"Son, do you like to watch gladiator movies?"

Today at the TCA, Starz announces a new drama series Spartacus, from film producer Sam Raimi and his team, to premiere in the fall of 2009. According to producer Rob Tapert and producer/writer Steven S. DeKnight,  it will be heavily visual, with lots of green-screen action and effects.  "We're a green-screen show.  We'll never go outside.  We're not building Rome, outside of a 3-D model," Tapert says, in comparison to HBO's excellent but middling-rated series Rome.

DeKnight explained that the idea to the show came to him when he noticed the lack of "hard R" type of drama series on cable TV.  And so Spartacus, the story of a slave leading a rebellion in ancient Rome, will bring you the tough stuff.  In fact, the producers explain, the first draft of the show's pilot is "right now more NC-17, but we're going to tone it down slightly."

The TV version of Spartacus will, in merely its first season, cover story terrain that the famous film depicted in a mere 5 minutes.  With the luxury of season after season of storytelling, the producers explain, their show will be able to go into much more depth and background story.  And, it will be even more violent and sexual -- for example, delving into the gay subject matter,  a la the infamous "oysters/snails" gay scene between Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas which was cut from the original film, is not out of the question.  "There will definitely be gay characters on the show, and relationships," DeKnight promises.

"This was a brutal time in history, and the Roman society was taught not to shy away from blood and violence.  These gladiator fights could be incredibly brutal, guys going at each other with swords and tridents and various weapons," the writer continues.  "We're not shying away from that element, but embracing it.  But we're not going for a horror movie mentality."

And as far as sexuality, "the times [had] a completely different feel.  It was completely acceptable for a man to have sex with his slaves, the female and sometimes the male slaves.  It was somewhat trickier for a woman.  But as far as sexuality, we're trying to put it on screen not just because we can, but because of story.  If the story leads us to an extremely violent or sexual moment, we want to be able to show it."

And attention, well-built actors out there:  the producers are still searching for their Spartacus, the next Kirk Douglas.   "We are actively looking.  We have casting directors everywhere, and we're right smack in the middle of that," Tapert says.  And the search will take the world over.  "We want someone who is an undiscovered action star -- the Viggos, the Daniel Craigs, the Russell Crowes.  There aren't too many who are midwestern American boys, but we'll take 'em where we find 'em."

They'll have to find 'im soon -- production of Spartacus begins in New Zealand in March, 2009.

Rob Thomas is a busy boy

In 1998, Rob Thomas created ABC's beloved drama Cupid, starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, which was cancelled after merely one season.  In perhaps a first for network television, Thomas is getting a do-over over a decade later, with a new version of Cupid, this time starring Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson, to debut, again on ABC, this spring.

In between Cupids, Thomas developed a following as a writer as the creator and executive producer of Veronica Mars, and as the creator of the current incarnation of 90210.  Now, Thomas is about to be even busier, having not only Cupid and 90210 on the air, but also Starz' new comedy series Party Down.  (The show, Thomas says, was originally developed 5 years ago for HBO, to star Paul Rudd, who is now one of this version's executive producers.)

Party Down follows a team of Los Angeles cater-waiters -- a sextet of dreamers and wannabes -- stuck working for tips while hoping for their "big break."

Having opted out of "normal" lives of traditional jobs and nuclear families, our crew of misfits -- with the exception of the ruefully jaded Henry -- pass the days assuming that their time in catering is just a brief place-holder before success inevitably transforms them from unremarkable unknowns in to "Somebodies."

Each episode of this half-hour comedy finds our hapless team working a new event -- from sweet sixteen affairs to gay weddings to mobster acquittal parties to porn awards -- where they inevitably get tangled up with the colorful guests and the absurd dramas of their lives.

Party Down is, ultimately, a comedy about waiting.

About the misadventures you endure while waiting on others.  And about the life you lead while waiting for your real one to start.

But the most important reason to watch Party Down is the amazing cast Thomas has assembled.  Thomas has been a fan of Lizzy Caplan -- from CBS' underrated and prematurely cancelled comedy The Class and most recently from HBO's True Blood -- since her days on Freaks and Geeks.  Ken Marino, from MTV's comedy troupe The State and most recently as a gay demon on the CW's Reaper, worked with Thomas on Veronica Mars.  Thomas has known Adam Scott -- most recently seen on HBO's Tell Me You Love Me -- since their days both living in Texas.  And most impressively, also after having worked with her on Mars, the creator has secured the services of the amazing, Out actress Jane Lynch, a legend from, among other films, The L Word and the Christopher Guest-directed comedies like Best In Show.

Party Down premieres

Friday, March 20, 2009

10:30 Eastern

Head Case returns on Starz

Today at the TCA Convention, live from the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles:  Starz's original comedy, Head Case.

Head Case stars Alexandra Wentworth as Dr. Elizabeth Goode, a messed-up therapist (is there any other kind?) with a specialty in working with celebrities.

As a result, the show is jam-packed with guest-star appearances from big-name stars, who have to, as the show's producers Robert Bauer and Jason Farrand explain, to leave all their defenses and preconceptions at the stage door.  "Patients" arrive on set with no idea of what the discussion is to come, and the show is completely unscripted, with Wentworth leading the celebs through fake therapy sessions in which anything goes.  "I don't know if it's because it's therapy and it's unscripted," Wentworth explains, "but they just let it all out and we use it to our advantage."

The result is completely unpredictable, always hilarious and quite often naughty.  This season, for example, Jerry Seinfeld casts off his squeaky-clean image to talk much more risque with Dr. Goode.  "Jerry was excited to do something unscripted," Wentworth theorizes, "because his standup is very scripted.  I think he felt very liberated."  And the results, Farrand says, "were risque enough to make his wife Jessica Seinfeld laugh her socks off, and almost ruin the take.  We had to tell her to be quiet."

With hours of film in the can from celebs, the Head Case team edits down the footage to create storylines.   "We go as far and as deep as Ali takes the session or the celebrity goes," Bauer says.  "Invariably they open up to a lot of stuff that I don't think they front loaded with." Farrand explains that the celebs are given the security blanket of knowing they can call "cut" at any time.  But for the most part, that doesn't happen, and most material, no matter how outrageous, is usable.  Except for some of the content of the "session" with singer Macy Gray.  "She talked a lot about how she wanted to 'bed,' and I'm being PG, Barack Obama," Wentworth remembers.  "So we reedited it and it's still very funny, but she's not being disrespectful."

This year, besides Gray, celebrity patients will include Geri Halliwell, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry and actors James Denton and Kevin Rahm, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Andy Dick, Greg Grunberg, Hugh Hefner, Kevin Nealon, Jeff Probst, Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott, Melina Kanakaredes, Tate Donovan, Janeane Garofalo, Paulina Porizkova, Sandra Bernhard, Tiffani Thiessen, Craig Bierko, Jennifer Finnigan and Jonathan Silverman, Illeana Douglas, Las Vegas magician Lance Burton, and WWE star Dave Batista.

The show is branching out this season, Wentworth explains, to non-actor celebs, like designer Isaac Mizrahi and Mario Batali.  Wentworth would like to get some sports stars and even some politicians in there too, she says.  And so, one journalist asked, does that include her celeb politico husband, George Stephanopoulos?  While hubby George is a fan of the show, Wentworth answered, an appearance at this point is probably unlikely.  "I'm talking about Senator Craig -- people who have nothing to lose."

Head Case

Season 2

Debuts Friday March 20, 2009

10 PM ET

HBO's In Treatment: Appointments now available only 2 nights per week

Breaking News:  In her introduction to the panel (just executive producers Stephen Levinson and Warren Leight) of HBO's half-hour series In Treatment, which has been renewed for a second season, network president Sue Naegle announced that the show's season 1, Monday-to-Friday 5x per week air schedule "proved to be challenging for people... It was such an unusual pattern, it was hard for people to get into it 5 nights a week."

"People really watched [episodes] stacked," Naegle continued.  "A marathon on the weekend or lots at a time."  And so, the network has changed its strategy for In Treatment -- "a show we really believe in," Naegle added.  Because "Sunday is our big night of programming," HBO will now give us a double-dose of Gabriel Byrne as Dr. Paul Weston on Sundays, followed by 3 more episodes to air on Monday.

5 nights a week was "a tough schedule if your name's not Jay Leno," Naegle joked in her introduction.   Regarding the change, "we want to let people dig in and watch more than one at a time, and to make it easier to [follow] the show."

The first season of In Treatment earned five nominations for this Sunday night's Golden Globes ceremony -- more than any other show on television.  Hopefully, star Gabriel Byrne is home resting up for the big night; he was, after Patrick Swayze, the second big, disappointing no-show of the day here at the TCA (Naegle announced that the New York-based star is battling the flu.)

PS -- Leight reveals that if you need to catch up on your Treatment before the Season 2 premiere in April , Season 1 will be again available via HBO On Demand starting in February.

BREAKING NEWS: PATRICK SWAYZE HOSPITALIZED

I'm reporting live from the TCA Convention at the Universal City Hilton in Los Angeles, where the A&E Network is presenting a panel of the writers/creators/producers and stars of their new drama The Beast.  The series debuts with 13 episodes this month.

The Beast centers on an unorthodox but effective FBI veteran, Charles Barker (Patrick Swayze), who takes on rookie partner, Ellis Dove (Travis Fimmel), to train in his hard-edged and psychologically clever style of agenting. The mischievous Barker hazes Dove as they go undercover on their first case to infiltrate a weapons smuggling ring. Barker brilliantly manipulates situations, constantly tests his new partner’s abilities and pushes him to delve deeper into the roles of the undercover characters he creates. Although Dove takes a liking to Barker, the new job takes its toll on him. The stress and danger of being an agent quickly makes him realize that he can no longer maintain normal relationships outside of work. Yet that’s not the worst of it. The rookie is confronted with a larger challenge: an FBI Internal Affairs team feels Barker may have gone rogue and they try to enlist Dove as a double-agent in the bureau's investigation of his mentor. 

On the panel are:  

Executive producer and showrunner John Romano

Executive producers/creators William Rotko and Vincent Angell

Director and executive producer for the pilot Michael Dinner

Hunky actor Travis Fimmel

But notably missing -- and someone of course all the journalists here were eager to see -- is the series' big star, Patrick Swayze.  Swayze is, of course, famously fighting valiantly against pancreatic cancer, and just recently told Barbara Walters that he's been "going through hell."

This morning's panel started with an announcement that, this morning, Swayze checked himself into an area hospital for observation, suffering from pneumonia as a side effect of his chemotherapy.

Swayze had completed filming of the show's pilot -- clips from which were shown at the TCA convention, and Swayze looks good in them -- before he learned his cancer diagnosis.  Then, the producers say, the actor lobbied to continue his role on the show.  And to the network's credit, the producers note, A&E "wanted to do what was best for Patrick."  The pilot completed shooting in November 2007, and got its pickup to series in January 2008, just as Swayze was learning about his illness.  And despite the fact that the series would shoot for many months later, The Beast took the risk and went forward with Swayze as its lead.

In response to how Swayze's illness affected the structure of the show and mood on the set, the producers commented the following:

Angell:  When you work with him 12 hours a day... Most of us would get tired before he would. When you would think about what this man would go through to get to work every day, it was inspiring.  I think for him [this morning's hospitalization] is a bump in the road.

Dinner:  I always joke we'd all live in Chicago if it weren't for the weather.  It's a great city.  When we were shooting the pilot it was very cold.  On a street-based show it's not easy.  And to see this gritty gutsy guy go through this, it was pretty amazing.

Rotko:  Patrick going through cancer, it brings you all together.  On a personal note, It would make you stop and think before saying you had a tummyache in the morning.  Because he's battling such tough conditions.

Romano:  The audience is aware that he's bringing the force of his own personal struggle into that performance.  All of us who write that show work in the shadow of that tremendous act of courage.  That's how we do this show.  But he does it 5 days a week, 12 hours a day.  Patrick loves putting [great work] up there.

More news as it develops, including details about The Beast.

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Dead Like Me Lives!

For all of you who call in and write me about Showtime's long-dead series Dead Like Me, here's the news you've been waiting for:  the series is being resurrected as a straight-to-DVD movie, which will be released on February 17, 2009.

Click here for the full press release.

Milk: Don't Blend In

I just came back from seeing Milk, at a screening courtesy of Focus Features and The New York Times.  It's a tour de force performance from Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the visionary San Francisco politician and gay rights leader who was assassinated 30 years ago next week, along with the city's mayor George Moscone.

A good deal of the film's midsection deals with the historic defeat of California's Proposition 6 in 1978, which sought an immediate firing of all gay teachers and even those who support them.   Milk famously took on California state senator John Briggs, the proposition's main proponent, and won, ensuring that civil rights were protected for all in California.

Ironically, exactly 30 years later, we've taken a giant step backward with this month's recently passed Proposition 8, which repealed the civil right to marry which had already been granted to gay couples in California this past spring.  Milk was in production in 2007-08 -- meaning that filmmaker Gus Van Sant must have been familiar with the prospect of Prop 8, and its eerie parallels to the Prop 6 debate of '78.  Packed with vintage news clips and interview snippets, the film shows the talking heads of the day making the same points back then, on both sides of the issue, that we just heard this fall.

It's sad that so few things have changed.  At many points during the film, we see hatemonger Anita Bryant on her crusade against homosexuals; her argument, and Briggs', that they're in the right "because God says so" is unfortunately still the logic employed by religious zealots and bigots today.  But seeing Bryant on screen actually made me feel good.  Because her remarks, shown completely in context, show her for the villainess she truly was, it made me think:  30 years from now, in 2038, when someone makes Prop 8:  The Movie, perhaps the self-righteous, so-called Christians of today will also be revealed for the evildoers they are.  

And as for Anita Bryant, according to the internet, today she's still alive at age 68.  I can only hope that, if there truly is karmic justice in this world, she'll be headed in the upcoming years to some old folks' home, to be tended by some big, vengeful queen of a nurse, who'll secretly be shitting in her orange juice.

Before the Race with... Terence & Sarah

Terence Gerchberg & Sarah Leshner
7th Team eliminated,

CBS's The Amazing Race 13

This past April, as The Amazing Race's eleven teams prepared for their upcoming adventure, I had the opportunity to sit with each one. As I met team after team, I was often impressed by their skills and determination. Yet only one team would ultimately bring home the $1 million prize.

This past Sunday, we saw the seventh elimination of this season (following Arthur & Anita, Anthony & Stephanie, Bill & Mark, Marisa & Brooke, Ty & Aja and Kelli & Christy).  That team, of Terence Gerchberg and Sarah Leshner, was comprised of two very different people.  She is (like me), a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, while Terence is an accomplished runner and physical trainer.  As I sat with the duo this past spring -- on the day the teams got their first glimpses of each other -- I immediately warmed to their fun, sharp senses of humor, their smarts, and the aggressive vibe which I, as a fellow New Yorker, share.  Below, we talk about their relatively new relationship, and just why they were so sure they would win The Amazing Race.

Must Hear TV: You’re down here as Team #1 on my interview sheet.

Terence Gerchberg:  Same place we’re going to finish!

 

MHTV:  You seem pretty sure of that.  So why are these other contestants bothering to compete, really?

Sarah Leshner:  I understand they need to make a TV show.  It wouldn’t be fun to just feature Terence and Sarah winning the race.  So that’s fine.

 

MHTV:  Should they just call it “The Let’s Give Terence and Sarah Prize Money Show?”

SL:  We can make it exciting, but they don’t know us well enough to know how exciting that would be.

TG:  They will, afterwards.

 

MHTV:  What are your skills that you two have, that make you sure you’re going to win?

SL:  I think what’s great about us is that we’re perfect complements.  So everything that he’s good at, I’m a little bit weaker at.  And the things that I’m good at, I won’t say he’s weaker at, but I have to be good at some things.  So anything physical or having to do with directions, anything having to do with gut instinct or perception, he’s amazing and unstoppable. 

 

MHTV:  So it’s the stereotypical boy thing?

SL:  Totally the boy thing.  But he also has the girl thing, like anything having to do with emotion and love – that’s also him.

TG:  And Sarah’s great at grasping languages.  She’s very sharp, book-oriented, and smart.  She’s good with words, and –

SL: -- cultures.  I’ve traveled a lot.

TG:  She’s really well versed in all of that.  it’s absolutely amazing to watch her break down languages and pronounce words.  Any tough word, any country we’re going to, and I can say “Read that word,” because otherwise I’ll be lost.  But she’s great at it.

SL:  And we’re both very low maintenance, very fearless, very unstoppable.

TG:  Sarah’s great like that.  You just throw her in anything and she’s like, “I’m cool.”

SL:  And I don’t think they’ve had many women like that.

TG:  She’s lower maintenance than me.  No question.

 

MHTV:  Does she use less hair product than you?

SL:  100 percent.  Do I look like I put anything in my hair?

TG:  She stays like this.

 

MHTV:  Have you traveled together? 

TG:  I have to tell you about this.  She had gone to school, Wharton.  All business, all the time.  And everybody spoke languages and was very international.  Her two friends, one was getting married one weekend in Latvia, and the other in Moscow.  She explains this to me – I know I’m telling this story, but it’s from my heart and my soul -- she tells me about it, and I’m like, “Is this your way of inviting me?  Because it’s really awkward.  I don’t feel like I’m really invited.”

 

MHTV:  But you hadn’t been together for too long.

TG:  Two months.  So she was like, “Well, do you want to go?”  But she hadn’t even gotten the visas, and there were a lot of things that needed to get done.  So I said I’d get everything done and get it all happen.  We got it done – we had the visas on Tuesday and took off on Thursday.

SL:  This is another reason we’re going to be good for the show.  We’re very accustomed to running late and doing things last minute.

 

MHTV:  In other words, you’re New Yorkers.

SL:   Yes.  So that’s definitely how I travel.  For the last couple of trips we’ve done -- he also came to visit me when I was traveling for work in Argentina -- we made all of the plans at the last minute.  We weren’t sure we were going to go, and everything came together super quickly.  He got our tickets for Latvia and our visas for Moscow in 24 hours. 

 

MHTV:  You’re good with the stress, or does it tear you apart?

TG:  It doesn’t, and that’s the thing.  We got to the airport, and I wondered, “Should I take this international trip with this girl? I’ve only been with her for a short time.”  But it was an incredible opportunity, to go to Latvia and Moscow.  And people had said, “You’re going to know whether or not you want to be with her.  Traveling either makes or breaks it.”  Later I sent an email to my friend, and said the more time I spend with her, with each minute, I like her more and more.  We hadn’t even said we loved each other – none of that.  But traveling with her was fun.

SL:  We have the same energy level, the same attention span – short.

 

MHTV:  When it comes time to make a split-second decision, will you waste time bickering over whose way to do it, or do you have a conflict resolution strategy?

SL:  We don’t have a decision-solving strategy, but if we start getting on each other ‘s nerves or bickering, we do “Get in the groove.  Get in the groove.”  [rubbing their knuckles together]  You know when you put your knuckles directly in top of each other it doesn’t work, but if you put them in the groove, it slides easily.  So no more fighting.

 

MHTV:  So you even have shtik for the camera.

SL:  Yes, but it’s mostly for each other.  Because when we get ourselves into a funk, we really get ourselves into a funk.  So this is like snap out of it.  We started doing it for the Race, but now for the last two weeks we’ve been doing it and it works.  We got in this fight yesterday, and then we were like, “No way, get in the groove!”

 

MHTV:  Have you sized up the other competitors?

SL:  Yes.  They’re amateurs.  We can go through every team.  First of all, nobody here is as physically fit as he is.  No way.  Not even close.  So you figure he’s so much above everybody else, that even him carrying my backpack and having to compensate for me, we’re still going to demolish everybody.

 

MHTV:  Is he going to have to carry your backpack?

SL:  Yes.  Look at me.  Am I going to be able to carry a 20 pound backpack?  It’s amazing.  We went on a run where we tested each of us running with our backpacks fully packed, or him running with his pack on his back and mine on his front, and we were better that way.  He with both backpacks is faster than me with no backpacks.  So literally when we were trying on backpacks, we tried them on with him carrying both.  It’s not going to be a split-second decision to have to carry the backpack.  He has already anticipated it, he’s ready, and we know how it fits.

TG:  As long as I’m prepared, and that’s the whole thing, being prepared.  I run, and it’s all mental preparation, and it’s also matching with the physical preparation we’ve implemented.

 

MHTV:  So you’ve already done prep, and tested?

SL:  We’ve done stair climber, rowing machine…  We went through past seasons, and said what are the tasks they’ve done that have really freaked people out?  We went to a farm and practiced milking a cow.

TG:  And we rappelled.  I don’t know if you’ve ever rappelled.

SL:  It’s really scary!  And you don’t want to be scared doing it on national television.

TG:  Same thing with preparing for a race or a marathon.  You need not necessarily to run the exact course because we don’t know what the course is…

SL:  But you mimic it as best you can.  There is nobody here who is as well-prepared as we are.  Who here went and milked a cow?  Nobody.

TG:  We sized them up, little things.  When you still have your price tags on your backpack, that’s a sign.   You essentially just bought it.  But you need to have practice stuff in it, and know where things are going.  It’s great that you have matching things, but is it a technical piece of clothing that will be functional in warm and cold weather?

SL:  He’s so street smart.  I always say he should be a spy.  He goes somewhere and says did you observe that thing in the corner?

TG:  And that’s what they said about Uchenna, who won season 7, that he was very perceptive.  It definitely helps, because I’ve already seen certain people’s weaknesses by things they’ve done.

 

MHTV:  It says in your bio that you two are very different in terms of your jobs and sometimes your temperament.  “This dating duo is determined to prove to themselves that they belong together while on this race.”

SL:  That’s it 100%.  It’s amazing.

 

MHTV:  So your relationship is new enough that you’re not at the completely sure point yet?

SL:  No.  But I believe at the end of this race we’ll know if we’re going forward.

TG:  It’s our first Passover together tonight, and it’s going to be our first of many things this year.  And our one year anniversary will be on May 20, which is potentially when we think the finish will be.  So we will win $1 million on our one year anniversary.  But to have the opportunity to travel the world with someone who has become my best friend, and someone I love to talk to and be with…

SL:  And be put through so many challenges.  We’ll be stressed, fatigued, hungry…

 

MHTV:  After that, planning a wedding will seem like nothing.

SL:  Exactly.

TG:  I’ll be planning that anyway.  Don’t kid yourself.

 

MHTV:  Are your families proud about you going on this Race, even though they can’t tell anybody?

SL:  This is also an example of how we’re so different.  He’s so much more of a free spirit personality, that his family is really embracing it.  And I’m much more conventional, and goal oriented, and career minded, so my family is freaking out.  Like until the very last day.  I was like, “Are you excited?  And they were like not really.  We’re nervous.  We don’t think this is a good idea.”

 

MHTV:  But now they’re going to see you on television.  Are they going to have all the relatives watching?

SL:  I hope they do.  I don’t know about the relatives.  My grandmother would die if she knew.  I had to explain I was going on a very long vacation.  And she was like, “Why?  Please!  Stay home, get married.”

TG:  It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.  It’s not like you’re gone for a year.

SL:  The other amazing thing about the show is that they’ll get to see that even though he doesn’t look on paper like what they might want for me, he’s so amazing for me in all these other ways.  And I think his family has concerns because he tells them that I’m not loving or emotional enough.  And they’ll get to see that I totally am.

 

MHTV:  Or they’ll get to see you screaming your head off at him.  You know that happens on the Race.

TG:  She’s not that big of a screamer, which is nice.

SL:  But yes, when you get stressed, it brings out the worst in you, and who knows what that’ll be?

 

MHTV:  Were there things you learned in Wharton that are specifically applicable?

TG:  Languages.

SL:  Yes.  When I did my MBA I also got a masters in international studies.  That involved all kinds of cultural immersion, and how to interact with different types of people.  And I had this Wharton class on negotiations, and I think that will be super useful.  Some of the softer skills.  I don’t know that I’m going to need to do accounting and statistics.

TG:  We’re both pretty good at that stuff, like puzzles.  I have an accounting/finance degree too, and that’s the thing.  When you think of us, you think of me just kind of like a sporty, jocky type.  Her, brainy…

SL:  Nerdy… 

TG:  But actually, I’m actually, whatever, wicked smart and good like that.  And she’s actually very strong and fast.   It all comes together.  It’s crazy.

SL:  We are very, very, very confident.

TG:  In a good way.

Time for a Much-Needed Commercial Break

I know, I know -- it's November sweeps. Still, I got the chance to go away for a much-needed vacation (and I'm not into the whole "staycation" thing -- that's just lame, and I'm sick of the cutesy word already.) So, Frank and I are voting for Obama, and then heading off to Fort Lauderdale and South Beach, partly courtesy of some fabulous promotional consideration from a friend at the Ritz-Carlton hotels. Stay tuned until next week -- see you on November 10!