Kate O'Hare's Hot Cuppa TV

It is with sorrow that I heard tonight of the death of Capt. Phil Harris of the F/V Cornelia Marie, one of the featured crab fisherman in Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," who suffered a stroke at the end of January (click here for details from an earlier blog post).

His sons issued a statement:

Sent on behalf of Jake and Josh Harris:

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad - Captain Phil Harris.  Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end. For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down.  We will remember and celebrate that strength.  Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

As did Discovery Channel:

Discovery mourns the loss of dear friend and colleague Captain Phil Harris.  He was more than someone on our television screen.  Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him.  We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart.  We share our tremendous sadness over this loss with the millions of viewers who followed Phil's every move.  We send our thoughts and prayers to Phil's sons Josh and Jake and the Cornelia Marie crew.

I was lucky enough to dine twice with Phil Harris, once with some of the other crab captains, and the second time with his sons.

At the first dinner, held at a swanky restaurant in Marina del Rey, the waiter was beside himself with excitement to have met Capt. Phil of the Cornelia Marie. He asked for and received an autograph, which he was eager to take home and show to his brother. At such an eatery, I suspect that waiter saw lots of celebrities, but I can't imagine that he could be any more excited than he was to meet the crusty fisherman (who ate steak, by the way).

The second time was a lunch at a hotel in Beverly Hills, on the day of the Discovery Channel upfront presentation to advertisers. After surviving a close call with a blood clot, Phil was downing sliders and enjoying life with his sons at his side.

I cherish my memories of Phil, who was as irascible and boisterous as you might expect from watching the show, but also funny and kind-hearted.

I'll let you know if I hear of any special programming tributes.

Fair winds and calm seas to you, Capt. Phil.

God grant that I may live to fish,
until my dying day,
And when it comes to my last cast,
I then most humbly pray,
When in the Lord's safe landing net,
I'm peacefully asleep,
That in his mercy I be judged,
As big enough to keep.

Author Unknown

Welcome to my eGuiders page, where I've been laboring away, finding the best online video for you.

For your viewing enjoyment, we have a weatherman losing his mind over the Washington, D.C. "Snowpocalypse"; a surprisingly gorgeous music video that casts the Founding Fathers as an '80s hair band (rock it out, Ben Franklin!); a young woman doing strange things with a baby (keeping it clean here, folks); Sawyer's many pet names for his "Lost" companions; a scene from "The Big Bang Theory," sans audience laughter; a "Glee" parody from "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"; a long but deeply satisfying evisceration of "Avatar"; and a very, very old videogame commercial.

But wait, go to the next page, and there's more! There's a guide to producing the news! There's a movie made by chimps! Reality stars who don't want to make friends! Economic philosophers rapping! "The Late Night Wars" as a Ken Burns documentary! And cars, cars, cars and "Top Gear"!

Whew. I need a hot cuppa now.

Thank you! Good night!

Tonight's cuppa: peppermint tea

When NBC's superhero drama "Heroes" ends its fourth season (and 5th volume, "Redemption") on Monday, Feb. 8, with an episode called "Brave New World," best buddies Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee) and Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) will be right in the thick of it, as they are called on to avert a disaster.

Both Japanese, Ando and Hiro spend a lot of time conversing in their native language. That's fine for Oka, who was born in Tokyo and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 6 and is still fluent in Japanese. It's a little more complicated for Lee, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to New York City at the age of 10.

He speaks Korean along with English, but while that might help him on ABC's "Lost" -- which has two Korean characters -- it's not much good on "Heroes."

"I went to Hawaii for the first time this year," says Lee, "and I actually hang-glided off the North Shore. We were up in the air for about an hour, and we actually flew by the set of 'Lost.' I was joking to the instructor, 'Why don't you drop me off here, and I'll do a guest episode.'"

Lee has also watched "Lost" star Daniel Dae Kim -- born in Korea but raised in Pennsylvania since the age of two -- work on scenes in Korean with costar Yunjin Kim. who has worked in both American and South Korean productions.

"I do speak Korean," says Lee, "so I was able to tell he was working on it when the show started. I could definitely relate to trying to master a new language."

(Incidentally, with "Lost" ending, Daniel Dae Kim has booked a new job, as Detective Chin Ho Kelly in CBS' re-imagined "Hawaii 5-0." Click here for more.)

As it turns out, while Lee didn't speak Japanese, he has a connection to the island nation.

"My dad," he recalls, "was one of the few people who went from Korea to study engineering in Japan back in the '50s. Then they brought him back to Korea to help rebuild the country after the wars. He lived in Japan for about five years, studied there and worked as an engineer there.

"And then, now, here I am, playing this character. Life has a strange way of working itself in."

Starting out as Hiro's (on right in picture) work buddy and sidekick, Ando has evolved into a hero in his own right, with his own superpower, the red lightning, which can amplify the power of other superhumans he meets. It also can affect electronic devices.

"Looking back," says Lee, "the relationship has really progressed nicely in the past four seasons, starting out in this adventure together, and then developing our own powers and our own identities.

"I see Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson; I see Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer; Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. I feel like we're carving out our own nice little legacy in a way."

Asked if Ando's Luke or Han, Lee says, "I feel more of the Han Solo. Ando's definitely more of the happy-go-lucky sort of fellow. He has a knack for romance."

And, in the "Star Wars" saga, Han Solo wound up with Luke's sister, Princess Leia, and in "Heroes," after a little reworking of the past, Ando is engaged to Hiro's sister, Kimiko.

"I think they were meant to be together," Lee says, "and that's why Hiro had to go back to the past to fix his mistake. Now they're getting ready for a wedding. We'll see if it happens on the show, maybe next season."

As of today, there's no word from NBC on whether "Heroes" will get a new season. With Jay Leno abandoning his self-titled 10 p.m. ET/PT show to go back to "The Tonight Show," that does leave five hours of primetime to fill on the fall schedule, but there's no indication yet what will occupy the open slots.

Whatever happens, Lee has kept up his movie career, and continues his involvement with the Hollywood Knights, a celebrity basketball team that works for charity and entertains the troops through the USO.

"I just got back from Italy with my basketball team," says Lee. "For the Italy trip, we had a couple of the 'American Gladiators'; Ryan Cabrera, who's a singer; and Travis Van Winkle, who's an actor. It was a mixed bag.

"We were out there doing a USO tour, visiting the troops and playing exhibition games for the Air Force, Navy. It was pretty awesome. I got to visit the Air Force base and see F-16s. They brought us on the Naval ship, got a tour. And seeing the sights of Italy -- it was a blast."

If there is a season five, Lee hopes to see more of the "Andocycle," a Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle motorcycle given to Ando by Hiro in the season-three episode, "A Clear and Present Danger."

"I had to learn to ride for that episode," he says. "It was a three-day course, and I had different instructors each day. They were all women, so go figure. I had a really fun time. I'm hoping next season I get to do some more riding and some more action stuff."
 

Please welcome today's guest blogger, the estimable Tia Cupps, my mentor in all things tea, who's been kind enough to weigh in on today's "Puppy Bowl" action from the lair back East, from which she conducts black-tea ops for the federal government (with the help of some kitty pals).

Take it away, Tia!

It's Super Bowl Sunday and that means it's time for "Puppy Bowl VI"!

 

I've settled down to watch with a lovely cup of Constant Comment -- the blogger's favorite tea.

 

Yet another bunch of cute puppies takes the field at Animal Planet Stadium -- I certainly hope this wasn't live since I'm not sure anyone could have gotten to Silver Springs in all this snow. But it's always sunny for the Puppy Bowl.

(HCTV: "Puppy Bowl" is taped in October in beautiful, then-autumnal Silver Springs.)

 

This year, I'm loving the (wagging) tailgaters in the parking lot, complete with barbecue grill with goodies on it and an antique TV with rabbit ears. And speaking of which: bunny cheerleaders this year -- fuzzy and literally laid back. I'm surprised they didn't go after the pom poms.

 

Piloting the Twizzlers' Blimp are scruffy-looking hamsters that look more distracted than the half-time kittens. I must say the addition of rodents has put some real teeth into the game this year. Now they need to add some reptiles in a sports bar watching the game and we'll have all bases covered. Yes, I mean lounge lizards!

 

The puppies are on the field and it's every dog for him- or herself. Why are there no penalties for humping? Note to Animal Planet: 86 the slippery plastic logo since there seem to be a lot of skidding puppies today.

 

This year's batch of commercials is a lot of fun. I thought the Subaru commercial with the dogs trying to park in the parking lot was well done (and so true). A big shout out to Bissell and Pledge -- I can most certainly vouch for the efficacy of the Pro Heat II as well as the Pledge pet hair remover (which would be a perfect addition to my arsenal of cleaning supplies if only it were refillable).

 

But the commercial that made me laugh out loud was the Pedigree one with doggie dentures! Very well done and only slightly creepy.

(HCTV: Any opinions or product endorsements from Tia Cupps do not necessarily reflect the purchasing habits or preferences of HCTV, especially since HCTV does not have furry pets -- but would be grateful if anyone has an extra Num Nums the Zhu Zhu pet hamster lying around. Bonus points for including the hamster ball.)

 

Kitten Half-Time was as adorable as usual and I'm glad they've added moving toys to the "stage." As I was cooing over the kittens Tetley, one of my own charming cats, suddenly appeared and suggested it was dinner time. I convinced her to wait for the next commercial which she did with great reluctance and a lot of petting.

 

The pups seemed to run out of steam in the second half, with several penalties for napping in the end zone, puppy substitutions and a great deal of sloshing about in the water bowls.

 

All in all a satisfying game. I noticed that the puppies were from a variety of shelters, most outside the area. I don't remember seeing a disclaimer about where the puppies go from here.

(HCTV: We hope that all the puppies have been adopted by now. But we do know for sure that Jake and Duncan have new homes.)

 

Ah well! Another "Puppy Bowl: is in the record books and ...

(HCTV: SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!)

... the MVP, Jake the Chihuahua-Pug mix, truly deserved his award for showpuppyship if nothing else. He's one speedy boy!

 

Off to warm up the kettle for another cuppa and try to watch the Super Bowl to see if it can measure up.

Today's cuppa: more French Vanilla coffee from the Tassino

It wouldn't be Super Bowl Sunday if I didn't do a syndicated feature on "Puppy Bowl," and here's this year's (and yes, I will be watching on the phone with my pal and mentor in all things tea, the estimable Tia Cupps, sequestered in her lair somewhere back East, working on black-tea ops for the federal government. Hmmm...maybe we'll liveblog. Whaddya think?) ...

Andrew Schechter has his dream job - donning the striped shirt as referee for the sixth edition of Animal Planet's "Puppy Bowl," airing Sunday, Feb. 7, across from that other big football game.

 

Airing in rotation through the afternoon and evening, the two-hour special features puppies romping on the gridiron at the Animal Planet Stadium in Silver Spring, Md.

 

Of course, Schechter's dream job also involves picking up puppy poo, but he's OK with that.

 

"When the opportunity arose," he says, "I couldn't say no. If you are told you have an opportunity to pretty much work with puppies all day long in the cutest job available, I think anyone would raise their hand and say, 'Hey, it's time to really take advantage of the job.' "

 

Three years ago, says Schechter, he was working at Animal Planet as an associate producer and, in that capacity, was attending a planning meeting for "Puppy Bowl IV." The idea of who should be the referee came up.

 

Recalls Schechter, "I whispered to my boss, Melinda Toporoff, who's the executive producer on the show, and said, 'I want to be the ref. I want to be the ref.'

 

"She knows that I have an acting background. I grew up doing a lot of theater, from when I was little. I still do theater. She brought up the idea, 'Andrew actually would love to be the referee.'

 

"At first the entire room started laughing, because they didn't think I was serious. They said, 'Wait a minute, are you serious? You really want to do this?' I was, like, 'Yes, I want to do this.' That was my first year doing it. Three years later, 'Puppy Bowl VI,' I'm proud to say, I'm still the seasoned ref."

 

Schechter is eager to reveal that there are a few new elements to this year's broadcast, and it involves broadening the concept to other members of the animal kingdom.

 

"For some reason," he says, "if you're not a dog person, and if you're not a cat person, this year, we've upped the ante. Are you ready for this?

 

"For the first time ever, flying high above Animal Planet Stadium, you have the Twizzlers blimp, which is being flown by hamsters.

"And if this wasn't enough for you, on the sidelines this year, cheering on our puppy players, the world famous bunny-rabbit cheerleaders are donning the pompoms."

 

And of course, the Kitty Halftime Show also comes back.

 

"We give the kittens a nice stage to play on," Schechter says. "We give them a little burlesque music. It's always surprising when you see how much action they show on the field when it's their time to perform."

 

Last year, Pepper the Parrot performed the national anthem, but for this year's "Star-Spangled Banner," Schechter says, "We just have a nice version of the national anthem, with some beauty shots of all the puppy players. It will bring a tear to your eye again."

 

In past years, the puppy players were a mix of dogs from shelters and purebred pups from breeders. This year, it's all shelter puppies.

 

Asked what the "Puppy Bowl" has against breeders, Schechter says, "Safe breeding is always something we support, but although the 'Puppy Bowl' is cute and fun, and we always have fun, we do try to have a message, which is that shelter dogs need to be adopted.

 

"We really support Petfinder.com, and they help us find a lot of the puppies."

 

While Schechter already knows the identity of the official Most Valuable Puppy, there's also the one that the viewers will choose on the night of the big game.

 

For that, Schechter's money is on a black-and-white French bulldog from Oklahoma with a marking on one side that looks like an upside-down heart.

 

"She's a lover, not a fighter," Schechter says. "That will be a fan favorite."

 

Also in the running is Jake, a Chihuahua-pug cross - or "Chug" - from New Jersey.

 

"This Chug," Schechter says, "has pretty much the most energy of any dog I've ever seen on the Animal Planet Stadium field. He doesn't always have the ball, but the key is running up and down the field.

 

"He was giving our cameramen whiplash, to be honest with you."

 

While Schechter says that "Puppy Bowl" should remain special and not be spun off into other sports, he does warm to the idea of a Wiener Dog Derby to counterprogram the Kentucky Derby horse race.

 

"I like that," he says. "Little dachshund derby? Well, hey, if it's promoting adoption, you might be on to something there."

 

But it might have to be done as interstitials, since one wouldn't want to tire out those little legs.

 

"A wiener dog can only go so far," Schechter says.

UPDATE: Click here for a slideshow of the puppy-player lineup.

Today's cuppa: French vanilla coffee from the Tassimo

This Q&A with Bill Klein, the male half of TLC's Tuesday-night reality hit "The Little Couple," doesn't appear in print until next week, but, because I appreciate my loyal Cuppers, and because the show has been a good friend to HCTV, here you go...

(BTW, there'll be more to come to coincide with the show's season finale on Feb. 23) ...

Q: The show has a fan page on the social networking site Facebook. Do you visit it?

 

A: I'll tell ya, Facebook is one of those addictions we (Klein and his wife, pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Arnold) have. We're addicted to seeing what we did wrong, from the fan perspective. So far, it's been really benign, great comments: "You guys are really inspirational, down to earth," all those things. I'm thrilled that the good stuff that we've been hoping would resonate, has.

 

Q: So, despite being both under 4 feet tall, you're just regular people?

 

A: That's really it. There really isn't much to it. There's no magic, unfortunately.

 

Q: What's it like being reality TV celebrities?

 

A: From our perspective, one of the things that's unique is we're really, really uncomfortable with the idea of being a celebrity. So when we walk through the airport, it's really flattering when people come up to us and are asking for pictures and stuff. For instance, last night, we were on our way to L.A., we're walking through the airport, and it was every other person. It was a 45-year-old man with a business suit on, somebody that moves baggage that happened to be walking through the same hallway, some gal that's 22, some guy that's 33. Am I lying? Am I exaggerating at all? It was the weirdest thing.

 

Q: To what do you attribute the show's success?

 

A: That's a good question. My wife's wonderful, big smile, if I had to guess.

On Friday, Jan. 29, Capt. Phil Harris of the F/V Cornelia Marie, one of the featured Bering Sea crab-fishing boats on Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," suffered a stroke and had to be helicoptered to a hospital in Anchorage, Alaska, where he has been undergoing treatment. According to some reports,this included surgery.

Fans of the show know that Harris has had physical problems in the past, most memorably a serious incident with a blood clot in 2008.

According to a posting today (Feb. 3) on Facebook, there are some positive developments. Here's what his sons, Josh (below, right) and Jake (below, left), had to say:

Today, dad showed some good signs of improvement, squeezing our hands and even summoning his trademark Captain's bluntness by telling the doctors and nurses, "Don't f*ck up." We are encouraged but still very cautious. It is a long road ahead, but its made more bearable and comforting knowing your thoughts and prayers are with us. We are strong because of you -- our fans. Thanks and we will continue to update you as best we can going forward.

-The Harris Brothers

For more information and updates, fans can click on the official site for the Cornelia Marie, the show's Discovery Channel fan page, or check out this story (and its embedded links). Those on Facebook can also subscribe to updates from the official fan page.

Get-well cards for Harris can be sent to the address below, where a good friend of his will compile them and deliver them to Harris at a later date.

Captain Phil Harris
PO Box 32466
Amarillo, TX  79120-2466

Of course, good wishes, thoughts and prayers will no doubt also be welcome.

The next season of "Deadliest Catch" is expected to premiere in April.

Today's cuppa: coffee from the Tassimo

Below find the full text of my syndicated feature story for today ...

It's early January, and "Lost" star Jorge Garcia is back in Hawaii after spending Christmas in Wisconsin. He still has a little time before filming begins on the final group of episodes of the island castaway drama's last season - which begins airing on Tuesday, Feb. 2, on ABC - but thoughts that the end is nigh are creeping in.

"It feels good still," he says. "We know that sadness is on deck, but we're not going there just yet. But you're starting to see the list of lasts. It's like, 'This is the last New Year's on the island.' "

And, of course, there's the packing. Says Garcia, "Now, you're starting to look around the house, thinking, 'How am I going to pack up all I've amassed over six years?' "

Since this is true for many of Garcia's fellow cast members, one wonders if there might be a "Lost" garage sale.

"There might definitely be some Craigslist-ing," Garcia says. "I don't know. It's a lot. I'm just looking at my bookshelf. We're talking about possibly a bunch of us going in on one of those shipping containers. Everyone gets a fraction, and we all start filling it up."

Before "Lost," Garcia was best known for doing 13 episodes of the CBS series "Becker," so his role as unlucky lottery winner Hugo "Hurley" Reyes has not only changed his career but also his life.

"Totally, completely," he says. "When I got the pilot, I didn't even have a script yet to read. I just knew it was (producer) J.J. Abrams, and it shot in Hawaii. So I figured, if anything, I'd have a little Hawaiian vacation out of it, and that was good enough for me."

In the years since, Garcia has also made forays into social media, starting out with a MySpace page, a move that soon became unmanageable.

"I just found," he says, "with all the personal messages and stuff, that the workload got really big. I'm still not at a place where I'm comfortable hiring someone to answer mail and send it for me. So it started getting where I'd spend two hours answering messages."

Instead, Garcia started a blog called "Dispatches From the Island," which has included such gems as photos of the show's 100th-episode cake; "Nunu's Advent Calendar of Stuff She Likes to Chew," featuring Garcia's tiny Chihuahua-dachshund mix; and the epic, seven-part YouTube video series "Jorge and Beth's Rat Incident," featuring a rat and the hysterical reactions to it from Garcia's girlfriend, Beth.

"I think I'll have to come up with a new one with a different title," Garcia says, "when I'm not on the island anymore. It's been fun. I'll definitely keep doing it in some way."

Although "Lost" became a worldwide hit, Garcia says that remembering that isn't always easy far across the sea.

"We're kind of protected shooting in Hawaii, in a way. You can convince yourself that you're just doing a little show that you and your friends do, and you don't think about the huge phenomenon it's become worldwide, until you start doing international press, or if you go to ComicCon or things like that. You begin to see the level of the fan base.

"It's going to be interesting, because there's this idea of coming back to Los Angeles. It's like you went away to make your fortune, and now you're returning home."

Of course, this wasn't exactly planned, especially on the part of the show's producers.

"Originally," Garcia says, "I remember seeing an old breakdown where Hurley was in his 50s and wasn't going to survive the pilot. So I'm glad I was able to change their minds.

"They had a rough list of some people to put in the show, but when they were casting us - and it was late in casting season - they ended up really concentrating on finding actors they wanted to work with and not worrying too much on how it's all going to fit just yet.

"So they ended up creating the part for me, after they met me. I had read for Sawyer, and they chatted with me for a little while. They ended up writing scenes for me, when I actually tested for the role.

"So, in that sense, because I was the only Hurley that they tested, as far as I know, that makes you feel pretty good."

Asked what will change immediately after the director calls the final "That's a wrap!" Garcia says, "I probably will give a nice close shave. Periodically it's just nice to feel real clean in the face."

As to whether co-star Josh Holloway, who plays Sawyer, will also lose the scruff on his chin, Garcia says, "He said he was going to shave his head when it was all over. He probably could be talked out of it."

UPDATE: To learn more about Garcia's early days with pal Lana Parrilla ("Swingtown," "Boomtown" and the upcoming "Miami Medical"), click here.

Today's cuppa: Spiced Rooibos Ruby Red Chai (thanks to "24" director of photography Rodney Charters, a gentlemanly Kiwi who made me a cup of South African rooibos, or redbush, tea on the set)

Last November, "24" star Mykelti Williamson -- who plays Brian Hastings, head of the New York office of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), on the drama, airing Mondays on Fox -- reunited with his "Forrest Gump" co-star Gary Sinise (left) and his Lt. Dan Band (named after Sinise's "Gump" character) and headed to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan to entertain the troops.

(Credit for photos below)

Early last December, I spent a day on the "24" set and asked Williamson about the experience.

"I played blues harp," he said. "They went nuts to see Gary and me together. Then we left Bagram and went to Camp Leatherneck. We just stayed there one day. We flew in that morning, had a concert early evening, and we flew out that night.

"It's a Marine base, brand-new, and we got the sense that it probably wasn't safe to stay overnight. So we did a concert for those guys, and then we took off that night and flew to Kandahar for a couple of days."

According to Williamson (right), the Lt. Dan Band was well-received in all quarters.

"I was really touched," he said, "meeting some of the Afghani locals, because they were so happy to have forces from the West over there to try and make a better life. And sweet ... they would remind you of people that you live with here, and I think our troops are doing great work. I really do.

"They're the absolute best of us, and they do a job that a lot of whiners here stateside have no idea about. I've actually talked to some people who have had a lot of negative things to say about the troops, and this, that and the other. Since I've come back, just sharing some of the stories with them -- there are two people I can think of that have had a change of opinion. They don't know; they've never gone.

"When you go, and our soldiers see you, our troops see you in person, it means so much to them. They will hug you; they will cry for you."

Although the trip was quick, Williamson got to spend some quality time with the troops.

"I was in a room with 17 people," he said, "men and women, and I stayed up all night long. I was with a wimpy executive who claimed he couldn't sleep, because I snored like Katrina. So I decided I would just stay up, because I don't like to beef with peoples. So I decided, 'I'll nap tomorrow. I'll just stay up all night on the base and look around, try out my new camera.'

"I met people, they took me in, and I ended up staying up every night in Kandahar and watching movies. The first night we watched 'Forrest Gump,' and I was able to answer questions for them and just sit there and watch this movie that we all loved.

"Then the next night, we watched 'Heat,' and I was telling them stories about Pacino and other people, just hung out. Then when it was time for us to leave, one of the troops looked outside, a lieutenant, and she saw that it was daylight and told everybody, 'He's got to go in two hours.'"

He also got to share Thanksgiving dinner.

"Grown men and women," he said, "I'm talking about master sergeants, sergeant first class, LTs, they're all bawling, because it was Thanksgiving. They knew that we were leaving on Thanksgiving, after we had lunch with them. This was, like, a week ago.

"But we had dinner early. They said they weren't even going to come out of their rooms for Thanksgiving, because they felt they didn't have anything to give thanks for. But when they saw the band, and they met Gary, and they met everybody that was with us -- Kevin Farley was with us -- they just felt so different. They didn't want to stay in their rooms. They came out and thought it was festive. It felt like they were at home.

"So it meant a lot. We were all crying in the room together when it was time to leave, because they were very sad to see us go. But it was great. I look forward to going back."

Asked whether "24" star Kiefer Sutherland (left) might go at some point, Williamson said, "I'm trying to get Kiefer to go. Kiefer should totally go. They would go crazy."

Although Williamson said that there were things he couldn't talk about on the record, he did say, "I saw more beauty than I did anything else when I was in Afghanistan."

It's also a lesson he's brought back to his own children.

"What my wife and I teach our daughters," he said, "whenever we see troops in a restaurant, we take care of their meal. That goes for cops in uniform, firemen, because I want them to see how important those people are to all of our freedom."

Of course, as the head of the Gotham unit of CTU, Brian Hastings has a lot to do with protecting that freedom, but that didn't intimidate Williamson.

"It's a big responsibility," he said, "but I think Soul Brother Number One is up to the task. I really do."


Photo credit (Sinise): BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Gary Sinise and Kimo Williams met in 1997 while working together on a play called "A Streetcar Named Desire," in Chicago. They continued to meet and have jam sessions on the guitar and bass, gradually adding other musicians. The Lt. Dan Band did their first USO tour in 2004, visiting Korea, Singapore and Diego Garcia - since then they average 30-40 shows a year, with 75% of the profits going towards the USO and other charities. The band name was chosen because Mr. Sinise was constantly recognized by a character he played in the movie "Forrest Gump" called Lt. Dan. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Senior Airman Susan Tracy)

Photo credit (Williamson): BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Mykelti Williamson shakes the hand of a service member while on a USO tour with the Lt. Dan Band in Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The Lt. Dan Band did their first USO tour in 2004, visiting Korea, Singapore and Diego Garcia - since then they average 30-40 shows a year, with 75% of the profits going towards the USO and other charities. The band name was chosen because Mr. Sinise was constantly recognized by a character he played in the movie "Forrest Gump" called Lt. Dan. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Senior Airman Susan Tracy)

Today's cuppa: Bag Ladies English breakfast tea

On Sunday, Jan. 31, the man who made sleeveless plaid shirts a down-home fashion statement -- in real life, he's Dan Whitney, but onstage, he plays a character called Larry the Cable Guy -- comes to Comedy Central with the dual goals of thanking his fans and helping some people in need.

"Larry the Cable Guy: Tailgate Party" airs Sunday on Comedy Central. Taped at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., it features around 50,000 fans who got in for only $4 each.

"It was awesome," says Whitney. "It went really, really well. It sounds good; the jokes all hit. I was really on fire that night. It's the largest taped standup special in history."

In his free time, Whitney has created the Git-R-Done Foundation, which, last December, donated $1.2 million to develop a new, 14-bed children's rehabilitation center within the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Neb. Inspired by the story of a 13-month-old Texas girl who suffered a brain injury in 2008, it's to be called "The Alexis Verzal Children's Rehabilitation Hospital at Madonna."

"She was so brain-damaged," says Whitney, "that she couldn't walk, talk, hear, lost some of her eyesight. Then, since they've been working with her, she can walk, she can talk, she can see. She slurs a few words, but she's really getting back on the right track.

"That touched my wife really big. So when we gave the money, they asked us what we were going to call it, and right there, at that second, we looked at each other and said, 'We're going to name it after that little girl.'"

Whitney is from Nebraska, and splits his time between there and a home in Florida. One reason he chose Madonna is that, while it raises the profile of Lincoln and helps Nebraskans, it also helps children from all other parts of the country.

"My foundation, we have a tall order," says Whitney. "We give to families in need. You can't give to everybody, but every little bit helps."

But considering the sometimes ribald and risque humor of a Larry the Cable Guy show, Whitney doesn't plan to be talking much about his charity work during the performance.

"I talked about it one time on stage," he says, "and it felt a little awkward out there, after talking about my Grandpa tucking his nuts into his socks. I don't think it's right to talk about kids with brain injuries right after it, so I quit doing that."

Whitney says he has an animated show coming out on CMT (Country Music Television) sometime in 2011, called "Lazy Acres."

He also has a show coming out on History Channel, probably this fall, called "The United States of Larry."

According to a statement issued last week from History president/GM Nancy Dubuc, Whitney will be "immersing himself in different lifestyles, jobs and hobbies that celebrate the American experience."

Says Whitney, "It's a cross between 'Dirty Jobs' and 'How It's Made,' so that'll be pretty cool."