Sunday, June 6, 2004 Starry-eyed wannabes try for shot at reality show fame
At a River North nightclub Saturday, hundreds of aspiring stars from as far away as Kentucky and Iowa lined up to audition for a new reality TV show about ordinary people who will be transformed "My Fair lady"-like into cultured proteges of Hilton Hotel matriarch Kathy Hilton -- Paris' mom. Friday, June 4, 2004 Tony Awards have some Off-Off-Off-Broadway stars
The Tony Awards will be presented Sunday night on CBS, live from New York, and they just don't create the same excitement they once did. More people seem to be talking these days about Smarty Jones' bid for a Triple Crown than whether "Avenue Q," "The Boy From Oz," "Caroline," "Change" or "Wicked" will win best musical.
What are you looking at?
Thursday, June 3, 2004 It's enough to make a guy envy Adriana
Perhaps there were doubts because, like the authorities, we never actually saw the corpse.
What are you looking at?
Miss America pageant dieting down to 2 hours
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Finding fat on Miss America isn't easy. Finding it in the pageant telecast should be, though. Wednesday, June 2, 2004 'SCTV' shows hold up real good on DVD
The lines are a litmus test: "You want an actress with arthritis?" "I love you, and I want to bear your children!" "That blowed up real good!" "Ooooh, that's scary, huh kids?" "How are ya?!?"
What are you looking at?
Advertisers' cool response won't kill NBC's 'Pride'
LOS ANGELES -- NBC's top programmer is standing by the upcoming animated series "Father of the Pride," despite a poorly received presentation to advertisers. Tuesday, June 1, 2004 'Summerland': Beautiful cast, beastly script
The WB already has "Superstar USA," the "American Idol" parody and practical joke in which one dreadful singer after another is trotted out to butcher songs. As far as false notes go, that should give you all you want, need or can take.
What are you looking at?
Monday, May 31, 2004 News vs. entertainment flap raises blood pressure at NBC
NEW YORK -- Want to get an NBC executive's blood boiling? Just suggest that ''Dateline NBC'' may have besmirched its reputation with its series of shows about the network's entertainment fare. Friday, May 28, 2004 Selleck's top-rank effort makes it easy to like 'Ike'
Sight unseen, you might get a chuckle out of the notion of Tom Selleck playing Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Magnum in the military. It sounds like some kind of joke.
What are you looking at?
Fantasia's win draws another big 'Idol' crowd
LOS ANGELES -- An estimated 31.4 million people tuned in to watch Fantasia Barrino's tearstained victory at the conclusion of ''American Idol,'' Nielsen Media Research said Thursday.
'Hee Haw' picks, grins way onto video
Saaa-lute! The straw hats and braying cartoon donkey of ''Hee Haw'' are back.
Love reality TV? Don't miss 'Watching Paint Dry'
LONDON -- Viewers who say they would rather watch paint dry than the likes of "Big Brother" have had their wish granted. Thursday, May 27, 2004 Fergie yanks leash of UK talk show host on topic of royals
LONDON -- Sarah Ferguson, duchess of York, had a testy exchange with a British TV talk show host when the topic turned to the royal family.
America votes Fantasia Barrino as newest 'Idol'
LOS ANGELES -- Fantasia Barrino's fantasy of pop stardom became a reality Wednesday night when she won ''American Idol.'' Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Fantasia Barrino is the new 'American Idol'
LOS ANGELES -- Fantasia Barrino's fantasy of pop stardom became a reality Wednesday night when she was named the winner of "American Idol."
Flush with cardplayers
You get three or four of a kind in poker, you've probably got a winning hand.
What are you looking at?
MTV's new gay-lesbian channel will be out next February
NEW YORK -- A basic cable network aimed at the gay and lesbian community will go on the air next February, MTV Networks announced Tuesday.
'Food' for thought on African-American dramas
LOS ANGELES -- The fifth and final season of television's longest-running black drama, Showtime's "Soul Food," is serving up its last episode, leaving behind an uncertain future for the genre. Tuesday, May 25, 2004 Making final call on 'Idol' is signal for fans to get busy
headline:Making final call on 'Idol' is signal for fans to get busy
What are you looking at?
'Sopranos' season bang comes early
Television series traditionally pull out that special something big, something huge, something momentous event for their season finales. Not so for "The Sopranos," which kept with its own tradition and pulled it out on the second-to-last episode Sunday night. Monday, May 24, 2004 Transformed on TV: 2 Chicago stories
When the two-hour finale of "The Swan" airs at 7 tonight on WFLD-Channel 32, one brand-new beauty will be watching from home. Sunday, May 23, 2004 'Ellen' wins best talk show Emmy in debut year
NEW YORK -- Ellen DeGeneres' program won best talk show Friday in its rookie year, but Wayne Brady won the Daytime Emmy award as best talk show host even though his program was canceled. Friday, May 21, 2004 Fox and frenzy
Each May, Fox announces a schedule for the coming TV season, if only for practice. It's usually about as meaningful as a Hollywood air kiss. By the time the fall arrives, only four months later, time slots have changed, shows have vanished mysteriously.
What are you looking at?
'Disappointed' Strange leaves ABC
Curtis Strange has resigned as lead golf analyst for ABC Sports, saying the network did not give him a long-term deal in exchange for him continuing to cover golf during his prime years as a player on the Champions Tour. Thursday, May 20, 2004 Same as the old crop
NEW YORK -- You know all that stuff from the other networks about how the business of television has changed? CBS boss Leslie Moonves isn't buying it.
What are you looking at?
'Vegas' co-star gets bum's rush from Caan
Vanessa Marcil is an easy mark. The beautiful star of NBC's hit series "Las Vegas," which wrapped up its season Monday night, knows the odds are against her when her co-star, the legendary and unpredictable James Caan, is on the set. Wednesday, May 19, 2004 Next crack at a comeback
NEW YORK -- Fourth in the ratings, first alphabetically, at least ABC knows where it stands at the moment.
What are you looking at?
A perfect 'Couple': Randall and Felix
No actor was better matched for the role of Felix Unger, the idiosyncratic neatnik longing for his ex-wife and bemoaning his slovenly roommate, than Tony Randall.
Orbach's shoot-from-the-lip cop laid down 'Law' with a bit of wit
headline:Orbach's shoot-from-the-lip cop laid down 'Law' with a bit of wit
'Martha Stewart Living' show going on hiatus
NEW YORK -- With its star facing a possible prison sentence, the ''Martha Stewart Living'' television show will be put on hiatus after the current season winds up, the show's producers announced Tuesday. Tuesday, May 18, 2004 They've been there before
NEW YORK -- With "Friends" and "Frasier" now retired, "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien reminded advertisers, who probably didn't need reminding, "the funniest guy in NBC prime time is Stone Phillips."
What are you looking at?
Monday, May 17, 2004 Attack of the clones: Sinise headlining third 'CSI'
You know what CBS' "CSI" stands for, don't you? "Cloned Series Idea."
Frasier, we're listening!
Dr. Frasier Crane arrived in Chicago about four days ago. You might have spotted him in O'Hare, chatting with Jennifer Beals.
What are you looking at?
'Raymond' back for (short) final season
NEW YORK -- Three days before announcing its fall schedule, CBS sealed a deal Sunday to bring the Emmy-winning comedy ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' back for a ninth and final season.
'60 Minutes' creator Hewitt passes torch
NEW YORK -- Fair warning: In the next few weeks you may sense tremors rippling from Manhattan's West 57th Street. A seismic shift is due soon at ''60 Minutes'' headquarters as Don Hewitt, who created that pioneering newsmagazine 36 years ago and has run it ever since, steps aside.
Lohan: MTV no mean feat
NEW YORK -- Lindsay Lohan will be the queen bee of the MTV Movie Awards, hosting the June 10 ceremony. The 17-year-old actress stars in ''Mean Girls,'' a comedy about high school queen bees and wannabes. Lohan's other movies include ''Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen'' and last year's remake of ''Freaky Friday.'' Sunday, May 16, 2004 American fans hooked on Korean soaps
J.P. Paulus is Dutch-Indonesian, but had no exposure to any sort of Asian culture while he was growing up in the suburbs. So he took a roundabout route on the way to becoming a fan and promoter of Korean TV drama. Saturday, May 15, 2004 'Frasier' finale no 'Friend'-ly competition
NEW YORK -- The ''Frasier'' finale drew less than half the viewers of the ''Friends'' finale. Friday, May 14, 2004 'Frasier' Goodnight, Seattle and hello, Chicago
Another week, another coffee house, another television farewell. There were the requisite hugs and tearful goodbyes, a baby's birth, a marriage and a lover threatening to leave town.
What are you looking at?
New Manson movie shorter, no smarter
Thirty-five years after the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders, the brutal true story of Charles Manson and his followers and the carnage they left behind is sufficiently chilling that not even the leaden hand of writer-director John Gray can make us numb to it.
Odd how 'Drake & Josh' make perfect TV couple
They are television's latest Odd Couple, a teenage version of Oscar and Felix thrown together not by divorce but by the marriage of their TV parents.
Congress to probe new TV viewer tally system
NEW YORK -- A congressional audit has been ordered on a new system for measuring TV viewership in big cities, which some critics contend will undercount blacks and Latinos. Thursday, May 13, 2004 The docs and bonds of 'Frasier'
Explicit as NBC's promos have been about what will happen tonight as "Frasier" ends its 11-year run, it can't be that simple.
What are you looking at?
NBC adds Universal and significant new clout
NEW YORK -- NBC clinched its big media prize Wednesday, completing a merger with the Universal television and entertainment businesses to create a major media conglomerate.
Lots more 'Law & Order'
NEW YORK -- Fans of the three ''Law & Order'' shows can look forward to more -- and No. 4. An agreement between NBC and producer Dick Wolf, announced Wednesday, includes pickups through 2005-06 for ''Law & Order,'' ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent.'' It makes official ''Law & Order: Trial by Jury,'' premiering in 2004-05. Jerry Orbach of the original ''Law & Order'' joins the new series. AP
'Superstar' apologizes for Make-a-Wish link
LOS ANGELES -- The company producing an upcoming spoof of talent shows apologized for invoking the name of the Make-a-Wish Foundation during filming. Wednesday, May 12, 2004 Should be a howl when these dawgs yowl
That's part of the evil genius of the WB's "Superstar USA," an un-talent show that screeches onto WGN-Channel 9 beginning Monday night.
What are you looking at?
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 'Dateline' can tell or sell, but it can't do both
Just about a month ago, "Dateline NBC" did a blistering expose on racial profiling in America.
What are you looking at?
Rancic making all the rounds before starting on Trump Tower
headline:Rancic making all the rounds before starting on Trump Tower Monday, May 10, 2004 Oh Rob, just let it be
No matter how many times he tripped over that living room ottoman in the opening credits, Dick Van Dyke has never stumbled as badly as he and his castmates do in "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited."
What are you looking at?
Amber wins 'Survivor' -- and Rob wins Amber
NEW YORK -- It was ''Survivor'' meets ''The Bachelor'' at Madison Square Garden.
|
Wild about Harry
15 Mickey Mouse statues will flank State Street for the next two months.
