days training in Asia for such flicks as a protegee of Jackie Chan. And as I first learned at the CW upfront this past May and noticed again today, she's not just kick-ass and gorgeous, but funny, too. (At one point, in response to a question about how much fighting expertise is required for the show, she noted, "I'm half Asian, so people think we all do kung fu all the time. Wake up, do kung fu, brush your teeth...")

One critic asked the panel whether Maggie Q shortened her last name in order to be able to work with the series' producer/director, the accomplished action director McG. The pairing sure sounds hip and exotic -- until McG noted that their real, full names, Quigley for Maggie and McGinty for himself, are both Irish in extraction. (I'm tempted to make bad puns like "the Irish spring into action," etc. but I'll avoid the temptation...)

More on Nikita, including words from co-star Shane West as Michael, to come...!

CBS Goes Gayer

Last week, the gay media watchdog group GLAAD issued its annual report card, where it grades TV networks on their representation -- or lack thereof -- of LGBT characters. As in the past, in GLAAD's estimation, CBS flunked out.

This morning, at the very start of the two-week Television Critics of America press tour in Beverly Hills, CBS President Nina Tassler was asked to address the failing grade.

The network, she said first of all, did have a few gay characters in some of their pilots for this fall, but none of those got picked up. And so, she says, "We're adding a few characters to this season because we're very disappointed in our track record so far. We know, and we will do better."

There will be at least three new gay characters on CBS this fall, Tassler pointed out. We will meet Alicia Florrick's gay brother in season 2 of The Good Wife. On Rules of Engagement this fall, we'll meet the lesbian from Jeff's softball team who will become the surrogate mother for Audrey and him. And on S#*! My Dad Says, Tim Bagley's gay DMV worker -- in my estimation, the best part of that show's pilot -- has become a series regular.

Stay tuned for more news coming out of the TCA, including spoilers from Desperate Housewives' upcoming season 7!